Wafer rewinding device for converting wafer boat type into non-wafer boat type

Abstract

The utility model, which belongs to the technical field of the semiconductor equipment, provides a wafer reversing apparatus for converting a wafer from a boat type to an amorphous boat type, comprising a wafer supporting mechanism having a supporting part; the wafer boat bracket is provided with a first through hole through which the supporting part can penetrate; the wafer boat is used for bearing a wafer, and the wafer boat is carried on the wafer boat bracket; one end of the lifting driving mechanism is connected with the wafer boat bracket so as to drive the wafer boat bracket to ascend or descend; the wafer boat bracket is provided with a first position and a second position which ascend or descend in the vertical direction, when the wafer boat bracket descends to the second position from the first position, the supporting part of the wafer supporting mechanism penetrates through the first through hole, the wafer boat descends to be separated from the wafer, and meanwhile the wafer is borne on the supporting part. The wafer boat bracket has the beneficial effects that the wafer boat bracket has a lifting function, and the wafer boat bracket can be separated from a wafer, so that the transformation from a wafer boat type to an amorphous boat type is realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductor equipment, in particular to a wafer flipping device that can be converted from a cassette type to a cassette less type. Background Art

[0002] In the process of semiconductor manufacturing, wafers are usually placed in cassettes for easy storage and transportation. In the technical field of semiconductor equipment, cassette type machines and cassette less machines are widely used semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

[0003] Compared with cassette less machines, cassette type machines generally have a cassette cleaning function. After the process tank is positioned by the cassette limit block, the cassette is processed.

[0004] However, cassette type machines have certain defects. Since the cassette and the wafer need to be placed in the process tank for cleaning together, the cleaning effect on the wafer is not as good as that of the cassette less machine cleaning the wafer alone. Moreover, during the handling of the cassette, the cassette structure design will cause cleaning liquid residues, affecting the process processing effect. In addition, the process tank of the cassette type machine has a larger volume, making the liquid change time of the process tank longer than that of the cassette less machine, which will affect the production capacity of the machine. Summary of the Utility Model

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the utility model provides a wafer flipping device that can be converted from a cassette type to a cassette less type.

[0006] The technical problems solved by the utility model can be realized by adopting the following technical solutions:

[0007] A wafer flipping device that can be converted from a cassette type to a cassette less type, comprising:

[0008] A wafer support mechanism, the wafer support mechanism having a support portion;

[0009] A cassette bracket, the cassette bracket having a first through hole through which the support portion can pass;

[0010] A cassette for carrying wafers, the cassette being mounted on the cassette bracket;

[0011] A lifting drive mechanism, one end of the lifting drive mechanism being connected to the cassette bracket to drive the cassette bracket to rise or fall;

[0012] The susceptor bracket has a first position and a second position that can move up or down in the vertical direction. When the susceptor bracket descends from the first position to the second position, the support part of the wafer support mechanism passes through the first through hole, and the susceptor descends to be separated from the wafer. At the same time, the wafer is carried on the support part.

[0013] Preferably, the wafer support mechanism includes:

[0014] A support base, which includes a bottom plate and two support members. The two support members are arranged in parallel at intervals on the bottom plate;

[0015] Two wafer brackets, which are respectively fixed on the support members, and the two wafers respectively have the support parts.

[0016] Preferably, the distance between the support parts of the two wafer brackets is less than the diameter of the wafer.

[0017] Preferably, it further includes:

[0018] A transfer mechanism, which includes a first transfer mechanism for transferring the wafer and a second transfer mechanism for transferring the susceptor.

[0019] Preferably, the lifting drive mechanism includes: a power component and a transmission component. One end of the transmission component is connected to the power component through a transmission connection part, and the other end of the transmission component is connected to the susceptor bracket through a bracket connection part.

[0020] Preferably, the transmission component includes:

[0021] A mounting and fixing frame, which includes a fixing plate, a first mounting plate and a second mounting plate. The first mounting plate and the second mounting plate are respectively vertically arranged at both ends of the fixing plate;

[0022] A lead screw-nut assembly. One end of the lead screw-nut assembly passes through the second through hole on the first mounting plate and is connected to the power component through the transmission connection part. The other end of the lead screw-nut assembly passes through the third through hole on the second mounting plate and is connected to the susceptor bracket through the bracket connection part;

[0023] Two linear guide rail assemblies, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the lead screw-nut assembly. Each linear guide rail assembly includes a guide rail and a slider. The guide rail is fixedly arranged on the fixing plate. One end of the slider is slidably connected to the guide rail, and the other end of the slider is fixedly connected to the nut of the lead screw-nut assembly through a slider connection part.

[0024] Preferably, a limit component is provided on the guide rail.

[0025] Preferably, it further includes:

[0026] A position-in-place detection mechanism, which includes a zero-position detection mechanism and two extreme-position detection mechanisms. The zero-position detection mechanism and the two extreme-position detection mechanisms adopt photoelectric detection components.

