CN111430264A - Semiconductor processing equipment and control method for loading wafer box thereof - Google Patents
Semiconductor processing equipment and control method for loading wafer box thereof Download PDFInfo
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- CN111430264A CN111430264A CN201910759596.6A CN201910759596A CN111430264A CN 111430264 A CN111430264 A CN 111430264A CN 201910759596 A CN201910759596 A CN 201910759596A CN 111430264 A CN111430264 A CN 111430264A
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- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 69
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 52
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 40
- 230000010365 information processing Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 88
- 230000005484 gravity Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 44
- 230000003321 amplification Effects 0.000 claims description 19
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- 230000003213 activating effect Effects 0.000 claims 1
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- 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
- H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
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- 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
- H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/67242—Apparatus for monitoring, sorting or marking
Abstract
The invention provides a semiconductor processing device and a control method for loading a wafer box; the gravity sensing device is used for acquiring first information of the wafer box corresponding to the first weight at the initial time and second information of the wafer box corresponding to the second weight at the preset time, the information processing module is used for controlling the driving assembly through judging the weight change of the second information relative to the first information so as to further indicate whether the locking device locks the wafer box, namely, whether the wafer box is locked through judging whether the wafer box has wafer loss or not, so that the downloaded wafer box is a complete wafer box without the missing wafer, and the problem that the wafer box without the missing wafer is downloaded by mistake is avoided.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductors, in particular to semiconductor processing equipment and a control method for loading a wafer box of the semiconductor processing equipment.
Background
At present, when a semiconductor processing device is used to process wafers, a wafer cassette loaded with wafers is usually placed on a loading platform, and the wafers are continuously output from the wafer cassette to the processing device for processing, and after all the wafers in the wafer cassette are processed and returned to the wafer cassette, the wafer cassette can be downloaded from the loading platform to be removed from the wafer cassette.
However, in the process of processing the wafer by the semiconductor processing equipment, a fault of the processing equipment may occur to cause a shutdown, so that a part of the wafer in the wafer box is left in the processing equipment, and at this time, if the wafer box is removed, the wafer left in the processing equipment cannot return to the wafer box, so that the left wafer has a problem of being processed by mistake, and even the wafer left can cause a pollution phenomenon to different subsequently processed wafers.
Therefore, it is important to ensure that the removed wafer cassette is a complete wafer cassette without missing wafers.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide a semiconductor processing device, which solves the problem that the existing semiconductor processing device can not effectively prevent a wafer box with a missing wafer from being removed by mistake.
To solve the above technical problem, the present invention provides a semiconductor processing apparatus, comprising:
at least one loading platform for loading the wafer cassette;
the locking device is arranged on the loading platform and used for locking the wafer box placed on the loading platform;
the driving assembly is used for driving the locking device to execute locking operation or unlocking operation;
the gravity sensing device is used for sensing the weight of the wafer box placed on the loading platform;
and the information processing module is connected with the gravity sensing device so as to at least receive first information that the initial time of placing the wafer box on the loading platform corresponds to a first weight and second information that the wafer box corresponds to a second weight in preset time, judge whether the difference value between the first information and the second information is less than an allowable error value, and further control the driving assembly to drive the locking device to execute unlocking operation or maintain a locking state according to the judgment result.
Optionally, the locking device includes a locking hook, a locking buckle or an electromagnetic lock.
Optionally, the first information and the second information are weight values or voltage values.
Optionally, the weight value corresponding to the allowable error value is smaller than the weight value of the wafer.
Optionally, the latch hook is disposed on the loading platform, and when a wafer cassette is placed on the loading platform, the latch hook is located below the wafer cassette.
Optionally, the gravity sensing device includes at least two pressure sensors, and when the wafer cassette is placed on the loading platform, the at least two pressure sensors are located below the wafer cassette and symmetrically arranged with respect to a center line of the wafer cassette.
Optionally, the gravity sensing device is further configured to convert the weight value of the wafer cassette into a corresponding voltage value, where the voltage value constitutes the first information or the second information of the wafer cassette and is sent to the information processing module.
Optionally, a switch module is further disposed between the information processing module and the driving assembly, and the switch module receives the opening indication information or the closing indication information sent by the information processing module, and further controls the driving assembly to drive the locking device to perform an unlocking operation or maintain a locking state.
