CN116779487A - Wafer processing machine and wafer direction adjusting method - Google Patents

Wafer processing machine and wafer direction adjusting method Download PDF

Info

Publication number
CN116779487A
CN116779487A CN202310865863.4A CN202310865863A CN116779487A CN 116779487 A CN116779487 A CN 116779487A CN 202310865863 A CN202310865863 A CN 202310865863A CN 116779487 A CN116779487 A CN 116779487A
Authority
CN
China
Prior art keywords
wafer
bearing table
vacuum
controlling
processed
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
CN202310865863.4A
Other languages
Chinese (zh)
Inventor
李备
王士欣
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Changxin Technology Group Co ltd
Original Assignee
Changxin Technology Group Co ltd
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Changxin Technology Group Co ltd filed Critical Changxin Technology Group Co ltd
Priority to CN202310865863.4A priority Critical patent/CN116779487A/en
Publication of CN116779487A publication Critical patent/CN116779487A/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • 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
    • H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
    • H01L21/67155—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations
    • H01L21/67161—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations characterized by the layout of the process chambers
    • H01L21/67167—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations characterized by the layout of the process chambers surrounding a central transfer chamber
    • 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
    • H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
    • H01L21/67155—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations
    • H01L21/67196—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations characterized by the construction of the transfer chamber
    • 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
    • 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
    • H01L21/68—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 positioning, orientation or alignment
    • H01L21/681—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 positioning, orientation or alignment using optical controlling means

Abstract

The disclosure provides a wafer processing machine and a wafer direction adjusting method, which are applied to the field of integrated circuit manufacturing. The wafer processing machine includes: reaction chamber, wafer box load port, atmosphere arm, vacuum arm and set up the vacuum chamber between reaction chamber and wafer box load port, the vacuum chamber includes: the annular first bearing table has a first annular inner diameter; the circular second bearing table is coaxial with the first bearing table, has a diameter smaller than or equal to a first value, and can axially rotate and axially move; at least one detector, which is arranged above the first bearing table and is used for detecting the surface of the wafer and outputting a wafer detection signal; and the controller is used for acquiring the position of the wafer positioning mark according to the wafer detection signal, controlling the second bearing table to axially rotate and axially move according to the position of the wafer positioning mark so as to enable the wafer positioning mark of the wafer to be at a preset position and controlling the wafer to be borne by the first bearing table. The wafer transfer speed can be improved by the embodiment of the disclosure.

