Pneumatic clamping jaw of single wafer cleaning equipment

Abstract

The pneumatic clamping jaw comprises an upper cover and a shell arranged at the bottom of the upper cover, a sealing cavity is formed in the inner side between the upper cover and the shell, an air outlet is formed in the upper end of the upper cover, an air inlet is formed in the side face of the upper cover, a guide column is arranged at the bottom of the inner side of the shell, and the guide column is arranged in the sealing cavity. The outer side of the upper end of the guide column is movably sleeved with a piston cylinder, a first spring is vertically arranged on the inner side of the piston cylinder, and a chamfer is arranged on the edge of the bottom of the piston cylinder. According to the pneumatic clamping jaw of the single wafer cleaning equipment, through mutual cooperation of the air inlet, the air outlet, the fixing plate, the vertical arm, the limiting bottom block, the piston cylinder, the first spring, the guide column, the push rod, the second spring and the rolling wheel, clamping of wafers can be effectively achieved, and the pneumatic clamping jaw is simple in structure, convenient to manufacture and install, small in occupied space and capable of adapting to the wafers of different sizes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of single-wafer production equipment, and in particular to a pneumatic clamp of single-wafer cleaning equipment. Background Art

[0002] In the semiconductor manufacturing process, the precise handling and positioning of wafers is the basis for ensuring the smooth progress of subsequent processing steps, especially in key links such as wafer cleaning. Its importance is particularly prominent. Traditional mechanical grippers clamp wafers through physical contact. In this process, due to factors such as the gripper material, design accuracy or improper operation, it is possible to leave fine scratches on the wafer surface or introduce contaminants, which poses a direct threat to the performance of semiconductor devices and the yield of the final product. In order to meet this challenge, the industry began to explore and practice the application of pneumatic grippers. The working principle of pneumatic grippers is based on air pressure control, which achieves gentle and stable clamping of wafers by adjusting the gas pressure. Compared with mechanical grippers, pneumatic grippers show higher flexibility and can achieve a more uniform clamping force distribution without damaging the wafer surface, which is crucial to protecting wafers from physical damage.

[0003] However, despite the great potential of pneumatic grippers in the field of semiconductor manufacturing, their current applications still face some limitations. First, the existing pneumatic gripper designs are often complex, containing multiple precision components and control systems, which not only increases the manufacturing cost, but also places higher requirements on subsequent maintenance. Secondly, most pneumatic grippers are optimized for wafers of a specific size during design and lack broad compatibility with wafers of different sizes. This has become an urgent problem to be solved in semiconductor manufacturing, especially as wafer sizes become increasingly diverse with technological advances and changes in market demand.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to propose a pneumatic clamp for single-wafer cleaning equipment to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0005] The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a pneumatic clamp for a single-wafer cleaning device, which can effectively solve the problems in the background technology.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: The cam is provided with an air outlet at the top of the cover, and an air inlet is provided at the side of the cover. A guide column is provided at the bottom of the inner side of the cover, and a piston cylinder is movably sleeved on the outer side of the upper end of the guide column, and a first spring is vertically arranged on the inner side of the piston cylinder, and a chamfer is arranged on the bottom edge of the piston cylinder. A push rod which can be displaced along the radial direction of the shell is evenly arranged around the periphery of the inner side of the shell, and an end of the push rod close to the center of the shell is rotatably connected to a roller corresponding to the bottom edge of the piston cylinder, and an end of the outer side of the push rod close to the roller is sleeved with a second spring, and the second spring is configured to be compressed when the push rod is displaced in a direction away from the center of the shell, and a fixing plate is provided at the end of the push rod away from the roller, and a vertical arm is vertically arranged at the bottom of the fixing plate, and a limiting bottom block protruding from the side wall of the vertical arm is provided at the bottom of the vertical arm.

[0007] Preferably, a pin is rotatably provided at one end of the push rod close to the center of the shell, and the roller is provided on the pin.

[0008] Preferably, the lower end of the guide column is threadedly connected to the inner bottom center of the shell.

