Wafer conveying robot

Abstract

The invention provides a wafer conveying robot. The wafer conveying robot comprises a robot conveying end; the taking and placing mechanism is arranged at the conveying end of the robot and is used for clamping and loosening the wafer and driving the clamped wafer to rotate; the overturning mechanism is arranged at the conveying end of the robot and used for driving the taking and placing mechanism to overturn; and the detection assembly is arranged at the conveying end of the robot, the pick-and-place mechanism and / or the turnover mechanism, and is used for detecting the notch position of the clamped wafer. The wafer conveying robot integrates three functions of wafer conveying, wafer aligning and wafer overturning, so that the wafer does not need to be circulated for multiple times among the robot, the aligning device and the overturning device which are relatively independently arranged, the circulation process of the wafer is simplified, and the production efficiency of the wafer is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor equipment technology, and in particular to a wafer conveying robot. Background Art

[0002] During the wafer production process, the wafer needs to go through the processes of conveying, alignment, flipping and inspection. Among them, the wafer is conveyed by a robot, the wafer is aligned by an alignment device, the wafer is flipped by a flipping device, and the wafer is inspected by a detection device. Since these devices are independent of each other, the wafer needs to flow between the devices, which makes the generation process complicated and time-consuming, affecting production efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, the present application provides a wafer conveying robot, which integrates the functions of wafer conveying, alignment and flipping, simplifies the wafer circulation process and improves production efficiency.

[0004] In order to achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0005] A wafer conveying robot, comprising:

[0006] Robot delivery end;

[0007] A pick-and-place mechanism, disposed at the conveying end of the robot, for clamping and releasing the wafer and driving the clamped wafer to rotate;

[0008] A flipping mechanism, arranged at the conveying end of the robot, for driving the pick-and-place mechanism to flip;

[0009] The detection component is arranged at the conveying end of the robot, the pick-and-place mechanism and / or the flip mechanism, and is used to detect the notch position of the clamped wafer.

[0010] Optionally, the above-mentioned wafer conveying robot also includes a transfer mechanism arranged on the conveying end of the robot, and the pick-and-place mechanism is connected to the conveying end of the robot through the transfer mechanism, and the transfer mechanism can transfer the pick-and-place mechanism to the flipping mechanism, and can receive the pick-and-place mechanism on the flipping mechanism.

[0011] Optionally, in the above wafer conveying robot, a plurality of the transfer mechanisms and the pick-and-place mechanisms are arranged around the flipping mechanism, and different transfer mechanisms transfer different pick-and-place mechanisms to the flipping mechanism respectively;

[0012] Furthermore, the turnover mechanism can undertake and drive all the pick-and-place mechanisms to flip.

[0013] Optionally, in the above wafer conveying robot, the pick-and-place mechanism includes a first pick-and-place mechanism and a second pick-and-place mechanism;

[0014] The transfer mechanism comprises a first transfer mechanism and a second transfer mechanism, wherein the first transfer mechanism and the second transfer mechanism are symmetrically arranged on the conveying end of the robot with respect to the flipping mechanism;

[0015] Among them, the first transfer mechanism transfers the first pick-and-place mechanism to the flipping mechanism, and the second transfer mechanism transfers the second pick-and-place mechanism to the flipping mechanism; the flipping mechanism drives the first pick-and-place mechanism and the second pick-and-place mechanism to flip to achieve position exchange; the first transfer mechanism undertakes the second pick-and-place mechanism, and the second transfer mechanism undertakes the first pick-and-place mechanism.

[0016] Optionally, in the above wafer conveying robot, the pick-and-place mechanism includes:

[0017] Pedestal;

[0018] A connecting member connected to the base;

[0019] An auxiliary clamping member, arranged at an end of the connecting member away from the base;

[0020] A first clamping jaw and a second clamping jaw are rotatably disposed on the base and extend from opposite sides of the base respectively;

[0021] The first clamping jaw and the second clamping jaw rotate towards each other to cooperate with the auxiliary clamping member to clamp the wafer; the first clamping jaw and the second clamping jaw rotate away from each other to release the wafer.

[0022] Optionally, in the above wafer conveying robot, the auxiliary clamping member is a follower roller rotatably arranged on the connecting member;

[0023] The clamping ends of the first clamping jaw and the second clamping jaw are both provided with motor rollers, and the motor rollers are used to drive the wafer to rotate.

[0024] Optionally, in the above-mentioned wafer conveying robot, both the follower roller and the motor roller are provided with a groove for accommodating the circumferential edge of the wafer.

[0025] Optionally, in the above wafer conveying robot, the detection component includes:

[0026] A transmitting end, arranged on the transfer mechanism and used for transmitting a detection signal to a circumferential edge area of ​​the clamped wafer;

[0027] A receiving end, arranged on the flipping mechanism and aligned with the transmitting end, for receiving the detection signal;

[0028] Furthermore, the connecting member is provided with an avoidance hole for allowing the detection signal to pass through.

[0029] Optionally, in the above-mentioned wafer conveying robot, the transfer mechanism and the pick-and-place mechanism are arranged in plurality around the flipping mechanism, and each of the transfer mechanisms is provided with the transmitting end, and the flipping mechanism is provided with one receiving end, and the receiving end is used to receive the detection signals emitted by all the transmitting ends.

[0030] Optionally, in the above wafer conveying robot, the flipping mechanism includes:

[0031] A flip motor, arranged on the conveying end of the robot;

[0032] The receiving member is connected to the output shaft of the flip motor and is used to receive the pick-and-place mechanism.

