Vertical wafer handling equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses vertical wafer carrying equipment which comprises a base plate installed on a movable support, a front carrying plate and a rear carrying plate which are installed on the upper surface of the base plate, and a base arranged below the base plate. An output shaft of the adjusting motor vertically extends to the position above the base and is connected with a rotary disc arranged between the front carrying plate and the rear carrying plate, a cavity is formed in the rotary disc, and a plurality of vacuum adsorption holes communicated with the cavity are formed in the upper surface of the rotary disc used for making lap joint contact with the lower surface of the wafer. At least one sensor is installed on the upper surface of the other end of the base and located on the outer side of the rotary disc. According to the invention, connection and position transfer of the wafer and automatic detection, identification and adjustment of the position of the wafer can be realized, the position precision of the wafer is improved, additional position offset of the wafer in the process of rotating along with the turntable can be effectively avoided, and the position precision of the wafer after angle adjustment is further ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to vertical wafer transport equipment, belonging to the technical field of wafer testing. Background Art

[0002] During the production process, wafers must be handled with care to avoid mechanical damage to the wafers during transportation. Currently, wafers are usually taken over manually and transferred to the corresponding workstations. However, the position and angle of the wafers are prone to deviation during the process of receiving and transferring. They need to be rotated and adjusted to the correct position for subsequent processing. In addition, the wafers are prone to additional position deviation during the rotation process, which affects the position accuracy of the wafers after rotation. Summary of the invention

[0003] The object of the present invention is to provide a vertical wafer handling device, which can realize the docking, position transfer and automatic detection, identification and adjustment of the wafer position, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the wafer, and can also effectively avoid additional position deviation of the wafer during the rotation of the turntable, thereby further ensuring the positioning accuracy of the wafer after angle adjustment.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a vertical wafer handling device, comprising: a substrate mounted on a movable bracket, a front loading plate and a rear loading plate mounted on the upper surface of the substrate, and a base arranged below the substrate, the movable bracket is mounted on a vertical conveying assembly, the vertical conveying assembly comprises: a vertically extending shell, a lead screw rotatably mounted on the shell, and a movable nut sleeved on the lead screw, an output shaft of a driving motor mounted on the lower end of the shell is connected to the lower end of the lead screw, and the movable bracket is mounted on the movable nut; An adjusting motor is arranged below one end of the base, and the output shaft of the adjusting motor vertically extends to the top of the base and is connected to a turntable arranged between the front loading plate and the rear loading plate. A cavity is arranged in the turntable, and a plurality of vacuum adsorption holes are arranged on the upper surface of the turntable for overlapping contact with the lower surface of the wafer, each of which is connected to the cavity. A vacuum generator is connected to the cavity through a pipeline; When the movable bracket moves to the first position with the vertical conveying assembly, the upper surfaces of the front loading plate and the rear loading plate are higher than the upper surface of the turntable. When the movable bracket moves to the second position with the vertical conveying assembly, the upper surface of the turntable is higher than the upper surfaces of the front loading plate and the rear loading plate. At least one sensor is installed on the upper surface of the other end of the base and located on the outside of the turntable. A notch corresponding to the sensor is formed on the wafer, and the sensor is electrically connected to the adjustment motor and the vacuum generator.

[0005] The further improved scheme in the above technical scheme is as follows: 1. In the above scheme, the upper surface of each of the front loading plate and the rear loading plate is provided with an arc groove corresponding to the wafer and the side walls of the two arc grooves are arranged opposite to each other. When the wafer is embedded in the arc groove, the lower surface of the wafer overlaps and contacts with the bottom surfaces of the two arc grooves.

[0006] 2. In the above scheme, the base is fixedly mounted on a bottom plate, a through hole is formed on the bottom plate, the shell of the vertical transmission assembly passes through the through hole, and one end of the base on which the adjustment motor is mounted extends above the through hole.

[0007] 3. In the above solution, the sensor is a reflective sensor.

[0008] 4. In the above scheme, when the sensor receives the reflection signal from the wafer, the vacuum generator is started first, and then the motor is controlled to drive the turntable to rotate.

[0009] 5. In the above solution, a straight-edge notch is formed on the circular wafer.

[0010] 6. In the above solution, the vacuum generator is arranged below the regulating motor.

