CN115301625A

CN115301625A - Wafer turning device and wafer cleaning equipment

Info

Publication number: CN115301625A
Application number: CN202211065266.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 丁同周; 孙增强
Original assignee: Beijing Naura Microelectronics Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Naura Microelectronics Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-08-31
Filing date: 2022-08-31
Publication date: 2022-11-08

Abstract

The invention provides a wafer overturning device, which comprises an overturning assembly and a clamping assembly, wherein the clamping assembly comprises a driving device and a plurality of clamping structures, each clamping structure is provided with a plurality of first clamping parts and a plurality of second clamping parts, the plurality of first clamping parts are distributed at intervals along the axial direction of a rotating shaft corresponding to the clamping structure, the plurality of second clamping parts are distributed at intervals along the axial direction of the rotating shaft corresponding to the clamping structure, the rotating shafts corresponding to the plurality of clamping structures are mutually parallel, the driving device is used for driving each clamping structure to rotate around the corresponding rotating shaft so as to drive the plurality of first clamping parts corresponding to the axial position to clamp a pre-process wafer corresponding to the axial position, or drive the plurality of second clamping parts corresponding to the axial position to clamp a post-process wafer corresponding to the axial position; the overturning assembly is used for driving the clamping assembly to overturn so that the clamping assembly drives the wafer clamped by the clamping assembly to overturn together. The wafer overturning device provided by the invention can ensure the cleanliness of the surface of the wafer. The invention also provides wafer cleaning equipment.

Description

Wafer turning device and wafer cleaning equipment

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of wafer cleaning equipment, in particular to a wafer overturning device and wafer cleaning equipment comprising the same.

Background

With the rapid increase of the market scale of the domestic semiconductor industry, the demand and supply of semiconductor devices are seriously insufficient and highly depend on import, the self-supply rate of chips produced in China is less than 10 percent, so that the domestic semiconductor industry gradually pays attention to and increases investment, and the semiconductor industry is attracted to a larger development space under the strong support of the country and the government. The chip industry is the main representative of the semiconductor industry and the foundation of the whole electronic information technology industry, the demand of chips is increasing day by day, the requirements on related machine products are higher, and the chip industry has very important significance in actively and effectively improving the process efficiency of the machine.

In some semiconductor processes, it is necessary to turn the wafer horizontally and vertically so that the wafer enters the subsequent processes in a desired posture. For example, in a tank cleaning process, a wafer to be cleaned in a horizontal state sent from an upstream machine needs to be turned over to a vertical state for being vertically placed into a cleaning tank for cleaning, and after the wafer is cleaned, the wafer needs to be turned over from the vertical state to the horizontal state for a subsequent process (such as a deposition and etching process) to be performed. However, the conventional wafer horizontal and vertical turnover device often causes the cleaned wafer to be polluted.

Therefore, how to provide a wafer turnover device capable of ensuring the cleanliness of the wafer becomes a technical problem to be solved in the field.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a wafer overturning device and wafer cleaning equipment comprising the same.

In order to achieve the above object, as an aspect of the present invention, a wafer flipping apparatus is provided, which includes a flipping assembly and a clamping assembly, where the clamping assembly includes a driving device and a plurality of clamping structures, each of the clamping structures has a plurality of first clamping portions and a plurality of second clamping portions, the plurality of first clamping portions are axially spaced apart along a rotation axis corresponding to the clamping structure, the plurality of second clamping portions are axially spaced apart along a rotation axis corresponding to the clamping structure, the rotation axes corresponding to the plurality of clamping structures are parallel to each other, and the driving device is configured to drive each of the clamping structures to rotate around the corresponding rotation axis, so as to drive the plurality of first clamping portions corresponding to axial positions to clamp a pre-process wafer corresponding to the axial positions, or drive the plurality of second clamping portions corresponding to axial positions to clamp a post-process wafer corresponding to the axial positions; the overturning assembly is used for driving the clamping assembly to overturn so that the clamping assembly drives the wafer clamped by the clamping assembly to overturn together.

Optionally, the overturning assembly includes a first mounting seat and a hollow rotary table, the hollow rotary table is fixedly disposed on the first mounting seat, and a rotating portion of the hollow rotary table is connected to the clamping assembly to drive the clamping assembly to overturn.

Optionally, the clamping assembly further comprises a connecting seat, the connecting seat comprises a top plate, a bottom plate, a first side plate and a second side plate, the top plate and the bottom plate are arranged at an interval, the top plate and the bottom plate are fixedly connected by two opposite sides of the top plate and the bottom plate respectively, the clamping assembly comprises four clamping structures, the top ends and the bottom ends of the clamping structures are movably connected with the top plate and the bottom plate respectively, and two sides of the top plate and the bottom plate, which are not connected with the side plates, are respectively formed as a first sheet running port and a second sheet running port of the clamping assembly;

two of the four clamping structures are correspondingly arranged on two sides of the first wafer running port, and the other two clamping structures are correspondingly arranged on two sides of the second wafer running port, so that the wafer can enter and exit a wafer accommodating space between the four clamping structures from a position between the two clamping structures corresponding to the first wafer running port, or enter and exit the wafer accommodating space from a position between the two clamping structures corresponding to the second wafer running port;

the rotating part of the hollow rotary table is fixedly connected with the first side plate.

Optionally, a wiring hole is formed in the first side plate, the wiring hole is communicated with an inner hole of a rotating portion of the hollow rotary table, the clamping assembly further comprises at least one power supply cable, one end of the power supply cable is connected with the driving device, and the other end of the power supply cable sequentially penetrates through the wiring hole and the inner hole of the rotating portion and is used for being connected with a power supply.

