TWI633621B - Substrate docking device and docking method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a substrate docking device and a docking method, wherein the substrate docking device includes a rotation mechanism that drives the substrate to rotate and at least one substrate adsorption mechanism. The substrate adsorption mechanism is used to support and fix the substrate, and the rotation mechanism drives the substrate adsorption mechanism to rotate . With the substrate docking device provided by the present invention, when the substrate needs to enter the substrate production line equipment or the library from different angular positions, the substrate can be preferentially rotated to achieve the desired angular position, and then the substrate can be rotated and docked process.

Description

Substrate docking device and docking method

The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to a substrate docking device and docking method.

In the semiconductor manufacturing process, the substrate needs to be picked up from the plate library by the fork and uploaded to the mechanical equipment, so as to process the substrate accordingly. Wherein, the storage direction of the substrate in the plate library is generally the same. When the plate fork grabs the substrate, the plate fork grabs the substrate in a certain direction and places the substrate in the mechanical equipment in the same direction. However, in some manufacturing processes, the substrate needs to be placed in the mechanical equipment at a certain angle. At this time, before uploading the substrate, the substrate must be rotated by an angle, and then the substrate rotated to a specific direction can be placed on the machine In the device. For example, in the TFT lithography process, the substrate is a rectangular glass, the plate fork usually grabs the substrate along the long side of the substrate, and when the substrate needs to enter the lithography exposure equipment in the short side direction, at this time Before the substrate is uploaded to the lithography exposure apparatus or before the substrate is pre-aligned, the substrate needs to be rotated by 90 °, and then the plated fork is used to upload the rotated substrate to the lithography exposure apparatus. In this process, there is an urgent need for a docking device that can achieve a rotating docking process.

The object of the present invention is to provide a substrate docking device, so that when the substrate enters the device or the library from different angular positions, the substrate can be preferentially rotated to achieve the The purpose of the desired angular position.

To this end, the present invention provides a substrate docking device to realize the docking of the substrate between the plate library and the substrate production line equipment, wherein the docking device includes a rotating mechanism for driving the substrate to rotate and at least one substrate fixed on the rotating mechanism The suction mechanism, the substrate suction mechanism is used to support and fix the substrate, and the rotation mechanism drives the substrate suction mechanism to rotate.

Preferably, the substrate adsorption mechanism includes an adsorption kit and an adsorption disk. The adsorption kit is used to fix the substrate adsorption mechanism on the rotating mechanism. The adsorption disc extends outward from the interior of the adsorption kit to form a contact surface for contact with the substrate The suction channel is provided with a vacuum channel communicating with the contact surface.

Preferably, the substrate suction mechanism further includes a support member, the support member is located in the suction kit and is located below the contact surface to support the contact surface.

Preferably, the material of the suction disk is a polymer resin material.

Preferably, the material of the support is a rubber material.

Preferably, the docking device of the substrate further includes a plate fork detection device. The plate fork detection device has a sensor, which is used to determine whether a plate fork exists in its sensing area.

Preferably, the substrate docking device further includes a substrate detection device. The substrate detection device has a sensor. The sensor is used to determine whether the substrate exists in the sensing area.

Preferably, the docking device of the substrate further includes a plurality of auxiliary support mechanisms, and the plurality of auxiliary support mechanisms are distributed around the rotating mechanism for auxiliary support of the substrate.

Preferably, the auxiliary support mechanism is a columnar structure, and the end surface of the columnar structure in contact with the substrate is arc-shaped.

Preferably, the auxiliary support mechanism is connected to the rotation mechanism through the first bracket kit Then, the rotating mechanism drives the auxiliary supporting mechanism to rotate.

Preferably, the substrate docking device further includes a plurality of substrate clamping mechanisms for clamping the edge of the substrate. The substrate clamping mechanism includes a clamping portion parallel to the edge of the substrate and a drive that drives the clamping portion to move in a direction perpendicular to the edge of the substrate Device.

Preferably, the substrate clamping mechanism is connected to the rotating mechanism through the second bracket kit, and the rotating mechanism drives the substrate clamping mechanism to rotate.

Preferably, the docking device of the substrate further includes a position detection device, the position detection device includes a sensor kit and a mechanical limit kit, the sensor kit is used to detect the rotation angle of the rotating mechanism, and the mechanical limit kit is used to define the rotating mechanism Rotatable limit position.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate docking method, which includes the following steps: providing a substrate docking device as described above, removing the substrate from the plate library / substrate production line equipment and placing it on the substrate adsorption mechanism, the substrate is adsorbed The mechanism supports and fixes the substrate; the rotation mechanism drives the substrate suction mechanism to rotate to rotate the substrate to an angular position; realizes mechanical pre-alignment of the substrate; removes the pre-aligned substrate and places it in a substrate production line device or a library.

