Wafer carrier and wafer transfer device

Abstract

The application provides a wafer carrier and wafer transfer device, and belongs to the technical field of semiconductor driving. The wafer carrier comprises a carrier seat, a support module, a lifting and leveling module, a rotary driving module, a gravity balance module and a wafer carrier disc. The support module is arranged on the carrier seat through the lifting and leveling module and the gravity balance module, the rotary driving module is arranged at the middle part of the support module and drives the support module to rotate, and the wafer carrier disc is connected to the upper part of the support module. The application integrates the functions of leveling, Z rotation, lifting and the like, adopts air floating magnetic position locking and gravity balance, and is more precise in driving control. The wafer transfer device is stable as a whole, accurate in guiding, high in wafer driving efficiency, and convenient for popularization and application in the fields of semiconductor detection, manufacturing and high-end precision instrument driving.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to semiconductor driving technology, specifically relating to a wafer stage and a wafer transfer device. Background Technology

[0002] In semiconductor wafer inspection and processing equipment, wafers typically need to be supported and positioned by a stage. However, existing stages generally only allow for height adjustment and rotation around the Z-axis, and cannot adjust the flatness of the XY plane. Therefore, to improve the high-precision adjustability of wafer support, a wafer stage with lifting, Z-axis rotation, XY leveling, and Z-axis separation and lifting capabilities needs to be designed. This would provide high-precision wafer support for scenarios such as overlay, defect, CD (critical dimension) quantity inspection, and processing. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention aims to provide a wafer stage and a wafer transfer device that can solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0004] A wafer carrier includes a carrier base, a support module, a lifting and leveling module, a rotation drive module, a gravity balance module, and a wafer carrier disk; the support module is mounted on the carrier base via the lifting and leveling module and the gravity balance module, the rotation drive module is located in the middle of the support module and drives the support module to rotate, and the wafer carrier disk is connected to the top of the support module.

[0005] Furthermore, the platform includes a platform body, on the upper surface of which are formed a rotary mounting countersunk hole, multiple lifting mounting countersunk holes, and gravity balancing mounting countersunk holes; the multiple lifting mounting countersunk holes and gravity balancing mounting countersunk holes are evenly distributed in a ring around the outer periphery of the rotary mounting countersunk hole; the rotary mounting countersunk hole is used to install the bottom of the rotary drive module, the lifting mounting countersunk hole is used to install the bottom of the lifting and leveling module, and the gravity balancing mounting countersunk hole is used to install the bottom of the gravity balancing module.

[0006] Furthermore, the support module includes a support plate, a lower leaf spring, and an upper leaf spring; the lower leaf spring has a central opening and a radially spaced groove forming a spring plate area, and the ends of different spring plate areas near the central opening are connected to the lower surface of the support plate and the upper surface of the middle of the platform.

[0007] Furthermore, the lifting and leveling module includes a lifting voice coil motor, a lifting grating ruler assembly, a lifting subdivision box, and a lifting limit assembly; the bottoms of multiple lifting voice coil motors are connected to the corresponding lifting mounting countersunk holes on the platform, and the tops of the lifting voice coil motors are connected to the support plate; the lifting grating ruler assembly is connected to the support plate through a grating frame; the lifting grating ruler assembly is electrically connected to the lifting subdivision box; the lifting limit assembly is connected to the platform and the support plate, and monitors the Z-axis position and limit of the lifting voice coil motor through both mechanical and photoelectric dual modes.

[0008] Furthermore, the rotary drive module includes an air float shaft assembly, two sets of arc-shaped voice coil motors, air float heads, and rotary positioning magnets. The bottom of the air float shaft assembly is non-connected and embedded in a rotary mounting countersunk hole on the top surface of the platform, while the top of the air float shaft assembly is connected to the middle of the upper leaf spring. The two sets of arc-shaped voice coil motors are symmetrically arranged on the outer periphery of the air float shaft assembly to drive the upper leaf spring to rotate relative to the axis of the air float shaft assembly. Multiple air float heads and rotary positioning magnets are evenly distributed on the upper leaf spring. The air float heads are connected to the outer corner mounting heads of the upper leaf spring, and the rotary positioning magnets are magnetically attached to the locking mounting holes opened in the support plate. The blowing and sucking air of the air float heads drives the rotary positioning magnets to engage and disengage with the top surface of the support plate.