[0011] Due to the application of the above technical solution, the present invention has the following advantages compared with the prior art: The vertical wafer handling equipment of the present invention has an adjusting motor disposed below one end of the base, the output shaft of the adjusting motor vertically extends to the top of the base and is connected to a turntable disposed between the front loading plate and the rear loading plate, a cavity is disposed in the turntable, a plurality of vacuum adsorption holes are disposed on the upper surface of the turntable for overlapping contact with the lower surface of the wafer, each of which is connected to the cavity, a vacuum generator is connected to the cavity through a pipeline, when the movable bracket moves to the first position with the vertical conveying assembly, the upper surfaces of the front loading plate and the rear loading plate are higher than the upper surface of the turntable, and when the movable bracket moves to the second position with the vertical conveying assembly, the upper surface of the turntable is higher than the upper surfaces of the front loading plate and the rear loading plate At least one sensor is installed on the upper surface of the other end of the base and located on the outside of the turntable. A notch corresponding to the sensor is formed on the wafer. The sensor is electrically connected to the adjustment motor and the vacuum generator. The wafer can be connected through the front and rear carriers, and the position of the wafer between the carrier and the turntable can be transferred by the up and down movement of the front and rear carriers, and the position of the wafer transferred to the turntable can be automatically detected and identified. The circumferential angle of the wafer is adjusted by the rotation of the turntable to improve the position accuracy of the wafer. It can also effectively avoid additional position deviation of the wafer during the rotation of the turntable, and further ensure the position accuracy of the wafer after the angle adjustment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Attached Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the vertical wafer handling equipment of the present invention; Attached Figure 2 The partial structure diagram of the vertical wafer handling equipment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 1 ; Attached Figure 3 The partial structure diagram of the vertical wafer handling equipment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 2 ; Attached Figure 4 For attachment Figure 3 A schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of ; Attached Figure 5 It is a schematic structural diagram of the vertical transfer assembly of the vertical wafer handling equipment of the present invention.

[0013] In the above drawings: 100, wafer; 101, notch; 1, substrate; 2, front loading plate; 3, rear loading plate; 41, slide rail; 42, slider; 5, arc groove; 6, base; 7, adjustment motor; 8, turntable; 81, cavity; 82, vacuum adsorption hole; 93, pipeline; 10, sensor; 11, support; 12, movable bracket; 131, shell; 132, screw rod; 133, movable nut; 134, drive motor; 14, bottom plate; 141, avoidance through hole. Implementation

[0014] The present invention can be further understood through the specific embodiments given below, but they are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0015] Embodiment 1: A vertical wafer handling device, comprising: a substrate 1 mounted on a movable bracket 10, a front loading plate 2 and a rear loading plate 3 mounted on the upper surface of the substrate 1, and a base 6 arranged below the substrate 1, wherein the movable bracket 10 is mounted on a vertical conveying assembly, and the vertical conveying assembly comprises: a vertically extending shell 111, a screw rod 112 rotatably mounted on the shell 111, and a movable nut 113 sleeved on the screw rod 112, an output shaft of a driving motor 114 mounted on the lower end of the shell 111 is connected to the lower end of the screw rod 112, and the movable bracket 10 is mounted on the movable nut 113; First, the vertical conveying assembly drives the movable bracket to move upward, so that the upper surfaces of the front and rear loading plates mounted on the movable bracket contact the lower surface of the wafer, and the wafer is connected from the external pickup assembly; An adjusting motor 7 is arranged below one end of the base 6, and the output shaft of the adjusting motor 7 vertically extends to the top of the base 6 and is connected to a turntable 8 arranged between the front loading plate 2 and the rear loading plate 3. A cavity 81 is arranged in the turntable 8, and a plurality of vacuum adsorption holes 82 are arranged on the upper surface of the turntable 8 for overlapping contact with the lower surface of the wafer, each of which is connected to the cavity 81. A vacuum generator is connected to the cavity 81 through a pipeline 83; Next, the vertical transfer assembly drives the movable support to move downward until the upper surfaces of the front loading plate and the rear loading plate are lower than the upper surface of the turntable located therebetween, at which point the wafer is transferred from the front loading plate and the rear loading plate to the upper surface of the turntable; When the movable bracket 10 moves to the first position with the vertical conveying assembly, the upper surfaces of the front loading plate 2 and the rear loading plate 3 are higher than the upper surface of the turntable 8. When the movable bracket 10 moves to the second position with the vertical conveying assembly, the upper surface of the turntable 8 is higher than the upper surfaces of the front loading plate 2 and the rear loading plate 3. At least one sensor 9 is installed on the upper surface of the other end of the base 6 and located outside the turntable 8. A notch 101 corresponding to the sensor 9 is formed on the wafer 100. The sensor 9 is electrically connected to the adjustment motor 7 and the vacuum generator. Since the position of the wafer may be shifted during the wafer transportation process, a sensor is used to send out a sensing signal to detect the position of the notch on the wafer.

[0016] The front loading plate 2 and the rear loading plate 3 each have an arc groove 5 corresponding to the wafer 100 on their upper surfaces, and the side walls of the two arc grooves 5 are arranged opposite to each other. When the wafer 100 is embedded in the arc groove 5, the lower surface of the wafer 100 overlaps and contacts the bottom surfaces of the two arc grooves 5.

