Wafer transfer cache device and CMP equipment

Abstract

The utility model relates to a wafer transferring and caching device and CMP equipment, the wafer transferring and caching device comprises an outer cavity, a soaking cavity, a bearing mechanism and a spraying mechanism, and the soaking cavity is arranged in the outer cavity. The bearing mechanism comprises a bearing part located in the outer cavity, and the bearing part can be switched between a transfer station located outside the soaking cavity and a cache station located in the soaking cavity. The spraying mechanism can spray liquid towards the bearing part located at the transfer station. The wafer transferring and caching device has a short-time wafer transferring and storing function and a long-time wafer caching and storing function, has multiple purposes, is high in utilization efficiency, can reduce the occupied area of CMP equipment, improves the wafer output efficiency in unit area, can save the transportation time of the wafers between a transferring state and a caching state, and improves the transportation efficiency of the CMP equipment. And the production efficiency of the CMP equipment is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor equipment technology, and in particular to a wafer transfer buffer device and a CMP device. Background Art

[0002] In the CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) process, polishing liquid adheres to the surface of the polished wafer, which needs to be cleaned in time. Usually, a transfer device is set between the cleaning device and the polishing device of the CMP equipment to temporarily store the wafers. If there are a large number of wafers to be cleaned, in order to avoid the polishing liquid on the wafers drying and forming stains when the wafers wait for a long time, the excess wafers are usually immersed in the cache device of the CMP equipment and soaked in the solution.

[0003] In current CMP equipment, wafer transfer and caching are achieved through different devices. When the CMP equipment stops, the wafers at the transfer device need to be moved to the cache device for long-term storage. When the CMP equipment is restarted, the wafers at the cache device need to be moved to the transfer device again. The wafers flow back and forth between the transfer device and the cache device, which takes a lot of time and is not conducive to the production efficiency of the CMP equipment. Utility Model Content

[0004] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a wafer transfer buffer device and CMP equipment to address the problem of low production efficiency of CMP equipment.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wafer transfer buffer device, comprising:

[0006] external cavity;

[0007] A soaking chamber, disposed in the outer chamber;

[0008] A bearing mechanism, comprising a bearing portion located in the outer cavity, wherein the bearing portion is capable of switching between a transfer station located outside the soaking cavity and a buffer station located in the soaking cavity; and

[0009] The spraying mechanism can spray liquid toward the carrying part located at the transfer station.

[0010] In some embodiments, the bearing mechanism includes a flip assembly and / or a lifting assembly, wherein the flip assembly is connected to the bearing portion and can drive the bearing portion to flip; the lifting assembly is connected to the bearing portion and can drive the bearing portion to rise and fall;

[0011] The bearing portion is driven by the flip assembly and / or the lifting assembly to switch between the buffer station and the transfer station.

[0012] In some embodiments, the bearing portion is installed on the driving end of the lifting assembly via the flip assembly.

[0013] In some embodiments, the flip assembly includes a flip motor and a flip arm, wherein the flip arm connects the driving end of the flip motor and the bearing portion; the bearing portion is located on one side of the rotation axis of the flip motor.

[0014] In some embodiments, the flip arm includes a first arm segment and a second arm segment that are intersecting and connected, the first arm segment is connected to a driving end of the flip motor, and an end of the second arm segment that is away from the flip motor is connected to the bearing portion.

[0015] In some embodiments, the flip assembly can drive the supporting portion to switch between a horizontal state and a vertical state; the supporting portion located at the cache station is in a horizontal state, and the supporting portion located at the transfer station is in a vertical state.

[0016] In some embodiments, a vertical slot is provided on the outer cavity, the flip motor and the lifting assembly are both provided outside the outer cavity, and the flip arm passes through the vertical slot and is connected to the bearing portion located in the outer cavity.

[0017] In some embodiments, the lifting assembly includes a lifting motor, a lead screw pair and a slider, the lifting motor is connected to the lead screw pair, the slider is installed at the moving end of the lead screw pair, and the bearing part can move with the slider.

[0018] In some embodiments, the spray mechanism is located above the soaking chamber and is arranged on the inner wall of the outer chamber.