The invention provides a substrate docking device. When the angular position of the substrate needs to be changed to enter the device or the library, the substrate can be rotated by the docking device to reach a specific angular position, thereby realizing the substrate pick-and-place process.

In addition, in the substrate docking device provided by the present invention, the substrate is fixed by the substrate suction mechanism, and the substrate suction mechanism is driven to rotate by the rotation mechanism, thereby further rotating the substrate adsorbed on the substrate suction mechanism. That is, in the base provided by the present invention In the board docking device, the centripetal force that drives the rotation of the substrate is provided by the friction between the surface of the substrate and the substrate suction mechanism, rather than exerting a force on the edge of the substrate, so no local stress will be generated at the edge of the substrate, thereby ensuring that Substrate integrity.

110‧‧‧rotating mechanism

120‧‧‧Substrate adsorption mechanism

121‧‧‧Adsorption kit

122‧‧‧Adsorption disk

122a‧‧‧Contact surface

123‧‧‧Support

124‧‧‧Screw fastener

125‧‧‧Vacuum channel

130‧‧‧ plate fork

130a‧‧‧The first plate fork

130b‧‧‧Second plate fork

140‧‧‧Plate and fork detection device

150‧‧‧ substrate inspection device

160‧‧‧Auxiliary support mechanism

170‧‧‧ substrate clamping mechanism

171‧‧‧roller

172‧‧‧Drive device

180‧‧‧Position detection device

190‧‧‧ First bracket kit

191‧‧‧Second bracket kit

200‧‧‧ substrate

S10 ~ S40‧‧‧Step

1 is a schematic structural view of a substrate docking device in an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2a is a partially enlarged schematic view of a substrate adsorption mechanism of a substrate docking device in an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2b is a substrate in an embodiment of the invention Sectional view of the substrate adsorption mechanism of the docking device; 3 is a schematic structural view of the present invention using two plate forks to pick and place the substrates before and after rotation; 4 is a partially enlarged schematic view of a substrate clamping mechanism of a substrate docking device in an embodiment of the invention: FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a substrate docking method according to an embodiment of the invention.

As described in the prior art, in order to enable the substrate to be rotated by a certain angle preferentially to be transferred between the device and the library, it is urgent to provide a docking device to realize the process of rotating docking.

To this end, the present invention provides a substrate docking device to realize the docking of the substrate between the plate library and the substrate production line equipment, wherein the docking device includes a spinner that drives the rotation of the substrate The rotation mechanism and at least one substrate adsorption mechanism fixed on the rotation mechanism are used to support and fix the substrate, and the rotation mechanism drives the substrate adsorption mechanism to rotate.

In the substrate docking device provided by the present invention, the substrate is fixed by a substrate suction mechanism, and the substrate suction mechanism is driven to rotate by the rotation mechanism, thereby rotating the substrate adsorbed on the substrate suction mechanism.

The substrate docking device provided by the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments. The advantages and features of the present invention will be clearer from the following description and patent application scope. It should be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and all use inaccurate proportions, which are only used to conveniently and clearly assist the purpose of explaining the embodiments of the present invention.

1 is a schematic structural diagram of a substrate docking device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate docking device includes a rotating mechanism 110 that drives the substrate to rotate and at least one substrate adsorption mechanism fixed on the rotating mechanism 110 120. The substrate suction mechanism 120 is used to support and fix the substrate, and the rotation mechanism 110 drives the substrate suction mechanism 120 to rotate.

When the substrate docking device provided by the present invention is used to rotate the substrate, the substrate suction mechanism 120 contacts the lower surface of the substrate and sucks the substrate to fix the substrate. When the rotating mechanism 110 drives the substrate suction mechanism 120 to rotate, the substrate fixed on the substrate suction mechanism 120 is correspondingly driven. Among them, the centripetal force that drives the rotation of the substrate is the friction between the substrate surface and the substrate adsorption mechanism 120, rather than exerting a force on the edge of the substrate, so no local stress will be generated at the edge of the substrate, thereby ensuring the integrity of the substrate .

2a is a partially enlarged schematic view of a substrate adsorption mechanism of a substrate docking device in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2b is a cross-sectional view of a substrate adsorption mechanism of a substrate docking device in an embodiment of the present invention, combined with FIGS. 2a and 2b. As shown, the substrate suction mechanism 120 includes a suction kit 121 and a suction tray 122. Preferably, the substrate adsorption mechanism 120 and the vacuuming device (Not shown in the figure) connection, and the substrate can be fixed by vacuuming. Specifically, there is a vacuum channel 125 in the substrate adsorption mechanism 120. After the substrate is placed on the substrate adsorption mechanism 120, the vacuum device extracts the air between the substrate and the substrate adsorption mechanism 120 through the vacuum channel 125, so that the substrate It is adsorbed on the substrate adsorption mechanism 120.

