CA2806152A1 - Apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments - Google Patents
Apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments Download PDFInfo
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- CA2806152A1 CA2806152A1 CA2806152A CA2806152A CA2806152A1 CA 2806152 A1 CA2806152 A1 CA 2806152A1 CA 2806152 A CA2806152 A CA 2806152A CA 2806152 A CA2806152 A CA 2806152A CA 2806152 A1 CA2806152 A1 CA 2806152A1
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- Prior art keywords
- wafer
- loading
- guide ring
- positioning
- silicon wafers
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Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/683—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping
- H01L21/687—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches
- H01L21/68714—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support
- H01L21/68742—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support characterised by a lifting arrangement, e.g. lift pins
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
- B24B—MACHINES, DEVICES, OR PROCESSES FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING; DRESSING OR CONDITIONING OF ABRADING SURFACES; FEEDING OF GRINDING, POLISHING, OR LAPPING AGENTS
- B24B37/00—Lapping machines or devices; Accessories
- B24B37/34—Accessories
- B24B37/345—Feeding, loading or unloading work specially adapted to lapping
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/683—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping
- H01L21/687—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches
- H01L21/68714—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support
- H01L21/68721—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support characterised by edge clamping, e.g. clamping ring
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/683—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping
- H01L21/687—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches
- H01L21/68714—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support
- H01L21/68785—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support characterised by the mechanical construction of the susceptor, stage or support
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Mechanical Treatment Of Semiconductor (AREA)
- Finish Polishing, Edge Sharpening, And Grinding By Specific Grinding Devices (AREA)
Abstract
A device for positioning and loading a silicon wafer in a chemical-mechanical polishing apparatus is provided. A base plate (203) thereof is connected to a loading guide ring (302) thereabove by a support rod (301). An expansion portion on the upper part of a lift drive mechanism (201) is fixedly connected with a wafer clamp (401) thereabove. The wafer clamp (401) is connected with a wafer guide ring (402) on its outer side. The loading guide ring (302) is provided thereon with a guide mechanism for docking a silicon wafer loading device and a guide mechanism for receiving a silicon wafer from the top. The lower part of the base plate (203) or the lift drive mechanism (201) is provided with an automatic displacement adjusting mechanism and an automatic reset mechanism. The device can position a silicon wafer accurately and transfer it into a carrier for processing.
Description
1 Apparatus for Positioning and Loading Silicon Wafers Used in the Chemical Mechanical 2 Polishing Equipments 3 Description The present invention relates to the technical fields of equipments for silicon wafers chemical 6 mechanical polishing (CMP) and apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers.
8 In the manufacturing of integrate circuits, most of the working procedures may relate to the step 9 of positioning and loading wafers. The quality of positioning and loading wafers has significant influence to the machining of wafers. With improper handlings, the wafers may be rejected, or 11 the parts manufactured may be with poor performance and bad stability and reliability.
12 Therefore, it is important to research and develop a method of positioning and loading wafers 13 with high positioning precision and efficiency for both the machining of wafers or the 14 manufacturing of the parts of semiconductors. Because the positioning and loading of wafers is the most important and frequent step during the manufacturing of the parts of semiconductors, 16 and its efficiency will directly affect the rate of the finished products, the performance, and the 17 reliability of the parts, the research about the methods of positioning and loading wafers has 18 been made continuously both at home and abroad.
19 At present chemical mechanical polishing (CMP is the only method for performing entirely flattening of the surface of a silicon wafer. In the process of the chemical mechanical polishing, 21 the apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers is an important part of the chemical 22 mechanical polishing equipment. The functions of the apparatus for positioning and loading 23 silicon wafers include positioning silicon wafers and carrying them to a carrier (polishing head) 24 accurately for polishing. With the development of large scale integrated circuits, the increase of the sizes of silicon wafers and the improvement of the degree of the integration, the requirement 26 for the quality of the surfaces of polishing slices is increasingly stringent.
27 In the current chemical mechanical polishing equipments, the main characteristic of the 28 apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers is to load the silicon wafers by means of 29 suctioning by vacuum carried out by the carrier or by means of water suspension. When performing the loading by these means, it also brings some drawbacks, such as difficulties of 22330865.2 1 1 controlling the suctioning of the silicon wafers in vacuum directly carried out by the carrier, for 2 the silicon wafers are likely to be easily crumbed by the enormous system;
when the sizes of the 3 silicon wafers are large, multiple injectors have to be used at the same time to perform the water 4 suspension, thus it is difficult to adjust the hydraulic pressure of each injector, furthermore, a great deal of deionized water is wasted during loading the wafers, which increases the cost.
6 Accordingly, in order to load the silicon wafers into the carrier smoothly and enhance the 7 efficiency of the loading of the silicon wafers, more advanced technology of loading silicon 8 wafers is eagerly needed.
The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for positioning and loading silicon 11 wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments. The apparatus not only may 12 perform positioning the silicon wafers accurately and carrying them to the carrier for polishing, 13 but also has characteristics of being simple in structure, accurate in positioning, safe in loading, 14 easy to operate, and reliable in performance, which facilitates to achieve the automatic loading of the silicon wafers and to enhance the efficiency of the positioning and loading and machining 16 of silicon wafers. The present invention is particularly suitable for loading silicon wafers by using 17 chemical mechanical polishing equipments, and it may also be used for loading wafers in 18 various working procedures during manufacturing transistors and integrate circuits.
19 The main technical solution for achieving the above object of the present invention is: that an apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing 21 equipments, wherein it comprises a base plate, the base plate is connected to an upper loading 22 guide ring by a pole support; a space for putting the silicon wafer is provided between the 23 loading guide ring and the base plate; the fixing part of a lifting drive mechanism is installed on 24 the base plate, the telescopic part above the lift/drop drive mechanism is fixedly connected to an upper wafer clip; the wafer clip is connected to its outer wafer guide ring, a concave for 26 receiving the silicon wafer from a manipulator conveniently is formed by the wafer clip and the 27 wafer guide ring; the wafer clip and the wafer guide ring are positioned under the middle of the 28 loading guide ring; the loading guide ring is provided with a docking guide mechanism of a 29 silicon wafer carrying device and a top joint guide mechanism of the silicon wafer; an automatic displacement adjusting mechanism and an automatic reposition mechanism thereof are 31 provided under the base plate or a lift/drop drive mechanism.
22330865.2 2 1 The automatic displacement adjusting mechanism may perform the automatic adjusting of the 2 displacement of the whole apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers when aligning in 3 the directions of X and Y. The automatic reposition mechanism may perform returning to the 4 primary position after the automatic displacement adjusting of the whole apparatus of positioning loading silicon wafers, to prepare to enter into the next loading cycle.
6 The connection of said wafer clip to its outer wafer guide ring is preferably a flexible connection 7 with certain elastic space. On the one hand, a function of cushioning is provided. On the other 8 hand, it is more convenient to lift continuously and butt slowly so as to enhance security.
