Mechanical arm of semiconductor device and semiconductor device

Abstract

The utility model provides a mechanical arm of a semiconductor device and the semiconductor device, and the mechanical arm comprises a mechanical arm body which is provided with a mounting end and a free end which are oppositely arranged, the mounting end is rotatably arranged in the semiconductor device through a driving mechanism, and the free end can move so as to be used for transporting wafers; the wafer taking hand is arranged at the free end through a turnover mechanism, and the turnover mechanism is used for driving the wafer taking hand to rotate so as to turn over the wafer; the at least one adsorption mechanism is arranged on the wafer taking hand through a lifting mechanism capable of being adjusted in a telescopic mode, the adsorption mechanism is used for adsorbing the wafer, and the adsorption mechanism is driven to move in the direction close to the wafer taking hand or away from the wafer taking hand through telescopic adjustment of the lifting mechanism. According to the utility model, the wafer taking hand adsorbs the back surface of the wafer through the adsorption mechanism so as to fix the wafer. And the turnover mechanism drives the wafer taking hand to rotate so as to turn over the wafer. And the lifting mechanism is adjusted in a telescopic manner so as to cooperate with the taking of the wafer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, in particular to a mechanical arm of semiconductor equipment and semiconductor equipment. Background Art

[0002] In the manufacturing process of the front side of MOS (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor), it is inevitable to bring some contamination to its back side and edge, especially in the film deposition, pattern definition, and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) steps. On the one hand, particles on the back side of the wafer can cause some problems during exposure, such as local focus deviation; on the other hand, contamination on the back side of the wafer may cause cross contamination on the transmission, measurement machine, stepper and other machines. These contaminants (for example, metals) have a high diffusion rate in silicon. When the furnace tube process is carried out, it may diffuse from the back side of the wafer to the device area and reduce the device performance; therefore, wafer back cleaning is very important. To achieve wafer back cleaning, it is usually necessary to use equipment to flip the wafer.

[0003] There are two existing solutions for flipping wafers. One is to build a separate flipping space into the cleaning machine, and set a flipping unit in the flipping space. After the wafer is flipped over by the wafer flipping component, it is transferred to the cleaning unit by a robotic arm. This will occupy the space of the cleaning machine and increase the machine's footprint. The second is to build a separate flipping component into the cleaning unit, which will increase the volume of the cleaning unit and increase the difficulty of controlling exhaust gas and particles.

[0004] In view of this, it is necessary to provide a semiconductor equipment robot and semiconductor equipment to solve the above problems. Utility Model Content

[0005] The utility model aims to provide a mechanical arm of semiconductor equipment and semiconductor equipment, so as to improve the existing problem that a separate flipping component built into a cleaning machine or a cleaning unit occupies a large volume.

[0006] The utility model provides a mechanical arm for semiconductor equipment, comprising:

[0007] The robot arm body has a mounting end and a free end that are arranged opposite to each other, wherein the mounting end is rotatably arranged in the semiconductor device through a driving mechanism, and the free end can be moved to transport the wafer;

[0008] A wafer taking hand is arranged on the free end through a turning mechanism, and the turning mechanism is used to drive the wafer taking hand to rotate so as to turn over the wafer;

[0009] At least one adsorption mechanism is arranged on the wafer picking hand through a telescopically adjustable lifting mechanism, and the adsorption mechanism is used to adsorb the wafer, and the adsorption mechanism is driven to move toward or away from the wafer picking hand through the telescopic adjustment of the lifting mechanism.

[0010] In a possible embodiment, the lifting mechanism and the adsorption mechanism are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence, the top end of the lifting mechanism is arranged on the wafer picking hand, and the adsorption mechanism is arranged at the bottom end of the corresponding lifting mechanism.

[0011] In a possible embodiment, the adsorption mechanism includes a suction cup disposed at the bottom end of the lifting mechanism and an exhaust device connected to the suction cup, and the exhaust device is used to exhaust or inflate the suction cup so that the suction cup adsorbs or releases the wafer.

[0012] In a possible embodiment, the robotic arm of the semiconductor equipment also includes a bellows expander arranged at the bottom end of the lifting mechanism, the bellows expander having an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end is connected to the exhaust pipe of the exhaust device, and the outlet end is connected to the suction cup.

