TW202303797A - Wafer sorting equipment and wafer sorting method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides wafer sorting equipment and a wafer sorting method. The wafer sorting equipment comprises a first sorting area and a second sorting area, wherein the first sorting area comprises a wafer input interface and a first wafer collection interface; the transfer area is adjacent to the first sorting area; the first manipulator is arranged in the first sorting area and is configured to move the wafer input into the wafer input interface to at least one of the first wafer collection interface and the transfer area; the second sorting area is adjacent to the transfer area, and the second sorting area comprises a plurality of second wafer collecting interfaces; and the second manipulator is arranged in the second sorting area and is configured to move the wafers in the transfer area to at least one second wafer collecting interface in the plurality of second wafer collecting interfaces. According to the embodiment of the invention, the occupation of unqualified wafers on the wafer carrier is reduced, and the convenience of wafer sorting is improved.

Description

A kind of wafer sorting equipment and wafer sorting method

The invention belongs to the technical field of semiconductor processing, and in particular relates to a wafer sorting device and a wafer sorting method.

During the production process of wafers, wafers need to be sorted according to whether the wafers are qualified. Among them, qualified wafers enter the follow-up process, and unqualified wafers usually include wafers in various states. Different wafers need to be sorted in different ways. Therefore, unqualified wafers need to be further packaged. The wafer sorting method in the related art usually sorts qualified and unqualified wafers in the same area, and the packages are divided into qualified and unqualified wafers. , for unqualified wafers, unqualified wafers in different states need to be packaged separately, but the carrier that carries the wafers only supports a single flow, which leads to a large amount of loading time when unqualified wafers in different states are packaged. tool, it is inconvenient to use.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a wafer sorting device and a wafer sorting method to solve the problem that unqualified wafers occupy a large number of carriers during wafer sorting.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a wafer sorting device, including: a first sorting area, the first sorting area includes a wafer input interface and a first wafer collection interface; a transit area adjacent to the first sorting area; a first manipulator, disposed in the first sorting area, configured to move the wafers input into the wafer input interface to at least one of the first wafer collection interface and the transfer area; a second sorting area adjacent to the transfer area, the second sorting area includes a plurality of second wafer collection interfaces; The second manipulator is arranged in the second sorting area and is configured to move the wafers in the transfer area to at least one second wafer collection interface among the plurality of second wafer collection interfaces.

In some embodiments, the first sorting area further includes a sampling wafer collection interface, and the first manipulator is also used to move the wafers input into the wafer input interface to the sampling wafer collection interface.

In some embodiments, the plurality of second wafer collection interfaces includes one or more of a cleaned wafer interface, a polished wafer interface, a ground wafer interface, and a scrap wafer interface.

In some embodiments, the wafer sorting equipment further includes a cleaning element, the first sorting area is also provided with a cleaning element, and the cleaning element is configured to, after the first manipulator moves the wafer to the transfer area, Clean the first robot.

In some embodiments, the wafer sorting equipment further includes an isolation element, the isolation element is arranged between the transfer area and the first sorting area, and the isolation element is configured to transfer the first manipulator to the transfer area. It is turned on when the first manipulator moves the wafer to the transfer area, and it is turned off after the first manipulator moves the wafer to the transfer area.

The embodiment of the present invention also provides a wafer sorting method, using the wafer sorting equipment described in any one of the above, the method includes the following steps: Obtain the state of the target wafer input to the wafer input interface; If the target wafer is a qualified wafer, moving the target wafer to the first wafer collection interface by the first manipulator; If the target wafer is an unqualified wafer, the target wafer is moved to the transfer area by the first manipulator.

In some embodiments, the unqualified wafer includes at least one of a wafer to be cleaned, a wafer to be polished, a wafer to be ground, and a discarded wafer; After the target wafer is moved to the transfer area by the first manipulator, the method further includes: If the target wafer is a wafer to be cleaned, the target wafer located in the transfer area is moved to the cleaning wafer interface by the second manipulator; If the target wafer is a wafer to be polished, the target wafer located in the transfer area is moved to the polishing wafer interface by the second manipulator; If the target wafer is a wafer to be ground, the target wafer located in the transfer area is moved to the grinding wafer interface by the second manipulator; If the target wafer is a scrap wafer, the target wafer located in the transfer area is moved to the scrap wafer interface by the second manipulator.

In some embodiments, after the target wafer is moved to the staging area by the first manipulator, the method further includes: controlling the first manipulator to move to the cleaning element; The first manipulator is cleaned by the cleaning element.

