Cassette recirculation device

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of wafer cleaning, and disclosed is a cassette recirculation device, comprising: a loading and unloading mechanism (1) for separating or assembling a cassette from or and a wafer therein, a wafer transfer mechanism (2), a cassette transfer mechanism (3), and a wafer cleaning mechanism (4). The wafer cleaning mechanism (4) is arranged corresponding to a movement path of the wafer transfer mechanism (2); the wafer transfer mechanism (2) drives a wafer into the wafer cleaning mechanism (4) for cleaning; and the wafer transfer mechanism (2) coincides with two ends of a transfer path of the cassette transfer mechanism (3), and the loading and unloading mechanism (1) is arranged at the ends.

Description

A cartridge reflow device Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wafer cleaning technology, and in particular to a wafer cassette reflow apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] As semiconductor device dimensions continue to shrink and precision requirements increase, the technical requirements for wafer cleaning processes are becoming increasingly stringent. Any tiny particles, organic matter, metal ions, or oxide residues on the wafer surface can significantly impact device performance, thereby affecting the yield and reliability of semiconductor devices. Wafer cleaning is one of the most crucial steps in semiconductor manufacturing. Its purpose is to remove various contaminants from the wafer surface, ensuring that subsequent process steps can be performed on a clean surface. The main cleaning steps include pre-cleaning, chemical cleaning, final cleaning, and drying. By cleaning the wafer, the requirements for wafer cassette reflow are met.

[0003] Currently, most of the wafer cassette reflow equipment known to the applicant is decentralized, meaning that the wafer cassettes carrying the wafers are transferred between each cleaning process via a rotating mechanism. Each cleaning process requires the wafers to be removed from the wafer cassettes first, resulting in low cleaning efficiency.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a high-efficiency film cassette recirculation device. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention provides a wafer cassette reflow device, comprising a loading and unloading mechanism for separating or assembling wafer cassettes and their internal wafers, a wafer transfer mechanism for transferring wafers, a wafer cassette transfer mechanism for transferring wafer cassettes separated from wafers, and a wafer cleaning mechanism for cleaning wafers. The wafer cleaning mechanism is configured to correspond to the movement path of the wafer transfer mechanism. The wafer transfer mechanism drives the wafers into the wafer cleaning mechanism for cleaning. The transfer paths of the wafer transfer mechanism and the wafer cassette transfer mechanism coincide at both ends, and the loading and unloading mechanism is provided at the end. The loading and unloading mechanism includes a wafer cassette positioning component and a wafer tray with lifting and lowering functions. The wafer cassette positioning component is provided with a passage for the wafer tray to lift and lower corresponding to the bottom opening of the wafer cassette. The wafer tray moves up and down in the passage of the wafer cassette positioning component and the bottom opening of the wafer cassette to lift or lower the wafers to separate or assemble them from the wafer cassette. Attached Figure Description

[0006] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0007] Figure 1 is a front view of the cartridge reflow device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0008] Figure 2 is a front cross-sectional view of the cartridge reflow device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0009] Figure 3 is an isometric view of the cartridge reflow device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0010] Figure 4 is a left view of the cartridge reflow device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0011] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the wafer transfer mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0012] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the loading and unloading mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0013] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the lifting and supporting device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the cassette gripper in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the cartridge return device after the cabinet is removed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the connection between the transfer device and the cassette positioning component in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the cassette positioning component in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 12 is a structural schematic diagram of the U-shaped opening side of the lifting device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] The components include: 1. Loading / unloading mechanism; 2. Wafer transfer mechanism; 3. Wafer cassette transfer mechanism; 4. Wafer cleaning mechanism; 5. Wafer cassette positioning component; 6. Wafer tray; 7. Limiting plate; 8. Lifting part; 9. Wafer gripper; 10. Rotating shaft; 11. Wafer clamping arm; 12. Connecting rod; 13. Detector; 14. Wafer cassette gripper; 15. Lifting lifter; 16. Transfer device; 17. U-shaped component; 18. Locking block; 19. Telescopic device; 20. Slider; 21. Clamping arm slide rail; 22. Wafer cassette clamping arm; 23. L-shaped connecting rod; 24. Support plate; 25. First process slot; 26. Second process slot; 27. Third process slot; 28. Fourth process slot; 29. ​​Cabinet; 30. Observation window; 31. Inspection door; 32. Inlet / outlet; 33. Overall transfer mechanism; 34. Support block. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0021] The purpose of this invention is to provide a wafer cassette reflow device to solve the problems existing in the prior art. It integrates transfer and cleaning. After separating the wafer from the cassette, the wafer can be directly transferred to the wafer cleaning mechanism to complete the cleaning process. After cleaning, the wafer is placed back into the cassette, thus effectively improving the cleaning efficiency.

