Wafer loading apparatus

Abstract

This utility model relates to the field of wafer transfer equipment, specifically to a wafer loading device, including a first hopper, a second hopper, and a transfer assembly. The transfer assembly includes a conveying module and a carrier. The conveying module is used to convey wafers to a printer. The conveying module is equipped with an adsorption component for adsorbing the wafers. The adsorption component has an air passage connected to an external air source. The carrier is equipped with a positioning cylinder. The output end of the positioning cylinder is equipped with a positioning block one. The adsorption component is equipped with a positioning block two corresponding to the positioning block one. The positioning block two has a positioning groove. The positioning cylinder is used to drive the positioning block one to insert into the corresponding positioning groove. A robotic arm is used to grip and transfer the wafers. By setting the positioning cylinder and positioning blocks one and two, the position of the adsorption component is positioned so that the actual position of the adsorption component corresponds to the expected position of the robotic arm transferring the wafers, thereby facilitating the wafer transfer and positioning.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of wafer transfer equipment, specifically to a wafer loading device. Background Technology

[0002] A wafer is a silicon wafer used to fabricate silicon semiconductor circuits; its raw material is silicon. High-purity polycrystalline silicon is dissolved, doped with silicon crystal seeds, and then slowly pulled out to form a cylindrical single-crystal silicon wafer. After grinding, polishing, and slicing, the cylindrical single-crystal silicon wafer is formed.

[0003] Printing is required during wafer fabrication, typically using wafer loading equipment to transport the wafer to the printer. Existing wafer loading equipment includes a robotic arm, a transport module, and an adsorption assembly. The robotic arm usually transfers the wafer to the adsorption assembly, which then adsorbs it. The adsorption assembly is then transported by the transport module to the conveyor mechanism inside the printer. However, existing wafer loading equipment lacks positioning for the adsorption assembly. The actual position of the adsorption assembly deviates from the expected position of the wafer transfer by the robotic arm, hindering proper wafer transfer and positioning. Utility Model Content

[0004] The technical solution adopted by this utility model to solve its technical problem is: to provide a wafer loading device, comprising:

[0005] Material hopper one, which is used to hold wafers before printing;

[0006] Material bin two, which is used to hold the printed wafers;

[0007] The transfer assembly includes a conveying module and a carrier. The conveying module is used to convey wafers into the printer. The conveying module is equipped with an adsorption component for adsorbing wafers. The carrier is equipped with a positioning cylinder. The output end of the positioning cylinder is equipped with a positioning block one. The adsorption component is equipped with a positioning block two corresponding to the positioning block one. The positioning block two is equipped with a positioning groove. The positioning cylinder is used to drive the positioning block one to insert into the corresponding positioning groove.

[0008] A robotic arm used to grip and transfer wafers.

[0009] Furthermore, the carrier is also equipped with a lifting cylinder, the output end of which is equipped with a triangular positioning plate, the triangular positioning plate is equipped with a positioning post, and the adsorption component is equipped with a positioning hole corresponding to the positioning post. The lifting cylinder is used to drive the triangular positioning plate to lift the wafer.

[0010] Furthermore, the positioning posts are provided in multiple manner, and the circular trajectory formed by the tops of the multiple positioning posts is concentric with the wafer.

[0011] Furthermore, the adsorption assembly includes an adsorption plate and an air passage connected to an external air source, the air passage including a first annular air groove, a second annular air groove and a third annular air groove arranged concentrically.

[0012] Furthermore, the first annular air groove is provided with multiple branch air grooves, the first annular air groove is interconnected with the second annular air groove through the branch air grooves, the second annular air groove is provided with a connecting hole one that connects to an external air source, and the third annular air groove is provided with a connecting hole two that connects to an external air source.

[0013] Furthermore, the conveying module includes a frame, a drive motor, a synchronous gear, and a conveyor belt sleeved on the synchronous gear. There are two frames and two conveyor belts, and each frame corresponds to one conveyor belt. Each frame corresponds to multiple synchronous gears. The output end of the drive motor is connected to the synchronous gears on the two frames. The drive motor is used to drive the synchronous gears to rotate, thereby driving the two conveyor belts to run synchronously to move the adsorption component.

