Wafer auto-polishing system

Abstract

This application discloses an automated wafer polishing system, relating to the field of optical wafer fabrication technology. The device includes a frame, an automatic loading and unloading mechanism, a cleaning mechanism, a first control mechanism, and two double-sided polishing machines. Transverse linear guides are respectively arranged on both sides of the frame. The automatic loading and unloading mechanism includes a basket loading and unloading mechanism, a wafer loading and unloading mechanism, a planetary wheel buffer mechanism, and a polishing machine loading and unloading mechanism. The basket loading and unloading mechanism includes a basket loading mechanism and a basket unloading mechanism respectively located at one end of the frame. The wafer loading and unloading mechanism includes a four-axis robotic arm and wafer grippers. The planetary wheel buffer mechanism includes a planetary wheel loading buffer and a planetary wheel unloading buffer. The polishing machine loading and unloading mechanism includes a six-axis robotic arm, a suction cup, and a vision positioning device. The two double-sided polishing machines are located on both sides of the frame. This application can effectively solve the technical problems of product traceability, low production efficiency, and high labor intensity for workers.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of optical wafer fabrication technology, and in particular to an automated wafer polishing system. Background Technology

[0002] Double-sided polishing machines are widely used for processing crystals or other mechanical parts with two parallel sides, such as sapphire, silicon crystals, ceramic wafers, and metal materials, especially thin and brittle materials. In the processing of sapphire substrates, the double-sided polishing process of the wafer is crucial. However, current polishing equipment suffers from problems such as the planetary wheel's revolution and rotation, making precise positioning of the planetary wheel on the polishing disc impossible. Furthermore, the polishing fluid also affects the machine's operation. Loading and unloading the polishing equipment must be done manually, which leads to issues such as lack of product traceability, low production efficiency, and high labor intensity for workers. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application aims to address at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, this application proposes an automated wafer grinding system that can effectively solve the technical problems of untraceable products, low production efficiency, and high labor intensity for workers.

[0004] This application provides an automated wafer polishing system, including a frame, an automatic loading and unloading mechanism, a cleaning mechanism, a first control mechanism, and two double-sided polishing machines;

[0005] The frame is provided with transverse linear guide rails on both sides, and the automatic loading and unloading mechanism includes a basket loading and unloading mechanism, a wafer loading and unloading mechanism, a planetary wheel buffer mechanism, and a grinding machine loading and unloading mechanism.

[0006] The basket loading and unloading mechanism includes a basket loading mechanism and a basket unloading mechanism respectively disposed on one end of the frame. The wafer loading and unloading mechanism includes a four-axis robot and a wafer gripper. The four-axis robot is disposed between the basket loading mechanism and the basket unloading mechanism on the frame. The wafer gripper is connected to the four-axis robot.

[0007] The planetary wheel buffer mechanism includes a planetary wheel loading buffer and a planetary wheel unloading buffer. Each of the transverse linear guide rails is provided with a first slider and a second slider. The bottom of the planetary wheel loading buffer is connected to the two first sliders respectively, and the bottom of the planetary wheel unloading buffer is connected to the two second sliders respectively. The height of the first slider is greater than the sum of the heights of the second sliders and the planetary wheel unloading buffer. The planetary wheel unloading buffer can pass under the planetary wheel loading buffer. Both the planetary wheel loading buffer and the planetary wheel unloading buffer are used to place the planetary wheel.

[0008] The grinding machine loading and unloading mechanism includes a six-axis robot, a suction cup, and a vision positioning device. The six-axis robot is located on the frame at the end away from the four-axis robot. All transverse linear guides are located on the frame, with the length direction of the transverse linear guides aligned with the length direction of the frame. The transverse linear guides are located between the four-axis robot and the six-axis robot. The suction cup is connected to the six-axis robot. The vision positioning device is located on the sixth axis of the six-axis robot and connected to the sixth axis of the six-axis robot.

[0009] Two double-sided grinding machines are arranged on both sides of the frame near the six-axis robot. The frame and the two double-sided grinding machines are combined to form a T-shaped structure. Each double-sided grinding machine is equipped with a smearing mechanism. The cleaning mechanism is connected to the end of the frame near the six-axis robot. The first control mechanism is communicatively connected to the four-axis robot, the six-axis robot, the double-sided grinding machine, the planetary wheel loading buffer, and the planetary wheel unloading buffer.

