Chip taking method and device, semiconductor processing equipment and storage medium
By setting up detection sensors in semiconductor processing equipment to obtain the wafer position and guide the robot to correct its deviation, the problem of positional offset during wafer transfer is solved, thereby improving process efficiency and wafer throughput.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202511795932.4
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-12-01
- Publication Date
- 2026-02-17
AI Technical Summary
Traditional semiconductor processing equipment suffers from decreased processing accuracy and reduced wafer yield due to positional misalignment during wafer transport.
By setting up detection sensors along the conveying path to obtain the actual position of the wafer, the robot arm is guided to perform correction actions, thereby increasing the tolerance range of wafer conveying.
It improved process efficiency, expanded the tolerance range of wafer transfer, and increased the wafer throughput per hour.
Smart Images
Figure CN121548263A_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor device processing, and in particular to a wafer taking method, a wafer taking device, a semiconductor processing equipment, and a computer readable storage medium. BACKGROUND
[0002] The traditional equipment front end module (EFEM) only transmits the wafer to the process module through the precision robot, and transmits the wafer after the process to the front opening unified pod (FOUP), and the actual position of the wafer is not queried and corrected during the period, so that the wafer is easy to produce position deviation in the transmission process due to the initial placement deviation, transmission path vibration and other factors, thereby affecting the processing precision of the subsequent processing process, and causing the wafer yield to decrease.
[0003] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, the technical field urgently needs an improved wafer taking method for collecting and transmitting wafer position deviation data during movement, thereby increasing the tolerance range of wafer transmission, and further improving the process efficiency. SUMMARY
[0004] The following gives a brief summary of one or more aspects to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description to be given later.
[0005] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, the present application provides a wafer taking method, a wafer taking device, a semiconductor processing equipment and a computer readable storage medium, which can obtain the actual position of the wafer through the detection sensor arranged on the wafer transmission path, to guide the robot to perform the correction action, for collecting and transmitting the wafer position deviation data during movement, thereby increasing the tolerance range of wafer transmission, and further improving the process efficiency.
[0006] In particular, the wafer picking method according to the first aspect of the present application comprises the following steps: acquiring actual position data of a wafer at a detection point on a transfer path via a detection sensor arranged at the detection point, the transfer path being from a front end module to a load lock chamber; determining whether the wafer can be corrected by a robot transferring the wafer according to the actual position data; and correcting a wafer picking position of the robot according to the actual position data and correcting the wafer by the robot when picking the wafer from the front end module in response to a result of the determination that the wafer can be corrected by the robot.
[0007] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, before the step of determining whether the wafer can be corrected by a robot transferring the wafer according to the actual position data, the method further comprises the following step: determining whether the wafer can be normally transferred by the robot transferring the wafer according to the actual position data.
[0008] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the step of determining whether the wafer can be normally transferred by the robot transferring the wafer according to the actual position data comprises: acquiring target position data of the wafer; determining a deviation value of the wafer according to the actual position data and the target position data; and determining that the wafer can be normally transferred by the robot in response to the deviation value being within a first threshold range.
[0009] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the first threshold range is -3mm~3mm.
[0010] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the step of determining whether the wafer can be corrected by the robot transferring the wafer according to the actual position data comprises: acquiring target position data of the wafer; determining a deviation value of the wafer according to the actual position data and the target position data; and determining that the wafer can be corrected by the robot in response to the deviation value being within a second threshold range.
[0011] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the second threshold range is -6mm~6mm.
[0012] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the step of correcting the wafer picking position of the robot according to the actual position data in response to the result of the determination that the wafer can be corrected by the robot comprises: acquiring target position data of the wafer; determining a deviation value of the wafer according to the actual position data and the target position data; and superimposing the deviation value on an initial wafer picking position of the robot to determine a corrected wafer picking position of the robot after correction.
[0013] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the wafer picking method further comprises the following step: in response to the result of the judgment that the wafer cannot be corrected by the robot, issuing an alarm signal indicating that the position of the wafer is seriously out of limit.
[0014] Further, the wafer picking device according to the second aspect of the present application comprises a detection sensor, a robot and a controller. The detection sensor is arranged at a detection point on a transfer path for obtaining actual position data of a wafer at the detection point. The transfer path is from an equipment front end module to a load lock chamber. The robot is used for transferring the wafer. The controller is configured to: determine whether the wafer can be corrected by the robot according to the actual position data; and in response to the result of the judgment that the wafer can be corrected by the robot, determine a control instruction for correcting the robot according to the actual position data, and correct the robot when the wafer is picked from the equipment front end module by the robot.
