Crystal support cleaning system and crystal support cleaning method

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of crystal support cleaning, in particular to a crystal support cleaning system and a crystal support cleaning method.The crystal support cleaning system comprises a plurality of functional tanks used for conducting physical cleaning and / or chemical cleaning and chemical cleaning and / or water cleaning on a crystal support; the crystal support bracket is used for bearing at least one crystal support and is placed in the functional groove; wherein the automatic conveying line is used for conveying to-be-cleaned crystal supports to the functional grooves, the crystal supports are grabbed through the mechanical arm and then placed on the crystal support supports of the functional grooves, and the mechanical arm is further used for transferring the crystal support supports among the multiple functional grooves. The cleaning device can clean the crystal support until metallic luster is exposed, foreign matter attached to the crystal support is thoroughly removed, and the abnormal wire breakage caused by falling of the foreign matter on the crystal support in the silicon rod machining process is eliminated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of crystal tray cleaning, and more specifically, to a crystal tray cleaning system and a crystal tray cleaning method. Background Technology

[0002] Silicon wafer manufacturing process: crystal bonding → slicing → cleaning → sorting. This process is the main production flow of silicon wafers, an important raw material for solar cell modules. The relevant processes are described below: Crystal bonding process: The crystal holder serves as a processing fixture for silicon rods. The resin board, a production auxiliary material, is bonded to the crystal holder using board adhesive, and the silicon rod is bonded to the resin board using rod adhesive. Slicing process: The silicon rod is clamped and bonded to the wafer holder using a multi-wire dicing machine, and then diced into the specified product. A significant quality-affecting anomaly during the dicing process is wire breakage. A major contributing factor to wire breakage is the shedding of foreign matter during processing, and the wafer holder is a significant source of this foreign matter. The presence of foreign matter on the wafer holder is due to incomplete cleaning of the wafer holder.

[0003] Current cleaning solutions for memory chip trays involve washing the surface with pure water. However, the disadvantages of simply washing with water are: Cleaning the surface of the crystal tray with pure water can only remove surface dust with weak adhesion. It cannot remove rust, residual adhesive particles, silicon powder blocks with strong adhesion, or foreign objects inside the crystal tray holes. During the silicon rod processing, these deposits are at risk of falling off, resulting in wire breakage, reducing production efficiency and product yield. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a crystal tray cleaning system that can clean the crystal tray until it has a metallic luster, thoroughly remove foreign matter attached to the crystal tray, and eliminate the abnormal wire breakage caused by foreign matter falling off the crystal tray during silicon rod processing.

[0005] Another objective of this invention is to provide a crystal tray cleaning method that can clean the crystal tray until it reveals a metallic luster, thoroughly remove foreign matter attached to the crystal tray, and eliminate the abnormal wire breakage caused by foreign matter falling off the crystal tray during silicon rod processing.

[0006] The technical solution of this invention is implemented as follows: A crystal tray cleaning system includes an automated transfer line and a robotic arm, and further includes: Multiple functional tanks are used for physical and / or chemical cleaning of the crystal tray, as well as chemical cleaning and / or water rinsing; A crystal holder support is used to support at least one crystal holder and place it in a functional slot; The automated transfer line is used to transport the crystal trays to be cleaned to the functional tanks, and the robotic arm picks up the crystal trays and places them on the crystal tray support in the functional tanks. The robotic arm is also used to transfer the crystal tray support between multiple functional tanks.

[0007] Furthermore, the multiple function slots include five function slots arranged sequentially, namely: Tank No. 1 serves as a waiting tank, where the crystal tray support is placed and used to receive and temporarily store the crystal trays to be cleaned from the automatic transmission line. Tank No. 2 is used as a friction cleaning tank for physical friction cleaning of the crystal tray surface; Tank No. 3, serving as the first rinsing tank, is used to perform turbulent rinsing on the crystal trays that have been treated in Tank No. 2. Tank No. 4 is used as a chemical cleaning tank to clean the surface of the crystal tray until a metallic luster is exposed. Tank No. 5, serving as the second rinsing tank, is used for the final rinsing to remove residual chemicals from the crystal tray.

