JP2007189208A - Bevel processing method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bevel processing method and apparatus which use processing members that are relatively simple and cheaply obtainable and have a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: The bevel processing apparatus 1 comprises a wafer rotating part for holding and rotating the wafer W to be processed, a pair of first and second arm members 8<SB>1</SB>, 8<SB>2</SB>arranged opposite forming a clearance 9 into which a part of the edge including the beveling part of the wafer W held by the wafer rotating part is inserted, and processing members that are arranged in the clearance 9 to process the edge part of the wafer W, wherein the processing members use linear or band-shaped fiber members 10, 10<SB>1</SB>-10<SB>3</SB>which are flexible and elastic. The fiber members 10, 10<SB>1</SB>-10<SB>3</SB>are stretched across the clearance 9 between the first and second arm members 8<SB>1</SB>, 8<SB>2</SB>by applying a prescribed tensile force to each, and the edge part of the wafer W is pressed to the stretched fiber members 10, 10<SB>1</SB>-10<SB>3</SB>while rotating the wafer W to remove unnecessary objects attached to the edge part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a bevel processing method and a bevel processing apparatus for polishing various substrates such as a semiconductor wafer, and more particularly to a bevel processing method and a bevel processing apparatus for removing unnecessary substances attached to an edge portion of a semiconductor wafer.

  Various semiconductor elements include a film forming process for forming various films on the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as a wafer), an etching process for removing unnecessary portions from the formed thin film, a cleaning process for cleaning the wafer surface, and drying. It is manufactured by repeating various processes such as a drying process to form a fine pattern on the wafer surface.

However, an unnecessary film such as an insulating film or a metal film is formed on the peripheral edge of the formed wafer, that is, the edge part, and the film formation on the edge end part or a part of the film is almost peeled off. It is in an unstable state such as being. If this state is left as it is, the end portion is chipped or peeled off during the transfer process to the next process, and the peeled pieces are scattered as dust. When such dust is scattered, it reattaches to the processed wafer device surface and causes particles.
Therefore, in order to eliminate such dust generation, unnecessary processed films are removed from the edge portion by etching, polishing, or the like (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3 below).

FIG. 9 shows a wafer edge polishing processing apparatus described in the following Patent Document 1, FIG. 9A is a process diagram of edge polishing, and FIG. 9B is a schematic diagram of the polishing processing apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 9A, the edge polishing method using this wafer edge polishing processing apparatus includes a polishing step 30 for polishing the edge of the wafer, and a first cleaning step 31 for cleaning the polished wafer with an acidic cleaning liquid. Then, a second cleaning step 32 for cleaning with an alkaline cleaning liquid, and then a drying step 33 in which the pure water used in the previous step is scattered by a centrifugal force and dried.

  Among these steps, the edge polishing apparatus that performs the polishing step 30 is arranged on a rotary table (not shown) that sandwiches and rotates the wafer and on the outer periphery of the rotary table, as shown in FIG. 9B. These polishing drums 40A to 40C are provided with flexible polishing pads 41A to 41C having compressibility on their surfaces, and each polishing drum is attached to the wafer W. In this configuration, different portions of the wafer edge are polished by being pressed against each other at different angles.

FIG. 10 is a top view schematically showing the peripheral unnecessary film removing apparatus described in Patent Document 2 below.
The unnecessary film removing apparatus 42 includes a chuck unit 43 that chucks the wafer W and rotates it around its axis, and a pair of bevel surface polishing members 44a that polish the upper and lower bevel surfaces of the wafer W held by the chuck unit. 44b, an end surface polishing member 45 that polishes the end surface of the wafer W, and a corner polishing member 46 that polishes these corner portions, and rotates the wafer W, and each polishing member is attached to the rotating wafer edge. By pressing and contacting, the wafer edge is polished to remove unnecessary films. Reference numerals 47 and 48 denote wafer transfer devices.

11 shows a wafer cleaning apparatus described in Patent Document 3 below, FIG. 11 (a) is a schematic perspective view, and FIG. 11 (b) is a side view of a wafer supported by a support.
The wafer cleaning apparatus includes a plurality of rollers 49 that support and rotate the wafer W, and a roll 50 that contacts the wafer W rotated by the rollers and supplies a processing liquid. The structure is configured such that a chemical solution is supplied from a pipe 51 to the rotating roll 50 while being pressed against the back surface and cleaned. A sponge 52 is attached to the roller 49 in the groove, and a chemical solution is impregnated into the sponge in the roller using the surface tension of the chemical solution during the rotation of the wafer. Etching is performed.

JP2003-151925A (FIGS. 2, 3, and 9, paragraphs [0011] to [0013]) JP 2002-367939 A (FIGS. 1 and 2, paragraphs [0022] to [0025]) JP 2002-231676 A (FIG. 6, FIG. 7, paragraphs [0018] to [0022])

  According to the processing apparatuses described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, unnecessary film formation on the wafer edge portion can be removed. However, according to these polishing processing apparatuses, the region where the semiconductor element is formed on the wafer surface, Since the so-called device surface is also contaminated by the cleaning liquid, there is a risk of causing pattern defects, and further cleaning and drying processes are necessary in the next process, and installation of a cleaning and drying apparatus is essential to implement these processes. It has become.

