JP2001338904A - Wafer cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide wafer cleaning equipment that can carry-in a polished wafer almost at the same place where the wafer is retrieved from and can improve operation efficiency. SOLUTION: The wafer cleaning equipment has an auxiliary water tank 11 at the process starting part of the equipment and a transfer cleaning tank 71 at the process finishing part of the equipment. A delivery tank 21, a cleaning mechanism 31, a collection tank 51, and an ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 are arranged in sequence, starting from the process starting part to the process finishing part, and are located between the reserved tank 11 and the transfer cleaning tank 71. The cleaning equipment is arranged in two rows as a whole, since the over view of the cleaning mechanism 31, the collection tank 51, the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61, and the transfer cleaning tank 71 are configured in U shape and also the mechanism 31 and the cleaning tank 71 are located side by side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer cleaning apparatus for removing, for example, chips, abrasive grains and the like adhering to the surface of a semiconductor wafer after polishing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a wafer such as a semiconductor wafer is formed into a flat circular thin plate by slicing a cylindrical ingot made of a semiconductor material, ceramic or the like into a predetermined thickness, and is polished by a lapping machine. After being processed,
It is cleaned by a cleaning device to remove chips, abrasive grains, and the like attached to the surface. The cleaning apparatus includes a plurality of water tanks for performing each cleaning step for cleaning the wafer through a plurality of cleaning steps such as a preliminary cleaning, a brush cleaning, and an ultrasonic cleaning. They are arranged to extend in a straight line.

[0003]

However, since the above-mentioned cleaning device is arranged in a straight line, an operation of putting a polished wafer into the cleaning device at the starting end of the cleaning device,
It is necessary to separately perform the operation of recovering the cleaned wafer at the terminal end at a place remote from the operation. The operator has to move the work place every time each of these operations is performed, and the movement is complicated, and there is a problem that it is difficult to improve the efficiency of the operation.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the problems existing in such prior art. It is an object of the present invention to provide a wafer cleaning apparatus capable of performing a work of loading a polished wafer and a work of collecting a cleaned wafer in substantially the same place, and improving the working efficiency. It is in.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wafer cleaning apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, in which a stacked polishing wafer is sent out one by one, and the stacked wafers are sent out by the sending mechanism. A cleaning mechanism for cleaning wafers one by one by a wiping unit, a secondary cleaning mechanism for accumulating and cleaning wafers sent from the cleaning mechanism in a stacked state in a rack, and a wafer sending from the secondary cleaning mechanism to the rack. A transport cleaning mechanism for moving to a take-out position while cleaning in a stacked state, and disposing an end portion for recovering the cleaned wafer at a position substantially adjacent to a start end which is a start position of the cleaning process by these. It is configured as follows.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wafer cleaning apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the respective mechanisms are arranged in two rows in parallel as a whole, and a wafer advanced while one row is cleaned. At the end of one row, it is shifted to the other row, and the other row is advanced in the direction opposite to the direction of travel of the one row, so that the cleaned wafer is collected at a position substantially adjacent to the start position of the cleaning step. It is what was constituted.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the wafer cleaning apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the delivery mechanism includes a delivery tank for stacking polished wafers and immersing the stacked wafers in pure water. A delivery device provided above the delivery tank and delivering wafers immersed in the delivery tank in a stacked state one by one from above.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the wafer cleaning apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the secondary cleaning mechanism stacks wafers sent from the cleaning mechanism in a rack. And an ultrasonic cleaning tank for immersing the wafers stacked in the rack in a weakly acidic cleaning liquid and applying ultrasonic waves.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wafer cleaning apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the polished wafer is purified water at a starting end side of the sending mechanism. A preliminary water tank for immersion and preliminary cleaning is provided.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wafer cleaning apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein a pair of upper and lower feed rollers are provided in the cleaning mechanism. A plurality of pairs of wiping means are alternately arranged, and the wiping means is configured to be rotatable in the cleaning mechanism, and the rotation direction is set to be opposite to the rotation direction of the feed roller, so that the wafer flows in the shower of pure water. It is configured to be washed by the rotating brush while being sent in the traveling direction by the feed roller.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, a rack is arranged obliquely in pure water in the accumulation tank, and a cleaning mechanism is provided. The wafers are sequentially received in a stack, and when the rack is full, the rack is pulled up,
It is provided with a robot device for transferring to an adjacent ultrasonic cleaning tank.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the fourth to seventh aspects, at least one of the accumulation tank and the ultrasonic cleaning tank has a bottomed cylindrical shape. The upper edge is formed with a plurality of cutouts for overflow, and the upper edge outer circumference or a part of the outer circumference is provided with an overflow gutter, and the overflow gutter is provided with drain recovery means.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the wafer cleaning apparatus according to the seventh or eighth aspect, the transport cleaning mechanism is configured to immerse the wafer stacked in the rack in pure water. A tank, provided at the inner bottom of the transport cleaning tank, including a belt conveyor having a driving device, the wafer that has been subjected to ultrasonic cleaning in the ultrasonic cleaning tank, is carried into the start end by the robot device, The cleaning device is immersed in pure water to wash the weakly acidic cleaning solution and transport the cleaning solution to the removal position at the terminal end.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment, a spare water tank 11 is provided at the start end located at the upper left in FIG. 1, and the transport cleaning is provided at the end located at the lower left in FIG. A transport cleaning tank 71 constituting a mechanism is provided.
Between the preliminary water tank 11 and the transport / cleaning tank 71, a delivery tank 21 and a cleaning mechanism 3 constituting a delivery mechanism in order from the start end to the end.
The water tanks of the accumulation tank 51 and the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 constituting the primary and secondary cleaning mechanisms are arranged. Hereinafter, the arrangement configuration of each of these water tanks will be described. In the following text, the X direction indicates the horizontal direction in FIG. 1, and the Y direction indicates the horizontal direction in FIG.
Indicates the vertical direction.

