TW201620809A - Non-contact type wafer handling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a non-contact type wafer handling apparatus for transporting a wafer placed in a cassette. The apparatus comprises a bearing assembly, a first gas supply unit, a second gas supply unit and a drive assembly. The bearing assembly comprises at least one tray, a plurality of first gas holes for providing a floating gas, and a plurality of second gas holes for providing a side floating gas. The first gas holes are arranged on the tray according to the area of the wafers to be transported, so that the floating gas forms a uniform buoyant force. The wafer to be transported can be picked and placed for handling by the floating gas and side floating gas in a non-contact manner to avoid the problem of wafer warpage caused by uneven application of force.

Description

Non-contact wafer handling device

The present invention relates to a semiconductor processing apparatus, and more particularly to a non-contact wafer handling apparatus.

The semiconductor process is to manufacture electronic components on the germanium wafer, and the completion of the electronic components is composed of sophisticated integrated circuits; the fabrication of a germanium wafer semiconductor requires wafer growth, lithography, etching, cleaning, Different processes such as impurity diffusion, ion implantation and thin film deposition can be completed, so it is often necessary to go through tens or even hundreds of complicated processes, and in consideration of the fact that human operation is prone to errors, pollution, and speed is not easy to improve. The use of automated equipment to control manufacturing and transport of the wafer to increase yield and increase production capacity has become an indispensable production method for semiconductor companies.

In the Republic of China Invention Patent Publication No. 562772, an unmanned vehicle, an automated guided vehicle system, and a wafer handling method are disclosed, in which a plurality of wafers are stored in a buffer card by a transfer device, and then an unmanned person The carrier is carried and moved toward a destination station, and the wafer in the buffer cassette is taken out by the transfer device, so that the wafer is transferred between the stations before a dust problem occurs.

In general, the wafer is mainly accessed by a robot arm (transfer device) for picking up and holding the wafer stored in a cassette (buffer cassette). However, the robot arm is taking the wafer. At the same time, it only carries a part of the wafer, such as the structure shown in the Republic of China New Patent Bulletin No. M264083, which results in uneven application. For thin and large-sized wafers, it often occurs when taken. The problem of bending causes damage to the wafer; and after long-term use, the position at which the wafer is taken and placed may be offset, so that when the robot arm is placing the wafer or taking out the wafer It will easily scratch the surface of the wafer, causing the wafer to be destroyed and scrapped, and there is a need for improvement.

The main object of the present invention is to solve the problem that in the semiconductor manufacturing process, when the robot arm moves the wafer, the force is uneven due to the partial area of the wafer, and the bending is easy, and when the robot arm is used for a long time. There is a possibility that the offset may occur, and when the wafer stored in the cassette is picked up and lowered, the wafer may be scratched.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a non-contact wafer handling apparatus for carrying a wafer to be handled placed in a cassette, the cassette comprising a plurality of bracket members and a plurality of bracket members disposed thereon and carrying the same a non-contact wafer handling device, comprising: a carrier assembly for carrying the wafer to be handled, comprising at least one carrier disk, a plurality of carrier disks disposed thereon, and an upper floating gas a first air hole and a plurality of second air holes disposed on the carrier body and providing a floating gas on one side, the floating gas is ejected in a longitudinal direction, the side floating gas is ejected in a pushing direction, and the longitudinal direction intersects the pushing direction An angle, wherein the first air hole is arranged on the carrier disk according to an area of the wafer to be transported to form a uniform buoyancy channel; and a first gas supply unit connected to the first air holes a second gas supply unit coupled to the second air holes; and a drive assembly coupled to the load bearing assembly and driving the carrier body to be positioned under the wafer to be handled; The carrier assembly uses the floating gas ejected from the first air hole to carry the wafer to be transported away from the placement member, and the side floating gas ejected by the second air hole carries the wafer to be transported away from the Outside the card.

As described above, the present invention is characterized in that the wafer to be transported is transported by the floating gas and the side floating gas, and is a non-contact conveying method, thereby providing a uniform buoyancy force and avoiding uneven force application. The problem of wafer bending occurs, and the non-contact handling method can be used to reduce the occurrence of scratch damage due to contact collision.

The detailed description and technical content of the present invention will now be described as follows:

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D, which are respectively a schematic structural view of the present invention and a schematic diagram of the operation flow of the first embodiment. The present invention is a non-contact wafer handling apparatus for carrying a wafer 1 to be handled placed in a cassette 2, the cassette 2 comprising a plurality of holder members 3 and a plurality of holders 3 disposed thereon to carry the wafer The placement member 4 of the wafer 1 to be handled. The non-contact wafer handling device includes a carrier assembly 10, a first gas supply unit 20, a second gas supply unit 30, and a drive assembly 40 for carrying the wafer 1 to be handled and including at least a carrier body 11 , a plurality of first air holes 12 disposed on the carrier disk 11 and providing a floating gas A, and a plurality of second air holes 13 disposed on the carrier disk 11 and providing a floating gas B on the side, the floating gas A is ejected in a longitudinal direction Y, and the side floating gas B is ejected in a pushing direction S, and the longitudinal direction Y intersects the pushing direction S by an angle C. The first gas supply unit 20 is connected to the first air holes 12, and the second gas supply unit 30 is connected to the second air holes 13. The drive assembly 40 is connected to the load bearing assembly 10 and drives the carrier disk. 11 approaches the wafer 1 to be handled from below the cassette 2.

