Wafer bearing plate and wafer carrying equipment

Abstract

The utility model provides a wafer bearing plate and wafer carrying equipment. The wafer bearing plate is used for bearing a wafer to be processed, and comprises a plurality of first air guide grooves which are arranged on the surface of the wafer bearing plate in a cross staggered manner; and the plurality of second air guide grooves are arranged on the surface of the wafer bearing plate, and an included angle is formed between the second air guide grooves and the first air guide grooves. According to the utility model, the plurality of second gas guide grooves which form the included angle alpha with the first gas guide grooves are formed in the surface of the wafer bearing plate of the wafer carrying equipment, so that the adsorption force between the wafer to be processed and the wafer bearing plate can be reduced, and after the wafer to be processed is processed, gas is introduced into the first gas guide grooves and the second gas guide grooves, so that the wafer to be processed is more uniform. The wafer to be processed can be easily stripped from the surface of the wafer bearing plate, and the wafer carrying equipment carries the wafer to be processed from the existing equipment to other equipment for further subsequent processing, so that the damage to the wafer to be processed caused by forcibly stripping the wafer to be processed is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, in particular to a wafer carrier plate and wafer transport equipment. Background Art

[0002] When the wafer (Wafer) performs the etching process in the process chamber, the wafer carrier (Paddle) is in the up state under the action of the lift (Lifter) to meet the process requirements; after the process is completed, the wafer carrier is in the down state driven by the lift to meet the transmission requirements. During the descent of the wafer carrier, the wafer carrier introduces gas through its own gas guide groove, and combines with the robotic arm (Arm) to make the wafer detach from the surface of the wafer carrier. However, in the actual process, due to the differences in the back of the wafer and the process time, the wafer will be affected from the surface of the wafer carrier, such as: stick wafer (Stick Wafer), broken wafer (Break Wafer), double etching (Double Etch), etc. Summary of the invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the utility model is to provide a wafer carrier plate and a wafer transport device, which can facilitate the separation of processed wafers from the surface of the wafer carrier plate to meet the transmission requirements.

[0004] In order to solve the above problems, the utility model provides a wafer carrier plate for carrying wafers to be processed, including a plurality of first air guide grooves arranged crosswise on the surface of the wafer carrier plate; a plurality of second air guide grooves arranged on the surface of the wafer carrier plate and having an angle with the first air guide grooves.

[0005] In some embodiments, the angle is 45°.

[0006] In some embodiments, there is an intersection between the outermost first air guide groove extending along the first direction among a plurality of first air guide grooves and the outermost first air guide groove extending along the second direction, and the second air guide groove extends from the intersection to the edge of the wafer carrier plate; wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

[0007] In some embodiments, a connecting portion is also included, which extends outward from the edge of the wafer carrier plate and has a through hole. A fixing component passes through the through hole to fix the connecting portion on the elevator, so that the wafer carrier plate can be lifted and lowered by the elevator.

[0008] In some embodiments, the surface of the wafer carrier plate has a sandblasting layer, and the sandblasting layer can increase the roughness of the surface of the wafer carrier plate.

[0009] In some embodiments, a notch is disposed at an edge of the wafer carrier plate.

[0010] In some embodiments, the wafer carrier plate is made of aluminum or aluminum alloy.

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, the utility model also provides a wafer handling equipment, including: a wafer carrier plate for carrying wafers to be processed, the wafer carrier plate including a plurality of first air guide grooves and a plurality of second air guide grooves, the plurality of first air guide grooves being cross-arranged on the surface of the wafer carrier plate, the plurality of second air guide grooves being arranged on the surface of the wafer carrier plate and having an angle with the first air guide grooves.

[0012] In some embodiments, the wafer carrier plate also includes a connecting portion, which extends outward from the edge of the wafer carrier plate and has a through hole. A fixing component passes through the through hole to fix the connecting portion on the elevator, so that the wafer carrier plate can be lifted and lowered by the elevator.

[0013] In some embodiments, a notch is provided at the edge of the wafer carrier plate; the wafer handling equipment also includes a robotic arm, one end of which is semicircular and arranged around the wafer carrier plate, and the robotic arm has a support arm, which is engaged in the notch of the wafer carrier plate.

