JP2007301690A - Polishing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a polishing device dispensing with complicated fine adjustment work while appropriately protecting working object substrates and polishing mechanisms. <P>SOLUTION: This polishing device is provided with an index table having a plurality of chucks attractingly retaining and rotating the substrate and rotationally fed, a plurality of polishing chambers formed according to the stop position of the table, a conveying chamber having a conveying device carrying out processed substrates and carrying in unwrought substrates, and a control device 6 controlling the operation of control objects 70 in the respective chambers. This polishing device is further provided with an abnormality detecting means 50 provided in the respective parts of the polishing device, and a determination means 60 determining whether or not the input abnormality detecting signals fall under the signals to stop the polishing work for every polishing chamber; and this polishing device PM is so constituted as to stop the polishing work of a polishing chamber whose signal is determined to fall under the signal to stop the polishing work and stop the other polishing chambers after executing the preset polishing work till their finishing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention includes an index table that has a chuck for sucking and holding a substrate in each of the divided areas, and a plurality of polishing chambers that are formed in accordance with the divided areas and provided with a polishing mechanism. The present invention also relates to a polishing apparatus including a transfer chamber provided with a transfer device.

  As a polishing apparatus provided with the index table and a plurality of polishing chambers as described above, for example, a polishing apparatus (referred to as a CMP apparatus) for polishing a substrate surface such as a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal substrate with high precision is known. . In the polishing process (CMP process) by the CMP apparatus, the substrate adsorbed and held by the chuck and the polishing pad mounted on the polishing head of the polishing apparatus are brought into pressure contact with each other while rotating relative to each other, and a slurry corresponding to the processing target is applied thereto. It is configured to perform polishing by supplying a chemical and mechanical polishing action.

  The CMP process is a nanometer-order ultra-precision polishing process, but the device configuration is based on a mechanical rotation mechanism and a swing mechanism. If any change occurs in each part of the device, the change is processed. It has a sensitive effect on the substrate surface. In semiconductor device manufacturing, an upper wiring layer is formed by a photolithography process on the substrate surface flattened by the CMP process, and a multilayer wiring board is formed by repeating this process. The change has a significant impact on the final device product. For this reason, in a polishing apparatus such as a CMP apparatus, an abnormality detector that detects an abnormality of the apparatus is provided in each unit, and the polishing process is stopped when an abnormality occurs in any of the constituent apparatuses. Has been.

  As a conventional polishing apparatus equipped with such an abnormality detector, when the abnormality content detected by the abnormality detector is the content related to the cleaning device, the operation of the cleaning device is stopped. There is one that is configured to be stopped after being executed until the current polishing process is completed without stopping the process (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-44040

  However, the conventional polishing apparatus is configured to stop the operation of the entire polishing mechanism when the abnormal content detected by the abnormality detector is related to the polishing mechanism. That is, even in a polishing apparatus having a plurality of polishing chambers, when an abnormality in the apparatus is detected in any of the polishing chambers, the polishing process in all the polishing chambers is temporarily stopped.

