Wafer tilt detection apparatus and device

Abstract

The utility model discloses a kind of wafer inclination detection device and equipment, applied to wafer detection technical field, comprising: main body frame;With the rotationally connected sensor base of main body frame;Sensor base can be rotated along pitch direction;Fixed in the light emitter and light receiver of sensor base;Light emitter and light receiver are in the same horizontal plane;With the driving device connected with sensor base;Driving device drives sensor base to rotate along pitch direction.It can change the incident angle of light emitter by controlling sensor base to rotate along pitch direction, so that when wafer is inclined, probe light can still irradiate to the side of wafer and reflect back to light receiver, so as to realize the detection of inclined wafer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of wafer inspection technology, and in particular to a wafer tilt detection device and a wafer tilt detection equipment. Background Technology

[0002] During the production process, wafers are typically stored in wafer cassettes, where they are usually stacked. In actual production, automated wafer gripping devices are often used for this purpose. If a wafer is tilted or missing from its cassette, there is a risk of damage during the gripping process. Therefore, the wafer arrangement within the cassette is usually checked before gripping the wafers.

[0003] In existing technology, infrared light is used to detect the wafers stacked in the wafer box. Specifically, an infrared transmitter and an infrared receiver are fixed on a base. The base drives the infrared transmitter and the infrared receiver to scan the wafers stacked in the wafer box from top to bottom. The light emitted by the infrared transmitter is reflected by the side of the wafer and then transmitted to the infrared receiver. The system determines the number of wafers based on the light signal received by the infrared receiver.

[0004] However, in existing technologies, when wafers stacked within a wafer cassette are tilted or missing, existing detection devices cannot distinguish between them. That is, existing detection devices cannot scan tilted wafers within the cassette, thus causing secondary damage to the wafers during subsequent handling. Therefore, how to provide a wafer tilt detection device that can detect tilted wafers within a wafer cassette is a problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a wafer tilt detection device and a wafer tilt detection equipment that can detect tilted wafers inside a wafer cassette.

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this utility model provides a wafer tilt detection device, comprising:

[0007] Main framework;

[0008] A sensor base rotatably connected to the main frame; the sensor base is rotatable in the pitch direction.

[0009] A light emitter and a light receiver are fixed to the sensor base; the light emitter and the light receiver are on the same horizontal plane;

[0010] A driving device connected to the sensor base; the driving device drives the sensor base to rotate along the pitch direction.

[0011] Optionally, the sensor base includes a horizontally arranged crossbar, the end of which is rotatably connected to the main frame, and the driving device is connected to the crossbar to drive the crossbar to rotate in the pitch direction.

[0012] Optionally, the sensor base further includes a plate fixedly connected to the side surface of the crossbar, and both the light emitter and the light receiver are fixedly connected to the plate.

[0013] Optionally, the drive device includes a first motor, a crank connected to the first motor, and a connecting rod connecting the crank and the crossbar to form a crank-rocker mechanism by using the crossbar as a rocker arm.

[0014] Optionally, the crank includes a turntable, which is driven by the first motor to rotate circumferentially; the crossbar has a protrusion in the direction intersecting the axis of the crossbar, one end of the connecting rod is connected to the non-rotation center of the turntable, and the other end of the connecting rod is connected to the protrusion.

[0015] Optionally, based on the crank-rocker mechanism driving the light emitter to swing in the light emission direction, the scanning range within the wafer cassette is no greater than twice the distance between adjacent wafers within the wafer cassette.

[0016] Optionally, the main frame includes a fixing plate, and the first motor is fixedly connected to the fixing plate.

[0017] Optionally, a second motor is also included, which is connected to the main frame and is used to drive the main frame to move up and down.

[0018] This utility model also provides a wafer tilt detection device, including the wafer tilt detection device as described in any of the above claims.

[0019] Optionally, it also includes a placement platform located on the light-emitting side of the light emitter.

