JP2022029691A - Cleaning mechanism and processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a cleaning mechanism and a processing device that can improve the exhaust efficiency of a cleaning area and prevent contamination reattachment to a wafer during cleaning.SOLUTION: A cleaning mechanism 2 includes a spinner table 41, a cleaning nozzle 55 that supplies a cleaning liquid 57, a case 50 that accommodates the spinner table and the cleaning nozzle, and a transfer unit 60 that conveys a wafer 200. The transport unit 60 includes a holding portion 63 that holds the wafer 200, and a cover portion 62 that covers an opening 51 of the case 50. The cover portion 62 includes a porous member 64 arranged in a region facing the spinner table 41, and a pipe 65 communicating the porous member 64 and a gas supply source 66. In the cleaning mechanism 2, the cleaning liquid 57 is supplied from the cleaning nozzle 55 to the wafer 200 held on the spinner table 41, the opening 51 is covered with the cover portion 62, and gas 67 is ejected from the porous member 64 to form a downflow in the case 50.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a cleaning mechanism and a processing apparatus.

As a device for dividing a plate-shaped object such as a semiconductor wafer into chips, a cutting device in which a cutting blade rotating at high speed is brought into contact with the plate-shaped object and cutting while supplying a cutting fluid is known. Such a cutting device has a cleaning mechanism for cleaning the wafer after processing in order to prevent the wafer from being contaminated by the processing chips generated during cutting (see Patent Document 1). The wafer cleaning mechanism is equipped with a spinner table that holds the wafer and a cleaning nozzle that supplies cleaning liquid to the wafer in a case that partitions the cleaning area, and the spinner table is rotated at high speed while supplying cleaning water for cutting. Clean the later wafer.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-159823

However, the above-mentioned cleaning mechanism has a problem that the contamination removed from the wafer by the cleaning water flies in the case and reattaches to the wafer.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning mechanism and a processing apparatus capable of improving the exhaust efficiency of a cleaning region and preventing contamination reattachment to a wafer during cleaning. To provide.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the cleaning mechanism of the present invention includes a spinner table that rotatably holds a wafer and a cleaning nozzle that supplies a cleaning liquid to the wafer held on the spinner table. A cleaning mechanism having an opening on the upper surface for accommodating the spinner table and the cleaning nozzle, and a transfer unit for conveying the wafer, wherein the transfer unit has a holding portion for holding the wafer. It has a cover portion that covers the opening of the case, and the cover portion is a pipe that communicates a porous member disposed in a region facing the spinner table, and the porous member and a gas supply source. By covering the opening with the cover portion and ejecting gas from the porous member while supplying the cleaning liquid from the cleaning nozzle to the wafer held on the spinner table. It is characterized by forming a downflow in the case during cleaning.

Further, the processing apparatus of the present invention includes a chuck table for holding the wafer, a processing unit for processing the wafer held on the chuck table, and the cleaning mechanism.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the exhaust efficiency of the cleaning region and prevent contamination reattachment to the wafer during cleaning.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a processing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a cleaning unit of the processing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a transport unit of the processing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a partial cross section of the transport unit shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state of cleaning preparation in the processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in a partial cross section. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state at the time of cleaning in the processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in a partial cross section.

An embodiment (embodiment) for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiments. In addition, the components described below include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art and those that are substantially the same. Further, the configurations described below can be combined as appropriate. Further, various omissions, substitutions or changes of the configuration can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Embodiment]
The processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the cleaning unit 40 of the processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the transport unit 60 of the processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a partial cross section of the transport unit 60 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the processing apparatus 1 includes a chuck table 10, a processing unit 20, a cassette mounting table 30, a cleaning mechanism 2, a transport unit 80, a display unit 90, and a control unit 100. .. The cleaning mechanism 2 includes a cleaning unit 40 and a transport unit 60. In the following description, the X-axis direction is one direction in the horizontal plane. The Y-axis direction is a direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction in the horizontal plane. The Z-axis direction is a direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. In the machining apparatus 1 of the embodiment, the machining feed direction is the X-axis direction, the index feed direction is the Y-axis direction, and the cut feed direction is the Z-axis direction.

