Sheet conveying system and method for heat treatment equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of heat treatment, and particularly provides a wafer conveying system and method for heat treatment equipment. A transition chamber; the controller is used for controlling the mechanical arm to move the epitaxial wafer to be subjected to heat treatment to the buffer boat frame or move the cooled epitaxial wafer subjected to heat treatment to the wafer box, and is also used for controlling the mechanical arm to move the epitaxial wafer to be subjected to heat treatment to the heat treatment equipment or move the epitaxial wafer subjected to heat treatment to the buffer boat frame; the controller is also used for controlling the first switch gate to be closed and then controlling the second switch gate to be opened when all epitaxial wafers to be subjected to heat treatment on the wafer box are taken out or the wafer box is filled with cooled epitaxial wafers subjected to heat treatment, and is also used for controlling the second switch gate to be closed and then controlling the first switch gate to be opened after the wafer box is replaced; the system can simultaneously take and place the wafer box in the transition chamber and load and unload the epitaxial wafer on the heat treatment equipment under the condition that the heat treatment equipment is prevented from being exposed in a non-clean environment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of heat treatment technology, and in particular to a film transmission system and method for heat treatment equipment. Background Art

[0002] After ion implantation, the related art requires the use of heat treatment equipment to perform heat treatment on the epitaxial wafers, and the related art utilizes an automatic wafer conveyor to load and unload the epitaxial wafers on the heat treatment equipment. The related automatic wafer conveyor will include a cache chamber of a manipulator and a cache boat and a wafer cassette designed in the same chamber. Since the chamber needs to be connected to the outside world when the wafer cassette is taken in and placed, particulate dust in the air may enter the chamber. Therefore, in order to avoid the situation where the heat treatment quality is affected due to the heat treatment equipment being exposed to a non-clean environment, the related art needs to stop loading and unloading the epitaxial wafers on the heat treatment equipment when the wafer cassette is taken in and placed, resulting in low wafer transfer efficiency of the automatic wafer conveyor, and further resulting in low heat treatment efficiency of the heat treatment equipment.

[0003] There is no effective technical solution to the above problems. It should be noted that the above information disclosed in this section is only used to understand the background of the present invention, and therefore may contain information that does not constitute prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a wafer conveying system and method for heat treatment equipment, which can simultaneously take and place wafer boxes in the transition chamber and load and unload epitaxial wafers in the heat treatment equipment without exposing the heat treatment equipment to a non-clean environment.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a film transmission system for a heat treatment device, comprising: a cache chamber connected to the heat treatment equipment, in which a cache boat and a robotic arm are provided; The transition chamber is connected to the buffer chamber through a first switch gate and is connected to the outside world through a second switch gate, and is used to place the wafer cassette, which is used to place the epitaxial wafer; The controller is used to control the robot arm to move the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the wafer box to an idle position on the cache boat or to move the epitaxial wafers that have completed cooling and have been heat-treated on the cache boat to an idle position on the wafer box when the first switch gate is open and the second switch gate is closed. It is also used to control the robot arm to move the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the cache boat into the heat treatment equipment or to move the heat-treated epitaxial wafers in the heat treatment equipment to an idle position on the cache boat when the first switch gate and / or the second switch gate are closed. It is also used to control the first switch gate to close and then control the second switch gate to open to replace the wafer box when all the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the wafer box are taken out or the wafer box is full of heat-treated epitaxial wafers that have completed cooling. It is also used to control the second switch gate to close and then control the first switch gate to open after the wafer box is replaced.

[0006] The present application provides a wafer conveying system for heat treatment equipment, which can simultaneously replace the wafer box and load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment while avoiding exposing the heat treatment equipment to a non-clean environment through the cooperation of the first switch gate, the second switch gate and the robotic arm. Since the present application can load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment during the process of replacing the wafer box, the present application can effectively improve the wafer conveying efficiency of the automatic wafer conveying device, thereby effectively improving the heat treatment efficiency of the heat treatment equipment.

[0007] Optionally, the film transmission system for heat treatment equipment also includes a clean gas supply assembly, which is installed in the transition chamber. The clean gas supply assembly includes a filter assembly and a gas drive assembly. The gas drive assembly is used to drive external air into the transition chamber, and the filter assembly is used to filter the air flowing into the transition chamber.