[0010] The basket feeding mechanism is used to place multiple wafers to be ground. The four-axis robot arm is used to grip the multiple wafers to be ground using the wafer grippers and arrange them sequentially in the wafer positioning holes of the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer. The first slider is used to move the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer and the multiple wafers to be ground on the corresponding transverse linear guide rail to the grinding machine feeding position close to the six-axis robot arm. The six-axis robot arm is used to grip the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer and the wafers to be ground on the planetary wheel using the suction cup and place them on the corresponding double-sided grinding machine. The double-sided grinding machine is used to perform double-sided grinding of the wafers to be ground. The smearing mechanism is used to brush the displaced wafers to be ground on the planetary wheel of the corresponding double-sided grinding machine into the wafer positioning holes, and after the wafers to be ground are ground, the first slider is used to move the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer and the multiple wafers to be ground on the corresponding transverse linear guide rail to the grinding machine feeding position. The polishing slurry on the star wheel is brushed off; the visual positioning device is used to acquire the position and attitude signal of the star wheel that has completed polishing on the double-sided polishing machine, and output the position and attitude signal to the six-axis robot. The six-axis robot is also used to pick up the star wheel and the target wafer on the star wheel that has completed polishing on the double-sided polishing machine according to the position and attitude signal and place them into the cleaning mechanism for cleaning. After the star wheel and the target wafer are cleaned, the six-axis robot is also used to pick up the star wheel and the target wafer and place them into the star wheel unloading buffer; the second slider is used to move the star wheel unloading buffer, the star wheel and the target wafer to the wafer unloading position close to the four-axis robot. The four-axis robot is used to pick up the target wafer on each star wheel in the star wheel unloading buffer in sequence and place it into the basket unloading mechanism.

[0011] According to some embodiments of this application, the planetary wheel feeding buffer includes a first support platform, a first indexing turntable, and a plurality of first planetary wheel buffer turntables. The first indexing turntable is disposed on the first support platform, and the plurality of first planetary wheel buffer turntables are evenly distributed on the first indexing turntable. The first planetary wheel buffer turntables are used to place the planetary wheel.

[0012] According to some embodiments of this application, the planetary wheel feeding buffer includes a second support platform, a second indexing turntable, and a plurality of second planetary wheel buffer turntables. The second indexing turntable is disposed on the second support platform, and the plurality of second planetary wheel buffer turntables are evenly distributed on the second indexing turntable. The second planetary wheel buffer turntables are used to place the planetary wheel.

[0013] According to some embodiments of this application, each of the first planetary wheel buffer turntable and the second planetary wheel buffer turntable is provided with at least two planetary wheel positioning pins, which are used to limit the corresponding planetary wheel.

[0014] According to some embodiments of this application, the flower basket feeding mechanism includes a bracket, a support plate, a cylinder horizontal mounting plate, at least two cylinder vertical mounting plates, multiple flower baskets, multiple pressing cylinders, and multiple pressure plates. The bracket is mounted on the frame, the support plate is mounted on the bracket, the two cylinder vertical mounting plates are respectively mounted on both sides of the support plate, the cylinder horizontal mounting plate is mounted on the two cylinder vertical mounting plates, the multiple flower baskets are arranged side by side at intervals on the support plate, the flower baskets, the pressing cylinders, and the pressure plates correspond one-to-one, the multiple pressing cylinders are arranged side by side at intervals on the cylinder horizontal mounting plate, the pressure plates are mounted on the corresponding flower baskets, and the piston rods of the pressing cylinders pass through the cylinder horizontal mounting plate, the pressure plates, and the flower baskets in sequence.

[0015] According to some embodiments of this application, the flower basket feeding mechanism further includes a plurality of flower basket positioning blocks, with each flower basket corresponding to one of the flower basket positioning blocks. The flower basket positioning blocks are respectively connected to the bottom of the corresponding flower basket and the support plate, and the flower basket positioning blocks are used to fix and limit the flower basket.

[0016] According to some embodiments of this application, the cleaning mechanism includes a cleaning tank and a cleaning pump nozzle unit. The nozzle unit includes a cleaning fluid delivery pipeline and multiple cleaning nozzles. One end of the cleaning fluid is connected to an external cleaning tank via a cleaning pump, and the other end of the cleaning fluid is connected to multiple cleaning nozzles. The multiple cleaning nozzles are located inside the cleaning tank.

[0017] According to some embodiments of this application, the smearing mechanism includes a column, a cantilever, a brush mounting bracket, a brush, a vertical drive cylinder, and two vertical linear guides. The column is mounted on the corresponding double-sided grinding machine. The cantilever is connected to the top of the column. The two vertical linear guides are located at both ends of the cantilever. The two ends of the brush mounting bracket are slidably connected to the two vertical linear guides. The brush is mounted on the bottom of the brush mounting bracket. The vertical drive cylinder...

[0018] According to some embodiments of this application, the smearing mechanism further includes a rotatable connector, through which the cantilever and the column are connected.

[0019] According to some embodiments of this application, the suction cup component is provided with a wafer suction cup and a planetary wheel suction cup.

