Wafer conveying system

Abstract

The utility model discloses a wafer conveying system. The conveying system comprises a vacuum shell arranged at an opening of a semiconductor reaction cavity, a supporting frame used for supporting the vacuum shell, a material taking opening formed in the vacuum shell, two supporting bottom plates located in the vacuum shell, and linear conveying modules arranged on the corresponding supporting bottom plates. Wherein one supporting bottom plate is arranged in the x-axis direction, the other supporting bottom plate is arranged in the y-axis direction, and the linear conveying module comprises a linear motor fixedly installed on the supporting bottom plates and a horizontal push rod fixedly connected to the output end of the linear motor. According to the utility model, the transverse conveying system and the longitudinal conveying system are arranged, the wafers communicated with the wafer bearing platform are taken out from the semiconductor reaction chamber to a preset position by means of transverse conveying, then the wafers are conveyed to the material taking port by means of longitudinal conveying, the material taking process is completed, the structure is simple, and the implementation is easy.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of wafer transfer technology, and in particular to a wafer transfer system. Background Technology

[0002] In semiconductor thin film deposition and etching equipment, wafers need to be fed into the reaction chamber, and after the reaction is complete, the wafers also need to be removed from the reaction chamber. Current technologies mostly use robotic arms for this process, which presents the following problems:

[0003] On the one hand, in the process of using a robotic arm to take the wafer out of the chamber and send it to the pick-up port, a 90º or 180º rotation is required, which requires a large movement space for the robotic arm, resulting in a large product size;

[0004] On the other hand, robotic arms are expensive and complex to maintain, which is not conducive to reducing the overall cost of the equipment. Utility Model Content

[0005] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art described above, the purpose of this utility model is to provide a wafer transport system to realize the transport and repositioning of wafers, so as to flexibly and conveniently pick up and put down wafers.

[0006] A wafer transfer system includes a vacuum housing installed at the opening of a semiconductor reaction chamber; the transfer system further includes:

[0007] A material intake port is provided on the vacuum housing;

[0008] Two supporting base plates are located within the vacuum housing; one of the supporting base plates is arranged along the x-axis, and the remaining supporting base plate is arranged along the y-axis; and

[0009] The linear conveyor module, mounted on the corresponding support base plate, is used to drive the semiconductor wafer carrier to make linear movements.

[0010] As a further improvement to the above solution, a gate valve is installed in the vacuum housing to block the opening channel of the semiconductor reaction chamber.

[0011] As a further improvement to the above solution, the conveying system also includes a support frame for supporting the vacuum housing.

[0012] As a further improvement to the above solution, the vacuum housing is detachably fitted with a cover plate for sealing the feed port.

[0013] As a further improvement to the above solution, the linear transmission module includes a linear motor fixedly mounted on a support base plate and a horizontal push rod fixedly connected to the output end of the linear motor.

[0014] As a further improvement to the above solution, the conveying system also includes a vertical drive mechanism that acts on the corresponding support base plate.

[0015] As a further improvement to the above solution, the vertical drive mechanism consists of an electric cylinder, a push rod, and a top frame. The electric cylinder is located below the support base plate and is fixedly installed outside the vacuum housing.

[0016] As a further improvement to the above solution, the push rod is fixedly connected to the output end of the electric cylinder, and the top frame is set between the push rod and the support base plate.

[0017] As a further improvement to the above solution, the top frame has a concave structure, and the top frame rod passes through the bottom of the vacuum housing and is fixed vertically to the support base plate.

[0018] As a further improvement to the above solution, a threaded tube is fixedly installed on the vacuum housing, and the top frame rod is located inside the threaded tube, the length of which is 1 / 2 of the length of the top frame rod.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of this utility model are: it is equipped with two sets of conveying systems, one horizontal and one vertical. The wafers on the wafer carrier are taken out from the semiconductor reaction chamber to a predetermined position by means of horizontal conveying, and then the wafers are conveyed to the pick-up port by vertical conveying to complete the pick-up process. The structure is simple and easy to implement. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 The figure shown is a plan perspective view of a wafer transport system provided in Embodiment 1 of this utility model.