[0008] The wafer conveying system for heat treatment equipment of this technical solution also includes a filter component and a gas drive component. This technical solution can make the air pressure in the transition chamber greater than the atmospheric pressure by utilizing the gas drive component to drive the outside air to flow into the transition chamber. Since when the transition chamber is connected to the outside, the pressure difference between the air pressure in the transition chamber and the atmospheric pressure will form an airflow from the transition chamber to the outside, so this technical solution can effectively reduce the amount of particulate dust entering the transition chamber when the transition chamber is connected to the outside, thereby effectively improving the cleanliness of the transition chamber, and further effectively avoiding the situation where the cleanliness of the epitaxial wafer placed on the cache boat is reduced and the heat treatment quality is affected due to the particulate dust entering the transition chamber entering the cache chamber when the first switch gate is opened.

[0009] Optionally, a film box placement chamber for placing film boxes is provided in the transition chamber, the air outlet end of the clean gas supply assembly is connected to the side of the film box placement chamber, and the distance between the side of the film box placement chamber connected to the air outlet end of the clean gas supply assembly and the bottom of the film box placement chamber is greater than 0.

[0010] This technical solution is equivalent to forming a purge airflow in the wafer box placement chamber by utilizing a clean gas supply assembly to deliver clean gas into the transition chamber when the second switch gate is closed, so as to blow the particulate dust entering the transition chamber out of the wafer box placement chamber through the opening on the side of the wafer box placement chamber, thereby further avoiding the situation where the cleanliness of the epitaxial wafers placed on the cache boat is reduced and the heat treatment quality is affected due to the particulate dust entering the transition chamber entering the cache chamber when the first switch gate is opened.

[0011] Optionally, the clean gas delivery assembly further includes a flow uniformity assembly, and the filter assembly and the gas drive assembly are both installed in the flow uniformity assembly.

[0012] Optionally, there are multiple cache boats, wherein several cache boats are configured to store epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated, and the remaining cache boats are configured to store epitaxial wafers that have been heat-treated.

[0013] Optionally, the film conveying system for the heat treatment equipment also includes a rotating mechanism and a swinging table. The rotating mechanism is installed in the transition chamber, the swinging table is fixedly connected to the output end of the rotating mechanism, the film box is placed on the swinging table, and the rotating mechanism is used to drive the swinging table to swing toward or away from the cache chamber.

[0014] Optionally, the swing table is provided with multi-level positioning grooves, which are used to limit the placement positions of film boxes of different sizes.

[0015] Optionally, the wafer conveying system for the heat treatment equipment also includes a wafer box in-place detection component and an epitaxial wafer in-place detection component. Both the wafer box in-place detection component and the epitaxial wafer in-place detection component are arranged in the transition chamber. The wafer box in-place detection component is used to detect whether a wafer box is placed in the transition chamber, and the epitaxial wafer in-place detection component is used to detect whether an epitaxial wafer is placed on the wafer box placed in the transition chamber.

[0016] Optionally, the first switch gate and the second switch gate have the same structure, the second switch gate includes a gate body and a linear drive mechanism, the gate body is slidingly connected to the transition chamber, the linear drive mechanism is installed on the transition chamber, and the linear drive mechanism is used to drive the gate body to slide on the transition chamber so that the second switch gate can switch between the open and closed states.

[0017] In a second aspect, the present application further provides a film transmission method for heat treatment equipment, which is applied to the film transmission system for heat treatment equipment provided in the first aspect above, and the method comprises the following steps: S1. When all the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the wafer cassette are removed or the wafer cassette is filled with epitaxial wafers that have been heat-treated and cooled, the first switch gate is controlled to close, and the second switch gate is controlled to open to replace the wafer cassette; S2. After the film cassette is replaced, the second switch gate is controlled to close, and then the first switch gate is controlled to open; S3, when the first switch gate is open and the second switch gate is closed, controlling the robot arm to move the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated on the wafer cassette to an idle position on the buffer boat or to move the epitaxial wafer that has been heat-treated and has completed cooling on the buffer boat to an idle position on the wafer cassette; S4. When the first switch gate and / or the second switch gate are closed, the robot arm is controlled to move the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated on the cache boat into the heat treatment equipment or to move the heat-treated epitaxial wafer in the heat treatment equipment to an idle position on the cache boat.

[0018] The present application provides a wafer conveying method for heat treatment equipment, which can simultaneously replace the wafer box and load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment while avoiding exposing the heat treatment equipment to a non-clean environment through the cooperation of the first switch gate, the second switch gate and the robotic arm. Since the present application can load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment during the process of replacing the wafer box, the present application can effectively improve the wafer conveying efficiency of the automatic wafer conveying device, thereby effectively improving the heat treatment efficiency of the heat treatment equipment.

