Wafer support
By setting limiters on the inner wall of the through-hole of the wafer holder and guide posts on the substrate, the misalignment problem of the wafer during lifting and lowering is solved, ensuring smooth lifting and center alignment, improving the cleaning effect and reducing the risk of damage.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202423314002.6
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-31
- Publication Date
- 2025-12-19
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-12-31
AI Technical Summary
During the lifting and lowering process, the wafer may become misaligned or fall due to the swaying of the support rod, affecting the cleaning effect and potentially causing damage.
A limiter is installed on the inner wall of the through hole to restrict the horizontal movement of the support rod, and a wafer guide post is installed on the upper surface of the substrate to guide the wafer, ensuring that the support rod rises and falls smoothly and the wafer center is aligned.
It effectively prevents wafer misalignment, improves cleaning results, reduces the probability of damage, and increases process efficiency.
Smart Images
Figure CN223693101U_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor processing, and in particular, to a wafer support. BACKGROUND
[0002] In some wafer processing procedures, such as after polishing, chemical vapor deposition or removing photoresist of the wafer, the wafer surface needs to be cleaned to remove the impurities such as contaminants and oxides on the wafer surface, so as to provide a clean wafer substrate for subsequent processes. When cleaning the wafer surface, the wafer is usually placed on the wafer rotating fixture of the rotating table by using the wafer lifting platform, and then the rotating table is started to drive the wafer to rotate, while the cleaning liquid is sprayed to the wafer surface from the upper side of the wafer, so as to clean the wafer surface thoroughly by means of centrifugal action.
[0003] However, in the prior art, a sleeve is usually sleeved outside the support rod of the wafer lifting platform, and there is inevitably a gap between the support rod and the sleeve, so that the support rod is prone to shaking in the horizontal direction during lifting. Therefore, when the wafer contacts the wafer rotating fixture, the wafer may be misaligned relative to the wafer rotating fixture, so that the wafer edge is obliquely placed on the wafer rotating fixture, affecting the subsequent rotating cleaning effect, and even causing wafer damage in severe cases. In addition, if the shaking amplitude of the support rod is too large during lifting, the wafer may even directly fall, causing greater economic loss. CONTENT OF THE UTILITY MODEL
[0004] The purpose of the embodiment of the present application is to provide a wafer support which limits the movement of the support rod in the horizontal direction by the limiting device on the inner wall of the through hole, so as to ensure that the support rod can be lifted stably, thereby effectively solving the problem of oblique placement of the wafer.
[0005] The present application provides a wafer support, which comprises a base, a rotating table, a lifting platform and a limiting device. The base is provided with a through hole in the vertical direction. The rotating table comprises a rotating base and a plurality of rotating fixtures fixedly arranged on the upper surface of the rotating base, and the rotating fixtures are uniformly distributed around the rotating shaft of the rotating base. The lifting platform comprises a bearing disc and a support rod, and the upper end of the support rod is fixedly connected with the center of the lower surface of the bearing disc. The support rod can be lifted in the through hole. The limiting device is protrusively arranged on the inner wall of the through hole, and is used for limiting the displacement of the support rod in the horizontal direction.
[0006] In an implementable scheme, the upper surface of the base is provided with a plurality of wafer guide columns, and the wafer guide columns are uniformly distributed around the center of the through hole.
[0007] In an implementable scheme, the upper part of the wafer guide column is provided with a wedge-shaped first wafer guide block.
[0008] In an implementable solution, the cross section of the through hole is circular, the support rod is cylindrical, and a limiting groove with a width matching that of the limiting stopper is arranged on the surface of the support rod in the vertical direction, the limiting groove is used in cooperation with the limiting stopper to limit the circumferential rotation of the support rod.
[0009] In an implementable solution, the cross section of the through hole is polygonal, and the shape of the support rod is prismatic and matches the cross section of the through hole.
[0010] In an implementable solution, the plurality of limiting stoppers are distributed in multiple layers along the vertical direction on the inner wall of the through hole, and each layer includes at least three limiting stoppers uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction of the inner wall of the through hole.
[0011] In an implementable solution, the limiting stopper is a ball bearing or a roller.
[0012] In an implementable solution, the rotation fixer includes a wafer placing portion and a rotation limiting portion fixedly arranged outside the wafer placing portion, and the upper end of the rotation limiting portion is higher than the wafer placing portion.
