Wafer transfer device, semiconductor process equipment and wafer transfer method

Abstract

The application discloses a wafer conveying device, a semiconductor process equipment and a wafer conveying method, and belongs to the technical field of semiconductor processing. The wafer conveying device comprises a wafer conveying mechanism and a control module. The wafer conveying mechanism comprises a driving mechanism and a mechanical finger connected with the driving mechanism. The mechanical finger comprises at least two fingers for lifting a wafer. The driving mechanism is used for driving each finger to move respectively. The control module is in communication connection with the driving mechanism. The control module is used for determining the lifting position of each finger according to the image of the wafer, and controlling the driving mechanism to drive each finger to move to the corresponding lifting position respectively. In the scheme, the position of each finger can be adjusted according to the image of the wafer, so that each finger is not easy to stretch into the upper part of the warped part of the wafer, and the mechanical finger can efficiently and stably perform the lifting operation of the wafer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of semiconductor processing technology, specifically relating to wafer transport devices, semiconductor process equipment, and wafer transport methods. Background Technology

[0002] In the semiconductor manufacturing process, wafer transport devices are common working equipment. Wafer transport devices are required throughout the entire wafer transport process. Taking a Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) reaction chamber as an example, the wafer is loaded into the loadport and then transferred to the transition chamber by an atmospheric manipulator within the Equipment Front-End Module (EFEM). After the transition chamber is evacuated, the wafer is transferred to the vacuum transport platform by the wafer transport device. It is then processed sequentially in several process chambers before finally being returned to the loadport for unloading.

[0003] With the diversification of market demands, different types of wafers require different processes, and the thickness of the resulting wafers varies increasingly. During wafer processing, due to differences in the material density or thickness of the thin films deposited in different areas of the wafer, as well as variations in process parameters under different processing methods, wafers are prone to deformation during processing, resulting in irregular warping.

[0004] When a wafer warps, the mechanical fingers of the wafer transport device, while lifting the wafer within the process chamber, may cause some of their fingers to come into contact with the front side of the wafer, potentially scratching it. Specifically, because the lifting position of the mechanical fingers remains constant and the height of each finger is the same, when the wafer warps downwards, some fingers may extend above the warped portion and come into contact with its front side. Furthermore, other fingers may extend to the bottom of the wafer, i.e., the back or side of the warped portion. This results in different fingers clamping the warped portion, causing both the front and back sides of the warped portion to be subjected to force simultaneously, which can easily lead to wafer breakage.

[0005] Therefore, the existing technology has the defect that when the wafer warps, the mechanical fingers of the wafer transport device are prone to damaging the wafer when lifting it. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this application is to provide a wafer transport device, semiconductor process equipment, and wafer transport method, which can solve the problem in the related art that when the wafer warps, the mechanical fingers of the wafer transport device are prone to damage when lifting the wafer.

[0007] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a wafer transport device, comprising: A wafer transport mechanism includes a drive mechanism and mechanical fingers connected to the drive mechanism. The mechanical fingers include at least two fingers, each of which is used to lift a wafer. The drive mechanism is used to drive each of the fingers to move. The control module is communicatively connected to the drive mechanism. The control module is used to determine the lifting position of each finger according to the image of the wafer, and control the drive mechanism to drive each finger to move to its corresponding lifting position.

[0008] Secondly, embodiments of this application also provide a semiconductor process apparatus, including a process chamber, an image acquisition module, and the aforementioned wafer transfer device. The image acquisition module is used to acquire images of a wafer located within the process chamber. The image acquisition module is communicatively connected to the control module, and the mechanical fingers of the wafer transfer mechanism are used to lift the wafer.

[0009] Thirdly, embodiments of this application also provide a wafer transfer method, applied to the aforementioned wafer transfer apparatus, the transfer method comprising: The lifting position of each finger is determined based on the image of the wafer in the process chamber, so that there is no risk of collision when moving from the lifting position to the grasping position. Control each finger to move to its corresponding lifting position; The finger is controlled to move from the lifting position into the process chamber to retrieve the film.

[0010] In this embodiment, the control module can determine the lifting position of each finger of the robotic finger based on the wafer image, and control the drive mechanism to move each finger to its corresponding lifting position to lift the wafer. In this way, when lifting the wafer, the position of each finger is adjusted according to the position of the wafer, so that the fingers are not likely to extend above the warped part of the wafer, ensuring that the fingers do not come into contact with the front of the wafer, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the front of the wafer. This allows the robotic finger to perform wafer lifting operations efficiently and stably. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the process chamber and the wafer transfer device disclosed in the embodiments of this application; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the mechanical finger disclosed in the embodiments of this application; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first driving component disclosed in the embodiments of this application; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second driving component disclosed in the embodiments of this application; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiments of this application; Figure 6 This is a schematic flowchart of the wafer transfer method disclosed in the embodiments of this application; Figure 7 This is one of the flowcharts disclosed in this application for determining the lifting position of each finger based on an image of the wafer in the process chamber; Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating the process of adjusting the current position of a finger at risk of impact and determining its supporting position, as disclosed in the embodiments of this application. Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the process disclosed in this application, in which the position of the finger at risk of impact is determined after it has been moved according to the smaller of a first moving distance and a second moving distance, and the position is the support position of the finger at risk of impact. Figure 10 This is the second schematic diagram of the process for determining the lifting position of each finger based on an image of the wafer in the process chamber, as disclosed in the embodiments of this application. Figure 11 This is one of the positional relationship diagrams between the image acquisition module and the non-warped wafer located in the process chamber disclosed in the embodiments of this application (the arrows in the diagram indicate the shooting direction); Figure 12 This is one of the images of a non-warped wafer captured by the image acquisition module disclosed in the embodiments of this application within the process chamber; Figure 13 This is the second of the positional relationship diagrams between the image acquisition module disclosed in this application and the non-warped wafer located in the process chamber (when the non-warped wafer descends by 1mm, the arrow in the diagram indicates the shooting direction). Figure 14 This is the second image of a non-warped wafer in the process chamber captured by the image acquisition module disclosed in this application embodiment (when the non-warped wafer descends by 1 mm); Figure 15 This is an image displacement scale diagram disclosed in the embodiments of this application; Figure 16 This is the digital displacement scale diagram disclosed in the embodiments of this application; Figure 17 This is one of the schematic diagrams of a warped wafer mapped onto a digital displacement scale diagram disclosed in the embodiments of this application; Figure 18 This is the second schematic diagram of the warped wafer mapped onto a digital displacement scale diagram disclosed in the embodiments of this application; Figure 19 This is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the warped wafer and the projections of each finger onto a first plane, as disclosed in the embodiments of this application.

[0012] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 100 - Wafer; 110 - Wafer without warping; 200 - Process chamber; 201 - Degassing and baking chamber; 202 - Pre-cleaning etching chamber; 203 - PVD reaction chamber; 210 - Illumination device; 220 - Door / Entrance; 230 - Ejector pin; 240 - Base; 250 - Lifting mechanism; 260 - Inner wall of the cavity; 261 - First plane; 300 - Transmission cavity; 400 - Transmission platform; 500 - Wafer transmission mechanism; 600 - Robotic arm; 610 - First guide rail; 700 - Robotic finger; 710 - Finger; 711 - Left finger; 712 - Right finger; 800 - Finger driving component; 810 - First driving component; 811 - First slider; 812-First driving component; 8121-First motor; 8122-First ball screw; 813-First limiting component; 814 - Connecting platform; 815 - Second guide rail; 820 - Second drive assembly; 821 - Second sliding member; 822-Second driving component; 8221-Second motor; 8222-Second ball screw; 823-Second limiting component; 824 - Finger mounting base; 900 - Image acquisition module; 1000 - Transition cavity; 1100 - Atmospheric transmission device; 1200 - Front-end opening device; 101 - Wafer projection; 7101 - Finger projection. Detailed Implementation

[0013] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0014] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification and claims of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such use of data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first," "second," etc., are generally of the same class and the number of objects is not limited; for example, a first object can be one or more. Furthermore, in the specification and claims, "and / or" indicates at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0015] The wafer transfer device, semiconductor process equipment, and wafer transfer method provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and through specific embodiments and application scenarios.

