Wafer loading system

Abstract

The invention discloses a wafer loading system which comprises a loading main body which is provided with a bearing surface for placing a wafer box, and a plurality of wafers which are stacked in the height direction are arranged in the wafer box; the detection mechanism is provided with a detection light path extending in the horizontal direction, and the detection light path scans the edge contour of the wafer to detect the protruding state; the lifting driving mechanism is connected with the detection mechanism and is used for driving the detection mechanism to reciprocate along the height direction of the wafer box; and the deviation rectifying executing mechanism comprises a driving unit and a pivoting deviation rectifying part, and the pivoting deviation rectifying part is provided with a pivoting axis and a rolling contact surface capable of rotating around the pivoting axis. By adopting the scheme, the wafer deviation rectifying device can adapt to deviation rectifying of wafers of different sizes, and the wafer deviation rectifying efficiency and cleanliness are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor wafer transfer equipment, and particularly to a wafer loading system. Background Art

[0002] In the manufacturing process of semiconductors, the efficient and damage-free transfer of wafers is a key link to ensure the yield of integrated circuits. As the process nodes continue to shrink, the cleanliness and physical integrity of the wafer surface have a more significant impact on subsequent processes such as lithography and etching. For this reason, the Standard Mechanical Interface (SMIF) technology is widely used in the closed transfer of wafer cassettes, by sealing the wafers in a super-clean microenvironment to isolate external pollution sources. However, when wafers are stacked in the cassette, local protrusion of a single wafer may easily occur due to mechanical vibration or positioning deviation. If such protrusions are not detected and corrected in time, it may cause collision damage between the wafer and the carrier during the transfer process, and even damage the sealing performance of the SMIF system.

[0003] Existing wafer carrier lifting and transfer equipment usually uses optical sensors to detect the edge position of the wafer, for example, to determine whether the wafer protrudes through laser beam blocking or image recognition technology. However, after detecting a protruding wafer, such equipment often relies on manual intervention or simple mechanical limiting for reset operations, which has problems such as large response delay and low alignment accuracy, and cannot correct wafers of different sizes. In addition, due to the motion inertia of the lifting mechanism and signal processing delay, the alignment action will lag, and it cannot ensure that the protruding wafer is aligned with the alignment part. Moreover, the contact method between the existing alignment mechanism and the wafer is mostly rigid static contact, which is likely to cause scratches or electrostatic adsorption of particles on the wafer surface, further increasing the pollution risk.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a wafer loading system to solve the above problems existing in the prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a wafer loading system for adapting to the alignment of wafers of different sizes and improving the efficiency and cleanliness of wafer alignment.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows: A wafer loading system, comprising: A loading main body having a bearing surface for placing a wafer cassette, and a plurality of wafers stacked in the height direction are provided in the wafer cassette; A detection mechanism forming a detection optical path extending in the horizontal direction, and the detection optical path scans the edge contour of the wafer to detect the protruding state; A lifting drive mechanism connected to the detection mechanism for driving the detection mechanism to reciprocate in the height direction of the wafer cassette; The deviation rectification actuator includes a driving unit and a pivoting deviation rectification part. The pivoting deviation rectification part is provided with a pivot axis and a rolling contact surface that can rotate around the pivot axis. Wherein, when the detection optical path is blocked by the protruding wafer, the lifting driving mechanism stops moving, the driving unit drives the pivoting deviation rectification part to rotate around the pivot axis and move towards the wafer, and the rolling contact surface drives the reset by moving friction contact with the protruding wafer; the horizontal height of the detection optical path has a preset downward offset relative to the pivot axis of the pivoting deviation rectification part, and the downward offset is used to compensate for the lifting inertia displacement and signal delay error.

