Wafer cooling device

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and provides a wafer cooling device, including: a shell, forming a receiving cavity; a plurality of cooling units, arranged in multiple layers along the height direction of the receiving cavity; a plurality of lifting members, which can reach and be connected flush with the top surface of a corresponding cooling unit to form a bearing plane that completely receives the back of the wafer or lift the wafer to separate from the cooling unit; each lifting member includes: a connecting portion for connecting with the side edge of the cooling unit, and at least one lifting portion formed on the connecting portion; the lifting portions of the plurality of lifting members are at least partially offset from each other in the height direction to form a force-bearing portion that can be connected by a transmission mechanism; a first driving device is connected to drive the lifting member through the transmission mechanism; the transmission mechanism is movably arranged to switch the force-bearing portion of the lifting member connected by the transmission. By controlling the lifting member to reach the corresponding cooling unit to form a flush bearing plane to completely receive the wafer, the problem of uneven wafer cooling is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and in particular to a wafer cooling device. Background Art

[0002] Semiconductor plasma degumming equipment, plasma etching equipment, plasma thin film deposition equipment, etc. The reaction chamber of these equipment needs to be transferred to a cooling device for cooling after a high-temperature process before it can be released. However, the existing wafer cooling device is partially in contact with the wafer, leaving space for a robot to pick it up. This partial contact structure will cause excessive local thermal stress due to uneven cooling between the contact part and the non-contact part during wafer cooling, causing the wafer to deform. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a wafer cooling device to solve the problems in the related art.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a wafer cooling device, comprising: a shell, forming a accommodating cavity; a plurality of cooling units, arranged in the accommodating cavity and arranged in multiple layers along the height direction of the accommodating cavity; a lifting assembly, comprising: a plurality of lifting members, which can be lifted and lowered, and can reach a first position where the top surface of the side edge of the corresponding cooling unit is flush with each other to form a bearing plane that completely receives the back side of the wafer, or a second position where the wafer is lifted to separate from the cooling unit; the lifting members correspond to the plurality of cooling units one by one; each of the lifting members comprises: a connecting portion for connecting with the side edge of the cooling unit, and at least one lifting portion formed on the connecting portion; the lifting portions of the plurality of lifting members are at least partially offset from each other in the height direction to form a force-bearing portion that can be connected by a transmission mechanism; a first driving device, connected and driving the plurality of lifting members through the transmission mechanism; the transmission mechanism is movably arranged to switch the force-bearing portion of the lifting member connected by the transmission.

[0005] In an example of the first aspect, when the at least one lifting member is located at the second position, at least one gap is exposed for taking / placing the wafer; when the at least one lifting member is located at the first position, the at least one gap is filled by the cooling unit to form the carrying plane.

[0006] In an example of the first aspect, the plurality of lifting portions are aligned along a height direction and have different extension lengths to form mutually staggered force-bearing portions in the extension length direction.

[0007] In an example of the first aspect, the transmission mechanism includes: at least one lifting drive member, which can be lifted to the ground and connected to the force-bearing part of at least one lifting part; a connecting member, which is connected to the lifting drive member and the first driving device so as to be driven to lift the lifting drive member; the connecting member is telescopically arranged along the extension direction of the lifting part to adjust the position of the lifting drive member to correspond to the force-bearing part of at least one lifting part.

[0008] In an example of the first aspect, the plurality of lifting portions are arranged circumferentially around the accommodation cavity in a manner that they are mutually staggered in the height direction.

[0009] In an example of the first aspect, the transmission mechanism includes: at least one lifting drive member, which can be lifted and lowered to the ground to connect with the force-bearing part of at least one lifting part; a connecting member, which is connected to the lifting drive member and the first driving device so as to be driven to lift the lifting drive member; the connecting member is rotatably arranged to adjust the position of the lifting drive member to correspond to the force-bearing part of at least one lifting part.

[0010] In an example of the first aspect, each of the lifting members includes a pair of lifting parts extending in opposite directions; the at least one lifting driving member is a pair in number and corresponds one-to-one to the pair of lifting parts.

[0011] In an example of the first aspect, the lifting member and the cooling unit are connected via a rolling structure.

[0012] In an example of the first aspect, the wafer cooling device includes: a second driving device, connected to and driving the transmission mechanism to move; a control device, connected to and controlling the first driving device and the second driving device, for responding to a driving instruction, controlling the transmission mechanism to move to connect with the force-bearing part of the target lifting member specified by the driving instruction, so that the target lifting member can move up and down between the first position and the second position to complete the wafer cooling operation.

[0013] In an example of the first aspect, the lifting member and the cooling unit are made of the same material; and / or the side wall of the shell forms at least one wafer in / out portion that is adjacent to each cooling unit and higher than the corresponding cooling unit; the second position includes: a position in which the lifting member can take / place wafers from the wafer in / out portion; and / or the lifting member forms a step portion for receiving wafers; when the lifting member is located at the first position, a wafer accommodating groove is formed between the step portion and the cooling unit; and / or the lifting member and the cooling unit are connected via a rolling structure.

