Substrate holding device

Abstract

The invention discloses a substrate holding device. The substrate holding device comprises a chuck, a plurality of clamping pieces, a synchronizing piece and a driving mechanism, the multiple clamping pieces are arranged on the edge of the chuck at intervals in the circumferential direction, and each clamping piece comprises a clamping part and a connecting part which are connected with each other; the synchronizing part is arranged below the chuck and comprises a supporting ring and a plurality of supporting shafts, and the supporting shafts are arranged on the supporting ring at intervals in the circumferential direction and correspond to the connecting parts one to one; the driving mechanism is connected with the supporting ring and used for driving the supporting ring to move up and down, so that the supporting shafts enable the corresponding connecting parts to rotate upwards or downwards at the same time, and the corresponding clamping parts are in linkage to rotate towards the center of the chuck or away from the center of the chuck so as to clamp or release the substrate. The substrate holding device can improve the synchronism of a plurality of clamping pieces.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and in particular to a substrate holding device. Background Technology

[0002] In semiconductor manufacturing processes such as wet etching or cleaning, substrate holding devices are used to fix and rotate substrates such as wafers. Chinese invention patent CN101587851A, published on November 25, 2009, discloses a device for clamping disc-shaped objects. This device includes a chuck body, at least three clamping members, and a driving component. A chuck body stop is provided on the bottom surface of the chuck body, and a spring is provided on the chuck body stop. At least three clamping members are located on the edge of the chuck body for clamping the disc-shaped object. Below the chuck body, a drive component is provided opposite to each clamping member. The drive component is a cylinder or an electromagnet. By extending or retracting the piston rod of the cylinder or attracting the electromagnet, the clamping member is rotated, compressing the spring and opening, releasing the disc-shaped object. By moving the piston rod of the cylinder in the opposite direction or de-energizing the electromagnet, the clamping member is rotated in the opposite direction under the action of the spring, and the clamping member is in a clamping state, clamping the disc-shaped object. That is, the clamping member locks the disc-shaped object with the elastic force of the spring.

[0003] In the aforementioned device for clamping disc-shaped objects, there is a problem that multiple driving components are not fully synchronized, resulting in poor synchronization of multiple clamping components. Taking cylinders as an example of driving components, since the air supply of each cylinder cannot be precisely controlled, the push rod stroke of each cylinder cannot be completely consistent. Slight differences in the push rod stroke of the cylinders will cause the clamping actions of multiple clamping components to be unable to be fully synchronized when clamping wafers, making wafer clamping unstable. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to solve the problem of poor synchronization of multiple clamping components when clamping or releasing a substrate in the prior art substrate holding device.

[0005] To address the aforementioned problems, this application proposes a substrate holding device, comprising:

[0006] Chuck,

[0007] Multiple clamping members are spaced apart circumferentially on the edge of the chuck, and each clamping member includes a clamping part and a connecting part that are connected to each other;

[0008] The synchronizing element is located below the chuck and includes a support ring and multiple support shafts. The multiple support shafts are spaced apart circumferentially on the support ring and correspond one-to-one with multiple connecting parts.

[0009] The drive mechanism, connected to the support ring, is used to drive the support ring to move up and down, so that multiple support shafts simultaneously cause the corresponding connecting parts to rotate up or down, and to coordinate with the corresponding clamping parts to rotate toward or away from the center of the chuck to clamp or release the substrate.

[0010] In one embodiment of this application, an accommodating space is provided at the edge, a first opening is provided on the upper surface of the chuck, a plurality of clamping members are located in the accommodating space, and the upper ends of the plurality of clamping members are exposed on the upper surface through the first opening;

[0011] The bottom of the chuck has a second opening for multiple support shafts to pass through.

[0012] In one embodiment of this application, the chuck further includes a plurality of first mounting seats, which are fixed in the accommodating space and are each provided with a movable shaft. A plurality of clamping members are movably connected to the plurality of first mounting seats through the movable shafts.

[0013] In one embodiment of this application, each first mounting base is further provided with a limiting block, which is located on the rotation trajectory of the corresponding connecting part to limit the rotation of the connecting part.

[0014] In one embodiment of this application, the drive mechanism includes an electric cylinder.

[0015] In one embodiment of this application, the chuck has a plurality of elastic elements inside. The first end of the plurality of elastic elements is connected to the chuck, and the second end of the plurality of elastic elements is respectively connected to a plurality of connecting parts. The plurality of elastic elements are used to make the plurality of connecting parts rotate under the restoring force of the plurality of elastic elements.