The delivery tank 21 is disposed so as to extend in the Y direction at a position adjacent to the reserve water tank 11 on the right side in the X direction, and forms an inverted L-shape with the reserve water tank 11 when viewed from a plane. On the upper surface of the delivery tank 21, a charging station 22 is provided at a position adjacent to the preliminary water tank 11,
A transfer station 23 is provided in parallel with this. At a position adjacent to the transfer station 23 on the right side in the X direction, a cleaning mechanism 31 is disposed so as to extend in the X direction. At a position adjacent to the cleaning mechanism 31 on the right side in the X direction, an accumulation tank 51 is disposed via an accumulation shooter 52, and the wafer 1 sent from the cleaning mechanism 31 is disposed.
Numerals 0 are accumulated on a rack 53 in an accumulation tank 51. The above-mentioned spare water tank 11, delivery tank 21, cleaning mechanism 3
1 and the collecting tank 51 are arranged so as to form a substantially crank shape when viewed from a plane.

An ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 is provided at a position adjacent to the lower side of the accumulation tank 51 in the Y direction, and the wafer 10 transferred from the accumulation tank 51 is immersed in a weakly acidic cleaning liquid. Then, ultrasonic cleaning is performed by applying ultrasonic waves. The transport cleaning tank 71 is disposed at a position adjacent to the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 on the left side in the X direction, and includes a cleaning mechanism 31.
In addition, it extends in the direction opposite to the direction in which the accumulation tank 51 extends, and the terminal end serving as the extraction position has reached almost the position adjacent to the preliminary water tank 11.

The cleaning mechanism 31, the accumulation tank 51, the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61, and the transport cleaning tank 71 are arranged in a substantially U-shape when viewed from above. Further, the cleaning mechanism 31 and the transport cleaning tank 7
1 are arranged close to each other, so that one line from the transfer station 23 of the delivery tank 21 to the accumulation tank 51 and one line of the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 and the transfer cleaning tank 71 are arranged in parallel. Are parallel in two rows. Then, the wafer 10 moves in one row from the preliminary water tank 11 to the accumulation tank 51 to the right in the drawing, and is transferred to the other row from the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 to the transport cleaning tank 71 at the end. Thus, the other row advances leftward in the figure.

Note that a delivery device 41 is provided above the transfer station 23 so as to deliver the stacked wafers 10 to the cleaning mechanism 31 one by one from above. A rail 82 is provided above the start ends of the collecting tank 51, the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61, and the transport cleaning tank 71, and a robot device 81 is mounted on the rail 82 so as to be able to reciprocate in the X and Y directions. Have been. The robot device 81 transfers the wafers 10 stacked in the rack 53 from the accumulation tank 51 to the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61, and then transfers the wafers 10 from the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 to the transfer cleaning tank 71.

Next, the configuration of each of the water tanks will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the preliminary water tank 11 is formed in a square box shape having an open upper surface, and the inside thereof is partitioned into three spaces by a pair of front and rear partition walls 12, and a space between the two partition walls 12 is formed. The pre-cleaning chamber 11a, and the front and rear spaces are overflow gutters 91. On the bottom wall of the preliminary water tank 11, a substantially rectangular box-shaped wafer storage box 13 is placed so as to be located at the center of the preliminary cleaning chamber 11a so as to be able to be taken out and stored in the preliminary water tank 11. The polished wafer 10 is stored in the wafer storage box 13. Both short side walls of the wafer storage box 13 are formed with a cutout inside of the pure water introduction hole 13a so as to form a square frame as a whole. It is a holding portion 13b for holding the box 13 by hand. Also, the wafer storage box 1
A large number of flow holes 13c are formed in both long side walls of the third through hole 13c.

On the inner surface of the side wall of the spare water tank 11 corresponding to one short side wall of the wafer storage box 13, a pair of vertically extending guide walls 14 sandwich the short side wall of the wafer storage box 13 from both front and rear directions. It is protruded in opposition.
A jet nozzle 15 protrudes between the opposing guide walls 14. Pure water is ejected from the ejection nozzle 15 at a predetermined pressure, and the pure water guided in the ejection direction by both guide walls 14 is supplied from the pure water introduction hole 13a to the wafer storage box 1.
3 and flow holes 13 c from inside the wafer storage box 13.
Through the pre-cleaning chamber 11a. The pure water is constantly supplied so as to overflow from the pre-cleaning chamber 11a. Guide recesses 14a are cut out on the inner surface at the distal end of each guide wall 14, and the side edges of the wafer storage box 13 are engaged with the guide recesses 14a, so that the wafer storage box 13 is It is held so as not to shift in the cleaning chamber 11a.

Each partition wall 12 has a height equal to that of the preliminary tank 1.
1 and a plurality of V-shaped overflow notches 92 are formed in the upper edge of each of them, and the pure water overflowing from the pre-cleaning chamber 11a is filled with each overflow gutter. It is configured to be efficiently guided into the inside 91. Drain holes (not shown) are formed through the inner surface of the bottom wall of the preliminary water tank 11 so as to correspond to the respective overflow gutters 91, and pure water guided into the overflow gutter 91 from these drain holes is collected. I have.

The polished wafer 10 is housed in a wafer storage box 13 and immersed in pure water, and the pure water ejected from the ejection nozzle 15 is supplied to the pre-cleaning chamber 1.
When flowing into 1a, the slurry adhered to the surface,
Chips and the like are generally washed away. The slurry, chips, and the like removed from the surface of the wafer 10 float on the surface of pure water in the pre-cleaning chamber 11a, and are guided into the overflow gutter 91 when the pure water overflows into the overflow gutter 91. , Collected from the drain hole.

