Rotary automatic conveying device for silicon wafer
Technical field
The present invention relates to a kind of wafer conveying equipment.Particularly a kind of to standard mechanical interface (Standard MechanicalInterface, abbreviation SMIF) wafer cassette is written into the reasonable in design of operation, between processing procedure, transmit and operate steadily, wafer casket 180 degree of realizing arbitrarily rotation are oppositely put and are moved more flexibility and reliability, have expanded the rotary automatic conveying device for silicon wafer of the scope of application.
Background technology
At present, in semi-conductive manufacture process, wafer is carried and is made most important to IC.Quality when between different processing procedures, transporting in order to ensure wafer; avoid wafer to be subjected to grit or other pollution; the container that transports of standard is adopted in the work of more and more transporting, and has promptly adopted standard mechanical interface (standard mechanical interface is called for short SMIF) technology.In United States Patent (USP) 4532970 and 4534389, disclose a kind of SMIF system.This system is the grit that flows through wafer by obvious minimizing, reduces the pollution of grit to wafer.This effect is by guaranteeing in mechanical aspects in wafer conveying, storage and the most processing procedure that the relative wafer of the gas of wafer periphery keeps static, and the grit in the external environment condition can not enter the wafer environment and realizes.The SMIF technology is the center with " isolation technology " notion.So-called isolation technology is intended to by wafer being enclosed in the super clean environment, relaxes simultaneously the cleanliness factor beyond this enclosed environment is required to prevent that product is contaminated.This make to save and hugely to become possibility with operation cost in advance, also makes the wafer factory can be more effective, more cost-effective simultaneously.
In addition, United States Patent (USP) 5934991 discloses a kind of wafer cassette charging appliance interface improved pure air system (Podloader interface improved clean air system), be a kind of integrated air filtering system, clean microenvironment can be provided.Fan in this system, filter, plenum box and loading platform are done as a whole moving, plenum chamber communicates by an angled porose screen and the wafer cassette on the loading platform, and pure air stream is blown over crystal column surface uniformly on all height of angled porose screen.Mechanical device lifts the wafer cassette shell under microenvironment, be written into then and carry out the wafer casket, make the wafer casket be written into and the process of carrying out in contaminated probability drop to minimum.The method is extensively adopted by the insider.
United States Patent (USP) 6086323 discloses a kind of method (Method for supplyingwafers to an IC manufacturing process) of sending wafer for the IC processing procedure, this method comprises supporting box, lift, material loading platform and a multi-joint mechanical arm, and material loading platform can dock with the SMIF wafer cassette.Elevator is used for the wafer lid is taken off from the SMIF wafer cassette.Rise at lift by the clamping bar of cylinder control and to open before the wafer cassette, the SMIF wafer cassette is fixed on the elevator.After its material loading platform with wafer cassette pedestal and wafer cassette loading interface docks, open the locking mechanism between wafer lid and the pedestal.When making wafer be in the microenvironment of cleaning, the wafer lid to be mentioned from pedestal, the actuator of mobile multi-joint mechanical arm is to the position of exposed wafer casket, with the wafer casket promptly, mobile mechanical arm produces microenvironment with wafer then, is delivered to the IC processing procedure.Multi-joint mechanical arm comprises rotation shoulder joint, elbow joint and wrist joint, can realize moving of horizontal direction.Screw rod vertical drive mechanism makes the mechanical arm can vertical moving wafer casket.But the function of mechanical arm is limited, has limited the application scenario of equipment.Needing the wafer casket to do on the processing procedure of compound action more, just can't realize automatic transmission.Grasping mechanism by cylinder as power.Adopt cylinder to be difficult to motion process is controlled accurately, also will increase by a cover pneumatic system simultaneously as dynamical element.The detent mechanism that is installed in the actuator lower surface adopts one group of four locating piece installing around the center.Form a funnelform structure, can guide wafer casket handle to reach position placed in the middle.But the installation of actuator locating piece can only be applicable to fixing a kind of wafer casket, and along with the development of process apparatus, the form of wafer casket is also more and more various, and this just makes the automatic transmission of wafer be restricted.
