Seamless working mode switching method of ALD (atomic layer deposition) equipment based on boat state

Abstract

The invention relates to a boat state-based working mode seamless switching method for ALD (atomic layer deposition) equipment. The method comprises the following steps of: 1) setting a metal boat to be in a single loading state, a composite state and a single unloading state; 2) determining a corresponding relation between the metal boat and the flower basket in each state; 3) according to the arrangement of the metal boats, the number and types of needed flower baskets are written into a data storage area in sequence, the metal boats form a queue in sequence, and the flower baskets corresponding to the metal boats form a queue in sequence; (4) the flower basket gripper grabs the flower basket corresponding to the 0 position of the flower basket queue in the data storage area, after grabbing is completed, the flower basket data at the 0 position are deleted, and the flower basket data at the follow-up positions are integrally moved forwards by one grid; 5, the needed flower baskets are arranged at the tail of the flower basket queue according to the corresponding relation of the follow-up new metal boats, and circulation is carried out. The method has the advantages that modes do not need to be switched, the arrangement mode of any type of metal boats can be coped, seamless switching can be achieved, waiting time is avoided, time waste can be effectively avoided, and the equipment productivity is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for realizing seamless switching of working modes based on a boat state, and specifically to a method for realizing seamless switching of working modes based on a metal boat state in an ALD device, belonging to the field of photovoltaic ALD technology. Background Art

[0002] During the operation of the ALD equipment, the process of loading and unloading silicon wafers in the metal boat can generally be divided into three situations: 1) There are no silicon wafers in the metal boat, and the raw silicon wafers in the wet basket need to be loaded into the metal boat, and then put into the process furnace for coating; 2) There are cooked silicon wafers in the metal boat, and the cooked silicon wafers need to be unloaded into the dry basket first, and then the raw silicon wafers in the wet basket are loaded into the metal boat, and then put into the process furnace for coating; 3) There are cooked silicon wafers in the metal boat, and the cooked silicon wafers need to be unloaded into the dry basket, and the empty metal boat circulates in the equipment.

[0003] According to the above situation, the metal boat is set to three states: single loading, composite and single unloading. Since the number, type and order of flower baskets required for each boat state are different, and the arrangement of the boat is irregular, the flower basket feeding mechanism needs to frequently switch modes according to the boat state to control the number, type and order of flower baskets, resulting in a lot of time waste.

[0004] Specifically, the equipment generally includes a basket transfer mechanism, a wafer sorting mechanism, a wafer suction mechanism, a wafer top mechanism, a boat transfer mechanism, and a boat clamp mechanism, of which there are two sets of boat transfer mechanisms. Under normal circumstances, the two sets of boat transfer mechanisms alternately load and unload silicon wafers, and the wafer suction mechanism is always in operation. However, when the subsequent boat status is inconsistent with the current boat status, the mode needs to be switched. At this time, the boats on the two sets of boat transfer mechanisms need to be emptied. This process will cause the wafer suction mechanism to be in a waiting state.

[0005] For example, the waiting time during normal production is: 1) the sheet sorting mechanism opens for 2 seconds, 2) the sheet-top mechanism descends for 4 seconds, 3) the boat transfer moves to the boat gripper grabbing position for 2 seconds, 4) the boat transfer flips to an upright state for 4 seconds, 5) the boat gripper takes the boat and puts it in the next process for 15 seconds, 6) the boat gripper grabs the boat of the previous process and puts it in the boat transfer for 15 seconds, 7) the boat transfer flips to a flat state for 4 seconds, 8) the boat transfer moves to the sheet loading and unloading position for 2 seconds, 9) the sheet-top mechanism tops the sheet for 4 seconds, and 10) the sheet sorting mechanism sorts the sheet for 2 seconds. The total waiting time is about 54 seconds (the actual time will vary slightly due to different servo axis speed settings). Based on a single-hour production capacity of 14,000 pieces, each mode switch will result in a reduction in production capacity of 14,000*54 / 3600=210 pieces. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present invention proposes a method for seamlessly switching the working mode of an ALD device based on the boat state, which aims to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art and achieve the ability to cope with any type of boat arrangement without switching modes.

