JP2005045134A - Processing device of semiconductor wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the processing device of a semiconductor wafer capable of safely taking out any semiconductor wafer after processing, without interrupting the operating of the processing device. <P>SOLUTION: The processing device of the semiconductor wafer comprises a cassette mounting mechanism 3, a processing object carry-in/out mechanism 5 for carrying in/out the semiconductor wafer to a cassette 10, a processing object transport mechanism 9 for transporting the semiconductor wafer, a chuck table mechanism 6 for retaining the semiconductor wafer, and a processing mechanism 7 for processing the semiconductor wafer. The cassette mounting mechanism 3 is arranged at the lower side of a cassette mounting stand 32, and comprises a wafer take-out mechanism 4 for mounting and taking out the semiconductor wafer after processing. The wafer take-out mechanism 4 comprises a retaining plate 42 for mounting the semiconductor wafer after processing which is transported by the processing object carry-in/out mechanism 5, and retaining plate supporting means 43, 44 for supporting the retaining plate 42 so as to be attachable/detachable. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus such as a cutting apparatus for dividing a semiconductor wafer into individual semiconductor chips.

  In the semiconductor device manufacturing process, a large number of rectangular areas are defined by planned cutting lines called streets arranged in a lattice pattern on the surface of a semiconductor wafer having a substantially disk shape, and each of the rectangular areas includes IC, LSI, etc. Form a circuit. Individual semiconductor chips are formed by separating the semiconductor wafer having such a large number of circuits along the streets. This semiconductor chip is widely used in electric devices such as mobile phones and personal computers.

  In addition, in order to reduce the size and weight of electrical equipment, it is required to form a semiconductor chip as thin as 100 μm or less, and a so-called dicing method called so-called dicing has been put into practical use as a processing technique for forming a thin semiconductor chip. Yes. In this dicing, a cutting groove having a predetermined depth corresponding to the finished thickness of the chip is formed along the street formed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer, and then the back surface of the wafer is polished until the cutting groove appears. This is a technique of dividing into individual chips.

  In the dicing described above, a processing apparatus for forming a cutting groove having a predetermined depth corresponding to the finished thickness of a chip along a street formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer is a cassette on which a cassette containing a semiconductor wafer is placed. A cassette mounting mechanism having a mounting table, a loading / unloading mechanism for loading a semiconductor wafer into the cassette and loading / unloading the semiconductor wafer stored in the cassette mounted on the cassette mounting table; A chuck table for holding the semiconductor wafer carried out by the mechanism and a cutting means for forming a cutting groove in the semiconductor wafer held by the chuck table are provided.

  Therefore, it is necessary to check whether or not the cutting groove is properly formed in the operation process of forming the cutting groove having a predetermined depth along the street formed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer. For this reason, the processing apparatus temporarily stops its operation, removes the cassette from the cassette mounting table, takes out and inspects any semiconductor wafer after processing that has been returned to the cassette, and there is a problem that productivity is poor. . Further, the semiconductor wafer in which the cutting grooves are formed is very easy to break, and there is a problem that the semiconductor wafer is cracked when taken out and returned from the cassette.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned facts, and a main technical problem thereof is a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus capable of safely taking out an arbitrary semiconductor wafer after processing without temporarily stopping the operation of the processing apparatus. Is to provide.

In order to solve the main technical problem, according to the present invention, a cassette mounting mechanism including a cassette mounting table for mounting a cassette containing a semiconductor wafer, and the cassette mounted on the cassette mounting table are provided. A workpiece loading / unloading mechanism for unloading the accommodated semiconductor wafer and loading the semiconductor wafer into the cassette, a workpiece transfer mechanism for transferring the semiconductor wafer unloaded by the workpiece loading / unloading mechanism, and the workpiece In a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus comprising: a chuck table mechanism including a chuck table that holds a semiconductor wafer transferred by a workpiece transfer mechanism; and a processing mechanism that processes a semiconductor wafer held on the chuck table.
The cassette mounting mechanism includes a wafer take-out mechanism that is disposed on the lower side of the cassette mounting table and places and removes a processed semiconductor wafer.
The wafer take-out mechanism includes a holding plate on which a processed semiconductor wafer conveyed by the workpiece carry-in / out mechanism is placed, and holding plate support means for detachably supporting the holding plate. ,
A semiconductor wafer processing apparatus is provided.

