JP2014135438A - Wafer processing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent trouble incident to the weight of a lifting mechanism, without increasing the output of the lifting mechanism even when lifting a heavy good such as a large diameter wafer.SOLUTION: A processing apparatus (1) includes cassette mounting means (5) mounting a cassette (9) for housing a wafer (W), a cutting unit (3), a cleaning unit (4), and transportation means (41, 61). The cassette mounting means (5) has a cassette mounting table (70) for mounting the cassette (9) on the upper surface, lifting means (71) for lifting the cassette mounting table (70) up and down, an air cylinder (72) constituted of a cylinder (85) and a piston (86) formed movably up and down in the cylinder (85) and fixed to the cassette mounting table (70), and an air supply section (88) for supplying compressed air with a pressure to counteract the deadweight of the cassette mounting table (70) into the cylinder (85).

Description

  The present invention relates to a wafer processing apparatus capable of moving up and down a cassette used for loading and unloading a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer.

  Conventionally, as this type of wafer processing apparatus, a cutting apparatus capable of moving up and down a cassette in which a plurality of semiconductor wafers are accommodated is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In the cutting apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the cassette is positioned at a desired height by raising and lowering a lifting plate on which a cassette containing a plurality of semiconductor wafers is disposed, and the semiconductor wafer drawn from the cassette is placed on the semiconductor wafer. On the other hand, the semiconductor wafer is processed and the processed semiconductor wafer is accommodated in a cassette.

JP 2002-066865 A

  However, when raising and lowering a cassette containing a plurality of large workpieces (for example, 450 mm wafers), in the structure for raising and lowering the raising and lowering plate on which the cassette is placed as in Patent Document 1, the cassette and The lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the lifting plate requires a considerable strength, and there is a problem that the cost of the apparatus increases and it is not economical. Moreover, since a heavy object such as a large-diameter wafer is moved up and down, there is a possibility that troubles occur frequently due to the consumption of the lifting mechanism becoming severe with the lifting and lowering.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and even when a heavy object such as a large-diameter wafer is lifted or lowered, the lifting mechanism is increased in weight without increasing the output of the lifting mechanism. An object is to provide a wafer processing apparatus capable of preventing trouble.

  The wafer processing apparatus of the present invention includes a cassette mounting means for mounting a cassette for accommodating wafers, a wafer processing means for processing a wafer transferred to a wafer processing area, and between the cassette and the wafer processing area. A wafer processing apparatus comprising: a pair of side plates formed opposite to each other; an opening for loading and unloading the wafer; and a back support for supporting the wafer by a back portion. And a storage shelf for storing a plurality of wafers formed on the side plate, and the cassette mounting means includes a mounting table for mounting the cassette on an upper surface, and a lift for moving the mounting table up and down. An air cylinder comprising: a means; a cylinder disposed in parallel with the lifting means; and a piston formed in the cylinder so as to be movable up and down and fixed to the mounting table; Compressed air pressure to counteract the weight of the mounting table to have an air supply unit for supplying into the cylinder, characterized.

  According to this configuration, the mounting table on which the cassette is mounted is moved up and down by the air cylinder that supplies the compressed air with a pressure that cancels the weight of the mounting table together with the lifting and lowering means. Even in this case, it is not necessary to provide a high-output lifting mechanism, and an increase in device cost can be prevented. In addition, since the cassette mounting means for raising and lowering the cassette can have a simple configuration, the apparatus can be reduced in weight, and troubles associated with weight increase due to the increase in diameter can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, even when a heavy object such as a large-diameter wafer is moved up and down, a wafer processing apparatus capable of preventing troubles associated with the weight of the lifting mechanism without increasing the lifting mechanism is provided. can do.

It is a perspective view of the processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the cassette mounting means which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the cassette mounting means which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the cassette mounting means which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the cassette mounting means which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a wafer processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, an example in which the present invention is applied to a processing apparatus for cutting a workpiece (wafer) will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The present invention can be applied to any apparatus as long as it has a configuration capable of moving up and down a cassette that accommodates a plurality of workpieces.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a processing apparatus (wafer processing apparatus) 1 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped base 2, and a cutting unit 3 and a cleaning unit 4 provided on the base 2. In this processing apparatus 1, a wafer (workpiece) W is transferred from the cassette 9 placed on the base 2 to a cutting processing region (wafer processing region), and cutting is performed by the cutting unit 3. The processed wafer W is transported to the cleaning region (wafer processing region) and cleaned by the cleaning unit 4, and the cleaned wafer W is loaded into the cassette 9.