Optionally, the semiconductor processing apparatus further includes a differential amplification module and an a/D conversion module, the differential amplification module is disposed between the gravity sensing device and the information processing module, and the a/D conversion module is disposed between the differential amplification module and the information processing module.
Optionally, the predetermined time is: any time after uploading the pod until downloading the pod.
Optionally, the semiconductor processing equipment further comprises an uploading sensor and a downloading sensor, and both the uploading sensor and the downloading sensor are in communication connection with the information processing module.
Based on the semiconductor processing equipment, the invention provides a control method for loading a wafer cassette by using the semiconductor processing equipment, which comprises the following steps:
uploading a wafer box to a loading table, acquiring first information of the wafer box placed on the loading table, which corresponds to a first weight at an initial time, by using a gravity sensing device, and sending the first information to an information processing module, wherein the information processing module controls a driving assembly to drive a locking device to execute locking operation so as to lock the wafer box;
acquiring second information of the wafer box corresponding to a second weight in preset time by using the gravity sensing device, and sending the second information to the information processing module; and the number of the first and second groups,
determining whether a difference between the first information and the second information is less than an allowable error value using the information processing module; if yes, the information processing module controls the driving assembly to drive the locking device to execute unlocking operation, and the wafer box is downloaded; if not, the information processing module controls the driving assembly to drive the locking device to maintain the locking state.
Optionally, the method for acquiring first information corresponding to the first weight and second information corresponding to the second weight of the wafer cassette by the gravity sensing device includes:
the gravity sensing device senses the weight of the wafer box to obtain the weight value of the wafer box and converts the weight value of the wafer box into a corresponding voltage value, and the voltage value forms first information or second information of the wafer box.
Optionally, the method for sending the first information and the second information acquired by the gravity sensing device to the information processing module includes:
the gravity sensing device sends first information and second information to a differential amplification module, and the differential amplification module amplifies the first information and the second information;
sending the amplified signal to an A/D conversion module, wherein the A/D conversion module converts an analog signal into a digital signal; and the number of the first and second groups,
and the A/D conversion module sends the converted digital signal to the information processing module.
Optionally, before the loading the wafer cassette to the loading platform, the method further includes: starting an uploading sensor; the uploading inductor indicates the information processing module to receive signals, and the information processing module receives the first information; before downloading the wafer box, the method also comprises starting a downloading inductor, wherein the downloading inductor indicates the information processing module to receive signals, and the information processing module receives the second information.
In the semiconductor processing equipment provided by the invention, the gravity sensing device is used for acquiring first information of the wafer box corresponding to the first weight at the initial time and second information of the wafer box corresponding to the second weight at the preset time, and the first information and the second information are both sent to the information processing module, so that the information processing module is used for comparing the second information with the first information, and the driving assembly is controlled according to the comparison result, so that the driving assembly can further drive the locking device to lock the wafer box. Equivalently, judging whether the wafer box has the problem of wafer loss or not by comparing the weight change of the wafer box in the preset time relative to the initial time, and if the problem of wafer loss does not exist, driving the locking device to unlock the wafer box so as to enable the wafer box to be downloaded; if the wafer is missing, the locking device is driven to lock the wafer box so as to prevent the wafer box with the missing wafer from being downloaded by mistake. Thus, the downloaded wafer box can be ensured to be a complete wafer box without missing wafers.
Particularly, in the case that the semiconductor processing equipment is stopped due to a fault, since a part of wafers in the wafer box are left in the processing equipment, the current weight and the initial weight of the wafer box have a large difference, and the wafer box can be locked by the locking device. Therefore, when an operator handles a processing device with a fault, the wafer box is locked, so that the phenomenon that the wafer box with the missing wafer is mistakenly moved away is effectively avoided, the problem that the wafer left in the processing device is mistakenly processed is further solved, and meanwhile, the phenomenon that the subsequently processed wafer is polluted can also be avoided.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method for controlling loading of a wafer cassette in a semiconductor processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the connection of some of the modules of the semiconductor processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 4a to 4e are partial circuit schematic diagrams of a semiconductor structure device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Wherein the reference numbers are as follows:
100-a loading platform;
100A-wafer box;
200-a locking device;
300-a gravity sensing device;
300A/300B-pressure sensor;
400-an information processing module;
500-a process chamber;
600-a switch module;
700-a drive assembly;
800-electromagnetic valve;
900-differential amplification module.