[0033] Optionally, in the above wafer conveying robot, the pick-and-place mechanism and the flipping mechanism are detachably connected via a connecting structure, and the connecting structure includes:

[0034] A pin, protrudingly arranged on one of the pick-and-place mechanism and the flip mechanism;

[0035] a pin hole, disposed on the other of the pick-and-place mechanism and the flip mechanism;

[0036] The pin shaft is connected to the pin hole to realize the connection between the pick-up and placement mechanism and the flipping mechanism, and the pin shaft is separated from the pin hole to realize the separation between the pick-up and placement mechanism and the flipping mechanism.

[0037] Optionally, in the above-mentioned wafer conveying robot, the transfer mechanism and the pick-and-place mechanism are magnetically connected, and / or the transfer mechanism is a cylinder.

[0038] The wafer conveying robot provided by the present application has a pick-and-place mechanism arranged on the conveying end of the robot, which can realize the conveying of the wafer by clamping the wafer and transferring it through the conveying end of the robot. After conveying to the target position, the pick-and-place mechanism releases the wafer, and the pick-and-place mechanism can also drive the clamped wafer to rotate so that the position of the notch of the wafer changes. During the rotation of the wafer, the detection component arranged on the conveying end of the robot, the pick-and-place mechanism and / or the flipping mechanism can detect the position of the notch of the wafer. When the notch is detected to move to the predetermined position, the wafer stops rotating, thereby realizing the alignment of the wafer, and the pick-and-place mechanism clamping the wafer can also be flipped under the drive of the flipping mechanism, thereby realizing the flipping of the wafer. This wafer conveying robot integrates the three functions of wafer conveying, wafer alignment and wafer flipping, so that the wafer does not need to be transferred multiple times between relatively independently arranged robots, alignment devices and flipping devices, which simplifies the circulation process of the wafer and improves the production efficiency of the wafer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without paying any creative work.

[0040] Figure 1 An exploded view of the structure of the robot conveying end of the wafer conveying robot provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the first pick-and-place mechanism being carried by the first transfer mechanism and the second pick-and-place mechanism being carried by the second transfer mechanism;

[0042] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of the transfer mechanism transferring the pick-and-place mechanism to the flip mechanism;

[0043] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of the flipping mechanism flipping the pick-and-place mechanism;

[0044] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of the second pick-and-place mechanism being carried by the first transfer mechanism and the first pick-and-place mechanism being carried by the second transfer mechanism;

[0045] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the pick-and-place mechanism clamping the wafer;

[0046] Figure 7 It is a structural diagram of the motor roller;

[0047] Figure 8It is a structural schematic diagram of the follower roller.

[0048] exist Figure 1-Figure 8 middle:

[0049] 1-Robot conveying end, 2-Pick-and-place mechanism, 3-Flip mechanism, 4-Detection component, 5-Transfer mechanism, 6-Connection structure, 7-Wafer;

[0050] 201-first pick-and-place mechanism, 202-second pick-and-place mechanism, 203-base, 204-connecting piece, 205-auxiliary clamping piece, 206-first clamping jaw, 207-second clamping jaw, 208-motor roller, 209-groove, 210-avoidance hole;

[0051] 301-flip motor, 302-receiving part;

[0052] 401-transmitting end, 402-receiving end;

[0053] 501-cylinder body, 502-piston rod, 503-first transfer mechanism, 504-second transfer mechanism;

[0054] 601-pin shaft, 602-pin hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0056] In the prior art, in the production process of wafers, the processes of wafer conveying, wafer alignment, wafer flipping and wafer inspection are required, and the conveying robots, alignment devices, flipping devices and inspection devices for realizing these processes are relatively independently arranged in different positions, which requires the wafer to go through the circulation process of conveying robot → alignment device → conveying robot → flipping device → conveying robot → inspection device, which takes a long time and has relatively low production efficiency. In addition, the purchase, installation and use of these equipment will increase production costs and occupy a larger production space.

[0057] In view of the above situation, if Figure 1-Figure 8As shown, an embodiment of the present application provides a wafer conveying robot, including a robot conveying end 1, a pick-and-place mechanism 2, a flipping mechanism 3 and a detection component 4, wherein the robot conveying end 1 is a mobile end of the robot (the robot generally includes a fixed end that is fixedly arranged, and a mobile end that moves and / or rotates relative to the fixed end. The overall structure of the robot can refer to the prior art), which realizes the conveyance of the wafer 7 by changing its position in space; the pick-and-place mechanism 2 is arranged at the robot conveying end 1 to be displaced in space under the drive of the robot conveying end 1, and the pick-and-place mechanism 2 connected to the robot conveying end 1 can be used as a manipulator or a manipulator arm of the robot, and the function of the pick-and-place mechanism 2 is to clamp the wafer 7 to obtain the wafer 7, release it to place the wafer 7, and drive the clamped wafer 7 to rotate. The rotation of the wafer 7 is to rotate the wafer 7 around its own center of circle. During this rotation process, a notch on the circumferential edge of the wafer 7 will occur. position change; the flipping mechanism 3 is also arranged on the robot conveying end 1, so that the flipping mechanism 3 can be displaced synchronously with the pick-and-place mechanism 2. The function of the flipping mechanism 3 is to drive the pick-and-place mechanism 2 to flip, so as to meet the detection requirements for the back side of the wafer 7 in some processes; the detection component 4 is arranged on the robot conveying end 1, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 and / or the flipping mechanism 3, that is, it is arranged on any one, any two or three of the robot conveying end 1, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 and the flipping mechanism 3, that is, it is arranged at any position that can detect the notch position of the clamped wafer 7. The detection component 4 can detect the notch position in a variety of ways, such as detecting whether the notch is in a predetermined position, that is, whether the wafer 7 is rotated to make the notch in a predetermined position, and sending an alignment signal when the notch is in the predetermined position, or the real-time position of the notch can be detected, and an alignment signal is sent when the position parameter of the notch at a certain moment during the rotation of the wafer 7 is the same as the preset parameter.

