Semiconductor wafer conveying unit and semiconductor processing device

Abstract

The utility model provides a semiconductor wafer conveying unit and a semiconductor processing device. The semiconductor wafer conveying unit comprises a rotatable supporting table, a plurality of pairs of mechanical arms and a plurality of blades. Each blade comprises a fixed disc and a storage disc rotationally connected with the fixed disc, and the storage disc is provided with a plurality of placing parts for placing wafers; the two ends of each pair of mechanical arms are connected with the side wall of the supporting table and the fixing disc correspondingly, and each pair of mechanical arms controls the fixing disc to move. The semiconductor wafer conveying unit is provided with at least two blades, each blade is provided with at least two placing parts for carrying wafers, and the carrying of a plurality of wafers is realized through the movement and rotation of the fixed disc connected with the placing parts and the rotation of the mechanical arm driven by the supporting table. The time for taking and conveying the wafer in the semiconductor processing procedure can be greatly saved, and the time cost for grabbing and conveying the wafer at present can be saved by more than half in an ideal state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of wafer processing equipment, in particular to a semiconductor wafer transfer unit and a semiconductor processing device. Background Art

[0002] At present, the transfer chamber and buffer chamber of physical vapor deposition (PVD) use dual blades and single wafer gripping robots. The design of this transfer robot encapsulates two separately controlled drive components in a motor stack. Each drive component is magnetically coupled to a link connected to the main or transfer robot blade. Each blade is individually controlled by the controller of the transfer robot, so their operations are independent of each other. The magnetic coupling allows each link mechanism to move inside the vacuum chamber while being driven by two drive components located outside the vacuum chamber. Each robot has two independent blades, which reduces the number of wafer transfers and improves the transfer efficiency. The two blades have an upper and lower height difference and are connected to the upper or lower hub assembly of the robot through the robot link. The upper hub assembly controls the position of the main blade, and the lower hub assembly controls the position of the auxiliary blade. Each hub assembly has a vacuum and atmospheric magnet assembly, and each assembly has an upper and lower magnet ring.

[0003] It should be noted that the information of the utility model in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the utility model, and therefore may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to those skilled in the art. Utility Model Content

[0004] In response to the problems in the prior art, the purpose of the present utility model is to provide a semiconductor wafer transfer unit and a semiconductor processing device. The semiconductor wafer transfer unit can carry multiple wafers at a time, which can greatly save the time for picking up and delivering wafers in the semiconductor processing process. Under ideal conditions, it can save more than half of the time cost of currently used wafer grabbing and delivering.

[0005] The utility model adopts the grabbing mode of the double-headed blades, and the double-headed blades can improve the efficiency of film transmission and reduce the film taking time.

[0006] A first aspect of the utility model provides a semiconductor wafer transfer unit, comprising a rotatable support table, a plurality of pairs of mechanical arms, and a plurality of blades;

[0007] Each of the blades comprises a fixed disk and a storage disk rotatably connected to the fixed disk, and the storage disk is provided with a plurality of placement portions for placing wafers;

[0008] Two ends of each pair of the mechanical arms are respectively connected to the side walls of the support platform and the fixed plate, and each pair of the mechanical arms controls the movement of the fixed plate.

[0009] According to the first aspect of the utility model, the support platform can be raised and lowered.

[0010] According to a first aspect of the utility model, the placement portion is a vacuum suction cup.

[0011] According to a first aspect of the utility model, the vacuum suction cup comprises a support surface provided with a vacuum suction portion;

[0012] The vacuum chuck generates vacuum through the vacuum channel and absorbs the wafer through the supporting surface.

[0013] According to the first aspect of the utility model, the vacuum channel is connected to the vacuum generating device through the robot arm and the support platform in sequence.

[0014] According to a first aspect of the utility model, the mechanical arm comprises an active arm, a driven arm and an articulated shaft;

[0015] The active arm and the driven arm are connected via the hinge shaft.

[0016] According to a first aspect of the utility model, a semiconductor wafer transfer unit comprises two pairs of the robot arms and two blades;

[0017] Two pairs of the mechanical arms are relatively arranged on two sides of the support platform, and the mechanical arms drive the fixed plate to move in a horizontal plane.

[0018] A second aspect of the utility model provides a semiconductor processing device, including a processing chamber and the semiconductor wafer transfer unit;

[0019] The semiconductor wafer transfer unit is disposed in the processing chamber.