[0014] As described above, the present disclosure relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and provides a wafer cooling device, including: a shell, forming a receiving cavity; a plurality of cooling units, arranged in multiple layers along the height direction of the receiving cavity; a plurality of lifting members, which can reach and be spliced ​​flush with the top surface of a corresponding cooling unit to form a bearing plane that completely receives the back of the wafer or lift the wafer to detach from the cooling unit; each lifting member includes: a connecting portion for connecting with the side edge of the cooling unit, and at least one lifting portion formed on the connecting portion; the lifting portions of the plurality of lifting members are at least partially offset from each other in the height direction to form a force-bearing portion that can be connected by a transmission mechanism; a first driving device is connected to drive the lifting member through a transmission mechanism; the transmission mechanism is movably arranged to switch the force-bearing portion of the lifting member connected by the transmission. The wafer cooling device in the example of the present disclosure can control the lifting member to rise and fall to form a bearing plane flush with the corresponding cooling unit to completely receive the wafer, thereby achieving uniform cooling of the wafer, solving the problem of uneven cooling of the wafer caused by the structural defect of incomplete contact with the wafer in the wafer cooling device in the related art, and increasing the contact area and improving the cooling efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a wafer cooling device in one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0016] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the present disclosure in which the lifting member is in a second position relative to the cooling unit.

[0017] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing a lifting member in a first position relative to a cooling unit in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the top view of the structure of the lifting member and the cooling unit in one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0019] Figure 5 exhibit Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure after the middle lifting part is raised.

[0020] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the top view of the lifting member in another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0021] Figure 7 exhibit Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure after the middle lifting part is raised.

[0022] Figures 8 to 10 Schematic diagram showing the rolling structure arrangement between the lifting member and the cooling unit in different embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] Fig.11 A schematic structural diagram of a cooling device in another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0024] Fig.12 exhibit Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure in which the transmission mechanism moves to connect with the second lifting member in the embodiment.

[0025] Fig.13 exhibit Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure in which the transmission mechanism moves to connect with the third lifting member in the embodiment.

[0026] Fig.14 A schematic diagram of a top view of the structure of the transmission mechanism and the lifting part in another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] Fig.15 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a motion control system for a wafer cooling device in one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0028] Fig.16 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a computer device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] Reference numerals:

[0030] Wafer cooling device 100; housing 110; accommodating chamber 111; wafer taking / putting port 112; cooling unit 120; lifting member 130; connecting portion 131; step portion 1311; lifting portion 132; first driving device 140; transmission mechanism 150; lifting driving member 151; connecting member 152; rolling structure 160; ball bearing 161; second driving device 170; control device 180; computer device 1100; bus 1101; processor 1102; memory 1103; communicator 1104; wafer 200;

[0031] first cooling unit 120'; first lifting member 130'; first connecting portion 131'; first lifting portion 132';

[0032] The second cooling unit 120''; the second lifting member 130''; the second connecting portion 131''; the second lifting portion 132'';

[0033] The third cooling unit 120c; the third lifting member 130c; the third connecting portion 131c; the third lifting portion 132c; the first force receiving portion 1321c;

[0034] Fourth cooling unit 120b; fourth lifting member 130b; fourth connecting portion 131b; fourth lifting portion 132b; second force receiving portion 1321b;

[0035] The fifth cooling unit 120a; the fifth lifting member 130a; the fifth connecting portion 131a; the fifth lifting portion 132a; the third force receiving portion 1321a;

[0036] Sixth cooling unit 120a''; sixth lifting member 130a''; sixth lifting portion 132a'';

[0037] Seventh cooling unit 120b''; seventh lifting member 130b''; seventh lifting portion 132b'';

[0038] A second transmission mechanism 150'; a second lifting driving member 151'; and a second connecting member 152'. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The following is an explanation of the embodiments of the present disclosure by specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present disclosure from the information disclosed by the present disclosure. The present disclosure can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in the present disclosure can also be modified or changed in various ways according to different viewpoints and application modules without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the embodiments in the present disclosure and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0040] The following is a detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0041] In the representations of the present disclosure, the reference terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" and the like mean that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics represented in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics represented may be combined in any one or a group of embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine different embodiments or examples represented in the present disclosure and the features of different embodiments or examples, unless they are mutually contradictory.

[0042] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the representation of the present disclosure, "a group" means two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0043] In order to clearly describe the present disclosure, components not related to the description are omitted, and the same reference numerals are given to the same or similar components throughout the specification.

[0044] Throughout the specification, when a device is said to be "connected" to another device, this includes not only the case of "direct connection" but also the case of "indirect connection" by placing other elements therebetween. In addition, when a device is said to "include" a certain component, unless otherwise stated, it does not exclude other components, but means that other components may be included.

[0045] Although the terms first, second, etc. are used to represent various elements in this article in some examples, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, the first interface and the second interface, etc. are represented. Moreover, as used in this article, the singular forms "one", "one" and "the" are intended to also include plural forms, unless there is an opposite indication in the context. It should be further understood that the terms "comprising" and "including" indicate that there are the described features, steps, operations, elements, modules, projects, kinds, and / or groups, but do not exclude the existence, occurrence or addition of one or a group of other features, steps, operations, elements, modules, projects, kinds, and / or groups. The terms "or" and "and / or" used herein are interpreted as inclusive, or mean any one or any combination. Therefore, "A, B or C" or "A, B and / or C" means "any of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A, B and C". Only when the combination of elements, functions, steps or operations is inherently mutually exclusive in some way, will there be an exception to this definition.

[0046] The technical terms used herein are only used to refer to specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The singular form used herein also includes the plural form unless the sentence clearly indicates the contrary meaning. The meaning of "including" used in the specification is to specify specific characteristics, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components, and does not exclude the existence or addition of other characteristics, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components.

[0047] Although not defined differently, all terms, including technical and scientific terms used herein, have the same meaning as those generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries are additionally interpreted as having meanings consistent with relevant technical literature and the message of the present disclosure, and shall not be overly interpreted as ideal or very formal meanings unless defined.

