Wafer bearing device with positioning structure

Abstract

The invention provides a wafer bearing device with a positioning structure. The wafer bearing device comprises a wafer base and a base. The wafer base is used for bearing a wafer and comprises a transmission steel ring and a positioning part, and the positioning part is movably connected to the transmission steel ring and protrudes out of the transmission steel ring; the base is arranged below the wafer pedestal, a plurality of driving gears and a positioning groove are arranged on the base, the plurality of driving gears are arranged along the circumferential direction of the transmission steel ring, and the positioning part is matched with the positioning groove and can move in the positioning groove. According to the wafer bearing device with the positioning structure, the positioning groove is formed in the base, the positioning part is arranged at the bottom of the transmission steel ring and connected with the positioning groove in a clamped mode, accurate position control over the wafer base is achieved, and reliable transmission of the wafer base can be achieved through the driving gear; and the condition that the wafer base is broken due to extrusion between the wafer base and the driving gear due to position deviation caused by inaccurate positioning of the wafer base is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor processing, and in particular to a wafer carrier device with a positioning structure. Background Technology

[0002] During wafer processing, the wafer needs to be fixed on a wafer carrier. To improve the consistency of processing across the wafer, the wafer carrier is rotated. Existing wafer carriers are mounted on a machine tool, with multiple drive gears along their circumference that mesh with the carrier to drive its rotation. Due to installation precision issues, the degree of meshing between the wafer carrier and different drive gears varies. Especially when the wafer carrier is off-center from rotation, it may become overly tightly meshed with one drive gear while disengaging from the other. This results in uneven opening and closing of the wafer carrier and incomplete rotation, affecting wafer processing quality and potentially causing wafer instability and fragmentation. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a wafer carrier device with a positioning structure, which has the advantages of high positioning accuracy and avoidance of wafer carrier device breakage.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a wafer carrier device with a positioning structure, comprising:

[0005] A wafer base for supporting wafers, the wafer base including a drive steel ring and a positioning component, the positioning component being movably connected to the drive steel ring and protruding from the drive steel ring;

[0006] A base is disposed below the wafer base. The base is provided with a plurality of drive gears and a positioning groove. The plurality of drive gears are arranged along the circumference of the transmission steel ring. The positioning component matches the positioning groove and is able to move within the positioning groove.

[0007] Optionally, the positioning component includes a connecting rod and a bearing, one end of the connecting rod is connected to the transmission steel ring, the other end of the connecting rod is connected to the inner ring of the bearing, and the outer ring of the bearing is positioned and connected to the positioning groove.

[0008] Optionally, the bearing may be a roller bearing.

[0009] Optionally, a contact layer is embedded in the side of the positioning groove that is connected to the bearing for positioning, and the contact layer is made of steel.

[0010] Optionally, the base is provided with four independent positioning grooves, and the four positioning grooves are evenly distributed along the circumference of the base.

[0011] Optionally, the transmission steel ring includes a central disc, an edge disc, and spokes, with the two ends of the spokes connected to the central disc and the edge disc respectively, and the positioning component disposed on the spokes.

[0012] Optionally, six spokes are evenly arranged along the circumference of the transmission steel ring, and four positioning components are provided on the wafer base.

[0013] Optionally, the four positioning components are arranged adjacent to each other on four of the spokes.

[0014] Optionally, the base includes six drive gears, and the six drive gears are evenly distributed along the circumference of the wafer base, with each drive gear corresponding to one of the spokes.

[0015] Optionally, the central angle corresponding to each of the positioning slots is greater than 5° and less than 20°.

[0016] In summary, compared with the prior art, the wafer carrier device with positioning structure provided by the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0017] The wafer carrier device with positioning structure provided by the present invention achieves precise position control of the wafer base by setting a positioning groove in the base and setting a positioning component at the bottom of the transmission steel ring to engage with the positioning groove. The drive gear can reliably transmit power to the wafer base, avoiding the situation where the wafer base breaks due to position deviation caused by inaccurate positioning of the wafer base and squeezing with the drive gear. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the wafer carrier device of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the connection structure between the drive gear and the transmission steel ring of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A magnified view of a portion of the drive gear.

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing the relative relationship between the positioning groove and the wafer base of the wafer carrier device of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram showing the position of the positioning groove in the wafer carrier device of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the positioning component of the wafer carrier device of the present invention.

