A wafer loading and unloading device, a double-sided chemical mechanical polishing system and method

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) technology, and discloses a wafer pick-and-place device, a CMP system and method for double-sided processing. The wafer pick-and-place device has a support structure including a mounting stage, a support member, and at least three support columns. The support member is adapted to slide in a direction perpendicular to the mounting stage under drive. The at least three support columns are spaced apart along the outer edge of the support member on the mounting stage and are adapted to receive the wafer. When the support member is driven to slide away from the mounting stage to the support state, the plane of the support member is higher than the plane of the end of the support column away from the mounting stage. The flipping structure includes a wafer pick-and-place structure, which is adapted to extend under drive between the support member and the wafer to remove the wafer from the support structure or fix the wafer to the pick-and-place structure and then flip it back to the support structure. The support structure has two support states, which, combined with the simple flipping structure, enables the flipping of the wafer surface, facilitating subsequent double-sided processing of the wafer and improving work efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of chemical mechanical polishing technology, specifically to a pick-and-place device, a chemical mechanical polishing system and method for double-sided processing. Background Technology

[0002] Chemical-Mechanical Polishing (CMP) is used to planarize silicon wafers or other substrate materials during processing and is one of the most important process steps in semiconductor device manufacturing. As the technological limits of traditional semiconductors are approaching, third-generation semiconductors, represented by silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), are gradually becoming the focus of development. Current wafer fabrication processes using CMP equipment only support processing one side of the wafer at a time, and cannot meet the complex processing requirements of third-generation semiconductor materials.

[0003] Currently, for third-generation semiconductor wafers requiring double-sided processing, the relevant technology utilizes traditional CMP equipment combined with an external or internal wafer flipper. The wafer flipper grips the wafer edge, flips the wafer, and then remounts it onto the processing station plane. Specifically, the CMP equipment first polishes the first side of the wafer, then removes the wafer from the CMP equipment. The wafer flipper grips the wafer edge, flips the wafer, and then places the flipped wafer back into the CMP equipment for processing the second side, achieving double-sided processing. However, after the two processing steps, the wafer returned to the CMP equipment has the opposite facet to the unpolished wafer. Therefore, the wafer must be placed back into the wafer flipper to flip it back to the same facet as at the start of CMP processing for subsequent processes. In other words, current third-generation semiconductor wafer double-sided processing requires placing the wafer into the CMP equipment twice and then flipping it at least twice by the wafer flipper to achieve the requirement of consistent facets during double-sided processing. However, this method requires additional wafer foundry and CMP equipment to work together, and the wafers are transferred between different devices, making it difficult to guarantee processing efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the present invention provides a wafer loading and unloading device, a chemical mechanical polishing system and method for double-sided processing, to solve the problem that existing third-generation semiconductor wafers are difficult to process efficiently on both sides.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a wafer pick-and-place device, comprising: a support structure and a flipping structure. The support structure includes a mounting platform, a support member disposed on the mounting platform, and at least three support columns. The support member is adapted to be driven to slide in a direction perpendicular to the mounting platform. The at least three support columns are spaced apart along the outer edge of the support member on the mounting platform, and the at least three support columns are adapted to receive wafers. When the support member is driven to slide away from the mounting platform to a supporting state, the plane of the support member is higher than the plane of the end of the support column away from the mounting platform. The flipping structure includes a wafer pick-and-place structure, which is adapted to be driven to extend between the support member and the wafer to remove the wafer from the support structure, or to fix the wafer to the wafer pick-and-place structure and then flip it back onto the support structure.

[0006] Beneficial effects: The wafer pick-and-place device uses a support structure with two support states combined with a simple flipping structure, which enables the wafer pick-and-place structure to have four different wafer pick-and-place methods: gripping, holding, gripping and placing, and holding and placing. This facilitates the flipping of wafer surfaces, makes it easier for subsequent double-sided wafer processing, and improves work efficiency.

[0007] In one optional embodiment, the load-bearing structure further includes a rigid support and a flexible support, wherein the rigid support is fixedly installed on the side of the load-bearing member close to the mounting platform, and the flexible support is disposed on the side of the rigid support member away from the load-bearing member.

[0008] In this invention, a bearing member is fixedly mounted on the rigid support member to stabilize it, and a flexible support member is fixedly mounted on the lower surface of the rigid support member to prevent the bearing member and the rigid support member from colliding and being damaged with the upper surface of the mounting platform when they move downwards.

[0009] In one optional embodiment, the outer edge dimension of the rigid support is larger than the outer edge dimension of the load-bearing member; the load-bearing structure further includes a limiting structure, which is disposed on the side surface of the rigid support away from the mounting platform and extends in the direction away from the mounting platform; the support column passes through the rigid support.

[0010] In this invention, the rigid support is larger than the carrier. When the wafer is supported on the carrier, the wafer is simultaneously located on the upper surface of the rigid support. A limiting structure is provided on the rigid support to prevent the wafer from shifting position or even detaching from the carrier during processing. The rigid support has through holes suitable for the support column to pass through. When the carrier, rigid support structure, and flexible support structure move downwards synchronously, the support column passes through the rigid support to avoid affecting the vertical movement.

[0011] In one alternative implementation, the mounting platform, the carrier, the rigid support, and the limiting structure are coaxially arranged; the circles containing at least three support columns are concentric with the carrier.

