阅读说明：本技术 晶圆清洗设备及其晶圆定位装置、晶圆定位方法 (Wafer cleaning equipment, wafer positioning device and wafer positioning method ) 是由 李幸夫 王锐廷 赵宏宇 南建辉 杨斌 于 2021-06-30 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种晶圆清洗设备及其晶圆定位装置、晶圆定位方法,晶圆定位装置用于对边缘设有定位部的晶圆进行定位,包括密封腔体、密封盖、承载组件、定位组件和导向组件,密封盖可开合的设置在密封腔体上,承载组件可转动的设置在密封腔体内,用于承载晶圆,并带动晶圆以晶圆的轴线为轴旋转；定位组件设置在密封腔体内,用于在承载组件带动晶圆旋转的过程中,与定位部配合对晶圆进行定位；导向组件设置在密封腔体内位于承载组件的上方,用于与承载于承载组件上的晶圆的边缘部分间隙配合对晶圆进行导向。本发明提供的晶圆清洗设备及其晶圆定位装置、晶圆定位方法能够提高晶圆定位装置的工作稳定性,并避免晶圆在定位过程中以及定位之后受到污染。(The invention provides a wafer cleaning device, a wafer positioning device and a wafer positioning method thereof, wherein the wafer positioning device is used for positioning a wafer with a positioning part at the edge and comprises a sealing cavity, a sealing cover, a bearing component, a positioning component and a guiding component, the sealing cover is arranged on the sealing cavity in an openable and closable manner, the bearing component is rotatably arranged in the sealing cavity and is used for bearing the wafer and driving the wafer to rotate by taking the axis of the wafer as a shaft; the positioning component is arranged in the sealed cavity and is used for positioning the wafer in a matching way with the positioning part in the process that the bearing component drives the wafer to rotate; the guide assembly is arranged in the sealed cavity and positioned above the bearing assembly and used for guiding the wafer in clearance fit with the edge part of the wafer borne on the bearing assembly. The wafer cleaning equipment, the wafer positioning device and the wafer positioning method can improve the working stability of the wafer positioning device and prevent the wafer from being polluted in the positioning process and after the positioning.)

1. A wafer positioning device in wafer cleaning equipment is used for positioning a wafer with a positioning part arranged on the edge, and is characterized in that the wafer positioning device comprises:

the sealing cover is arranged on the sealing cavity body in a folding manner;

the bearing component is rotatably arranged in the sealed cavity and is used for bearing the wafer and driving the wafer to rotate by taking the axis of the wafer as a shaft;

the positioning assembly is arranged in the sealed cavity and is used for positioning the wafer in a matching way with the positioning part in the process that the bearing assembly drives the wafer to rotate;

and the guide assembly is arranged in the sealed cavity, is positioned above the bearing assembly and is used for being in clearance fit with the edge part of the wafer borne on the bearing assembly to guide the wafer.

2. The wafer positioning device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guiding assembly comprises at least two guiding members, at least two of the guiding members are oppositely arranged to guide the wafer from two sides of the wafer respectively; the guide component is provided with a guide groove, the width of the guide groove is larger than the thickness of the wafer, the edge part of the wafer is accommodated in the guide groove, and the guide groove is in clearance fit with the wafer.

3. The wafer positioning apparatus of claim 2, wherein the bottom wall of the guide groove is arcuate to match the shape of the side wall of the wafer.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a transfer assembly disposed in the sealing chamber for transferring the wafer on the carrier assembly to the outside of the sealing chamber or transferring the wafer outside the sealing chamber to the carrier assembly when the sealing cover is opened.

5. The wafer positioning device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the transmission assembly includes a lifting member and a carrying member, the lifting member is fixedly disposed in the sealed chamber and connected to the carrying member for driving the carrying member to lift, and the carrying member is used for carrying the wafer and driving the wafer to lift.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the carrier assembly comprises at least two rotary carrier shafts, the at least two rotary carrier shafts are spaced apart from each other, and are respectively in contact with the wafer from two sides of the wafer, and are adapted to carry the wafer and to drive the wafer to rotate around the axis of the wafer.

7. The wafer positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the positioning portion comprises a notch arranged on the edge of the wafer, the positioning assembly comprises a liftable positioning component and a positioning structure arranged on the positioning component, and the positioning structure is matched with the notch in shape and used for positioning the wafer in cooperation with the notch in the process that the wafer is driven by the bearing assembly to rotate;

the positioning component is used for driving the positioning structure to ascend to be in contact with the edge of the wafer in the process that the bearing component drives the wafer to rotate, and driving the positioning structure to descend to be separated from the edge of the wafer after the positioning structure positions the wafer.

8. Wafer cleaning apparatus comprising a wafer positioning device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7.

9. A wafer positioning method applied to the wafer cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 8, comprising:

opening the sealing cover, controlling a transmission component to transmit the wafer outside the sealing cavity onto the bearing component, and enabling the edge part of the wafer to be in clearance fit with the guide component;

closing the sealing cover, controlling the bearing assembly to rotate, driving the wafer to rotate by taking the axis of the wafer as an axis, and controlling the positioning assembly to position the wafer;

and opening the sealing cover, and controlling the transmission component to transmit the wafer to the outside of the sealed cavity body.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising, after the positioning module positions the wafer:

and the matching between the positioning assembly and the positioning part is cancelled, the bearing assembly is controlled to rotate by a preset angle, and the wafer is driven to rotate to a preset position by taking the axis of the wafer as an axis.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor equipment, in particular to wafer cleaning equipment, a wafer positioning device and a wafer positioning method.