[0021] Figure 2 The present invention is shown. Figure 1 Top view.

[0022] Figure 3 The figure shown is a plan perspective view of a wafer transport system provided in Embodiment 2 of this utility model.

[0023] Explanation of main component symbols

[0024] 1. Vacuum housing; 2. Support frame; 3. Material inlet; 4. Support base plate; 5. Linear conveyor module; 6. Vertical drive mechanism; 61. Electric cylinder; 62. Push rod; 63. Top frame; 7. Threaded pipe.

[0025] The above description of the main component symbols, together with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, provides a further detailed explanation of this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0026] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this utility model clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with embodiments. Additional aspects and advantages of this utility model will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the utility model. It should be understood that the following description is merely illustrative and not intended to limit the utility model.

[0027] The specific embodiments of this utility model are described in detail below.

[0028] Please see Figure 1-2 This embodiment provides a wafer transfer system, which includes a vacuum housing 1 installed at the opening of a semiconductor reaction chamber, a support frame 2 for supporting the vacuum housing 1, a material inlet 3 opened on the vacuum housing 1, two support base plates 4 located inside the vacuum housing 1, and a linear transfer module 5 installed on the corresponding support base plates 4.

[0029] The vacuum housing 1 is equipped with a gate valve to block the opening of the semiconductor reaction chamber. In this embodiment, the gate valve ensures that the semiconductor reaction chamber opening is only open when a wafer is being fed in or removed to allow the wafer to pass through. The support frame 2 allows the vacuum housing 1 to be positioned at a certain height, facilitating the alignment and assembly of the transfer system within the semiconductor reaction chamber. The vacuum housing 1 is detachably fitted with a cover plate for sealing the feed port 3. When a semiconductor wafer needs to be inserted or removed, the cover plate is opened, and the corresponding operation is performed.

[0030] One of the supporting base plates 4 is arranged along the x-axis, and the remaining supporting base plate 4 is arranged along the y-axis, and the supporting base plates 4 are welded to the inner wall of the vacuum housing 1. The linear conveying module 5 is used to drive the semiconductor wafer carrier to make linear movements, and the linear conveying module 5 includes a linear motor fixedly installed on the supporting base plate 4 and a horizontal push rod fixedly connected to the output end of the linear motor. The specific working process of the linear conveying module 5 in this embodiment is as follows: the linear motor drives the horizontal push rod to move towards the side where the semiconductor wafer carrier is located until the front end of the horizontal push rod extends into the semiconductor wafer carrier. Then, the linear motor drives the horizontal push rod to move in the opposite direction. At this time, the purpose of conveying the semiconductor wafer carrier and the wafers on it is achieved.

[0031] In this embodiment, the support base plate 4 provides mounting support for the linear conveying module 5. The linear conveying module 5, which is arranged along the x-axis, drives the semiconductor wafer to make lateral linear movements, so as to push the semiconductor wafer into or out of the semiconductor reaction chamber. The linear conveying module 5, which is arranged along the y-axis, drives the semiconductor wafer to make longitudinal conveying, so as to transfer the semiconductor wafer to the pick-up port 3. In the aforementioned process, the lateral and longitudinal conveying work together to achieve flexible turning in the semiconductor wafer conveying process, overcoming the various inconveniences that exist when using a robotic arm to operate the semiconductor wafer.

[0032] It should be noted that when applied to processes such as annealing or semiconductor heat treatment, considering the cooling requirements of the high-temperature gas in the reaction chamber, water cooling measures can be added to the outside of the vacuum housing 1 in this embodiment, such as winding water cooling pipes, to achieve the effect of simultaneous cooling during the wafer removal process. This will not be elaborated here.

[0033] In summary, the conveying system of this embodiment has the following advantages compared to using a robotic arm to pick up and place wafers from the reaction chamber: it has two sets of conveying systems, one horizontal and one vertical. The horizontal conveying system removes the wafers from the semiconductor reaction chamber to a predetermined position via the wafer carrier platform, and then the vertical conveying system transports the wafers to the pick-up port 3 to complete the pick-up process. The order of placement is reversed; that is, the vertical conveying system runs first, followed by the horizontal conveying system to place the wafers into the semiconductor reaction chamber.

[0034] Example 1

[0035] Please continue reading. Figure 3 This embodiment provides a wafer transfer system, which differs from Embodiment 1 in that: in this embodiment, the supporting base plate 4 is in contact with the vacuum housing 1, and the transfer system further includes a vertical drive mechanism 6, which acts on the corresponding supporting base plate 4. The vertical drive mechanism 6 consists of an electric cylinder 61, a push rod 62, and a top frame 63. The electric cylinder 61 is located below the supporting base plate 4 and is fixedly installed outside the vacuum housing 1. The push rod 62 is fixedly connected to the output end of the electric cylinder 61, and the top frame 63 is disposed between the push rod 62 and the supporting base plate 4. The top frame 63 has a concave structure, and the top frame 63 support rod passes through the bottom of the vacuum housing 1 and is vertically fixed to the supporting base plate 4. A threaded tube 7 is fixedly installed on the vacuum housing 1, and the top frame 63 support rod is located inside the threaded tube 7. The length of the threaded tube 7 is 1 / 2 the length of the top frame 63 support rod.

[0036] In this embodiment, the vertical drive mechanism 6 serves to move the semiconductor wafer vertically so as to feed the semiconductor wafer into the feeding port 3. The specific working process of the vertical drive mechanism 6 in this embodiment is as follows: the electric cylinder 61 is activated to drive the push rod 62 to move vertically. At this time, in the aforementioned process, the threaded tube 7 provides the movement and positioning of the top frame 63 support rod.

[0037] The preferred embodiments of this utility model disclosed above are merely illustrative of the present utility model. These preferred embodiments do not exhaustively describe all details, nor do they limit the utility model to the specific implementations described. Clearly, many modifications and variations can be made based on the content of this specification. This specification selects and specifically describes these embodiments to better explain the principles and practical applications of this utility model, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to better understand and utilize it. This utility model is limited only by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. A wafer transfer system, comprising a vacuum housing (1) installed at the opening of a semiconductor reaction chamber. characterized in that The transmission system also includes: A material intake port (3) is provided on the vacuum housing (1); Two supporting base plates (4) are located inside the vacuum housing (1); one of the supporting base plates (4) is arranged along the x-axis, and the remaining supporting base plate (4) is arranged along the y-axis; and A linear transmission module (5) is installed on the corresponding support base plate (4) and is used to drive the semiconductor wafer carrier to make linear movements.

2. The wafer transfer system of claim 1, wherein, The vacuum housing (1) is equipped with a gate valve, which is used to block the opening channel of the semiconductor reaction chamber.

3. The wafer transfer system of claim 2, wherein, The transmission system also includes a support frame (2) for supporting the vacuum housing (1).

4. The wafer transfer system of claim 1, wherein, The vacuum housing (1) is detachably fitted with a cover plate for sealing the feed port (3).

5. The wafer transfer system of claim 1, wherein, The linear transmission module (5) includes a linear motor fixedly installed on the support base plate (4) and a horizontal push rod fixedly connected to the output end of the linear motor.

6. The wafer transfer system of claim 1, wherein, The transmission system also includes a vertical drive mechanism (6), which acts on the corresponding support base plate (4).

7. The wafer transfer system of claim 6, wherein The vertical drive mechanism (6) consists of an electric cylinder (61), a push rod (62) and a top frame (63). The electric cylinder (61) is located below the support base plate (4) and is fixedly installed outside the vacuum housing (1).

8. The wafer transfer system of claim 7, wherein, The push rod (62) is fixedly connected to the output end of the electric cylinder (61), and the top frame (63) is set between the push rod (62) and the support base plate (4).

9. The wafer transfer system of claim 8, wherein, The top frame (63) has a concave structure, and the top frame (63) rod passes through the bottom of the vacuum shell (1) and is vertically fixed to the support base plate (4).

10. The wafer transfer system of claim 9, wherein, A threaded tube (7) is fixedly installed on the vacuum housing (1), and the top frame (63) rod is located inside the threaded tube (7). The length of the threaded tube (7) is 1 / 2 of the length of the top frame (63) rod.

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