Rotary epitaxial device and wafer bearing assembly

Abstract

The invention discloses a rotary epitaxial device and a wafer bearing assembly. The wafer bearing assembly comprises a bearing disc and a protection piece which is detachably installed on the bearing disc. The bearing disc is provided with a plurality of wafer grooves which are concavely arranged from the top surface of the bearing disc, and each wafer groove comprises an accommodating area for accommodating a wafer. The bearing disc can pass through the circle center of the top surface to define two tangent lines with the groove top edge of each wafer groove. And the groove top edge of each wafer groove is provided with an inner tangent section which is adjacent to the circle center and is positioned between the two tangent lines. The protection piece is provided with a plurality of blocking parts, and the blocking parts respectively span the inner cutting sections of the plurality of wafer grooves but are not located in the areas of the corresponding wafer grooves. Therefore, the protection piece is configured under the condition that the epitaxial operation is almost not influenced, so that the possibility that the wafer is separated from the wafer bearing assembly (or flies) is effectively reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an epitaxial device, and in particular to a rotary epitaxial device and a wafer bearing component. Background Art

[0002] When an existing wafer carrier carries multiple wafers for epitaxy, any of the wafers may be detached from the existing wafer carrier, which will cause the chamber where the epitaxy is performed to be contaminated, thereby contaminating other wafers. However, the existing wafer carrier does not have a suitable structure to avoid or reduce the occurrence rate of the above problems. Therefore, the inventor believes that the above defects can be improved, and has devoted himself to research and combined with the application of scientific principles, and finally proposed a reasonable design and effective improvement of the above defects of the present invention. Summary of the invention

[0003] The embodiment of the present invention provides a rotary epitaxial wafer device and a wafer carrying assembly, which can effectively improve the defects that may occur in the existing wafer carrier.

[0004] The embodiment of the present invention discloses a rotary epitaxial wafer device, which includes: a carrier plate, which has a plurality of wafer slots recessed from its top surface, and the carrier plate can define two tangent lines with the top edge of each wafer slot through the center of the top surface; wherein the top edge of each wafer slot has an inscribed segment, which is adjacent to the center of the circle and located between the two tangent lines; the center line of each wafer slot is separated from the top edge of the slot by a slot radius; wherein each wafer slot includes: a receiving area, which is used to accommodate a wafer therein; and

[0005] A buffer area, which is located between the top surface and the accommodating area, and the buffer area is connected to the accommodating area and has a groove top edge; a protective member, which is detachably mounted on a carrier plate; wherein the protective member has a plurality of blocking portions, which respectively span the inscribed segments of a plurality of wafer grooves but are not within the accommodating areas of the corresponding wafer grooves; wherein each blocking portion is separated from the center line of the corresponding wafer groove by a limiting distance, which is less than the groove radius of the corresponding wafer groove but greater than or equal to 95% of the groove radius; and an equipment body, which is defined with a rotation axis, and the carrier plate is mounted on the equipment body; wherein the center of the carrier plate is located at the rotation axis, so that the equipment body can drive the carrier plate to rotate along a rotation direction with the rotation axis as the axis.

[0006] Preferably, the protective member has a plurality of mounting portions spaced apart from each other, which are respectively connected to the plurality of blocking portions, and each mounting portion is screwed to the carrier plate in a screwing direction opposite to the rotation direction.

[0007] Preferably, the protective member has a mounting portion connected to the plurality of blocking portions, and the mounting portion is screwed to the center of the supporting disk along the rotation axis in a screwing direction opposite to the rotation direction.

[0008] Preferably, the protective member has a mounting portion connected to the plurality of blocking portions, and the mounting portion is screwed to the carrier plate in a screwing direction opposite to the rotation direction and surrounds the outer side of the center of the circle.

[0009] Preferably, the mounting portion has a guide surface away from the blocking portion, and a guide angle between the guide surface and the top surface is less than or equal to 45 degrees.

[0010] Preferably, the mounting portion includes: a screw-locking ring body, which is screwed to the carrying plate; and an operating ring body, which is connected to a plurality of blocking portions, and the operating ring body can be pressed in a direction parallel to the rotation axis and pressed against the screw-locking ring body to move from a separation position to a combination position; wherein, when the operating ring body is in the separation position, the screw-locking ring body can only be pushed by the operating ring body rotating in the screw-locking direction; when the operating ring body is in the combination position, the screw-locking ring body can be pushed by the operating ring body rotating in the rotation direction or the screw-locking direction.

[0011] Preferably, each blocking portion is not located within the buffer region of the corresponding wafer slot.

