JP2024012429A - Chamfering device with blast unit and chamfering method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve shape accuracy of an edge part of a wafer W, improve surface roughness, eliminate waviness, and reduce streaks.

SOLUTION: A chamfering device 10 with blast unit that chamfers an end face of a waver W includes processing parts 16A and 16B which grind chamfered slope faces of the end face so that the slope faces become an upper slope face Wu and a lower slope face Wd with predetermined chamfering angle V, and a blast unit 21 which jets an elastic polishing material 300 obtained by dispersing abrasive grains for polishing in an elastic base material with jet nozzles 223 and 224, in which the blast unit 21 grinds the upper slope face Wu and the lower slope face Wd and molds the slope faces, and then jets the elastic polishing material 300 to the upper slope face Wu and the lower slope face Wd in a predetermined jet direction.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

COPYRIGHT: (C)2024,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a highly accurate chamfering device and method for chamfering end faces of various materials such as silicon, sapphire, compounds, and glass, particularly of plate-shaped workpieces such as semiconductor wafers and glass panels.

Semiconductor wafers such as silicon wafers used in the production of semiconductor devices and the like are chamfered by grinding their edges and mirror-beveled by polishing in order to prevent chipping during handling. In other words, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, from wafer manufacturing to device manufacturing, quality improvement of edge characteristics has become an essential process.

Currently, silicon is the mainstream material for wafers, but in recent years, the production volume of wafers with various properties such as sapphire, glass, SiC, and GaN has increased, and conventional processing methods optimized for processing silicon wafers have been used. That's not enough. In particular, in the case of wafers made of high hardness materials such as SiC, the grinding wheel wears out quickly, further shortening its life, which is a direct cause of increased wafer manufacturing costs. Further, in the case of a wafer made of a brittle material such as GaN, the wafer cannot withstand the processing load and is damaged, resulting in a decrease in yield. Furthermore, when the wafer is damaged, if its fragments collide with the grinding wheel, this may lead to damage or malfunction of the grinding wheel or the main body of the device.

For both the high-hardness materials and brittle materials mentioned above, the processing (feeding) speed must be slowed to prevent wear of the grinding wheel and damage to the wafer, resulting in a reduction in throughput. On the other hand, in recent years, there has been an increasing demand for the quality of the edge portion of semiconductor wafers, and conventional techniques cannot sufficiently meet the demands.

In normal grinding, the chamfer is ground with the main surface of the wafer W perpendicular to the rotation axis of the resin grindstone, but in this case, circumferential grinding marks are likely to occur on the chamfer. Therefore, it is known to perform so-called helical grinding, in which the chamfered portion of the wafer is ground by tilting a resin bond grindstone (resin grindstone) with respect to the wafer. For example, Patent Document 1 describes that by performing helical grinding, processing distortion of a chamfered portion is reduced compared to normal grinding, and the surface roughness of the chamfered portion is improved.

In addition, in order to prevent chipping and cracking and to polish the sides of the hard and brittle material substrate, an elastic abrasive is injected along with compressed gas from an injection nozzle toward the side of the workpiece made of the hard and brittle material substrate. A method of polishing the side of a workpiece by colliding with the workpiece, the jet forming a predetermined inclination angle with respect to a contact line perpendicular to the width direction line of the side at a processing point on the side of the workpiece. It is known to spray an elastic abrasive material onto a machining area in a direction, and is described in Patent Document 2.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-190284 JP2013-22684A

In the above-mentioned conventional technology, in the one described in Patent Document 1, scratch marks of the diamond abrasive grains in the grinding wheel, called striations, remain as a damaged layer on the processed part, which appears in the form of deterioration of the surface roughness. The appearance of these streaks could not be avoided even with a finishing grinding wheel. Furthermore, since the grinding wheel continues to rotate around its axis, the abrasive grains within it repeatedly move on the same trajectory. Therefore, if even a part of the grinding wheel has a defect such as chipping or crushing, damage to the edge of the wafer (surface roughness) may worsen, abnormal streaks or scratches may continue to appear intermittently, or This caused damage to the wafer.

Furthermore, even if the grinding wheel is continued to be used under normal conditions, the grinding wheel will gradually wear down and the shape of the grooves will collapse, resulting in a phenomenon in which the edge shape of the wafer after processing becomes unsuitable. In particular, the resin bond type grinding wheel used for finishing was easily worn out and had a short lifespan.

In the method described in Patent Document 2, an elastic abrasive material is jetted toward the side surface from a contact line direction perpendicular to the width direction line, and the edge portion is chamfered and polished after chamfering. Therefore, it was not possible to improve the shape accuracy of the edge portion and to sufficiently reduce the scratches. In particular, when machining chamfered slopes on the side edges of the workpiece, the trajectory of the elastic abrasive material is obstructed and may bounce back, making it difficult to improve the surface roughness and flatness of the workpiece surface. there were.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and improve the shape accuracy of the edge portion of a wafer W, which is a plate-shaped workpiece, as well as improve surface roughness, eliminate waviness, and reduce streaks. An object of the present invention is to provide a chamfering device with a blast unit.

The structure of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows.

