Substrate mapping device and method

Abstract

A semiconductor wafer mapping device comprising: a frame forming a wafer load opening communicating with a load station for a substrate carrier arranged to hold more than one wafer distributed vertically on a substrate carrier for loading through the wafer load opening; a movable arm having at least one end effector movably mounted on the frame to move toward the wafer load opening and movably mounted on a movable arm to load wafers from the substrate carrier through the wafer load opening; and an image acquisition system comprising a camera array arranged on a common support, wherein each camera is fixed to the common support statically for each camera of the camera array, and each corresponding camera is positioned in a field of view arranged to be visualized through the wafer load opening together with the common support positioned by the movable arm.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] This application is the formal application of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 046,555 filed on June 30, 2020, and claims the benefit thereof, and the disclosures of said U.S. Provisional Patent Application are incorporated herein in whole by reference.

[0002] Technology field

[0003] Representative embodiments generally relate to semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and more specifically to substrate identification in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Background Technology

[0004] There are various locations where a single substrate or a stack of substrates (such as wafers, reticles, film-frames, trays, etc.) can be held in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The physical state of the substrate at each of these locations can be one of many, including but not limited to absence, presence, double slot, cross slot, and shift / tilt. Generally, the physical state of the substrate at each holding location is determined (or mapped) to facilitate substrate handling within the semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

[0005] Robot End Effector ( One example of substrate mapping for a single substrate, such as one positioned on a robotic end effector, involves a vacuum suction technique in which a vacuum suction cup contacts the back surface of the substrate. By opening a valve on the vacuum line of the end effector, the vacuum pressure level of the suction cup determines whether the substrate state is present or absent in this case (the vacuum suction technique does not detect substrate shift). The vacuum suction technique can lead to incorrect readings if the contact between the vacuum suction cup and the substrate is not tightly sealed. Furthermore, hundreds of milliseconds are required between the activation of the vacuum valve and the establishment of a steady-state vacuum pressure level to determine the presence of the substrate on the end effector. As is known, hundreds of milliseconds across multiple wafers have a negative impact on substrate throughput through semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

[0006] Generally, a break-beam technique is employed to map a stack of substrates (having gaps separating each of the stacked substrates) maintained, for example, in a load port within a substrate cassette or carrier. Here, the optical beam extends from the transmitter to the receiver in a direction parallel to the substrate planes. The transmitter and receiver can be referred to as beam-transmitting sensors. The beam-transmitting sensors are moved up or down along the side of the substrate stack so that the optical beam engages and is blocked by the substrate (blocking of the optical beam indicates the presence of the substrate). Although the break-beam technique can detect many of the substrate states noted above, it is desirable for the break-beam technique to be sensitive to the angle of the optical beam relative to the substrate planes so that the optical beam is precisely aligned with the substrate planes. Here, extending and retracting the beam-through sensor from / to the substrate holding position takes at least a few seconds, and the correlation of beam cutoff and beam restoration events for each substrate position generally entails a controlled and slow motion profile of the beam-through sensor, all of which negatively affect substrate throughput.

[0007] Both vacuum suction and brake beam techniques complicate machine design. For example, vacuum suction techniques involve employing vacuum supply devices in substrate handling equipment and routing vacuum lines through substrate transfer arms to the end effectors. Brake beam techniques involve the extension and retraction of moving parts and beam-transmitting sensors. This increased complexity raises the manufacturing and servicing costs of semiconductor processing equipment.

[0008] In addition to the above, substrates in advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology are provided in various thicknesses. Due to the differing thicknesses of the substrates, there is a problem with break beam technology when determining the map of substrate retention locations. For example, thin substrates have a thickness that does not completely block the light beam, which can consequently lead to the misidentification of the substrate.

[0009] Imaging systems have also been used for substrate mapping. However, in conventional image mapping systems, such as those imaging substrates through load port openings, images of substrates facing the top (or bottom) of a substrate stack may be distorted, and some substrates may be blocked from view by substrates located above or below. There may also be a problem with light reflected from the substrates and / or from within the substrate carrier, where reflected light can obscure substrate detection.

[0010] Furthermore, in semiconductor manufacturing facilities, various types of substrates (as noted above) are transported by substrate transport devices (e.g., robots) equipped with end effectors on which the substrates are placed for transport. To transport a substrate, the substrate transport device selects the substrate by extending the end effector into a small space below the substrate (or a small space above the substrate in some applications) (e.g., placed on the substrate mounting surface of a substrate carrier, a process module, or other appropriate substrate holding position). Selecting the substrate with the end effector does not cause problems if the substrate is flat. However, as noted above, in advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology, substrates are provided in various thicknesses and may not be flat. For example, thin substrates, reconfigured substrates, and fan-out substrates used in advanced packaging may be bent or warped by up to several millimeters. Such warping of the substrate may prevent the end effector from extending into the small space below the substrate (or the small space above the substrate) to select the substrate.

[0011] The aforementioned embodiments and other features of the disclosed embodiment are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0012] FIGS. 1a, FIGS. 1b, and FIGS. 1c are drawings showing a representative substrate processing apparatus that combines embodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 2a, 2b, and 2c are representative schematic diagrams of the machine vision system and illuminator(s) of the substrate processing apparatus of FIGS. 1a, 1b, and 1c according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d are representative schematic diagrams of parts of the machine vision system and illuminator(s) of FIGS. 2a, 2b, and 2c according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 4a is a drawing showing representative images of substrates captured by the machine vision system of FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, and FIG. 2c according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 4b is a drawing showing a representative intensity profile of the image of FIG. 4a according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a drawing showing a representative comparison of the raw profiles of imaging substrates image-processed by the machine vision system of FIG. 2a, 2b, and 2c, and the corresponding actual profiles of imaging substrates according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6a is a drawing showing a representative image of a substrate stack in which the upper and lower edge boundaries of the substrates and the background are optically blanked according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 6b and FIGS. 6c are drawings showing representative images of substrates of a substrate stack according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6d is a drawing showing an example of image optimization illustrating the optimization of an image of a substrate stack to separate edges from the background of an image according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6e is a drawing showing an example of the separated edges of FIG. 6d in the region of interest according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6f is a drawing showing an example of image optimization in which the separation edges of FIG. 6d within the common substrate holding slot of a carrier are connected to the boundaries of corresponding substrate holding slots according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7a is a representative drawing of the illuminator(s) of FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b and FIG. 2c according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7b is a schematic diagram of one or more representative light paths of the illuminator(s) of FIG. 7a according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 8a is a schematic diagram of a representative transfer arm of a substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1a, FIG. 1b and FIG. 1c according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 8b is a schematic diagram of one or more representative light paths of the illuminator(s) of the transfer arm of FIG. 8a according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 9a, FIGS. 9b, FIGS. 9c and FIGS. 9d are representative schematic diagrams of raw edge profiles and actual profiles of substrates image-processed from different angles according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 10, FIGS. 11, FIGS. 12 and FIGS. 13 are representative drawings of raw edge profiles and corrected actual profiles according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 14 is a representative flowchart of a method according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 15a, FIGS. 15b, FIGS. 15c and FIGS. 15d are drawings showing representative baseline images of a substrate carrier according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 16a and FIGS. 16b are schematic diagrams of raw and actual profile images of substrates taken by a plurality of cameras, each camera capturing an image of a corresponding different individual region of a substrate carrier according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0013] FIGS. 1a, 1b, and 1c show representative substrate processing apparatuses (100, 150, 165) according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Although embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood here that embodiments of the present disclosure may be embodied in many forms. Additionally, elements or materials of any suitable size, shape, or type may be used.

[0014] Referring to FIGS. 1a, 1b, 1c and 2a, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a machine vision system (200) (also referred to herein as an image acquisition system) and a substrate mapping device (181) (also referred to herein as a semiconductor wafer mapping device) comprising at least one illuminator (220) for performing substrate mapping and / or substrate edge profiling (a diffuse direct or indirect light source including, but not limited to, LEDs, fluorescent lamps, floodlights, light arrays, etc., or a combination thereof). According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the machine vision system (200) includes at least one camera (210) (or any suitable image acquisition sensor). At least one camera (210) and at least one illuminator (220) of the machine vision system (200) are positioned at one or more locations to capture an image of a substrate stack (270) placed at any suitable location of the substrate processing device (100, 150, 165). In some embodiments, at least one camera (210) is a camera array (277) as described herein (also referred to herein as a camera system or camera array). A substrate map (280) (also referred to as a map in this specification) of substrates (S) (also referred to as wafers in this specification) within a substrate stack (270) is determined, for example, from actual edge profiles (500T) (see FIG. 5) (or corrected actual edge profiles (500TC) as shown in FIG. 10 in some embodiments) through any appropriate analysis / processing of captured images of substrates (S) within the substrate stack (270). As can be seen from the present disclosure, the substrate mapping device (181) disclosed in this specification overcomes the shortcomings of the conventional substrate mapping device known above.The substrate mapping device (181) of the present disclosure has substantially no moving parts and is integrated into any suitable semiconductor manufacturing equipment, such as a substrate processing device (100, 150, 165) (or one or more components thereof), thereby providing an opportunity to enhance substrate mapping through software without substantially any hardware upgrade. As will also be described in this specification, embodiments of the present disclosure provide advanced mapping applications, including but not limited to measuring substrate edge profiles that may not be flat.

[0015] Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide measuring the edge profiles of a substrate (S) such that the distance TD (see FIG. 1a) between substrate holding tines (180ET1, 180ET2) of the end effector (180E) of the substrate transfer device (180) (see FIG. 8a) can be adjusted to select twisted / bent substrates. Suitable examples of end effectors having adjustable tines can be found in U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 693,871 filed September 1, 2017, titled “Substrate Processing Apparatus,” the disclosure of said U.S. Patent Application is supplemented to the present specification in its entirety by reference. Suitable examples of a substrate transfer device (180) to which end effectors having adjustable substrate holding tines (180ET1, 180ET2) can be combined are described in U.S. Patent Application No. 14 / 928,352 filed October 30, 2015, titled “Wafer Aligner”, the disclosure of said U.S. Patent Application is supplemented in its entirety by reference to the present specification. As will be described in the present specification, at least one camera (210) and at least one illuminator (220) are positioned to capture images of the substrate (S) or the substrate stack (270) across the width of the substrate (S). The edge profile of each substrate (S) is defined from the processing of the captured images. Based on the edge profiles of the substrate(s), the available space under each substrate (S) across the width is determined in any suitable manner.A substrate transfer device (180) under the control of any suitable controller, such as a controller (199), commands the distance (TD) (see FIG. 1a) between the substrate holding tines (180TE1, 180TE2) of the end effector (180E) to be adjusted, thereby causing the tines to extend into areas of the curved / bent substrate (S) that have a clearance allowing the end effector (180E) to extend into the lower part of the substrate (S).