9 The connection of said wafer clip to its outer wafer guide ring is preferably a flexible connection structure with certain elastic space so that the wafer clip passes through the middle of the wafer 11 guide ring, the wafer clip is connected to a tension spring seat on the wafer guide ring by at 12 least three tension springs through the flange structure thereupon.
13 The docking guide mechanism of the silicon wafer carrying device provided above said loading 14 guide ring preferably has an inverted truncated-cone type chamfer angle, such that the structure is simple and reliable. It may also be a structure with at least three slip surface guide rails, or an 16 outer chamfer structure.
17 Said silicon wafer top joint guide mechanism preferably has a truncated-cone type chamfer 18 angle, such that the structure is simple and reliable. It may also be a structure with at least three 19 slip surface guide rails, etc.
Said lift/drop drive mechanism may be a cylinder piston type lift/drop drive mechanism, the 21 upper end of a piston rod is connected to the wafer clip above; a telescopic shield is disposed 22 outside the piston rod. It may also be a pneumatic lift/drop drive mechanism, or motor-wire 23 cylinder-type lift/drop drive mechanism, etc. The telescopic shield may prevent the lift/drop drive 24 mechanism from the influence of the pollutants, such as water and polishing liquid, etc.
A photoelectric sensor for confirming whether a silicon wafer has been positioned is disposed 26 on the side wall outside said wafer guide ring, which may facilitate to perform the auto control of 27 the circuit.
28 Said automatic displacement adjusting mechanism may be a X-Y two-dimensional displacement 29 mechanism, of which the structure comprises three superposed foundation beds: a first 22330865.2 3 1 foundation bed, a second foundation bed and a third foundation bed; linear guide rail devices 2 perpendicular to each other allowing the alignment adjustment of the apparatus for positioning 3 and loading in the directions of X and Y, and a pair of offset return springs allowing the 4 apparatus to return to the primary central position after loading are installed respectively between the first foundation bed and the second foundation bed and between the second 6 foundation bed and the third foundation bed; the two ends of each pair of said pair of offset 7 return springs are connected to the upper and lower foundation beds respectively, the plane 8 formed by two offset return springs of each pair of offset return springs is parallel to the moving 9 directions of the linear guide rail devices corresponded to the pair of offset return springs.
Said linear guide rail devices may allow the whole loading apparatus to perform the automatic 11 adjusting of the guiding alignment displacement. Said offset return springs may allow the 12 loading apparatus return to the primary central position after loading.
With the return springs 13 and the linear guide rail devices, some misalignment amount is allowed between the loading 14 apparatus and the carrier and between the loading apparatus and the manipulator.
The two offset return springs of said each pair of offset return springs are preferably assembled 16 to present a V-shape. More of them disposed not in V-shape may also be allowed.
17 The X-Y two-dimensional displacement mechanism may be provided with a support, which may 18 support the whole apparatus for loading and positioning silicon wafers, and may adjust the 19 flatness of the whole apparatus to allow the axial of it to be parallel to the axial of the carrier.
Said X-Y two-dimensional displacement mechanism may also be mechanisms of rocker, dual 21 slide rail plus movable pulley type position adjusting mechanism, etc; or other automatic 22 displacement adjusting mechanisms. Said automatic reposition mechanism may be the 23 corresponding offset return springs with different number and layout from those mentioned 24 above, as far as the restoration of automatically displacement during the aligning may be performed.
26 The present invention has following prominent beneficial effects: as compared with prior art, the 27 shortages of inaccurate positioning, low precision, poor security and low efficiency of loading, 28 etc. are overcome by the present invention, and it solved the problems existing in prior art for a 29 long time that people have been unable to solve. Using this apparatus not only may perform positioning the silicon wafers accurately and carrying them to the carrier for polishing, but also 22330865.2 4 1 has the characteristics of being simple in structure, accurate in positioning, safe in loading, easy 2 to operate, and reliable in performance, which facilitates to achieve automatic loading of the 3 silicon wafers and to enhance the efficiency of the positioning and loading and machining of 4 silicon wafers. The present invention is particularly suitable for loading silicon wafers by using chemical mechanical polishing equipments, and may also be used for loading wafers in various 6 working procedures during manufacturing transistors and integrate circuits.
7 Using the structures of cylinder lifting and mechanical automatic adjusting mechanism, etc, may 8 easily perform accurately positioning and reliably loading the silicon wafers, so as to achieve the 9 effects of being high in accuracy and efficiency when loading silicon wafers. The present invention is a completely new structure which is different from prior art, and each configuration 11 in various technical structures of the invention has its own structural advantages, however, in 12 addition to combine the structural advantages of various technical structures, the present 13 invention embodies advantages of being simple in structure, easy to assemble and adjust, 14 accurate and reliable in positioning and loading, etc, and it is a very good silicon wafer loading apparatus used in the 300 mm silicon wafer chemical mechanical polishing equipments. Highly 16 precise positioning and high loading efficiency of silicon wafers may be obtained by using this 17 technology to position and load silicon wafers for the preparation of polishing.
19 Figure 1 is a perspective view of the structure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
21 Figure 2 is a perspective view of the structure of the lower part of Figure 1.
22 Figure 3 is a perspective view of the structure of the wafer clip component 204 of Figure 1.
23 Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the position of the elastic component 404 of Figure 24 3.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the structure of the loading guide ring 302 and the pole support 26 301 of Figure 1.
27 Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of Figure 1 taken along the assembling central axis.
22330865.2 5 1 Figure 7 is a flowchart of the working process performing positioning and loading silicon wafers 2 in cooperation with the carrying device as shown in Figure 1.
3 In the Figures: lower part-1, middle part-2, upper part-3, support-4;
silicon wafer carrying device-4 100; linear guide rail device-101, offset return spring-102, first foundation bed-103, second foundation bed-104, third foundation bed-105, stop adjusting mechanism-106, (lift/drop drive 6 mechanism) lift cylinder-201, cylinder lag-202, base plate-203, wafer clip component-204, pole 7 support-301, loading guide ring-302; wafer clip-401, wafer guide ring-402, telescopic shield-403, 8 elastic component-404, photoelectric sensor-405, tension spring seat-406, tension spring-407, 9 silicon wafer-408; inverted truncated-cone type chamfer angle (or named chamfer angle)-501, inner ring portion-502, outer ring portion-503, truncated-cone type chamfer angle (or named 11 conical aperture)-504.
13 The present invention is explained clearly and completely by reference to a preferred 14 embodiment and the accompanying drawings; such an embodiment is just one of the embodiments of the present invention, instead of all of the embodiments; any other 16 embodiments made by the person skilled in the art without any creative work based on the 17 embodiment of the present invention are intended to be included within the protection scope of 18 the present invention.
