Wafer overturning in-out device

Abstract

The invention relates to a wafer turnover in-out device which comprises two wafer clamping turnover mechanisms used for feeding and discharging. The wafer clamping and overturning mechanism comprises an overturning frame, a driving unit used for driving the overturning frame to overturn up and down by 180 degrees, two wafer lifting units arranged on the overturning frame, and a wafer clamping unit arranged on the overturning frame. And the lifting driving module is used for enabling the first lifting surface to be aligned with the clamping opening before overturning or enabling the second lifting surface to be aligned with the clamping opening after overturning, and can be used for overturning the to-be-cleaned wafer and the cleaned wafer respectively, so that the requirements of a wafer back washing process are met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of semiconductor cleaning, and in particular relates to a wafer flipping in-and-out device. Background Art

[0002] If the wafer is contaminated by dust particles or metal during the manufacturing process, it can easily damage the internal circuit function of the chip, causing a short circuit or open circuit, leading to the failure of the integrated circuit. Therefore, in addition to eliminating external pollution sources, the wafer must be cleaned by wafer spray equipment before processes such as high-temperature diffusion and ion implantation.

[0003] In the wafer backwash process, the wafer to be cleaned needs to be flipped before cleaning so that its back side faces upward, so that the robot can take it to the cleaning chamber for cleaning. After cleaning, the cleaned wafer taken out by the robot needs to be flipped so that its front side faces upward, so that the robot can take it back and place it on the stage. Therefore, it is necessary to design a wafer flipping device that can flip the wafer to be cleaned and the cleaned wafer respectively to meet the process requirements. Summary of the invention

[0004] Based on this, in order to solve the above technical problems, a wafer flipping and entering and exiting device is provided.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] A wafer flipping device, characterized in that it comprises two wafer clamping and flipping mechanisms for feeding and unloading respectively, and the wafer clamping and flipping mechanisms comprise:

[0007] A turning frame and a driving unit for driving the turning frame to turn up and down 180 degrees;

[0008] Two wafer lifting units are arranged on the flip frame, the two wafer lifting units are arranged symmetrically, the wafer lifting units include two lifting blocks arranged horizontally and spaced apart from each other, the inner side of the lifting block has a lifting surface group, the lifting surface group consists of a first lifting surface for horizontally supporting the edge of the wafer before flipping and a second lifting surface for horizontally supporting the edge of the wafer after flipping, the first lifting surface and the second lifting surface are arranged opposite to each other up and down, and the second lifting surface is located above the first lifting surface, and both have a limiting portion for radially limiting the edge of the wafer;

[0009] A wafer clamping unit is arranged on the flip frame, the wafer clamping unit comprises two wafer clamping blocks arranged symmetrically on the left and right and a horizontal driving module for driving the two wafer clamping blocks to approach or move away, the inner side of the wafer clamping block has a clamping opening, and the wafer clamping block is located between the two lifting blocks on the same side;

[0010] A lifting drive module is used to align the first lifting surface with the clamping opening before flipping or to align the second lifting surface with the clamping opening after flipping, and the lifting drive module is arranged on the flip frame.

[0011] The present invention provides a wafer flipping and entering device, which can flip a wafer to be cleaned and a cleaned wafer respectively, thereby meeting the requirements of a wafer backwashing process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0013] Figure 2 It is a front view of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A local enlarged view at point A;

[0015] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the wafer clamping and flipping mechanism of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 5 It is a schematic structural diagram of the wafer clamping and flipping mechanism of the present invention before flipping;

[0017] Figure 6 It is a schematic structural diagram of the wafer clamping and flipping mechanism of the present invention after flipping;

[0018] Figure 7 It is a structural schematic diagram of a lifting block and a wafer clamping block of a wafer clamping and flipping mechanism of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of a wafer clamping block of the present invention;

[0020] Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of the air extraction port of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The following will illustrate the implementation methods of the present invention in conjunction with the drawings in the specification. It should be noted that the implementation methods involved in this specification are not exhaustive and do not represent the only implementation methods of the present invention. The following corresponding embodiments are only for the purpose of clearly illustrating the invention content of the patent of the present invention, and are not intended to limit its implementation methods. For ordinary technicians in this field, different forms of changes and modifications can be made on the basis of the description of this embodiment. All obvious changes or modifications that belong to the technical concept and invention content of the present invention are also within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0022] like Figure 1 As shown, an embodiment of the present application provides a wafer flipping and entering device, including a frame 1100 and two wafer clamping and flipping mechanisms 1200 .