Optionally, the clamping assembly further includes a pointer, a first end of the pointer is fixedly connected to the first side plate, and a second end of the pointer extends in a direction away from the second side plate and passes through the inner hole of the rotating portion;

the overturning assembly further comprises a plurality of rotation sensors, the rotation sensors are arranged around the inner hole of the rotating portion and used for detecting the positions of the second ends of the pointers so as to determine the rotating angle of the clamping assembly.

Optionally, the clamping assembly further includes a first wafer sensor and at least one second wafer sensor, where the first wafer sensor is configured to detect whether the plurality of clamping structures carry wafers; the second wafer sensor is used for detecting whether the wafers borne by the clamping structures are separated from the clamping structures or not in the direction pointing to the first wafer walking port along the second wafer walking port.

Optionally, the first wafer sensor includes a first signal emitter and a first signal receiver, one of the first signal emitter and the first signal receiver is disposed on an edge of the top plate corresponding to one side of the first sheet feeding port, and the other one of the first signal emitter and the first signal receiver is disposed on an edge of the bottom plate corresponding to one side of the first sheet feeding port, the first signal receiver is configured to receive a first signal emitted by the first signal emitter, and the first signal can be blocked by the wafer when the wafer is carried by the clamping structure;

the second wafer sensor comprises a second signal transmitter and a second signal receiver, one of the second signal transmitter and the second signal receiver is arranged on the edge of the top plate corresponding to one side of the first wafer feeding port, the other one of the second signal transmitter and the second signal receiver is arranged on the edge of the bottom plate corresponding to one side of the first wafer feeding port, the second signal receiver is used for receiving a second signal sent by the second signal transmitter, and the second signal can be shielded by the wafer pulled out by the clamping structure.

Optionally, the wafer turnover device further comprises a support assembly, the support assembly comprises a second mounting seat and a support shaft, the support shaft is movably arranged on the second mounting seat and can rotate around the axis of the support shaft, the support shaft is coaxial with the hollow turntable, and one end of the support shaft is fixedly connected with the second side plate of the clamping assembly.

Optionally, a wafer fixing groove for clamping a wafer is formed in each of the first clamping portion and the second clamping portion, and a projection shape of a bottom of the wafer fixing groove along an axial direction of the corresponding spindle is an arc.

As a second aspect of the present invention, a wafer cleaning apparatus is provided, where the wafer cleaning apparatus includes a wafer feeding side transportation device, a wafer discharging side transportation device, a cleaning tank, and the wafer turnover device, where the wafer feeding side transportation device is configured to horizontally place a wafer to be cleaned in the wafer turnover device, and take out a horizontally placed cleaned wafer from the wafer turnover device, and the wafer discharging side transportation device is configured to take out a vertically placed wafer to be cleaned from the wafer turnover device, transfer the wafer to be cleaned to the cleaning tank, and take out the cleaned wafer from the cleaning tank and vertically place the wafer in the wafer turnover device; the cleaning tank is used for cleaning the wafer.

In the wafer overturning device provided by the invention, the clamping structure is provided with the first clamping part and the second clamping part, and the driving device can drive the clamping structure to rotate, so that the first clamping part and the second clamping part are respectively contacted with different types of wafers (such as a wafer to be cleaned and a cleaned wafer), mutual pollution among the different types of wafers is avoided, and the cleanliness of the surfaces of the wafers is ensured.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention and not to limit the invention. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer flipping apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a clamping assembly of the wafer flipping apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the clamping assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a clamping structure of a clamping assembly in the wafer flipping apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a clamping member of a clamping structure of a clamping assembly in the wafer flipping apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a first clamping portion of the clamp of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a second clamping portion of the clamp of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state of a chuck assembly of the wafer flipping apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention after loading a wafer;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a flip assembly of the wafer flipping apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a turn-over assembly of the wafer turn-over apparatus provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a support assembly of the wafer flipping apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a support assembly in the wafer flipping apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 to 19 are schematic operation flow diagrams of the wafer cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention;

fig. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of reference numerals:

10: connection part 20: a first clamping part

21: first body portion 22: first clamping tooth

30: second clamping portion 31: second main body part

32: second clip tooth 13: wafer fixing groove

100: the overturning assembly 110: first mounting seat

111: first riser 112: first transverse plate

113: first reinforcing plate 120: hollow rotary table

121: rotating portion 122: driving part

130: rotation sensor 140: sensor fixing plate

200: the clamping assembly 211: top board

212: bottom plate 213: first side plate

2131: the wire hole 214: second side plate

215: the clamping bearing 220: drive device

221: the motor 222: speed reducer

223: the protective cover 230: clamping structure

231: rotation shaft 232: clamping piece

233: stopper 240: pointer with a movable finger

241: horizontal portion 242: a bent part

250: first wafer sensor 260: second wafer sensor

300: the support assembly 310: second mounting seat

311: second riser 312: second transverse plate

313: second reinforcing plate 320: supporting shaft

330: support bearing 340: bearing end cap

350: sealing plate 400: sheet feeding side conveying device

500: delivery side conveyer

Detailed Description

The following describes in detail embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the present invention, are given by way of illustration and explanation only, not limitation.

The inventor of the present invention has found, after research on the existing wafer horizontal and vertical turnover device, that the existing wafer horizontal and vertical turnover device often causes contamination of a cleaned wafer, because the existing device only contacts the wafer through a set of wafer support structure, that is, contacts the wafer (dirty wafer) to be cleaned and the cleaned wafer (clean wafer) through the same contact surface, and then impurities and particles which are contaminated when contacting the wafer to be cleaned are transferred to the surface of the cleaned wafer, thereby causing contamination of the cleaned wafer.