[0019] From the above, it can be seen that the wafer conveying system and method for heat treatment equipment provided by the present application can simultaneously replace the wafer box and load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment while avoiding exposing the heat treatment equipment to a non-clean environment through the cooperation of the first switch gate, the second switch gate and the robotic arm. Since the present application can load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment during the process of replacing the wafer box, the present application can effectively improve the wafer conveying efficiency of the automatic wafer conveying device, thereby effectively improving the heat treatment efficiency of the heat treatment equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a film transmission system for heat treatment equipment provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0021] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the enlarged structure at A in FIG.

[0022] Figure 3 A schematic structural diagram of a film transmission system for heat treatment equipment provided in an embodiment of the present application, which does not include a partial chamber body and a second switch gate.

[0023] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the enlarged structure at B in FIG.

[0024] Figure 5A schematic structural diagram of a film transport system for a heat treatment device provided in an embodiment of the present application, which does not include a partial chamber body, a second switch gate, and a film box placement chamber.

[0025] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of the swing platform provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] Figure 7 This is a schematic cross-sectional structural diagram of the flow uniforming assembly, filter assembly and gas drive assembly provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0027] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the control relationship of a film transmission system for heat treatment equipment provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0028] Figure 9 A flow chart of a film transfer method for heat treatment equipment provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0029] Figure numerals: 1. Cache chamber; 2. Cache boat; 3. Robotic arm; 4. Transition chamber; 5. First switch gate; 6. Second switch gate; 61. Gate body; 62. Linear drive mechanism; 7. Film box; 8. Controller; 9. Filter assembly; 10. Gas drive assembly; 11. Film box placement chamber; 12. Opening; 13. Flow uniformity assembly; 14. Swing table; 15. Multi-stage positioning groove; 16. Film box in-place detection assembly; 17. Epitaxial wafer in-place detection assembly; 18. Photoelectric scanning assembly; 19. First clamping assembly; 20. Second clamping assembly; 201. Clamping cylinder; 202. Pressing block; 21. Rotating mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The technical solutions 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 only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all of the embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present application generally described and shown in the drawings here can be arranged and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application provided in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the application for protection, but merely represents the selected embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without making creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0031] It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters represent similar items in the following drawings. Therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, it does not need to be further defined or explained in subsequent drawings. At the same time, in the description of this application, the terms "first", "second", etc. are only used to distinguish the description and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0032] First, as Figure 1-Figure 7 As shown, the present application provides a film transmission system for heat treatment equipment, which includes: Cache chamber 1, connected to the heat treatment equipment, which is equipped with a cache boat 2 and a robotic arm 3; The transition chamber 4 is connected to the buffer chamber 1 through the first switch gate 5 and is connected to the outside through the second switch gate 6. It is used to place the wafer cassette 7, which is used to place the epitaxial wafer; The controller 8 is used to control the robot arm 3 to move the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the wafer box 7 to an idle position on the cache boat 2 or to move the epitaxial wafers that have completed cooling and have been heat-treated on the cache boat 2 to an idle position on the wafer box 7 when the first switch gate 5 is open and the second switch gate 6 is closed. It is also used to control the robot arm 3 to move the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the cache boat 2 into the heat treatment equipment or to move the heat-treated epitaxial wafers in the heat treatment equipment to an idle position on the cache boat 2 when the first switch gate 5 and / or the second switch gate 6 are closed. It is also used to control the first switch gate 5 to close and then control the second switch gate 6 to open to replace the wafer box 7 when all the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the wafer box 7 are taken out or the wafer box 7 is full of heat-treated epitaxial wafers that have completed cooling. It is also used to control the second switch gate 6 to close and then control the first switch gate 5 to open after the replacement of the wafer box 7 is completed.