[0015] Further, the semiconductor processing equipment according to the third aspect of the present application comprises an equipment front end module, a load lock chamber and the wafer picking device according to the second aspect of the present application. The load lock chamber is located at the rear end of the equipment front end module, in which a wafer to be picked is placed. The wafer picking device is used for picking the wafer from the load lock chamber and sending it into the equipment front end module.
[0016] Further, the computer readable storage medium according to the fourth aspect of the present application has computer instructions stored thereon. When the computer instructions are executed by a controller, the wafer picking method according to the first aspect of the present application is implemented. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0017] The above features and advantages of the present application will be better understood through the following detailed description of embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the attached drawings. In the drawings, components are not necessarily drawn to scale and like related components are identified with like reference numerals.
[0018] Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing equipment according to an example is shown.
[0019] Figure 2 A structural schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing equipment according to some embodiments of the present application is shown.
[0020] Figure 3 A flowchart of a wafer picking method according to some embodiments of the present application is shown.
[0021] Figure 4 A principle schematic diagram of obtaining actual position data of a wafer according to some embodiments of the present application is shown.
[0022] Figure 5 A flowchart of a film taking method according to some embodiments of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] The present application can be further understood by the following detailed description of particular embodiments thereof, given by way of example only, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which:
[0024] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connection", "connecting" should be understood broadly, for example, can be fixed connection, can also be detachable connection, or integral connection; can be mechanical connection, can also be electrical connection; can be directly connected, can also be indirectly connected through intermediate medium, can be internal communication of two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.
[0025] In addition, "up", "down", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "horizontal", "vertical" used in the following description should be understood as the orientation shown in the paragraph and the related drawings. The relative terms are only used for the convenience of description, and they do not mean that the devices described should be manufactured or operated in a particular orientation, so they should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.
[0026] It can be understood that although the terms "first", "second", "third" and the like can be used herein to describe various components, regions, layers and / or parts, these components, regions, layers and / or parts should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are only used to distinguish different components, regions, layers and / or parts. Therefore, the first component, region, layer and / or part discussed below can be referred to as the second component, region, layer and / or part without departing from some embodiments of the present application.
[0027] As described above, the conventional Equipment Front End Module (EFEM) only transfers the wafer to the process module by the precision robot and transfers the wafer after the process to the Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP), and the actual position of the wafer is not inquired and corrected during the period, which causes the position deviation of the wafer in the transmission process due to the initial placement deviation, transmission path vibration and other factors, thereby affecting the processing precision of the subsequent processing process and causing the wafer yield to decrease.
[0028] Please refer to Figure 1 . Figure 1 A structure diagram of a semiconductor processing equipment according to a reference example is shown.
[0029] In addition, as Figure 1 shown, the existing semiconductor processing equipment includes an Equipment Front End Module 11, a wafer transfer box 12, a wafer pre-aligner 13 (PreAligner), a load lock chamber 14 (Load Lock, LL) and a robot 15. Here, the robot 15 needs to take out the wafer in the Equipment Front End Module 11, and after the pre-alignment step through the wafer pre-aligner 13, it is transmitted to the load lock chamber 14 at the back end and then sent into the chamber processing.
[0030] Therefore, the existing semiconductor processing equipment sets the wafer pre-aligner 13, and needs to use an additional process to perform the pre-alignment step in the wafer pre-aligner 13, which greatly affects the production capacity of the semiconductor processing equipment and causes low efficiency.
[0031] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, the present application provides a wafer taking method, a wafer taking device, a semiconductor processing equipment and a computer readable storage medium, which can obtain the actual position of the wafer by the detection sensor arranged on the wafer transfer path, so as to guide the robot to perform the deviation correction action, for collecting and transmitting the wafer position deviation data in the movement process, thereby increasing the tolerance range of wafer transfer and improving the process efficiency.
[0032] In some non-limiting embodiments, the above-mentioned wafer taking device provided by the second aspect of the present application can be configured in the above-mentioned semiconductor processing equipment provided by the third aspect of the present application and implemented based on the above-mentioned wafer taking method provided by the first aspect of the present application.
[0033] Please refer to Figure 2 . Figure 2 A structure diagram of a semiconductor processing equipment according to some embodiments of the present application is shown.
[0034] In Figure 2In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present application comprises an equipment front end module 21, a wafer cassette 22, a load lock chamber 23 and a wafer handling device 24. The load lock chamber 23 is located at the rear end of the equipment front end module 21, in which the wafer to be taken out is placed. The wafer handling device 24 is used to take the wafer out of the load lock chamber 23 and send it into the equipment front end module 21. The wafer handling device 24 can acquire the position information of the wafer on the transfer path from the equipment front end module 21 to the load lock chamber 23, and correct the mechanical hand on the transfer path from the load lock chamber 23 to the equipment front end module 21.