[0019] In some embodiments, the wafer transfer buffer device comprises an outer shell and an inner shell, the outer shell encloses the outer cavity, the inner shell is disposed in the outer shell, and together with the inner wall of the outer shell encloses the immersion cavity;

[0020] In some embodiments, the outer cavity has a pick-and-place window, and the pick-and-place window is used for picking up and placing wafers on the carrying portion of the transfer station, and the pick-and-place window is located at the top of the outer cavity.

[0021] In the second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a CMP device, which includes a polishing device, a cleaning device and a wafer transfer cache device as described in any of the above embodiments, and on the wafer conveying path, the wafer transfer cache device is located between the cleaning device and the polishing device.

[0022] In actual application, the wafer transfer cache device and CMP equipment described above can be arranged between the polishing device and the cleaning device of the CMP equipment. When the CMP equipment is working, the carrier moves to the transfer station, and the carrier can temporarily store the wafers to facilitate the transfer of the wafers between the polishing device and the cleaning device. At this time, the spray mechanism can spray liquid on the wafers at the transfer station to reduce the probability of dry stains on the wafer surface. When the CMP equipment is paused, the carrier moves to the cache station, and the wafers carried on the carrier can be immersed in the immersion liquid in the immersion chamber for a long time, so as to achieve long-term caching of the wafers.

[0023] In this way, the wafer transfer cache device has both the short-term transfer and storage of wafers and the long-term cache storage of wafers. It is a multi-purpose device with high utilization efficiency. It can also replace the existing transfer and cache modules, greatly reducing the floor space and improving the wafer output efficiency per unit area. In addition, the wafer transfer cache device can save the transportation time of wafers between the transfer state and the cache state, and improve the production efficiency of CMP equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present application. Moreover, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to represent the same components. In the drawings:

[0025] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the appearance of a wafer transfer buffer device in some embodiments.

[0026] Figure 2 for Figure 1 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the wafer transfer buffer device in the transfer state.

[0027] Figure 3 for Figure 1 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the wafer transfer cache device in the cache state.

[0028] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the layout of a CMP device according to some embodiments.

[0029] The reference numerals in the specific implementation manner are as follows:

[0030] 100, wafer transfer buffer device; Q1, outer cavity; 10, outer shell; Q2, immersion chamber; 20, inner shell; 30, bearing mechanism; 31, bearing part; W1, transfer station; W2, buffer station; 32, flip assembly; 32a, flip motor; 32b, flip arm; b1, first arm section; b2, second arm section; 33, lifting assembly; 33a, lifting motor; 33b, screw pair; 33c, slider; 40, spray mechanism; 41, spray hole; 50, mounting seat; 200, wafer; 300, first conveying area; 400, second conveying area; 500, grinding area; 600, maintenance area; 700, transfer mechanism; 800, cleaning area; 810, cleaning module; 821, first brushing module; 822, second brushing module; 830, drying module; 840, transition box. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the present application, so the present application is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0032] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that terms such as “center”, “longitudinal”, “lateral”, “length”, “width”, “thickness”, “up”, “down”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside”, “outside”, “clockwise”, “counterclockwise”, “axial”, “radial”, “circumferential”, etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, if any, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0033] In addition, if present, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of this application, "plurality" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0034] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, if any, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0035] In the present application, if it appears, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature “above” or “below” a second feature may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature “above”, “above” and “above” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature “below”, “below” and “below” a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0036] It should be noted that, if present, when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be the only implementation method.

[0037] In order to solve the problem that the wafer flows back and forth between the transfer device and the cache device, which takes a long time and is not conducive to the production efficiency of the CMP equipment, the embodiment of the present application proposes a wafer transfer cache device and a CMP equipment. The wafer transfer cache device integrates the two functions of wafer transfer and wafer cache in one device, which can reduce the time spent on the wafer flowing between different devices and improve the production efficiency of the CMP equipment.

[0038] The wafer transfer cache device of the embodiment of the present application is introduced in detail below.

[0039] According to some embodiments of this application, please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3The wafer transfer buffer device 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes an outer chamber Q1, an immersion chamber Q2, a carrying mechanism 30 and a spraying mechanism 40, wherein the immersion chamber Q2 is arranged in the outer chamber Q1. The carrying mechanism 30 includes a carrying portion 31 located in the outer chamber Q1, and the carrying portion 31 can switch between a transfer station W1 located outside the immersion chamber Q2 and a buffering station W2 located in the immersion chamber Q2. The spraying mechanism 40 can spray liquid toward the carrying portion 31 located at the transfer station W1.