[0023] The frame 1100 is composed of upper, lower, left and right side panels, and is open in the front and rear directions to facilitate the robot to pick up materials. The middle part of the frame 1100 has a horizontal mounting plate 1110, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 .

[0024] Two wafer clamping and flipping mechanisms 1200 are arranged up and down on the frame, respectively located above and below the mounting plate 1110. One wafer clamping and flipping mechanism 1200 is used for feeding, that is, flipping the wafer to be cleaned so that its back side faces upward, so that the robot can take the wafer into the chamber for cleaning. The other wafer clamping and flipping mechanism 1200 is used for unloading, that is, flipping the cleaned wafer taken out by the robot so that its front side faces upward, so that the robot can take it back and place it on the carrier.

[0025] In actual application scenarios, it is necessary to purge inert gas from top to bottom, so the wafer clamping and flipping mechanism used for feeding is located below the wafer clamping and flipping mechanism used for unloading, so as to avoid contamination of the cleaned wafers during purging.

[0026] like Figure 2 and Figure 4 As shown, the wafer clamping and flipping mechanism 1200 includes a flip frame 1210 , a driving unit 1220 , two wafer lifting units 1230 , a wafer clamping unit 1240 and a lifting and lowering driving module 1250 .

[0027] The flip frame 1210 has side plates 1211 located on the left and right sides, and the upper and lower sides of the two side plates 1211 are connected with connecting plates 1212 .

[0028] The outer sides of the two side plates 1211 respectively form shaft ends 1211a. Figure 3 As shown, the shaft end 1211a is connected to the frame 1100 through the bearing 1211b for forward and backward rotation. Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the shaft end 1211a located on the right side forms a first synchronous wheel 1211c located on the outside of the frame 1100, and the driving unit 1220 adopts a motor, which is fixed on the mounting plate 1110. The output shaft of the motor extends to the right side outside the frame 1100, and is provided with a second synchronous wheel 1221. A synchronous belt 1222 is arranged on the first synchronous wheel 1211c and the second synchronous wheel 1221, and the tension of the synchronous belt 1222 can be adjusted by the synchronous belt tension adjustment block 1120 on the frame 1100, thereby, the motor can drive the flip frame 1210 to flip up and down 180 degrees.

[0029] The inner side of the side plate 1211 has a guide rail 1211d in the up-down direction. Figure 5 .

[0030] like Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the two wafer lifting units 1230 are arranged symmetrically and are used to lift the wafer horizontally. Figure 7 As shown, taking the wafer lifting unit 1230 on the left as an example, it includes a sliding plate 1231 and two lifting blocks 1232 arranged horizontally and spaced apart from each other in the front and rear directions.

[0031] like Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, a slider 1231 a is provided on the outer side of the sliding plate 1231 , and the slider 1231 a is disposed on the guide rail 1211 d to achieve the up-and-down sliding cooperation between the wafer lifting unit 1230 and the flip frame 1210 .

[0032] In order to limit the upper and lower positions of the sliding plate 1231, the upper and lower edges of the side plate 1211 of the flip frame 1210 are respectively provided with limit blocks 1233, which are connected to the side plate 1211 by bolts, and their upper and lower positions can be adjusted, thereby adjusting the upper and lower limit positions of the sliding plate 1231, see Figure 4 .

[0033] like Figure 7 As shown, a window 1231 b is provided in the middle of the sliding plate 1231 , and two lifting blocks 1232 are fixed to the inner side surface of the sliding plate 1231 and are arranged symmetrically front to back along the window 1231 b.