[0016] Generally, as will be described more specifically in the present specification, embodiments of the present disclosure employ at least one camera (210) to capture an image of the outer edge (233) of a substrate while the substrates are illuminated by at least one illuminator (220). Here, any suitable controller (such as the controller (199)) defines substrate edge profiles from the captured image(s) using any suitable algorithm as described in the present specification. The number of data points on the outer edge (233) of each substrate imaged by at least one camera (210) is maximized through the use of diffuse and diffuse illumination across the substrate width (W) when multiple exposure techniques (e.g., adjusting exposure speed, aperture, etc.) are employed for different sections of the substrate width. The accuracy of the data points on the outer edge (233) of each substrate (S) is maximized by an algorithm (e.g., programmed in the controller (199)) that captures and stores the edge profiles of the standard substrate as spatial correction data (281) (as will be described more specifically in this specification). At runtime of the substrate mapping device (181) for determining the map (280) and / or edge profiles, the measured raw substrate profiles are compared with the spatial correction data (281) to determine the corrected actual profiles (500TC) of the substrates (S) (see FIG. 10 through 13). The raw profile is the edge profile of the substrate as seen by the corresponding camera (i.e., the projection of the 3D substrate edge onto the 2D plane of the camera's field of view—see FIG. 5 and also the left side of FIG. 9b through 9d).The actual profile (500T) and / or the corrected actual profile (500TC) is what the end effector (180E) of the substrate transfer device (180) “sees” when selecting the substrate (S) (in other words, a straight projection of the three-dimensional substrate edge onto the extension / retraction plane of the end effector (180E) - see FIG. 5 and also the right side of FIG. 9a).

[0017] With reference to FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in relation to a substrate processing apparatus (100, 150, 165), but embodiments of the present disclosure are likewise applicable to classifiers in which a plurality of carriers (110) are coupled to a transfer chamber (130) (e.g., to place substrates in one or more carriers according to a predetermined sequence / order) and substrates are moved from one carrier (110) to another carrier (110) by a substrate transfer device (180) within the transfer chamber (130), wherein there is no substrate process (such as process (140, 160, 170)) included in the classifier. Referring to FIG. 1a, the substrate processing apparatus (100) comprises a load port (120), a transfer chamber (130), and any suitable line front-end process (140) (e.g., vacuum thin film processes such as etching, chemical vapor deposition, plasma deposition, implantation, metrology, rapid thermal processing, dry strip atomic layer, oxidation / diffusion, nitride formation, lithography, epitaxy, or other thin film processes for manufacturing patterned individual semiconductor structures within a semiconductor that do not include the deposition of metal interconnection layers). The load port (120) is coupled to the transfer chamber (130) and configured to interface any suitable substrate cassette or carrier (110) to the transfer chamber (130). The transfer chamber (130) is coupled to the line front-end process (140) and includes any suitable opening and / or valve through which substrates pass between the transfer chamber (130) and the line front-end process (140).

[0018] The transfer chamber (130) includes a substrate transfer device (180) configured to transfer substrates (S) between a substrate carrier (110) and a line front-end process (140). The substrate transfer device (180) includes a transfer arm (180TA) having an end effector (180E) to load and unload substrates (S) back and forth through an opening (888) of a load port (120). As noted above, a suitable example of the substrate transfer device (180) can be found in U.S. Patent Application No. 14 / 928,352 filed on October 30, 2015, titled “Wafer Aligner”, the disclosure of said U.S. Patent Application has been supplemented in its entirety by reference in the specification of this application. For example, with reference also to FIG. 8a and FIG. 8b, embodiments of the disclosed example will be described for an air transfer robot (180), but it should be understood here that embodiments of the disclosed example are likewise applicable to vacuum transfer robots such as those found in a line front end process (140), a line back end process (160), and a back end process (170). As can be seen, the substrate transfer device (180) is mounted on a boom arm (BA) or linear slide (850) so as to be movable in at least the X and / or Y directions (as described in U.S. Patent Application No. 14 / 377,987 filed August 11, 2014, with the title of the invention “Substrate Processing Apparatus”—the disclosure of said U.S. Patent Application is supplemented in its entirety by reference to this specification—but in other embodiments, the substrate transfer device (180) is mounted so as to be fixed in at least the X and / or Y directions. The illustrated configuration is for illustrative purposes only, and the arrangement, shape, and placement of the exemplified components may be changed as necessary without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0019] As can be seen in FIGS. 1a through 1c and FIG. 8a, in one embodiment, the substrate transfer device (180) is movably mounted on the frame (800) of the transfer chamber (130) or, in other embodiments, on the frame of any suitable module of the substrate processing device (100, 150, 165). As can be seen, the frame (800) includes one or more openings (888) (also referred to as wafer load openings in the present specification) communicating with a load port (120) (also referred to as a load station in the present specification) for a substrate carrier (110) disposed on a load port (120) to hold one or more substrates (S) in a vertically distributed arrangement (as will be described in the present specification) for loading into the substrate processing device (100) (and likewise the substrate processing device (150, 165) described in the present specification) through an opening (888). The substrate transfer device (180) includes a transfer arm (180TA) (also referred to herein as a movable arm), and the transfer arm (180TA) is mounted on a carriage (863) so that the transfer arm (180TA) is movably mounted on a frame (800). In one embodiment, the carriage (863) is mounted on a linear slide (850) so as to be movable in the X direction, whereas in another embodiment, the carriage (863) is mounted on the frame (800) so as to be fixed in the X (and / or Y) direction. In one embodiment, any suitable drive (867) is mounted on the frame (800) and is drivably connected to the carriage (863) by any suitable transmission to move the transfer arm (180TA) in the X direction.In this embodiment, the transmission is a belt and pulley transmission and the drive is a rotary drive, but in other embodiments, the drive (867) is a linear actuator drivenly connected to the carriage (863) through any suitable transmission (e.g., where the carriage includes the drive portion of the linear actuator). Here, the transfer arm (180TA) includes a rotary drive (862), a Z-drive column (830), a slide body (820), and one or more end effectors (180E). The rotary drive (862) is any suitable rotary drive mounted on the carriage (863), and the Z-drive column (830) is mounted to the output of the rotary drive (862) to rotate in the direction of arrow T (e.g., the θ direction) with respect to the θ axis. The slide body (820) is movably mounted on a Z drive column (830), wherein the Z drive column (830) includes any suitable drive motor and / or transmission for moving the slide body (820) in the Z direction.

[0020] One or more (e.g., at least one) end effectors (180E) are movably mounted on the slide body (820) in any suitable manner to extend and retract in the R direction (it should be noted here that the R direction rotates about the axis θ, thereby allowing the extension of the end effector(s) (180E) to be aligned with the X-axis or Y-axis, or aligned at any suitable angle of rotation in the XY plane). Although two end effectors (180E) are shown for illustrative purposes only, it should be understood here that any suitable number of end effectors are mounted on the slide body (820). As can be seen, one or more end effectors (180E) traverse the transfer arm (180TA) as a unit in a first direction (e.g., one or more of the X, Y, and Z directions) with respect to the frame (800) and traverse linearly with respect to the transfer arm (180TA) in a second direction different from the first direction (e.g., the R direction). The slide body (820) includes one or more linear drives (825) configured to move each end effector (180E) independently in the R direction. The one or more linear drives (825) are any suitable drive(s) having any suitable transmission substantially similar to, for example, the one described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 917,056 filed on December 17, 2013, for example, “Substrate Transport Apparatus”, the disclosure of said U.S. Provisional Patent Application is supplemented in its entirety by reference to the present specification. The end effectors (180E) are disposed on the slide body (820) and thus the end effectors (180E) are stacked such that one end effector (180E) is on another end effector (180E) in order to have a common extension and retraction axis (R).The end effectors may also include any suitable drives for adjusting the distance (TD) between end effector tines (180ET1, 180ET2) (see FIG. 1a) as described in U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 693,871 filed September 1, 2017, titled “Substrate Processing Apparatus,” and the disclosure of said U.S. Patent Application is supplemented in its entirety to the specification by reference.

[0021] The carrier (110) may be any suitable carrier (110), such as a front-opening carrier (illustrated in FIG. 1a and 1b—a suitable example thereof is a front-opening unified pod (FOUP)) or a bottom-opening carrier (a suitable example thereof is a standard mechanical interface pod (SMIF)). In one embodiment, the carrier (110) may be substantially similar to that described in U.S. Patent No. 9,105,673 granted on August 11, 2015 (titled "Side Opening Unified Pod"), the disclosure of said U.S. Patent is supplemented in its entirety to the present specification by reference. In one embodiment, the transfer chamber (130) has the same atmosphere as the atmosphere of the line front end process (140) (e.g., vacuum atmosphere), but in other embodiments, the transfer chamber has an atmosphere environment and the line front end process (140) includes any suitable load lock for transferring substrates (S) between the line front end process (140) and the transfer chamber (130) without deterioration of the processing atmosphere of the line front end process (140).

[0022] Referring to FIG. 1b, the substrate processing apparatus (150) comprises a load port (120) (similar to that described herein), a transfer chamber (130) (similar to that described herein), and any suitable line back-end process (160) (e.g., generally associated with the manufacture of metal interconnection layers of semiconductor structures formed by the line front-end process (140), leading to the manufacture of a final passivation layer, and including any suitable processing steps after the front-end of the line process including the manufacture of the final passivation layer). The load port (120) is coupled to the transfer chamber (130) and configured to interface any suitable substrate carrier (110) with the transfer chamber (130). The transfer chamber (130) is coupled to the line back-end process (160) and includes any suitable opening and / or valve, through which substrates are passed between the transfer chamber (130) and the line back-end process (160). The transfer chamber (130) includes a substrate transfer device (180) (as described above) configured to transfer substrates between a carrier (110) and a line back-end process (160). The carrier (110) may be any suitable carrier (110), such as a front-opening carrier (illustrated in FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b—a suitable example thereof is a front-opening unified pod (FOUP)) or a bottom-opening carrier (a suitable example thereof is a standard mechanical interface pod (SMIF)). In one embodiment, the carrier (110) may be substantially similar to that described in U.S. Patent No. 9,105,673 granted on August 11, 2015 (titled "Side Opening Unified Pod"), the disclosure of said U.S. Patent is supplemented in its entirety by reference to the present specification.In one embodiment, the transfer chamber (130) has the same atmosphere as the atmosphere of the line back end process (160) (e.g., vacuum atmosphere), but in other embodiments, the transfer chamber has an atmosphere environment and the line back end process (160) includes any suitable load lock for transferring substrates (S) between the line back end process (160) and the transfer chamber (130) without deterioration of the processing atmosphere of the line back end process (160).

[0023] Referring to FIG. 1c, the substrate processing device (165) comprises a load port (120) (similar to that described herein), a transfer chamber (130) (similar to that described herein), and any suitable process (170) (e.g., generally including substrate testing, substrate backgrinding, die separation, die testing, IC (integrated circuit) packaging, and final testing). The load port (120) is coupled to the transfer chamber (130) and configured to interface any suitable substrate carrier (110) with the transfer chamber (130). The transfer chamber (130) is coupled to the back-end process (170) and includes any suitable opening and / or valve, through which substrates (S) are passed between the transfer chamber (130) and the back-end process (170). The transfer chamber (130) includes a substrate transfer device (180) (as described above) configured to transfer substrates between a carrier (110) and a back-end process (170). The carrier (110) may be any suitable carrier (110), such as a front-opening carrier (illustrated in FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b—a suitable example thereof is a front-opening unified pod (FOUP)) or a bottom-opening carrier (a suitable example thereof is a standard mechanical interface pod (SMIF)). In one embodiment, the carrier (110) may be substantially similar to that described in U.S. Patent No. 9,105,673 granted on August 11, 2015 (titled "Side Opening Unified Pod"), the disclosure of said U.S. Patent is supplemented in its entirety by reference to the present specification.

