Cleaning device with laser marking unit

Abstract

A cleaning device comprises a base unit (1) designed to hold a wafer (9) and a drive unit (2) arranged above the base unit (1). The drive unit (2) comprises a left-right support (23), a left-right sliding seat (24) slidably mounted on the left-right support (23), an up-down support (25) attached to the left-right sliding seat (24), an up-down sliding seat (26) slidably mounted on the up-down support (25), and a carrier plate (27) attached to the up-down sliding seat (26). A nozzle seat (31) is connected to the carrier plate (27). A nozzle (32) is connected to the nozzle seat (31) to spray a cleaning solution onto the wafer (9). A laser marking unit (4) is connected to the left-right holder (23) to project laser light onto the cleaning solution sprayed onto the wafer (9).

Description

[0001] The disclosure relates to a cleaning device, in particular a cleaning device with a laser marking unit.

[0002] With the development of wafer packaging technology, electrical components on a wafer surface are becoming increasingly precise. These components are easily damaged by contaminants such as dust and small particles that adhere to them. To remove these contaminants, wafer cleaning using an existing cleaning device is necessary.

[0003] However, a transparent cleaning solution is generally used to clean the wafer. When cleaning the wafer with the existing cleaning device, it is difficult for an operator to see whether the wafer is being cleaned according to a predetermined path. The existing cleaning device could be improved.

[0004] Therefore, one objective of the present disclosure is to provide a cleaning device that eliminates at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art.

[0005] According to the disclosure, a cleaning device for cleaning a wafer is provided. The cleaning device comprises a base unit, a drive unit, a nozzle unit, and a laser marking unit.

[0006] The base unit is designed to hold the wafer on it.

[0007] The drive unit is positioned above the base unit and comprises a left-right bracket, a left-right sliding seat, an up-down bracket, an up-down sliding seat, and a support plate. The left-right sliding seat is mounted on the left-right bracket and is movable relative to it in the left-right direction. The up-down bracket is attached to the left-right sliding seat. The up-down sliding seat is mounted on the up-down bracket and can be moved relative to the up-down bracket in an up-down direction perpendicular to the left-right direction. The support plate is attached to the top-bottom sliding seat and has a main plate section having a bottom end which serves as the bottom end of the support plate, a bottom plate section which is connected to the bottom end of the main plate section, and two spaced-apart extension sections which extend downwards from the bottom plate section.

[0008] The nozzle assembly comprises a nozzle seat and at least one nozzle. The nozzle seat is rotatably connected to the lower ends of the extension sections. The at least one nozzle is connected to the nozzle seat, is designed to spray a cleaning solution onto the wafer, and extends along an axis. The axis is designed to interact with the wafer to form an enclosed angle between them.

[0009] The laser marking unit is connected to the left-right holder and is positioned so that it can project laser light onto the cleaning solution sprayed onto the wafer.

[0010] Further features and advantages of the disclosure will become clear in the following detailed description of the embodiment(s) with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that various features may not be drawn to scale. Fig. Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a cleaning device according to the disclosure. Fig. Figure 2 is another perspective view of the embodiment, illustrating the cleaning device. Fig. Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the embodiment, illustrating a carrier plate, a nozzle unit and an image acquisition unit. Fig. Figure 4 is a top view of the embodiment illustrating the cleaning device. Fig. 5 is a side view along line VV in Fig. 4.

[0011] Before describing the revelation in more detail, it should be noted that, where deemed appropriate, reference numerals or terminal parts of reference numerals have been repeated in the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements which may optionally have similar features.

[0012] It should be noted that, for the sake of clarity, spatially relative terms such as "above," "below," "above," "under," "on," "over," "downward," "upward," and the like may be used throughout the revelation, referring to the features depicted in the drawings. The features may be oriented differently (e.g., rotated by 90 degrees or in other orientations), and the spatially relative terms used here may be interpreted accordingly.

[0013] With reference to the Fig. Figures 1 to 3 describe a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the disclosure designed for cleaning a wafer 9. The cleaning device comprises a base unit 1, a drive unit 2, a nozzle unit 3, a laser marking unit 4, and an image acquisition unit 5. The base unit 1 is designed to hold the wafer 9 and includes a base seat 11 defining six openings 111 and six vacuum suction elements (not shown), each arranged in the openings 111. The vacuum suction elements are designed to draw the wafer 9 into a vacuum and position it on the base seat 11. The number of openings 111 and the number of vacuum suction elements can vary depending on requirements.