[0020] According to a second aspect of the utility model, the device further comprises a wafer carrier disposed in the processing chamber;

[0021] The bearing platform is provided with a bearing surface and at least three lifting pins which can be lifted and lowered relative to the bearing surface.

[0022] According to a second aspect of the utility model, the placement portion is a vacuum suction cup, and the vacuum suction cup includes a support surface provided with a vacuum suction portion;

[0023] When a wafer is placed on the placement portion and moved to above the wafer carrying platform by a pair of the robotic arms, the projection of the vacuum suction cup on the wafer carrying platform covers the range surrounded by the at least three lifting pins.

[0024] The semiconductor wafer transfer unit of the utility model is provided with at least two blades, and each blade is provided with at least two placement parts for carrying wafers. The transportation of multiple wafers is realized by the movement and rotation of the fixed plate connected to the placement part and the rotation of the mechanical arm driven by the support table, which can greatly save the time of picking up and delivering wafers in the semiconductor processing process. Under ideal conditions, it can save more than half of the time cost of the currently used grabbing and delivering wafers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Other features, objectives and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by reading the detailed description of non-limiting embodiments made with reference to the following drawings.

[0026] Figure 1 and Figure 2 They are respectively a structural schematic diagram and a partial diagram of a semiconductor wafer transfer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0027] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing device according to an embodiment of the utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, example embodiments can be implemented in a variety of forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided so that the utility model will be comprehensive and complete, and the concept of the example embodiments will be fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the utility model, and should not be construed as limitations on the utility model. The same reference numerals in the figures represent the same or similar structures, and thus their repeated description will be omitted.

[0029] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0030] In the description of the present utility model, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" 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, an electrical connection, or can communicate with each other; 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. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present utility model can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0031] The utility model below provides many different embodiments or examples for realizing different structures of the utility model. In order to simplify the utility model of the utility model, the components and settings of specific examples are described below. Of course, they are only examples, and the purpose is not to limit the utility model. In addition, the utility model can repeat reference numbers and / or reference letters in different examples, and this repetition is for the purpose of simplification and clarity, and does not indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or settings discussed in itself. In addition, the utility model provides various specific examples of processes and materials, but those of ordinary skill in the art can be aware of the application of other processes and / or the use of other materials.

[0032] In response to the existing technical problems, the utility model provides a semiconductor wafer transfer unit and a semiconductor processing device, wherein the semiconductor wafer transfer unit includes a rotatable support table, multiple pairs of robotic arms and multiple blades; each of the blades includes a fixed disk and a storage disk rotatably connected to the fixed disk, and the storage disk is provided with multiple placement parts for placing wafers; both ends of each pair of the robotic arms are respectively connected to the side walls of the support table and the fixed disk, and each pair of the robotic arms controls the movement of the fixed disk.

[0033] The semiconductor wafer transfer unit of the utility model is provided with at least two blades, and each blade is provided with at least two placement parts for carrying wafers. The transportation of multiple wafers is realized by the movement and rotation of the fixed plate connected to the placement part and the rotation of the mechanical arm driven by the support table, which can greatly save the time of picking up and delivering wafers in the semiconductor processing process. Under ideal conditions, it can save more than half of the time cost of the currently used grabbing and delivering wafers.

[0034] The structure of the semiconductor wafer transfer unit and the semiconductor processing device of the present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It can be understood that the various specific embodiments are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 1 and Figure 2The schematic diagram and partial diagram of the structure of a semiconductor wafer transfer unit of an embodiment of the utility model are respectively, and the semiconductor wafer transfer unit includes a rotatable support table 1, multiple pairs of mechanical arms and multiple blades; in this embodiment, the transfer device includes two pairs of mechanical arms, namely mechanical arms 2A / 2A' and mechanical arms 2B / 2B', and correspondingly includes two blades, the blades include a fixed disk 31A / 31B and a storage disk 32A / 32B rotatably connected to the fixed disk 31A / 31B, and the storage disk 32A / 32B is provided with multiple placement parts for placing wafers; in this embodiment, the storage disk 32A is provided with two placement parts, and correspondingly, the storage disk 32A can place wafers 9A and wafers 9A', and the storage disk 32B can place wafers 9B and wafers 9B'. The rotation of the support table 1 can drive the rotation of any pair of mechanical arms connected thereto, so that different blades are in the position of transmitting or carrying wafers. The number of pairs of mechanical arms and the number of placement parts of each storage disk are set according to actual needs.