[0024] Referring to FIGS. 2a, 2b, and 2c, a substrate mapping device (181) will be described for a substrate stack (270) that is seated on a single substrate (S) or a load port (120) and maintained within a substrate carrier (110) that engages with the load port (120). However, in other embodiments, the single substrate (S) or the substrate stack (270) may be placed at any suitable location of a substrate processing device (100, 150, 165), which includes, but is not limited to, any suitable substrate buffers, substrate aligners, load locks, and any other location where one or more substrates (S) are maintained. As described above, the substrate mapping device (181) includes at least one camera (210) and at least one illuminator (220) coupled to any suitable controller, such as a controller (199) and a substrate processing device (100, 150, 165). A substrate (S) or a substrate stack (270) is illuminated by at least one illuminator (220), as described herein, and thus at least one camera captures at least one image of the substrate edge(s) illuminated by at least one illuminator (220). Signals defining the image are transmitted from at least one camera (210) to a controller (199) to process the image and to extract (or determine) a map (280) from the image using any suitable image processing algorithm. The map (280) is stored in any suitable memory (199M) of the controller (199) or is accessible by the controller (199), so that the controller (199) can command the substrate transfer equipment to move based on the state of each substrate within the substrate (S) or substrate stack (270) as determined by the map (5280).As will be described in this specification, in one or more embodiments a single camera and illuminator pair is employed to image the substrate(s) (S) to determine the map, but in other embodiments more than one camera and / or more than one illuminator is used. In some embodiments, such as depending on the substrate type (e.g., thickness, shape, material, etc.) as well as the environment surrounding the substrate (e.g., located within a carrier (110), located within an open rack, etc.), more than one image of the substrate (S) or substrate stack (270) is captured and analyzed as described in this specification to determine the map (280). For the sake of illustration alone, the description provided in this specification assumes that only one image is analyzed, but as noted above, more than one image may be compared, superimposed, etc., and analyzed in a manner similar to that described in this specification without departing from the embodiments of this disclosure. Additionally, for convenience of explanation, the present disclosure describes the analysis of a substrate stack (270), but the analysis of a single substrate (S) is substantially similar to that described in the present specification.

[0025] As will be described in the present specification, a map (280) is determined or otherwise generated to determine the state of each substrate (S) within each holding slot of the substrate stack (270). An image of the substrate stack (270) is taken with at least one camera (210) and at least one illuminator (220) at any appropriate location(s) with respect to the substrate stack (270) so that the outer edges (233) of the substrates (S) within the substrate stack (270) are captured in the image (e.g., see image (400) of FIG. 4). The image is processed by a controller (199) in any appropriate manner as described in the present specification to identify the outer edges (233) of the substrate (S), wherein at least partial definition of the outer edges (233) is performed by the controller (199) based on the image.

[0026] As briefly noted above, and also referring to FIG. 5, for each holding slot of the substrate stack (270) (it should be noted here that the holding slot(s) (n, n+1, n+2, ...; each holding slot is SEMI ® (having a predetermined height for a load port reference position as provided in the standard) defined by a substrate carrier (110) or other substrate support and configured to support a corresponding substrate (S) within a substrate stack (270) at a predetermined distance or pitch between substrates (S), and edge data of each substrate (S) (e.g., see FIG. 5) determines the state of the substrate (S) within the holding slot based on the following representative substrate mapping rules:

[0027] If the substrate edge (500) (where the substrate edge (500) in the image is the outer edge (233) of the substrate (S) in the substrate stack (270)) is not detected in the image, the state of the substrate (S) for any given holding slot does not exist (in other words, no substrate exists);

[0028] If a single substrate edge (500) is detected in the image or if a shape line (representing the substrate edge (500)) is detected to overlap with a holding slot reference line (510) in the image, then a state of any given substrate (S) within a holding slot exists (in other words, a single substrate exists within the holding slot);

[0029] If two substrate edges (500) are detected in the image or the thickness of the substrate (S) detected in the image is, for example, twice the expected substrate thickness (or any appropriate multiple), the state of the substrate (S) within any given holding slot is doubled (in other words, two substrates (S) are arranged so that one substrate is placed on the other substrate in the same holding slot);

[0030] If the shape line (representing the substrate edge (500)) is not parallel to the reference line (510) of the holding slot, the state of the substrate (S) within any given holding slot is a cross state (in other words, a cross slot state in which one substrate is placed across two slots such as the slots (n+2, n+3) of FIG. 5);

[0031] If the shape line (representing the substrate edge (500)) is parallel to the slot reference line (510) but is vertically shifted (such parallelism is detectable when at least one camera (210) views the substrate (S) from a certain angle (i.e., above or below the substrate (S)), the state of the substrate (S) within any given holding slot is shifted or tilted (i.e., the substrate slides from its nominal position within the holding slot).

[0032] It should be noted here that the state of each substrate (S) within each holding slot forms a map (280) together.

[0033] Referring to FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b, FIG. 2c and FIG. 3a, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, at least one camera (210) is mounted within one or more planes of a near plane (300) and a far plane (301). The near plane (300) is adjacent to the substrate carrier (110) (e.g., mounted on a load port (120)) and the far plane (301) is further away from the substrate carrier (110). The near plane (300) is any suitable distance Y1 closest to the opening (399) of the substrate carrier (110), and all substrates (S) stacked within the substrate carrier (110) are captured by the camera (210) equipped with a wide-angle lens and substantially fill the field of view (FOVW) of the camera (210) (see FIG. 3c). The far plane (301) is any suitable distance Y2 closest to the opening (399) of the substrate carrier (110), and all the substrates (S) stacked within the substrate carrier (110) are captured by a camera (210) equipped with a telephoto lens and substantially fill the field of view (FOVW) of said camera (210) (see FIG. 3d). As can be seen, the distances Y1 and Y2 can be determined based on the focal lengths of the corresponding wide-angle and telephoto lenses and the height of the substrate stack (270). According to the present disclosure, the mounting position of at least one camera (210) in the X direction substantially follows the vertical (Z-axis) center line (371) of the substrate stack (270) (which, although not shown in FIG. 3a for clarity, substantially coincides with the vertical center line of the substrate carrier (110); However, in other embodiments, at least one camera (210) may be mounted on one or more sides (e.g., left or right) of the vertical center line (371).The mounting position of at least one camera (210) in the Z direction may substantially follow the horizontal center plane (370) (XY plane) of the substrate carrier (110); however, in other embodiments, at least one camera (210) may be mounted above or below the center plane (370). FIG. 2b shows a single camera (210) mounted along the horizontal center plane (370), FIG. 2c shows a camera (210B) mounted on the horizontal center plane (370), a camera (210A) mounted above the horizontal center plane (370), and a camera (210C) mounted below the horizontal center plane (370) (it should be noted that FIG. 2b and FIG. 2c are comprehensive for the near plane (300) and the far plane (301). In other embodiments, more or fewer cameras may be used. One or more cameras described in the present specification are generally referred to as at least one camera (210) (which includes a single camera or a camera system / array (210A, 210B, 210C, etc.)).

[0034] In one or more embodiments, at least one of the at least one camera (210) is mounted at a lower center position (LC) to image the substrate stack (270) in an angled upward direction. At a relatively low center position LC, the resulting image substantially eliminates background noise caused by the upper surfaces of the substrates, which may include environmental reflections (such as from inside the carrier (110)) and / or die grip patterns. Here, the substrates are illuminated from one or more positions (e.g., upper left UL, upper center UC, upper right UR, center left ML, center center MC, center right MR, lower left LL, lower center LC, and lower right LR). In one or more embodiments, at least one of the at least one camera (210) is mounted at an upper central position (UC) where the substrate stack is illuminated from one or more of the lower positions (LL, LC, LR) and central positions (ML, MC, MR), thereby suppressing at least background noise from the upper surface of the substrate or image processing of the upper surface of the substrate (e.g., the upper surfaces of the substrate are shadowed in a manner similar to that described in U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 570,453 filed September 13, 2019, titled “Method and Apparatus for Substrate Alignment,” the disclosure of said U.S. Patent Application is supplemented in its entirety by reference to the present specification). In one or more embodiments, at least one of the cameras (210) is mounted at a central center position MC where the substrate stack (270) is illuminated from one or more of the lower positions (LL, LC, LR) to at least suppress background noise from the upper surface of the substrates (S) or image processing of the upper surface of the substrates (S).In other embodiments, at least one camera (210) may be positioned in any number and combination of mounting locations (UL, US, UR, ML, MC, MR, LL, LC, LR) on the near plane (300) and / or the far plane (301) (such as when at least one camera (210) includes more than one camera); however, when at least one camera (210) is mounted at the central position (MC) on the near plane (300), at least one camera (210) is mounted on the load port door (120D) of the load port so that at least one camera moves along with the load port door (120D) of the load port from the substrate transport path to the substrate cassette (110). Here, at least one camera (210) images the substrate stack (270) (in one or more images) as the load port door (120D) moves to open and close the load port / substrate carrier.

[0035] Referring to FIGS. 1a through 1c and FIGS. 2c, at least one camera (210) is mounted in a fixed position inside the substrate processing device (100, 150, 165) (to be fixed to the substrate stack (270)) (see FIGS. 1a through 1c). At least one camera (210) may also be mounted on a movable component of the substrate processing device (100, 150, 165) (e.g., a load port door (120D) and / or a substrate transfer device (180)) (see FIGS. 1a through 1c). Here, the movable component positions at least one camera (210) within a desired location (UL, US, UR, ML, MC, MR, LL, LC, LR) on the near plane (300) and / or far plane (301) to image the substrate stack (270). FIG. 2c shows an example in which a camera array (277) comprising more than one camera (210A, 210B, 210C) is positioned on a substrate transfer device (180). Here, the camera array (277) is positioned on a common support (244) of the substrate transfer device (180) (which is the Z-drive column (830) in this embodiment) (where "common support" refers to a single support on which each camera in the camera array (277) is mounted so that each camera in the camera array (277) shares a single support). However, in other embodiments, when fixedly mounted within the transfer chamber (130), the camera array (277) may be mounted on any common support of the substrate processing device (100, 150, 165), and when movably mounted, the camera array may be mounted on any movable structure of the substrate processing device (100, 150, 165). The common support (244) is static with respect to each camera (210A, 210B, 210C) of the camera array (277) (in other words, there is no relative movement between the cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) and the common support).

[0036] In one embodiment, any suitable camera controllers (278) are located on the substrate transfer device (180) and are controlled by any suitable controller such as the controller (199); in other embodiments, the camera controllers (278) are integrated within the controller (199). In one or more embodiments, at least one illuminator (220) is mounted in a fixed position within the substrate processing device (100, 150, 165) or on the substrate transfer device (180).

