Wafer carrying unit, post-processing device, flipping method and processing equipment

Abstract

The present invention provides a wafer carrying unit, post-processing device, flipping method, and processing equipment. The wafer carrying unit includes: a carrying bracket, a detection assembly, and an adjustment assembly. The carrying bracket includes a flippable main body, which includes a fixed upper limiter, a lower limiter driver, and a movable lower limiter for limiting and carrying the wafer during the flipping process of the main body. The lower limiter driver is used to drive the lower limiter toward or away from the center of the main body. The detection assembly is used to detect the tilt angle of the wafer along the direction from the upper limiter to the lower limiter when the main body is flipped to a horizontal state. The adjustment assembly includes an adjustment driver and an adjustment support element. The adjustment driver drives the adjustment support element to support the wafer at an inclined angle, and after the lower limiter driver drives the lower limiter away, drives the adjustment support element to a horizontal state. The present invention can level a tilted wafer without contaminating the wafer or damaging the limiter.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of chemical mechanical polishing technology and is used for processing semiconductor chips. Specifically, it relates to a wafer carrying unit, a post-processing device, a flipping method, and a processing device. Background Art

[0002] Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) equipment is currently the only equipment that can achieve global flattening of the surface of semiconductor wafers and is one of the five core processes in the wafer manufacturing process.

[0003] A CMP system typically consists of an Equipment Front End Module (EFEM), a polishing unit, a cleaning unit, and a drying unit, enabling wafer loading and unloading, ensuring surface uniformity that meets process requirements. In a vertical cleaning and drying system, wafers must be flipped from a vertical position to a horizontal position before being removed from the EFEM.

[0004] The wafer carrier used for flipping includes stoppers for positioning the wafer. As the carrier moves the wafer, the wafer's edges and stoppers form multiple points of support, allowing it to slide along the support surface under inertia and gravity until it reaches a horizontal position. However, during production, wafers occasionally fail to fully flip to a horizontal position, preventing the EFEM from properly removing the wafer, causing the machine to shut down due to an alarm, or even causing the wafer to break. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the present invention provides a wafer carrying unit, a post-processing device, a flipping method and a processing equipment, so as to solve or at least alleviate one or more of the above-mentioned problems and other problems existing in the prior art.

[0006] A first aspect of the present invention provides a wafer carrying unit, a carrying bracket, a detection component and an adjustment component;

[0007] The carrying bracket includes a main body that can be turned along a first axis, the main body includes a fixed upper limit member, a lower limit member driver and a movably installed lower limit member, the upper limit member and the lower limit member are located on both sides of the first axis, and are used to limit and carry the wafer during the turning process of the main body, and the lower limit member driver is used to drive the lower limit member to move closer to or away from the center of the main body;

[0008] The detection component is used to detect the tilt angle of the wafer along the direction from the upper limit member to the lower limit member when the main body is flipped to the horizontal state;

[0009] The adjustment assembly includes an adjustment driver and an adjustment support element, wherein the adjustment driver drives the adjustment support element to support the wafer at the tilt angle, and drives the adjustment support element to a horizontal state after the lower limit member driver drives the lower limit member away;

[0010] The wafer is adjusted to a horizontal state, and the wafer and the lower limit member are not worn.

[0011] Optionally, the main body includes two upper limit members and two lower limit members, the two upper limit members and the two lower limit members are respectively axially symmetrically distributed about the same symmetry axis, and the symmetry axis is perpendicular to the first axis;

[0012] The detection assembly includes a first detection element, which is located on the symmetry axis.

[0013] Optionally, the adjustment drive includes an adjustment drive motor and an adjustment drive arm, the adjustment drive arm connects the adjustment drive motor and the adjustment support element, and the line connecting the centers of the two upper limit members is collinear with the center line of the motor shaft of the adjustment drive motor when the main body is in a horizontal state.

[0014] Optionally, the main body includes an avoidance portion, and the adjustment support element is driven by the adjustment drive arm to rotate to pass through one side of the upper limit member, pass through the avoidance portion from under the main body, and support the wafer.

[0015] Optionally, the adjusting support element comprises a support element body and a clamping portion, and when the clamping portion is rotated to the tilt angle, the support element body does not contact the wafer;

[0016] The clamping portion supports the wafer and has a limiting structure for limiting the position of the wafer.

[0017] Optionally, the clamping portion includes a claw and a claw driving portion, wherein the claw is higher than the surface of the supporting element body, and the claw driving portion drives the claw to open and close to clamp the edge of the wafer when closed;

[0018] The escape portion allows the opened claw to pass through.

[0019] Optionally, the number of the claws is 4. When the clamping part rotates to a horizontal state, the 4 claws are axially symmetrically distributed about the straight line where the first axis is located and the axis of symmetry, and the claws open and close along the direction of the straight line where the first axis is located.