The holding plate support means includes a pair of guide rails that slidably support the holding plate.
Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

  Since the processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to inspect the state of the cutting groove by taking out an arbitrary semiconductor wafer after processing without stopping the operation of the processing apparatus. In addition, since the processed semiconductor wafer is taken out in a state of being placed on the holding plate, the processed semiconductor wafer which is easy to break due to the formation of a cutting groove is taken out from the processing apparatus and returned without being damaged. be able to.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a processing apparatus configured according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cutting device as a processing device configured according to the present invention.
The cutting device in the illustrated embodiment includes a stationary base 2. A cassette mounting mechanism 3 is disposed on the side surface of the stationary base 2. The cassette mounting mechanism 3 includes a cassette mounting table 32 slidably disposed on two guide rails 31, 31 provided vertically on the side surface of the stationary base 2, and a lower side of the cassette mounting table 32. The wafer take-out mechanism 4 for taking out a processed semiconductor wafer, which is a workpiece, disposed on the side, and the cassette mounting table 32 and the wafer take-out mechanism 4 along the guide rails 31 and 31 in the vertical direction (direction indicated by arrow Z). Elevating means 33 is provided for moving to the position.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the cassette mounting table 32 and the housing 41 of the wafer take-out mechanism 4 are integrally formed. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cassette mounting table 32 is configured to function as the upper wall of the housing 41. On the upper surface of the cassette mounting table 32, a cassette 10 for storing a semiconductor wafer as a workpiece is placed. The cassette 10 is provided with a workpiece loading / unloading opening 101 for loading / unloading a semiconductor wafer as a workpiece, and a plurality of racks for mounting the semiconductor wafer on inner surfaces of both side walls 102, 102. A shelf 102a is provided facing the vertical direction. A semiconductor wafer 11 which is a workpiece to be stored in the cassette 10 is formed in a disk shape, and IC, LSI, etc. are formed in a number of regions partitioned by streets 11a and 11b formed in a lattice shape on the surface thereof. Circuit 111 is formed. A notch 112 representing the crystal orientation of the semiconductor wafer is provided on the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer 11 thus configured.

  The wafer take-out mechanism 4 disposed below the cassette mounting table 32 will be described with reference to FIGS. The wafer take-out mechanism 4 includes a housing 41 in which the cassette mounting table 32 forms an upper wall. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, openings 411a and 412a are formed in the front wall 411 and the rear wall 412 of the housing 41, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, the wafer take-out mechanism 4 in the illustrated embodiment includes a holding plate 42 that can be inserted and removed through an opening 412a formed in the rear wall 412, and holding plate support means for detachably supporting the holding plate 42. A pair of guide rails 43 and 44 are provided.

  The holding plate 42 is formed in a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. On the upper surface of the holding plate 42, a wafer mounting portion 421 for mounting the processed semiconductor wafer is provided. The wafer mounting portion 421 is formed in a circular concave portion having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the semiconductor wafer. The wafer mounting portion 421 is formed in a circular shape having an angle range larger than 180 degrees with the front end (upper right end in FIG. 4) side of the holding plate 42 open, and a notch 422 is provided at the front end. . Further, a handle 423 projects from the center of the rear end (lower left end in FIG. 4) of the holding plate 42.

  A pair of guide rails 43 and 44 as holding plate support means for detachably supporting the holding plate 42 are disposed on both sides of the openings 411a and 412a so as to face both openings. The pair of guide rails 43, 44 is formed by a L-shaped member having a support portion 431, 441 extending horizontally and a mounting portion 432, 442 extending vertically, and the mounting portions 432, 442 are side walls 413 shown in FIG. And 414 are mounted on the inner surfaces by appropriate fixing means. The pair of guide rails 43 and 44 are provided with stoppers 433 and 443 at the front end as shown in FIG.

  The pair of guide rails 43 and 44 constituting the holding plate support means are configured as described above, and the lower surfaces of both side portions of the holding plate 42 are placed on the support portions 431 and 441 as shown in FIG. . Accordingly, the holding plate 42 can be moved in the front-rear direction on the support portions 431 and 441, inserted into the housing 41 through the opening 412 a formed in the rear wall 412, and taken out from the housing 41. (See FIGS. 1 and 3).