The processing device 1 is a cutting device that cuts the wafer 200 held on the chuck table 10 in the embodiment. The cutting device includes a processing unit 20 which is a cutting unit. The processing of the wafer 200 by the processing apparatus 1 is not limited to the cutting processing by the cutting apparatus of the embodiment, and in the present invention, for example, the modified layer formation in which the modified layer is formed inside the wafer 200 by the laser processing apparatus. It may be machined, grooved to form a groove on the surface of the wafer 200, or the like.

The wafer 200 is a wafer such as a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer or an optical device wafer having silicon (Si), sapphire (Al ₂ O ₃ ), gallium arsenide (GaAs), silicon carbide (SiC) or the like as a substrate 201. The wafer 200 is not limited to the embodiment, and may not be disk-shaped in the present invention. The wafer 200 has a plurality of scheduled division lines 203 formed on the surface 202 of the substrate 201, and a device 204 formed in each region partitioned by the plurality of scheduled division lines 203 intersecting in a grid pattern.

The device 204 is, for example, an integrated circuit such as an IC (Integrated Circuit) or an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), or a MEMS (Micro Electro). Mechanical Systems) etc. The wafer 200 is manufactured into individual device chips by being split along the scheduled split line 203.

The wafer 200 is supported by the frame 210 and the sheet 211. The frame 210 has a ring shape having an opening larger than the outer diameter of the wafer 200. The frame 210 is made of a material such as metal or resin. The sheet 211 includes, for example, a base material layer made of synthetic resin and a sticky glue layer laminated on at least one of the front surface and the back surface of the base material layer. The outer periphery of the sheet 211 is attached to the back surface side of the frame 210. The wafer 200 is positioned at a predetermined position in the opening of the frame 210, and the back surface 205 is attached to the front surface of the sheet 211 to be fixed to the frame 210 and the sheet 211.

The chuck table 10 holds the wafer 200 on the holding surface 11 with the front surface 202 side facing upward and the back surface 205 side. The chuck table 10 includes a disk-shaped frame body in which a recess is formed, and a disk-shaped suction portion fitted in the recess. The suction portion is formed of a porous ceramic or the like having a large number of porous holes. The suction portion is connected to, for example, a vacuum suction source (not shown) via a vacuum suction path. The suction portion is a holding surface 11 that sucks and holds the wafer 200 placed on the upper surface via the sheet 211. The holding surface 11 is arranged on the same plane as the upper surface of the frame body of the chuck table 10. In the embodiment, the holding surface 11 is formed parallel to the XY plane which is a horizontal plane. The chuck table 10 is provided so as to be movable in the X-axis direction by an X-axis moving unit (not shown) and rotatably around the Z-axis by a rotational drive source (not shown). A plurality of clamp portions 12 for sandwiching the frame 210 that supports the wafer 200 are arranged around the chuck table 10.

The processing unit 20 is a unit that processes the wafer 200 held on the chuck table 10. In the embodiment, the processing unit 20 is a cutting unit that cuts the wafer 200 and divides the wafer 200 into a plurality of chips. The processing unit 20 has a cutting blade 21 that is detachably mounted. The cutting blade 21 is an ultra-thin cutting wheel having a substantially ring shape. The cutting blade 21 is a so-called hub blade in the embodiment, and has an annular circular base that rotates around an axis parallel to the Y-axis direction and a circle having a predetermined thickness arranged on the outer peripheral edge of the circular base. It is equipped with an annular cutting edge. The circular base is composed of a conductive metal. The cutting edge is composed of abrasive grains such as diamond and CBN (Cubic Boron Nitride) and a bond material (bonding material) such as metal and resin. The processing unit 20 is provided on the wafer 200 held on the chuck table 10 so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction by a Y-axis moving unit (not shown) and movable in the Z-axis direction by a Z-axis moving unit (not shown). Has been done.

