Wafer cleaning machine and wafer cleaning method

Abstract

The invention discloses a wafer cleaning machine and a wafer cleaning method.The wafer cleaning machine comprises a wafer feeding and discharging station and a wafer cleaning chamber and further comprises a wafer overturning device located between the wafer feeding and discharging station and the wafer cleaning chamber, and wafer temporary storage devices are arranged on the two sides of the wafer overturning device; the wafer cleaning chamber comprises a front surface cleaning chamber and a back surface cleaning chamber, a wafer conveying mechanical arm is arranged between the front surface cleaning chamber and the back surface cleaning chamber, and the wafer conveying mechanical arm is used for conveying wafers among the wafer cleaning chamber, the wafer overturning device and the wafer temporary storage device. The wafer overturning device is arranged between the feeding and discharging station and the wafer cleaning chamber, the wafer conveying mechanical arm is used for conveying the wafers among the wafer cleaning chamber, the wafer overturning device and the wafer temporary storage device, the occupation amount of the internal space in the wafer overturning and cleaning action process is optimized in a small space, and the feeding and discharging and cleaning efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of wafer cleaning, and in particular to a wafer cleaning machine and a wafer cleaning method. Background Art

[0002] Wafer cleaning equipment is used to clean the surface of wafers. The equipment can pre-treat the surface of wafers, clean and treat large substances on the surface of wafers, and make the surface of the device clean. The layout of various functional components inside the existing wafer cleaning equipment is unreasonable, and the occupied area is large, which is not conducive to improving the working efficiency of the device in a limited space. Summary of the invention

[0003] In order to solve the problem of low efficiency of a wafer cleaning machine, the present invention provides a wafer cleaning machine and a wafer cleaning method, which improve the wafer cleaning efficiency by rationally arranging a cleaning chamber and a wafer conveying device.

[0004] The technical solution adopted by the present invention is to design a wafer cleaning machine, including a wafer loading and unloading station, a wafer cleaning chamber, and a wafer turning device located between the loading and unloading station and the wafer cleaning chamber, wafer temporary storage devices are arranged on both sides of the wafer turning device, the wafer cleaning chamber includes a front cleaning chamber and a back cleaning chamber, a wafer transfer robot arm is arranged between the front cleaning chamber and the back cleaning chamber, and the wafer transfer robot arm is used to transfer wafers between the wafer cleaning chamber and the wafer turning device and the wafer temporary storage device.

[0005] In some embodiments, the wafer transfer robot includes a loading gripper for grabbing the wafer from the wafer flipping device to the wafer cleaning chamber, and an unloading gripper for grabbing the wafer from the wafer cleaning chamber to the wafer temporary storage device. The loading gripper is also used to transfer the wafer between the front cleaning chamber and the back cleaning chamber.

[0006] In some embodiments, a wafer transport device is provided between the wafer flipping device and the loading station and the unloading station.

[0007] In some embodiments, the wafer flipping device includes a clamp, which includes two opposing clamping parts and a spacing adjustment mechanism for controlling the spacing between the two clamping parts, each of the clamping parts is provided with two limit blocks, the limit blocks are provided with positioning grooves for inserting the edge of the wafer, the clamp is connected to the rotating shaft of a rotating mechanism, and the rotating mechanism rotates to cause the wafer on the clamp to flip up and down.

[0008] In some embodiments, the front cleaning chamber and the back cleaning chamber are both plastic welding chambers, a material port is provided on one side of the chamber, a sealing plate is provided at the material port, and the sealing plate is raised and lowered relative to the material port by a lifting cylinder.

[0009] In some embodiments, the front cleaning chamber and the back cleaning chamber both include a cleaning table located in the middle, the cleaning table includes a carrying plate for carrying wafers and a liquid collecting tank surrounding the carrying plate, a nozzle for spraying cleaning liquid onto the wafers is arranged above the carrying plate, the carrying plate is controlled by a rotating device to rotate around its own rotating axis, a surface cleaning brush and a surface brush cleaning tank for cleaning the surface cleaning brush are arranged on the side of the cleaning table, the surface cleaning brush is controlled by a linear motor to move between the carrying plate and the surface brush cleaning tank, and an anti-static device is arranged relative to the cleaning brush.

[0010] In some embodiments, the front cleaning chamber further includes a side cleaning brush for cleaning the side of the wafer and a side brush cleaning groove for cleaning the side cleaning brush, and the side cleaning brush is controlled by the linear motor to move between the supporting plate and the side brush cleaning groove.

