A wafer warpage conveying method and a conveying device

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a warped wafer transfer method and device, the method comprising: taking out a warped wafer from a first slot of a magazine by a Bernoulli arm and transferring it to a SUBCHUCK device; transferring the warped wafer, which has performed a pre-alignment operation, to a pre-calibrated loaded wafer position W2 by the Bernoulli arm, vertically moving a worktable to a pre-calibrated wafer handover height H1, opening a worktable vacuum, closing a Bernoulli arm blowing, and making the warped wafer fall onto the worktable; horizontally moving the worktable to a pre-calibrated auxiliary blowing position W3, opening an auxiliary blowing system located above the warped wafer, and making the warped wafer uniformly adsorbed onto the worktable. The transfer method and device provided by the present disclosure can improve the transfer efficiency of the warped wafer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for transporting warped wafers. Background Technology

[0002] In semiconductor manufacturing, wafers often warp or bend due to factors such as uneven stress, mismatched coefficients of thermal expansion, and excessively thin wafers. Warped wafers pose a significant challenge to the transfer and adhesion of wafers during probe station testing. Traditional wafer transfer methods cannot stably adhere to warped wafers, hindering successful transfer and even causing the wafers to detach or become damaged during transport.

[0003] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a method and apparatus that can adapt to the warped wafer deformation characteristics and achieve reliable wafer transport, in order to solve the problems of poor adhesion and high wafer breakage rate of warped wafers during automatic transport in the existing technology. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for transporting warped wafers, in order to solve the problems of poor adhesion and high wafer breakage rate during the transport process of wafers with curved or deformed surfaces.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a method for transferring warped wafers, comprising the following steps:

[0006] The warped wafer is removed from the first slot of the cassette using a Bernoulli arm and transferred to the SUBCHUCK device, which is configured to perform a pre-alignment operation on the warped wafer.

[0007] Using the Bernoulli arm, the pre-aligned warped wafer is transferred to the pre-marked wafer loading position W2. The work tray is vertically moved to the pre-marked wafer transfer height H1. The work tray vacuum is activated, and the Bernoulli arm air blowing is deactivated, allowing the warped wafer to fall onto the work tray.

[0008] The working disk is moved horizontally to the pre-marked auxiliary air blowing position W3, and the auxiliary air blowing system located above the warped wafer is turned on, so that the warped wafer is uniformly adsorbed onto the working disk.

[0009] Optionally, in the step of using a Bernoulli arm to remove the warped wafer from the first slot of the cassette and transfer it to the SUBCHUCK device, the step of using a Bernoulli arm to remove the warped wafer from the first slot of the cassette includes:

[0010] Place the Bernoulli arm at the pre-marked wafer pick-up position W1;

[0011] The Bernoulli arm is moved vertically downwards by a pre-calibrated lifting distance Δh, and the Bernoulli arm is activated to blow air and adsorb the warped wafer; and

[0012] The Bernoulli arm is moved vertically upward by a distance equal to the lifting distance Δh, and then the Bernoulli arm is moved horizontally to move the warped wafer out of the first slot.

[0013] Optionally, in the step of removing the warped wafer from the first slot of the cassette using a Bernoulli arm, the method for calibrating the wafer position W1 is as follows:

[0014] The Bernoulli arm is rotated horizontally so that it faces the cassette, wherein a standard wafer is pre-placed in the second slot of the cassette;

[0015] The Bernoulli arm is moved vertically so that the upper surface of the Bernoulli arm is a first preset distance from the lower surface of the standard wafer, wherein the first preset distance is in the range of 1mm to 3mm;

[0016] The Bernoulli arm is moved horizontally into the hopper, and its position is marked as the wafer pick-up position W1.

[0017] Optionally, in the step of removing the warped wafer from the first slot of the cassette using a Bernoulli arm, the method for calibrating the lifting distance Δh is as follows:

[0018] The Bernoulli arm is vertically moved downward at the wafer pick-up position W1, such that the lower surface of the Bernoulli arm is at a second preset distance from the highest point of the crystal surface of the warped wafer, wherein the range of the second preset distance is 1mm to 3mm.

[0019] The downward movement distance of the Bernoulli arm is defined as the lifting distance Δh.

[0020] Optionally, in the step of using a Bernoulli arm to remove the warped wafer from the first slot of the cassette and transfer it to the SUBCHUCK device, the process of transferring it to the SUBCHUCK device includes:

[0021] Move the Bernoulli arm horizontally so that it is positioned directly above the SUBCHUCK device.