[1] A processing section that performs chamfering processing to grind so that the chamfered slopes of the wafer edge become the upper and lower slopes of a predetermined chamfer angle, and a processing section that performs chamfering processing that grinds the wafer edge so that the chamfered slopes become the upper and lower slopes of the predetermined chamfer angle. In order to suppress jumping of the elastic abrasive material containing abrasive grains and adjust the amount of cut made by the elastic abrasive material, an angle other than 90 degrees intersects with the scratches formed on the upper slope and the lower slope, and The elastic abrasive material is sprayed onto the upper slope and the lower slope of the rotating wafer by a jet nozzle fixed along each of the upper slope and the lower slope at an angle smaller than the chamfer angle. A chamfering device with a blast unit comprising:
[2] When injecting the elastic abrasive material onto the orientation flat provided on the wafer, the rotation of the wafer is stopped, the injection nozzle is linearly reciprocated in the direction of the orientation flat of the wafer, and the upper slope is and the chamfering device with a blast unit according to [1], wherein the elastic abrasive material is injected onto the orientation flat at an angle other than perpendicular to but intersecting the scratches formed on the lower slope.
[3] When injecting the elastic abrasive material into the notch provided in the wafer, stop the rotation of the wafer and set the rotation center of the injection nozzle to the center of curvature at the apex of the notch of the wafer. The chamfering device with a blast unit according to [1], which injects the elastic abrasive material into the notch by swinging at a predetermined speed.
[4] An upper holding plate and a lower holding plate that sandwich the wafer from above and below when the blast unit sprays the elastic abrasive material, the upper holding plate and the lower holding plate having a truncated conical shape, and the above-mentioned The chamfering apparatus with a blast unit according to [1], wherein the angle of the truncated cone is equal to or less than the chamfering angle of the wafer, and the bottom surface of the truncated cone has a size that covers the processed portion of the wafer.
[5] Perform chamfering to grind the wafer edge so that the chamfered slopes become the upper and lower slopes of a predetermined chamfer angle, and apply polishing abrasive grains to the elastic base material caused by scratches including striations and undulations. In order to suppress jumping of the elastic abrasive material contained therein and adjust the amount of incision made by the elastic abrasive material, an angle other than 90 degrees intersects with the scratch formed on the upper slope and the lower slope, and the upper slope and a chamfering method in which the elastic abrasive is rotated in a direction at an angle smaller than the chamfering angle along each of the lower slopes and injected onto the upper slope and the lower slope of the wafer, respectively.

Another aspect of the present invention is a chamfering device with a blasting unit that chamfers the end face of a wafer, the chamfering device grinding so that the chamfered slopes of the end face become upper and lower slopes of a predetermined chamfer angle (V). and a blast unit that sprays an elastic abrasive material in which abrasive grains for polishing are dispersed in an elastic base material through a spray nozzle, and the blast unit is configured to grind the upper slope and the lower slope. After forming, the elastic abrasive material is sprayed onto the upper slope and the lower slope in a predetermined injection direction (D).

Further, in the above, it is preferable that the blast unit includes a spray nozzle having two or more spray ports for the elastic abrasive material, and has a mechanism for spraying the elastic abrasive material in any direction from the spray ports.

Furthermore, in the above, it is preferable that the injection nozzle has one facing the upper slope and the other facing the lower slope, each of which is set to have a predetermined injection direction and position.

Furthermore, in the above, the injection nozzle facing the upper slope and the injection nozzle facing the lower slope may be provided on independent nozzle tables, and fixed so that the injection direction is at a predetermined position. preferable.

Furthermore, in the above, the blasting unit includes an upper holding plate and a lower holding plate that sandwich the wafer from above and below when the elastic abrasive is jetted, and the upper holding plate and the lower holding plate are shaped like a truncated cone, Preferably, the angle of the truncated cone is less than or equal to the chamfer angle of the wafer, and the bottom surface is the same size as the processed portion of the wafer.

Furthermore, in the above, the elastic abrasive material is composed of particles of 2 mm or less and the abrasive grains and a base material, the base material is gelatin or rubber, and the abrasive grains are dispersed in the base material, or Preferably, the abrasive grains are retained in the surface layer and have a particle size of 0.1 to 20 μm.

Furthermore, in the above, assuming a contact line passing through the processing point of the chamfered slope, the jetting direction of the elastic abrasive is such that the angle θ with respect to the contact line or the groove on the chamfered slope is in the rotation direction of the wafer. 5° or more and 80° or less, and the angle r corresponding to the chamfer angle is set to be (V-30°) or more (V-10°) or less, where the chamfering angle is V. preferable.
However, for the angle θ, see FIGS. 9 and 11, and for the angle r, see FIGS. 9 and 12.

Furthermore, in the above, it is preferable that the angle θ is 8°±2°.

Further, in the above, when the elastic abrasive material is sprayed, the relative humidity is preferably 60 to 80%.

Furthermore, in the above, it is preferable that the blast unit is provided in the processing section or a cleaning section that cleans the wafer after the chamfering process.

Furthermore, in the above, when the wafer has an orientation flat shape, when injecting the elastic abrasive material to the orientation flat, the rotation of the wafer is stopped and the injection nozzle is linearly reciprocated in the direction of the orientation flat. It is preferable to do so.

