Wet-process groove type cleaning equipment
By combining a triangular sensor and an endoscope assembly, the problem of inaccurate wafer transport in wet tank cleaning equipment is solved, achieving vertical alignment of wafers and reducing damage, thus improving the cleaning effect.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202520167246.1
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-01-23
- Publication Date
- 2026-01-09
- Estimated Expiration
- 2035-01-23
AI Technical Summary
In wet tank cleaning equipment, the wafer transfer process relies on visual judgment for size matching, which leads to large operational errors, makes it impossible to accurately determine the wafer position, and easily causes mechanical collisions and wafer surface damage.
Using a triangular sensor and endoscope assembly, the wafer transfer arm is precisely aligned with the wafer carrier platform via infrared transmitters and receivers. Combined with a moving unit and control unit, this enables vertical transfer and alignment of the wafer, avoiding skewed insertion.
This improved the precision of wafer transfer, reduced friction between adjacent wafers and mechanical collisions during the cleaning process, and enhanced the quality of wafer cleaning.
Smart Images
Figure CN223786454U_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The utility model relates to the auxiliary equipment field of semiconductor processing, and concretely relates to a wet tank type cleaning equipment. BACKGROUND
[0002] For the operation mode of the wet tank type cleaning equipment, the conveying simple steps include: wafer loading; a wafer transfer robot (WTR) equipped with a vacuum chuck or a mechanical gripper to grab the wafer; a pushing device with a vertical direction movement function to adjust the wafer position; a wafer transfer arm (WTA) to convey the wafer from the current position to each tank (Tank) for cleaning operation; and after the wafer completes the operation of each tank, the device plays a guiding role in the vertical direction to guide the wafer to move along the predetermined path in the vertical direction, ensuring that the wafer can accurately dock with the subsequent conveying device or processing equipment, smoothly entering the next process or returning to the initial position to wait for the next operation.
[0003] The above operation mode of the wet tank type cleaning equipment requires multiple equipment to match the size, but currently the matching size completely relies on the naked eye judgment of the operator, and the operation difference of operators with different experiences and different visual acuity is quite different (the error of naked eye judgment is about 0.3mm), and it cannot completely cover the size matching error of different equipment, and it cannot completely and accurately judge whether the wafer position is accurate.
[0004] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background section is only used to strengthen the understanding of the background of the utility model, and therefore can include information that does not constitute prior art known to those of ordinary skill in the art. UTILITY MODEL CONTENT
[0005] In view of the problems in the prior art, the utility model aims to provide a wet tank type cleaning equipment, the wafer transfer arm and the wafer carrying platform of the cleaning equipment ensure the accuracy when the wafer transfer arm transmits and places the wafer on the wafer carrying platform through the triangular sensor, avoid the mechanical collision of the adjacent two wafers in the cleaning process caused by the oblique insertion, and reduce the damage to the wafer surface caused by the mechanical collision.
[0006] The embodiment of the utility model provides a wet tank type cleaning equipment, which comprises a wafer carrying platform, at least one wafer transfer arm and a triangular sensor.
[0007] The wafer carrying platform is provided with a plurality of wafer slots for carrying wafers.
[0008] The triangular sensor comprises three infrared ray emitting ends, three infrared ray receiving ends and three indicator lights; the three infrared ray emitting ends and the three infrared ray receiving ends are respectively arranged on the wafer carrying platform and the at least one wafer conveying arm;
[0009] When each of the infrared ray receiving ends receives the infrared ray emitted by one of the infrared ray emitting ends, one of the indicator lights emits light.
[0010] According to some examples of the present application, the wet tank cleaning device further comprises a moving unit;
[0011] The moving unit is connected with the wafer carrying platform and controls the movement of the wafer carrying platform.
[0012] According to some examples of the present application, the wafer carrying platform comprises a connecting arm and a carrying surface provided with a plurality of wafer tanks;
[0013] The moving unit is connected with the wafer carrying platform through the connecting arm.
[0014] According to some examples of the present application, the three infrared ray emitting ends are arranged on the wafer carrying platform through a connecting unit;
[0015] The three infrared ray receiving ends are arranged on the at least one wafer conveying arm through another connecting unit;
[0016] The connecting unit comprises three telescopic connecting rods, and the telescopic ends of the three telescopic connecting rods are arranged in a triangular shape.
[0017] The three infrared ray emitting ends are arranged at the telescopic ends of the three telescopic connecting rods of one of the connecting units.
[0018] The three infrared ray receiving ends are arranged at the telescopic ends of the three telescopic connecting rods of another of the connecting units.