[0033] The embodiment provides a wafer conveying system for heat treatment equipment that can automatically load and unload epitaxial wafers for the heat treatment equipment and the wafer box 7. Specifically, the embodiment provides a wafer conveying system for heat treatment equipment that can move the epitaxial wafer to be heat treated (the epitaxial wafer that needs to be heat treated) placed on the wafer box 7 to an idle position on the cache boat 2. The wafer conveying system for heat treatment equipment can also move the epitaxial wafer to be heat treated placed on the cache boat 2 into the heat treatment equipment. After the heat treatment is completed, the wafer conveying system for heat treatment equipment can move the epitaxial wafer that has been heat treated (the epitaxial wafer that has completed heat treatment) from the heat treatment equipment to an idle position on the cache boat 2 to allow the epitaxial wafer that has been heat treated to cool naturally. The wafer conveying system for heat treatment equipment can also move the epitaxial wafer that has completed cooling from the cache boat 2 to an idle position on the wafer box 7. The buffer chamber 1 of this embodiment is connected to the heat treatment equipment, and a buffer boat 2 and a robotic arm 3 are provided in the buffer chamber 1. The buffer boat 2 is used to cache epitaxial wafers, and the robotic arm 3 can grab the epitaxial wafers and drive the grabbed epitaxial wafers to move along multiple axial directions. The transition chamber 4 of this embodiment is connected to the buffer chamber 1 through a first switch gate 5. This embodiment can connect or disconnect the transition chamber 4 from the buffer chamber 1 by controlling the first switch gate 5 to open or close. The transition chamber 4 of this embodiment is connected to the outside world through a second switch gate 6. This embodiment can connect or disconnect the transition chamber 4 from the outside world by controlling the second switch gate 6 to open or close. The transition chamber 4 is used to place a wafer box 7, and the wafer box 7 is used to place epitaxial wafers. It should be understood that when the transition chamber 4 is connected to the cache chamber 1, this embodiment can use the robotic arm 3 to move the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated placed on the wafer box 7 to an idle position on the cache boat 2 or move the heat-treated epitaxial wafer that has completed cooling from the cache boat 2 to an idle position on the wafer box 7. When the transition chamber 4 is connected to the outside world, this embodiment can replace the wafer box 7 manually or automatically (equivalent to taking and placing the wafer box 7 in the transition chamber 4).

[0034] The controller 8 of this embodiment is electrically connected to the robot arm 3, the first switch gate 5 and the second switch gate 6. The controller 8 of this embodiment can control the robot arm 3 to move the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated on the wafer box 7 to an idle position on the cache boat 2 or move the heat-treated epitaxial wafer that has completed cooling on the cache boat 2 to an idle position on the wafer box 7 when the first switch gate 5 is open and the second switch gate 6 is closed. The controller 8 of this embodiment can also control the robot arm 3 to move the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated on the cache boat 2 to the heat treatment equipment or move the heat-treated epitaxial wafer in the heat treatment equipment to the cache boat 2 when the first switch gate 5 or the second switch gate 6 is closed. The idle position of the embodiment, that is, when the first switch gate 5 is open and the second switch gate 6 is closed, can load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment and the wafer box 7. When the first switch gate is closed, the embodiment can only load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment. The controller 8 of this embodiment can also control the first switch gate 5 to close when all the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the wafer box 7 are taken out or the wafer box 7 is full of epitaxial wafers that have been heat-treated and cooled, and then control the second switch gate 6 to open to replace the wafer box 7. The controller 8 of this embodiment can also control the second switch gate 6 to close after completing the replacement of the wafer box 7, and then control the first switch gate 5 to open. It should be understood that, when the wafer box 7 needs to be replaced, this embodiment first controls the first switch gate 5 to close, and then controls the second switch gate 6 to open. When the first switch gate 5 is closed, the buffer chamber 1 is separated from the transition chamber 4, that is, the heat treatment equipment and the buffer chamber 1 will not be exposed to a non-clean environment during the replacement of the wafer box 7. Therefore, during the replacement of the wafer box 7, this embodiment can load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment, that is, this embodiment can simultaneously replace the wafer box 7 and load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment.

[0035] The present application provides a wafer conveying system for heat treatment equipment, which can simultaneously replace the wafer box 7 and load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment while avoiding exposing the heat treatment equipment to a non-clean environment through the cooperation of the first switch gate 5, the second switch gate 6 and the robotic arm 3. Since the present application can load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment during the process of replacing the wafer box 7, the present application can effectively improve the wafer conveying efficiency of the automatic wafer conveying device, thereby effectively improving the heat treatment efficiency of the heat treatment equipment.