[0037] When at least one camera (210) and, in some embodiments, at least one illuminator (220) are mounted on the substrate transfer device (180), the substrate transfer device (180) transfers at least a portion of the machine vision system (200) to any desired location within the substrate processing device (100, 150, 165) where the substrate stack (270) is maintained. Mounting at least one camera (210) and, in some embodiments, at least one illuminator (220) on the substrate transfer device (180) can reduce the number of cameras and illuminators (as in the case where the substrate processing device (100, 150, 165) has a plurality of load ports where substrate carriers (110) are maintained and substrate stacks (270) are mapped) and can provide optimal positioning of at least one camera (210) and at least one illuminator (220) regardless of the configuration of the robot environment (i.e., inside the substrate processing device (100, 150, 165)) (e.g., a configuration in which the view on the near plane (300) and / or far plane (301) is not obstructed at any one or more positions (UL, US, UR, ML, MC, MR, LL, LC, LR)).

[0038] In the example illustrated in FIG. 2c (see also FIG. 8a and FIG. 8b), each corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) has fields of view (FOVA, FOVB, FOVC) that extend in a direction parallel to the center plane (370) of the substrate carrier (110) or along the center plane (370) of the substrate carrier (110) (e.g., perpendicular to the extension axis of the substrate transfer end effector). Here, the fields of view (FOVA, FOVB, FOVC) are positioned on the Z-drive column (830) (i.e., the common support (244)) so as to be visible through the opening (888) when the Z-drive column (830) is positioned by the transfer arm (180TA) (Fig. 8a) at a common position (CP) relative to the opening (888) (see FIG. 8b - where “common position” refers to a single position of the substrate transfer device such that the cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) mounted on the common support (244) are subordinate to a single position of the common support (244), different individual parts of the substrate carrier (110) (e.g., see regions (RA, RB, RC) of FIG. 2c), and a representative region of interest of the substrate carrier (110) (i.e., any one of the regions (RA, RB, RC) of FIG. 6e). Each different individual region (RA, RB, RC) has substrate slots for holding at least one or more different substrates (S) that are separated from the parts of the substrate carrier (110) and are different from the regions / parts where different substrate holding slots for holding substrates (S) are seen by different cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) by the Z-axis drive (830) at the common position (CF). Each substrate (S) held in the substrate carrier (110) is image-processed by the camera array (277) by the Z-axis drive (830) at the common position (CP).In some embodiments, each of the corresponding different individual parts is imaged by only one corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) of the camera array (277) (views may overlap, but images may be cropped so that each of the corresponding different individual parts is imaged by only one corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C), and in other embodiments, views do not overlap). In some embodiments, at least one substrate (S) held within the corresponding wafer slot of the corresponding different individual part is imaged by only one of the corresponding cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) of the camera array (277) (it should be noted again here that views overlap, but images may be cropped so that each of the corresponding different individual parts is imaged by only one corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C), and in other embodiments, views do not overlap). Here, the controller (199) is coupled to the transfer arm (180TA) so as to move the transfer arm (180TA) relative to the frame (800) (see FIG. 8) and position the common support (244) at the common position (CP).

[0039] Each different individual part of the substrate carrier (110) and its substrate stack (270) visible to the corresponding cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) of the camera array (277) has individual parts vertically distributed at predetermined reference heights visible to the corresponding cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) and different sets of wafer slots corresponding to the corresponding cameras (210A, 210B, 210C). The predetermined reference heights are, for example, SEMI for the substrate carriers from a reference position of the load port (120) on which the substrate carrier (110) is seated. ®These are heights corresponding to different retention slot numbers established by the standard (in this example, those for a 25-slot substrate carrier). For example, each field of view (FOVA, FOVB, FOVC) of the corresponding cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) captures the corresponding regions of interest (RA, RB, RC) inside (222) the substrate carrier (110) (and its substrate stack (270)). In one or more embodiments, the images captured by each corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) of the corresponding different individual parts exclude the different individual parts that are seen by the different corresponding cameras (210A, 210B, 210C), and each substrate of each slot within the substrate carrier (110) is image-processed by the camera array (277) together with the common support (244) at the common position (CP). In this example, the substrate carrier (110) is 25 substrate carriers, and the region of interest (RC) corresponds to holding slots 1-8, the region of interest (RB) corresponds to holding slots 9-17, and the region of interest (RA) corresponds to holding slots 18-25. The fields of view (FOVA, FOVB, FOVC) may be overlapped with any desired amount to provide substantially complete coverage of the interior (222) (which, in some embodiments, can increase the amount of image information and increase the resolution of the resulting map (280)), and in other embodiments, as described in the specification, the fields of view may not be overlapped or cropped for image processing. In this embodiment, image processing is performed on each image captured by the corresponding cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) as described in the present specification, wherein the controller (199) combines the corresponding processed images to generate a map (280) of the substrate stack (270) within the substrate carrier (110).

[0040] Although the cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) of FIG. 2c are illustrated to have one camera positioned over another, in other embodiments (applicable to fixed-mount cameras), they may be mounted at any number of positions (UL, US, UR, ML, MC, MR, LL, LC, LR) to form one-dimensional vertical camera arrays (in the Z direction), one-dimensional horizontal camera arrays (e.g., in the X direction), or two-dimensional camera arrays (e.g., in the XZ plane). As can be seen, for a generally round-shaped substrate, the leftmost FL and rightmost FR of the substrate (see FIG. 2a) may be dimmed as the outer edge (233) of the substrate is curved away from at least one camera (210) when viewed through the opening (888). If the edge signal acquired by at least one camera (210) falls below any appropriate pre-determined threshold, additional images of the substrates may be taken with a longer exposure time and / or a larger camera aperture. As can be seen, a longer exposure time and / or a larger aperture may cause overexposure of the central region (WC) of the substrate in the image, where multiple images (underexposed and overexposed images) are combined using any appropriate image processing algorithm, including but not limited to HDR (high dynamic range) algorithms or combining different vertical segments of different images to produce a resulting image with uniform exposure that highlights the substrate edges (233). For this reason, cameras located within different locations among the positions (UL, US, UR, ML, MC, MR, LL, LC, LR) may be programmed with different aperture sizes and / or exposure rates that are optimized for different regions of the substrate stack / substrate carrier.For example, a camera closer to at least one illuminator (220) may have a slower exposure rate and / or a smaller aperture than a camera further from at least one illuminator (220) to substantially prevent overexposure of the image that could prevent substrate edge detection. As can be seen, the exposure rate and / or aperture size of the cameras at different locations may be determined so that the resulting combined image has substantially consistent exposure and contrast of features within the image throughout the image (see FIG. 4a).

[0041] Referring to FIGS. 2a, FIGS. 3b and FIGS. 7, substrates (S) are illuminated by at least one illuminator (220) (also referred to herein as an illuminator source) in such a way that the signal of an image corresponding to the substrate edge (500) is maximized and the signal of an image corresponding to the background (including the environment surrounding the substrate (S), the upper / lower part of the substrate (S), any die grid pattern on the substrate (S), etc.) is minimized to produce a high-contrast image that, for example, highlights the edge (500). An example of high-contrast image processing is described in U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 570,453, which is supplemented herein by the foregoing reference. Also, as will be described in the present specification, at least one illuminator is configured to provide diffuse illumination over the width (W) of each substrate(s) (S) (when viewed from an incidental side of the substrate—for example, see FIG. 4a, where the width (W) is the visible width of the substrate(s) (S) held within the substrate holding position). As can be seen, at least one illuminator (220) may be positioned within the substrate processing device (100, 150, 165) in a manner substantially similar to that described in the present specification in relation to the camera (210, 210A, 210B, 210C).

[0042] For example, referring to FIGS. 2a, 2b, 2c, 3b and 8a, at least one illuminator (220) is connected to a common support (244) and configured to illuminate an outer edge (233) (see FIGS. 2a through 2c) through an opening (888) together with the common support (244) at a common position (CP) (the term “outer” relates to the substrate carrier (110) and refers to a portion of the substrate edge visible through the opening (888) of each substrate (S) within the substrate carrier (110). The outer edge (233) describes the upper and lower edge boundaries (233U, 233L) (see FIG. 2a) of the outer edge (233) of the corresponding substrate (S). At least one illuminator (220) is positioned for each camera (210, 210A, 210B, 210C) so that the outer edge (233) guides reflective edge illumination from at least one illuminator (220) toward the camera (210, 210A, 210B, 210C) and optically blanks the background reflected light visible to each camera (210, 210A, 210B, 210C) through the opening (888) together with the common support (244) at the common position (CP) at the upper edge boundary (233U) and the lower edge boundary (233L). At least one illuminator (220) is positioned for a corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) so that reflected light from the planar surfaces (SP1, SP2) (e.g., upper and lower main planar surfaces) of the substrate (S) and different substrates (S) held within the substrate carrier (110) (or otherwise) is optically blanked in each image (e.g., see images shown in FIG. 4a and FIG. 6b through 6e) by the corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) of a different individual part of the substrate carrier (110).For example, the region of interest in FIG. 6e illustrates any one or more regions (RA, RB, RC) of FIG. 2c (see also FIG. 16a and 16b), where images from each camera (210A, 210B) (although the field of view may be larger than the captured image) image portions of corresponding fields of view (FOVA, FOVB, FOVC) where reflected light from the substrate (S) (and the background of the carrier) and the planar surfaces (SP1, SP2) of different substrates (S) within the substrate carrier (110) is optically blanked. Here, the outer edge (233) of the substrate (S) defines or otherwise depicts upper and lower edge boundaries (233U, 233L) by being highlighted in the image contrast formed between the optically blanked background and the edge reflection (e.g., see FIGS. 6a to 6c) to perform edge detection of each substrate (S) within the substrate carrier (110) together with the common support (244) at the common position (CP).

[0043] As illustrated in FIGS. 2a and FIGS. 3b, in one embodiment, at least one light source (220) is at least one shaped light line (369). In the illustrated examples, the shaped light line (369) is positioned in the near plane (300) at one or more of the upper and lower positions, but in other embodiments, the shaped light line (369) may be positioned in the far plane (301) at one or more of the upper and lower positions, or may be positioned at one or more of the central positions of the near plane (300) and the far plane (301). The shaped light line (369) has a shape corresponding to the outer edge (233) of the substrates (S) held within the substrate carrier (110), but in other embodiments, the shaped light line (369) may have any suitable shape for illuminating the substrates (S) in the manner described herein.

[0044] Referring to FIGS. 8a and 8b, at least one illuminator (220) comprises at least one vertically (Z-axis) oriented illuminator (220V1, 220V2) and at least one horizontally oriented illuminator (220H) (in the XY plane). Here, cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) (although three are shown, there may be two or more cameras and image two or more different individual carrier regions) are arranged at the upper center position (UC), the center center position (MC), and the lower center position (LC) (see FIGS. 3a and 3b) and are spanned by two illuminators (220V1, 220V2) extending from the upper right position (UR) to the lower right position (LR) and from the upper left position (UL) to the lower left position (LL), respectively, to form two straight light lines. An illuminator (220H) is positioned on a camera (210A, 210B, 210C) to illuminate the outer edge (233) of each substrate (S) from any suitable angle (β) (in the example shown in FIG. 8b, the angle (β) is for the XY plane, but in other embodiments, the angle may be for the Z axis). Here, the illuminator (220H) is positioned so that the camera (210A, 210B, 210C) illuminates the substrates (S) to detect the substrates (S1) that are to slide out of the carrier (110), and the illuminators (220V1, 220V2) illuminate the outer edges (233) in a manner that substantially prevents or otherwise blanks background reflections (e.g., from inside the carrier, the top of the substrates, or the bottom of the substrates).

