Automatic wafer handler with gap adaptive fine-tuning function

Abstract

The invention discloses an automatic wafer sorter with a gap adaptive fine-tuning function, which relates to the technical field of semiconductor wafer sorters. It is improved on the basis of the basic principle of a conventional wafer sorter, and adopts freely movable fins as the basic structure for "fixing" wafers. The difference is that: a directional paddle in a directional slider can realize a directional movement process of multiple fins, so as to change the gap between each fin, and its purpose is to adapt to wafers of different thicknesses. On the basis of "fixing" the wafer, air is blown out of the ventilation rod through the ventilation groove to form an air gap, so that the "fixing" of the wafer has mobility. On this basis, lateral lever assemblies that play an auxiliary role are arranged on both sides of the conventional central roller, and the reducing rods therein are used to change the clamping diameter in the wafer sorting process to adapt to wafers of different diameters, and the lower lever is used to adapt to wafers with positioning notches.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor wafer handlers, and in particular to an automatic wafer handler with a gap adaptive fine-tuning function. Background Art

[0002] For the wafer sorter in the semiconductor field, its function is to align, find edges, level and other processes of wafers to ensure the accuracy and efficiency of chip manufacturing. Its structure includes flower baskets, rollers and other structures. It should be noted that flower baskets of corresponding specifications are required for wafers of different specifications. The number of slots and gaps in the flower basket are mostly "fixed settings", which have great limitations during use. The gap in the flower basket is slightly larger than the thickness of the wafer. On the one hand, it will "increase" the swing amplitude of the wafer, thereby aggravating the vibration amplitude of the wafer and causing minor damage. On the other hand, the leveling process cannot be fully realized. The wafer after alignment and edge finding cannot be completely leveled, and is slightly tilted relative to the vertical plane.

[0003] This application proposes a solution to this problem. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic wafer sorter with a gap adaptive fine-tuning function, which is aimed at wafer sorters in the semiconductor industry. Because the flower basket in the wafer sorter adopts a separate structure, and the gap and the number of slots in the flower basket are mostly "fixed settings", the overall use process has great limitations, which is specifically manifested in the gap parameters therein, which will directly affect the wafer sorting effect.

[0005] The objective of the present invention can be achieved through the following technical scheme: an automatic wafer sorter with a gap adaptive fine-tuning function, comprising a base frame and a fin group, wherein a central roller is rotatably installed in the base frame, the fin group is composed of a plurality of directional fins, vertical rods arranged vertically are installed at the four corners of the base frame, the fin group is arranged at the middle position of two vertical rods along the length direction of the base frame, the setting direction of the central roller is parallel to the length direction of the base frame, and lateral lever assemblies are rotatably installed at the positions on both sides of the base frame corresponding to the central roller, and the setting direction of the lateral lever assemblies is parallel to the length direction of the base frame;

[0006] A sliding rod and a venting rod are installed between two vertical rods arranged along the length direction of the base frame, the directional fins are slidably connected on the sliding rod, and a venting groove is opened on the circumferential outer wall of the venting rod corresponding to the middle part of the two vertical rods;

[0007] Side mounting sleeves corresponding to the length direction of the center roller are installed on the outer positions of two vertical rods arranged along the length direction of the base frame, an electric push rod is installed on one side of the inner part of the side mounting sleeve, a directional slider is installed on the end position of the output shaft of the electric push rod, and an intermediate paddle is installed on the outer wall position of the directional slider corresponding to the fin.

[0008] It is further configured as follows: a side wall sleeve is installed on the outer wall position of the base frame corresponding to one end of the central roller, a second motor structure and a first motor structure corresponding to the lateral lever assembly and the central roller are installed inside the side wall sleeve respectively, and a displacement sensor is installed at the upper end position inside the side wall sleeve.

[0009] It is further configured as follows: a plurality of wafer bodies are arranged on the upper side of the base frame corresponding to the fin group and the central roller, and a four-way ball head rod is installed on the end of the output shaft of the displacement sensor.

[0010] It is further configured that: an air gap hole is opened at the intersection of the directional fins and the ventilation rods, the diameter of the air gap hole is larger than the outer diameter of the ventilation rod, and one end of the ventilation rod corresponding to the side wall sleeve is configured as an air injection port.

[0011] It is further configured that: the middle paddle, the directional sliding block and the air-permeable groove are slidably connected.

