JP4331449B2 - Processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a processing apparatus such as a polishing apparatus for polishing a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A semiconductor wafer serving as a substrate on which circuits such as IC and LSI are laminated is obtained by slicing a silicon ingot into a wafer shape, grinding both surfaces of the sliced semiconductor wafer with a lapping device or a double-side grinding device, and then polishing the semiconductor wafer with a polishing device. It is formed by a so-called wafer making technique that polishes the surface to a mirror surface.
[0003]
There is a problem that it takes a considerable time to polish the surface of the semiconductor wafer to a mirror surface by the polishing apparatus described above, resulting in poor productivity. In order to shorten the polishing time by this polishing apparatus, a chuck table that is disposed in the processing area and holds the workpiece before polishing the surface of the semiconductor wafer ground by the lapping apparatus or the double-side grinding apparatus described above, The surface of the semiconductor wafer is polished using a polishing apparatus comprising: a polishing means for polishing a workpiece held on the chuck table; and a workpiece conveying means for loading / unloading the workpiece onto / from the chuck table. The process is carried out. Such a polishing apparatus includes a cover unit that includes an opening that covers a processing region and prevents an entry / exit of the workpiece loading / unloading unit to prevent scattering of dust generated by a polishing action by the polishing unit, Shutter means for opening and closing the opening of the cover means, and suction for sucking air in the cover means so as to make negative pressure so that dust in the cover means does not leak into the clean room on the opposite side of the opening with respect to the polishing means Means.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Thus, when the shutter means is operated to carry out the polished workpiece after completion of the polishing operation and the opening of the cover means is opened, the outside air flows into the cover means all at once from the opening. The temperature inside changes rapidly. FIG. 5 shows the temperature change in the cover means from the time when the shutter is opened, which is about 23 degrees at the end of the polishing operation, but about 1 second from the time when the opening of the cover means is opened. The temperature reaches the outside air (20 degrees). As described above, when the temperature of the processing region in the cover means is rapidly changed, there is a problem that the processing conditions for the next workpiece are distorted due to the thermal contraction of the constituent members in the cover means.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned facts, and the main technical problem thereof is machining that can prevent a sudden temperature change in the machining area even when the opening of the cover means that covers the machining area is opened. To provide an apparatus.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above main technical problem, according to the present invention, a chuck table disposed in a processing area and holding a workpiece, a processing means for processing the workpiece held on the chuck table, Workpiece loading / unloading means for loading / unloading a work piece to / from the chuck table, cover means for covering the machining area and having an opening for allowing entry / extraction of the work piece loading / unloading means, and the cover means A processing device comprising: shutter means for opening and closing the opening; and suction means for sucking air in the cover means.
The suction means includes a suction member having a suction port, and a suction duct that communicates the suction member and a suction source.
The suction member is disposed in the vicinity of the opening of the cover means ;
The suction port is formed in a slit shape along the upper side of the opening, and when the opening is opened, outside air flows in layers toward the suction port, and an air curtain is formed in the opening .
The processing apparatus characterized by this is provided.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a processing apparatus configured according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0009]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a polishing apparatus as a processing apparatus configured according to the present invention.
The illustrated polishing apparatus is provided with an apparatus housing generally indicated by numeral 2. The apparatus housing 2 includes a rectangular parallelepiped main portion 21 that extends elongated and an upright wall 22 that is provided at a rear end portion (upper right end in FIG. 1) of the main portion 21 and extends substantially vertically upward. Yes. The apparatus housing 2 configured in this manner is provided with two grinding lines 2a and 2b in parallel in the illustrated embodiment. In addition, since each mechanism which comprises the two grinding lines 2a and 2b is substantially the same, it attaches | subjects and demonstrates the same code | symbol to the same mechanism.
A pair of guide rails 221 and 221 extending in the vertical direction are provided on the front surface of the upright wall 22 constituting the device housing 2. The grinding unit 3 is mounted on the pair of guide rails 221 and 221 so as to be movable in the vertical direction.
[0010]
The polishing unit 3 includes a moving base 31 and a spindle unit 32 attached to the moving base 31. The movable base 31 is provided with a pair of legs 311 and 311 extending in the vertical direction on both sides of the rear surface. The pair of legs 311 and 311 is slidably engaged with the pair of guide rails 221 and 221. A guided groove is formed. As described above, a support portion 313 protruding forward is provided on the front surface of the movable base 31 slidably mounted on the pair of guide rails 221 and 221 provided on the upright wall 22. A spindle unit 32 as a polishing unit is attached to the support portion 313.