[0012] The embodiment of the present invention also discloses a wafer carrier assembly, which includes: a carrier plate, which has a plurality of wafer grooves recessed from its top surface, and the carrier plate can define two tangents with the top edge of each wafer groove through the center of the circle of the top surface; wherein the top edge of each wafer groove has an inscribed segment, which is adjacent to the center of the circle and located between the two tangents; the center line of each wafer groove is separated from the top edge of the groove by a groove radius; wherein each wafer groove includes: a accommodating area, which is used to accommodate a wafer therein; and a buffer area, which is located between the top surface and the accommodating area, and the buffer area is connected to the accommodating area and has a groove top edge; and a protective member, which is detachably mounted on the carrier plate; wherein the protective member has a plurality of blocking parts, which respectively span the inscribed segments of a plurality of wafer grooves but are not within the accommodating area of ​​the corresponding wafer groove; wherein each blocking part is separated from the center line of the corresponding wafer groove by a limiting distance, which is less than the groove radius of the corresponding wafer groove but greater than or equal to 95% of the groove radius.

[0013] Preferably, each blocking portion has a central angle relative to a center line of the corresponding wafer slot, which is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 5 degrees.

[0014] Preferably, each wafer slot is defined by a preset radial direction passing through its center line and the center of the circle, and each blocking portion is disposed on the preset radial direction corresponding to the wafer slot.

[0015] Preferably, each blocking portion shields within 25% of the top edge of the corresponding wafer groove along a direction parallel to any center line.

[0016] Preferably, along a direction parallel to any center line, each blocking portion is separated from the accommodating area of ​​the corresponding wafer slot by a distance greater than 0 and less than or equal to 5% of the slot radius.

[0017] Preferably, the blocking portion is formed with an arc-shaped protrusion, which is located in the buffer area corresponding to the wafer groove but not in the accommodating area corresponding to the wafer groove.

[0018] Preferably, each blocking portion protrudes from the top surface to the top edge of the corresponding wafer slot at a distance less than or equal to 3 mm, and the protective element has a height less than or equal to 1.5 mm relative to the top surface of the carrier plate.

[0019] The embodiment of the present invention further discloses a wafer carrying assembly, which includes: a carrying plate, which has a plurality of wafer grooves recessed from its top surface; wherein the center line of each wafer groove is separated from the top edge of the groove by a groove radius; wherein each wafer groove includes: a accommodating area, which is used to accommodate a wafer therein; and a buffer area, which is located between the top surface and the accommodating area, and the buffer area is connected to the accommodating area and has a groove top edge; and a plurality of protective members, each of which is detachably mounted on the carrying plate; wherein each protective member has: a mounting portion, which is annular and screwed to the carrying plate, and the mounting portion surrounds the outer side of a wafer groove; and a plurality of blocking portions, which are connected to the inner edge of the mounting portion, and the plurality of blocking portions span the groove top edge of the corresponding wafer groove but are not within the accommodating area of ​​the corresponding wafer groove; wherein each blocking portion is separated from the center line of the corresponding wafer groove by a limiting distance, which is less than the groove radius of the corresponding wafer groove but greater than or equal to 95% of the groove radius.

[0020] Preferably, the mounting portion includes: a screw-locking ring body, which is screwed to the carrier plate along a screw-locking direction; and an operating ring body, which is connected to a plurality of blocking portions, and the operating ring body can be pressed along a direction parallel to any center line and pressed against the screw-locking ring body to move from a separation position to a combination position; wherein, when the operating ring body is in the separation position, the screw-locking ring body can only be pushed by the operating ring body rotating along the screw-locking direction; when the operating ring body is in the combination position, the screw-locking ring body can be pushed by the operating ring body rotating along the screw-locking direction or in a rotation direction opposite to the screw-locking direction.

[0021] Preferably, in each protective element, the plurality of blocking portions have a sum of central angles relative to a center line of the corresponding wafer slot, which is greater than 0 degree and less than or equal to 75 degrees.

[0022] Preferably, in each protective member, the plurality of blocking portions shield within 25% of the top edge of the corresponding wafer groove along a direction parallel to any center line.

[0023] Preferably, the number of the multiple blocking parts of each protective element is defined as n, and n is a positive integer greater than 1; wherein each protective element is n-fold rotationally symmetric relative to the center line of the corresponding wafer slot.

[0024] Preferably, n is further limited to be between 3 and 15.