[0020] The present invention provides a wafer tilt detection device, comprising: a main frame; a sensor base rotatably connected to the main frame; the sensor base being rotatable in the pitch direction; a light emitter and a light receiver fixed to the sensor base; the light emitter and the light receiver being on the same horizontal plane; a driving device connected to the sensor base; the driving device driving the sensor base to rotate in the pitch direction.

[0021] By controlling the sensor base to rotate in the pitch direction, the incident angle of the light emitter can be changed, so that when the wafer is tilted, the probe light can still illuminate the side of the wafer and reflect back to the light receiver, thereby realizing the detection of the tilted wafer.

[0022] This utility model also provides a wafer tilt detection device, which has the same beneficial effects as described above, and will not be described in detail here. Attached Figure Description

[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wafer tilt detection device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the wafer box structure;

[0026] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a wafer tilt detection device.

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wafer tilt detection device provided in an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0028] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A structural diagram from another angle.

[0029] In the diagram: 1. Main frame, 21. Crossbar, 22. Flat plate, 23. Protrusion, 3. Light emitter, 4. Light receiver, 51. First motor, 52. Turntable, 53. Connecting rod, 6. Fixing plate, 7. Wafer box, 8. Wafer, 9. Placement platform. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The core of this invention is to provide a wafer tilt detection device. In existing technology, a light emitter and an infrared receiver are fixed to a base, which drives the light emitter and infrared receiver to scan the wafers stacked inside the wafer cassette from top to bottom. When the wafers stacked inside the cassette are tilted, the side of the wafer is no longer directly facing the horizontal direction. Therefore, when the detection light emitted by the light emitter shines on the side of the tilted wafer, the detection light will not return along its original path and will not be received by the light receiver. Similarly, a missing wafer in the cassette will not reflect back the detection light. Therefore, the system cannot distinguish whether an undetected wafer in the cassette is tilted or missing. In other words, existing detection devices cannot scan tilted wafers in the cassette, thus causing secondary damage to the wafers during subsequent handling.

[0031] The wafer tilt detection device provided by this utility model includes: a main frame; a sensor base rotatably connected to the main frame; the sensor base is rotatable in the pitch direction; a light emitter and a light receiver fixed to the sensor base; the light emitter and the light receiver are on the same horizontal plane; a driving device connected to the sensor base; the driving device drives the sensor base to rotate in the pitch direction.

[0032] By controlling the sensor base to rotate in the pitch direction, the incident angle of the light emitter can be changed, so that when the wafer is tilted, the probe light can still illuminate the side of the wafer and reflect back to the light receiver, thereby realizing the detection of the tilted wafer.

[0033] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present invention, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0034] Example 1

[0035] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wafer tilt detection device provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the wafer box structure; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a wafer tilt detection device.

[0036] See Figure 1 In this embodiment, the wafer tilt detection device includes: a main frame 1; a sensor base rotatably connected to the main frame 1; the sensor base is rotatable in the pitch direction; a light emitter 3 and a light receiver 4 fixed to the sensor base; the light emitter 3 and the light receiver 4 are on the same horizontal plane; a driving device connected to the sensor base; the driving device drives the sensor base to rotate in the pitch direction.

[0037] The aforementioned main frame 1 is the main support structure of the wafer tilt detection device. When the drive light emitter 3 and light receiver 4 rotate in the pitch direction, the main frame 1 needs to remain constant to serve as the supporting foundation for the entire structure. The main frame 1 can be H-shaped or any other shape, and no specific limitation is made here.

[0038] The main frame 1 needs to be connected to a sensor base, which needs to be rotatably connected to the main frame 1. That is, the sensor base can rotate relative to the main frame 1, and its rotation direction is the pitch direction. The pitch direction is defined as the direction of motion when the light emitter 3 sweeps up and down relative to the horizontal plane, analogous to a camera head. If a horizontal bar 21 is placed horizontally, the direction in which the horizontal bar 21 rotates circumferentially around its axis is the aforementioned pitch direction.