[0007] The beneficial effect of a wafer loading system provided by the present invention is that through the collaborative scanning of the detection optical path and the lifting driving mechanism, the protruding state of the wafer edge can be captured in real time along the height direction, and when an abnormality of the protruding wafer is detected, the lifting can be quickly stopped and the dynamic friction rectification action can be triggered. The pivoting deviation rectification part can adapt to the deviation rectification requirements of wafers of different sizes, significantly improving the deviation rectification efficiency and the wafer transfer cleanliness, and ensuring the sealing performance of the SMIF system and the integrity of the wafer.

[0008] Further, the detection mechanism includes a platform plate, a bracket assembly vertically fixed to the platform plate, and an opposed sensor mounted on the bracket assembly. The transmitting end and the receiving end of the opposed sensor are respectively arranged on both sides of the wafer cassette, and the transmitting end emits a laser beam towards the receiving end to form the detection optical path.

[0009] By adopting the above technical solution, the transmitting end and the receiving end respectively arranged on both sides of the wafer cassette form a through-type horizontal detection optical path, which can cover the width direction of the wafer cassette without dead angles and accurately capture the protruding amount of the wafer edge at any position.

[0010] Further, the driving unit is fixedly connected to the platform plate. The driving unit has an output shaft. The pivoting deviation rectification part includes a swing rod and a swing wheel. One end of the swing rod is fixedly connected to the output shaft, and the other end is connected to the swing wheel. The circumferential surface of the swing wheel constitutes the rolling contact surface.

[0011] By adopting the above technical solution, the circumferential surface of the swing wheel serves as the rolling contact surface, and when contacting the wafer, it pushes the wafer to reset through rolling friction, which not only avoids scratching the wafer surface but also realizes stable rectification by using the continuity of the rotation of the swing wheel.

[0012] Further, the swing wheel includes a swing shaft and a swing sleeve rotatably sleeved on the outer periphery of the swing shaft, and the swing shaft is fixedly connected to the swing rod.

[0013] By adopting the above technical solution, the swing sleeve can freely rotate around the swing shaft, so that when contacting the wafer, the swing sleeve moves with the wafer to generate rolling friction, which not only reduces the wear of the contact surface but also avoids scratching the wafer surface hard.

[0014] Furthermore, the inner side of the swing sleeve has a convex ring, and the swing shaft includes a first shaft body and a second shaft body which are detachably connected along the height direction, and a combination of the first shaft body and the second shaft body is provided with a groove adapted to the convex ring.

[0015] By adopting the above technical solution, the swing shaft adopts a detachable connection design between the first shaft body and the second shaft body, and can adapt to swing sleeves or wafer box structures of different thicknesses by adjusting the height of the shaft body.

[0016] Furthermore, the wafer box has an open end, and when the wafer box is placed on the loading body, there is a distance between a vertical projection axis of the opening direction of the open end and a vertical projection of the pivot axis.

[0017] By adopting the above technical solution, there is a distance between the vertical projection axis of the opening direction of the opening end and the vertical projection of the pivot axis, so that the pivot axis presents a layout design close to the opening end of the wafer box and biased towards the opening direction, so that the motion trajectory of the correction mechanism and the wafer placement path form a spatial misalignment, avoiding the correction action from interfering with the normal opening and closing operation of the wafer box. At the same time, the setting of the pivot axis near the opening end shortens the straight-line distance between the correction part and the wafer to be processed. Combined with the arc-shaped motion path of the rolling contact surface, directional correction can be formed on the opening side of the wafer box, which not only ensures the wafer reset accuracy, but also improves the system integration.

[0018] Furthermore, the lifting drive mechanism comprises: The frame is provided with a slide rail along the height direction, a slider is slidably connected to the slide rail, the slider is fixedly connected to a fixing seat, and the fixing seat is fixedly connected to the platform plate; A driving motor is arranged on the frame; A screw rod, drivingly connected to the output shaft of the driving motor; A screw nut cooperates with the screw thread and is fixedly connected to the fixing seat.

