CN114678310B

CN114678310B - Wafer transmission device

Info

Publication number: CN114678310B
Application number: CN202210142040.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 蔡斌; 刘二壮; 刘涛; 刘枫; 黄允文
Original assignee: Shanghai Pudate Semiconductor Equipment Co ltd
Current assignee: Pudate Semiconductor Equipment Xuzhou Co ltd; Shanghai Pudate Semiconductor Equipment Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-02-16
Filing date: 2022-02-16
Publication date: 2023-12-22
Anticipated expiration: 2042-02-16
Also published as: CN114678310A

Abstract

The invention provides a wafer transmission device, which comprises a transmission unit, a wafer bearing table and a wafer transmission unit, wherein the transmission unit comprises a transmission rail and a driving part, the surface of the transmission rail is provided with a first exhaust nozzle, gas is sprayed through the first exhaust nozzle to form an air cushion between a wafer and the transmission rail, and the transmission rail is driven to run by the driving part; the surface of the wafer carrying table is provided with a second exhaust nozzle, and gas is sprayed through the second exhaust nozzle so as to form an air cushion between the wafer and the wafer carrying table; the wafer conveying unit is provided with a wafer limiting part and a transmission part, wherein the wafer limiting part is used for limiting a wafer positioned on the conveying track, and the transmission part is used for driving the wafer limiting part to operate so as to transfer the wafer from the conveying track to the wafer bearing table. The invention can stably and rapidly transfer the wafer to the wafer bearing table, thereby saving the transmission time, ensuring the quality of the wafer and effectively saving manpower and material resources.

Description

Wafer transmission device

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the field of semiconductor equipment, and relates to a wafer transmission device.

Background

In the semiconductor manufacturing process, the wafer is the basis for manufacturing, and microelectronic devices with complex circuits can be manufactured through a series of processing processes such as grinding, photoetching, etching, depositing and the like on the wafer.

In the semiconductor manufacturing process, the wafer is generally flat and has a certain thickness, so as to ensure that the wafer is not easy to deform and break during the manufacturing process. However, according to the process requirements, the wafers in practical use are sometimes required to have a thinner thickness, but such thinner wafers have the problems of being flexible and easy to break, especially during the transportation process of the wafer processing.

In the conventional wafer transfer apparatus, contact transfer is generally adopted in the process of transferring wafers, such as grabbing and releasing the wafers by using a manipulator. This way of transporting wafers in contact has a great potential for thinner wafers, such as being prone to bending, breakage, etc., resulting in loss of manpower and material resources.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a novel wafer transfer device.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a wafer transfer apparatus for solving the problems of the prior art that the wafer is easily bent, broken, etc. when transferring a thinner wafer.

To achieve the above and other related objects, the present invention provides a wafer transfer apparatus, including:

the conveying unit comprises a conveying track and a driving part, wherein the surface of the conveying track is provided with a first exhaust nozzle, gas is sprayed through the first exhaust nozzle to form an air cushion between the wafer and the conveying track, and the driving part drives the conveying track to run;

the wafer carrying table is provided with a second exhaust nozzle on the surface, and gas is sprayed through the second exhaust nozzle to form an air cushion between the wafer and the wafer carrying table;

the wafer conveying unit is provided with a wafer limiting piece and a transmission part, the wafer is limited by the wafer limiting piece, and the transmission part drives the wafer limiting piece to operate so as to transfer the wafer from the transmission track to the wafer bearing table.

Optionally, the first exhaust nozzles on the surface of the conveying track have the same shape and are distributed at equal intervals; the second exhaust nozzles on the surface of the wafer carrying table have the same shape and are distributed at equal intervals.

Optionally, the gas ejected from the first exhaust port and acting on the wafer has the same pressure as the gas ejected from the second exhaust port and acting on the wafer.

Optionally, the tail end of the transmission track is arc-shaped, and the transmission track is matched with the wafer bearing table.

Optionally, the first exhaust nozzle and the second exhaust nozzle have the same morphology, and after the transmission track is matched with the wafer carrying table, the first exhaust nozzle and the second exhaust nozzle are distributed at equal intervals.

