Wafer boat exchange mechanism and double-cavity three-wafer boat wafer processing equipment

Abstract

The utility model discloses a wafer boat exchange mechanism and double-cavity three-wafer boat wafer processing equipment, the double-cavity three-wafer boat wafer processing equipment comprises two loading areas and an isolation door, and the two loading areas are separated by the isolation door; the wafer boat exchange mechanism is characterized in that the wafer boat exchange mechanism is used for exchanging wafer boats in the two loading areas, and the wafer boat exchange mechanism comprises a moving arm, two grabbing parts and a driving part; the moving arm is arranged at the bottom of a doorway of the isolation door; the two grabbing parts are arranged on the moving arm and used for grabbing the wafer boats in the two loading areas correspondingly. And the driving part is arranged at the bottom of the door opening of the isolation door and connected with the moving arm, and the driving part is used for driving the moving arm to move and drive the two grabbing parts to move and exchange in the two loading areas. According to the utility model, two crystal boats in the two loading areas are grabbed by the two grabbing parts, and then the moving arm is driven by the driving part to rotate so as to link the two grabbing parts to rotate and exchange in the two loading areas, so that the exchange requirement of the crystal boats in the two loading areas is met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductors, in particular to a wafer boat exchange mechanism and double-cavity three-wafer boat wafer processing equipment. Background Art

[0002] Among current semiconductor processing equipment, indirect batch furnaces, or furnaces that periodically load and unload materials, have two main types of equipment structures: single-chamber and dual-chamber. The dual-chamber structure can be divided into the traditional dual-chamber four-boat structure and the dual-chamber dual-boat structure. The dual-chamber four-boat structure retains the high efficiency of the traditional single-chamber dual-boat furnace tube, but it occupies a large space, and because its side requires more than 600mm of maintenance space, the two chambers cannot be installed back-to-back in parallel. While the dual-chamber dual-boat structure can solve the problem of back-to-back installation of the two chambers, the two boats in the two chambers must execute the same process simultaneously, thus sacrificing the advantage of the single-chamber dual-boat structure in which the two boats can execute different processes separately to improve process efficiency.

[0003] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems existing in the prior art, the existing Chinese patent document with patent number CN118053790A discloses a dual-chamber three-wafer boat wafer processing equipment. The equipment is designed with a dual-chamber time-staggered process design, realizing the process flow process of three wafer boats, thereby improving the process efficiency of the equipment.

[0004] In the design of this existing patented technology, based on the current dual-chamber process solution, it is necessary to use an exchange mechanism to realize the exchange of wafer boats in the two loading areas, and there is still a lack of a specific implementation plan. Utility Model Content

[0005] The utility model aims to provide a wafer boat exchange mechanism and a wafer processing device with two chambers and three wafer boats, aiming to solve the problem of how to exchange wafer boats between two loading areas in the existing dual-chamber process.

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, the purpose of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions: providing a wafer boat exchange mechanism, which is applied to a wafer processing device with two chambers and three wafer boats, wherein the wafer processing device with two chambers and three wafer boats includes two loading areas and an isolation door, wherein the two loading areas are separated by the isolation door; the wafer boat exchange mechanism is used to exchange wafer boats in the two loading areas, and the wafer boat exchange mechanism includes:

[0007] A moving arm is provided at the bottom of the doorway of the isolation door;

[0008] Two grabbing parts are provided on the moving arm and are used to grab the wafer boats in the two loading areas respectively;

[0009] The driving part is arranged at the bottom of the doorway of the isolation door and is connected to the moving arm. The driving part is used to drive the moving arm to move and drive the two grabbing parts to move and exchange in the two loading areas.

[0010] Furthermore, the motion arm includes a linear track; the two gripping parts are slidably mounted on both ends of the linear track; the gripping parts can be slid outwardly and extended or slid inwardly and retracted relative to the end of the motion arm.

[0011] Furthermore, the grabbing part includes a mechanical lifting arm; the two grabbing parts can slide outward from both ends of the moving arm to the bottom of the two crystal boats, or can slide inward from both ends of the moving arm to a position close to the door of the isolation door.

[0012] Furthermore, the motion arm includes two multi-axis connecting rods, one end of each of the two multi-axis connecting rods is connected to the driving part, and the two grasping parts are respectively fixed to the other end of the two multi-axis connecting rods.

[0013] Furthermore, the two multi-axis connecting rods are rotationally symmetrically arranged, and the two multi-axis connecting rods can respectively drive the two grabbing parts to move to the bottom of the two wafer boats or retract to a position close to the doorway of the isolation door.

