A double pin mechanism for picking and placing a wafer and a plasma processing apparatus

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of wafer processing equipment, in particular to a double-pin mechanism for taking and placing wafers and a plasma processing equipment, which comprises an axial driving mechanism, a plurality of guide mechanisms, a plurality of pins I and a plurality of pins II; the axial driving mechanism is arranged below a reaction chamber; the guide mechanisms are provided with guide channels; the upper end portions of the pins I penetrate through the bottom of the reaction chamber and extend into through holes on a bearing table; the lower end portions of the pins II are connected to the driving end of the axial driving mechanism, and the upper end portions thereof penetrate through the bottom of the reaction chamber and extend into the guide channels of the guide mechanisms; the axial driving mechanism synchronously drives the pins I and the pins II to lift and lower, the pins I are stopped by a limiting part after lifting the post-process wafer to a first position, the pins II are deflected to below the post-process wafer by the guide mechanisms and continue to lift to a second position, and only one set of driving can realize the cooperative operation of the double pins.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wafer processing equipment technology, and in particular to a double-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers and a plasma processing device. Background Technology

[0002] In the vacuum transfer system of semiconductor wafer processing, existing wafer exchange devices mostly adopt a dual-ejector mechanism combined with a vacuum robot to improve transfer efficiency. However, the mainstream solution still relies on two independent drive mechanisms to control the lifting and lowering movements of the inner ejector mechanism I and the outer ejector mechanism II respectively. Moreover, the vacuum robot needs to perform the pick-and-place operation in steps. That is, first, it retracts its empty arm to avoid the lowering of the ejector mechanism II to place the processed wafer, and then extends again to pick up the wafer and reset. The whole process has many action nodes and a long cycle time. Especially for scenarios with short process time and large wafer throughput, such as resist removal, the transfer efficiency bottleneck of the existing structure can easily cause the machine to stagnate and wait, making it difficult to match the high-capacity processing demand. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention relates to a dual-ejector mechanism for picking up and placing wafers and a plasma processing device. The purpose is to achieve coordinated lifting and lowering of the dual ejectors through linkage control. With a suitable robotic arm structure, the wafer can be fed in before the process and removed after the process simultaneously. This integrates the original multi-step actions into a single cycle, greatly simplifying the transmission process and improving the transmission efficiency.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a dual-ejector mechanism for picking up and placing wafers, comprising an axial drive mechanism, several guide mechanisms, several ejector pins one and several ejector pins two; The axial drive mechanism is located below the reaction chamber; Several of the aforementioned guiding mechanisms are disposed within the reaction chamber and surround the outside of the support platform, and the guiding mechanisms are provided with guiding channels; The lower end of each of the ejector pins is connected to the drive end of the axial drive mechanism, and its upper end penetrates the bottom of the reaction chamber and extends into the through hole on the support platform. The lower end of each of the two ejector pins is connected to the drive end of the axial drive mechanism, and its upper end extends through the bottom of the reaction chamber into the guide channel of each of the guide mechanisms. The axial drive mechanism drives each of the first and second ejector pins to rise synchronously. When the first ejector pin lifts the post-processed wafer to the first position where it connects with the first robot arm, it stops lifting. The drive end drives the second ejector pin to continue rising, so that the second ejector pin deflects under the guidance of the guide mechanism and moves to below the post-processed wafer at the first position, so that the second ejector pin continues to lift the post-processed wafer to the second position where it connects with the second robot arm.

[0005] Optionally, the dual-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers further includes several limiting members, which are disposed below the reaction chamber, and each of the pins is connected to the drive end of the axial drive mechanism through the limiting members. The bottom of the reaction chamber is axially perforated with several first through holes communicating with its inner cavity. Each ejector pin moves through each of the first through holes. The radial area of ​​the orthographic projection structure of each limiting member on the outer bottom wall of the reaction chamber is larger than the diameter of the first through hole. When the ejector pin lifts the post-processed wafer to the first position where it engages with the robot arm, the limiting member abuts against the bottom of the reaction chamber to prevent the ejector pin from continuing to rise with the drive end.

[0006] Optionally, the dual-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers may further include several elastic connectors. One end of each of the elastic connectors is fixed to the drive end, and the other end extends axially and is fixed to the bottom of the limiting member, so that it is compressed as the drive end continues to rise under the contact between the limiting member and the bottom of the reaction chamber.

