Wafer grabbing manipulator and grabbing equipment

Abstract

The utility model discloses a wafer grabbing manipulator and grabbing equipment, and relates to the technical field of wafer automatic detection and sorting. The wafer grabbing manipulator comprises a vertical sliding plate, the bottom of the vertical sliding plate is provided with a suction cup fixing plate extending along the horizontal direction, the bottom of the suction cup fixing plate is provided with at least two vacuum suction cups uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction at intervals, the center position of the at least two vacuum suction cups is provided with a deformation rubber mat, and the deformation rubber mat is in a natural state. The bottom face of the deformation rubber mat is lower than the bottom faces of the at least two vacuum suction cups, the height difference is delta H1, and the maximum deformation quantity of the deformation rubber mat in the height direction is larger than delta H1. According to the utility model, the wafers are deformed under the combined action of the vacuum chuck and the deformation rubber mat, so that the air tightness between the upper and lower wafers is damaged, and the vacuum chuck can realize single-wafer grabbing of the wafers. According to the utility model, the problem that wafers cannot be automatically grabbed one by one in the sorting process is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of automatic wafer detection and sorting, and in particular to a wafer grabbing manipulator and a grabbing device. Background Art

[0002] Wafer refers to the sapphire substrate used to make semiconductor optoelectronic components. Its material is a single crystal of high-purity aluminum oxide. Sapphire has good light transmittance, high strength, collision resistance, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, high temperature and high pressure resistance, and biocompatibility. It is an ideal substrate material for making semiconductor optoelectronic devices. The electrical properties of sapphire make it an excellent substrate material for making white and blue LEDs. In the production of semiconductor optoelectronic components, the sapphire crystals grown in the crystal growth furnace are processed into cylindrical sapphire crystal rods, and then the cylindrical sapphire crystal rods are cut into wafers for inspection and sorting.

[0003] When two or more wafers are stacked, due to the high surface flatness and finish of the wafers, airtightness will be generated between the upper and lower wafers, resulting in negative pressure adhesion between the two wafers when one of the wafers is grabbed, making it impossible to pick up a single wafer, and thus impossible to achieve automatic sorting and inspection. The current conventional operation is to manually place the cut wafers one by one into the positioning slots of the wafer jammer (such as the attached Figure 1-2 As shown in the figure, the wafer fetching robot finger takes the wafer out of the card box and performs subsequent inspection and sorting operations on the wafer. Since the wafer needs to be placed in the card box manually, the labor intensity is high, the placement efficiency is low, and there will be problems of misplacement. In addition, the undetected and sorted wafers will occupy a large number of loading card box positions. Utility Model Content

[0004] In order to solve the problem of the inability to automatically sort and detect wafers due to the difficulty in picking up single wafers, the utility model provides a wafer grasping robot, comprising a vertical sliding plate, a suction cup fixing plate is arranged at the bottom of the vertical sliding plate, the suction cup fixing plate extends in a horizontal direction, at least two vacuum suction cups are arranged at intervals at the bottom of the suction cup fixing plate, the at least two vacuum suction cups are evenly distributed in a circumferential direction, an elastic member is arranged at the center position of the at least two vacuum suction cups, and in a natural state, the bottom surface of the elastic member is lower than the bottom surfaces of the at least two vacuum suction cups, and the height difference is ΔH1, and the maximum deformation amount of the elastic member in height is greater than ΔH1.

[0005] Furthermore, the at least two vacuum suction cups are respectively connected to a negative pressure gas source, and a vacuum sensor is provided on the connecting pipeline.

[0006] Furthermore, a position sensor is also included, and the position sensor is used to sense the stacking height of the wafers.

[0007] Furthermore, the circumference diameter of the at least two vacuum suction cups is smaller than the diameter of the wafer.

[0008] Furthermore, the elastic member is a deformable rubber pad.