[0058] The wafer conveying robot with the above structure can realize the conveying of wafer 7 by arranging the pick-and-place mechanism 2 for grabbing wafer 7 at the conveying end 1 of the robot. By driving the clamped wafer 7 to rotate by the pick-and-place mechanism 2, and arranging a detection component 4 capable of detecting the notch position of the clamped wafer 7 at the conveying end 1 of the robot, the alignment of wafer 7 can be realized. Then, by driving the pick-and-place mechanism 2 to flip by the flipping mechanism 3, the flipping of the clamped wafer 7 can be realized. In this way, the wafer conveying robot integrates the three functions of wafer conveying, wafer alignment and wafer flipping, so that the circulation process of wafer 7 is simplified to conveying robot → detection device. Wafer 7 no longer needs to be circulated multiple times between relatively independently arranged wafer robots, alignment devices and flipping devices, which greatly simplifies the circulation process of wafer 7 and improves the production efficiency of wafer 7. It also avoids the purchase, installation and use of alignment devices and flipping devices, thereby reducing the production cost of wafer 7 and saving production space.

[0059] Further, such as Figure 1-Figure 6 As shown, the wafer conveying robot provided by the present application also includes a transfer mechanism 5 arranged on the robot conveying end 1, and the pick-and-place mechanism 2 is connected to the robot conveying end 1 through the transfer mechanism 5, and the transfer mechanism 5 can transfer the pick-and-place mechanism 2 to the flip mechanism 3, and can receive the pick-and-place mechanism 2 on the flip mechanism 3. In this structure, the robot conveying end 1 is provided with a transfer mechanism 5 and a flip mechanism 3, and the transfer mechanism 5 and the flip mechanism 3 are relatively independently arranged on the robot conveying end 1. Under this structural layout, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 needs to have two position states, one is a state of bearing and connecting to the transfer mechanism 5. In this state, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 is connected to the robot conveying end 1 through the transfer mechanism 5, and the pick-and-place mechanism 2 is in this state when it grabs the wafer 7, clamps and drives the wafer 7 to rotate, and places the wafer 7 on the detection device; and when the wafer 7 needs to be flipped, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 is in another state of bearing and connecting to the flip mechanism 3, so that the flip of the wafer 7 clamped by the pick-and-place mechanism 2 can be realized by making the flip mechanism 3 drive the pick-and-place mechanism 2 to flip. The switching of these two position states is achieved by transferring the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 through the transfer mechanism 5. By such a setting, the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 and the flipping mechanism 3 can be set independently on the robot conveying end 1, thereby minimizing the probability of mutual interference between the two. Only when the wafer 7 needs to be flipped, the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 will be transferred by the transfer mechanism 5 to achieve the coordination of the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 and the flipping mechanism 3. In addition, the setting of the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 and the flipping mechanism 3 on the robot conveying end 1 can also be achieved by other methods, such as first rotating the flipping mechanism 3 to the robot conveying end 1, and then connecting the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 to the flipping mechanism 3, so that the flipping mechanism 3 serves as a transition connection component connecting the robot conveying end 1 and the pick-up and placement mechanism 2, and the flipping mechanism 3 can still drive the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 to flip relative to the robot conveying end 1, and then on the basis of the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 picking up and placing the wafer 7 and driving the wafer 7 to rotate, the flipping of the wafer 7 can also be achieved.

[0060] Specifically, the transfer mechanism 5 can be a cylinder ( Figure 1-Figure 6In the figure, the transfer mechanism 5 is demonstrated by taking a cylinder as an example, in which the cylinder body 501 of the cylinder is fixedly connected to the robot conveying end 1, and the piston rod 502 of the cylinder is moved closer to and away from the flipping mechanism 3 by telescoping, and the pick-and-place mechanism 2 is detachably connected to the piston rod 502), a rack and pinion mechanism (the gear is rotatably arranged on the robot conveying end 1, and the rack meshing with the gear can be moved closer to and away from the flipping mechanism 3 under the drive of the gear, and the pick-and-place mechanism 2 is detachably connected to the rack), or a scissors-fork mechanism (one end of the scissors-fork mechanism is fixedly connected to the robot conveying end 1, and the scissors-fork mechanism can make its other end close to and away from the flipping mechanism 3 by telescoping, and the pick-and-place mechanism 2 is detachably connected to the other end), etc. Since the flipping mechanism 3 needs to drive the pick-and-place mechanism 2 to flip, when the pick-and-place mechanism 2 is connected to the flipping mechanism 3, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 needs to be separated from the transfer mechanism 5, and the pick-and-place mechanism 2 and the transfer mechanism 5 can be detachably connected in a manner such as a magnetic connection, that is, an electromagnet (not shown in the figure) is provided on one of the transfer mechanism 5 and the pick-and-place mechanism 2 (specifically, the piston rod 502 of the cylinder and the base 203 described later), and a magnetic part (not shown in the figure) that can be adsorbed by the electromagnet is provided on the other, and the connection between the transfer mechanism 5 and the pick-and-place mechanism 2 is achieved by energizing the electromagnet to make it adsorb the magnetic part, and the separation of the transfer mechanism 5 and the pick-and-place mechanism 2 is achieved by de-energizing the electromagnet to make it no longer adsorb the magnetic part. Alternatively, the detachable connection between the pick-and-place mechanism 2 and the transfer mechanism 5 can also be achieved by a locking hook structure that can be opened and closed.

