A wafer flipping device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wafer flipping device, comprising two wafer clamping and flipping mechanisms for feeding and unloading respectively, wherein the wafer clamping and flipping mechanisms comprise: a flip frame and a driving unit for driving the flip frame to flip 180 degrees up and down, two wafer lifting units arranged on the flip frame, a wafer clamping unit arranged on the flip frame, and a lifting drive module for aligning a first lifting surface with a clamping port before flipping or aligning a second lifting surface with a clamping port after flipping, which can flip the wafer to be cleaned and the wafer after cleaning respectively, thereby meeting the requirements of the wafer backwash process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of semiconductor cleaning, and in particular relates to a wafer flipping 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 short circuits or open circuits, leading to failure of the integrated circuit. Therefore, in addition to eliminating external sources of contamination, the wafer must be cleaned using 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, allowing the robot to take it into the cleaning chamber for cleaning. After cleaning, the cleaned wafer removed by the robot needs to be flipped so that its front side faces upward, allowing the robot to retrieve it and place it on the carrier. Therefore, it is necessary to design a wafer flipping and loading device that can flip the wafer to be cleaned and the cleaned wafer separately to meet 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 is characterized by comprising two wafer clamping and flipping mechanisms for feeding and unloading, respectively, wherein the wafer clamping and flipping mechanisms include:

[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 provided on the flip rack, and the two wafer lifting units are arranged symmetrically on the left and right. The wafer lifting units include two lifting blocks arranged horizontally and spaced apart from each other in a front-to-rear direction. The inner sides of the lifting blocks are provided with a lifting surface group, and 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 in an upper and lower direction, and the second lifting surface is located above the first lifting surface. Both have a limiting portion for radially limiting the edge of the wafer;

[0009] A wafer clamping unit is provided on the flip frame, the wafer clamping unit comprising two wafer clamping blocks arranged symmetrically on the left and right and a horizontal driving module for driving the two wafer clamping blocks to move closer or further away, the inner side of the wafer clamping block having a clamping opening, and the wafer clamping block being 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 the wafer to be cleaned and the wafer after cleaning respectively, thereby meeting the requirements of the wafer backwash 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 This 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 the lifting block and the wafer clamping block of the 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] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the air extraction port of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The following will illustrate the implementation 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 this 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 based on the description of this embodiment. Any 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 rack 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 back 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 is facing up, so that the robot can take the wafer into the chamber for cleaning. The other wafer clamping and flipping mechanism 1200 is used for discharging, that is, flipping the cleaned wafer taken out by the robot so that its front is facing up, so that the robot can take it back and place it on the carrier.

[0025] In actual application scenarios, inert gas needs to be purged 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 discharging, 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 turning frame 1210 has side panels 1211 on the left and right sides, and the upper and lower sides of the two side panels 1211 are connected to connecting panels 1212 .

[0028] The outer sides of the two side plates 1211 are respectively formed with 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 set on the first synchronous wheel 1211c and the second synchronous wheel 1221. The tension of the synchronous belt 1222 can be adjusted by the synchronous belt tension adjustment block 1120 on the frame 1100. Thus, 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 and down direction. Figure 5 .

[0030] like Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the two wafer lifting units 1230 are arranged symmetrically on the left and right, 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.

[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 arranged 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 plates 1211 of the flip frame 1210 are respectively provided with limit blocks 1233, which are connected to the side plates 1211 by bolts and can be adjusted up and down to adjust the upper and lower limit positions of the sliding plate 1231. 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] The inner side surface of the lifting block 1232 forms six horizontal support plates 1232a, and the six horizontal support plates 1232a are arranged in parallel and equidistantly above and below. 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, among which 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. The vertical surface of each step 1232b is an arc in the front-to-back direction that is consistent with the curvature of the edge of the wafer, and serves as a limiting part to radially limit the edge of the lifted wafer.

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

[0036] For a lifting surface group, it consists 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 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 vertically 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 held horizontally by the two wafer holding units 1230, and includes two wafer clamping blocks 1241 and a horizontal driving module 1242. 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, between the two lifting blocks 1232 on the same side. Figure 7 .

[0041] The horizontal drive module 1242 is used to drive the two wafer clamping blocks 1241 to move closer or further 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, 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 passes horizontally through the window 1231b and is connected to the corresponding wafer clamping block 1241.

[0042] like Figure 7 As shown, the inner side of the wafer clamping block 1241 has five clamping openings 1241a arranged equidistantly up and down, which are used to clamp five wafers respectively. 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 arc-shaped in the front-to-back direction to be consistent with the curvature of the wafer edge.

[0044] Among them, such as Figure 8 As shown, the vertical cross-section of the clamping opening 1241a in the front-to-back direction is triangular, having 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 to 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 the operation), Figure 7 and Figure 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. 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 the sensor 1232c detects wafer 2, the lifting cylinder 1251 drives the wafer lifting unit 1230 to rise and fall, so that the first lifting surface is aligned with the lower edge of the clamping port 1241a. After alignment, the wafer clamping unit 1240 clamps wafer 2.

[0049] During the clamping process, the wafer 2 can rise slightly along the lower slope a1 to buffer the force applied, 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] As can be seen from the above, the wafer flipping and entering / 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 backwash 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 preventing the wafer from being damaged.

[0054] In addition, a baffle is set on the inside of the lifting cylinder to prevent air 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 scope of the essence 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 mechanisms include: A turning frame and a driving unit for driving the turning frame to turn up and down 180 degrees; Two wafer lifting units are provided on the flip rack, and the two wafer lifting units are arranged symmetrically on the left and right. The wafer lifting units include two lifting blocks arranged horizontally and spaced apart from each other in a front-to-rear direction. The inner sides of the lifting blocks are provided with a lifting surface group, and 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 in an upper and lower direction, and the second lifting surface is located above the first lifting surface. Both have a limiting portion for radially limiting the edge of the wafer; A wafer clamping unit is provided on the flip frame, the wafer clamping unit comprising two wafer clamping blocks arranged symmetrically on the left and right and a horizontal driving module for driving the two wafer clamping blocks to move closer or further away, the inner side of the wafer clamping block having a clamping opening, and the wafer clamping block being 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 and loading device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two wafer clamping and flipping mechanisms are arranged one above the other on the frame, and the wafer clamping and flipping mechanism for feeding is located below the wafer clamping and flipping mechanism for discharging.

3. The wafer flipping device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The left and right sides of the turning 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 turning 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 and loading 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. 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 respectively form steps, 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 that is consistent with the curvature of the wafer edge.

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. The 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 slides up and down with the flip frame 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 at a position corresponding to the window. The horizontal drive 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 at a position corresponding to the window. The left and right telescopic cylinders are fixed to the flip frame, and their output shafts pass horizontally through the window and are connected to the corresponding wafer clamping block.

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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