In order to solve the above technical problem, as an aspect of the present invention, a wafer flipping apparatus is provided, as shown in fig. 1, the wafer flipping apparatus includes a flipping module 100 and a clamping module 200, as shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3, the clamping module 200 includes a driving device 220 and a plurality of clamping structures 230, each clamping structure 230 has a plurality of first clamping portions 20 and a plurality of second clamping portions 30, the plurality of first clamping portions 20 are distributed at intervals along an axial direction of a spindle corresponding to the clamping structure 230, the plurality of second clamping portions 30 are distributed at intervals along the axial direction of the spindle corresponding to the clamping structure 230, the spindles corresponding to the plurality of clamping structures 230 are parallel to each other, the driving device 220 is configured to drive each clamping structure 230 to rotate around the corresponding spindle, so as to drive the plurality of first clamping portions 20 corresponding to clamp a pre-process wafer at a corresponding axial position (as shown in fig. 8), or drive the plurality of second clamping portions 30 corresponding to clamp a post-process wafer at a corresponding axial position, and the flipping module 100 is configured to drive the clamping module 200 to flip the wafer 1 clamped by the clamping module 200 together.

When the wafer flipping device provided by the present invention receives a wafer before the process, as shown in fig. 13 to 14, the driving device 220 may drive the plurality of clamping structures 230 to rotate until the first clamping portion 20 of each group of clamping structures 230 faces the wafer accommodating space (i.e. faces the wafer 1) after the wafer enters the wafer accommodating space between the plurality of clamping structures 230, so that the plurality of clamping structures 230 clamp the corresponding wafer 1 through the plurality of first clamping portions 20 corresponding to the same axial position (as shown in fig. 8); when the wafer flipping apparatus provided in the embodiment of the invention receives the processed wafer, as shown in fig. 17 to 18, the driving apparatus 220 may drive the plurality of clamping structures 230 to rotate until the second clamping portions 30 of each group of clamping structures 230 face the wafer accommodating space (i.e. face the wafer 1) after the wafer enters the wafer accommodating space, so that the plurality of clamping structures 230 clamp the corresponding wafer through the plurality of second clamping portions 30 corresponding to the same axial position.

In the wafer flipping apparatus provided by the present invention, the clamping structure 230 has a first clamping portion 20 and a second clamping portion 30, the driving device 220 can drive the plurality of clamping structures 230 to rotate until all the first clamping portions 20 face the wafer accommodating space located between the plurality of clamping structures 230, and can also drive the plurality of clamping structures 230 to rotate until all the second clamping portions 30 face the wafer accommodating space, so that wafers of different batches can be clamped by the first clamping portions 20 and the second clamping portions 30, respectively.

For example, when the wafer flipping device provided by the present invention is applied to a wafer cleaning apparatus, a wafer before a process is a wafer to be cleaned (dirty wafer), and a wafer after a process is a cleaned wafer (clean wafer), when receiving the wafer to be cleaned and flipping the wafer to be sent to a cleaning tank, the driving device 220 may drive the plurality of clamping structures 230 to rotate until all the first clamping portions 20 face the wafer accommodating space, and clamp the wafer to be cleaned (dirty wafer) transferred from an upstream machine through the first clamping portions 20, and then the flipping module 100 drives the clamping module 200 to drive the wafer to rotate, so that the wafer is flipped from a horizontal state to a vertical state, so that the wafer is vertically inserted into the cleaning tank for cleaning; when receiving the cleaned wafer (clean wafer), the driving device 220 may drive the plurality of clamping structures 230 to rotate until the second clamping portion 30 faces the wafer accommodating space, and clamp the cleaned wafer in a vertical state through the second clamping portion 30, and finally the flipping module 100 drives the clamping module 200 to drive the wafer to rotate, so that the wafer is flipped from the vertical state to a horizontal state, so as to be transported downstream in a normal horizontal state and perform a corresponding process. That is, the first clamping portion 20 is only used for contacting with the dirty wafer, and the second clamping portion 30 is only used for contacting with the clean wafer, so that impurities such as particles left by the dirty wafer are prevented from polluting the clean wafer, and the surface cleanliness of the cleaned wafer is guaranteed.

In the wafer turnover device provided by the invention, the clamping structure 230 has the first clamping part 20 and the second clamping part 30, and the driving device 220 can drive the clamping structure 230 to rotate, so that the first clamping part 20 and the second clamping part 30 are respectively contacted with different types of wafers (such as a wafer to be cleaned and a wafer after cleaning), mutual pollution between the different types of wafers is avoided, and the cleanliness of the wafer surface is ensured.

It should be noted that the turnover assembly 100 is fixedly disposed, for example, the turnover assembly 100 may be mounted on a rack to drive the clamping assembly 200 to turn around a horizontal axis relative to the rack and other machine tables.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 9 and 10, the flipping unit 100 includes a first mounting base 110 and a hollow rotating table 120 (the first mounting base 110 is configured to be fixedly disposed on the rack), the hollow rotating table 120 is fixedly disposed on the first mounting base 110, and a rotating portion 121 of the hollow rotating table 120 is connected to (a first side plate 213 of) the clamping unit 200 to drive the clamping unit 200 to flip.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the part of the flipping unit 100 driving the holding unit 200 to rotate is the hollow turntable 120, so that the power supply cable of the driving device 220 or the wiring of the sensor and other elements on the holding unit 200 can be led out through the inner hole of the hollow turntable 120, thereby preventing the wiring of the device on the holding unit 200 from being affected by the rotation action and improving the overall performance of the wafer flipping unit.

As an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the connecting socket includes a top plate 211, a bottom plate 212, a first side plate 213 and a second side plate 214, the top plate 211 and the bottom plate 212 are disposed at an interval, the first side plate 213 and the second side plate 214 respectively fixedly connect the top plate 211 and the bottom plate 212 by two opposite sides of the top plate 211 and the bottom plate 212, the clamping assembly 200 includes four clamping structures 230, top ends and bottom ends of the clamping structures 230 are respectively movably connected with the top plate 211 and the bottom plate 212, and two sides of the top plate 211 and the bottom plate 212, which are not connected with the side plates, are respectively formed as a first tab opening (for example, an opening located in front of the top plate 211 and the bottom plate 212 in fig. 3) and a second tab opening (for example, an opening located in back of the top plate 211 and the bottom plate 212 in fig. 3).