[0045] In one embodiment, referring also to FIGS. 7a and 7b, the illuminators (220V1, 220V2) are arranged to guide diffuse light in any suitable direction (i.e., any suitable angle) in the XY plane to illuminate the edges (233) of the substrates (S) through the opening (888) (see FIG. 7a). For illustrative purposes only, as shown in FIG. 7b, the illuminators (220V1, 220V2) are arranged to illuminate diffuse light in one or more directions oblique to the plane (888P) of the opening (888). In the illustrated example, the illuminators illuminate light in a direction angled outward with respect to the center line (110C) of the substrate carrier (110) by any suitable angle (α). In the illustrated example, the angle (α) is the same for both of the illuminators (220V1, 220V2), but in other embodiments, the angle (α) for the illuminator (220V1) may be different from the angle (α) for the illuminator (220V2). Here, light from the illuminators (220V1, 220V2) is arranged vertically so that the light reaches the substrates (S) in all of the substrate holding slots of the substrate carrier (110) and is not blocked by vertically adjacent substrates. In this embodiment, light from the illuminators (220V1, 220V2) is guided toward the reflective surfaces (750, 751) within the transfer chamber (130) so that the light is reflected (now indirect light) onto the edges (233) of the substrates (S) by the reflective surfaces (750, 751) in order to substantially eliminate reflections from the interior of the substrate carrier (110) as seen by the camera (210A, 210B, 210C). In other embodiments, the illuminators (220V1, 220V2) are provided with diffusers or other light scattering devices that provide indirect or diffused light to the substrate edges (233) in a manner that substantially eliminates reflections from the interior of the substrate carrier (110) as seen by the camera (210A, 210B, 210C).The resulting effect of image processing by each of the cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) in the corresponding different individual regions / parts (RA, RB, RC) is that substrate edge reflections are highlighted in the image contrast, optically blanking the background that defines the boundaries of each substrate edge.

[0046] The illuminators (220, 220V1, 220V2, 220H, 369) are coupled to a controller (199) to be dynamically controlled (e.g., turn-on and turn-off) and / or adjusted (e.g., in terms of intensity) in one or more embodiments. The controller (199) is configured to cycle one or more illuminators (220, 220V1, 220V2, 220H, 369) or parts thereof to illuminate different parts of the image-processed substrate stack (270) individually or in combination (e.g., an upper section, a lower section, a central section, or both the upper section and the central section, or both the upper section and the lower section substantially simultaneously, or to illuminate one or more of the different sections in any suitable sequence in which the sections are illuminated individually or in combination). The controller (199) is configured to maintain the light intensity from one or more light sources (220, 220V1, 220V2, 220H, 369) as static (e.g., substantially constant intensity) or to change the intensity dynamically. When the intensity of one or more light sources (220, 220V1, 220V2, 220H, 369) changes dynamically, the intensity may change along the X direction, Y direction, and / or Z direction of the light sources (220, 220V1, 220V2, 220H, 369), including different light intensities on different sides of the cassette (110). In one or more embodiments, the dynamic intensity change may be regular for each slot of the cassette (110) (e.g., in a regular sequence such as high-low when the light is high at a reference line (e.g., baseline)) and decrease (e.g., decrease) as it moves away from the slot reference line for each reference line. In other embodiments, the light may change dynamically and irregularly, such as high-high-high-low, at corresponding slot reference lines within a series of slot reference lines.In addition, different types of light spectra (e.g., infrared, visible white, visible color, etc.) may be employed by different illuminators (220, 220V1, 220V2, 220H, 369) to enhance image contrast. Each illuminator (220, 220V1, 220V2, 220H, 369) may be independently controlled by a controller (199) for one or more of the intensity and light spectra.

[0047] Referring now to FIGS. 5, FIGS. 4a, FIGS. 4b, and FIGS. 6a, images (e.g., final image, original image, or recombined image) are processed by a controller (199) to define the edge profile of the outer edges (233). As can be seen, any suitable image processing may be applied to the images to enhance the contrast of the outer edges (233) of the substrate (233) against the background. Examples of image processing that may be applied to the images to enhance contrast include, but are not limited to, grayscale filters, contrast stretching, and intensity transition edge filters. A representative application of an intensity transition edge filter is provided in FIG. 6a, where each outer edge (233) is identified by two intensity transitions (e.g., representing the upper and lower edge boundaries (233U, 233L) of each substrate). As can be seen in FIG. 6a, two substrates are positioned such that one substrate is on the other (in other words, in a "double" state) and are located within the substrate holding slot (13) of the substrate carrier (110).

[0048] Substrate edge profiles are generated from raw views / profiles (through any appropriate edge configuration / image processing algorithm(s). A spatial correction algorithm is applied to the raw profiles using spatial correction data to generate actual substrate edge profiles independent of the position of at least one camera (210) (which is employed by the controller when commanding the position of the end effector (180E) to select substrates (S)). Here, a multi-camera optical recognition system (as described herein) generates substantially identical actual profiles (500T) from different raw profiles within images captured by different cameras.

[0049] The edge definition algorithm programmed within the controller (199) is the same for substrate mapping and edge profile definition. In one or more embodiments, vertical image slices (410-416) of the image are analyzed to detect an outer edge (233). Substrate mapping may be performed on one or more of the vertical slices (410-416), where edge profile definition is performed on more than one vertical slice (410-416). It should be noted here that seven vertical slices are shown in FIG. 4a for illustrative purposes only, and in other embodiments, more or fewer slices (or two or three slices) may be employed. To define the edges (233) of the substrates (S) for mapping and edge profiling, the image (499) is sliced ​​into vertical slices (410-416), which are narrow vertical strips of the image (499) taken at predetermined locations for the width (499W) of the image (499). For each slice (410-416), the controller (199) averages the intensity of the image pixels along the horizontal direction (495) to generate an intensity profile (480) as a function of the vertical position within the slice (410-416) (the terms horizontal and vertical are used or referenced only for ease of explanation). For example, an intensity profile (480) for a slice (410) is shown in FIG. 4b for a portion of the substrate stack, where each substrate edge (433) (corresponding to the outer edge (233)) is identified by a peak (489) (only a portion of which is labeled in FIG. 4b for clarity) for background levels (486).The thickness of each substrate (S) can be determined based on the width of the corresponding peak base, where, as can be seen in FIG. 4b, the peak base of the peak corresponding to the slot (13) in the substrate stack (270) has a width that is approximately twice the expected thickness of the substrate (S) (where the pixel size of the image can be converted to inches or millimeters in any suitable manner, such as through image recognition of substrate cassette features having sizes known by the controller (199), and this represents two substrates (S) in which one substrate in the same slot is on another substrate. As can also be seen in FIG. 4b, the peak (489) corresponding to the slot (13) includes a "double peak" which also represents two substrates (S) in which one substrate in the same slot is on another substrate.

[0050] For each substrate slot, once an intensity profile (480) is established and a peak (489) is determined, the controller (199) searches for and determines which peaks are located vertically closest to a predetermined baseline height for the corresponding substrate holding slot (a predetermined vertical position within the cassette where the substrate is held, i.e., the slot height). Here, the peaks are correlated with the substrate slot height to determine whether the substrate is held within the corresponding substrate holding slot. When a peak is obtained and correlated with the substrate holding height, the positions following the peak of the intensity profile (480) form the raw edge profile of the substrate within the corresponding substrate holding slot. For example, the height of the slot (18) is identified in FIG. 4b, where the peak (489A) is located substantially at the center with respect to the height of the slot (18), and thus the controller (199) correlates the peak (489A) with the slot (18) to indicate that the substrate is present within the slot (18). The actual edge profile (500T) (Fig. 5) of any given substrate (S) is determined by the controller (199) by subtracting the vertical position of the corrected baselines (in the horizontal position of the image slice) from the vertical position of the raw profile (for any given substrate (S) in the same horizontal position of the image slice) for each data point (of the raw profile) in the intensity profile (480). The thickness of any given substrate (S) is determined by the controller (199) as the average of the thicknesses measured from all data points on the corresponding raw profile.

[0051] In one or more embodiments, referring to FIGS. 6b, 6c and 6d, the edge definition algorithm comprises dividing raw images from at least one camera (210) into a central area (600M), a left area (600L) and a right area (600R) (e.g., via a controller (199)). The left area (600L) is substantially illuminated by an illuminator (220V2), the right area (600R) is substantially illuminated by an illuminator (220V1), and the central area (600M) is substantially illuminated by an illuminator (220H); however, in other embodiments, the areas (600M, 600L, 600R) may be illuminated in any suitable manner by any one or more of the illuminators described herein. Here, the states noted above are determined for each of the central region (600M), left region (600L), and right region (600R) (e.g., in a manner similar to that described above for image intensity profiles). Substrates placed under (or on said substrate depending on camera and / or lighting angles) the substrate sliding from the substrate carrier (110) may be obscured from view by the sliding substrate and may not be detected in the central region (600M), but such obscured substrates are detectable in the left region (600L) and right region (600R) (see FIG. 6b). As shown in FIG. 6b, a fourth substrate (or wafer) from the top of the image (identified as the "detected wafer" (sliding)) is sliding from the substrate carrier (110) and blocks light from shining under the sliding substrate in the central region (600M); however, the substrates under the sliding substrate are visible in the left region (600L) and right region (600R). Here, a substrate for any given slot is detected (in other words, identified as existing) when such a substrate is detected in both the left region (600L) and the right region (600R) for any given slot as shown in FIG. 6b.Reflections detected in the central region (600M) but detected in the left region (600L) and right region (600R) for any given slot are mapped as non-existent (e.g., empty slots (see FIG. 6c). As can be seen in FIG. 6c, regions of the image corresponding to a substrate holding slot where reflections exist in the central region (600M) but there are no corresponding reflections in both the left region (600L) and the right region (600R) are mapped as empty slots (in other words, the substrate is not present).

[0052] FIG. 6d shows an image captured by at least one camera (210) located at the center center (MC) of a far plane (301) optimized by a controller (199) (using any suitable image processing as described herein) showing substrate edges detected in a central region (600M), a left region (600L), and a right region (600M). The controller (199) is configured to detect the edges of substrates within any suitable region of interest (including each of the central region (600M), the left region (600L), and the right region) within the captured image (through any suitable image processing as described herein) as shown in FIG. 6e. As can be seen in FIG. 6f, the controller (199) is configured to connect detected edges (corresponding to the substrate holding slots of the substrate carrier (110) having slot boundaries known to the controller) in each of the central region (600M), left region (600L), and right region (600M) to determine the presence of the substrate.

[0053] One or more of the central region (600M), left region (600L), and right region (600R) of FIGS. 6b and FIG. 6c are employed to detect substrate bending / curvature as described in the present specification.

[0054] At this point of edge definition algorithms, sufficient data is obtained to perform substrate mapping of the states of the substrates (S) in the substrate cassette (110) by employing the representative substrate mapping rules described above.