[0014] Furthermore, both of the frames are provided with limiting plates, which are used to limit the position of the adsorption plate.

[0015] Furthermore, both hopper one and hopper two are connected to a lead screw drive module, which is used to drive hopper one and hopper two to move.

[0016] The beneficial effects of this utility model are: by setting up the positioning cylinder and positioning block one and positioning block two, the position of the adsorption component is positioned so that the actual position of the adsorption component corresponds to the expected position of the robot arm to transfer the wafer, thereby facilitating the transfer and positioning of the wafer. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0018] In the picture: Figure 1 An overall structural diagram of a wafer loading device provided by this utility model;

[0019] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A three-dimensional structural diagram of the transfer component shown;

[0020] Figure 3 for Figure 2 An exploded view of the transfer assembly shown;

[0021] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Exploded view of part of the structure shown;

[0022] Figure 5 for Figure 4The diagram shows the three-dimensional structure of the adsorption component.

[0023] Figure 6 for Figure 4 A three-dimensional structural diagram of the part shown;

[0024] Figure 7 for Figure 1 The diagram shows the three-dimensional structure of the robotic arm.

[0025] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached drawings: 100, wafer loading equipment; 10, hopper one; 11, screw drive module; 20, hopper two; 30, conveying module; 31, adsorption plate; 311, air passage; 3111, first annular air groove; 3112, second annular air groove; 3113, third annular air groove; 3114, branch air groove; 3115, connecting hole one; 3116, connecting hole two; 312, positioning block two; 3121, positioning groove; 313, positioning hole; 32, frame; 321, limit plate; 33, drive motor; 34, synchronous gear; 35, conveyor belt; 40, carrier; 41, positioning cylinder; 42, positioning block one; 43, lifting cylinder; 431, triangular positioning plate; 432, positioning column; 50, robot arm; 51, U-shaped plate; 200, printer; 300, wafer. Detailed Implementation

[0026] To make the technical problem to be solved, the technical solution, and the beneficial effects of this utility model clearer, the present utility model will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. This drawing is a simplified schematic diagram, illustrating only the basic aspects of the present utility model, and therefore only shows the components relevant to the present utility model. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this utility model. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this utility model without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this utility model.

[0027] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 7This utility model provides a wafer loading device 100, including a first hopper 10, a second hopper 20, and a transfer assembly, as well as a robotic arm 50 disposed between the first hopper 10, the second hopper 20, and the transfer assembly. The first hopper 10 is used to hold wafers 300 before printing, and the second hopper 20 is used to hold wafers 300 after printing. Both the first hopper 10 and the second hopper 20 are connected to a lead screw drive module 11, which drives the first hopper 10 and the second hopper 20 to move, so that the robotic arm 50 can transfer the wafers 300. The robotic arm 50 is used to grip and transfer the wafers 300. The output end of the robotic arm 50 is provided with a U-shaped plate 51 for transferring the wafers 300. Specifically, in this embodiment, the robotic arm 50 is a 3-axis horizontal multi-joint robotic arm (SCARA robot) model OVR3041K3-H, purchased from Orient Motor China Corporation. When the robotic arm 50 grips the wafer 300, the U-shaped plate 51 is inserted into the bottom of the wafer 300, causing the wafer 300 to press against the U-shaped plate 51.

[0028] Please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 5 The transfer assembly includes a conveying module 30 and a carrier 40. The carrier 40 is equipped with a positioning cylinder 41. The conveying module 30 is used to convey the wafer 300 into the printer 200. The conveying module 30 is equipped with an adsorption component for adsorbing the wafer 300.

[0029] Please refer to Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 6 Two positioning cylinders 41 are provided. The output end of each positioning cylinder 41 has a positioning block 42, and the adsorption assembly has a corresponding positioning block 312. Positioning block 312 has a positioning groove 3121. The positioning cylinders 41 drive positioning block 42 to insert into the corresponding positioning groove 3121. Through the positioning cylinders 41 and the positioning blocks 42 and 312, the position of the adsorption assembly is positioned so that the actual position of the adsorption assembly corresponds to the expected position where the robot arm 50 will transfer the wafer 300, thus facilitating the transfer and positioning of the wafer 300.

