Semiconductor Wafer Conveying Tool with Segmented Pin Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional semiconductor wafer conveying tools suffer from non-uniform heating due to heat transfer from the tool's surface to the wafer, leading to temperature distribution issues, inefficiency, and potential damage from overheating.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor wafer conveying tool with a main body having an opening larger than the wafer diameter, featuring supporting members with varying heights and guides to prevent misalignment, ensuring the wafer is held concentrically and avoiding direct contact with the tool's surface during heating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the wafer is held by a conventional conveying tool with a solid base plate, then the wafer can be stably supported and conveyed, but heat transfer from the tool to the wafer causes non-uniform temperature distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The solid base plate is segmented into multiple discrete support pins arranged in concentric circles. This segmentation allows the wafer to be supported at multiple discrete points rather than across a continuous surface, creating gaps that permit uniform heat distribution across the wafer surface while maintaining stable support through the distributed pin array.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure transitions from a uniform solid base to localized support points (pins) with varying heights. Different regions of the tool have different support characteristics - the pins provide localized support while leaving other regions open for heat penetration. The pins are strategically positioned and height-varied to provide appropriate support at specific locations without blocking heat flow to the entire wafer surface.
2Temperature
If extra thermal dose is applied to compensate for low temperature areas, then the low temperature part reaches necessary temperature, but the excessively heated parts cause rupture and failure
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the support structure into discrete pins rather than a solid base, the invention enables uniform heat distribution across the wafer surface. This eliminates temperature variations that would otherwise require compensatory heating, allowing the entire wafer to reach the necessary temperature uniformly without creating hot spots that could cause rupture or failure.
3Temperature
If the opening diameter is larger than wafer diameter, then uniform heating is achieved, but the wafer may become misaligned during conveyance
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is segmented into multiple pins arranged in concentric circles, with outer pins having greater height than inner pins. This segmented arrangement creates natural alignment features that guide the wafer into proper concentric positioning during conveyance, preventing misalignment while maintaining the large opening necessary for uniform heating.
Solution Approach 2:
The support pins are arranged asymmetrically in terms of height - outer pins are taller than inner pins. This asymmetric height distribution creates a self-aligning mechanism where the wafer naturally settles into the correct concentric position during conveyance, ensuring proper alignment without requiring a smaller opening that would compromise heating uniformity.
4Productivity
If multiple wafer sizes are accommodated by one conveying tool, then tool changes are omitted and productivity increases, but the tool design becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The conveying tool is designed with multiple concentric circles of support pins with varying heights, creating a universal support structure that can accommodate wafers of different diameters. The same tool can handle multiple wafer sizes by utilizing different combinations of pins, eliminating the need for tool changes and increasing productivity while managing complexity through a systematic pin arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The tool design incorporates dynamic adaptability through the concentric pin arrangement with varying heights. Different wafer sizes engage different numbers and combinations of pins, allowing the static structure to dynamically adapt to different wafer dimensions. This dynamic capability enables one tool to serve multiple functions without requiring complex active adjustment mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
The semiconductor wafer conveying tool which can realize the uniform heating to a surface of a semiconductor wafer when heating the semiconductor wafer is a semiconductor wafer conveying tool which holds the semiconductor wafer having a predetermined diameter to convey it wherein the tool is provided with a main body having an opening with a diameter which is larger than a diameter of the semiconductor wafer, and at least three supporting members each having a predetermined length, containing plural pins which are arranged corresponding to the diameter of the semiconductor wafer and being configured to be a holding mechanism for holding the semiconductor wafer concentrically at a projection position from an inner periphery portion of the main body around the opening, as shown in FIG. 1.