Wafer transportation mechanism, wafer processing equipment and wafer transportation method

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor processing, and discloses a wafer transportation mechanism, wafer processing equipment and a wafer transportation method. Wherein the wafer transportation mechanism comprises a bracket, a first driving piece and a transportation arm; the first driving piece is arranged on the bracket; the first driving part is in driving connection with the conveying arm and used for driving the conveying arm to move in the first direction; the transport arm is provided with a first grabbing part and a second grabbing part which are used for transferring wafers, the grabbing centers of the first grabbing part and the second grabbing part are arranged at intervals in the first direction, and the first grabbing part and the second grabbing part are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. According to the wafer transportation mechanism, two wafers can be transferred at the same time on the premise of relatively small space; the wafer centering and orienting device has the advantages of being high in space utilization rate, low in cost and high in transfer efficiency, the first driving piece moves in a single-axis mode, only single-axis errors are introduced under ideal conditions, and therefore the centering and orienting precision of wafers can be effectively guaranteed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor processing technology, and in particular to a wafer transportation mechanism, wafer processing equipment and a wafer transportation method. Background Art

[0002] In the field of semiconductor manufacturing, wafer transportation is a crucial link. In traditional solutions, each robot arm can only move a single wafer, which is not only inefficient, but also requires a large number of robots and drive mechanisms to be added when transferring wafers between stations, and it is necessary to coordinate the range of motion, movement space, waiting or starting time between each robot, which not only significantly increases costs and occupies more space, but also has great limitations in improving efficiency.

[0003] In the traditional exposure process, if only one robot is used to transfer wafers at the pre-alignment position, an additional temporary storage position needs to be set up. The temporary storage position is needed to temporarily store the wafers to be exposed or exposed, so that the wafers to be exposed and the exposed wafers can be transferred between the two positions, and the transfer efficiency is very low. In order to improve the exposure efficiency, two robots are usually set up from the pre-alignment position to the exposure position (or exposure receiving position) to coordinate the action to transfer the wafer, and at least two drive mechanisms need to be configured. Since the two robots need to be arranged at intervals and coordinated, the traditional multi-arm robot needs a larger rotation radius to avoid motion interference between the robots to complete the transfer action, which occupies a large space inside the lithography machine. In addition, during the coordinated transfer process of the two robots, each robot can only transfer one wafer at a time. It will be easy to reach a bottleneck by increasing the number of robots to improve the transfer efficiency.

[0004] Based on this, there is an urgent need for a wafer transportation mechanism, wafer processing equipment and wafer transportation method to solve the above-mentioned problems. Summary of the invention

[0005] Based on the above, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a wafer transport mechanism, wafer processing equipment and wafer transport method, which can adsorb two wafers simultaneously up and down; it has the advantages of high space utilization, low cost and high efficiency, and the first driving member is a single-axis motion, which will only introduce a single-axis error under ideal conditions, thereby effectively ensuring the centering and orientation accuracy of the wafer.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, a wafer transport mechanism is provided, comprising:

[0008] Bracket;

[0009] A first driving member, which is disposed on the bracket;

[0010] A transport arm, wherein the first driving member is drivingly connected to the transport arm, and the first driving member is used to drive the transport arm to move along a first direction;

[0011] The transport arm is provided with a first gripping part and a second gripping part for transferring wafers, the gripping centers of the first gripping part and the second gripping part are arranged at intervals along the first direction, and the first gripping part and the second gripping part are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction.

[0012] As an optimal technical solution for a wafer transport mechanism, the first gripping part is arranged below the transport arm, and the first gripping part is suitable for gripping from the upper surface of the wafer; the second gripping part is arranged on one side of the transport arm, and the second gripping part is suitable for gripping from the lower surface of the wafer.

[0013] As an optimal technical solution for a wafer transport mechanism, the first gripping part and the second gripping part are suitable for reciprocating between a wafer pre-alignment position and a wafer exposure receiving position, the first gripping part is arranged close to the wafer pre-alignment position, and the second gripping part is arranged close to the wafer exposure receiving position.

[0014] As an optimal technical solution for a wafer transport mechanism, the first gripping part is a non-contact adsorption component arranged at the bottom of the transport arm, and the non-contact adsorption component is suitable for contactless adsorption of the upper surface of the wafer; the second gripping part is a fork arm arranged on the transport arm and extending along the first direction.

[0015] As an optimal technical solution for a wafer transport mechanism, the non-contact adsorption assembly includes a central suction cup and a plurality of adsorption components, the adsorption components include a plurality of second suction cups equidistant from the center of the central suction cup; the distance between the second suction cups of adjacent adsorption components and the center of the central suction cup gradually increases; the central suction cup and the second suction cups are Bernoulli suction cups.

[0016] As a preferred technical solution for a wafer transport mechanism, the transport arm is provided with a mutually independent first air circuit, a second air circuit and several third air circuits, the first air circuit is connected to the central suction cup, the second air circuit is connected to the suction nozzle, several third air circuits correspond one-to-one to several adsorption components, and one third air circuit is connected to all the second suction cups in one adsorption component.

[0017] As an optimal technical solution for a wafer transport mechanism, the extension of the fork arm relative to the transport arm along the first direction is greater than the radius of the wafer, and a suction nozzle is provided on the top of the fork arm, and the suction nozzle can adsorb the lower surface of the wafer.

[0018] In a second aspect, a wafer processing device is provided, comprising a workpiece stage, a pre-aligner and a wafer transport mechanism as described in any one of the above items, wherein the workpiece stage, the pre-aligner and the transport arm are arranged at intervals along the first direction, and a plurality of positioning columns that can be raised and lowered are arranged at a wafer exposure receiving position of the workpiece stage, and the positioning columns are suitable for receiving wafers;

[0019] The pre-aligner comprises a wafer pre-alignment position and a cache position, and the cache position is located above the wafer pre-alignment position, the wafer pre-alignment position is used to pre-align the wafer, and the cache position is used to temporarily store the wafer;

[0020] The workpiece stage, the buffer station and the wafer pre-alignment station are sequentially arranged at intervals along the first direction, and the fork arm is arranged on a side of the transport arm close to the workpiece stage.

[0021] As a preferred technical solution for wafer processing equipment, the pre-aligner includes an alignment device and a detection device, and the alignment device includes:

[0022] A carrier, wherein the carrier is provided with an elongated hole extending along a first direction;

[0023] A support assembly, wherein the support assembly includes a first support column and a support component, wherein the support component includes at least two second support columns, wherein the second support columns are distributed on both sides of the elongated hole along a second direction, and the first support column and the at least two second support columns are used to support the wafer;

[0024] An adjustment component, comprising a tray and a driving component, wherein the driving component is located below the carrier, the driving component is provided with an output shaft, the output shaft is passed through the long hole and connected to the tray, the tray is used to carry and adsorb the wafer, and the driving component is used to drive the tray to move;

[0025] The detection device is arranged above the alignment device, and the detection device includes a shell and a camera. The camera is installed in the shell. The bottom wall of the shell is provided with an avoidance hole. The camera can illuminate the edge of the wafer close to the first supporting column through the avoidance hole, and the wafer pre-alignment position is formed below the camera.

[0026] As a preferred technical solution for wafer processing equipment, the supporting parts are at least two groups, and each group of the supporting parts includes two second supporting columns; the supporting parts are arranged at intervals along the first direction, and the distance between the two second supporting columns in the supporting parts gradually increases along the direction away from the first supporting column.

[0027] As a preferred technical solution for wafer processing equipment, the two second support columns in the support component are arranged on the upper surface of the carrier and are symmetrically arranged with the center line of the long hole; the first support column is arranged near one end of the long hole, and the two second support columns in the same group are arranged in an isosceles triangle with the first support column.

