Wafer chuck and wafer inspection apparatus having the same suitable for use in water

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of display screen testing equipment, in particular to a wafer chuck suitable for use in water and a wafer inspection device with the same. The wafer chuck comprises: a chuck body immersed in water, which defines a wafer loading surface, the wafer loading surface being provided with a suction hole; a water suction pipeline, which is communicated to the suction hole via the side of the wafer loading surface opposite to the wafer; and a pump connected to the water suction pipeline and configured to suck the water located on the side of the wafer loading surface via the water suction pipeline and the suction hole.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of wafer inspection technology, and in particular to the design of a wafer chuck suitable for use in water and a wafer inspection device having the same. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of the semiconductor industry, wafer inspection equipment is being used more and more widely. Among them, the positioning fixture for loading the inspected wafers—the wafer chuck—is one of the important components of the equipment. Wafer chucks are required to have high precision, good adsorption stability, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, high compatibility, and long service life.

[0003] Wafer chucks have undergone multiple iterations and are now available in various specifications, including vacuum chucks and electrostatic chucks, with wide applications. These chucks share a common characteristic: they require a dry environment for use. However, in related technologies, ultrasonic scanning inspection equipment requires water as a medium when scanning wafers. The wafer being inspected and the wafer chuck must be immersed in water. Currently, there are no dedicated chucks for use in water. Generally, the wafer is placed on a flat plate or support before ultrasonic scanning. Because wafers are small and thin, the water flow agitated by the probe during scanning can easily cause wafer displacement. In extreme cases, this can lead to the wafer floating and colliding with the probe, resulting in chip breakage. Even when some manufacturers use metal materials such as steel rulers to limit the wafer edges, it is difficult to completely prevent wafer displacement or floating. The only solutions are to reduce the scanning speed and minimize the amplitude of water flow agitation by the probe. The result is low production efficiency and potential safety hazards. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, this application proposes a wafer chuck suitable for use in water and a wafer inspection device having the same.

[0005] In the first aspect, a wafer chuck suitable for use in water is proposed, comprising:

[0006] A suction cup body submerged in water defines a mounting surface for placing a wafer, the mounting surface having adsorption holes;

[0007] A water pumping line is connected to the adsorption hole via the side of the mounting surface opposite to the wafer;

[0008] A pump, connected to the pumping line, is configured to draw water located on the side of the mounting surface via the pumping line and the suction hole.

[0009] In some possible implementations, it also includes:

[0010] The drainage pipeline has an inlet connected to the pump and an outlet for the water to flow into it.

[0011] In some possible implementations, the suction cup body is made of ceramic.

[0012] In some possible implementations, the water outlet is directed away from the suction cup body.

[0013] In some possible implementations, it also includes:

[0014] Alignment scale lines are positioned on the mounting surface to help determine the placement angle of the wafer locator on the mounting surface.

[0015] In some possible implementations, it also includes:

[0016] An adjustment screw is connected to the suction cup body and can be operated to adjust the angular position of the suction cup body relative to the ultrasonic scanning probe.

[0017] In some possible implementations, it also includes:

[0018] Three positioning posts are connected to the suction cup body and are spaced apart from each other at the edge of the wafer, thereby defining a wafer positioning space for receiving the wafer;

[0019] One of the positioning posts is configured as an eccentric post that can rotate about an eccentric axis, thereby changing the size of the wafer positioning space.

[0020] In some possible implementations, the three positioning posts are detachably connected to the suction cup body, and by detaching and assembling the three positioning posts, the three positioning posts have a first combined position and a second combined position relative to the suction cup body.

[0021] The wafer positioning space defined by the three positioning posts in the first combination position falls entirely within the wafer positioning space defined by the three positioning posts in the second combination position.

[0022] In some possible implementations, the wafer positioning space defined by the three positioning posts in the first combined position corresponds to a wafer of a first size, and the wafer positioning space defined by the three positioning posts in the second combined position corresponds to a wafer of a second size larger than the first size.

[0023] Secondly, a wafer inspection device is proposed, comprising:

[0024] The wafer chuck as described in the first aspect;

[0025] A cavity for storing the water;

[0026] An ultrasonic scanning probe is used to inspect the wafer for defects by scanning the wafer placed on the mounting surface.

[0027] According to this application, a wafer chuck includes: a chuck body immersed in water and defining a mounting surface for placing a wafer, the mounting surface having an adsorption hole; a water pump line connected to the adsorption hole via a side of the mounting surface opposite to the wafer; and a pump connected to the water pump line and configured to draw water located on the mounting surface side via the water pump line and the adsorption hole. With this design, the wafer chuck can stably adsorb the wafer under inspection onto the mounting surface in water, thereby enabling scanning and inspection of the wafer using water as a medium. Attached Figure Description

[0028] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings of the embodiments will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings described below only relate to some embodiments of this application, and are not intended to limit this application.