[0055] It should be noted here that for edge profiling of the substrates, additional data is required (in addition to the data obtained for mapping) to determine the bending / curvature of the substrates, which may interfere with the selection of the substrates. As noted above, the raw profiles of the substrates may depend on the position of at least one camera (210) that images the substrates. The controller (199) is configured to convert the raw profiles into corrected actual profiles (500TC) (see FIG. 10 to 13) that do not depend on the camera by applying spatial correction to the raw profiles (see FIG. 5). Examples of raw (edge) profiles compared with actual (edge) profiles are provided in FIG. 9a to 9c. FIG. 9a shows the actual edge profile (500T) of each substrate (S) within the substrate stack (270). The actual edge profile (500T) is positioned on the far plane (301) (Figs. 3a and 3b) and is substantially identical to the raw image of the camera (210) (equipped with a telephoto lens) positioned at the center center position (MC). For illustrative purposes only, the telephoto lens is a lens with a focal length of about 100 mm or more and is employed with a full-frame camera (i.e., a camera having an image sensor format of the same size as 35 mm format film); however, in other embodiments, the focal length of the telephoto lens may be greater or less than about 100 mm. Here, the curved shape of the substrate edge is not revealed because the projection direction from the three dimensions to the two dimensions is substantially parallel to the substrate plane. Fig. 9b shows the raw image of the camera (210) (equipped with a wide-angle lens) positioned on the near plane (300) at the center center position (MC). For the purpose of illustration only, a wide-angle lens is a lens with a focal length of about 28 mm or less that is used with a full-frame camera; however, in other embodiments, the focal length of the wide-angle lens may be greater or smaller than about 28 mm.FIG. 9c shows a raw image of a camera (210) (equipped with a wide-angle lens) located at a lower center position (LC) on a near-field plane (300) with the field of view directed upward (at a certain angle) toward the substrates (S) within the substrate stack (270). FIG. 9d shows a raw image of a camera (210) (equipped with a wide-angle lens) located at an upper center position (LC) on a near-field plane (300) with the field of view directed downward (at a certain angle) toward the substrates (S) within the substrate stack (270). Here, the wide-angle lens raw views (from the near-field plane (300)) show the effects of three-dimensional objects being projected onto the two-dimensional image plane of the camera's field of view. As can be seen from FIG. 9b through 9d, for example, the shapes of the substrates are visualized because the projection lines from three dimensions to two dimensions are no longer parallel due to the proximity to the camera (210). As the substrates move further away from the camera position, the three-dimensional shape of the substrate becomes more apparent. The perspective also changes as the substrate is positioned further away from the camera (as shown in FIGS. 9b through 9d), where substrates at a greater distance appear smaller than substrates at a closer distance to the camera (210). The substrates in the raw images of FIGS. 9b through 9d may also be distorted (e.g., barrel distortion) due to the characteristics of wide-angle lenses.

[0056] The distortions of the substrate edges illustrated in FIGS. 9b through 9d above can be corrected by a controller (199) by applying spatial correction data (281) to the raw images. The controller (199) is configured to convert the raw profiles into corrected actual profiles (500TC) by an empirical method, wherein the corrected actual profiles (500TC) provide end-effector adjustments for determining substrate warping / bending and for selecting and placing the warped / bent substrates (S). The empirical method includes initial spatial correction and spatial correction at runtime when measuring the substrate profiles.

[0057] The controller (199) is coupled to the camera array (277) in a communicable manner and is programmed with each corresponding camera calibration (also referred to herein as spatial correction data (281)) having a baseline image for the corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) (see baselines (510) illustrated in FIG. 5 and FIG. 10, wherein each baseline (510) for the corresponding substrate carrier (110) slots collectively forms a baseline image). Examples of baseline images are provided in FIG. 15a, FIG. 15b, FIG. 15c and FIG. 15d (it should be noted that these baseline images correspond to the raw and actual profiles of FIG. 9a, FIG. 9b, FIG. 9c and FIG. 9d for illustrative purposes only). Baseline images for each corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) (Figs. 15a to 15d show baseline images for four cameras, with one camera located at the far plane (301) center center CM and three cameras located at the near plane center center CM, upper center US, and lower center LC) are different from the baseline images of different corresponding cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) and define a predetermined baseline characteristic for each of at least one substrate (S) within each of at least one corresponding slot of the corresponding different individual parts of the substrate carrier (110) imaged by the corresponding cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) (see regions (RA, RB, RC) in Fig. 2c and region of interest in Fig. 6e).As will be described in the present specification, the controller (199) is configured to register spatial correction data (281) of each corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) (e.g., in any suitable memory), wherein the correction wafer (1500) characterizing the baseline image of the corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) is placed within each of at least one corresponding slot of each of the corresponding different individual parts and is image processed by the corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) to define the baseline image of the corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) registered by the controller (199).

[0058] Referring also to FIGS. 10 through 13, initial spatial correction is obtained by capturing raw profiles of flat substrates (e.g., correction wafers (1500) known to be flat but not bent / unbent) whose actual profiles (500T) and locations within the substrate stack (270) are known. The raw baseline or correction images are stored in the controller (199) (or memory (199M) accessible by the controller (199)) as spatial correction data (281) (see FIG. 2a) for each corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C). The edge profiles of the correction wafers (1500) corresponding to each of the substrate holding slots form the baseline image and the baseline (510) location (the expected location of the corresponding substrate within the substrate carrier obtained from the baseline image) for each substrate shown, for example, in FIG. 5 and FIGS. 10 through 13. Generally, spatial calibration is performed after camera installation and is performed again if the camera position or angle changes after the initial installation. In one or more embodiments, calibration wafers (1500) are formed integrally with a calibration cassette (substantially similar to a cassette (110) but with calibration wafers fixed at predetermined positions inside) or otherwise attached to said calibration cassette. Here, the calibration wafers (1500) may be partial wafers coupled to a carrier to form the front edges of the wafers scanned / detected in the calibration image in the manner described herein. Here, the calibration cassette forms a calibration wafer rack that is seated on a load port as a unit together with the integrated calibration wafers. In other embodiments, the calibration wafers (1500) may be formed integrally as a wafer stack inserted into the cassette as a rack unit through predetermined spacing and vertical alignment between the calibration wafers formed integrally within the integrated wafer stack.Here, the wafer stack formed integrally may be placed on the slots of the cassette (110) as a rack unit and / or removed from the slots of the cassette (110).

[0059] At runtime when substrate edge profiles (such as mapping and / or edge profiling) are measured, the controller (199) performs spatial correction on raw images / profiles, where (e.g., when any deviation of the raw profile (500) measured from the baseline (510) indicates bending / curvature of the substrate as expressed in the corrected actual profile (500TC) (see right side of FIG. 10)) the spatial correction data (281) is applied by the controller (199) to correct the raw profiles of the substrates and to obtain corrected actual profiles by subtracting the raw profile of the substrate in a given slot from the baseline (510) for a given slot.

[0060] The spatial correction described herein provides at least a conversion from a wide-angle lens in a short-distance projection (e.g., near plane (300)) to an equivalent of a telephoto lens in a long-distance projection (e.g., far plane (301)), correction of perspective effects corresponding to the angle and distance of the camera from the substrates being image-processed, correction of barrel distortion introduced by the wide-angle lens, and correction of mechanical changes in the camera mounting position and orientation. Experimental data obtained by employing spatial correction in edge profiling is illustrated in FIGS. 11 to 13, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the spatial correction described herein. FIG. 11 shows the raw profiles (500) of three substrates across the width of the substrate cassette (110). FIG. 12 shows the central substrate of FIG. 11 (e.g., the slot (13) substrate). FIG. 13 shows the corrected actual profile (500TC) of the slot (13) substrate indicating bending / curvature. Also, it should be noted here that spatial correction can be applied before or after processing the image by slicing the image into vertical image slices (410-416).

[0061] As noted above, substrate profiles are adopted by the controller (199) when commanding the substrate transfer device (180) to select substrates. Here, the controller (199) commands the end effector (180E) of the substrate transfer device to widen or increase the distance TD (see FIG. 1a) between the tines (180TE1, 180TE2) (see FIG. 1a) based on the corrected actual profile (510TC) of the substrate, thereby allowing the tines (180TE1, 180TE2) to be placed within representative positions shown in FIG. 13, such as when there is sufficient space to insert the tines (180TE1, 180TE2) under the substrate, so as to accommodate any bending / curvature in the substrate (such as the slot (13) substrate in FIG. 13).

[0062] Referring to FIGS. 1a through 1c, FIGS. 2a through 2c, FIGS. 8a, FIG. 8b, and FIG. 14, a typical substrate mapping / edge profiling operation will be described. A frame (800) is provided that forms an opening (888) (e.g., a wafer loading opening) communicating with a load port (120) (Fig. 14, block 1400). As described herein, the load port (120) is configured to hold a substrate carrier (110), wherein the substrate carrier (110) holds more than one substrate (S) vertically distributed within the substrate carrier (110) for loading into a substrate processing device (100, 150, 165) through the opening (888). A transfer arm (180TA) (e.g., a movable arm) is provided and mounted on a frame (800) to move relative to an opening (888) (Fig. 14, block 1405). As described, the transfer arm (180TA) includes an end effector (180E) movably mounted on the transfer arm (180TA) to load substrates from a substrate carrier (110) to a substrate processing device (100, 150, 165) through the opening (888) (and conversely to load substrates).

[0063] A machine vision system (200) (e.g., an image acquisition system) is provided (Fig. 14, block 1410) and includes at least one camera (210). For the sake of example, the method is described with respect to a camera array (277), but it should be understood here that the method is equally applicable to images captured by a single camera. As described above, each corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) is positioned in a field of view (FOVA, FOVB, FOVC) arranged to visualize different individual parts of a substrate carrier (110) having wafer slots for holding at least one of more than one substrate (S) that are separated from the parts of a substrate carrier (110) having different wafer slots for holding substrates (S) that are different from at least one substrate (S) that is seen by the different cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) together with the common support member (244) at the common position (CP) through the opening (888) together with the common support member (244) at the common position (CP), and each substrate (S) held within the substrate carrier (110) is a common at the common position (CP). The image is processed by the camera array (277) together with the support member (244).

[0064] At least one illuminator (220) is provided (Fig. 14, block 1415) and connected to a common support (244). As described above, at least one illuminator is configured to illuminate the outer edge (233) of each substrate (S) within the substrate carrier (110) through an opening (888) together with the common support (244) at a common position (CP), and these edges depict the upper and lower edge boundaries (233U, 233L) of the outer edge (233) of the substrate (S). At least one illuminator (220) is positioned for each corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C), and the image of the corresponding different individual parts (e.g., regions (RA, RB, RC) in FIG. 2c and region of interest in FIG. 6e) by each corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) is positioned so as to guide the edge illumination reflected from the at least one illuminator (220) toward the corresponding camera (210A, 210B, 210C) with the outer edge (233), and to optically blank the background reflected light at the upper edge boundary (233U) and lower edge boundary (233L) within the image of the different individual parts of the substrate carrier (110) captured by the corresponding camera (210A, 210B) through the opening (888) together with the common support (244) at the common position (CP). As described in the present specification, the outer edge (233) of the substrate (S) is defined as upper and lower edge boundaries (233U, 233L) by an optically blanked background and edge reflection registered by each camera (210A, 210B, 210C) to cause edge detection of each substrate (S) within the substrate carrier (110) together with a common support (244) at a common position (CP), and by being highlighted in the image contrast formed between the optically blanked background and the edge reflection.