[0020] Optionally, the upper limit member includes an upper bearing surface and an upper limit surface, the lower limit member includes a lower bearing surface, a lower limit surface and a hook-shaped portion, the upper limit surface has a height of 1-2 mm, and the lower limit surface has a height of 5-10 mm;

[0021] The wafer is 12-inch wafer;

[0022] When the main body is in a vertical state, the edge of the wafer abuts against the upper bearing surface and the lower limit surface;

[0023] When the main body and the wafer are in a horizontal state, the upper bearing surface and the lower bearing surface support the wafer, and the edge of the wafer is adjacent to the upper limit surface and the lower limit surface;

[0024] The center of the upper limit member is the midpoint of the intersection line between the upper bearing surface and the upper limit surface;

[0025] The center of the lower limit member is the midpoint of the intersection line of the lower bearing surface and the lower limit surface;

[0026] So that the deviation between the tilt angle and the actual tilt angle of the wafer is less than 0.1°.

[0027] According to the second aspect of the present invention, a wafer post-processing device is provided, comprising: a wafer vertical processing unit, a transfer robot and a wafer carrying unit as described in the first aspect, wherein the transfer robot is used to grab the wafer from the wafer vertical processing unit and place the wafer on the main body in the vertical state in the wafer carrying unit, and the wafer carrying unit is used to flip the wafer to a horizontal state.

[0028] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wafer flipping method, using the wafer carrying unit according to the first aspect, comprising:

[0029] Detect the tilt angle of the wafer;

[0030] controlling the adjustment driver to drive the adjustment support element to support the wafer at the tilt angle;

[0031] controlling the lower limit member driver to drive the lower limit member away from the center of the main body;

[0032] controlling the adjustment driver to drive the adjustment support element to a horizontal state;

[0033] The lower limit member driver is controlled to drive the lower limit member to approach the center of the main body.

[0034] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a wafer processing equipment is provided, comprising: a controller and a wafer post-processing device as described in the second aspect, the controller being used to control the transfer robot to grab the wafer from the wafer vertical processing unit and place it on the main body, and to control the wafer carrying unit to perform the wafer flipping method as described in the third aspect.

[0035] The present invention has the following technical effects: the present invention can adjust a wafer that is stuck when flipping from a vertical state to a horizontal state to a horizontal state, thereby avoiding the situation where the EFEM cannot take the wafer normally, causing the machine to alarm and shut down, or even smashing the wafer. At the same time, the present invention, through the precise detection of the tilt angle, the stable support of the adjustment component and the active avoidance of the lower limit member, does not cause wear to the wafer and the lower limit member during the adjustment to the horizontal state, thereby avoiding damage and contamination to the edge of the wafer and extending the service life of the lower limit member. In addition, the present invention achieves compatibility with wafers in any state during the flipping process by optimizing the wafer inclination detection and judgment process, avoids redundant processes, and improves the quality and stability of wafer processing by wafer processing equipment by improving the efficiency and reliability of wafer interactive transmission. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0037] Figure 1 It is a structural diagram of CMP equipment.

[0038] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the carrying bracket 22 flipped to a horizontal state.

[0039] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the carrying bracket 22 flipped to a vertical state.

[0040] Figure 4 yes Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the structure of the upper limit member 224 of the middle bearing bracket 22.

[0041] Figure 5 yes Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the structure of the lower limit member 225 of the middle bearing bracket 22.

[0042] Figure 6 yes Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the wafer position.

[0043] Figure 71 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a wafer carrying unit 100 of the present invention.

[0044] Figure 8 yes Figure 7 A schematic side view of the wafer carrying unit 100 with the carrying bracket 22 in a vertical state.

[0045] Figure 9 yes Figure 7 A schematic side view of the wafer carrying unit 100 when the carrying bracket 22 is in a horizontal state.

[0046] Figure 10 yes Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the adjustment component 4 of the wafer carrying unit 100 when leveling the wafer.

[0047] Figure 11 yes Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the structure of the wafer carrying unit 100 is enlarged.

[0048] Figure 12 yes Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the relationship between wafer position and parameters when wafer jam occurs in the wafer carrying unit 100.

[0049] Figure 13 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the wafer flipping method of the present invention.

[0050] Figure 14 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the wafer processing equipment of the present invention.