As shown in FIG. 3, the delivery tank 21 has a cover water tank 21a having a rectangular box shape with an open upper surface and a rectangular box shape housed inside the cover water tank 21a and having an open upper surface. And a water tank main body 21b. An overflow groove 93 is formed between the outer peripheral edge of the upper end of the cover water tank 21a and the outer peripheral edge of the upper end of the water tank main body 21b. In the charging station 22, a support lid 24 is provided at the opening of the water tank main body 21b so as to cover the upper surface thereof, and a pair of first guides constituting a guide member is provided on the upper surface of the support lid 24.
Guide rails 25 are laid in parallel at predetermined intervals. A viewing hole 24a is formed by cutting out the support lid 24 at a position immediately adjacent to the first guide rail.
The inside of the water tank main body 21b can be inspected from above.

In the transfer station 23, a column 42 is provided upright on the side of the cover water tank 21a. Prop 4
A lifting arm 26 is supported on the side surface of the lifting arm 2 so as to be able to move up and down, and a support plate 27 is supported on the lifting arm 26. On the upper surface of the support plate 27, a pair of second guide rails 28 constituting a guide member are arranged at the same interval as the first guide rail 25 and extend in the same direction. And
The elevating arm 26 moves up and down with respect to the column 42 by a driving mechanism (not shown), and the second guide rail 28 is arranged on an extension of the first guide rail 25 by the elevating arm 26 moving up and down.

The wafer stocker 29 supported so as to be movable on the first guide rail 25 and the second guide rail 28 has a rectangular shape, and a substantially U-shaped wafer accommodating portion 29a is formed on the upper surface thereof. ing. The wafer stocker 29 stores a plurality of wafers 10 in a stacked state in the wafer storage portion 29a in the loading station 22 and positions and holds the wafers.
5 and is moved to the transfer station 23 while being guided by the second guide rail 28. Thereafter, the wafer 10 is immersed in pure water in the water tank main body 21b as the elevating arm 26 descends while being positioned and held by the wafer stocker 29. Then, pure water permeates between the wafers 10, and the releasability is enhanced.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
The support arm 43 is L-shaped,
2, and project from the upper end of the transfer station 23 to the rear of the transfer station 23. A guide arm 44 is provided between the tip of the support arm 43 and the side of the cleaning mechanism 31. The transport member 45 is attached to the lower surface of the guide arm 44 via a cylinder (not shown) so as to be movable in the direction in which the guide arm 44 extends. Transport member 4
5 has a step 45a on its lower surface, and a pure water injection device (not shown) is installed therein.
Pure water can be jetted downward from a.

In the transfer station 23, a delivery chute 46 is provided at a position facing the transfer member 45 with the wafer stocker 29 interposed therebetween so as to form a slope that becomes lower toward the cleaning mechanism 31. Sending shooter 4
A plurality of injection holes 46a are formed in the upper surface of 6, and pure water can be injected upward from the injection holes 46a.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, when the wafer 10 is sent out to the cleaning mechanism 31,
Is raised to a predetermined position, and pure water is sprayed onto the plurality of stacked wafers 10 from the spray holes 46a of the delivery shooter 46. In this state, pure water permeates between the wafers 10 due to the capillary phenomenon, and each wafer 1
The separation between zeros is easy. A transfer member 45 is engaged with the side end surface of the uppermost wafer 10, and the uppermost wafer 10 is pushed out toward the cleaning mechanism 31 by extension of the cylinder. At this time, the side faces of the second and subsequent wafers 10 are in contact with the side faces of the delivery shooter 46, so that movement to the cleaning mechanism 31 is restricted.

When the transport member 45 moves, the step portion 4
The second and subsequent wafers 10 are configured to be pressed downward by spraying pure water from 5a.
The wafer 10 extruded onto the delivery shooter 46 smoothly descends on an inclined surface in a state in which a floating force is applied by spraying pure water on the back surface, and dirt on the back surface is removed. When the wafer 10 is sent out to the cleaning mechanism 31 while sliding down the upper surface of the delivery shooter 46, the transport member 45 returns to the original position, and then the lifting arm 26 raises the wafer 10 by one sheet. And the sending device 4
1 is configured to repeat the above-described operation a plurality of times, thereby sending out the stacked wafers 10 to the cleaning mechanism 31 one by one.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Is formed in a square box shape having an opening on the upper surface, and the opening is covered by a lid 35. An insertion port 31a is provided in the side wall at the start end of the cleaning case 31d, and the wafer 10 sliding down the upper surface of the delivery shooter 46 is inserted from the insertion port 31a. The outlet 31b is provided at the end side wall of the cleaning case 31d.
Is provided, and the wafer 10 discharged from the delivery port 31b
Is an integrated shooter 52 provided in the form of a slope that becomes lower as the distance from the outlet 31b increases in the immediate vicinity of the outlet 31b.
It is sent to the collecting tank 51 while sliding down.

A plurality of pairs of upper and lower feed rollers 33 and a pair of upper and lower rotary brushes 34 as wiping means are alternately arranged in the cleaning case 31d. A cleaning shower 32 is provided in an upper portion of the cleaning case 31d corresponding to each rotating brush 34, and pure water is spouted from the cleaning shower 32 into the cleaning case 31d.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the rotating brush 34
Is provided between a holding shaft 37 and a supporting shaft 38 rotatably supported on each side wall of the cleaning case 31 d via a bearing 36. An urging mechanism 39 is provided on the pressing shaft 37 and includes a coil spring 39a, a cover box 39b, and the like. The urging mechanism 39 urges the pressing shaft 37 in a direction to insert the pressing shaft 37 into the cleaning case 31d. And the pressing shaft 37 are configured to be able to contact and separate.
Further, the other end of the rotating brush 34 is configured to be able to be disengaged from the support shaft 38. And the holding shaft 3 against the urging force
By pulling the 7, the rotating brush 34 is configured to be easily and quickly attached and detached.
Although not shown, the feed roller 33 has substantially the same configuration as the rotary brush 34, and can be attached and detached with one touch.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the cleaning shower 3
The second pipe is provided with a coupler mechanism 32a at its root, so that it can be attached and detached to and from the cleaning case 31d with one touch.