Optionally, the wafer limiting member includes a post or a clamping groove.

Optionally, a protection pad is coated on the surface of the wafer limiting piece, and the protection pad comprises a silica gel pad.

Optionally, the transmission part includes drive motor, cylinder and coupling, the coupling is fixed the cylinder reaches drive motor, the cylinder with the wafer locating part is connected, through drive motor drives the operation of wafer locating part, through the cylinder is right the wafer locating part is adjusted in order to centre gripping and release the wafer.

Optionally, the wafer conveying unit is fixed on the transmission track, and the wafer conveying unit is movably connected with the transmission track, and when the transmission track operates, the wafer conveying unit and the transmission track operate synchronously.

Optionally, the thickness of the wafer transferred by the wafer transfer device is 50 μm to 1000 μm.

As described above, the wafer conveying device of the present invention includes a conveying unit, a wafer carrying table, and a wafer conveying unit, where the conveying unit includes a conveying rail and a driving member, the surface of the conveying rail has a first exhaust nozzle, and gas is injected through the first exhaust nozzle to form an air cushion between the wafer and the conveying rail, and the conveying rail is driven to operate by the driving member; the surface of the wafer carrying table is provided with a second exhaust nozzle, and gas is sprayed through the second exhaust nozzle so as to form an air cushion between the wafer and the wafer carrying table; the wafer conveying unit is provided with a wafer limiting part and a transmission part, the wafer on the transmission track is limited by the wafer limiting part, and the transmission part drives the wafer limiting part to move so as to transfer the wafer from the transmission track to the wafer bearing table.

According to the wafer transmission device, the wafer is suspended in the air through the first exhaust nozzle and the second exhaust nozzle by utilizing the Bernoulli principle, so that the wafer can be stably transmitted, the wafer can be limited through the wafer limiting piece, the wafer damage is reduced, the wafer limiting piece is driven to operate through the transmission part, and finally the wafer can be stably and rapidly transferred to the wafer bearing table, so that the transmission time can be saved, the wafer quality can be ensured, and manpower and material resources can be effectively saved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing a transmission state structure of a wafer transmission device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing another transmission state structure of the wafer transmission device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic top view of the wafer transfer apparatus of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view of the wafer transfer apparatus of fig. 3 after transferring a wafer to a wafer carrier.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing a state structure of the wafer transfer unit when the wafer is clamped and released.

Description of element reference numerals

100. Transmission unit

101. Driving part

102. Transmission track

112. First exhaust nozzle

200. Wafer bearing table

210. Second exhaust nozzle

300. Wafer transfer unit

301. Wafer limiting piece

302. Transmission component

312. Cylinder

322. Coupling device

332. Transmission motor

400. Wafer with a plurality of wafers

Detailed Description

Other advantages and effects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following disclosure, which describes the embodiments of the present invention with reference to specific examples. The invention may be practiced or carried out in other embodiments that depart from the specific details, and the details of the present description may be modified or varied from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

As described in detail in the embodiments of the present invention, the cross-sectional view showing the structure is not partially enlarged or reduced to a general scale for convenience of explanation, and the schematic drawings are only illustrative and should not limit the scope of the present invention. In addition, the three-dimensional dimensions of length, width and depth should be included in actual fabrication.

For ease of description, spatially relative terms such as "under", "below", "beneath", "above", "upper" and the like may be used herein to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element or feature as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that these spatially relative terms are intended to encompass other orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. Further, when a layer is referred to as being "between" two layers, it may be the only layer between the two layers, or one or more intervening layers may also be present, with "between … …" being meant to include both endpoints.

In the context of this application, a structure described as a first feature being "on" a second feature may include embodiments where the first and second features are formed in direct contact, as well as embodiments where additional features are formed between the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact.

It should be noted that, the illustrations provided in the present embodiment merely illustrate the basic concept of the present invention by way of illustration, and only the components related to the present invention are shown in the drawings and are not drawn according to the number, shape and size of the components in actual implementation, and the form, number and proportion of each component in actual implementation may be changed at will, and the layout of the components may be more complex.

