CN114373699A

CN114373699A - Material conveying method and semiconductor process equipment

Info

Publication number: CN114373699A
Application number: CN202111561345.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 梁妍; 钟结实; 肖托; 黄扬君
Original assignee: Xi'an North Huachuang Microelectronic Equipment Co ltd; Beijing Naura Microelectronics Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Xi'an North Huachuang Microelectronic Equipment Co ltd; Beijing Naura Microelectronics Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-12-17
Filing date: 2021-12-17
Publication date: 2022-04-19

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a material conveying method and semiconductor process equipment, wherein the method comprises the following steps: when a process task is executed, determining first access position information of wafers in a wafer boat, wherein the wafers are the same as the wafer type of a wafer box to be processed currently; determining second access position information of the wafer participating in the process task in the wafer box to be processed currently; determining the target number of wafers to be transmitted next time according to the maximum slot position number, the first continuous access position, the maximum wafer number, the second continuous access position and the finger number of the manipulator; and controlling the manipulator to execute corresponding picking and placing operations according to the target quantity. According to the embodiment of the invention, the problem that the five-finger manipulator cannot transmit 2-4 wafers at one time in the prior art can be solved, the times of taking and placing the wafers by the machine are reduced, and the productivity of the machine is improved.

Description

Material conveying method and semiconductor process equipment

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductors, in particular to a material conveying method and semiconductor process equipment.

Background

In the existing vertical furnace semiconductor process equipment, a machine station calculates the Move movement sequence of a FOUP (Wafer cassette) and a Wafer according to the material information of the machine station before scheduling, a mode other than 5, namely 1, is adopted for the transmission of the Wafer, when the Wafer is discontinuous in the FOUP or the Wafer taking and placing position has hardware interference or the interference of other Wafer does not meet the requirement of 5 pieces of one-time taking and placing, only single-finger single-Wafer taking and placing can be carried out, so that the Wafer taking efficiency of the machine station is low.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention are proposed to provide a material transfer method and a corresponding semiconductor processing apparatus that overcome or at least partially solve the above problems.

In order to solve the above problems, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a material conveying method, which is applied to semiconductor process equipment, wherein the semiconductor process equipment comprises a wafer box for executing a process task, a process chamber and a manipulator, slot positions of a wafer boat in the process chamber are respectively provided with wafer types to be stored, and the method comprises:

when the process task is executed, determining first access position information of wafers in the wafer boat, wherein the wafers are the same as the wafers of the wafer box to be processed currently; the first access position information comprises the maximum slot position number capable of being continuously accessed and a corresponding first continuous access position;

determining second access position information of the wafers participating in the process task in the wafer box to be processed currently; the second access position information comprises the maximum wafer number which can be accessed continuously and a corresponding second continuous access position;

determining the target number of wafers to be transmitted next time according to the maximum slot position number, the first continuous access position, the maximum wafer number, the second continuous access position and the finger number of the manipulator; the target number is not more than any number of the fingers;

and controlling the manipulator to execute corresponding picking and placing operations according to the target quantity.

Optionally, the determining a target number of wafers to be transmitted next time according to the maximum slot number, the first consecutive access position, the maximum wafer number, the second consecutive access position, and the number of fingers of the robot includes:

determining whether the manipulator collides with the wafer box or the bottom or the top of the process chamber or damages other wafers when executing the picking and placing operation according to the target number according to the maximum slot position number, the first continuous access position, the maximum wafer number, the second continuous access position and the finger number;

if the manipulator is determined not to collide with the wafer box or the bottom or the top of the process chamber or damage other wafers when the manipulator performs the picking and placing operation according to the target number, determining the target number according to numerical information of the maximum slot number, the maximum wafer number and the finger number;

and if it is determined that the manipulator collides with the wafer box or the bottom or the top of the process chamber or damages other wafers when performing the picking and placing operation according to the target number, determining that the target number is one.

Optionally, the determining the target number according to the numerical information of the maximum slot number, the maximum wafer number, and the finger number includes:

and if the maximum slot position number is one, determining that the target number is one.

under the condition that the maximum slot position number is larger than one and the maximum slot position number is smaller than the finger number, if the maximum wafer number is not larger than the maximum slot position number, determining that the target number is the maximum wafer number;

and if the maximum wafer number is larger than the maximum slot position number, determining that the target number is the maximum slot position number.

and if the maximum slot position number is equal to the number of the fingers, determining that the target number is the number of the fingers.

under the condition that the remainder value of the maximum slot position quantity and the finger quantity is greater than one and not greater than the finger quantity, and the maximum slot position quantity is greater than the sum value of the remainder value and the finger quantity, if the maximum wafer quantity is not less than the finger quantity, determining the target quantity as the finger quantity;

if the maximum wafer number is one, determining that the target number is one;

and if the maximum wafer number is larger than one and the maximum wafer number is smaller than the finger number, determining that the target number is the maximum wafer number.

when the maximum slot position number is larger than the finger number, a remainder value of the maximum slot position number and the finger number is larger than one and not larger than the finger number, and the maximum slot position number is not larger than a sum value of the remainder value and the finger number, if the maximum wafer number is not smaller than the remainder value, determining that the target number is the remainder value;

and if the maximum wafer quantity is smaller than the remainder value, determining the target quantity as the maximum wafer quantity.

under the condition that the maximum slot position number is larger than the finger number, and the remainder value of the maximum slot position number and the finger number is equal to zero or one, if the maximum wafer number is not smaller than the finger number, determining that the target number is the finger number;

if the maximum wafer number is one, determining that the target number is one;

Optionally, the manipulator includes a single-finger manipulator and a five-finger manipulator, and the controlling the manipulator to perform corresponding pick-and-place operations according to the target number includes:

if the target number is one, controlling the single-finger manipulator to execute the picking and placing operation;

and if the target number is not one, controlling the five-finger manipulator to execute the picking and placing operation.