[0040] The bearing part 31 is used to bear the wafer. Optionally, a placement groove for placing the wafer is provided on the bearing part 31. The immersion chamber Q2 and the outer chamber Q1 are both cavities with a certain accommodating space, and the space of the immersion chamber Q2 is located inside the space of the outer chamber Q1, and the immersion chamber Q2 and the outer chamber Q1 can be formed by the same structure. For example, the outer chamber Q1 is formed by the enclosure of the box body, and the outer chamber Q1 space formed by the lower end part of the box body is used as the immersion chamber Q2. The immersion chamber Q2 can also be a spatial structure formed by the enclosure of the structure arranged in the outer chamber Q1. In actual use, the immersion chamber Q2 is filled with immersion liquid, and the immersion liquid can be but is not limited to deionized water. Specifically, one end of the immersion chamber Q2 is open to facilitate the bearing part 31 to enter and exit the immersion chamber Q2. Of course, a removable cover can also be provided at the open part of the immersion chamber Q2.

[0041] The spray mechanism 40 is used to spray liquid into the outer cavity Q1. Generally, the spray mechanism 40 includes a spray hole 41, and the spray hole 41 is used to spray liquid. The spray mechanism 40 can be arranged outside the outer cavity Q1, or it can be arranged inside the outer cavity Q1. Generally, the spray mechanism 40 is arranged inside the outer cavity Q1, which is convenient for the overall structural aesthetics and can also reduce the spray liquid from splashing outside the outer cavity Q1 to cause pollution. The type of liquid sprayed by the spray mechanism 40 can be, but is not limited to, the same as the immersion liquid in the immersion cavity Q2.

[0042] The carrying part 31 is movable in the outer cavity Q1 , and the moving track includes linear movement, arc movement (such as swinging), curved movement, etc. The carrying part 31 can be switched between the transfer station W1 and the buffer station W2 in the outer cavity Q1 .

[0043] In practical applications, the wafer transfer buffer device 100 can be arranged between the polishing device and the cleaning device of the CMP equipment. Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , the carrier 31 can temporarily store the wafers to facilitate the transfer of the wafers between the polishing device and the cleaning device. At this time, the spray mechanism 40 can spray liquid to the wafers at the transfer station W1 to reduce the probability of dry stains on the wafer surface. When the CMP equipment is paused, the carrier 31 moves to the cache station W2 (as shown in FIG. Figure 3As shown in FIG. 1 , the wafer carried on the carrying portion 31 can be immersed in the immersion liquid in the immersion chamber Q2 for a long time, thereby achieving long-term caching of the wafer.

[0044] In this way, the wafer transfer cache device 100 has both the short-term transfer and storage of wafers and the long-term cache storage of wafers. It is a one-piece device with multiple uses. It is not only highly efficient, but also replaces the existing transfer and cache modules, which can greatly reduce the floor space and improve the wafer output efficiency per unit area. In addition, the wafer transfer cache device 100 can save the transportation time of wafers between the transfer state and the cache state, and improve the production efficiency of CMP equipment.

[0045] In some embodiments, the carrying mechanism 30 includes a flip assembly 32 and / or a lifting assembly 33. The flip assembly 32 is connected to the carrying portion 31 and can drive the carrying portion 31 to flip. The lifting assembly 33 is connected to the carrying portion 31 and can drive the carrying portion 31 to rise and fall. The carrying portion 31 is driven by the flip assembly 32 and / or the lifting assembly 33 to switch between the buffer station W2 and the transfer station W1.

[0046] The carrying part 31 can switch between the buffering station W2 and the transfer station W1 only under the drive of the flip assembly 32. The carrying part 31 can also switch between the buffering station W2 and the transfer station W1 only under the drive of the lifting assembly 33. Of course, the carrying part 31 can also switch between the buffering station W2 and the transfer station W1 under the joint drive of the two.

