Chuck and semiconductor device
By designing a notch on the edge of the chuck body to provide wafer unloading space, the problem of wafer transfer interruption and damage is solved by using a wafer gripping tool, achieving safe and reliable unloading, reducing the risk of wafer surface contamination and damage, and improving the reliability and safety of semiconductor equipment.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- ZHEJIANG ICSPROUT SEMICONDUCTOR CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-03-11
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-12
Smart Images
Figure CN224356626U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, and more particularly to a chuck and semiconductor equipment. Background Technology
[0002] In the semiconductor manufacturing industry, chucks are typically used to carry and stabilize wafers in the transfer module responsible for moving wafers between processes.
[0003] During wafer transfer, if there are many particles attached to the back of the wafer or the wafer is warped or deformed, wafer transfer interruption or wafer damage may occur. When the machine cannot meet the requirements for safe and automatic wafer unloading, the chamber needs to be opened to remove the wafer.
[0004] Therefore, how to safely and reliably unload the wafer has become an urgent problem to be solved. Utility Model Content
[0005] The problem solved by this utility model embodiment is to provide a chuck and semiconductor device to reduce the difficulty of wafer unloading and improve the reliability and safety of wafer unloading operations.
[0006] To address the aforementioned problems, this utility model provides a chuck, comprising: a chuck body, including a bearing surface for carrying a wafer, the bearing surface including a wafer covering area, the chuck body having a notch located at an edge position, the notch penetrating through a portion or all of the thickness of the chuck body from the bearing surface, and on a projection plane parallel to the bearing surface, the notch and the projection of the wafer covering area have an overlapping portion.
[0007] Optionally, the notch is the operating port of the wafer gripping tool.
[0008] Optionally, the notch is a pen suction groove.
[0009] Optionally, the notch extends through the edge sidewall of the chuck body along its radial direction.
[0010] Optionally, the notch extends radially along the chuck body.
[0011] Optionally, the notch has a radial dimension of 5 cm to 10 cm along the chuck body.
[0012] Optionally, the depth of the notch along the normal direction of the bearing surface is greater than or equal to 10 mm.
[0013] Optionally, the depth of the notch along the normal direction of the bearing surface is 10 mm to 20 mm.
[0014] Optionally, along the edge contour of the chuck body, the recess has a first sidewall and a second sidewall disposed opposite to each other, the distance between the first sidewall and the second sidewall being 5 cm to 7 cm.
[0015] Optionally, the number of notches is one.
[0016] Optionally, the shape of the projection of the notch onto a projection plane parallel to the bearing surface includes a rectangle.
[0017] Optionally, the chuck satisfies one or more of the following conditions: the chuck body has a pin, and the notch is disposed away from the pin; the chuck body has an adsorption component for adsorbing wafers, and the notch is disposed away from the adsorption component; the chuck body has an interactive area for realizing automated production, and the notch is disposed away from the interactive area.
[0018] Accordingly, this utility model embodiment also provides a semiconductor device, including the chuck described in any embodiment of this utility model.
[0019] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of this utility model embodiment has the following advantages:
[0020] The chuck provided in this embodiment of the utility model includes: a chuck body, including a bearing surface for carrying a wafer, the bearing surface including a wafer covering area, the chuck body having a notch located at an edge position, the notch penetrating through part or all of the thickness of the chuck body from the bearing surface, and on a projection plane parallel to the bearing surface, the projection of the notch and the wafer covering area have an overlapping portion. Correspondingly, when the wafer is located on the wafer covering area of the bearing surface, the wafer and the notch also have an overlapping area. The notch can provide the necessary space for gripping the wafer, thereby facilitating the unloading of the wafer through the wafer surface exposed by the notch, that is, reducing the difficulty of unloading the wafer, and correspondingly helping to reduce the probability of contamination or damage to the surface of the wafer facing away from the bearing surface, thereby improving the reliability and safety of the wafer unloading operation.