19 Referring to Figure 1 to Figure 7, an apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments, comprises a base plate 203, the base plate 203 21 is connected to an upper loading guide ring 302 by a pole support 301; a space for putting a 22 silicon wafer is provided between the loading guide ring 302 and the base plate 203; the fixing 23 part of a lift/drop drive mechanism 201 is installed on the base plate 203, the telescopic part 24 above the lift/drop drive mechanism 201 is fixedly connected to an upper wafer clip 401; the wafer clip 401 is connected to its outer wafer guide ring 402, a concave for receiving silicon 26 wafers from a manipulator conveniently is formed by the wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 27 402; the wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 402 are positioned under the middle of the 28 loading guide ring 302; the loading guide ring 302 is provided with a docking guide mechanism 29 of a silicon wafer carrying device and a top joint guide mechanism of the silicon wafer; the base plate 203 or the fixing part of a lift/drop drive mechanism 201 is connected to a lower position 31 adjusting mechanism. The connection of the wafer clip 401 to its outer wafer guide ring 402 is a 22330865.2 6 1 flexible connection with certain elastic space. The structure of the flexible connection with 2 certain elastic space is such that the wafer clip 401 passes through the middle of the wafer 3 guide ring 402, the wafer clip 401 is connected to a tension spring seat 406 positioned on the 4 wafer guide ring 402 by four tension springs 407 based on the flange lapping structure of the wafer clip 401. The docking guide mechanism of the silicon wafer carrying device provided 6 above the loading guide ring 302 has an inverted truncated-cone type chamfer angle 501. The 7 top joint guide mechanism of the silicon wafer has a truncated-cone type chamfer angle 504.
8 The lift/drop drive mechanism 201 is a cylinder piston type lift/drop drive mechanism, the upper 9 end of a piston rod is fixedly connected to the wafer clip 401 above, and a telescopic shield 202 is disposed outside the piston rod. A photoelectric sensor 405 for confirming whether the silicon 11 wafer is positioned is disposed on the side wall outside the wafer guide ring 402; an automatic 12 displacement adjusting mechanism is a X-Y two-dimensional displacement mechanism, the 13 structure thereof is such that it comprises three superposed foundation beds: a first foundation 14 bed 103, a second foundation bed 104 and a third foundation bed 105; linear guide rail devices 101 perpendicular to each other allowing the alignment adjustment of the apparatus for 16 positioning and loading in the directions of X and Y, and a pair of offset return springs 102 17 allowing the apparatus for positioning and loading may return to the primary central position 18 after loading are installed respectively between the first foundation bed 103 and the second 19 foundation bed 104 and between the second foundation bed 104 and the third foundation bed 105; the two ends of said pair of offset return springs 102 are connected to the upper and lower 21 foundation beds respectively, the plane formed by the two offset return springs of each pair of 22 offset return springs is parallel to the moving directions of the linear guide rail devices 23 corresponded to the pair of offset return springs. The two offset return springs of each pair of 24 offset return springs 102 are assembled to present a V shape.
Figure 1 may also be divided into a lower part 1 comprising a support 4 and performing the 26 position adjusting; a middle part 2 performing the lifting, and an upper part 3 performing the 27 positioning, the support 4 is installed on the main body part of the silicon wafer chemical 28 mechanical polishing equipment, the lower part 1, the middle part2 and the upper part 3 are 29 connected in turn, the lower part 1 is installed on the support 4.
The lower part 1 comprises three superposed foundation beds: the first foundation bed 103, the 31 second foundation bed 104 and the third foundation bed 105, linear guide rail devices 101 22330865.2 7 1 perpendicular to each other and a pair of offset return springs 102 are installed respectively 2 between the first foundation bed 103 and the second foundation bed 104 and between the 3 second foundation bed 104 and the third foundation bed 105, the two ends of said pair of offset 4 return springs 102 assembled to present a V shape are connected respectively to the upper and lower foundation beds through straight pins and tension spring seats, the plane formed by the 6 two offset return springs of each pair of offset return springs is parallel to the moving directions 7 of the linear guide rail devices corresponded to the pair of offset return springs. Protective 8 covers are disposed outside the outer housing of said three foundation beds. The linear guide 9 rail devices 101 allow the alignment adjustment of the apparatus for positioning and loading in the directions of X and Y, and offset return springs 102 allow the apparatus of positioning and 11 loading to return to the primary central position after loading.
Furthermore, the lower part 1 also 12 comprises a stop adjustment mechanism 106 for adjusting the linear guide rail device 101. The 13 X-Y linear guide rail devices perpendicular to each other may also be those that are 14 commercially available.
The middle part 2 comprises the lift/drop drive mechanism, namely lift cylinder 201, the base 16 plate 203 and the wafer clip component 204, the wafer clip component 204 is positioned 17 between the loading guide ring 302 and the base plate 203, the lower flange of the lift cylinder 18 201 is fixedly connected to the third foundation bed 105 of the lower part 1; said wafer clip 19 component 204 comprises the wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 402, the wafer clip 401 is positioned in the wafer guide ring 402, the wafer clip 401 is connected to the wafer guide ring 21 402 by using a flexible connection with certain elastic space, a concave for receiving silicon 22 wafers from a manipulator conveniently is formed by the wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 23 402, a photoelectric sensor 405 for confirming whether the silicon wafer is positioned is 24 disposed on the side wall outside the wafer guide ring 402. The upper flange of said lift cylinder 201 is installed on the base plate 203 connecting the middle part 2 with the upper part 3, the 26 piston rod of the lift cylinder 201 is fixedly connected to the wafer clip 401 through the base 27 plate 203. Said middle part 2 should also include a lag 202 disposed outside the lift/drop drive 28 mechanism 201, with which the installation of the whole apparatus of positioning and loading 29 may achieve that the parts below the lift cylinder 201 are prevented from the influence of pollutants, such as water and polishing liquid, etc. A cylinder lag 403 is disposed in the center of 31 undersurface of the wafer clip 401, to defend the piston rod of the lift cylinder 201. In this 32 embodiment, the flexible connection structure of said wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 33 402 is such that the wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 402 are connected by an elastic 22330865.2 8 1 component 404, the elastic components 404 are at least three which are evenly distributed on 2 the wafer guide ring 402, the elastic component 404 comprises the tension spring seat 406 3 disposed on the wafer guide ring 402 and the tension spring 407 both ends of which are 4 connected respectively to the tension spring seat 406 and the wafer clip 401, the wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 402 are pressed together by said tension spring 407.
6 The upper part 3 comprises the loading guide ring 302 and the pole support 301. Said loading 7 guide ring 302 is divided into an outer ring portion 503 and an inner ring portion 502, the inner 8 ring portion 502 is the stepped projecting portion disposed in the loading guide ring 302 for 9 defining the loading position of the carrier; an inverted truncated-cone type chamfer angle 501 is provided along the surface of the inner edge of the outer ring portion 503 of the loading guide 11 ring 302 matching the structure of the carrier, a truncated-cone type chamfer angle 504 is 12 provided along the edge of the inner ring portion 502 of the loading guide ring 302, which allows 13 certain amount of misalignment clearance existed between the outer edge of the wafer clip 401 14 and the angle 504, and allows the accurate positioning between the silicon wafer and the carrier performed in the process of cylinder lifting; the loading guide ring 302 is connected to the base 16 plate 203 by at least three pole supports 301 disposed at the edge of the outer ring of the 17 loading guide ring 302.
