CN114864458B

CN114864458B - Wafer boxes, wafer handling equipment and control methods, electrical equipment and storage media

Info

Publication number: CN114864458B
Application number: CN202210575366.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张原�; 杨青峰; 潘国瑞; 崔智敏; 韩宁宁
Original assignee: Shenzhen Sking Intelligent Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Sking Intelligent Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-05-24
Filing date: 2022-05-24
Publication date: 2025-11-04
Anticipated expiration: 2042-05-24
Also published as: CN114864458A

Abstract

The embodiment of the application discloses a wafer box, wafer carrying equipment, a control method, electrical equipment and a storage medium. The wafer box comprises a bearing piece and a light source, wherein the bearing piece comprises two side plate parts and a plurality of bearing plates which are oppositely arranged, an accommodating space and a taking and placing opening which is arranged on one side of the accommodating space are arranged between the two side plate parts, the accommodating space is used for accommodating a plurality of wafers, the bearing plates are connected to one side, which is close to the accommodating space, of the two side plate parts, the two bearing plates and the side plate parts which are adjacently arranged form a containing groove together, the light source is arranged on one side, which is far away from the taking and placing opening, of the accommodating space and on one side, which is close to the containing groove, of at least one side plate part, and is used for emitting light towards the containing groove, when the containing groove contains the edges of the wafers, one part of light of the light source is blocked by the wafers, and the other part of light of the light source is emitted towards the taking and placing opening.

Description

Wafer cassette, wafer handling apparatus, control method, electric apparatus, and storage medium

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of semiconductor technologies, and in particular, to a wafer box, a wafer handling apparatus, a control method, an electrical apparatus, and a storage medium.

Background

In the process of packaging and testing semiconductors, wafers need to be transported among different devices to carry out operations such as scribing, probe detection or die bonding, and automatic wafer transportation and detection become important links in the process flow of manufacturing semiconductors. Different wafer operation process equipment have different requirements on the size, surface quality and grain yield of incoming wafers, and the wafers are affected by the environment and operation in the processes of storage, transportation and carrying operation, so that certain damage and reject ratio exist, and the problems that the conventional wafer can not be subjected to definite force sensing and counting in the process of taking and placing all bring challenges to the accurate alignment, carrying and automatic operation of the wafers.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application discloses a wafer box, wafer carrying equipment and control method, electrical equipment and storage medium, which can achieve the aims of accurately aligning, carrying and automatizing the wafer.

In one aspect, the embodiment of the application discloses a wafer box, which comprises a bearing piece and a light source, wherein the bearing piece comprises two side plate parts and a plurality of bearing plates which are oppositely arranged, an accommodating space and a taking and placing opening which is positioned at one side of the accommodating space are arranged between the two side plate parts, the accommodating space is used for accommodating a plurality of wafers, the bearing plates are connected to one side of the two side plate parts, which is close to the accommodating space, and the two bearing plates and the side plate parts which are adjacently arranged form an accommodating groove together and are used for accommodating the edges of the wafers, and the light source is arranged at one side of the accommodating space, which is far from the taking and placing opening, and at least one side of the side plate part, which is close to the accommodating groove, and is used for emitting light towards the accommodating groove.

Compared with the prior art, the wafer box provided by the application has the advantages that the light source is arranged on one side, far away from the picking and placing opening, of the accommodating space and one side, close to the accommodating groove, of the side plate part, so that when the accommodating groove accommodates the wafer, part of light rays of the light source are shielded by the wafer, and the other part of light rays of the light source are emitted to the picking and placing opening, thereby the light and shade contrast in the wafer box is stronger, and the storage condition of the wafer in the wafer box can be observed more clearly.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the light source includes a first light source disposed on a side of the accommodating space away from the access opening, a second light source disposed on a side of one of the side plate portions near the receiving groove, and a third light source disposed on a side of the other of the side plate portions near the receiving groove. By arranging the first light source, the second light source and the third light source, the light in the wafer box can be irradiated more uniformly, and shadow is not easy to generate to influence the observation of the storage of the wafers.

According to one embodiment of the application, the first light source comprises a light-emitting plate, the light-emitting plate is connected between the two side plate parts and used for emitting light towards one side of the picking and placing opening through the accommodating space, the number of the second light source, the number of the third light source and the number of the containing grooves are all multiple, and each second light source and each third light source are used for emitting light towards the corresponding containing groove. Through setting up first light source includes the luminescent plate, every second light source and every third light source are used for orientation corresponds accomodate the groove and give out light, make the light source right accommodation space forms C and gives out light, more match the shape of wafer is difficult for producing the shadow, is convenient for observe more clearly in the wafer box the depositing condition of wafer.

According to an embodiment of the present application, the carrier further includes a back plate portion, the back plate portion is connected to one end of the two side plate portions away from the pick-and-place opening, the number of the light sources is plural, the number of the storage slots is plural, each of the light sources is disposed corresponding to one of the storage slots and includes the first light source disposed on a side of the back plate portion near the accommodating space, the second light source disposed on a side of one of the side plate portions near the storage slot, and the third light source disposed on a side of the other side plate portion near the storage slot. Through set up in backplate portion is close to the first light source of accommodation space one side, set up in one curb plate portion is close to the second light source of accommodation groove one side and set up in another curb plate portion is close to the third light source of accommodation groove one side is used for orientation corresponding the accommodation groove is luminous, makes the light source right accommodation space forms C type and shines, more matches the shape of wafer is difficult for producing the shadow, is convenient for more clearly observe in the wafer box the depositing condition of wafer.

According to an embodiment of the application, the first, second and third light sources emit light independently and/or at least two of the first, second and third light sources are connected together and emit light simultaneously.

According to one embodiment of the application, the first light source, the second light source and the third light source all comprise light emitting surfaces corresponding to the side surfaces of the wafer, the top of the light emitting surfaces is higher than the corresponding top of the wafer, and the back plate part is an arc plate protruding outwards towards the accommodating space or the surface, close to the accommodating space, of the back plate part is an arc surface protruding outwards towards the accommodating space. Through setting up first light source the second light source the third light source is all including being used for corresponding the light emitting area of the side of wafer, the height at light emitting area top is higher than corresponding the height at wafer top, can realize the light source is right when shining the wafer, when part light of light source is by the wafer is sheltered from, another part light still can be directed towards get the mouth of putting, make user or other operating device be convenient for follow get the mouth of putting to the wafer is deposited the condition and is carried out clear observation in the wafer box, simultaneously, through setting up backplate portion for towards the arc that the accommodation space is outer protruding or backplate portion is close to the surface of accommodation space is towards the outer protruding arc surface of accommodation space, can more match with the shape of wafer, more be convenient for deposit of wafer.

In two aspects, the embodiment of the application also discloses wafer handling equipment, which comprises the wafer box, a handling module, a visual sensing module and a control module, wherein the handling module is used for acquiring or placing the wafer from the pick-and-place opening, the visual sensing module is used for shooting the accommodating space at one side of the pick-and-place opening and outputting a first shooting image, and the control module is electrically connected with the handling module and the visual sensing module and is used for receiving and controlling the handling module to perform alignment according to the first shooting image and controlling the handling module to acquire or place the wafer after the alignment is completed.

Compared with the prior art, the wafer handling equipment provided by the application has the advantages that the accommodating space is shot at one side of the picking and placing port, the first shot image is output, the control module controls the handling module to perform alignment according to the first shot image, and controls the handling module to acquire or place the wafer, so that the wafer in the wafer box is accurately aligned and grabbed, and the wafer is accurately handled and automatically operated.

