High efficiency transfer system and method for vertical furnace tube wafers and boats

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor, and provides a vertical furnace tube wafer and boat high-efficiency conveying system and method, and the conveying method comprises the following steps: conveying a wafer boat to be processed containing wafers to be processed to a standby area outside a furnace tube; conveying a wafer boat after processing containing wafers after processing in the furnace tube to a cooling area through a first conveying device according to a first conveying path, and conveying the wafer boat to be processed from the standby area to the furnace tube through a second conveying device according to a second conveying path, wherein the first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect; loading the wafers after processing in the wafer boat after processing into an empty wafer box, changing the wafer boat after processing into an empty wafer boat, loading the wafers to be processed from the wafer box into the empty wafer boat to form the wafer boat to be processed, and conveying the wafer boat to be processed to the standby area to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube. The conveying method can limit the idle waiting time of the furnace tube, and improve the production efficiency of the furnace tube.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to a vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient transmission system and method. Background Art

[0002] In semiconductor manufacturing, furnace tubes are commonly used process equipment. For example, furnace tubes are used in doping processes or oxidation processes.

[0003] The processing efficiency of furnace tubes directly affects wafer output. Existing methods for improving furnace tube processing efficiency typically involve increasing the number of wafers the furnace can accommodate, i.e., processing wafers in batches to increase wafer output per unit time. For example, a furnace tube can typically process 100 or 150 wafers simultaneously, shortening the processing time for each wafer process and, therefore, increasing wafer output per unit time.

[0004] The processing efficiency of the furnace tube is not only affected by the process processing time of the furnace tube itself, but also by the transportation of wafers, such as the transportation of wafers before the furnace chamber process (taking wafers out of the crystal box and loading them into the wafer boat, and transporting the wafers to the furnace tube) and the transportation of wafers after the furnace chamber process (taking the wafer boat out of the furnace tube for cooling, and loading the wafers in the wafer boat back into the crystal box).

[0005] During the operation of existing furnace tubes, due to the limitations of their conveying system, the furnace tubes are usually required to wait in idle state. The idle waiting time in a single process cycle is usually the sum of the wafer conveying time before the furnace chamber process, the wafer conveying time after the furnace chamber process, and the wafer loading and unloading time. For example, after the furnace chamber process is completed, the wafer boat is transported outside the furnace tube for wafer cooling. The cooled wafers are then removed from the wafer boat and loaded (the wafers are removed from the wafer boat and loaded into the wafer cassette). After loading is complete, the wafers to be processed are removed from the wafer cassette and loaded into the empty wafer boat. The wafer boat is then transported into the furnace tube. Among them, the loading and unloading process of the wafers alone (the process of taking the wafers out of the wafer boat and loading them into the wafer box, and taking the wafers to be processed out of the wafer box and loading them into the empty wafer boat) usually takes dozens of minutes. This loading and unloading process greatly extends the idle waiting time of the furnace tube in a single process cycle. Since the number of wafers that need to be exchanged is large, the idle time of the furnace tube in the entire wafer processing cycle is relatively long. The idle waiting causes a large amount of process time consumption, and the furnace tube cannot be continuously produced, which seriously affects the wafer output, resulting in the problem of low production efficiency.

[0006] To address the aforementioned technical issue of long wafer boat idle time, existing technologies typically address the wafer loading and unloading process, shortening the time it takes to remove and load wafers from the wafer boat, thereby reducing the furnace tube idle time. This improvement reduces the wafer loading and unloading process from tens of minutes to just a few minutes. However, the combined wafer loading and unloading time, the wafer transport time before and after the furnace chamber process, and the wafer transport time after the furnace chamber process still total more than ten or even dozens of minutes, making the furnace tube idle waiting time still significant.

[0007] In the furnace chamber process, there are usually multiple furnace tubes carrying out large-scale production at the same time. Therefore, with the accumulation of the number of furnace chamber processes (one process cycle is counted as one) and the number of furnace tubes, the total idle waiting time of the furnace tubes in a production cycle (for example, a quarter) is huge. Even if the idle waiting time of the furnace tube in a single process cycle is shortened by a few minutes, the impact on the wafer yield in a production cycle is very significant.

[0008] Therefore, a vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient conveying system and method is needed to minimize the idle waiting time of the furnace tube and improve the production efficiency of the furnace tube. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The present invention provides a vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient transmission system and method, which can extremely compress the idle waiting time of the furnace tube and improve the production efficiency of the furnace tube.

[0010] The vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient transport method comprises the following steps:

[0011] Transporting the wafer boat containing the wafers to be processed to the preparation area outside the furnace tube;

[0012] After the furnace tube completes the furnace chamber process, the post-process wafer boat containing the post-process wafers in the furnace tube is transported to the cooling zone through the first conveying device along the first conveying path. At the same time, the wafer boat to be processed is transported from the preparation area to the furnace tube through the second conveying device along the second conveying path. The first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect. One cooling zone corresponds to multiple furnace tubes, and each furnace tube is equipped with a first conveying path and a preparation area.

[0013] The post-process wafers in the cooled post-process wafer boat are loaded into an empty wafer box, and the post-process wafer boat becomes an empty wafer boat. Wafers to be processed are loaded from the wafer box into the empty wafer boat to form a wafer boat to be processed, and the wafer boat to be processed is transported to the preparation area to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube;

[0014] The first conveying device, the second conveying device, the first conveying path and the second conveying path are arranged such that a to-be-processed wafer boat is conveyed to the corresponding standby area of the furnace tube before each process cycle of the furnace tube is completed, and cooling of at least one post-process wafer boat is performed simultaneously during execution of the furnace cavity process by the furnace tube, and / or, transfer of post-process wafers between the post-process wafer boat and the empty wafer box is performed, and / or, transfer of to-be-processed wafers between the wafer box and the empty wafer boat is performed.

[0015] Optionally, before the post-process wafer boat in the furnace tube is conveyed to the cooling area by the first conveying device along the first conveying path, the following steps are further included:

[0016] The time for completion of each furnace cavity process is obtained in advance, the furnace tube that completes the furnace cavity process first is taken as a target furnace tube, and the first conveying device is operated to wait outside the target furnace tube;

[0017] And / or, the following steps are included for conveying the to-be-processed wafer boat to the standby area to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube:

[0018] The time for completion of each furnace cavity process is obtained in advance, the furnace tube that completes the furnace cavity process first is taken as a target furnace tube, and the to-be-processed wafer boat is conveyed to the standby area corresponding to the target furnace tube to wait for the next process cycle of the target furnace tube;

[0019] And / or, the first conveying path and the second conveying path are determined by the following method:

[0020] There are multiple conveying paths between the standby area and the corresponding furnace tube and between the furnace tube and the cooling platform, the furnace tube that completes the furnace cavity process first is taken as a target furnace tube, one of the conveying paths is set as the first conveying path and another one is set as the second conveying path based on the target furnace tube, so that the first conveying path and the second conveying path are the shortest and do not intersect.

[0021] Optionally, the following steps are further included:

[0022] The completion time of the furnace cavity process of each furnace tube is preset such that the completion time of the furnace cavity process of each furnace tube is arranged in sequence according to a set time interval;

[0023] The completion time of cooling of the post-process wafer boat is preset such that the completion time of cooling of at least one post-process wafer boat is located between two adjacent completion times of the furnace cavity process.

[0024] Optionally, a loading and unloading area is further arranged outside the furnace tube;

[0025] The first conveying device operating to wait outside the target furnace tube further includes the following steps:

[0026] Whether there is a vacancy in the cooling area is detected;

[0027] If there is no vacancy in the cooling zone, after at least one post-process wafer boat in the cooling zone is cooled, the post-process wafer boat is transported to the loading and unloading zone by the first conveying device, and then the first conveying device moves to the outside of the target furnace tube and waits;

[0028] If there is space in the cooling zone, the first conveying device directly moves to the outside of the target furnace tube and waits.