[0021] In an optional embodiment, the notch serves as the operating port for the wafer gripping tool, thus enabling wafer unloading without operator contact, thereby avoiding safety hazards caused by operator contact with the wafer (e.g., contamination or damage to the wafer surface).
[0022] In an alternative embodiment, the notch extends through the edge sidewall of the chuck body along its radial direction, thereby preventing the edge sidewall of the chuck body from obstructing the wafer gripping process, further reducing the difficulty of gripping the wafer via the notch, and further reducing the probability of contamination or damage to the wafer's back surface during wafer unloading.
[0023] The semiconductor device provided in this embodiment of the present invention includes the chuck described in this embodiment of the present invention. Since the chuck body has a notch, it is convenient to unload the wafer through the wafer surface exposed by the notch, which reduces the difficulty of unloading the wafer. Correspondingly, it helps to reduce the probability of contamination or damage to the wafer's back surface, thereby improving the reliability and safety of the semiconductor device. Attached Figure Description
[0024] Figure 1 This is a front view of the chuck body according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A top view of one embodiment of the chuck body shown. Detailed Implementation
[0026] As the background technology shows, when the equipment cannot meet the requirements for safe and automatic wafer unloading, the chamber must be opened to remove the wafer. However, improper operation during wafer gripping can lead to wafer contamination or damage. Therefore, how to safely and reliably unload wafers has become an urgent problem to be solved.
[0027] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this utility model provides a chuck, comprising: a chuck body, including a bearing surface for carrying a wafer, the bearing surface including a wafer covering area, the chuck body having a notch located at an edge position, the notch penetrating through a portion or all of the thickness of the chuck body from the bearing surface, and on a projection plane parallel to the bearing surface, the notch and the projection of the wafer covering area have an overlapping portion.
[0028] In the solution disclosed in this utility model embodiment, the notch can provide the necessary space for gripping the wafer, thereby facilitating the unloading of the wafer through the wafer surface exposed by the notch, which reduces the difficulty of unloading the wafer and correspondingly helps to reduce the probability of contamination or damage to the wafer's back surface, thereby improving the reliability and safety of the wafer unloading operation.
[0029] To make the above-mentioned objectives, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0030] Figure 1 This is a front view of the chuck body according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A top view of one embodiment of the chuck body shown.
[0031] It should be noted that, as an example, Figure 2 The boundary of the wafer-covered area is represented by a dashed line.
[0032] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 A chuck, comprising: a chuck body 101, including a carrier surface 102 for carrying a wafer, the carrier surface 102 including a wafer coverage area 104 (e.g., Figure 2 As shown), the chuck body 101 has a notch 103 located at the edge position. The notch 103 penetrates the chuck body 101 through part or all of its thickness from the bearing surface 102, and on the projection plane parallel to the bearing surface 102, the notch 103 overlaps with the projection of the wafer covering area 104.
[0033] The bearing surface 102 includes a wafer coverage area 104, which is the area on the bearing surface 102 used for being covered by a wafer.
[0034] Correspondingly, when the wafer is located on the bearing surface 102, the wafer covers the wafer coverage area 104 of the bearing surface 102. On the projection plane parallel to the bearing surface 102, the projection of the notch 103 and the wafer coverage area 104 overlaps. Correspondingly, the wafer and the notch 103 also have an overlapping area. Therefore, the notch 103 can provide the necessary space for gripping the wafer, thereby facilitating the unloading of the wafer through the wafer surface exposed by the notch 103. This reduces the difficulty of unloading the wafer and correspondingly helps to reduce the probability of contamination or damage to the surface of the wafer facing away from the bearing surface 102, thereby improving the reliability and safety of the wafer unloading operation.
[0035] As an example, the notch 103 is used for manual wafer unloading. In other embodiments, the notch may also be applicable to other wafer unloading methods.
[0036] As an example, after the chuck carrying the wafer is moved to a preset wafer unloading position, the movement of the chuck is stopped. After the movement of the chuck stops, the wafer placed on the bearing surface 102 is gripped via the notch 103 of the chuck for wafer unloading. As an example, the preset wafer unloading position is a preset position for manual wafer unloading.