[0009] Preferably, a sensor is provided at one end of the bottom of the housing; A bottom cover is arranged at the bottom of the shell, and a sensor through slot corresponding to the sensor is arranged at one end of the bottom cover.

[0010] Preferably, pressure blocks corresponding to the push rods are evenly arranged around the bottom of the outer periphery of the shell, and sliding grooves adapted to the push rods are arranged at the corresponding positions of the bottom of the pressure blocks and the top of the shell, and the push rod is slidably connected to the inner side of the sliding groove.

[0011] Preferably, a second rubber block is vertically arranged on the inner side of the lower end of the vertical arm.

[0012] Preferably, a piston rod is vertically arranged at the inner top of the piston cylinder, the guide column is a hollow structure, the lower end of the piston rod passes through the guide column, the shell, and the bottom cover to extend to the bottom of the bottom cover, and the piston rod is movably guided and connected to the guide column, the shell, and the bottom cover, and the bottom of the bottom cover is provided with a cylinder body corresponding to the piston rod, and a piston for movably sealingly connecting to the inner side of the cylinder body is provided at the bottom of the piston rod, an annular groove is provided on the outer periphery of the bottom of the cylinder body, a slide cylinder is vertically and movably sealedly connected to the inner side of the annular groove, a suction cup is provided at the bottom of the slide cylinder, a third spring is vertically arranged between the top of the slide cylinder and the inner top of the annular groove, and an exhaust hole connected to the annular groove is provided on the upper side wall of the cylinder body.

[0013] Preferably, the upper end side wall of the cylinder is provided with a pressure relief hole communicating with the inner cavity of the cylinder.

[0014] Preferably, a ball is evenly and movably arranged on the upper end of one side of the vertical arm facing inward along the height direction, and when the third spring is in the initial state, the bottom of the suction cup is lower than the lowest ball, and the top of the limiting bottom block is lower than the bottom of the suction cup; A second rubber block is arranged at the lower end of the inner side of the vertical arm.

[0015] Preferably, a first arc-shaped rubber block is arranged on the top of the limiting bottom block.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention provides a pneumatic clamp for a single-wafer cleaning device, which has the following beneficial effects: The pneumatic clamp of the wafer single-wafer cleaning equipment can effectively clamp the wafer through the cooperation of the air inlet, air outlet, fixing plate, vertical arm, limiting bottom block, piston cylinder, first spring, guide column, push rod, second spring and roller. It has a simple structure, is easy to manufacture and install, occupies a small space, and can control the force of clamping the wafer by adjusting the number of coils of the second spring and the first spring. The breakage rate can be reduced through debugging, and the cost can be reduced. At the same time, it can also be compatible with different wafers through the quick-change vertical arm. The pneumatic clamp of the wafer single-wafer cleaning equipment can facilitate the device to clamp the stacked wafers through the cooperation of the piston rod, cylinder, piston, annular groove, third spring, pressure relief hole, exhaust hole, slide cylinder, suction cup and ball bearing. It is linked with the piston cylinder, has a compact structure, is easy to use and improves efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention; Figure 2 is an exploded view of the present invention; Figure 3 It is a cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of the present invention; Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the vertical arm in the state of the first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional structural diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 The present invention Figure 5 Enlarged view of point A in the middle; Figure 7 The present invention Figure 5 Enlarged view of point B in the middle.

[0018] In the figure: 1. upper cover; 2. air inlet; 3. air outlet; 4. shell; 5. fixing plate; 6. vertical arm; 7. limiting bottom block; 8. piston cylinder; 9. first spring; 10. guide column; 11. pressure block; 12. slide groove; 13. push rod; 14. second spring; 15. sensor; 16. bottom cover; 17. sensor through groove; 18. pin shaft; 19. roller; 20. piston rod; 21. cylinder; 22. piston; 23. annular groove; 24. third spring; 25. pressure relief hole; 26. exhaust hole; 27. slide cylinder; 28. suction cup; 29. ​​ball bearing; 30. first rubber block; 31. second rubber block. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] In order to make the technical means, creative features, objectives and effects achieved by the present invention easy to understand, the present invention is further explained below in conjunction with specific implementation methods.