[0065] When the substrate carrier (110) is seated on the load port (120), the controller (199) commands the transfer arm (180TA) to move so that the transfer arm (180TA) is positioned relative to the opening (888) to image the substrate (S) within the substrate carrier (110) through the opening (888) (Fig. 14, block 1420). The substrates (S) are illuminated by at least one illuminator (220), and images of the substrates (S) within different individual regions (e.g., see regions (RA, RB, RC) in Fig. 2c) are captured through the opening (888) by the camera array (277) (Fig. 14, block 1425). Through the raw images of the substrates within each captured different individual region, the controller (199) is configured to perform one or more of determining the substrate map and determining the substrate bend / curvature. As described in the present specification, mapping and determining the bends / curves of the substrates can be determined in any appropriate order relative to each other, such as when both are desired to be determined.

[0066] In relation to substrate mapping, the controller (199) determines an intensity profile (see FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b) for each of the different individual regions (e.g., regions (RA, RB, RC)) in the manner described herein (Fig. 14, block 1430). From the intensity profile (480), the controller (199) determines an actual edge profile (500T) in the manner described herein (Fig. 14, block 1440) and determines the substrate map (280) for the substrate carrier (110) and each of the different individual regions collectively (Fig. 14, block 1442). The substrate state (e.g., absence, presence, double, intersection, shift) is determined by the controller (199) from the substrate map (280) as described herein through the employment of any suitable image processing algorithms to apply substrate mapping rules to the actual edge profiles (480) (Fig. 14, block 1445). Referring briefly to FIG. 16b, the controller (199) is configured to compare adjacent substrate holding positions of adjacent different individual regions to determine, for example, cross-slot substrates spanning between adjacent different individual regions. For example, as can be seen in FIG. 16b, the slots (8, 9) of different individual regions (RC, RB) are each adjacent to each other, and in some embodiments, there may be cross-slotted substrates between the slots (8, 9). When determining the state of substrates (S) within a substrate carrier (110), such as when the controller (199) substrate map (280) and a plurality of cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) are employed to capture images in different individual regions (RA, RB, RC), the wafer mapping described herein in the slots forming boundaries between adjacent different individual regions (in this example, referring to different individual regions (RC, RB), the boundary slots are slots (8, 9)) It is configured to adopt rules.

[0067] It should be noted here that capturing images from different individual regions (e.g., multiple images from different cameras combined to cover corresponding regions among different individual regions and form individual maps) provides less distortion of the substrates (S) when image-processed compared to image-processing the entire substrate carrier (110) in a single image. For example, FIG. 16a shows raw profile images of the substrates (S) captured from cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) for each corresponding different individual region (RA, RB, RC), and FIG. 16b shows actual profile images of the substrates (S) captured from cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) for each corresponding individual region (RA, RB, RC). When the distortion of the substrate profiles in each of the different individual regions (RA, RB, RC) is compared with the raw profiles of FIGS. 9b to 9c, it can be seen that when multiple cameras (210A, 210B, 210C) are employed to image the corresponding different individual regions (RA, RB, RC) when compared with a single camera that images all substrates (S) in the substrate carrier (110) at once, there is less distortion of the substrates (i.e., substrates between the raw profiles and the actual profiles).

[0068] In relation to the determination of substrate bending / curvature, if spatial correction data (281) for each camera (210A, 210B, 210C) is not available for the load port (120) on which the substrate cassette (110) is seated, the controller (199) acquires / determines spatial correction data (281) for each camera (210A, 210B, 210C) in the manner described herein (Fig. 14, Block 1455). The controller (199) determines the strength profile (480) (see Figs. 4a and 4b) of the substrates (S) held on the substrate carrier (210) (each of the different individual regions) seated on the load port (210) in the manner described herein (Fig. 14, Block 1430). Spatial correction data (281) is applied to a captured image so that a corrected actual edge profile (500TC) is determined for image-processed substrates (S) (the image-processed substrates are identified at least through an intensity profile (480)) (Fig. 14, Block 1460). For example, camera (210A) corresponds to different individual regions (RA), camera (210B) corresponds to different individual regions (RB), and camera (210C) corresponds to different individual regions (RC). Spatial correction data (281) for camera (210A) is applied to different individual regions (RA), spatial correction data (281) for camera (210B) is applied to different individual regions (RB), and spatial correction data (281) for camera (210C) is applied to different individual regions (RC). Any substrate bending / curvature of substrates within different individual regions (RA, RB, RC) is determined by the controller (199) in any appropriate manner (such as image processing described herein) from the corrected actual edge profiles (500TC) of the substrates (S) (Fig. 14, Block 1467).A bend / curvature determination is employed by a controller (199) to adjust the distance (TD) (or gap) between end effector tines (180ET1, 180ET2) to select the bent / curved substrates (S) (Fig. 14, Block 1470).

[0069] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a semiconductor wafer mapping device comprises: a frame forming a wafer load opening communicating with a load station for a substrate carrier arranged to hold one or more wafers distributed vertically on a substrate carrier for loading through the wafer load opening; and a movable arm having at least one end effector movably mounted on the frame to move with respect to the wafer load opening and movably mounted on the movable arm to load wafers from the substrate carrier through the wafer load opening. An image acquisition system comprising a camera array disposed on a common support member, wherein each camera is fixed to the common support member which is static for each camera of the camera array, and each corresponding camera is positioned in a field of view disposed to visualize different individual parts of the substrate carrier having wafer slots for holding at least one wafer different from at least one wafer that is seen by different cameras together with the common support member positioned by the movable arm at the common position, through the wafer load opening, and having wafer slots for holding at least one of more than one wafer different from the parts of the substrate carrier, wherein each wafer held in the substrate carrier is image processed by the camera array together with the common support member at the common position; and a light source connected to the common support member configured to illuminate the outer edge of each wafer in the substrate carrier through the wafer load opening together with the common support member at the common position;The outer edge describes the upper and lower edge boundaries of the outer edge of the wafer, and the light source is positioned for each camera to guide edge illumination reflected from the light source toward each camera and to optically blank the background reflected light visible to each camera through the wafer load opening together with the common support at the common position at the upper and lower edge boundaries, and the outer edge of the wafer is defined as the upper and lower edge boundaries by the optically blanked background and edge reflection registered by each camera to cause edge detection of each wafer within the substrate carrier together with the common support at the common position, and by the image contrast formed between the optically blanked background and the edge reflection.

[0070] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, each different individual part visible by a corresponding camera of the camera array has a different set of wafer slots corresponding to the corresponding camera and individual part, which are vertically distributed at predetermined reference heights visible by the corresponding camera.

[0071] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the semiconductor wafer mapping device further comprises a controller coupled to the movable arm so as to move the movable arm relative to the frame and position the common support at the common position.

[0072] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the movable arm is an arm of a wafer transfer robot having an end effector for loading and unloading wafers back and forth on the substrate carrier through the wafer load opening.

[0073] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the light source is positioned for a corresponding camera such that light reflected from the planar surfaces of the wafer and different wafers slotted within the substrate carrier is optically blanked in each image by a corresponding camera of a different individual part of the substrate carrier.

[0074] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a semiconductor wafer mapping device comprises: a frame forming a wafer load opening communicating with a load station for a substrate carrier arranged to hold one or more wafers distributed vertically on a substrate carrier for loading through the wafer load opening; a movable arm having at least one end effector movably mounted on the frame to move with respect to the wafer load opening and movably mounted on a movable arm to load wafers from the substrate carrier through the wafer load opening; and an image acquisition system comprising a camera array arranged on a common support. Each camera is fixed to the common support that is static for each camera of the camera array, and each corresponding camera is positioned in a field of view arranged to visualize each substrate carrier having at least one corresponding wafer slot different from at least one other wafer slot within each corresponding different individual part of the substrate carrier through the wafer load opening together with the common support positioned by the movable arm at a common position, and each of the corresponding different individual parts is seen from the common position through the wafer load opening by each corresponding camera, thereby excluding the different individual parts that are seen by the different corresponding cameras, and each wafer in each slot within the substrate carrier is image processed by the camera array together with the common support at the common position.

[0075] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the semiconductor wafer mapping device further comprises a light source connected to a common support configured to illuminate the outer edge of each wafer in the semiconductor carrier through the wafer load opening together with the common support at the common position, wherein the outer edge describes the upper and lower edge boundaries of the outer edge of the wafer, and the light source is positioned for each corresponding camera, and the image of the corresponding different individual part by each corresponding camera is positioned to guide the edge illumination reflected from the light source toward the corresponding camera and to optically blank the background reflected light at the upper and lower edge boundaries in the image of the different individual part captured by the corresponding camera through the wafer load opening together with the common support at the common position.

[0076] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the outer edge of the wafer is defined by the upper and lower edge boundaries by an optically blanked background and an edge reflection registered by each corresponding camera to cause edge detection of each wafer in the substrate carrier together with a common support at the common position, and by being highlighted in the image contrast formed between the optically blanked background and the edge reflection.

[0077] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, each of the corresponding different individual parts is image-processed by only one corresponding camera of the array.

[0078] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, each of the at least one wafer maintained within the corresponding wafer slot of the corresponding different individual parts is image-processed by only one camera among the corresponding cameras of the camera array.

[0079] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the semiconductor wafer mapping device further comprises a controller programmed with each corresponding camera calibration having a baseline image for a corresponding camera that is different from the baseline image of a different corresponding camera, wherein the baseline image defines a predetermined baseline characteristic for at least one wafer in each of at least one corresponding slot of a corresponding different individual part that is image processed by the corresponding camera.

[0080] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the controller is configured to register a calibration of each corresponding camera, and a calibration wafer characterizing a baseline image of the corresponding camera is placed in each of at least one corresponding slot of the corresponding different individual parts and is image processed by the corresponding camera defining the baseline image of the corresponding camera registered by the controller.

[0081] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the method comprises: providing a frame forming a wafer load opening that communicates with a load station for a substrate carrier arranged to hold one or more wafers distributed vertically on a substrate carrier for loading through the wafer load opening; providing a movable arm having at least one end effector movably mounted on the frame to move with respect to the wafer load opening and movably mounted on the movable arm to load wafers from the substrate carrier through the wafer load opening; and providing an image acquisition system comprising a camera array arranged on a common support, wherein each camera is fixed to the common support that is static with respect to each camera of the camera array. Each corresponding camera is positioned in a field of view arranged to visualize a different individual part of the substrate carrier having wafer slots for holding at least one of more than one wafer different from the parts of the substrate carrier having wafer slots for holding at least one wafer different from the parts of the substrate carrier having a common support positioned by the movable arm at the common position through the wafer load opening, separated from the parts of the substrate carrier having different wafer slots for holding wafers different from at least one wafer that is seen by the different camera together with the common support at the common position—each wafer held in the substrate carrier is image-processed by the camera array together with the common support at the common position—; and the outer edge of each wafer in the substrate carrier is illuminated by a light source connected to the common support through the wafer load opening together with the common support at the common position;The outer edge describes the upper and lower edge boundaries of the outer edge of the wafer, and the light source is positioned for each camera to guide edge illumination reflected from the light source toward each camera and to optically blank the background reflected light visible to each camera through the wafer load opening together with the common support at the common position at the upper and lower edge boundaries, and the outer edge of the wafer is defined as the upper and lower edge boundaries by the optically blanked background and edge reflection registered by each camera to cause edge detection of each wafer within the substrate carrier together with the common support at the common position, and by the image contrast formed between the optically blanked background and the edge reflection.