Furthermore, in the above, when the wafer has a notch shape, the polishing process of the notch is performed by stopping the rotation of the wafer and setting the rotation center of the injection nozzle to a predetermined center point of the curvature at the apex of the notch. It is preferable to perform this by rocking at a speed of .

The present invention also provides a method for chamfering an end face of a wafer, comprising: grinding so that the chamfered slopes of the end face become upper and lower slopes of a predetermined chamfering angle; and grinding the upper and lower slopes. After shaping, an elastic abrasive material is sprayed onto the upper slope and the lower slope in a predetermined injection direction.

According to the present invention, after the wafer is ground so that the chamfered slopes of the end face become the upper slope and the lower slope, the elastic abrasive material is jetted to the upper slope and the lower slope in a predetermined direction, so that the edge of the wafer is In addition to improving shape accuracy, surface roughness is improved, waviness is eliminated, and streaks are reduced, making it possible to mirror-polish with high smoothness. As a result, even if the material is a highly hard material or a brittle material, the quality of the edge portion can be improved.

1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a chamfering device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of processing parts 16A and 16B in one embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the end face of the wafer W has been ground. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the blast unit 21 and the wafer W. FIG. 3 is a side view showing how the upper slope Wu is polished. FIG. 3 is a side view showing how the lower slope Wd is polished. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the spray direction and the processed surface of the wafer W in conventional polishing. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the injection direction and the processing surface of the wafer W according to one embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing details of the ejection direction of the elastic abrasive material according to one embodiment. The perspective view which shows the injection direction of the elastic abrasive material by prior art (patent document 2). FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the streaks Ws on the chamfered slope and the direction of ejection of the elastic abrasive. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the relationship between the chamfer angle V and the ejection direction of the elastic abrasive material. An explanatory view showing polishing of the orientation flat part. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing polishing of a notch portion. Polishing conditions in one example. Optical micrograph of the processed surface after grinding. Optical micrograph of a processed surface polished at angles θ=0° and r=30°. Optical micrograph of a processed surface polished at an angle θ=90°. Optical micrograph of a processed surface polished at an angle θ=45°. Optical micrograph of the processed surface polished at an angle θ = 8°. Optical micrograph of a polished surface under low humidity. Optical micrograph of a polished surface under high humidity.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a chamfering device 10 with a blast unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the chamfering device 10 with a blast unit includes a supply and recovery section 12, a pre-alignment section 14, processing sections 16A and 16B, a notch polishing section 18, a cleaning section 20, a post-measurement section 22, and a conveyance section 24. It is configured. The blast unit-equipped chamfering device 10 is also equipped with an operation panel, a control device, and the like (not shown).

The supply and collection unit 12 supplies wafers W to be chamfered from the wafer cassette 30 and collects the chamfered wafers W to the wafer cassette 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the supply and recovery unit 12 includes four cassette tables 32, 32, . . . and one supply and recovery robot 34.

Wafer cassettes 30, 30, . . . are set on four cassette tables 32, 32, . The wafer cassettes 30, 30, . . . store a large number of wafers W to be chamfered. The supply and recovery robot 34 takes out wafers W one by one from each wafer cassette 30 set on the cassette tables 32, 32, . . . and supplies them to the pre-alignment section 14. Then, the supply and recovery robot 34 stores the chamfered wafer W from the post-measuring section 22 into the wafer cassette 30.

The supply and recovery robot 34 includes a three-axis rotating transfer arm 36, and the transfer arm 36 is provided with a suction pad (not shown) on its upper surface. The transfer arm 36 holds the wafer W by vacuum suctioning the back surface of the wafer W using the suction pad. Further, the transport arm 36 is provided on a slide block 40 that is movable along a guide rail 38, and the slide block 40 is driven to move in the front-rear direction (Y-axis direction). The transfer arm 36 can move back and forth, move up and down, and rotate while holding the wafer W, and the wafer W is transferred by combining these operations.

The pre-alignment unit 14 measures the thickness of the wafer W to be chamfered and performs pre-alignment. This pre-alignment section 14 is composed of a measurement table 50, a sensor 52, and a notch detection sensor 54. The measurement table 50 is configured to be rotatable and movable up and down, and holds the back side of the wafer W by suction, and rotates the wafer W around its central axis. The sensor 52 is composed of a pair of upper and lower capacitance sensors, and measures the distance to the front and back surfaces of the wafer W. The notch detection sensor 54 is composed of a laser sensor, and detects the position of the notch or orientation flat of the wafer W held on the measurement table 50 and rotated.

The processing sections 16A and 16B are arranged in parallel on the front side of the chamfering apparatus 10 with a blast unit, and each chamfers the wafer W. The processing units 16A and 16B have the same configuration, and each includes a wafer feeding device 60 and a grinding device 62.

The notch polishing section 18 performs finishing processing on the notch portion of the wafer W. The notch polishing section 18 includes a wafer feeding device 70 and a notch polishing unit 72. The wafer feeding device 70 has a chuck table 74 that holds the wafer W by suction. The notch polishing unit 72 includes a notch polishing head 76.

The cleaning unit 20 cleans the wafer W after the chamfering process. The cleaning section 20 includes a spin cleaning device 80. The spin cleaning apparatus 80 rotates the wafer W held on the cleaning table 82 and sprays a cleaning liquid onto the surface of the wafer W, thereby peeling off and removing dirt attached to the surface of the wafer W.

