WAFER GRINDING AUTOMATION SYSTEM AND AUTOMATED WAFER GRINDING METHOD

Abstract

A wafer grinding automation system is provided, which includes a frame, and a feeding unit, a first picking unit, a positioning unit, a reference wafer bearing unit, a second picking unit, a processing unit, a cleaning unit and a discharging unit that are arranged on the frame. Further included are an information collection unit configured to collect material and position information on wafers and reference wafers, and a control system for controlling the above units to transport and process wafers. Each unit is controlled by the information collection unit and the control system to implement automated transportation and processing of the wafers. An automated wafer grinding method is further provided, which adopts the above-mentioned wafer grinding automation system.

Claims

1. A wafer grinding automation system, comprising: a frame, a feeding unit arranged on the frame, a first picking unit arrange on the frame, a positioning unit arranged on the frame, a reference wafer bearing unit arranged on the frame, a second picking unit arranged on the frame, a processing unit arranged on the frame, a cleaning unit arranged on the frame, a discharging unit arranged on the frame; an information collection unit configured to collect material and position information on wafers in the feeding unit and reference wafers in the reference wafer bearing unit; and a control system configured to: receive the material and position information collected by the information collection unit, and acquire wafer processing information based on the material and position information; control the feeding unit, the first picking unit, the positioning unit, the reference wafer bearing unit, the second picking unit, the processing unit, the cleaning unit and the discharging unit for transporting and processing the wafers based on the wafer processing information.

2. The wafer grinding automation system according to claim 1, wherein the control system comprises: an information receiving subsystem configured to receive the material and position information collected by the information collecting unit; an information management subsystem configured to store the wafer processing information, match material and position information with corresponding wafer processing information, and track the material and position information during the transportation and processing; and a mechanism control subsystem configured to control the feeding unit, the first picking unit, the positioning unit, the reference wafer bearing unit, the second picking unit, the processing unit, the cleaning unit and the discharging unit for transportation and processing based on matched wafer processing information.

3. The wafer grinding automation system according to claim 1, wherein the feeding unit comprises: a first feeding mechanism configured to store to-be processed wafers; a first feeding buffer portion configured to buffer surplus wafers processed by the first feeding mechanism in a current time to release space of the first feeding mechanism and replenish new incoming wafers; and a second feeding mechanism configured to store accompanying wafers.

4. The wafer grinding automation system according to claim 1, further comprising a crack and hidden crack inspection unit.

5. The wafer grinding automation system according to claim 1, wherein the reference wafer bearing unit comprises a reference wafer buffer mechanism, a reference wafer positioning mechanism and a reference wafer recycling mechanism.

6. The wafer grinding automation system according to claim 1, further comprising a visual recognition mechanism and a pressing inspection mechanism arranged on the second picking unit, the visual recognition mechanism is configured to collect position information on processing positions of the processing unit and detect information on fragment residuals in the processing positions, and the pressing inspection mechanism is configured to confirm that the wafers and the reference wafers accurately enter the processing positions.

7. An automated wafer grinding method, which adopts the wafer grinding automation system according to claim 1, comprising: S1: collecting the material and position information on the wafers in the feeding unit and the reference wafers in the reference wafer bearing unit by an information collection unit and transmitting the material and position information to the control system; S2: acquiring the wafer processing information based on the material and position information by the control system, and tracking the material and position information during transportation and processing of the wafers and the reference wafers; S3: controlling a first picking unit to transport the wafers from the feeding unit to the processing unit through the positioning unit by the control system based on the wafer processing information, and controlling the second picking unit to transport the reference wafers from the reference wafer bearing unit to the processing unit; S4: outputting acquired wafer processing information to the processing unit by the control system; S5: processing the wafers by the processing unit based on the wafer processing information output by the control system; S6: transporting processed wafers to the cleaning unit by the first picking unit, and transporting the reference wafers to a reference wafer recycling mechanism of the reference wafer bearing unit by the second picking unit; S7: cleaning the wafers by the cleaning unit; S8: outputting corresponding transportation information to the first picking unit by the control system based on the material and position information on the wafers collected by the information collection unit; S9: transporting the wafers to the discharging unit by the first picking unit based on the transportation information output by the control system; and S10: repeating S1 to S9.