[0051] Reference numerals:

[0052] Fixed surface 1;

[0053] Front module 10; front robot 11; front-opening wafer transfer box 12;

[0054] Wafer processing module 20; transfer robot 21; carrying bracket 22; main body 221; avoidance portion 2211; arc-shaped member 2212; flip connection portion 222; flip drive motor 223; upper limit member 224; upper bearing surface 2241; upper limit surface 2242; lower limit member 225; lower bearing surface 2251; lower limit surface 2252; hook portion 2253; lower limit member driver 226; thin cylinder 2261; ejector rod 2262; compression spring 2263; spring mounting seat 2264; buffer block 2265; groove 227; drying unit 23;

[0055] Detection component 3; first detection element 31; second detection element 32;

[0056] Adjustment assembly 4; adjustment driver 41; adjustment drive motor 411; adjustment drive arm 412; adjustment support element 42; support element body 421; clamping portion 422; claw 4221; claw drive portion 4222;

[0057] Wafer carrying unit 100; wafer vertical processing unit 200;

[0058] Wafer post-processing device 1000; controller 2000. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments in the embodiments of the present invention should fall within the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0060] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "longitudinal", "transverse", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship, are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0061] In addition, in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified and limited, it should be noted that the terms "installation", "connection" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection, or it can be the internal connection between two components. It can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0062] Figure 1 The diagram below is a schematic diagram of the CMP equipment structure, which includes a front module 10 and a wafer processing module 20. The front module 10 is used to store pre-polished and polished wafers. It includes a front robot 11 (i.e., an EFEM robot) and four front-opening unified pods (FOUPs) 12. The front robot 11 is located adjacent to the front-opening pods 12 and is used to transfer horizontally placed wafers between the wafer processing module 20 and the front-opening pods 12.

[0063] The wafer processing module 20 includes a carrier bracket 22, a polishing unit, a cleaning unit, and a drying unit 23. Unprocessed wafers are placed horizontally in a front-opening wafer transfer box 12, grabbed by the front robot 11, and transferred to the wafer processing module 20, where they undergo the polishing process of the polishing unit, the cleaning process of the cleaning unit, and the drying process of the drying unit. The drying unit 23 uses a vertical drying process such as pull drying or spin drying. The transfer robot 21 grabs the vertical wafer from above the drying unit 23 and places it vertically on the carrier bracket 22. The wafer carrier bracket 22 flips the wafer to a horizontal state with the front side facing up, and the front robot 11 can then grab the wafer and transfer it out of the wafer processing module 20, and finally place it in the front-opening wafer transfer box 12.

[0064] Figure 2-Figure 3 The structural diagram of the carrier bracket 22 is shown in the figure. As shown in the figure, the carrier bracket 22 includes a main body 221 that can be turned around the driving axis. When the main body 221 is turned under the driving Figure 2 The horizontal state shown is between Figure 3 The main body 221 is provided with position-limiting members for supporting, limiting and carrying wafers on the circumference of one side surface, including two upper position-limiting members 224 and two lower position-limiting members 225, which are located on both sides of the drive shaft.

[0065] Figure 4 and Figure 5 The upper limit member 224 and the lower limit member 225 are schematic structural diagrams. As shown in the figure, the upper limit member 224 includes an upper bearing surface 2241 and an upper limit surface 2242, and the lower limit member 225 includes a lower bearing surface 2251, a lower limit surface 2252 and a hook portion 2253. When the main body 221 is in a vertical state, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, the upper limit member 224 is at the top and the lower limit member 225 is at the bottom. The wafer is placed obliquely in the space defined by the upper limit member 224 and the lower limit member 225 of the main body 221. The edge of the wafer supports the upper bearing surface 2241, the lower limit surface 2252 and the hook portion 2253. Figure 6 The wafer is indicated by the long dashed line.

[0066] Main body 221 along Figure 3 During the process of flipping from the vertical state to the horizontal state in the direction indicated by the middle arrow, the edge of the wafer slides along the upper bearing surface 2241 and the lower limit surface 2252 under the action of inertia and its own gravity. The direction and process of sliding are shown in FIG. Figure 6 As shown by the arrow in the middle. Until the main body 221 is turned to the horizontal state, as shown in FIG. Figure 6 The wafer indicated by the midpoint dashed line is supported by the upper supporting surface 2241 and the lower supporting surface 2251 and is in a horizontal state. The front robot 11 grabs the wafer and transfers it to the EFEM.

[0067] When a CMP device processes a wafer, there is a situation where the wafer cannot be completely flipped to a horizontal position (referred to as wafer jam). For example Figure 6 The wafer represented by the solid line, although the main body 221 is flipped to a horizontal state, the wafer is still stuck between the upper supporting surface 2241 and the lower limit surface 2252, and cannot slide to the lower supporting surface 2251. After analysis, it is mainly because there are wafers with large edge roughness, which causes the friction between the wafer and the limiter to be too large, and the wafer cannot slide normally. Once the wafer is stuck, the front robot 11 will not be able to grab the wafer normally, causing the machine to alarm and shut down, so manual intervention or replacement of the limiter is necessary, resulting in additional economic losses. What is more serious is that when the front robot 11 grabs the tilted wafer, it may collide with the wafer and cause fragments. Fragments are serious machine accidents, requiring a long period of shutdown for cleaning or even replacement of the entire unit where the fragments occur, causing huge economic losses.