[0012] It is further configured as follows: the lateral lever assembly includes an arcuate connecting rod, a reduced diameter rod and a lower lever, the reduced diameter rod and the lower lever are arranged at both ends of the arcuate connecting rod, and the reduced diameter rod and the lower lever are rotationally connected to the arcuate connecting rod.

[0013] It is further configured as follows: the reducing rod is arranged close to the directional fin, the lower shifting rod is arranged close to the central roller, the lower shifting portion is arranged between the rotation point of the arc-shaped connecting rod corresponding to the base frame and the center point of the lower shifting rod, and the reducing portion is arranged between the rotation point of the arc-shaped connecting rod corresponding to the base frame and the center point of the reducing rod.

[0014] It is further configured that: the arrangement direction of the diameter-reducing portion corresponding to the lower shifting portion is inclined upward.

[0015] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0016] The overall structure is still based on the basic principle of conventional wafer sorters, with obvious differences in that: freely movable fins are used as the basic structure for "fixing" wafers, so that it can be applied to wafers of different thicknesses, and further provided with directional sliders and electric push rods for changing the fin gap, specifically to cause each fin to move closer to each other, so as to further adapt the wafer gap and "completely" fix the wafer, and further utilize the air-permeable grooves on the ventilation rods to form air gaps between each fin by blowing air between each fin, so that the "fixing" of the wafer has mobility, and the airflow is used as the "buffer filler" of the wafer to avoid the problem of large wafer vibration and damage during the wafer sorting process;

[0017] A lateral lever assembly is added on the basis of the conventional center roller, specifically including a reducing part and a lower shifting part. The reducing part is mainly used to change the clamping diameter during the wafer sorting process to adapt to wafers of different diameters, and the lower shifting part is mainly used for wafers with positioning notches, which improves the overall wafer sorting effect without interfering with the normal rotation of the center roller. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an automatic wafer sorter with a gap adaptive fine-tuning function proposed by the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of a side wall cover in an automatic wafer sorter with a gap adaptive fine-tuning function proposed by the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of a fin group in an automatic wafer sorter with a gap adaptive fine-tuning function proposed by the present invention;

[0022] Figure 4 The invention provides a wafer automatic processing device with a gap adaptive fine-tuning function. Figure 1 A front view of

[0023] Figure 5 This is a disassembled diagram of the fin group in the automatic wafer sorter with gap adaptive fine-tuning function proposed by the present invention;

[0024] Figure 6 The present invention is a schematic structural diagram of a side mounting sleeve of an automatic wafer handler with a gap adaptive fine-tuning function.

[0025] In the figure: 1. base frame; 2. side mounting sleeve; 3. side wall sleeve; 4. center roller; 5. vertical rod; 6. displacement sensor; 7. first motor structure; 8. second motor structure; 9. lateral lever assembly; 902. reducing rod; 901. arc connecting rod; 903. lower lever; 10. directional fin; 11. sliding rod; 12. ventilation rod; 13. electric push rod; 14. directional slider; 15. middle lever; 16. ventilation groove. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The technical scheme of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] Embodiment 1: For wafer sorters in the semiconductor industry, because the basket in the wafer sorter adopts a separate structure, and the gaps and slots in the basket are mostly "fixed settings", the overall use process is relatively limited, specifically, the gap parameters therein will directly affect the wafer sorting effect, and the following technical solutions are proposed:

[0028] Reference Figures 1 to 6 The wafer automatic sorter with gap adaptive fine-tuning function in this embodiment includes a base frame 1 and a fin group. A central roller 4 is rotatably installed in the base frame 1. The fin group is composed of a plurality of directional fins 10. Vertical rods 5 are installed at the four corners of the base frame 1. The fin group is arranged at the middle position of the two vertical rods 5 along the length direction of the base frame 1. The setting direction of the central roller 4 is parallel to the length direction of the base frame 1. Side lever assemblies 9 are rotatably installed at the positions on both sides of the base frame 1 corresponding to the central roller 4. The setting direction of the side lever assemblies 9 is parallel to the length direction of the base frame 1.