[0035] In addition, in some preferred embodiments, the semiconductor processing apparatus can automatically correct the position of the mechanical hand during the process of placing the wafer into the load lock chamber 23 without the participation of the controller.
[0036] Further, the wafer handling device 24 according to the first aspect of the present application comprises a detection sensor, a mechanical hand and a controller. The detection sensor is arranged at a detection point on the transfer path to acquire the actual position data of the wafer at the detection point. The transfer path is from the equipment front end module 21 to the load lock chamber 23. The mechanical hand is used to transfer the wafer.
[0037] Specifically, in some optional embodiments, the controller is a CTC (Cluster Tool Controller) computer. The mechanical hand is a Yasakwa MD124D model.
[0038] In some non-limiting embodiments, the wafer handling device according to the second aspect of the present application comprises a memory and a controller. The memory comprises but is not limited to the computer readable storage medium according to the fourth aspect of the present application, on which the computer instructions are stored. The controller is connected to the memory and is configured to execute the computer instructions stored on the memory to implement the wafer handling method according to the first aspect of the present application.
[0039] The working principle of the wafer handling device will be described below in combination with some embodiments of the wafer handling method. Those skilled in the art can understand that the embodiments of the wafer handling method are only some non-limiting embodiments provided by the present application, which are intended to clearly demonstrate the main concept of the present application and provide some specific schemes for facilitating the public to implement, but not to limit the overall function or overall working mode of the wafer handling device. Similarly, the wafer handling device is also only a non-limiting embodiment provided by the present application, which does not limit the execution subject and execution order of each step in the wafer handling method.
[0040] Reference will be made to Figure 3 . Figure 3A flowchart of a wafer picking method according to some embodiments of the present application is shown.
[0041] As shown in Figure 3 , the wafer picking device according to the second aspect of the present application can first acquire actual position data of the wafer at a detection point via a detection sensor arranged at the detection point on a transfer path. Here, the transfer path is from the front end module 21 to the load lock chamber 23.
[0042] Please further refer to Figure 4 . Figure 4 A schematic diagram of acquiring actual position data of a wafer according to some embodiments of the present application is shown.
[0043] As shown in Figure 4 , the first dimension of the wafer is d1. Two detection sensors are arranged on the sensor strip, and the first distance between the two detection sensors is d2. Here, the thickness of the sensor strip is 13 mm.
[0044] Specifically, during the detection, the first dimension d1 of the wafer is 150 mm, and the first distance d2 between the two detection sensors is 195 mm.
[0045] In this way, the two detection sensors can calculate the center position of the wafer according to the first distance and the first dimension of the wafer to acquire the actual position data of the wafer.
[0046] Then, as shown in Figure 3 , the wafer picking device can determine whether the wafer can be corrected by a robot for transferring the wafer according to the actual position data via a controller.
[0047] Specifically, the controller can acquire target position data of the wafer, and determine a deviation value of the wafer according to the actual position data and the target position data.
[0048] As shown in Figure 4 , the deviation value d3 of the wafer is 27 mm.
[0049] Then, in response to the deviation value being within a second threshold range, the controller can determine that the wafer can be corrected by the robot.
[0050] Further, in some optional embodiments, the second threshold range is -6 mm ~ 6 mm.
[0051] After that, as shown in Figure 3 , in response to the determination result that the wafer can be corrected by the robot, the controller can correct a wafer picking position of the robot according to the actual position data, and correct the wafer when the wafer is picked out from the front end module 21 via the robot.
[0052] Specifically, the controller can acquire the target position data of the wafer and determine the deviation value of the wafer based on the actual position data and the target position data.
[0053] The controller can then add the deviation value to the robot's initial pick-up position to determine the corrected pick-up position after the robot corrects its deviation.
[0054] Thus, the wafer pick-up device provided in the first aspect of the present invention can improve the wafer transfer accuracy of the robot arm to 0.05 mm by correcting the pick-up position of the robot arm. Furthermore, for vacuum suction robot arms, it can replace a wafer pre-aligner for wafer position calibration.
[0055] Alternatively, in response to the judgment that the wafer cannot be corrected by the robot arm, the controller can issue an alarm signal indicating that the wafer's position is seriously out of range.
[0056] Please refer to Figure 5 . Figure 5 A schematic flowchart of a slice-taking method according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.
