Photomask spin-drying device and cleaning equipment

Abstract

The utility model relates to the field of semiconductor production equipment manufacturing, in particular to a photomask spin-drying device and cleaning equipment. The device comprises: a positioning table, one end of which is rotatably provided with a rotating shaft; the slide holder is mounted on the rotating shaft; wherein the slide holder is provided with a plurality of placing stations; and when the photomask is spin-dried, the rotating shaft drives the slide holder to rotate around the positioning table to the corresponding placing station to be aligned with the photomask, so that the photomask is embedded into the corresponding placing station. A plurality of placing stations with different positions and different sizes are arranged so as to adapt to photomasks with different sizes, and the rotatable slide holder is arranged so that the slide holder can be rotated to the corresponding placing stations when different photomasks are handled.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of semiconductor production equipment manufacturing, concretely relates to a photomask spin-drying device and cleaning equipment. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the semiconductor production manufacturing process, photoetching, etching and oxidation are the key technologies in its process, wherein photoetching is to "print" the circuit pattern on the photomask through light, and the coating, exposure and development of photoresist are the key steps. Among them, the photomask, the photo mask, as an important element in the exposure equipment, will use various specifications of photomask in the process of manufacturing semiconductor chips and panels, and has high requirements for the cleanliness of the photomask during the "printing" process. The photomask will accumulate fine dust after being used for a period of time, and therefore needs to be cleaned.

[0003] After the photomask is cleaned, water droplets or water stains may overflow on the photomask, thereby affecting the "printing" quality. Therefore, the photomask needs to be spin-dried. Although the general photomask is square, there are many different sizes. For photomasks of different sizes, there is a lack of a unified positioning and spin-drying scheme.

[0004] Therefore, it is urgent to design a photomask spin-drying device and cleaning equipment to solve the technical problem that the above-mentioned photomasks of many different sizes cannot be positioned and spin-dried uniformly.

[0005] It should be noted that the above information disclosed in the background section is only used to understand the background of the embodiments of the present application, and therefore, it can contain information which does not constitute the prior art. SUMMARY

[0006] The embodiments of the present disclosure at least provide a photomask spin-drying device and cleaning equipment.

[0007] In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a photomask spin-drying device, comprising: a positioning table, one end of which is rotationally provided with a rotating shaft;

[0008] A slide table is installed on the rotating shaft.

[0009] Among them, the slide table has a plurality of placing stations.

[0010] When the photomask is spin-dried, the rotating shaft drives the slide table to rotate around the positioning table to align the corresponding placing station with the photomask, so that the photomask is embedded in the corresponding placing station.

[0011] In an optional embodiment, a spin-drying motor is installed on the positioning table, and the spin-drying motor is in transmission connection with the rotating shaft.

[0012] In an optional embodiment, the placing station includes four stepped blocks.

[0013] The stepped blocks are arranged in a square array.

[0014] In an alternative embodiment, a spin-drying box is further installed on the positioning table, and the spin-drying box is arranged outside the slide table.

[0015] In an alternative embodiment, the spin-drying box is further provided with an air extraction pipeline at the bottom.

[0016] One end of the air extraction pipeline is in communication with the interior of the spin-drying box.

[0017] In an alternative embodiment, a turnover assembly is further installed on each side of the spin-drying box, and the turnover assembly comprises a horizontal sliding rail, a turnover seat and a turnover clamp.

[0018] The turnover seat is slidingly arranged on the horizontal sliding rail, and the turnover clamp is rotationally connected with the turnover seat.

[0019] In addition, the present disclosure further provides a cleaning device comprising the photomask spin-drying device described above, and the cleaning device further comprises:

[0020] a device frame, a guide rail and a main mechanical arm, the photomask spin-drying device is installed inside the device frame, the guide rail is installed on one side of the photomask spin-drying device, and the main mechanical arm is slidingly arranged on the guide rail.

[0021] In addition, the main mechanical arm is adapted to clamp the photomask along the guide rail and place the photomask into the photomask spin-drying device.