Description

Wafer processing machine and wafer direction adjusting method
Technical Field
The disclosure relates to the technical field of integrated circuit manufacturing, in particular to a wafer processing machine and a wafer direction adjusting method realized by the wafer processing machine.
Background
In the integrated circuit manufacturing process, it is necessary to feed the wafer into a wafer processing machine for processing and take out the processed wafer from the wafer processing machine. In the wafer processing process, the wafer needs to be processed according to a set procedure, so that the wafer needs to be placed according to a set direction when being sent into the reaction cavity.
In the related art, after the atmospheric robot takes out the wafer to be processed from the wafer cassette loading port, the wafer to be processed needs to be sent to a positioning device (Pre-Aligner) for direction adjustment, and then the wafer with the adjusted taking-out direction is sent to the vacuum chamber, so that the vacuum robot takes out the wafer from the vacuum chamber and sends the wafer to the reaction chamber. After the wafer processing is completed, the vacuum mechanical arm takes out the processed wafer from the reaction cavity and sends the processed wafer into the vacuum cavity, so that the atmospheric mechanical arm takes out the processed wafer and sends the processed wafer to the positioning device (Pre-Aligner) again for positioning, and then the processed wafer is placed into the wafer box loading port.
The interaction between the atmosphere mechanical arm and the positioning device is usually performed for a certain time, and because the contact surface between the positioning device and the wafer is small, there is a risk that the wafer falls off, and the direction adjustment speed and the movement speed of the atmosphere mechanical arm are required to be set slower. Therefore, the conventional wafer manufacturing efficiency is limited by the wafer direction adjustment process and is low.
It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background section is only for enhancing understanding of the background of the present disclosure and thus may include information that does not constitute prior art known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Disclosure of Invention
The disclosure aims to provide a wafer processing machine and a wafer direction adjusting method realized by the wafer processing machine, which are used for solving the problem of low wafer transfer efficiency.
According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a wafer processing machine comprising: the reaction cavities are used for processing the wafer; a plurality of wafer cassette loading ports for loading wafers to be processed and/or processed wafers; at least one vacuum chamber disposed between the reaction chamber and the wafer cassette loading port; an atmospheric robot for transferring wafers between the wafer cassette port and the vacuum chamber; the vacuum mechanical arm is used for conveying the wafer between the reaction cavity and the vacuum cavity; wherein, the vacuum chamber includes: the first bearing table is annular, and the annular inner diameter is a first value; the second bearing table is coaxial with the first bearing table, is circular, has a diameter smaller than or equal to a first value, and can axially rotate and axially move; at least one detector, which is arranged on the fixing device above the first bearing table and is used for detecting the surface of the wafer and outputting a wafer detection signal; and the controller is connected with the second bearing table and the detector and is used for acquiring the position of the wafer positioning mark according to the wafer detection signal, controlling the second bearing table to axially rotate and axially move according to the position of the wafer positioning mark so as to enable the wafer positioning mark of the wafer to be at a preset position and controlling the wafer to be borne by the first bearing table.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a detector includes: the signal generator is arranged on the first side of the fixing device, which is positioned on the axial direction of the first bearing table, and is used for transmitting detection signals; the signal receiver is arranged on the second side of the fixing device in the axial direction of the first bearing table and is used for receiving the detection signal; the wafer is conveyed between the first side and the second side, and the axial direction of the wafer is the axial direction of the first bearing table.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the prober includes an image acquisition device for scanning the wafer and forming an image of the wafer.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one detector includes a first detector disposed on a side of the vacuum chamber proximate to the wafer cassette loading port and/or a second detector disposed on a side of the vacuum chamber proximate to the reaction chamber.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the portion of the atmospheric robot arm contacting the wafer is made of a transparent material; the portion of the vacuum mechanical arm contacting the wafer is made of transparent material.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the image acquisition device is disposed directly above the second carrying stage.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller is further connected to a vacuum robot and an atmospheric robot.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the first carrier comprises a first vacuum adsorption device for adsorbing the wafer; the second bearing table comprises a second vacuum adsorption device, the second vacuum adsorption device is used for adsorbing the wafer, and the controller is further connected with the first vacuum adsorption device and the second vacuum adsorption device and used for controlling the first vacuum adsorption device and the second vacuum adsorption device to adsorb the wafer or stop adsorbing the wafer.
According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a wafer direction adjustment method performed by a controller in any one of the above wafer processing machines, comprising: responding to the wafer arrival message, and controlling the second bearing table to move along the axial direction so that the second bearing table protrudes out of the first bearing table; acquiring a wafer detection signal, determining the position of a wafer positioning mark according to the wafer detection signal, determining a wafer rotation angle according to the position of the wafer positioning mark and a preset position, and controlling the second bearing table to axially rotate according to the wafer rotation angle so as to enable the wafer positioning mark to be positioned at the preset position; and controlling the second bearing platform to move along the axial direction so that the second bearing platform and the first bearing platform are positioned at the same horizontal plane.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further comprises: controlling an atmospheric mechanical arm to convey a wafer to be processed from a wafer box loading port to a vacuum cavity so as to trigger a wafer arrival message; controlling the second bearing table to move along the axial direction, so that the second bearing table protrudes out of the first bearing table, and controlling the atmosphere mechanical arm to place the wafer to be processed on the second bearing table; then, controlling the second bearing table to move along the axial direction, and controlling the vacuum mechanical arm to take the wafer to be processed from the first bearing table after the second bearing table and the first bearing table are positioned on the same horizontal plane; and/or controlling the vacuum mechanical arm to convey the processed wafer from the reaction chamber to the vacuum chamber to trigger a wafer arrival message; controlling the second bearing table to move along the axial direction, so that the second bearing table protrudes out of the first bearing table, and controlling the vacuum mechanical arm to place the processed wafer on the second bearing table; and then controlling the second bearing table to move along the axial direction, and controlling the atmosphere mechanical arm to take the processed wafer from the first bearing table after the second bearing table and the first bearing table are positioned at the same horizontal plane.