18 The lift/drop circuit control may be of a manual or auto control structure etc; the control circuit, 19 may be designed and implemented by those skilled in the art (description is therefore omitted).
The silicon wafer carrying device cooperated with the present invention are provided with a 21 positioning structure and a silicon wafer suctioning structure cooperated with the silicon wafer 22 carrying device.
23 The working process of this embodiment is (refer to Figure 7): that the linear guide rail device 24 101 and the offset return spring 102 disposed in the position adjusting device may be adjusted firstly, which allows the apparatus for positioning loading silicon wafers to be basically 26 positioned at a certain position just below the carrier (preferably a stop adjustment mechanism 27 106 is also provided, so that the guide rail may slide within a proper and more accurate scope).
28 The silicon wafer to be polished is taken out from a storage box and laid on the wafer clip 29 component 204 between the loading guide ring 302 and the base plate 203 by the manipulator, the silicon wafer contacts the wafer clip component 204 with the edge and is well positioned in 31 the wafer clip component 204, so as to load the silicon wafer in the carrier; the function of the 22330865.2 9 1 positioning before the loading is performed by the contact of the edge of the silicon wafer with 2 the wafer clip component, the silicon wafer may go on moving for a distance when the wafer 3 guide ring stops moving because of the flexible connection. Furthermore, the structure of the 4 wafer clip and the wafer guide ring allows the silicon wafer to contact the wafer clip only by the edge of the silicon wafer. Said base plate may perform the functions of supporting the loading 6 guide ring and the carrier, and draining the liquid accumulated. The lift/drop drive mechanism 7 retracts the wafer clip component after lifting the silicon wafer into the carrier.
8 The upper part comprises the loading guide ring and the pole support for positioning the loading 9 position of the carrier,. Chamfer angle is provided along the surface of the inner edge of the loading guide ring, the chamfer angle cooperates with the chamfer angel of the retaining ring to 11 provide the compensation for the misalignment between the carrier and the loading apparatus.
12 The carrier is positioned in the loading guide ring when loading the silicon wafer, so as to pick 13 up the silicon wafer conveniently, the loading position of the carrier is defined by the stepped 14 projecting portion of the inner of the loading guide ring. A conical aperture (a A-shape) having effect of gathering together is disposed at the edge of the inner ring of the loading guide ring, 16 which allows certain clearance between the loading guide ring and the silicon wafer as well as 17 the wafer clip component, and it performs alignment positioning in the process of lifting the 18 lift/drop drive mechanism, so as to facilitate to suction the silicon wafer into the carrier smoothly.
19 The three pole supports positioned between the loading guide ring and the base plate are mainly used for supporting the loading guide ring and the carrier in the process of loading, of 21 which the structure is simple and the installation is easy.
22 After confirming by the photoelectric sensor 405 disposed on edge of the wafer guide ring 402 23 that the silicon wafer has been positioned in the wafer clip 401, the carrier begins to drop and is 24 positioned inside the loading guide ring 302 of the apparatus for positioning and loading. The lift cylinder 201 installed at the position adjusting device lifts the wafer clip component 204 together 26 with the silicon wafer until the silicon wafer gets into the concave of the carrier, at this moment, 27 the carrier suctions the silicon wafer inside by means of vacuum to prepare for the polishing.
28 After confirming by the silicon wafer detection sensor installed on the carrier that the silicon 29 wafer has existed inside the carrier, the wafer clip component 204 is dropped down to the initial position by the lift cylinder 201, so as to receive the next silicon wafer to be polished, in the 31 meantime, the carrier with the silicon wafer suctioned leaves the loading guide ring 302, and lifts 32 upward and moves to the above position of the polishing table to prepare for the polishing, thus 22330865.2 10 1 a whole process of positioning and loading one silicon wafer is completed, of which the 2 efficiencies of positioning and loading of silicon wafers are highly increased.
3 The loading apparatus exposed to chemical reagents constantly are typically made of 4 anticorrosive materials, such as engineering plastics, stainless steel, aluminum and other anticorrosive materials related.
6 Above is just a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not 7 limited to such embodiments, and any modifications, equally effective replacements and 8 improvements made within the spirits and principles of the present invention are intended to be 9 included within the protection scope of the present invention.
22330865.2 1 1
8 In the manufacturing of integrate circuits, most of the working procedures may relate to the step 9 of positioning and loading wafers. The quality of positioning and loading wafers has significant influence to the machining of wafers. With improper handlings, the wafers may be rejected, or 11 the parts manufactured may be with poor performance and bad stability and reliability.
12 Therefore, it is important to research and develop a method of positioning and loading wafers 13 with high positioning precision and efficiency for both the machining of wafers or the 14 manufacturing of the parts of semiconductors. Because the positioning and loading of wafers is the most important and frequent step during the manufacturing of the parts of semiconductors, 16 and its efficiency will directly affect the rate of the finished products, the performance, and the 17 reliability of the parts, the research about the methods of positioning and loading wafers has 18 been made continuously both at home and abroad.
19 At present chemical mechanical polishing (CMP is the only method for performing entirely flattening of the surface of a silicon wafer. In the process of the chemical mechanical polishing, 21 the apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers is an important part of the chemical 22 mechanical polishing equipment. The functions of the apparatus for positioning and loading 23 silicon wafers include positioning silicon wafers and carrying them to a carrier (polishing head) 24 accurately for polishing. With the development of large scale integrated circuits, the increase of the sizes of silicon wafers and the improvement of the degree of the integration, the requirement 26 for the quality of the surfaces of polishing slices is increasingly stringent.
27 In the current chemical mechanical polishing equipments, the main characteristic of the 28 apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers is to load the silicon wafers by means of 29 suctioning by vacuum carried out by the carrier or by means of water suspension. When performing the loading by these means, it also brings some drawbacks, such as difficulties of 22330865.2 1 1 controlling the suctioning of the silicon wafers in vacuum directly carried out by the carrier, for 2 the silicon wafers are likely to be easily crumbed by the enormous system;
when the sizes of the 3 silicon wafers are large, multiple injectors have to be used at the same time to perform the water 4 suspension, thus it is difficult to adjust the hydraulic pressure of each injector, furthermore, a great deal of deionized water is wasted during loading the wafers, which increases the cost.
6 Accordingly, in order to load the silicon wafers into the carrier smoothly and enhance the 7 efficiency of the loading of the silicon wafers, more advanced technology of loading silicon 8 wafers is eagerly needed.
The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for positioning and loading silicon 11 wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments. The apparatus not only may 12 perform positioning the silicon wafers accurately and carrying them to the carrier for polishing, 13 but also has characteristics of being simple in structure, accurate in positioning, safe in loading, 14 easy to operate, and reliable in performance, which facilitates to achieve the automatic loading of the silicon wafers and to enhance the efficiency of the positioning and loading and machining 16 of silicon wafers. The present invention is particularly suitable for loading silicon wafers by using 17 chemical mechanical polishing equipments, and it may also be used for loading wafers in 18 various working procedures during manufacturing transistors and integrate circuits.
