Wafer condition monitoring device and semiconductor equipment
By using wafer condition monitoring devices during semiconductor manufacturing, identifying and alerting flip abnormalities and high-temperature wafers, the problem of wafer scrapping in the prior art is solved, and the wafer research and development progress and stability of production line output is improved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202421452514.6
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-06-24
- Publication Date
- 2025-04-01
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-06-24
AI Technical Summary
Existing semiconductor manufacturing technology cannot identify and intercept the abnormal flipped wafers in a timely manner, resulting in deposits on the back of the wafer, causing wafer scrapping, affecting R&D progress and production line output.
A wafer condition monitoring device is designed, including an image acquisition unit, an identification and judgment unit, a controller and an alarm, which is used to capture images when the wafer is taken out of the process chamber, identify the identification code on the wafer and determine whether its orientation is correct, and if it is incorrect, an alarm will be issued. At the same time, the device also includes a temperature sensing element and a thermal imaging acquisition unit, which is used to detect the wafer temperature and collect thermal imaging images to ensure that the wafer is within the correct temperature range.
By promptly identifying and alerting flip abnormalities and high-temperature wafers, avoiding them from entering the subsequent process process, effectively reducing wafer scrapping rate and improving wafer R&D progress and stability of production line output.
Smart Images
Figure CN222705467U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, in particular to a wafer condition monitoring device and semiconductor equipment. Background Art
[0002] Semiconductor machines such as sorters and scrubbers involve the function of flipping wafers. Usually, after the wafer process is completed, the wafers are directly transferred to FOUP (wafer box) for subsequent processes. If the abnormally flipped wafers cannot be identified and intercepted in time, they will be deposited on the back of the wafer during the subsequent process, causing the wafers to be scrapped, affecting the research and development progress of the batch of wafers, affecting the production line output and customer delivery time, and increasing production costs.
[0003] In view of this, it is necessary to provide a wafer condition monitoring device and a semiconductor device to solve the above problems. Utility Model Content
[0004] The utility model aims to provide a wafer condition monitoring device and a semiconductor device, so as to improve the existing problem that abnormal wafers cannot be identified and flipped in time, resulting in the scrapping of wafers.
[0005] The utility model provides a wafer condition monitoring device, comprising: an image acquisition unit, an identification and judgment unit, a controller and an alarm;
[0006] The image acquisition unit is arranged at the connection between the main frame room and the wafer transfer room, and the image acquisition unit is used to photograph the front side of the wafer or the back side of the wafer to obtain a wafer image;
[0007] The recognition and judgment unit is connected to the image acquisition unit, and the recognition and judgment unit is used to recognize whether there is an identification code in the wafer image and judge whether the wafer orientation is correct;
[0008] The controller is connected to the image acquisition unit, the identification and judgment unit, and the alarm. When it is identified that the wafer orientation is incorrect, the controller controls the alarm to sound an alarm.
[0009] Wherein, the main frame room is connected to the process chamber, and the wafer carrying platform is arranged on a side of the wafer transfer room away from the main frame room.
[0010] In a possible embodiment, the wafer condition monitoring device further includes:
[0011] A temperature sensing element is provided at the connection between the main frame chamber and the wafer transfer chamber, and the temperature sensing element is used to detect the wafer temperature and the ambient temperature;
[0012] a temperature difference calculation unit connected to the temperature sensing element and used to calculate an actual temperature difference between the wafer temperature and the ambient temperature, and compare the actual temperature difference with a preset temperature difference between the wafer temperature and the ambient temperature;
[0013] The controller is also connected to the temperature sensing element and the temperature difference calculation unit. The controller is also used to control the alarm to sound an alarm when the actual temperature difference is greater than the preset temperature difference.