[0019] By adopting the above technical solution, the rigid guiding structure of the frame and the slide rail provides high-stability support for the lifting movement. The precise coordination between the slide rail and the slider effectively suppresses the lateral vibration during the lifting process, ensuring the precise positioning of the detection mechanism along the height direction of the wafer box. The drive motor converts the rotational motion into linear lifting through the lead screw-nut pair. Combined with the high transmission accuracy characteristics of the lead screw, the start and stop position of the detection mechanism is controlled to avoid misaligned scanning of the detection light path and the wafer edge due to inertial offset.

[0020] Furthermore, the loading body further comprises a top cover, an unlocking piece is arranged on the loading body, the top cover is detachably connected to the loading body via the unlocking piece, and the top cover is fixedly connected to the platform plate.

[0021] Further, a telescopic plate assembly is provided at the bottom of the platform plate. The telescopic plate assembly has a plurality of telescopic plates distributed in sequence along the height direction, and adjacent telescopic plates are slidably connected in sequence.

[0022] Further, rollers are installed on both sides of the platform plate, and roller chutes are formed on both sides of the frame along the height direction. The rollers are rotatably arranged in the roller chutes. Description of the Drawings

[0023] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the wafer loading system according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the state where the top cover is raised according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 It is an exploded view of the top cover and the box door according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the loading main body according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the baffle structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the telescopic plate assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the unlocking member according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the detection mechanism and the deviation correction actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the wafer cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 10 It is a top view of the detection mechanism and the deviation correction actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 11 It is a working schematic diagram of the deviation correction actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram of the wafer deviation correction state according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 13 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the pivotal deviation correction part according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 14 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the swing shaft and the swing sleeve according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 15 It is a cross-sectional view of the swing shaft and the swing sleeve according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Reference numerals: 1, loading main body; 11, wafer cassette; 111, open end; 12, wafer; 13, top cover; 14, box door; 15, support; 16, unlocking member; 2, detection mechanism; 21, platform plate; 211, baffle; 212, stop block; 213, window; 22, first bracket; 23, second bracket; 24, transmitting end; 25, receiving end; 26, detection optical path; 27, downward offset; 28, telescopic plate assembly; 3, lifting drive mechanism; 31, frame; 32, slide rail; 33, slider; 34, drive motor; 35, lead screw; 36, driving pulley; 37, driven pulley; 38, fixed seat; 4, deviation rectification execution mechanism; 41, drive unit; 42, pivot deviation rectification part; 421, pivot axis; 422, swing rod; 423, swing shaft; 4231, first shaft body; 4232, second shaft body; 4233, clamping block; 424, swing sleeve; 43, initial position; 44, deviation rectification position; 45, contact position; 46, position after deviation rectification; 47, large-size wafer; 48, small-size wafer. Detailed implementation manners

[0025] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below. Apparently, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used herein shall have the ordinary meanings understood by those of ordinary skill in the art in the field to which the present invention belongs. The words such as "including" used herein mean that the elements or items appearing before this word cover the elements or items listed after this word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or items.

[0026] The following will be further described in detail the specific implementation manners of the present invention with reference to the Figure 1 - attached Figure 15 drawings.

[0027] In an embodiment of the present invention, a wafer loading system includes a loading main body 1, a detection mechanism 2, a lifting drive mechanism 3, and a deviation rectification execution mechanism 4.

[0028] Referring to Figures 1-3 , in an embodiment of the present invention, the loading main body 1 has a bearing surface for placing the wafer cassette 11, and a plurality of wafers 12 are stacked in the wafer cassette 11. The wafer cassette 11 adopts a standard mechanical interface (SMIF) closed carrier, and a plurality of parallel arranged bearing grooves are provided inside along the height direction, and the open ends 111 of each bearing groove are inclined towards the central axis of the wafer cassette 11 (in combination with Figure 9), a guiding inclined plane structure is formed; the inclination angle is not limited herein. The inclined bearing groove enables the rolling contact surface of the deviation correction actuator 4 to apply a thrust along the inclined opening direction when the wafer 12 protrudes laterally due to vibration or positioning error, and the protruding wafer 12 is smoothly pushed into the groove along the inclined plane of the bearing groove for resetting.