[0014] The utility model can reduce the adsorption force between the wafer to be processed and the wafer carrier plate by forming a plurality of second air guide grooves with an included angle α between the first air guide groove and the wafer carrier plate surface on the wafer handling equipment; after the wafer to be processed is processed, gas is introduced into the first air guide groove and the second air guide groove, so that the wafer to be processed can be easily peeled off from the surface of the wafer carrier plate; the wafer handling equipment transports the wafer to be processed from the existing equipment to other equipment for further subsequent processing, thereby avoiding forced peeling of the wafer to be processed, which may cause damage to the wafer to be processed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the specific implementation of the utility model, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for the description of the specific implementation. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some specific implementations of the utility model. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0016] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a wafer carrier provided by an embodiment of the utility model;

[0017] Figure 2It is a structural schematic diagram of a wafer handling device provided by an embodiment of the utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The following will be combined with the drawings in the specific implementation of the utility model to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the specific implementation of the utility model. Obviously, the specific implementation described is only a part of the specific implementation of the utility model, not all of the specific implementation. Based on the specific implementation of the utility model, all other specific implementations obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the utility model.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wafer carrier provided by an embodiment of the utility model. Figure 1 The wafer carrier plate 11 includes: a plurality of first air guide grooves 111 and a plurality of second air guide grooves 112. The plurality of first air guide grooves 111 are cross-staggeredly arranged on the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11. The plurality of second air guide grooves 112 are arranged on the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11 and have an angle α with the first air guide grooves 111.

[0020] In this embodiment, a plurality of second air guide grooves 112 having an angle α with the first air guide groove 111 are formed on the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11, thereby increasing the number of air guide grooves on the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11, and reducing the adsorption force between the wafer to be processed and the wafer carrier plate 11. After the wafer to be processed is processed, the wafer to be processed can be easily peeled off from the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11 by introducing gas into the first air guide groove 111 and the second air guide groove 112, so as to meet the transfer requirements and avoid damage to the wafer to be processed when peeling the wafer to be processed.

[0021] In this embodiment, there is an intersection 113 between the outermost first air guide groove 111 extending along the first direction D1 among the plurality of first air guide grooves 111 and the outermost first air guide groove 111 extending along the second direction D2, and the second air guide groove 112 extends from the intersection 113 to the edge of the wafer carrier plate 11; wherein the first direction D1 is perpendicular to the second direction D2.

[0022] In this embodiment, the angle α is 45°. That is, the angle α between the second air guiding groove 112 and the first air guiding groove 111 is 45°. In other embodiments, the angle α between the second air guiding groove 112 and the first air guiding groove 111 can also be any degree between 0° and 90°.

[0023] In this embodiment, the wafer carrier plate 11 also includes a connecting portion 114, which extends outward from the edge of the wafer carrier plate 11 and has a through hole 115. A fixing component passes through the through hole 115 to fix the connecting portion 114 on an elevator (not shown), so that the wafer carrier plate 11 can be lifted and moved under the drive of the elevator. Specifically, the fixing component may include a screw, and the staff can fix the wafer carrier plate 11 on the elevator by screwing the screw into the through hole 115, so that the wafer carrier plate 11 can be lifted and moved under the drive of the elevator. The fixing component may include a nut that is matched with the screw to further achieve fixation.

[0024] In this embodiment, the edge of the wafer carrier plate 11 is provided with a notch 116. The notch 116 is an elliptical notch. In other embodiments, the notch 116 can also be other shapes, such as a semicircle. In this embodiment, the number of the notches 116 is 5, and in other embodiments, the number of the notches 116 can also be 6, 7, 8, etc.

[0025] In some embodiments, the width of the first air guide groove 111 and the second air guide groove 112 can both be 1 mm, and the depth can both be 1 mm. The first air guide groove 111 and the second air guide groove 112 can be formed by engraving with a specially ground tungsten steel tool.

[0026] In the present embodiment, the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11 has a sandblasting layer (not shown), and the sandblasting layer can increase the roughness of the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11. Specifically, the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11 can be sandblasted to form the sandblasting layer on the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11, so as to increase the roughness of the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11. When the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11 is rough, gas is introduced into the first air guide groove 111 and the second air guide groove 112, and the adsorption force between the wafer to be processed and the wafer carrier plate can be greatly reduced, thereby facilitating the peeling of the wafer to be processed from the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11. Surface sandblasting is a common surface treatment process, which uses compressed air as a power to spray abrasives (such as copper ore sand, quartz sand, corundum, iron sand, sea sand, etc.) onto the surface of the workpiece at high speed. This treatment method can change the appearance and shape of the workpiece surface. Through the impact and cutting action of the abrasive on the workpiece surface, the workpiece surface can be cleaned, its roughness can be increased, the mechanical properties of the workpiece can be improved, the adhesion of the coating or paint can be enhanced, the durability of the coating can be extended, and it is also beneficial to the leveling and decorative effect of the coating. Sandblasting can be arbitrarily selected between different roughness, which is not possible with other processes. It can be applied on different materials and surfaces, such as metal, non-metal, electroplating, spray painting, rubber mold, gravity die-casting mold, etc., to remove oxide layers, rust, burrs, old paint and old coatings. In addition, sandblasting is also suitable for surface beautification, such as matte treatment, matte and soft light matte treatment, as well as the removal of surface impurities and etching treatment in electronic parts processing. Sandblasting is divided into two processes: dry sandblasting and wet sandblasting. Wet sandblasting is to mix abrasives with water into slurry, and then spray it onto the workpiece through compressed air. This method can prevent steel parts from rusting, and the sand can be dried before use for reuse.

