Wafer convex detection system and detection method

Abstract

The present invention proposes a wafer protrusion detection system and detection method, which includes: a No. 1 carrier and a No. 2 carrier, which are distributed in sequence along the Z direction and connected by a No. 1 connector; the No. 2 carrier is connected to a linear motion mechanism via a No. 2 connector; wherein the connector, the No. 2 carrier, and the linear motion mechanism are all detachably connected; the linear motion mechanism is fixed to the inner wall of the cavity and can drive the No. 2 carrier to move along the X direction; a transmission hole and several adjustment holes distributed along the Y direction are provided on the No. 2 carrier; the No. 2 carrier is placed above the wafer rack and at the open end of the wafer rack; the wafer rack includes several layers of brackets distributed in sequence along the Z direction; a receiving sensor is provided on the last layer of brackets, and the receiving end of the receiving sensor is arranged opposite to the transmitting sensor; each layer of brackets carries a wafer; and the transmitting sensor is provided on the No. 1 carrier, and its transmitting end is arranged toward the transmission hole. The present invention can realize wafer protrusion detection and can detect wafers of different sizes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of wafer detection, and in particular relates to a wafer convex piece detection system and detection method. Background Art

[0002] During the wafer manufacturing process, when the wafer arrives at the equipment end and enters the equipment for process processing, a robot or manual labor is required to place the wafer inside into the equipment's load lock (transfer chamber). When the robotic arm places the wafer in the corresponding slot, the vibration of the motor and the inertia during movement may cause the material box (wafer rack) to tilt downward toward the feed end of the wafer rack when the robotic arm is leveled. When manually placing the wafer, it is impossible to put it in a horizontal position like the robot and then enter the slot. It is possible that the wafer rack is pressed down at the feed end of the wafer rack, causing its feed end to tilt downward. In the above situations, the wafer will protrude from the slot and form a bulge on the wafer rack.

[0003] In this unsafe position, the movement of the tool's conveyor mechanism creates a risk of wafer scratches and crushing. Therefore, a bump sensor is required to check for bumps when the wafer enters the load lock. A load lock typically consists of one or more chambers, each with a different pressure and gas environment. As the wafer is transferred from one chamber to another, a vacuum system gradually changes the pressure and gas environment, protecting the wafer from contamination.

[0004] As mentioned above, during the wafer manufacturing process, stable transmission is required to ensure the quality of the products. Good transmission is the first factor to ensure production, so ensuring a safe transmission environment is a necessary condition. Therefore, when the wafer enters the equipment, it is necessary to check whether the wafer meets the transmission conditions and whether it can be transmitted. Therefore, a detection device is needed to detect whether there is a convex phenomenon. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a wafer convex detection system and detection method, which can realize the detection of wafer convex, and can detect wafers of different sizes. The technical solution adopted is as follows:

[0006] A wafer bump detection system, comprising:

[0007] The first carrier 1 and the second carrier 2 are sequentially distributed along the Z direction and connected by a first connecting member; the second carrier 2 is connected to the linear motion mechanism 5 by a second connecting member 3;

[0008] The connecting member 3 is detachably connected to the second stage 2 and the linear motion mechanism 5; the linear motion mechanism 5 is fixed to the inner wall of the cavity and can drive the second stage to move along the X direction;

[0009] The second stage 2 is provided with a transmission hole 21 and several adjustment holes distributed along the Y direction; the second stage 2 is placed above the wafer rack 7 and at the open end of the wafer rack 7; the wafer rack 7 includes several layers of brackets distributed in sequence along the Z direction; a receiving sensor 8 is provided on the last layer of brackets, and the receiving end of the receiving sensor 8 is arranged opposite to the transmitting sensor; each layer of brackets is provided with a positioning groove, and each positioning groove receives a wafer;

[0010] The transmitting sensor is disposed on the first stage 1 , and its transmitting end is disposed toward the transmission hole 21 .

[0011] Preferably, the No. 1 connecting member 4 is an elastic element; the adjusting screw 6 passes through the area surrounded by the No. 1 connecting member 4 and is connected to the threaded hole on the No. 2 carrier 2; the threaded hole is a through hole extending along the Z direction.

[0012] Preferably, a mounting hole 11 is provided on the first carrier 1 , and the transmitting sensor is embedded in the mounting hole 11 or threadedly engaged with the mounting hole 11 .

[0013] Preferably, the transmission hole 21 faces the mounting hole 11 , and an outer diameter thereof is larger than an outer diameter of the mounting hole 11 .

[0014] Preferably, the second connecting member 3 is a sheet metal block.

[0015] Preferably, the linear motion mechanism 5 is a linear guide rail.

[0016] Preferably, the emission sensor is an infrared emission sensor.

[0017] A wafer convex piece detection method, based on the wafer convex piece detection system, includes the following steps:

[0018] Step 1: Place the second stage 2 above the wafer rack 7, with the transmitting sensor facing the receiving sensor 8, and then fix the linear motion mechanism 5 of the wafer protrusion detection system to the inner wall of the chamber;

[0019] Step 2: The transmitting sensor transmits a signal downward. When any wafer on the wafer rack protrudes from the corresponding bracket, no signal is received by the receiving sensor.

[0020] Preferably, the method further includes the following steps when a wafer rack in the chamber that receives wafers of another size needs to be inspected:

[0021] Adjust the linear motion mechanism 5 to move the second stage 2 along the X direction so that the transmitting sensor moves to the open end of the wafer rack to be inspected;

[0022] Change the installation position of the second connecting member 3 on the second stage 2 to move the second stage 2 along the Y direction so that the transmitting sensor is located outside the wafer rack to be inspected and the transmitting sensor is directly opposite to the receiving sensor on the wafer rack to be inspected.

[0023] Preferably, the method further includes the following steps when the installation space is insufficient:

[0024] At the bottom of the threaded hole of the second stage 2, the corresponding adjusting screw 6 is screwed in to form a tilt angle.

[0025] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are:

[0026] It can effectively save the time of wafer fab engineers in debugging sensors: There are wafers of different sizes in the wafer fab. When wafers of different sizes are to be used for processing, when the equipment needs to be converted to a certain size, hardware changes need to be made, and a lot of manpower will be consumed in this switching process.

[0027] In the existing technology, the "changes made in the hardware" are specifically: when running 6-inch wafers, the lug sensor is in position one, and when running 8-inch wafers, the lug sensor is in position two. How to quickly switch from position one to position two requires manual change of the lug sensor position.

[0028] The system only requires XY adjustment, which can save engineers a lot of time and improve work efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Figure 1 A perspective view of the wafer bump detection system in Example 1;

[0030] Figures 2-3 This is the detection principle diagram of the wafer bump detection system;

[0031] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the tilt range of stage 1 in Example 2.

[0032] Among them, 1-carrier No. 1, 11-mounting hole,

[0033] 2- No. 2 stage, 21- transmission hole,

[0034] 3-Connector No. 2, 4-Connector No. 1,

[0035] 5-Linear motion mechanism,

[0036] 6-Adjusting screw,

[0037] 7-wafer rack, 8-receiving sensor, 9-stage No. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The following is a more detailed description of the wafer bump inspection system and inspection method of the present invention, with reference to schematic diagrams. These diagrams illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that those skilled in the art may modify the invention described herein while still achieving the beneficial effects of the invention. Therefore, the following description should be understood as a general guideline for those skilled in the art and not as a limitation of the present invention.

[0039] Example 1

[0040] like Figures 1-2 , a wafer bump detection system, comprising:

[0041] The first carrier 1 and the second carrier 2 are sequentially distributed along the Z direction and connected by a first connecting member; the second carrier 2 is connected to the linear motion mechanism 5 by a second connecting member 3;

[0042] The connecting member 3 is detachably connected to the second stage 2 and the linear motion mechanism 5; the linear motion mechanism 5 is fixed to the inner wall of the cavity and can drive the second stage to move along the X direction;

[0043] A transmission hole 21 and several adjustment holes distributed along the Y direction are provided on the No. 2 carrier 2; the No. 2 carrier 2 is placed above the wafer rack 7 and at the open end (feed end and discharge end) of the wafer rack 7; the wafer rack 7 includes several layers of brackets distributed in sequence along the Z direction; a receiving sensor 8 is provided on the lowest bracket, and the receiving end of the receiving sensor 8 is arranged opposite to the transmitting sensor; a positioning groove is provided on each layer of the bracket, and each positioning groove accommodates a wafer.

[0044] The transmitting sensor is disposed on the first stage 1 , and its transmitting end is disposed toward the transmission hole 21 .

[0045] The first connecting member 4 is a spring, which is fixed between the first platform 1 and the second platform 2;

[0046] The second connecting member 3 is a sheet metal block, which is connected to the second carrier and the moving end of the linear motion mechanism 5 through fasteners.

[0047] The linear motion mechanism 5 is a linear guide rail, the slide rail of which is fixedly arranged, and the slider on it is connected to the second connecting member 3.

[0048] In other embodiments, the linear motion mechanism 5 is a ball screw pair, a linear motor or other linear motion mechanisms.

[0049] In this embodiment, the transmitting sensor is an infrared transmitting sensor. Specifically, a mounting hole 11 is provided on the first carrier 1 , and the transmitting sensor is embedded in the mounting hole 11 or threadedly engaged with the mounting hole 11 .

[0050] In addition, the second stage 2 can be placed on the third stage 9, which is a transparent quartz component on the transmission cavity and is used to transmit light.

[0051] In this embodiment, the transmitting sensor and the receiving sensor are used in pairs, and both are optical fiber sensors.

[0052] A wafer bump detection method includes the following steps:

[0053] Step 1: Place the second stage 2 above the wafer rack 7 and make the transmitting sensor face the receiving sensor 8, then fix the linear motion mechanism 5 of the wafer protrusion detection system to the inner wall of the cavity.

[0054] Step 2: The transmitting sensor is powered on and transmits a signal downward. When any wafer on the wafer rack protrudes from the corresponding bracket, the receiving sensor receives no signal and the receiving sensor feeds back a signal of 0 to the control unit. At this time, the inspector knows that a convex wafer has appeared on the wafer rack.

[0055] Similarly, when there is no bump on the wafer rack, the sensor feedback signal 1 is received and sent to the control unit.

[0056] Detection principle Figure 2 shown.

[0057] When the wafer rack holding wafers of another size in the chamber needs to be inspected:

[0058] Manually adjust the slider of the linear motion mechanism 5 to move the second stage 2 along the X direction so that the transmitting sensor moves to the open end of the wafer rack to be inspected;

[0059] Change the installation position of the second connecting member 3 on the second stage 2 to move the second stage 2 along the Y direction so that the transmitting sensor is located outside the wafer rack to be inspected and the transmitting sensor is directly opposite to the receiving sensor on the wafer rack to be inspected.

[0060] For example, when an 8-inch wafer needs to be inspected, since the diameter of the 8-inch wafer is larger than that of the 6-inch wafer, the wafer rack models corresponding to the two sizes of wafers are different.

[0061] The wafer rack that holds 6-inch wafers is wafer rack one.

[0062] The wafer rack that holds 8-inch wafers is wafer rack two.

[0063] The wafer rack 1 and the wafer rack 2 are distributed along the X direction, and the closed ends of the two are aligned.

[0064] Therefore, the open end of the wafer rack 2 is closer to the transmitting sensor along the Y direction than the open end of the wafer rack 1.

[0065] To ensure the accuracy of detection, that is, to avoid the situation where the light signal is blocked by the 8-inch wafer or the bracket when there is no convex piece, resulting in the receiving sensor receiving no signal, the second stage 2 needs to be moved outward along the Y direction.

[0066] Example 2

[0067] like Figure 4 As shown, there are 4 springs, each with an adjusting screw 6.

[0068] The adjusting screw 6 passes through the area surrounded by the No. 1 connecting member 4 and is connected to the threaded hole on the No. 2 carrier 2; the threaded hole is a through hole extending along the Z direction.

[0069] like Figure 3 As shown, the angle of the transmitting sensor is adjustable. Figure 4 In the figure, the arrow indicates the tilt range of stage 1.

[0070] When the transmitting sensor is tilted, it can only be tilted toward the open end of the wafer rack 7 .