[0048] In the related art, after the semiconductor wafer is processed by semiconductor plasma stripping equipment, plasma etching equipment, or plasma thin film deposition equipment, if it is heated at high temperature, it needs to be cooled in a cooling device before it can be released. However, the existing wafer cooling device is partially in contact with the wafer. This partial contact structure will cause uneven cooling between the contact part and the non-contact part when the wafer is cooled, resulting in excessive local thermal stress, causing the wafer to deform.

[0049] In view of this, a wafer cooling device is provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure to achieve complete support for the wafer surface, thereby avoiding the problem of uneven cooling.

[0050] like Figure 1 As shown, a schematic diagram of the structure of a wafer cooling device in one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0051] exist Figure 1 In the embodiment, the wafer cooling device 100 includes a housing 110, a cooling unit 120 and a lifting assembly.

[0052] The housing 110 is formed with a receiving cavity 111. The cooling unit 120 is arranged in the receiving cavity 111. The lifting assembly includes at least one lifting member 130 and a first driving device 140. Optionally, the cooling unit 120 and the lifting member 130 can be arranged horizontally. The height direction of the receiving cavity 111 is the vertical direction. The lifting member 130 can be arranged to move up and down, and the first driving device 140 is connected and drives the lifting and lowering of the lifting member 130 through a transmission mechanism 150, such as shown by the vertical arrow A in the figure. In some embodiments, the cooling unit 120 can be implemented as a liquid cooling plate (which can be filled with coolant) or an air cooling plate (which can include an outlet for spraying cooling gas upward), etc. The cooling unit 120 can be fixedly mounted by a bracket fixed in the receiving cavity (for example, composed of multiple beams protruding from the cavity wall), and space can be reserved for the lifting and lowering movement of the lifting assembly.

[0053] exist Figure 1 In the figure, it is shown that the housing 110 is provided with a wafer access opening 112 corresponding to the cooling unit 120. As an example, the wafer access opening 112 may be located above the side wall of the cooling unit 120. The wafer 200 to be cooled may be placed into the accommodating cavity 111 through the wafer access opening 112 and placed on the lifting member 130. The outer portion of the wafer 200 is supported by the lifting member 130. Figure 2 As shown, the first driving device 140 drives the lifting member 130 to descend through the transmission mechanism 150, as shown by arrow B. Figure 3As shown, the lifting member 130 reaches the first position to be flush with the top surface of the side edge of the corresponding cooling unit 120 to form a complete bearing plane for the back side of the wafer 200, as circled by C. Figure 3 As shown, the upper surface spliced ​​between the lifting member 130 and the cooling unit 120 adjacent to the side edge forms the bearing plane, which contacts and supports the back side of the complete wafer 200, thereby achieving the purpose of uniformly cooling the wafer 200.

[0054] In some embodiments, it can be seen Figure 1~Figure 3 , the lifting member 130 may include a connected connection portion 131 and at least one lifting portion 132 formed on the connection portion 131. The connection portion 131 is connected to the side edge of the cooling unit 120, and the lifting portion 132 is connected to the transmission mechanism 150 so as to be driven to rise and fall. Exemplarily, the lifting portion 132 may be implemented as a protrusion extending from the connection portion 131 in a direction away from the wafer 200, such as a rod or a plate. The transmission mechanism 150 may include a lifting drive member 151 that is lifted and lowered in coordination with the lifting portion 132. The lifting drive member 151 may be arranged upright, and its top end has a force-applying portion that is connected to a force-bearing portion on the lifting portion 132. When the transmission mechanism 150 rises, the force-applying portion of the lifting drive member 151 moves upward, and the contacted force-bearing portion applies an upward force to lift the lifting member 130. Alternatively, as the transmission mechanism 150 descends, the lifting member 130 may descend together with the lifting drive member 151 under the action of gravity. Optionally, the left and right connecting parts 131 shown in the figure may be an integrally connected structure, so that the lifting member 130 is an integral component. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the left and right connecting parts may be separated from each other, and the lifting member may also be implemented as a split component including the left and right connecting parts 131 and the lifting part 132. Of course, it is preferred to use a lifting member 130 as an integral component, which is stable and easy to control.

[0055] In order to ensure stable contact between the lifting part 132 and the lifting driving member 151, a concave-convex matching structure can be formed between the force-applying part and the force-receiving part. For example, the force-applying part is provided with a groove, such as a U-shaped or V-shaped groove. The convex part can be embedded in the groove so that it can be lifted up by the groove as the transmission mechanism 150 rises. For another example, the convex part is implemented as a plate body, and the bottom surface can be provided with a groove for combining with the top end of the rod body so that it can be lifted up by the transmission mechanism 150.

[0056] In order to make the lifting part 132 receive the balanced force of the transmission mechanism 150, in some embodiments, the lifting member 130 may be provided with at least one pair of lifting parts 132, respectively located on the opposite side surfaces of the connecting part 131. The transmission mechanism 150 may include a pair of lifting driving members 151, which are used for lifting and lowering the pair of lifting parts 132 in a one-to-one corresponding manner.

[0057] In some embodiments, the transmission mechanism 150 further includes a connecting member 152 connected to the lifting drive member 151. The connecting member 152 can be arranged horizontally. Optionally, the connecting member 152 can be implemented as a movable member, which can be extended or rotated to adjust the horizontal position of the connected lifting drive member 151 to adapt to the lifting drive requirements of different lifting members 130.