[0061] In an optional embodiment, if Figure 1-Figure 6 As shown, the flip mechanism 3 includes: a flip motor 301, which is arranged on the robot conveying end 1; a receiving member 302, which is connected to the output shaft of the flip motor 301 and is used to receive the pick-and-place mechanism 2. Among them, the connecting member 204 can be specifically a connecting column or a connecting block, etc., which is arranged in alignment with the transfer mechanism 5, so as to receive the pick-and-place mechanism 2 sent by the transfer mechanism 5. The structure of this flip mechanism 3 is relatively simple, the volume is small, it is convenient to be arranged on the robot conveying end 1, and it can better avoid interference with the pick-and-place mechanism 2. After the wafer 7 is aligned, when the wafer 7 needs to be flipped, the transfer mechanism 5 drives the pick-and-place mechanism 2 to approach the receiving member 302. When the pick-and-place mechanism 2 contacts and connects with the receiving member 302, the transfer mechanism 5 is separated from the pick-and-place mechanism 2 and restored to the original state, and then the flip motor 301 is started, which drives the receiving member 302 and the pick-and-place mechanism 2 connected to the receiving member 302 to flip. After the flip is in place, the flip motor 301 is turned off, and then the transfer mechanism 5 takes away the flipped pick-and-place mechanism 2.

[0062] Since the pick-and-place mechanism 2 needs to be taken away by the transfer mechanism 5 after the flipping is completed, that is, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 needs to be separated from the flipping mechanism 3, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 and the flipping mechanism 3 need to be detachably connected through the connecting structure 6. Optionally, Figure 1As shown, the connection structure 6 includes: a pin 601, which is protrudingly arranged on one of the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 and the flipping mechanism 3; and a pin hole 602, which is arranged on the other of the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 and the flipping mechanism 3; wherein the pin 601 is connected with the pin hole 602 to realize the connection between the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 and the flipping mechanism 3, and the pin 601 is separated from the pin hole 602 to realize the separation of the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 and the flipping mechanism 3. In this structure, when the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 approaches the flipping mechanism 3 under the drive of the transfer mechanism 5, the pin 601 will be inserted into the pin hole 602, and the connection will be realized by relying on the friction between the two, so that the connection of the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 on the flipping mechanism 3 is realized. After the pin 601 and the pin hole 602 are connected, the transfer mechanism 5 is separated from the pick-up and placement mechanism 2, and the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 is carried and connected to the flipping mechanism 3, and then the flipping mechanism 3 can drive the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 and the wafer 7 clamped by the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 to flip. After the flipping is completed, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 needs to return to the transfer mechanism 5 again to perform the subsequent wafer 7 placement operation. At this time, the transfer mechanism 5 is connected to the pick-and-place mechanism 2 again (for example, the piston rod 502 of the cylinder is extended and contacts and connects with the pick-and-place mechanism 2), and the pin shaft 601 is gradually disengaged from the pin hole 602 through the drive of the transfer mechanism 5, thereby completing the transfer of the pick-and-place mechanism 2 from the flipping mechanism 3 to the transfer mechanism 5. This connection structure 6 is a mechanical structure, which not only does not require the provision of other matching components, has a simple structure, and has high working reliability. In addition, the connection structure 6 can also be a magnetic structure or an adhesive structure.

[0063] In a further optimized structure, such as Figure 1-Figure 6As shown, multiple transfer mechanisms 5 and pick-and-place mechanisms 2 are arranged around the flipping mechanism 3, and different transfer mechanisms 5 transfer different pick-and-place mechanisms 2 to the flipping mechanism 3 respectively, and the flipping mechanism 3 can undertake and drive all the pick-and-place mechanisms 2 to flip. In order to improve production efficiency and meet more diversified production requirements, multiple transfer mechanisms 5 and pick-and-place mechanisms 2 are arranged on the robot conveying end 1 of the wafer conveying robot provided in the present application, and the transfer mechanisms 5 and the pick-and-place mechanisms 2 are arranged one-to-one, that is, one transfer mechanism 5 is used to carry and connect one pick-and-place mechanism 2, and only one flipping mechanism 3 is arranged, but the flipping mechanism 3 has the same number of receiving positions as the pick-and-place mechanisms 2, and each receiving position is provided with the above-mentioned pin shaft 601 or pin hole 602, so that one flipping mechanism 3 can receive part or all of the pick-and-place mechanisms 2, so that one flipping mechanism 3 can be used. The carrying and driving of the transfer mechanism 3 causes all the pick-and-place mechanisms 2 and the wafers 7 thereon to be flipped synchronously, thereby improving production efficiency; at the same time, in order to enable each transfer mechanism 5 to transfer the pick-and-place mechanism 2 thereon to the flipping mechanism 3 and optimize the structure of the robot conveying end 1, all the transfer mechanisms 5 and the pick-and-place mechanisms 2 thereon are arranged around the flipping mechanism 3, and correspondingly, the multiple receiving positions on the flipping mechanism 3 are also distributed on the flipping mechanism 3 along the circumference of the flipping mechanism 3, so that the normal transfer of the pick-and-place mechanism 2 between the transfer mechanism 5 and the flipping mechanism 3 and the normal flipping of the wafer 7 can be guaranteed.