Referring to fig. 1 to 5, the present embodiment provides a wafer transfer apparatus, which includes a transfer unit 100, a wafer carrier 200, and a wafer transfer unit 300.

The transfer unit 100 includes a transfer rail 102 and a driving member 101, wherein a surface of the transfer rail 102 has a first exhaust nozzle 112, gas is injected through the first exhaust nozzle 112 to form an air cushion between a wafer 400 and the transfer rail 102, the driving member 101 drives the transfer rail 102 to move, a surface of the wafer carrier 200 has a second exhaust nozzle 210, and gas is injected through the second exhaust nozzle 210 to form an air cushion between the wafer 400 and the wafer carrier 200. The wafer conveying unit 300 is provided with a wafer limiting member 301 and a transmission member 302, the wafer 400 is limited by the wafer limiting member 301, and the transmission member 302 drives the wafer limiting member 301 to operate, so that the wafer 400 is transferred from the transmission rail 102 to the wafer bearing table 200.

Specifically, referring to fig. 1, in a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, a wafer needs to be transported, and a conventional transporting component generally uses a robot to transport the wafer in contact with the wafer, and this transporting manner has a great hidden trouble, such as fragments, on a wafer with a smaller thickness. Therefore, in this embodiment, the wafer transfer device is improved, the transfer rail 102 and the driving device 101 are disposed in the transfer unit 100, and the transfer rail 102 is driven by the driving device 101 to move so as to transfer the wafer 400 from the wafer storage area to the wafer processing area, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, two transfer states of the wafer transfer device are illustrated, and the wafer 400 is transferred from the wafer storage area to the wafer processing area by the movement of the transfer unit 100 between the wafer storage area and the wafer carrier 200.

When the wafer 400 is placed on the transfer rail 102, the gas sprayed through the first exhaust nozzle 112 may form an air cushion between the surface of the transfer rail 102 and the surface of the wafer 400, so that the wafer 400 may be suspended above the transfer rail 102 using the bernoulli principle, and similarly, when the wafer 400 is transferred onto the wafer carrier 200, the gas sprayed through the second exhaust nozzle 210 may form an air cushion between the surface of the wafer carrier 200 and the surface of the wafer 400, so that the wafer 400 may be suspended above the wafer carrier 200 using the bernoulli principle. Therefore, during the transferring process and during the wafer processing process of the wafer 400, the transferring track 102 and the wafer carrying table 200 are not in contact with the wafer 400, so that damage to the wafer 400 caused by the transferring track 102 and the wafer carrying table 200 can be effectively avoided.

Further, when the wafer 400 is suspended above the transfer rail 102, the wafer 400 may be limited by the wafer limiting member 301 in the wafer transfer unit 300, so as to improve the stability of the wafer 400. When the transfer rail 102 moves to the wafer processing area, that is, when the transfer rail 102 contacts the wafer carrier 200, the driving force can be provided to the wafer 400 by the driving member 302 in the wafer transfer unit 300, so as to push the wafer 400 from the transfer rail 102 to the wafer carrier 200, so as to process the wafer on the wafer carrier 200, as shown in fig. 3 and 4.

The wafer transmission device of the embodiment can stably and rapidly transfer the wafer 400 to the wafer carrying table 200, so that the transmission time can be saved, the quality of the wafer 400 is ensured, and the manpower and material resources are effectively saved.

As an example, the first exhaust vents 112 located on the surface of the conveyor track 102 have the same topography and are equally spaced apart; the second exhaust ports 210 on the surface of the wafer carrier 200 have the same shape and are equally spaced.