The post-measuring unit 22 measures the diameter of the chamfered wafer W. The post-measuring unit 22 includes a diameter measuring device 84 for measuring the diameter of the wafer W, and a measuring table 86 that holds the wafer W and rotates and moves it up and down. Measure using

The transport section 24 transports the wafer W to each part of the chamfering apparatus 10 with a blast unit. The conveyance section 24 includes a grinding transfer section 100, a notch transfer section 102, a cleaning transfer section 104, and a storage transfer section 106.

The grinding transfer section 100 transports the wafer W pre-aligned by the pre-alignment section 14 to each processing section 16A, 16B. The grinding transfer unit 100 includes a horizontal guide 110, a slide block 112 (not shown) that slides along the horizontal guide 110, and a transfer arm 114 provided on the slide block.

The slide block 112 slides along the horizontal guide 110. A suction pad 116 is provided at the tip of the transfer arm 114. The transfer arm 114 transfers the wafer W by moving horizontally and vertically while holding the wafer W.

The notch transfer section 102 transfers the wafer W, which has been chamfered in each of the processing sections 16A and 16B, to the notch polishing section 18. The notch transfer section 102 includes a horizontal guide 120, a slide block 122 that slides along the horizontal guide 120, and a transfer arm 124 provided on the slide block 122.

The slide block 122 slides along the horizontal guide 120. A suction pad 126 is provided at the tip of the transfer arm 124. The transfer arm 124 can move horizontally, move vertically, and rotate while holding the wafer W, and transfers the wafer W by combining these operations. Thereby, the wafer W that has been chamfered in each of the processing sections 16A and 16B is transferred to the notch polishing section 18 while being held by the transfer arm 124.

The cleaning transfer unit 104 transfers the wafer W whose notch portion has been finished in the notch polishing unit 18 to the cleaning unit 20 . The cleaning transfer section 104 includes a horizontal guide 130, a slide block 132 that slides along the horizontal guide 130, and a transfer arm 134 provided on the slide block 132.

The slide block 132 slides along the horizontal guide 130. A suction pad 136 is provided at the tip of the transfer arm 134. Further, the transfer arm 134 transfers the wafer W while holding the wafer W therein. Then, the wafer W whose notch portion has been finished in the notch polishing section 18 is transferred to the cleaning section 20 while being held by the transfer arm 134.

The storage transfer section 106 transports the wafer W cleaned in the cleaning section 20 to the post-measurement section 22 . The storage transfer section 106 is composed of a horizontal guide 120 shared with the notch transfer section 102, a slide block 142 that slides along the horizontal guide 120, and a transfer arm 144 provided on the slide block 142. There is.

The slide block 142 slides along the horizontal guide 120. A suction pad 146 is provided at the tip of the transfer arm 144. Further, the transfer arm 144 transfers the wafer W while holding the wafer W. Thereby, the wafer W cleaned in the cleaning section 20 is transferred to the post-measurement section 22 while being held by the transfer arm 144.

Next, the configuration of the processing sections 16A and 16B will be explained with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of the processing parts 16A and 16B. The processing units 16A and 16B include a wafer feeding device 60 and a grinding device 62.

The wafer feeding device 60 has a chuck table (wafer table) 150 that holds the wafer W by suction. The chuck table 150 is driven by a drive means (not shown) to move in the front-back direction (Y-axis direction), the left-right direction (X-axis direction), and the up-down direction (Z-axis direction). The chuck table 150 is driven by a chuck table drive motor 152 to rotate around the central axis.

The grinding device 62 is placed a predetermined distance away from the chuck table 150 of the wafer feeding device 60 in the Y-axis direction. The grinding device 62 has a rough grinding spindle 156 that is driven and rotated by a rough grinding motor 154 . The rough grinding spindle 156 is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction (Y-axis direction) and the up-down direction (Z-axis direction). A peripheral rough grinding wheel 158 for rough processing (rough grinding) the end face of the wafer W is attached to the rough grinding spindle 156 . The outer periphery rough grinding wheel 158 has a plurality of outer periphery rough grinding grooves formed on its outer peripheral surface, and by pressing the outer periphery of the wafer W against the grooves, the end surface of the wafer W is roughly ground.

As the outer periphery rough grinding wheel 158, for example, one formed mainly of metal powder such as Fe, Cr, Cu, etc. and mixed with diamond abrasive grains is used. The material of the truer is one that can be processed by the outer periphery rough grinding wheel 158.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the end face of the wafer W has been formed by grinding, and (a) shows the cross-sectional shape of the chamfered portion of the wafer W, where Wu of the chamfered slopes is the upper slope of the edge portion, Wd is the lower slope of the edge portion, and Wc is the side surface. (b) shows an example of the surface roughness Wr of the upper slope Wu. Similarly, (c) shows the striations Ws on the upper slope Wu, where scratch marks from the diamond abrasive grains in the grinding wheel remain as a damaged layer. In addition, since the abrasive grains in the grinding wheel repeatedly move on the same trajectory, if even a part of the grinding wheel has a defect such as chipping or blinding, abnormal streaks Ws and scratches will appear intermittently. Otherwise, the wafer W may be damaged.