[0008] Furthermore, the second tank is a diamond abrasive turbulence cleaning tank, which contains a solid-liquid mixture composed of diamond abrasive particles and water. The bottom of the second tank is equipped with a stirring device, which stirs and rotates the solid-liquid mixture to form turbulence to physically clean the surface of the crystal tray.

[0009] Furthermore, the stirring device is a propeller stirring device driven by magnetic force, and the second tank is made of non-magnetic stainless steel. The propeller stirring device includes a motor with a strong magnetic head and a propeller. The propeller is a magnetic component. The propeller is horizontally positioned at the bottom of the second slot, and the motor with a strong magnetic head is positioned at the bottom outside the second slot. The motor and the propeller in the slot are connected by magnetic coupling without contact, and the motor drives the propeller to rotate horizontally.

[0010] Furthermore, the diameter of the diamond particles ranges from 300 to 500 μm.

[0011] Furthermore, the No. 3 tank is equipped with a spray system, which includes a spray pipe arranged around the tank wall and multiple spray nozzles on the spray pipe for turbulent rinsing of the crystal trays inside the tank.

[0012] Furthermore, the spraying system also includes a pumped filtration system connected to the spray pipe, the pumped filtration system including a water pump, a gravity settling tank, and a filter assembly disposed in the gravity settling tank; The spray pipe has an open end and a closed end at its two ends, respectively. The water pump is installed above the gravity settling tank. The output port of the water pump is connected to the open end of the spray pipe, and the input port is connected to the upper port of the gravity settling tank through a pipe. The lower port of the gravity settling tank is connected to the bottom of the second tank through a pipe for pumping the mixed liquid in the second tank.

[0013] Furthermore, the fourth tank is filled with silicon powder and rust cleaner, and multiple air curtain pipes are laid at the bottom of the tank and connected to an air compressor to generate dense bubbles to assist the chemical agents in cleaning the surface of the crystal tray until a metallic luster is exposed.

[0014] Furthermore, the structure and function of the No. 5 tank are the same as those of the No. 3 tank, and it is used for final rinsing to remove residual chemical agents.

[0015] A crystal tray cleaning method based on the crystal tray cleaning system includes the following steps: (a) The crystal trays to be cleaned are transported to the No. 1 tank via an automated conveyor line, and the robotic arm loads them onto the crystal tray support, which holds multiple crystal trays. (b) When the crystal tray is fully loaded, the robot transfers the crystal tray to the second tank. In the mixture of diamond particles and water, the crystal tray is physically cleaned by the turbulence formed by the magnetic propeller to remove large particles of silicon powder, rust and loose adhesive residue. (c) The robotic arm transfers the crystal tray support to tank number three, where the crystal tray is initially rinsed by high-pressure water spray. (d) The robotic arm transfers the crystal tray support to the fourth tank, immersing the crystal tray in the chemical cleaning agent. An air curtain is formed by introducing air from the bottom, which works in conjunction with the chemical action to thoroughly remove residual contaminants and restore the metallic luster to the surface of the crystal tray. (e) The robotic arm transfers the crystal tray to tank number five, and the crystal tray is rinsed again by high-pressure water spray to thoroughly remove the chemical residue; (f) After cleaning, the robot arm removes the clean crystal tray and sends it back to the automatic transfer line. The robot arm then transfers the empty crystal tray holder to the No. 1 tank for reuse.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: The crystal tray cleaning system of this application is designed with multiple functional tanks for physical and / or chemical cleaning, as well as chemical cleaning and / or water cleaning of the crystal trays. After the crystal tray is picked up by a robotic arm, it is placed on the crystal tray support in the functional tank. The robotic arm then transfers the crystal tray support between the multiple functional tanks, thereby realizing the processes of physical cleaning, chemical cleaning, and water cleaning in sequence. For example, physical cleaning uses physical friction cleaning or physical abrasion cleaning to remove most of the contaminants, and then rinsing removes the particles or contaminants after friction. Chemical cleaning can use chemical cleaning agents to remove a small amount of residual contaminants on the crystal tray, restoring the surface of the crystal tray to a metallic luster. Thus, the entire solution can clean the crystal tray to the point of revealing a metallic luster and thoroughly remove foreign objects attached to the crystal tray through a composite solution of physical friction + chemical corrosion + rinsing, thereby eliminating the abnormal wire breakage caused by foreign objects falling off the crystal tray during silicon rod processing. Attached Figure Description