[0029] Optionally, transporting the processed wafer boat in the furnace tube to the cooling zone via the first transport device along the first transport path includes the following steps:

[0030] The first conveying device grasps the processed wafer boat in an upright position;

[0031] The first conveying device conveys the processed wafer boat in an upright position to the cooling zone along the first conveying path;

[0032] The method of transporting the processed wafer boat to the loading and unloading area by the first conveying device includes the following steps:

[0033] After the processed wafer boat is cooled in the cooling zone, the first conveying device grasps the upright wafer boat and changes the posture of the processed wafer boat so that the upright wafer boat is changed to a horizontal posture, and conveys the horizontal wafer boat to the loading and unloading zone.

[0034] Optionally, the post-process wafers in the cooled post-process wafer boat are loaded into an empty wafer box, and the post-process wafer boat is converted into an empty wafer boat, which includes the following steps:

[0035] The loader clamps the post-processed wafers in the post-processed wafer boat in a horizontal position in the loading and unloading area, and the loader clamps multiple post-processed wafers in an upright position in the post-processed wafer boat at one time, and loads the multiple post-processed wafers in an upright position into the empty wafer box at one time, until all the post-processed wafers in the post-processed wafer boat are taken out to form an empty wafer boat.

[0036] Optionally, loading the wafers to be processed from the wafer box into an empty wafer boat to form a wafer boat to be processed, and transporting the wafer boat to the preparation area to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube includes the following steps:

[0037] The loading part clamps multiple wafers to be processed in an upright position from multiple wafer boxes at one time in the loading and unloading area, and loads multiple wafers to be processed in an upright position into an empty wafer boat in a horizontal position at one time to form a wafer boat to be processed;

[0038] The first conveying device grasps the wafer boat to be processed in a straight horizontal posture and changes the posture of the wafer boat to be processed so that the wafer boat to be processed changes from a horizontal posture to an upright posture, and conveys the wafer boat to be processed in an upright posture to a preparation area to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube.

[0039] Optionally, the cooling zone is opposite to the entrance and exit of the conveying chamber of the furnace tube, and / or the material preparation zone is located outside the entrance and exit of the conveying chamber of the furnace tube and is arranged adjacent to the entrance and exit of the conveying chamber.

[0040] The present invention also provides a vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient conveying system, comprising a plurality of furnace tubes, a cooling table, a material preparation table, a first conveying device and a second conveying device;

[0041] One cooling stage corresponds to a plurality of furnace tubes;

[0042] The furnace tube is provided with a material preparation platform, which is located outside the furnace tube and is used to place a wafer boat loaded with wafers to be processed;

[0043] The first conveying device is used to convey the processed wafer boat in the furnace tube to the cooling table according to the first conveying path after the furnace tube completes the furnace chamber process. At the same time, the second conveying device is used to convey the wafer boat to be processed from the preparation area to the furnace tube according to the second conveying path. The first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect.

[0044] Optionally, it further comprises a loading member and a loading platform;

[0045] The first conveying device is also used to convey the post-processed wafer boat cooled on the cooling table to the loading table, and the loading part is used to load the post-processed wafers in the post-processed wafer boat on the loading table into the empty wafer box, and make the post-processed wafer boat become an empty wafer boat, and the loading part is also used to load the wafers to be processed in the crystal box into the empty wafer boat to form a wafer boat to be processed.

[0046] Optionally, the first conveying device is further used to convert the post-process wafer boat in an upright posture after being cooled on the cooling table into a horizontal posture, and convey the post-process wafer boat in a horizontal posture to the loading table;

[0047] The loading member is used to clamp the post-process wafers in an upright state in the post-process wafer boat on the loading platform, and clamp multiple wafers at a time, and load the multiple post-process wafers in an upright state into the empty wafer box at one time; the loading member is also used to clamp multiple wafers to be processed in an upright state in the wafer box at one time, and load the multiple wafers to be processed in an upright state into the empty wafer boat in a horizontal state at one time to form a wafer boat to be processed;

[0048] The first conveying device is further used to convert the wafer boat to be processed in a horizontal posture into an upright posture, and to convey the wafer boat to be processed in an upright posture to a preparation table to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube.

[0049] Optionally, the vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient transport system further includes a control unit;

[0050] The control unit is configured to obtain the time when each furnace cavity process is completed in advance, take the furnace tube in which the furnace cavity process is completed first as a target furnace tube, and drive the first conveying device to run to outside the target furnace tube to wait;

[0051] And / or, the control unit is configured to obtain the time when each furnace cavity process is completed in advance, take the furnace tube in which the furnace cavity process is completed first as a target furnace tube, and drive the first conveying device to convey the wafer boat to be processed to the material preparation table corresponding to the target furnace tube to wait for the next process cycle of the target furnace tube;

[0052] And / or, the vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat high-efficiency conveying system further comprises a plurality of tracks arranged in a staggered manner, the tracks constitute a plurality of conveying paths from the material preparation table to the corresponding furnace tube and from each furnace tube to the cooling table, the control unit is configured to obtain the time when each furnace cavity process is completed in advance, take the furnace tube in which the furnace cavity process is completed first as a target furnace tube, and based on the target furnace tube, set one of the conveying paths as the first conveying path and set another of the conveying paths as the second conveying path, so that the first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect and are the shortest.

[0053] In this way, in the above conveying method, when the furnace tube is working normally, the wafer boat to be processed is waiting outside the furnace tube, after the furnace cavity process is completed, the wafer boat after the process in the furnace tube is conveyed out through the first conveying path, at the same time, the wafer boat to be processed is conveyed into the furnace tube through the second conveying path, and the first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect, so that the wafer boat to be processed and the wafer boat after the process can be conveyed at the same time. This conveying method makes the furnace cavity process of the furnace tube and the wafer conveying and wafer loading before and after the furnace cavity process not interfere with each other, that is, during the process of the wafer boat to be processed into the furnace tube for the furnace cavity process, the wafer boat after the process can be transmitted, cooled and loaded, and during the process of the wafer boat to be processed into the furnace tube for the furnace cavity process, the wafer boat to be processed in the next cycle is waiting outside the furnace tube, and the wafer conveying and wafer loading do not cause the furnace tube to be idle and wait, which makes the last process cycle and the next process cycle of the furnace tube almost seamless, the idle waiting time is almost zero, which greatly reduces the idle waiting time between adjacent process cycles of the furnace tube, and helps to improve the yield of the furnace tube equipment;

[0054] Moreover, the last process cycle and the next process cycle of the furnace tube are almost seamless, which also makes the environment in the furnace tube not change dramatically due to long idle waiting of the furnace tube, reduces the heat loss caused by long idle waiting of the furnace tube, helps to improve the process efficiency of the furnace tube and improve the energy-saving effect.

[0055] In addition, one cooling zone corresponds to multiple furnace tube equipment. Through reasonable working time arrangement of each furnace tube and cooling end time arrangement of the wafer boat after the process, each furnace tube can realize posture change and transportation of the wafer boat after the process through a first conveying device, which is conducive to improving the integration of the entire furnace tube system, reducing the volume proportion of the wafer conveying mechanism of the furnace tube, thereby reducing the space occupied by the furnace tube system in the clean room, and greatly reducing the operating cost of the clean room and increasing the usable space of the clean room. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0056] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of a vertical furnace wafer and wafer boat efficient transport system according to some embodiments of the present invention;

[0057] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the partial structure of the vertical furnace wafer and wafer boat efficient conveying system in some embodiments of the present invention Figure 1 ;

[0058] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the partial structure of the vertical furnace wafer and wafer boat efficient conveying system in some embodiments of the present invention Figure 2 ;

[0059] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the partial structure of the vertical furnace wafer and wafer boat efficient conveying system in some embodiments of the present invention Figure 3 ;

[0060] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of a process for efficiently transferring wafers and wafer boats using a vertical furnace tube according to some embodiments of the present invention;

[0061] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure of a vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient conveying system according to other embodiments of the present invention.

