CN110962023A

CN110962023A - Polishing equipment

Info

Publication number: CN110962023A
Application number: CN201911422743.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 杨兆明; 颜凯; 中原司
Original assignee: Zhejiang Xinhui Equipment Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Zhejiang Xinhui Equipment Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-12-31
Filing date: 2019-12-31
Publication date: 2020-04-07

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of polishing and discloses polishing equipment. The polishing equipment comprises a workbench, a polishing disk cleaner, a turntable, a polishing head assembly and a conveying mechanism. The workbench is provided with a feeding and discharging station and a plurality of polishing stations which are separated from each other. Each polishing station is provided with a polishing disk and a polishing disk cleaner. The turntable is rotatably arranged above the workbench. The polishing head assemblies are arranged on the turntable in a liftable manner along the vertical direction, and the plurality of groups of polishing head assemblies are uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction of the turntable. The turntable can drive a plurality of groups of polishing head assemblies to rotate so that one group of polishing head assemblies is opposite to the feeding and discharging station and adsorbs wafers to be polished positioned on the feeding and discharging station, and the other groups of polishing head assemblies are opposite to the polishing disks one to one, and the polishing head assemblies can be matched with the polishing disks to polish the wafers. The polishing equipment can effectively improve the polishing yield and the polishing efficiency, and has wide application range.

Description

Polishing equipment

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of polishing, in particular to polishing equipment.

Background

In the wafer production process, it is usually necessary to polish the wafer by using a polishing apparatus. However, the existing polishing equipment has low polishing yield, low polishing efficiency and small application range, and cannot meet various polishing precision requirements. Therefore, a new polishing head driving device is needed to solve the above technical problems.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide polishing equipment which can effectively improve the polishing yield and the polishing efficiency, has a wide application range and can meet the requirements of various polishing precisions.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme:

a polishing apparatus comprising:

the polishing device comprises a workbench, a polishing device and a polishing device, wherein the workbench is provided with a feeding and discharging station and a plurality of separated polishing stations;

each polishing station is provided with one polishing disc;

each polishing station is provided with one polishing disc cleaner, and the polishing disc cleaners are rotatably arranged on one side of the polishing disc;

the rotary table is rotatably arranged above the workbench;

the polishing head assemblies are arranged on the turntable in a lifting manner along the vertical direction, and a plurality of groups of polishing head assemblies are uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction of the turntable;

the turntable can drive a plurality of groups of polishing head assemblies to rotate so that one group of polishing head assemblies is opposite to the feeding and discharging station and adsorbs wafers to be polished positioned on the feeding and discharging station, and the other groups of polishing head assemblies are opposite to the polishing discs one by one, and the polishing head assemblies can be matched with the polishing discs to polish the wafers.

As a preferable scheme of the polishing apparatus, the polishing apparatus further includes a transfer mechanism, which is movably disposed on the table in a horizontal direction to move the wafer to be polished placed thereon to the loading and unloading station.

As a preferable scheme of the polishing equipment, the polishing equipment further comprises a polishing head cleaner, the polishing head cleaner is arranged on the feeding and discharging station in a liftable mode, and the turntable can drive the polishing head assembly to rotate above the polishing head cleaner, so that the polishing head cleaner can clean the polishing head assembly.

As a preferable scheme of the polishing equipment, the polishing precision of a plurality of polishing stations is sequentially increased.

As a preferable scheme of the polishing equipment, the polishing equipment further comprises a loading manipulator, wherein a loading area is further arranged on the workbench, a loaded wafer box containing the wafer to be polished can be placed in the loading area, and the loading manipulator can take out the wafer from the loaded wafer box and place the wafer on the conveying mechanism.

As a preferable scheme of the polishing apparatus, the polishing apparatus further includes an unloading and conveying mechanism, and the unloading and conveying mechanism is rotatably disposed on the workbench and can rotate to the loading and unloading station, so that the polishing head assembly can place the polished wafer on the unloading and conveying mechanism.

As a preferable scheme of the polishing apparatus, the polishing apparatus further includes an unloading robot, the work table is further provided with an unloading area, an unloading wafer cassette can be placed in the unloading area, and the unloading robot can place the wafer on the unloading transfer mechanism into the unloading wafer cassette.

As a preferable aspect of the polishing apparatus, the unloading zone is provided with a water tank in which the unloaded wafer cassette containing the wafers can be immersed.