[0017] The base 6 is fixedly mounted on a bottom plate 12 , and a through hole 121 is formed on the bottom plate 12 . The housing 111 of the vertical transmission assembly passes through the through hole 121 . One end of the base 6 on which the adjustment motor 7 is mounted extends to above the through hole 121 .

[0018] The above-mentioned sensor is a reflective sensor.

[0019] When the sensor receives the reflection signal from the wafer, the vacuum generator is started first, and then the motor is controlled to drive the turntable to rotate.

[0020] The wafer 100 having a circular body is provided with a straight-edge notch 101 .

[0021] The vacuum generator is arranged below the regulating motor 7 .

[0022] Embodiment 2: A vertical wafer handling device, comprising: a substrate 1 mounted on a movable bracket 10, a front loading plate 2 and a rear loading plate 3 mounted on the upper surface of the substrate 1, and a base 6 arranged below the substrate 1, wherein the movable bracket 10 is mounted on a vertical conveying assembly, and the vertical conveying assembly comprises: a vertically extending shell 111, a screw rod 112 rotatably mounted on the shell 111, and a movable nut 113 sleeved on the screw rod 112, an output shaft of a driving motor 114 mounted on the lower end of the shell 111 is connected to the lower end of the screw rod 112, and the movable bracket 10 is mounted on the movable nut 113; After the angle of the wafer is adjusted and corrected, the vertical transfer assembly drives the movable bracket to move up again, and the wafer is transferred to the front and rear loading plates again and lifted to a certain height to facilitate the subsequent transfer processing of the wafer; An adjusting motor 7 is arranged below one end of the base 6, and the output shaft of the adjusting motor 7 vertically extends to the top of the base 6 and is connected to a turntable 8 arranged between the front loading plate 2 and the rear loading plate 3. A cavity 81 is arranged in the turntable 8, and a plurality of vacuum adsorption holes 82 are arranged on the upper surface of the turntable 8 for overlapping contact with the lower surface of the wafer, each of which is connected to the cavity 81. A vacuum generator is connected to the cavity 81 through a pipeline 83; When the movable bracket 10 moves to the first position with the vertical conveying assembly, the upper surfaces of the front loading plate 2 and the rear loading plate 3 are higher than the upper surface of the turntable 8. When the movable bracket 10 moves to the second position with the vertical conveying assembly, the upper surface of the turntable 8 is higher than the upper surfaces of the front loading plate 2 and the rear loading plate 3. At least one sensor 9 is installed on the upper surface of the other end of the base 6 and located outside the turntable 8. A notch 101 corresponding to the sensor 9 is formed on the wafer 100. The sensor 9 is electrically connected to the adjustment motor 7 and the vacuum generator. If the notch on the wafer is located directly above the sensor, it means that the wafer position is accurate; otherwise, the wafer will block the sensor. At this time, the sensor will send the received induction signal to the PLC. The PLC first starts the vacuum generator to generate vacuum, adsorbs and positions the wafer through the vacuum adsorption hole, and then controls the motor to rotate to a certain angle, thereby realizing the angle adjustment of the wafer on the turntable rotating with the motor output shaft. During this process, the wafer will not deflect relative to the turntable, thereby ensuring the position accuracy of the wafer after angle adjustment.

[0023] The front loading plate 2 and the rear loading plate 3 each have an arc groove 5 corresponding to the wafer 100 on their upper surfaces, and the side walls of the two arc grooves 5 are arranged opposite to each other. When the wafer 100 is embedded in the arc groove 5, the lower surface of the wafer 100 overlaps and contacts the bottom surfaces of the two arc grooves 5.

[0024] The base 6 is fixedly mounted on a bottom plate 12 , and a through hole 121 is formed on the bottom plate 12 . The housing 111 of the vertical transmission assembly passes through the through hole 121 . One end of the base 6 on which the adjustment motor 7 is mounted extends to above the through hole 121 .

[0025] The wafer 100 having a circular body is provided with a straight-edge notch 101 .

[0026] The front loading plate 2 and the rear loading plate 3 are both arranged in a semicircular ring shape.

[0027] The sensor 9 is a reflection type sensor. When the sensor 9 receives a reflection signal from the wafer 100 , the sensor 9 controls the adjustment motor 7 to drive the turntable 8 to rotate.

[0028] The sensor 9 is mounted on the upper surface of the base 6 via a support 91 and the upper end surface of the sensor 9 is lower than the upper surface of the turntable 8 .