[0028] As a preferred technical solution for wafer processing equipment, the supporting end surfaces of the first supporting column and the second supporting column are on the same horizontal plane.

[0029] As a preferred technical solution for wafer processing equipment, a height adjustment device is provided below the first support column and / or the second support column, and the height adjustment device is suitable for adjusting the height of the supporting end surfaces of the first support column and the second support column to the same horizontal height.

[0030] As a preferred technical solution for wafer processing equipment, the support end surfaces of the two second support pillars in each group of the support components are located on the same horizontal plane, and the height of the second support pillars gradually increases in a direction away from the first support pillars;

[0031] The support assembly also includes a second lifting drive member, which is connected to the first support column and drives the first support column to be lifted and lowered to be flush with the support end surface of the second support column in one group of the support components to horizontally support one of the wafers.

[0032] As a preferred technical solution of the wafer processing equipment, the detection device further includes a cache component, the cache component forms the cache station, the cache component is installed at the bottom of the shell, the cache component and the camera are spaced apart along the first direction, the cache component includes a non-contact suction cup, and the non-contact suction cup is used to absorb the wafer;

[0033] The cache assembly further includes a third lifting drive member, a mounting base plate, a mounting plate and a plurality of positioning pins, wherein the third lifting drive member is connected to the housing and is drivingly connected to the mounting base plate, and the third lifting drive member is used to drive the mounting base plate to lift, and the mounting plate and the non-contact suction cup are both mounted on the mounting base plate;

[0034] A plurality of the positioning pins are arranged on the mounting plate, a plurality of the positioning pins are arranged around the non-contact suction cup, and the wafer can be embedded between the plurality of the positioning pins.

[0035] In a third aspect, a wafer transportation method is provided, which is applied to the wafer processing equipment described in any one of the above items; the wafer transportation method comprises the following steps:

[0036] The first driving member drives the first gripping portion of the transport arm to move above the wafer pre-alignment position and pick up the pre-aligned first wafer;

[0037] The first driving member drives the second grasping portion of the transport arm to move toward the workpiece table, and at the same time the positioning column rises to lift up the processed second wafer;

[0038] The second grasping portion extends under the second wafer, and the positioning column falls and resets, so that the second grasping portion absorbs the second wafer;

[0039] The first driving member continues to drive the transport arm to move toward the workpiece table so that the first wafer is located above the positioning column, and the positioning column rises to receive the first wafer and then falls back downward;

[0040] The first driving member drives the transport arm to move toward the pre-alignment instrument so that the second wafer is located below the cache station, the first gripping portion of the transport arm is located above the wafer pre-alignment position, and the second gripping portion of the transport arm is located below the cache station. The cache station temporarily stores the second wafer, and the first gripping portion of the transport arm picks up the next first wafer.

[0041] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0042] The present invention provides a wafer transport mechanism, wafer processing equipment and wafer transport method. When working, the first gripping part and the second gripping part are arranged at intervals along the first direction and the vertical direction, so that the two gripping parts can independently complete the gripping of two wafers when moving with the transport arm, and there will be no motion interference between each other. Under the premise of using a relatively small space, two wafers can be adsorbed at the same time, and only a single motion axis is used. At the same time, it has the advantages of high space utilization, low cost and high efficiency, and the first driving member is a single-axis motion, which only introduces a single-axis error under ideal conditions, thereby effectively ensuring the centering and orientation accuracy of the wafer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the contents of the embodiments of the present invention and these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0044] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a wafer transport mechanism provided by a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 2 is a partial structural perspective view of a wafer transport mechanism provided by a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of a wafer processing device provided by a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of a pre-alignment instrument provided in a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 5 is a top view of an alignment device provided in a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of a detection device provided in a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0050] Figure 7 is a bottom view of a detection device provided in a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0051] Figure 8 is one of the cross-sectional views of the alignment device provided in the specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0052] Fig. 9 is a second cross-sectional view of the alignment device provided in a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0053] Fig.10 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of a detection device provided in a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0054] Fig.11 is a flow chart of an alignment method provided in a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0055] Fig.12 It is a flow chart of a wafer transportation method provided by a specific embodiment of the present invention.

[0056] The following are marked in the figure:

[0057] 1. Wafer transport mechanism; 11. Bracket; 12. First driving member; 121. Linear motor; 122. Slide; 13. Transport arm; 131. First air path; 132. Third air path; 14. Fork arm; 141. Second air path; 15. Non-contact adsorption component; 151. Central suction cup; 152. Adsorption component; 1521. Second suction cup; 16. Suction nozzle;

[0058] 2. Pre-aligner; 21. Alignment device; 211. Housing; 2111. Carrier; 21111. Long hole; 212. Support assembly; 2121. First support column; 2122. Support component; 21221. Second support column; 2123. Second lifting drive member; 213. Adjustment assembly; 2131. Tray; 2132. Drive member; 21321. First horizontal drive member; 21322. First lifting drive member; 21323. First rotation drive member; 213231. Output shaft;

[0059] 22. Detection device; 221. Shell; 2211. Avoidance hole; 222. Camera; 223. Cache assembly; 2231. Non-contact suction cup; 2232. Third lifting drive member; 2233. Mounting base plate; 2234. Mounting plate; 2235. Positioning pin; 22351. Conical portion;

[0060] 3. Workpiece table. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention, rather than to limit the present invention. It should also be noted that, for ease of description, only parts related to the present invention, rather than all structures, are shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0062] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connected", "connected", and "fixed" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0063] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or may include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" and "above" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" and "below" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0064] In the description of this embodiment, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and other directions or positional relationships are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of description and simplification of operation, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operate in a specific direction, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish in the description and have no special meaning.

[0065] like Figure 1-Figure 3As shown, the wafer transport mechanism 1 of the present invention is mainly used to reciprocate between the pre-alignment position and the exposure receiving position of the lithography equipment to transport the wafer that has passed the pre-aligner 2 for edge finding (finding the notch or flat edge of the wafer edge) and centering (adjusting the wafer to align with the center of the pre-aligner 2) to the exposure receiving position of the workpiece stage 3 of the lithography machine for exposure or waiting for exposure. However, those skilled in the art should understand that the wafer transport mechanism 1 of the present invention is not limited to the wafer transport between the pre-alignment position and the exposure position (or the wafer exposure receiving position), and can be applied to the transport of wafers or workpieces of the same type or requirements as the wafer (such as substrates, etc.) between the two positions. The wafer transport mechanism 1 has a bracket 11, on which a first driving member 12 and a transport arm 13 are arranged. The first driving member 12 is drivingly connected to the transport arm 13, and the first driving member 12 is used to drive the transport arm 13 to move along a first direction, that is, from a pre-alignment position to a wafer exposure receiving position; the transport arm 13 is provided with a first grasping portion and a second grasping portion for transferring wafers, and the grasping centers of the first grasping portion and the second grasping portion are arranged at intervals along the first direction, and the first grasping portion and the second grasping portion are arranged at intervals vertically.

[0066] By arranging the first gripping part and the second gripping part in a spaced manner along the first direction and the vertical direction, it is ensured that the two gripping parts can independently complete the gripping of two wafers (this application is mainly used to grip the wafers to be exposed and the wafers that have been exposed) when moving with the transport arm 13, and there will be no motion interference between each other. In order to adapt to the exposure process of the wafer, the first gripping part of the present application is arranged below the transport part, and the first gripping part is suitable for gripping from the upper surface of the wafer (that is, the adhesive coating surface of the wafer. The gripping method of the present application is generally used for single-sided exposed wafers. For double-sided exposed wafers, the gripping method of the second gripping part needs to be changed accordingly, preferably also changed to contactless gripping); the second gripping part is arranged on one side of the transport arm 13, and the second gripping part is suitable for gripping from the back of the wafer.