As a preferable scheme of the polishing equipment, a partition plate is further arranged on the workbench, and the partition plate divides the workbench into the feeding and discharging station and the plurality of polishing stations.

As a preferable scheme of the polishing apparatus, each set of the polishing head assemblies includes at least two polishing heads, so that at least two wafers can be polished on the same polishing disk.

The invention has the beneficial effects that:

according to the polishing equipment provided by the invention, the plurality of polishing stations are arranged on the workbench, so that a plurality of wafers can be polished on the plurality of polishing stations simultaneously, the polishing efficiency is improved, and the polishing stations are mutually separated and independent, so that polishing liquid, polishing powder and the like in one polishing station can be effectively prevented from splashing to other polishing stations, and the polishing yield is improved; meanwhile, the polishing disk cleaner is arranged at the polishing station, so that the polishing disk can be cleaned by the polishing disk cleaner, the polishing disk is prevented from polluting the wafer, the cleanliness of the wafer is ensured, and the polishing yield is further improved; in addition, polishing liquid with different grinding particle sizes is sprayed on the polishing disks of the plurality of polishing stations, so that the requirements of various polishing precision can be met, and the application range of polishing equipment is expanded.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the contents of the embodiments of the present invention and the drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a polishing apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure:

100-a wafer; 200-loading a wafer cassette; 300-unloading the wafer cassette;

1-a workbench; 11-a loading and unloading station; 12-a polishing station; 13-a loading zone; 14-an unloading zone; 15-a water tank; 16-a separator;

2-a polishing disc;

3-a polishing disk cleaner;

4-a turntable;

5-a polishing head assembly; 51-a polishing head;

6-a conveying mechanism;

7-polishing head cleaner;

8-a loading manipulator;

9-unloading the transfer mechanism;

10-unloading the manipulator.

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical problems solved, technical solutions adopted and technical effects achieved by the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of description and simplicity of description, but do not indicate or imply that the device or element being referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like are used for descriptive purposes only or to distinguish between different structures or components and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. Wherein the terms "first position" and "second position" are two different positions.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise explicitly stated or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, e.g., as meaning either a fixed connection or a removable connection; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood in specific cases to those skilled in the art.

As shown in fig. 1, the present embodiment provides a polishing apparatus including a table 1, a polishing disk 2, a polishing disk cleaner 3, a turntable 4, a polishing head assembly 5, and a transport mechanism 6. Wherein, the worktable 1 is provided with a feeding and discharging station 11 and a plurality of polishing stations 12 which are separated from each other. Each polishing station 12 is provided with a polishing disc 2. Each polishing station 12 is provided with a polishing disc cleaner 3, and the polishing disc cleaner 3 is rotatably provided on one side of the polishing disc 2. The turntable 4 is rotatably disposed above the table 1. The polishing head assemblies 5 are arranged on the turntable 4 in a lifting manner along the vertical direction, and the groups of polishing head assemblies 5 are uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction of the turntable 4. The turntable 4 can drive a plurality of groups of polishing head assemblies 5 to rotate, so that one group of polishing head assemblies 5 is opposite to the feeding and discharging station 11 and adsorbs the wafer 100 to be polished positioned on the feeding and discharging station 11, and meanwhile, the other groups of polishing head assemblies 5 are opposite to the polishing disks 2 one by one, and the polishing head assemblies 5 can be matched with the polishing disks 2 to polish the wafer 100.

According to the polishing equipment provided by the embodiment, the plurality of polishing stations 12 are arranged on the workbench 1, so that a plurality of wafers 100 can be polished on the plurality of polishing stations 12 at the same time, the polishing efficiency is improved, and the plurality of polishing stations 12 are separated from each other and independent from each other, so that polishing liquid, polishing powder and the like in one polishing station 12 can be effectively prevented from splashing to other polishing stations 12, and the polishing yield is improved; meanwhile, the polishing disk cleaner 3 is arranged at the polishing station 12, so that the polishing disk 2 can be cleaned by the polishing disk cleaner 3, the wafer 100 is prevented from being polluted by the polishing disk 2, the cleanliness of the wafer 100 is ensured, and the polishing yield is further improved; in addition, by spraying polishing liquid with different grinding particle sizes on the polishing discs 2 of the plurality of polishing stations 12, the requirements of various polishing precision can be met, and the application range of the polishing equipment is expanded.