[0013] In a possible embodiment, the bellows expander includes a bellows, an inner conduit, a guide rod, and an inlet and outlet plate in a ring shape;

[0014] The inlet end plate and the outlet end plate are respectively sleeved and fixed on the two ends of the corrugated pipe, and the inlet end plate is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the lifting mechanism;

[0015] The inner conduit is inserted into the corrugated pipe, and one end of the inner conduit close to the inlet end plate is fixedly connected to one end of the corrugated pipe close to the inlet end plate;

[0016] The guide rod support is connected between the inlet end plate and the outlet end plate.

[0017] In a possible embodiment, the robotic arm of the semiconductor equipment also includes a bracket, the top end of the bracket is arranged at the bottom end of the lifting mechanism, the bottom end of the bracket is arranged on the inlet end plate, and there is a distance between the bottom end of the lifting mechanism and the inlet end to install the exhaust pipe.

[0018] In a possible embodiment, the bracket includes at least two connecting rods spaced apart around the end plate, and the connecting rods are supported and connected between the bottom end of the lifting mechanism and the end plate.

[0019] In a possible embodiment, the wafer taking hand is in a U shape, and the number of the adsorption mechanisms is three and they are respectively located at the two end heads and the concave arc part of the U-shaped end.

[0020] In a possible embodiment, the flipping mechanism may be a rotary cylinder or a motor.

[0021] The present invention also provides a semiconductor device, characterized by comprising a robotic arm of the semiconductor device in any of the above implementations.

[0022] The beneficial effect of the robotic arm of the semiconductor equipment provided by the utility model is that the wafer picking hand adsorbs the back of the wafer through the adsorption mechanism to fix the wafer. The wafer picking hand is driven to rotate by the flipping mechanism to turn over the wafer. The wafer picking hand and the wafer thereon are transported by adjusting the rotation of the joints on the robotic arm body. In a further solution, the lifting mechanism is adjusted by telescopic adjustment to facilitate the taking of the wafer. In a further solution, the impact force of the adsorbed wafer can be buffered by a corrugated retractor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a mechanical arm of a semiconductor device of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 It is an enlarged schematic diagram of the wafer taking hand, lifting mechanism, bracket, bellows retractor, and suction cup connection in the mechanical arm of the semiconductor equipment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the installation positions of three adsorption mechanisms in the mechanical arm of the semiconductor equipment of the present utility model.

[0026] Figure 4 The utility model is a schematic diagram of the process of placing a wafer on a chuck by a mechanical arm of a semiconductor device.

[0027] Figure 5 The utility model is a schematic diagram of the process of the mechanical arm of the semiconductor equipment taking out the wafer from the chuck.

[0028] Explanation of the reference numerals: wafer handling hand 110; flipping mechanism 120; lifting mechanism 130; suction cup 141; bellows retractor 150; bellows 151; inner conduit 152; guide rod 153; inlet end plate 154; outlet end plate 155; fastener 156; inlet end 157; outlet end 158; bracket 160; connecting rod 161; robot arm body 170; free end 171; mounting end 172; wafer 200; chuck 300; and latch 310. 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 view of the problems existing in the prior art, the embodiment of the present utility model provides a mechanical arm for semiconductor equipment, see Figure 1-4 The robot arm includes: a robot arm body 170, a wafer handling hand 110, a flipping mechanism 120, a lifting mechanism 130 and at least one adsorption mechanism. The robot arm body 170 has a mounting end 172 and a free end 171 arranged opposite to each other. The mounting end 172 is rotatably arranged in the semiconductor device through a driving mechanism (not shown in the figure). The free end 171 can be moved to transport the wafer 200. The driving mechanism can be a motor or a rotary cylinder. The wafer handling hand 110 is arranged on the free end 171 through the flipping mechanism 120. The flipping mechanism 120 is used to drive the wafer handling hand 110 to rotate to realize the flipping of the wafer 200. The adsorption mechanism is arranged on the wafer handling hand 110 through a telescopically adjustable lifting mechanism 130. The adsorption mechanism is used to adsorb the wafer 200. The telescopic adjustment of the lifting mechanism 130 drives the adsorption mechanism to move toward or away from the wafer handling hand 110.

