Wafer Spacer Extraction Mechanism

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of wafer bonding technology, and specifically to a wafer gasket extraction mechanism, which mainly solves the technical problem in the prior art that there is a lack of an extraction mechanism that can both meet space requirements and avoid a robot. This mechanism includes a fixed frame, a movable block, a lifting drive, a swing drive, a telescopic spring, and an actuator group. The lifting drive drives the pressing rod to lift and lower, which can provide a vertical pressing force for the shift block, thereby achieving the extraction of the gasket. The swing drive can drive the movable block to rotate around the axis of the support rod, thereby tilting the actuator group, and then causing the pressing rod to detach from the top of the shift block of the wafer bonding chuck. Then, in conjunction with the lifting drive, the actuator group can be driven downward to the area where the wafer bonding chuck is detached, ultimately achieving avoidance of the robot's pick-up and placement work. This mechanism can meet the installation space requirements and can also achieve avoidance of the robot's pick-up and placement actions. It is cleverly designed and has good application prospects.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of wafer bonding, and particularly to a wafer spacer extraction mechanism. Background Art

[0002] Wafer bonding is mainly applied to the research and manufacturing of micro-electromechanical systems, CMOS image sensors, advanced packaging, light-emitting diodes, and other components. A wafer bonding chuck is a carrier for realizing wafer bonding, used to fix and clamp two wafers to be bonded. When a spacer is inserted during wafer bonding, an extraction mechanism is required to cooperate with the wafer bonding chuck to perform the extraction action of the spacer. The wafer bonding chuck generally integrates a dial block, and the dial block contacts the spacer through a linkage structure. When the dial block is pressed, the extraction of the spacer can be achieved through the linkage structure. Therefore, the extraction mechanism needs to provide a vertical pressing force for the dial block.

[0003] In existing wafer bonding equipment, since many structures such as lifting need to be arranged above the wafer bonding chuck, the space layout is relatively full, and it is difficult to reserve an installation space for the extraction mechanism. At the same time, if the extraction mechanism is installed below the wafer bonding chuck, the extraction mechanism needs to extend from below to above the dial block. Since there are multiple dial blocks evenly distributed along the circumference of the wafer bonding chuck, multiple extraction mechanisms also need to be arranged along the circumference. The arrangement of the extraction mechanism will inevitably interfere with the robot for picking and placing the wafer bonding chuck. Therefore, the design of the extraction mechanism has great difficulty in the field of wafer bonding, and there is still no extraction mechanism that can both meet the space requirements and avoid the robot. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To overcome the technical defect that there is a lack of an extraction mechanism that can both meet the space requirements and avoid the robot in the prior art, the present invention provides a wafer spacer extraction mechanism.

[0005] The wafer spacer extraction mechanism provided by the present invention includes:

[0006] A fixed frame, with a strip-shaped hole arranged vertically on its side wall, and a through hole opened at the top of the fixed frame;

[0007] A movable block, which is placed inside the fixed frame and connected with a support rod. The support rod passes through the strip-shaped hole with a gap and extends outside the fixed frame to form an outer extension end. The movable block can rotate around the axis of the support rod;

[0008] A lifting driving member, whose output end is connected with the outer extension end;

[0009] A swing driving member is mounted on the output end of the lifting driving member. The output end of the swing driving member abuts against the movable block, and the output end of the swing driving member is used to output a vertical lifting motion to drive the movable block to rotate around the axis of the support rod.

[0010] A telescopic spring has one end connected to the movable block and the other end fixed relative to the fixed part of the swing driving member. The telescopic spring is used to keep the movable block in contact with the output end of the swing driving member.

[0011] An actuator rod group includes a connecting rod. The lower end of the connecting rod is fixed to the movable block. The connecting rod passes through a through hole and a pressing rod perpendicular to the connecting rod is installed at the top end. A gap is left between the connecting rod and the through hole to avoid the swing of the connecting rod.