  That is, the polishing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a polishing process for polishing a wafer edge, a first cleaning process for cleaning the polished wafer with an acidic cleaning liquid, and then a second cleaning process for cleaning with an alkaline cleaning liquid. Further, each apparatus for performing a drying process for drying the cleaned wafer, that is, an edge polishing apparatus, a first cleaning apparatus, a second cleaning apparatus, and a drying apparatus, each of which is a partitioned processing chamber. The wafer is transferred to each processing chamber by an individual transfer device. According to this polishing apparatus, the first and second cleaning apparatuses, the drying apparatus, and a transfer device such as a robot arm for transferring the wafer between the apparatuses are required, and the polishing apparatus becomes large and expensive. In addition, since various chemical solutions are used, a supply / drainage system corresponding to these chemical solutions is required, and polishing is also affected by the concentration of the chemical solution used. That is, if the concentration is low, the degree of polishing decreases. Large dust will remain, and if it is thick, excessive polishing will occur and damage the wafer surface. In addition, since the processing apparatus described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2 has almost the same configuration, there is a similar problem.

  Further, in the processing apparatus described in Patent Document 3, a sponge is attached to a roller of a support that supports a wafer simultaneously with wafer backside processing, and a chemical solution is soaked into the sponge in the roller, and the sponge soaked with this chemical solution is used. The edge portion is etched by this. Since this apparatus also causes chemicals to adhere to the device surface of the wafer and the material peeled off from the edge or back surface may contaminate the device surface, a cleaning and drying device is separately provided in the same manner as the devices of Patent Documents 1 and 2 above. Necessary. Also, if the sponge is worn or dirty, it needs to be replaced, but the replacement work is troublesome.

In addition, the processing apparatus described in Patent Document 3 uses a roller having a polishing member with a sponge attached thereto, but a device using a polishing grindstone instead of this roller is also known.
However, if a grinding wheel is used, the wafer to be polished has a different edge shape for each wafer, so one type of grinding wheel cannot be used, and different types of grinding wheels are required. In addition, since each type of wafer must be replaced with a suitable grinding wheel, this replacement is not only cumbersome, but if this operation is included, the processing efficiency is extremely reduced. It will end up. Furthermore, the polishing wheel must be pressed against the wafer at a predetermined pressure during polishing, and this pressing force requires a proportionally stronger pressing force as the number of polishing wheels increases. Equipment and advanced pressure control are required. On the other hand, a wafer gripping mechanism that can cope with this pressing force is also required. Further, although a brush using a polishing member is known, when such a brush is used, dust taken from the wafer may be reattached to the wafer by the rotation of the brush.

  Therefore, in view of the problems of the prior art, the present inventors have analyzed the types of unnecessary materials attached to the edge portion of the substrate to be processed, and the unnecessary materials cannot be removed unless they are polished relatively deeply. Since there are some that can be removed by simply rubbing without having to polish deeply like this, when removing the former unnecessary material that has to be polished relatively deeply, On the other hand, it is necessary to use a large device, but on the other hand, it is not necessary to use a large device like the prior art for unnecessary materials that can be removed by simple rubbing. The present inventors have completed the present invention by searching for an object removal method and using a fiber member in place of a conventional grinding wheel or polishing drum, and obtaining an expected removal result. .

  That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a bevel processing method that can easily remove unnecessary substances attached to a substrate to be processed by using an easily available processing member.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a bevel processing apparatus having a simple structure using processing members that are relatively simple and available at low cost.

  In addition to the above object, another object of the present invention is to provide a bevel processing apparatus capable of processing without scattering processing liquid or slurry on the device surface of the substrate to be processed during edge processing.

  In addition to the above object, another object of the present invention is to provide a bevel processing apparatus that shortens processing time and improves processing efficiency.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized bevel processing apparatus having a simple structure capable of realizing the above object.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive bevel processing apparatus that eliminates the need for a special drying apparatus or a complicated conveying apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of a bevel processing method according to claim 1 of the present application is a bevel processing method using a bevel processing means for processing an edge portion including a bevel portion of a substrate to be processed.
The bevel processing means includes a flexible and elastic fiber member, stretches the fiber member with a predetermined tension, and presses the edge portion against the stretched fiber member to process the object. Any one or both of the substrate and the fiber member are moved in a predetermined direction to remove unnecessary substances attached to the edge portion.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the bevel processing method according to claim 1, wherein the fiber member is made of any one of natural fiber, chemical fiber and inorganic fiber, or a composite material thereof. It is characterized by being formed of a linear body having a predetermined thickness or a band-shaped body having a predetermined width and length with a fiber or a composite material.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the bevel processing method according to the first aspect, the fiber member is connected to a tension adjusting means, and depends on the type of the substrate to be processed, the state of the edge portion, and the processing conditions. Then, the tension of the fiber member is adjusted by the tension adjusting means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bevel processing apparatus comprising: a substrate rotation portion that holds and rotates a substrate to be processed; and an edge portion that includes a bevel portion of the substrate to be processed held by the substrate rotation portion to be processed. In a bevel processing apparatus provided with a bevel processing member to be processed,
As the bevel processing member, a flexible and elastic fiber member is used. The fiber member is stretched by applying a predetermined tension, and an edge portion of the substrate to be processed that rotates on the stretched fiber member is provided. It is characterized in that the unnecessary material attached to the edge portion by pressing is removed.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the bevel processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the fiber member is made of any one of natural fiber, chemical fiber and inorganic fiber, or a composite material thereof. It is characterized by being formed of a linear body having a predetermined thickness or a band-shaped body having a predetermined width and length with a fiber or a composite material.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the bevel processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the fiber member is a pair of first and first members arranged facing each other with a gap into which a part of the edge portion is inserted. A plurality of the two arm members are disposed in the gap.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the bevel processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein one end of the fiber member is wound around a supply roll, and the other end is a gap between the first and second arm members. It is characterized in that it is coupled to adjusting means for applying a predetermined tension to the fiber member.