[0014] In a possible embodiment, the wafer condition monitoring device further includes:
[0015] A thermal imaging acquisition unit is provided at the connection between the main frame chamber and the wafer transfer chamber, and the controller is controlled and connected to the thermal imaging acquisition unit. When the actual temperature difference is greater than the preset temperature difference, the controller controls the thermal imaging acquisition unit to acquire a thermal image of the wafer;
[0016] A memory is connected to the thermal imaging acquisition unit and the controller and is used to store the thermal imaging image.
[0017] In a possible embodiment, the wafer condition monitoring device further includes a display connected to the controller, and when the actual temperature difference is greater than the preset temperature difference, the controller controls the display to display the thermal imaging image.
[0018] In a possible embodiment, the thermal imaging acquisition unit is a thermal imaging sensor.
[0019] In a possible embodiment, the wafer condition monitoring device also includes a shell disposed at the connection between the main frame chamber and the wafer transfer chamber, the image acquisition unit, the temperature sensing element and the thermal imaging acquisition unit are integrated on the shell, and the identification and judgment unit, the controller and the temperature difference calculation unit are disposed in the shell.
[0020] In a possible embodiment, the temperature sensing element is an infrared sensor.
[0021] In a possible embodiment, the image acquisition unit is a camera or a micro camera.
[0022] In a possible embodiment, the alarm includes an alarm light and / or an alarm speaker.
[0023] The present invention also provides a semiconductor device, comprising the wafer condition monitoring device in any of the above implementations.
[0024] The beneficial effect of the wafer condition monitoring device provided by the utility model is that by setting an image acquisition unit at the connection between the main frame chamber and the wafer transfer chamber, the identification code on the wafer can be judged and identified when the wafer is taken out of the process chamber and passes through the wafer transfer chamber, so as to promptly issue an alarm to remind the operator to take measures when the wafer is facing the wrong direction, so as to avoid flipping the abnormal wafer and directly entering the subsequent process. In a further scheme, by also setting a temperature sensing element at the connection between the main frame chamber and the wafer transfer chamber, and combining with the temperature difference calculation unit to identify whether the temperature of the current wafer exceeds the preset temperature range, the high-temperature wafer is promptly identified, and an alarm is issued to remind the operator to take measures to avoid the high-temperature wafer directly entering the wafer box and sticking to the wafer box. In a further scheme, when a high-temperature wafer is detected, the thermal imaging acquisition unit immediately acquires the thermal imaging image of the high-temperature wafer, and stores and displays the thermal imaging image. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the installation position of the wafer condition monitoring device of the present invention.
[0026] Figure 2 This is a logic block diagram of the wafer condition monitoring device of the present utility model.
[0027] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the wafer condition monitoring device of the present invention when photographing a wafer.
[0028] Explanation of the reference numerals: wafer condition monitoring device 100; image acquisition unit 110; identification and judgment unit 120; controller 130; alarm 140; temperature sensing element 150; temperature difference calculation unit 160; thermal imaging acquisition unit 170; memory 180; display 190; housing 101; process chamber 200; main frame chamber 300; first robot arm 310; wafer transfer chamber 400; second robot arm 410; wafer carrier 500; wafer box 600; wafer 700. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the utility model clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the utility model will be described clearly and completely below. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the utility model, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the utility model, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the utility model.
[0030] In the semiconductor manufacturing process, due to machine or wafer transport anomalies, the wafer may not be flipped to the correct direction when it is transferred into the wafer box. The subsequent process is performed on the back of the wafer, causing the wafer to be scrapped and the R&D progress to be delayed.