[0016] refer to Figures 1-4 The wafer transfer device provided in this application embodiment may include a wafer transfer mechanism 500 and a control module.

[0017] Among them, such as Figure 2 As shown, the wafer transfer mechanism 500 may include a drive mechanism and a mechanical finger 700 connected to the drive mechanism. The mechanical finger 700 may include at least two fingers 710, each finger 710 can be used to move together to lift the wafer 100, and the drive mechanism can be used to drive each finger 710 to move separately to adjust the position of each finger 710.

[0018] The control module can communicate with the drive mechanism to determine the lifting position of each finger 710 based on the image of the wafer 100, and control the drive mechanism to move each finger 710 to its corresponding lifting position. Here, the semiconductor process equipment may include an image acquisition module 900, which can acquire images of the wafer 100 within the process chamber 200. The image acquisition module 900 can communicate with the control module to transmit the acquired images of the wafer 100 to the control module. The image acquisition module 900 can be mounted on the mechanical finger 700. Specifically, the image acquisition module 900 can be mounted on the end of one of the mechanical fingers 710 furthest from the robotic arm 600 described below. Alternatively, the image acquisition module 900 can be mounted on the cavity wall of the process chamber 200 or on other structures.

[0019] It should be noted that the lifting position here refers to the position corresponding to the gripping position of the wafer 100. Each finger 710 can reach the gripping position by translating a predetermined distance from outside the process chamber 200 according to its corresponding lifting position. Furthermore, when each finger 710 is translated from its corresponding lifting position into the process chamber 200, it will not interfere with the cavity wall of the process chamber 200, the wafer 100, the ejector pins 230 or other structures inside the process chamber 200.

[0020] With this configuration, the control module can determine the lifting position of each finger 710 of the robotic finger 700 based on the image of the wafer 100, and control the drive mechanism to move each finger 710 to its corresponding lifting position. Then, the drive mechanism is controlled to move the finger 710 from its lifting position a predetermined distance into the process chamber 200, so that the finger 710 moves under the wafer 100, thereby lifting the wafer 100. In this way, when lifting the wafer 100, the lifting position of each finger 710 is adjusted according to the actual position of the wafer 100, so that each finger 710 is not likely to extend above the warped part of the wafer 100, ensuring that each finger 710 does not come into contact with the front of the wafer 100, thus preventing damage to the front of the wafer 100. This allows the robotic finger 700 to perform the wafer 100 lifting operation efficiently and stably.

[0021] In an optional embodiment, the image acquisition module 900 may include a lens and an image acquisition element. The lens may be connected to the image acquisition element, and a lens element and a filter may be disposed within the lens. The lens element and the image acquisition element may be located on opposite sides of the filter. Here, the image acquisition element may be a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor. A CCD image sensor is a semiconductor device capable of converting optical images into digital signals. It converts light into electrical charges through multiple functions such as photoelectric conversion, signal storage, transfer, output, processing, and electronic shutter, and then converts these charges into digital signals through an analog-to-digital converter chip, ultimately forming an image. CCD image sensors have high sensitivity, enabling them to capture clear images in low-light environments, and provide high image resolution, making them suitable for capturing high-quality photos and videos. This improves the accuracy of the images acquired from the wafer 100.

[0022] In optional embodiments of this application, such as Figure 1As shown, the driving mechanism may include a robotic arm 600 and at least two finger driving components 800. Each finger driving component 800 can be connected to the robotic arm 600 and a corresponding finger 710. The robotic arm 600 can drive the robotic finger 700 to move into the process chamber 200, allowing the robotic finger 700 to extend under the wafer 100 and reach the gripping position to grip the wafer 100. Each finger driving component 800 can drive the corresponding finger 710 to move vertically and horizontally. In this way, the position of each finger 710 can be adjusted individually, allowing for simultaneous adjustment of the position of each finger 710, which helps to shorten the gripping time of the wafer 100 and improve the gripping accuracy of the robotic finger 700.

[0023] In other embodiments, the driving mechanism may also include only one finger driving component 800, which can sequentially drive each finger 710 to move in the vertical and horizontal directions. That is, the finger driving component 800 can adjust the position of each finger 710 one by one.

[0024] In an optional embodiment, the finger driving assembly 800 may include a first cylinder and a second cylinder. The cylinder body of the first cylinder may be connected to the robotic arm 600, and the cylinder body of the second cylinder may be connected to the telescopic rod of the first cylinder. The telescopic rod of the second cylinder may be connected to the finger 710. The telescopic rod of the first cylinder may extend and retract in the vertical direction, and the telescopic rod of the second cylinder may extend and retract in the horizontal direction. The extension and retraction of the telescopic rod of the first cylinder may enable the finger 710 to move in the vertical direction, and the extension and retraction of the telescopic rod of the second cylinder may enable the finger 710 to extend and retract in the horizontal direction.

[0025] In another alternative embodiment, such as Figure 2 As shown, the finger driving component 800 may include a first driving component 810 and a second driving component 820. For example... Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the first drive assembly 810 may include a first slider 811 and a first drive member 812. The first slider 811 is slidably disposed on the robotic arm 600, and the first drive member 812 is connected to the first slider 811 and is used to drive the first slider 811 to slide vertically. The second drive assembly 820 may include a second slider 821 and a second drive member 822. The second slider 821 is slidably disposed on the first slider 811, and the second drive member 822 is connected to the second slider 821 and is used to drive the second slider 821 to slide horizontally. The finger 710 can be connected to the second slider 821. Thus, by driving the first slider 811 to slide vertically via the first drive member 812, the finger 710 can move vertically. By driving the second slider 821 to slide horizontally via the second drive member 822, the finger 710 can move horizontally, thereby enabling adjustment of the position of the finger 710 relative to the robotic arm 600.

[0026] Compared to the methods described above, which directly drive the second cylinder to move via the first cylinder and directly drive the finger 710 to move via the second cylinder, the above solution has the following advantages: since the first slider 811 is slidably connected to the robotic arm 600, the stability of the first slider 811 during movement is improved, which in turn improves the stability of the finger 710. Furthermore, since the second slider 821 is slidably connected to the first slider 811, the stability of the second slider 821 during movement is improved, which further ensures the stability of the finger 710 during the sliding process.

[0027] Optionally, the first driving component 812 may include a first motor 8121 and a first ball screw 8122. The first motor 8121 may be mounted on the robotic arm 600, and the output shaft of the first motor 8121 may be connected to the first ball screw 8122 to drive the first ball screw 8122 to rotate. Furthermore, a first sliding member 811 may be threadedly connected to the first ball screw 8122, and the rotation of the first ball screw 8122 can cause the first sliding member 811 to slide. Here, the first sliding member 811 can be a nut. Thus, the action of the first motor 8121 can drive the first ball screw 8122 to rotate, thereby causing the first sliding member 811 to move vertically, so that the first sliding member 811 drives the second driving assembly 820 to move vertically as a whole. Since the second driving assembly 820 is connected to the finger 710, the vertical movement of the second driving assembly 820 can drive the finger 710 to move vertically, thereby realizing the up-and-down movement of the finger 710.