[0029] A slide bar 11 and a vent bar 12 are installed between two vertical rods 5 arranged along the length direction of the base frame 1, and the directional fins 10 are slidably connected on the slide bar 11. The vent bar 12 is provided with a venting groove 16 on the circumferential outer wall of the middle part of the two vertical rods 5;

[0030] The side mounting sleeves 2 corresponding to the length direction of the center roller 4 are installed on the outer positions of the two vertical rods 5 arranged along the length direction of the base frame 1, and the electric push rod 13 is installed on one side of the inner side mounting sleeve 2. The directional slider 14 is installed at the end position of the output shaft of the electric push rod 13, and the directional slider 14 is installed at the outer wall position of the fin 10.

[0031] A side wall sleeve 3 is installed on the outer wall position of the base frame 1 corresponding to one end of the central roller 4, and the second motor structure 8 and the first motor structure 7 corresponding to the lateral lever assembly 9 and the central roller 4 are installed inside the side wall sleeve 3 respectively. A displacement sensor 6 is installed at the upper end position inside the side wall sleeve 3, and the middle paddle 15, the directional slider 14 and the air permeable groove 16 are slidably connected.

[0032] Working principle: In the present invention, the central roller 4 driven by the first motor structure 7 is still the main body, combined with Figure 1 To explain: insert several wafers into the middle position of each directional fin 10. Since the directional fin 10 can slide freely on the slide bar 11, it can be suitable for wafers of different diameters. In the process of inserting the wafers, it is necessary to ensure that the wafers contact the central roller 4. Therefore, based on the principle of a conventional wafer sorter, when the first motor structure 7 drives the central roller 4 to rotate at a uniform speed, the edge finding and edge alignment actions can be performed on multiple wafers.

[0033] However, the present embodiment is different from the conventional film sorter structure in that: because the directional fins 10 are movable structures, the spacing between each directional fin 10 can be freely adjusted, and when specifically adjusting the spacing between the directional fins 10, reference can be made to Figure 6 Specifically, the electric push rod 13 drives the directional slider 14 to move in a directional manner. In this embodiment, the initial position of the directional slider 14 needs to be limited so that Figure 6 For example, it is necessary to ensure that the directional slider 14 is set at an edge position away from the side wall sleeve 3. It can be understood that when the directional slider 14 moves in the direction close to the side wall sleeve 3, it can ensure that each directional fin 10 slowly approaches to completely "fix" the wafer, thereby adapting to wafers of different thicknesses.

[0034] Embodiment 2: This embodiment is a supplementary explanation of the directional fin and lateral lever assembly:

[0035] An air gap hole is provided at the intersection of the directional fin 10 and the ventilation rod 12, and the diameter of the air gap hole is larger than the outer diameter of the ventilation rod 12. The ventilation rod 12 is provided with an air injection port at one end of the side wall sleeve 3 corresponding to the side wall sleeve 3. The base frame 1 is provided with a plurality of wafer bodies at the upper side of the fin group and the center roller 4 corresponding to the fin group. A four-way ball head rod is installed at the end of the output shaft of the displacement sensor 6. The lateral lever assembly 9 includes an arc connecting rod 901, a reducing rod 902 and a lower lever 903. The reducing rod 902 and the lower lever 903 are provided on the arc connecting rod. At the two end positions of 901, the reducing rod 902 and the lower shifting rod 903 are rotatably connected with the arc-shaped connecting rod 901, the reducing rod 902 is set close to the directional fin 10, and the lower shifting rod 903 is set close to the center roller 4. The lower shifting part is set between the rotation point of the arc-shaped connecting rod 901 corresponding to the base frame 1 and the center point of the lower shifting rod 903, and the reducing part is set between the rotation point of the arc-shaped connecting rod 901 corresponding to the base frame 1 and the center point of the reducing rod 902, and the setting direction of the reducing part corresponding to the lower shifting part is upwardly inclined.

[0036] Solution description: Combined with the relevant technical description in Example 1, and refer to Figure 4 After placing wafers of different diameters, the second motor structure 8 can drive the lateral lever assembly 9 to perform a fixed angle directional rotation, the essence of which is to change the position of the diameter reduction rod 902 relative to the outer edge of the wafer, so as to Figure 4 The position of the middle arc connecting rod 901 is used as the initial position. It can be seen that the diameter reduction rod 902 does not completely contact the outer edge of the wafer. For this reason, it is necessary to ensure that the lateral lever assembly 9 at the left position rotates clockwise and the lateral lever assembly 9 at the right position rotates counterclockwise until the diameter reduction rod 902 completely contacts the outer edge of the wafer. The purpose is to adapt to wafers of different diameters.