[0027] Preferably, the photoelectric detection component includes:

[0028] A photoelectric inductor and an induction sheet. One of the photoelectric inductor and the induction sheet is arranged on the installation and fixing frame through an induction bracket, and the other of the photoelectric inductor and the induction sheet is arranged on the slider connecting piece.

[0029] The advantages or beneficial effects of the technical solution of the present utility model lie in:

[0030] The susceptor of the present utility model has a lifting function, which can separate the susceptor from the wafer, thereby realizing the transformation from the susceptor type to the non-susceptor type. Description of the Drawings

[0031] Figure 1 In the preferred embodiment of the present utility model, it is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer flipping device;

[0032] Figure 2 In the preferred embodiment of the present utility model, it is a schematic structural diagram of the wafer flipping device from another perspective;

[0033] Figure 3 In the preferred embodiment of the present utility model, it is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer support mechanism;

[0034] Figure 4 In the preferred embodiment of the present utility model, it is a schematic structural diagram of a susceptor;

[0035] Figure 5 In the preferred embodiment of the present utility model, it is a schematic structural diagram of a lifting drive mechanism;

[0036] Figure 6 In the preferred embodiment of the present utility model, it is an action logic diagram of the device. Detailed Embodiments

[0037] Next, in combination with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present utility model, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present utility model, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present utility model.

[0038] It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments in the present utility model and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other.

[0039] The present utility model will be further described below in combination with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, but it is not a limitation of the present utility model.

[0040] See Figure 1 and Figure 2 In a preferred embodiment of the present utility model, in view of the above problems existing in the prior art, a wafer flipping device that changes from a cassette type to a cassette less type is provided, including:

[0041] A wafer support mechanism 1, and the wafer support mechanism 1 has a support portion 11;

[0042] A cassette holder 2, and the cassette holder 2 has a first through hole 21 through which the support portion can pass;

[0043] A cassette 4 for carrying the wafer 5, and the cassette is mounted on the cassette holder 2;

[0044] A lifting drive mechanism 3, one end of the lifting drive mechanism 3 is connected to the cassette holder 2 to drive the cassette holder 2 to rise or fall;

[0045] The cassette holder 2 has a first position and a second position that rise or fall in the vertical direction. When the cassette holder 2 descends from the first position to the second position, the support portion of the wafer support mechanism 1 passes through the first through hole, and the cassette descends to be separated from the wafer, and at the same time the wafer is carried on the support portion.

[0046] Specifically, in this embodiment, first, the cassette holder is improved to add a lifting function of moving up and down, and the lifting operation is driven by a servo motor. Secondly, the wafer support mechanism 1 is improved so that during the descent of the cassette holder, the wafer is directly carried on the support portion of the wafer support mechanism 1, thereby realizing the separation of the wafer from the cassette and realizing the transformation from the Cassette type to the Cassette less type.

[0047] Compared with the prior art in which the susceptor holds the wafer for cleaning in the slot, the utility model can realize the separation of the wafer and the susceptor, improve the process performance of the existing cassette type machine tool, and thus increase the value attribute of the machine tool.

[0048] As a preferred embodiment, wherein, as Figure 3 shown, the wafer support mechanism 1 includes:

[0049] A support base 12, the support base 12 includes a bottom plate 121 and two support members 122, and the two support members 122 are arranged in parallel at intervals on the bottom plate 121;

[0050] Two wafer carriers 13, the two wafer carriers 13 are respectively fixed on the support members 122, and the two wafer carriers 13 respectively have support portions 11.

[0051] Specifically, the wafer support mechanism 1 can be arranged in the processing slot, and the bottom plate 121 of the support base 12 is fixed on the inner wall bottom of the processing slot. The horizontal height of the support portion 11 is higher than the horizontal height of the susceptor and the susceptor carrier, so that when the susceptor carrier descends until the wafer is directly carried on the support portion 11, the wafer can be separated from the susceptor, realizing the transformation from Cassettetype to Cassette less.

[0052] Furthermore, the support portion 11 is in a comb shape. The support portion 11 can be made of, including but not limited to, PEEK material and PCTFE material, and the corresponding material can be selected according to the requirement of scuffing the wafer edge.

[0053] As a preferred embodiment, wherein the distance between the support portions 11 of the two wafer carriers 13 is less than the diameter of the wafer.

[0054] Specifically, the interval distance between the two support portions 11 is less than the diameter of the wafer, so that after the wafer is directly carried on the support portion 11, the stability of the wafer can be effectively maintained, avoiding the wafer from sliding or tilting during the movement; at the same time, it is convenient to use the arm to clamp the wafer.