[0022] In an alternative embodiment, the cleaning device further comprises a cleaning tank arranged on one side of the guide rail.

[0023] In an alternative embodiment, a secondary mechanical arm is arranged on one side of the cleaning tank, and the secondary mechanical arm comprises a secondary lifting rod and a secondary clamp installed at the end of the secondary lifting rod.

[0024] In an alternative embodiment, the main mechanical arm comprises a long arm and a short arm.

[0025] In addition, a main clamp is installed on each of the long arm and the short arm.

[0026] The present utility model has the advantages that multiple different positions and different size placing stations are arranged to adapt to photomasks of different sizes, and a rotatable slide table is arranged to rotate the slide table to the corresponding placing station when dealing with different photomasks.

[0027] The other features and advantages of the present application will be described in the following description and, in part, will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or can be learned by practice of the present application. The purposes and other advantages of the present application can be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

[0028] To make the above objectives, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the following preferred embodiments are specifically described below, and the detailed description is made below with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0029] In order to more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the specific embodiments or the prior art description. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present application, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can also be obtained without creative labor on the basis of these drawings.

[0030] Figure 1 A perspective view of a cleaning equipment provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is provided.

[0031] Figure 2 A perspective view of a photomask spin-drying device provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is provided.

[0032] Figure 3 A structural schematic view of a slide stage provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is provided.

[0033] Figure 4 A structural schematic view of a main mechanical hand provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is provided.

[0034] Figure 5 A structural schematic view of a secondary mechanical hand provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is provided.

[0035] Figure 6 A structural schematic view of a cleaning tank provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is provided.

[0036] In the drawings:

[0037] 1, positioning table; 11, rotating shaft; 12, spin-drying motor; 13, spin-drying box; 14, air extraction pipeline;

[0038] 2, slide stage; 3, placing station; 31, stepped block;

[0039] 4, overturning assembly; 41, horizontal sliding rail; 42, overturning seat; 43, overturning clamp;

[0040] 5, equipment frame; 6, guide rail; 7, main mechanical hand; 71, long arm; 72, short arm; 73, main clamp; 8, cleaning tank;

[0041] 9, secondary robot; 91, secondary lifting rod; 92, secondary clamp. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the embodiments of the present application more clear, the technical scheme of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all the other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of the present application.

[0043] It is found through research that after the photomask cleaning is completed, water droplets or water stains may overflow on the photomask, thereby affecting the "printing" quality. Therefore, the photomask needs to be spun dry. Although the photomask is generally square, there are many different sizes. For photomasks of different sizes, there is a lack of a unified positioning and spinning dry scheme.

[0044] The defects of the above schemes are the results obtained by the inventors after practice and careful research. Therefore, the discovery process of the above problems and the solutions proposed by the present disclosure to the above problems should be the contributions of the inventors to the present disclosure in the process of the present disclosure.

[0045] Some embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the case of no conflict, the embodiments described below and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. In addition, in the drawings, in order to effectively describe the technical content, the thickness of the components can be exaggerated or reduced.

[0046] It should be noted that: similar reference numerals and letters represent similar items in the following drawings, so once an item is defined in one drawing, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent drawings.

[0047] Based on the above research, with reference to Figure 3 The photomask spinning dry device provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure comprises a positioning table 1, a slide table 2 and a turnover assembly 4. The top end of the positioning table 1 is provided with a rotating shaft 11, and the slide table 2 is rotatably installed on the rotating shaft 11. The positioning table 1 is provided with a spinning dry motor 12, and the spinning dry motor 12 is in transmission connection with the rotating shaft 11. The positioning table 1 is used for positioning and supporting the spinning dry motor 12 and the rotating shaft 11. When the spinning dry motor 12 rotates, the slide table 2 can be driven to rotate.

[0048] With reference to Figure 3In at least one embodiment, the slide stage 2 has a plurality of placement stations 3, preferably three, which are arranged in a square to match the square structure of the photomask. Meanwhile, as a preferred embodiment, the three placement stations 3 are arranged in a staggered manner, and the sizes of the placement stations 3 are different to match three photomasks of different sizes.

[0049] Referring to Figure 3 In at least one embodiment, the placement station 3 includes four stepped blocks 31 arranged in a square array, each corresponding to a corner of the placement station 3, i.e., a corner of the photomask. With the above arrangement, when the photomask is dried, the shaft 11 drives the slide stage 2 to rotate around the positioning table 1 to align the corresponding placement station 3 with the photomask, so that the photomask is embedded in the corresponding placement station 3. After the photomask is embedded in the placement station 3 and positioned by the stepped blocks 31, the slide stage 2 is driven to rotate by the drying motor 12, thereby achieving the effect of drying the photomask.

[0050] Referring to Figure 2 In at least one embodiment, the positioning table 1 is further provided with a drying box 13 which covers the outside of the slide stage 2. The drying box 13 is used to shield the liquid medicine splashed outward during drying of the photomask, so as to avoid contamination of other parts of the equipment by the liquid medicine.

[0051] Referring to Figure 2 In at least one embodiment, the bottom of the drying box 13 is further provided with an air extraction duct 14. One end of the air extraction duct 14 communicates with the inside of the drying box 13. During drying, the liquid medicine will volatilize and accumulate alkali or acid gas in the drying box 13, affecting the quality of the photomask. Therefore, by setting the air extraction duct 14 to continuously extract air from the inside of the drying box 13, a continuous air flow from top to bottom is formed in the drying box 13, thereby avoiding the accumulation of gas.

[0052] Referring to Figure 2 In at least one embodiment, the drying box 13 is further provided with a turnover assembly 4 on both sides. The turnover assembly 4 includes a horizontal slide rail 41, a turnover seat 42 and a turnover clamp 43. The turnover seat 42 is slidably arranged on the horizontal slide rail 41, and the turnover clamp 43 is rotatably connected to the turnover seat 42. The turnover seat 42 has a motor inside, and the turnover seat 42 is connected to the turnover clamp 43 by the motor to drive the turnover clamp 43 to rotate. The horizontal slide rail 41 is provided with a linear motion pair. Optionally, a motor is arranged on one side of the horizontal slide rail 41, the output end of the motor is provided with a gear, and the turnover seat 42 is provided with a rack which is engaged with the gear, so that when the motor is started, the turnover seat 42 can be driven to slide along the horizontal slide rail 41.

[0053] Referring to Figure 2Since the photomask needs to be kept horizontal during spin drying, when the vertical photomask enters the spin drying box 13, the flipping seat 42 moves closer to the center along the horizontal slide rail 41 so that the two flipping seats 42 clamp the photomask through the flipping clamp 43. Then, the motor in the flipping seat 42 drives the flipping clamp 43 to flip, so as to drive the photomask to flip to a horizontal state.

[0054] Reference Figure 1 This disclosure also provides a cleaning device, including the photomask spin-drying device as described above. The cleaning device further includes: a device frame 5, a guide rail 6, and a main robotic arm 7. The photomask spin-drying device is installed inside the device frame 5, the guide rail 6 is installed on one side of the photomask spin-drying device, and the main robotic arm 7 is slidably mounted on the guide rail 6. The main robotic arm 7 is adapted to grip the photomask along the guide rail 6 and place it into the photomask spin-drying device.