[0058] For reference Figure 2 As shown, in some embodiments, the lifting member 130 forms a step portion 1311 for receiving the wafer 200. Figure 3 In the first position shown, the step portion 1311 is connected with the cooling unit 120 to form a wafer 200 receiving groove, and the step portion 1311 can be formed on the side of the connecting portion 131 facing the wafer 200. The bottom part of the step portion 1311 is provided to be flush with the top surface of the cooling unit 120, and the vertical part of the step portion 1311 is blocked outside the side edge of the wafer 200, thereby forming a wafer receiving groove for filling the wafer 200. Optionally, the vertical surface of the vertical part of the step portion 1311 can be against the wafer 200, that is, the diameter of the wafer 200 receiving groove formed between the step portion 1311 and the cooling unit 120 matches the diameter of the wafer 200, so that the wafer 200 can be positioned in the wafer 200 groove in the horizontal direction.

[0059] In some embodiments, in order to facilitate the robot to pick up and place, the at least one lifting member may have at least one notch for picking up / placing the wafer. Figure 2 When the at least one lifting member 130 is in the second position of the cooling unit 120, at least one notch for taking / placing the wafer is exposed. Figure 3When in the first position shown, the at least one notch is filled by the cooling unit 120 to form the bearing plane. That is, with the notch remaining in the lifting member 130, by lifting to cause the cooling unit to fill or disengage from the notch, the pick-up / placement and complete cooling of the wafer 200 are achieved. More specifically, the structure of the cooling unit 120 is configured such that it is not completely covered by the wafer 200 being carried, and the portion thereof exposed outside the wafer 200 can fill the notch on the lifting member 130. For the purpose of forming the bearing plane that can completely承接 the back surface of the wafer, there are cooperating portions between the shapes of the lifting member and the cooling unit.

[0060] Reference Figure 4 As shown, a top view structural schematic diagram of the cooperation between the lifting member and the cooling unit in an embodiment of the present disclosure is presented.

[0061] In Figure 4 , the cooling unit is implemented as the first cooling unit 120' which can be implemented as a square member, and its upper and lower ends in the figure are exposed outside the wafer 200 being carried. The wafer 200 forms protruding portions M1, M2 at its left and right ends with respect to the first cooling unit 120'. In配合 with the shape of the first cooling unit 120', the lifting member is implemented as the first lifting member 130', and the first connecting portion 131' thereof can be implemented as a "冂"-shaped structure with a notch. When in the first position, it is in contact with the left, right, and lower side edges of the first cooling unit 120' to form a bearing plane that completely承接 the back surface of the wafer 200.

[0062] When the first lifting portion 132' of the first lifting member 130' is forced to rise, it exerts force on the protruding portions M1, M2 at the left and right ends of the wafer 200 to lift the wafer 200 to the second position. After lifting, as shown in Figure 5 , a notch is formed for the manipulator to take out the wafer 200 along the arrow.

[0063] It can be understood that in other embodiments, the cooling unit can also be exposed outside the wafer only at one end, and a partial edge of the wafer is supported between the exposed portion and the unexposed portion, and the remaining part of the wafer periphery can be left for the lifting member to support. Thus, the positions where the lifting member exerts a supporting force on the wafer can be more and more uniform, reducing the possible deformation caused by uneven force on the wafer.

[0064] Please refer to Figure 6 again. As shown, a top view structural schematic diagram of the cooperation between the lifting member and the cooling unit in another embodiment of the present disclosure is presented.

[0065] In Figure 6In the embodiment, the cooling unit may be implemented as a second cooling unit 120'', one end of which is covered by the wafer 200, and the end edge is in an arc shape, so that the portion of the wafer 200 not supported by the end of the second cooling unit 120'' is in the shape of a circular ring segment, which is defined as the circular ring segment portion N. The other end of the second cooling unit 120'' extends to expose the wafer 200. In the present embodiment, the lifting member is implemented as a second lifting member 130'', and the second connecting portion 131'' of the second lifting member 130'' is in a side edge connection with the end of the second cooling unit 120'' in the shape of a circular arc, so as to receive the circular ring segment portion N of the wafer 200, thereby achieving complete reception of the back side of the wafer 200.

[0066] When the second lifting portion 132'' of the second lifting member 130'' is lifted by force, force is applied to the annular segment N to lift the wafer 200 to the second position. Figure 7 As shown, a notch is formed for the robot to take out the wafer along the arrow.

[0067] In some embodiments, the first drive device 140 can be implemented as a motor or a cylinder. In one example, the first drive device 140 is implemented as a cylinder, and the transmission mechanism 150 can be positioned relative to the piston of the cylinder, such as being directly fixed to the piston, or fixed to other mechanisms driven by the piston. In another example, the first drive device 140 is implemented as a motor, and the motor is preferably a servo motor. Accordingly, a mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the motor into linear motion, such as a screw mechanism (not shown in the figure), etc., can be provided between the first drive device 140 and the transmission mechanism 150, thereby driving the transmission mechanism 150 to perform lifting motion, so as to drive the lifting member 130 to perform lifting.

[0068] In order to form the flat bearing plane, in some embodiments, the lifting stroke of the lifting member 130 can be precisely controlled by the first driving device 140. Alternatively, in other embodiments, a stopper (not shown) can be provided to stop the lifting member 130 at the first position for forming the bearing plane. Exemplarily, the stopper can be provided at the cooling unit 120, for example, extending outward from the cooling unit 120 to prevent the lifting member 130 from continuing to descend.