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present invention and should not be regarded as a limitation on the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0018] Figure 1 This is an isometric schematic diagram of the entire crystal tray cleaning system of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a front view of the crystal tray cleaning system of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a top view of the crystal holder cleaning system of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a structural schematic diagram of the No. 3 or No. 5 tank of the present invention (where the gravity settling box is viewed in cross section). Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of slot number four of the present invention.

[0019] In the picture: 1- Tank No. 1; 2- Tank No. 2; 3- Tank No. 3; 4- Tank No. 4; 5- Tank No. 5; 6- Automatic transmission line; 7- Crystal support bracket; 8- Motor strong magnetic head; 9- Propeller; 10- Spray pipe; 11- Water pump; 12- Gravity settling tank; 13- Filter screen; 14- Robotic arm; 15- Air curtain pipe; 16- Air compressor. Detailed Implementation

[0020] 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, and not all embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present invention described and shown in the accompanying drawings can generally be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0021] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but merely to illustrate selected embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the invention.

[0022] It should be noted that similar labels 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.

[0023] 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, or the orientation or positional relationship commonly used when the product of this invention is in use. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and 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, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this invention. In addition, the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., are only used to distinguish descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0024] Furthermore, terms such as "horizontal," "vertical," and "sag" do not imply that components must be absolutely horizontal or suspended, but rather that they can be slightly tilted. For example, "horizontal" simply means that its direction is more horizontal relative to "vertical," and does not mean that the structure must be completely horizontal, but can be slightly tilted.

[0025] In the description of this invention, it should also be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "set," "install," "connect," and "link" 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.

[0026] The following detailed description of some embodiments of the present invention is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise specified, the following embodiments and features can be combined with each other.

[0027] Example 1 Reference Figures 1-5 This embodiment provides a crystal tray cleaning system, including an automatic transfer line 6 and a robotic arm 14, and further includes: Multiple functional slots are used for physical and / or chemical cleaning of the crystal tray, as well as chemical cleaning and / or water rinsing; each functional slot, or functional slot body, is a rectangular slot. Crystal holder 7, used to support at least one crystal holder and place it in the functional slot; The automatic transfer line 6 is used to transport the crystal trays to be cleaned to the functional tanks, and the robot arm 14 picks up the crystal trays and places them on the crystal tray support 7 in the functional tanks. The robot arm 14 is also used to transfer the crystal tray support 7 between multiple functional tanks.

[0028] In this embodiment, four crystal holders can be placed on the crystal holder support 7, so that after the crystal holder support 7 is placed in the functional slot, the four crystal holders on it are located on the four sides of the slot respectively.

[0029] Specifically, the multiple function slots include five function slots arranged sequentially, namely: Tank 1 serves as a waiting tank for materials. The crystal tray support 7 is placed in Tank 1 and is used to receive and temporarily store the crystal trays to be cleaned from the automatic transfer line 6. Tank 2, as a friction cleaning tank, is used to perform physical friction cleaning on the surface of the crystal tray; Tank 3, as the first rinsing tank, is used to perform turbulent rinsing on the crystal trays after they have been treated in Tank 2. Tank 4, used as a chemical cleaning tank, is used to clean the surface of the crystal tray until a metallic luster is exposed. Tank 5, serving as the second rinsing tank, is used for the final rinsing to remove residual chemicals from the crystal tray.