The embodiment of the invention also discloses semiconductor process equipment, which comprises a wafer box for executing the process task, a process chamber and a manipulator, wherein the slot positions of the wafer boat of the process chamber are respectively provided with wafer types which need to be stored, and the semiconductor process equipment further comprises:

the controller is used for determining first access position information of wafers in the wafer boat, wherein the wafers are the same as the wafers of the wafer box to be processed currently; the first access position information comprises the maximum slot position number capable of being continuously accessed and a corresponding first continuous access position; determining second access position information of the wafers participating in the process task in the wafer box to be processed currently; the second access position information comprises the maximum wafer number which can be accessed continuously and a corresponding second continuous access position; determining the target number of wafers to be transmitted next time according to the maximum slot position number, the first continuous access position, the maximum wafer number, the second continuous access position and the finger number of the manipulator; the target number is not more than any number of the fingers; and controlling the manipulator to execute corresponding picking and placing operations according to the target quantity.

Optionally, the controller is configured to determine, according to the maximum slot number, the first consecutive access position, the maximum wafer number, the second consecutive access position, and the number of fingers, whether the robot performs the pick-and-place operation according to the target number and collides with the wafer cassette or the bottom or the top of the process chamber or damages another wafer; if the manipulator is determined not to collide with the wafer box or the bottom or the top of the process chamber or damage other wafers when the manipulator performs the picking and placing operation according to the target number, determining the target number according to numerical information of the maximum slot number, the maximum wafer number and the finger number; and if it is determined that the manipulator collides with the wafer box or the bottom or the top of the process chamber or damages other wafers when performing the picking and placing operation according to the target number, determining that the target number is one.

Optionally, the controller is configured to determine that the target number is one if the maximum slot number is one.

Optionally, the controller is configured to determine that the target number is the maximum number of wafers if the maximum number of wafers is not greater than the maximum number of slots under the condition that the maximum number of slots is greater than one and the maximum number of slots is less than the number of fingers; and if the maximum wafer number is larger than the maximum slot position number, determining that the target number is the maximum slot position number.

Optionally, the controller is configured to determine that the target number is the number of fingers if the maximum slot number is equal to the number of fingers.

Optionally, the controller is configured to determine that the target number is the number of fingers if the maximum number of wafers is not less than the number of fingers under the condition that a remainder value of the maximum number of slots and the number of fingers is greater than one and not greater than the number of fingers and the maximum number of slots is greater than a sum value of the remainder value and the number of fingers; if the maximum wafer number is one, determining that the target number is one; and if the maximum wafer number is larger than one and the maximum wafer number is smaller than the finger number, determining that the target number is the maximum wafer number.

Optionally, the controller is configured to determine that the target number is the remainder value if the maximum number of slots is greater than the number of fingers, a remainder value between the maximum number of slots and the number of fingers is greater than one and not greater than the number of fingers, and the maximum number of slots is not greater than a sum value between the remainder value and the number of fingers; and if the maximum wafer quantity is smaller than the remainder value, determining the target quantity as the maximum wafer quantity.

Optionally, the controller is configured to determine that the target number is the number of fingers if the maximum number of wafers is not less than the number of fingers when the maximum number of slots is greater than the number of fingers and a remainder value of the maximum number of slots and the number of fingers is equal to zero or equal to one; if the maximum wafer number is one, determining that the target number is one; and if the maximum wafer number is larger than one and the maximum wafer number is smaller than the finger number, determining that the target number is the maximum wafer number.

Optionally, the manipulator includes a single-finger manipulator and a five-finger manipulator, and the controller is configured to control the single-finger manipulator to perform the pick-and-place operation if the target number is one; and if the target number is not one, controlling the five-finger manipulator to execute the picking and placing operation.

The embodiment of the invention has the following advantages:

in the embodiment of the invention, the number of one or more wafers which can be transmitted at one time is determined according to the maximum slot position number which can be continuously accessed in the process chamber wafer boat, the corresponding first continuous access position, the maximum wafer number which can be continuously accessed in the wafer box, the corresponding second continuous access position and the number of fingers of the mechanical arm. By adopting the method, when a plurality of continuous empty slots exist in the process chamber, the types of the wafers to be stored corresponding to the empty slots are the same, and the wafers of the type can be continuously taken out from the wafer box, and when the positions of the plurality of continuous empty slots in the process chamber and the positions of the wafers which can be continuously taken out from the wafer box meet the condition that the manipulator carries out the transmission action, the manipulator can transmit a plurality of continuous wafers at one time, therefore, the problem that a five-finger manipulator does not support one-time transmission of 2-4 wafers in the prior art can be solved, the logic that single-finger single-wafer picking and placing can be carried out when 5 fingers are not satisfied in the original algorithm, and the optimized semiconductor process equipment can support the five-finger manipulator to pick and place 2-4 wafers at one time, so that the picking and placing times of a machine can be reduced, and the productivity of the machine can be improved.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow diagram of material transfer;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of material storage information edited by a user;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a result of picking and placing a wafer by the machine corresponding to the material storage information in fig. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of steps of a method of material transfer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of steps in another method of material transfer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a model schematic of material transport according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the result of performing a material handling method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a block diagram of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. All other embodiments that can be derived by one of ordinary skill in the art from the embodiments given herein are intended to be within the scope of the present invention.

In order to make the technical solution of the present invention more clearly understood by those skilled in the art, the equipment structure of the semiconductor process equipment will be briefly described below. Referring to fig. 1, a schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor processing apparatus is shown, the semiconductor processing apparatus including:

1. two loadports (external load stations): the LoadPort is a bridge between the outside and the equipment, a FOUP (Wafer pod) can be placed on the LoadPort a and the LoadPort B, the FOUP is a box for loading Wafer, and 25 slots for storing Wafer (Wafer) can be arranged in the FOUP. The LoadPort has a door opening mechanism thereon to open the door of the FOUP.