[0028] Here, a first guide rail 610 can be provided on the robotic arm 600. The first guide rail 610 can extend in the vertical direction. A first sliding member 811 is slidably connected to the first guide rail 610. The first sliding member 811 slides along the extension direction of the first guide rail 610 under the drive of the first driving member 812.

[0029] The second driving component 822 may include a second motor 8221 and a second ball screw 8222. The second motor 8221 may be mounted on the first sliding member 811 or the robotic arm 600. The output shaft of the second motor 8221 may be connected to the second ball screw 8222 to drive the second ball screw 8222 to rotate. The second sliding member 821 may be threadedly connected to the second ball screw 8222, and the rotation of the second ball screw 8222 can cause the second sliding member 821 to slide. Here, the second sliding member 821 can be a nut. Thus, the action of the second motor 8221 can drive the second ball screw 8222 to rotate, thereby causing the second sliding member 821 to move horizontally, thus moving the finger 710 horizontally, thereby realizing the left and right movement of the finger 710 relative to the robotic arm 600.

[0030] Here, the first slider 811 can be connected to the connecting platform 814, and the connecting platform 814 can be provided with a second guide rail 815, which can extend horizontally. The second slider 821 can be slidably connected to the second guide rail 815. A finger mounting base 824 can be provided on the second slider 821, and the finger 710 can be mounted on the finger mounting base 824.

[0031] Optionally, to prevent the first slider 811 from having excessive vertical travel, a first limiting member 813 can be provided on the first ball screw 8122. The first slider 811 and the first limiting member 813 can be in a limiting engagement in the direction from the output shaft of the first motor 8121 to the first ball screw 8122. To prevent the second slider 821 from having excessive horizontal travel, a second limiting member 823 can be provided on the second ball screw 8222. The second slider 821 and the second limiting member 823 can be in a limiting engagement in the direction from the output shaft of the second motor 8221 to the second ball screw 8222.

[0032] Both the first limiting member 813 and the second limiting member 823 mentioned above can be fixed bearings.

[0033] Based on the wafer transfer device provided in the embodiments of this application, the embodiments of this application also provide a semiconductor process apparatus. The semiconductor process apparatus may include a process chamber 200 and the wafer transfer device described in any of the above embodiments. The mechanical fingers 700 of the wafer transfer mechanism 500 of the wafer transfer device can be used to lift the wafer 100 in the process chamber 200. Here, the wafer transfer mechanism 500 can be a robotic arm.

[0034] The beneficial effects achieved by the semiconductor process equipment provided in this application embodiment are consistent with the beneficial effects achieved by the wafer transport device provided in this application embodiment, so they will not be repeated here.

[0035] In optional embodiments, such as Figure 5 As shown, the semiconductor process equipment may include multiple process chambers 200, the wafer transfer device may include a transfer platform 400, and a wafer transfer mechanism 500 may be disposed on the transfer platform 400. The transfer platform 400 can drive the wafer transfer mechanism 500 to rotate. The multiple process chambers 200 may be distributed circumferentially along the transfer platform 400, and the mechanical fingers 700 of the wafer transfer mechanism 500 may sequentially extend into each process chamber 200 to transfer the wafer 100 between the multiple process chambers 200. In this embodiment, the semiconductor process equipment may further include a transfer cavity 300, and the wafer transfer device may be disposed within the transfer cavity 300.

[0036] It should be noted that each process chamber 200 may be equipped with an access door 220 for the wafer 100 to enter and exit, and a door plate for closing the access door 220. When the mechanical finger 700 of the wafer transfer mechanism 500 moves the wafer 100 to a position opposite to the access door 220, the door plate can be opened to allow the wafer 100 to pass through. After the wafer 100 is placed on the ejector pin 230 in the process chamber 200, the mechanical finger 700 can be removed from the process chamber 200, at which point the door plate can close the access door 220. Similarly, when it is necessary to remove the wafer 100 from the process chamber 200, the door plate can be opened again to allow the mechanical finger 700 to extend into the process chamber 200 and remove the wafer 100.

[0037] In this embodiment, as Figure 5 As shown, the semiconductor process equipment may include six process chambers 200. These chambers may include a degassing chamber 201, a preclean etching chamber 202, and four different PVD reaction chambers 203, each equipped with a different type of sputtering target depending on the specific process requirements. The wafers 100 to be processed need to be progressively transported from the atmospheric environment to each process chamber 200 for processing. This transport can be achieved throughout the process using a wafer transport device.

[0038] The semiconductor process equipment may also include an atmospheric transport device 1100, a transition cavity 1000, and a front-end opening device 1200. The transition cavity 1000 and multiple process chambers 200 are distributed circumferentially along the transport platform 400. The atmospheric transport device 1100 is located between the transition cavity 1000 and the front-end opening device 1200. The front-end opening device 1200 can be used to open the door of the wafer cassette, and the atmospheric robotic arm of the atmospheric transport device 1100 can reach into the wafer cassette to grab the wafer 100 and place the wafer 100 in the transition cavity 1000. The mechanical fingers 700 of the wafer transfer mechanism 500 can extend into the transition cavity 1000 and remove the wafer 100. The rotation of the transfer platform 400 drives the wafer transfer mechanism 500 to rotate, thereby sequentially transferring the wafer 100 into each process chamber 200 to complete the processing of the wafer 100. After the wafer 100 is processed, the wafer transfer mechanism 500 can remove the wafer 100 from the last process chamber 200 and transfer it to the transition cavity 1000. The robotic arm of the atmospheric transfer device 1100 can remove the wafer 100 from the transition cavity 1000 and place it in the wafer cassette.

[0039] Optionally, such as Figure 1 As shown, the process chamber 200 can be equipped with a lifting mechanism 250, a base 240 and a ejector pin 230. The base 240 can be mounted on the lifting mechanism 250 and the ejector pin 230 can be mounted on the base 240. The lifting mechanism 250 can drive the ejector pin 230 to rise and fall, thereby realizing the lifting and falling of the wafer 100.

[0040] Alternatively, at least two ejector pins 230 may be provided, each ejector pin 230 being arranged in parallel and used to support the wafer 100. Furthermore, the mechanical fingers 700 of the wafer transfer mechanism 500 may avoid the ejector pins 230 during movement in order to lift the wafer 100.

[0041] It should be noted that during the process of the robotic arm (i.e., the wafer transfer mechanism 500) transferring the wafer 100 between different process chambers 200, it basically follows the sequence of wafer picking (i.e., gripping the wafer 100), rotation, adjusting the work position, and wafer placement (i.e., placing the wafer 100 on the ejector pin 230).

[0042] The process of picking up wafer 100 is as follows: After wafer 100 completes the process, it is lifted by ejector pin 230. The robotic arm's mechanical finger 700 extends approximately 3mm below wafer 100, while ensuring that the distance between the bottom of the robotic finger 700 and the base 240 is also 3mm or more. After the robotic arm extends, under normal circumstances, ejector pin 230 descends, supporting wafer 100 on robotic finger 700. Then, robotic finger 700 moves upward 3mm to the retracted position and then moves horizontally out of the process chamber 200, completing the retraction action.