[0020] The first embodiment, as Figure 1-4 As shown, a pneumatic clamp for a single-wafer cleaning device comprises an upper cover 1 and a shell 4 arranged at the bottom of the upper cover 1, and a sealed cavity is formed inside the upper cover 1 and the shell 4, an air outlet 3 is arranged at the upper end of the upper cover 1, an air inlet 2 is arranged at the side of the upper cover 1, a guide column 10 is arranged at the central thread of the inner bottom of the shell 4, a piston cylinder 8 is movably sleeved on the outer side of the upper end of the guide column 10, a first spring 9 is vertically arranged on the inner side of the piston cylinder 8, a chamfer is arranged on the bottom edge of the piston cylinder 8, a push rod 13 which can be displaced radially along the shell 4 is evenly arranged around the periphery of the inner side of the shell 4, specifically, a pressure block 11 corresponding to the push rod 13 is evenly arranged around the bottom of the periphery of the shell 4, a slide groove 12 adapted to the push rod 13 is arranged at the bottom of the pressure block 11 and the corresponding position of the top of the shell 4, the push rod 13 is slidably connected to the inner side of the slide groove 12, and the end of the push rod 13 close to the center of the shell 4 is rotatably connected A roller 19 corresponding to the bottom edge of the piston cylinder 8 is connected. Specifically, a pin 18 is rotatably provided at one end of the push rod 13 close to the center of the shell 4, and the roller 19 is arranged on the pin 18. A second spring 14 is sleeved on one end of the outer side of the push rod 13 close to the roller 19, and the second spring 14 is configured to be compressed when the push rod 13 is displaced in a direction away from the center of the shell 4. A fixing plate 5 is provided at one end of the push rod 13 away from the roller 19, and a vertical arm 6 is vertically provided at the bottom of the fixing plate 5. A limiting bottom block 7 protruding from the side wall of the vertical arm 6 is provided at the bottom of the vertical arm 6. A sensor 15 is provided at one end of the bottom of the shell 4, and a bottom cover 16 is provided at the bottom of the shell 4. A sensor through groove 17 corresponding to the sensor 15 is provided at one end of the bottom cover 16. In order to avoid pinching, a second rubber block 31 is vertically provided on the inner side of the lower end of the vertical arm 6, and an arc-shaped first rubber block 30 is provided on the top of the limiting bottom block 7.

[0021] The second embodiment, as Figure 5-7As shown, in order to clamp the stacked wafers, different from the above scheme, a piston rod 20 is vertically arranged on the inner top of the piston cylinder 8, the guide column 10 is a hollow structure, the lower end of the piston rod 20 passes through the guide column 10, the shell 4, and the bottom cover 16 to extend to the bottom of the bottom cover 16, and the piston rod 20 is movably guided and connected with the guide column 10, the shell 4, and the bottom cover 16, and the bottom of the bottom cover 16 is provided with a cylinder 21 corresponding to the piston rod 20, and the bottom of the piston rod 20 is provided with a piston 22 for movably sealingly connecting with the inner side of the cylinder 21, and an annular groove 23 is arranged on the outer periphery of the bottom of the cylinder 21, and a slide cylinder 27 is vertically and movably sealedly connected to the inner side of the annular groove 23. A suction cup 28 is arranged at the bottom, a third spring 24 is vertically arranged between the top of the slide cylinder 27 and the inner top of the annular groove 23, an exhaust hole 26 connected with the annular groove 23 is arranged on the upper end side wall of the cylinder 21, and a pressure relief hole 25 connected with the inner cavity of the cylinder 21 is arranged on the upper end side wall of the cylinder 21. In order to facilitate the wafer to be pushed down and displaced by the suction cup 28, a ball 29 is uniformly arranged along the height direction at the upper end of the inner side of the vertical arm 6, and when the third spring 24 is in the initial state, the bottom of the suction cup 28 is lower than the lowest ball 29, and the top of the limiting bottom block 7 is lower than the bottom of the suction cup 28. In order to avoid clamping, a second rubber block 31 is arranged at the lower end of the inner side of the vertical arm 6.