[0025] To summarize, the rotary epitaxial wafer equipment and wafer carrier assembly disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention are configured with at least one blocking portion that meets the default conditions (such as: the limiting distance is less than the groove radius, but greater than or equal to 95% of the groove radius) through the inscribed section (or the top edge of the groove) of each wafer groove, so as to configure at least one protective member without affecting the epitaxial wafer operation, thereby effectively reducing the possibility of the wafer detaching from the wafer carrier assembly (or flying wafers).

[0026] To further understand the features and technical contents of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings of the present invention. However, such description and drawings are only used to illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a rotary epitaxial device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the exploded view of the wafer carrier assembly in FIG.

[0029] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a top view of a wafer supporting assembly when no wafer is supported.

[0030] Figure 3A for Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the enlarged IIIA region.

[0031] Figure 4 for Figure 1 Schematic cross-sectional view along section line IV-IV.

[0032] Figure 4A for Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the enlarged IVA region.

[0033] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Another cross-sectional view.

[0034] Figure 5A for Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the enlarged VA region.

[0035] Figure 6 for Figure 4 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of another form.

[0036] Fig. 6A for Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the enlarged VIA region.

[0037] Figure 7 for Figure 3 Another schematic top view.

[0038] Fig. 7A for Figure 7 Schematic enlargement of region VIIA.

[0039] Figure 8 for Figure 3 A schematic top view of another form.

[0040] Fig. 8A for Figure 8 A magnified schematic diagram of region VIIIA.

[0041] Fig. 9 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a wafer supporting assembly according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Fig.10 for Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of the decomposition.

[0043] Fig.11 for Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of top view when no wafer is loaded.

[0044] Fig.11A for Fig.11 Schematic enlargement of the XIA region.

[0045] Fig.12 for Fig. 9 Schematic cross-sectional view along section line XII-XII.

[0046] Fig. 12A for Fig.12 A magnified schematic diagram of the XIIA region.

[0047] Fig.13 for Fig.12 Another cross-sectional view.

[0048] Fig.13A for Fig.13 Schematic enlargement of the XIIIA region. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] The following is an explanation of the implementation methods of the "rotary epitaxial device and wafer carrier assembly" disclosed in the present invention through specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art can understand the advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. The present invention can be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified and changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the concept of the present invention. In addition, the drawings of the present invention are only simple schematic illustrations and are not depicted according to actual dimensions. It is stated in advance. The following implementation methods will further explain the relevant technical contents of the present invention in detail, but the disclosed contents are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0050] It should be understood that, although the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. may be used herein to describe various components or signals, these components or signals should not be limited by these terms. These terms are mainly used to distinguish one component from another component, or one signal from another signal. In addition, the term "or" used herein may include any one or more combinations of the associated listed items depending on the actual situation.

[0051] [Example 1]

[0052] See also Figures 1 to 8A As shown, it is the first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment discloses a rotary epitaxial device 1000, which includes a device body 200, a carrier plate 1 installed on the device body 200, and a protective member 2 detachably installed on the carrier plate 1, but is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the device body 200 defines a rotation axis L1, the carrier plate 1 (top surface 11) is substantially circular and its center 111 is located on the rotation axis L1, so that the device body 200 can drive the carrier plate 1 to rotate along a rotation direction 100 (such as: Figure 1 counterclockwise in the direction of rotation.

[0053] It should be noted that the carrier plate 1 and the protective member 2 in this embodiment can also be collectively referred to as a wafer carrier assembly 100, and although the wafer carrier assembly 100 is described in conjunction with the device body 200, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in other embodiments not shown in the present invention, the wafer carrier assembly 100 can also be used alone (such as: sold) or used in conjunction with other devices. The following will first describe the various components of the wafer carrier assembly 100, and then explain the connection relationship between the various components in due course.

[0054] like Figures 2 to 4AAs shown, the carrier plate 1 has a plurality of wafer slots 12 recessed from the top surface 11, and an assembly slot 13 located inside the plurality of wafer slots 12. The plurality of wafer slots 12 are preferably arranged at equal intervals from each other, and the assembly slot 13 is annular and surrounds the center 111 of the top surface 11 (that is, the center of the assembly slot 13 also falls on the rotation axis L1, or overlaps with the center 111), but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0055] To facilitate understanding of this embodiment, the number of the plurality of wafer slots 12 and their corresponding structures (such as the blocking portion 21 described below) are shown in three figures and described accordingly, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, in other embodiments not shown in the present invention, the number of the plurality of wafer slots 12 and their corresponding structures can be adjusted and varied according to design requirements (such as five).

[0056] Furthermore, since the plurality of wafer slots 12 in this embodiment adopt substantially the same structure, for ease of description, only the structure of one wafer slot 12 is described below, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments not shown in the present invention, the structures of the plurality of wafer slots 12 may also be slightly different.