In three aspects, the embodiment of the application also discloses a wafer carrying control method, which comprises the following steps:

providing a wafer box, wherein the wafer box is the wafer box according to any one of the above embodiments;

When the light source emits light, a first shooting image of the accommodating space is shot at one side of the picking and placing opening;

controlling the alignment of the carrying module according to the first shooting image and

And after the alignment is finished, controlling the carrying module to acquire or place the wafer.

Compared with the prior art, the wafer carrying control method provided by the application has the advantages that when the light source emits light towards the accommodating space, the first shooting image shot at one side of the picking and placing port is obtained, the carrying module is controlled to carry out contraposition according to the first shooting image, the acquisition or the placing of the wafer is completed, the accurate contraposition and the grabbing of the wafer in the wafer box are realized, and therefore, the accurate carrying and the automatic operation of the wafer are realized.

In a fourth aspect, the embodiment of the present application further discloses an electrical apparatus, where the electrical apparatus includes a memory and a processor, where the memory stores computer readable instructions, and when the computer readable instructions are executed by the processor, the processor is caused to implement the wafer handling control method according to any one of the above.

In a fifth aspect, the embodiments of the present application further disclose a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement a wafer handling control method as described in any of the above.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings that are needed in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a wafer handling apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a wafer cassette according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the wafer cassette of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the wafer cassette of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a top view of a wafer cassette according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a handling module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a wafer handling control method according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a wafer handling apparatus using one of the wafer handling control methods shown in FIG. 5, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a partial workflow diagram of a wafer handling apparatus using one of the wafer handling control methods shown in FIG. 5, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an electrical device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a computer-readable storage medium according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is apparent that the embodiments described are only some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

In the present invention, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "rear", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "middle", "vertical", "horizontal", "lateral", "longitudinal" and the like indicate an azimuth or a positional relationship based on that shown in the drawings. These terms are only used to better describe the present invention and its embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the indicated devices, elements or components to the particular orientations or to configure and operate in the particular orientations.

Also, some of the terms described above may be used to indicate other meanings in addition to orientation or positional relationships, for example, the term "upper" may also be used to indicate some sort of attachment or connection in some cases. The specific meaning of these terms in the present invention will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art according to the specific circumstances.

Furthermore, the terms "mounted," "configured," "provided," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly. For example, they may be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or of unitary construction, they may be mechanically or electrically connected, they may be directly connected, or they may be indirectly connected through intermediaries, or they may be in internal communication between two devices, elements or components. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art according to the specific circumstances.

Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used primarily to distinguish between different devices, elements, or components (the particular species and configurations may be the same or different), and are not used to indicate or imply the relative importance and number of devices, elements, or components indicated. Unless otherwise indicated, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more.

In some related technologies, the wafer handling device uses a sensor to perform positioning and handling, however, some uses a sensor to perform indirect measurement, when there is an installation error or a position deviation between the sensor position and the real wafer position, the reliability and safety of accurate positioning and handling are not easy to be guaranteed, in addition, some related technologies of devices and methods do not have a contact force sensing module in the wafer handling process, it is difficult to determine that the wafer carrier is actually contacted with the wafer, and when there is a deviation between the preset wafer taking position, a taking error judgment will be generated, that is, there is a possibility that the next step is performed when the preset taking position is reached and the material is not taken. In addition, some related art apparatuses and methods do not have the functions of pre-detecting and classifying wafers during the wafer handling process, and the wafer handling process essentially serves the front and rear process steps, and the wafer handling without detecting the classification has the possibility of processing defective wafers in the rear process step, which wastes manpower and material resources and reduces the processing and manufacturing efficiency of the wafers.

In order to solve the above problems, embodiments of the present application disclose a wafer cassette 10, a wafer handling apparatus 1, a control method, an electrical apparatus 2, and a storage medium 3, which can achieve the purpose of precise handling and automated operation of wafers. The following will describe in detail.

Referring to fig. 1-4, fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a wafer handling apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present application, fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a wafer cassette 10 according to an embodiment of the present application, fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the wafer cassette 10 shown in fig. 2, and fig. 4 is a top view of the wafer cassette 10 shown in fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 1, the embodiment of the application discloses a wafer handling apparatus 1, where the wafer handling apparatus 1 includes a wafer box 10, a handling module 20, a vision sensing module 30, and a control module 40, in this embodiment, the wafer box 10 includes a carrier 11 and a light source 12, the handling module 20 is used for acquiring or placing the wafer from the pick-and-place port 112, the vision sensing module 30 is used for shooting the accommodating space 111 at one side of the pick-and-place port 112 and outputting a first shooting image, and the control module 40 is electrically connected with the handling module 20 and the vision sensing module 30, and is used for receiving and controlling the alignment of the handling module 20 according to the first shooting image, and controlling the acquisition or placement of the wafer by the handling module 20 after the alignment is completed.

It can be appreciated that the wafer handling apparatus 1 according to the present application may acquire or place the wafer from the wafer box 10, in the process of handling the wafer, the vision sensing module 30 photographs the accommodating space 111 at the side of the pick-and-place opening 112 and outputs a first photographed image, and the control module 40 controls the handling module 20 to perform alignment according to the first photographed image, and completes the acquisition or placement of the wafer. Therefore, the wafer handling apparatus 1 can realize accurate alignment and grabbing of the wafers in the wafer cassette 10, and further realize accurate handling and automation operation of the wafers.

According to the wafer handling device 1 provided by the application, the accommodating space 111 is shot at one side of the pick-and-place opening 112, and the first shot image is output, so that the control module 40 controls the handling module 20 to perform alignment according to the first shot image, and controls the handling module 20 to acquire or place the wafer, thereby realizing accurate alignment and grabbing of the wafer in the wafer box 10, and further realizing accurate handling and automatic operation of the wafer.

Specifically, referring to fig. 2 to 4, in the present embodiment, the wafer box 10 includes a carrier 11 and a light source 12, the carrier 11 includes two side plate portions 113b and a plurality of carrier plates 114 that are disposed opposite to each other, a receiving space 111 and a receiving opening 112 that is located at one side of the receiving space 111 are disposed between the two side plate portions 113b, the receiving space 111 is configured to receive a plurality of wafers, the plurality of carrier plates 114 are connected to one side of the two side plate portions 113b that is close to the receiving space 111, and the two adjacent carrier plates 114 and the side plate portions 113b together form a receiving slot 115 that is configured to receive an edge of the wafer, and the light source 12 is disposed on a side of the receiving space 111 that is away from the receiving slot 112 and a side of at least one side plate portion 113b that is close to the receiving slot 115, so as to emit light toward the receiving slot 115, when the receiving slot 115 receives an edge of the wafer, a portion of the light from the light source 12 is blocked by the other portion of the light source 12 that is directed toward the receiving opening 112.

It can be appreciated that, by disposing the light source 12 on the side of the accommodating space 111 away from the pick-and-place opening 112 and on the side of at least one side plate 113b close to the accommodating groove 115, when the accommodating groove 115 accommodates the edge of the wafer, part of the light source 12 is blocked by the wafer, so that the accommodating groove 115 accommodating the wafer is darkened, and the other part of the light source 12 is directed to the pick-and-place opening 112, so that the accommodating groove 115 not accommodating the wafer is lightened, thereby forming a more obvious contrast between light and shade in the wafer box 10, and facilitating a clearer observation of the storage condition of the wafer in the wafer box 10.