[0068] However, even if the stoppers are made of a material with relatively good self-lubricating properties, and the upper bearing surface 2241 and the lower limiting surface 2252 are processed into specific shapes to reduce the impact of friction, wafer jams still occur randomly and irregularly. After repeated testing and verification, one of the reasons is that the continuous wear of the supporting surface by friction is uneven. When the supporting surface texture formed by the upper bearing surface 2241 and the lower limiting surface 2252 is highly consistent with the edge texture of a certain wafer, the wafer will not slide normally, while subsequent wafers may be completely unaffected, resulting in occasional wafer jams and causing economic losses.

[0069] The present invention provides a wafer carrying unit 100 for flipping a wafer from a vertical state to a horizontal state, and adjusting a stuck wafer to a horizontal state, thereby solving the above-mentioned technical problems.

[0070] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a wafer carrying unit 100 of the present invention, Figure 8 yes Figure 7 A side view of the wafer carrier unit 100 with the carrier bracket 22 in a vertical state, Figure 9 yes Figure 7 A schematic side view of the wafer carrier unit 100 with the carrier bracket 22 in a horizontal state. As shown in the figure, the wafer carrier unit 100 includes: a carrier bracket 22, a detection component 3 and an adjustment component 4.

[0071] The carrier 22 includes a main body 221 that can be rotated along a first axis, an upper stopper 224, a lower stopper 225, and a lower stopper driver 226. The upper stopper 224 and lower stopper driver 226 are fixedly mounted on one side of the main body 221, while the lower stopper 225 is movably mounted on the same side of the main body 221. The upper stopper 224 and lower stopper 225 are located on either side of the first axis. The lower stopper driver 226 is used to drive the lower stopper 225 toward or away from the center of the main body 221. When the lower stopper 225 is near the center of the main body 221, it forms a space for wafer placement with the upper stopper 224. When the lower stopper 225 is away from the center of the main body 221, it forms a space for adjusting the wafer angle with the upper stopper 224. When the main body 221 is rotated, it switches between a horizontal and vertical state. The upper stopper 224 and lower stopper 225 limit and support the wafers during the rotation of the main body 221.

[0072] The detection component 3 is used to detect the tilt angle of the wafer along the upper limit member 224 toward the lower limit member 225 when the main body 221 is flipped to a horizontal state. If the tilt angle detected by the detection component 3 is less than or equal to the preset threshold, it means that the wafer is not stuck and the front robot 11 can grab the wafer normally. The preset threshold can be determined based on the angle deviation allowed when the front robot grabs the wafer. If the tilt angle detected by the detection component 3 is greater than the preset threshold, it means that the wafer is stuck, and the adjustment component 4 is triggered to level the wafer. Optionally, Figure 4-Figure 6 As shown, the upper limit member includes an upper bearing surface 2241 and an upper limit surface 2242, and the lower limit member 225 includes a lower bearing surface 2251, a lower limit surface 2252, and a hook-shaped portion 2253. When the main body 221 is in a vertical position to place a wafer, the edge of the wafer abuts the upper bearing surface 2241, the lower limit surface 2252, and the hook-shaped portion 2253, so that the wafer remains in a nearly vertical position. When the main body 221 and the wafer are both in a horizontal position, the upper bearing surface 2241 and the lower bearing surface 2251 support the wafer, and the edge of the wafer abuts the upper bearing surface 2242 and the lower limit surface 2252. By limiting the number and position of the upper and lower limit members 224 and 225 and the shapes of the upper and lower limit surfaces 2241 and 2252, the wafer slides relative to the main body 221 along the lower limit member 225 toward the upper limit member 224 during the process of flipping to a horizontal position, and the direction is perpendicular to the first axis.

[0073] The adjustment component 4 includes an adjustment driver 41 and an adjustment support element 42. According to the tilt angle detected by the detection component 3, the adjustment driver 41 drives the adjustment support element 42 to support the wafer at the tilt angle, that is, the adjustment support element 42 remains parallel to the wafer when supporting the wafer, thereby ensuring the support stability of the wafer. The so-called support stability means that when the adjustment support element 42 supports the wafer, it can fully support the wafer without causing displacement of the wafer, so that the edge of the wafer will not produce reverse friction with the lower limit surface 2252. Even if the reverse friction does not cause serious accidents such as chipping and cracking of the wafer, it is easy to cause wear on the edge of the wafer and the lower limit surface 2252. The contaminants generated by the wear will adhere to the surface of the wafer, causing the wafers introduced into the front-opening wafer transfer box 12 to fail to meet the cleanliness requirements, thereby affecting subsequent processes and ultimately causing a decrease in chip yield, and even cross-diffusion of contaminants to affect other wafers.

