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CN-114613694-B - Substrate processing system, load port and method

CN114613694BCN 114613694 BCN114613694 BCN 114613694BCN-114613694-B

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing system, load port, and method. A system includes at least one sensor and at least one controller. The at least one sensor is configured to generate a first weight signal corresponding to a first weight of a first batch of substrates and a second weight signal corresponding to a second weight of a second batch of substrates. The at least one controller is coupled to the at least one sensor to receive the first weight signal and the second weight signal. The at least one controller is configured to convert a weight difference between the first weight and the second weight into a number of substrates each having a predetermined weight. The at least one controller is further configured to control the processing apparatus to simultaneously rotate the first and second batches of substrates based on the number of substrates after the converting.

Inventors

  • LI CHUANG
  • ZHU HONGHUA

Assignees

  • 台积电(中国)有限公司
  • 台湾积体电路制造股份有限公司
  • 台湾积体电路制造股份有限公司
  • 台积电(中国)有限公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260421
Application Date
20210201
Priority Date
20210201

Claims (19)

  1. 1. A system for wafer processing, comprising: At least one sensor configured to generate: A first weight signal corresponding to a first weight of the first batch of substrates, an A second weight signal corresponding to a second weight of a second batch of substrates, At least one controller coupled to the at least one sensor to receive the first weight signal and the second weight signal, the at least one controller configured to: converting a weight difference between the first weight and the second weight into a number of substrates each having a predetermined weight, Generating an indicator indicating whether the first weight is heavier or lighter than the second weight, and Based on the indicator and the converted number of substrates, a processing apparatus is controlled to simultaneously rotate the first batch of substrates and the second batch of substrates.
  2. 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising: The processing device is provided with a processing unit, Wherein: The processing apparatus includes a balancing mechanism, and The at least one controller is configured to control the balancing mechanism to balance rotation of the first and second substrates simultaneously based on the indicator and the number of converted substrates.
  3. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein: The balancing mechanism includes at least one counterweight, and The at least one controller is configured to control the balancing mechanism to move the at least one counterweight relative to at least one of the first batch of substrates or the second batch of substrates based on the indicator and the converted number of substrates to balance rotation of the first batch of substrates and the second batch of substrates simultaneously.
  4. 4. The system of claim 1, further comprising: A first cassette support configured to support thereon a first cassette containing the first batch of substrates, Wherein the at least one sensor comprises at least one first sensor coupled to the first cassette support and configured to generate the first weight signal corresponding to a first total weight of the first cassette and the first batch of substrates.
  5. 5. The system of claim 4, further comprising: a second cassette support configured to support thereon a second cassette containing the second batch of substrates, Wherein the at least one sensor further comprises at least one second sensor coupled to the second cassette support and configured to generate the second weight signal corresponding to a second total weight of the second cassette and the second batch of substrates.
  6. 6. The system of claim 5, wherein: the at least one first sensor comprises a plurality of first sensors, The at least one second sensor comprises a plurality of second sensors, The system further comprises: a plurality of first rods each extending downwardly from a bottom of the first cartridge support to a respective one of the plurality of first sensors, the plurality of first rods configured to transmit a first load corresponding to the first total weight to the plurality of first sensors, and A plurality of second bars, each second bar extending downwardly from a bottom of the second cartridge support to a respective second sensor of the plurality of second sensors, the plurality of second bars configured to transmit a second load corresponding to the second total weight to the plurality of second sensors.
  7. 7. The system of claim 5, wherein the system is a wafer processing system comprising: a plurality of processing devices including a processing device as a rotary dryer; a housing accommodating the plurality of processing apparatuses, and A load port configured to load the first and second substrates into the housing for processing by one or more of the plurality of processing devices, Wherein the load port comprises the first cassette support, the second cassette support, the at least one first sensor, and the at least one second sensor.
  8. 8. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one controller comprises: An analog-to-digital converter ADC configured to: converting the first weight signal into first weight data corresponding to the first weight, and Converting the second weight signal into second weight data corresponding to the second weight, and Processing circuitry coupled to the ADC to receive the first weight data and the second weight data, the processing circuitry configured to: Generating a plurality of first bits corresponding to the number of converted substrates, and A second bit is generated, wherein a first logic state of the second bit indicates that the first weight is heavier than the second weight, and an opposite second logic state of the second bit indicates that the first weight is lighter than the second weight.
  9. 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one controller comprises: a microcontroller MCU including the ADC and the processing circuit, and A programmable logic controller, PLC, coupled to the MCU to receive the plurality of first bits and the second bits, the PLC configured to control the processing apparatus to balance rotation of the first and second substrates simultaneously based on the plurality of first bits and the second bits.
  10. 10. A load port for a wafer processing system, the load port comprising: A first cassette support configured to support thereon a first cassette containing a first batch of wafers; at least one first sensor coupled to the first cassette support and configured to generate a first weight signal corresponding to a first total weight of the first cassette and the first lot of wafers; A second cassette support configured to support thereon a second cassette containing a second batch of wafers; at least one second sensor coupled to the second cassette support and configured to generate a second weight signal corresponding to a second total weight of the second cassette and the second batch of wafers, and A microcontroller MCU coupled to the at least one first sensor and the at least one second sensor to receive the first weight signal and the second weight signal, respectively, the MCU configured to: converting a weight difference between the first total weight and the second total weight into a number of wafers each having a predetermined weight, Generating an indicator indicating whether the first lot of wafers is heavier or lighter than the second lot of wafers, and The indicator and the converted wafer number are output to a controller of a processing apparatus of the wafer processing system to enable the controller to control the processing apparatus to balance rotation of the first and second lot of wafers simultaneously.
  11. 11. The load port of claim 10, further comprising: At least one first lever extending downwardly from a bottom of the first cartridge support to the at least one first sensor, the at least one first lever configured to transmit a first load corresponding to the first total weight to the at least one first sensor, and At least one second lever extending downwardly from a bottom of the second cartridge support to the at least one second sensor, the at least one second lever configured to transmit a second load corresponding to the second total weight to the at least one second sensor.
  12. 12. The load port of claim 11, wherein: The first cartridge support includes at least one first hollow hub on a bottom thereof, an upper end of the at least one first rod being received in the at least one first hollow hub to couple the at least one first rod to the first cartridge support, and The second cartridge support includes at least one second hollow hub on a bottom thereof, an upper end of the at least one second rod being received in the at least one second hollow hub to couple the at least one second rod to the second cartridge support.
  13. 13. The load port of claim 11, further comprising: A platform over which the first and second cartridge supports are disposed, Wherein the at least one first rod and the at least one second rod extend through the platform from the bottom of the first cartridge support and the second cartridge support, respectively, down to the at least one first sensor and the at least one second sensor.
  14. 14. The load port of claim 10, wherein the MCU comprises: An analog-to-digital converter ADC configured to: converting the first weight signal into first weight data corresponding to the first total weight, and Converting the second weight signal into second weight data corresponding to the second total weight, and Processing circuitry coupled to the ADC to receive the first weight data and the second weight data, the processing circuitry configured to: Generating a plurality of first bits corresponding to the converted number of wafers, and A second bit is generated, wherein a first logic state of the second bit indicates that the first lot of wafers is heavier than the second lot of wafers and an opposite second logic state of the second bit indicates that the first lot of wafers is lighter than the second lot of wafers.
  15. 15. A method for wafer processing, comprising: Acquiring a weight difference between a first weight of the first batch of substrates and a second weight of the second batch of substrates; converting the weight difference into a number of substrates each having a predetermined weight; Generating an indicator indicating whether the first weight is heavier or lighter than the second weight, and Based on the converted number of substrates and the indicator, a processing apparatus is controlled to balance rotation of the first and second substrates simultaneously.
  16. 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein: The controlling includes: moving at least one counterweight of a balance mechanism of the processing apparatus toward the first batch of substrates installed in the processing apparatus in response to the indicator indicating that the first weight is lighter than the second weight, and In response to the indicator indicating that the first weight is heavier than the second weight, moving the at least one counterweight of a balancing mechanism of the processing apparatus toward the second batch of substrates installed in the processing apparatus, As a result of the movement, the at least one weight is moved a distance corresponding to the number of converted substrates.
  17. 17. The method according to claim 15, wherein: The actual weight of the first substrates in the first batch of substrates is different from at least one of: The predetermined weight, or The actual weight of the second substrate in the second batch of substrates.
  18. 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the obtaining the weight difference comprises: detecting, by at least one first sensor, a first total weight of a first cassette containing the first batch of substrates and the first weight of the first batch of substrates; Detecting a second total weight of a second cassette containing the second batch of substrates and the second weight of the second batch of substrates by at least one second sensor, and The first total weight is subtracted from the second total weight and the result of this subtraction is employed as a weight difference between the first weight of the first batch of substrates and the second weight of the second batch of substrates.
  19. 19. The method according to claim 15, wherein: the converting includes: Dividing the weight difference by the predetermined weight, regardless of whether the predetermined weight is the actual weight of any substrate in the first or second batch of substrates, and Rounding the result of dividing the weight difference by the predetermined weight to obtain the converted number of substrates, The method further comprises the steps of: The following are entered into the controller of the processing device, A plurality of first bits corresponding to the number of converted substrates, and A second bit, wherein a first logic state of the second bit indicates that the first weight is heavier than the second weight, and an opposite second logic state of the second bit indicates that the first weight is lighter than the second weight.

Description

Substrate processing system, load port and method Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing system, load port, and method. Background Integrated Circuits (ICs) are used in a variety of electronic devices, such as computers, cameras, cellular phones, tablet computers, and the like. ICs are typically fabricated on a wafer through a series of processing steps such as material deposition, patterning, etching, cleaning, drying, singulation, and the like. In some applications, the IC fabrication step includes a wet clean that includes immersing the wafer to be cleaned in a liquid to remove contaminants. After wet cleaning, the cleaned wafer is mounted in a spin dryer apparatus called a "spin dryer (SPIN DRYER)", and rotated at a high speed by the spin dryer to remove liquid remaining on the cleaned wafer by centrifugal force. During such high speed rotation, rotational balance of the spin dryer and/or the wafer mounted therein is a consideration in the IC fabrication process and/or apparatus. Disclosure of Invention According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for wafer processing is provided that includes at least one sensor configured to generate a first weight signal corresponding to a first weight of a first batch of substrates and a second weight signal corresponding to a second weight of a second batch of substrates, at least one controller coupled to the at least one sensor to receive the first weight signal and the second weight signal, the at least one controller configured to convert a weight difference between the first weight and the second weight into a number of substrates each having a predetermined weight, and to control a processing device to simultaneously rotate the first batch of substrates and the second batch of substrates based on the converted number of substrates. According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a load port for a wafer processing system is provided, the load port comprising a first cassette support configured to support thereon a first cassette containing a first batch of wafers, at least one first sensor coupled to the first cassette support and configured to generate a first weight signal corresponding to a first total weight of the first cassette and the first batch of wafers, a second cassette support configured to support thereon a second cassette containing a second batch of wafers, at least one second sensor coupled to the second cassette support and configured to generate a second weight signal corresponding to a second total weight of the second cassette and the second batch of wafers, and a microcontroller coupled to the at least one first sensor and the at least one second sensor to receive the first weight signal and the second weight signal, respectively, the microcontroller configured to control a concurrent rotation of the first and second batch of wafers with a predetermined number of wafers than the first and second batch of wafers, the controller being capable of controlling the wafer processing system by a predetermined number of wafers. According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for wafer processing is provided that includes obtaining a weight difference between a first weight of a first batch of substrates and a second weight of a second batch of substrates, converting the weight difference into a number of substrates each having a predetermined weight, generating an indicator indicating whether the first weight is heavier or lighter than the second weight, and controlling a processing apparatus to balance rotation of the first batch of substrates and the second batch of substrates simultaneously based on the converted number of substrates and the indicator. Drawings Aspects of the disclosure may be best understood from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. Note that the various features are not drawn to scale according to standard practice in the industry. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wafer processing system according to some embodiments. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a substrate processing system according to some embodiments. Fig. 3A is a schematic side view of a cassette support (cassette support) according to some embodiments. Fig. 3B is a schematic partial top view of the cartridge support in fig. 3A according to some embodiments. Fig. 3C is a schematic diagram of a sensor arrangement on a cartridge support and a corresponding controller according to some embodiments. Fig. 4 is a flow chart of a method according to some embodiments. Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a controller according to some embodiments. Fig. 6 is a block diagram of an IC fabrication system and an IC fabrication flow associated therewith, in accordance with some embodiments. Detailed Description The following disclosure provides ma