In particular, in order to improve the stability of the wafer 400 transferred on the surface of the transfer track 102, it is preferable that the first exhaust ports 112 on the surface of the transfer track 102 have the same shape and are equally spaced, wherein the shape of the first exhaust ports 112 may include a circle, a polygon, etc., the spacing between the first exhaust ports 112 may be set as required, and the gas provided by the first exhaust ports 112 is preferably nitrogen gas to reduce the contamination of the wafer 400, but the shape, distribution, type of the gas sprayed, etc. of the first exhaust ports 112 are not excessively limited herein. Similarly, the second exhaust ports 210 on the wafer carrier 200 are also preferably uniformly spaced with the same shape to provide stable gas to the wafer 400, and the shape, distribution, type of gas ejected from the second exhaust ports 210 are not limited herein.

Further, it is preferable that the gas applied to the wafer 400 injected from the first exhaust port 112 has the same pressure as the gas applied to the wafer 400 injected from the second exhaust port 210. So that the wafer 400 is less damaged when transferred from the transfer rail 102 to the wafer carrier 200.

As an example, the end of the transfer rail 102 is arc-shaped, and the transfer rail 102 is engaged with the wafer stage 400.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, in this embodiment, the end of the transmission track 102, which is adjacent to the wafer carrying table 400, is configured to be in a circular arc shape that can be well matched with the wafer carrying table 400, so that when the wafer 400 is transmitted between the transmission track 102 and the wafer carrying table 400, a smooth transition can be performed, and stability is improved.

As an example, the first exhaust nozzle 112 and the second exhaust nozzle 210 have the same shape, and after the transfer rail 102 is engaged with the wafer carrier 200, the first exhaust nozzle 112 and the second exhaust nozzle 210 are distributed at equal intervals.

Specifically, it is preferable that the first exhaust nozzle 112 and the second exhaust nozzle 210 have the same shape, and after the transmission track 102 is matched with the wafer carrier 200, the first exhaust nozzle 112 and the second exhaust nozzle 210 are distributed at equal intervals, so that the wafer 400 can be stably transmitted between the transmission track 102 and the wafer carrier 200, improving stability, and avoiding damage to the wafer 400.

As an example, the wafer limiter 301 includes a post or a clamping groove.

Specifically, when the wafer limiting member 301 employs the columns, the wafer 400 may be limited by a plurality of adjustable columns arranged at intervals, so as to release and stabilize the wafer 400. Of course, the wafer limiter 301 may also have a structure such as a slot, which is not limited herein.

As an example, the surface of the wafer limiter 301 is coated with a protection pad, where the protection pad may include a silica gel pad, so as to protect the edge of the wafer 400 by the protection pad, so as to further reduce damage to the wafer 400. Among them, the specific kind of the protective pad is not excessively limited herein.

As an example, the transmission component 302 may include a transmission motor 332, a cylinder 312, and a coupling 322, where the coupling 322 fixes the cylinder 312 and the transmission motor 332, the cylinder 312 is connected to the wafer limiter 301, the transmission motor 332 drives the wafer limiter 301 to operate, and the cylinder 312 adjusts the wafer limiter 301 to clamp and release the wafer 400.

Specifically, referring to fig. 3 and 4, schematic diagrams of the front and rear states of the wafer 400 when the wafer carrier 200 is transferred after the transfer rail 102 is engaged with the wafer carrier 200 are shown. When the transmission track 102 is engaged with the wafer carrier 200, the transmission motor 332 in the transmission component 302 drives the wafer limiting member 301 to operate, so as to transfer the wafer 400 onto the wafer carrier 200, and then the cylinder 312 adjusts the wafer limiting member 301 to release the wafer 400, thereby completing the wafer transmission process, and the specific types of the transmission motor 332, the coupling 322 and the cylinder 312 can be selected according to the needs, without being excessively limited herein. After the wafer 400 is transferred onto the wafer carrier 200, the wafer restraint 301 is adjusted by the air cylinder 312 to clamp and release the wafer 400, as shown in fig. 5.

As an example, the wafer transfer unit 302 may be fixed on the transmission rail 102, and the wafer transfer unit 302 is movably connected to the transmission rail 102, and when the transmission rail 102 is operated, the wafer transfer unit 302 is operated in synchronization with the transmission rail 102.