Further, the light source 12 includes a first light source 12a disposed on a side of the accommodating space 111 away from the pick-and-place port 112, a second light source 12b disposed on a side of one of the side plate portions 113b near the receiving groove 115, and a third light source 12c disposed on a side of the other of the side plate portions 113b near the receiving groove 115. By providing the first light source 12a, the second light source 12b and the third light source 12c, the light in the wafer box 10 can be more uniformly irradiated, and shadows are not easily generated to influence the observation of the storage of the wafers.

Further, the first light source 12a includes a light emitting plate 113c, the light emitting plate 113c is connected between the two side plate portions 113b, and is configured to emit light toward the pick-and-place opening 112 through the accommodating space 111, and the number of the second light source 12b, the third light source 12c, and the receiving slot 115 is plural, and each of the second light source 12b and each of the third light source 12c is configured to emit light toward the corresponding receiving slot 115. It will be appreciated that the first light source 12a is a light emitting plate 113C, and may emit light from a side of the accommodating space 111 away from the pick-and-place opening 112 toward the pick-and-place opening 112, and the second light source 12b and the third light source 12C emit light toward the corresponding accommodating groove 115, so as to form a C-shaped light with the first light source 12a, which may be more matched with the shape of the wafer, and not easy to generate shadows, so as to facilitate more clear observation of the storage condition of the wafer in the wafer box 10.

Specifically, the first light source 12a, the second light source 12b and the third light source 12c emit light independently and/or at least two of the first light source 12a, the second light source 12b and the third light source 12c are connected together and emit light simultaneously.

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a top view of a wafer cassette 10 according to another embodiment of the disclosure, in other embodiments, the carrier 11 further includes a back plate portion 113a, the back plate portion 113a is connected to one end of two side plate portions 113b away from the pick-and-place opening 112, the number of the light sources 12 is plural, the number of the receiving slots 115 is plural, each of the light sources 12 is disposed corresponding to one of the receiving slots 115 and includes the first light source 12a disposed on a side of the back plate portion 113a near the receiving space 111, the second light source 12b disposed on a side of one side plate portion 113b near the receiving slot 115, and the third light source 12c disposed on a side of the other side plate portion 113b near the receiving slot 115. It will be appreciated that the first light source 12a disposed on the side of the back plate portion 113a close to the accommodating space 111, the second light source 12b disposed on the side of one side plate portion 113b close to the accommodating groove 115, and the third light source 12C disposed on the side of the other side plate portion 113b close to the accommodating groove 115 are configured to emit light toward the corresponding accommodating groove 115, so that the light source 12 emits light in a C-shape to the accommodating space 111, which is more matched with the shape of the wafer, and is not easy to generate shadows, thereby facilitating a clearer observation of the storage condition of the wafer in the wafer box 10.

Further, the first light source 12a, the second light source 12b, and the third light source 12c each include a light emitting surface 121 corresponding to a side surface of the wafer, a top of the light emitting surface 121 is higher than a corresponding top of the wafer, and the back plate portion 113a is an arc plate protruding toward the outside of the accommodating space 111 or a surface of the back plate portion 113a near the accommodating space 111 is an arc surface protruding toward the outside of the accommodating space 111. By arranging the first light source 12a, the second light source 12b, and the third light source 12c to include the light emitting surface 121 corresponding to the side surface of the wafer, the top of the light emitting surface 121 is higher than the corresponding top of the wafer, so that when the light source 12 irradiates the wafer, a part of light of the light source 12 is shielded by the wafer, and another part of light can be emitted to the pick-and-place opening 112, so that a user or other operation equipment can conveniently and clearly observe the wafer storage condition in the wafer box 10 from the pick-and-place opening 112, and meanwhile, by arranging the back plate portion 113a to be an arc plate protruding towards the outside of the accommodating space 111 or arranging the surface of the back plate portion 113a close to the accommodating space 111 to be an arc surface protruding towards the outside of the accommodating space 111, the shape of the wafer can be more matched with that of the wafer, and the wafer storage is more convenient.

Further, the wafer cassette 10 further includes a pressure sensor 13, a counting module 14 and a communication module 15, wherein the pressure sensor 13 is disposed on one side of the carrier plate 114 carrying the wafers, and is electrically connected to the counting module 14 and the communication module 15, the communication module 15 is electrically connected to the control module 40, the pressure sensor 13 is configured to sense whether the accommodating groove 115 is accommodating the wafers and send a first sensing signal to the counting module 14, so that the counting module 14 counts the wafers in the wafer cassette 10 according to the first sensing signal, the communication module 15 sends the counting result recorded by the counting module 14 to the control module 40, the counting module 14 is further configured to display the counting result, the pressure sensors 13 are disposed on both the carrier plates 114 of the carrier plate 114, the number of the pressure sensors 13 is twice the number of the wafers that can be accommodated in the wafer cassette 10, and the pressure sensors 13 are located in the middle area of the wafer carrier plate 114. Through two of the bearing plates 114 all be provided with on the bearing plate 114 pressure sensor 13 can be through the accurate acquisition of forced induction the circumstances of placing of wafer in the wafer box 10, then through count module 14 counts and shows, simultaneously, through communication module 15 will count the result and send to control module 40, the be convenient for control module 40 carries out control operation to realize accurate transport and automation mechanized operation to the wafer.

Further, referring to fig. 6, the handling module 20 includes a moving assembly 21 electrically connected to the control module 40 and a wafer carrier 22 connected to the moving assembly 21, the moving assembly 21 is used for driving the wafer carrier 22 to move under the control of the control module 40, the vision sensing module 30 is disposed on the wafer carrier 22, and the vision sensing module 30 and the wafer carrier 22 can move together. Through with vision sensing module 30 set up in transport module 20 on the wafer carrier 22, make vision sensing module 30 can with wafer carrier 22 joint movement, and then need not other devices alone drive vision sensing module 30 motion, and can make vision sensing module 30 shoot the visual angle of first shooting image with the operational view angle of wafer carrier 22 is the same, makes control algorithm simpler, and is difficult for makeing mistakes, has higher operating efficiency when realizing accurate transport and automation mechanized operation to the wafer.

Specifically, the moving assembly 21 includes a base 211, a first moving joint 212 disposed on the base 211 and capable of extending and contracting along a second preset direction, a first rotating arm 213 with one end rotatably connected to the first moving joint 212, a second rotating arm 214 with one end rotatably connected to the other end of the first rotating arm 213, and the wafer carrier 22 rotatably connected to the other end of the second rotating arm 214. In this embodiment, the first preset direction and the second preset direction may be the same direction, and it is to be understood that the moving assembly 21 is a robot with multiple degrees of freedom, the second rotating arm 214 and the wafer carrier 22 may be integrally connected or may be rotatably connected, and precise wafer handling and automation operations may be realized through the moving assembly 21.

Further, the wafer carrier 22 includes a connection base 221 and a carrying portion 222, the connection base 221 is disposed on the moving assembly 21 along the second preset direction, the carrying portion 222 is connected to one side of the connection base 221, the vision sensing module 30 is disposed on one side of the connection base 221 away from the moving assembly 21 along the second preset direction, and the vision sensing module 30 is configured to take a photograph toward the side where the carrying portion 222 is located. It can be appreciated that the first movable joint 212, the connection base 221 and the vision sensing module 30 are all arranged along the second preset direction, so that position conversion is not required in the process of picking and placing, the accuracy and the positioning efficiency of positioning the wafer in the process of picking and placing are improved, and the control can be more efficient and the transportation is more accurate by connecting the movable assembly 21, the vision sensing module 30 and the transportation portion 222.

