Non-contact wafer transfer device

Abstract

The invention discloses a wafer non-contact transfer device which comprises a tray conveying device, a wafer conveying device, a mechanical arm and a positioning ring. The working end of the mechanical arm is connected with a first suction cup, and the mechanical arm is used for sucking a wafer and enabling the wafer to suspend at the top of the first suction cup. The wafer conveying device is connected with a second suction cup through a lifting device, and the second suction cup is used for adsorbing the wafer on the first suction cup and is suspended at the bottom of the second suction cup; the tray conveying device is connected with the adsorption disc, and the adsorption disc is used for adsorbing trays; the positioning ring is connected with the rotary moving device, and the rotary moving device is used for moving the positioning ring to the top of the tray and guiding the placing position of the wafer on the tray; according to the wafer non-contact transfer device, non-contact movement of the wafer is achieved through the suction cup, the mechanical arm and the moving device, the wafer is prevented from being polluted in the transfer process, the yield of the wafer is increased, and the production cost of the wafer is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Wafer processing is a highly precise manufacturing process with extremely strict environmental requirements, and plays a vital role in the semiconductor industry. In order to ensure the quality and performance of the product, wafer processing is usually carried out in dust-free workshops, which are divided into different cleanliness levels according to the concentration of particulate matter in the air. Among them, the processing of 6-inch wafers is usually carried out in a Class 10 dust-free workshop. This standard means that the number of dust particles greater than or equal to 0.1 microns per cubic centimeter of space is strictly controlled to 10 or less. Such environmental requirements are intended to minimize the impact of external pollution on wafer processing and ensure that the produced wafers have extremely low defect rates and excellent electrical properties. In the wafer processing process, surface electroplating is a key step, which aims to enhance the conductivity and corrosion resistance of the wafer or serve as a protective layer for subsequent processes by plating one or more layers of metal or non-metallic materials (such as gold, carbon, etc.). This step is crucial to ensure the reliability and stability of the wafer in subsequent packaging, testing and final applications.

[0003] Traditionally, the placement and transfer of wafers before electroplating rely on manual operations, especially through the use of vacuum pens. The vacuum pen is a tool designed using the principle of negative pressure. Its working principle is similar to that of a vacuum cleaner, and the suction force generated by the suction cup when it is turned on firmly adsorbs the wafer. However, this mode of operation has a significant disadvantage: since the vacuum pen needs to suck in the air around the suction cup when adsorbing the wafer, this process may cause dust to accumulate around the suction cup mouth. Although the environment of the clean room is highly clean, any tiny dust particles may cause contamination to the surface of the wafer. When the wafer is moved from one place to another by the vacuum pen, especially when it is transferred from the vacuum pen to the tray of the coating machine, if the dust accumulated at the suction cup mouth is not effectively removed, the dust may adhere to the surface of the wafer. Any contamination on the wafer surface, even if it is extremely small, may become a hidden danger in the electroplating process. During the electroplating process, these contaminants may become "weak points" with poor adhesion of the coating, causing the coating to fall off more easily during subsequent processing or use, thereby affecting the electrical connection performance, mechanical strength and long-term reliability of the wafer.

[0004] Therefore, for the wafer processing industry, how to effectively avoid wafer contamination before electroplating while maintaining efficient production has become a technical challenge that needs to be solved urgently. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a wafer contactless pick-and-place device to achieve contactless transfer of wafers and improve the electroplating efficiency and yield rate of wafers.

[0006] The present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0007] A wafer contactless transfer device, comprising a tray warehouse, a tray conveying device, a wafer conveying device, a mechanical arm, a wafer storage device and a positioning ring;

[0008] The tray warehouse is used to store trays or trays with wafers, and a plurality of trays are arranged in the tray storage space from top to bottom;

[0009] The wafer storage device is used for wafers, and a plurality of wafers are arranged at intervals from top to bottom;

[0010] The working end of the robot arm is connected to a first suction cup for sucking a wafer in the wafer storage device and suspending the wafer on the top of the first suction cup;

[0011] The wafer conveying device is connected to the second suction cup through the lifting device, and the second suction cup is used to absorb the wafer on the first suction cup and suspend at the bottom of the second suction cup;

[0012] The pallet conveying device comprises a rotating device, a vertical moving device and a horizontal moving device, the vertical moving device is connected to the rotating device, the horizontal moving device is connected to the vertical moving device, and the moving end of the horizontal moving device is connected to a suction plate, which is used to absorb the pallet;

[0013] The positioning ring is connected to a rotating moving device, and the rotating moving device is used to move the positioning ring to the top of the tray to guide the placement position of the wafer on the tray.

