Wafer cleaning device and cleaning method

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of wafer cleaning, and specifically discloses a wafer cleaning device and a cleaning method, comprising: a mounting frame, a cleaning tank and a hanging part arranged on the mounting frame, the mounting frame comprising a placing rod and blocking rods located on both sides of the placing rod, a movable rod is slidably arranged in the blocking rod, a plurality of limit blocks and avoidance grooves are opened on the blocking rod along its axial direction, a plurality of mounting blocks slidably arranged on the avoidance grooves are installed on the movable rod, the limit blocks and the mounting blocks are used together to clamp the wafers, the wafers clamped on the two blocking rods are staggered one by one, a connecting rod is arranged between the movable rod and the placing rod, and a protrusion is arranged on the movable rod; the beneficial effects of the present invention: when cleaning the wafers, the gap between the wafers is increased, and the cleaning effect is better; when the mounting frame moves downward, the driving component rotates the wafer, so that the clamped part of the wafer can be cleaned, so that the wafer cleaning is more comprehensive.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of wafer cleaning, and in particular to a wafer cleaning device and a cleaning method. Background Art

[0002] Wafers are the basic materials for the production of electronic devices and are mainly used in the fields of integrated circuit manufacturing, optoelectronic component manufacturing, and solar panel manufacturing. In integrated circuit manufacturing, various integrated circuits such as microprocessors, memory chips, logic chips, analog chips, etc. can be manufactured by performing processes such as photolithography and etching on wafers. Ultrasonic cleaning equipment is required when wafers are produced.

[0003] The wafer cleaning device in the prior art is generally described in the Chinese patent with the announcement number CN117912992B, which discloses a horizontal wafer cleaning device, including a spray cleaning mechanism for cleaning the wafer and a fixing mechanism for swinging the wafer in cooperation with the spray cleaning mechanism, the spray cleaning mechanism is installed on the sealing cover of the sealing mechanism, the lower side of the spray cleaning mechanism corresponds to the fixing mechanism, the wafer is fixed inside the fixing mechanism, and the spray cleaning mechanism is connected to the sealing mechanism outside. The present invention uses a gas-liquid mixture of carbon dioxide to clean the wafer, avoiding adhesion when using conventional liquid cleaning, increasing subsequent processing steps, and using a swing structure to cooperate with cleaning to avoid the participation of high-frequency vibration and cause accidental damage.

[0004] When the above technical solution performs batch cleaning on wafers, the wafers are placed on a carrier and then placed in a cleaning device for cleaning. Generally, the carrier is designed to keep the distance between the wafers small to facilitate transportation and storage, and it is difficult for the cleaning mechanism to reach into the gaps between the wafers for cleaning. In addition to the above technical solution of cleaning the wafers by a spray cleaning mechanism, the wafers are generally placed in an ultrasonic cleaning device for cleaning to solve the problem of the cleaning mechanism reaching into the gaps between the wafers for cleaning. However, the small gap between the wafers will also affect the cleaning effect. At the same time, the parts of the wafers blocked by the carrier are also difficult to clean during cleaning. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention provides a wafer cleaning device and a cleaning method, aiming to solve the problem of poor cleaning effect when cleaning wafers in batches in the related art.

[0006] A wafer cleaning device comprises a mounting frame, a cleaning tank and a hanging member arranged on the mounting frame, the mounting frame comprises a placing rod and blocking rods located on both sides of the placing rod, a movable rod is slidably arranged in the blocking rod, a plurality of limit blocks and avoidance grooves are opened on the blocking rod along its axial direction, a plurality of mounting blocks slidably arranged on the avoidance grooves are installed on the movable rod, the limit blocks and the mounting blocks are used together to clamp the wafers, the wafers clamped on the two blocking rods are arranged one by one in an alternating manner, a connecting rod is arranged between the movable rod and the placing rod, a protrusion is arranged on the movable rod, one end of the connecting rod is sleeved on the movable rod and there is a gap between the protrusion, and the other end is threadedly connected to the placing rod, and a reset member is also installed between the connecting rod and the blocking rod;

[0007] A driving member is installed in the cleaning tank, which contacts the end of the connecting rod and causes the connecting rod to rotate. A rotating component for driving the wafer to rotate is installed between the cleaning tank and the blocking rod. Before the connecting rod contacts the protrusion, the limit block and the mounting block clamp the wafer. When the connecting rod pushes the protrusion to move, the wafer can rotate freely.