[0055] As Figure 4 shown, the susceptor carrier 2 includes a susceptor carrier body 20, and the susceptor carrier body 20 is fixedly connected to the lifting drive mechanism 3 through a carrier connecting rod 22. A first through hole 21 is arranged on the susceptor carrier body 20, and the number of the first through holes 21 arranged corresponds to the support portion 11 one by one.

[0056] As a preferred embodiment, wherein, as Figure 5As shown in the figure, the lifting drive mechanism 3 includes: a power component 31 and a transmission component 32. One end of the transmission component is connected to the power component through a transmission connection component 33, and the other end of the transmission component is connected to the susceptor bracket through a bracket connection component 34.

[0057] Furthermore, the power component uses a motor to provide power. The motor not only provides reliable power support for the smooth movement in the Z-axis direction, but also ensures the transmission accuracy of the transmission mechanism.

[0058] The utility model uses a servo motor as the transmission component. The servo motor has the advantages of very accurate control of speed and position accuracy, and can convert the voltage signal into torque and speed to drive the control object. Its rotor speed is controlled by the input signal and can respond quickly. It is used as an actuator in the automatic control system. The servo motor has characteristics such as small electromechanical time constant, high linearity, and starting voltage, and can convert the received electrical signal into angular displacement or angular velocity output on the motor shaft, and realize the smooth movement of the mechanism according to the settings of the equipment parameters by the on-site debugging personnel.

[0059] Furthermore, by setting the motor parameters to control the moving stroke and speed, it is usually set to multi-band variable speed motion to avoid edge abrasion of the wafer due to speed mismatch during the transfer process, and meet the requirements of some customers for wafer edge abrasion.

[0060] As a preferred embodiment, among them, the transmission component 32 includes:

[0061] A mounting and fixing frame 321, which includes a fixing plate 3211, a first mounting plate 3212 and a second mounting plate 3213. The first mounting plate 3212 and the second mounting plate 3213 are respectively vertically arranged at both ends of the fixing plate 3211;

[0062] A lead screw nut assembly 322. One end of the lead screw nut assembly 322 passes through the second through hole on the first mounting plate 3212 and is connected to the power component 31 through a transmission connection component 33. The other end of the lead screw nut assembly 322 passes through the third through hole on the second mounting plate 3213 and is connected to the susceptor bracket through a bracket connection component;

[0063] Two linear guide rail assemblies 323 are respectively arranged on both sides of the lead screw nut assembly. Each linear guide rail assembly respectively includes a guide rail 3231 and a slider 3232. The guide rail is fixedly arranged on the fixing plate. One end of the slider is slidably connected to the guide rail, and the other end of the slider is fixedly connected to the nut (not shown in the figure) of the lead screw nut assembly through a slider connection component 324.

[0064] Further, a sleeve 325 is sleeved outside the nut. The sleeve 325 is fixedly connected to the nut and the slider connecting member 324. One end of the sleeve 325 is connected to the slider connecting member 324 through a flange, and the other end is connected to the bracket connecting member 34 through a flange.

[0065] It should be noted that the screw nut assembly 322 and the linear guide rail assembly 323 are common technical means in the prior art, and the present invention will not elaborate on them here, but they should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

[0066] As a preferred embodiment, a limit assembly 326 is provided on the guide rail 3231.

[0067] As a preferred embodiment, it further includes:

[0068] A position-in-place detection mechanism 6, which includes a zero-position detection mechanism 61 and two extreme-position detection mechanisms 62. The zero-position detection mechanism 61 and the two extreme-position detection mechanisms 62 adopt optoelectronic detection components.

[0069] As a preferred embodiment, the optoelectronic detection component includes:

[0070] An optoelectronic inductor and an induction sheet. One of the optoelectronic inductor and the induction sheet is arranged on the mounting and fixing frame 321 through an induction bracket, and the other is arranged on the slider connecting member 324.

[0071] Further, the optoelectronic detection component is composed of an optoelectronic inductor and an induction sheet (metal). Its main principle is that one of them is installed on a moving part (such as the slider connecting member 324), and the optoelectronic sensor is in a U shape. When the induction sheet passes through the U-shaped inner metal induction area of the sensor, the sensor is triggered and corresponding instructions are sent to the machine platform. The functions of the optoelectronic induction component include: protection of important moving parts, ensuring the accuracy of the transfer position, and detecting whether the wafer has been transferred to the specified position.

[0072] As a preferred embodiment, it further includes:

[0073] A transfer mechanism, which includes a first transfer mechanism 7 for transferring wafers and a second transfer mechanism (not shown in the figure) for transferring cassettes.

[0074] Specifically, the transfer mechanism includes a first transfer mechanism 7 and a second transfer mechanism. Both the first transfer mechanism 7 and the second transfer mechanism can be implemented by a robotic arm to transfer wafers and cassettes through the robotic arm.