Specifically, when the wafer conveying unit 302 is fixed on the conveying track 102, the conveying track 102 may be driven to operate when the conveying track 102 operates, and after the conveying track 102 is engaged with the wafer carrying table 200, the wafer conveying unit 302 pushes the wafer 400, so that the acting distance of the wafer conveying unit 302 may be reduced, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the wafer conveying unit 302 may be separately provided as required, for example, may be fixed at a suitable position on an inner wall of the wafer conveying device, etc., and is not excessively limited herein.

As an example, the thickness of the wafer 400 transferred by the wafer transfer device is 50 μm to 1000 μm.

Specifically, the wafer transmission device in this embodiment uses the bernoulli principle to perform transmission, so that good transmission can be achieved for the wafer 400 with a relatively thin thickness, for example, the thickness of the wafer 400 may be 50 μm, 100 μm, 200 μm, 500 μm, 1000 μm, etc., and smooth and rapid transfer of the wafer 400 can be achieved, so that transmission time is saved, quality of the wafer 400 is ensured, and manpower and material resources are effectively saved.

In summary, the wafer transfer apparatus of the present invention includes a transfer unit, a wafer carrying table, and a wafer transfer unit, where the transfer unit includes a transfer rail and a driving member, the surface of the transfer rail has a first exhaust nozzle, and gas is injected through the first exhaust nozzle to form an air cushion between the wafer and the transfer rail, and the driving member drives the transfer rail to move; the surface of the wafer carrying table is provided with a second exhaust nozzle, and gas is sprayed through the second exhaust nozzle so as to form an air cushion between the wafer and the wafer carrying table; the wafer conveying unit is provided with a wafer limiting part and a transmission part, the wafer on the transmission track is limited by the wafer limiting part, and the transmission part drives the wafer limiting part to move so as to transfer the wafer from the transmission track to the wafer bearing table.

The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention and its effectiveness, and are not intended to limit the invention. Modifications and variations may be made to the above-described embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that all equivalent modifications and variations of the invention be covered by the claims, which are within the ordinary skill of the art, be within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A wafer transfer apparatus, comprising:

the wafer carrying table is provided with a second exhaust nozzle on the surface, and gas is sprayed through the second exhaust nozzle to form an air cushion between the wafer and the wafer carrying table; the tail end of the transmission track is arc-shaped, the transmission track is matched with the wafer bearing table, and after the transmission track is matched with the wafer bearing table, the first exhaust nozzle and the second exhaust nozzle are distributed at equal intervals, and gas which is sprayed from the first exhaust nozzle and acts on the wafer has the same pressure as gas which is sprayed from the second exhaust nozzle and acts on the wafer;

the wafer conveying unit is provided with a wafer limiting part and a transmission part, the wafer is limited by the wafer limiting part, and transverse pushing force is provided for the wafer by the transmission part, so that the wafer is driven to move by the wafer limiting part, and the wafer is pushed onto the wafer bearing table which is matched with the wafer along the transverse direction from the transmission track.

2. The wafer transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the first exhaust nozzles on the surface of the conveying track have the same shape and are distributed at equal intervals; the second exhaust nozzles on the surface of the wafer carrying table have the same shape and are distributed at equal intervals.

3. The wafer transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the first exhaust nozzle and the second exhaust nozzle have the same appearance.

4. The wafer transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the wafer limiting piece comprises an upright post or a clamping groove.

5. The wafer transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the surface cladding of wafer locating part has the protection pad, the protection pad includes the silica gel pad.

6. The wafer transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the transmission part comprises a transmission motor, an air cylinder and a coupling, wherein the coupling is used for fixing the air cylinder and the transmission motor, the air cylinder is connected with the wafer limiting part, the wafer limiting part is driven to operate by the transmission motor, and the wafer limiting part is adjusted by the air cylinder to clamp and release the wafer.

7. The wafer transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the wafer conveying unit is fixed on the transmission track and movably connected with the transmission track, and when the transmission track operates, the wafer conveying unit and the transmission track synchronously operate.

8. The wafer transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the thickness of the wafer conveyed by the wafer conveying device is 50-1000 mu m.