Batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment

Abstract

The utility model provides a batch silicon carbide wafer code printing device which comprises a machine table, a transfer manipulator arranged on the machine table, a material placing carrying table, a positioning detection module and a laser code printing module, and the material placing carrying table, the positioning detection module and the laser code printing module are distributed around the transfer manipulator in a fan-shaped mode. Comprising a fixed platform, a feeding bin and a discharging bin, the feeding bin and the discharging bin are arranged on the fixed platform, the transfer manipulator comprises a lifting mechanism, a rotating platform, a linear module and a mechanical arm, the lifting mechanism is arranged on a machine table and extends towards the lower portion of the machine table, and the linear module is arranged on the lifting mechanism through the rotating platform; the mechanical arm is arranged on the linear module, and the rotating platform drives the mechanical arm to carry a wafer to be coded to be transferred among the material containing carrying table, the positioning detection module and the laser coding module. The device is simple and compact in structure, small in size and suitable for code printing of wafers of various sizes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of lasers, in particular to a batch silicon carbide wafer coding device. Background Art

[0002] Silicon carbide (SiC) is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material with higher thermal conductivity, electron mobility, and breakdown electric field than silicon (Si). This gives silicon carbide wafers advantages in high-temperature, high-voltage, and high-frequency applications. During the production process of silicon carbide wafers, they undergo operations such as slicing, coding, and cutting. In order to count, identify, and monitor the quality of the wafers, it is usually necessary to code the surface of the wafer for identification and tracking and monitoring during the subsequent chip preparation process. Currently, the equipment for coding wafers generally uses a linear conveyor line to transport the wafers one by one to the laser for coding. This equipment structure is complex, and the loading and unloading are located at both ends of the linear conveyor line, making the overall equipment larger and naturally occupying a large area. This is costly and places high demands on the factory building. Utility Model Content

[0003] In view of the above, the utility model provides a batch silicon carbide wafer coding device with a simple and compact structure and a small size, which is suitable for coding wafers of various sizes.

[0004] The utility model specifically adopts the following technical scheme: a batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment, including a machine platform, a transfer robot arranged on the machine platform, and a material placement carrier, a positioning detection module, and a laser coding module distributed in a fan shape around the transfer robot. The material placement carrier is arranged at the loading end of the machine platform, including a fixed platform and an upper and lower material bins arranged on the fixed platform. The transfer robot includes a lifting mechanism, a rotating platform, a linear module and a robotic arm. The lifting mechanism is arranged on the machine platform and extends below the machine platform. The linear module is arranged on the lifting mechanism through the rotating platform. The robotic arm is arranged on the linear module. The rotating platform drives the robotic arm to carry the wafer to be coded to circulate between the material placement carrier, the positioning detection module, and the laser coding module.

[0005] As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, the robotic arm includes a rotating component and a material arm. The material arm is arranged on the linear module through the rotating component. A vacuum suction cup is provided at the end of the material arm for adsorbing wafers.

[0006] As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, the upper hopper and the lower hopper have the same structure, both including a base and a material box. The base is provided with a plurality of grooves arranged in concentric rectangular rings for placing material boxes of different sizes.

[0007] As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, multiple layers of baffles are arranged in parallel and symmetrical manner on the inner wall of the material box, and the wafer is inserted on each layer of baffles.

[0008] As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, the positioning detection module includes a positioning camera, a first light source and a second light source. The positioning camera is set on the machine through a bracket, and the first light source is set on the bracket and located below the positioning camera.

[0009] As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, the second light source is arranged on the machine platform directly below the positioning camera, the second light source is a flat backlight source, and the size of the second light source is larger than the size of the wafer to be coded.

[0010] As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, the first light source is a ring-shaped light source.

[0011] As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, the laser coding module includes a laser lifting module and a laser, a laser head, and a dust suction mechanism arranged thereon.

[0012] As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, the laser is arranged on the laser lifting module through a carrier plate, and the laser head and the dust suction mechanism are mounted on the carrier plate through a connecting plate.

[0013] As a further improved technical solution of the present invention, the dust suction mechanism includes a trumpet-shaped exhaust head and an exhaust pipeline. The trumpet mouth of the exhaust head corresponds to the coding position below the laser head for exhausting air, and the exhaust pipeline is connected to an exhaust pump outside the equipment.