[0069] In some embodiments, the lifting member 130 and the cooling unit 120 are made of the same material so that good heat distribution can be achieved between the two. The gap between the lifting member 130 and the side edge of the cooling unit 120 can be as small as possible to ensure quick and uniform heat conduction between the two. In some examples, the lifting member 130 and the cooling unit 120 can be in direct planar contact. In other examples, the lifting member 130 and the cooling unit 120 can be connected by a structure that can reduce relative friction, such as a rolling structure 160. Figure 8 As shown, as an example, the rolling structure 160 may include a roller structure or a ball structure. The lifting member 130 and the cooling unit 120 are connected by a surface formed by a plurality of balls 161 (the plurality of balls 161 may be densely arranged), and heat is conducted through the ball 161 structure. In order to reduce the gap between the lifting member 130 and the cooling unit 120, one way is to reduce the diameter of the balls 161 and maintain the density. Alternatively, as Fig. 9 , the rolling structure 160 can be embedded in the side edge surface of the cooling unit 120, thereby reducing the distance between the side edge surface of the cooling unit 120 and the opposite surface of the lifting member 130. Alternatively, as Fig.10 As shown, the rolling structure 160 can be embedded in the opposite surface of the lifting member 130. In some embodiments, the cooling unit 120 can be disc-shaped, and the lifting member 130 can be annular, then the side edge surface and the opposite surface are matching annular surfaces. Therefore, it can be understood that the rolling structure 160 can include a plurality of balls 161 arranged along the annular surface. As an example, the plurality of balls 161 can be arranged in an array or staggered.

[0070] like Fig.11 As shown, a schematic diagram of the structure of a cooling device in another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0071] In this embodiment, there may be a plurality of cooling units, which are arranged in multiple layers along the height direction of the accommodating cavity. Fig.11In the figure, three cooling units are shown as examples, which can be respectively the fifth cooling unit 120a, the fourth cooling unit 120b and the third cooling unit 120c from bottom to top. The lifting assembly includes a plurality of lifting members. The plurality of lifting members can be respectively the fifth lifting member 130a, the fourth lifting member 130b and the third lifting member 130c from bottom to top. Each lifting member is matched with a cooling unit in pairs, and is used to reach the corresponding matching cooling unit to form a bearing plane or to support the wafer to be separated from the cooling unit 120 by lifting. Among them, the fifth lifting member 130a is matched with the fifth cooling unit 120a in pairs, the fourth lifting member 130b is matched with the fourth cooling unit 120b in pairs, and the third lifting member 130c is matched with the third cooling unit 120c by lifting. The fifth lifting member 130a includes: a fifth connecting portion 131a for connecting with the side edge of the fifth cooling unit 120a, and at least one fifth lifting portion 132a (two in the example in the figure) formed on the fifth connecting portion 131a. The fifth lifting portion 132a may extend outward from the fifth connecting portion 131a. The fourth lifting member 130b includes: a fourth connecting portion 131b for connecting with the side edge of the fourth cooling unit 120b, and at least one fourth lifting portion 132b (two are shown in the example in the figure) formed on the fourth connecting portion 131b. The fourth lifting portion 132b may extend outward from the fourth connecting portion 131b. The third lifting member 130c includes: a third connecting portion 131c for connecting with the side edge of the cooling unit 120, and at least one third lifting portion 132c (two are shown in the example in the figure) formed on the third connecting portion 131c. The third lifting portion 132c may extend outward from the third connecting portion 131c.

[0072] In this embodiment, the fifth cooling unit 120a, the fourth cooling unit 120b and the third cooling unit 120c can be arranged in an overlapping manner along the height direction of the accommodating chamber. The fifth lifting member 130a, the fourth lifting member 130b and the third lifting member 130c can also be arranged in an overlapping manner along the height direction of the accommodating chamber, so that the fifth lifting part 132a, the fourth lifting part 132b and the third lifting part 132c can also be arranged in an overlapping manner along the height direction of the accommodating chamber. Among them, the fifth lifting part 132a, the fourth lifting part 132b and the third lifting part 132c can be partially offset from each other in the height direction to form a force-bearing part that can be connected by a transmission mechanism. Fig.11In the embodiment, the fifth lifting part 132a, the fourth lifting part 132b and the third lifting part 132c may have different lengths. As indicated by the vertical dotted line, the corresponding part of the length difference between the adjacent lifting parts in the height direction forms the force-bearing part. The fifth lifting part 132a forms the third force-bearing part 1321a, and the third force-bearing part 1321a is the complete fifth lifting part 132a. The part of the length difference between the fourth lifting part 132b and the fifth lifting part 132a forms the second force-bearing part 1321b. The part of the length difference between the third lifting part 132c and the fourth lifting part 132b forms the first force-bearing part 1321c.

