JP2011124419A - Processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a more space-saving processing apparatus capable of reducing breakage risks, when trasferring a workpiece. <P>SOLUTION: The processing apparatus that processes a workpiece W held by a first holding surface 70a of a holding table 7 is equipped with a plate-like workpiece support member 8, mounted on the holding table 7 where the workpiece W is held, and a transport mechanism 11, that loads the workpiece supporting member 8 onto the holding table 7 and unloads it from the table; on the workpiece support member 8, a held surface 82 that is held by the first holding surface 70a of the holding table 7 and a second holding surface 83 that holds the workpiece with negative pressure located on the opposite surface from the held surface 82; and the transport mechanism 11 includes a sealing part 110, that forms sealed space 116 by surrounding the workpiece W mounted on the second holding surface 83, a gas inflow part 111 that feeds gas to the sealed space 116, to make the pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure, a holding part 114 that holds the workpiece supporting member 8, a moving part 115 that moves the sealing part 110, the gas inflow part 111, and the holding part 114, both in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing apparatus having a function of transporting a semiconductor wafer.

  ICs, LSIs, and other devices are divided by lines to be divided, and a plurality of semiconductor wafers, resin substrates, various ceramic substrates used for electronic components, glass substrates, etc. are ground on the back. After being polished and formed to a predetermined thickness, it is divided into individual chips by a dicing apparatus or a laser processing apparatus, and the divided chips are used in various electronic devices.

  As an apparatus for grinding / polishing the back surface of these plate-like objects, a grinding / polishing apparatus called a grinder provided with rough grinding means and finish grinding (polishing) means is widely used. In such a grinding / polishing apparatus, a plurality of chuck tables for holding a workpiece are provided on the turn table at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and the turn table is held while the workpiece is held on the chuck table. By rotating, the chuck table moves and the plate-like object held on the chuck table is sequentially moved from rough grinding to finish grinding or polishing by the grinding means or polishing means arranged opposite to the turntable. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-284303 A

  However, in recent years, in order to increase the amount of chips taken per plate, the size of the plate has been increased. In particular, standardization of φ450 mm has been promoted for semiconductor wafers. Therefore, when the semiconductor wafer is shifted from φ200 mm or φ300 mm, which is currently widely used, to φ450 mm, the grinding / polishing apparatus becomes very large, the diameter of the turntable on which a plurality of chuck tables are mounted becomes very large, and the rotation becomes large. The mechanism and the like require a large amount of energy, which is not preferable.

  In addition, it is not preferable that the work is conveyed between a plurality of chuck tables by directly holding the work to increase the probability that the thinned work is damaged.

  Such a problem is not limited to a grinding / polishing apparatus, but is also a problem commonly held by processing apparatuses having a function of conveying a workpiece.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a machining apparatus in which the risk of breakage due to the conveyance of a workpiece is reduced with a more space-saving apparatus.

  The present invention relates to a processing apparatus including a holding table including a first holding surface, and a processing mechanism that processes a workpiece held by applying a negative pressure to the first holding surface of the holding table. A plate-like workpiece support member placed on the holding table in a state where the workpiece is held, and a transport mechanism for carrying the workpiece support member holding the workpiece into and out of the holding table. A held surface that is held by the negative pressure on the first holding surface of the table and a second holding surface that is opposite to the held surface and holds the workpiece are formed. A sealed portion that surrounds the workpiece placed on the substrate to form a sealed space, a gas inflow portion that feeds gas into the sealed space to make the pressure higher than atmospheric pressure, a holding portion that holds the workpiece support member, and a sealed portion and gas inflow Lead part and holding part And a moving unit that moves in the direction and the horizontal direction.

  It is desirable that the transport mechanism of this processing apparatus has a support part that supports the sealing part via an elastic member, and the moving part is connected to the support part. The workpiece support member is preferably formed of a plate-like porous portion that communicates with the held surface and the second holding surface, and a frame portion that surrounds the outer peripheral side surface of the porous portion.

  In the present invention, the work can be held by the second holding surface, and in that state, the work support member and the holding table can be carried into and out of the holding table. Damage risk can be reduced.