[0037] It should also be noted that: for the convenience of positioning, during the wafer production process, the wafer is not completely circular, but is provided with a corner notch at a local position. The common method is to cut the corner notch in a horizontal line. Then it can be understood that: during the wafer sorting process, when the corner notch position moves to the position corresponding to the center roller 4, the wafer is difficult to sort normally. In this process, if the center roller 4 rotates clockwise, the lateral lever assembly 9 at the left position maintains its original state, but the lateral lever assembly at the right position rotates in a small angle in the clockwise direction through the second motor structure 8. The purpose is to use the lower lever 903 to shift the corner notch position in the wafer upward so that the corner notch position in the wafer is separated from the center roller 4. It should be noted that: because the lateral lever assembly 9 at the right position rotates counterclockwise, the diameter reduction rod 902 at the right position is separated from the outer edge of the wafer, so that the purpose of sizing cannot be achieved. Then the lateral lever assembly 9 at the right position rotates in the opposite direction again after the clockwise rotation to reset.

[0038] In conjunction with the process of fixing the wafer with the oriented fins 10 in Example 1, if the oriented fins 10 completely fix the wafer, it is difficult to drive the wafer to move by relying on the rotation process of the center roller 4, so it is necessary to add an air supply structure in this process. Its essence is to use an air pump structure as the main body. Specifically, the air outlet of the air pump structure is connected to the ventilation rod 12, and the gas delivered by the air pump is discharged through the ventilation groove 16. The gas is mainly blown between the oriented fins 10 and the wafer to form an air gap between the two. It can be understood that: using gas as a "buffer filler" between the oriented fins 10 and the wafer can not only avoid the oriented fins 10 and the wafer from being completely locked, but also avoid the wafer from generating large vibrations during the rotation process of the opposite edges.

[0039] Embodiment 3: This embodiment combines Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 and adds the following scheme:

[0040] Program Description: Figure 1 To illustrate, the overall process can be understood as follows: the fin group and the vertical rod 5 are used as a basket structure, and the basket structure in the present invention is a fixed structure. During use, after a number of wafers are placed in the basket structure, and each wafer body is tightly "fixed" by the directional slider 14, the following calculation process can be performed: the thickness of each directional fin 10 is a fixed value and is represented by A, and the number is i, and then the number of wafers placed is i-1. After the wafer is fixed, the wafer close to the displacement sensor 6 will contact the probe position of the displacement sensor 6, and then the corresponding value is generated on the displacement sensor 6;

[0041] Then, in the subsequent use process, the opposite direction of the setting position of the side wall sleeve 3 is used as the wafer positioning. When taking out the first wafer from the wafer positioning, it is necessary to ensure that the directional slider 14 continues to move in the direction of the corresponding side wall sleeve 3, and the moving distance of the electric push rod 13 needs to be obtained synchronously. It should be noted that: after taking out the first wafer body, the directional slider 14 continues to move until the value on the displacement sensor 6 changes, and then it can be understood that the moving distance of the electric push rod 13 is the thickness of the wafer, which is represented by L. It is explained in this way: when the wafer is taken out subsequently, the movement process of the electric push rod 13 is controlled in a manner of L to cooperate with the wafer removal process.

[0042] To sum up: based on the basic principle of conventional wafer sorters, improvements are made, and freely movable fins are used as the basic structure for "fixing" wafers. The difference is that the directional paddles in the directional slider can realize the directional movement process of multiple fins, so as to change the gap between each fin, the purpose is to adapt to wafers of different thicknesses, and on the basis of "fixing" the wafer, the ventilation rods are blown with air to form air gaps through the air grooves therein, so that the "fixing" of the wafers has mobility. On this basis, lateral lever assemblies that play an auxiliary role are arranged on both sides of the conventional center roller, and the reducing rods therein are used to change the clamping diameter during the wafer sorting process to adapt to wafers of different diameters, and the lower lever is used to adapt to wafers with positioning notches.

