CN217703232U - Replacement device for replacing heating lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to a replacement device for replacing a heating lamp, the heating lamp is provided in a semiconductor processing apparatus, the semiconductor processing apparatus includes a plurality of heating lamps, and the replacement device includes: the positioning mechanism and the pick-and-place mechanism; the positioning mechanism comprises a first scale, a second scale and a positioning slide block; the picking and placing mechanism comprises a slideway, a supporting piece and a picking and placing clamp; the slide way is fixedly connected with the positioning slide block of the positioning mechanism, and the slide way is provided with a position close to the heating lamp and a position far away from the heating lamp; the support is used for supporting the pick-and-place clamp and is arranged to move along the slide way; the picking and placing clamp is used for clamping the heating lamp and is arranged to move along the slide way along with the supporting piece so as to be close to or far away from the heating lamp. Utilize the change device for changing the heating lamp of this application, can change the heating lamp fast and accurately.

Description

Replacement device for replacing heating lamp

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and more particularly, to a replacement device for replacing a heating lamp.

Background

The statements herein merely provide background information related to the present application and may not necessarily constitute prior art.

In semiconductor manufacturing processes, an array of multiple process cells is often used to process a die (also referred to as a wafer). For example, in Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) processes, arrays of hundreds of heat lamps are often used to heat the wafer. Each lamp may have a corresponding number for identification. When a damaged lamp is replaced, it is necessary to find the damaged lamp from among hundreds of lamps. As the number of lamps increases, the efficiency of locating the lamps gradually decreases. And because the arrangement of the lamps is dense, the arrangement of the lamps is not necessarily regular or even, a certain error rate exists only by the preset numbers or drawings for positioning, if the lamps are only identified by naked eyes and replaced by hands, the replacement efficiency is low, and the pollution probability to mechanical parts is increased.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The application aims to provide a novel replacing device for replacing a heating lamp, and aims to solve the technical problem of improving the accuracy and efficiency of maintaining and replacing the heating lamp in a semiconductor processing device in the process of manufacturing and processing a semiconductor.

The purpose of the application is realized by adopting the following technical scheme. According to a change device for changing heating lamp that this application provided, the heating lamp sets up in semiconductor processing equipment, semiconductor processing equipment includes a plurality of heating lamps, change the device and include: the positioning mechanism and the pick-and-place mechanism; the positioning mechanism comprises a first scale, a second scale and a positioning slide block; the first scale comprises a connecting structure for connecting the first scale with semiconductor processing equipment; the second scale is arranged to slide or rotate relative to the first scale; the positioning slide block is arranged to slide along the second scale and used for aligning one heating lamp from the plurality of heating lamps and obtaining the coordinate of the aligned heating lamp according to the position of the positioning slide block relative to the second scale and the first scale; the picking and placing mechanism comprises a slideway, a supporting piece and a picking and placing clamp; the slide way is fixedly connected with the positioning slide block of the positioning mechanism, and the slide way is provided with a position close to the heating lamp and a position far away from the heating lamp; the support is used for supporting the pick-and-place clamp and is arranged to move along the slide way; the picking and placing clamp is used for clamping the heating lamp and is arranged to move along the slide way along with the supporting piece so as to be close to or far away from the heating lamp.

The object of the present application can be further achieved by the following technical measures.

In some optional examples, the pick and place mechanism further comprises a rotating shaft fixed to the support, and the pick and place clamp is configured to rotate around the rotating shaft.

In some alternative examples, the slideway and/or the support is provided with a first position holding portion for holding the support at a target position during movement of the support along the slideway; and/or the rotating shaft and/or the taking and placing clamp are/is provided with a second position holding part which is used for holding the taking and placing clamp at a target angle in the process that the taking and placing clamp rotates around the rotating shaft; and/or one end of the slide way, which is far away from the heating lamp, is provided with a yielding groove.

In some alternative examples, the semiconductor processing apparatus is a semiconductor nitridation apparatus.

In some alternative examples, the size and shape of the portion of the pick-and-place clamp for contacting the heating lamp matches the size and shape of the heating lamp.

In some optional examples, the positioning slider has a through hole having a size not smaller than that of the heating lamp.

In some optional examples, the second scale has a hollow structure, embedded with the positioning slider, formed as a sliding track of the positioning slider; the width of the opening of the hollow structure is not smaller than the size of the through hole of the positioning sliding block.

In some optional examples, the first scale is an annular scale; the first scale is provided with a first scale, and the first scale is used for angle measurement; the second scale is a linear scale, at least one of two ends of the linear scale in the length direction is in contact with the annular scale, and the linear scale is arranged to rotate in the annular scale; the second scale has a second scale for measuring along a length direction of the linear scale.