Disclose a kind of wafer transfer device (Transfer apparatus for wafers) in the United States Patent (USP) 5975825, it contains the linear microscope carrier that a liftable moves, and linear microscope carrier carries a mechanical arm.This mechanical arm comprises two and stretches one's arm (placing wafer casket both sides) and a mask device (being used to prop up the wafer edge).Mask device contains two mouth limits of being made by elastomeric material, and it can be against on the crystal round fringes.But there are some shortcomings in this kind wafer transfer device, shows in the following areas:
1, the complex structure of mechanical arm, the field of employment of two equipment that limited that stretch one's arm.
2, the mechanical arm required revolution space that rotates is bigger, and in the mechanical arm rotation, linear microscope carrier must cooperate lifting, and guarantees the level run stability of wafer cassette in cooperation, so that each parts collocation action accuracy is accurate.Therefore, this device not only takes up room bigger, and the equipment cost of input is also higher, and is subjected to the restriction of its structure, can't be applicable to the processing procedure of doing complicated action at small space.
3, the function singleness of mechanical arm limits its application scenario.Needing the wafer casket to do on the particular process sequence equipment of compound action more, just can't realize automatic transmission.
4, the setting of actuator locating piece can only be applicable to fixing a kind of wafer casket, can't adapt to the automatic transmission of the wafer casket of the pairing different shape of diversified process apparatus.
Patent announcement number be CN2327664Y's " with the wafer conveyer at standard mechanical interface ", adopted to make the jaw lifting, be used to utilize times jaw swing mechanism that the stroke design is transported to the wafer cassette on the jaw jaw horizontal mobile mechanism of fixed point and is used for wafer is playbacked in box to the jaw vertical lifting mechanism of fixed point with the grasping silicon wafer box.Wherein the jaw vertical lifting mechanism rises in the side of wafer cassette and drives jaw horizontal mobile mechanism and jaw swing mechanism associated movement, taken inner very big space, cause equipment volume big, the design feature of this wafer conveyer simultaneously limits the occasion of its application.
Korean Patent Publication No. be 100594371B1's " a kind of loading attachment (A loader havingfunction for carrying out cassette) that can transport the wafer casket ", adopt a kind of vertical axis link unit to rise and drive the mechanism that jaw moves horizontally two bases of grasping silicon wafer box side in the side of wafer cassette.But owing to still adopt inner grasping mechanism, cause equipment volume bigger than normal, and the function of mechanical arm is limited, can't realizes handling the wafer casket and do more complicated action.
Because the diversity and the particularity of process apparatus, existing wafer load equipment is difficult to comprehensively meet the demands.From the document of announcing, find that also the same equipment of employing can be when unloading the SMIF wafer cassette automatically, can be automatically just wherein wafer be transported to the required ad-hoc location of next processing procedure, promptly realize the arbitrarily lifting of the wafer casket of rotation, the front and back translation, can realize the oppositely storing of wafer casket 180 degree again, and after machining, again regain the automatic conveying device of wafer casket, as seen existing wafer transfer device can't reach at it and be written into, in the process that carries, can satisfy process apparatus for the requirement of wafer on multiple locus, can reach again and in the process apparatus small space, make the more purpose of compound action, therefore, existing wafer transfer device is further improved.
Summary of the invention
The purpose of this invention is to provide a kind of rotary-type automatic conveying device for silicon wafer, its isolation technology in inheriting SMIF of the prior art provides the advantage of clean microenvironment, can also overcome it effectively and be subjected to structural limitations, can't be applicable at the small space of process apparatus and make shortcomings such as complicated action, this apparatus structure is reasonable in design, between processing procedure, transmit and operate steadily, move more flexibility and reliability, expanded the scope of application, can not only realize the arbitrarily lifting of the wafer casket of rotation, the front and back translation, can realize the oppositely storing of wafer casket 180 degree again, make it to adapt to and in the process apparatus small space, make more compound action, and pliability stops when running into extraneous the interference, reaches the laser propagation effect of accurate control.