[0036] In some preferred embodiments, the wafer conveying system for the heat treatment equipment further includes a clean gas supply assembly, which is installed in the transition chamber 4. The clean gas supply assembly includes a filter assembly 9 and a gas drive assembly 10. The gas drive assembly 10 is used to drive external air into the transition chamber 4, and the filter assembly 9 is used to filter the air flowing into the transition chamber 4. The clean gas supply assembly of this embodiment can remain in a normally open state. This embodiment can also control the first switch gate 5 to close, then control the clean gas supply assembly to open, and finally control the second switch gate 6 to open when all epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the wafer cassette 7 are removed or the wafer cassette 7 is filled with epitaxial wafers that have completed cooling and have been heat-treated. The wafer conveying system for the heat treatment equipment of this embodiment also includes a clean gas supply assembly, which includes a filter assembly 9 and a gas drive assembly 10. This embodiment can make the air pressure in the transition chamber 4 greater than the atmospheric pressure by utilizing the gas drive assembly 10 to drive the outside air to flow into the transition chamber 4. Since when the transition chamber 4 is connected to the outside, the pressure difference between the air pressure in the transition chamber 4 and the atmospheric pressure will form an airflow from the transition chamber 4 to the outside, so this embodiment can effectively reduce the amount of particulate dust entering the transition chamber 4 when the transition chamber 4 is connected to the outside, thereby effectively improving the cleanliness of the transition chamber 4, and further effectively avoiding the situation where the cleanliness of the epitaxial wafer placed on the cache boat 2 is reduced and the heat treatment quality is affected due to the particulate dust entering the transition chamber 4 entering the cache chamber 1 when the first switch gate 5 is opened. Preferably, after completing the replacement of the chip box 7, this embodiment first controls the second switch gate 6 to close, and then controls the first switch gate 5 to open when the continuous working time of the clean gas supply component after the second switch gate 6 is closed reaches a preset time. More preferably, this embodiment controls the clean gas supply component to stop working when the continuous working time of the clean gas supply component after the second switch gate 6 is closed reaches a preset time.

[0037] In some preferred embodiments, a film box placement chamber 11 for placing the film box 7 is provided in the transition chamber 4, the air outlet end of the clean gas supply assembly is connected to the side of the film box placement chamber 11, and the distance between the side of the film box placement chamber 11 connected to the air outlet end of the clean gas supply assembly and the bottom of the film box placement chamber 11 is greater than 0. Since the wafer box 7 of this embodiment is placed in the wafer box placement chamber 11, and the air outlet end of the clean gas supply assembly of this embodiment is connected to the side of the wafer box placement chamber 11, the distance between the side of the wafer box placement chamber 11 connected to the air outlet end of the clean gas supply assembly and the bottom of the wafer box placement chamber 11 is greater than 0, that is, there is an opening 12 on the side of the wafer box placement chamber 11 connected to the air outlet end of the clean gas supply assembly. Therefore, this embodiment is equivalent to forming a purge airflow in the wafer box placement chamber 11 by utilizing the clean gas supply assembly to transport clean gas into the transition chamber 4 when the second switch gate 6 is closed, so as to blow the particulate dust entering the transition chamber 4 out of the wafer box placement chamber 11 through the opening 12 on the side of the wafer box placement chamber 11, thereby further avoiding the situation where the cleanliness of the epitaxial wafer placed on the cache boat 2 is reduced and the heat treatment quality is affected due to the particulate dust entering the transition chamber 4 entering the cache chamber 1 when the first switch gate 5 is opened. Preferably, after an empty wafer box 7 or a wafer box 7 containing epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated is placed in the transition chamber 4, this embodiment first controls the second switch gate 6 to close, and then controls the first switch gate 5 to open when the continuous working time of the clean gas supply component after the second switch gate 6 is closed reaches a preset time. More preferably, this embodiment controls the clean gas supply component to stop working when the continuous working time of the clean gas supply component after the second switch gate 6 is closed reaches a preset time.

[0038] In some preferred embodiments, the clean gas delivery assembly further includes a flow equalizer assembly 13, with both the filter assembly 9 and the gas drive assembly 10 mounted within the flow equalizer assembly 13. The flow equalizer assembly 13 in this embodiment can be a flow equalizer plate or a flow equalizer, etc. Since both the filter assembly 9 and the gas drive assembly 10 in this embodiment are mounted within the flow equalizer assembly 13, the flow equalizer assembly 13 can equalize the flow of air flowing into the transition chamber 4, thereby ensuring uniformity in the air flowing into the transition chamber 4.

[0039] In some preferred embodiments, there are multiple cache boats 2, wherein several cache boats 2 are configured to store epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated, and the remaining cache boats 2 are configured to store epitaxial wafers that have been heat-treated. In this embodiment, the number of cache boats 2 is preferably two, wherein one cache boat 2 is configured to store epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated, and the other cache boat 2 is configured to store epitaxial wafers that have been heat-treated. This embodiment is equivalent to increasing the storage capacity of epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated and the storage capacity of heat-treated epitaxial wafers in the cache chamber 1 by setting the number of cache boats 2 to multiple.

