Wafer carrying disc and wafer carrying device
By designing a combination of removable connected support and extension disks, the limitations of existing wafer carriers for single wafer sizes are solved, achieving high versatility and flexibility for multiple wafer sizes.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202421793072.1
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-07-26
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-30
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-07-26
AI Technical Summary
The existing wafer carrier can only be used for a single wafer size, and it is not versatile and difficult to adapt to wafers of different sizes.
A wafer carrier disk is designed, including a support disk and at least one extension disk, the support disk and the extension disk are arranged side by side, with a removable mating portion, which can be adapted to at least two different sizes of wafers.
Through the combination of support disk and extension disk, it can be used in a variety of wafer sizes, improving the versatility and flexibility of wafer carrier disks.
Smart Images
Figure CN222927443U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductor process equipment, and more specifically, to a wafer carrier and a wafer carrying device. Background Art
[0002] In the production and manufacturing process of integrated circuits, the handling of wafers is usually completed by a fully automatic wafer handling system. The wafers used to fabricate chips are transported between different processes or within the same process by means of the carrier of a wafer carrying device. During the various processes of wafers, as the device in direct contact with the wafers, the wafer carrying device is a key component of semiconductor process equipment and directly affects the quality of the wafer process.
[0003] In the related art, the wafer carrying device includes a housing and a plurality of wafer carriers disposed within the housing. The plurality of wafer carriers are spaced apart and are respectively used to carry wafers. However, the wafer carriers of the existing wafer carrying devices can only operate with a single wafer size, and the versatility is not ideal. Therefore, a new wafer carrier is needed to adapt to different wafer sizes. Summary of the Utility Model
[0004] The purpose of the utility model is to provide a wafer carrier and a wafer carrying device, which can be applicable to at least two different sizes of wafers and improve the versatility of the wafer carrier.
[0005] The embodiments of the utility model are implemented as follows:
[0006] On the one hand, the utility model provides a wafer carrier, which includes a support disk and at least one extension disk; the support disk and the extension disk are arranged side by side. The side of the support disk facing the extension disk has a first mating portion, and the side of the extension disk facing the support disk is provided with a second mating portion. The outer shapes of the first mating portion and the second mating portion are adapted, and the first mating portion and the second mating portion are detachably connected. This wafer carrier can be applicable to at least two different sizes of wafers and improve the versatility of the wafer carrier.
[0007] Optionally, the first mating portion is a groove recessed on the side of the support disk facing the extension disk, and the second mating portion is a protrusion protruding on the side of the extension disk facing the support disk. The outer shapes of the groove and the protrusion are adapted.
[0008] Optionally, along the thickness direction of the support disk, the orthographic projection of the groove on the support disk is V-shaped.
[0009] Optionally, the wafer carrier further includes a pin. The pin is connected to the side of the second mating portion facing the first mating portion, and a pin hole is provided on the first mating portion. The pin is used to be inserted into the pin hole.
[0010] Optionally, the support disk is X-shaped.
[0011] Optionally, the side of the extension disk facing away from the support disk is an arc surface.
[0012] Optionally, the support disk and the extension disk have the same thickness, and the support surface of the support disk and the support surface of the extension disk are flush.
[0013] Optionally, there are two extension disks, which are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the support disk, and the second mating parts of the two extension disks are respectively detachably connected to the first mating parts of the support disk.
[0014] On the other hand, the present utility model provides a wafer carrier device, which includes a housing and the above-mentioned wafer carrier. The housing has an accommodation cavity, and two sets of support plate groups arranged side by side and spaced apart in a first direction are provided in the accommodation cavity. The support plate groups are connected to the inner wall of the housing, and each set of support plate groups includes a plurality of spaced support plates arranged in a second direction. The gap between two adjacent support plates in each set of support plate groups forms a support groove, and opposite ends of the wafer carrier are respectively placed on two corresponding support grooves in the two sets of support plate groups; the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular, and the dimension of the support groove in the second direction is greater than the sum of the thicknesses of the wafer carrier and the wafer to be carried.
