Wafer preparation device capable of easy automatic positioning

Abstract

The present invention discloses a wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position, including an EFEM chamber and a plurality of process chambers arranged around a vacuum transmission chamber, a vacuum transition chamber is arranged between the vacuum transmission chamber and the EFEM chamber, a wafer transmission detection position is arranged in the vacuum transmission chamber near the vacuum transition chamber, a wafer positioning detection mechanism is arranged at the wafer transmission detection position, and the wafer positioning detection mechanism includes a displacement measuring instrument, the displacement measuring instrument is installed on a circular guide rail, and can rotate on the circular guide rail to measure the position of the wafer; an atmospheric manipulator is arranged in the EFEM chamber to send the wafer to the vacuum transition chamber; a vacuum manipulator is arranged in the vacuum transmission chamber to grab the wafer and send it to the wafer transmission detection position. The present invention can not only realize the precise positioning and detection of the wafer, improve the accuracy and quality of semiconductor manufacturing, but also reduce the complexity, maintenance difficulty and cost of the equipment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wafer manufacturing device, and more particularly to a wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position. Background Art

[0002] In the field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the positioning and detection of wafers are crucial steps. The positioning and detection of wafers are mainly to ensure the precise position of the wafers in the equipment, thereby guaranteeing the accuracy and quality of semiconductor manufacturing, and also providing problem traceability for subsequent process technologies. The traditional wafer positioning and detection method mainly calibrates the wafers through the Equipment Front End Module (EFEM) at the front end of the equipment or the wafer aligner in the cavity, and at the same time uses the AWC scheme with two pairs of transmissive laser sensors for positioning and detection to ensure the uniformity of the wafer entering the process chamber position and the detection and calibration during the process. This scheme first calibrates the identification notch of the wafer, and then uses the laser sensor to detect the center position of the wafer to ensure the position accuracy of the wafer.

[0003] Although the existing technical solutions can achieve the positioning and detection of wafers, there are the following problems:

[0004] Firstly, a set of aligner wafer calibration mechanism is required, which not only increases the complexity of the equipment, but also raises the manufacturing cost of the equipment. Moreover, the aligner calibration will increase the transfer time of the wafer in the manufacturing equipment, affecting the transfer efficiency. Secondly, the aligner occupies a large space in the EFEM or the process chamber, which also limits the space utilization rate of the equipment. Finally, the use of the aligner also increases the maintenance difficulty and cost of the equipment. Therefore, the existing wafer positioning and detection solutions have certain limitations, and a new technical solution is needed to solve these problems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position, which can not only achieve the precise positioning and detection of wafers, improve the accuracy and quality of semiconductor manufacturing, but also reduce the complexity, maintenance difficulty and cost of the equipment.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the above technical problems is to provide a wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position, including an EFEM chamber and a plurality of process chambers arranged around a vacuum transmission chamber, a vacuum transition chamber is arranged between the vacuum transmission chamber and the EFEM chamber, wherein a wafer transmission detection position is arranged in the vacuum transmission chamber near the vacuum transition chamber, a wafer positioning detection mechanism is arranged at the wafer transmission detection position, the wafer positioning detection mechanism includes a displacement measuring instrument, the displacement measuring instrument is installed on a circular guide rail, and can rotate on the circular guide rail to measure the position of the wafer; an atmospheric manipulator is arranged in the EFEM chamber, and the atmospheric manipulator sends the wafer to the vacuum transition chamber; a vacuum manipulator is arranged in the vacuum transmission chamber, and the vacuum manipulator grabs the wafer from the vacuum transition chamber and sends it to the wafer transmission detection position, and then transfers it to the process chamber after the detection is completed.

[0007] Furthermore, the displacement measuring instrument is fixed on a slider, a driving motor is provided on the slider, a driving gear is provided on the motor driving shaft of the driving motor, a gear is provided on the outer circumference of the circular guide rail and meshes with the driving gear, and the displacement measuring instrument is aligned with the center of the circular guide rail and rotates to measure the position of the wafer identification notch and center.

