JP3891641B2 - Polishing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus, and more particularly to a polishing apparatus that polishes a material to be polished such as a semiconductor wafer to a flat and mirror surface.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, as semiconductor devices are highly integrated, circuit wiring is becoming finer and the distance between wirings is becoming narrower. Along with this, the depth of focus becomes shallow when circuit formation is performed by optical lithography or the like, so that a higher flatness of the imaging surface of the stepper is required. Chemical mechanical polishing as a means to flatten the surface of a semiconductor wafer by pressing the wafer held by a carrier against the polishing cloth while supplying a polishing liquid containing abrasive grains to the polishing cloth affixed on a rotating turntable (CMP) is performed.
[0003]
As such a polishing apparatus, a polishing apparatus having a polishing table that periodically moves in a plane and a gripping member that presses a polishing surface of a material to be polished against the polishing table is used. The polishing unit is further provided with a storage device for storing the material to be polished, a cleaning device for cleaning the material polished by the polishing device, and adjacent to the storage unit, A reversing device for reversing the material to be polished when the material to be polished is exchanged between the storage unit and the polishing unit or the cleaning unit, and a conveying device for transferring the material to be polished between these units or devices. An added polishing apparatus is used.
[0004]
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, storage units 100 a and 100 b that store materials to be polished, at least two polishing units 106 a and 106 b each having a turntable 102 and a top ring 104, and polishing in the polishing unit. Cleaning devices 108a to 108d for cleaning and drying the polished material, a transport device 110 for transferring the material to be polished between these devices, and reversing machines 112a and 112b for reversing the material to be polished. ing. Each unit is arranged in consideration of the processing flow as a whole and the conveyance of the object to be polished, and the entire device is covered with a single cover to air-condition the internal space, for example, so that air flows from top to bottom. I was going.
[0005]
Thus, since this polishing apparatus has two polishing units, when performing polishing work in multiple stages by changing the polishing liquid in the production of compound semiconductors, etc., contamination by the previous polishing liquid is prevented, and quality and A decrease in yield can be prevented, and in the case of single-stage polishing, this can be used in parallel with each polishing unit to increase throughput.
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-described polishing apparatus so far, apparatuses for performing each processing step are arranged in the same space. Therefore, a unit for performing a process with relatively low cleanliness such as a polishing process and a high unit for final cleaning are provided. Air flows between processes that require cleanliness, and for example, small particles (particles) such as splashes of polishing liquid and polishing debris in the polishing section move from the former to the latter, and the latter is contaminated. There was. In addition, since the semiconductor wafer that has been polished, washed, and dried is transported to the storage units 100a and 100b by the transport device 110, the semiconductor wafer may be contaminated if the transport device is contaminated. In order to prevent such contamination, if the cleanliness in the space is improved as a whole, the air conditioning capability must be increased, and the equipment and operating costs increase.
[0007]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a polishing apparatus capable of providing a product with a high degree of cleanliness while suppressing facilities and operating costs and preventing mutual contamination in each process.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1, in the polishing apparatus having a polishing apparatus for polishing a surface of the object to be polished chemically mechanically, the inner space, in accordance with cleanliness, accommodating device and the first housing the object to be polished A plurality of chambers including a first chamber that accommodates the second conveying device and a second chamber that accommodates the second conveying device that conveys the material to be polished to the polishing device . Up and down two temporary storage chambers in which the material to be polished is temporarily placed in a wet state and a dry state at positions where each hand of the first transfer device and the second transfer device can enter. A polishing apparatus is provided with a transfer gate having the same.
[0009]
Thereby, the cleanliness of each room can be set high and the material to be polished can be smoothly transferred while maintaining the cleanliness of the material to be polished as the final product. The maintenance of the cleanliness of each room is performed, for example, by setting the respective pressures so that the air on the low cleanliness side does not flow into the room on the high cleanliness side. This is done by the valve of the exhaust system duct or the rotation speed of the fan. The polishing apparatus may be provided with a reversing device for reversing the front and back of the material to be polished as necessary. In addition, it is preferable that an appropriate drying means is provided in the cleaning device so that the material to be polished can be returned to the storage device in a dried state.