[0009] Furthermore, the gravity balance module includes a magnetic spring transition sleeve, a magnetic spring mover, and a magnetic spring stator; the top of the magnetic spring transition sleeve is connected to the bottom surface of the air-floating base plate or support plate, the bottom of the magnetic spring mover is connected to the lower part of the magnetic spring transition sleeve, the lower part of the magnetic spring mover is non-contactly embedded in the receiving cavity of the magnetic spring stator, and the bottom of the magnetic spring stator is connected to the gravity balance mounting countersunk hole of the platform.

[0010] Furthermore, the wafer carrier includes a carrier body, with multiple carrier adsorption lugs radially extended on the outer periphery of the carrier body, wafer chucks on the carrier adsorption lugs, and two wafer fork slots formed on the upper surface of the carrier body.

[0011] The present invention also provides a wafer transfer device, including a first Y-axis drive module and a second Y-axis drive module mounted on a vibration damping platform. The two ends of the X-axis drive module are connected and supported by corresponding Y-axis drive modules. The wafer adsorption stage adopts the aforementioned wafer carrier and is mounted on the X-axis drive module. The first Y-axis drive module and the second Y-axis drive module are independently driven and controlled and can be calibrated in real time and periodically to eliminate the residual caused by the non-orthogonality between the X-axis drive module and the two Y-axis drive modules.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: The wafer stage of this application integrates functions such as leveling, Z-rotation, and lifting, and adopts air-float magnetic position locking and gravity balance, which makes the drive control more precise. The wafer transfer device is stable and accurate in guidance, and the wafer driving efficiency is high, which facilitates its application in the fields of semiconductor testing, manufacturing and high-precision instrument driving. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the wafer stage of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the platform. Figures 3-5 This is a partial structural diagram of a wafer stage. Figure 6 for Figure 5 Sectional view of AA; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a wafer transfer device.

[0014] In the picture: 10. Platform; 11. Platform body; 12. Rotary countersunk hole; 13. Lifting countersunk hole; 14. Gravity-balanced countersunk hole; 20. Support module; 21. Support plate; 22. Lower leaf spring; 23. Upper leaf spring; 30. Lifting and leveling module; 31. Lifting voice coil motor; 32. Lifting grating ruler assembly; 33. Lifting subdivision box; 34. Lifting limit assembly; 35. Z-axis mounting top plate; 40. Rotary drive module; 41. Air float cylinder shaft assembly; 42. Arc voice coil motor; 43. Air float head; 44. Rotary positioning magnet; 45. Air float base plate; 46. Rotary grating assembly; 47. Rotary limit assembly; 48. Air float sleeve mounting plate; 50. Gravity balance module; 51. Magnetic spring transition sleeve; 52. Magnetic spring mover; 53. Magnetic spring stator; 60. Wafer carrier; 61. Carrier body; 62. Carrier suction lug; 63. Wafer suction block; 64. Wafer fork slot; 100. Vibration damping platform; 200, Y-axis first drive module; 300, Y-axis second drive module; 400, X-axis drive module; 500. Wafer adsorption stage. Detailed Implementation

[0015] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0016] wafer stage A wafer carrier, see Figures 1-7 The wafer stage includes a stage base 10, a support module 20, a lifting and leveling module 30, a rotation drive module 40, a gravity balance module 50, and a wafer carrier disk 60.

[0017] Arrangement: The support module 20 is mounted on the stage 10 via the lifting and leveling module 30 and the gravity balance module 50. The rotation drive module 40 is located in the middle of the support module 20 and drives the support module 20 to rotate. The wafer carrier 60 is connected above the support module 20.