[0008] Furthermore, the displacement measuring instrument is provided with a mounting U-shaped groove, on which a measuring instrument fixing screw is mounted, and the mounting U-shaped groove is used to radially adjust and fix the displacement measuring instrument on the slider.

[0009] Furthermore, the number of the mounting U-shaped grooves is two, which are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the displacement measuring instrument.

[0010] Furthermore, a reducer is provided on the driving motor, the reduction ratio of the reducer is 20, and the reduction ratio of the driven teeth and the driving gear on the circular guide rail is 15:1; the rated speed of the driving motor is 300 rpm, and the rotation speed of the driving gear after reduction is 15 rpm.

[0011] Furthermore, the displacement measuring instrument is a reflection displacement measuring instrument with a measurement accuracy of 5 μm.

[0012] Furthermore, the circular guide rail is fixedly mounted on the chamber cover of the vacuum transfer chamber, and the diameter of the circular guide rail is greater than the diameter of the wafer.

[0013] Furthermore, the wafer is a 12-inch wafer, and the diameter of the circular guide rail is 450 mm.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: the wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position provided by the present invention adopts a displacement meter to replace the traditional wafer aligner and two pairs of transmissive laser sensors, thereby reducing the complexity, maintenance difficulty and cost of the equipment; the displacement meter is installed on a circular guide rail for rotational motion, so that the displacement meter can cover the entire wafer, thereby realizing accurate positioning and detection of the wafer, and improving the accuracy and quality of semiconductor manufacturing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position according to the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the wafer positioning detection mechanism in the wafer preparation device of the present invention.

[0017] The markings in the figure are:

[0018] 1. Loadport; 2. Atmospheric manipulator; 3. EFEM chamber; 4. Vacuum transition chamber; 5. Wafer positioning detection mechanism; 6. Vacuum transmission chamber; 7. Vacuum manipulator; 8. Process chamber vacuum pump; 9. Process chamber; 10. Wafer; 11. Wafer transmission detection position; 5-1. Circular guide rail; 5-2. Guide rail screw; 5-3. Slider; 5-4. Motor screw; 5-5. Drive gear; 5-6. Drive motor; 5-7. Motor drive shaft; 5-8. Displacement measuring instrument; 5-9. Measuring instrument fixing screw; 5-10. Installation U-shaped groove; 10a. Wafer identification notch. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0020] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position according to the present invention; Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the wafer positioning detection mechanism in the wafer preparation device of the present invention.

[0021] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2The wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position provided by the present invention comprises an EFEM chamber 3 and a plurality of process chambers 9 arranged around a vacuum transmission chamber 6, wherein a vacuum transition chamber 4 is arranged between the vacuum transmission chamber 6 and the EFEM chamber 3, wherein a wafer transmission detection position 11 is arranged in the vacuum transmission chamber 6 near the vacuum transition chamber 4, and a wafer positioning detection mechanism 5 is arranged at the wafer transmission detection position 11; the wafer positioning detection mechanism 5 comprises a displacement measuring instrument 5-8, the displacement measuring instrument 5-8 is installed on a circular guide rail 5-1, and can rotate on the circular guide rail 5-1 to measure the position of a wafer 10; an atmospheric manipulator 2 is arranged in the EFEM chamber 3, and the atmospheric manipulator 2 sends the wafer 10 to the vacuum transition chamber 4; a vacuum manipulator 7 is arranged in the vacuum transmission chamber 6, and the vacuum manipulator 7 grabs the wafer 10 from the vacuum transition chamber 4 and sends it to the wafer transmission detection position 11, and then sends it to the process chamber 9 for the process after the detection is completed.