Further, the vision sensing module 30 includes a camera mounting plate 31 disposed on the connection substrate 221, a first industrial camera 32 disposed on the camera mounting plate 31, and a first lens 33 mounted on the first industrial camera 32. In this embodiment, the first lens 33 may be a telecentric lens.

Further, the wafer handling apparatus 1 further includes a wafer sensor 50, where the wafer sensor 50 is disposed on a surface of the handling portion 222 near one side of the wafer and is located at an end of the handling portion 222 far away from the connection substrate 221, and the wafer sensor 50 is electrically connected to the control module 40, and is configured to sense the wafer and output a second sensing signal to the control module 40, so that the control module 40 counts and/or monitors the wafer handled by the handling module 20. By disposing the wafer sensor 50 on the surface of the carrying portion 222 near one side of the wafer and on the end of the carrying portion 222 far away from the connection substrate 221, the control module 40 may sense the contact state between the wafer and the carrying portion 222 in real time through the second sensing signal, and accurately sense and synchronously count the picking and placing of the wafer, so as to ensure the reliability of the picking, placing and carrying processes of the wafer.

Specifically, the carrying portion 222 includes two arm portions 222a, the two arm portions 222a are connected to the connection base 221 and enclose a U shape with an opening, the opening faces to a side far away from the connection base 221, the wafer sensor 50 is disposed at one end of the arm portion 222a far away from the connection base 221, one side of the two arm portions 222a carrying the wafer is respectively provided with one wafer sensor 50, and the wafer sensor 50 is a pressure film sensor. In this embodiment, the optical axis directions of the first industrial camera 32 and the first lens 33 are consistent with the axial direction of the U-shaped opening surrounded by the two arm portions 222 a. The wafer sensors 50 are respectively arranged on one sides of the two arm parts 222a carrying the wafers, so that the pressure sensing of the wafers is not influenced by the position deviation of the wafers, the sensing is more accurate, and meanwhile, the wafer sensors 50 are pressure film sensors, so that the pressure of the wafers can be accurately sensed, and meanwhile, the taking and placing of the wafers are not influenced.

Further, the control module 40 monitors whether the handling module 20 obtains the wafer from the wafer box 10 according to the second sensing signal, when the control module 40 determines that the handling module 20 is in the idle state according to the second sensing signal, the control module 40 controls the vision sensing module 30 to capture the first captured image updated by the accommodating space 111 again from the pick-and-place opening 112, and perform alignment again according to the updated first captured image, and control the handling module 20 to obtain the wafer after the alignment is completed again. It can be appreciated that, after each operation of acquiring the wafer by the handling module 20, the control module 40 detects the acquisition operation, and when detecting that the handling module 20 is in the idle state, the control module 40 proves that the acquisition operation of the wafer fails at this time, the control module 40 may control the vision sensing module 30 to capture the first captured image updated by the accommodating space 111 again from the pick-and-place opening 112, and perform alignment again according to the updated first captured image, and perform acquisition of the wafer again, so that the subsequent failure of accurate acquisition operation caused by incorrect operation is avoided, and even the whole wafer handling apparatus 1 is stopped. The control module 40 determines whether the carrying module 20 is in the idle state according to the second sensing signal, so that the alignment can be performed again when the carrying module 20 is in the idle state, and the wafer is acquired again, thereby avoiding shutdown and improving the operation efficiency.

Further, it is understood that the wafer handling apparatus 1 having the wafer cassette 10, the handling module 20 and the vision sensing module 30 can be applied to both handling the wafers in the wafer cassette 10 to other cassettes (such as the first cassette 60 or the second cassette 70) and handling the wafers in the other cassettes to the wafer cassette 10 for storage. The wafer handling apparatus 1 will be mainly described below as an example of handling wafers in the wafer cassette 10 to other cassettes.

Specifically, in one embodiment, the wafer handling apparatus 1 further includes a first magazine 60, the handling module 20 is configured to obtain the wafer from the wafer cassette 10 and transport and place the wafer to the first magazine 60, and when the control module 40 determines that the handling module 20 is still in a loading state after performing the placing operation of placing the wafer to the first magazine 60 according to the second sensing signal, the control module 40 controls the handling module 20 to perform the placing operation of placing the wafer to the first magazine 60 again. It will be appreciated that after the placing operation of the wafer into the first magazine 60, the control module 40 detects the placing operation, and when it is detected that the handling module 20 is still in the loading state, the placing operation of the wafer is proved to fail at this time, the control module 40 may control the handling module 20 to perform the placing operation of the wafer into the first magazine 60 again, so as to avoid damage caused by the dislocation operation of the wafer, and even stop the whole wafer handling apparatus 1. By determining, by the control module 40 according to the second sensing signal, whether the carrying module 20 is in the carrying state after performing the placing operation of placing the wafer into the first magazine 60, the placing operation of placing the wafer into the first magazine 60 can be performed again when the carrying module 20 is in the carrying state, so that damage and shutdown to the wafer are avoided, and meanwhile, operation efficiency is improved.

Further, the wafer handling apparatus 1 may further include a second magazine 70 and a defect detection module 80, the defect detection module 80 is located on a handling path from the wafer cassette 10 to the first magazine 60 of the handling module 20, the defect detection module 80 is electrically connected to the control module 40, the defect detection module 80 is configured to perform defect detection on the wafer transported by the handling module 20 and output defect detection information to the control module 40, and the control module 40 is further configured to control the handling module 20 to place the wafer qualified for detection in the first magazine 60 and place the wafer unqualified for detection in the second magazine 70 according to the defect detection information. It will be appreciated that, on the carrying path from the wafer cassette 10 to the first magazine 60, the carrying module 20 will first pass through the defect detecting module 80 and detect defects at the defect detecting module 80, and the control module 40 controls the carrying module 20 to place the qualified wafer in the first magazine 60 and place the unqualified wafer in the second magazine 70 according to the defect detecting information detected by the defect detecting module 80. Through set up from wafer box 10 to on the transport route of first magazine 60 defect detection module 80, simultaneously right carry out defect detection to the wafer can reduce the handling error that the wafer produced in the handling, save handling time, improve detection efficiency, simultaneously, will detect unqualified the wafer is placed second magazine 70 can carry out the preliminary test classification in the handling, for the follow-up course of working of wafer provides the preliminary test sample, avoids the waste material to get into the follow-up processing procedure, and then improves production efficiency and reduction equipment occupation space.

It is understood that the first and second cartridges 60 and 70 may have the same structure as the wafer cassette 10, and the specific structure of the first and second cartridges 60 and 70 will not be repeated herein.