8. The automated wafer grinding method according to claim 7, wherein the control system comprises: an information receiving subsystem configured to receive the material and position information collected by the information collection unit; an information management subsystem configured to store the wafer processing information and match the material and position information with corresponding wafer processing information; and a mechanism control subsystem configured to control the feeding unit, the first picking unit, the positioning unit, the reference wafer bearing unit, the second picking unit, the processing unit, the cleaning unit and the discharging unit for transportation and processing based on the matched wafer processing information; wherein in S1, the information collection unit collects the material and position information on the wafers in the feeding unit and the reference wafers in the reference wafer bearing unit and transmits the material and position information to the information receiving subsystem; in S2, the information management subsystem acquires the wafer processing information based on the material and position information, and tracks the material and position information during transportation and processing of the wafers and the reference wafers; in S3, the mechanism control subsystem controls the first picking unit to transport the wafers from the feeding unit to the processing unit through the positioning unit based on the wafer processing information, and controls the second picking unit to transport the reference wafers from the reference wafer bearing unit to the processing unit; in S4, the information management subsystem outputs the acquired wafer processing information to the processing unit; in S5, the processing unit processes the wafers based on the wafer processing information output by the information management subsystem; in S8, the mechanism control subsystem outputs the corresponding transportation information to the first picking unit based on the material and position information on the wafers collected by the information collection unit; and in S9, the first picking unit transports cleaned wafers to the discharging unit based on the transportation information output by the mechanism control subsystem.

9. The automated wafer grinding method according to claim 8, further comprising: a crack and hidden crack inspection unit, the feeding unit comprising a first feeding mechanism configured to store to-be processed wafers and a second feeding mechanism configured to store accompanying wafers; wherein in S3, before transporting wafers from the feeding unit to the positioning unit, the first picking unit first transports the wafers to the crack and hidden crack inspection unit for hidden crack inspection, qualified products are transported to the positioning unit based on the wafer processing information, and unqualified products are sent back to an original incoming position at the first feeding unit; if the unqualified products are detected, the first picking unit determines to execute one of following two commands based on production requirements: when a production order is not a final order, a first command is executed: continuing to pick up a next to-be-processed wafer from the first feeding mechanism; when a production order is a final order or a process verification order, a second command is executed: picking up an accompanying wafer from the second feeding mechanism for replenishment; and if only the unqualified products remain in the first feeding unit, the unqualified products are transported to a re-judging station for treatment.

10. The automated wafer grinding method according to claim 8, wherein the positioning unit comprises a positioning station for mechanically positioning wafers; the reference wafer bearing unit comprises a reference wafer buffer mechanism, a reference wafer positioning mechanism and the reference wafer recycling mechanism; a visual recognition mechanism and a pressing inspection mechanism are further comprised, the visual recognition mechanism is configured to collect position information on processing positions of the processing unit and detect information on fragment residuals in the processing positions, and the pressing inspection mechanism is configured to confirm that the wafers and the reference wafers accurately enter the processing positions; in S3, the wafers are mechanically positioned by the positioning station in the positioning unit, the reference wafers are mechanically positioned by the reference wafer positioning mechanism of the reference wafer bearing unit, the first picking unit transports the positioned wafers above the processing positions of the processing unit, the second picking unit transports the positioned reference wafers above the processing positions of the processing unit, and based on the position information on the processing positions collected by the visual recognition mechanism, the wafers and the reference wafers are accurately placed in the processing positions; the pressing inspection mechanism performs pressing inspection on the processing positions in which the wafers or the reference wafers are placed, and confirms that the wafers or the reference wafers are in place; and in S6, after the wafers and the reference wafers are moved out of the processing positions, the processing positions of the processing unit are recognized by the visual recognition mechanism to detect whether there are fragment residuals in the processing positions; if yes, the material and position information on all wafers is recorded, automated breakpoint saving is performed, an automatic state of the system is exited, notification is performed for manual processing, and after manual confirmation and cleaning, automated breakpoint restoration is performed and automatic operation is continued; and if not, a next step is continued.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] To illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or conventional art more clearly, the drawings required for the embodiments are briefly described below. Apparently, the drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, and those of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these drawings without creative efforts.