[0073] The transmission mechanism 150 can be movably arranged to switch the force-bearing parts on the lifting parts connecting different lifting parts through movement to implement lifting. In this embodiment, the movable mechanism includes a retractable connecting member 152, and the connecting member 152 can be horizontally extended in parallel with the cooling unit 120 and the lifting part 130, and the extension direction can be shown by arrows D and E in the figure. The two ends of the connecting member 152 are respectively connected to a lifting drive member 151, and the lifting drive member 151 is retracted to a position corresponding to a force-bearing part on a lifting part in the height direction, thereby supporting the corresponding lifting part. For example, Fig.11 1 shows that a pair of lifting driving members 151 connected to the connecting member 152 abut against the fifth lifting part 132a, so as to drive the fifth lifting member 130a to perform lifting and lowering movement between the first position and the second position. In some embodiments, the telescopic movement of the connecting member 152 can be driven by a second driving device 170. The second driving device 170 is exemplified as one or more cylinders, motors, etc. For example, by configuring two cylinders with pistons facing each other in the connecting member 152, the two pistons are synchronously extended to achieve the telescopic movement of the connecting member 152. Alternatively, in another example, the second driving device 170 includes a motor to drive the screw mechanism provided in the connecting member 152 to achieve telescopic movement. For example, a screw rod in a screw rod mechanism that is driven by a pair of motors to rotate in opposite directions is used, and is extended in the connecting member 152 along the length direction of the connecting member 152, and the slider on each screw rod connects the telescopic member. When the two screw rods rotate in opposite directions, a pair of sliders slide away from or close to each other, so that a pair of telescopic members achieves a telescopic movement that is relatively far away or close. Of course, there may be other implementations, and the above examples are not intended to limit the implementation.

[0074] like Fig.12 Shown, displayed Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure in which the transmission mechanism 150 moves to connect with the fourth lifting member 130b in the embodiment.

[0075] It is understandable that in Fig.11On this basis, by extending the connecting member 152, the lifting drive member 151 corresponds to the second force-bearing portion 1321b of the fourth lifting portion 132b in the height direction, and the movable mechanism is driven to rise by the first driving device 140 to make the lifting drive member 151 abut against the second force-bearing portion 1321b of the fourth lifting portion 132b, thereby controlling the lifting and lowering of the fourth lifting member 130b to perform cooling operations on the wafer 200.

[0076] For example Fig.13 Shown, displayed Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure in which the transmission mechanism 150 moves to connect with the third lifting member 130c in the embodiment.

[0077] It is understandable that in Fig.12 On this basis, by continuing to extend the connecting member 152, the lifting and lowering driving member 151 corresponds to the first force-bearing portion 1321c of the third lifting portion 132c in the height direction, and the first driving device 140 drives the movable mechanism to rise until the lifting and lowering driving member 151 abuts against the first force-bearing portion 1321c of the third lifting portion 132c, thereby controlling the lifting and lowering of the fourth lifting member 130b to perform cooling operations on the wafer 200.

[0078] It should be noted that in Figure 11~Figure 13 The wafer cooling device in the embodiment may be provided with a wafer inlet / outlet portion (not shown) corresponding to each cooling unit and lifting member. Figure 1 The wafer in / out section is located at Figure 11~Figure 13 In the embodiment, the housing of the wafer cooling device may be provided with a wafer inlet / outlet portion on the upper side of each cooling unit, for wafers to be put in and out of each cooling unit.

[0079] It can be understood that in the embodiment of setting multiple groups of cooling units and lifting parts, the lifting parts of different lifting parts only need to form mutually staggered force-bearing parts (which can be partial or complete lifting parts) in the height direction of the accommodating cavity, and the transmission mechanism is provided with the movement ability of the corresponding activity trajectory, so that the transmission mechanism can be moved to make the force-applying part connect with the force-bearing part and apply force, so that the lifting part can be lifted, and it is not limited to the structure of the retractable connecting part in the above embodiment.

[0080] It is understandable that the overlapping arrangement between each group of cooling units and the lifting parts can effectively reduce the size of the occupied space, thereby reducing the volume of the accommodating cavity. Moreover, if there is a misalignment between the cooling units in the height direction, there will also be a misalignment between the lifting parts, which requires increasing the movement stroke of the transmission mechanism in the horizontal plane perpendicular to the height direction, and requires adding an additional driving device for driving the first driving device and the transmission mechanism to move horizontally, which increases the control difficulty and cost. The overlapping arrangement in the embodiment of the present disclosure allows the lifting parts of different lifting parts to be misaligned to form a force-bearing part, which can be well solved in a manner that cooperates with the movable transmission mechanism.

[0081] like Fig.14 As shown, a schematic diagram of a top view of the transmission mechanism and the lifting part in another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 6 The cooling unit and the lifting member structure are implemented as an example.

[0082] In this embodiment, a plurality of cooling units and the corresponding lifting members can still be arranged in the height direction of the accommodating cavity. The figure schematically shows two cooling units and two lifting members, namely the sixth cooling unit 120a'' and the seventh cooling unit 120b'', and the sixth lifting member 130a'' and the seventh lifting member 130b''. Fig.14 This is a top-down perspective. The seventh cooling unit 120b'' at the top and the seventh lifting member 130b'' with the seventh lifting portion 132b'' block the sixth lifting member 130a'', but the sixth lifting portion 132a'' of the sixth lifting member 130a'' is still visible. The sixth lifting portion 132a'' and the seventh lifting portion 132b'' are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction to form an angle. In this embodiment, the sixth lifting portion 132a'' and the seventh lifting portion 132b'' are arranged to have an angle therebetween, thereby forming different force-bearing portions that are displaced in the height direction.