[0019] According to some examples of the present application, the telescopic ends of the three telescopic connecting rods are arranged in an equilateral triangle.
[0020] According to some examples of the present application, the wet tank cleaning device further comprises a endoscope assembly arranged on the wafer carrying platform;
[0021] The lens of the endoscope assembly is configured to obtain views of the plurality of wafer tanks.
[0022] According to some examples of the present application, the endoscope assembly further comprises an adjuster, an inclination adjusting unit and a lens holder.
[0023] The inclination adjusting unit is arranged on the adjuster and changes with the position of the adjuster;
[0024] The inclination adjusting unit is connected with the lens holder and adjusts the inclination angle of the lens holder, and the lens holder is configured to hold the lens of the endoscope assembly.
[0025] According to some examples of the present application, the wet tank cleaning device further comprises a control unit;
[0026] The control unit is configured to control the movement of the moving unit and the movement of the at least one wafer transfer arm.
[0027] According to some examples of the present application, the control unit is further configured to control the adjuster and the inclination adjusting unit.
[0028] In the wet tank cleaning device of the present application, the wafer transfer arm and the wafer carrying platform ensure the accuracy of the wafer transfer arm when transmitting and placing the wafer on the wafer carrying platform through the triangular sensor, avoiding the oblique insertion of the wafer in the wafer tank, further, the accuracy of the transmission is optimized through the endoscope, reducing the friction between the adjacent two wafers caused by the transmission and cleaning process, and further reducing the damage of the wafer in the cleaning process, improving the quality of the cleaned wafer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0029] Other features, objects, and advantages of the present application will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting examples with reference to the drawings.
[0030] Figure 1 The wafer carrying platform and wafer transfer arm structure of the wet tank cleaning device of an embodiment of the present application are shown in the schematic view.
[0031] Figure 2 The wafer carrying platform and wafer transfer arm structure of the wet tank cleaning device of another embodiment of the present application are shown in the schematic view. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0032] Example implementations will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example implementations may, however, be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein. Rather, these implementations are provided as example (s) so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of example implementations to those skilled in the art. Embodiments described below are examples only, and are not intended to limit the present application in any way. Same reference numerals in different drawings identify same or similar elements, and explicit description of the same will be omitted from some descriptions.
[0033] In the description of the utility model, it is necessary to understand that the terms "first", "second" are only for the purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features limited by "first", "second" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the utility model, the meaning of "multiple" is two or more than two, unless otherwise specifically limited.
[0034] In the description of the utility model, it should be explained that, unless otherwise specifically defined and limited, the terms "installation", "connection" and "connection" should be broadly understood, for example, it can be fixed connection, or detachable connection, or integrally connected, it can be mechanical connection, or electrical connection or can communicate with each other, it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through intermediate medium, it can be the communication or interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the utility model can be understood according to the specific situation.
[0035] The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples to realize the different structures of the utility model. In order to simplify the disclosure of the utility model, the components and settings of specific examples are described in the following. Of course, they are only examples, and the purpose is not to limit the utility model. In addition, the utility model can repeatedly refer to numbers and / or reference letters in different examples, and such repetition is for the purpose of simplification and clarity, which itself does not indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or settings discussed. In addition, the utility model provides various specific examples of processes and materials, but those skilled in the art can realize the application of other processes and / or the use of other materials.
[0036] The structure of the wet tank cleaning equipment of the utility model will be further described below in combination with the drawings and specific embodiments. It can be understood that each specific embodiment does not limit the protection scope of the utility model.
[0037] The embodiment of the utility model provides a kind of wet tank cleaning equipment, including wafer bearing platform, at least one wafer transfer arm 2 and triangular sensor;Wafer transfer arm 2 is used to transmit and place wafer in wafer bearing platform, the number of wafer transfer arm 2 can be set according to the demand of cleaning, the precision of the utility model emphasized for wafer transfer arm 2 transmission and place wafer in wafer bearing platform, the following is discussed with one wafer transfer arm 2 and a wafer bearing platform cooperate transmission wafer as an example.
[0038] Figure 1The utility model discloses a wet method tank type cleaning equipment's wafer bearing platform and wafer transfer arm structure schematic diagram for an embodiment of the utility model, wafer bearing platform is provided with a plurality of wafer slot of bearing wafer, more specifically, wafer bearing platform includes connecting arm 11 and bearing surface 12, wet method tank type cleaning equipment can also include mobile unit (not shown in the drawing), connecting arm 11 is used to connect mobile unit, thereby realize the connection of mobile unit and wafer bearing platform and control the movement of wafer bearing platform through the movement control of mobile unit.Bearing surface 12 is used for bearing wafer, and a plurality of interval setting wafer slot 13 can be arranged on it, Figure 1 In the embodiment, a plurality of wafer slots 13 are indirectly arranged in parallel on the bearing surface 12.
[0039] The triangular sensor includes three infrared emission ends 31, three infrared receiving ends 32 and three indicator lights (not shown in the figure), one infrared emission end 31 and one infrared receiving end 32 correspond to one indicator light, when the infrared emission end 31 emits infrared rays, if the corresponding infrared receiving end 32 is aligned with the infrared emission end 31, then it can receive the infrared rays emitted by the infrared emission end 31, at this time, the corresponding indicator light emits light. The three infrared emission ends 31 and the three infrared receiving ends 32 of the utility model are oppositely arranged, and can be arranged on the wafer bearing platform and the wafer transfer arm 2 respectively. Figure 1 In the embodiment, the connecting arm 11 and the bearing surface 12 are L-shaped, the three infrared emission ends 31 can be arranged on one end surface of the connecting arm 11 facing the wafer transfer arm 2, and the position of the infrared emission end 31 on the connecting arm is not limited. After the plurality of wafer slots 13 bear the wafers, the position of the wafer should not be on the light path of the infrared rays emitted by the infrared emission end 31, so as to avoid affecting the reception of the infrared receiving end 32. The three infrared receiving ends 32 are arranged on one end surface of the wafer transfer arm 2 facing the connecting arm 11, but the position thereof should correspond to the infrared emission end 31, that is, when the three infrared emission ends 31 are aligned with the three infrared emission ends 31 respectively, the wafer clamped by the wafer transfer arm 2 is above the wafer slot 13.
[0040] In an embodiment, the three infrared emitters 31 are arranged on the connecting arm 11 of the wafer carrying platform through a connecting unit, and the three infrared receivers 32 are arranged on the wafer conveying arm 2 through another connecting unit; the connecting unit comprises three telescopic connecting rods, one end of each of the three telescopic connecting rods can be fixed to a point on the connecting arm 11, and the telescopic ends of the three telescopic connecting rods are arranged in a triangular shape; further, when the lengths of the three telescopic connecting rods are the same, the telescopic ends of the three telescopic connecting rods can be arranged in an equilateral triangle. The three infrared emitters 31 are arranged at the telescopic ends of the three telescopic connecting rods of the connecting unit, and the three infrared receivers 32 are arranged at the telescopic ends of the three telescopic connecting rods of the other connecting unit. That is, the three infrared emitters 31 and the three infrared receivers 32 are arranged in a triangular shape, and there is a position, when the wafer conveying arm 2 moves to the position, each infrared emitter 31 corresponds to an infrared receiver 32. In actual use, the wafer conveying arm 2 clamps the wafer 9, the wafer conveying arm 2 is controlled to move to the wafer carrying platform through the moving unit, the wafer 9 is transported to above the wafer carrying platform (far away from the wafer groove), the wafer conveying arm 2 drives the wafer 9 to descend to above the wafer groove 13 of the wafer carrying platform, when the three pairs of infrared emitters 31 and infrared receivers 32 are aligned, the three indicator lights emit light at the same time, at this time, it is considered that the wafer 9 clamped by the wafer conveying arm 2 is above the wafer groove 13, and then the wafer 9 and the wafer groove 13 are observed and judged to be aligned, when it is judged that the wafer 9 and the wafer groove 13 are aligned, the wafer conveying arm 2 can release the wafer 9. Based on the principle of triangulation, the three pairs of infrared emitters 31 and infrared receivers 32 arranged in a triangular shape can be more accurately aligned.
[0041] Figure 2 For another embodiment of the wafer carrying platform and the wafer conveying arm structure of the wet tank cleaning equipment, the wet tank cleaning equipment further comprises an endoscope assembly 4 arranged on the wafer carrying platform, the endoscope assembly 4 comprises a lens, a light source, an image transmission unit and the like, and the lens 41 of the endoscope assembly 4 is configured to obtain views of multiple wafer grooves. The endoscope assembly can further comprise an adjuster, an inclination adjusting unit and a lens holder; the inclination adjusting unit is arranged on the adjuster and changes with the position change of the adjuster; the inclination adjusting unit is connected with the lens holder and adjusts the inclination angle of the lens holder, and the lens holder is configured to clamp the lens of the endoscope assembly. By obtaining the views of multiple wafer grooves through the endoscope assembly 4, it can be judged whether the wafer 9 is aligned with the wafer groove 13, when it is judged that the wafer 9 is aligned with the wafer groove 13, the wafer conveying arm 2 can release the wafer 9, at this time, the wafer can be vertically placed in the wafer groove 13; when it is judged that the wafer 9 is not aligned with the wafer groove 13, the moving unit is finely adjusted until the wafer 9 is aligned with the wafer groove 13.
[0042] The triangular sensor cooperates with the endoscope assembly to more accurately determine the positional relationship between the wafer 9 held by the wafer transfer arm 2 and the wafer slot 13, so as to ensure that the wafer is vertically released into the wafer slot 13, and avoid mechanical collision between two adjacent wafers in the cleaning process due to oblique insertion, thereby reducing damage to the wafer surface caused by mechanical collision.
[0043] In some other embodiments, the wet tank cleaning apparatus can further comprise a control unit connected with the moving unit and configured to control the movement of the moving unit so as to control the movement of the at least one wafer transfer arm. The control unit is further connected with the adjuster and the inclination adjusting unit of the endoscope assembly and configured to control the adjuster and the inclination adjusting unit. It should be noted that the technical scheme of the wet tank cleaning apparatus of the present application includes various functional modules and module units, which can correspond to specific hardware circuits in the integrated circuit structure. Therefore, only the improvement of the specific hardware circuit is involved, and the hardware part is not only the carrier of the execution control software or computer program. Therefore, the corresponding technical problems are solved and the corresponding technical effects are obtained without involving the application of any control software or computer program. That is to say, the present application only uses the improvement of the hardware circuit structure of these modules and units to solve the technical problems to be solved and obtain the corresponding technical effects, and the corresponding functions can be realized without the aid of specific control software or computer program.
[0044] Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described above, it should be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present application. Those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, replacements and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of the present application.
[0045] The above content is a further detailed description of the present application in combination with specific preferred embodiments, and cannot be considered as limiting the specific implementation of the present application to these descriptions. For ordinary skilled persons in the technical field to which the present application belongs, some simple deductions or replacements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and all of them should be considered as falling within the protection scope of the present application.
Claims
1. A wet-bay cleaning apparatus, characterized by, The wet process slot cleaning equipment comprises a wafer carrying platform, at least one wafer conveying arm and a triangular sensor. The wafer carrying platform is provided with a plurality of wafer slots for carrying wafers. The triangular sensor comprises three infrared ray emitting ends, three infrared ray receiving ends and three indicator lights. Each infrared ray receiving end emits light when it receives the infrared ray emitted by the infrared ray emitting end.
2. The wet-tank cleaning apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The wet process slot cleaning equipment further comprises a moving unit. The moving unit is connected with the wafer carrying platform and controls the movement of the wafer carrying platform.
3. The wet-tank cleaning apparatus of claim 2, wherein, The wafer carrying platform comprises a connecting arm and a carrying surface provided with a plurality of wafer slots. The moving unit is connected with the wafer carrying platform through the connecting arm.
4. The wet tank cleaning apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The three infrared ray emitting ends are arranged on the wafer carrying platform through a connecting unit. The three infrared ray receiving ends are arranged on the at least one wafer conveying arm through another connecting unit. The connecting unit comprises three telescopic connecting rods, and the telescopic ends of the three telescopic connecting rods are arranged in a triangular shape. The three infrared ray emitting ends are arranged at the telescopic ends of the three telescopic connecting rods of one connecting unit. The three infrared ray receiving ends are arranged at the telescopic ends of the three telescopic connecting rods of another connecting unit.
5. The wet tank cleaning apparatus of claim 4, wherein, The telescopic ends of the three telescopic connecting rods are arranged in an equilateral triangle.
6. The wet tank cleaning apparatus of claim 3, wherein, The wet process slot cleaning equipment further comprises a endoscope assembly arranged on the wafer carrying platform. The lens of the endoscope assembly is configured to obtain the views of the plurality of wafer slots.
7. The wet-tank cleaning apparatus of claim 6, wherein, The endoscope assembly further comprises an adjuster, an inclination adjusting unit and a lens holder. The inclination adjusting unit is arranged on the adjuster and changes with the position of the adjuster. The inclination adjusting unit is connected with the lens holder and adjusts the inclination angle of the lens holder, and the lens holder is configured to hold the lens of the endoscope assembly.
8. The wet tank cleaning apparatus of claim 7, wherein, The wet process slot cleaning equipment further comprises a control unit. The control unit is configured to control the movement of the moving unit and the movement of the at least one wafer conveying arm.
9. The wet-tank cleaning apparatus of claim 8, wherein, The control unit is further configured to control the adjuster and the inclination adjusting unit.