According to the embodiment of the disclosure, the vacuum cavity is modified, the position of the wafer positioning mark is determined through the detector arranged in the vacuum cavity, the second bearing table is controlled to rotate and move in a telescopic manner based on the position of the wafer positioning mark, the positioning device arranged in the related technology can be canceled, the wafer positioning efficiency and the wafer transferring efficiency are improved, the risk of dropping the wafer is reduced, and the wafer manufacturing efficiency is integrally improved.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure.
Drawings
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the drawings in the following description are merely examples of the disclosure and that other drawings may be derived from them without undue effort.
Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a wafer processing tool in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of a detector in an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a robotic arm in an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams of a detector in another embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a wafer direction adjustment method performed by a controller in one embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of wafer direction adjustment in an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an effect of wafer direction adjustment in an embodiment of the disclosure.
Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a first and second load-bearing table in one embodiment of the present disclosure.
Detailed Description
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the exemplary embodiments may be embodied in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to give a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the aspects of the disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, devices, steps, etc. In other instances, well-known technical solutions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the present disclosure.
Furthermore, the drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure, in which the same reference numerals denote the same or similar parts, and thus a repetitive description thereof will be omitted. Some of the block diagrams shown in the figures are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically separate entities. These functional entities may be implemented in software or in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits or in different networks and/or processor devices and/or microcontroller devices.
The following describes example embodiments of the present disclosure in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a wafer processing tool in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
Referring to fig. 1, a wafer processing tool 100 may include:
a plurality of reaction chambers 1 for processing wafers;
a plurality of cassette loading ports 2 for loading wafers to be processed and/or processed wafers;
at least one vacuum chamber 3 disposed between the reaction chamber 1 and the wafer cassette loading port 2;
an atmospheric robot 4 for transferring wafers between the cassette loading port 2 and the vacuum chamber 3;
a vacuum robot arm 5 for transferring a wafer between the reaction chamber 1 and the vacuum chamber 3;
wherein the vacuum chamber 3 comprises:
the first bearing table 31 is annular, and the annular inner diameter is a first value;
the second bearing table 32 is coaxial with the first bearing table 31, is circular, has a diameter smaller than or equal to a first value, and can axially rotate and axially move the second bearing table 32;
at least one detector 33 mounted on the fixture above the first carrier 31 for detecting a surface of the wafer and outputting a wafer detection signal;
the controller 6 is connected to the second carrying table 32 and the detector 33, and is configured to obtain a position of the wafer positioning mark according to the wafer detection signal, control the second carrying table to axially rotate and axially move according to the position of the wafer positioning mark, so that the wafer positioning mark of the wafer is at a preset position, and control the wafer to be carried by the first carrying table 31.
As shown in fig. 1, the wafer processing tool 100 is mainly divided into an atmospheric portion, an atmospheric/vacuum junction portion, and a vacuum portion. The atmosphere part is provided with a plurality of wafer box loading ports 2 and an atmosphere mechanical arm 4; the vacuum part comprises a plurality of reaction cavities 1 and a vacuum mechanical arm 5; the atmosphere/vacuum junction comprises a vacuum chamber 3. The installation position of the controller 6 may be determined according to the control range of the controller, and in general, the controller 6 may be installed at an atmospheric/vacuum junction.
When processing wafers, the atmospheric mechanical arm 4 takes out wafers to be processed from one wafer box loading port 2, the wafers are fed into the vacuum chambers 3, the controller 6 automatically controls a plurality of parts in the vacuum chambers 3 to finish wafer direction adjustment, sealing doors between the vacuum chambers 3 and the atmospheric parts are closed, sealing doors between the vacuum chambers 3 and the vacuum parts are opened, and the vacuum mechanical arm 5 takes out the wafers to be processed which are well positioned (direction adjusted) from the vacuum chambers 3 and feeds the wafers to be processed into the corresponding reaction chambers 1. After the processing is completed, the vacuum mechanical arm 5 takes out the processed wafer from the reaction cavity 1, sends the processed wafer into the vacuum cavity 3, the controller 6 automatically controls a plurality of parts in the vacuum cavity 3 to complete the direction adjustment of the wafer, the sealing door between the vacuum cavity 3 and the vacuum part is closed, the sealing door between the vacuum cavity 3 and the atmosphere part is opened, and the atmosphere mechanical arm 4 takes out the processed wafer from the vacuum cavity 3 and sends the processed wafer into the corresponding wafer box loading port 2, so that the wafer processing is completed.
In the embodiment of the disclosure, no special equipment for adjusting the wafer direction is required, and only the wafer is directly conveyed into the vacuum cavity 3, so that the equipment cost of the wafer processing machine can be effectively saved, and the total volume of the wafer processing machine can be reduced.