[0040] In some preferred embodiments, the film conveying system for the heat treatment equipment further includes a rotating mechanism 21 and a swinging table 14. The rotating mechanism 21 is installed in the transition chamber 4. The swinging table 14 is fixedly connected to the output end of the rotating mechanism 21. The film box 7 is placed on the swinging table 14. The rotating mechanism 21 is used to drive the swinging table 14 to swing toward or away from the buffer chamber 1. The rotating mechanism 21 of this embodiment is preferably a motor. The process of removing the film box 7 from the transition chamber 4 in this embodiment is as follows: control the first switch gate 5 to close; control the second switch gate 6 to close, and finally control the rotating mechanism to drive the swinging table 14 to swing away from the buffer chamber 1 to move the film box 7 out of the transition chamber 4; remove the film box 7 from the swinging table 14 manually or automatically; control the rotating mechanism 21 to drive the swinging table to swing toward the buffer chamber 1, and control the second switch gate 6 to close. The process of placing the film cassette 7 into the transition chamber in this embodiment is as follows: controlling the first switch gate 5 to close; controlling the rotating mechanism 21 to drive the swinging platform 14 to swing away from the buffer chamber 1 to move the swinging platform 14 out of the transition chamber 4; manually or automatically placing the film cassette 7 on the swinging platform 14; controlling the rotating mechanism 21 to drive the swinging platform to swing toward the buffer chamber 1, and controlling the second switch gate 6 to close. Because this embodiment first controls the rotating mechanism 21 to drive the swinging platform 14 to swing away from the buffer chamber 1 before placing the film cassette 7 on the swinging platform 14 or removing the film cassette 7 from the swinging platform 14, this embodiment can increase the operating space for placing the film cassette 7 on the swinging platform 14 or removing the film cassette 7 from the swinging platform 14, thereby effectively improving the convenience of placing the film cassette 7 on the swinging platform 14 or removing the film cassette 7 from the swinging platform 14.

[0041] In some preferred embodiments, the swing table 14 is provided with a multi-stage positioning groove 15, which is used to limit the placement of film cassettes 7 of different sizes. This embodiment is equivalent to providing the swing table 14 with a multi-stage positioning groove 15 so that the swing table 14 is suitable for film cassettes 7 of different sizes. Preferably, the swing table 14 of this embodiment can limit the placement of 6-inch film cassettes 7 and 8-inch film cassettes 7.

[0042] In some preferred embodiments, the wafer transport system for the heat treatment equipment further includes a wafer cassette in-place detection assembly 16 and an epitaxial wafer in-place detection assembly 17. Both the wafer cassette in-place detection assembly 16 and the epitaxial wafer in-place detection assembly 17 are disposed within the transition chamber 4. The wafer cassette in-place detection assembly 16 is used to detect whether a wafer cassette 7 is placed within the transition chamber 4, and the epitaxial wafer in-place detection assembly 17 is used to detect whether an epitaxial wafer is placed on the wafer cassette 7 placed within the transition chamber 4. Specifically, the wafer cassette in-place detection assembly 16 of this embodiment is disposed on the inner side wall of the wafer cassette placement chamber 11, and the epitaxial wafer in-place detection assembly 17 of this embodiment is disposed on the inner bottom wall of the wafer cassette placement chamber 11. The film box in-place detection component 16 and the epitaxial wafer in-place detection component 17 of this embodiment preferably both include a photosensor and a grating plate. The photosensor can emit light, and the grating plate can reflect the light emitted by the photosensor. The film box in-place detection component 16 of this embodiment determines whether a film box 7 is placed in the transition chamber 4 by determining whether the photosensor can receive the light reflected by the grating plate. The epitaxial wafer in-place detection component 17 of this embodiment determines whether an epitaxial wafer is placed on the film box 7 placed in the transition chamber 4 by determining whether the photosensor can receive the light reflected by the grating plate.

[0043] In some preferred embodiments, a photoelectric scanning assembly 18 is fixed to the robotic arm 3, and the process of controlling the robotic arm 3 to move the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated on the cassette 7 to an idle position on the buffer boat 2 includes: Acquiring first position information using the photoelectric scanning component 18; The robot arm 3 is controlled to move the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated from the wafer cassette 7 to an idle position of the buffer boat 2 according to the first position information. The first position information is the position of the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated on the wafer cassette 7 .

[0044] If there are multiple epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the wafer cassette 7 placed in the transition chamber 4, this embodiment can obtain multiple first position information, each first position information corresponding to an epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated. Preferably, the controller 8 of this embodiment is also used to calculate second position information based on the first position information and the movement amount of the robot 3 after moving the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated from the wafer cassette 7 to an idle position on the buffer boat 2, the second position information being the position of the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated on the buffer boat 2. The process of moving the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated on the buffer boat 2 into the heat treatment equipment includes controlling the robot 3 to move the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated from the buffer boat 2 into the heat treatment equipment based on the second position information.

