A vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace

Abstract

The present application relates to a kind of vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace, including vertical furnace tube, liftable furnace door being arranged in the lower portion of furnace tube, wafer boat component, turnover platform component, lifting platform component, warehouse area, temporary storage area, wafer conveying box manipulator component and wafer fork hand component;Turnover platform component includes turnover platform and the turnover drive mechanism of driving turnover platform overturning;The turnover platform is provided at least one fixed wafer conveying box storage site;Lifting platform component includes lifting platform being arranged in the lower portion of turnover platform, horizontal arrangement on lifting platform Tuo roller, the rotary drive mechanism of driving Tuo roller rotation and lifting drive mechanism.Its advantages are: only automatic flat edge alignment can be realized, and alignment feeding automatic assembly line operation is improved production efficiency.Independent fork hand and fork hand group driven respectively are designed, the function of independent fork hand is realized when small batch trial production independently extends, and independent fork hand and fork hand group are synchronously telescopic operation when mass production, and production efficiency is not reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor fabrication technology, and in particular to a vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace. Background Technology

[0002] The edges of a silicon wafer include rounded edges and flat edges. Flat edges (also called positioning edges) are formed by cutting silicon ingots with a diamond saw before the wafers are diced into individual wafers. The resulting individual wafers have a curved shape, and the chord of this curve is the flat edge. The flat edge serves several important functions:

[0003] Positioning and Alignment: Flat edges help equipment precisely position and align silicon wafers during manufacturing, ensuring accuracy and consistency in subsequent processing steps. This is because precise control is crucial in chip manufacturing, and the presence of flat edges provides a physical reference and positioning point for this process.

[0004] Crystal orientation identification: The position and number of flat edges are closely related to the crystal orientation of the silicon wafer. By observing the configuration of the flat edges, the crystal orientation type of the silicon wafer can be quickly determined, such as... <111> , <110> or <100> This is crucial for ensuring chip performance and reliability, as different crystal orientations affect the physical and chemical properties of the material.

[0005] In semiconductor fabrication processes, vertical chemical deposition furnaces (CVFs) are widely used cluster-type deposition equipment, offering advantages such as high deposition efficiency and high-precision control. A typical vertical CDF furnace structure mainly consists of a furnace tube and a furnace door located at the bottom of the tube. The furnace tube serves as the deposition reaction chamber, housing a precursor nozzle assembly. A crystal boat is fixedly mounted on the liftable furnace door. The number of nozzles in the precursor nozzle assembly varies depending on the requirements of the deposited film or process specifications; one or more nozzles may be used. The nozzle assembly is distributed along the axial direction of the crystal boat and positioned on one side of the boat. The furnace tube also includes an inlet and an outlet for gas.

[0006] As can be seen from the above structure, during the deposition process, no matter how the nozzle and boat structure inside the furnace tube are improved, the gas inside the furnace tube will inevitably be uneven, resulting in inconsistent deposition thickness distribution across different areas of the wafer, and uneven film thickness on each wafer. Therefore, the flat edges play a crucial role in determining the film thickness distribution on the wafer. Thus, before the flat-edge wafers enter the vertical chemical deposition furnace, the flat edges of each wafer need to be aligned.

[0007] Currently, wafer edge alignment is achieved by a rotating roller contacting the circumference of the wafer in the wafer transport cassette. A crank is connected to the end of the roller; when adjusting the wafer position, the operator typically rotates the crank to make the wafer in contact with the roller rotate until the flat edges of each wafer are in contact with the outer wall of the roller, thus achieving edge alignment. The wafers are then fed into the loading equipment of the vertical chemical deposition furnace. Conventional loading equipment mainly consists of two parts: a wafer transport cassette handling robot and a wafer handling robot.

[0008] Because the wafer is manually rotated, its position needs to be manually checked after adjustment to avoid misalignment. In addition, the efficiency of manual adjustment depends on the operator's skill level, which makes it difficult to connect manual operations with subsequent robotic operations, resulting in unstable feeding efficiency of the vertical chemical deposition furnace.

[0009] Furthermore, vertical chemical deposition furnaces often operate in two modes during deposition processes: small-batch pilot production and large-scale production. Existing wafer handling robots come in single-fork and multi-fork types. The gap of the multi-fork robot matches the wafer gap in the wafer boat / wafer transport box, allowing it to pick up and place multiple wafers with each extension. Obviously, a single-fork robot can only handle one wafer at a time, resulting in low efficiency during large-scale production. When wafers are tightly packed within the wafer transport box, a multi-fork robot will inevitably pick up and place multiple wafers with each operation, keeping the wafers in the wafer boat tightly packed. This does not meet the design requirements for small-batch pilot production. If a looser wafer arrangement is needed within the wafer boat, the wafer arrangement in the wafer transport box must be manually adjusted beforehand, which not only reduces production efficiency but may also introduce contamination.

[0010] It is necessary to improve and optimize the existing vertical chemical deposition furnace to better meet user needs. Summary of the Invention

[0011] The purpose of this invention is to address the shortcomings of existing technologies by proposing a vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace. Through the design of a storage area and a flat-edge alignment device, it not only achieves automatic flat-edge alignment but also automated assembly line operation for loading, thus improving production efficiency. Furthermore, by designing independently driven forks and fork assembly groups, the individual forks can extend independently during small-batch trial production, while during mass production, the individual forks and fork assembly extend and retract synchronously without reducing production efficiency. This equipment achieves fully automated production, improving efficiency, reducing labor costs, and enhancing operational safety.

[0012] To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the present invention first proposes a vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace, which is implemented through the following technical solution:

[0013] A vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace relates to a wafer transport box for loading arc-shaped wafers, the wafer transport box having a through cavity for inserting wafers, the lower opening of the cavity being smaller than the upper opening and capable of preventing wafers from falling out; the deposition furnace includes a vertical furnace tube, a liftable furnace door located below the furnace tube, and a crystal boat assembly directly or indirectly fixed above the furnace door, characterized in that the deposition furnace further includes:

[0014] A flip table assembly includes a flip table and a flip drive mechanism for driving the flip table to flip between a first extreme position and a second extreme position; the flip table is provided with at least one storage position for selectively fixing a wafer transport box, wherein when the flip table is in the first extreme position, the wafers in the wafer transport box are placed approximately horizontally in its storage position; and when the flip table is in the second extreme position, the wafers in the wafer transport box are placed approximately vertically in its storage position.

[0015] The lifting platform assembly includes a lifting platform located below the tilting platform, a horizontally mounted roller on the lifting platform, a rotation drive mechanism for driving the roller to rotate, and a lifting drive mechanism; the lifting drive mechanism is connected to the lifting platform and is used to drive the lifting platform to rise so that the roller on it can vertically abut against the outer edge of the wafer on the tilting platform in the second position.

[0016] The storage area is equipped with multiple wafer transport box storage locations;

[0017] The temporary storage area is equipped with at least one wafer transport box storage location;

[0018] The wafer transport box robot arm assembly can move between the wafer transport box storage positions in the flipping table, storage area and temporary storage area to grab or place the wafer transport boxes accordingly.

[0019] The wafer fork assembly is used to pick up and place wafers into the wafer transport box in the wafer boat assembly and the temporary storage area.

[0020] More preferably, a grooved roller is also arranged parallel to the idler roller on the lifting platform. The grooved roller and the idler roller are driven to rotate synchronously by the rotation drive mechanism. Grooves are uniformly arranged around the circumference of the grooved roller. When the lifting drive mechanism drives the lifting platform to rise, the wafer in the wafer transport box on the flipping platform in the second position is precisely embedded in the groove of the grooved roller and can be supported by the bottom of the groove and the idler roller at the same time.

[0021] Further preferably, the lifting platform is also equipped with a wafer counting device, which includes a 2*n close-range through-beam sensor array: in two columns, each column is arranged with transmitters and receivers alternately and evenly spaced, and in each column, the transmitters and receivers are paired to form a set of through-beam sensors; in n rows, the first row is equipped with a transmitter, the last row is equipped with a receiver, and the remaining rows are equipped with a transmitter and a receiver; in addition, when the lifting drive mechanism drives the lifting platform to rise, the wafers in the wafer transport box on the flipping platform in the second position just enter the rows between the close-range through-beam sensor array.

[0022] More preferably, the wafer counting device further includes a circuit board and a row of wedge blocks fixed on the circuit board. The transmitting end and the receiving end are both connected to the circuit board. The wedge blocks and the near-field through-beam sensor array form a 3*n array: the first row is provided with a transmitting end and a wedge block, the last row is provided with a receiving end and a wedge block, and the wedge blocks in the remaining rows are provided between the transmitting end and the receiving end; the wedge blocks are positioned above the top of the transmitting end and the receiving end.

[0023] More preferably, the wafer fork assembly includes a turntable driven to rotate by a rotation actuator. The turntable is provided with an independent fork, a fork group consisting of at least two forks, a first actuator that drives the independent forks to extend and retract intermittently, and a second actuator that drives the fork group to extend and retract intermittently. When the independent forks and the fork group extend simultaneously, the forks of the independent forks and the fork group are stacked vertically, with the independent forks located at the top or bottom.

[0024] More preferably, the wafer fork assembly further includes a Y-axis linear drive module, and the turntable is disposed on the Y-axis linear drive module.

[0025] More preferably, both the first and second actuators include a guide rail, a slider slidably disposed on the guide rail, a servo motor, and a belt conveyor assembly, wherein the belt conveyor assembly connects the servo motor and the slider; the guide rails of the first and second actuators are arranged in parallel, and the fork arm assembly / independent fork arm is directly or indirectly fixedly mounted on the slider.

[0026] More preferably, the flipping table is provided with a clamping mechanism for clamping the wafer transport box.

[0027] In addition, this invention also proposes a feeding method for a vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace, which relates to the vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace described above, and the method includes the following steps:

[0028] S1. A wafer transport box is fixedly placed in the storage position of the flipping table at the first extreme position; then the flipping table flips to the second extreme position; then the lifting platform rises until the roller abuts against the wafer in the wafer transport box in the storage position of the flipping table, then the roller rotates one revolution and drives the wafer to rotate; then the lifting platform descends; then the flipping table flips back to the first extreme position.

[0029] S2. The wafer transport box robot arm assembly moves the wafer transport box on the flipping table to the storage area or temporary storage area; and the wafer transport box robot arm assembly moves the wafer transport box in the storage area to the temporary storage area, and records the storage location number in the storage area and the retrieval location number.

[0030] S3. The wafer fork assembly removes the wafer from the wafer transport box in the temporary storage area and places it into the wafer boat assembly until the wafer transport box is empty. Then the wafer fork assembly puts the empty wafer transport box back into the storage area and records the storage location number in the storage area.

[0031] S4. Repeat steps S1-S3 above until the number of wafers in the crystal boat assembly reaches the set number. Then close the furnace door and perform chemical vapor deposition. After completion, open the furnace door.

[0032] S5. The wafer fork assembly removes the wafer from the wafer boat assembly and places it into an empty wafer transport box in the temporary storage area until the wafer transport box is full. Then, the wafer transport box robot assembly puts the wafer transport box in the temporary storage area back into the storage area and records the storage location number in the storage area. After that, the wafer transport box robot assembly moves the empty wafer transport box in the storage area to the temporary storage area.

[0033] S6. Repeat step S5 above until the empty crystal boat assembly is retrieved; then the wafer transport box robot assembly will successively move the wafer transport boxes in the storage area to the flipping table.

[0034] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of this invention are: by designing a storage area and a flat-edge aligning device, not only can automatic flat-edge aligning be achieved, but also automated assembly line operation for aligning and loading materials, thus improving production efficiency. Furthermore, by designing independently driven forks and fork assembly groups, the individual forks can extend independently during small-batch trial production, while during mass production, the individual forks and fork assembly extend and retract synchronously without reducing production efficiency. This equipment achieves fully automated production, improving efficiency, reducing labor costs, and enhancing operational safety. Attached Figure Description

[0035] The above features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer and more readily understood from the following description of exemplary embodiments thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0036] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram (I) of the internal structure of a vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram (II) of the internal structure of a vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the tilting table assembly and the lifting table assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the lifting platform assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 6 This is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the wafer counting device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 7 This is a top view of the wafer counting device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 8 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram I of the wafer fork assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 9 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram (II) of the wafer fork assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the turntable portion of the wafer fork assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the wafer transport box robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0047] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0048] The terms used in this specification, such as "front," "back," "left," "right," "inner," and "outer," are merely for clarity of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Any changes or adjustments to their relative relationships, without substantially altering the technical content, shall also be considered within the scope of the invention.

[0049] In the description of the following embodiments, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the term "connection" and other such terms should be interpreted broadly. For example, "connection" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; it can be a mechanical connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; it can be the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components, unless otherwise expressly limited. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0050] See Figure 4 As shown, the present invention relates to a specific wafer transport box 1. The wafer transport box 1 has grooves uniformly arranged on its opposite side walls, and a cavity is formed between the side walls that is vertically connected and used for inserting wafers. The lower opening of the cavity is smaller than the upper opening and can prevent the wafer from falling out.

[0051] See Figure 1-3 As shown, in this embodiment, the furnace body 2 of the deposition furnace has the same structure as the existing deposition furnace, including a vertical furnace tube 21. A liftable furnace door 22 is provided at the bottom of the furnace tube. The furnace tube 21 serves as the deposition reaction chamber and is equipped with a precursor nozzle component inside. A crystal boat 23 is fixedly mounted on the liftable furnace door 22. The furnace tube is also provided with an air inlet and an air outlet.

[0052] Unlike existing deposition furnaces, the deposition furnace in this embodiment also includes:

[0053] Tilting Table Component 3

[0054] See Figure 2 , 3 As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the tilting table assembly 3 includes a tilting table, a tilting drive mechanism 32, and a clamping mechanism 33.

[0055] The flipping table has two storage positions for fixing wafer transport boxes. The shapes of the storage positions and the lower openings of the wafer transport boxes are adapted to each other, allowing the wafer transport boxes to be placed on them with their lower openings exposed. A clamping mechanism 33 is located next to the storage positions for clamping the wafer transport boxes. In this embodiment, the clamping mechanism 33 is a cylinder-driven clamping block, which cooperates with a baffle on the other side of the storage position to clamp the wafer transport boxes.

[0056] The flipping drive mechanism 32 is connected to the flipping table, driving the flipping table to flip between the first and second extreme positions. When the flipping table is in the first extreme position, the wafers in the wafer transport box 1 in its storage position are placed approximately horizontally; when the flipping table is in the second extreme position, the wafers in the wafer transport box 1 in its storage position are placed approximately vertically. It should be noted that the wafers do not need to be absolutely vertical or horizontal in the first and second extreme positions. For example, in the first extreme position, the wafer transport box can be slightly tilted to prevent the wafers from slipping out of the opening, but it must be ensured that the robot can pick up the wafers horizontally in the first extreme position and that the wafers can be lifted by the support rollers and groove rollers in the second extreme position.

[0057] In a preferred embodiment, the tilting table is pivotally connected to the frame 34, and the tilting drive mechanism 32 is a cylinder, with its seat part pivotally connected to the frame 34 and its piston part pivotally connected to the tilting table, thereby realizing the tilting of the tilting table.

[0058] Lifting platform component 4

[0059] See Figure 2-5 As shown, the lifting platform assembly 4 includes a lifting platform 41 and a lifting drive mechanism.

[0060] A lifting platform 41 is located directly below the tilting table. The lifting platform 41 is equipped with a support roller 42, a grooved roller 43, a rotation drive mechanism 44, and a wafer counting device 5. The support roller 42 and grooved roller 43 are both horizontally rotatable and parallel to each other. The support roller 42 and grooved roller 43 are driven synchronously by the rotation drive mechanism 44. Specifically, a pulley 421 is fixedly mounted at one end of the support roller 42, and a pulley 431 is fixedly mounted at one end of the grooved roller 43. The rotation drive mechanism 44 includes a stepper motor 441. A pulley 442 is mounted on the output shaft of the stepper motor 441. The pulleys 421 and 431 have the same diameter, and a belt 443 is wound around the pulleys 442, 421, and 431, thereby enabling the stepper motor 441 to drive the support roller 42 and grooved roller 43 to rotate synchronously.

[0061] The groove roller 43 has a wafer-arranging bushing, meaning that its circumferential surface is uniformly provided with grooves that fit with the wafers in the wafer transport box. In a preferred embodiment, the wafer-arranging bushing of the groove roller 43 is made of Teflon. The idler roller 42 has a silicone sleeve to increase the friction when in contact with the wafers.

[0062] The lifting drive mechanism is a cylinder. When the lifting drive mechanism drives the lifting platform 41 to rise, the support roller 42 and the slotting roller 43 also rise. The wafers in the wafer transport box on the flipping platform in the second position are precisely embedded in the grooves of the slotting roller 43, and are interference-fitted with the side plates of the grooves. At this time, the wafers abut against the bottom of the grooves of the slotting roller 43 and the support roller 42, and are supported by the bottom of the grooves of the slotting roller 43 and the support roller 42 simultaneously. When the support roller 42 and the slotting roller 43 rotate synchronously, they can drive the wafers to rotate until they reach the flat edge. When the wafer rotates to the point where the flat edge is facing down, the support roller 42 and the slotting roller 43 simultaneously stop contacting the edge of the wafer, and the wafer falls and is supported by the wafer transport box. Therefore, it can be seen that the distance between the support roller 42 and the slotting roller 43 needs to match the width of the flat edge of the wafer.

[0063] When each wafer is with its flat edge facing down, all wafers in the wafer transport box are aligned. Since the maximum rotation angle of a wafer will not exceed 360°, wafer alignment can be completed by setting the idler roller 42 and groove roller 43 to rotate one revolution in each operation.

[0064] Wafer counting device 5

[0065] See Figure 6-7 As shown, the wafer counting device 5 includes a circuit board 51, a close-range through-beam sensor array, and a row of wedge blocks 52.

[0066] The close-range through-beam sensor array is a 2*n rectangular array:

[0067] In the two columns, each column is arranged with the transmitter 53 and receiver 54 alternating and evenly spaced, and the transmitter 53 and receiver 54 in each column are paired to form a set of through-beam sensors.

[0068] In the n rows, the first row sets up a transmitter 53, the last row sets up a receiver 54, and the remaining rows each set up a transmitter 53 and a receiver 54. The first and last rows are in the same column, so one column has n transmitters and receivers, and the other column has n-2 transmitters and receivers.

[0069] Both the transmitter 53 and the receiver 54 are mounted on the circuit board 51 via support pillars and are electrically connected to the circuit board 51.

[0070] When the lifting drive mechanism drives the lifting platform 41 to rise, the wafers in the wafer transport box on the flipping platform in the second position enter the rows of the close-range through-beam sensor array. The paired transmitters 53 and receivers 54 detect whether there are wafers between them, thereby batch detecting the wafer distribution in the wafer transport box.

[0071] The wedge blocks 52 are also fixed on the circuit board 51, and there are n of them. The wedge blocks 52 and the close-range through-beam sensor array form a 3*n array: the first row is provided with a transmitter 53 and a wedge block 52, the last row is provided with a receiver 54 and a wedge block 52, and the wedge blocks 52 in the remaining rows are provided between the transmitter 53 and the receiver 54. The wedge blocks 52 are set higher than the top of the transmitter and receiver to guide the wafer into the rows of the close-range through-beam sensor array.

[0072] Storage Area 6

[0073] See Figure 2 , 3 As shown, storage area 6 has multiple stacked racks, each containing multiple storage locations for wafer transport boxes with corresponding numbers.

[0074] Temporary storage area 7

[0075] See Figure 2 , 3 As shown, the temporary storage area 7 is equipped with a stacked box rack, and two wafer transport boxes are stacked one on top of the other in the box rack.

[0076] Wafer transport box robotic arm assembly 8

[0077] See Figure 2 , 11 As shown, the wafer transport box robot assembly 8 is a conventional wafer transport box robot, featuring a Y-axis linear drive module 81. A wafer transport box robot 82 is mounted on the Y-axis linear drive module 81. The wafer transport box robot 82 is a two-section robot, including a servo motor (not shown), a first arm 821, and a second arm 822. One end of the first arm 821 is fixed to the servo motor drive shaft via a hinge structure, and the other end is connected to the second arm 822 via a hinge structure. The other end of the second arm 822 is equipped with a gripper 823 for holding the wafer transport box. Since the above structure is a common technical method for those skilled in the art, its structure and operating principle will not be described in detail.

[0078] The wafer transport box robot assembly 8 can move between the various wafer transport box storage positions in the turnover table, storage area 6, and temporary storage area 7 to correspondingly grasp or place the wafer transport boxes. Obviously, since the range of motion of the wafer transport box robot assembly 8 is determined by the range of motion of the Y-axis linear drive module 81 and the robotic arm of the wafer transport box robot 82, the positions and arrangement of the turnover table, storage area 6, and temporary storage area 7 should be coordinated with the wafer transport box robot assembly 8. Based on this, their arrangement can be freely adjusted according to specific production line requirements.

[0079] Wafer fork assembly 9

[0080] See Figure 2 ,3 As shown in Figures 8-10, the wafer fork assembly 9 is used to pick up and place wafers into the wafer transport box of the wafer boat 23 and the temporary storage area 7.

[0081] The wafer fork assembly 9 includes a Y-axis linear drive module 95, a turntable 91, and a rotation actuator 92. In this embodiment, the rotation actuator 92 is a servo motor and a gearbox. The turntable 91 is connected to the servo motor through a gear transmission structure of the gearbox and rotates around its axis under the drive of the servo motor. The turntable 91 and the rotation actuator 92 are mounted on the Y-axis linear drive module.

[0082] The turntable 91 is equipped with an independent forklift 93, a forklift assembly 94, a first actuator, and a second actuator.

[0083] The forklift assembly 94 consists of four forks. The individual forklift 93 has the same structure as these four forks, including fork shanks and fork heads. A front hook is fixed to the front of the fork head, and a rear hook is fixed to the rear. The front hook has a first horizontal support surface and a front stop surface located in front of the first horizontal support surface. The rear hook has a second horizontal support surface and a rear stop surface located on the second horizontal support surface. The upper surfaces of the first and second horizontal support surfaces are on the same horizontal plane. This design aims to minimize the contact area between the fork shanks and the product, reduce friction between the product and the fork shanks, and prevent product wear.

[0084] The fork arm assembly 94 and the independent fork arm 93 extend and retract independently. The first actuator drives the independent fork arm 93 to extend and retract intermittently, and the second actuator drives the fork arm assembly 94 to extend and retract intermittently. When the independent fork arm 93 and the fork arm assembly 94 extend simultaneously, the forks of the independent fork arm 93 and the fork arm assembly 94 are stacked vertically, with the independent fork arm 93 located on top.

[0085] The first and second actuators have identical structures, both including a guide rail 96, a slider 97 slidably mounted on the guide rail 96, a servo motor 98, and a belt conveyor assembly 99. The belt conveyor assembly 99 connects the servo motor 98 and the slider 97. In this embodiment, the guide rails 96 of the first and second actuators are arranged in parallel, and each of the two sliders 97 has a connector mounted on its outer side, on which the fork of the fork assembly 94 or the fork of the independent fork 93 is mounted.

[0086] In conjunction with the above-described structure of the vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace, this embodiment of the invention also proposes a feeding method for the vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace, comprising the following steps:

[0087] S1. A wafer transport box is fixedly placed in the storage position of the flipping table at the first extreme position; then the flipping table flips to the second extreme position; then the lifting platform rises until the roller abuts against the wafer in the wafer transport box in the storage position of the flipping table, then the roller rotates one revolution and drives the wafer to rotate; then the lifting platform descends; then the flipping table flips back to the first extreme position.

[0088] S2. The wafer transport box robot arm assembly moves the wafer transport box on the flipping table to the storage area or temporary storage area; and the wafer transport box robot arm assembly moves the wafer transport box in the storage area to the temporary storage area, and records the storage location number in the storage area and the retrieval location number.

[0089] S3. The wafer fork assembly removes the wafer from the wafer transport box in the temporary storage area and places it into the wafer boat assembly until the wafer transport box is empty. Then the wafer fork assembly puts the empty wafer transport box back into the storage area and records the storage location number in the storage area.

[0090] S4. Repeat steps S1-S3 above until the number of wafers in the crystal boat assembly reaches the set number. Then close the furnace door and perform chemical vapor deposition. After completion, open the furnace door.

[0091] S5. The wafer fork assembly removes the wafer from the wafer boat assembly and places it into an empty wafer transport box in the temporary storage area until the wafer transport box is full. Then, the wafer transport box robot assembly puts the wafer transport box in the temporary storage area back into the storage area and records the storage location number in the storage area. After that, the wafer transport box robot assembly moves the empty wafer transport box in the storage area to the temporary storage area.

[0092] S6. Repeat step S5 above until the empty crystal boat assembly is retrieved; then the wafer transport box robot assembly will successively move the wafer transport boxes in the storage area to the flipping table.

[0093] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of this invention are: by designing a storage area and a flat-edge aligning device, not only can automatic flat-edge aligning be achieved, but also automated assembly line operation for aligning and loading materials, thus improving production efficiency. Furthermore, by designing independently driven forks and fork assembly groups, the individual forks can extend independently during small-batch trial production, while during mass production, the individual forks and fork assembly extend and retract synchronously without reducing production efficiency. This equipment achieves fully automated production, improving efficiency, reducing labor costs, and enhancing operational safety.

[0094] The foregoing embodiments have provided a detailed description of the inventive intent and implementation of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the above embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention. Due to space limitations, not all embodiments can be listed here. Any implementation that embodies the technical solution of the claims of the present invention is within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0095] It should be noted that the above content is a further detailed description of the present invention in conjunction with specific embodiments, and it should not be considered that the specific embodiments of the present invention are limited to this. Under the guidance of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can make various improvements and modifications based on the above embodiments, and these improvements or modifications fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace, relating to a wafer transport box for loading arc-shaped wafers, the wafer transport box having a through cavity for inserting wafers, the lower opening of the cavity being smaller than the upper opening and capable of preventing the wafer from falling out; the deposition furnace comprising a vertical furnace tube, a liftable furnace door located below the furnace tube, and a crystal boat assembly directly or indirectly fixed above the furnace door, characterized in that, The deposition furnace also includes: A flip table assembly includes a flip table and a flip drive mechanism for driving the flip table to flip between a first extreme position and a second extreme position; the flip table is provided with at least one storage position for selectively fixing a wafer transport box, wherein when the flip table is in the first extreme position, the wafers in the wafer transport box are placed approximately horizontally in its storage position; and when the flip table is in the second extreme position, the wafers in the wafer transport box are placed approximately vertically in its storage position. The lifting platform assembly includes a lifting platform located below a tilting platform, a horizontally mounted idler roller on the lifting platform, a rotation drive mechanism for driving the idler roller to rotate, and a lifting drive mechanism. The lifting drive mechanism is connected to the lifting platform and is used to drive the lifting platform to rise when the tilting platform is in a second extreme position, so that the idler roller on it vertically abuts against and lifts the outer edge of the wafer on the tilting platform in the second extreme position. After the lifting platform rises until the idler roller abuts against the wafer in the wafer transport box on the tilting platform, the idler roller rotates one revolution, driving the wafer to rotate. Then the lifting platform descends. Then the tilting platform tilts back to the first extreme position. The storage area is equipped with multiple wafer transport box storage locations; The temporary storage area is equipped with at least one wafer transport box storage location; The wafer transport box robot arm assembly can move between the wafer transport box storage positions in the flipping table, storage area and temporary storage area to grab or place the wafer transport boxes accordingly. The wafer fork assembly is used to pick up and place wafers into the wafer transport box in the wafer boat assembly and the temporary storage area.

2. A vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting platform is also provided with a grooved roller parallel to the idler roller. The grooved roller and the idler roller are driven by the rotation drive mechanism to rotate synchronously. The grooved roller is uniformly provided with grooves on its circumferential surface. When the lifting drive mechanism drives the lifting platform to rise, the wafer in the wafer transport box on the flipping platform in the second position is precisely embedded in the groove of the grooved roller and can be supported by the bottom of the groove and the idler roller at the same time.

3. A vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lifting platform is also equipped with a wafer counting device, which includes a 2*n close-range through-beam sensor array: in two columns, each column is arranged with transmitters and receivers alternately and evenly spaced, and in each column, the transmitters and receivers are paired to form a set of through-beam sensors; in n rows, the first row is equipped with a transmitter, the last row is equipped with a receiver, and the remaining rows are equipped with a transmitter and a receiver; in addition, when the lifting drive mechanism drives the lifting platform to rise, the wafers in the wafer transport box on the flipping platform in the second position enter the rows between the close-range through-beam sensor array.

4. A vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace according to claim 3, characterized in that, The wafer counting device also includes a circuit board and a row of wedges fixed on the circuit board. The transmitting end and the receiving end are both connected to the circuit board. The wedges and the close-range through-beam sensor array form a 3*n array: the first row is provided with a transmitting end and a wedge, the last row is provided with a receiving end and a wedge, and the wedges in the remaining rows are provided between the transmitting end and the receiving end. The wedges are positioned above the top of the transmitting end and the receiving end to guide the wafers into the rows of the close-range through-beam sensor array.

5. A vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wafer fork assembly includes a turntable driven to rotate by a rotary actuator. The turntable is provided with an independent fork, a fork group consisting of at least two forks, a first actuator that drives the independent forks to extend and retract intermittently, and a second actuator that drives the fork group to extend and retract intermittently. When the independent forks and the fork group extend simultaneously, the forks of the independent forks and the fork group are stacked vertically, with the independent forks located at the top or bottom.

6. A vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace according to claim 5, characterized in that: The wafer fork assembly also includes a Y-axis linear drive module, and the turntable is mounted on the Y-axis linear drive module.

7. A vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace according to claim 6, characterized in that: Both the first and second actuators include a guide rail, a slider slidably mounted on the guide rail, a servo motor, and a belt conveyor assembly. The belt conveyor assembly connects the servo motor and the slider. The guide rails of the first and second actuators are arranged in parallel, and the fork arm assembly / independent fork arm is directly or indirectly fixedly mounted on the slider.

8. A vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace according to claim 7, characterized in that: The flipping table is equipped with a clamping mechanism for holding the wafer transport box.

9. A method for feeding materials into a vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace, characterized in that, The feeding method relates to a vertical chemical vapor deposition furnace as described in any one of claims 1-8, and the method includes the following steps: S1. A wafer transport box is fixedly placed in the storage position of the flipping table at the first extreme position; then the flipping table flips to the second extreme position; then the lifting platform rises until the roller abuts against the wafer in the wafer transport box in the storage position of the flipping table, then the roller rotates one revolution and drives the wafer to rotate; then the lifting platform descends; then the flipping table flips back to the first extreme position. S2. The wafer transport box robot arm assembly moves the wafer transport box on the flipping table to the storage area or temporary storage area; and the wafer transport box robot arm assembly moves the wafer transport box in the storage area to the temporary storage area, and records the storage location number in the storage area and the retrieval location number. S3. The wafer fork assembly removes the wafer from the wafer transport box in the temporary storage area and places it into the wafer boat assembly until the wafer transport box is empty. Then the wafer fork assembly puts the empty wafer transport box back into the storage area and records the storage location number in the storage area. S4. Repeat steps S1-S3 above until the number of wafers in the crystal boat assembly reaches the set number. Then close the furnace door and perform chemical vapor deposition. After completion, open the furnace door. S5. The wafer fork assembly removes the wafer from the wafer boat assembly and places it into an empty wafer transport box in the temporary storage area until the wafer transport box is full. Then, the wafer transport box robot assembly puts the wafer transport box in the temporary storage area back into the storage area and records the storage location number in the storage area. After that, the wafer transport box robot assembly moves the empty wafer transport box in the storage area to the temporary storage area. S6. Repeat step S5 above until the empty crystal boat assembly is retrieved; then the wafer transport box robot assembly will successively move the wafer transport boxes in the storage area to the flipping table.

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