[0020] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: the basket feeding mechanism is used to place multiple wafers to be ground; the four-axis robot is used to grip the multiple wafers to be ground using wafer grippers and arrange them sequentially in the wafer positioning holes of the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer; the first slider is used to move the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer and the multiple wafers to be ground on the corresponding transverse linear guide rails to the grinding machine feeding position close to the six-axis robot; the six-axis robot is used to grip the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer and the wafers to be ground on the planetary wheel using suction cups and place them on the corresponding double-sided grinding machine; the double-sided grinding machine is used to perform double-sided grinding of the wafers to be ground; and the smearing mechanism is used to brush the displaced wafers to be ground on the planetary wheel of the corresponding double-sided grinding machine into the wafer positioning holes, and to grind the wafers to be ground. After grinding, the grinding fluid on the planetary wheel is brushed off. The vision positioning device is used to acquire the position and attitude signal of the planetary wheel that has been ground on the double-sided grinding machine, and outputs the position and attitude signal to the six-axis robot. The six-axis robot is also used to pick up the planetary wheel and the target wafer on the planetary wheel that has been ground on the double-sided grinding machine according to the position and attitude signal and place them into the cleaning mechanism for cleaning. After the planetary wheel and the target wafer are cleaned, the six-axis robot is also used to pick up the planetary wheel and the target wafer and place them into the planetary wheel unloading buffer. The second slider is used to move the planetary wheel unloading buffer, the planetary wheel and the target wafer to the wafer unloading position close to the four-axis robot. The four-axis robot is used to pick up the target wafer on each planetary wheel in the planetary wheel unloading buffer in sequence and place it into the basket unloading mechanism. This application utilizes a system that replaces manual labor in loading and unloading double-sided grinding machines, reducing the workload of workers and enabling the automatic wafer grinding system to operate continuously 24 hours a day, thus improving production efficiency. At the same time, the products are traceable, effectively solving the technical problems of products being untraceable, low production efficiency, and high labor intensity for workers.

[0021] Additional aspects and advantages of this application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Additional aspects and advantages of this application will become apparent and readily understood in conjunction with the following description of the embodiments, in which:

[0023] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an automated wafer polishing system provided for an embodiment of this application;

[0024] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the combined frame and automatic loading / unloading mechanism provided for an embodiment of this application;

[0025] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of the basket feeding mechanism provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0026] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the smearing mechanism provided for an embodiment of this application;

[0027] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the cleaning mechanism provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0028] Figure label:

[0029] Frame 100, transverse linear guide rail 110, first slider 120, second slider 130, four-axis robot 140, wafer gripper 150, six-axis robot 160, suction cup 170, vision positioning device 180;

[0030] Flower basket feeding mechanism 200, support plate 210, cylinder horizontal mounting plate 220, cylinder vertical mounting plate 230, flower basket 240, pressing cylinder 250, pressure plate 260, flower basket positioning block 270, bracket 280.

[0031] Planetary wheel feed buffer 300, first support stage 310, first indexing rotary table 320, first planetary wheel buffer rotary table 330, wafer to be ground 340;

[0032] Planetary wheel unloading buffer 400, second support stage 410, second indexing rotary table 420, target chip 430;

[0033] Wiping mechanism 500, column 510, cantilever 520, brush mounting bracket 530, brush 540, vertical drive cylinder 550, vertical linear guide rail 560;

[0034] Cleaning mechanism 600, cleaning tank 610, cleaning pump nozzle unit 620;

[0035] Double-sided grinding machine 700, basket feeding mechanism 800. Detailed Implementation

[0036] The embodiments of this application are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain this application, and should not be construed as limiting this application.

[0037] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the orientation descriptions, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0038] In the description of this application, the use of "first" and "second" is for the purpose of distinguishing technical features only, and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated or the order of the technical features indicated.

[0039] In the description of this application, unless otherwise expressly defined, terms such as "setup," "installation," and "connection" should be interpreted broadly, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above terms in this application in conjunction with the specific content of the technical solution.

[0040] Double-sided polishing machines are widely used for processing crystals or other mechanical parts with two parallel sides, such as sapphire, silicon crystals, ceramic wafers, and metal materials, especially thin and brittle materials. In the processing of sapphire substrates, the double-sided polishing process of the wafer is crucial. However, current polishing equipment suffers from problems such as the planetary wheel's revolution and rotation, making precise positioning of the planetary wheel on the polishing disc impossible. Furthermore, the polishing fluid also affects the machine's operation. Loading and unloading the polishing equipment must be done manually, which leads to issues such as lack of product traceability, low production efficiency, and high labor intensity for workers.