[0027] In this embodiment, the material of the wafer carrier plate 11 is aluminum or aluminum alloy. In other embodiments, the material of the wafer carrier plate 11 can also be other metals.

[0028] Based on the same inventive concept, the utility model also provides a wafer transport device.

[0029] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wafer handling device provided by an embodiment of the utility model. Figure 2 The wafer handling equipment includes: a wafer carrier plate 11 for carrying wafers to be processed, the wafer carrier plate 11 includes a plurality of first air guide grooves 111 and a plurality of second air guide grooves 112, the plurality of first air guide grooves 111 are cross-arranged on the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11, and the plurality of second air guide grooves are arranged on the surface of the wafer carrier plate and have an angle α with the first air guide grooves.

[0030] In this embodiment, the wafer carrier plate 11 further includes a connection portion 114, which extends outward from the edge of the wafer carrier plate 11 and has a through hole 115. A fixing component passes through the through hole 115 to fix the connection portion 114 on the elevator, so that the wafer carrier plate 11 can be lifted and moved by the elevator. Specifically, the fixing component includes a screw, and the staff can fix the wafer carrier plate 11 on the elevator by screwing the screw into the through hole 115, thereby realizing the fully automatic lifting of the wafer carrier plate 11.

[0031] In the present embodiment, a notch 116 is provided at the edge of the wafer carrier plate 11; the wafer handling equipment further comprises a robot arm 21, one end of the robot arm 21 is in a semicircular ring shape and is arranged around the wafer carrier plate 11, and the robot arm 21 has a support arm 211, and the support arm 211 is engaged in the notch 116 of the wafer carrier plate 11. Specifically, one end of the robot arm 21 is in a semicircular ring shape and wrapped around the wafer carrier plate 11, the support arm 211 is arranged at the edge of the robot arm 21 facing the wafer carrier plate 11, and the support arm 211 is engaged in the elliptical notch 116 of the wafer carrier plate 11, at this time, the support arm 211 can hold the processed wafer to be processed, and when the elevator drives the wafer carrier plate 11 to descend, the robot arm 21 can hold the processed wafer to be processed, so that the processed wafer to be processed is separated from the wafer carrier plate 11. In this embodiment, the number of the notches 116 and the number of the supporting arms 211 are equal and are both 5. In other embodiments, the number of the notches 116 and the number of the supporting arms 211 are equal, and can also be 6, 7, 8, etc.

[0032] In this embodiment, the other end of the robot arm 21 is connected to a conveying device, and the conveying device is used to send the processed wafer to other equipment for subsequent processing. Specifically, after the wafer to be processed is processed by the machine, the elevator drives the wafer carrier plate 11 to descend, so that the wafer to be processed is peeled off from the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11, so that the arm 211 clamps the wafer to be processed, and then the conveying device sends the wafer to be processed to other equipment for subsequent processing.

[0033] The lifting of the elevator can drive the lifting of the wafer carrier plate 11 to achieve the processing of the wafer to be processed. When the elevator drives the wafer carrier plate 11 to rise to the level of the wafer carrier plate 11 and the robot 21, the wafer to be processed is adsorbed on the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11, and the machine equipment processes the wafer to be processed. When the machine equipment completes the processing of the wafer to be processed, the gas is introduced into the first gas guide groove 111 and the second gas guide groove 112, thereby reducing the adsorption force between the wafer to be processed and the wafer carrier plate 11, so that the wafer to be processed can be easily separated from the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11. At this time, the wafer to be processed is engaged with the support arm 211 of the robot 21, and the robot 21 transfers the wafer to be processed to other equipment for subsequent processing.

[0034] In this embodiment, the material of the wafer carrier plate 11 is aluminum or aluminum alloy. In other embodiments, the material of the wafer carrier plate 11 can also be other metals.