[0011]
The spindle unit 32 includes a spindle housing 321 mounted on the support portion 313, a rotating spindle 322 rotatably disposed on the spindle housing 321, and a servo motor as a drive source for rotationally driving the rotating spindle 322. 323, and the output shaft of the servo motor 323 is connected to the rotary spindle 322 by transmission. The lower end of the rotary spindle 322 protrudes downward beyond the lower end of the spindle housing 321, and a polishing tool 325 is attached to the lower end. The spindle unit 32 configured as described above and mounted on the moving base 31 is provided at the rear portion of the main portion 21 of the apparatus housing 2 and can move the polishing region (processing region) 20 in the vertical direction.
[0012]
The polishing apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes a polishing unit feed mechanism 4 that moves the polishing unit 3 in the vertical direction (direction perpendicular to the mounting surface of a chuck table described later) along the pair of guide rails 221 and 221. I have. The polishing unit feed mechanism 4 includes a male screw rod 41 disposed on the front side of the upright wall 22 and extending substantially vertically. The male screw rod 41 is rotatably supported by bearing members 42 and 43 whose upper end and lower end are attached to the upright wall 22. The upper bearing member 42 is provided with a pulse motor 44 as a drive source for rotationally driving the male screw rod 41, and the output shaft of the pulse motor 44 is connected to the male screw rod 41 by transmission. A connecting portion (not shown) that protrudes rearward from the center portion in the width direction is also formed on the rear surface of the movable base 31, and a through female screw hole that extends in the vertical direction is formed in the connecting portion, The male screw rod 41 is screwed into the female screw hole. Accordingly, when the pulse motor 44 rotates in the forward direction, the moving base 31, that is, the polishing unit 3, is lowered, and when the pulse motor 44 rotates in the reverse direction, the moving base 31, that is, the polishing unit 3, is raised.
[0013]
A substantially rectangular recessed portion 211 is formed in the rear portion of the main portion 21 of the apparatus housing 2, and chuck tables 5 and 5 are disposed in a polishing region (processing region) 20 provided in the recessed portion 211. Yes. The chuck table includes a chuck plate support substrate 51 and a chuck plate 51 mounted on the chuck support substrate 51, and the workpiece is a workpiece on the mounting surface which is the surface of the chuck plate 51. A disk-shaped semiconductor wafer is sucked and held by suction means (not shown). The chuck table 5 is configured to be rotatable by a rotation mechanism (not shown).
[0014]
On the front side of the chuck tables 5, 5 in the main part 21 of the apparatus housing 2, cassette placement areas 6, 6, a conveying means placement area 7, and temporary placement areas 8, 8 are provided. Cassettes 60 and 60 for storing circular workpieces such as semiconductor wafers are placed in the cassette placement areas 6 and 6. In the conveying means arrangement area 7, a workpiece conveying means 70 is arranged. The workpiece conveying means 70 unloads the workpieces stored in the cassettes 60 and 60 and conveys them to the temporary placement areas 8 and 8, and also places the workpieces after grinding into the temporary placement areas 8 and 8. To the cassettes 60 and 60. The temporary placement areas 8 and 8 include a center alignment and cleaning mechanism 80 having a centering function of a workpiece before grinding carried out from the cassettes 60 and 60 and a function of cleaning the workpiece after grinding. 80 is arranged.
[0015]
Workpiece loading / unloading means 9 and 9 are disposed between the temporary placement areas 8 and 8 and the chuck tables 5 and 5. The workpiece loading / unloading means 9, 9 is configured to transfer the workpiece before grinding centered by the center positioning and cleaning mechanisms 80, 80 disposed in the temporary placement regions 8, 8 to the chuck table 5, 5, and the workpiece after grinding on the chuck table 5 is carried out to the center alignment and cleaning mechanisms 80, 80. The workpiece carrying-in / out means 9 may be a well-known suction-type conveyance mechanism that is generally used.