[0031] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the embodiment of the present utility model provides a wafer condition monitoring device, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 The wafer condition monitoring device 100 includes: an image acquisition unit 110, an identification and judgment unit 120, a controller 130 and an alarm 140. The image acquisition unit 110 is arranged at the connection between the main frame chamber 300 and the wafer transfer chamber 400. The image acquisition unit 110 is used to photograph the front side of the wafer 700 or the back side of the wafer 700 to obtain a wafer image. The identification and judgment unit 120 is connected to the image acquisition unit 110. The identification and judgment unit 120 is used to identify whether there is an identification code in the wafer image and determine whether the orientation of the wafer 700 is correct. The controller 130 is controlled and connected with the image acquisition unit 110, the identification and judgment unit 120, and the alarm 140. When it is identified that the orientation of the wafer 700 is incorrect, the controller 130 controls the alarm 140 to sound an alarm. Among them, the main frame chamber 300 is connected to the process chamber 200, and the wafer carrier 500 is arranged on the side of the wafer transfer chamber 400 away from the main frame chamber 300. Preferably, the image acquisition unit 110 is a camera or a miniature camera.
[0032] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the first robot arm 310 located in the main frame chamber 300 usually takes the wafer 700 out of the process chamber 200, and the second robot arm 410 located in the wafer transfer chamber 400 transfers the wafer 700 from the main frame chamber 300 to the wafer box 600 through the wafer transfer chamber 400. In this embodiment, the image acquisition unit 110 is set at the connection between the main frame chamber 300 and the wafer transfer chamber 400. When the wafer 700 is about to enter the wafer transfer chamber 400, the wafer image is collected. The recognition and judgment unit 120 uses the image recognition technology to identify whether there is an identification code in the wafer image and judge whether the orientation of the wafer 700 is correct. When the orientation of the wafer 700 is inaccurate, the alarm 140 is used to promptly remind the operator to take measures to avoid flipping the abnormal wafer 700 directly into the subsequent process and causing the wafer 700 to be scrapped.
[0033] In the prior art, after the previous process is completed, the high-temperature wafer 700 is transferred to the wafer box 600 before the wafer 700 has dropped to the set temperature, causing the wafer 700 to stick to the wafer box 600 or causing the robot arm of the next process to take the wafer abnormally (the robot arm cannot release the wafer 700 due to temperature reasons), thereby affecting the processing progress of the wafer 700 and subsequent machine production.
[0034] For this other technical problem, see Figure 1 and Figure 2The utility model is designed to sense temperature for the wafer 700 being transported. The wafer condition monitoring device 100 also includes a temperature sensing element 150 and a temperature difference calculation unit 160. The temperature sensing element 150 is provided at the connection between the main frame chamber 300 and the wafer transport chamber 400. The temperature sensing element 150 is used to detect the temperature of the wafer 700 and the ambient temperature. It should be noted that the ambient temperature in the machine is constant. The ambient temperature is the ambient temperature collected by the temperature sensing element 150 when the wafer 700 does not pass through, and the temperature of the wafer 700 is the temperature of the wafer 700 collected by the temperature sensing element 150 when the wafer 700 passes through. The temperature difference calculation unit 160 is connected to the temperature sensing element 150 and is used to calculate the actual temperature difference between the temperature of the wafer 700 and the ambient temperature, and compare the actual temperature difference with the preset temperature difference between the temperature of the wafer 700 and the ambient temperature. The controller 130 is also connected to the temperature sensing element 150 and the temperature difference calculation unit 160. The controller 130 is also used to control the alarm 140 to sound an alarm when the actual temperature difference is greater than the preset temperature difference. It should be noted that the identification and judgment unit 120 and the temperature difference calculation unit 160 in the present invention are hardware components.
[0035] In this embodiment, the temperature sensing element 150 is set at the connection between the main frame chamber 300 and the wafer transfer chamber 400. When the wafer 700 is about to enter the wafer transfer chamber 400, the temperature of the wafer 700 and the ambient temperature are detected. The temperature difference calculation unit 160 compares the actual temperature difference with the preset temperature difference, that is, it is determined whether the current wafer 700 is a high-temperature wafer 700. When it is determined that the current wafer 700 is a high-temperature wafer 700, the alarm 140 is used to promptly remind the operator to take measures to avoid transferring the high-temperature wafer 700 to the wafer box 600, which may cause the wafer 700 to stick to the wafer box 600 or cause abnormal wafer picking by the robot arm in the next process.