The wafer W is formed in a substantially disk shape, for example, and is partitioned into a plurality of regions by streets (not shown) arranged in a lattice pattern on the surface, and devices such as IC, LSI, LED, etc. are formed in the partitioned regions. (Not shown) is formed. The wafer W is supported by the metallic annular frame F via the adhesive tape T, and is carried into and out of the processing apparatus 1 while being accommodated in the cassette 9. Wafer W includes adhesive members such as DAF (Die Attach Film) provided on the back side of the workpiece for chip mounting, semiconductor product packages, silicon, gallium arsenide, ceramic, glass, sapphire (Al ₂ O ₃ ) series Inorganic material substrates, various electric parts such as LCD drivers, and various processing materials that require micron-order processing position accuracy are included. In FIG. 1, the wafer W supported by the annular frame F via the adhesive tape T is used as the workpiece. However, a wafer W alone that does not include the adhesive tape T and the annular frame F may be used.

  The cutting unit 3 is configured such that the wafer W can be cut into a lattice shape by relatively moving a chuck table 11 capable of holding the wafer W and a pair of blade units 13 having cutting blades 12.

  The chuck table 11 is formed in a disc shape. A plurality of frame support portions 14 that support the annular frame F of the wafer W are provided on the outer edge portion of the chuck table 11 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. An adsorption chuck 15 made of a porous material is formed on the upper surface of the chuck table 11. The suction chuck 15 is connected to a negative pressure generation source (not shown) disposed in the base 2, and is configured such that the wafer W is sucked and held by the suction chuck 15. Further, the chuck table 11 is connected to a rotation drive mechanism (not shown) disposed in the base 2 and is configured to be able to rotate the wafer W held by suction. The chuck table 11 configured as described above is provided on a base table 16 constituting a part of a table transport mechanism capable of transporting the chuck table 11 in the X-axis direction. The table transport mechanism is connected to a driving means (not shown) disposed inside the base 2, and is a position between the attaching / detaching position on the base 2 for attaching / detaching the wafer W before cutting and the processing position by the cutting unit 3. The chuck table 11 can be reciprocated in the X-axis direction.

  The cutting unit 3 includes a gate-shaped column portion 17 that is erected so as to straddle the table transport mechanism. A pair of blade unit moving mechanisms 18 for moving the pair of blade units 13 in the Y-axis direction above the chuck table 11 are provided on the front surface of the column portion 17. The blade unit moving mechanism 18 includes a pair of Y-axis tables 20 slidably provided with a pair of guide rails 19 extending in the Y-axis direction. A ball screw 21 extending in the Y-axis direction is screwed to the Y-axis table 20 on the front surface portion of the column portion 17, and a drive motor 22 is connected to one end of the ball screw 21. The blade unit moving mechanism 18 includes a Z-axis table 23 that is disposed in front of each Y-axis table 20 and that can slide a pair of guide rails 24 extending in the Z-axis direction. Each Z-axis table 23 is screwed with a ball screw 25 extending in the Z-axis direction on the front surface of the Y-axis table 20, and a drive motor 26 is connected to one end of the ball screw 25. A blade unit 13 is attached to the lower end of each Z-axis table 23. In the cutting unit 3 configured as described above, the position of the chuck table 11 arranged at the processing position is adjusted, and the position of the blade unit 13 is adjusted by the blade unit moving mechanism 18, and the wafer W on the chuck table 11 is adjusted. On the other hand, the cutting blade 12 rotated at high speed is cut and cutting is performed.

  Further, on the base 2, a cassette mounting means 5 provided with a cassette mounting table (mounting table) 70 on which the cassette 9 is mounted on the upper surface is provided adjacent to the chuck table 11 at the attachment / detachment position. .

  The cassette 9 is formed in a rectangular box shape by a top plate 91, a bottom plate 92, a pair of side plates 93 and a back stop portion 95 facing each other, and a wafer W is taken in and out on the side facing the back stop portion 95. The opening 94 is formed. The back stopper 95 is formed in a plate shape, and is configured to support the wafer W on the back (back) side of the cassette 9. A plurality of storage shelves 96 for storing wafers W are formed on the opposing inner wall surfaces of the side plates 93 at equal intervals in the Z-axis direction (see FIGS. 2 and 3). Each storage shelf 96 is formed so as to protrude toward the inside of the cassette 9 and to extend from the back stopper 95 toward the opening 94 (see FIG. 2). The cassette 9 configured as described above is mounted on the cassette mounting table 70 in a state where the annular frame F portion of the wafer W is mounted on each storage shelf 96 and the opening 94 of the cassette 9 faces the chuck table 11 side. Is done.