[0015] Optionally, there is a gap between one side of any set of support plate groups facing away from the other set of support plate groups and the inner wall of the housing, and the dimension of the gap is greater than the thickness of the support disk of the wafer carrier.
[0016] The beneficial effects of the present utility model include:
[0017] The wafer carrier provided in the present application includes a support disk and at least one extension disk; the support disk and the extension disk are arranged side by side. The side of the support disk facing the extension disk has a first mating part, and the side of the extension disk facing the support disk is provided with a second mating part. The outer shapes of the first mating part and the second mating part are adapted, and the first mating part and the second mating part are detachably connected. By providing the support disk and the extension disk in the present application, in this way, when a small-sized wafer to be carried needs to be carried, the support disk can be used alone for support. When a large-sized wafer to be carried needs to be carried, the support disk and the extension disk can be detachably connected together, so that the support disk and the extension disk support the wafer to be carried in combination. In this way, the wafer carrier of the present application can be applicable to at least two different sizes of wafers, improving the versatility of the wafer carrier.
[0018] Since the wafer carrier device provided in the present application adopts the above-mentioned wafer carrier, therefore, the wafer carrier device can carry at least two different sizes of wafers, and can improve the versatility of the wafer carrier device. Description of the Drawings
[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present utility model, the accompanying drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following accompanying drawings only show certain embodiments of the present utility model and should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other related accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.
[0020] Figure 1 One of the schematic structural diagrams of the wafer carrier provided by the embodiment of the present utility model;
[0021] Figure 2 Another schematic structural diagram of the wafer carrier provided by the embodiment of the present utility model;
[0022] Figure 3 One of the schematic structural diagrams of the wafer carrying device provided by the embodiment of the present utility model;
[0023] Figure 4 Another schematic structural diagram of the wafer carrying device provided by the embodiment of the present utility model.
[0024] Reference numerals: 10 - support plate; 11 - first fitting portion; 12 - pin hole; 20 - extension plate; 21 - second fitting portion; 30 - pin; 210 - housing; 211 - accommodation cavity; 220 - support plate group; 221 - support plate; 222 - support groove; 230 - gap; a - first direction; b - second direction. Detailed implementation manners
[0025] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present utility model clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present utility model. Obviously, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present utility model. Generally, the components of the embodiments of the present utility model described and shown in the accompanying drawings here can be arranged and designed in various different configurations.
[0026] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present utility model provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed present utility model, but merely represents the selected embodiments of the present utility model. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present utility model without creative efforts fall within the scope of protection of the present utility model.
[0027] It should be noted that: similar reference numerals and letters represent similar items in the following accompanying drawings. Therefore, once an item is defined in one accompanying drawing, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent accompanying drawings.
[0028] In the description of the present utility model, it should be noted that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by terms such as "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, or the orientation or positional relationship in which the utility model product is customarily placed during use. It is only for the convenience of describing the present utility model and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as a limitation to the present utility model. In addition, terms such as "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used for distinguishing descriptions and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.
[0029] In addition, terms such as "horizontal" and "vertical" do not mean that the components are required to be absolutely horizontal or hanging vertically, but can be slightly inclined. For example, "horizontal" only means that its direction is more horizontal relative to "vertical", and does not mean that the structure must be completely horizontal, but can be slightly inclined.
[0030] In the description of the present utility model, it should also be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "set", "installed", "connected", "coupled" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present utility model can be understood according to specific situations.
[0031] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , this embodiment provides a wafer carrier, which includes a support disk 10 and at least one extension disk 20; the support disk 10 and the extension disk 20 are arranged side by side, one side of the support disk 10 facing the extension disk 20 has a first mating portion 11, and one side of the extension disk 20 facing the support disk 10 is provided with a second mating portion 21. The outer shapes of the first mating portion 11 and the second mating portion 21 are adapted, and the first mating portion 11 and the second mating portion 21 are detachably connected. This wafer carrier can be applicable to wafers of at least two different sizes, improving the versatility of the wafer carrier.