Detailed Description
The semiconductor processing equipment and the control method for loading the wafer cassette thereof according to the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. The advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description. It is to be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and are not to precise scale, which is merely for the purpose of facilitating and distinctly claiming the embodiments of the present invention.
Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 1, the semiconductor processing apparatus includes:
at least one loading platform 100 for loading a wafer cassette 100A; wherein, the wafer cassette 100A is loaded with a plurality of wafers;
a locking device 200 provided on the loading table 100 for locking the wafer cassette 100A placed on the loading table 100;
a driving assembly 700 for driving the locking device 200 to perform a locking operation or an unlocking operation; wherein the driving assembly 700 is, for example, a cylinder;
a gravity sensing device 300 for sensing the weight of the wafer cassette 100A placed on the loading table 100; and the number of the first and second groups,
an information processing module 400 connected to the gravity sensing device 300 at least receives first information (corresponding to a first weight value G1) corresponding to a first weight at an initial time when the wafer cassette 100A is placed on the loading table 100 and second information (corresponding to a second weight value G2) corresponding to a second weight at a predetermined time of the wafer cassette 100A, and determines whether a difference between the first information and the second information is smaller than an allowable error value △ X (corresponding to an allowable weight error value Gx), so as to control the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to perform an unlocking operation or maintain a locked state according to a determination result.
It should be noted that the "first information corresponding to the first weight and the second information corresponding to the second weight" described herein may be any information capable of representing the weight of the wafer cassette. For example, the first and second information may be directly weight values; alternatively, a voltage value corresponding to the weight value may be used.
Specifically, the weight value corresponding to the tolerable error value △ X is smaller than the weight value G of a single waferWThe allowable error value △ X corresponds to a weight value, which includes, for example, a measurement error value of the gravity sensing apparatus 300 and a weight variation value of the wafer processed from an initial time to a predetermined time.
The information processing module 400 controls the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to execute an unlocking operation or maintain a locking state according to the determination result, which specifically includes:
if the difference between the first information and the second information is less than the tolerable error value △ X, the information processing module 400 is configured to control the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to perform an unlocking operation, wherein if G2-G1 | < Gx means that the number of wafers in the wafer cassette 100A at the predetermined time is the same as the number of wafers at the initial time, the wafer cassette 100A may be unlocked and the wafer cassette 100A may be further downloaded.
If the weight difference between the first information and the second information is not less than the allowable error value △ X (i.e., the weight difference between the first information and the second information is greater than or equal to the allowable error value △ X), the information processing module 400 is further configured to control the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to perform a locking operation (i.e., maintain the reduction device 200 in a locked state) to lock the wafer cassette 100A. it can be considered that, when | G2-G1 ≧ Gx, it means that the wafer number of the wafer cassette 100A in a predetermined time is different from the wafer number in an initial time, at this time, the locking device 200 is maintained in a locked state to lock the wafer cassette 100A, so as to prevent the wafer cassette with a current wafer number different from the initial wafer number from being moved away from the loading table 100.
Specifically, for the weight difference between the first weight value G1 and the second weight value G2 not less than the allowable weight error value Gx (i.e., -G2-G1 ≧ Gx), it may be: the difference between the second weight value G2 and the first weight value G1 exceeds the allowable weight error value Gx (i.e., G1-G2 > Gx), i.e., the number of wafers in the wafer cassette at the predetermined time is less than the number of wafers at the initial time. At this time, if the pod is downloaded, the wafer in the pod 100A is inevitably lost, and based on this, in this embodiment, the pod 100A is locked to prevent the pod 100A with the lost wafer from being removed from the loading table 100.
It should be noted that the "predetermined time" in the present embodiment may be understood as: any time after uploading the cassette 100A until downloading the cassette 100A.
For example, the predetermined time is: the time before the wafer cassette 100A placed on the loading table 100 is unloaded without outputting a wafer any more. That is, before the wafer cassette 100A needs to be downloaded, the current weight of the wafer cassette 100A is acquired and determined. Or, the predetermined time is: after uploading the pod 100A, the real time before the pod 100A is downloaded. That is, after the wafer cassette 100A is loaded and before the wafer cassette 100A is downloaded, the weight information of the wafer cassette 100A is acquired in real time and is determined.