[0064] like Figure 2-Figure 6As shown, in an optional embodiment, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 includes a first pick-and-place mechanism 201 and a second pick-and-place mechanism 202; the transfer mechanism 5 includes a first transfer mechanism 503 and a second transfer mechanism 504, and the first transfer mechanism 503 and the second transfer mechanism 504 are symmetrically arranged on the robot conveying end 1 about the flipping mechanism 3; wherein the first transfer mechanism 503 transfers the first pick-and-place mechanism 201 to the flipping mechanism 3, and the second transfer mechanism 504 transfers the second pick-and-place mechanism 202 to the flipping mechanism 3; the flipping mechanism 3 drives the first pick-and-place mechanism 201 and the second pick-and-place mechanism 202 to flip to achieve position exchange; the first transfer mechanism 503 undertakes the second pick-and-place mechanism 202, and the second transfer mechanism 504 undertakes the first pick-and-place mechanism 201. In the actual production process, setting up two transfer mechanisms 5 and two pick-and-place mechanisms 2 and allowing the flipping mechanism 3 to flip two wafers 7 at the same time can already meet the process requirements well. On this basis, in order to simplify the structure, only two transfer mechanisms 5 and two pick-and-place mechanisms 2 can be set on the robot conveying end 1, namely, the first transfer mechanism 503 and the first pick-and-place mechanism 201 carried and connected by the first transfer mechanism 503 before flipping, the second transfer mechanism 504 and the second pick-and-place mechanism 202 carried and connected by the second transfer mechanism 504 before flipping; of course, under the premise of ensuring normal operation, more transfer mechanisms 5 and pick-and-place mechanisms 2 can also be set (must be an even number), such as four, six, etc. The reason why wafer 7 needs to be flipped is that in some processes, the back side of wafer 7 needs to be inspected, so it is necessary to flip wafer 7 180°. After the first transfer mechanism 503 located at the first angle transfers the pick-and-place mechanism 2 to the flipping mechanism 3 (at this time, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 carried on the flipping mechanism 3 and the wafer 7 thereon are also at the first angle), the flipping mechanism 3 drives the pick-and-place mechanism 2 and the wafer 7 thereon to flip 180° and reach the second angle. After that, it is necessary to use the transfer mechanism 5 to remove the pick-and-place mechanism 2 located at the second angle from the flipping mechanism 3, so it is necessary to set a transfer mechanism 5 at the second angle. This transfer mechanism 5 is the second transfer mechanism 504 symmetrically arranged with the first transfer mechanism 503. In this way, after the first pick-and-place mechanism 201 is sent to the flipping mechanism 3 by the first transfer mechanism 503, it is taken away by the second transfer mechanism 504 after the flipping is completed. After that, the wafer 7 placed by the first pick-and-place mechanism 201 on the second transfer mechanism 504 in subsequent operations is the flipped wafer 7 with the back side facing the detection device. At the same time, in order to improve production efficiency, the second transfer mechanism 504 and the first transfer mechanism 503 are synchronized to perform the same operation, such as Figure 2 As shown, before the flipping, the second transfer mechanism 504 also carries and is connected to the pick-and-place mechanism 2 (i.e., the second pick-and-place mechanism 202). When the first transfer mechanism 503 sends the first pick-and-place mechanism 201 to the flipping mechanism 3, as shown in FIG. Figure 3As shown, the second transfer mechanism 504 also sends the second pick-and-place mechanism 202 to the flip mechanism 3, and then Figure 4 As shown, the flip mechanism 3 drives the first pick-and-place mechanism 201 and the second pick-and-place mechanism 202 to flip 180° synchronously, so that the first pick-and-place mechanism 201 located at the first position flips to the second position, and the second pick-and-place mechanism 202 located at the second position flips to the first position, and the first pick-and-place mechanism 201 and the second pick-and-place mechanism 202 are interchanged. Figure 5 As shown, the first transfer mechanism 503 takes over the second pick-and-place mechanism 202 from the flip mechanism 3, and the second transfer mechanism 504 takes over the first pick-and-place mechanism 201 from the flip mechanism 3, and finally the second pick-and-place mechanism 202 on the first transfer mechanism 503 can place the flipped wafer 7, and similarly, the first pick-and-place mechanism 201 on the second transfer mechanism 504 can also place the flipped wafer 7. When there are more transfer mechanisms 5 and pick-and-place mechanisms 2, these transfer mechanisms 5 need to be symmetrically arranged in pairs with respect to the flip mechanism 3 to ensure normal operation.

[0065] Alternatively, without considering the production efficiency, it is also possible that, on the basis of the symmetrical arrangement of the first transfer mechanism 503 and the second transfer mechanism 504 about the flipping mechanism 3, only one pick-and-place mechanism 2 is transferred between the first transfer mechanism 503, the flipping mechanism 3 and the second transfer mechanism 504. That is, during the process of the pick-and-place mechanism 2 on the first transfer mechanism 503 being sent to the flipping mechanism 3 for flipping, the second transfer mechanism 504 does not carry or connect another pick-and-place mechanism 2. The second transfer mechanism 504 is only used to wait for the flipped pick-and-place mechanism 2. After the flipped pick-and-place mechanism 2 is taken away by the second transfer mechanism 504 and the wafer 7 is placed , the pick-and-place mechanism 2 on the second transfer mechanism 504 clamps the new wafer 7 and performs an alignment operation, and then the pick-and-place mechanism 2 that clamps the aligned wafer 7 is transferred from the second transfer mechanism 504 to the flipping mechanism 3 and then to the first transfer mechanism 503, or the pick-and-place mechanism 2 that clamps the aligned wafer 7 directly reaches the detection device and places the wafer 7 under the transportation of the robot conveying end 1 and the second transfer mechanism 504, so that the continuous operation of inspecting the back side of one wafer 7 and then inspecting the front side of another wafer 7 can be completed, that is, the wafer conveying robot clamps the next wafer 7 after completing the actions of clamping, aligning, flipping and placing one wafer 7.