As shown by arrows in FIG.
3 is rotated by a driving device provided on the side of the cleaning case 31d in a direction in which the wafer 10 is sent to the sending port 31b, and each rotating brush 34 is rotated in a direction opposite to the rotating direction of each sending roller 33. It has a configuration. A gap is provided between the upper and lower feed rollers and between the upper and lower rotary brushes 34, and the wafer 10 is sent in the direction of the feed port 31b through the gap while being in sliding contact with the surface of each feed roller 33. Deposits on the surface of the rotating brush 34 are scraped off. In addition, each rotating brush 34 is planted so that its fluff forms a spiral shape, and the contaminants entangled inside are gathered to the side of the cleaning case 31d. Then, the collected deposits are collected from the plurality of suction ports 31c provided through the bottom wall of the cleaning case 31d in a state of being mixed with the purified pure water.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 (a) and 8 (b), the collecting tank 51 is formed in a square box shape having an open upper surface.
The inside thereof is supplied with pure water in an overflow state, and a plurality of overflow notches 92 are formed at the upper edge. An overflow gutter 91 is provided on the outer periphery of the upper edge of the accumulation tank 51, and a drain hole is provided in the overflow gutter 91 as a drain collecting means (not shown) so that the overflowed pure water is collected from the drain hole. It has become.

A support column 54 is erected on the bottom wall of the accumulation tank 51, and the support column 54 is arranged obliquely so as to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the accumulation shooter 52. An elevating plate 55 is supported on the side surface of the support column 54 so as to be able to ascend and descend, and a pair of front and rear mounting arms 55 a extending in the lateral direction are protruded from the lower end surface of the elevating plate 55. A rack 53 in the form of a square box having an opening at the front is mounted on both mounting arms 55a, and the rack 53 is also arranged obliquely by arranging the support columns 54 obliquely. .

The wafers 10 sliding down on the collecting shooter 52 are received in the racks 53, and each time the wafers 10 are received one by one, the elevating plate 55 and the racks 53 are lowered, so that the wafers 10 are sequentially placed on each step. It is housed in a separated stack. Notches 53a are provided at predetermined intervals on the inner wall surface of the rack 53, and the wafer 10 is inserted into the rack 53 by engaging both sides of the wafer 10 in the notches 53a. They are accommodated in a stack at predetermined intervals.

As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, when the rack 53 is full, the elevating plate 55 is configured to rise almost to the upper end of the support column 54. Then, the full rack 53 raised together with the lifting plate 55 is lifted up by the robot device 81, and the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 is lifted.
To be transported to

The moving table 82a constituting the robot device 81
Is movably supported by the rail 82. The rotation support plate 83 is moved by the expansion and contraction of a rotation cylinder 83a interposed between the movement support 82a and the rotation support plate 83.
Can be rotated with respect to. A lifting arm 84 is supported on the rotation support plate 83. A lifting cylinder 84a is interposed between the rotation supporting plate 83 and the lifting arm 84, and the lifting arm 84 is configured to be vertically movable with respect to the rotation supporting plate 83 by expansion and contraction. When the wafers 10 are accumulated in the rack 53, the robot device 81 is in a standby state. In this state, the rotation support plate 83 and the lifting arm 84 are parallel to the support column 54 with respect to the moving table 82a. Is held so as to extend.

At the lower end of the lifting arm 84, a gripping arm 85 is provided. The gripping arm 85 is rotatable with respect to the lower end of the lifting arm 84.
5a and a pair of gripping claws 85b protruding from the side surface of the rotating base 85a. A pair of gripping claws 85b
Can be approached or separated from each other, so that the upper end of the rack 53 is sandwiched and gripped from both sides. An arm cylinder 85c is interposed between the rotation base 85a and the lifting arm 84, and the arm cylinder 85c
The gripping arm 85 can be rotated with respect to the lifting arm 84 by the expansion and contraction of the arm. The holding arm 85 is held at a position such that a pair of holding claws 85 b extend in a direction orthogonal to the lifting arm 84 in a standby state.

As shown in FIG. 9A, when the rack 53 is transported, the lifting arm 84 is pulled upward while the rack 53 is engaged with the pair of gripping claws 85b, and the rack 53 is supported for rotation. The plate 83 and the lifting arm 84 are rotated counterclockwise with respect to the moving table 82a, and the rack 53 is lifted from above both mounting arms 55a. Then, as shown in FIG. 9B, the rack 53 is conveyed with its opening facing upward by rotating the gripping arm 85 clockwise by 90 °.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 is formed in a rectangular tube shape with a bottom, and a weakly acidic cleaning liquid is supplied in an overflow state to the inside thereof. An overflow gutter 91 is provided. Note that a plurality of overflow notches 92 similar to the accumulation tank 51 are formed at the upper edge of the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61. The rack 53 conveyed from the accumulation tank 51 by the robot device 81 is sunk to the bottom at the center of the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 with its opening facing upward, and is ultrasonically cleaned by an ultrasonic generator (not shown). It has become.