With continued reference to fig. 1, the semiconductor processing apparatus further includes a process chamber 500. The process of processing the wafer by using the semiconductor processing equipment comprises the following steps:
first, a wafer cassette 100A loaded with wafers is loaded on the loading table 100;
then, the wafers in the wafer box 100A are sequentially transferred to the process chamber 500 to process each wafer, and the processed wafers are transferred back to the wafer box 100A;
then, after all the wafers in the pod 100A are processed, the pod 100A may be downloaded from the loading station 100.
When the semiconductor processing equipment does not work normally due to abnormality, all wafers in the wafer box 100A are sequentially transferred to the process chamber 500, and after the processing is completed, the wafers are sequentially transferred back to the wafer box 100A from the process chamber 500. Therefore, after the processing of all the wafers in the wafer cassette 100A is completed, the number of the current wafers in the wafer cassette 100A is the same as the initial number of wafers at the initial time.
Based on this, the predetermined time may be further understood as: any time after the last wafer is output from the cassette 100A placed on the loading table 100 and before the cassette 100A is downloaded; alternatively, the wafer cassette 100A is loaded to perform the processing to the real time of the completion of the processing.
It should be noted that, during the wafer processing process, the wafers in the wafer box 100A are continuously output to the process chamber 500 and continuously transferred back to the wafer box 100A from the process chamber 500, so that during the wafer processing process, the number of the wafers in the wafer box 100A is always less than the number of the wafers in the initial time, and accordingly, the weight of the wafer box 100A is always less than the initial weight, and further, the locking device 200 also locks the wafer box 100A.
In addition, when the semiconductor processing equipment is abnormal during the processing process and the equipment is stopped, there may be a case where some wafers in the wafer box 100A are transferred to the process chamber 500 and stay in the process chamber 500 without being transferred back to the wafer box 100A, and at this time, the current number of wafers in the wafer box 100A is less than the initial number of wafers in the initial time. Furthermore, the information processing module 400 is used for controlling the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to lock the wafer cassette 100A, so as to prevent the wafer cassette 100A with the missing wafer from being removed.
Based on this, the predetermined time can be understood as: real time after uploading the wafer cassette 100A to equipment down time.
In the present embodiment, the gravity sensing device 300 is used to obtain the weight change of the wafer cassette 100A, so as to determine whether the wafer cassette 100A has a missing wafer phenomenon. The gravity sensing device 300 includes, for example, a pressure sensor, which is located below the wafer cassette 100A when the wafer cassette 100A is placed on the loading table 100, and is used for sensing the weight of the wafer cassette 100A.
In an optional scheme, the gravity sensing device 300 includes at least two pressure sensors, and the at least two pressure sensors may be connected in parallel, so as to use an average value detected by the at least two pressure sensors as the weight information of the wafer cassette 100A, and improve the detection accuracy of the weight of the wafer cassette 100A.
Specifically, when the wafer cassette 100A is placed on the loading platform 100, the at least two pressure sensors may be uniformly distributed below the wafer cassette 100A, so as to further improve the detection accuracy of the gravity sensing device 200. For example, two pressure sensors, a pressure sensor 300A and a pressure sensor 300B, are schematically shown in fig. 1, and the pressure sensors 300A and 300B are symmetrically disposed with respect to the center line of the wafer cassette 100A.
Of course, in other embodiments, the gravity sensing device 300 may include three or more pressure sensors, which may also be symmetrically disposed with respect to the center line of the wafer cassette 100A.
In a specific embodiment, the gravity sensing device 300 detects the weight of the wafer box 100A by using a plurality of pressure sensors, and the gravity sensing device 300 may further convert the weight value of the wafer box 100A into a corresponding voltage value. It is considered that the voltage value reflects the weight of the wafer cassette 100A, and thus the voltage value may constitute the first information or the second information of the wafer cassette and may be transmitted to the information processing module 400.