[0014] Furthermore, the driving unit includes:

[0015] A lifting part is provided at the bottom of the doorway of the isolation door and performs lifting movement in the vertical direction;

[0016] a rotating portion, disposed at the output end of the lifting portion and performing a rotating motion in a horizontal direction;

[0017] Wherein, the moving arm is installed at the output end of the rotating part, and the moving arm is parallel to the horizontal direction.

[0018] Furthermore, the lifting part includes one of a telescopic cylinder and a telescopic pole; and the rotating part includes a motor.

[0019] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a dual-cavity three-crystal boat wafer processing equipment, including two loading areas, an isolation door and the wafer boat exchange mechanism as described above, the two loading areas are separated by the isolation door; the wafer boat exchange mechanism is arranged at the bottom of the doorway of the isolation door, and the wafer boat exchange mechanism is used to exchange the wafer boats in the two loading areas.

[0020] The beneficial effects of the embodiment of the present utility model are as follows: first, two grabbing parts grab two crystal boats in two loading areas, and then the driving part drives the moving arm to rotate in the two loading areas, which can drive the two grabbing parts to rotate and exchange in the two loading areas, thereby realizing the exchange requirements of the crystal boats in the two loading areas. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0022] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of the wafer boat exchange mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the wafer boat exchange mechanism according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of a dual-cavity, three-wafer boat wafer processing device provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Description of the symbols in the figure:

[0026] 1. Process chamber; 2. Loading area; 3. Wafer boat; 4. Isolation door; 5. Lifting robot; 6. Motion arm; 7. Grasping unit; 8. Drive unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0028] It will be understood that when used in this specification and the appended claims, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” indicate the presence of described features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups thereof.

[0029] It should also be understood that the terms used in this utility model specification are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the utility model. As used in this utility model specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0030] It should be further understood that the term “and / or” used in the present specification and the appended claims refers to any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and includes these combinations.

[0031] For easier understanding, please refer to Figure 3 First, the dual-chamber, three-wafer-boat wafer processing equipment of this application is introduced. The wafer processing equipment includes two process chambers 1, two loading areas 2, three wafer boats 3, an isolation door 4, and two lifting manipulators 5. The two loading areas 2 are separated by an isolation door 4. The two lifting manipulators 5 are located in the two loading areas 2 and are located away from the isolation door 4. The wafer boat 3 is placed on the lifting manipulators 5 and can be transported directly upward by the lifting manipulators 5 to the process chamber 1 for processing. To facilitate the exchange of wafer boats 3 between the two loading areas 2, this application designs a wafer boat exchange mechanism between the two loading areas 2.

[0032] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the planar structure of the two loading areas 2 provided in the embodiment of the present utility model; based on Figure 1 According to the spatial shape of the two loading areas 2, when the two crystal boats 3 are in the middle position of the two loading areas 2, they can be exchanged through the door of the isolation door 4. Therefore, in order to facilitate the exchange of the crystal boats 3 in the two loading areas 2, a crystal boat exchange mechanism is set at the bottom of the door of the isolation door 4 between the two loading areas 2, thereby realizing the exchange of the crystal boats 3.

[0033] Please continue reading Figure 1 The wafer boat exchange mechanism of the embodiment of the present invention includes:

[0034] The moving arm 6 is arranged at the bottom of the doorway of the isolation door 4;

[0035] Two grabbing parts 7 are provided on the moving arm 6 and are used to grab the wafer boats 3 in the two loading areas 2 respectively;

[0036] The driving part 8 is arranged at the bottom of the doorway of the isolation door 4 and is connected to the moving arm 6. The driving part 8 is used to drive the moving arm 6 to move and drive the two grabbing parts 7 to move and exchange in the two loading areas 2.

[0037] In this embodiment, the isolation door 4 opens when it slides upward and closes when it slides downward; the entire crystal boat exchange mechanism is embedded in the bottom of the doorway of the isolation door 4, and the bottom of the isolation door 4 is sealed with the top of the crystal boat exchange mechanism, which can ensure the independence of the two loading areas 2 when the isolation door 4 slides down and closes.

[0038] In this embodiment, the two ends of the moving arm 6 are located in the two loading areas 2, and the two grabbing parts 7 are located at the two ends of the moving arm 6 and in the two loading areas 2. The two grabbing parts 7 first grab the two crystal boats 3 in the two loading areas 2, and then the driving part 8 drives the moving arm 6 to rotate in the two loading areas 2, which can drive the two grabbing parts 7 to rotate and exchange in the two loading areas 2, thereby realizing the exchange requirements of the crystal boats 3 in the two loading areas 2.

[0039] The specific implementation structure of the crystal boat exchange mechanism is introduced below.

