CN218658140U - Wafer edge processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model discloses a wafer edge processing apparatus, include: the lifting assembly is connected with a supporting frame in the wafer thinning equipment; the servo rotating assembly is connected with the lifting assembly; the processing assembly is connected to the bottom of the servo rotating assembly and comprises a base plate, and an arc-shaped polishing part and a nozzle are arranged on the bottom surface of the base plate; and the gas-liquid joint is communicated with the nozzle through a gas-liquid channel in the processing assembly.

Description

Wafer edge processing device

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a semiconductor manufacturing equipment technical field especially relates to a wafer edge processing apparatus.

Background

The manufacturing process of integrated circuits is generally divided into: silicon chip manufacturing, a front-end process and a back-end process. The main purpose of the subsequent process is to manufacture the whole wafer with the circuit devices grown thereon into individual and independent finished chips. The following processes can be roughly divided into: the method comprises 8 main steps of back thinning, wafer cutting, wafer mounting, lead bonding, plastic packaging, laser printing, rib cutting forming, finished product testing and the like. Thinning (Grinding) of the back surface of a wafer refers to Grinding a plurality of materials such as a silicon wafer or a compound semiconductor before packaging with high precision to reduce the thickness to an appropriate ultra-thin form.

The thinning equipment integrates grinding and Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) functional components, the back of a wafer is thinned to a lower level in the grinding process, for example, about 10 μm, the edge position of the wafer with extremely thin single side is easy to crack in the grinding process and the CMP process, that is, the edge of the wafer is easy to peel off crystals to generate broken slag (commonly called broken edge), especially in the CMP process, the polishing process is kept at a high removal rate for improving efficiency, the broken slag stripped from the edge of the wafer under high pressure is remained on a polishing pad, and the wafer is easy to scratch and even generates broken pieces and waste pieces.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

An embodiment of the utility model provides a wafer edge processing apparatus aims at solving one of the technical problem that exists among the prior art at least.

An embodiment of the utility model provides a wafer edge processing apparatus, include:

the lifting assembly is connected with a supporting frame in the wafer thinning equipment;

the servo rotating assembly is connected with the lifting assembly;

the processing assembly is connected to the bottom of the servo rotating assembly and comprises a base plate, and an arc-shaped polishing part and a nozzle are arranged on the bottom surface of the base plate;

and the gas-liquid joint is communicated with the nozzle through a gas-liquid channel in the processing assembly.

In one embodiment, the arcuate polishing member covers a portion of the edge of the wafer.

In one embodiment, the base plate is tilted relative to the wafer during edge processing, the base plate being closer to the wafer edge than the wafer center.

In one embodiment, the inclination angle between the base plate and the wafer during grinding and polishing is 0.1-5 degrees.

In one embodiment, a plurality of the arc-shaped polishing pieces are uniformly arranged at intervals on the bottom surface of the chassis close to the edge.

In one embodiment, the plurality of nozzles are arranged along a radius direction of the base plate.

In one embodiment, the nozzles on the outside are arranged as an inclined spray, the direction of the inclination being towards the edge.

In one embodiment, the arcuate polishing member includes an arcuate oilstone and an arcuate brush.

In one embodiment, the arcuate polishing member includes an arcuate polishing pad and an arcuate brush.

In one embodiment, the bottom surface of the arcuate polishing pad is provided with grid-like grooves or tangential grooves.

In one embodiment, the arcuate polishing member covers the entire edge of the wafer.

The utility model discloses beneficial effect includes: the edge of the wafer is ground and polished by the processing assembly, so that the sharp end of the edge can be ground, the edge of the wafer tends to be smooth, and the possibility of slag generation at the edge in the polishing process is reduced.

Drawings

The advantages of the invention will become clearer and more easily understood from the detailed description given with reference to the following drawings, which are given purely by way of illustration and do not limit the scope of protection of the invention, wherein:

fig. 1 illustrates a wafer thinning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 illustrates a wafer edge processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a processing assembly provided in example 1;

FIG. 4 shows a processing assembly provided in embodiment 2;

FIG. 5 shows a processing assembly provided in embodiment 3;

fig. 6 illustrates a wafer edge processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 shows a processing component provided in embodiment 4.

Detailed Description

The technical solution of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments and accompanying drawings. The embodiments described herein are specific embodiments of the present invention and are provided to illustrate the concepts of the present invention; the description is intended to be illustrative and exemplary and should not be taken to limit the scope of the invention. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present application may be combined with each other without conflict. In addition to the embodiments described herein, those skilled in the art will be able to employ other technical solutions which are obvious based on the disclosure of the claims and the specification thereof, and these technical solutions include technical solutions which make any obvious replacement or modification of the embodiments described herein. It is to be understood that, unless otherwise specified, the following descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention are made for ease of understanding in a natural state where the relevant devices, apparatuses, components, etc. are originally at rest and are not given external control signals and driving forces.

Further, it is also noted that terms used herein such as front, back, up, down, left, right, top, bottom, front, back, horizontal, vertical, and the like, to denote orientation, are used merely for convenience of description to facilitate understanding of relative positions or orientations, and are not intended to limit the orientation of any device or structure.

In order to explain the technical solution of the present invention, the following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples.

In the present application, chemical Mechanical Polishing (Chemical Mechanical Planarization) is also called Chemical Mechanical Planarization (Chemical Mechanical Planarization), wafer (wafer) is also called wafer, silicon wafer, substrate or substrate (substrate), etc., and the meaning and the actual function are equivalent.

The wafer thinning equipment provided by the embodiment of the disclosure is mainly applied to thinning the back of a wafer, wherein the back refers to a surface of the wafer on which a device is not laid, and is generally a substrate, and the substrate material can be silicon, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, sapphire and the like.

Fig. 1 shows the wafer thinning apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention, including:

the equipment front end module 1 is used for realizing the in and out of the wafer, and the equipment front end module 1 is arranged at the front end of the wafer thinning equipment. The equipment front-end module 1 is a transition module for carrying the wafer from the outside to the inside of the equipment machine, and is used for realizing the entrance and exit of the wafer so as to realize the dry entrance and dry exit of the wafer.

The grinding module 3 is used for grinding the wafer, the grinding comprises rough grinding and fine grinding, and the grinding module 3 is arranged at the tail end of the wafer thinning equipment;

and the polishing module 2 is used for carrying out chemical mechanical polishing on the wafer after the grinding is finished, and also has the function of transmitting the wafer among the three modules (the equipment front-end module 1, the grinding module 3 and the polishing module 2), and the polishing module 2 is arranged between the equipment front-end module 1 and the grinding module 3.

It will be appreciated that the polishing module 2 is not an essential feature, i.e. is optional. In another embodiment, the wafer thinning equipment only comprises the equipment front end module 1 and the grinding module 3 and the transmission mechanism therebetween, does not have the chemical mechanical polishing function, and also falls into the protection scope of the present application.

Device front-end module 1:

the front end module 1 includes a wafer storage unit 11 and a first transfer unit 12. The wafer storage unit 11 is arranged at one side of the front end of the wafer thinning equipment, and the first transmission unit 12 is arranged between the wafer storage unit 11 and the polishing module 2 and used for realizing the transmission of the wafers between the wafer storage unit 11 and the polishing module 2.

The wafer storage unit 11 is composed of a plurality of Front Opening Unified Pods (FOUPs), and may specifically be two, three, and the like. The front-opening wafer transmission box is a container used for protecting, transporting and storing wafers in the semiconductor manufacturing process, and the main components of the front-opening wafer transmission box are a front-opening container capable of containing the wafers and a front-opening door structure, wherein the front-opening door structure is hermetically connected to the outer wall of the wafer thinning equipment so as to enable the front-opening container to be communicated with the interior of the equipment.