[0067] The second gripping part can be arranged on the side of the transport arm 13 close to the pre-alignment position, or on the side close to the exposure receiving position (that is, the side away from the pre-alignment position). There is no need to specify which side it is arranged on, and it should be within the protection scope of the present invention. When arranged on different sides, it is only necessary to appropriately adjust the moving stroke of the transport arm 13 and the order of picking and placing the wafers before and after exposure. As a preferred embodiment, the first gripping part and the second gripping part are suitable for reciprocating movement between the wafer pre-alignment position and the wafer exposure receiving position, and the first driving member 12 can be a linear drive, and preferably a reciprocating linear motion, and the first gripping part is arranged close to the wafer pre-alignment position, and the second gripping part is arranged close to the wafer exposure receiving position. The advantage of this arrangement is that when the first gripping part transfers the wafer grasped from the pre-alignment position to the exposure receiving position (such as Figure 3As shown, the transport arm 13 moves along the X-axis from the upper left corner to the lower right corner of the figure, and moves the wafer from the pre-aligner 2 to the worktable 3). Since the second gripping part is arranged on the side of the transport arm 13 close to the worktable 3, the second gripping part will first reach the position of the worktable 3, and reach the wafer exposure position of the worktable 3 (or the wafer receiving position of the worktable 3) at the second gripping part. The exposed wafer is lifted up to a height higher than the second gripping part under the support of the positioning column, and the second gripping part continues to move to the pre-position below the exposed wafer. After the positioning, the positioning column (positioning column can also be called a push rod or PIN, which is a conventional technology in this field) on the workpiece stage 3 falls back to the initial position (lower than the height of the second gripping part), and the exposed wafer falls on the second gripping part, and then the transport arm 13 continues to move forward. When the first gripping part at the bottom of the transport arm 13 is located directly above the exposure position (or exposure receiving position), the transport arm 13 stops moving, and the first gripping part places the wafer to be exposed at the wafer exposure position, and then the transport arm 13 moves in the direction of the exposure, and the exposed wafer is transported away. When the transport arm 13 moves to the pre-alignment position, the external manipulator first transports the exposed wafer on the second gripping part, and then controls the first gripping part to grab the next pre-aligned wafer from the pre-alignment position.

[0068] In a specific embodiment, Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, this embodiment provides a wafer transport mechanism 1, wherein the first gripping part is a non-contact adsorption component 15 arranged at the bottom of the transport arm 13, and the non-contact adsorption component 15 is suitable for non-contact adsorption of the upper surface of the wafer; the second gripping part is a fork arm 14 extending along the first direction arranged on the transport arm 13. During operation, the bottom of the transport arm 13 is provided with a non-contact adsorption component 15, and the non-contact adsorption component 15 can non-contactly adsorb the upper surface of the wafer to prevent scratching the upper surface of the wafer, and the top of the fork arm 14 can vacuum adsorb the lower surface of the wafer. The wafer transport mechanism 1 vacuum adsorbs the wafer on the top and non-contact adsorption is adopted on the bottom. Under the premise of using a relatively small space, it is possible to adsorb two wafers at the same time, and only a single motion axis is used. At the same time, it has the advantages of high space utilization, low cost, and high efficiency, and the first driving member 12 is a single-axis motion, which will only introduce a single-axis error under ideal conditions, thereby effectively ensuring the centering and orientation accuracy of the wafer.

[0069] It should be noted that the upper surface of the wafer is the exposure surface, which has extremely high requirements for cleanliness and contamination, and the upper surface of the wafer cannot be allowed to contact any transport structure during transportation, so a non-contact adsorption component 15 is used to non-contactly adsorb the upper surface of the wafer; while the lower surface of the wafer generally does not need to be photolithographically processed, the fork arm 14 can contact the lower surface of the wafer. This embodiment uses this feature of the wafer to set up different types of wafer grabbing structures.

[0070] In this embodiment, the first direction is X, the second direction is Y, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction. The first driving member 12 includes a linear motor 121 and a slide 122, the linear motor 121 is connected to the slide 122, the transport arm 13 is connected to the slide 122, and the transport arm 13 can move along the first direction with the linear motor 121.

[0071] Furthermore, the non-contact adsorption component 15 includes a central suction cup 151 and a plurality of adsorption components 152, and the adsorption component 152 includes a plurality of second suction cups 1521 equidistant from the center of the central suction cup 151; the distance between the second suction cups 1521 of adjacent adsorption components 152 and the center of the central suction cup 151 gradually increases, and the central suction cup 151 and the second suction cup 1521 are Bernoulli suction cups. Among them, as the distance between the second suction cup 1521 and the center of the central suction cup 151 gradually increases, the bottom of the transport arm 13 can adsorb wafers of more sizes, thereby improving versatility. In other embodiments, the non-contact adsorption component 15 can also adopt other forms of non-contact adsorption methods such as electrostatic adsorption. The main purpose of using non-contact adsorption here is to prevent contamination of the upper surface of the wafer due to contact. As long as this purpose can be achieved, the specific structural form of the non-contact adsorption component 15 is not limited.

[0072] In this embodiment, the transport arm 13 is provided with a mutually independent first gas circuit 131, a second gas circuit 141 and a plurality of third gas circuits 132, the first gas circuit 131 is connected to the central suction cup 151, the second gas circuit 141 is connected to the suction nozzle 16, the plurality of third gas circuits 132 correspond to the plurality of adsorption components 152 one by one, and one third gas circuit 132 is connected to all the second suction cups 1521 in one adsorption component 152. In this embodiment, the non-contact adsorption assembly 15 includes two adsorption components 152, each adsorption component 152 includes four second suction cups 1521, and the four second suction cups 1521 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the central suction cup 151 along the second direction.

[0073] In this embodiment, a total of two third gas circuits 132 are included, wherein the first gas circuit 131 and the two third gas circuits 132 are positive pressure gas circuits, and the first gas circuit 131 and the two third gas circuits 132 can be controlled separately to meet the adsorption requirements of wafers of different sizes. The central suction cup 151 is located at the center of the wafer and is used to adsorb 2-4 inch wafers; the central suction cup 151 and the adsorption component 152 close to the central suction cup 151 are a separate group, which are used to adsorb 5-8 inch wafers; the central suction cup 151 and the adsorption component 152 away from the central suction cup 151 are a separate group, which are used to adsorb 12 inch wafers. The second gas circuit 141 is a negative pressure gas circuit. In this embodiment, there are two fork arms 14, one end of the two fork arms 14 is connected by a crossbeam, and the crossbeam is connected to the suspension arm. A total of three suction nozzles 16 are arranged at the end of the two fork arms 14 away from the crossbeam. In other embodiments, there can also be one or more fork arms 14.

[0074] Furthermore, the first gas circuit 131 and the two third gas circuits 132 can be divided into three independent gas circuits for control, and of course they can also be used in combination as needed. For example, the first gas circuit 131 and the two third gas circuits 132 are opened at the same time to adsorb thicker wafers. The first gas circuit 131 and the two third gas circuits 132 can be formed inside the transport arm 13, and can also be connected through pipelines. Similarly, the second gas circuit 141 can be formed inside the fork arm 14 and the transport arm 13, and can also be connected through pipelines. The pipelines on the fork transport arm 13 and the fork arm 14 can be bundled and connected to the outside through a drag chain from the slide 122 to ensure smooth pipeline connection during the movement of the transport arm 13.