[0057] In addition, Figure 5 In the embodiment shown, before determining whether the wafer can be corrected by the robotic arm that transports the wafer based on the actual position data, the controller can also determine whether the wafer can be normally transported by the robotic arm based on the actual position data of the wafer.
[0058] Specifically, the controller can acquire the target position data of the wafer and determine the deviation value of the wafer based on the actual position data and the target position data.
[0059] Subsequently, in response to the deviation value being within the first threshold range, the controller can determine that the wafer can be normally transferred by the robotic arm.
[0060] Furthermore, in some alternative embodiments, the first threshold range is -3mm to 3mm.
[0061] Thus, the wafer picking method provided by the first aspect of the present invention can expand the original wafer transfer tolerance range of -3mm to 3mm to -6mm to 6mm, thereby increasing the wafer per hour (WPH).
[0062] In summary, the wafer picking method, wafer picking device, semiconductor processing equipment, and computer-readable storage medium provided by the present invention can all obtain the actual position of the wafer through detection sensors set on the wafer transfer path, so as to guide the robot to perform correction actions. This is used to collect and transmit wafer position offset data during the movement, thereby increasing the tolerance range of wafer transfer and improving process efficiency.
[0063] Although the above-described methods are illustrated and described as a series of actions, it is to be understood and appreciated that the methods are not limited by the order of actions, as some actions can occur in different orders and / or concurrently with other actions from that illustrated and described herein or in other actions not specifically mentioned herein, in accordance with one or more embodiments.
[0064] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information, signals, and data can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that can be referenced throughout the above description can be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
[0065] The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module can reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium can reside as discrete components in a user terminal.
[0066] In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software as a computer program product, the functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.
[0067] The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein can be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
Claims
1. A method of taking a sheet, characterized by, The method comprises the following steps: acquiring actual position data of the wafer at a detection point on a conveying path from a detection sensor arranged at the detection point, wherein the conveying path is from an equipment front end module to a load lock chamber; determining whether the wafer can be corrected by a robot for conveying the wafer according to the actual position data; and in response to a result of the determination that the wafer can be corrected by the robot, correcting a wafer taking position of the robot according to the actual position data and correcting the wafer when the wafer is taken out from the equipment front end module by the robot.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein, Before the step of determining whether the wafer can be corrected by a robot for conveying the wafer according to the actual position data, the method further comprises the following steps: determining whether the wafer can be normally conveyed by the robot for conveying the wafer according to the actual position data.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the film is a film for a display device. The step of determining whether the wafer can be normally conveyed by the robot for conveying the wafer according to the actual position data comprises: acquiring target position data of the wafer; determining a deviation value of the wafer according to the actual position data and the target position data; and in response to the deviation value being within a first threshold range, determining that the wafer can be normally conveyed by the robot.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the film is a film for a display device. The first threshold range is -3mm~3mm.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein, The step of determining whether the wafer can be corrected by the robot according to the actual position data comprises: acquiring target position data of the wafer; determining a deviation value of the wafer according to the actual position data and the target position data; and in response to the deviation value being within a second threshold range, determining that the wafer can be corrected by the robot.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the film is a film for a display device. The second threshold range is -6mm~6mm.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of removing the sheet is performed by a user. The step of correcting the wafer taking position of the robot according to the actual position data in response to the result of the determination that the wafer can be corrected by the robot comprises: acquiring target position data of the wafer; determining a deviation value of the wafer according to the actual position data and the target position data; and adding the deviation value to an initial wafer taking position of the robot to determine a corrected wafer taking position of the robot after correction.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises the following steps: in response to a result of the determination that the wafer cannot be corrected by the robot, issuing an alarm signal indicating that a position of the wafer is seriously out of limit.
9. A sheet taking-out device characterized by comprising: The method comprises: a detection sensor arranged at a detection point on a conveying path for acquiring actual position data of a wafer at the detection point, wherein the conveying path is from an equipment front end module to a load lock chamber; a robot for conveying the wafer; and a controller configured to determine whether the wafer can be corrected by the robot according to the actual position data, and in response to a result of the determination that the wafer can be corrected by the robot, determine a control instruction for correcting the robot according to the actual position data and correct the wafer when the wafer is taken out from the equipment front end module by the robot.
10. A semiconductor processing apparatus, characterized by comprising: The method comprises: an equipment front end module; a load lock chamber located at a rear end of the equipment front end module, in which a wafer to be taken out is placed; and a robot for conveying the wafer. The wafer handling apparatus of claim 9, for removing the wafer from the load lock chamber and into the equipment front end module.
11. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions, wherein, The computer instructions, when executed by the controller, implement the wafer handling method of any one of claims 1-8.