[0043] The above contents are merely examples and explanations of the structure of the present invention. The technicians in this technical field may make various modifications or additions to the specific embodiments described or replace them in a similar manner. As long as they do not deviate from the structure of the invention or exceed the scope defined by the claims, they should all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0044] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "example", "specific example", etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0045] The preferred embodiments of the present invention disclosed above are only used to help explain the present invention. The preferred embodiments do not describe all the details in detail, nor do they limit the invention to only specific implementation methods. Obviously, many modifications and changes can be made according to the content of this specification. This specification selects and specifically describes these embodiments in order to better explain the principles and practical applications of the present invention, so that those skilled in the art can understand and use the present invention well. The present invention is limited only by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. An automatic wafer sorter with a gap adaptive fine-tuning function, comprising a base frame (1) and a fin group, wherein a central roller (4) is rotatably mounted in the base frame (1), and the fin group is composed of a plurality of directional fins (10), characterized in that: Vertically arranged vertical rods (5) are installed at the four corners of the base frame (1); the fin group is arranged at the middle position of the two vertical rods (5) along the length direction of the base frame (1); the arrangement direction of the central roller (4) is parallel to the length direction of the base frame (1); lateral lever assemblies (9) are rotatably installed at the positions on both sides of the base frame (1) corresponding to the central roller (4); and the arrangement direction of the lateral lever assemblies (9) is parallel to the length direction of the base frame (1); A sliding rod (11) and a venting rod (12) are installed between two vertical rods (5) arranged along the length direction of the base frame (1), the directional fins (10) are slidably connected to the sliding rod (11), and a venting groove (16) is provided on the circumferential outer wall of the venting rod (12) corresponding to the middle part of the two vertical rods (5); A side mounting sleeve (2) corresponding to the length direction of the central roller (4) is installed at an outer position of two vertical rods (5) arranged along the length direction of the base frame (1), an electric push rod (13) is installed at a position on one side of the inside of the side mounting sleeve (2), a directional slider (14) is installed at the end position of the output shaft of the electric push rod (13), and an intermediate paddle (15) is installed at a position on the outer wall of the directional slider (14) corresponding to the fin (10).

2. The automatic wafer sorter with gap adaptive fine-tuning function according to claim 1, characterized in that: A side wall sleeve (3) is installed on the outer wall position of the base frame (1) corresponding to one end of the central roller (4); a second motor structure (8) and a first motor structure (7) corresponding to the lateral lever assembly (9) and the central roller (4) are installed inside the side wall sleeve (3); and a displacement sensor (6) is installed at the upper end position inside the side wall sleeve (3).

3. The automatic wafer sorter with gap adaptive fine-tuning function according to claim 2, characterized in that: The base frame (1) is provided with a plurality of wafer bodies at upper positions corresponding to the fin group and the central roller (4), and a four-way ball head rod is installed at the end position of the output shaft of the displacement sensor (6).

4. The automatic wafer sorter with gap adaptive fine-tuning function according to claim 1, characterized in that: An air gap hole is provided at the intersection of the directional fin (10) and the ventilation rod (12), the diameter of the air gap hole is larger than the outer diameter of the ventilation rod (12), and one end of the ventilation rod (12) corresponding to the side wall sleeve (3) is set as an air injection port.

5. The automatic wafer sorter with gap adaptive fine-tuning function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The middle paddle (15), the directional slider (14) and the air-permeable groove (16) are slidably connected.

6. The automatic wafer sorter with gap adaptive fine-tuning function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lateral lever assembly (9) comprises an arc-shaped connecting rod (901), a reduced diameter rod (902) and a lower lever (903); the reduced diameter rod (902) and the lower lever (903) are arranged at two end positions of the arc-shaped connecting rod (901), and the reduced diameter rod (902) and the lower lever (903) are rotatably connected to the arc-shaped connecting rod (901).

7. The automatic wafer sorter with gap adaptive fine-tuning function according to claim 6, characterized in that: The reducing rod (902) is arranged at a position close to the directional fin (10), the lower shifting rod (903) is arranged at a position close to the central roller (4), the lower shifting portion is arranged between the rotation point of the arc-shaped connecting rod (901) corresponding to the base frame (1) and the center point of the lower shifting rod (903), and the reducing portion is arranged between the rotation point of the arc-shaped connecting rod (901) corresponding to the base frame (1) and the center point of the reducing rod (902).

8. The automatic wafer sorter with gap adaptive fine-tuning function according to claim 7, characterized in that: The arrangement direction of the reduced diameter portion corresponding to the lower shifting portion is inclined upward.

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