[0043] The wafer placement process is as follows: the wafer 100 is supported on the robotic finger 700, and the placement position of the robotic finger 700 is located 3mm or more above the top of the ejector pin 230. The robotic arm 600 drives the robotic finger 700 to move to the placement position. Then, as the ejector pin 230 rises, the wafer 100 is placed smoothly on the ejector pin 230. The robotic finger 700 then descends 3mm or more, ensuring that the lower end of the robotic finger 700 is at least 3mm above the height of the base 240, i.e., it descends to the lower retracted position and moves out of the process chamber 200, completing the retracted action.

[0044] In an optional embodiment, a lighting device 210 may be provided within the process chamber 200. The lighting device 210 can provide supplementary lighting for the image acquisition module 900 to acquire images. This effectively improves the clarity of the images acquired by the image acquisition module 900, thereby improving the accuracy of the determined lifting position of each finger 710. Here, the lighting device 210 can be a lamp. Optionally, the lighting device 210 can be located directly above the base 240, so that the light from the lighting device 210 can be more evenly distributed throughout the space of the process chamber 200, avoiding localized overly bright or dark areas.

[0045] In other embodiments, the lighting device 210 may not be provided in the process chamber 200.

[0046] This application also provides a wafer transfer method, applicable to the wafer transfer apparatus described in any of the above embodiments, such as... Figure 6 As shown, the transmission method may include: S2. Determine the lifting position of each finger 710 based on the image of the wafer 100 in the process chamber 200, so that there is no risk of collision when moving from the lifting position to the grasping position; Here, the above image can show the shape of the wafer 100. If the wafer 100 is warped, the position of the outer surface of the wafer 100 after warping can be determined based on the image, and the position that the finger 710 needs to reach (i.e., the lifting position) can be determined to avoid interference between the finger 710 and the wafer 100 after entering the process chamber 200; S3, control each finger 710 to move to its corresponding lifting position; S4. Control finger 710 to move from the lifting position into process chamber 200 to retrieve film.

[0047] In this way, when lifting the wafer 100, the position of each finger 710 is adjusted according to the image of the wafer 100, so that each finger 710 is not likely to extend above the warped part of the wafer 100 during the wafer picking process, ensuring that each finger 710 does not come into contact with the front of the wafer 100, thereby preventing damage to the front of the wafer 100. This allows the mechanical finger 700 to perform the wafer 100 lifting operation efficiently and stably.

[0048] In an optional embodiment, the wafer transfer method may further include the steps of: S1. Acquire an image of wafer 100 inside process chamber 200.

[0049] In this way, images of the wafer 100 can be acquired in real time, allowing each finger 710 to be adjusted in real time based on the real-time images of the wafer 100, thereby making the position of each finger 710 more adaptable to the shape of the wafer 100.

[0050] Here, the image acquisition module 900 can be used to acquire images of the wafer 100 inside the process chamber 200.

[0051] Of course, the wafer transfer method may also exclude step S1, and the image of the wafer 100 in the process chamber 200 may be pre-stored in the control module.

[0052] In an optional embodiment, after step S4, the wafer transfer method may further include: S5. After the wafer pick-up is completed, adjust the workstation and perform the wafer placement action to place wafer 100 into the next process chamber 200. S6 controls the robotic arm 600 to reset and each finger 710 to reset.

[0053] Optionally, step S4 may include: S41. Control the robotic arm 600 to move the robotic finger 700 a predetermined distance so that the robotic finger 700 moves to the reach position below the wafer 100, that is, the robotic finger 700 moves to the grasping position.

[0054] In an optional embodiment, when each finger 710 is in its corresponding supporting position, the minimum vertical distance between each finger 710 and the wafer 100 is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance, where the minimum tolerance can be the shortest permissible distance between the finger 710 and the wafer 100 in the vertical direction. This ensures that each finger 710 will not interfere with the wafer 100 after moving to its corresponding supporting position, and therefore, during wafer removal, the fingers 710 will not contact or collide with the wafer 100, thus preventing damage to the wafer 100. Here, the minimum tolerance can be greater than or equal to 0.

[0055] It should be noted that the minimum vertical distance between the finger 710 and the wafer 100 refers to: (e.g.) Figure 19 As shown, the minimum vertical distance h between the finger projection 7101 of the finger 710 on the first plane 261 and the wafer projection 101 of the wafer 100 on the first plane 261 is the finger projection 7101, which refers to the projection of the finger 710 onto the first plane 261 in the horizontal direction, and the wafer projection 101 refers to the projection of the wafer 100 onto the first plane 261 in the horizontal direction. In the case where the process chamber 200 has a cuboid structure, as shown... Figure 1 As shown, the first plane 261 can be the side wall of the process chamber 200 opposite to the entrance / exit 220.

[0056] In an optional embodiment of this application, determining the lifting position of each finger 710 based on an image of the wafer 100 within the process chamber 200 may include the following steps: S21. Determine whether the minimum vertical distance between each finger 710 and the wafer 100 is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance. S22. In response to the minimum vertical distance between the finger 710 and the wafer 100 being greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance, the current position of the finger 710 is taken as the lifting position of the finger 710. S23. In response to the minimum vertical distance between the finger 710 and the wafer 100 being less than the minimum tolerance, it is determined that the finger 710 has a risk of collision. The current position of the finger 710 with the risk of collision is adjusted to determine its support position.

[0057] When the minimum vertical distance between the finger 710 and the wafer 100 is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance, the finger 710 in its current position will not interfere with the wafer 100 during its entry into the process chamber 200. This eliminates the need to adjust the vertical and horizontal positions of each finger 710, simplifying the operation and reducing the wafer 100 gripping time. Here, the position of each finger 710 can be its initial position. After translating into the process chamber 200 according to its initial position, each finger 710 can directly grip the unwarped wafer 110.

[0058] In other embodiments, when the minimum vertical distance between each finger 710 and the wafer 100 is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance, the current position of each finger 710 may not be used as the supporting position of each finger 710. Specifically, other positions where the minimum vertical distance between each finger 710 and the wafer 100 is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance can be used as the supporting positions of the fingers 710. Alternatively, the supporting position of each finger 710 may be determined directly without determining whether the minimum vertical distance between each finger 710 and the wafer 100 is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance.

[0059] In an optional embodiment, adjusting the current position of the finger 710 at risk of impact and determining its support position may specifically include the following steps: S231. Determine the magnitude of the first and second movement distances of the finger 710 that is at risk of impact; S232. The position of the finger 710 at risk of impact is determined by moving it according to the smaller of the first moving distance and the second moving distance.

[0060] Among them, the finger 710 with the risk of chip collision can be a finger 710 whose minimum vertical distance from the wafer 100 is less than the minimum tolerance. The first moving distance can be the moving distance when the finger 710 with the risk of chip collision moves vertically to the point where the minimum vertical distance from the wafer 100 is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance. The second moving distance can be the moving distance when the finger 710 with the risk of chip collision moves horizontally to the point where the minimum vertical distance from the wafer 100 is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance.

[0061] In this way, regardless of whether the fingers 710 move horizontally or vertically, it can be ensured that the fingers 710 will not touch the wafer 100 during the wafer picking process, thus minimizing the risk of damage to the wafer 100. Furthermore, this embodiment takes into account the distance that the fingers 710 need to travel to the lifting position when moving along different paths, thereby determining the lifting position of the fingers 710 and enabling the selection of the lifting position to meet more diverse needs.

[0062] In other embodiments, adjusting the current position of the finger 710 at risk of impact and determining its supporting position may not include the above steps; for example, it may include the following steps: Based on the image, any position where the minimum vertical distance between the chip and wafer 100 is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance is determined as the lifting position of the finger 710, which has the risk of chip collision.