[0012] In this invention, the mounting platform, carrier, rigid support, and limiting structure are coaxially arranged, which facilitates installation and helps stabilize lifting and lowering when the structure for driving is positioned at the axial center. The circles containing at least three support columns are concentric with the carrier, which helps the three support columns and the carrier to achieve stable transfer of the wafer when the carrier is lifted and lowered, avoiding the need to use other structures for position adjustment and improving work efficiency.

[0013] In one optional embodiment, the flipping structure further includes: a first driving member and an execution structure, the first driving member being adapted to drive the execution structure to rotate in the horizontal direction and / or drive the execution structure to extend and retract in the vertical direction; and a second driving structure, one end of which is fixedly mounted on the execution structure, and the other end of which is connected to the pick-and-place structure to drive the pick-and-place structure to rotate.

[0014] In this invention, the first and second driving components of the flip structure are raised, lowered, and rotated under the control of the control unit, resulting in smooth and stable wafer transfer and improving wafer fabrication efficiency.

[0015] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a double-sided chemical mechanical polishing system, including the above-mentioned wafer loading and unloading device, comprising:

[0016] The detection module includes a first support structure and a detection structure, wherein the detection structure is disposed above the first support structure to scan and detect the wafer placed on the first support structure.

[0017] The polishing module includes a second support structure and a polishing structure. The polishing structure includes a polishing pad and a polishing head. The polishing pad is mounted on the second support structure to polish the lower surface of the wafer that has been inspected by the inspection module. The polishing head is adapted to fix the upper surface of the wafer.

[0018] The cleaning and drying module includes a third support structure and a cleaning and drying structure. The cleaning and drying structure is suitable for spraying liquid and gaseous media onto the wafer placed on the third support structure after it has been processed by the polishing module.

[0019] The dry flip structure is suitable for transferring wafers between a chemical mechanical polishing system used for double-sided processing and an external cassette.

[0020] The wet flip structure is suitable for transferring wafers between the inspection module, polishing module, and cleaning and drying module.

[0021] Beneficial effects: The double-sided chemical mechanical polishing system integrates a detection module, a polishing module, and a cleaning and drying module. Both the dry and wet flipping structures can achieve various forms of wafer pick-up and drop-off when applied to each module. No additional wafer flipping machine is required to achieve double-sided processing of wafers in each module. Moreover, all wafer surfaces are flipped in the same way, which can seamlessly connect to subsequent processes, helping to improve the efficiency of double-sided wafer processing. At the same time, the dry-in and dry-out wafers help to ensure wafer quality, thereby enabling large-scale mass production and capacity expansion.

[0022] In one alternative embodiment, the system further includes a transfer module comprising a fourth carrier structure and a flushing structure, the fourth carrier structure being adapted to receive wafers from the polishing module and the flushing structure being adapted to flush wafers from the polishing module.

[0023] In this invention, the transfer module receives wafers that have already undergone single-sided polishing from the polishing module and performs preliminary liquid rinsing to remove impurities, so as to avoid affecting the polishing module's polishing process on the other side of the wafer. Liquid rinsing can avoid environmental pollution compared to gas purging and improve the quality of wafer polishing.

[0024] Thirdly, the present invention provides a double-sided chemical mechanical polishing method, employing the above-mentioned double-sided chemical mechanical polishing system, comprising the following steps:

[0025] The dry flipping structure removes the wafer from the external cartridge and places it on the first support structure of the detection module, resulting in a wafer with the front side facing up.

[0026] The wet flipping structure picks up the wafer from the first support structure and places it on the second support structure of the polishing module, resulting in a wafer with the front side facing up and the back side facing down, with the back side of the wafer facing the polishing pad of the polishing structure.

[0027] The polishing structure polishes the back side of the wafer;

[0028] The wet flipping structure picks up the wafer whose back side has been polished on the second support structure, flips the wafer and places it back on the second support structure, resulting in a wafer with the back side facing up and the front side facing down, with the front side of the wafer facing the polishing pad of the polishing structure.

[0029] The polishing structure polishes the front side of the wafer to obtain a double-sided polished wafer;

[0030] The wet flipping structure picks up the wafer that has been polished on both sides on the second support structure, flips the wafer and places it on the third support structure of the cleaning and drying module, resulting in a wafer with the front side facing up.

[0031] The cleaning and drying structure uses liquid and gaseous media to clean and dry the wafers after double-sided polishing.

[0032] The dry flip structure places the cleaned and dried wafers back into the external cartridge.

[0033] Beneficial effects: The double-sided chemical mechanical polishing method of the present invention processes the wafers in the same cassette on both sides sequentially without the aid of any external tools. It efficiently processes both sides and ensures dry-in and dry-out of the wafers. The order and number of wafers after processing remain consistent with the initial order, which facilitates subsequent processes. The wafer flow is smooth and efficient, improving the system's applicability and processing efficiency.

[0034] In one optional embodiment, a wafer with its back side polished on a second support structure is picked up by a wet flipping structure, flipped, and placed back on the second support structure to obtain a wafer with its back side facing up and its front side facing down, with the front side of the wafer facing the polishing pad of the polishing structure, including:

[0035] The wet flipping structure picks up the wafer with the back side polished on the second support structure and places it on the fourth support structure of the transfer module. The flushing structure of the transfer module flushes the wafer to obtain a wafer with the front side facing up.