[0010]
An air path for supplying clean air into the temporary storage chamber may be connected to the transfer gate. As a result, the air in the temporary storage chamber contaminated with the opening and closing of the transfer gate is replaced and cleaned, and the material to be polished is prevented from being contaminated through the temporary storage chamber.
[0011]
The transfer gate may be provided with a shutter that individually opens and closes the temporary storage chamber with respect to the outside. As a result, the material to be polished is moved in a state where only the shutter between the room for delivering the material to and from the temporary storage room and the temporary storage chamber is opened, and the air flow between the rooms is suppressed. Transport is performed.
[0015]
The invention according to claim 2 is the polishing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a cleaning device for cleaning and drying the polished material after polishing is disposed in the first chamber. is there.
[0016]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the polishing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, a cleaning device for cleaning the polished material after polishing is disposed in the second chamber. is there.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a third chamber that houses a buffing device for buffing a material to be polished that has been polished by the polishing device, and a fourth chamber that houses the polishing device. A polishing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
[0019]
Invention of claim 5, comprising the steps of conveying the first temporary incubation cabinet for temporary wafer dry state is taken out of the wafer with a semiconductor device on the surface of the cassette, the wafer first tentative a step of transporting the polishing equipment from incubation cabinet, polishing the wafer chemically mechanically with the polishing equipment, a step of conveying the polished wafer to the buffing apparatus, the wafer in the buffing apparatus a step of buffing, comprising the steps of conveying the buffed the wafer into the first cleaning equipment, a step of conveying the wafer after the first cleaning to a second tentative incubation cabinet for temporary wafer wet state, the wafer The step of transporting the wafer from the second temporary storage chamber to the second cleaning device , the step of cleaning and drying the wafer, and the step of transporting the dried wafer to the cassette are performed in the same box. To A method for producing a conductor devices.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a polishing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In this apparatus, two polishing apparatuses 10a and 10b are arranged on one side of one end of a space on the floor, which is entirely rectangular, and a pair of load / unloads on which wafer cassettes 12a and 12b are placed on the other end. A load unit 14 is arranged. Two-rail running rails 16a and 16b extending from the load / unload unit 14 to the polishing apparatuses 10a and 10b are laid with a transfer gate (temporary storage chamber) 18 therebetween, and are transferred onto the rails 16a and 16b. Robots 20a and 20b are arranged. A buffing device 22 and a tool cleaning tank 23 for dressing a buffing tool are provided at the front end side of the traveling rails 16a and 16b. Two reversing machines 24a and 24b are provided beside the traveling rails 16a and 16b. Three washing machines 26a, 26b, and 26c are arranged.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 2, the two polishing apparatuses 10a and 10b include a turntable 28 having a polishing cloth affixed to the upper surface, a top ring 30 that holds the wafer by vacuum suction and presses it against the turntable 28, and a polishing cloth. A dressing device 32 for sharpening, and means for supplying the turntable 28 or the dressing device 32 with a polishing liquid containing water or abrasive grains. A wafer is placed at a position facing each transfer line. A pusher 34 that is exchanged with the top ring 30 is installed. The top ring 30 can be turned in a horizontal plane, and the pusher 34 can be moved up and down.
[0023]
The buffing device 22 further finishes or cleans and polishes the wafer polished by the polishing devices 10a and 10b. The buffing device 22 is configured as a translation table (buffing tool) with a buff attached thereto. , A top ring (gripping device) 22a for gripping the wafer from the pusher and pressing the wafer against the buffing tool, and a dressing head (dressing device) 23a for sharpening the buffing tool. ing. FIG. 1 shows a state where the top ring 22 a is on the buffing device 22 and the dressing head 23 a is on the cleaning tank 23.
[0024]
Details of the buffing apparatus 22 will be described with reference to FIG. The buffing device 22 is provided inside a cover 40 that covers the entire surface, and a top ring device 122 and a dressing device 123 are provided at the top, and a pusher 36 for transferring the wafer to the buffing tool device 216 at the bottom. Yes.
[0025]
The top ring device 122 includes a support shaft 222 that is inserted through the inside of the cylindrical case 220. The wafer is sucked and held at the lower end of the support shaft 222, and the wafer is directed toward the buffing tool device 216. Top-ring 2 2a is attached to press at pressure. A motor is built in the cylindrical case 220, and the support shaft 222 rotates as the motor is driven, and the cylinder 226 disposed on the side of the cylindrical case 220 is connected to the support shaft 222. The members 228 are coupled to each other via the member 228, whereby the support shaft 222 moves up and down as the cylinder 226 is driven.