[0075] Preferably, the central suction cup 151 and the second suction cup 1521 are Bernoulli suction cups. When the transport arm 13 moves to the top of the wafer, the central suction cup 151 and the second suction cup 1521 can absorb the wafer from the bottom of the transport arm 13 and ensure that they do not touch the surface of the wafer.

[0076] Further preferably, the extension of the fork arm 14 relative to the transport arm 13 along the first direction is greater than the radius of the wafer, and a suction nozzle 16 is provided at the top of the fork arm 14, and the suction nozzle 16 can vacuum absorb the lower surface of the wafer. When the wafer transport mechanism 1 absorbs the wafer on both the upper and lower sides, the distance between the two wafers is increased to prevent the two wafers from interfering with the external structure, improve the transportation efficiency, and improve the stability of the fork arm 14 carrying the wafer. The suction nozzle 16 is provided at the top of the fork arm 14, and the suction nozzle 16 vacuum absorbs the lower surface of the wafer, which ensures that the wafer on the fork arm 14 can be effectively fixed when the wafer is transported, and avoids sliding or falling off during transportation.

[0077] Furthermore, if Figure 3As shown, the present embodiment also provides a wafer processing equipment, including a workpiece stage 3, a pre-aligner 2 and the above-mentioned wafer transport mechanism 1, the workpiece stage 3, the pre-aligner 2 and the transport arm 13 are arranged at intervals along a first direction, the wafer exposure receiving position of the workpiece stage 3 is provided with a plurality of positioning columns that can be raised and lowered, and the positioning columns are suitable for receiving the wafer; the pre-aligner 2 includes a wafer pre-alignment position and a cache position, and the cache position is located above the wafer pre-alignment position, the wafer pre-alignment position is used to pre-align the wafer, and the cache position is used to temporarily store the wafer; the workpiece stage 3, the cache position and the wafer pre-alignment position are arranged at intervals in sequence along the first direction, and the fork arm 14 is arranged on the side of the transport arm 13 close to the workpiece stage 3.

[0078] During processing, the first driving member 12 drives the transport arm 13 to move above the wafer pre-alignment position and pick up the pre-aligned first wafer; the first driving member 12 drives the transport arm 13 to move in the direction close to the workpiece stage 3, and at the same time the positioning column rises to lift the processed second wafer; the fork arm 14 extends under the second wafer, and the positioning column falls and resets, so that the fork arm 14 adsorbs the second wafer; the first driving member 12 continues to drive the transport arm 13 to move in the direction close to the workpiece stage 3, so that the first wafer is located above the positioning column, the positioning column rises to receive the first wafer and then falls back downward; the first driving member 12 drives the transport arm 13 to move in the direction close to the pre-alignment instrument 2, so that the second wafer is located below the cache station, the transport arm 13 is located above the wafer pre-alignment position, the cache station caches the second wafer, and the transport arm 13 picks up the next first wafer. The wafer transfer process is to transfer the wafer from the wafer pre-alignment position to the workpiece table 3, and then transfer it from the workpiece table 3 to the wafer pre-alignment position after processing is completed. The transfer journey is only one section, which is shorter than the traditional transfer journey. In addition, when returning from the workpiece table 3 to the wafer pre-alignment position, the lower surface of the transport arm 13 and the upper surface of the fork arm 14 are independently adsorbed or supported, so that the wafer can be taken from the wafer pre-alignment position and the processed wafer can be exchanged from the positioning column, thereby having higher wafer transfer work efficiency.

[0079] In this embodiment, the workpiece stage 3 is an exposure stage, and a wafer exposure receiving position is provided on the workpiece stage 3. The first wafer is the wafer to be exposed, and the second wafer is the wafer that has completed exposure. The positioning column can be driven by a lifting motor or a lifting cylinder.

[0080] like Figure 4-Figure 7As shown, in this embodiment, the pre-aligner 2 includes an alignment device 21 and a detection device 22, and the alignment device 21 includes a carrier 2111, a support assembly 212 and an adjustment assembly 213. The carrier 2111 is provided with an elongated hole 21111 extending along a first direction; the support assembly 212 includes a first support column 2121 and a support component 2122, and the support component 2122 includes at least two second support columns 21221, and at least two second support columns 21221 cooperate with one first support column 2121 to realize three-point support, which not only has good support stability, but also facilitates adjustment of the support level, and can effectively reduce the wear of the support column on the wafer at the support end surface; the second support column 212 The first support column 2121 and the second support column 21221 are arranged on both sides of the long hole 21111 along the second direction and are fixedly arranged on the upper surface of the carrier 2111. The second direction of the embodiment is arranged perpendicular to the first direction on the horizontal plane. The two second support columns 21221 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the long hole 21111. The first support column 2121 and the two second support columns 21221 are used to support the position close to the edge of the wafer, so that enough space is reserved between the support columns for the tray 2131 to move. The adjustment component 213 includes the tray 2131 and the drive column 2131. The driving component 2132 is located below the stage 2111. The driving component 2132 is provided with an output shaft 213231. The output shaft 213231 is passed through the long hole 21111 and connected to the tray 2131. The tray 2131 is used to carry and adsorb the wafer. The driving component 2132 is used to drive the tray 2131 to rise and fall, rotate and move along the first direction; the detection device 22 is arranged above the alignment device 21. The detection device 22 includes a housing 221 and a camera 222. The camera 222 is preferably a linear array camera 222, and a wafer pre-alignment position is formed below the camera 222. The side of the first support column 2121 away from the long hole 21111 is basically located at the center of the scanning area of ​​the linear matrix camera. When wafers of different sizes are placed on the support assembly 212, their edges on the side of the first support column 2121 are basically located at the center of the scanning area, so that when the wafer rotates, the contour of its edge can pass through the scanning area, and then the edge information of the wafer can be collected by the linear matrix camera. The camera 222 is installed in the shell 221, and the bottom wall of the shell 221 is provided with an avoidance hole 2211. The camera 222 can illuminate the edge of the wafer on the first support column 2121 through the avoidance hole 2211. In this embodiment, the tray 2131 can adsorb the wafer when holding the wafer, and the adsorption method is vacuum adsorption. A plurality of vacuum suction nozzles 16 or vacuum grooves can be provided on the support surface of the tray 2131 for vacuum adsorption to improve the stability of the wafer. See. Figure 4 , the first direction is X, the second direction is Y, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

[0081] During operation, the wafer is placed on the first supporting column 2121 and the second supporting column 21221. Figure 5 As shown, in this embodiment, one first support column 2121 is provided, which is located outside the first elongated hole 21111 and is arranged close to the end of the elongated hole 21111. Figure 5 On the horizontal projection plane shown, the line connecting the axis of the first support column 2121 and the axis of the tray 2131 is in the first direction (X direction), and the second support columns 21221 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the long hole 21111 along the second direction (Y direction); the driving component 2132 drives the tray 2131 to move to the bottom of the wafer, holds the wafer and drives the wafer to rotate a preset angle. In this embodiment, the preset angle is preferably one circle. When the wafer rotates, the edges of the wafer pass through the scanning area of ​​the camera 222 in sequence according to the rotation direction. Figure 5 The wafer contour information is obtained from the left side of the long hole 21111 shown in the figure and the center coordinates of the wafer are calculated, and the center offset is calculated according to the center coordinates; the driving component 2132 drives the wafer so that the center of the wafer is located on one side of the center of the tray 2131 along the first direction. At this time, the offset of the center of the wafer in the Y direction is adjusted to 0, that is, the eccentricity correction in the Y direction is completed; then the driving component 2132 drives the tray 2131 to descend to a height lower than the supporting end face of the supporting column. At this time, the wafer is separated from the tray 2131 because it is supported by the first supporting column 2121 and the second supporting column 21221. When the tray 2131 moves downward and is completely separated from the wafer, The driving component 2132 drives the tray 2131 to move along the first direction until the center of the tray 2131 is directly below the center of the wafer, that is, at this time, the center of the tray 2131 coincides with the horizontal projection of the center of the wafer, and the X-axis offset correction of the wafer is completed; then the driving component 2132 drives the tray 2131 to move upward, and lifts the wafer placed on the first support column 2121 and the second support column 21221 upward. After the wafer is separated from the support columns, the tray 2131 starts vacuum adsorption to fix the wafer, and the center calibration of the wafer is completed, that is, at this time, the center of the wafer lifted on the tray 2131 coincides with the center of the tray 2131 itself. In order to facilitate lithography alignment, the edges of existing wafers are generally set with notch marks and flat edge marks. In the above process, after the wafer rotates one circle, the camera 222 collects the position information of the edge of the wafer, not only calculates the eccentricity of the center of the wafer, but also confirms the position coordinate information of the notch or flat edge mark at the edge of the wafer. When the center of the wafer is corrected to coincide with the center of the tray 2131, the position information of the notch or flat edge on the edge of the wafer has been confirmed. By rotating a certain angle in the forward or reverse direction, the center point of the notch or flat edge of the wafer can be rotated to the preset position to complete the edge finding action. Preferably, the line connecting the preset position of the notch or flat edge and the center of the tray 2131 is in the first direction.

[0082] This embodiment splits the alignment device 21 and the detection device 22 into two relatively independent modules. The alignment device 21 and the detection device 22 are installed independently, there is no connecting rod between the alignment device 21 and the detection device 22, and the area between the two is not blocked in the circumferential direction; furthermore, after identifying the center deviation of the wafer, the adjustment component 213 can be used to achieve pre-alignment of the wafer, without the need to use a mechanical arm for position compensation, reducing the product size, facilitating space layout, and reducing equipment costs; finally, the wafer is supported by the first support column 2121 and the two second support columns 21221, and the top surfaces of the first support column 2121 and the two second support columns 21221 are flush, ensuring that the wafer remains flat during the adsorption process of the tray 2131, and can avoid bending or cracking of the wafer due to uneven force, and the first support column 2121 and the two second support columns 21221 support have good adsorption reliability and versatility, can be applied to the support adsorption of wafers of different sizes, high flexibility, simple maintenance, and low cost.

[0083] It should be noted that when the wafer rotates, the camera 222 obtains the contour information of the wafer and calculates the center coordinates of the wafer. This is a prior art, and its working principle and calculation method will not be described in detail here.

[0084] Preferably, if Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the support components 2122 are at least two groups, and seven groups are provided in this embodiment. The two second support columns 21221 in each group of support components 2122 are symmetrically arranged relative to the long strip hole 21111, and each group of support components 2122 includes two second support columns 21221; each group of support components 2122 is arranged at intervals along the first direction, and the spacing between the two second support columns 21221 in the support components 2122 gradually increases in the direction away from the first support column 2121 to adapt to the wafer with increased size. By providing multiple groups of support components 2122, it is convenient for the support components 2122 to cooperate with the first support column 2121 to support wafers of different models. In other embodiments, each group of support components 2122 may also include more than three second support columns 21221, and may even be arranged to provide more than two forked support points on the upper end of a second support column 21221 for support. The specific support form is not limited, as long as it can cooperate with the first support column 2121 to achieve multi-point support of the wafer.

[0085] In the prior art, wafers of different sizes are in a concentric state during pre-alignment. Therefore, the position that the camera needs to scan during pre-alignment is inconsistent. In order to adapt to each size of wafer, a camera is designed separately. The advantage of this is that the position of the camera is fixed and easy to use. However, due to the use of several cameras, this solution greatly increases the cost and has a great impact on the space. Another solution is to add a lateral axis to the camera, and move the camera position so that the camera of the pre-aligner can just scan the edge of wafers of different sizes. However, this solution adds an additional motion axis to drive the camera to move, and the motion axis has high requirements for load and motion accuracy. In addition, depending on the needs of compatible wafer sizes, when compatible with 2~12 inch wafers, the stroke of the motion axis can be close to 150mm. Therefore, the impact on the overall space and price is also large. And when the camera moves, it will not only affect its optimal focal plane (affecting the clarity of image acquisition), but also when it moves frequently, the reference coordinates of the camera will change frequently, which will increase the amount of calculation and cumulative error, and thus have a great impact on the detection accuracy.

[0086] To solve the above problems, Figure 5 and Figure 8 As shown, the present application sets a base point on the side of the first support column 2121 away from the long hole 21111 (the base point is preset by the system, and the pre-alignment mark is not specially set in the pre-alignment instrument 2), and wafers of different sizes and models are placed starting from the base point, see Figure 5As the size of the wafer increases, the right edge of the wafer gradually extends to the right. When the height of each group of second support pillars 21221 is consistent with that of the first support pillars 2121, the second support pillars 21221 under the horizontal projection of the wafer of the corresponding size will all play a supporting role. The advantage of this method is that the bottom surface of the wafer can be supported at multiple points. The disadvantage is that when several second support pillars 21221 are adjusted to the same horizontal height, the assembly process requirements are high, and once the wafer is not flat enough, it will also affect the stability of the support. To this end, in other embodiments, the support end surfaces of the two second support columns 21221 in each group of support parts 2122 are located on the same horizontal plane, and the heights of the second support columns 21221 in adjacent support parts 2122 gradually increase in the direction away from the first support column 2121; for example, the increased height can be around 1-2 mm, and the height difference can also be other values; the support assembly 212 also includes a second lifting drive 2123, which is connected to the first support column 2121 and drives the first support column 2121 to rise and fall until it is flush with the support end surface of the second support column 21221 in one of the groups of support parts 2122, so as to horizontally support a wafer. In this embodiment, different groups of support components 2122 correspond to different types of wafers. Therefore, when supporting different types of wafers, the second lifting drive 2123 drives the first support column 2121 to rise and fall so that the first support column 2121 and the second support column 21221 of the corresponding support component 2122 are at the same height, ensuring that the edges of wafers of different types are supported by one first support column 2121 and two second support columns 21221, all of which are three-point supports. For the horizontal adjustment process, due to the small number of support points, it is easier to adjust the level, and the three-point support reduces the contact area on the back of the wafer, thereby reducing the wear on the back of the wafer. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when wafers of different models are placed on the first support column 2121, the edge of the wafer close to the first support column 2121 is located at the base point position and is located within the detection range of the camera 222. When the wafer rotates, the edge of the wafer located below the camera 222 is always within the detection range of the camera 222, thereby achieving the pre-alignment requirements of wafers of different specifications by using only one camera 222.

[0087] Preferably, the first support column 2121 and the second support column 21221 can absorb the wafer to improve the stability of the wafer. The second support columns 21221 of different groups of support components 2122 can perform independent vacuum switch actions to achieve the purpose of absorbing wafers of different sizes.

