CN115900549A - Adjustable sensor assembly and semiconductor equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an adjustable sensor assembly and a semiconductor device, which are used for a wafer centering system of the semiconductor device, wherein the sensor assembly comprises: a sensor for measuring a position of a wafer; the shell, the said sensor is set up in the inside of shell; the housing includes: four side faces connected in sequence, wherein each side face comprises an upper end and a lower end; the fixing component is arranged at the lower end of any side surface and used for fixing the sensor in the shell; and the adjusting assembly is arranged at the upper end of at least one side surface and is used for displacing the sensor to adjust the angle of the sensor relative to the shell. The invention can be used for accurately adjusting the angle of the sensor in the wafer centering system, eliminates the process of repeatedly dismounting and mounting the sensor assembly, and improves the convenience of mounting and adjusting the sensor.

Description

Adjustable sensor assembly and semiconductor equipment

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of semiconductor epitaxial equipment, in particular to an adjustable sensor assembly and semiconductor equipment with the same.

Background

In a semiconductor epitaxial process, a semiconductor device is used to process a wafer. The semiconductor equipment comprises a process chamber and a transmission chamber, wherein a manipulator is arranged in the transmission chamber and used for taking the wafer; the process chamber is provided with a transfer port for a robot to take the wafer from the process chamber or to transfer the wafer from the transfer chamber to the process chamber so that the wafer can be processed in the process chamber in the next step.

In order to ensure the safety and stability of the wafer in and out of the transmission port, a wafer centering system (AWC) is arranged on the wall of the transmission chamber or the process chamber so as to detect the relative position of the wafer in and out of the transmission port, the wafer centering system comprises a group of two symmetrical sensor assemblies and a reflecting plate assembly corresponding to the two sensor assemblies, when the wafer is transmitted from one side to the other side of the transmission port, if the shielding time of light rays emitted by the two sensor assemblies is the same, the position of the wafer can be judged to be in the center, and if the wafer is not in the center, the offset can be calculated and corrected according to the difference of the shielding time. In the prior art, the problem caused by the fact that the wafer is not positioned at the center is well solved by a method for correcting the wafer offset by calculating the light shielding time emitted by the sensor assembly.

However, the prior art still has the disadvantages of solving the problems: in the installation process of the sensor assembly, the installation surfaces of the reflection plate assembly and the sensor assembly cannot be absolutely parallel, so that light rays emitted by the sensor in the sensor assembly and the reflection plate in the reflection plate assembly are not perpendicular and have certain angle deviation, therefore, the light rays emitted by the sensor cannot be effectively received by the reflection plate or the light rays emitted by the reflection plate cannot return to the sensor, the sensor loses the effect of monitoring the position of the wafer under the condition, and the wafer centering system cannot work effectively. In order to ensure the parallelism between the sensor and the reflecting plate, the sensor and the reflecting plate need to be repeatedly disassembled and assembled, and even the installation of the sensor is in an optimal angle by adding a gasket, so that great trouble is added to the installation process, and the time is long.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide an adjustable sensor assembly and a semiconductor device with the same, which are used for accurately adjusting the angle of a sensor and improving the convenience of installation of a wafer centering system.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an adjustable sensor assembly for a wafer centering system of a semiconductor device, the adjustable sensor assembly comprising: a sensor for measuring a position of a wafer; a housing, the sensor disposed inside the housing, the housing comprising: four side faces connected in sequence, wherein each side face comprises an upper end and a lower end; the fixing component is arranged at the lower end of any side surface and used for fixing the sensor in the shell; and the adjusting component is arranged at the upper end of at least one side surface and is used for displacing the sensor to adjust the angle of the sensor relative to the shell.

Furthermore, the adjusting component comprises an adjusting bolt, a corresponding threaded hole is formed in the shell, and the adjusting bolt penetrates through the corresponding threaded hole to adjust the sensor.

Further, the adjusting component also comprises a buffering component, and the buffering component is arranged on the adjusting bolt and used for buffering the contact between the adjusting bolt and the sensor.