An invention of a bevel processing apparatus according to an eighth aspect of the present invention relates to an edge portion including a target substrate rotating portion that holds and rotates a target substrate, and a bevel portion of the target substrate held by the target substrate rotating portion. A bevel comprising a pair of first and second arm members arranged to face each other with a gap into which a part is inserted, and a bevel processing section that is mounted in the gap and processes an edge portion of the substrate to be processed. In the processing device,
The bevel processing unit includes a removal unit that removes unnecessary materials from the edge portion of the substrate to be processed, and a cleaning unit that is connected to the removal unit and cleans the edge portion with a cleaning liquid.
The removal portion uses a flexible or elastic linear or belt-like fiber member, and the fiber member is stretched by applying a predetermined tension to the gap between the first and second arm members, and is attached to the edge portion. On the other hand, the cleaning unit has a supply port for supplying a cleaning liquid to the first and second arm members, a droplet supplied to the substrate to be processed, and a residue removed from the substrate to be processed. A discharge port for sucking and discharging various substances such as is provided.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the bevel processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the fiber member is made of any one of natural fiber, chemical fiber and inorganic fiber, or a composite material thereof. It is characterized by being formed of a linear body having a predetermined thickness or a band-shaped body having a predetermined width and length with a fiber or a composite material.

  The invention according to claim 10 is the bevel processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a plurality of the fiber members are arranged in the gap between the first and second arm members. And

  The invention according to claim 11 is the bevel processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein one end of the fiber member is wound around a supply roll, and the other end is a gap between the first and second arm members. It is characterized in that it is coupled to adjusting means for applying a predetermined tension to the fiber member.

  The invention according to claim 12 is the bevel processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the supply port is provided on one or both of the opposing surfaces of the first and second arm members. Features.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the bevel processing apparatus according to the eighth aspect, the supply port is on a side where the rotating substrate to be processed is inserted, and the discharge port is pulled out of the substrate to be processed. It is provided in the side.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the bevel processing apparatus according to any one of the eighth to thirteenth aspects, a mist generating the cleaning liquid supplied from the supply port in a mist state in the vicinity of the supply port. Means are provided.

  The invention described in claim 15 is the bevel processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the fog generating means is formed of a concave groove having a predetermined opening width and depth.

  The invention described in claim 16 is the bevel processing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 15, wherein a plurality of the bevel processing units are arranged along the outer periphery of the substrate to be processed. It is characterized by that.

  By providing the above configuration, the present invention has the following excellent effects. That is, according to the invention of claim 1, the bevel processing means has a flexible and elastic fiber member, and the fiber member is stretched by applying a predetermined tension, and the stretched fiber member is covered. By pressing the edge portion of the processing substrate and moving one or both of the substrate to be processed and the fiber member in a predetermined direction, the shape and shape of the edge portion are influenced by utilizing the flexibility and elasticity of the fiber member. A large pressing force is required for unnecessary objects that adhere to the edge without being exposed, for example, unnecessary protrusions formed during pattern formation on the substrate to be processed, film formation that is about to peel off or turn up, and dust. It can be removed efficiently without any problems.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the fiber member is formed of any one of natural fiber, chemical fiber and inorganic fiber or a composite material thereof, these are relatively simple and can be obtained at low cost, and further processed. Therefore, a linear body or a strip-shaped body can be easily created. Moreover, when a fiber member is made into a linear body or a strip | belt-shaped body, it can select and use according to the state of the unnecessary thing adhering to an edge part. That is, a linear body is suitable when the amount of adhering unwanted matter is easy to remove, and a strip-like body is suitable when it is difficult to remove. Furthermore, natural fibers, chemical fibers and inorganic fibers can be selected corresponding to the type of substrate to be processed, and unnecessary properties can be removed smoothly using the properties of the materials.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the tension of the fiber member can be adjusted according to the type of substrate to be processed, the state of the edge, and the processing conditions, it is unnecessary even if the type of substrate to be processed, the state of the edge portion, etc. change. Objects can be removed smoothly.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the same effect as that of the invention of claim 1 is obtained and the following effect is obtained. That is, in the prior art, the polishing member uses a polishing grindstone, a roll or the like, but if such a polishing grindstone or the like is used, the shape of the edge portion of the substrate to be processed, such as a wafer, differs from wafer to wafer. One type of grinding wheel cannot be used, and several types of grinding stones must be prepared and replaced with a grinding wheel that matches the shape of the edge each time. However, the work efficiency is lowered, but such a problem can be solved by using the fiber member as in the present invention. Also, when using a grinding wheel, roll, etc., it is necessary to apply a relatively strong pressing force to the wafer, and this pressing force increases in proportion to the number of polishing wheels, so a large pressing force is required. While an apparatus is required and the pressure control is difficult, on the other hand, a substrate gripping mechanism capable of resisting such a pressing force is also required, but according to the present invention, these apparatuses may be simple. Become. Furthermore, since the fiber member is less expensive than conventional grindstones, brushes, etc., the cost for polishing can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 5, since the same effect as that of the invention of claim 2, that is, the fiber member is formed of any one of natural fiber, chemical fiber and inorganic fiber or a composite material thereof, these are compared. Therefore, a linear body or a belt-like body can be easily produced because it is easy and inexpensive to obtain and easy to process. Moreover, when a fiber member is made into a linear body or a strip | belt-shaped body, it can select and use according to the state of the unwanted object adhering to the edge part. That is, a linear body is suitable when the adhering unwanted matter is easy to remove, and a strip-like body is suitable when it is difficult to remove. Furthermore, natural fibers, chemical fibers and inorganic fibers can be selected corresponding to the type of substrate to be processed, and unnecessary properties can be removed smoothly using the properties of the materials.