2. A FOUP robot, hereinafter abbreviated STR: the STR is responsible for the transmission of the FOUP and simultaneously comprises the function of Map, creates Wafer information through Map action, and detects whether the number of wafers in the Slot of the FOUP and the Wafer state are abnormal or not. In the Map process, the FOUP door must be opened and kept still, an infrared probe is installed on a mechanical arm of an STR, and the Wafer storage information in the FOUP is obtained through the up-and-down movement of the mechanical arm. STR may transfer FOUPs from loadPort A/loadPort B, Loadlock C/Loadlock D, and Stocker's Shelf.

3. One Stocker (storage cabinet): the Stocker is used for placing FOUPs, and a maximum of 16 FOUPs can be placed on one Stocker, and a member on which the FOUP is placed is called Shelf.

4. Two loadlocks (load and unload bits): the LoadLock can be used for placing a FOUP, and the LoadLock is provided with a door opening mechanism which can open a door of the FOUP. Loadlock is the bridge for Wafer access to the process chamber.

5. A Wafer manipulator, hereinafter abbreviated WTR: the system is in charge of Wafer transfer, simultaneously has the function of Map, can perform Map on FOUP on LoadLock and Boat (crystal Boat) in PM (process chamber), wherein the FOUP on LoadLock is in a state of opening a door and being still in the process of Map, the Boat is in the Home position (departure point position), an infrared probe is arranged on a single finger of a WTR manipulator, and the storage information of the Wafer in the FOUP and the information of the Wafer on the Boat are obtained through the up-and-down movement of the single finger. The WTR may transfer the Wafer from the Loadlock FOUP and the PM Boat. WTR is divided into 1 finger and 5 fingers, and 1 Wafer or 5 wafers can be taken and placed each time.

6. One PM (process chamber): for carrying out the corresponding process operations. There is a Boat in the PM for placing the Wafer. The number of wafers participating in the process in the PM is determined by the number of slots of the lots in the PM, and there are currently two lots 125 and 141.

In a certain working mode, the semiconductor processing equipment, besides the wafer, the wafer box also participates in transmission. The task operation types of the machine station may include CarrierIn (move-in), CarrierOut (move-out), Charge (load), DisCharge (load-out), Job (process), and other operations. The technical scheme of the invention is only directed at the Wafer movement of Job tasks. Job task is divided into Charge (transfer the Wafer to be processed to Boat), Process (Process), and Discharge (transfer the Wafer to be processed back to Stocker), during the Charge, FOUP enters Loadlock C/Loadlock D from Stocker, and is clamped by WTR according to Wafer transmission rules to place the corresponding Wafer on PM, and after all the wafers of the FOUP are transferred, the FOUP is placed back to Stocker for temporary storage.

The material transfer process of the semiconductor process apparatus will be explained below. Referring to fig. 2, a schematic flow chart of material transportation is shown. The process comprises the following steps:

1. BoatSlot information is first obtained in all types of FOUPs and user-edited PMs that participate in Job. For a machine, the number of slots on Boat is fixed; the type of Wafer on Boat is inconsistent for a Job task. The user can input the type of the Boat upload film through editing, such as editing on a LoadMapRecipe module, wherein the editing contents are as follows: slot1-12, 135-144 places SD types, 13-120 places P types, and so on. If a FOUP specifies a certain type, all of the wafers in the FOUP are of the type of the FOUP. That is, all wafers of the same FOUP should be of the same type. Common types of FOUPs include: P-Product, M-Monitor, SD-SideDummy and ED-Extradumy. Product refers to the actual Product piece that the user can directly use to enter a downstream FOUP after the process is completed. Monitor refers to a Monitor chip, which is commonly used for detecting the process effect. Both Dummy are filling sheets and can be repeatedly used. SideDummy is typically used for edge filling, and the location of filling is typically the boat top or bottom, and occasionally also for mid-fill. Extraddummy is mostly used to fill in the remaining Product locations when the user chooses not enough Product to participate in the process. After the user edits, corresponding BoatSlot information is generated in the system aiming at the information edited by the user, such as SD: 1-12, 135-144; p: 13-120 indicating that SD type wafers need to be placed at the 1-12, 135-144 positions of Boat and P type wafers need to be placed at the 13-120 positions of Boat.

2. And acquiring the type sequence of the FOUPs configured by the machine, classifying all the FOUPs participating in Job according to the types, and starting traversal.

3. And acquiring FOUPs of the same type one by one, and acquiring BoatSlot information corresponding to the FOUPs.

4. The foupodderrule chooses to get FOUPSlot information participating in Job from bottom to top or from top to bottom according to the rules of the machine configuration.

5. And judging the quantity of the FOUPSLot information, if the quantity of the FOUPSLot information is larger than 5, acquiring 5 slots, and otherwise acquiring 1 Slot.

6. The corresponding BoatSlot number is obtained which is the same as the FOUPSOL number.

7. And when 5 slots are obtained, increasing and judging whether the slots corresponding to the FOUP and the Boat are continuous or not, if the slots are continuous, setting the same priority, if the slots are discontinuous, processing according to 1 Slot, setting the priority as the maximum priority of the previous round of circulation plus 1, and repeating 5.

8. After all slots of all types of FOUPs are set circularly, the algorithm is finished, and the process of transferring the materials in the FOUPs to the PM is finished.

The following description is made for the successive specific meanings.

Continuation of the Charge phase takes into account that the locations in the FOUP where Job's Wafer is to be stored are consecutive, the locations in the Boat where sheets are placed are consecutive and the types of sheets are the same. It is considered for the Discharge phase that the Boat pick-up locations are consecutive, and the pick-up types are of the same type, and the locations are consecutive in the FOUP. For example: there are 15 slots in a P type FOUP, where Slot4 is a blank piece. Job was performed by selecting 1-3, 5-8, 10-15 of the FOUP. Boat positions 1-7, 11-17 require 13 slots of the FOUP to be placed in the pod to participate in Job.