[0016] In one embodiment of this application, the chuck has a plurality of second mounting seats inside, and the first ends of a plurality of elastic members are respectively connected to the plurality of second mounting seats.

[0017] In one embodiment of this application, each elastic element includes at least one spring.

[0018] In one embodiment of this application, the clamping part and the corresponding connecting part have a predetermined angle.

[0019] In one embodiment of this application, a groove is provided on the lower side of each connecting part. The groove extends along the length direction of the connecting part. When multiple support shafts simultaneously rotate the corresponding connecting part upward or downward, the upper ends of the multiple support shafts are slidably connected to the corresponding groove.

[0020] The substrate holding device of this application is provided with a synchronizing element, which includes a support ring and multiple support shafts. The multiple support shafts are arranged circumferentially on the support ring, and each of the multiple support shafts corresponds to a multiple clamping member used to clamp the substrate. A driving mechanism is then used to drive the support ring to move up and down, so that the multiple support shafts arranged on the support ring simultaneously cause the multiple clamping members to clamp or release the substrate synchronously, thereby improving the synchronization of the multiple clamping members.

[0021] Other features and corresponding beneficial effects of the present invention will be described in the latter part of the specification, and it should be understood that at least some of the beneficial effects will become obvious from the description in the specification. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a substrate holding device according to an embodiment of the present application when the multiple clamping members are in the open state;

[0023] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Enlarged view of section A;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a substrate holding device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0025] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of a substrate holding device according to an embodiment of this application when the multiple clamping members are in a clamping state; and

[0026] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Enlarged view of section B. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present invention is presented in conjunction with preferred embodiments, this does not mean that the features of the invention are limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the purpose of describing the invention in conjunction with embodiments is to cover other options or modifications that may be derived based on the claims of the present invention. To provide a deep understanding of the invention, many specific details will be included in the following description. The invention may also be implemented without using these details. Furthermore, to avoid confusion or obscuring the focus of the invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present invention can be combined with each other.

[0028] It should be noted that in this specification, similar reference numerals and letters in the following figures indicate similar items. Therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.

[0029] The technical solution of the present invention will now be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. 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.

[0030] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing the invention and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0031] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0032] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a substrate holding device according to an embodiment of the present application when the multiple clamping members are in the open state; Figure 2 for Figure 1 Enlarged view of section A; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a substrate holding device according to an embodiment of this application.

[0034] refer to Figures 1 to 3The substrate holding device provided in this application includes a chuck 100, a plurality of clamping members 110, a synchronizing member 200, and a driving mechanism 300. The chuck 100 has a receiving space 121 on its edge, and a first opening (not shown) on its upper surface. The plurality of clamping members 110 are circumferentially spaced within the receiving space 121, and the upper ends of the clamping members 110 (specifically, the upper ends of the clamping portions 111) protrude from the upper surface of the chuck 100 through the first opening to clamp the substrate 400. Each clamping member 110 includes an interconnected clamping portion 111 and a connecting portion 112. The connection point between the clamping portion 111 and the connecting portion 112 is hinged to the chuck 100, forming the rotation axis of the clamping member 110. The chuck 100 has a second opening 130 at its bottom. A synchronizing element 200 is located below the chuck 100. The synchronizing element 200 includes a support ring 210 and multiple support shafts 220. The multiple support shafts 220 are circumferentially spaced on the support ring 210 and correspond one-to-one with multiple connecting parts 112. A drive mechanism 300 is connected to the support ring 210 and drives the support ring 210 to move up and down, so that the multiple support shafts 220 pass through the second opening 130, so that the multiple support shafts 220 simultaneously contact the corresponding connecting parts 112, and drive the corresponding clamping parts 111 to rotate toward or away from the center of the chuck 100 to clamp the substrate 400 (see reference). Figure 4 ) or release substrate 400 (reference) Figure 1 By setting a synchronizing element 200, the synchronization of multiple clamping elements 110 is improved.

[0035] Specifically, each clamping member 110 has a predetermined included angle between its clamping portion 111 and its connecting portion 112. Figure 2 In the example shown, the predetermined included angle is an acute angle. In other examples, the predetermined included angle can also be an obtuse angle or a right angle, as long as the process requirements are met.

[0036] exist Figure 3 In the example shown, there are six clamping members 110 and three driving mechanisms 300. Each driving mechanism 300 includes an electric cylinder, whose lead screw is connected to the support ring 210 to move the support ring 210 up and down. The electric cylinders offer high control precision, and by driving the support ring 210 up and down simultaneously with the three electric cylinders, the horizontality of the support ring 210 meets the process requirements. In other examples, there may be one or more driving mechanisms 300. The specific number of driving mechanisms 300 and clamping members 110 can be set according to the actual process, and this application does not impose any particular limitation on this.