[0007] Optionally, the guiding mechanism includes a guide tube section and a guide tube section connected to the top of the guide tube section. The bottom of the guide tube section is connected to the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber. The outlet end of the guide tube section is bent toward the central axis of the support stage so that it is guided and deflected to below the post-process wafer docked in the first position when the upper end of the ejector pin two contacts the inner top wall of the guide tube section.

[0008] Optionally, the axial distance between the bottom of the outlet end of the guide tube and the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber is greater than the axial distance between the top of the support stage and the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber; the axial distance between the top of the outlet end of the guide tube and the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber is less than the axial distance between the bottom of the post-process wafer in the first position and the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber.

[0009] Optionally, the extension structure of the guide tube portion toward the central axis of the support platform intersects the central axis of the support platform at an acute angle.

[0010] Optionally, the dual-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers may further include several elastic connectors. One end of each of the three elastic connectors is fixed to the bottom of the guide mechanism, and the other end extends axially and is fixed to the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber, so that it rises synchronously with the ejector pin two when the upper end of the ejector pin two deflects to the bottom of the post-process wafer in the first position.

[0011] Optionally, the ejector pin two includes a support part, a deflection and lifting part, and a rotating part; The support portion is connected to the drive end; The rotating part is rotatably configured with any one of the supporting part and the deflection lifting part, and is fixedly configured with the other; so that the deflection lifting part can deflect relative to the supporting part with the rotating part as the center.

[0012] Optionally, the rotating part includes a protrusion; The opposite end faces of the support part and the deflection lifting part are the first docking part and the second docking part. The first docking part has a recessed mounting groove. The protruding part is rotatably disposed in the mounting groove and the protruding part is fixed to the second docking part.

[0013] Optionally, the rotating part further includes several elastic connecting members. The two ends of each of the elastic connectors are respectively fixed to the support and the deflection lifting part, so that they can extend or shorten when the guide tube part makes a deflection or reset movement.

[0014] Optionally, the distance between the orthographic projection structure of the guide tube on the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber and the projection structure of the orthographic projection structure of the support platform on the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber is greater than or equal to 0.

[0015] Optionally, the axial drive mechanism includes a drive body, a support portion, and a fixed base; The fixing base is fixed to the bottom of the reaction chamber, the driving body is fixed to the fixing base, the support part is fixed to the output end of the driving body, and together with the output end, they form the driving end. Each of the first ejector pins and each of the second ejector pins are located on the top of the support part.

[0016] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention also provides a plasma processing apparatus, including a reaction chamber, a support stage, a vacuum chamber, a first robotic arm, a second robotic arm, and the aforementioned dual-ejector mechanism for picking up and placing wafers. The support stage is disposed within the reaction chamber, and the vacuum chamber is connected to the reaction chamber. The first robotic arm and the second robotic arm are disposed within the vacuum chamber and can reciprocate synchronously between the vacuum chamber and the reaction chamber. The first robotic arm and the second robotic arm are respectively adapted to ejector pins one and two in the dual-ejector mechanism for picking up and placing wafers, so that while the first robotic arm places the pre-process wafer on ejector pin one, the second robotic arm picks up the post-process wafer from ejector pin two.

[0017] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This invention uses an axial drive mechanism to synchronously drive the lifting and lowering of ejector pin one and ejector pin two. Ejector pin one lifts the post-process wafer to the first position and then stops at a restricted position. Ejector pin two is deflected by a guide mechanism to the bottom of the post-process wafer and continues to lift to the second position. Only one drive is needed to achieve the coordinated operation of the two ejector pins. With the cooperation of robotic arms one and two, the post-process wafer removal and pre-process wafer loading can be completed simultaneously. This eliminates the redundant actions of the two robotic arms to avoid obstacles and extend twice, greatly simplifying the transmission process and effectively solving the problem of long cycle time caused by the existing dual-drive step-by-step operation. It is suitable for high-volume processing needs such as short process and large wafer throughput, such as de-adhesion. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a plasma processing device in some embodiments of the present invention; Figure 2 for Figure 1 An enlarged schematic diagram of the structure at position A in the diagram; Figure 3 for Figure 2 An enlarged schematic diagram of the structure at position B in the diagram.