[0022] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0023] Please refer to Figures 1-12. A wafer cassette reflow apparatus is provided, including a loading / unloading mechanism 1 for separating or assembling wafer cassettes and their internal wafers, a wafer transfer mechanism 2 for transferring wafers, a wafer cassette transfer mechanism 3 for transferring wafer cassettes separated from the wafers, and a wafer cleaning mechanism 4 for cleaning the wafers. The wafer cleaning mechanism 4 is configured to follow the movement path of the wafer transfer mechanism 2. The wafer transfer mechanism 2 drives the wafers into the wafer cleaning mechanism 4 for cleaning. The transfer paths of the wafer transfer mechanism 2 and the wafer cassette transfer mechanism 3 overlap at both ends, and the loading / unloading mechanism 1 is provided at one end. The loading / unloading mechanism 1 includes a wafer cassette positioning component 5 and... The wafer tray 6 has a lifting function, and the wafer cassette positioning component 5 is provided with a passage for the wafer tray 6 to lift and lower corresponding to the bottom opening of the wafer cassette. The wafer tray 6 moves up and down in the passage of the wafer cassette positioning component 5 and the bottom opening of the wafer cassette to lift or lower the wafers to separate or assemble them from the wafer cassette. This device integrates transfer and cleaning. The loading and unloading mechanism 1 can separate the wafer cassette from the wafer. The separated wafers are transferred by the wafer transfer mechanism 2 to the wafer cleaning mechanism 4 to complete the cleaning process. The separated wafer cassettes are transferred by the wafer cassette transfer mechanism 3 to the end loading and unloading mechanism 1 to wait for the cleaned wafers. The cleaning efficiency is effectively improved.

[0024] To ensure the stability of the wafer cassette, the top of the wafer cassette positioning component 5 is provided with two limiting plates 7. The distance between the two limiting plates 7 is the same as the distance between the outer walls at both ends of the bottom opening of the wafer cassette, thereby securing the bottom of the wafer cassette. To ensure the stability of the wafer support, the top of the wafer support plate 6 is a V-shaped or arc-shaped structure.

[0025] The loading and unloading mechanism 1 also includes a lifting part 8 with lifting and moving functions toward or away from the film box positioning member 5. The lifting part 8 is U-shaped, and the two arms of the lifting part 8 are respectively set at the two ends of the bottom of the film box. The U-shaped opening of the lifting part 8 is set toward the film box positioning member 5. The area of ​​the U-shaped inner cavity of the lifting part 8 is larger than the area of ​​the film box positioning member 5. The two arms of the lifting part 8 are used to lift the two ends of the bottom of the film box, and the film box positioning member 5 is used to lift the middle part of the bottom of the film box. The lifting part 8 moves up and down on the outer periphery of the film box positioning member 5 to place the film box on the film box positioning member 5.

[0026] To ensure that the lifting part 8 can stably support the plate box, protrusions can be provided on both arms of the lifting part 8 to lock the two ends of the bottom opening of the plate box from the inside or outside. The principle of the protrusions locking the plate box is the same as the locking principle of the limiting plate 7.

[0027] The wafer transfer mechanism 2 includes wafer grippers 9 with lifting and lowering functions and the ability to move between the loading and unloading mechanisms 1 on both sides. In this embodiment, the wafer grippers 9 include two rotary motors, two rotating shafts 10, and two wafer clamping arms 11. The rotary motors are connected to the rotating shafts 10, and the rotating shafts 10 are connected to the wafer clamping arms 11. The two rotating shafts 10 are arranged in parallel, and the two wafer clamping arms 11 are oscillating towards or away from each other to complete the clamping of the wafer. In order to reduce the weight of the wafer clamping arms 11, the middle part of the wafer clamping arms 11 can be hollowed out. In other embodiments, other grippers that can clamp wafers can be selected.

[0028] In other embodiments, the wafer transfer mechanism 2 may include multiple wafer grippers 9, thereby enabling multiple wafers to be clamped sequentially and to complete the cleaning process sequentially, thus improving efficiency. When multiple wafer grippers 9 are provided, the multiple wafer grippers 9 have a cleaning path and a return path. The two ends of the cleaning path coincide with the two ends of the transfer path of the wafer cassette transfer mechanism 3, and the two ends of the return path coincide with the two ends of the cleaning path and form a ring. The multiple wafer grippers 9 move in a cyclic motion.