[0029] Referring to Figures 3-5 , in some embodiments of the present invention, the loading body 1 includes a top cover 13, an unlocking member 16 is provided on the loading body 1, the top cover 13 and the loading body 1 are detachably connected through the unlocking member 16, and the top cover 13 is fixedly connected to the platform plate 21. The loading body 1 has a support 15, and the unlocking member 16 is provided on the support 15.

[0030] Referring to Figure 7 , in some specific embodiments of the present invention, the top cover 13 is used to cover the wafer cassette 11. A box door 14 is provided at the bottom of the top cover 13, and the box door 14 and the support 15 are detachably connected through the unlocking member 16. In one embodiment, the unlocking member 16 includes a spring pin group provided inside the platform plate 21 and a wedge-shaped locking tongue matching the outer cover card slot. When the wafer cassette 11 is placed on the support 15, the spring pin is compressed and retracted to trigger the wedge-shaped locking tongue to disengage from the top cover 13 card slot, realizing the mechanical separation of the top cover 13 and the box door 14; its advantage is that no external power is required, and it is self-triggered to unlock by relying on the contact pressure, with a simple structure and strong anti-interference ability. In another embodiment, the unlocking member 16 is an electromagnetic lock module embedded in the platform plate 21, and its locking tongue is engaged with the metal lock catch of the outer cover through magnetic attraction. When it is detected that the positioning of the wafer cassette 11 is completed, the electromagnetic lock is powered off to release the locking tongue, and the outer cover is separated from the box door 14 under the action of gravity; this solution accurately controls the unlocking timing through an electrical signal, avoids mechanical wear, and the unlocking action has no contact vibration, reducing the risk of wafer offset. Both embodiments constrain the relative positions of the outer cover and the platform plate 21 through limit members to ensure that the outer cover always abuts against the inner edge of the platform plate 21 during the lifting process, preventing the wafer from being exposed to a non-clean environment due to accidental detachment.

[0031] Referring to Figure 8 and Figure 10, in an embodiment of the present invention, the detection mechanism 2 is formed with a detection optical path 26 distributed in the horizontal direction, and the detection optical path 26 scans the edge profile of the wafer 12. In some specific embodiments of the present invention, the detection mechanism 2 includes a platform plate 21, a bracket assembly vertically fixed to the platform plate 21, and an opposed sensor mounted on the bracket assembly. The transmitting end 24 and the receiving end 25 of the opposed sensor are respectively disposed on both sides of the platform plate 21 and are located on both sides of the wafer cassette 11 at the same time. The detection optical path 26 extends horizontally from the transmitting end 24 to the receiving end 25. The bracket assembly includes a first bracket 22 and a second bracket 23. The first bracket 22 is used to mount the transmitting end 24, and the second bracket 23 is used to mount the receiving end 25. Both the first bracket 22 and the second bracket 23 are perpendicular to the platform plate 21. The platform plate 21 provides a rigid support reference for the detection mechanism 2, and the vertically fixed bracket assembly ensures that the transmitting end 24 and the receiving end 25 of the opposed sensor always maintain horizontal alignment during the lifting process, avoiding the deviation of the detection optical path 26 caused by mechanical vibration; the transmitting end 24 and the receiving end 25 respectively disposed on both sides of the wafer cassette 11 form a through-type horizontal detection optical path 26, which can cover the width direction of the wafer cassette 11 without dead angles and accurately capture the edge protrusion amount of the wafer at any position.

[0032] Referring to Figure 4 , in an embodiment of the present invention, the lifting drive mechanism 3 is used to drive the detection mechanism 2 to reciprocate in the height direction of the wafer cassette 11. The lifting drive mechanism 3 includes a frame 31, a drive motor 34, a lead screw 35, and a lead screw nut. The frame 31 is provided with a window 213, a slide rail 32 is arranged in the height direction, a slider 33 is slidably connected to the slide rail 32, the slider 33 is fixedly connected with a fixed seat 38, and the fixed seat 38 is fixedly connected with the platform plate 21; the drive motor 34 is arranged on the frame 31; the lead screw 35 is in transmission connection with the output shaft of the drive motor 34; the lead screw nut is in threaded cooperation with the lead screw 35 and is fixedly connected with the fixed seat 38. In some embodiments of the present invention, a limit member is further included, and the limit member is arranged in the top cover 13 to prevent the top cover 13 from separating from the platform plate 21.