A drain hole 91a is provided at the bottom of the overflow gutter 91. One end of a circulation pipe 62 is connected to the drain hole 91a, and the other end is a return nozzle provided at the bottom of the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61. 63. A pump 64 and a filter 65 are connected in the middle of the circulation pipe 62. Then, the cleaning liquid that has flowed from the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 is drained through the drain hole 91 a in the overflow gutter 91.
From the filter 6
5 and the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 from the return nozzle 63
It can be circulated by being returned inside.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer / cleaning tank 71 is formed in a rectangular box shape having an open upper surface. Pure water is supplied in an overflow state inside the tank, and an overflow gutter 91 is provided on the outer periphery of the upper edge thereof. Is provided to collect the overflowed pure water. A belt conveyor 72 having a driving device (not shown) is provided at the inner bottom of the transport cleaning tank 71, and a plurality of racks 53 are placed on the belt conveyor 72 from the start end to the end. When the rack 53 in the transport cleaning tank 71 moves while being immersed in pure water, the weakly acidic cleaning liquid attached in the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 is washed away, and after being moved to the terminal end, the transport is performed. It is taken out of the cleaning tank 71. Also, with the rack 53 taken out at the end,
The drive of the belt conveyor 72 is stopped at a position moved by one rack, and a new rack 53 conveyed from the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 to the start end thereof.
The space for carrying the information is secured.

Next, the operation of the wafer cleaning apparatus will be described. Now, the wafer 10 after the polishing process is
First, the wafer is put into the wafer storage box 13 of the spare water tank 11 by an operator's hand or a robot. In the preliminary water tank 11, the wafer 10 is pre-cleaned for a predetermined time by being sprayed with pure water from the ejection nozzle 15 in a state of being immersed in pure water. During this preliminary cleaning, the operator takes out the rack 53 from the end of the transport cleaning tank 71, and
The cleaned wafer 10 is collected. Wafer 1 after pre-cleaning
Numerals 0 are stacked and accommodated in the wafer accommodating portion 29a of the wafer stocker 29 moved to the loading station 22 of the delivery tank 21 by a worker's hand or a robot, and then moved to the transfer station 23 together with the wafer stocker 29.

As shown in FIG. 4A, when the wafer 10 is sent from the transfer station 23 to the cleaning mechanism 31, first, the lifting arm 26 is raised to a predetermined height.
The wafer 10 is held at a predetermined position. Next, FIG.
As shown in (1), the transporting member 45 is automatically fed one by one into the cleaning mechanism 31 sequentially from the uppermost wafer 10 in order.

After the wafer 10 is pushed out and the transfer member 45 returns to the original position, the sending device 41 temporarily stops its operation and enters a standby state. The wafers 10 sent out from the sending tank 21 are rubbed by the rotary brush 34 in the cleaning mechanism 31 to remove the adhered substances on the surface thereof.
Housed within. When the sensor detects that the wafer 10 has been accommodated in the rack 53, the sending device 41 resumes its operation and sends the next wafer 10 into the cleaning mechanism 31. The above operation is repeated a plurality of times, and when the rack 10 is full of wafers, the robot unit 8
1 operates, and the plurality of wafers 10 stored in the rack 53 are transferred from the accumulation tank 51 to the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61.

When the robot device 81 transports the rack 53 after the wafer 10 has been filled in the rack 53, the lifting plate 55 is first supported in the accumulation tank 51 as shown in FIG. The rack 53 is raised to the top of the column 54, and the rack 53 is pulled up from pure water. At this time, the support column 5
A holding arm 85 of the robot device 81 is on standby at the upper part of the rack 4, and the rack 53 is held by the two holding claws 85b approaching each other. Rack 53 is gripping arm 85
Then, as shown in FIG. 9B, the lifting arm 84 moves up, and the rack 53 is moved from above the mounting arm 55a.
While rotating in the counterclockwise direction together with the rotation support plate 83. Thereafter, the gripping arm 85 moves 90 degrees clockwise.
By rotating, the rack 53 is supported by the robot device 81 with the opening thereof facing upward so that the wafer 10 extends in the vertical direction, as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 9B. As the moving table 82a moves along the rail 82, the moving table 82a is moved above the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61.

The lifting arm 84 descends above the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 in this state, and is immersed in a weakly acidic cleaning solution while the gripping arm 85 holds the rack 53.
After the wafer 10 in the rack 53 has been subjected to ultrasonic cleaning for a predetermined time to remove fine deposits on the surface, the robot device 81 moves the rack 53 to the start end of the transport cleaning tank 71 and, at this time, holds the arm. Rack 53 by 85
Is released, and returns to above the collecting tank 51 again to be in a standby state.

The belt conveyor 72, which has detected by the sensor that the rack 53 has been mounted, drives until a space corresponding to one rack 53 is opened at the start end, and then waits until the next rack 53 is mounted. State. And
The operator puts the next polished wafer 10 into the preliminary water tank 11 and repeats the same operation as above to perform the cleaning operation. Until the transfer of the rack 53 by the robot device 81 is completed, all operations in the sending device 41, the cleaning mechanism 31, and the accumulation tank 51 are in a standby state, and each operation is performed after the robot device 81 returns above the accumulation tank 51. Will be resumed.

The effects exerted by the above embodiment will be described below. The preliminary water tank 11 and the terminal end of the transport / cleaning tank 71 are disposed at positions substantially adjacent to each other. Thereby, the worker can perform the work of putting the polished wafer 10 into the cleaning device and the work of collecting the polished wafer 10 without moving the work place, thereby improving the working efficiency. can do.

Since the water tanks constituting the cleaning device are arranged in two rows in parallel, the installation space of the cleaning device can be saved in a limited space in the factory, and the space can be saved. Can be.

Since a plurality of stacked wafers 10 are immersed in pure water in the delivery tank 21, the separation between the wafers 10 can be easily performed. The wafer 10 can be smoothly sent out from the tank 21 to the cleaning mechanism 31.

Since the plurality of wafers 10 are integrated in the rack 53 in the integration tank 51 and are collectively subjected to ultrasonic cleaning in the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61,
It is not necessary to perform ultrasonic cleaning one by one, and cleaning can be performed efficiently.

By providing the preliminary water tank 11 at the start end of the cleaning device, it is possible to substantially wash away the deposits on the surface of the wafer 10 immediately after polishing in the stage before the delivery tank 21. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the pure water in the delivery tank 21 from being contaminated, and to prevent the surface of the wafer 10 from being damaged when the stacked wafers 10 are sent out one by one by the adhering matter mixed in the pure water. Can be.

A feed roller 33 for sending the wafer 10 to the accumulation tank 51 and the wafer 10 are provided in the cleaning mechanism 31.
A rotary brush 34 for rubbing off the surface deposits is provided. By rotating the rotating brush 34 in the reverse direction to the feed roller 33, for example, an adhesive substance can be almost certainly scraped off.

Since the racks 53 are obliquely arranged in the accumulation tank 51, the wafers 10 sliding down from the accumulation shooter 52 can be received smoothly and efficiently. In addition, the rack 53 arranged obliquely by the robot device 81 can be automatically transferred to the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61.

By forming the collecting tank 51 and the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 in the shape of a rectangular tube with a bottom and providing a notch 92 for overflow at the upper edge thereof, and providing an overflow gutter 91 on the outer periphery of the upper edge, It is possible to efficiently collect the pure water that overflows from the accumulation tank 51 and the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 with the adhering matter mixed therein without leaking to the outside.

The belt conveyor 7 is placed in the transport cleaning tank 71.
2 to transport the wafer 10 to the terminal end while rinsing the weakly acidic cleaning liquid, two operations such as rinsing the weakly acidic cleaning liquid and transporting the wafer 10 to the removal position can be performed simultaneously. Efficiency can be better.

The present embodiment can be embodied with the following modifications. As shown by a chain line in FIG. 1, a pure water cleaning mechanism 100 may be provided between the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 and the transport cleaning tank 71. The pure water cleaning mechanism 100 has a bottomed square cylindrical shape, and has a jet nozzle for jetting pure water at a predetermined pressure therein, and sprays the pure water on the wafers 10 stacked in the rack 53 for a predetermined time. As a result, the weakly acidic cleaning solution attached to the surface is washed away. With this configuration, the weakly acidic cleaning solution attached to the surface of the wafer 10 can be almost completely washed away.

The delivery tank 21 may also be used as the spare water tank 11. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 (a), the delivery tank 21 is formed in a square cylinder with a bottom, and the inside of the delivery tank 21 is always jetted with a predetermined pressure by a nozzle (not shown). ing. A feed chute 101 extending from a polishing device (not shown) is provided at a start end of the feed tank 21, and a feed shooter 46 extending to the cleaning mechanism 31 is provided at a terminal end. A support column 54 is provided between the input shooter 101 and the output shooter 46 to provide the input shooter 1.
It is set up obliquely so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to 01.

An elevating plate 55 is mounted on the side surface of the support column 54 so as to be able to move up and down on the support column 54 and rotate. A pair of mounting arms 55a is provided from the lower surface of the lifting plate 55.
And a rack 53 for accumulating the wafers 10 is arranged obliquely on the pair of mounting arms 55a. The rack 53 has an opening on both front and rear surfaces. A column 42 is provided upright on the side of the delivery tank 21. An inverted L-shaped support arm 43 having a cylinder (not shown) is provided to project from the support column 42 toward the start end side of the rack 53, and the support arm 43 is moved in the width direction of the delivery tank 21 by expansion and contraction of the cylinder. It is movable. A transfer member 45 is attached to the tip of the support arm 43 via a cylinder (not shown), and the transfer member 45 is movable in the length direction of the delivery tank 21 (left and right directions in FIG. 11) by extending the cylinder. I have.

As shown in FIG. 12A, the polished wafer 10 is placed on the input shooter 101 by the operator's hand, and is accommodated in the rack 53 from the front side while sliding down. Each time the wafers 10 are accommodated one by one in the rack 53, the wafers 10 descend along the supporting columns 54 together with the elevating plate 55 or the mounting arm 55 a, and
Is immersed in pure water to perform preliminary cleaning. FIG. 12 (b)
When the rack 53 is full, as shown in FIG.
Is the mounting arm 55 with the wafer 10 immersed in pure water.
a rotates counterclockwise with respect to the support column 54 together with the a.
In this state, the support arm 43 is extended, and the transport member 45 is moved to the front of the rack 53, and the transport member 45 is moved toward the end of the delivery tank 21 (in the horizontal direction in FIG. 11).
To push the wafer 10 onto the delivery chute 46 from the rear surface of the rack 53.

Then, the wafer 10 on the sending chute 46 is
Is transported to the cleaning mechanism 31 while sliding down on the delivery shooter 46. In such a configuration, the installation space for the spare water tank 11 can be omitted, the size of the cleaning device can be reduced, and the process of loading the wafer 10 by the operator shown in the embodiment can be simplified. Can be

For example, as shown in FIG.
The reserve water tank 11 is formed in a rectangular tube shape with a bottom, and a notch 92 for overflow is provided at an upper edge thereof, and an overflow gutter 9 is provided at an outer peripheral edge at an upper end.
1 may be provided. In this case, only one drain hole for collecting the drainage is required. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 13 (b), overflow notches 92 may be provided on the upper edges of both sides of the spare water tank 11, and overflow gutters 91 may be provided on both sides of the upper peripheral edge. In this case, two drain holes for collecting wastewater are required. Further, as shown in FIG. 13 (b), overflow notches 92 are provided on the upper edges of both sides of the collecting tank 51, and corresponding overflow gutters 91 are provided on both sides of the outer peripheral edge of the upper end. You may. Further, the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61 may have the same configuration as the accumulation tank 51.

When the preliminary water tank 11 is configured as shown in FIG. 13 (a), the entire inside of the preliminary water tank 11 can be used as the preliminary cleaning chamber described in the embodiment, and for example, also accommodates a large-sized wafer 10 or the like. can do. Further, the spare water tank 11, the collecting tank 51 and the supersonic liquid washing tank 61 are arranged as shown in FIG.
In the case of such a configuration as shown in the above, for example, when it is desired to further reduce the lateral width of the entire cleaning apparatus, the reduction of the lateral width of each water tank makes it possible to easily achieve a reduction in installation space.

One partition wall 12 in the spare water tank 11 may be omitted, and only one overflow gutter 91 may be provided. further,
The wafer storage box 13 is not located at the center of the pre-cleaning chamber 11a,
By arranging the long side wall so as to come into contact with the partition wall 12 or the inner surface of the side wall of the preliminary water tank 11, the pre-cleaning chamber 11
a. Even in the case of such a configuration, the deposits on the surface of the internal wafer 10 can be substantially washed away.

The wiping means provided in the cleaning mechanism 31 is not limited to the rotating brush 34 having fluff, but may be a rotating brush 34 made of a material such as cloth or sponge. Even in the case of such a configuration, the deposits on the surface of the wafer 10 can be scraped off.

The water tanks constituting the cleaning device are not limited to those arranged in two rows in parallel. If the starting end and the end are substantially adjacent to each other, for example, a state viewed from a plane May be arranged in a ring shape, a square frame shape or the like. When the water tanks are arranged so as to have an annular shape, a rectangular frame shape, or the like, the water tanks can be arranged so as to surround the polishing device, and the installation space for the cleaning device can be further reduced.

A configuration may be adopted in which pure water recovered from the drain hole of the accumulation tank 51 can be supplied into the delivery tank 21. With this configuration, the amount of pure water used can be reduced.

The secondary cleaning mechanism does not necessarily need to be divided into two water tanks, ie, the collecting tank 51 and the ultrasonic cleaning tank 61. For example, the collecting part and the ultrasonic cleaning are provided in one water tank formed in a rectangular box shape. May be provided to perform each step. Even in the case of such a configuration, cleaning can be performed efficiently.

Further, the technical ideas that can be grasped from the above embodiment will be described below. (1) The sending device is provided on the upper surface of the sending tank, and a guide member for feeding the wafer is provided on a side portion of the sending device so as to cover the upper surface of the sending tank. 4. A peephole for inspecting the inside of the vehicle.
An apparatus for cleaning a wafer according to any one of claims 1 to 9. With this configuration, the degree of contamination of the pure water in the delivery tank can be easily identified.

(2) An accumulation shooter is provided between the cleaning mechanism and the accumulation tank for lowering the washed wafer into the accumulation tank obliquely, and the accumulation tank is provided in the accumulation tank. 10. The wafer according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein a rack for sequentially accommodating the wafers descending obliquely through the stack is installed obliquely in accordance with the inclination of the integrated shooter. Cleaning equipment. In such a configuration, the descending wafer can be accumulated in the rack without being damaged.

(3) The reserve water tank is formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and a plurality of cutouts for overflow are formed on the upper edge thereof, and an overflow gutter is provided on the outer periphery of the upper edge of the water tank or a part thereof. ,
10. The wafer cleaning apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a wafer storage box having a large number of holes for cleaning water circulation can be taken out and stored at a predetermined position inside the water tank. In such a configuration, not only the wafer is preliminarily cleaned, but also the matter attached to the wafer can be floated and collected.

(4) On one side of the wafer storage box,
The wafer cleaning apparatus according to (3), wherein a hole for ejecting pure water is provided inside the wafer storage box. With this configuration, the preliminary cleaning of the wafer can be efficiently performed in the wafer storage box.

(5) The feed roller and the wiping means are
The wafer cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the apparatus is configured to be removable by moving the metal cores in the axial direction. With such a configuration, maintenance work of the cleaning mechanism, replacement work of the wiping means, and the like can be easily and quickly performed.

(6) The ultrasonic cleaning tank stores a weakly acidic cleaning liquid, immerses a rack in which wafers are stored in a stacked state, and performs cleaning by applying ultrasonic waves.
Alternatively, the apparatus for cleaning a wafer according to claim 9. With such a configuration, ultrasonic cleaning can be performed while the wafer transported from the accumulation tank is housed in the rack.

(7) The cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 9, further comprising a pure water cleaning mechanism provided at a terminal side of the ultrasonic cleaning tank to wash the weakly acidic cleaning liquid adhered to the ultrasonic cleaning tank. Wafer cleaning equipment. With such a configuration, the weakly acidic cleaning liquid attached to the surface of the wafer can be effectively washed away.

[0080]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. According to the apparatus for cleaning a wafer according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the start end and the end are disposed at positions substantially adjacent to each other, the operation of charging the polished wafer and the recovery of the cleaned wafer are performed. Since the work can be performed at substantially the same position, the work efficiency can be improved.

According to the apparatus for cleaning a wafer according to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, the installation space for the cleaning apparatus can be saved in a limited space in a factory. And space can be saved.

According to the apparatus for cleaning a wafer according to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first or second aspect of the present invention, the wafer can be smoothly fed from the delivery mechanism to the cleaning mechanism. it can.

According to the apparatus for cleaning a wafer according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the wafer can be efficiently cleaned.

According to the apparatus for cleaning a wafer according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, it is also possible to prevent the pure water in the delivery tank from being contaminated. When the stacked wafers are sent out one by one by the adhering substance mixed in the pure water, it is possible to prevent the wafer surface from being damaged.

