Benefits or Application of Wafer Handling Robots

Kensington Laboratories
3 min readApr 7, 2021

--

Wafer handling end effector has a great amount of burden of front-end module designs of equipment. It causes less tool productivity. You must be familiar that the span of manufacturing semiconductors has multiple stages, and it is a complicated process. When developing semiconductor equipment, a lot of attention has to be paid to excellent quality and price. In wafer mapping procedures of numerous kinds, 300mm FOUP proves useful.

For businesses that are dealing with semiconductor front end, wafer handling robots are the best bet for them as they offer accuracy as well as repeatability. When it comes to manual wafer handling, there is a lot of workloads as it is time-consuming to handle wafers manually. The process can only be made efficient with the help of wafer handling robots. A logical approach is presented by a wafer handling robots to reduce the manual workload.

The wafer handling robots available can pick and place 300mm wafers in a particular series in a repeated manner and there is no chance of error as well. Wafers are picked and placed based on the location of the joint. A typical sequence involves

  • Extend to wafer pick location
  • Pick wafer
  • Retract to a safe position
  • Extend arm to place location
  • Place wafer
  • Repeat

Wafer handling robots do the tasks in a sequence. The sequence helps to make sure the robot understands the instructions, and it has reached the point where it has been directed to go. Wafer handling robots reduce the time to do tasks, which helps in increasing the output, and that’s what the industry is working on- to increase the output by decreasing the time taken.

Key Features of Wafer Handling Robots

The primary benefit of wafer handling robots is that they complete the task in an effective manner, which otherwise consumes plenty of time manually. Wafer handling robots are extremely accurate and have the ability to complete the task in less time. The collisions of wafer handling robots are avoided by monitoring the electrical overhead and by safety scanning.

Throughout the years, there have been significant advancements in wafer handling robots. Now, we see there are high throughput and superior performance, and these features are the highlights, which make wafer handling robots a favorite of manufacturing firms.

The commands of wafer handling robots are very easy to learn; with some research, they can be self-learned. These robots can easily identify fault and recovery; that’s why they are a preferred choice of the industries.

Wafer mapping sensors are stress-free to maintain, and they are easy and safe to use. Wafer mapping sensors reduce the manufacturing cost tremendously as they improve efficiency. The assimilated barcode reader or the off-axis reader, along with the direct optical algorithm of the entire involved axis, tends to the recurrence of wafer placement. This trait makes wafer cassette mapping one of the best in the competition. To analyze data, wafer handling software is widely used.

The Fabrication of a Semiconductor Device

The manufacturing phase of an integrated circuit is divided into two phases. The first phase is wafer fabrication; it is incredibly sophisticated and also a very complicated process of manufacturing the silicon chip. Assembly is the second phase, and it is the extremely accurate and automated process of packaging the die. Those two phrases are termed as semiconductor front end and “Back-End.” They incorporate two test steps: wafer probing and final test.

Wafer Handling End Effector family provides a potent wafer solution that combines a high-precision mechanical device for all types of wafers, including perforated, thin, glass, compound, bare, and polish wafers.

Constant gripping force of M4000 Controller which is programmed hold wafers. With the closed-loop force-feedback, the mechanism limits wafer stress while holding the wafer securely and gently.

Source Link: https://bit.ly/3mqGpc9

--

--

Kensington Laboratories
Kensington Laboratories

Written by Kensington Laboratories

Kensington Laboratories is a leading supplier of wafer handling robots, precision motion control, integrated stages, linear stages and rotary stages since 1976.

No responses yet