# US 12,217,988 B2 · Method and device for detecting placement of wafers in wafer cassette > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,217,988 B2 - Document ID: US12217988B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/569,642 - Filed: 2022-01-06 - Published: 2022-07-07 - Granted: 2025-02-04 - Earliest claimed: 2021-01-07 - Assignees: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Yu-Ting Chou - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12217988B2 ## CPC - H10P 72/0608: {of substrates stored in a container, a magazine, a carrier, a boat or the like} - G01N 21/9501: {Semiconductor wafers (manufacturing processes per se of semiconductor devices implementing a measuring step H10P74/20)} - G06T 7/001: {using an image reference approach} - G06T 7/74: {involving reference images or patches} - G06T 2207/20081: Training; Learning - G06T 2207/20084: Artificial neural networks [ANN] - G06T 2207/30148: Semiconductor; IC; Wafer - H10W 76/10: Containers or parts thereof - H10W 90/284: {characterised by structural arrangements for measuring or testing} - H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 - G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q) - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL - H10W: GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 ## Abstract A method and a device for detecting a placement of wafers in a wafer cassette are provided. The wafer cassette includes a plurality of receiving grooves. The receiving grooves hold and store the wafers. Light is emitted through the wafer cassette. The light passes through the gaps and is imaged, and the image is captured. Characteristic information is extracted from the image. The extracted characteristic information is compared with standard characteristic information of a preset image, and whether a placement of all the wafers in the wafer cassette is qualified and satisfactory is determined according to a compared result. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of detecting placement of a plurality of wafers in a wafer cassette, comprising: providing a wafer cassette containing wafers, the wafer cassette comprising a plurality of receiving grooves arranged side by side, each of the plurality of receiving grooves configured to store one of the plurality of wafers, each of the plurality of receiving grooves and the corresponding one of the wafers cooperatively defining a gap, wherein the wafer cassette further comprises a housing and a cover connected to the housing, a plurality of diaphragms disposed in the housing, adjacent two of the plurality of diaphragms are arranged parallel with each other and cooperatively form the corresponding one of the plurality of receiving grooves, one end of each of the plurality of receiving grooves close to the cover defines an opening, each of the plurality of receiving grooves are configured to receive the plurality of wafers through the corresponding opening, the wafer cassette further comprises a plurality of tenons disposed on an inner side of the cover, each of the plurality of tenons corresponds to the corresponding one of the plurality of diaphragms, a distance between adjacent two of the plurality of tenons is equal to a thickness of each of the plurality of wafers, adjacent two of the plurality of tenons are configured to clamp one of the plurality of wafers, each of the plurality of tenons is made of elastic material; transmitting light to the wafer cassette by a light source, so that the light passes through each of the gaps; capturing an image of the light passing through each of the gaps by a camera unit; extracting characteristic information from the image by a controller, the extracted characteristic information comprising a width between adjacent two of the plurality of tenons and an image of each of the plurality of the tenons; and comparing the extracted characteristic information with standard characteristic information of a preset image by the controller, the standard characteristic information of the preset image comprising a width between adjacent two of the plurality of tenons clamping one wafer and an image of each of the plurality of the tenons which is undeformed, when each of the extracted characteristic information is consistent with a corresponding standard characteristic information, determining the placement of the plurality of wafers in the wafer cassette is acceptable by the controller, and when at least one of the extracted characteristic information is inconsistent with the corresponding standard characteristic information, determining the placement of the plurality of wafers in the wafer cassette is unacceptable and then marking on the image by the controller. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the cover is rotatably connected to the housing. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein the cover and the housing are locked together through a locking unit. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the wafer cassette is transparent, translucent, or opaque. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, the method further comprising acquiring the preset image by computer vision model training or artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning model training. ### Claim 6 A device configured for detecting placement of a plurality of wafers in a wafer cassette, comprising: a wafer cassette comprising a plurality of receiving grooves arranged side by side, the plurality of receiving grooves being configured to store the plurality of wafers, each of the plurality of receiving grooves and the corresponding one of the plurality of wafers cooperatively defining a gap, wherein the wafer cassette further comprises a housing and a cover connected to the housing, a plurality of diaphragms disposed in the housing, adjacent two of the plurality of diaphragms are arranged parallel with each other and cooperatively form the corresponding one of the plurality of receiving grooves, one end of each of the plurality of receiving grooves close to the cover defines an opening, each of the plurality of receiving grooves are configured to receive the plurality of wafers through the corresponding opening, and the wafer cassette further comprises a plurality of tenons disposed on an inner side of the cover, each of the plurality of tenons corresponds to the corresponding one of the plurality of diaphragms, a distance between adjacent two of the plurality of tenons is equal to a thickness of each of the plurality of wafers, adjacent two of the plurality of tenons are configured to clamp one of the plurality of wafers, each of the plurality of tenons is made of elastic material; a light source configured to transmit light to the wafer cassette, so that the light passes through each of the gaps; a camera unit configured to capture an image of the light passing through each of the gaps; a controller configured to extract characteristic information from the image, the extracted characteristic information comprising a width between adjacent two of the plurality of tenons and an image of each of the plurality of the tenons, the controller further configured to compare the extracted characteristic information with standard characteristic information of a preset image, the standard characteristic information of the preset image comprising a width between adjacent two of the plurality of tenons clamping one wafer and an image of each of the plurality of the tenons which is undeformed, when each of the extracted characteristic information is consistent with a corresponding standard characteristic information, the controller further configured to determine the placement of the plurality of wafers in the wafer cassette is acceptable, and when at least one of the extracted characteristic information is inconsistent with the corresponding standard characteristic information, the controller further configured to determine the placement of the plurality of wafers in the wafer cassette is unacceptable and mark on the image. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The device of claim 6, wherein the cover is rotatably connected to the housing. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The device of claim 7, wherein the cover and the housing are locked together through a locking unit. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) The device of claim 6, wherein the wafer cassette is transparent, translucent, or opaque. ### Claim 10 (depends on 6) The device of claim 6, wherein the preset image is obtained by computer vision model training or artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning model training. ### Claim 11 (depends on 6) The device of claim 6, wherein the camera unit comprises a plurality of cameras, the plurality of cameras is disposed on a side of the wafer cassette close the cover. ### Claim 12 (depends on 6) The device of claim 6, wherein the light source comprises at least one light emitting diode (LED) light, the at least one LED light is disposed on a side of the wafer cassette away from the cover.