[0012] Optionally, a set of opposite side walls of the fixed frame are both provided with the strip-shaped holes. The movable block is connected with two coaxial support rods, and the two support rods respectively pass through the two strip-shaped holes. The output end of the lifting driving member includes a U-shaped frame. The fixed frame is placed inside the opening of the U-shaped frame, and the two wings of the U-shaped frame are respectively connected to the extended ends of the two support rods.

[0013] Optionally, the movable block is fixedly connected with the support rod. A first rolling bearing is sleeved on the support rod. The first rolling bearing is placed in the strip-shaped hole, and the extended end can rotate relative to the output end of the lifting driving member.

[0014] Optionally, the strip-shaped hole is a stepped hole composed of an inner hole and an outer hole, and the size of the outer hole is larger than that of the inner hole. The first rolling bearing is placed in the outer hole.

[0015] Optionally, a horizontally arranged through groove is provided on the surface of the wing of the U-shaped frame facing the fixed frame, and the extended end is movably clamped in the through groove.

[0016] Optionally, the lifting driving member includes a first lifting cylinder and a second lifting cylinder. The fixed part of the second lifting cylinder is connected to the output end of the first lifting cylinder. The output end of the second lifting cylinder serves as the output end of the lifting driving member and is connected to the extended end.

[0017] Optionally, a second rolling bearing is installed on the movable block, and the output end of the swing driving member abuts against the second rolling bearing.

[0018] Optionally, a corrugated pipe is sleeved on a partial rod section of the connecting rod placed inside the fixed frame. The upper end of the corrugated pipe is hermetically connected to the edge of the through hole, and the lower end of the corrugated pipe is hermetically connected to the movable block.

[0019] Optionally, the swing driving member is a telescopic cylinder.

[0020] Optionally, the fixed frame is a rectangular frame formed by splicing two U-shaped blocks.

[0021] The technical solution provided by the present invention has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0022] The wafer gasket extraction mechanism provided by the present invention, when in use, fixes the fixed frame below the wafer bonding chuck, so that the upper part of the actuator rod group is placed in the bonding cavity and the pressing rod is placed above the dial block of the wafer bonding chuck. By driving the pressing rod to lift and lower through the lifting driving member, vertical pressing power can be provided for the dial block, thereby realizing the extraction of the gasket; in addition, the swing driving member can drive the movable block to rotate around the axis of the support rod, so that the actuator rod group is inclined, and then the pressing rod is separated from above the dial block of the wafer bonding chuck, and then cooperating with the lifting driving member can drive the actuator rod group to move down to disengage from the area where the wafer bonding chuck is located, finally realizing the avoidance of the pick-and-place operation of the manipulator. On the one hand, this mechanism is installed below the wafer bonding chuck, and a vertically arranged pressing rod is provided at the top of the connecting rod. On the premise of completing the function of extracting the gasket, it can meet the installation space requirements. On the other hand, the actuator rod group can realize the avoidance of the pick-and-place action of the manipulator through the cooperation of lifting and tilting. The design is ingenious and has good application prospects. Description of the Drawings

[0023] The drawings here are incorporated into the specification and form a part of this specification, showing the embodiments in line with the present invention, and are used together with the specification to explain the principles of the present invention.

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, for those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0025] Figure 1 It shows the structural schematic diagram of the wafer gasket extraction mechanism when pressing in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 It shows the structural schematic diagram of the wafer gasket extraction mechanism when tilted in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 3 It shows the assembly schematic diagram of the lifting driving member, the telescopic spring and the swing driving member in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 4 It shows the assembly schematic diagram of the fixed frame, the movable block and the actuator rod group in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] In the figure:

[0030] 1. Fixed frame; 11. Strip-shaped hole; 12. Through hole; 2. Movable block; 21. Support rod; 22. Extended end; 23. First rolling bearing; 24. Second rolling bearing; 3. Lifting driving member; 31. U-shaped frame; 32. Through slot; 33. First lifting cylinder; 34. Second lifting cylinder; 4. Swing driving member; 5. Telescopic spring; 6. Actuating rod group; 61. Connecting rod; 62. Pressing rod; 63. Bellows; 64. L-shaped rod. Specific implementation mode

[0031] In order to more clearly understand the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention, the solution of the present invention will be further described below. It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments of the present invention and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0032] In the description, it should be noted that the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. It should be noted that unless otherwise clearly defined and limited, the terms "installed", "connected" and "connected" 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 directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms can be understood according to specific situations.