The wafer take-out mechanism 4 configured as described above is fixed on a support base 34 on which the bottom wall 415 of the housing 41 is lifted and lowered by the lifting means 33 as shown in FIGS.
The elevating means 33 in the illustrated embodiment includes a male screw rod 331 that is disposed between the guide rails 31 and 31 in the vertical direction and is rotatably supported, and a forward and reverse pulse that rotates the male screw rod 331. A motor 332 is formed, and a female screw hole 341 provided at a base end portion of the support base 34 is screwed into the male screw rod 331. A guided portion 342 that is guided along the guide rails 31 and 31 is provided at the base end portion of the support base 34. Therefore, when the pulse motor 332 is rotationally driven in one direction, the support base 34 is raised along the male screw rod 331 and the guide rails 31 and 31, and when the pulse motor 332 is rotationally driven in the other direction, the support base 34 is It is lowered along the guide rails 31, 31. As shown in FIG. 2, the support table 34 that is lifted and lowered in this way is a first where the cassette 10 mounted on the cassette mounting table 32 faces a hand that is a loading / unloading area of a workpiece loading / unloading mechanism described later. As shown in FIG. 3, the loading / unloading position and an opening 411a formed in the front wall 411 constituting the housing 41 of the wafer unloading mechanism 4 are opposed to a hand which is a loading / unloading area of the workpiece loading / unloading mechanism described later. It is positioned at 2 loading / unloading positions. In the first carry-in / out position, the lifting / lowering means 33 adjusts the position corresponding to the accommodation position of the semiconductor wafer accommodated in the cassette 10 placed on the cassette placement table 32.

  Returning to FIG. 1 and continuing the description, the processing apparatus in the illustrated embodiment unloads the semiconductor wafer 11 which is a workpiece stored in the cassette 10 mounted on the cassette mounting table 32 and cassette. 10 includes a workpiece carry-in / out mechanism 5 for loading the semiconductor wafer 11 into the wafer 10 and loading / unloading the processed semiconductor wafer 11 into / from the wafer take-out mechanism 4. The workpiece carry-in / out mechanism 5 moves the hand 51 that holds the semiconductor wafer 11, the hand support member 52 that supports the hand 51, and the hand 51 that is supported by the hand support member 52 in the direction indicated by the arrow Y. It consists of a hand moving means 53 for squeezing. The hand 51 is formed in a fork shape with a thin plate material, and a suction holding hole 511 communicating with a passage (not shown) formed therein is formed on the surface of the hand 51. The suction holding hole 511 passes through the passage (not shown). The suction control means (not shown) is communicated. The hand moving means 53 is provided with a male screw rod 531 that extends in the direction indicated by the arrow Y on the front surface of the stationary base 2 and is rotatably supported, and can be rotated forward and backward to rotate the male screw rod 531. A pulse motor 532 is formed, and a female screw hole 521 provided at a proximal end portion of the hand support member 52 is screwed into the male screw rod 531. Therefore, when the pulse motor 532 is rotationally driven in one direction, the hand 51 supported by the hand support member 52 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow Y1, and when the pulse motor 532 is rotationally driven in the other direction, it is supported by the hand support member 52. The hand 51 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow Y2. That is, the hand moving means 53 includes an entry position where the hand 51 enters into the cassette 10 on which the cassette placing table 32 is placed and the wafer take-out mechanism 4, and a workpiece placement area of the chuck table which will be described later. It operates to a carry-out position that is an upper position and a retreat position that retreats from the carry-out position. The workpiece carrying-in / out mechanism 5 includes a moving means (not shown) that moves the hand support member 52, that is, the hand 51 in the vertical direction indicated by the arrow Z.

  The machining apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes a chuck table mechanism 6 that holds the semiconductor wafer carried out by the workpiece carry-in / out mechanism 5, and a cutting mechanism 7 that cuts the workpiece held by the chuck table mechanism 6. A cleaning mechanism 8 for cleaning the workpiece cut by the cutting mechanism 7, and a semiconductor wafer carried out by the workpiece carrying-in / out mechanism 5 is conveyed to a chuck table (to be described later) of the chuck table mechanism 6 and A workpiece transfer mechanism 9 for transferring the processed semiconductor wafer held on the chuck table to the cleaning mechanism 8 is provided.

