TWI799347B - A hand-held wafer adsorption device - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the present invention discloses a hand-held wafer suction device, which includes: a hollow mechanical arm, the mechanical arm includes a suction end and a hand-held end, and the cross-section of the mechanical arm is from the hand-held end Gradually increase to the adsorption end; the negative pressure pipeline arranged inside the mechanical arm, the negative pressure pipeline extends along the axial direction of the mechanical arm and runs through the mechanical arm; the adsorption groove communicated with the negative pressure pipeline , the suction groove is formed at the suction end of the mechanical arm along the radial direction of the mechanical arm, and is used for suctioning the edge of the wafer to fix the wafer.

Description

A hand-held wafer adsorption device

Embodiments of the present invention belong to the technical field of semiconductors, and in particular relate to a hand-held wafer adsorption device.

As the basic raw material for manufacturing semiconductor devices, wafers are widely used in aerospace, automotive, medical, smart terminal and other industries. At present, various industries have higher and higher requirements for the quality of wafer products, and in equipment installation and production During the manufacturing process, technicians need to manually remove the wafer from the wafer cassette for testing, which is easy to cause damage and pollution to the wafer during the wafer pick-and-place process, so the safety of the wafer pick-and-place process and cleanliness put forward higher requirements. At present, researchers have proposed a variety of devices for manually picking and placing wafers to achieve wafer clamping and transfer. However, the relevant wafer pick-and-place device acts on the surface of the wafer, and the above-mentioned pick-and-place device is likely to cause damage to the wafer surface during the contact process with the wafer, or it is easy to introduce particle pollutants on the surface of the wafer to affect the wafer surface. The cleanliness of the circle causes the test error of the subsequent wafer and reduces the accuracy of the test.

In view of this, the embodiment of the present invention expects to provide a hand-held wafer suction device; it can avoid contact with the surface of the wafer, ensure the safety and cleanliness of the wafer during the pick-and-place process, and reduce the test error of subsequent wafers , which improves the test accuracy.

The technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention is achieved as follows: the embodiment of the present invention provides a handheld wafer adsorption device, the handheld wafer adsorption device includes: a hollow mechanical arm, the mechanical arm includes a suction end and a hand-held end , and the cross-section of the mechanical arm gradually increases from the handheld end to the suction end; the negative pressure pipeline arranged inside the mechanical arm extends along the axial direction of the mechanical arm and runs through the mechanical arm arm; a suction groove communicated with the negative pressure pipeline, the suction groove is formed at the suction end of the mechanical arm along the radial direction of the mechanical arm, and is used to absorb the edge of the wafer to fix the wafer.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a hand-held wafer adsorption device; by setting an adsorption tank connected to the negative pressure pipeline at the adsorption end of the mechanical arm, the edge of the wafer can be fixed on the wafer W when it is adsorbed and transferred. In the adsorption tank to achieve the purpose of fixing the wafer, in this process, the surface contact between the adsorption device and the wafer is avoided, the wafer will not be damaged, and particle pollutants will not be introduced to the wafer surface, ensuring wafer pick-and-place The safety and cleanliness of the process improves the accuracy of subsequent wafer testing.

1: The first pick and place device

2: The second pick-and-place device

3: Handheld wafer adsorption device

11: Tweezers head

21: Mechanical arm

22: Vacuum suction port

31: Mechanical arm

32: Negative pressure pipeline

33: Adsorption tank

34: First Transition Department

35: Second Transition Department

36: buffer pad

311: adsorption end

312: handheld terminal

321: Gradient segment

322: Straight line segment

323: contraction segment

W: Wafer

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a first pick-and-place device for wafers in a conventional technical solution provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a second pick-and-place device for wafers in a conventional technical solution provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is A three-dimensional schematic diagram of a handheld wafer adsorption device provided by an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a side view of a handheld wafer adsorption device provided by an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a structural composition of a negative pressure pipeline provided by an embodiment of the present invention schematic diagram; Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of the length of the adsorption tank provided by the embodiment of the present invention.