[0041] To address the aforementioned problems, this application proposes an automated wafer polishing system. The embodiments of this application will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0042] Reference Figures 1 to 2This application provides an automated wafer polishing system, including a frame 100, an automatic loading and unloading mechanism, a cleaning mechanism 600, a control device, and two double-sided polishing machines 700. Horizontal linear guides 110 are respectively provided on both sides of the frame 100. The automatic loading and unloading mechanism includes a basket loading and unloading mechanism, a wafer loading and unloading mechanism, a planetary wheel buffer mechanism, and a polishing machine loading and unloading mechanism. The basket loading and unloading mechanism includes a basket loading mechanism 200 and a basket unloading mechanism 800 respectively provided at one end of the frame 100. The wafer loading and unloading mechanism includes a four-axis robot arm 140 and a wafer gripper 150. The four-axis robot arm 140 is mounted on the basket on the frame 100. Between the feeding mechanism 200 and the basket unloading mechanism 800, the wafer gripper 150 is connected to the four-axis robot arm 140; the planetary wheel buffer mechanism includes a planetary wheel feeding buffer 300 and a planetary wheel unloading buffer 400. Each transverse linear guide rail 110 is provided with a first slider 120 and a second slider 130. The bottom of the planetary wheel feeding buffer 300 is connected to the two first sliders 120 respectively, and the bottom of the planetary wheel unloading buffer 400 is connected to the two second sliders 130 respectively. The height of the first slider 120 is greater than the sum of the heights of the second sliders 130 and the planetary wheel unloading buffer 400. The planetary wheel unloading buffer 400 can... The planetary wheel loading buffer 300 passes underneath, and both the planetary wheel loading buffer 300 and the planetary wheel unloading buffer 400 are used to hold the planetary wheel. The grinding machine loading and unloading mechanism includes a six-axis robot 160, a suction cup 170, and a vision positioning device 180. The six-axis robot 160 is located on the frame 100 at the end away from the four-axis robot 140. The transverse linear guides 110 are all set on the frame 100, and the length direction of the transverse linear guides 110 is consistent with the length direction of the frame 100. The transverse linear guides 110 are all located between the four-axis robot 140 and the six-axis robot 160. The suction cup 170 is connected to the six-axis robot 160. The visual positioning device 180 is located on the sixth axis of the six-axis robot 160 and connected to the sixth axis of the six-axis robot 160; two double-sided grinding machines 700 are located on both sides of the frame 100 near the six-axis robot 160. The frame 100 and the two double-sided grinding machines 700 are combined to form a T-shaped structure. Each double-sided grinding machine 700 is equipped with a smearing mechanism 500. The cleaning mechanism 600 is connected to one end of the frame 100 near the six-axis robot 160. The control device is communicatively connected to the four-axis robot 140, the six-axis robot 160, the double-sided grinding machine 700, the planetary wheel loading buffer 300, and the planetary wheel unloading buffer 400.The basket feeding mechanism 200 is used to place multiple wafers 340 to be ground. The four-axis robot 140 is used to pick up the multiple wafers 340 to be ground by the wafer gripper 150 and arrange them in sequence in the wafer positioning holes of the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer 300. The first slider 120 is used to move the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer 300 and the multiple wafers 340 to be ground on the corresponding transverse linear guide rail 110 to the grinding machine feeding position close to the six-axis robot 160. The six-axis robot 160 is used to pick up the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer 300 and the wafers 340 to be ground on the planetary wheel by the suction cup 170 and place them on the corresponding double-sided grinding machine 700. The double-sided grinding machine 700 is used to perform double-sided grinding of the wafers 340. The smearing mechanism 500 is used to brush the displaced wafers 340 on the planetary wheel of the corresponding double-sided grinding machine 700 into the wafer positioning holes and after the wafers 340 are ground. After completion, the polishing slurry on the planetary wheel is brushed off. The visual positioning device 180 is used to acquire the position and attitude signal of the planetary wheel that has completed polishing on the double-sided polishing machine 700, and outputs the position and attitude signal to the six-axis robot 160. The six-axis robot 160 is also used to pick up the planetary wheel and the target wafer 430 on the planetary wheel that has completed polishing on the double-sided polishing machine 700 according to the position and attitude signal and place them into the cleaning mechanism 600 for cleaning. After the planetary wheel and the target wafer 430 are cleaned, the six-axis robot 160 is also used to pick up the planetary wheel and the target wafer 430 and place them into the planetary wheel unloading buffer 400. The second slider 130 is used to move the planetary wheel unloading buffer 400, the planetary wheel and the target wafer 430 to the wafer unloading position close to the four-axis robot 140. The four-axis robot 140 is used to pick up the target wafer 430 on each planetary wheel in the planetary wheel unloading buffer 400 in sequence and place it into the basket unloading mechanism 800.

