JP2007035922A - Apparatus for protecting wafer end surface, and wafer processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for protecting a wafer end surface and a wafer processor capable of preventing processing failures such as a peeled wafer from a base by structurally protecting the end surface of the wafer. <P>SOLUTION: When an outer periphery of a protective member 5 and a disklike member 3 laminated via the wafer W and an O-ring is pinched between a first pinching piece 25 and a second pinching piece 27, a downwardly facing guide fade 35 and an upwardly facing guide face 37 formed along the inner periphery guide a downwardly facing slope 12 of the member 3 and an upwardly facing slope 23 of the member 5 toward the wafer W, whereby the members 5 and 3 are tightened in the lamination direction. Therefore, the protective member 5 and the disklike member 3 can be surely pinched by fixing the first and second pinching pieces 25 and 27 by a first locking mechanism 31 and a second locking mechanism 33. Moreover, the apparatus 1 for protecting the wafer end surface can be easily released, thereby improving working efficiency. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wafer end surface protection device that protects a non-processed surface and an end surface of a wafer when a predetermined process is performed by immersing a wafer such as a silicon semiconductor or a compound semiconductor in a processing solution, and processes the wafer using the same. The present invention relates to a wafer processing apparatus.

Conventionally, as this type of wafer processing, there is processing for thinning the wafer (thinning). In this case, first, wax is applied to the upper surface of the substrate and melted, and the wafer is placed with the non-processed surface on which the circuit of the wafer is formed facing downward. Then, the wafer is fixed to the substrate by cooling, and the wafer is accommodated together with the substrate in a processing tank stored as an etching solution containing potassium hydroxide (KOH), and the wafer is immersed in the etching solution. Thus, a process (thinning) is performed to chemically polish the processing surface of the wafer to reduce the thickness of the wafer (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-347254 A

However, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems.
That is, in conventional wafer processing, it is difficult to make the wax resistant to potassium hydroxide, so that the wax dissolves into the etching solution, and the wafer is peeled off from the substrate during processing, or the non-processed surface side In some cases, a part of the peripheral edge of the surface of the wafer corresponding to the etching is etched.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and by protecting the end face of the wafer structurally, a wafer edge protection device capable of preventing processing defects such as wafer peeling from the substrate, and An object is to provide a wafer processing apparatus.

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the following configuration.
That is, the invention according to claim 1 is a wafer end surface protection device that protects a non-processed surface and an end surface of a wafer when a wafer is immersed in a processing solution to process the processed surface of the wafer. A disk-shaped member that is larger than the outer diameter and disposed on the non-processing surface side of the wafer, and has protection against the processing liquid, and protects the processing surface of the wafer except for a processing portion that is substantially circular on the processing surface of the wafer. A liquid-tight seal member that is resistant to a member and a processing liquid, and is attached between the protective member and a processing surface of the wafer; And a clamping mechanism that presses from the outer peripheral side of the disk-shaped member and clamps the protection member and the disk-shaped member in a stacked state.

  [Operation / Effect] According to the invention described in claim 1, the processing surface of the wafer excluding the processing portion is covered with the protection member, and the protection member is laminated on the wafer and the disk-shaped member via the liquid-tight seal material. In this state, the protective member and the disk-shaped member are held by the holding mechanism, so that only the processing portion of the wafer is touched by the processing liquid. Therefore, it is possible to prevent processing defects such as processing of the end face of the wafer with the processing liquid, or erosion and peeling of the wax or the like that adheres the wafer to the substrate. In addition, the wafer end surface protection device can be attached to the wafer by a simple operation of holding by the holding mechanism.