[0016]
The polishing apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes cover means 10 that is disposed in the main portion 21 of the apparatus housing 2 and covers the polishing area (processing area) 20. The cover means 10 has a box shape as a whole and includes an upper wall 101, a front wall 102, and both side walls 103, 103. Both side walls 103, 103 of the cover means 10 have shoulder surfaces 103 a, 103 a facing downward in the middle in the vertical direction, and the lower half of the side walls 103, 103 are brought into close contact with both side surfaces of the recessed portion 211, 103 a and 103 a are placed on the upper surfaces of both side edges of the main portion 21 of the housing 2. The front wall 102 of the cover means 10 is provided with rectangular openings 102a and 102a that allow the workpiece loading / unloading means 9 and 9 to enter and exit. The upper wall 101 of the cover means 10 is formed with circular openings 101a and 101a for allowing the polishing tool 325 to be inserted, and cylindrical members 104 and 104 extending upward from the peripheral edges of the circular openings 101a and 101a are provided. It has been. Almost half of the cylindrical members 104 and 104 and a part of the upper wall 101 are formed separately from the upper wall 101, and constitute maintenance and inspection doors 105 and 105 that can be opened and closed around the outer sides, respectively.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 2, the polishing apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes shutter means 11 for closing and opening the rectangular openings 102 a and 102 a provided in the front wall 102 of the cover means 10. The shutter means 11 is disposed on the front side of the front wall 102 and has rectangular shutters 111 and 111 having a size for closing the rectangular openings 102a and 102a, and an air cylinder 112 that operates the shutters 111 and 111 in the vertical direction. , 112. The air cylinders 112 and 112 are attached to a bracket (not shown) attached to the apparatus housing 2, and piston rods 112 a and 112 a are connected to the shutters 111 and 111. Therefore, by operating the air cylinders 112 and 112, the shutters 111 and 111 can be moved in the vertical direction.
[0018]
The polishing apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes suction means 12 for sucking air in the cover means 10. The suction means 12 includes suction members 121, 121 disposed in the vicinity of the openings 102a, 102a on the lower surface of the upper wall 101, and suction ducts 122, 122 communicating with the suction members 121, 121 and a suction source (not shown). It is made up of. As shown in FIG. 3, the suction members 121 and 121 include hollow suction parts 121a and 121a and connection parts 121b and 121b formed at one end of the suction parts 121a and 121a. The suction portions 121a and 121a are formed to have a length longer than the width of the openings 102a and 102a, and slit-like suction ports 121c and 121c formed along the upper sides of the openings 102a and 102a are formed on the bottom wall. Is formed. Connection ducts 121d and 121d are provided on the upper walls of the connection parts 121b and 121b. The suction members 121 and 121 configured in this way are integrally formed of an appropriate synthetic resin, and the suction part 121a and the suction part 121a are formed on the front lower surface of the upper wall 101 constituting the cover means 10 with the opening 102a and the opening. 102a is disposed along the upper side. Therefore, the slit-shaped suction ports 121c and 121c provided in the suction portions 121a and 121a are provided downward along the upper sides of the openings 102a and 102a. Further, the connection ducts 121d and 121d are protruded above the upper wall 101 through a hole (not shown) formed in the front center portion of the upper wall 101 constituting the cover means 10. One end portions of suction ducts 122 and 122 are connected to the connection ducts 121d and 121d, respectively.
[0019]
The polishing apparatus in the illustrated embodiment is configured as described above. Hereinafter, the processing operation will be mainly described with reference to FIG.
A semiconductor wafer, which is a workpiece before grinding, housed in a cassette 60 placed in the cassette placement area 6 is conveyed by the vertical movement and advancing / retreating operation of the workpiece conveyance means 70, and temporarily placed in the temporary placement area 8. Is placed on the center table 81 of the center alignment and cleaning mechanism 80. The semiconductor wafer placed on the center table 81 is centered and placed on the chuck table 5 by the turning operation of the workpiece carrying-in / out means 9. At this time, the air cylinders 112, 112 of the shutter means 11 are operated upward as shown by the solid lines in FIG. 2, and the openings 102a, 102a of the cover means 10 are opened. The workpiece carrying-in / out means 9 carries the semiconductor wafer as the workpiece onto the chuck table 5 through the openings 102a and 102a. The semiconductor wafer placed on the chuck table 5 as described above is sucked and held on the chuck plate 51 constituting the chuck table 5 by suction means (not shown). The workpiece carrying-in / out means 9 is returned to the home position shown in FIG. 1 after the semiconductor wafer as the workpiece is conveyed onto the chuck table 5. As described above, when the semiconductor wafer is sucked and held on the chuck table 5 and the workpiece loading / unloading means 9 is returned to the home position shown in FIG. The shutters 111 and 111 are operated downward as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2 to close the openings 102a and 102a of the cover means 10.
[0020]
Next, the chuck table 5 holding the semiconductor wafer as a workpiece is rotated, and the polishing tool 325 that is driven to rotate is pressed against the semiconductor wafer on the chuck table 5 with a predetermined pressure. The semiconductor wafer is polished. Although polishing powder is generated by the polishing action and scattered in the cover means 10, the polishing powder is sucked from the suction ports 121 c and 121 c provided in the suction members 121 and 121 of the suction means 12 and passes through the suction ducts 122 and 122. It is discharged to a dust treatment device that is a suction source.
