JP2014034069A - Exhaust duct of processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exhaust duct of a processing device, capable of removing waste liquid from the exhaust sucked in the duct.SOLUTION: An exhaust duct assembly is connected to a processing device having a chuck table for holding a workpiece, processing means for processing the workpiece while supplying a processing liquid to the workpiece held by the chuck table, a processing chamber surrounding the chuck table and the processing means, and an exhaust channel for exhausting the atmosphere in the processing chamber containing the processing waste and the waste liquid. The exhaust duct assembly includes: a first duct having an upper edge in communication with an exhaust suction source sucking the atmosphere, and having liquid discharging means in a lower edge; and a second duct having one edge in communication with the exhaust channel at the processing device, and having the other edge connected to the first duct at the upside by the liquid discharging means. A cross section of the first duct is 1.5 times or more of the cross section of the second duct.

Description

  The present invention relates to an exhaust duct of a processing apparatus for processing a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer.

  In the semiconductor device manufacturing process, lattice-shaped division lines are set on the surface of a wafer made of a semiconductor material such as silicon or gallium arsenide, and devices such as ICs and LSIs are formed in each region partitioned by the division lines. .

  Such a wafer is divided into a large number of device chips by cutting along the scheduled dividing line after the back surface is ground and thinned to a predetermined thickness. The device chip thus obtained is packaged with resin or ceramics and mounted on various electric devices.

  As a device that divides a wafer, a cutting device that cuts a rotating cutting blade into a wafer along a planned dividing line is generally used, and a grinding wheel that rotates on the back surface of the wafer is used for grinding the back surface of the wafer. A grinding device for pressing and grinding is used.

  In a processing apparatus such as this type of cutting apparatus or grinding apparatus, a configuration in which a workpiece held by a chuck table is processed in a sealed processing chamber by a processing means such as a cutting blade or a grinding wheel.

  In the processing, the processing is performed while supplying the processing liquid to the processing point where the processing means contacts the workpiece. The machining fluid is supplied for the purpose of removing the machining waste generated by machining from the workpiece or cooling the machining point, and the machining fluid mixed with the machining waste is discharged out of the machining apparatus as waste liquid.

  On the other hand, the atmosphere in the processing chamber is exhausted outside the apparatus through a duct (exhaust passage), and a fan is provided in the middle of the duct to suck the atmosphere in the processing chamber into the duct and send it to the exhaust port. Some processing apparatuses include a duct and a fan (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-124165).

JP 2000-124165 A

  By the way, in the processing apparatus having such a configuration, when processing liquid (waste liquid) mixed with processing waste is mixed into the exhaust from the processing chamber, processing waste adheres to the fan, and the rotation of the fan is reduced or vibration is generated. As a result, the suction force may be reduced.

  Therefore, the applicant of the present invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-182342, a separation means that is disposed in an exhaust path between the processing chamber and the fan and separates waste liquid contained in the exhaust gas flowing into the exhaust path from the processing chamber from the gas. A configuration with the above was proposed previously.

  By disposing such separation means in the exhaust passage, most of the waste liquid containing processing waste in the atmosphere is separated from the exhaust and discharged to the drain, but it is possible to completely separate the waste liquid from the exhaust. It is difficult, and even a small amount of waste liquid containing processing waste is mixed in the atmosphere discharged outside the apparatus, causing clogging of filters and the like.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an exhaust duct of a processing apparatus capable of removing waste liquid from exhaust gas sucked in the duct. is there.

  According to the present invention, a chuck table for holding a workpiece, a processing means for processing while supplying a processing liquid to the workpiece held by the chuck table, and a process for surrounding the chuck table and the processing means. An exhaust duct assembly connected to a processing apparatus having a chamber and an exhaust path for exhausting an atmosphere in the processing chamber containing processing waste and waste liquid, the upper end communicating with an exhaust suction source for sucking the atmosphere, A first duct having a liquid discharge means at a lower end, and a second duct having one end communicating with the exhaust path of the processing apparatus and the other end connected to the first duct above the liquid discharge means, An exhaust duct assembly for a processing apparatus is provided in which the cross-sectional area of the first duct is 1.5 times or more the cross-sectional area of the second duct.