[0022] Working principle: For the handling and cleaning of wafers that are not stacked, the device is connected to a manipulator or a similar device that drives the device to move, and the air inlet 2 and the air outlet 3 can be controlled by an external air pump. When in use, the manipulator moves the device above the wafer. After the sensor 15 detects that it is in place, the air pump supplies air to the air inlet 2, and then the piston cylinder 8 is pressed down, the first spring 9 is compressed, and the lower end of the piston cylinder 8 can push the roller 19, and then the push rod 13 is pushed outward, the second spring 14 is compressed, and the fixing plate 5 The vertical arm 6 and the limiting bottom block 7 are driven to move outward as a whole until the limiting bottom block 7 is completely located outside the wafer, and then the manipulator continues to drive the device to move downward as a whole until the limiting bottom block 7 is located below the wafer, and then the air outlet 3 releases air, the first spring 9 is reset, the piston cylinder 8 moves up, the second spring 14 is reset, and the push rod 13 drives the vertical arm 6 and the limiting bottom block 7 to move inward as a whole through the fixing plate 5, and then the second rubber block 31 on the side of the vertical arm 6 clamps the wafer. If the wafer is small, it can be supported by the first rubber block 30 on the top of the limiting bottom block 7; The handling and cleaning of stacked wafers is similar to the above-mentioned separation. The device is also moved to the top of the wafer. The difference from the above is that when the piston cylinder 8 moves downward, it will also drive the piston rod 20 to move downward, and then the piston rod 20 pushes the piston 22 to move downward, and then the suction cup 28 is attached to the top of the wafer. Finally, when the air is exhausted through the air outlet 3, the piston cylinder 8 moves upward and drives the piston rod 20 to move upward. Due to the negative pressure, the wafer is driven upward, and the slide cylinder 27 moves upward in the annular groove 23 to compress the third spring 24 for adaptation. After the top wafer is separated from the bottom wafer, the robot moves the wafer away through the device. When the piston 22 has not reached the top of the pressure relief hole 25, one end of the limit bottom block 7 will move to the bottom of the wafer, and the vertical arm 6 clamps the wafer through the ball 29. As the piston rod 20 moves upward, the piston 22 will move to the top of the pressure relief hole 25, and then the pressure inside the suction cup 28 will be relieved, the third spring 24 will reset and move downward, and then the wafer will be pushed downward by the suction cup 28, and then the wafer will be separated from the ball 29 and reach the second rubber block 31, clamped by the second rubber block 31, or supported by the first rubber block 30. Since the bottom of the suction cup 28 is lower than the lowest ball 29 in the initial state of the third spring 24, and the top of the limiting bottom block 7 is lower than the bottom of the suction cup 28, a gap will be formed between the wafer pushed down by the suction cup 28 and the suction cup 28, so that the covering of the wafer by the suction cup 28 can be reduced during subsequent cleaning, which will not affect the cleaning. In addition, the ball 29 is arc-shaped and is in line contact with the bottom of the wafer, so it will not affect the cleaning.