[0013] In an implementable solution, a wedge-shaped second wafer guide block is arranged on the upper portion of the rotation limiting portion.
[0014] In an implementable solution, a pressure sensor is arranged on the upper surface of the wafer placing portion.
[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present application at least include:
[0016] The wafer support provided by the present application has the limiting stopper arranged on the inner wall of the through hole, which can effectively limit the movement of the support rod in the horizontal direction and ensure that the support rod can be stably lifted and lowered, thereby effectively solving the problem of wafer tilting, improving the efficiency of the process flow, and reducing the probability of wafer damage.
[0017] Further, the wafer support provided by the present application can have a plurality of wafer guide columns arranged on the upper surface of the base, and the wafer guide columns are uniformly distributed along the circumference around the center of the through hole. During the wafer lowering process, the wafer guide columns can limit the edges of the wafer, allowing the wafer to move towards the center of the carrier disk, thereby reducing the probability of the wafer tilting on the rotation fixer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present application, and therefore should not be regarded as a limitation on the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can also be obtained without creative labor on the basis of these drawings.
[0019] Figure 1A schematic view of a cross section of a wafer support according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0020] Figure 2 A top view of a wafer support;
[0021] Figure 3 A schematic view of a partial horizontal cross section of a base;
[0022] Figure 4 A schematic view of a wafer tilt in the prior art.
[0023] In the figure: 1, base; 2, rotating table; 3, lifting table; 4, position limiter; 5, wafer; 101, through hole; 102, wafer guide column; 121, first wafer guide block; 201, rotating base; 202, rotating fixer; 221, wafer rest; 222, rotating position limiter; 223, second wafer guide block; 301, bearing disc; 302, support rod; 321, position limiting groove. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present application described and shown in the drawings herein can be arranged and designed in various different configurations.
[0025] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application provided in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed present application, but only represents selected embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.
[0026] As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 The present application provides a wafer support, which comprises a base 1, a rotating table 2, a lifting table 3 and a position limiter 4. The base 1 is provided with a through hole 101 in the vertical direction. The rotating table 2 comprises a rotating base 201 and a plurality of rotating fixers 202 fixedly arranged on the upper surface of the rotating base 201, and the rotating fixers 202 are uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction around the rotating shaft of the rotating base 201. The lifting table 3 comprises a bearing disc 301 and a support rod 302, and the upper end of the support rod 302 is fixedly connected to the center of the lower surface of the bearing disc 301. The support rod 302 can be lifted and lowered in the through hole 101. The position limiter 4 is protrudingly arranged on the inner wall of the through hole 101, and is used to limit the displacement of the support rod 102 in the horizontal direction.
[0027] In operation, the support rod 302 first moves upward to the loading position, and then places the wafer 5 onto the carrier tray 301. Next, the support rod 302 moves downward, lowering the wafer 5 until it is placed on the rotating holder 202. After the wafer 5 is in place, the support rod 302 continues to move downward, causing the carrier tray 301 to disengage from the wafer 5. Then, the rotary table 2 is activated, causing the rotating base 201 and the rotating holder 202 to rotate, thus rotating the wafer 5. During the rotation of the wafer 5, cleaning fluid can be sprayed onto its upper surface, allowing the cleaning fluid to flow more evenly across all areas of the wafer 5's upper surface under centrifugal force, thereby achieving a good cleaning effect.
[0028] When the support rod 302 is raised or lowered, such as Figure 4 As shown, if the limiter 4 is not installed, the support rod 302 is prone to wobbling and tilting within the through hole 101 during descent, which may cause the wafer 5 to also tilt, resulting in the wafer 5 ultimately resting at an angle on the rotating retainer 202. In severe cases, it may even cause the wafer 5 to fall. Figure 1 As shown, after setting the limiter 4, the limiter 4 can effectively restrict the movement of the support rod 302 in the horizontal direction, ensuring that the support rod 302 can rise and fall smoothly, thereby effectively solving the problem of wafer tilting, improving process efficiency and reducing the probability of wafer damage.