[0036] In a specific embodiment, see Figure 1 and Figure 2The wafer condition monitoring device 100 also includes a thermal imaging acquisition unit 170 and a memory 180. The thermal imaging acquisition unit 170 is arranged at the connection between the main frame chamber 300 and the wafer transfer chamber 400. The controller 130 is connected to the thermal imaging acquisition unit 170. When the actual temperature difference is greater than the preset temperature difference, the controller 130 controls the thermal imaging acquisition unit 170 to acquire a thermal imaging image of the wafer 700. The memory 180 is connected to the thermal imaging acquisition unit 170 and the controller 130 and is used to store the thermal imaging image. The thermal imaging image can intuitively show the temperature distribution of different areas on the wafer 700. In this embodiment, when the actual temperature difference is greater than the preset temperature difference, that is, a high-temperature wafer 700 is determined, the controller 130 can immediately trigger the thermal imaging acquisition unit 170 to acquire the thermal imaging image of the high-temperature wafer 700, and the memory 180 stores the thermal imaging image to provide data support for subsequent problem analysis, quality tracing, and production process optimization. In addition, storing only the thermal imaging image of the high-temperature wafer 700 can greatly reduce the storage burden of the memory 180. This selective data storage strategy enables the memory 180 to use space more effectively and improves storage efficiency.
[0037] In a specific embodiment, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 The wafer condition monitoring device 100 further includes a display 190 connected to the controller 130. When the actual temperature difference is greater than the preset temperature difference, the controller 130 controls the display 190 to display the thermal image. In this embodiment, when the temperature of the wafer 700 is abnormal, the controller 130 can immediately trigger the display 190 to display the thermal image of the high-temperature wafer 700, so that the operator can quickly understand the specific condition of the wafer 700, which helps the operator analyze the cause of the abnormal temperature of the wafer 700, such as equipment failure, improper process parameters, etc.
[0038] In one embodiment, see Figure 2 and Figure 3 The wafer condition monitoring device 100 further includes a housing 101 disposed at the connection between the main frame chamber 300 and the wafer transfer chamber 400, an image acquisition unit 110, a temperature sensing element 150 and a thermal imaging acquisition unit 170 are integrated on the housing 101, and an identification and judgment unit 120, a controller 130, and a temperature difference calculation unit 160 are disposed in the housing 101. In this embodiment, the identification and judgment unit 120, the controller 130, the temperature difference calculation unit 160 and other components are integrated in the housing 101, which improves the integration of the entire monitoring device, and the housing 101 also plays a role in protecting the internal components from external pollution and damage.
[0039] In some embodiments, see Figure 1 and Figure 2The temperature sensing element 150 is an infrared sensor. The infrared sensor includes a lens and a detector. Its working principle is to detect the infrared rays emitted by the wafer 700 and the surrounding environment, convert them into electrical signals, and send them to the controller 130. The controller 130 processes and analyzes the received electrical signals and generates a thermal image of the wafer 700. The thermal imaging acquisition unit 170 is a thermal imaging sensor. The thermal imaging sensor directly measures the temperature difference on the surface of an object with very high resolution. The thermal imaging sensor is composed of millions of tiny thermistors. The thermistors detect the infrared rays emitted by the wafer 700 and the surrounding environment and convert them into digital signals, which are then converted into thermal images.
[0040] In a preferred embodiment, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the identification and judgment unit 120 identifies whether there is an identification code in the wafer image and determines whether the orientation of the wafer 700 is correct, specifically for: when the surface of the wafer 700 where the identification code is located is consistent with the surface of the wafer 700 to be photographed, if it is recognized that there is an identification code in the wafer image, it is judged that the orientation of the wafer 700 is correct, and if it is recognized that there is no identification code in the wafer image, it is judged that the orientation of the wafer 700 is incorrect. When the surface of the wafer 700 where the identification code is located is inconsistent with the surface of the wafer 700 to be photographed, if it is recognized that there is an identification code in the wafer image, it is judged that the orientation of the wafer 700 is incorrect, and if it is recognized that there is no identification code in the wafer image, it is judged that the orientation of the wafer 700 is correct.