[0031] In this embodiment, the wafer taking hand 110 is driven to rotate by the flipping mechanism 120, thereby driving the wafer 200 to flip, so that the wafer 200 facing up can be flipped to face the back, or the wafer 200 facing the back can be flipped to face the front, so that the wafer 200 can be turned over quickly and easily. The flipping mechanism 120 is set at the free end 171 of the robot body 170, and the wafer taking hand 110 is connected to the flipping mechanism 120. On the one hand, the flipping mechanism 120 and the wafer taking hand 110 and the wafer 200 thereon can be adjusted in position by the driving mechanism to rotate the robot body 170 and the rotation adjustment of the joints on the robot body 170, so that the transportation of the wafer 200 can be achieved; on the other hand, the flipping mechanism 120 can also be used to directly flip the wafer 200 during the transportation of the wafer 200. This method does not require a separate flipping component to be set inside the cleaning machine or the cleaning unit, saving the internal space of the cleaning machine. Furthermore, there is no need to separately perform a step of turning over the wafer 200 during the cleaning process, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency.

[0032] In a preferred embodiment, see Figure 1The lifting mechanism 130 is arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the adsorption mechanism. The top of the lifting mechanism 130 is arranged on the wafer taking hand 110, and the adsorption mechanism is arranged at the bottom of the corresponding lifting mechanism 130. Preferably, the lifting mechanism 130 can be a cylinder, an electric telescopic rod, etc. In this embodiment, a lifting mechanism 130 is separately arranged for each adsorption mechanism to separately control the height of each adsorption mechanism. By synchronously extending or shortening the length of each lifting mechanism 130, the wafer 200 can be adsorbed.

[0033] In one embodiment, see Figure 1 The adsorption mechanism includes a suction cup 141 disposed at the bottom end of the lifting mechanism 130 and an exhaust device connected to the suction cup 141, and the exhaust device is used to exhaust or inflate the suction cup 141, so that the suction cup 141 adsorbs or releases the wafer 200. In this embodiment, when the wafer 200 needs to be adsorbed, the suction cup 141 is attached to the wafer 200, and the exhaust device is started to exhaust air, which can quickly extract the air between the suction cup 141 and the wafer 200 and form a negative pressure, so that the suction cup 141 firmly adsorbs the wafer 200; when the wafer 200 needs to be released, the suction device is used to inflate the space between the suction cup 141 and the wafer 200, and the negative pressure state is released, so that the suction cup 141 is separated from the wafer 200. Specifically, the suction cup 141 is a vacuum suction cup or a Bernoulli suction cup.

[0034] In a preferred embodiment, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 The mechanical arm of the semiconductor device also includes a bellows retractor 150 disposed at the bottom end of the lifting mechanism 130. The bellows retractor 150 has an inlet end 157 and an outlet end 158. The inlet end 157 is connected to an exhaust pipe (not shown in the figure) of an exhaust device, and the outlet end 158 is connected to the suction cup 141. Preferably, the exhaust device also includes an exhaust pump (not shown in the figure) connected to the exhaust pipe. In this embodiment, the bellows retractor 150 is an elastic compensation element that can be freely extended and retracted. The bellows retractor 150 is disposed between the lifting mechanism 130 and the suction cup 141. When the lifting mechanism 130 is extended to make the suction cup 141 fit the wafer 200, the bellows retractor 150 can use its own elastic deformation to buffer the impact force of the lifting mechanism 130, reduce the force of the suction cup 141 on the wafer 200, and protect the wafer 200.

[0035] In one specific embodiment, see Figure 2The bellows expander 150 includes a bellows 151, an inner conduit 152, a guide rod 153, and an inlet plate 154 and an outlet plate 155 in a ring shape. The inlet plate 154 and the outlet plate 155 are respectively mounted and fixed on both ends of the bellows 151, and the inlet plate 154 is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the lifting mechanism 130. The inner conduit 152 is inserted into the bellows 151, and one end of the inner conduit 152 close to the inlet plate 154 is fixedly connected to one end of the bellows 151 close to the inlet plate 154. Only one end of the inner conduit 152 is fixed to the bellows 151, which does not affect the expansion and contraction of the bellows 151. The guide rod 153 is supported and connected between the inlet plate 154 and the outlet plate 155. Specifically, one end of the guide rod 153 passes through the inlet end plate 154 and the other end passes through the outlet end plate 155. The two ends of the guide rod 153 are respectively sleeved and threadedly connected with fasteners 156. The guide rod 153 is fixed to the inlet end plate 154 and the outlet end plate 155 respectively through the fasteners 156 at both ends of the guide rod 153. The inlet end plate 154 and the outlet end plate 155 are flange plates.

