阅读说明：本技术 晶圆处理系统与防撞方法 (Wafer processing system and collision avoidance method ) 是由 金成基 崔钟武 崔致久 李殷廷 于 2019-11-08 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供了一种在晶圆处理系统中防止碰撞的方法,包括：对齐第一传感器与第二传感器,所述第一传感器设置于升降构件的预定位置,所述升降构件连接至所述晶圆处理系统的垂直晶舟的底部,所述第二传感器设置在所述晶圆处理系统的腔室的遮盘；以及当所述腔室被所述遮盘关闭时,启动所述第一传感器与所述第二传感器以监测沿着所述垂直晶舟侧边的路径。(The invention provides a method for preventing collision in a wafer processing system, which comprises the following steps: aligning a first sensor disposed at a predetermined position of a lifting member connected to a bottom of a vertical boat of the wafer processing system with a second sensor disposed at a shadow disc of a chamber of the wafer processing system; and activating the first sensor and the second sensor to monitor a path along the side of the vertical boat when the chamber is closed by the shutter disk.)

1. A method of preventing collisions in a wafer processing system, the method comprising:

aligning a first sensor with a second sensor, wherein the first sensor is disposed at a predetermined position of a lifting member, the lifting member is connected to a bottom of a vertical boat of the wafer processing system, and the second sensor is disposed at a shutter disk of a chamber of the wafer processing system; and

activating the first sensor and the second sensor to monitor a path along a side of the vertical boat when the chamber is closed by the shutter disk.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the first sensor and the second sensor transmits a signal along the path to the other of the first sensor and the second sensor.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the method further comprises:

generating an alert by a monitoring component of the wafer processing system when the signal is obscured.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the signal is masked by portions of the vertical boat.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the signal is masked by a wafer sliding out of the vertical boat.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the chamber is a chemical vapor deposition furnace.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are laser sensors.

8. A wafer processing system, comprising:

chamber

The shielding disc is arranged at the inlet of the chamber;

the vertical wafer boat is used for bearing wafers;

a lifting member connected to the bottom of the vertical boat; and

the first sensor is arranged at a preset position of the lifting component, the second sensor is arranged on the shielding disc, and the first sensor and the second sensor are mutually aligned so as to monitor a path along the side of the vertical boat when the chamber is closed by the shielding disc.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein one of the first sensor and the second sensor transmits a signal along the path to the other of the first sensor and the second sensor.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the system further comprises:

a monitoring component configured to receive data from the first sensor and the second sensor, wherein the monitoring component generates an alert when the signal is obscured by a portion of the vertical boat or a wafer sliding out of the vertical boat.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, and more particularly to a method for preventing collisions in a wafer processing system.

Background

When the vertical boat is transferred to the reaction furnace, the vertical boat may be tilted by the vibration in the movement. The impact between the vertical boat and the reactor will cause damage to both, and maintenance or replacement of the reactor will increase the down time of the production line.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, there is a need for a method of preventing collisions in a wafer processing system.

The invention provides a method for preventing collision in a wafer processing system, which comprises the steps of aligning a first sensor and a second sensor, wherein the first sensor is arranged at a preset position of a lifting member, the lifting member is connected to the bottom of a vertical wafer boat of the wafer processing system, and the second sensor is arranged on a shielding disc of a chamber of the wafer processing system; and activating the first sensor and the second sensor to monitor a path along the side of the vertical boat when the chamber is closed by the shutter disk.

In some embodiments of the present invention, one of the first sensor and the second sensor transmits a signal along the path to the other of the first sensor and the second sensor.

In some embodiments of the invention, the method further comprises: generating an alert by a monitoring component of the wafer processing system when the signal is obscured.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the signal is masked by a portion of the vertical boat.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the signal is masked by a wafer sliding out of the vertical boat.

In some embodiments of the invention, the chamber is a chemical vapor deposition furnace.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the first sensor and the second sensor are laser sensors.

The present invention also provides a wafer processing system, comprising: a chamber; a shutter disk disposed at an inlet of the chamber; a vertical boat for carrying wafers; a lifting member connected to the bottom of the vertical boat, and a first sensor and a second sensor. The first sensor is disposed at a predetermined position of the elevating member, the second sensor is disposed at the shutter disk, and the first sensor and the second sensor are aligned with each other to monitor a path along a side of the vertical boat when the chamber is closed by the shutter disk.

In some embodiments of the present invention, one of the first sensor and the second sensor transmits a signal along the path to the other of the first sensor and the second sensor.

In some embodiments of the invention, the system further comprises: a monitoring component configured to receive data from the first sensor and the second sensor.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the monitoring component generates an alert when the signal is obscured by a portion of the vertical boat or a wafer sliding out of the vertical boat.

Drawings

FIG. 1A is a schematic view of a wafer processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a first schematic diagram of the system shown in FIG. 1A when it detects that the path is blocked.

FIG. 1C is a second schematic diagram illustrating the system shown in FIG. 1A detecting that the path is blocked.

Description of the main elements

Wafer processing system 100

Lifting member 110

Support rod 111

Chamber 120

Shutter disk 130

Control module 131

First sensor 140

Second sensor 150

Path 160

Vertical boat 170

Wafer 171

Arrow 172

The following detailed description will further illustrate the invention in conjunction with the above-described figures.

Detailed Description

The technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the described embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, and not restrictive of the full scope of the invention. All other embodiments, which can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without any inventive step based on the embodiments of the present invention, are within the scope of the present invention. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.

In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on those shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of describing the embodiments of the present invention and simplifying the description, but do not indicate or imply that the device or component in question must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus should not be construed as limiting the embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defined as "first", "second", may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the described features. In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, "a plurality" means two or more unless specifically limited otherwise.

Referring to fig. 1A, a wafer processing system 100 is provided according to an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the wafer processing system 100 includes a chamber 120, a shutter disk 130 disposed at an entrance of the chamber 120, a vertical boat 170 for carrying wafers 171, a lifting member 110 connected to a bottom of the vertical boat 170 by a support rod 111, and a first sensor 140 and a second sensor 150. The first sensor 140 and the second sensor 150 are a pair of sensors. The first sensor 140 is disposed at a predetermined position of the elevation member 110. The second sensor 150 is disposed on the shutter disk 130. For example, the first sensor 140 is installed at the edge of the lifting member 110 and is disposed to direct a signal transmitting or receiving direction upward. The second sensor 150 is installed at the edge of the shutter disk 130 and sets a signal transmitting or receiving direction downward. In some embodiments, the wafer processing system 100 may have multiple pairs of sensors, such as a pair of sensors on both sides of a vertical boat.

The chamber 120 may be a furnace chamber or furnace tube for a deposition process, such as a low pressure chemical vapor deposition furnace. The shutter disk 130 is movable, and the control module 131 of the wafer processing system 100 may close or open the chamber 120 by horizontally rotating the shutter disk 130. The vertical boat 170 may be raised or lowered by the lifting means 110.

In some embodiments, the first sensor 140 and the second sensor 150 are aligned with each other to monitor the path 160 along the side of the vertical boat 170 when the chamber 120 is closed by the shutter disk 130, as shown in fig. 1A. After monitoring is initiated, one of the first sensor 140 and the second sensor 150 transmits a signal along the path 160 to the other of the first sensor 140 and the second sensor 150. For example, the first sensor 140 and the second sensor 150 are optical sensors, such as laser sensors, that send visible laser light along the path 160. The distance between the first sensor 140 and the second sensor 150 may be at most 10 meters apart. The first sensor 140 and the second sensor 150 can withstand heat in excess of 600 degrees celsius.

Referring to fig. 1B-1C, schematic diagrams of when the wafer processing system 100 detects that the path 160 is blocked are shown. The wafer processing system 100 may further comprise a monitoring unit (not shown) for receiving data from the first sensor 140 and/or the second sensor 150. The monitoring unit is configured to monitor the path 160 to prevent the vertical substrate boat 170 from colliding with the chamber 120 when the vertical substrate boat 170 is lifted into the chamber 120 by the lifting member 110 (as indicated by arrow 172). In some embodiments, the control module 131 opens the chamber 120 when the vertical substrate boat 170 is a predetermined distance from the inlet. When the shutter disk 130 moves to a predetermined position to make room for the vertical boat 170, the sensing is temporarily disabled.

For example, in the case where the vertical boat 170 is tilted during vertical movement, the monitoring unit generates an alert when the signal on the path 160 is partially obscured by the vertical boat 170, as shown in FIG. 1B. Additionally or alternatively, the wafer processing system 100 may suspend process operations when an alert is generated.

Also, in case the wafer 171 is out of the slot of the vertical boat 170 during the vertical movement, the monitoring unit generates an alarm when the signal on the path 160 is blocked by the wafer slipping out of the vertical boat 170, as shown in fig. 1C. Additionally or alternatively, the wafer processing system 100 may suspend process operations when an alert is generated.

As with loading the vertical boats 170 into the chamber 120, the monitoring unit may monitor the roads 160 as the vertical boats 170 are removed from the chamber 120. When the upper surface of the vertical boat 170 leaves the chamber 120 during the lowering process, the shutter disk 130 is closed. Accordingly, sensing is enabled. Any blockage of the path 160 is detected during the lowering of the vertical boat 170 back to the original position and the monitoring unit generates an alert.

Through the above implementation method, the collision between the vertical boat or wafer and the chamber can be avoided.

It should be understood that the above examples are only for illustrating the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made in the technical spirit of the present invention within the scope of the appended claims.