The cassette mounting table 30 is a table on which a cassette 31 for accommodating a plurality of wafers 200 supported by a frame 210 and a sheet 211 and transporting them between various processing devices used in a semiconductor manufacturing process is placed on the upper surface. .. The cassette mounting table 30 can be raised and lowered in the Z-axis direction. The cassette mounting table 30 moves the mounted cassette 31 in the Z-axis direction. The wafer 200 is taken in and out by the transfer unit 80 while the cassette 31 is mounted on the cassette mounting table 30. The direction in which the wafer 200 is taken in and out of the cassette 31 is the Y-axis direction in the embodiment.

The cleaning unit 40 is a unit that cleans the wafer 200 that has been machined by the machining unit 20 and removes foreign matter such as cutting chips adhering to the wafer 200. As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning unit 40 includes a spinner table 41, a shaft member 44, a rotation drive source 45, an elevating unit 46, a cover member 49, a case 50, a cleaning nozzle 55, and a drying nozzle 56. (See FIGS. 5 and 6) and.

The spinner table 41 has a holding surface 42 that holds the wafer 200 supported by the frame 210. The spinner table 41 includes a disk-shaped frame body in which a recess is formed, and a disk-shaped suction portion fitted in the recess. The suction portion is formed of a porous ceramic or the like having a large number of porous holes. The suction portion is connected to, for example, a vacuum suction source (not shown) via a vacuum suction path. The suction portion is a holding surface 42 that sucks and holds the wafer 200 placed on the upper surface via the sheet 211. The holding surface 42 is arranged on the same plane as the upper surface of the frame of the spinner table 41. In the embodiment, the holding surface 42 is formed parallel to the XY plane which is a horizontal plane.

A plurality of clamp portions 43 for sandwiching the frame 210 that supports the wafer 200 are arranged around the spinner table 41. The spinner table 41 is connected to the upper end of the shaft member 44, which is the rotation axis of the spinner table 41. The shaft member 44 is provided on the output shaft of a rotary drive source 45 such as a motor. The rotation drive source 45 rotatably supports the spinner table 41 via the shaft member 44. The rotation drive source 45 rotates around an axis parallel to the Z-axis direction. The spinner table 41 is rotated around the axis by being driven by the rotation drive source 45.

The elevating unit 46 is a unit that elevates and elevates the spinner table 41 in the Z-axis direction. The elevating unit 46 is an actuator that is driven to expand and contract by hydraulic pressure, pneumatic pressure, or other fluid pressure, or by electric power. In the embodiment, the elevating unit 46 is an air cylinder including a plurality of sets (three sets in the embodiment) of cylinders 47 and piston rods 48. The cylinder 47 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the housing of the rotary drive source 45. The rotary drive source 45 is supported by a piston rod 48 abutted from each cylinder 47 against the installation surface. The elevating unit 46 expands and contracts the piston rod 48 by controlling the pressure of the air in the cylinder 47. The rotary drive source 45 is driven up and down by the expansion and contraction of the piston rod 48. As a result, the spinner table 41 and the rotary drive source 45 are driven up and down by the plurality of cylinders 47. The cover member 49 is provided so as to cover a part of the periphery of the shaft member 44.

The case 50 is arranged around the spinner table 41 to accommodate the spinner table 41. The case 50 has an opening 51 on the upper surface, and includes, for example, a cylindrical outer wall, a cylindrical inner wall provided inside the outer wall, and a bottom floor connecting the lower end of the outer wall and the lower end of the inner wall. It is provided in a ring shape. The bottom floor is provided below the cover portion 62 and is a liquid receiving portion for receiving the used cleaning liquid 57 supplied to the wafer 200. The used cleaning liquid 57 is discharged to the outside through a drain port 52 provided on the bottom floor and a drain duct 53 connected to the drain port 52. An exhaust port 54 for exhausting air from inside the case 50 is formed on the outer wall of the case 50.

The cleaning nozzle 55 supplies the cleaning liquid 57 to the wafer 200 held on the spinner table 41 (see FIG. 6). The cleaning nozzle 55 is movably provided between a supply position where the supply port is directed toward the holding surface 42 of the spinner table 41 and a retracting position where the supply port is retracted from the holding surface 42 of the spinner table 41.