  The chuck table mechanism 6 includes a support base 61 fixed on the stationary base 2, two guide rails 62 and 62 disposed on the support base 61 in parallel along the direction indicated by the arrow X, A chuck table 63 is provided as a workpiece holding means for holding a workpiece arranged on the guide rails 62 and 62 so as to be movable in the direction indicated by the arrow X. The chuck table 63 includes a suction chuck support base 631 movably disposed on the guide rails 62 and 62, and a suction chuck 632 mounted on the suction chuck support base 631. The suction chuck 632 is connected to a negative pressure control means (not shown) so that a negative pressure is appropriately applied. Therefore, the semiconductor wafer, which is a workpiece placed on the suction chuck 632, is sucked and held on the suction chuck 632 by operating a negative pressure control means (not shown).

  The chuck table mechanism 6 in the illustrated embodiment includes a chuck table moving means 64 for moving the chuck table 63 along the two guide rails 62 and 62 in the direction indicated by the arrow X. The chuck table moving means 64 includes a male screw rod 641 disposed in parallel between the two guide rails 62 and 62 and a female screw block (not shown) that is mounted on the suction chuck support base 631 and screwed into the male screw rod 641. And a drive source such as a pulse motor (not shown) for rotationally driving the male screw rod 641. Therefore, the chuck table 63 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow X by rotating the male screw rod 641 by a pulse motor (not shown). That is, the chuck table 63 can move between the workpiece placement area 6a and the machining area 6b. The chuck table mechanism 6 includes a rotation mechanism (not shown) that rotates the suction chuck 632.

Next, the cutting mechanism 7 will be described.
The cutting mechanism 7 includes a gate-shaped support base 71 fixed on the stationary base 2. The gate-shaped support base 71 is disposed so as to straddle the cutting region 6b. Two guide rails 711 and 711 arranged in parallel along the direction indicated by the arrow Y are provided on the side wall of the support base 71, and in parallel between the two guide rails 711 and 711. Two male screw rods 721a and 721b are provided. Along the guide rails 711 and 711, a first base portion 73a and a second base portion 73b are disposed so as to be slidable in directions indicated by arrows Y, respectively. The first base 73a and the second base 73b are provided with drive female screw blocks (not shown) that are screwed into the male screw rods 72a and 72b, respectively. The drive female screw blocks are rotated by pulse motors 722a and 722b. Thus, the first base 73a and the second base 73b can be moved along the guide rails 711 and 711 in the direction indicated by the arrow Y.

  A pair of guide rails 731a and 731b are provided in the first base portion 73a and the second base portion 73b, respectively, along the cutting feed direction indicated by an arrow Z, and the first base rails 731a and 731b are provided along the first guide rails 731a and 731b. The suspension bracket 74a and the second suspension bracket 74b are slidably disposed in the cutting feed direction indicated by the arrow Z, respectively. The first base portion 73a and the second base portion 73b are provided with male screw rods (not shown) that are rotated by driving sources such as pulse motors 75a and 75b, respectively, and the first support portion 74a and the second support portion are provided. Each part 74b is provided with a female screw block that is screwed into the male screw rod. Accordingly, by rotating a male screw rod (not shown) by the pulse motors 75a and 75b, the first suspension bracket 74a and the second suspension bracket 74b are held along the guide rails 731a and 731b by the workpiece of the suction chuck 632. It can be moved in the cutting feed direction indicated by the arrow Z perpendicular to the surface.