[0075] Further, the first transfer mechanism 7 is used to transfer the wafer to the subsequent process processing tank; the second transfer mechanism is used to transfer the boat carrying the wafer 5 to the boat bracket and to pick up the empty boat and transfer it to the load discharge end.

[0076] The operation logic of the device of the present utility model is as Figure 6 shown. First, the second transfer mechanism places the boat in the boat bracket, that is, at this time the boat bracket is in the first position; then, it drives the boat bracket to do a descending action through the servo motor, so that the boat bracket is in the second position, and the separation of the wafer and the boat is completed; then, the first transfer mechanism 7 grabs the wafer on the support part 11 and rises and quickly moves it to other processing tanks (process tank); finally, the boat bracket is raised. The empty boat is raised to the first position, and the second transfer mechanism is used to pick up the boat and move it to the load discharge end. The device operation ends, that is, the transformation from Cassette type to Cassette less is realized.

[0077] In this embodiment, to realize the transformation from the cassette type structure to the cassette less structure, two transfer mechanisms are required. First, the second transfer mechanism grabs the boat carrying the wafer 5 from the previous processing tank and sends it to the CST OUT tank; then, the boat is driven to descend by the motor. During the descending process, the support part 11 (guide) made of PCTFE will support the wafer, realizing the separation of the wafer and the boat; then, the first transfer mechanism 7 grabs the wafer, and finally realizes the transformation of the cassette type structure to the cassette less structure.

[0078] The advantages or beneficial effects of adopting the above technical solutions are as follows: The boat bracket of the present utility model has a lifting function, which can separate the boat bracket from the wafer, thereby realizing the transformation from the boat type to the non-boat type.

[0079] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present utility model, and do not limit the implementation manners and protection scope of the present utility model. For those skilled in the art, it should be realized that all equivalent replacements and obvious changes made by using the content of this specification and the drawings should be included in the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A wafer flipping device that transforms from a wafer boat type to a non-wafer boat type, characterized in that: include: a wafer support mechanism, the wafer support mechanism having a support portion; a wafer boat bracket, the wafer boat bracket having a first through hole through which the support portion can pass; a wafer boat for carrying wafers, wherein the wafer boat is mounted on the wafer boat bracket; a lifting drive mechanism, one end of which is connected to the wafer boat bracket to drive the wafer boat bracket to rise or fall; The wafer boat holder has a first position and a second position that can be raised or lowered in a vertical direction. When the wafer boat holder descends from the first position to the second position, the supporting portion of the wafer supporting mechanism passes through the first through hole, and the wafer boat descends to be separated from the wafer, while the wafer is supported on the supporting portion.

2. The wafer flipping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wafer supporting mechanism comprises: A support base, the support base comprises a bottom plate and two support members, the two support members are arranged on the bottom plate in parallel and at intervals; Two wafer brackets are respectively fixed on the supporting member, and the two wafer brackets respectively have the supporting part.

3. The wafer flipping device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The distance between the supporting parts of the two wafer brackets is smaller than the diameter of the wafer.

4. The wafer flipping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: The transport mechanism includes a first transport mechanism for transporting the wafer and a second transport mechanism for transporting the wafer boat.

5. The wafer flipping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting drive mechanism includes: a power assembly and a transmission assembly, one end of the transmission assembly is connected to the power assembly through a transmission connecting component, and the other end of the transmission assembly is connected to the wafer boat bracket through a bracket connecting component.

6. The wafer flipping device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The transmission assembly comprises: A mounting bracket, the mounting bracket comprising a fixing plate, a first mounting plate and a second mounting plate, wherein the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate are respectively vertically arranged at two ends of the fixing plate; A screw nut assembly, one end of which passes through a second through hole on the first mounting plate and is connected to the power assembly through the transmission connection component, and the other end of which passes through a third through hole on the second mounting plate and is connected to the wafer boat bracket through the bracket connection component; Two linear guide assemblies, the two linear guide assemblies are respectively arranged on both sides of the screw nut assembly, each of the linear guide assemblies comprises a guide rail and a slider, the guide rail is fixedly arranged on the fixed plate, one end of the slider is slidably connected to the guide rail, and the other end of the slider is fixedly connected to the nut of the screw nut assembly through a slider connector.

7. The wafer flipping device according to claim 6, characterized in that: A limit position component is arranged on the guide rail.

8. The wafer flipping device according to claim 6, characterized in that: Also includes: The in-place detection mechanism comprises a zero-position detection mechanism and two limit-position detection mechanisms, and the zero-position detection mechanism and the two limit-position detection mechanisms adopt photoelectric detection components.

9. The wafer flipping device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The photoelectric detection component comprises: A photoelectric sensor and a sensing sheet, one of the photoelectric sensor and the sensing sheet is arranged on the mounting bracket through a sensing bracket, and the other of the photoelectric sensor and the sensing sheet is arranged on the slider connector.

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