[0014] Furthermore, the first suction cup and the second suction cup each include a base plate, an airflow cavity and an airflow channel;

[0015] An array of multiple airflow cavities is distributed on the surface of the base plate, the air inlet of the airflow channel is connected to the air source, and the outlet of the airflow channel is connected to each airflow cavity respectively. The airflow flows in a rotational direction in the airflow cavity and forms a vacuum cavity in the center of the airflow cavity; an air film is formed between the wafer and the airflow cavity.

[0016] Furthermore, the base plate is provided with a plurality of positioning angles distributed circumferentially, and the plurality of positioning angles are used to position the wafer.

[0017] Furthermore, a positioning structure is provided between the positioning angles of the first suction cup and the second suction cup, for positioning the two suction cups when the position of the wafer is changed.

[0018] Furthermore, the robotic arm includes multiple articulated arms, two adjacent articulated arms are connected by servo motors and their rotation angles are perpendicular to each other, the end of the robotic arm is fixed on the workbench, the head end of the robotic arm is connected to the rotating joint, and the first suction cup is connected to the rotating joint.

[0019] Furthermore, the rotating device includes a rotating disk, the bottom of which is connected to the workbench via a rotating shaft, a driven wheel is sleeved on the rotating shaft and fixedly connected to the bottom of the rotating disk, a driving wheel is provided on the rotating disk, the driving wheel is connected to the output shaft of the driving motor, and the driving wheel is meshed with the impulse wheel.

[0020] Furthermore, the slider of the horizontal moving device is connected to one end of the cantilever, and the other end of the cantilever is connected to the adsorption plate, and the length direction of the cantilever is arranged along the movement direction of the horizontal moving device.

[0021] Furthermore, it also includes a coupling device, including a coupling platform, a tray slot is arranged on the top of the coupling platform, and an air avoidance slot is arranged on the coupling platform, and the air avoidance slot is located in the middle of the tray slot and extends downward.

[0022] Furthermore, the rotary moving device includes a rotary cylinder, a lifting cylinder, a lifting arm and a lifting track;

[0023] The upper end of the lifting arm is fixed on one side of the coupling platform, the lifting cylinder is fixed on the lower end of the lifting arm, the upper end of the lifting cylinder is connected to the rotating cylinder through a connecting arm, the connecting arm is connected to the lifting arm through a lifting track, and the side wall of the positioning ring is connected to the rotating shaft of the rotating cylinder.

[0024] Furthermore, the inner wall of the positioning ring is a conical surface for guiding the wafer.

[0025] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial technical effects:

[0026] The contactless wafer transfer device provided by the present application uses a robotic arm in combination with a suction cup to suck up the wafer in the wafer storage device during the process of taking and placing the wafer, and makes the wafer float on the surface of the suction cup to achieve contactless suction of the wafer, and then uses a second suction cup to transfer the position of the wafer on the first suction cup, so that the wafer is suspended at the bottom of the second suction cup under the action of negative pressure, and the wafer and the second suction cup are kept in a contactless state, and then the tray conveying device sucks the tray, and moves the positioning ring to the surface of the tray and concentrically through the rotating moving device, and the wafer is transferred to the surface of the tray through the positioning ring, and finally enters the tray bin. The contactless wafer transfer device realizes contactless movement of the wafer through the suction cup, the robotic arm and the moving device, avoids contamination of the wafer during the transfer process, improves the yield of the wafer, and reduces the production cost of the wafer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show certain embodiments of the present application and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For ordinary technicians in this field, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0028] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the wafer contactless transfer device of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 2 This is a layout diagram of the wafer contactless transfer device of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the coupling device of the present invention in the first direction;

[0031] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the coupling device of the present invention in the second direction;

[0032] Figure 5 It is a structural diagram of the displacement device of the positioning ring of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 6 is a structural diagram of the fill light device of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 7 is a structural diagram of the wafer storage device of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the positions of the pallet conveying device and the coupling device of the present invention;

[0036] Fig. 9 It is a structural diagram of the wafer conveying device of the present invention;