[0029] In one embodiment, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the upper surface of the substrate 1 is provided with a plurality of wafer guide pillars 102, which are evenly distributed around the center of the through-hole 101 along the circumference. Typically, at least three wafer guide pillars 102 can be provided, but the specific number is not limited here. The width of the wafer guide pillars 102 along the circumference can also be specifically set according to the actual situation. Furthermore, as... Figure 1 As shown, a wedge-shaped first wafer guide block 121 can also be provided on the upper part of the wafer guide post 102. For example... Figure 4 As shown, in the prior art, when placing wafer 5 onto the carrier 301, wafer 5 may deviate from the center of the carrier 301. Furthermore, during the downward movement of the support rod 302, wafer 5 may also tilt, causing it to rest obliquely on the rotary holder 202. However, after setting the wafer guide post 102, as... Figure 1 As shown, if wafer 5 deviates from the center of carrier disk 301, during the downward movement of wafer 5, the wafer edge that is far from the center of carrier disk 301 will gradually move towards the center of carrier disk 301 under the limitation of the first wafer guide block 121, so that the center of wafer 5 is as close as possible to the center of carrier disk 301, reducing the probability that wafer 5 will be tilted on the rotating fixture 202.
[0030] In one embodiment, such asFigure 3 As shown, the cross section of the through hole 101 can be circular, and the support rod 302 is cylindrical. The surface of the support rod 302 is provided with a limiting groove 321 in the vertical direction, which cooperates with the limiting stopper 4 to effectively prevent the support rod 302 from rotating circumferentially. Alternatively, the cross section of the through hole 101 can be polygonal, and the support rod 302 is prismatic (not shown in the figure) to match the cross section of the through hole 101. For example, the cross section of the through hole 101 can be square, and the cross section of the support rod 302 is slightly smaller than that of the through hole 101, which can also effectively prevent the support rod 302 from rotating circumferentially inside the through hole 101.
[0031] In an embodiment, as shown in Figure 1 The limiting stoppers 4 are distributed in multiple layers in the vertical direction on the inner wall of the through hole 101, and each layer includes at least three limiting stoppers 4 uniformly distributed circumferentially on the inner wall of the through hole 101. By arranging multiple layers of limiting stoppers 4, the support rod 302 can be limited at multiple points in the vertical direction, thereby effectively preventing the support rod 302 from being deflected as shown in Figure 4 In addition, the contact area between each limiting stopper 4 and the support rod 302 can be minimized to reduce the friction therebetween. Preferably, two or three layers of limiting stoppers 4 can be arranged. If the number of layers of limiting stoppers 4 is too large, the friction between the limiting stoppers 4 and the support rod 302 can be too large, which can affect the lifting of the support rod 302. Similarly, each layer of limiting stoppers 4 is preferably arranged with three or four limiting stoppers 4 to minimize the friction between the limiting stoppers 4 and the support rod 302 while ensuring the limiting effect.
[0032] In an embodiment, the limiting stopper 4 is a ball or a roller, and the limiting stopper 4 can rotate freely relative to the substrate 1. By arranging the limiting stopper 4 as a ball or a roller, the sliding friction between the limiting stopper 4 and the support rod 302 can be converted into rolling friction, thereby minimizing the resistance to the support rod 302 in the vertical direction while ensuring the limiting effect, which can make the movement of the support rod 302 smoother and help reduce the wear between the support rod 302 and the limiting stopper 4. Preferably, the limiting stopper 4 can be made of an elastic material such as rubber or silicone, which can further alleviate the impact between the limiting stopper 4 and the support rod 302, reduce the vibration of the support rod 302, and better maintain the stability of wafer transportation. In addition, a lubricant can be applied to the surface of the limiting stopper 4 to further reduce the friction between the limiting stopper 4 and the support rod 302.
[0033] In an embodiment, as shown in Figure 1As shown, the rotary fixer 202 comprises a wafer placing part 221 and a rotary limiting part 222 fixedly arranged outside the wafer placing part 221, and the upper end of the rotary limiting part 222 is higher than the wafer placing part 221. A wedge-shaped second wafer guiding block 223 can also be arranged on the upper part of the rotary limiting part 222. In addition, similar to the wafer guiding column 102, after the second wafer guiding block 223 is arranged, as shown in Figure 1 As shown, if the wafer 5 deviates from the center of the bearing disc 301, during the downward movement of the wafer 5, the second wafer guiding block 223 can limit the edge of the wafer, so that the center of the wafer 5 gradually approaches the center of the bearing disc 301, thereby reducing the probability of the wafer 5 being obliquely placed on the wafer placing part 221. Preferably, the upper end of the second wafer guiding block 223 and the lower end of the first wafer guiding block 121 can be as close as possible, and the slope of the second wafer guiding block 223 and the slope of the first wafer guiding block 121 have the same slope, so as to achieve the correction of the position of the wafer 5 as seamlessly as possible.
