WO2013000428A1

WO2013000428A1 - A wafer holding device using a pusher rod drawn by strings and springs

Info

Publication number: WO2013000428A1
Application number: PCT/CN2012/077798
Authority: WO
Inventors: 朱煜; 杨开明; 李鑫; 汪劲松; 张鸣; 徐登峰; 穆海华; 尹文生; 胡金春; 崔乐卿; 余东东
Original assignee: 清华大学
Priority date: 2011-06-28
Filing date: 2012-06-28
Publication date: 2013-01-03
Also published as: CN102709223B; CN102709223A

Abstract

A wafer holding device using a pusher rod drawn by strings and springs is provided. The device comprises a tray, four bottom supporting assemblies，two side supporting modules, and a string stretched and shortened holding module. The string stretched and shortened holding module comprises a motor, strings, a pusher rod, two moving clips, two stop blocks and two spring components. The pusher rod drawn by strings and springs is moved along the X-axis by the motor and the spring components, and the wafer is held between the two side supporting modules and the two moving clips. The pressure in the edge of the wafer is provided by the deformation of the springs to hold the wafer. The holding of the wafers with different diameters is carried out by changing the positions of the bump supporters and adjusting the stop blocks so that the problem that only mono-sized wafers could be transferred by the existing transfer structure is solved. The flexibility of the holding for the wafer by spring components serves as a holding buffer, so that the damage of the wafer caused by the impact of the holding force during the wafer-holding process is avoided.

Description

Putter-type wafer holder device using wire rope spring stretching

Technical field

This invention relates to wafer holding devices in semiconductor manufacturing processes.

Background technique

In the semiconductor manufacturing process, such as wafer cleaning, polishing, etc., there is a large amount of wafer transfer between the cassette-cartridge and the cassette-chamber, thus designing a safe and effective wafer transfer device. It is one of the hot spots in the semiconductor industry research.

The wafer transfer apparatus of the patent US 2006/0192400 A1 is shown in FIG. Four raised supports 126 are secured to the tray 124. The bottom surface of the wafer is in contact with the upper surface of the 126 and is supported by 126. The movable clamp 138 is coupled to the cylinder 130 via a connecting rod 136. The cylinder push lever 136 linearly moves back and forth by executing an external control unit command. The clip 138 is linearly moved back and forth in synchronization with the push rod 136. When the cylinder push lever 136 is moved forward, the wafer W is sandwiched between the tray front end projection 128 and the moving clip front end projection 140 to fix the wafer.

The wafer transfer apparatus of the patents US 7,186, 297B2 is shown in FIG. Four protruding members 10 are fixed on the tray 1. During the transfer, the bottom surface of the wafer W is in contact with the upper surface of the 10, and is supported by the four convex supporting members 10. When the external control unit is commanded, the cylinder push rod 2 is straight forward and backward. Moving, the rod 2 is connected to the clip 8, and the movement of the rod 2 causes the clip 8 to move synchronously. When the rod 2 moves forward, the front end 8a of the clip 8 comes into contact with the edge of the wafer W, and the wafer W is sandwiched between the 8a and the raised member 6 to fix the wafer.

The above method can be applied to wafer transfer in semiconductor manufacturing, but there are some shortcomings.

1 The clip 128, the protruding member 140, and the protruding member 6 are cylindrical. When the wafer is fixed, only the horizontal degree of freedom of the wafer is limited, and the vertical direction of freedom is not limited, so the wafer can only be transported in the horizontal plane;

2 clip 138, push rod 2 is a rigid member, during the process of clamping the wafer, the deviation of the moving distance of the push rod will cause damage to the wafer;

3 The position of the raised supports 126 and 10 on the tray is fixed, so that only a certain range of wafers can be transported, which is limited by the diameter of the wafer.

In view of the above deficiencies, it is necessary to design a wafer transfer apparatus which can be applied to semiconductor manufacturing and can be safely transported in any direction without being limited by the wafer diameter. Summary of the invention

The present invention contemplates a wafer holding apparatus for providing a wafer holding apparatus that is free from wafer size limitations.