Preferably, the polishing apparatus provided by the present embodiment further includes a transfer mechanism 6, and the transfer mechanism 6 is movably disposed on the table 1 in a horizontal direction to move the wafer 100 to be polished placed thereon to the loading and unloading station 11. When loading is needed, the wafer 100 to be polished can be placed on the conveying mechanism 6, then the conveying mechanism 6 drives the wafer 100 to move to the loading and unloading station 11, and then the polishing head assembly 5 on the turntable 4 descends and adsorbs the wafer 100 on the conveying mechanism 6, so that loading is achieved.

Alternatively, in the present embodiment, the conveyance mechanism 6 is provided on the table 1 so as to be liftable in the vertical direction. Before the polishing head assembly 5 adsorbs the wafer 100 on the transfer mechanism 6, the transfer mechanism 6 is lifted upwards to bring the wafer 100 thereon close to the polishing head assembly 5, so that the polishing head assembly 5 adsorbs the wafer 100. Of course, in other embodiments, the conveying mechanism 6 may not be vertically arranged, and the wafer 100 on the conveying mechanism 6 is only sucked by the lifting of the polishing head assembly 5.

Preferably, the polishing apparatus provided by this embodiment further includes a polishing head cleaner 7, the polishing head cleaner 7 is disposed on the loading and unloading station 11 in a liftable manner, and the turntable 4 can drive the polishing head assembly 5 to rotate above the polishing head cleaner 7, so that the polishing head cleaner 7 can clean the polishing head assembly 5. Before the polishing head assembly 5 adsorbs the wafer 100, the turntable 4 drives the polishing head assembly 5 to rotate to a position above the polishing head cleaner 7, and the polishing head assembly 5 is cleaned by the polishing head cleaner 7, so that the wafer 100 is prevented from being polluted by the polishing head assembly 5, and the cleanliness of the wafer 100 is ensured.

Preferably, the polishing precision of the plurality of polishing stations 12 is sequentially increased. According to the mode, the wafer 100 can be polished sequentially and step by step from rough to fine through the rotation of the turntable 4, so that the polishing processes are reasonably arranged, and the polishing quality is ensured. Of course, in other embodiments, the polishing stations 12 may be all of the same polishing precision according to the actual polishing requirement, and are not limited herein.

Optionally, in the present embodiment, the number of the polishing stations 12 is three, and the three polishing stations 12 are a rough polishing station, a middle polishing station and a fine polishing station in sequence. That is, the same wafer 100 may be subjected to rough polishing, intermediate polishing, and finish polishing in sequence. Of course, in other embodiments, the number of polishing stations 12 may be increased or decreased according to the actual polishing requirement, and is not limited herein.

Preferably, the polishing apparatus provided by the present embodiment further includes a loading robot 8, the table 1 is further provided with a loading area 13, the loading cassette 200 containing the wafer 100 to be polished can be placed in the loading area 13, and the loading robot 8 can take out the wafer 100 from the loading cassette 200 and place the wafer on the transfer mechanism 6. That is, the loading robot 8 can place the wafer 100 loaded in the wafer cassette 200 onto the transfer mechanism 6 so that the polishing head assembly 5 can adsorb the wafer 100 on the transfer mechanism 6. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the loading robot 8 is disposed between the loading area 13 and the transfer mechanism 6. Alternatively, at least two loaded cassettes 200 can be placed in the loading zone 13 at the same time.

Preferably, the loading area 13 and the polishing station 12 with the lowest polishing precision are located on the same side of the table 1. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the loading area 13 and the rough polishing area are located on the same side of the table 1. During polishing, the wafer 100 is usually roughly polished, so that the loading area 13 and the roughly polishing area are arranged on the same side, the loading path can be optimized, and the loading efficiency can be improved.

Preferably, the polishing apparatus provided by the embodiment further includes an unloading and conveying mechanism 9, and the unloading and conveying mechanism 9 is rotatably disposed on the worktable 1 and can rotate to the loading and unloading station 11, so that the polishing head assembly 5 can place the polished wafer 100 on the unloading and conveying mechanism 9. When blanking is required, the unloading transfer mechanism 9 rotates to the loading and unloading station 11 so that the polishing head assembly 5 places the polished wafer 100 thereon.

Preferably, the polishing apparatus provided by the present embodiment further includes an unloading robot 10, the work table 1 is further provided with an unloading area 14, the unloading wafer cassette 300 can be placed in the unloading area 14, and the unloading robot 10 can place the wafer 100 on the unloading transfer mechanism 9 into the unloading wafer cassette 300. After the polishing head assembly 5 places the polished wafer 100 on the unloading conveyor mechanism 9, the unloading conveyor mechanism 9 rotates in a direction close to the unloading robot 10, so that the unloading robot 10 puts the wafer 100 on the unloading conveyor mechanism 9 into the unloading wafer cassette 300. Alternatively, at least two unloaded wafer cassettes 300 can be placed in the unload region 14 at the same time.

Preferably, the unloading zone 14 and the polishing station 12, where the polishing precision is highest, are located on the other side of the table 1. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the loading area 13 and the rough polishing area are located on the other side of the table 1. During polishing, the wafer 100 is usually finally polished, and the loading area 13 and the rough polishing area are arranged on the same side, so that the blanking path can be optimized, and the blanking efficiency can be improved.

Preferably, in the present embodiment, the unloading zone 14 is provided with a water tank 15, and the unloading wafer cassette 300 containing the wafers 100 can be immersed in the water tank 15 to ensure the cleanliness of the wafers 100 and realize the "dry-in and wet-out".

Preferably, in this embodiment, a partition 16 is further disposed on the working platform 1, and the partition 16 divides the working platform 1 into the loading and unloading station 11 and the plurality of polishing stations 12. The feeding and discharging stations 11 and the polishing stations 12 are isolated from each other and independent from each other through the partition plates 16, polishing liquid, polishing powder and the like in one polishing station 12 are effectively prevented from splashing to other polishing stations 12, and accordingly polishing yield is improved. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, since the polishing head assembly 5 is liftable, when polishing is required, the polishing head assembly 5 is lowered, and when the turntable 4 is required to rotate, the polishing head assembly 5 is raised, so that the polishing head assembly 5 does not interfere with the partition 16 when the turntable 4 drives the polishing head assembly 5 to rotate.

Preferably, each set of polishing head assemblies 5 includes at least two polishing heads 51 to enable at least two wafers 100 to be polished on the same polishing disk 2. Specifically, in the present embodiment, each set of polishing head assemblies 5 includes two polishing heads 51. By the cooperation of the plurality of polishing heads 51, further improvement in polishing efficiency is facilitated. Further, the transfer mechanism 6 can transfer at least two wafers 100 at the same time. Further, the polishing head cleaner 7 can clean at least two polishing heads 51 at the same time.

The working process of the polishing apparatus provided by this embodiment is as follows:

(1) placing a loaded wafer cassette 200 containing wafers 100 to be polished in the loading zone 13;

(2) the loading manipulator 8 scans the loaded wafer box 200, takes out the wafer 100 from the loaded wafer box 200 in an edge clamping manner after confirming the position information of the wafer 100 in the loaded wafer box 200, and places the wafer 100 on the conveying mechanism 6; meanwhile, the polishing head cleaner 7 ascends to clean and then reset a group of polishing heads 51 positioned at the loading and unloading station 11;

(3) the conveying mechanism 6 carrying the wafer 100 moves to the loading and unloading station 11, the cleaned group of polishing heads 51 descends, meanwhile, the conveying mechanism 6 drives the wafer 100 to ascend, and the polishing heads 51 adsorb the wafer 100 on the conveying mechanism 6; meanwhile, the polishing disk cleaner 3 cleans and then resets the corresponding polishing disk 2;

(4) the polishing head 51 adsorbs the wafer 100 to rise to a set position, and meanwhile, the conveying mechanism 6 descends to reset and moves away from the loading and unloading station 11 to reset;

(5) the turntable 4 rotates to make the polishing head 51 drive the wafer 100 to rotate to the rough polishing station;

(6) the polishing head 51 drives the wafer 100 to descend so as to enable the wafer 100 to be attached to the polishing disk 2, and meanwhile, the polishing liquid at the rough polishing station starts to be supplied;

(7) the polishing head 51 and the polishing disk 2 rotate in the same direction at different speeds, so that the polishing disk 2 and the wafer 100 perform relative friction motion to roughly polish the wafer 100;

(8) after the rough polishing is finished, the polishing head 51 rises and drives the wafer 100 after the rough polishing to move to a middle polishing station through the rotation of the turntable 4, and then the wafer 100 is sequentially subjected to middle polishing and fine polishing according to the modes of the step (6) and the step (7); the loading and unloading station 11 and the rough polishing station repeat the steps (2) to (7) at the same time to roughly polish another group of wafers 100;

(9) after the wafer 100 is finish polished, the unloading and conveying mechanism 9 rotates to the loading and unloading station 11, and the polishing head 51 located at the loading and unloading station 11 places the finish polished wafer 100 on the unloading and conveying mechanism 9;

(10) lifting the unloading wafer box 300 immersed in the water tank 15, rotating the unloading conveying mechanism 9 in a direction close to the unloading manipulator 10, clamping the finely polished wafer 100 from the unloading conveying mechanism 9 by the unloading manipulator 10 in an edge clamping manner, placing the wafer 100 into the lowest layer of the unloading wafer box 300, and resetting the unloading wafer box 300 and immersing the unloading wafer box 300 in the water tank 15 after completion;

(14) when the loaded cassette 200 is empty and the unloaded cassette 300 is full of wafers 100, the completion of the process is indicated, and the loaded cassette 200 and the unloaded cassette 300 are replaced.

It is to be noted that the foregoing is only illustrative of the preferred embodiments of the present invention and the technical principles employed. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein, but is capable of various obvious changes, rearrangements and substitutions as will now become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, although the present invention has been described in greater detail by the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may include other equivalent embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is determined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A polishing apparatus, characterized by comprising:

the polishing machine comprises a workbench (1) which is provided with a feeding and discharging station (11) and a plurality of separated polishing stations (12);

each polishing station (12) is provided with one polishing disc (2);

the polishing disc cleaning device (3) is arranged at each polishing station (12), and the polishing disc cleaning device (3) is rotatably arranged at one side of the polishing disc (2);

the rotary table (4) is rotatably arranged above the workbench (1);

the polishing head assemblies (5) are arranged on the rotary table (4) in a lifting manner along the vertical direction, and a plurality of groups of polishing head assemblies (5) are uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction of the rotary table (4);

the rotary disc (4) can drive a plurality of groups of polishing head assemblies (5) to rotate so that one group of polishing head assemblies (5) is opposite to the feeding and discharging station (11) and adsorbs wafers (100) to be polished positioned in the feeding and discharging station (11), and meanwhile, the other groups of polishing head assemblies (5) are opposite to the polishing discs (2) one by one, and the polishing head assemblies (5) can be matched with the polishing discs (2) to polish the wafers (100).

2. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transfer mechanism (6), wherein the transfer mechanism (6) is movably provided on the table (1) in a horizontal direction to move the wafer (100) to be polished placed thereon to the loading and unloading station (11).

3. The polishing equipment according to claim 1, further comprising a polishing head cleaner (7), wherein the polishing head cleaner (7) is arranged on the loading and unloading station (11) in a liftable manner, and the turntable (4) can drive the polishing head assembly (5) to rotate above the polishing head cleaner (7) so that the polishing head cleaner (7) can clean the polishing head assembly (5).

4. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein polishing accuracies of a plurality of the polishing stations (12) are sequentially increased.

5. The polishing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a loading robot (8), wherein a loading area (13) is further provided on the table (1), a loading cassette (200) containing the wafer (100) to be polished can be placed in the loading area (13), and the loading robot (8) can take out the wafer (100) from the loading cassette (200) and place the wafer on the transfer mechanism (6).

6. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an unloading transfer mechanism (9), wherein the unloading transfer mechanism (9) is rotatably disposed on the table (1) and is capable of rotating to the loading and unloading station (11) so that the polishing head assembly (5) can place the polished wafer (100) on the unloading transfer mechanism (9).

7. The polishing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an unloading robot (10), wherein an unloading zone (14) is further provided on the table (1), an unloading wafer cassette (300) can be placed in the unloading zone (14), and the unloading robot (10) can place the wafer (100) on the unloading conveyor mechanism (9) into the unloading wafer cassette (300).

8. Polishing apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the unloading zone (14) is provided with a water tank (15), the unloaded wafer cassette (300) containing the wafers (100) being submersible in the water tank (15).

9. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a partition plate (16) is further disposed on the work table (1), and the partition plate (16) divides the work table (1) into the loading and unloading station (11) and the plurality of polishing stations (12).

10. A polishing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that each set of polishing head assemblies (5) comprises at least two polishing heads (51) to enable at least two wafers (100) to be polished on the same polishing disc (2).