KR101227722B1 - Apparatus for picking up semiconductor devices - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for picking up semiconductor elements, the apparatus comprising: a base plate, a first guide rail extending horizontally on the base plate, and extending in a direction perpendicular to the first guide rail; And a plurality of pickers movably coupled to pick up semiconductor elements, a plurality of links connecting the pickers to each other, and a gap adjusting unit for adjusting a gap between the pickers. The pickers are provided with guide grooves extending in the longitudinal direction, respectively, one side of each link is hinged to be rotatable to the pickers, and the other side is disposed in the guide groove in the vertical direction along the inner surface of the guide groove. A roller is provided to be movable. The gap adjusting unit may adjust the rotation angle of the links to adjust the gap between the pickers.

Description

A device for picking up semiconductor devices {APPARATUS FOR PICKING UP SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES}

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus for picking up semiconductor elements. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for picking up semiconductor devices to transfer them between trays of a semiconductor device manufacturing facility, such as a test handler.

Semiconductor devices, such as integrated circuit devices, can generally be formed by a series of iterative microprocessing processes on a substrate, such as a silicon wafer. For example, a deposition process for forming a film on a substrate, an etching process for forming the film into specific patterns, an ion implantation process or a diffusion process for imparting electrical properties to the patterns, impurities from the substrate on which the patterns are formed Various types of semiconductor devices may be formed on a substrate by repeatedly performing a cleaning and rinsing process for removing them.

The semiconductor devices formed as described above are shipped after their operating characteristics are inspected through various test procedures. A test handler transfers the semiconductor devices to a test chamber to inspect the semiconductor devices. In particular, the semiconductor devices are transferred from the customer tray to the test tray via the buffer tray, and the semiconductor devices inspected in the test chamber are transferred from the test tray to the customer tray via the buffer tray.

The test handler may have a pickup device for transferring semiconductor elements between the trays. The pick-up apparatus may include a plurality of pickers for picking up the semiconductor elements, and may be used to transfer the semiconductor elements between the customer tray and the test tray.

On the other hand, because the pitch of the customer tray and the test tray is different from each other, the pickup device may include a mechanism for adjusting the distance between the pickers. For example, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2008-0102746, filed on May 22, 2007, and published on November 26, 2008 by the present applicant, discloses a cam plate-shaped gap adjusting member having a gap guide groove. A pickup device is disclosed for adjusting the spacing between a plurality of pickers.

In the case of the pick-up device as described above, there is a disadvantage in that the distance between the pickers cannot be freely adjusted. That is, the spacing between the pickers can be adjusted only by the spacing at the highest point and the lowest at the cam plate. Therefore, it is difficult to cope with various semiconductor devices.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor device pickup device capable of freely adjusting the distance between pickers for picking up the semiconductor devices.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, the semiconductor device pickup device extends in a direction perpendicular to the base plate, a first guide rail extending in a horizontal direction on the base plate, and the first guide rail A plurality of pickers movably coupled to the first guide rail, respectively, for picking up semiconductor elements, a plurality of links connecting the pickers with each other, and a gap for adjusting a gap between the pickers It may include wealth. At this time, the guide groove extending in the longitudinal direction of the pickers may be provided in each picker, one side of each link is hinged to be rotatable to the pickers and the other side is disposed in the guide groove on the inner side of the guide groove The roller may be provided to be movable along the vertical direction. The gap adjusting unit may adjust the rotation angle of the links to adjust the gap between the pickers.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, the spacing adjuster is a first drive unit for applying force to the links in a direction in which the spacing between the pickers is reduced, and the spacing between the pickers is increased; It may include a second driver for applying a force to the links in the direction.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the first driving unit may include a pneumatic cylinder connected to a first picker and a last picker of the pickers to apply a force in a direction in which the distance between the pickers is reduced.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the first driving unit may further include a regulator for constantly maintaining a constant pressure in the pneumatic cylinder.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the first driving unit may include torsion springs respectively connecting the pickers and the hinged links.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the first driving unit may include a pneumatic single-acting cylinder connected to a first picker and a last picker of the pickers, and to which a force is applied in a direction in which the distance between the pickers is reduced. have.

According to embodiments of the present invention, second rollers may be provided on the other side of the links, respectively, and the second driving unit may support the second rollers to prevent rotation of the links by the first driving unit. It may include a horizontal bar (bar) and a drive unit for moving the horizontal bar in the vertical direction.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the driving unit includes a motor providing a rotational force, a ball screw connected to the motor to be rotatable by the motor, and a horizontal bar connected to the horizontal bar, and the horizontal bar being moved by the ball screw in a vertical direction. It may include a ball nut coupled to the ball screw to move to.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a third roller may be mounted at a center link among the links, and the third roller may be inserted to fix the third roller in the horizontal direction and to guide the vertical roller only. A guide member having a guide slot therein may be further provided.