[0033] In some specific embodiments of the present invention, the drive motor 34 is a motor, a driving pulley 36 is coaxially connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 34, a transmission pulley 37 is coaxially and fixedly connected to the bottom of the lead screw 35, and a synchronous belt is arranged between the driving pulley 36 and the transmission pulley 37.

[0034] The rigid guiding structure of the frame 31 and the slide rail 32 provides high-stability support for the lifting movement. The precise coordination between the slide rail 32 and the slider 33 effectively suppresses lateral vibration during the lifting process, ensuring that the detection mechanism 2 is accurately positioned along the height direction of the wafer box 11; the drive motor 34 converts the rotational motion into linear lifting through the screw rod 35-nut pair, and combined with the high transmission accuracy characteristics of the screw rod 35, the start and stop position of the detection mechanism 2 is controlled to avoid misaligned scanning of the detection light path 26 and the wafer edge due to inertial offset.

[0035] Reference Figure 5 In one embodiment of the present invention, a telescopic plate assembly 28 is provided at the bottom of the platform plate 21. The telescopic plate assembly 28 has a plurality of telescopic plates which are sequentially distributed along the height direction, and adjacent telescopic plates are sequentially slidably connected.

[0036] Reference Figure 4 In one embodiment of the present invention, rollers are installed on both sides of the platform plate 21, and roller slideways are opened on both sides of the frame 31 along the height direction, and the roller slides are arranged in the roller slideways. A stopper 212 and a baffle 211 are also arranged on the platform plate 21, and the baffle 211 can block and open the window 213.

[0037] Reference Figure 8 and Figure 10 In some embodiments of the present invention, the deflection correction actuator 4 includes a driving unit 41 and a pivoting deflection correction part 42, and the pivoting deflection correction part 42 has a rolling contact surface and a pivot axis 421. In some embodiments of the present invention, the driving unit 41 is a motor, which is fixedly mounted on the platform plate 21, and has an output shaft. The driving unit 41 is used to drive the pivoting deflection correction part 42 to rotate around the pivot axis 421. Among them, when the detection light path 26 is blocked by the protruding wafer, the lifting driving mechanism 3 stops moving, the driving unit 41 drives the pivoting deflection correction part 42 to rotate around the pivot axis 421 and move in the direction close to the wafer 12, and the rolling contact surface drives the wafer to move through dynamic friction when contacting the protruding wafer 12; the horizontal height of the detection light path 26 has a preset downward offset 27 relative to the pivot axis 421 of the pivoting deflection correction part 42, and the downward offset 27 is used to compensate for the lifting inertial displacement and signal delay error. The downward offset 27 is the straight-line distance between the height center line of the balance wheel and the detection light path 26. By detecting the coordinated scanning of the optical path 26 and the lifting drive mechanism 3, the protruding state of the wafer edge can be captured in real time along the height direction. Combined with the rolling contact surface of the pivoting correction part 42 and the preset downward offset 27 design, when a protruding abnormality of the wafer 12 is detected, the lifting and lowering can be stopped quickly and the dynamic friction correction action can be triggered.

[0038] Reference Figure 15, the preset downward offset of 27 effectively compensates for the lifting inertia of the lifting mechanism and the detection signal delay in the detection optical path 26, ensuring that the alignment part is aligned with the wafer 12, avoiding the inability to quickly correct the deviation, and preventing the alignment part from missing the protruding wafer 12 to be corrected; at the same time, the dynamic friction drive mode of the rolling contact surface avoids the risk of scratching the wafer surface by the existing rigid contact, and the pivoting alignment part can adapt to the alignment requirements of wafers of different sizes, significantly improving the alignment efficiency and the cleanliness of wafer transfer, and ensuring the sealing performance of the SMIF system and the integrity of the wafer.