Background

The Wafer Transfer System (WTS) is an important component of a tank cleaning System, which is used to Transfer wafers (Wafer) from a loading area (Loadport) to a cleaning area.

The conventional wafer transfer system comprises: a Wafer box manipulator (FOUP Robot) transfers a Wafer box (Front Opening Unified Pod, abbreviated as FOUP) for storing a Wafer in a loading area to a Wafer box storage area, then a Wafer manipulator (Wafer Robot) transfers the Wafer in the Wafer box storage area to a Wafer turnover mechanism, the Wafer turnover mechanism turns over the Wafer in a horizontal state to a vertical state, then the Wafer enters a Process Transfer Zone (PTZ), a Wafer positioning device (Aligner) positions a notch at the edge of the Wafer to a preset position to position the Wafer, and then a Process manipulator (Process Robot) takes away the Wafer and transfers the Wafer to a cleaning tank in a cleaning area for cleaning. Since the positioning of the wafer notch is the last step before the wafer enters the cleaning tank, the working stability of the wafer positioning device will affect the cleaning process of the wafer, and is a key factor of the working quality of the wafer transmission system.

However, the conventional wafer positioning device has poor working stability, and is easy to scratch the surface of the wafer, which causes damage to the wafer, and the wafer is positioned in an exposed environment, so that the wafer may be contaminated during the positioning process, and after the wafer is positioned, a process robot is required to take the wafer away from the wafer positioning device immediately, which reduces the contamination to the wafer after the positioning.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to at least solve one of the technical problems in the prior art, and provides a wafer cleaning device, a wafer positioning device and a wafer positioning method, which can improve the working stability of the wafer positioning device and can prevent the wafer from being polluted in the positioning process and after the positioning.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, a wafer positioning device in a wafer cleaning apparatus is provided for positioning a wafer having a positioning portion at an edge thereof, the wafer positioning device includes:

the sealing cover is arranged on the sealing cavity body in a folding manner;

the bearing component is rotatably arranged in the sealed cavity and is used for bearing the wafer and driving the wafer to rotate by taking the axis of the wafer as a shaft;

the positioning assembly is arranged in the sealed cavity and is used for positioning the wafer in a matching way with the positioning part in the process that the bearing assembly drives the wafer to rotate;

and the guide assembly is arranged in the sealed cavity, is positioned above the bearing assembly and is used for being in clearance fit with the edge part of the wafer borne on the bearing assembly to guide the wafer.

Optionally, the guide assembly includes at least two guide components, and the at least two guide components are arranged oppositely and respectively guide the wafer from two sides of the wafer; the guide component is provided with a guide groove, the width of the guide groove is larger than the thickness of the wafer, the edge part of the wafer is accommodated in the guide groove, and the guide groove is in clearance fit with the wafer.

Optionally, the bottom wall of the guide groove is arc-shaped and matched with the shape of the side wall of the wafer.

Optionally, the wafer positioning device further includes a transmission assembly, where the transmission assembly is disposed in the sealing cavity and configured to transmit the wafer located on the carrier assembly to the outside of the sealing cavity or transmit the wafer located outside the sealing cavity to the carrier assembly when the sealing cover is opened.

Optionally, the transmission assembly includes a lifting component and a bearing component, the lifting component is fixedly disposed in the sealed chamber, is connected to the bearing component, and is configured to drive the bearing component to lift, and the bearing component is configured to bear the wafer and drive the wafer to lift.

Optionally, the bearing assembly includes at least two rotary bearing shafts, and the at least two rotary bearing shafts are disposed at intervals, respectively contact with the wafer from two sides of the wafer, are matched to bear the wafer, and are matched to drive the wafer to rotate with the axis of the wafer as a shaft.

Optionally, the positioning portion includes a notch disposed on the edge of the wafer, the positioning assembly includes a liftable positioning component and a positioning structure disposed on the positioning component, wherein the positioning structure is matched with the notch in shape and is used to position the wafer in cooperation with the notch in a process in which the wafer is driven by the carrier assembly to rotate;

the positioning component is used for driving the positioning structure to ascend to be in contact with the edge of the wafer in the process that the bearing component drives the wafer to rotate, and driving the positioning structure to descend to be separated from the edge of the wafer after the positioning structure positions the wafer.

The invention also provides wafer cleaning equipment which comprises the wafer positioning device provided by the invention.

The invention also provides a wafer positioning method, which is applied to the wafer cleaning equipment provided by the invention and comprises the following steps:

opening the sealing cover, controlling a transmission component to transmit the wafer outside the sealing cavity onto the bearing component, and enabling the edge part of the wafer to be in clearance fit with the guide component;

closing the sealing cover, controlling the bearing assembly to rotate, driving the wafer to rotate by taking the axis of the wafer as an axis, and controlling the positioning assembly to position the wafer;

and opening the sealing cover, and controlling the transmission component to transmit the wafer to the outside of the sealed cavity body.

Optionally, after the positioning assembly positions the wafer, the method further includes:

and the matching between the positioning assembly and the positioning part is cancelled, the bearing assembly is controlled to rotate by a preset angle, and the wafer is driven to rotate to a preset position by taking the axis of the wafer as an axis.

