JP2012056071A - Device and method for supporting - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain stabilization of support of a plate member such as a semiconductor wafer having a projecting part when the plate member is conveyed and to easily separate a contact surface in contact with the projecting part from the projecting part.SOLUTION: The supporting device 12 of a semiconductor wafer W having a projecting part W1 includes a contact body 26 which can come in contact with the tip of the projecting part W1 and a suction means 30 giving suction force to the semiconductor wafer W. The contact body 26 is constituted of a material provided with a suction port 40 penetrating on a contact surface 26A side and having self-viscosity. When the contact body 26 is viewed in sectional view in a non-load state, the contact surface 26A has a shape tapering toward the suction port 40. The contact surface 26A is provided to be deformable matched with the tip surface shape of the projecting part W1 when supporting the semiconductor wafer W.

Description

  The present invention relates to a support device and a support method, and more particularly, to a support device and a support method suitable for transporting a plate-shaped member such as a semiconductor wafer having a closed loop-shaped convex portion on an outer peripheral portion.

Recent semiconductor wafers (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “wafers”) are ground to around 50 μm in order to achieve miniaturization and weight reduction when they can be used as electronic parts by dicing after forming various devices. Is to be done. For this reason, the brittleness of the wafer is increasingly increased, and careful consideration that does not damage the wafer is required during transfer between various processing steps.
Therefore, in order to prevent wafer damage during transport, a relatively loop-shaped convex portion is formed on the outer peripheral side of the wafer, and the wafer can be transported using the convex portion. An apparatus has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The support device of Patent Document 1 includes a contact body that can contact a front end surface of a convex portion of a wafer. The contact body is formed of a self-viscous material, and includes a suction port on a contact surface with the convex portion. ing. In this apparatus, in addition to the suction force through the suction port, the contact surface of the contact body comes into contact with the entire tip surface of the convex portion, and the support body exerts its supporting force by the viscosity of the contact body.

JP 2010-56341 A

  However, in the support device of Patent Document 1, since the contact body has self-viscosity, the adhesive force between the contact surface and the tip of the convex portion becomes too strong, and the wafer is held by another support device to separate them. This requires a process to be performed, resulting in an inconvenience that the number of processes increases. Here, in Patent Document 1, compressed air is discharged from the suction port in order to separate the contact surface and the tip end surface of the convex portion. However, when the adhesive force is increased, only the vicinity of the suction port on the contact surface is a part. Therefore, there is an inconvenience that the separation is insufficient just by moving away from the tip surface of the convex portion. Therefore, if the width of the contact surface is narrowed in order to eliminate such an inconvenience, the adhesive force with the tip end surface of the convex portion becomes weak, and there arises an inconvenience that the wafer is dropped off.

[Object of invention]
The present invention provides a support device and a support method that can stably support a plate-like member and can easily separate a convex portion from a contact surface that contacts the convex member in a configuration in which the convex portion is supported. There is to do.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a support device for a plate-like member provided with a convex portion in a plane,
A self-viscous contact body having a first contact surface that can contact the tip end surface of the convex portion of the convex portion and provided with a suction port penetrating the first contact surface is communicated with the suction port. A suction means,
The contact body is connected to the first contact surface and becomes wider as the distance from the first contact surface increases, and when the protrusion tip surface is sucked by the suction means, the protrusion tip surface It has the structure of having the 2nd contact surface which can contact | abut.

  In the present invention, the width of the first contact surface may be the same as the width of the suction port or greater than or equal to the width of the suction port.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the second contact surface is provided in a curved shape that bulges outward.

  Further, it is possible to adopt a configuration that further includes a separating means for separating the plate-like member supported by the contact body from the contact body.

Furthermore, the support method of the present invention is a support method of a plate-like member provided with a convex portion in a plane,
Contacting the first abutting surface with the convex portion tip surface of the convex portion;
Sucking the tip end surface of the convex portion through a suction port penetrating the first contact surface;
And a step of abutting a second abutting surface provided continuously with the first abutting surface by the suction against the tip end surface of the convex portion.

  According to the present invention, since the first contact surface side of the contact body is tapered, the contact area between the contact body and the protrusion tip surface can be reduced, and the first contact surface and the protrusion tip surface can be reduced. Can be easily separated, and the second contact surface comes into contact with the front end surface of the convex portion by suction by the suction means, thereby preventing the adhesive force with the front end surface of the convex portion of the contact body from being weakened. Can do.

  In addition, when the second contact surface is formed in a curved shape, the second contact surface can be easily brought into contact with the convex portion tip surface.

  Further, in the configuration including the separating means, the contact body and the plate-like member can be reliably separated even if the contact body has self-viscosity.