[0030] Please refer to Figure 6The adsorption assembly includes an adsorption plate 31 and an air passage 311 connected to an external air source. A positioning block 312 is disposed on the adsorption plate 31. The air passage 311 includes a first annular air groove 3111, a second annular air groove 3112, and a third annular air groove 3113 arranged concentrically. The first annular air groove 3111 has multiple branch air grooves 3114. The first annular air groove 3111 is interconnected with the second annular air groove 3112 through the branch air grooves 3114. The second annular air groove 3112 has a connecting hole 3115 connected to an external air source, and the third annular air groove 3113 has a connecting hole 3116 connected to an external air source. The first annular air groove 3111 and the second annular air groove 3112 are interconnected through the branch air grooves 3114, saving the structure of connecting to the external air source. The external air source and the structure connecting the external air source with the first annular air groove 3111, the second annular air groove 3112 and the third annular air groove 3113 are all prior art and are not shown in the figure.

[0031] For details, please refer to Figure 6 The diameters of the first annular gas groove 3111, the second annular gas groove 3112, and the third annular gas groove 3113 increase sequentially. In this embodiment, the diameter of the wafer 300 is located between the second annular gas groove 3112 and the third annular gas groove 3113. By using the concentrically arranged first annular gas groove 3111, second annular gas groove 3112, and third annular gas groove 3113, the adsorption range of the gas path 311 on the adsorption component can adapt to wafers 300 of various diameters, thereby improving the practicality of the adsorption component.

[0032] For details, please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 The conveying module 30 is a belt conveyor mechanism in the prior art. The conveying module 30 includes a frame 32, a drive motor 33, a synchronous gear 34, and a conveyor belt 35 sleeved on the synchronous gear 34. There are two frames 32 and two conveyor belts 35, and each frame 32 corresponds to multiple synchronous gears 34. The adsorption component is placed between two frames 32 and pressed on two conveyor belts 35. The output end of the drive motor 33 is connected to the synchronous gears 34 on the two frames 32. The drive motor 33 drives the synchronous gears 34 to rotate, thereby driving the two conveyor belts 35 to run synchronously to move the adsorption component.

[0033] Please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3Both frames 32 are equipped with limiting plates 321, which are used to limit the position of the adsorption plate 31. When conveying the adsorption plate 31, the limiting plates 321 and the positioning blocks 42 are located at both ends of the thickness direction of the adsorption plate 31, respectively. By cooperating with the limiting plates 321 and the positioning blocks 42, the adsorption plate 31 is limited, making it difficult for the adsorption plate 31 to detach upward from the conveyor belt 35 of the conveying module 30.

[0034] Please refer to Figure 6 The carrier 40 is also equipped with a lifting cylinder 43, which is located between two positioning cylinders 41. The output end of the lifting cylinder 43 is equipped with a triangular positioning plate 431, on which positioning posts 432 are provided. The adsorption assembly has positioning holes 313 corresponding to the positioning posts 432. The lifting cylinder 43 is used to drive the positioning posts 432 on the triangular positioning plate 431 through the corresponding positioning holes 313 to lift the wafer 300. Specifically, the positioning holes 313 are located on the adsorption plate 31. Multiple positioning posts 432 are provided, and the circular trajectory formed by the tops of the multiple positioning posts 432 is concentrically arranged with the wafer 300. Through the arrangement of multiple positioning posts 432 and their concentric arrangement with the wafer 300, it is convenient for the multiple positioning posts 432 on the triangular positioning plate 431 to position the wafer 300 when the lifting cylinder 43 drives the triangular positioning plate 431 to lift it.