[0007] The technical solution of the present invention is a method for seamlessly switching the working mode of an ALD device based on a boat state, comprising the following steps: 1) Set the metal boat to three states: single loading, composite and single unloading; 2) Determine the corresponding relationship between the metal boat and the flower basket in each state; 3) According to the arrangement of the metal boats, the required number and type of flower baskets are written into the data storage area in order. The metal boats are queued in the order of 0, 1, 2...n, and the flower baskets corresponding to the metal boats are queued in the order of 0, 1, 2...m; 4) The flower basket gripper grabs the flower basket corresponding to position 0 of the flower basket queue in the data storage area. After the grabbing is completed, the flower basket data at position 0 is deleted, and the flower basket data at positions 1-m are moved forward one grid as a whole.

[0008] 5) The new metal boats that come in later will arrange the required flower baskets at the end of the flower basket queue according to the corresponding relationship in step 2), and the cycle will continue.

[0009] Preferably, the three states of single loading, composite and single unloading of the metal boat in the step 1) respectively refer to that there are no silicon wafers in the metal boat, and the raw silicon wafers in the wet basket need to be loaded into the metal boat, and then put into the process furnace for coating; there are cooked silicon wafers in the metal boat, and the cooked silicon wafers need to be unloaded into the dry basket first, and then the raw silicon wafers in the wet basket are loaded into the metal boat, and then put into the process furnace for coating; there are cooked silicon wafers in the metal boat, and the cooked silicon wafers need to be unloaded into the dry basket, and the empty metal boat circulates in the equipment.

[0010] Preferably, the corresponding relationship between the metal boat and the flower basket in each state in the step 2) is as follows: the single loading state requires 2 wet flower baskets filled with raw silicon wafers, i.e. loading; the composite state requires first 2 empty dry flower baskets, and then 2 wet flower baskets filled with raw silicon wafers, i.e. unloading the wafers first and then loading them; the single unloading state requires 2 empty dry flower baskets, i.e. unloading the wafers.

[0011] The advantages of the present invention are as follows: the method is reasonably designed, there is no need to switch modes, it can cope with any type of arrangement of metal boats, it can switch seamlessly, there is no waiting time, it can effectively avoid wasting time, and improve the equipment capacity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 It is a corresponding relationship diagram between the metal boat and the flower basket of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 2 It is a diagram of the metal boat arrangement and the flower basket loading arrangement of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The present invention is further described in detail below with reference to examples and specific implementation modes.

[0015] A method for seamlessly switching working modes of an ALD device based on a boat state comprises the following steps: 1) Set the metal boat to three states: single loading, composite and single unloading.

[0016] 2) Determine the corresponding relationship between the metal boat and the flower basket. Figure 1 As mentioned above, in the single loading state, 2 wet baskets with raw silicon wafers are required (loading wafers). In the combined state, 2 empty dry baskets are required first, and then 2 wet baskets with raw silicon wafers are required (unloading wafers first and then loading wafers). In the single unloading state, 2 empty dry baskets are required (unloading wafers).

[0017] 3) If Figure 2 As shown, the required number and types of flower baskets are written into the data storage area in order according to the arrangement of the metal boats. The metal boats are queued in the order of 0, 1, 2...n, and the flower baskets corresponding to the metal boats are queued in the order of 0, 1, 2...m.

[0018] 4) If Figure 2 As shown, the flower basket gripper grabs the flower basket corresponding to the position 0 of the flower basket queue in the data storage area. After the grabbing is completed, the flower basket data at position 0 is deleted, and the flower basket data at positions 1-m are moved forward one grid as a whole.