The vacuum chamber 3 can perform the work of adjusting the direction of the wafer through the first bearing table 31, the second bearing table 32 and the detector 33. Next, each structure of the vacuum chamber 3 will be described in detail.
Fig. 2A-2C are schematic diagrams of a detector in an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Referring to fig. 2A-2C, in one embodiment, the detector 33 includes:
a signal generator 331 disposed on a first side of the fixing device 34 in an axial direction of the first carrying platform 31, for transmitting a detection signal;
a signal receiver 332 disposed on a second side of the fixing device 34 in the axial direction of the first carrying platform 31, for receiving the detection signal;
wherein, the first side and the second side are used for transferring the wafer, and the axial direction of the wafer is the axial direction of the first bearing table 31.
The fixing structure 34 may be an inner wall of the vacuum chamber 3, or may be a structure disposed on an inner wall of the vacuum chamber 3, or may be a structure separately installed in the vacuum chamber 3, which is not limited to the specific structure of the fixing structure 34 in the present disclosure.
The detector 33 shown in fig. 2A-2C may comprise a variety of radiation detectors, wherein the detection signal comprises at least one of a laser signal and an infrared signal, and in one embodiment, the detector 33 is a laser detector. When the robot arm starts to send a wafer into the vacuum chamber 3, the controller 6 controls the signal generator 331 to send a detection signal, the detection signal passes through the moving wafer and is received by the signal receiver 332, the controller 6 recognizes the form and the positioning mark of the wafer by reading the detection signal received by the signal receiver 332, and the wafer direction adjustment method provided by the present disclosure is executed to perform the next control.
With continued reference to fig. 2A-2C, in one embodiment, the detector 33 includes a first detector disposed on a side of the vacuum chamber 3 proximate to the wafer cassette port 2 and/or a second detector disposed on a side of the vacuum chamber 3 proximate to the reaction chamber 1.
In fig. 2A, the prober 33 may be disposed only on the side of the vacuum chamber 3 near the cassette loading port 2, referred to as the first prober. The first detector may scan the wafer 10 to be processed when the atmospheric robot 4 sends the wafer 10 to be processed into the vacuum chamber 3, so as to control the second carrier 32 to rotate after the wafer 10 to be processed is placed on the second carrier 32, and adjust the position of the wafer 10 to be processed.
In fig. 2B, the detector 33 may be provided only on the side of the vacuum chamber 3 close to the reaction chamber 1, which is called a second detector. The second prober may scan the processed wafer 20 as the vacuum robot 5 feeds the processed wafer 20 into the vacuum chamber 3 to control rotation of the second carrier 32 after the processed wafer 20 is placed on the second carrier 32 to adjust the position of the processed wafer 20.
In fig. 2C, a first detector and a second detector may be disposed at a side of the vacuum chamber 3 close to the reaction chamber 1 and a side close to the wafer cassette loading port 2 at the same time, so that both the wafer 10 to be processed and the wafer 20 to be processed can be scanned and the direction of the wafer 20 to be processed can be adjusted when the atmospheric robot 4 sends the wafer 10 to be processed into the vacuum chamber 3 and the vacuum robot 5 sends the wafer 20 to be processed into the vacuum chamber 3.
Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a robotic arm in an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Referring to fig. 3, when the prober 33 is shown in fig. 2A to 2C, the signal generator 331 and the signal receiver 332 cooperate to identify the wafer, and the robot arm carrying the wafer is also within the probing range of the probing signal. In order to prevent the wafer positioning mark 101 to be recognized from exactly overlapping the robot arm, part or all of the robot arm may be manufactured using a transparent material.
When the at least one detector 33 comprises a first detector, the part of the atmospheric robot arm 4 contacting the wafer is made of a transparent material; when the at least one detector 33 comprises a second detector, the portion of the vacuum robot arm 5 contacting the wafer is made of a transparent material. In one embodiment, the transparent material comprises an alumina ceramic. For ease of illustration, the embodiment shown in fig. 3 is illustrated with the atmospheric robot 4 only and the vacuum robot 5 is not shown.
In the above embodiment, the atmospheric robot 4 or the vacuum robot 5 may be made of a transparent material only at the portion contacting the wafer to save costs. Alternatively, the atmosphere robot arm 4 or the vacuum robot arm 5 may be entirely made of a transparent material to improve structural strength. The present disclosure is not particularly limited thereto.
In the embodiment of the disclosure, the detection process and the process of entering the vacuum chamber 3 are performed simultaneously, no additional detection time is required, and the wafer direction adjustment can be completed after the wafer is placed on the second carrying table 32, so that the method is very efficient. In addition, since the detection process is continued from the start of the wafer entering the vacuum chamber 3 until the wafer completely enters the vacuum chamber 3, the detector 33 formed by the cooperation of the signal generator 331 and the signal detector 332 has more detection information of the wafer, and the imaging is accurate, and when the wafer size is larger, the wafer image which is accurate and does not deform can be obtained.
In addition to the detector 33 shown in fig. 2A to 2C, which is formed by combining the signal generator 331 and the signal detector 332, the detector 33 may have other configurations.
Fig. 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams of a detector 33 in another embodiment of the present disclosure.
Referring to fig. 4A and 4B, in another embodiment, the detector 33 includes an image acquisition device for scanning the wafer and forming an image of the wafer.
In fig. 4A, the image acquisition device is disposed directly above the second stage 32 and may be fixed to the fixed structure 34. The image acquisition device may take a picture of the wafer to be processed or the processed wafer after the wafer to be processed or the processed wafer is placed on the second carrying table 32 by the mechanical arm, and transmit the taken picture to the controller 6, so that the controller 6 recognizes the wafer positioning identifier of the wafer to be processed or the processed wafer through image recognition, and performs subsequent control.
Compared with the continuous scanning of the wafer by the cooperation of the signal generator 331 and the signal detector 332 to acquire the image of the wafer, the image acquisition device is arranged right above the second bearing table 32, so that the image is possibly deformed to a certain extent, but the image acquisition of the wafer to be processed and the processed wafer can be completed by only arranging one device, so that the cost is greatly reduced.
In fig. 4B, a detector 33 in the form of an image acquisition device may also be disposed on the side of the vacuum chamber 3 close to the wafer box port 2 and the side of the vacuum chamber 3 close to the reaction chamber 1, so that multiple images of the wafer to be processed or the processed wafer can be continuously acquired during the process of entering the vacuum chamber 3, and transmitted to the controller 6, so that the controller 6 can acquire the correct image of the wafer according to the multiple images of the wafer, and accurately identify the position of the wafer positioning mark. Therefore, the deformation problem in the image acquisition process can be overcome.
The controller 6 may obtain the wafer image by using the wafer detection information provided by the detector 33, identify the position of the wafer positioning mark, and further execute the method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure to control the wafer adjustment direction.
Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a wafer direction adjustment method performed by a controller in one embodiment of the present disclosure.
Referring to fig. 5, a wafer direction adjustment method 500 performed by a controller may include:
step S1, responding to a wafer arrival message, and controlling the second bearing table to move along the axial direction so as to enable the second bearing table to protrude out of the first bearing table;
s2, acquiring a wafer detection signal, determining the position of a wafer positioning mark according to the wafer detection signal, determining a wafer rotation angle according to the position of the wafer positioning mark and a preset position, and controlling the second bearing table to axially rotate according to the wafer rotation angle so as to enable the wafer positioning mark to be positioned at the preset position;
and S3, controlling the second bearing platform to move along the axial direction so that the second bearing platform and the first bearing platform are positioned on the same horizontal plane.
In one embodiment, the wafer arrival message is sent to the controller 6 by an external controller that controls each robot arm. In another embodiment, the controller 6 is further connected to the vacuum robot 5 and the atmospheric robot 6, the controller 6 controls the vacuum chamber 3, the atmospheric robot 4, and the vacuum robot 5 simultaneously, and the controller 6 controls the vacuum robot 5 to transfer the wafer between the reaction chamber 1 and the vacuum chamber 3, place the wafer on the second loading table 32, and remove the wafer from the first loading table 31; the atmospheric robot 4 is controlled to transfer wafers between the cassette loading port 2 and the vacuum chamber 3, place the wafers on the second carrier table 32, and remove the wafers from the first carrier table 31. At this time, the wafer arrival message is triggered by the controller 6 itself.
For example, the controller 6 may control the atmospheric robot 4 to transport wafers to be processed from the cassette loading port 2 to the vacuum chamber 3 to trigger a wafer arrival message; then, the second bearing table 32 is controlled to move along the axial direction, so that the second bearing table 32 protrudes out of the first bearing table 31, and the atmospheric mechanical arm 4 is controlled to place the wafer to be processed on the second bearing table 32; then, the second bearing table 32 is controlled to move along the axial direction, so that the vacuum mechanical arm 5 is controlled to take the wafer to be processed from the first bearing table 31 after the second bearing table 32 and the first bearing table 31 are positioned at the same horizontal plane; and/or controlling the vacuum robot 5 to transfer the processed wafer from the reaction chamber 1 to the vacuum chamber 3 to trigger a wafer arrival message; then, the second bearing table 32 is controlled to move along the axial direction, so that the second bearing table 32 protrudes out of the first bearing table 31, and the vacuum mechanical arm 5 is controlled to place the processed wafer on the second bearing table 32; then, the second carrying table 32 is controlled to move along the axial direction, so that the second carrying table 32 and the first carrying table 31 are positioned at the same horizontal plane, and the atmosphere robot arm 4 is controlled to take the processed wafer from the first carrying table 31.
In the default state, the surfaces of the first carrying table 31 and the second carrying table 32 are at the same level. The first bearing table 31 may be set unchanged, the second bearing table 32 includes a strut 35 (as shown in fig. 5), and the strut 35 below which the second bearing table 32 may be supported for axial movement and rotation along the axis. One end of the strut 35 is connected to the second carrying platform 32, and the other end may be connected to the first carrying platform 31 or directly to the fixing structure 34. The controller 6 may control the support posts 35 to achieve height and direction control of the second load table 32.
When it is determined in step S1 that the wafer is about to reach the vacuum chamber 3 according to the wafer arrival message, the controller 6 first controls the second carrying table 32 to move axially, and protrudes from the first carrying table 31, specifically, the supporting column 35 may be controlled to protrude so that the second carrying table 32 is higher than the first carrying table 31, in preparation for receiving the wafer by using the second carrying table 32.
The controller 6 or the external controller controls the mechanical arm (the atmospheric mechanical arm 4 or the vacuum mechanical arm 5) to place the wafer on the second carrying table 32 horizontally, so that the center of the wafer coincides with the geometric center of the second carrying table 32. In this process, the controller 6 controls the detector 33 to complete the scanning detection of the wafer.
In step S2, the controller forms a wafer surface image according to the wafer detection signal, determines the position of the wafer positioning mark according to the wafer image, determines the wafer rotation angle according to the position of the wafer positioning mark and the preset position, and controls the second carrying table 32 to axially rotate (which can be realized by controlling the support post 35 to rotate) according to the wafer rotation angle so that the wafer positioning mark is at the preset position.
The preset position is a standard position for adjusting the wafer orientation, and is unique and unchanged.
Determining the position of the wafer positioning mark according to the wafer detection signal may first obtain a surface image of the wafer according to the wafer detection signal, and then identify the center, edge and wafer positioning mark of the wafer in the surface image of the wafer. Specifically, the circle center and the edge of the wafer can be determined according to the identified wafer range, the wafer surface image is put into a preset coordinate system to obtain the coordinates of the circle center and the edge, and then the coordinates of the wafer positioning mark are given after the wafer positioning mark is identified.
The wafer positioning mark is arranged at the edge of the wafer, is unique and fixed and is a necessarily contained part of each wafer. The wafer positioning mark can be a geometric figure arranged on the surface of the wafer, can be a notch with various forms at the edge of the wafer, or can be marked by other technologies. The controller 6 needs to know the type and shape of the wafer positioning mark in advance, so that the wafer positioning mark can be identified in the wafer scanning image, and the coordinates of the wafer positioning mark relative to the center of the wafer are given.
