TWM635048U - Wafer flipping device - Google Patents

Abstract

The wafer flipping device of the present invention includes a flipping mechanism and a wafer carrier; the wafer carrier is arranged on the flipping mechanism, can be turned over by being driven by the flipping mechanism, and includes a carrying portion and an airflow channel; the carrying portion includes a carrying surface; the airflow path is formed on the wafer carrier The interior of the tool includes an air inlet, an air outlet, and an air guide section; the air inlet and the air outlet are connected to the outside of the wafer carrier, and the air outlet is formed on the bearing surface of the bearing part; the air guide section is connected to the air inlet and the air outlet, Directly connected to the air outlet, the air guide section is surrounded by the inner wall and outer wall of the bearing part. The diameter of the inner wall is the same, and the diameter of the outer wall gradually expands; this creation uses the wafer carrier to carry the wafer in a non-contact manner During the process, the chance of the surface of the wafer being scratched can be reduced, and the damage of the wafer can be reduced, thereby improving the yield rate of the finished wafer.

Description

Wafer flipping device

The invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing process device, especially a wafer flipping device.

With the advancement of science and technology, the production technology of semiconductor wafers has also been continuously developed; nowadays, the wafer manufacturing technology is required to be able to process the front and back sides of the wafer, so in the process of manufacturing wafers, it is necessary to process the wafer Flip over so that the wafer can be processed with the unprocessed side upside down.

The existing way of turning the wafer over is mostly through the vacuum chuck arm, which is provided with a plurality of airflow channels externally connected to the air extraction equipment, and these air flow channels form a plurality of suction ports on the surface of the vacuum chuck arm; by Turn on the suction device, these adsorption ports will generate a vacuum negative pressure effect, so that the wafer is adsorbed on it, and then the vacuum chuck arm is turned over, so as to achieve the effect of flipping.

However, in the existing method of flipping the wafer through the vacuum chuck arm, since the wafer is adsorbed to the vacuum chuck arm, the wafer will directly contact the vacuum chuck arm. During the flipping process, as long as the wafer is relatively vacuum The slight movement of the suction cup arm may scratch the surface of the wafer. Especially for thinner wafers, the vacuum suction cup arm is more likely to damage the wafer, resulting in an increase in the defective rate of the finished wafer. It can be seen that, The existing method of flipping the wafer through the vacuum chuck arm needs to be improved.

In order to solve the problem that the existing way of turning over the wafer through the vacuum chuck arm is easy to cause damage to the wafer, the purpose of this creation is to provide a non-contact way to turn the wafer over, reducing the number of times the wafer is turned over. Damaged wafer flipping device during the process.

The wafer flipping device proposed by this invention to solve technical problems includes: a turning mechanism; A wafer carrier, which is arranged on the turning mechanism, and includes at least one carrier portion and an air flow channel; The at least one carrying portion is used to carry a wafer, and each of the carrying portions includes a carrying surface; The airflow channel is formed inside the wafer carrier, and includes an air inlet, at least one air outlet, and at least one air guide section; the air inlet communicates with the outside of the wafer carrier; the at least one air outlet is annular, And formed on the carrying surface of the at least one carrying portion to communicate with the outside of the wafer carrier; the at least one air guide section is annular, communicates with the air inlet and the at least one air outlet, and directly connects with the at least one air outlet; At least one air-guiding section is surrounded by an inner peripheral wall and an outer peripheral wall of the at least one bearing part, the inner peripheral wall has the same diameter, and the diameter of the outer peripheral wall gradually expands toward the air outlet; and Wherein, the wafer carrier can be turned over by being driven by the turning mechanism; the carrying surface of the at least one carrying portion can face different directions as the wafer carrier turns over.

Said wafer flipping device, wherein said wafer carrier includes a plurality of said bearing parts, and said plurality of bearing parts are arranged in a ring shape; said air flow channel includes a plurality of said air outlets and a plurality of said air guides Each of the air outlets is formed on the bearing surface of a corresponding one of the bearing parts, and each of the air guide segments is directly connected to the corresponding one of the air outlets.

The wafer flipping device, wherein the wafer carrier includes a body, the body has a ring structure, and the plurality of carrying parts are arranged in a ring shape protruding from a surface of the body, each of the carrying parts The bearing surface is located at the end of the bearing part away from the body.

The wafer flipping device includes a plurality of limiting components, each of which is arranged on the edge of the wafer carrier, and includes a limiting block, and the limiting blocks of the plurality of limiting components are annular. arranged and surround the carrying portion of the wafer carrier.

The wafer turning device includes two wafer carriers, the two wafer carriers are symmetrically arranged on the turning mechanism, and the carrying surfaces of the carrying parts of the two wafer carriers face opposite directions respectively.

The wafer flipping device includes a plurality of limiting components, each of which is located on the edge of the two wafer carriers, and includes a first limiting block and a second limiting block, the plurality of The first limiting blocks of the limiting components are arranged in a circular arrangement and surround the carrying portion of one of the wafer carriers, and the second limiting blocks of the plurality of limiting components are arranged in a circular arrangement and surround the other said The carrier part of the wafer carrier.

The wafer flipping device, wherein each of the limiting components includes an adjusting rod and a driving unit; the first limiting block and the second limiting block are respectively arranged on the top and bottom of the adjusting rod; The adjusting rod is combined with the driving unit, and can be driven by the driving unit to move away from or close to the two wafer carriers.

The wafer inversion device, wherein the inversion mechanism includes an inversion shaft that can be driven to rotate and combined with the wafer carrier; the wafer inversion device includes two photosensors and A light-blocking element is arranged on the turning shaft, and can pass through the two light sensors sequentially with the turning of the turning shaft, and be sensed by the two light sensors.

The effect of the technical means of this creation can be improved: the wafer turning device of this creation, compared with the existing way of turning over with a vacuum chuck arm, during the turning process, because the wafer carrier is carried by a non-contact method The wafer can reduce the probability of the surface of the wafer being scratched, thereby reducing the damage of the wafer and achieving the effect of improving the yield rate of the finished wafer.

In order to understand the technical characteristics and practical effects of this creation in detail, and to realize it according to the content of the creation, the preferred embodiment shown in the figure is further described in detail as follows:

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the wafer inversion device of the preferred embodiment of the invention includes an inversion mechanism 10 , a bonding block 20 and a carrying group 3 .

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the turning mechanism 10 includes a turning shaft 12, which can be driven to rotate. Specifically, in this preferred embodiment, the turning mechanism 10 includes a motor and a The transmission mechanism for transmission between the motor and the turning shaft 12 enables the turning shaft 12 to be driven by the motor to rotate. In fact, as long as the turning shaft 12 can be driven to rotate, the turning mechanism 10 can adopt different types. motor, or even in the form of a cylinder.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the combination block 20 is coupled to the turning shaft 12 through a screw lock, and the bearing group 3 is combined to the combining block 20, so as to be arranged on the turning shaft 12, as shown in Figures 1 and 11 As shown, when the turning shaft 12 is driven to rotate, the combining block 20 and the carrying group 3 will turn over accordingly.

As shown in Figure 3, the carrier group 3 includes two wafer carriers 30, as shown in Figures 2 to 4, the two wafer carriers 30 are symmetrical and facing in opposite directions, and the two wafer carriers 30 pass through the screw lock combined with the bonding block 20 in a manner; each of the wafer carriers 30 is used to carry a wafer W in a non-contact manner, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , each of the wafer carriers 30 includes a body 31, a plurality of The bearing part 32 and an air flow passage 33; the body 31 has a ring structure, and a through opening 311 is formed in the center; the plurality of bearing parts 32 are protruded from a surface of the body 31, and the plurality of bearing parts 32 are arranged in a ring shape Distribution, each of the bearing parts 32 includes a bearing surface 321, the bearing surface 321 is located at the end of the bearing part 32 away from the body 31, and the bearing surfaces 321 of the plurality of bearing parts 32 face the same surface as the body 31 Direction; as shown in FIG. 4 , the carrying surfaces 321 of the plurality of carrying portions 32 of one of the wafer carriers 30 and the carrying surfaces 321 of the plurality of carrying portions 32 of the other wafer carrier 30 face opposite directions respectively.

As shown in Figure 4, Figure 5, Figure 9 and Figure 10, the airflow channel 33 includes an air inlet 331, an air inlet section 332, an annular section 333, a plurality of bearing sections 334, and a plurality of air guide sections 335 and a plurality of air outlets 336; as shown in Figure 4, the air inlet 331 is formed on the edge of the body 31 and communicates with the outside of the wafer carrier 30, specifically, the air inlet 331 will be connected by a joint An air intake pipe 90, and communicates with an air source through the air intake pipe 90, whereby gas can pass through the air intake pipe 90 from the air source, and enter the air flow channel 33 from the air inlet 331 Middle; as shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5, the air inlet section 332 extends from the air inlet 331 toward the center of the body 31, and connects the air inlet 331 and the annular section 333; as shown in Figure 5, Figure 7 and As shown in FIG. 8, the annular section 333 is annular and communicates with the plurality of bearing sections 334; as shown in FIGS. Each of the carrying sections 334 extends from the annular section 333 into the interior of the corresponding carrying portion 32 , and connects to the corresponding one of the air guiding sections 335 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , each of the air outlets 336 is annular, formed on the carrying surface 321 of one of the corresponding carrying parts 32 and communicated with the outside of the wafer carrier 30 , as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 , each The air guiding section 335 is directly connected to one of the corresponding air outlets 336, and each of the air guiding sections 335 is annular, wherein, as shown in FIG. An inner peripheral wall 322 and an outer peripheral wall 323 are formed around it, the diameter of the inner peripheral wall 322 remains consistent, and the outer peripheral wall 323 gradually moves away from the inner peripheral wall 322 toward the air outlet 336, so the diameter of the outer peripheral wall 323 faces all The air outlet 336 is gradually increased.

As shown in Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, in this preferred embodiment, the carrier group 3 also includes a plurality of limiting components 34, and each of the limiting components 34 is located on the two wafer carriers 30, and includes two limit blocks, an adjustment rod 342 and a drive unit 343; as shown in Figure 4, the two limit blocks are respectively a first limit block 341A and a second limit block 341B, As shown in FIG. 3 , the first limiting blocks 341A of the plurality of limiting components 34 are arranged in an annular manner and surround the plurality of carrying parts 32 of one of the wafer carriers 30 ; the plurality of limiting components 34 The second limiting block 341B is arranged in a circular arrangement and surrounds the plurality of bearing parts 32 of another wafer carrier 30; the first limiting block 341A and the second limiting block 341B of the plurality of limiting components 34 are respectively Corresponding to the two wafer carriers 30, the first limiting block 341A and the second limiting block 341B of the plurality of limiting components 34 are used to limit the wafer W carried by the two wafer carriers 30; Each of the first limiting block 341A and the second limiting block 341B of the limiting component 34 is provided with a protrusion extending toward the center of the wafer carrier 30 as an insurance mechanism for preventing the wafer W from falling.

As shown in FIG. 4, in each of the limiting components 34, the adjusting rod 342 extends upright and has a long shape. The first limiting block 341A and the second limiting block 341B are respectively arranged on The top and the bottom of the adjustment rod 342; as shown in Figure 6, the drive unit 343 is located inside the wafer carrier 30, in this preferred embodiment, the drive unit 343 is in the form of a cylinder, the adjustment The rod 342 is combined with a piston rod protruding from the wafer carrier 30 of the driving unit 343, and can be driven by the piston rod to move away from or approach the wafer carrier 30, thereby, the plurality of position-limiting components 34 The positions of the first limit block 341A and the second limit block 341B can be adjusted according to the size of the wafer W carried by the two wafer carriers 30; in fact, as long as the driving unit 343 of each limit assembly 34 can drive The adjustment rod 342 is far away from or close to the wafer carrier 30, thereby adjusting the positions of the first limit block 341A and the second limit block 341B, and the drive unit 343 can use cylinders with different power sources such as air pressure and hydraulic pressure, or The drive unit 343 can also be in the form of a motor with a transmission mechanism.

As shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 11, the wafer inverting device also includes two photosensors 40 and a light blocking member 50, the two photosensors 40 will be fixed beside the inverting mechanism 10, the resisting The light member 50 is combined with the turning shaft 12, and the light blocking member 50 can pass through the two light sensors 40 in sequence as the turning shaft 12 rotates, and is sensed by the two light sensors 40, by The two light sensors 40 detect the light-blocking member 50, and can respectively obtain two positions of the carrying group 3, which is about to turn over 180° and turn upside down, and about to turn over 360° and return to its original position, thereby controlling the turning mechanism 10 The motor stops working and no longer drives the turning shaft 12 to rotate.

The wafer flipping device of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, its use method is described below with one of the wafer carriers 30 of the carrier group 3; first start an air source connected to the air flow channel 33, as shown in Figure 4 and Figure 4. 5. As shown in Figures 8 to 10, after the gas enters the airflow channel 33 from the gas source through the air inlet pipe 90, it flows through the air inlet 331, the air inlet section 332, the annular section 333, the airflow channel 33 in sequence. A plurality of carrier sections 334, the plurality of air guide segments 335 flow out from the plurality of gas outlets 336; then a wafer W is placed on the plurality of carrier parts 32 to cover the plurality of gas outlets 336; and from The gas flowing out of the gas flow channel 33 through the plurality of gas outlets 336 will generate a thrust on the wafer W, causing a small gap between the wafer W and the plurality of carrier parts 32, and through the plurality of gas guides With the design of section 335, the gas flowing out from the plurality of gas outlets 336 will quickly flow out of the wafer W from the tiny gap between the wafer W and the plurality of carrier parts 32, and leave the There is a small gap between the wafer W and the plurality of carrying parts 32 .

According to Bernoulli's law (Bernoulli principle), the faster the gas flow rate, the lower the pressure. Referring to FIG. In the tiny gaps, the gas flow rate is relatively fast and the pressure is low, while the upper part of the wafer W is the normal external environment, the gas flow rate is relatively slow and the pressure is high, so that at the plurality of bearing parts 32, The upper and lower sides of the wafer W have a pressure difference due to different gas flow rates, and the wafer W is pressed against the plurality of bearing parts 32 by the thrust formed by the pressure difference. Under the action of the thrust generated by the gas flowing out of the gas port 336 on the wafer W, the wafer W can be suspended above the plurality of carrying parts 32, so that the wafer carrier 30 can carry the wafer W in a non-contact manner. The effect of the circle W; and because the thrust formed by the above-mentioned pressure difference is greater than the weight of the wafer W, when the wafer carrier 30 is turned over and the carrying surfaces 321 of the plurality of carrying parts 32 face downward, the above-mentioned pressure The thrust formed by the difference can offset the weight of the wafer W, so that the wafer W is still carried by the wafer carrier 30 .

As shown in Figure 11, when the wafer W is carried by the wafer carrier 30, the turning mechanism 10 is started to make the turning shaft 12 start to rotate, and drive the carrying group 3 to turn over, according to this preferred embodiment In other words, the carrying group 3 includes the two wafer carriers 30, each of the wafer carriers 30 can carry a corresponding wafer W, and when flipping, two wafers W can be turned over at one time to complete the flip. Afterwards, the flipped wafer W is taken away from the carrying group 3 and moved to other places for further processing.

During the flipping process, the first limiting block 341A and the second limiting block 341B of the plurality of limiting components 34 can be used to stop the edge of the wafer W and prevent the wafer W from sliding sideways. And away from the original position, the plurality of air outlets 336 are no longer covered, preventing the wafer carrier 30 from continuing to carry the wafer W. At the same time, because the first limiting block 341A and the second limiting block 341B are Blocking the edge of the wafer W can avoid touching the surface of the wafer W as much as possible, and prevent the surface of the wafer W from being scratched and damaged.

The wafer flipping device of the present invention, compared with the existing vacuum chuck arm flipping method, during the flipping process, since the wafer carrier 30 carries the wafer in a non-contact manner, it can reduce the scratches on the surface of the wafer The probability of wafer damage is reduced, thereby improving the yield rate of finished wafers.

In this preferred embodiment, the plurality of carrying parts 32 are used together with the plurality of air guiding sections 335 and the plurality of air outlets 336 of the airflow channel 33 to realize that the wafer carrier 30 carries wafers in a non-contact manner. , but in fact, as long as the air flow can quickly flow out between the wafer and the carrying part 32, a pressure difference is generated, so that the wafer is suspended at the carrying part 32 and carried by the wafer carrier 30 in a non-contact manner , the wafer carrier 30 can also adopt the body 31 with a circular structure, and use a single carrier portion 32, a single air guide section 335 and a single air outlet 336 with a larger size; The advantage of the preferred embodiment is that the plurality of supporting parts 32 arranged in a ring, the plurality of air guide sections 335, and the plurality of air outlets 336 can carry the wafer more comprehensively and evenly, and improve the efficiency of the wafer in the flipping process. in the stability.

In addition, the wafer flipping device of the present invention actually only needs to include a single wafer carrier 30 to achieve the effect of carrying a wafer in a non-contact manner and performing flipping. A single wafer carrier 30 Then it can be matched with the limiting assembly 34 with a single limiting block; the advantage of this preferred embodiment is that, including the two wafer carriers 30, it can simultaneously carry two wafers in a non-contact manner and carry out Turn over to improve work efficiency.

The above is only a preferred embodiment of this creation, and does not limit this creation in any form. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can use this creation without departing from the scope of the technical solutions proposed in this creation. Creation of equivalent embodiments with partial changes or modifications made to the disclosed technical content, and without departing from the content of the technical solution of the creation, all still fall within the scope of the technical solution of the creation.

10: Flip mechanism 12: Flip axis 20: Combine Blocks 3: Bearer group 30:Wafer carrier 31: Ontology 311: port 32: Carrying part 321: bearing surface 322: inner peripheral wall 323: peripheral wall 33: Airflow channel 331: air inlet 332: Intake section 333: ring segment 334: Bearing section 335: air guide section 336: Air outlet 34: limit component 341A: the first limit block 341B: The second limit block 342: Adjustment lever 343: drive unit 40: Light sensor 50: light blocking piece 90: intake pipe W: Wafer

Fig. 1 is the perspective view of the appearance of the preferred embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 is an exploded view of components of a preferred embodiment of the invention. Fig. 3 is the perspective view of the appearance of the carrying group of the preferred embodiment of the invention. Fig. 4 is the side sectional view of the carrying group of the preferred embodiment of the invention. Fig. 5 is the top sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the invention along the A-A section line of Fig. 4 . Fig. 6 is the top sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the invention along the B-B section line of Fig. 4 . Fig. 7 is another side sectional view of the carrying group of the preferred embodiment of the invention. Fig. 8 is the front sectional view of the carrying group of the preferred embodiment of the invention. FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 8 . FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 9 . Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of the action of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

10: Flip mechanism

12: Flip axis

20: Combine Blocks

3: Bearer group

30:Wafer carrier

40: Light sensor

50: light blocking piece

W: Wafer

Claims (8)

A wafer turning device, which includes: a turning mechanism; A wafer carrier, which is arranged on the turning mechanism, and includes at least one carrier portion and an air flow channel; The at least one carrying portion is used to carry a wafer, and each of the carrying portions includes a carrying surface; The airflow channel is formed inside the wafer carrier, and includes an air inlet, at least one air outlet, and at least one air guide section; the air inlet communicates with the outside of the wafer carrier; the at least one air outlet is annular, And formed on the carrying surface of the at least one carrying portion to communicate with the outside of the wafer carrier; the at least one air guide section is annular, communicates with the air inlet and the at least one air outlet, and directly connects with the at least one air outlet; At least one air-guiding section is surrounded by an inner peripheral wall and an outer peripheral wall of the at least one bearing part, the inner peripheral wall has the same diameter, and the diameter of the outer peripheral wall gradually expands toward the air outlet; and Wherein, the wafer carrier can be turned over by being driven by the turning mechanism; the carrying surface of the at least one carrying portion can face different directions as the wafer carrier turns over. The wafer flipping device as described in claim 1, wherein the wafer carrier includes a plurality of the carrying parts, and the plurality of carrying parts are arranged in a ring; the air flow channel includes a plurality of the air outlets and a plurality of In the air guiding section, each of the air outlets is formed on the bearing surface of the corresponding one of the bearing parts, and each of the air guiding sections is directly connected to the corresponding one of the air outlets. The wafer flipping device as described in Claim 2, wherein the wafer carrier includes a body, the body has a ring structure, and the plurality of carrying parts are protruded from a surface of the body and arranged in a ring, The carrying surface of each carrying portion is located at an end of the carrying portion away from the main body. The wafer flipping device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, which includes a plurality of limiting components, each of which is arranged on the edge of the wafer carrier, and includes a limiting block, the plurality of The limiting blocks of the limiting component are arranged in a ring and surround the carrying portion of the wafer carrier. The wafer inverting device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, which includes two wafer carriers, the two wafer carriers are symmetrically arranged on the inverting mechanism, and the carrying capacity of the two wafer carriers The bearing surfaces of the parts respectively face in opposite directions. The wafer flipping device as described in claim 5, which includes a plurality of limiting components, each of which is arranged on the edge of the two wafer carriers, and includes a first limiting block and a second limiting block , the first limit blocks of the plurality of limit components are arranged in a ring and surround the carrying portion of one of the wafer carriers, the second limit blocks of the plurality of limit components are arranged in a ring and distributed around Another carrying portion of the wafer carrier. The wafer flipping device as described in claim 6, wherein each of the limiting components includes an adjusting rod and a driving unit; the first limiting block and the second limiting block are respectively arranged on the adjusting rod Top and bottom; the adjusting rod is combined with the drive unit, and can be driven by the drive unit to move away from or close to the two wafer carriers. The wafer inversion device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the inversion mechanism includes an inversion shaft that can be driven to rotate and combined with the wafer carrier; the wafer The reversing device includes two photosensors and a light-blocking member. The light-blocking member is arranged on the reversing shaft, and can pass through the two photosensors sequentially as the reversing shaft rotates, and is captured by the two photosensors. sensed.

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