Wherein, the suction kit 121 can be used to fix the substrate suction mechanism. That is, in this embodiment, the screw fastener 124 can be used to fix the suction kit 121 to the rotating mechanism 110, so as to fix the entire substrate suction mechanism 120.

With continued reference to FIGS. 2a and 2b, the suction disk 122 extends outward from the inside of the suction kit 121 to form a contact surface 122a that contacts the substrate, wherein the vacuum channel 125 can be provided in the suction disk 122 and communicate with the contact surface 122a . For example, in this embodiment, after the suction kit 121 is fixed to the rotating mechanism, it forms a hollow structure and has an opening above it. The outer shape of the suction disk 122 matches the shape of the inner wall of the suction kit 121, and the suction disk 122 extends along the inner wall of the suction kit 121 through the opening of the suction kit to the outside of the suction kit to form a contact surface 122a. Specifically, the shape of the contact surface 122a may be any shape, such as a circle, an ellipse, or a rectangle. Further, the suction disk 122 may be made of a polymer resin material, so that the suction disk 122 has a certain pressure bearing property and elasticity. Since the suction disk 122 is in contact with the substrate when supporting and fixing the substrate, the suction disk 122 made of polymer resin has a certain elasticity. On the one hand, it can better protect the substrate and avoid scratching the substrate; On the one hand, when the substrate rotates, friction between the suction disk and the substrate is likely to occur to facilitate the rotation of the substrate; in addition, when the substrate warps, the contact surface made of polymer resin material 122a has plasticity, so it can still fit well with the surface of the substrate, thereby ensuring the adsorption effect of the substrate adsorption mechanism 120 on the substrate.

Further, the substrate adsorption mechanism 120 further includes a support 123, and the support 123 is located in the suction kit 121 and below the contact surface 122a to support the contact surface 122a. When the substrate suction mechanism 120 supports the substrate, the surface of the substrate is in contact with the contact surface 122a of the suction disk 122. At this time, the substrate has a downward force on the suction disk 122. Therefore, in order to ensure that the suction disk 122 receives the substrate It can still support the substrate when the force is applied, especially when a suction pad with a certain elasticity is used, the contact surface 122a of the suction pad 122 is squeezed by the substrate and is more likely to deform. Therefore, when a contact pad 122a is provided below When supporting the supporting member 123 of the contact surface 122, the supporting member 123 can support the contact surface 122a well, avoiding the problem that the contact surface 122a is deformed and cannot support the substrate after being pressed by the substrate. Further, the supporting member 123 may be made of rubber material. On the one hand, the rubber material has a certain elasticity, so that the substrate has a buffering force when it is attached to the contact surface 122a, so as to reduce the instantaneous impact force on the substrate; on the other hand, the rubber material has a certain elasticity, which can support The function of the contact surface.

Preferably, the docking device of the substrate further includes a position detection device 180. Specifically, the position detection device 180 includes a sensor kit and a mechanical limit kit. The sensor kit is used to detect the rotation angle of the rotation mechanism 110. The bit set can limit the rotation angle of the rotation mechanism 110 according to the set limit position.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the substrate is picked and placed in the docking device of the substrate by the fork 130. Specifically, the plate fork 130 has two plate fingers. When the plate fork 130 grabs the substrate, the two plate fingers of the plate fork 130 move below the substrate and hold the substrate, and then move the plate fork in the opposite direction to achieve Board pick and place function. In addition, in the actual application process, a corresponding plate fork or a plurality of plate forks may be selected according to the specific substrate and the rotation angle of the substrate. For example, referring to FIG. 3, when the substrate 200 is rectangular and needs to be rotated by 90 °, first, the first plate fork 130a needs to be used to place the substrate 200 in the substrate docking device along the first side of the rotation mechanism 110 At this time, the two plate fingers of the first plate fork 130a hold the substrate 200 along the short side of the substrate 200; then, the substrate docking device rotates the substrate 200 by 90 °; The second plate fork 130b grabs the substrate 200 along a second side perpendicular to the first side. At this time, the finger of the second plate fork 130b supports the substrate along the long side direction of the substrate 200. Wherein, the distance between the second plate fork 130b and the two plate fingers in the first plate fork 130a, and the length of the pull finger need to be set according to the length and width of the substrate.