[0037] It should be noted that, as an example, in the direction parallel to the bearing surface 102, the size of the bearing surface 102 is larger than the size of the wafer; therefore, Figure 2 The boundary of the wafer coverage area 104 shown is located inside the boundary of the bearing surface 102.
[0038] In other embodiments, depending on the actual situation, the entire area of the bearing surface is the wafer-covered area, that is, on the projection plane parallel to the bearing surface, the projections of the wafer and the bearing surface coincide.
[0039] In this embodiment, the notch 103 penetrates a portion of the thickness of the chuck body 101 from the bearing surface 102.
[0040] The bottom of the notch 103 still has a portion of the thickness of the chuck body 101, which greatly reduces the interference of the notch 103 with other devices below the chuck body 101, and also greatly reduces the possibility of particles adsorbed on the back of the wafer falling onto other devices below the chuck body 101, thereby effectively suppressing the interference of the notch 103 with the original function of the semiconductor device where the chuck is located.
[0041] The depth of the notch 103 along the normal direction of the bearing surface 102 is 10 mm to 20 mm, which can meet the spatial depth requirements of mainstream wafer gripping tools to smoothly enter and exit the notch 103 groove, greatly reducing the difficulty of modifying the chuck body 101 and effectively reducing interference with the normal operation of other functions of the chuck.
[0042] In other embodiments, to increase the space required to grip the wafer, the notch may also extend through the entire thickness of the chuck body from the bearing surface.
[0043] In this embodiment, the notch 103 is the operating port of the wafer gripping tool.
[0044] As an example, a wafer gripping tool is used to grip the surface of the wafer facing the bearing surface 102 via the notch 103 of the chuck to unload the wafer. This helps to reduce the difficulty of wafer unloading and allows the wafer to be unloaded without the operator touching the wafer, thereby avoiding safety hazards caused by the operator touching the wafer (e.g., contamination or damage to the wafer surface).
[0045] In this embodiment, the notch 103 is a pen suction groove, and the notch 103 is a corresponding pen suction operation port.
[0046] As an example, the wafer is unloaded by using a suction pen to pick up the surface of the wafer facing the bearing surface 102 via the suction pen slot.
[0047] As the mainstream wafer gripping tool, the suction pen makes contact with the wafer surface through a vacuum suction cup, which helps to improve the safety of wafer unloading operations. In addition, the suction pen is inexpensive and easy to operate, which reduces the difficulty of wafer unloading operations.
[0048] Correspondingly, by providing a notch 103 that cooperates with the suction pen, compatibility with existing wafer unloading methods can be improved. Moreover, by making the notch 103 a suction pen groove, it is also beneficial to make the size of the notch 103 smaller, thereby reducing the impact of the notch 103 on the chuck body 101.
[0049] In other embodiments, the notch may also be a groove adapted to other wafer gripping tools.
[0050] Please refer to Figure 1 In this embodiment, along the radial direction of the chuck body 101, the notch 103 penetrates the edge sidewall of the chuck body 101, thereby avoiding obstruction of the edge sidewall of the chuck body 101 during wafer gripping, further reducing the difficulty of gripping the wafer via the notch 103, and further reducing the probability of contamination or damage to the surface of the wafer facing away from the bearing surface 102 during wafer unloading.
[0051] In other embodiments, the notch may not penetrate the edge sidewall of the chuck body.
[0052] In this embodiment, the notch 103 extends radially along the chuck body 101.
[0053] Correspondingly, the notch 103 can expose the surface of the wafer along the radial direction of the wafer, which is beneficial to improving the stability of the wafer during the wafer unloading process.
[0054] For example, taking wafer unloading via a wafer gripper as an example, the wafer gripper extends radially along the notch 103, which helps to reduce the distance between the adsorption position of the wafer gripper on the wafer surface and the center of the wafer, and helps to improve the wafer gripper's ability to stabilize the wafer. This reduces the occurrence of accidents such as unexpected wafer displacement, falling, or wafer warping during the wafer unloading process, thereby improving the reliability and safety of the wafer unloading operation.