[0036] In a preferred embodiment, see Figure 2 The mechanical arm of the semiconductor equipment further includes a bracket 160, the top end of the bracket 160 is arranged at the bottom end of the lifting mechanism 130, the bottom end of the bracket 160 is arranged on the inlet end plate 154, and there is a distance between the bottom end of the lifting mechanism 130 and the inlet end 157 to install the exhaust pipe. In the aforementioned embodiment, the lifting mechanism 130 is directly connected to the corrugated expansion joint 150, and the lifting mechanism 130 needs to be staggered with the inlet end 157 of the corrugated expansion joint 150 to facilitate the installation of the exhaust pipe on the inlet end 157. In this embodiment, by arranging the bracket 160 between the lifting mechanism 130 and the corrugated expansion joint 150, there is a distance between the bottom end of the lifting mechanism 130 and the inlet end 157 to reserve space for installing the exhaust pipe.

[0037] In a specific embodiment, see Figure 2 The bracket 160 includes at least two connecting rods 161 spaced around the inlet end plate 154, and the connecting rods 161 are supported and connected between the bottom end of the lifting mechanism 130 and the inlet end plate 154. Preferably, the connecting rods 161 can be L-shaped or inclined, and there are several connecting rods 161 and they are evenly spaced along the edge of the inlet end plate 154. Several connecting rods 161 can achieve uniform distribution of loads and enhance the stability of the connection. The gaps between the connecting rods 161 can pass through the exhaust pipe, and the space enclosed by the several connecting rods 161 is used to install the exhaust pipe and the corrugated pipe 151.

[0038] In yet another embodiment, see Figure 3The wafer handling hand 110 is in a U shape, and there are three adsorption mechanisms, which are respectively located at the two end heads of the U-shaped end (i.e., the two top ends of the U shape) and the concave arc part (i.e., the concave arc with the bottom of the U shape). It can be understood that the suction cups 141 of the three adsorption mechanisms are distributed in a triangular point. When adsorbing the wafer 200, the center point of the triangle formed by the three suction cups 141 coincides with the center point of the wafer 200, which enhances the stability of adsorbing the wafer 200, and also increases the adsorption contact surface with the wafer 200, thereby enhancing the adsorption effect.

[0039] In one possible embodiment, see Figure 1 The flipping mechanism 120 can be a rotating cylinder or a motor or other mechanism that can achieve rotational drive.

[0040] The present invention also provides a semiconductor device, characterized by comprising a robotic arm of the semiconductor device in any of the above implementations.

[0041] The wafer taking process is explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0042] See also Figure 4 In the process of placing the wafer 200 on the chuck 300, the robot body 170 is driven to move the wafer pick-up hand 110 to the bottom of the wafer 200, and the adsorption mechanism is started to adsorb the back of the wafer 200. At this time, the front of the wafer 200 faces upward. In the process of transporting the wafer 200, the wafer pick-up hand 110 is driven to rotate by the flipping mechanism 120 so that the front of the wafer 200 faces downward, thereby turning the wafer 200 over. The wafer 200 is transported to the top of the chuck 300 by the robot body 170, and the wafer 200 is placed between the plurality of latch pins 310 of the chuck 300 by extending the lifting mechanism 130, and the wafer 200 is clamped by the plurality of latch pins 310. The adsorption of the wafer 200 by the adsorption mechanism is released, and the lifting mechanism 130 is shortened.

[0043] See also Figure 5 In the process of taking the wafer 200 out of the chuck 300, the robot body 170 is driven to move the wafer taking hand 110 to the top of the wafer 200 located on the chuck 300. At this time, the back of the wafer 200 faces upward, and the suction cup 141 of the adsorption mechanism is attached to the back of the wafer 200 by extending the lifting mechanism 130, and the adsorption mechanism is started to adsorb the back of the wafer 200. The clamping of the wafer 200 by the clamping pin 310 is released, and the lifting mechanism 130 is shortened to take the wafer 200 out of the chuck 300. In the process of transporting the wafer 200, the wafer taking hand 110 is driven to rotate by the flipping mechanism 120 so that the front of the wafer 200 faces upward, thereby turning the wafer 200 over.

[0044] The following is an explanation of the mechanical arm of the semiconductor equipment provided by the present invention.

[0045] 1. The utility model sets the flip mechanism 120 between the robot body 170 and the wafer taking hand 110, and does not need to set a separate flip component inside the cleaning machine or the cleaning unit, thereby reducing the space occupied by the cleaning machine.