In order for the Ligui Examiner to understand the technical features, 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. To be disassembled, connected, or integrated; may be mechanically or electrically connected; may be directly connected, It can also be indirectly connected through an intermediary, and it can be the internal communication of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. 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 drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 1, it shows a kind of wafer first pick-and-place device 1 in the conventional technical scheme, and this first pick-and-place device 1 mainly utilizes tweezers head 11 front portion to stretch into wafer (not shown in the figure) edge, The clamping and transferring of the wafer is realized by the force exerted by the tweezers head 11 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , it shows another second pick-and-place device 2 for wafers in the conventional technical solution. The second pick-and-place device 2 is mainly provided with three vacuum suction ports 22 respectively connected to negative pressure sources at the front end of the mechanical arm 21. , and the three vacuum suction ports 22 are located on the same horizontal plane, so as to realize clamping and transferring of the wafer W by sucking the surface of the wafer W.

However, for the first pick-and-place device 1, during the clamping process of the wafer W, the front part of the tweezers head 11 will protrude into the edge of the wafer W, and in this case, it is easy to cause damage to the edge of the wafer W; As for the second pick-and-place device 2, during the clamping process of the wafer W, the second pick-and-place device 2 will adsorb the surface of the wafer W, and in this case, it is easy to introduce particle contamination to the surface of the wafer W. objects, thereby affecting the cleanliness of the surface of the wafer W, and finally causing errors in the test results of the wafer W.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the material of the wafer W is not limited, and it may be a common wafer such as a silicon wafer, a germanium wafer, or a silicon germanium wafer. Based on the above description, referring to FIG. 3 , it shows a handheld wafer adsorption device 3 provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The handheld wafer adsorption device 3 may specifically include: A hollow mechanical arm 31, the mechanical arm 31 includes a suction end 311 and a hand-held end 312, and the cross-section of the mechanical arm 31 gradually increases from the hand-held end 312 to the suction end 311; Negative pressure pipeline 32, the negative pressure pipeline 32 extends along the axial direction of the mechanical arm 31 and runs through the mechanical arm 31; the adsorption groove 33 communicated with the negative pressure pipeline 32, the adsorption groove 33 extends along the mechanical arm The radial direction of 31 is formed on the suction end 311 of the mechanical arm 31 for suctioning the edge of the wafer W to fix the wafer W.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, it is specified that the axial direction of the mechanical arm 31 refers to the direction along the length of the mechanical arm 31, that is to say, the direction from the hand-held end 312 to the suction end 311 is the axis of the mechanical arm 31. The radial direction refers to the direction along the cross-section of the mechanical arm 31; optionally, the radial direction selects a direction with a larger area among all directions of the cross-section as the radial direction. On the other hand, the axial direction and radial direction of the mechanical arm 31 are not used to limit the shape of the mechanical arm 31 to be cylindrical; It may be a three-dimensional element with a cross section similar to a cuboid or a cylinder, which is not further limited in this embodiment of the present invention. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3 , the cross-section of the mechanical arm 31 gradually increases along the axial direction. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 , the outer surface of the mechanical arm 31 has a certain arc along its axial direction, presenting as Trumpet-shaped structure, so that the hand-held end 312 of the mechanical arm 31 is thinner, and the adsorption end 311 provided with the adsorption groove 31 is thicker; The thin hand-held end 312 , the wafer W is adsorbed to the thicker adsorption end 311 of the mechanical arm 31 through the adsorption slot 33 . Moreover, the thicker suction end 311 of the robot arm 31 can increase the contact area between the suction slot 33 and the edge of the wafer W, so as to improve the stability of suction.

Meanwhile, in the embodiment of the present invention, the negative pressure pipeline 32 can be a vacuum channel opened in the mechanical arm 31 , or can be a vacuum pipeline added in the hollow mechanical arm 31 . The front end of the negative pressure pipeline 32 extends to the hand-held end 312 of the mechanical arm 31 and is connected with a vacuum device (not shown in the figure). The pressure pipeline 32 provides vacuum strength so that the wafer W can be adsorbed and fixed under the action of negative pressure; the vacuum device connected to the negative pressure pipeline 32 can be a factory-built vacuum pipeline or a mobile vacuum device.

