Mechanical arm deformation detection method, detection equipment and wafer conveying device

Abstract

The invention provides a mechanical arm deformation detection method, detection equipment and a wafer conveying device, a mechanical arm comprises a mechanical handle and mechanical teeth, and the method comprises the steps that an emitter is arranged above or below the mechanical arm, and the emitter is controlled to emit first light along a fixed angle, the receiver is controlled to receive second light and third light reflected by the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle to the first light in the wafer conveying process, and the position deviation value of the second light and the third light can be determined according to the position where the receiver receives the second light and the position where the receiver receives the third light. And then the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical teeth is determined, and whether the mechanical arm deforms or not can be determined according to the vertical height difference. Therefore, deformation detection of the mechanical arm can be automatically carried out in real time, so that the risk probability of scratching, wafer breaking or wafer falling and the like in the wafer conveying process is reduced, and the situation that the production efficiency is affected by deformation of the mechanical arm is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the semiconductor field, and in particular to a mechanical arm deformation detection method, detection equipment and a wafer conveying device. Background Art

[0002] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor integrated circuits, the transfer of wafers between multiple chambers requires the use of a robotic arm, for example, to grab the wafer and transport it to the processing machine for the next process step.

[0003] However, when the wafer is transferred by a robotic arm, if the robotic arm is deformed, there will be a risk of scratching, breaking or falling of the wafer during the transfer process, thereby reducing production efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of this, the purpose of the present application is to provide a robot arm deformation detection method, detection equipment and wafer conveying device, which can automatically perform robot arm deformation detection, thereby reducing the risk probability of scratches, breakages or wafer falling during the conveying process, and avoiding the impact of production efficiency due to the deformation of the robot arm.

[0005] The present application provides a method for detecting deformation of a mechanical arm, wherein the mechanical arm includes a mechanical handle and mechanical teeth, and the method includes:

[0006] In the process of the mechanical arm transferring the wafer along the first direction, the emitter is controlled to emit the first light along a fixed angle; the mechanical handle and the mechanical teeth are arranged along the first direction;

[0007] Controlling the receiver to respectively receive the second light and the third light reflected by the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle in response to the first light during the process of transferring the wafer;

[0008] A vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth is determined according to a position where the receiver receives the second light and a position where the receiver receives the third light.

[0009] Optionally, the controlling receiver respectively receiving the second light and the third light reflected by the mechanical tooth and the mechanical handle in response to the first light during the wafer transfer process comprises:

[0010] In the process of the mechanical arm transferring the wafer along the first direction, the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle are sequentially irradiated by the first light;

[0011] When the mechanical tooth is irradiated by the first light, controlling the receiver to receive the second light reflected by the mechanical tooth;

[0012] When the mechanical handle is irradiated by the first light, the receiver is controlled to receive the third light reflected by the mechanical handle.

[0013] Optionally, determining the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth according to the position where the receiver receives the second light and the position where the receiver receives the third light comprises:

[0014] determining a first offset value of the second light according to a position where the receiver receives the second light and a center position of the receiver;

[0015] determining a second offset value of the third light according to a position where the receiver receives the third light and a center position of the receiver;

[0016] A vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth is determined according to the first offset value and the second offset value.

[0017] Optionally, determining the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth according to the first offset value and the second offset value comprises:

[0018] The vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth is determined according to the first offset value and the second offset value, in combination with the fixed angle and the distance value between the center of the transmitter and the center of the receiver.

[0019] Optionally, the mechanical tooth includes a first mechanical tooth and a second mechanical tooth, the transmitter includes a first transmitter and a second transmitter, and the receiver includes a first receiver and a second receiver;

[0020] The method further comprises:

[0021] In the process of the robotic arm transferring the wafer along the first direction, the first emitter is controlled to emit a fourth light along the fixed angle, and the second emitter is controlled to emit a fifth light along the fixed angle, wherein the fourth light irradiates the first mechanical tooth, and the fifth light irradiates the second mechanical tooth;

[0022] controlling the first receiver to respectively receive sixth light rays reflected by the first mechanical tooth from the fourth light rays in a process of transferring the wafer;

[0023] controlling the second receiver to respectively receive the seventh light beam reflected by the second mechanical tooth from the fifth light beam during the process of transferring the wafer;

[0024] An offset height difference between the first mechanical tooth and the second mechanical tooth is determined according to a position where the first receiver receives the fifth light and a position where the second receiver receives the seventh light.

[0025] Optionally, the fixed angle is an angle between the first light ray and a normal to the emitter.

[0026] The present application provides a mechanical arm deformation detection device, the device comprising: a transmitter, a receiver and a controller;

[0027] The emitter is arranged above or below the robot arm, and is used to emit a first light along a fixed angle when the robot arm transfers the wafer along a first direction; the robot arm comprises a mechanical handle and mechanical teeth, and the mechanical handle and the mechanical teeth are arranged along the first direction;

[0028] The receiver is used to respectively receive the second light and the third light reflected by the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle in response to the first light during the process of transferring the wafer;

[0029] The controller is used to control the transmitter and the receiver, and determine the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth according to the position where the receiver receives the second light and the position where the receiver receives the third light.

[0030] Optionally, the device further comprises: a lens module;

[0031] The lens module is used to focus the second light and the third light onto the detector.

[0032] The present application provides a wafer conveying device, which includes any of the above-mentioned robotic arm deformation detection equipment, and the device also includes: a main structure, a conveying chamber is arranged in the main structure, at least one of the robotic arms is located in the conveying chamber, and the robotic arm deformation detection equipment is arranged on the main structure.

[0033] Optionally, the device includes: at least one opening, the opening is located on the side of the main structure, the mechanical arm transfers the wafer through the opening along the first direction; the mechanical arm deformation detection device is located above the opening. The present application provides a method for detecting deformation of a mechanical arm, the mechanical arm includes a mechanical handle and a mechanical tooth, a wafer is placed on the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth of the mechanical arm to transfer the wafer, and the method includes: in the process of the mechanical arm transferring the wafer along the first direction, the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth are arranged along the first direction, that is, the mechanical tooth and the mechanical handle are arranged along the first direction of wafer transfer. The transmitter is controlled to emit a first light along a fixed angle, so that when the mechanical tooth and the mechanical handle pass through the transmitter in sequence, they can be irradiated by the first light, which is convenient for subsequent detection of the height of the mechanical tooth and the mechanical handle. The receiver is controlled to receive the second light and the third light reflected by the mechanical tooth and the mechanical handle in the process of transferring the wafer, respectively, and the position offset value of the two lights can be determined according to the position where the receiver receives the second light and the position where the receiver receives the third light, and then the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth is determined, and whether the mechanical arm is deformed can be determined by the vertical height difference. It can be seen that the present application can automatically perform real-time deformation detection of the robotic arm, thereby reducing the risk probability of scratches, breakages or wafer drop during the transmission process, and avoiding the impact of production efficiency due to deformation of the robotic arm. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0035] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a mechanical arm deformation is shown;

[0036] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a process flow of a method for detecting deformation of a robotic arm provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0037] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a mechanical arm provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0038] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of triangulation distance measurement provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0039] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of deformation detection of a mechanical arm provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0040] Figure 6A schematic structural diagram of a mechanical arm deformation detection device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0041] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a top view of a wafer conveying device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0042] Figure 8 A side structural schematic diagram of a wafer conveying device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solution of the present application, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0044] In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present application, but the present application may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art may make similar generalizations without violating the connotation of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0045] This application is described in detail with reference to schematic diagrams. When describing the embodiments of this application in detail, for the sake of convenience, the cross-sectional diagrams showing the device structure will not be partially enlarged according to the general scale, and the schematic diagrams are only examples, which should not limit the scope of protection of this application. In addition, in actual production, the three-dimensional dimensions of length, width and depth should be included.

[0046] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor integrated circuits, the transfer of wafers between multiple chambers requires the use of a robotic arm, for example, to grab the wafer and transport it to the processing machine for the next process step.

[0047] However, when the wafer is transferred by a robotic arm, if the robotic arm is deformed, there will be a risk of scratching, breaking or falling of the wafer during the transfer process, thereby reducing production efficiency.

[0048] There are two protrusions at the front and back ends of the robot arm. The two protrusions contact the wafer and rely on the friction between the protrusions and the wafer to stabilize the wafer. Under normal circumstances, the robot arm is in a straight state, and the height of the protrusions at the front and back ends is the same. However, when the robot arm is deformed, such as the front end droops, refer to Figure 1 As shown, there may be a risk of wafer falling at this time. Correspondingly, if one of the left and right ends of the robot arm droops, there will also be risks of wafer scratching, breaking or falling during the transfer process.

[0049] Based on this, the present application provides a method for detecting deformation of a mechanical arm, wherein the mechanical arm includes a mechanical handle and mechanical teeth, and a wafer is placed on the mechanical handle and mechanical teeth of the mechanical arm to transmit the wafer. The method includes: in the process of the mechanical arm transmitting the wafer along the first direction, the mechanical handle and the mechanical teeth are arranged along the first direction, that is, the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle are arranged along the first direction of wafer transmission. The transmitter is controlled to emit a first light along a fixed angle, so that when the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle pass through the transmitter in sequence, they can be irradiated by the first light, which is convenient for subsequent detection of the height of the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle. The receiver is controlled to receive the second light and the third light reflected by the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle in the process of transmitting the wafer, respectively. According to the position where the receiver receives the second light and the position where the receiver receives the third light, the position offset value of the two lights can be determined, and then the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical teeth is determined, and the vertical height difference can be determined. Whether the mechanical arm is deformed can be determined by the vertical height difference. It can be seen that the present application can automatically perform real-time deformation detection of the robotic arm, thereby reducing the risk probability of scratches, breakages or wafer drop during the transmission process, and avoiding the impact of production efficiency due to deformation of the robotic arm.

[0050] In order to better understand the technical solution and technical effects of the present application, specific embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0051] See also Figure 2 , which is a flow chart of a method for detecting deformation of a robotic arm provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0052] In the embodiment of the present application, the robot arm is used to grab and transfer the wafer, refer to Figure 3 As shown, the mechanical arm may include a mechanical handle 101 and a mechanical tooth 102, and the mechanical tooth 102 may include two or more teeth. The front end of the mechanical arm is regarded as one end of the mechanical tooth 102, and the end of the mechanical arm is regarded as the end where the mechanical handle 101 is located.

[0053] The wafer is placed on the robot arm. If the robot arm is deformed, it can be indirectly reflected by the relative position of the front and rear ends of the robot arm. If the front end of the robot arm is drooping (dropping) deformation, there will be a height difference between the front and rear ends of the robot arm.

[0054] The robot arm deformation detection method provided in this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0055] S101, when the robot arm transfers the wafer along the first direction, the emitter is controlled to emit a first light along a fixed angle.

[0056] In an embodiment of the present application, a wafer is placed on a robotic arm to transfer the wafer in a plurality of chambers. When the wafer is placed on the robotic arm, the mechanical teeth and a portion of the mechanical handle may be covered. The robotic arm may transfer the wafer along a first direction, and the mechanical handle and the mechanical teeth may be arranged along the first direction, that is, the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle are arranged along the first direction of wafer transfer.

[0057] In order to detect the deformation of the robotic arm, a transmitter can be arranged above or below the robotic arm, that is, the transmitter and the robotic arm are not in the same horizontal plane. The transmitter can emit a first light at a fixed angle, and the first light illuminates the robotic arm, thereby realizing deformation detection of the robotic arm, specifically realizing detection of the vertical deformation of the robotic arm.

[0058] The fixed angle refers to the angle between the first light and the normal of the emitter. That is, when the robot arm transfers the wafer along the first direction, the emitter continues to emit the first light at a fixed angle, thereby avoiding inaccurate deformation detection of the robot arm due to angle deviation.

[0059] In practical applications, the emitter may be an infrared photoelectric emitter, and the first light is infrared light.

[0060] In an embodiment of the present application, the fixed angle can be adjusted according to the actual robot arm detection means.

[0061] As a possible implementation, the fixed angle may be 0 degrees, that is, the emitter emits the first light vertically downward above the robotic arm, or the emitter emits the first light vertically upward below the robotic arm. In this way, deformation detection of the robotic arm is performed by directly emitting light vertically.

[0062] As another possible implementation, the range of the fixed angle can be greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees. In this way, the transmitter emits the first light along the fixed angle, and the mechanical arm illuminated by the first light and the light reflected by the mechanical arm are received by the receiver. At this time, the transmitter, the mechanical arm and the receiver constitute a triangular optical path system. Figure 4 By combining triangulation distance measurement with infrared photoelectric transmitter, deformation detection of the robot arm can be realized relatively simply, and the measurement accuracy can reach 0.1 mm, which meets the measurement accuracy of the robot arm deformation.

[0063] refer to Figure 4As shown, the fixed angle formed by the first light emitted by the transmitter and the normal of the transmitter is a, the center distance value between the center position of the transmitter and the center position of the receiver is L, and the height difference between the robot arm and the plane where the transmitter is located is h. The offset value between the position where the receiver receives the first light reflected by the robot arm and the center position of the receiver is X. Using the fixed angle a, the center distance value L and the offset value X, the degree difference h can be calculated through geometric relationship.

[0064] As an example, if a lens module is also provided between the reflected light of the robot arm and the receiver, the lens module can focus the reflected light of the robot arm to the detector. In this way, the degree difference h needs to be calculated by using the fixed angle a, the center distance value L, the offset value X and the focal length of the lens module through the geometric relationship.

[0065] S102, controlling the receiver to respectively receive the second light and the third light reflected by the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle in response to the first light during the process of transferring the wafer.

[0066] In an embodiment of the present application, when the robotic arm is transferring a wafer along a first direction, the receiver may be controlled to respectively receive the second light and the third light reflected by the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle in response to the first light during the transfer of the wafer.

[0067] From the above description, it can be seen that the transmitter is used to transmit the first light, the receiver is used to receive the reflected second light and third light, the transmitter and the receiver are in the same plane, the plane is perpendicular to the first direction, and the transmitter and the receiver are at the same height, that is, there is no height difference between the transmitter and the receiver, so that the deformation of the robotic arm can be detected by using triangulation ranging.

[0068] Since the connecting line direction between the mechanical handle and the mechanical teeth is parallel to the first direction, the front end and the rear end of the mechanical arm are irradiated by the first light at different times, that is, the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle are irradiated by the first light in sequence.

[0069] The first light emitted by the transmitter illuminates the mechanical tooth when the mechanical tooth passes through the transmitter, and at this time the receiver is controlled to receive the second light reflected by the mechanical tooth.

[0070] The first light emitted by the transmitter illuminates the mechanical handle when the mechanical handle passes through the transmitter, and at this time the receiver is controlled to receive the third light reflected by the mechanical handle.

[0071] As an example, the first direction is a direction in which the mechanical teeth are in front and the mechanical handle is in the back, so that when the robotic arm transfers the wafer along the first direction, the mechanical teeth are first irradiated by the first light, and the mechanical handle is then irradiated by the first light. When the mechanical teeth first pass through the transmitter, the receiver receives the second light reflected by the mechanical teeth, and when the mechanical handle passes through the transmitter later, the receiver receives the third light reflected by the mechanical handle.

[0072] In practical applications, when a wafer is placed on the robot arm, the second light and the third light may be the light reflected by the wafer. That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, deformation detection of the robot arm can be performed regardless of whether a wafer is placed on the robot arm.

[0073] S103, determining a vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth according to a position where the receiver receives the second light and a position where the receiver receives the third light.

[0074] In the embodiment of the present application, after being irradiated by the first light, the mechanical tooth and the mechanical handle respectively reflect the second light and the third light, and the receiver receives the second light and the third light. According to the position where the receiver receives the second light and the position where the receiver receives the third light, the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth can be calculated using the principle of triangulation, so as to determine whether the mechanical arm is deformed by the vertical height difference.

[0075] Specifically, when the vertical height difference is greater than the deformation threshold, it is determined that the mechanical arm is deformed. That is, when the vertical height difference is greater than the deformation threshold, the height difference between the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle is large, and the mechanical arm is deformed.

[0076] As an example, refer to Figure 5 As shown, when the transmitter is located above the robotic arm, the distance h1 between the mechanical tooth and the plane where the transmitter is located is greater than the distance h2 between the mechanical handle and the plane where the transmitter is located, then the vertical height difference △h between the mechanical tooth and the mechanical handle is a positive value, where △h=h1-h2, the vertical height difference △h is greater than the deformation threshold, and the front end of the robotic arm droops and deforms.

[0077] In an embodiment of the present application, the first offset value of the second light can be determined based on the position where the receiver receives the second light and the center position of the receiver. The second offset value of the third light can be determined based on the position where the receiver receives the third light and the center position of the receiver. The first offset value and the second offset value are obtained by offsetting relative to the center position of the receiver. Based on the first offset value and the second offset value, the distance between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth and the plane where the transmitter is located when reflecting the first light can be determined respectively, and then the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth can be determined.

[0078] From the principle of triangulation ranging, it can be known that the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical teeth can be determined based on the first offset value and the second offset value, combined with the fixed angle and the distance value between the center of the transmitter and the center of the receiver. The accuracy of the vertical height difference calculated in this way can reach 0.1 mm, which can more accurately detect whether the mechanical arm is deformed.

[0079] In an embodiment of the present application, in addition to using a transmitter and a receiver to detect whether there is a mechanical arm deformation between the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle, the transmitter and the receiver can also be used to detect whether there is a mechanical arm deformation between different mechanical teeth, such as left and right drooping deformation caused by an offset height difference between the mechanical teeth.

[0080] In a possible implementation, the first mechanical tooth and the second mechanical tooth can use two sets of transmitters and receivers to respectively detect the distance between the first mechanical tooth and the second mechanical tooth and the plane where the transmitter is located, thereby obtaining the offset height difference between the first mechanical tooth and the second mechanical tooth.

[0081] That is, the transmitter includes a first transmitter and a second transmitter, the receiver includes a first receiver and a second receiver, the first transmitter and the first receiver are used to detect the first mechanical tooth, and the second transmitter and the second receiver are used to detect the second mechanical tooth. The first transmitter, the second transmitter, the first receiver and the second receiver are all located in the same plane and are perpendicular to the first direction. The first transmitter, the second transmitter, the first receiver and the second receiver have the same height to avoid inaccurate detection results due to the first transmitter, the second transmitter, the first receiver and the second receiver.

[0082] In the process of the robotic arm transferring the wafer along the first direction, the first transmitter is controlled to transmit the fourth light along a fixed angle, and the fourth light illuminates the first mechanical tooth. The second transmitter is controlled to transmit the fifth light along a fixed angle, and the fifth light illuminates the second mechanical tooth. When the first mechanical tooth passes the first transmitter in the process of transferring the wafer, the first receiver is controlled to receive the sixth light reflected by the first mechanical tooth to the fourth light. When the second mechanical tooth passes the second transmitter in the process of transferring the wafer, the second receiver is controlled to receive the seventh light reflected by the second mechanical tooth to the fifth light.

[0083] Then, the distance between the first mechanical tooth and the plane where the first transmitter is located when reflecting the fourth light is determined according to the position where the first receiver receives the fifth light, and the distance between the second mechanical tooth and the plane where the second transmitter is located when reflecting the fifth light is determined according to the position where the second receiver receives the seventh light, thereby determining the offset height difference between the first mechanical tooth and the second mechanical tooth.

[0084] Specifically, when the offset height difference is greater than the offset threshold, it is determined that the mechanical arm is deformed. That is, when the offset height difference is greater than the offset threshold, the height difference between the first mechanical tooth and the second mechanical tooth is large, and the mechanical arm is deformed.

[0085] As an example, when the first transmitter and the second transmitter are located above the robotic arm, the distance between the first mechanical tooth and the plane where the first transmitter is located is greater than the distance between the second mechanical tooth and the plane where the second transmitter is located, the offset height difference between the first mechanical tooth and the second mechanical tooth is determined, and when the offset height difference is greater than the offset threshold, the first mechanical tooth of the robotic arm droops.

[0086] The present application provides a method for detecting deformation of a mechanical arm, wherein the mechanical arm comprises a mechanical handle and a mechanical tooth, and a wafer is placed on the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth of the mechanical arm to transmit the wafer, and the method comprises: in the process of the mechanical arm transmitting the wafer along the first direction, the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth are arranged along the first direction, that is, the mechanical tooth and the mechanical handle are arranged along the first direction of the wafer transmission. The transmitter is controlled to emit a first light along a fixed angle, so that when the mechanical tooth and the mechanical handle pass through the transmitter in sequence, they can be irradiated by the first light, which is convenient for subsequent detection of the height of the mechanical tooth and the mechanical handle. The receiver is controlled to receive the second light and the third light reflected by the mechanical tooth and the mechanical handle in the process of transmitting the wafer, respectively, and the position offset value of the two lights can be determined according to the position where the receiver receives the second light and the position where the receiver receives the third light, and then the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth is determined, and whether the mechanical arm is deformed can be determined by the vertical height difference. It can be seen that the present application can automatically and real-timely detect the deformation of the mechanical arm, thereby reducing the risk probability of scratches, breakages or falling of the wafer during the transmission process, and avoiding the influence of production efficiency due to the deformation of the mechanical arm.

[0087] Based on a mechanical arm deformation detection method provided in the above embodiment, an embodiment of the present application further provides a mechanical arm deformation detection device, and its working principle is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0088] See also Figure 6 , which is a structural schematic diagram of a mechanical arm deformation detection device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0089] The robotic arm deformation detection device provided in the embodiment of the present application includes a transmitter 110 , a receiver 120 and a controller 130 .

[0090] In an embodiment of the present application, the emitter 110 is used to emit a first light along a fixed angle when the robot arm transfers the wafer along the first direction. The emitter 110 can be arranged above or below the robot arm so that the emitter 110 detects the vertical deformation of the robot arm.

[0091] The mechanical arm includes a mechanical handle and mechanical teeth, and the mechanical handle and the mechanical teeth are arranged along a first direction.

[0092] In the embodiment of the present application, the receiver 120 is used to respectively receive the second light and the third light reflected by the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle in response to the first light during the process of transferring the wafer.

[0093] In the embodiment of the present application, the controller 130 is used to control the emitter 110 to emit light and the receiver 120 to receive light, specifically, to control the emitter 110 to emit the first light and to control the receiver 120 to receive the second light and the third light. Subsequently, the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth is determined according to the position where the receiver 120 receives the second light and the position where the receiver 120 receives the third light.

[0094] In an embodiment of the present application, the mechanical arm deformation detection device may further include a lens module. The lens module is arranged between the reflected light of the mechanical arm and the receiver, and is used to focus the reflected light of the mechanical arm to the detector. In other words, the lens module can be used to focus the second light and the third light to the detector.

[0095] Based on a robot arm deformation detection method provided in the above embodiment, the embodiment of the present application further provides a wafer conveying device, and its working principle is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0096] See also Figure 7 , this figure is a schematic diagram of the top view structure of a wafer conveying device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0097] The wafer transfer device provided in the embodiment of the present application includes a robot arm deformation detection device 100 and a main structure 200. The main structure 200 may include a transfer chamber 210, and the transfer chamber 210 may be provided with at least one robot arm 220, so as to use the robot arm 220 to transfer the wafer to the transfer chamber 210 or transfer it out of the transfer chamber 210.

[0098] During the process of the robot arm 220 transferring wafers, in order to implement deformation detection of the robot arm 220 , the robot arm deformation detection device 100 may be disposed on the main structure 200 .

[0099] refer to Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of the side structure of the wafer transfer device. The main structure 200 may include an opening 230, and the opening 230 may be located on the side of the main structure 200. The robot arm 220 may transfer the wafer through the opening 230 along a first direction, that is, the wafer may be transferred to the transfer chamber 210 or transferred out of the transfer chamber 210 through the opening 230.

[0100] Specifically, the robot arm deformation detection device 100 can be set above or below the opening 230, so that when the robot arm 220 transfers the wafer along the first direction, the emitter included in the robot arm deformation detection device 100 can emit the first light along a fixed angle, thereby realizing the detection of the vertical deformation of the robot arm 220.

[0101] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a progressive manner, and the same and similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the device embodiment, since it is basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the partial description of the method embodiment. The device embodiment described above is merely schematic, and the units and modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separated. In addition, some or all of the units and modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the present embodiment. Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand and implement it without paying creative work.

[0102] The above is only a preferred implementation of the present application. Although the present application has been disclosed as a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the present application. Any technician familiar with the art can use the above disclosed methods and technical contents to make many possible changes and modifications to the technical solution of the present application without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the present application, or modify it into an equivalent embodiment of equivalent changes. Therefore, any simple modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present application without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present application still falls within the scope of protection of the technical solution of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for detecting deformation of a robot arm, characterized in that: The mechanical arm comprises a mechanical handle and mechanical teeth, and the method comprises: When the robotic arm transfers the wafer along a first direction, the transmitter is controlled to transfer the first light along a fixed angle; the mechanical handle and the mechanical teeth are arranged along the first direction; and the receiver is controlled to receive the second light and the third light respectively reflected by the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle from the first light during the transfer of the wafer; A vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth is determined according to a position where the receiver receives the second light and a position where the receiver receives the third light.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The control receiver receives the second light and the third light respectively reflected by the mechanical tooth and the mechanical handle in response to the first light during the wafer transfer process, and comprises: In the process of the mechanical arm transferring the wafer along the first direction, the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle are sequentially irradiated by the first light; When the mechanical tooth is irradiated by the first light, controlling the receiver to receive the second light reflected by the mechanical tooth; When the mechanical handle is irradiated by the first light, the receiver is controlled to receive the third light reflected by the mechanical handle.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The determining of the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth according to the position where the receiver receives the second light and the position where the receiver receives the third light comprises: determining a first offset value of the second light according to a position where the receiver receives the second light and a center position of the receiver; determining a second offset value of the third light according to a position where the receiver receives the third light and a center position of the receiver; A vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth is determined according to the first offset value and the second offset value.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that Determining the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth according to the first offset value and the second offset value comprises: The vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth is determined according to the first offset value and the second offset value, in combination with the fixed angle and the distance value between the center of the transmitter and the center of the receiver.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The mechanical tooth comprises a first mechanical tooth and a second mechanical tooth, the transmitter comprises a first transmitter and a second transmitter, and the receiver comprises a first receiver and a second receiver; The method further comprises: In the process of the robotic arm transferring the wafer along the first direction, the first emitter is controlled to emit a fourth light along the fixed angle, and the second emitter is controlled to emit a fifth light along the fixed angle, wherein the fourth light irradiates the first mechanical tooth, and the fifth light irradiates the second mechanical tooth; controlling the first receiver to respectively receive sixth light rays reflected by the first mechanical tooth from the fourth light rays in a process of transferring the wafer; controlling the second receiver to respectively receive the seventh light beam reflected by the second mechanical tooth from the fifth light beam during the process of transferring the wafer; An offset height difference between the first mechanical tooth and the second mechanical tooth is determined according to a position where the first receiver receives the fifth light and a position where the second receiver receives the seventh light.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The fixed angle is the angle between the first light ray and the normal of the emitter.

7. A mechanical arm deformation detection device, characterized in that: The device includes: a transmitter, a receiver and a controller; The emitter is arranged above or below the robot arm, and is used to emit a first light along a fixed angle when the robot arm transfers the wafer along a first direction; the robot arm comprises a mechanical handle and mechanical teeth, and the mechanical handle and the mechanical teeth are arranged along the first direction; The receiver is used to respectively receive the second light and the third light reflected by the mechanical teeth and the mechanical handle in response to the first light during the process of transferring the wafer; The controller is used to control the transmitter and the receiver, and determine the vertical height difference between the mechanical handle and the mechanical tooth according to the position where the receiver receives the second light and the position where the receiver receives the third light.

8. The device according to claim 7, characterized in that The device also includes: a lens module; the lens module is used to focus the second light and the third light onto the detector.

9. A wafer conveying device, characterized in that: The device includes a robotic arm deformation detection device as described in any one of claims 7-8, and the device also includes: a main structure, a transfer chamber is arranged in the main structure, at least one robotic arm is located in the transfer chamber, and the robotic arm deformation detection device is arranged on the main structure.

10. The device according to claim 9, characterized in that The device comprises: at least one opening, the opening is located on the side of the main structure, the robot arm transfers the wafer through the opening along the first direction; and the robot arm deformation detection device is located above the opening.

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