[0008] When the connecting rod contacts the driving part, it rotates and drives the blocking rod to rotate to both sides. The rotation of the blocking rod causes the wafer clamped between the limit block and the mounting block to rotate to both sides, and the gap between the wafers becomes larger, which has a better effect when cleaning the wafers. When the connecting rod continues to rotate, it pushes the movable rod to move so that the limit block and the mounting block no longer clamp the wafer. At this time, the rotating assembly rotates the placement rod and then the wafer. The clamped part of the wafer changes, so that the clamped part of the wafer is cleaned, and the cleaning effect of the wafer is better.

[0009] Preferably, the driving member is two fixed plates fixedly arranged in the cleaning tank, and the two fixed plates can be in contact with two connecting rods respectively; the connecting rods are rotated by the driving member.

[0010] Preferably, a placement groove is provided on the placement rod along its length direction, and the wafer is placed in the placement groove; by providing the placement groove, the wafer can avoid deflection when being cleaned.

[0011] Preferably, the rotating assembly includes a rack and a gear, the placement rod includes an intermediate rod and a sleeve rod, the sleeve rod is rotatably set on the intermediate rod, the placement slot is opened on the sleeve rod, the rack is fixedly set in the cleaning tank, and the gear is fixedly set on the sleeve rod; the sleeve rod is rotated by the rotating assembly to rotate the wafer.

[0012] Preferably, the reset member is a torsion spring, one end of which is connected to the connecting rod and the other end is connected to the placement rod; when the mounting bracket is moved out of the cleaning tank, the torsion spring resets the connecting rod.

[0013] Preferably, a spring is arranged between the blocking rod and the movable rod; by arranging the spring, the connecting rod is prevented from pushing the movable rod to move when sliding from the beginning, and at the same time, the connecting rod resets the movable rod through the spring after pushing the movable rod to move.

[0014] Preferably, the hoisting member comprises hoisting rods fixedly arranged at both ends of the placement rod, and the hoisting rods are provided with hoisting holes; the mounting frame is hoisted by the hoisting rods, and downward pressure can be applied to the mounting frame by the hoisting device.

[0015] A wafer cleaning method comprises the following steps:

[0016] S1. Place the wafer in the mounting frame, and lift the mounting frame into the cleaning tank through the lifting parts;

[0017] S2, the lifting member descends to make the connecting rod contact with the driving member and drive the blocking rod to rotate to both sides, so that the wafers clamped on the two blocking rods rotate to both sides to increase the gap between the wafers;

[0018] S3. The hoisting member continues to descend, the connecting rod pushes the movable rod to move so that the limit block and the mounting block no longer clamp the wafer, and the driving assembly rotates the wafer to expose the clamped part of the wafer for cleaning.

[0019] When cleaning the wafers, the gap between the wafers is increased to achieve a better cleaning effect; when the mounting frame moves downward, the driving assembly rotates the wafers, so that the clamped parts of the wafers can be cleaned, making the wafer cleaning more comprehensive.

[0020] By adopting the above technical solution, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0021] 1. When cleaning the wafer, the mounting frame is hoisted into the cleaning tank. When the mounting frame enters the cleaning tank, the connecting rod contacts the driving member to rotate the connecting rod. When the connecting rod starts to rotate, the connecting rod does not contact the protrusion. At this time, there is no relative displacement between the movable rod and the stopper. The limit block and the mounting block clamp the wafer. The two stoppers rotate to both sides respectively. The two groups of wafers in contact with the two stoppers rotate to both sides. The gap between the wafers is enlarged, and the effect of cleaning the wafers by ultrasonic waves is better.

[0022] 2. When the two baffles rotate to both sides at a certain angle, the gear contacts the rack, causing the sleeve rod to rotate. The rotation of the sleeve rod causes the wafer to rotate at a certain angle. During the cleaning process, the mounting frame moves up and down to rotate the wafer, preventing the clamped part of the wafer from being effectively cleaned. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the mounting frame of the present invention after entering the cleaning tank.