[0063] Optionally, step S232 may include the following steps: S2321. Determine whether there are any interference objects on the first path of the finger 710, which has the risk of collision, after it moves according to the smaller of the first moving distance and the second moving distance and is translated into the process chamber 200. S2322. When there are no interfering objects on the first path, the position of the finger 710 with the risk of collision is determined by the smaller of the first moving distance and the second moving distance. In this case, the finger 710 can reach the lifting position by moving a smaller distance. S2323. When there is an interference on the first path, determine whether the finger 710 with the risk of collision moves according to the larger of the first moving distance and the second moving distance, and then moves to the second path in the process chamber 200 to see if there is an interference. S2324. When there are no interfering objects on the second path, the position of the finger 710 at risk of collision is determined by the larger of the first and second moving distances.

[0064] This ensures that the finger 710 will not come into contact with the interference object during movement.

[0065] It should be noted that the first path can be the path by which the finger 710 at risk of impact moves from the lifting position to the grasping position. In this case, the lifting position of the finger 710 at risk of impact is the position after the finger 710 at risk of impact has moved according to the smaller of the first moving distance and the second moving distance.

[0066] The second path can be the path in which the finger 710 at risk of impact moves from the lifting position to the grasping position. In this case, the lifting position of the finger 710 at risk of impact is the position after the finger 710 at risk of impact has moved according to the larger of the first moving distance and the second moving distance.

[0067] Of course, step S232 may also exclude step S2321. For example, the position of the finger 710 with the risk of collision can be determined directly by moving the finger 710 according to the smaller of the first moving distance and the second moving distance, without considering whether there will be any interference on the first path of translation into the process chamber 200.

[0068] Optionally, step S232 may also include the following steps: S2325. When an interfering object is present on the second path, an alarm signal is issued.

[0069] In this way, the operator can be notified in time that the adjusted finger 710, which is at risk of colliding with the film, cannot pick up the film, thus enabling the operator to adjust the position of all fingers 710 in time so that the fingers 710 can complete the film picking operation.

[0070] It should be noted that the wafer transmission device may include an alarm. When there is an interference in the second path, the control module controls the alarm to sound. Specifically, the alarm may be a buzzer or an indicator light.

[0071] In this embodiment, the logic for determining the lifting position of each finger 710 based on the image of the wafer 100 within the process chamber 200 can be as follows: First, ensure that each finger 710 will not damage the wafer 100 during the wafer retrieval process. That is, first determine whether each finger 710 will touch the wafer 100 when it enters the process chamber 200 from its current position to retrieve the wafer (here, the current position of each finger 710 can be its initial position; it should be noted that after each finger 710 moves into the process chamber 200 from its initial position, it can directly grasp the wafer 110 that has not been warped). Second, if there is a risk that a certain finger 710 will touch the wafer 100, determine the magnitude of the first moving distance and the second moving distance, and move the finger 710 according to the smaller of the first moving distance and the second moving distance. Before execution, determine whether the finger 710 moves into the process chamber 200 after moving. During the process, it is determined whether the finger 710 will come into contact with the door wall of the process chamber 200 entrance / exit 220 or other interfering objects such as the ejector pin 230. Finally, it is determined whether the finger 710 will touch the wafer 100 after moving according to the smaller of the first and second moving distances and translating into the process chamber 200. If so, the larger of the first and second moving distances will be used. Before execution, it is determined again whether the finger 710 will come into contact with the door wall of the process chamber 200 entrance / exit 220 or other interfering objects such as the ejector pin 230 during the translation process after moving according to the larger distance. If it will come into contact with interfering objects, the larger of the first and second moving distances cannot be used. At this time, it means that moving according to either the first or second moving distance cannot meet the conditions, so the wafer transfer mechanism is stopped and the alarm is activated.

[0072] In an optional embodiment, determining the lifting position of each finger 710 based on an image of the wafer 100 within the process chamber 200 may further include the step of: S24. Determine whether the difference between the minimum vertical distance between the adjusted finger 710 with the risk of chip collision and the wafer 100 and the minimum vertical distance between the other fingers 710 and the wafer 100 is less than or equal to a first preset distance, wherein the first preset distance is the minimum allowable value of the absolute value of the difference between the minimum vertical distances of each finger 710 and the wafer 100. S25. When the difference between the minimum vertical distance between the adjusted lifting position of the finger 710 with the risk of chip collision and the wafer 100 and the minimum vertical distance between the other fingers 710 and the wafer 100 is less than or equal to a first preset distance, the current position of the other fingers 710 is determined as the lifting position of the other fingers 710. S26. When the difference between the minimum vertical distance between the adjusted lifting position of the finger 710 with the risk of chip impact and the wafer 100 and the minimum vertical distance between the other fingers 710 and the wafer 100 is greater than a first preset distance, control the finger 710 with the risk of chip impact or the other fingers 710 to move until the difference between the minimum vertical distance between the lifting position of the finger 710 with the risk of chip impact and the wafer 100 and the minimum vertical distance between the other fingers 710 and the wafer 100 is less than or equal to the first preset distance, ensuring that the moving finger 710 has no risk of chip impact, and that there are no interfering objects on the third path from the moved position to the process chamber 200. When there are interfering objects on the third path, control the alarm to sound.

[0073] This ensures that the minimum vertical distance between each finger 710 and the wafer 100 is basically the same, thus ensuring that each finger 710 contacts the wafer 100 almost simultaneously during the wafer picking process. This prevents a situation where a finger 710 contacts the wafer 100 first, causing the wafer 100 to fall tilted onto the mechanical finger 700, and thus the wafer 100 is prone to slipping off the mechanical finger 700 during the movement of the wafer.

[0074] In other embodiments, the lifting position of each finger 710 may be determined based on an image of the wafer 100 within the process chamber 200, and step S26 may be omitted.

[0075] In this embodiment, the mechanical finger 700 may include two fingers 710, namely a left finger 711 and a right finger 712. Determining the lifting position of each finger 710 based on the image may specifically include the following steps: First, based on the acquired image of wafer 100, calculate whether the minimum vertical distance between the left finger 711 and right finger 712 at their current positions and wafer 100 is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance. That is, calculate whether the left finger 711 and right finger 712 at their initial positions can be directly moved into the process chamber 200 for wafer retrieval. If the current positions of the left finger 711 and right finger 712 are suitable, the mechanical finger 700 can be directly moved a predetermined distance to below wafer 100 (i.e., the gripping position) for wafer retrieval, thus omitting the subsequent movement process of the mechanical finger 700. If, after calculation, at least one of the left finger 711 and right finger 712 poses a risk of contacting wafer 100 during entry into the process chamber 200 (i.e., a risk of collision), specifically, as... Figure 18As shown, for the captured image of the warped wafer 100, the horizontal coordinates (-ab, -a) and (a, a+b) of the left finger 711 and the right finger 712 correspond to the positions of the lowest point of the wafer 100 within the corresponding column range in the digital displacement scale diagram described below, respectively, are e1 and e2. It is determined whether (e-e1≥μ) and (e-e2≥μ) are simultaneously satisfied. If they are simultaneously satisfied, it means that each finger 710 can start from the current position to pick up the wafer, and the wafer picking process is executed normally. If they are not simultaneously satisfied, it means that each finger 710 cannot start from the current position to pick up the wafer, and then a dual-thread judgment is performed: Thread 1 judges whether the condition (e-e1≥μ) is satisfied, and Thread 2 judges whether the condition (e-e2≥μ) is satisfied. If Thread 1 judges that the condition is not satisfied, and Thread 2 judges that the condition is satisfied, then Thread 1 continues to execute the subsequent steps, and Thread 2 waits. It should be noted that e can be the current longitudinal position of finger 710 (i.e., the position in the vertical direction), and μ is the minimum tolerance mentioned above, which is the shortest allowable distance between finger 710 and wafer 100 in the vertical direction.