[0034] Six horizontal support plates 1232a are formed on the inner side surface of the lifting block 1232, and the six horizontal support plates 1232a are arranged in parallel and equidistantly up and down, and the upper surface of the horizontal support plate 1232a at the bottom, the lower surface of the horizontal support plate 1232a at the top, and the upper and lower surfaces of the remaining four horizontal support plates respectively form steps 1232b, wherein the horizontal surface of the step 1232b formed on the upper surface of the horizontal support plate 1232a serves as the first lifting surface, and the horizontal surface of the step 1232b formed on the lower surface of the horizontal support plate 1232a serves as the second lifting surface, and the vertical surface of each step 1232b is in an arc shape in the front-to-back direction that is consistent with the curvature of the edge of the wafer, and serves as a limiting portion to radially limit the edge of the lifted wafer.

[0035] The number of the first lifting surfaces and the number of the second lifting surfaces are both 5, forming 5 lifting surface groups.

[0036] For a lifting surface group, it is composed of a first lifting surface and a second lifting surface, the two lifting surfaces are opposite to each other up and down, and the second lifting surface is located above the first lifting surface, wherein the first lifting surface is used to horizontally support the edge of the wafer before flipping, and the second lifting surface is used to horizontally support the edge of the wafer after flipping.

[0037] Taking the first support plate and the second support plate from bottom to top as an example, the first lifting surface on the upper surface of the first support plate and the second lifting surface on the lower surface of the second support plate constitute a lifting surface group. Before flipping, the wafer is supported by the first lifting surface of the first support plate. After flipping, the wafer is supported by the second lifting surface of the second support plate. Therefore, the above-mentioned 5 lifting surface groups can support 5 wafers at the same time before or after flipping. The number of lifting surface groups is not limited to 5 and can be adjusted according to the needs of the application scenario.

[0038] The lifting block 1232 has five sensors 1232c arranged up and down for detecting the wafer on the lifting block 1232. Figure 6 and Figure 7 .

[0039] The wafer clamping unit 1240 is used to clamp the wafer horizontally lifted by the two wafer lifting units 1230, and includes two wafer clamping blocks 1241 and a horizontal driving module 1242, see Figure 5 and Figure 6 .

[0040] The two wafer clamping blocks 1241 are arranged symmetrically on the left and right. The two wafer clamping blocks 1241 are respectively located on the inner side of the sliding plate 1231 on the same side and at positions corresponding to the window 1231b, that is, located between the two lifting blocks 1232 on the same side. Figure 7 .

[0041] The horizontal driving module 1242 is used to drive the two wafer clamping blocks 1241 to move closer or farther away. It is composed of two left and right telescopic cylinders. The two cylinders correspond one-to-one to the two wafer clamping blocks 1241. The left and right telescopic cylinders are located on the outside of the corresponding sliding plate 1231 and at a position corresponding to the window 1231b, and are fixed to the outside of the side plate 1211 of the flip frame 1210. The output shaft thereof horizontally passes through the window 1231b and is connected to the corresponding wafer clamping block 1241.

[0042] like Figure 7 As shown, the inner side surface of the wafer clamping block 1241 has five clamping openings 1241a equidistantly arranged vertically, which are used to clamp five wafers respectively, and the spacing between adjacent clamping openings 1241a is equal to the spacing between adjacent first lifting surfaces and the spacing between adjacent second lifting surfaces.

[0043] In order to reduce the contact area with the wafer, the inner side surface of the wafer clamping block 1241 and the clamping opening 1241a are both in an arc shape in the front-to-back direction that is consistent with the arc of the edge of the wafer.

[0044] Among them, Figure 8 As shown, the vertical cross-section of the clamping opening 1241a in the front-to-back direction is triangular, and has a lower inclined surface a1 for clamping the wafer before flipping and an upper inclined surface a2 for clamping the wafer after flipping, and the lower inclined surface a1 and the upper inclined surface a2 are symmetrical up and down.