Further, the buffer assembly is a spring, the spring comprises a first end portion and a second end portion, and the first end portion is fixed between the middle portion and the tail portion of the adjusting bolt.

Further, the diameter of the spring varies from a first end to a second end, the first end having a smaller diameter than the second end.

Further, the adjustment assembly is disposed at each side.

Further, the shell also comprises an upper surface and a lower surface opposite to the upper surface, and an opening is formed in the lower surface and is used for dismounting and mounting the sensor in the shell; the sensor assembly is coupled to the chamber of the semiconductor device through the upper surface.

Further, the fixing assembly is a fixing bolt, a corresponding hole is formed in the shell, and the fixing bolt penetrates through the corresponding hole to fix the sensor in the shell.

Further, the sensor is a correlation sensor or a reflection sensor.

Further, the number of the fixing bolts is one.

Further, the housing further comprises a connecting portion disposed at an upper end of the side surface for connecting the sensor assembly with a chamber of the semiconductor device.

Further, the connecting part is a lug, and a hole for a screw to pass through is formed in the lug.

Further, the material of the housing is either aluminum or stainless steel.

The present invention also provides a semiconductor device comprising: a chamber and an adjustable sensor assembly as described above, disposed on a wall of the chamber.

Further, the chamber is a process chamber or a transfer chamber.

The adjustable sensor assembly is used for realizing accurate adjustment of the angle of the sensor.

In summary, compared with the prior art, the adjustable sensor assembly and the semiconductor device having the same provided by the invention have the following beneficial effects:

1. the adjustable sensor assembly comprises an adjusting assembly, wherein the adjusting assembly can adjust the angle of the sensor in the shell until the light rays are shot or reflected successfully, so that the aim of conveniently adjusting the installation angle of the sensor without dismounting the sensor assembly is fulfilled;

2. the adjustable sensor assembly comprises an adjusting assembly arranged on the side surface of the shell, wherein the adjusting assembly is arranged on the side surface and close to the upper end, and the fixing bolt is arranged on the lower end, so that the angle of the sensor can be adjusted in a labor-saving manner, and the displacement of the sensor can be accurately adjusted;

3. the adjusting assembly comprises the buffering assembly, so that the adjusting assembly is convenient to adjust and protects the sensor.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, the drawings used in the description will be briefly introduced, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are an embodiment of the present invention, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts according to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a semiconductor apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a wafer centering system disposed on a wall of a chamber of a semiconductor apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of an adjustable sensor assembly provided by the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an adjustable sensor assembly provided by the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor assembly provided by the present invention along the yz plane;

FIG. 6 is a further cross-sectional view along the yz plane of the sensor assembly provided by the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an adjusting assembly provided by the present invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention provides an adjustable sensor assembly and a semiconductor device having the same, which are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and the detailed description thereof. The advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description. It is to be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and are all used in a non-precise scale for the purpose of facilitating and distinctly aiding in the description of the embodiments of the present invention. To make the objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, reference is made to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the structures, ratios, sizes, and the like shown in the drawings and described in the specification are only used for matching with the disclosure of the specification, so as to be understood and read by those skilled in the art, and are not used to limit the implementation conditions of the present invention, so that the present invention has no technical significance, and any structural modification, ratio relationship change or size adjustment should still fall within the scope of the present invention without affecting the efficacy and the achievable purpose of the present invention.

It is to be noted that, in the present invention, relational terms such as first and second, and the like are 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 apparatus 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 apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrases "comprising a," "8230," "8230," or "comprising" does not exclude the presence of additional like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a semiconductor device of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 1, the present invention provides a semiconductor device comprising: equipment Front End Module (EFEM) 1, load Lock chamber (Load Lock) 9, transfer chamber 5 and process chamber 3 that connect gradually connect through valve 7 between each cavity, transfer chamber 5 can be connected with a plurality of process chamber 3, transfer chamber's manipulator transmits wafer W to process chamber 3 in to after the technology, take out wafer from process chamber 3, according to the difference of technology, process chamber can be etching chamber, epitaxial chamber, CVD cavity, rapid heating chamber etc.. The wafer centering system may be provided on the wall of the process chamber 3 or on the wall of the transfer chamber 5.