[0076] Secondly, for fingers 710 that do not meet the wafer picking conditions (i.e., fingers 710 at risk of wafer collision), calculate the first downward movement distance and the second horizontal movement distance when the wafer picking conditions are met. Only after obtaining these two distances can the support position of the fingers 710 at risk of wafer collision be determined based on the data. Specifically, for example, if the left finger 711 is a finger 710 that does not meet the wafer picking conditions, the distance between the lowest point e1' of the wafer 100 within the range corresponding to the horizontal position (-ab, -a) after the left finger 711 moves downward by the first movement distance f1 and the left finger 711 after moving the first movement distance f1 is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance, i.e., (e-e1'≥μ); the distance between the lowest point e1'' of the wafer 100 within the range corresponding to the horizontal position (-ab-f2, -a-f2) after the left finger 711 moves to the left by the second movement distance f2 and the left finger 711 after moving the second movement distance f2 is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance, i.e., (e-e1''≥μ). Then, enter the judgment of the best moving position of the left finger 711. First, compare the magnitudes of the first moving distance f1 and the second moving distance f2, and then judge whether the hard tolerance requirement is met after moving according to the smaller one. Here, the hard tolerance requirement means that there are no interfering objects on the moving path of the finger 710. If the position after moving according to the smaller one meets the hard tolerance requirement, then determine that the position after moving according to the smaller one is the lifting position of the left finger 711; if the position after moving according to the smaller one does not meet the hard tolerance requirement, then judge whether the larger one meets the hard tolerance requirement. If the larger one meets, then determine that the position after moving according to the larger one is the lifting position of the left finger 711. If the larger one also does not meet the hard tolerance requirement, then it is determined that neither of the two moving methods meets the moving conditions, and the left finger 711 will hit interfering objects if it moves according to these two moving methods, such as hitting the inner wall of the process chamber 200, the door wall of the access door 220, or other structures such as the ejector pin 230. Therefore, in this case, it is necessary to stop taking the wafer and give an alarm. Specifically, after obtaining the first moving distance f1 and the second moving distance f2, enter the judgment. If f1 < f2 and e + f1 < d are satisfied, then it is determined that the best moving position of the left finger 711 is to move downward by f1. If f1 < f2 but e + f1 ≥ d is satisfied, then enter the leftward movement judgment, that is, judge whether |-a - b - f2| < c is satisfied. If it is satisfied, then it is determined that the best moving position of the left finger 711 is the position after moving leftward by f2. If |-a - b - f1| ≥ c, the manipulator cannot perform the wafer taking action, and at this time, control the alarm to give an alarm.

[0077] After determining the optimal movement position of the finger 710 at risk of collision, i.e., after determining the support position of the finger 710 at risk of collision, it is then determined whether the other finger 710 needs to be moved, i.e., whether the right finger 712 needs to be moved. Specifically, after determining the optimal movement position of the left finger 711, the distance between the lowest point of the wafer 100 within the range corresponding to the left finger 711 after the movement is calculated again. Here, it is assumed that the optimal movement position of the left finger 711 is the position after moving to the left by a second movement distance f2. The minimum vertical distance e3 between the left finger 711 and the wafer 100 when the left finger 711 is in the optimal movement position is calculated. Theoretically, e3=μ, that is, the wafer picking requirements are met when the left finger 711 is in the optimal movement position. Then, determine whether the left finger 711 and the right finger 712 satisfy |e3-e2|≤σ. If they satisfy, the right finger 712 does not need to move, and the position of the right finger 712 at this time is the supporting position of the right finger 712. If |e3-e2|>σ, it means that the distance between the right finger 712 and the wafer 100 in the vertical direction is much larger than the minimum distance between the left finger 711 and the wafer 100 in the vertical direction. At this time, it is necessary to adjust the position of the right finger 712. Determine whether the position of the right finger 712 after moving the third moving distance f3 and the minimum distance between the right finger 712 and the wafer 100 in the vertical direction satisfy |e3-f3-e2|≤σ. If they satisfy, it means that the position of the right finger 712 after moving the third moving distance f3 is the supporting position of the right finger 712. It should be noted that σ is the minimum allowable absolute value of the difference between the minimum vertical distances of each finger 710 and the wafer 100. This ensures that the minimum vertical distances between the two fingers 710 and the wafer 100 during wafer picking are essentially consistent, preventing the wafer 100 from tilting due to one finger 710 contacting the bottom surface of the wafer 100 first while the other finger 710 does not. This minimizes the risk of the wafer 100 slipping or even falling off the mechanical fingers 700. Based on the above steps, the position of the left finger 711 after moving a second distance f2 to the left is the supporting position of the left finger 711, and the position of the right finger 712 after moving a third distance f3 upwards is the supporting position of the right finger 712.

[0078] With this configuration, when each finger 710 of the robotic finger 700 is in the optimal moving position, it can ensure that the finger 710 will not damage the wafer 100 during the wafer picking process, and can minimize the vertical distance between the finger 710 and the wafer 100, thereby shortening the wafer picking time. It can also ensure that the finger 710 will not come into contact with the inner wall of the process chamber 200, the door wall of the door 220, or external structures such as the ejector pin 230 when it is inserted into the process chamber 200. In addition, controlling the distance between the left finger 711 and the right finger 712 and the wafer 100 in the vertical direction is basically the same can prevent the problem of wafer slippage during the movement of the wafer 100.

[0079] In the embodiments of this application, after determining the lifting position of each finger 710 based on the image of the wafer 100 within the process chamber 200, each finger 710 is controlled to move to its corresponding lifting position. Specifically, the first driving component 810 and the second driving component 820 are controlled to drive the left finger 711 and the right finger 712 to move, respectively. After the left finger 711 and the right finger 712 have moved, the robotic arm 600 is controlled to drive the robotic finger 700 to translate into the process chamber 200, and the robotic finger 700 avoids the two ejector pins 230 to achieve wafer retrieval. After wafer retrieval is completed, the wafer 100 is placed into the next process chamber 200 according to the process flow. Simultaneously, the robotic arm 600 retracts its grip and controls each finger 710 to return to its initial position in preparation for the next wafer retrieval.

[0080] In an optional embodiment of this application, before determining the holding position of each finger 710 based on an image of the wafer 100 within the process chamber 200, the wafer transfer method may further include the steps of: Acquire an image of the non-warped wafer 110 and determine the initial position of the non-warped wafer 110 in the image displacement scale diagram; The image of the non-warped wafer 110 after it has been moved a second preset distance in the vertical direction is acquired, and the position of the non-warped wafer 110 after moving the second preset distance is determined in the image displacement scale diagram. Image processing is performed on the image displacement scale map to generate a digital displacement scale map, and the positions of the initial position and the position after movement are obtained in the digital displacement scale map to obtain the scale.

[0081] Furthermore, the lifting position of each finger 710 is determined based on the image of the wafer 100 within the process chamber 200, specifically as follows: Based on the image (i.e., the image of the acquired wafer 100), combined with the digital displacement scale diagram and scale, the lifting position of each finger 710 is determined.

[0082] In this way, the actual size of the wafer 100 can be correlated with the number of columns and rows in the digital displacement scale diagram, which makes it easier to determine the actual lifting position of each finger 710.