[0018] Among them, see Figure 2 The platform 10 includes a platform body 11, on the upper surface of which are formed a rotary mounting countersunk hole 12, a plurality of lifting mounting countersunk holes 13 and a gravity balancing mounting countersunk hole 14; the plurality of lifting mounting countersunk holes 13 and gravity balancing mounting countersunk holes 14 are evenly distributed in a ring around the outer periphery of the rotary mounting countersunk hole 12; the rotary mounting countersunk hole 12 is used to mount the bottom of the rotary drive module 40, the lifting mounting countersunk hole 13 is used to mount the bottom of the lifting and leveling module 30, and the gravity balancing mounting countersunk hole 14 is used to mount the bottom of the gravity balancing module 50.

[0019] Among them, see Figure 3 and Figure 4 The support module 20 includes a support plate 21, a lower leaf spring 22, and an upper leaf spring 23. The lower leaf spring 22 has a central opening and radially spaced grooves forming multiple spring plate areas. The ends of different spring plate areas near the central opening are connected to the lower surface of the support plate 21 and the upper surface of the middle portion of the platform 10. The upper leaf spring 23 is a triangular shape with curved edges, and has a central opening that connects to the upper surface of the support plate 21.

[0020] In a specific example, the lower leaf spring 22 is connected to the support plate 21 near the center opening via a leaf spring pressure block and a leaf spring screw.

[0021] Among them, see Figure 3 and Figure 4 The lifting and leveling module 30 includes a lifting voice coil motor 31, a lifting grating ruler assembly 32, a lifting subdivision box 33, and a lifting limit assembly 34.

[0022] The bottoms of multiple lifting voice coil motors 31 are connected to the corresponding lifting mounting countersunk holes 13 of the platform 10, and the tops of the lifting voice coil motors 31 are connected to the support plate 21; the lifting grating ruler assembly 32 is connected to the support plate 21 through the grating frame; the lifting grating ruler assembly 32 is electrically connected to the lifting subdivision box 33; the lifting limit assembly 34 is connected to the platform 10 and the support plate 21, and monitors the Z-axis position and limit of the lifting voice coil motors 31 through mechanical and photoelectric dual modes.

[0023] Furthermore, the lifting and leveling module 30 also includes a Z-axis mounting top plate 35 for connecting the top of the lifting voice coil motor 31 and the top of the grating frame of the lifting grating ruler assembly 32 with the support plate 21.

[0024] The lifting and leveling module 30 is set in three groups, with three corresponding lifting mounting holes on the support plate 21. The top of the lifting voice coil motor 31 and the top of the grating frame of the lifting grating ruler assembly 32 are connected to the Z-axis mounting plate 35 above through the lifting mounting holes.

[0025] The lifting grating ruler assembly 32 includes a lifting grating, a lifting grating frame, a lifting reading frame, and a lifting reading head, all of which are located at and below the lifting mounting hole.

[0026] The lifting subdivision box 33 is mounted on the platform 10 via a box frame and is electrically connected to the lifting reading head of the lifting grating ruler assembly 32, thereby achieving subdivision of the lifting position to improve detection accuracy.

[0027] The lifting limit assembly 34 includes a mechanical limit component and a photoelectric limit component, which are disposed on the outer periphery of the support plate 21.

[0028] Among them, see Figures 3-6 The rotary drive module 40 includes an air float shaft assembly 41, two sets of arc voice coil motors 42, an air float head 43, and a rotary positioning magnet 44.