[0026]
On the other hand, the dressing device 123 is also provided with a support shaft 232 that is inserted through the inside of the cylindrical case 230, and a dressing head 23a that sharpens the buff pasted on the polishing table 150 at the lower end of the support shaft 232. It is attached. A motor is built in the cylindrical case 230, and the support shaft 232 rotates as the motor is driven, and the cylinder 236 and the support shaft 232 disposed on the side of the cylindrical case 230 are connected to each other. The members 238 are connected to each other, whereby the support shaft 232 moves up and down as the cylinder 236 is driven.
[0027]
Each of the support shafts 222 and 232 is constituted by a spline shaft, and the spline shaft and the output shaft of the motor are slidably connected by a spline groove. Accordingly, the vertical movement caused by the operation of the cylinders 226 and 236 is transmitted to the support shafts 222 and 232 together with the transmission of the driving force of the motor. An encoder 240 for detecting rotation is provided at the upper end of the support shaft 222 of the top ring device 122 .
[0028]
The top ring unit 122 and the dressing apparatus 123 is mounted in a state of protruding the top-ring 2 2a and dressing head 23a downward travel freely flat rectangular carriage 244 along the pair of guide rails 242. Then, by the travel of the carriage 244, the top-ring 2 2a is between the polishing tool 216 and the pusher 36, the dressing head 23a is made between the cleaning tank 30 and the polishing tool apparatus 216 so as to reciprocate, respectively.
[0029]
The polishing tool device 216 is provided with a polishing table 150 that performs a translational circular motion. On the upper surface of the polishing table, a “buff” selected from a nonwoven fabric, a polishing cloth other than the nonwoven fabric, a wiping cloth made of ultrafine fibers, or the like is provided. Affixed. Pusher 36 is for transferring the wafer between the top-rings 2 2a and the robot 20b, a vertically movable, and is configured to allow position adjustment in the front-rear direction.
[0030]
Such a configuration of the buffing apparatus 22 saves space because the polishing tool has a smaller diameter than the case of using a turntable that rotates. The types of the cleaning machines 26a, 26b, and 26c are selected according to the purpose. For example, a pencil type with a sponge at the tip or a roller type with a sponge is used to clean one side or both sides of the wafer. Alternatively, the last-stage cleaning machine 26c is of a type that spins a wafer to dehydrate and dry it.
[0031]
The transfer robots 20a and 20b are provided with joint arms that are refracted in a horizontal plane at the upper part of a carriage that runs on rails 16a and 16b, for example, and two gripping units (hands) at the tips of the upper and lower arms. have. The upper hand of the first robot 20a is a dry hand 38a for handling a wafer before polishing and after drying, the lower hand is a wet hand 38b for handling a wafer before drying, and the upper side of the second robot 20b is A clean hand 38c for handling clean wafers, and a dirty hand 38d for handling wafers in the polishing process on the lower side. The four types of hands 38a to 38d can move up and down, and can enter an upper stage or a lower stage of a transfer gate 18 described later.
[0032]
In this embodiment, the reversing devices 24a and 24b are necessary in relation to the cassette storing method and the robot gripping mechanism. However, the reversing devices 24a and 24b are necessary when the wafer polishing surface is always transferred downward. is not. In addition, it is not necessary in the case of a structure in which the robots 20a and 20b have an inversion function. In this embodiment, the two inverters 24a and 24b are selectively used as an inverter 24a that handles a dry wafer before polishing and an inverter 24b that handles a wet wafer after polishing.