The invention has the following beneficial effects:

the wafer positioning device provided by the invention can drive the wafer to rotate by taking the axis of the wafer as a shaft through the bearing component by rotating the bearing component for bearing the wafer, in the process that the bearing component drives the wafer to rotate, the positioning component is matched with the positioning part arranged on the edge of the wafer to position the wafer so as to realize the positioning of the wafer by the wafer positioning device provided by the invention, and is in clearance fit with the edge part of the wafer carried on the bearing component by the guide component positioned above the bearing component, the wafer is guided, the wafer vertically loaded on the bearing component can be prevented from toppling over, because the guiding component is in clearance fit with the edge part of the wafer, the wafer is guided, so that the guide assembly can be prevented from scraping the surfaces of the two sides of the wafer under normal conditions, and the working stability of the wafer positioning device can be improved. And by means of the sealing cavity and the sealing cover which is arranged on the sealing cavity in an openable and closable manner, the wafer can be positioned in the sealed sealing cavity in the process of positioning the wafer by the wafer positioning device and after the wafer is positioned, so that the wafer is prevented from being polluted in the positioning process and after the wafer is positioned. And because the wafer can be positioned in the sealed cavity after being positioned, the wafer does not need to be removed immediately after the wafer is positioned, but the sealing cover can be opened to remove the wafer from the sealed cavity when the wafer is required, so that the wafer positioning device provided by the invention can store the wafer.

The wafer cleaning equipment provided by the invention can improve the working stability of the wafer positioning device and can prevent the wafer from being polluted in the positioning process and after the positioning by virtue of the wafer positioning device provided by the invention.

According to the wafer positioning method provided by the invention, the sealing cavity is in an open state by opening the sealing cover, the wafer outside the sealing cavity can be transmitted to the bearing component through the transmission component, the edge part of the wafer borne on the bearing component is in clearance fit with the guide component, so that in the process of controlling the rotation of the bearing component and driving the wafer to rotate by taking the axis of the wafer as an axis, the wafer is guided by virtue of the clearance fit of the guide component and the edge part of the wafer, the wafer vertically borne on the bearing component is prevented from toppling over, and the guide component is in clearance fit with the edge part of the wafer to guide the wafer, so that the guide component can be prevented from scraping the surfaces of two sides of the wafer under normal conditions, and the working stability of the wafer positioning device can be improved. And, through closing sealed lid, make seal chamber be in the closed state, can control the carrier assembly rotation, drive the wafer and use the axis of wafer as the rotation of axle, the in-process that control locating component carries out the location to the wafer makes the wafer be in seal chamber's sealed environment to make the wafer all can be in sealed seal chamber in the in-process that carries out the location and after the location, and then avoid the wafer to receive the pollution at the location in-process and after the location. And because the wafer can be in the sealed cavity after being positioned, the wafer can be temporarily stored, and when the wafer is needed, the operation of opening the sealing cover and transmitting the wafer to the outside of the sealed cavity is executed.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer positioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a transmission assembly of the wafer positioning device according to the embodiment of the present invention being lifted out of a sealed cavity to carry a wafer to be positioned;

fig. 3 is a schematic view of a transmission assembly of the wafer positioning apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention being lowered into the sealed cavity and lowering a wafer to be positioned onto the carrier assembly;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a positioning assembly of the wafer positioning apparatus contacting a wafer to be positioned according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a positioning assembly of the wafer positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention being engaged with a positioning portion of a wafer to be positioned;

fig. 6 is a schematic view illustrating that the positioning portion of the wafer positioned by the wafer positioning device provided in the embodiment of the present invention rotates to the vertical direction;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a wafer positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention with a sealed chamber opened;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a transfer assembly of the wafer positioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention lifting a positioned wafer out of a sealed chamber;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a wafer positioning method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

description of reference numerals:

1-a wafer positioning device; 11-a rotating carrier shaft; 12-a positioning assembly; 121-a positioning member;

122-a positioning structure; 13-a guide member; 14-sealing the cavity; 15-sealing cover; 16-a lifting member;

17-a carrier; 21-a wafer; 211-positioning section.

Detailed Description

In order to make those skilled in the art better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the wafer cleaning apparatus, the wafer positioning device thereof, and the wafer positioning method thereof provided by the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in fig. 1, an embodiment of the present invention provides a wafer positioning device 1 in a wafer cleaning apparatus, for positioning a wafer 21 having a positioning portion 211 at an edge thereof, the wafer positioning device 1 includes a sealing cavity 14, a sealing cover 15, a bearing assembly, a positioning assembly 12 and a guiding assembly, wherein the sealing cover 15 is openably and closably disposed on the sealing cavity 14; the bearing component is rotatably arranged in the sealed cavity 14 and is used for bearing the wafer 21 and driving the wafer 21 to rotate by taking the axis of the wafer 21 as an axis; the positioning component 12 is arranged in the sealed cavity 14 and is used for positioning the wafer 21 in cooperation with the positioning part 211 in the process that the wafer 21 is driven by the bearing component to rotate; the guiding assembly is disposed in the sealed chamber 14, above the carrier assembly, and is used for being in clearance fit with an edge portion of the wafer 21 carried on the carrier assembly to guide the wafer 21.