[0040] Example 1:

[0041] In one embodiment, the moving arm 6 includes a linear track; two gripping portions 7 are slidably mounted on both ends of the linear track; the gripping portions 7 can slide outwardly or inwardly relative to the ends of the moving arm 6 to be extended.

[0042] In this embodiment, when the crystal boat 3 is not exchanged, the linear track is set perpendicular to the shielding door, the length of the linear track is shorter than the door width of the shielding door, and the two grasping parts 7 are respectively slidably assembled on the two ends of the linear track. The grasping part 7 can be a movable part that moves on the linear track, or a driving part 8 can be set on the linear track to drive the grasping part 7 to move on the linear track.

[0043] In one embodiment, the grabbing portion 7 includes a mechanical lifting arm, and the two grabbing portions 7 can slide outward from both ends of the moving arm 6 to the bottom of the two wafer boats 3, or can slide inward from both ends of the moving arm 6 to the door position near the isolation door 4.

[0044] In this embodiment, the two grasping portions 7 can slide outward relative to the ends of the moving arm 6 when moving in opposite directions, achieving an extended effect and grasping the wafer boat 3. After grasping the wafer boat 3, the two grasping portions 7 can slide inward relative to the ends of the moving arm 6 when moving in opposite directions, so that the two grasped wafer boats 3 do not exceed the ends of the linear track. This ensures that the ends of the linear track will not interfere with the opening of the isolation door 4 when the wafer boat 3 is rotated after grasping it.

[0045] In this embodiment, the grasping portion 7 can grasp the wafer boat 3 in a variety of ways, such as using a mechanical lifting arm to move to the bottom of the wafer boat 3 to lift up the wafer boat 3 , which is relatively simple and convenient.

[0046] In some other methods, a claw-shaped mechanical claw can also be used for grasping; the specific method can be selected according to the implementation requirements.

[0047] In one embodiment, the driving part 8 includes a lifting part and a rotating part; the lifting part is arranged at the bottom of the doorway of the isolation door 4 and performs lifting and lowering movements in the vertical direction; the rotating part is arranged at the output end of the lifting part and performs rotating movements in the horizontal direction; the moving arm 6 is installed at the output end of the rotating part, and the moving arm 6 is parallel to the horizontal direction.

[0048] In this embodiment, when the gripping unit 7 moves to the bottom of the wafer boat 3, it is necessary to ensure that the wafer boat 3 can stably exit the lifting manipulator 5. Therefore, the driving unit 8 includes a lifting unit with a lifting function. After the gripping unit 7 moves to the bottom of the wafer boat 3, the lifting unit first drives the linear track to rise, which in turn drives the gripping unit 7 to rise, causing the gripping unit 7 to lift the wafer boat 3 upward, thereby allowing the wafer boat 3 to leave its positioning position on the lifting manipulator 5. After the wafer boat 3 is lifted off the lifting manipulator 5, the two gripping units 7 slide relative to each other and retract to a position within the end of the linear track, thereby moving the wafer boat 3 to a position within the end of the linear track (i.e., moving the two wafer boats 3 closer together). The linear track is then driven by the rotating unit to rotate (through an angle of 180°). After the rotation is completed, the two gripping units 7 slide away from each other and extend beyond the end of the linear track, thereby moving the wafer boat 3 to a position beyond the end of the linear track. The lifting unit then drives the linear track downward, driving the gripper 7 downward in conjunction, allowing it to lower the wafer boat 3. The wafer boat 3 is then positioned in the lifting manipulator 5. This completes the exchange of wafer boats 3 between the two loading bays 2. Finally, the entire wafer boat exchange mechanism resets and receives the new wafer boat 3.

[0049] Through the exchange method of this embodiment, the space required for rotation is reduced as much as possible during the exchange process, thereby realizing a structural design for exchanging the wafer boat 3 in a narrow space.

[0050] Specifically, the lifting part can be a telescopic cylinder or a telescopic pole, and the rotating part can be a motor. The specific selection can be made according to actual needs.

[0051] Example 2:

[0052] See also Figure 2 Compared with the first embodiment, the second embodiment adopts another structure of the moving arm 6 and the grabbing portion 7.

[0053] In one embodiment, the moving arm 6 includes two multi-axis connecting rods, which are rotationally symmetrically arranged. One end of the two multi-axis connecting rods is connected to the driving part 8, and the two grasping parts 7 are respectively fixed to the other end of the two multi-axis connecting rods; the two multi-axis connecting rods can respectively drive the two grasping parts 7 to move to the bottom of the two crystal boats 3 or retract to the door position near the isolation door 4.