  According to the invention of claim 6, since the plurality of fiber members are arranged in the gap between the first and second arm members, it is easy to control the pressing force with the edge portion. That is, if there is one fiber member and the contact range between the one fiber member and the edge portion including the bevel portion is widened and a predetermined pressing force is applied, the fiber member is moved around the edge portion. Since it is necessary to bend a large amount, it becomes difficult to control the tension. However, if a plurality of fiber members are used, the bending of the fiber members can be reduced, so that the tension can be easily controlled.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the fiber member is connected to adjusting means for winding one end around the supply roll and passing the other end through the gap between the first and second arm members to apply a predetermined tension to the fiber member. Therefore, when a foreign material adheres to the fiber member, or wears out, the fiber member can be pulled out from the supply roll to remove unnecessary matter at a new location. In addition, since the tension of the fiber member is adjusted according to the type of the substrate to be processed and the state of the edge portion, unnecessary objects can be removed smoothly even if the type of substrate to be processed and the state of the edge portion change. . Further, the tension of the fiber member can be easily adjusted according to the type of the substrate to be processed, processing conditions, and the like.

  According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the removal part of the bevel processing part can achieve the same effect as that of the fourth aspect of the invention, and the cleaning part provides the following effects. That is, the edge portion of the substrate to be processed is cleaned in the bevel processing section by sucking and discharging the supplied cleaning liquid and all substances that affect the device surface such as debris peeled off from the substrate. And the like are not scattered from the bevel processing section, and the cleaning / drying process required in the prior art is not required. As a result, there is no need for a special cleaning / drying device for the device and a transfer device for transferring the substrate to be processed between these cleaning / drying devices, making the device simpler, more compact, and cheaper to manufacture. it can. Further, when the edge portion processed in the bevel processing section exits the bevel processing section, all substances that affect the processing substrate such as cleaning liquid and waste of the processing substrate are discharged from the bevel processing section and the processing substrate. It is sucked and discharged together with the gas forming the atmosphere in the apparatus from the gap. When the edge portion exits the bevel processing portion due to the flow caused by this suction / discharge, it is in a dry state. As a result, the cleaning liquid supplied to the edge portion in the bevel processing unit does not reach the device surface of the substrate to be processed, and the entire surface of the substrate to be processed except the portion covered by the bevel processing unit is in a dry state. Since the processing is performed while maintaining, a series of removal processing can be performed without affecting the device surface or the like. In addition, no chemical solution is required for cleaning, and it is not necessary to use a chemical-resistant member, and the chemical supply means and the chemical processing equipment are not required, so that the processing cost is reduced.

  According to the ninth to eleventh aspects, the same effects as those of the fifth to seventh aspects can be obtained.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the cleaning liquid can be efficiently supplied to the edge portion of the substrate to be processed by providing the supply port at this position.

  According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, a relatively long flow path is formed between the supply port and the discharge port along the outer peripheral edge of the edge portion. Since cleaning is performed, there is no cleaning residue at the edge portion, and the cleaning liquid flows along the outer peripheral edge of the edge, so that no dust or the like remains on the edge portion. Furthermore, by providing a discharge port at this position, the used cleaning liquid, debris and the like can be efficiently recovered without being scattered from the cleaning portion to the outside of the edge portion of the substrate to be processed and discharged to the outside.

  According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, since the cleaning liquid is atomized and supplied to the edge portion of the substrate to be processed, the cleaning liquid spreads almost uniformly on the edge portion, and good cleaning can be performed.

  According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the mist generating means can be formed with a simple structure because the mist is changed by changing the atmospheric pressure in the flow path of the cleaning liquid.

  According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, since a plurality of bevel processing units are arranged on the outer periphery of the substrate to be processed, the edge portion of the substrate to be processed can be efficiently cleaned and the processing speed can be increased.

  Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment described below exemplifies a bevel processing method and a bevel processing apparatus for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the present invention is specified to the bevel processing method and the bevel processing apparatus. And other embodiments within the scope of the claims are equally applicable.

  1 is a schematic sectional view showing a bevel processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a relationship between a polishing head and a wafer, FIG. 3 is a side view of a fiber member, and FIG. It is sectional drawing of a -A line. The bevel processing apparatus of FIG. 1 shows a state in which a part thereof is cut at a position where a wafer rotation shaft 4 connected to a rotation drive mechanism 5 described later is provided so that the structure can be easily understood. .

As shown in FIG. 1, the bevel processing apparatus 1 includes a rotary table 2 that holds and rotates a wafer W substantially horizontally, and a bevel that polishes and cleans an edge portion located at a part of the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W. And the rotary table 2 and the bevel processing unit 7 are accommodated in the processing cup 6.
As shown in FIG. 2, the bevel processing unit 7 includes a support arm (not shown) having a predetermined length and a processing head 7 coupled to one end of the support arm, and the other end of the support arm is a support base (not shown). (Omitted). The support arm is rotated by a driving mechanism (not shown) so that the processing head 7 approaches the edge portion of the wafer W.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the turntable 2 is rotated together with the holding table 3, the holding table 3 on which the wafer W is placed, the rotating shaft 4 connected to the holding table 3, and the rotating table 4. And a rotary drive mechanism 5 to be operated. As shown in FIG. 2, the holding table 3 has a disk shape smaller than the wafer W, and is fixed by a chuck for holding and fixing the wafer W placed coaxially on the holding table 3. As will be described later, since the holding force of the wafer can be made smaller for this fixing compared to the prior art, a large apparatus is not necessary.

  The bevel processing unit 7 includes a polishing head 8 that polishes the edge portion of the wafer W and a cleaning head 11 that cleans the edge portion.

As shown in FIG. 4, the polishing head 8 includes a pair of first and second arm members 8 _{1 made of} plate-like bodies that are vertically opposed to each other with a gap into which a part of the edge portion of the wafer W is inserted. , _{8 2,} these first, and a fiber member 10 which is stretched around the second arm member _{81, 82} of the gap. Incidentally, the rear portion of both the arm members _81, 82 is closed by the thin wall 8 _0.

  The fiber member 10 is a single linear body having a predetermined thickness and length, or a string-like body in which a plurality of strands are twisted, and a strip-shaped body having a predetermined width, such as a cloth or belt. Created with.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the fiber member 10 has a predetermined thickness, for example, 1 to 50 μm filaments that are bound or entangled with a predetermined number, for example, 50 to 5000 filaments, and are formed into a floss shape. Is used. The floss-like fiber member 10 has predetermined elasticity, flexibility, and stretchability, and generally has a substantially wide band shape that is relatively wide with respect to a predetermined length as shown in FIG. When both ends are pulled in this state, as shown in FIG. 3B, it has a property of becoming a string or a thread. Therefore, since this fiber member has predetermined elasticity, flexibility, and stretchability, when pressed against the edge portion of the wafer, it is in close contact with the shape of the edge portion and has good adaptability, and also travels. As a result, the removal of unnecessary materials can be performed smoothly. That is, various wafers have different edge shapes for each wafer, and the edge portions are usually provided with notches (notches) that indicate the orientation of the crystal direction. Even if there is a notch or notch, it is possible to respond to adaptation by applying a predetermined tension flexibly to these. The material of the fiber member 10 may be natural fibers, for example, plant fibers such as cotton, hemp, palm, and cactus, or animals such as hair, wool, silk, cashmere, camel, and rabbit, depending on the type of wafer W. Selected from fiber, mineral fiber such as asbestos, chemical fiber such as recycled fiber, semi-synthetic fiber, synthetic fiber, inorganic fiber (glass fiber, metal fiber, carbon fiber, rock fiber, slug fiber), etc. Or the composite material which combined these is used. Among these materials, natural fibers, animal fibers and the like are inexpensive and can be easily obtained, so that a linear or belt-shaped fiber member can be produced at low cost. An abrasive such as diamond particles may be attached to the fiber member. By selectively using various fibers in this way, unnecessary materials can be removed smoothly using the properties of the material.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pair of first and second arm members 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ has slits or holes a, b large enough to allow the thread-like fiber member 10 to be inserted near the entrance of the gap D. Is formed. As shown in FIG. 4, the fiber member 10 is wound around a roll R, and the fiber member wound around the roll passes between the _first and second arm members 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ positioned up and down. Then, it is wound around another roll R ′. The fiber member 10 is first positioned vertically, is stretched by a predetermined tension is applied to the second arm member _81, 82 between the _two, the wafer W when the wafer W is contacted during wafer W polished It adjusts so that a predetermined frictional force may be added between the edge part of this and the fiber member 10. FIG. The adjustment of the frictional force is performed by a winding means of the roll R ′. Note that the means for adjusting the frictional force may be, for example, one in which a weight having a predetermined weight is suspended from the fiber member 10 separately. As for the frictional force between the edge portion and the fiber member 10 at the time of polishing, a good result has been confirmed by an experiment even when the tension is such that a weight of several grams is suspended from the linear fiber member 10. Since good results can be obtained with such a tension, the means for holding the wafer W does not require a large apparatus. That is, in this type of bevel processing apparatus, a large-scale apparatus is conventionally used as the holding means for the wafer W, for example, a large-sized vacuum suction apparatus that can counter the pressing force of the abrasive material. According to some, such a large-sized device is unnecessary. Further, when the fiber member 10 is wound around the roll R, when the fiber member 10 is worn or old, the fiber member 10 is pulled out of the roll R to change the contact point with the wafer W, Good removal can be performed again. Thus, it is preferable that each roll R is actuated periodically to wind up and change the contact location with the edge portion of the wafer W. It is also possible to change the contact location while performing the process. Such a change is performed, for example, by controlling the rotation of the roll R using a microcomputer or the like.

Next, a method for removing unnecessary materials at the wafer edge using the polishing head 8 will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the wafer W is placed on the holding table 3 of the turntable 2 so that the center of the wafer W is located on the extension line of the axis of the rotation shaft 4, and the wafer W is fixed to the placement surface by a chuck. Then, the wafer W is rotated clockwise by the rotation drive mechanism 5 connected to the rotation shaft 4, and the support arm (not shown) is rotated by the drive mechanism of the bevel processing unit 7 to move the polishing head 8 to the wafer W. Press contact with the edge.

By pressing the polishing head 8 to the edge portion, upper and lower first, second arm portions _81, 82 fiber member 10 stretched filiform with predetermined tension substantially linearly between ₂ as shown in FIG. 4 Then, it is pressed against the edge portion of the wafer W and deformed into an arcuate shape so as to generate a predetermined frictional force. The predetermined tension force varies depending on the wafer, but is such that a weight of about several grams to several tens of grams is suspended from the thread-like fiber member. In this state, the rotary drive mechanism 5 is operated to rotate the rotary table 2 at a predetermined speed, for example, a speed of one rotation in 20 seconds, and the wafer edge portion is scanned with the fiber member 10 of the polishing head and sucked at the same time. The device (not shown) discharges the material peeled off from the edge portion by scanning.

  Therefore, in the apparatus using this polishing head, sufficient polishing was obtained by rubbing the edge portion with a soft and flexible fiber member, for example, a floss-like fiber thread, with a small frictional force. This is confirmed by experimental results. This eliminates the need for a wafer holding device on the rotary table, such as a large-scale device that performs vacuum suction. Further, since the peeling residue adheres to the fiber yarn and wears, it is preferable that each roll is periodically operated to wind up and change the contact portion with the edge portion.

  The polishing head 8 has one fiber yarn of the fiber member, but a plurality of fibers may be used. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a modified example of the polishing head, FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the first modified example, and FIG. 5 (a) and 5 (b) correspond to the sectional view of the polishing head shown in FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the contact surface between the edge portion and the fiber member in the polishing head of FIG. 5A, and FIG. 6A is a case where the fiber member shown in FIG. 3 is used. FIG. 6B is an enlarged cross-sectional view when another fiber member is used.

The polishing head 8A of FIG. 5A uses two fiber yarns. In the polishing head 8A, holes a ₁ , a ₂ and b ₁ , b ₂ are formed in the first and second arm members 8 ₁ , 8 ₂ at predetermined intervals, respectively, and two fiber members 10 ₁ are formed in these holes. 10 ₂ through 102 so as to intersect at one point X in the gap 9. That is, the first and second fiber members 10 ₁ , 10 ₂ are stretched between the rolls R ₁ and R ′ ₁ , R ₂ and R ′ ₂ so as to cross each other. The tension between the rolls is adjusted so that a predetermined tension is applied in the same manner as the polishing head 8 described above. Thus, when there are two fiber members, it becomes easy to control the pressing force with the edge portion. In other words, if there is one fiber member, when the predetermined pressing force is applied to the single fiber member by widening the contact range with the edge portion including the bevel portion, the fiber member is moved around the edge portion. Since it is necessary to bend a large amount, it is difficult to control the tension. However, if a plurality of fiber members are used, the bending of the fiber members is reduced, so that the tension can be easily controlled. The polishing method using the polishing head 8A is the same as that using the polishing head 8.

The polishing head 8B in FIG. 5B uses three fiber yarns.
In the polishing head 8B, holes a _{1 to} a ₃ and b _{1 to} b ₃ are formed in the first and second arm members 8 ₁ and 8 ₂ at predetermined intervals, respectively, and three fiber members 10 ₁ are formed in these holes. 10 ₂ and 10 ₃ are arranged so as to intersect at one point X in the gap 9. That is, the first and third fiber members 10 ₁ , 10 ₃ are stretched between the rolls R ₁ and R ′ ₁ , R ₃ and R ′ ₃ so as to cross each other, and the second fiber member 10 ₂ is stretched between the rolls R ₂ and R ′ ₂ so as to intersect with the first and third fiber members 10 ₁ , 10 ₃ at the X portion serving as the intersection. The tension between the rolls is adjusted so that a predetermined tension is applied in the same manner as the polishing section. When there are a plurality of fiber members, it is easy to control the pressing force with the edge portion. That is, if the number of the fiber members is one, when the predetermined pressing force is applied to the single fiber member by widening the contact range with the edge portion including the bevel portion, the fiber member is moved around the edge portion. Since it is necessary to bend a large amount, it is difficult to control the tension. However, if a plurality of fiber members are used, the bending of the fiber members is reduced, so that the tension can be easily controlled. The number of fiber yarns is not limited to 1 to 3, and the polishing head may be configured by further increasing the fiber yarns.

When a plurality of fiber yarns are used in this way, the wafer edge portion can be polished efficiently. However, during this polishing, depending on the type of the fiber member, a gap that is not in contact with the wafer edge portion and the fiber member may be formed.
That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6B, when two fiber yarns are brought into contact with the edge portion of the wafer W, a gap G that does not come into contact with the wafer edge portion is formed at a location where both fiber yarns intersect. It may be done. In such a case, if a fiber yarn as shown in FIG. 3, that is, a fiber yarn having predetermined elasticity, flexibility and stretchability is used, the flexibility of the fiber yarn as shown in FIG. -The gap is eliminated due to the elasticity and good polishing is possible. That is, when this type of fiber yarn comes into contact with the wafer edge portion, the abutting portion extends in the longitudinal direction from the abutting portion when other fiber yarns are used, and the cross-sectional area is reduced in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Thus, the entire surface of the peripheral edge is contacted, and the gap as described above is eliminated.

  The bevel processing apparatus 1 can rub the wafer edge portion by the polishing heads 8, 8A, 8B, but it is preferable to connect the cleaning head to the head. Next, the cleaning head 11 connected to the polishing head will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 shows the cleaning head, FIG. 7 (a) is a perspective view, and FIG. 7 (b) is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 7 (a).

As shown in FIG. 7, the cleaning head 11 has one edge portion of the wafer W extending in the horizontal direction between the _first and second arm members 8 ₁ and 8 ₂ extended from the polishing head 8. A U-shaped groove 9 having a gap D into which the portion is inserted is formed. The ₂ first arm member ₈₁ and second arm member _8, the supply port ₁₁ 1 cleaning liquid on its inner surface is provided, 11 ₂ first, one end of the second arm, i.e., the wafer W child to rotate They are formed to face each other on the side first entering the character-shaped groove 9. These supply ports 11 _1, a position apart from the 11 _2, i.e., the discharge port 11 ₃ is provided in the inner part of the side of the groove 9 which wafer W comes out of the U-shaped groove 9 which rotates.

Each of the supply ports 11 ₁ and 11 ₂ and the discharge port 11 ₃ is configured so that each of the supply ports 11 ₁ and 11 ₂ is not processed on the wafer, that is, the rotating wafer W has a U-shaped groove with respect to the rotation direction of the wafer W. on the side first enters into 9 in the head, whereas the treated side of the discharge port 11 ₃ wafer, i.e., wafer W is disposed on the side to get out of U-shaped grooves within 9, as shown in FIG. 7 (b) , the cleaning liquid supplied from the supply ports ₁₁ 1, 11 _2, and be a predetermined distance between each supply ports ₁₁ 1, 11 ₂ and the discharge port 11 _3, along the outer edge of the edge portion in the meantime The flow path F that flows through is formed. Due to the flow path F, the flow path F is in contact with the edge portion in the cleaning head 11 for a long time, so that there is no cleaning unevenness and no dust or the like remains. Each supply ports ₁₁ 1, 11 ₂ first, is provided with a second facing the arm members _{81, 82,} may be one of the arm members. Further, the supply ports 11 ₁ and 11 ₂ may be central portions of the first and second arm members 8 ₁ and 8 ₂ .

Moreover, in such a cleaning head 11, it is preferable that the cleaning liquid supplied from the supply ports 11 ₁ and 11 ₂ is in the form of a mist in the head. FIG. 8 shows a cleaning head provided with mist generating means. FIG. 8 (a) is a sectional view (corresponding to FIG. 7 (b)), and FIG. 8 (b) is FIG. 8 (a). It is sectional drawing of CC line.

The cleaning head 11A has substantially the same structure as the cleaning head 11, and the difference is that a mist generating means is provided. Mist generation means 12 is composed of a concave groove 12 ₁ formed in the vicinity of the supply port 11 _1. The concave grooves 12 _1, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), immediately below the supply port 11 _1, i.e., in the direction the cleaning liquid supplied from the supply port 11 ₁ is orthogonal to the direction of flow to the discharge port 11 _3, predetermined It is formed by a groove having an opening width and a depth. The provision of such recessed grooves 12 ₁ in the vicinity of the supply port 11 _1, the wafer W and the gap ₁ between the first arm member 8, the gap D ₁ of the portion where the concave groove 12 ₁ is formed is not formed a groove greater than portions of the gap D _2, the cleaning liquid passing through the gap, it flows to a place wider from where narrow gap, pressure change occurs becomes atomized. Therefore, since the cleaning liquid can be supplied to the edge portion of the wafer W in a mist form, good cleaning can be performed. The recessed groove 12A is formed in the vicinity of the supply port 11 _1, is also formed in the supply port 11 ₂ opposed.

As shown in FIG. ₁ , the supply ports 11 ₁ and 11 ₁ of the cleaning heads 11 and 11A are connected to the cleaning liquid supply source 13a via the valve V ₁ in the middle of the supply path L ₁ . For example, pure water is used as the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply source 13a. In addition, as the cleaning liquid, ion water (functional water), ozone water, or the like may be used. In particular, no chemicals are used. Further, the discharge port 11 ₃ is connected to a suction outlet facility 13b midway through the valve _{V 2} by the discharge path _{L 2.} Discharge is adjusted by a valve V ₂ by using the factory exhaust pressure. The time may be via a pump for assisting in the middle of the discharge passage L _2.

  Since the polishing part and the cleaning part have a predetermined width, when a part of the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W is inserted into the U-shaped groove 9, the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer edge are covered within a predetermined range. The polishing, cleaning, and used cleaning liquid are sucked and discharged at the covered portion and returned to the dry state, so that the cleaning liquid can be prevented from jumping to the device surface of the wafer W.

Next, a method for polishing and cleaning a wafer using a bevel processing apparatus in which the polishing head and the cleaning head are connected will be described with reference mainly to FIGS.
First, the wafer W is placed on the holding table 3 of the turntable 2 so that the center of the wafer W is located on the extension line of the axis of the rotation shaft 4, and the wafer W is fixed to the placement surface by a chuck. Then, the wafer W is rotated clockwise by the rotation drive mechanism 5 connected to the rotation shaft 4, and the support arm (not shown) is rotated by the drive mechanism of the bevel processing unit 7 to move the polishing head 8 to the wafer W. The edge part is pressed and scanned. This scanning is the same as the method of the polishing head 8 described above.

The scanned edge part supplies pure water from the supply ports 11 ₁ and 11 ₂ in the next cleaning part. Since the supplied cleaning liquid has a predetermined distance between each of the supply ports 11 ₁ , 11 ₂ and the discharge port 11 ₃ , as shown in FIG. A flow path F is formed along the flow path F. The flow path F causes the cleaning liquid to be distributed evenly at the edge portion in the cleaning head 11, so that cleaning unevenness is eliminated and dust or the like does not remain. In addition, when the cleaning head 11A is used instead of the cleaning head 11, the cleaning liquid mists in the head, so that the cleaning liquid hits the edge portion almost uniformly and the cleaning is performed better. After this polishing and cleaning, the polishing residue and used cleaning liquid are exhausted from the exhaust port. This exhaust, peel dregs and spent cleaning liquid or the like, while being discharged to the outside is sucked from the discharge port 11 _3, the edge portion is dried by the airflow generated by negative pressure suction. Therefore, according to this processing head, the edge portion of the wafer is polished, cleaned and dried by the polishing portion and the cleaning portion, and the polishing residue, cleaning liquid and the like are not scattered from the polishing head.

  In this embodiment, the polishing head has a polishing unit and a cleaning unit, but the cleaning unit may be omitted. Moreover, you may process in the state which supplied pure water to the fiber member and moistened this member with the pure water. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the embodiment in which one bevel processing unit 11 is provided on the outer periphery of the wafer has been described, but two or more bevel processing units 11 may be provided. By arranging a plurality of bevel processing units 11, it is possible to increase the processing efficiency. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the wafer is rotated. However, the wafer may be fixed and the bevel processing unit may be rotated, or the wafer and the bevel processing unit may be rotated in different directions.

  Thus, according to the bevel processing apparatus of the present invention, the wafer enters the bevel processing section in a dry state, is polished in a dry state, and comes out in a dry state even after wet cleaning, that is, dry-in / dry. Out processing is possible.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a bevel processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the relationship between the bevel processing unit and the wafer. FIG. 3 is a side view of the fiber member. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a modified example of the polishing head, FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the first modified example, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the contact surface between the edge portion and the fiber member in the polishing head of FIG. 5 (a), and FIG. 6 (a) is an enlarged cross-section when the fiber member shown in FIG. 3 is used. FIG. 6 and FIG. 6B are enlarged cross-sectional views when other fiber members are used. FIG. 7 shows the cleaning head, FIG. 7 (a) is a perspective view, and FIG. 7 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 7 (a). 8A and 8B show another cleaning head, FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 8A. FIG. 9 shows a conventional edge polishing method and polishing apparatus, FIG. 9A is a process diagram of an edge polishing process, and FIG. 9B is a schematic diagram of the polishing apparatus. FIG. 10 is a top view schematically showing another conventional peripheral portion unnecessary film removing apparatus. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a wafer supported by a support showing still another conventional wafer cleaning apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bevel processing apparatus 2 Rotary table (to-be-processed substrate rotation part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Holding stand 4 Rotating shaft 5 Rotation drive mechanism 6 Process cup 8, 8A, 8B Polishing head 8 ₁ 1st arm member 8 ₂ 2nd arm member 9 U-shaped groove 10, 10 ₁ -10 ₃ Fiber member 11 Bevel processing part 11 ₁ , 11 ₂ supply port 11 ₃ discharge port L ₁ supply path L ₂ suction path D gap W wafer (substrate to be processed)

Claims (16)

In a bevel processing method using bevel processing means for processing an edge portion including a bevel portion of a substrate to be processed,
The bevel processing means includes a flexible and elastic fiber member, stretches the fiber member with a predetermined tension, and presses the edge portion against the stretched fiber member to process the object. A bevel processing method, wherein any one or both of the substrate and the fiber member is moved in a predetermined direction to remove unnecessary substances attached to the edge portion.   The fiber member is made of any one of natural fiber, chemical fiber, and inorganic fiber, or a composite material thereof, and is a linear body having a predetermined thickness or a strip shape having a predetermined width length. The bevel processing method according to claim 1, wherein the bevel processing method is formed of a body.   The fiber member is connected to a tension adjusting unit, and the tension of the fiber member is adjusted by the tension adjusting unit in accordance with a type of the substrate to be processed, a state of an edge portion, and processing conditions. Item 2. A bevel processing method according to Item 1. A bevel processing apparatus comprising: a processing substrate rotating portion that holds and rotates a processing substrate; and a bevel processing member that processes an edge portion including a bevel portion of the processing substrate held by the processing substrate rotating portion. ,
As the bevel processing member, a flexible and elastic fiber member is used. The fiber member is stretched by applying a predetermined tension, and an edge portion of the substrate to be processed that rotates on the stretched fiber member is provided. A bevel processing apparatus that removes unnecessary materials that are pressed and adhered to the edge portion.   The fiber member is made of any one of natural fiber, chemical fiber, and inorganic fiber, or a composite material thereof, and is a linear body having a predetermined thickness or a strip shape having a predetermined width length. The bevel processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the bevel processing apparatus is formed of a body.   5. A plurality of the fiber members are arranged in the gaps of a pair of first and second arm members arranged to face each other with a gap into which a part of the edge portion is inserted. The bevel processing device according to 1.   One end of the fiber member is wound around a supply roll, and the other end is coupled to an adjusting means for applying a predetermined tension to the fiber member through a gap between the first and second arm members. The bevel processing apparatus according to claim 4. A substrate rotating portion that holds and rotates the substrate to be processed and a part of the edge portion including the bevel portion of the substrate to be processed held by the substrate rotating portion are arranged to face each other with a gap inserted therebetween. In a bevel processing apparatus comprising a pair of first and second arm members and a bevel processing unit that is mounted in the gap and processes an edge portion of a substrate to be processed,
The bevel processing unit includes a removal unit that removes unnecessary materials from the edge portion of the substrate to be processed, and a cleaning unit that is connected to the removal unit and cleans the edge portion with a cleaning liquid.
The removal portion uses a flexible or elastic linear or belt-like fiber member, and the fiber member is stretched by applying a predetermined tension to the gap between the first and second arm members, and is attached to the edge portion. On the other hand, the cleaning unit has a supply port for supplying a cleaning liquid to the first and second arm members, a droplet supplied to the substrate to be processed, and a residue removed from the substrate to be processed. A bevel processing apparatus having a discharge port for sucking and discharging various substances such as.   The fiber member is made of any one of natural fiber, chemical fiber, and inorganic fiber, or a composite material thereof, and is a linear body having a predetermined thickness or a strip shape having a predetermined width length. The bevel processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the bevel processing apparatus is formed of a body.   The bevel processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a plurality of the fiber members are disposed in the gap between the first and second arm members.   One end of the fiber member is wound around a supply roll, and the other end is coupled to an adjusting means for applying a predetermined tension to the fiber member through a gap between the first and second arm members. The bevel processing apparatus according to claim 8.   The bevel processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the supply port is provided on one or both of the opposing surfaces of the first and second arm members.   9. The bevel processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the supply port is provided on a side where the rotating substrate to be processed is inserted, and the discharge port is provided on a side from which the substrate to be processed is pulled out.   The bevel processing device according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein a mist generating means for misting the cleaning liquid supplied from the supply port is provided in the vicinity of the supply port.   15. The bevel processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the fog generating means is formed of a concave groove having a predetermined opening width and depth.   The bevel processing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 15, wherein a plurality of the bevel processing units are arranged along an outer periphery of the substrate to be processed.

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