[0032] The wafer carrier provided in this application includes a support disk 10 and an extension disk 20, wherein, the support disk 10 and the extension disk 20 are as Figure 2As shown in a side-by-side arrangement, in this embodiment, the above-mentioned support disk 10 can be used to separately support the wafer to be carried; alternatively, the above-mentioned support disk 10 can cooperate with the extension disk 20 to jointly carry the wafer to be carried. In this way, the wafer carrier of the present application can carry wafers of one size through the support disk 10, and can also carry wafers of another size through the cooperation of the support disk 10 and the extension disk 20. It should be noted that when the support disk 10 is used to separately carry the wafer, the size of the wafer it carries should be smaller than the size of the wafer that can be carried by the cooperation of the support disk 10 and the extension disk 20.
[0033] The above-mentioned support disk 10 has a support surface, and the wafer to be carried is placed on the support surface of the support disk 10 to carry the wafer to be carried. To prevent damage to the wafer to be carried, the support surface of the support disk 10 should be a flat surface, as Figure 2 shown.
[0034] In addition, it should be noted that the present application does not limit the specific shape and thickness of the support disk 10, and can be selected according to actual needs.
[0035] Since the wafer to be carried is likely to generate static electricity when the contact area with the support disk 10 is large, which affects the quality of the devices formed later, in this embodiment, grooves or hollow areas can be provided on the support disk 10 to reduce the contact area between the wafer to be carried and the support disk 10. For example, optionally, the support disk 10 is in an X shape, as Figure 2 shown.
[0036] In addition, a first mating portion 11 is further provided on one side of the support disk 10 of the present application facing the extension disk 20. The above-mentioned extension disk 20 is provided on one side of the support disk 10, and a second mating portion 21 is provided on the side of the extension disk 20 facing the support disk 10. In this way, the first mating portion 11 and the second mating portion 21 cooperate with each other and are detachably connected, and the user can assemble the support disk 10 and the extension disk 20 together or use the support disk 10 alone according to needs.
[0037] The outer shapes of the above-mentioned first mating portion 11 and second mating portion 21 are adapted. The present application does not limit the specific shapes of the first mating portion 11 and the second mating portion 21, and those skilled in the art can select them according to needs.
[0038] For example, optionally, the first mating portion 11 is a groove recessed on the side of the support disk 10 facing the extension disk 20, and the second mating portion 21 is a protrusion protruding on the side of the extension disk 20 facing the support disk 10. The groove and the protrusion are adapted in shape. In this way, the groove and the protrusion can cooperate with each other to form a complete structure, and the integrity of the finally formed wafer carrier is better.
[0039] In addition, it should be noted that the first mating part 11 and the second mating part 21 of the present application are detachably connected. In this way, when it is necessary to support a small-sized wafer to be carried, the extension plate 20 can be selected not to be installed, and only the support plate 10 is used alone; when it is necessary to support a large-sized wafer to be carried, the extension plate 20 and the support plate 10 can be assembled and used together.
[0040] In summary, the wafer carrier provided by the present application includes a support plate 10 and at least one extension plate 20; the support plate 10 and the extension plate 20 are arranged side by side. The side of the support plate 10 facing the extension plate 20 has a first mating part 11, and the side of the extension plate 20 facing the support plate 10 is provided with a second mating part 21. The outer shapes of the first mating part 11 and the second mating part 21 are adapted, and the first mating part 11 and the second mating part 21 are detachably connected. By providing the support plate 10 and the extension plate 20 in the present application, in this way, when it is necessary to carry a small-sized wafer to be carried, the support plate 10 can be used alone for support, and when it is necessary to carry a large-sized wafer to be carried, the support plate 10 and the extension plate 20 can be detachably connected together, so that the support plate 10 and the extension plate 20 are combined to support the wafer to be carried. In this way, the wafer carrier of the present application can be applicable to at least two different sizes of wafers, improving the versatility of the wafer carrier.