  Preferably, it further includes an inverted conical funnel portion disposed in the first duct above the connecting portion with the second duct, and the waste liquid in the atmosphere passes through the inner wall of the first duct by the funnel portion. It is prevented from rising and entering the exhaust suction source.

  According to the present invention, the processing apparatus exhausts the atmosphere in the processing chamber with the thin second duct and connects to the thick first duct on the way, so that the flow rate of the exhaust gas does not change but the flow rate changes. Even if the exhaust gas is forced to exhaust, it becomes difficult to raise the weight of waste liquid containing machining waste to the upstream side due to the slow flow rate in the thick first duct, and the waste liquid falls in the thick first duct. By flowing down after adhering to the wall surface, the waste liquid can be easily separated from the exhaust.

  Since the liquid discharge means for discharging the collected waste liquid is provided at the lower end of the thick first duct, the collected waste liquid is efficiently discharged. Moreover, in the form which provided the funnel part in the thick 1st duct, even when there exists the waste liquid which goes up along a wall surface, a funnel part acts like a rattle and can prevent a raise of a waste liquid.

It is an appearance perspective view of a cutting device concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part of a cutting device. It is a perspective view of a separation means. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the exhaust duct assembly which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the exhaust duct assembly which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, an external perspective view of a cutting device (dicing device) 2 provided with an exhaust duct assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention is shown. On the front side of the cutting apparatus 2, an operation panel 4 is provided for an operator to input instructions to the apparatus such as machining conditions.

  The wafer W to be cut is attached to a dicing tape T that is an adhesive tape, and the outer peripheral edge of the dicing tape T is attached to an annular frame F. As a result, the wafer W is supported by the annular frame F via the dicing tape T, and a plurality of wafers (for example, 25 sheets) are accommodated in the wafer cassette 6. The wafer cassette 6 is placed on a cassette elevator 8 that can move up and down.

  Behind the wafer cassette 6, a loading / unloading means 10 for unloading the wafer W before cutting from the wafer cassette 6 and loading the wafer after cutting into the wafer cassette 6 is disposed. Between the wafer cassette 8 and the loading / unloading means 10, a temporary placement area 12, which is an area on which a wafer to be carried in / out, is temporarily placed, is provided. Positioning means 14 for positioning at a certain position is provided.

  In the vicinity of the temporary placement area 12, transport means 16 having a turning arm that sucks and transports the frame F integrated with the wafer W is disposed, and the wafer W carried to the temporary placement area 12 is It is sucked by the transport means 16 and transported onto the chuck table 18 and is sucked by the chuck table 18 and is held on the chuck table 18 by fixing the frame F by a plurality of clamps 19.

  The chuck table 18 is configured to be rotatable and reciprocally movable in the X-axis direction, and an alignment unit 20 that detects a street of the wafer W to be cut is located above the movement path of the chuck table 18 in the X-axis direction. It is arranged.

  The alignment unit 20 includes an imaging unit 22 that images the surface of the wafer W, and can detect a street to be cut by processing such as pattern matching based on an image acquired by imaging. The image acquired by the imaging unit 22 is displayed on a display monitor (not shown).

  On the left side of the alignment unit 20, a cutting unit 24 for cutting the wafer W held on the chuck table 18 is disposed. The cutting unit 24 is configured integrally with the alignment unit 20, and both move together in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction.

  The cutting unit 24 is configured by attaching a cutting blade 28 to the tip of a rotatable spindle 26 and is movable in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction. The cutting blade 28 is located on the extended line of the imaging unit 22 in the X-axis direction.

  The wafer W that has been subjected to the cutting process is transported to the spinner cleaning device 27 by the transport means 25, cleaned by the spinner cleaning device 27, and spin-dried.

  The above-described mechanism portion of the cutting device 2 is accommodated in the housing 30. The housing 30 includes a frame 32 and a transparent plate 34 formed from acrylic resin or the like attached to the frame 32.

  The operator can access the chuck table 18 by grasping the handle 36 and opening and closing the cover 37, and can access the cutting unit 24 by grasping the handle 38 and opening and closing the cover 39.

  Further, by grasping the handle 40 and opening and closing the cover 41, the wafer cassette 6 can be placed on the cassette elevator 8, or the wafer cassette 6 can be taken out from the cassette elevator 8.

  Referring to FIG. 2, a cross-sectional view of the main part of the cutting device 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown. A processing chamber 31 is defined in the housing 30 of the cutting apparatus 2. A wafer W held on the chuck table 18 and a cutting unit 24 are accommodated in the processing chamber 31. Cutting fluid supply nozzles 29 are disposed on both sides of the cutting blade 28 of the cutting unit 24.

  A partition wall 42 is provided on the rear side (left side in FIG. 2) of the processing chamber 31, and an exhaust port 43 is formed in the partition wall 42. One end of an exhaust path 44 communicates with the exhaust port 43. The other end of the exhaust passage 44 communicates with a fan 45 installed in the cutting device 2, and an exhaust pipe (second duct) 46 extending to the outside of the cutting device 2 is connected to the other end side of the exhaust passage 44. ing.

  Separating means 48 for separating the exhaust gas into a gas and a liquid is disposed between the processing chamber 31 and the fan 45 in the middle of the exhaust path 44. Here, the exhaust passage 44 is divided into two parts between the processing chamber 31 and the separation means 48 and between the separation means 48 and the fan 45, the former being the upstream exhaust passage 44A and the latter being the downstream exhaust passage 44B. To do. The exhaust pipe 46 is connected to the end of the downstream exhaust path 44B.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the separation means 48 includes a separation chamber 54 composed of a funnel-shaped lower chamber 50 and a cylindrical upper chamber 52 rising from the upper end of the lower chamber 50. The lower chamber 50 and the upper chamber 52 are connected by a connecting portion 56.

  An intake port 58 that communicates with the processing chamber 31 is formed on the side surface of the upper chamber 52, and a gas exhaust port 60 that communicates with the fan 45 is formed on the upper portion of the upper chamber 52. On the other hand, a waste liquid discharge port 62 is formed at the lower end of the lower chamber 50, and the waste liquid discharge port 62 is connected to a drain (not shown).

  A partition wall 61 is disposed inside the upper chamber 52 so as to face the intake port 58 so as to prevent the exhaust gas sucked from the intake port 55 from flowing directly into the gas discharge port 60. By providing the partition wall 61 in the upper chamber 52, the exhaust gas sucked from the intake port 58 collides with the partition wall 61 and then flows along the inner peripheral surface of the upper chamber 52, and the swirl airflow 64 in the separation chamber 54. Occurs.

  In the cutting apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, when the fan 45 is driven, the atmosphere in the processing chamber 31 is sucked into the upstream exhaust passage 44 </ b> A through the exhaust port 43, and is separated from the intake port 58 of the separation unit 48. Introduced in. Then, the gas is discharged into the downstream exhaust passage 44 </ b> B through the separation chamber 54 through the gas discharge port 60, and exhausted to the outside of the cutting apparatus 2 through the exhaust duct assembly 68.

  In this manner, the atmosphere in the processing chamber 31 is exhausted, whereby the inside of the processing chamber 31 is maintained in a clean atmosphere. In the separation means 48 through which the exhaust passes, the exhaust collides with the partition wall 61 formed in the upper chamber 52 and a spiral air flow 64 is generated in the separation chamber 54. That is, in the separation chamber 54, the exhaust gas rotates in a spiral shape and is then discharged to the downstream exhaust path 44 </ b> B through the upper gas discharge port 60.

  At the time of cutting the wafer W, cutting is performed by the cutting blade 28 while supplying the cutting fluid from the cutting fluid supply nozzle 29, and the cutting fluid is splashed by the rotating cutting blade 18 and scattered in a mist form.

  This mist-like cutting fluid is a waste fluid, and there are many cases in which foreign matters such as machining scraps are mixed therein, and in a state where it is mixed in the exhaust gas, the separating means passes from the exhaust port 43 through the upstream exhaust passage 44A. It is introduced into the separation chamber 54 via 48 intake ports 58.

  The exhaust gas including the waste liquid 55 introduced into the separation chamber 54 rotates as a swirl airflow 64 in the separation chamber 54 and is separated into gas and liquid, that is, exhaust gas and waste liquid by a centrifugal separation action. Then, only the exhaust gas is discharged from the gas discharge port 60 to the downstream exhaust passage 44B, and the waste liquid 55 containing foreign matter falls and is discharged from the waste liquid discharge port 62.

  Thus, even if the atmosphere in the processing chamber 31 containing the mist-like waste liquid is exhausted, the exhaust gas is separated into gas and liquid by passing through the separating means 48, and only the gas is discharged from the gas discharge port 60. The waste liquid containing foreign matter is discharged from the waste liquid discharge port 62.

  Accordingly, the mist-like waste liquid does not pass through the fan 45, and therefore, the possibility that foreign matters such as processing waste contained in the waste liquid adhere to the fan 45 is reduced. As a result, a reduction in the suction force of the fan 45 is prevented.

  Although most of the waste liquid 55 is separated from the exhaust gas by the separation means 54 and discharged to the drain, it is difficult to completely separate the waste liquid 55, and some of the waste liquid is exhaust duct of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. It is discharged to the assembly 68.

  The exhaust duct assembly 68 has an upper end communicating with an exhaust suction source (not shown) that sucks exhaust, a lower end having a liquid discharge means 80, one end communicating with the exhaust passage 44 of the cutting device 2, and the other end. Is composed of the second duct 46 connected to the first duct 70 above the liquid discharging means 80.

  Preferably, the cross-sectional area of the first duct 70 is 1.5 times or more the cross-sectional area of the second duct 62. In the present embodiment, a duct having a diameter of 100 mm is used as the first duct 70, and a duct having a diameter of 70 mm is used as the second duct 46. An inverted conical funnel portion 74 is attached so as to be in contact with the inner wall of the upper first duct 70 by a connecting portion 72 between the first duct 70 and the second duct 46.

  The liquid discharging means 80 includes a hemispherical waste liquid receiving portion disposed at the lower end of the first duct 70 and a pipe 78 connected to the waste liquid receiving portion 76. A waste liquid receiving container 82 is provided below the liquid discharge means 80. Instead of the pipe 78, the waste liquid may be introduced into the waste liquid receiving container 82 by the flexible tube 81 shown in FIG.

  According to the exhaust duct assembly 68 of the above-described embodiment, when exhaust is sucked by an exhaust suction source (not shown), the exhaust flowing in the thin second duct 46 is shown in the middle of the thick first duct 70 as shown by the arrow A. Since it flows in the direction, the flow rate of the exhaust gas does not change, but the flow rate becomes slow.

  As a result, even when suctioned by the exhaust suction source, it becomes difficult to raise the weight of the waste liquid containing the processing waste to the upstream side due to the slow flow rate in the thick first duct 70, and the inside of the thick first duct 70 Then, after the waste liquid 55 falls or adheres to the wall surface of the first duct 70, it is stored in the waste liquid receiving container 82 through the liquid discharge means 80. Since the liquid discharge means 80 for discharging the collected waste liquid 55 is provided at the lower end of the first duct 70, the collected waste liquid 55 is efficiently discharged into the waste liquid receiving container 82.

  The thick first duct 70 has an inverted conical funnel portion 74 attached above the connecting portion 72 to the second duct 46, so that there is waste liquid that rises along the inner wall of the first duct 70. In addition, the funnel portion 74 acts like a ratchet to prevent the waste liquid 55 from rising, and the waste liquid 55 can be efficiently collected in the waste liquid receiving container 82.

  Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a longitudinal sectional view of an exhaust duct assembly 68A according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The exhaust duct assembly 68A of the present embodiment is provided with a second liquid discharge means 84 for discharging the waste liquid 55 blocked by the inverted conical funnel portion 74 from the first duct 70.

  The second liquid disposing means 84 includes a pipe 86 attached through the wall portion of the first duct 70 adjacent to the funnel portion 74, and a hose 88 attached to the pipe 86. The lower end portion of the hose 88 extends into the waste liquid receiving container 82.

  By providing the second liquid discharge means 84, the waste liquid 55 that has risen along the inner wall of the first duct 70 and is blocked by the funnel portion 74 is contained in the waste liquid receiving container 82 via the second liquid discharge means 84. To be discharged. Preferably, a plurality of second liquid discharge means 84 are disposed on the outer periphery of the first duct 70 at a predetermined interval.

  The second liquid discharge means 84 discharges the waste liquid 55 to the waste liquid receiving container 82 so that the waste liquid 55 that has risen along the inner wall of the first duct 70 does not overflow the funnel portion 74 and rise.

  In addition to the second liquid discharge means 84 described above, in the exhaust duct assembly 68A of the present embodiment, a thin third duct 90 is connected to the upper end of the thick first duct 70, and the thin third duct 90 is not shown in the drawing. Connected to the source. Exhaust gas whose flow rate has dropped in the thick first duct 70 is sucked into the exhaust suction source at an increased flow rate as indicated by an arrow C in the thin third duct 90.

  When the cutting device 2 is provided with a machining fluid circulation line and circulates the machining fluid, the waste fluid discharge port 62 of the separation chamber 54 is connected to the circulation line via a filtration device, and further a waste fluid receiving container. By connecting 82 to the circulation line through a filtering device, the disappearance of the working fluid can be reduced.

  In the embodiment described above, the example in which the fan 45 and the separating means 48 are disposed in the processing apparatus 2 has been described. However, an exhaust facility having a fan for exhausting the atmosphere in the processing chamber is provided in the factory where the processing apparatus is installed. In such a case, the separation means 48 may be provided in the exhaust equipment.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the present invention is applied to the cutting apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the cutting apparatus, and can be applied to various processing apparatuses such as a grinding apparatus, a polishing apparatus, and a cutting tool.

2 Cutting device 24 Cutting unit 28 Cutting blade 30 Housing 31 Processing chamber 44 Exhaust path 45 Fan 46 Exhaust pipe (second duct)
48 Separating means 50 Lower chamber 52 Upper chamber 54 Separating chamber 60 Bulkhead 68, 68A Exhaust duct assembly 70 First duct 74 Funnel portion 80 Liquid discharging means 82 Waste liquid receiving container 84 Second liquid discharging means 90 Third duct

Claims (2)

A chuck table for holding a workpiece, a processing means for processing while supplying a processing liquid to the workpiece held by the chuck table, a processing chamber surrounding the chuck table and the processing means, and processing waste And an exhaust duct assembly connected to a processing apparatus having an exhaust path for exhausting an atmosphere in the processing chamber containing waste liquid,
A first duct having an upper end communicating with an exhaust suction source for sucking the atmosphere and having a liquid discharge means at the lower end;
A second duct having one end communicating with the exhaust path of the processing apparatus and the other end connected to the first duct above the liquid discharge means;
An exhaust duct assembly of a processing apparatus, wherein a cross-sectional area of the first duct is 1.5 times or more a cross-sectional area of the second duct. Further comprising an inverted conical funnel portion disposed in the first duct above the connecting portion with the second duct;
The exhaust duct assembly of a processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the funnel portion prevents waste liquid in the atmosphere from rising along the inner wall of the first duct and entering the exhaust suction source.

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