In the embodiment, the first air hole 12 and the second air hole 13 are disposed on the carrier body 11. The carrier body 11 further includes an upper floating area 11a and a placement area 11b. The first air hole 12 The floating area 11a and the placement area 11b are disposed, and the second air hole 13 is disposed in the floating area 11a. In the present invention, the shape of the placement area 11b is preferably in the shape of a disk corresponding to the wafer 1 to be transported, and the first air hole 12 is arranged in the area of the carrier to be transported. The upper floating gas is formed on the 11 to form a uniform buoyancy. In addition, the non-contact wafer handling device further includes a blocking component 50, an sensing component 60, and a control valve unit 70. The blocking component 50 is disposed at an end of the carrier disk 11 away from the cartridge 2, and the sensing The assembly 60 is electrically connected to the carrier body 11 and the drive assembly 40, and the control valve unit 70 is coupled to the induction assembly 60, the first gas supply unit 20, and the second gas supply unit 30.

Referring to FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D, the operation method of the first embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

S1: The carrier body 11 extends from the lower side of the cassette 2 into the cassette 2 by the actuation of the driving unit 40, so that the floating area 11a of the carrier body 11 is located below the wafer 1 to be handled. ;

S2: the sensing component 60 senses the wafer 1 to be transported, and notifies the control valve unit 70 to open the first gas supply unit 20, so that the floating gas A is ejected from the first air holes 12 along the longitudinal direction Y. Thereby lifting the wafer 1 to be transported away from the placement member 4;

S3: The control valve unit 70 further opens the second gas supply unit 30, and the side floating gas B is ejected from the second air holes 13 along the pushing direction S, thereby enabling the wafer 1 to be transported to be along the horizontal direction. The direction X moves to the placement area 11b, thereby moving the wafer 1 to be handled out of the cassette 2;

S4: The sensing unit senses that the to-be-handled wafer 1 touches the blocking component 50, that is, the pick-and-place of the wafer 1 to be handled is completed.

As shown in FIG. 3A, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the carrier body 11 further includes a placement disk 111 and at least one upper floating disk 112 extending from the placement disk 111 in the lateral direction X. In this embodiment, the upper air venting disk 112 is disposed on the air venting disk 111 and the upper air venting disk 112. The second air hole 13 is disposed on the floating air disk 112. The blocking member 50 is disposed at an end of the air plate 111 away from the upper floating disk 112; further, the shape of the air plate 111 is a disk shape corresponding to the wafer 1 to be transported.

Similarly, please refer to FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D , which are schematic diagrams of the operation flow of the second embodiment of the present invention. The operation mode of the non-contact wafer handling device includes the following steps:

S1: The floating air disk 112 of the carrier body 11 extends from the lower side of the cassette 2 into the cassette 2 by the actuation of the driving assembly 40, so that the floating air disk 112 is located on the wafer 1 to be handled. Below

S2: the sensing component 60 senses the wafer 1 to be transported, and notifies the control valve unit 70 to open the first gas supply unit 20, so that the floating gas A is ejected from the first air holes 12 along the longitudinal direction Y. Thereby lifting the wafer 1 to be transported away from the placement member 4;

S3: The control valve unit 70 further opens the second gas supply unit 30, and the side floating gas B is ejected from the second air holes 13 along the pushing direction S, thereby enabling the wafer 1 to be transported to be along the horizontal direction. The direction X moves toward the placement disk 111, thereby moving the wafer 1 to be handled out of the cassette 2;

S4: The sensing unit senses that the to-be-handled wafer 1 touches the stopping element 50 disposed on the placing air disk 111, that is, the pick-and-place operation of the wafer 1 to be handled is completed.

In addition, the present invention further includes a cassette support member (not shown) disposed on a side of the at least one carrier tray 11 adjacent to the cassette 2, the cassette support member including at least one pair of at least one carrier tray 11 Lifting channel.

The third embodiment of the present invention further includes a third gas supply unit 80 interconnected with the control valve unit 70, and the blocking element 50 further includes a plurality of buffered air outlets 51, as shown in FIG. The third gas supply unit 80 is connected to the buffer air outlet 51 and provides a buffer gas from the buffer air outlet 51, thereby slowing down the wafer 1 to be transported by the force of the side floating gas B moving to the left too fast. The speed further prevents the wafer 1 to be handled from being damaged by the collision.

In addition to the above, the non-contact wafer handling device may further include a pushing member (not shown) disposed at one end of the carrier disk 11 away from the blocking member 50. The pushing member is from the carrier plate. The one end of the wafer 1 is pushed to the direction of the blocking element 50, instead of pushing the wafer 1 to be transported by the side floating gas B, thereby preventing the floating gas A and the side floating gas B from interfering with each other. influences.