[0024] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the two baffle bars of the present invention when they are close to each other.

[0025] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention after the two baffle bars are away from each other.

[0026] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of the cooperation between the blocking rod and the movable rod of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the structure after the movable rod and the blocking rod of the present invention are separated.

[0028] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the top view when the baffle bars of the present invention are close to each other.

[0029] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the top view when the baffle bars of the present invention are away from each other.

[0030] Figure numerals: 1. mounting frame; 11. placing rod; 12. blocking rod; 13. movable rod; 14. limiting block; 15. avoidance groove; 16. mounting block; 17. connecting rod; 18. protrusion; 19. reset member; 110. spring; 111. placing groove; 2. cleaning groove; 21. driving member; 22. rotating assembly; 221. rack; 222. gear; 3. lifting member. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to be used to explain the present invention, but should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0032] like Figure 1-Figure 7 As shown, a wafer cleaning device includes a mounting frame 1, a cleaning tank 2 and a lifting component 3 for placing the mounting frame 1 into the cleaning tank 2. When cleaning the wafer, the mounting frame 1 with the wafer is placed in the cleaning tank 2 through the lifting component 3 for cleaning.

[0033] The mounting frame 1 includes a placing rod 11 and a blocking rod 12 located on both sides of the placing rod 11, a movable rod 13 is slidably arranged in the blocking rod 12, a plurality of limit blocks 14 and avoidance grooves 15 are opened on the blocking rod 12 along its axial direction, a plurality of mounting blocks 16 slidably arranged on the avoidance grooves 15 are installed on the movable rod 13, the limit blocks 14 and the mounting blocks 16 are used together to clamp the wafers, and the wafers clamped on the two blocking rods 12 are staggered one by one, a connecting rod 17 is provided between the movable rod 13 and the placing rod 11, a protrusion 18 is provided on the movable rod 13, one end of the connecting rod 17 is sleeved on the movable rod 13 and there is a gap between it and the protrusion 18, and the other end is threadedly connected to the placing rod 11, and a reset member 19 is also installed between the connecting rod 17 and the placing rod 11.

[0034] When placing the wafer, the wafer is placed between the limit block 14 and the mounting block 16, and the wafer is clamped by the limit block 14 and the mounting block 16. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, in order to ensure the clamping force of the wafer, a spring 110 is arranged between the baffle 12 and the movable rod 13. In the initial position, the gap between the limit block 14 and the mounting block 16 is smaller than the thickness of the wafer to ensure a certain clamping force for the wafer. Two groups of wafers are placed on the two baffles 12 respectively. In the initial position, the gap between the wafers is relatively small, and the cleaning effect on the wafers is not good at this time. In order to ensure the cleaning effect of the wafers, the wafers are placed in the cleaning tank 2, and the two baffles 12 rotate and move the two groups of wafers clamped away from each other. At this time, the gap between the wafers is doubled, and the cleaning effect on the wafers is better.

[0035] The reset member 19 is a torsion spring, one end of which is connected to the connecting rod 17, and the other end is connected to the placing rod 11. After cleaning is completed, when the mounting frame 1 is taken out, the connecting rod 17 is reset under the action of the torsion spring. At this time, after cleaning is completed, the two groups of wafers clamped are close to each other again, and the wafers can be directly stored and transported through the mounting frame 1, occupying less space.

[0036] The driving member 21 is two fixed plates fixedly arranged in the cleaning tank 2, and the two fixed plates can contact with the two connecting rods 17 respectively. When the hanging member 3 places the mounting frame 1 into the cleaning tank 2, the connecting rod 17 contacts with the fixed plates, and the connecting rod 17 rotates under the gravity of the mounting frame 1. Since the connecting rod 17 is threadedly connected with the placement rod 11, the connecting rod 17 approaches the protrusion 18 during the rotation process. From the beginning of the rotation to the contact with the protrusion 18, during this process, no relative displacement occurs between the movable rod 13 and the blocking rod 12, that is, In other words, the limit block 14 and the mounting block 16 still clamp the wafer at this time, and the wafers on the two groups of blocking rods 12 are deflected to both sides respectively, and the two groups of wafers are staggered one by one. When the wafers are deflected to both sides, the gap between the wafers increases, and the effect of cleaning the wafers is better. When the connecting rod 17 continues to rotate, it contacts the protrusion 18 and pushes the movable rod 13 to move, and the movable rod 13 drives the mounting block 16 to move. When the connecting rod 17 stops rotating, the gap between the limit block 14 and the mounting block 16 is greater than the thickness of the wafer, and the wafer can rotate freely at this time.