[0035] The static comparison of the adsorption force experimental data of the wafer carrier plate 11 before and after the modification is shown in Table 1:

[0036] Experimental sequence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Mean(g) Before restructuring (g) 230 175 240 245 240 225 245 245 237 238 237.5 After restructuring (g) 176 167 159 178 214 175 162 168 169 170 169.5

[0037] Table 1 Static comparison of adsorption test data before and after the reform

[0038] Experiments have proved that compared with the prior art, the utility model reduces the adsorption force between the wafer to be processed and the wafer carrier plate 11 by forming a plurality of second air guide grooves 112 with an angle α between the first air guide grooves 111 on the surface of the wafer carrier plate 11 of the wafer handling equipment, so that the wafer to be processed can save an average of about 0.68N of force when it is separated from the wafer carrier plate 11, thereby facilitating the separation of the processed wafer to be processed from the wafer carrier plate 11 and avoiding forced peeling of the wafer to be processed, which may cause damage to the wafer to be processed.

[0039] The above technical solution can reduce the adsorption force between the wafer to be processed and the wafer carrier plate by forming a plurality of second air guide grooves with an angle α between the first air guide grooves on the surface of the wafer carrier plate of the wafer handling equipment. After the wafer to be processed is processed, gas is introduced into the first air guide grooves and the second air guide grooves, so that the wafer to be processed can be easily peeled off from the surface of the wafer carrier plate. The wafer handling equipment transports the wafer to be processed from the existing equipment to other equipment for further subsequent processing, avoiding forced peeling of the wafer to be processed and causing damage to the wafer to be processed.

[0040] It should be noted that references in the specification to "an embodiment", "an embodiment", "an exemplary embodiment", "some embodiments", etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, whether or not explicitly described, it is within the knowledge of a technician in the relevant art to implement such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments.

[0041] Typically, a term can be understood at least in part from usage in context. For example, the term "one or more" as used herein depends at least in part on the context and can be used to describe any feature, structure or characteristic in a singular sense, or can be used to describe a combination of features, structures or features in a plural sense. Similarly, terms such as "one", "a" or "the" can also be understood to express singular usage or to express plural usage, depending at least in part on the context. In addition, the term "based on" can be understood to not necessarily be intended to express a set of exclusive factors, but can alternatively, also at least in part depending on the context, allow for the presence of other factors that are not necessarily explicitly described. It should also be noted in this specification that "connected / coupled" refers not only to the direct coupling of one component to another component, but also to the indirect coupling of one component to another component through an intermediate component.

[0042] It should be noted that the terms "including" and "having" and their variations involved in the documents of the present utility model are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. The terms "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, it should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances. In addition, the embodiments of the present utility model and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other unless there is a conflict. In addition, in the above description, the description of well-known components and technologies is omitted to avoid unnecessary confusion of the concepts of the present utility model. In the above-mentioned embodiments, each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments, and the same / similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other.

[0043] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that ordinary technicians in this technical field can make several improvements and modifications without departing from the principle of the present invention. These improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wafer carrier plate for carrying wafers to be processed, characterized in that: include: A plurality of first air guide grooves are cross-staggeredly arranged on the surface of the wafer carrier plate; A plurality of second air guiding grooves are arranged on the surface of the wafer carrier plate and have an included angle with the first air guiding grooves.

2. The wafer carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The angle is 45°.

3. The wafer carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: There is an intersection between the outermost first air guide groove extending along the first direction among the multiple first air guide grooves and the outermost first air guide groove extending along the second direction, and the second air guide groove extends from the intersection to the edge of the wafer carrier plate; wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

4. The wafer carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a connecting part, which extends outward from the edge of the wafer carrier plate and has a through hole. A fixing component passes through the through hole to fix the connecting part on the elevator, so that the wafer carrier plate can be lifted and moved by the elevator.

5. The wafer carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the wafer carrier plate has a sandblasting layer, and the sandblasting layer can increase the roughness of the surface of the wafer carrier plate.

6. The wafer carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: A notch is arranged at the edge of the wafer carrying plate.

7. The wafer carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wafer carrier plate is made of aluminum or aluminum alloy.

8. A wafer handling device, characterized in that: include: A wafer carrier plate is used to carry wafers to be processed, and the wafer carrier plate includes a plurality of first air guide grooves and a plurality of second air guide grooves. The plurality of first air guide grooves are cross-arranged on the surface of the wafer carrier plate, and the plurality of second air guide grooves are arranged on the surface of the wafer carrier plate and have an angle with the first air guide grooves.

9. The wafer handling equipment according to claim 8, characterized in that: The wafer carrier plate also includes a connecting portion, which extends outward from the edge of the wafer carrier plate and has a through hole. A fixing component passes through the through hole to fix the connecting portion on the elevator, so that the wafer carrier plate can be lifted and moved by the elevator.

10. The wafer handling equipment according to claim 8, characterized in that: The edge of the wafer carrier plate is provided with a notch; The wafer handling equipment also includes a robot arm, one end of which is in a semicircular ring shape and is arranged around the wafer carrier plate. The robot arm has a support arm, and the support arm is engaged in the notch of the wafer carrier plate.

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