[0009] On the other hand, the present application also relates to a wafer grasping device, having any one of the wafer grasping robots described above, and also including: a Z-axis slide and a wafer placement table, the vertical sliding plate can be vertically slidably arranged on the Z-axis slide, the Z-axis slide is located on one side of the wafer placement table, the wafer placement table includes a base plate, a positioning plate is fixedly arranged on the base plate, a plurality of baffle columns are arranged on the positioning plate, the plurality of baffle columns are evenly distributed in the circumferential direction, and the circumferential diameter enclosed by the plurality of baffle columns is greater than or equal to the diameter of the wafer.

[0010] Furthermore, the plurality of baffle columns are tilted, with an inclination angle α≤5°, and the inner diameter of the circle formed at the bottom of the plurality of baffle columns is greater than or equal to the wafer diameter.

[0011] Furthermore, the number of the baffle columns is 4-6.

[0012] Furthermore, the wafer placement table also includes a side plate, and the Z-axis slide is fixedly arranged on the side plate.

[0013] Furthermore, the Z-axis slide is provided with a guide groove or a guide column, and the vertical sliding plate moves relative to the Z-axis slide through the guide groove or the guide column.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the utility model has the following advantages:

[0015] 1) The utility model significantly reduces manual labor intensity and improves efficiency by stacking wafers, thus solving the problem of undetected and classified wafers occupying the jam box;

[0016] 2) The utility model uses the cooperation of the vacuum suction cup and the elastic member to make the wafer slightly deformed after being grasped by the suction cup, so that it is automatically separated from the wafer below, realizing the automatic grasping of a single wafer, thereby realizing the fully automatic sorting and detection of wafers;

[0017] 3) The utility model sets the baffle column to be inclined, thereby preventing the wafer from hitting the baffle column during the upward wafer removal process, thereby contaminating the wafer or causing the edge of the wafer to break. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 A three-dimensional perspective schematic diagram showing a wafer being placed in a plug box in the prior art is shown;

[0019] Figure 2Shows Figure 1 A front view of a wafer being placed in a cartridge;

[0020] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a wafer grabbing robot according to a specific embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0021] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing the state of the wafer grabbing robot involved in the utility model when the deformable rubber pad just contacts the wafer during the process of grabbing the wafer;

[0022] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing the state of the wafer grabbing robot involved in the utility model when the vacuum suction cup just contacts the wafer during the process of grabbing the wafer;

[0023] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing the state of the wafer grabbing robot involved in the utility model when the vacuum suction cup drives the wafer to move upward during the process of grabbing the wafer;

[0024] Figure 7 The front view of the wafer grabbing device involved in the utility model is shown;

[0025] Figure 8 A top view of a wafer grabbing device according to the present invention is shown;

[0026] Fig. 9 A left side view of the wafer grabbing device involved in the utility model is shown.

[0027] 1. Z-axis slide 2. Fixed plate 3. Vertical slide plate 4. Vacuum sensor 5. Sensor mounting plate 6. Position sensor 7. Suction cup fixing plate 8. Deformable rubber pad 9. Vacuum suction cup 10. Wafer 11. Block column 12. Positioning plate 13. Bottom plate DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present disclosure will now be discussed with reference to several exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are discussed only to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and thus implement the present disclosure, rather than implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure.

[0029] As used herein, the term "including" and variations thereof are to be interpreted as open-ended terms meaning "including but not limited to." The term "based on" is to be interpreted as "based, at least in part, on." The terms "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" are to be interpreted as "at least one embodiment." The term "another embodiment" is to be interpreted as "at least one other embodiment."

[0030] See attached Figure 3-6, this embodiment discloses a wafer grabbing manipulator, which can realize the single automatic grabbing of the wafer 10. The wafer grabbing manipulator includes a vertical sliding plate 3, which can slide in the vertical direction. Its shape, structure and driving mode can all adopt the conventional technology in the prior art, and will not limit the technical solution of the present application. A suction cup fixing plate 7 is arranged at the bottom of the vertical sliding plate 3, and the suction cup fixing plate 7 extends in the horizontal direction. The suction cup fixing plate 7 can be a rectangular or circular or other shaped plate, or a frame or a bracket. At least two vacuum suction cups 9 are arranged at intervals at the bottom of the suction cup fixing plate 7, and at least two vacuum suction cups 9 are evenly distributed in the circumferential direction, that is, when two or more vacuum suction cups 9 are arranged, these vacuum suction cups 9 are evenly distributed on the same circumference, and the diameter of this circumference is smaller than the diameter of the wafer, so that all vacuum suction cups 9 can be completely located within the range of the upper surface of the wafer. In this way, the force of all vacuum suction cups 9 on the wafer can be evenly distributed.