In some embodiments, moving the target wafer to the front of the first wafer collection interface by the first manipulator includes: Determine the sampled wafers among the qualified wafers according to the preset sampled wafers; If the target wafer is a sampling wafer, the target wafer is moved to the sampling wafer collection interface.

The wafer sorting equipment in the embodiment of the present invention can move unqualified wafers to the transit area by setting the transfer area, and further sort the wafers in the second sorting area. In this process, the Eliminate the occupancy of unqualified wafers on the wafer carrier and the convenience of wafer sorting.

In order for Ligui examiners to understand the technical characteristics, content and advantages of the present invention and the effects it can achieve, the present invention is hereby combined with the accompanying drawings and appendices, and is described in detail in the form of embodiments as follows, and the drawings used therein , the purpose of which is only for illustration and auxiliary instructions, and not necessarily the true proportion and precise configuration of the present invention after implementation, so it should not be interpreted based on the proportion and configuration relationship of the attached drawings, and limit the application of the present invention in actual implementation The scope is described first.

In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical" , "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer" and other indicated orientations or positional relationships are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of the present invention and simplifying the description , rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operate in a particular orientation, and thus should not be construed as limiting the invention.

In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be interpreted as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of said features. In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, "plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

In the embodiments of the present invention, terms such as "installation", "connection", "connection" and "fixation" should be interpreted in a broad sense unless otherwise clearly specified and limited. Disassembled connection, or integration; it can be mechanical connection or electrical connection; it can be direct connection or indirect connection through an intermediary, and it can be the internal communication of two components or the interaction relationship between two components. Those with ordinary knowledge in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present invention according to specific situations.

The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are some of the embodiments of the present invention, but not all of them. In the case of no conflict, the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without making progressive creations fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

In the back-end process of wafer production, it is mainly divided into pre-cleaning, measurement, final cleaning, sorting and packaging steps. Among them, the wafer sorting equipment sorts the wafers according to the results determined by the measuring equipment, that is, after a whole box of wafers is put on the sorting machine, it will be sorted according to the quality level of the wafers. Distinguish between different carriers (the carrier is a front opening unified pod (FOUP) or a front opening shipping box (FOSB)).

The sorted wafers mainly include qualified wafers (wafers that can be directly used for subsequent production and processing), scrapped wafers (wafers that are not up to standard and directly scrapped), and remanufactured wafers (those that have been processed through remanufacturing) opportunity to become qualified wafers).

Among them, remanufactured wafers are divided into 3 categories, remanufactured cleaned wafers, remanufactured polished wafers, and remanufactured polished wafers. Therefore, the wafer sorting equipment has a lot of download ports (Unloader), and each time the sorting starts, a large number of carriers need to be prepared to pick up different types of remanufactured wafers.

Since the remanufactured wafers of different part numbers cannot be mixed, even if a carrier is not filled, it cannot be used to continue loading the remanufactured wafers of the next part number, and a new carrier must be loaded, so that, The remake takes up a lot of vehicles, and most of them are not filled.

At the same time, the current wafer sorting equipment is completed on the same equipment during the sorting process, in the same internal environment. When the equipment is running, the robotic arm will move to different carrier points according to the different grades of the products. The reciprocating mechanical movement will bring the risk of quality pollution to high-quality products.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a wafer sorting device and a wafer sorting method applied to the wafer sorting device.

As shown in FIG. 1 , in one embodiment, the wafer sorting equipment includes a first sorting area 100 , a transfer area 200 and a second sorting area 300 . The wafer sorting equipment also includes a first manipulator 101 and a second manipulator 301 .

The first sorting area 100 includes a wafer input interface and a first wafer collection interface, wherein the wafer input interface is used to input wafers to be sorted, and the number of wafer input interfaces can be one or more. The round input interface can correspond to wafers of different part numbers, or can correspond to wafers of the same part number to increase the speed of wafer uploading.

Exemplarily, in this embodiment, interface 1 and interface 2 may be a wafer input interface, and interface 3 may be a first wafer collection interface.

The transfer area 200 is adjacent to the first sorting area 100, the first manipulator 101 is arranged in the first sorting area 100, and the first manipulator 101 is configured to move the wafers input to the wafer input interface to the first wafer collection interface and at least one of the transit area 200.