Two of the four clamping structures 230 are correspondingly arranged at two sides of the first film-feeding opening, and the other two clamping structures are correspondingly arranged at two sides of the second film-feeding opening, so that the wafer can enter and exit the wafer accommodating space between the two clamping structures 230 corresponding to the first film-feeding opening, or enter and exit the wafer accommodating space between the two clamping structures 230 corresponding to the second film-feeding opening;

the rotating portion 121 of the idle turret 120 is fixedly connected to the first side plate 213.

In the embodiment of the present invention, two clamping structures 230 of the four clamping structures 230 are correspondingly disposed at two sides of the first wafer running port, so that as shown in fig. 13 to 14 and 19, a wafer (to be cleaned) before a process can enter the wafer accommodating space through between the two clamping structures 230 of the first wafer running port and be clamped by the four clamping structures 230, or after the process (cleaned) wafer is released by the four clamping structures 230, the wafer passes through between the two clamping structures 230 of the first wafer running port and is taken out from the wafer accommodating space; as shown in fig. 15 to 17, after the turnover assembly 100 turns over the clamping assembly 200 to the other side of the second wafer feeding port facing downward, the wafer may be taken out through the second wafer feeding port after being released by the two clamping structures 230 of the second wafer feeding port, or the wafer may enter the wafer accommodating space through the space between the two clamping structures 230 of the second wafer feeding port and be clamped by the four clamping structures 230, so as to turn the wafer into a horizontal state after the process.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 3, the first side plate 213 has a wiring hole 2131 formed therein, the wiring hole 2131 communicates with an inner hole of the rotating portion 121 of the hollow turntable 120, the clamping assembly 200 further includes at least one power supply cable, one end of the power supply cable is connected to the driving device 220, and the other end of the power supply cable sequentially passes through the wiring hole 2131 and the inner hole of the rotating portion 121 and is used for connecting to a power supply.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the turning assembly 100 drives the connecting seat to drive the clamping assembly 200 to turn over integrally through the hollow turntable 120 fixed on the first mounting seat 110, and the inner hole of the hollow turntable 120 is communicated with the wafer accommodating space through the wiring hole 2131 on the first side plate 213, so that the power supply cable, the control cable, the sensor wiring and other lines of the driving device 220 can be led out through the wiring hole 2131 and the inner hole of the hollow turntable 120, the device wiring on the clamping assembly 200 is prevented from being influenced by the rotation action, and the overall performance of the wafer turning device is improved.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 9 and 10, the first mounting seat 110 includes a first vertical plate 111 and a first horizontal plate 112, a bottom end of the first vertical plate 111 is fixedly disposed on the first horizontal plate 112, the hollow rotary table 120 is fixedly disposed on the first vertical plate 111, the driving portion 122 of the hollow rotary table 120 passes through a through hole on the first vertical plate 111 and is connected with the clamping assembly 200, and the first horizontal plate 112 is used for being fixedly connected (by a fastener) with (a frame of) the machine table.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 9 and 10, the first mounting seat 110 further includes at least one first reinforcing plate 113, and the first reinforcing plate 113 is connected between the first vertical plate 111 and the first horizontal plate 112 and functions as a reinforcing rib, so as to improve the stability of the overall structure of the first mounting seat 110.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 9 and 10, the hollow turntable 120 further includes a driving portion 122 for driving the rotating portion 121 to rotate, and both the rotating portion 121 and the driving portion 122 are fixedly disposed on the first riser 111 of the first mounting seat 110.

In order to ensure the accuracy of the rotation angle of the clamping assembly 200, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the clamping assembly 200 further includes a pointer 240, a first end of the pointer 240 is fixedly connected to the first side plate 213, and a second end of the pointer 240 extends in a direction away from the second side plate 214 and passes through the inner hole of the rotating portion 121;

as shown in fig. 9 and 10, the flipping module 100 further includes a plurality of rotation sensors 130, and the plurality of rotation sensors 130 are disposed around the inner hole of the rotating part 121 for detecting the position of the second end of the pointer 240 to determine the rotation angle of the holding module 200.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the clamping assembly 200 further includes a pointer 240, and a second end of the pointer 240 passes through the inner hole of the rotating portion 121, so that the pointer can be sensed by the plurality of rotation sensors 130 on the flipping unit 100, and the position of the pointer 240 rotating with the clamping assembly 200 can be determined based on the feedback signal of the rotation sensors 130, so as to determine the rotation angle of the clamping assembly 200, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the rotation angle of the clamping assembly 200.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 2, the pointer 240 includes a horizontal portion 241 and a bent portion 242, a first end of the horizontal portion 241 is fixedly connected to the first side plate 213, a second end of the horizontal portion 241 extends along a direction away from the second side plate 214 and passes through the inner hole of the rotating portion 121, and is fixedly connected to the bent portion 242, and an included angle exists between the bent portion 242 and the horizontal portion 241. As shown in fig. 9 and 10, the rotation sensor 130 is a sensor based on an optical principle, that is, the rotation sensor 130 includes a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion spaced along a horizontal rotation axis, and when the bending portion 242 rotates to any angle of the rotation sensor 130 along with the clamping assembly 200, the bending portion 242 can be shielded between the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the corresponding rotation sensor 130, so as to trigger the rotation sensor 130, and implement feedback of the rotation angle of the clamping assembly 200.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 9 and 10, the first mounting seat 110 further includes a sensor fixing plate 140, the sensor fixing plate 140 is fixedly disposed on a side of the first riser 111 facing away from the clamping assembly 200, and the rotation sensor 130 is fixedly disposed on the sensor fixing plate 140.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 9 and 10, the flipping unit 100 includes three rotation sensors 130, one rotation sensor 130 is located directly above the inner hole of the rotating part 121, and the other two rotation sensors are located at two sides of the inner hole axis of the rotating part 121 along the horizontal direction, so as to be able to detect the rotation position of the clamping unit 200 in the horizontal state and the rotation position after flipping to the vertical state.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the clamping assembly 200 further includes a first wafer sensor 250 and at least one second wafer sensor 260, the first wafer sensor 250 is used for detecting whether the plurality of clamping structures 230 carry a wafer; the second wafer sensor 260 is used for detecting the position of the wafer carried by the plurality of clamping structures 230 along the direction of the second wafer feeding port pointing to the first wafer feeding port, so as to detect whether the wafer is pulled out from the clamping structures 230.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the clamping assembly 200 is provided with a first wafer sensor 250 and a second wafer sensor 260, the first wafer sensor 250 is used for detecting whether a wafer is inserted between the clamping structures 230 so as to determine whether to perform subsequent actions such as clamping and overturning, and the second wafer sensor 260 can detect whether the wafer carried by the plurality of clamping structures 230 is separated from the clamping structures 230 in a direction pointing to the first wafer-feeding port along the second wafer-feeding port, so that an abnormality is found in time when the wafer is separated due to centrifugal force during overturning, the overturning action and the time loss are stopped, and the safety of a semiconductor process is improved.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the clamping assembly 200 includes a pair of second wafer sensors 260, and the two second wafer sensors 260 are located at two opposite sides of the first wafer sensor 250, so as to improve the accuracy of detecting the wafer out-of-position.