The technical scheme of the present invention is as follows:

A pusher type wafer clamping device using a wire rope tensioning device, the device comprising a fixed clamping device and a wire rope stretching clip Hold the device. The fixed clamping device comprises a tray, two side support elements, four raised supports, and eight circular holes. The shape of the tray is Y-shaped, and four raised supports are fixed in the circular holes and symmetrically distributed on both sides of the tray. The side support members are symmetrically arranged at the end position of the tray; the convex support member is cylindrical, and the upper portion of the cylinder is rounded, and the bottom surface of the wafer is in contact with the upper surface of the convex support member, and the wafer is supported by the four convex support members. The eight circular holes are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the tray, and the convex support members are fixed in the circular holes, and are fixed by screwing or bonding. The side support members are cylindrical, and the outer surface thereof is in contact with the outer surface of the wafer. To the purpose of holding the wafer.

The wire rope telescopic clamping device comprises a motor, a wire rope, a limiting device, a spring element, a push rod, a moving clamp, the push rod comprises a rod, a push rod beam, two moving clips, and two moving clips are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the push rod The moving clip is cylindrical, and the bottom of the cylinder is rounded. The outer surface of the cylinder of the moving clip is in contact with the outer edge of the wafer to fix the wafer.

The limiting device is fixed on the tray, and comprises a beam, four screws, two baffles, the beam is fixed on the tray, and has four threaded holes, two first round holes and one second round hole; The threaded hole and the two first circular holes are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the beam along the Y-axis direction, and the four screws are respectively installed in the four threaded holes, and the two baffles are respectively installed in the two first round holes, and the baffles are respectively It can move in the X-axis direction, the push rod passes through the second circular hole, and the push rod can move along the X-axis.

The motor is fixed on the base, and the wire is fixedly connected with the push rod. One end of the two spring elements is fixed on the push rod, and the other end is respectively connected with the two baffles, and the motor drives the wire to move in the negative direction of the X axis, and then the line The rope drives the push rod to move in the negative direction of the X axis; when the wafer is placed on the tray, the motor stops working, and the push rod moves in the positive direction of the X axis under the action of the spring element, and the two moving clips at the front end of the push rod are At the edge contact of the wafer, the spring element is still in compression, and moving the clip under the force of the spring has a compressive effect on the wafer so that the wafer can be fixed between the moving clip and the side support member.

In the device of the invention, the distance between the baffle and the push rod beam can be adjusted by adjusting four screws, and the compression amount of the spring element when the wafer is clamped can be adjusted, so that the wafer clamping time can be changed according to the working condition. thrust. By changing the fixed position of the limiting device on the tray, the wafer holding device of the present invention can be adapted to wafers of different diameters. The spring element is used to make the wafer have flexibility, which acts as a clamping buffer, and avoids wafer damage caused by the impact of the clamping force during the wafer clamping process.

DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a plan view of the patented wafer transfer apparatus;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the tray structure of the apparatus of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the convex support of the device of the present invention;

4 is a schematic view of a device for transporting large diameter dimensions of the device of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic view showing the transmission of a small-diameter wafer by the apparatus of the present invention;

Figure 6 is a plan view of the device cord extension device of the present invention;

Figure 7 is a front elevational view of the device cord retractor of the present invention;

Figure 8 is a side view of the connecting beam of the device of the present invention;

Figure 9 is a front view of the apparatus of the present invention for picking up a wafer; Figure 10 is a state diagram of the device of the present invention after taking a wafer;

Figure 11 is a schematic view showing the position adjustment of the device of the present invention;

Figure 12 is a schematic view showing the position adjustment of the device of the present invention;

Figure 13 is a schematic view showing the position adjustment of the wire rope stretching device of the device of the present invention;

Figure 14 is a schematic view showing the position adjustment of the wire rope stretching device of the device of the present invention;

Figure 15 shows an existing wafer transfer device;

Figure 16 shows an existing wafer transfer device.