[0037] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 5The substrate holding device further includes a plurality of first mounting seats 151, a plurality of second mounting seats 152, and a plurality of elastic members 140. The plurality of first mounting seats 151, the plurality of second mounting seats 152, and the plurality of elastic members 140 are fixed together in the receiving space 121. Each first mounting seat 151 is provided with a movable shaft 153. A plurality of clamping members 110 are movably connected to the plurality of first mounting seats 151 via the movable shaft 153, and the rotation axis of the clamping members 110 is located on the movable shaft 153. The first ends of the plurality of elastic members 140 are respectively connected to the plurality of second mounting seats 152, and the second ends of the plurality of elastic members 140 are respectively connected to the plurality of connecting portions 112. The plurality of elastic members 140 are used to rotate the plurality of connecting portions 112 under the restoring force of the plurality of elastic members 140. Each elastic member 140 includes at least one spring. In this embodiment, the clamping force of the clamping members 110 on the substrate 400 is provided by the elastic members 140 to stably clamp the substrate 400.

[0038] In some embodiments, Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 5 In the example shown, the elastic element 140 is disposed below the connecting portion 112. When the drive mechanism 300 drives the support ring 210 to move upward, the support shaft 220 pushes the connecting portion 112 upward, causing the connecting portion 112 to rotate upward, stretching the elastic element 140, and causing the clamping portion 111 to rotate away from the center of the chuck 100, as shown. Figure 2 When the drive mechanism 300 drives the support ring 210 to move downward, the elastic element 140 causes the connecting part 112 to rotate downward under the restoring force of the elastic element 140, and the clamping part 111 rotates toward the center of the chuck 100 in conjunction with it. Figure 5 .

[0039] In other embodiments, the elastic element 140 may also be disposed above the connecting portion 112. When the drive mechanism 300 drives the support ring 210 to move upward, the support shaft 220 pushes the connecting portion 112 upward, causing the connecting portion 112 to rotate upward, compressing the elastic element 140, and causing the clamping portion 111 to rotate away from the center of the chuck 100. After the drive mechanism 300 drives the support ring 210 to move downward, the elastic element 140 causes the connecting portion 112 to rotate downward under the restoring force of the elastic element 140, and causes the clamping portion 111 to rotate toward the center of the chuck 100.

[0040] In other embodiments, depending on process requirements, elastic elements 140 may be provided both above and below the connecting portion 112.

[0041] Similar to the above embodiments, the design position of the elastic element 140 and the shape of the clamping element 110 can be adjusted according to the actual process, and this application does not impose any special limitations.

[0042] In other embodiments, the elastic element 140 may be omitted, and the multiple support shafts 220 may be fixedly connected to the connecting portions 112 of the multiple clamping members 110, so that the movement of each connecting portion 112 depends entirely on the support shaft 220. In this case, when the chuck 100 rotates, the synchronizing element 200 and the drive mechanism 300 rotate synchronously with the chuck 100.

[0043] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 5 Each of the multiple first mounting bases 151 is provided with a limiting block 1511, which is located on the rotation trajectory of the corresponding connecting part 112 to limit the rotation of the connecting part 112. When the support shaft 220 pushes the connecting part 112 upward and over-push occurs, the limiting block 1511 can hard limit the connecting part 112, thereby preventing the outer side of the clamping part 111 from hitting the side wall of the receiving space 121 and breaking when the clamping part 111 rotates away from the center of the chuck 100.

[0044] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2 and Figure 5 Each connecting part 112 may be provided with a sliding groove 1121 on its lower side. The sliding groove 1121 extends along the length of the connecting part 112. When multiple support shafts 220 simultaneously rotate the corresponding connecting part 112 upward or downward, the upper ends of the multiple support shafts 220 are slidably connected to the corresponding sliding groove 1121.

[0045] The following is combined Figures 1 to 5 Taking the substrate holding device with elastic element 140 as an example, the configuration of the substrate holding device is explained:

[0046] First, such as Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the drive mechanism 300 drives the support ring 210 to move upward. The upper ends of each support shaft 220 on the support ring 210 simultaneously push the connecting part 112 upward through the second opening 130. The first end of each connecting part 112 synchronously stretches the first end of the elastic member 140 upward. The second end of the connecting part 112 rotates counterclockwise around the movable shaft 153, and in conjunction with the clamping part 111, rotates outward away from the center of the chuck 100, simultaneously releasing the substrate 400. Then, as... Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the drive mechanism 300 simultaneously drives the support ring 210 to move downwards, and the multiple support shafts 220 descend together with the support ring 210 to synchronously disengage from the multiple connecting parts 112. At this time, the first ends of the multiple connecting parts 112 rotate downwards synchronously under the elastic restoring force of the multiple elastic members 140, and the corresponding clamping parts 111 rotate inwards toward the center of the chuck 100 in conjunction with each other, synchronously clamping the substrate 400, and finally performing substrate processing.