In some optional examples, the first scale is one or two first linear scales, the second scale is a second linear scale, one end of the second linear scale is slidably connected with the first linear scale, or the second linear scale is slidably connected between the two first linear scales, and the second linear scale is arranged to slide along the length direction of the first linear scale; the first linear scale is provided with a first scale, and the first scale is used for measuring along the length direction of the first linear scale; the second linear scale has a second scale for measuring in a length direction of the second linear scale.

In some optional examples, the contact end of one of the first scale and the second scale for contacting the other scale has a boss; the other of the first scale and the second scale has a first part and a second part which are arranged in parallel in the thickness direction, and a space for accommodating the boss is formed between the first part and the second part so as to form a track for the second scale to rotate in the first scale or a track for the second scale to slide along the first scale; the contact end of the first part and/or the second part, which is in contact with the scale with the boss, abuts against the shoulder of the boss to stop the movement of the second scale along the length direction of the second scale.

In some optional examples, the positioning mechanism further comprises: a second scale locking member for stopping sliding or rotation of the second scale relative to the first scale to lock the second scale with the first scale; and/or, a positioning slider locking piece for stopping the sliding of the positioning slider along the second scale to lock the positioning slider with the second scale.

Compared with the prior art, the method has obvious advantages and beneficial effects. Borrow by above-mentioned technical scheme, the change device for changing heat lamp that this application provided has following advantage and beneficial effect at least:

1. the application provides a device for quickly and accurately positioning and replacing a heating lamp, which can save the maintenance time of semiconductor processing equipment such as rapid thermal treatment equipment, improve the accuracy and replacement efficiency of the semiconductor processing equipment during maintenance and replacement of the heating lamp, and avoid the pollution to other parts such as mechanical parts of the semiconductor processing equipment in the replacement process;

2. the replacing device can greatly improve the positioning accuracy of the heating lamp, a unique target can be positioned in a plane double-coordinate mode, and the error positioning caused by the positioning by only using a serial number or a drawing is avoided;

3. the positioning efficiency of the heating lamps is greatly improved, the Time for searching numbers when the number of the heating lamps is more than a certain degree is saved, and the MTTR (Mean Time tip Repair) required by replacing the heating lamps on the equipment line is shortened.

The foregoing description is only an overview of the technical solutions of the present application, and in order to make the technical means of the present application more clearly understood, the present application can be implemented in accordance with the content of the description, and in order to make the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the following preferred embodiments are specifically illustrated below, and the detailed description is given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a lamp array configuration of a semiconductor manufacturing process apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a positioning mechanism of an exchange device for exchanging a heating lamp according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a replacement device coupled to a light array structure according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial schematic view at A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a pick and place mechanism for replacing a replacement device for a heating lamp according to one embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 and 7 are schematic views of a gripping heat lamp using a replacing apparatus for replacing a heat lamp according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

To further illustrate the technical means and effects adopted by the present application to achieve the predetermined objects, the following detailed description will be given of specific embodiments, structures, features and effects of the replacement device for replacing a heating lamp according to the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments.

Note that the semiconductor processing apparatus referred to herein (also referred to as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, or simply a semiconductor device) includes a plurality of heating lamps, and these heating lamps may be referred to as a heating lamp array or simply an array. In some alternative embodiments, the semiconductor processing apparatus includes, but is not limited to, an apparatus used in a Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) process having a heating structure, as shown in fig. 1, which mainly includes heating lamps 301 and a base 302 of the heating lamps. Alternatively, the semiconductor processing apparatus of the present application may be a semiconductor nitridation apparatus, including but not limited to a DPN (decoupled plasma nitridation) apparatus, a PNA (post plasma nitridation annealing) apparatus, and the like. It is to be noted that fig. 1 is a schematic illustration only, and the present application does not limit the shape and size of the individual heating lamps 301 of the semiconductor processing apparatus, nor the pattern of the array formed by the plurality of heating lamps 301.

Referring to fig. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, an exchange apparatus according to an example of the present application is used to exchange a heating lamp 301, the heating lamp 301 being provided in a semiconductor processing apparatus including a plurality of heating lamps 301. The replacement device for replacing a heating lamp of the present example mainly includes: a positioning mechanism and a pick-and-place mechanism.

Wherein, this positioning mechanism mainly includes: a first scale 101, a second scale 102 and a positioning slider 103.

Wherein the first scale 101 comprises one or more connection structures 104. The connection structure 104 is used to connect the first scale 101 to a semiconductor processing apparatus.

Wherein the second scale 102 is arranged to slide or rotate relative to the first scale 101. For example, the second scale 102 may be caused to slide or rotate relative to the first scale 101 by a manually applied force.