[0022] Move the SUBCHUCK device vertically upward, turn on the SUBCHUCK vacuum, and turn off the Bernoulli arm air blowing, so that the warped wafer falls onto the SUBCHUCK device; rotate the SUBCHUCK device horizontally 360°, and mark the height of the SUBCHUCK device at this time as the junction height of the SUBCHUCK and Bernoulli arm wafers.

[0023] Optionally, the step of using a Bernoulli arm to remove the warped wafer from the first slot of the cassette and transfer it to the SUBCHUCK device further includes:

[0024] The SUBCHUCK device is moved vertically downwards, and the SUBCHUCK device is controlled to drive the warped wafer to rotate horizontally by 360°. During the rotation, the warped wafer does not interfere with the surrounding hardware. The height of the SUBCHUCK device at this time is marked as the pre-alignment height.

[0025] Optionally, in the step of using the Bernoulli arm to transfer the pre-aligned warped wafer to the pre-calibrated wafer loading position W2 and vertically moving the work tray to the pre-calibrated wafer handover height H1, the calibration method for the wafer loading position W2 is as follows:

[0026] Rotate the Bernoulli arm horizontally so that it faces the direction of the worktable;

[0027] The Bernoulli arm is moved vertically so that the lower surface of the warped wafer is a third preset distance from the upper surface of the work disk, wherein the third preset distance is in the range of 8mm to 12mm;

[0028] Move the Bernoulli arm horizontally so that the warped wafer is concentric with the worktable, and mark the position of the Bernoulli arm as the wafer loading position W2.

[0029] Optionally, in the step of using the Bernoulli arm to transfer the pre-aligned wafer to the pre-calibrated wafer loading position W2 and vertically moving the work tray to the pre-calibrated wafer handover height H1, the method for calibrating the wafer handover height H1 is as follows:

[0030] The work disk is moved vertically upwards so that the distance between the upper surface of the work disk and the lower surface of the warped wafer minus the wafer warping amount is a fourth preset distance, wherein the fourth preset distance is in the range of 1mm to 3mm; the height of the work disk is marked as the wafer junction height H1.

[0031] Optionally, in the step of horizontally moving the working disk to a pre-calibrated auxiliary air blowing position W3 and activating the auxiliary air blowing system located above the warped wafer to uniformly adsorb the warped wafer onto the working disk, the calibration method for the auxiliary air blowing position W3 is as follows:

[0032] Move the working disc horizontally so that its center is directly below the auxiliary air blowing system, and mark the position of the working disc as the auxiliary air blowing position W3.

[0033] In a second aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a warped wafer transport device, comprising:

[0034] Processor; and

[0035] Memory for storing the executable instructions of the processor;

[0036] The processor is configured to execute the method by executing the executable instructions.

[0037] Compared with related technologies, the embodiments of this disclosure have at least the following technical effects:

[0038] The warped wafer transport method and apparatus disclosed herein, through a calibration process, especially the calibration of wafer junction height, loading position and auxiliary air blowing position, can effectively ensure precise wafer docking and uniform adsorption. Furthermore, by utilizing the auxiliary air blowing system to optimize the surface of the warped wafer, the stability and adsorption uniformity of the wafer are further improved, thereby significantly improving the transport accuracy and efficiency of the warped wafer. Attached Figure Description

[0039] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure. It is obvious that the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this disclosure, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any inventive effort. In the drawings:

[0040] Figure 1 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating a warped wafer transfer method provided in some embodiments of this disclosure;

[0041] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of some devices involved in the warped wafer transport method provided in some embodiments of this disclosure;

[0042] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of some devices involved in the warped wafer transport method provided in some embodiments of this disclosure;

[0043] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of some devices involved in the warped wafer transport method provided in some embodiments of this disclosure;

[0044] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of some devices involved in the warped wafer transport method provided in some embodiments of this disclosure;

[0045] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a warped wafer transport device provided in some embodiments of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0046] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this disclosure clearer, the disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this disclosure, and not all of them. Based on the embodiments of this disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0047] The terminology used in the embodiments of this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of this disclosure. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” as used in the embodiments of this disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms, and “multiple” generally includes at least two unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0048] It should be understood that the term "and / or" used in this article is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0049] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used to describe embodiments of this disclosure, these should not be limited to these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish them. For example, first may also be referred to as second without departing from the scope of embodiments of this disclosure, and similarly, second may also be referred to as first.

[0050] It should also be noted that the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that an article or device that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such an article or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the article or device that includes said element.

[0051] As described in the background art, existing wafers are prone to surface bending or deformation due to problems such as uneven stress, mismatched coefficients of thermal expansion, or excessively thin thickness, thus forming warped wafers.

[0052] Warped wafers typically exhibit several typical morphologies: one is an upward arch at the center and a downward sloping edge, where the center of the wafer bends upwards while the edge is close to the support surface; another is a downward sloping center and an upward sloping edge, where the edge of the wafer is raised and the center is close to the support surface. In addition, there are wafers with asymmetrical warping or localized deformation, such as one edge being raised upwards or having localized bulges. The amount of warping (the vertical deviation between the highest and lowest points on the wafer surface, also known as warping degree) can range from tens to hundreds of micrometers, and the direction and degree of deformation vary significantly between batches, increasing the complexity of automated handling and alignment. Due to these warping morphologies, wafers often cannot achieve sufficient contact or stable adsorption during transport, easily leading to adsorption failure, slippage, or even wafer breakage.

[0053] To solve or at least alleviate the above-mentioned technical problems, one aspect of this disclosure provides a method for transferring warped wafers, comprising the following steps:

[0054] S100, using a Bernoulli arm, the warped wafer is removed from the first slot of the cassette and transferred to the SUBCHUCK device, which is configured to perform a pre-alignment operation on the warped wafer.

[0055] S200, using the Bernoulli arm, the warped wafer that has undergone pre-alignment is transferred to the pre-marked wafer loading position W2; the work tray is vertically moved to the pre-marked wafer transfer height H1; the work tray vacuum is activated; the Bernoulli arm air blowing is deactivated; and the warped wafer falls onto the work tray.

[0056] S300, the working disk is moved horizontally to the pre-marked auxiliary air blowing position W3, and the auxiliary air blowing system located above the warped wafer is turned on, so that the warped wafer is uniformly adsorbed onto the working disk.

[0057] As can be seen, the warped wafer transport method provided in this disclosure can effectively ensure the precise docking and uniform adsorption of wafers through the calibration process, especially the calibration of wafer junction height, loading position and auxiliary blowing position. Furthermore, by using the auxiliary blowing system to optimize the surface of the warped wafer, the stability and adsorption uniformity of the wafer are further improved, thereby significantly improving the processing accuracy and efficiency of warped wafers.

[0058] The optional embodiments of this disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0059] refer to Figures 1 to 5 This disclosure provides a method for transferring warped wafers, comprising the following steps:

[0060] S100, using the Bernoulli arm 20, the warped wafer 60 is removed from the first slot 11 of the cassette 10 and transferred to the SUBCHUCK device 30, which is configured to perform a pre-alignment operation on the warped wafer.

[0061] In this step, the Bernoulli arm 20 is a device that uses airflow control to adsorb and transport objects. It generates negative pressure to adsorb the warped wafer 60 and precisely move it to the desired position. The Bernoulli arm 20 is typically equipped with sensors to detect the wafer's adsorption status, such as whether the wafer is correctly adsorbed or if any abnormalities occur. When the sensors detect an abnormality, they will issue an alarm signal. The Bernoulli arm 20 is usually equipped with a precise position control system, enabling precise adjustment of the wafer's position. Specifically, in this embodiment, the position control system of the Bernoulli arm 20 includes: a horizontal forward / backward movement axis (i.e., horizontal feed axis L2), a vertical up / down movement axis (i.e., vertical lifting axis L3), and a horizontal rotational movement axis (i.e., rotation axis L5). Through the coordinated control of axes L2, L3, and L5, the Bernoulli arm 20 can accurately move the warped wafer 60 from one position to another, ensuring the stability of the warped wafer 60 throughout the transport process.

[0062] The cassette 10 is a container for storing wafers, and typically has multiple slots to facilitate the storage and retrieval of different wafers. The first slot 11 of the cassette 10 is the first slot for storing wafers, and wafers are usually retrieved from the first slot 11 first. In this embodiment, the slots are arranged vertically from bottom to top as follows: first slot 11, second slot 12... nth slot.

[0063] The SUBCHUCK device 30 (sub-chuck) is a device used to support and secure wafers. The SUBCHUCK device 30 can fix the wafer to its surface through vacuum adsorption and can precisely align the wafer, especially when transferring the wafer from the cassette to the work tray, testing equipment, or other processing equipment. The SUBCHUCK device 30 has a rotation function, typically rotating 360°, for adjusting the wafer angle or performing self-calibration to ensure the alignment accuracy of the wafer with other devices.

[0064] In some embodiments, the process of removing the warped wafer 60 from the first slot 11 of the cassette 10 using the Bernoulli arm 20 further includes the following steps:

[0065] S110, the Bernoulli arm 20 is placed at the pre-marked wafer pick-up position W1.

[0066] The wafer picking position W1 is a combination of the horizontal (L2 axis), vertical (L3 axis), and rotational (L5 axis) positions of the Bernoulli arm 20. After precise calibration, it can be ensured that the adsorption surface of the Bernoulli arm 20 stably adsorbs the wafer when picking it up, and will not interfere with the tank wall when entering and exiting the material box 10, thereby achieving stable adsorption and safe removal of the wafer.

[0067] As a specific example, the method for calibrating wafer position W1 includes the following steps:

[0068] S111, rotate the Bernoulli arm 20 horizontally so that the Bernoulli arm 20 faces the direction of the cassette 10, wherein the second slot 12 of the cassette 10 is pre-placed with a standard wafer.

[0069] As a specific operational example, the rotation axis L5 of the Bernoulli arm 20 is controlled to move so that the front end of the Bernoulli arm 20 faces the slot of the cassette 10; at this time, a standard wafer is pre-placed in the second slot 12 of the cassette 10 as a calibration reference wafer.

[0070] S112, the Bernoulli arm 20 is moved vertically so that the upper surface of the Bernoulli arm 20 is a first preset distance from the lower surface of the standard wafer, wherein the first preset distance is in the range of 1mm to 3mm, and specifically 2mm in this embodiment.

[0071] As a specific operational example, the vertical lifting axis L3 of the Bernoulli arm 20 is controlled to move downwards, so that the upper surface of the Bernoulli arm 20 gradually approaches the lower surface of the standard wafer in the second slot 12. The position of the vertical lifting axis L3 is recorded when the distance between the two axes is confirmed by a height sensor or mechanical limiter, and this position serves as a height reference for subsequent wafer retrieval operations.

[0072] S113, move the Bernoulli arm 20 horizontally so that the Bernoulli arm 20 enters the material box 10, and mark the position of the Bernoulli arm 20 as the wafer pick-up position W1.

[0073] As a specific operational example, the horizontal feed axis L2 is slowly moved forward, allowing the Bernoulli arm 20 to extend into the material container 10 and gradually approach the standard wafer. To avoid collisions between the wafer and the edge of the material container 10 during the movement of the Bernoulli arm 20, the positions of the L2 and L5 axes can be further fine-tuned to ensure that the tip of the Bernoulli arm 20 is aligned and free from interference. After confirming that the entry position is correct, the positions of the L2, L3, and L5 axes at this time are recorded as the wafer pick-up position W1.

[0074] S120, the Bernoulli arm 20 is moved vertically downward by a pre-calibrated lifting distance Δh, and the Bernoulli arm is activated to blow air to adsorb the warped wafer 60.

[0075] The calibration method for the lifting distance Δh is as follows:

[0076] The Bernoulli arm 20 is vertically moved downwards from the wafer pick-up position W1, such that the lower surface of the Bernoulli arm 20 is at a second preset distance from the highest point of the crystal surface of the warped wafer 60. This second preset distance ranges from 1mm to 3mm, and is specifically 2mm in this embodiment, to ensure stable wafer adsorption during the adsorption process without causing collisions or disturbances due to excessive distance. The downward movement distance of the Bernoulli arm 20 is denoted as the lifting distance Δh.

[0077] As a specific operational example, firstly, the Bernoulli arm 20 is placed at the wafer pick-up position W1 according to the aforementioned steps; then, a warped wafer 60 is placed in the first slot 11 of the material box 10; the L3 axis is controlled to descend slowly, during which the real-time distance between the lower surface of the Bernoulli arm 20 and the highest point of the crystal surface of the warped wafer 60 is detected by an optical sensor or a height sensor; when the vertical distance between the two reaches 2mm, the downward movement distance of the L3 axis is recorded at this time and calibrated as the lifting distance Δh; the calibrated Δh value can be used in subsequent batch picking to achieve stable adsorption and extraction of different warped wafers.

[0078] S130, the Bernoulli arm 20 is moved vertically upward by a distance equal to the lifting distance Δh, and the Bernoulli arm 20 is moved horizontally to move the warped wafer 60 out of the first groove 11.

[0079] The vertical upward movement is achieved by controlling the vertical lifting axis L3 of the Bernoulli arm 20 to move upward, with the displacement matching the lifting distance Δh in the previous step S120. This operation lifts the adsorbed warped wafer 60 from the slot and provides a safety clearance for subsequent horizontal removal, preventing interference between the edge of the warped wafer 60 and the slot wall of the cassette 10. Subsequently, the horizontal feed axis L2 of the Bernoulli arm 10 is controlled to move backward, allowing the Bernoulli arm 20 adsorbing the wafer to be smoothly withdrawn from the first slot 11 of the cassette 10.

[0080] As a specific operational example, after the adsorption operation is completed and the lifting distance Δh is calibrated, the L3 axis is controlled to move vertically upward by a distance of Δh, so that the Bernoulli arm 20, together with the adsorbed warped wafer 60, rises to a safe height to detach from the tank wall; then, the L2 axis is controlled to move smoothly in the horizontal opposite direction, so that the Bernoulli arm 20 slowly exits the material box 10.

[0081] After completing the above operations, the Bernoulli arm 20 successfully removes the warped wafer 60 from the first slot 11, ready to be transferred to the SUBCHUCK device 30 or other target locations for further processing.

[0082] Specifically, the process of transferring the material to the SUBCHUCK device 30 includes:

[0083] S140, move the Bernoulli arm 20 horizontally so that the Bernoulli arm 20 is directly above the SUBCHUCK device 30.

[0084] In this step, the Bernoulli arm 20 is moved from the hopper area to directly above the SUBCHUCK device 30 by coordinating the horizontal feed axis L2 and the rotation axis L5 of the Bernoulli arm 20.

[0085] S150, vertically move the SUBCHUCK device 30 upward, turn on the SUBCHUCK vacuum, turn off the Bernoulli arm air blowing, so that the warped wafer 60 falls onto the SUBCHUCK device 30; horizontally rotate the SUBCHUCK device 360°, and mark the height of the SUBCHUCK device 30 at this time as the junction height of the SUBCHUCK and Bernoulli arm wafers.

[0086] In this step, the SUBCHUCK device 30 is responsible for receiving and pre-aligning the warped wafer 60 from the Bernoulli arm 20. First, the vertical lifting axis (L6 axis) of the SUBCHUCK device 60 is controlled to move upward, gradually approaching the bottom surface of the warped wafer 60. When the two are close but not in contact, the SUBCHUCK vacuum adsorption system is activated and the air blowing system of the Bernoulli arm 20 is deactivated. At this time, due to the release of the Bernoulli adsorption force, the warped wafer 60 falls smoothly onto the upper surface of the SUBCHUCK device 30 under the action of gravity and the vacuum suction below.

[0087] To verify that the warped wafer 60 has been safely placed on the tray and to ensure its stable position, the SUBCHUCK device 30 is further controlled to rotate horizontally by 360°. During the rotation, the system monitors the wafer adsorption status sensor on the Bernoulli arm 20. If the warped wafer 60 has successfully detached from the surface of the Bernoulli arm 2, the sensor should no longer be triggered, thus confirming that the handover of the warped wafer 60 has been completed.

[0088] In some embodiments, after the wafer handover is completed by transferring the warped wafer 60 from the cassette to the SUBCHUCK device 30 using the Bernoulli arm 20, the following steps are further included:

[0089] The SUBCHUCK device 30 is moved vertically downwards, and the SUBCHUCK device 30 is controlled to drive the warped wafer 60 to rotate horizontally by 360°. During the rotation, the warped wafer 60 does not interfere with the surrounding hardware. The height of the SUBCHUCK device 30 at this time is marked as the pre-alignment height, which serves as a reference height for subsequent wafer angle correction, offset detection, and precise positioning.

[0090] S200, using the Bernoulli arm 20, the warped wafer 60 that has undergone pre-alignment is transferred to the pre-marked wafer loading position W2, the work tray 40 is vertically moved to the pre-marked wafer transfer height H1, the work tray vacuum is turned on, the Bernoulli arm air blowing is turned off, so that the warped wafer 60 falls onto the work tray 40.

[0091] In this step, the working disk 40 includes multiple control axes for controlling its position and attitude. Among them, the P2 axis serves as the vertical lifting axis of the working disk 40 and is used to adjust the height of the working disk 40 in the vertical direction. The P5 axis serves as the horizontal X-axis of the working disk 40 and is used to control the forward and backward movement of the working disk in the horizontal direction. The P6 axis serves as the horizontal Y-axis of the working disk 40 and works in conjunction with the P5 axis to ensure the left and right movement of the working disk in the horizontal direction.

[0092] The method for calibrating the wafer loading position W2 specifically includes:

[0093] S210, rotate the Bernoulli arm 20 horizontally so that the Bernoulli arm 20 faces the working plate 40.

[0094] As a specific operational example, the rotation axis L5 of the Bernoulli arm 20 is controlled so that the front of the Bernoulli arm 20 faces the working plate 40.

[0095] S220, the Bernoulli arm 20 is moved vertically so that the lower surface of the warped wafer 60 is a third preset distance from the upper surface of the work disk 40, wherein the third preset distance is in the range of 8mm to 12mm, and in this embodiment it can be 10mm.

[0096] This step allows the Bernoulli arm 20, carrying the warped wafer 60, to align with the loading position of the work tray 40 while maintaining a safe vertical clearance, thus providing a height reference for setting the subsequent handover height H1.

[0097] As a specific operational example, after completing the horizontal rotation positioning described in S210, the vertical lifting axis L3 of the Bernoulli arm 20 is slowly lowered; the vertical distance between the lower surface of the warped wafer 60 and the upper surface of the worktable 40 is determined by displacement calculation inside the height sensor or controller; when the vertical distance reaches 10mm, the descent of axis L3 is stopped; at this time, a safe gap is maintained between the Bernoulli arm 20 and the worktable 40.

[0098] S230, move the Bernoulli arm 20 horizontally so that the warped wafer 60 is concentric with the work disk 40, and mark the position of the Bernoulli arm 20 as the loading wafer position W2.

[0099] In this step, by controlling the horizontal position of the Bernoulli arm 20, the geometric center of the warped wafer 60 is made to coincide with the center of the working disk 40, thereby ensuring the concentricity of placement and the accuracy of vacuum adsorption in the subsequent disk placement process.

[0100] As a specific operational example, after completing the vertical positioning described in S220, the horizontal forward / backward axis L2 of the Bernoulli arm 20 is controlled to move forward. The image recognition module can be invoked to obtain the deviation information between the edge contour of the warped wafer 60 and the edge of the worktable 40, calculate its center offset, and drive the L2 axis to achieve directional adjustment based on the offset result. After adjustment, the center of the warped wafer 60 basically coincides with the center of the worktable 40. The combined position of the Bernoulli arm 20 on axes L2, L3, and L5 at this time is recorded and calibrated as the wafer loading position W2.

[0101] The method for calibrating the wafer junction height H1 is as follows: The work disk 40 is vertically moved upwards until the distance between the upper surface of the work disk 40 and the lower surface of the warped wafer 60, minus the wafer warping amount, is a fourth preset distance. This fourth preset distance ranges from 1mm to 3mm, and in this embodiment, it can be 2mm. The height of the work disk 40 is then calibrated as the wafer junction height H1.

[0102] As a specific operational example, after the Bernoulli arm 20 aligns the warped wafer 60 with the center of the work tray 40 and maintains a vertical distance in the aforementioned step S230, the position of the Bernoulli arm 20 remains unchanged; the vertical lifting axis P2 of the work tray 40 is controlled to rise slowly; at the same time, the vertical distance between the upper surface of the work tray 40 and the lowest point of the crystal surface of the lower surface of the warped wafer 60 is measured by a height sensor, laser ranging system or built-in encoder; when the distance is detected to reach 2mm, the rise of the P2 axis is immediately stopped; the vertical height of the work tray 40 on the P2 axis at this time is recorded, and this height is used as the wafer handover height H1 in subsequent operations.

[0103] Setting the wafer handover height H1 ensures that the wafer can fall naturally and stably onto the surface of the work tray 40 after being released from adsorption by the Bernoulli arm 20. This avoids impact from excessive height and premature contact between the wafer and the tray surface or interference with the adsorption system due to insufficient height. This calibration method is applicable to batch processing of wafers with various degrees of warpage.

[0104] S300, the working disk 40 is moved horizontally to the pre-marked auxiliary air blowing position W3, and the auxiliary air blowing system 50 located above the warped wafer 60 is turned on, so that the warped wafer is uniformly adsorbed onto the working disk 40.

[0105] In this step, the auxiliary air blowing system 50 is a directional airflow device installed above the work tray 40. It generates a downward airflow after the wafer is placed on the tray, overcoming the wafer warpage tension and allowing the warped portion to quickly and evenly adhere to the adsorption surface of the work tray 40. The auxiliary air blowing system 50 may include: an air outlet channel connected to the air source system, a multi-hole annular air outlet head or air outlet nozzle, an adjustable pressure air outlet valve, and other structures.

[0106] The auxiliary air blowing position W3 is the position where the working disk 40 moves horizontally to align with the air outlet of the auxiliary air blowing system 50. This position is pre-calibrated to ensure that the auxiliary air blowing airflow acts vertically on the upper surface area of ​​the warped wafer 60, thereby causing the warped part of the warped wafer 60d to gradually adhere to the surface of the working disk 40, improving the uniformity and stability of adsorption.

[0107] The method for calibrating the auxiliary air blowing position W3 is as follows: move the working disk 40 horizontally so that the center of the working disk 40 is directly below the auxiliary air blowing system 50, and mark the position of the working disk 40 as the auxiliary air blowing position W3.

[0108] As a specific operational example, after the wafer handover is completed, the P5 and P6 axes of the control worktable 40 are moved along a preset trajectory, causing the entire worktable 40 to move directly below the auxiliary air blowing system 50. After reaching the position directly below the auxiliary air blowing system 50, it is confirmed that the center of the current worktable 40 is aligned with the center of the auxiliary air blowing system 50, and the worktable 40 is fully entered into the auxiliary air blowing area. The auxiliary air blowing system 50 is then controlled to open the exhaust valve and begin releasing vertical airflow at a set pressure (e.g., 0.05–0.1 MPa) for a duration of 1–10 seconds. Under the action of the airflow, the warped wafer 60 is bent downwards and adheres. When the feedback wafer is fully adhered, the auxiliary air blowing system 50 is turned off. At this point, the warped wafer 60 is uniformly and firmly adsorbed onto the worktable 40, completing the loading process.

[0109] The coordinated operation of the working tray 40 and the auxiliary air blowing system 50 provides a non-contact flattening method for the warped wafer 60, which is particularly suitable for avoiding manual intervention in automated scenarios and improving wafer surface quality.

[0110] Compared to existing technologies, the warped wafer transport method provided in this disclosure can effectively ensure precise wafer docking and uniform adsorption through the calibration process, especially the calibration of wafer junction height, loading position and auxiliary air blowing position. Furthermore, by optimizing the warped wafer surface using the auxiliary air blowing system, the stability and adsorption uniformity of the wafer are further improved, thereby significantly improving the processing accuracy and efficiency of warped wafers.

[0111] like Figure 6 As shown, in one aspect of this disclosure, a warped wafer transport apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, the instructions being executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the method steps as described in the above embodiments.

[0112] This disclosure provides a non-volatile computer storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that can perform the steps described in the above embodiments.

[0113] The transmission device may include a processing device (e.g., a central processing unit) 401, which can perform various appropriate actions and processes according to a program stored in read-only memory (ROM) 402 or a program loaded from storage device 408 into random access memory (RAM) 403. The RAM 403 also stores various programs and data required for the operation of the transmission device. The processing device 401, ROM 402, and RAM 403 are interconnected via bus 404. An input / output (I / O) interface 405 is also connected to bus 404.

[0114] Typically, the following devices can be connected to I / O interface 406: input devices 406 including, for example, touch screen, touchpad, keyboard, mouse, camera, microphone, etc.; output devices 407 including, for example, liquid crystal display (LCD), speaker, etc.; storage devices 408 including, for example, magnetic tape, hard disk, etc.; and communication devices 409.

[0115] Finally, it should be noted that the various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on its differences from other embodiments. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to interchangeably. For the systems or apparatus disclosed in the embodiments, since they correspond to the methods disclosed in the embodiments, the descriptions are relatively simple, and relevant parts can be referred to the method section.

[0116] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this disclosure, and are not intended to limit it. Although this disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for transferring warped wafers, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: The warped wafer is removed from the first slot of the cassette using a Bernoulli arm and transferred to the SUBCHUCK device, which is configured to perform a pre-alignment operation on the warped wafer. Using the Bernoulli arm, the warped wafer that has undergone pre-alignment is transferred to the pre-marked wafer loading position W2. The work tray is moved vertically to the pre-marked wafer transfer height H1. The work tray vacuum is turned on and the Bernoulli arm air blowing is turned off, so that the warped wafer falls onto the work tray. as well as The working disk is moved horizontally to the pre-marked auxiliary air blowing position W3, and the auxiliary air blowing system located above the warped wafer is turned on, so that the warped wafer is uniformly adsorbed onto the working disk.

2. The warped wafer transfer method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of removing the warped wafer from the first slot of the cassette using a Bernoulli arm and transferring it to the SUBCHUCK device includes: Place the Bernoulli arm at the pre-marked wafer pick-up position W1; The Bernoulli arm is moved vertically downwards by a pre-calibrated lifting distance Δh, and the Bernoulli arm is activated to blow air and adsorb the warped wafer; and The Bernoulli arm is moved vertically upward by a distance equal to the lifting distance Δh, and then the Bernoulli arm is moved horizontally to move the warped wafer out of the first slot.

3. The warped wafer transport method according to claim 2, characterized in that, In the step of removing the warped wafer from the first slot of the cassette using a Bernoulli arm, the method for calibrating the wafer position W1 is as follows: The Bernoulli arm is rotated horizontally so that it faces the cassette, wherein a standard wafer is pre-placed in the second slot of the cassette; The Bernoulli arm is moved vertically so that the upper surface of the Bernoulli arm is a first preset distance from the lower surface of the standard wafer, wherein the first preset distance is in the range of 1mm to 3mm; The Bernoulli arm is moved horizontally into the hopper, and its position is marked as the wafer pick-up position W1.

4. The warped wafer transport method according to claim 3, characterized in that, In the step of removing the warped wafer from the first slot of the cassette using a Bernoulli arm, the method for calibrating the lifting distance Δh is as follows: The Bernoulli arm is vertically moved downward at the wafer pick-up position W1, such that the lower surface of the Bernoulli arm is at a second preset distance from the highest point of the crystal surface of the warped wafer, wherein the range of the second preset distance is 1mm to 3mm. The downward movement distance of the Bernoulli arm is defined as the lifting distance Δh.

5. The method for transferring warped wafers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of using a Bernoulli arm to remove the warped wafer from the first slot of the cassette and transfer it to the SUBCHUCK device includes the following process: Move the Bernoulli arm horizontally so that it is positioned directly above the SUBCHUCK device. Move the SUBCHUCK device vertically upward, turn on the SUBCHUCK vacuum, and turn off the Bernoulli arm air blowing, so that the warped wafer falls onto the SUBCHUCK device; rotate the SUBCHUCK device horizontally 360°, and mark the height of the SUBCHUCK device at this time as the junction height of the SUBCHUCK and Bernoulli arm wafers.

6. The warped wafer transport method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The step of using a Bernoulli arm to remove the warped wafer from the first slot of the cassette and transfer it to the SUBCHUCK device further includes: The SUBCHUCK device is moved vertically downwards, and the SUBCHUCK device is controlled to drive the warped wafer to rotate horizontally by 360°. During the rotation, the warped wafer does not interfere with the surrounding hardware. The height of the SUBCHUCK device at this time is marked as the pre-alignment height.

7. The warped wafer transfer method according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the step of using the Bernoulli arm to transfer the pre-aligned warped wafer to the pre-calibrated wafer loading position W2 and vertically moving the work tray to the pre-calibrated wafer handover height H1, the calibration method for the wafer loading position W2 is as follows: Rotate the Bernoulli arm horizontally so that it faces the direction of the worktable; The Bernoulli arm is moved vertically so that the lower surface of the warped wafer is a third preset distance from the upper surface of the work disk, wherein the third preset distance is in the range of 8mm to 12mm; Move the Bernoulli arm horizontally so that the warped wafer is concentric with the worktable, and mark the position of the Bernoulli arm as the wafer loading position W2.

8. The warped wafer transfer method according to claim 7, characterized in that, In the step of using the Bernoulli arm to transfer the pre-aligned warped wafer to the pre-calibrated wafer loading position W2, and vertically moving the work tray to the pre-calibrated wafer handover height H1, the calibration method for the wafer handover height H1 is as follows: The work disk is moved vertically upwards so that the distance between the upper surface of the work disk and the lower surface of the warped wafer minus the wafer warping amount is a fourth preset distance, wherein the fourth preset distance is in the range of 1mm to 3mm; the height of the work disk is marked as the wafer junction height H1.

9. The method for transferring warped wafers according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the step of horizontally moving the working disk to the pre-calibrated auxiliary air blowing position W3 and activating the auxiliary air blowing system located above the warped wafer to uniformly adsorb the warped wafer onto the working disk, the calibration method for the auxiliary air blowing position W3 is as follows: Move the working disc horizontally so that its center is directly below the auxiliary air blowing system, and mark the position of the working disc as the auxiliary air blowing position W3.

10. A warped wafer transport device, characterized in that, include: processor; as well as Memory for storing the executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to execute the method of any one of claims 1-9 by executing the executable instructions.

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