  Certainly, when an abnormality occurs in the polishing mechanism, it is preferable to stop the processing at a stage where the influence on the substrate to be processed is small. However, since the slurry used in CMP processing has solidification properties, it is necessary to wash the slurry before stopping the polishing mechanism. When restarting the polishing processing, complicated operations for finely adjusting the processing conditions of each of the plurality of polishing chambers Is required. On the other hand, when an apparatus abnormality occurs in one of the polishing chambers, for example, when an apparatus abnormality occurs in the first polishing chamber, the damaged substrate is further rotated and sent to the second and third polishing chambers. It is not only unnecessary to perform the third processing, but depending on the damage caused to the substrate, the polishing pad and the chuck may be damaged in the subsequent polishing chamber.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and provides a polishing apparatus capable of realizing a high throughput by protecting a substrate to be processed and a polishing mechanism and eliminating complicated fine adjustment as much as possible. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is provided with a chuck that detachably sucks and holds a substrate (for example, the wafer W in the embodiment) in each of the divided areas, and rotates according to the number of divisions. There are provided an index table that is rotated and fed at a pitch and stopped, and a polishing mechanism that polishes the surface of the substrate that is formed in accordance with the positioning stop position of the index table and is sucked and held by a chuck and driven to rotate. A polishing chamber, a transfer chamber provided in accordance with a positioning stop position of the index table, a transfer chamber provided with a transfer device for carrying out processed substrates that have been polished in a plurality of polishing chambers, and carrying in unprocessed substrates; and the index table A plurality of polishing mechanisms and a control device for controlling the operation of the conveying device, The substrate, with the forward next dynamic feed by the index table simultaneously polished by the polishing mechanism with multiple polishing chamber, relates the polishing apparatus constructed as to unload the transport device the processed substrate. In addition, in this polishing apparatus, an abnormality detecting means provided in each part of the polishing apparatus for detecting an abnormality of each part, and a detection signal input from the abnormality detecting means are set in advance as signals for stopping the polishing process for each polishing chamber. Determining means for determining whether or not the signal corresponds to the received signal, and the control device stops the polishing process for the polishing chamber determined to correspond to the signal for stopping the polishing process by the determining means, and the other polishing chamber The polishing process is performed until the preset polishing process is completed and then temporarily stopped.

  In the polishing apparatus according to the present invention, it is determined whether or not the detection signal input from the abnormality detection means provided in each part of the apparatus corresponds to a signal preset as a signal for stopping the polishing process for each polishing chamber. The control unit stops the polishing process only for the polishing chamber determined to correspond to the signal for stopping the polishing process in the determination unit, and the polishing process in the other polishing chambers is a preset polishing process. It is constituted so that it is paused after being executed until the machining is finished. For example, in a polishing apparatus having a first polishing chamber, a second polishing chamber, and a third polishing chamber, when an apparatus abnormality occurs and an abnormality detection signal is input, the determination means outputs the signal from the first polishing chamber to the third polishing chamber. For each polishing chamber of the polishing chamber, it is determined whether or not the signal is set in advance as a signal to stop the polishing process.

  Specifically, when the detection signal is set in advance as a signal for stopping the polishing process in the first polishing chamber, but the second and third polishing chambers are not set, for example, the first polishing chamber If the polishing pad drive mechanism is abnormal, only the polishing process in the first polishing chamber is stopped, and the polishing process in the second and third polishing chambers is completed for the polishing chamber set in advance. Until it is done, and then pause. On the other hand, in the case where the detection signal is a signal that is not set as a signal to stop the polishing process in any of the first to third polishing chambers, for example, in the case of an abnormality in the transfer device that transfers the substrate, Each of the first to third polishing chambers is temporarily stopped after being executed until the polishing process is completed. That is, in the polishing apparatus of the present invention, the polishing chamber that has a direct influence on the polishing process that is being performed and that only stops the polishing process that should stop the polishing process is stopped. After the polishing process preset for the polishing chamber is finished, the polishing chamber is temporarily stopped.

  For this reason, it is possible to protect the substrate and the polishing mechanism by stopping the processing of the polishing chamber in which the abnormality has occurred at a stage where the influence on the substrate to be processed is small, and polishing other polishing chambers in the polishing chamber. Machining can be completed normally, and there is no need to perform complicated operations such as fine adjustment of machining conditions during restart. Therefore, it is possible to provide a polishing apparatus capable of realizing a high throughput by appropriately protecting the substrate to be processed and the polishing mechanism and eliminating complicated fine adjustment work.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of a polishing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. First, an outline of the overall configuration of the polishing apparatus PM will be described with reference to FIG. A dotted line with an arrow added in FIG. 2 is a line showing a flow of a semiconductor wafer which is a substrate to be processed in the polishing apparatus PM.