[0066] In specific structures, such as Figure 1 and Figure 6As shown, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 includes: a base 203; a connecting member 204, connected to the base 203; an auxiliary clamping member 205, arranged at an end of the connecting member 204 away from the base 203; a first clamping jaw 206 and a second clamping jaw 207, rotatably arranged on the base 203, and extending from opposite sides of the base 203 respectively; wherein the first clamping jaw 206 and the second clamping jaw 207 rotate towards each other to cooperate with the auxiliary clamping member 205 to clamp the wafer 7; the first clamping jaw 206 and the second clamping jaw 207 rotate in opposite directions to release the wafer 7. In this structure, the base 203 is set to a block structure, and the base 203 is also made to be a component connected to the transfer mechanism 5 and the flip mechanism 3, that is, the base 203 can be magnetically connected to the piston rod 502 of the above-mentioned cylinder, and the above-mentioned pin shaft 601 or pin hole 602 is set on the base 203; the first clamping claw 206 and the second clamping claw 207 are rotatably set on the base 203, and the two clamping claws extend from the two sides of the base 203 respectively. At the same time, the base 203 is a hollow structure, and a first motor driving the first clamping claw 206 and the second clamping claw 207 to rotate is set in its inner cavity (in order to reduce the influence on the flipping of the pick-and-place mechanism 2, the first motor can be set on the base The battery in the inner cavity of the seat 203 is powered, and the first motor and the battery are not shown in the figure). Driven by the first motor, the first clamp 206 and the second clamp 207 can rotate towards each other to perform a grasping action, and can also rotate away from each other to release the wafer 7. Since the two clamps cannot achieve stable clamping of the wafer 7, it is necessary for the pick-and-place mechanism 2 to also include an auxiliary clamp 205. The auxiliary clamp 205 is connected to the base 203 through a connecting member 204 and is arranged at the end of the connecting member 204 away from the base 203. In this way, the auxiliary clamp 205 and the clamps can be located on both sides of the center of the wafer 7, thereby clamping the wafer 7 on both sides. In order to further improve the clamping stability, the connecting member 204 is set as a plate-shaped member parallel to the clamped wafer 7 and with a larger distribution range, and multiple auxiliary clamping members 205, for example, two, are set on the plate-shaped connecting member 204, so as to form four clamping points distributed in a rectangular shape with the first clamping jaw 206 and the second clamping jaw 207. The four clamping points are distributed around the center of the wafer 7, so that the wafer 7 can be stably clamped. By using the first clamping jaw 206 and the second clamping jaw 207 that can be opened and closed in cooperation with the auxiliary clamping member 205 to clamp and release the wafer 7, compared with the common vacuum top block in the prior art, not only can the clamping stability of the wafer 7 be improved, but also the alignment operation of the wafer 7 can be performed (see the following content), and the working performance and functional diversity of the pick-and-place mechanism 2 are improved.

[0067] In order to enable the pick-and-place mechanism 2 to drive the wafer 7 to rotate, the auxiliary clamping member 205 is configured to rotate a follower roller arranged on the connecting member 204; the clamping ends of the first clamping jaw 206 and the second clamping jaw 207 are both provided with a motor roller 208, which is used to drive the wafer 7 to rotate. Among them, the motor roller 208 is arranged on the clamping end of the first clamp 206 and the second clamp 207 for contacting the circumferential edge of the wafer 7 (the contact method is similar to the meshing of two gears). The first clamp 206 and the second clamp 207 are both provided with a second motor (the second motor is a micromotor, not shown in the figure), and the motor roller 208 rotates under the drive of the second motor. Since the motor roller 208 abuts against the circumferential edge of the wafer 7, the auxiliary clamp 205 is a follower roller (i.e., an unpowered roller), and the clamping points formed by the motor roller 208 and the follower roller are distributed around the center of the wafer 7, the rotating motor roller 208 can drive the wafer 7 to rotate, and combined with the detection of the notch position by the detection component 4, the alignment of the wafer 7 can be achieved. In addition, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 can also adopt other structures to drive the wafer 7 to rotate. For example, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 includes a turntable rotatably connected to the base 203, and a plurality of clamps for clamping the wafer 7 are arranged on the turntable. When the plurality of clamps cooperate to clamp the wafer 7, the wafer 7 is parallel and coaxially arranged with the turntable, and the bottom of the turntable is connected to the driving motor, and the output shaft of the driving motor is coaxially connected to the turntable. After the driving motor is started, the turntable is driven to rotate, so that the wafer 7 can rotate. Combined with the detection of the notch position by the detection component 4, the alignment of the wafer 7 can be achieved.

[0068] Further, such as Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, the follower roller and the motor roller 208 are both provided with a groove 209 for accommodating the circumferential edge of the wafer 7, or it can be understood that the follower roller and the motor roller 208 are axially configured with a large diameter at both ends and a small diameter in the middle. By providing the groove 209, the circumferential edge of the wafer 7 can be located in the groove 209 when in contact with the wafer 7, so that the side walls on both sides of the opening of the groove 209 form a limit for the wafer 7, so that the follower roller and the motor roller 208 can better abut against the wafer 7, avoiding the axial movement of the follower roller and the motor roller 208 relative to the wafer 7, which may cause the wafer 7 to fall off accidentally, and further improving the clamping stability of the wafer 7. Optionally, in order to avoid excessive contact between the side walls of the groove 209 and the surface of the wafer 7, as shown in FIG. Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, the side wall of the groove 209 is an inclined side wall, that is, the groove 209 is set as an open groove.