[0036] The wet flip structure flips the wafer and places it back on the fourth support structure to obtain a wafer with the back side facing up;

[0037] The wet flipping structure or polishing head picks up the wafer from the fourth support structure and places it back onto the second support structure, resulting in a wafer with the back side facing up and the front side facing down, with the front side of the wafer facing the polishing pad of the polishing structure.

[0038] In one optional embodiment, the wafer, after double-sided polishing, is picked up by the wet flipping structure from the second support structure, and then flipped and placed onto the third support structure of the cleaning and drying module to obtain a wafer with the front side facing up, including:

[0039] The wet flipping structure picks up the double-sided polished wafer from the second support structure and places it on the fourth support structure of the transfer module. The flushing structure of the transfer module flushes the wafer to obtain a wafer with the back side facing up.

[0040] The wet flip structure flips the wafer and places it on the third support structure, resulting in a wafer with the front side facing up. Attached Figure Description

[0041] To more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0042] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the plate-taking and placing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the supporting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention during the loading and unloading of the sheet;

[0044] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the wafer being processed on the support structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a double-sided chemical mechanical polishing system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a double-sided chemical mechanical polishing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of another double-sided chemical mechanical polishing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0049] a. Wafer;

[0050] 1. Load-bearing structure; 11. Mounting platform; 12. Load-bearing component; 13. Support column; 14. Third drive structure; 15. Rigid support component; 16. Flexible support component; 17. Limiting structure;

[0051] 2. Flipping structure; 21. Plate picking and placing structure; 22. First driving component; 221. First driving mounting end; 222. First driving output end; 23. Execution structure; 231. First rotating plate; 232. Second rotating plate; 24. Second driving structure; 241. Second driving mounting end; 242. Second driving output end; 25. Mounting structure; 26. Control structure;

[0052] A. Inspection area; 100. Inspection module; B. Polishing area; 200. Polishing module; 400. Transfer module; C. Cleaning and drying area; 300. Cleaning and drying module; 500. Dry flipping structure; 600. Wet flipping structure; 700. External card box. Detailed Implementation

[0053] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It is understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and not intended to limit it. It should also be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts relevant to the invention are shown in the drawings, not all structures. In the following description, descriptions of well-known structures and technologies are omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the concept of the invention. Various structural schematic diagrams according to embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings. These figures are not drawn to scale, and some details are enlarged for clarity, and some details may be omitted. The shapes of the various regions and layers shown in the figures, as well as their relative sizes and positional relationships, are merely exemplary and may deviate from actual practices due to manufacturing tolerances or technical limitations. Furthermore, those skilled in the art can design regions / layers with different shapes, sizes, and relative positions as needed. In the context of the present invention, when a layer / element is referred to as being "on" another layer / element, the layer / element may be directly on the other layer / element, or there may be an intermediate layer / element between them. Additionally, if one layer / component is "above" another layer / component in one orientation, then when the orientation is reversed, that layer / component can be "below" that other layer / component.

[0054] In semiconductor device manufacturing, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) is a crucial process used to planarize silicon wafers or other substrates during processing. Currently, third-generation semiconductors, represented by silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), are becoming a key focus of development. The single-sided wafer processing techniques and CMP systems used for first- and second-generation semiconductors are no longer sufficient to meet the demands of third-generation semiconductor device manufacturing.

[0055] Currently, for third-generation semiconductor wafers requiring double-sided processing, the relevant technology utilizes traditional CMP equipment combined with an external or internal wafer flipper. The wafer flipper grips the wafer edge, flips the wafer, and then remounts it onto the processing station plane. Specifically, the CMP equipment first polishes the first side of the wafer, then removes the wafer from the CMP equipment. The wafer flipper grips the wafer edge, flips the wafer, and then places the flipped wafer back into the CMP equipment for processing the second side, achieving double-sided wafer processing. However, after both processing steps, the wafer returned to the CMP equipment's cassette has the opposite facet to the unpolished wafer. Therefore, the cassette needs to be placed back into the wafer flipper to flip the wafer back to the same facet as at the start of CMP processing, facilitating subsequent processes. In other words, the current third-generation semiconductor wafer double-sided processing requires placing the wafer into the CMP equipment twice, and then flipping it at least twice by a wafer flipper to achieve double-sided processing and meet the requirement of consistent facets. This method requires an additional wafer flipper to cooperate with the CMP system, and the wafer flows between different equipment, making it difficult to guarantee processing efficiency.

[0056] Embodiments of the present invention provide a wafer pick-and-place device, a double-sided chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system, and a method. The wafer pick-and-place device comprises a support structure 1 and a flipping structure 2. The support structure 1 has space for the flipping structure 2 to extend into for picking up and placing wafers a, allowing the flipping structure 2 to not only perform conventional gripping and placing functions but also to directly place wafer a back into the support structure 1 after flipping it 180°. The double-sided CMP system includes the wafer pick-and-place device, enabling double-sided processing of wafer a by directly flipping it within the system after processing one side of wafer a. The equipment is simple and efficient. Furthermore, a double-sided CMP method using the aforementioned double-sided CMP system enables double-sided processing of wafer a, resulting in orderly and rapid wafer fabrication with high processing efficiency.