[0083] In this embodiment, the transmission mechanism is implemented as a second transmission mechanism 150', the connecting member included therein is implemented as a rotatable second connecting member 152', and the lifting driving member included therein is implemented as a pair of second lifting driving members 151' disposed at both ends of the second connecting member 152'. Fig.14It can be seen that the second connecting member 152' is in a flat state in the top view, and a pair of second lifting driving members 151' at both ends of the second connecting member 152' are respectively connected to the seventh lifting portion 132b'' of the seventh lifting member 130b'' to drive the lifting of the seventh lifting member 130b''. Further, the second connecting member 152' can rotate around an axis portion 190 along the arrow F to reach the sixth lifting portion 132a'' of the sixth lifting member 132a'' (blocked by the seventh lifting member 130b'' and lower than the seventh lifting member 130b'' in the height direction), so as to be used for the lifting of the sixth lifting member 130a''. In some embodiments, the second connecting member 152' can be driven by the second driving device 170 (see Fig.15 ) drives the rotation, the second driving device 170 in this embodiment may include a motor, and the output shaft of the motor may be pivotally connected to the shaft 190 or be transmission connected through a gear mechanism, etc.

[0084] like Fig.15 As shown, a schematic diagram of the structure of the motion control system of the wafer cooling device in one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0085] exist Fig.15 In the figure, the motion control system includes a control device 180, which is connected to and controls the first driving device 140. In addition, when a second driving device 170 is provided, the control device 180 is connected to and controls the second driving device 170.

[0086] In some embodiments, the control device 180 may be preset with a control mode for automatically controlling the lifting member to move into position. Figure 2 , Figure 3 Automatic control of the lifting and lowering. Specifically, the control device 180 controls the first drive device 140 to drive the lifting member to rise from the first position to the second position according to the preset rising stroke M to receive the wafer. Further, after determining that the wafer is placed (for example, triggered by user input or triggered by a sensor set on the lifting member sensing the wafer), the first drive device 140 is controlled to descend according to the descending stroke M which is the same as the rising stroke, until it descends to the second position and stops. The judgment method for descending to the right position can be, for example, controlled according to the precise descending stroke which is the same as the rising stroke, or controlled according to the motor torque of the first drive device 140 when being blocked or the pressure detected by the pressure sensor on the lifting member (communicating with the control device 180) reaching a threshold value.

[0087] In other examples, the control device 180 can also implement the following Figure 11~Figure 13 or Fig.14Specifically, the control device 180 controls the second driving device 170 to drive the connecting member of the transmission mechanism to extend or rotate to reach a position corresponding to the force-bearing part of the target lifting member to be connected, and then controls the first driving device 140 to drive the transmission mechanism to rise to connect to the force-bearing part of the target lifting member. Figure 11~Figure 13 For example, according to the embodiment of the present invention, multiple gears can be preset according to the telescopic stroke of the connecting member, so as to be respectively telescopic to the telescopic positions corresponding to different force-bearing parts in the height direction. Fig.14 Taking the embodiment as an example, multiple gears can be preset according to the rotation stroke of the connecting member so as to rotate to correspond to different force-bearing parts in the height direction respectively.

[0088] In some embodiments, the control device 180 may be implemented as a controller, such as a PLC controller or other types of controllers.

[0089] like Fig.16 , which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a computer device in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0090] The computer device 1100 may be used to implement the control device in the previous embodiment.

[0091] The computer device 1100 includes a bus 1101, a processor 1102, and a memory 1103. The processor 1102 and the memory 1103 can communicate with each other through the bus 1101. The memory 1103 can store a computer program or instruction. The processor 1102 implements the functions of the control device in the previous embodiment by running the computer program or instruction in the memory 1103.

[0092] The bus 1101 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, although only one thick line is used in the figure, it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0093] In some embodiments, the processor 1102 may be implemented as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessing unit (MCU), a system on chip (System On Chip), or a field programmable logic array (FPGA). The memory 1103 may include a volatile memory (Volatile Memory) for temporary storage of data when running a program, such as a random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM).

[0094] The memory 1103 may also include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory) for data storage, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), or a solid-state disk (SSD).

[0095] In some embodiments, the computer device 1100 may further include a communicator 1104. The communicator 1104 is used to communicate with the outside. In a specific example, the communicator 1104 may include one or a group of wired and / or wireless communication circuit modules. For example, the communicator 1104 may include one or more of a wired network card, a USB module, a serial interface module, etc. The wireless communication protocols followed by the wireless communication module include: for example, near field communication (NFC) technology, infrared (IR) technology, global system for mobile communications (GSM), general packet radio service (GPRS), code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), time division code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), long term evolution (LTE), Bluetooth (BT), global navigation satellite system (GNSS), etc. One or more.

[0096] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium may be provided, storing a computer program or instructions, which implement the functions of the control device in any of the previous embodiments when executed.

[0097] That is, the method steps in the above embodiments are implemented as software or computer code that can be stored in a recording medium (such as a CD ROM, RAM, floppy disk, hard disk or magneto-optical disk), or are implemented as computer code originally stored in a remote recording medium or a non-temporary machine-readable medium downloaded via a network and to be stored in a local recording medium, so that the method represented herein can be stored in such software processing on a recording medium using a general-purpose computer, a dedicated processor, or programmable or dedicated hardware (such as an ASIC or FPGA).

[0098] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer program product may be provided, one or more computer programs or instructions, which, when executed, fully or partially execute the functions of the control device in the embodiment of the present disclosure. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions.