[0019] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 1. Reaction chamber; 2. Support platform; 21. Through hole; 3. Ejector pin one; 4. Ejector pin two; 41. Support part; 42. Deflection and lifting part; 421. Mounting groove; 5. Axial drive mechanism; 51. Drive body; 52. Support part; 53. Fixing seat; 6. Vacuum chamber; 7. Robot arm one; 8. Robot arm two; 9. Elastic connector one; 10. Protrusion; 11. Elastic connector two; 12. Guide tube part; 13. Guide tube part; 14. Elastic connector three; 15. Limiting part. Detailed Implementation

[0020] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this invention. Unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used herein should have the ordinary meaning understood by those skilled in the art. The terms "comprising" and similar expressions used herein mean that the element or object preceding the word covers the element or object listed following the word and its equivalents, but do not exclude other elements or objects.

[0021] This invention relates to a dual-ejector mechanism for picking up and placing wafers and a plasma processing device. The purpose is to achieve coordinated lifting and lowering of the dual ejectors through linkage control. With a suitable robotic arm structure, the wafer can be fed in before the process and removed after the process simultaneously. This integrates the original multi-step actions into a single cycle, greatly simplifying the transmission process and improving the transmission efficiency.

[0022] To address the problems existing in the prior art, embodiments of the present invention provide a dual-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the dual-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers includes an axial drive mechanism 5, several guide mechanisms, several pin 1 3, and several pin 2 4. The number of guide mechanisms and pin 2 4 is the same, which can be three, four, or more, preferably four; the number of pin 1 3 can be three, four, or more, preferably four.

[0023] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the axial drive mechanism 5 is located below the reaction chamber 1.

[0024] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, several of the guiding mechanisms are located inside the reaction chamber 1 and surround the outside of the support platform 2. The guiding mechanisms are provided with guiding channels. Specifically, the several guiding mechanisms can be arranged in a circumferentially equidistant ring around the support platform 2.

[0025] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the lower end of each ejector pin 3 is connected to the drive end of the axial drive mechanism 5, and its upper end penetrates the bottom of the reaction chamber 1 and extends into the through hole 21 on the support platform 2; preferably, each ejector pin 3 is vertically arranged.

[0026] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the lower end of each of the two ejector pins 4 is connected to the drive end of the axial drive mechanism 5, and its upper end extends through the bottom of the reaction chamber 1 into the guide channel of each of the guide mechanisms; preferably, each of the two ejector pins 4 is vertically arranged.

[0027] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the axial drive mechanism 5 drives each of the first ejector pins 3 and each of the second ejector pins 4 to rise synchronously. When the first ejector pin 3 lifts the post-processed wafer to the first position where it connects with the first robot arm 7, it stops lifting. The drive end drives the second ejector pin 4 to continue rising, so that the second ejector pin 4 deflects under the guidance of the guide mechanism and moves to below the post-processed wafer at the first position, so that the second ejector pin 4 continues to lift the post-processed wafer to the second position where it connects with the second robot arm 8.

[0028] This embodiment achieves segmented differentiated movements of the two ejector pins using only one axial drive mechanism 5. Ejector pin 3 automatically stops after rising to the first position to avoid interfering with subsequent processes, while ejector pin 4, guided by a guide mechanism, deflects to directly below the wafer after processing and continues to rise to the second position. This eliminates the complexity and cost of controlling two independent drives in traditional solutions, and allows for simultaneous wafer loading and unloading operations with two robotic arms. It integrates the original multi-step process into a single cycle, significantly shortening the transfer cycle time and effectively avoiding machine waiting and stalling issues. It is particularly suitable for high-efficiency production needs such as short processes and high wafer throughput, including resist removal.

[0029] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the dual-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers also includes several limiting members 15. The number of limiting members 15 is the same as the number of pins 3, and the shape of the limiting members 15 is preferably a disc-shaped structure. The limiting members 15 are coaxially arranged with the pins 3.

[0030] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the limiting member 15 is disposed below the reaction chamber 1, and each of the ejector pins 3 is connected to the drive end of the axial drive mechanism 5 through the limiting member 15.