Wherein the positioning slider 103 is provided to slide along the second scale 102 for aligning one heating lamp 301 from among the plurality of heating lamps 301 of the semiconductor processing apparatus and obtaining coordinates of the aligned heating lamp 301 according to the position of the positioning slider 103 with respect to the second scale 102 and the first scale 101. Wherein optionally the positioning slider 103 can be made to slide along the second scale 102 by manually applied force. The position of the positioning slider 103 relative to the second scale 102 and the first scale 101 may be the position of the positioning slider 103 relative to the second scale 102 and the position of the second scale 102 relative to the first scale 101.

Optionally, the first scale 101 and the second scale 102 each have a scale. Specifically, the first scale 101 has a first scale, and the second scale 102 has a second scale, which are respectively used for measuring coordinates of a first dimension and a second dimension, so as to measure two-dimensional plane coordinates. Alternatively, the scale on the scale may be a scale of evenly distributed international standard units (length, angle, etc.); alternatively, the scale on the scale is not necessarily a scale in international standard units, and may be, for example, a scale which is preset only to identify the positions of the plurality of heating lamps 301, respectively.

It should be noted that the present application is not limited to the arrangement of the heating lamp array, and the heating lamp array may be rectangular, hexagonal or triangular, or may be irregular, besides the circular arrangement of the lamp array shown in fig. 1. In addition, the present application does not limit the distribution position of each heating lamp 301 in the heating lamp array, and the distribution may be uniform or not. In addition, the present application also does not limit the number of heating lamps 301 in the array.

Referring to fig. 5, 6 and 7, the pick-and-place mechanism mainly includes a slide 201, a support 202 and a pick-and-place clip 203.

The slideway 201 is fixedly connected with a positioning slide block 103 of the positioning mechanism. The chute 201 has a position close to the heating lamps 301 and a position away from the heating lamps 301, for example, the chute 201 may be perpendicular to the plane of the heating lamps 301.

The support 202 is used to support the pick-and-place clamp 203. The support 202 is arranged to be movable along the slideway 201.

The pick-and-place clamp 203 is used for clamping the heating lamp 301, and the pick-and-place clamp 203 is arranged to move along the slide 201 along the support member 202 so as to be close to or far away from the heating lamp 301.

By utilizing the replacing device for replacing the heating lamp, a target heating lamp can be accurately positioned from the heating lamp array and replaced.

In some embodiments of the present application, the pick and place mechanism of the exchange device further comprises a rotating shaft 204. The rotating shaft 204 is fixed to the support 202 of the pick and place mechanism. And, the pick-and-place clamp 203 of the pick-and-place mechanism is arranged to rotate around the rotation shaft 204.

It should be noted that, in order to facilitate the rotation of the pick-and-place clamp 203 around the rotation shaft 204, corresponding abdicating structures may be provided on the corresponding components. In some specific examples, as shown in fig. 6 and 7, an offset groove may be provided at an end of the chute 201 away from the heating lamp 301 so as not to interfere with the rotation of the pick-and-place clamp 203. Further, a structure for stopping the rotation of the pick-and-place clamp 203 may be provided at an end of the slide 201 close to the heating lamp 301, for example, a flat plate structure may be adopted instead of providing a relief groove at an end of the slide 201 close to the heating lamp 301, so that when the pick-and-place clamp 203 is close to the heating lamp 301, the rotation of the pick-and-place clamp 203 can be limited.

In some embodiments of the present application, the runway 201 and/or the support 202 of the pick and place mechanism is provided with a first position holder for holding the support 202 in a target position during movement of the support 202 along the runway 201.

In some embodiments of the present application, the rotation axis 204 of the pick and place mechanism and/or the pick and place clamp 203 is provided with a second position maintaining portion for maintaining the pick and place clamp 203 at the target position during the rotation of the pick and place clamp 203 around the rotation axis 204.

It should be noted that the present application does not limit the specific structure of the first position maintaining part and the second position maintaining part, and includes but is not limited to: the elastic sheet and the groove, the elastic sheet and the through hole, the protrusion and the groove, the magnetic attraction piece and the like. For example, taking the first position maintaining part as an example, a magnetic member may be disposed on the top of the sliding channel 201 to magnetically fix the pick-and-place clamp 203 on the top of the sliding channel 201 when the pick-and-place clamp 203 is not used, or a plurality of recesses may be disposed on the sliding channel 201, and corresponding protrusions may be disposed on corresponding positions of the supporting member 202, so that the supporting member 202 may be maintained in the recesses during sliding along the sliding channel 201, and may be separated from the recesses and continue to slide when a large force is applied.