According to the embodiments of the present invention as described above, the semiconductor device pickup device always applies a constant force in the direction of reducing the distance between the pickers by using the first driver, and the distance between the pickers by using the second driver. The force between the pickers can be freely adjusted by providing a force in an increasing direction. In particular, the distance between the pickers can be freely adjusted by adjusting the motor rotation speed or the rotation angle of the second drive unit.

Therefore, even when the type of semiconductor elements to be processed is changed, the cam plate replacement of the semiconductor element pickup device is not necessary, and thus manufacturing and operating costs of equipment including the semiconductor element pickup device can be greatly reduced. Processing time for semiconductor devices can be greatly shortened.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a semiconductor device pickup device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic front view for explaining the base plate shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a schematic front view for explaining the picker shown in FIG. 1.
4 is a schematic front view for explaining the link shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the first driving unit illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a schematic front view for describing an operation of the semiconductor device pickup device illustrated in FIG. 1.
7 and 8 are schematic configuration diagrams for describing another example of the first driving unit illustrated in FIG. 1.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments of the invention. However, the present invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described below, but may be embodied in various other forms. The following examples are provided so that those skilled in the art can fully understand the scope of the present invention, rather than being provided so as to enable the present invention to be fully completed.

When an element is described as being placed on or connected to another element or layer, the element may be directly disposed or connected to the other element, and other elements or layers may be placed therebetween It is possible. Alternatively, if one element is described as being placed directly on or connected to another element, there can be no other element between them. The terms first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe various items such as various elements, compositions, regions, layers and / or portions, but the items are not limited by these terms .

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Furthermore, all terms including technical and scientific terms have the same meaning as will be understood by those skilled in the art having ordinary skill in the art, unless otherwise specified. These terms, such as those defined in conventional dictionaries, shall be construed to have meanings consistent with their meanings in the context of the related art and the description of the present invention, and are to be interpreted as being ideally or externally grossly intuitive It will not be interpreted.

Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to schematic illustrations of ideal embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, changes from the shapes of the illustrations, such as changes in manufacturing methods and / or tolerances, are those that can be expected sufficiently. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the specific shapes of the areas illustrated in the drawings, but include deviations in shapes, the areas described in the drawings being entirely schematic and their shapes Is not intended to illustrate the exact shape of the area and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a semiconductor device pickup device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the semiconductor device pickup apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment may transfer the semiconductor devices (not shown) between trays used in a semiconductor device manufacturing facility such as a test handler. Can be used to pick up elements.

The semiconductor device pick-up apparatus 100 includes a first guide rail 104 extending in a horizontal direction on the base plate 102 and the base plate 102, and a plurality of pickers mounted on the first guide rail 104. 110 may be included.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view for explaining the base plate shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the base plate 102 may be disposed in an upright position as shown. Although not shown, the base plate 102 may be mounted to a frame (not shown) and the frame may be connected to an apparatus (not shown) for transporting the base plate 102.

In particular, a pair of first guide rails 104 extending in a horizontal direction may be disposed on the front surface of the base plate 102, and the pickers 110 may be arranged on the first guide rail 104. It may be mounted to be movable in the horizontal direction through the first guide block 112 of the. That is, the pickers 110 may be arranged to be movable in a horizontal direction on the front surface of the base plate 102 by using a pair of linear motion guides (LM Guides).

Although not shown, the pickers 110 may be connected to a vacuum provider (not shown), and the semiconductor devices may be absorbed and picked up using a vacuum pressure. In particular, the pickers 110 may be disposed in a vertical direction, and a guide groove 114 extending in the length direction, ie, the vertical direction, of the pickers 110 may be formed on the front surface of each picker 110. .

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view for explaining the picker shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a schematic front view for explaining the link shown in FIG. 1.

3 and 4, the pickers 110 may be connected to each other by a plurality of links 120. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the even number of pickers 110 may be connected to each other by the odd number of links 120. Particularly, one side of each link 120 may be hinged to the pickers 110 so as to be rotatable, and the other side of each link 120 may be disposed in the guide groove 114 of the pickers 110. The roller 122 may be mounted to be movable in the vertical direction along the inner surface of the guide groove 114. For example, as shown, the upper portion of the links 120 may have a hinge axis 124 and a bearing 116 so as to be rotatable to the other pickers 110 except the first picker 110A. The lower portion of the links 120 may be moved in a vertical direction to the guide groove 114 of the remaining pickers 110 except for the last picker 110N through the rollers 122. Can be combined.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the semiconductor device pick-up apparatus 100 may include a spacing controller 130 that adjusts rotation angles of the links 120 to adjust spacing between the pickers 110. Can be.