[0043] Specifically, in the first step, the basket 240 containing the wafers to be ground 340 and the empty basket 240 are manually placed on the basket loading mechanism 200 and the basket unloading mechanism 800 respectively and pressed firmly. In the second step, the controller of one of the two double-sided grinding machines 700 sends a grinding request signal to the control device. The control device sends a signal to the four-axis robot 140 to grab the wafers to be ground 340 according to the grinding request signal. After the four-axis robot 140 grabs multiple wafers to be ground 340 from the basket loading mechanism 200 through the wafer gripper 150, they are arranged in sequence on the planetarium. After the wafer is positioned in the positioning hole of the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel loading buffer 300, the planetary wheel loading buffer 300 is controlled to slide on the linear guide rail to the grinding machine loading position close to the six-axis robot 160. The control device sends a grinding loading signal to the six-axis robot 160 according to the grinding request signal. In the third step, the six-axis robot 160 uses the suction cup 170 to grab the planetary wheel on the first disk of the planetary wheel loading buffer 300 and the wafer 340 to be ground on the planetary wheel, and places it on the first station on the lower turntable of the double-sided grinding machine 700 corresponding to the grinding request signal. The lower turntable of the grinding machine 700 rotates 72°, and the six-axis robot arm 160 then grabs the planetary wheel and the wafer 340 to be ground from the second plate of the planetary wheel loading buffer 300 and places them to the second station of the double-sided grinding machine 700. The lower turntable of the double-sided grinding machine 700 then rotates 72° to place the third plate, and so on to complete all loading tasks. In the fourth step, after the double-sided grinding machine 700 has finished loading, the wafer smearing mechanism 500 corresponding to the double-sided grinding machine 700 rotates to the wafer smearing position. Under the rotation of the lower turntable of the double-sided grinding machine 700, the wafer 340 to be ground on the planetary wheel is moved to the smearing position. Step 340: The smear is applied into the wafer positioning hole. After this action is completed, the smearing mechanism 500 resets. Step 5: The double-sided polishing machine 700 starts polishing. After polishing is completed, the target wafer 430 is obtained. The upper turntable of the double-sided polishing machine 700 rises, the smearing mechanism 500 rotates to the smearing position, the smearing mechanism 500 moves down, and under the rotation of the lower turntable of the double-sided polishing machine 700, the target wafer 430 that has moved up the planetary wheel is applied into the wafer positioning hole. At the same time, the polishing liquid on the target wafer 430 and the planetary wheel is brushed away. After the smearing action is completed, the smearing mechanism 500 resets.In the sixth step, the double-sided grinding machine 700 rotates its lower turntable back to the first loading / unloading station. The double-sided grinding machine 700 sends a grinding and unloading signal to the six-axis robot 160 via a control device. The vision positioning device 180 on the six-axis robot 160 takes a picture to determine the position and attitude of the planetary wheel on the first station of the double-sided grinding machine 700. Then, it adjusts the position of the suction cup 170, grabs the planetary wheel and target wafer 430 from the first station, and sends them to the cleaning mechanism 600 for cleaning. After cleaning by the cleaning mechanism 600, the six-axis robot 160 places the planetary wheel and target wafer 430 into the planetary wheel unloading buffer 400, completing the first unloading operation. The grinding machine's lower turntable rotates another 72°, and the vision positioning device 180 on the six-axis robot arm 160 takes a picture to determine the position and posture of the planetary wheel on the second station of the double-sided grinding machine 700, completing the second platen unloading. This process is repeated to complete all unloading tasks. In the seventh step, the planetary wheel unloading buffer 400 is controlled to move on the transverse linear guide rail 110 to the wafer unloading position close to the four-axis robot arm 140. Then, the four-axis robot arm 140 sequentially picks up the target wafers 430 from each planetary wheel in the planetary wheel unloading buffer 400 and places them into the empty basket 240 of the basket unloading mechanism 800. Finally, steps one through seven are repeated.

[0044] It should be noted that the planetary wheel loading buffer 300 and planetary wheel unloading buffer 400 in the planetary wheel buffer mechanism are vertically and horizontally shuttle-moving structures, moving alternately between the wafer loading / unloading mechanism and the grinding machine loading / unloading mechanism.

[0045] This application utilizes a system that replaces manual labor in loading and unloading the double-sided polishing machine 700, reducing the workload of workers and enabling the automatic wafer polishing system to operate continuously for 24 hours a day, thus improving production efficiency. At the same time, the product is traceable, which effectively solves the technical problems of product traceability, low production efficiency, and high labor intensity for workers.

[0046] Reference Figure 2 It is understood that the planetary wheel loading buffer 300 includes a first support platform 310, a first indexing turntable 320 and a plurality of first planetary wheel buffer turntables 330. The first indexing turntable 320 is disposed on the first support platform 310, and the plurality of first planetary wheel buffer turntables 330 are evenly distributed on the first indexing turntable 320. The first planetary wheel buffer turntables 330 are used to place the planetary wheel.

[0047] In some embodiments, each planetary wheel loading buffer 300 is provided with five first planetary wheel buffer turntables 330, and each first planetary wheel buffer turntable 330 is provided with a corresponding planetary wheel. When the four-axis robot 140 sequentially arranges the planetary wheels on the first planetary wheel buffer turntable 330 into each wafer positioning hole, after the first planetary wheel buffer turntable 330 is full, the first indexing turntable 320 is controlled to rotate 72°, and so on, placing the wafers to be ground 340 into the second to fifth first planetary wheel buffers in sequence. The planetary gears on the first planetary gear buffer turntable 330 are stored on the planetary gears. After the six-axis robot arm 160 picks up the planetary gears and the wafers to be ground 340 from the first planetary gear buffer turntable 330 and places them on the double-sided polishing machine 700, the first indexing turntable 320 is controlled to rotate 72° and then picks up the planetary gears and the wafers to be ground 340 from the second first planetary gear buffer turntable 330. This process is repeated to place the planetary gears and the wafers to be ground 340 from the second to the fifth first planetary gear buffer turntables 330 onto the corresponding workstations on the lower turntable of the double-sided polishing machine 700.

[0048] Reference Figure 2 It is understood that the planetary wheel feeding buffer 400 includes a second support platform 410, a second indexing turntable 420 and multiple second planetary wheel buffer turntables. The second indexing turntable 420 is located on the second support platform 410, and the multiple second planetary wheel buffer turntables are evenly distributed on the second indexing turntable 420. The second planetary wheel buffer turntables are used to place the planetary wheel.