For the hand-held wafer suction device 3 shown in FIG. 3 , by setting the suction tank 33 communicated with the negative pressure pipeline 32 at the suction end 311 of the mechanical arm 31, the wafer W can be sucked and transferred when the wafer W is sucked and transferred. The edge of W is fixed in the adsorption groove 33 to achieve the purpose of fixing the wafer W. In this process, the contact between the adsorption device 3 and the surface of the wafer W is avoided, and the wafer W will not be damaged and the surface of the wafer W will not be damaged. The introduction of particle pollutants ensures the safety and cleanliness of the wafer W pick-and-place process, and improves the accuracy of subsequent wafer testing.

In addition, the main function of the adsorption groove 33 is to achieve the purpose of absorbing and fixing the wafer W by contacting the edge of the wafer W. Therefore, during the entire adsorption process of the wafer W, the edge of the wafer W can be accommodated in the adsorption groove 33, and The edge of the wafer W is in close contact with the suction tank 33 to ensure the vacuum environment in the negative pressure pipeline 32 .

It can be understood that, in some examples, the suction groove 33 can be formed on the end surface of the suction end of the mechanical arm 31. When the wafer W is suctioned, as shown in FIG. In other examples, the suction groove 33 may also be formed on the side of the robot arm 31 , and when the wafer W is sucked, the surface of the wafer W is perpendicular to the axial direction of the robot arm 31 . In addition, the adsorption groove 33 and the mechanical arm 31 can be an integrated structure, that is to say, the adsorption groove 33 is a groove opened on the end surface of the adsorption end of the mechanical arm 31; and in addition, the adsorption groove 33 can also be The independent components are connected and fixed with the mechanical arm 31 by means of mechanical coupling.

Simultaneously, the length of suction groove 33 can be equated with the end face radial length of mechanical arm 31 suction end 311, also can be slightly less than the end face radial length of mechanical arm 31 suction end 311, like this, by design The suction tank 33 of the same type can make the handheld wafer suction device 3 suitable for suctioning wafers W of different sizes.

For the handheld wafer suction device 3 shown in FIG. 3 , in some examples, the end of the negative pressure pipeline 32 communicating with the suction tank 33 has a cross section matching the shape of the suction tank 33 . Specifically, the shape of the front end of the negative pressure pipeline 32 is consistent with the shape of the adsorption groove 33, and has the same length and width as the adsorption groove 33. Then offer hollow negative pressure pipeline 32 in mechanical arm 31 along suction groove 33, the cross-section of negative pressure pipeline 32 can be reduced gradually then keep constant, so that the cross-section of negative pressure pipeline 32 front ends and The cross section of the adsorption groove 33 remains consistent. Further, as shown in FIG. 5 , the negative pressure pipeline 32 includes a gradual change section 321 , a straight line section 322 and a contraction section 323 , wherein the gradual change section 321 is connected between the adsorption groove 33 and the straight line section 322 for It is matched and communicated with the suction groove 33; the contraction section 323 is arranged on the hand-held end 312 of the mechanical arm 31, and is used for connecting a vacuum device (not shown in the figure).

It can be understood that keeping the shape of the front end of the negative pressure pipeline 32 consistent with the cross section of the adsorption tank 33 can make the negative pressure pipeline 32 provide sufficient vacuum strength for each position of the adsorption tank 33, so that the wafer W can be tightly adsorbed in the adsorption groove 33 to improve the stability of adsorption.

Further, since the suction tank 33 is in contact with the edge of the wafer W, its contact area is small, which may cause the wafer W to fall off. Therefore, the negative pressure pipeline 32 needs to provide a strong vacuum strength to ensure that the wafer W Stability of W adsorption; optionally, the vacuum strength of the negative pressure pipeline 32 is 1.5-1.8 times the weight of the wafer W.