[0057] This embodiment provides a wafer loading and unloading device applied to a chemical mechanical polishing system with double-sided processing capabilities, such as... Figures 1 to 3As shown, the structure includes a support structure 1 and a flipping structure 2. The support structure 1 includes a mounting platform 11, a support member 12 and three support columns 13 disposed on the mounting platform 11. The support member 12 is adapted to slide in a direction perpendicular to the mounting platform 11 under drive. The three support columns 13 are disposed at intervals along the outer edge of the support member 12 on the mounting platform 11 and are adapted to receive the wafer a. When the support member 12 is driven to slide away from the mounting platform 11 to the bearing state, the plane of the support member 12 is higher than the plane of the end of the support column 13 away from the mounting platform 11. The flipping structure 2 includes a wafer pick-and-place structure 21, which is adapted to be driven to extend between the support member 12 and the wafer a to remove the wafer a from the support structure 1, or to fix the wafer a to the wafer pick-and-place structure 21 and then flip it and put it back on the support structure 1.

[0058] Specifically, the mounting platform 11 is a horizontally positioned structure with a circular outer perimeter. A carrier 12 and three support columns 13 are mounted on the mounting platform 11. The carrier 12 can be driven to vertically rise and fall above the mounting platform 11. The three support columns 13 are spaced apart on the outer edge of the circular carrier 12 to stably support the wafer a. There is a gap between the support columns 13 and the carrier 12 to prevent interference with the rising and falling carrier 12. The wafer pick-and-place device has two support states for the wafer a: one state is that the carrier 12 is raised, its plane being higher than the plane of the uppermost point of the three support columns 13. In this state, the upper surface of the carrier 12 supports the wafer a. In this state, the flipping structure 2 can pick up and place the wafer a by gripping, vacuum suction, or gripping and placing it on the upper surface or periphery of the wafer a. The other support state is that the carrier 12 is lowered, and the wafer a gradually moves downwards as the carrier 12 descends until the wafer a is supported by the three support columns. The support column 13 lifts the wafer a, and the carrier 12 continues to descend, creating a space between the wafer a and the carrier 12 for the wafer pick-and-place structure 21 of the flipping structure 2 to extend into. In this state, the flipping structure 2 can grab or pick up the wafer a from above, flip the wafer a 180°, and then directly place the wafer a back onto the support column 13 in a lifting manner. There is no need to use an additional wafer flipping machine to take out the wafer a, flip it, and then put the wafer a back in. Compared with the clamps or vacuum suction heads used in conventional CMP equipment, which can only fix and move the wafer a, even if they have a flipping function, they cannot directly and stably place the flipped wafer a on the carrier structure 1. The wafer pick-and-place device in this embodiment uses a carrier structure 1 with two support states combined with a simple flipping structure 2, so that the wafer pick-and-place structure 21 has four different wafer pick-and-place methods: grabbing, lifting, grabbing and placing, and lifting and placing. This facilitates the flipping of the wafer a face, facilitates the subsequent double-sided processing of the wafer a, and improves work efficiency.

[0059] Of course, the number of support pillars 13 can be set to more than three, as long as they can provide stable support for wafer a, and at least one of the multiple spaces formed between multiple adjacent support pillars 13 is large enough for the wafer loading and unloading structure 21 to extend into.

[0060] In a preferred embodiment, the above-mentioned load-bearing structure 1 further includes a rigid support 15 and a flexible support 16. The rigid support 15 is fixedly installed on the side of the load-bearing member 12 near the mounting platform 11, and the flexible support 16 is disposed on the side of the rigid support 15 away from the load-bearing member 12.

[0061] A bearing member 12 is fixedly mounted on the rigid support member 15 to stabilize it. The rigid support member 15 can be a ring, with the inner ring used to engage and fix the bearing member 12. Alternatively, the rigid support member 15 can be a solid circular plate, directly laid below the bearing member 12 to support it. The size of the rigid support member 15 can be smaller or larger than the bearing member 12. The output end of the structure used to drive the movement of both can be directly fixed to the bearing member 12 or the rigid support member 15, as long as it can drive the bearing member 12, the rigid support member 15, and the flexible support member 16 to rise and fall together. The flexible support member 16 is fixedly mounted on the lower surface of the rigid support member 15 to prevent the bearing member 12 and the rigid support member 15 from colliding and being damaged by the upper surface of the mounting platform 11 when moving downwards. Of course, the shape of the flexible support member 16 is not limited. For example, it can be two or more block-shaped structures spaced apart, or it can be a ring-shaped structure mounted on the lower surface of the rigid support member 15. It should be noted that the height of all parts of the flexible support member 16 should be consistent to enhance stability.

[0062] In one embodiment, the upper surfaces of the rigid support 15 and the carrier 12 are located on the same plane. The outer edge dimension of the rigid support 15 is larger than that of the carrier 12, meaning the size of the rigid support 15 is larger than that of the carrier 12. When the carrier 12 carries the wafer a, the wafer a will be located on the upper surface of the rigid support 15. At this time, when the wafer a needs to be processed, the wafer a will shift in position. Therefore, the carrier structure 1 is provided with a limiting structure 17. The limiting structure 17 is provided on the outer edge of the side surface of the rigid support 15 away from the mounting table 11 and extends in the direction away from the mounting table 11. That is, when the outer edge of the rigid support 15 is circular, the limiting structure 17 is a ring structure provided on the outer edge of the upper surface of the rigid support 15. Of course, when the rigid support 15 is set as a rectangular or other shaped structure, depending on the size of the wafer a, the limiting structure 17 is provided on the upper surface of the rigid support 15 rather than the outer edge to prevent the wafer a from shifting in position or even detaching from the carrier 12 during processing. At this time, the rigid support member 15 has a through hole suitable for the support column 13 to pass through. When the bearing member 12, the rigid support structure and the flexible support structure move downward synchronously, the support column 13 passes through the rigid support member 15 to avoid affecting the vertical lifting.

[0063] In one embodiment, the mounting platform 11, the carrier 12, the rigid support 15, and the limiting structure 17 are coaxially arranged, which facilitates installation and helps stabilize lifting and lowering when the structure for driving is positioned at the axis. The circles containing at least three support pillars 13 are concentric with the carrier 12, which helps to achieve stable transfer of wafer a during lifting and lowering of the carrier 12, avoiding the need for other structures for position adjustment and improving work efficiency.

[0064] Specifically, in this embodiment, the mounting platform 11 is configured as a ring-shaped structure, with a hollowed-out area in the middle suitable for the output end of the third drive structure 14 to pass through. The output end of the third drive structure 14 is coaxial with the mounting platform 11, the rigid support member 15, and the carrier member 12. The output end of the third drive structure 14 passes through the mounting platform 11 and is fixed to the lower surface of the rigid support member 15, driving the rigid support member 15 to move the carrier member 12 and the flexible support member 16 up and down. The third drive structure 14 is a linear drive motor or a linear hydraulic drive structure.

[0065] In one embodiment, such as Figure 1 As shown, the flipping structure 2 also includes: a first driving member 22, an execution structure 23, and a second driving structure 24. The first driving member 22 is adapted to drive the execution structure 23 to rotate in the horizontal direction and / or drive the execution structure 23 to extend and retract in the vertical direction. One end of the second driving structure 24 is fixedly mounted on the execution structure 23, and the other end of the second driving structure 24 is connected to the pick-and-place structure 21 to drive the pick-and-place structure 21 to rotate.

[0066] Specifically, in this embodiment, the mounting structure 25 of the flipping structure 2 is used to fix it to the device for mounting the wafer pick-and-place device. The mounting structure 25 is also provided with a control structure 26. The first drive mounting end 221 of the first drive member 22 is fixed on the lower surface of the mounting structure 25. The first drive mounting end 221 is movably connected to the first rotating plate 231 of the execution structure 23. The first drive output end 222 of the first drive member 22 can extend and retract up and down, thereby driving the execution structure 23 to move up and down. In addition, the rotation of the first drive output end 222 can drive the execution structure 23 to rotate around the axial direction of the first drive output end 222. The first rotating plate 231 and the second rotating plate 232 of the execution structure 23 are hinged together, and the control unit can control the relative rotation of the two. The second drive mounting end 241 is fixedly connected to the second rotating plate 232 of the execution structure 23. The second drive output end 242 is fixed to the wafer pick-and-place structure 21 to drive the wafer pick-and-place structure 21 to rotate around the axial direction of the second drive output end 242, thereby realizing the flipping of the wafer a fixed thereon.

[0067] The control structure 26 is electrically connected to the first drive element 22 and the second drive element to achieve drive control.

[0068] This embodiment also provides a double-sided chemical mechanical polishing system, including the aforementioned wafer loading and unloading device. The system includes: a detection module 100, a polishing module 200, a cleaning and drying module 300, a dry flipping structure 500, and a wet flipping structure 600. The detection module 100 includes a first support structure and a detection structure. The detection structure is disposed above the first support structure to scan and detect the wafer a placed on the first support structure. The polishing module 200 includes a second support structure and a polishing structure. The polishing structure includes a polishing pad and a polishing head. The polishing pad is mounted on the second support structure to polish the wafer a after inspection. The lower surface of wafer a, which is being inspected by the test module 100, is polished, and the polishing head is adapted to fix the upper surface of wafer a; the cleaning and drying module 300 includes a third support structure and a cleaning and drying structure, which is adapted to spray liquid and gaseous media onto wafer a, which is placed on the third support structure and has been processed by the polishing module 200; the dry flipping structure 500 is adapted to transfer wafer a between the chemical mechanical polishing system for double-sided processing and the external cassette 700; the wet flipping structure 600 is adapted to transfer wafer a between the test module 100, the polishing module 200 and the cleaning and drying module 300.

[0069] It is understood that the first bearing structure, the second bearing structure, and the third bearing structure in this embodiment are the same as the bearing structure 1 described above, and are used in different modules and include different processing structures; similarly, the dry flip structure 500 and the wet flip structure 600 are the same as the flip structure 2 described above in terms of structure itself, but have different effects when used in different modules.

[0070] The initial facets of wafer a in the external cartridge are front side up and back side down. In this embodiment, the chemical mechanical polishing system for double-sided processing processes the back side first and then the front side, so that the front side of wafer a, which has a higher weight, is processed last. This avoids damage that may be caused by subsequent processing steps during the pre-processing stage, and ensures the process quality of the front side of wafer a. After double-sided processing, the facets of wafer a are consistent with the initial facets, which facilitates subsequent process steps.