1. Assuming that 5 slots of the FOUP are obtained, the obtained slots are 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, and the positions of the obtained 5 slots are discontinuous because the slots 4 are empty pieces;

2. suppose 5 slots are obtained for a FOUP, the obtained slots are 5, 6, 7, 8, 10. Since the Slot9 did not choose to participate in this Job, the 5 Slot locations acquired are not continuous;

3. selecting 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 of the FOUP, wherein 5 Slot positions in the FOUP are continuous, and acquiring the Boat in-put position is assumed to be 12, 11, 7, 6, 5, wherein the Boat position is discontinuous;

4. assuming that wafers in

positions

7, 6, 5, 4, and 3 of the Boat are placed in positions Slot6, 5, 3, 2, and 1 of the FOUP, respectively, these 5 wafers are considered to be discontinuous in the FOUP.

Referring to fig. 3, a schematic diagram of material storage information edited by a user is shown. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a result of picking and placing a wafer by a machine corresponding to the material storage information in fig. 3. Assume that the wafers within the FOUP are all continuous. As can be seen from FIG. 5, the number of times of fetching the slices by the existing algorithm, Case1, is 32, and the number of times of fetching the slices by the Case2 is 36.

As can be seen from the above figures, in the conventional semiconductor processing equipment, a mode other than 5, that is, 1 is adopted for Wafer transmission, and when Wafer discontinuity exists in the FOUP, or hardware interference exists at the Wafer picking and placing position, or other Wafer interference does not satisfy 5-Wafer one-time picking and placing, single-finger single-Wafer picking and placing is only performed, so that the Wafer picking efficiency of the machine is low.

In view of the above, the present invention is intended to provide a material transfer method and a corresponding semiconductor processing apparatus that overcome or at least partially solve the above-mentioned problems.

One of the core concepts of the embodiments of the present invention is to determine the number of one or more wafers that can be transferred at one time according to the maximum slot number and the corresponding first continuous access position that can be accessed continuously in the boat of the process chamber, the maximum wafer number and the corresponding second continuous access position that can be accessed continuously in the wafer cassette, and the number of fingers of the robot. By adopting the method, when a plurality of continuous empty slots exist in the process chamber, the types of the wafers to be stored corresponding to the empty slots are the same, and the wafers of the type can be continuously taken out from the wafer box, and when the positions of the plurality of continuous empty slots in the process chamber and the positions of the wafers which can be continuously taken out from the wafer box meet the condition that the manipulator carries out the transmission action, the manipulator can transmit a plurality of continuous wafers at one time, therefore, the problem that a five-finger manipulator does not support one-time transmission of 2-4 wafers in the prior art can be solved, the logic that single-finger single-wafer picking and placing can be carried out when 5 fingers are not satisfied in the original algorithm, and the optimized semiconductor process equipment can support the five-finger manipulator to pick and place 2-4 wafers at one time, so that the picking and placing times of a machine can be reduced, and the productivity of the machine can be improved.

Referring to fig. 5, a flowchart illustrating steps of a material transportation method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a semiconductor processing apparatus, where the semiconductor processing apparatus includes a wafer cassette for performing a processing task, a processing chamber, and a robot, and a slot of the wafer cassette of the processing chamber has a type corresponding to a wafer to be stored, and the method specifically includes the following steps:

step 501, when executing a process task, determining first access position information of a wafer of the same wafer type as that of a wafer cassette to be processed currently in a wafer boat.

The first access position information comprises the maximum slot position number capable of being continuously accessed and a corresponding first continuous access position.

Before performing a process task, a user may specify in the loadmapreduce module that slots in the process chamber cassette correspond to the type of wafers that are desired to be stored.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor processing apparatus includes a wafer cassette, a process chamber, and a robot for transferring wafers.

When a process task is executed, material storage information input by a user in the loadmapreal module can be obtained, and first access position information of a wafer in the wafer boat, which is the same as the wafer type of a wafer box to be processed currently, can be determined according to the material storage information. The first access position information includes a maximum slot number that can be consecutively accessed and a first consecutive access position of the corresponding slot. Continuous access means that slots in the process chamber boat where wafers are accessed are continuous.

For example, in a boat with a PM1 chamber, the slots that can store product pieces in succession have a position of 11-15 and a position of 23-25, i.e., the maximum number of slots that can be used for successive storage is 5, corresponding to a position of 11-15 in the boat.

All wafers of the same pod are of the same type, e.g., FOUP1 stores wafers that are all of the P type; FOUP2 stores wafers that are all SD types. For the Charge stage, it is necessary to consider that the storage positions of the wafers participating in the process task in the wafer cassette are continuous, the positions of the wafers placed in the wafer cassette are continuous, and the types of the wafers to be stored are the same. For the Discharge stage, it is necessary to consider that the positions of the wafer boat where the wafers are stored are continuous, the types of the wafers stored are the same, and the positions of the wafer cassette where the wafers are placed are continuous.

For convenience of distinction, the access position information of the process chamber wafer boat is referred to as the first access position information.

Step 502, determining second access position information of the wafer participating in the process task in the wafer box to be processed currently.

The second access position information comprises the maximum number of wafers which can be accessed continuously and the corresponding second continuous access position.

In the embodiment of the invention, second access position information of the wafers currently to be processed and participating in the process task in the wafer box can be further determined. The second access position information includes a maximum number of wafers that can be consecutively accessed and a second consecutive access position of the corresponding wafer. Continuous access means that the locations in the cassette where wafers are accessed are continuous.

For the sake of convenience of distinction, the access position information with respect to the wafer cassette is referred to as second access position information.

Step 503, determining the target number of the wafers to be transmitted next time according to the maximum slot number, the first continuous access position, the maximum wafer number, the second continuous access position and the number of fingers of the manipulator.

Wherein the target number is not more than any number of the number of fingers.

After the maximum slot position number, the first continuous access position, the maximum wafer number and the second continuous access position are determined, the target number of wafers to be transmitted next time can be determined according to a preset rule by combining the number of fingers of the manipulator. That is, in the present application, the target number of the next wafer to be transferred may be determined according to the maximum slot number, the first continuous access position, the maximum wafer number, the second continuous access position, and the number of fingers of the robot according to a preset rule, where the preset rule includes avoiding collision between the robot and hardware in the semiconductor processing equipment, or avoiding damage to other wafers by the robot.