[0088] like Figure 5As shown, this embodiment includes a total of 7 groups of support components 2122. Along the direction away from the first support column 2121, the first group of support components 2122 cooperate with the first support column 2121 to support 2-inch wafers; the second group of support components 2122 cooperate with the first support column 2121 to support 3-inch wafers; the third group of support components 2122 cooperate with the first support column 2121 to support 4-inch wafers; the fourth group of support components 2122 cooperate with the first support column 2121 to support 5-inch wafers; the fifth group of support components 2122 cooperate with the first support column 2121 to support 6-inch wafers; the sixth group of support components 2122 cooperate with the first support column 2121 to support 8-inch wafers; the seventh group of support components 2122 cooperate with the first support column 2121 to support 12-inch wafers. Figure 5 The 7 circles shown in the figure represent the outlines of 2-inch, 3-inch, 4-inch, 5-inch, 6-inch, 8-inch, and 12-inch wafers respectively (the above sizes are also the most common standard wafer sizes at present). Wafers of different models are not placed on the pre-alignment instrument 2 of the present invention for pre-alignment at the same time. Instead, when pre-aligning, each batch of pre-alignment work is only for one type of wafer. For example, when pre-aligning 2-inch wafers, only the Figure 5 When the 12-inch wafer is pre-aligned, the 12-inch wafer is mainly supported by the leftmost first supporting column 2121 and the rightmost two second supporting columns 21221.

[0089] When supporting wafers of different sizes, it is preferred that the two second support columns 21221 closest to the wafer edge under the horizontal projection of the wafer cooperate with the first support column 2121 for support. Of course, if the heights of the second support columns 21221 on the carrier 2111 are all set to be consistent, the support end surfaces of the first support column 2121 and the second support column 21221 are on the same horizontal plane, then all the second support columns 21221 and the first support column 2121 under the horizontal projection of the wafer of the corresponding size can support the wafer. Taking a 12-inch wafer as an example, at this time Figure 5 The first support columns 2121 and the second support columns 21221 shown are both located below the horizontal projection of the 12-inch wafer, and together support the 12-inch wafer. Fig. 9 As shown, the heights of the second support columns 21221 of the plurality of support components 2122 are the same, which can simplify the product structure. During assembly, the horizontal heights of the second support columns 21221 need to be adjusted to be consistent, and each second support column 21221 is fixed to the upper surface of the carrier 2111.

[0090] In other embodiments, a height adjustment device is provided below the first support column 2121 and / or the second support column 21221, and the height adjustment device is suitable for adjusting the height of the support end surface of the first support column 2121 and the second support column 21221 to the same horizontal height. That is, the first support column 2121 and the second support column 21221 of the present application can both be adjusted in height by the height adjustment device, or the height of one of them can be fixed, and the height of the other can be adjusted by the height adjustment device. The above embodiment introduces the height adjustment of the first support column 2121. In other embodiments, the first support column 2121 can also be fixed, and the height adjustment device can be provided below the second support column 21221. A height adjustment device can be provided below each second support column 21221, or all the second support columns 21221 with height differences can be adjusted in height as a whole. The present application does not impose any restrictions on this, as long as it can facilitate the adjustment of the support effect of the support column on the wafer; and the structure of the height adjustment device is not limited, as long as it is a mechanism or device that is easy to control and can be driven up and down.

[0091] Furthermore, the driving component 2132 includes a first horizontal driving member 21321, a first lifting driving member 21322 and a first rotating driving member 21323. The first horizontal driving member 21321 is drivingly connected to the first lifting driving member 21322. The first horizontal driving member 21321 is used to drive the first lifting driving member 21322 to move along a first direction; the first lifting driving member 21322 is drivingly connected to the first rotating driving member 21323. The first lifting driving member 21322 is used to drive the first rotating driving member 21323 to rise and fall. The first rotating driving member 21323 is provided with an output shaft 213231. The output shaft 213231 is penetrated through the long hole 21111 and connected to the tray 2131. The first rotating driving member 21323 is used to drive the tray 2131 to rotate. When the first horizontal driving member 21321 drives the first lifting driving member 21322 to move in the first direction, the tray 2131 is driven to move in the first direction. When the first lifting driving member 21322 drives the first rotating driving member 21323 to move up and down, the tray 2131 is driven to move up and down. In this embodiment, the first horizontal driving member 21321 and the first lifting driving member 21322 both use a linear driving module, and the first rotating driving member 21323 uses a rotating motor. In this embodiment, the driving member 2132 is disposed in the housing 211, and a carrier 2111 is disposed on the top of the housing 211.

[0092] Preferably, if Figure 6 , Figure 7 and Fig.10As shown, the detection device 22 also includes a cache component 223, and a cache station is formed at the cache component 223. The cache component 223 is installed at the bottom of the housing 221. The cache component 223 and the camera 222 are spaced apart along the first direction. The cache component 223 includes a non-contact suction cup 2231, and the non-contact suction cup 2231 is used to adsorb the wafer. When the wafer needs to be cached, the non-contact suction cup 2231 adsorbs the top surface of the wafer to achieve the caching of the wafer, and the non-contact suction cup 2231 has no contact with the top surface of the wafer to prevent contamination and damage to the glue-coated surface of the wafer. Among them, the non-contact suction cup 2231 is a Bernoulli suction cup. A cache station is added by the cache component 223 to temporarily store or transport wafers that have been completed by lithography.

[0093] Further preferably, the cache assembly 223 also includes a third lifting drive member 2232, a mounting base plate 2233, a mounting plate 2234 and a plurality of positioning pins 2235, the third lifting drive member 2232 is connected to the shell 221 and is driven to be connected to the mounting base plate 2233, the third lifting drive member 2232 is used to drive the mounting base plate 2233 to rise and fall, the mounting plate 2234 and the non-contact suction cup 2231 are both installed on the mounting base plate 2233; a plurality of positioning pins 2235 are arranged on the mounting plate 2234, a plurality of positioning pins 2235 are arranged around the non-contact suction cup 2231, and the wafer can be embedded between the plurality of positioning pins 2235.

[0094] The third lifting drive 2232 drives the installation base plate 2233 to move up and down, which can drive the installation plate 2234 and the non-contact suction cup 2231 to move up and down together. When the wafer needs to be adsorbed, the fork arm 14 transports the wafer to the bottom of the Bernoulli suction cup, and the third lifting drive 2232 pushes the Bernoulli suction cup downward to a preset distance. At this time, the interval between the upper surface of the wafer and the Bernoulli suction cup is within the adsorption range of the suction cup. The Bernoulli suction cup turns on positive pressure, and the wafer is adsorbed from above by the Bernoulli principle. The wafer is embedded between a plurality of positioning pins 2235, and the plurality of positioning pins 2235 restrict the wafer from moving or flipping radially.

[0095] In this embodiment, the third lifting drive member 2232 can be an electric cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder or an oil cylinder. In this embodiment, an electric cylinder is selected. The motor of the electric cylinder is fixed inside the shell 221 through a motor mounting bracket. The end of the output shaft 213231 of the electric cylinder is connected to the Bernoulli suction cup and is coaxially arranged. The Bernoulli suction cup is driven by the electric cylinder to complete the ejection or reset action.

[0096] Preferably, a conical portion 22351 is provided at one end of the positioning pin 2235 away from the mounting plate 2234, and the side walls of the plurality of positioning pins 2235 close to the non-contact suction cup 2231 form a first circle, and the centers of the conical portions 22351 of the plurality of positioning pins 2235 form a second circle, and the diameter of the wafer is between the diameter of the first circle and the diameter of the second circle. After the non-contact suction cup 2231 adsorbs the wafer, the edge of the wafer abuts against the conical portion 22351 of the positioning pin 2235, thereby fixing the wafer position and preventing the wafer from sliding horizontally, and the friction between the wafer and the conical portion 22351 limits the rotation of the wafer. The number of positioning pins 2235 is preferably 3, and of course in other embodiments, four, five, six, etc. may also be used. Regardless of how many positioning pins 2235 are provided, the conical portions 22351 of each positioning pin 2235 have the same structure and are evenly spaced along the circumferential direction.