As an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3, the first wafer sensor 250 includes a first signal transmitter 251 and a first signal receiver 252, one of the first signal transmitter 251 and the first signal receiver 252 is disposed on an edge of the top plate corresponding to one side of the first sheet through opening, the other one of the first signal transmitter 251 and the first signal receiver 252 is disposed on an edge of the bottom plate corresponding to one side of the first sheet through opening, the first signal receiver 252 is configured to receive a first signal sent by the first signal transmitter 251, and the first signal can be blocked by the wafer when the wafer is carried by the clamping structure 230;

the second wafer sensor 260 includes a second signal transmitter 261 and a second signal receiver 262, one of the second signal transmitter 261 and the second signal receiver 262 is disposed on an edge of the top plate corresponding to one side of the first sheet feeding port, and the other is disposed on the bottom plate corresponding to one side of the first sheet feeding port, the second signal receiver 262 is configured to receive a second signal transmitted by the second signal transmitter 261, and the second signal can be blocked by the wafer pulled out by the clamping structure 230.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first signal and the second signal are both optical signals.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the top plate 211 and the bottom plate 212 are formed with a plurality of sensor notches on one side edge corresponding to the first sheet running port, and the first signal transmitter 251, the first signal receiver 252, the second signal transmitter 261 and the second signal receiver 262 are all disposed in the corresponding sensor notches, so that the wafer sensor is disposed at a height where the top plate 211 and the bottom plate 212 are located, the space utilization rate of the clamping assembly 200 in the height direction is improved, the overall volume of the clamping assembly 200 is reduced, and the compactness of the semiconductor processing equipment (e.g., the wafer cleaning equipment) is improved.

As an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 1, 11 and 12, the wafer flipping apparatus further includes a support assembly 300, the support assembly 300 includes a second mounting base 310 and a support shaft 320, the support shaft 320 is movably disposed on the second mounting base 310 and can rotate around its axis, the support shaft 320 is coaxial with the hollow turntable 120, and one end of the support shaft 320 is fixedly connected to the second side plate 214 of the clamping assembly 200.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the supporting shaft 320 is coaxial with the hollow turntable 120, and is connected to both sides of the clamping assembly 200 respectively with the hollow turntable 120, so that the supporting shaft can rotate together with the clamping assembly 200 when the hollow turntable 120 drives the clamping assembly 200 to overturn, thereby supporting one side of the clamping assembly 200 away from the overturning assembly 100, and improving the stability of the overturning action of the wafer overturning device.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 11 and 12, the second mounting seat 310 includes a second vertical plate 311 and a second horizontal plate 312, a bottom end of the second vertical plate 311 is fixedly disposed on the second horizontal plate 312, the supporting shaft 320 is movably disposed on the second vertical plate 311, and one end of the supporting shaft passes through a through hole on the second vertical plate 311 and is connected to the clamping assembly 200, and the second horizontal plate 312 is used for being fixedly connected (by a fastener) to (a frame of) the machine platform.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 11 and 12, the second mounting seat 310 further includes at least one second reinforcing plate 313, and the second reinforcing plate 313 is connected between the second vertical plate 311 and the second horizontal plate 312, and functions as a reinforcing rib, so as to improve the stability of the overall structure of the second mounting seat 310.

As an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 12, the supporting assembly 300 further includes a supporting bearing 330 and a bearing cover 340, the supporting bearing 330 is disposed in the through hole of the second vertical plate 311, and movably connects an inner wall of the through hole of the second vertical plate 311 with the supporting shaft 320, and the bearing cover 340 is used for fixing axial positions of the supporting bearing 330 and the supporting shaft 320.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 12, the supporting assembly 300 further includes a sealing plate 350, the sealing plate 350 is disposed on the supporting shaft 320 and fixedly disposed on a side of the second riser 311 facing the clamping assembly 200 for sealing a side of the supporting bearing 330 facing the clamping assembly 200, so as to prevent dust generated by the bearing during rolling from contaminating the wafer. Optionally, the sealing plate 350 is nylon.