[0033]
As shown in FIG. 1A, in this polishing apparatus, the space in the cover 40 covering the whole is partitioned by a partition wall 42 according to the required cleanliness. That is, loading and unloading unit 14, the first transfer robot 20a, and its inverting unit 24a disposed on the side and two washer 26b, space is first room R ₁ becomes comprising 26c, the second the transfer robot 20b and space the second chamber R ₂ becomes including reversing machine 24b and the cleaning unit 26a disposed on one side of this, buffing apparatus 22, the space containing the top ring 22a and a dressing head 23a is third Room R ₃ , and the space including the two polishing apparatuses 10 a and 10 b becomes the fourth room R ₄ . In this example, the spatial R ₅ adjacent to the loading and unloading unit 14 is disposed a control device (not shown), also the space R ₆ adjacent thereto is opened to put a human for maintenance . If the space R ₁ is the first chamber and the spaces R ₂ , R ₃ , R ₄ are the second chamber, the wafer moves between these two chambers, and the transfer described later is performed between these two chambers. There is a gate 18.
[0034]
A transfer gate 18 is provided between the first room R ₁ and the second room R ₂ for temporarily placing the material to be polished between the rooms. This is a plastic box where wafers are passed between these rooms. As shown in FIG. 1B, the interior is partitioned into upper and lower temporary storage chambers 18a and 18b, and a wafer in a dry state in the upper stage and a wafer in a wet state in the lower stage are delivered. . Although not shown, a shutter (not shown) is provided at a position facing the pushers 34 and 36 also on the partition between the second room R ₂ and the third and fourth rooms R ₃ and R _4. It has been.
[0035]
Shutters 62a ₁ , 62a ₂ , 62b ₁ , 62b ₂ are provided at positions facing the first room R ₁ and the second room R ₂ , respectively, for the upper and lower temporary storage rooms. Further, holes H ₁ , H ₂ , and H ₃ are formed in the upper and lower and intermediate partition walls of the transfer gate, respectively, and the air supply and exhaust ducts are supplied to the holes H ₁ and H ₃ so that clean air flows through them. Is provided. The lower temporary storage chamber is provided with a nozzle for injecting water into the wafer. In this way, by blowing air from the upper stage to the lower stage, it is possible to prevent scattering of particles in each temporary storage room, and to clean the upper and lower temporary storage rooms, the upper stage and the lower stage are mutually inside. Contamination can be prevented, and contamination of the upper temporary storage chamber can be prevented by using the lower temporary storage chamber for transferring wet wafers.
[0036]
The reason why the transfer gate 18 is partitioned into upper and lower temporary storage chambers is to increase the throughput first. In other words, if there is only one stage, when an unpolished wafer is stored in the transfer gate, the polished wafer cannot be put into the transfer gate, and the polished wafer is washed until the unpolished wafer exits the transfer gate. It is necessary to wait in the machine 26a, and the wafer does not flow smoothly. That is, a waiting time occurs. The same thing happens for unpolished wafers when a polished wafer is stored in a transfer gate. If there are two upper and lower stages, the above-described waiting time does not occur, so the throughput increases. In other words, it is possible to perform four hands 38a~38d is unpolished wafer and sending from R ₁ to R _2, the polished wafer concurrently and send from R ₂ to R _1.
[0037]
Second, as described above, by using the two temporary storage chambers for the transfer of clean materials to be polished and the processing of unclean materials to be polished, the materials to be polished are contaminated through the transfer gate. This is to prevent it. In this example, a wet wafer is placed in the lower stage, and water is applied to the wafer from a nozzle provided in the box so that particles do not adhere to the wafer. Therefore, the cradle for the wafer in the box is wet and dirty with particles. On the other hand, the upper stage is used exclusively for dry wafers and is not wetted like the lower stage, so the upper stage cradle is not wet. Therefore, the wafer may be temporarily returned to the load / unload unit 14 when a trouble occurs in the apparatus when the wafer is in the upper stage, but the wafer is not contaminated by the upper stage cradle, so the wafer is cleaned. It can be returned to the load / unload unit 14 as it is. If the unpolished wafer is contaminated and returns to the load side, the contaminants (particles) are dried and fixed on the wafer, causing damage to the wafer surface during polishing.
[0038]
Also, the upper stage is dedicated to dry wafers. If the upper stage is dedicated to wet wafers and the lower stage is dedicated to dry wafers, the dry hand will enter the lower stage, and at this time, water will fall from the upper box. This is because, for example, the dry hand is wetted or contaminated to contaminate the polished wafer.