[0029] The bottom of the air float shaft assembly 41 is non-connected and embedded in the rotary mounting countersunk hole 12 on the top surface of the platform 10. The top of the air float shaft assembly 41 is connected to the middle of the upper leaf spring 23. Two sets of arc-shaped voice coil motors 42 are symmetrically arranged on the outer periphery of the air float shaft assembly 41 to drive the upper leaf spring 23 to rotate relative to the axis of the air float shaft assembly 41. Multiple air float heads 43 and rotary positioning magnets 44 are evenly distributed on the upper leaf spring 23. The air float heads 43 are connected to the outer corner mounting head of the upper leaf spring 23. The rotary positioning magnets 44 are magnetically attached to the locking mounting holes opened in the support plate 21. The bottom of the air float head 43 is connected to the top of the rotary positioning magnet 44. The blowing and sucking of the air float head 43 drives the rotary positioning magnet 44 to engage and disengage with the top surface of the support plate 21.

[0030] In a specific example, the air float shaft assembly 41 includes an air float and an air float guide shaft embedded in the cavity of the air float. The stator end of the arc voice coil motor 42 is connected to the outer periphery of the air float, the top surface of the air float is connected to the middle of the bottom surface of the upper leaf spring 23, and the mover end of the arc voice coil motor 42 is connected to the support plate 21.

[0031] In the illustrated example, the moving end of the arc voice coil motor 42 is first connected to an air bearing mounting plate 48, and the air bearing mounting plate 48 is then connected to the support plate 21.

[0032] The air flotation guide shaft of the air flotation cylinder shaft assembly 41 is connected to the air flotation sleeve mounting plate 48 via a cylinder shaft lug extending from the top.

[0033] The air float head 43 is cylindrical, with a cylindrical rotating positioning magnet 44 set in the hollow middle, and the rotating positioning magnet 44 is fixed to the air float head 43 by a magnetic screw, so that the air float head 43 has an annular blowing surface along the outer periphery of the rotating positioning magnet 44.

[0034] Furthermore, the rotary drive module 40 also includes an air-floating base plate 45. The locking mounting hole of the support plate 21 is a through hole. The air-floating base plate 45 is located below the support plate 21 and blocks the locking mounting hole. The bottom of the rotary positioning magnet 44 is magnetically attracted to the air-floating base plate 45 and is controlled by the air-floating head 43 to engage or disengage.

[0035] In this example, the support plate 21 is made of a non-magnetic material, so a ferromagnetic air-floating base plate 45 is provided. This reduces the overall weight of the platform.

[0036] Furthermore, the rotary drive module 40 also includes a rotary grating assembly 46 and a rotary limiting assembly 47. The rotary grating assembly 46 is disposed on a support plate 21 on the outer side of one air float 43, and the rotary limiting assembly 47 is disposed on the support plates 21 on the outer side of the remaining air floats 43.

[0037] Among them, see Figures 3-6 The gravity balance module 50 includes a magnetic spring transition sleeve 51, a magnetic spring mover 52, and a magnetic spring stator 53. The top of the magnetic spring transition sleeve 51 is connected to the bottom surface of the air-floating base plate 45 or the support plate 21. The bottom of the magnetic spring mover 52 is connected to the lower part of the magnetic spring transition sleeve 51. The lower part of the magnetic spring mover 52 is non-contactly embedded in the receiving cavity of the magnetic spring stator 53. The bottom of the magnetic spring stator 53 is connected to the gravity balance mounting countersunk hole 14 of the platform 10.

[0038] Among them, see Figure 1 The wafer carrier 60 includes a carrier body 61, and a plurality of carrier adsorption lugs 62 are radially extended on the outer periphery of the carrier body 61. Wafer suction blocks 63 are provided on the carrier adsorption lugs 62, and two wafer fork slots 64 are formed on the upper surface of the carrier body 61.

[0039] Wafer transfer device A wafer transfer device includes a first Y-axis drive module 200 and a second Y-axis drive module 300 mounted on a vibration damping platform 100. An X-axis drive module 400 is supported at both ends by corresponding Y-axis drive modules. A wafer adsorption stage 500, using the aforementioned wafer carrier, is mounted on the X-axis drive module 400. The first Y-axis drive module 200 and the second Y-axis drive module 300 are independently driven and can be calibrated in real-time and periodically to eliminate residuals caused by the non-orthogonality between the X-axis drive module 400 and the two Y-axis drive modules. The X-axis drive module 400 adopts a U-shaped structure with one-sided drive and three-sided air-bearing guidance, providing better guidance stability and driving accuracy.