[0014] The batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment of this utility model has a material placement platform, a positioning detection module, and a laser coding module distributed in a fan shape around the transfer robot on the machine platform. The transfer robot has a multi-degree-of-freedom motion joint that can flexibly drive the mechanical arm to carry the wafers to be coded to circulate between various workstations, quickly completing a series of tasks such as loading, positioning, coding, detection, and unloading. The overall equipment structure is simple and compact, with a small size, a small footprint, and low cost. Moreover, loading and unloading are both at the loading end of the machine platform, which facilitates loading and unloading operations. At the same time, a detachable and replaceable material box is set on the material placement platform at the loading end to facilitate the adaptation to carrying wafers of various sizes. Each material box has a multi-layer design that can accommodate batches of wafers to be coded and wafers that have completed coding, further improving the adaptability of the equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2This is a plan view of the batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment of the utility model.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the base of the batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are intended only to illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. It should also be noted that, for ease of description, the accompanying drawings only illustrate portions relevant to the present invention, not all of its components.

[0019] Reference Figure 1-Figure 2 The batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment of this embodiment includes a machine 1, a transfer robot 2 arranged on the machine 1, a material placement platform 3 distributed in a fan shape around the transfer robot 2, a positioning detection module 4, and a laser coding module 5. The material placement platform 3 is arranged at the loading end of the machine 1, and includes a fixed platform 31 and a loading bin 32 and a unloading bin 33 arranged on the fixed platform 31. The loading bin 32 and the unloading bin 33 have the same structure and are divided into two bins, loading and unloading, for placing uncoded wafers and coded wafers respectively. The transfer robot 2 includes a lifting mechanism 21, a rotating platform 22, a linear module 23 and a robotic arm 24. The lifting mechanism 21 is arranged on the machine platform 1 and extends to the bottom of the machine platform 1, and is used for the lifting and lowering drive of the transfer robot 2. The linear module 23 is arranged on the lifting mechanism 21 through the rotating platform 22. The rotating platform 22 can drive the linear module 23 to rotate so that the robotic arm 24 can be aligned with the surrounding workstations. The robotic arm 24 is arranged on the linear module 23, which is used to drive the robotic arm 24 to perform linear motion of extension and retraction. The multi-degree-of-freedom movement of the lifting mechanism 21, the rotating platform 22, and the linear module 23 can flexibly drive the robotic arm 24 to carry the wafer to be coded to revolve between the material loading platform 3, the positioning detection module 4, and the laser coding module 5 for operation. The robotic arm 24 also includes a rotating component 241 and a material arm 242. The material arm 242 is set on the linear module 23 through the rotating component 241. The end of the material arm 242 is provided with a vacuum suction cup 243 for adsorbing the wafer. The rotating component 241 is preferably a rotating cylinder to drive the material arm 242 to rotate, drive the wafer to turn over, and thus perform switching operations on both sides of the wafer.

[0020] Furthermore, the upper bin 32 and the lower bin 33 have the same structure, both including a base 321 and a material box 322. The base 321 is provided with a plurality of grooves 323 arranged along concentric rectangular rings for placing material boxes 322 of different sizes. The material boxes 322 are directly inserted into the grooves 323 for easy and timely replacement. At the same time, the inner wall of the material box 322 is provided with multiple layers of symmetrical bars, and the wafers are inserted on each layer of bars. Multiple wafers can be inserted in each material box 322 to achieve batch loading and unloading. As in this embodiment, Figure 3 , there are two layers of grooves 323, namely the first groove 323a and the second groove 323b. The second groove 323b is on the outer circle of the first groove 323a, and can be inserted into an 8-inch wafer cassette, while the first groove 323a is for inserting a 6-inch wafer cassette. In other embodiments, three or four layers of grooves can be set on the base 321, and 4-inch, 6-inch, 8-inch or 12-inch wafer cassettes can be inserted in sequence from the inner circle, so as to adapt to the use of wafer coding of various sizes.

[0021] The positioning and detection module 4 is not only used to locate the edge and center of the wafer before laser coding, but also to detect the wafer after coding. It includes a positioning camera 41, a first light source 42, and a second light source 43. The positioning camera 41 is mounted on the machine 1 via a bracket 44. The first light source 42 is mounted on the bracket 44 and is located below the positioning camera 41. The second light source 43 is mounted on the machine 1 directly below the positioning camera 41. The first light source 42 is a ring-shaped light source, and the second light source 43 is a flat-panel backlight. The size of the second light source 43 should be larger than the size of the wafer to be coded to ensure that the light source covers the entire wafer without shadows. This allows the positioning camera 41 to obtain a global image of the wafer at one time, accurately locate the edge and center of the wafer, and obtain a clear coded image of the wafer for detection and judgment.