[0055] In other embodiments, the notch may also extend circumferentially or in other directions along the chuck body.
[0056] It should be noted that the radial dimension L of the notch 103 along the chuck body 101 should not be too small or too large. If the notch 103 along the radial dimension L of the chuck body 101 is too small, it may result in poor exposure of the wafer surface, thus hindering the reduction of wafer unloading difficulty and the improvement of wafer unloading reliability and safety. If the notch 103 along the radial dimension L of the chuck body 101 is too large, it may affect the original function of the chuck body 101. Therefore, in this embodiment, the radial dimension L of the notch 103 along the chuck body 101 is 5 cm to 10 cm.
[0057] like Figure 1 As shown, in this embodiment, along the edge contour of the chuck body 101, the recess 103 has a first sidewall 114 and a second sidewall 115 disposed opposite to each other.
[0058] It should be noted that the distance d between the first sidewall 114 and the second sidewall 115 should not be too small or too large. If the distance d between the first sidewall 114 and the second sidewall 115 is too small, it may result in poor performance in providing sufficient space for wafer gripping; if the distance d between the first sidewall 114 and the second sidewall 115 is too large, it may result in the notch 103 occupying too much area of the bearing surface 102, thereby potentially affecting the original function of the chuck body 101. Therefore, in this embodiment, the distance between the first sidewall 114 and the second sidewall 115 is 5 cm to 7 cm.
[0059] It should also be noted that setting the distance between the first sidewall 114 and the second sidewall 115 to 5 cm to 7 cm is also beneficial for compatibility with the gripping body of mainstream wafer gripping tools, improving the smoothness of the wafer gripping tool entering and exiting the notch 103, and improving the versatility of the chuck.
[0060] Furthermore, the depth D of the notch 103 along the normal direction of the bearing surface 102 should not be too small. If the depth D of the notch 103 along the normal direction of the bearing surface 102 is too small, it may result in poor performance in providing sufficient space for wafer gripping. Therefore, in this embodiment, the depth D of the notch 103 along the normal direction of the bearing surface 102 is greater than or equal to 10 mm.
[0061] In this embodiment, while satisfying the space required for wafer gripping, in order to reduce the impact on the chuck body 101, or on other devices below the chuck body 101, the depth D of the notch 103 along the normal direction of the bearing surface 102 is 10 mm to 20 mm.
[0062] It should be noted that, in other embodiments, depending on the actual situation (e.g., the thickness of the chuck body), the depth of the notch along the normal direction of the bearing surface may also be greater than 20 mm.
[0063] Please refer to Figure 2 In this embodiment, the number of notches 103 is one.
[0064] The notch 103 is provided inside the chuck body 101, and there is only one notch. This helps to reduce the difficulty of modifying the chuck and can minimize the interference of the notch 103 with other functional structures on the chuck body 101, thereby improving the integrity of the chuck's functions.
[0065] In other embodiments, the number of notches may also be multiple.
[0066] In this embodiment, the projected shape of the notch 103 on the projection plane parallel to the bearing surface 102 includes a rectangle. On the one hand, this helps to reduce the manufacturing difficulty of the notch 103; on the other hand, it helps to make the groove shape of the notch 103 more consistent with the appearance of current mainstream wafer gripping tools, facilitating the use of wafer gripping tools and improving the versatility of the chuck.
[0067] In this embodiment, the chuck body 101 has a ejector pin 400, and the notch 103 is set to avoid the ejector pin 400.
[0068] The ejector pin 400 is typically located in the chuck body 101. The ejector pin 400 is used to receive the wafer, so that the wafer can be sent out of the process chamber or transferred to the top of the chuck body 101 by a transfer device such as a robotic arm.
[0069] The notch 103 is positioned to avoid the ejector pin 400, thereby reducing the interference of the notch 103 with the original function of the chuck.