[0039] The aforementioned sensor base is fixed with a light emitter 3 and a light receiver 4, and the light emitter 3 and the light receiver 4 are on the same horizontal plane. The light emitter 3 can be an infrared emitter or a laser emitter, and the corresponding light receiver 4 can be an infrared receiver or a laser receiver. The detection light can be either infrared or laser light. The specific types of light emitter 3 and light receiver 4 are not specifically limited here, but depend on the specific situation. Because the wafer 8 in the wafer cassette 7 is normally placed horizontally, its side is facing the horizontal plane. At the same time, since the wafer 8 is very thin, in order to ensure that the light receiver 4 can receive the detection light reflected from the side of the wafer 8, it is necessary to ensure that the light emitter 3 and the light receiver 4 are on the same horizontal plane. The light emitter 3 and the light receiver 4 need to be fixedly connected to the aforementioned sensor base so that when the sensor base rotates in the pitch direction, it can drive the pitch angle of the light emitter 3 and the light receiver 4 to change. That is, in this embodiment, the detection light emitted by the light emitter 3 can form a certain angle with the horizontal plane so as to detect the tilted wafer 8. The specific structure of the optical transmitter 3 and the optical receiver 4 can be referred to the existing technology, and will not be described in detail here. Specifically, in this embodiment, only one set of corresponding optical transmitter 3 and optical receiver 4 can be set, or two or more sets of corresponding optical transmitter 3 and optical receiver 4 can be set, and no specific limitation is made here.

[0040] The aforementioned driving device needs to be connected to the sensor base. Specifically, the driving device needs to drive the sensor base to rotate in the aforementioned pitch direction, thereby causing the light emitter 3 and the light receiver 4 to rotate in the aforementioned pitch direction, so as to change the pitch angle of the light emitter 3, so that the light emitted by the light emitter 3 can have a certain angle with the horizontal plane. The driving device can have various structures, and no specific limitation is made here.

[0041] Specifically, in this embodiment, the sensor base includes a horizontally arranged crossbar 21, the end of which is rotatably connected to the main frame 1, and the driving device is connected to the crossbar 21 to drive the crossbar 21 to rotate along the pitch direction.

[0042] The aforementioned crossbar 21 is placed horizontally, and the direction of circumferential rotation around the axis of the crossbar 21 is the pitch direction. At this time, the end of the crossbar 21 needs to be rotatably connected to the main frame 1, so that the crossbar 21 can rotate around its axis, i.e., rotate in the aforementioned pitch direction. Specifically, the aforementioned drive device is connected to the crossbar 21 to drive the crossbar 21 to rotate in the pitch direction.

[0043] Specifically, in addition to the crossbar 21 mentioned above, the sensor base may also include a plate 22 fixedly connected to the side surface of the crossbar 21. The light emitter 3 and the light receiver 4 are both fixedly connected to the plate 22. The plate 22 needs to provide a horizontal surface for mounting the light emitter 3 and the light receiver 4.

[0044] See Figure 2 as well as Figure 3 In this embodiment, the driving device includes a first motor 51, a crank connected to the first motor 51, and a connecting rod 53 connecting the crank and the crossbar 21, so that the crossbar 21 serves as a rocker to form a crank-rocker mechanism. In the crank-rocker mechanism, both the crank and the crossbar 21, which serves as a rocker, need to be movably connected to the connecting rod 53. The crank-rocker mechanism can realize the mutual conversion between rotational motion and reciprocating oscillation. In this embodiment, the first motor 51 can provide power to drive the crank to rotate, and the crank is specifically connected to the crossbar 21 through the connecting rod 53, so that the crossbar 21 serves as a rocker in the crank-rocker mechanism to reciprocate. At the same time, since the crossbar 21 is rotatably connected to the main frame 1, the crank can ultimately drive the crossbar 21 to reciprocate in the pitch direction, so as to realize the reciprocating oscillation of the incident angle of the detection light emitted by the light emitter 3, thereby detecting the tilted wafer 8.