[0031] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the bottom of the reaction chamber 1 is axially perforated with several first through holes communicating with its inner cavity. Each ejector pin 3 moves through each of the first through holes. The radial area of ​​the orthographic projection structure of each limiting member 15 on the outer bottom wall of the reaction chamber 1 is larger than the diameter of the first through hole. When the ejector pin 3 lifts the post-processed wafer to the first position where it engages with the robot arm 7, the limiting member 15 abuts against the bottom of the reaction chamber 1 to prevent the ejector pin 3 from continuing to rise with the drive end.

[0032] The mechanical hard limit is formed by the difference in diameter between the limiting member 15 and the first through hole. When the ejector pin 3 lifts the wafer after the process to the first position, it can automatically stop the ejector pin 3 from continuing to rise with the drive end. There is no need to set up a complicated sensor or electronic control stop module. The structure is simple and reliable. It can accurately limit the lifting height of the ejector pin 3 to avoid its excessive upward movement and interference with the connection of the robot arm 7. It can also ensure that the ejector pin 3 maintains a stable supporting state after stopping, leaving a safe movement space for the subsequent deflection and lifting of the wafer after the process by the ejector pin 4. This further improves the reliability and safety of the dual ejector pin collaborative operation.

[0033] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1As shown, the double-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers also includes several elastic connectors 9; the number of elastic connectors 9 is the same as the number of pins 3. The elastic connectors 9 are preferably high-temperature resistant helical compression springs.

[0034] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, one end of each of the elastic connectors 9 is fixed to the driving end, and the other end extends axially and is fixed to the bottom of the limiting member 15, so that it is compressed as the driving end continues to rise under the contact between the limiting member 15 and the bottom of the reaction chamber 1.

[0035] The flexible support connection formed between the drive end and the limiting member 15 by the elastic connector 9 ensures the synchronous lifting and lowering of the ejector pin 3 and the drive end. After the limiting member 15 abuts against the outer bottom wall of the reaction chamber 1, the axial compression of the elastic connector 9 absorbs the continuous upward movement of the drive end, avoiding hard collision and structural damage between the ejector pin 3 and the outer bottom wall of the reaction chamber 1 caused by the rigid connection. At the same time, the pre-tightening force of the elastic connector 9 can maintain the tight fit between the limiting member 15 and the bottom of the chamber, preventing the ejector pin 3 from shaking at the stop position, ensuring its stable support for the wafer after the process, taking into account both the reliability of the transmission and the safety of the limiting process, and extending the service life of the mechanism.

[0036] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, the guiding mechanism includes a guide tube section 12 and a guide tube section 13 connected to the top of the guide tube section 12. The bottom of the guide tube section 12 is connected to the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber 1. The outlet end of the guide tube section 13 is bent toward the central axis of the support platform 2 so that when the upper end of the ejector pin 2 4 contacts the inner top wall of the guide tube section 13, it is guided and deflected to be below the post-process wafer docked in the first position.

[0037] This configuration provides a stable axial support base for ejector pin 4 through guide tube 12, while the curved guide tube 13 forms a continuous and smooth guide surface using its own curvature. When ejector pin 4 rises with the drive end and contacts the inner top wall of guide tube 13, it can naturally deflect towards the central axis of the support platform 2 under the constraint of the tube wall. Without the need for additional complex deflection drive components, ejector pin 4 can be accurately guided to cut in from the outside and smoothly stop directly below the wafer after the process. This not only ensures the controllability of the deflection trajectory of ejector pin 4 and avoids it from scratching the edge of the wafer after the process, but also simplifies the mechanism structure and improves the reliability of the coordinated lifting action of the two ejector pins.

[0038] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2As shown, the axial distance between the bottom of the outlet end of the guide tube 13 and the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber 1 is greater than the axial distance between the top of the support platform 2 and the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber 1; the axial distance between the top of the outlet end of the guide tube 13 and the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber 1 is less than the axial distance between the bottom of the post-process wafer in the first position and the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber 1.