As an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the first clamping part 20 and the second clamping part 30 can clamp the wafer 1 through a groove structure, and specifically, as shown in fig. 6 and 7, a wafer fixing groove 13 for clamping the wafer 1 is formed in each of the first clamping part 20 and the second clamping part 30. Preferably, the projection shape of the bottom of the wafer fixing groove 13 along the axial direction of the corresponding rotating shaft is a circular arc.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the bottom of the wafer fixing groove 13 extends along the circular arc track, so as to correspond to the circular outer contour of the wafer, so that both sidewalls of the wafer fixing groove 13 are in line contact with the edge of the wafer, thereby increasing the contact area between the clamping structure 230 and the wafer, and further ensuring the stability of the wafer position.

In order to ensure the accuracy of the wafer position, as shown in fig. 6 and 7, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the width of the wafer fixing groove 13 gradually decreases from the center of the arc corresponding to the bottom of the wafer fixing groove 13.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the width of the wafer fixing groove 13 is gradually reduced along the direction entering the wafer fixing groove 13, so that before the plurality of clamping structures 230 clamp the wafer, the sidewall of the wafer fixing groove 13 is firstly used to support the bottom of the wafer, after the wafer 1 is placed into the plurality of wafer fixing grooves 13 at each height, the driving device 220 drives the plurality of clamping structures 230 to be screwed, and the edge of the wafer is clamped into the bottoms of the plurality of wafer fixing grooves 13, thereby realizing the accurate positioning of the wafer position.

Alternatively, the width of the wafer fixing groove 13 is uniformly varied with the depth in the direction of entering the wafer fixing groove 13, that is, as shown in fig. 6 and 7, the cross section of the wafer fixing groove 13 is formed in a "V" shape.

As an alternative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the clamping structure 230 includes a rotating shaft 231 and a clamping member 232, the clamping member 232 includes a connecting portion 10, and a plurality of first clamping portions 20 and a plurality of second clamping portions 30 fixedly connected to two opposite sides of the connecting portion 10, the clamping member 232 is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 231, and the driving device 220 is configured to drive the rotating shaft 231 to rotate around its axis to drive the corresponding clamping member 232 to rotate, so as to drive the clamping member 232 to rotate.

As shown in fig. 6, the first clamping portion 20 includes a first main body portion 21 and a pair of first clamping teeth 22, the first clamping teeth 22 are fixedly connected with the connecting portion 10 through the first main body portion 21, and each pair of first clamping teeth 22 is spaced along the axial direction of the rotating shaft 231 so as to form a wafer fixing groove 13 between the two first clamping teeth 22, and the plurality of first clamping portions 20 corresponding to the same axial position clamp the corresponding wafer through the wafer fixing groove 13;

as shown in fig. 7, the second clamping portion 30 includes a second main body portion 31 and a pair of second clamping teeth 32, the second clamping teeth 32 are fixedly connected with the connecting portion 10 through the second main body portion 31, each pair of second clamping teeth 32 is spaced along the axial direction of the rotating shaft 231, so as to form a wafer fixing groove 13 between the two second clamping teeth 32, and a plurality of second clamping portions 30 corresponding to the same axial position clamp the corresponding wafer 1 through the wafer fixing groove 13.

In the embodiment of the present invention, one side of the clamping member 232 has a plurality of first clamping portions 20 spaced along the axial direction of the rotating shaft 231, and the other side has a plurality of second clamping portions 30 spaced along the axial direction of the rotating shaft 231, so that the wafer fixing grooves 13 on different clamping portions (the first clamping portions 20 and the second clamping portions 30) can be used to contact with the wafer, thereby preventing the wafers of different types from being contaminated with each other and ensuring the cleanliness of the wafer surface.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, the clamping structure 230 further includes a limiting member 233, the limiting member 233 includes a main body portion and a limiting portion, the main body portion is fixedly disposed on the rotating shaft 231, the connecting base has a plurality of limiting blocks, a center of a circular arc corresponding to the wafer fixing groove 13 of the first clamping portion 20, a center of a circular arc corresponding to the wafer fixing groove 13 of the second clamping portion 30, and a limiting portion of the limiting member 233 are located on a same side of the rotating shaft of the clamping structure 230, and the limiting portions can contact the corresponding limiting blocks when the corresponding first clamping portion 20 or second clamping portion 30 faces the wafer accommodating space, so as to prevent the clamping structure 230 from continuously rotating in the same direction.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the clamping structure 230 further includes a limiting member 233, the limiting portion of the limiting member 233 faces the same side as the wafer fixing groove 13, and after the wafer fixing groove 13 on any one side of the clamping portion contacts the wafer, the limiting portion of the limiting member 233 can contact the corresponding limiting member, so as to prevent the clamping portion from crushing the wafer due to the excessive rotation of the clamping structure 230, improve the safety of the semiconductor process, and ensure the yield of the wafer.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 4, the clamping assembly 200 further includes a plurality of pairs of clamping bearings 215, and the top end and the bottom end of the clamping structure 230 are movably connected to the top plate 211 and the bottom plate 212 through a corresponding pair of clamping bearings 215, respectively. Optionally, as shown in fig. 4, a bearing cover is further fixedly disposed on a side of the top plate 211 and the bottom plate 212 facing away from the clamping structure 230 to fix an axial position of the bearing and the clamping structure 230.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the driving device 220 includes a plurality of motors 221 corresponding to the plurality of clamping structures 230 one by one, and each motor 221 is used for driving the corresponding clamping structure 230 to rotate.

In order to ensure that the clamping structure 230 at the bottom can stably support the wafer after the wafer is turned over to be in the vertical state, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the driving device 220 further includes a pair of speed reducers 222, and two motors 221 corresponding to the second sheet passing openings are connected to the corresponding clamping structures 230 through the speed reducers 222, so as to convert the driving force of the motors 221 with high rotation speed and small torque into the driving force of the motors 221 with low rotation speed and large torque.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the driving device 220 further includes a protective cover 223, and the protective cover 223 covers the outer sides of the plurality of motors 221 and the reducers 222 for protecting the structures of the motors 221 and the reducers 222 from being damaged or contaminated by other parts.