[0069] In an optional embodiment, if Figure 1-Figure 6As shown, the detection component 4 includes: a transmitting end 401, which is arranged on the transfer mechanism 5 and is used to transmit a detection signal to the circumferential edge area of ​​the clamped wafer 7; a receiving end 402, which is arranged on the flip mechanism 3 and is aligned with the transmitting end 401 and is used to receive the detection signal; and a avoidance hole 210 is provided on the connecting member 204 to allow the detection signal to pass. In order to make the structure of the robot conveying end 1 more compact and simple, a smaller sensor can be selected as the detection component 4, and the type of sensor can be selected in a variety of ways. In order to improve the detection accuracy as much as possible, the sensor can be a beam sensor having a transmitting end 401 and a receiving end 402, such as a laser sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, etc. The transmitting end 401 is used to transmit laser, ultrasonic, etc., and the receiving end 402 is used to receive the laser, ultrasonic, etc. emitted by the transmitting end 401. In the specific setting, since the pick-and-place mechanism 2 has the aforementioned two position states, in order to enable the detection component 4 to work normally in the two position states, that is, to enable the pick-and-place mechanism 2 to detect the wafer 7 clamped by it regardless of whether it is carried and connected on the transfer mechanism 5 or carried and connected on the flip mechanism 3, the transmitting end 401 and the receiving end 402 are respectively arranged on the transfer mechanism 5 and the flip mechanism 3, and in order to avoid the plate-like connecting member 204 from blocking the laser, ultrasonic wave, etc., an avoidance hole 210 is also opened at the position of the connecting member 204 that is aligned with the transmitting end 401 and the receiving end 402, so that the laser, ultrasonic wave, etc. can pass through the connecting member 204 and be received by the receiving end 402, and the avoidance hole The position of 210 (the position where the laser and ultrasonic waves are transmitted) is aligned with the circumferential edge of the clamped wafer 7. During the rotation of the wafer 7, when the notch located at the circumferential edge rotates to a position aligned with the avoidance hole 210, there is no obstacle in the path between the transmitting end 401 and the receiving end 402, and the laser, ultrasonic waves, etc. emitted by the transmitting end 401 can reach the receiving end 402 and be received. The detection component 4 sends an alignment signal, and the motor roller 208 stops rotating. When the notch is not rotated to a position aligned with the avoidance hole 210, the laser, ultrasonic waves, etc. are blocked by the wafer 7, and the receiving end 402 cannot receive the laser and ultrasonic waves, so that the detection component 4 does not send an alignment signal, and the motor roller 208 continues to drive the wafer 7 to rotate. In addition, the detection component 4 can also be other types, such as a CCD camera (Charge-Coupled Device), which monitors the position of the notch in real time by image recognition. When the position parameter of the notch at a certain moment is the same as the preset parameter, an alignment signal is sent to stop the motor roller 208 from driving the wafer 7 to rotate.

[0070] like Figure 1-Figure 5As shown, on the basis that multiple transfer mechanisms 5 and pick-and-place mechanisms 2 are arranged around the flipping mechanism 3, each transfer mechanism 5 is provided with a transmitting end 401, and the flipping mechanism 3 is provided with a receiving end 402. This receiving end 402 is used to receive the detection signals emitted by all the transmitting ends 401. In this way, the structure of the detection component 4 can be simplified, making the structure of the robot conveying end 1 provided in the present application simpler and smaller in size.

[0071] In summary, the working process of the wafer conveying robot provided in the present application is: first, the robot conveying end 1 moves to drive the pick-and-place mechanism 2 located on the transfer mechanism 5 to reach the storage position of the wafer 7, and makes the first clamp 206 and the second clamp 207 rotate towards each other to clamp the wafer 7 between the first clamp 206, the second clamp 207 and the auxiliary clamp 205; then the motor roller 208 is started to drive the wafer 7 to rotate, and at the same time the detection component 4 detects the wafer 7. When the notch on the wafer 7 is aligned with the avoidance hole 210 on the connecting member 204, the motor roller 208 stops rotating, and the wafer 7 is aligned; then the piston rod 502 of the transfer mechanism 5 is extended to make the pick-and-place mechanism 2 approach to the flipping mechanism 3, and in the process of approaching, the pick-and-place mechanism 2 and the flipping mechanism 3 are passed. The connection is achieved through the connecting structure 6, that is, the pin shaft 601 is inserted into the pin hole 602, and at the same time, the magnetic attraction between the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 and the transfer mechanism 5 disappears due to power failure to achieve separation, and the flip motor 301 is started to drive the receiving part 302 to rotate 180°, so that the flip mechanism 3 drives the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 to flip 180°. After the flip is completed, the transfer mechanism 5 and the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 are electromagnetically adsorbed and the pin shaft 601 is pulled out of the pin hole 602 to take the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 away, and the wafer 7 is flipped; finally, the robot conveying end 1 moves to drive the pick-up and placement mechanism 2 located on the transfer mechanism 5 to the position of the detection device, and the first clamp 206 and the second clamp 207 rotate back to back to place the wafer 7 on the detection device, and the subsequent detection device can detect the back of the wafer 7. In the above-mentioned process of aligning, transferring and flipping the wafer 7, it can be completed during the movement of the robot conveying end 1, or it can be completed when the robot conveying end 1 is in a static state.

[0072] The basic principles of the present application are described above in conjunction with specific embodiments. However, it should be noted that the advantages, strengths, effects, etc. mentioned in the present application are only examples and not limitations, and it cannot be considered that these advantages, strengths, effects, etc. are required by each embodiment of the present application. In addition, the specific details disclosed above are only for the purpose of illustration and ease of understanding, not for limitation, and the above details do not limit the present application to being implemented by adopting the above specific details.