[0047] The flip assembly 32 drives the carrier 31 to flip around a substantially horizontal axis. Usually, the flip angle does not exceed 90 degrees to reduce the risk of the wafer falling. In addition, the flipping space is small, which is conducive to the compactness and miniaturization of the device structure. Of course, if a wafer adsorption device is set on the carrier 31 to stabilize the wafer structure, the flip angle can exceed 90 degrees. Specifically, Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the flip assembly 32 may include a flip motor 32a and a flip arm 32b, the flip motor 32a drives the flip arm 32b to rotate, and the flip arm 32b drives the bearing part 31 to flip. The axis direction of the flip motor 32a may be horizontal.

[0048] The flip assembly 32 can change the state of the wafer carried by the carrying part 31, such as horizontal carrying, vertical carrying, inclined carrying, etc., which is convenient for designing the wafer carrying state according to the depth and width of the immersion chamber Q2 and the depth and width of the external chamber Q1, so as to transfer and cache more wafers and improve the storage capacity of the device.

[0049] The lifting assembly 33 drives the carrying part 31 to rise and fall approximately in the vertical direction. Generally, the immersion chamber Q2 is arranged at the bottom of the outer chamber Q1. When the lifting assembly 33 drives the carrying part 31 to descend, the carrying part 31 is immersed in the immersion chamber Q2. When the lifting assembly 33 drives the carrying part 31 to rise, the carrying part 31 moves to the transfer station W1. Specifically, the lifting assembly 33 may include a lifting cylinder.

[0050] Whether the flip assembly 32 or the lifting assembly 33 drives the bearing portion 31 to move, it can be achieved through a conventional simple structure, which helps to reduce the cost of the device.

[0051] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 The bearing portion 31 is installed on the driving end of the lifting component 33 through the flip component 32 .

[0052] That is, the bearing part 31 is installed at the driving end of the flip assembly 32, and the flip assembly 32 is arranged at the driving end of the lifting assembly 33. For example, the flip motor 32a of the flip assembly 32 is fixed at the driving end of the lifting cylinder.

[0053] In some application examples, the transfer station W1 and the buffer station W2 can also be arranged up and down in a vertical plane. The station switching process of the carrying part 31 can be: the carrying part 31 is located at the transfer station W1, and the carrying part 31 is flipped and descended to the buffer station below, and is located in the immersion chamber Q2. Conversely, the carrying part 31 is located at the buffer station W2, and after the carrying part 31 rises to the transfer station W1, the carrying part 31 flips back to the transfer wafer carrying state.

[0054] Of course, in other application examples, the transfer station W1 and the cache station W2 can also be arranged left and right in the horizontal plane. The station switching process of the load-bearing part 31 can be: the load-bearing part 31 is located at the transfer station W1, and after the lifting assembly 33 drives the load-bearing part 31 to rise a certain distance, the load-bearing part 31 flips over, and the load-bearing part 31 drops a certain distance to the cache station W2, and is located in the immersion chamber Q2. Conversely, the load-bearing part 31 is located at the cache station W2, and after the load-bearing part 31 rises a certain distance, the load-bearing part 31 flips over in the opposite direction, and the load-bearing part 31 drops a certain distance in the opposite direction to the transfer station W1.

[0055] At this time, the supporting part 31 is switched between the two workstations by the cooperation of the lifting assembly 33 and the flipping assembly 32. It not only has the effect of increasing the wafer storage capacity brought by the flipping function, but also can reduce the interference between the supporting part 31 and the structure forming the immersion chamber Q2 when flipping through the lifting assembly 33, thereby improving the reliability of the device operation and facilitating the internal structure layout of the device.

[0056] In some embodiments, the flip assembly 32 includes a flip motor 32a and a flip arm 32b, wherein the flip arm 32b connects the driving end of the flip motor 32a and the bearing portion 31, and the bearing portion 31 is located on one side of the rotation axis of the flip motor 32a.

[0057] The flip arm 32b can be a straight wall, a curved arm, etc. The bearing portion 31 is located on one side of the rotation axis of the flip motor 32a, which means along the projection of the rotation axis of the flip motor 32a. The projection of the bearing portion 31 is located on one side of the projection of the rotation axis of the flip motor 32a.

[0058] The bearing part 31 flips around the rotation axis of the flipping motor 32a. The bearing part 31 is located on one side of the rotation axis of the flipping motor 32a, that is, the extension line of the rotation axis of the flipping motor 32a does not pass through the bearing part 31. The bearing part 31 is far away from the rotation axis of the flipping motor 32a. The flipping degree of the bearing part 31 is large. The positions of the bearing part 31 located at the transfer station W1 and the cache station W2 are obviously separated, which is convenient for the layout of the immersion chamber Q2 in the outer chamber Q1.