[0037] Fig.10 is a structural diagram of the first suction cup of the present invention;

[0038] Fig.11 is a structural diagram of a second suction cup of the present invention;

[0039] Fig.12 It is a schematic diagram of conveying a pallet of the present invention;

[0040] Fig.13 It is a structural diagram of the pallet conveying device of the present invention in the first direction;

[0041] Fig.14 A second direction structural diagram of the pallet conveying device of the present invention;

[0042] Fig.15 It is a structural diagram of the adsorption disk of the present invention;

[0043] Fig.16is a structural diagram of the mechanical arm of the present invention;

[0044] Fig.17 This is a structural diagram of the pallet warehouse of the present invention.

[0045] In the figure: 1. tray warehouse; 2. tray conveying device; 3. wafer conveying device; 4. coupling device; 5. mechanical arm; 6. wafer storage device; 7. fill light device; 8. identification device; 9. rotation moving device; 10. first suction cup; 11. positioning angle; 12. positioning groove; 13. air flow cavity; 14. tray groove; 21. support arm; 22. second suction cup; 23. slider; 24. linear module; 25. positioning column; 26. air flow hole; 27. slide rail; 28 , cantilever; 29, adsorption plate; 30, vertical moving device; 31, horizontal moving device; 32, rotating device; 33, driving wheel; 34, driven wheel; 35, rotating plate; 36, air hole; 41, tray slot; 42, air avoidance slot; 61, wafer bin; 62, slot; 71, light plate; 72, track; 73, eccentric wheel; 91, rotating cylinder; 92, lifting cylinder; 93, lifting arm; 94, positioning ring; 95, lifting track; 100, graphite tray. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present application described and shown in the drawings here can be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0047] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the present application for which protection is sought, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0048] Wafer is a silicon chip used in the manufacture of silicon semiconductor integrated circuits. It is called a wafer because of its round shape. Wafer is the basic raw material for manufacturing integrated circuits (ICs). Various circuit component structures can be processed on silicon wafers to form IC products with specific electrical functions. The raw material of wafers is silicon, and there are abundant silicon dioxide resources on the surface of the earth's crust. These silicon dioxide ores can be refined and processed to make high-purity polysilicon, which is then used to manufacture wafers.

[0049] The wafer manufacturing process needs to be carried out in a dust-free environment. At the same time, the wafer needs to be transferred contactlessly during the transfer process of each manufacturing process to reduce the probability of wafer contamination and improve the wafer yield. Based on this purpose, the present application provides a contactless transfer device in the wafer manufacturing process.

[0050] See also Figure 1-17 A wafer contactless transfer device includes a tray warehouse 1, a tray conveying device 2, a wafer conveying device 3, a robot arm 5, a wafer storage device 6 and a positioning ring 94.

[0051] The tray warehouse 1 is used to store trays. The trays serve as carriers in the process of wafer transfer. Wafers are placed on the surface of the trays. Multiple trays are arranged in the storage trays at intervals from top to bottom.

[0052] The wafer storage device 6 is used for wafers, and a plurality of wafers are arranged in a storage tray from top to bottom at intervals;

[0053] It should be noted that the pallet warehouse is used to store pallets in the initial state. The function of the wafer contactless transfer device of the present application is to transfer the wafers to the pallet in a contactless state, and then move the pallet with the wafers to the pallet warehouse. Therefore, after the operation of the wafer contactless transfer device, the wafers are moved to the pallet, and finally the storage trays in the pallet warehouse are all placed with wafers.

[0054] The working end of the robot arm 5 is connected to a first suction cup 10 for sucking a wafer in the wafer storage device and suspending the wafer on the top of the first suction cup 10;

[0055] The wafer conveying device is connected to the second suction cup through the lifting device, and the second suction cup is used to absorb the wafer on the first suction cup under the action of negative pressure and suspend it at the bottom of the second suction cup;

[0056] The pallet conveying device 2 includes a rotating device, a vertical moving device and a horizontal moving device, the vertical moving device is connected to the rotating device, the horizontal moving device is connected to the vertical moving device, and the moving end of the horizontal moving device is connected to the adsorption plate 29, the adsorption plate is used to absorb the pallet in the pallet bin, and the pallet is located on the top of the adsorption plate;

[0057] The positioning ring is connected to the rotating and moving device 9, and the rotating and moving device 9 is used to move the positioning ring 94 to the top of the tray 100 to guide the placement position of the wafer on the tray.