And then, determining the wafer rotation angle according to the position of the wafer positioning mark and the preset position.
Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of wafer direction adjustment in an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Referring to fig. 6, when determining the rotation angle of the wafer, the first edge 61 of the wafer may be first determined in a first direction, which passes through the center of the wafer and is perpendicular to a second direction, which is a direction in which the preset position 102 is connected to the center of the wafer. The distance between the projection of the wafer positioning mark 101 in the second direction and the first edge 61 is set to a first distance value L1, and the distance between the projection of the wafer positioning mark 101 in the first direction and the preset position 102 is set to a second distance value L2.
As shown in fig. 6, the included angle θ between the wafer positioning mark 101 and the second direction is first determined, and then the included angle θ is processed according to whether the wafer positioning mark 101 and the preset position 102 are on the same side in the second direction, so as to obtain a final rotation angle.
The angle θ may be calculated according to the following formula.
If L1 > R, the instruction requires a counter-clockwise rotation, there are:
θ＝ arccos((L-R)/R) (1)
if L1 < R, the instruction needs to rotate clockwise, there are:
θ＝ arccos((R - L)/R) (2)
next, it is determined whether the wafer positioning mark 101 and the preset position 102 are on the same side in the second direction. Specifically, if L2 > R, indicating that the wafer positioning mark 101 and the preset position 102 are not on the same side in the second direction, the rotation angle α needs to be increased by 90 °, and there are:
α＝θ+90° (3)
if L2 < R, it is indicated that the wafer positioning mark 101 and the preset position 102 are on the same side in the second direction, the rotation angle α is the difference between 90 ° and θ, and there are:
α＝ 90°-θ (4)
finally, when the first distance value L1 and the second distance value L2 are both larger than the radius R of the wafer, the wafer rotation angle alpha is set to arccos ((L-R)/R) +90 degrees; when the first distance value L1 is larger than the radius R of the wafer and the second distance value L2 is smaller than the radius R of the wafer, setting the wafer rotation angle alpha to 90 degrees to arccos ((L-R)/R); when the first distance value L1 is smaller than the radius R of the wafer and the second distance value L2 is larger than the radius R of the wafer, setting the wafer rotation angle alpha as arccos ((R-L)/R) +90 degrees; when the first distance value L1 and the second distance value L2 are smaller than the radius R of the wafer, the wafer rotation angle alpha is set to 90 degrees to arccos ((R-L)/R).
The above method for adjusting the rotation angle is merely an example, and in practical applications, a person skilled in the art may determine the rotation angle of the wafer according to other algorithms, which is not particularly limited in this disclosure.
Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an effect of wafer direction adjustment in an embodiment of the disclosure.
Referring to fig. 7, above fig. 7, when the wafer 10 is fed into the vacuum chamber 32 and placed on the second carrier 32, the wafer positioning mark 101 is not aligned with the preset position 102, and after the rotation control, the wafer positioning mark 101 is aligned with the preset position 102, so as to complete the wafer direction adjustment.
Therefore, the embodiment of the disclosure can save externally arranged wafer positioning equipment and directly use the vacuum cavity to finish the wafer direction adjustment.
After adjusting the wafer orientation, the wafer needs to be removed by another robot. The second carrying table 32 can be controlled to move along the axial direction, so that the second carrying table 32 and the first carrying table 31 are in the same horizontal plane, i.e. the second carrying table 32 is controlled to return to the original position, so that the wafer is carried by the first carrying table 32 more firmly, and the wafer is prevented from shifting when being taken away.
In one embodiment, in order to maintain the stability of the wafer during the process of being aligned and removed in the vacuum chamber 3, vacuum suction devices may be further provided on the first and second stages 31 and 32.
Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a first and second load-bearing table in one embodiment of the present disclosure.
Referring to fig. 8, in one embodiment, the first carrier 31 includes a first vacuum suction device 311, the first vacuum suction device 311 being configured to suction a wafer; the second carrier 32 includes a second vacuum adsorption device 321, where the second vacuum adsorption device 321 is used to adsorb the wafer 10, and the controller 6 is further connected to the first vacuum adsorption device 311 and the second vacuum adsorption device 321, and is used to control the first vacuum adsorption device 311 and the second vacuum adsorption device 321 to adsorb the wafer 10 or stop adsorbing the wafer 10.
Specifically, after determining that any one of the mechanical arms places the wafer on the second carrier 32 and the center of the wafer is aligned with the center of the second carrier 32, the controller 6 may control the second vacuum suction device 321 to suction the wafer, so as to prevent the wafer from being offset during direction adjustment and descent. When the second carrying table 32 is determined to be lowered to be at the same level as the first carrying table 31, the first vacuum adsorption device 311 can be controlled to adsorb the wafer, so as to prevent the wafer from shifting during the process of being taken away by the mechanical arm. After determining that the robot arm has stably picked up the wafer, the controller 6 may control the first vacuum suction device 311 and the second vacuum suction device 321 to simultaneously stop sucking the wafer so that the wafer is smoothly picked up.
In summary, according to the embodiment of the disclosure, the peripheral wafer positioning device can be saved, and the wafer direction is adjusted only through the vacuum chamber 3 and the controller 6, so that the wafer transfer efficiency can be effectively improved, the probability of wafer deviation in the transfer process can be reduced, and the overall manufacturing efficiency of the integrated circuit can be improved.
It should be noted that although in the above detailed description several modules or units of a device for action execution are mentioned, such a division is not mandatory. Indeed, the features and functionality of two or more modules or units described above may be embodied in one module or unit in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above may be further divided into a plurality of modules or units to be embodied.
Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any adaptations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure following, in general, the principles of the disclosure and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the disclosure pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.

