Calibration method, ejector pin device and leveling method

Abstract

The invention discloses a calibration method, an ejector pin device and a leveling method, and relates to the field of semiconductors. The calibration method comprises the following steps: calculating a first time when the ejector pin device moves from the lowest position to the end of an acceleration section and a third time when the ejector pin device moves from the lowest position to the end of a constant speed section, and detecting a second time when the ejector pin device moves from the lowest position to be in contact with a wafer; and judging whether the second time is between the first time and the third time, and if not, determining the offset and re-calibrating the zero point on the software. The problem that the station of the Pin cannot be automatically adjusted is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of semiconductor technology, and specifically relates to a calibration method, a ejector pin device and a leveling method. Background Art

[0002] The pins of the etching machine are mainly used in the process of picking up and placing wafers on the machine. By adjusting the height of the pins, the wafer position is changed. However, in practice, after long-term use or after replacing the ESC, the position of the pins will shift (the three pins are not at the same height or the height of the three pins is shifted). If the three-pin position calibration is not performed in time, the robot may hit the wafer, causing damage or shifting of the wafer.

[0003] In addition, due to the change in the position of the pin caused by long-term use, it is currently only judged by experience (during regular maintenance of the machine), and there is no automatic decision-making process to determine whether the pin needs to be adjusted in time to achieve calibration. Adjustments based on experience are uncertain and frequent, which affects the use of the machine. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a calibration method, a pin device and a leveling method, which can solve the problem that the pin cannot be automatically calibrated.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, this application is implemented as follows:

[0006] The embodiment of the present application provides a calibration method for performing station calibration on an ejector device of a semiconductor process chamber, wherein the moving stroke of the ejector device from the lowest position to the highest position includes a first stroke, a second stroke, and a third stroke, wherein the first stroke is located below a carrying surface of a carrying device, the second stroke passes through the carrying surface, and the third stroke is located above the carrying surface, wherein the second stroke includes an acceleration section, a uniform speed section, and a deceleration section arranged in sequence;

[0007] The calibration method comprises:

[0008] Calculate a first time when the ejector device moves from the lowest position to the end of the acceleration section and a third time when the ejector device moves to the end of the uniform speed section, and obtain a second time when the ejector device moves from the lowest position to contact with the wafer;

[0009] Determine whether the second time is between the first time and the third time, and if not, determine the offset and recalibrate the zero point on the software.

[0010] The embodiment of the present application further provides an ejector device, comprising: a control unit, an ejector assembly and a calibration drive assembly, wherein the calibration drive assembly is connected to the ejector assembly;

[0011] The control unit is used to execute the calibration method and control the calibration drive assembly to drive the ejector assembly to rise and fall.

[0012] The embodiment of the present application further provides a leveling method, which is applied to the above-mentioned ejector device, and the leveling method includes:

[0013] Obtaining the actual height of each top of a plurality of ejector pins included in the ejector pin assembly;

[0014] Determine whether a first difference between an actual height of the top end of each ejector pin and a zero position is greater than or equal to zero;

[0015] If the first difference corresponding to each ejector pin is greater than or equal to zero, then continue to determine whether the second difference between the actual height of the top of each ejector pin and the zero point position is less than a preset difference;

[0016] If there is at least one ejector pin whose corresponding second difference is greater than or equal to the preset difference, the ejector pins whose second difference is greater than or equal to the preset difference are controlled to rise and fall so that the second difference corresponding to each ejector pin is less than the preset difference.

[0017] The calibration method in the embodiment of the present application can realize automatic calibration of the ejector device during the process to reduce the risk of slippage or collision, and can alleviate the process errors caused by human operation to ensure process accuracy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the principle of automatic leveling and calibration of the ejector device disclosed in the embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the carrying device, ejector device, needle height meter, and image acquisition disclosed in the embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the ejector device disclosed in the embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the speed and time of the ejector assembly disclosed in the embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the travel of the ejector assembly disclosed in the embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 6 A flow chart of automatic calibration and leveling of the ejector pin disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 7The present invention is a flow chart of automatic calibration of the ejector pin assembly disclosed in the embodiment of the present application.

[0025] Description of reference numerals:

[0026] 100-thimble device;

[0027] 110-thimble assembly; 111-thimble;

[0028] 120-control unit; 121-PMC; 122-CTC;

[0029] 130-leveling drive assembly; 131-leveling drive; 132-actuating motor; 133-knob member;

[0030] 140-calibration drive assembly; 141-calibration drive; 142-executing electric cylinder;

[0031] 150-Bracket;

[0032] 200-carrying device; 210-carrying surface;

[0033] 310-needle height meter; 320-image acquisition element. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] 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 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.

[0035] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described here, and the objects distinguished by "first", "second", etc. are generally of one type, and the number of objects is not limited. For example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "and / or" in the specification and claims represents at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship.