It should be noted that multiple types of first position holding portions and multiple types of second position holding portions may be provided at the same time, for example, a magnetic member is provided on the top of the slide 201, and multiple recesses are provided on the slide 201, and corresponding protrusions are provided at corresponding positions on the support member 202.

Note that, the aforementioned slide 201 and/or the support 202 having the first position holding portion means that the first position holding portion may be provided only on the slide 201, only on the support 202, or mutually engaged first position holding portions may be provided on the slide 201 and the support 202. The aforementioned rotation shaft 204 and/or the pick-and-place clamp 203 having the second position maintaining portion means that the second position maintaining portion may be provided only on the rotation shaft 204, only on the pick-and-place clamp 203, or the rotation shaft 204 and the pick-and-place clamp 203 may be provided with the second position maintaining portion which is engaged with each other.

In some embodiments of the present application, the portion of the pick-and-place clamp 203 that is used to contact the heating lamps 301 has a size and shape that matches the size and shape of the heating lamps 301. It should be noted that the application is not limited to the specific structure and contact manner of the contact portion of the pick-and-place clamp 203 with the heating lamp 301. For example, the pick-and-place clamp 203 may alternatively be in surface contact with the heating lamps 301 or in point contact.

It should be noted that the pick-and-place clamp 203 can move up and down along the slide 201, and the pick-and-place clamp 203 and/or the slide 201 can also be used as a handle of the positioning slide 103 in the process of positioning the target heating lamp from the plurality of heating lamps 301 by using the positioning mechanism.

In some examples, the access clip 203 includes a body portion and a clip portion. The material of the body portion of the access clip 203 includes, but is not limited to, any hard material such as metal, ceramic, plastic, etc. The gripping portions of the pick-and-place holder 203 are adapted to contact the heating lamps 301. The shape and size of the clamping portion are related to the shape and size of the heating lamp 301. For example, the shape of the clamping portion includes, but is not limited to, a cylinder, and its inner diameter may range in size from 5 to 50mm. The material of the portion of the clamping portion contacting the heating lamp 301, for example, the material of the inner wall of the clamping portion, includes but is not limited to rubber, silicon gel, and any material with a certain elasticity, so as to avoid damage to the heating lamp 301.

Note that the present application is not limited to a specific structure of the pick-and-place clamp 203, and for example, the pick-and-place clamp 203 is not limited to a scissor clamp in the drawings, and may be any mechanism capable of clamping the heating lamp 301.

In some examples, the material of the slide 201 includes, but is not limited to, metal, ceramic, plastic, and any hard material, and the height of the slide 201 may be configured according to the size of the heating lamp 301 and the semiconductor processing equipment, for example, the height of the slide 201 may be not less than 50mm.

In some embodiments of the present application, the first scale 101 is an annular scale. The first scale 101 has a first scale, which is used for angle measurement. Alternatively, the annular scale may be clipped to the base 302 of the lamp. Also, the second scale 102 is a linear scale, at least one of both ends of which in the length direction is in contact with the annular scale, and the linear scale is configured to rotate within the annular scale. Optionally, the linear scale is embedded within the annular scale. The second scale 102 has a second scale for measuring along the length of the linear scale. Note that the scale need not be distributed over the entire scale, but may be distributed over only a part of the scale, for example, in the linear scale shown in fig. 2, since it is for measuring a radius, the scale may be provided only on half of the linear scale in the length direction, and the sliding range of the positioning slider 103 may also be half of the linear scale and not necessarily the entire linear scale.

In an alternative example, as shown in fig. 2, both ends of the linear scale in the length direction are in contact with, e.g., abutting, the annular scale so that the linear scale can rotate around the center of the annular scale within the annular scale; alternatively, in another alternative example (not shown in the figure), one end of the linear scale is rotatably provided on the annular scale, the one end is not called as a fixed end, and the other end of the linear scale is a free end, so that the linear scale can rotate around the fixed end in the annular scale.

Note that the first scale 101 and the second scale 102 are not limited to be annular and linear scales. For example, in some embodiments of the present application, the first scale 101 is one or two first linear scales, and the second scale 102 is a second linear scale (not shown). One end and first linear scale sliding connection, or second linear scale sliding connection between two first linear scales of second linear scale, second linear scale is set up to slide along the length direction of first linear scale. The first linear scale has a first scale for measuring in a length direction of the first linear scale. The second linear scale has a second scale for measuring in a length direction of the second linear scale. Optionally, the first linear scale and the second linear scale are perpendicular to each other.