In the picture:

100-wafer holding device; 101-tray; 102-support member; 103-bump support; 104-round hole;

200-rope telescopic clamping device; 201-motor; 202-rope; 203-stop device; 204-spring element; 205-push rod; 206-moving clip;

900-wafer;

detailed description

The embodiments of the present invention are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a plan view of a wafer chucking apparatus 100 of the present invention. The wafer holding device includes a fixed holding device 100 and a wire telescopic holding device 200. Figure 2 and Figure 3 are front views of the fixed holding device 100.

The fixed holding device 100 includes a tray 101, two side support members 102, four raised supports 103, and eight circular holes 104. The tray 101 has a Y shape, and four projection supports 103 are fixed in the circular holes 104 and symmetrically distributed on both sides of the tray 101. The side support members 102 are symmetrically disposed at the end positions of the tray 101.

As shown in Fig. 3, the raised support member 103 is cylindrical and the upper portion of the cylinder is rounded to avoid scratching the wafer 900 when it is in contact with the wafer 900. The four raised support upper surfaces 103a are in the same plane. When the wafer is taken, the wafer bottom surface 900a is in contact with the raised support upper surface 103a, and the wafer 900 is supported by the four raised supports 103.

Eight circular holes 104 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the tray 101, three circular holes 104 on each side. The boss support member 103 is fixed in the circular hole 104 and is fixed by screwing or bonding. When the convex support members 103 are disposed in the different circular holes 104, the distance between the convex support members 103 is changed, so that the picking up of the wafers 900 of different diameter sizes can be realized. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of picking up a larger diameter wafer 900, and Figure 5 is a schematic view of picking a smaller diameter wafer 900.

As shown in Figure 2, the side support members 102 are cylindrical. When the wafer 900 is held, the outer surface of the side support member 102 is in contact with the outer surface of the wafer 900 for the purpose of holding the wafer 900.

Figure 6 is a schematic view showing the structure of the wire rope stretching and holding device 200. The apparatus includes a motor 201, a cord 202, a stop 203, a spring element 204, a pusher 205, and a moving clip 206.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the push rod 205. The push rod 205 includes a rod 205a, a push rod beam 205b, and two moving clips 206. The two moving clips 206 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the push rod, so that the two points are in contact with the edge of the wafer 900, and the clamping force can be passed through the crystal. In the center position of the circle 900, the moving clip 206 is cylindrical, and the bottom of the cylinder is rounded to avoid scratching the wafer 900. The cylindrical outer surface of the moving clip 205 is in contact with the outer edge of the wafer 900 for the purpose of securing the wafer 900. The limiting device 203 is fixed on the tray 101. The limiting device 203 includes a beam 2031, four screws 2032, and two baffles 2033. 8 is a side view of the beam 2031. The beam 2031 is fixed to the tray 101, and has four threaded holes 203 la, two first circular holes 2031b, and a second circular hole 2031c. Four threaded holes 2031a and two first circular holes 2031b are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the beam 2031 in the Y-axis direction, four screws 2032 are respectively mounted in the four threaded holes 2031a, and two baffles 2033 are respectively installed in the two In a circular hole 2031b, the baffle 2033 is movable in the X-axis direction. The push rod 205 passes through the second circular hole 203 lb, and the push rod 205 is movable along the X axis.

The motor 201 is fixed to the base 001, and the cord 202 is fixedly coupled to the push rod 205. One end of the two spring members 204 is fixed to the push rod 205, and the other end is connected to the two shutters 2033, respectively. When the wafer 900 is grasped, the motor 201 drives the wire 202 to move in the negative direction of the X-axis, and the wire 202 moves the push rod 205 in the negative direction of the X-axis. Since the four screws 2032 are in contact with the baffle 2033, the baffle is restricted. The movement of 2033 in the negative X direction, and thus the spring element 204 is in a compressed state. When the wafer 900 is placed on the tray 101, it is supported by the four convex supports 103. At this time, the motor 201 stops working, and the push rod 205 moves in the positive direction of the X-axis under the action of the spring member 204, and the front end of the push rod 205 The two moving clips 205b are in contact with the edge of the wafer 900. The spring element 204 is still in a compressed state at this time, and the moving clip 205b under the force of the spring has a pressure on the wafer 900, so that the wafer 900 can be fixed on the moving clip. 205b is intermediate the side support members 102. Fig. 9 is a state diagram of the front-end cable retracting device for holding the wafer 900, and Fig. 10 is a state diagram of the wire retracting device when the wafer 900 is held.

As shown in FIG. 11, after the position fixing device 203 is fixed in position, the distance between the baffle 2033 and the push rod beam 205b can be adjusted by adjusting the four screws 2032, thereby adjusting the pressure of the spring member 204 when the wafer 900 is clamped. Since the amount is reduced, the thrust when the wafer 900 is held can be changed according to the working conditions.

As can be seen from the comparison of Fig. 13 and Fig. 14, the fixed position of the limiting device 203 on the tray 101 can be changed, and the wafer holding device of the present invention can be adapted to the wafer 900 of different diameters. FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing the position of the limiting device 203 when the wafer 900 of the smaller diameter is clamped, and FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing the position of the limiting device 203 when the wafer 900 having a larger diameter is clamped.

Claims

A pusher type wafer holding device for stretching by a wire rope, characterized in that: the wafer holding device (100) comprises a fixed holding device and a wire rope stretching device (200); The apparatus includes a tray (101), two side support members (102), four raised supports (103), and eight circular holes (104). The tray (101) is in the shape of a Y, and the four raised supports (103) are fixed in the circular holes (104) and symmetrically distributed on both sides of the tray. The side support members (102) are symmetrically arranged at the end position of the tray (101); the convex support member (103) is cylindrical, and the upper portion of the cylinder is rounded; the bottom surface of the wafer is in contact with the upper surface of the convex support member, The convex support member (103) supports the wafer; the eight circular holes (104) are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the tray; the convex support member (103) is fixed in the circular hole (104), and is fixed by screwing or bonding. The side support member (102) is cylindrical, and the outer surface thereof is in contact with the outer surface of the wafer to serve the purpose of holding the wafer; the cable telescopic clamping device comprises a motor (201), a wire (202), A limiting device (203), a spring element (204), a push rod (205), a moving clamp (206); the push rod includes a rod, a push rod beam, and two moving clips, and the two moving clips are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the push rod The moving clip is cylindrical, and the bottom of the cylinder is rounded; the outer surface of the cylinder of the moving clip is in contact with the outer edge of the wafer to fix the wafer;

The limiting device is fixed on the tray (101) and comprises a beam, four screws and two baffles; the beam is fixed on the tray and has four threaded holes, two first round holes and one second round hole ; four threaded holes, two first circular holes are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the beam along the Y-axis direction, four screws are respectively installed in four threaded holes, and two baffles are respectively installed in the two first round holes, And the baffle can move along the X axis; the push rod passes through the second circular hole, and the push rod can move along the X axis;

The motor (201) is fixed on the base, and the wire (202) is fixedly connected with the push rod (205); one end of the two spring elements is fixed on the push rod, and the other end is respectively connected with the two baffles; the motor drives the wire rope Moving in the negative direction of the X-axis, and the wire (202) drives the push rod to move in the negative direction of the X-axis; when the wafer (900) is placed on the tray (101), the motor (201) stops working, and the push rod ( 205) moving in the positive direction of the X-axis under the action of the spring element (204), the two moving clips (206) at the front end of the push rod (205) are in contact with the edge of the wafer (900), and the spring element (204) is still In a compressed state, moving the clip (206) under the force of the spring has a pressure on the wafer (900), so that the wafer (900) can be fixed between the moving clip (206) and the side support member (102);

The distance between the baffle and the pusher beam can be adjusted by adjusting the four screws;

The fixed position of the limiting device on the tray can be changed, thereby making the wafer holding device of the present invention suitable for wafers of different diameters.