In the present application, the wafer transfer number is determined according to the wafer access state in the wafer box, the wafer access state in the process chamber wafer boat and the number of fingers of the robot, and the mode other than 5 or 1 is not simply adopted.

And step 504, controlling the manipulator to execute corresponding picking and placing operations according to the target quantity.

After the target number of the wafers to be transmitted next time is determined, the manipulator can be controlled to execute corresponding picking and placing operations.

In summary, in the embodiments of the invention, the number of one or more wafers that can be transferred at one time is determined according to the maximum slot number and the corresponding first consecutive access position that can be consecutively accessed in the process chamber wafer boat, the maximum wafer number and the corresponding second consecutive access position that can be consecutively accessed in the wafer cassette, and the number of fingers of the robot. By adopting the method, when a plurality of continuous empty slots exist in the process chamber, the types of the wafers to be stored corresponding to the empty slots are the same, and the wafers of the type can be continuously taken out from the wafer box, and when the positions of the plurality of continuous empty slots in the process chamber and the positions of the wafers which can be continuously taken out from the wafer box meet the condition that the manipulator carries out the transmission action, the manipulator can transmit a plurality of continuous wafers at one time, therefore, the problem that a five-finger manipulator does not support one-time transmission of 2-4 wafers in the prior art can be solved, the logic that single-finger single-wafer picking and placing can be carried out when 5 fingers are not satisfied in the original algorithm, and the optimized semiconductor process equipment can support the five-finger manipulator to pick and place 2-4 wafers at one time, so that the picking and placing times of a machine can be reduced, and the productivity of the machine can be improved.

Referring to fig. 6, a flowchart of another material transportation method according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown, and is applied to a semiconductor processing apparatus, where the semiconductor processing apparatus includes a wafer cassette for performing a processing task, a processing chamber, and a robot, and a slot of the wafer cassette of the processing chamber has a type corresponding to a wafer to be stored, and the method specifically includes the following steps:

step 601, when executing the process task, determining first access position information of a wafer of the same wafer type as that of the wafer cassette to be processed currently in the wafer boat.

Before performing a process task, a user may specify in the loadmapreduce module that slots in the process chamber cassette correspond to the type of wafers that are desired to be stored. The user can input material storage information aiming at the process chamber wafer boat in a software system of the semiconductor process equipment, wherein the material storage information comprises wafer transmission types, wafer transmission quantity and the like, and the type of wafers required to be stored corresponding to the slot positions in the process chamber wafer boat can be determined based on the material storage information.

The semiconductor processing equipment includes a wafer cassette, a process chamber, and a robot for transferring wafers.

In the embodiment of the invention, when the process task is executed, the first access position information of the wafer of the same wafer type as that of the wafer box to be processed currently in the wafer boat can be determined. The first access position information includes a maximum slot number that can be consecutively accessed and a first consecutive access position of the corresponding slot. Continuous access means that slots in the process chamber boat where wafers are accessed are continuous.

Step 602, determining second access position information of the wafer participating in the process task in the wafer box to be processed currently.

Step 603, determining whether the manipulator collides with the bottom or the top of the wafer box or the process chamber or damages other wafers when performing the pick-and-place operation according to the target number according to the maximum slot number, the first continuous access position, the maximum wafer number, the second continuous access position and the finger number.

In the embodiment of the present invention, it may be determined whether the robot performs the wafer transferring operation and collides with hardware such as a wafer cassette or a process chamber, or damages other wafers that do not participate in the wafer transferring operation in the wafer cassette or the process chamber based on the maximum number of slots, the first continuous access position, the maximum number of wafers, the second continuous access position, and the number of fingers.

In step 604, if it is determined that the robot does not collide with the bottom or the top of the wafer box or the process chamber or damage other wafers when performing the pick-and-place operation according to the target number, the target number is determined according to the numerical information of the maximum slot number, the maximum wafer number, and the number of fingers.

And under the conditions that collision with hardware such as a wafer box or a process chamber is not caused and other wafers are not damaged, determining the target number of wafers to be transmitted next time according to the maximum slot position number, the maximum wafer number and the finger number, and transmitting the wafers according to the target number.

In the embodiment of the invention, the target number of the wafers transmitted next time can be determined based on the maximum slot position number, the maximum wafer number and the finger number of the mechanical arm according to the preset rule. Wherein the target number may be any number not greater than the number of fingers.

For step 604, the following sub-steps may be specifically performed:

in the substep S11, if the maximum slot number is one, the target number is determined to be one.

In the substep S12, under the condition that the maximum slot number is greater than one and the maximum slot number is less than the finger number, if the maximum wafer number is not greater than the maximum slot number, determining that the target number is the maximum wafer number; and if the maximum wafer number is larger than the maximum slot position number, determining that the target number is the maximum slot position number.

In the substep S13, if the maximum slot number is equal to the number of fingers, the target number is determined to be the number of fingers.

In the substep S14, when the remainder of the maximum slot number and the number of fingers is greater than one and not greater than the number of fingers, and the maximum slot number is greater than the sum of the remainder and the number of fingers, if the maximum wafer number is not less than the number of fingers, determining the target number as the number of fingers; if the maximum wafer number is one, determining that the target number is one; and if the maximum number of wafers is larger than one and the maximum number of wafers is smaller than the number of fingers, determining the target number as the maximum number of wafers.

In the substep S15, when the maximum slot number is greater than the number of fingers, the remainder of the maximum slot number and the number of fingers is greater than one and not greater than the number of fingers, and the maximum slot number is not greater than the sum of the remainder and the number of fingers, if the maximum wafer number is not less than the remainder, determining that the target number is the remainder; and if the maximum wafer number is smaller than the remainder value, determining the target number as the maximum wafer number.