[0071] Specifically, in the aforementioned chemical mechanical polishing system, the detection structure of the detection module 100 is used to detect whether a wafer a is placed on the first support structure, ensuring that the process proceeds normally and the wafer a flows normally. The wet flipping structure 600 picks up the wafer a detected by the detection module 100 and places it on the second support structure of the polishing module 200. Of course, the polishing head of the polishing structure can also pick up the wafer a from the first support structure and transfer it to the second support structure. The polishing head and polishing pad fix the wafer a between them. The rotation of the polishing pad generates relative friction with the wafer a to achieve polishing treatment on the lower surface of the wafer a. After polishing, the wet flipping structure 600 picks up the wafer a, and one end of the pick-up adsorbs and fixes the wafer a. On the wet flip structure 600, wafer a is flipped 180° and then placed back on the second support structure to achieve polishing on the other side. At this time, the surface of wafer a is reversed from the initial state, and double-sided polishing is completed. The wet flip structure 600 takes out the double-sided polished wafer a and places it on the third support structure of the cleaning and drying device for cleaning and drying on one side. Then it is flipped to clean and dry the other side. After completion, the surface of wafer a is consistent with the initial state. Liquid medium is used to clean wafer a, and gaseous medium can be used to dry wafer a. Finally, the dry flip structure 500 puts the cleaned and dried wafer a back into the external card box 700. There is no need to perform surface processing on wafer a in the external card box 700 again.

[0072] Of course, it is not ruled out that the support structure 1 of this embodiment may not be used in the cleaning and drying device. Instead, a device that vertically fixes the wafer a may be used, which can simultaneously achieve cleaning and drying on both sides, saving time and improving processing efficiency. Then, the dry flipping structure 500 can be used to restore the surface of the wafer a to the initial state.

[0073] like Figure 4As shown, the system's process chambers are divided into an inspection zone A, a polishing zone B, and a cleaning and drying zone C. Inspection zone A and cleaning and drying zone C are located close to the external cassette 700. A dry flipping structure 500 is positioned between inspection zone A and cleaning and drying zone C, facilitating the transfer of wafer a between inspection zone A and the external cassette 700, and between cleaning and drying zone C and the external cassette 700. Polishing zone B is located away from the external cassette 700 to avoid contaminating the dried wafer a. The same equipment integrates an inspection module 100, a polishing module 200, and a cleaning and drying module 300. Both the dry flipping structure 500 and the wet flipping structure 600 can perform various types of wafer loading and unloading when applied to each module, eliminating the need for an additional wafer flipper. This allows for double-sided processing of wafer a in each module, with all wafer a surfaces flipped consistently, enabling seamless transitions to subsequent processes and improving the efficiency of double-sided wafer a processing. Furthermore, the dry-in, dry-out operation of wafer a helps ensure wafer a quality, thereby enabling large-scale mass production and capacity expansion.

[0074] In one embodiment, based on the above scheme, a transfer module 400 is further included. The transfer module 400 includes a fourth support structure and a flushing structure. The fourth support structure is adapted to receive the wafer a from the polishing module 200, and the flushing structure is adapted to flush the wafer a from the polishing module 200.

[0075] Specifically, such as Figure 4 As shown, the transfer module 400 is located in the polishing area B. It can receive the wafer a that has been polished on one side in the polishing module 200 and perform preliminary liquid rinsing on the wafer a to remove impurities, so as to avoid affecting the polishing module 200's polishing of the other side of the wafer a, thereby improving the quality of the polishing process of the wafer a. At the same time, liquid rinsing causes less contamination to the chamber than gas purging.

[0076] Of course, multiple transfer modules 400 can simultaneously perform the rinsing process of multiple polishing modules 200 wafers a.

[0077] This embodiment provides a chemical mechanical polishing method for double-sided processing, which can be used in the above-described double-sided mechanical polishing method. Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a double-sided chemical mechanical polishing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, such as... Figure 5 As shown, the process includes the following steps:

[0078] In step S501, the dry flipping structure 500 takes out the wafer a from the external card box 700 and places it on the first support structure of the detection module 100, so that the wafer a is facing upwards.

[0079] The detection structure of the detection module 100 is used to detect whether a wafer a is placed on the first support structure, so as to facilitate the smooth progress of subsequent steps and ensure the effective transfer of wafer a. At this time, wafer a is consistent with the initial state surface.

[0080] In step S502, the wet flipping structure 600 picks up the wafer a on the first support structure and places it on the second support structure of the polishing module 200, resulting in a wafer a with the front side facing up and the back side facing down, with the back side of the wafer a facing the polishing pad of the polishing structure.

[0081] The second support structure is provided with a polishing structure including a polishing head and a polishing pad. The polishing head presses the wafer a onto the polishing pad, at which point the wafer a is consistent with the initial state surface.

[0082] Step S503: The polishing structure polishes the back side of wafer a.

[0083] Wafer a is placed on the first support member of the first support structure. The polishing pad rotates and generates relative friction with wafer a. The chemical treatment liquid further polishes between the polishing pad and wafer a. At this time, wafer a is consistent with the initial state surface.

[0084] In step S504, the wet flipping structure 600 picks up the wafer a, whose back side has been polished, from the second support structure, flips the wafer a, and places it back on the second support structure to obtain a wafer a with its back side facing up and its front side facing down, with the front side of the wafer a facing the polishing pad of the polishing structure.

[0085] The second support member of the second support structure descends, and the wafer a, whose back side has been polished, is lifted by the second support column. The wet flipping structure 600 extends between the wafer a and the second support member, picks up and fixes the wafer a, flips it, and then places it on the second support column of the second support structure. The second support member rises, and the polishing pad on the second support member contacts the unpolished front side of the wafer a, while the back side of the wafer a contacts the polishing head. At this time, the wafer a is in the opposite direction to its initial state.