[0048] FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer grinding automation system disclosed according to the present disclosure;

[0049] FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a first picking unit in FIG. 1;

[0050] FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a positioning unit in FIG. 1;

[0051] FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a reference wafer bearing unit in FIG. 1;

[0052] FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a second picking unit in FIG. 1;

[0053] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of FIG. 5 from another perspective;

[0054] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a control system disclosed according to the present disclosure; and

[0055] FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart of an automated wafer grinding method disclosed according to the present disclosure.

[0056] List of the reference characters: 1 first feeding mechanism; 2 crack and hidden crack inspection unit; 3 first feeding buffer portion; 4 positioning unit; 401 positioning station; 5 second feeding mechanism; 6 discharging buffer portion; 7 discharging portion; 8 cleaning unit; 9 conveying portion; 10 feeding portion; 11 feeding buffer portion; 12 reference wafer bearing unit; 1201 reference wafer buffer mechanism; 1202 reference wafer positioning mechanism; 1203 reference wafer recycling mechanism; 13 second picking unit; 1301 third picking portion; 1302 visual recognition mechanism; 1303 pressing inspection mechanism; 1304 fourth picking portion; 14 processing unit; 15 bearing member; 16 processing position; 17 first picking unit; 1701 mechanical hand; 1702 picking head; 1703 first picking portion; 1704 second picking portion; and 18 discharging unit

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0057] The following clearly and completely describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparently, the described embodiments are merely some of the embodiments of the present disclosure rather than all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present disclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0058] The embodiments aim to provide a wafer grinding automation system and an automated wafer grinding method, to solve the problems existing in the conventional art, improve automated processing efficiency and accuracy of wafer grinding, ensure wafer processing quality, and reduce labor intensity of an operator.

[0059] To make the above objective, features and advantages of the present disclosure clearer and more comprehensible, the present disclosure is further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific implementations.

Embodiment I

[0060] Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, this embodiment provides a wafer grinding automation system, including a frame, and a feeding unit, a first picking unit 17, a positioning unit 4, a reference wafer bearing unit 12, a second picking unit 13, a processing unit 14, a cleaning unit 8 and a discharging unit 18 that are arranged on the frame.

[0061] The feeding unit is configured to store multiple stacked wafers.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 2, the first picking unit 17 includes a mechanical arm and a mechanical hand 1701. The mechanical arm is arranged on the frame. The mechanical hand 1701 is connected with the mechanical arm, and the mechanical arm can drive the mechanical hand 1701 to move in space. The mechanical hand 1701 has a first picking portion 1703 and a second picking portion 1704. The first picking portion 1703 is of a flat structure to pick up wafers stored in the feeding unit, and the mechanical arm drives the mechanical hand 1701 to move to place the wafers at the positioning unit 4. The positioning unit 4 is configured to bear the wafers and position each wafer. The second picking unit 1704 includes multiple picking heads 1702 to pick up multiple positioned wafers. The mechanical arm drives the mechanical hand 1701 to move and place the multiple picked up wafers in the processing unit 14.