For the handheld wafer suction device 3 shown in FIG. 3 , in some examples, the length of the suction groove 33 along the radial direction of the mechanical arm 31 is arc-shaped. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention Among them, arc shape does not mean that the groove shape of the adsorption groove 33 is arc shape, but refers to the shape formed by the length of the adsorption groove 33 is arc shape, specifically the length indicated by the dotted line arrow in Fig. 6 Partially shown, that is, the suction slot 33 is gradually recessed toward the robot arm 31 from both ends to the center, so as to form an arc that is consistent with or approximate to the edge of the wafer W.

For the above example, in some specific implementation manners, the arc length of the adsorption groove 33 is 5-10 cm.

It can be understood that, in order to make the edge of the wafer W adhere to the adsorption groove 33 , the contact area between the edge of the wafer W and the adsorption groove 33 is increased to improve the stability of the adsorption. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the length of the adsorption groove 33 is set in an arc shape and the arc length of the arc is 5-10 cm. This length can not only ensure the contact area between the edge of the wafer W and the adsorption groove 33, but also It can also effectively avoid the notch (Notch) position of the wafer W, thereby avoiding damage or contamination to the notch of the wafer W during the adsorption process. In addition, optionally, the arc of the length of the adsorption tank 33 is consistent with the curvature of the wafer W, and the curvature of the front end of the negative pressure pipeline 32 is also consistent with the arc of the length of the adsorption tank 33; The arc of the circle W, the arc of the negative pressure pipeline 32 and the length of the adsorption groove 33 are consistent, and the negative pressure pipeline 32 provides sufficient adsorption strength for the edge of the wafer W, while the adsorption groove 33 forms a close contact with the edge of the wafer W, The stability of adsorption is greatly improved.

For the above example, in some specific implementation manners, the width of the adsorption groove 33 is 500-600 μm. Understandably, in order to match the thickness of the wafer W and the shape of the edge of the wafer W and form a good contact with the wafer W, the width of the adsorption groove 33 is 500-600 μm. In order to match and communicate with the adsorption groove 33, the negative pressure pipeline The thickness at the front end of 32 may also be set at 500-600 μm.

For the hand-held wafer suction device 3 shown in FIG. 3 , in some examples, a first transition portion 34 and a second transition portion 35 extend from the edge of the suction slot 33 on both sides, and the first transition portion 34 and the second transition portion 35 Should A preset angle θ is formed between the second transition portions 35 . Wherein, as shown in FIG. 4 , the preset included angle θ formed between the first transition portion and the second transition portion is 30°˜60°.

For the above examples, in some specific implementations, the distance L between the groove edge of the first transition portion 34 away from the adsorption groove 33 and the groove edge of the second transition portion 35 away from the adsorption groove 33 is 5-10 mm .

Specifically, the first transition portion 34 and the second transition portion 35 can be manufactured as an integrated structure with the mechanical arm 31, that is, the first transition portion 34 and the second transition portion 35 are a part of the mechanical arm 31, and are controlled by the mechanical arm 31. The suction end 311 is formed; of course, the first transition portion 34 and the second transition portion 35 may also be two components respectively fixed to the suction end 311 of the mechanical arm 31 . Further, the first transition portion 34 and the second transition portion 35 are distributed symmetrically on both sides of the adsorption groove 33, and the distance between the groove edge of the first transition portion 34 and the groove edge of the second transition portion 35 is greater than that of the adsorption groove 33 to form a certain angle, so as to form a V-shaped groove around the suction groove 33, and the V-shaped groove provides guidance for the pick-up and placement of the wafer W. Specifically, the first transition portion 34 and the second transition portion 35 The preset included angle θ formed between them is set to 30°~60°, which can narrow the limited range so that the wafer W can be slid into the adsorption groove 33 for adsorption operation, and can avoid the artificial introduction of the wafer W during the adsorption process. Particle contamination and damage to the surface of the wafer W. Secondly, the distance between the edge of the first transition portion 34 away from the adsorption groove 33 and the edge of the second transition portion 35 away from the adsorption groove 33 is 5-10mm, and the angle formed between the first transition portion 34 and the second transition portion 35 It is 30°~60°, which is convenient for technicians to observe while avoiding contamination and surface damage of the wafer W.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the material of the mechanical arm 31, the adsorption groove 33, the first transition part 34 and the second transition part 35 can be selected from special engineering plastics, such as polyphenylene sulfide (Polyphenylene Sulfide, PPS) , polyimide (Polyimide, PI), polyetheretherketone (Polyetheretherketone, PEEK) in one or more, this is because special engineering plastics have excellent Good mechanical properties and heat resistance, easy to process and manufacture as parts in the above-mentioned handheld wafer adsorption device 3, and have wear resistance and corrosion resistance at the same time, can reduce the damage of the above-mentioned handheld wafer adsorption device 3 to the edge of the wafer W and The probability of introducing particulate matter on the wafer surface.