[0023] The above shows and describes the basic principles and main features of the present invention and the advantages of the present invention. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The above embodiments and descriptions are only for explaining the principles of the present invention. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, the present invention may have various changes and improvements, which fall within the scope of the present invention to be protected. The scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the attached claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A pneumatic gripper for a wafer single-wafer cleaning device, characterized in that: The invention comprises an upper cover (1) and a shell (4) arranged at the bottom of the upper cover (1), wherein a sealed cavity is formed inside the upper cover (1) and the shell (4), wherein an air outlet (3) is arranged at the upper end of the upper cover (1), an air inlet (2) is arranged at the side of the upper cover (1), a guide column (10) is arranged at the bottom of the inner side of the shell (4), a piston cylinder (8) is movably sleeved on the outer side of the upper end of the guide column (10), a first spring (9) is vertically arranged inside the piston cylinder (8), a chamfer is arranged on the bottom edge of the piston cylinder (8), and a spring (9) is evenly arranged on the outer periphery of the inner side of the shell (4) which can be radially positioned along the shell (4) A push rod (13) is provided for displacement, one end of the push rod (13) close to the center of the housing (4) is rotatably connected to a roller (19) corresponding to the bottom edge of the piston cylinder (8), one end of the outer side of the push rod (13) close to the roller (19) is sleeved with a second spring (14), and the second spring (14) is configured to be compressed when the push rod (13) is displaced in a direction away from the center of the housing (4), and a fixing plate (5) is provided at one end of the push rod (13) away from the roller (19), a vertical arm (6) is vertically provided at the bottom of the fixing plate (5), and a limiting bottom block (7) is provided at the bottom of the vertical arm (6) and protrudes from the side wall of the vertical arm (6).

2. The pneumatic gripper of a wafer single-wafer cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A pin shaft (18) is rotatably arranged at one end of the push rod (13) close to the center of the housing (4), and the roller (19) is arranged on the pin shaft (18).

3. The pneumatic gripper of a wafer single-wafer cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lower end of the guide column (10) is threadedly connected to the center of the inner bottom of the housing (4).

4. The pneumatic gripper of a wafer cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A sensor (15) is provided at one end of the bottom of the housing (4); A bottom cover (16) is provided at the bottom of the housing (4), and a sensor through slot (17) corresponding to the sensor (15) is provided at one end of the bottom cover (16).

5. The pneumatic gripper of a wafer single-wafer cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom of the outer periphery of the shell (4) is evenly surrounded by pressure blocks (11) corresponding to the push rods (13), and the bottom of the pressure blocks (11) and the corresponding positions of the top of the shell (4) are both provided with sliding grooves (12) adapted to the push rods (13), and the push rods (13) are slidably connected to the inner side of the sliding grooves (12).

6. The pneumatic gripper of a wafer single-wafer cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A second rubber block (31) is vertically arranged on the inward side of the lower end of the vertical arm (6).

7. The pneumatic gripper of a wafer single-wafer cleaning device according to claim 4, characterized in that: A piston rod (20) is vertically arranged at the inner top of the piston cylinder (8); the guide column (10) is a hollow structure; the lower end of the piston rod (20) passes through the guide column (10), the housing (4), and the bottom cover (16) and extends to the bottom of the bottom cover (16); the piston rod (20) is movably guided and connected to the guide column (10), the housing (4), and the bottom cover (16); a cylinder (21) corresponding to the piston rod (20) is arranged at the bottom of the bottom cover (16); A piston (22) is provided for being movably sealedly connected to the inner side of a cylinder (21); an annular groove (23) is provided on the outer periphery of the bottom of the cylinder (21); a slide cylinder (27) is vertically movably sealedly connected to the inner side of the annular groove (23); a suction cup (28) is provided at the bottom of the slide cylinder (27); a third spring (24) is vertically provided between the top of the slide cylinder (27) and the inner top of the annular groove (23); and an exhaust hole (26) is provided on the upper side wall of the cylinder (21) and is connected to the annular groove (23).

8. The pneumatic gripper of a wafer single-wafer cleaning device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The upper end side wall of the cylinder (21) is provided with a pressure relief hole (25) which is in communication with the inner cavity of the cylinder (21).

9. The pneumatic gripper of a wafer single-wafer cleaning device according to claim 8, characterized in that: A ball (29) is evenly arranged on the upper end of one side of the vertical arm (6) facing inwards and moves along the height direction, and when the third spring (24) is in the initial state, the bottom of the suction cup (28) is lower than the lowest ball (29), and the top of the limiting bottom block (7) is lower than the bottom of the suction cup (28); A second rubber block (31) is provided at the lower end of the inner side of the vertical arm (6).

10. The pneumatic gripper of a wafer cleaning device according to claim 9, characterized in that: A first arc-shaped rubber block (30) is arranged on the top of the limiting bottom block (7).

Images