CN116259573A - Mechanical arm - Google Patents

Mechanical arm Download PDF

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Publication number
CN116259573A
CN116259573A CN202211546274.1A CN202211546274A CN116259573A CN 116259573 A CN116259573 A CN 116259573A CN 202211546274 A CN202211546274 A CN 202211546274A CN 116259573 A CN116259573 A CN 116259573A
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CN
China
Prior art keywords
suction
wafer
robot
unit
suction unit
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
CN202211546274.1A
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Chinese (zh)
Inventor
中塚敦
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Disco Corp
Original Assignee
Disco Corp
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Disco Corp filed Critical Disco Corp
Publication of CN116259573A publication Critical patent/CN116259573A/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/683—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping
    • H01L21/687—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches
    • H01L21/68707—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a robot blade, or gripped by a gripper for conveyance
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
    • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
    • B25J11/00—Manipulators not otherwise provided for
    • B25J11/0095—Manipulators transporting wafers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
    • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
    • B25J15/00—Gripping heads and other end effectors
    • B25J15/0014—Gripping heads and other end effectors having fork, comb or plate shaped means for engaging the lower surface on a object to be transported
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
    • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
    • B25J15/00—Gripping heads and other end effectors
    • B25J15/06—Gripping heads and other end effectors with vacuum or magnetic holding means
    • B25J15/0616—Gripping heads and other end effectors with vacuum or magnetic holding means with vacuum
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67242—Apparatus for monitoring, sorting or marking
    • H01L21/67259—Position monitoring, e.g. misposition detection or presence detection
    • H01L21/67265—Position monitoring, e.g. misposition detection or presence detection of substrates stored in a container, a magazine, a carrier, a boat or the like
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/683—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping
    • H01L21/6838—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping with gripping and holding devices using a vacuum; Bernoulli devices

Abstract

The invention provides a manipulator which can attract and hold wafers to come in and go out without breaking even if the distance between the shelf and the shelf of a box is small. The robot (6) is a plate-shaped robot that is attached to the robot (1) and has a suction port (62) for sucking and holding a dome-shaped curved convex spherical surface of a wafer (90) on a suction surface (60), and comprises: an attachment unit (61) which is disposed at the rear end and attaches to the robot; and a 1 st suction unit (64) and a 2 nd suction unit (65), wherein the 1 st suction unit and the 2 nd suction unit are formed as the front end side of the robot arm and are configured with suction ports (62) for sucking the wafer, and a plurality of slits (640) (slits (650)) are alternately formed in the 1 st suction unit (64) and the 2 nd suction unit (65) so that the 1 st suction unit and the 2 nd suction unit can flex like fingers along the convex spherical surface of the wafer.

Description

Mechanical arm
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a plate-like robot for holding a wafer.
Background
When a dome-shaped warped wafer is carried out of a cassette by suction and holding the wafer by a robot, the robot having a suction cup disclosed in patent document 1 is used. In order to carry out wafers stored in a cassette by using such a robot arm having a thick overall thickness including a chuck, a distance between a shelf on which the wafer is placed in the cassette and the shelf is increased. Therefore, there are the following problems: the number of wafers that can be stored in the cassette is reduced, and the frequency of cassette replacement is increased.
In order to solve such a problem, for example, as disclosed in patent document 2, a robot arm having a suction cup for sucking and holding an outer peripheral portion of a wafer is used so that a wafer stored in a cassette having a small distance from a shelf can be carried out.
Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2020-202324
Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open No. 2017-045784
However, the robot disclosed in patent document 2 has a problem that the wafer held by the robot is broken when the wafer is thin.
Disclosure of Invention
Therefore, a robot arm is desired that can bring in and out wafers without breaking even if the distance between the shelf and the shelf of the cassette is small.
The present invention for solving the above-described problems is a robot hand which is a plate-shaped robot hand and is attached to a robot and has a suction port for sucking and holding a dome-shaped curved convex spherical surface of a wafer on a suction surface, wherein the robot hand includes: an attachment unit which is disposed at the rear end and attaches to the robot; and a 1 st suction portion and a 2 nd suction portion formed as two strands as a front end side of the robot arm, the suction port configured to suction the wafer, the 1 st suction portion and the 2 nd suction portion alternately formed with a plurality of slits so that the 1 st suction portion and the 2 nd suction portion can flex like a finger along the convex spherical surface of the wafer.
The robot of the present invention is a thin plate-like robot having no suction cup or the like, and therefore, can enter above a wafer placed on a shelf of a cassette having a small distance from the shelf, and the robot entering the cassette can be lowered, for example, to expand the width of a plurality of slits alternately formed, and can be brought into contact with the wafer so that the suction surface follows a dome-shaped convex spherical surface of the wafer. For example, when the wafer recognition sensor is turned on, the wafer recognition sensor disposed on the robot arm communicates with the suction source, so that the wafer bent in a dome shape can be appropriately sucked and held without vacuum leakage. In addition, after grinding, for example, a wafer bent in a dome shape, the bending of the thinned wafer disappears. The robot can also suction and hold the thinned wafer with the bend eliminated, and can carry the processed wafer into a cassette for storing the wafer without breaking.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a cassette for accommodating wafers and a robot having a robot arm according to the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a wafer having a dome-shaped curvature accommodated in a cassette.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a robot having an adsorption surface facing upward.
Fig. 4 is a side view showing a state in which the robot arm is lowered in order to contact with the upper surface (back surface) which is the convex spherical surface of the dome-shaped curved wafer.
Fig. 5 is a side view showing a state in which the robot arm flexes like a finger along the convex spherical surface of the wafer to simulate and contact the convex spherical surface, i.e., the upper surface of the wafer, which is curved in a dome shape.
Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which the robot arm flexes like a finger along the convex spherical surface of the wafer to simulate and contact the convex spherical surface, i.e., the upper surface of the wafer, which is curved in a dome shape.
Fig. 7 is a side view illustrating a state in which the robot holds a polished flat wafer by suction.
Description of the reference numerals
1: a robot; 3: a driving section; 30: a manipulator connecting column; 31: arm 1; 32: arm 2; 34: a manipulator horizontal movement mechanism; 35: a lifting mechanism; 36: a main shaft; 37: a housing; 38: a support; 4: a case; 44: an opening of the case; 45: a shelf portion; 6: a manipulator; 60: an adsorption surface; 61: a mounting part; 62: a suction port; 623: an internal suction path; 64: a 1 st suction unit; 640: a slit; 65: a 2 nd suction unit; 650: a slit; 66: a rigid portion; 660: a mounting recess; 67: a wafer detection sensor; 671: a light projecting section; 672: a light receiving section; 673: a sensor housing; 69: a suction source; 692: an external piping; 90: a dome-shaped curved wafer; 900: the front side of the wafer; 903: an outer periphery of the wafer; 906: the convex spherical surface of the wafer is the back surface.
Detailed Description
The robot 1 shown in fig. 1 is a robot for carrying out a dome-shaped bent wafer 90 stored in a cassette 4 from the cassette 4 or placing it on a chuck table, a centering table, or a cassette 4, which are not shown, for example, and the robot 1 includes a robot arm 6 according to the present invention, which is disposed on a grinding device, a polishing device, or a tool cutting device, which are not shown, for example.
The cassette 4 shown in fig. 1 includes, for example, a bottom plate 40, a top plate 41, a rear wall 42, left and right side walls 43, and an opening 44 on the front side (+y direction side), and is configured to be capable of carrying in and out a wafer 90 through the opening 44. A plurality of shelf portions 45 are formed in the cassette 4 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction, and each of the shelf portions 45 can accommodate one wafer 90. The structure of the cartridge 4 is not limited to this example.
The wafer 90 in a circular shape in a plan view shown in fig. 1 and 2 is, for example, a silicon wafer or the like, and is curved in a dome shape by gradually warping from the center of the wafer 90 toward the outer periphery 903. That is, the dome-shaped curvature is, for example, such that when the front surface 900 is directed downward and the wafer 90 is placed on the shelf portion 45 of the cassette 4, the front surface 900 of the wafer 90 gradually decreases from the region on the center side toward the region on the outer peripheral side. The outer peripheral edge 903 of the wafer 90 is in contact with the shelf portion 45 of the cassette 4, and the wafer 90 is placed on the shelf portion 45 with the convex spherical surface, i.e., the back surface 906 facing upward.
As an example of the wafer 90 having a dome-shaped bend, the front surface 900 on which a device or the like, not shown, is formed is resin-sealed, and the dome-shaped bend is mainly caused by, for example, shrinkage force of a solidified resin at the time of resin sealing.
The robot 1 shown in fig. 1 is an articulated robot, and includes a driving unit 3 for moving a manipulator 6 to a predetermined position. The driving unit 3 includes, for example: a long plate-like 1 st arm 31; an elongated plate-like 2 nd arm 32; a robot arm coupling post 30 extending in the Z-axis direction; a manipulator horizontal movement mechanism 34 that moves the manipulator 6 in a horizontal direction; and a lifting mechanism 35 is shown simplified.
An upper surface of one end of the 1 st arm 31 is connected to a lower end of the robot connecting column 30. The lower surface of the other end of the 1 st arm 31 is coupled to the upper surface of one end of the 2 nd arm 32 via a rotating shaft or the like, not shown. The lower surface side of the other end of the 2 nd arm 32 is connected to the elevating mechanism 35 via an arm driving motor 340.
The lifting mechanism 35 is, for example, an electric cylinder or the like, and lifts the robot 6 in the Z-axis direction. The manipulator horizontal movement mechanism 34 is a pulley mechanism or the like composed of an endless belt, not shown, a pulley, not shown, an arm driving motor 340, and the like, which are disposed in the 1 st arm 31 and the 2 nd arm 32. The robot 1 as a whole can rotate in a horizontal plane (in the X-axis and Y-axis plane) with the Z-axis as an axis by a rotational force generated by a motor (not shown). Further, the robot arm 6 can be moved straight in the horizontal plane by the rotational force generated by the arm driving motor 340 while moving the 1 st arm 31 and the 2 nd arm 32 in the horizontal plane so as to intersect each other or be aligned in a straight line.
A housing 37 is fixed to the upper end side of the robot connecting column 30, and the housing 37 rotatably supports a spindle 36 having an axis in the X-axis direction perpendicular to the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) in fig. 1. For example, a motor, not shown, for rotationally driving the spindle 36 is housed in the housing 37.
The front end side of the spindle 36 protrudes in the-X direction from the housing 37, and a holder 38 for attaching the rear end side of the robot 6 is disposed on the front end side. As the spindle 36 is rotated by a motor, not shown, the robot 6 connected to the spindle 36 via the holder 38 is rotated, and the suction surface 60 of the robot 6 and the reverse surface of the suction surface 60 of the robot 6 are turned upside down.
The plate-like robot arm 6 of the present invention shown in fig. 1 and 3 includes: an attachment portion 61 that is disposed at the rear end of the manipulator 6 on the side of the holder 38 and is attached to the robot 1; and a 1 st suction unit 64 and a 2 nd suction unit 65, which are formed as front end sides of the robot 6 so as to be two-ply in plan view, and are provided with suction ports 62 for sucking the wafer 90. The front surfaces of the 1 st suction portion 64 and the 2 nd suction portion 65 serve as suction surfaces 60 having suction ports 62 for suction-holding a convex spherical surface, i.e., a back surface 906 of a dome-shaped curved wafer 90 (see fig. 2). In a state where the 1 st suction portion 64 and the 2 nd suction portion 65 are not buckled by an external force, the suction surfaces 60 are flat surfaces.
The robot 6, which is formed entirely of a resin plate or the like, brings a dome-shaped top plate portion of the wafer 90 held by suction, that is, a central region, into the U-shaped opening 600 between the 1 st suction portion 64 and the 2 nd suction portion 65. The mounting portion 61 shown in fig. 3 as the rear end of the robot arm 6 is formed in a rectangular shape in a plan view, for example. The rigid portion 66 having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view and wider than the mounting portion 61 integrally extends from the mounting portion 61 toward the front end side of the robot arm 6. The mounting portion 61 is formed with a screw through hole (not shown) penetrating in the thickness direction, and is fixed to the bracket 38 by a bolt.
The rigid portion 66 shown in fig. 3 is notched so as to extend to the vicinity of the mounting portion 61 in accordance with the shape of the sensor housing 673, and a mounting recess 660 for mounting the sensor housing 673 is formed in the sensor housing 673, which is a part of the wafer detection sensor 67 for detecting the wafer 90 by the robot 6.
The wafer detection sensor 67 includes, for example: a light projecting unit 671 that emits detection light; a light receiving unit 672 that receives the reflected light reflected by the wafer 90 from the detection light emitted from the light projecting unit 671; and a sensor case 673 that houses the light projecting section 671, the light receiving section 672, and a wiring 674 connected to the light projecting section 671 and the light receiving section 672. The light projecting portion 671 and the light receiving portion 672 are arranged laterally and positioned in a central region of the front end of the rigid portion 66 in the vicinity of the U-shaped opening 600. The wafer detection sensor 67 is not limited to the retro-reflective photoelectric sensor described above, and may be, for example, a pressure sensor or a capacitance sensor.
The 1 st suction portion 64 and the 2 nd suction portion 65, which are formed integrally with the rigid portion 66 so as to be two-ply in plan view, are, for example, line-symmetrical about the center line 602 of the manipulator 6. The 1 st suction portion 64 (the 2 nd suction portion 65) is alternately formed with a plurality of slits 640 (slits 650) so that the 1 st suction portion 64 (the 2 nd suction portion 65) can flex like a finger along the convex spherical surface of the wafer 90 that is the back surface 906 that is in contact. That is, the 1 st suction portion 64 (2 nd suction portion 65) formed in a long-strip shape as a whole has flexibility such that the 1 st suction portion 64 (2 nd suction portion 65) is capable of flexing mainly in the thickness direction by cutting straight slits 640 (slits 650) of a predetermined length alternately parallel to each other from the U-shaped opening 600 side (inner side) and from the outer side. The plurality of linear slits 640 (slits 650) are not limited to those formed by cutting parallel to each other, and may be set by changing the angle of the cutting direction according to the curvature of the dome-shaped convex spherical surface of the wafer 90, or the like.
As shown in fig. 3, for example, a substantially circular suction port 62 is opened at the tip end side and the root end side of the 1 st suction portion 64 and the 2 nd suction portion 65, respectively, and a total of 4 suction ports are opened at the suction surface 60 in the entire robot hand 6. The number and arrangement positions of the suction ports 62 are not limited to those shown in fig. 3. Each suction port 62 is connected to an internal suction passage 623. The internal suction path 623 is formed in a zigzag shape in the 1 st suction portion 64 (2 nd suction portion 65), and the other end of the internal suction path 623 is opened as a suction force transmission port in the front surface of the mounting portion 61 through the rigid portion 66 and the inside of the mounting portion 61. The suction source 69 such as a vacuum generator is connected to the suction transfer port via a joint and an external pipe 692 having flexibility so as not to interfere with the rotation operation of the robot 6. For example, an electromagnetic valve (not shown) capable of switching the suction port 62 between a communicating state with the suction source 69 and a non-communicating state is provided in the external pipe 692.
For example, the suction surfaces 60 of the 1 st suction portion 64 and the 2 nd suction portion 65, the front surface of the rigid portion 66, and the exposed surface of the wafer detection sensor 67 embedded in the mounting recess 660 are flat surfaces that are coplanar. In addition, the ends (ridge lines) of the 1 st suction portion 64 and the 2 nd suction portion 65 may be chamfered so as not to damage the wafer 90 when in contact with the wafer 90.
Hereinafter, the operation of the robot 6 and the operation of the robot 1 in the case where the wafer 90 is sucked and held by the robot 6 shown in fig. 1 and 3 and the wafer 90 is transported by the robot 1 will be described.
First, a motor, not shown, rotates the spindle 36 shown in fig. 1, and the robot 6 is provided with the suction surfaces 60 of the 1 st suction unit 64 and the 2 nd suction unit 65 facing downward. Next, the manipulator horizontal movement mechanism 34 of the driving unit 3 horizontally moves the manipulator 6, and the manipulator 6 is moved from the opening 44 to a predetermined position inside the cassette 4. That is, the robot 6 is positioned above the wafer 90 shown in fig. 4 such that the center of the convex spherical surface, i.e., the back surface 906, of the dome-shaped curved wafer 90 is positioned within the U-shaped opening 600 of the robot 6. In addition, the center of the back surface 906 of the wafer 90 is positioned on the center line 602 of the robot 6 shown in fig. 1.
Next, the robot 6 shown in fig. 5 and 6 descends, and the dome-shaped top plate portion at the center of the wafer 90 enters the U-shaped opening 600 shown in fig. 6, and brings the 1 st suction portion 64 and the 2 nd suction portion 65 into contact with the back surface 906 of the wafer 90. Further, as the robot 6 descends, the width of the plurality of slits 640 (slits 650) of the 1 st suction portion 64 (2 nd suction portion 65) is widened, for example, whereby the 1 st suction portion 64 (2 nd suction portion 65) flexes like a finger along the dome-shaped convex spherical surface of the wafer 90, that is, the back surface 906, and therefore the contact area between the back surface 906 and the suction surface 60 facing downward is maximized, and the central region of the dome-shaped curved back surface 906 of the wafer 90 is mainly pressed from the radially outer side toward the center side of the wafer 90 by the 1 st suction portion 64 (2 nd suction portion 65), as shown in fig. 5 and 6.
Further, since the 1 st suction portion 64 (2 nd suction portion 65) is bent as shown in fig. 5 and 6, and the outer peripheral region on the +x direction side of the back surface 906 is in contact with the rigid portion 66, the 1 st suction portion 64 (2 nd suction portion 65) is not excessively bent to such an extent that suction holding of the wafer 90 is not performed properly.
As shown in fig. 5 and 6, when the robot arm 6 starts to descend toward the wafer 90, the light projecting section 671 of the wafer detection sensor 67 shown in fig. 5 and 6 starts to emit detection light downward per unit time. In parallel with the 1 st suction unit 64 (2 nd suction unit 65) coming into contact with the wafer 90 and buckling, the outer peripheral region of the back surface 906 of the wafer 90 is positioned below the light projecting unit 671 arranged in the region on the front end side of the rigid unit 66, and the detection light emitted from the light projecting unit 671 is reflected by the back surface 906. When the light receiving time of the light receiving unit 672 from the reflected light from the back surface 906 of the light receiving unit 672 gradually approaches in the height direction (the time from the emission of the detection light from the light projecting unit 671 to the reception of the reflected light) is equal to or less than a predetermined time set in advance, the contact area between the back surface 906 and the suction surface 60 of the 1 st suction unit 64 and the 2 nd suction unit 65 is recognized as maximized. Alternatively, if the light receiving amount of the reflected light from the rear surface 906 of the light receiving portion 672, which is gradually approaching in the height direction, becomes equal to or more than the preset light receiving amount, the contact area between the rear surface 906 and the suction surface 60 of the 1 st suction portion 64 and the 2 nd suction portion 65 is recognized as maximized.
The recognition of the maximum contact area between the back surface 906 of the wafer 90 and the suction surfaces 60 of the 1 st suction portion 64 and the 2 nd suction portion 65, which are bent, can be recognized from the height position of the robot 6 by, for example, controlling the motor of the lifting mechanism 35 such as the electric cylinder that lifts the robot 6 shown in fig. 1.
When the above-described identification is performed, a solenoid valve, not shown, disposed in the external pipe 692 shown in fig. 5 and 6 communicates the suction source 69 with the suction port 62 of the manipulator 6, and the suction force generated by the suction source 69 is transmitted from each suction port 62 to the suction surface 60 via the external pipe 692 and the internal suction passage 623. In this way, the suction surface 60 of the 1 st suction portion 64 and the 2 nd suction portion 65, which are bent, and the back surface 906 of the wafer 90 are in a state where the contact area is maximized, and the wafer 90 is sucked and held by the robot 6 without vacuum leakage.
Next, the robot 6 is lifted by the lifting mechanism 35 shown in fig. 1, the lifting mechanism 35 is stopped at a height at which the outer peripheral edge 903 of the wafer 90 sucked and held by the robot 6 is separated from the shelf 45, the robot 6 sucking and holding the wafer 90 is moved in the +y direction by the robot horizontal movement mechanism 34, and the wafer 90 is carried out from the cassette 4 by the robot 6.
Then, for example, the wafer 90 is conveyed by the robot 1, sucked and held by a chuck table of a grinding apparatus, not shown, so that the back surface 906 on which no device is formed is exposed upward, and the rotated grinding wheel is lowered from above the wafer 90, and is ground while the grinding wheel is brought into contact with the back surface 906 of the wafer 90 facing upward, thereby reducing the thickness to a predetermined thickness.
Hereinafter, a case will be described in which the wafer 90 shown in fig. 7 thinned by grinding is sucked and held by the robot arm 6. The thinned wafer 90 eliminates the dome-shaped curvature by grinding to a flat wafer.
First, the robot 6 is disposed with the suction surfaces 60 of the 1 st suction unit 64 and the 2 nd suction unit 65 facing downward, and the robot 6 is positioned so that the center of the back surface 906 of the wafer 90 is positioned in the U-shaped opening 600 (see fig. 3) of the robot 6. The center of the back surface 906 of the wafer 90 is positioned on the center line 602 of the robot 6, and the region on the outer peripheral side of the back surface 906 of the wafer 90 is positioned on the lower surface of the rigid part 66 so as to overlap with a predetermined area.
Next, the robot 6 shown in fig. 7 is lowered to contact the back surface 906 of the wafer 90. For example, since the ground wafer 90 held by a table (not shown) is a flat wafer, the 1 st suction portion 64 (the 2 nd suction portion 65) is not buckled and the flat suction surface 60 is directly brought into contact with the flat back surface 906 of the wafer 90. The wafer detection sensor 67 detects that the flat suction surface 60 is in contact with the flat back surface 906 of the wafer 90, and suction force generated by the suction source 69 is transmitted from each suction port 62 to the suction surface 60. This causes the robot 6 to suction and hold the wafer 90 by the suction surface 60 of each of the 1 st suction unit 64 and the 2 nd suction unit 65.
The robot 6 is lifted by the lifting mechanism 35 shown in fig. 1, and the wafer 90 sucked and held by the robot 6 is carried out from a table not shown. Here, since the gravity G1 applied to the wafer 90 shown in fig. 7 deflects the 1 st suction portion 64 (the 2 nd suction portion 65) and sags together with the wafer 90 held by suction, but the region on the outer peripheral side of the back surface 906 of the wafer 90 contacts the lower surface of the rigid portion 66 by a predetermined area, the force G2 pushing the contact portion upward by the wafer 90 is applied to the contact portion of the rigid portion 66, so that sagging caused by deflection of the 1 st suction portion 64 (the 2 nd suction portion 65) does not fall excessively into an appropriate range, and appropriate suction holding of the thin and flat wafer 90 by the robot 6 is continued. In the case where the curved wafer 90 shown in fig. 5 is sucked and held by the robot arm 6, sagging due to the deflection of the 1 st suction portion 64 (the 2 nd suction portion 65) is not excessive for the same reason as described above.
As described above, since the robot 6 according to the present invention is a thin plate-like robot having no suction cup or the like, the robot 6 can move up and down the robot 6 moving up and down in the cassette 4 by moving the wafer 90 placed on the shelf 45 of the cassette 4 having a small distance from the shelf 45, and the width of the alternately formed slits 640 (slits 650) can be changed by the robot 6, and the suction surface 60 can be brought into contact with the dome-shaped convex spherical surface, i.e., the back surface 906 of the wafer 90 in an exemplary manner. For example, the wafer detection sensor 67 disposed in the robot 6 operates, and the wafer detection sensor 67 detects the wafer 90 to recognize that the contact area between the back surface 906 of the wafer 90 and the suction surfaces 60 of the 1 st suction unit 64 and the 2 nd suction unit 65 is maximized, and then the suction port 62 of the robot 6 is communicated with the suction source 69, whereby the wafer 90 having a dome-shaped warp can be appropriately sucked and held without vacuum leakage. In addition, after the wafer 90 bent in a dome shape is subjected to, for example, grinding, the bending of the thinned wafer 90 disappears. The robot arm 6 can also suction and hold the thinned wafer 90 with the warp removed, and can carry the processed wafer 90 into the cassette 4 storing the wafer 90 without breaking.
Further, a load sensor may be disposed on the holder 38 of the robot 1 to which the hand 6 is attached, and the force with which the hand 6 is pressed against the wafer 90 may be detected. That is, the suction port 62 can be communicated with the suction source 69 by recognizing, using the value of the load sensor, that the suction surface 60 is a convex spherical surface, i.e., the back surface 906, which mimics the dome shape of the wafer 90.
The manipulator 6 of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be implemented in various ways within the scope of the technical idea. The shapes of the respective configurations of the robot 1 and the cassette 4 shown in the drawings and the respective steps of sucking, holding and carrying out the wafer 90 by the robot arm 6 are not limited to this, and may be appropriately changed within a range capable of exhibiting the effects of the robot arm 6 of the present invention.
For example, suction ports 62 may be formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the 1 st suction portion 64 and the 2 nd suction portion 65 of the robot 6, respectively, and the upper surface and the lower surface may be suction surfaces, respectively. In the present embodiment, the wafer 90 is sucked and held while the robot arm 6 is lowered, but the wafer 90 shown in fig. 2 may be turned upside down, and the robot arm 6 may be raised and brought close to the convex spherical surface of the wafer 90, that is, the rear surface 906 serving as the lower surface, from below the wafer 90 placed on the shelf portion 45 of the cassette 4 with the top plate portion facing downward in a dome-shaped curved manner, so that the 1 st suction portion 64 and the 2 nd suction portion 65 in contact with the wafer 90 are bent like fingers along the convex spherical surface of the wafer 90 to perform suction and holding.

Claims (1)

1. A robot arm is a plate-shaped robot arm, which is mounted on a robot and has a suction port for sucking and holding a dome-shaped curved convex spherical surface of a wafer on a suction surface,
the manipulator comprises:
an attachment unit which is disposed at the rear end and attaches to the robot; and
a 1 st suction unit and a 2 nd suction unit formed as two strands on the front end side of the robot, the 1 st suction unit and the 2 nd suction unit being provided with suction ports for sucking the wafer,
the 1 st suction portion and the 2 nd suction portion are alternately formed with a plurality of slits so that the 1 st suction portion and the 2 nd suction portion can flex like fingers along the convex spherical surface of the wafer.
CN202211546274.1A 2021-12-09 2022-12-05 Mechanical arm Pending CN116259573A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2021200040A JP2023085799A (en) 2021-12-09 2021-12-09 robot hand
JP2021-200040 2021-12-09

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CN116259573A true CN116259573A (en) 2023-06-13

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CN202211546274.1A Pending CN116259573A (en) 2021-12-09 2022-12-05 Mechanical arm

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JP (1) JP2023085799A (en)
KR (1) KR20230087386A (en)
CN (1) CN116259573A (en)
TW (1) TW202324583A (en)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP6581436B2 (en) 2015-08-25 2019-09-25 株式会社ディスコ Robot hand
JP7396815B2 (en) 2019-06-12 2023-12-12 株式会社ディスコ robot hand

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JP2023085799A (en) 2023-06-21
TW202324583A (en) 2023-06-16

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