[0041] It should be noted that the surface of the wafer 700 where the identification code is located can be understood as the surface on which the identification code is set on the wafer 700, which can be the front side of the wafer 700 or the back side of the wafer 700; the surface of the wafer 700 to be photographed can be understood as the surface of the wafer 700 photographed by the image acquisition unit 110 when the normal wafer 700 passes by, which can be the front side of the wafer 700 (such as Figure 3 As shown, the image acquisition unit 110 is located above the path through which the wafer 700 passes) or on the back side of the wafer 700 (the image acquisition unit 110 is located below the path through which the wafer 700 passes).
[0042] When the surface of wafer 700 where the identification code is located is consistent with the surface of wafer 700 to be photographed, for example, when the identification code is set on the front side of wafer 700, the surface of wafer 700 to be photographed is also the front side of wafer 700, if a normal wafer 700 passes by, the image acquisition unit 110 captures the front side of wafer 700 and recognizes that there is an identification code; if an abnormal wafer 700 is flipped and passes by, the image acquisition unit 110 captures the back side of wafer 700 and recognizes that there is no identification code. When the identification code is set on the back side of wafer 700, the surface of wafer 700 to be photographed is also the back side of wafer 700, if a normal wafer 700 passes by, the image acquisition unit 110 captures the back side of wafer 700 and recognizes that there is an identification code; if an abnormal wafer 700 is flipped and passes by, the image acquisition unit 110 captures the front side of wafer 700 and recognizes that there is no identification code.
[0043] When the surface of wafer 700 where the identification code is located is inconsistent with the surface of wafer 700 to be photographed, when the identification code is set on the front side of wafer 700, the surface of wafer 700 to be photographed is the back side of wafer 700, if a normal wafer 700 passes by, the image acquisition unit 110 captures the back side of wafer 700, and it will be recognized that there is no identification code; if the flipped abnormal wafer 700 passes by, the image acquisition unit 110 captures the front side of wafer 700, and it will be recognized that there is an identification code. When the identification code is set on the back side of wafer 700, the surface of wafer 700 to be photographed is the front side of wafer 700, if a normal wafer 700 passes by, if the normal wafer 700 passes by, the image acquisition unit 110 captures the front side of wafer 700, and it will be recognized that there is no identification code; if the flipped abnormal wafer 700 passes by, the image acquisition unit 110 captures the back side of wafer 700, and it will be recognized that there is an identification code.
[0044] In this embodiment, the setting positions of wafer identification codes of different wafer 700 batches may be different. According to the setting position of the identification code on the wafer 700 and the setting position of the image acquisition unit 110, a judgment design is designed, which is suitable for detection when the identification code is located on the front side of the wafer 700 and is also suitable for detection when the identification code is located on the back side of the wafer 700, so as to flexibly meet different production needs.
[0045] In one possible embodiment, see Figure 2 The alarm 140 includes an alarm light and / or an alarm speaker. The alarm light can convey the alarm information in a visual way, and the alarm speaker can convey the alarm in a sound way to more conspicuously and effectively remind the operator to take measures.
[0046] The present invention further provides a semiconductor device, comprising the wafer condition monitoring device 100 in any one of the above implementations.
[0047] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2, the technical effects of the wafer condition monitoring device of the utility model are explained below.
[0048] 1. When the wafer 700 is about to enter the wafer transfer chamber 400, the image acquisition unit 110 captures the wafer image, and the identification and judgment unit 120 determines whether the orientation of the wafer 700 is correct by identifying the identification code. When it is identified that the orientation of the wafer 700 is incorrect, the controller 130 controls the alarm 140 to sound an alarm to avoid flipping the abnormal wafer 700 and directly entering the subsequent process.