[0011] In some embodiments, the liquid collecting tank includes a cylindrical body sleeved outside the supporting plate, and the cylindrical body is controlled by a lifting drive device to rise and fall relative to the supporting plate.

[0012] In some embodiments, an air blowing device is provided corresponding to the carrier plate, and the air blowing device is used to air-dry the wafer after cleaning.

[0013] A wafer cleaning method for the wafer cleaning machine includes: the loading gripper transfers the wafer from the wafer flipping device to the back cleaning chamber to clean the back side of the wafer; after the back side of the wafer is cleaned, the loading gripper transfers the wafer from the back cleaning chamber to the wafer flipping device, the wafer flipping device flips the wafer, and then the loading gripper transfers the wafer from the wafer flipping device to the front cleaning chamber to clean the front side of the wafer; after the front side of the wafer is cleaned, the unloading gripper transfers the wafer from the front cleaning chamber to the wafer temporary storage device.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0015] The present invention has a wafer flipping device arranged between the loading and unloading station and the wafer cleaning chamber, wafer temporary storage devices are arranged on both sides of the wafer flipping device, a wafer transfer robot arm is arranged between the front cleaning chamber and the back cleaning chamber, and the wafer transfer robot arm is used to transfer the wafer between the wafer cleaning chamber and the wafer flipping device and the wafer temporary storage device. In a smaller space, the amount of internal space occupied during wafer flipping and cleaning actions is optimized, and the loading and unloading and cleaning efficiency is improved. At the same time, the plastic welding chamber can avoid contamination of the internal space of the device, ensuring that the inside of the wafer remains clean during operation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments and drawings. In order to show details and facilitate understanding of its principles, it is not necessarily drawn to scale, and similar reference numerals may describe similar components in different views. The drawings generally illustrate the embodiments discussed herein by way of example and not limitation. Among them:

[0017] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wafer cleaning machine from a top view.

[0018] Figure 2 is a side view schematic diagram of a wafer cleaning machine.

[0019] Figure 3 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a wafer flipping device.

[0020] Figure 4 It is a bottom-up schematic diagram of a wafer flipping device.

[0021] Figure 5 It is a side view schematic diagram of a wafer flipping device.

[0022] Figure 6 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the front cleaning room.

[0023] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the interior of the front cleaning room.

[0024] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the interior of the front cleaning room from another angle.

[0025] Fig. 9 It is a top view schematic diagram of the interior of the front cleaning room.

[0026] Fig.10 It is a schematic diagram of the wafer transfer robot.

[0027] In the figure, 1, wafer turning device; 2, wafer temporary storage device; 3, front cleaning chamber; 4, back cleaning chamber; 5, wafer transfer robot; 6, loading station; 7, unloading station; 8, wafer handling device; 81, translation mechanism; 82, lifting mechanism; 83, translation track; 11, clamping part; 12, spacing adjustment mechanism; 13, limit block; 131, positioning groove; 14, driving motor; 15, belt; 51, loading gripper; 52, unloading gripper; 9, wafer; 31, material inlet; 32, sealing Sealing plate; 33. Lifting cylinder; 34. Carrying plate; 35. Liquid collecting tank; 36. Nozzle; 37. Surface cleaning brush; 38. Surface brush cleaning tank; 10. Linear motor; 39. Anti-static device; 40. Drain pipe; 41. Lifting drive device; 42. Side cleaning brush; 43. Side brush cleaning tank; 44. Detection camera; 45. Blowing device; 46. Photoelectric sensor; 47. Rotating device; 48. First lifting device; 49. Second lifting device; 50. Third lifting device; 51. Nozzle cleaning tank. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The following are specific embodiments of the present invention, and the technical solutions of the present invention are further described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the following embodiments do not limit the invention involved in the claims. In addition, all combinations of the features described in the embodiments are not necessarily required for the solutions of the invention.

[0029] The principle and structure of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0030] Example

[0031] like Figure 1 , 2 As shown, a wafer cleaning machine includes a wafer loading and unloading station, a wafer cleaning chamber, and also includes a wafer turning device 1 located between the loading and unloading station and the wafer cleaning chamber, wafer temporary storage devices 2 are arranged on both sides of the wafer turning device, the wafer cleaning chamber includes a front cleaning chamber 3 and a back cleaning chamber 4, a wafer transfer robot 5 is arranged between the front cleaning chamber and the back cleaning chamber, and the wafer transfer robot is used to transfer wafers between the wafer cleaning chamber and the wafer turning device and the wafer temporary storage device.