[0062] Among them, in the accompanying drawings:

[0063] 10-furnace tube; 11-wafer boat receiving tray; 12-transfer chamber;

[0064] 20-Cooling table;

[0065] 30-Material preparation table;

[0066] 40 - first conveying device; 41 - conveying arm; 411 - first support arm; 412 - second support arm; 413 - connecting arm; 414 - clamping protrusion; 42 - conveying drive device;

[0067] 50-loading member; 51-clamping arm; 52-clamping block; 53-clamping drive device; 54-groove;

[0068] 60-loading platform;

[0069] 71 - Wafer boat to be processed; 711 - First wafer boat to be processed; 712 - Second wafer boat to be processed; 713 - Third wafer boat to be processed; 72 - Wafer boat after processing; 721 - Wafer boat after first process; 722 - Wafer boat after second process; 73 - Empty wafer boat; 74 - Wafer lifter;

[0070] 80-track. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0071] The following is a detailed description of the vertical furnace wafer and wafer boat efficient transport system and method proposed by the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. The advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description. It should be noted that the drawings are highly simplified and not to exact scale, and are intended solely to facilitate and clarify the purpose of illustrating the embodiments of the present invention.

[0072] As used in the present invention, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural referents. The term "or" is generally used to include "and / or", the term "several" is generally used to include "at least one", and the term "at least two" is generally used to include "two or more". In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood to indicate or imply relative importance or implicitly specify the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, features specified as "first", "second", and "third" may explicitly or implicitly include one or at least two of the features. In addition, as used in the present invention, "mounted", "connected", "connected", and one element "disposed" on another element should be understood broadly and generally only indicate that there is a connection, coupling, mating, or transmission relationship between the two elements, and the connection, coupling, mating, or transmission between the two elements can be direct or indirect through an intermediate element. It should not be understood to indicate or imply a spatial positional relationship between the two elements, that is, one element can be in any orientation such as inside, outside, above, below, or to the side of another element, unless the content clearly indicates otherwise. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances. In addition, directional terms such as above, below, up, down, upward, downward, left, right, etc. are used with respect to the exemplary embodiments as they are shown in the figures, with the upward or upper direction being toward the top of the corresponding figure and the downward or lower direction being toward the bottom of the corresponding figure.

[0073] Please refer to Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient conveying system including three furnace tubes 10 , a cooling platform 20 , a preparation platform 30 , a first conveying device 40 , a second conveying device, a loading part 50 and a loading platform 60 .

[0074] The material preparation platform 30 is independent of the cooling platform 20 and the loading platform 60. Each furnace tube 10 is equipped with a material preparation platform 30. The material preparation platform 30 is located outside the entrance and exit of the transfer chamber 12 corresponding to the furnace tube 10 and is arranged adjacent to the entrance and exit of the transfer chamber 12. The material preparation platform 30 is used to place the wafer boat 71 to be processed containing the wafers to be processed, so that the wafer boat 71 to be processed waits outside the furnace tube 10 for the next furnace chamber process cycle.

[0075] like Figure 1 As shown, Figure 1 There are three furnace tubes 10 in the system. To clearly show the structure of the system, Figure 1 Only two preparation platforms 30 are shown. To clearly illustrate the wafer boats 71 to be processed, this embodiment shows three wafer boats 71 in different states: a first wafer boat 711, a second wafer boat 712, and a third wafer boat 713. The first wafer boat 711 and the second wafer boat 712 are located on two preparation platforms 30, respectively. Furthermore, the third wafer boat 713 is being transported by the first transport device 40.

[0076] The three furnace tubes 10 are arranged in a direction ( Figure 1 Horizontal arrangement settings (left and right directions in the Figure 1 In the figure, the cooling stage 20 is located to the left of the loading stage 60. The cooling stage 20 and the loading stage 60 are connected to form a large, integrated platform that faces the entrances and exits of the transfer chambers 12 of the three furnace tubes 10. The cooling stage 20 is used to temporarily place and cool the post-processed wafer boats 72 after they have completed the furnace chamber process within the furnace tubes 10. The loading stage 60 is used to transfer wafers.

[0077] In other alternative embodiments, the cooling stage 20 and the loading stage 60 may be provided independently.

[0078] In this embodiment, one cooling stage 20 and one loading stage 60 are each provided, and three furnace tubes 10 are provided. In other alternative embodiments, the number of furnace tubes 10 may be two, four, or more, with one cooling stage 20 and one loading stage 60 corresponding to multiple furnace tubes 10. Furthermore, if the number of furnace tubes 10 is large, the number and positions of the cooling stages 20 and loading stages 60 may be adaptively increased based on the number of furnace tubes 10. For example, multiple cooling stages 20 and loading stages 60 may be provided, and they may be arranged alternately along a direction.

[0079] Please continue to refer to Figure 1 As shown, Figure 1 Two post-process wafer boats 72 are shown, namely a first post-process wafer boat 721 and a second post-process wafer boat 722 .

[0080] The first post-process boat 721 is placed on the cooling table 20, and after the first post-process boat 721 is cooled on the cooling table 20, the first post-process boat 721 is flipped to a horizontal posture by the first conveying device 40 to prepare for being conveyed to the loading table 60. When the first post-process boat 721 is just conveyed to the cooling table 20 from the furnace tube 10, the first post-process boat 721 should be in an upright state.

[0081] The second post-process boat 722 is placed on the loading table 60, and the loading member 50 is used to load the post-process wafers in the second post-process boat 722 on the loading table 60 into the empty wafer box, so that the second post-process boat 722 becomes the empty wafer boat 73. The second post-process boat 722 is in a horizontal posture, and the wafers are in an upright posture. The loading port of the second post-process boat 722 in the horizontal posture faces upward. Correspondingly, the loading port of the wafer boat in the upright posture faces the horizontal direction, and the wafer is in a horizontal posture. In the embodiment, the horizontal posture of the wafer boat refers to the posture in which the axis of the wafer boat is horizontal, and the loading port faces upward. The upright posture of the wafer refers to the posture in which the axis of the wafer is horizontal.

[0082] The loading member 50 is used to clamp the post-process wafers in the second post-process boat 722 on the loading table 60 in an upright state, and a plurality of post-process wafers in an upright state are clamped at one time, and the plurality of post-process wafers in an upright state are loaded into the empty wafer box at one time.

[0083] It should be noted that, Figure 1 The first post-process boat 721 and the second post-process boat 722 are shown for the purpose of clearly showing the states of the post-process boat 72 in different stages of the conveying process. In the actual conveying process, there can be only one post-process boat on the loading table 60, and the first post-process boat 721 and the second post-process boat 722 are two states of the post-process boat in different stages of the conveying process.

[0084] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 for the structure of the loading member 50 and the empty wafer box 73.

[0085] Please refer to Figure 1 for the structure of the loading member 50 and the empty wafer box 73.

[0086] Please refer to Figure 2As shown, the carrier 50 includes a pair of clamping arms 51, a clamping block 52 connected to the clamping arms 51, and a clamping drive 53. The two clamping arms 51 are mounted on the clamping drive 53 and driven to move linearly toward each other to form a clamped state, or away from each other to form a released state. The clamping drive 53 can be, for example, a double-acting cylinder, two independent cylinders, or other known linear drive structures. The clamping drive 53 can be externally connected to a movable base, which can be driven to move, allowing the carrier 50 to move flexibly and adjust its position according to different operating conditions.