[0045] like Figure 4-7 As shown, the lifting drive module 1250 is composed of two lifting cylinders 1251, and the two lifting cylinders 1251 correspond one to one with the sliding plates 1231 of the two wafer lifting units 1230. The outer side surface of the lifting cylinder 1251 is fixed to the mounting block 1252 by bolts, and the mounting block 1252 is fixed to the middle of the upper edge of the side plate 1211 of the flip frame 1210 by bolts. The output shaft of the lifting cylinder 1251 is connected to the middle of the upper edge of the corresponding sliding plate 1231, and the sliding plate 1231 is driven to rise and fall by the lifting cylinder 1251.

[0046] In order to prevent the metal particles in the leakage generated by the lifting cylinder 1251 and the left and right telescopic cylinders from contaminating the wafer (the cylinder is made of metal and will produce metal particles during operation), Figure 7 and Fig. 9 As shown, a baffle 1251a is provided on the inner side of the lifting cylinder 1251, and the baffle 1251a extends downward to between the upper part of the window 1231b and the wafer clamping block 1241 on the same side, and the baffle 1251a blocks the air leakage.

[0047] The front and rear sides of the baffle 1251a (which can also be regarded as the left and right sides of the baffle 1251a itself) form a connecting arm 1251b extending outward, and the connecting arm 1251b is connected to the mounting block 1252 by bolts. The mounting block 1252 has an exhaust port 1252a facing the baffle 1251a. During operation, air is exhausted through the exhaust port 1252a to further ensure that the wafer is not contaminated.

[0048] During operation, wafer 2 is placed on two wafer lifting units 1230. After sensor 1232c detects wafer 2, lifting cylinder 1251 drives wafer lifting unit 1230 to lift and lower so that the first lifting surface is aligned with the lower edge of clamping port 1241a. After alignment, wafer clamping unit 1240 clamps wafer 2.

[0049] During the clamping process, the wafer 2 can be slightly raised along the lower slope a1 for buffering after being subjected to force, thereby preventing the wafer from being damaged.

[0050] After clamping is completed, the flip frame 1210 flips 180 degrees. After flipping, the wafer 2 falls on the upper inclined surface a2, and the wafer clamping unit 1240 releases the wafer. During the loosening process, the wafer 2 descends along the upper inclined surface a2 to the lower edge of the clamping port 1241a (the upper edge before flipping). At the same time, the lifting cylinder 1251 drives the wafer lifting unit 1230 to rise, so that the second lifting surface is aligned with the lower edge of the clamping port, so that the wafer 2 is supported by the second lifting surface.

[0051] It is understandable that the wafer lifting unit 1230 can also be designed not to slide up and down with the flip frame 1210, but the wafer clamping unit 1240 can slide up and down with the flip frame 1210, or both the wafer lifting unit 1230 and the wafer clamping unit 1240 can be designed to slide up and down with the flip frame 1210.

[0052] It can be seen from the above that the wafer flipping and entering and exiting device provided in the embodiment of the present application can flip the wafer to be cleaned and the wafer after cleaning respectively, thereby meeting the requirements of the wafer back washing process.

[0053] At the same time, the clamping mouth is designed to have a triangular cross-section. During the clamping process, the wafer can rise in the clamping mouth for buffering after being subjected to force, thereby avoiding damage to the wafer.

[0054] In addition, a baffle is set on the inner side of the lifting cylinder to prevent gas leakage generated when the cylinder is working and contaminating the wafer.