[0040] The Y-axis first drive module 200 and the Y-axis second drive module 300 are independently driven and can be calibrated in real time and periodically to eliminate the residuals caused by the non-orthogonality between the X-axis drive module 400 and the two Y-axis drive modules. The residual correction principle is as follows: the image acquisition module performs line scan image acquisition of the wafer on the wafer transfer device; the position processing module acquires the position of the wafer transfer device in all directions in real time; the residual correction calculation module compares the actual wafer image acquired by the image acquisition module with the standard wafer position image and calculates the non-orthogonal residuals; and the main control analysis module controls the independent longitudinal movement of the Y-axis first drive module 200 and the Y-axis second drive module 300 of the wafer transfer device to achieve residual correction.

[0041] The wafer adsorption stage 500 is set on the X-axis slide plate of the X-axis drive module 400 and integrates lifting, rotation around the Z-axis and Rx and Ry leveling functions.

[0042] The vibration damping platform 100 and the longitudinal beams of the Y-axis drive module are made of marble or granite, ensuring stability and preventing deformation. The X-axis crossbeam of the X-axis drive module 400 and the wafer carrier 60 are made of silicon carbide, which is lightweight and stable. The air flotation assembly uses an air flotation pad.

[0043] This solution has been used in wafer nanoscale overlay inspection systems and wafer quantity inspection systems with and without images (including bright field and dark field). In the future, it will be extended to processing scenarios such as photolithography, PCB, and IC substrate.

[0044] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; although the present invention 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; and these 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 the present invention.

Claims

1. A wafer carrier, characterized in that: The wafer stage includes a stage base (10), a support module (20), a lifting and leveling module (30), a rotation drive module (40), a gravity balance module (50), and a wafer carrier disk (60). The support module (20) is mounted on the stage base (10) via the lifting and leveling module (30) and the gravity balance module (50). The rotation drive module (40) is located in the middle of the support module (20) and drives the support module (20) to rotate. The wafer carrier disk (60) is connected above the support module (20). The support module (20) includes a support disk (21) and an upper leaf spring (23). The lifting and leveling module (30) is connected to the stage base (10) and the support disk (21). The rotary drive module (40) includes an air float shaft assembly (41), two sets of arc-shaped voice coil motors (42), an air float head (43), and a rotary positioning magnet (44). The bottom of the air float shaft assembly (41) is non-connected and embedded in the platform base (10), and the top of the air float shaft assembly (41) is connected to the middle of the upper leaf spring (23). The two sets of arc-shaped voice coil motors (42) are symmetrically arranged on the outer periphery of the air float shaft assembly (41) to drive the upper leaf spring (23). 3) Rotation relative to the axis of the air float shaft assembly (41); multiple air float heads (43) and rotating positioning magnets (44) are evenly distributed on the upper leaf spring (23). The air float heads (43) are connected to the outer corner mounting head of the upper leaf spring (23). The rotating positioning magnets (44) are magnetically attached to the locking mounting holes opened in the support plate (21). The blowing and sucking air of the air float heads (43) drives the rotating positioning magnets (44) to engage and disengage with the top surface of the support plate (21).

2. The wafer stage according to claim 1, characterized in that: The platform (10) includes a platform body (11), on the upper surface of the platform body (11) are a rotary mounting countersunk hole (12), a plurality of lifting mounting countersunk holes (13) and a gravity balance mounting countersunk hole (14); the plurality of lifting mounting countersunk holes (13) and gravity balance mounting countersunk holes (14) are evenly distributed in a ring around the outer periphery of the rotary mounting countersunk hole (12); the rotary mounting countersunk hole (12) is used to install the bottom of the rotary drive module (40), the lifting mounting countersunk hole (13) is used to install the bottom of the lifting leveling module (30), and the gravity balance mounting countersunk hole (14) is used to install the bottom of the gravity balance module (50).