[0045] In some preferred embodiments, the first switch gate 5 and the second switch gate 6 have the same structure. The second switch gate 6 includes a gate body 61 and a linear drive mechanism 62. The gate body 61 is slidably connected to the transition chamber 4. The linear drive mechanism 62 is mounted on the transition chamber 4. The linear drive mechanism 62 is used to drive the gate body 61 to slide on the transition chamber 4 to switch the second switch gate 6 between an open state and a closed state. The sliding direction of the gate body 61 of the first switch gate 5 of this embodiment is preferably perpendicular to the sliding direction of the second switch gate 6. Specifically, the gate body 61 of the first switch gate 5 of this embodiment slides in a horizontal direction, while the gate body 61 of the second switch gate 6 of this embodiment slides in a vertical direction.

[0046] In some preferred embodiments, the film conveying system for the heat treatment equipment further includes a first pressing assembly 19 and a second pressing assembly 20, both of which are mounted on the transition chamber 4. The controller 8 is further configured to control the first pressing assembly 19 to press and secure the gate body 61 of the first switching gate 5 to the transition chamber 4 when the first switching gate 5 is closed. The controller 8 is further configured to control the second pressing assembly 20 to press and secure the gate body 61 of the second switching gate 6 to the transition chamber 4 when the second switching gate 6 is closed. This embodiment is equivalent to preventing the first switching gate 5 or the second switching gate 6 from accidentally opening due to accidental sliding of the gate body 61 by pressing and securing the gate body 61 to the transition chamber 4 when the first switching gate 5 or the second switching gate 6 is closed. Preferably, the structure of the first clamping assembly 19 of this embodiment is the same as the structure of the second clamping assembly 20. The second clamping assembly 20 includes four clamping cylinders 201 and four clamping blocks 202. The four clamping cylinders are all installed on the transition chamber 4, and the output end of each clamping cylinder 201 is fixedly connected to a clamping block 202.

[0047] From the above, it can be seen that the wafer conveying system for heat treatment equipment provided by the present application can simultaneously replace the wafer box 7 and load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment while avoiding exposing the heat treatment equipment to a non-clean environment through the cooperation of the first switch gate 5, the second switch gate 6 and the robotic arm 3. Since the present application can load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment during the process of replacing the wafer box 7, the present application can effectively improve the wafer conveying efficiency of the automatic wafer conveying device, thereby effectively improving the heat treatment efficiency of the heat treatment equipment.

[0048] In a second aspect, the present application further provides a film transmission method for heat treatment equipment, which is applied to the film transmission system for heat treatment equipment provided in the first aspect above, and the method comprises the following steps: S1. When all the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the wafer cassette 7 are taken out or the wafer cassette 7 is filled with epitaxial wafers that have been heat-treated and cooled, the first switch gate 5 is controlled to close, and the second switch gate 6 is controlled to open to replace the wafer cassette 7. S2. After the replacement of the film cassette 7 is completed, the second switch gate 6 is controlled to close, and then the first switch gate 5 is controlled to open; S3, when the first switch gate 5 is open and the second switch gate 6 is closed, controlling the robot arm 3 to move the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated on the wafer cassette 7 to an idle position on the buffer boat 2 or to move the epitaxial wafer that has been heat-treated and cooled on the buffer boat 2 to an idle position on the wafer cassette 7; S4. When the first switch gate 5 and / or the second switch gate 6 are closed, the robot arm 3 is controlled to move the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated on the cache boat 2 into the heat treatment equipment or to move the heat-treated epitaxial wafer in the heat treatment equipment to an idle position on the cache boat 2.

[0049] An embodiment of the present application provides a film transmission method for heat treatment equipment, which is applied to a film transmission system for heat treatment equipment provided in the first aspect. The principle of the film transmission method for heat treatment equipment provided in this embodiment is the same as the principle of the film transmission system for heat treatment equipment provided in the first aspect, and will not be discussed in detail here.

[0050] From the above, it can be seen that the wafer conveying system and method for heat treatment equipment provided by the present application can simultaneously replace the wafer box 7 and load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment while avoiding exposing the heat treatment equipment to a non-clean environment through the cooperation of the first switch gate 5, the second switch gate 6 and the robotic arm 3. Since the present application can load and unload epitaxial wafers to the heat treatment equipment during the process of replacing the wafer box 7, the present application can effectively improve the wafer conveying efficiency of the automatic wafer conveying device, thereby effectively improving the heat treatment efficiency of the heat treatment equipment.

[0051] In the embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are merely used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations.