[0055] Obviously, those skilled in the art should realize that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, and are not used to limit the present invention. As long as they are within the spirit of the present invention, any changes and modifications to the above embodiments will fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wafer flipping device, characterized in that: It includes two wafer clamping and flipping mechanisms for feeding and unloading respectively, and the wafer clamping and flipping mechanism includes: A turning frame and a driving unit for driving the turning frame to turn up and down 180 degrees; Two wafer lifting units are arranged on the flip frame, the two wafer lifting units are arranged symmetrically, the wafer lifting units include two lifting blocks arranged horizontally and spaced apart from each other, the inner side of the lifting block has a lifting surface group, the lifting surface group consists of a first lifting surface for horizontally supporting the edge of the wafer before flipping and a second lifting surface for horizontally supporting the edge of the wafer after flipping, the first lifting surface and the second lifting surface are arranged opposite to each other up and down, and the second lifting surface is located above the first lifting surface, and both have a limiting portion for radially limiting the edge of the wafer; A wafer clamping unit is arranged on the flip frame, the wafer clamping unit comprises two wafer clamping blocks arranged symmetrically on the left and right and a horizontal driving module for driving the two wafer clamping blocks to approach or move away, the inner side of the wafer clamping block has a clamping opening, and the wafer clamping block is located between the two lifting blocks on the same side; A lifting drive module is used to align the first lifting surface with the clamping opening before flipping or to align the second lifting surface with the clamping opening after flipping, and the lifting drive module is arranged on the flip frame.

2. The wafer flipping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two wafer clamping and flipping mechanisms are arranged on the frame one above the other, and the wafer clamping and flipping mechanism used for feeding is located below the wafer clamping and flipping mechanism used for discharging.

3. The wafer flipping device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The left and right sides of the flip frame form shaft ends, and the shaft ends are connected to the frame for forward and backward rotation through bearings. The driving unit is a motor, and the output shaft of the motor is connected to one side shaft end of the flip frame through a synchronous belt and a synchronous wheel.

4. The wafer flipping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are multiple lifting surface groups on the lifting block, the first lifting surfaces of the multiple lifting surface groups are arranged equidistantly up and down, and the second lifting surfaces of the multiple lifting surface groups are arranged equidistantly up and down. The number of clamping ports on the wafer clamping block is the same as the number of lifting surface groups on the lifting block, and the multiple clamping ports are arranged equidistantly up and down, and the spacing between the clamping ports is equal to the spacing between the first lifting surfaces and the spacing between the second lifting surfaces.

5. The wafer flipping device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The inner side surface of the lifting block forms a plurality of horizontal support plates, and the plurality of horizontal support plates are arranged in parallel and equidistantly up and down, and the upper surface of the horizontal support plate at the bottom, the lower surface of the horizontal support plate at the top, and the upper and lower surfaces of the remaining horizontal support plates form steps respectively, wherein the horizontal surface of the step formed on the upper surface of the horizontal support plate serves as the first lifting surface, and the horizontal surface of the step formed on the lower surface of the horizontal support plate serves as the second lifting surface, and the vertical surface of each step is an arc in the front-to-back direction that is consistent with the curvature of the edge of the wafer, serving as the limiting portion.

6. The wafer flipping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner side surface and the clamping opening of the wafer clamping block are both in an arc shape in the front-to-back direction consistent with the arc of the edge of the wafer.

7. The wafer flipping device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The vertical cross section of the clamping opening in the front-to-back direction is triangular, and has a lower inclined surface for clamping the wafer before flipping and an upper inclined surface for clamping the wafer after flipping, and the lower inclined surface and the upper inclined surface are symmetrical up and down.

8. A wafer flipping device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The wafer lifting unit also includes a sliding plate, which is slidably matched with the flip frame up and down, and has a window in the middle. The two lifting blocks are fixed to the inner side of the sliding plate and are symmetrically arranged along the window.

9. The wafer flipping device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The wafer clamping block is located on the inner side of the sliding plate on the same side and at a position corresponding to the window. The horizontal driving module is composed of two left and right telescopic cylinders corresponding to the two wafer clamping blocks. The left and right telescopic cylinders are located on the outer side of the corresponding sliding plate and at a position corresponding to the window. The left and right telescopic cylinders are fixed to the flip frame, and their output shafts horizontally pass through the window and are connected to the corresponding wafer clamping blocks.

10. The wafer flipping device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The lifting drive module is composed of two lifting cylinders corresponding to the sliding plates of the two wafer lifting units. The lifting cylinders are fixed to the flip frame, and their output shafts are connected to the corresponding sliding plates.

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