[0034] In an embodiment, a pressure sensor (not shown in the figure) can be arranged on the upper surface of each wafer placing part 221. As shown, Figure 4 If an accident occurs during the transfer of the wafer, causing the wafer to tilt and unable to be normally placed on the wafer placing part 221, the values of the pressure sensors will deviate from the normal values, so as to determine that the wafer is not normally placed. In addition, a controller and an alarm connected with the signal of the pressure sensor can also be arranged, so that when the pressure value of the pressure sensor or the pressure difference value of each pressure sensor exceeds the normal range, a signal can be sent to the technician in time, so as to ensure that the fault can be solved at the first time and avoid causing greater economic loss.
[0035] In an embodiment, a buffer layer (not shown in the figure) for reducing impact and increasing friction can be arranged on the upper surface of the wafer placing part 221. On the one hand, the buffer layer can avoid impact between the wafer 5 and the wafer placing part 221 when the wafer 5 is placed on the wafer placing part 221, so as to prevent the wafer 5 from being damaged. On the other hand, the buffer layer is also helpful for the rotary fixer 202 to drive the wafer 5 to rotate, so as to avoid relative movement between the wafer 5 and the wafer placing part 221 due to too small friction, thereby preventing the wafer 5 from rotating at a preset speed or even causing wafer damage accident. The buffer layer is preferably made of flexible materials such as rubber or silicone, and the specific materials are not limited here. In addition, a sliding layer for reducing friction can also be arranged on the slope of the first wafer guiding block 121 and the slope of the second wafer guiding block 223, so as to better correct the position of the wafer 5 during the downward movement of the wafer 5.
[0036] The above descriptions are only the preferred embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the present application. The present application can have various modifications and changes for those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.
Claims
1. A wafer holder, characterized by, The utility model relates to a wafer fixing device, including: A base (1) is provided with a through hole (101) along the vertical direction; A rotating table (2) includes a rotating base (201) and a plurality of rotating fixers (202) fixedly arranged on the upper surface of the rotating base (201), which are uniformly distributed around the rotating shaft of the rotating base (201); A lifting table (3) includes a bearing disc (301) and a support rod (302), the upper end of the support rod (302) is fixedly connected with the center of the lower surface of the bearing disc (301); the support rod (302) can be lifted in the through hole (101); A position limiter (4) is protrudingly arranged on the inner wall of the through hole (101) and is used for limiting the displacement of the support rod (302) in the horizontal direction.
2. The wafer holder of claim 1, wherein The upper surface of the base (1) is provided with a plurality of wafer guide columns (102), which are uniformly distributed around the center of the through hole (101).
3. The wafer holder of claim 2, wherein The upper part of the wafer guide column (102) is provided with a wedge-shaped first wafer guide block (121).
4. The wafer support of claim 1, wherein The cross section of the through hole (101) is circular, and the support rod (302) is cylindrical; The surface of the support rod (302) is provided with a limiting groove (321) with a width matched with the position limiter (4) in the vertical direction, and the limiting groove (321) is matched with the position limiter (4) for use, so as to limit the circumferential rotation of the support rod (302).
5. The wafer support of claim 1, wherein The cross section of the through hole (101) is polygonal, and the shape of the support rod (302) is prismatic matched with the cross section of the through hole (101).
6. The wafer support of claim 1, wherein A plurality of position limiters (4) are distributed in multiple layers along the vertical direction on the inner wall of the through hole (101), and each layer includes at least three position limiters (4) uniformly distributed around the inner wall of the through hole (101).
7. The wafer support of claim 1, wherein The position limiter (4) is a ball or a roller.
8. The wafer support of claim 1, wherein, The rotating fixer (202) includes a wafer placing part (221) and a rotating limiting part (222) fixedly arranged outside the wafer placing part (221), and the upper end of the rotating limiting part (222) is higher than the wafer placing part (221).
9. The wafer support of claim 8, wherein, The upper part of the rotating limiting part (222) is provided with a wedge-shaped second wafer guide block (223).
10. The wafer support of claim 8, wherein, The upper surface of the wafer placing part (221) is provided with a pressure sensor.