[0070] In other embodiments, the notch may not avoid the ejector pin.
[0071] In this embodiment, the chuck body 101 has an adsorption component (not shown in the figure) for adsorbing wafers, and the notch 103 is set to avoid the adsorption component.
[0072] The adsorption component is disposed in the chuck body 101 and adsorbs the wafer to stabilize it on the bearing surface 102. For example, if the chuck body 101 is a vacuum chuck, the adsorption component may include a vacuum pipe and an adsorption port; or, if the chuck body 101 is an electrostatic chuck, the adsorption component may be an adsorption electrode.
[0073] The notch 103 is positioned away from the adsorption component, which helps to reduce the impact of the notch 103 on the function of the adsorption component in stabilizing the wafer, thereby improving the process reliability of wafer processing.
[0074] In other embodiments, the notch may be provided without avoiding the adsorption component.
[0075] In this embodiment, the chuck body 101 has an interactive area for realizing automated production, and the notch 103 is set to avoid the interactive area.
[0076] In the process of automated wafer production, the chuck body 101 has an area that interacts with other devices in the semiconductor equipment. For example, wafers are usually transferred by transfer devices such as robotic arms. The transfer device has a projection area on the chuck body 101, and the projection area can be an interaction area.
[0077] The notch 103 is positioned away from the interaction area, which helps to reduce the impact of the notch 103 on the semiconductor manufacturing process, thereby improving the process reliability of the wafer processing flow.
[0078] In other embodiments, the notch may be provided without avoiding the interaction area.
[0079] Accordingly, this utility model embodiment also provides a semiconductor device, which includes the chuck described in any of the foregoing embodiments.
[0080] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, since the chuck has a notch 103, it is convenient to unload the wafer through the wafer surface exposed by the notch 103, which reduces the difficulty of unloading the wafer. Correspondingly, it helps to reduce the probability of the wafer's back surface 102 being contaminated or damaged, thereby making the wafer unloading operation more reliable and safe, and thus helping to improve the reliability and safety of semiconductor equipment.
[0081] While the present invention has been disclosed above, it is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can make various modifications and alterations without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention; therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope defined in the claims.
Claims
1. A chuck, characterized in that, include: A chuck body includes a carrier surface for carrying a wafer, the carrier surface including a wafer covering area, the chuck body having a notch located at an edge position, the notch penetrating through a portion or all of the thickness of the chuck body from the carrier surface, and on a projection plane parallel to the carrier surface, the notch and the projection of the wafer covering area have an overlapping portion; Wherein, the notch is a pen suction groove, and the notch is a corresponding pen suction operation port; The notch extends radially along the chuck body, and the radial dimension of the notch along the chuck body is 5 cm to 10 cm; The chuck body also has a push pin, and the notch is positioned to avoid the push pin; the chuck body is used to adsorb wafers by adsorption components, and the notch is positioned to avoid the adsorption components; the chuck body is used as an interactive area for automated production, and the notch is positioned to avoid the interactive area.
2. The chuck according to claim 1, characterized in that, The notch is the operating port for the wafer gripping tool.
3. The chuck according to claim 1, characterized in that, Along the radial direction of the chuck body, the notch penetrates the edge sidewall of the chuck body.
4. The chuck according to claim 1, characterized in that, The depth of the notch along the normal direction of the bearing surface is greater than or equal to 10 mm.
5. The chuck according to claim 4, characterized in that, The depth of the notch along the normal direction of the bearing surface is 10 mm to 20 mm.
6. The chuck according to claim 1, characterized in that, Along the edge contour of the chuck body, the recess has a first sidewall and a second sidewall disposed opposite to each other, and the distance between the first sidewall and the second sidewall is 5 cm to 7 cm.
7. The chuck according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of notches is one.
8. The chuck according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The shape of the projection of the notch onto a projection plane parallel to the bearing surface includes a rectangle.
9. A semiconductor device, characterized in that, Includes the chuck as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.