[0029] A flexible pad can be provided on the clamping side of the wafer clamping arm 11 to prevent damage to the wafer during clamping.

[0030] The ends of the two wafer clamping arms 11 near the rotating shaft 10 are connected by a connecting rod 12. The two ends of the connecting rod 12 are rotatably connected to the two wafer clamping arms 11 respectively. The connection rod 12 can improve the structural strength and stability.

[0031] The wafer cassette reflow equipment is also equipped with a detector 13, which is used to detect whether the wafer is being held between the two wafer grippers 9. The detector 13 can be an infrared sensor or other detector 13 that can detect whether the wafer is being held between the two wafer grippers 9.

[0032] The detector 13 can be directly installed on the drive structure used to move the wafer gripper 9, and follow the movement of the wafer gripper 9 to monitor in real time whether the two wafer grippers 9 are holding the wafer.

[0033] The tablet cassette transfer mechanism 3 includes a tablet cassette gripper 14 with translational and lifting functions, a lifting support 15 with lifting functions, and a transferor 16 that moves toward or away from the lifting support 15 and has lifting functions. The transferor 16 drives the tablet cassette positioning component 5 to move. The lifting support 15 is U-shaped, with its opening facing the tablet cassette positioning component 5. The part of the tablet cassette positioning component 5 that supports the tablet cassette consists of two U-shaped parts 17 with their openings facing away from each other. The upper surfaces of the two U-shaped parts 17 are the supporting parts for the tablet cassette, and the upper surfaces of the U-shaped parts 17 can be configured to support the tablet cassette. The surface is bent upward to form a limiting plate 7. The two ends of the U-shaped opening of the lifting device 15 are provided with support blocks 34 that match the inner cavity of the U-shaped part 17. The support blocks 34 can be integrated with the lifting device 15 to improve the structural strength. The area of ​​the U-shaped inner cavity of the lifting device 15 is larger than the area occupied by the two U-shaped parts 17. The transfer device 16 carries the film box positioning part 5 into the U-shaped inner cavity of the lifting device 15 and moves downward to transfer the film box to the lifting device 15. The film box gripper 14 is set above the lifting device 15. The lifting device 15 is set on the loading and unloading mechanism 1.

[0034] The upper surface of the lifting support 15 is provided with a locking block 18 for locking the tablet box, which improves the stability when the tablet box is moved. The locking block 18 locks the tablet box in the same way as the locking principle of the limiting plate 7. When the locking block 18 is set, it is necessary to ensure that the inner cavity of the U-shaped part 17 can pass through the support block 34 and the locking block 18.

[0035] In this embodiment, the film cassette gripper 14 includes a telescopic device 19, two sliders 20, and two film cassette clamping arms 22. The two film cassette clamping arms 22 are slidably mounted on the clamping arm slide rail 21 via the sliders 20. The telescopic direction of the telescopic device 19 is perpendicular to the sliding direction of the film cassette clamping arms 22. L-shaped connecting rods 23 are hinged to both sides of the telescopic end of the telescopic device 19. The end of the L-shaped connecting rod 23 away from the telescopic device 19 is hinged to the slider 20. When the telescopic device 19 telescopicates, it drives the L-shaped connecting rods 23 on both sides to swing. When the L-shaped connecting rod 23 swings, its end away from the telescopic device 19 will move laterally, thereby driving the slider 20 to slide on the clamping arm slide rail 21, thereby adjusting the distance between the two film cassette clamping arms 22. In this embodiment, the two film cassette clamping arms 22 drive the film cassette to move through the outward protrusion of the top of the film cassette. In other embodiments, other grippers capable of clamping film cassettes can be selected.

[0036] Since the cleaning process takes longer than the transfer of wafer cassettes, a support plate 24 for supporting the wafer cassettes can be provided on one side of the movement path of the wafer cassette gripper 14. During wafer cleaning, the wafer cassettes can be placed on the support plate 24 to wait.

[0037] The wafer cleaning mechanism 4 includes a first process tank 25, a second process tank 26, a third process tank 27 and a fourth process tank 28 arranged along the wafer transfer mechanism 2. The four process tanks correspond to the pre-cleaning process, chemical cleaning process, final cleaning process and drying process of the wafer, respectively.

[0038] The loading and unloading mechanism 1, the wafer transfer mechanism 2, the wafer cassette transfer mechanism 3, and the wafer cleaning mechanism 4 are all located inside the cabinet 29. The cabinet 29 is equipped with an observation window 30 for observing the interior and an inspection door 31 for testing and maintenance.

[0039] The cabinet 29 is equipped with inlet and outlet ports 32 corresponding to the loading and unloading mechanisms 1 at both ends.