[0036] In some embodiments, the support platform 1 can be raised and lowered. For example, the support platform 1 can be connected to a hydraulic lifting rod 11, and the height of the support platform 1, that is, the blade connected thereto, can be adjusted by controlling the lifting and lowering of the hydraulic lifting rod 11. Further, the hydraulic lifting rod 11 can have a first position and a relatively lower second position. When the hydraulic lifting rod 11 is in the first position, the support platform 1 can be rotated to prevent the blade from colliding with the wafer carrier of the semiconductor processing device during rotation. When the hydraulic lifting rod 11 is in the lower second position, the wafer placed on the placement portion of the blade is close to the wafer carrier of the semiconductor processing device.

[0037] The two ends of each pair of the mechanical arms are connected to the support platform and the fixed plate, respectively, and each pair of the mechanical arms controls the movement of the fixed plate. The utility model can adopt mechanical arms of different structures. For example, the mechanical arm includes an active arm 21A / 21A', a driven arm 22A / 23A' and a hinge shaft 23A / 23A', and the active arm 21A / 21A' and the driven arm 22A / 22A' are connected by the hinge shaft 23A / 23A'. That is, the utility model can adopt a parallel mechanical arm mechanism with a left-right symmetrical distribution structure, the active arm 21A and the driven arm 22A on one side can be connected to a driving device, respectively, the active arm 21A' and the driven arm 22A' on one side can be connected to another driving device, respectively, and the fixed plate 31A connected to the driven arm 22A and the driven arm 22A' is driven by the driving device to move in a plane. This moving plane can be set as needed, and can be determined by adjusting the positional relationship between the active arm, the driven arm and the fixed plate. Usually, the moving plane can be a horizontal plane. In this case, the two pairs of mechanical arms are relatively arranged on both sides of the support platform 1, the active arm 21A / 21A' and the driven arm 22A / 22A' are arranged in the horizontal plane, and the rotation axis of the hinge shaft 23A / 23A' is perpendicular to the horizontal plane. The angle between the active arm 21A and the driven arm 22A and the angle between the active arm 21A' and the driven arm 22A' determine the position of the fixed plate 3A.

[0038] The storage tray 32A is rotatably connected to the fixed tray 3A, and its rotation causes the positions of the wafers 9A and 9A′ to change.

[0039] In an embodiment, the placement portion may be a circular groove at both ends of the storage tray 32A that matches the size of the wafer, and the wafer can be placed in the circular groove. In the embodiment of 2, the placement portion is a vacuum suction cup 33A / 33A'. The vacuum suction cup 33A / 33A' includes a supporting surface provided with a vacuum suction portion 331A / 331A'; the vacuum suction cup generates a vacuum through a vacuum channel (not shown in the figure) and adsorbs the wafer through the supporting surface, and the vacuum channel is connected to the vacuum generating device through the robot arm and the supporting platform in turn. The vacuum suction cup can grasp the wafer by vacuuming the vacuum generating device, and release the wafer by releasing the vacuum. The vacuum suction cup can reduce the risk of slipping during the transportation and transmission of wafers.

[0040] The utility model also provides a semiconductor processing device, Figure 3The schematic diagram of the structure of a semiconductor processing device of an embodiment of the utility model is shown in the figure. The semiconductor processing device includes a processing chamber (not shown in the figure) and the semiconductor wafer transfer unit, and the semiconductor wafer transfer unit is arranged in the processing chamber. The device also includes a wafer carrier 8 arranged in the processing chamber; the carrier can have a heating function, etc., and the semiconductor wafer transfer unit can be equivalent to the movement of the carrier 8. The carrier 8 is provided with a bearing surface and at least three lifting pins 81 that can be lifted and lowered relative to the bearing surface, and the tops of the three lifting pins 81 form a supporting surface. Taking the placement part as a vacuum suction cup as an example, when the vacuum suction cup 33A / 33A' includes a supporting surface provided with a vacuum suction part 331A / 331A', when the wafer is placed on the placement part and moved to the top of the wafer carrier by a pair of the robotic arms, the projection of the vacuum suction cup (supporting surface) on the wafer carrier covers the range surrounded by the at least three lifting pins.

[0041] The following further illustrates the structure of the semiconductor processing device of the present invention through the wafer transfer method. First, each placement part of the semiconductor wafer transfer unit is loaded with wafers, and the vacuum generating device is started so that each wafer is adsorbed on the placement part. The semiconductor wafer transfer unit is moved, the support table is rotated, and the mechanical arm is adjusted so that one of the wafers is above the carrier 8 and the projection of the vacuum suction cup (support surface) on the wafer carrier falls into the interval surrounded by three lifting pins 81. At this time, the three lifting pins 81 are raised until their tops contact the wafer at the periphery of the support surface of the vacuum suction cup, and the vacuum of the vacuum suction cup is released. The mechanical arm is adjusted to remove the placement part (vacuum suction cup) there. The three lifting pins 81 are lowered to drop the wafer on the carrier 8. The carrier can also be provided with a vacuum adsorption function, which will not be repeated here. When it is necessary to transfer another wafer to the carrier, the fixed disk can be rotated to move another placement part thereof above the carrier 8, or the support table can be rotated to move the placement part of another fixed disk above the carrier 8, and the above steps are repeated to achieve the wafer transfer.

[0042] It should be pointed out that in the technical solution of the semiconductor wafer transfer unit of the utility model, the various functional modules and module units included therein can correspond to the specific hardware circuits in the integrated circuit structure, and therefore only involve the improvement of the specific hardware circuits. The hardware part is not merely a carrier for executing control software or computer programs. Therefore, solving the corresponding technical problems and obtaining the corresponding technical effects do not involve the application of any control software or computer programs. In other words, the utility model only utilizes the improvements in the hardware circuit structure involved in these modules and units to solve the technical problems to be solved and obtain the corresponding technical effects, and does not require the assistance of specific control software or computer programs to achieve the corresponding functions.

[0043] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it can be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and cannot be understood as limitations of the present invention. Ordinary technicians in the field can change, modify, replace and modify the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

[0044] The above contents are further detailed descriptions of the present invention in combination with specific preferred implementations, and the specific implementation of the present invention cannot be considered to be limited to these descriptions. For ordinary technicians in the technical field to which the present invention belongs, several simple deductions or substitutions can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, which should be regarded as falling within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A semiconductor wafer transfer unit, characterized in that: It includes a rotatable support platform, multiple pairs of mechanical arms, and multiple blades; Each of the blades comprises a fixed disk and a storage disk rotatably connected to the fixed disk, and the storage disk is provided with a plurality of placement portions for placing wafers; Two ends of each pair of the mechanical arms are respectively connected to the side walls of the support platform and the fixed plate, and each pair of the mechanical arms controls the movement of the fixed plate.

2. The semiconductor wafer transfer unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The supporting platform can be raised and lowered.

3. The semiconductor wafer transfer unit according to claim 1, wherein: The placing portion is a vacuum suction cup.

4. The semiconductor wafer transfer unit according to claim 3, characterized in that: The vacuum suction cup includes a support surface provided with a vacuum suction portion; The vacuum chuck generates vacuum through the vacuum channel and absorbs the wafer through the supporting surface.

5. The semiconductor wafer transfer unit according to claim 4, characterized in that: The vacuum channel is connected to the vacuum generating device through the mechanical arm and the supporting platform in sequence.

6. The semiconductor wafer transfer unit according to claim 1, wherein: The mechanical arm comprises an active arm, a driven arm and an articulated shaft; The active arm and the driven arm are connected via the hinge shaft.

7. The semiconductor wafer transfer unit according to claim 1, wherein: The semiconductor wafer transfer unit comprises two pairs of the robot arms and two blades; Two pairs of the mechanical arms are arranged oppositely on two sides of the support platform, and the mechanical arms drive the fixed plate to move in a horizontal plane.

8. A semiconductor processing device, characterized in that: comprising a processing chamber and a semiconductor wafer transfer unit according to any one of claims 1 to 7; The semiconductor wafer transfer unit is disposed in the processing chamber.

9. The semiconductor processing device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The device also includes a wafer carrier disposed in the processing chamber; The bearing platform is provided with a bearing surface and at least three lifting pins which can be lifted and lowered relative to the bearing surface.

10. The semiconductor processing device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The placing portion is a vacuum suction cup, and the vacuum suction cup includes a supporting surface provided with a vacuum suction portion; When a wafer is placed on the placement portion and moved to above the wafer carrying platform by a pair of the robotic arms, the projection of the vacuum suction cup on the wafer carrying platform covers the range surrounded by the at least three lifting pins.

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