The wafer positioning device 1 provided by the embodiment of the invention can rotate the bearing component bearing the wafer 21, can drive the wafer 21 to rotate by taking the axis of the wafer 21 as an axis through the bearing component, and can position the wafer 21 by matching the positioning component 12 with the positioning part 211 arranged at the edge of the wafer 21 in the process that the bearing component drives the wafer 21 to rotate, so as to realize the positioning of the wafer 21 by the wafer positioning device 1 provided by the embodiment of the invention, and can guide the wafer 21 by clearance fit with the edge part of the wafer 21 borne on the bearing component through the guide component positioned above the bearing component, so that the wafer 21 vertically borne on the bearing component can be prevented from toppling over, and because the guide component is in clearance fit with the edge part of the wafer 21 to guide the wafer 21, the guide component can be prevented from scraping two side surfaces of the wafer 21 under the normal condition, thereby, the operation stability of the wafer positioning apparatus 1 can be improved. Moreover, by means of the sealing cavity 14 and the sealing cover 15 which can be opened and closed and is arranged on the sealing cavity 14, the wafer 21 can be positioned in the sealing cavity 14 in the process of positioning the wafer by the wafer positioning device 1 and after the wafer is positioned, and therefore the wafer 21 is prevented from being polluted in the positioning process and after the positioning process. And because the wafer 21 can be located in the sealed cavity 14 after being positioned, the wafer 21 does not need to be removed immediately after the wafer 21 is positioned, but the sealing cover 15 can be opened to remove the wafer 21 from the sealed cavity 14 when the wafer 21 is needed, so that the wafer positioning device 1 provided by the embodiment of the invention can store the wafer 21.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the surface of the wafer 21 refers to a circular plane on the wafer 21, the edge portion of the wafer 21 includes a ring-shaped plane on the surface of the wafer 21 at the edge and a sidewall of the wafer 21, the sidewall of the wafer 21 is a ring-shaped side surface surrounding the surface of the wafer 21, for some wafers 21 having bevel bevels at the junctions of the two side surfaces and the sidewalls, the edge portion of the wafer 21 includes the bevel bevels and the annular flat surface of the wafer 21 at the edge, and the bevel bevels at the junctions of the two side surfaces and the sidewalls of the wafer 21 are referred to as being formed in the semiconductor process, two annular slopes are generated by chamfering the joints between the two side surfaces and the sidewalls of the wafer 21, when the joint of the two side surfaces of the wafer 21 and the sidewall has a chamfer, the guiding component can be in clearance fit with the chamfer to guide the wafer 21. Since the surface of the wafer 21 needs to be prepared with semiconductor circuits, the surface of the wafer 21 needs to meet the flatness required by the semiconductor process, which makes it possible to avoid scratching the surface of the wafer 21 as much as possible in the semiconductor process, and since the surface of the wafer 21 needs to be prepared with semiconductor circuits, in order to avoid interference with the preparation of the semiconductor circuits, as shown in fig. 1, the positioning portions 211 (e.g., notches) of the wafer 21 may be disposed at the edge of the wafer 21.

As shown in fig. 1, in the wafer positioning apparatus 1 provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the carrier assembly may apply a vertically upward supporting force to the wafer 21 from the bottom of the wafer 21 by contacting with the bottom of the wafer 21, so as to carry the wafer 21, that is, the wafer 21 is vertically carried on the carrier assembly, so that when the carrier assembly rotates, the carrier assembly may drive the wafer 21 to rotate around the axis of the wafer 21, but since the wafer 21 has a relatively thin thickness, the wafer 21 is carried only by contacting with the bottom of the wafer 21, the wafer 21 is easily tilted and tilted, and the wafer 21 cannot be vertically held and carried on the carrier assembly, which requires a guide assembly, when the wafer 21 is tilted on the carrier assembly, the guide assembly can abut against the edge portion of the wafer 21 carried on the carrier assembly to guide the wafer 21, the wafer 21 is prevented from tilting, and the wafer 21 can be kept rotating on the bearing component, that is, when the wafer 21 is vertically loaded on the bearing component, the edge part of the wafer 21 is not contacted by the guide component with a gap, the guide component does not apply a supporting force to the wafer 21, and when the wafer 21 tilts obliquely, the edge part of the wafer 21 is contacted and abutted by the guide component, and the guide component applies a supporting force to the wafer 21 to guide the wafer 21 and prevent the wafer 21 from tilting.

When the joint of the two side surfaces of the wafer 21 and the side wall is provided with the chamfer inclined surface, the guide component can contact and abut against the chamfer inclined surface to guide the wafer 21, and because the semiconductor circuit cannot be prepared on the chamfer inclined surface of the wafer 21, even if the guide component scrapes the chamfer inclined surface of the wafer 21 in the rotation process of the wafer 21, the subsequent preparation of the semiconductor circuit of the wafer 21 cannot be influenced, the damage to the wafer 21 is avoided, and the working stability of the wafer positioning device 1 can be improved. In the process that the carrier assembly drives the wafer 21 to rotate, the positioning portion 211 at the edge of the wafer 21 also rotates synchronously with the carrier assembly, and when the positioning portion 211 at the edge of the wafer 21 rotates to a preset position along with the wafer 21, the positioning assembly 12 can be matched with the positioning portion 211 to position the wafer 21, so as to position the wafer 21 by the wafer positioning device 1 provided by the embodiment of the invention.

In practical application, when the wafer positioning device 1 is required to position the wafer 21, the sealing cover 15 may be opened to enable the sealing cavity 14 to be in an opened state, so that the wafer 21 can be moved onto the bearing component in the sealing cavity 14, during the positioning of the wafer 21 by the wafer positioning device 1, and after the wafer 21 is positioned, the sealing cover 15 may be closed to enable the sealing cavity 14 to be in a closed state, so as to seal the wafer 21 therein by means of the sealing cavity 14, thereby preventing the wafer 21 from being polluted by the outside, and when the wafer 21 after positioning needs to be removed, the sealing cover 15 may be opened to enable the sealing cavity 14 to be in an opened state, so that the wafer 21 can be moved from the bearing component in the sealing cavity 14 to the outside of the sealing cavity 14, thereby enabling the wafer 21 to be removed.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, alternatively, the sealing cover 15 may be movably disposed in a horizontal direction at the top of the sealing chamber 14. By moving the sealing cover 15 in the horizontal direction, the sealing cover 15 can be opened and closed to make the sealed chamber 14 in an opened state or a closed state. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, when the sealing chamber 14 is oriented, the sealing cover 15 is moved to the right in the horizontal direction to open the sealing cover 15 and to place the sealing chamber 14 in an open state, and the sealing cover 15 is moved to the left in the horizontal direction to close the sealing cover 15 and to place the sealing chamber 14 in a closed state.

Alternatively, the sealing cover 15 may be connected to an air cylinder to drive the sealing cover 15 to move in the horizontal direction by the air cylinder.

However, the manner of opening and closing the seal cover 15 is not limited to this, and for example, the seal cover 15 may be rotatably provided on the top of the seal chamber 14 or may be provided on the top of the seal chamber 14 in a reversible manner, and the position where the seal cover 15 is provided on the seal chamber 14 is not limited to this, and for example, the seal cover 15 may be provided on the side surface of the seal chamber 14.

As shown in fig. 1, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the guiding assembly may include two guiding components 13, at least two guiding components 13 are oppositely disposed to respectively guide the wafer 21 from two sides of the wafer 21; the guide member 13 may be provided with a guide groove (not shown) having a width larger than a thickness of the wafer 21, and an edge portion of the wafer 21 is received in the guide groove, which is in clearance fit with the wafer 21. That is, the side wall of the guide groove is in clearance fit with the edge portion of the wafer 21, and the bottom wall of the guide groove is in clearance fit with the side wall of the wafer 21.

As shown in fig. 1, one guide member 13 of the two guide members 13 is located on one side of the wafer 21, and the other guide member 13 of the two guide members 13 is located on the other side of the wafer 21, so that the two guide members 13 are located on the opposite sides of the wafer 21, respectively, and the two guide members 13 can guide the wafer 21 from the two sides of the wafer 21, respectively. Both guide members 13 are provided with guide grooves having a width greater than the thickness of the wafer 21 so that the edge portions of the wafer 21 can be received in the guide grooves. The guide groove is in clearance fit with the wafer 21, that is, when the wafer 21 is vertically loaded on the carrier assembly, the side wall of the guide groove is not in contact with the edge portion of the wafer 21 with a clearance, the side wall of the guide groove does not apply a supporting force to the wafer 21, and when the wafer 21 tilts obliquely, the side wall of the guide groove contacts and abuts against the edge portion of the wafer 21, and the side wall of the guide groove applies a supporting force to the wafer 21 to guide the wafer 21, so as to prevent the wafer 21 from tilting obliquely. The bottom wall of the guide groove is in clearance fit with the side wall of the wafer 21, that is, when the wafer 21 is vertically loaded on the bearing component, the bottom wall of the guide groove is not in contact with the side wall of the wafer 21, a gap is formed between the bottom wall of the guide groove and the side wall of the wafer 21, the bottom wall of the guide groove does not exert a supporting force on the wafer 21, when the wafer 21 tilts obliquely, the bottom wall of the guide groove is in contact with and abuts against the side wall of the wafer 21, and the bottom wall of the guide groove exerts a supporting force on the wafer 21 to guide the wafer 21, so that the wafer 21 is prevented from tilting obliquely. Thus, when the wafer 21 is tilted, the two guide members 13 located on the opposite sides of the wafer 21 respectively abut against the opposite side edges of the wafer 21 via the guide grooves provided in the guide members, so that the wafer 21 can be guided from the opposite sides of the wafer 21 to prevent the wafer 21 from being tilted.

The two guide members 13 are respectively matched and used for commonly guiding the wafer 21 from two opposite sides of the wafer 21, so that the stability of guiding the wafer 21 can be improved, the wafer 21 can be further prevented from falling, and the working stability of the wafer positioning device 1 can be further improved.

However, the number of the guide members 13 included in the guide assembly is not limited thereto, and for example, the guide assembly may include three, four or more guide members 13. For example, when the guide assembly includes three or four guide members 13, the three or four guide members 13 may be disposed at intervals on the same circumference to guide the wafer 21 from three or four different positions on the circumferential side of the wafer 21.

The plurality of guide members 13 are respectively used for guiding the wafer 21 from three or four different positions on the peripheral side of the wafer 21, so that the stability of guiding the wafer 21 can be improved, the wafer 21 can be prevented from falling, and the working stability of the wafer positioning device 1 can be further improved.

Alternatively, the two guide members 13 may be fixed to the inner wall of the sealed chamber 14.

Optionally, in a direction parallel to the axial direction of the circumference where the plurality of guide members 13 are located, a plurality of guide grooves may be arranged on each guide member 13 at intervals, and the number of the guide grooves on each guide member 13 is the same and the guide grooves are arranged in a one-to-one opposite manner.

This is designed to guide the wafers 21 carried on the carrier module by the guide module when the carrier module of the wafer positioning apparatus 1 carries the wafers 21 simultaneously. When the carrier assembly simultaneously carries a plurality of wafers 21, the plurality of wafers 21 can be carried on the carrier assembly at intervals along the axial direction of the wafers 21, and the plurality of guide grooves are arranged on each guide part 13 at intervals along the axial direction parallel to the circumference of the circumference where the plurality of guide parts 13 are located, and the number of the guide grooves on each guide part 13 is the same, and the guide grooves are arranged in a one-to-one opposite manner, so that the plurality of guide parts 13 can cooperate to simultaneously guide the plurality of wafers 21 carried on the carrier assembly.

As shown in fig. 2 and 8, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bottom wall of the guide groove has a circular arc shape matching the shape of the side wall of the wafer 21.

As shown in fig. 2 and 8, the side wall of the wafer 21 is arc-shaped, and the bottom wall of the guide groove is arc-shaped and matched with the arc-shaped side wall of the wafer 21, so that it can be avoided that the bottom wall of the guide groove is not matched with the side wall of the wafer 21 in shape, which results in poor fitting degree of the bottom wall of the guide groove and the side wall of the wafer 21, and causes unstable offset of the bottom wall of the guide groove and the side wall of the wafer 21, thereby improving the adaptation degree of the bottom wall of the guide groove and the side wall of the wafer 21, and further improving the working stability of the wafer positioning device 1.

Alternatively, the side walls of the guide groove may be inclined, and the distance between two opposite side walls of the guide groove gradually increases from the groove bottom of the guide groove to the notch of the guide groove.

Due to the design that one side of the side wall of the guide groove, which is close to the notch of the guide groove, is close to the surface of the wafer 21, the side wall of the guide groove is obliquely arranged, and the distance between the two opposite side walls of the guide groove is gradually increased from the groove bottom of the guide groove to the notch of the guide groove, so that the side wall of the guide groove is prevented from contacting with the surface of the wafer 21, the surface of the wafer 21 is prevented from being scratched, and the working stability of the wafer positioning device 1 can be further improved.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the opposite sidewalls of the guide groove may be greater than or equal to 1 mm. This is because the thickness of the wafer 21 is usually 0.55mm to 0.83mm, and by making the distance between the two opposite side walls of the guide groove greater than or equal to 1mm, the side walls of the guide groove can be prevented from contacting the surface of the wafer 21 and scratching the surface of the wafer 21 as much as possible while the edge portion of the wafer 21 is accommodated in the guide groove.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the material of the inner wall of the guide groove may include a flexible material having a hardness lower than that of the wafer 21. By using the flexible material with hardness lower than that of the wafer 21 to manufacture the inner wall of the guide groove, the side wall and the bottom wall of the guide groove can be prevented from scratching the wafer 21, and thus the working stability of the wafer positioning device 1 can be further improved.

Alternatively, the flexible material may comprise Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the wafer positioning apparatus 1 may further include a transfer assembly disposed in the sealed chamber 14 for transferring the wafer 21 on the carrier assembly out of the sealed chamber 14 or transferring the wafer 21 out of the sealed chamber 14 onto the carrier assembly when the sealing cover 15 is opened.

When the sealing cover 15 is opened, the wafer 21 on the bearing component is transmitted to the outside of the sealing cavity 14 by the transmission component, or the wafer 21 outside the sealing cavity 14 is transmitted to the bearing component, so that the phenomenon that the manipulator enters the sealing cavity 14 and collides with the sealing cavity 14, the sealing cover 15 and each component arranged in the sealing cavity 14 due to the fact that the manipulator transmits the wafer 21 to the inside of the sealing cavity 14 can be avoided, and the working stability of the wafer positioning device 1 is further improved.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the transmission assembly may include a lifting member and a carrying member, the lifting member is disposed in the sealed chamber and connected to the carrying member for driving the carrying member to lift, and the carrying member is used for carrying the wafer 21 and driving the wafer 21 to lift.

When the lifting component drives the carrying component to ascend, the carrying component can carry the wafer 21 and drive the wafer 21 to ascend, and the wafer 21 is transmitted out of the sealed cavity 14, and when the lifting component drives the carrying component to descend, the carrying component can carry the wafer 21 and drive the wafer 21 to descend, and the wafer 21 outside the sealed cavity 14 is transmitted to the carrying component.

As shown in fig. 1, optionally, the bearing part may include two bearing parts 17, the number of the lifting members 16 is the same as that of the bearing parts 17, that is, there are two lifting members 16, the two lifting members 16 are connected with the two bearing parts 17 in a one-to-one correspondence manner, and each lifting member 16 is used for driving the corresponding bearing part 17 to lift; the two carriers 17 are disposed opposite to each other, and respectively carry the wafer 21 from two sides of the wafer 21, and drive the wafer 21 to move up and down.