[0049] In some embodiments, each planetary wheel feeder 400 is provided with five second planetary wheel buffer turntables, and each second planetary wheel buffer turntable is provided with a corresponding planetary wheel. When the six-axis robot 160 places a planetary wheel and a target wafer 430 on the second planetary wheel buffer turntable, and controls the second indexing turntable 420 to rotate 72°, the process is repeated to place the wafer 340 to be ground onto the planetary wheels on the second to fifth second planetary wheel buffer turntables in sequence; when the four-axis robot... After the robotic arm picks up the wafer 340 to be ground from the planetary wheel in the second planetary wheel buffer turntable and places it in the basket 240 on the basket feeding mechanism 800, it controls the second indexing turntable 420 to rotate 72° and picks up the planetary wheel and wafer 340 to be ground from the second second planetary wheel buffer turntable. Then, in this manner, the wafers 340 to be ground from the planetary wheels in the second to fifth first planetary wheel buffer turntables 330 are placed in sequence on the corresponding workstations on the lower turntable of the double-sided grinding machine 700.

[0050] It is understandable that each of the first planetary wheel buffer turntable 330 and the second planetary wheel buffer turntable is provided with at least two planetary wheel positioning pins, which are used to limit the corresponding planetary wheel.

[0051] It should be noted that the planetary wheel unloading buffer 400 and the planetary wheel loading buffer 300 are provided with 5 planetary wheel loading buffer positions corresponding to the first planetary wheel buffer turntable 330 and 5 planetary wheel unloading buffer positions corresponding to the second planetary wheel buffer turntable. Both the planetary wheel loading buffer position and the planetary wheel unloading buffer position are sunken structures. Each planetary wheel loading buffer position and planetary wheel unloading buffer position is provided with 2 planetary wheel positioning pins for precise positioning of the planetary wheel in the planetary wheel loading buffer position and planetary wheel unloading buffer position.

[0052] Reference Figure 3 It is understood that the flower basket feeding mechanism 200 includes a bracket 280, a support plate 210, a cylinder horizontal mounting plate 220, at least two cylinder vertical mounting plates 230, multiple flower baskets 240, multiple clamping cylinders 250, and multiple pressure plates 260. The bracket 280 is mounted on the frame 100, the support plate 210 is mounted on the bracket 280, the two cylinder vertical mounting plates 230 are respectively mounted on both sides of the support plate 210, and the cylinder horizontal mounting plate... 220 is mounted on the vertical mounting plate 230 of the two cylinders. Multiple flower baskets 240 are arranged side by side at intervals on the support plate 210. The flower baskets 240, the pressing cylinders 250 and the pressure plate 260 correspond one to one. Multiple pressing cylinders 250 are arranged side by side at intervals on the horizontal mounting plate 220 of the cylinders. The pressure plate 260 is set on the corresponding flower baskets 240. The piston rod of the pressing cylinder 250 passes through the horizontal mounting plate 220 of the cylinders, the pressure plate 260 and the flower baskets 240 in sequence.

[0053] It should be noted that the structure of the flower basket feeding mechanism 800 is the same as that of the flower basket loading mechanism 200.

[0054] In some embodiments, the flower basket feeding mechanism 200 includes a bracket 280, a support plate 210, a cylinder horizontal mounting plate 220, two cylinder vertical mounting plates 230, four flower baskets 240, four pressing cylinders 250, and four pressure plates 260. The bracket 280 is mounted on the frame 100, the support plate 210 is mounted on the bracket 280, and the two cylinder vertical mounting plates 230 are respectively mounted on both sides of the support plate 210. 20 is mounted on the vertical mounting plates 230 of the two cylinders. Multiple flower baskets 240 are arranged side by side at intervals on the support plate 210. The flower baskets 240, the pressing cylinders 250 and the pressure plate 260 correspond one to one. Multiple pressing cylinders 250 are arranged side by side at intervals on the horizontal mounting plate 220 of the cylinders. The pressure plate 260 is set on the corresponding flower baskets 240. The piston rod of the pressing cylinder 250 passes through the horizontal mounting plate 220 of the cylinders, the pressure plate 260 and the flower baskets 240 in sequence.

[0055] Reference Figure 3It is understandable that the flower basket feeding mechanism 200 also includes multiple flower basket positioning blocks 270. The flower basket 240 corresponds one-to-one with the flower basket positioning block 270. The flower basket positioning block 270 is connected to the bottom and support plate 210 of the corresponding flower basket 240 respectively. The flower basket positioning block 270 is used to fix and limit the flower basket 240.

[0056] In some embodiments, the upper mechanism of the flower basket 240 and the lower mechanism of the flower basket 800 are both provided with four flower basket positioning blocks 270, and each flower basket 240 is provided with a corresponding clamping cylinder 250 and a pressure plate 260, so that the positioning and clamping action of each flower basket 240 can be operated independently.

[0057] Reference Figure 5 It is understood that the cleaning mechanism 600 includes a cleaning tank 610 and a cleaning pump nozzle unit 620. The nozzle unit includes a cleaning fluid delivery pipe and multiple cleaning nozzles. One end of the cleaning fluid is connected to an external cleaning tank via a cleaning pump, and the other end of the cleaning fluid is connected to multiple cleaning nozzles. The multiple cleaning nozzles are located inside the cleaning tank 610.