[0039]
Further, in this embodiment, the shutter of the transfer gate is provided for each of the two outlets of the upper and lower temporary storage chambers to prevent the air from flowing between the rooms R ₁ and R ₂ and the transfer gate 18. In order to prevent the clean space on the R ₁ side from being contaminated. That is, when the dry hand 38a is put dry wafer upper part only shutter 62a ₁ is opened, further opens the shutter 62b ₁ by closing the shutter 62a _1, take out the dry wafer from the upper to the room R ₂ by dirty hands 38d.
[0040]
Similarly, when the clean hand 38c places the wet wafer on the lower stage, the shutter 62b2 is opened, and when the wet hand 38b takes the wet wafer from the lower stage, only the shutter 62a2 is opened. That is, only the necessary shutters among the four shutters are opened so that particles in the room R ₂ do not flow to the room R ₁ through the transfer gate 18. Note that the wafer is placed in the temporary storage chamber of the transfer gate, the shutter on the inserted side is closed, and the other shutter is opened, taking a short time to supply clean air from H ₁ , By substituting the air, cross contamination from the transfer gate can be more completely prevented.
[0041]
This polishing apparatus is provided with means for maintaining the atmosphere of each room at a predetermined cleanliness. That is, if the pressures in the rooms R _{1 to} R ₄ are sequentially P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , P ₄ , they become P ₁ > P ₂ > P ₃ > P _{4 in} descending order of their cleanliness. Pressure adjusting means for adjusting is provided. Since the purpose is to prevent dirty air from flowing from the rooms R ₃ and R ₄ to the rooms R ₁ and R ₂ , P ₃ = P ₄ may be set. The pressure adjusting means is configured as, for example, means for setting the capacity of a blower or an exhaust device, or means for adjusting the opening of a duct valve. If necessary, a control device for controlling these operations based on the output of the pressure sensor may be provided. Thereby, between each room, it flows only from a room with high cleanliness toward a low room.
[0042]
In the first room R ₁ and the second room R ₂ , as shown in FIG. 4A, a part of the air is circulated and used so as to form a downward flow from the top to the bottom. A closed air conditioning system AC is configured. That is, a filter unit 50 is provided in the upper part of these rooms. This is because the fan 54 driven by the inverter motor 52 takes outside air from the air intake 56 and passes it through the filter 58 in the upper part of the room for cleaning. And supply it to the room. A circulation duct 60 having an air intake hole is provided at a position where no washing water or the like is taken in at the bottom of the room.
[0043]
The circulation duct 60 communicates upstream of the filter 58 of the filter unit 50, and air is circulated by the fan 54. From the air intake 56, an amount of air that supplements the air exhausted together with the waste water from the cleaning devices 26a, 26b, 26c and the wet reversing device 24b is taken in. In FIG. 4, the exhaust from the cleaning devices 26a, 26b, 26c and the reversing device 24b is performed from the floor B of the device, and is once raised upward and then discharged in the direction of the arrow E. With the configuration as described above, the cleanliness inside the _first room R ₁ is very high.
[0044]
The third room R ₃ and the fourth room R ₄ do not clean or circulate air like the rooms R ₁ and R ₂ but still take air from the top and exhaust from the bottom. To form a downward flow. As a result, the contaminants and scattered liquid from the lower drive mechanism and the like of each device are not wound up. In R ₃ and R ₄ , the air flow from the upper part to the lower part may be eliminated. This is the inside R _3, R ₄ is because not required cleanliness of air so, exhaust from R _3, R ₄ lower as indicated by E in FIG. 4 (a) performing. Due to this exhaust, R ₃ and R ₄ have a negative pressure outside the apparatus. This is to prevent dirty air from flowing out of R ₃ and R ₄ including the polishing section into the surrounding clean room.
[0045]
The flow of the wafer when polishing the wafer in the polishing apparatus having such a configuration will be described. The wafers are taken out from the cassettes 12a and 12b containing a plurality of wafers placed on the load / unload unit 14 by the dry hand 38a of the first robot 20a, reversed by the first reversing machine 24a, and then transferred. The shutter 62a _{1 of the} gate 18 is opened and placed again on the upper stage by the dry hand 38a. Then, the wafer is taken out dirty hand 38d of the second robot 20b opens the other of the shutter 62b ₁ of the transfer gate 18 is placed on the polishing device 10a or 10b of the pusher 34 to open the shutter of the partition wall 42.