[0087] Combine Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the lower end of the clamping arm 51 is connected to a clamping block 52 with an approximately trapezoidal cross-section. The length direction of the clamping block 52 is horizontal and perpendicular to the linear motion direction of the clamping arm 51. The opposite surfaces of the two clamping blocks 52 are clamping surfaces, which are arc-shaped, so that the width dimension of the clamping block 52 (the dimension along the linear motion direction of the clamping arm 51) gradually increases from top to bottom, that is, the clamping surface is bent outward at the lower position, and this shape is used to adapt to the peripheral arc surface of the wafer. In addition, the clamping block 52 is provided with a plurality of grooves 54 on the clamping surface. Each groove 54 is arranged along the length direction of the clamping block 52. The grooves 54 extend vertically and pass through the upper and lower end surfaces of the clamping block 52. The bottom of the groove 54 is an arc-shaped structure adapted to the clamping surface, so that the bottom of the groove 54 is adapted to the peripheral arc surface of the wafer.

[0088] The spacing between the grooves 54 is the same as the spacing between adjacent wafers in the wafer boat and the spacing between adjacent wafers in the wafer box.

[0089] Combine Figure 1 As shown, after multiple upright post-process wafers are pushed upward by the wafer lifter 74, the two clamping arms 51 of the loader 50 are driven away from each other to form a released state, and the loader 50 is driven to move so that the wafers are positioned between the two clamping arms 51. The loader 50 adjusts its position so that each groove 54 corresponds to each post-process wafer. The two clamping arms 51 of the loader 50 are driven toward each other to form a clamping state, with both sides of the post-process wafer inserted into the groove 54, and the outer periphery of the post-process wafer conforming to the bottom of the groove 54, thereby clamping the post-process wafer.

[0090] Preferably, the height of the clamping block 52 is smaller than the radius of the wafer, or even smaller than half of the radius of the wafer. The clamping block 52 is clamped near the middle of the wafer so that the lower portion of the wafer is exposed.

[0091] Combine Figure 2 As shown, the loader 50 clamps the processed wafer and then transfers it to the top of the empty wafer box 73 and moves with the wafer pusher ( Figure 2The wafers are aligned with each other (not shown), and the processed wafers are transferred to the top of the wafer pusher 74. The wafer pusher 74 moves downward to transfer the processed wafers to the slots of the empty wafer box 73, and then the processed wafers in the upright state in the wafer boat 722 after the second process are transferred to the empty wafer box.

[0092] In this embodiment, the loader 50 can hold approximately half of the wafers in the wafer boat 722 after the second process at one time, and thus all wafers can be transferred by clamping them twice. In other alternative implementations, the loader 50 can also be configured to hold all wafers in the wafer boat 722 after the second process at one time, and thus all wafers can be transferred by clamping them once.

[0093] In this embodiment, the processed wafer boat on the loading platform 60 is horizontal, with the boat's loading port facing upward. This ensures that the posture of the processed wafers placed in the boat remains consistent with the posture of the wafers placed in the cassette, with the cassette's loading port also facing upward. Therefore, multiple wafers can be clamped at once and transferred between the boat and cassette without changing the wafer's posture, helping to improve wafer loading and unloading efficiency.

[0094] In addition, the loading unit 50 is also used to load the wafers to be processed in the crystal box into the empty crystal boat 73 to form the wafer boat 71 to be processed. When all the processed wafers in the second processed crystal boat 722 are taken out, the second processed crystal boat 722 forms an empty crystal boat 73. At this time, the loading unit 50 also loads the wafers to be processed in the crystal box full of wafers to be processed into the empty crystal boat 73 to form the processed crystal boat 72. Then, the processed crystal boat 72 is transported from the loading platform 60 to the material preparation platform 30 by the first conveying device 40 (as shown in FIG. Figure 1 The third wafer boat 713 to be processed is in the transport state shown in FIG.

[0095] Please combine the following Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown, the structure and working process of the first conveying device 40 are introduced.

[0096] Depend on Figure 1 Take the furnace tube 10 on the far left of the figure as an example to complete the furnace chamber process.

[0097] After the furnace chamber process of the furnace tube 10 is completed, the wafer boat receiving plate 11 in the furnace tube 10 moves downward, and the wafer boat ( Figure 1The first conveying device 40 is used to convey the process completed wafer boat in the upright state along a first conveying path to the cooling station 20, while the second conveying device (not shown) is used to convey the first process wafer boat 711 in the upright state on the standby station 30 outside the furnace tube into the wafer boat receiving tray 11 along a second conveying path, and the wafer boat receiving tray 11 is raised to close the furnace tube. The second conveying device can be a multi-degree-of-freedom mechanical arm, for example, a six-degree-of-freedom mechanical arm, which will not be described here. The starting point of the first conveying path and the ending point of the second conveying path are both in the furnace tube, so the first conveying path and the second conveying path do not cross, that is, they do not cross in the conveying process.

[0098] When the process completed wafer boat in the upright state in the furnace tube is conveyed to the cooling station 20, it is still in the upright state, and when the process completed wafer boat is cooled to below 300 degrees Celsius, the first conveying device 40 converts the process completed wafer boat in the upright state to a horizontal state (as shown in the state of the first process completed wafer boat 721 in FIG. 6B), and then conveys the process completed wafer boat in the horizontal state to the loading station 60, and the process completed wafers in the process completed wafer boat are transferred to the empty wafer box by the loading member 50 (as shown in the state of the second process completed wafer boat 722 in FIG. 6C). Figure 1 Figure 1

[0099] When all the process completed wafers in the process completed wafer boat are taken out, an empty wafer boat 73 is formed, and the empty wafer boat 73 is conveyed to the right (as shown in FIG. 6D), that is, the loading station 60 has an unloading area and a loading area, the unloading area is used to place the process completed wafer boat and transfer the process completed wafers in the process completed wafer boat to the empty wafer box, and the loading area is used to place the empty wafer boat and load the process wafers in the wafer box to the empty wafer boat. Figure 1 Figure 1 When the empty wafer boat 73 is filled by the loading member 50, a process wafer boat is formed, and then the first conveying device 40 converts the process wafer boat in the horizontal state to the upright state, and conveys the process wafer boat in the upright state to the standby station to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube (as shown in the state of the third process wafer boat 713 in FIG. 6E). Figure 1

[0100] ​​​​With this configuration, when the furnace tube is operating normally, the wafer boat to be processed loaded with wafers waits outside the furnace tube. After the furnace chamber process is completed, the post-process wafer boat inside is transported out through the first conveying path, and at the same time, the wafer boat to be processed is transported into the furnace tube through the second conveying path. The first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect, so that the wafer boat to be processed and the post-process wafer boat can be transported at the same time. This conveying method ensures that the furnace chamber process of the furnace tube and the wafer transportation before and after the furnace chamber process do not interfere with each other. That is, while the wafer boat to be processed enters the furnace tube for the furnace chamber process, the post-process wafer boat can be transported, cooled, and loaded. Moreover, while the wafer boat to be processed enters the furnace tube for the furnace chamber process, the wafer boat to be processed in the next cycle waits outside the furnace tube. The transportation and loading of wafers do not cause the furnace tube to wait idly, which makes the previous process cycle of the furnace tube almost seamlessly connected to the next process cycle, and the idle waiting time is almost zero. This extremely compresses the idle waiting time between adjacent process cycles of the furnace tube, which helps to improve the output of the furnace tube equipment.