[0041] Optionally, in this embodiment, along the thickness direction of the support plate 10, the orthographic projection of the above-mentioned groove on the support plate 10 is V-shaped. That is to say, the above-mentioned first mating part 11 is a V-shaped groove. In this way, due to the adaptation of the outer shapes of the groove and the protrusion, correspondingly, the above-mentioned protrusion is a V-shaped protrusion, and the tip of the V-shaped protrusion is aligned with the V-shaped groove. The cooperation of the V-shaped groove and the V-shaped protrusion in the present application can improve the bonding force and frictional force after the support plate 10 and the extension plate 20 are spliced, so that the cooperation reliability between the support plate 10 and the extension plate 20 is better.
[0042] In this embodiment, as Figure 2 shown, optionally, the wafer carrier further includes a pin 30. The pin 30 is connected to the side of the second mating part 21 facing the first mating part 11, and a pin hole 12 is provided on the first mating part 11. The pin 30 is used to be inserted into the pin hole 12. That is to say, the detachable connection between the support plate 10 and the extension plate 20 can be realized through the cooperation of the pin 30 and the pin hole 12 in the present application. Of course, this detachable connection method is only an example. In other embodiments, other detachable connection methods can also be adopted, such as snap connection, screw connection, etc.
[0043] In addition, it should be noted that the positions of the above-mentioned pin 30 and the pin hole 12 can also be interchanged, that is, the pin 30 can be arranged on the side of the first mating part 11 facing the second mating part 21, and the pin hole 12 can be arranged on the side of the second mating part 21 facing the first mating part 11.
[0044] In addition, optionally, the side of the extension plate 20 facing away from the support plate 10 can be an arc surface. In this way, the edge of the wafer carrier can be made smoother, and damage to the wafer or other devices to be carried by the wafer carrier during the manufacturing process can be prevented.
[0045] Furthermore, in order to better carry the wafer to be carried, optionally, the support plate 10 and the extension plate 20 have the same thickness, and the support surface of the support plate 10 and the support surface of the extension plate 20 are flush. In this way, the forces on various parts of the wafer to be carried located on the wafer carrier are consistent, and better support force can be provided for the wafer to be carried.
[0046] Optionally, in this embodiment, the above-mentioned extension plate 20 can include two, as Figure 2 shown, the two extension plates 20 are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the support plate 10, and the second engaging portions 21 of the two extension plates 20 are respectively detachably connected to the first engaging portions 11 of the support plate 10. In this way, the area of the wafer carrier can be further increased, so that the wafer carrier can carry larger-sized wafers to be carried.
[0047] On the other hand of the present utility model, please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 , a wafer carrying device is provided, which includes a housing 210 and the above-mentioned wafer carrier. The housing 210 has a receiving cavity 211. Inside the receiving cavity 211, two groups of support plate groups 220 are arranged side by side and at intervals along a first direction a. The support plate groups 220 are connected to the inner wall of the housing 210, and each group of support plate groups 220 includes a plurality of spaced support plates 221 arranged along a second direction b. The gap between two adjacent support plates 221 in each group of support plate groups 220 forms a support groove 222. Opposite ends of the wafer carrier are respectively placed on two corresponding support grooves 222 in the two groups of support plate groups 220; the first direction a and the second direction b are perpendicular, and the dimension of the support groove 222 along the second direction b is greater than the sum of the thicknesses of the wafer carrier and the wafer to be carried.
[0048] The above-mentioned housing 210 has a receiving cavity 211 and at least one opening. Among them, the receiving cavity 211 and the opening are communicated. In this embodiment, the user can place the wafer to be carried into the receiving cavity 211 through this opening.
