TWI663645B - Detection device of etching machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a detecting mechanism for an etching machine, comprising a swing arm, a wafer cassette, a detecting member and a power transmission member, wherein the wafer cassette is driven by the swing arm to reciprocate along a predetermined path, and the detecting member comprises a plate member, a lower plate member and a sensing member, the upper plate member is connected to the swing arm and fixedly disposed relative to the swing arm, the lower plate member is disposed on the lower side of the upper plate member, and the sensing member is disposed between the upper plate member and the lower plate member The opening and closing state between the upper plate member and the lower plate member is sensed, and the power transmission member connects the swing arm and the lower plate member to reciprocate the swing arm, the upper plate member and the lower plate member along the predetermined path, wherein The wafer is lifted by the resistance on the predetermined path, and the upper plate is separated from the lower plate, so that the sensing member is triggered to determine that the wafer is in a moving abnormal state.

Description

Etching machine detection mechanism

The present invention relates to a detection mechanism, and more particularly to a detection mechanism for an etching machine having high reliability and low replacement cost.

In the semiconductor field, etching is an important technical link. In the case of wet etching, a plurality of wafers are first placed in the cassette, and the cassette is immersed in the etching solution for a predetermined period of time, after which the residual etching liquid is taken out and washed away. This process requires relative movement between the cassette and the etched groove. Due to the fragile nature of the wafer, the wafer is very sensitive to vibration. To avoid wafer breakage, a sensing element is placed to ensure smooth movement of the cassette. The conventional sensing component is disposed outside the cassette or in the etching groove. When the movement of the cassette is abnormal (for example, touching the etching groove or the foreign matter is touched), the sensing member is triggered and the signal is triggered. The warning piece connecting the sensing element issues an alarm to stop the motor drive.

However, such an inductive component has many disadvantages: for example, long-term or frequent immersion of the etching solution with the cassette tends to cause damage to the sensing member; if the warning member malfunctions, the sensing member may be excessively squeezed and further damaged. The sensing component is disposed in the cassette or the etching groove. Once the sensing component is damaged, it must be replaced with the card or the etching groove, which causes waste of cost; and a plurality of multi-directional sensing components must be widely installed to reliably detect Whether the cassette is moving abnormally.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a detection mechanism for an etching machine having high reliability and low replacement cost.

The technical means for solving the problems of the prior art provides a detecting mechanism for an etching machine, comprising: a swing arm extending along a length direction; and a wafer cassette connecting the length of the swing arm a side of the direction in which the wafer cassette is disposed to be reciprocated along a predetermined path by the swing arm; a detecting member disposed in the length direction of the swing arm relative to the wafer cassette On the other side, the detecting member includes an upper plate member, a lower plate member and a sensing member, the upper plate member is connected to the swing arm and fixedly disposed relative to the swing arm, and the lower plate member is disposed on the upper plate member. a lower side, the sensing member is disposed between the upper plate member and the lower plate member, configured to sense an opening and closing state between the upper plate member and the lower plate member; and a power transmission member connected to the swing arm And the lower plate member reciprocating the swing arm, the upper plate member and the lower plate member along the predetermined path, wherein the wafer cassette is lifted by a resistance on the predetermined path, so that the The upper plate member is separated from the lower plate member, so that the sensing member is triggered to determine the crystal Moving a cassette is in an abnormal state.

In an embodiment of the invention, a detecting mechanism for an etching machine is provided, and the sensing member is a pressure spring type sensing member.

In an embodiment of the invention, a detecting mechanism for an etching machine is provided, and the sensing member is an optical sensing member.

In an embodiment of the invention, a detecting mechanism for an etching machine is provided, and the sensing member is an electromagnetic induction member.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a detecting mechanism of an etching machine is provided, and a certain point in the longitudinal direction of the swing arm serves as a fulcrum to drive the wafer cassette to reciprocate along a circular path.

In an embodiment of the invention, a detection mechanism for an etching machine is provided, and the swing arm drives the wafer cassette to reciprocate along a straight path.

Through the technical means adopted by the present invention, the detecting member does not need to directly contact the etching liquid, and the movement abnormality of the wafer cassette is sensed in a "stretching" manner, so that it is not easily damaged, and the detecting member is reliable. The sex has increased dramatically. In addition, the detecting mechanism of the etching machine of the present invention can be directly installed It is a detection mechanism for the high-reliability and low-cost etching machine, which is cheaper in replacement and only needs one sensing element to detect various possible movement abnormalities.

The specific embodiments of the present invention will be further described by the following examples and the accompanying drawings.

100‧‧‧Detection mechanism for etching machine

1‧‧‧ swing arm

2‧‧‧ wafer card

3‧‧‧Detecting components

31‧‧‧Upper board

32‧‧‧ Lower plate

33‧‧‧Inductive parts

4‧‧‧Power transmission parts

B‧‧‧ Foreign objects

D‧‧‧ Length direction

S‧‧‧ Wet etching tank

1 is an exploded view showing a detecting mechanism of an etching machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a view showing the normal state of movement of the detecting mechanism of the etching machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a view showing a state of abnormal movement of the detecting mechanism of the etching machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a view showing another state of abnormal movement of the detecting mechanism of the etching machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on Figs. 1 to 4 . This description is not intended to limit the embodiments of the invention, but is an embodiment of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the detecting mechanism 100 of the etching machine of the present invention comprises a swing arm 1, a wafer cassette 2, a detecting member 3 and a power transmitting member 4.

The swing arm 1 extends along a length direction D. In the present embodiment, in order to facilitate the balance, the swing arm 1 is a pair of pairs, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the swing arm 1 may also be one or more.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wafer cassette 2 is connected to one side in the longitudinal direction D of the swing arm 1, and the wafer cassette 2 is provided with a plurality of card slots for chucking a plurality of wafers. As shown in Figure 2, the wafer cassette 2 is set. The wafer arm 2 is reciprocated along a predetermined path by the swing arm 1 to immerse the wafer cassette 2 in the wet etching bath S to wet-etch a plurality of wafers. In this embodiment, a certain point of the swing arm 1 in the longitudinal direction D serves as a fulcrum to drive the wafer cassette 2 to reciprocate along a circular path. In another example, the swing arm 1 causes the wafer cassette 2 to reciprocate along a straight path (for example, a vertical direction), and the present invention is not limited thereto.

The detecting member 3 is disposed on the other side of the longitudinal direction D of the swing arm 1 with respect to the wafer cassette 2, and the detecting member 3 includes an upper plate member 31, a lower plate member 32 and a sensing member 33. The upper plate member 31 is connected to the swing arm 1 and is fixedly disposed with respect to the swing arm 1. The lower plate member 32 is disposed on the lower side of the upper plate member 31, and the sensing member 33 is disposed between the upper plate member 31 and the lower plate member 32. The opening and closing state between the upper plate member 31 and the lower plate member 32 is sensed.

The power transmission member 4 connects the swing arm 1 and the lower plate member 32 to reciprocate the swing arm 1, the upper plate member 31, and the lower plate member 32 along a predetermined path.

Fig. 2 shows the wafer cassette 2 in the normal moving state, and Fig. 3 shows the relative positional error between the wafer cassette 2 and the wet etching tank S, so that the wafer cassette 2 is in a moving abnormal state; Fig. 4 shows that the relative position of the wafer cassette 2 and the wet etching bath S is correct. However, other foreign matter B exists on the moving path, and the wafer cassette 2 is in a moving abnormal state. The above various causes and movement abnormalities caused by obstruction in each direction can be found in time by the detecting mechanism 100 of the etching machine of the present invention, which will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 3, the wafer cassette 2 is lifted by a resistance (as indicated by an arrow in the figure) on the predetermined path, so that the upper plate member 31 is separated from the lower plate member 32, so that the sensing is performed. The piece 33 is triggered to determine that the wafer cassette 2 is in a moving abnormal state. In detail, the wafer cassette 2 is fixed to the swing arm 1 , and the upper plate member 31 is also fixed to the swing arm 1 . When the power transmission member 4 drives the swing arm 1 and the lower plate member 32 to descend, if the wafer When the cassette 2 is subjected to the resistance, the upper plate member 31 is also subjected to the same resistance; in contrast, the lower plate member 32 is not directly fixed to the swing arm 1, and the lower plate member 32 is driven by the power transmission member 4 to continue to The lower movement/rotation causes the upper plate member 31 to be separated from the lower plate member 32, and the sensing member 33 is triggered.

In this embodiment, the sensing member 33 is a pressure spring type sensing member, and is compressed and disposed between the upper plate member 31 and the lower plate member 32. When the upper plate member 31 is separated from the lower plate member 32, the pressure spring type sensing The piece 33 is triggered to spring back to the uncompressed state. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the sensing member 33 may be an inductive member that applies other mechanical principles or various scientific principles to sense an open/close state between the upper plate member 31 and the lower plate member 32. For example, the sensing component 33 can be an optical sensing component, including a transmitting component and a receiving component, and the receiving component senses between the upper plate member 31 and the lower plate member 32 by receiving a change in light (light flux, direction, etc.). Open and close state. In another example, the sensing member 33 may be an electromagnetic induction member that senses an open/close state between the upper plate member 31 and the lower plate member 32 via a change in electrical or magnetic physical quantities (eg, current, magnetic flux, magnetic field strength). .

Further, the detecting mechanism 100 of the etching machine of the present invention further includes a signal connecting sensing member 33 and an alerting member (not shown) of the power transmitting member 4. When the sensing member 33 is triggered, the wafer latch 2 is determined to be When the abnormal state is moved, the warning member sends a signal to the power transmission member 4, so that the power transmission member 4 stops driving the wafer cassette 2.

In summary, compared with the prior art compression touch sensing device, the detecting mechanism 100 of the etching machine of the present invention senses the movement abnormality of the wafer cassette by "stretching", when the warning component functions. When the power transmission member 4 is continuously driven by the malfunction or other reasons, the upper plate member 31 and the lower plate member 32 are only kept away from each other, and the sensing member 33 is not damaged by the pressing, so the reliability of the detection. It will be greatly improved. In addition, the detecting member 3 does not need to directly contact the etching liquid, so the number of repairs and replacements of the mechanism can be reduced; and the replacement is not required to be replaced together with a mechanism such as a cassette, and the equipment cost is relatively cheaper than the prior art. Moreover, the detecting mechanism of the etching machine of the present invention can be directly installed on the existing machine, and has high versatility. More importantly, the movement abnormality caused by the resistance of the wafer cassette 2 in which direction, position and position can be easily sensed by the group of detecting members 3 of the present invention, without Multiple sets of detection members are provided at multiple locations, and thus the present invention has various advantages over the prior art.

The above description and description are only illustrative of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and those of ordinary skill in the art can make other modifications in accordance with the scope of the invention as defined below and the description above, but such modifications should still be It is within the scope of the invention to the invention of the invention.

Claims (6)

A detecting mechanism for an etching machine, comprising: a swing arm extending along a length direction; a wafer cassette connecting one side of the length direction of the swing arm, the wafer card being set by the pendulum The arm is driven to reciprocate along a predetermined path; a detecting member is disposed on the other side of the length of the swing arm relative to the wafer cassette, and the detecting member includes an upper plate and a lower plate And a sensing member, the upper plate member is connected to the swing arm and fixedly disposed relative to the swing arm, the lower plate member is disposed on a lower side of the upper plate member, and the sensing member is disposed on the upper plate member and the lower plate Between the pieces, the opening and closing state between the upper plate member and the lower plate member is sensed; and a power transmission member is connected to the swing arm and the lower plate member to make the swing arm and the upper plate member and Retrieving the lower plate member along the predetermined path, wherein the wafer card is lifted by a resistance on the predetermined path, so that the upper plate member is separated from the lower plate member, so that the sensing member is opened It is triggered to determine that the wafer card is in a moving abnormal state. The detecting mechanism of the etching machine according to claim 1, wherein the sensing member is a pressure spring type sensing member. The detecting mechanism of the etching machine according to claim 1, wherein the sensing member is an optical sensing member. The detecting mechanism of the etching machine according to claim 1, wherein the sensing member is an electromagnetic induction member. The detecting mechanism of the etching machine according to claim 1, wherein a certain point of the swing arm in the longitudinal direction acts as a fulcrum to drive the wafer cassette to reciprocate along a circular path. The detecting mechanism of the etching machine according to claim 1, wherein the swing arm drives the wafer cassette to reciprocate along a straight path.