  In the present invention, the disk-shaped member has a downward inclined surface inclined downward toward the center of the wafer at the peripheral edge, and the protective member is an upward inclined surface inclined upward toward the center of the wafer. The holding mechanism has a semicircular arc shape in a plan view and is inclined downward at a position facing the downward inclined surface on the outer peripheral side, and on the outer peripheral side of the upward inclined surface. A first holding piece having an upward guide surface inclined upward at an opposing position in the inner peripheral portion, a second holding piece having the downward guide surface and the upward guide surface in the inner peripheral portion, and the first A shaft support member that pivotally supports one end portion of the second sandwiching piece on one end portion of the sandwiching piece and is attached in a circular shape in plan view, the other end portion of the first sandwiching piece, and the other end of the second sandwiching piece It is preferable to include a connecting part that detachably connects the part. (Claim 2). When the outer peripheral portion of the protective member and the disk-shaped member stacked with the wafer and the liquid-tight seal interposed therebetween is sandwiched between the first sandwiching piece and the second sandwiching piece, the downward guide surface formed on the inner peripheral portion and the upward direction Since the guide surface guides the downward inclined surface of the disk-shaped member and the upward inclined surface of the protective member to the wafer side, the protective member and the disk-shaped member are tightened in the stacking direction. Therefore, the protective member and the disk-shaped member can be securely held by fixing the first holding piece and the second holding piece at the connecting portion.

  In the present invention, the disk-shaped member has a downward inclined surface inclined downward toward the center of the wafer at the peripheral edge, and the protective member is an upward inclined surface inclined upward toward the center of the wafer. At the periphery, and the clamping mechanism includes a ring-shaped member having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the disk-shaped member, and a horizontal shaft provided in a direction in contact with the outer periphery of the disk-shaped member at the inner periphery. A plurality of sandwiching pieces swingable around the horizontal axis, wherein the plurality of sandwiching pieces oppose the weight provided on the outer peripheral side with respect to the horizontal axis and the downwardly inclined surface on the outer peripheral side. A downward guide surface inclined downward at a position, and an upward guide surface inclined upward at a position facing the upward inclined surface on the outer peripheral side, and a guide groove provided on an inner peripheral portion inside the horizontal axis, In the non-clamping state, the guide groove is at the horizontal axis. It is preferably located above (claim 3). When the protective member and the disk-shaped member laminated with the wafer and the liquid-tight seal are placed on the ring-shaped member, the outer periphery of the protective member and the disk-shaped member is inserted into the guide grooves of the plurality of holding pieces facing upward. The lower guide surface and the upward guide surface formed on the inner peripheral portion of the sandwiching piece guide the disc-shaped member's downward inclined surface and the protective member's upward inclined surface to the wafer side. The member and the disk-shaped member are fastened in the stacking direction. Therefore, the protective member and the disk-shaped member can be easily sandwiched.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that at least two grooves having different diameters are formed concentrically on the lower surface of the protective member, and each groove is provided with an O-ring. Since the double O-ring is provided, the processing liquid can be reliably prevented from reaching the end face of the wafer.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that a shallow groove having a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the wafer and having a depth similar to the thickness of the wafer is formed on one surface of the disk-shaped member. ). With the configuration in which the wafer is accommodated in the shallow groove, the load applied to the wafer can be reduced by clamping with the clamping mechanism.

  In the present invention, the circular member is provided with alignment holes in at least two locations on the upper surface, and the protection member is provided with alignment pins that are inserted into the alignment holes in at least two locations on one surface of the lower surface. (Claim 6). By inserting the alignment pin into the alignment hole, it is possible to easily align the protective member and the disk-shaped member.

  In the present invention, the cassette includes a cassette for storing a plurality of wafers mounted with the wafer end surface protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 in a standing posture, and the cassette is stored in a processing tank storing a processing liquid. It is preferable to perform the processing by immersing a plurality of wafers in the processing liquid. By immersing a plurality of wafers equipped with the wafer end surface protection device in the processing liquid while being accommodated in the cassette, a large number of wafers can be processed at a time, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

  According to the wafer end surface protection device according to the present invention, the processing surface of the wafer excluding the processing portion is covered by the protection member, and the protection member is stacked on the wafer and the disk-shaped member via the liquid-tight seal material. Since the protective member and the disk-shaped member are held by the holding mechanism, the processing liquid is not touched except for the processing portion of the wafer. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent processing defects such as processing of the end face of the wafer with the processing liquid, or erosion and peeling of the wax or the like that adheres the wafer to the substrate. In addition, the wafer end surface protection device can be attached to the wafer by a simple operation of clamping with a clamping mechanism.