[0022] The laser marking module 5 includes a laser lift module 51, mounted thereon with a laser 52, a laser head 53, and a dust collection mechanism 54. The laser 53 is mounted on the laser lift module 51 via a carrier plate 55. The laser head 53 and dust collection mechanism 54 are mounted on the carrier plate 55 via a connecting plate 56. The dust collection mechanism 54 includes a trumpet-shaped exhaust head and an exhaust pipeline. The trumpet of the exhaust head draws air from the marking position below the laser head. The exhaust pipeline is connected to an external exhaust pump to remove the smoke generated during the laser marking process.

[0023] When in use, select the material box 322 according to the size of the wafer to be processed, insert the batch of wafers into each layer of the material box in the upper material bin 32 at the loading end and place them, insert the material box 322 into the corresponding groove 323 on the base 321, start the equipment, and the material arm 242 of the material transport manipulator moves to the loading bin 32 station under the cooperation of the lifting mechanism 21 and the rotating platform 22. The linear module 23 controls the material arm 242 to extend into the loading bin 32 to absorb a wafer and take it out, and then the rotating platform 22 drives it to be transported to the bottom of the positioning camera 41 for wafer edge, center, The coding position is positioned, and then the material arm 242 transports the wafer to the laser coding module 5 according to the data fed back by the positioning camera 41, so that the position to be coded is just below the laser head 53, and the coding operation is performed. While coding, the dust suction mechanism 54 corresponding to the coding position below the laser head 53 extracts air to suck away the smoke generated during the laser coding process. After the coding is completed, it is transported back to the bottom of the positioning camera 41 for image scanning and detection to determine whether the coding is qualified. The results are recorded for traceability, and finally the wafer that has completed the inspection is transferred to the empty material box of the unloading bin 33 to be filled with unloading materials.

[0024] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "disposed" and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they can refer to mechanical connections or electrical connections; they can refer to direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to internal connections between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only to distinguish between different objects, not to describe a specific order, and should not be understood to indicate or imply relative importance.

[0025] In addition, the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the technical solutions described in the present invention. The understanding of this specification should be based on technical personnel in the relevant technical field. Although this specification has described the present invention in detail with reference to the above embodiments, ordinary technical personnel in this field should understand that technical personnel in the relevant technical field can still modify or replace the present invention with equivalents, and all technical solutions and improvements that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention should be covered by the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A batch silicon carbide wafer coding device, characterized by: It includes a machine platform, a transfer robot arranged on the machine platform, and a material placement carrier, a positioning detection module, and a laser coding module distributed in a fan shape around the transfer robot. The material placement carrier is arranged at the loading end of the machine platform, and includes a fixed platform and an upper and lower material bins arranged on the fixed platform. The transfer robot includes a lifting mechanism, a rotating platform, a linear module and a robotic arm. The lifting mechanism is arranged on the machine platform and extends below the machine platform. The linear module is arranged on the lifting mechanism through the rotating platform. The robotic arm is arranged on the linear module. The rotating platform drives the robotic arm to carry the wafer to be coded to revolve between the material placement carrier, the positioning detection module, and the laser coding module.

2. The batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robotic arm includes a rotating component and a material arm. The material arm is arranged on the linear module through the rotating component. A vacuum suction cup is provided at the end of the material arm for adsorbing wafers.

3. The batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper hopper and the lower hopper have the same structure, both comprising a base and a material box. The base is provided with a plurality of grooves arranged in a concentric rectangular ring shape for placing material boxes of different sizes.

4. The batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment according to claim 3 is characterized in that: Multiple layers of stop bars are arranged in parallel and symmetrical manner on the inner wall of the material box, and the wafers are inserted on each layer of the stop bars.

5. The batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The positioning detection module includes a positioning camera, a first light source and a second light source. The positioning camera is arranged on the machine platform through a bracket, and the first light source is arranged on the bracket and located below the positioning camera.

6. The batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that: The second light source is arranged on the machine platform directly below the positioning camera. The second light source is a flat backlight source. The size of the second light source is larger than the size of the wafer to be coded.

7. The batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that: The first light source is a ring light source.

8. The batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The laser coding module includes a laser lifting module and a laser, a laser head and a dust suction mechanism arranged thereon.

9. The batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment according to claim 8, characterized in that: The laser is arranged on the laser lifting module via a carrier plate, and the laser head and the dust collecting mechanism are mounted on the carrier plate via a connecting plate.

10. The batch silicon carbide wafer coding equipment according to claim 8, characterized in that: The dust suction mechanism includes a trumpet-shaped exhaust head and an exhaust pipeline. The trumpet mouth of the exhaust head corresponds to the coding position below the laser head for exhausting air, and the exhaust pipeline is connected to an exhaust pump outside the equipment.

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