Further, the vision sensing module 30 is further configured to capture a second captured image from the receiving space 111 of the first magazine 60 before the handling module 20 places the wafer in the first magazine 60, the control module 40 is further configured to control the handling module 20 to perform a placement operation of placing the wafer in the first magazine 60 or a step of inspecting the wafer after the placement operation is completed according to the second captured image, and/or the vision sensing module 30 is further configured to capture a third captured image from the receiving space 111 of the second magazine 70 before the handling module 20 places the wafer in the second magazine 70, and the control module 40 is further configured to control the handling module 20 to perform a placement operation of placing the wafer in the first magazine 60 or a step of inspecting the wafer after the placement operation is completed according to the third captured image. By photographing the accommodating space 111 of the first magazine 60 from the pick-and-place opening 112 of the first magazine 60 before the handling module 20 places the wafer in the first magazine 60 to obtain a second photographing image and/or photographing the accommodating space 111 of the second magazine 70 from the pick-and-place opening 112 of the second magazine 70 before the handling module 20 places the wafer in the second magazine 70 to obtain a third photographing image, the handling module 20 can operate more accurately during each time of picking up and/or placing the wafer, the reliability of the wafer pick-and-place operation is ensured, and the operation efficiency is also ensured.

Further, the defect detection information includes a detection image, the defect detection module 80 includes a camera module 81 and a bracket 82 for supporting the camera module 81, the camera module 81 is configured to capture the wafer transported by the handling module 20 to obtain the detection image, and the control module 40 is further configured to analyze a defect ratio of the wafer according to the detection image, and compare the defect ratio with a preset ratio to determine whether the wafer is qualified.

Further, the bracket 82 comprises a supporting body 821, a camera supporting part 822 connected with one side of the supporting body 821, and a light source supporting part 823 connected with one side of the supporting body 821, the image pickup module 81 comprises a second industrial camera 811, a second lens 812 and a light supplementing lamp 813, the second lens 812 is installed on the second industrial camera 811, the second industrial camera 811 is arranged at one end of the camera supporting part 822 far away from the supporting body 821, the light supplementing lamp 813 is arranged at one end of the light source supporting part 823 far away from the supporting body 821, the wafer conveyed by the conveying module 20 is used for being placed parallel to the first reference surface, the second industrial camera 811 faces the wafer, the optical axis of the second industrial camera 811 is perpendicular to the first reference surface, the light supplementing lamp 813 comprises an annular light emitting piece, the annular light emitting piece is located between the second industrial camera 811 and the conveying module 20 and is used for emitting light towards the wafer, and the second industrial camera 811 is used for acquiring the hollow image of the wafer through the annular light emitting piece to detect the hollow area. In this embodiment, the second lens 812 may be a telecentric lens. By setting the wafer carried by the carrying module 20 to be parallel to the first reference plane, the second industrial camera 811 faces the wafer and the optical axis of the second industrial camera 811 is perpendicular to the first reference plane, so that the second industrial camera 811 can vertically shoot the wafer, and meanwhile, under the irradiation of the light compensating lamp 813, the defect detection of the defect detecting module 80 can be more accurate and has higher precision.

Referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a flowchart of a wafer handling control method according to an embodiment of the present application, in which the wafer handling apparatus 1 may complete the wafer handling by executing the wafer handling control method when performing the wafer handling operation, the wafer handling control method includes the following steps:

Step S101, providing the wafer cassette 10.

The wafer box 10 includes a carrier 11 and a light source 12, the carrier 11 includes two side plate portions 113b and a plurality of carrier plates 114 which are oppositely disposed, an accommodating space 111 and a pick-and-place opening 112 which is located at one side of the accommodating space 111 are provided between the two side plate portions 113b, the accommodating space 111 is used for accommodating a plurality of wafers, the plurality of carrier plates 114 are connected to one side of the two side plate portions 113b which is close to the accommodating space 111, and the two adjacent carrier plates 114 and the side plate portions 113b form a accommodating groove 115 together for accommodating edges of the wafers, and the light source 12 is disposed at one side of the accommodating space 111 which is far from the pick-and-place opening 112 and at least one side of the side plate portion 113b which is close to the accommodating groove 115, for emitting light toward the accommodating groove 115, when the accommodating groove 115 accommodates the edges of the wafers, a part of the light source 12 is blocked by the wafers, and another part of the light source 12 is emitted toward the pick-and-place opening 112. Specifically, after the wafer handling apparatus 1 is started, the light source 12 may emit light, and when the wafer handling apparatus is observed from the side of the pick-and-place opening 112, no bright stripes are formed on the wafer, so that a strong contrast between brightness and darkness can be formed between the dark stripes caused by the light shielding of the wafer and the places where the wafers are placed, so that the position of the wafer can be conveniently known.

Step S102, when the light source 12 emits light, a first shooting image of the accommodating space 111 is acquired at the side of the pick-and-place port 112.

It may be appreciated that, when the wafer is placed in the wafer box 10 and carried on the carrier plate, the brightness of the area where the wafer is carried is smaller than the brightness of the area where the wafer is not placed due to the light irradiation and the shielding of the wafer by the light source 12, the first shot image is a shot image with a bright part of the area in the accommodating space 111 and a dark part of the area, when the first shot image is subjected to image analysis, a preset brightness threshold may be set, when the brightness of the part of the area in the first shot image is smaller than the preset brightness threshold, the wafer may be considered to be placed therein, and when the brightness of the part of the area in the first shot image is greater than or equal to the preset brightness threshold, the wafer may be considered not to be placed therein. That is, when a plurality of wafers are placed in the wafer cassette 10, the first shot image in step S102 is an image with a bright-dark contrast formed by the wafer cassette 10 under the irradiation of the light source 12.

It will be appreciated that the wafer handling control method may further comprise the steps of:

Step S301, before the first captured image is acquired, controlling the carrying module 20 to move to the current detection position according to the current detection position parameter.

The current detection position may be a position for detecting a position for picking and placing the wafer, and in this embodiment, the current detection position may be a position for capturing the first captured image.

Step S302, judging whether the wafer is present in the current material taking position or the current discharging position corresponding to the current detection position according to the first shot image, and if the wafer is not placed in the current material taking position or the current discharging position, executing step S103.

It should be understood that the above method with wafer handling control may be applied to material taking or material discharging when the wafers in the wafer cassette 10 are handled to other cassettes (such as the first cassette 60 or the second cassette 70), and may also be applied to material discharging when the wafers in the other cassettes are handled and placed in the wafer cassette 10. The wafer handling apparatus 1 will be described below by taking a material taking box for taking a material from a material taking box for handling wafers in the wafer box 10 to other material boxes.

In step S302, when the material taking operation is performed, if the current material taking position has the wafer, the material taking operation is performed after alignment, and when the material discharging operation is performed, if the current material taking position does not place the wafer, the material discharging operation is performed after alignment. By judging whether the wafer is in the current material taking position or the current material discharging position corresponding to the current material taking position, the carrying module 20 is controlled to carry out contraposition, dislocation operation when the wafer is not in the current material taking position or the wafer is placed in the current material discharging position can be avoided, damage to the wafer is avoided, shutdown caused by operation errors can be avoided, and reliability and operation efficiency of operation are improved.

In this embodiment, in step S302, if the current material taking position does not have the wafer or the current material unloading position is used for placing the wafer, it is determined whether the current material taking position is a maximum material taking position, if the current material taking position is the maximum material taking position, the handling module 20 is controlled to return to an initial position, and if the current material taking position is not the maximum material taking position, the current material taking position parameter or the current material unloading position parameter are respectively adjusted by preset values, and the step of controlling the handling module 20 to move to the current material taking position according to the current material taking position parameter is performed according to the adjusted current material taking position parameter.

It should be noted that, the wafer cassette 10 has a limited wafer storage position, and each storage position is spaced by a preset spacing distance, in this embodiment, the preset spacing distance may be Δz, and the maximum detection position is the detection position corresponding to the storage position where the wafer is last placed in the wafer cassette 10, when the current detection position is the maximum detection position, the handling module 20 is controlled to return to the initial position, and the initial position may be the default position, and when the current detection position is not the maximum detection position, the current detection position parameter, the current sampling position parameter, or the current blanking position parameter is respectively adjusted by a preset value, so as to obtain the updated current detection position parameter, the current sampling position parameter, or the current blanking position parameter. By determining that the current detection position is the maximum detection position, the carrying module 20 can be quickly returned to the initial position for subsequent operation after reaching the maximum detection position, and the operation efficiency is improved.

Step 103, controlling the alignment of the carrying module 20 according to the first captured image.

And (3) performing image analysis on the first shot image obtained in the step (S102), wherein the position of the dark stripe in the first shot image is the position with the wafer, so that the storage information of the wafer in the wafer box 10 can be obtained, and the carrying module 20 can be controlled to perform alignment.

It may be appreciated that the current pick-up level parameter or the current blanking level parameter may be stored in the control module 40 of the wafer handling apparatus 1, and specifically, the step S102 may include the following steps:

Step S201, correcting a current sampling level parameter or a current discharging level parameter according to the first shooting image to obtain a corrected sampling level parameter or a corrected discharging level parameter, and updating the current sampling level parameter or the current discharging level parameter according to the corrected sampling level parameter or the corrected discharging level parameter;

It may be understood that the current material taking position parameter is a position parameter of the wafer to be taken currently in the wafer box 10, the current material taking position parameter or the current material taking position parameter may be obtained through calculation, in this embodiment, the wafers in the wafer box 10 are stored at intervals, the interval distance may be a preset interval Δz, and after the current material taking position or the current material taking position finishes taking or discharging, the current material taking position parameter is updated to be the last material taking position parameter+Δz, and the current material taking position parameter is updated to be the last material taking position parameter+Δz. In order to ensure the accuracy of the operation, before the material taking or discharging operation is performed, the first shot image may be subjected to image analysis, so as to obtain a corrected material taking level parameter or a corrected discharging level parameter, and finally, the current material taking level parameter or the current discharging level parameter is updated according to the corrected material taking level parameter or the corrected discharging level parameter, after the material taking or discharging operation is completed, the updated current material taking level parameter or the current discharging level parameter is respectively +Δz, so that the current material taking level parameter or the current discharging level parameter of the next material taking or discharging can be obtained.

In step S202, the handling module 20 is controlled to move to the current fetching level or the current discharging level according to the corrected fetching level parameter or the corrected discharging level parameter.

It can be appreciated that by controlling the handling module 20 to move to the current fetching position or the current discharging position according to the corrected fetching position parameter or the corrected discharging position parameter obtained by the first captured image, the operation can be more accurate, so that damage to the wafer is avoided, shutdown caused by an operation error can be avoided, and the reliability and the operation efficiency of the operation are improved.

Step S104, controlling the handling module 20 to acquire or place the wafer after the alignment is completed.

According to the corrected material taking level parameter or the corrected material discharging level parameter, the carrying module 20 is controlled to move to the current material taking level or the current material discharging level, that is, the carrying module 20 stretches into the wafer box 10 to reach the current material taking level or the current material discharging level, and the carrying module 20 can perform material taking or material discharging operation.

Specifically, the controlling the handling module 20 to place the wafer after the alignment is completed may include controlling the handling module 20 to place and return the wafer according to preset lowering and returning parameters, which is performed after the step of moving the handling module 20 to the current discharging position. It can be appreciated that after the handling module 20 moves to the current discharging position, the wafer is placed on the carrier 11 by descending according to a preset descending parameter, the preset descending parameter may be a preset descending distance, then, the handling module 20 returns according to a return parameter, the return parameter may be a default return position or an operation position of the next operation, and by performing control on the handling module 20 to place and return the wafer according to the preset descending and return parameter after the step of moving the handling module 20 to the current discharging position, the operation efficiency of the wafer taking and placing operation can be improved.

The controlling the handling module 20 to acquire the wafer after the alignment is completed may include controlling the handling module 20 to lift and take out the wafer according to preset lifting and taking out parameters, which is performed after the step of moving the handling module 20 to the current taking-out position. It can be appreciated that after the carrying module 20 moves to the current material taking position, the wafer is placed on the carrying module 20 according to the preset lifting parameter, the preset lifting parameter can be a preset lifting distance, then, the carrying module 20 takes out the wafer according to the taking-out parameter, and the carrying module 20 lifts and takes out the wafer according to the preset lifting and taking-out parameter by controlling the carrying module 20, so that the wafer can be effectively protected, and the reliability of the taking-out operation is ensured.

According to the wafer carrying control method provided by the application, when the light source 12 emits light towards the accommodating space 111, the first shooting image of the accommodating space 111 shot at one side of the picking and placing port 112 is obtained, and the carrying module 20 is controlled to carry out alignment according to the first shooting image, so that the acquisition or placement of the wafer is completed, the accurate alignment and grabbing of the wafer in the wafer box 10 are realized, and the accurate carrying and automatic operation of the wafer are realized.

Further, in some embodiments, the handling module 20 includes a wafer carrier 22 for handling the wafer and a moving assembly 21 for driving the wafer carrier 22 to move, the wafer carrier 22 is provided with a wafer sensor 50 for sensing a contact state between the wafer carrier 22 and the wafer, and the wafer handling control method further includes the following steps:

step S401, determining that the carrying module 20 is in an empty state or a loading state according to the sensing signal output by the wafer sensor 50, if the carrying module 20 is determined to be in the empty state, returning to step S301, and if the carrying module 20 is determined to be in the loading state, executing step S402.

Step S402, respectively adjusting the current detection bit parameter, the current fetching bit parameter, or the current discharging bit parameter by a preset value, and placing the wafer carried by the wafer carrier 22.

By sensing the pressure of the wafer placed on the wafer carrier 22 by the wafer sensor 50, it may be determined whether the wafer is on the wafer carrier 22, when the wafer is not on the wafer carrier 22, that is, the handling module 20 is in the empty state, and the placement of the wafer is completed, the handling module 20 moves to the current detection position according to the current detection position parameters to carry out the next handling, and when the wafer is on the wafer carrier 22, that is, the handling module 20 is in the load state, step S402 is executed to place the wafer, and the current detection position parameters, the current taking position parameters, or the current blanking position parameters are updated according to the preset value.

In the above embodiment, by judging whether the handling module 20 is in the empty state or the load state, the handling module 20 can be moved more accurately and more efficiently, damage and stoppage to the wafer are avoided, and meanwhile, the operation efficiency is improved.

Specifically, the step of placing the wafer carried by the wafer carrier 22 includes the following steps:

In step S501, the placing operation of the handling module 20 for placing the wafer in the first magazine 60 is performed according to the preset placement parameters.

Step S502, after the placing operation is performed, determining whether the handling module 20 is in the idle state according to the sensing signal of the wafer sensor 50, if the handling module 20 is in the idle state, returning to step S301, and if the handling module 20 is in the load state, returning to step S501.

It is understood that the first magazine 60 may be a magazine for storing the wafers after the wafers are removed from the wafer cassette 10. After the wafer is taken out from the wafer box 10, the wafer is placed into the first material box 60 according to the placement parameters, if the placement is successful, the carrying module 20 is in the empty state, the next material taking can be performed, and if the placement is unsuccessful, the placement operation is continued. By judging whether the carrying module 20 is in the idle state or the carrying state, the carrying module 20 can be moved more accurately and more efficiently, damage and stoppage to the wafer are avoided, and meanwhile, the operation efficiency is improved.

Further, before the step of placing the wafer carried by the wafer carrier 22, the step of inspecting the wafer may further include the steps of:

and step S601, moving the wafer to a preset detection position.

It should be noted that the predetermined inspection position may be a fixed inspection position, and the handling module 20 may move the wafer to the predetermined inspection position after each time the wafer is obtained.

Step S602, performing defect detection on the wafer in the preset detection position, if the wafer is detected to be qualified, executing step S501, and if the wafer is detected to be unqualified, executing step S603.

Specifically, the defect detection on the wafer may include the following steps:

Step S701, obtaining a detection image of the wafer conveyed on the conveying module 20 shot at the preset detection position.

Step S702 is to analyze the defect ratio of the wafer according to the detected image, and compare the defect ratio with a preset ratio to determine whether the wafer is qualified.

In this embodiment, defect detection is performed on the wafer, the defect proportion of the wafer may be the abrasion defect proportion of the wafer is analyzed according to the detection image, the preset proportion may be the preset abrasion defect proportion η, when the abrasion defect proportion of the wafer is smaller than the preset abrasion defect proportion η, the wafer is considered to be detected to be qualified, and the qualified wafer is placed into the first magazine 60, when the abrasion defect proportion of the wafer is greater than or equal to the preset abrasion defect proportion η, the wafer is considered to be detected to be unqualified, a detection image is obtained through the carried wafer on the carrying module 20 shot at the preset detection position, so as to determine whether the wafer is qualified, and perform pre-detection classification in the carrying process, so as to provide a pre-detection sample for the subsequent processing technological process of the wafer, avoid waste materials from entering the subsequent processing procedure, further improve the production efficiency and reduce the occupied space of equipment.

Step S603, executing the placing operation of the handling module 20 for placing the wafer in the second magazine 70, and returning to executing the step of moving to the current detection position according to the current detection position parameters.

The second magazine 70 may be a recovery magazine for reject products, the wafer with failed detection may be recovered by the second magazine 70, and when the abrasion defect ratio of the wafer is greater than or equal to the preset abrasion defect ratio η, the wafer is detected as reject, and the failed wafer is placed into the second magazine 70. By performing the step of inspecting the wafer before the step of placing the wafer carried by the wafer carrier 22, the defective product can be detected in advance during the handling process, so as to provide a pre-inspection sample for the subsequent processing process of the wafer, thereby improving the production efficiency.

In order to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the operation of the handling module 20 to place the wafer into the first and second cassettes 60 and 70, the wafer handling control method may further include the steps of:

In step S801, before the handling module 20 places the wafer in the first magazine 60, a second shot image of the accommodating space 111 of the first magazine 60 captured by the pick-and-place port 112 of the first magazine 60 is obtained, the handling module 20 is controlled to perform a discharging alignment according to the second shot image, and after the discharging alignment is completed, the handling module 20 is controlled to perform a placing operation of placing the wafer in the first magazine 60.

Step S802, before the handling module 20 places the wafer in the second material box 70, capturing a third captured image of the accommodating space 111 of the second material box 70 from the capturing opening 112 of the second material box 70, controlling the handling module 20 to perform discharging alignment according to the third captured image, and controlling the handling module 20 to perform a placing action of placing the wafer in the second material box 70 after the discharging alignment is completed.

In step S801 and step S802, a second shot image and a third shot image are acquired, the handling module 20 is controlled to perform discharging alignment according to the second shot image and the third shot image, and after the discharging alignment is completed, the handling module 20 is controlled to perform the process of placing the wafer into the first material box 60 and the placing action of the second material box 70, and the first shot image is acquired, the handling module 20 is controlled to perform the discharging alignment according to the first shot image, and after the discharging alignment is completed, the handling module 20 is controlled to perform the step of placing the wafer into the wafer box 10, which is not repeated herein. By obtaining the second shot image before the handling module 20 places the wafer in the first magazine 60 and/or obtaining the third shot image before the handling module 20 places the wafer in the second magazine 70, the handling module 20 can operate more accurately during each time of obtaining and/or placing the wafer, thereby ensuring the reliability of the wafer taking and placing operation and the operation efficiency.

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a wafer handling apparatus 1 using a wafer handling control method shown in fig. 7 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wafer handling apparatus 1 starts to operate, the light source is turned on, the control module 40 initializes each preset parameter (including a current sampling position parameter, a current discharging position parameter, a maximum detecting position parameter, a preset value, a wear defect proportion η, etc.), then, the control module 40 controls the handling module 20 and the vision sensing module 30 to move to a current detecting position according to the current detecting position parameter for visual detection, that is, the vision sensing module 30 photographs to obtain a first photographed image, further, the control module 40 determines whether the current detecting position has a wafer according to the first photographed image, if the current detecting position has a wafer, correcting the current material taking position parameter according to the first shooting image, controlling the carrying module to align with the current detection position and performing the action of acquiring the wafer according to the current material taking position parameter, judging whether the current detection position is the maximum detection position if the current detection position is not provided with the wafer, if so, ending the cycle, stopping the work and waiting for restarting the work, if not, adjusting the current detection position parameter by a preset value, and controlling the carrying module 20 and the visual sensing module 30 to move to the next current detection position for visual detection by the control module 40 according to the adjusted current detection position parameter.

Further, after the carrying module 20 performs the operation of obtaining the wafer, the control module 40 determines, according to the second sensing signal output by the wafer sensor 50 on the carrying module 20, whether the carrying module 20 is in a carrying state or an empty state, if the carrying module 20 is in the empty state, the step of performing visual inspection is returned, if the carrying module is in the carrying state, the carrying module 20 carries the wafer to a preset inspection position to perform defect inspection, specifically, the defect inspection module obtains an inspection image, the control module 40 determines, according to the inspection image, whether the defect ratio of the wafer is smaller than a preset value, and if the defect ratio is smaller than the preset value, the carrying module 20 may perform the placing operation of placing the wafer to the first material box 60. In addition, the detected image may be stored by the control module 40 for subsequent review.

Specifically, before the wafer is dropped into the first box 60, the handling module 20 may be controlled to move to the current detection position of the first box 60 according to the pre-stored current detection position parameter of the first box 60, then a second shot image is obtained by shooting the accommodating space of the first box 60 through the vision sensing module 30, further, whether the current dropping position of the first box 60 has a wafer is determined according to the second shot image, and the current dropping position parameter of the first box 60 is corrected according to the second shot image, so that the handling module 20 performs accurate alignment according to the corrected current dropping position parameter of the first box 60 and performs an action of placing the wafer into the first box 60, and in the same way, before the wafer is dropped into the second box 70, the handling module 20 may be controlled to move to the current detection position of the second box 70 according to the pre-stored current detection position parameter of the second box 70, and then, the second shot image may be accurately obtained by shooting the second box 70 according to the second shot position parameter of the vision sensing module 30, and performing an action of placing the wafer into the second box 70 according to the second shot position parameter of the second box 70.

Further, after the carrying module 20 performs the placing operation, the control module 40 further determines whether the carrying module 20 is in a carrying state or an empty state according to a second sensing signal output by the wafer sensor 50, if the carrying module is in the empty state, the step of detecting that the defect detecting module 80 captures an acquired second captured image or a third captured image may be further repeatedly performed, such as by adjusting a preset value to correspond to a next detected position of the first cartridge 60, and updating the current detected position parameter of the second pre-stored cartridge 70, such as by adjusting a preset value to correspond to a next detected position, and returning to perform the acquiring operation of the next wafer of the wafer cartridge 10, and if the carrying module is in the carrying state, the control module controls the carrying module 20 to return to perform the step of defect detection according to the detected image again, so that the actions of detecting that the defect detecting module 80 captures an acquired second captured image or a third captured image may be further repeatedly performed, and the placing operation may be performed again, as shown in fig. 9, in some embodiments, the carrying module 40 may also be controlled to perform the steps of capturing a second captured image or a third captured image again, and the like.

In view of the foregoing, in the wafer handling apparatus 1 and the wafer handling control method according to the embodiments of the present application,

1. The light source 12 and the first industrial camera 32 directly detect the wafer and the wafer box 10, are not affected by assembly errors between the real storage grooves of the wafer, can realize automatic alignment and accurate picking and placing in the wafer carrying process, can accurately judge whether the wafer exists or not in real time, count and other composite functions, has certain self-adaptive adjustment capability on positioning errors caused by environmental disturbance, and has good flexibility, compliance and reliability.

2. In the wafer handling apparatus 1 and the wafer handling method, the pressure sensors 13 are symmetrically arranged on each layer of the carrier plate 114 of the wafer box 10 and the wafer sensors 50 are symmetrically arranged at the tail end of the wafer carrier 22, so that the contact states of the wafer and the carrier plate 114 of the wafer box 10 and the contact states of the wafer and the wafer carrier 22 are sensed in real time, and the wafer taking and placing are accurately sensed and counted synchronously, thereby ensuring the reliability of the wafer taking, placing and handling processes.

3. The wafer handling device 1 and the wafer handling method adopt the second industrial camera 811 to perform the wafer pre-detection on the path through which the wafers are taken and placed, and the pre-detection classification process in the handling process can provide pre-detection samples for the subsequent processing process of the wafers, so that the waste materials are prevented from entering the subsequent processing process, and the production efficiency is further improved.

Referring to fig. 10, fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of an electrical device 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the electrical device 2 includes a memory 91 and a processor 92.

The memory 91 stores computer readable instructions 93, which when executed by the processor 92, cause the processor 92 to implement the wafer handling control method according to any one of the above.

Referring to fig. 11, fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a computer readable storage medium 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the computer readable storage medium 3 stores computer readable instructions 93, and the computer readable instructions 93 implement the wafer handling control method according to any one of the above when executed by the processor 92.

It should be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the embodiments described in the specification are alternative embodiments and that the acts and modules referred to are not necessarily required for the present application.

In various embodiments of the present application, it should be understood that the sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not imply that the execution sequences of the processes should be determined by the functions and internal logic of the processes, and should not be construed as limiting the implementation of the embodiments of the present application.

The units described above as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed over a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit. The integrated units may be implemented in hardware or in software functional units.

The integrated units described above, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as stand-alone products, may be stored in a computer-accessible memory. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or a part contributing to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution, may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a memory, comprising several requests for an electric device (which may be a personal computer, a server or a network device, etc., in particular may be a processor in the electric device) to perform part or all of the steps of the above-mentioned method of the various embodiments of the present application.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that all or part of the steps of the various methods of the above embodiments may be implemented by hardware associated with a program that may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium 3 including Read-Only Memory (ROM), random-access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), programmable Read-Only Memory (Programmable Read-Only Memory, PROM), erasable programmable Read-Only Memory (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory, EPROM), one-time programmable Read-Only Memory (One-time Programmable Read-Only Memory, OTPROM), electrically erasable programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), compact disc Read-Only Memory (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory, CD-ROM) or other optical disc Memory, magnetic disc Memory, tape Memory, or any other medium capable of being used for computer-readable storage of data.

The wafer cassette 10, the wafer handling apparatus 1, the control method, the electrical apparatus 2 and the storage medium 3 disclosed in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail, and specific examples are applied herein to illustrate the principles and embodiments of the present application, and the description of the above examples is only for helping to understand the method and the core idea of the present application. Meanwhile, as those skilled in the art will have variations in the specific embodiments and application scope in accordance with the ideas of the present application, the present description should not be construed as limiting the present application in view of the above.

Claims

1.A wafer cassette, the wafer cassette comprising:

The carrier comprises two side plate parts and a plurality of carrier plates which are oppositely arranged, wherein an accommodating space and a picking and placing opening are arranged between the two side plate parts, the accommodating space is used for accommodating a plurality of wafers, the carrier plates are connected to one side of the two side plate parts, which is close to the accommodating space, and the two carrier plates and the side plate parts which are adjacently arranged form an accommodating groove together and are used for accommodating the edges of the wafers, and

The light source is arranged on one side of the accommodating space away from the picking and placing port and one side of at least one side plate part close to the accommodating groove and is used for emitting light towards the accommodating groove, when the accommodating groove accommodates the edge of the wafer, part of light rays of the light source are blocked by the wafer, and the other part of light rays of the light source are emitted to the picking and placing port;

The light source is including set up in accommodation space keep away from get first light source of one side of putting the mouth, set up in one curb plate portion is close to the second light source of accomodating groove one side and set up in another curb plate portion is close to accomodate the third light source of groove one side, first light source the second light source the third light source is all including being used for corresponding the light emitting area of the side of wafer, the height at light emitting area top is higher than corresponding the height at wafer top.

2. The wafer cassette of claim 1, wherein the first light source comprises a light emitting plate connected between the two side plate portions for emitting light toward the pick-and-place port via the receiving space, and the number of the second light source, the third light source, and the receiving slot is plural, and each of the second light source and the third light source is for emitting light toward the corresponding receiving slot.

3. The wafer cassette of claim 1, wherein the carrier further comprises a back plate portion connected to one end of the two side plate portions away from the pick-and-place opening, the number of the light sources is plural, the number of the receiving slots is plural, each of the light sources corresponds to one of the receiving slots and includes the first light source disposed on a side of the back plate portion near the receiving space, the second light source disposed on a side of one of the side plate portions near the receiving slot, and the third light source disposed on a side of the other side plate portion near the receiving slot.

4. The wafer cassette of claim 2 or 3, wherein the first light source, the second light source, and the third light source emit light independently and/or at least two of the first light source, the second light source, and the third light source are connected in a single body and emit light simultaneously.

5. The wafer cassette of claim 3, wherein the back plate portion is an arcuate plate protruding outward of the receiving space or a surface of the back plate portion adjacent to the receiving space is an arcuate surface protruding outward of the receiving space.

6. A wafer handling apparatus, characterized in that, the wafer handling apparatus includes:

the wafer cassette of any one of claims 1-5;

the carrying module is used for acquiring or placing the wafer from the pick-and-place opening;

a visual sensing module for photographing the accommodating space at one side of the pick-and-place opening and outputting a first photographing image, and

The control module is electrically connected with the carrying module and the visual sensing module and is used for receiving and controlling the carrying module to perform alignment according to the first shooting image and controlling the carrying module to perform the acquisition or placement of the wafer after the alignment is completed.

7. A wafer handling control method, comprising the steps of:

Providing a wafer box, wherein the wafer box is as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5;

8. An electrical device comprising a memory and a processor, the memory having stored therein computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to implement the method of claim 7.

9. A computer readable storage medium having computer readable instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor, implement the method of claim 7.