[0058] The wafer contactless transfer device uses a mechanical arm in combination with a suction cup to suck up the wafer in the wafer storage device during the wafer placement process, and makes the wafer float on the surface of the suction cup to achieve contactless suction of the wafer. At this time, the wafer is located at the bottom of the suction cup. Since the wafer needs to be placed on the surface of the tray in the end, a second suction cup is used to transfer the position of the wafer on the first suction cup, so that the wafer is suspended at the bottom of the second suction cup under the action of negative pressure, and the wafer and the second suction cup are kept in a contactless state. Then the tray conveying device sucks up the tray, and moves the positioning ring to the surface of the tray and concentrically through the rotating moving device. The wafer is transferred to the surface of the tray through the positioning ring, and finally enters the tray bin for the next electroplating process. The wafer contactless transfer device achieves contactless movement of the wafer through the suction cup, the mechanical arm and the moving device, avoids contamination of the wafer during the transfer process, improves the yield of the wafer, and reduces the production cost of the wafer.

[0059] In some embodiments, see Fig.17 The pallet bin is fixed on the top of the support base, and at least one side of the pallet bin facing the pallet conveyor is an open side. A plurality of pallet grooves 14 are arranged on the side wall of the pallet bin from top to bottom. The edges of the pallets are overlapped in the pallet grooves, so that a plurality of pallets are arranged in the pallet bin from top to bottom. The distance between the bottommost pallet and the bottom of the pallet bin is greater than the thickness of the adsorption disk, ensuring that the adsorption disk can extend into the bottom of the value pallet. The pallet conveyor absorbs the pallets in sequence from bottom to top, and the pallets are graphite pallets 100.

[0060] In some embodiments, see Fig.16 The wafer storage device includes at least one wafer bin 61, one side of which is an open side for taking and placing wafers, and the open side faces the robot arm 5. A plurality of slots are arranged on the side wall of the wafer bin from bottom to top, and the slots 62 on the two parallel side walls of the wafer bin are symmetrically arranged, and the wafers are located in the slots, and the edges of the wafers are overlapped in the slots.

[0061] There can be multiple wafer bins, and the multiple wafer bins can be arranged horizontally in sequence or stacked up and down. It should be noted that no matter which arrangement the wafer bins adopt, the location of the wafer bin needs to be within the moving range of the robot arm. Preferably, multiple wafer bins are stacked up and down, which can effectively reduce the space occupancy rate of the wafer bin.

[0062] In some embodiments, the robotic arm is a multi-degree-of-freedom joint robotic arm, and two adjacent joints are driven to rotate by servo motors. The end of the robotic arm is fixed on a workbench, the head end of the robotic arm is connected to a rotating joint, the first suction cup is connected to the rotating joint, the rotating joint drives the first suction cup to rotate, and the remaining joints serve as joints for adjusting the spatial position of the first suction cup.

[0063] In some embodiments, the first suction cup and the second suction cup have the same working principle and the same structure, and the difference lies in the positioning structure. The structure and working principle of the suction cup are described in detail below using the first suction cup as an example.

[0064] See also Fig.10 The suction cup comprises a base plate, an airflow cavity 13, a fixing portion and an airflow channel;

[0065] An array of multiple airflow cavities 13 is distributed on the surface of the base, and the airflow channel is arranged inside the base. The air inlet of the airflow channel is connected to the air source, and the outlet of the airflow channel is respectively connected to each airflow cavity 13. The airflows of two adjacent airflow cavities 13 rotate in opposite directions, and a vacuum cavity is formed in the center of the airflow cavity 13. The base is connected to the rotating joint of the robot arm through a fixed part.

[0066] The air inlet of the air cavity is arranged at the bottom edge of the air cavity, and the angle formed between the air inlet and the center of the air cavity is 40°-50°. The side wall of the air cavity is a bell mouth, and the angle between the side wall of the air cavity and the axial direction of the air cavity is 70°-80°.

[0067] The suction cup is provided with a plurality of air flow cavities 13 on the base, and the air inlet of the air flow cavity 13 is arranged at the bottom edge of the air cavity and forms an angle with the center of the air flow cavity 13, so that the air flow entering the air flow cavity 13 flows in a circular direction in the air flow and forms a vacuum area in the center of the air cavity, and the side wall of the air flow cavity 13 forms a trumpet-mouth structure, and the air flow flowing in the circular direction escapes along the side wall of the air cavity, so that an air film is formed between the top of the air cavity and the wafer, so that the wafer is isolated from the air flow cavity 13, and the wafer is suspended on the suction cup under the action of vacuum, so as to realize contactless suction of the wafer.

[0068] The number of airflow cavities is 4-8, and multiple airflow cavities are arranged along a rectangular array. The side walls of the airflow cavities are rough surfaces, and the roughness is controlled by a borax process. The diffusion rate of the gas is controlled by the roughness to improve the adsorption force of the air cavity.

[0069] The fixing part is arranged at the end of the top surface of the substrate, and an air inlet channel is arranged on the fixing part, one end of the air inlet channel is connected to the air flow channel, and the other end is connected to the air source, and a bolt hole is arranged on the fixing part for connecting the suction cup to the robot arm. A positioning angle 11 is arranged on the base plate for positioning the wafer, and a plurality of positioning angles are arranged along the center of a plurality of air cavities, and the positioning angles are formed as a convex structure on the base plate, and the contact side of the positioning angle with the wafer is an arc surface, so that the positioning angle forms a point contact with the side wall of the wafer, so as to reduce the contact area with the wafer and reduce the probability of damage to the wafer.

[0070] In some embodiments, the wafer conveying device 3 is used to move the wafers sucked by the robot arm to the tray. Figure 8 and 9The wafer conveying device 3 includes a fixed seat and a lifting device arranged thereon, the lifting device is connected to the support arm 21, and the second suction cup is arranged at the end of the support arm. When the robotic arm drives the first suction cup to the bottom of the second suction cup, the lifting device drives the second suction cup to move downward until the positioning angles of the two suction cups are in contact, and the wafer on the surface of the first suction cup is sucked under the action of negative pressure.

[0071] The lifting device includes a linear module 24 and a slider 23. The linear module is vertically arranged on a fixed seat, and a support arm is horizontally arranged, one end of which is connected to the slider of the linear module. The second suction cup is arranged at the bottom of the other end of the support arm, and the slider drives the second suction cup to connect through the support arm.

[0072] The structure of the second suction cup is similar to that of the first suction cup, except for the structure of the fixing portion. The top of the second suction cup is connected via a flange, and the upper end of the flange is connected to the support arm.

[0073] In order to ensure the accuracy of the first suction cup and the second suction cup in switching the position of the wafer, a positioning structure is provided between the first suction cup and the second suction cup. When the two suction cups are in contact, the positioning structure positions the two suction cups.

[0074] The positioning structure includes a positioning groove 12 and a positioning column 25 matched therewith. The positioning groove 12 and the positioning column 25 are respectively arranged at the positioning angles of the two suction cups. In this embodiment, the positioning groove 12 is arranged at the positioning angle of the first suction cup, and the positioning column 25 is arranged at the positioning angle of the second suction cup. The positioning column can be inserted into the positioning groove to realize the positioning of the two suction cups.

[0075] The depth of the airflow cavity 26 of the second suction cup is greater than that of the first suction cup, so that the airflow can form a larger vortex when swirling in the airflow cavity, thereby forming a negative pressure area, and forming a larger negative pressure suction force under the action of negative pressure, so that the wafer is suspended at the bottom of the second suction cup.

[0076] In some embodiments, see Figure 12-15 The pallet conveying device 2 is located between the positioning ring and the pallet bin. The pallet conveying device 2 realizes the movement of the pallet in three-dimensional space by coupling rotation, translation and lifting movements.

[0077] The rotating device 32 includes a rotating disk 35, the bottom center of which is connected to the workbench through a rotating shaft, a driven wheel 34 is sleeved on the rotating shaft and fixedly connected to the bottom of the rotating disk, a driving wheel 33 is provided on the rotating disk, the driving wheel is connected to the output shaft of the driving motor, the driving wheel is meshed with the impulse wheel, the driven wheel is driven to rotate through the driving wheel, and the driven wheel drives the rotating disk to rotate.

[0078] The vertical moving device is arranged on the top of the rotating disk, the horizontal moving device is connected to the slide rail 27 of the vertical moving device, the slide rail 27 drives the horizontal moving device to adjust the height, the slider of the horizontal moving device is connected to one end of the cantilever 28, the other end of the cantilever is connected to the suction plate 29, and the length direction of the cantilever is arranged along the movement direction of the horizontal moving device. During the working process, the pallet conveying device 2 moves the suction plate to the pallet bin to absorb the pallet, and then moves the pallet to the target position.

[0079] In this embodiment, the vertical moving device adopts a linear displacement module, and the horizontal moving device adopts a drag chain linear module.

[0080] See also Fig.15 The adsorption disk is a disk structure with multiple pores on its surface. The pores are connected to the gas source through an optical path. The pores generate suction to adsorb the tray. It should be noted that the graphite tray serves as a carrier of the wafer, and the graphite tray directly forms a stable contact with the adsorption disk under the action of air pressure.

[0081] In some embodiments, a coupling device 4 is further included, wherein the wafer is placed on the top of the tray, see Figure 3-5 The coupling device includes a coupling platform, a tray slot 41 is provided on the top of the coupling platform, and the tray slot is used to position the tray. An air avoidance slot 42 is provided on the coupling platform, and the air avoidance slot 42 is located in the middle of the tray slot. The suction plate extends into the air avoidance slot to place the tray in the tray slot.

[0082] The coupling platform is provided with a fixing device for fixing the pallet. The fixing device is an electric push rod. A top block is provided at the end of the electric push rod. When the pallet is located in the pallet slot, the top block can abut against the edge of the pallet to fix it.

[0083] When the pallet is located in the pallet slot, the rotating moving device 9 drives the positioning ring to move to the top of the pallet and is concentrically arranged; the rotating moving device 9 includes a rotating cylinder 91, a lifting cylinder 92, a lifting arm 93 and a lifting rail 95, the upper end of the lifting arm 93 is fixed to one side of the coupling platform, the lifting cylinder 92 is fixed to the lower end of the lifting arm 93, the upper end of the lifting cylinder 92 is connected to the rotating cylinder 91 through a connecting arm, the connecting arm is connected to the lifting arm 93 through a lifting rail 95, and the side wall of the positioning ring is connected to the rotating axis of the rotating cylinder 91.

[0084] The lifting cylinder 92 drives the lifting cylinder 92 to move through the connecting arm, and the rotating cylinder 91 drives the positioning ring to move. A limit switch is set at the upper end of the connecting arm to position the rotation angle of the positioning ring to ensure that the positioning ring is concentric with the tray. During operation, when the wafer is located at the top of the tray and is concentric, the wafer conveying device moves the second suction cup to the top of the positioning ring, and then the air pressure disappears. The wafer enters the positioning ring under the action of gravity and then falls on the tray, realizing the coupling of the wafer and the tray, that is, the wafer is pressed on the surface of the tray, and then the tray conveying device moves the tray with the wafer to the tray bin again.

[0085] In some embodiments, the inner wall of the positioning ring is a cone to guide the wafer so that it falls accurately into the center of the tray.

[0086] In some embodiments, a fill light device 7 is also included, which is located at the back of the wafer bin to increase the brightness of the wafer bin during the process of the robot arm sucking the wafer. A camera is set on the robot arm so that the camera can obtain the image of the wafer in the wafer bin. The controller uses a self-calibration positioning algorithm to control the movement position of the robot arm to suck the wafer.

[0087] See also Figure 6 The fill light device 7 includes a light board 71, a track 72 and an eccentric wheel 73; the track 72 is installed on a workbench through a bracket, the light board is vertically installed on the track 72 through a slider, the eccentric wheel 73 is connected to the slider, and the eccentric wheel 73 can rotate to abut against the side wall of the track to position the slider, thereby realizing the position adjustment and fixation of the light board.

[0088] In some embodiments, an identification device is also included for identifying the wafer code. The identification device includes a CCD camera and a light source. The light sources are arranged on both sides of the camera. A hollow area is arranged on the first suction cup. The wafer code is located at the edge of the wafer. When the robot moves the wafer to the top of the camera, the camera can obtain the wafer code.

[0089] The wafer contactless transfer device adopts a robot to absorb the wafer in the wafer bin, and then the wafer conveying device converts the position of the wafer to make it located at the bottom of the second reel;

[0090] The tray conveyor device sucks the tray and transports it to the tray slot of the coupling table, the rotary displacement device moves the positioning ring to the top of the tray, the wafer conveyor device releases the air pressure and the wafer is placed on the tray through the positioning ring under the action of gravity, and finally the tray conveyor device moves the tray with the wafer to the tray bin again. After the tray bin is full, the entire tray bin is moved to the electroplating device to electroplate the wafers; this device realizes contactless transfer of wafers, improves the production efficiency of wafers, and improves the electroplating yield rate of wafers.

[0091] The above contents are only for explaining the technical idea of ​​the present invention and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any changes made on the basis of the technical solution in accordance with the technical idea proposed by the present invention shall fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wafer contactless transfer device, characterized in that: It includes a pallet bin, a pallet conveyor, a wafer conveyor, a robotic arm, a wafer storage device and a positioning ring; The tray warehouse is used to store trays or trays with wafers, and a plurality of trays are arranged in the tray storage space from top to bottom; The wafer storage device is used for wafers, and a plurality of wafers are arranged at intervals from top to bottom; The working end of the robot arm is connected to a first suction cup for sucking a wafer in the wafer storage device and suspending the wafer on the top of the first suction cup; The wafer conveying device is connected to the second suction cup through the lifting device, and the second suction cup is used to absorb the wafer on the first suction cup and suspend at the bottom of the second suction cup; The pallet conveying device comprises a rotating device, a vertical moving device and a horizontal moving device, the vertical moving device is connected to the rotating device, the horizontal moving device is connected to the vertical moving device, and the moving end of the horizontal moving device is connected to a suction plate, which is used to absorb the pallet; The positioning ring is connected to a rotating moving device, and the rotating moving device is used to move the positioning ring to the top of the tray to guide the placement position of the wafer on the tray.

2. The wafer contactless transfer device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first suction cup and the second suction cup each include a base plate, an airflow cavity and an airflow channel; An array of multiple airflow cavities is distributed on the surface of the base plate, the air inlet of the airflow channel is connected to the air source, and the outlet of the airflow channel is connected to each airflow cavity respectively. The airflow flows in a rotational direction in the airflow cavity and forms a vacuum cavity in the center of the airflow cavity; an air film is formed between the wafer and the airflow cavity.

3. A wafer contactless transfer device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The base plate is provided with a plurality of positioning angles distributed circumferentially, and the plurality of positioning angles are used for positioning the wafer.

4. The wafer contactless transfer device according to claim 3, characterized in that: A positioning structure is provided between the positioning angles of the first suction cup and the second suction cup, and is used to position the two suction cups when the position of the wafer is converted.

5. The wafer contactless transfer device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mechanical arm comprises a plurality of articulated arms, two adjacent articulated arms are connected by servo motors and their rotation angles are perpendicular to each other, the end of the mechanical arm is fixed on a workbench, the head end of the mechanical arm is connected to a rotating joint, and the first suction cup is connected to the rotating joint.

6. The wafer contactless transfer device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating device comprises a rotating disk, the bottom of which is connected to the workbench via a rotating shaft, a driven wheel is sleeved on the rotating shaft and fixedly connected to the bottom of the rotating disk, a driving wheel is arranged on the rotating disk, the driving wheel is connected to the output shaft of the driving motor, and the driving wheel is meshed with the impulse wheel.

7. A wafer contactless transfer device according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that: The slider of the horizontal moving device is connected to one end of the cantilever, and the other end of the cantilever is connected to the adsorption plate. The length direction of the cantilever is arranged along the moving direction of the horizontal moving device.

8. The wafer contactless transfer device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a coupling device, including a coupling platform, a tray slot is arranged on the top of the coupling platform, and an air avoidance slot is arranged on the coupling platform. The air avoidance slot is located in the middle of the tray slot and extends downward.

9. The wafer contactless transfer device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The rotary moving device comprises a rotary cylinder, a lifting cylinder, a lifting arm and a lifting track; The upper end of the lifting arm is fixed on one side of the coupling platform, the lifting cylinder is fixed on the lower end of the lifting arm, the upper end of the lifting cylinder is connected to the rotating cylinder through a connecting arm, the connecting arm is connected to the lifting arm through a lifting track, and the side wall of the positioning ring is connected to the rotating shaft of the rotating cylinder.

10. The wafer contactless transfer device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The inner wall of the positioning ring is a conical surface, which is used to guide the wafer.

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