Fig. 1 illustrates a semiconductor apparatus having a wafer centering system, as shown in fig. 1-2, applied therein for detecting the relative position of a wafer W, and in particular, disposed on a wall of a process chamber or a transfer chamber near a transfer port 105. The wafer centering system comprises a sensor assembly 200 and a reflector plate assembly 300, wherein the wall is provided with a transmission port 105 and two light through holes 103, and optionally, the number of the light through holes 103 is two; the sensor assembly and the reflection plate assembly are respectively arranged on the upper side and the lower side of the transmission port 105 and are respectively arranged at two ends of the light ray through hole 103, light rays emitted from the sensor assembly pass through the light ray through hole 103 and then reach the reflection plate assembly, are reflected by the reflection plate assembly and then return to the sensor assembly through the light ray through hole 103 again. When the wafer W is transferred from one side of the transfer port 105 to the other side, if the time for blocking the light emitted by the two sensor assemblies is the same, it can be determined that the position of the wafer W on the manipulator and the position of the transfer port 105 are at the center, and if the wafer is not at the center, the offset can be calculated and corrected according to the difference of the blocking time, so as to solve the problem caused by the fact that the wafer is not at the center: specifically, if the light beam in the left wafer pair is blocked by the wafer for a long time, it indicates that the position of the wafer relative to the transfer port is deviated to the left, and if the light beam in the right wafer pair is blocked by the wafer for a long time, it indicates that the position of the wafer relative to the transfer port is deviated to the right.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer centering system disposed on a wall of a semiconductor equipment chamber, as shown in fig. 2, the wafer centering system includes, for example, a reflective sensor: a reflective plate assembly 300 and a sensor assembly 200; the sensor assembly 200 is disposed on a wall close to the transmission port 105, at one end of the light through hole 103, for emitting light; the reflection plate assembly 300 is positioned at the other end of the light through hole 103, and reflects light; the reflection plate assembly 300 includes: the reflecting plate 305 is arranged in the shell 303, the quartz glass 301 is arranged in the shell 303 close to the light through hole 103, and the quartz glass 201 and the quartz glass 302 are oppositely arranged.

The light emitted from the sensor assembly 200 passes through the transmission port 105 through the light through hole 103, passes through the two layers of quartz glass 201 and the quartz glass 301, reaches the reflection plate 305 arranged in the reflection plate assembly 300, and then is reflected by the reflection plate 305, the reflected light passes through the transmission port and the two layers of quartz glass back to the sensor assembly 200 again, in order to enable the light emitted from the sensor assembly 200 to be effectively received by the reflection plate 305, and enable the light reflected by the reflection plate 305 to finally return to the sensor assembly 200 through the light through hole 103, the sensor assembly 200 and the reflection plate assembly 300 must be arranged in parallel.

An adjustable sensor assembly 200 is provided, with fig. 3 (a) - (d) showing side views of various sides of the sensor assembly, and fig. 4 showing a perspective view of the sensor assembly. As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the sensor assembly 200 includes:

a sensor 203, the sensor 203 being used to measure the position of the wafer;

a housing 205, the sensor 203 being disposed inside the housing 205, the housing comprising: four side faces connected in sequence, wherein each side face comprises an upper end and a lower end;

a fixing component 209, wherein the fixing component 209 is arranged at the lower end of any side surface and is used for fixing the sensor 203 inside the shell 205;

an adjustment assembly 207, said adjustment assembly 207 being disposed at an upper end of at least one side for displacing said sensor 203 to adjust the angle of the sensor 203 relative to the housing 205.

The adjusting assembly 207 comprises an adjusting bolt 2071, a corresponding threaded hole is formed in the housing 205, and the adjusting bolt passes through the corresponding threaded hole to adjust the sensor. The adjusting assembly 207 can adjust the angle of the sensor in the housing 205 until the light rays are successfully reflected or reflected, so that the purpose of conveniently adjusting the installation angle of the sensor without dismounting the sensor assembly is achieved. The adjusting component is close to the upper end at the position of the side face, and the fixing component is arranged at the lower end, so that the angle of the sensor can be adjusted more easily, and the displacement of the sensor can be adjusted accurately.

In the present invention, as shown in fig. 2 and 4, the housing 205 further includes an upper surface and a lower surface opposite to the upper surface, and an opening is provided on the lower surface for the detachment and installation of the sensor 203 in the housing; the sensor assembly 200 is connected to the chamber of the semiconductor device through the upper surface. The optics of the sensor 203 are facing the upper surface, i.e. the light emitted by the sensor is emitted from the upper surface. The housing further comprises a connection part 2051, the connection part 2051 being arranged at an upper end of the side for connecting the sensor assembly to a chamber of a semiconductor device. The connecting part 2051 is a lug provided with a hole 2052 for a screw to pass through.

The fixing component 209 is a fixing bolt, a corresponding hole is arranged on the housing 205, and the fixing bolt penetrates through the corresponding hole to fix the sensor 203 in the housing 205. Optionally, the number of the fixing bolts is two, and is further preferred, when the number of the fixing bolts is 1, the sensor can form a plurality of adjusting shafts which use the fixing bolts as rotation centers in the shell, so that the adjusting range is larger, and the adjusting angle is more flexible.

Optionally, the adjustment assembly is provided at each side. As shown in fig. 3, two opposite adjustment assemblies 207 are provided on both sides as shown in (a) and (c) of fig. 3, so that the angle of the sensor in the x direction can be easily adjusted; two opposite adjustment members 207 are provided on both sides as shown in fig. 3 (b) and (d), so that the angle of the sensor in the y direction can be easily adjusted; fig. 5 shows a cross-sectional view along yz, when two opposite adjusting elements 207 are provided, when the adjusting element 207 on the left side (in the middle of fig. 5) is adjusted to apply a force to the sensor in the right direction, the adjusting element 207 on the right side may abut against the sensor, so that the sensor cannot be shifted in the right direction, and only if the adjusting element 207 on the right side is rotated to move in the right direction to move the adjusting element 207 on the right side away from the sensor, the adjusting element 207 on the left side can be rotated to push the sensor to shift in the right direction, and furthermore, the abutting against the sensor may cause damage to the sensor.

To this end, the adjusting assembly further includes a damping assembly 2072, the damping assembly 2072 is disposed on the adjusting bolt 2071 to damp contact between the adjusting bolt 2071 and the sensor, and optionally, the damping assembly 2072 has an elastic part, which is in contact with the sensor.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 6, the damping assembly 2072 comprises a spring, i.e. the elastic part is a spring, the spring comprises a first end part and a second end part, and the first end part is fixed between the middle part and the tail part of the adjusting bolt. The spring has a first end to a second end with a diameter that varies, the first end having a smaller diameter than the second end. The spring setting can provide bigger regulating force through adjusting bolt 2071 and sensor contact when the spring is compressed to a certain amount between adjusting bolt's middle part and afterbody, and the change of spring diameter can provide stable contact, and the initial deformation of spring is easier simultaneously.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 7, the elastic part of the damping assembly 2072 includes an elastic assembly and a slider, and the tail of the adjusting bolt 2071 has a T-shaped hole; the sliding block is also T-shaped and is arranged in the hole, the shapes of the sliding block and the hole are matched, and the elastic component is arranged at the innermost part of the hole and provides outward thrust for the sliding block.

Alternatively, the damping assembly includes an elastic body, i.e., the elastic portion is an elastic body, such as a rubber block, disposed at the tail of the adjusting bolt 2071.