[0049] 2. When the wafer 700 is about to enter the wafer transfer chamber 400, the temperature sensing element 150 detects the temperature of the wafer 700 and the ambient temperature, and the temperature difference calculation unit 160 calculates the actual temperature difference and determines whether it exceeds the preset temperature difference. If the preset temperature difference is exceeded, the controller 130 issues an alarm to prevent the high-temperature wafer 700 from directly entering the wafer box 600 and sticking to the wafer box 600. The memory 180 stores the thermal image, and the display 190 displays the thermal image.
[0050] Although the embodiments of the utility model are described in detail above, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made to these embodiments. However, it should be understood that such modifications and changes are within the scope and spirit of the utility model described in the claims. Moreover, the utility model described herein may have other embodiments and may be implemented or realized in a variety of ways. Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used herein should be understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which the utility model belongs. The words "including" and the like used herein mean that the elements or objects appearing before the word cover the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects.
Claims
1. A wafer condition monitoring device, characterized in that: include: Image acquisition unit, recognition and judgment unit, controller and alarm; The image acquisition unit is arranged at the connection between the main frame room and the wafer transfer room, and the image acquisition unit is used to photograph the front side or the back side of the wafer to obtain a wafer image; The recognition and judgment unit is connected to the image acquisition unit, and the recognition and judgment unit is used to recognize whether there is an identification code in the wafer image and to judge whether the wafer orientation is correct; The controller is connected to the image acquisition unit, the identification and judgment unit, and the alarm. When it is identified that the wafer orientation is incorrect, the controller controls the alarm to sound an alarm. Wherein, the main frame room is connected to the process chamber, and the wafer carrying platform is arranged on a side of the wafer transfer room away from the main frame room.
2. The wafer condition monitoring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: A temperature sensing element is provided at the connection between the main frame chamber and the wafer transfer chamber, and the temperature sensing element is used to detect the wafer temperature and the ambient temperature; a temperature difference calculation unit connected to the temperature sensing element and used to calculate an actual temperature difference between the wafer temperature and the ambient temperature, and compare the actual temperature difference with a preset temperature difference between the wafer temperature and the ambient temperature; The controller is also connected to the temperature sensing element and the temperature difference calculation unit. The controller is also used to control the alarm to sound an alarm when the actual temperature difference is greater than the preset temperature difference.
3. The wafer condition monitoring device according to claim 2, characterized in that: Also includes: A thermal imaging acquisition unit is provided at the connection between the main frame chamber and the wafer transfer chamber, and the controller is controlled and connected to the thermal imaging acquisition unit. When the actual temperature difference is greater than the preset temperature difference, the controller controls the thermal imaging acquisition unit to acquire a thermal image of the wafer; A memory is connected to the thermal imaging acquisition unit and the controller and is used to store the thermal imaging image.
4. The wafer condition monitoring device according to claim 3, characterized in that: It also includes a display connected to the controller. When the actual temperature difference is greater than the preset temperature difference, the controller controls the display to display the thermal imaging image.
5. The wafer condition monitoring device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The thermal imaging acquisition unit is a thermal imaging sensor.
6. The wafer condition monitoring device according to claim 3, characterized in that: It also includes a shell arranged at the connection between the main frame chamber and the wafer transfer chamber, the temperature sensing element, the image acquisition unit and the thermal imaging acquisition unit are integrated on the shell, and the identification and judgment unit, the controller and the temperature difference calculation unit are arranged in the shell.
7. The wafer condition monitoring device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The temperature sensing element is an infrared sensor.
8. The wafer condition monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The image acquisition unit may be a camera or a micro camera.
9. The wafer condition monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The alarm device includes an alarm light and / or an alarm speaker.
10. A semiconductor device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a wafer condition monitoring device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.