The drying nozzle 56 supplies gas to the wafer 200 held on the spinner table 41 to remove the residual cleaning liquid 57. The drying nozzle 56 is movably provided between a supply position where the supply port is directed toward the holding surface 42 of the spinner table 41 and a retracting position where the supply port is retracted from the holding surface 42 of the spinner table 41.

The transfer unit 60 conveys the wafer 200 before cutting, which has been conveyed to the carry-in / out area 32 by the transfer unit 80 described later shown in FIG. 1, onto the chuck table 10. The carry-in / out area 32 is an area adjacent to the side where the wafer 200 of the cassette 31 is taken in / out. The transfer unit 60 transfers the wafer 200 after cutting from the chuck table 10 to the spinner table 41 (see FIG. 2) of the cleaning unit 40. As shown in FIG. 3, the transport unit 60 includes an arm portion 61, a cover portion 62, a holding portion 63, a porous member 64, and a pipe 65.

One end of the arm portion 61 is connected to the cover portion 62, and the other end is connected to a moving unit that moves the transport unit 60 in at least one of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. The cover portion 62 is connected to one end of the arm portion 61. The cover portion 62 covers the opening 51 of the case 50 that houses the spinner table 41 of the cleaning unit 40. A holding portion 63 and a porous member 64 are provided on the lower surface side of the cover portion 62. Further, a pipe 65 is provided inside the cover portion 62.

The holding unit 63 holds the wafer 200 processed by the processing unit 20. More specifically, the holding portion 63 has, in the embodiment, a suction portion. The suction portion of the holding portion 63 sucks on the upper surface of the frame 210 that supports the wafer 200. The holding unit 63 holds the wafer 200 by the suction unit sucking and holding the wafer 210.

The porous member 64 is provided in a region facing the spinner table 41 in a state where the cover portion 62 covers the opening 51 of the case 50. The porous member 64 is connected to the pipe 65. In the porous member 64, the gas 67 (see FIG. 6) is supplied from the gas supply source 66 via the pipe 65, and the gas 67 is ejected toward the spinner table 41. When the cleaning liquid 57 is supplied from the cleaning nozzle 55, the cover portion 62 covers the opening 51 of the case 50 and the gas 67 is ejected from the porous member 64, whereby a downflow can be formed in the case 50. ..

The transfer unit 80 transfers the wafer 200 before cutting from the cassette 31 to the carry-in / out area 32. The transport unit 80 transports the cleaned wafer 200 from the spinner table 41 of the cleaning unit 40 to the loading / unloading region 32. The transfer unit 80 transfers the wafer 200 after cutting from the carry-in / out area 32 to the cassette 31.

The display unit 90 displays a processing condition setting screen, a processing processing result screen, and the like of the processing apparatus 1. In the embodiment, the display unit 90 is configured by a liquid crystal display device or the like. In the embodiment, the display unit 90 includes a touch panel whose display surface is the input unit 91. The input unit 91 can accept various operations such as the operator registering processing content information. The input unit 91 may be an external input device such as a keyboard. The display unit 90 may include a notification unit. The notification unit emits at least one of sound and light to notify the operator of the processing apparatus 1 of predetermined notification information. The notification unit may be an external notification device such as a speaker or a light emitting device. The display unit 90 is connected to the control unit 100.

The control unit 100 controls each of the above-mentioned components of the processing device 1 to cause the processing device 1 to perform a processing operation on the wafer 200. The control unit 100 is a computer including an arithmetic processing unit as an arithmetic means, a storage device as a storage means, and an input / output interface device as a communication means. The arithmetic processing unit includes, for example, a microprocessor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The storage device has a memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory). The arithmetic processing unit performs various operations based on a predetermined program stored in the storage device. The arithmetic processing unit outputs various control signals to the above-mentioned components via the input / output interface apparatus according to the arithmetic result, and controls the processing apparatus 1.

Next, the operation of the processing apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state of cleaning preparation in the processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 in a partial cross section. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state at the time of cleaning in the processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 in a partial cross section.

