Wafer carrier table

Abstract

The application provides a wafer carrier table, which comprises a cavity, m wafer supporting plates, a supporting mechanism and m-1 limiters, the m wafer supporting plates are sequentially fixed on the inner wall of the cavity from bottom to top, and a mechanical hand wafer taking opening is arranged on each wafer supporting plate, the supporting mechanism comprises m-1 suspending members, a bottom buoyancy member and a lifting member, the suspending members correspond to the second wafer supporting plate to the mth wafer supporting plate from bottom to top one by one, the bottom buoyancy member corresponds to the first wafer supporting plate from bottom to top, the suspending members and the bottom buoyancy member are arranged below the corresponding mechanical hand wafer taking opening, and the adjacent suspending members and the bottom buoyancy member and the suspending members repel each other, the lifting member is fixedly arranged at the center of the bottom of the cavity and is used for driving the bottom buoyancy member to move up and down, the m-1 limiters correspond to the suspending members one by one, are fixedly arranged on the lower side of the wafer supporting plate and are movably connected with the suspending members and are used for limiting the moving direction of the suspending members, the middle part of the wafer is lifted by the suspending members and the bottom buoyancy member, and the edge of the wafer is prevented from being warped.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor equipment technology, and more particularly to a wafer carrier stage. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of semiconductor wafer fabrication technology, most etching equipment is designed according to the pattern of Equipment Front End Module (EFEM), Load Lock, Transfer Module (TM), and Process Module (PM). Among them, except for the Process Module which only has a robotic arm to carry the wafer, the other modules are designed with wafer carrier stages for temporary placement of wafers.

[0003] In some high-temperature processes, to increase throughput, most machine designs allow the robotic arm of the process module to directly transfer the wafer to the load chamber. The wafers coming out of the process module are at a high temperature (around 200°C) and are in a flexible state at this time.

[0004] The existing wafer carrier stage supports the edge of the wafer. When the wafer is in a soft state, the middle of the wafer will sink due to the influence of gravity, which will cause the edge of the wafer to warp. This will hinder the robot arm from picking up the wafer, disrupt the process, and eventually cause the machine to crash.

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a novel wafer carrier stage to solve the aforementioned problems existing in the prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a wafer carrier stage to prevent wafer warping and reduce the probability of failure when a robotic arm picks up a wafer.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the wafer carrier stage of the present invention comprises:

[0008] cavity;

[0009] m trays are fixedly arranged on the inner wall of the cavity from bottom to top, and each tray is provided with a robotic arm for picking up the trays, where m is a natural number greater than or equal to 2.

[0010] The support mechanism includes m-1 suspension components, a bottom buoyancy component, and a lifting component. The suspension components correspond one-to-one with the second to the m-th plate-holding trays from bottom to top. The bottom buoyancy component corresponds to the first plate-holding tray from bottom to top. Both the suspension components and the bottom buoyancy component are positioned below the corresponding robotic arm's plate-grabbing opening, and adjacent suspension components and the bottom buoyancy component repel each other. The lifting component is fixedly positioned at the center of the bottom of the cavity and is used to drive the bottom buoyancy component to move up and down.

[0011] m-1 limiting components, each corresponding to a suspension component, are fixedly disposed on the lower side of the support plate and movably connected to the suspension component, used to limit the movement direction of the suspension component to a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane.

[0012] Optionally, the suspension component includes a magnetic part and a connecting part, the connecting part being fixedly connected to the magnetic part and movably connected to the limiting component.

[0013] Optionally, the magnetic part includes at least one magnetic element and a fixing frame, the magnetic element is fixed on the fixing frame, and the N pole of the magnetic element is facing upward or downward, and the S pole of the magnetic element is facing downward or upward.

[0014] When the number of magnetic components is greater than or equal to 3, the magnetic components are fixed to the fixing frame at equal intervals.

[0015] Optionally, the magnetic element is a magnet.

[0016] Optionally, the magnetic component includes an iron core, a coil, and a power line, with the coil surrounding the outside of the iron core and the power line connected to the coil.

[0017] Optionally, the mounting bracket has a power cord receiving slot inside, and the power cord is disposed in the power cord receiving slot.

[0018] Optionally, the limiting member includes a first sliding column and a second sliding column, with one end of the first sliding column and one end of the second sliding column fixedly disposed on the lower side of the receiving plate and located on both sides of the robotic arm's plate-picking port, respectively.

[0019] Optionally, the connecting part is provided with a first sliding hole and a second sliding hole, and the limiting member includes a first sliding post and a second sliding post. One end of the first sliding post and one end of the second sliding post are fixedly disposed on the lower side of the receiving plate and are respectively located on both sides of the robotic arm's plate-picking port. The first sliding post passes through the first sliding hole and is slidably and sealingly connected with the first sliding hole. The second sliding post passes through the second sliding hole and is slidably and sealingly connected with the second sliding hole.

