Anti-slip end-effector for transporting workpiece

1. An anti-slip end-effector for transporting a workpiece, configured to be attached to a robotic arm and comprising:

a workpiece-supporting area for placing a workpiece thereon for transportation, said workpiece having a backside having a glossy finish; and

at least one anti-slip protrusion disposed in the workpiece-supporting area for contacting and supporting the backside of the workpiece, said anti-slip protrusion having a top face having a static friction coefficient of 1.0 or more as measured against the backside of the workpiece, and having a surface roughness of less than 0.4 μm,

wherein the top face of the at least one anti-slip protrusion is constituted by a convex surface having a spherical curvature with a radius of 2.5 mm or more, and is made of polybenzimidazole.

2. The anti-slip end-effector according to claim 1 , wherein the top face of the at least one anti-slip protrusion has a surface roughness of less than about 0.05 μm.

3. The anti-slip end-effector according to claim 1 , wherein the top face of the at least one anti-slip protrusion has a static friction coefficient of 1.2 or more against the backside of the workpiece.

4. The anti-slip end-effector according to claim 1 , wherein the spherical curvature has a radius of 10 mm or more.

5. The anti-slip end-effector according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one anti-slip protrusion consists of multiple anti-slip protrusions.

6. The anti-slip end-effector according to claim 1 , wherein the top face of the at least one anti-slip protrusion is the only area which contacts the backside of the workpiece when the workpiece is placed on the workpiece-supporting area.

7. The anti-slip end-effector according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one anti-slip protrusion is constituted by a pin having threads fixed in the workpiece-supporting area by screw fastening.

8. The anti-slip end-effector according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one front protrusion disposed at a distal end of the workpiece-supporting area for engaging an edge of the workpiece to restrict movement of the workpiece placed on the workpiece-supporting area beyond the front protrusion.

9. The anti-slip end-effector according to claim 1 , wherein the backside of the workpiece is constituted by Si, SiO 2 , SiN, SiC, or gallium arsenide (GaAs).

10. The anti-slip end-effector according to claim 1 , wherein the workpiece-supporting area is constituted by Al 2 O 3 or silicon carbide.

11. A robotic arm for transporting a workpiece, comprising at least one arm which is movable vertically, front and rear, and laterally, and the anti-slip end effector of claim 1 attached to a distal end of each arm.

12. A method of manufacturing the anti-slip end-effector of claim 1 , comprising:

providing at least one pin as an anti-slip protrusion, which has a surface roughness of less than 0.4 μm and has a top face made of polybenzimidazole and constituted by a convex surface having a spherical curvature with a radius of 2.5 mm or more;

sliding a backside of a dummy workpiece constituted by Si, SiO 2 , SiN, SiC, or gallium arsenide (GaAs) against the top face of the at least one pin to increase a static friction coefficient between the top face of the at least one pin and the backside of the dummy workpiece as a pretreatment until the top face exhibits a desired static friction coefficient of 1.0 or more as measured against the backside of the dummy workpiece; and then

installing the pretreated pin in a workpiece-supporting area of an end effector.

13. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the dummy workpiece slides against the top face of the at least one pin about twenty to sixty times before installing the pretreated pin in the workpiece-supporting area of the end effector.