[0046] 2. The utility model directly performs the flipping operation during the transportation of the wafer 200, thereby avoiding the step of flipping the wafer 200 separately during the cleaning process, and simplifying the operation process. It not only shortens the cleaning time and improves the cleaning efficiency, but also reduces the number of times the wafer 200 is transported between different devices, reducing the risk of contamination.

[0047] 3. In the existing solution, the contact point of the suction cup will directly contact the front of the wafer 200, which is easy to become a source of contamination. The utility model adopts a design of sucking the back of the wafer 200 from the bottom of the wafer 200, avoiding direct contact between the suction cup 141 and the front of the wafer 200, reducing the risk of particle contamination.

[0048] 4. The utility model adopts a vacuum suction cup 141 and an exhaust device, which can quickly form negative pressure to firmly adsorb the wafer 200. The design of the corrugated expansion joint 150 buffers the impact force of the lifting mechanism 130 through elastic deformation, reduces the mechanical stress on the wafer 200, and protects the wafer 200 from damage. In addition, the three suction cups 141 are distributed in a triangular point, which improves the adsorption effect and makes the wafer 200 more stable during the handling process.

[0049] 5. The height of the traditional chuck's pin is very low (about 1mm), and the robot arm cannot directly place the wafer 200 at the position of the pin. Therefore, a liftable pin is usually used. When the pin is raised, the height of the pin is about 12mm. The robot arm places the wafer 200 on the raised pin, and then the pin is lowered to the required position of the process. The liftable pin structure is complex and easily increases the risk of contamination. The present application uses a lifting mechanism 130 without raising the pin, and the wafer 200 can also be taken.

[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 robotic arm for semiconductor equipment, characterized in that: include: The robot arm body has a mounting end and a free end that are arranged opposite to each other, wherein the mounting end is rotatably arranged in the semiconductor device through a driving mechanism, and the free end can be moved to transport the wafer; A wafer taking hand is arranged on the free end through a turning mechanism, and the turning mechanism is used to drive the wafer taking hand to rotate so as to turn over the wafer; At least one adsorption mechanism is arranged on the wafer picking hand through a telescopically adjustable lifting mechanism, and the adsorption mechanism is used to adsorb the wafer, and the adsorption mechanism is driven to move toward or away from the wafer picking hand through the telescopic adjustment of the lifting mechanism.

2. The robot arm of semiconductor equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting mechanism and the adsorption mechanism are arranged in one-to-one correspondence, the top end of the lifting mechanism is arranged on the wafer taking hand, and the adsorption mechanism is arranged on the bottom end of the corresponding lifting mechanism.

3. The robot arm of the semiconductor equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The adsorption mechanism comprises a suction cup arranged at the bottom end of the lifting mechanism and an air extraction device connected to the suction cup, wherein the air extraction device is used to extract air or inflate the suction cup so that the suction cup adsorbs or releases the wafer.

4. The robot arm of the semiconductor equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that: It also includes a bellows expansion device arranged at the bottom end of the lifting mechanism, the bellows expansion device has an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end is connected to the air suction pipe of the air suction device, and the outlet end is connected to the suction cup.

5. The robot arm of the semiconductor equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that: The bellows expansion joint comprises a bellows, an inner conduit, a guide rod, and an inlet plate and an outlet plate in a ring shape; The inlet end plate and the outlet end plate are respectively sleeved and fixed on the two ends of the corrugated pipe, and the inlet end plate is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the lifting mechanism; The inner conduit is inserted into the corrugated pipe, and one end of the inner conduit close to the inlet end plate is fixedly connected to one end of the corrugated pipe close to the inlet end plate; The guide rod support is connected between the inlet end plate and the outlet end plate.

6. The robot arm of the semiconductor equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that: It also includes a bracket, the top end of which is arranged at the bottom end of the lifting mechanism, the bottom end of which is arranged on the inlet end plate, and there is a distance between the bottom end of the lifting mechanism and the inlet end to install the exhaust pipe.

7. The robot arm of the semiconductor equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that: The bracket includes at least two connecting rods spaced apart around the end plate, and the connecting rods are supported and connected between the bottom end of the lifting mechanism and the end plate.

8. The robotic arm of the semiconductor device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The wafer taking hand is in a U shape, and the adsorption mechanisms are three and are respectively located at the two end heads and the concave arc part of the U-shaped end.

9. The robotic arm of the semiconductor device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The turning mechanism can be a rotating cylinder or a motor.

10. A semiconductor device, characterized in that: A robot arm comprising the semiconductor device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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