[0030] Tank 2 is a diamond abrasive turbulence cleaning tank, which contains a solid-liquid mixture of diamond abrasive particles and water. The bottom of Tank 2 is equipped with a stirring device, which stirs and rotates the solid-liquid mixture to create turbulence and perform physical friction cleaning on the surface of the crystal tray.

[0031] The stirring device is a magnetically driven propeller 9. Tank 2 is made of non-magnetic stainless steel. The propeller 9 stirring device includes a motor-driven strong magnetic head 8 and a propeller 9. The propeller 9 is a magnetic component, horizontally positioned at the bottom of Tank 2. The motor-driven strong magnetic head 8 is positioned at the bottom outside Tank 2, and is magnetically coupled to the propeller 9 in the tank for contactless transmission, driving the propeller 9 to rotate horizontally. The propeller 9 can be a five-bladed propeller. When the motor-driven strong magnetic head 8 rotates, it drives the propeller 9 to rotate horizontally, which in turn causes the solid-liquid mixture in Tank 2 to move in a circular motion. The mixture of diamond abrasive and water cleans the crystal trays placed around the crystal tray support 7 by friction, removing large particles of rust and silicon powder.

[0032] In one optional implementation, the diameter of the diamond abrasive particles ranges from 300 to 500 μm. Diamond abrasive particles with a diameter of 300–500 μm mixed with water provide better physical friction. The use of diamond abrasive particles with a diameter of 300–500 μm mixed with water for turbulent cleaning is not arbitrary, but rather based on a comprehensive consideration of the cleaning object (crystal substrate material, surface structure, type of dirt) and the cleaning objective (high efficiency, thoroughness, and no damage to the substrate). Specific effects are as follows: 1. Moderate particle size – just right to break up large pieces of dirt. The main contaminants on the crystal holder include: large pieces of silica powder (particle size can reach hundreds of micrometers), rust clumps, hardened residual glue, and complex foreign matter accumulated in the pores. These contaminants have strong adhesion and high hardness, and ordinary water flow or fine particles cannot effectively remove them. 300-500μm diamond abrasive particles have sufficient mass and kinetic energy. Under the action of stirring and turbulence, they impact the surface of the crystal holder at high speed, which can break up and shake off large pieces of dirt like "mini sand bullets".

[0033] 2. Sufficient Hardness – Diamond is the hardest natural substance, with a Mohs hardness of 10, far exceeding that of stainless steel crystal supports (approximately 5.5–6), silicon powder (7), and rust (5–6). Therefore, it can easily grind silicon powder and rust without easily breaking itself, and it is highly reusable. Compared to traditional abrasive materials such as alumina or quartz sand, diamond is more wear-resistant, more efficient, and has a longer lifespan. Diamond has low loss in closed-loop systems, making it cost-effective for long-term use.

[0034] 3. No damage to the substrate – Controlling the particle size of the diamond abrasive is crucial. The particle size is precisely controlled between 300 and 500 μm. This is because if the diamond particles are too small (e.g., <100 μm), the impact force is insufficient to remove large pieces of dirt; however, if they are too large (e.g., >800 μm), the individual particles are heavy and have sharp edges, easily causing mechanical scratches or pitting damage during high-speed movement. The 300–500 μm particle diameter is the optimal range. Within this size range, the diamond particles generate sufficient impact energy to remove dirt, and due to their uniform distribution and relatively large contact area, the unit pressure is low, preventing punctures or deep scratches on the stainless steel surface. Combined with turbulent flow instead of sandblasting, it is not high-pressure direct spray, but rather uses a propeller 9 to create turbulent friction, a combination of "overall scouring + rolling friction," resulting in gentle and evenly distributed force, further reducing the risk of damage.