[0019] 5) New metal boats that come in later Figure 1 The corresponding relationship is to arrange the required flower baskets in Figure 2 The end of the flower basket queue, repeat this cycle. Example

[0020] S1. Define boat status BotSta (int type), 1: single loading, 2: composite, 3: single unloading. Define flower basket status BsktSta (int type), 1: wet flower basket, 2: dry flower basket. Declare integer array BotStaData[] to store boat data, declare integer array BsktStaData[] to store flower basket sorting data S2. When the boat enters the boat transfer platform, the boat status BotSta is transferred to BotStaData[n] from the previous process.

[0021] S3. Determine the value in BotStaData[n]. If BotStaData[n]=1, assign BsktStaData[i]:=1, BsktStaData[i+1]:=1. If BotStaData[n]=2, assign BsktStaData[i]:=2, BsktStaData[i+1]:=2, BsktStaData[i+2]:=1, BsktStaData[i+3]:=1. If BotStaData[n]=3, assign BsktStaData[i]:=2, BsktStaData[i+1]:=2. Then jump to S2.

[0022] S4. Determine the value in BsktStaData[0]. If BsktStaData[0]=0, the flower basket gripper waits; if BsktStaData[0]=1, the flower basket gripper grabs the wet flower basket and puts it on the transplanting platform; if BsktStaData[0]=2, the flower basket gripper grabs the dry flower basket and puts it on the transplanting platform.

[0023] S5. Shift the elements in the BsktStaData[] array forward in a circular manner, clear the last set of data BsktStaData[n+1] to zero, BsktStaData[0]:= BsktStaData[1], BsktStaData[1]:= BsktStaData[2]…BsktStaData[m-1]:= BsktStaData[m], BsktStaData[m]:= 0. Then jump to S4.

[0024] All the components mentioned above are prior art, and those skilled in the art can use any model and existing design that can achieve their corresponding functions.

[0025] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that a person skilled in the art can make several modifications and improvements without departing from the inventive concept of the present invention, which all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for seamlessly switching the working mode of an ALD device based on a boat state, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: 1) Set the metal boat to three states: single loading, composite and single unloading; 2) Determine the corresponding relationship between the metal boat and the flower basket in each state; 3) According to the arrangement of the metal boats, the required number and type of flower baskets are written into the data storage area in order. The metal boats are queued in the order of 0, 1, 2...n, and the flower baskets corresponding to the metal boats are queued in the order of 0, 1, 2...m; 4) The flower basket gripper grabs the flower basket corresponding to position 0 of the flower basket queue in the data storage area. After the grabbing is completed, the flower basket data at position 0 is deleted, and the flower basket data at positions 1-m are moved forward one grid as a whole; 5) The new metal boats that come in later will arrange the required flower baskets at the end of the flower basket queue according to the corresponding relationship in step 2), and the cycle will continue.

2. A method for seamlessly switching the working mode of an ALD device based on a boat state as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: In the step 1), the three states of the metal boat, namely, single loading, combined loading and single unloading, respectively refer to the situation that there are no silicon wafers in the metal boat, and the raw silicon wafers in the wet basket need to be loaded into the metal boat before being put into the process furnace for coating; there are cooked silicon wafers in the metal boat, and the cooked silicon wafers need to be unloaded into the dry basket first, and then the raw silicon wafers in the wet basket are loaded into the metal boat before being put into the process furnace for coating; there are cooked silicon wafers in the metal boat, and the cooked silicon wafers need to be unloaded into the dry basket, and the empty metal boat circulates in the equipment.

3. A method for seamlessly switching the working mode of an ALD device based on a boat state as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The corresponding relationship between the metal boat and the basket in each state in the step 2) is as follows: the single loading state requires two wet baskets containing raw silicon wafers, i.e. loading; the combined state requires first two empty dry baskets and then two wet baskets containing raw silicon wafers, i.e. unloading first and then loading; the single unloading state requires two empty dry baskets, i.e. unloading.

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