[0014] The drive unit 2 is arranged above the base unit 1 and comprises a front-back mounting subunit 21, a front-back sliding seat 22, a left-right bracket 23, a left-right sliding seat 24, an up-down bracket 25, an down-down sliding seat 26, and a support plate 27. The front-back sliding seat 22 is arranged on the front-back mounting subunit 21 and can slide relative to the front-back mounting subunit 21 in a front-back direction (D1). The left-right bracket 23 is attached to the front-back sliding seat 22. The left-right sliding seat 24 is arranged on the left-right bracket 23 and is displaceable relative to the left-right bracket 23 in a left-right direction (D2) perpendicular to the front-back direction (D1). The top-bottom bracket 25 is attached to the left-right sliding seat 24.The top-bottom sliding seat 26 is arranged on the top-bottom bracket 25 and is displaceable relative to the top-bottom bracket 25 in an top-bottom direction (D3) perpendicular to the front-back direction (D1) and the left-right direction (D2). The support plate 27 is attached to the top-bottom sliding seat 26.

[0015] In this embodiment, the front-rear mounting subunit 21 comprises two front-rear brackets 211 spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction (D2). The front-rear sliding seat 22 is arranged between the front-rear brackets 211 and is displaceable relative to the front-rear brackets 211.

[0016] With reference to the Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 in conjunction with Fig. Figure 3 shows that the support plate 27 comprises a main plate section 271, a base plate section 272, and two spaced-apart extension sections 273. The main plate section 271 has a lower end that serves as the lower end of the support plate 27. The base plate section 272 is connected to the lower end of the main plate section 271 and extends in the front-back direction (D1). The extension sections 273 are spaced apart in the left-right direction (D2) and extend downwards from the base plate section 272.

[0017] The nozzle assembly 3 comprises a nozzle seat 31, two nozzles 32, and two auxiliary nozzles 33. In this embodiment, the auxiliary nozzles 33 are attached to the base plate section 272 of the carrier plate 27 and are designed to spray a cleaning solution onto the wafer 9. Each of the nozzles 32 and each of the auxiliary nozzles 33 is a fan-shaped nozzle. In other embodiments, each of the nozzles 32 and each of the auxiliary nozzles 33 can be a conical nozzle, a straight nozzle, or an atomizing nozzle.

[0018] The nozzle seat 31 is rotatably connected to the lower ends of the extension sections 273, both upwards and downwards. A flexible conduit (not shown) is connected to the nozzle seat 31 and supplies a cleaning solution to it. The cleaning solution is suitable for cleaning the wafer 9.

[0019] The nozzles 32 are connected to the nozzle seat 31, and each of the nozzles 32 is designed to receive the cleaning solution from the nozzle seat 31 and spray the cleaning solution onto the wafer 9.

[0020] In this embodiment, the cleaning solution is a Standard Clean-1 (SC-1) solution, a Standard Clean-2 (SC-2) solution, or another chemical cleaning solution.

[0021] Each of the nozzles 32 extends along an axis (L1). The axis (L1) is designed to interact with the wafer 9 to form an enclosed angle (θ) between them. As shown in Fig. As shown in Figure 5, the enclosed angle (θ) of each of the nozzles 32 is adjustable by rotating the nozzle seat 31 relative to the carrier plate 27 to facilitate the cleaning of gaps formed on the wafer 9.

[0022] It should be noted that the number of nozzles 32 and the number of auxiliary nozzles 33 are not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the number of nozzles 32 and the number of auxiliary nozzles 33 can be one or greater than two.

[0023] Back to the Fig. 2, Fig. 4 and Fig. 5: The laser marking unit 4 is connected to the left-right bracket 23. In this embodiment, the laser unit 4 comprises a laser holder 41 and a laser emitter 42.

[0024] The laser holder 41 has a fixed section 411, two connecting sections 412, and a mounting section 413. The fixed section 411 is attached to the left-right bracket 23. The connecting sections 412 are rotatably connected to the fixed section 411 and spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction (D2). The mounting section 413 is rotatably connected to the connecting sections 412, is located opposite the fixed section 411, and defines a mounting opening 414. Specifically, when the connecting sections 412 are rotated relative to the fixed section 411 into a predetermined position, the mounting section 413 can be actuated to be made immobile relative to the left-right bracket 23.

[0025] The laser emitter 42 extends through the mounting opening 414 and is attached to the mounting section 413. In this embodiment, the laser emitter 42 is a red laser diode.

[0026] The laser marking unit 4 is designed to project laser light onto the cleaning solutions sprayed onto the wafer 9 by the nozzles 32, enabling an operator to perform on-site inspections.

[0027] The image acquisition unit 5 is attached to the nozzle unit 3 and is designed to generate successive images of the wafer 9 cleaned with the cleaning solutions from the nozzles 32. These successive images of the wafer 9 after cleaning with the cleaning solutions from the nozzles 32 allow the operator to verify the cleaning process of the wafer 9 after completion.