  A first spindle unit 76a as a first cutting means and a second spindle unit 76b as a second cutting means are mounted on the first suspension bracket 74a and the second suspension bracket 74b. The first spindle unit 76a and the second spindle unit 76b will be described with reference to FIG. The first spindle unit 76a and the second spindle unit 76b include a first spindle housing 761a and a second spindle housing 761b fixed to the first suspension bracket 74a and the second suspension bracket 74b, respectively. A first rotating spindle 762a and a second rotating spindle 762b rotatably supported by one spindle housing 761a and a second spindle housing 761b, respectively, and the first rotating spindle 762a and the second rotating spindle 762b. It consists of a first cutting blade 763a and a second cutting blade 763b attached to one end. The first spindle unit 76a and the second spindle unit 76b configured as described above are arranged such that the first cutting blade 763a and the second cutting blade 763b face each other. In other words, the first spindle unit 76a and the second spindle unit 76b are arranged in a straight line so that the shaft cores face the indexing feed direction indicated by the arrow Y, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, the first spindle unit 76a and the second spindle unit 76b configured as described above include a first imaging unit 77a and a second imaging unit respectively configured by a microscope, a CCD camera, or the like. 77b is provided. The first imaging means 77a is fixed to the first spindle housing 761a, and the second imaging means 77b is fixed to the second spindle housing 761b.

  The cleaning mechanism 8 is disposed on an extension line connecting the cassette mounting table 32 and the workpiece mounting area 6 a of the chuck table 63, and includes a known spinner cleaning / drying means having a spinner table 81. Yes. The workpiece transport mechanism 9 includes a Bernoulli pad 91 that sucks and holds the upper surface of a semiconductor wafer that is a workpiece, a pad support member 92 that supports the Bernoulli pad 91, and a Bernoulli supported by the pad support member 92. It comprises pad moving means 93 for moving the pad 91 in the direction indicated by the arrow Y. The Bernoulli pad 91 is connected to an air supply means (not shown), and a negative pressure is generated by allowing air to flow along the inner surface of the conical pad 911, and the semiconductor wafer as a workpiece is caused by this negative pressure. It is configured to hold by suction. The pad support member 92 supports the Bernoulli pad 91 movably in the vertical direction by an air cylinder 921. The pad moving means 93 has a male threaded rod 931 that extends in the direction indicated by the arrow Y and is rotatably supported on the gate-shaped support base 71, and can be rotated forward and backward to rotate the male threaded rod 931. And a female screw hole 922 provided at the base end portion of the pad support member 92 is screwed into the male screw rod 931. Accordingly, when the pulse motor 932 is rotationally driven in one direction, the Bernoulli pad 91 supported by the pad support member 92 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow Y1, and when the pulse motor 932 is rotationally driven in the other direction, the pad support member 92 supports the Bernoulli pad 91. The Bernoulli pad 91 thus moved is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow Y2.

Next, the cutting processing operation of the above-described cutting apparatus will be described mainly based on FIG.
Prior to starting the cutting process, the cassette 10 storing a predetermined number of semiconductor wafers 11 before processing is placed on the workpiece loading / unloading opening 101 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) on the cassette mounting table 32. Mounted toward the region 6a side. When a cutting start switch (not shown) is turned on, the lifting / lowering means 33 of the cassette mounting mechanism 3 is operated to move the cassette 10 mounted on the cassette mounting table 32 into the first carry-out shown in FIG. Position in the entry position. When the cassette 10 is positioned at the first loading / unloading position shown in FIG. 2, the workpiece loading / unloading mechanism 5 is operated to move the hand 51 in the direction indicated by the arrow Y <b> 1, so that the cassette 10 enters the cassette 10. Position. As a result, the hand 51 is positioned along the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 11 placed on a predetermined shelf of the cassette 10. Next, the semiconductor wafer 11 is sucked and held on the upper surface of the hand 51 by operating a suction control means (not shown) and applying a negative pressure to the suction holding hole 511 formed on the upper surface of the hand 51. As described above, when the semiconductor wafer 11 is sucked and held on the upper surface of the hand 51, the workpiece carrying-in / out mechanism 5 is operated to move the hand 51 in the direction indicated by the arrow Y 2, and the hand 51 holding the semiconductor wafer 11. Is positioned at the unloading position above the workpiece placement area 6a shown in FIG.

  If the hand 51 holding the semiconductor wafer 11 is positioned at the unloading position, the suction holding of the semiconductor wafer 11 by the hand 51 is released. During this time, the pad moving means 93 of the workpiece transport mechanism 9 is operated to position the Bernoulli pad 91 above the workpiece placement area 6a. As a result, the semiconductor wafer 11 supported on the hand 51 positioned at the unloading position is positioned below the Bernoulli pad 91 positioned in the workpiece placement region 6a. Next, the air cylinder 921 of the workpiece conveyance mechanism 9 is operated to lower the Bernoulli pad 91 to a position where it contacts the semiconductor wafer 11. A negative pressure is generated by operating air supply means (not shown) to flow out air along the inner surface of the pad 911, and the semiconductor wafer 11 is sucked and held by this negative pressure. If the semiconductor wafer 11 is sucked and held by the Bernoulli pad 91, the workpiece carry-in / out mechanism 5 is operated to move the hand 51 in the direction indicated by the arrow Y2, and the hand 51 is retracted in which the cleaning mechanism 8 is disposed. Position to position. Next, the air cylinder 921 of the workpiece transport mechanism 9 is operated to lower the Bernoulli pad 91 that sucks and holds the semiconductor wafer 11, and the semiconductor wafer 11 is positioned in the workpiece placement area 6a. Place on the chuck table 63 of the mechanism 6. Then, the suction and holding of the semiconductor wafer 11 by the Bernoulli pad 91 is released and the suction control means (not shown) is operated to suck and hold the semiconductor wafer 11 on the chuck table 63.

  If the semiconductor wafer 11 is sucked and held on the chuck table 63, the chuck table 63 is moved in the direction of arrow X, and the first spindle unit 76a and the second spindle unit 76b are mounted as shown in FIG. The first base 73a and the second base 73b to which the first suspension bracket 74a and the second suspension bracket 74b are attached are moved in the arrow Y direction, and the semiconductor wafer 11 on the chuck table 63 is moved to the first imaging means. 77a and the second imaging means 77b. Then, the surface of the semiconductor wafer 11 is imaged by the first imaging means 77a and the second imaging means 77b, and at least one of the streets formed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 11 is detected and detected. The alignment of the first street with the first cutting blade 763a and the second cutting blade 763b in the arrow Y direction is performed. At this time, in the illustrated embodiment, the positions of the first base portion 73a and the second base portion 73b in the direction of the arrow Y are precisely controlled based on the measurement value by one linear scale 78 disposed on the support base 71. Is done. In the illustrated embodiment, since the first base 73a and the second base 73b are shared by one linear scale, the control in the arrow Y direction is performed on the same scale. The accuracy is improved compared to the case where scales are provided individually.

  Thereafter, the first suspension bracket 74a and the second suspension bracket 74b supporting the first spindle unit 76a and the second spindle unit 76b are lowered to the cutting position, and the chuck table 63 holding the semiconductor wafer 11 by suction is cut. By moving to the machining area 6b in the direction of arrow X, which is the feed direction, the first cutting blade 763a and the second cutting blade 763b that rotate at high speed receive the action detected along the street as described above. Thus, a cutting groove having a predetermined depth is formed. In this way, the first base portion 73a and the second base portion 73b to which the first suspension bracket 74a and the second suspension bracket 74b to which the first spindle unit 76a and the second spindle unit 76b are attached are attached. By repeatedly performing indexing movement in the direction of arrow Y and cutting feed in the direction of arrow X of the chuck table 63 that holds the semiconductor wafer 11 by suction, the street 11a formed in the first direction formed in the semiconductor wafer 11 (FIG. 2), a cutting groove having a predetermined depth is formed. When a cutting groove having a predetermined depth is formed along the street 11a formed in the first direction formed on the semiconductor wafer 11, the suction chuck 63 holding the semiconductor wafer 11 by suction is rotated by 90 degrees. By performing the same cutting operation as described above, a cutting groove having a predetermined depth is formed along the street 11b (see FIG. 2) formed in the second direction formed in the semiconductor wafer 11.

  When the cutting operation is completed as described above, the chuck table 63 positioned in the processing region 6b shown in FIG. 1 is moved to the workpiece placement region 6a, and the suction holding of the semiconductor wafer 11 is released. Then, the workpiece conveyance mechanism 9 is operated, the semiconductor wafer 11 is sucked and held by the Bernoulli pad 91, and is conveyed onto the spinner table 81 of the cleaning mechanism 8. During this time, the hand 51 of the workpiece carry-in / out mechanism 5 is positioned at the carry-out position above the workpiece placement region 6a. The processed semiconductor wafer 11 conveyed on the spinner table 81 is cleaned and dried here. When the semiconductor wafer 11 is cleaned and dried in this way, the workpiece transport mechanism 9 is operated to suck and hold the semiconductor wafer 11 by the Bernoulli pad 91, and the unloading above the workpiece placement area 6a. It is positioned above the hand 51 of the workpiece loading / unloading mechanism 5 positioned at the position. Then, the Bernoulli pad 91 is lowered to place the semiconductor wafer 11 on the hand 51, the suction and holding of the semiconductor wafer 11 by the Bernoulli pad 91 is released, and the semiconductor wafer 11 is sucked and held on the upper surface of the hand 51. Next, the workpiece carry-in / out mechanism 5 is operated, and the processed semiconductor wafer 11 held by the hand 51 is stored in a predetermined storage chamber of the cassette 10.

  In order to check whether or not the cutting grooves are properly formed, the semiconductor wafer 11 after the processing is stored in the wafer take-out mechanism 4 before being stored in the cassette 10 every predetermined number (for example, every 10). Be transported. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the lifting / lowering means 33 is operated to open the opening 411 a formed in the front wall 411 constituting the housing 41 to the second loading / unloading position facing the hand 51 of the workpiece loading / unloading mechanism 5. Positioning and operating the workpiece carry-in / out mechanism 5 to move the hand 51 holding the processed semiconductor wafer 11 in the direction indicated by the arrow Y1 in FIG. 1 and enter the housing 41 through the opening 411a. Then, as shown in FIG. 6A, the processed semiconductor wafer 11 held by the held hand 51 is mounted on the wafer of the holding plate 42 positioned at a predetermined position on the pair of guide rails 43 and 44. It is conveyed above the placement unit 421. Next, the suction holding of the semiconductor wafer 11 by the hand 51 is released, and the hand 51 is moved downward as shown in FIG. As a result, the processed semiconductor wafer 11 held by the hand 51 is placed on the wafer placement portion 421 of the holding plate 42. In addition, when the hand 51 moves downward, the hand 51 and the holding plate 42 are prevented from interfering with each other by entering the notch 422 provided at the front end portion of the holding plate 42. Then, the hand 51 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow Y2 in FIG.

  As described above, when the processed semiconductor wafer 11 is placed on the wafer placement portion 421 of the holding plate 42, the grip 423 of the holding plate 42 is gripped, and the holding plate 42 is paired with the pair of guide rails 43, It is taken out from an opening 412 a formed in the rear wall 412 of the housing 41 along 44. Thus, the holding plate 42 taken out from the housing 41 is transported to the inspection process with the processed semiconductor wafer 11 placed thereon as shown in FIG. The inspected processed semiconductor wafer 11 is returned to the pair of guide rails 43 and 44 in the housing 41 by an operation reverse to the above drawing operation while being placed on the holding plate 42 and further processed. The product loading / unloading mechanism 5 is operated to accommodate the cassette 10 in a predetermined storage chamber.

  As described above, since the processed semiconductor wafer 11 is taken out in a state of being placed on the holding plate 42, the processed semiconductor wafer 11 in which a cutting groove is easily formed and is easily broken can be removed from the processing apparatus without being damaged. It can be taken out and returned. The holding plate 42 on which the processed semiconductor wafer 11 is mounted is taken out, and while the processed semiconductor wafer 11 is inspected, the lifting / lowering means 33 of the cassette mounting mechanism 3 is operated to move to the cassette mounting table 32. The placed cassette 10 is positioned at the first loading / unloading position shown in FIG. 2, and the workpiece loading / unloading mechanism 5 operates as described above to operate the semiconductor wafer 11 before processing to be processed next from the cassette 10. Is carried out and the above-described processing operation is performed. Therefore, it is possible to inspect the state of the cutting groove by taking out an arbitrary semiconductor wafer after processing without stopping the operation of the processing apparatus. In the illustrated embodiment, the cassette mounting mechanism 3 is configured. However, since the wafer take-out mechanism 4 is disposed on the lower side of the cassette mount base 32, the wafer take-out mechanism is disposed in a plane adjacent to the cassette mount base 32. There is no need to provide a region for disposing, and the processing apparatus can be downsized.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on embodiment of illustration, this invention is not limited only to embodiment. That is, in the illustrated embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a cutting apparatus having two cutting mechanisms has been shown. However, the present invention is applied to a cutting apparatus having one commonly used cutting mechanism. However, the same effect is obtained.

The perspective view of the cutting device which is a processing apparatus comprised according to this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the 1st operation state of the cassette mounting mechanism with which the cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is equipped. Explanatory drawing which shows the 2nd operation state of the cassette mounting mechanism with which the cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is equipped. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a holding plate and a holding plate support means that constitute a wafer take-out mechanism equipped in the cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 1. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which mounted the processed semiconductor wafer on the holding plate shown in FIG. 4, and took out from the holding plate support means. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which mounts the semiconductor wafer after a process on the holding plate which comprises the wafer taking-out mechanism with which the cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is equipped. Explanatory drawing which simplifies and shows the 1st spindle unit and the 2nd spindle unit which comprise the cutting apparatus shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2: Stationary base 3: Cassette mounting mechanism 31: Guide rail 32: Cassette mounting table 33: Driving means 4: Wafer take-out mechanism 41: Housing 42: Holding plate 43, 44: A pair of guide rails 5: Unloading workpiece Entry mechanism 51: Hand 52: Hand support member 53: Hand moving means 6: Chuck table mechanism 61: Support base 62: Guide rail 63: Chuck table 64: Chuck table moving means 7: Cutting mechanism 71: Support base 711: Guide rail 73a: first base 73b: second base 74a: first suspension bracket 74b: second suspension bracket 75a: pulse motor 75b: pulse motor 76a: first spindle unit 76b: second spindle unit 77a: First optical means 77b: second optical means 78: linear Scale 8: Cleaning mechanism 81: Spinner table 9: Workpiece transfer mechanism 91: Bernoulli pad 92: Pad support member 93: Pad moving means 10: Cassette 11: Semiconductor wafer

Claims (4)

A cassette mounting mechanism having a cassette mounting table for mounting a cassette containing a semiconductor wafer, a semiconductor wafer stored in the cassette mounted on the cassette mounting table, and a semiconductor wafer being transferred to the cassette A workpiece loading / unloading mechanism to be loaded, a workpiece conveyance mechanism for conveying a semiconductor wafer unloaded by the workpiece loading / unloading mechanism, and a chuck table for holding the semiconductor wafer conveyed by the workpiece conveyance mechanism A semiconductor wafer processing apparatus comprising: a chuck table mechanism including: a processing mechanism for processing a semiconductor wafer held on the chuck table;
The cassette mounting mechanism includes a wafer take-out mechanism that is disposed on the lower side of the cassette mounting table and places and removes a processed semiconductor wafer.
The wafer take-out mechanism includes a holding plate on which a processed semiconductor wafer conveyed by the workpiece carry-in / out mechanism is placed, and holding plate support means for detachably supporting the holding plate. ,
A semiconductor wafer processing apparatus.   2. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding plate support means includes a guide rail that slidably supports the holding plate.   The cassette mounting mechanism includes a first loading / unloading position in which the cassette mounted on the cassette loading table is located in a loading / unloading area of the workpiece loading / unloading mechanism, and the wafer unloading mechanism includes the workpiece loading / unloading mechanism. 3. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising elevating means positioned at a second loading / unloading position located in a loading / unloading area of the loading / unloading mechanism. The chuck table mechanism includes a chuck table moving means for moving the chuck table between a workpiece placement area and a machining area.
The workpiece carry-in / out mechanism includes a hand for holding a semiconductor wafer on the upper surface, the cassette on which the hand is placed on the cassette placement table, an entry position for entering the wafer take-out mechanism, and the workpiece placement A hand moving means that operates to a carry-out position that is an upper position of the region and a retreat position that retreats from the carry-out position;
The workpiece conveying mechanism includes a Bernoulli pad that holds a semiconductor wafer, holds the semiconductor wafer held by the Bernoulli pad and carried out to the unloading position, and holds the held semiconductor wafer on the workpiece. 4. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus transports the chuck table positioned in a placement area. 5.

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