According to the wafer cleaning apparatus of the invention described in claim 6, in addition to the effect of the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 5, it is possible to effectively scrape off the attached matter. .

According to the wafer cleaning apparatus of the invention described in claim 7, in addition to the effect of the invention described in any one of claims 4 to 6, in addition to the fact that the rack is arranged obliquely, the wafer can be cleaned. In addition to receiving the wafer smoothly and efficiently, the rack containing the wafer can be automatically transferred to the ultrasonic cleaning tank.

According to the apparatus for cleaning a wafer according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of the fourth to seventh aspects, in addition to the pure water overflowing in a state in which the adhering matter is mixed therein. Water can be efficiently collected without leaking to the outside.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the seventh or eighth aspect, in addition to the effects of the seventh or eighth aspect, the wafer is washed away with a weakly acidic cleaning solution and transferred to a take-out position. Can be performed at the same time, and the working efficiency can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a state where a wafer cleaning apparatus is viewed from a plane.

FIG. 2 is a partially broken perspective view showing a spare water tank.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a delivery tank and a delivery device.

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a stacked wafer is held at a sending position, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which one wafer is sent to a cleaning mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the cleaning mechanism when viewed from the side.

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view showing a rotating brush, and FIG. 6B is a perspective view showing a cleaning shower.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an accumulation tank.

8A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where wafers are integrated in a rack, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where wafers are integrated in a rack.

9A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the rack is lifted by the robot apparatus, and FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the rack is lifted by the robot apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing an ultrasonic cleaning tank.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a delivery tank of another embodiment.

12A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which wafers are accumulated in a rack of a delivery tank, and FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which wafers are sent out of the rack of the delivery tank to a cleaning mechanism.

FIG. 13 (a) is a perspective view showing a spare water tank of another embodiment,
(B) is a perspective view which shows the reserve water tank of another form.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Wafer, 11: Reserve water tank, 21: Delivery tank, 31 ...
Cleaning mechanism, 33: feed roller, 34: rotating brush as wiping means, 41: delivery device, 51: accumulation tank, 53: rack, 61: ultrasonic cleaning tank, 71: transport cleaning tank, 72 ...
Belt conveyor, 81: robotic device, 91: overflow gutter.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H01L 21/304 642 H01L 21/304 642E 643 643B 643C 644 644C B08B 3/08 B08B 3/08 Z 3/12 3/12 A

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A sending mechanism for sending stacked polished wafers one by one, a washing mechanism for washing wafers sent by the sending mechanism one by one by wiping means, and a wafer sent from the washing mechanism in a stacked state in a rack. And a transport cleaning mechanism for moving wafers sent from the secondary cleaning mechanism to a take-out position while cleaning the wafers stacked in a rack, and starting a cleaning process by these. A wafer cleaning apparatus configured to dispose an end portion for collecting a cleaned wafer at a position substantially adjacent to a start end portion that is a position. 2. The mechanism is arranged in two rows in parallel as a whole, and a wafer which has been advanced while one row is being cleaned is transferred to the other row at the end of one row, and the other row is replaced with one row. 2. The apparatus for cleaning a wafer according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning wafer is collected at a position substantially adjacent to a start position of the cleaning step, proceeding in a direction opposite to the traveling direction of the cleaning process. 3. The delivery mechanism includes: a delivery tank for stacking polished wafers and immersing the wafers in pure water; and a delivery tank provided above the delivery tank, and for transferring the wafers immersed in the delivery tank in a stacked state from above. 3. The apparatus for cleaning a wafer according to claim 1, further comprising a sending device for sending the wafer one by one. 4. The secondary cleaning mechanism accumulates wafers sent from the cleaning mechanism in a stacked state in a rack and immerses the wafers in pure water, and stores the wafers stacked in the rack in a weakly acidic cleaning liquid. The wafer cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an ultrasonic cleaning tank immersed in the substrate and applying ultrasonic waves. 5. The cleaning of the wafer according to claim 1, wherein a preliminary water tank for immersing the polished wafer in pure water for preliminary cleaning is provided on a start end side of the sending mechanism. apparatus. 6. A pair of upper and lower feed rollers and a pair of upper and lower wiping means are alternately arranged in the cleaning mechanism, and the wiping means is configured to be rotatable in the cleaning mechanism. 6. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation direction is reverse to the rotation direction of the feed roller, and the wafer is washed by the rotary brush while being sent in the traveling direction by the feed roller in the shower of pure water. The cleaning apparatus for a wafer according to any one of the above. 7. A rack is arranged obliquely in pure water in the accumulation tank, and receives wafers from a cleaning mechanism in a stacked manner. When the rack is full, the rack is pulled up and an adjacent super The wafer cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6, further comprising a robot device for transporting the wafer to an ultrasonic cleaning tank. 8. An at least one of the collecting tank and the ultrasonic cleaning tank is formed in a cylindrical shape having a bottom, and a plurality of notches for overflow are formed at an upper edge thereof, and an outer periphery or an outer periphery of the upper edge is formed. The wafer cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein an overflow gutter is provided in the section, and a drain recovery means is provided in the overflow gutter. 9. The transport cleaning mechanism includes: a transport cleaning tank for immersing the wafers stacked in the rack in pure water; a belt conveyor provided at an inner bottom of the transport cleaning tank and having a driving device; The wafer which has been subjected to the ultrasonic cleaning in the ultrasonic cleaning tank is carried into the starting end by the robot apparatus, and is immersed in pure water to wash away the weakly acidic cleaning liquid and to be conveyed to the take-out position of the terminal end. 9. The apparatus for cleaning a wafer according to claim 7, wherein: