US-12623358-B2 - Transfer blade for robot

US12623358B2US 12623358 B2US12623358 B2US 12623358B2US-12623358-B2

Abstract

Z The present disclosure is directed to a transfer blade including a first end segment, a second end segment opposite to the first end segment, and an intermediate segment extending from the first end segment to the second end segment. The first end segment includes a first contact region and the second end segment includes a second contact region. The first and second contact regions are configured to contact locations of a surface of a workpiece that do not overlap or are not aligned with a sensitive area of the workpiece. The sensitive area of the workpiece may be an EUV frame or a reticle of the workpiece. A non-contact region extends continuously along the first end segment, the intermediate segment, and the second end segment, and the non-contact region overlaps the sensitive area of the workpiece and is spaced apart from the sensitive area of the workpiece.

Inventors

Chih-Wei Chou
Sheng-Yuan Lin
Yuan-Hsin CHI
Hung-Chih Wang
Yu-Chi Liu

Assignees

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220519

Claims (20)

1 . A blade, comprising: a first end segment; a second end segment opposite to the first end segment; an intermediate segment extending from the first end segment to the second end segment; a first raised contact region at the first end segment, the first raised contact region including one or more first raised surfaces; a second raised contact region at the second end segment, the second raised contact region including one or more second raised surfaces; and a recessed region including: a first portion that extends into the first raised contact region and is on the first end segment; a second portion that extends into the second raised contact region and is on the second end segment; a third portion that extends from the first portion to the second portion along the intermediate segment and is on the intermediate segment; and one or more recessed surfaces extending along the first portion, the second portion, and the third portion, wherein the one or more recessed surfaces are recessed relative to the one or more first and second raised surfaces, and the one or more first and second raised surfaces are raised relative to the one or more recessed surfaces, and wherein, when a workpiece is present on the first contact region and the second contact region, the first portion of the recessed region overlaps a first corner of a critical region of the workpiece and the second portion of the recessed region overlaps a second corner of the critical region of the workpiece.
2 . The blade of claim 1 , wherein the first end segment includes a first extension and a second extension that is spaced apart from the first extension, and the first extension and the second extension extend outward from the intermediate segment.
3 . The blade of claim 2 , wherein: the first portion of the recessed region is on the first extension; and the first raised contact region is on the first extension and the second extension.
4 . The blade of claim 1 , further comprising: a first hook at the first extension; and a second hook at the second extension, wherein the first hook and the second hook are configured to be adjacent to an edge of a workpiece to position the workpiece on the first raised contact region and the second contact region and align a critical region of the workpiece to only overlap the recessed region.
5 . The blade of claim 3 , wherein, when the workpiece is present on the first raised contact region and the second raised contact region, the critical region of the workpiece only overlaps the recessed region, the one or more first and second raised surfaces of the first and second raised contact regions contact a surface of the workpeice, and the one or more recessed surfaces are spaced apart from the surface of the workpiece.
6 . The blade of claim 1 , wherein the recessed region extends continuously along the first end segment, the second end segment, and the intermediate segment.
7 . The blade of claim 1 , wherein: the first portion of the recessed region has a first surface area; the second portion of the recessed region has a second surface area; and the third portion of the recessed region has a third surface area greater than the first surface area and greater than the second surface area.
8 . The blade of claim 7 , wherein a sum of the first surface area and the second surface area is less than the third surface area.
9 . The blade of claim 1 , further comprising a surface opposite to the one or more first raised surfaces, the one or more second raised surfaces, and the one or more recessed surfaces, wherein: the first end segment has a first thickness at the first portion of the recessed region extending between a corresponding one of the one or more recessed surfaces and the surface, and a second thickness at the first raised contact region extending between a corresponding one of the one or more first raised surfaces and the surface, the second thickness being greater than the first thickness; the second end segment has the first thickness at the second portion of the recessed region extending between a corresponding one of the one or more recessed surfaces and the surface, and the second thickness at the second raised contact region extending between a corresponding one of the one or more second raised surfaces and the surface; and the intermediate segment has the first thickness at the third portion of the recessed region extending between a corresponding one of the one or more recessed surfaces and the surface.
10 . A robot, comprising: a motor; a hub bearing in mechanical cooperation with the motor, the hub bearing configured to be rotated by the motor; a mount member coupled to the hub bearing, the mount member extending outward from the hub bearing to an end of the mount member; an elbow bearing coupled to the end of the mount member; an elbow arm coupled to the elbow bearing; and a blade coupled to the elbow arm, the blade including: a first end segment; a second end segment opposite to the first end segment; an intermediate segment extending from the first end segment to the second end segment; a first raised contact region at the first end segment; a second raised contact region at the second end segment; and a recessed region including: a first portion that extends into the first raised contact region and is on the first end segment; a second portion that extends into the second raised contact region and is on the second end segment; and a third portion that extends from the first portion to the second portion along the intermediate segment and is on the intermediate segment, wherein respective surfaces of the first and second raised contact regions are configured to physically contact a surface of a workpiece being transferred from a first location to a second location by the robot utilizing the blade, and a respective surface of the recessed region is spaced apart from the surface of the workpiece.
11 . The robot of claim 10 , wherein a critical region of the workpiece only overlaps the recessed region of the blade.
12 . The robot of claim 10 , wherein: the first portion of the recessed region has a first surface area; the second portion of the recessed region has a second surface area; and the third portion of the recessed region has a third surface area greater than the first surface area and greater than the second surface area.
13 . The robot of claim 12 , wherein a sum of the first surface and the second surface area is less than the third surface area.
14 . The robot of claim 10 , wherein: the first end segment has a first thickness at the first portion of the recessed region and a second thickness at the first raised contact region, the second thickness being greater than the first thickness; the second end segment has the first thickness at the second portion of the recessed region and the second thickness at the second raised contact region; and the intermediate segment has the first thickness at the third portion of the recessed region.
15 . A method, comprising: aligning selected locations at a surface of a workpiece with one or more raised contact regions of a blade of a robot; aligning a recessed region of the blade of the robot with a critical region of a workpiece to space apart a recessed surface of the recessed region from the surface of the workpiece; and placing the selected locations at the surface of the workpiece onto the one or more raised contact regions of the blade of the robot and overlapping the critical region of the workpiece with the recessed region, the surface of the workpiece including non-contact regions that are adjacent to the selected locations, and the non-contact regions remain spaced apart from the blade of the robot, and the non-contact regions being overlapped by the critical region.
16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising transferring the workpiece from a first location to a second location utilizing the blade of the robot.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein transferring the workpiece from the first location to the second location includes: lifting the workpiece by contacting the selected locations of the workpiece with the one or more raised contact regions of the blade; and moving the workpiece from the first location to the second location utilizing the blade of the robot.
18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the selected locations are spaced laterally outward from the critical region of the workpiece.
19 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a through hole that extends through the intermediate portion.
20 . The blade of claim 3 , wherein a first respective portion of the first raised contact region along the first extension is smaller than a second respective portion of the first raised contact region along the second extension.

Description

BACKGROUND Generally, in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, robots are often utilized to transfer a workpiece, such as a silicon wafer, between various processing apparatuses such as processing tools. In some system architectures, a workpiece carrier is mounted to an arm of the robot, wherein the workpiece carrier is configured to transport the workpiece between the processing apparatuses. The workpiece carrier may be a transfer blade of the robot that picks up and supports the workpiece while transferring the workpiece within the processing apparatus or between processing apparatuses. For example, as discussed above, one common workpiece carrier includes a transfer or robot blade coupled to an end of the robot, wherein the workpiece rests on the robot blade during transportation thereof by the robot. Typically, gravity maintains the position of the workpiece with respect to the robot blade. As such, inertial forces of the workpiece with respect to the robot blade tend to limit a speed of travel of the robot blade. Further conventional approaches include a vacuum source on the robot arm, wherein the robot blade utilizes the vacuum source to maintain the position of the workpiece relative to the robot blade. For example, the vacuum source is plumbed to the robot blade in order to selectively provide a vacuum to an interface between the workpiece and the robot blade, thereby selectively fixing the position of the workpiece with respect to the robot blade. Furthermore, electrostatic forces are used to attract a workpiece to a workpiece retaining surface of a robot blade, which is typically made of a dielectric. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elements or acts unless the context indicates otherwise. It is noted that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a transfer blade. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a defect map of defects on a backside surface of a workpiece as a result of utilizing the transfer blade shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3A illustrates an example of a transfer blade, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3B illustrates the example of the transfer blade as shown in FIG. 3A, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3C illustrates the example of the transfer blade as shown in FIG. 3A, in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3D illustrates the example of the transfer blade as shown in FIG. 3A, in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3E illustrates the example of the transfer blade as shown in FIG. 3A, in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a workpiece on the example of the transfer blade as illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3E, in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a workpiece on the example of the transfer blade as illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3E, in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a robot including one or more of the embodiment of the transfer blade as illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3E, in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a processing apparatus or tool in which the example of the robot including one or more of the example of the transfer blade as illustrated in FIG. 6, in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a method of transferring a workpiece, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the provided subject matter. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed between the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed. Further, spatially relative terms, s