That is, the information processing module 400 can sequentially obtain the first voltage value U1 (corresponding to the first information) of the wafer cassette at the initial time and the second voltage value U2 (corresponding to the second information) at the predetermined time, and compare the first voltage value U1 with the second voltage value U2 to determine whether the voltage difference between the first voltage value U1 and the second voltage value U2 is smaller than the allowable voltage error value Ux (corresponding to the allowable error value △ X), so as to further control the driving assembly 700 and drive the locking device 200 to perform the corresponding operation.
In this embodiment, a differential amplification module (not shown in fig. 1) is further disposed between the gravity sensing device 300 and the information processing module 400, so as to amplify the first information and the second information by using the differential amplification module. Specifically, the differential amplification module is used to amplify the voltage value sent by the gravity sensing device 300, and further transmit the amplified voltage value to the information processing module 400.
In addition, when the information processing module 400 includes a single chip, for example, an a/D conversion module (not shown in fig. 1) may be further disposed between the information processing module 400 and the differential amplification module to convert an analog signal and a digital signal. That is, in this embodiment, the differential amplification module sends the amplified signal to the a/D conversion module, the a/D conversion module converts the analog signal into a digital signal, and then sends the converted digital signal to the information processing module 400.
Referring to fig. 1, in this embodiment, a switch module 600 is further disposed between the information processing module 400 and the locking device 200, and the information processing module 400 is connected to the switch module 600 and can control the opening or closing of the switch module 600 (specifically, the switch module 600 can receive the opening indication information or the closing indication information sent by the information processing module 400, and the switch module 600 can further be correspondingly opened or closed according to the opening indication information or the closing indication information), so as to control the driving component 700 to drive the locking device 200 to perform an unlocking operation or maintain a locking state.
In this embodiment, when the absolute difference between the second voltage value U2 and the first voltage value U1 is smaller than the allowable voltage error value Ux (i.e., | U2-U1 | < Ux), the information processing module 400 may generate an off indication message to turn off the switch module 600, so as to control the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to unlock the wafer cassette 100A; and when the difference between the second voltage value U2 and the first voltage value U1 is not less than the tolerable voltage error value Ux (i.e., -U2-U1 | > Ux), the information processing module 400 may generate an on indication message to keep the switch module 600 on, thereby controlling the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to lock the wafer cassette 100A.
Of course, in other embodiments, it may also be: when the information processing module 400 generates the opening instruction information to open the switch module 600, the driving assembly 700 is controlled to drive the locking device 200 to perform an unlocking operation to unlock the wafer cassette 100A; and when the information processing module 400 generates the closing instruction information to close the switch module 60, controlling the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to perform the locking operation to lock the wafer cassette 100A.
In a specific embodiment, the switch module 600 includes, for example, a transistor driving circuit, and the information processing module 400 controls the transistor driving circuit to be turned on or off by applying level signals with different levels to the switch module 600. Specifically, according to the conductivity type of the triode drive circuit, a high level signal or a low level signal is correspondingly selected to form turn-on indication information, and similarly, according to the conductivity type of the triode drive circuit, a low level signal or a high level signal is correspondingly selected to form turn-off indication information.
For example, when the difference between the second voltage value U2 and the first voltage value U1 is not less than the tolerable voltage error value Ux (i.e., U2-U1 ≧ Ux), the information processing module 400 may output a high level to control the transistor driving circuit to turn on; and when the absolute difference between the second voltage value U2 and the first voltage value U1 is smaller than the tolerable voltage error value Ux (i.e., -U2-U1 | < Ux), the information processing module 400 outputs a low level to control the transistor driving circuit to turn off. It should be appreciated that the high level and the low level correspond to the on indication information and the off indication information, respectively, at this time.
With continued reference to fig. 1, the locking device 200 includes, for example, a latch hook for hooking the wafer cassette 100A to prevent the wafer cassette 100A from being lifted off. In this embodiment, the latch hook is disposed on the loading table 100, and when the wafer cassette 100A is placed on the loading table 100, the latch hook is located below the wafer cassette 100A to latch the wafer cassette 100A from below the wafer cassette 100A.
Of course, in other embodiments, the locking device 200 may also include a latch or an electromagnetic lock, etc., as long as it can lock the wafer pod 100A.
With continued reference to fig. 1, the semiconductor processing apparatus further includes a solenoid valve 800, wherein the solenoid valve 800 is used to control whether the driving assembly 700 needs to drive the locking device 200.