[0036] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below through specific embodiments and their application scenarios in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0037] refer to Figures 1 to 7, the embodiment of the present application discloses a calibration method for calibrating the position of the ejector device 100 of the semiconductor process chamber to ensure the position accuracy of the ejector device 100 to prevent the ejector device 100 from touching other structures due to its low accuracy. The ejector device 100 can be raised and lowered in the process chamber to facilitate the loading and lifting of wafers. During the lifting and lowering process of the ejector device 100, the moving stroke of the ejector device 100 from the lowest position to the highest position includes a first stroke, a second stroke and a third stroke, wherein the first stroke is located below the bearing surface 210 of the bearing device 200, the second stroke passes through the bearing surface 210, and the third stroke is located above the bearing surface 210. It can be seen that the ejector device 100 will pass through the first stroke, the second stroke and the third stroke in sequence during the lifting and lowering process. In addition, the second stroke may include an acceleration section, a uniform speed section and a deceleration section arranged in sequence.

[0038] Based on the movement stroke of the ejector device 100, in order to calibrate the ejector device 100, the calibration method in the embodiment of the present application includes:

[0039] Calculate the first time when the ejector device 100 moves from the lowest position to the end of the acceleration section, and the third time when the ejector device 100 moves to the end of the uniform speed section, and obtain the second time when the ejector device 100 moves from the lowest position to the contact with the wafer;

[0040] Determine whether the second time is between the first time and the third time, if not, determine the offset and recalibrate the zero point on the software.

[0041] Specifically, when the second time is less than the first time, the determined offset is the first offset, and the current zero point is added with the first offset to form a new zero point;

[0042] When the second time is greater than the third time, the determined offset is the second offset, and a new zero point is formed by subtracting the second offset from the current zero point.

[0043] It should be noted here that the highest position of the ejector device 100 can be defined as the zero point. Of course, the lowest position of the ejector device 100 can also be defined as the zero point, which can be determined according to actual working conditions.

[0044] In the embodiment of the present application, the calibration method further includes:

[0045] The time taken by the ejector device 100 to move from position c to position b is calculated as a fourth time;

[0046] The first offset is calculated according to the distance between position b and the reference surface, the first time, the second time, the fourth time and the speed of the uniform speed section. The calculation formula is:

[0047]

[0048] Among them, (ba) / 2 is the distance of half of the second journey, T 1 is the first time, T is the second time, T b For the fourth time, v 2 is the speed of the uniform speed segment.

[0049] It should be noted that, in the second stroke, the ejector device 100 can come into contact with the wafer at the middle position of the uniform speed section; wherein, position a and position b can be located at the upper and lower sides of the carrying surface, respectively, and are symmetrically arranged relative to the carrying surface, T 1 -T b The distance traveled during this time period accounts for 1 / 4 of the second distance traveled, T a -T 2 The distance traveled during this time period accounts for 1 / 4 of the second distance traveled, T 2 -T 1 The distance traveled during the time period accounts for 1 / 2 of the second distance traveled.

[0050] In the embodiment of the present application, the calibration method further includes:

[0051] The time taken by the ejector device 100 to move from position c to position a is calculated as the fifth time;

[0052] The second offset is calculated according to the distance between position a and the reference surface, the second time, the third time, the fifth time and the speed of the uniform speed section. The calculation formula is:

[0053]

[0054] Among them, (ba) / 2 is the distance of half of the second journey, T is the second time, T 2 is the third time, T a For the fifth time, v 2 is the speed of the uniform speed segment.

[0055] It should be noted that, in the second stroke, the ejector device 100 can come into contact with the wafer at the middle position of the uniform speed section; wherein, position a and position b can be located at the upper and lower sides of the carrying surface, respectively, and are symmetrically arranged relative to the carrying surface, T 1 -T b The distance traveled during this time period accounts for 1 / 4 of the second distance traveled, T a -T 2 The distance traveled during this time period accounts for 1 / 4 of the second distance traveled, T 2 -T 1 The distance traveled during the time period accounts for 1 / 2 of the second distance traveled.

[0056] In the embodiment of the present application, the calibration method further includes:

[0057] When the second time is less than the time when the first trip ends, or the second time is greater than the time when the second trip ends, the control sends an alarm signal.

[0058] refer to Figure 5 , taking the highest position of the ejector device 100 as the zero point as an example, a, b, and c are respectively the actual movement positions of the ejector device 100 based on the zero point, and c is the lowest position of the ejector device 100. Therefore, the first stroke is to move from the lowest position c to the position b, the second stroke is to move from the position b to the position a, and the third stroke is to move from the position a to the highest position zero point, wherein the position c and the position b are located below the bearing surface 210, and the position a is located above the bearing surface 210. Under actual working conditions, the position a and the position b can be two symmetrical positions with the bearing surface 210 as the symmetry plane. For example, the position a can be a position 0.5 mm above the bearing surface 210, and the position b can be a position 0.5 mm below the bearing surface 210. Of course, it can also be adaptively changed according to the structure of the actual process chamber and the structure of the bearing device 200.

[0059] In the embodiment of the present application, the bearing surface 210 is taken as the reference surface, the highest position is taken as the zero point, the distance between position c and the reference surface is (c-(a+b) / 2), the distance between position b and the reference surface is (ba) / 2, and the distance between position a and the reference surface is (ba) / 2. Based on this, the lifting and lowering of the ejector device 100 is performed in a three-stage manner, which is divided into the following three stages:

[0060] The first stroke: from below the bearing surface 210 (c-(a+b) / 2) to below the bearing surface 210 (ba) / 2;

[0061] The second travel section: from below the bearing surface 210 (ba) / 2 to above the bearing surface 210 (ba) / 2;

[0062] The third travel section: from (ba) / 2 above the bearing surface 210 to (a+b) / 2 above the bearing surface 210.