[0097] Further preferably, the mounting plate 2234 is detachably connected to the mounting base plate 2233, so that the mounting plate 2234 can be replaced as needed. For wafers of different sizes, positioning pins 2235 at different positions are required, so mounting plates 2234 of different sizes are provided for replacement, and mounting plates 2234 of the correct specifications are used.

[0098] like Fig.11 As shown, this embodiment also provides an alignment method, which is applied to the above-mentioned pre-alignment device 2, and the alignment method includes the following steps:

[0099] S1, placing the wafer horizontally on the first support column 2121 and two second support columns 21221; wherein the edge of the wafer located on the first support column 2121 is within the detection range of the camera 222;

[0100] S2, the driving component 2132 drives the tray 2131 to move to the bottom of the wafer, lifts the wafer and drives the wafer to rotate by a preset angle. When the wafer rotates, the camera 222 obtains the contour information of the edge of the wafer and calculates the coordinates of the center of the wafer, and calculates the eccentricity of the wafer according to the coordinates of the center of the wafer; wherein, the position of the tray 2131 lifting the wafer is approximately located at the center of the wafer, so that when the wafer rotates by a preset angle, the edge of the wafer located below the camera 222 is always within the detection range of the camera 222;

[0101] S3, the driving component 2132 drives the wafer to rotate according to the eccentricity data calculated in step S2, so that the line connecting the center of the wafer and the center of the tray 2131 is located in the first direction; ensuring that the center of the wafer is located on the moving path of the tray 2131 along the first direction;

[0102] S4, after the driving component 2132 drives the tray 2131 to descend to a level lower than the first support column 2121, the wafer is supported by the first support column 2121 and one group of second support columns 21221, and then the tray 2131 moves along the first direction to directly below the wafer, and the center of the wafer and the center of the tray 2131 are located on the same vertical line to compensate for the eccentricity of the center;

[0103] S5. The driving component 2132 drives the tray 2131 to move upward and lift the wafer to complete the center calibration of the wafer.

[0104] Furthermore, when the edge of the wafer is provided with a notch or a flat edge, step S2 also includes the camera 222 acquiring the coordinates of the notch or the flat edge; the alignment method also includes: S6, the driving component 2132 drives the tray 2131 to rotate so that the line connecting the center of the notch or the center of the flat edge and the center of the tray 2131 is located in the first direction to complete the orientation.

[0105] like Fig.12 As shown, this embodiment also provides a wafer transportation method, which is applied to the above-mentioned wafer processing equipment; the wafer transportation method includes the following steps:

[0106] S11, the first driving member 12 drives the first gripping portion of the transport arm 13 to move above the wafer pre-alignment position and pick up the pre-aligned first wafer;

[0107] S12, the first driving member 12 drives the second grasping portion of the transport arm 13 to move toward the workpiece table 3, and at the same time the positioning column rises to lift up the processed second wafer;

[0108] S13, the second grasping portion extends under the second wafer, that is, the fork arm 14 extends under the second wafer, and the positioning column falls and resets, so that the second grasping portion absorbs the second wafer;

[0109] S14, the first driving member 12 continues to drive the transport arm 13 to move toward the workpiece table 3, so that the first wafer is located above the positioning column, and the positioning column rises to receive the first wafer and then falls back downward;

[0110] S15, the first driving member 12 drives the transport arm 13 to move towards the direction close to the pre-alignment instrument 2, so that the second wafer is located below the cache station, the first grasping portion of the transport arm 13 is located above the wafer pre-alignment position, the cache station temporarily stores the second wafer, the second grasping portion of the transport arm 13 is located below the cache station, and the transport arm 13 picks up the next first wafer.

[0111] Specifically, the transport arm 13 moves to above the wafer pre-alignment position, at which time the non-contact adsorption component 15 below the transport arm 13 is located directly above the wafer pre-alignment position, and the fork arm 14 extends from the wafer pre-alignment position to the side of the wafer exposure receiving position of the workpiece table 3; the adjustment component 213 on the pre-alignment instrument 2 lifts the wafer upward to a predetermined height after alignment, and the non-contact adsorption component 15 at the bottom of the transport arm 13 starts to adsorb the wafer on the adjustment component 213; then the adjustment component 213 falls back and resets, and at the same time the transport arm 13 drives the wafer to move to the side of the wafer exposure receiving position. At this time, the wafer that has completed exposure at the wafer exposure receiving position is lifted upward by the positioning column on the workpiece table 3 to a preset height, which is slightly higher than the upper surface of the fork arm 14. When the fork arm 14 moves When it reaches the bottom of the exposed wafer, the positioning column on the worktable 3 falls back downward, and the exposed wafer falls on the fork arm 14. The fork arm 14 starts vacuum adsorption to adsorb and fix the wafer, and then the transport arm 13 continues to move until the adsorbed wafer under the transport arm 13 is directly above the wafer exposure receiving position, the positioning column on the exposure platform lifts up to receive the wafer to be exposed, and after receiving the wafer to be exposed, the positioning column falls back downward to the exposure platform, and the fork arm 14 on the transport arm 13 lifts the exposed wafer back to the wafer pre-alignment position, and the non-contact adsorption component 15 under the transport arm 13 adsorbs the next pre-aligned wafer, and the non-contact suction cup 2231 of the cache component 223 takes the exposed wafer on the fork arm 14 away, and this process is repeated to improve the wafer processing efficiency.

[0112] In other embodiments, if the second gripping portion is disposed on one side of the transport arm 13 close to the pre-alignment position (this embodiment is not shown in the drawings, Figure 3 For reference, the second gripping portion of this case is Figure 3The second gripping part shown in the figure is arranged symmetrically with the transport arm 13 as the center). At this time, only appropriate adjustments need to be made to the gripping process and the moving stroke. For example, the first gripping part can grab the pre-aligned wafer from the pre-aligner 2, and then move it to the wafer exposure receiving position together with the transport arm 13. Since the second gripping part is arranged on the side of the transport arm 13 away from the wafer exposure receiving position in this case, the first gripping part must first be moved to a certain distance beyond the exposure position (or wafer exposure receiving position) (at least vertically staggered with the exposed wafer), and the positioning column on the wafer exposure receiving position then lifts the exposed wafer upward to a position higher than the second gripping part, and then the second gripping part moves to the exposed wafer. Under the wafer, the positioning column of the wafer exposure receiving position falls downward, and the exposed wafer is placed on the second grasping part; then the transport arm 13 moves in the opposite direction, and when the first grasping part moves to just above the wafer exposure receiving position, the wafer to be exposed is placed on the wafer exposure receiving position to wait for exposure, and the exposed wafer is taken by the second grasping part and moved to the pre-alignment position. When the first grasping part returns to the pre-alignment position, the second grasping part drives the exposed wafer to move beyond the pre-alignment position, and the exposed wafer is taken away by other external robots at this position.

[0113] Note that the above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and the technical principles used. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, and that various obvious changes, readjustments and substitutions can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, although the present invention has been described in more detail through the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may include more other equivalent embodiments without departing from the concept of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is determined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wafer transport mechanism, characterized in that: include: Bracket (11); A first driving member (12) disposed on the bracket (11); A transport arm (13), wherein the first driving member (12) is drivingly connected to the transport arm (13), and the first driving member (12) is used to drive the transport arm (13) to move along a first direction; The transport arm (13) is provided with a first gripping portion and a second gripping portion for transferring wafers, the gripping centers of the first gripping portion and the second gripping portion are arranged at intervals along the first direction, and the first gripping portion and the second gripping portion are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction.

2. The wafer transport mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first gripping portion is arranged below the transport arm (13), and is suitable for gripping from the upper surface of the wafer; the second gripping portion is arranged on one side of the transport arm (13), and is suitable for gripping from the lower surface of the wafer.