[0020] Optionally, anti-detachment components are provided on the other end of both the first slide column and the other end of the second slide column.

[0021] Optionally, a force detection element is fixedly provided on the other end of the first sliding column and the other end of the second sliding column. The force detection element is connected to the suspension component and is used to detect the force of the suspension component rising when the suspension component rises.

[0022] The beneficial effects of the wafer stage are as follows: m wafer trays are fixedly arranged sequentially from bottom to top on the inner wall of the cavity, and each wafer tray has a robotic arm pick-up port. The support mechanism includes m-1 suspension components, a bottom buoyancy component, and a lifting component. The suspension components correspond one-to-one with the second to the mth wafer trays from bottom to top, and the bottom buoyancy component corresponds to the first wafer tray from bottom to top. Both the suspension components and the bottom buoyancy component are located below the corresponding robotic arm pick-up port, and adjacent suspension components and the bottom buoyancy component repel each other. The lifting component... The component is fixedly installed at the center of the bottom of the cavity and is used to drive the bottom buoyancy component to move up and down. When the lifting component drives the bottom buoyancy component to move upward, due to the repulsion between adjacent suspension components and between the bottom buoyancy component and the suspension component, m-1 suspension components will also move upward, thereby contacting the bottom surface of the wafer and lifting the middle of the wafer, preventing the edge of the wafer from warping and reducing the probability of the robot arm failing to pick up the wafer. At the same time, m-1 limiting components are set to restrict the movement direction of the suspension components to a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane, preventing the suspension components from applying incorrect force to the wafer. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wafer carrier stage in some embodiments of the present invention.

[0024] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0025] 10. Wafer stage; 11. Cavity; 12. Wafer tray; 121. Robotic arm pick-up port; 13. Support mechanism; 131. Suspension component; 1311. Magnetic component; 1312. Connecting component; 1313. First sliding hole; 1314. Second sliding hole; 132. Bottom buoyancy component; 133. Lifting component; 14. Limiting component; 141. First sliding column; 142. Second sliding column; 143. Anti-detachment component; 15. Wafer. Detailed Implementation

[0026] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this invention. Unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used herein should have the ordinary meaning understood by those skilled in the art. The terms "comprising" and similar expressions used herein mean that the element or object preceding the word covers the element or object listed following the word and its equivalents, but do not exclude other elements or objects.

[0027] To address the problems existing in the prior art, embodiments of the present invention provide a wafer carrier stage. (Refer to...) Figure 1 The wafer stage 10 includes a cavity 11, m wafer trays 12, a support mechanism 13, and m-1 limiting members 14. The wafer trays 12 are fixedly arranged sequentially from bottom to top on the inner wall of the cavity 11, and each wafer tray 12 has a robotic arm pick-up port 121. m is a natural number greater than or equal to 2. The support mechanism 13 includes m-1 levitation members 131, a bottom buoyancy member 132, and a lifting member 133. The levitation members 131 correspond one-to-one with the second to the mth wafer trays 12 from bottom to top, and the bottom buoyancy member 132 corresponds to the first wafer tray 12 from bottom to top. The suspension component 131 and the bottom buoyancy component 132 are both located below the corresponding robotic arm's slice-picking port 121, and adjacent suspension components 131 and the bottom buoyancy component 132 are mutually repulsive. The lifting component 133 is fixedly located at the center of the bottom of the cavity 11 and is used to drive the bottom buoyancy component 132 to move up and down. The limiting component 14 corresponds to each suspension component 131. The limiting component 14 is fixedly located on the lower side of the slice-bearing plate 12 and is movably connected to the suspension component 131, and is used to limit the movement direction of the suspension component 131 to be perpendicular to the horizontal plane.

[0028] m trays 12 are fixedly arranged on the inner wall of the cavity 11 from bottom to top, and each tray 12 has a robotic arm pick-up port 121. The support mechanism 13 includes m-1 suspension components 131, a bottom buoyancy component 132, and a lifting component 133. The suspension components 131 correspond one-to-one with the second to the mth trays 12 from bottom to top, and the bottom buoyancy component 132 corresponds to the first tray 12 from bottom to top. The suspension components 131 and the bottom buoyancy component 132 are both located below the corresponding robotic arm pick-up port 121, and adjacent suspension components 131 and the bottom buoyancy component 132 and the suspension component 131 are mutually repelling. Component 133 is fixedly disposed at the center of the bottom of the cavity 11 and is used to drive the bottom buoyancy component 132 to move up and down. When the lifting component 133 drives the bottom buoyancy component 132 to move upward, due to the repulsion between adjacent suspension components 131 and between the bottom buoyancy component 132 and the suspension components 131, m-1 suspension components 131 will also move upward, thereby contacting the bottom surface of the wafer and lifting the middle of the wafer, avoiding warping of the wafer edge and reducing the probability of failure of the robot to pick up the wafer. At the same time, m-1 limiting components 14 are provided to restrict the movement direction of the suspension components 131 to be perpendicular to the horizontal plane, so as to prevent the suspension components 131 from applying incorrect force to the wafer.