That is, one of the two lifters 16 is connected to one of the two carriers 17 for driving the carrier 17 to ascend and descend, the other lifter 16 of the two lifters 16 is connected to the other of the two carriers 17 for driving the carrier 17 to ascend and descend, one of the two carriers 17 is located on one side of the wafer 21 and opposite to the carrier 17, and the other carrier 17 of the two carriers 17 is located on the other side of the wafer 21, so that the two carriers 17 can be located on two opposite sides of the wafer 21, respectively, and the two carriers 17 can carry the wafer 21 from two sides of the wafer 21 and drive the wafer 21 to ascend and descend. When the two lifting members 16 drive the two carriers 17 to lift, the two carriers 17 can respectively cooperate with the wafer 21 from two opposite sides of the wafer 21 to carry the wafer 21 together, and drive the wafer 21 to lift.

Alternatively, two lifters 16 may be provided on the bottom wall of the sealed housing 14.

Optionally, the carrier 17 may be provided with a carrier groove, the width of the carrier groove is greater than the thickness of the wafer 21, the edge portion of the wafer 21 is accommodated in the carrier groove, the side wall of the carrier groove is in clearance fit with the wafer 21, and the bottom wall of the carrier groove abuts against the side wall of the wafer 21 to carry the wafer 21.

However, the number of the carriers 17 and the lifters 16 is not limited to this, for example, the number of the carriers 17 and the lifters 16 may also be three, four or more, that is, the number of the lifters 16 is the same as the number of the carriers 17, and the lifters are connected in a one-to-one correspondence manner for driving the corresponding carriers 17 to ascend and descend.

As shown in fig. 1, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the carrier assembly may include two rotary carrier shafts 11, the two rotary carrier shafts 11 are disposed at intervals, and respectively contact with the wafer 21 from two sides of the wafer 21, cooperate to carry the wafer 21, and cooperate to drive the wafer 21 to rotate around an axis of the wafer 21.

By arranging the two rotary bearing shafts 11 at intervals, the two rotary bearing shafts 11 can be respectively contacted with the wafer 21 from two sides of the wafer 21, so that the two rotary bearing shafts 11 are matched to bear the wafer 21, when the two rotary bearing shafts 11 rotate, the wafer 21 borne on the two rotary bearing shafts can be driven to rotate by taking the axis of the wafer 21 as the shaft, and the wafer 21 is borne by the two rotary bearing shafts 11, so that a plurality of wafers 21 can be borne at intervals along the axial direction of the rotary bearing shafts 11.

Alternatively, the two rotary carrying shafts 11 may be rotatably disposed on the inner wall of the seal chamber 14.

However, the number of the rotation bearing shafts 11 is not limited to this, and for example, the number of the rotation bearing shafts 11 may be three, four, or more.

As shown in fig. 1 and fig. 2, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the positioning portion 211 may include a notch disposed on an edge of the wafer 21, and the positioning assembly 12 may include a positioning part 121 capable of being lifted and lowered and a positioning structure 122 disposed on the positioning part 121, where a shape of the positioning structure 122 matches a shape of the notch, and is used for positioning the wafer 21 by matching with the notch in a process that the wafer 21 is driven by the carrying assembly to rotate; the positioning component 121 is used to drive the positioning structure 122 to ascend to contact with the edge of the wafer 21 when the wafer 21 is driven by the carrying component to rotate, and drive the positioning structure 122 to descend to separate from the edge of the wafer 21 after the positioning structure 122 positions the wafer 21.

As shown in fig. 1 and fig. 2, for example, the cross-sectional shape of the notch is a triangle, and the cross-sectional shape of the positioning structure 122 is also a triangle, when the wafer 21 is driven by the carrier assembly to rotate, the positioning member 121 drives the positioning structure 122 to ascend to contact with the edge of the wafer 21, that is, the vertex angle of the triangular cross-section of the positioning structure 122 contacts with the edge of the wafer 21, when the triangular cross-sectional notch rotates to the positioning structure 122 along with the wafer 21, the positioning structure 122 will extend into the notch to abut against one side of the notch to position the wafer 21 in cooperation with the notch, and then the positioning member 121 drives the positioning structure 122 to descend to separate from the edge of the wafer 21, that is, the vertex angle of the triangular cross-sectional shape of the positioning structure 122 is separated from the edge of the wafer 21, so that the wafer 21 can continue to rotate to a predetermined position, for example, when the positioning structure 122 positions the notch, the notch is vertically downward, after the positioning structure 122 positions the notch, the positioning structure 122 descends to separate from the edge of the wafer 21, the wafer 21 continues to rotate 180 degrees, the notch of the wafer 21 vertically upward reaches a preset position, and the positioning of the wafer 21 by the wafer positioning device 1 is completed.

Alternatively, the liftable positioning member 121 may be disposed on the inner wall of the sealed housing 14.

As shown in fig. 1, optionally, the positioning component 121 may be located below the wafer 21.

The embodiment of the invention also provides wafer cleaning equipment which comprises the wafer positioning device provided by the embodiment of the invention.

According to the wafer cleaning equipment provided by the embodiment of the invention, by means of the wafer positioning device provided by the embodiment of the invention, the working stability of the wafer positioning device can be improved, and the wafer can be prevented from being polluted in the positioning process and after the positioning.