The second sorting area 300 is adjacent to the transfer area 200 , and the second sorting area 300 includes a plurality of second wafer collection interfaces. In some embodiments, the plurality of second wafer collection interfaces includes one or more of a cleaning wafer interface, a polishing wafer interface, a grinding wafer interface, and a scrap wafer interface, respectively for recovering wafers to be cleaned , wafers to be polished, wafers to be ground, and wafers to be scrapped. Further, the number of cleaning wafer interface, polishing wafer interface, and grinding wafer interface can be set in multiples, so as to correspond to wafers of different material numbers. The number of scrapped wafer interfaces can be one or more, and scrapped wafers with different material numbers can be recycled separately or collectively.

Exemplarily, interface A and interface B serve as a cleaning wafer interface, interface C and interface D serve as a polishing wafer interface, interface E and interface F serve as a grinding wafer interface, and interface G and interface H serve as a scrap wafer interface.

The second manipulator 301 is disposed in the second sorting area 300 , and the second manipulator 301 is configured to move the wafers in the transfer area 200 to at least one second wafer collection interface among the plurality of second wafer collection interfaces.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the wafer sorting method provided comprises the following steps: Obtain the state of the target wafer input to the wafer input interface; If the target wafer is a qualified wafer, moving the target wafer to the first wafer collection interface by the first manipulator; If the target wafer is an unqualified wafer, the target wafer is moved to the transfer area by the first manipulator.

In this embodiment, firstly, the wafers to be sorted are input (or uploaded) to the wafer input interface, and then the input wafers are sorted by the first manipulator 101, and the qualified wafers are moved to the first The wafer collection interface collects and packs the unqualified wafers to the transfer area 200 .

Further, for the unqualified wafers moved to the transfer area 200, the following methods are also used for processing: If the target wafer is a wafer to be cleaned, the target wafer located in the transfer area is moved to the cleaning wafer interface by the second manipulator; If the target wafer is a wafer to be polished, the target wafer located in the transfer area is moved to the polishing wafer interface by the second manipulator; If the target wafer is a wafer to be ground, the target wafer located in the transfer area is moved to the grinding wafer interface by the second manipulator; If the target wafer is a scrap wafer, the target wafer located in the transfer area is moved to the scrap wafer interface by the second manipulator.

In this embodiment, a plurality of second wafer collection interfaces for different unqualified wafers are set up to recover different unqualified wafers respectively. In this way, the carrier positioned at each second wafer collection interface can be The carrier is replaced after it is full, which improves the utilization rate of the carrier and reduces the occupation of the carrier.

In some embodiments, the first sorting area 100 further includes a sampling wafer collection interface, and the first manipulator 101 is also used to move the wafers input into the wafer input interface to the sampling wafer collection interface. Exemplarily, the interface 4 can be used as a sampling wafer collection interface.

In some embodiments, moving the target wafer to the front of the first wafer collection interface by the first manipulator 101 includes: Determine the sampled wafers among the qualified wafers according to the preset sampled wafers; If the target wafer is a sampling wafer, the target wafer is moved to the sampling wafer collection interface.

In this embodiment, it is also necessary to perform sampling inspection on qualified wafers. For qualified wafers, in this embodiment, the sampling wafers to be inspected are further determined and moved to the sampling wafer collection interface for sampling inspection.

In some embodiments, the wafer sorting equipment further includes a cleaning element, and the first sorting area 100 is also provided with a cleaning element configured to clean the first manipulator 101 after the wafer is moved to the transfer area 200. A manipulator 101 .

In some embodiments, after the target wafer is moved to the transfer area 200 by the first manipulator 101, the method further includes: controlling the first manipulator 101 to move to the cleaning element; The first manipulator 101 is cleaned by the cleaning element.

In this embodiment, after each unqualified wafer is moved to the transfer area 200, the first manipulator 101 is cleaned, so as to avoid contamination of the first manipulator 101 by pollutants such as particles falling off from the unqualified wafer. Acceptable wafers held.

In some embodiments, the wafer sorting equipment further includes an isolation element, the isolation element is arranged between the transfer area 200 and the first sorting area 100, and the isolation element is configured to move the wafer to the transfer area 200 when the first manipulator 101 It is turned on during the round, and turned off after the first manipulator 101 moves the wafer to the transfer area 200 .

Furthermore, in some embodiments, an isolation element may also be provided between the transfer area 200 and the second sorting area 300 , so as to further reduce the possibility of wafer cross-contamination.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2 , cleaning elements can also be provided on the carrier. Specifically, the carrier includes a plurality of compartments 22 for accommodating wafers 23 . An air blowing hole 21 is opened at a position corresponding to each spacer 22 , and the cleaning of the wafer 23 is realized by cooperating with the air blowing pipe 20 and the air blowing hole 21 .