For the handheld wafer adsorption device 3 shown in Figure 3, the handheld wafer adsorption device 3 also includes a buffer pad 36, which is arranged at the groove edges on both sides of the suction groove 33 to support the wafer The edge of the W.

It should be noted that the buffer pad 36 is suitable for wafers W with chamfers of different shapes (for example, trapezoidal chamfering and circular arc chamfering). In addition, the material of the buffer pad 36 can be polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), because the mechanical properties of polytetrafluoroethylene are relatively soft and have a small friction coefficient, which can provide sufficient support for the edge of the wafer W. At the same time, particle contamination generated by friction with the edge of the wafer W is avoided.

It should be noted that: the technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present invention can be combined arbitrarily if there is no conflict.

It should be noted that: the technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present invention can be combined arbitrarily if there is no conflict. 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.

3: Handheld wafer adsorption device 31: Mechanical arm 32: Negative pressure pipeline 33: Adsorption tank 34: First Transition Department 35: Second Transition Department 36: Cushion pad 311: adsorption end 312: handheld terminal

Claims (8)

A hand-held wafer adsorption device, the handheld wafer adsorption device includes: a hollow mechanical arm, the mechanical arm includes a suction end and a hand-held end, and the cross-section of the mechanical arm gradually increases from the hand-held end to the adsorption end Large; the negative pressure pipeline arranged inside the mechanical arm, the negative pressure pipeline extends along the axial direction of the mechanical arm and runs through the mechanical arm; the adsorption groove communicated with the negative pressure pipeline, the adsorption groove along the The radial direction of the mechanical arm is formed on the suction end of the mechanical arm, which is used to absorb the edge of the wafer to fix the wafer; wherein, the groove edges on both sides of the suction groove are extended with a first transition portion and a second transition portion, And the preset angle θ formed between the first transition portion and the second transition portion is 30°~60°; wherein, the preset angle formed between the first transition portion and the second transition portion makes the first transition portion A transition portion and the second transition portion form a V-shaped groove around the suction groove, providing guidance for picking and placing the wafer. The hand-held wafer suction device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end of the negative pressure pipeline communicating with the suction tank has a cross-section matching the shape of the suction tank. The handheld wafer suction device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the negative pressure pipeline includes a gradual change section, a straight line section and a contraction section; wherein the gradual change section is connected between the suction tank and the straight line section for It is matched and communicated with the adsorption slot; the contraction section is set at the hand-held end of the mechanical arm, and is used for connecting the vacuum device. The handheld wafer suction device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the length of the suction groove along the radial direction of the robot arm is arc-shaped. The handheld wafer adsorption device as described in Claim 4, wherein the arc length of the adsorption groove is 5-10 cm. The hand-held wafer adsorption device according to claim 1, wherein the width of the adsorption groove is 500-600 μm. The hand-held wafer suction device according to claim 1, wherein the distance L between the groove edge of the first transition part away from the adsorption groove and the groove edge of the second transition part away from the adsorption groove is 5-10 mm . The handheld wafer suction device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the handheld wafer suction device further includes buffer pads, and the buffer pads are arranged at the groove edges on both sides of the suction groove.

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