The first transfer unit 12 includes a pick-and-place robot. The chip taking and placing manipulator can rotate, extend or fold and contract and can also move along the transmission track. The wafer taking and placing manipulator is a drying manipulator and is used for taking and placing dry and clean wafers. The pick-and-place manipulator can pick out the wafer to be processed from the wafer storage unit 11 through the door structure of the wafer transfer box and send the wafer to the polishing module 2, and can also receive the processed wafer from the polishing module 2 and place the wafer into the wafer transfer box.

And (3) polishing module 2:

the polishing module 2 includes a second transfer unit 21, a third transfer unit 22, a chemical mechanical polishing unit 23, and a post-processing unit 24. The second transfer unit 21, the chemical mechanical polishing unit 23, and the post-processing unit 24 occupy respective edges of the polishing module 2, and the third transfer unit 22 is located at the center.

Specifically, the second transmission units 21 are located on the edge side in the polishing module 2 and distributed along the length direction of the equipment, and can communicate the equipment front end module 1 and the grinding module 3. The chemical mechanical polishing unit 23 is located at the other side edge of the polishing module 2 and is adjacent to the grinding module 3 and the second transfer unit 21, respectively. The post-processing unit 24 is located at another side edge of the polishing module 2, and is adjacent to the apparatus front-end module 1, the second transfer unit 21, and the chemical mechanical polishing unit 23, respectively. The third transmission unit 22 is close to the center of the polishing module 2, surrounded by the second transmission unit 21, the chemical mechanical polishing unit 23 and the post-processing unit 24, and is used for realizing mutual transmission of the wafers among the second transmission unit 21, the chemical mechanical polishing unit 23 and the post-processing unit 24.

In one embodiment, the second transfer unit 21 includes a temporary storage section and a moving buffer section for temporarily storing the wafer and shipping the wafer. The temporary storage part is arranged at a position close to the front end module 1 of the equipment and is used for temporarily storing or transferring the wafer. The mobile buffer part is arranged along the direction from the front end module 1 to the grinding module 3 of the equipment and can move bidirectionally.

In one embodiment, the third transfer unit 22 includes a central robot for transferring the ground wafer from the moving buffer to the chemical mechanical polishing unit 23, transferring the polished wafer from the chemical mechanical polishing unit 23 to the post-processing unit 24, and transferring the cleaned wafer from the post-processing unit 24 to the buffer.

The wafer is taken out from the front end module 1 and then conveyed to the grinding module 3 for grinding through the second transmission unit 21; after the wafer is ground in the grinding module 3, the wafer is transported to the chemical mechanical polishing unit 23 through the second transmission unit 21 and the third transmission unit 22 for polishing; after polishing and cleaning, the wafer is transported back to the front end module 1 via the third transport unit 22 and the second transport unit 21.

The post-processing unit 24 is used for cleaning and drying the polished wafer, and may include a horizontal brushing apparatus and a single chamber cleaning apparatus.

Grinding module 3:

the grinding module 3 includes a grinding unit 31, a cleaning unit 32, and a fourth transfer unit 33.

The grinding unit 31 is used for realizing wafer grinding and thickness measurement, and comprises a workbench, three suckers arranged on the workbench and grinding wheels corresponding to the suckers in position, wherein the suckers can rotate among a rough grinding station, a fine grinding station and a loading and unloading station. The two grinding wheels respectively realize rough grinding and fine grinding.

The fourth transfer unit 33 includes a simple robot, which takes the wafer from the second transfer unit 21 and sends the wafer into the grinding unit 31 for grinding, and after the grinding and cleaning are completed, the simple robot takes the wafer from the grinding unit 31 and then places the wafer in the second transfer unit 21 for subsequent transfer of the wafer.

As shown in fig. 1, a cleaning unit 32 is used to effect chuck cleaning, polishing, and wafer processing.

