JP2014150207A - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device capable of unfailingly removing dirt adhering to a cleaned object such as a wafer.SOLUTION: A cleaning device comprises: a spinner table which rotates holding a plate-like processed object with a holding surface; and cleaning means which cleans the processed object held by the spinner table. The cleaning means comprises: a cleaning pad which contacts with a surface of the processed object; vertical positioning means which moves the cleaning pad in a vertical direction between a cleaning position where the cleaning pad is attached to a lower end and contacts with the processed object and a retreat position where the cleaning pad is separated from the processed object above the cleaning position; and cleaning fluid supply means which supplies a cleaning fluid to the cleaning pad.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning a workpiece such as a wafer while rotating the workpiece.

  For example, in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a wafer is processed to a predetermined thickness by grinding the back surface of a wafer having a plurality of devices such as ICs and LSIs formed on the front surface with a grinding device.

  Then, each device is manufactured by cutting the wafer whose back surface is ground with a cutting machine into individual pieces. Devices manufactured in this way are widely used in various electric devices such as mobile phones and personal computers.

  At the time of back surface grinding by a grinding device or cutting by a cutting device, so-called contamination such as grinding waste or cutting waste is generated and adheres to the workpiece. In order to remove the adhering contamination, the workpiece after processing is cleaned by a spinner cleaning apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-33346. The spinner cleaning device may be installed alone, but may be built in a grinding device or a cutting device.

  In cleaning with such a spinner cleaning device, a spinner table that holds an object to be cleaned, such as a wafer, rotates, and cleaning fluid such as cleaning water is sprayed onto the object to be cleaned, thereby adhering to the object to be cleaned. Removed contamination is removed.

  The spray nozzle for spraying the cleaning fluid onto the object to be cleaned is disposed at the tip of the swingable arm, and the entire surface of the object to be cleaned is swung so that the spray nozzle passes through the center of rotation of the object to be cleaned. Washed.

JP 2000-33346 A

  In a conventional spinner cleaning device, the waste on the object to be cleaned is sprayed from the injection nozzle onto the object to be cleaned by the pressurized cleaning water pressurized by the pump or a mixed fluid of pressurized air and pure water. In some cases, dust that cannot be removed by the pressurized fluid is attached.

  In particular, when the wafer is half-cut along the line to be divided, there is a case where dust such as cutting waste enters the cutting groove. In some cases, the garbage could not be removed.

  The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus capable of reliably removing dust attached to an object to be cleaned such as a wafer.

  According to the present invention, a cleaning apparatus comprising: a spinner table that rotates while holding a plate-like workpiece on a holding surface; and a cleaning unit that cleans the workpiece held on the spinner table, The cleaning means includes a cleaning pad that contacts the surface of the workpiece, a cleaning position where the cleaning pad is attached to the lower end and contacts the workpiece, and a distance from the workpiece above the cleaning position. There is provided a cleaning apparatus comprising: vertical positioning means for moving the cleaning pad up and down with respect to the retracted position; and cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the cleaning pad.

  Preferably, the vertical positioning means includes detection means for detecting that the cleaning pad is positioned at the cleaning position or the retracted position, and the cleaning liquid supply is performed when the cleaning pad is positioned at the cleaning position. A cleaning liquid is supplied from the means to the cleaning pad.

  Preferably, at least the vertical positioning means of the cleaning means is covered with a dustproof cover. Preferably, the cleaning means includes moving means for moving the cleaning pad along the holding surface of the spinner table.

  In the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, a strong cleaning power can be exerted by pressing the cleaning pad against the surface of the workpiece. In addition, since the cleaning pad can be moved between the cleaning position and the retracted position, wear due to friction of the cleaning pad can be minimized, and cleaning liquid is supplied only when the cleaning pad is positioned at the cleaning position. It is possible to reduce the waste of the cleaning liquid.

  Furthermore, since the positioning means for positioning the cleaning pad is a movable part, it may generate dust, but even if dust is generated, it is covered with a dustproof cover. It can be prevented from adhering.

It is a partially broken perspective view of the washing device concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is principal part sectional drawing of a washing | cleaning apparatus. It is a cross-sectional side view explaining the effect | action of a washing | cleaning apparatus. It is a cross-sectional side view which shows a mode that the dust adhering to the sliding surface of a washing | cleaning pad is removed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, a partially broken perspective view of a cleaning device 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The cleaning device 2 is accommodated in a cylindrical casing 4 having an open top.