[0063] The processing unit 14 is configured to grind the wafers. Multiple bearing members 15 are arranged in the processing unit 14, and each bearing member 15 is equipped with multiple processing positions 16 arranged based on a certain rule. The number and the arrangement of the multiple picking heads 1702 of the second picking unit 1704 are in a one-to-one correspondence with those of the multiple processing positions 16 on the bearing member 15. After the wafer processing is completed, the second picking unit 1704 can still fetch processed wafers.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 3, the positioning unit 4 includes positioning stations 401. Correspondingly, the number of the positioning stations 401 is multiple to meet feeding requirements of the processing positions 16 of each bearing member 15 of the processing unit 14. Each positioning station 401 includes circumferentially and uniformly distributed positioning pins. Detection sensors are further arranged on the positioning stations 401 to detect whether there are wafers carried on the positioning stations 401 and whether the wafers are inclined or deviated, and to position the wafers. The second picking portion 1704 can pick up the wafers on the positioning stations 401, and the picking heads 1702 suck the wafers on the positioning stations 401 and transfer the wafers to the processing positions 16 of the processing unit 14 under the drive of the mechanical arm.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 4, the reference wafer bearing unit 12 is configured to store multiple reference wafers. The thickness of the reference wafer corresponds to a standard thickness of a wafer before grinding, and is served as a grinding reference during grinding. The thickness of the reference wafer is measured in real time during grinding, and an entire grinding machine stops processing when the thickness of the reference wafer reaches an order thickness. The reference wafer bearing unit 12 includes a reference wafer buffer mechanism 1201, a reference wafer positioning mechanism 1202 and a reference wafer recycling mechanism 1203.

[0066] As shown in FIG. 5, the second picking unit 13 includes a third picking portion 1301 for transporting the wafers and a fourth picking portion 1304 for transporting the reference wafers.

[0067] The structure of the third picking unit 1301 is the same as that of the first picking unit 1703.

[0068] The fourth picking portion 1304 includes a sucker, which adopts a large-area suction manner to enhance stability of sucking and fixing the reference wafers. The sucker is in communication with an external suction driver, and the external suction driver can perform air suction and inflation operations on the sucker. When air suction is performed on the sucker, the sucker sucks a reference wafer. When the reference wafer needs to be placed in a next position, the suction driver inflates the sucker to separate the sucker from the reference wafer. The fourth picking unit 1304 is configured to transfer the reference wafers sequentially from the reference wafer buffer mechanism 1201 to the reference wafer positioning mechanism 1202, to the processing positions 16, and then to the reference wafer recycling mechanism 1203.

[0069] A visual recognition mechanism 1302 and a pressing inspection mechanism 1303 are further arranged on the second picking unit 13. The visual recognition mechanism 1302 is configured to collect position information on processing positions 16 of the processing unit 14 and check information on fragment residuals in the processing positions 16, and the pressing inspection mechanism 1303 is configured to confirm that the wafers and the reference wafers accurately enter the processing positions 16.

[0070] Processed wafers are sent to the cleaning unit 8 by the second picking portion 1704 of the first picking unit 17. A process for cleaning the wafers in the cleaning unit 8 includes overflow throwing ultrasonic cleaning, single wafer spray cleaning, cleaning by a rolling brush, two-fluid cleaning, air drying by an air knife, and automatic receiving and loading of single wafers by a basket.

[0071] A conveying unit is further arranged after the cleaning unit 8. The cleaned wafers are transferred to the conveying unit by the third picking portion 1301 of the second picking unit 13, are fed sequentially along a feeding buffer portion 11, a feeding portion 10, a conveying portion 9, a discharging portion 7 and a discharging buffer portion 6 of the conveying unit, and are finally sent to the discharging unit 18 by the first picking portion 1703 of the first picking unit 17.

[0072] Referring to FIG. 6, this embodiment further includes an information collection unit and a control system. The information collection unit is configured to collect the material and position information on the wafers in the feeding unit and the reference wafers in the reference wafer bearing unit 12. The control system is configured to receive the material and position information collected by the information collection unit and acquire wafer processing information based on the material and position information, and the control system controls the feeding unit, the first picking unit 17, the positioning unit 4, the reference wafer bearing unit 12, the second picking unit 13, the processing unit 14, the cleaning unit 8 and the discharging unit 18 to transport and process the wafers based on the wafer processing information.