[0047] In some embodiments, the second opening 130 extends circumferentially along the chuck 100 and is annular. During the downward movement of the support ring 210 driven by the drive mechanism 300, the support shaft 220 may not completely disengage from the chuck 100 (e.g., ...). Figure 5 As shown, a portion of the support shaft 220 is located within the second opening 130. In this case, when the chuck 100 rotates, the synchronizing element 200 and the drive mechanism 300 do not rotate, and the support shaft 220 does not interfere with the rotation of the chuck 100.

[0048] In some embodiments, there are multiple second openings 130, which are not interconnected and are spaced apart circumferentially along the chuck 100, each corresponding to one of the multiple clamping members 110. During the downward movement of the support ring 210 driven by the drive mechanism 300, the support shaft 220 can disengage from the chuck 100 (the support shaft 220 is located outside the second openings 130). In this case, when the chuck 100 rotates, the synchronizing member 200 and the drive mechanism 300 do not rotate, and the support shaft 220 does not interfere with the rotation of the chuck 100.

[0049] In some embodiments, there are multiple second openings 130, which are not interconnected and are spaced apart circumferentially along the chuck 100, each corresponding to one of the multiple clamping members 110. During the downward movement of the support ring 210 driven by the drive mechanism 300, the support shaft 220 may not completely disengage from the chuck 100 (a portion of the support shaft 220 is located within the second opening 130). In this case, when the chuck 100 rotates, the synchronizing member 200 and the drive mechanism 300 rotate synchronously with the chuck 100.

[0050] The above describes the situation when the chuck 100 rotates. In some embodiments, the chuck 100 may also be selected not to rotate.

[0051] 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 or all of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A substrate holding device, characterized in that, include: Chuck; Multiple clamping members are circumferentially spaced along the edge of the chuck, and each clamping member includes a clamping part and a connecting part that are connected to each other; A synchronizing element, located below the chuck, includes a support ring and multiple support shafts. The multiple support shafts are spaced apart circumferentially on the support ring and correspond one-to-one with each of the multiple connecting parts. A drive mechanism, connected to the support ring, is used to drive the support ring to move up and down, so that the multiple support shafts simultaneously cause the corresponding connecting parts to rotate up or down, and to coordinate the corresponding clamping parts to rotate toward or away from the center of the chuck to clamp or release the substrate.

2. The substrate holding device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The edge is provided with a receiving space, the upper surface of the chuck is provided with a first opening, the plurality of clamping members are located in the receiving space, and the upper ends of the plurality of clamping members are exposed on the upper surface through the first opening; The bottom of the chuck is provided with a second opening for the plurality of support shafts to pass through.

3. The substrate holding device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The chuck also has a plurality of first mounting seats inside, which are fixed in the accommodating space and are each provided with a movable shaft. The plurality of clamping members are movably connected to the plurality of first mounting seats through the movable shafts.

4. The substrate holding device according to claim 3, characterized in that, Each of the first mounting bases is further provided with a limit block, which is located on the rotation trajectory of the corresponding connecting part to limit the rotation of the connecting part.

5. The substrate holding device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive mechanism includes an electric cylinder.

6. The substrate holding device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The chuck has multiple elastic elements inside. The first end of each elastic element is connected to the chuck, and the second end of each elastic element is connected to a plurality of connecting parts. The multiple elastic elements are used to cause the plurality of connecting parts to rotate under the restoring force of the multiple elastic elements.

7. The substrate holding device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The chuck has multiple second mounting seats inside, and the first ends of the multiple elastic members are respectively connected to the multiple second mounting seats.

8. The substrate holding device according to claim 6, characterized in that, Each of the elastic elements includes at least one spring.

9. The substrate holding device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The clamping part and the corresponding connecting part have a predetermined angle.

10. The substrate holding device according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the connecting parts is provided with a sliding groove on its lower side, the sliding groove extending along the length direction of the connecting part. When the multiple support shafts simultaneously rotate the corresponding connecting part upward or downward, the upper ends of the multiple support shafts are slidably connected to the corresponding sliding groove.

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