[0045] When wafer 8 is tilted within wafer cassette 7, it forms an angle with the horizontal plane. When the direction of the detection light is parallel to the surface of wafer 8, the photodetector 4 can receive the detection light reflected from the side of the tilted wafer 8, thus detecting the tilted wafer 8. Furthermore, the tilt angle of wafer 8 can be determined by measuring the angle between the detection light and the horizontal plane when the tilted wafer 8 is detected. This angle corresponds to the state of the crank-rocker mechanism, for example, the angle of crank rotation. Therefore, the tilt angle of wafer 8 can be determined by measuring the angle of crank rotation. The specific correspondence is influenced by the structure of the crank-rocker mechanism and is not specifically limited here.

[0046] Specifically, in this embodiment, the crank may include a turntable 52, and the first motor 51 drives the turntable 52 to rotate circumferentially. The crossbar 21 has a protrusion 23 along a direction intersecting the axis of the crossbar 21. One end of the connecting rod 53 is connected to a position outside the rotation center of the turntable 52, and the other end of the connecting rod 53 is connected to the protrusion 23. The protrusion 23 is typically perpendicular to the axis of the crossbar 21. The connection ends of the connecting rod 53 and the turntable 52, as well as the connection ends of the connecting rod 53 and the protrusion 23, are movably connected, allowing the crossbar 21 to reciprocate in the pitch direction when the turntable 52 rotates.

[0047] In this embodiment, the light emitter 3 is oscillated in the direction of light emission driven by the crank-rocker mechanism, and the scanning range within the wafer cassette 7 is no greater than twice the distance between adjacent wafers 8 within the wafer cassette 7. The crank-rocker mechanism causes the light emitter 3 to oscillate back and forth in the direction of light emission, and this oscillation causes the probe light to sweep a certain distance within the wafer cassette 7. This distance corresponds to the scanning range. In this embodiment, the scanning range needs to be no greater than twice the distance between adjacent wafers 8 within the wafer cassette 7 to avoid scanning adjacent wafers 8 above and below during the oscillation. Because when a wafer 8 is tilted, its position will not exceed the position of its adjacent wafers 8 above and below, setting the scanning range within the wafer cassette 7 to be less than or equal to twice the distance between adjacent wafers 8 within the wafer cassette 7 can prevent the probe light from illuminating adjacent wafers 8 above and below the tilted wafer 8, thereby achieving detection only on the tilted wafer 8.

[0048] Specifically, in this embodiment, the main frame 1 may include a fixing plate 6, which can be used to fix the first motor 51, that is, the first motor 51 is fixedly connected to the fixing plate 6. The fixing connection can be made by any means such as bolts, and no specific limitation is made here.

[0049] Besides the crank-rocker mechanism described above, the drive device can also have other structures to rotate the sensor base in the pitch direction. For example, the drive device may consist of only a motor or an electric motor, and can be directly installed at the connection point between the main frame 1 and the sensor base, thereby changing the angle between the light emitted by the light emitter 3 and the horizontal plane. Therefore, in this embodiment, the structure of the drive device is not specifically limited, as long as it can achieve the above-mentioned functions.

[0050] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the wafer tilt detection device may also include a second motor connected to the main frame 1. The second motor is used to drive the main frame 1 to move up and down. Specifically, the second motor is used to drive the main frame 1 to move up and down as a whole, thereby driving the light emitter 3 and the light receiver 4 to move up and down as a whole. The second motor can be a linear motor, and the output end of the linear motor is connected to the main frame 1 to drive the main frame 1 to move up and down. Of course, in this embodiment, the movement of the main frame 1 can also be achieved by motors with other structures and connection methods, which are not specifically limited here.

[0051] In this embodiment, after opening the wafer cassette 7, the second motor can drive the light emitter 3 and the light receiver 4 to move horizontally. At this time, the first motor 51 needs to control the light emission angle of the light emitter 3 to ensure it reaches and remains horizontal. While the light emitter 3 and the light receiver 4 are moving horizontally, the wafers 8 inside the wafer cassette 7 can be inspected as a whole. If no probe light reflected from the side of the wafer 8 is detected at certain locations, the second motor can hold the light emitter 3 and the light receiver 4 at the aforementioned height. Then, the first motor 51 changes the light emission angle of the light emitter 3, causing it to swing in the pitch direction, thereby changing the light emission angle for scanning. If probe light reflected from the side of the wafer 8 is detected during scanning, it can be determined that the wafer 8 at that location is tilted; if no probe light is detected during scanning, it can be determined that the wafer 8 at that location is missing. Of course, other operating procedures can also be used to inspect the wafer 8; the specific wafer 8 inspection procedure is not specifically limited here.