The gap adjusting unit 130 may include a first driving unit 132 for applying force to the links 120 in a direction in which the gap between the pickers 110 is reduced, and a gap between the pickers 110. It may include a second driver 140 for applying a force to the links 120 in the increasing direction.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the first driving unit illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 5, the first driving unit 132 is connected to the first picker 110A and the last picker 110N of the pickers 110, respectively, so that the distance between the pickers 110 is reduced. It may include pneumatic cylinders (134,136) for applying a force.

For example, the first driving unit 132 may include a first pneumatic cylinder 134 connected to the upper front portion of the first picker 110A and a second pneumatic cylinder connected to the upper front portion of the last picker 110N. 136). At this time, compressed air may be provided to the piston front region of each of the pneumatic cylinders 134 and 136, and the piston rear region may be in communication with the outside.

In particular, as compressed air is provided to the respective pneumatic cylinders 134 and 136, a force may be applied to the first picker 110A and the last picker 110N in a direction in which the gap is reduced, and the pickers 110 Since the links 120 are connected to each other, the distance between the pickers 110 may be constantly reduced. That is, as illustrated, the first driving unit 132 may apply a force to the links 120 in the counterclockwise direction using the first and second pneumatic cylinders 134 and 136. On the other hand, as shown, the first and second pneumatic cylinders 134, 136 has a form in which one is integrated, the first and second pneumatic cylinders 134, 136 may be provided separately.

The pneumatic cylinders 134 and 136 may be connected to the compressed air tank 138 for providing the compressed air, and the first driving unit 132 may be connected between the pneumatic cylinders 134 and 136 and the compressed air tank 138. It may further include a regulator 139 is installed in the pipe to connect to maintain a constant internal pressure of the pneumatic cylinders (134,136) at all times. The regulator 139 may be used so that a constant force is always applied to the pickers 110.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the second driver 140 may apply a force to the links 120 in a direction in which the distance between the pickers 110 increases. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, second rollers 126 may be provided at lower portions of the front surfaces of the links 120, and the second rollers 126 may include horizontal bars; 142). The horizontal bar 142 may be disposed parallel to the first guide rail 104 and the second rollers to prevent counterclockwise rotation of the links 120 by the first driver 132. 126 may be supported. That is, the horizontal bar 142 may be used to provide a reaction force of the force transmitted to the links 120 by the first driver 132.

In addition, the second driver 140 may include a driving unit 144 for moving the horizontal bar 142 in the vertical direction. The drive unit 144 is connected to a motor 146 providing a rotational force, a ball screw 148 connected to the motor 146 and the horizontal bar 142 so as to be rotatable by the motor 146 and the It may include a ball nut 150 coupled to the ball screw 148 so that the horizontal bar 142 is moved in the vertical direction by the rotation of the ball screw 148. In this case, a second guide rail 106 extending in the vertical direction may be disposed on the front surface of the base plate 102, and the horizontal bar 142 may be the second guide rail 106. It may be installed to be movable in the vertical direction by the second guide block 152 coupled to).

On the other hand, the motor 146 and the ball screw 148 may be connected to each other using a belt and pulleys. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, ball nuts 150 may be mounted at both ends of the horizontal bar 142, and the ball nuts 150 may be a pair of vertically extending pairs. It may be coupled to the ball screw 148, respectively. The ball screws 148 may be coupled to the driven pulleys 154, respectively, and the driven pulleys 154 may be connected to the drive pulley 156 connected to the motor 146 by a belt 158. . In this case, idle pulleys 160 for adjusting the tension of the belt 158 may be provided at both sides of the driving pulley 156, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view for describing an operation of the semiconductor device pickup device illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 6, the driving unit 144 may move the horizontal bar 142 in the vertical direction to adjust the distance between the pickers 110. For example, when the horizontal bar 142 is moved downward by the driving unit 144 as shown, the distance between the pickers 110 may be reduced by the first driving unit 132. That is, since a predetermined force is applied to the pickers 110 by the first driving unit 132, the links 120 may be rotated counterclockwise by falling of the horizontal bar 142. Accordingly, the distance between the pickers 110 may be reduced as a whole. In this case, the rollers 122 may descend in the guide groove 114 of the pickers 110, and the second rollers 126 may move in a horizontal direction along the horizontal bar 142. Can be.

Meanwhile, the semiconductor device pick-up apparatus 100 may fix one of the links 120 in a horizontal direction to more precisely control the positions of the pickers 110. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the guide member 170 may further include a guide member 170 that fixes the central link 120C in the horizontal direction. For example, a third roller 128 may be provided at the front portion of the central link 120C, and the guide member 170 may be fixed in the vertical direction while fixing the third roller 128 in the horizontal direction. It may have a guide slot 172 for guiding only. As a result, the pickers 110 on both sides of the central link 120C may be moved in opposite directions.