[0074] After the adjustment support element 42 supports the wafer, the lower limit member driver 226 drives the lower limit member 225 away from the center of the main body 221 so that the edge of the wafer and the lower limit surface 2252 are out of contact, and while maintaining the out-of-contact state, the adjustment driver 41 drives the adjustment support element 42 to a horizontal state, thereby adjusting the wafer to a horizontal state.

[0075] During the process of adjusting the wafer to a horizontal state, since the wafer edge and the lower limit surface 2252 always keep in contact, neither the wafer nor the lower limit member 225 will be worn, thereby avoiding contamination or damage to the wafer and extending the service life of the lower limit member.

[0076] Optional, Figure 12 yes Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the relationship between the wafer position and parameters when the wafer is stuck in the wafer carrying unit 100 is shown. As shown in the figure, the main body 221 includes two upper limit members 224 and two lower limit members 225. The two upper limit members 224 and the two lower limit members 225 are axially symmetrically distributed about the same symmetry axis, and the symmetry axis is perpendicular to the first axis.

[0077] Optionally, the detection component 3 includes a first detection element 31, which is a photoelectric sensor located on the symmetry axis. When the main body 221 is flipped to a horizontal state, the first detection element 31 detects the distance h2 between the point on the lower surface of the wafer directly above the first detection element 31 and the first detection element 31. When h2>predetermined tilt threshold h b When the wafer is stuck, the tilt threshold h b Preferably, it is the height difference between the boundary line between the lower bearing surface 2251 and the lower limit surface 2252 and the detection surface of the laser ranging sensor.

[0078] Preferably, the first detection element 31 is a laser ranging sensor, which is arranged at the midpoint of the line connecting the centers of the two lower limit members 225 (the straight line is called the third axis). The tilt angle of the wafer is estimated by the following formula 1: Wherein, l is the distance between the midpoint of the line connecting the centers of the two lower limit members 225 and the midpoint of the line connecting the centers of the two upper limit members 224 (referred to as the center distance). The center of the lower limit member 225 is the midpoint of the intersection of the lower bearing surface 2251 and the lower limit surface 2252. The center of the upper limit member 224 is the midpoint of the intersection of the upper bearing surface 2241 and the upper limit surface 2242. The centers of the four limit members are at the same height to horizontally support the wafer.

[0079] Optionally, the detection component 3 further includes a second detection element 32, which is a photoelectric sensor located on the symmetry axis. When the main body 221 is flipped to a horizontal state, the second detection element 32 detects the distance h1 between the point directly above the second detection element 32 on the lower surface of the wafer and the second detection element 32. When h1>predetermined in-position threshold h a When the wafer is not in place, h a It is preferably twice the height difference between the boundary line between the upper bearing surface 2241 and the upper limit surface 2242 and the detection surface of the laser ranging sensor.

[0080] Preferably, the second detection element 32 is a laser ranging sensor, which is arranged at the midpoint of the line connecting the centers of the two upper limit members 224 (referred to as the second axis) and is located at the same height as the first detection element 31. The tilt angle of the wafer is calculated by the following formula 2: The center distance l is also the distance between the first detection element 31 and the second detection element 32. The center of the lower stopper 225 is the midpoint of the intersection of the lower bearing surface 2251 and the lower limit surface 2252. The center of the upper stopper 224 is the midpoint of the intersection of the upper bearing surface 2241 and the upper limit surface 2242. The centers of the four stoppers are at the same height. The tilt angle calculated by Formula 2 is more accurate than the tilt angle estimated by Formula 1.

[0081] The second detection element 32 can not only detect whether the wafer is in place first, thereby reducing detection and calculation when the wafer is not in place, but also improve the calculation accuracy of the tilt angle, and further increase the support stability of the adjustment support element 42 and the wafer.

[0082] Optionally, the supporting bracket 22 further includes a flip connection portion 222 and a flip drive motor 223, and the adjustment driver 41 includes an adjustment drive motor 411 and an adjustment drive arm 412. The flip drive motor 223 and the adjustment drive motor 411 are installed on the same fixed surface 1 at a certain interval, and their respective motor shafts pass through the fixed surface 1 and are then connected to the flip connection portion 222 and the adjustment drive arm 412 respectively. The other end of the flip connection portion 222 is fixedly connected to the main body 221, and the flip drive motor 223 drives the flip connection portion 222 to drive the main body 221 to rotate around the motor rotation axis. The center line of the motor rotation axis of the flip drive motor 223 is the first axis. The other end of the adjustment drive arm 412 is connected to the adjustment support element 42. The centerline of the motor shaft of the adjustment drive motor 411 is collinear with the line connecting the centers of the two upper limit positioning members 224 when the main body 221 is in a horizontal state (i.e., the second axis). This allows the adjustment drive arm 412 to drive the adjustment support element 42 to rotate about the second axis. When the main body 221 is in a vertical state, the adjustment support element 42 is located to one side of the main body 221. Preferably, the center of the upper limit positioning member 224 is the midpoint of the intersection of the upper bearing surface 2241 and the upper limit positioning surface 2242.