[0059] Specifically in the embodiment, the flip arm 32b includes a first arm segment b1 and a second arm segment b2 that are intersecting and connected. The first arm segment b1 is connected to the driving end of the flip motor 32a, and the end of the second arm segment b2 away from the flip motor 32a is connected to the bearing portion 31.

[0060] Typically, the first arm segment b1 and the second arm segment b2 are formed by bending the same flip arm 32b. Specifically, the first arm segment b1 and the second arm segment b2 are vertically arranged. Figure 2 When the carrying part 31 is located at the transfer station W1, the first arm segment b1 can be arranged vertically, and the second arm segment b2 can be arranged horizontally. Figure 3 When the carrying portion 31 is located at the buffer station W2, the first arm segment b1 can be arranged horizontally, and the second arm segment b2 can be arranged vertically.

[0061] At this time, the flip arm 32b is formed by two first arm segments b1 and second arm segments b2 that intersect in a roughly L-shape. The corner space between the first arm segment b1 and the second arm segment b2 can be used to avoid the wall of the immersion chamber Q2, thereby reducing the collision of the supporting part 31 with the wall of the immersion chamber Q2 when flipping.

[0062] Specifically, the flipping arms 32b include two flipping arms 32b, which are respectively connected to two ends of the rotation axis of the flipping motor 32a. The two flipping arms 32b are connected to the bearing part 31, so that the bearing part 31 can carry the wafer more stably and reliably.

[0063] Specifically in the embodiment, a vertical slot is provided on the outer cavity Q1, the flip motor 32a and the lifting assembly 33 are both provided outside the outer cavity Q1, and the flip arm 32b passes through the vertical slot and is connected to the bearing part 31 located in the outer cavity Q1.

[0064] At this time, the lifting assembly 33 and the flip motor 32a are located outside the outer cavity Q1, which can reduce the contamination and corrosion of the liquid, reduce the material requirements, and facilitate cost control and reliability control. In addition, the flip arm 32b can move along the vertical groove, and the vertical groove can guide the flip arm 32b to rise and fall smoothly.

[0065] In some embodiments, the flip assembly 32 can drive the carrying portion 31 to switch between a horizontal state and a vertical state. The carrying portion 31 located at the buffer station W2 is in a horizontal state, and the carrying portion 31 located at the transfer station W1 is in a vertical state.

[0066] like Figure 2 As shown, the carrying portion 31 located at the transfer station W1 is in a vertical state. Figure 3 As shown, the carrying part 31 at the buffer station W2 is in a horizontal state. When the carrying part 31 is in a vertical state, the wafer carried by it is roughly in a vertical placement state, and when the carrying part 31 is in a horizontal state, the wafer carried by it is roughly in a horizontal placement state.

[0067] The carrying part 31 of the buffer station W2 is in a horizontal state, and the wafers on the carrying part 31 are horizontally immersed in the immersion chamber Q2, which is conducive to accommodating more wafers in the immersion chamber Q2. The carrying part 31 of the transfer station W1 is in a vertical state, and the wafers on the carrying part 31 are placed roughly vertically, which is convenient for taking and placing wafers.

[0068] In some embodiments, reference Figure 3 The lifting assembly 33 includes a lifting motor 33a, a screw pair 33b and a slider 33c. The lifting motor 33a is connected to the screw pair 33b. The slider 33c is installed at the moving end of the screw pair 33b. The bearing part 31 can move with the slider 33c.

[0069] Specifically, the bearing part 31 can be arranged on the slider 33c through the flip assembly 32 of the flip assembly 32, that is, the flip motor 32a is fixed on the slider 33c. At this time, the lifting motor 33a drives the slider 33c to rise and fall by driving the screw pair to rotate, and the flip motor 32a arranged on the slider 33c rises and falls, thereby realizing the lifting and lowering of the bearing part 31. At this time, the lifting scheme is reliable and easy to implement.