[0040] Since the actual factory may involve the transfer of wafer cassettes that do not require cleaning, an integrated transfer mechanism 33 with translation and lifting functions is also provided to transfer the wafer cassettes carrying wafers as a whole. The movement path of the integrated transfer mechanism 33 is located on one side of the wafer transfer mechanism 2. The front and rear ends of the movement path of the integrated transfer mechanism 33 are provided with loading and unloading platforms. The loading and unloading platforms can be integrated into the loading and unloading mechanism 1. The structure of the loading and unloading platforms can be the same as that of the lifting parts 8, that is, the lifting parts 8 are provided on both sides of the loading and unloading mechanism 1. The lifting parts 8 on both sides of the loading and unloading mechanism 1 at both ends correspond one-to-one. The corresponding lifting part 8 on one side corresponds to the movement path of the wafer transfer mechanism 2, and the corresponding lifting part 8 on the other side corresponds to the movement path of the integrated transfer mechanism 33.

[0041] In this embodiment, the overall transfer mechanism 33 has the same structure as the wafer transfer mechanism 2.

[0042] In this embodiment, the shorter distances of movement of the wafer tray 6, lifting part 8, wafer gripper 9, wafer cassette gripper 14, lifting lifter 15, and transfer device 16 can be controlled by electric / pneumatic / hydraulic telescopic rods, while the longer distances can be controlled by geared motors. The principle of geared motor control is as follows: a track is set on the movement path, and a rack is set on the track. The geared motor is connected to the device that needs to move, and the geared motor drives the gear to move. The gear meshes with the rack on the track, so that when the geared motor drives the gear to move, the gear can move on the rack.

[0043] In actual use, the wafer cassette containing the wafers is placed at the inlet / outlet 32 ​​on the feeding side of the cabinet 29. The lifting part 8 lifts the wafer cassette to the wafer cassette positioning part 5 and transfers it onto the wafer cassette positioning part 5. The wafer tray 6 moves upward to push the wafer out of the wafer cassette. After the wafer grippers 9 pick up the wafer, the wafer tray 6 descends back to its original position. The wafer grippers 9 drive the wafer through the first process slot 25, the second process slot 26, the third process slot 27, and the fourth process slot 28 in sequence before entering the unloading mechanism 1 on the discharge side to wait for the wafer to be placed on the wafer tray 6. The transfer device 16 moves the wafer cassette to one side after the wafer is picked up, and adjusts the height of the wafer cassette so that its U-shaped part 17 passes through the support block 34 and enters the lifting device 15. Then, the transfer device 16 lowers the height of the wafer cassette positioning part 5 to transfer the wafer cassette onto the lifting device 15. After the transfer, the transfer device 16 drives the wafer cassette positioning part 5 back to its original position. Waiting to receive the next wafer cassette; the lifting and lifting device 15 moves the wafer cassette upward. After moving to a certain height, the wafer cassette gripper 14 uses the wafer cassette gripper 14 to move the wafer cassette onto the support plate 24. When the wafer cleaning is about to be completed, the wafer cassette gripper 14 grips the wafer cassette on the support plate 24 and places it on the lifting and lifting device 15 on the discharge side. The lifting and lifting device 15 on the discharge side moves the wafer cassette downward. Then, the transfer device 16 of the loading and unloading mechanism 1 on the discharge side moves the wafer cassette positioning component 5 from the lifting and lifting device 15 to lift the wafer cassette and moves the wafer cassette positioning component 5 out of the U-shaped opening of the lifting and lifting device 15. The transfer device 16 moves the wafer cassette positioning component 5 to the position of the corresponding lifting part 8. The wafer tray 6 extends. After the wafer gripper 9 places the cleaned wafer on the wafer tray 6, the wafer tray 6 descends to realize the wafer assembly into the wafer cassette. The wafer cassette with assembled wafers is moved to the inlet / outlet port 32 on the discharge side of the cabinet 29 by the lifting part 8.

[0044] Any adaptive changes made according to actual needs are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0045] It should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that the invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered illustrative and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims are intended to be included within the present invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

[0046] Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this invention. The descriptions of the above embodiments are only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of this invention. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the ideas of this invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this invention.