[0057] In this embodiment, when viewed from a top view of the carrier plate 1 (eg: Figure 3 and Figure 3A ), the carrier plate 1 can define two tangent lines L1211 through the center 111 of the top surface 11 and the top edge 121 of the wafer slot 12. The top edge 121 of the wafer slot 12 has an inscribed segment 1211, which is adjacent to the center 111 and located between the two tangent lines L1211.

[0058] In addition, if Figures 2 to 4A As shown, the wafer slot 12 is defined with a center line L12 perpendicular to the slot bottom 122 and passing through the center of the slot top edge 121, and the wafer slot 12 is defined with a preset radial direction P12 passing through the center line L12 and the center 111 of the carrier plate 1. The center line L12 of the wafer slot 12 is separated from the slot top edge 121 by a slot radius D12, and the radius of the slot bottom 122 is not less than (e.g., greater than) the slot radius D12.

[0059] In other words, the wafer slot 12 includes a receiving area 123 and a buffer area 124 located between the top surface 11 and the receiving area 123. The receiving area 123 has the slot bottom 122 and is used to accommodate a wafer W therein, and the buffer area 124 is connected to the receiving area 123 and has the slot top edge 121.

[0060] In this embodiment, the protective member 2 has a plurality of blocking portions 21 and an installation portion 22 connected to the plurality of blocking portions 21, and the protective member 2 can be detachably installed on the carrier plate 1 through the cooperation between the installation portion 22 and the assembly groove 13, so that the plurality of blocking portions 21 respectively span the inscribed segments 1211 of the plurality of wafer grooves 12, but are not within the accommodating area 123 corresponding to the wafer groove 12.

[0061] That is, each of the blocking portions 21 in this embodiment does not directly touch the wafer W placed in the corresponding wafer slot 12, thereby effectively reducing the contact area between the blocking portion 21 and the wafer W, and thus does not completely suppress the warpage of the wafer W. Furthermore, each of the blocking portions 21 is separated from the center line L12 of the corresponding wafer slot 12 by a limiting distance D21, which is less than the slot radius D12 of the corresponding wafer slot 12 but greater than or equal to 95% of the slot radius D12.

[0062] It should be additionally explained that the airflow formed by the equipment body 200 during operation mostly flows from top to bottom toward the center 111 of the carrier plate 1, and then flows along the top surface 11 of the carrier plate 1. Therefore, the inscribed section 1211 of each wafer slot 12 is equivalent to intersecting the flow direction of the airflow at a large angle, thereby making the portion of the wafer W adjacent to the inscribed section 1211 easier to be blown up by the airflow.

[0063] As described above, in this embodiment, the wafer carrier assembly 100 is configured with a blocking portion 21 that meets the default conditions (such as: the limit distance D21 is less than the groove radius D12, but greater than or equal to 95% of the groove radius D12) through the inscribed segment 1211 of each wafer groove 12, so as to configure the protective member 2 without affecting the epitaxial operation, thereby effectively reducing the possibility of the wafer W detaching from the wafer carrier assembly 100 (or flying).

[0064] In addition, since the plurality of blocking portions 21 in this embodiment adopts substantially the same structure, for the sake of convenience, the following only introduces the structure of one blocking portion 21 and its connection relationship with the corresponding wafer slot 12, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments not shown in the present invention, the structures of the plurality of blocking portions 21 may also be slightly different.

[0065] In this embodiment, in order to reduce the influence of the protective member 2 on the epitaxial operation and effectively prevent the wafer W from being separated, the blocking portion 21 preferably has at least a portion of the following technical features.

[0066] like Figure 4 and Figure 4A As shown, the blocking portion 21 protrudes from the top surface 11 of the carrier plate 1 to the top edge 121 of the wafer slot 12 at a distance D21' less than or equal to 3 mm; that is, the blocking portion 21 falls above the buffer area 124 at the distance D21'. Furthermore, along the direction parallel to the center line L12 (e.g., thickness direction T), the blocking portion 21 is separated from the accommodating area 123 of the wafer slot 12 by a distance G, which is preferably greater than 0 and less than or equal to 5% of the slot radius D12.

[0067] Further, in this embodiment Figure 4 and Figure 4A In the embodiment, the blocking portion 21 is not located in the buffer region 124 corresponding to the wafer slot 12, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Figure 5 and Figure 5A As shown, in order to further reduce the contact area between the blocking portion 21 and the wafer W, the blocking portion 21 (the bottom edge) can be formed with an arc-shaped protrusion 211, which is located in the buffer area 124 of the wafer groove 12 but not in the accommodating area 123 of the wafer groove 12.