19 The main technical solution for achieving the above object of the present invention is: that an apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing 21 equipments, wherein it comprises a base plate, the base plate is connected to an upper loading 22 guide ring by a pole support; a space for putting the silicon wafer is provided between the 23 loading guide ring and the base plate; the fixing part of a lifting drive mechanism is installed on 24 the base plate, the telescopic part above the lift/drop drive mechanism is fixedly connected to an upper wafer clip; the wafer clip is connected to its outer wafer guide ring, a concave for 26 receiving the silicon wafer from a manipulator conveniently is formed by the wafer clip and the 27 wafer guide ring; the wafer clip and the wafer guide ring are positioned under the middle of the 28 loading guide ring; the loading guide ring is provided with a docking guide mechanism of a 29 silicon wafer carrying device and a top joint guide mechanism of the silicon wafer; an automatic displacement adjusting mechanism and an automatic reposition mechanism thereof are 31 provided under the base plate or a lift/drop drive mechanism.
22330865.2 2 1 The automatic displacement adjusting mechanism may perform the automatic adjusting of the 2 displacement of the whole apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers when aligning in 3 the directions of X and Y. The automatic reposition mechanism may perform returning to the 4 primary position after the automatic displacement adjusting of the whole apparatus of positioning loading silicon wafers, to prepare to enter into the next loading cycle.
6 The connection of said wafer clip to its outer wafer guide ring is preferably a flexible connection 7 with certain elastic space. On the one hand, a function of cushioning is provided. On the other 8 hand, it is more convenient to lift continuously and butt slowly so as to enhance security.
9 The connection of said wafer clip to its outer wafer guide ring is preferably a flexible connection structure with certain elastic space so that the wafer clip passes through the middle of the wafer 11 guide ring, the wafer clip is connected to a tension spring seat on the wafer guide ring by at 12 least three tension springs through the flange structure thereupon.
13 The docking guide mechanism of the silicon wafer carrying device provided above said loading 14 guide ring preferably has an inverted truncated-cone type chamfer angle, such that the structure is simple and reliable. It may also be a structure with at least three slip surface guide rails, or an 16 outer chamfer structure.
17 Said silicon wafer top joint guide mechanism preferably has a truncated-cone type chamfer 18 angle, such that the structure is simple and reliable. It may also be a structure with at least three 19 slip surface guide rails, etc.
Said lift/drop drive mechanism may be a cylinder piston type lift/drop drive mechanism, the 21 upper end of a piston rod is connected to the wafer clip above; a telescopic shield is disposed 22 outside the piston rod. It may also be a pneumatic lift/drop drive mechanism, or motor-wire 23 cylinder-type lift/drop drive mechanism, etc. The telescopic shield may prevent the lift/drop drive 24 mechanism from the influence of the pollutants, such as water and polishing liquid, etc.
A photoelectric sensor for confirming whether a silicon wafer has been positioned is disposed 26 on the side wall outside said wafer guide ring, which may facilitate to perform the auto control of 27 the circuit.
28 Said automatic displacement adjusting mechanism may be a X-Y two-dimensional displacement 29 mechanism, of which the structure comprises three superposed foundation beds: a first 22330865.2 3 1 foundation bed, a second foundation bed and a third foundation bed; linear guide rail devices 2 perpendicular to each other allowing the alignment adjustment of the apparatus for positioning 3 and loading in the directions of X and Y, and a pair of offset return springs allowing the 4 apparatus to return to the primary central position after loading are installed respectively between the first foundation bed and the second foundation bed and between the second 6 foundation bed and the third foundation bed; the two ends of each pair of said pair of offset 7 return springs are connected to the upper and lower foundation beds respectively, the plane 8 formed by two offset return springs of each pair of offset return springs is parallel to the moving 9 directions of the linear guide rail devices corresponded to the pair of offset return springs.
Said linear guide rail devices may allow the whole loading apparatus to perform the automatic 11 adjusting of the guiding alignment displacement. Said offset return springs may allow the 12 loading apparatus return to the primary central position after loading.
With the return springs 13 and the linear guide rail devices, some misalignment amount is allowed between the loading 14 apparatus and the carrier and between the loading apparatus and the manipulator.
The two offset return springs of said each pair of offset return springs are preferably assembled 16 to present a V-shape. More of them disposed not in V-shape may also be allowed.
17 The X-Y two-dimensional displacement mechanism may be provided with a support, which may 18 support the whole apparatus for loading and positioning silicon wafers, and may adjust the 19 flatness of the whole apparatus to allow the axial of it to be parallel to the axial of the carrier.
Said X-Y two-dimensional displacement mechanism may also be mechanisms of rocker, dual 21 slide rail plus movable pulley type position adjusting mechanism, etc; or other automatic 22 displacement adjusting mechanisms. Said automatic reposition mechanism may be the 23 corresponding offset return springs with different number and layout from those mentioned 24 above, as far as the restoration of automatically displacement during the aligning may be performed.
26 The present invention has following prominent beneficial effects: as compared with prior art, the 27 shortages of inaccurate positioning, low precision, poor security and low efficiency of loading, 28 etc. are overcome by the present invention, and it solved the problems existing in prior art for a 29 long time that people have been unable to solve. Using this apparatus not only may perform positioning the silicon wafers accurately and carrying them to the carrier for polishing, but also 22330865.2 4 1 has the characteristics of being simple in structure, accurate in positioning, safe in loading, easy 2 to operate, and reliable in performance, which facilitates to achieve automatic loading of the 3 silicon wafers and to enhance the efficiency of the positioning and loading and machining of 4 silicon wafers. The present invention is particularly suitable for loading silicon wafers by using chemical mechanical polishing equipments, and may also be used for loading wafers in various 6 working procedures during manufacturing transistors and integrate circuits.
7 Using the structures of cylinder lifting and mechanical automatic adjusting mechanism, etc, may 8 easily perform accurately positioning and reliably loading the silicon wafers, so as to achieve the 9 effects of being high in accuracy and efficiency when loading silicon wafers. The present invention is a completely new structure which is different from prior art, and each configuration 11 in various technical structures of the invention has its own structural advantages, however, in 12 addition to combine the structural advantages of various technical structures, the present 13 invention embodies advantages of being simple in structure, easy to assemble and adjust, 14 accurate and reliable in positioning and loading, etc, and it is a very good silicon wafer loading apparatus used in the 300 mm silicon wafer chemical mechanical polishing equipments. Highly 16 precise positioning and high loading efficiency of silicon wafers may be obtained by using this 17 technology to position and load silicon wafers for the preparation of polishing.
19 Figure 1 is a perspective view of the structure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
21 Figure 2 is a perspective view of the structure of the lower part of Figure 1.
22 Figure 3 is a perspective view of the structure of the wafer clip component 204 of Figure 1.
23 Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the position of the elastic component 404 of Figure 24 3.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the structure of the loading guide ring 302 and the pole support 26 301 of Figure 1.
27 Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of Figure 1 taken along the assembling central axis.