[0101] Moreover, the previous process cycle of the furnace tube is almost seamlessly connected to the next process cycle, which means that the environment inside the furnace tube will not change drastically due to the furnace tube being idle for a long time. This can reduce the heat loss of the furnace tube caused by long-term idleness, help improve the process efficiency of the furnace tube and improve energy-saving effects.

[0102] To ensure flexible movement of the first conveyor device 40, the second conveyor device, and the loading member 50, this embodiment further includes a plurality of staggered rails 80. The rails 80 connect between the furnace tube 10 and the cooling table 20, the furnace tube 10 and the material preparation table 30, the cooling table 20 and the loading table 60, and the loading table 60 and the material preparation table 30. The plurality of rails 80 are staggered to form multiple conveying paths, and multiple conveying paths are also formed between the various units. For example, if the rails 80 are arranged in a mesh structure, different conveying paths can be formed between the various units by selecting different cells.

[0103] The first conveying device 40 , the second conveying device and the loading member 50 are arranged on the track 80 and can be driven to move along the track 80 . By selecting different conveying paths, the first conveying device 40 and the loading member 50 can be flexibly moved.

[0104] Please continue to refer to Figure 4As shown, the first conveying device 40 comprises a pair of conveying arms 41 and a conveying drive 42 and a rotating drive (not shown in the figure), the conveying arms 41 are installed on the conveying drive 42 and are driven to move linearly to approach each other to form a clamping state or to move away from each other to form a releasing state. The conveying drive 42 is, for example, a double-acting cylinder or two independent cylinders or other known linear drive structures. The conveying drive 42 is externally connected to the rotating drive, which can drive the conveying drive 42 to rotate to convert the clamped boat between the horizontal and vertical positions.

[0105] The conveying drive 42 can be externally connected to a moving seat, which can be driven to move along the track 80 to make the first conveying device 40 move flexibly and adjust its position flexibly based on different use conditions.

[0106] In the process of rotating the conveying arms 41, in order to ensure that the wafer is not damaged, it is necessary to achieve slow rotation, for example, set the maximum rotation speed v, in the initial stage of rotation, slowly accelerate from zero speed to v, then rotate at a constant speed v, and finally in the final stage of rotation, slowly decelerate from v to zero, so as to reduce the force acting on the wafer in the initial stage and the final stage of rotation, thereby protecting the wafer from being damaged and ensuring that the wafer does not displace during the position conversion process.

[0107] Please continue to refer to Figure 4 As shown, the conveying arm 41 is approximately Z-shaped, having parallel first and second branch arms 411 and 412 and a connecting arm 413 connected between the branch arms, wherein the first branch arm 411 is connected to the output end of the conveying drive 42, and the second branch arm 412 extends away from the conveying drive 42 and is used to clamp the wafer boat before or after the process, wherein the opposite sides of the second branch arm 412 are connected with clamping protrusions 414.

[0108] Figure 4 Taking the clamping of the wafer boat 71 before the process as an example, the wafer boat 71 is in a horizontal position, the loading port of the wafer boat 71 faces upward, and the wafer boat 71 has a groove on each of the two sides in the axial direction, which cooperates with the clamping protrusions 414. When the two conveying arms 41 are driven to approach each other, the two clamping protrusions 414 respectively extend into the grooves on the wafer boat 71 to achieve clamping and assembly. Then the conveying arm 41 is driven to rotate to convert the wafer boat 71 from the horizontal position to the vertical position.

[0109] Preferably, the groove and the clamping protrusion 414 are non-circular in cross-section, for example, rectangular, regular hexagonal or other cross-sectional structures, to ensure that the wafer boat 71 does not rotate after being clamped.

[0110] In other alternative embodiments, the first conveying device 40 can use an existing multi-degree-of-freedom mechanical arm, for example, a six-degree-of-freedom mechanical arm.

[0111] Further, in the embodiment, the vertical furnace tube wafer and boat high-efficiency conveying system further comprises a control unit;

[0112] The control unit is in communication connection with the driving structure of the first conveying device 40, the second conveying device and the loading piece 50, and is in communication connection with each furnace tube 10.

[0113] The control unit is used to pre-acquire the time when each furnace cavity process is completed, take the furnace tube that completes the furnace cavity process first as a target furnace tube, and drive the first conveying device to run to the outside of the target furnace tube to wait;

[0114] The control unit can also be used to pre-acquire the time when each furnace cavity process is completed, take the furnace tube that completes the furnace cavity process first as a target furnace tube, and drive the first conveying device to convey the wafer boat to be processed to the standby area corresponding to the target furnace tube to wait for the next process cycle of the target furnace tube.

[0115] The above system, one cooling table corresponds to multiple furnace tube devices, and one first conveying device can serve multiple furnace tube devices, and one loading table can serve multiple furnace tube devices. Through reasonable working time arrangement of each furnace tube and cooling end time arrangement of the wafer boat after the process, the wafer boat 72 after the process can be transformed in posture and conveyed by one first conveying device, which is beneficial to improve the integration of the whole furnace tube system, reduce the volume proportion of the wafer conveying mechanism of the furnace tube, and further reduce the occupied space of the furnace tube system in the clean room, and also greatly reduce the operation cost of the clean room and increase the usable space of the clean room.

[0116] In the above system, the cooling table, the standby table, the loading table, the first conveying device, the second conveying device and the like can be flexibly arranged based on the arrangement of the furnace tube, so that the whole system layout has better flexibility and can flexibly adapt to various installation conditions.

[0117] In addition, the control unit can also be used to pre-acquire the time when each furnace cavity process is completed, take the furnace tube that completes the furnace cavity process first as a target furnace tube, and set one of the conveying paths as the first conveying path and the other conveying path as the second conveying path based on the target furnace tube, so that the first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect and are the shortest.

[0118] For example, the control unit first obtains the mesh distribution structure of the track 80, and traverses all paths from the target furnace tube to the cooling table 20 and from the preparation table 30 to the target furnace tube in the mesh track 80 based on the positional relationship between the target furnace tube, the cooling table 20 and the preparation table 30, and generates a set of first conveying paths and a set of second conveying paths, and generates all combinations of the first conveying path and the second conveying path, and determines whether the first conveying path and the second conveying path intersect in each combination, retains all combinations in which the first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect, and determines the sum of the lengths of the first conveying path and the second conveying path in the remaining combinations, and selects the combination with the smallest sum of lengths as the final first conveying path and the second conveying path.

[0119] The control unit usually includes at least one processor, which can be a central processing unit (CPU), other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc.

[0120] The at least one processor can communicate with a plurality of peripheral devices via the bus subsystem. These peripheral devices may include a storage system, a user interface input device, a user interface output device, and a network interface.

[0121] The network interface provides an interface to an external network and / or other devices. The network interface includes one or more interfaces known in the art, such as LAN, WLAN, Bluetooth, other wired and wireless interfaces, etc.

[0122] User interface input devices may include a furnace console, a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, touchpad or graphics tablet, a scanner, a foot pedal, a joystick, a touch screen embedded in a display, an audio input device such as a voice recognition system, a microphone, and other types of input devices. Generally speaking, the term "input device" is intended to include a variety of conventional and proprietary devices and methods for inputting information into a control unit.

[0123] User interface output devices may include a display subsystem, a printer, a fax machine, or a non-visual display such as an audio output device. The display subsystem may be a flat panel device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, a touch screen display, etc. The display subsystem may also provide a non-visual display, such as via an audio output device. Generally speaking, the term "output device" is intended to include various conventional and proprietary devices and methods for outputting information from a control unit to a user.