[0031] An elastic member is provided at the center position of at least two vacuum suction cups 9, that is, at the center position of the circle. In the present embodiment, the elastic member is preferably a deformable rubber pad 8. The deformable rubber pad 8 can provide sufficient elastic force without causing damage to the surface of the wafer 10. In a natural state, the bottom surface of the deformable rubber pad 8 is lower than the bottom surfaces of at least two vacuum suction cups 9, and the height difference between the two bottom surfaces is ΔH1. Such a configuration can ensure that when the robot picks up the wafer, the deformable rubber pad 8 contacts the upper surface of the wafer before the vacuum suction cup 9, so that the deformable rubber pad 8 is deformed in advance in the process of picking up the wafer to obtain elastic potential energy.

[0032] The maximum deformation of the deformable rubber pad 8 in height is greater than ΔH1. If the maximum deformation of the deformable rubber pad 8 in height is too small, the deformable rubber pad 8 reaches the maximum deformation before the vacuum suction cup 9 contacts the upper surface of the wafer and cannot deform further, which will cause the vacuum suction cup 9 to be unable to contact the wafer, or the pressure on the surface of the wafer is too great and breaks. Considering that the vacuum suction cup 9 will also deform in the process of sucking the wafer, causing the entire robot to continue to move downward, the maximum deformation of the deformable rubber pad 8 in height also needs to take the deformation of the vacuum suction cup 9 into consideration. Therefore, in order to ensure the normal operation of the system and avoid the wafer being crushed, it is preferred that the maximum deformation of the deformable rubber pad 8 in height is greater than ΔH1.

[0033] All vacuum suction cups 9 can be connected to the negative pressure gas source together, or they can be connected to the negative pressure gas source independently. In some embodiments, preferably all vacuum suction cups 9 are connected to the negative pressure gas source respectively, and vacuum sensors 4 are respectively provided on the connecting pipelines. Through the above arrangement, the grasping condition of the wafer 10 can be judged by the vacuum degree feedback from the vacuum sensor 4. During normal operation, after the vacuum suction cup 9 grasps the wafer 10, the vacuum degree will continue to increase. When the feedback value reaches a preset threshold value, it means that the grasping is stable, the suction can be stopped, and the manipulator can be controlled to move upward.

[0034] The preferred range of the above preset threshold is: less than or equal to -50 kPa.

[0035] If an abnormal situation occurs, such as inaccurate positioning resulting in partial vacuum chuck 9 not contacting or only partially contacting the surface of wafer 10, or dirt on the surface of wafer 10, or other situations, the vacuum degree fed back by vacuum sensor 4 of corresponding vacuum chuck 9 cannot reach the preset threshold value. Therefore, if the vacuum degree cannot reach the preset threshold value after the negative pressure gas source is turned on for a period of time, it means that there is a problem with the system and maintenance is required.

[0036] In some embodiments, a position sensor 6 is further included, and the position sensor 6 is used to sense the stacking height of the wafers, that is, the height of the upper surface of the topmost wafer 10. The position sensor 6 can be fixed at a suitable position through the sensor mounting plate 5. By setting the position sensor 6, the actual height of the wafer 10 can be sensed in real time, and the data can be fed back to the control system of the manipulator, so as to control the height of the manipulator to descend, so that the speed of the deformable rubber pad 8 is reduced before it contacts the wafer 10, avoiding collision and improving efficiency.