In particular, the resin bond type grinding wheel used for finishing in the conventional technique is easily worn out, and the grinding wheel gradually wears down, causing the shape of the groove to collapse. Therefore, after processing, the shape of the edge portion of the wafer W became inappropriate, resulting in a short life. Furthermore, in areas other than the streaks Ws, "undulations", which are large undulating irregularities appearing on the processed surface, may occur.

Furthermore, in the case of a wafer W made of a brittle material such as GaN, the wafer W cannot withstand the processing load and is damaged, resulting in a decrease in yield. Further, when the wafer W is damaged, if its fragments collide with the grinding wheel, this may lead to damage or malfunction of the grinding wheel or the main body of the apparatus. Furthermore, for both high-hardness materials and brittle materials, the processing (feeding) speed must be slowed to prevent wear of the grinding wheel and damage to the wafer W, resulting in a decrease in throughput.

Therefore, the chamfering apparatus 10 with a blast unit is equipped with a blast unit 21 that injects and collides an abrasive material onto either the processing sections 16A, 16B or the cleaning section 20. 4 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the blast unit 21 and the wafer W, FIG. 5 is a side view showing how the upper slope Wu is polished, and FIG. 6 is a side view showing how the lower slope Wd is polished. be. The blasting unit 21 applies an elastic abrasive material 300 in which polishing abrasive grains are dispersed in an elastic base material, or an elastic abrasive material 300 in which polishing abrasive grains are attached to the surface of an elastic base material, onto the chamfered slope of the wafer W. The chamfered slope of the edge portion is polished by injecting it together with compressed gas and colliding with it. In other words, the chamfering device 10 with a blast unit grinds and shapes the upper and lower slopes Wu and Wd, which are chamfered slopes, at a predetermined chamfer angle V, and then applies elastic force to the upper and lower slopes Wu and Wd in a predetermined injection direction. Abrasive material 300 is injected.

The blast unit 21 is installed on the nozzle table 222 and is placed at a position radially apart from the wafer W by a predetermined distance. The blasting unit 21 is equipped with injection nozzles 223 and 224 so as to have two or more injection ports for the elastic abrasive material 300 so that the upper slope Wu and the lower slope Wd can be polished. The abrasive material has a mechanism that injects the elastic abrasive material 300 in any direction from each injection port of the injection nozzles 223 and 224 using compressed gas or centrifugal force.

The nozzle table 222 is movable in the X and Y directions as shown by the arrows in FIG. Furthermore, the injection direction of the injection nozzles 223 and 224 is three-dimensionally variable depending on the height of the injection opening in the Z direction of FIG. 5 and the rotating shaft 229. The injection nozzle 223 and the injection nozzle 224 are respectively set to have a predetermined injection direction and position toward the upper slope Wu and the lower slope Wd. The nozzle table 222 is moved every time the upper slope Wu and the lower slope Wd are polished.

Although one embodiment has been described by providing the injection nozzles 223 and 224 on one nozzle table 222, it is also possible to provide two independent nozzle tables 222 and separate the injection nozzles 223 and 224 independently. good. In this case, there is no need to move the nozzle table 222, and it is sufficient to fix the nozzle table 222 so that the respective injection directions are at predetermined positions.

The wafer W is held on a holding table 226 by being sandwiched from above and below by an upper holding plate 227 and a lower holding plate 228. The holding table 226 is driven by the holding motor 225 and rotates. Further, the holding unit 230 is configured to be movable in each of the front-rear direction (Y-axis direction) and the up-down direction (Z-axis direction).

The upper holding plate 227 and the lower holding plate 228 have a truncated conical shape, and sandwich the wafer W with their bottom surfaces having the same size as the non-edge portion (processed portion) of the wafer W. The angle of the truncated cone is equal to or less than the chamfer angle V. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the elastic abrasive material 300 from colliding with a portion other than the edge portion. Further, the trajectory of the elastic abrasive material 300 is not hindered, and the abrasive material of the elastic abrasive material 300 that has slid along the edge portion does not collide with the upper holding plate 227 and the lower holding plate 228 and bounce back toward the edge portion. Further, the surfaces of the upper holding plate 227 and the lower holding plate 228 are preferably coated with ceramic.

The injection direction of the elastic abrasive material 300 and its effect will be explained. The elastic abrasive material 300 is made of particles of 2 mm or less, and consists of abrasive grains and a base material. The base material is gelatin or rubber whose main component is elastic protein, and an elastic abrasive material 300 in which abrasive grains are dispersed in the base material or held on the surface layer is used. The abrasive grains are diamond, CBN, GC, etc. with a grain size of #3000 to #1200 and a grain size of 0.1 to 20 μm. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the spray direction and the processed surface (surface roughness Wr) of the wafer W in conventional polishing, and FIG. It is a figure showing the relationship with roughness Wr).

In conventional polishing, as shown in FIG. 7, the injection direction is substantially perpendicular to the processed surface as indicated by an arrow 301. In this method, the elastic abrasive material 300 strongly collides with the machined surface to exert cutting force. However, the elastic abrasive material 300 jumps as shown by an arrow 302 on the machined surface, particularly at a portion where the surface roughness is large as the striations Ws. Patent Document 2 utilizes this effect to cut the edge portion and chamfer it, or to polish a surface that has already been chamfered. Therefore, it has been difficult to improve the surface roughness and the flatness of the processed surface with respect to the chamfered slopes of the edge portions.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the elastic abrasive material 300 is ejected at a low angle along the processing surface as indicated by an arrow 303. Therefore, the elastic abrasive material 300 injected from the injection nozzles 223 and 224 disperses stress and begins to deform quickly after reaching the processing surface, and jumps are suppressed and the elastic abrasive material 300 slides over a long distance on the processing surface as shown by arrow 304. . In other words, the elastic abrasive material 300 is deformed when it collides with the workpiece (wafer W), slides on the workpiece surface, and acts on the abrasive grains. As a result, the incision of the abrasive grains does not become too large, deep scratches Ws are less likely to remain on the workpiece, and mirror polishing with high smoothness is possible.

The chamfering apparatus 10 with a blast unit mainly uses semiconductor wafers as a workpiece. The workpiece is a substrate made of a material that is both hard and brittle, and is suitable for substrates made of materials that are likely to chip or crack during grinding. Suitable materials for the workpiece include semiconductor materials such as single crystal silicon, polycrystalline silicon, SiC, Ga203, sapphire, GaN, and GaAs. In addition, GaSb, InP, LT, LN, Ge, glass, ceramics, MgO, ZnO, crystal, LBO, BBO, BGO, CaF2, MgF2, LiF, BaF2, CeF3, KBr, GGG, YAG, ZnSe, ZnTe, ZnS , STO, YSL, LoB, etc. may be used. The shape type of the wafer W can be circular, notch, orientation flat, SOI, and the edge shape can be terrace, boat shape, etc.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing details of the ejection direction D of the elastic abrasive material 300 according to one embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the ejection direction D of the elastic abrasive material 300 according to the prior art (Patent Document 2). It is. The characteristics of the machining method using the chamfering device 10 with a blast unit will be explained by comparing FIGS. 9 and 10. The processing method is characterized by elastic polishing in the injection direction D that forms predetermined angles θ and r with respect to processing points on the chamfered slopes of the edge portion of the wafer W, that is, the upper slope Wu and the lower slope Wd (see FIG. 3). The purpose is to inject the material 300.

FIG. 9 shows polishing of the upper slope Wu, where the processing point is assumed to be a point on the upper slope Wu, and a contact line τ passing through the processing point is assumed. The injection direction D of the elastic abrasive material 300 is such that the angle θ with respect to the contact line τ or the streak Ws on the upper slope Wu is 5° or more and 80° or less with respect to the rotational direction φ of the wafer W, preferably 8°±2 °. In addition, in the injection direction D, the injection nozzle 223 (see FIG. 4) is set so that the angle r corresponding to the chamfer angle V of the upper slope Wu is greater than or equal to (V-30°) and less than or equal to (V-10°). . Note that the same applies to the polishing of the lower slope Wd.

To polish the entire circumference, the wafer W is rotated in the rotational direction φ at a predetermined speed. Since the injection direction D is fixed, the processing point on the wafer W is moved by this operation. The lower slope Wd is polished in the same manner as the upper slope Wu by moving the nozzle table 222 in the XY directions (see FIG. 3). Note that the relative humidity during the polishing process is preferably 60 to 80% in order to efficiently slide the elastic abrasive material 300 on the process surface.

FIG. 10 is a diagram similar to FIG. 9, showing the injection direction D according to the prior art (Patent Document 2). The side surface Wc of W) is the processing point. Further, FIG. 10 assumes a width direction line H passing through a processing point on the side surface Wc and a contact line T that intersects perpendicularly with the width direction line H and contacts at the processing point. The injection direction D of the elastic abrasive material 300 intersects the width direction line H at the processing point, and the predetermined inclination angle ξ with respect to the contact line T is set to be 2 to 60 degrees in consideration of deterioration of machinability. In addition, in this example, the injection direction D and the direction of the streaks Ws match.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the streaks Ws on the chamfered slope and the ejection direction D of the elastic abrasive material 300. In (a), the direction of the streaks Ws and the injection direction D of the elastic abrasive material 300 match with respect to the rotation direction φ, and the angle θ = 0°, (b), the angle θ = 90°, and (c) , angle θ=45° (see FIG. 9 for injection direction D and angle θ). In the case of (a), since the scratches Ws are relatively large and deep scratches on the processed surface, polishing to erase the scratches Ws cannot be performed even with the elastic abrasive material 300.

In (b), the jetting direction D is a direction in which the streaks Ws are erased, but the sliding distance of the elastic abrasive material 300 becomes small, and the incision of the abrasive grains must be made large. In the case of (c), it is possible to lengthen the sliding distance of the elastic abrasive material 300 and prevent the elastic abrasive material 300 from jumping due to the streaks Ws.

Therefore, by making the angle θ relatively small with respect to the direction of the streaks Ws as shown in (c), the streaks Ws are less likely to remain and mirror polishing with high smoothness is possible. However, if θ is made too small, the state shown in (a) will occur, and it will be difficult to eliminate the streaks Ws. As a result of repeated trial and error experiments, the angle θ has been found to be more than 5° and less than 80° for practical purposes, and approximately 8°, 8° ± 2° is suitable for obtaining a highly smooth mirror surface. Do you get it.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing the relationship between the chamfer angle V and the ejection direction D of the elastic abrasive material 300. As explained with reference to FIG. 8, it is desirable that the ejection direction D of the elastic abrasive material 300 be at a low angle along the processing surface. However, since the chamfered slope forms an angle V with respect to the horizontal surface of the wafer W, the spraying direction D can be adjusted by making the angle r between the spraying direction D and the horizontal surface of the wafer W equal to the angle V. The amount of cut made by the material 300 becomes too small. Therefore, the injection direction D needs to balance the cutting force caused by the elastic abrasive material 300 and the effect caused by the sliding of the abrasive grains. Therefore, in the injection direction D, it is desirable that the angle r with respect to the chamfer angle V be set to be greater than or equal to (V-30°) and less than or equal to (V-10°).

As described above, after grinding the chamfered slope on the edge portion of the wafer W, blast polishing using the elastic abrasive material 300 is performed on the chamfered slope, so that the scratches Ws during grinding are reduced and the surface roughness is improved. In addition, the surface to be processed is polished flat and undulations are eliminated. Therefore, even if the wafer W is made of a brittle material, it is possible to improve the shape accuracy of the edge portion, prevent chipping due to handling, etc., and improve quality.

In addition, blast polishing does not cause the problems peculiar to processing using a diamond grindstone for fine polishing, so wear of the grindstone and damage to the wafer W can be prevented and the yield can be improved. Furthermore, if the finishing process is replaced with blast polishing instead of a fine polishing diamond grindstone, machining time can be shortened and high-rate machining can be performed.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing polishing of the orientation flat OF portion of the wafer W having an orientation flat shape. The polishing process is performed while the rotation of the wafer W is stopped. Since the orientation flat OF portion has a linear shape, the elastic abrasive material 300 is jetted by linearly reciprocating the jet nozzle 223 or 224 in the X direction, that is, in the direction of the orientation flat OF. Further, the injection direction D of the elastic abrasive material 300 is set at an angle θ direction with respect to the direction of the groove Ws in the circular portion of the wafer W, as in FIG.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing polishing of a notch portion in a notch-shaped wafer W in which a notch WN is provided instead of the orientation flat OF. In the polishing process, the rotation of the wafer W is stopped, and the angle θ of the jetting direction D with respect to the contact line τ or the streak Ws is 90°. For example, polishing is performed by swinging the injection nozzle 223 or 224 at a predetermined speed so that the center of rotation of the injection nozzle 223 or 224 is at the apex of the notch WN and the center point Ot of its curvature. The processing point moves faster during polishing than when polishing the circular portion of the wafer W, and the polishing is repeated by moving the processing point back and forth.

An example in which a chamfered portion of an edge portion of a wafer W is processed using the chamfering apparatus 10 with a blast unit of the present invention will be described below.

The workpiece was a semiconductor wafer made of SiC (silicon carbide). FIG. 15 shows detailed polishing conditions. The shaping process by grinding the chamfered portion was performed using a diamond wheel (grindstone). The surface roughness after the grinding process during the forming process had an arithmetic mean roughness Ra of 0.137 μm and a maximum height Rz of 0.703 μm. FIG. 16 is an optical micrograph of the processed surface after grinding. The arrow in the figure indicates the processing direction, and many streaks Ws are recognized.

FIG. 17 is an optical micrograph of the surface to be polished, where the spray direction D is θ=0° and r=30° (see FIG. 9). The polishing conditions were such that the base material of the elastic abrasive material 300 was 300 μm in average particle size, and the material was gelatin. The abrasive grains are diamond with a grain size of #3000, and are dispersed in the base material or attached to the surface. The spray speed was 2000 m/min and the humidity was 60%. After polishing, the arithmetic mean roughness Ra is 0.059 μm and the maximum height Rz is 0.234 μm, which are improved, but the streaks Ws (see FIG. 3) are still observed in the optical micrograph of FIG. 17. state.

In FIG. 18, θ=90° under the same conditions. After polishing, the arithmetic mean roughness Ra is 0.045 μm, the maximum height Rz is 0.192 μm, and the streaks Ws are smoother at both upper and lower ends than in FIG. 17 when the injection direction D is θ = 0°. However, the central part still remains.

In FIG. 19, θ=45° under the same conditions. After polishing, the arithmetic mean roughness Ra is 0.032 μm and the maximum height Rz is 0.185 μm, which shows the effect of increasing the sliding distance of the elastic abrasive material 300, and is in a practical state.

In FIG. 20, θ=8° was further set under the same conditions. After the polishing process, the arithmetic mean roughness Ra was 0.023 μm, the maximum height Rz was 0.156 μm, and the streaks Ws in the center that remained partially in FIG. 19 had also disappeared considerably. This state is optimal for reducing streaks Ws, improving surface roughness, eliminating waviness, and improving shape accuracy, and a highly smooth mirror surface can be obtained.

FIGS. 21 and 22 show the influence of humidity; the optical micrograph in FIG. 21 shows the results of polishing at a low humidity of about 30%, while the one in FIG. 22 shows the result of polishing at a high humidity of about 60%. It was confirmed that high humidity is advantageous in terms of surface roughness.

From the above results, when performing blast polishing with the elastic abrasive material 300 after shaping the chamfered slope by grinding, the injection direction D of the elastic abrasive material 300 should be set at an angle θ (see FIG. 9) of 5° or more and 80° or less. It is practical to do so. Further, it was confirmed that the angle θ of about 8°, 8°±2° is suitable for obtaining a highly smooth mirror surface. Note that the angle θ is an angle with respect to the rotation direction φ of the wafer W with respect to the contact line τ or the streak Ws on the upper slope Wu (see FIG. 9). It has also been confirmed that the injection direction D is preferably such that the angle r corresponding to the chamfer angle V of the chamfered slope is greater than or equal to (V-30°) and less than or equal to (V-10°).

10: Chamfering device with blast unit, 12: Supply and recovery section, 14: Pre-alignment section, 16A, 16B: Processing section, 18: Notch polishing section, 20: Cleaning section, 21: Blast unit, 22: Post-measuring section, 24 : Transport section, 30 : Wafer cassette, 32 : Cassette table, 34 : Supply and collection robot, 36 : Transport arm, 38 : Guide rail, 40 : Slide block, 50 : Measurement table, 52 : Sensor, 54 : Notch detection sensor, 60: Wafer feeding device, 62: Grinding device, 70: Wafer feeding device, 72: Notch polishing unit, 74: Chuck table, 76: Notch polishing head, 80: Spin cleaning device, 82: Cleaning table, 84: Diameter measuring device , 86: measurement table, 100: grinding transfer section, 102: notch transfer section, 104: cleaning transfer section, 106: storage transfer section, 110: horizontal guide, 112: slide block, 114: transfer arm, 116: suction pad, 120: horizontal guide, 122: slide block, 124: transfer arm, 126: suction pad, 130: horizontal guide, 132: slide block, 134: transfer arm, 136: suction pad, 142: slide block, 144: transfer arm, 146: Suction pad, 150: Chuck table, 152: Chuck table drive motor, 154: Rough grinding motor, 156: Rough grinding spindle, 158: Outer periphery rough grinding wheel, 222: Nozzle table, 223, 224: Injection nozzle, 225: Holding motor, 226: Holding table, 227: Upper holding plate, 228: Lower holding plate, 229: Rotating shaft, 300: Elastic abrasive material, 301, 302, 303, 304: Arrow, D: Injection direction, H: Width direction Line, Ot: center point, Rz: maximum height,
T: contact line, W: wafer, WN: notch, OF: orientation flat, Wc: side surface, Wu: upper slope, Wd: lower slope, Ws: striation, V: chamfer angle, r: angle (corresponds to chamfer angle V) ), θ: Angle (contact line τ or angle with respect to the groove Ws on the upper slope Wu), ξ: Inclination angle, τ: Contact line (contact line passing through the machining point of the chamfered slope), φ: Rotation direction

Claims (5)

a processing section that performs a chamfering process of grinding so that the chamfered slopes of the edge portion of the wafer become upper and lower slopes of a predetermined chamfer angle;
In order to suppress jumping of the elastic abrasive material containing abrasive grains in the elastic base material due to scratches including striations and undulations, and to adjust the amount of cut made by the elastic abrasive material, the upper slope and the lower slope are respectively The elastic abrasive is sprayed with a spray nozzle fixed at an angle that intersects the formed scratch at an angle other than 90 degrees and along each of the upper slope and the lower slope that is smaller than the chamfer angle. A chamfering apparatus with a blast unit, comprising: a blast unit that sprays blasts onto the upper slope and the lower slope of the rotating wafer, respectively. When injecting the elastic abrasive material onto the orientation flat provided on the wafer, the rotation of the wafer is stopped, and the injection nozzle is linearly reciprocated in the direction of the orientation flat of the wafer to spray the upper slope and the lower slope. The chamfering device with a blast unit according to claim 1, wherein the elastic abrasive material is injected onto the orientation flat at an angle other than orthogonal to but intersecting the scratches formed on the slope. When injecting the elastic abrasive material into a notch provided in the wafer, stop the rotation of the wafer and spray at a predetermined speed so that the center of rotation of the injection nozzle becomes the center of curvature at the apex of the notch of the wafer. The chamfering device with a blast unit according to claim 1, wherein the chamfering device with a blast unit is oscillated to spray the elastic abrasive material onto the notch. comprising an upper holding plate and a lower holding plate that sandwich the wafer from above and below when the blasting unit sprays the elastic abrasive;
The upper holding plate and the lower holding plate have a truncated conical shape,
The angle of the truncated cone is less than or equal to the chamfer angle of the wafer,
2. The chamfering apparatus with a blast unit according to claim 1, wherein the bottom surface of the truncated cone has a size that covers a portion of the wafer to be processed. Chamfering is performed by grinding so that the chamfered slopes of the edge of the wafer become the upper and lower slopes of a predetermined chamfer angle,
In order to suppress jumping of the elastic abrasive material containing abrasive grains in the elastic base material due to scratches including striations and undulations, and to adjust the amount of cut made by the elastic abrasive material, the upper slope and the lower slope are respectively rotating the elastic abrasive in a direction that intersects the formed scratch at an angle other than 90 degrees and that is smaller than the chamfering angle so as to be along each of the upper and lower slopes; A chamfering method in which spraying is applied to the upper slope and the lower slope, respectively.