[0124] The storage system can store the basic programming and data structures that implement the various functions of the present invention. For example, as described herein, the databases and modules that implement the functions of the method of the present invention can be stored in the storage system. These software modules are usually executed by a processor. In a distributed environment, the software modules can be stored on multiple computer systems and executed by the processors of multiple computer systems. The storage system usually includes a memory subsystem and a file storage system. The memory subsystem usually includes multiple memories, including a main random access memory (RAM) for storing instructions and data during program execution and a read-only memory (ROM) in which fixed instructions are stored. The file storage subsystem provides permanent (non-volatile) storage for program and data files. The file storage system can include a hard drive and associated removable media, a compact disc (CD) drive, an optical drive, a DVD, a solid-state memory and / or other removable media. One or more of these drives can be located at a remote location on other connected computers at other sites connected to the control unit. The modules that implement the functions of the present invention can be stored by the file storage system.

[0125] The bus subsystem provides the means for the various components and subsystems of a control unit to communicate with each other as intended. The various subsystems and components of a control unit do not need to be in the same physical location; instead, they can be distributed across a distributed network. The bus subsystem can consist of a single bus or multiple buses, depending on the needs.

[0126] The control unit described above is intended to be an example only to illustrate only one embodiment of the present invention. Due to the ever-changing nature of computers and networks, in other alternative embodiments, the control unit may also have certain differences from the configuration of the control unit described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0127] In this embodiment, a method for efficiently transferring wafers and wafer boats in a vertical furnace tube is also provided, which includes the following steps:

[0128] The wafer boat to be processed containing the wafers is transported to the material preparation area outside the furnace tube. This transport process can be completed by the first transport device described above.

[0129] After the furnace tube completes the furnace cavity process, the process-after wafer boat in the furnace tube is conveyed to the cooling area (the cooling area is located on the cooling table) by the first conveying device according to the first conveying path. At the same time, the process-before wafer boat is conveyed to the furnace tube by the second conveying device according to the second conveying path from the standby area (the standby area is located on the standby table). The first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect, one cooling area corresponds to multiple furnace tubes, each furnace tube is provided with a first conveying path and a standby area. When the second conveying device conveys the process-before wafer boat, it can be firstly judged whether the first conveying device starts to convey, and whether there is a wafer boat in the furnace cavity of the furnace tube. If the first conveying device starts to convey, the second conveying device is ready to start conveying. If there is a wafer boat in the furnace tube, the second conveying device waits. If there is no wafer boat in the furnace tube, the second conveying device starts to convey. The cooling area is opposite to the entrance and exit of the conveying chamber of the furnace tube, the standby area is opposite to the entrance and exit of the conveying chamber of the furnace tube, and the standby area is located outside the entrance and exit of the conveying chamber of the furnace tube and is arranged adjacent to the entrance and exit of the conveying chamber. In order to ensure that the first conveying path and the second conveying path are relatively short, and improve the conveying efficiency.

[0130] The process-after wafer in the process-after wafer boat after cooling is loaded into an empty wafer box, the process-after wafer boat becomes an empty wafer boat, and the process-before wafer is loaded from the wafer box into the empty wafer boat to form a process-before wafer boat, and the process-before wafer boat is conveyed to the standby area to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube;

[0131] The first conveying device, the second conveying device, the first conveying path and the second conveying path are arranged so that a process-before wafer boat is conveyed to the corresponding standby area of the corresponding furnace tube before each process cycle of the furnace tube is completed, and at least one process-after wafer boat is cooled, and / or the transfer of the process-after wafer between the process-after wafer boat and the empty wafer box is performed, and / or the transfer of the process-before wafer between the wafer box and the empty wafer boat is performed during the execution of the furnace cavity process of the furnace tube.

[0132] In the above conveying method, the first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect, so that the process-before wafer boat and the process-after wafer boat can be conveyed at the same time. This conveying method makes the furnace cavity process of the furnace tube and the wafer conveying before and after the furnace cavity process not interfere with each other, that is, during the process of the process-before wafer boat entering the furnace tube for the furnace cavity process, the process-after wafer boat can be transferred, cooled and loaded. In addition, during the process of the process-before wafer boat entering the furnace tube for the furnace cavity process, the process-before wafer boat of the next cycle waits outside the furnace tube, and the conveying of the wafer and the loading of the wafer do not cause the furnace tube to be idle and wait. This makes the last process cycle and the next process cycle of the furnace tube almost seamless, the idle waiting time is almost zero, and the idle waiting time between adjacent process cycles of the furnace tube is greatly compressed, which helps to improve the yield of the furnace tube equipment.

[0133] Moreover, the previous process cycle of the furnace tube is almost seamlessly connected to the next process cycle, which means that the environment inside the furnace tube will not change drastically due to the furnace tube being idle for a long time. This can reduce the heat loss of the furnace tube caused by long-term idleness, help improve the process efficiency of the furnace tube and improve energy-saving effects.

[0134] Furthermore, before the processed wafer boat in the furnace tube is transported to the cooling zone through the first transport device along the first transport path, the following steps are also included:

[0135] The time for each furnace chamber process to be completed is obtained in advance, and the furnace tube that completes the furnace chamber process first is used as the target furnace tube. The first conveying device runs to the outside of the target furnace tube and waits. Since the time for the furnace tubes to complete the furnace chamber process is almost fixed, it is only necessary to arrange the furnace tube start time to control the furnace tube completion time, ensuring that each furnace tube is completed in sequence, and then ensuring that there is a time interval between the completion of each furnace tube process. This time interval is used for the transportation of the corresponding wafer boat and the transfer between the wafers in the wafer boat and the crystal box, and the transfer between the wafers in the crystal box and the empty wafer boat. Therefore, the entire wafer boat transportation and wafer loading process utilizes the interval between the completion time of the furnace chamber processes of adjacent furnace tubes, without occupying the furnace tube working time, reducing the idle waiting time of the furnace tubes.

[0136] Before the first conveyor device is transported, it is necessary to determine whether it is empty. If so, it will transport the wafer boat after the process in the furnace tube has been processed. If not, the first conveyor device will complete the corresponding transport process and then transport the wafer boat after the process in the furnace tube has been processed. By scheduling the time when the furnace chamber process is completed, the first conveyor device is allowed to wait outside the target furnace tube. This ensures that after the furnace chamber process in the furnace tube is completed, the first conveyor device is empty and ready to transport the wafer boat after the process has been processed.

[0137] Furthermore, the process of transporting the wafer boat to be processed to the preparation area to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube includes the following steps:

[0138] The completion time of each furnace chamber process is pre-determined, and the furnace tube that completed the furnace chamber process first is designated as the target furnace tube. The wafer boats to be processed are transported to the corresponding preparation area to await the next process cycle of the target furnace tube. By pre-determining the target furnace tube, it is ensured that there are wafer boats to be processed outside the furnace tube that completed the furnace chamber process first, and that the first transport device is waiting, thereby ensuring orderly wafer boat transportation to each furnace tube.

[0139] Furthermore, the first conveying path and the second conveying path are determined by the following method:

[0140] There are multiple conveying paths between the preparation area and the corresponding furnace tube and between the furnace tube and the cooling table. The furnace tube that completes the furnace chamber process first is taken as the target furnace tube, and one of the conveying paths is set as the first conveying path based on the target furnace tube, and the other conveying path is set as the second conveying path, so that the first conveying path and the second conveying path are shortest and do not intersect.

[0141] In this acquisition process, the control unit can first acquire the mesh distribution structure of the track, and traverse all paths from the target furnace tube to the cooling table and from the preparation table to the target furnace tube in the mesh track based on the positional relationship between the target furnace tube, the cooling table and the preparation table, and generate a set of first conveying paths and a set of second conveying paths, and generate all combinations of the first conveying path and the second conveying path, judge whether the first conveying path and the second conveying path intersect in each combination, retain all combinations in which the first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect, and judge the sum of the lengths of the first conveying path and the second conveying path in the remaining combinations, and select the combination with the smallest sum of lengths as the final first conveying path and the second conveying path.