3. The wafer stage according to claim 2, characterized in that: The support module (20) also includes a lower leaf spring (22); the lower leaf spring (22) has a central opening and a groove along the radial portion forming a spring plate area, and the ends of different spring plate areas near the central opening are connected to the lower surface of the support plate (21) and the upper surface of the middle part of the platform (10).

4. The wafer stage according to claim 3, characterized in that: The lifting and leveling module (30) includes a lifting voice coil motor (31), a lifting grating ruler assembly (32), a lifting subdivision box (33), and a lifting limit assembly (34). The bottom of multiple lifting voice coil motors (31) is connected to the corresponding lifting mounting countersunk holes (13) of the platform (10), and the top of the lifting voice coil motors (31) is connected to the support plate (21). The lifting grating ruler assembly (32) is connected to the support plate (21) through the grating frame. The lifting grating ruler assembly (32) is electrically connected to the lifting subdivision box (33). The lifting limit assembly (34) is connected to the platform (10) and the support plate (21) and monitors the Z-axis position and limit of the lifting voice coil motor (31) through mechanical and photoelectric dual-mode monitoring.

5. The wafer stage according to claim 3, characterized in that: The bottom of the air flotation cylinder shaft assembly (41) is non-connected and embedded in the rotary mounting countersunk hole (12) on the top surface of the platform (10).

6. The wafer stage according to claim 5, characterized in that: The rotary drive module (40) also includes an air-floating base plate (45). The locking mounting hole of the support plate (21) is a through hole. The air-floating base plate (45) is located below the support plate (21) and blocks the locking mounting hole. The bottom of the rotary positioning magnet (44) is magnetically attracted to the air-floating base plate (45) and is controlled by the air-floating head (43) to engage or disengage.

7. The wafer stage according to claim 5, characterized in that: The rotary drive module (40) also includes a rotary grating assembly (46) and a rotary limiting assembly (47). The rotary grating assembly (46) is disposed on a support plate (21) on the outside of one air float (43), and the rotary limiting assembly (47) is disposed on the support plate (21) on the outside of the other air floats (43).

8. The wafer stage according to claim 6, characterized in that: The gravity balance module (50) includes a magnetic spring transition sleeve (51), a magnetic spring mover (52), and a magnetic spring stator (53). The top of the magnetic spring transition sleeve (51) is connected to the bottom surface of the air-floating base plate (45) or the support plate (21). The bottom of the magnetic spring mover (52) is connected to the lower part of the magnetic spring transition sleeve (51). The lower part of the magnetic spring mover (52) is non-contactly embedded in the receiving cavity of the magnetic spring stator (53). The bottom of the magnetic spring stator (53) is connected to the gravity balance mounting countersunk hole (14) of the platform base (10).

9. The wafer stage according to claim 6, characterized in that: The wafer carrier (60) includes a carrier body (61), and multiple carrier adsorption lugs (62) are radially extended on the outer periphery of the carrier body (61). Wafer suction blocks (63) are provided on the carrier adsorption lugs (62), and two wafer fork slots (64) are opened on the upper surface of the carrier body (61).

10. A wafer transfer device, characterized in that: The wafer transfer device includes a first Y-axis drive module (200) and a second Y-axis drive module (300) mounted on a vibration damping platform (100). The X-axis drive module (400) is connected and supported at both ends by corresponding Y-axis drive modules. The wafer adsorption stage (500) adopts the wafer stage as described in any one of claims 1-9. The wafer adsorption stage (500) is mounted on the X-axis drive module (400). The first Y-axis drive module (200) and the second Y-axis drive module (300) are independently driven and can be calibrated in real time and periodically to eliminate the residual caused by the non-orthogonality between the X-axis drive module (400) and the two Y-axis drive modules.

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