[0046]
Hereinafter, in the case of parallel processing, the wafer flows in the order of polishing apparatuses 10a and 10b → buff polishing apparatus 22 → reversing machine 24b → cleaning machine 26a. In the case of series processing, the first polishing apparatus 10a → cleaning machine 26a. → The second polishing apparatus 10b → the buff polishing apparatus 22 → the reversing machine 24b → the washing machine 26a.
[0047]
When the wafer is polished by the buff polishing apparatus 22, the top ring 22a and the dressing head 23a are moved from the state of FIG. 1, the top ring 22a is positioned on the pusher 36, the dressing head 23a is positioned on the polishing table 150 , and the top While the unpolished wafer on the pusher 36 is held by the ring 22a, the buffing table is regenerated by the dressing head. Then, the top ring 22a and the dressing head 23a are moved again to the positions shown in FIG. 1, and the dressing head 23a is cleaned in the dressing head cleaning tank 23 while the wafer is polished by pressing the wafer against the polishing table by the top ring 22a. . The conveyance between the apparatuses so far is performed by the dirty hand 38d.
[0048]
Next, a relatively clean and and wet wafer after the first washing with washer 26a, is taken out at a clean hand 38c of the second robot 20b, the lower transfer gate 18 opens the shutter 62b ₂ And closes the shutter 62b. Since the clean hand 38c is used only for transferring the wet wafer after polishing to the transfer gate 18 from the cleaning machine 26a, the clean hand 38c can be kept clean, and the clean hand 38c does not contaminate the wafer. .
[0049]
In this embodiment, two polishing apparatuses 10 a and 10 b are provided for one buff polishing apparatus 22. This is because the polishing time in the buffing device 22 is shorter than that in the polishing devices 10a and 10b. In the conventional apparatus, when only one primary polishing apparatus is provided, the secondary polishing apparatus (buff polishing apparatus 22) was not polished until the primary polishing of the next wafer was completed. Since the apparatus has two primary polishing apparatuses 10a and 10b, the primary polishing of the wafer is performed in parallel, and the buffing apparatus 22 for performing the secondary polishing is not allowed to play, thereby increasing the polishing throughput. Can do.
[0050]
Next, the shutter 62a ₂ of the transfer gate 18 is opened, the wafer is taken out with the wet hand 38b of the first robot 20a, and sequentially sent to the second cleaning machine 26b and the third cleaning machine 26c for cleaning and drying. Do. The wafer dried by the third cleaning machine 26c is taken out by the dry hand 38a of the first robot 20a and returned to the cassettes 12a and 12b of the load / unload unit 14.
[0051]
In the above process, each room is basically separated from other rooms except for the passage for taking in and out of the wafer, and there is no air flow. That is, the first chamber R ₁ transfers wafers to and from the _second chamber R ₂ via the transfer gate 18, and the transfer gate 18 opens the minimum number of shutters, so that air flows directly. There is nothing to do. Also, a shutter is provided in the window between the second room R ₂ and the third and fourth rooms R ₃ and R ₄ so that it opens when necessary. Even when there are some gaps between the partition walls or when these shutters are opened to move the wafer, air flows only from the high pressure side to the low pressure side. Therefore, since there is no air flow from the lower clean side to the higher clean side, mutual contamination is prevented.
[0052]
Further, in this embodiment, the robots 20a and 20b are each provided with two hands 38a to 38d, and a case where a cleaned wafer, another wafer, and a wet wafer in a dry state are handled separately is used. As a result, there is no contamination through each hand. Furthermore, since the shelf in the transfer gate 18 is divided into two upper and lower parts, there is no contamination through the transfer gate 18.
[0053]
In the above process, it is necessary to keep the room R ₁ , the dry hand 38a, the unpolished dry wafer, and the polished dry wafer clean. The reason why the unpolished dry wafer is kept clean is that, as described above, if the particles are polished while adhering to the dry wafer, the wafer surface may be damaged.
[0054]
In particular, it is necessary to keep a polished dry wafer clean, and for this purpose, the following measures are taken.
(1) The dry hand 38a maintains cleanliness in order to handle a wafer that has been polished, washed and dried.