[0063] Among them, in the first stroke, the ejector device 100 accelerates from 0 to v1 and then immediately decelerates to 0; the second stroke includes an acceleration section, a uniform speed section and a deceleration section arranged in sequence, specifically, the ejector device 100 accelerates from 0, accelerates to v2, runs at a uniform speed, and then decelerates to 0; in the third stroke, the ejector device 100 accelerates from 0 to v3 and then runs at a uniform speed, and decelerates uniformly to 0 when it is almost at the zero point.

[0064] Among them, both the acceleration section and the deceleration section can be 1 / 4 of the second section, and the uniform speed section is 1 / 2 of the second section. In the design of the three-stage needle lifting program, it is hoped that the ejector device 100 will reach the bearing surface 210 at a certain position in the uniform speed section, such as the midpoint position of the ejector 111 in the uniform speed section is exactly the position of the bearing surface 210. This is because, in the uniform speed section, the ejector device 100 will not cause the wafer to shift when contacting the wafer, and the midpoint position of the uniform speed section is selected to ensure that the ejector device 100 has a large margin for contacting the wafer, so as not to cause recalibration due to slight deviations.

[0065] In the embodiment of the present application, in the uniform speed section, when the ejector device 100 contacts the wafer, the torque of the electric cylinder driving the ejector device 100 will change, and thus, it is possible to determine whether the ejector device 100 is in contact with the wafer by recording the torque change of the electric cylinder. Specifically, the time parameters, speed parameters, position parameters and torque parameters of the ejector device 100 movement are monitored in real time; in the first stroke, the ejector device 100 does not contact the wafer during the needle lifting process, and in the second stroke, the ejector device 100 contacts the wafer during the needle lifting process. At the moment of contact, the electric cylinder driving the ejector device 100 will suddenly increase its output torque due to the increase in load. At this time, the time from the start of the ejector device 100 movement to the torque sudden change is recorded as the second time T. Figure 4 Multiple time points are given in the b , T 1 , T 2 , T a are the theoretical calculation time respectively, among which the first time T 1 The third time T represents the total time taken by the ejector device 100 to move from the lowest position to the end of the acceleration stage. 2 The fourth time T represents the total time taken by the ejector device 100 to move from the lowest position to the end of the uniform speed section. b The fifth time T represents the total time taken by the ejector device 100 to move from the lowest position to the end of the first stroke. a It indicates the total time taken by the ejector device 100 to move from the lowest position to the end of the second stroke. The calculation formulas for each time are:

[0066]

[0067]

[0068]

[0069]

[0070] Among them, a is the distance from position a to the zero point, b is the distance from position b to the zero point, c is the distance from position c to the zero point, v1 is the maximum speed in the first segment, and v2 is the speed of the uniform speed segment in the second segment.

[0071] The second time T represents the actual time taken for the torque to change from the start of the operation of the ejector device 100 (i.e., the lowest position) to the sudden change (i.e., contacting the wafer) (the electric cylinder of the ejector device 100 is provided with a sensor for detecting torque, and the data can be retrieved from the driver of the electric cylinder of the ejector device 100 to the industrial computer).

[0072] When the second time T is the first time T 1 and the third time T 2 When the ejector pin device 100 contacts the wafer in the uniform speed section, it can be considered that the ejector pin device 100 is in a normal state at this time, and the current ejector pin device 100 continues to be used without station calibration.

[0073] When the second time T is less than the second time T 1 , and is greater than the fourth time T b When the ejector device 100 moves upward as a whole, the ejector device 100 contacts the wafer in the acceleration section of the second stroke. Since the ejector device 100 accelerates faster during this process, the wafer is prone to slip. When the robot takes and places the wafer, the ejector device 100 is at a higher position, which may cause the robot to fail to take the wafer. In this case, the station needs to be recalibrated to calculate the first offset Δ 1 , recalibrate the zero point in the software, and set the current zero point plus the first offset to zero.

[0074]

[0075] When the second time T is greater than the third time T 2 , and is less than the fifth time T a When the ejector device 100 moves downward as a whole (the ejector device 100 is not officially used until it is calibrated to zero, but as the ejector device 100 is used, each time the ejector device 100 is raised or lowered, a small error will accumulate, which may be caused by the movement of the mechanical structure or the movement of the electric cylinder. Small errors will not affect the use of the machine, but as time goes by, the errors will gradually accumulate until the machine data is abnormal and an error is reported), and the ejector 111 contacts the wafer in the deceleration section of the second stroke. When the robot takes and places the wafer, the ejector device 100 is lowered, which is prone to collision when the robot takes the wafer. In this case, the station needs to be recalibrated to calculate the second offset Δ 2 , recalibrate the zero point in the software and set the current zero point minus the second offset to zero.

[0076]

[0077] When the second time T is less than the fourth time T b When the ejector device 100 contacts the wafer in the first stroke, the working position of the ejector device 100 is too high, and the lifting needle will hit the upper wall of the process chamber, which may easily cause damage to the ejector device 100. At this time, the deviation of the ejector device 100 is too large. If it continues to run, it will cause damage to the carrier device 200 or the ejector device 100. The normal operation deviation will not have such a large deviation. Therefore, when this abnormal situation occurs, it is necessary to open the cavity to confirm the situation of the ejector device 100 to detect whether there is a hardware abnormality in the ejector device 100.