In this embodiment, when the information processing module 400 sends the opening indication information to the switch module 600, the switch module 600 further controls the electromagnetic valve 800 to open, so that the driving assembly 700 drives the locking device 200 to perform the locking operation. On the contrary, when the information processing module 400 sends the closing indication information to the switch module 600, the switch module 600 is closed, the electromagnetic valve 800 is correspondingly closed, and the driving assembly 700 does not drive the locking device 200 to perform the locking operation.
Fig. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method for controlling a wafer cassette loaded in a semiconductor processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the method for controlling a wafer cassette loaded in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to fig. 2.
First, the wafer cassette 100A is uploaded to the loading platform 100, and first information of the wafer cassette 100A corresponding to a first weight at an initial time is obtained. After the wafer cassette 100A is uploaded onto the loading platform 100, the information processing module 400 may control the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to perform a locking operation to lock the wafer cassette 100A.
Specifically, the gravity sensing device 300 is used to obtain a first weight value G1 of the wafer cassette 100A. And, the gravity sensing device 300 may further convert the first weight value G1 into a first voltage value U1, where the first voltage value U1 is the first information constituting the wafer cassette and is sent to the information processing module 400.
And step two, acquiring second information of the wafer box 100A corresponding to a second weight at a preset time.
Similarly, the gravity sensing device 300 is used to obtain the second weight value G2 of the wafer cassette 100A. And, the gravity sensing device 300 may further convert the second weight value G2 into a second voltage value U2, where the second voltage value U2 is second information constituting a wafer cassette, and send the second information to the information processing module 400.
Thirdly, the information processing module 400 determines whether the difference between the first information and the second information is smaller than an allowable error value, and controls the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to perform corresponding operations according to the determination result.
Specifically, the information processing module 400 is utilized to determine whether the difference between the second voltage value U2 and the first voltage value U1 is smaller than the allowable voltage error value Ux.
If yes, the information processing module 400 controls the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to perform an unlocking operation to download the wafer cassette 100A; if not, the information processing module 400 controls the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to maintain a locking state, so as to lock the wafer cassette 100A.
As described above, the predetermined time may be: any time after uploading the cassette and before downloading the cassette. For example, taking the predetermined time as the real-time as an example, the gravity sensing device 300 obtains the weight information of the wafer cassette 100A in real time, and the information processing module 400 determines the weight change of the wafer cassette 100A in real time, so as to control whether the locking device 200 locks the wafer cassette 100A in real time. That is, step two and step three may be performed in a loop.
It should be noted that, when the semiconductor processing equipment normally processes the wafers in the wafer box 100A, the locking device 200 may always lock the wafer box 100A because the wafers in the wafer box 100A are continuously transferred into the process chamber 500, and the weight of the wafer box 100A is always less than the initial weight and exceeds the allowable error value.
Based on this, when the semiconductor processing equipment is stopped due to a failure, since a portion of the wafers in the wafer cassette 100A is still left in the process chamber 500, the weight of the wafer cassette 100A is correspondingly less than the initial weight and exceeds a tolerable error value, so that the locking device 200 can lock the wafer cassette 100A. In this way, when a worker needs to handle a malfunctioning processing facility, the wafer cassette 100A with a missing wafer is not erroneously removed.
Therefore, based on the semiconductor processing equipment and the control method for loading the wafer box, the wafer box with the missing wafers can be effectively prevented from being mistakenly moved away, and further the wafers in the wafer box are prevented from being missing. It can also be understood that, based on the semiconductor processing equipment provided by the invention, the semiconductor processing equipment can be prevented from leaving wafers in the equipment after the semiconductor processing equipment stops processing. Therefore, the wafer left in the semiconductor processing equipment can be prevented from being operated by mistake; and moreover, the problem that the different wafers processed subsequently are polluted by the left wafers can be prevented.
In addition, in other embodiments, the semiconductor processing apparatus may further include an upload sensor S1 and a download sensor S2, and the upload sensor S1 and the download sensor S2 are both communicatively connected to the information processing module 400 to interact with the information processing module 400.
When the wafer cassette needs to be uploaded to the loading platform, the uploading sensor S1 is started before the wafer cassette is uploaded to the loading platform; and when a wafer cassette needs to be downloaded from the loading station, starting the download sensor S2 before downloading the wafer cassette.
For example, when it is required to upload a wafer cassette onto the loading table, the upload sensor S1 is activated and instructs the information processing module 400 to receive weight information (e.g., first information) sensed by the gravity sensing device. Alternatively, when a wafer cassette needs to be downloaded from the loading station, the download sensor S2 is activated, and the information processing module 400 may be caused to acquire the weight information (e.g., the second information) of the current wafer cassette.
Further, after the upload sensor S1 is activated and before the download sensor S2 is activated, the locking apparatus 200 may always lock the wafer cassette. And after the download sensor S2 is activated, the information processing module 400 is used to control the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to perform an unlocking operation.
That is, as described above, after the download sensor S2 is started, the information processing module 400 compares the second information corresponding to the current time with the first information corresponding to the initial time, and then controls the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to perform the unlocking operation or keep the locking device 200 in the locking state according to the comparison result.
Based on this, in a specific embodiment, when the second information corresponding to the second weight of the wafer cassette is obtained at a predetermined time, the predetermined time may be: the start time of the download sensor S2.
The method for controlling the semiconductor processing equipment when loading the wafer cassette will be described in further detail below with reference to a specific schematic circuit diagram.
Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a connection relationship between some modules of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 4a to 4e are schematic diagrams illustrating some circuits of a semiconductor structure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4a is a circuit schematic diagram of the upload sensor S1 and the download sensor S2 in this embodiment, and fig. 4b is a circuit schematic diagram of the information processing module 400 in this embodiment. As shown in fig. 3 and fig. 4a to 4b, the upload sensor S1 and the download sensor S2 are connected to the information processing module 400.
With continued reference to fig. 4a and 4b, the upload sensor S1 has a first port P10, and the download sensor S2 has a second port P11, and is connected to the corresponding first port P10 and second port P11 of the information processing module 400, respectively.
Further, the information processing module 400 is further connected to a display to display corresponding information through the display. For example, first information (i.e., a first weight value or a first voltage value) for displaying that the wafer cassette corresponds to a first weight at an initial time, information (i.e., a current weight value or a current voltage value) for displaying that the wafer cassette corresponds to a current weight, and the like.
Fig. 4c is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating the processing of the weight information obtained by the gravity sensing device in the embodiment. Referring to fig. 3 and fig. 4b to 4c, the weight information (in this embodiment, the weight sensing device 300 may convert the weight value of the wafer cassette into a corresponding voltage value, and based on this, the weight information is the voltage value U1/U2) is transmitted to the differential amplification module 900 to achieve voltage signal amplification; then, the amplified signal further passes through the A/D conversion module to realize the conversion of the analog signal and the digital signal. Further, the converted signal is transmitted to the information processing module 400 through the third port P32 and the fourth port P33.
Further, fig. 4d is a circuit diagram of the locking device driving circuit in this embodiment. As shown in fig. 3, 4b and 4d, the information processing module 400 has a fifth port P15 and is connected to the locking device driving circuit through the fifth port P15 to control the locking device driving circuit to perform a locking operation or an unlocking operation. It is understood that the locking device driving circuit in this embodiment includes, for example: a switch module 600, a drive assembly 700, and a locking device 200.
Specifically, the information processing module 400 sends an instruction through the fifth port P15 to control the switch module 600 in the locking device driving circuit, and further control the driving assembly 700 to drive the locking device 200 to perform a locking operation or an unlocking operation.
Fig. 4e is a communication circuit in this embodiment, which is used to implement closed-loop driving control of the entire control system. Specifically, the communication circuit has a sixth port P30 and a seventh port P31, and is connected to the information processing module 400 through the sixth port P30 and the seventh port P31.
It should be noted that, in the present specification, the embodiments are described in a progressive manner, each embodiment focuses on differences from other embodiments, and the same and similar parts among the embodiments may be referred to each other. Also, while the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, the embodiments are not intended to be limiting. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that many changes and modifications can be made, or equivalents modified, in the embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, any simple modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the present invention are still within the protection scope of the technical solution of the present invention, unless the content of the technical solution of the present invention is departed from.