[0022] The present invention provides a wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position, wherein the displacement measuring instrument 5-8 is fixed on a slider 5-3, a driving motor 5-6 is provided on the slider 5-3, a motor screw 5-4 for being fixedly connected to the slider 5-3 is provided on the driving motor 5-6, a driving gear 5-5 is provided on the motor driving shaft 5-7 of the driving motor 5-6, a gear is provided on the outer circumference of the circular guide rail 5-1 and meshes with the driving gear 5-5, and the displacement measuring instrument 5-8 is aligned with the center of the circular guide rail 5-1 and performs rotational motion to measure the position of the wafer identification notch 10a and the center.

[0023] The wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position provided by the present invention is provided with a mounting U-shaped groove 5-10 on the displacement measuring instrument 5-8, and a measuring instrument fixing screw 5-9 is installed on the mounting U-shaped groove 5-10. The mounting U-shaped groove 5-10 is used to radially adjust and fix the displacement measuring instrument 5-8 on the slider 5-3; the number of the mounting U-shaped grooves 5-10 is two, which are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the displacement measuring instrument 5-8.

[0024] In order to make the movement of the displacement meter 5-8 more stable and accurate, thereby further improving the accuracy of wafer positioning detection; a reducer is provided on the drive motor 5-6 of the present invention, and the reduction ratio of the reducer is 20, and the reduction ratio of the driven teeth and the drive gear 5-5 on the circular guide rail 5-1 is 15:1. In this case, the rated speed of the drive motor 5-6 is 300 rpm, and the rotation speed of the drive gear 5-5 after deceleration is 15 rpm. Therefore, the time for the displacement meter to rotate around the circular guide rail 5-1 is 1s, that is, 1 second can complete a full circle scan of the wafer edge. This is an optimal value, which can be adjusted according to the speed of the drive motor. Too fast will cause jitter or instability, and too slow will affect the overall efficiency. Optionally, the model of the drive motor 5-6 is R88M-K40030H-S2, with a power of 300W; the model of the reducer is EPB060-20-K3-14BJ14, with a reduction ratio of 20.

[0025] The wafer preparation device provided by the present invention, the displacement measuring instrument 5-8 is a reflective displacement measuring instrument. A high-precision reflective displacement measuring instrument is used to replace the traditional aligner and add two pairs of transparent laser sensor wafer calibration mechanisms, which can accurately measure the position of the wafer identification notch and center, thereby realizing accurate positioning and detection of the wafer. The model of the displacement measuring instrument is IG-010 or IG-028, and the measurement accuracy can reach 5μm.

[0026] As a preferred embodiment, the circular guide rail 5-1 of the present invention is fixedly mounted on the chamber cover of the vacuum transfer chamber 6, and the diameter of the circular guide rail 5-1 is larger than the diameter of the wafer 10; for a 12-inch wafer (300mm outer diameter), the diameter of the circular guide rail is preferably 450 mm; it can also be used for 6-inch or 8-inch wafers, and the corresponding guide rail sizes will be different. Generally, the size must ensure that the rotating mechanism scanning can cover the entire wafer outer diameter. If it is too large, it will occupy too much space on the chamber cover of the vacuum transfer chamber 6.

[0027] In summary, the wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position provided by the present invention improves the accuracy and quality of semiconductor manufacturing, while reducing equipment complexity, maintenance difficulty and cost, and improving space utilization; the specific beneficial effects are as follows:

[0028] 1. Cost saving: The present invention adopts a high-precision reflective displacement measuring instrument to replace the traditional aligner and two pairs of transmissive laser sensor wafer calibration mechanisms. There is no need to purchase and maintain expensive aligner wafer calibration mechanisms, which greatly saves the manufacturing cost of the equipment.

[0029] 2. Improve space utilization: The aligner occupies a large space in the EFEM or process chamber, while the high-precision reflection displacement measuring instrument of the present invention is installed on a circular guide rail, and the entire mechanism is installed on the cover of the vacuum transmission chamber, which does not occupy additional space and improves the space utilization of the equipment.