  The present invention relates to a wafer end surface protection device that protects an end surface of a wafer and a wafer processing device for processing a wafer on which the wafer end surface is mounted. The wafer processing apparatus will be described in the third embodiment. In the following description, a wafer having a circular shape in plan view in which the orientation flat and the notch are omitted will be described as an example.

Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a wafer end surface protection device according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of the wafer end surface protection device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an enlarged part of a disk-shaped member and a protective member.

  The wafer end surface protection device 1 holds a wafer W to be processed, such as a silicon semiconductor or a compound semiconductor, and etches the processing surface S2 side, which is the surface opposite to the non-processing surface S1 side on which circuits and the like are formed. When the thickness is reduced, the end face is protected from the processing liquid. The wafer end surface protection device 1 further includes a protective member 5 on the disk-like member 3 placed on the disk-like member 3, and sandwiches the disk-like member 3, the wafer W, and the protective member 5. A clamping mechanism 7 is provided.

  The disk-shaped member 3 has an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the wafer W. A shallow groove 9 is formed on the upper surface. The shallow groove 9 is provided to accommodate the wafer W in a state where the non-process surface S1 side is directed downward, and to suppress positional deviation of the wafer W. Further, the load applied to the wafer W by being held by the holding mechanism 7 by the shallow groove 9 can be reduced. The depth of the shallow groove 9 is approximately the same as the thickness of the wafer W. An alignment hole 11 is formed on the upper surface of the disc-like member 3 on the outer peripheral side of the shallow groove 9 at a position opposed in the radial direction. On the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the disk-shaped member 3, a downwardly inclined surface 12 inclined downward toward the center of the wafer W is provided over the entire circumference.

  The protection member 5 covers the end surface of the wafer W on the processing surface S2 side, except for the circle C of the processing portion that has a substantially circular shape in plan view on the processing surface S2 of the wafer W. That is, the protection member 5 has an annular shape in plan view and has the same outer diameter as the outer diameter of the disk-shaped member 3. On the lower surface of the protective member 5, alignment pins 13 protrude from two positions on the outer peripheral side corresponding to the alignment holes 11 of the disk-shaped member 3. Further, on the lower surface of the protective member 5, two grooves 15 and 17 having a vertical cross-section having an inverted trapezoidal shape and different surface diameters are formed concentrically. O-rings 19 and 21 (liquid-tight seal material) are fitted in these grooves 15 and 17. An upper inclined surface 23 that is inclined upward toward the center of the wafer W is provided on the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the protective member 5 over the entire circumference.

  In addition, it is preferable that the O-rings 19 and 21 described above are made of a material having resistance to potassium hydroxide, which is an example of a treatment liquid. For example, polymer materials classified into perfluoroelastomer (having a chemical structural formula similar to that of fluororesin) are preferable. Specifically, Kalrez (registered trademark: DuPont Dow Elastomer Co., Ltd.), Perflo (registered trademark: Daikin Industries) and EPDM (ethylene propylene rubber).

  The sandwiching mechanism 7 includes a first sandwiching piece 25 having an alphabetical C shape in plan view, a second sandwiching piece 27 having substantially the same shape as the first sandwiching piece 25, and one end of the first sandwiching piece 25. A shaft support member 29 for pivotally supporting one end of the second clamping piece 25, a first locking mechanism 31 provided at the other end of the first clamping piece 25, and the other end of the second clamping piece 29 And a second locking mechanism 33 provided on the head. The first locking mechanism 31 and the second locking mechanism 33 corresponding to the “connecting portion” in the present invention detachably connect the other end of the first holding piece 25 and the other end of the second holding piece 27. It has a function to do.

  The first sandwiching piece 25 and the second sandwiching piece 27 are provided at a position facing the downward inclined surface 12 of the disk-shaped member 3 on the outer peripheral side, the downward guide surface 35 inclined downward, and the upward inclined surface 23 of the protection member 5. The inner peripheral portion is provided with an upward guide surface 37 inclined upward at a position facing the outer peripheral side. The first locking mechanism 31 includes a shaft support 39 having an opening on the outer peripheral side, and a thumbscrew 41 is attached to the first support mechanism 31 so as to be swingable around a vertical axis. The 2nd latching | locking part 33 is provided with the latching groove | channel 43 which has an opening part in an outer peripheral side, and the 2nd latching | locking part 33 is 1st latching by closing the thumbscrew 41 by the 2nd latching mechanism 33 side. It is pressed to the mechanism 31 side.