It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It must be noted that, as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, reference to "a step" or "an apparatus" means a reference to one or more steps or apparatuses and may include sub-steps as well as sub-apparatuses. All conjunctions used should be understood in the broadest sense. And, the word "or" should be understood to have the definition of a logical "or" rather than the definition of a logical "exclusive or" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Further, implementation of the methods and/or apparatus of embodiments of the present invention may include performing the selected task manually, automatically, or in combination.
Claims (14)
1. A semiconductor processing apparatus, comprising:
at least one loading platform for loading the wafer cassette;
the locking device is arranged on the loading platform and used for locking the wafer box placed on the loading platform;
the driving assembly is used for driving the locking device to execute locking operation or unlocking operation;
the gravity sensing device is used for sensing the weight of the wafer box placed on the loading platform; and the number of the first and second groups,
and the information processing module is connected with the gravity sensing device so as to at least receive first information corresponding to a first weight of a wafer box at the initial time when the wafer box is placed on the loading platform and second information corresponding to a second weight of the wafer box in a preset time, judge whether the difference value between the first information and the second information is smaller than an allowable error value, and further control the driving assembly to drive the locking device to execute unlocking operation or maintain a locking state according to the judgment result.
2. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the locking device comprises a latch hook, a catch, or an electromagnetic lock.
3. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first information and the second information are weight values or voltage values.
4. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tolerable error value corresponds to a weight value that is less than a weight value of a single wafer.
5. The semiconductor processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gravity sensing device comprises at least two pressure sensors, and the at least two pressure sensors are located below the cassette and are symmetrically disposed with respect to a center line of the cassette when the cassette is placed on the loading table.
6. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gravity sensing device is further configured to convert the weight value of the wafer cassette into a corresponding voltage value, the voltage value constituting the first information or the second information of the wafer cassette and being transmitted to the information processing module.
7. The semiconductor processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a switch module is further disposed between the information processing module and the driving assembly, and the switch module receives the opening indication information or the closing indication information sent by the information processing module, and further controls the driving assembly to drive the locking device to perform an unlocking operation or maintain a locked state.
8. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a differential amplification module and an a/D conversion module, the differential amplification module being disposed between the gravity sensing device and the information processing module, the a/D conversion module being disposed between the differential amplification module and the information processing module.
9. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined time is: any time after uploading the pod until downloading the pod.
10. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an upload sensor and a download sensor, both of said upload sensor and said download sensor being communicatively coupled to said information processing module.
11. A method of controlling loading of a wafer cassette by a semiconductor processing tool according to any of claims 1 to 10, comprising:
uploading a wafer box to a loading table, acquiring first information of the wafer box placed on the loading table, which corresponds to a first weight at an initial time, by using a gravity sensing device, and sending the first information to an information processing module, wherein the information processing module controls a driving assembly to drive a locking device to execute locking operation so as to lock the wafer box;
acquiring second information of the wafer box corresponding to a second weight in preset time by using the gravity sensing device, and sending the second information to the information processing module; and the number of the first and second groups,
determining whether a difference between the first information and the second information is less than an allowable error value using the information processing module; if yes, the information processing module controls the driving assembly to drive the locking device to execute unlocking operation, and the wafer box is downloaded; if not, the information processing module controls the driving assembly to drive the locking device to maintain the locking state.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of acquiring first information corresponding to a first weight and second information corresponding to a second weight of the wafer cassette by the gravity sensing device comprises:
the gravity sensing device senses the weight of the wafer box to obtain the weight value of the wafer box and converts the weight value of the wafer box into a corresponding voltage value, and the voltage value forms first information or second information of the wafer box.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of sending the first and second information obtained by the gravity sensing device to the information processing module comprises:
the gravity sensing device sends first information and second information to a differential amplification module, and the differential amplification module amplifies the first information and the second information;
the differential amplification module sends the amplified signal to an A/D conversion module, and the A/D conversion module converts an analog signal into a digital signal; and the number of the first and second groups,
and the A/D conversion module sends the converted digital signal to the information processing module.
14. The method of claim 11, further comprising activating an upload sensor when the cassette is uploaded to the loading station, the upload sensor instructing the information processing module to receive a signal, the information processing module receiving the first information; before downloading the wafer box, the method also comprises starting a downloading inductor, wherein the downloading inductor indicates the information processing module to receive signals, and the information processing module receives the second information.
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