[0083] Optional, such as Figure 10 As shown, the main body 221 includes an avoidance portion 2211, and the adjustment support element 42 rotates under the drive of the adjustment drive arm 412 to pass through the side of the upper limit member 224 and through the avoidance portion 2211 from the bottom of the main body 221 until the adjustment support element 42 rotates to an inclined angle to complete the support of the wafer.

[0084] Optionally, the main body 221 is annular in shape and includes an arcuate member 2212 mounted on the inner side of the main body 221. The ends of the arcuate member 2212 correspond to the two lower stoppers 225. The avoidance portion 2211 is disposed between a pair of adjacent upper and lower stoppers 224 and 225, thereby preventing the support member 42 from interfering with the arcuate member 2212 during adjustment. The first detection element 31 is mounted on the arcuate member 2212.

[0085] Optional, such as Figure 11 As shown, the lower stopper driver 226 includes a thin cylinder 2261, a push rod 2262, a compression spring 2263, and a spring mounting seat 2264. The thin cylinder 2261 is mounted on the arc-shaped member 2212. One end of the push rod 2262 is connected to the thin cylinder 2261, and the other end is connected to the lower stopper 225. A groove 227 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 221 for mounting and radial movement of the lower stopper 225. A spring mounting seat 2264 is provided on one side of the groove 227 near the outer periphery of the main body 221. One end of the compression spring 2263 is fixed to the spring mounting seat 2264, and the other end is fixed to the lower stopper 225. The axes of the push rod 2262, the groove 227, and the compression spring 2263 coincide.

[0086] After adjusting the support element 42 to support the wafer, under the drive of the thin cylinder 2261, the push rod 2262 pushes the lower limit member 225 to compress the compression spring 2263, and the lower limit member 225 moves away from the center of the main body 221, contacts the wafer and leaves avoidance space for leveling the wafer.

[0087] After the support element 42 is adjusted to level the wafer, the thin cylinder 2261 stops driving the ejector rod 2262 , and the lower limiter 225 moves toward the center of the main body 221 under the action of the compression spring 2263 .

[0088] Optionally, a buffer block 2265 is provided on one side of the groove 227 close to the inner circumference of the main body 221, which is used to absorb the impact elastic potential energy when the compression spring 2263 is reset and to limit the lower limit member 225, so that the lower limit member 225 can return the wafer to the center while greatly reducing the disturbance to the wafer.

[0089] Optionally, the adjustable support element 42 includes a support element body 421 and a clamping portion 422. When the adjustable support element 42 is rotated to an inclined angle, the support element body 421 is not in contact with the wafer. The clamping portion 422 supports the wafer and has a limiting structure that limits the wafer's position, preventing the wafer from deflecting after losing support from the lower limit surface 2252.

[0090] Optionally, the clamping portion 422 further includes claws 4221 and a claw driving portion 4222. The claw driving portion 4222 is generally X-shaped to avoid the arc-shaped member 2212 and pass through the corresponding four avoidance portions 2211. The claws 4221 are higher than the upper surface of the support element body 421. The claw driving portion 4222 is installed on the surface of the support element body 421 at a certain interval so that the support element body 421 is located below the body 221 when the clamping portion 422 supports the wafer. This provides stable support for the clamping portion 422 without interfering with the body 221.

[0091] Driven by a pneumatic cylinder, the claw drive unit 4222 opens and closes the claws 4221. When the clamping unit 422 is rotated to an inclined angle, the open claws 4221 extend beyond the upper surface of the wafer from the circumference, allowing the inner edges of the claws 4221 to grip the edge of the wafer when closed. The clearance portion 2211 is configured to allow the open claws 4221 to pass through, allowing the claws 4221 to open before wafer leveling, close during wafer leveling, and open again after wafer leveling. This ensures that the claws 4221 do not interfere with the main body 221 and prevent the wafer from being abnormally supported.

[0092] Optionally, the number of the claws 4221 is 4, and when the clamping portion 422 is rotated to a horizontal state, the 4 claws are respectively axially symmetrically distributed along the straight line where the first axis is located and the axis of symmetry. Preferably, the claws 4221 open and close along the direction of the straight line where the first axis is located. Thus, the movement direction of the claws 4221 and the claw driving portion 4222 is perpendicular to the tilt angle of the wafer. The clamping distance of the claws 4221 when clamping the wafer is not affected by the tilt angle of the wafer, ensuring the clamping stability of the wafer. It also forms a 360° limit for the wafer together with the upper limit member 224 and the lower limit member 225, reducing the risk of the wafer slipping and deviating when clamping abnormalities or leveling abnormalities occur.