[0033] Many specific details are set forth in the following description in order to fully understand the present invention, but the present invention can also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein; obviously, the embodiments in the specification are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments.

[0034] The following combines Figures 1 to 4 to describe in detail the specific embodiments of the present invention.

[0035] This embodiment provides a wafer gasket extraction mechanism, including a fixed frame 1, a movable block 2, a lifting driving member 3, a swing driving member 4, a telescopic spring 5 and an actuating rod group 6.

[0036] Among them, a strip-shaped hole 11 arranged in the vertical direction is opened on the side wall of the fixed frame 1, and a through hole 12 is opened on the top of the fixed frame 1.

[0037] Specifically, the fixing frame 1 in this embodiment is a rectangular frame formed by splicing two U-shaped blocks. The two U-shaped blocks are fixedly spliced with their openings facing each other. The strip-shaped holes 11 are opened on the wing plates of the upper U-shaped block, and the through holes 12 are opened on the web plates of the upper U-shaped block. The fixing frame 1 with such a structure is more conducive to the installation of components. In other embodiments, the fixing frame 1 can also adopt an integral rectangular frame structure, a box structure, or a frame structure.

[0038] More specifically, in this embodiment, strip-shaped holes 11 are opened on a set of opposite side walls of the fixing frame 1. The purpose of setting two strip-shaped holes 11 and arranging them oppositely is to ensure the stability of the installation of the movable block 2. In other embodiments, only one strip-shaped hole 11 can be provided, or three can be provided, as long as the installation stability of the movable block 2 can be ensured.

[0039] Among them, the movable block 2 is placed inside the fixing frame 1 and is connected with a support rod 21. The support rod 21 penetrates through the strip-shaped hole 11 with a gap and extends outside the fixing frame 1 to form an outer extension end 22. The movable block 2 can rotate around the axis of the support rod 21.

[0040] Specifically, the movable block 2 in this embodiment is connected with two collinear support rods 21. The two support rods 21 respectively penetrate through the two strip-shaped holes 11. The cooperation of the two support rods 21 can ensure the stability of the movable block 2 during lifting and rotation.

[0041] It should be noted that the movable block 2 can rotate around the axis of the support rod 21. Specifically, it can be designed as the following several situations: First, the movable block 2 is fixedly connected with the support rod 21, and the support rod 21 is movably connected with the output part of the lifting drive member 3; Second, the movable block 2 is movably connected with the support rod 21, and the support rod 21 is fixedly connected with the output part of the lifting drive member 3; Third, the support rod 21 is movably connected with both the movable block 2 and the output part of the lifting drive member 3. This embodiment adopts the first situation, that is, the movable block 2 is fixedly connected with the support rod 21, and the support rod 21 is movably connected with the output part of the lifting drive member 3. It should be noted that the so-called movable connection means that the outer extension end 22 of the support rod 21 can rotate relative to the output end of the lifting drive member 3.

[0042] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a first rolling bearing 23 is sleeved on the support rod 21. The first rolling bearing 23 is placed in the strip-shaped hole 11. Since the movable block 2 will vertically lift along the strip-shaped hole 11, setting the first rolling bearing 23 can convert sliding friction into rolling friction and reduce the friction resistance.

[0043] Specifically, in this embodiment, the strip-shaped hole 11 is set as a stepped hole composed of an inner hole and an outer hole, and the size of the outer hole is larger than that of the inner hole. The first rolling bearing 23 is placed in the outer hole. The first rolling bearing 23 is limited by the stepped hole, and the cooperation of the two first rolling bearings 23 realizes the left-right limitation of the movable block 2, which is conducive to ensuring the movement accuracy of the movable block 2.