22330865.2 5 1 Figure 7 is a flowchart of the working process performing positioning and loading silicon wafers 2 in cooperation with the carrying device as shown in Figure 1.
3 In the Figures: lower part-1, middle part-2, upper part-3, support-4;
silicon wafer carrying device-4 100; linear guide rail device-101, offset return spring-102, first foundation bed-103, second foundation bed-104, third foundation bed-105, stop adjusting mechanism-106, (lift/drop drive 6 mechanism) lift cylinder-201, cylinder lag-202, base plate-203, wafer clip component-204, pole 7 support-301, loading guide ring-302; wafer clip-401, wafer guide ring-402, telescopic shield-403, 8 elastic component-404, photoelectric sensor-405, tension spring seat-406, tension spring-407, 9 silicon wafer-408; inverted truncated-cone type chamfer angle (or named chamfer angle)-501, inner ring portion-502, outer ring portion-503, truncated-cone type chamfer angle (or named 11 conical aperture)-504.
13 The present invention is explained clearly and completely by reference to a preferred 14 embodiment and the accompanying drawings; such an embodiment is just one of the embodiments of the present invention, instead of all of the embodiments; any other 16 embodiments made by the person skilled in the art without any creative work based on the 17 embodiment of the present invention are intended to be included within the protection scope of 18 the present invention.
19 Referring to Figure 1 to Figure 7, an apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments, comprises a base plate 203, the base plate 203 21 is connected to an upper loading guide ring 302 by a pole support 301; a space for putting a 22 silicon wafer is provided between the loading guide ring 302 and the base plate 203; the fixing 23 part of a lift/drop drive mechanism 201 is installed on the base plate 203, the telescopic part 24 above the lift/drop drive mechanism 201 is fixedly connected to an upper wafer clip 401; the wafer clip 401 is connected to its outer wafer guide ring 402, a concave for receiving silicon 26 wafers from a manipulator conveniently is formed by the wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 27 402; the wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 402 are positioned under the middle of the 28 loading guide ring 302; the loading guide ring 302 is provided with a docking guide mechanism 29 of a silicon wafer carrying device and a top joint guide mechanism of the silicon wafer; the base plate 203 or the fixing part of a lift/drop drive mechanism 201 is connected to a lower position 31 adjusting mechanism. The connection of the wafer clip 401 to its outer wafer guide ring 402 is a 22330865.2 6 1 flexible connection with certain elastic space. The structure of the flexible connection with 2 certain elastic space is such that the wafer clip 401 passes through the middle of the wafer 3 guide ring 402, the wafer clip 401 is connected to a tension spring seat 406 positioned on the 4 wafer guide ring 402 by four tension springs 407 based on the flange lapping structure of the wafer clip 401. The docking guide mechanism of the silicon wafer carrying device provided 6 above the loading guide ring 302 has an inverted truncated-cone type chamfer angle 501. The 7 top joint guide mechanism of the silicon wafer has a truncated-cone type chamfer angle 504.
8 The lift/drop drive mechanism 201 is a cylinder piston type lift/drop drive mechanism, the upper 9 end of a piston rod is fixedly connected to the wafer clip 401 above, and a telescopic shield 202 is disposed outside the piston rod. A photoelectric sensor 405 for confirming whether the silicon 11 wafer is positioned is disposed on the side wall outside the wafer guide ring 402; an automatic 12 displacement adjusting mechanism is a X-Y two-dimensional displacement mechanism, the 13 structure thereof is such that it comprises three superposed foundation beds: a first foundation 14 bed 103, a second foundation bed 104 and a third foundation bed 105; linear guide rail devices 101 perpendicular to each other allowing the alignment adjustment of the apparatus for 16 positioning and loading in the directions of X and Y, and a pair of offset return springs 102 17 allowing the apparatus for positioning and loading may return to the primary central position 18 after loading are installed respectively between the first foundation bed 103 and the second 19 foundation bed 104 and between the second foundation bed 104 and the third foundation bed 105; the two ends of said pair of offset return springs 102 are connected to the upper and lower 21 foundation beds respectively, the plane formed by the two offset return springs of each pair of 22 offset return springs is parallel to the moving directions of the linear guide rail devices 23 corresponded to the pair of offset return springs. The two offset return springs of each pair of 24 offset return springs 102 are assembled to present a V shape.
Figure 1 may also be divided into a lower part 1 comprising a support 4 and performing the 26 position adjusting; a middle part 2 performing the lifting, and an upper part 3 performing the 27 positioning, the support 4 is installed on the main body part of the silicon wafer chemical 28 mechanical polishing equipment, the lower part 1, the middle part2 and the upper part 3 are 29 connected in turn, the lower part 1 is installed on the support 4.
The lower part 1 comprises three superposed foundation beds: the first foundation bed 103, the 31 second foundation bed 104 and the third foundation bed 105, linear guide rail devices 101 22330865.2 7 1 perpendicular to each other and a pair of offset return springs 102 are installed respectively 2 between the first foundation bed 103 and the second foundation bed 104 and between the 3 second foundation bed 104 and the third foundation bed 105, the two ends of said pair of offset 4 return springs 102 assembled to present a V shape are connected respectively to the upper and lower foundation beds through straight pins and tension spring seats, the plane formed by the 6 two offset return springs of each pair of offset return springs is parallel to the moving directions 7 of the linear guide rail devices corresponded to the pair of offset return springs. Protective 8 covers are disposed outside the outer housing of said three foundation beds. The linear guide 9 rail devices 101 allow the alignment adjustment of the apparatus for positioning and loading in the directions of X and Y, and offset return springs 102 allow the apparatus of positioning and 11 loading to return to the primary central position after loading.
Furthermore, the lower part 1 also 12 comprises a stop adjustment mechanism 106 for adjusting the linear guide rail device 101. The 13 X-Y linear guide rail devices perpendicular to each other may also be those that are 14 commercially available.
The middle part 2 comprises the lift/drop drive mechanism, namely lift cylinder 201, the base 16 plate 203 and the wafer clip component 204, the wafer clip component 204 is positioned 17 between the loading guide ring 302 and the base plate 203, the lower flange of the lift cylinder 18 201 is fixedly connected to the third foundation bed 105 of the lower part 1; said wafer clip 19 component 204 comprises the wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 402, the wafer clip 401 is positioned in the wafer guide ring 402, the wafer clip 401 is connected to the wafer guide ring 21 402 by using a flexible connection with certain elastic space, a concave for receiving silicon 22 wafers from a manipulator conveniently is formed by the wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 23 402, a photoelectric sensor 405 for confirming whether the silicon wafer is positioned is 24 disposed on the side wall outside the wafer guide ring 402. The upper flange of said lift cylinder 201 is installed on the base plate 203 connecting the middle part 2 with the upper part 3, the 26 piston rod of the lift cylinder 201 is fixedly connected to the wafer clip 401 through the base 27 plate 203. Said middle part 2 should also include a lag 202 disposed outside the lift/drop drive 28 mechanism 201, with which the installation of the whole apparatus of positioning and loading 29 may achieve that the parts below the lift cylinder 201 are prevented from the influence of pollutants, such as water and polishing liquid, etc. A cylinder lag 403 is disposed in the center of 31 undersurface of the wafer clip 401, to defend the piston rod of the lift cylinder 201. In this 32 embodiment, the flexible connection structure of said wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 33 402 is such that the wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 402 are connected by an elastic 22330865.2 8 1 component 404, the elastic components 404 are at least three which are evenly distributed on 2 the wafer guide ring 402, the elastic component 404 comprises the tension spring seat 406 3 disposed on the wafer guide ring 402 and the tension spring 407 both ends of which are 4 connected respectively to the tension spring seat 406 and the wafer clip 401, the wafer clip 401 and the wafer guide ring 402 are pressed together by said tension spring 407.