[0021]
When the grinding is completed as described above, the polishing tool 325 is separated upward from the semiconductor wafer on the chuck table 5, and the rotational driving of the polishing tool 325 and the chuck table 5 is stopped. Even when the polishing tool 325 is spaced upward, the lower portion of the spindle housing 321 is in a position facing the cylindrical member 104 of the cover means 10. Next, the air cylinders 112, 112 of the shutter means 11 actuate the shutters 111, 111 upward as shown by solid lines in FIG. 2 to open the openings 102a, 102a of the cover means 10. When the openings 102a, 102a of the cover means 10 are in the open state, outside air tends to enter the cover means 10 through the openings 102a, 102a. However, slit-shaped suction ports 121c and 121c are formed on the bottom walls of the suction portions 121a and 121a of the suction members 121 and 121 constituting the suction means 12 so as to face downward along the upper sides of the openings 102a and 102a. Therefore, the outside air entering the openings 102a and 102a forms an air curtain that flows in layers toward the suction ports 121c and 121c as shown by arrows in FIGS. It does not change rapidly. FIG. 4 shows the temperature change in the cover means 10 from the time when the shutters 111 and 111 are opened. The temperature change at about 23 degrees at the end of the polishing operation is 3 seconds after the shutter is opened. Even if about a lapse of time, it is about 22 degrees and there is no sudden temperature change. Therefore, the next workpiece can be conveyed to the chuck table 5 before the temperature in the cover means 10 decreases, and it is possible to prevent the machining conditions from being distorted due to thermal contraction of the constituent members in the cover means 10.
[0022]
Thereafter, the suction holding of the semiconductor wafer as the polished workpiece on the chuck table 5 is released, and the ground semiconductor wafer after the suction holding is released is unloaded by the workpiece loading / unloading means 9 and is centered. It is placed on the center table 81 of the positioning and cleaning mechanism 80. The polished semiconductor wafer thus transported to the center alignment and cleaning mechanism 90 is spinner cleaned and dried. The semiconductor wafer, which is the workpiece after grinding, which has been transferred to the center alignment and cleaning mechanism 90 and cleaned and dried, is stored in a predetermined position of the cassette 60 by the workpiece transfer means 70.
[0023]
As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on embodiment of illustration, this invention is not limited only to embodiment. That is, in the illustrated embodiment, the example in which the present invention is applied to the polishing apparatus has been shown. However, the present invention is widely applied to other processing apparatuses that perform processing such as cutting by sucking and holding a workpiece on a chuck table. Can be applied.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
The processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured as described above, and has the following effects.
That is, the suction means for sucking air in the cover means that covers the processing area includes a suction member having a suction port and a suction duct that communicates the suction member and the suction source, and the suction member is in the vicinity of the opening of the cover means. Therefore, even if the opening is opened after processing is completed, an air curtain is formed in the opening, so that there is no sudden temperature change in the processing region. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the machining conditions from being distorted due to the thermal contraction of the constituent members in the cover means caused by a rapid temperature change in the machining area.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a polishing apparatus as a processing apparatus configured according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of cover means provided in the polishing apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a suction member that constitutes suction means provided in the polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
4 is a view showing a temperature change in cover means provided in the polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 1; FIG.
FIG. 5 is a view showing a temperature change in cover means provided in a conventional polishing apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
2: Device housing 211: Processing liquid tray 3: Polishing unit 31: Moving base 32: Spindle unit 4: Grinding unit feed mechanism 41: Male screw rod 44: Pulse motor 5: Chuck table 51: Chuck plate support substrate 52: Chuck plate 6: Cassette mounting area 60: Cassette 7: Conveying means arrangement area 70: Workpiece conveying means 8: Temporary placing area 80: Center alignment / cleaning mechanism 81: Center table 9: Workpiece loading / unloading means 10: Cover means 101: Upper wall 102: Front wall 102a: Opening 103: Side wall 105: Door 11: Shutter means 111: Shutter 112: Air cylinder 11: Suction means 121: Suction member 121: Suction part 121c: Suction port 122: Suction duct

Claims (1)

A chuck table that is disposed in the processing area and holds the workpiece, a processing means that processes the workpiece held on the chuck table, and a workpiece loading that carries the workpiece into and out of the chuck table An unloading means, a cover means that covers the processing region and has an opening that allows the work-piece carrying-in / out means to enter and exit; a shutter means that opens and closes the opening of the cover means; In a processing apparatus comprising a suction means for sucking air,
The suction means includes a suction member having a suction port, and a suction duct that communicates the suction member and a suction source.
The suction member is disposed in the vicinity of the opening of the cover means ;
The suction port is formed in a slit shape along the upper side of the opening, and when the opening is opened, outside air flows in layers toward the suction port, and an air curtain is formed in the opening .
A processing apparatus characterized by that.

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