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

[0025] Wafer carrier device 10

[0026] Wafer pedestal 110

[0027] Transmission steel ring 111

[0028] Central plate 1111

[0029] Edge plate 1112

[0030] Wheel spokes 1113

[0031] Positioning component 112

[0032] Connecting rod 1121

[0033] Bearing 1122

[0034] Base 120

[0035] Drive gear 121

[0036] Positioning slot 122 Detailed Implementation

[0037] The following will be combined with the appendix in the embodiments of the present invention. Figure 1 ~Attached Figure 6 The technical solutions, structural features, objectives and effects achieved in the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0038] It should be noted that the accompanying drawings are in a very simplified form and use non-precise proportions. They are only used to facilitate and clarify the purpose of illustrating the embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the implementation conditions of the present invention. Therefore, they have no substantial technical significance. Any modifications to the structure, changes in the proportional relationship, or adjustments to the size should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed in the present invention, provided that they do not affect the effects and objectives that the present invention can produce.

[0039] It should be noted that, in this invention, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only the expressly listed elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus.

[0040] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a wafer carrier device 10 with a positioning structure, including a wafer base 110 and a base 120.

[0041] The wafer pedestal 110 is used to support the wafer. During the wafer processing, the wafer is placed on the wafer pedestal 110 and the wafer and the wafer pedestal 110 are fixedly connected. By driving the wafer pedestal 110 to rotate, the wafer is driven to rotate in the reaction chamber, thereby improving the uniformity of the reaction results at various points on the wafer.

[0042] The wafer pedestal 110 includes a drive steel ring 111 and a positioning component 112. The positioning component 112 is used to position and connect with the base 120 to ensure accurate positioning between the wafer pedestal 110 and the base 120, preventing the wafer pedestal 110 from moving relative to the base 120 during the process. Since the drive gear 121 is fixedly mounted on the base 120, if the wafer pedestal 110 moves relative to the base 120, the wafer pedestal 110 will be squeezed against the drive gear 121, causing the wafer pedestal 110 to break. The drive steel ring 111 has the overall frame structure of the wafer pedestal 110 and is the main structure that supports the wafer. The positioning component 112 is movably connected to the drive steel ring 111 and protrudes downward from the drive steel ring 111.

[0043] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, a base 120 is disposed below a wafer base 110 to support the wafer base 110. The base 120 is provided with multiple drive gears 121 and positioning grooves 122, wherein the positioning grooves 122 and positioning components 112 of the wafer base 110 are disposed opposite to each other, and the positioning components 112 are matched with the positioning grooves 122 and can move within the positioning grooves 122. One end of the positioning component 112 is connected to a transmission steel ring 111, and the other end of the positioning component 112 is engaged in the positioning groove 122, thereby realizing the positioning function of the positioning groove 122 on the wafer base 110.

[0044] In this embodiment, the central angle corresponding to each positioning groove 122 is greater than 5° and less than 20°. Since in the actual process, the drive gear 121 only needs to drive the wafer base 110 to rotate by a small angle, the value of the central angle corresponding to the positioning groove 122 is between 5° and 20°, preferably within the range of 5°-10°, to avoid waste caused by excessively large slot length of the positioning groove 122.

[0045] Multiple drive gears 121 are arranged circumferentially along the transmission steel ring 111. The transmission steel ring 111 and the drive gear 121 are provided with teeth that match the drive gear 121 on the opposite side. Thus, the drive gear 121 rotates to drive the transmission steel ring 111 to rotate, which in turn drives the wafer on it to rotate in the reaction chamber.

[0046] like Figure 6As shown, the positioning component 112 includes a connecting rod 1121 and a bearing 1122. One end of the connecting rod 1121 is connected to the transmission steel ring 111, and the other end is connected to the inner ring of the bearing 1122. The connecting rod 1121 and the inner ring of the bearing 1122 are tightly fitted to ensure a reliable connection between the connecting rod and the inner ring of the bearing 1122, preventing accidental disengagement of the connecting rod 1121 and the inner ring of the bearing 1122 during operation. The outer ring of the bearing 1122 is positioned and connected to the positioning groove 122, that is, the outer ring of the bearing 1122 abuts against the inner wall of the positioning groove 122 on the opposite side of the outer ring of the bearing 1122. The outer ring of the bearing 1122 rolls within the positioning groove 122 to achieve the positioning of the wafer substrate 110.

[0047] In this embodiment, the bearing 1122 is a roller bearing 1122, and the ball bearing 1122 uses cylindrical rolling elements. The cylindrical rolling elements are in line contact with the inner and outer rings of the bearing 1122, with a large contact area, which can withstand a large load, ensuring accurate positioning of the transmission steel ring 111 and avoiding failure of the rolling elements due to excessive load.

[0048] In other embodiments, bearing 1122 may also be a ball bearing or a needle roller bearing.