[0070] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2 and Figure 3The spray mechanism 40 is located above the immersion chamber Q2 and is arranged on the inner wall of the outer chamber Q1. The spray mechanism 40 is arranged above the immersion chamber Q2, and the liquid sprayed by the spray mechanism 40 can be recovered into the immersion chamber Q2 for repeated use. The spray mechanism 40 is arranged on the inner wall of the outer chamber Q1, and it occupies a smaller space of the outer chamber Q1, which is beneficial to the internal layout of the outer chamber Q1, and the spray mechanism 40 is accommodated in the outer chamber Q1, and the device structure is more compact.

[0071] In some embodiments, the wafer transfer buffer device 100 includes an outer shell 10 and an inner shell 20 . The outer shell 10 encloses an outer cavity Q1 . The inner shell 20 is disposed in the outer shell 10 and forms an immersion cavity Q2 together with the inner wall of the outer shell 10 .

[0072] The outer shell 10 and the inner shell 20 may be square, circular or other structures.

[0073] At this time, the soaking chamber Q2 is formed by the inner shell 20 disposed in the outer shell 10, so that the soaking chamber Q2 is easily obtained. Moreover, the outer shell 10 and the inner shell 20 share the inner wall, which can reduce consumables.

[0074] In some embodiments, the external cavity Q1 has a pick-and-place window (not shown), which is used for placing and picking wafers on the carrying portion 31 of the transfer station W1 , and the pick-and-place window is located at the top of the external cavity Q1 .

[0075] In actual application, the handling robot can pass through the pick-and-place window to place the wafer on the carrying part 31 of the transfer station W1, or take the wafer away from the carrying part 31 of the transfer station W1. The pick-and-place window is located at the top of the outer cavity Q1, that is, the top of the outer cavity Q1 is open, which makes it more convenient for the handling robot to pick up and place the wafer, and is more suitable for the situation where the wafer on the carrying part 31 of the transfer station W1 is placed vertically.

[0076] In other embodiments, the access window may also be arranged on the side of the external cavity Q1. A window door may be provided at the access window. When the wafer needs to be accessed, the window door may open the access window, and when the wafer is stored, the window door may close the access window.

[0077] In some embodiments, the wafer transfer buffer device 100 further includes a mounting seat 50 , and the lifting assembly 33 in the external cavity Q1 and the supporting mechanism 30 can be disposed on the mounting seat 50 .

[0078] In addition, an embodiment of the present application also provides a CMP device, which includes a polishing device, a cleaning device and a wafer transfer buffer device 100 as in any of the above embodiments. On the wafer conveying path, the wafer transfer buffer device 100 is located between the cleaning device and the polishing device.

[0079] The cleaning device may be a megasonic cleaning device, an ultrasonic cleaning device, etc. The polishing device generally includes a polishing disc and a nozzle mechanism for spraying a polishing liquid onto the polishing disc. At this time, the CMP equipment may also include a transport device such as a manipulator, which may be used to transfer wafers between the polishing device and the wafer transfer buffer device 100, and between the wafer transfer buffer device 100 and the cleaning device.

[0080] Figure 4 The schematic diagram of the layout of the CMP equipment in some embodiments is given. Figure 4 In some embodiments, the CMP equipment includes a first conveying area 300, a second conveying area 400, a grinding area 500, a maintenance area 600, and a cleaning area 800. A transfer mechanism 700 (such as a robot) is provided between the grinding area 500 and the cleaning area 800, for transferring the wafer from the grinding area 500 to the cleaning area 800. The second conveying area 400, the maintenance area 600, and the cleaning area 800 are arranged side by side, and the first conveying area 300 is located on the loading side of the second conveying area 400 and the unloading side of the cleaning area 800. The grinding area 500 is arranged on the unloading side of the second conveying area 400 and the loading side of the cleaning area 800. The maintenance area 600 is arranged close to the first conveying area 300, the second conveying area 400, and the grinding area 500, for repairing the equipment in these three areas.

[0081] The first conveying area 300 and the second conveying area 400 are usually provided with conveying devices such as conveying guide rails and conveying robots. Repair equipment can be arranged in the maintenance area 600. The grinding area 500 is usually provided with modules for thinning and polishing wafers.