  In addition, the disk-shaped member 3 mentioned above, the protection member 5, and the clamping mechanism 7 are comprised with the metal material provided with the tolerance with respect to a process liquid. An example of such a metal material is a stainless steel plate.

  The mounting of the wafer end surface protection device 1 configured as described above on the wafer W will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a state in which the disc-shaped member and the protection member are clamped by the clamping mechanism.

  First, the wafer W is placed in the shallow groove 9 of the disk-like member 3 with the processing surface S2 side facing up. Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the protection member 5 is approached from above, and the alignment pin 13 is placed so as to be inserted into the alignment hole 11 of the disk-shaped member 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the thumbscrew 41 is loosened so that the other end of the first holding piece 25 and the other end of the second holding piece 27 are opened, and they are expanded around the pivot support member 29. State. Then, the wafer W laminated with the disk-shaped member 3 and the protection member 5 is placed therein, and both the other end portions of the first sandwiching piece 25 and the second sandwiching piece 27 are brought into close contact with each other, so that the butterfly The screw 41 is turned to the second type hole 33 side and tightened to press the second locking mechanism 33 against the first locking mechanism 31. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the downward guide surface 35 of the first sandwiching piece 25 and the second sandwiching piece 27 presses the downward inclined surface 12 of the disk-shaped member 3 toward the center of the wafer W. Further, the upward guide surface 37 presses the upward inclined surface 37 of the protection member 5 toward the center of the wafer W. Due to these pressings, the disk-shaped member 3 and the protection member 5 are pressed in the direction of the stacked wafers W, except for the region corresponding to the processing portion circle C in the processing surface S2 of the wafers W. It is kept liquid-tight.

  The wafer W to which the wafer end surface protection device 1 configured in this way is attached is immersed in a processing tank (not shown) storing a processing liquid at a predetermined temperature (for example, 70 ° C.), for example, 30 The state is maintained for about 60 minutes. Then, the processing surface S2 side of the wafer W is chemically polished. For example, in the case of a 6-inch diameter wafer W, the thickness is reduced to 50 μm or less.

  As described above, when the outer peripheral portion of the protection member 5 and the disk-shaped member 3 stacked with the wafer W and the O-rings 19 and 21 sandwiched therebetween is sandwiched between the first sandwiching piece 25 and the second sandwiching piece 27, the inner periphery thereof. Since the downward guide surface 35 and the upward guide surface 37 formed in the portion guide the downward inclined surface 12 of the disk-shaped member 3 and the upward inclined surface 23 of the protective member 5 to the wafer W side, The plate member 3 is fastened in the stacking direction. Therefore, by fixing the first clamping piece 25 and the second clamping piece 27 with the first locking mechanism 31 and the second locking mechanism 33, the protection member 5 and the disk-shaped member 3 can be securely clamped. In addition, the wafer end face protection device 1 can be easily released, and the working efficiency can be improved.

Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of the wafer end surface protection device according to the second embodiment, FIG. 6 is a plan view in which a part of the clamping mechanism is enlarged, and FIG. It is arrow sectional drawing. In the second embodiment, since the circular member 3 and the protective member 5 of the wafer end face protection device are the same as those in the first embodiment described above, only the clamping mechanism 7A will be described in detail in the following description.

  The wafer end surface protection device 1A according to the second embodiment includes a clamping member 7A for stacking and clamping the circular member 3, the wafer W, and the protection member 5.

  The sandwiching mechanism 7A includes a ring frame 45 that has a substantially circular shape in plan view and has an inner diameter that is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the circular member 3 and the protective member 5. The ring frame 45 (ring-shaped member) includes locking portions 47 arranged in a circular shape at regular intervals in a plan view on the inner peripheral portion. Each locking portion 47 is configured as follows.

  The locking portion 47 includes a concave portion 49 formed in a concave shape on the inner peripheral side (the outer peripheral side of the wafer W), a horizontal shaft 51 disposed in a direction in contact with the outer periphery of the wafer W at the concave portion 49, and the horizontal shaft 51, and a clamping piece 53 that is swingably mounted around 51. The sandwiching piece 53 is located at a position facing the downward inclined surface 12 of the disk-shaped member 3 on the outer peripheral side, a downward guide surface 55 inclined downward, and a position facing the upward inclined surface 23 of the protective member 5 on the outer peripheral side. In addition, a guide groove 59 provided with an upward guide surface 57 inclined upward is provided inside the horizontal shaft 51. Further, a weight 61 formed to be heavier than the guide groove 59 side is provided on the outer peripheral side of the locking portion 47 with respect to the horizontal shaft 51.

  When the wafer end surface protection device 1A configured as described above is placed on a mounting table (not shown) so that only the outer peripheral side of the ring frame 45 abuts, the weight 61 hangs down as shown in FIG. The guide groove 59 is directed upward. The upper surface of the sandwiching piece 53 is regulated by the upper portion of the locking portion 47, and the sandwiching piece 53 is inclined with the guide groove 59 facing the center portion of the wafer W. As shown in FIG. 8, when the disk-shaped member 3 and the protection member 5 sandwiching the wafer W are moved from above and moved further downward, the disk-shaped member 3 and the protection member 5 are moved as shown in FIG. Fits into the guide groove 59. Since the swing of the clamping piece 53 is restricted by the weight 61 being restricted by the locking portion 47, the guide groove 59 cannot be lowered further.

  As described above, when the protection member 5 and the disk-shaped member 3 stacked with the wafer W and the O-rings 19 and 21 interposed therebetween are placed, the protection member is inserted into the guide grooves 59 of the plurality of holding pieces 53 facing upward. 5 and the outer peripheral part of the disk-shaped member 3 are locked, and the downward guide surface 57 and the upward guide surface 55 formed on the inner peripheral part of the clamping piece 53 are protected from the downward inclined surface 12 of the disk-shaped member 3. Since the upward inclined surface 23 of the member 5 is guided to the wafer W side, the protection member 5 and the disk-shaped member 3 are tightened in the stacking direction. Therefore, the protection member 5 and the disk-shaped member 3 can be easily sandwiched. According to the second embodiment, since the wafer W laminated with the protection member 5 and the disk-like member 3 is simply mounted from above the wafer end surface protection device 1A, the wafer end surface protection device 1A can be attached. This is effective for automation.

  In addition, this invention is not restricted to each embodiment mentioned above, It can deform | transform as follows.

  (1) The disk-shaped member 3 is provided with the downwardly inclined surface 12 and the protective member 5 with the upwardly inclined surface 23, and the wafer W is stacked with the disk-shaped member 3 and the protective member 5 by being sandwiched from the side by the clamping mechanism 7. Although it is sandwiched in the direction, a mechanism for directly sandwiching in the stacking direction may be employed regardless of the inclined surfaces 12 and 23.

  (2) Although two O-rings 19 and 21 are provided on the lower surface of the protection member 5, one may be provided. Further, the protection member 5 may be formed of the same member as the O-rings 19 and 21, and the O-rings 19 and 21 may be provided on the lower surface and the O-rings 19 and 21 may be omitted.

  (3) As a connecting portion (first locking mechanism 31, second locking mechanism 33) in the first embodiment, a mechanism that locks with an L-shaped locking hook without using the thumbscrew 41 or the like is employed. May be.

  (4) Instead of the alignment hole 11 and the alignment pin 13, the alignment may be performed using an alignment projection ring, a recess ring, a pair of cutouts, or the like. Further, when the wafer W is stacked after aligning the disk-shaped member 3 and the protection member 5 with a jig, it is not always necessary to have a configuration for alignment.

Next, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the wafer processing apparatus according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view seen from the side of FIG.

  The wafer processing apparatus according to the third embodiment includes a cassette 71 that accommodates a plurality of wafers W mounted with the wafer end surface protection device 1 (1A) according to the first or second embodiment described above in an upright posture, It is an apparatus that performs processing by immersing the entire cassette 71 in a processing solution.

  The cassette 71 includes a plurality of slots 73 in the direction of the paper of FIG. 10, and a guide for guiding the wafer end surface protection device 1 (1 </ b> A) inserted into the slots 73 to the slots 73 between the slots 73. A guide portion 75 having a surface is formed. Compared with a cassette that stores only the wafer W, the number of sheets stored in the cassette 71 is small because the thickness of the wafer end surface protection device 1 (1A) is large. The cassette 71 includes attachment portions 77 on the front and rear surfaces in FIG. 10 (left and right surfaces in FIG. 11), and is attached to a holding mechanism 107 described later via the attachment portions 77.

  The wafer processing apparatus includes a processing tank 83 including an inner tank 79 for storing a processing liquid and an outer tank 81 for recovering the processing liquid overflowing from the inner tank 79. An inlet 85 for introducing the processing liquid is formed on the bottom surface of the inner tank 79, and a rectifying plate 87 is disposed above the inlet 85. The rectifying plate 87 has a plurality of fine holes formed over the entire surface, and regulates the flow of the processing liquid introduced from the introduction port 85 and guides it to the inner tank 79.

  A discharge port 89 is formed in one part of the outer tub 81. A supply pipe 91 is connected to the discharge port 89 and the introduction port 85. The supply pipe 91 is provided with a three-way valve 93, a pump 95, an in-line heater 97, and a filter 99 from the upstream side. A processing liquid supply source 101 is further connected to the three-way valve 93. Further, a branch pipe 103 is provided in the supply pipe 91 in the vicinity between the discharge port 89 and the three-way valve 93, and the processing liquid stored in the outer tub 81 by the operation of the on-off valve 105 attached to the branch pipe 103. Drained.

  This apparatus includes a holding mechanism 107 in addition to the above configuration. The holding mechanism 107 is moved up and down by the lifting mechanism 109 over the processing position shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 and a standby position that is above the processing position and the processing tank 83.

  The holding mechanism 107 includes a pair of holding frames 111. Each front end portion of the holding frame 111 is configured to be detachable from the mounting portion 77 of the cassette 71 described above. However, the relative position between the cassette 71 and the holding frame 111 is fixed.

  The drive mechanism 113 has a function of revolving the holding mechanism 107 described above in the inner tank 79 around a horizontal axis along the alignment direction of the substrates W. Hereinafter, the drive mechanism 113 will be described in detail.

  The drive mechanism 113 includes a front frame 115, a rear frame 117, and a reinforcing cover 119 that reinforces these at the lower part. A shaft hole 121 is formed under the front frame 115 and the rear frame 117. A first rotating shaft 123 is loosely inserted into the shaft hole 121 in accordance with the axis P along the alignment direction of the substrates W. Both end portions of the first rotating shaft 123 protrude from the front frame 115 and the rear frame 117. At both ends of the first rotating shaft 123, a rotating piece 125 directed from the axis P to the surface direction of the substrate W is screwed and fixed. Further, the upper end portion of the holding frame 111 described above is attached to the distal end portion of each rotating piece 125 by a screw 127 so as to be rotatable along the surface direction of the substrate W. A gear 128 is fixedly attached to an intermediate portion of the first rotating shaft 123.

  A second rotating shaft 129 is disposed above the first rotating shaft 123, and its rear end extends to the rear side of the processing bath 83. A gear 131 is attached to the second rotating shaft 129 so as to be screwed with a gear 128 attached to the first rotating shaft 123. An elevating mechanism 109 is disposed on the extended portion of the second rotation shaft 129.

  The elevating mechanism 109 includes an actuator 134 including an operating piece 133 that can be extended and contracted between the above-described standby position and processing position, and an elevating piece 135 that is attached to the upper end of the operating piece 133 and extends to the processing tank 83 side. And. A motor 137 is disposed on the processing tank 83 side of the elevating piece 135, and the other end side of the second rotating shaft 129 is connected to the rotating shaft thereof.

  When the rotation shaft of the motor 137 described above is driven clockwise as viewed from the front as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the second rotation shaft 129 rotates clockwise, and the first rotation shaft 129 is rotated via the gears 131 and 128. The rotation shaft 123 rotates counterclockwise. Then, the rotating piece 125 attached to the first rotating shaft 123 revolves counterclockwise and the tip end side of the rotating piece 125 revolves around the axis P. Therefore, the holding frame 111 that is rotatably attached to the tip end side of the rotating piece 125 rotates around the axis P while maintaining the vertical posture, and accordingly, the holding frame 111 is attached to the lower end portion of the holding frame 111. The fixed cassette 71 revolves in the inner tank 79.

  In the apparatus configured as described above, processing is performed as follows.

  As an initial state, it is assumed that the actuator 134 is extended and the holding mechanism 107 is in a standby position (not shown) above the processing tank 83. In this state, the cassette 71 in which the wafer W mounted with the wafer end surface protection device 1 (1A) is stored is transferred from a transfer means (not shown) to the holding mechanism 107.

  Next, the open valve 105 is closed, the three-way valve 93 is switched to the processing liquid supply source 101, and the pump 95 is operated to supply the processing liquid therefrom. Further, the in-line heater 97 is operated to heat the processing liquid to a predetermined temperature and distribute it through the supply pipe 91. In addition, as a process liquid, potassium hydroxide with a high etching rate with respect to semiconductor silicon is mentioned, for example. After the processing liquid supplied in this way overflows from the inner tank 79 and is stored in the outer tank 89, the three-way valve 93 is switched to stop the supply from the processing liquid supply source 101 and the processing liquid in the outer tank 81. Is circulated through the supply pipe 91. When the temperature of the processing liquid is stabilized by heating with the in-line heater 97 while performing this circulation, the lifting mechanism 109 is operated to lower the holding mechanism 107 from the standby position to the processing position. At the same time, the motor 137 is operated to cause the holding mechanism 107 to revolve. Note that the revolution speed of the holding mechanism 107 by the rotation of the motor 137 is, for example, about 90 rpm, but this revolution speed may be adjusted as appropriate according to the processing content.

  By the above operation, the processing with the processing liquid is performed on the wafer W on which the wafer end surface protection device 1 (1A) is mounted. Further, since the holding mechanism 107 revolves by the operation of the motor 137, the plurality of wafers W on which the wafer end surface protection device 1 (1A) is mounted can be revolved around the horizontal axis VP in the inner tank 79. Therefore, since the wafer W is revolved, the processing liquid can be uniformly contacted over the entire surface of the circle C of the processing portion of the wafer W. As a result, it is possible to perform the processing uniformly over the entire surface of the wafer W, and it is not necessary to match the processing time to the slow processing portion, so that the processing time can be shortened.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified as follows.

  (1) In the above-described embodiment, the drive mechanism 113 provided with the first and second rotating shafts 123 and 129, the gears 128 and 131, and the like above the processing tank 83 is illustrated. The drive mechanism is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the drive mechanism 113 may be arranged at the bottom of the processing tank and revolved from below. Moreover, although it is preferable to revolve from a viewpoint of the uniformity of a process, it is not necessarily required to revolve, and it may be immersed in the processing tank 83 in a stationary state, or may be configured to rotate or move up and down.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, potassium hydroxide is taken as an example of the treatment liquid, and the backside polishing of the substrate is given as an example of the treatment. However, the present invention is also applied to treatment such as aluminum etching with phosphoric acid. be able to.

  (3) In the embodiment described above, the cassette 71 is provided with the guide 75, but a configuration in which this is omitted may be employed. Thereby, the number of stored sheets can be increased.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a wafer end surface protection device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of a wafer end surface protection device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which expanded a disk-shaped member and a part of protection member. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the state which clamped the disk-shaped member and the protection member with the clamping mechanism. FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of a wafer end surface protection device according to a second embodiment. It is the top view which expanded a part of clamping mechanism. It is AA arrow sectional drawing of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of clamping operation | movement. It is explanatory drawing of clamping operation | movement. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a wafer processing apparatus according to a third embodiment. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view seen from the side of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

W ... Wafer 1, 1A ... Wafer end face protection device S1 ... Non-processing surface S2 ... Processing surface 3 ... Disk-like member 5 ... Protection member 7 ... Holding mechanism 9 ... Shallow groove 11 ... Alignment hole 12 ... Downward inclined surface 13 ... Alignment pin 15, 17 ... Groove 19, 21 ... O-ring (liquid-tight seal material)
23 ... Upward inclined surface 25 ... 1st clamping piece 27 ... 2nd clamping piece 29 ... Shaft support member 31 ... 1st locking mechanism (connection part)
33 ... 2nd locking mechanism (connection part)
35 ... Downward guide surface 37 ... Upward guide surface C ... Processing part circle

Claims (7)

In the wafer end surface protection device that protects the non-processed surface and the end surface of the wafer when the wafer is immersed in the processing liquid to process the processed surface of the wafer,
A disk-shaped member having an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the wafer and disposed on the non-processing surface side of the wafer;
A protective member that has resistance to the processing liquid and covers the processing surface of the wafer except for a processing portion having a substantially circular shape on the processing surface of the wafer;
A liquid-tight sealing material having resistance to a processing liquid, and attached between the protective member and the processing surface of the wafer;
A clamping mechanism that clamps the protective member and the disk-shaped member by pressing from the outer peripheral side of the disk-shaped member in a state where the protective member is stacked on the disk-shaped member via the liquid-tight seal material When,
A wafer end face protection device comprising: The wafer end surface protection device according to claim 1,
The disk-shaped member is provided with a downward inclined surface inclined downward toward the center portion of the wafer at the peripheral portion,
The protective member is provided with an upward inclined surface that is inclined upward toward the center of the wafer at the peripheral edge,
The pinching mechanism has a semicircular shape in a plan view, and is directed downward at a position facing the downward inclined surface on the outer peripheral side and upward at a position facing the upward inclined surface on the outer peripheral side. A first sandwiching piece having an upward guide surface inclined at the inner periphery, a second sandwiching piece having the downward guide surface and the upward guide surface at the inner periphery, and one end of the first sandwich piece A shaft support member that pivotally supports one end of the second holding piece and is attached in a circular shape in plan view, and the other end of the first holding piece and the other end of the second holding piece are detachable. A connecting part to be connected;
A wafer end face protection device comprising: The wafer end surface protection device according to claim 1,
The disk-shaped member is provided with a downward inclined surface inclined downward toward the center portion of the wafer at the peripheral portion,
The protective member is provided with an upward inclined surface that is inclined upward toward the center of the wafer at the peripheral edge,
The clamping mechanism includes a ring-shaped member having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the disk-shaped member, a horizontal axis provided in a direction in contact with the outer periphery of the disk-shaped member at an inner peripheral portion, and around the horizontal axis. A plurality of swingable clamping pieces,
The plurality of sandwiching pieces include a weight provided on the outer peripheral side of a horizontal axis, a downward guide surface inclined downward at a position facing the downward inclined surface on the outer peripheral side, and an outer peripheral side on the upward inclined surface A guide groove having an upward guide surface inclined upward at a position opposed to the inner peripheral portion inside the horizontal axis,
The wafer end face protection device, wherein the guide groove is positioned above the horizontal axis in a non-clamping state. In the wafer end surface protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
2. The wafer end surface protection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least two grooves having different diameters are concentrically formed on the lower surface of the protection member, and each groove is provided with an O-ring. In the wafer end surface protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
1. A wafer end face protection device according to claim 1, wherein a shallow groove having a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the wafer and having a depth similar to the thickness of the wafer is formed on one surface of the disk-shaped member. In the wafer end surface protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The circular member is provided with alignment holes in at least two locations on the upper surface, and the protection member is provided with alignment pins that are inserted into the alignment holes in at least two locations on one portion of the lower surface. A wafer end face protection device. A cassette for accommodating a plurality of wafers mounted with the wafer end surface protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 in a standing posture,
A wafer processing apparatus, wherein the cassette is accommodated in a processing tank storing a processing liquid, and processing is performed by immersing a plurality of wafers in the processing liquid.

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