[0039] By precisely defining the axial height range of the outlet end of the guide tube section 13, it ensures that the bottom of the outlet end is higher than the top surface of the support platform 2, avoiding interference and collision between the ejector pin 2 4 and the support platform 2 when it deflects and extends, thus ensuring the safe operation of the mechanism. Furthermore, by utilizing the height difference between the top of the outlet end and the bottom surface of the wafer after the first process position, the upper end of the ejector pin 2 4 can naturally extend from the outlet end to the bottom of the wafer after the process after it completes its deflection within the guide tube section 13. This allows it to directly receive the wafer after the process without additional adjustment of the height of the ejector pin 2 4, ensuring both the smoothness of the path of the ejector pin 2 4 into the bottom of the wafer after the process and the stable support for the wafer after the process during subsequent lifting.

[0040] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, the extension structure of the central axis of the guide tube 13 towards the central axis of the support platform 2 intersects the central axis of the support platform 2 at an acute angle.

[0041] In this embodiment, the central axis of the guide tube 13 and the central axis of the support platform 2 are preset to an acute angle. This allows the ejector pin 4 to obtain a continuous radial force on the support platform 2 along the curved inner wall of the guide tube 13 during its ascent. This ensures that the deflection trajectory is smooth and controllable, and can accurately cut into the wafer directly below the first position after the process. This avoids the ejector pin 4 impacting the edge of the wafer after the process due to an excessively large deflection angle, or insufficient angle to effectively support it. At the same time, the acute angle guide structure shortens the horizontal movement path of the ejector pin 4 from the initial position to the bottom of the wafer, and can complete the positioning more quickly in conjunction with the axial lifting action.

[0042] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, the double-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers also includes several elastic connectors 14; the number of elastic connectors 14 is the same as the number of pins 4, and the elastic connectors 14 are preferably helical springs or bellows.

[0043] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, one end of each of the elastic connectors 14 is fixed to the bottom of the guide mechanism, and the other end extends axially and is fixed to the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber 1, so that when the upper end of the ejector pin 4 deflects to the bottom of the post-process wafer in the first position, it rises synchronously with the ejector pin 4.

[0044] The elastic connector 14 forms a flexible support between the bottom of the guide mechanism and the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber 1. It can provide stable axial positioning for the guide mechanism when the ejector pin 4 is not deflected, preventing it from shaking in the reaction chamber 1 and ensuring the accuracy of the initial upward trajectory of the ejector pin 4. After the ejector pin 4 is deflected into place (i.e., it moves to the bottom of the post-process wafer), it is stretched synchronously as the ejector pin 4 continues to rise, so that the guide mechanism and the ejector pin 4 move in the same direction and at the same speed, avoiding interference from the guide mechanism to the rise of the ejector pin 4. At the same time, it ensures that the guide mechanism always plays a limiting and guiding role for the ejector pin 4 during the rise, preventing the ejector pin 4 from radially deflecting when carrying the wafer and preventing the ejector pin 4 from remaining unchanged when it is deflected to the bottom of the post-process wafer.

[0045] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, the ejector pin 4 includes a support part 41, a deflection and lifting part 42, and a rotating part; the support part 41 is preferably a rod-shaped structure.

[0046] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, the support part 41 is connected to the drive end; the rotating part is rotatably configured with either the support part 41 or the deflection lifting part 42, and is fixedly configured with the other; so that the deflection lifting part 42 can deflect relative to the support part 41 with the rotating part as the center.

[0047] This configuration establishes a rotatable connection between the support 41 and the deflection lifting part 42 through the rotating part. This allows the deflection lifting part 42 to flexibly deflect around the rotating part without the need for an additional complex steering drive structure. Under the constraint of the inner top wall of the guide tube 13, it can adaptively complete the deflection action towards the support platform 2. This simplifies the mechanical structure of the ejector pin 4, reduces the difficulty of processing and assembly, and ensures that the deflection lifting part 42 remains in contact with the inner top wall of the guide tube 13 during the ascent with the support 41, avoiding jamming. At the same time, the low friction characteristics of the rotatable connection ensure the smoothness of the deflection action, allowing the ejector pin 4 to accurately and smoothly cut into the underside of the wafer after the process, improving the reliability and accuracy of the dual ejector pin collaborative operation.

[0048] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, the rotating part includes a protrusion 10; preferably, the protrusion 10 has a spherical structure.