[0039] Referring to Figure 13 and Figure 14 , in some embodiments of the present invention, the pivoting alignment part 42 includes a swing rod 422 and a swing wheel. One end of the swing rod 422 is fixedly connected to the output shaft, and the other end is connected to the swing wheel. The circumferential surface of the swing wheel forms a rolling contact surface. The fixed connection of the driving unit 41 to the platform plate 21 enhances the stability of power output. The output shaft directly drives the swing wheel to rotate through the swing rod 422, making the alignment action respond more quickly; the circumferential surface of the swing wheel serves as the rolling contact surface, and when contacting the wafer, it pushes the wafer to reset through rolling friction, which not only avoids scratching the wafer surface but also can achieve smooth alignment by using the continuity of the swing wheel rotation; at the same time, the combined structure of the swing rod 422 and the swing wheel can adjust the swing angle of the swing wheel according to the wafer size to ensure that the protruding parts of wafers of different sizes can be accurately aligned with the rolling contact surface, such as 6-inch wafers and 8-inch wafers, such as Figure 11 shown in the large-size wafer 47 and the small-size wafer 48. It improves the compatibility and stability of aligning wafers of different sizes.

[0040] Referring to Figures 13-15 , in some embodiments of the present invention, the swing wheel includes a swing shaft 423 and a swing sleeve 424 rotatably sleeved on the outer circumference of the swing shaft 423, and the swing shaft 423 is fixedly connected to the swing rod 422. The fixed connection between the swing shaft 423 and the swing rod 422 ensures the rigidity of power transmission and avoids positioning deviation caused by structural loosening during the alignment process; the swing sleeve 424 can rotate freely around the swing shaft 423, so that when contacting the wafer, the swing sleeve 424 moves with the wafer to generate rolling friction, which not only reduces the wear of the contact surface but also avoids scratching the wafer surface hard; at the same time, the split design of the swing sleeve 424 and the swing shaft 423 facilitates replacing the swing sleeve 424 with different materials according to the wafer size or the friction coefficient requirement, improving the adaptability of the alignment mechanism and facilitating maintenance, and further ensuring the smoothness of the wafer reset process and the surface cleanliness.

[0041] Referring to Figure 14 and Figure 15, in some embodiments of the present invention, the inner side of the swing sleeve 424 has a convex ring. The swing shaft 423 includes a first shaft body 4231 and a second shaft body 4232 that are detachably connected in the height direction. A groove adapted to the convex ring is provided in the combined body formed by the first shaft body 4231 and the second shaft body 4232. A clamping groove is provided at the bottom of the first shaft body 4231, and a clamping block 4233 is provided at the top of the second shaft body 4232. The clamping block 4233 is detachably inserted into the clamping groove. The swing shaft 423 adopts the detachable connection design of the first shaft body 4231 and the second shaft body 4232, which can adapt to swing sleeves 424 or wafer cassette 11 structures of different thicknesses by adjusting the shaft height, improving the versatility of the alignment mechanism; the fitting cooperation between the convex ring on the inner side of the swing sleeve 424 and the groove of the swing shaft 423, while ensuring the coaxial rotation of the swing sleeve 424 and the swing shaft 423, restricts the axial displacement of the swing sleeve 424 along the swing shaft 423, avoiding loosening or deflection of the swing sleeve 424 caused by long-term friction. Specifically, both the first shaft body 4231 and the second shaft body 4232 are cylindrical structures, and a coaxial through threaded hole is provided along the axial direction inside them. The two shaft bodies are locked and fixed by a through bolt to achieve detachable connection in the height direction.