[0078] When the second time T is greater than the fifth time T a When the ejector device 100 contacts the wafer in the third stroke, the ejector device 100 is too low, and the lowering of the needle easily damages the carrier device 200. The reason is that the mechanical structure of the ejector device 100 is installed in the interface plate below the carrier device 200. The ejector device 100 moves downward as a whole, which will cause the motor to contact the interface plate at a physical low position, causing damage to the interface plate. Therefore, when this abnormal situation occurs, it is necessary to open the cavity to confirm the situation of the ejector device 100 to detect whether the ejector device 100 has a hardware abnormality.

[0079] In summary, the embodiment of the present application can calibrate the zero point of the ejector device 100 in software by adopting the above calibration method to ensure the zero point accuracy of the ejector device 100 and further ensure the position accuracy of the ejector device 100 in the process chamber.

[0080] refer to Figures 1 to 7 The embodiment of the present application also discloses a ejector pin device 100, which is used in a process chamber of a semiconductor to lift a wafer. The disclosed ejector pin device 100 includes a control unit 120, an ejector pin assembly 110 and a calibration drive assembly 140, wherein the control unit 120 can receive data and analyze and process the data to control the ejector pin assembly 110 to move adaptively; the ejector pin assembly 110 is used to carry and lift the wafer; the calibration drive assembly 140 is connected to the ejector pin assembly 110 and is used to drive the ejector pin assembly 110 to rise and fall.

[0081] Based on the above settings, the control unit 120 can execute the above calibration method, and through the control of the control unit 120, the calibration drive assembly 140 drives the ejector assembly 110 to move up and down, thereby realizing the lifting of the wafer.

[0082] The control unit 120 is used to adjust the calibration drive assembly 140 according to the first difference between the actual height of the top of the ejector assembly 110 and the zero position, so that the first difference is greater than or equal to zero. It should be noted here that in order to ensure that each ejector pin 111 in the ejector assembly 110 can touch the wafer, thereby achieving the bearing and lifting of the wafer, the control unit 120 can drive the ejector assembly 110 to rise and fall through the calibration drive assembly 140, so that the top of each ejector pin 111 in the ejector assembly 110 is higher than the zero position. The reason why the first difference is greater than or equal to zero is that in actual adjustment, it is relatively difficult to make each ejector pin 111 in the ejector pin assembly 110 reach the set height, and a lot of time is required for adjustment. Therefore, in actual adjustment, it is generally ensured that the height of the top of each ejector pin 111 in the ejector pin assembly 110 is greater than or equal to the set value (that is, higher than the zero position). At this time, the first zero point calibration can be performed by opening the cavity and leveling to make the ejector device 100 move to the set position. The situation of less than zero is not selected because when the height of the ejector pin assembly 110 is less than the set value, since the driving end of the calibration drive assembly 140 is facing downward, the ejector pin assembly 110 will have insufficient stroke after zero calibration.

[0083] It should be noted here that when the highest bit is taken as the zero point, the above-mentioned first difference is greater than or equal to zero; on the contrary, when the lowest bit is taken as the zero point, the above-mentioned first difference is less than or equal to zero. The specific principle is basically the same as above and will not be repeated here.

[0084] In some embodiments, the calibration drive assembly 140 may include a calibration driver 141 and an actuator cylinder 142, wherein the calibration driver 141 is connected to the control unit 120 signal, the calibration driver 141 controls the extension and retraction of the actuator cylinder 142, and the actuator cylinder 142 is connected to a bracket 150 for supporting the ejector assembly 110 to drive the bracket 150 and the ejector assembly 110 to rise and fall.

[0085] Considering that the heights of the tops of the ejector pins 111 in the ejector pin device 100 may differ greatly, it is easy to cause the wafer to slip, affecting the position accuracy of the wafer. Based on this, the ejector pin device 100 in the embodiment of the present application may also include a bracket 150 and a plurality of leveling drive assemblies 130, wherein the bracket 150 is connected to the calibration drive assembly 140, and the plurality of leveling drive assemblies 130 are respectively arranged on the bracket 150 and are connected one-to-one with the plurality of ejector pins 111 included in the ejector pin assembly 110, and the control unit 120 is also used to control each leveling drive assembly 130 to drive the correspondingly connected ejector pin 111 to rise and fall.

[0086] Specifically, the control unit 120 is used to adjust at least part of the leveling drive assembly 130 according to the second difference between the actual height of the top of each ejector pin 111 and the zero position, so that the second difference corresponding to each ejector pin 111 is less than the preset difference. Based on this, it can be ensured that the height difference between the top of each ejector pin 111 and the zero position is kept within the error range, thereby effectively preventing the top of some ejector pins 111 from being too high and affecting the horizontality of the wafer carried by the ejector pin assembly 110, and ensuring that the wafer will not slip due to the large height difference of the ejector pins 111.

[0087] For example, the preset difference can be set to 0.1 mm, that is, the height difference between the top of each ejector pin 111 and the zero position should be controlled within the range of 0.1 mm, so as to ensure the levelness of the wafer carried by the ejector pin assembly 110 and prevent the wafer from slipping. Of course, the preset difference can also be other values, which are not specifically limited here.