[0099] The computer program or instructions may be stored in a readable storage medium or transmitted from one readable storage medium to another readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means. The readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it may also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; it may also be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state drive. The computer readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0100] In summary, the present disclosure relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and provides a wafer cooling device, including: a shell, forming a receiving cavity; a plurality of cooling units, arranged in multiple layers along the height direction of the receiving cavity; a plurality of lifting members, which can reach and be spliced ​​flush with the top surface of a corresponding cooling unit to form a bearing plane that completely receives the back of the wafer or lift the wafer to detach from the cooling unit; each lifting member includes: a connecting portion for connecting with the side edge of the cooling unit, and at least one lifting portion formed on the connecting portion; the lifting portions of the plurality of lifting members are at least partially offset from each other in the height direction to form a force-bearing portion that can be driven and connected by a transmission mechanism; a first driving device is connected to drive the lifting member through a transmission mechanism; the transmission mechanism is movably arranged to switch the force-bearing portion of the lifting member connected by the transmission. The wafer cooling device in the example of the present disclosure can achieve uniform cooling of the wafer by controlling the lifting member to rise and fall to form a bearing plane flush with the corresponding cooling unit to completely receive the wafer, thereby solving the problem of uneven cooling of the wafer caused by the structural defect of incomplete contact with the wafer in the wafer cooling device in the related art, and increasing the contact area and improving the cooling efficiency.

[0101] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and effects of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Anyone familiar with the technology may modify or change the above embodiments without violating the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes made by those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field without departing from the spirit and technical ideas disclosed in the present disclosure shall still be covered by the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A wafer cooling device, characterized in that: include: A housing, forming a receiving cavity; A plurality of cooling units are provided in the accommodating cavity and arranged in multiple layers along the height direction of the accommodating cavity; Lifting assembly, comprising: A plurality of lifting members are arranged to be lifted and lowered, and can reach a first position where the top surface of the side edge of the corresponding cooling unit is flush with each other to form a bearing plane that completely receives the back of the wafer, or a second position where the wafer is lifted to separate from the cooling unit; the lifting members correspond to the plurality of cooling units one by one; each of the lifting members comprises: a connecting portion for connecting with the side edge of the cooling unit, and at least one lifting portion formed on the connecting portion; the lifting portions of the plurality of lifting members are at least partially offset from each other in the height direction to form a force-bearing portion that can be connected by a transmission mechanism; The first driving device is connected to and drives the plurality of lifting members through the transmission mechanism; the transmission mechanism is movably arranged to switch the force-bearing part of the lifting member connected by the transmission; the plurality of lifting members are aligned along the height direction and have different extension lengths to form mutually staggered force-bearing parts in the extension length direction; the transmission mechanism includes: at least one lifting drive member that can be lifted to the ground and connected to the force-bearing part of at least one lifting member; a connecting member connected to the lifting drive member and the first driving device so as to be driven to lift the lifting drive member; the connecting member is telescopically arranged along the extension direction of the lifting member so as to adjust the position of the lifting drive member to correspond to the force-bearing part of at least one lifting member; or, The lifting parts are mutually staggered in the height direction and arranged around the accommodating cavity circumferentially, and the transmission mechanism comprises: a connecting member connected to the lifting drive member and the first driving device so as to be driven to lift the lifting drive member; the connecting member is rotatably arranged to adjust the position of the lifting drive member corresponding to the force-bearing part of at least one lifting member; the lifting member and the cooling unit are connected through a rolling structure; the rolling structure is embedded in the side edge surface of the cooling unit or embedded in the opposite surface of the lifting member corresponding to the side edge surface of the cooling unit; the rolling structure comprises a plurality of balls, and the lifting member and the cooling unit are connected through the surface formed by the dense arrangement of the plurality of balls; the lifting member and the cooling unit are made of the same material; A second driving device, connected to and driving the transmission mechanism to move; A control device, connected to and controlling the first drive device and the second drive device, for responding to a drive instruction, controlling the transmission mechanism to move to connect with the force-bearing part of the target lifting member specified by the drive instruction, so that the target lifting member moves up and down between the first position and the second position to complete the wafer cooling operation; wherein the control device is preset with a control mode for automatically controlling the lifting member to move into position; the control device controls the first drive device to drive the lifting member to rise from the first position to the second position according to a preset rising stroke amount to receive the wafer; after determining that the wafer is placed, the first drive device is controlled to descend according to a falling stroke amount that is the same as the rising stroke amount, until it stops when it descends to the second position; the judgment method of descending into position is to control according to the precise falling stroke amount that is the same as the rising stroke amount, or to control according to the motor torque of the first drive device when being blocked or the pressure detected by the pressure sensor on the lifting member that is connected to the control device for communication reaches a threshold value; In addition, the control device controls the second driving device to drive the connecting member of the transmission mechanism to extend or rotate to reach a position corresponding to the force-bearing part of the target lifting member to be connected, and then controls the first driving device to drive the transmission mechanism to rise to connect to the force-bearing part of the target lifting member; the control device presets multiple gears according to the extension and rotation stroke of the connecting member, so as to extend or rotate to the extension position corresponding to different force-bearing parts in the height direction.

2. The wafer cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the at least one lifting component is located at the second position, at least one gap is exposed for taking / placing the wafer; when the at least one lifting component is located at the first position, the at least one gap is filled by the cooling unit to form the carrying plane.

3. The wafer cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the lifting members includes a pair of lifting parts extending in opposite directions; the at least one lifting driving member is a pair, corresponding one-to-one to the pair of lifting parts.

4. The wafer cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting member and the cooling unit are made of the same material; and / or, the side wall of the shell forms at least one wafer entry / exit portion that is adjacent to each cooling unit and higher than the corresponding cooling unit; the second position includes: a position where the lifting member can be used to take / place wafers from the wafer entry / exit portion; and / or, the lifting member forms a step portion for receiving wafers; when the lifting member is located at the first position, a wafer accommodating groove is formed between the step portion and the cooling unit.

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