According to an embodiment of the present invention as described above, the pickers 110 are always constant toward the center point by the first driving unit 132, that is, in the direction of decreasing the distance between the pickers 110. Since a force is applied, the pickers 110 may be prevented from shaking while picking up and transferring the semiconductor devices using the pickers 110. In addition, the distance between the pickers 110 may be freely adjusted by controlling the rotation speed or the rotation angle of the motor 146 of the driving unit 144, thereby easily coping with various kinds of semiconductor devices.

7 and 8 are schematic configuration diagrams for describing another example of the first driving unit illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 7, the semiconductor device pick-up apparatus 100 is a first driver that applies a force to the pickers 110 in a direction of narrowing the distance between the pickers 110 and the pickers 110 and the hinge. It may include torsion springs 180 respectively connecting between the coupled links 120. On the other hand, unlike the above, a torsion bar (bar) that is mounted to each of the pickers 110 in place of the torsion spring 180 and the links 120 may be used.

Referring to FIG. 8, the semiconductor device pick-up apparatus 100 is a first driver that applies a force to the pickers 110 in a direction of narrowing the distance between the pickers 110. It may include a pneumatic single-acting cylinder 190 connected to the picker (110A) and the last picker (110N), the force is applied in a direction in which the distance between the pickers (110) is reduced. The pneumatic single-acting cylinder 190 may include a spring 192 to which a restoring force is applied in a direction to reduce the gap between the pickers 110.

According to the embodiments of the present invention as described above, the semiconductor device pickup device always applies a constant force in the direction of reducing the distance between the pickers by using the first driver, and the distance between the pickers by using the second driver. The force between the pickers can be freely adjusted by providing a force in an increasing direction. In particular, the distance between the pickers can be freely adjusted by adjusting the motor rotation speed or the rotation angle of the second drive unit.

Therefore, even when the type of semiconductor elements to be processed is changed, the cam plate replacement of the semiconductor element pickup device is not necessary, and thus manufacturing and operating costs of equipment including the semiconductor element pickup device can be greatly reduced. Processing time for semiconductor devices can be greatly shortened.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims It can be understood that

100 semiconductor device pickup device 102 base plate
104: first guide rail 106: second guide rail
110: picker 114: guide groove
120: link 122: roller
126: second roller 128: third roller
130: gap adjusting unit 132: first drive unit
140: second drive unit 142: horizontal bar
144: drive unit 146: motor
148 ball screw 150 ball nut
170: guide member 172: guide slot

Claims (9)

Base plate;
A first guide rail extending in the horizontal direction on the base plate;
A plurality of pickers extending in a direction perpendicular to the first guide rail and movably coupled to the first guide rail for picking up semiconductor elements, respectively;
A plurality of links connecting the pickers to each other; And
Including a spacing adjuster for adjusting the spacing between the pickers,
Guide grooves extending in the longitudinal direction of the pickers are provided in each picker,
One side of each link is hinged to be rotatable to the pickers and the other side is disposed in the guide groove is provided with a roller to move in the vertical direction along the inner surface of the guide groove,
The gap adjusting part may be connected to the links in a direction in which the gap between the pickers and the first driving unit which applies the force to the links in a direction in which the gap between the pickers is reduced to adjust the rotation angle of the links is increased. And a second driver for applying a force. delete The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first driving unit comprises a pneumatic cylinder connected to a first picker and a last picker of the pickers to apply a force in a direction in which a distance between the pickers is reduced. Pickup device. The semiconductor device pick-up device of claim 3, wherein the first driving unit further comprises a regulator that constantly maintains a constant pressure inside the pneumatic cylinder. The semiconductor device pickup apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first driving unit comprises torsion springs respectively connecting the pickers and the hinged links. The method of claim 1, wherein the first driving unit comprises a pneumatic single-acting cylinder connected to the first and the last picker of the pickers, respectively, the force is applied in a direction in which the distance between the pickers is reduced Semiconductor element pickup device. According to claim 1, The other side of the second rollers are provided with each,
The second driving unit includes a horizontal bar for supporting the second rollers to prevent rotation of the links by the first driving unit and a driving unit for moving the horizontal bar in a vertical direction. Pickup device. The method of claim 7, wherein the drive unit
A motor providing a rotational force;
A ball screw connected to the motor to be rotatable by the motor; And
And a ball nut coupled to the horizontal bar and coupled to the ball screw such that the horizontal bar is moved in the vertical direction by the ball screw. The method of claim 1, wherein a third roller is mounted on the center of the links.
And a guide member in which the third roller is inserted and formed with a guide slot for fixing the third roller in a horizontal direction and guiding only in the vertical direction.

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