[0049] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3As shown, the opposite end faces of the support part 41 and the deflection lifting part 42 are the first docking part and the second docking part. The first docking part has a recessed mounting groove 421. The cavity of the mounting groove 421 is a spherical structure adapted to the protrusion 10. The protrusion 10 is partially rotatably disposed in the mounting groove 421, and the protrusion 10 is fixed to the second docking part.

[0050] In some specific embodiments, the protrusion 10 may be provided on the support portion 41, and the corresponding mounting groove 421 may be provided on the deflection lifting portion 42; the protrusion 10 may also be provided on the deflection lifting portion 42, and the corresponding mounting groove 421 may be provided on the support portion 41.

[0051] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, the rotating part further includes several elastic connecting members 11; these elastic connecting members 11 can be arranged circumferentially at equal intervals around the protrusion 10. Alternatively, it can be configured as two groups, each group containing multiple elastic connecting members 11. The two groups are located on the side of the protrusion 10 closest to the support platform 2 and on the side furthest from the support platform 2. The elastic connecting member 11 is preferably a helical spring.

[0052] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, the two ends of each of the elastic connectors 11 are fixed to the support part 41 and the deflection lifting part 42, respectively, so as to extend or shorten accordingly when the guide tube part 13 deflects or resets. The elastic connectors 11 create a flexible tension between the support part 41 and the deflection lifting part 42, allowing the ejector pin 4 to automatically extend or shorten with deformation as it deflects along the guide tube part 13 (i.e., the elastic connectors 11 on opposite sides of the protrusion 10 are compressed when closer to the support platform 2 and stretched when farther away from the support platform 2), providing a stable rotational torque and preventing the deflection lifting part 42 from jamming or excessively swaying due to inertial impact. When the ejector pin 4 descends and resets, the rebound force of the elastic connectors 11 assists the deflection lifting part 42 to quickly and accurately return to its initial vertical state, ensuring the smoothness of the next cycle. This improves the stability and controllability of the deflection process, effectively reduces wear on the rotating part, and extends the service life of the ejector pin 4.

[0053] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, the distance between the orthographic projection structure of the guide tube 13 on the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber 1 and the orthographic projection structure of the support platform 2 on the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber 1 is greater than or equal to 0, that is, the orthographic projection structures of the two are in contact or separated.

[0054] By limiting the distance between the guide tube 13 and the support stage 2 on the bottom wall of the reaction chamber 1, the two can be allowed to contact each other to eliminate lateral gaps and improve the installation stability of the guide tube 13. At the same time, a small gap can be retained to avoid interference and collision caused by processing and assembly errors. Regardless of the contact or gap setting, it can be ensured that the outlet end of the guide tube 13 is directly opposite the wafer area on the outer periphery of the support stage 2. That is, the two are on the same vertical plane or two parallel vertical planes. This allows the ejector pin 4 to accurately probe directly below the wafer after the process after deflection. This not only ensures the positioning accuracy and structural safety of the guide tube 13, but also provides a reliable guiding reference for the stable support and lifting of the ejector pin 4. At the same time, it can also avoid the guide tube 13 from blocking or interfering with the upward movement of the wafer after the process that has not risen to the first position.

[0055] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the axial drive mechanism 5 includes a drive body 51, a support part 52, and a fixed seat 53; the fixed seat 53 is fixed to the bottom of the reaction chamber 1, the drive body 51 is fixed to the fixed seat 53, the support part 52 is fixed to the output end of the drive body 51, and together with the output end, constitutes the drive end, and each of the first ejector pins 3 and each of the second ejector pins 4 are disposed on the top of the support part 52.

[0056] The drive body 51 is securely fixed to the bottom of the reaction chamber 1 by the fixing seat 53, which not only isolates the transmission of drive vibration into the reaction chamber 1, but also ensures the stability of the overall installation reference. The support part 52 is fixedly connected to the output end of the drive body 51 to form an integrated drive end, which is equivalent to providing a coplanar rigid bearing platform for ejector pin 1 3 and ejector pin 2 4. This can ensure the flatness and coaxiality of multiple sets of ejector pin 1 3 and multiple sets of ejector pin 2 4 rising and falling synchronously, and avoid jamming or wafer tilting caused by uneven force on a single ejector pin.