[0086] In step S505, the polishing structure polishes the front side of wafer a to obtain a double-sided polished wafer a. At this time, the surface arrangement of wafer a is reversed compared to the initial state.

[0087] In step S506, the wet flipping structure 600 picks up the wafer a that has been polished on both sides on the second support structure, flips the wafer a and places it on the third support structure of the cleaning and drying module 300, so that the wafer a is facing upwards.

[0088] The second support member of the second support structure descends, and the polished wafer a is lifted by the second support column. The wet flipping structure 600 extends between the wafer a and the second support member, picks up and fixes the wafer a, flips it, and then places it on the third support structure. The wafer a is lifted by the third support column of the third support structure, and at this time the wafer a is consistent with the initial state surface.

[0089] In step S507, the cleaning and drying structure cleans the double-sided polished wafer a with a liquid medium and then dries the cleaned wafer a by blowing with a gas medium. Since the wafer a is in a suspended state, it can achieve double-sided cleaning and drying without flipping it again. At this time, the wafer a has the same surface as the initial state.

[0090] In step S508, the dry flip structure 500 places the cleaned and dried wafer a back into the external cartridge 700. At this point, wafer a is aligned with its initial state.

[0091] The aforementioned double-sided chemical mechanical polishing method processes both the front and back sides of wafer a in the same cassette sequentially without the aid of any external tools. This highly efficient process helps ensure the quality of the front side of wafer a and guarantees dry-in and dry-out of wafer a. The order and facets of wafer a after processing remain consistent with the initial state, facilitating subsequent processes. The smooth and efficient flow of wafer a improves the system's applicability and processing efficiency.

[0092] In some alternative implementations, such as Figure 6 As shown, step S504 above includes:

[0093] In step S5041, the wet flipping structure 600 picks up the wafer a, whose back side has been polished, from the second support structure and places it on the fourth support structure of the transfer module 400. The rinsing structure of the transfer module 400 rinses the wafer a to obtain a wafer a with the front side facing up.

[0094] The second support member of the second support structure descends, and wafer a is lifted by the second support column. The pick-and-place structure 21 of the wet flipping structure 600 extends between wafer a and the second support member, fixes wafer a and transfers it to the fourth support structure of the transfer module 400. The rinsing structure performs preliminary liquid rinsing on wafer a to remove impurities, so as to avoid affecting the polishing module 200's polishing process on the other side of wafer a, and improve the quality of wafer a's polishing process. At this time, wafer a is consistent with the initial state surface.

[0095] In step S5042, the wet flipping structure 600 flips the wafer a and places the wafer a back onto the fourth support structure to obtain the wafer a with the back side facing up.

[0096] The wet flip structure 600 flips wafer a at the position of the transfer module 400 to avoid affecting the polishing process of other wafers a at the polishing module 200. At this time, wafer a has the opposite facet to its initial state.

[0097] In step S5043, the wet flipping structure 600 or the polishing head picks up the wafer a on the fourth support structure and places it on the second support structure again, resulting in wafer a with the back side facing up and the front side facing down, with the front side of wafer a facing the polishing pad of the polishing structure.

[0098] The orderly polishing of the first side of the polishing module 200, the liquid rinsing and flipping of the transfer module 400, and the polishing of the second side of the polishing module 200 within the polishing zone B help ensure that multiple operations can be carried out simultaneously, thereby improving processing efficiency.

[0099] In some alternative implementations, such as Figure 6 As shown, step S506 above includes:

[0100] In step S5061, the wet flipping structure 600 picks up the wafer a, which has been polished on the front side, from the second support structure and places it on the fourth support structure of the transfer module 400. The rinsing structure of the transfer module 400 rinses the wafer a to obtain a wafer a with the back side facing up.

[0101] In step S5062, the wet flipping structure 600 flips the wafer a and places the wafer a on the third support structure to obtain the wafer a with the front side facing up.

[0102] After double-sided polishing, wafer a is placed on the transfer module 400 for initial rinsing and cleaning. Both sides of wafer a can be rinsed and cleaned here, improving the quality of wafer a.

[0103] In the above description, although various embodiments have been described separately, this does not mean that the measures in the various embodiments cannot be used advantageously in combination. Although embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and such modifications and variations all fall within the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A device for picking up and placing films, characterized in that, include: A support structure (1) includes a mounting platform (11), a support member (12) disposed on the mounting platform (11), and at least three support columns (13). The support member (12) is adapted to slide in a direction perpendicular to the mounting platform (11) under drive. At least three support columns (13) are disposed at intervals along the outer edge of the support member (12) on the mounting platform (11). At least three support columns (13) are adapted to support a wafer (a). When the support member (12) is driven to slide away from the mounting platform (11) to a bearing state, the plane of the support member (12) is higher than the plane of the end of the support column (13) away from the mounting platform (11). The flip structure (2) includes a pick-and-place structure (21) adapted to be driven to extend between the carrier (12) and the wafer (a) to remove the wafer (a) from the carrier structure (1), or to fix the wafer (a) to the pick-and-place structure (21) and then flip it and put it back onto the carrier structure (1).

2. The wafer picking and placing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The load-bearing structure (1) also includes: A rigid support (15) and a flexible support (16) are provided. The rigid support (15) is fixedly installed on the side of the bearing (12) near the mounting platform (11), and the flexible support (16) is disposed on the side of the rigid support (15) away from the bearing (12).