[0042] In some specific embodiments of the present invention, a number of adjusting screws (not shown in the figure) are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction on the side wall of the first shaft body 4231. The end of the screw abuts against the outer wall of the second shaft body 4232. By screwing the screw, the pre-tightening force between the two shaft bodies can be adjusted, thereby changing the frictional resistance between the swing sleeve 424 and the swing shaft 423 - when the swing sleeve 424 needs to rotate freely, the pre-tightening force is reduced to reduce friction; when the rotation of the swing sleeve 424 needs to be restricted, the pre-tightening force is increased to strengthen the damping. Through the dynamic adjustment of the mechanical pre-tightening force, it not only meets the different requirements of different wafer materials for the friction coefficient, but also avoids the secondary offset caused by the excessive rotation of the swing sleeve 424 due to inertia.

[0043] Refer to Figures 10-12, in some embodiments of the present invention, the wafer cassette 11 has an open end 111, and the pivot axis 421 is close to the open end 111 and deviates from the opening direction of the wafer cassette 11. The motion states of the swing rod 422 include an initial position 43, a contact position 45, and a position 46 after deviation correction. By disposing the pivot axis 421 at the lower right side of the open end 111 of the wafer cassette 11, taking the clockwise swing of the swing rod 422 as an example and making it deviate from the opening direction of the wafer cassette 11, the above design has the following advantages: First, when the right side of the wafer 12 protrudes, the swing rod 422 rotates clockwise from the initial position 43 to the contact position 45, and the rolling contact surface applies a thrust along the tangent direction of the wafer edge, and the wafer is pushed into the carrier groove by using the lever effect of the swing rod 422; if the left side of the wafer 12 protrudes, symmetric deviation correction is achieved by reversely configuring the pivot axis 421, that is, the lower left side and counterclockwise swing, ensuring that both left and right offsets can be covered; Second, the layout of the pivot axis 421 deviating from the opening direction makes the arc trajectory formed by the swing of the swing rod 422 form an angle with the open end 111 of the wafer cassette 11. Compared with the axis design facing the opening direction, the deviation correction stroke can be increased by 20%-30% under the same length of the swing rod 422, avoiding deviation correction failure caused by insufficient limit position of the swing rod 422; Finally, the positioning of the pivot axis 421 adjacent to the open end 111 makes the motion envelope range of the deviation correction mechanism misaligned with the outer contour of the wafer cassette 11, which not only avoids interference with the cassette opening mechanism, but also reduces the overall size of the device, meeting the requirements of high integration.

[0044] The working principle of the present invention is as follows: The detection mechanism 2 scans the wafer edge along the height direction of the wafer cassette 11 through a horizontal optical path. When a wafer protrusion is detected, the lifting drive mechanism 3 immediately stops and triggers the deviation correction execution mechanism 4; the deviation correction part is driven by a motor to swing the swing rod 422 around the pivot axis 421 that deviates from the opening direction of the wafer cassette 11, and the rolling contact surface of the swing wheel pushes the wafer to reset along the inclined opening direction of the carrier groove in a dynamic friction manner. Among them, the preset downward offset 27 of the detection optical path 26 compensates for the lifting inertia and signal delay, ensuring accurate alignment of the deviation correction part; the swing wheel adopts a split swing shaft 423 and a swing sleeve 424 with adjustable frictional resistance, and can adjust the pre-tightening force to adapt to different wafer sizes and frictional requirements; the layout of the pivot axis 421 adjacent to the open end 111 combined with the lever effect of the swing rod 422 greatly increases the deviation correction distance under the same stroke, and at the same time avoids interference with the cassette opening mechanism, realizing efficient and low-damage deviation correction of multi-size wafers.

[0045] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made to these embodiments. However, it should be understood that such modifications and changes are all within the scope and spirit of the present invention. Moreover, the present invention described herein may have other embodiments and can be implemented or realized in various ways.