The cleaning unit 32 includes a chuck handling device and a wafer edge handling device 40, both of which 40 are mounted on the support frame 34. The support 34 is disposed on one side of the table and the grinding wheel is disposed on the other side of the table. A support bracket 34 is adjacent the handling station for processing the chuck and/or wafer moved to the handling station. The chuck processing device and the wafer edge processing device 40 are respectively connected to the support frame 34 through a horizontal moving mechanism, and the horizontal moving mechanism can drive the chuck processing device and the wafer edge processing device 40 to move horizontally so as to change the positions of the chuck processing device and the wafer edge processing device 40 relative to the chuck. The chuck or wafer may be processed as the chuck processing device or wafer edge processing device 40 moves directly over the chuck. When the chuck and wafer edge handler 40 are moved away from the chuck, a simple robot may be facilitated to pick the wafer from the chuck.

Fig. 2-7 illustrate a wafer edge processing apparatus 40 provided herein.

As shown in fig. 2, the wafer edge processing apparatus 40 includes:

the lifting assembly 50 is connected with the supporting frame 34 in the wafer thinning equipment;

a servo rotating assembly 60 connected with the lifting assembly 50;

the processing assembly 70 is connected to the bottom of the servo rotating assembly 60 and comprises a base plate 71, and an arc-shaped polishing part 72 and a nozzle 73 are arranged on the bottom surface of the base plate 71;

the gas-liquid joint 80 communicates with the nozzle 73 through a gas-liquid passage inside the process module 70.

In this embodiment, the lifting assembly 50 can drive the servo rotating assembly 60 and the processing assembly 70 at the bottom thereof to move up and down along the vertical direction, so as to adjust the distance between the chassis 71 of the processing assembly 70 and the wafer w. When the horizontal moving mechanism moves the wafer edge processing device 40 to a position right above the wafer w at the loading and unloading station, the lifting assembly 50 drives the processing assembly 70 to move to abut against the wafer w, and the servo rotating assembly 60 drives the processing assembly 70 to rotate, so that the edge of the wafer w is ground by the arc-shaped grinding and polishing piece 72, the tip is ground, the edge of the wafer w tends to be smooth, and the possibility of slag breaking at the edge during the polishing process is reduced.

In one embodiment, the servo rotating assembly 60 includes a rotating motor, a reducer, a coupler, and a rotating shaft connected in series, and the rotating shaft is connected to a chassis 71 of the processing assembly 70.

In one embodiment, the gas-liquid connector 80 is connected to an external deionized water source to introduce deionized water into the nozzle 73 through a gas-liquid path inside the processing assembly 70, and then spray the deionized water from the nozzle 73 onto the surface of the wafer w for cleaning. It will be appreciated that in order to enhance the scattering effect of the fluid, a portion of gas, such as air, may be added to the interior of the deionized water source to ensure the cleaning effect of the fluid ejected from the nozzles 73.

Because the wafer w after grinding has the phenomenon of edge breakage (edge chipping), and the subsequent polishing process also has the phenomenon of edge breakage to scratch the wafer w, the edge of the wafer w can be ground and polished by the processing assembly 70, so that the subsequent possible edge breakage phenomenon can be completed in the process in advance, the probability of edge breakage in the subsequent polishing process is reduced, and the probability of breakage of the wafer w is reduced.

The processing assembly 70 of the present invention can have various directions, which will be described in detail below.

Example 1

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the bottom surface of the bottom plate 71 of the treating assembly 70 in example 1 is provided with an arc-shaped polishing member 72 and a nozzle 73. The bottom surface of the bottom plate 71 is circular, and the arc-shaped polishing member 72 is arc-shaped concentric with the bottom plate 71 and is used for polishing the edge of the wafer.

As shown in fig. 2, the diameter of the bottom plate 71 is slightly larger than the radius of the wafer w. Specifically, the outer diameter of the arc polishing member 72 is 10 to 30mm longer than the radius of the wafer w, and preferably, when the wafer w to be processed is a 12-inch wafer, the outer diameter of the arc polishing member 72 is 170mm, that is, 20mm longer than the radius of the wafer.

As shown in fig. 2, in the embodiment, the diameter of the bottom plate 71 is slightly larger than the radius of the wafer w, in other words, the arc polishing member 72 and the wafer w are processed in a half-contact manner, and since it is mainly needed to polish the edge of the wafer w, and the protruding point of the edge of the wafer w is polished smoothly, during the edge processing, the bottom plate 71 and the wafer w are relatively inclined, and the center of the bottom plate 71 is closer to the edge of the wafer w than the center of the wafer w. Therefore, the lower pressure of the edge is larger, and the grinding and polishing effect is better and faster. Specifically, the inclination angle between the base plate 71 and the wafer w during polishing is 0.1 to 5 degrees, preferably 1 to 3 degrees.

As shown in fig. 3, the plurality of nozzles 73 are arranged in a radial direction of the base plate 71 and arranged in a linear array. As a variation of this embodiment, the nozzles 73 may also be arranged along a curve radiating outward from the center of the bottom plate 71, i.e. a group of nozzles 73 may be arranged on the bottom plate 71 along a curve. The nozzle 73 sprays liquid onto the surface of the wafer w to wash away particles generated by polishing. Further, the nozzles 73 located on the outer side are arranged to spray obliquely, with the direction of inclination directed toward the edge.

As shown in fig. 3, a plurality of arc-shaped polishing members 72 are provided at regular intervals on the bottom surface of the base plate 71 near the edge. The arc-shaped polishing member 72 includes an arc-shaped oilstone 74 and an arc-shaped brush 75. The arc-shaped oilstone 74 and the arc-shaped brush 75 are uniformly arranged at the edge of the base plate 71. The width of the arc-shaped oilstone 74 is 4-6 mm, the thickness of the arc-shaped oilstone 74 is 5-10 mm, and the oilstone mesh number of the arc-shaped oilstone 74 is 200-600. The arc brush 75 is made of a bristle brush, and the width and thickness of the arc brush 75 are consistent with those of the arc oilstone 74.

Example 2

As shown in fig. 2 and fig. 4, in embodiment 2, the diameter of the bottom disc 71 is slightly larger than the radius of the wafer w, and during the edge processing, the bottom disc 71 and the wafer w are tilted relatively, and the bottom disc 71 is closer to the edge of the wafer w than the center of the wafer w.

As shown in fig. 4, the arc polishing member 72 includes an arc polishing pad 76 and an arc brush 75. The arc-shaped polishing pad 76 and the arc-shaped brush 75 are uniformly arranged at the edge of the bottom plate 71. The arcuate polishing pad 76 may be a polyurethane material. In embodiment 2, the bottom surface of the arc-shaped polishing pad 76 is provided with grid-like grooves for abutting and polishing the wafer w. The width of the arcuate polishing pad 76 is 4 to 10mm, preferably 6mm. The thickness of the arc-shaped polishing pad 76 is 2 to 6mm, preferably 3mm. The width of the arc brush 75 is the same as that of the arc polishing pad 76, and the thickness of the arc brush 75 is 5 to 10mm.

Example 3

As shown in fig. 2 and fig. 5, in embodiment 3, the diameter of the bottom plate 71 is slightly larger than the radius of the wafer w, and during the edge processing, the bottom plate 71 and the wafer w are inclined relatively, and the bottom plate 71 is closer to the edge of the wafer w than the center of the wafer w.

As shown in fig. 5, the arc polishing member 72 includes an arc polishing pad 76 and an arc brush 75. The arc-shaped polishing pad 76 and the arc-shaped brush 75 are uniformly arranged at the edge of the bottom plate 71. In example 3, the bottom surface of the arc-shaped polishing pad 76 was provided with a tangential groove having an angle with the arc-shaped edge of the arc-shaped polishing pad 76, in other words, the tangential direction was not parallel to the arc-shaped edge. Preferably, the tangential grooves extend perpendicular to the direction of rotation of the arcuate polishing pad 76 to better polish the edge of the wafer w.

Example 4

As shown in fig. 6 and 7, in embodiment 4, the diameter of the bottom plate 71 is slightly larger than that of the wafer w, i.e., the arc-shaped polishing member 72 covers the entire edge of the wafer w. Specifically, the outer diameter of the arc polishing member 72 is 1 to 5mm longer than the diameter of the wafer w, and preferably, when the wafer w to be processed is a 12-inch wafer, the outer diameter of the arc polishing member 72 is 302mm, that is, 2mm longer than the diameter of the wafer w. Further, the arcuate polishing member 72 may also be a complete ring.

As shown in fig. 7, the arc polishing member 72 includes an arc whetstone 74 and an arc brush 75. The arc-shaped oilstone 74 and the arc-shaped brush 75 are uniformly arranged at the edge of the base plate 71. The width of the arc-shaped oilstone 74 is 4-6 mm, the thickness of the arc-shaped oilstone 74 is 5-10 mm, and the oilstone mesh number of the arc-shaped oilstone 74 is 200-600. The material of the arc-shaped brush 75 is a bristle brush, and the width and thickness of the arc-shaped brush 75 are both consistent with those of the arc-shaped oilstone 74.

Alternatively, the arc polishing member 72 includes an arc polishing pad 76 and an arc brush 75. The arc-shaped polishing pad 76 and the arc-shaped brushes 75 are uniformly arranged at the edge of the bottom plate 71. Wherein the bottom surface of the arcuate polishing pad 76 is provided with grid-like grooves or tangential grooves. The width of the arcuate polishing pad 76 is 4 to 10mm, preferably 6mm. The thickness of the arc-shaped polishing pad 76 is 2 to 6mm, preferably 3mm. The width of the arc brush 75 is the same as that of the arc polishing pad 76, and the thickness of the arc brush 75 is 5 to 10mm.

The drawings in the present specification are schematic views to assist in explaining the concept of the present invention, and schematically show the shapes of the respective portions and the mutual relationships thereof. It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale, the same reference numerals being used to identify the same elements in the drawings in order to clearly illustrate the structure of the various elements of the embodiments of the invention.

In the description herein, references to the description of the term "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an illustrative embodiment," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples" or the like mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims (11)

1. A wafer edge processing apparatus, comprising:

the lifting assembly is connected with a supporting frame in the wafer thinning equipment;

the servo rotating assembly is connected with the lifting assembly;

the processing assembly is connected to the bottom of the servo rotating assembly and comprises a base plate, and an arc-shaped polishing part and a nozzle are arranged on the bottom surface of the base plate;

and the gas-liquid joint is communicated with the nozzle through a gas-liquid channel in the processing assembly.

2. The wafer edge processing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the arcuate polishing member covers a portion of the edge of the wafer.

3. The wafer edge processing apparatus of claim 2 wherein the platen is tilted relative to the wafer during edge processing, the platen being closer to the wafer edge than to the wafer center.

4. The wafer edge processing apparatus of claim 3 wherein the angle of inclination between the platen and the wafer during polishing is between 0.1 and 5 degrees.

5. The wafer edge processing apparatus of claim 1 wherein a plurality of the arcuate polishing members are spaced evenly on the bottom surface of the base adjacent the edge.

6. The wafer edge processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nozzles are arranged along a radius direction of the base plate.

7. The wafer edge processing apparatus of claim 6 wherein the outer nozzle is configured to spray obliquely in a direction toward the edge.

8. The wafer edge processing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the arcuate polishing member comprises an arcuate oilstone and an arcuate brush.

9. The wafer edge processing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the arcuate polishing member comprises an arcuate polishing pad and an arcuate brush.

10. The wafer edge processing apparatus of claim 9 wherein the bottom surface of the arcuate polishing pad is provided with a grid-like or tangential grooves.

11. The wafer edge processing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the arcuate polishing member covers a full edge of the wafer.

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