As a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wafer cleaning apparatus, as shown in fig. 20, the wafer cleaning apparatus includes a wafer feeding side transportation device 400, a wafer discharging side transportation device 500, a cleaning tank (not shown in the drawings), and a wafer turnover device provided in an embodiment of the present invention, the wafer feeding side transportation device 400 is configured to horizontally place a wafer to be processed in the wafer turnover device, and take out a horizontally placed processed wafer from the wafer turnover device, the wafer discharging side transportation device 500 is configured to take out a vertically placed wafer to be processed from the wafer turnover device and transfer the wafer to be processed to the cleaning tank, and take out the processed wafer from the cleaning tank and vertically place the processed wafer in the wafer turnover device; the cleaning tank is used for cleaning the wafer.

In the wafer cleaning apparatus provided by the present invention, the clamping structure 230 of the wafer flipping device has the first clamping portion 20 and the second clamping portion 30, and the driving device 220 can drive the clamping structure 230 to rotate, so that the first clamping portion 20 and the second clamping portion 30 are respectively in contact with the wafer to be cleaned and the cleaned wafer, thereby reducing the probability of mutual contamination between different types of wafers, and ensuring the cleanliness of the wafer surface.

As an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the wafer feeding-side transportation device 400 and the wafer discharging-side transportation device 500 each have a plurality of wafer loading positions for loading wafers, and the spacing distance between adjacent wafer loading positions in the wafer discharging-side transportation device 500 is half of the axial distance between adjacent first clamping portions 20 and the axial distance between adjacent second clamping portions 30 in the wafer turnover device, so that the wafer turnover device can load the wafer to be cleaned onto the wafer discharging-side transportation device 500 twice during the process of loading the wafer to be cleaned into the cleaning tank, or take out the cleaned wafer from the wafer discharging-side transportation device 500 twice during the process of taking out the cleaned wafer from the cleaning tank.

Specifically, in the process of loading the wafer to be cleaned into the cleaning tank, the wafer-feeding-side transportation device 400 is fully loaded with the wafer to be cleaned, and horizontally conveys the wafer to be cleaned into the wafer turnover device from the first wafer-feeding port, and the wafer turnover device releases the wafer onto a half of the wafer-bearing positions in the wafer-discharging-side transportation device 500 through the second wafer-feeding port after turning over the wafer; the wafer to be cleaned is horizontally fed into the wafer turnover device through the first wafer inlet by the wafer inlet-side transportation device 400 again, after the wafer turnover device turns over the wafer, the wafer is released onto the other half of the wafer bearing positions in the wafer outlet-side transportation device 500 through the second wafer inlet again, and the position offset of the wafer received by the wafer outlet-side transportation device 500 twice is half of the axial distance between the adjacent first clamping portions 20 in the wafer turnover device (and the axial distance between the adjacent second clamping portions 30), that is, the spacing distance between the adjacent wafer bearing positions in the wafer outlet-side transportation device 500.

Referring to fig. 13 to 19, which are schematic operation flows of a wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the following explains an operation flow of the wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to fig. 13 to 19:

the initial state of the clamping assembly 200 is shown in fig. 13, waiting for the wafer to horizontally enter the wafer accommodating space;

as shown in fig. 13 to 14, the wafer feeding side transportation device 400 (robot) feeds the wafer 1 '(i.e. cleaned wafer) to be cleaned into the wafer accommodating space of the clamping assembly 200, the first wafer sensor 250 senses the existence of the wafer 1' to be cleaned, the four motors 221 simultaneously drive the four clamping structures 230 to rotate (the rotation directions of the clamping structures 230 corresponding to the first wafer feeding port and the second wafer feeding port are different), so that the first clamping portions 20 of the clamping structures 230 respectively clamp the outer edges of the wafer 1 'to be cleaned from different directions, and the sensor senses the contact between the wafer fixing groove 13 and the edge of the wafer 1' to be cleaned, and then the wafer reaches a specified rotation angle and stops rotating. After the wafer 1 'to be cleaned is clamped by the clamping structure 230, the wafer feeding side transportation device 400 retreats from the clamping assembly 200, at this time, the second wafer sensor 260 senses whether the wafer 1' to be cleaned is not completely clamped by the clamping structure 230 when the manipulator retreats and retreats simultaneously along with the manipulator, and if the wafer is taken out by the manipulator, the equipment stops working and gives an alarm;

as shown in fig. 14 to 15, at this time, the four clamping structures 230 clamp all the wafers 1' to be cleaned, the hollow turntable 120 drives the whole clamping assembly 200 to rotate, and the rotation sensor 130 and an encoder inside the hollow turntable 120 simultaneously sense that the clamping assembly 200 has rotated to a specified angle (clockwise rotation by 90 degrees) and then stop rotating. As shown in fig. 15, the wafer 1 'to be cleaned is in a vertical state and the notch of the wafer 1' to be cleaned faces upward. At this time, the second wafer sensor 260 will detect whether any wafer is not firmly clamped and protruded by the clamping structure 230 during the overturning process of the clamping assembly 200, and if any, the apparatus stops working and gives an alarm;

as shown in fig. 15, the wafer 1' to be cleaned is taken out by the wafer-out-side transportation device 500 (wafer tray) after the clamping structure 230 rotates to the 0-point position.