[0029] In some embodiments, m is 2, 3, 4, or 5.

[0030] In some embodiments, reference is made to Figure 1 The lifting component 133 is a lifting structure driven by a cylinder or a motor. For example, a combination of a lead screw and a motor can be used to drive the lifting structure.

[0031] In some embodiments, reference is made to Figure 1 The wafer support tray 12 is used to hold the wafer 15. The robotic arm pick-up port 121 is rectangular, and its size is adapted to the size of the robotic arm. The opening of the robotic arm pick-up port 121 faces the robotic arm to facilitate the robotic arm's gripping of the wafer. The size of the robotic arm pick-up port 121 is adapted to the size of the robotic arm, meaning that the wafer support tray 12 will not obstruct the robotic arm when it grips the wafer 15.

[0032] In some embodiments, reference is made to Figure 1 The suspension component 131 includes a magnetic part 1311 and a connecting part 1312. The connecting part 1312 is fixedly connected to the magnetic part 1311 and is movably connected to the limiting component 14.

[0033] In some embodiments, the magnetic part includes at least one magnetic element and a fixing frame, the magnetic element is fixed on the fixing frame, and the N pole of the magnetic element is facing upward or downward, and the S pole of the magnetic element is facing downward or upward; when the number of magnetic elements is greater than or equal to 3, the magnetic elements are fixed on the fixing frame at equal intervals.

[0034] In some embodiments, when the magnetic part includes a magnetic element and a fixing frame, the magnetic element is fixedly positioned directly below the intersection of the two diagonals of the robotic arm's wafer pick-up port by the fixing frame. When the magnetic element rises, it can pass through the robotic arm's wafer pick-up port and contact the bottom surface of the wafer.

[0035] In other embodiments, when the magnetic part includes two magnetic components and the fixing frame, the two magnetic components are fixedly disposed directly below the robotic arm's wafer pick-up port by the fixing frame, and the midpoint of the line connecting the two magnetic components is located directly below the intersection of the two diagonals of the robotic arm's wafer pick-up port. When the two magnetic components rise, the magnetic components can pass through the robotic arm's wafer pick-up port and contact the bottom surface of the wafer.

[0036] In other embodiments, the magnetic part includes at least three magnetic elements and the fixing frame. The fixing frame fixes the three magnetic elements directly below the robotic arm's wafer pick-up port. A vertical line passing through the intersection of the two diagonals of the robotic arm's wafer pick-up port and perpendicular to the horizontal plane is the surrounding axis. The three magnetic elements are arranged around the surrounding axis at equal intervals, and the distance from the three magnetic elements to the surrounding axis is equal. When the three magnetic elements rise, the magnetic elements can pass through the robotic arm's wafer pick-up port and contact the bottom surface of the wafer.

[0037] In some embodiments, the bottom buoyancy element has the same structure as the magnetic element.

[0038] In some embodiments, the magnetic element is a magnet.

[0039] In other embodiments, the magnetic component includes an iron core, a coil, and a power line, with the coil surrounding the outside of the iron core and the power line connected to the coil.

[0040] In some embodiments, the mounting bracket has a power cord receiving slot inside, and the power cord is disposed in the power cord receiving slot.

[0041] In some other embodiments, the power cord receiving groove is also provided inside the connecting part and inside the receiving plate. The power cord passes through the power cord receiving groove inside the fixing frame, the power cord receiving groove inside the connecting part, and the power cord receiving groove inside the receiving plate in sequence, and then connects to the power supply. The magnetic strength of the magnetic component is adjusted by adjusting the current of the power supply, and the direction of the N pole and the S pole of the magnetic component is adjusted by adjusting the current direction of the power supply.

[0042] In some embodiments, when the N pole of the bottom buoyancy member is facing upward and the S pole is facing downward, the N pole of the first magnetic member from bottom to top is facing downward and the S pole is facing upward, the N pole of the first magnetic member from bottom to top is facing upward and the S pole is facing downward, and so on.