[0052] The wafer tilt detection device provided in this embodiment can change the incident angle of the light emitter 3 by controlling the sensor base to rotate in the pitch direction, so that when the wafer 8 is tilted, the detection light can still illuminate the side of the wafer 8 and reflect back to the light receiver 4, thereby realizing the detection of the tilted wafer 8.

[0053] Example 2

[0054] Please refer to Figure 4 as well as Figure 5 , Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wafer tilt detection device provided in an embodiment of the present utility model; Figure 5 for Figure 4 A structural diagram from another angle.

[0055] See Figure 4 as well as Figure 5In this embodiment, the wafer tilt detection equipment includes a wafer tilt detection device as provided in any of the above utility model embodiments. The specific structure of the wafer tilt detection device has been described in detail in the above embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0056] Specifically, the wafer tilt detection device can be further equipped with a placement platform 9, which can be located on the light-emitting side of the light emitter 3. During use, the wafer cassette 7 can be placed on the placement platform 9, so that the wafer cassette 7 is located on the light-emitting side of the light emitter 3 for easy detection. The specific detection process has been described in detail in the above embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0057] The wafer tilt detection device provided in this embodiment can change the incident angle of the light emitter 3 by controlling the sensor base to rotate in the pitch direction, so that when the wafer 8 is tilted, the detection light can still illuminate the side of the wafer 8 and reflect back to the light receiver 4, thereby realizing the detection of the tilted wafer 8.

[0058] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. Each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other.

[0059] Finally, it should be noted that in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0060] The wafer tilt detection device and equipment provided by this utility model have been described in detail above. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principle and implementation of this utility model. The descriptions of the embodiments above are only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core idea of ​​this utility model. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made to this utility model without departing from the principle of this utility model, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of the claims of this utility model.

Claims

1. A wafer tilt detection device, characterized in that, include: Main framework; The sensor base is rotatably connected to the main frame; The sensor base can rotate in the pitch direction; A light emitter and a light receiver are fixed to the sensor base; the light emitter and the light receiver are on the same horizontal plane; The drive device connected to the sensor base; The drive device drives the sensor base to rotate along the pitch direction.

2. The wafer tilt detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sensor base includes a horizontally arranged crossbar, the end of which is rotatably connected to the main frame, and the driving device is connected to the crossbar to drive the crossbar to rotate along the pitch direction.

3. The wafer tilt detection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The sensor base also includes a plate fixedly connected to the side surface of the crossbar, and the light emitter and the light receiver are both fixedly connected to the plate.

4. The wafer tilt detection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The drive device includes a first motor, a crank connected to the first motor, and a connecting rod connecting the crank and the crossbar to form a crank-rocker mechanism by using the crossbar as a rocker arm.

5. The wafer tilt detection device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The crank includes a turntable, which is driven to rotate circumferentially by the first motor; the crossbar has a protrusion in the direction intersecting the axis of the crossbar, one end of the connecting rod is connected to the non-rotation center of the turntable, and the other end of the connecting rod is connected to the protrusion.

6. The wafer tilt detection device according to claim 4, characterized in that, Based on the crank-rocker mechanism driving the light emitter to swing in the light emission direction, the scanning range within the wafer cassette is no greater than twice the distance between adjacent wafers within the wafer cassette.

7. The wafer tilt detection device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The main frame includes a fixing plate, and the first motor is fixedly connected to the fixing plate.

8. The wafer tilt detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a second motor, which is connected to the main frame and is used to drive the main frame to move up and down.

9. A wafer tilt detection device, characterized in that, Includes the wafer tilt detection device as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The wafer tilt detection equipment according to claim 9, characterized in that, It also includes a placement platform located on the light-emitting side of the light emitter.

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