Wafer transmission cavity

Abstract

The invention provides a wafer transmission cavity, comprising: a cavity comprising an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface being provided with a groove; the AWC assembly is arranged in the groove, the diameter of the AWC assembly is smaller than that of the groove, and the AWC assembly is used for reflecting optical signals of the sensor; the cover is arranged at the opening of the groove, and the cover and the upper surface of the cavity form a horizontal plane. The cover and the upper surface form a horizontal plane, the risks of collision and angle change of the reflecting plate are avoided, the diameter of the groove is larger than that of the AWC assembly, operation during installation is facilitated, and meanwhile the angle of the reflecting plate can be adjusted conveniently.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In the process of semiconductor chip processing, a wafer transfer chamber is required. The main function of the wafer transfer chamber is to distribute wafers from an EFEM to different process chambers for process processing, and then take out the processed wafers from the process chambers and send them back to the EFEM.

[0003] Generally, the wafer transfer chamber includes a cavity and a manipulator. The manipulator is used to carry and transfer wafers. However, due to the movement of the manipulator, the wafers often shift in position. To prevent the wafers from shifting in position, an AWC (wafer alignment) system is usually used to monitor the position of the wafers.

[0004] In the prior art, the AWC system is arranged above and below the transfer port of the cavity of the transfer chamber so as to measure the position offset of the wafer when the wafer passes through the transfer port. However, the existing AWC is easily collided at the set position, so there is a risk of the AWC being collided and the angle of the reflector changing. Therefore, inaccurate measurement occurs. In addition, the existing AWC is not easy to adjust the angle during installation, and it is even more difficult to adjust the angle after long-term use. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a wafer transfer chamber to solve the above problems.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention is realized through the following technical solutions:

[0007] The present invention provides a wafer transfer chamber, including:

[0008] A cavity, the cavity includes an upper surface and a lower surface, and a groove is provided on the upper surface;

[0009] An AWC component, the AWC component is arranged in the groove, the diameter of the AWC component is smaller than the diameter of the groove, and the AWC component is used to reflect the optical signal of the sensor;

[0010] A cover, the cover is arranged at the opening of the groove, and the cover and the upper surface of the cavity form a horizontal plane.

[0011] Optionally, an optical transmission hole penetrating the upper surface and the lower surface is provided at the bottom of the groove.

[0012] Optionally, the AWC component includes a light-transmitting member and a light-transmitting member fixing member. The light-transmitting member is disposed above the optical transmission hole; the light-transmitting member fixing member is disposed above the light-transmitting member and is used to fix the light-transmitting member to the bottom of the groove.

[0013] Optionally, the AWC component further includes a reflector and a reflector fixing member. The reflector is used to reflect the optical signal of the sensor, and the reflector fixing member is used to fix the reflector.

[0014] Optionally, the reflector is disposed on the lower surface of the reflector fixing member.

[0015] Optionally, the reflector fixing member is further used to adjust the angle of the reflector relative to the horizontal plane.

[0016] Optionally, the reflector fixing member includes a mounting plate and at least one support column. The reflector is disposed on the lower surface of the mounting plate, and the support columns are disposed on the periphery of the lower surface of the mounting plate.

[0017] Optionally, the support column includes two adjusting columns and one fixing column. The adjusting column is used to adjust the height of the corresponding position of the adjusting column on the mounting plate relative to the bottom of the groove, and the fixing column is used to fix the height of the corresponding position of the fixing column on the mounting plate relative to the bottom of the groove.

[0018] Optionally, both the adjusting column and the fixing column include bolts, and both the adjusting column and the fixing column are hollow columns, and the bolts are disposed inside the hollow columns.

[0019] Optionally, the length of the adjusting column is less than the length of the fixing column. An elastic pad is disposed below the adjusting column, and the lower part of the fixing column abuts against the bottom of the groove.

[0020] Optionally, the inner diameter of the hollow column is greater than the diameter of the bolt.

[0021] Optionally, threaded holes are provided at the bottom of the groove, threads are provided at the lower part of the bolt, and the threads are engaged with the threaded holes.

[0022] Optionally, a sealing ring is provided between the light-transmitting member and the light-transmitting member fixing member, and a sealing ring is provided between the light-transmitting member and the bottom of the groove.

[0023] Optionally, the AWC component further includes a support ring. The support ring is disposed around the light-transmitting member. The upper end of the support ring abuts against the lower surface of the periphery of the light-transmitting member fixing member, and the lower end of the support ring abuts against the bottom of the groove.