As shown in fig. 9, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a wafer positioning method applied to the wafer cleaning apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention, including:

s1, opening the sealing cover 15, controlling the transmission component to transmit the wafer 21 outside the sealing cavity 14 to the bearing component, and enabling the edge area of the wafer 21 to be in clearance fit with the guide component;

s2, closing the sealing cover 15, controlling the rotation of the bearing component, driving the wafer 21 to rotate around the axis of the wafer 21, and controlling the positioning component 12 to position the wafer 21;

s3, the sealing cover 15 is opened, and the transferring member is controlled to transfer the wafer 21 out of the sealing chamber 14.

With the wafer positioning method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the sealing cover 15 is opened by the wafer cleaning equipment provided by the embodiment of the invention, so that the sealing cavity 14 is in an open state, the wafer 21 outside the sealed chamber 14 can be transferred to the carrier assembly by a transfer member, and the edge part of the wafer 21 carried on the bearing component is in clearance fit with the guide component, so that during the process of controlling the rotation of the carrying component to drive the wafer 21 to rotate by taking the axis of the wafer 21 as the axis, by means of the clearance fit between the guiding component and the edge region of the wafer 21, the wafer 21 is guided to prevent the wafer 21 vertically loaded on the carrier assembly from tilting, and since the guide assembly is in clearance fit with the sidewall of the wafer 21, the wafer 21 is guided, so that the guide component can be prevented from scraping the surfaces of the two sides of the wafer 21 under normal conditions, and the working stability of the positioning device for the wafer 21 can be improved. And, through closing the sealing cover 15, make the seal chamber 14 in the closed state, can control the carrier assembly to rotate, drive the wafer 21 to rotate with the axis of the wafer 21 as the axis, control the course that the locating component 12 positions the wafer 21, make the wafer 21 in the sealed environment of the seal chamber 14, thus make the wafer 21 in the course that position and after positioning all can be in the sealed seal chamber 14, and then avoid the wafer 21 to receive the pollution in the course of positioning and after positioning. And because the wafer 21 can be in the sealed cavity 14 after being positioned, the wafer 21 can be temporarily stored, when the wafer is needed, the sealing cover 15 is opened again, and the transmission component is controlled to transmit the wafer 21 out of the sealed cavity 14.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, after the positioning module 12 positions the wafer 21, the method may further include: the positioning assembly 12 is not matched with the positioning portion 211, and the carrier assembly is controlled to rotate by a predetermined angle, so as to drive the wafer 21 to rotate to a predetermined position by taking the axis of the wafer 21 as an axis.

As shown in fig. 2 to fig. 8, a specific manner of positioning the wafer 21 by the wafer cleaning apparatus and the wafer positioning device 1 and the wafer positioning method thereof according to the embodiment of the present invention is described. As shown in fig. 2, when the wafer 21 needs to be positioned, the sealing cover 15 is opened to make the sealed chamber in an opened state, the two carriers 17 are driven by the two lifters 16 in a one-to-one correspondence manner to rise out of the sealed chamber 14, the robot carries the wafer 21 and places the wafer 21 on the two carriers 17, then, as shown in fig. 3, the two lifters 16 drive the two carriers 17 in a one-to-one correspondence manner to fall down, so that the wafer 21 loaded thereon passes through the two fixed guide members 13 to fall onto the two rotary carrying shafts 11, after the wafer 21 falls onto the two rotary carrying shafts 11, the two lifters 16 continue to drive the two carriers 17 to fall down to separate the two carriers 17 from the wafer 21, after the wafer 21 completely falls into the sealed chamber 14 along with the two carriers 17, the sealing cover 15 is closed to make the sealed chamber in a closed state, then, as shown in fig. 4, the positioning component 121 is lifted to make the positioning structure 122 contact with the edge of the wafer 21, then, as shown in fig. 5, the two rotary carrying shafts 11 start to rotate to drive the wafer 21 carried thereon to rotate, when the positioning portion 211 on the wafer 21 rotates to the positioning structure 122 along with the wafer 21, the positioning structure 122 extends into the notch to abut against one side of the notch, so that the wafer 21 stops rotating, at this time, the two rotary carrying shafts 11 stop rotating to complete the positioning of the wafer 21, then, as shown in fig. 6, the positioning component 121 is lowered to separate the positioning structure 122 from the edge of the wafer 21, the two rotary carrying shafts 11 can continue to rotate to drive the wafer 21 carried thereon to rotate 180 °, so that the notch vertically upwards reaches a preset position, then, as shown in fig. 7, the sealing cover 15 is opened to make the sealing chamber in an open state, and then, as shown in fig. 8, the two lifting members 16 correspondingly drive the two carriers 17 to ascend so as to lift the wafers 21 carried on the two rotary carrying shafts 11 out of the sealed cavity 14, so that the wafers 21 can be taken away by the robot.

In summary, the wafer cleaning apparatus, the wafer positioning device 1 and the wafer positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present invention can improve the working stability of the wafer positioning device 1, and prevent the wafer 21 from being contaminated during and after the positioning process.

It is to be understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments that have been employed to illustrate the principles of the present invention, and that the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and substance of the invention, and these modifications and improvements are also considered to be within the scope of the invention.