[0044] Among them, the output end of the lifting driving member 3 is connected to the extending end 22.

[0045] Specifically, the lifting driving member 3 of this embodiment includes a first lifting cylinder 33 and a second lifting cylinder 34. The fixed part of the second lifting cylinder 34 is connected to the output end of the first lifting cylinder 33. The output end of the second lifting cylinder 34 serves as the output end of the lifting driving member 3 and is connected to the extending end 22. Since the movable block 2 has three definite positions during lifting: the highest position directly above the wafer bonding chuck, the middle position after pressing the dial block, and the lowest position after tilting away from the wafer bonding chuck and descending. If a single cylinder is used as the lifting driving member 3, when the movable block 2 is in the middle position, it will exert a relatively large pressure on the dial block, which is likely to cause damage to the structure of the dial block. Therefore, this embodiment uses a combination of two lifting cylinders as the lifting driving member 3. The combination of the two lifting cylinders can output four definite positions, which can meet the requirements of the multi-position of the movable block 2. In this implementation, the output ends of the first lifting cylinder 33 and the second lifting cylinder 34 both face downward. Therefore, during operation, when both the first lifting cylinder 33 and the second lifting cylinder 34 retract, the movable block 2 is in the highest position; when the first lifting cylinder 33 retracts and the second lifting cylinder 34 extends, the movable block 2 switches to the middle position; when both the first lifting cylinder 33 and the second lifting cylinder 34 extend, the movable block 2 is in the lowest position. It should be noted that the stroke of the second lifting cylinder 34 is the height difference between the highest position and the middle position of the movable block 2. When the movable block 2 switches from the middle position to the lowest position, the second lifting cylinder 34 first needs to retract to switch the movable block 2 to the highest position for tilting action, and then extend to cooperate with the first lifting cylinder 33 to switch the movable block 2 to the lowest position.

[0046] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a U-shaped frame 31 is added to the output end of the lifting driving member 3. The fixed frame 1 is placed inside the opening of the U-shaped frame 31, and the two wings of the U-shaped frame 31 are respectively connected to the extending ends 22 of the two support rods 21. The design of the U-shaped frame 31 is more conducive to the connection between the output end of the lifting driving member 3 and the two extending ends 22.

[0047] Specifically, in this embodiment, a horizontally arranged through groove 32 is opened on the surface of the wing of the U-shaped frame 31 facing the fixed frame 1, and the extending end 22 is movably clamped in the through groove 32. This structure is easier to assemble, and the extending end 22 can move in the through groove 32, effectively reducing the requirement for assembly accuracy. In other embodiments, the extending end 22 can also be directly rotatably connected to the surface of the wing of the U-shaped frame 31 facing the fixed frame 1. However, due to the certainty of the rotation connection position, if the structural accuracy is low, it is very easy to cause the support rod 21 to closely adhere to one side of the strip-shaped hole 11, resulting in too large frictional resistance. Therefore, when using a directly hinged structure, the requirement for the structural assembly accuracy is relatively high.

[0048] Among them, the swing driving member 4 is installed on the output end of the lifting driving member 3. The output end of the swing driving member 4 abuts against the movable block 2, and the output end of the swing driving member 4 is used to output a vertical lifting motion to drive the movable block 2 to rotate around the axis of the support rod 21.

[0049] It is easy to understand that the swing driving member 4 is installed on the output end of the lifting driving member 3, that is, the fixed part of the swing driving member 4 is fixed on the output end of the lifting driving member 3.

[0050] It should be noted that the output end of the swing driving member 4 can abut above the movable block 2 or below the movable block 2. In this embodiment, the former scheme is adopted.

[0051] Specifically, the swing driving member 4 in this embodiment is a telescopic cylinder.

[0052] Furthermore, a second rolling bearing 24 is installed on the movable block 2, and the output end of the swing driving member 4 abuts against the second rolling bearing 24. Since the movable block 2 rotates around the axis of the support rod 21, when the output end of the swing driving member 4 moves up and down, a relative displacement will be generated with the movable block 2. The second rolling bearing 24 can compensate for this relative displacement by using its rotation radius, so that the output end of the swing driving member 4 always contacts a certain point of the second rolling bearing 24, which can reduce the frictional resistance when the movable block 2 swings.

[0053] Among them, one end of the telescopic spring 5 is connected to the movable block 2 and the other end is fixed relative to the fixed part of the swing driving member 4. The telescopic spring 5 is used to keep the movable block 2 in contact with the output end of the swing driving member 4.

[0054] It should be noted that since the output end of the swing driving member 4 only abuts against the movable block 2, when the swing driving member 4 retracts, it will disengage from the movable block 2. Therefore, in this embodiment, a telescopic spring 5 is provided between the movable block 2 and the swing driving member 4 to keep the movable block 2 in contact with the output end of the swing driving member 4.

[0055] It is easy to understand that the telescopic spring 5 can be directly connected to the movable block 2 or indirectly connected through structures such as connecting pins; the telescopic spring 5 is fixed relative to the fixed part of the swing driving member 4. The telescopic spring 5 can be directly fixedly connected to the fixed part of the swing driving member 4, or the telescopic spring 5 can be fixedly connected to other components that are relatively fixed to the fixed part of the swing driving member 4, such as fixedly connecting the telescopic spring 5 to the output end of the lifting driving member 3.

[0056] Among them, the actuator rod group 6 includes a connecting rod 61. The lower end of the connecting rod 61 is fixed on the movable block 2. The connecting rod 61 passes through the through hole 12 and a pressing rod 62 perpendicular to the connecting rod 61 is installed at the top. A gap is left between the connecting rod 61 and the through hole 12 to avoid the swing of the connecting rod 61.

[0057] It should be noted that, since the connecting rod 61 is located on one side of the wafer bonding chuck, and the action that the actuator rod group 6 needs to perform is to press the slider on the wafer bonding chuck, a pressing rod 62 perpendicular to it needs to be provided at the top end of the connecting rod 61 so as to be able to perform the pressing action.

[0058] Specifically, in this embodiment, an L-shaped rod 64 is provided at the top end of the connecting rod 61, and the pressing rod 62 is arranged at the top end of the L-shaped rod 64. This setting meets the requirements of spatial layout and is also more conducive to the angle adjustment of the pressing rod 62.

[0059] Furthermore, a bellows 63 is sleeved on a partial rod section of the connecting rod 61 placed inside the fixed frame 1. The upper end of the bellows 63 is hermetically connected to the edge of the through hole 12, and the lower end of the bellows 63 is hermetically connected to the movable block 2. Since wafer bonding is generally carried out in a vacuum environment, that is, the bonding cavity is a vacuum cavity, and the upper part of the connecting rod 61 and the pressing rod 62 in this embodiment are both placed in the bonding cavity, so a bellows 63 is added in this embodiment. During installation, the top of the fixed frame 1 is fixed to the bottom of the bonding cavity, and the position of the through hole 12 is sealed through the bellows 63, thus meeting the sealing requirements of the bonding cavity.

[0060] The working principle of the wafer gasket extraction mechanism in this embodiment is as follows:

[0061] Before pressing, the movable block 2 is at the highest position. At this time, the pressing rod 62 is located directly above the slider; when pressing, the second lifting cylinder 34 extends so that the pressing rod 62 contacts the slider and continues to descend to the middle position, completing the pressing action on the slider, thereby completing the extraction of the gasket; after pressing, the second lifting cylinder 34 retracts so that the pressing rod 62 disengages from the slider, and the slider resets. Then, the swing driving member 4 acts to drive the movable block 2 to swing, linking the connecting rod 61 to tilt, so that the pressing rod 62 moves away from directly above the slider. Then, both the first lifting cylinder 33 and the second lifting cylinder 34 extend, causing the movable block 2 to descend to the lowest position to avoid the manipulator from picking and placing the wafer bonding chuck.

[0062] The above are only specific implementation manners of the present invention, enabling those skilled in the art to understand or implement the present invention. Although the above-described embodiments have been described in detail, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the above embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements on some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the above embodiments, and they should all be covered by the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A wafer spacer extraction mechanism, characterized in that, Comprising: A fixed frame (1) having strip-shaped holes (11) arranged in the vertical direction on its side walls, and a through hole (12) is provided at the top of the fixed frame (1); A movable block (2) disposed within the fixed frame (1) and connected with a support rod (21), the support rod (21) passing through the strip-shaped hole (11) with a clearance and extending outside the fixed frame (1) to form an extended end (22), and the movable block (2) can rotate around the axis of the support rod (21); A lifting drive member (3) whose output end is connected to the extended end (22); A swing drive member (4) installed on the output end of the lifting drive member (3), the output end of the swing drive member (4) abutting against the movable block (2), and the output end of the swing drive member (4) is used to output a vertical lifting motion to drive the movable block (2) to rotate around the axis of the support rod (21); A telescopic spring (5) having one end connected to the movable block (2) and the other end fixed relative to the fixed portion of the swing drive member (4), and the telescopic spring (5) is used to keep the movable block (2) in contact with the output end of the swing drive member (4); An actuator rod group (6) including a connecting rod (61), the lower end of the connecting rod (61) is fixed to the movable block (2), the connecting rod (61) passes through the through hole (12) and a pressing rod (62) perpendicular to the connecting rod (61) is installed at the top end, and a gap is left between the connecting rod (61) and the through hole (12) to avoid the swing of the connecting rod (61).

2. The wafer spacer extraction mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, The strip-shaped holes (11) are provided on a set of opposite side walls of the fixed frame (1), the movable block (2) is connected with two coaxial support rods (21), the two support rods (21) respectively pass through the two strip-shaped holes (11), the output end of the lifting drive member (3) includes a U-shaped frame (31), the fixed frame (1) is placed within the opening of the U-shaped frame (31) and the two wings of the U-shaped frame (31) are respectively connected to the extended ends (22) of the two support rods (21).

3. The wafer spacer extraction mechanism according to claim 2, wherein The movable block (2) is fixedly connected to the support rod (21), a first rolling bearing (23) is sleeved on the support rod (21), the first rolling bearing (23) is placed within the strip-shaped hole (11), and the extended end (22) can rotate relative to the output end of the lifting drive member (3).

4. The wafer spacer extraction mechanism according to claim 3, wherein, The strip-shaped hole (11) is a stepped hole composed of an inner hole and an outer hole, and the size of the outer hole is larger than that of the inner hole, and the first rolling bearing (23) is placed within the outer hole.

5. The wafer spacer extraction mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that, A horizontally arranged through slot (32) is provided on the surface of the wing portion of the U-shaped frame (31) facing the fixed frame (1), and the extended end (22) is movably clamped within the through slot (32).

6. The wafer spacer extraction mechanism according to claim 1, wherein, The lifting drive member (3) includes a first lifting cylinder (33) and a second lifting cylinder (34), the fixed portion of the second lifting cylinder (34) is connected to the output end of the first lifting cylinder (33), and the output end of the second lifting cylinder (34) serves as the output end of the lifting drive member (3) and is connected to the extended end (22).

7. The wafer spacer extraction mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, A second rolling bearing (24) is installed on the movable block (2), and the output end of the swing driving member (4) abuts against the second rolling bearing (24).

8. The wafer spacer extraction mechanism according to claim 1, wherein A part of the connecting rod (61) placed inside the fixed frame (1) is sleeved with a corrugated pipe (63). The upper end of the corrugated pipe (63) is hermetically connected to the edge of the through hole (12), and the lower end of the corrugated pipe (63) is hermetically connected to the movable block (2).

9. The wafer spacer extraction mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The swing driving member (4) is a telescopic cylinder.

10. The wafer spacer extraction mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The fixed frame (1) is a rectangular frame formed by splicing two U-shaped blocks.

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