6 The upper part 3 comprises the loading guide ring 302 and the pole support 301. Said loading 7 guide ring 302 is divided into an outer ring portion 503 and an inner ring portion 502, the inner 8 ring portion 502 is the stepped projecting portion disposed in the loading guide ring 302 for 9 defining the loading position of the carrier; an inverted truncated-cone type chamfer angle 501 is provided along the surface of the inner edge of the outer ring portion 503 of the loading guide 11 ring 302 matching the structure of the carrier, a truncated-cone type chamfer angle 504 is 12 provided along the edge of the inner ring portion 502 of the loading guide ring 302, which allows 13 certain amount of misalignment clearance existed between the outer edge of the wafer clip 401 14 and the angle 504, and allows the accurate positioning between the silicon wafer and the carrier performed in the process of cylinder lifting; the loading guide ring 302 is connected to the base 16 plate 203 by at least three pole supports 301 disposed at the edge of the outer ring of the 17 loading guide ring 302.
18 The lift/drop circuit control may be of a manual or auto control structure etc; the control circuit, 19 may be designed and implemented by those skilled in the art (description is therefore omitted).
The silicon wafer carrying device cooperated with the present invention are provided with a 21 positioning structure and a silicon wafer suctioning structure cooperated with the silicon wafer 22 carrying device.
23 The working process of this embodiment is (refer to Figure 7): that the linear guide rail device 24 101 and the offset return spring 102 disposed in the position adjusting device may be adjusted firstly, which allows the apparatus for positioning loading silicon wafers to be basically 26 positioned at a certain position just below the carrier (preferably a stop adjustment mechanism 27 106 is also provided, so that the guide rail may slide within a proper and more accurate scope).
28 The silicon wafer to be polished is taken out from a storage box and laid on the wafer clip 29 component 204 between the loading guide ring 302 and the base plate 203 by the manipulator, the silicon wafer contacts the wafer clip component 204 with the edge and is well positioned in 31 the wafer clip component 204, so as to load the silicon wafer in the carrier; the function of the 22330865.2 9 1 positioning before the loading is performed by the contact of the edge of the silicon wafer with 2 the wafer clip component, the silicon wafer may go on moving for a distance when the wafer 3 guide ring stops moving because of the flexible connection. Furthermore, the structure of the 4 wafer clip and the wafer guide ring allows the silicon wafer to contact the wafer clip only by the edge of the silicon wafer. Said base plate may perform the functions of supporting the loading 6 guide ring and the carrier, and draining the liquid accumulated. The lift/drop drive mechanism 7 retracts the wafer clip component after lifting the silicon wafer into the carrier.
8 The upper part comprises the loading guide ring and the pole support for positioning the loading 9 position of the carrier,. Chamfer angle is provided along the surface of the inner edge of the loading guide ring, the chamfer angle cooperates with the chamfer angel of the retaining ring to 11 provide the compensation for the misalignment between the carrier and the loading apparatus.
12 The carrier is positioned in the loading guide ring when loading the silicon wafer, so as to pick 13 up the silicon wafer conveniently, the loading position of the carrier is defined by the stepped 14 projecting portion of the inner of the loading guide ring. A conical aperture (a A-shape) having effect of gathering together is disposed at the edge of the inner ring of the loading guide ring, 16 which allows certain clearance between the loading guide ring and the silicon wafer as well as 17 the wafer clip component, and it performs alignment positioning in the process of lifting the 18 lift/drop drive mechanism, so as to facilitate to suction the silicon wafer into the carrier smoothly.
19 The three pole supports positioned between the loading guide ring and the base plate are mainly used for supporting the loading guide ring and the carrier in the process of loading, of 21 which the structure is simple and the installation is easy.
22 After confirming by the photoelectric sensor 405 disposed on edge of the wafer guide ring 402 23 that the silicon wafer has been positioned in the wafer clip 401, the carrier begins to drop and is 24 positioned inside the loading guide ring 302 of the apparatus for positioning and loading. The lift cylinder 201 installed at the position adjusting device lifts the wafer clip component 204 together 26 with the silicon wafer until the silicon wafer gets into the concave of the carrier, at this moment, 27 the carrier suctions the silicon wafer inside by means of vacuum to prepare for the polishing.
28 After confirming by the silicon wafer detection sensor installed on the carrier that the silicon 29 wafer has existed inside the carrier, the wafer clip component 204 is dropped down to the initial position by the lift cylinder 201, so as to receive the next silicon wafer to be polished, in the 31 meantime, the carrier with the silicon wafer suctioned leaves the loading guide ring 302, and lifts 32 upward and moves to the above position of the polishing table to prepare for the polishing, thus 22330865.2 10 1 a whole process of positioning and loading one silicon wafer is completed, of which the 2 efficiencies of positioning and loading of silicon wafers are highly increased.
3 The loading apparatus exposed to chemical reagents constantly are typically made of 4 anticorrosive materials, such as engineering plastics, stainless steel, aluminum and other anticorrosive materials related.
6 Above is just a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not 7 limited to such embodiments, and any modifications, equally effective replacements and 8 improvements made within the spirits and principles of the present invention are intended to be 9 included within the protection scope of the present invention.
22330865.2 1 1
Claims (8)
1. An apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments, comprising a base plate (203), the base plate (203) is connected to an upper loading guide ring (302) by a pole support (301); a space for putting the silicon wafer is provided between the loading guide ring (302) and the base plate (203); the fixing part of a lift/drop drive mechanism (201) is installed on the base plate (203), the telescopic part above the lift/drop drive mechanism (201) is fixedly connected to an upper wafer clip (401); the wafer clip (401) is connected to its outer wafer guide ring (402), a concave for receiving silicon wafers from a manipulator conveniently is formed by the wafer clip (401) and the wafer guide ring (402); the wafer clip (401) and the wafer guide ring (402) are positioned under the middle of the loading guide ring (302); the loading guide ring (302) is provided with a docking guide mechanism of a silicon wafer carrying device and a top joint guide mechanism of the silicon wafer ; an automatic displacement adjusting mechanism and an automatic reposition mechanism thereof are provided under the base plate (203) or a lift/drop drive mechanism (201);
wherein the wafer clip (401) passes through the middle of the wafer guide ring (402), the wafer clip (401) is connected to a tension spring seat (406) positioned on the wafer guide ring (402) by at least three tension springs (407) based on the flange lapping structure of the wafer clip (401).
wherein the wafer clip (401) passes through the middle of the wafer guide ring (402), the wafer clip (401) is connected to a tension spring seat (406) positioned on the wafer guide ring (402) by at least three tension springs (407) based on the flange lapping structure of the wafer clip (401).