Each wafer collection interface can be provided with a base, and the base is provided with a joint that matches the blowing tube. When the base is set at the wafer collection interface, the blowing tube 20 is connected to the joint, and each joint is connected to the air pump, so that the carrier When it is installed on the base, the gas blowing pipe 20 can be supplied with air through the air pump to clean the wafer 23 on the carrier and remove moisture and pollutants on the wafer 23 .

Here, the wafer collection interface may refer to the first wafer collection interface, the second wafer collection interface, the sampling wafer collection interface, and the like.

The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not used to limit the implementation scope of the present invention. If the present invention is modified or equivalently replaced without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, it shall be covered by the protection of the patent scope of the present invention. in the range.

1: Interface 2: Interface 3: Interface 4: Interface 20: Blowing tube 21: Blowing hole 22: Each compartment 23: Wafer 100: The first constituency 101: The first manipulator 200: transit area 300:Second constituency 301: The second manipulator A: interface B: interface C: interface D: interface E: interface F: interface G: interface H: interface

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a wafer sorting device provided by an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a carrier in an embodiment of the present invention.

1: Interface

2: Interface

3: Interface

4: Interface

100: The first constituency

101: The first manipulator

200: transit area

300:Second constituency

301: The second manipulator

A: interface

B: interface

C: interface

D: interface

E: interface

F: interface

G: interface

H: interface

Claims (9)

A wafer sorting device, comprising: a first sorting area, the first sorting area includes a wafer input interface and a first wafer collection interface; a transit area adjacent to the first sorting area; a first manipulator, disposed in the first sorting area, configured to move the wafers input into the wafer input interface to at least one of the first wafer collection interface and the transfer area; a second sorting area adjacent to the transfer area, the second sorting area includes a plurality of second wafer collection interfaces; The second manipulator is arranged in the second sorting area and is configured to move the wafers in the transfer area to at least one second wafer collection interface among the plurality of second wafer collection interfaces. The wafer sorting equipment as described in claim 1, wherein the first sorting area further includes a sampling wafer collection interface, and the first manipulator is also used to move the wafers input to the wafer input interface to the Sample wafer collection interface. The wafer sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of second wafer collection interfaces include one or more of a cleaning wafer interface, a polishing wafer interface, a grinding wafer interface and a scrap wafer interface . The wafer sorting equipment as described in claim 1, wherein the wafer sorting equipment further includes a cleaning element, the first sorting area is also provided with a cleaning element, and the cleaning element is configured to separate the wafer from the first robotic arm. After the circle moves to the transfer area, clean the first manipulator. The wafer sorting equipment as described in Claim 1, wherein the wafer sorting equipment further includes an isolation element, the isolation element is arranged between the transfer area and the first sorting area, and the isolation element is configured to The first manipulator is turned on when moving wafers to the transfer area, and is turned off after the first manipulator moves wafers to the transfer area. A wafer sorting method, applied to the wafer sorting equipment described in any one of claims 1 to 5, the method includes the following steps: Obtain the state of the target wafer input to the wafer input interface; If the target wafer is a qualified wafer, moving the target wafer to the first wafer collection interface by the first manipulator; If the target wafer is an unqualified wafer, the target wafer is moved to the transfer area by the first manipulator. The wafer sorting method according to claim 6, wherein the unqualified wafers include at least one of wafers to be cleaned, wafers to be polished, wafers to be ground and scrapped wafers; After the target wafer is moved to the transfer area by the first manipulator, the method further includes: If the target wafer is a wafer to be cleaned, the target wafer located in the transfer area is moved to the cleaning wafer interface by the second manipulator; If the target wafer is a wafer to be polished, the target wafer located in the transfer area is moved to the polishing wafer interface by the second manipulator; If the target wafer is a wafer to be ground, the target wafer located in the transfer area is moved to the grinding wafer interface by the second manipulator; If the target wafer is a scrap wafer, the target wafer located in the transfer area is moved to the scrap wafer interface by the second manipulator. The wafer sorting method as described in Claim 6 or 7, wherein, after the target wafer is moved to the transfer area by the first manipulator, the method further includes: controlling the first manipulator to move to the cleaning element; The first manipulator is cleaned by the cleaning element. The wafer sorting method as described in claim 6, wherein the moving the target wafer to the front of the first wafer collection interface by the first manipulator includes: Determine the sampled wafers among the qualified wafers according to the preset sampled wafers; If the target wafer is a sampling wafer, the target wafer is moved to the sampling wafer collection interface.

Images