[0093] When the transfer robot 21 vertically places the wafer downward on the main body 221, it first passes through the area of the upper limit member 224. In order to prevent the wafer grasped by the transfer robot 21 from colliding with the upper limit member 224 and causing fragments, the vertical height of the upper limit surface 2242 is set very low, only equivalent to the thickness of the wafer or slightly higher than the thickness of the wafer. The vertical height of the lower limit surface 2252 is set slightly higher to ensure that the wafer is stably placed on the main body 221, while not affecting the front robot 11 to grasp the wafer and raise it above the lower limit member 225, thereby transferring the wafer out of the wafer processing module 20. This also explains the necessity of the adjustment component 4. If only the two lower limit members 225 are moved back to contact the wafer to form a falling space for the wafer, the falling process of the wafer will be in a free fall state without position limitation. Therefore, under the combined action of gravity, air resistance, etc., it will deviate in different directions during the falling process, which is especially likely to cause the wafer to slip out from the side of the upper limit surface 2242, and the front robot 11 will still be unable to grasp the wafer normally.

[0094] Optionally, the wafer is a 12-inch wafer with a thickness of approximately 0.8 mm. The height of the upper limit surface 2242 is set to 1-2 mm, the height of the lower limit surface 2252 is set to 5-10 mm, and the angle between the lower bearing surface 2251 and the lower limit surface 2252 is set to 95°-105°, so that the distance between the second axis and the equivalent axis of rotation of the wafer is in the millimeter level, so that the deviation between the calculated tilt angle and the actual tilt angle of the wafer (that is, the tilt angle relative to the equivalent axis of rotation) is less than 0.1°.

[0095] The present invention also provides a wafer post-processing device 1000, comprising: a wafer vertical processing unit 200, a transfer robot 21, and a wafer carrier unit 100. The wafer vertical processing unit 200 is a cleaning unit or drying unit, such as a drying unit 23, that processes wafers in a vertical state. The transfer robot 21 grabs processed wafers from the wafer vertical processing unit 200 and vertically places the wafers on the vertical main body 221 of the wafer carrier unit 100. The wafer carrier unit 100 is used to flip the wafers to a horizontal state.

[0096] The present invention also provides a wafer flipping method using the wafer carrying unit 100, such as Figure 13 As shown, the following steps are included:

[0097] S21. Detecting the tilt angle of the wafer;

[0098] S22. Control the adjustment driver 41 to drive the adjustment support element 42 to support the wafer at an inclined angle;

[0099] S23 controls the lower limit member driver 226 to drive the lower limit member 225 away from the center of the main body 221;

[0100] S24. Control the adjustment driver 41 to drive the adjustment support element 42 to a horizontal state;

[0101] S25 . Control the lower limit member driver 226 to drive the lower limit member 225 to move closer to the center of the main body 221 .

[0102] Optionally, before step S21, the following steps are further included:

[0103] S11. The wafer is placed on the main body 221, and the main body 221 is controlled to flip to a horizontal state;

[0104] S12. Check whether the wafer is in place;

[0105] S13. When it is detected that the wafer is in place, whether the wafer is in a horizontal state is detected. When it is detected that the wafer is not in a horizontal state, step S21 is executed.

[0106] Optionally, in step S12, the second detection element 32 is controlled to detect the first distance h1, when h1≤h a When the detection result is that the wafer is in place, where h a It is preferably twice the height difference between the boundary line between the upper bearing surface 2241 and the upper limit surface 2242 and the detection surface of the laser ranging sensor.

[0107] Optionally, in step S13, the first detection element 31 is controlled to detect the second distance h2. When h2 ≤ the predetermined distance h b When the detection result is that the wafer is in a horizontal state, where h b Preferably, it is the height difference between the boundary line between the lower bearing surface 2251 and the lower limit surface 2252 and the detection surface of the laser ranging sensor.

[0108] Optionally, after step S25, the following steps are further included:

[0109] S31. Control the adjustment driver 41 to drive the adjustment support element 42 to the initial state;

[0110] S32. Control the main body 221 to flip to a vertical state.

[0111] The present invention also provides a wafer processing device, such as Figure 14 As shown, it includes: a controller 2000 and a wafer post-processing device 1000, the controller is used to control the transfer robot 21 to grab the wafer from the wafer vertical processing unit 200 and place it on the main body 221, and control the wafer carrying unit 100 to perform the wafer flipping method of the present invention.

[0112] The above implementation methods are only used to illustrate the embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present invention. Ordinary technicians in the relevant technical field may make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical solutions also fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present invention, and the scope of patent protection of the embodiments of the present invention should be defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A wafer carrying unit, characterized in that: include: Carrying bracket, detection assembly and adjustment assembly; The carrying bracket includes a main body that can be turned along a first axis, the main body includes a fixed upper limit member, a lower limit member driver and a movably installed lower limit member, the upper limit member and the lower limit member are located on both sides of the first axis, and are used to limit and carry the wafer during the turning process of the main body, and the lower limit member driver is used to drive the lower limit member to move closer to or away from the center of the main body; The detection component is used to detect the tilt angle of the wafer along the direction from the upper limit member to the lower limit member when the main body is flipped to the horizontal state; The adjustment assembly includes an adjustment driver and an adjustment support element, wherein the adjustment driver drives the adjustment support element to support the wafer at the tilt angle, and drives the adjustment support element to a horizontal state after the lower limit member driver drives the lower limit member away; The wafer is adjusted to a horizontal state, and the wafer and the lower limit member are not worn.

2. The wafer carrying unit according to claim 1, wherein: The main body includes two upper limit members and two lower limit members, the two upper limit members and the two lower limit members are respectively axially symmetrically distributed about the same symmetry axis, and the symmetry axis is perpendicular to the first axis; The detection assembly includes a first detection element, which is located on the symmetry axis.

3. The wafer carrying unit according to claim 2, wherein: The adjustment drive includes an adjustment drive motor and an adjustment drive arm, the adjustment drive arm connects the adjustment drive motor and the adjustment support element, and the line connecting the centers of the two upper limit members is collinear with the center line of the motor shaft of the adjustment drive motor when the main body is in a horizontal state.

4. The wafer carrying unit according to claim 3, wherein: The main body includes an avoidance portion, and the adjustment support element is driven by the adjustment drive arm to rotate so as to pass through one side of the upper limit member, pass through the avoidance portion from below the main body, and support the wafer.

5. The wafer carrying unit according to claim 4, wherein: The adjusting support element comprises a support element body and a clamping portion, and when the clamping portion is rotated to the tilt angle, the support element body does not contact the wafer; The clamping portion supports the wafer and has a limiting structure for limiting the position of the wafer.

6. The wafer carrying unit according to claim 5, wherein: The clamping portion includes a claw and a claw driving portion, wherein the claw is higher than the surface of the supporting element body, and the claw driving portion drives the claw to open and close to clamp the edge of the wafer when closed; The escape portion allows the opened claw to pass through.

7. The wafer carrying unit according to claim 6, wherein: There are four claws. When the clamping portion rotates to a horizontal state, the four claws are axially symmetrically distributed about the straight line where the first axis is located and the axis of symmetry, and the claws open and close along the direction of the straight line where the first axis is located.

8. The wafer carrying unit according to claim 7, wherein: The upper limit member includes an upper bearing surface and an upper limit surface, and the lower limit member includes a lower bearing surface, a lower limit surface and a hook-shaped portion. The height of the upper limit surface is 1-2 mm, and the height of the lower limit surface is 5-10 mm. The wafer is 12-inch wafer; When the main body is in a vertical state, the edge of the wafer abuts against the upper bearing surface and the lower limit surface; When the main body and the wafer are in a horizontal state, the upper bearing surface and the lower bearing surface support the wafer, and the edge of the wafer is adjacent to the upper limit surface and the lower limit surface; The center of the upper limit member is the midpoint of the intersection line between the upper bearing surface and the upper limit surface; The center of the lower limit member is the midpoint of the intersection line of the lower bearing surface and the lower limit surface; So that the deviation between the tilt angle and the actual tilt angle of the wafer is less than 0.1°.

9. A wafer post-processing device, characterized in that: include: A wafer vertical processing unit, a transfer robot and a wafer carrying unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the transfer robot is used to grab the wafer from the wafer vertical processing unit and place the wafer on the main body in the vertical state in the wafer carrying unit, and the wafer carrying unit is used to flip the wafer to a horizontal state.

10. A wafer flipping method, characterized in that: The wafer carrying unit according to any one of claims 1 to 8 comprises: Detect the tilt angle of the wafer; controlling the adjustment driver to drive the adjustment support element to support the wafer at the tilt angle; controlling the lower limit member driver to drive the lower limit member away from the center of the main body; controlling the adjustment driver to drive the adjustment support element to a horizontal state; The lower limit member driver is controlled to drive the lower limit member to approach the center of the main body.

11. A wafer processing device, characterized in that: include: A controller and a wafer post-processing device as described in claim 9, wherein the controller is used to control the transfer robot to grab the wafer from the wafer vertical processing unit and place it on the main body, and to control the wafer carrying unit to perform the wafer flipping method as described in claim 10.

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