[0043] In some embodiments, reference is made to Figure 1 The connecting part 1312 is provided with a first sliding hole 1313 and a second sliding hole 1314. The limiting member 14 includes a first sliding post 141 and a second sliding post 142. One end of the first sliding post 141 and one end of the second sliding post 142 are fixedly disposed on the lower side of the receiving plate and are respectively located on both sides of the robotic arm's plate-picking port. The first sliding post 141 passes through the first sliding hole 1313 and is slidably and sealingly connected to the first sliding hole 1313. The second sliding post 142 passes through the second sliding hole 1314 and is slidably and sealingly connected to the second sliding hole 1314.

[0044] In some embodiments, reference is made to Figure 1 An anti-detachment component 143 is provided on the other end of the first sliding column 141 and the other end of the second sliding column 142. Specifically, the size of the anti-detachment component 143 is larger than the size of the first sliding hole 1313 and the second sliding hole 1314, so as to prevent the connecting part 1312 from falling off the first sliding column 141 and the second sliding column 142.

[0045] In some embodiments, force detection elements are fixedly provided at the other ends of the first sliding column and the second sliding column. These force detection elements are connected to the suspension component and are used to detect the force causing the suspension component to rise. The force detection element can be a force sensor, a tension gauge, etc. By detecting the magnitudes of two tension forces on the suspension component, and comparing these two forces, it can be determined whether the suspension component has shifted. This allows for timely correction when the suspension component shifts, preventing damage to the wafer.

[0046] While embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to these embodiments. However, it should be understood that such modifications and variations fall within the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the claims. Furthermore, the invention described herein may have other embodiments and can be implemented or carried out in various ways.

Claims

1. A wafer carrier stage, characterized in that, include: cavity; m trays are fixedly arranged on the inner wall of the cavity from bottom to top, and each tray is provided with a robotic arm for picking up the trays, where m is a natural number greater than or equal to 1. The support mechanism includes m-1 suspension components, a bottom buoyancy component, and a lifting component. The m-1 suspension components correspond one-to-one with the second to the m-th wafer trays from bottom to top. The bottom buoyancy component corresponds to the first wafer tray from bottom to top. Both the suspension components and the bottom buoyancy component are positioned below the corresponding robotic arm's wafer-picking port, and adjacent suspension components and the bottom buoyancy component repel each other. The lifting component is fixedly positioned at the center of the bottom of the cavity and is used to drive the bottom buoyancy component to move up and down. When the lifting component drives the bottom buoyancy component to move upward, the bottom buoyancy component contacts the bottom surface of the corresponding wafer, and under the action of repulsive force, the m-1 suspension components contact the bottom surface of the corresponding wafer; and... m-1 limiting components, corresponding one-to-one with the m-1 suspension components, are fixedly disposed on the lower side of the support plate and movably connected to the suspension components, used to limit the movement direction of the suspension components to a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane.

2. The wafer carrier stage according to claim 1, characterized in that, The suspension component includes a magnetic part and a connecting part, the connecting part being fixedly connected to the magnetic part and movably connected to the limiting component.

3. The wafer carrier stage according to claim 2, characterized in that, The magnetic part includes at least one magnetic element and a fixing frame. The magnetic element is fixed on the fixing frame, and the N pole of the magnetic element is facing upward or downward, and the S pole of the magnetic element is facing downward or upward. When the number of magnetic components is greater than or equal to 3, the magnetic components are fixed to the fixing frame at equal intervals.

4. The wafer carrier stage according to claim 3, characterized in that, The magnetic component is a magnet.

5. The wafer carrier stage according to claim 3, characterized in that, The magnetic component includes an iron core, a coil, and a power line. The coil is arranged around the outside of the iron core, and the power line is connected to the coil.

6. The wafer carrier stage according to claim 5, characterized in that, The mounting bracket has a power cord receiving slot inside, and the power cord is placed in the power cord receiving slot.

7. The wafer carrier stage according to claim 1, characterized in that, The limiting component includes a first sliding column and a second sliding column. One end of the first sliding column and one end of the second sliding column are fixedly disposed on the lower side of the receiving plate and are respectively located on both sides of the robotic arm's plate-picking port.

8. The wafer carrier stage according to claim 2, characterized in that, The connecting part is provided with a first sliding hole and a second sliding hole. The limiting member includes a first sliding column and a second sliding column. One end of the first sliding column and one end of the second sliding column are fixedly disposed on the lower side of the receiving plate and are respectively located on both sides of the robotic arm's plate-picking port. The first sliding column passes through the first sliding hole and is slidably sealed to the first sliding hole. The second sliding column passes through the second sliding hole and is slidably sealed to the second sliding hole.

9. The wafer carrier stage according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, Anti-detachment components are provided on the other end of the first slide column and the other end of the second slide column.

10. The wafer carrier stage according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, Force detection elements are fixedly provided on the other end of the first sliding column and the other end of the second sliding column. The force detection elements are connected to the suspension element and are used to detect the force of the suspension element rising when the suspension element rises.

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