(2) In order to maintain cleanliness of the room R ₁ , air circulation in the transfer gate 18 and only necessary portions of the four shutters are opened to prevent contamination from the room R ₂ .
▲ 3 ▼ room for cleanliness maintenance of R _1, has the exhaust air circulation in the room R _1.
(4) The holes H ₁ → H ₂ are exhausted in order to maintain the cleanliness of the dry hand 38a.
(5) The holes H ₁ → H ₂ are exhausted in order to maintain the cleanness of the unpolished dry wafer.
▲ 6 ▼ for cleanliness maintenance of polished dry wafer, keeping the dry hand 38a to clean, and is kept a room R ₁ clean.
[0055]
The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above, and the configuration, number, type, or arrangement in each device is arbitrary. For example, in the case where series or parallel processing is not performed, only one polishing apparatus is sufficient, and accessory equipment may be small. The presence / absence, arrangement, number, type, presence / absence of pushers 34, 36, and the like of the reversing machine are also arbitrary. For example, the transfer robots 20a, 20b may be stationary instead of traveling on rails.
[0056]
In the above embodiment, the first room R ₁ includes the load / unload unit 14. However, the load / unload unit 14 needs to be kept particularly clean. It is good. Then, the inside of the load / unload unit is set to a high pressure with respect to the space (the portion excluding the unit 14 from R _{1 in} FIG. 1) including the first transfer robot 20a and the like of the cleaning machines 26b, 26c, and further the load / unload unit 14 A shutter for delivering a wafer between the robot and the robot 20a may be provided on the partition wall. Since the inside of the load / unload unit is higher in pressure than the space including the washing machines 26b and 26c, the first transfer robot 20a, etc., the inside of the load / unload unit can be kept clean.
[0057]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the polishing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to provide a product with a high degree of cleanliness while suppressing facilities and operating costs and preventing cross-contamination in each process.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1A is a plan view schematically showing a polishing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a transfer gate portion;
FIG. 2 is a plan view specifically showing the polishing apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the inside of the polishing apparatus of FIG. 1;
4 is a diagram schematically showing an air conditioning mechanism of the polishing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.
5 is a side view seen from the direction AA in FIG. 2. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically showing a conventional polishing apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
10a, 10b Polishing device 14 Load / unload unit 18 Transfer gates 18a, 18b Temporary storage chambers 20a, 20b Robot (transfer device)
22 buffing apparatus 23 dressing apparatus 24a, 24b reversing machine 26a, 26b, 26c cleaning device 50 filter units R ₁ to R ₄ room

Claims (5)

In a polishing apparatus equipped with a polishing apparatus for chemically and mechanically polishing a polishing surface of a material to be polished,
In accordance with the cleanliness , the internal space accommodates a storage device for storing the material to be polished and a first chamber for storing the first transfer device, and a second transfer device for transferring the material to be polished to the polishing device. Partition into multiple rooms, including the second room ,
Two temporary placements of the material to be polished in a wet state and a dry state at positions where the respective hands of the first transfer device and the second transfer device can enter in the first room A polishing apparatus comprising a transfer gate having upper and lower temporary storage chambers . The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a cleaning device for cleaning and drying the polished material after polishing is disposed in the first chamber. Wherein the second chamber, the polishing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cleaning device is arranged to clean the object to be polished after polishing. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a third chamber that houses a buffing device that buffs a material to be polished that has been polished by the polishing device, and a fourth chamber that houses the polishing device. 5. The polishing apparatus as described. A step of removing a wafer having a semiconductor device on its surface from a cassette and transporting the wafer in a dry state to a first temporary storage chamber for temporary storage;
A step of conveying to the polishing equipment said wafer from said first tentative incubation cabinet,
A step of polishing chemically mechanically with the polishing equipment said wafer,
Transporting the polished wafer to a buffing apparatus ;
Buffing the wafer with the buffing apparatus ;
A step of conveying the buffed the wafer into the first cleaning equipment,
Transferring the wafer after the first cleaning to a second temporary storage chamber for temporarily placing a wet wafer;
Transferring the wafer from the second temporary storage chamber to a second cleaning device ;
Cleaning and drying the wafer;
A process of transporting the dried wafer to a cassette;
In a single box. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising:

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