[0024] Optionally, the bottom of the groove is provided with a first annular step, a second step and a third step from inside to outside in sequence. The height of the first step is lower than that of the second step, and the height of the second step is lower than that of the third step. The light-transmitting member is disposed on the first step, and the reflector fixing member is disposed on the second step.

[0025] Optionally, the opening of the groove is provided with an upper step, and the cover is disposed on the upper step.

[0026] Optionally, the side wall of the cover is provided with an external thread, the opening of the groove is provided with an internal thread, the internal thread and the external thread are matched, and a connection hole is provided in the middle of the cover for connecting an external screwing device.

[0027] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0028] 1. In the wafer transfer cavity of the present invention, the cover forms a horizontal plane with the upper surface of the cavity body, and the AWC is disposed in the groove. Therefore, there is no risk of the AWC being collided and the angle of the reflector changing, and the situation of inaccurate measurement will not occur during measurement. In addition, the diameter of the AWC component is smaller than the diameter of the groove, so it is convenient for operation during installation.

[0029] 2. In the wafer transfer cavity of the present invention, the angle of the reflector can be conveniently adjusted. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, the drawings required for description will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are an embodiment of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts:

[0031] Figure 1 It is a top view of the semiconductor device of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 2 It is a cross-sectional view of the wafer transfer cavity of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 3 It is a three-dimensional view of the AWC component of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 4 It is a cross-sectional view of another AWC component of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 5 It is a top view of the mounting plate of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0036] The following further elaborates on the solution proposed by the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. According to the following description, the advantages and features of the present invention will be clearer. It should be noted that the accompanying drawings are in a very simplified form and use non-precise scales, only for conveniently and clearly assisting in explaining the purpose of the embodiments of the present invention. In order to make the purpose, features, and advantages of the present invention more obvious and understandable, please refer to the accompanying drawings. It should be known that the structures, scales, sizes, etc. shown in the drawings of this specification are only used to cooperate with the content disclosed in the specification for those familiar with this technology to understand and read, and are not used to limit the limiting conditions for the implementation of the present invention. Therefore, they do not have technical essence. Any modification of the structure, change of the proportional relationship, or adjustment of the size, without affecting the efficacy that the present invention can produce and the purpose that can be achieved, should still fall within the scope covered by the technical content disclosed by the present invention.

[0037] Figure 1 A top view of the semiconductor device of the present invention is shown, as Figure 1 shown, the semiconductor device includes an EFEM201, a vacuum load lock 202, a wafer transfer chamber 203, and a process chamber 204 connected in sequence; wherein, the process chamber 204 can be, for example, an etching chamber, a thin film growth chamber, an annealing chamber, an ion implantation chamber, etc. The wafer W is transferred from the EFEM201 to the vacuum load lock 202, loaded by the manipulator in the wafer transfer chamber 203, and then sent into the process chamber 204. After the process is completed, it is then transferred by the manipulator in the wafer transfer chamber 203 to the vacuum load lock 202 and returned to the EFEM.

[0038] The wafer transfer chamber 203 includes a cover 106, an AWC device, a chamber, and a manipulator. The chamber is a hollow polygon surrounded by multiple side walls, which can be, for example, a quadrilateral, a pentagon, a hexagon, an octagon, etc. Each side wall of the polygon is in vacuum communication connection with a process chamber 204; the manipulator is arranged at the center of the polygon. The side wall is provided with a horizontal wafer transfer port 234. The wafer W is transferred from the wafer transfer chamber 203 to the process chamber 204 through the wafer transfer port 234 by the transfer of the manipulator; the side wall is also provided with an optical transfer hole 236 penetrating the upper surface 231 and the lower surface. The optical transfer hole 236 extends vertically. There are two optical transfer holes 236, and the two optical transfer holes 236 are respectively arranged on the two side edges of the wafer transfer port 234.

[0039] The AWC device is arranged above and below the wafer transfer port 234. Specifically, there are two AWC devices, which are respectively arranged on the corresponding optical transfer holes, so as to measure the position of the wafer W passing through the wafer transfer port 234. One AWC device includes an AWC component and a sensor. The sensor is arranged below the optical transfer hole 236, and the AWC component is arranged above the optical transfer hole 236. Of course, the sensor can also be arranged above the optical transfer hole 236, and the AWC component is arranged below the optical transfer hole 236; the sensor is used to emit optical signals. The AWC component can be a receiving type or a reflection type. The receiving type is used to receive the optical signals of the sensor, and the reflection type is used to reflect the optical signals. In this invention, the reflection type is taken as an example.

[0040] Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of the wafer transfer cavity of the present invention is shown, as Figure 2 shown, the side wall includes an upper surface 231 and a lower surface, and a groove is provided on the upper surface; the AWC component is arranged in the groove, the diameter of the AWC component is smaller than the diameter of the groove, and an operation space 233 is formed around the AWC component. The AWC component is used to reflect the optical signals of the sensor; a cover is arranged at the opening of the groove, and the cover and the upper surface of the cavity form a horizontal plane. Preferably, the diameter of the groove is 1.5 - 2 times the diameter of the AWC component. The AWC component of the present invention is hidden inside the wafer transfer cavity, there is no risk of collision and displacement. At the same time, the diameter of the groove is larger than the AWC diameter, and an operation space 233 is provided around, so it is convenient for installation and other operations, such as adjustment operations and maintenance operations. Optionally, the upper end of the optical transfer hole 236 is arranged at the bottom of the groove. Further preferably, the groove is a circular groove or a polygonal groove, and the optical transfer hole 236 is located at the center of the bottom of the groove.

[0041] Figure 3 A perspective view of the AWC component of the invention is shown, as Figure 3 shown, the AWC component includes a light-transmitting member 103 and a light-transmitting member fixing member 107. The light-transmitting member 103 is arranged above the optical transfer hole 236; the light-transmitting member fixing member 107 is arranged above the light-transmitting member 103 and is used to fix the light-transmitting member to the bottom of the groove. A light-transmitting hole is provided at the center of the light-transmitting member fixing member 107, and the light-transmitting hole and the optical transfer hole 236 are on the same vertical line.

[0042] A sealing ring 172 is provided between the light-transmitting member 103 and the light-transmitting member fixing member 107, and a sealing ring 172 is provided between the light-transmitting member and the bottom of the groove. Specifically, the two sealing rings surround the periphery of the optical transmission hole 236, and the two sealing rings are concentric with the optical transmission hole 236. Optionally, the light-transmitting member fixing member 107 is a circular plate or a polygonal plate, and the periphery of the light-transmitting member fixing member 107 is fixed to the bottom of the groove by bolts, thereby generating a downward pressure to fix the light-transmitting member 103 to the bottom of the groove to seal the upper opening of the optical transmission hole 236 and ensure a vacuum environment is formed in the wafer transfer chamber. An annular protrusion is provided on the lower surface of the light-transmitting member fixing member 107, and an annular dovetail groove is provided on the lower surface of the annular protrusion for placing the upper sealing ring. An annular dovetail groove is also provided at the bottom of the groove for placing the lower sealing ring.

[0043] Optionally, the AWC assembly further includes a support ring 171. The support ring 171 surrounds the light-transmitting member 103. The upper end of the support ring abuts against the lower surface of the periphery of the light-transmitting member fixing member 107, and the lower end of the support ring 171 abuts against the bottom of the groove. Specifically, the upper end of the support ring surrounds the annular protrusion and is adjacent to the annular protrusion, thereby positioning the light-transmitting member fixing member 107 and preventing the light-transmitting member fixing member 107 from slipping. The support ring 171 is used to support the light-transmitting member fixing member 107 when the bolts are screwed, preventing the light-transmitting member fixing member 107 from moving downward excessively and damaging the light-transmitting member 103.

[0044] Continue to refer to the appendix Figure 3 The AWC assembly further includes a reflector 101 and a reflector fixing member 102. The reflector 101 is used to reflect the optical signal of the sensor, and the reflector fixing member 102 is used to fix the reflector. The reflector is disposed on the lower surface of the reflector fixing member. Specifically, the reflector is fixed to the lower surface of the reflector fixing member 102 by fasteners, and the fasteners can be, for example, bolts. The reflector fixing member 102 includes a mounting plate 122 and at least one support column 121. The reflector 101 is disposed on the lower surface of the mounting plate 122, and the support columns are disposed on the periphery of the lower surface of the mounting plate 122. The mounting plate 122 extends in the horizontal plane, and the support columns 121 extend in the vertical direction; the lower ends of the support columns are fixed to the bottom of the groove, forming an accommodation space below the mounting plate 122. Both the reflector and the light-transmitting member fixing member 107 are disposed in the accommodation space, and the reflector is disposed directly above the light-transmitting member fixing member 107. Optionally, the mounting plate 122 is a circular plate or a polygonal plate.

[0045] During operation, the optical signal emitted upward by the sensor passes through the optical transmission hole 236 and the light-transmitting hole of the light-transmitting member fixing member 107 and is reflected back to the sensor by the reflector, thereby achieving detection.

[0046] Figure 4 A cross-sectional view of another AWC component of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment, the reflector fixing member 102 is further used to adjust the included angle of the reflector 101 relative to the horizontal plane. Specifically, it is adjusted by the support column 121. Preferably, the support column 121 includes two adjustment columns and one fixing column. The adjustment columns are used to adjust the height of the positions corresponding to the adjustment columns on the mounting plate 122 relative to the bottom of the groove, and the fixing column is used to fix the height of the position corresponding to the fixing column on the mounting plate 122 relative to the bottom of the groove. The distribution of the two adjustment columns and one fixing column on the mounting plate 122 is not on a straight line. Therefore, by adjusting the two adjustment columns, the angle of the reflector relative to the horizontal plane in any direction can be adjusted.

[0047] Continue to refer to Figure 4 , both the adjustment column and the fixing column include bolts, and both the adjustment column and the fixing column are hollow columns, and the bolts are arranged inside the hollow columns. The vertical length of the adjustment column is less than the vertical length of the fixing column. An elastic pad is arranged below the adjustment column, and the lower part of the fixing column abuts against the bottom of the groove. The inner diameter of the hollow column is larger than the diameter of the bolt. Preferably, the inner diameter of the hollow column is larger than the diameter of the bolt by 0.5 - 2 mm. Optionally, threaded holes are arranged at the bottom of the groove, threads are arranged at the lower part of the bolt, and the threads are matched with the threaded holes. That is: the part of the bolt inside the hollow column is a smooth rod without threads, and only threads are arranged at the lower part. Preferably, the elastic pad is annular, the elastic pad is arranged between the adjustment column and the bottom of the groove, the bolt passes through the annular elastic pad and is connected to the threaded hole, and the vertical length (i.e., height) of the adjustment column plus the elastic pad is slightly larger than the vertical length (i.e., height) of the fixing column. Preferably, the vertical length of the adjustment column plus the elastic pad is larger than the vertical length of the fixing column by 1 - 5 mm.

[0048] Refer to the appendix Figure 4-5 , since the inner diameter of the hollow column is larger than the diameter of the bolt, the hollow column is allowed to tilt relative to the bolt to a certain extent, so that the angle of the mounting plate 122 relative to the horizontal plane can change. During adjustment, first tighten the bolt 124 in the fixing column to fix the fixing column to the bottom of the groove, and then rotate the two bolts 123 in the adjustment column. By rotating the bolt 124, the bolt 124 moves up and down, thereby compressing the height of the elastic pad, so as to adjust the distances of the two adjustment columns relative to the bottom of the groove respectively, and further adjust the angle of the mounting plate 122 relative to the horizontal plane. Since there is only one fixing column and two adjustment columns, and the fixing column is equivalent to the fulcrum of the mounting plate 122, the angle of the mounting plate 122 relative to the horizontal plane in any direction can be adjusted.

[0049] Continue to refer to the attached Figure 4 , the bottom of the groove is sequentially provided with an annular first step 244, a second step 243, and a third step 242 from inside to outside. The height of the first step 244 is lower than that of the second step 243, and the height of the second step 243 is lower than that of the third step 242; the light-transmitting member is disposed on the first step, and the reflector fixing member is disposed on the second step. Specifically, the first step 244 forms a first groove, the light-transmitting member and the support ring 171 are both disposed in the first groove, the shape of the support ring 171 on the horizontal plane matches the shape of the first groove on the horizontal plane, and the size of the support ring 171 on the horizontal plane matches the size of the first groove on the horizontal plane. The second step 244 forms a second groove, the lower part of the reflector fixing member 102 is disposed in the second groove, the shape of the mounting plate 122 on the horizontal plane matches the shape of the second groove on the horizontal plane, and the size of the mounting plate 122 on the horizontal plane matches the size of the second groove on the horizontal plane. Optionally, the first groove and the second groove may be circular grooves or polygonal grooves.

[0050] Optionally, the opening of the groove is provided with an upper step 241, and the cover 106 is disposed on the upper step. The side wall of the cover 106 is provided with an external thread, the opening of the groove is provided with an internal thread, the internal thread and the external thread are matched, and a connection hole is provided in the middle (i.e., the center) of the cover for connecting an external screwing device. By means of the screwing device, the cover can be opened or closed, and the screwing device may be a hexagon wrench.

[0051] Preferably, the cover 106 is further provided with an adjustment opening (not shown in the figure), and the adjustment opening is disposed directly above the bolt 124 of the adjustment column for facilitating the screwing device to penetrate from the adjustment opening to screw the bolt 124; it is convenient for the operator to adjust the angle of the reflector without opening the cover 106 when adjustment is required after long-term use.

[0052] It should be noted that in this text, relational terms such as first and second are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the term "comprising", "including" or any other variant thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements not only includes those elements but also includes other elements not expressly listed, or further includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "comprising an..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising said element. Additionally, the term "connected" in this text means that A and B are directly connected, or means that A and B are indirectly connected. Indirect connection means that A and B are connected through C, or even through more components such as C and D. The connection between A and B can be integral or separable, detachable or fixed. The term "optional" in this text means that this technical feature can be combined or not combined with any feature in the text.

[0053] Although the content of the present invention has been described in detail through the above preferred embodiments, it should be recognized that the above description should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention. After those skilled in the art have read the above content, various modifications and alternatives to the present invention will be obvious. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wafer transfer chamber, characterized in that: include: A cavity, the cavity comprising an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface being provided with a groove; an AWC component, the AWC component being disposed in the groove, the diameter of the AWC component being smaller than the diameter of the groove, and the AWC component being used to reflect an optical signal of a sensor; A cover is arranged at the opening of the groove, and the cover and the upper surface of the cavity form a horizontal plane.

2. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: An optical transmission hole penetrating the upper surface and the lower surface is arranged at the bottom of the groove.

3. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 2, characterized in that: The AWC assembly includes a light-transmitting member and a light-transmitting member fixing member. The light-transmitting member is arranged above the optical transmission hole; the light-transmitting member fixing member is arranged above the light-transmitting member and is used to fix the light-transmitting member to the bottom of the groove.

4. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 3, characterized in that: The AWC assembly further includes a reflective plate and a reflective plate fixing member, wherein the reflective plate is used to reflect the optical signal of the sensor, and the reflective plate fixing member is used to fix the reflective plate.

5. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 4, characterized in that: The reflective plate is arranged on the lower surface of the reflective plate fixing member.

6. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 5, characterized in that: The reflective plate fixing member is also used to adjust the angle of the reflective plate relative to the horizontal plane.

7. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 6, characterized in that: The reflective plate fixing member comprises a mounting plate and at least one supporting column, the reflective plate is arranged on the lower surface of the mounting plate, and the supporting column is arranged on the periphery of the lower surface of the mounting plate.

8. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 7, characterized in that: The support column includes two adjustment columns and a fixed column. The adjustment column is used to adjust the height of the position corresponding to the adjustment column on the mounting plate relative to the bottom of the groove. The fixed column is used to fix the height of the position corresponding to the fixed column on the mounting plate relative to the bottom of the groove.

9. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 8, characterized in that: The adjusting column and the fixing column both include bolts, and both the adjusting column and the fixing column are hollow columns, and the bolts are arranged in the hollow columns.

10. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 8, characterized in that: The length of the adjusting column is smaller than that of the fixing column. An elastic pad is arranged below the adjusting column, and the bottom of the fixing column abuts against the bottom of the groove.

11. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that: The hollow hole diameter of the hollow column is larger than the diameter of the bolt.

12. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 11, characterized in that: A threaded hole is arranged at the bottom of the groove, and a thread is arranged at the lower part of the bolt, and the thread matches the threaded hole.

13. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 3, characterized in that: A sealing ring is arranged between the light-transmitting member and the light-transmitting member fixing member, and a sealing ring is arranged between the light-transmitting member and the bottom of the groove.

14. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 13, characterized in that: The AWC assembly further comprises a support ring, which is arranged around the light-transmitting member, wherein the upper end of the support ring abuts against the lower surface of the periphery of the light-transmitting member fixing member, and the lower end of the support ring abuts against the bottom of the groove.

15. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 4, characterized in that: The bottom of the groove is provided with an annular first step, a second step and a third step in sequence from the inside to the outside, the height of the first step is lower than the second step, and the height of the second step is lower than the third step; the light-transmitting component is arranged on the first step, and the reflective plate fixing component is arranged on the second step.

16. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 15, characterized in that: An upper step is provided at the opening of the groove, and the cover is provided on the upper step.

17. The wafer transfer chamber according to claim 16, wherein: The side wall of the cover is provided with an external thread, the opening of the groove is provided with an internal thread, the internal thread and the external thread cooperate with each other, and a connecting hole is provided in the middle of the cover for connecting an external screwing device.

Images