[0029] The working principle of the present invention is as follows: First, the vertical conveying assembly drives the movable bracket to move upward, so that the upper surfaces of the front and rear loading plates mounted on the movable bracket contact the lower surface of the wafer, and the wafer is connected from the external pickup assembly; Next, the vertical transfer assembly drives the movable support to move downward until the upper surfaces of the front loading plate and the rear loading plate are lower than the upper surface of the turntable located therebetween, at which point the wafer is transferred from the front loading plate and the rear loading plate to the upper surface of the turntable; Since the position of the wafer may be shifted during the wafer transportation process, the sensor sends a sensing signal to detect the position of the notch on the wafer; If the notch on the wafer is located directly above the sensor, it means that the wafer is in the correct position; otherwise, the wafer will block the sensor. At this time, the sensor will send the received induction signal to the PLC. The PLC will first start the vacuum generator to generate vacuum, adsorb and position the wafer through the vacuum adsorption hole, and then control the motor to rotate a certain angle, so as to achieve the angle adjustment of the wafer on the turntable rotating with the motor output shaft. In this process, the wafer will not deflect relative to the turntable, ensuring the position accuracy of the wafer after the angle adjustment; After adjusting and correcting the angle of the wafer, the vertical transfer assembly drives the movable bracket to move upward again, and the wafer is transferred to the front loading plate and the rear loading plate again and lifted to a certain height to facilitate the subsequent transfer processing of the wafer.

[0030] When the above-mentioned vertical wafer handling equipment is used, it can realize the docking of wafers through the front and rear carriers, realize the position transfer of wafers between the carrier and the turntable through the up and down movement of the front and rear carriers, and realize the automatic detection and identification of the position of the wafer transferred to the turntable. The circumferential angle of the wafer can be adjusted by the rotation of the turntable to improve the position accuracy of the wafer. It can also effectively avoid additional position deviation of the wafer during the rotation of the turntable, and further ensure the position accuracy of the wafer after the angle adjustment.

[0031] The above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical concept and features of the present invention, and their purpose is to enable people familiar with the technology to understand the content of the present invention and implement it accordingly, and they cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any equivalent changes or modifications made according to the spirit of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vertical wafer handling device, comprising: A substrate (1) mounted on a movable bracket (10), a front loading plate (2) and a rear loading plate (3) mounted on the upper surface of the substrate (1), and a base (6) arranged below the substrate (1), characterized in that: the movable bracket (10) is mounted on a vertical transmission assembly, and the vertical transmission assembly comprises: a vertically extending shell (111), a screw rod (112) rotatably mounted on the shell (111) and a movable nut (113) sleeved on the screw rod (112), an output shaft of a driving motor (114) mounted on the lower end of the shell (111) is connected to the lower end of the screw rod (112), and the movable bracket (10) is mounted on the movable nut (113); An adjusting motor (7) is arranged below one end of the base (6), the output shaft of the adjusting motor (7) vertically extending to the top of the base (6) and connected to a turntable (8) arranged between the front loading plate (2) and the rear loading plate (3), a cavity (81) is arranged in the turntable (8), a plurality of vacuum adsorption holes (82) each connected to the cavity (81) are arranged on the upper surface of the turntable (8) for overlapping contact with the lower surface of the wafer, and a vacuum generator is connected to the cavity (81) via a pipeline (83); When the movable support (10) moves to a first position along with the vertical transport assembly, the upper surfaces of the front loading plate (2) and the rear loading plate (3) are higher than the upper surface of the turntable (8); when the movable support (10) moves to a second position along with the vertical transport assembly, the upper surface of the turntable (8) is higher than the upper surfaces of the front loading plate (2) and the rear loading plate (3); at least one sensor (9) is installed on the upper surface of the other end of the base (6) and located outside the turntable (8); a notch (101) corresponding to the sensor (9) is formed on the wafer (100); and the sensor (9) is electrically connected to the adjustment motor (7) and the vacuum generator.

2. The vertical wafer handling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The front loading plate (2) and the rear loading plate (3) each have an arc-shaped groove (5) corresponding to the wafer (100) on their upper surfaces, and the side walls of the two arc-shaped grooves (5) are arranged opposite to each other. When the wafer (100) is embedded in the arc-shaped groove (5), the lower surface of the wafer (100) is in overlapping contact with the bottom surfaces of the two arc-shaped grooves (5).

3. The vertical wafer handling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base (6) is fixedly mounted on a bottom plate (12); a position-avoiding through hole (121) is formed on the bottom plate (12); a housing (111) of the vertical transmission component passes through the position-avoiding through hole (121); and one end of the base (6) on which the adjustment motor (7) is mounted extends to above the position-avoiding through hole (121).

4. The vertical wafer handling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sensor is a reflective type sensor.

5. The vertical wafer handling device according to claim 4, characterized in that: When the sensor receives the reflected signal from the wafer, the vacuum generator is started first, and then the motor is controlled to drive the turntable to rotate.

6. The vertical wafer handling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A straight-edge notch (101) is formed on the circular wafer (100).

7. The vertical wafer handling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum generator is arranged below the regulating motor (7).

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