Claims

1. A cartridge recirculation device, characterized in that, The device includes a loading and unloading mechanism (1) for separating or assembling wafer cassettes and the wafers inside them, a wafer transfer mechanism (2) for transferring wafers, a wafer cassette transfer mechanism (3) for transferring wafer cassettes separated from wafers, and a wafer cleaning mechanism (4) for cleaning wafers. The wafer cleaning mechanism (4) is set to correspond to the movement path of the wafer transfer mechanism (2). The wafer transfer mechanism (2) drives the wafers into the wafer cleaning mechanism (4) for cleaning. The transfer paths of the wafer transfer mechanism (2) and the wafer cassette transfer mechanism (3) coincide at both ends, and the loading and unloading mechanism (1) is set at the end. The loading and unloading mechanism (1) includes a wafer cassette positioning component (5) and a wafer tray (6) with lifting and lowering functions. The wafer cassette positioning component (5) is provided with a passage for the wafer tray (6) to lift and lower corresponding to the bottom opening of the wafer cassette. The wafer tray (6) moves up and down in the passage of the wafer cassette positioning component (5) and the bottom opening of the wafer cassette to lift or lower the wafer and separate or assemble it from the wafer cassette.

2. The cartridge recirculation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The loading and unloading mechanism (1) further includes a lifting part (8) with lifting and moving functions toward or away from the film box positioning member (5). The lifting part (8) is U-shaped. The two arms of the lifting part (8) are respectively provided at the bottom ends of the film box. The U-shaped opening of the lifting part (8) is provided toward the film box positioning member (5). The lifting part (8) moves up and down on the outer periphery of the film box positioning member (5) to place the film box on the film box positioning member (5).

3. The cartridge recirculation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The wafer transfer mechanism (2) includes wafer grippers (9) with lifting and lowering functions and the ability to move between the loading and unloading mechanisms (1) on both sides. The wafer grippers (9) include two rotary motors, two rotating shafts (10) and two wafer clamping arms (11). The rotary motors are connected to the rotating shafts (10) and the rotating shafts (10) are connected to the wafer clamping arms (11). The two rotating shafts (10) are arranged in parallel and the two wafer clamping arms (11) are oscillating towards or away from each other.

4. The cartridge recirculation device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The wafer cassette reflow device is also equipped with a detector (13) for detecting whether the wafer is being held between the two wafer grippers (9).

5. The cartridge recirculation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The tablet cassette transfer mechanism (3) includes a tablet cassette gripper (14) with translational and lifting functions, a lifting support (15) with lifting functions, and a transferor (16) that moves toward or away from the lifting support (15) and has lifting functions. The transferor (16) drives the tablet cassette positioning member (5) to move. The lifting support (15) is U-shaped, with its opening facing the tablet cassette positioning member (5). The part of the tablet cassette positioning member (5) used to lift the tablet cassette consists of two U-shaped parts (17) with their openings facing away from each other. The upper surfaces of the two U-shaped parts (17) are the lifting parts (8) of the lifting box. The lifting device (15) has two U-shaped openings with supporting blocks (34) that match the inner cavity of the U-shaped parts (17). The transfer device (16) carries the box positioning part (5) into the U-shaped inner cavity of the lifting device (15) and moves downward to transfer the box to the lifting device (15). The box gripper (14) is located above the lifting device (15). The lifting device (15) is located on the loading and unloading mechanism (1).

6. The cartridge recirculation device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The cassette gripper (14) includes a telescopic device (19), two sliders (20), and two cassette clamping arms (22). The two cassette clamping arms (22) are slidably mounted on the clamping arm slide rail (21) via the sliders (20). The telescopic direction of the telescopic device (19) is perpendicular to the sliding direction of the cassette clamping arms (22). L-shaped connecting rods (23) are respectively hinged to both sides of the telescopic end of the telescopic device (19). The end of the L-shaped connecting rod (23) away from the telescopic device (19) is hinged to the slider (20).

7. The cartridge recirculation device according to claim 5, characterized in that, A support plate (24) for supporting the film cassette is provided on one side of the movement path of the film cassette gripper (14).

8. The cartridge recirculation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The wafer cleaning mechanism (4) includes a first process tank (25), a second process tank (26), a third process tank (27), and a fourth process tank (28) arranged along the wafer transfer mechanism (2).

9. The cartridge recirculation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The loading and unloading mechanism (1), the wafer transfer mechanism (2), the wafer cassette transfer mechanism (3) and the wafer cleaning mechanism (4) are all located inside the cabinet (29). The cabinet (29) is provided with an observation window (30) for observing the interior and an inspection door (31) for inspection and maintenance.

10. The cartridge recirculation device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The wafer cassette reflow equipment also includes an integrated transfer mechanism (33) with translation and lifting functions. The movement path of the integrated transfer mechanism (33) is located on one side of the wafer transfer mechanism (2). Loading and unloading platforms are provided at the front and rear ends of the movement path of the integrated transfer mechanism (33).

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