[0073] The block diagrams of the devices, apparatuses, equipment, and systems involved in this application are only illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that they must be connected, arranged, and configured in the manner shown in the block diagram. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, these devices, apparatuses, equipment, and systems can be connected, arranged, and configured in any manner. Words such as "including", "comprising", "having", etc. are open words, referring to "including but not limited to", and can be used interchangeably with them. The words "or" and "and" used here refer to the words "and / or" and can be used interchangeably with them, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The words "such as" used here refer to the phrase "such as but not limited to", and can be used interchangeably with them.

[0074] It should also be noted that in the apparatus, device and method of the present application, each component or each step can be decomposed and / or recombined. Such decomposition and / or recombination should be regarded as equivalent solutions of the present application.

[0075] The above description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present application. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects without departing from the scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but rather to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0076] It should be understood that the qualifiers "first", "second", "third", "fourth", "fifth" and "sixth" used in the description of the embodiments of the present application are only used to more clearly explain the technical solutions and cannot be used to limit the scope of protection of the present application.

[0077] The above description has been given for the purpose of illustration and description. In addition, this description is not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application to the forms disclosed herein. Although multiple example aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those skilled in the art will recognize certain variations, modifications, changes, additions and sub-combinations thereof.

Claims

1. A wafer conveying robot, characterized in that: include: Robot delivery end; A pick-and-place mechanism, disposed at the conveying end of the robot, for clamping and releasing the wafer and driving the clamped wafer to rotate; A flipping mechanism, arranged at the conveying end of the robot, for driving the pick-and-place mechanism to flip; The detection component is arranged at the conveying end of the robot, the pick-and-place mechanism and / or the flip mechanism, and is used to detect the notch position of the clamped wafer.

2. The wafer conveying robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a transfer mechanism arranged on the robot conveying end, the pick-and-place mechanism is connected to the robot conveying end through the transfer mechanism, and the transfer mechanism can transfer the pick-and-place mechanism to the flipping mechanism, and can receive the pick-and-place mechanism on the flipping mechanism.

3. The wafer conveying robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The transfer mechanism and the pick-and-place mechanism are both arranged in plurality around the flip mechanism, and different transfer mechanisms transfer different pick-and-place mechanisms to the flip mechanism respectively; Furthermore, the turnover mechanism can undertake and drive all the pick-and-place mechanisms to flip.

4. The wafer conveying robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The pick-and-place mechanism comprises a first pick-and-place mechanism and a second pick-and-place mechanism; The transfer mechanism comprises a first transfer mechanism and a second transfer mechanism, wherein the first transfer mechanism and the second transfer mechanism are symmetrically arranged on the conveying end of the robot with respect to the flipping mechanism; Among them, the first transfer mechanism transfers the first pick-and-place mechanism to the flipping mechanism, and the second transfer mechanism transfers the second pick-and-place mechanism to the flipping mechanism; the flipping mechanism drives the first pick-and-place mechanism and the second pick-and-place mechanism to flip to achieve position exchange; the first transfer mechanism undertakes the second pick-and-place mechanism, and the second transfer mechanism undertakes the first pick-and-place mechanism.

5. The wafer conveying robot according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The pick-and-place mechanism comprises: Pedestal; A connecting member connected to the base; An auxiliary clamping member, arranged at an end of the connecting member away from the base; A first clamping jaw and a second clamping jaw are rotatably disposed on the base and extend from opposite sides of the base respectively; The first clamping jaw and the second clamping jaw rotate towards each other to cooperate with the auxiliary clamping member to clamp the wafer; the first clamping jaw and the second clamping jaw rotate away from each other to release the wafer.

6. The wafer conveying robot according to claim 5, characterized in that: The auxiliary clamping member is a follower roller rotatably arranged on the connecting member; The clamping ends of the first clamping jaw and the second clamping jaw are both provided with motor rollers, and the motor rollers are used to drive the wafer to rotate.

7. The wafer conveying robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The follower roller and the motor roller are both provided with grooves for accommodating the circumferential edge of the wafer.

8. The wafer transport robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The detection component comprises: A transmitting end, arranged on the transfer mechanism and used for transmitting a detection signal to a circumferential edge area of ​​the clamped wafer; A receiving end, arranged on the flipping mechanism and aligned with the transmitting end, for receiving the detection signal; Furthermore, the connecting member is provided with an avoidance hole for allowing the detection signal to pass through.

9. The wafer transport robot according to claim 8, characterized in that: The transfer mechanism and the pick-and-place mechanism are both arranged in plurality around the flipping mechanism, and each of the transfer mechanisms is provided with the transmitting end, and the flipping mechanism is provided with one receiving end, and the receiving end is used to receive the detection signals emitted by all the transmitting ends.

10. The wafer transport robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The turning mechanism comprises: A flip motor, arranged on the conveying end of the robot; The receiving member is connected to the output shaft of the flip motor and is used to receive the pick-and-place mechanism.

11. The wafer conveying robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The pick-and-place mechanism and the flip mechanism are detachably connected via a connecting structure, and the connecting structure comprises: A pin, protrudingly arranged on one of the pick-and-place mechanism and the flip mechanism; a pin hole, disposed on the other of the pick-and-place mechanism and the flip mechanism; The pin shaft is connected to the pin hole to realize the connection between the pick-up and placement mechanism and the flipping mechanism, and the pin shaft is separated from the pin hole to realize the separation between the pick-up and placement mechanism and the flipping mechanism.

12. The wafer conveying robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The transfer mechanism and the pick-and-place mechanism are magnetically connected, and / or the transfer mechanism is a cylinder.

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