  In addition, since the transport mechanism has a support part that supports the sealing part via the elastic member, and the moving part is connected to the support part, the elasticity of the elastic member is maintained even if the inside of the sealing member becomes positive pressure. Sealing can be maintained by sealing with force greater than that.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of a processing apparatus. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows a conveyance mechanism, a workpiece | work, a workpiece | work support member, and a holding table. It is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a state in which the transport mechanism holds the workpiece and the workpiece support member. It is sectional drawing which shows schematically the state before a conveyance mechanism hold | maintains a workpiece | work and a workpiece support member. It is sectional drawing which shows schematically the state in which the sealed part formed the sealed space. It is sectional drawing which shows schematically the state which pressed the sealing part on the workpiece support member with the elastic force of the elastic member. It is sectional drawing which shows schematically the state which pressurized the sealed space and hold | maintained the workpiece | work support member. It is sectional drawing which shows schematically the state which hold | maintained and lifted the workpiece | work and the workpiece support member.

  A processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus for grinding a workpiece held on holding tables 2a and 2b by two machining mechanisms 3a and 3b. A plate-shaped workpiece before grinding is provided on the front side of the apparatus. The cassette 40a for storing the plate and the cassette 40b for storing the plate-shaped workpiece after grinding are mounted on the mounting tables 4a and 4b, respectively.

  At a position facing the openings of the cassette 40a and the cassette 40b, a loading / unloading mechanism 5 for carrying out the workpiece from the cassette 40a and loading the workpiece into the cassette 40b is disposed. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 1, the carry-in / out mechanism 5 includes a holding part 50 having a holding surface 50a for holding a work, a rotating part 51 for rotating the holding part 50 in a vertical direction, and a bendable arm. Part 52. The arm portion 52 has a base portion supported by a base 53. The base 53 is screwed into a ball screw 54 having an inner nut (not shown) having a horizontal axis, and is in sliding contact with a guide rail 55 disposed in parallel with the ball screw 54. A pulse motor 56 is connected to one end of the ball screw 54. When the ball screw 54 is driven and rotated by the pulse motor 56, the base 53 is guided and slid by the guide rail 54, and the arm portion 52 is moved. In addition, the holding unit 50 is configured to move together with the rotating unit 51.

  An alignment mechanism 6 that aligns the workpiece at a predetermined position is disposed in the movable range of the holding portion 50 that constitutes the carry-in / out mechanism 5. The alignment mechanism 6 includes a holding unit 60 that sucks a workpiece, a plurality of radially formed long holes 61, and an abutting member 62 that can move through the long holes 61. The workpieces can be aligned at a certain position by moving in the direction in which they approach each other and pushing the peripheral edge of the workpiece placed on the holding unit 60.

  A holding table 7 is disposed in the movable range of the holding unit 50 constituting the carry-in / out mechanism 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the holding table 7 includes a porous portion 70 that communicates with a suction source. The upper surface 70 a of the porous portion 70 is provided with a plate-like workpiece support member 8 that supports a workpiece to be ground from below. It becomes the 1st holding surface mounted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the workpiece support member 8 includes a plate-like porous portion 80 formed of a porous member, and a frame portion 81 that surrounds the outer peripheral side surface of the porous portion 80. The back surface is a held surface 82 held by the first holding surface 70 of the holding table 7 by negative pressure, and the opposite surface of the held surface 82 is a second holding surface 83 that holds the workpiece. The surface 82 and the second holding surface 83 communicate with each other. A workpiece W to be ground is placed on the second holding surface 83. A plurality of engagement holes 810 are formed on the side surface of the frame portion 81.

  As shown in FIG. 1, holding tables 2 a and 2 b for sucking and holding the workpiece support member 8 and the workpiece W are disposed below the two processing mechanisms 3 a and 3 b, respectively. Each of the holding tables 2a and 2b includes a porous portion 20, and the surface of each porous portion 20 is a first holding surface 20a, and the workpiece is caused by a negative pressure acting on the first holding surface 20a. The support member 8 and the workpiece W can be held.

  Since the processing mechanisms 3a and 3b have the same structure, they will be described with common reference numerals. The grinding mechanisms 3a and 3b include a grinding tool 30 that performs grinding by acting on a work held on the first holding surface 20a of the holding tables 2a and 2b, a support mount 31 that supports the grinding tool 30, and a support mount. The rotating shaft 32 which supports 31 in a front-end | tip part and is extended in the perpendicular direction, and the motor 33 which rotates the rotating shaft 32 are provided. The grinding tool 30 includes a base 300 fixed to the support mount 31 and a plurality of grindstones 301 fixed to the lower surface of the base 300. Note that the grindstone 301 constituting the grinding mechanism 3a is for rough search, and the grindstone 301 constituting the grinding mechanism 3 is for finish grinding.

  The machining mechanisms 3a and 3b can be moved up and down by the machining feed mechanisms 9a and 9b. Since the processing feed mechanisms 9a and 9b have the same structure, they will be described with common reference numerals. The machining feed mechanisms 9a and 9b include a ball screw 90 having a vertical axis, a pair of guide rails 91 arranged in parallel to the ball screw 90, a pulse motor 92 that rotates the ball screw 90, a ball A nut (not shown) that engages with the screw 90 is provided inside, and a slide base 93 whose side is in sliding contact with the guide rail 91 is provided. The ball screw 91 is rotated by being driven by a pulse motor 92. As a result, the sliding base 93 is guided by the guide rail 91 and moves up and down. Since the support portion 94 fixed to the sliding base 93 supports the processing mechanisms 3a and 3b, the processing mechanisms 3a and 3b are also moved up and down by the up and down movement of the sliding base 93.

  A cleaning mechanism 10 for cleaning the workpiece after grinding is disposed in the vicinity of the holding table 2b and in the movable range of the holding unit 50 constituting the carry-in / out mechanism 5. The cleaning mechanism 10 includes a holding table 100 that holds a workpiece and can be rotated and raised and lowered, and a nozzle (not shown) that ejects cleaning liquid and air to the rotating workpiece.

  In the vicinity of the holding tables 7, 2 a and 2 b and the cleaning mechanism 10, a transport mechanism 11 for transporting the work W together with the work support member 8 is disposed. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the transport mechanism 11 includes a sealed portion 110 formed in an inverted U-shaped cross section, a gas inflow portion 111 that communicates gas into the sealed portion 110, and a connecting member 110 a. A support part 112 connected to the sealing part 110 and supporting the sealing part 110, an elastic member 113 such as a coil spring wound around the connecting member 110a and interposed between the sealing part 110 and the support part 112, and a work support member And a plurality of holding portions 114 that hold 8.

  As shown in FIG. 4, an O-ring 110 b is embedded at the lower end of the sealing part 110. The holding part 114 includes an air cylinder 114a fixed to the support part 112, a piston rod 114b that moves in the horizontal direction, and a movable part 114c that is suspended from the end of the piston rod 114b and moves in the horizontal direction together with the piston rod 114b. , And a protrusion 114d formed at the lower end of the movable portion 114c. The tip of the projection 114 d faces the center of the support 112, and can engage with an engagement hole 810 provided in the frame 81 of the work support member 8.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the support part 112 is composed of a shaft part 115a and an arm part 115b, and is fixed to the tip of the arm part 115b of the movable part 115 that can be moved up and down and rotated. It can be moved in the vertical and horizontal directions by turning and sliding the arm portion 115b in the horizontal direction. Moreover, the sealing part 110, the gas inflow part 111, and the holding | maintenance part 114 can also be moved to a perpendicular direction and a horizontal direction by the movement of the support part 112 in the vertical direction and a horizontal direction.

  Next, the operation of the apparatus when grinding a workpiece using the processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The workpiece to be ground is held when the holding portion 50 of the carry-in / out mechanism 5 enters the cassette 40a, and is carried out when the holding portion 50 retreats from the cassette 40a. Then, the work held by the holding unit 50 is placed on the holding unit 60 of the alignment mechanism 6. In the alignment mechanism 6, the workpiece is aligned at a fixed position by moving the abutting members 62 toward each other.

  Next, the aligned workpiece is held by the holding unit 50 of the carry-in / out mechanism 5 and conveyed to the holding table 7. A work support member 8 is placed on the holding table 7 in advance, and as shown in FIG. 4, a recess 84 formed on the lower surface of the work support member 8 and a positioning projection 71 formed on the holding table 7. They are engaged with each other at the tapered surfaces. The conveyed workpiece is placed on the workpiece support member 8. The workpiece W has a larger diameter than the porous portion 80 of the workpiece support member 8 and a smaller diameter than the frame portion 81.

  When the workpiece W is placed on the workpiece support member 8, a negative pressure is applied to the porous portion 70 of the holding table 7, whereby the workpiece W is sucked and held by the holding table 7 via the workpiece support member 8. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, when the sealing portion 110 of the transport mechanism 11 moves directly above the workpiece W and descends, the O-ring 110 b comes into contact with the frame portion 81 of the workpiece support member 8, and the sealing portion 110 and the workpiece support are supported. A sealed space 116 is formed between the member 8 and the workpiece W.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the support portion 112 is slightly lowered to contract the elastic member 113, and the sealing portion 110 is pressed against the work support member 8 by the elastic force of the elastic member 113.

  Thus, when the sealed space 116 is formed, as shown in FIG. 7, gas is sent from the gas inflow portion 111 to pressurize the sealed space 116 to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure. Furthermore, the holding part 114 holds the work support member 8 by moving the movable part 114c in a direction in which the movable parts 114c approach each other by being driven by the air cylinder 114a, and engaging the protrusion 114d with the engagement hole 810.

  Next, the state in which the gas is fed from the gas inflow portion 111 is maintained and the suction of the porous portion 70 of the holding table 7 is released, and the moving portion 115 pulls the sealing portion 110 upward as shown in FIG. Then, since the protrusion 114 d is engaged with the engagement hole 810, the workpiece W rises together with the workpiece support member 8. Since the sealed space 116 is maintained at a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure, the workpiece W is maintained in a state of being firmly held by the workpiece support member 8.

  Thus, when the workpiece | work W is lifted with the workpiece | work support member 8, it will be conveyed by the moving part 115 to the holding table 2a shown in FIG. Then, the workpiece W is placed on the holding table 2 a together with the workpiece support member 8. Then, the gas inflow from the gas inflow part 111 is stopped here, the sealed space 116 is returned to the atmospheric pressure, the holding part 114 moves the movable part 114c in the direction away from each other, and the holding is released and the moving part 115 is released. Raises the support portion 112 and applies a negative pressure to the porous portion 20 of the holding table 2a. When the workpiece W is thus held on the holding table 2a via the workpiece support member 8, the machining mechanism 3a is lowered under the control of the machining feed mechanism 9a, and the rotating grindstone 301 is applied to the exposed surface of the workpiece W for rough grinding. I do.

  After the rough grinding is finished, the workpiece W and the workpiece support member 8 are transported to the holding table 2b by the same procedure as shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 and similarly held by the holding table 2b. Then, the machining mechanism 3b is lowered under the control of the machining feed mechanism 9b, and the rotating grindstone 301 is applied to the exposed surface of the workpiece W to perform finish grinding.

  After finishing grinding, the workpiece W and the workpiece support member 8 are conveyed to the holding table 100 of the cleaning mechanism 10 by the same procedure as shown in FIGS. Then, while the holding table rotates, the cleaning liquid is jetted onto the workpiece W to perform cleaning, and then drying is performed.

  The workpiece W after cleaning holds the workpiece W by the holding unit 50 of the carry-in / out mechanism 5 and carries it into the cassette 40b. On the other hand, the workpiece support member 8 remaining on the holding table 100 is held by the holding unit 114 of the transfer mechanism 11 and transferred to the holding table 7. After the cleaning, the workpiece W can be transported to the tape mounter while being supported by the workpiece support member 8 using the same means as the transport mechanism 11 without storing the workpiece W in the cassette 40b.

  If a plurality of workpiece support members 8 are first prepared on the holding table 7, a plurality of workpieces can be processed in parallel, which is efficient. Further, in that case, it is possible to perform processing more efficiently by providing a plurality of transport mechanisms 11 in the apparatus.

  Further, a configuration in which fluid such as liquid or air is supplied between the holding table and the work support member 8 to prevent biting may be additionally added.

  In the above description, the grinding apparatus has been described as an example of the processing apparatus. However, the processing apparatus includes a dicing apparatus for dicing a work, a polishing apparatus for polishing the surface of the work, and a tape as long as the apparatus has a similar conveyance function. An expanding device that expands, a laser drilling device that performs laser processing on a workpiece, and the like are also included.

There are various types of workpieces depending on the type of processing apparatus. Although not particularly limited, if the above-described grinding apparatus or polishing apparatus is used, for example, a semiconductor wafer such as a silicon wafer or GaAs, ceramics, glass, a sapphire (Al ₂ O ₃ ) -based inorganic material substrate, a plate metal, or a resin Ductility materials, and flatness (TTV: total thickness variation: the maximum and minimum values on the entire surface of the workpiece ground surface measured in the thickness direction with the workpiece ground surface as the reference surface) Examples of the various processing materials that require a difference in values).

In the case of a dicing apparatus, for example, a semiconductor wafer such as a silicon wafer or gallium arsenide, an adhesive member such as DAF (Die Attach Film) provided on the back surface of the wafer for chip mounting, a package of semiconductor products, ceramics, glass, sapphire (Al ₂ O ₃ ), inorganic electronic substrates of various types, various electronic parts such as LCD drivers, and various processing materials that require processing position accuracy on the order of microns.

1: Processing device 2a, 2b: Holding table 20: Porous part 20a: First holding surface 3a, 3b: Processing mechanism 30: Grinding tool 300: Base 301: Grinding wheel 31: Support mount 32: Rotating shaft 33: Motor 4a 4b: mounting table 40a, 40b: cassette 5: loading / unloading mechanism 50: holding unit 50a: holding surface 51: rotating unit 52: arm unit 53: base 54: ball screw 55: guide rail 56: pulse motor 6: Positioning mechanism 60: Holding part 61: Long hole 62: Abutting member 7: Holding table 70: First holding surface 71: Positioning protrusion 8: Work support member 80: Porous part 81: Frame part 810: Engagement hole 82 : Surface to be held 83: Second holding surface 84: Recesses 9 a and 9 b: Processing feed mechanism 90: Ball screw 91: Guide rail 92: Pulse motor 93: Sliding base 94: Supporting part 10: Cleaning mechanism 100: Holding table 11: Transfer mechanism 110: Sealing part 110a: Connecting member 110b: O-ring 111: Gas inflow part 112: Supporting part 113: Elastic member 114: Holding part 114a: Air cylinder 114b : Piston rod 114c: Movable part 114d: Protruding part 115: Moving part 115a: Shaft part 115b: Arm part 116: Sealed space

Claims (3)

A processing apparatus comprising: a holding table including a first holding surface; and a processing mechanism that processes a workpiece held by applying a negative pressure to the first holding surface of the holding table,
A plate-like workpiece support member placed on the holding table in a state where the workpiece is held;
A transport mechanism that carries the work support member holding the work into and out of the holding table;
The workpiece support member includes
A held surface held by the first holding surface of the holding table by negative pressure;
A second holding surface that is opposite to the held surface and holds the workpiece;
Formed,
The transport mechanism is
A sealed portion that surrounds the work placed on the second holding surface to form a sealed space;
A gas inflow portion for sending gas into the sealed space to make the pressure higher than atmospheric pressure;
A holding portion for holding the workpiece support member;
A moving part that moves the sealing part, the gas inflow part, and the holding part in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction;
A processing apparatus having The transport mechanism is
A support portion for supporting the sealing portion via an elastic member;
2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving unit is coupled to the support unit. The workpiece support member is
A plate-like porous portion communicating with the held surface and the second holding surface;
A frame portion surrounding the outer peripheral side surface of the porous portion;
The processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processing apparatus is formed from.

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