[0035] 4. Suitable for cleaning pores. Crystal holders typically have multiple through holes or blind holes (for clamping, venting, and weight reduction), which are the easiest places for dirt and grime to accumulate. Particles of 300–500 μm can enter the interior of channels with a diameter of ≥1 mm. Under the influence of turbulence, they rotate and collide with the water flow, gradually peeling off impurities from the pore walls. If the particles are too large, they will get stuck (clogging the pores), and if they are too small, they will lack impact force. Therefore, particles of 300–500 μm are an ideal choice that balances particle passage and cleaning power.

[0036] The stirring mechanism is designed to have a stirring speed of 30-100 r / min. The high-speed moving diamond abrasive mixture washes away the silicon powder and rust particles remaining on the crystal tray, shakes off the residual adhesive, and removes foreign objects remaining in the crystal tray holes.

[0037] Tank 3 is equipped with a spray system, which includes a spray pipe 10 arranged around the tank wall. The spray pipe 10 is equipped with multiple water nozzles for turbulent rinsing of the crystal trays in the tank.

[0038] The spray system also includes a pumping filtration system connected to the spray pipe 10. The pumping filtration system includes a water pump 11, a gravity settling tank 12, and a filter assembly installed in the gravity settling tank 12. The water pump 11 is installed above the gravity settling tank 12. The two ends of the spray pipe 10 are an open end and a closed end, respectively. The output port of the water pump 11 is connected to the open end of the spray pipe 10, and the input port is connected to the upper port of the gravity settling tank 12 through a pipe. The lower port of the gravity settling tank 12 is connected to the bottom of the second tank 2 through a pipe. The filter assembly includes multiple layers of filter screens 13. Preferably, in this embodiment, the filter assembly includes two stages of filter screens 13 of different heights to achieve the recycling of cleaning water. The third tank 3 is a tap water cleaning tank. The crystal trays transferred from the second tank 2 are rinsed and cleaned in the third tank 3. There is a spray pipe 10 on each of the four sides of the third tank 3, for a total of four spray pipes 10 surrounding the tank walls of the third tank 3. Each spray pipe 10 is long enough to completely cover the length of the crystal support. A pump-water filtration system outside tank 3 draws the mixed liquid from the bottom of tank 3 and injects it into the gravity settling tank 12 at 1 / 3 of its height (preferably, the lower port of the gravity settling tank 12 is designed at 1 / 3 of its height). Under the filtration action of the filtration components, the impurities washed off from the crystal support in tank 2, due to their higher density, settle at the bottom of the gravity settling tank 12. Two filter screens 13 are installed at the bottom 1 / 2 and 2 / 3 heights respectively, forming... A two-stage filter screen 13, with a mesh size of 30, is used. Water drawn from tank 2 undergoes gravity sedimentation and secondary filtration, and is then pressurized and pumped by pump 11 to four spray pipes 10. The spray pipes 10 are submerged below the water surface in the tank, at a height of 2 / 3 from the bottom of the crystal tray. The mixed liquid drawn by pump 11 is filtered and then sprayed from the spray nozzles of the spray pipes 10, forming high-pressure water jets. Multiple high-pressure water jets on the spray pipes 10 create turbulence in the surrounding water, continuously rinsing and cleaning the crystal tray. By using this pump-water filtration system, the crystal tray can be cleaned more thoroughly with less water, saving 90% of water compared to existing solutions.

[0039] Tank 4 contains silicon powder and rust cleaner, and multiple air curtain pipes 15 are arranged at the bottom of the tank and connected to an air compressor 16 to generate dense bubbles to assist the chemical agents. This is used to clean the surface of the crystal tray until a metallic luster is revealed. The silicon powder and rust are cleaned by chemical agents with strong corrosive and cleaning capabilities, and residual adhesive is softened. Tank 4 is a chemical cleaning tank. After the initial cleaning in Tanks 2 and 3, there are no obvious attached particles on the surface of the crystal tray. After chemical corrosion cleaning in Tank 4, a metallic luster will be revealed. Tank 4 contains a self-developed high-efficiency silicon powder cleaner and rust cleaner (chemical cleaner), and multiple air curtain pipes 15 are arranged at the bottom of the tank. The air compressor 16 pumps air into the air curtain pipes 15 to form a dense bubble network. Combined with the corrosive properties of the chemical agents, residual impurities on the crystal tray can be effectively removed.