[0083] Of course, the wafer transfer method may not include the above steps before determining the holding position of each finger 710 based on the image of the wafer 100 in the process chamber 200.

[0084] Furthermore, the lifting position of each finger 710 can be determined based on the image of the wafer 100 within the process chamber 200, or it can be determined without relying on the digital displacement scale diagram and scale.

[0085] In other embodiments, the lifting position of each finger 710 is determined based on an image of the wafer 100 within the process chamber 200, specifically: The lifting position of each finger 710 is determined based on the actual position of the wafer 100.

[0086] This includes acquiring an image of the unwarped wafer 110 and determining its initial position on the image displacement scale map, specifically including: like Figure 11 and Figure 12 As shown, in the initial machine state, that is, in the state where the wafer 100 is not being processed in the process chamber 200, the non-warped wafer 110 is placed in the process chamber 200 and positioned to be gripped. The image acquisition module 900 is controlled to acquire an image of the non-warped wafer 110 and map the image of the non-warped wafer 110 onto the image displacement scale map, thereby determining the initial longitudinal position of the non-warped wafer 110 in the image displacement scale map.

[0087] The image of the non-warped wafer 110 after it has moved a second preset distance vertically is acquired, and the position of the non-warped wafer 110 after moving the second preset distance on the image displacement scale is determined, such as... Figure 13 and Figure 14 As shown, specifically it can be: The control pin 230 drives the non-warped wafer 110 to descend a second preset distance; Acquire images of the non-warped wafer 110 after it has descended a second preset distance; The image of the unwarped wafer 110 after descending a second preset distance is mapped onto the image displacement scale map, thereby determining the position of the unwarped wafer 110 after descending the second preset distance in the image displacement scale map.

[0088] Here, the second preset distance can be 1mm. It should be noted that after mapping the image of the tip of the ejector pin 230 in its initial position to the image displacement scale, the vertical position of the tip of the ejector pin 230 is defined as 0mm, and the vertical position of the finger 710 in its initial position is also defined as 0mm after mapping it to the image displacement scale. For example... Figure 12 As shown, the theoretical image of the ejector pin 230 in the initial position can be an image of the inner wall 260 of the process chamber 200. At this time, there is no need to take an image of the ejector pin 230. The image of the inner wall 260 of the process chamber 200 can be used as the background of the image position scale diagram.

[0089] Optionally, before performing image processing on the image displacement scale map to generate a digital displacement scale map, and determining the positions of the initial position and the moved position in the digital displacement scale map to obtain the scale, the wafer transfer method may further include the following steps: The image of the non-warped wafer 110 after moving a third preset distance in the vertical direction is acquired, and the position of the non-warped wafer 110 after moving the third preset distance is determined in the image displacement scale diagram.

[0090] It should be noted that the specific steps for acquiring the image of the non-warped wafer 110 after moving it vertically by a third preset distance, and determining the position of the non-warped wafer 110 on the image displacement scale after moving by the third preset distance, are the same as the steps described above for acquiring the image of the non-warped wafer 110 after moving it vertically by a second preset distance, and determining the position of the non-warped wafer 110 on the image displacement scale after moving by the second preset distance. Therefore, they will not be repeated here.

[0091] Of course, wafer transfer methods may also include the following steps: The image of the non-warped wafer 110 after it has been moved vertically by a fourth or fifth preset distance is acquired, and the position of the non-warped wafer 110 after moving by the fourth or fifth preset distance is determined on the image displacement scale.

[0092] Here, the second preset distance can be 1mm, the third preset distance can be 2mm, the fourth preset distance can be 3mm, and the fifth preset distance can be 4mm. Of course, images can also be acquired after the wafer 110, which has not warped, has been moved vertically by a sixth or seventh preset distance, etc.

[0093] In this embodiment, the warpage range of wafer 100 in the vertical direction can be defined between (-m, +m). In related technologies, the maximum warpage height of wafer 100 is 5mm ≤ warpage ≤ 10mm, so m can be set to 10 here. Specifically, ten images of wafer 110 without warpage can be collected from 0mm to 10mm, and the ten images can be mapped onto a digital displacement scale map.

[0094] In this way, the images of the non-warped wafer 110 after moving different preset distances can be mapped onto the image displacement scale map, thereby determining the position of the non-warped wafer 110 after moving different preset distances on the image displacement scale map.

[0095] In addition, image processing is performed on the image displacement scale map to generate a digital displacement scale map, and the positions of the initial position and the moved position in the digital displacement scale map are obtained to obtain the scale. Specifically, this may include: Based on the initial and moved positions in the obtained image displacement scale map, image processing is performed on the map. The `imread`, `rgb2gray`, `imresize`, and `imshow` functions are used to convert the image displacement scale map into a digital displacement scale map. The vertical positions of the initial and moved positions in the digital displacement scale map can then be determined, meaning there's a one-to-one correspondence between the initial and moved positions and the row numbers in the digital displacement scale map. This allows us to obtain the vertical scale. Thus, we can determine the correspondence between the actual vertical movement distance and the row numbers in the image.

[0096] It should be noted that `imread`, `rgb2gray`, `imresize`, and `imshow` are all computer functions. `imread` reads an image from a graphics file, `rgb2gray` converts an RGB image or color map to a grayscale image, `imresize` resizes an image, and `imshow` displays an image. These functions can be used to perform image reading, grayscale processing, image scaling, and image color value display.

[0097] Acquiring an image of the unwarped wafer 110 and determining its initial position on the image displacement scale may also include: Adjust the horizontal position of the finger 710 equipped with the image acquisition module 900 so that the center of the non-warped wafer 110 acquired by the image acquisition module 900 is located at the center of the horizontal direction of the image displacement scale, and determine the horizontal position of the non-warped wafer 110 in the image displacement scale.

[0098] This makes it easier to determine the correspondence between the actual horizontal dimensions and the column numbers in the image displacement scale diagram.

[0099] In addition, image processing is performed on the image displacement scale map to generate a digital displacement scale map, and the positions of the initial position and the moved position in the digital displacement scale map are obtained to acquire the scale. This may also include: Based on the horizontal position of the unwarped wafer 110 on the image displacement scale map, the position of the unwarped wafer 110 on the digital displacement scale map can be determined to obtain the horizontal scale. In this way, the correspondence between the actual horizontal movement distance and the column number on the image can be obtained.

[0100] Specifically, based on the acquired image of the unwarped wafer 110, the center point of the unwarped wafer 110 corresponds to the center column of the digital displacement scale. Therefore, based on the image acquisition data, data is detected starting from the left. The first data point greater than or equal to 2 is considered the edge of the unwarped wafer 110. Using this method, the column number range corresponding to the 300mm diameter unwarped wafer 110 can be obtained as (-X, +X), which represents the horizontal position of the unwarped wafer 110 on the digital displacement scale. It should be noted that the detection of the image acquisition data can be understood as an array matrix. Areas without color blocks can be 0 and 1, while data points greater than or equal to 2 represent grayscale areas, i.e., areas with color differences. These areas with color differences are the acquired image.

[0101] It should be noted that, assuming the acquired image is a 1000×1000 array, then the image can have 1000 rows and 1000 columns. Assuming the image acquired by image acquisition module 900 is as follows... Figure 18 As shown, the image is 1000*100 pixels. The relationship between the number of horizontal columns and the distance is obtained by measuring the unwarped wafer 110. The 50th column corresponds to -150mm, and the 950th column corresponds to 150mm. Thus, the correspondence between the number of columns and the distance can be obtained. The number of vertical rows can be obtained by measuring the offset of the unwarped wafer 110, and the relationship between the distance and the number of rows can be obtained in the same way.