[0055] Reference Figure 1 In some embodiments, the cleaning equipment further includes a cleaning tank 8, which is disposed on one side of the guide rail 6. A secondary robotic arm 9 is disposed on one side of the cleaning tank 8, the secondary robotic arm 9 including a secondary lifting rod 91 and a secondary clamp 92 mounted on the end of the secondary lifting rod 91. On the other hand, the main robotic arm 7 includes a long arm 71 and a short arm 72, and a main clamp 73 is mounted on both the long arm 71 and the short arm 72. A linear motion pair is disposed within the main robotic arm 7 to drive the long arm 71 and the short arm 72 to slide linearly. Optionally, the main robotic arm 7 also includes the same linear motion pair as described above, i.e., a gear is mounted on the movable end of the motor, and racks are disposed on both the long arm 71 and the short arm 72, so that when the motor starts, the long arm 71 and the short arm 72 are driven to slide linearly through the gears, and the photomask is clamped by the main clamp 73. With the above setup, when the main robot arm 7 transports the photomask along the guide rail 6 to one side of the cleaning tank 8, the main robot arm 7 transfers the photomask to the auxiliary robot arm 9. The auxiliary robot arm 9 holds the photomask through the auxiliary clamp 92 and descends into the cleaning tank 8 via the auxiliary lifting rod 91, thereby cleaning the photomask. After cleaning, the auxiliary robot arm 9 rises again and transfers the photomask to the main robot arm 7. The main robot arm 7 continues to hold the photomask and moves it along the guide rail 6 to the photomask spin-drying device, and then transfers it to the flipping assembly 4. After the flipping assembly 4 flips the photomask, it is placed on the placement station 3, and the flipping motor rotates to spin-dry the photomask.

[0056] In the several embodiments provided in this example, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. The apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. Furthermore, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Based on the above-described ideal embodiments of this utility model, and through the above description, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the technical concept of this utility model. The technical scope of this utility model is not limited to the contents of the specification; its technical scope must be determined according to the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A photomask spin-drying device, characterized in that, include: The positioning platform (1) has a rotating shaft (11) at one end. A slide stage (2) is mounted on a rotating shaft (11); The slide stage (2) has several placement stations (3). In addition, when the photomask is spin-dried, the rotating shaft (11) drives the substrate stage (2) to rotate around the positioning stage (1) to the corresponding placement position (3) and align with the photomask so that the photomask is embedded in the corresponding placement position (3).

2. The photomask spin-drying device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The positioning platform (1) is equipped with a spin-drying motor (12), which is connected to the rotating shaft (11) for transmission.

3. The photomask spin-drying device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The placement station (3) includes four stepped blocks (31); The stepped blocks (31) are arranged in a square array.

4. The photomask spin-drying device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The positioning stage (1) is also equipped with a spin dryer (13), which is covered by the outer side of the film carrier stage (2).

5. The photomask spin-drying device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The bottom of the spin dryer (13) is also provided with an air extraction pipe (14); One end of the air extraction pipe (14) is connected to the interior of the spin dryer (13).

6. The photomask spin-drying device as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The spin dryer (13) is equipped with a flipping assembly (4) on both sides. The flipping assembly (4) includes a horizontal slide rail (41), a flipping seat (42), and a flipping clamp (43). The flipping seat (42) is slidably mounted on the horizontal slide rail (41), and the flipping clamp (43) is rotatably connected to the flipping seat (42).

7. A cleaning device, characterized in that, The cleaning equipment includes the photomask spin-drying device as described in any one of claims 1-6, and further includes: The equipment frame (5), guide rail (6) and main robot (7) are installed inside the equipment frame (5), the guide rail (6) is installed on one side of the photomask spin dryer, and the main robot (7) is slidably mounted on the guide rail (6). In addition, the main manipulator (7) is adapted to grip the photomask along the guide rail (6) and place it into the photomask spin dryer.

8. The cleaning equipment as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The cleaning equipment also includes a cleaning tank (8), which is located on one side of the guide rail (6).

9. The cleaning equipment as described in claim 8, characterized in that, A secondary manipulator (9) is provided on one side of the cleaning tank (8). The secondary manipulator (9) includes a secondary lifting rod (91) and a secondary clamp (92) installed at the end of the secondary lifting rod (91).

10. The cleaning equipment as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The main manipulator (7) includes a long arm (71) and a short arm (72). In addition, a main clamp (73) is installed on both the long arm (71) and the short arm (72).

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