[0040] Tank 5 has the same structure and function as Tank 3, used for final rinsing to remove residual chemicals. Tank 5 is also equipped with a spray system, and four spray pipes 10 are installed on its four side walls, along with a pump-driven filtration system. The difference between Tank 5 and Tank 3 is that Tank 5 is located at the rear of Tank 4, used for secondary rinsing, and final rinsing to remove residual chemicals. After the first rinse in Tank 3 and the second rinse in Tank 5, the spray system can use high-speed water flow to flush the outer surface and holes of the crystal tray, thoroughly cleaning any foreign matter that has detached from the inner and outer surfaces of the crystal tray, ensuring the surface cleanliness of the crystal tray.

[0041] It should be noted that the chemical cleaning agent used in tank 4 is specifically the silicon rod and crystal tray cleaning agent disclosed in application publication number CN120700498A. Specifically, the chemical cleaning agent used in tank 4 contains the following components: a strong oxidizing alkaline substance for dissolving rust and corroding silicon powder; a surfactant for penetrating residual adhesive interfaces and reducing their adhesion; and a corrosion inhibitor for preventing excessive corrosion of the crystal tray substrate metal during the cleaning process. The crystal tray is a metal clamp used to fix silicon rods during the photovoltaic silicon wafer cutting process. Its surface is relatively smooth, and the sides of the crystal tray have positioning through holes and dovetail groove structures. During the cleaning process, turbulence, spraying, and bubble action can effectively remove foreign matter from the holes. The crystal tray is placed vertically against the four sides of the crystal tray support 7 to ensure thorough cleaning from all directions. This solution is used for fully automated, efficient, and low-consumption cleaning of reusable crystal trays during the manufacturing process of solar cell silicon wafers to eliminate wafer breakage abnormalities caused by crystal tray contamination, thereby improving product yield and production efficiency.

[0042] The robotic arm 14 is a conventional technology, and its structure will not be described in detail. Its functional configuration is as follows: when the crystal trays on the automatic transfer line 6 (crystal tray transfer production line) are transferred to the first tank 1, the robotic arm 14 picks up the crystal trays and places them on the crystal tray support 7 until the crystal tray support 7 is full of four crystal trays; when the crystal tray support 7 in the first tank 1 is full of four crystal trays, the robotic arm 14 transfers the whole thing to the second tank 2 for physical friction cleaning; after physical friction cleaning, it is transferred to the third tank 3 for initial cleaning; after the initial cleaning, it is transferred to the fourth tank 4 for chemical cleaning; after chemical cleaning, it is transferred to the fifth tank 5 for secondary cleaning. After each stage of cleaning or washing is completed, the robot arm 14 transfers it to the subsequent tanks in sequence. It should be noted that the automatic transfer line 6 includes a loading section and a unloading section. The loading section is used to transfer the crystal trays to be cleaned to the first tank 1. After the second cleaning in the fifth tank 5 is completed, the robot arm 14 sends the clean crystal trays back to the unloading section of the automatic transfer line 6. At the same time, the empty crystal tray support 7 is transferred back to the first tank 1 for reuse.