The buffer assembly is arranged, so that the adjusting assembly 207 can be contacted with the sensor through the buffer assembly, and the condition that the sensor is damaged by the simultaneous force application of the two adjusting assemblies is avoided. As shown in fig. 6, when the left adjusting assembly rotates to move to the right, even if the right adjusting assembly contacts the sensor, only the buffer assembly of the adjusting assembly contacts the sensor, so that the left adjusting assembly can easily shift the sensor to the right without rotating the right adjusting assembly to the right first. Even the provision of the adjustment assembly on only one side serves the purpose of protecting the sensor.

Further, the sensor assembly 200 further includes a quartz glass 201, and the quartz glass 201 is disposed at an end portion of the light through hole 103.

Optionally, the material of the housing is either aluminum or stainless steel.

Optionally, the sensor is a correlation sensor or a reflection sensor. When the sensor is selected to be a correlation sensor, the reflective plate assembly may be replaced with a second sensor assembly, and the adjustment assembly may be applied to the second sensor assembly for adjustment of the sensor in the second sensor assembly.

The sensor assembly 200 provided by the invention can adjust the angle of the sensor in the shell until the light rays are successfully reflected or emitted, and the aim of conveniently adjusting the installation angle of the sensor without dismounting the sensor assembly is fulfilled. And the adjusting component is close to the upper end at the position of the side surface, and the fixing bolt is arranged at the lower end, so that the angle of the sensor can be adjusted more laborsavingly, and the displacement of the sensor can be accurately adjusted.

While the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the above description should not be taken as limiting the invention. Various modifications and alterations to this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims.

Claims (15)

1. An adjustable sensor assembly for use in a wafer centering system of a semiconductor device, comprising:

a sensor for measuring a position of a wafer;

a housing, the sensor disposed inside the housing, the housing comprising: four side faces connected in sequence, wherein each side face comprises an upper end and a lower end;

the fixing component is arranged at the lower end of any side surface and used for fixing the sensor in the shell;

and the adjusting assembly is arranged at the upper end of at least one side surface and is used for displacing the sensor to adjust the angle of the sensor relative to the shell.

2. The adjustable sensor assembly of claim 1, wherein the adjustment assembly comprises an adjustment bolt, and wherein a corresponding threaded aperture is provided in the housing, and wherein the adjustment bolt adjusts the sensor through the corresponding threaded aperture.

3. The adjustable sensor assembly of claim 2, further comprising a dampening assembly disposed on the adjustment bolt for dampening contact of the adjustment bolt and the sensor.

4. The adjustable sensor assembly of claim 3, wherein the damping assembly is a spring including a first end portion and a second end portion, the first end portion being secured between the middle portion and the tail portion of the adjustment bolt.

5. The adjustable sensor assembly of claim 4, wherein a diameter of the spring varies from a first end to a second end, the first end having a smaller diameter than the second end.

6. The adjustable sensor assembly of claim 5, wherein the adjustment assembly is disposed on each side.

7. The adjustable sensor assembly of claim 1, wherein said housing further comprises an upper surface and an opposing lower surface, said lower surface having an opening provided therein for removal and installation of the sensor within the housing; the sensor assembly is coupled to the chamber of the semiconductor device through the upper surface.

8. The adjustable sensor assembly of claim 1, wherein said securing assembly is a securing bolt and said housing defines a corresponding aperture, said securing bolt passing through said corresponding aperture to secure said sensor within said housing.

9. An adjustable sensor assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the sensor is a correlation sensor or a reflection sensor.

10. The adjustable sensor assembly of claim 8, wherein the number of fixing bolts is one.

11. The adjustable sensor assembly of claim 7, wherein said housing further comprises a coupling portion disposed at an upper end of the side for coupling said sensor assembly to a chamber of a semiconductor device.

12. The adjustable sensor assembly of claim 11 wherein said attachment portion is a lug having a hole therethrough for receiving a screw.

13. The adjustable sensor assembly of claim 1, wherein the material of the housing is either aluminum or stainless steel.

14. A semiconductor device, comprising:

a chamber;

an adjustable sensor assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, which is provided on a wall of the chamber.

15. The semiconductor apparatus of claim 14, wherein the chamber is a process chamber or a transfer chamber.

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