[0073] The control system includes an information receiving subsystem, an information management subsystem and a mechanism control subsystem. The information management subsystem stores the wafer processing information. The information receiving subsystem is configured to receive the material and position information collected by the information collection unit, the information management subsystem is configured to match the material and position information with corresponding wafer processing information, and the mechanism control subsystem is configured to control the feeding unit, the first picking unit 17, the positioning unit 4, the reference wafer bearing unit 12, the second picking unit 13, the processing unit 14, the cleaning unit 8 and the discharging unit 18 for transportation and processing based on the matched wafer processing information. The information management subsystem can further track the material and position information during transportation and processing.

[0074] Feeding and discharging of wafer grinding should follow an in-situ feeding and in-situ discharging principle. The feeding unit has multiple placing slots each for placing a single wafer. Each placing slot has corresponding identification information, such as a bar code, a two-dimensional code or an electronic tag, and a serial number of the placing slot can be obtained by reading the identification information. The wafer in each placing slot also has its own identification information. Information such as a source, a batch and a specification and model of the wafer can be obtained by reading the identification information.

[0075] After collecting the material information on the wafers in the feeding unit, the information collection mechanism locks the information with the information on the placing slots where the wafers are located, and tracks the positions of the wafers during transfer and processing thereof to ensure that each processed wafer returns to its corresponding placing slot during discharging. In actual production, an AGV trolley is usually adopted to place an open cassette full of incoming wafers into the feeding unit. In this case, wafer placing slots in the open cassette becomes the placing slots of the feeding unit. After the wafers in the open cassette are fetched, the AGV trolley transfers the open cassette from the feeding unit to the discharging unit 18, and the processed wafers are sent to the corresponding placing slots based on the locked information, thereby implementing in-situ feeding and in-situ discharging.

[0076] During information collection, if the material information on the fed wafers does not match processing information in a production plan, the system gives an alarm.

[0077] Similarly, the reference wafer bearing unit 12 also has placing slots for placing multiple reference wafers. Each placing slot has corresponding identification information, such as a bar code or a two-dimensional code, and a serial number of the placing slot can be obtained by reading the identification information. The reference wafer in each placing slot also has its own identification information. Information such as a specification and model of the reference wafer can be obtained by reading the identification information.

[0078] Reference wafers are disposable consumables. The purpose of collecting their material and position information is to select reference wafers with corresponding standard specifications based on processing information on wafers in different production batches. After the wafer processing is completed, the corresponding reference wafer are recycled for subsequent processing.

[0079] During information collection, if the material information on the reference wafers does not match processing information in a production plan, the system gives an alarm.

[0080] As a preferred solution of this embodiment, the wafer grinding automation system further includes a crack and hidden crack inspection unit 2. Before the first picking unit 1703 transfers the wafers to the positioning unit 4, the wafers are first transported to the crack and hidden crack inspection unit 2 for inspection, and qualified products enter the positioning unit 4, while unqualified products are transported to an original incoming position at the first feeding unit to wait for re-judgment.

[0081] The feeding unit includes a first feeding mechanism 1, a first feeding buffer portion 3 and a second feeding mechanism 5. The first feeding mechanism 1 is configured to store to-be-processed wafers. The first feeding buffer portion 3 is configured to buffer surplus wafers processed in a current time in the first feeding mechanism 1 to release space of the first feeding mechanism 1 and replenish new incoming wafers. The second feeding mechanism 5 is configured to store accompanying wafers. Placing slots and the to-be-processed wafers and the accompanying wafers in the first feeding mechanism 1 and the second feeding mechanism 5 have corresponding identification information, and the information collection unit locks information on each wafer and a placing slot where the wafer is located. The accompanying wafers are other groups of wafers of the same specifications and the same batch as or different batches from the processing information of the to-be-processed wafers.