  Reference numeral 6 denotes a base of the cleaning device 2, and a spinner table 8 is disposed so as to be rotatable and vertically movable with respect to the base 6. The spinner table 8 includes a frame body 10 formed of a metal such as SUS and a suction holding unit 12 formed of a porous member such as porous ceramics. The chuck table 8 further includes a plurality of clamps 14 for clamping and fixing an annular frame that supports the wafer via a dicing tape.

  Above the spinner table 8, a cleaning unit (cleaning means) 16 is disposed. The cleaning unit 16 is attached to the base 6 and is composed of a rotating member 18 that is rotated by driving means such as a motor (not shown), and a vertically moving member 20 that is mounted on the rotating member 18 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. It comprises a means 22, an arm 24 whose base end is fixed to the vertically moving member 20 of the moving means 22, and a cleaning head 26 attached to the distal end of the arm 24.

  The cleaning head 26 is pressed against the surface of a workpiece such as a wafer and slides to clean the surface of the workpiece, and a cleaning position where the cleaning pad 28 contacts the workpiece. It includes vertical positioning means 30 that moves up and down between a retreat position that is separated from the workpiece above the cleaning position.

  Reference numeral 32 denotes a cleaning liquid supply means such as a tube for supplying a cleaning liquid to the cleaning pad 28, and reference numeral 34 denotes a rinse liquid supply pipe for supplying a rinse liquid to the surface of the workpiece. Preferably, pure water is used for both the cleaning liquid and the rinsing liquid.

  Referring to FIG. 2, a longitudinal sectional view of the cleaning head 26 portion is shown. The arm 24 includes a stay 36 and a pair of rods 38 accommodated in the stay 36. An air cylinder 30 is disposed at the tip of the rod 38 as vertical positioning means.

  A member 46 is disposed at the tip of the piston rod 44 of the air cylinder 30, and a U-shaped member 48 is attached to the member 46 with a screw 50. A member 52 is fixed to the lower end portion of the U-shaped member 48 by a screw 54.

  Reference numeral 58 denotes a cleaning pad casing that houses the cleaning pad 28, and a bottom plate 64 is fixed to the cleaning pad casing 58. The front end of the cleaning pad 28 protrudes from the bottom plate 64 of the cleaning pad casing 58 by a predetermined amount.

  The cleaning pad 28 is preferably formed from a flexible material having excellent absorbability and water retention. In the present embodiment, the cleaning pad 28 is made of PVA sponge (polyvinyl acetal porous resin).

  A cylindrical member 60 is fixed to the upper end portion of the cleaning pad casing 58 by screws 62. Further, an annular member 56 is press-fitted across the member 52 and the cleaning pad casing 58, and a coil spring 66 is fitted on the annular member 56. Since the coil spring 66 is interposed between the member 52 and the cleaning pad casing 58, the cleaning pad 28 is attached by being biased downward by the coil spring 66.

  A tube 32 as a cleaning liquid supply means is connected to a pipe 67 inserted into a cylindrical member 56. A long hole 41 that allows the tube 32 to move up and down is formed in the dust cover 40. The tube 32 as a cleaning liquid supply means is connected to a cleaning liquid supply source 72 via an electromagnetic switching valve 70.

  The air cylinder 30 as the vertical positioning means is provided with detection means 68 made of, for example, a magnet and a magnetic material for detecting that the cleaning pad 28 is positioned at the cleaning position or the retracted position. The detection means 68 is connected to the control means 74, and the switching of the electromagnetic switching valve 70 is controlled in accordance with the detection of the detection means 68.

  Hereinafter, an example in which the cleaning device 2 of the present invention is applied to a cutting device will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The cleaning apparatus 2 of the present invention is suitable for cleaning a silicon wafer having a half-cut cutting groove by half-cutting the silicon wafer along a division planned line (street).

  As is well known, when the wafer 11 is cut, the back side of the wafer 11 is attached to a dicing tape T, which is an adhesive tape having an outer peripheral portion attached to the annular frame F.

  Then, the wafer 11 is sucked and held by the chuck table via the dicing tape T, and the wafer is half-cut along the planned dividing line with the cutting blade while the chuck table is processed and fed, and the predetermined depth along the planned dividing line. The cutting groove is formed. After forming the cutting grooves along all the division lines, the wafer 11 is transported to the cleaning device 2 of the present embodiment, and the surface 11 a of the wafer 11 is cleaned by the cleaning device 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the wafer 11 is sucked and held by the spinner table 8 of the cleaning device 2 via the dicing tape T, and the annular frame F is clamped and fixed by the clamp 14. The chuck table 8 is placed on a base 76 having a suction path 78.

  After the wafer 11 is sucked and held by the spinner table 8, the air cylinder 30 which is a positioning means is operated to move the cleaning pad 28 from the retracted position to a cleaning position where it contacts the surface 11 a of the wafer 11.

  When the cleaning pad 28 is moved to the cleaning position, the detection means 68 detects this, and the electromagnetic switching valve 70 is switched to the connection position, so that the cleaning liquid is supplied as shown by the arrow A through the cleaning liquid supply means 32, and the pipe The cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning pad 28 via 67.

  As shown in FIG. 3C, while supplying the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply means 32 as indicated by the arrow A, the spinner table 8 is rotated in the arrow C direction, and the rotating member 18 of the moving means 22 is moved in the arrow B direction. The cleaning pad 28 is pressed against and slides on the surface 11a of the wafer 11 while rotating to rotate the surface 11a of the wafer 11.

  As described above, in the cleaning apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, the cleaning of the wafer 11 is performed by pressing the cleaning pad 28 against the surface 11a of the wafer 11 and sliding, so that a strong cleaning power can be exhibited.

  Since the cleaning pad 28 can be moved between the cleaning position and the retracted position by the air cylinder 30 as positioning means, wear due to friction of the cleaning pad 28 can be minimized.

  Since the cleaning pad 28 is attached to the air cylinder 30 as positioning means via a coil spring 66 as an elastic member, the cleaning surface of the wafer 11 is hardly damaged.

  Further, since the cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning pad 28 because the detection means 68 detects the movement of the cleaning pad 28 to the cleaning position and switches the electromagnetic switching valve 70 to the connection position, the cleaning liquid 28 is supplied to the cleaning pad 28 only during cleaning. It can be supplied, and the waste of the cleaning liquid can be reduced.

  Furthermore, since the air cylinder 30 as a positioning means for positioning the cleaning pad 28 is a movable part, there is a possibility of dust generation. However, even if dust is generated, it is covered with the dustproof cover 40, so that dust is scattered around. Thus, adhesion to the wafer 11 can be prevented.

  When the cleaning with the cleaning pad 28 is continued, dust such as cutting dust adheres to the sliding surface (lower surface) of the cleaning pad 28. Therefore, after the cleaning of the wafer 11 is completed, the cleaning head 26 is moved out of the spinner table 8 by the moving means 22 at a predetermined timing as shown in FIG. A cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning pad 28 to wash away the dust adhering to the sliding surface of the cleaning pad 28.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the cleaning device of the present invention is applied to a cutting device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the cleaning device of the present invention is a wafer or the like ground by a grinding device. The same can be applied to the cleaning of the workpiece.

2 Cleaning device 8 Spinner table 16 Cleaning unit (cleaning means)
22 Moving means 26 Cleaning head 28 Cleaning pad 30 Positioning means (air cylinder)
32 Cleaning liquid supply means (tube)
66 Coil spring 68 Detection means 72 Cleaning liquid supply source

Claims (4)

A cleaning apparatus comprising: a spinner table that rotates while holding a plate-like workpiece on a holding surface; and a cleaning unit that cleans the workpiece held on the spinner table,
The cleaning means includes
A cleaning pad that contacts the surface of the workpiece;
Vertical positioning means for moving the cleaning pad up and down between a cleaning position where the cleaning pad is attached to the lower end and in contact with the workpiece and a retracted position above the cleaning position and separated from the workpiece. When,
Cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the cleaning pad;
A cleaning apparatus comprising: The vertical positioning means includes a detection means for detecting that the cleaning pad is positioned at the cleaning position or the retracted position,
The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the cleaning pad is positioned at the cleaning position, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning pad from the cleaning liquid supply unit.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least the vertical positioning means is covered with a dust cover.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit includes a moving unit that moves the cleaning pad along the holding surface of the spinner table.

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