[0102] Thus, using the vertical and horizontal scales described above, the actual image of wafer 100 in the acquired process chamber 200 is mapped onto a digital displacement scale map with the center point of column 0 and row 0 as the origin. This allows us to derive the correspondence between the actual size of wafer 100 and the number of columns and rows. The data from wafer 100 is read, and then all data is transmitted to the lower-level software in matrix form for data processing. In this scheme, the GrayErrorFigure function in MATLAB can be used to read the data from wafer 100. While GrayErrorFigure is not specifically limited here, other methods can also be used to read the data from wafer 100 on the digital scale map.

[0103] The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and all of these forms are within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A wafer transport device, characterized in that, include: The wafer transfer mechanism (500) includes a drive mechanism and a mechanical finger (700) connected to the drive mechanism. The mechanical finger (700) includes at least two fingers (710), each of which is used to lift the wafer (100). The drive mechanism is used to drive each of the fingers (710) to move respectively. The control module is communicatively connected to the drive mechanism. The control module is used to determine the lifting position of each finger (710) according to the image of the wafer (100), and control the drive mechanism to drive each finger (710) to move to its corresponding lifting position.

2. The wafer transport device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive mechanism includes: A robotic arm (600) is used to drive the robotic finger (700) to move into the process chamber (200); At least two finger drive components (800) are connected to the robotic arm (600) and a corresponding finger (710) respectively, and each finger drive component (800) is used to drive the corresponding finger (710) to move in the vertical and horizontal directions respectively.

3. The wafer transport device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The finger-driving component (800) includes: The first drive assembly (810) includes a first slider (811) and a first drive member (812). The first slider (811) is slidably disposed on the robotic arm (600). The first drive member (812) is connected to the first slider (811) and is used to drive the first slider (811) to slide in the vertical direction. The second drive assembly (820) includes a second slider (821) and a second drive member (822). The second slider (821) is slidably disposed on the first slider (811). The second drive member (822) is connected to the second slider (821) and is used to drive the second slider (821) to slide in the horizontal direction. The finger (710) is connected to the second slider (821).

4. A semiconductor process apparatus, characterized in that, The device includes a process chamber (200), an image acquisition module (900), and a wafer transfer device according to any one of claims 1-3. The image acquisition module (900) is used to acquire images of a wafer (100) located in the process chamber (200). The image acquisition module (900) is communicatively connected to the control module. The mechanical fingers (700) of the wafer transfer mechanism (500) are used to lift the wafer (100).

5. The semiconductor process equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that, The process chamber (200) is equipped with a lighting device (210), which is used to provide supplementary light for the image acquisition module (900) to acquire images.

6. A wafer transfer method, characterized in that, The wafer transport apparatus according to any one of claims 1-3, the transport method comprising: The lifting position of each finger (710) is determined based on the image of the wafer (100) in the process chamber (200) so that there is no risk of chip collision when translating from the lifting position to the grasping position; Control each of the fingers (710) to move to its corresponding lifting position; The finger (710) is controlled to move from the lifting position into the process chamber (200) to pick up the film.

7. The wafer transfer method according to claim 6, characterized in that, When each of the fingers (710) is in its respective supporting position, the minimum vertical distance between each of the fingers (710) and the wafer (100) is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance, wherein the minimum tolerance is the shortest allowable distance between the finger (710) and the wafer (100) in the vertical direction.

8. The wafer transfer method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The process of determining the lifting position of each finger (710) based on an image of the wafer (100) within the process chamber (200) includes: Determine whether the minimum vertical distance between each of the fingers (710) and the wafer (100) is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance; In response to the minimum vertical distance between the finger (710) and the wafer (100) being greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance, the current position of the finger (710) is taken as the lifting position of the finger (710); In response to the minimum vertical distance between the finger (710) and the wafer (100) being less than the minimum tolerance, it is determined that the finger (710) has a risk of chip collision, and the current position of the finger (710) with chip collision risk is adjusted to determine its support position.

9. The wafer transfer method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The adjustment of the current position of the finger (710) at risk of impact, and the determination of its supporting position, specifically includes: The magnitudes of the first and second moving distances of the finger (710) with the risk of chip collision are determined, wherein the first moving distance is the moving distance when the finger (710) with the risk of chip collision moves vertically to a point where the minimum vertical distance between it and the wafer (100) is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance, and the second moving distance is the moving distance when the finger (710) with the risk of chip collision moves horizontally to a point where the minimum vertical distance between it and the wafer (100) is greater than or equal to the minimum tolerance; The position of the finger (710) at risk of impact is determined by the position after the finger (710) has moved according to the smaller of the first moving distance and the second moving distance.

10. The wafer transfer method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The step of determining the position of the finger (710) at risk of impact as the supporting position after it has been moved according to the smaller of the first moving distance and the second moving distance includes: After determining whether there is an interference on the first path of the finger (710) which has the risk of collision, after moving at the smaller of the first moving distance and the second moving distance, it is translated into the process chamber (200); When there is no interference on the first path, the position of the finger (710) that is at risk of impact is determined by the smaller of the first moving distance and the second moving distance. When the interference is present on the first path, it is determined whether the finger (710) with the risk of collision moves according to the larger of the first moving distance and the second moving distance, and then moves to the second path in the process chamber (200) to see if there is an interference. When there is no interference on the second path, the position of the finger (710) at risk of impact is determined by the larger of the first moving distance and the second moving distance.

11. The wafer transfer method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The method of determining the lifting position of each finger (710) based on the image of the wafer (100) within the process chamber (200) further includes: Determine whether the difference between the minimum vertical distance between the adjusted lifting position of the finger (710) with the risk of chip collision and the wafer (100) and the minimum vertical distance between the other fingers (710) and the wafer (100) is less than or equal to a first preset distance, where the first preset distance is the minimum allowable value of the absolute value of the difference between the minimum vertical distances of each finger (710) and the wafer (100); When the difference between the minimum vertical distance between the adjusted lifting position of the finger (710) with the risk of chip collision and the wafer (100) and the minimum vertical distance between the other fingers (710) and the wafer (100) is greater than the first preset distance, the finger (710) with the risk of chip collision or the other fingers (710) are controlled to move until the difference between the minimum vertical distance between the lifting position of the finger (710) with the risk of chip collision and the wafer (100) and the minimum vertical distance between the other fingers (710) and the wafer (100) is less than or equal to the first preset distance, and the moving finger (710) has no risk of chip collision, and there are no interference objects on the third path from the moved position to the process chamber (200).

12. The wafer transfer method according to claim 6, characterized in that, Before determining the lifting position of each finger (710) based on an image of the wafer (100) within the process chamber (200), the method further includes: Images of the unwarped wafer (110) are acquired, and the initial position of the unwarped wafer (110) in the image displacement scale is determined; The image of the non-warped wafer (110) after moving a second preset distance in the vertical direction is acquired, and the position of the non-warped wafer (110) after moving the second preset distance in the image displacement scale is determined; Image processing is performed on the image displacement scale map to generate a digital displacement scale map, and the positions of the initial position and the moved position in the digital displacement scale map are obtained to obtain a scale. The determination of the lifting position of each finger (710) based on the image of the wafer (100) within the process chamber (200) specifically involves: Based on the image, combined with the digital displacement scale diagram and the scale, the lifting position of each finger (710) is determined.

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