In the substep S16, when the maximum slot number is greater than the number of fingers and the remainder of the maximum slot number and the number of fingers is equal to zero or one, if the maximum wafer number is not less than the number of fingers, determining the target number as the number of fingers; if the maximum wafer number is one, determining that the target number is one; and if the maximum number of wafers is larger than one and the maximum number of wafers is smaller than the number of fingers, determining the target number as the maximum number of wafers.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a comparison operation rule for the maximum slot number, the maximum wafer number, and the number of fingers is preset, and the target number of wafers to be transmitted next time can be determined according to the rule. This rule is illustrated below:

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a material transportation model according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 7, there is a PM that can hold 149 wafers and a FOUP that can store 25 wafers. At this time, no piece exists on PM, and no piece exists in the positions of Slot1, Slot2 and Slot6 in the FOUP. It is supposed to be necessary to place 4 SD cards at

positions

146 and 149 of PM, and place other types of wafers at positions 1 and 145 of PM and place the cards after SD is placed. According to the technical scheme of the invention, the number of continuous maximum pieces that the SD can place in the PM is determined to be 4, that is, the number of maximum slots in which SD pieces can be continuously stored is 4, x is 4, the position from the 1 st piece to the x th piece in the PM is referred to as posx, and posx is the PM position 146; the number of consecutive pieces that can be taken out from a FOUP is determined to be 3 (

slots

3, 4, 5 are consecutive, 6 are not blocked), that is, the maximum number of wafers that can be taken out continuously is 3, where y is 3, and the position of the 1 st consecutive piece in the FOUP is referred to as posy, which is the FOUP Slot3 position. Since y < x, only 3 pieces can be continuously taken at maximum, the simulation film-placing position needs to be updated when the corresponding PM position is searched, and posx is updated to 147 position. And taking the wafer from the bottom of the FOUP to the top of the PM based on the principle that the machine is configured to be low-taking and high-putting. In addition, a condition is needed to be judged, and in the position of posx (147), the bottom edge of PM is not touched by the 5-y position (i.e. the positions 146 and 145) and no Wafer sheet exists. Next, it is determined that the 5-y position (i.e., the Slot2, Slot1 position) does not touch the bottom edge of the FOUP and no Wafer sheet is present in the position of posy (Slot 3). It was determined that the Wafer in the Slot3, 4, 5 position in the FOUP could be taken to the 149, 148, 147 position on the PM at once using a five finger robot.

In the above example, if the SD type sheet edited by the user is placed at the 1-4 positions of the PM and the remaining conditions are not changed, the

slots

3, 4, 5 need to be placed at the 4, 3, 2 positions of the PM when determining the conditions, and since the 5-y position under the 2 position of the PM touches the bottom edge of the PM, the SD type sheet cannot be taken or placed in this manner.

In the above example, if there is a slice at the 146 position on the PM and the remaining conditions are not changed, the slice at the 5-y position is determined, and therefore the fetching and placing cannot be performed in this manner.

In the above example, if the FOUP conditions are modified, at this time, both

slots

1 and 2 have pieces, and Slot5 has no pieces, y is 4, so theoretically, the positions from Slot1-4 to PM146-149 in the FOUP need to be taken, and since the position 5-y under Slot1 touches the bottom edge of the FOUP, the FOUP cannot be taken and placed in this way.

In step 605, if it is determined that the robot performs the pick-and-place operation according to the target number and collides with the bottom or the top of the wafer cassette or the process chamber or damages other wafers, the target number is determined to be one.

Under the condition that collision with hardware such as a wafer box or a process chamber occurs or other wafers are damaged, the wafers can be transmitted only by adopting a single-finger single-wafer picking and placing mode.

And 606, controlling the manipulator to execute corresponding pick-and-place operation according to the target quantity.

After the target number of the wafers to be transmitted next time is determined, the manipulator can be controlled to execute the picking and placing operation of the wafers according to the target number.

In one example, the manipulator includes a single-finger manipulator and a five-finger manipulator, and the following sub-steps may be specifically performed for step 606:

and a substep S21, if the target number is one, controlling the single-finger manipulator to execute the pick-and-place operation.

In the sub-step S22, if the target number is not one, the five-finger robot is controlled to perform the above pick-and-place operation.

In the embodiment of the present invention, if the number of wafers to be transferred is one, the single-finger robot may be used to transfer the wafers, otherwise, the five-finger robot needs to be used to transfer the wafers, that is, when the number of wafers to be transferred is 2 to 4, the five-finger robot is used to transfer the wafers.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand steps 601 to 606 of the embodiment of the present invention, the following description is provided by way of an example:

when the process chamber Wafer boat is in the Charge stage, a user can designate Wafer types to be stored in all slots in the process chamber Wafer boat in the loadMapRecipe module, obtain BoatSlot information in the PM edited by the user, and record that the maximum Slot number for continuously placing the wafers of the type in the BoatSlot positions to be placed corresponding to the wafers to be transmitted of the FOUP is x. The maximum continuous number of wafers to be transmitted currently taken out from the FOUP is recorded as y, the position of the xth slot position which is continuous from the current slot position on the Boat backward is recorded as posx, and the position of the wafer to be transmitted currently on the FOUP is recorded as posy. The marking mode of the position is set based on the low-level-taking and high-level-taking principle, and can be adjusted by a person skilled in the art according to actual needs. Assuming that the semiconductor process equipment is provided with a five-finger manipulator and a single-finger manipulator, the scheduling and conveying functions of the materials meet the following rules:

A) when x < ═ 5, the manipulator function rules are as follows:

i.x is equal to 1, the manipulator 1 is used for picking and placing 1 Pick and Place;

ii.2< ═ x < ═ 4, then the rule is as follows:

if y < ═ x, updating the position of the posx to be the position where the y piece can be placed, and if the condition 1) is reached, the position 5-y under the posx does not exceed the position of the bottom edge of the PM; 2) the absence of Wafer sheets in the 5-y position area under posx; 3) the 5-y position under posy does not exceed the bottom edge position of the FOUP; 4) if no Wafer sheet exists in the 5-y position area from the posy to the posy, executing the Pick & Place operation of taking and placing the y sheets by five fingers of the manipulator;

if y > x, if condition 1) 5-x under posx does not exceed the PM bottom position; 2) the absence of Wafer sheets in the 5-x position region under posx; 3) 5-x under posy does not exceed the bottom edge position of FOUP; 4) if no Wafer sheet exists in the 5-x position area from the posy to the posy, executing Pick & Place operation of taking and placing x sheets by five fingers of the manipulator;

if x is 5, performing Pick and Place operation of five fingers of the manipulator for taking and placing 5 pieces;

and iv, in other cases, the Pick & Place operation of taking and placing 1 piece by using the mechanical arm 1.

B) When x is greater than 5, the manipulator function rules are as follows:

when i.2 ≦ x% 5 ≦ 4, the rule is as follows:

when x is larger than x% 5+5, taking and placing 5 wafers are preferentially carried out, so that the influence of increased taking and placing times caused by Wafer discontinuity in a subsequent FOUP is avoided. The presence rule is:

if y > is 5, executing Pick and Place operation of five fingers of the manipulator for taking and placing 5 pieces;

if y is equal to 1, executing Pick & Place operation of taking and placing 1 piece by the manipulator 1;

if 2< ═ y < ═ 4, and satisfy 1) the 5-y position under posy does not exceed the FOUP bottom edge position; 2) if no Wafer sheet exists in the 5-y position area from the posy to the posy, executing the Pick & Place operation of taking and placing the y sheets by five fingers of the manipulator;

when x < ═ x% 5+5, taking and placing a remainder value (x% 5) preferentially, and if the condition 1) is met, the position 5-x% 5 under posx does not exceed the position of the bottom edge of PM; 2) the absence of Wafer sheets in the posx to posx + 5-x% 5 position region, the rule:

if y > is x% 5, and satisfies 1) position 5-x% 5 under posy does not exceed the FOUP bottom edge position; 2) if no Wafer sheet exists in the 5-x% 5 position area from the posy to the posy, executing Pick & Place operation of picking and placing x% 5 Wafer sheets by five fingers of the manipulator;

if y < x% 5, and satisfies 1) the 5-y position under posy does not exceed the FOUP bottom edge position; 2) if no Wafer sheet exists in the 5-y position area from the posy to the posy, executing the Pick & Place operation of taking and placing the y sheets by five fingers of the manipulator;

x is 0 or 1, and the fetching is performed only according to the number of consecutive pieces in the FOUP, there is a rule:

if y is greater than 5, performing Pick and Place operation of five fingers of the manipulator for taking and placing 5 pieces;

if y is 1, executing Pick & Place operation of 1 piece of manipulator 1;

if 2< y <4, and satisfies 1) the 5-y position under posy does not exceed the FOUP bottom edge position; 2) if no Wafer sheet exists in the 5-y position area from the posy to the posy, executing the Pick & Place operation of taking and placing the y sheets by five fingers of the manipulator;

in other cases, a Pick & Place operation of taking 1 piece by using a manipulator 1 is adopted.

In summary, in the embodiments of the invention, the number of one or more wafers that can be transferred at one time is determined according to the maximum slot number and the corresponding first consecutive access position that can be consecutively accessed in the process chamber wafer boat, the maximum wafer number and the corresponding second consecutive access position that can be consecutively accessed in the wafer cassette, and the number of fingers of the robot. By adopting the method, when a plurality of continuous empty slots exist in the process chamber, the types of the wafers to be stored corresponding to the empty slots are the same, and the wafers of the type can be continuously taken out from the wafer box, and when the positions of the plurality of continuous empty slots in the process chamber and the positions of the wafers which can be continuously taken out from the wafer box meet the condition that the manipulator carries out the transmission action, the manipulator can transmit a plurality of continuous wafers at one time, therefore, the problem that a five-finger manipulator does not support one-time transmission of 2-4 wafers in the prior art can be solved, the logic that single-finger single-wafer picking and placing can be carried out when 5 fingers are not satisfied in the original algorithm, and the optimized semiconductor process equipment can support the five-finger manipulator to pick and place 2-4 wafers at one time, so that the picking and placing times of a machine can be reduced, and the productivity of the machine can be improved. The number of times of taking the film after the algorithm is used can be effectively reduced. Referring to fig. 8, which is a schematic diagram illustrating the execution result of the material conveying method according to the embodiment of the present invention, compared with fig. 4, the number of times of picking a disc by Case1 is 30, and the number of times of picking a disc by Case2 is 31. Namely, Case1 optimizes 2 pick-and-place and Case2 optimizes 5 pick-and-place. The optimization effect is better under the condition that the material storage information input by the user has a mixture of various wafer types or partial discontinuous wafers exist in the wafer box. According to the material transmission method provided by the invention, the actions of the improved manipulator Pick and Place realize single transfer of 2/3/4 wafers by five fingers when continuous 2/3/4 wafers exist in FOUP or PMBoat on the basis of covering the original functions of 5-finger 5 wafers and single-finger single Wafer.

It should be noted that, for simplicity of description, the method embodiments are described as a series of acts or combination of acts, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited by the illustrated order of acts, as some steps may occur in other orders or concurrently in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention. Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments described in the specification are presently preferred and that no particular act is required to implement the invention.

Referring to fig. 9, a block diagram of a semiconductor processing apparatus 901 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the semiconductor processing apparatus 901 includes a wafer cassette, a process chamber, and a robot for performing a process task, and slots of the process chamber wafer cassette respectively have types of wafers to be stored, and the apparatus further includes:

the controller 9011 is configured to determine first access position information of a wafer of the same type as a wafer of a wafer cassette to be processed currently in the wafer cassette when a process task is executed; the first access position information comprises the maximum slot position number which can be accessed continuously and a corresponding first continuous access position; determining second access position information of the wafer participating in the process task in the wafer box to be processed currently; the second access position information comprises the maximum wafer number which can be accessed continuously and a corresponding second continuous access position; determining the target number of wafers to be transmitted next time according to the maximum slot position number, the first continuous access position, the maximum wafer number, the second continuous access position and the finger number of the manipulator; the target number is not more than any number of the number of fingers; and controlling the manipulator to execute corresponding picking and placing operations according to the target quantity.