[0068] To put it another way, Figures 2 to 4A As shown, the blocking portion 21 shields within 25% of the top edge 121 of the wafer slot 12 along the direction parallel to the center line L12 (e.g., the thickness direction T). The blocking portion 21 has a central angle σ21 relative to the center line L12 of the wafer slot 12, which is preferably greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 5 degrees, and the blocking portion 21 is disposed on the preset radial direction P12 of the wafer slot 12. For example, the central angle of the top edge 121 of the slot is 360 degrees, so when the central angle σ21 of the blocking portion 21 is 5 degrees, the blocking portion 21 roughly shields 1.4% of the top edge 121 of the slot along the thickness direction T (that is, 5 degrees / 360 degrees).

[0069] In other words, the wafer carrier assembly 100 in this embodiment is limited by the structural design of the blocking portion 21 and the position of the blocking portion 21, so that each wafer slot 12 only needs to be equipped with a single blocking portion 21 to effectively prevent the wafer W from falling off, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in other embodiments not shown in the present invention, any of the wafer slots 12 can be equipped with a blocking portion 21 such as Figure 3 and Figure 3A On the premise of the single blocking portion 21 shown, other blocking portions are further provided.

[0070] The plurality of blocking portions 21 may be a single-piece graphite structure integrally connected to the outer edge of the mounting portion 22, and the protective member 2 preferably has a height H2 less than or equal to 1.5 mm relative to the top surface 11 of the carrier plate 1, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Figure 6 and Fig. 6A As shown, in order to prevent the mounting portion 22 from obstructing the flow of the airflow, the mounting portion 22 may further have a guide surface 221 away from the blocking portion 21 , which has a guide angle σ221 less than or equal to 45 degrees with the top surface 11 .

[0071] Furthermore, if Figures 2 to 4A As shown, the mounting portion 22 is screwed in a direction R2 opposite to the rotation direction 100 (eg: Figure 3 The protective member 2 is screwed to the carrier plate 1 (the assembly groove 13) and surrounds the outer side of the circle center 111 to prevent the protective member 2 from loosening relative to the carrier plate 1 during the rotation of the device body 200, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, Figure 7 and Fig. 7A As shown, the mounting portion 22 may also be screwed to the center 111 of the carrier plate 1 along the screwing direction R2.

[0072] In more detail, the mounting portion 22 in this embodiment includes a screw-locking ring body 222 and an operating ring body 223 that can rotate relative to each other, the screw-locking ring body 222 is screwed on the supporting plate 1 (such as: the assembly groove 13), the operating ring body 223 (the outer edge) is connected to the plurality of blocking portions 21, and the operating ring body 223 is sleeved on the outer side of the screw-locking ring body 222 so that the operating ring body 223 can rotate relative to the screw-locking ring body 222 with the rotation axis L1 as the axis.

[0073] Furthermore, the operating ring body 223 can be pressed along a direction parallel to the rotation axis L1 (eg, the thickness direction T) to be pressed against the screw lock ring body 222 to move from a separation position to a combination position (eg, Figure 4 and Figure 4A ). When the operating ring body 223 is in the separated position, the screw lock ring body 222 can only be pushed by the operating ring body 223 rotating along the screw lock direction R2; when the operating ring body 223 is in the combined position, the screw lock ring body 222 can be pushed by the operating ring body 223 rotating along the rotation direction 100 or the screw lock direction R2. Accordingly, the wafer carrier assembly 100 can further prevent the protective member 2 from loosening relative to the carrier plate 1 during the rotation of the device body 200.

[0074] It should be noted that the protection member 2 is described in the above content as a single-piece structure in which one mounting portion 22 is connected to a plurality of blocking portions 21, but the structure of the protection member 2 can also be adjusted and varied according to design requirements. Figure 8 and Fig. 8A As shown, the protective member 2 may have a plurality of mounting portions 22 spaced apart from each other, which are respectively connected to the plurality of blocking portions 21. Each mounting portion 22 is screwed to the carrier plate 1 in the screwing direction R2. In other words, the protective member 2 may include a plurality of components, the number of which is preferably equal to the number of the plurality of wafer slots 12.

