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CN-122003119-A - Single-arm double-fork wafer carrying equipment and wafer carrying method

CN122003119ACN 122003119 ACN122003119 ACN 122003119ACN-122003119-A

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductors, in particular to single-arm double-fork wafer carrying equipment and a wafer carrying method, wherein the single-arm double-fork wafer carrying equipment comprises a carrying arm, a hollow shaft, a bearing part, an upper seat gear, a lower seat gear, a first carrying fork and a second carrying fork; the two axial ends of the upper seat gear are respectively provided with an annular supporting part, and the supporting parts are provided with an axial bearing surface and a radial positioning surface which are in contact with the bearing part or the lower seat gear, so that stable rotation and coaxiality between the first carrying fork and the hollow shaft or the second carrying fork are ensured; the invention solves the technical problems that the traditional support structure is easy to wear and has insufficient rigidity to influence the positioning precision and the service life under the conditions of high load and frequent start and stop, actively controls the diffusion path of particles, and thereby remarkably improves the operation reliability and the wafer protection capability of the equipment in an ultra-high clean environment.

Inventors

  • ZHOU RUI
  • BAO RUI
  • LIU HUAPENG
  • YE MINGYU

Assignees

  • 无锡富创得智能科技有限公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20260302

Claims (10)

  1. 1. The single-arm double-fork wafer carrying equipment is characterized by comprising a carrying arm (1), a hollow shaft (11) rotationally connected with one end of the carrying arm (1), a bearing part (12) connected with the hollow shaft (11), an upper seat gear (13) connected with the hollow shaft (11) and a lower seat gear (14) coaxially sleeved on the upper seat gear (13), wherein the upper seat gear (13) is connected with a first carrying fork (15), and the lower seat gear (14) is connected with a second carrying fork (16); The two axial ends of the upper seat gear (13) are respectively provided with an annular supporting part, and the supporting parts are provided with an axial bearing surface (13101) and a radial positioning surface (13102) which are contacted with the bearing part (12) or the lower seat gear (14), so that stable rotation and coaxiality between the first carrying fork (15) and the hollow shaft (11) or the second carrying fork (16) are ensured; bearings are arranged between the upper seat gear (13) and the bearing part (12) as well as between the lower seat gear (14).
  2. 2. The single-arm double-fork wafer handling equipment according to claim 1, wherein the other end of the handling arm (1) is connected with a first driving unit (17) and a second driving unit (18), the first driving unit (17) is in driving connection with the upper seat gear (13), and the second driving unit (18) is in driving connection with the lower seat gear (14); The automatic conveying device is characterized in that the first driving unit (17) is connected with an output wheel in a driving mode, the conveying arm (1) is rotationally connected with a driving piece (19), the driving piece (19) is provided with a first driving wheel (191), the first driving wheel (191) is connected with the output wheel in a driving mode, the driving piece (19) is further provided with a second driving wheel (192), a synchronous belt is connected between the second driving wheel (192) and the upper seat gear (13), and the diameter of the first driving wheel (191) is larger than that of the output wheel.
  3. 3. Single-arm, double-fork wafer handling device according to claim 2, characterized in that the transmission between the second drive unit (18) and the lower seat gear (14) is identical to the transmission between the first drive unit (17) and the upper seat gear (13); The driving parts (19) connected with the lower seat gear (14) or the upper seat gear (13) are inverted and symmetrically distributed on two sides of the carrying arm (1), and the synchronous belts connected with the second driving wheels (192) are vertically staggered in the carrying arm (1).
  4. 4. The single-arm, double-fork wafer handling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support portion comprises at least one bending portion (131), each bending portion (131) being provided with an axial bearing surface (13101) and a radial positioning surface (13102); All the bent parts (131) form a contact area for ensuring stable rotation and coaxiality between the first carrying fork (15) and the hollow shaft (11) or the second carrying fork (16).
  5. 5. The single-arm, double-fork wafer handling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first handling fork (15) comprises a base (151) connected to the upper seat gear (13), a first fork (152) connected to the base (151), a second fork (153) slidingly connected to the base (151), and a pick-and-place drive unit (154) in driving connection with the second fork (153), the pick-and-place drive unit (154) being configured for driving the second fork (153) to switch between a first position and a second position; The first dental fork (152) is provided with at least two first supporting pieces (1521) and at least two second supporting pieces (1522), the second dental fork (153) is provided with at least two third supporting pieces (1531) and at least one fourth supporting piece (1532), and the first supporting pieces (1521), the second supporting pieces (1522), the third supporting pieces (1531) and the fourth supporting pieces (1532) are arranged at equal heights; When the second fork (153) is in the first position, the circle defined by the passage of the at least two first supports (1521) and the at least two third supports (1531) defines a first pick-and-place area for placing a first type of wafer; When the second fork (153) is in the second position, the circle defined by the passage of the at least two second supports (1522) and the at least one fourth support (1532) defines a second pick and place area for placing a second type of wafer.
  6. 6. The single-arm, dual-fork wafer handling apparatus of claim 5, wherein the first support (1521) is provided with a first support section (152101), the third support (1531) is provided with a third support section (153101), the first support section (152101) and the third support section (153101) extending radially of the first pick and place region.
  7. 7. The single-arm, dual-fork wafer handling apparatus of claim 5, wherein the second support (1522) is provided with a second support section (152201), the fourth support (1532) is provided with a fourth support section (153201), the second support section (152201) and the fourth support section (153201) extending radially of the second pick and place region.
  8. 8. The single-arm, double-fork wafer handling apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second handling fork (16) comprises at least three sets of arrangements overlapping in the manner of connection of the base (151), the first fork (152) and the second fork (153), the second handling fork (16) being connected with a translational drive unit (161) driving all the second forks (153), the translational drive unit (161) being adapted to drive the second fork (153) to switch between the first position and the second position.
  9. 9. The single-arm double-fork wafer carrying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a lifting module (2), a sliding seat (21) connected with an output end of the lifting module (2), a base (22) ball-jointed with left and right ends of the sliding seat (21), and a supporting arm (23) with one end hinged with the base (22), wherein the other end of the supporting arm (23) is hinged with the carrying arm (1), the base (22) is provided with a first driving motor (24) and a second driving motor (25) which are respectively in driving connection with the supporting arm (23) and the carrying arm (1), a locking member (26) is connected between the sliding seat (21) and the base (22), and the locking member (26) is used for locking the sliding seat (21) and the base (22); A fine tuning gap for generating relative swing in the up-down direction between the sliding seat (21) and the base (22) is reserved between the sliding seat (21) and the base (22); at least two dustproof wheels (27) are arranged in the inner space of the lifting module (2), a dustproof belt (30) is connected between the dustproof wheels (27), two ends of the dustproof belt (30) are respectively connected to the upper end and the lower end of the sliding seat (21), the sliding seat (21) stretches into the lifting module (2) through a movable area of the dustproof belt (30), a dust removing pipe (31) is connected to an inner space pipeline of the lifting module (2), and the dust removing pipe (31) is used for being connected with an external negative pressure device so as to conveniently suck dust or impurities in the lifting module (2) through negative pressure; when the lifting module (2) drives the sliding seat (21) to move up and down, the dustproof belt (30) synchronously seals a gap between the sliding seat (21) and the lifting module (2).
  10. 10. A wafer handling method for the single-arm, double-fork wafer handling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising the steps of: S1, adjusting the carrying arm (1) to a target height by adopting a lifting module (2), synchronously sealing a gap between a sliding seat (21) and the lifting module (2) by a dust-proof belt (30) in the lifting process, and sucking dust or impurities through a dust-proof pipe (31) by an external negative pressure device; S2, a first driving motor (24) and a second driving motor (25) are adopted to rotate the supporting arm (23) and the carrying arm (1) to a preset angle, so that the first carrying fork (15) and the second carrying fork (16) are aligned to a target station; S3, actively adjusting the postures of the supporting arm (23) and the carrying arm (1) by utilizing the fine adjustment gap between the sliding seat (21) and the base (22), so as to realize accurate alignment compensation on the wafer taking and placing positions; s4, driving a picking and placing driving unit (154) or a translation driving unit (161) according to the type of the wafer, and switching a second tooth fork (153) on the corresponding carrying fork to a first position or a second position so as to match a first picking and placing area or a second picking and placing area; S5, a first driving unit (17) and a second driving unit (18) are adopted to respectively drive the upper seat gear (13) and the lower seat gear (14) to rotate, so that the first carrying fork (15) and the second carrying fork (16) rotate and extend into a target position, and the picking or placing of the wafer is realized; s6, resetting all parts of the equipment to a standby state after carrying is completed; And S7, when the wafer needs to be conveyed, repeating the steps S1 to S6.

Description

Single-arm double-fork wafer carrying equipment and wafer carrying method Technical Field The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductors, in particular to single-arm double-fork wafer conveying equipment and a wafer conveying method. Background In the field of semiconductor manufacturing and packaging testing, a wafer handling robot is a key device for realizing efficient and accurate material transmission. With the continuous progress of integrated circuit process nodes and the increase of wafer size, higher requirements are placed on the flexibility of movement, compactness, operational reliability and clean environment adaptability of the handling system. Particularly in clean room environments, it is critical to prevent particulate contamination, and any wear debris resulting from mechanical movement can cause fatal contamination to the wafer, affecting product yield. At present, a wafer carrying robot with a single-arm double-fork structure is widely adopted in the industry, two independent end effectors are driven to rotate through a shared rotating shaft, and direct transfer of wafers among a plurality of loading ports is realized, so that an additional horizontal walking shaft is omitted, a mechanical structure is simplified, the space utilization efficiency is improved, and a compact transmission layout of a shaft center shaft is often adopted for realizing independent rotation movement of the end effectors. However, at the key rotary joint of the structure, the traditional bearing can ensure the smoothness of relative movement, but has two outstanding problems under the long-term high-speed and frequent start-stop operation conditions: Firstly, the contact area of the bearing and the connecting piece is limited, so that local stress concentration and abrasion are easy to be increased, metal or ceramic particles are generated, and the pollution source in a clean room is formed. Secondly, the bearing itself has limited sealability, and it is difficult to completely prevent the invasion of external environmental particles or the escape of internal abrasion particles, which constitutes a potential risk to the wafer processing environment. Therefore, how to realize compact axial transmission of the shaft and ensure independent movement of the end effector, and effectively improve the dustproof and anti-pollution capabilities of the joint parts, has become a key technical bottleneck to be solved in the design of high-cleanliness semiconductor handling systems. Disclosure of Invention Aiming at the defects of the prior art, the invention provides single-arm double-fork wafer carrying equipment and a wafer carrying method, which solve the technical problems that the traditional support structure is easy to wear and has insufficient rigidity so as to influence the positioning precision and service life under the conditions of high load and frequent start and stop, actively control the diffusion path of particles, and thereby remarkably improve the operation reliability and the wafer protection capability of the equipment in an ultra-high clean environment. In order to solve the technical problems, the invention adopts the following technical scheme: The invention provides single-arm double-fork wafer carrying equipment which comprises a carrying arm, a hollow shaft, a bearing part, an upper seat gear and a lower seat gear, wherein the hollow shaft is rotatably connected with one end of the carrying arm; the two axial ends of the upper seat gear are respectively provided with an annular supporting part, and the supporting parts are provided with an axial bearing surface and a radial positioning surface which are in contact with the bearing part or the lower seat gear, so that stable rotation and coaxiality between the first carrying fork and the hollow shaft or the second carrying fork are ensured; Bearings are arranged between the upper seat gear and the bearing part as well as between the upper seat gear and the lower seat gear. The other end of the carrying arm is connected with a first driving unit and a second driving unit, the first driving unit is in driving connection with the upper seat gear, and the second driving unit is in driving connection with the lower seat gear; the first driving unit is connected with an output wheel in a driving mode, the carrying arm is connected with a driving piece in a rotating mode, the driving piece is provided with a first driving wheel, the first driving wheel is connected with the output wheel in a transmission mode, the driving piece is further provided with a second driving wheel, a synchronous belt is connected between the second driving wheel and the upper seat gear, and the diameter of the first driving wheel is larger than that of the output wheel. The transmission structure between the second driving unit and the lower seat gear is the same as the transmission structure between the first driving unit and the upper seat gear; The driving par