  The polishing apparatus PM is broadly classified into a cassette index unit 1 that carries in and out a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer), a polishing processing unit 2 that performs polishing, and a wafer that has been polished. The substrate cleaning unit 3 and a transfer device 4 (first transfer robot 41 and second transfer robot 42) for transferring the wafer in the polishing apparatus, etc., are separated by an automatic opening / closing shutter, and a clean chamber is formed. Composed. The operation of the polishing apparatus PM is controlled by a control device (not shown).

The cassette index portion 1 is provided with a wafer mounting table 12 on which cassettes (also referred to as carriers) C _{1 to} C ₄ each holding a plurality of wafers W are mounted, and in front of the wafer mounting table 12. A first transfer robot 41 is provided. The first transfer robot 41 is an articulated arm type robot, and a swivel that can be swung horizontally and moved up and down is provided on an upper part of a base that can move along a linear guide provided on the floor. The articulated arm attached to the arm can be extended and contracted, and the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W can be gripped by the wafer chuck at the tip of the arm. The unprocessed wafer taken out from the send cassettes C ₁ and C ₂ by the first transfer robot 41 is subjected to the polishing processing unit 2 in the path for transporting the unprocessed wafer provided in the substrate cleaning unit 3. To the second transfer robot 42.

  The polishing unit 2 is divided into four areas centering on a disk-shaped index table 20, and includes a transfer chamber 24 for carrying in unprocessed wafers and carrying out processed wafers, and a primary polishing process for the wafers. It comprises a first polishing chamber 21 for performing a second polishing chamber 22 for performing a second polishing process, and a third polishing chamber 23 for performing a third polishing process.

  The index table 20 is divided into four parts corresponding to the above four areas, and a wafer chuck 20c for detachably sucking and holding the wafer W is provided in each region. Inside the index table 20, there are provided chuck drive mechanisms for rotating the four wafer chucks 20c, 20c,... In a horizontal plane, and each wafer chuck 20c is based on a control signal output from the controller. The rotation is controlled independently. The index table 20 is disposed so as to be horizontally rotatable by a table driving mechanism that rotationally drives the entire table. The index table 20 is rotated and fed at a pitch of 90 degrees based on a control signal output from the control device, and each wafer chuck is conveyed. Positioning is stopped in the chamber 24, the first polishing chamber 21, the second polishing chamber 22, and the third polishing chamber 23.

  In the transfer chamber 24, a second transfer robot 42 is provided. The second transfer robot 42 is an articulated arm type robot similar to the first transfer robot 41. The unprocessed wafer received from the first transfer robot 41 is transferred into the transfer chamber 24, and positioning is stopped in the transfer chamber 24. It is placed on the wafer chuck 20c and held by suction.

  The first polishing chamber 21, the second polishing chamber 22, and the third polishing chamber 23 are each provided with a polishing mechanism 220 for polishing the surface of the wafer W and a dressing mechanism 230 for dressing the polishing surface of the polishing pad. .

  As shown in the schematic side view of FIG. 3, the polishing mechanism 220 provided in each polishing chamber adsorbs and holds the polishing pad 221 and the polishing surface 221s of the polishing pad in a downward horizontal posture by a polishing head driving mechanism. The polishing head 222 is rotationally driven in a horizontal plane, the polishing arm 223 is provided with an arm drive mechanism that horizontally swings and lifts the polishing head 222, the wafer chuck 20c described above, and the like. Controlled based on the control signal. The polishing head 222 is provided with a slurry supply structure for supplying slurry, pure water or the like to the central portion of the annular polishing pad 221, and the slurry according to the processing purpose is supplied from the slurry supply device at the time of polishing. It is comprised so that.

  The wafer is polished by the polishing mechanism 220 while the polishing arm 223 is swung horizontally and the polishing head 222 is positioned above the wafer chuck 20c, and the polishing head 222 is rotated downward to be attracted to the wafer chuck 20c. The polishing is performed by pressing the polishing pad 221 against the surface of the wafer W held and rotated at a predetermined pressure and swinging the polishing arm 223 while supplying slurry from the center of the polishing head.

  The processing conditions such as the number of revolutions of the polishing head 222, the pressing force of the polishing pad 221 to the wafer, the swing speed and stroke of the wafer, the number of revolutions of the wafer chuck 20c, the type of slurry supplied to the polishing head 222, and the flow rate are as follows. Each of the polishing chambers is set in advance according to the contents of the first to third processes performed in the polishing chambers 21, 22, and 23. In each of the polishing chambers, the control flow that is set in this manner is used. Based on the control signal output from the control device to each drive mechanism or the like, the polishing process is simultaneously performed in parallel.

  An end point detector for optically detecting the polishing state of the wafer being polished is attached to the tip of the polishing arm 223 so that a decrease in film thickness during the polishing process is detected in real time and the polishing process is performed. The end point can be feedback controlled. Also, at the final stage of the polishing process, pure water is supplied from a slurry supply device, and rinse cleaning is performed to wash away the slurry.

  The dressing mechanism 230 includes a dressing tool 231 and a tool rotation mechanism that rotates the dressing tool in an upward horizontal posture, and dresses the polishing pad 221 by horizontally swinging the polishing head every predetermined polishing cycle. The polishing surface 221 s is brought into contact with the dressing surface 231 s while being moved on the tool 231, and the polishing pad 221 and the dressing tool 231 are relatively rotated, so that the polishing surface 221 s is dressed.

  The index table 20 is rotated 90 degrees when the polishing processes of the first to third polishing chambers executed in parallel are completed, and the unprocessed wafer attracted and held by the wafer chuck 20c in the transfer chamber 24 is transferred. The first polishing chamber 21, the second polishing chamber 22, and the third polishing chamber 23 are sent from the chamber 24 to the first polishing process, the second polishing process, and the third polishing process in order. The processed wafer that has been polished in the polishing chamber 23 is sent to the transfer chamber 24.

  That is, each time the index table 20 is rotated and fed, the unprocessed wafer is carried into the first polishing chamber 21, and the processed wafer that has been subjected to the polishing process is carried out from the third polishing chamber 23 to the transfer chamber 24. The processed wafer sent to the transfer chamber 24 is released from suction and holding by the wafer chuck 20 c in synchronization with the operation of the second transfer robot 42, and is transferred from the polishing unit 2 to the substrate cleaning unit 3 by the second transfer robot 42. Is done.

  The transfer chamber 24 is provided with a chuck cleaning mechanism 240 having an arm 243 that can be swung horizontally like the polishing mechanism 220 and a brush 241 that is rotatably disposed in the horizontal plane at the tip of the arm. When the processed wafer is carried out by the second transfer robot 42, the arm 243 is turned horizontally to move the brush 241 onto the wafer chuck 20c, and the wafer moisturized pure water provided on the index table 20 is used. The brush 241 is rotated while pure water is supplied from the supply nozzle 245 so that the upper surface of the wafer chuck 20c is brush cleaned.

  The substrate cleaning unit 3 has a four-chamber configuration including a first cleaning chamber 31, a second cleaning chamber 32, a third cleaning chamber 33, and a drying chamber 34, and the processing carried in by the second transfer robot 42 after finishing the polishing process. The finished wafer is sequentially sent to the first cleaning chamber 31-> second cleaning chamber 32-> third cleaning chamber 33-> drying chamber 34 to remove and clean the slurry, polishing wear powder, etc. adhering to the polishing processing section 2. There are various examples of cleaning methods in each cleaning chamber. For example, in the first cleaning chamber 31, double-sided cleaning with a rotating brush, in the second cleaning chamber 32, surface pencil cleaning under ultrasonic vibration, the third cleaning chamber In 33, spinner cleaning with pure water is performed, and in the drying chamber 34, a drying process is performed in a nitrogen atmosphere. Below the first cleaning chamber 31, a passage for conveying the unprocessed wafer to the polishing unit 2 is provided.

The processed wafers cleaned by the substrate cleaning unit 3 are taken out from the substrate cleaning unit by the first transfer robot 41 and placed in predetermined slots or send slots of the receive cassettes C ₃ and C ₄ mounted on the wafer mounting table 12. It is accommodated in empty slots of cassettes C ₁ and C ₂ .

  In the polishing apparatus PM configured as described above, each part of the apparatus is provided with an abnormality detection means for detecting an abnormality of each part, and the control device regulates the operation of each part according to the abnormality content detected by the abnormality detection means. It is configured as follows. FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a control configuration for achieving such an interlock function. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the interlock control unit 60 in the control device 6 will be described with reference to this diagram.

  The interlock control unit 60 is provided in each of the first to third polishing chambers, the transfer chamber, the first to third cleaning chambers 31 to 33, the first and second transfer devices 41 and 42, and the cassette index unit 1. Thus, a detection signal is input from the abnormality detection means 50 for detecting an abnormality of each part, and a predetermined regulating operation is performed on the control target 70 of each part according to the detection signal input from the abnormality detection means 50. Configured. Further, it is configured to be connected to the control device 6 so as to display various alarms on a display device (for example, CRT or liquid crystal display panel) 80 for selecting various machining programs, setting parameters, and performing machining steps.

  The abnormality detection means 50 is a first polishing chamber abnormality detection means 51 that detects an abnormality of the control object 71 in the first polishing chamber 21 and a second polishing chamber abnormality detection means that detects an abnormality of the control object 72 in the second polishing chamber 22. 52, third polishing chamber abnormality detecting means 53 for detecting abnormality of the control object 73 in the third polishing chamber 23, transfer chamber abnormality detecting means 54 for detecting abnormality of the control object 74 in the transfer chamber 24, and control in the substrate cleaning unit 3. Substrate cleaning unit abnormality detecting means 55 for detecting an abnormality of the object 75, a conveyance apparatus abnormality detecting means 56 for detecting an abnormality of the control object 76 in the conveyance apparatus 4, and a cassette index unit for detecting an abnormality of the control object 77 in the cassette index part 1. It comprises an abnormality detection means 57, peripheral device abnormality detection means 58 for detecting an abnormality of the controlled object 78 in the peripheral equipment, and the like.

  Each abnormality detecting means 51 to 53 for detecting abnormality in the first to third polishing chambers 21 to 23 can detect an abnormal state of the control objects 71 to 73 provided in each polishing chamber or located in each polishing chamber. Various detection means can be used. For example, a photo interrupter that is provided in an arm driving mechanism of the polishing mechanism 220 that is one of the control objects 71 to 73 and detects that the polishing arm 223 has swung beyond a predetermined swing angle range, similarly, the control target 71. To 73, a pressure switch provided in the wafer attaching / detaching mechanism of the wafer chuck 20c for detecting that the vacuum suction line has risen above a predetermined vacuum pressure, a supply amount of slurry provided in the supply line of the slurry supply device, or Various known detectors such as a flow switch or a pressure switch for detecting that the supply pressure has become a predetermined value or less are exemplified.

  In addition, an alarm output unit in a servo control unit that controls the operation of each drive shaft such as an arm drive mechanism, a polish head drive mechanism, a chuck drive mechanism, and a dressing mechanism in each polishing mechanism 220 also constitutes an abnormality detection means, and each servo motor Servo alarms such as overcurrents, encoder abnormalities, parameter-set predetermined rotation speeds and acceleration / deceleration pattern ranges are input to the interlock control unit 60 as abnormality detection signals.

  The transfer chamber abnormality detection means 54 for detecting an abnormality in the transfer chamber 24 is a detection means for detecting an abnormality of the control object 74 provided in the transfer chamber 24 or positioned in the transfer chamber. The vacuum suction line of the photo interrupter and wafer chuck 20c, which is provided in the mechanism 240 and detects that the swing angle of the arm exceeds a predetermined angle range, does not reach a predetermined vacuum pressure, or is not opened to atmospheric pressure. And a flow switch that is provided in a pure water supply line for cleaning the wafer chuck 20c after carrying out the wafer and detects that the amount of pure water supplied to the pure water supply nozzle 245 is less than a predetermined value. The

  The substrate cleaning unit abnormality detection means 55 that detects an abnormality of the control target 75 in the substrate cleaning unit 3 (first to third cleaning chambers 31 to 33 and the drying chamber 34) is, for example, a rotary brush drive that is one of the control targets 75. An overcurrent detector for detecting an overcurrent of a drive motor provided in the mechanism, a thermal switch for detecting overheating of an ultrasonic vibrator as another control object 75, and a pure water provided in a pure water supply line for spinner cleaning Examples include a flow switch that detects that the supply amount is less than a predetermined value, and a detector such as a flow switch or pressure switch that detects that the supply amount or supply pressure of a nitrogen supply line that blows dry nitrogen is less than a predetermined value. The

  The conveyance device abnormality detection means 56 that detects abnormality of the conveyance device 4 (first and second conveyance robots 41 and 42) detects detection of abnormality of the first conveyance robot 41 and the second conveyance robot 42 that are the control target 76. For example, a proximity switch that detects that the turning angle of the turntable in these transfer robots 41 and 42 has swung beyond a predetermined angle, and the extension amount of the articulated arm is less than a predetermined amount. Examples include a limit switch for detection, a photo interrupter for detecting whether or not the wafer is held by the wafer chuck at the tip of the arm, and a servo control unit for detecting an abnormality in each section of the transport robot.

  The cassette index part abnormality detecting means 57 for detecting an abnormality in the cassette index part 1 is a detector for detecting an abnormality in each part of the cassette index part which is the control object 77. For example, the cassette index part abnormality detecting means 57 of the wafer mounting table designated in the control flow is used. Examples include a cassette detector that detects whether a send cassette or a receive cassette is set at a predetermined position.

  Peripheral device abnormality detection means 58 for detecting an abnormality of the control target 78 in the peripheral device includes, for example, a slurry supply device, a cooling water supply device, a dust removal device for forming a clean chamber, and a shutter partitioning each chamber. Various detectors provided in each part such as an opening / closing mechanism, for example, the detectors such as the limit switch, the photo interrupter, the proximity switch, the flow switch, the overcurrent detector, and the pressure switch described above are used. And the detection signal of the abnormality detection means 50 provided in each control object as mentioned above is input into the interlock control part 60 of the control apparatus 6. FIG.

  The interlock control unit 60 is configured to store the control object 70 to be controlled in advance according to the abnormality detected by the abnormality detection unit 50, and when the detection signal is input from the abnormality detection unit 50. The determination unit 62 determines whether or not the signal set in the storage unit 61 as a signal for restricting the operation of the control object 70, and the signal for restricting the operation of any of the control objects 71 to 78 in the determination unit 62. The control signal output unit 63 is configured to output a control signal to the operation control unit 65 that outputs a command signal to the control target and control the operation of the corresponding control target 71 to 78. .

  In the interlock control unit 60, the operation restriction target is set and stored in the storage unit 61 for each of the polishing chambers 21 to 23. When the detection signal is input from the abnormality detection unit 50 in the determination unit 62, the polishing is performed. Whether each of the polishing chambers 21, 22, and 23 corresponds to a signal set in the storage unit 61 as a signal for stopping processing is determined. Then, the restriction signal output unit 63 outputs a restriction signal to the operation control unit 65 only for the polishing chamber determined to correspond to the signal for stopping the polishing process in the determination unit 62, and stops the polishing process, so that the other polishing chambers are stopped. The polishing process is performed until the polishing process based on a preset control flow is completed and then temporarily stopped.

  That is, the detection signal input from the abnormality detection means 50 is a detection signal that directly affects the polishing process and should be stopped, but this is an abnormality detection signal unique to some polishing chambers. In some cases, the detection means whose operation is to be restricted for the control object corresponding to only some of the polishing chambers is set and stored in the storage means 61, and the detection that should be restricted for the control objects of other polishing chambers. It is not set as a signal.

  For example, in the polishing mechanism 220 provided in the second polishing chamber 22, an overtravel detection signal in which the polishing arm 223 swings beyond a predetermined swing angle range, a servo alarm for the control axis, etc. In order to directly affect the polishing process being performed in the chamber 22, it is set and stored as a detection signal whose operation should be regulated for the polishing mechanism 220 (control target 72) of the second polishing chamber 22. The polishing mechanism 220 (the controlled objects 71 and 73) of the chamber 21 and the third polishing chamber 23 has no direct influence on the polishing process being performed and is not set and stored as a detection signal for restricting the operation of the polishing mechanism.

  Accordingly, the determination unit 62 determines that the detection signal that should restrict the operation of the polishing mechanism 220 of the second polishing chamber 22 corresponds to the detection signal, and determines the polishing mechanism 220 (control target) of the second polishing chamber 22 from the restriction signal output unit 63. 72) is output to the operation control unit 65 to stop the polishing process. However, for the polishing mechanisms 220 and 220 (control objects 71 and 73) of the first polishing chamber 21 and the third polishing chamber 23, the control signal is output. The polishing process in progress is continued without outputting, and the polishing process set in advance in both polishing chambers is terminated and then temporarily stopped. At this time, the display device 80 displays an alarm display of the details of the abnormality that has occurred and the controlled object to be controlled, and displays that the polishing process in the second polishing chamber 22 has been stopped halfway and the processing step being stopped. .

  Further, when the content of the abnormality detected by the abnormality detection means 50 is not the content that directly affects any polishing process being performed in the first polishing chamber 21 to the third polishing chamber 23, such detection is performed. The signal is not set in the storage unit 61 as a signal to stop the polishing process for the polishing chambers 21 to 23.

  For example, a wafer suction holding abnormality detection signal in which the vacuum chucking line of the wafer chuck on which the wafer is placed in the transfer chamber 24 in the polishing processing unit 2 does not reach a predetermined degree of vacuum, an abnormality detection signal related to the chuck cleaning mechanism 240, a transfer device, The detection signals detected by the abnormality detection means 56 and the cassette index portion abnormality detection means 57 are abnormality detection signals whose contents directly affect the polishing process being performed in any of the polishing chambers 21, 22, and 23. However, these detection signals are detection signals whose operation should be regulated for the corresponding control objects 74, 76, and 77 (for example, the chuck drive mechanism, the chuck cleaning mechanism 240, and the first and second transfer robots 41 and 42), respectively. Although stored in the storage unit 61, the polishing process of the first to third polishing chambers 21 to 23 is stopped. As should signal not set.

  Therefore, when the input signal is an abnormality detection signal as described above that does not directly affect the polishing process being performed, the first to third processes being executed in the first to third polishing chambers 21 to 23. The tertiary polishing process is continuously performed, and the polishing process is temporarily stopped after the polishing process based on the control flow set in advance in all the polishing chambers 21 to 23 is finished. On the display device 80, the details of the abnormality that has occurred and the controlled object subject to operation restriction are displayed as an alarm, and the machining step being stopped is displayed.

  On the other hand, when the content of the abnormality detected by the abnormality detection means 50 is the content that directly affects all of the polishing processes being performed in the first to third polishing chambers 21 to 23, such a detection signal. Is set in the storage unit 61 as a signal to stop the polishing process for each of the polishing chambers 21 to 23.

  For example, an abnormality detection signal for detecting that a lock pin that locks the rotation of the index table 20 positioned and stopped at a predetermined rotation angle position is removed from the lock position, and slurry is supplied to each of the polishing chambers 21 to 23. The detection signal or the like that detects an abnormality that causes the power supply to be cut off in the slurry supply device is an abnormality detection signal that directly affects the polishing process being performed for any of the polishing chambers. It is set and stored in the storage unit 61 as a detection signal whose operation should be restricted for each corresponding control target (for example, index table drive mechanism, slurry supply device), etc., and the polishing process in the first to third polishing chambers should be stopped. The signal is set and stored in the storage unit 61 as a signal.

  Accordingly, when the input detection signal is an abnormality detection signal as described above that directly affects the entire polishing process being performed, the first to third processes being performed in the first to third polishing chambers 21 to 23. The third polishing process is stopped and temporarily stopped in that state. The display device 80 displays an alarm display of the details of the abnormality that has occurred and the controlled object to be controlled, and displays that the polishing process has been stopped halfway in the first to third polishing chambers 21 to 23 and the process step being stopped. Is done.

  As described above, in the polishing apparatus PM of the present invention, the polishing process that directly affects the polishing process being performed and only the polishing process of the polishing chamber that should stop the polishing process is stopped, and the polishing process can be continued. The chamber is temporarily stopped after the polishing process preset for the polishing chamber is finished. For this reason, it is possible to protect the wafer and the polishing mechanism by stopping the processing of the polishing chamber where the abnormality has occurred at a stage where the influence on the wafer is small, and for other polishing chambers, polishing processing in the polishing chamber is performed. The process can be completed normally, and there is no need to perform complicated operations such as fine adjustment of machining conditions upon restart. Therefore, it is possible to provide a polishing apparatus capable of realizing a high throughput by appropriately protecting the substrate to be processed and the polishing mechanism and eliminating complicated fine adjustment work.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration example in which the three polishing chambers 21, 22, and 23 are formed in the polishing processing unit 2 is shown. However, the polishing chamber may be two chambers or four chambers or more, and the substrate to be processed In addition to a semiconductor wafer, a quartz substrate, a glass substrate, a ceramic substrate, or the like can be similarly applied to obtain the same effect.

It is a schematic block diagram of the control structure containing the interlock control part in the polisher concerning the present invention. It is a top view which shows the example of whole structure of the grinding | polishing apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows typically the grinding | polishing mechanism and dressing mechanism in the said grinding | polishing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

W Wafer (Substrate) 2 Polishing Processing Unit 3 Substrate Cleaning Unit 6 Control Device 20 Index Table 20c Wafer Chuck 21 First Polishing Chamber 22 Second Polishing Chamber 23 Third Polishing Chamber 24 Transfer Chamber 41 First Transfer Robot (Transport Device) 42 Second transfer robot (transfer device)
50 Abnormality Detection Unit 60 Interlock Control Unit 62 Judgment Unit 70 Control Object 220 Polishing Mechanism PM Polishing Device

Claims (1)

An index table that is provided with a chuck that detachably sucks and holds the substrate in each of the divided areas, and that is rotated and fed at an angular pitch corresponding to the number of divisions, and an index table,
A plurality of polishing chambers provided with a polishing mechanism for polishing the surface of the substrate that is formed in accordance with the positioning stop position of the index table and is sucked and held by the chuck and driven to rotate;
A transfer chamber provided in accordance with a positioning stop position of the index table, provided with a transfer device for carrying out processed substrates that have been polished in the plurality of polishing chambers, and carrying in unprocessed substrates;
A control device for controlling the operation of the index table, the plurality of polishing mechanisms and the transport device;
The raw substrate carried in by the transfer device is sequentially rotated and fed by the index table, and polished by each polishing mechanism in the plurality of polishing chambers, and the processed substrate is carried out by the transfer device. In the polished polishing apparatus,
An abnormality detection means provided in each part of the polishing apparatus for detecting an abnormality of each part;
A determination means for determining whether the detection signal input from the abnormality detection means corresponds to a signal set in advance as a signal for stopping polishing for each polishing chamber;
The control device stops the polishing process for the polishing chamber determined to correspond to the signal for stopping the polishing process by the determination means, and executes the polishing process in the other polishing chamber until the preset polishing process is completed. A polishing apparatus characterized in that the apparatus is temporarily stopped after the operation.

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