Preferably, the docking device of the substrate further includes a plate fork detection device 140, and the plate fork detection device 140 is used to detect whether there is a plate fork in its corresponding area. Specifically, the plate and fork detection device 140 has a sensor that senses the presence of the plate fork, where the sensor may be a light-sensitive sensor, that is, the presence of the plate fork is determined by detecting an optical signal. In this embodiment, the plate fork detection device 140 is located in the moving direction of the plate fork 130, and is disposed below the trigger finger of the plate fork 130, so that when the trigger finger 130 enters the docking device of the substrate, the plate fork detection device 140 can immediately sense To the presence of the finger. In addition, when a plurality of plate forks 130 are needed to realize the pick-and-place function of the substrate in the docking device 100, in order to avoid collision of the plurality of plate forks in the substrate docking device, the plate fork detection device 140 can be used to sense the substrate Whether there is a plate fork in the docking device, and limit the plurality of plate forks to enter the docking device of the substrate at the same time, realize the interlock between the plurality of plate forks, and avoid mutual interference.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the substrate docking device further includes a substrate detection device 150. The substrate detection device 150 can use the same detection device as the fork detection device 140. Specifically, the substrate detection device 150 has a sensor. The sensor senses whether there is a substrate in the corresponding area. Further, the substrate detection device 150 is provided below the substrate. On the one hand, the substrate detection device 150 can be used to detect whether a substrate is placed in the substrate docking device, to avoid multiple substrates being repeatedly placed on the substrate docking device, causing damage to the substrate; And it is set at the position corresponding to the substrate when rotating at different angles, so that it can also be used to determine the angular position of the substrate in the docking device 100.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the substrate docking device further includes a plurality of auxiliary support mechanisms 160. The auxiliary support mechanism 160 is used to assist in supporting the substrate and adjust the horizontal position of the substrate. Specifically, the auxiliary support mechanism 160 is arranged in the peripheral area of the rotation mechanism 110. The auxiliary support mechanism 160 is a columnar structure, and the end surface of the columnar structure that contacts the substrate is arc-shaped, which further reduces the contact area with the substrate and eases the friction between the auxiliary support mechanism 160 and the substrate. In this embodiment, the auxiliary support mechanism 160 is also connected to the rotation mechanism 110 through the first bracket kit 190, that is, when the rotation mechanism 110 drives the substrate suction mechanism 120 to rotate, it also drives the auxiliary support mechanism 160 to rotate to avoid auxiliary support The mechanism scratches the surface of the substrate.

Preferably, the substrate docking device further includes a plurality of substrate clamping mechanisms 170 for clamping the edges of the substrate. The substrate clamping mechanism 170 can be used to adjust the position of the substrate and further fix the substrate. In this way, the substrate can be ensured before rotation and Position accuracy after rotation. 4 is a partially enlarged schematic view of a substrate clamping mechanism of a substrate docking device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring specifically to FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIG. 1, the substrate clamping mechanism 170 includes a clamping portion parallel to the edge of the substrate and a drive A driving device 172 for moving the clamping part in a direction perpendicular to the edge of the substrate. The clamping part is provided with at least one roller 171 for contacting with the edge of the substrate. The driving device 172 may be an air cylinder. When adjusting the position of the substrate, a plurality of rollers 171 are respectively arranged in the peripheral area of the substrate. At this time, the driving device 172 drives the rollers 171 to move in a direction perpendicular to the edge of the substrate, thereby pushing the substrate to a predetermined position. In this process, the edge of the substrate contacts and moves with the roller, so the use of the roller helps the movement of the substrate and reduces the friction on the edge of the substrate. Moreover, when a plurality of rollers 171 located on the periphery of the substrate press the edge of the substrate, the substrate is simultaneously fixed. As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the substrate docking device has four substrate clamping mechanisms 170, wherein each substrate clamping mechanism 170 is provided with two rollers. If a rectangular substrate is clamped and fixed Then, the four substrate clamping mechanisms 170 respectively clamp the four edges of the rectangular substrate, and the two rollers 171 in each substrate clamping mechanism 170 respectively press each side of the substrate.

In addition, the substrate clamping mechanism 170 selects whether to be rotated by the rotating mechanism 110 according to the actual application. That is, in the substrate docking device provided by the present invention, the substrate clamping mechanism 170 may be fixedly provided, or may be connected to the rotation mechanism 110 so that the rotation mechanism 110 can drive the rotation. In this embodiment, the substrate holding frame 170 is connected to the first bracket set 190 through the second bracket set 191, so that the rotating mechanism 110 can drive the same and rotate with the substrate suction mechanism 120 at the same time.