[0049] In this embodiment, a contact layer is embedded in the side of the positioning groove 122 that is positioned and connected to the bearing 1122. The contact layer is made of steel and has a certain thickness, which can be selected as 3mm-5mm. The contact layer made of steel inside the positioning groove 122 contacts the outer ring of the bearing 1122, ensuring the reliability of the contact process between the positioning groove 122 and the bearing 1122. This avoids the positioning groove 122 from wearing down due to the strength of the outer ring of the bearing 1122 being greater than the strength of the positioning groove 122, which would lead to a decrease in positioning accuracy. It also avoids the situation where the wafer base 110 breaks due to a deviation in position between the wafer base 110 and the base 120 caused by a decrease in positioning accuracy.

[0050] like Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, in this embodiment, four independent positioning grooves 122 are provided on the base 120, and the four positioning grooves 122 are evenly distributed along the circumference of the base 120.

[0051] In other embodiments, five or six positioning slots 122 may also be provided.

[0052] Continue as Figure 2As shown, the transmission steel ring 111 includes a central disc 1111, an edge disc 1112, and spokes 1113. The central disc 1111 is a ring located at the center of the transmission steel ring 111. The edge disc 1112 is a disc concentrically arranged with the central disc 1111 and with a larger diameter than the central disc 1111. The outer edge of the edge disc 1112 has external teeth that match those of the transmission gear, allowing for transmission connection with the transmission gear so that the transmission gear can drive the transmission steel ring 111. The spokes 1113 are arranged radially along the transmission steel ring 111, with their two ends connected to the central disc 1111 and the edge disc 1112, respectively. A positioning component 112 is provided on the spokes 1113 to prevent interference between the positioning component 112 and the drive gear 121 outside the edge disc 1112 or with the structure inside the central disc 1111.

[0053] In this embodiment, six spokes 1113 are evenly arranged along the circumference of the transmission steel ring 111. The wafer base 110 is provided with four positioning components 112, which are distributed on the six spokes 1113. That is, two spokes 1113 are not provided with positioning components 112, and the two spokes 1113 without positioning components 112 are arranged opposite to each other along the center of the transmission steel ring 111.

[0054] In other embodiments, four, five, or other numbers of spokes 1113 may be evenly arranged along the circumference of the drive steel ring 111. Four positioning components 112 are arranged adjacent to each other on four of the spokes 1113.

[0055] In this embodiment, the base 120 includes six drive gears 121, which are evenly distributed along the circumference of the wafer base 110. The drive gears 121 are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the spokes 1113. The six drive gears 121 evenly distributed along the circumference of the base 120 simultaneously drive the wafer base 110 to rotate, and uniformly transmit driving force to the wafer base 110.

[0056] Although the present invention has been described in detail through the preferred embodiments above, it should be understood that the above description should not be considered as a limitation of the present invention. Various modifications and substitutions to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the above description. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wafer carrier device with a positioning structure, characterized in that, The wafer carrier includes: a wafer base for carrying a wafer, the wafer base including a transmission steel ring and a positioning component, the positioning component being movably connected to the transmission steel ring and protruding from the transmission steel ring; A base is disposed below the wafer base. The base is provided with a plurality of drive gears and a positioning groove. The plurality of drive gears are arranged along the circumference of the transmission steel ring. The positioning component matches the positioning groove and is able to move within the positioning groove.

2. The wafer carrier device with positioning structure as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The positioning component includes a connecting rod and a bearing. One end of the connecting rod is connected to the transmission steel ring, and the other end of the connecting rod is connected to the inner ring of the bearing. The outer ring of the bearing is positioned and connected to the positioning groove.

3. The wafer carrier device with positioning structure as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The bearing is a roller bearing.

4. The wafer carrier device with positioning structure as described in claim 2, characterized in that, A contact layer is embedded in the side of the positioning groove that is connected to the bearing for positioning. The contact layer is made of steel.

5. The wafer carrier device with positioning structure as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The base has four independent positioning grooves, and the four positioning grooves are evenly distributed along the circumference of the base.

6. The wafer carrier device with positioning structure as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The transmission steel ring includes a central disc, an edge disc, and spokes. The two ends of the spokes are respectively connected to the central disc and the edge disc, and the positioning component is disposed on the spokes.

7. The wafer carrier device with positioning structure as described in claim 6, characterized in that, Six spokes are evenly arranged along the circumference of the transmission steel ring, and four positioning components are provided on the wafer base.

8. The wafer carrier device with positioning structure as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The four positioning components are arranged adjacent to each other on four of the wheel spokes.

9. The wafer carrier device with positioning structure as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The base includes six drive gears, which are evenly distributed along the circumference of the wafer base, and the drive gears are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the spokes.

10. The wafer carrier device with positioning structure as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The central angle corresponding to each positioning groove is greater than 5° and less than 20°.

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