[0035] Specifically, there are three positioning posts 432, and the three positioning posts 432 are located at the three sharp corners of the triangular positioning plate 431. Through the arrangement of the lifting cylinder 43 and the triangular positioning plate 431, when the wafer 300 needs to be lifted for the robot arm 50 to transfer the wafer 300, the three positioning posts 432 on the triangular positioning plate 431 cooperate with the positioning holes 313 on the suction plate 31. Based on the principle that three points determine a plane, it can be concluded that at least three positioning posts 432 are sufficient to form a stable support plane for the wafer 300. This ensures that the wafer 300 is less prone to shaking during the lifting process by the triangular positioning plate 431, improving the stability of the wafer 300 lifting, and reducing the need for a larger number of positioning posts 432, thus simplifying the processing.

[0036] The working process of the wafer loading device 100 provided by this utility model is as follows: the screw drive module 11 drives the first hopper 10 and the second hopper 20 to move close to the robot arm 50. The robot arm 50 transfers the wafer 300 to be printed from the first hopper 10 to the adsorption plate 31. The adsorption plate 31 adsorbs the wafer 300. The conveying module 30 conveys the adsorption plate 31 containing the wafer 300 to the entrance of the printer 200. The conveying mechanism (not shown in the figure) inside the printer 200 moves the adsorption plate 31 into the printer 200 for printing. After printing is completed, the conveying mechanism inside the printer 200 conveys the adsorption plate 31 to the conveying module 30. The conveying module 30 conveys the adsorption plate 31 to the position corresponding to the lifting cylinder 43. The lifting cylinder 43 drives the triangular positioning plate 431 to lift the wafer 300 on the adsorption plate 31. At the same time, the external air source stops and the air passage 311 is connected, that is, the adsorption component releases the adsorption of the wafer 300. The robot arm 50 transfers the wafer 300 into the second hopper 20. The staff wipes the ink residue on the adsorption plate 31 caused by printing.

Claims

1. A wafer loading apparatus, characterized by comprising: include: Material hopper one, which is used to hold wafers before printing; Material bin two, which is used to hold the printed wafers; The transfer assembly includes a conveying module and a carrier. The conveying module is used to convey wafers into the printer. The conveying module is equipped with an adsorption component for adsorbing wafers. The adsorption component is equipped with an air passage connected to an external air source. The carrier is equipped with a positioning cylinder. The output end of the positioning cylinder is equipped with a positioning block one. The adsorption component is equipped with a positioning block two corresponding to the positioning block one. The positioning block two is equipped with a positioning groove. The positioning cylinder is used to drive the positioning block one to insert into the corresponding positioning groove. A robotic arm used to grip and transfer wafers.

2. The wafer loading apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by: The carrier is also equipped with a lifting cylinder, the output end of which is equipped with a triangular positioning plate, the triangular positioning plate is equipped with a positioning post, and the adsorption component is equipped with a positioning hole corresponding to the positioning post. The lifting cylinder is used to drive the triangular positioning plate to lift the wafer.

3. The wafer loading apparatus according to claim 2, characterized by: The positioning posts are provided in multiple ways, and the circular trajectory formed by the tops of the multiple positioning posts is concentric with the wafer.

4. The on-wafer feeding apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by: The adsorption assembly includes an adsorption plate and an air passage connected to an external air source. The air passage includes a first annular air groove, a second annular air groove, and a third annular air groove arranged concentrically.

5. The wafer on-board equipment according to claim 4, wherein: The first annular air groove is provided with multiple branch air grooves. The first annular air groove is interconnected with the second annular air groove through the branch air grooves. The second annular air groove is provided with a communication hole one that connects to an external air source. The third annular air groove is provided with a communication hole two that connects to an external air source.

6. The on-wafer feeding apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by: The conveying module includes a frame, a drive motor, a synchronous gear, and a conveyor belt sleeved on the synchronous gear. There are two frames and two conveyor belts, and each frame corresponds to one conveyor belt. Each frame corresponds to multiple synchronous gears. The output end of the drive motor is connected to the synchronous gears on the two frames. The drive motor is used to drive the synchronous gears to rotate, thereby driving the two conveyor belts to run synchronously to move the adsorption component.

7. The wafer on-board equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that: Both of the frames are equipped with limiting plates, which are used to limit the position of the adsorption plate.

8. The on-wafer feeding apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by: Both hopper one and hopper two are connected to a lead screw drive module, which is used to drive hopper one and hopper two to move.

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