Wafer edge clamping structure and clamping system

Abstract

The invention provides a wafer edge clamping structure and a clamping system. The wafer edge clamping structure comprises a connecting rod and a clamping pin, the connecting rod is provided with a first end, the longitudinal section of the first end is non-circular, the clamping pin is provided with an insertion hole, the shape of the insertion hole is matched with that of the longitudinal section of the first end, and the first end is inserted into the insertion hole. The invention is used for solving the problem that the clamping pin is easy to rotate relative to the connecting rod when the clamping groove of the clamping pin is cleaned, and reducing the risk of wafer falling.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor equipment, and in particular to a wafer edge clamping structure and a clamping system. Background Art

[0002] At present, in wet etching machines, ECO (Edge Contact Only, edge gripper) and robot arm are usually used to realize wafer transfer. The robot arm takes the wafer out of the wafer box (FOUP) and transfers it to the ECO, which transfers the wafer to the chamber (reaction chamber) for corresponding process treatment. After the treatment is completed, the ECO takes out the wafer in the chamber and transfers it to the robot arm, which returns the wafer to the wafer box.

[0003] Figure 1 FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of ECO grabbing a wafer W. Six clamping structures A clamp and fix the wafer W through a cylinder. Each clamping structure A is as shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown, it includes a connecting rod 1 and a clamping pin 4. One end of the connecting rod 1 is fixedly connected to the clamping pin 4, and the other end is connected to the cylinder. The cylinder drives the connecting rod 1 to extend and retract, so that the clamping pin 4 can release or clamp the wafer W.

[0004] The clamping pin has a slot for clamping the wafer. Contaminants are likely to remain in the slot and need to be cleaned regularly to avoid contaminating the wafer and reducing the product yield. However, during the cleaning process, the clamping pin 4 is prone to rotate relative to the connecting rod 1, resulting in an inconspicuous tilt. When the clamping pin 4 grabs the wafer later, the wafer may fall and be scrapped. Summary of the invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a wafer edge clamping structure and a clamping system for solving the problem that the clamping pin is easily rotated relative to the connecting rod when the clamping pin slot is cleaned, thereby reducing the risk of the wafer falling.

[0006] In order to achieve the above objectives, the present invention is implemented by the following technical solutions:

[0007] A wafer edge clamping structure includes: a connecting rod and a clamping pin, the connecting rod has a first end, the longitudinal section shape of the first end is non-circular, the clamping pin has an insertion hole, the shape of the insertion hole matches the longitudinal section shape of the first end, and the first end is inserted into the insertion hole.

[0008] Optionally, a circumferential fixing member is further included, which is arranged between the connecting rod and the clamping pin and is used to lock the clamping pin in the circumferential direction.

[0009] Optionally, the circumferential fixing member is a top screw.

[0010] Optionally, the longitudinal cross-section of the first end is polygonal.

[0011] Optionally, the longitudinal cross-section of the first end is symmetrical.

[0012] A wafer edge clamping system, comprising:

[0013] A main body, wherein the main body is provided with a plurality of gripper arms along the circumferential direction;

[0014] A plurality of wafer edge clamping structures as described in any one of the above, wherein the connecting rod in each of the wafer edge clamping structures is movably disposed through one of the gripper arms;

[0015] The cylinder is arranged in the main body and is used for driving the connecting rod to move.

[0016] Optionally, it also includes a bellows, which is sleeved on the connecting rod, and the two ends of which are respectively connected to the clamping pin and the gripper arm.

[0017] Optionally, a plurality of gripper arms are evenly distributed along the circumference of the main body.

[0018] Optionally, the number of the gripper arms is 6.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0020] The present invention designs the longitudinal cross-section of the first end of the connecting rod to be non-circular and the insertion hole of the clamping pin to be of the same shape. When the first end is inserted into the insertion hole, the first end limits the rotational freedom of the clamping pin along the axial direction of the connecting rod, so that the clamping pin will not tilt when cleaning the clamping pin slot, thereby avoiding the risk of wafer falling. In addition, it is also convenient to replace a new clamping pin and can ensure the verticality of the clamping pin. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for the description. Obviously, the drawings described below are an embodiment of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work:

[0022] Figure 1 A structural diagram of a wafer edge clamping system clamping a wafer;

[0023] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an existing wafer edge clamping structure;

[0024] Figure 3A schematic diagram of a wafer edge clamping structure is provided for the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The scheme proposed by the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. The advantages and features of the present invention will become clearer according to the following description. It should be noted that the accompanying drawings are in a very simplified form and are not in precise proportions, which are only used to conveniently and clearly assist in explaining the purpose of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0026] like Figure 2 As shown, in the existing wafer edge clamping structure A, the end of the connecting rod 1 is round and inserted into the round through hole of the clamping pin 4, and the screw 2 is screwed from the other end of the round through hole of the clamping pin into the screw hole at the end of the connecting rod 1 to fix the connecting rod 1 and the clamping pin. However, in this type of clamping structure A, the clamping pin 4 is easy to rotate relative to the connecting rod 1 and produce an inconspicuous tilt.

