Semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment using multifunctional conveying robot

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning a semiconductor wafer using a multifunctional transfer robot, and more particularly, to an apparatus for cleaning a semiconductor wafer using a multifunctional transfer robot, comprising: an indexing robot responsible for loading and unloading a wafer of a wafer cassette of a loading port; a wafer inversion unit which inverts the wafer transferred by the indexing robot up and down; a transfer robot that extracts and transfers the wafer inverted from the wafer inversion unit; and a wafer cleaning unit for receiving and cleaning the wafer transferred by the transfer robot, the wafer reversing unit comprising: a multifunctional transfer robot for rotating the wafer transferred by the indexing robot at a certain angle toward the transfer path side of the transfer robot while reversing the wafer up and down, and supplying the wafer to the transfer robot; and an inversion robot which receives the wafer of which the upper surface is cleaned by the wafer cleaning unit, inverts the wafer up and down, and supplies the wafer to the transfer robot, so that various designs can be realized, and the effect of expanding the design (Lay out) selection range can be achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wafer cleaning device for cleaning wafers in a semiconductor process, and more specifically, to a semiconductor wafer cleaning device using a multifunctional transfer robot, which can realize multiple designs, thereby expanding the design (lay out) selection range. Background Art

[0002] In semiconductor processes, a cleaning device is required to clean the wafer in order to remove organic matter or particles such as photoresist films or polymer films.

[0003] Well-known cleaning devices include the prior art (Korea Publication Patent No. 10-2011-0064608) Figure 1 The device shown in the prior art Figure 1 The conventional cleaning device adopts a method in which when the wafer 20 extracted from the indexer unit 30 is loaded into the cleaning unit 40 through the conveying unit 50, a spin scrubber device cleans the surface of the wafer and then extracts the wafer.

[0004] In addition to cleaning one side of the wafer, it is also common to clean the other side, so a separate wafer inversion unit is provided to clean the other side of the wafer.

[0005] The reversing unit of these existing cleaning devices rotates 180 degrees on the spot and only reverses the up and down position of the wafer without moving the position of the wafer. Since the transfer unit is fully responsible for moving the wafer to change the position, the design of most cleaning equipment is similar, which limits the application of the cleaning equipment on various platforms. Summary of the invention

[0006] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0007] The present invention is proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to provide a semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment using a multifunctional transfer robot, which expands the design selection range by realizing multiple designs, so that it can be applicable to various platforms of cleaning equipment.

[0008] Solutions for solving problems

[0009] The semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment using a multifunctional transfer robot according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems comprises: an indexing robot, which is responsible for loading and unloading wafers from a wafer box at a loading port; a wafer reversing section, which reverses the wafers transferred by the indexing robot up and down; a transfer robot, which extracts and transfers the wafers reversed from the wafer reversing section; a wafer cleaning section, which receives and cleans the wafers transferred by the transfer robot, the wafer reversing section comprising: a multifunctional transfer robot, which reverses the wafers transferred by the indexing robot up and down, rotates and transfers them at a certain angle in the direction of the transfer path of the transfer robot, and provides them to the transfer robot; a reversing robot, which receives the wafers whose upper surfaces are cleaned by the wafer cleaning section, reverses them up and down, and then provides them to the transfer robot.

[0010] The multifunctional transfer robot turns the wafer upside down and then transfers it by rotating it 90 degrees on a horizontal plane, thereby providing the wafer in the transfer path direction of the transfer robot 40 .

[0011] In addition, the above-mentioned wafer cleaning section includes: a wafer upper surface cleaning section, which is arranged on a side centered on the transfer path of the above-mentioned transfer robot; and a wafer lower surface cleaning section, which is arranged opposite to the above-mentioned wafer upper surface cleaning section centered on the transfer path of the above-mentioned transfer robot.

[0012] In addition, the buffer receives the wafers with cleaned upper and lower surfaces transferred by the transfer robot and provides them to the index robot after loading. The buffer is arranged opposite to the wafer reversing part with the transfer path of the transfer robot as the center.

[0013] In addition, the above-mentioned reversing robot is located on the upper side of the above-mentioned multifunctional transport robot.

[0014] In addition, the above-mentioned multifunctional transport robot is composed of: a workbench; a first drive motor, which is arranged on the above-mentioned workbench; a bracket, which is arranged on the above-mentioned workbench and receives the rotational force provided by the above-mentioned first drive motor to rotate on a horizontal plane; a second drive motor, which is arranged on the above-mentioned bracket; and a pair of clamping arms, which are arranged on the above-mentioned bracket and receive the rotational force provided by the above-mentioned second drive motor to rotate on a vertical plane, and clamp or unclamp the above-mentioned wafer by adjusting the spacing distance between them.

[0015] Effects of the Invention

[0016] As described above, in the semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment utilizing the multifunctional transport robot of the present invention, the multifunctional transport robot not only has the flipping function of flipping the wafer, but also has the transferring function of transferring the wafer, so as to realize the composite functions, thereby expanding the range of design options and being suitable for cleaning equipment of various platforms. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 and Figure 2 The diagram briefly shows the semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment using the multifunctional transfer robot according to the present invention from a plan view and a side view.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing the multifunctional transfer robot of the present invention which is applicable to semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment.

[0019] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the gripping arm of the multifunctional transfer robot of the present invention rotated 90 degrees on a horizontal plane.

[0020] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing the gripping arm of the multifunctional transfer robot of the present invention rotated 180 degrees on a vertical plane.

[0021] Figure 6 1 is a diagram showing a process of cleaning the lower surface of a wafer using the semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus using the multifunctional transfer robot according to the present invention.

[0022] Figure 7 1 is a diagram showing cleaning of the upper surface of a wafer using the semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus using the multifunctional transfer robot according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] According to the present invention, the semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment using a multifunctional transfer robot includes: an indexing robot, which is responsible for loading and unloading wafers from a wafer box (cassette) at a loading port; a wafer inversion section, which inverts the wafers transferred by the above-mentioned indexing robot up and down; a transfer robot, which extracts and transfers the wafers inverted in the above-mentioned wafer inversion section; a wafer cleaning section, which receives and cleans the wafers transferred by the above-mentioned transfer robot, and the above-mentioned wafer inversion section includes: a multifunctional transfer robot, which inverts the wafers transferred by the above-mentioned indexing robot up and down, rotates and transfers them at a certain angle in the direction of the transfer path of the above-mentioned transfer robot, and provides them to the above-mentioned transfer robot; a inversion robot, which receives the wafers whose upper surfaces are cleaned by the above-mentioned wafer cleaning section, inverts them up and down, and then provides them to the above-mentioned transfer robot.

[0024] Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0025] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus using a multifunctional transfer robot according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] Figure 1 and Figure 2The diagram briefly shows the semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment using the multifunctional transfer robot according to the present invention from a plan view and a side view.

[0027] in addition, Figure 3 1 is a diagram showing a multifunctional transfer robot of the present invention applicable to a semiconductor wafer cleaning device. Figure 4 1 is a diagram showing the gripping arm of the multifunctional transfer robot of the present invention rotated 90 degrees on a horizontal plane. Figure 5 This is a diagram showing the gripping arm of the multifunctional transfer robot of the present invention rotated 180 degrees on a vertical plane.

[0028] The semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment using a multifunctional transfer robot according to the present invention comprises: a loading port 10; an indexing robot 20 responsible for loading and unloading wafers W; a wafer reversing section 30 for reversing the wafers W transferred by the indexing robot 20; a transfer robot 40 for extracting and transferring the wafers W reversed in the wafer reversing section 30; a wafer cleaning section 50 for receiving and cleaning the wafers W transferred by the transfer robot 40; and a buffer 60 for temporarily loading the cleaned wafers W.

[0029] The load port 10 is provided with a wafer box 11 for loading a plurality of wafers W to be cleaned.

[0030] The index robot 20 is responsible for loading and unloading the wafers W in the wafer box 11 . The index robot 20 extracts the wafers W loaded in the wafer box 11 or reloads the extracted wafers W into the wafer box 11 .

[0031] This indexing robot 20 is started in the space between the loading port 10 and the wafer reversing part 30, extracts the wafer W loaded in the wafer box 11 of the loading port 10, and provides it to the wafer reversing part 30; or, it is started in the space between the loading port 10 and the buffer 60, extracts the wafer W loaded in the wafer W, and loads it in the wafer box 11 of the loading port 10.

[0032] The wafer inversion unit 30 includes a multifunctional transfer robot 31 and an inversion robot 32 for inverting the wafer W provided with its upper surface (or front side) facing upward so that its lower surface (or back side) faces upward.

[0033] The multifunctional transfer robot 31 turns the wafer W transferred by the index robot 20 upside down and rotates it at a certain angle in the transfer path direction of the transfer robot 40 , thereby providing the upside-down wafer W to the transfer robot 40 .

[0034] That is, the multifunctional transfer robot 31 inverts the wafer W upside down and at the same time rotates the wafer W at a certain angle in the horizontal plane in the transfer direction, thereby transferring the wafer W to the transfer robot 40. Since the multifunctional transfer robot 31 can perform the inversion and transfer of the wafer W at the same time, it is named as a multifunctional transfer robot in the present invention.

[0035] It is mentioned that the multifunctional transfer robot 31 can turn the wafer W upside down and then rotate it at a certain angle on the horizontal plane for transfer. In the present invention, when the wafer W is rotated 90 degrees on the horizontal plane, it will be oriented in the direction of the transfer path of the transfer robot 40.

[0036] The multifunctional transfer robot 31 as described above is composed of: a workbench 31a; a first drive motor 31b arranged on the above-mentioned workbench 31a; a bracket 31c rotatably arranged on the above-mentioned workbench 31a; a second drive motor 31d arranged on the above-mentioned bracket 31c; and a pair of clamping arms 31e rotatably arranged on the above-mentioned bracket 31c.

[0037] The work table 31 a serves as a base of the multifunctional transfer robot 31 .

[0038] The first drive motor 31b provides a rotational force to the bracket 31c. That is, the first drive motor 31b and the lower end portion of the bracket 31c are connected by a pulley and a conveyor belt, so that when the motor shaft of the first drive motor 31b rotates, the rotational force is transmitted to the bracket 31c, so that the bracket 31c rotates.

[0039] The bracket 31c receives the rotational force provided by the first driving motor 31b, thereby rotating 90 degrees on the horizontal plane. When the bracket 31c rotates 90 degrees on the horizontal plane, the clamping arm 31e also rotates 90 degrees on the horizontal plane. Finally, the wafer W clamped in the clamping arm 31e also rotates 90 degrees on the horizontal plane, and is transferred to a position turned 90 degrees from the initial point.

[0040] The second drive motor 31d provides a rotational force to the pair of clamping arms 31e. That is, the rotational force generated by the second drive motor 31d is provided to the clamping arms 31e, so that the clamping arms 31e rotate 180 degrees on the vertical plane. When the clamping arms 31e rotate 180 degrees on the vertical plane, the wafer W clamped in the clamping arms 31e also rotates 180 degrees, thereby being reversed upside down.

[0041] The pair of clamping arms 31e clamp or release the wafer W by adjusting the distance between them. That is, when the wafer W is transferred to the multifunctional transport robot 31 by the index robot 20, the wafer W is clamped as the distance between the clamping arms 31e becomes narrower, and when the wafer W is transferred to the transfer robot 40, the clamped wafer W is released as the distance between the clamping arms 31e becomes wider.

[0042] Specifically, a cylinder 31f having rods that enter and exit from two directions is provided on the bracket 31c, a pair of clamping arms 31e are provided on the front of the cylinder 31f, and a motor shaft of the second drive motor 31d is connected to the back of the cylinder 31f.

[0043] Therefore, when the second drive motor 31d is running, as the cylinder 31f rotates 180 degrees in the vertical plane, the pair of clamping arms 31e also rotate 180 degrees in the vertical plane. When the rod set in the cylinder 31f moves out of the cylinder body, the distance between the pair of clamping arms 31e will be enlarged. When the rod moves into the cylinder body, the distance between the pair of clamping arms 31e will be shortened.

[0044] The inversion robot 32 receives the wafer W whose upper surface has been cleaned by the wafer cleaning unit 50 and is transferred from the transfer robot 40 , inverts the wafer W upside down, and then provides the wafer to the transfer robot 40 .

[0045] That is, when the cleaned wafer W with the upper surface facing upward is transferred from the transfer robot 40 to the reversing robot 32, the reversing robot 32 turns it upside down so that the cleaned upper surface faces downward, and then provides it to the transfer robot 40 again in this state.

[0046] The reversing robot 32 as described above is located on the upper side of the multifunctional transfer robot 31 .

[0047] The transfer robot 40 is activated in a space between a wafer upper surface cleaning unit 51 and a wafer lower surface cleaning unit 52 described later and between the wafer inverting unit 30 and the buffer 60 , and transfers the wafer W according to the executed process.

[0048] The wafer cleaning section 50 is used to clean the upper surface and the lower surface of the wafer W, and comprises: a wafer upper surface cleaning section 51 and a wafer lower surface cleaning section 52 , wherein the wafer lower surface cleaning section 52 is arranged opposite to the wafer upper surface cleaning section 51 .

[0049] The above-mentioned wafer upper surface cleaning part 51 is used to clean the upper surface of the wafer W, and it is arranged on one side centered on the transfer path of the transfer robot 40; the wafer lower surface cleaning part 52 is used to clean the lower surface of the wafer W, and it is centered on the transfer path of the transfer robot 40 and arranged opposite to the wafer upper surface cleaning part 51.

[0050] In addition, a plurality of wafer upper surface cleaning units 51 may be provided along the transfer path of the transfer robot 40 , and a plurality of wafer lower surface cleaning units 52 may be provided along the transfer path of the transfer robot 40 .

[0051] The buffer 60 is a component for temporarily loading the wafer W that has been cleaned before it is reloaded into the wafer box 11 of the load port 10. It receives and loads the wafer W that has been cleaned on the upper and lower surfaces and is transferred from the transfer robot 40, and then provides it to the index robot 20. The buffer 60 is provided opposite to the wafer inverting unit 30 with the transfer path of the transfer robot 40 as the center.

[0052] Reference Figure 6 and Figure 7 The operation of the semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment using the multifunctional transfer robot according to the present invention having the above structure is briefly described as follows.

[0053] Figure 6 1 is a diagram showing a process of cleaning the lower surface of a wafer using a semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus using a multifunctional transfer robot according to the present invention, Figure 7 1 is a diagram showing cleaning of the upper surface of a wafer using the semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus using the multifunctional transfer robot according to the present invention.

[0054] First, the index robot 20 extracts the wafers W loaded in the wafer box 11 of the load port 10 and transfers them to the multifunctional transfer robot 31 of the wafer inversion unit 30. When the index robot 20 extracts the wafers W loaded in the wafer box 11, it first extracts one and then another, for a total of two, and when the wafers W are provided to the multifunctional transfer robot 31, the two extracted wafers W are supplied at one time.

[0055] When the wafer W is transferred to the front of the multifunctional transfer robot 31 , the space between the pair of gripping arms 31 e provided in the multifunctional transfer robot 31 becomes narrower, so that the wafer W is gripped with the upper surface facing upward.

[0056] Thereafter, as the support 31 c of the multifunctional transfer robot 31 rotates 90 degrees in the horizontal plane, the pair of gripping arms 31 e simultaneously rotates 180 degrees in the vertical plane, thereby transferring the wafer W to the transfer robot 40 while turning it upside down.

[0057] Then, the transfer robot 40 receives the upside-down wafer W (i.e., the wafer W with the lower surface facing upward) transferred from the multifunctional transfer robot 31, moves along the transfer path, and provides the wafer W to the wafer lower surface cleaning unit 52 ( Figure 6 and Figure 7 In the figure, the lower surface of the wafer is represented with a diagonal pattern, and the upper surface of the wafer is represented without a diagonal pattern).

[0058] After the lower surface of the wafer W supplied to the wafer lower surface cleaning unit 52 is cleaned, the wafer W is transferred to the transfer robot 40 again and supplied to the reversing robot 32 .

[0059] After receiving the wafer W whose lower surface has been cleaned, the inversion robot 32 inverts the wafer W upside down and provides it to the transfer robot 40 again in a state where the uncleaned upper surface faces upward.

[0060] The transfer robot 40 moves along the transfer path and supplies the wafer W with its upper surface facing upward to the wafer upper surface cleaning unit 51 .

[0061] The wafer W supplied to the wafer upper surface cleaning unit 51 is transferred to the transfer robot 40 again after its upper surface is cleaned. Thereafter, the transfer robot 40 temporarily loads the wafer W whose upper and lower surfaces have been cleaned into the buffer 60 .

[0062] When a certain number of wafers W are loaded into the buffer 60, the index robot 20 moves toward the buffer 60, and reloads the wafers W whose upper and lower surfaces have been cleaned into the wafer cassette 11 of the loading port 10 after extracting them from the buffer 60. Therefore, when the cleaned wafers W are loaded into the wafer cassette 11 of the loading port 10, they are loaded in a state where the upper surfaces of the wafers W face upward.

[0063] Industrial Applicability

[0064] The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer cleaning device utilizing a multifunctional transfer robot. Since it can be used in semiconductor processes which are a core area of ​​the electronics industry, it can be used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, the electronic equipment manufacturing industry, the AI-related industry, and the like.

Claims

1. A semiconductor wafer cleaning device using a multifunctional transfer robot, comprising: An indexing robot (20) responsible for loading and unloading wafers (W) from a wafer cassette (11) of a load port (10); a wafer reversing section (30) for reversing the wafer (W) transferred by the indexing robot (20) upside down; and a transfer robot (40) for extracting and transferring the wafer (W) reversed in the wafer reversing section (30); A wafer cleaning unit (50) receives and cleans the wafer (W) transferred by the transfer robot (40). The wafer reversing unit (30) comprises: a multifunctional transport robot (31) which reverses the wafer (W) transferred by the index robot (20) upside down and rotates it at a certain angle in the direction of the transfer path of the transfer robot (40), and provides it to the transfer robot (40); The inversion robot (32) receives the wafer (W) whose upper surface is cleaned by the wafer cleaning unit (50), inverts it upside down, and then provides it to the transfer robot (40).

2. The semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment using a multifunctional transfer robot according to claim 1, wherein: The multifunctional transport robot (31) turns the wafer (W) upside down and then transfers it by rotating it 90 degrees on a horizontal plane, thereby providing the wafer (W) in the direction of the transfer path of the transfer robot (40).

3. The semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment using the multifunctional transfer robot according to claim 1, wherein: The wafer cleaning unit (50) comprises: a wafer upper surface cleaning unit (51) which is arranged on one side centered on the transfer path of the transfer robot (40); and The wafer lower surface cleaning section (52) is arranged opposite to the wafer upper surface cleaning section (51) with the transfer path of the transfer robot (40) as the center.

4. The semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment using the multifunctional transfer robot according to claim 3, wherein: The buffer (60) receives the wafer (W) whose upper and lower surfaces have been cleaned and transferred by the transfer robot (40), loads and provides it to the index robot (20), and is arranged opposite to the wafer reversing part (30) with the transfer path of the transfer robot (40) as the center.

5. The semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment using a multifunctional transfer robot according to claim 1, wherein: The reversing robot (32) is located on the upper side of the multifunctional transport robot (31).

6. The semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment using a multifunctional transfer robot according to claim 1, wherein: The multifunctional transport robot (31) comprises: a workbench (31a); A first driving motor (31b), which is arranged on the workbench (31a); a bracket (31c), which is arranged on the workbench (31a) and receives the rotational force provided by the first driving motor (31b) so as to rotate on a horizontal plane; a second driving motor (31d), which is disposed on the bracket (31c); and A pair of clamping arms (31e) are arranged on the support (31c), receive the rotational force provided by the second driving motor (31d), rotate on a vertical plane, and clamp or release the wafer (W) by adjusting the spacing distance between them.

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