Based on the substrate docking device provided by the present invention, another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate docking method, that is, using the substrate docking device as described above to realize substrate docking. FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a substrate docking method in an embodiment of the present invention. Referring specifically to FIG. 5 in conjunction with FIG. 1, the substrate docking method includes the following steps: Step S10, providing a substrate docking device as described above, from Remove a substrate from the library / substrate production line equipment and place it on the substrate adsorption mechanism 120. The substrate adsorption mechanism 120 supports and fixes the substrate; Step S20, the rotation mechanism 110 drives the substrate adsorption mechanism 120 to rotate to rotate the substrate to an angular position; In step S30, the mechanical pre-alignment of the substrate is realized; in step S40, the pre-aligned substrate is taken out and placed in the substrate production line device / repository.

In the substrate docking method provided by the present invention, the substrate adsorption mechanism 120 is first used to adsorb and fix the substrate, and then the substrate adsorption mechanism is rotated under the drive of the rotation mechanism 110, so that the friction force between the substrate adsorption mechanism 110 and the substrate surface A centripetal force is formed to rotate the substrate, thereby realizing the rotation of the substrate.

The above description is only a description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, not the present invention Any limitation of the scope, any changes or modifications made by those of ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs based on the above disclosure, shall fall within the protection scope of the patent application scope.

Claims (13)

A substrate docking device for docking the substrate between the plate library and the substrate production line equipment, the docking device includes a rotating mechanism for driving the substrate to rotate and at least one substrate adsorption mechanism fixed on the rotating mechanism, the substrate The adsorption mechanism is used to support and fix the substrate, and the rotation mechanism drives the substrate adsorption mechanism to rotate; wherein the substrate docking device further includes a plurality of substrate clamping mechanisms for clamping the edge of the substrate, the substrate clamping mechanism includes A clamping part with parallel edges of the substrate and a driving device for driving the clamping part to move in a direction perpendicular to the edge of the substrate. The substrate docking device as described in item 1 of the patent application range, wherein the substrate adsorption mechanism includes an adsorption kit and an adsorption disk, and the adsorption kit is used to fix the substrate adsorption mechanism on the rotating mechanism. A contact surface for contacting with the substrate is formed by extending outward from the interior of the adsorption kit, and a vacuum channel communicating with the contact surface is provided in the adsorption disk. The substrate docking device as described in item 2 of the patent application range, wherein the substrate suction mechanism further includes a support member, the support member is located in the suction kit and is located below the contact surface to support the contact surface. The docking device for a substrate as described in item 2 or 3 of the patent application, wherein the material of the suction pad is a polymer resin material. The docking device for a substrate as described in item 3 of the patent application, wherein the material of the support member is a rubber material. The docking device for a substrate as described in item 1 of the patent application range, wherein the docking device for the substrate further includes a plate and fork detection device, the plate and fork detection device having a sensor for judging its sensing area Whether there is a plate fork. The substrate docking device as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the substrate docking device further includes a substrate detection device, the substrate detection device has a sensor, and the sensor is used to determine whether the sensing area is present The substrate. The docking device for a substrate as described in item 1 of the patent application range, wherein the docking device for the substrate further includes a plurality of auxiliary support mechanisms, and the plurality of auxiliary support mechanisms are distributed around the rotation mechanism to assist and support the substrate. The docking device for a substrate as described in item 8 of the patent application range, wherein the auxiliary support mechanism is a columnar structure, and the end surface of the columnar structure in contact with the substrate is arc-shaped. The docking device for a substrate as described in item 8 of the patent application range, wherein the auxiliary support mechanism is connected to the rotation mechanism by a first bracket kit, and the rotation mechanism drives the auxiliary support mechanism to rotate. The docking device for a substrate as described in item 1 of the patent application range, wherein the substrate clamping mechanism is connected to the rotation mechanism by a second bracket kit, and the rotation mechanism drives the substrate clamping mechanism to rotate. The docking device for a substrate as described in item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the docking device for the substrate further includes a position detection device, the position detection device includes a sensor kit and a mechanical limit kit, the sensor kit is used for detection The rotation angle of the rotating mechanism, the mechanical limit kit is used to define the limit position where the rotating mechanism can rotate. A substrate docking method, which includes the following steps: providing a substrate docking device as described in any one of claims 1 to 12 of the patent application, removing the substrate from the version library or the substrate production line equipment and placing it on the substrate On the suction mechanism, the substrate suction mechanism supports and fixes the substrate; the rotation mechanism drives the substrate suction mechanism to rotate to rotate the substrate to an angular position; mechanically pre-aligns the substrate; pre-aligns the substrate Take it out and put it in the substrate production line equipment or the library.