[0043] Example 2 The crystal holder cleaning method of the crystal holder cleaning system includes the following steps: (a) The crystal trays to be cleaned are transported to the No. 1 tank 1 via the automatic conveyor line 6, and the robot arm 14 loads them onto the crystal tray support 7, which holds 4 crystal trays. (b) When the crystal tray 7 is fully loaded, the robot arm 14 transfers the crystal tray 7 to the second tank 2. In the mixture of diamond particles and water, the crystal tray is physically cleaned by the turbulence formed by the magnetic propeller 9 to remove large particles of silicon powder, rust and loose residue. (c) The robotic arm 14 transfers the crystal support 7 to the No. 3 tank 3 and performs a preliminary rinse on the crystal support by high-pressure water spray. (d) The robotic arm 14 transfers the crystal holder 7 to the fourth tank 4, immersing the crystal holder in the chemical cleaning agent, and forms an air curtain by introducing air from the bottom, which works in conjunction with the chemical action to thoroughly remove residual contaminants and restore the metallic luster to the surface of the crystal holder. (e) The robotic arm 14 transfers the crystal support 7 to the No. 5 tank 5, and then rinses the crystal support a second time with high-pressure water spray to completely remove the chemical residue. (f) After cleaning, the robot arm 14 removes the clean crystal tray and sends it back to the automatic transfer line 6. The robot arm 14 then transfers the empty crystal tray support 7 to the No. 1 tank 1 for reuse.

[0044] The multiple water outlets on the spray pipe 10 can be arranged side by side or staggered, with the spray direction tilted upward or horizontal, so that the water flow impacts the surface of the crystal support and causes the surrounding water to form a continuous turbulence, thereby enhancing the scouring effect.

[0045] The beneficial effects of the technical solution of the present invention are: The crystal tray cleaning system of this application is designed with five functional tanks for temporary storage (awaiting material), physical cleaning, initial water cleaning, chemical cleaning, and secondary water cleaning of the crystal trays. After the robot arm 14 picks up the crystal trays and places them on the crystal tray support 7 in the functional tanks, the robot arm 14 then moves the crystal tray support 7 between the multiple functional tanks, so that physical cleaning, chemical cleaning, chemical cleaning, and water cleaning processes can be realized in sequence. For example, physical cleaning uses a solid-liquid mixture of abrasive and water to achieve physical friction cleaning or physical grinding cleaning to remove most of the contaminants. Then, rinsing is performed to remove the particles or contaminants after friction. Chemical cleaning can use chemical cleaning agents to remove a small amount of residual contaminants on the crystal trays and restore the surface of the crystal trays to a metallic luster. The whole solution is a composite solution of chemical corrosion + abrasive liquid turbulence cleaning + physical impact, which can clean the crystal trays to the point of revealing a metallic luster and thoroughly remove foreign objects attached to the crystal trays, thereby eliminating the abnormal wire breakage caused by foreign objects falling off the crystal trays during silicon rod processing.

[0046] 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 therein. Such 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 wafer cleaning system comprising an automatic transfer line (6) and a robot (14), characterized in that, Also included are: a plurality of functional slots for physically and / or chemically cleaning and / or chemically and / or water rinsing the wafer boat; a wafer boat holder (7) for carrying at least one wafer boat and placing it in the functional slots; wherein the automatic conveying line (6) is used to deliver the wafer boat to be cleaned to the functional slots, and the wafer boat is placed on the wafer boat holder (7) in the functional slots after being grabbed by the mechanical hand (14), and the mechanical hand (14) is also used to transfer the wafer boat holder (7) between the plurality of functional slots.

2. The pod cleaning system of claim 1, wherein, The plurality of functional slots includes five functional slots arranged in sequence, which are: a first slot (1) as a standby slot, in which the wafer boat holder (7) is placed and used to receive and temporarily store the wafer boat to be cleaned from the automatic conveying line (6); a second slot (2) as a friction cleaning slot, used for physically friction cleaning the surface of the wafer boat; a third slot (3) as a first rinsing slot, used for turbulent washing of the wafer boat after being treated in the second slot (2); a fourth slot (4) as a chemical cleaning slot, used for cleaning the surface of the wafer boat to expose the metal luster; a fifth slot (5) as a second rinsing slot, used for final washing to remove the residual chemical agent on the wafer boat.