In some embodiments of the present application, the contact end of one of the first and second scales 101, 102 for contacting the other scale has a boss (also referred to as a boss or a male portion); and the other of the first scale 101 and the second scale 102 has a first portion and a second portion arranged in parallel in the thickness direction. A space for accommodating the boss is formed between the first portion and the second portion to form a track in which the second scale 102 rotates within the first scale 101 or a track in which the second scale 102 slides along the first scale 101.

Furthermore, the boss is provided with a convex end and shoulders at two sides of the convex end; the contact end of the aforementioned first and/or second part that contacts the scale having the aforementioned boss abuts against the shoulder of the aforementioned boss to stop the movement of the second scale 102 along its length. In the case of the annular scale, the linear scale, this restricts the movement of the linear scale to only sliding or rotating relative to the annular scale; in the example where the first and second scales 101 and 102 are both linear scales, this restricts the movement of the second linear scale to only sliding in the longitudinal direction of the first linear scale.

Specifically, as an optional example, an annular boss is provided on an inner side (an end close to a circle center direction) of the annular scale, the linear scale includes two sheet-like portions which are connected by a bolt to form the linear scale, a groove for accommodating the annular boss of the annular scale is formed between the two sheet-like portions and at least at two ends close to a length direction, and the linear scale can rotate in the annular scale by cooperation of the annular boss and the groove; the terminal surface at least one slice part of sharp scale along length direction's both ends is inconsistent with the shoulder surface of the annular boss of annular scale to backstop sharp scale along its length direction's removal, optionally, can set up the terminal surface at the both ends of sharp scale into with annular scale contact position matched with arc. As another alternative example, the linear scale is of an integral structure, the linear scale has bosses at both ends in the length direction, the annular scale includes two sheet-like parts which are connected by bolts to form the annular scale, a groove for accommodating the boss of the linear scale is formed between the two sheet-like parts at least on the inner side (the end close to the direction of the circle center) of the annular scale, and the linear scale can rotate in the annular scale by the cooperation of the boss and the groove; the end face of the inner side of at least one sheet part of the annular boss is abutted against the shoulder surface of the linear scale so as to stop the linear scale from moving along the length direction of the linear scale.

In some embodiments of the present application, the positioning slider 103 has a through hole through which one heating lamp 301 may be selected from the plurality of heating lamps 301.

Alternatively, the size of the through-hole is not smaller than that of the heating lamp 301. Specifically, one heating lamp 301 may be selected from the plurality of heating lamps 301 by looking through the through hole, and if one complete (or substantially complete) heating lamp 301 appears in the through hole of the positioning slider 103, it indicates that the positioning slider 103 is aligned with the heating lamp 301. Alternatively, the shape of the through hole of the positioning slider 103 matches the shape of the heating lamp 301, for example, in the case where the shape of the heating lamp 301 is similar to a sphere or the cross section is circular, the through hole of the positioning slider 103 may be a circular through hole.

Alternatively, the size of the through hole of the positioning slider 103 may be larger than the size of the pick-and-place clamp 203, and the pick-and-place clamp 203 has a position aligned with the through hole so that the pick-and-place clamp 203 can pick and place the heating lamp 301 through the through hole of the positioning slider 103.

In some embodiments of the present application, the second scale 102 has a hollow structure, and a positioning slider 103 is embedded in the hollow structure, and is formed as a sliding track of the positioning slider 103.

Note that the second scale 102 can stop at least in a preset position range of the first scale 101, and generally at any position of the first scale 101, during sliding or rotation relative to the first scale 101; the positioning slider 103 can stop at least in a preset position range of the second scale 102, and can stop at any position of the second scale 102 during sliding along the second scale 102. It may be stopped by manual force or by providing it with a fixed structure such as a clamping structure. Specifically, in some embodiments of the present application, the positioning mechanism in the replacement device for replacing a heating lamp of the present application further comprises: one or both of the second scale lock 105, the positioning slide lock.

The second scale lock 105 is configured to stop sliding or rotation of the second scale 102 with respect to the first scale 101 to lock the second scale 102 with the first scale 101. Specifically, the second scale lock member 105 has a locked state and a released state, and when the second scale lock member 105 is in the released state, the second scale 102 can slide or rotate with respect to the first scale 101, and when the second scale lock member 105 is in the locked state, the second scale 102 and the first scale 101 are locked to each other and cannot slide or rotate relative to each other.

Wherein the positioning slider lock is configured to stop sliding of the positioning slider 103 along the second scale 102 to lock the positioning slider 103 with the second scale 102. Specifically, the positioning slider lock has a locked state and a released state, and when the positioning slider lock is in the released state, the positioning slider 103 can slide with respect to the second scale 102, and when the positioning slider lock is in the locked state, the positioning slider 103 and the second scale 102 are locked to each other and cannot slide relative to each other.

As a specific example, the second scale locking member 105 and the positioning slider locking member may include a fixed pin, or may be lockable structures such as a magnet, a screw, and a clip. The fixing pin can be used for locking and can also be used as a rotating and sliding handle.

In some embodiments of the present application, the connection structure 104 of the first scale 101 is specifically configured to: the first scale 101 is detachably fixed to the semiconductor processing apparatus. Optionally, the connecting structure 104 of the first scale 101 includes, but is not limited to: a snap fit structure, a clamping structure and/or a magnetic attraction structure. Note that a plurality of types of connection structures 104 may be used simultaneously to fix the first scale 101 to the semiconductor apparatus. Generally, the connecting structure 104 of the first scale 101 is used for connecting the first scale 101 to the base 302 of the semiconductor processing apparatus, and optionally, since the replacing device of the present application is used for temporarily replacing the heating lamp 301 in some examples, the connecting structure 104 can be used for detachably and fixedly connecting the first scale 101 with the semiconductor processing apparatus, for example, detachably and fixedly connected to the base 302 of the heating structure of the semiconductor processing apparatus.

Alternatively, the connecting structure 104 has a locked state and a released state, and during the process of connecting the positioning mechanism of the replacing apparatus of the present application with the semiconductor processing equipment, the connecting structure 104 is kept in the released state and is close to the semiconductor processing equipment to a preset position, and then the connecting structure 104 is switched to the locked state, so as to stably connect the positioning mechanism with the semiconductor processing equipment; in separating the positioning mechanism from the semiconductor processing apparatus, the connection structure 104 is first switched from the locked state to the released state, and then the positioning mechanism can be separated from the semiconductor processing apparatus.

As an alternative specific example, in the example where the first scale 101 is an annular scale and the second scale 102 is a linear scale, the connecting structure 104 of the annular scale includes device positioning openings and clips, and the clips may be members tightly clamped by screws or the like, and one of the screw positioning openings may be selected to be the initial 0 ° of the annular scale.

Alternatively, the accuracy of the scale needs to be able to resolve all of the heating lamps 301 in the array so that different heating lamps 301 have different coordinates.

Optionally, in a specific example, the angular resolution of the aforementioned annular scale is not lower than 0.01 °. Optionally, the resolution of the radius measurement position of the aforementioned linear scale is not less than 0.05mm.

Alternatively, in a specific example, the diameter of the through hole of the positioning slider 103 is substantially equal to the diameter of the lamp, and is generally slightly larger than the diameter of the lamp. Optionally, the aforementioned positioning slider 103 has a through hole with a diameter of 5 to 50mm. Alternatively, the opening width of the hollow structure of the linear scale is not smaller than the diameter of the through hole of the positioning slider 103. Optionally, the linear scale has a hollow structure with an opening width of 5 to 50mm. Alternatively, the length of the opening of the hollow structure of the linear scale is at least half of the distance from the center of the annular scale to the lamp farthest from the center, and generally the opening length is substantially equivalent to the length of the linear scale (the opening length is generally slightly smaller than the length of the linear scale) to form a slide rail of the positioning slider 103.

Alternatively, the materials of the first scale 101, the second scale 102, and the positioning slider 103 include, but are not limited to, metals, ceramics, plastics, and other hard materials.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a positioning method, which mainly includes the following steps S11 to S12 for positioning a target heating lamp during replacement.

In step S11, any one of the replacing apparatuses described above is brought close to the semiconductor processing apparatus, and the first scale 101 is connected to the semiconductor processing apparatus by the connecting structure 104 of the first scale 101 of the replacing apparatus. Wherein the semiconductor processing tool includes a plurality of processing cells, for example, including a lamp array formed from a plurality of heating lamps 301.

Step S12, sliding or rotating the second scale 102 of the exchange device and sliding the positioning slider 103 of the exchange device to align one processing unit from the plurality of processing units, obtains the coordinates of the aligned processing unit from the positions of the positioning slider 103 with respect to the second scale 102 and the first scale 101.

Specifically, the second scale 102 of the exchange device may be slid or rotated, and the second scale 102 may be stopped at the first position of the first scale 101, and the positioning slider 103 of the exchange device may be slid, and the positioning slider 103 may be stopped at the second position of the second scale 102, so that the coordinates of the aligned machining unit may be obtained from the scales corresponding to the first position and the second position.

With the foregoing embodiments of the localization method of the present application, the coordinates of individual heating lamps in the array of heating lamps can be obtained.

Embodiments of the present application also provide another positioning method, which mainly includes the following steps S21-S24 for positioning a target heating lamp during replacement.

Step S21, target coordinates of the target heating lamp are acquired.

In step S22, any one of the exchange devices described above is brought close to the semiconductor processing apparatus, and the first scale 101 is connected to the semiconductor processing apparatus by the connection structure 104 of the first scale 101 of the exchange device. Wherein the semiconductor processing apparatus includes a plurality of heating lamps 301.

In step S23, the second scale 102 of the exchange device is slid or rotated, and the positioning slider 103 of the exchange device is slid to move the positioning slider 103 to a position corresponding to the target coordinates.

In step S24, the heating lamp 301 aligned with the positioning slider 103 is set as a target heating lamp.

Alternatively, the target coordinates acquired in the foregoing step S21 may include a target first-dimension coordinate and a target second-dimension coordinate. In step S23, the target heating lamp can be found by sliding or rotating the second scale 102 of the replacing device and sliding the positioning slider 103 of the replacing device, moving the second scale 102 to a position corresponding to the target first-dimension coordinate, and moving the positioning slider 103 to a position corresponding to the target second-dimension coordinate.

Alternatively, in an example where the first scale 101 is an annular scale and the second scale 102 is a rectilinear scale, the target first-dimension coordinate is an angle and the target first-dimension coordinate is a radius. Clamping the device on a base 302 of the lamp by taking the positioning opening of the device as a reference, rotating the linear scale to find a corresponding angle, and fixing the linear scale by using a linear scale fixing pin; then, the positioning slide block 103 is slid along the linear scale to find the corresponding lamp.

With the foregoing embodiments of the positioning method of the present application, it is possible to find the corresponding lamp from the array of heating lamps while knowing the coordinates of the target lamp.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a method of replacing a heating lamp, which is applicable to the replacement device for replacing a heating lamp exemplified in the present application, the replacement method mainly including the following steps S31 to S34 for taking out a target heating lamp during replacement.

In step S31, a target heating lamp is positioned from a plurality of heating lamps of the semiconductor processing apparatus by using the positioning mechanism of the changer, and the positioning slider 103 is aligned with the target heating lamp. Specifically, the target heating lamp may be located using the aforementioned steps S21-S24.

In step S32, as shown in fig. 5, the pick-and-place holder 203 in the changer is rotated to a position facing the target heat lamp.

In step S33, as shown in fig. 6, the pick-and-place clamp 203 is close to the heating lamp along the slide 201, specifically, the pick-and-place clamp 203 may be extended downward into the base 302, and the target heating lamp is clamped by the pick-and-place clamp 203.

In step S34, the pick-and-place holder 203 holding the target heating lamp is moved away from the base 302 along the slide 201 to take out the target heating lamp from the plurality of heating lamps, and then, as shown in fig. 7, the pick-and-place holder 203 is rotated along the rotation axis 204 to be substantially parallel to the heating lamp base 302, and finally, the target heating lamp is separated from the pick-and-place holder 203.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a method of replacing a heating lamp, suitable for use in the replacement device for replacing a heating lamp of the present application example, the replacement method mainly including the following steps S41-S44 for placing the heating lamp at a target coordinate position in an array of heating lamps during replacement.

In step S41, a target coordinate position is located from the heating lamp array of the semiconductor processing apparatus by using the locating mechanism in the changer of the present application, and the locating slider 103 is aligned with the target coordinate position. Specifically, the target coordinate position may be located using the aforementioned steps S21-S24.

In step S42, the pick-and-place clamp 203 in the replacing device is placed at a position of the slide 201 away from the base 302, the pick-and-place clamp 203 is rotated along the rotating shaft 204 to be substantially parallel to the base 302, and the target heating lamp is clamped.

In step S43, the pick-and-place clamp 203 is rotated to a position facing the target coordinate.

In step S44, the pick-and-place clamp 203 is close to the target coordinate position along the slide 201, specifically, the pick-and-place clamp 203 may be extended downward into the base 302, so as to place the target heating lamp at the target coordinate position.

With the foregoing embodiments of the method of replacing heating lamps of the present application, it is possible to quickly and accurately replace a heating lamp of target coordinates from an array of heating lamps when the heating lamp needs to be replaced, for example, when the heating lamp is damaged.

It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the replacing method of the present application may further include confirming the position of each heating lamp 301 in advance, and storing the related information in the software system, as shown in table 1, where ID information (number) of the heating lamp 301 and the corresponding coordinate information are stored.

The replacement and maintenance of the failed heating lamp 301 may be performed by using the replacement method of the present application, and specifically, the step S21 of the replacement method of the present application may include: when a heating lamp 301 in the heating lamp array fails, for example, a sensor signal determines that the heating lamp 301 fails and obtains an ID (number) of the failed heating lamp 301, a pre-made table is used to find a target coordinate corresponding to the ID of the failed heating lamp 301, and a software system interface displays the target coordinate, so as to obtain a target coordinate of the target heating lamp; the target heating lamp is then positioned by the replacement device of the present application according to the aforementioned steps S22 to S24 of the replacement method of the present application for subsequent replacement and repair of the failed heating lamp 301.

Table 1

Number of lamps	Coordinate (theta, R)
		1	(0.00,0.00)
2	(20.00,10.00)
		3	(20.00,50.00)
……	……
		179	(120.00,30.00)
180	(180.00,30.00)
		181	(270.00,60.00)

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. A replacing device for replacing a heating lamp provided in a semiconductor processing apparatus including a plurality of heating lamps, characterized by comprising: the positioning mechanism and the pick-and-place mechanism;

the positioning mechanism comprises a first scale, a second scale and a positioning slide block; the first scale comprises a connecting structure for connecting the first scale with semiconductor processing equipment; the second scale is arranged to slide or rotate relative to the first scale; the positioning slide block is arranged to slide along the second scale and used for aligning one heating lamp from the plurality of heating lamps and obtaining the coordinate of the aligned heating lamp according to the position of the positioning slide block relative to the second scale and the first scale;

the picking and placing mechanism comprises a slideway, a supporting piece and a picking and placing clamp;

the slide way is fixedly connected with the positioning slide block of the positioning mechanism, and the slide way is provided with a position close to the heating lamp and a position far away from the heating lamp;

the support piece is used for supporting the picking and placing clamp and is arranged to move along the slide way;

the picking and placing clamp is used for clamping the heating lamp and is arranged to move along the slide way along with the supporting piece so as to be close to or far away from the heating lamp.

2. The changing device according to claim 1, wherein:

the pick-and-place mechanism further comprises a rotating shaft, the rotating shaft is fixed on the supporting piece, and the pick-and-place clamp is arranged to rotate around the rotating shaft.

3. The changing device according to claim 2, wherein:

the slideway and/or the support is provided with a first position holding part for holding the support at a target position during the movement of the support along the slideway; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

the rotating shaft and/or the taking and placing clamp are/is provided with a second position holding part which is used for holding the taking and placing clamp at a target angle in the process that the taking and placing clamp rotates around the rotating shaft; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

and one end of the slide way, which is far away from the heating lamp, is provided with a yielding groove.

4. The changing device of claim 1, wherein:

the semiconductor processing equipment is semiconductor nitriding equipment;

the size and the shape of the part, which is used for being contacted with the heating lamp, of the picking and placing clamp are matched with those of the heating lamp.

5. The changing device according to claim 1, wherein:

the positioning slide block is provided with a through hole, and the size of the through hole is not smaller than that of the heating lamp.

6. The changing device according to claim 5, wherein:

the second scale is of a hollow structure, is embedded with the positioning slide block and forms a sliding track of the positioning slide block; the width of the opening of the hollow structure is not smaller than the size of the through hole of the positioning sliding block.

7. The changing device according to claim 1, wherein:

the first scale is an annular scale; the first scale is provided with a first scale used for angle measurement;

the second scale is a linear scale, at least one of two ends of the linear scale in the length direction is in contact with the annular scale, and the linear scale is arranged to rotate in the annular scale; the second scale has a second scale for measuring along a length direction of the linear scale.

8. The changing device of claim 1, wherein:

the first ruler is one or two first linear rulers, the second ruler is a second linear ruler, one end of the second linear ruler is in sliding connection with the first linear ruler or the second linear ruler is in sliding connection between the two first linear rulers, and the second linear ruler is arranged to slide along the length direction of the first linear ruler;

the first linear scale is provided with a first scale mark, and the first scale mark is used for measuring along the length direction of the first linear scale; the second linear scale has a second scale for measuring in a length direction of the second linear scale.

9. The changing device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein:

the contact end of one scale in the first scale and the second scale, which is used for being in contact with the other scale, is provided with a boss;

the other of the first scale and the second scale has a first part and a second part which are arranged in parallel in the thickness direction, and a space for accommodating the boss is formed between the first part and the second part so as to form a track for the second scale to rotate in the first scale or a track for the second scale to slide along the first scale;

the contact end of the first part and/or the second part, which is in contact with the scale with the boss, abuts against the shoulder of the boss to stop the movement of the second scale along the length direction of the second scale.

10. The changing device of claim 1, wherein the positioning mechanism further comprises:

a second scale locking member for stopping sliding or rotation of the second scale with respect to the first scale to lock the second scale with the first scale; and/or the presence of a gas in the gas,

and the positioning slide block locking piece is used for stopping the sliding of the positioning slide block along the second scale so as to lock the positioning slide block and the second scale.

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