[0028] During operation, the laser lights from the laser marking unit 4, which are projected onto the wafer 9, and the cleaning solutions sprayed from the nozzles 32 enable the operator to perform an on-site inspection of the wafer cleaning process or after completion of the cleaning process.

[0029] In summary, the cleaning device of the present invention has the following advantages.

[0030] Since the left-right bracket 23 is attached to the front-back sliding seat 22, which is displaceable relative to the front-back mounting sub-unit 21 in the front-back direction (D1), and because the nozzle seat 31 is connected to the carrier plate 27, which is connected to the left-right bracket 23, in order to move together with the front-back sliding seat 22, the nozzles 32 connected to the nozzle seat 31 and the laser marking unit 4 connected to the left-right bracket 23 are simultaneously movable together in the front-back direction (D1). Since the laser marking unit 4 and the nozzles 32 can be moved simultaneously in the front-back direction (D1), it is easier to check the cleaning process of the wafer 9 by the laser marking unit 4, which projects laser light onto the cleaning solutions sprayed onto the wafer 9 by the nozzles 32.

[0031] Since the image acquisition unit produces 5 consecutive images of the wafer 9 cleaned with the cleaning solutions from the nozzles 32, the operator can check the cleaning process of the wafer 9 after completion of the cleaning process.

[0032] In the description above, numerous specific details have been provided for explanatory purposes to facilitate a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). However, it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that one or more other embodiments can be realized without some of these specific details. It should also be noted that references in this description to "an embodiment," "a form of embodiment," an embodiment with a specified ordinal number, etc., mean that a particular feature, structure, or property may be included in the practical implementation of the disclosure.It should also be noted that in the description, various features are sometimes combined in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof in order to streamline the disclosure and facilitate understanding of various inventive aspects; this does not mean that each of these features must be implemented in the presence of all the other features. In other words, in any described embodiment, if the implementation of one or more features or specific details does not interfere with the implementation of another or more features or specific details, one or more features may be selected and implemented independently.It should also be noted that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be used in practice in the disclosure, together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate.

Claims

[1] Cleaning device for cleaning a wafer (9), the cleaning device comprising: a base unit (1) designed to hold the wafer (9) on it; and a drive unit (2) which is arranged above the base unit (1) and comprises a left-right bracket (23), a left-right sliding seat (24) which is arranged on the left-right support (23) and is movable relative to it in a left-right direction (D2), an upper-lower support (25) which is attached to the left-right sliding seat (24), an up-down sliding seat (26) which is arranged on the up-down support (25) and is displaceable relative to the up-down support (25) in an up-down direction (D3) perpendicular to the left-right direction (D2), and a support plate (27) which is attached to the top-bottom sliding seat (26) and which has a main plate section (271) which has a lower end that serves as the lower end of the support plate (27), a base plate section (272) connected to the lower end of the main plate section (271), and two spaced-apart extension sections (273) extending downwards from the base plate section (272); a nozzle unit (3) with a nozzle seat (31) which is rotatably connected to the lower ends of the extension sections (273), and at least one nozzle (32) connected to the nozzle seat (31) and designed to spray a cleaning solution onto the wafer (9), and extending along an axis (L1) wherein the axis (L1) is designed to interact with the wafer (9) to form an enclosed angle (θ) between them; characterized by , that the cleaning device comprises a laser marking unit (4) which is connected to the left-right holder (23) and is designed to project laser light onto the cleaning solution sprayed onto the wafer (9). [2] Cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising an image acquisition unit (5) which is attached to the nozzle unit (3) and is designed to produce successive images of the wafer (9) cleaned by the cleaning solution from the at least one nozzle (32). [3] Cleaning device according to one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the base unit (1) comprises a base seat (11) which defines several openings (111). [4] Cleaning device according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the drive unit (2) further comprises a front-rear mounting sub-unit (21) and a front-rear sliding seat (22) which is arranged on the front-rear mounting sub-unit (21) and is displaceable relative to the front-rear mounting sub-unit (21) in a front-rear direction (D1) perpendicular to the left-right direction (D2) and the up-down direction (D3); and the left-right bracket (23) is attached to the front-back sliding seat (22). [5] Cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle unit (3) further comprises at least one auxiliary nozzle (33) which is attached to the base plate section (272) of the carrier plate (27) and which is designed to spray the cleaning solution onto the wafer (9). [6] Cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the laser marking unit (4) comprises a laser holder (41) with a fixed section (411) which is attached to the left-right bracket (23), two connecting sections (412) which are rotatably connected to the fixed section (411), and a 13 August 2025(413) rotatably connected to the connecting sections (412), opposite the fixed section (411) and defining a mounting opening(414); and a laser emitter (42) extending through the mounting opening (414) and attached to the mounting section (413).

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