As shown in fig. 17 to 18, the cleaned wafer 1 "(i.e. dirty wafer) is lifted by the wafer discharging side transportation device 500 (wafer tray) and vertically enters the wafer accommodating space of the clamping assembly 200, the first wafer sensor 250 senses the existence of the wafer, and the four motors 221 simultaneously drive the four clamping structures 230 to rotate (the rotation directions of the clamping structures 230 corresponding to the first wafer feeding port and the second wafer feeding port are different), so that the second clamping portions 30 of the clamping structures 230 respectively clamp the outer edges of the cleaned wafer 1 ″ from different directions, thereby ensuring that the surface of the cleaned wafer 1 ″ is not polluted due to the contact with the first clamping portions 20;

as shown in fig. 18 to 19, the hollow rotary table 120 drives the clamping assembly 200 to rotate, and the rotation sensor 130 and the encoder inside the hollow rotary table 120 simultaneously sense that the clamping assembly 200 has rotated to a designated angle (rotate 90 degrees counterclockwise) and then stop rotating; then, the wafer-feeding-side transport apparatus 400 (robot) takes out the horizontally cleaned wafer 1 ″ from the wafer accommodating space.

It will be understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments taken to illustrate the principles of the present invention, which is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and substance of the invention, and these modifications and improvements are also considered to be within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A wafer overturning device is characterized by comprising an overturning assembly and a clamping assembly, wherein the clamping assembly comprises a driving device and a plurality of clamping structures, each clamping structure is provided with a plurality of first clamping parts and a plurality of second clamping parts, the first clamping parts are distributed at intervals along the axial direction of a rotating shaft corresponding to the clamping structure, the second clamping parts are distributed at intervals along the axial direction of the rotating shaft corresponding to the clamping structure, the rotating shafts corresponding to the clamping structures are parallel to each other, and the driving device is used for driving each clamping structure to rotate around the corresponding rotating shaft so as to drive the first clamping parts corresponding to the axial positions to clamp a pre-process wafer corresponding to the axial positions or drive the second clamping parts corresponding to the axial positions to clamp a post-process wafer corresponding to the axial positions; the overturning assembly is used for driving the clamping assembly to overturn so that the clamping assembly drives the wafer clamped by the clamping assembly to overturn together.

2. The wafer overturning device according to claim 1, wherein the overturning assembly comprises a first mounting base and a hollow turntable, the hollow turntable is fixedly arranged on the first mounting base, and a rotating part of the hollow turntable is connected with the clamping assembly to drive the clamping assembly to overturn.

3. The wafer turnover device of claim 2, wherein the clamping assembly further comprises a connecting seat, the connecting seat comprises a top plate, a bottom plate, a first side plate and a second side plate, the top plate and the bottom plate are oppositely arranged at intervals, the top plate and the bottom plate are fixedly connected with the first side plate and the second side plate respectively through two opposite sides of the top plate and the bottom plate, the clamping assembly comprises four clamping structures, the top ends and the bottom ends of the clamping structures are movably connected with the top plate and the bottom plate respectively, and two sides of the top plate and the bottom plate, which are not connected with the side plates, are respectively formed as a first sheet running port and a second sheet running port of the clamping assembly;

4. The wafer turnover device of claim 3, wherein the first side plate has a wiring hole formed therein, the wiring hole communicates with an inner hole of the rotating portion of the hollow turntable, the clamping assembly further includes at least one power supply cable, one end of the power supply cable is connected to the driving device, and the other end of the power supply cable sequentially passes through the wiring hole and the inner hole of the rotating portion and is configured to be connected to a power supply.

5. The wafer flipping apparatus of claim 4, wherein the clamping assembly further comprises a pointer, a first end of the pointer is fixedly connected to the first side plate, and a second end of the pointer extends in a direction away from the second side plate and through the inner hole of the rotating portion;

the overturning assembly further comprises a plurality of rotation sensors, and the rotation sensors are arranged around the inner hole of the rotating portion and used for detecting the position of the second end of the pointer so as to determine the rotation angle of the clamping assembly.

6. The wafer flipping apparatus of claim 3, wherein the clamping assembly further comprises a first wafer sensor and at least one second wafer sensor, the first wafer sensor being configured to detect whether a plurality of the clamping structures carry a wafer; the second wafer sensor is used for detecting whether the wafers borne by the clamping structures are separated from the clamping structures or not in the direction pointing to the first wafer walking port along the second wafer walking port.

7. The wafer turnover device of claim 6, wherein the first wafer sensor comprises a first signal transmitter and a first signal receiver, one of the first signal transmitter and the first signal receiver is disposed on an edge of the top plate corresponding to one side of the first sheet feeding port, and the other one of the first signal transmitter and the first signal receiver is disposed on an edge of the bottom plate corresponding to one side of the first sheet feeding port, the first signal receiver is configured to receive a first signal sent by the first signal transmitter, and the first signal is capable of being blocked by the wafer when the wafer is loaded on the clamping structure;

8. The wafer turnover device of any one of claims 3 to 7, further comprising a support assembly, wherein the support assembly includes a second mounting base and a support shaft, the support shaft is movably disposed on the second mounting base and can rotate around its axis, the support shaft is coaxial with the hollow turntable, and one end of the support shaft is fixedly connected with the second side plate of the clamping assembly.

9. The wafer turnover device of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each of the first clamping portion and the second clamping portion has a wafer fixing groove formed therein for clamping a wafer, and a projection of a bottom of each wafer fixing groove along an axial direction of the corresponding spindle is arc-shaped.

10. A wafer cleaning apparatus, characterized in that the wafer cleaning apparatus comprises a wafer-feeding side transportation device, a wafer-discharging side transportation device, a cleaning tank and a wafer turnover device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the wafer-feeding side transportation device is used for horizontally placing a wafer to be cleaned into the wafer turnover device and taking out a horizontally placed cleaned wafer from the wafer turnover device, the wafer-discharging side transportation device is used for taking out a vertically placed wafer to be cleaned from the wafer turnover device and transferring the wafer to be cleaned into the cleaning tank, and taking out the cleaned wafer from the cleaning tank and vertically placing the wafer into the wafer turnover device; the cleaning tank is used for cleaning the wafer.