[0075] [Example 2]

[0076] See also Figures 9 to 13A As shown, this is the second embodiment of the present invention. Since this embodiment is similar to the above-mentioned first embodiment, the similarities between the two embodiments will not be described in detail, and the differences between this embodiment and the above-mentioned first embodiment are roughly described as follows:

[0077] In this embodiment, if Fig. 9 and Fig.10 As shown, the wafer carrier assembly 100 includes a carrier plate 1 and a plurality of protective members 2 each detachably mounted on the carrier plate 1. It should be noted that the structure of the carrier plate 1 is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and the only difference is that the number of the assembly slots 13 of the carrier plate 1 is multiple; wherein each assembly slot 13 surrounds the outer side of a wafer slot 12, and the center of each assembly slot 13 falls on the center line L12 of the corresponding wafer slot 12.

[0078] Furthermore, since the plurality of protection members 2 in this embodiment adopts substantially the same structure, for the sake of convenience, the following only introduces the structure of one protection member 2 and its connection relationship with the corresponding assembly groove 13, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments not shown in the present invention, the structures of the plurality of protection members 2 may also be slightly different.

[0079] like Figures 10 to 12A As shown, the protective member 2 has a ring-shaped mounting portion 22 and a plurality of blocking portions 21 (at intervals) connected to the inner edge of the mounting portion 22. In this embodiment, the plurality of blocking portions 21 may be a single-piece graphite structure integrally connected to the mounting portion 22, and the protective member 2 preferably has a height H2 less than or equal to 1.5 mm relative to the top surface 11 of the carrier plate 1, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0080] Specifically, the mounting portion 22 is screwed to (the assembly slot 13 of) the carrier plate 1, and the mounting portion 22 surrounds the outer side of one of the wafer slots 12. The plurality of blocking portions 21 span the slot top edge 121 of the wafer slot 12, but are not within the accommodating area 123 of the wafer slot 12. Each blocking portion 21 is separated from the center line L12 of the wafer slot 12 by a limiting distance D21, which is less than the slot radius D12 of the corresponding wafer slot 12, but greater than or equal to 95% of the slot radius D12.

[0081] Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the wafer carrier assembly 100 is configured with a plurality of blocking portions 21 that meet the default conditions (e.g., the limiting distance D21 is less than the groove radius D12, but greater than or equal to 95% of the groove radius D12) for each wafer groove 12, so as to configure the protective member 2 without affecting the epitaxial operation, thereby effectively reducing the possibility of the wafer W detaching (or flying) from the wafer carrier assembly 100. Furthermore, the structure of the protective member 2 of the wafer carrier assembly 100 enables the positions of the plurality of blocking portions 21 to be not limited to the inscribed section as in the first embodiment.

[0082] In this embodiment, in order to reduce the influence of the protective member 2 on the epitaxial operation and effectively prevent the wafer W from falling off, the plurality of blocking portions 21 of the protective member 2 preferably have at least a portion of the following technical features.

[0083] The number of the blocking portions 21 of the protection member 2 is defined as n, and n is a positive integer greater than 1. The protection member 2 preferably has n-fold rotational symmetry relative to the center line L12 of the wafer slot 12, and n can be further limited to be between 3 and 15.

[0084] In more detail, the plurality of blocking portions 21 of the protective member 2 shield within 25% of the slot top edge 121 of the corresponding wafer slot 12 along a direction parallel to the center line L12 (e.g., the thickness direction T). In addition, the plurality of blocking portions 21 of the protective member 2 have a sum of central angles (e.g., the sum of the plurality of central angles σ21) relative to the center line L12 of the corresponding wafer slot 12, which is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 75 degrees. For example, the central angle of the slot top edge 121 is 360 degrees, so when the sum of the central angles of the plurality of blocking portions 21 is 75 degrees, the plurality of blocking portions 21 shield approximately 20.8% of the slot top edge 121 along the thickness direction T (i.e., 75 degrees / 360 degrees).

[0085] In addition, the structure of the mounting portion 22 in this embodiment is preferably similar to that of the first embodiment described above. Figure 4 Specifically, Figures 10 to 12A As shown, the mounting portion 22 in this embodiment includes a screw-locking ring body 222 and an operating ring body 223 which can rotate relative to each other, the screw-locking ring body 222 is screwed to the carrier plate 1 (such as the assembly groove 13) along the screw-locking direction R2, the operating ring body 223 (the inner edge) is connected to the plurality of blocking portions 21, and the operating ring body 223 is sleeved on the outer side of the screw-locking ring body 222, so that the operating ring body 223 can rotate relative to the screw-locking ring body 222 with the center line L12 as the axis.