[0088] In some cases, the height difference between the top of at least one ejector pin 111 and the zero position may exceed the preset difference. In this case, the ejector pin assembly 110 needs to be leveled to ensure that the height difference between the top of each ejector pin 111 and the zero position is not too large.

[0089] Based on the above situation, the control unit 120 is also used to control and adjust the actual height of the top of the remaining ejector pins 111 based on the actual height of the ejector pin 111 with the smallest second difference when the second difference corresponding to at least one ejector pin 111 is greater than or equal to the preset difference, so that the top of the remaining ejector pins 111 is at the same height as the top of the ejector pin 111 with the smallest second difference. Based on this, it is achieved to adjust the ejector pins 111 with large height differences individually, so that the tops of all ejector pins 111 are level with the height of the lowest ejector pin 111, so that the height of all ejector pins 111 can meet the actual needs, so as to prevent some ejector pins 111 from being too high and affecting the horizontality of the wafer, and ensure that the wafer will not slip.

[0090] Of course, when the top of the remaining ejector pins 111 is at the same height as the top of the ejector pin 111 with the smallest second difference, and the second difference is still greater than or equal to the preset difference, the control unit 120 can also control the calibration drive assembly 140 to drive all the ejector pins 111 to descend as a whole, so that the second difference corresponding to each ejector pin 111 is less than the preset difference.

[0091] In some embodiments, the leveling drive assembly 130 may include a leveling drive 131, an execution motor 132, and a knob 133, wherein the leveling drive 131 is connected to the control unit 120 by signal, the leveling drive 131 controls the execution motor 132 to rotate, and the execution motor 132 is connected to the corresponding ejector pin 111 through the knob 133, so as to drive the corresponding ejector pin 111 to rise and fall through the knob 133. Exemplarily, the knob 133 and the ejector pin 111 may be connected by a thread, the execution motor 132 rotates under the control of the leveling drive 131, and drives the knob 133 to rotate, and the ejector pin 111 is lifted and lowered under the action of the thread, thereby realizing the individual adjustment of the ejector pin 111.

[0092] Based on the above ejector device 100, the embodiment of the present application further discloses a leveling method for leveling a plurality of ejector pins 111 included in the ejector assembly 110. The disclosed leveling method includes:

[0093] Obtaining the actual height of each top of a plurality of ejector pins 111 included in the ejector pin assembly 110;

[0094] Determine whether a first difference between an actual height of the top end of each ejector pin 111 and the zero position is greater than or equal to zero;

[0095] If the first difference corresponding to each ejector pin 111 is greater than or equal to zero, then continue to determine whether the second difference between the actual height of the top of each ejector pin 111 and the zero point position is less than a preset difference;

[0096] If there is at least one ejector pin 111 whose corresponding second difference is greater than or equal to the preset difference, the ejector pin 111 whose second difference is greater than or equal to the preset difference is controlled to rise and fall so that the second difference corresponding to each ejector pin 111 is less than the preset difference.

[0097] Based on the above steps, it can be ensured that the top of each of the multiple ejector pins 111 is higher than the zero position, and the top of each ejector pin 111 will not be too high, but within the error range, thereby ensuring the levelness between the multiple ejector pins 111, and then ensuring the levelness of the wafer carried by the ejector pin assembly 110, preventing the wafer from slipping.

[0098] Exemplarily, the preset difference may be set to 0.1 mm. Of course, it may also be other values, which are not specifically limited here.

[0099] In some embodiments, the first difference corresponding to each ejector pin 111 is greater than or equal to zero, including: controlling all ejector pins 111 to rise synchronously so that the first difference corresponding to each ejector pin 111 is greater than or equal to zero. It should be noted here that the reason why the first difference is greater than or equal to zero is that in actual adjustment, it is relatively difficult to make each ejector pin 111 in the ejector pin assembly 110 reach the set height, and a lot of time is required for adjustment. Therefore, in actual adjustment, it is generally ensured that the height of the top of each ejector pin 111 in the ejector pin assembly 110 is greater than or equal to the set value (that is, higher than the zero point position). At this time, the first zero point calibration can be performed by opening the cavity and leveling to make the ejector device 100 move to the set position. The situation of not selecting less than zero is because when the height of the ejector pin assembly 110 is less than the set value, since the driving end of the calibration drive assembly 140 is facing downward, the ejector pin assembly 110 will have insufficient stroke after zero calibration.

[0100] In some embodiments, the leveling method may further include:

[0101] If the first difference corresponding to each ejector pin 111 is greater than or equal to zero, and the second difference corresponding to at least one ejector pin 111 is greater than or equal to the preset difference, the height of the top of the remaining ejector pins 111 is controlled and adjusted based on the height of the top of the ejector pin 111 with the smallest second difference, so that the top of the remaining ejector pins 111 is at the same height as the top of the ejector pin 111 with the smallest second difference. Based on this, it is achieved that the ejector pins 111 with large individual height differences are adjusted separately, so that the tops of all ejector pins 111 are level with the height of the lowest ejector pin 111, so that the height of all ejector pins 111 can meet the actual needs, so as to prevent some ejector pins 111 from being too high and affecting the horizontality of the wafer, and ensure that the wafer will not slip.

[0102] Optionally, the leveling method further comprises:

[0103] When the tops of the remaining ejector pins 111 are at the same height as the top of the ejector pin 111 with the smallest second difference, and the second difference is still greater than or equal to the preset difference, all ejector pins 111 are controlled to descend so that the second difference corresponding to each ejector pin is less than the preset difference.

[0104] The leveling principle in the embodiment of the present application is:

[0105] Move the ejector pin 111 to the highest position, and use the needle height meter 310 to measure the height of the top of each ejector pin 111. With the highest position as the zero position (of course, the lowest position can also be used as the zero position), when the ejector pin 111 is leveled, the ejector pin 111 should first be moved to the zero position, that is, (a+b) / 2 above the bearing surface 210. At this time, the top of each ejector pin 111 should be at a position greater than or equal to (a+b) / 2 on the bearing surface 210; then select the height of the ejector pin 111 closest to (a+b) / 2 as a reference, and adjust the knobs 133 of other ejector pins 111 to adjust the other ejector pins 111 to the same height as the reference ejector pin 111 (the purpose of taking the closest as the reference instead of (a+b) / 2 as the reference is that as long as all ejector pins 111 are at the same height, the zero position of the ejector pin 111 can be adjusted to (a+b) / 2 through overall adjustment. In actual leveling, this leveling method can save a lot of time).

[0106] Performing zero point calibration as a whole: When all ejector pins 111 are at the same height, all ejector pins 111 can be adjusted to the target position by adjusting the ejector pin 111 assembly 110 to move downward as a whole.

[0107] To implement the above method, the embodiment of the present application uses a needle height meter 310 to measure the height of the top of the ejector pin 111, and generally the carrying surface 210 of the carrying device 200 is used as the reference surface for measurement. In addition, considering that the needle height meter 310 data does not support communication and cannot directly transmit the data to the process module computer (PMC), an image acquisition element 320 (such as a camera, etc.) can be used to capture the real-time value of the needle height meter 310 and transmit it to the PMC121, and the PMC121 converts the photo into the current position height of the ejector pin 111.

[0108] PMC121 can receive data from the image acquisition element 320 to obtain the current station height of the ejector 111, and also monitor the driver data in real time. Through the data feedback from the driver, it can calculate in real time whether the position of the ejector 111 is abnormal. PMC121 receives instructions from the cluster tool controller (CTC), executes corresponding programs according to the instructions of CTC122, and feeds back real-time data to CTC122. It decides whether to perform the ejector 111 calibration operation according to the instructions of CTC122, and calculates the calibration position according to the current three most recent ejector 111 lifting data, and sends instructions to the corresponding driver according to the station zeroing or ejector 111 leveling mode.

[0109] CTC122 collects data fed back by PMC121 and sends instructions to PMC121, allowing PMC121 to perform corresponding operations according to the instructions of CTC122.

[0110] The calibration driver 141 receives the instruction from the PMC 121 to control the electric cylinder 142 to extend and retract, so as to drive the ejector assembly 110 to move upward and downward as a whole, or to recalibrate the zero point;

[0111] The actuator 142 receives the instruction from the calibration driver 141 and moves according to the set value with an accuracy of 0.001 mm;

[0112] The leveling driver 131 receives the instruction of the PMC 121 to control the execution motor 132 to rotate, so as to drive the knob 133 to rotate to realize the independent lifting and lowering of the ejector pin 111;

[0113] The execution motor 132 receives the instruction from the leveling driver 131 and moves according to the set value with an accuracy of 0.001 mm.

[0114] In the embodiment of the present application, the entire process of automatic leveling and calibration of the ejector pin 111 is as follows:

[0115] 1. Adjust the workstation for the first time;

[0116] 2. Switch to the workstation leveling mode. The workstation leveling mode will ensure that the three ejector pins 111 are at the same height by adjusting the actuator motor 132 under the three ejector pins 111. After the hardware is changed, you need to rotate this mode to perform workstation leveling.

[0117] 3. Use PMC121 to connect the image acquisition element 320 to read the height of each ejector pin 111, and record the actual heights of the three ejector pins 111, which are H1, H2 and H3 respectively;

[0118] 4. Compare the heights of the ejector pins 111, calculate the position of the standard ejector pin 111 according to the specific process of the three pins, that is, the zero position H0, and compare the heights of the top ends of the three ejector pins 111 with the heights of the zero position, that is, determine whether the heights of all ejector pins 111 are above the zero position; if so, execute step 5, if not, execute step 6;

[0119] 5. Compare the heights H1, H2 and H3 of each ejector pin 111 to see if their differences with H0 are within 0.1 mm. If so, proceed to step 7; otherwise, proceed to step 8.

[0120] 6. Start the overall station calibration mode, and electrically raise the entire ejector assembly 110 as a whole through the calibration drive assembly 140 until the heights of all ejector pins 111 are above the zero position;

[0121] 7. Start the workstation calibration mode. At this time, remove the tooling, close the chamber, evacuate the process chamber, and transfer the film through the robot;

[0122] 8. Start the calibration mode of the individual ejector pin 111, determine the height of the ejector pins H1, H2, and H3 that is closest to the zero point and record it as H0', start the actuator motor 132 under the ejector pin 111 that is abnormal after comparison with H0', and adjust the ejector pin 111 individually. The corresponding adjustment amounts are (H1-H0'), (H2-H0'), and (H3-H0'), so that the ejector pins 111 are at the same height; then determine whether the difference between the ejector pin height and H0 is within 0.1 mm at this time. If so, execute step 7. If not, start the actuator electric cylinder 142 to drive all ejector pins 111 to descend as a whole, adjust their heights to within the range of (H0, H0+0.1) mm, and then perform the operation of lifting and lowering the ejector pin 111 3 times until the difference between all ejector pins 111 and H0 is within 0.1 mm;

[0123] 9. Lift the ejector pin 111 three times, and calculate the average value of the three torque mutation times of the ejector pin 111, which is recorded as β (i.e., the first time T), where:

[0124] When β∈[T 1 , T 2 ], no station calibration is required, go to step 10;

[0125] When β∈[T 2 , T a ], station calibration is required, and the current zero point is subtracted from the second offset and then reset to zero;

[0126] When β∈[T b , T 1 ], station calibration is required, add the first offset to the current zero point and reset to zero;

[0127] 10. End the process.

[0128] In the embodiment of the present application, the specific process of three-needle automatic calibration is as follows:

[0129] 1. Real-time monitoring of the three-pin torque data during the process, and real-time judgment of whether the torque mutation time β is within [T 1 , T 2 ] interval, if it is within this interval, no action is taken; otherwise, step 2 is executed after completing the current process;

[0130] 2. Start the station calibration mode, evacuate the process chamber, and use the robot to transfer the idle wafer into the process chamber;

[0131] 3. Lift and lower the ejector pin 111 three times, and calculate the average value β of the three torque mutation times of the ejector pin 111; where:

[0132] When β∈[T 1 , T 2 ], no station calibration is required, proceed to step 5;

[0133] When β∈[T 2 , T a ], station calibration is required, and the current zero point is subtracted from the second offset and then reset to zero;

[0134] When β∈[T b , T 1 ], station calibration is required, add the first offset to the current zero point and reset to zero;

[0135] When β>T a Or β<T b When , execute step 4;

[0136] 4. The machine throws an alarm, the three-needle station of the machine is abnormal, and the operation cannot continue. The cavity needs to be opened for inspection, and the machine cannot receive subsequent process tasks;

[0137] 5. End the process, the machine returns to normal working condition, and continues to perform subsequent process tasks.

[0138] In summary, the embodiment of the present application can realize the automatic station leveling and calibration of the ejector pin 111 during the first assembly. At the same time, by monitoring the torque of the ejector pin 111 during the process, the station abnormality of the ejector pin 111 can be automatically calibrated in real time, thereby eliminating the errors caused by human operation and reducing the occurrence of slippage and hand collision.

[0139] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of the present application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope of protection of the claims, all of which are within the protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A calibration method for calibrating a pin device (100) in a semiconductor process chamber. It is characterized in that The moving stroke of the ejector device (100) from the lowest position to the highest position comprises a first stroke, a second stroke and a third stroke, the first stroke is located below a bearing surface (210) of the bearing device (200), the second stroke passes through the bearing surface (210), and the third stroke is located above the bearing surface (210), wherein the second stroke comprises an acceleration section, a uniform speed section and a deceleration section which are arranged in sequence; The calibration method comprises: Calculating a first time for the ejector device (100) to move from the lowest position to the end of the acceleration section and a third time for the ejector device (100) to move to the end of the uniform speed section, and obtaining a second time for the ejector device (100) to move from the lowest position to contact with the wafer; Determine whether the second time is between the first time and the third time, and if not, determine the offset and recalibrate the zero point on the software.

2. The calibration method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that When the second time is less than the first time, the offset is determined to be the first offset, and the current zero point is added with the first offset to form a new zero point; When the second time is greater than the third time, the determined offset is the second offset, and a new zero point is formed by subtracting the second offset from the current zero point.

3. The calibration method according to claim 2, The characteristic is that The first stroke is moving from position c at the lowest position to position b, the second stroke is moving from position b to position a, and the third stroke is moving from position a to the highest position, wherein the positions c and b are located below the bearing surface (210), the position a is located above the bearing surface (210), the bearing surface (210) is used as a reference surface, the highest position is used as a zero point, the distance between the position c and the reference surface is (c-(a+b) / 2), the distance between the position b and the reference surface is (ba) / 2, and the distance between the position a and the reference surface is (ba) / 2; The calibration method further comprises: Calculating the time taken by the ejector device (100) to move from position c to position b as a fourth time; The first offset is calculated according to the distance between the position b and the reference surface, the first time, the second time, the fourth time, and the speed of the uniform speed section. The calculation formula is: Where, (ba) / 2 is the distance of half of the second segment, T 1 is the first time, T is the second time, T b For the fourth time, v 2 is the speed of the uniform speed segment.

4. The calibration method according to claim 3, It is characterized in that The calibration method further comprises: Calculating the time taken by the ejector device (100) to move from the position c to the position a as a fifth time; The second offset is calculated according to the distance between the position a and the reference surface, the second time, the third time, the fifth time, and the speed of the uniform speed section. The calculation formula is: Where, (ba) / 2 is the distance of half of the second journey, T is the second time, T 2 is the third time, T a For the fifth time, v 2 is the speed of the uniform speed segment.