[0082] During the grinding process, it is necessary to ensure that the processing positions 16 in the processing unit 14 are fully loaded. If an unqualified product is detected in the hidden crack inspection process, the to-be-processed wafer in the next placing slot in the first feeding mechanism 1 is adopted to make up for the position, or the accompanying wafer in the second feeding mechanism 5 is adopted to make up for the position, which is determined by the system based on production requirements, and corresponding position information tracking is performed, to also achieve in-situ feeding and in-situ discharging.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 5, in practical application, the information management subsystem is a local management system, and may be further provided with: [0084] a mobile storage medium, where the mobile storage medium is configured to acquire required production information from the information management subsystem, such as material information on order wafers, position information of the feeding unit, quality data, and binding information between the material information on the wafers and the position information of the feeding unit; [0085] a visual positioning information storage medium, where the visual positioning information storage medium is configured to store visual positioning information extracted from the information management subsystem; [0086] a visual fragment inspection information storage medium, where the visual fragment inspection information storage medium is configured to store visual fragment inspection information extracted from the information management subsystem; and [0087] a video monitoring controller, where the video monitoring controller is configured to monitor a device state, with monitoring information stored in the information management subsystem.

[0088] The MES upper management system can extract information generated in a generation process from the information management subsystem, and perform remote monitoring. The information includes, but is not limited to, the material and position information on the wafers and the reference wafers, a binding record of in-situ feeding material and position information on incoming wafers, a positioning image of processing positions 16, a reference wafer loading and unloading record, a wafer in-situ inspection image, a fragment residue inspection image, a device operation state image, a binding record of in-situ discharging material and position information on discharged wafer after cleaning, and historical tracing of a device operation state.

[0089] The information management subsystem can perform real-time statistics on a production task report, a wafer quality data statistical report, a customized wafer appearance image statistical report and a mechanism control subsystem fault alarm statistical report. The statistical reports are archived in a retrospective period and are submitted to the MES upper management system.

[0090] The information management subsystem can locally edit and save a production order parameter formula for the processing unit 14, that is, a wafer grinding machine system, to switch production scheduling with one key.

Embodiment II

[0091] This embodiment provides an automated wafer grinding method that adopts the wafer grinding automation system according to Embodiment I, including the following steps.

[0092] S1: An information collection unit collects the material and position information on the wafers in the feeding unit and the reference wafers in the reference wafer bearing unit 12 and transmits the information to the material and position control system.

[0093] S2: The control system acquires wafer processing information based on the material and position information, and tracks the material and position information during transportation and processing of wafers and reference wafers.

[0094] S3: The control system controls the first picking unit 17 to transport the wafers from the feeding unit to the processing unit 14 through the positioning unit 4 based on the wafer processing information, and controls the second picking unit 13 to transport the reference wafers from the reference wafer bearing unit 12 to the processing unit 14.

[0095] S4: The control system outputs the acquired wafer processing information to the processing unit 14.

[0096] S5: The processing unit 14 processes the wafers based on the wafer processing information output by the control system.

[0097] S6: The first picking unit 17 transports processed wafers to the cleaning unit 8, and the second picking unit 13 transports the reference wafers to the reference wafer bearing unit 12.

[0098] S7: The cleaning unit 8 cleans the wafers.

[0099] S8: The control system outputs corresponding transportation information to the first picking unit 17 based on the material and position information on the wafers collected by the information collection unit.

[0100] S9: The first picking unit 17 transports the cleaned wafers to the discharging unit 18 based on the transportation information output by the control system.

[0101] S10: Steps S1 to S9 are repeated.

Embodiment III

[0102] This embodiment provides an automated wafer grinding method that adopts the wafer grinding automation system according to Embodiment I, including the following steps.

[0103] S1: The information collection unit collects the material and position information on the wafers in the feeding unit and the reference wafers in the reference wafer bearing unit 12 and transmits the material and position information to the information receiving subsystem.

[0104] S2: The information management subsystem acquires wafer processing information based on the material and position information, and tracks the material and position information during transportation and processing of the wafers and the reference wafers.

[0105] S3: Based on the wafer processing information, before the mechanism control subsystem controls the first picking portion 1703 of the first picking unit 17 to transport the wafers from the feeding unit to the positioning unit 4, the wafers are first transported to the crack and hidden crack inspection unit 2 for hidden crack inspection, and qualified products are transported to the positioning unit 4 based on the wafer processing information, while unqualified products are sent back to an original incoming position at the first feeding unit 1.

[0106] If an unqualified product is detected, the first picking unit 17 determines to execute one of the following two commands based on production requirements.

[0107] When a production order is not a final order, a first command is executed: continuing to pick up a next to-be-processed wafer from the first feeding mechanism 1.

[0108] When a production order is a final order or a process verification order, a second command is executed: picking up an accompanying wafer from the second feeding mechanism 5 to make up for the position.

[0109] If only unqualified products remain in the first feeding unit, the unqualified products are transported to a re-judging station for treatment.

[0110] The mechanism control subsystem controls the first picking portion 1703 of the first picking unit 17 to transport qualified wafers to the positioning unit 4 for mechanical positioning of the wafers.

[0111] The mechanism control subsystem controls the fourth picking portion 1304 of the second picking unit 13 to transport the reference wafers from the reference wafer buffer mechanism 1201 to the reference wafer positioning mechanism 1202, and mechanically positions the reference wafers by the reference wafer positioning mechanism 1202 of the reference wafer bearing unit 12.

[0112] The first picking portion 1703 transports the positioned wafers above processing positions 16 of the processing unit 14, and the fourth picking portion 1304 transports the positioned reference wafers above the processing positions 16 of the processing unit 14.

[0113] Since accuracy of mechanical positioning is less than 2 mm, which cannot meet wafer in-position accuracy of 0.2 mm, besides mechanical positioning, position information of the processing positions 16 collected by the visual recognition mechanism 1302 is further needed. The control structure calculates compensation data with reference to the position information given by the visual recognition mechanism 1302, and then controls the first picking portion 1703 and the fourth picking portion 1304 to respectively accurately place the wafers and the reference wafers into the processing positions 16.

[0114] Then the pressing inspection mechanism 1303 performs pressing inspection on the processing positions 16 in which the wafers or the reference wafers are placed, confirms that the wafers or the reference wafers are in place, and gives an alarm if an abnormality is detected.

[0115] S4: The information management subsystem outputs the acquired wafer processing information to the processing unit 14.

[0116] S5: The processing unit 14 processes the wafers based on the wafer processing information output by the information management subsystem.

[0117] S6: The A second picking portion 1704 transports processed wafers to a cleaning unit 8, and the fourth picking portion 1304 transports the reference wafers to the reference wafer bearing unit 12.

[0118] After the wafers and the reference wafers are moved out of the processing positions 16, the processing positions 16 of the processing unit 14 are recognized by the visual recognition mechanism 1302 to detect whether there are fragment residuals in the processing positions 16. If yes, material and position information on all wafers is recorded, automated breakpoint saving is performed, an automatic state of the system is exited, notification is performed for manual processing, and after manual confirmation and cleaning, automated breakpoint restoration is performed and automatic operation is continued; and if not, a next step is continued.

[0119] S7: The cleaning unit 8 cleans the wafers.

[0120] S8: The mechanism control subsystem outputs corresponding transportation information to the first picking unit 17 based on the material and position information on the wafers collected by the information collection unit.

[0121] S9: The first picking unit 17 transports the cleaned wafers to the discharging unit 18 based on the transportation information output by the mechanism control subsystem.

[0122] S10: Steps S1 to S9 are repeated.

[0123] Adaptive changes made according to actual needs are all within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0124] It should be noted that it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and that the present disclosure can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or basic features of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the embodiments should be regarded in all points of view as exemplary and not restrictive, the scope of the present disclosure being defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and it is therefore intended that all changes falling within the meaning and scope of equivalent elements of the claims should be included in the present disclosure. Any reference sign in the claims should not be considered as limiting the involved claims.

[0125] In the present disclosure, the principle and embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein by using specific examples, the above descriptions of the embodiments are merely intended to help understand the methods and core idea of the present disclosure. In addition, for those of ordinary skill in the art, changes may be made to the specific embodiments and the scope of application according to the concept of the present disclosure. In summary, the content of the description should not be construed as a limitation to the present disclosure.