[0086] Furthermore, the operating ring body 223 can be pressed along a direction parallel to the rotation axis L1 (eg, the thickness direction T) to be pressed against the screw lock ring body 222 to move from a separation position to a combination position (eg, Fig.12 ). When the operating ring body 223 is in the separated position, the screw lock ring body 222 can only be pushed by the operating ring body 223 rotating along the screw lock direction R2; when the operating ring body 223 is in the combined position, the screw lock ring body 222 can be pushed by the operating ring body 223 rotating along the rotation direction 100 or the screw lock direction R2. Accordingly, the wafer carrier assembly 100 can further prevent the protective member 2 from loosening relative to the carrier plate 1 during the rotation of the device body 200.

[0087] In addition, if Fig.13 and Fig.13A As shown, in order to prevent the mounting portion 22 from obstructing the flow of the airflow, the mounting portion 22 in this embodiment may further have a guide surface 221 away from the blocking portion 21, which has a guide angle σ221 less than or equal to 45 degrees with the top surface 11 of the carrier plate 1, but is not limited to this.

[0088] [Technical Effects of Embodiments of the Invention]

[0089] To summarize, the rotary epitaxial wafer equipment and wafer carrier assembly disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention are configured with at least one blocking portion that meets the default conditions (such as: the limiting distance is less than the groove radius, but greater than or equal to 95% of the groove radius) through the inscribed section (or the top edge of the groove) of each wafer groove, so as to configure at least one protective member without affecting the epitaxial wafer operation, thereby effectively reducing the possibility of the wafer detaching from the wafer carrier assembly (or flying wafers).

[0090] The contents disclosed above are only preferred feasible embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical changes made using the contents of the present invention's specification and drawings are included in the patent scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A rotary epitaxial device, characterized in that: The rotary epitaxy device comprises: A carrier plate, having a plurality of wafer slots recessed from a top surface thereof, and the carrier plate can define two tangent lines with the top edge of each wafer slot through the center of the circle of the top surface; wherein the top edge of each wafer slot has an inscribed segment, the inscribed segment is adjacent to the center of the circle and is located between the two tangent lines; the center line of each wafer slot is separated from the top edge by a slot radius; wherein each wafer slot comprises: a receiving area for receiving a wafer; and a buffer area, which is located between the top surface and the accommodating area, and the buffer area is connected to the accommodating area and has the groove top edge; a protective member detachably mounted on the carrier plate; wherein the protective member has a plurality of blocking portions, which respectively span the inscribed sections of a plurality of the wafer slots but are not within the accommodating area corresponding to the wafer slot; wherein each of the blocking portions is separated from the center line of the corresponding wafer slot by a limiting distance, which is less than the slot radius of the corresponding wafer slot but greater than or equal to 95% of the slot radius; and A device body is defined with a rotation axis, and the carrier plate is installed on the device body; wherein the center of the carrier plate is located on the rotation axis, so that the device body can drive the carrier plate to rotate along a rotation direction with the rotation axis as the axis.

2. The rotary epitaxy device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The protective member has a plurality of mounting portions spaced apart from each other, the plurality of mounting portions are respectively connected to the plurality of blocking portions, and each of the mounting portions is screwed to the carrier plate in a screwing direction opposite to the rotation direction.

3. The rotary epitaxy device according to claim 1, wherein: The protective member has a mounting portion connected to the plurality of blocking portions, and the mounting portion is screwed to the center of the supporting plate along the rotation axis in a screwing direction opposite to the rotation direction.

4. The rotary epitaxy device according to claim 1, wherein: The protective component has a mounting portion connected to the plurality of blocking portions, and the mounting portion is screwed to the carrier plate in a screwing direction opposite to the rotation direction and surrounds the outer side of the center of the circle.

5. The rotary epitaxy device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The mounting portion has a guide surface away from the blocking portion, and a guide angle less than or equal to 45 degrees is formed between the guide surface and the top surface.

6. The rotary epitaxy device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The installation part includes: a screw-locking ring body, which is screw-locked to the carrying plate; and An operating ring body connected to the plurality of blocking portions, and the operating ring body can be pressed in a direction parallel to the rotation axis to be pressed against the screw lock ring body to move from a separation position to a combination position; Among them, when the operating ring body is in the separation position, the screw locking ring body can only be pushed by the operating ring body rotating along the screw locking direction; when the operating ring body is in the combination position, the screw locking ring body can be pushed by the operating ring body rotating along the rotation direction or the screw locking direction.

7. The rotary epitaxy device according to claim 1, wherein: Each of the blocking portions is not within the buffer region corresponding to the wafer slot.