[0029] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the wafer chuck provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0030] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A magnified view of a portion of it.

[0031] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0032] 100-Wafer Chuck;

[0033] W - wafer, W1 - first-size wafer, W2 - second-size wafer;

[0034] S - Wafer positioning space, S1 - First wafer positioning space, S2 - Second wafer positioning space;

[0035] 10 - Suction cup body, 20 - Inlet water pipe, 30 - Pump, 40 - Outlet water pipe;

[0036] 1-Placement surface;

[0037] 2-Adsorption pores;

[0038] 3- Alignment scale lines;

[0039] 4-Adjusting screw;

[0040] 5 - Positioning post, 5A - Eccentric post, Ax - Eccentric axis;

[0041] The 5p-positioning post corresponds to the mounting position of the first combination position;

[0042] 6-Outlet. Detailed Implementation

[0043] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this application. Based on the described embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application. It is understood that, without conflict, some technical means of the various embodiments described herein can be substituted for or combined with each other.

[0044] In the description of this application, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used only to distinguish the described objects and have no sequential or technical meaning. Therefore, objects specified with "first," "second," etc., may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of those objects. Furthermore, the words "one" or "a" do not indicate a quantity limitation, but rather indicate the presence of at least one, while "multiple" indicates at least two.

[0045] The following is combined Figure 1 and Figure 2 This application describes a wafer chuck 100 adapted for use in water, comprising a chuck body 10, a water pumping line, and a pump 30. The chuck body 10 is formed in a generally plate-like shape and defines a mounting surface 1 having suction holes 2. The water pumping line connects to the suction holes 2 via the side of the mounting surface 1 opposite to the wafer W (i.e., the back side of the mounting surface 1). The pump 30 is connected to the water pumping line.

[0046] In use, the suction cup body 10 is immersed in water, and the wafer W to be inspected is placed on the mounting surface 1 and is also immersed in water. The pump 30 draws water from the mounting surface 1 side via the water pumping line and the suction hole 2. As a result, a negative pressure is generated on the mounting surface 1, especially at the suction hole 2 of the mounting surface 1, thereby holding the wafer W firmly on the mounting surface 1.

[0047] As mentioned above, the water pumping line connects to the adsorption holes 2 via the side of the mounting surface 1 opposite to the wafer W. More specifically, the water pumping line includes a manifold connected to the pump 30 and multiple branch manifolds branching off from the inlet end of the manifold. Inside the suction cup body 10, there are guide channels connecting to each adsorption hole 2. The guide channels have multiple water outlets on the side of the suction cup body 10, and the water inlet end of each branch manifold is connected to these water outlets respectively.

[0048] The suction cup body 10 can be made of ceramic material that is not easily corroded. In particular, the entire mounting surface 1 is defined by ceramic, thereby ensuring that the mounting surface 1 has high smoothness and high wear resistance.

[0049] The wafer chuck 100 also includes a drain line with an inlet connected to the pump 30 and an outlet 6 for the aforementioned water (i.e., water that submerges the chuck body 10). Thus, water drawn from the chuck body 10 side flows back to the chuck body 10 side via the outlet 6 of the drain line, and the water is recycled by the cup.

[0050] In order to prevent the water discharged from the drainage pipe from flowing directly towards and impacting the inspected wafer W, thus affecting the positional stability of the wafer W, in this embodiment, the water outlet 6 of the drainage pipe is set to avoid the direction of the suction cup body 10 and thus avoid the inspected wafer W.

[0051] The suction cup body 10 has alignment scale lines 3 on the mounting surface 1. The alignment scale lines 3 are used to help position the wafer W positioner at the placement angle on the mounting surface 1. In practice, the consistency of the placement angle of each inspected wafer W on the mounting surface 1 is ensured by aligning the feature points of the wafer W with the alignment scale lines 3.

[0052] The wafer chuck 100 also includes four adjusting screws 4, which are connected to the four corners of the chuck body 10. Each adjusting screw 4 can be operated to adjust the angular position of the chuck body 10 relative to the ultrasonic scanning probe. In one embodiment, the chuck body 10 is adjustablely mounted on a base. By rotating at least one of the four adjusting screws 4, the angular position of the chuck body 10 relative to the base and the ultrasonic scanning probe can be adjusted, thereby adjusting the angular position of the mounting surface 1 and the wafer W relative to the ultrasonic scanning probe. For example, the wafer W can be adjusted to an angular position perpendicular to the axis of the ultrasonic scanning probe so that the ultrasonic scanning probe can inspect the wafer W with high quality.