[0027] Based on this, the present invention provides a wafer edge clamping structure. Figure 3 As shown, the wafer edge clamping structure 100 includes: a connecting rod 110 and a clamping pin 120, wherein the connecting rod has a first end 111, the longitudinal section of the first end 111 is non-circular, and the clamping pin 120 has a plug hole, the shape of the plug hole matches the longitudinal section of the first end 111, and the first end 111 is plugged into the plug hole. Thus, by designing the longitudinal section of the first end 111 of the connecting rod 110 to be non-circular and the plug hole of the clamping pin 120 to be the same shape, when the first end 111 is plugged into the plug hole, the first end 111 limits the rotational freedom of the clamping pin 120 along the axial direction of the connecting rod 110, so that the clamping pin 120 will not tilt when cleaning the clamping slot of the clamping pin 120, thereby avoiding the risk of the wafer falling. In addition, it is more convenient to replace a new clamping pin 120, without worrying about the verticality of the clamping pin 120.

[0028] The longitudinal cross-section of the first end 111 may be a regular or irregular shape such as a semicircle, a sector, a polygon (eg, a pentagon), etc. Optionally, the longitudinal cross-section of the first end 111 is symmetrical for ease of processing.

[0029] Furthermore, the wafer edge clamping structure 100 further includes a circumferential fixing member 130, which is disposed between the coupling rod 110 and the clamping pin 120 and is used to lock the clamping pin 120 in the circumferential direction to limit the freedom of the clamping pin 120 to move axially along the coupling rod 110, and prevent the clamping pin 120 from being displaced when subjected to front and rear forces, so as to improve the stability of the connection between the clamping pin 120 and the coupling rod 110. The circumferential fixing member may be a top screw.

[0030] Based on the same inventive concept, the present invention also provides a wafer edge clamping system. The wafer edge clamping system comprises: Figure 1 The main body 200 shown in the figure is provided with a plurality of gripper arms 210 along the circumferential direction of the main body 200, and the main body 200 is installed on a six-axis robot for realizing wafer transfer; a plurality of wafer edge clamping structures 100 as described above, and the connecting rod 110 in each of the wafer edge clamping structures 100 is movably penetrated through one of the gripper arms 210, and each of the wafer edge clamping structures 100 is used to clamp the edge of the wafer, and the clamping and releasing of the wafer is realized by moving or retracting the connecting rod 110 in the gripper arm 210; a cylinder is arranged in the main body 200, and is used to drive the connecting rod 110 to move, and a cylinder can be separately provided for each connecting rod 110, and preferably, all the connecting rods 110 are connected to the same cylinder to realize synchronous driving of all the connecting rods 110.

[0031] In this embodiment, when the wafer needs to be transferred, the cylinder drives the connecting rod 110 to extend, and each clamping pin 120 is located on a circumference larger than the diameter of the wafer, so that the wafer can be placed between the clamping pins 120; when the wafer needs to be clamped, the cylinder drives the connecting rod 110 to retract, and each clamping pin 120 is located on the circumference of the wafer diameter, and the groove on the clamping pin 120 clamps the edge of the wafer to achieve clamping of the wafer.

[0032] The number of the gripper arms 210 is greater than or equal to 3, for example, 6, so as to stably clamp the wafer and prevent it from falling. The gripper arms 210 are evenly distributed along the circumference of the main body 200, so that the clamping pins 120 are evenly distributed along the circumference, so as to better clamp the wafer in the circumference of the wafer.

[0033] Furthermore, the wafer edge clamping system also includes a bellows 300, which is sleeved on the connecting rod 110, and its two ends are respectively connected to the clamping pin 120 and the gripper arm 210 to achieve sealing of the connecting rod 110, avoid contaminating the connecting rod 110, and reduce its movement accuracy and life.

[0034] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.

[0035] Although the content of the present invention has been described in detail through the above preferred embodiments, it should be appreciated that the above description should not be considered as a limitation of the present invention. After reading the above content, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and substitutions of the present invention will occur. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be limited by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wafer edge clamping structure, characterized in that: include: A connecting rod and a clamping pin, wherein the connecting rod has a first end, the longitudinal section of the first end is non-circular, and the clamping pin has an insertion hole, the shape of the insertion hole matches the longitudinal section of the first end, and the first end is inserted into the insertion hole.

2. The wafer edge clamping structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a circumferential fixing piece, which is arranged between the connecting rod and the clamping pin and is used to lock the clamping pin in the circumferential direction.

3. The wafer edge clamping structure according to claim 2, characterized in that: The circumferential fixing member is a top screw.

4. The wafer edge clamping structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The longitudinal cross-section of the first end portion is a polygon.

5. The wafer edge clamping structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The longitudinal cross-sectional shape of the first end portion is symmetrical.

6. A wafer edge clamping system, characterized in that: include: A main body, wherein the main body is provided with a plurality of gripper arms along the circumferential direction; A plurality of wafer edge clamping structures as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the connecting rod in each of the wafer edge clamping structures is movably disposed through one of the gripper arms; The cylinder is arranged in the main body and is used for driving the connecting rod to move.

7. The wafer edge clamping system according to claim 6, characterized in that: It also includes a bellows which is sleeved on the connecting rod, and two ends of which are respectively connected with the clamping pin and the gripper arm.

8. The wafer edge clamping system according to claim 6, characterized in that: A plurality of gripper arms are evenly distributed along the circumference of the main body.

9. The wafer edge clamping system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The number of the gripper arms is 6.

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