2. The apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments of claim 1, wherein the connection of said wafer clip (401) to its outer wafer guide ring (402) is a flexible connection with certain elastic space.
3. The apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments of claim 1, wherein the docking guide mechanism of the silicon wafer carrying device provided above the loading guide ring (302) has an inverted truncated-cone type chamfer angle (501).
4. The apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments of claim 1, wherein the top joint guide mechanism of the silicon wafer has a truncated-cone type chamfer angle (504).
5. The apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments of claim 1, wherein the lift/drop drive mechanism (201) is a cylinder piston type lift/drop drive mechanism, the wafer clip (401) is fixedly installed to the upper end of a piston rod, and a telescopic shield (202) is disposed outside the piston rod.
6. The apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments of claim 1, wherein a photoelectric sensor (405) for confirming whether the silicon wafer has been positioned is disposed on the side wall outside the wafer guide ring (402).
7. The apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments of claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6, wherein said automatic displacement adjusting mechanism is a X-Y two-dimensional displacement mechanism, of which the structure is such that it comprises three superposed foundation beds: a first foundation bed (103), a second foundation bed (104) and a third foundation bed (105); linear guide rail devices (101) perpendicular to each other allowing the alignment adjustment of the apparatus for positioning and loading in the directions of X and Y, and a pair of offset return springs (102) allowing the apparatus for positioning and loading may return to the primary central position after loading are installed respectively between the first foundation bed (103) and the second foundation bed (104) and between the second foundation bed (104) and the third foundation bed (105); the two ends of said pair of offset return springs (102) are connected to the upper and lower foundation beds respectively, the plane formed by the two offset return springs of each pair of offset return springs is parallel to the moving directions of the linear guide rail devices corresponded to the pair of offset return springs.
8. The apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments of claim 7, wherein the two offset return springs of each pair of said offset return springs (102) are assembled to present a V-shape.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN201010249958.6 | 2010-08-11 | ||
| CN201010249958.6A CN102371535B (en) | 2010-08-11 | 2010-08-11 | Silicon wafer positioning and loading device applied to chemical mechanical polishing equipment |
| PCT/CN2010/001805 WO2012019335A1 (en) | 2010-08-11 | 2010-11-10 | Device for positioning and loading silicon wafer in chemical-mechanical polishing apparatus |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2806152A1 true CA2806152A1 (en) | 2012-06-16 |
Family
ID=45567263
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2806152A Abandoned CA2806152A1 (en) | 2010-08-11 | 2010-11-10 | Apparatus for positioning and loading silicon wafers used in the chemical mechanical polishing equipments |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CN (1) | CN102371535B (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2806152A1 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2012019335A1 (en) |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN105598827B (en) * | 2016-01-05 | 2018-05-22 | 天津华海清科机电科技有限公司 | Chemical-mechanical polishing mathing |
| CN106683978B (en) * | 2016-12-23 | 2019-02-05 | 北京半导体专用设备研究所（中国电子科技集团公司第四十五研究所） | Wafer idler wheel structure of post-CMP cleaning equipment and use method |
| KR102385573B1 (en) * | 2017-12-13 | 2022-04-12 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Load cup and chemical mechanical polishing apparatus including the same |
| CN109664188B (en) * | 2018-12-14 | 2020-05-22 | 北京半导体专用设备研究所（中国电子科技集团公司第四十五研究所） | Wafer loading and unloading device |
| CN109686689B (en) * | 2018-12-14 | 2020-09-29 | 北京半导体专用设备研究所（中国电子科技集团公司第四十五研究所） | Wafer loading and unloading device |
| CN109920746B (en) * | 2018-12-26 | 2024-06-25 | 广东欧美亚智能装备有限公司 | Full-automatic crystal expanding machine |
| CN109732473B (en) * | 2019-01-11 | 2020-10-23 | 北京半导体专用设备研究所（中国电子科技集团公司第四十五研究所） | Wafer carrying table and wafer loading and unloading mechanism |
| CN110364430B (en) * | 2019-07-29 | 2022-03-01 | 武汉新芯集成电路制造有限公司 | Wafer thinning method and wafer structure |
| US11935728B2 (en) * | 2020-01-31 | 2024-03-19 | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. | Apparatus and method of manufacturing a semiconductor device |
| KR20210128064A (en) * | 2020-04-16 | 2021-10-26 | 주식회사 제우스 | Energizing device for substrate processing |
| CN113363188A (en) * | 2021-06-04 | 2021-09-07 | 北京烁科精微电子装备有限公司 | Wafer carrying table and wafer transmission device |
| CN114210636B (en) * | 2021-12-06 | 2022-12-09 | 杭州中欣晶圆半导体股份有限公司 | Etching device and method for improving etching rate of silicon chip oxide film |
| CN115519431A (en) * | 2022-03-29 | 2022-12-27 | 何兴彪 | Automatic processing system for surface of semiconductor wafer |
| CN114834891B (en) * | 2022-05-19 | 2023-09-22 | 北京半导体专用设备研究所（中国电子科技集团公司第四十五研究所） | Carrier gripper and wafer transfer device |
Family Cites Families (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US6168668B1 (en) * | 1998-11-25 | 2001-01-02 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Shadow ring and guide for supporting the shadow ring in a chamber |
| KR100885082B1 (en) * | 2000-09-01 | 2009-02-25 | 어사이스트 테크놀로지스, 인코포레이티드 | Edge grip aligner with buffering capabilities |
| JP3956350B2 (en) * | 2002-03-25 | 2007-08-08 | 東京エレクトロン株式会社 | Substrate processing apparatus having positioning function and substrate processing method having positioning function |
| JP2005085828A (en) * | 2003-09-05 | 2005-03-31 | Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon Corp | Wafer transfer device with positioning mechanism in polishing apparatus |
| JP2008091770A (en) * | 2006-10-04 | 2008-04-17 | Tatsumo Kk | Wafer aligning device, wafer aligning system, and wafer aligning method |
| CN101704218A (en) * | 2009-12-14 | 2010-05-12 | 中国电子科技集团公司第四十五研究所 | Silicon slice positioning and loading device of chemical mechanical polishing equipment |
-
2010
- 2010-08-11 CN CN201010249958.6A patent/CN102371535B/en active Active
- 2010-11-10 CA CA2806152A patent/CA2806152A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2010-11-10 WO PCT/CN2010/001805 patent/WO2012019335A1/en active Application Filing
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CN102371535B (en) | 2014-07-23 |
| CN102371535A (en) | 2012-03-14 |
| WO2012019335A1 (en) | 2012-02-16 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request |
Effective date: 20150210 |
|
| FZDE | Discontinued |
Effective date: 20191224 |