[0057] In some specific embodiments, the fixed base 53 can be an annular plate or a cross-shaped frame that is adapted to the bottom contour of the reaction chamber 1, with a clearance through hole in the middle for ejector pin 1 3 and ejector pin 2 4 to pass through, and the periphery is sealed to the outer bottom wall of the chamber by fasteners.

[0058] In some specific embodiments, the shape of the support part 52 can be a circular plate or a regular polygonal plate arranged parallel to the fixing seat 53. Its plate surface size is adapted to the arrangement range of multiple sets of ejector pins 3 and multiple sets of ejector pins 4. The upper surface is provided with positioning grooves corresponding to the positions of each ejector pin to ensure the coaxiality of the installation of the lower end of the ejector pin.

[0059] To address the problems existing in the prior art, embodiments of the present invention also provide a plasma processing device, such as... Figure 1As shown, the plasma processing equipment includes a reaction chamber 1, a support platform 2, a vacuum chamber 6, a first robotic arm 7, a second robotic arm 8, and the aforementioned double-ejector mechanism for picking up and placing wafers. The support platform 2 is located inside the reaction chamber 1, and the vacuum chamber 6 is connected to the reaction chamber 1. The first robotic arm 7 and the second robotic arm 8 are located inside the vacuum chamber 6 and can reciprocate synchronously between the vacuum chamber 6 and the reaction chamber 1. The first robotic arm 7 and the second robotic arm 8 are respectively adapted to ejector pin 3 and ejector pin 4 in the double-ejector mechanism for picking up and placing wafers, so that while the first robotic arm 7 places the pre-process wafer on ejector pin 3, the second robotic arm 8 picks up the post-process wafer from ejector pin 4.

[0060] This setup, through precise adaptation of dual robotic arms and dual ejector pin mechanisms, integrates the pre-process wafer feeding and post-process wafer retrieval into a single synchronous action. Specifically, while robotic arm 7 places the pre-process wafer onto ejector pin 3 at its first position, robotic arm 8 directly retrieves the post-process wafer from ejector pin 4, which has been raised to its second position. This completely eliminates the redundant steps of robotic arms needing to navigate and extend twice in traditional solutions, significantly reducing the wafer exchange cycle time. Combined with a single drive system that enables segmented coordination of the dual ejector pins, this not only reduces equipment control complexity and cost but also effectively avoids machine waiting and stalling issues.

[0061] In some embodiments, the plasma processing equipment can be a plasma etching equipment, an ashing and resist removal equipment, or a chemical vapor deposition equipment. These types of equipment generally feature short process cycles and high wafer throughput. The dual-pin mechanism and dual-manipulator collaborative architecture of this invention can perfectly adapt to the transmission requirements of such equipment. In etching equipment, it can significantly shorten the waiting time for wafers to be transported after etching; in resist removal equipment, it can match the fast-paced cycle of high-speed resist removal; and in deposition equipment, it can avoid excessive wafer exposure time affecting film quality. Through extremely simple synchronous exchange actions, it breaks through traditional transmission bottlenecks, significantly improving the overall process output efficiency and wafer yield of the equipment.

[0062] While embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to these embodiments. However, it should be understood that such modifications and variations fall within the scope and spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, the present invention described herein may have other embodiments and can be implemented or carried out in various ways.

Claims

1. A double-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers, characterized in that, It includes an axial drive mechanism, several guide mechanisms, several ejector pins (first type), and several ejector pins (second type); The axial drive mechanism is located below the reaction chamber; Several of the aforementioned guiding mechanisms are disposed within the reaction chamber and surround the outside of the support platform, and the guiding mechanisms are provided with guiding channels; The lower end of each of the ejector pins is connected to the drive end of the axial drive mechanism, and its upper end penetrates the bottom of the reaction chamber and extends into the through hole on the support platform. The lower end of each of the two ejector pins is connected to the drive end of the axial drive mechanism, and its upper end extends through the bottom of the reaction chamber into the guide channel of each of the guide mechanisms. The axial drive mechanism drives each of the first and second ejector pins to rise synchronously. When the first ejector pin lifts the post-processed wafer to the first position where it engages with the first robot arm, it stops lifting. The drive end drives the second ejector pin to continue rising, causing the second ejector pin to deflect under the guidance of the guide mechanism to below the post-processed wafer at the first position, so that the second ejector pin can continue to lift the post-processed wafer to the second position where it engages with the second robot arm. While the first robot arm places the pre-processed wafer on the first ejector pin, the second robot arm removes the post-processed wafer from the second ejector pin. The guiding mechanism includes a guide tube section and a guide tube section connected to the top of the guide tube section. The bottom of the guide tube section is connected to the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber. The outlet end of the guide tube section is bent toward the central axis of the support stage so that it is guided and deflected to below the post-process wafer docked in the first position when the upper end of the ejector pin two contacts the inner top wall of the guide tube section. The distance between the orthographic projection of the guide tube on the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber and the projection of the support platform on the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber is greater than or equal to 0. The double ejector mechanism also includes several limiting members, which are disposed below the reaction chamber. Each ejector pin is connected to the drive end of the axial drive mechanism through the limiting members. The limiting members abut against the bottom of the reaction chamber to prevent the ejector pin from continuing to rise as driven by the drive end.