[0082] The cleaning area 800 is sequentially arranged with a wafer transfer buffer device 100, a cleaning module 810, a scrubbing module, and a drying module 830 from the loading side to the unloading side. Specifically, a first scrubbing module 821 and a second scrubbing module 822 may be configured to scrub the wafer at least twice in sequence, and a transition box 840 (i.e., clean-out) may be provided downstream of the drying module 830 to adjust the wafer posture to a horizontal state.

[0083] In this embodiment, the working process of the CMP equipment is roughly as follows: the wafer 200 is transferred to the second transfer area 400 through the first transfer area 300, and then transferred to the grinding area 500 through the second transfer area 400. The ground wafer is transferred to the cleaning area 800 through the transfer mechanism 700, and then processed in the cleaning area 800 by the wafer transfer buffer device 100, the cleaning module 810, the first brush module 821, the second brush module 822, and the drying module 830 in sequence, and then unloaded through the first transfer area 300. The equipment in the first transfer area 300, the second transfer area 400, and the grinding area 500 can be repaired by the repair equipment in the maintenance area 600.

[0084] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0085] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the present application. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A wafer transfer buffer device, It is characterized in that include: External cavity (Q1); A soaking chamber (Q2) is arranged in the outer chamber (Q1); A carrying mechanism (30) comprising a carrying portion (31) located in the outer chamber (Q1), wherein the carrying portion (31) is capable of switching between a transfer station (W1) located outside the soaking chamber (Q2) and a buffer station (W2) located in the soaking chamber (Q2); and The spraying mechanism (40) is capable of spraying liquid toward the carrying portion (31) located at the transfer station (W1).

2. The wafer transfer buffer device according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The bearing mechanism (30) comprises a turning assembly (32) and / or a lifting assembly (33); the turning assembly (32) is connected to the bearing part (31) and can drive the bearing part (31) to turn over; the lifting assembly (33) is connected to the bearing part (31) and can drive the bearing part (31) to rise and fall; The bearing portion (31) is driven to switch between the buffer station (W2) and the transfer station (W1) via the flip assembly (32) and / or the lifting assembly (33).

3. The wafer transfer buffer device according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The bearing portion (31) is installed on the driving end of the lifting component (33) via the flip component (32).

4. The wafer transfer buffer device according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The flip assembly (32) comprises a flip motor (32a) and a flip arm (32b), wherein the flip arm (32b) connects the driving end of the flip motor (32a) and the bearing portion (31); the bearing portion (31) is located on one side of the rotation axis of the flip motor (32a).

5. The wafer transfer buffer device according to claim 4, It is characterized in that The flip arm (32b) comprises a first arm segment (b1) and a second arm segment (b2) which are intersectingly connected, wherein the first arm segment (b1) is connected to the driving end of the flip motor (32a), and the end of the second arm segment (b2) which is away from the flip motor (32a) is connected to the bearing portion (31).

6. The wafer transfer buffer device according to claim 4, It is characterized in that A vertical slot is provided on the outer cavity (Q1); the flip motor (32a) and the lifting assembly (33) are both arranged outside the outer cavity (Q1); the flip arm (32b) passes through the vertical slot and is connected to the bearing portion (31) located in the outer cavity (Q1).

7. The wafer transfer buffer device according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The flip assembly (32) is capable of driving the bearing portion (31) to switch between a horizontal state and a vertical state; The bearing portion (31) located at the buffer station (W2) is in a horizontal state, and the bearing portion (31) located at the transfer station (W1) is in a vertical state.

8. The wafer transfer buffer device according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The spray mechanism (40) is located above the soaking chamber (Q2) and is arranged on the inner wall of the outer chamber (Q1); and / or, The wafer transfer buffer device comprises an outer shell (10) and an inner shell (20), wherein the outer shell (10) encloses the outer cavity (Q1), and the inner shell (20) is arranged in the outer shell (10) and encloses together with the inner wall of the outer shell (10) to form the immersion cavity (Q2).

9. The wafer transfer buffer device according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The outer cavity (Q1) has a pick-up and placement window, the pick-up and placement window is used for picking up and placing a wafer (200) on the carrying portion (31) of the transfer station (W1), and the pick-up and placement window is located at the top of the outer cavity (Q1).

10. A CMP device, It is characterized in that The CMP equipment comprises a polishing device, a cleaning device and a wafer transfer buffer device as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, and on the conveying path of the wafer (200), the wafer transfer buffer device is located between the cleaning device and the polishing device.

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