In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is configured to determine, according to the maximum number of slots, the first consecutive access position, the maximum number of wafers, the second consecutive access position, and the number of fingers, whether the robot performs a pick-and-place operation according to the target number, and may collide with the bottom or the top of the wafer cassette or the process chamber or damage other wafers; if the manipulator is determined not to collide with the bottom or the top of the wafer box or the process chamber or damage other wafers when the manipulator performs the picking and placing operation according to the target number, determining the target number according to numerical information of the maximum slot number, the maximum wafer number and the finger number; if it is determined that the robot performs the pick-and-place operation according to the target number and collides with the bottom or the top of the wafer cassette or the process chamber or damages other wafers, the target number is determined to be one.

In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is configured to determine that the target number is one if the maximum slot number is one.

In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is configured to determine that the target number is the maximum number of wafers if the maximum number of wafers is not greater than the maximum number of slots when the maximum number of slots is greater than one and the maximum number of slots is less than the number of fingers; and if the maximum wafer number is larger than the maximum slot position number, determining that the target number is the maximum slot position number.

In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is configured to determine the target number to be the number of fingers if the maximum number of slots is equal to the number of fingers.

In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is configured to determine that the target number is the number of fingers if the maximum number of wafers is not less than the number of fingers under the condition that a remainder value of the maximum number of slots and the number of fingers is greater than one and not greater than the number of fingers and the maximum number of slots is greater than a sum value of the remainder value and the number of fingers; if the maximum wafer number is one, determining that the target number is one; and if the maximum number of wafers is larger than one and the maximum number of wafers is smaller than the number of fingers, determining the target number as the maximum number of wafers.

In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is configured to determine that the target number is a remainder value if the maximum number of slots is not less than the remainder value when the maximum number of slots is greater than the number of fingers, a remainder value between the maximum number of slots and the number of fingers is greater than one and not greater than the number of fingers, and the maximum number of slots is not greater than a sum value between the remainder value and the number of fingers; and if the maximum wafer number is smaller than the remainder value, determining the target number as the maximum wafer number.

In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is configured to determine that the target number is the number of fingers if the maximum number of wafers is not less than the number of fingers when the maximum number of slots is greater than the number of fingers and a remainder value of the maximum number of slots and the number of fingers is equal to zero or equal to one; if the maximum wafer number is one, determining that the target number is one; and if the maximum number of wafers is larger than one and the maximum number of wafers is smaller than the number of fingers, determining the target number as the maximum number of wafers.

In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the manipulator includes a single-finger manipulator and a five-finger manipulator, and the controller is configured to control the single-finger manipulator to perform the pick-and-place operation if the target number is one; and if the target number is not one, controlling the five-finger manipulator to execute the pick-and-place operation.

For the device embodiment, since it is basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is simple, and for the relevant points, refer to the partial description of the method embodiment.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides an electronic device, including: the system comprises a processor, a memory and a computer program which is stored on the memory and can run on the processor, wherein when the computer program is executed by the processor, each process of the material transmission method embodiment is realized, the same technical effect can be achieved, and the details are not repeated here to avoid repetition.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program implements each process of the above-mentioned material transmission method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect, and in order to avoid repetition, the detailed description is omitted here.

The embodiments in the present specification are described in a progressive manner, each embodiment focuses on differences from other embodiments, and the same and similar parts among the embodiments are referred to each other.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, apparatus, or computer program product. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, terminal devices (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing terminal to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing terminal, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing terminal to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing terminal to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable terminal to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable terminal provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications of these embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the embodiments of the invention.

Finally, it should also be noted that, herein, relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or terminal that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or terminal. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or terminal that comprises the element.

The material conveying method and the semiconductor process equipment provided by the invention are described in detail, and the principle and the implementation mode of the invention are explained by applying specific examples, and the description of the examples is only used for helping to understand the method and the core idea of the invention; meanwhile, for a person skilled in the art, according to the idea of the present invention, there may be variations in the specific embodiments and the application scope, and in summary, the content of the present specification should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

Claims

1. A material transmission method is characterized by being applied to semiconductor process equipment, wherein the semiconductor process equipment comprises a wafer box, a process chamber and a mechanical arm, the wafer box is used for executing process tasks, slot positions of the wafer boat of the process chamber are respectively provided with wafer types which need to be stored, and the method comprises the following steps:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a target number of wafers to be transferred next based on the maximum slot number, the first consecutive access position, the maximum number of wafers, the second consecutive access position, and the number of fingers of the robot comprises:

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the target number according to numerical information of the maximum slot number, the maximum wafer number, and the number of fingers comprises:

4. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the target number according to numerical information of the maximum slot number, the maximum wafer number, and the number of fingers comprises:

5. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the target number according to numerical information of the maximum slot number, the maximum wafer number, and the number of fingers comprises:

6. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the target number according to numerical information of the maximum slot number, the maximum wafer number, and the number of fingers comprises:

if the maximum wafer number is one, determining that the target number is one;

7. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the target number according to numerical information of the maximum slot number, the maximum wafer number, and the number of fingers comprises:

8. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the target number according to numerical information of the maximum slot number, the maximum wafer number, and the number of fingers comprises:

if the maximum wafer number is one, determining that the target number is one;

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the manipulators comprise a single-finger manipulator and a five-finger manipulator, and the controlling the manipulators to perform corresponding pick-and-place operations according to the target number comprises:

10. A semiconductor process equipment is characterized by comprising a wafer box, a process chamber and a mechanical arm, wherein the wafer box, the process chamber and the mechanical arm are used for executing process tasks, slot positions of a wafer boat of the process chamber are respectively provided with wafer types which need to be stored, and the semiconductor process equipment further comprises: