A robotic arm mechanism to prevent wafer transfer sticking.

Abstract

This utility model relates to the field of wafer processing technology, and in particular to a robotic arm mechanism for preventing wafer transfer adhesion. It includes: a machine base and a mounting base mounted on the machine base; a base is mounted above the mounting base, and an arm assembly unit is mounted above the base. A gripper is mounted on the end segment of the arm assembly unit, and several supporting components are mounted on the end face of the gripper. A cleaning unit is also provided above the machine base. In this utility model, before the gripper contacts the wafer, a solvent film is applied to the supporting components. This film acts as an isolation layer, effectively preventing direct adhesion of PI (polyimide) to the wafer. This method transforms the problem from manual remediation after it occurs to automatic prevention before it occurs, completely eliminating equipment alarms and shutdowns caused by wafer adhesion. This pretreatment design greatly improves the continuous operation capability and production efficiency of the equipment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of wafer processing technology, and in particular to a robotic arm mechanism for preventing wafers from sticking together during transport. Background Technology

[0002] In semiconductor manufacturing processes, photoresist coating and developing equipment is a core component of photolithography. It is used to spin-coat materials such as photoresist and polyimide (PI) onto the wafer surface and complete the baking and developing processes. Among these, PI material, due to its high viscosity, is prone to causing equipment failures during the coating process. Specifically, after spin-coating, PI can easily flow to the edge of the wafer, contaminating the contacts at the end of the wafer transport robot. When the robot transports the wafer to the baking unit, the residual PI can cause the wafer to adhere firmly to the contacts due to its stickiness, preventing normal release and causing a wafer sticking failure, triggering an equipment shutdown alarm.

[0003] Existing solutions rely on manual intervention: engineers need to open the equipment cavity, manually remove the adhered wafers, and repeatedly wipe and clean the contacts with a lint-free cloth and organic solvents. However, manual cleaning is time-consuming, causing the equipment to be shut down for a long time, which seriously reduces production efficiency and capacity utilization. At the same time, the cleaning effect is unstable, and PI residues are difficult to completely remove. Secondly, manual operation can easily introduce tiny particles, causing secondary pollution of the clean environment and affecting product yield.

[0004] Therefore, in order to reduce the possibility of wafer sticking during robotic arm transfer, we propose a robotic arm mechanism to prevent wafer sticking during transfer. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to address the shortcomings of existing technologies, such as the long cleaning time of manual cleaning methods leading to prolonged equipment downtime, and to propose a robotic arm mechanism to prevent wafer transfer from sticking.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: Design a robotic arm mechanism to prevent wafer transfer from sticking, including: The machine and the mounting base installed on the machine; A base is installed above the mounting base, an arm assembly unit is installed above the base, a gripper is installed on the end arm section of the arm assembly unit, and several supporting components are installed on the end face of the gripper. A cleaning unit is also installed above the machine.

[0007] Furthermore, the supporting component includes a fixing plate fixedly mounted on the gripper, and a recess is formed on the inner side of the fixing plate; A contact plate is fixedly installed inside the recessed area.

[0008] Furthermore, a width-reducing groove is provided on the end face of the contact plate and the recessed position, which is used to reduce the contact area between the contact plate and the wafer.

[0009] Furthermore, the cleaning unit includes; A support assembly and a cleaning box fixed above the support assembly; A cleaning block is placed inside the cleaning box, and a drive unit for moving the cleaning block up and down is installed below the cleaning box.

[0010] Furthermore, the support assembly includes a vertical pole fixed to the machine base, a U-shaped frame fixedly installed at the upper end of the vertical pole, the cleaning box fixed above the U-shaped frame, and the drive component housed in the U-shaped frame.

[0011] Furthermore, the cleaning box has a clearance tube section in the middle, the shaft end of the drive member passes through the clearance tube section, and the cleaning block has a through hole in the middle to avoid the clearance tube section.

[0012] Furthermore, mounting grooves are provided on both sides of the cleaning block around its perforation, and a lower sleeve is placed inside the lower mounting groove. An upper sleeve is detachably connected to the shaft end of the drive component, and the lower sleeve and the upper sleeve are detachably connected.

[0013] Furthermore, at least two elastic locking posts are fixedly installed on the end face of the lower sleeve, and the bottom surface of the upper sleeve is provided with locking holes adapted to the elastic locking posts, wherein the elastic locking posts pass through the cleaning block and are engaged with the locking holes.

[0014] Furthermore, both sides of the upper sleeve are threaded with locking bolts, and the ends of the locking bolts abut against the shaft end of the drive component.

[0015] Furthermore, two sliding grooves are formed on the outer side of the shaft end of the drive component, and the ends of the two locking bolts slide in the sliding grooves.

[0016] The present invention proposes a robotic arm mechanism to prevent wafer transfer from sticking. The advantages of this invention are as follows: before the gripper contacts the wafer, a solvent film is first applied to its supporting component. This film acts as an isolation layer to effectively prevent the direct adhesion of the wafer's PI. This method transforms the problem from manual remediation after it occurs to automatic prevention before it occurs, completely eliminating equipment alarm shutdowns caused by wafer sticking. Through this pre-treatment design, the continuous operation capability and production efficiency of the equipment are greatly improved. Secondly, the entire processing of this utility model is completed inside the equipment, without any manual opening or wiping operations. This completely cuts off the path of particulate contamination caused by human intervention in the prior art, ensuring a high degree of cleanliness inside the equipment, which has a positive effect on maintaining and improving product yield. Furthermore, since the problem of sheet adhesion has been fundamentally solved, the frequent and random equipment shutdowns caused by this issue no longer exist, making the entire PI coating process more stable, continuous, and predictable. This not only improves the reliability of the equipment but also ensures the smooth execution of the production plan. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the present utility model; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the arm assembly unit structure of this utility model; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the supporting component structure of this utility model; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the cleaning unit structure of this utility model; Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view of the cleaning unit of this utility model; Figure 6 for Figure 5 A magnified structural diagram of area A; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the lower sleeve structure of this utility model; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the avoidance pipe section structure of this utility model.

[0018] In the diagram: 1. Machine base; 2. Mounting base; 3. Base; 4. Arm assembly unit; 5. Grab; 6. Supporting component; 61. Fixing plate; 62. Recessed area; 63. Contact plate; 64. Widing groove; 7. Cleaning unit; 71. Support assembly; 711. Upright pole; 712. U-shaped frame; 72. Cleaning box; 73. Cleaning block; 74. Drive component; 741. Slide groove; 75. Clearance pipe section; 76. Lower sleeve; 77. Upper sleeve; 78. Elastic locking post; 79. Locking bolt. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present utility model. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments.

[0020] Reference Figure 1-8As one embodiment of this utility model, a robotic arm mechanism for preventing wafer transfer from sticking is disclosed. Specifically, the robotic arm mechanism includes a machine base 1 and a mounting base 2 mounted on the machine base 1. Of course, other mechanisms can also be mounted on the machine base 1. For details, please refer to the specific structure of the existing developing machine. This utility model does not improve the structure, so it will not be described in detail. A base 3 is installed above the mounting base 2, and an arm assembly unit 4 is installed above the base 3. A gripper 5 is installed on the end arm section of the arm assembly unit 4, and several supporting components 6 are installed on the end face of the gripper 5. Specifically, the base 3 in this utility model is a lifting base, which can be controlled by an electric push rod or a screw mechanism to adjust the height of the gripper 5. The arm unit 4 is a three-axis robotic arm, and the gripper 5 is installed on the end of the robotic arm. Its specific structure is also a conventional method for those skilled in the art, and will not be described in detail here. A cleaning unit 7 is also provided above the machine base 1.

[0021] In some embodiments, the supporting component 6 of this utility model includes a fixing plate 61 fixedly installed on the gripper 5, and a recessed position 62 is formed on the inner side of the fixing plate 61. Of course, in this embodiment, multiple fixing plates 61 can be arranged at intervals. Preferably, in this embodiment, the gripper 5 is set as an arc-shaped structure, and three fixing plates 61 are configured and fixed to the gripper 5 in sequence by fasteners such as bolts. A contact plate 63 is fixedly installed inside the recessed position 62. The contact plate 63 is configured with an arc-shaped structure to contact the edge of the wafer. That is, when the wafer is gripped, multiple contact plates 63 stop and position the edge of the wafer, while multiple recessed positions 62 support the wafer, thus achieving the positioning and support of the wafer.

[0022] Based on the above embodiments, in this utility model, a width-reducing groove 64 is provided opposite to each other on the end faces of the contact plate 63 and the recessed position 62. The width-reducing groove 64 is used to reduce the contact area between the contact plate 63 and the wafer. Through the design of the width-reducing groove 64, while ensuring wafer positioning, the base area of ​​the contact plate 63 and the wafer can be effectively reduced, thereby effectively reducing the possibility of die sticking. Of course, the width and number of the width-reducing groove 64 can be adapted by those skilled in the art, and are not limited here.

[0023] Furthermore, the cleaning unit 7 described in this utility model includes; The support assembly 71 and the cleaning box 72 fixed above the support assembly 71. Of course, the cleaning box 72 should be filled with cleaning fluid. In this embodiment, the cleaning fluid can be set as PGMEA solvent or NMP solvent. PGMEA solvent is a commonly used solvent in wafer processing and is easy to obtain. A cleaning block 73 is placed inside the cleaning box 72. The cleaning block 73 can be made of sponge or porous material. It absorbs the cleaning solvent by being soaked in the cleaning box 72. A drive unit 74 is installed below the cleaning box 72 to drive the cleaning block 73 to move up and down.

[0024] In specific operation, before gripping the wafer, the arm unit 4 first controls the gripper 5 to move, keeping the bottom surface of the gripper 5 in contact with the cleaning block 73, so as to achieve the adhesion of cleaning fluid to the bottom of the gripper 5 and the supporting component 6. Subsequently, the drive unit 74 will push the cleaning block 73 upward. At this time, the cleaning block 73 with the cleaning fluid adhering to it will move upward. The arm assembly unit 4 will continue to control the gripper 5 to move. At this time, the gripper 5 can be moved below the cleaning block 73. In this way, the cleaning fluid can be adhering to the upper surface of the gripper 5 and the supporting component 6. The solvent will form a thin solvent film on the outer surface of the gripper 5 and the supporting component 6.

[0025] When the pre-wetted gripper 5 and support component 6 come into contact with the edge of the wafer coated with viscous PI, this solvent film plays a crucial isolating role. It prevents the sticky PI from directly contacting the support component 6. Thus, when the support component 6 needs to place the wafer, the wafer can be released very smoothly and cleanly due to the presence of the isolating layer, and it will no longer stick.

[0026] Based on the above embodiments, the support assembly 71 in this embodiment includes a vertical pole 711 fixed on the machine base 1. The vertical pole 711 can be fixed to the machine base by bolts. A U-shaped frame 712 is fixedly installed at the upper end of the vertical pole 711. The cleaning box 72 is fixed above the U-shaped frame 712. The driving component 74 is accommodated in the U-shaped frame 712. By adopting the design of the U-shaped frame 712, an installation position for the driving component 74 can be provided. In this embodiment, the driving component 74 can be set as one of a cylinder, an electric actuator, or a hydraulic cylinder. The specific selection can be made by those skilled in the art and is not limited here.

[0027] The cleaning block 73 is moved upward by the drive component 74 so that the supporting component 6 and the bottom of the cleaning block 73 can come into contact after the cleaning block 73 is raised.

[0028] In a further embodiment, the cleaning box 72 of this invention has a relief tube section 75 in the middle, the shaft end of the drive member 74 passes through the relief tube section 75, and the cleaning block 73 has a through hole in the middle to avoid the relief tube section 75. The design of the relief tube section 75 is to avoid leakage. That is, since the shaft end of the drive member 74 passes through the relief tube section 75, the relief tube section 75 stops the solvent in the cleaning box 72 to prevent the solvent from leaking out along the shaft end of the drive member 74. In addition, the design of the relief tube section 75 can also guide the movement of the cleaning block 73 to improve the movement stability and reliability of the cleaning block 73.

[0029] Preferably, in order to prevent the shaft end of the drive member 74 from rotating, a guide groove can be opened on the outside of the shaft end of the drive member 74, and a protrusion can be provided in the avoidance tube section 75. The protrusion can guide and limit the guide groove to avoid the shaft end of the drive member 74 from rotating.

[0030] In some embodiments, the cleaning block 73 of the present invention has mounting grooves on both sides around its through holes, and a lower sleeve 76 is placed inside the mounting groove below. An upper sleeve 77 is detachably connected to the shaft end of the drive member 74, and the lower sleeve 76 and the upper sleeve 77 are detachably connected.

[0031] Specifically, in this embodiment, both the lower sleeve 76 and the upper sleeve 77 are configured as T-shaped structures. The middle part of the lower sleeve 76 passes through the through hole of the cleaning block 73, and its bottom is placed in the lower mounting groove of the cleaning block 73. The upper sleeve 77 is sleeved on the shaft end of the driving member 74, and its bottom is placed in the upper mounting groove of the cleaning block 73. Furthermore, in this embodiment, at least two elastic locking posts 78 are fixedly installed on the end face of the lower sleeve 76, and the bottom surface of the upper sleeve 77 is provided with locking holes adapted to the elastic locking posts 78. The elastic locking posts 78 pass through the cleaning block 73 and are engaged with the locking holes. The elastic locking posts 78 include a column body, a deformation groove formed on the upper end of the column body, and a locking part formed on the top end of the column body. Its specific structure is prior art and will not be described in detail here. In this embodiment, the design of using two elastic locking posts 78 to connect the upper sleeve 77 is adopted. With the convenient disassembly capability of the elastic locking posts 78, the upper sleeve 77 and the lower sleeve 76 can be easily disassembled, thereby improving the disassembly and maintenance convenience of the cleaning block 73. At the same time, since the elastic locking posts 78 also adopt a structure design that passes through the cleaning block 73, it can further achieve the function of locking the circumferential position of the cleaning block 73 to prevent the cleaning block 73 from rotating circumferentially after being fixed.

[0032] Of course, in order to achieve the shaft end connection between the upper sleeve 77 and the driving component 74, in this embodiment, both sides of the upper sleeve 77 are threaded with locking bolts 79. The ends of the locking bolts 79 abut against the shaft end of the driving component 74. That is, in this embodiment, the connection between the upper sleeve 77 and the driving component 74 is achieved by using the abutting method of the locking bolts 79, which can effectively improve the connection stability and disassembly convenience of the two.

[0033] Based on the above embodiments, the drive component 74 in this invention has two sliding grooves 741 on the outer side of its shaft end. The ends of the two locking bolts 79 slide in the sliding grooves 741. The design of the two sliding grooves 741 avoids the problem of circumferential rotation after the upper sleeve 77 and the drive component 74 are connected. Furthermore, by locking the two locking bolts 79 at different positions in the sliding grooves 741, the immersion depth of the cleaning block 73 can be easily adjusted during initial installation, thus further improving the applicability of this device. In summary, this invention allows the support component 6 to be coated with a solvent film before the gripper 5 contacts the wafer. This film acts as an isolation layer, effectively preventing the direct adhesion of the PI on the wafer. This method transforms the problem from manual remediation after it occurs to automatic prevention before it occurs, completely eliminating equipment alarm shutdowns caused by wafer adhesion. Through this pretreatment design, the continuous operation capability and production efficiency of the equipment are greatly improved. Secondly, the entire processing of this utility model is completed inside the equipment, without any manual opening or wiping operations. This completely cuts off the path of particulate contamination caused by human intervention in the prior art, ensuring a high degree of cleanliness inside the equipment, which has a positive effect on maintaining and improving product yield. Furthermore, since the problem of sheet adhesion has been fundamentally solved, the frequent and random equipment shutdowns caused by this issue no longer exist, making the entire PI coating process more stable, continuous, and predictable. This not only improves the reliability of the equipment but also ensures the smooth execution of the production plan.

[0034] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present utility model, but the protection scope of the present utility model is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitutions or changes made by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present utility model, based on the technical solution and the inventive concept of the present utility model, should be included within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A mechanism for preventing die sticking by a wafer transfer robot arm, comprising: include: Machine base (1) and mounting base (2) installed on machine base (1); A base (3) is installed above the mounting base (2), an arm assembly unit (4) is installed above the base (3), a gripper (5) is installed on the end arm section of the arm assembly unit (4), and several supporting components (6) are installed on the end face of the gripper (5). A cleaning unit (7) is also provided above the machine (1).

2. The mechanism for preventing die sticking during wafer transfer according to claim 1, wherein: The supporting component (6) includes a fixing plate (61) fixedly installed on the gripper (5), and a recess (62) is formed on the inner side of the fixing plate (61). A contact plate (63) is fixedly installed inside the recess (62).

3. The mechanism for preventing die sticking during wafer transfer according to claim 2, wherein: A width-reducing groove (64) is provided on the end face of the contact plate (63) and the recess (62) opposite to each other. The width-reducing groove (64) is used to reduce the contact area between the contact plate (63) and the wafer.

4. The mechanism for preventing die sticking during wafer transfer according to claim 1, wherein: The cleaning unit (7) includes; The bracket assembly (71) and the cleaning box (72) fixed above the bracket assembly (71); A cleaning block (73) is placed inside the cleaning box (72), and a drive unit (74) for driving the cleaning block (73) to move up and down is installed below the cleaning box (72).

5. The mechanism for preventing die sticking during wafer transfer according to claim 4, wherein: The support assembly (71) includes a pole (711) fixed on the machine base (1), a U-shaped frame (712) fixedly installed at the upper end of the pole (711), the cleaning box (72) fixed above the U-shaped frame (712), and the drive unit (74) accommodated in the U-shaped frame (712).

6. The mechanism for preventing die sticking during wafer transfer according to claim 4, wherein: The cleaning box (72) has a clearance tube section (75) in the middle, the shaft end of the drive member (74) passes through the clearance tube section (75), and the cleaning block (73) has a through hole in the middle to avoid the clearance tube section (75).

7. The mechanism for preventing die sticking during wafer transfer of claim 6, wherein: The cleaning block (73) has mounting grooves on both sides around its perforation. A lower sleeve (76) is placed inside the mounting groove below. An upper sleeve (77) is detachably connected to the shaft end of the drive component (74). The lower sleeve (76) and the upper sleeve (77) are detachably connected.

8. The mechanism for preventing die sticking during wafer transfer according to claim 7, wherein: At least two elastic locking posts (78) are fixedly installed on the end face of the lower sleeve (76), and the bottom surface of the upper sleeve (77) is provided with locking holes adapted to the elastic locking posts (78), wherein the elastic locking posts (78) pass through the cleaning block (73) and are locked with the locking holes.

9. The mechanism according to claim 7, wherein: the mechanism further comprises a plurality of vacuum nozzles disposed on the arm for preventing the wafer from being stuck by the adhesive during the transfer of the wafer. Both sides of the upper sleeve (77) are threaded with locking bolts (79), and the ends of the locking bolts (79) abut against the shaft end of the drive member (74).

10. The mechanism for preventing die sticking during wafer transfer of claim 9, wherein: The drive member (74) has two grooves (741) on the outer side of the shaft end, and the ends of the two locking bolts (79) slide in the grooves (741).

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