5. The calibration method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The calibration method further comprises: When the second time is less than the time when the first trip ends, or when the second time is greater than the time when the second trip ends, the control sends an alarm signal.

6. A ejector device, It is characterized in that include: A control unit (120), an ejector assembly (110), and a calibration drive assembly (140), wherein the calibration drive assembly (140) is connected to the ejector assembly (110); The control unit (120) is used to execute the calibration method described in any one of claims 1 to 5, and to control the calibration drive assembly (140) to drive the ejector assembly (110) to rise and fall.

7. The ejector device according to claim 6, It is characterized in that The control unit (120) is used to adjust the calibration drive assembly (140) according to a first difference between the actual height of the top end of the ejector assembly (110) and the zero position, so that the first difference is greater than or equal to zero.

8. The ejector device according to claim 7, It is characterized in that The ejector device (100) further comprises a bracket (150) and a plurality of leveling drive assemblies (130); The bracket (150) is connected to the calibration drive assembly (140); a plurality of the leveling drive assemblies (130) are respectively arranged on the bracket (150) and are connected one-to-one with a plurality of ejector pins (111) included in the ejector pin assembly (110); The control unit (120) is also used to control each of the leveling drive components (130) to drive the correspondingly connected ejector pin (111) to rise and fall.

9. The ejector device according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The control unit (120) is further used to adjust at least part of the leveling drive assembly (130) according to a second difference between the actual height of the top end of each ejector pin (111) and the zero point position, so that the second difference corresponding to each ejector pin (111) is less than a preset difference.

10. The ejector device according to claim 9, It is characterized in that The control unit (120) is further configured to, when the second difference corresponding to at least one of the ejector pins (111) is greater than or equal to the preset difference, control and adjust the actual heights of the top ends of the remaining ejector pins (111) based on the actual height of the ejector pin (111) with the smallest second difference, so that the top ends of the remaining ejector pins (111) are at the same height as the top end of the ejector pin (111) with the smallest second difference.

11. The ejector device according to claim 10, It is characterized in that The control unit (120) is further configured to control the calibration drive component (140) to drive all the ejector pins (111) to descend as a whole, when the top ends of the remaining ejector pins (111) and the top end of the ejector pin (111) with the smallest second difference are at the same height, and the second difference is still greater than or equal to the preset difference, so that the second difference corresponding to each ejector pin (111) is less than the preset difference.

12. The ejector device according to any one of claims 8 to 11, It is characterized in that The leveling drive assembly (130) comprises a leveling drive (131), an execution motor (132) and a knob (133); The leveling driver (131) is connected to the control unit (120) by signal, and the leveling driver (131) controls the execution motor (132) to rotate; The execution motor (132) is transmission-connected to the corresponding ejector pin (111) via the knob member (133), so that the corresponding ejector pin (111) can be driven to rise and fall via the knob member (133).

13. The ejector device according to claim 6 or 7, It is characterized in that The calibration drive assembly (140) comprises a calibration driver (141) and an actuator cylinder (142); The calibration driver (141) is connected to the control unit (120) via signals, and the calibration driver (141) controls the extension and retraction of the actuator cylinder (142); The actuator electric cylinder (142) is connected to a bracket (150) used for carrying the ejector assembly (110) to drive the bracket (150) and the ejector assembly (110) to rise and fall.

14. A leveling method, applied to the ejector device (100) according to any one of claims 6 to 13, It is characterized in that The leveling method comprises: Obtaining the actual height of each top end of a plurality of ejector pins (111) included in the ejector pin assembly (110); Determining whether a first difference between an actual height of the top end of each ejector pin (111) and a zero position is greater than or equal to zero; If the first difference corresponding to each ejector pin (111) is greater than or equal to zero, then continue to determine whether the second difference between the actual height of the top of each ejector pin (111) and the zero point position is less than a preset difference; If there is at least one ejector pin (111) whose corresponding second difference is greater than or equal to the preset difference, the ejector pin (111) whose second difference is greater than or equal to the preset difference is controlled to be raised or lowered, so that the second difference corresponding to each ejector pin (111) is less than the preset difference.

15. The leveling method according to claim 14, It is characterized in that The first difference corresponding to each ejector pin (111) is greater than or equal to zero, comprising: All the ejector pins (111) are controlled to rise synchronously, so that the first difference corresponding to each ejector pin (111) is greater than or equal to zero.

16. The leveling method according to claim 14, It is characterized in that The leveling method further comprises: If the first difference corresponding to each ejector pin (111) is greater than or equal to zero, and the second difference corresponding to at least one ejector pin (111) is greater than or equal to the preset difference, the height of the top of the remaining ejector pins (111) is controlled and adjusted based on the height of the top of the ejector pin (111) with the smallest second difference, so that the tops of the remaining ejector pins (111) and the top of the ejector pin (111) with the smallest second difference are at the same height.

17. The leveling method according to claim 16, It is characterized in that The leveling method further comprises: When the tops of the remaining ejector pins (111) and the top of the ejector pin (111) with the smallest second difference are at the same height, and the second difference is still greater than or equal to the preset difference, all the ejector pins (111) are controlled to descend so that the second difference corresponding to each ejector pin (111) is less than the preset difference.

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