[0058] It should be noted that the cleaning mechanism 600 is used to clean the planetary wheel and the target wafer 430 after the double-sided polishing machine 700 feeds the material, and the cleaning time of the cleaning mechanism 600 for the planetary wheel and the target wafer 430 is a preset cleaning time. In some embodiments, the preset cleaning time is 1 minute.

[0059] Reference Figure 4 It is understood that the smearing mechanism 500 includes a column 510, a cantilever 520, a brush 540 mounting bracket 530, a brush 540, a vertical drive cylinder 550, and two vertical linear guides 560. The column 510 is mounted on the corresponding double-sided grinder 700. The cantilever 520 is connected to the top of the column 510. The two vertical linear guides 560 are located at both ends of the cantilever 520. The two ends of the brush 540 mounting bracket 530 are slidably connected to the two vertical linear guides 560 respectively. The brush 540 is mounted on the bottom of the brush 540 mounting bracket 530. The vertical drive cylinder 550...

[0060] It should be noted that the wiping mechanism 500 is used to brush the wafer 340 to be polished, which has been moved on the planetary wheel, into the wafer positioning hole after the double-sided polishing machine 700 is loaded, and to wipe the polishing liquid on the target wafer 430 before the double-sided polishing machine 700 is unloaded, so as to facilitate the positioning of the vision positioning device 180 and the adsorption of the suction cup 170. The bidirectional drive cylinder and the vertical linear guide rail 560 form a vertical moving unit, which drives the brush 540 mounting bracket 530, on which the brush 540 is mounted, to move up and down. The entire moving unit is mounted on the cantilever 520, and the brush 540 on the cantilever 520 can move up and down automatically, thereby realizing the control of the brush 540 to move closer to or away from the lower turntable of the double-sided polishing machine 700.

[0061] Understandably, the smearing mechanism 500 also includes a rotatable connector, and the cantilever 520 is connected to the column 510 via the rotatable connector.

[0062] It should be noted that the cantilever 520 is mounted on the column 510 via a rotatable connector, and the cantilever 520 of the smearing mechanism 500 can automatically rotate 90° around the column 510.

[0063] Understandably, the suction cup component 170 is equipped with a chip suction cup and a planetary wheel suction cup.

[0064] It should be noted that each chip on each set of planetary wheels has an independent chip suction cup. During loading and unloading, the gripper on the planetary wheel unloading buffer 400 will pick up the planetary wheel and all the chips together.

[0065] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0066] The above description is the preferred embodiment of this application. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of this application, and these improvements and modifications are also considered to be within the scope of protection of this application.

[0067] Although embodiments of this application have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of this application, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A wafer auto-polishing system, characterized by, include: The machine consists of a frame, an automatic loading and unloading mechanism, a cleaning mechanism, a first control mechanism, and two double-sided grinding machines. The frame is provided with transverse linear guide rails on both sides, and the automatic loading and unloading mechanism includes a basket loading and unloading mechanism, a wafer loading and unloading mechanism, a planetary wheel buffer mechanism, and a grinding machine loading and unloading mechanism. The basket loading and unloading mechanism includes a basket loading mechanism and a basket unloading mechanism respectively disposed on one end of the frame. The wafer loading and unloading mechanism includes a four-axis robot and a wafer gripper. The four-axis robot is disposed between the basket loading mechanism and the basket unloading mechanism on the frame. The wafer gripper is connected to the four-axis robot. The planetary wheel buffer mechanism includes a planetary wheel loading buffer and a planetary wheel unloading buffer. Each of the transverse linear guide rails is provided with a first slider and a second slider. The bottom of the planetary wheel loading buffer is connected to the two first sliders respectively, and the bottom of the planetary wheel unloading buffer is connected to the two second sliders respectively. The height of the first slider is greater than the sum of the heights of the second sliders and the planetary wheel unloading buffer. The planetary wheel unloading buffer can pass under the planetary wheel loading buffer. Both the planetary wheel loading buffer and the planetary wheel unloading buffer are used to place the planetary wheel. The grinding machine loading and unloading mechanism includes a six-axis robot, a suction cup, and a vision positioning device. The six-axis robot is located on the frame at the end away from the four-axis robot. All transverse linear guides are located on the frame, with the length direction of the transverse linear guides aligned with the length direction of the frame. The transverse linear guides are located between the four-axis robot and the six-axis robot. The suction cup is connected to the six-axis robot. The vision positioning device is located on the sixth axis of the six-axis robot and connected to the sixth axis of the six-axis robot. Two double-sided grinding machines are arranged on both sides of the frame near the six-axis robot. The frame and the two double-sided grinding machines are combined to form a T-shaped structure. Each double-sided grinding machine is equipped with a smearing mechanism. The cleaning mechanism is connected to the end of the frame near the six-axis robot. The first control mechanism is communicatively connected to the four-axis robot, the six-axis robot, the double-sided grinding machine, the planetary wheel loading buffer, and the planetary wheel unloading buffer. The basket feeding mechanism is used to place multiple wafers to be ground. The four-axis robot arm is used to grip the multiple wafers to be ground using the wafer grippers and arrange them sequentially in the wafer positioning holes of the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer. The first slider is used to move the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer and the multiple wafers to be ground on the corresponding transverse linear guide rail to the grinding machine feeding position close to the six-axis robot arm. The six-axis robot arm is used to grip the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer and the wafers to be ground on the planetary wheel using the suction cup and place them on the corresponding double-sided grinding machine. The double-sided grinding machine is used to perform double-sided grinding of the wafers to be ground. The smearing mechanism is used to brush the displaced wafers to be ground on the planetary wheel of the corresponding double-sided grinding machine into the wafer positioning holes, and after the wafers to be ground are ground, the first slider is used to move the planetary wheel on the planetary wheel feeding buffer and the multiple wafers to be ground on the corresponding transverse linear guide rail to the grinding machine feeding position. The polishing slurry on the star wheel is brushed off; the visual positioning device is used to acquire the position and attitude signal of the star wheel that has completed polishing on the double-sided polishing machine, and output the position and attitude signal to the six-axis robot. The six-axis robot is also used to pick up the star wheel and the target wafer on the star wheel that has completed polishing on the double-sided polishing machine according to the position and attitude signal and place them into the cleaning mechanism for cleaning. After the star wheel and the target wafer are cleaned, the six-axis robot is also used to pick up the star wheel and the target wafer and place them into the star wheel unloading buffer; the second slider is used to move the star wheel unloading buffer, the star wheel and the target wafer to the wafer unloading position close to the four-axis robot. The four-axis robot is used to pick up the target wafer on each star wheel in the star wheel unloading buffer in sequence and place it into the basket unloading mechanism.