3. The wafer transport mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first gripping part and the second gripping part are suitable for reciprocating between the wafer pre-alignment position and the wafer exposure receiving position. The first gripping part is arranged close to the wafer pre-alignment position, and the second gripping part is arranged close to the wafer exposure receiving position.

4. The wafer transport mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first gripping portion is a non-contact adsorption component (15) arranged at the bottom of the transport arm (13), and the non-contact adsorption component (15) is suitable for non-contact adsorption of the upper surface of the wafer; the second gripping portion is a fork arm (14) arranged on the transport arm (13) and extending along the first direction.

5. The wafer transport mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that: The non-contact adsorption component (15) comprises a central suction cup (151) and a plurality of adsorption components (152); the adsorption components (152) comprise a plurality of second suction cups (1521) equidistant from the center of the central suction cup (151); the distances between the second suction cups (1521) of adjacent adsorption components (152) and the center of the central suction cup (151) gradually increase; and the central suction cup (151) and the second suction cups (1521) are Bernoulli suction cups.

6. The wafer transport mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: The transport arm (13) is provided with a first air circuit (131), a second air circuit (141) and a plurality of third air circuits (132) which are independent of each other; the first air circuit (131) is connected to the central suction cup (151); the second air circuit (141) is connected to the suction nozzle (16); a plurality of the third air circuits (132) correspond one-to-one to a plurality of the adsorption components (152); and one third air circuit (132) is connected to all the second suction cups (1521) in one adsorption component (152).

7. The wafer transport mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that: The extension of the fork arm (14) relative to the transport arm (13) along the first direction is greater than the radius of the wafer, and a suction nozzle (16) is provided at the top of the fork arm (14), and the suction nozzle (16) is capable of sucking the lower surface of the wafer.

8. A wafer processing equipment, characterized in that: It comprises a workpiece stage (3), a pre-aligner (2) and a wafer transport mechanism as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the workpiece stage (3), the pre-aligner (2) and the transport arm (13) are arranged at intervals along the first direction, and a plurality of positioning columns capable of being raised and lowered are arranged at the wafer exposure receiving position of the workpiece stage (3), and the positioning columns are suitable for receiving wafers; The pre-aligner (2) comprises a wafer pre-alignment position and a cache position, wherein the cache position is located above the wafer pre-alignment position, the wafer pre-alignment position is used to pre-align the wafer, and the cache position is used to temporarily store the wafer; The workpiece stage (3), the buffer station and the wafer pre-alignment station are arranged in sequence and at intervals along the first direction, and the fork arm (14) is arranged on a side of the transport arm (13) close to the workpiece stage (3).

9. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 8, characterized in that: The pre-aligner (2) comprises an alignment device (21) and a detection device (22), wherein the alignment device (21) comprises: A carrier (2111), wherein the carrier (2111) is provided with an elongated hole (21111) extending along the first direction; A support assembly (212), the support assembly (212) comprising a first support column (2121) and a support component (2122), the support component (2122) comprising at least two second support columns (21221), the second support columns (21221) being distributed on both sides of the long hole (21111) along a second direction, the first support column (2121) and the at least two second support columns (21221) being used to support the wafer; An adjustment component (213), comprising a tray (2131) and a driving component (2132), wherein the driving component (2132) is located below the carrier (2111), and the driving component (2132) is provided with an output shaft (213231), wherein the output shaft (213231) passes through the long hole (21111) and is connected to the tray (2131), wherein the tray (2131) is used to carry and adsorb the wafer, and the driving component (2132) is used to drive the tray (2131) to move; The detection device (22) is arranged above the alignment device (21), and comprises a shell (221) and a camera (222). The camera (222) is installed in the shell (221), and a avoidance hole (2211) is provided on the bottom wall of the shell (221). The camera (222) can illuminate the edge of the wafer on the side close to the first supporting column (2121) through the avoidance hole (2211), and the wafer pre-alignment position is formed below the camera (222).

10. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 9, characterized in that: The support components (2122) are at least two groups, and each group of the support components (2122) comprises two second support columns (21221); the support components (2122) are arranged at intervals along the first direction, and the distance between the two second support columns (21221) in the support components (2122) gradually increases in a direction away from the first support column (2121).

11. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 10, characterized in that: The two second support columns (21221) in the support component (2122) are arranged on the upper surface of the carrier (2111) and are symmetrically arranged with respect to the midline of the long hole (21111); the first support column (2121) is arranged close to one end of the long hole (21111), and the two second support columns (21221) in the same group are arranged in an isosceles triangle with the first support column (2121).

12. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 9, characterized in that: The supporting end surfaces of the first supporting column (2121) and the second supporting column (21221) are on the same horizontal plane.

13. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 9, characterized in that: A height adjustment device is provided below the first support column (2121) and / or the second support column (21221), and the height adjustment device is suitable for adjusting the heights of the support end surfaces of the first support column (2121) and the second support column (21221) to the same horizontal height.

14. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 10, characterized in that: The supporting end surfaces of the two second supporting columns (21221) in each group of the supporting components (2122) are located on the same horizontal plane, and the height of the second supporting columns (21221) gradually increases in a direction away from the first supporting columns (2121); The support assembly (212) further comprises a second lifting drive member (2123), wherein the second lifting drive member (2123) is connected to the first support column (2121) and drives the first support column (2121) to be lifted and lowered until it is flush with the support end surface of the second support column (21221) in one group of the support components (2122) so as to horizontally support one of the wafers.

15. The wafer processing equipment according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that: The detection device (22) further comprises a cache component (223), the cache component (223) forms the cache station, the cache component (223) is installed at the bottom of the shell (221), the cache component (223) and the camera (222) are arranged at intervals along the first direction, and the cache component (223) comprises a non-contact suction cup (2231), and the non-contact suction cup (2231) is used to absorb the wafer; The cache assembly (223) further comprises a third lifting drive member (2232), a mounting base plate (2233), a mounting plate (2234) and a plurality of positioning pins (2235); the third lifting drive member (2232) is connected to the housing (221) and is drivingly connected to the mounting base plate (2233); the third lifting drive member (2232) is used to drive the mounting base plate (2233) to rise and fall; the mounting plate (2234) and the non-contact suction cup (2231) are both mounted on the mounting base plate (2233); A plurality of the positioning pins (2235) are arranged on the mounting plate (2234), and a plurality of the positioning pins (2235) are arranged around the non-contact suction cup (2231), and the wafer can be embedded between the plurality of the positioning pins (2235).

16. A wafer transportation method, characterized in that: Applicable to the wafer processing equipment according to any one of claims 8 to 15; the wafer transportation method comprises the following steps: The first driving member (12) drives the first gripping portion of the transport arm (13) to move above the wafer pre-alignment position and pick up the pre-aligned first wafer; The first driving member (12) drives the second gripping portion of the transport arm (13) to move in a direction close to the workpiece platform (3), and at the same time the positioning column rises to lift up the processed second wafer; The second grasping portion extends under the second wafer, and the positioning column falls and resets, so that the second grasping portion absorbs the second wafer; The first driving member (12) continues to drive the transport arm (13) to move in a direction close to the workpiece platform (3), so that the first wafer is located above the positioning column, and the positioning column rises to receive the first wafer and then falls back downward; The first driving member (12) drives the transport arm (13) to move in a direction close to the pre-aligner (2), so that the second wafer is located below the cache station, the first gripping portion of the transport arm (13) is located above the wafer pre-alignment position, the second gripping portion of the transport arm (13) is located below the cache station, the cache station temporarily stores the second wafer, and the first gripping portion of the transport arm (13) picks up the next first wafer.

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