In summary, the present invention has the following features:

1. The wafer to be transported is transported by the floating gas and the side floating gas, and is a non-contact conveying method, which can provide a uniform buoyancy force and avoid the problem of wafer bending caused by uneven force application. Moreover, due to the non-contact handling method, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of scratch damage due to contact collision.

2. The sensing component and the setting of the control valve unit enable the supply of the floating gas and the side floating gas to be controlled, thereby preventing collision damage of the wafer to be transported due to poor gas flow control during pick-and-place operation. .

3. By the arrangement of the blocking component, the position of the wafer to be transported can be further limited, and the wafer to be transported is prevented from falling and being damaged.

Therefore, the present invention is highly progressive and conforms to the requirements of the invention patent application, and the application is filed according to law, and the praying office grants the patent as soon as possible.

The present invention has been described in detail above, but the foregoing is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. That is, the equivalent changes and modifications made by the scope of the present application should remain within the scope of the patent of the present invention.

1‧‧‧ wafers to be handled
2‧‧‧Carmen
3‧‧‧ bracket parts
4‧‧‧Placement
10‧‧‧Loading components
11‧‧‧ Carrying tray
11a‧‧‧Upper area
11b‧‧‧Placement area
111‧‧‧Place the gas disk
112‧‧‧Upper air disk
12‧‧‧First vent
13‧‧‧Second air holes
20‧‧‧First gas supply unit
30‧‧‧Second gas supply unit
40‧‧‧Drive components
50‧‧‧stop element
51‧‧‧buffering vents
60‧‧‧Induction components
70‧‧‧Control valve unit
80‧‧‧ Third gas supply unit
A‧‧‧Floating gas
B‧‧‧ side floating gas
C‧‧‧ angle
X‧‧‧ horizontal direction
Y‧‧‧ longitudinal direction
S‧‧‧ Driving direction

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a first embodiment of the present invention. 2A-2D are schematic diagrams showing the operation flow of the first embodiment of the present invention. 3A-3D are schematic diagrams showing the operation flow of the second embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a schematic view showing the structure of a third embodiment of the present invention.

10‧‧‧Loading components

11‧‧‧ Carrying tray

11a‧‧‧Upper area

11b‧‧‧Placement area

20‧‧‧First gas supply unit

30‧‧‧Second gas supply unit

40‧‧‧Drive components

50‧‧‧stop element

60‧‧‧Induction components

70‧‧‧Control valve unit

C‧‧‧ angle

X‧‧‧ horizontal direction

Y‧‧‧ longitudinal direction

S‧‧‧ Driving direction

Claims (10)

A non-contact wafer handling device for carrying a wafer to be handled placed in a cassette, the card comprising a plurality of bracket members and a plurality of placement members disposed on the bracket member and carrying the wafer to be handled The non-contact wafer handling device comprises: a carrier assembly for carrying the wafer to be conveyed, comprising at least one carrier disk, a plurality of first air holes disposed on the carrier disk body and providing an upper floating gas, and a plurality of a second air hole that carries a floating gas on one side, the floating air is ejected in a longitudinal direction, and the side floating gas is ejected in a pushing direction, the longitudinal direction intersecting the pushing direction at an angle, wherein the first The venting system is arranged on the carrier tray according to an area of the wafer to be transported to form a uniform buoyancy channel; a first gas supply unit connected to the first air holes; and the second a second gas supply unit connected to the air hole; and a driving assembly connected to the carrier assembly and driving the carrier tray to be adjacent to the wafer to be handled; wherein the carrier assembly The discharge from the first hole of the float of the gas to be placed away from the wafer handling member, and using the floating side of the second gas discharge hole away from the wafer to be conveyed outside the cassette. The non-contact wafer handling device of claim 1, wherein the carrier tray comprises an upper floating area and a placement area, the first air hole is disposed in the floating area and the placement area, the second air hole Set in the upper floating zone. The non-contact wafer handling device of claim 2, further comprising a stop member disposed at an end of the placement region away from the floating portion. The non-contact wafer handling device of claim 2, wherein the floating area is in the shape of a disk. The non-contact wafer handling device of claim 1, wherein the carrier disk further comprises a placement disk and at least one floating disk extending from the placement disk in a lateral direction, the first The air hole is disposed on the air plate and the air disk, and the second air hole is disposed on the air disk. The non-contact wafer handling device of claim 5, further comprising a stop member disposed on the end of the air plate away from the upper floating disk. The non-contact wafer handling device of claim 5, wherein the placing air disk is in the shape of a disk. The non-contact wafer handling device of claim 1, further comprising an inductive component for sensing the wafer, the inductive component being disposed on the at least one carrier disk and the driving component Electrically connected to each other. The non-contact wafer handling device of claim 8, further comprising a control valve unit coupled to the sensing component, the first gas supply unit, and the second gas supply unit. The non-contact wafer handling device of claim 1, further comprising a cassette support member disposed on a side of the carrier tray adjacent to the cassette, the cassette support member comprising at least one pair A lifting channel that carries the disk body.