[0052] The above description is merely an embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and variations of the present application are possible. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A film transmission system for heat treatment equipment, characterized in that: The film transmission system for heat treatment equipment comprises: A cache chamber connected to the heat treatment equipment, wherein a cache boat and a mechanical arm are arranged; A transition chamber, connected to the buffer chamber through a first switch gate, connected to the outside through a second switch gate, and used to place a wafer box, wherein the wafer box is used to place an epitaxial wafer; A controller, for controlling the robot arm to move the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the wafer box to an idle position on the cache boat or to move the heat-treated epitaxial wafers on the cache boat that have completed cooling to an idle position on the wafer box when the first switch gate is open and the second switch gate is closed; and for controlling the robot arm to move the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the cache boat into the heat treatment equipment or to move the heat-treated epitaxial wafers in the heat treatment equipment to an idle position on the cache boat when the first switch gate and / or the second switch gate are closed; and for controlling the first switch gate to close and then control the second switch gate to open when all the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the wafer box are taken out or the wafer box is full of heat-treated epitaxial wafers that have completed cooling to replace the wafer box; and for controlling the second switch gate to close and then control the first switch gate to open after the replacement of the wafer box is completed.

2. The film transmission system for heat treatment equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The film transmission system for heat treatment equipment also includes a clean gas supply assembly, which is installed in the transition chamber. The clean gas supply assembly includes a filter assembly and a gas drive assembly. The gas drive assembly is used to drive external air to flow into the transition chamber, and the filter assembly is used to filter the air flowing into the transition chamber.

3. The film conveying system for heat treatment equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: A film box placement chamber for placing the film box is provided in the transition chamber, the air outlet of the clean gas supply assembly is connected to the side of the film box placement chamber, and the distance between the side of the film box placement chamber connected to the air outlet of the clean gas supply assembly and the bottom of the film box placement chamber is greater than 0.

4. The film conveying system for heat treatment equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The clean gas delivery assembly further comprises a flow-uniform assembly, and the filter assembly and the gas drive assembly are both installed in the flow-uniform assembly.

5. The film conveying system for heat treatment equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are multiple cache boats, wherein several of the cache boats are configured to store the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated, and the remaining cache boats are configured to store the epitaxial wafers that have been heat-treated.

6. The film conveying system for heat treatment equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The film conveying system for the heat treatment equipment also includes a rotating mechanism and a swinging table. The rotating mechanism is installed in the transition chamber, the swinging table is fixedly connected to the output end of the rotating mechanism, the film box is placed on the swinging table, and the rotating mechanism is used to drive the swinging table to swing toward or away from the buffer chamber.

7. The film conveying system for heat treatment equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that: The swing table is provided with multi-stage positioning grooves, and the multi-stage positioning grooves are used to limit the placement positions of film boxes of different sizes.

8. The film conveying system for heat treatment equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wafer transfer system for heat treatment equipment also includes a wafer box in-place detection component and an epitaxial wafer in-place detection component, both of which are arranged in the transition chamber, the wafer box in-place detection component is used to detect whether the wafer box is placed in the transition chamber, and the epitaxial wafer in-place detection component is used to detect whether an epitaxial wafer is placed on the wafer box placed in the transition chamber.

9. The film conveying system for heat treatment equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first switch gate and the second switch gate have the same structure. The second switch gate includes a gate body and a linear drive mechanism. The gate body is slidably connected to the transition chamber. The linear drive mechanism is installed on the transition chamber. The linear drive mechanism is used to drive the gate body to slide on the transition chamber so that the second switch gate can switch between the open and closed states.

10. A film transfer method for heat treatment equipment, characterized in that: The film transmission method for heat treatment equipment is applied in the film transmission system for heat treatment equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 9, and the film transmission method for heat treatment equipment comprises the following steps: S1, when all the epitaxial wafers to be heat-treated on the wafer box are taken out or the wafer box is full of epitaxial wafers that have been heat-treated and cooled, the first switch gate is controlled to close, and then the second switch gate is controlled to open to replace the wafer box; S2, after completing the replacement of the film box, controlling the second switch gate to close, and then controlling the first switch gate to open; S3, when the first switch gate is opened and the second switch gate is closed, controlling the mechanical arm to move the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated on the wafer box to an idle position on the buffer boat or to move the heat-treated epitaxial wafer that has been cooled on the buffer boat to an idle position on the wafer box; S4. When the first switch gate and / or the second switch gate are closed, the robot arm is controlled to move the epitaxial wafer to be heat-treated on the cache boat into the heat treatment equipment or to move the heat-treated epitaxial wafer in the heat treatment equipment to an empty position on the cache boat.

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