[0071] To accommodate the tilt of the transmitting sensor, the transmission hole 21 faces the mounting hole 11 , and its outer diameter is larger than that of the mounting hole 11 .

[0072] In addition, to present Figures 3-4 , the tilt angle formed between the transmitting sensor and the Z direction: the second connecting piece 3 moves a set distance toward the outside of the open end of the wafer rack 7, and then is adjusted using the adjusting screw 6 to form the tilt angle.

[0073] Figure 3 In the figure, the dotted line is the transmission direction of the optical signal.

[0074] When the installation space is insufficient, that is, the Z-direction distance between the cavity and the wafer rack 7 is insufficient, and the transmitting sensor cannot be installed along the Z direction:

[0075] At the bottom of the threaded hole of the second stage 2, the corresponding adjusting screw 6 is screwed in to form a tilt angle.

[0076] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention in any way. Any person skilled in the art who, without departing from the scope of the present invention, makes any equivalent substitution, modification, or other changes to the technical solution and technical content disclosed in the present invention shall be deemed to be within the scope of the present invention and still fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wafer convex detection system, characterized in that: include: The first carrier (1) and the second carrier (2) are sequentially distributed along the Z direction and connected via a first connecting member; the second carrier (2) is connected to the linear motion mechanism (5) via a second connecting member (3); The second connecting member (3), the second carrier (2), and the linear motion mechanism (5) are all detachably connected; the linear motion mechanism (5) is fixed to the inner wall of the cavity and can drive the second carrier to move along the X direction; The second carrier (2) is provided with a transmission hole (21) and a plurality of adjustment holes distributed along the Y direction; the second carrier (2) is placed above the wafer rack (7) and at the open end of the wafer rack (7); the wafer rack (7) comprises a plurality of layers of brackets distributed in sequence along the Z direction; a receiving sensor (8) is provided on the last layer of brackets, and the receiving end of the receiving sensor (8) is arranged opposite to the transmitting sensor; a positioning groove is provided on each layer of brackets, and each positioning groove receives a wafer; The transmitting sensor is arranged on the first carrier (1), and its transmitting end is arranged toward the transmission hole (21); It also includes when a wafer rack holding wafers of another size in the chamber needs to be inspected: Adjusting the linear motion mechanism (5) to move the second stage (2) along the X direction so that the transmitting sensor moves to the open end of the wafer rack to be inspected; The installation position of the second connecting member (3) on the second carrier (2) is changed to move the second carrier (2) along the Y direction so that the transmitting sensor is located outside the wafer rack to be detected and the transmitting sensor is directly opposite to the receiving sensor on the wafer rack to be detected.

2. The wafer bump detection system according to claim 1, wherein: The No. 1 connecting member (4) is an elastic element; the adjusting screw (6) passes through the area surrounded by the No. 1 connecting member (4) and is connected to the threaded hole on the No. 2 carrier (2); the threaded hole is a through hole extending along the Z direction.

3. The wafer bump detection system according to claim 1, wherein: The first carrier (1) is provided with a mounting hole (11), and the transmitting sensor is embedded in the mounting hole (11) or threadedly engaged with the mounting hole (11).

4. The wafer bump detection system according to claim 3, wherein: The transmission hole (21) faces the mounting hole (11), and its outer diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the mounting hole (11).

5. The wafer bump detection system according to claim 1, wherein: The second connecting piece (3) is a sheet metal block.

6. The wafer bump detection system according to claim 1, wherein: The linear motion mechanism (5) is a linear guide rail.

7. The wafer bump detection system according to claim 1, wherein: The emission sensor is an infrared emission sensor.

8. A wafer convex piece detection method, based on the wafer convex piece detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Step 1: Place the second carrier (2) above the wafer rack (7) so that the transmitting sensor faces the receiving sensor (8), and then fix the linear motion mechanism (5) of the wafer protrusion detection system to the inner wall of the cavity; Step 2: The transmitting sensor transmits a signal downward. When any wafer on the wafer rack protrudes from the corresponding bracket, no signal is received by the receiving sensor.

9. The wafer bump detection method according to claim 8, wherein: Also includes steps for when there is insufficient installation space: At the bottom of the threaded hole of the second carrier (2), screw the corresponding adjustment screw (6) to form the tilt angle.

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