[0054] In this embodiment, the multi-axis connecting rod can be a double-axis connecting rod, which can be extended when expanded and shortened when retracted. The total width of the two multi-axis connecting rods when retracted is shorter than the door width of the shielding door, and the two grabbing parts 7 are respectively fixed to the ends of the two multi-axis connecting rods.

[0055] In this embodiment, after the multi-axis connecting rods deploy and drive the grabbing unit 7 to the bottom of the wafer boat 3, the lifting unit first drives the multi-axis connecting rods upward, which in turn drives the grabbing unit 7 upward, causing the grabbing unit 7 to lift the wafer boat 3 upward, thereby moving the wafer boat 3 away from its designated position on the lifting manipulator 5. After the wafer boat 3 is removed from the lifting manipulator 5, the two multi-axis connecting rods retract, driving the two grabbing units 7 back (i.e., moving the two wafer boats 3 closer together). The rotating unit then drives the two multi-axis connecting rods to rotate (through a 180° angle). Once fully rotated, the two multi-axis connecting rods deploy again. The lifting unit then drives the multi-axis connecting rods downward, driving the grabbing unit 7 downward, causing the grabbing unit 7 to lower the wafer boat 3 downward, allowing the wafer boat 3 to be placed in its designated position on the lifting manipulator 5. This allows the wafer boat 3 to be exchanged between the two loading areas 2. Finally, the entire wafer boat exchange mechanism resets its motion to accept the new wafer boat 3 exchange.

[0056] Through the exchange method of this embodiment, the space required for rotation is reduced as much as possible during the exchange process, thereby realizing the exchange structure design of the wafer boat 3 in a small space.

[0057] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a dual-cavity three-crystal boat wafer processing equipment, including two loading areas 2, an isolation door 4 and the crystal boat exchange mechanism as described above, the two loading areas 2 are separated by the isolation door 4; the crystal boat exchange mechanism is arranged at the bottom of the doorway of the isolation door 4, and the crystal boat exchange mechanism is used to exchange the crystal boats 3 in the two loading areas 2.

[0058] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention, and such modifications or substitutions are intended to be within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be subject to the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A wafer boat exchange mechanism, applied to a dual-chamber, three-wafer boat wafer processing equipment, wherein the dual-chamber, three-wafer boat wafer processing equipment comprises two loading areas and an isolation door, wherein the two loading areas are separated by the isolation door; The wafer boat exchange mechanism is used to exchange wafer boats in two loading areas, and the wafer boat exchange mechanism includes: A moving arm is provided at the bottom of the doorway of the isolation door; Two grabbing parts are provided on the moving arm and are used to grab the wafer boats in the two loading areas respectively; The driving part is arranged at the bottom of the doorway of the isolation door and is connected to the moving arm. The driving part is used to drive the moving arm to move and drive the two grabbing parts to move and exchange in the two loading areas.

2. The wafer boat exchange mechanism according to claim 1, wherein: The moving arm includes a linear track; the two grabbing parts are slidably mounted on both ends of the linear track; the grabbing parts can slide outward or slide inward relative to the end of the moving arm.

3. The wafer boat exchange mechanism according to claim 2, wherein: The grabbing part includes a mechanical lifting arm; the two grabbing parts can slide outward from both ends of the moving arm to the bottom of the two wafer boats, or can slide inward from both ends of the moving arm to a position close to the door of the isolation door.

4. The wafer boat exchange mechanism according to claim 1, wherein: The motion arm includes two multi-axis connecting rods, one end of each of the two multi-axis connecting rods is connected to the driving part, and the two grasping parts are respectively fixed to the other end of the two multi-axis connecting rods.

5. The wafer boat exchange mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that: The two multi-axis connecting rods are rotationally symmetrically arranged, and the two multi-axis connecting rods can respectively drive the two grabbing parts to move to the bottom of the two wafer boats or retract to the doorway position close to the isolation door.

6. The wafer boat exchange mechanism according to claim 1, wherein: The driving unit includes: A lifting part is provided at the bottom of the doorway of the isolation door and performs lifting movement in the vertical direction; a rotating portion, disposed at the output end of the lifting portion and performing a rotating motion in a horizontal direction; Wherein, the moving arm is installed at the output end of the rotating part, and the moving arm is parallel to the horizontal direction.

7. The wafer boat exchange mechanism according to claim 6, characterized in that: The lifting part includes one of a telescopic cylinder and a telescopic pole; the rotating part includes a motor.

8. A dual-cavity three-wafer boat wafer processing equipment, characterized in that: It comprises two loading areas, an isolation door and the wafer boat exchange mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the two loading areas are separated by the isolation door; the wafer boat exchange mechanism is arranged at the bottom of the doorway of the isolation door, and is used to exchange wafer boats in the two loading areas.

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