Claims

1. A wafer loading system, characterized in that: include: A loading body (1) having a carrying surface for placing a wafer box (11), wherein the wafer box (11) contains a plurality of wafers (12) stacked in a height direction; A detection mechanism (2) is formed with a detection light path (26) extending in a horizontal direction, wherein the detection light path (26) scans the edge profile of the wafer (12) to detect a protruding state; A lifting drive mechanism (3) connected to the detection mechanism (2) and used to drive the detection mechanism (2) to reciprocate along the height direction of the wafer box (11); The deflection correction actuator (4) comprises a driving unit (41) and a pivoting deflection correction portion (42), wherein the pivoting deflection correction portion (42) is provided with a pivot axis (421) and a rolling contact surface that can rotate around the pivot axis (421); When the detection light path (26) is blocked by the protruding wafer, the lifting drive mechanism (3) stops moving, the drive unit (41) drives the pivoting correction part (42) to rotate around the pivot axis (421) and move in the direction of the wafer (12), and the rolling contact surface contacts the protruding wafer (12) through dynamic friction to drive reset; the horizontal height of the detection light path (26) has a preset downward offset (27) relative to the pivot axis (421) of the pivoting correction part (42), and the downward offset (27) is used to compensate for the lifting inertial displacement and signal delay error.

2. A wafer loading system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The detection mechanism (2) comprises a platform plate (21), a bracket assembly vertically fixed to the platform plate (21), and a beam sensor mounted on the bracket assembly, wherein a transmitting end (24) and a receiving end (25) of the beam sensor are respectively arranged on two sides of a wafer box (11), and the transmitting end (24) emits a laser beam to the receiving end (25) to form the detection optical path (26).

3. A wafer loading system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The driving unit (41) is fixedly connected to the platform plate (21), the driving unit (41) having an output shaft, the pivoting deviation correcting portion (42) comprising a rocker rod (422) and a balance wheel, one end of the rocker rod (422) being fixedly connected to the output shaft, and the other end being connected to the balance wheel, the circumferential surface of the balance wheel constituting the rolling contact surface.

4. A wafer loading system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The balance wheel comprises a balance shaft (423) and a balance sleeve (424) rotatably sleeved on the outer periphery of the balance shaft (423); the balance shaft (423) is fixedly connected to the balance rod (422).

5. A wafer loading system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The inner side of the swing sleeve (424) is provided with a convex ring, and the swing shaft (423) comprises a first shaft body (4231) and a second shaft body (4232) which are detachably connected in the height direction, and a groove adapted to fit the convex ring is provided in a combination of the first shaft body (4231) and the second shaft body (4232).

6. The wafer loading system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wafer box (11) has an open end (111), and when the wafer box (11) is placed on the loading body (1), there is a distance between a vertical projection axis of the opening direction of the open end (111) and a vertical projection of the pivot axis (421).

7. A wafer loading system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The lifting drive mechanism (3) comprises: The frame (31) is provided with a slide rail (32) along the height direction, a slider (33) is slidably connected to the slide rail (32), the slider (33) is fixedly connected to a fixing seat (38), and the fixing seat (38) is fixedly connected to the platform plate (21); A driving motor (34) is arranged on the frame (31); A screw rod (35) drivingly connected to an output shaft of the drive motor (34); A screw nut is threadably matched with the screw (35) and is fixedly connected to the fixing seat (38).

8. The wafer loading system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The loading body (1) further comprises a top cover (13), an unlocking member (16) is provided on the loading body (1), the top cover (13) and the loading body (1) are detachably connected via the unlocking member (16), and the top cover (13) is fixedly connected to the platform plate (21).

9. The wafer loading system according to claim 2, characterized in that: A telescopic plate assembly (28) is provided at the bottom of the platform plate (21), wherein the telescopic plate assembly (28) comprises a plurality of telescopic plates which are sequentially distributed along the height direction, and adjacent telescopic plates are sequentially slidably connected.

10. The wafer loading system according to claim 7, characterized in that: Rollers are installed on both sides of the platform plate (21), roller slideways are opened on both sides of the frame (31) along the height direction, and the rollers are rotatably arranged in the roller slideways.

Images