In preparation for cleaning the wafer 200, the processing apparatus 1 transfers the wafer 200 processed by the processing unit 20 to the cleaning unit 40 by the transfer unit 60, as shown in FIG. More specifically, first, the transfer unit 60 is moved so that the holding portion 63 of the transfer unit 60 is attracted to the frame 210 that supports the wafer 200 on the chuck table 10. Next, the processing apparatus 1 transports and places the wafer 200 on the holding surface 42 of the spinner table 41 of the cleaning unit 40 by the transport unit 60 in a state where the frame 210 is sucked and held by the holding portion 63.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, in the processing apparatus 1, after lowering the spinner table 41 by the elevating unit 46, the wafer 200 is sucked and held by the holding surface 42 of the spinner table 41, and the frame supporting the wafer 200 is supported. The outer peripheral edge of 210 is fixed by the clamp portion 43. The processing device 1 moves the supply port of the cleaning nozzle 55 to the supply position. The processing apparatus 1 covers the opening 51 of the case 50 by the cover portion 62 of the transport unit 60 after transporting the wafer 200. The processing device 1 rotates the spinner table 41 around the axis by the rotation drive source 45. The clamp portion 43 may be a holding pendulum that is deformed so as to hold the frame 210 by centrifugal force as the spinner table 41 rotates.

The processing apparatus 1 supplies the cleaning liquid 57 from the cleaning nozzle 55 while rotating the cleaning nozzle 55 in a direction parallel to the holding surface 42 of the spinner table 41 while rotating the spinner table 41 around the axis. , Gas 67 is ejected from the porous member 64. As a result, the cleaning liquid 57 diffuses over the entire surface of the wafer 200 to clean the wafer 200, a downflow is formed in the case 50, and exhaust gas is performed from the inside of the case 50.

As described above, in the processing apparatus 1 of the embodiment, the arm portion 61 of the transport unit 60 is provided with a cover portion 62 that covers the cleaning region of the cleaning unit 40, and a porous member is provided at a position facing the cleaning region of the cover portion 62. It is equipped with 64. Further, the processing apparatus 1 ejects the gas 67 from the porous member 64. As a result, when the cleaning liquid 57 is supplied from the cleaning nozzle 55 to the wafer 200 for cleaning, a downflow can be formed in the case 50 in the cleaning region. By forming the downflow, the processing apparatus 1 can efficiently exhaust air from the inside of the case 50, so that it is possible to prevent contamination from flying inside the case 50 and reattaching to the wafer 200. Play. Further, since the gas 67 is ejected during cleaning, the cleaning liquid 57 scattered during cleaning adheres to the arm portion 61 of the transport unit 60, and the cleaning liquid 57 drips from the arm portion 61 to contaminate the wafer 200 and the processing apparatus 1. Can be suppressed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. That is, it can be variously modified and carried out within a range that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

1 Processing equipment 2 Cleaning mechanism 10 Chuck table 20 Processing unit 40 Cleaning unit 41 Spinner table 50 Case 51 Opening 55 Cleaning nozzle 57 Cleaning liquid 60 Conveying unit 62 Cover part 63 Holding part 64 Porous member 65 Piping 66 Gas supply source 67 Gas 200 Wafer

Claims (2)

A spinner table that holds the wafer rotatably,
A cleaning nozzle that supplies cleaning liquid to the wafer held on the spinner table, and
A case having an opening on the upper surface to accommodate the spinner table and the cleaning nozzle,
A transfer unit that conveys wafers and
It is a cleaning mechanism with
The transport unit is
A holding part that holds the wafer and
It has a cover portion that covers the opening of the case, and has.
The cover part is
A porous member disposed in the region facing the spinner table, and
A pipe that connects the porous member and the gas supply source,
Including
The cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning nozzle to the wafer held on the spinner table, the opening is covered with the cover portion, and gas is ejected from the porous member, whereby the wafer is cleaned during cleaning. A cleaning mechanism characterized by forming a downflow in the case. A chuck table that holds the wafer and
A processing unit that processes the wafer held on the chuck table and
The cleaning mechanism according to claim 1 and
A processing device characterized by being provided with.

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