[0030] 3. Reduce equipment complexity: The automatic wafer positioning detection method of the present invention uses a displacement measuring instrument to detect in all directions without the need for an aligner, which simplifies the structure of the equipment, reduces the complexity of the equipment, and reduces the difficulty of equipment maintenance. The equipment complexity index is reduced from 5 to 3, the maintenance difficulty coefficient is reduced from 4 to 2, and the cost is reduced by 2%.

[0031] 4. Improve detection accuracy: The combination of high-precision reflective displacement measuring instrument and high-precision circular guide module can achieve high-precision wafer positioning detection. The wafer positioning detection accuracy is improved from the original 0.01mm to 0.005mm, ensuring the accuracy and quality of semiconductor manufacturing.

[0032] 5. High flexibility: The automatic wafer positioning detection method of the present invention can be applied to wafers of different sizes and types. It only needs to adjust the installation position of the displacement measuring instrument on the slider along the radial direction of the circular guide rail 5-1, that is, adjust the relative position of the installation U-shaped groove 5-10 and the slider 5-3, which has the characteristics of high flexibility.

[0033] Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art may make some modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be based on the definition of the claims.

Claims

1. A wafer preparation device that is easy to position automatically, comprising an EFEM chamber (3) and a plurality of process chambers (9) arranged around a vacuum transmission chamber (6), wherein a vacuum transition chamber (4) is provided between the vacuum transmission chamber (6) and the EFEM chamber (3), characterized in that: A wafer transmission detection position (11) is arranged in the vacuum transmission chamber (6) near the vacuum transition chamber (4); a wafer positioning detection mechanism (5) is arranged at the wafer transmission detection position (11); the wafer positioning detection mechanism (5) comprises a displacement measuring instrument (5-8); the displacement measuring instrument (5-8) is mounted on a circular guide rail (5-1) and can rotate on the circular guide rail (5-1) to measure the position of the wafer (10); an atmospheric manipulator (2) is arranged in the EFEM chamber (3); the atmospheric manipulator (2) delivers the wafer (10) to the vacuum transition chamber (4); a vacuum manipulator (7) is arranged in the vacuum transmission chamber (6); the vacuum manipulator (7) grabs the wafer (10) from the vacuum transition chamber (4) and delivers it to the wafer transmission detection position (11); and after the detection is completed, the wafer is delivered to the process chamber (9); The displacement measuring instrument (5-8) is fixed on the slider (5-3); a driving motor (5-6) is provided on the slider (5-3); a driving gear (5-5) is provided on the motor driving shaft (5-7) of the driving motor (5-6); a gear is provided on the outer circumference of the circular guide rail (5-1) and meshes with the driving gear (5-5); the displacement measuring instrument (5-8) is aligned with the center of the circular guide rail (5-1) and performs a rotational motion to measure the position of the wafer identification notch (10a) and the center; The displacement measuring instrument (5-8) is provided with a mounting U-shaped groove (5-10), a measuring instrument fixing screw (5-9) is mounted on the mounting U-shaped groove (5-10), and the mounting U-shaped groove (5-10) is used to radially adjust and fix the displacement measuring instrument (5-8) on the slider (5-3); The circular guide rail (5-1) is fixedly mounted on a chamber cover of a vacuum transmission chamber (6); the diameter of the circular guide rail (5-1) is greater than the diameter of a wafer (10).

2. The wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The number of the mounting U-shaped grooves (5-10) is two, which are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the displacement measuring instrument (5-8).

3. The wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The drive motor (5-6) is provided with a reducer, the reduction ratio of the reducer is 20, and the reduction ratio of the driven teeth on the circular guide rail (5-1) and the drive gear (5-5) is 15:1; the rated speed of the drive motor (5-6) is 300 revolutions per minute, and the rotation speed of the drive gear (5-5) after reduction is 15 revolutions per minute.

4. The wafer preparation device that is easy to automatically position as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The displacement measuring instrument (5-8) is a reflection displacement measuring instrument with a measurement accuracy of 5 μm.

5. The wafer preparation device capable of being easily automatically positioned as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The wafer (10) is a 12-inch wafer, and the diameter of the circular guide rail is 450 millimeters.

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