  The cassette mounting means 5 is configured to be able to move up and down a cassette mounting table 70 on which a cassette 9 containing a plurality of wafers W is mounted by an elevating means 71 (see FIG. 2) and an air cylinder 72 (see FIG. 2). Has been. The cassette mounting table 70 is moved up and down with the cassette 9 placed thereon, thereby adjusting the drawing position of the wafer W from the cassette 9 and the pushing position into the cassette 9 in the height (Z-axis) direction. The detailed configuration of the cassette mounting means 5 will be described later.

  A carry-in / carry-out unit 31 and a temporary placement unit 32 are arranged behind the cassette placing unit 5. The loading / unloading section 31 draws the wafer W from the cassette 9 to the temporary placement section 32 in a state where the height of the cassette 9 is adjusted by the cassette placing means 5, and also transfers the wafer W on the temporary placement section 32 to the cassette 9. It is configured to push in. Specifically, the carry-in / carry-out unit 31 includes a guide rail 33 that extends in the Y-axis direction on the front surface portion 2 a of the base 2, and a carry-in / carry-out arm 34 that is slidably engaged with the guide rail 33. ing. The loading / unloading arm 34 is formed in an inverted L shape so as to be bent toward the upper surface side of the base 2, and is configured to hold the wafer W (annular frame F) on the free end side of the loading / unloading arm 34. Has been. A ball screw 35 extending in the Y-axis direction on the front surface portion 2a of the base 2 is screwed to the carry-in / out arm 34, and a drive motor 36 is connected to one end of the ball screw 35. Further, the temporary placement unit 32 includes a pair of guide rails 37 configured to be able to approach and separate from each other, and is configured to guide the drawing and pushing of the wafer W by the loading / unloading unit 31 from the side. .

  A first conveying means (conveying means) 41 is provided above the chuck table 11. The 1st conveyance means 41 conveys the wafer W in the cassette 9 to the chuck table 11 arrange | positioned in the attachment / detachment position. The first transport means 41 includes a guide rail (not shown) extending in the Y-axis direction, and a transport arm 42 slidably engaged with the guide rail. A ball screw (not shown) extending in the Y-axis direction is screwed to the transport arm 42, and a drive motor (not shown) is connected to one end of the ball screw. The ball screw is rotationally driven by this drive motor, and the transfer arm 42 is moved in the Y-axis direction.

  The transfer arm 42 is configured to be extendable in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) and is formed in an L shape that is bent in a direction away from the cutting unit 3 (Y-axis direction side). A holding unit 43 that holds the wafer W is provided at the lower end of the transfer arm 42, and a plurality of suction pads 44 are provided on the lower surface of the holding unit 43. The suction pad 44 sucks and holds the annular frame F to which the wafer W in a state of being placed on the temporary placement unit 32 is stuck, and also the annular frame F to which the wafer W in a state of being held on the chuck table 11 is stuck. Adsorb and hold.

  A cleaning unit 4 is provided on the opposite side of the cassette mounting means 5 with the chuck table 11 in the attachment / detachment position interposed therebetween.

  The cleaning unit 4 includes a spinner table 51 formed in a disk shape, a plurality of clamps 52 provided on the outer edge of the spinner table 51, a cleaning liquid nozzle (not shown), and an air nozzle (not shown). ing. The spinner table 51 is connected to a rotation drive mechanism (not shown) provided in the base 2 and is configured to be rotatable around the Z axis, and is also provided in a lift mechanism (not shown) in the base 2. It is configured to be able to move up and down. An adsorption chuck 53 made of a porous material is formed on the upper surface of the spinner table 51. The suction chuck 53 is connected to a negative pressure generation source (not shown) disposed in the base 2, and is configured such that the wafer W is sucked and held by the suction chuck 53. In the cleaning unit 4 configured as described above, the spinner table 51 on which the wafer W is sucked and held is rotated at a high speed, and cleaning water is sprayed from the cleaning nozzle onto the surface of the wafer W, so that cutting waste or the like from the wafer W. Is washed away. Then, after cleaning the wafer W, the wafer W is dried by blowing dry air from the air nozzle to the rotating wafer W.

  A second transport unit (transport unit) 61 is provided above the cleaning unit 4. The second transport unit 61 transports the wafer W on the chuck table 11 onto the spinner table 51, while transporting the wafer W on the spinner table 51 to the temporary placement unit 32. The second transport unit 61 includes a guide rail (not shown) extending in the Y-axis direction, and a transport arm 62 slidably engaged with the guide rail. A ball screw (not shown) extending in the Y-axis direction is screwed to the transport arm 62, and a drive motor (not shown) is connected to one end of the ball screw. The ball screw is rotationally driven by this drive motor, and the transfer arm 62 is moved in the Y-axis direction.

  The transfer arm 62 is configured to be extendable in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction). A holding unit 63 that holds the wafer W is provided at the lower end of the transfer arm 62, and a plurality of suction pads 64 are provided on the lower surface of the holding unit 63. The suction pad 64 sucks and holds the annular frame F to which the wafer W held on the spinner table 51 is attached.

  Next, the cassette mounting means 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cassette mounting means 5. FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the cassette mounting means 5. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the cassette mounting means 5. In FIG. 4, the cassette mounting table 70 is indicated by a dotted line.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the cassette mounting means 5 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped cassette mounting table 70, lifting and lowering means 71 and air cylinder 72 that lift and lower the cassette mounting table 70 in the Z-axis direction, and lifting and lowering means 71. And a drive motor 73 for driving the motor.

  The elevating means 71 is provided in a casing 77 having a top plate 74 and a bottom plate 75 and a pair of guide rails 76 extending in the Z-axis direction provided at both ends of the top plate 74 and the bottom plate 75. Yes. The elevating means 71 includes a ball screw 78 that is rotatably supported by the top plate 74 and the bottom plate 75, and a nut 79 that is screwed to the ball screw 78. A pulley 80 is provided at the lower end of the ball screw 78. The nut 79 is attached and fixed to the cassette mounting table 70. The pair of guide rails 76 are provided with sliders 81 that can reciprocate on the respective guide rails 76, and each slider 81 is connected to the cassette mounting table 70. The nut 79 and each slider 81 are configured to support the cassette mounting table 70 in a cantilevered manner from the lower side in cooperation with a piston 86 that constitutes an air cylinder 72 described later.

  The drive motor 73 is provided on a motor support portion 82 outside the casing 77. A pulley 83 is coupled to the drive shaft of the drive motor 73. A belt 84 is stretched between a pulley 83 coupled to the drive shaft of the drive motor 73 and a pulley 80 provided on the ball screw 78. In the lifting / lowering means 71 configured as described above, the pulley 83 is rotated in accordance with the rotational drive of the drive motor 73, and the driving force is transmitted to the ball screw 78 connected to the pulley 80 via the belt 84, so that the nut 79 is It is reciprocated in the Z-axis direction.

  An air cylinder 72 is disposed in the casing 77 in parallel with the lifting means 71. Specifically, the air cylinder 72 is provided between the ball screw 78 constituting the elevating means 71 and one guide rail 76. By disposing the air cylinder 72 in the casing 77 as described above, the dead space in the casing 77 can be effectively used, and the apparatus can be downsized.

  The air cylinder 72 includes a cylinder 85 and a piston 86 that can reciprocate on a guide rail that extends in the Z-axis direction within the cylinder 85. A cassette mounting table 70 is fixedly attached to the piston 86, and is configured to support the cassette mounting table 70 from the lower side in cooperation with the nut 79 and each slider 81 described above. Further, an air supply unit 88 for supplying compressed air sent from an air supply source 87 to the inside of the cylinder 85 is provided at the lower end of the cylinder 85. Here, the compressed air sent from the air supply source 87 to the air supply unit 88 is set to a pressure that cancels the weight of the cassette mounting table 70. A communication hole 89 communicating with the outside of the cylinder 85 is provided at the upper end portion of the cylinder 85. When the cassette mounting table 70 is raised, the air pushed by the piston 86 in the cylinder 85 is released from the communication hole 89 to the outside of the cylinder 85.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the raising / lowering operation | movement by the cassette mounting means 5 is demonstrated. When the cassette mounting table 70 is raised, the pulley 83 is rotated as the drive motor 73 is driven to rotate, and the ball screw 78 connected to the pulley 80 via the belt 84 is rotated. At this time, compressed air is supplied from the air supply source 87 into the cylinder 85 via the air supply unit 88. When the nut 79 is raised with the rotation of the ball screw 78 and the piston 86 is lifted with the inflow of the compressed air into the cylinder 85, the cassette mounting table 70 attached to the nut 79 and the piston 86 is moved outwardly. Ascending in the Z-axis direction while being guided by the slider 81 (FIG. 4A). As described above, the compressed air sent into the cylinder 85 is set to a pressure that cancels the weight of the cassette mounting table 70. Therefore, even when a cassette 9 (see FIG. 1) containing a plurality of large-diameter wafers W is placed on the cassette placing table 70, the raising / lowering operation of the raising / lowering means 71 is performed by the compressed air supplied by the air cylinder 72. Therefore, for example, it is not necessary to enlarge the drive motor 73 and increase the output of the lifting mechanism.

  On the other hand, when lowering the cassette mounting table 70, the pulley 83 is reversely rotated with the reverse rotation of the drive motor 73, and the ball screw 78 connected to the pulley 80 via the belt 84 is reversely rotated. When the nut 79 is lowered along with the reverse rotation of the ball screw 78, the piston 86 is lowered against the compressed air into the cylinder 85, and the cassette mounting table 70 attached to the nut 79 and the piston 86 is moved to both sides. And descends in the Z-axis direction while being guided by the slider 81 (FIG. 4B). In this manner, the cassette mounting table 70 on which the cassette 9 is mounted is moved up and down by the lifting and lowering means 71 and the air cylinder 72, thereby adjusting the drawing position and pushing position of the wafer W in the Z-axis direction.

  As described above, according to the processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the cassette mounting table 70 on which the cassette 9 is mounted supplies compressed air having a pressure that cancels the weight of the cassette mounting table 70 together with the lifting means 71. Therefore, even when a heavy object such as a large-diameter wafer W is moved up and down, there is no need to provide a high output lifting mechanism, and an increase in apparatus cost can be prevented. Further, since the cassette mounting means 5 for raising and lowering the cassette 9 can be configured simply, the weight of the apparatus can be reduced, and troubles associated with weight increase due to the large diameter can be prevented.

  In the above embodiment, the air cylinder 72 is provided between the pair of guide rails 76. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the air cylinder 72 a may be provided above the drive motor 73 outside the casing 77. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the cassette mounting means 5a according to the second embodiment. In the cassette mounting means 5 a shown in FIG. 5, an air cylinder 72 a is disposed on the upper surface of the drive motor 73. Thereby, the dead space above the drive motor 73 can be effectively utilized. For example, it is effective when a large-diameter ball screw 78 is used and it is difficult to secure a space for disposing the air cylinder 72 a in the casing 77.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although it was set as the structure which sets the pressure of the compressed air supplied to the air cylinder 72 to the pressure which negates the dead weight of the cassette mounting base 70, it is not limited to this structure. For example, the pressure of the compressed air can be varied according to the weight of the cassette 9 placed on the cassette mounting table 70 as long as the pressure is at least enough to cancel the weight of the cassette mounting table 70.

  The embodiment disclosed this time is illustrative in all respects and is not limited to this embodiment. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description of the embodiments but by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

  The present invention has the effect of preventing troubles associated with the weight of the lifting mechanism without increasing the power of the lifting mechanism even when lifting a heavy object such as a large-diameter wafer. It is useful for wafer processing equipment such as processing equipment, dicing equipment, grinding / polishing equipment, cleaning equipment, inspection equipment, and die bonding equipment.

1 Processing equipment (wafer processing equipment)
3 Cutting unit (wafer processing means)
4 Cleaning unit (wafer processing means)
5 cassette placing means 9 cassette 41 first conveying means (conveying means)
61 Second conveying means (conveying means)
70 Cassette mounting table (mounting table)
71 Lifting means 72 Air cylinder 73 Drive motor 74 Top plate 75 Bottom plate 76 Guide rail 77 Casing 78 Ball screw 79 Nut 80 Pulley 81 Slider 82 Motor support part 83 Pulley 84 Belt 85 Cylinder 86 Piston 87 Air supply source 88 Air supply part 89 Communication hole 91 Top plate 92 Bottom plate 93 Side plate 94 Opening portion 95 Back stop portion 96 Storage shelf W Wafer

Claims (1)

Cassette mounting means for placing a cassette for accommodating wafers, wafer processing means for processing wafers transferred to the wafer processing area, and conveying means for transferring wafers between the cassette and the wafer processing area; A wafer processing apparatus comprising:
The cassette includes a pair of side plates formed to face each other, an opening for taking in and out the wafers, a back stopper for supporting the wafers at the back, and a storage shelf for storing a plurality of wafers formed on the side plates. Have
The cassette mounting means includes a mounting table for mounting the cassette on an upper surface, a lifting / lowering means for moving the mounting table up and down, a cylinder disposed in parallel with the lifting / lowering means, and a lifting / lowering in the cylinder. And an air cylinder formed of a piston fixed to the mounting table, and an air supply unit that supplies compressed air having a pressure that cancels the weight of the mounting table into the cylinder. Processing equipment.

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