The schematic front view which shows embodiment by which the support apparatus was applied to the conveying apparatus. The schematic perspective view which looked at the support apparatus from the lower surface side. Operation | movement explanatory drawing of a support apparatus. (A) And (B) is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a support apparatus. The principal part front view which shows a modification.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In this specification, “upper” and “lower” are used with reference to FIG. 1 unless otherwise specified.

  1 and 2, the transfer apparatus 10 according to the embodiment is moved so as to straddle the upper part of the first table T1 on which the wafer W as a plate-like member is placed and the second table T2. Means 11 and a support device 12 fixed to the moving means 11 are provided. Here, the wafer W has a substantially circular shape in plan view and is provided in a shape having a ring-shaped convex portion W1 on the outer peripheral side of the opposite surface (upper surface) of the circuit surface, and on the circuit surface side (lower surface side), A protective adhesive sheet S is affixed.

  The upper surfaces of the first and second tables T1, T2 are suction surfaces having a number of suction holes (not shown) so that the wafer W after the wafer W is transferred can be fixedly supported. It has become. The first table T1 can be exemplified by a grinding table that grinds the back surface of the wafer W, while the second table T2 is, for example, a peeling means (not shown) for peeling the adhesive sheet S, and the adhesive sheet S on the upper side. A transfer table for mounting the wafer W can be exemplified.

  The moving means 11 includes a single-axis robot 20 as a drive device extending between the upper portions of the first and second tables T1 and T2, and a linear motion motor 22 as a drive device supported by the slider 21 of the single-axis robot 20. The output shaft 23 of the linear motor 22 is attached to the support device 12.

  The support device 12 includes a holding body 25 supported by the output shaft 23 of the linear motor 22, a contact body 26 held by the holding body 25, and a suction unit 30 that applies a suction force to the wafer W. And a separation means 31 for separating the wafer W supported via the body 26 from the contact body 26.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the holding body 25 has a substantially square plate shape in plan view, and a circular first groove 33 for receiving the contact body 26 is provided on the lower surface side. A second groove 35 formed along the extending direction of the first groove 33 is formed on the bottom surface of the first groove 33, and at least one between the second groove 35 and the upper surface of the holding body 25. A pipe 39 is connected through a vent hole 37 provided at a location.

  The contact body 26 is made of a silicone-based, urethane-based, acrylic-based, or fluorine-based elastomer having self-viscosity (adhesiveness) and excellent flexibility, heat resistance, elasticity, etc., and particularly pressure-sensitive and heat-sensitive. Even without the use of an adhesive or the like, it can adhere to the wafer W due to its wettability. The contact body 26 is provided in a planar shape that forms a ring shape corresponding to the convex tip end surface W2 of the convex portion W1, and has a first abutting surface 26A that can abut on the convex tip end surface W2. A number of suction ports 40 penetrating the contact surface 26A are formed at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction, and the upper ends of the suction ports 40 communicate with the second groove 35. Further, the contact body 26 is connected to the first contact surface 26A and becomes wider as it moves away from the first contact surface 26A (upward), and the protrusion tip surface W2 is formed by the suction means 30. It has the 2nd contact surface 26B which can contact | abut to convex part front end surface W2 when attracting | sucking (refer FIG. 4). Thereby, it can prevent that the adhesive force with the convex part front end surface W2 of the contact body 26 becomes weak. Furthermore, the width of the first contact surface 26A is the same as the width of the suction port 40 or larger than the width of the suction port 40 and is substantially the same width, whereby the contact body 26 and the convex end surface W2 are formed. The contact area is reduced, and it is easy to separate the first contact surface 26A and the convex portion front end surface W2. A space C is formed between the contact surface 26 </ b> A and the first groove 33. When the wafer W is sucked, the contact body 26 is allowed to be compressed and deformed, and the convex portion of the wafer W is placed in the first groove 33. It acts as a deformation permissible region when retracting W1.

  The suction means 30 is constituted by a decompression pump P1 connected to a pipe 39 via a switching valve 41, and the disconnecting means 31 is a pressure pump P2 connected to the pipe 39 via a switching valve 41. It is comprised by.

  Next, the transfer operation of the wafer W using the support device 12 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, when the wafer W supported by the first table T1 is transferred to the second table T2, the single-axis robot 20 is positioned so that the contact body 26 is positioned at a position opposite to the convex portion W1. The support device 12 is moved.

  In this state, the linear motor 22 is operated to bring the first contact surface 26A of the contact body 26 into contact with the convex end surface W2 as shown in FIG. When the convex tip surface W2 and the first contact surface 26A come into contact with each other, the suction by the first table T1 is released. At this time, since the contact body 26 has flexibility, the impact caused by the contact body 26 coming into contact with the wafer W is reduced. Then, the port of the switching valve 41 is switched, and the convex tip surface W2 is sucked through the pressure reducing pump P1. By this suction, as shown in FIG. 4A, the contact body 26 uses the gap C as a deformation allowable region, the tip of the convex portion W1 is drawn into the first groove 33 by a predetermined depth, and the second The abutting surface 26B is also deformed so as to abut on the convex end surface W2. As a result, the contact area between the contact body 26 and the tip end surface W2 of the protrusion is expanded before the suction starts, and the wafer W can be reliably held.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4B, even if fine irregularities are formed on the convex leading end surface W2, the second contact surface 26B gradually expands the contact area and the convex leading end surface W2 Since the shape is deformed according to the shape, the wafer W can be surely supported by the viscosity and suction force of the contact body 26 itself even if the shape of the convex tip end surface W2 is as shown in FIG.

  Next, the linear motor 22 is operated to raise the wafer W, and then the single-axis robot 20 is driven to move the support device 12 to a predetermined position on the second table T2. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4A, the wafer W is stopped above the second table T2 by the backward displacement of the contact body 26.

  After that, when the port of the switching valve 41 is switched and gradually released to the atmosphere, the second contact surface 26B is gradually moved forward by the elastic restoring force of the contact body 26 as shown in FIG. The wafer W is deformed away from W2, and the wafer W is brought into contact with the second table T2. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the fragile wafer W from being damaged by the impact caused by the placement. Then, the second table T2 sucks the wafer W, and the port of the switching valve 41 is switched. The compressed air is discharged from the suction port 40 via the pressure pump P2, and adheres to the first contact surface 26A. The protruding front end surface W2 is cut off from the first contact surface 26A, and the wafer W is transferred to the second table T2. Note that when the compressed air is discharged, the support device 12 may be controlled so as to be slightly separated from the second table T2.

  Therefore, according to such an embodiment, since the second contact surface 26B is configured to become wider as it is away from the first contact surface 26A, the support stability of the wafer W and the separation from the wafer W are easy. It is possible to provide a support device and a support method that combine both sexiness.

The best configuration, method and the like for carrying out the present invention have been disclosed in the above description, but the present invention is not limited to this.
That is, the invention has been illustrated and described with particular reference to particular embodiments, but it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are not deviated from the technical idea and scope of the invention. On the other hand, various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art in shape, quantity, and other detailed configurations.
Therefore, the description limited to the shape disclosed above is an example for easy understanding of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention. The description by the name of the member which remove | excluded one part or all part is included in this invention.

  For example, the shape of the contact surface 26A in the contact body 26 may be provided in a curved shape in which the second contact surface 26B bulges outward as shown in FIG. According to this, it becomes easy to make the 2nd contact surface 26B contact | abut to the convex part front end surface W2 by the compressive deformation of the contact body 26 by the suction means 30. FIG.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the wafer W is a support target, but other plate-like members such as a glass plate having a convex portion, a steel plate, a pottery, a wooden plate, or a resin plate can also be targeted. It may be a silicone semiconductor wafer or a compound semiconductor wafer. Furthermore, the convex portion W1 is not limited to a closed loop shape, and may be intermittent, and the contact body 26 may be provided intermittently corresponding to this.

Furthermore, although the single-axis robot 20 is used as the moving means 11 for moving the support device 12, the support device 12 may be configured to be supported by a robot arm that can move in three orthogonal axes.
The drive device in the embodiment includes an electric device such as a rotation motor, a linear motion motor, a linear motor, a single-axis robot, and an articulated robot, an actuator such as an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, a rodless cylinder, and a rotary cylinder. In addition to these, a combination of them directly or indirectly may be employed (some of them overlap with those exemplified in the embodiment).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Support apparatus 26 Contact body 26A 1st contact surface 26B 2nd contact surface 30 Suction means 31 Cutting means 40 Suction port W Semiconductor wafer (plate-shaped member)
W1 Convex W2 Convex tip

Claims (5)

A support device for a plate-like member provided with a convex portion in a plane,
A self-viscous contact body having a first contact surface that can contact the tip end surface of the convex portion of the convex portion and provided with a suction port penetrating the first contact surface is communicated with the suction port. A suction means,
The contact body is connected to the first contact surface and becomes wider as the distance from the first contact surface increases, and when the protrusion tip surface is sucked by the suction means, the protrusion tip surface A support device having a second abutting surface capable of abutting on the surface.   The support device according to claim 1, wherein a width of the first contact surface is equal to or greater than a width of the suction port and is substantially the same width.   The support device according to claim 1, wherein the second contact surface is provided in a curved shape that bulges outward.   4. The support device according to claim 1, further comprising a separating means for separating the plate-like member supported by the contact body from the contact body. A method of supporting a plate-like member provided with a convex portion in a plane,
Contacting the first abutting surface with the convex portion tip surface of the convex portion;
Sucking the tip end surface of the convex portion through a suction port penetrating the first contact surface;
And a step of abutting a second abutting surface provided continuously with the first abutting surface by the suction on the tip end surface of the convex portion.

Images