[0142] Furthermore, a loading and unloading area is provided outside the furnace tube (the loading and unloading area is located on the loading platform);

[0143] The first conveying device running to the target furnace tube and waiting further comprises the following steps:

[0144] Detect whether there is an empty space in the cooling zone. One cooling zone may be provided with one or more empty spaces. Each empty space should be provided for placing a wafer boat in an upright position after processing and a wafer boat in a horizontal position after processing;

[0145] If there is no vacancy in the cooling zone, after at least one post-process wafer boat in the cooling zone has cooled, the post-process wafer boat is transported to the loading and unloading area by the first conveying device, and then the first conveying device runs to the outside of the target furnace tube to wait; wherein, whether the cooling is completed is judged by the temperature of the post-process wafers in the post-process wafer boat, for example, whether the temperature of the post-process wafer drops below 300 degrees Celsius, if it drops below 300 degrees Celsius, it is considered that the cooling is completed, if it does not drop below 300 degrees Celsius, it continues to wait for cooling.

[0146] If there is space in the cooling zone, the first conveying device directly moves to the outside of the target furnace tube and waits.

[0147] Furthermore, the method further includes the following steps:

[0148] The furnace chamber process completion time for each furnace tube is preset so that the furnace chamber process completion times of each furnace tube are arranged sequentially according to the set time interval. The cooling completion time for the wafer boat after the process is preset so that the cooling completion time of at least one wafer boat after the process falls between two adjacent furnace chamber process completion times. This ensures that the wafer boat after the process is transported by the first conveying device within the interval between the furnace chamber process completion times of two adjacent furnace tubes. In addition, the time point at which an empty wafer boat is loaded and becomes a wafer boat to be processed is also preset so that this time point falls between the two adjacent furnace chamber process completion times. This ensures that the process of transporting the wafer boat to be processed from the loading and unloading area to the preparation area by the first device falls between the two adjacent furnace chamber process completion times, eliminating the need for the furnace tubes to remain idle and waiting.

[0149] Furthermore, transporting the processed wafer boat in the furnace tube to the cooling zone through the first conveying device along the first conveying path includes the following steps:

[0150] The first conveying device grasps the processed wafer boat in an upright position;

[0151] The first conveying device conveys the post-process wafer boat in an upright posture to the cooling area along the first conveying path; the temperature of the post-process wafer boat that completes the furnace chamber process in the furnace tube is relatively high, and the mechanical properties of the post-process wafers are relatively poor. During this conveying process, the posture of the post-process wafer boat is maintained unchanged, thereby ensuring the stability of the post-process wafers inside it to prevent damage to the wafers.

[0152] In addition, the method of transporting the processed wafer boat to the loading and unloading area by the first transport device includes the following steps:

[0153] After the processed wafer boat cools in the cooling zone, the first conveyor device grasps the upright wafer boat and shifts its orientation, converting it from upright to horizontal. The horizontal wafer boat is then transported to the loading and unloading area. As the wafer boat cools, the temperature of the wafers decreases, improving their mechanical properties. Therefore, shifting the boat's orientation at this point does not damage the wafers. Furthermore, when the horizontal wafer boat is transported to the loading and unloading area, the loading and unloading port of the boat faces upward, facilitating the simultaneous grasping of multiple upright wafers by the loading device. This allows the wafers in the boat to be quickly loaded into an empty cassette, improving loading efficiency.

[0154] Furthermore, the post-process wafers in the cooled post-process wafer boat are loaded into an empty wafer box, and the post-process wafer boat is converted into an empty wafer boat, which includes the following steps:

[0155] The loader clamps the processed wafers in the processed wafer boat in a horizontal posture in the loading and unloading area;

[0156] The loader clamps multiple post-process wafers in an upright position in the post-process wafer boat at one time, and loads multiple post-process wafers in an upright position into an empty wafer box at one time, until all the post-process wafers in the post-process wafer boat are taken out to form an empty wafer boat. The empty wafer box is filled with post-process wafers and can be moved to the next process equipment by the operator.

[0157] In addition, loading the wafers to be processed from the wafer box into the empty wafer boat to form a wafer boat to be processed, and transporting the wafer boat to the preparation area to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube includes the following steps:

[0158] The loading part clamps multiple wafers to be processed in an upright position from multiple wafer boxes at one time in the loading and unloading area; and loads multiple wafers to be processed in an upright position into an empty wafer boat in a horizontal position at one time to form a wafer boat to be processed;

[0159] The first conveying device grasps the wafer boat to be processed in a straight horizontal posture and changes the posture of the wafer boat to be processed so that the wafer boat to be processed changes from a horizontal posture to an upright posture, and conveys the wafer boat to be processed in an upright posture to a preparation area to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube.

[0160] Please refer to Figure 6 FIG. 1 shows another embodiment of a vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient transport system. In this embodiment, the vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient transport system includes two furnace tubes 10 , and the cooling stage 20 , the preparation stage 30 , and the loading stage 60 are relatively independently arranged.

[0161] like Figure 6 As shown, the cooling table 20 and the preparation table 30 are mounted on the same conveyor platform, which can move along a track 80 and rotate to switch the positions of the cooling table 20 and the preparation table 30. Before the furnace process of the furnace tube is completed, the conveyor platform moves to the outside of the furnace tube, and the cooling table 20 and the preparation table 30 are simultaneously transported outside the furnace tube to wait. The preparation table 30 carries a wafer boat 71 to be processed, while the cooling table 20 is idle. After the furnace process of the furnace tube is completed, the processed wafer boat 72 in the furnace tube is transferred to the cooling table 20, and the wafer boat 71 to be processed on the preparation table 30 is transferred into the furnace tube.

[0162] In addition, the conveying platform is rotatable to flexibly adjust the positions of the cooling table 20 and the material preparation table 30, thereby facilitating the conveyance of the wafer boat.

[0163] In this embodiment, a cooling platform 20 and a material preparation platform 30 are installed on a conveying platform. One conveying platform can correspond to two furnace tubes or more furnace tubes. When the furnace cavity process of a furnace tube is about to be completed, the conveying platform can be transported to the outside of the corresponding furnace tube and wait.

[0164] Figure 6 Other structures in Figure 1 Keep it consistent with the above, and will not be repeated here.

[0165] The above description is only a description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Any changes and modifications made by ordinary technicians in the field of the present invention based on the above disclosure shall fall within the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for efficiently transferring wafers and wafer boats in a vertical furnace tube, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Transporting the wafer boat containing the wafers to be processed to the preparation area outside the furnace tube; After the furnace tube completes the furnace chamber process, the post-process wafer boat containing the post-process wafers in the furnace tube is transported to the cooling zone through the first conveying device along the first conveying path. At the same time, the wafer boat to be processed is transported from the preparation area to the furnace tube through the second conveying device along the second conveying path. The first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect. One cooling zone corresponds to multiple furnace tubes, and each furnace tube is equipped with a first conveying path and a preparation area. The post-process wafers in the cooled post-process wafer boat are loaded into an empty wafer box, and the post-process wafer boat becomes an empty wafer boat. Wafers to be processed are loaded from the wafer box into the empty wafer boat to form a wafer boat to be processed, and the wafer boat to be processed is transported to the preparation area to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube; The first conveying device, the second conveying device, the first conveying path and the second conveying path are configured so that before each process cycle of the furnace tube is completed, a wafer boat to be processed is conveyed to the preparation area corresponding to the corresponding furnace tube, and while the furnace tube is performing the furnace chamber process, at least one post-process wafer boat is cooled, and / or post-process wafers are transferred between the post-process wafer boat and an empty wafer box, and / or wafers to be processed are transferred between the wafer box and an empty wafer boat. The following steps are also included before the processed wafer boat in the furnace tube is transported to the cooling zone through the first transport device along the first transport path: The completion time of each furnace chamber process is obtained in advance, and the furnace tube that completes the furnace chamber process first is used as the target furnace tube, and the first conveying device moves to the outside of the target furnace tube and waits; And / or, transporting the wafer boat to be processed to the preparation area to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube includes the following steps: The completion time of each furnace chamber process is obtained in advance, the furnace tube that completes the furnace chamber process first is used as the target furnace tube, and the wafer boat to be processed is transported to the preparation area corresponding to the target furnace tube to wait for the next process cycle of the target furnace tube; And / or, the first conveying path and the second conveying path are determined by the following method: There are multiple conveying paths between the material preparation area and the corresponding furnace tube and between the furnace tube and the cooling stage. The furnace tube that completes the furnace chamber process first is used as the target furnace tube. One of the conveying paths is set as the first conveying path based on the target furnace tube, and another conveying path is set as the second conveying path, so that the first conveying path and the second conveying path are shortest and do not intersect. A loading and unloading area is also provided outside the furnace tube; The first conveying device running to the target furnace tube and waiting further comprises the following steps: Detecting whether there is space in the cooling zone; If there is no vacancy in the cooling zone, after at least one post-process wafer boat in the cooling zone is cooled, the post-process wafer boat is transported to the loading and unloading zone by the first conveying device, and then the first conveying device moves to the outside of the target furnace tube and waits; If there is space in the cooling zone, the first conveying device directly moves to the outside of the target furnace tube and waits.

2. The method for efficiently transferring wafers and wafer boats in a vertical furnace tube according to claim 1, wherein: The following steps are also included: Presetting the furnace chamber process completion time of each furnace tube so that the furnace chamber process completion time of each furnace tube is arranged in sequence according to the set time interval; The cooling completion time of the wafer boat after the process is preset so that the cooling completion time of at least one wafer boat after the process is located between the process completion times of two adjacent furnace chambers.

3. The method for efficiently transferring wafers and wafer boats in a vertical furnace tube according to claim 1, wherein: Transporting the processed wafer boat in the furnace tube to the cooling zone via the first conveying device along the first conveying path includes the following steps: The first conveying device grasps the processed wafer boat in an upright position; The first conveying device conveys the processed wafer boat in an upright position to the cooling zone along the first conveying path; The method of transporting the processed wafer boat to the loading and unloading area by the first conveying device includes the following steps: After the processed wafer boat is cooled in the cooling zone, the first conveying device grasps the upright wafer boat and changes the posture of the processed wafer boat so that the upright wafer boat is changed to a horizontal posture, and conveys the horizontal wafer boat to the loading and unloading zone.

4. The method for efficiently transferring wafers and wafer boats in a vertical furnace tube according to claim 3, wherein: The post-process wafers in the cooled post-process wafer boat are loaded into an empty wafer box. The post-process wafer boat is converted into an empty wafer boat by the following steps: The loader clamps the post-processed wafers in the post-processed wafer boat in a horizontal position in the loading and unloading area, and the loader clamps multiple post-processed wafers in an upright position in the post-processed wafer boat at one time, and loads the multiple post-processed wafers in an upright position into the empty wafer box at one time, until all the post-processed wafers in the post-processed wafer boat are taken out to form an empty wafer boat.

5. The method for efficiently transferring wafers and wafer boats in a vertical furnace tube according to claim 4, wherein: The following steps are involved: loading the wafers to be processed from the wafer box into an empty wafer boat to form a wafer boat to be processed, and transporting the wafer boat to the preparation area to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube: The loading part clamps multiple wafers to be processed in an upright position from multiple wafer boxes at one time in the loading and unloading area, and loads multiple wafers to be processed in an upright position into an empty wafer boat in a horizontal position at one time to form a wafer boat to be processed; The first conveying device grasps the wafer boat to be processed in a straight horizontal posture and changes the posture of the wafer boat to be processed so that the wafer boat to be processed changes from a horizontal posture to an upright posture, and conveys the wafer boat to be processed in an upright posture to a preparation area to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube.

6. The method for efficiently transferring wafers and wafer boats in a vertical furnace according to claim 1, wherein: The cooling zone is directly opposite to the entrance and exit of the conveying chamber of the furnace tube, and / or the material preparation zone is located outside the entrance and exit of the conveying chamber of the furnace tube and is arranged adjacent to the entrance and exit of the conveying chamber.

7. A vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient transport system for executing the vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient transport method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: It includes a plurality of furnace tubes, a cooling table, a material preparation table, a first conveying device and a second conveying device; One cooling stage corresponds to a plurality of furnace tubes; The furnace tube is provided with a material preparation platform, which is located outside the furnace tube and is used to place a wafer boat loaded with wafers to be processed; The first conveying device is used to convey the processed wafer boat in the furnace tube to the cooling table according to the first conveying path after the furnace tube completes the furnace chamber process. At the same time, the second conveying device is used to convey the wafer boat to be processed from the preparation table to the furnace tube according to the second conveying path. The first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect.

8. The vertical furnace wafer and wafer boat efficient transport system according to claim 7, characterized in that: Also included are loading pieces and loading platforms; The first conveying device is also used to convey the post-processed wafer boat cooled on the cooling table to the loading table, and the loading part is used to load the post-processed wafers in the post-processed wafer boat on the loading table into the empty wafer box, and make the post-processed wafer boat become an empty wafer boat, and the loading part is also used to load the wafers to be processed in the crystal box into the empty wafer boat to form a wafer boat to be processed.

9. The vertical furnace wafer and wafer boat efficient transport system according to claim 8, characterized in that: The first conveying device is further used to convert the post-process wafer boat in an upright posture after cooling on the cooling table into a horizontal posture, and to convey the post-process wafer boat in a horizontal posture to the loading table; The loading member is used to clamp the post-process wafers in an upright state in the post-process wafer boat on the loading platform, and clamp multiple wafers at a time, and load the multiple post-process wafers in an upright state into the empty wafer box at one time; the loading member is also used to clamp multiple wafers to be processed in an upright state in the wafer box at one time, and load the multiple wafers to be processed in an upright state into the empty wafer boat in a horizontal state at one time to form a wafer boat to be processed; The first conveying device is further used to convert the wafer boat to be processed in a horizontal posture into an upright posture, and to convey the wafer boat to be processed in an upright posture to a preparation table to wait for the next process cycle of the furnace tube.

10. The vertical furnace wafer and wafer boat efficient transport system according to claim 9, characterized in that: The vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient transport system also includes a control unit; The control unit is used to obtain the completion time of each furnace chamber process in advance, set the furnace tube that completes the furnace chamber process first as the target furnace tube, and drive the first conveying device to run outside the target furnace tube to wait; And / or, the control unit is used to obtain the completion time of each furnace chamber process in advance, take the furnace tube that completes the furnace chamber process first as the target furnace tube, and drive the first conveying device to convey the wafer boat to be processed to the preparation table corresponding to the target furnace tube to wait for the next process cycle of the target furnace tube; And / or, the vertical furnace tube wafer and wafer boat efficient conveying system also includes a plurality of staggered tracks, which constitute a plurality of conveying paths from the preparation table to the corresponding furnace tubes and from each furnace tube to the cooling table. The control unit is used to pre-acquire the completion time of each of the furnace chamber processes, take the furnace tube that completes the furnace chamber process first as the target furnace tube, and set one of the conveying paths as the first conveying path based on the target furnace tube, and set the other conveying path as the second conveying path, so that the first conveying path and the second conveying path do not intersect and are the shortest.

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