3. The wafer cleaning system of claim 2, wherein The second slot (2) is a diamond sand turbulent washing slot, which contains a solid-liquid mixture of diamond sand particles mixed with water, and the bottom of the second slot (2) is provided with a stirring device, which forms a turbulent flow by stirring and rotating the solid-liquid mixture to physically friction clean the surface of the wafer boat.

4. The wafer cleaning system of claim 3, wherein The stirring device is a propeller (9) stirring device driven by magnetic force, and the second slot (2) is made of non-magnetic stainless steel material; The propeller (9) stirring device includes a motor strong magnetic head (8) and a propeller (9), the propeller (9) is a magnetic component, the propeller (9) is horizontally arranged at the bottom of the second slot (2), and the motor strong magnetic head (8) is arranged at the bottom outside the second slot (2) and is in contactless transmission with the propeller (9) in the slot through magnetic coupling, used to drive the propeller (9) to rotate horizontally.

5. The wafer cleaning system of claim 3, wherein The diameter of the diamond sand particles ranges from 300 to 500 μm.

6. The wafer cleaning system of claim 2, wherein The third slot (3) is equipped with a spraying system, which includes a spraying pipe (10) arranged around the slot wall, and a plurality of water outlets are arranged on the spraying pipe (10) for turbulent washing of the wafer boat in the slot.

7. The wafer cleaning system of claim 6, wherein The spraying system further includes a pumping and filtering system connected with the spraying pipe (10), which includes a water pump (11), a gravity settling tank (12), and a filter screen assembly arranged in the gravity settling tank (12); Both ends of the spraying pipe (10) are open end and closed end respectively, the water pump (11) is arranged above the gravity settling tank (12), the output port of the water pump (11) is communicated with the open end of the spraying pipe (10), and the input port is communicated with the upper port of the gravity settling tank (12) through a pipeline, the lower port of the gravity settling tank (12) is communicated with the bottom of the second slot (2) through a pipeline, and is used to suck the mixed liquid in the second slot (2).

8. The wafer cleaning system of claim 2, wherein, The fourth tank (4) contains silicon powder and rust cleaner. A plurality of air curtain pipes (15) are arranged at the bottom of the tank and connected to an air compressor (16) to generate dense bubbles to assist the chemical agent to clean the surface of the wafer carrier to expose the metal luster.

9. The wafer cleaning system of claim 7, wherein, The fifth tank (5) has the same structure and function as the third tank (3) and is used for final rinsing to remove residual chemical agent.

10. A method of cleaning a wafer boat based on the wafer boat cleaning system of claim 2, wherein, The method comprises the following steps: (a) The wafer carrier to be cleaned is transported by an automatic transmission line (6) to the first tank (1), and a mechanical arm (14) loads the wafer carrier onto a wafer carrier support (7), and the wafer carrier support (7) carries a plurality of wafer carriers; (b) When the wafer carrier support (7) is full, the mechanical arm (14) transfers the wafer carrier support (7) to the second tank (2), and the wafer carrier is cleaned by physical friction in the mixed solution of the corundum particles and water through the turbulence formed by the magnetic drive propeller (9) to remove large silicon powder, rust and loose residual glue; (c) The mechanical arm (14) transfers the wafer carrier support (7) to the third tank (3) to preliminarily rinse the wafer carrier by high-pressure water flow; (d) The mechanical arm (14) transfers the wafer carrier support (7) to the fourth tank (4) to immerse the wafer carrier in the chemical cleaner, and air is introduced from the bottom to form an air curtain to completely remove the residual pollutants and restore the metal luster of the wafer carrier surface through the chemical action; (e) The mechanical arm (14) transfers the wafer carrier support (7) to the fifth tank (5) to rinse the wafer carrier again by high-pressure water flow to completely remove the residual agent; (f) After cleaning, the mechanical arm (14) unloads the clean wafer carrier and sends it back to the automatic transmission line (6), and the mechanical arm (14) transfers the empty wafer carrier support (7) to the first tank (1) for repeated use.

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