The technical solution adopted in the present invention is: this rotary-type automatic conveying device for silicon wafer comprises frame, be fixed on the material loading platform on the frame, be assembled in the wind box that has button pawl mechanism of making lifting moving on the frame and do lifting, stretch the arm mechanism that has grasping mechanism that moves, its technical essential is: the grasping mechanism of described arm mechanism is fixed on the lower arms rotating shaft, described lower arms rotating shaft is fixed on the big belt wheel, described big belt wheel and the stepper motor driven small pulley that connects by the rotation driving-belt are assembled in the lower arms holder, the fixed head of described grasping mechanism is connected on the described lower arms rotating shaft, and utilize big, the transmission mechanism that small pulley is formed drives described lower arms rotating shaft and rotates, drive described grasping mechanism fixed head around rotational, the extracting motor that is arranged on described grasping mechanism moves back and forth by the extracting slide rail of worm and gear driving extracting connecting rod drive jaw along described grasping mechanism fixed head, and the detent mechanism on the described grasping mechanism is provided with adjustable locating piece.
Driving described arm mechanism makes lifting, the arm lifting motor that stretch to move and stretching hand with arm motor and is separately fixed on the described frame and is fixed on the arm elevation base plate of sliding along the single slide rail of the arm lifting of frame, described arm lifting motor drives the arm lifting nut that is fixed on the arm elevation base plate by the 3rd driving-belt and arm lifting screw and moves back and forth along screw axial, make arm mechanism along with frame vertically do elevating movement.
Described stretching hand with arm motor via reducer structure, second driving-belt drive the arm power transmission shaft that is fixed on the last arm and rotate, described arm power transmission shaft drives the thorny arm fixed axis swing of described last arm, swing around described last arm by the last arm rotating shaft under the drive of the inner driving-belt of last arm by the lower arms that last arm rotating shaft and described last arm are hinged, make the arm mechanism edge make stretching routine with the frame vertical direction.
Described wind box is assembled on the wind box holder that has the wind box lifting nut, the wind box lifting motor that is fixed on the frame moves back and forth along screw axial by first driving-belt and wind box lifting screw driving wind box lifting nut, drives the wind box lifting single slide rail upper and lower slip of wind box holder along frame.
The button pawl motor of the button pawl mechanism of described wind box is hinged with button pawl pull bar one end by the pull bar bearing pin of assembling on it, the button pawl pull bar other end is hinged with the crank of button pawl axle head, the button pawl axle other end is fixed with the button pawl, crank on the motor-driven button pawl axle drives button pawl opening and closing around rotational.
Advantage and good effect that the present invention has are: because the present invention improves design on having the architecture basics of sending the transmission equipment in the wafer method now, so its isolation technology in inheriting SMIF of the prior art provides the advantage of clean microenvironment, can also overcome it effectively and be subjected to structural limitations, can't be applicable at the small space of processing procedure and make shortcomings such as complicated action.The grasping mechanism of the arm mechanism of this device is fixed on the lower arms rotating shaft, utilize big, the transmission mechanism that small pulley is formed drives grasping mechanism around rotational, and make grasping mechanism adopt grasp motor to drive the version that grasps connecting rod by worm and gear and substitute pneumatic system in the existing grasping mechanism and drive jaw and move, guarantee that the wafer casket after jaw clamps can not come off, so its structural design is more reasonable, the transmission operation is not only steady between processing procedure, and can realize the arbitrarily lifting of the wafer casket of rotation of 360 degree according to actual needs, the front and back translation, oppositely put to realize wafer casket 180 degree, move more flexibility and reliability, expanded the scope of application to different process apparatus, make it to satisfy process apparatus for the requirement of wafer on multiple locus, can adapt to again and in the process apparatus small space, make more compound action, and pliability stops when running into extraneous the interference, reaches the laser propagation effect of accurate control.
Description of drawings
Below in conjunction with accompanying drawing the present invention is further described.
Fig. 1 is a kind of concrete structure schematic diagram of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is the right view of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is the cutaway view of the arm mechanism among Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a kind of structural representation of the arm mechanism extended configuration among Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is the vertical view of Fig. 4.
Fig. 6 is the transmission mechanism schematic diagram that the interior large and small belt wheel of the lower arms holder among Fig. 3 is formed.
Fig. 7 is a kind of structural representation of the grasping mechanism among Fig. 3.
Fig. 8 is a kind of structural representation of the detent mechanism among Fig. 3.
Fig. 9 is a kind of structural representation of the button pawl mechanism among Fig. 2.
Sequence number explanation among the figure: 1 frame, 2 wind box lifting motors, 3 first driving-belts, 4 wind box holders, 5 wind box lifting nuts, 6 wind box lifting screws, the single slide rail of 7 wind box liftings, the single slide rail of 8 arm liftings, 9 second driving-belts, 10 reducing gears, 11 stretching hand with arm motors, 12 arm elevation base plate, 13 arm lifting screws, 14 the 3rd driving-belts, 15 arm lifting motors, 16 arm lifting nuts, 17 arm holders, 18 arm power transmission shafts, 19 arm mechanisms, 20 button pawl mechanisms, 21 material loading platforms, 22 wind box, 23 detent mechanisms, 24 grasping mechanisms, 25 lower arms, 26 last arm rotating shafts, 27 lower arms rotating shafts, 28 last arms, 29 arm fixed axis, 30 lower arms holders, 31 small pulleys, 32 rotation driving-belts, 33 big belt wheels, 34 jaws, 35 grasp motor, 36 grasp slide rail, 37 grasp connecting rod, 38 shaft couplings, 39 pitman pins, 40 worm screws, 41 worm gears, 42 grasping mechanism fixed heads, 43 adjustable locating pieces, 44 grasp fixed head, 45 stationary positioned pieces, 46 button pawl motors, 47 pull bar bearing pins, 48 button pawl pull bars, 49 holders, 50 button pawl axles, 51 button pawls.
Embodiment
Describe concrete structure of the present invention in detail according to Fig. 1~9.This rotary-type automatic conveying device for silicon wafer and redesigns according to the defective that exists in the prior art on the basis of inheriting United States Patent (USP) 6086323 patented technology advantages such as " a kind of methods of sending wafer for the IC processing procedure ".It comprises frame 1, is fixed on the material loading platform 21 on the frame 1, is assembled in the wind box 22 that has button pawl mechanism 20 of making lifting moving on the frame 1 and makes lifting, the mobile parts such as the arm mechanism that has grasping mechanism 24 19 of stretching, extension.Wherein wind box 22 is integrated air filtering systems, and clean microenvironment can be provided.Method in its operation principle and the above-mentioned United States Patent (USP) technology is basic identical, does not repeat them here.
As shown in Figure 1, 2, wind box 22 is assembled on the wind box holder 4 that has wind box lifting nut 5, be fixed on wind box lifting motor 2 on the frame 1 and drive wind box lifting nut 5 by first driving-belt 3 and wind box lifting screw 6 and move back and forth, drive wind box holder 4 along the single slide rail 7 upper and lower slips of the wind box lifting of frame 1 along screw axial.Adopt the single slide rail 7 of wind box lifting to compare, can simplify drive mechanism, not only install easily, and be convenient to adjust when safeguarding with wind box lifting double sided slider bar of the prior art.
As shown in Figure 9, the button pawl mechanism 20 of wind box 22 is made up of button pawl motor 46, pull bar bearing pin 47, button pawl pull bar 48, holder 49, button pawl axle 50, button pawl 51 etc.Button pawl mechanism 20 adopts 46 transmissions of button pawl motor, no longer adopts the cylinder transmission of pneumatic system, and this had both solved its problem that can't accurately control motion process, also saves a cover pneumatic system simultaneously.Detain pawl mechanism 20 and adopt button pawl motors 46 and hinged with an end of button pawl pull bar 48 by the pull bar bearing pin of assembling on it 47, button pawl pull bar 48 other ends are hinged with the crank of button pawl axle 50 1 ends, and button pawl axle 50 other ends that utilize holder 49 to be assembled on the wind box 22 are fixed with button pawl 51.Button pawl motor 46 drives crank on the button pawl axle 50 around rotational by pull bar bearing pin 47 and button pawl pull bar 48, drives button pawl 51 opening and closing.Power is done by button pawl motor 46 by button pawl mechanism 20, has strengthened mechanism stability and controllability.
Shown in Fig. 3,4,5, arm mechanism 19 is made up of detent mechanism 23, grasping mechanism 24, lower arms 25, last arm rotating shaft 26, lower arms rotating shaft 27, last arm 28, arm power transmission shaft 18, arm fixed axis 29 etc.
As shown in Figure 6, be assembled with the transmission mechanism of small pulley 31 driven by stepper motors, rotation driving-belt 32, big belt wheel 33 compositions in the lower arms holder 30 of lower arms 25.
As shown in Figure 7, grasping mechanism 24 is made up of jaw 34, extracting motor 35, extracting slide rail 36, extracting connecting rod 37, shaft coupling 38, pitman pin 39, worm screw 40, worm gear 41, grasping mechanism fixed head 42 etc.
As shown in Figure 8, detent mechanism 23 is made up of adjustable locating piece 43, extracting fixed head 44, stationary positioned piece 45 etc.
Wherein the grasping mechanism 24 of arm mechanism 19 is fixed on the lower arms rotating shaft 27, and lower arms rotating shaft 27 is fixed on the big belt wheel 33, and big belt wheel 33 and the stepper motor driven small pulley 31 that connects by rotation driving-belt 32 are assembled in the lower arms holder 30.Grasping mechanism fixed head 42 is connected on the lower arms rotating shaft 27, and transmission mechanism driving lower arms rotating shaft 27 rotations that utilize large and small belt wheel 33,31 to form, and drives grasping mechanism fixed head 42 around rotational.Compared with prior art, lifting, the front and back translation of the wafer casket of 360 degree rotations can not only be realized according to actual needs, the oppositely storing of wafer casket 180 degree can also be realized, to adapt to the requirement of different process apparatus design features.The extracting motor 35 that is arranged on grasping mechanism 24 drives jaws 34 and moves back and forth along the extracting slide rail 36 that is fixed in grasping mechanism fixed head 42 by worm gear 41, worm screw 40 driving extracting connecting rods 37.Detent mechanism 23 on the grasping mechanism 24 is provided with adjustable locating piece 43.
Driving arm mechanism 19 does lifting, stretches the arm lifting motor 15 that moves and stretching hand with arm motor 11 and be separately fixed on the frame 1 and be fixed on the arm elevation base plate 12 of sliding along the single slide rail 8 of the arm lifting of frame 1.Adopt the single slide rail 8 of arm lifting to compare, can simplify drive mechanism, not only install easily, and be convenient to adjust when safeguarding with arm lifting double sided slider bar of the prior art.Arm lifting motor 15 drives the arm lifting nut that is fixed on the arm elevation base plate 12 16 by the 3rd driving-belt 14 and arm lifting screw 13 and moves back and forth along screw axial, make arm mechanism 19 with the upper and lower slip of arm elevation base plate 12 along with frame 1 vertically do elevating movement.Stretching hand with arm motor 11 drives the arm power transmission shaft 18 that is fixed on the last arm 28 and rotates by reducing gear 10, second driving-belt 9, arm power transmission shaft 18 drives last arm 28 thorny arm fixed axis 29 swings, by the hinged lower arms 25 of last arm rotating shaft 26 and last arm 28 under the drive of last arm 28 inner driving-belts by the last arm rotating shaft around last arm 28 swings (seeing the partial sectional view among Fig. 3), make arm mechanism 19 edges make stretching routine with frame 1 vertical direction.
The course of action of this rotary-type automatic conveying device for silicon wafer is:
It is made up of the action of the parts such as folding of the lifting of arm mechanism 19, the stretching, extension of arm mechanism 19, the rotation of grasping mechanism 24, the lifting of wind box 22, the folding of detaining pawl mechanism 20, grasping mechanism 24.Adopt the special-purpose controller of this device as CPU with utilize exclusive software controlling technique, make routing motion between each parts finish the automatic transmission of wafer.
Wind box lifting motor 2 drives wind box lifting screw 6 and rotates by first driving-belt 3, wind box lifting screw 6; Wind box lifting nut 5 drives wind box 22 and moves up and down along wind box lifting sliding rail 7 along wind box lifting screw 6 upper and lower moving.
Arm lifting motor 15 drives arm lifting screw 13 by the 3rd driving-belt 14 and rotates, arm lifting nut 16 is along arm lifting screw 13 upper and lower moving, drive arm elevation base plate 12 along single slide rail 8 upper and lower the moving of arm lifting, realized the upper and lower mobile of arm mechanism 19.Arm lifting motor 15 is made position feedback by encoder, can realize that the position of rising, descending accurately controls.
Arm mechanism 19 makes it also make stretching routine with frame 1 vertical direction in the edge around grasping mechanism 24 that lower arms rotating shaft 27 rotates under the common swing effect of last arm 28 and lower arms 25, has promptly realized the stretching routine of arm mechanism 19.Stretching hand with arm motor 11 is made position feedback by encoder, can realize the accurate control of extended position.Grasping mechanism 24 is done the forward and reverse 180 random rotations of spending by lower arms rotating shaft 27 around lower arms 25, oppositely puts to realize wafer casket 180 degree, does not need additionally to install additional rotating platform.Small pulley driven by stepper motors 31 is made position feedback by encoder, can realize the accurate control of position of rotation.
The extracting motor 35 of grasping mechanism 24 drives worm screw 40 by shaft joint 38 and worm gear 41 rotates, worm gear 41 promotes to grasp connecting rod 37 by pitman pin 39 and drives jaw 34, under the restriction of grasping slide rail 36, jaw 34 is done straight reciprocating motion along grasping slide rail 36, and just changeing, reversing of control extracting motor 35 can realize the opening and closing of jaw 34.
The detent mechanism 23 that is installed in grasping mechanism 24 lower ends is used for realizing wafer casket location.Adjustable locating piece 43 and stationary positioned piece 45 all have the inner surface of an inclination, can guide the wafer casket to reach position placed in the middle.Adjustable locating piece 43 also has the function that the position is adjusted, and also can make the wafer casket be in suitable position under the discrepant situation of wafer casket external shape by the position of adjusting adjustable locating piece 43.
Button pawl mechanism 20 is used for before promoting wafer cassette wafer cassette being fixed on the wind box 22.When the button pawl motor 46 of button pawl mechanism 20 moved, motor shaft stretched out, and by 48 swings of pull bar bearing pin 47 pulling button pawl pull bars, the swing drive button pawl axle 50 of button pawl pull bar 48 rotates around holder 49.Button pawl 51 rotates along with the rotation of button pawl axle 50, finishes the action that button pawl 51 fastens.Otherwise, the motor shaft withdrawal of button pawl motor 46, button pawl axle 50 rotates in the opposite direction under the pulling of button pawl pull bar 48, promptly drives button pawl 51 and opens, and has so just finished fastening, the opening action of button pawl mechanism 20.
The course of work of this rotary-type wafer automatic conveying device is as follows:
Operating personnel are placed on wafer cassette on the material loading platform 21.Equipment is started working, and the locking mechanism of wafer cassette is opened, 20 actions of button pawl mechanism, and button pawl 51 is fixed on the lid of wafer cassette on the wind box 22.Wind box 22 rises to the top, drives the wafer lid and mentions from the wafer casket.This moment, the wafer casket was in the microenvironment of wind box 22.
Arm mechanism 19 drops to wafer casket top, and detent mechanism 23 navigates to middle position with the wafer casket, grasping mechanism 24 actions, and jaw 34 is clamped the wafer casket; Arm mechanism 19 rises, and the wafer casket is mentioned from material loading platform 21.
Arm mechanism 19 stretches, and the wafer casket is sent above the Working position of process apparatus; Arm mechanism 19 descends, and the wafer casket is placed on Working position.Meanwhile, 180 degree are oppositely put if process apparatus needs the wafer casket, and arm mechanism 19 can make grasping mechanism 24 sway in the process of transporting the wafer casket, and the wafer casket is done 180 rotations of spending, and is placed on Working position then.
After the process operation of wafer was finished, equipment was carried out opposite flow process, the wafer casket is reinstalled in the wafer cassette of equipment, so that the operator takes away.