[0049] The support plate group 220 includes two groups. The two groups of support plate groups 220 are both arranged inside the receiving cavity 211, and the two groups of support plate groups 220 are respectively connected to the inner wall of the housing 210. In this embodiment, the two groups of support plate groups 220 are arranged at intervals.
[0050] Among them, each set of support plate groups 220 includes a plurality of support plates 221. The plurality of support plates 221 are arranged along the second direction b, and adjacent support plates 221 are spaced apart. The gap between two adjacent support plates 221 forms a support groove 222. In this way, the support grooves 222 provided oppositely by the two sets of support plate groups 220 can be used to support the opposite ends of the wafer carrier. That is, the opposite ends of the wafer carrier are respectively supported at the support groove 222 of one set of support plate groups 220 and the support groove 222 of the other set of support plate groups 220 provided oppositely to the support groove 222.
[0051] It should be noted that the number of the plurality of support grooves 222 of the two sets of support plate groups 220 is the same and they correspond to each other one by one. The two corresponding support grooves 222 are located at the same height.
[0052] Furthermore, optionally, there is a gap 230 between one side of any set of support plate groups 220 facing away from the other set of support plate groups 220 and the inner wall of the housing 210. The size of the gap 230 is greater than the thickness of the support plate 10 of the wafer carrier. In this way, the gap 230 can be used to accommodate the redundant support plates 10 or extension plates 20, thereby improving the turnover efficiency.
[0053] The above are only the optional embodiments of the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention can have various changes and modifications. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.
[0054] In addition, it should be noted that in the above specific embodiments, the various specific technical features described can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. To avoid unnecessary repetition, the present invention will not separately describe various possible combination manners.
Claims
1. A wafer carrier, characterized in that: It includes a support plate and at least one extension plate; the support plate and the extension plate are arranged side by side, the support plate has a first matching portion on the side facing the extension plate, and the extension plate has a second matching portion on the side facing the support plate, the first matching portion and the second matching portion are adapted in shape, and the first matching portion and the second matching portion are detachably connected.
2. The wafer carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first matching portion is a groove recessed on the side of the support plate facing the extension plate, and the second matching portion is a protrusion protruding on the side of the extension plate facing the support plate. The groove and the protrusion are matched in shape.
3. The wafer carrier according to claim 2, characterized in that: Along the thickness direction of the support plate, the orthographic projection of the groove on the support plate is V-shaped.
4. The wafer carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wafer carrier also includes a latch, which is connected to a side of the second matching portion facing the first matching portion. The first matching portion is provided with a latch hole, and the latch is used to be inserted into the latch hole.
5. The wafer carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The supporting plate is in an X shape.
6. The wafer carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: A side of the extension plate facing away from the support plate is an arc-shaped surface.
7. The wafer carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support plate and the extension plate have the same thickness, and the support surface of the support plate and the support surface of the extension plate are arranged flush.
8. The wafer carrier according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The extension plates include two, the two extension plates are respectively arranged at two opposite sides of the support plate, and the second matching parts of the two extension plates are respectively detachably connected to the first matching parts of the support plate.
9. A wafer carrying device, characterized in that: It comprises a shell and the wafer carrier as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, the shell having a containing cavity, the containing cavity being provided with two groups of support plate groups arranged side by side and at intervals along a first direction, the support plate groups being connected to the inner wall of the shell, and each group of the support plate groups comprising a plurality of spaced support plates arranged along a second direction, the gap between two adjacent support plates of each group of the support plate groups forming a support groove, the opposite ends of the wafer carrier being respectively arranged at two corresponding support grooves in the two groups of the support plate groups; the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, and the size of the support groove along the second direction is greater than the sum of the thicknesses of the wafer carrier and the wafer to be carried.
10. The wafer carrying device according to claim 9, characterized in that: A gap is formed between a side of any one group of the support plate groups facing away from another group of the support plate groups and the inner wall of the shell, and a size of the gap is greater than a thickness of the support plate of the wafer carrier.