[0082] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, each different individual part visible by a corresponding camera of the camera array has a different set of wafer slots corresponding to the corresponding camera and individual part, which are vertically distributed at predetermined reference heights visible by the corresponding camera.

[0083] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further comprises the step of commanding the movable arm to be moved by a controller coupled to the movable arm in communication with the frame to position the common support at the common position.

[0084] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the movable arm is an arm of a wafer transfer robot having an end effector for loading and unloading wafers back and forth on the substrate carrier through the wafer load opening.

[0085] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the light source is positioned for a corresponding camera such that light reflected from the planar surfaces of the wafer and different wafers slotted within the substrate carrier is optically blanked in each image by a corresponding camera of a different individual part of the substrate carrier.

[0086] It should be understood that the foregoing description merely illustrates embodiments of the present disclosure. Various alternatives and modifications may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the embodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to include all such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of any claims appended to this specification. Furthermore, the mere fact that different features are cited in different dependent or independent claims does not indicate that a combination of such features cannot be used advantageously, and such combination falls within the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

Claim 1 A semiconductor substrate transfer device comprising: a frame forming a substrate load opening communicating with a load station for a substrate carrier arranged to hold a plurality of substrates stacked in a substrate carrier for loading through the substrate load opening; a movable door movably connected to the frame to open and close the substrate load opening; a movable arm movably mounted on the frame to move with respect to the substrate load opening - the movable arm has at least one end effector movably mounted on the movable arm to load substrates from the substrate carrier through the substrate load opening -; an image acquisition system comprising at least one camera positioned by the movable door - the image acquisition system has a field of view arranged to view substrate slots for holding the plurality of substrates in the substrate carrier through the substrate load opening, and each of the plurality of substrates held in the substrate carrier is image-processed by the at least one camera positioned by the movable door -; and a light source positioned by the movable door to illuminate the outer edge of each of the plurality of substrates within the substrate carrier through the substrate load opening - the outer edge describes the upper and lower edge boundaries of the outer edge of each of the plurality of substrates, and the light source is positioned for the at least one camera to guide edge illumination reflected from the light source toward the at least one camera and to optically blank the background reflected light visible to the at least one camera through the substrate load opening at the upper and lower edge boundaries -;A semiconductor substrate transfer device comprising: an optically blanked background registered by the at least one camera to perform the determination of the degree of curvature or degree of curvature for at least one of the plurality of substrates from an image of the outer edge of at least one of the plurality of substrates, and an edge reflection of the outer edge of at least one of the plurality of substrates, and is defined by the upper and lower edge boundaries in an image generated by the image acquisition system, which is highlighted by the image contrast formed between the optically blanked background and the edge reflection of the outer edge of at least one of the plurality of substrates. Claim 2 A semiconductor substrate transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the end effector has movable tines, and the movable tines are adjusted based on a determined degree of bending or warping of the specific substrate to select a specific substrate. Claim 3 A semiconductor substrate transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor substrate transfer device further comprises a controller connected in communication with the movable door and at least one camera, and the controller is configured to move the movable door to open and close the substrate load opening and to perform image processing of a plurality of substrates within the substrate carrier when the movable door moves to open and close the substrate load opening. Claim 4 A semiconductor substrate transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the end effector has others, and the others are moved relative to each other based on the degree of curvature of a specific substrate or the determination of the degree of curvature. Claim 5 A semiconductor substrate transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the light source is positioned relative to a corresponding camera so that light reflected from the planar surfaces of a plurality of substrates within the substrate carrier is optically blanked in the image by the corresponding camera. Claim 6 A semiconductor substrate transfer device comprising: a frame forming a substrate load opening communicating with a load station for a substrate carrier arranged to hold a plurality of substrates stacked in a substrate carrier for loading through the substrate load opening; a movable door movably connected to the frame to open and close the substrate load opening; a movable arm movably mounted on the frame to move with respect to the substrate load opening - the movable arm has at least one end effector movably mounted on the movable arm to load substrates from the substrate carrier through the substrate load opening -; an image acquisition system comprising at least one camera positioned by the movable door - the image acquisition system has a field of view arranged to view substrate slots for holding the plurality of substrates in the substrate carrier through the substrate load opening, and each of the plurality of substrates held in the substrate carrier is image-processed by the at least one camera positioned by the movable door -; and a lighting source positioned by the movable door to illuminate the edge profile of each of the plurality of substrates within the substrate carrier through the substrate load opening - the edge profile describes the upper and lower edge boundaries of the edge profile of each of the plurality of substrates, and the lighting source is positioned for at least one camera positioned by the movable door to guide edge illumination reflected from the lighting source toward the at least one camera and to optically blank the background reflected light visible to the at least one camera through the substrate load opening at the upper and lower edge boundaries -;A semiconductor substrate transfer device comprising, wherein the edge profile of at least one substrate among the plurality of substrates is defined by the upper and lower edge boundaries in an image generated by the image acquisition system, by the optically blanked background registered by the at least one camera to perform the determination of the degree of bending or the degree of bending for at least one substrate among the plurality of substrates from the image of the edge profile of at least one substrate among the plurality of substrates, and by the edge reflection of the outer edge of at least one substrate among the plurality of substrates, and by the image contrast formed between the optically blanked background and the edge reflection of the outer edge of at least one substrate among the plurality of substrates. Claim 7 A semiconductor substrate transfer device according to claim 6, wherein the end effector has movable tines, and the movable tines are adjusted based on a determined degree of bending or warping of the specific substrate to select a specific substrate by changing the distance between the movable tines. Claim 8 A semiconductor substrate transfer device according to claim 6, wherein the end effector has others, and the others are moved relative to each other based on the degree of curvature of a specific substrate or the determination of the degree of curvature. Claim 9 A semiconductor substrate transfer device according to claim 7, wherein the light source is positioned relative to a corresponding camera so that light reflected from the planar surfaces of a plurality of substrates within the substrate carrier is optically blanked in the image by the corresponding camera. Claim 10 In claim 7, the semiconductor substrate transfer device further comprises a controller connected to communicate with the movable door and at least one camera, wherein the controller is configured to perform an operation of moving the movable door to open and close the substrate load opening and an operation of performing image processing of a plurality of substrates within the substrate carrier when the movable door moves to open and close the substrate load opening, and wherein the controller is configured to perform an operation of positioning the movable door at predetermined positions on the substrate carrier and performing image processing of different individual parts of the substrate carrier with at least one camera at each corresponding predetermined position. Claim 11 A semiconductor substrate transfer device according to claim 10, wherein each different individual part of a substrate carrier image-processed by at least one camera has different sets of substrate slots corresponding to the different individual parts of the substrate carrier. Claim 12 As a method, the method comprises the steps of: providing a semiconductor substrate transfer device; wherein the semiconductor substrate transfer device comprises: a frame forming a substrate load opening communicating with a load station for a substrate carrier arranged to hold a plurality of substrates stacked in a substrate carrier for loading through the substrate load opening; a movable arm movably mounted on the frame to move with respect to the substrate load opening; wherein the movable arm has at least one end effector movably mounted on the movable arm to load substrates from the substrate carrier through the substrate load opening; an image acquisition system comprising at least one camera; and a light source positioned by a movable door; wherein the field of view of the image acquisition system is arranged to allow viewing of substrate slots for holding the plurality of substrates in the substrate carrier through the substrate load opening, and wherein each of the plurality of substrates held in the substrate carrier is image-processed by the at least one camera positioned by the movable door; and wherein the outer edge of each of the plurality of substrates in the substrate carrier is image-processed by the light source positioned by the movable door. Step of illuminating through a rod opening - the outer edge describes the upper and lower edge boundaries of the outer edge of each of the plurality of substrates, and the light source is positioned for the at least one camera to guide edge illumination reflected from the light source toward the at least one camera and to optically blank the background reflected light visible to the at least one camera through the substrate rod opening at the upper and lower edge boundaries -;and a step of determining the degree of curvature or the degree of bending for at least one of the plurality of substrates from an image of the outer edge of at least one of the plurality of substrates— wherein the outer edge of at least one of the plurality of substrates is defined by the upper and lower edge boundaries in an image generated by the image acquisition system by being highlighted by the optically blanked background registered by the at least one camera and the edge reflection of the outer edge of at least one of the plurality of substrates, and by the image contrast formed between the optically blanked background and the edge reflection of the outer edge of at least one of the plurality of substrates.; Claim 13 In claim 12, the method further comprises the step of adjusting the movable tines of the end effector based on a determined degree of bending or warping of the specific substrate to select the specific substrate by changing the distance between the movable tines of the end effector. Claim 14 In claim 12, the method further comprises the step of moving the others of the end effector relative to each other based on the degree of curvature or determination of the degree of curvature of a specific substrate. Claim 15 A method according to claim 12, wherein the light source is positioned relative to a corresponding camera so that light reflected from the planar surfaces of a plurality of substrates within the substrate carrier is optically blanked in the image by the corresponding camera. Claim 16 In claim 12, the method further comprises the step of moving the movable door through a controller communicatingly connected to the movable door and at least one camera to open and close the substrate load opening, and image processing more than one substrate in the substrate carrier with the at least one camera when the movable door moves to open and close the substrate load opening. Claim 17 In claim 16, the method further comprises the step of positioning the movable door at predetermined positions relative to the substrate carrier with the controller and image processing different individual parts of the substrate carrier with at least one camera at each corresponding predetermined position. Claim 18 In claim 17, a method wherein each different individual part of a substrate carrier image-processed by at least one camera has different sets of substrate slots corresponding to the different individual parts of the substrate carrier. Claim 19 A semiconductor substrate transfer device according to paragraph 3, wherein the controller is configured to perform the operation of positioning the movable door at predetermined positions relative to the substrate carrier and performing image processing of different individual parts of the substrate carrier with at least one camera at each corresponding predetermined position. Claim 20 A semiconductor substrate transfer device according to claim 19, wherein each different individual part of a substrate carrier image-processed by at least one camera has different sets of substrate slots corresponding to the different individual parts of the substrate carrier. Claim 21 A semiconductor substrate transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the end effector is moved and adjusted with respect to the substrate load opening based on selecting a corresponding substrate among the stacked substrates by determining one or more of a degree of bending and a degree of bending for a corresponding substrate among the stacked substrates. Claim 22 In claim 6, the semiconductor substrate transfer device, wherein the end effector is moved and adjusted with respect to the substrate load opening based on selecting a corresponding substrate among the stacked substrates by determining one or more of a degree of bending and a degree of bending for a corresponding substrate among the stacked substrates. Claim 23 In claim 12, the method further comprises the step of moving and adjusting the end effector with respect to the substrate load opening based on selecting a corresponding substrate selected among the stacked substrates by determining one or more of a degree of bending and a degree of curvature for a selected corresponding substrate among the stacked substrates. Claim 24 A semiconductor substrate transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the end effector has others, and the position of the others is adjusted based on a determined degree of bending or warping of a specific substrate to be selected. Claim 25 A semiconductor substrate transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the end effector has movable tines, and the movable tines are adjusted based on a determined degree of bending or warping of the specific substrate to select a specific substrate by changing the distance between the movable tines.

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