[0037] It should be noted that when cleaning the wafer, the gap between the limit block 14 and the mounting block 16 is only slightly larger than the thickness of the wafer to avoid shaking and causing damage to the wafer when cleaning the wafer. After the wafer cleaning is completed, the mounting frame 1 is taken out of the cleaning tank 2 by the lifting component 3, and under the action of the torsion spring, the connecting rod 17 is reset and the connecting rod 17 is separated from the contact with the protrusion 18. The movable rod 13 is reset under the action of the spring 110 and drives the mounting block 16 to move. When the connecting rod 17 rotates to the initial position, the limit block 14 and the mounting block 16 resume clamping the wafer, and then the mounting frame 1 is lifted out of the cleaning tank 2 by the lifting component 3.

[0038] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in order to ensure stable clamping of the wafer, a placement groove 111 is opened on the placement rod 11 along its length direction, and the bottom of the wafer is located in the placement groove 111. The width of the placement groove 111 is basically equal to the thickness of the wafer to maintain the positioning of the wafer. When the wafer is cleaned, it has two limit points, one limit point is the point in contact with the placement groove 111, and the other limit point is the clamping point clamped by the limit block 14 and the mounting block 16, so that the wafer is more stable when being cleaned.

[0039] The rotating assembly 22 includes a rack 221 and a gear 222, the placement rod 11 includes an intermediate rod and a sleeve rod, the sleeve rod is rotatably set on the intermediate rod, the placement slot 111 is opened on the sleeve rod, the rack 221 is fixedly set in the cleaning tank 2, and the gear 222 is fixedly set on the sleeve rod; when the sling 3 places the mounting frame 1 in the cleaning tank 2, after the connecting rod 17 pushes the movable rod 13 to move, that is, when the limit block 14 and the mounting block 16 no longer clamp the wafer, the gear 222 contacts the rack 221, and the gear 222 is driven to rotate when the rack 221 contacts the gear 222. The rotation of the gear 222 causes the wafer to rotate at a certain angle, and the part of the wafer clamped by the limit block 14 and the mounting block 16 and the part blocked by the placement slot 111 can also be cleaned. Through the above operation, various parts of the wafer can be cleaned when the wafer is cleaned, avoiding the clamped part from being unable to be cleaned.

[0040] In other embodiments of the present invention, the rotating assembly 22 includes a baffle and a push plate. The baffle is fixed in the cleaning tank 2, and the push plate is fixed on the sleeve rod. When the mounting frame 1 descends, the push plate contacts the baffle, and the sleeve rod is driven to rotate by the push plate, thereby driving the wafer to rotate.

[0041] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an ultrasonic cleaning device is provided in the cleaning tank 2, and the wafer is placed in the cleaning tank 2, and the ultrasonic cleaning device is turned on to clean the wafer.

[0042] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the hoisting component 3 includes hoisting rods fixedly arranged at both ends of the placement rod 11, and a hoisting hole is opened on the hoisting rod. When the mounting frame 1 is hoisted, the hoisting device passes the hook through the hoisting hole to hoist the mounting frame 1. In the specific implementation process, the hook needs to be connected to the mounting frame 1. When the hoisting device lowers the hook, it can apply downward pressure to the mounting frame 1 to rotate the connecting rod 17.