2. The double-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom of the reaction chamber is axially perforated with several first through holes communicating with its inner cavity. Each ejector pin moves through each of the first through holes. The radial area of ​​the orthographic projection structure of each limiting member on the outer bottom wall of the reaction chamber is larger than the diameter of the first through hole. When the ejector pin lifts the post-processed wafer to the first position where it connects with the robot arm.

3. The double-ejector mechanism for picking up and placing wafers according to claim 2, characterized in that, It also includes several flexible connectors; One end of each of the elastic connectors is fixed to the drive end, and the other end extends axially and is fixed to the bottom of the limiting member, so that it is compressed as the drive end continues to rise under the contact between the limiting member and the bottom of the reaction chamber.

4. The double-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The axial distance between the bottom of the outlet end of the guide tube and the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber is greater than the axial distance between the top of the support stage and the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber; the axial distance between the top of the outlet end of the guide tube and the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber is less than the axial distance between the bottom of the post-process wafer in the first position and the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber.

5. The double-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The extended structure of the guide tube, which faces the central axis of the support platform, intersects the central axis of the support platform at an acute angle.

6. The double-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes several flexible connectors; One end of each of the three elastic connectors is fixed to the bottom of the guide mechanism, and the other end extends axially and is fixed to the inner bottom wall of the reaction chamber, so that it rises synchronously with the ejector pin two when the upper end of the ejector pin two deflects to the bottom of the post-process wafer in the first position.

7. The double-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ejector pin two includes a support part, a deflection and lifting part, and a rotating part; The support portion is connected to the drive end; The rotating part is rotatably configured with any one of the supporting part and the deflection lifting part, and is fixedly configured with the other; so that the deflection lifting part can deflect relative to the supporting part with the rotating part as the center.

8. The double-ejector mechanism for picking up and placing wafers according to claim 7, characterized in that, The rotating part includes a protrusion; The opposite end faces of the support part and the deflection lifting part are the first docking part and the second docking part. The first docking part has a recessed mounting groove. The protruding part is rotatably disposed in the mounting groove and the protruding part is fixed to the second docking part.

9. The double-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers according to claim 8, characterized in that, The rotating part also includes several elastic connecting parts. The two ends of each of the elastic connectors are respectively fixed to the support and the deflection lifting part, so that they can extend or shorten when the guide tube part makes a deflection or reset movement.

10. The double-pin mechanism for picking up and placing wafers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The axial drive mechanism includes a drive body, a support part, and a fixed seat; The fixing base is fixed to the bottom of the reaction chamber, the driving body is fixed to the fixing base, the support part is fixed to the output end of the driving body, and together with the output end, they form the driving end. Each of the first ejector pins and each of the second ejector pins are located on the top of the support part.

11. A plasma processing device, characterized in that, The device includes a reaction chamber, a support stage, a vacuum chamber, a first robotic arm, a second robotic arm, and a dual-ejector mechanism for picking up and placing wafers as described in any one of claims 1 to 10. The support stage is disposed within the reaction chamber, and the vacuum chamber is connected to the reaction chamber. The first robotic arm and the second robotic arm are disposed within the vacuum chamber and can reciprocate synchronously between the vacuum chamber and the reaction chamber. The first robotic arm and the second robotic arm are respectively adapted to ejector pins one and two in the dual-ejector mechanism for picking up and placing wafers.

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