[0053] The wafer chuck 100 also includes three positioning posts 5, which are connected to the chuck body 10 and are spaced apart from each other at the edge of the wafer W to be inspected, thereby defining a wafer positioning space S for receiving the wafer W between the three positioning posts 5. One of the positioning posts 5 is configured as an eccentric post 5A that can rotate about an eccentric axis Ax. By rotating the eccentric post 5A, the size of the aforementioned wafer positioning space S is changed, thereby adjusting the contact force of the three positioning posts 5 on the wafer W in the wafer positioning space S, and preventing the wafer W from being positioned too tightly or too loosely. In practice, by rotating the eccentric post 5A among the three positioning posts 5, the size of the wafer positioning space S is changed to be consistent with the peripheral dimension of the wafer W, thereby effectively positioning each wafer W on the mounting surface 1.

[0054] In this embodiment, the aforementioned three positioning posts 5 are detachably connected to the suction cup body 10, and by detaching and assembling these three positioning posts 5, they have a first combined position and a second combined position relative to the suction cup body 10. The wafer positioning space S defined by the three positioning posts 5 in the first combined position, i.e., the first wafer positioning space S1, falls entirely within the wafer positioning space S defined by the three positioning posts 5 in the second combined position, i.e., the second wafer positioning space S2. More specifically, the first wafer positioning space S1 corresponds to a wafer W1 of a first size, and the second wafer positioning space S2 corresponds to a wafer W2 of a second size larger than the first size. For example, the first-size wafer W1 is an 8-inch wafer W, and the second-size wafer W2 is a 12-inch wafer W, or the first-size wafer W1 is a 6-inch wafer W, and the second-size wafer W2 is an 8-inch wafer W. To facilitate understanding of this technology, Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the attached drawing, the reference numeral "5p" indicates the mounting position of the positioning post 5 corresponding to the first assembly position, and... Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the middle, each positioning post 5 is configured in the second combination position.

[0055] This application embodiment also provides a wafer inspection apparatus, which includes the aforementioned wafer chuck 100, a water tank, and an ultrasonic scanning probe. The water tank defines a cavity for storing water, and its upper end is formed as an open structure to allow ultrasonic detection waves generated by the ultrasonic scanning probe to enter. The wafer chuck 100, particularly the chuck body 10, is disposed within the water tank and is thus immersed in the water stored therein. The ultrasonic scanning probe detects defects in the wafer W by scanning the wafer W placed on the mounting surface 1.

[0056] In some embodiments, the inlet section of the pumping line (such as the aforementioned branch pipe) and the drain section of the draining line extend into the water tank and are submerged in the water stored in the tank, while the remaining portions of the pumping and draining lines, as well as the entire pump 30, are located outside the water tank. As a result, while ensuring good water circulation, the effects of water on the pumping lines, draining lines, and pump 30 in areas such as corrosion and electrical insulation are minimized.

Claims

1. A wafer chuck suitable for use in water, characterized in that, include: A suction cup body submerged in water defines a mounting surface for placing a wafer, the mounting surface having adsorption holes; A water pumping line is connected to the adsorption hole via the side of the mounting surface opposite to the wafer; A pump, connected to the pumping line, is configured to draw water located on the side of the mounting surface via the pumping line and the suction hole.

2. The wafer chuck according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The drainage pipeline has an inlet connected to the pump and an outlet for the water to flow into it.

3. The wafer chuck according to claim 1, characterized in that, The suction cup body is made of ceramic, and the entire mounting surface is defined by the ceramic.

4. The wafer chuck according to claim 2, characterized in that, The water outlet is directed away from the suction cup body.

5. The wafer chuck according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: Alignment scale lines are positioned on the mounting surface to help determine the placement angle of the wafer on the mounting surface.

6. The wafer chuck according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: An adjustment screw is connected to the suction cup body and can be operated to adjust the angular position of the suction cup body relative to the ultrasonic scanning probe.

7. The wafer chuck according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: Three positioning posts are connected to the suction cup body and are spaced apart from each other at the edge of the wafer, thereby defining a wafer positioning space for receiving the wafer; One of the positioning posts is configured as an eccentric post that can rotate about an eccentric axis, thereby changing the size of the wafer positioning space.

8. The wafer chuck according to claim 7, characterized in that, The three positioning posts are detachably connected to the suction cup body, and by detaching and assembling the three positioning posts, the three positioning posts have a first combined position and a second combined position relative to the suction cup body. The wafer positioning space defined by the three positioning posts in the first combination position falls entirely within the wafer positioning space defined by the three positioning posts in the second combination position.

9. The wafer chuck according to claim 8, characterized in that, The wafer positioning space defined by the three positioning posts in the first combination position corresponds to a wafer of a first size, and the wafer positioning space defined by the three positioning posts in the second combination position corresponds to a wafer of a second size that is larger than the first size.

10. A wafer inspection device, characterized in that, include: The wafer chuck as described in any one of claims 1 to 9; A cavity for storing the water; An ultrasonic scanning probe inspects the wafer for defects by scanning the wafer placed on the mounting surface.

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