3. The wafer picking and placing device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The outer edge dimension of the rigid support member (15) is larger than the outer edge dimension of the bearing member (12); The bearing structure (1) further includes a limiting structure (17), which is disposed on the side surface of the rigid support member (15) away from the mounting platform (11) and extends in the direction away from the mounting platform (11); the support column (13) passes through the rigid support member (15).

4. The wafer picking and placing device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The mounting platform (11), the bearing member (12), the rigid support member (15), and the limiting structure (17) are coaxially arranged; the circles containing at least three of the support columns (13) are concentric with the bearing member (12).

5. The plate-taking and placing device according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The flip structure (2) also includes: A first driving member (22) and an actuating structure (23), wherein the first driving member (22) is adapted to drive the actuating structure (23) to rotate in the horizontal direction and / or drive the actuating structure (23) to extend and retract in the vertical direction; The second drive structure (24) has one end fixedly mounted on the execution structure (23), and the other end of the second drive structure (24) is connected to the pick-and-place structure (21) to drive the pick-and-place structure (21) to rotate.

6. A double-sided chemical mechanical polishing system, comprising the wafer loading and unloading device as described in any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, include: The detection module (100) includes a first support structure and a detection structure, wherein the detection structure is disposed above the first support structure to scan and detect the wafer (a) placed on the first support structure; A polishing module (200) includes a second support structure and a polishing structure. The polishing structure includes a polishing pad and a polishing head. The polishing pad is mounted on the second support structure to polish the lower surface of a wafer (a) that has been inspected by the inspection module (100). The polishing head is adapted to fix the upper surface of the wafer (a). A cleaning and drying module (300) includes a third support structure and a cleaning and drying structure, the cleaning and drying structure being adapted to spray liquid and gaseous media onto a wafer (a) placed on the third support structure and processed by the polishing module (200); A dry flip structure (500) is suitable for transferring wafers (a) between a chemical mechanical polishing system for double-sided processing and an external cartridge (700); A wet flip structure (600) is adapted to transfer wafers (a) between the detection module (100), the polishing module (200), and the cleaning and drying module (300).

7. The double-sided chemical mechanical polishing system according to claim 6, characterized in that, Also includes: The transfer module (400) includes a fourth support structure and a flushing structure, the fourth support structure being adapted to receive a wafer (a) from the polishing module (200), and the flushing structure being adapted to flush the wafer (a) from the polishing module (200).

8. A double-sided chemical mechanical polishing method, employing the double-sided chemical mechanical polishing system as described in claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: The dry flip structure (500) takes out the wafer (a) from the external cartridge (700) and places it on the first support structure of the detection module (100) to obtain a wafer (a) with the front side facing up; The wet flip structure (600) picks up the wafer (a) on the first support structure and places it on the second support structure of the polishing module (200) to obtain a wafer (a) with the front side facing up and the back side facing down, wherein the back side of the wafer (a) faces the polishing pad of the polishing structure. The polishing structure polishes the back side of the wafer (a); The wet flipping structure (600) picks up the wafer (a) whose back side has been polished on the second support structure, flips the wafer (a) and places it on the second support structure again to obtain a wafer (a) with the back side facing up and the front side facing down, with the front side of the wafer (a) facing the polishing pad of the polishing structure. The polishing structure polishes the front side of the wafer (a) to obtain a double-sided polished wafer (a); The wet flipping structure (600) picks up the wafer (a) that has been polished on both sides on the second support structure, flips the wafer (a) and places it on the third support structure of the cleaning and drying module (300) to obtain a wafer (a) with the front side facing up. The cleaning and drying structure uses liquid and gaseous media to clean and dry the wafer (a) after double-sided polishing; The dry flip structure (500) places the cleaned and dried wafer (a) back into the external cartridge (700).

9. The chemical mechanical polishing method for double-sided processing according to claim 8, characterized in that, The wet flipping structure (600) picks up a wafer (a) whose back side has been polished on the second support structure, flips the wafer (a) and places it back on the second support structure, resulting in a wafer (a) with its back side facing up and its front side facing down. The polishing pad of the polishing structure, with the front side of the wafer (a) facing up, includes: The wet flipping structure (600) picks up the wafer (a) whose back side has been polished on the second support structure and places it on the fourth support structure of the transfer module (400). The flushing structure of the transfer module (400) flushes the wafer (a) to obtain the wafer (a) with the front side facing up. The wet flip structure (600) flips the wafer (a) and places the wafer (a) back on the fourth support structure to obtain a wafer (a) with the back side facing up; The wet flipping structure (600) or the polishing head picks up the wafer (a) on the fourth support structure and places it on the second support structure again, resulting in a wafer (a) with the back side facing up and the front side facing down, with the front side of the wafer (a) facing the polishing pad of the polishing structure.

10. The chemical mechanical polishing method for double-sided processing according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The wet flipping structure (600) picks up the double-sided polished wafer (a) from the second support structure, flips the wafer (a) and places it onto the third support structure of the cleaning and drying module (300), resulting in a wafer (a) with the front side facing up, comprising: The wet flipping structure (600) picks up the double-sided polished wafer (a) on the second support structure and places it on the fourth support structure of the transfer module (400). The flushing structure of the transfer module (400) flushes the wafer (a) to obtain a wafer (a) with the back side facing up. The wet flip structure (600) flips the wafer (a) and places the wafer (a) on the third support structure to obtain a wafer (a) with the front side facing up.

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