2. The wafer auto-polishing system of claim 1, wherein, The planetary wheel feeding buffer includes a first support platform, a first indexing turntable, and a plurality of first planetary wheel buffer turntables. The first indexing turntable is disposed on the first support platform, and the plurality of first planetary wheel buffer turntables are evenly distributed on the first indexing turntable. The first planetary wheel buffer turntables are used to place the planetary wheel.

3. The wafer auto-polishing system of claim 2, wherein, The planetary wheel feeding buffer includes a second support platform, a second indexing turntable, and multiple second planetary wheel buffer turntables. The second indexing turntable is located on the second support platform, and the multiple second planetary wheel buffer turntables are evenly distributed on the second indexing turntable. The second planetary wheel buffer turntables are used to place the planetary wheel.

4. The wafer auto-polishing system of claim 3, wherein, Each of the first planetary wheel buffer turntable and the second planetary wheel buffer turntable is provided with at least two planetary wheel positioning pins, which are used to limit the corresponding planetary wheel.

5. The automated wafer polishing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flower basket feeding mechanism includes a bracket, a support plate, a cylinder horizontal mounting plate, at least two cylinder vertical mounting plates, multiple flower baskets, multiple pressing cylinders, and multiple pressure plates. The bracket is mounted on the machine frame, the support plate is mounted on the bracket, the two cylinder vertical mounting plates are respectively mounted on both sides of the support plate, the cylinder horizontal mounting plate is mounted on the two cylinder vertical mounting plates, the multiple flower baskets are arranged side by side at intervals on the support plate, the flower baskets, the pressing cylinders, and the pressure plates correspond one-to-one, the multiple pressing cylinders are arranged side by side at intervals on the cylinder horizontal mounting plate, the pressure plates are mounted on the corresponding flower baskets, and the piston rods of the pressing cylinders pass through the cylinder horizontal mounting plate, the pressure plates, and the flower baskets in sequence.

6. The wafer auto-polishing system of claim 5, wherein, The flower basket feeding mechanism also includes multiple flower basket positioning blocks, with each flower basket corresponding to one of the flower baskets. The flower basket positioning blocks are connected to the bottom of the corresponding flower basket and the support plate, respectively, and are used to fix and limit the flower basket.

7. The wafer auto-polishing system of claim 1, wherein, The cleaning mechanism includes a cleaning tank and a cleaning pump nozzle unit. The nozzle unit includes a cleaning fluid delivery pipe and multiple cleaning nozzles. One end of the cleaning fluid is connected to an external cleaning tank via a cleaning pump, and the other end of the cleaning fluid is connected to multiple cleaning nozzles. The multiple cleaning nozzles are located inside the cleaning tank.

8. The wafer auto-polishing system of claim 1, wherein, The smearing mechanism includes a column, a cantilever, a brush mounting bracket, a brush, a vertical drive cylinder, and two vertical linear guides. The column is mounted on the corresponding double-sided grinding machine. The cantilever is connected to the top of the column. The two vertical linear guides are located at both ends of the cantilever. The two ends of the brush mounting bracket are slidably connected to the two vertical linear guides. The brush is mounted on the bottom of the brush mounting bracket. The vertical drive cylinder...

9. The wafer auto-polishing system of claim 8, wherein, The smearing mechanism also includes a rotatable connector, through which the cantilever and the column are connected.

10. The wafer auto-polishing system of claim 1, wherein, The suction cup component is equipped with a chip suction cup and a planetary wheel suction cup.

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