[0043] Working principle of the present invention:

[0044] When the wafer is cleaned, the mounting frame 1 is hoisted into the cleaning tank 2. When the mounting frame 1 enters the cleaning tank 2, the connecting rod 17 contacts the driving member 21 to rotate the connecting rod 17. When the connecting rod 17 starts to rotate, the connecting rod 17 does not contact the protrusion 18. At this time, there is no relative displacement between the movable rod 13 and the blocking rod 12. The limit block 14 and the mounting block 16 clamp the wafer. The two blocking rods 12 rotate to both sides respectively. The two groups of wafers in contact with the two blocking rods 12 rotate to both sides. The gap between the wafers is enlarged, and the effect of ultrasonic cleaning of the wafers is better. After the wafer cleaning is completed, the two groups of wafers are combined together again, and the space occupied when the wafers are transported and stored is smaller. When the two blocking rods 12 rotate to both sides by a certain angle, the gear 222 contacts the rack 221 to rotate the sleeve rod. The rotation of the sleeve rod causes the wafer to rotate by a certain angle. During the cleaning process, the mounting frame 1 moves up and down to rotate the wafer, thereby preventing the clamped part of the wafer from being effectively cleaned.

[0045] A wafer cleaning method, using the above-mentioned wafer cleaning device, comprises the following steps:

[0046] S1, placing the wafer in the mounting frame 1, and hoisting the mounting frame 1 into the cleaning tank 2 through the hoisting member 3;

[0047] S2, the hoisting member 3 descends to make the connecting rod 17 contact with the driving member 21 and drive the blocking rod 12 to rotate to both sides, so that the wafers clamped on the two blocking rods 12 rotate to both sides to increase the gap between the wafers;

[0048] S3, the hoisting member 3 continues to descend, the connecting rod 17 pushes the movable rod 13 to move so that the limit block 14 and the mounting block 16 no longer clamp the wafer, and the rotating assembly 22 rotates the wafer to expose the clamped part of the wafer for cleaning.

[0049] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it is to be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and are not to be construed as limitations of the present invention. A person skilled in the art may change, modify, replace and vary the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wafer cleaning device, comprising a mounting frame, a cleaning tank and a hanging member arranged on the mounting frame, characterized in that: The mounting frame comprises a placement rod and blocking rods located at both sides of the placement rod, a movable rod is slidably arranged in the blocking rod, a plurality of limit blocks and avoidance grooves are opened on the blocking rod along its axial direction, a plurality of mounting blocks slidably arranged on the avoidance grooves are installed on the movable rod, the limit blocks and the mounting blocks are used together to clamp the wafers, the wafers clamped on the two blocking rods are staggered one by one, a connecting rod is arranged between the movable rod and the placement rod, a protrusion is arranged on the movable rod, one end of the connecting rod is sleeved on the movable rod and there is a gap between the protrusion, and the other end is threadedly connected to the placement rod, and a reset piece is also installed between the connecting rod and the blocking rod; A driving member is installed in the cleaning tank, which contacts the end of the connecting rod and rotates the connecting rod. A rotating assembly for driving the wafer to rotate is installed between the cleaning tank and the blocking rod. Before the connecting rod contacts the protrusion, the limit block and the mounting block clamp the wafer. When the connecting rod pushes the protrusion to move, the wafer can rotate freely. A placement groove is provided on the placement rod along its length direction, and the wafer is placed in the placement groove; The rotating assembly includes a rack and a gear, the placing rod includes an intermediate rod and a sleeve rod, the sleeve rod is rotatably arranged on the intermediate rod, the placing slot is opened on the sleeve rod, the rack is fixedly arranged in the cleaning tank, and the gear is fixedly arranged on the sleeve rod.

2. A wafer cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving member is two fixed plates fixedly arranged in the cleaning tank, and the two fixed plates can be in contact with the two connecting rods respectively.

3. A wafer cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The reset member is a torsion spring, one end of which is connected to the connecting rod, and the other end of which is connected to the placing rod.

4. The wafer cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A spring is arranged between the blocking rod and the movable rod.

5. The wafer cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hanging member comprises hanging rods fixedly arranged at two ends of the placement rod, and the hanging rods are provided with hanging holes.

6. A wafer cleaning method, using a wafer cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising the following steps: S1. Place the wafer in the mounting frame, and lift the mounting frame into the cleaning tank through the lifting parts; S2, the lifting member descends to make the connecting rod contact with the driving member and drive the blocking rod to rotate to both sides, so that the wafers clamped on the two blocking rods rotate to both sides to increase the gap between the wafers; S3. The hoisting part continues to descend, the connecting rod pushes the movable rod to move so that the limit block and the mounting block no longer clamp the wafer, and the rotating assembly rotates the wafer to expose the clamped part of the wafer for cleaning.

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