[0032] The wafer loading and unloading stations include a loading station 6 and an unloading station 7, which are arranged in parallel on the outside of one side of the machine body. In this embodiment, two parallel loading stations and two parallel unloading stations are arranged. A wafer handling device 8 is arranged between the wafer turning device and the loading station and the unloading station, and wafer temporary storage devices corresponding to the wafer handling device are arranged on both sides of the wafer turning device. The wafer handling device includes a translation mechanism 81 capable of conveying wafers in the X horizontal direction and a lifting mechanism 82 for lifting the translation mechanism. The lifting mechanism is arranged on a translation rail 83. The translation rail enables the lifting mechanism to move in the Y horizontal direction perpendicular to the X horizontal direction. The translation mechanism can be, for example, a conveyor belt or a horizontally movable mechanical claw. The lifting mechanism can be a cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder or an electric cylinder. The wafer temporary storage device is a shelf with a plurality of upper and lower storage bins. The wafer temporary storage device is used to temporarily store wafers sent from the loading station or wafers to be transferred to the unloading station after cleaning. The wafer handling device moves in the X horizontal direction to realize the transfer of wafers between the loading and unloading stations and the wafer temporary storage device. The movement of the wafer handling device in the Y horizontal direction can realize the movement of wafers between the wafer flipping device and the wafer temporary storage device, and then the wafer is transferred between the translation mechanism and the wafer flipping device through the translation mechanism.

[0033] like Figure 3 , 4 As shown in Figure 5, the wafer flipping device includes a clamping claw, which includes two opposite clamping parts and a spacing adjustment mechanism 12 for controlling the spacing between the two clamping parts 11. The spacing adjustment mechanism is a cylinder. The two clamping parts are respectively connected to two relatively movable parts of the cylinder, so that the spacing between the two clamping parts is controlled by the cylinder. Two limit blocks 13 are arranged on each of the clamping parts. The limit blocks are provided with a positioning groove 131 for inserting the edge of the wafer, so that when the two clamping parts are close to each other, the wafer can be turned. The edge is stuck between the four limit blocks, so as to clamp the wafer transferred by the wafer handling device. The clamp is connected to the rotating shaft of the rotating mechanism. The rotating mechanism rotates to flip the wafer on the clamp up and down. Each limit block of this embodiment has two upper and lower parallel positioning grooves, so as to grasp and flip two wafers. The rotating mechanism of this embodiment includes a driving motor 14, and the driving motor drives the clamp to rotate through a belt 15, so as to flip the wafer on the clamp up and down. The flipped wafer is grabbed by the gripper of the wafer conveying robot arm.

[0034] like Fig.10As shown, the wafer transfer robot arm includes a loading gripper 51 for grabbing wafers from the wafer flipping device to the wafer cleaning chamber, and a unloading gripper 52 for grabbing wafers from the wafer cleaning chamber to the wafer temporary storage device. The loading gripper is also used to transfer wafers 9 between the front cleaning chamber and the back cleaning chamber, that is, the loading gripper is used to grab each transfer process before the wafer cleaning is completed, and the unloading gripper is only used to transfer the cleaned wafers, thereby avoiding cross contamination caused by grabbing before and after wafer cleaning. Corresponding to the wafer flipping device, the loading gripper and the unloading gripper of this embodiment also have two clamping parts, so as to realize the simultaneous and parallel grabbing of two wafers at a time.

[0035] like Figure 6 As shown, the front cleaning chamber and the back cleaning chamber are both plastic welding chambers, one side of the chamber is provided with a material port 31 for wafers to enter and exit, the material port is provided with a sealing plate 32, the sealing plate is controlled by a lifting cylinder 33 to rise and fall relative to the material port, thereby controlling the opening or closing of the material port, and the wafer transfer robot arm puts the wafer into the cleaning chamber or takes it out through the material port. The plastic welding chamber is a chamber formed by welding a plastic plate body, which can realize chamber integration and modularization, and help the chamber to be better installed.

[0036] like Figure 7 , 8As shown in Figure 9, the front cleaning chamber and the back cleaning chamber both include a cleaning table located in the middle, the cleaning table includes a carrier plate 34 for carrying wafers and a liquid collecting tank 35 surrounding the carrier plate, a nozzle 36 for spraying cleaning liquid to the wafer is arranged above the carrier plate, the carrier plate is controlled by a rotating device to rotate around its own rotation axis, the rotating device is, for example, a motor, a surface cleaning brush and a surface brush cleaning tank 38 for cleaning the surface cleaning brush 37 are arranged on the side of the cleaning table, the surface cleaning brush is controlled by a linear motor to move between the carrier plate and the surface brush cleaning tank, and a static electricity removal device is arranged relative to the cleaning brush. During cleaning, the wafer is placed on the carrier plate, so that while the carrier plate rotates, the cleaning liquid is sprayed on the surface of the wafer by the nozzle, and then the linear motor 10 drives the surface cleaning brush to move relative to the surface of the wafer, so as to achieve cleaning of the wafer surface, and while cleaning, the static electricity removal device 39 is started to remove the static electricity generated when the wafer contacts the brush during cleaning. The liquid collecting tank is used to recover the waste liquid flowing down from the wafer, and then discharge it from the drain pipe 40 connected to the bottom of the liquid collecting tank. The surface cleaning brush moves to the top of the surface brush cleaning tank and then descends so that the surface cleaning brush enters the water in the surface brush cleaning tank for cleaning. A nozzle cleaning tank is also provided on the side of the cleaning table. The nozzle is controlled by a rotating device to move above the wafer and above the nozzle cleaning tank 51. The rotating device 47 can be, for example, a motor. The nozzle is connected to a rotating pipe joint. The rotating device controls the rotation of the rotating pipe joint to realize the movement of the nozzle. The nozzle is controlled by a first lifting device 48 to lift relative to the nozzle cleaning tank, so that the nozzle is extended into the nozzle cleaning tank for cleaning. The first lifting device can be used to control the up and down movement of the rotating pipe joint to realize the control of the lifting of the nozzle. The surface cleaning brush is controlled by a second lifting device 49 to lift relative to the surface brush cleaning tank, so that the surface cleaning brush enters the water in the surface brush cleaning tank for cleaning. Both the first lifting device and the second lifting device can be telescopic control devices such as cylinders.

[0037] The liquid collecting tank includes a cylindrical body which is sleeved on the outer periphery of the supporting plate. The cylindrical body is controlled to rise and fall relative to the supporting plate by a lifting drive device. The lifting drive device 41 can be, for example, a cylinder, so that the upper port of the cylindrical body is lower than the supporting plate, which is beneficial for taking and placing wafers on the supporting plate. When cleaning the wafers, the upper port of the cylindrical body is higher than the supporting plate, which is beneficial for collecting waste liquid.

[0038] The front cleaning chamber also includes a side cleaning brush 42 for cleaning the side of the wafer and a side brush cleaning slot 43 for cleaning the side cleaning brush. The side cleaning brush is controlled by the linear motor to move between the carrier plate and the side brush cleaning slot. The side cleaning brush is controlled by a third lifting device 50 to lift relative to the side brush cleaning slot. The third lifting device can be a telescopic control device such as a cylinder. When the wafer rotates, the side cleaning brush contacts the side of the wafer to clean the side of the wafer. The side cleaning brush moves to the top of the side brush cleaning slot and then drops so that the side cleaning brush enters the water in the side brush cleaning slot, thereby cleaning the side cleaning brush.

[0039] A detection camera 44 is provided corresponding to the cleaning station, and the detection camera monitors the cleaning process of the wafer. The detection camera is provided on the inner wall of the cleaning chamber to detect the cleaning condition inside. A photoelectric sensor 46 is provided corresponding to the cleaning station to detect the presence or absence of the wafer.

[0040] An air blowing device 45 is provided corresponding to the carrier plate. After cleaning is completed, the nozzle stops spraying cleaning liquid to the wafer, and the air blowing device blows dry liquid to the rotating wafer to air-dry the wafer.

[0041] During operation, first, materials are loaded from the loading station, usually a material box containing wafers, and then the wafer handling device takes the wafers in the material box and sends them to the wafer flipping device, and then the loading gripper transfers the wafer from the wafer flipping device to the back cleaning chamber to clean the back side of the wafer, and after the back side of the wafer is cleaned, the loading gripper transfers the wafer from the back cleaning chamber to the wafer flipping device, and the wafer flipping device flips the wafer, and then the loading gripper transfers the wafer from the wafer flipping device to the front cleaning chamber to clean the front side of the wafer, and after the front side of the wafer is cleaned, the unloading gripper transfers the wafer from the front cleaning chamber to the wafer temporary storage device for temporary storage, and then the wafer handling device transfers the wafer at the wafer temporary storage device to the material box of the unloading station to realize unloading.

[0042] The specific embodiments described herein are merely examples of the spirit of the present invention. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications or additions to the specific embodiments described, or replace them in similar ways, without departing from the spirit of the present invention or exceeding the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wafer cleaning machine, comprising a wafer loading and unloading station and a wafer cleaning chamber, characterized in that: It also includes a wafer flipping device located between the loading and unloading station and the wafer cleaning chamber, wafer temporary storage devices are arranged on both sides of the wafer flipping device, the wafer cleaning chamber includes a front cleaning chamber and a back cleaning chamber, a wafer transfer robot arm is arranged between the front cleaning chamber and the back cleaning chamber, and the wafer transfer robot arm is used to transfer wafers between the wafer cleaning chamber and the wafer flipping device and the wafer temporary storage device.

2. The wafer cleaning machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wafer transfer robot includes a loading gripper for grabbing wafers from the wafer flipping device to the wafer cleaning chamber, and an unloading gripper for grabbing wafers from the wafer cleaning chamber to the wafer temporary storage device. The loading gripper is also used to transfer wafers between the front cleaning chamber and the back cleaning chamber.

3. The wafer cleaning machine according to claim 2, characterized in that: A wafer transport device is arranged between the wafer turning device and the loading station and the unloading station.

4. The wafer cleaning machine according to claim 2, characterized in that: The wafer flipping device includes a clamping jaw, which includes two opposite clamping parts and a spacing adjustment mechanism for controlling the spacing between the two clamping parts. Two limit blocks are provided on each of the clamping parts, and the limit blocks are provided with positioning grooves for inserting the edges of the wafers. The clamping jaw is connected to the rotating shaft of a rotating mechanism, and the rotating mechanism rotates to cause the wafer on the clamping jaw to flip up and down.

5. The wafer cleaning machine according to claim 2, characterized in that: The front cleaning chamber and the back cleaning chamber are both plastic welding chambers. A material port is provided at one side of the chamber. A sealing plate is provided at the material port. The sealing plate is raised and lowered relative to the material port by a lifting cylinder.

6. The wafer cleaning machine according to claim 2, characterized in that: The front cleaning chamber and the back cleaning chamber both include a cleaning table located in the middle, the cleaning table includes a carrying plate for carrying wafers and a liquid collecting tank surrounding the carrying plate, a nozzle for spraying cleaning liquid onto the wafers is arranged above the carrying plate, the carrying plate is controlled by a rotating device to rotate around its own rotating axis, a surface cleaning brush and a surface brush cleaning tank for cleaning the surface cleaning brush are arranged on the side of the cleaning table, the surface cleaning brush is controlled by a linear motor to move between the carrying plate and the surface brush cleaning tank, and an anti-static device is arranged relative to the cleaning brush.

7. The wafer cleaning machine according to claim 6, characterized in that: The front cleaning chamber also includes a side cleaning brush for cleaning the side of the wafer and a side brush cleaning groove for cleaning the side cleaning brush. The side cleaning brush is controlled by the linear motor to move between the supporting plate and the side brush cleaning groove.

8. The wafer cleaning machine according to claim 6, characterized in that: The liquid collecting tank comprises a cylindrical body which is sleeved outside the bearing plate, and the cylindrical body is controlled by a lifting drive device to rise and fall relative to the bearing plate.

9. The wafer cleaning machine according to claim 6, characterized in that: An air blowing device is provided corresponding to the carrier plate, and the air blowing device is used to air-dry the wafer after cleaning.

10. A wafer cleaning method for a wafer cleaning machine as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9, characterized in that: include: The loading gripper transfers the wafer from the wafer flipping device to the back side cleaning chamber to clean the back side of the wafer. After the back side of the wafer is cleaned, the loading gripper transfers the wafer from the back side cleaning chamber to the wafer flipping device. The wafer flipping device flips the wafer. Then, the loading gripper transfers the wafer from the wafer flipping device to the front side cleaning chamber to clean the front side of the wafer. After the front side of the wafer is cleaned, the unloading gripper transfers the wafer from the front side cleaning chamber to the wafer temporary storage device.

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