[0037] On the other hand, the utility model provides a wafer grabbing device, see attached Figure 7-9 , having any wafer grabbing robot according to the foregoing, further comprising: a Z-axis slide 1 and a wafer placement table, and a vertical sliding plate 3 can be vertically slidably arranged on the Z-axis slide 1. A vertical track and a driving mechanism are arranged on the Z-axis slide 1. The driving mechanism is transmission-connected with the vertical sliding plate 3, and can drive the vertical sliding plate 3 to slide up and down along the track. The driving mechanism, the track and the vertical sliding plate 3 can all adopt conventional settings in the prior art.

[0038] The Z-axis slide 1 is located on one side of the wafer placement table and can be fixedly arranged on the side plate of the wafer placement table. The wafer placement table also includes a bottom plate 13, on which a positioning plate 12 is fixedly arranged, and on which a plurality of baffle columns 11 are arranged, and the plurality of baffle columns 11 are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction, and the circumferential diameter enclosed by the plurality of baffle columns 11 is greater than or equal to the diameter of the wafer 10. Through the above arrangement, the wafer 10 can be easily stacked in the space enclosed by the plurality of baffle columns 11.

[0039] In some embodiments, the plurality of baffle columns 11 are tilted, with an inclination angle α≤5°, and the inner diameter of the circle formed at the bottom of the plurality of baffle columns 11 is greater than or equal to the diameter of the wafer 10. The baffle columns 11 block the wafer 10, so that the wafer 10 is always in a stacked state. Stacking of the wafers 10 will produce errors, and the tilted baffle columns 11 will offset the stacking errors. It can also prevent the wafer from hitting the baffle columns during the upward fetching process, thereby contaminating the wafer or causing the wafer to collapse.

[0040] Furthermore, 4 to 6 baffle columns 11 are provided.

[0041] Furthermore, the wafer placement table also includes a side plate, and the Z-axis slide table 1 is fixedly arranged on the side plate.

[0042] Furthermore, the Z-axis slide 1 is provided with a guide groove or a guide column, and the vertical sliding plate 3 moves relative to the Z-axis slide along the guide groove or the guide column.

[0043] On the other hand, the working steps of grabbing a wafer using the device of the utility model are as follows:

[0044] S1: Acquiring parameters, including the wafer stacking height, the height of the vertical sliding plate 3, and the vacuum value of the vacuum chuck 9 acquired by the vacuum sensor 4;

[0045] S2: Start the equipment and control the vertical sliding plate 3 to move downward at a first speed V1 until it reaches the bottom of the deformable rubber pad 8 and contacts the top wafer 10. Figure 4 The status shown;

[0046] S3: Turn on the negative pressure gas source and control the vertical sliding plate 3 to move downward at a second speed V2, so that the vacuum suction cup 9 abuts against the upper surface of the uppermost wafer 10, that is, the vacuum suction cup 9 is attached to the upper surface of the uppermost wafer 10. Figure 5 In the state shown, the deformable rubber pad 8 is compressed and deformed, and obtains elastic potential energy;

[0047] S4: The vacuum sensor 4 monitors the vacuum value of the vacuum chuck 9 in real time and determines the vacuum value. When the monitored vacuum value is less than or equal to -50 kPa, step S5 is executed;

[0048] S5: Control the vertical sliding plate 3 to move upward at a third speed V3, i.e. Figure 6 At this time, as the vertical sliding plate 3 moves upward, the vacuum chuck 9 moves upward with the wafer 10. When the wafer 10 moves upward, the upward pressure of the lower wafer 10 on the uppermost wafer 10 disappears. The wafer 10 is now subjected to the upward suction of the vacuum chuck 9 and the downward elastic force of the deformable rubber pad 8. Under the action of these two forces, the wafer 10 being taken has a slight deformation, see the attached Figure 6 This deformation destroys the airtightness between the top wafer 10 and the wafer 10 below, and the vacuum suction cup 9 can grasp the top single wafer 10 without sticking to the wafer 10 below.

[0049] Through the above steps, the automatic grabbing of the wafer 10 is achieved.

[0050] Furthermore, in step S5, the vertical sliding plate 3 is first controlled to move upward to a predetermined height at a third speed V3, and then stops. Then, at this position, the vertical sliding plate 3 is controlled to drive the wafer 10 to shake up and down, as shown in the attached figure. Figure 3 shown.

[0051] Through this step, the wafers that are attached to the bottom of the wafer 10 being taken due to various abnormal conditions can be shaken off and fall onto the stack of wafers, thereby further improving the efficiency and accuracy of taking the wafer 10 .

[0052] The predetermined height is preferably the thickness of ten wafers. This height is selected so that interference or collision is not likely to occur during shaking, and the dropped wafers will not fall out of the stacking range or break due to excessive height.

[0053] Preferably, the range of the up and down shaking of the wafer 10 is the thickness of two wafers 10. The amplitude of the shaking of the wafer 10 should not be too large, which will easily cause interference and affect efficiency. It should not be too small, which will affect the shaking effect and fail to shake off the wafer below.

[0054] Preferably, the frequency of the wafer 10 shaking is 3-12 Hz.

[0055] Preferably, after the vertical sliding plate 3 is controlled to drive the wafer 10 to shake for a period of time, the vertical sliding plate 3 is controlled to rise to the highest position. This period of time is preferably 1 second, which can maximize the efficiency of the entire device.

[0056] Preferably, in step S3, making the vacuum chuck 9 contact the upper surface of the uppermost wafer 10 specifically includes making the bottom surface of the vacuum chuck 9 1 to 3 mm lower than the upper surface of the uppermost wafer. In this way, the vacuum chuck 9 will not lose contact with the wafer 10 due to its own deformation during the process of sucking the wafer 10.

[0057] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above-mentioned embodiments are specific examples for implementing the present disclosure, and in actual applications, various changes may be made thereto in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A wafer grabbing robot, comprising a vertical sliding plate, a suction cup fixing plate is arranged at the bottom of the vertical sliding plate, the suction cup fixing plate extends in the horizontal direction, at least two vacuum suction cups are arranged at intervals at the bottom of the suction cup fixing plate, and the at least two vacuum suction cups are evenly distributed in the circumferential direction, characterized in that: An elastic member is disposed at the center of the at least two vacuum suction cups. In a natural state, the bottom surface of the elastic member is lower than the bottom surfaces of the at least two vacuum suction cups by a height difference of ΔH1. The maximum deformation of the elastic member in height is greater than ΔH1.

2. A wafer grabbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The at least two vacuum suction cups are respectively connected to a negative pressure gas source, and a vacuum sensor is arranged on the connecting pipeline.

3. A wafer grabbing robot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A position sensor is also included, and the position sensor is used to sense the stacking height of the wafers.

4. A wafer grabbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The circumference diameter of the at least two vacuum suction cups is smaller than the diameter of the wafer.

5. The wafer grabbing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The elastic member is a deformable rubber pad.

6. A wafer grasping device, comprising a wafer grasping robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Also includes: A Z-axis slide and a wafer placement table, wherein the vertical sliding plate can be vertically slidably arranged on the Z-axis slide, the Z-axis slide is located on one side of the wafer placement table, the wafer placement table comprises a base plate, a positioning plate is fixedly arranged on the base plate, a plurality of baffle columns are arranged on the positioning plate, the plurality of baffle columns are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction, and the circumferential diameter enclosed by the plurality of baffle columns is greater than or equal to the diameter of the wafer.

7. The wafer grabbing device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The plurality of baffle columns are tilted, with an inclination angle of α≤5°, and the inner diameter of the circle formed at the bottom of the plurality of baffle columns is greater than or equal to the diameter of the wafer.

8. A wafer grabbing device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The number of the baffle columns is 4 to 6.

9. The wafer grabbing device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The wafer placement table also includes a side plate, and the Z-axis slide is fixedly arranged on the side plate.

10. The wafer grabbing device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The Z-axis slide is provided with a guide groove or a guide column, and the vertical sliding plate moves relative to the Z-axis slide through the guide groove or the guide column.

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