8. A wafer support assembly, characterized in that: The wafer carrying assembly comprises: A carrier plate, having a plurality of wafer slots recessed from a top surface thereof, and the carrier plate can define two tangent lines with the top edge of each wafer slot through the center of the circle of the top surface; wherein the top edge of each wafer slot has an inscribed segment, the inscribed segment is adjacent to the center of the circle and is located between the two tangent lines; the center line of each wafer slot is separated from the top edge by a slot radius; wherein each wafer slot comprises: a receiving area for receiving a wafer; and a buffer area, which is located between the top surface and the accommodating area, and the buffer area is connected to the accommodating area and has the groove top edge; and A protective member, which is detachably mounted on the carrier plate; wherein the protective member has a plurality of blocking parts, and the plurality of blocking parts respectively span the inscribed segments of a plurality of the wafer slots but are not within the accommodating areas corresponding to the wafer slots; wherein each of the blocking parts is separated from the center line of the corresponding wafer slot by a limiting distance, which is less than the groove radius of the corresponding wafer slot but greater than or equal to 95% of the groove radius.

9. The wafer carrier assembly according to claim 8, characterized in that: Each of the blocking portions has a central angle relative to the center line of the corresponding wafer slot, which is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 5 degrees.

10. The wafer carrier assembly according to claim 8, characterized in that: Each of the wafer slots is defined by a preset radial direction passing through the center line and the center of the circle, and each of the blocking portions is disposed on the preset radial direction corresponding to the wafer slot.

11. The wafer carrier assembly according to claim 8, characterized in that: Each of the blocking portions shields within 25% of the top edge of the corresponding wafer slot along a direction parallel to any one of the center lines.

12. The wafer carrier assembly according to claim 8, characterized in that: Along a direction parallel to any one of the center lines, each of the blocking portions is separated from the accommodating area corresponding to the wafer slot by a distance greater than 0 and less than or equal to 5% of the slot radius.

13. The wafer carrier assembly according to claim 8, characterized in that: The blocking portion is formed with an arc-shaped protrusion, which is located in the buffer area corresponding to the wafer slot but not in the accommodating area corresponding to the wafer slot.

14. The wafer carrier assembly according to claim 8, characterized in that: Each of the blocking portions protrudes from the top surface to the top edge of the corresponding wafer slot at a distance less than or equal to 3 mm, and the protective member has a height less than or equal to 1.5 mm relative to the top surface of the carrier plate.

15. A wafer support assembly, characterized in that: The wafer carrying assembly comprises: A carrier plate having a plurality of wafer slots recessed from a top surface thereof; wherein the center line of each wafer slot is separated from the top edge of the slot by a slot radius; wherein each wafer slot comprises: a receiving area for receiving a wafer; and a buffer area, which is located between the top surface and the accommodating area, and the buffer area is connected to the accommodating area and has the groove top edge; and A plurality of protective members, each of which is detachably mounted on the carrier plate; wherein each of the protective members has: a mounting portion, which is annular and screwed to the carrier plate, and surrounds the outer side of one of the wafer slots; and A plurality of blocking portions connected to the inner edge of the mounting portion, wherein the plurality of blocking portions span the top edge of the corresponding wafer slot but are not within the accommodating area of ​​the corresponding wafer slot; Each of the blocking portions is separated from the center line of the corresponding wafer slot by a limiting distance, which is smaller than the groove radius of the corresponding wafer slot but greater than or equal to 95% of the groove radius.

16. The wafer carrier assembly according to claim 15, characterized in that: The installation part includes: a screw-locking ring body, which is screw-locked to the carrier plate along a screw-locking direction; and An operating ring body, which is connected to the plurality of blocking parts, and the operating ring body can be pressed along a direction parallel to any one of the center lines to be tightly pressed against the screw lock ring body to move from a separated position to a combined position; Among them, when the operating ring body is in the separated position, the screw locking ring body can only be pushed by the operating ring body rotating along the screw locking direction; when the operating ring body is in the combined position, the screw locking ring body can be pushed by the operating ring body rotating along the screw locking direction or in a rotation direction opposite to the screw locking direction.

17. The wafer carrier assembly according to claim 15, characterized in that: In each of the protective elements, a plurality of the blocking portions have a sum of central angles relative to the center line of the corresponding wafer slot, which is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 75 degrees.

18. The wafer carrier assembly according to claim 15, characterized in that: In each of the protective elements, the plurality of blocking portions shield within 25% of the top edge of the corresponding wafer slot along a direction parallel to any one of the center lines.

19. The wafer support assembly according to claim 15, characterized in that: The number of the plurality of blocking portions of each protective member is defined as n, and n is a positive integer greater than 1; wherein each protective member is n-fold rotationally symmetric relative to the center line of the corresponding wafer slot.

20. The wafer carrier assembly according to claim 19, characterized in that: n is further limited to be between 3 and 15.

Images