Claims (10)

1. A wafer processing tool, comprising:
the reaction cavities are used for processing the wafer;
a plurality of wafer cassette loading ports for loading wafers to be processed and/or processed wafers;
at least one vacuum chamber disposed between the reaction chamber and the wafer cassette loading port;
an atmospheric robot for transferring wafers between the wafer cassette loading port and the vacuum chamber;
a vacuum robot for transferring a wafer between the reaction chamber and the vacuum chamber;
wherein, the vacuum chamber includes:
the first bearing table is annular, and the annular inner diameter is a first value;
the second bearing table is coaxial with the first bearing table, is circular, has a diameter smaller than or equal to the first value, and can axially rotate and axially move;
at least one detector, which is arranged on the fixing device above the first bearing table and is used for detecting the surface of the wafer and outputting a wafer detection signal;
and the controller is connected with the second bearing table and the detector and is used for acquiring the position of the wafer positioning mark according to the wafer detection signal, controlling the second bearing table to axially rotate and axially move according to the position of the wafer positioning mark so as to enable the wafer positioning mark of the wafer to be at a preset position and controlling the wafer to be borne by the first bearing table.
2. The wafer processing tool of claim 1, wherein the detector comprises:
the signal generator is arranged on a first side of the fixing device, which is positioned on the axial direction of the first bearing table, and is used for sending detection signals;
the signal receiver is arranged on a second side of the fixing device in the axial direction of the first bearing table and is used for receiving the detection signal;
the wafer is conveyed between the first side and the second side, and the axial direction of the wafer is the axial direction of the first bearing table.
3. The wafer processing tool of claim 1, wherein the detector comprises an image acquisition device for scanning the wafer and forming an image of the wafer.
4. The wafer processing machine of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the detector comprises a first detector and/or a second detector, the first detector being disposed on a side of the vacuum chamber adjacent the cassette loading port, the second detector being disposed on a side of the vacuum chamber adjacent the reaction chamber.
5. The wafer processing tool according to claim 4, wherein the portion of the atmospheric robot arm that contacts the wafer is made of a transparent material; the portion of the vacuum mechanical arm contacting the wafer is made of transparent material.
6. The wafer processing machine of claim 2, wherein the image acquisition device is disposed directly above the second carrier.
7. The wafer processing tool of claim 1, wherein the controller is further coupled to the vacuum robot and the atmospheric robot.
8. The wafer processing machine of claim 1, wherein the first carrier comprises a first vacuum suction device for sucking a wafer; the second bearing table comprises a second vacuum adsorption device, the second vacuum adsorption device is used for adsorbing the wafer, and the controller is further connected with the first vacuum adsorption device and the second vacuum adsorption device and used for controlling the first vacuum adsorption device and the second vacuum adsorption device to adsorb the wafer or stop adsorbing the wafer.
9. A wafer direction adjustment method performed by the controller in the wafer processing machine of claims 1-9, comprising:
responding to the wafer arrival message, and controlling the second bearing table to move along the axial direction so that the second bearing table protrudes out of the first bearing table;
acquiring the wafer detection signal, determining the position of the wafer positioning mark according to the wafer detection signal, determining a wafer rotation angle according to the position of the wafer positioning mark and the preset position, and controlling the second bearing table to axially rotate according to the wafer rotation angle so as to enable the wafer positioning mark to be positioned at the preset position;
and controlling the second bearing table to move along the axial direction so that the second bearing table and the first bearing table are positioned on the same horizontal plane.
10. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising:
controlling an atmospheric mechanical arm to convey a wafer to be processed from a wafer box loading port to a vacuum cavity so as to trigger the wafer arrival message; controlling a second bearing table to move along the axial direction, and controlling the atmosphere mechanical arm to place the wafer to be processed on the second bearing table after the second bearing table protrudes out of the first bearing table; then, the second bearing table is controlled to move along the axial direction, so that the second bearing table and the first bearing table are positioned on the same horizontal plane, and the vacuum mechanical arm is controlled to take the wafer to be processed from the first bearing table; and/or the number of the groups of groups,
controlling a vacuum mechanical arm to convey the processed wafer from the reaction cavity to the vacuum cavity so as to trigger the wafer arrival message; controlling a second bearing table to move along the axial direction, and controlling the vacuum mechanical arm to place the processed wafer on the second bearing table after the second bearing table protrudes out of the first bearing table; and then controlling the second bearing table to move along the axial direction, so that the second bearing table and the first bearing table are positioned on the same horizontal plane, and controlling an atmosphere mechanical arm to take the processed wafer from the first bearing table.
CN202310865863.4A 2023-07-13 2023-07-13 Wafer processing machine and wafer direction adjusting method Pending CN116779487A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202310865863.4A CN116779487A (en) 2023-07-13 2023-07-13 Wafer processing machine and wafer direction adjusting method

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202310865863.4A CN116779487A (en) 2023-07-13 2023-07-13 Wafer processing machine and wafer direction adjusting method

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CN116779487A true CN116779487A (en) 2023-09-19

Family

ID=87992985

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CN202310865863.4A Pending CN116779487A (en) 2023-07-13 2023-07-13 Wafer processing machine and wafer direction adjusting method

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CN (1) CN116779487A (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN117174632A (en) * 2023-11-03 2023-12-05 泓浒(苏州)半导体科技有限公司 Positioning correction device and positioning correction method for semiconductor wafer

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN117174632A (en) * 2023-11-03 2023-12-05 泓浒(苏州)半导体科技有限公司 Positioning correction device and positioning correction method for semiconductor wafer
CN117174632B (en) * 2023-11-03 2024-01-30 泓浒(苏州)半导体科技有限公司 Positioning correction device and positioning correction method for semiconductor wafer

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
KR0165555B1 (en) Load-lock unit and wafer transfer system
TWI525727B (en) Wafer inspection interface and wafer inspection device
US8313277B2 (en) Semiconductor manufacturing process modules
US8812150B2 (en) Semiconductor manufacturing process modules
CN116779487A (en) Wafer processing machine and wafer direction adjusting method
KR20190067105A (en) Teaching method
US8600150B2 (en) Wafer aligning apparatus and related method
JPH04298061A (en) Load lock apparatus and wafer transfer system
KR20110074472A (en) Substrate processing apparatus and method
US20090016857A1 (en) Substrate-replacing apparatus, substrate-processing apparatus, and substrate-inspecting apparatus
KR20130094754A (en) Transfer system
EP1079429B1 (en) Alignment processing mechanism and semiconductor processing device using it
KR101820934B1 (en) Substrate transfer device, substrate transfer method and storage medium for transferring substrate
US20220130696A1 (en) Robot embedded vision apparatus
CN111354668A (en) Silicon wafer transmission system and method
KR20220133107A (en) Substrate processing apparatus, teaching information generation method, teaching set and substrate jig
CN115692292A (en) Device and method for correcting wafer offset in wafer conveying process
JPH01108740A (en) Transfer positioning system for semiconductor wafer
US11908722B2 (en) Automatic teaching of substrate handling for production and process-control tools
JP2009184069A (en) Wafer carrying device and method of adjusting the same
KR20100040999A (en) Wafer centering method
CN113192859B (en) Wafer processing system and wafer processing method
JP2003068829A (en) Substrate transport system and substrate treating device
KR20210120848A (en) Aligner apparatus and method for correcting positional deviation of workpiece
KR20180136771A (en) Apparatus for aligning semiconductor wafer and method thereof

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PB01 Publication
PB01 Publication
SE01 Entry into force of request for substantive examination
SE01 Entry into force of request for substantive examination