JP4758457B2 - Wafer chamfering equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wafer chamfering apparatus, and more particularly to a wafer chamfering apparatus that brush-cleans a wafer before and during processing and a chuck table.

  A wafer sliced by a cutting machine such as a wire saw from the ingot state is chamfered by a wafer chamfering device in order to prevent breakage and chipping. This wafer chamfering apparatus chamfers a wafer by pressing the periphery of the wafer against a grindstone that rotates at high speed.

  By the way, in the wafer chamfering apparatus described above, the wafer is sucked and held by the chuck table and rotates. If the wafer held by the chuck table is contaminated (if cleaning after slicing is insufficient, In the process, dust may adhere and become dirty.) The chuck table causes a suction failure, and the processing accuracy is lowered. The same applies to the case where dirt is attached to the chuck table, which causes a problem of causing a suction failure and lowering the processing accuracy.

  In addition, when dirt is attached to the wafer being processed, there is a problem that the transfer device for transferring the wafer to the next process becomes dirty, causing a failure or troublesome maintenance. Some wafer chamfering devices have a built-in cleaning device for cleaning processed wafers, but conventional cleaning devices simply clean the rotating wafer by applying a cleaning solution ( In some cases, so-called spin cleaning), dirt adhered to the wafer could not be removed sufficiently.

On the other hand, after the wafer is cleaned by a cleaning device, it may be transferred to a measuring device by a transfer device and may be post-measured (measurement of diameter, notch depth, chamfer width, etc.), but the cleaning is insufficient. In addition, there is a problem that the conveying device and the measuring device become dirty and cause a failure. Furthermore, if a dirty wafer is collected and supplied to the next wrapping apparatus, the wrapping apparatus will fail.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-275582 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-039707

  However, the conventional wafer chamfering apparatus has not dealt with the above problems.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a wafer chamfering apparatus capable of effectively cleaning a processed wafer.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is to clean the wafer chamfered by the processing portion that grinds the periphery of the wafer held on the chuck table by grinding with a grindstone. A wafer chamfering apparatus comprising: a cleaning unit; and a transport unit configured to transport a wafer chamfered by the processing unit to the cleaning unit, wherein the cleaning unit is a wafer holding unit that sucks and holds the central portion of the back surface of the wafer. A rotation driving means for rotating the wafer holding means to rotate the wafer, a cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid toward the wafer held by the wafer holding means, and a position at a predetermined cleaning position. A cleaning brush that contacts the front and back surfaces of the wafer held by the wafer holding means, and the cleaning brush is moved between a predetermined cleaning position and a standby position. A brush moving means for, Tona is, the transport means, the surface of the wafer while holding suction, horizontally moved between said machining portion and the cleaning portion, the wafer is chamfered by the processing unit A brush is provided that is transported to the cleaning unit, is provided in the middle of a transport path of the transport unit, and abuts on the back surface of the wafer transported by the transport unit to brush the back surface of the wafer. A wafer chamfering apparatus is provided.

In order to achieve the above object, the cleaning unit includes an air injection unit that injects compressed air toward the back surface of the wafer that is transferred to the wafer holding unit by the transfer unit. providing wafer chamfering apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that there.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 3 is provided with a cleaning liquid supply means that is provided in the brush and supplies a cleaning liquid to the back surface of the wafer transferred by the transfer means. A wafer chamfering apparatus according to 1 or 2 is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a processing portion for chamfering the peripheral edge of the wafer held by the chuck table by grinding with a grindstone, and a wafer chamfered by the processing portion are cleaned. A cleaning unit; and a transport unit that sucks and holds the surface of the wafer and horizontally moves between the processing unit and the cleaning unit and transports the wafer chamfered by the processing unit to the cleaning unit. In the wafer chamfering apparatus, a wafer chamfering device provided with a brush that is provided in the middle of the conveyance path of the conveyance unit and that abuts on the back surface of the wafer conveyed by the conveyance unit and brushes the back surface of the wafer. Providing equipment.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 5 is provided with a cleaning liquid supply means that is provided in the brush and supplies a cleaning liquid to the back surface of the wafer transferred by the transfer means. 4. A wafer chamfering apparatus according to 4, wherein:

  The wafer chamfering apparatus according to the present invention can effectively clean a processed wafer. As a result, it is possible to perform processing with stable accuracy, and to prevent a failure from occurring in the apparatus.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a wafer chamfering apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of the wafer chamfering apparatus 10, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, the wafer chamfering apparatus 10 includes a supply / recovery unit 12, a measurement transport unit 14, a measurement unit 16, a processing unit 18, a cleaning unit 20, and a processing transport unit 22.

  First, the configuration of the supply and recovery unit 12 will be described. The supply / recovery unit 12 supplies the wafer W to be chamfered from the wafer cassette 30 and collects the chamfered wafer W in the wafer cassette 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the supply / recovery unit 12 includes four cassette tables 32, 32,... And one supply / recovery robot 34.

  The four cassette tables 32, 32,... Are arranged in series at the left end of the apparatus main body, and the wafer cassettes 30, 30,... Are set on the cassette tables 32, 32,. A large number of wafers W to be chamfered are stored in the wafer cassettes 30, 30,. The supply / 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 measurement transport unit 14, and also feeds the chamfered wafer W to the measurement transport unit 14. To the wafer cassette 30. The supply / recovery robot 34 includes a transfer arm 36, and the transfer arm 36 includes a suction pad (not shown) on the upper surface thereof. The transfer arm 36 holds the wafer W by vacuum-sucking the back surface of the wafer W with this suction pad. The transport arm 36 of the supply / recovery robot 34 moves back and forth on the turntable 38, turns when the turntable 38 rotates, and moves up and down when the turntable 38 moves up and down. The turntable 38 slides along the four cassette tables 32, 32,... By sliding in the Y direction in the figure. That is, the transfer arm 36 of the supply / recovery robot 34 can move back and forth, right and left, up and down, and turn while holding the wafer W, and transfers the wafer W by combining these operations.

  Next, the structure of the measurement conveyance part 14 is demonstrated. The measurement transfer unit 14 transfers the wafer W between the supply / recovery unit 12 and the measurement unit 16, and transfers the wafer W between the processing transfer unit 22 and the supply / recovery unit 12. The measurement conveyance unit 14 has a measurement conveyance robot 40. The measurement transfer robot 40 includes a pair of upper and lower transfer arms 42A and 42B, and each transfer arm 42A and 42B has a suction pad (not shown) on its upper surface. Each transfer arm 42A, 42B holds the back surface of the wafer W by vacuum suction using this suction pad. The transfer arms 42A and 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40 move back and forth on the turntable 44, turn when the turntable 44 rotates, and move up and down when the turntable 44 moves up and down. That is, the transfer arms 42A and 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40 can move back and forth, move up and down, and turn while holding the wafer W, and transfer the wafer W by combining these operations. In the following description, the upper transfer arm 42A is referred to as a “first transfer arm 42A” and the lower transfer arm 42B is referred to as a “second transfer arm 42B” as necessary.

  Next, the configuration of the measurement unit 16 will be described. The measurement unit 16 performs pre-measurement of the wafer W to be chamfered. The measurement unit 16 includes a pre-measurement device 46, which includes a measurement table 50, a pre-centering sensor 52, a thickness sensor 54, a pre-alignment sensor 56, as shown in FIGS. The fine alignment sensor 58 is used.

  The measurement table 50 is configured to freely rotate and move up and down, and rotates by holding the back surface of the wafer W by suction. The pre-centering sensor 52 measures the approximate center position of the wafer W transferred to the measurement table 50 by the measurement transfer robot 40. The thickness sensor 54 measures the thickness of the wafer W. The pre-alignment sensor 56 detects the approximate position of a notch or orientation flat formed on the outer periphery of the wafer W. The fine alignment sensor 58 measures the diameter, center position, notch position, and notch depth of the wafer W with respect to the notched wafer W. For the wafer W with orientation flat, the A diameter, B diameter, center position, and orientation flat position of the wafer W are measured.

  In the pre-measurement apparatus 46 configured as described above, the pre-measurement of the wafer W is performed as follows. When the measurement transfer robot 40 of the measurement transfer unit 14 receives the wafer W from the supply / recovery unit 12, the measurement transfer robot 40 transfers the wafer W toward the thickness sensor 54. During this transfer process, the wafer W passes through the pre-centering sensor 52, whereby the approximate center position of the wafer W is measured. The movement of the transfer arms 42A and 42B is controlled based on the measured approximate center position information. When the center of the wafer W is positioned at the measurement position of the thickness sensor 54, the movement of the transfer arms 42A and 42B is stopped. . The thickness sensor 54 measures the thickness of the center portion of the wafer W.

  When the measurement of the center thickness is completed, the transfer arms 42A and 42B are retracted by a predetermined distance. As a result, the center of the wafer W substantially coincides with the center of the measurement table 50. The transfer arms 42 </ b> A and 42 </ b> B deliver the wafer W to the measurement table 50, and then move backward by a predetermined distance and retract from the measurement table 50. The measurement table 50 that has received the wafer W rotates the wafer W at a predetermined rotation speed. When the rotation is stabilized, the pre-alignment sensor 56 measures the approximate position of the notch of the wafer W (in the case of the wafer W with orientation flat, the approximate position of the orientation flat is measured). At the same time, the fine alignment sensor 58 measures the diameter of the wafer W to accurately determine the center position of the wafer W (in the case of the wafer W with orientation flat, the A position is measured to accurately determine the center position of the wafer W. To ask.) Furthermore, since the outer periphery of the wafer W held on the measurement table 50 is located at the measurement position of the thickness sensor 54, the thickness sensor 54 measures the thickness of the outer periphery of the wafer W.

  When the above measurements are completed, the rotation of the measurement table 50 is stopped. Then, based on the measurement result of the pre-alignment sensor 56, the measurement table 50 rotates by a predetermined amount, and the notch moves to a predetermined notch measurement position (in the case of the wafer W with an orientation flat, the orientation flat is at a predetermined orientation flat measurement position. Moving.). When the notch is positioned at the notch measurement position, the measurement table 50 rotates the wafer W slowly. Then, the fine alignment sensor 58 accurately measures the notch position and the notch depth with respect to the rotating wafer W (in the case of the wafer W with the orientation flat, the orientation flat position and the B diameter are accurately measured).

  Through the above series of steps, the pre-measurement of the wafer W by the pre-measuring device 46 is completed. Next, the structure of the process part 18 is demonstrated. The processing unit 18 performs chamfering of the wafer W. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the processing unit 18 includes a chamfering device 60 and a table cleaning device 62.

  First, the configuration of the chamfering device 60 will be described. The chamfering device 60 performs chamfering of the wafer W. The chamfering device 60 includes a wafer feeding device 70, a peripheral grinding device 72, and a notch grinding device 74, and is installed in an oil pan 75. The wafer feeding device 70 has a chuck table 76 that holds the wafer W by suction. The chuck table 76 is driven by a driving means (not shown) to move in the front-rear direction (Y-axis direction), the left-right direction (X-axis direction), and the up-down direction (Z-axis direction) and drive the chuck table. By being driven by the motor 77, it rotates around the central axis (θ axis).

  The outer peripheral grinding device 72 has an outer peripheral spindle 80 that rotates by being driven by an outer peripheral motor 78, and an outer peripheral grinding wheel 82 that chamfers the outer periphery of the wafer W is mounted on the outer peripheral spindle 80. A groove having a shape corresponding to the chamfered shape required for the wafer W is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82 (total shape grindstone), and is chamfered by pressing the outer periphery of the wafer W against the groove. The

  The notch grinding device 74 has a notch spindle 86 that is rotated by being driven by a notch motor 84, and a notch grinding wheel 88 for chamfering the notch of the wafer W is mounted on the notch spindle 86. The notch grinding wheel 88 has a groove corresponding to the chamfered shape required for the notch on the outer peripheral surface thereof (total shape grindstone), and the notch of the wafer W is pressed into this groove to be chamfered. The

  In the chamfering device 60 configured as described above, the wafer W is chamfered as follows. In addition, since the processing method is different when processing the outer peripheral portion (circular portion) of the wafer W and the orientation flat portion or the notch portion, the description will be given separately for each case. First, a case where the outer periphery of the wafer W is chamfered will be described. First, the wafer W is placed on the chuck table 76, and the placed wafer W is sucked and held by the chuck table 76. Next, the outer peripheral motor 78 is driven to rotate the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82 at a high speed. Next, the chuck table 76 is moved toward the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82. When the chuck table 76 moves by a predetermined distance, the outer periphery of the wafer W comes into contact with the groove of the outer peripheral grinding stone 82, and the movement of the chuck table 76 is stopped at that position. Next, the chuck table driving motor 77 is driven to rotate the chuck table 76. As a result, the outer periphery of the wafer W is ground by the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82 and chamfered.

  Next, a case where the orientation flat OF of the wafer W is chamfered will be described. First, the outer peripheral motor 78 is driven to rotate the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82 at a high speed. Next, the chuck table 76 is moved toward the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82. As a result, the orientation flat portion comes into contact with the groove of the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82, and the movement of the chuck table 76 is stopped at that position. Next, the chuck table 76 is moved along the orientation flat. Thereby, the orientation flat of the wafer W is ground and chamfered by the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82.

  Next, a case where the notch of the wafer W is chamfered will be described. First, the notch motor 84 is driven to rotate the notch grinding wheel 88 at high speed. Next, the chuck table 76 is moved toward the notch grinding wheel 88. As a result, the notch portion comes into contact with the groove of the notch grinding wheel 88, and the movement of the chuck table 76 is stopped at that position. Next, the chuck table 76 is moved along the shape of the notch. That is, since the notch is normally formed in a V shape, the chuck table 76 is moved so as to draw a V shape. Thereby, the notch of the wafer W is ground by the notch grinding wheel 88 and chamfered.

  In each process described above, coolant is supplied from a coolant supply nozzle (not shown) to the contact portion between the grindstone and the wafer. Then, after the supplied coolant contributes to the processing, it falls and is recovered by the oil pan 75. Next, the configuration of the table cleaning device 62 will be described. The table cleaning device 62 cleans the upper surface of the chuck table 76 and also cleans the back surface of the wafer W attracted and held by the chuck table 76. The table cleaning device 62 includes a table cleaning unit 90 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and the table cleaning unit 90 includes a cleaning liquid nozzle 92, an air nozzle 94, and a cleaning brush 96.

  The cleaning liquid nozzle 92 is provided in parallel with the upper surface of the chuck table 76. A large number of injection holes are provided along the axial line at the lower portion of the cleaning liquid nozzle 92 and at an obliquely upper position, and the cleaning liquid is ejected from the injection holes in a direction directly below and obliquely upward. The sprayed cleaning liquid hits the upper surface of the chuck table 76 and hits the back surface of the wafer W held by a supply transfer arm 148 described later, thereby rinsing and cleaning the chuck table 76 and the wafer W.

  The air nozzle 94 is provided in parallel with the cleaning liquid nozzle 92 and is disposed above the cleaning liquid nozzle 92. A number of injection holes are provided along the axis at positions above and obliquely below the air nozzle 94, and compressed air is injected from the injection holes in a direction directly above and obliquely downward. The jetted compressed air hits the upper surface of the chuck table 76 and hits the back surface of the wafer W to dry the chuck table 76 and the wafer W.

  The cleaning brush 96 is installed in parallel to the upper surface of the chuck table 76, and includes a wafer back surface cleaning brush 96A and a chuck table cleaning brush 96B. The wafer back surface cleaning brush 96 </ b> A is disposed directly above, and abuts against the back surface of the wafer W to brush clean the back surface of the wafer W. On the other hand, the chuck table cleaning brush 96 </ b> B is disposed in a direction directly below, and abuts on the upper surface of the chuck table 76 to brush clean the upper surface of the chuck table 76.

  One end of each of the cleaning liquid nozzle 92, the air nozzle 94 and the cleaning brush 96 is supported by a support plate 98A, and the support plate 98A is slidably supported by a guide rail 102 via a linear guide 100. The guide rail 102 is arranged along the feeding direction of the wafer W, that is, the Y direction in the drawing. On the other hand, the other ends of the cleaning liquid nozzle 92, the air nozzle 94 and the cleaning brush 96 are respectively supported by a support plate 98B, and the support plate 98B is connected to the carriage 104A of the rodless cylinder 104. The table cleaning unit 90 slides along the Y direction in the figure by driving the rodless cylinder 104.

  In the table cleaning device 62 configured as described above, the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the chuck table 76 held by the supply transfer arm 148 are cleaned as follows. The wafer W transferred to the upper position of the chuck table 76 by the supply transfer arm 148 is lowered by a predetermined distance and is positioned at a predetermined “back surface cleaning position”. On the other hand, the chuck table 76 is lowered by a predetermined distance and is positioned at a predetermined “table cleaning position”.

  When the wafer W and the chuck table 76 are respectively positioned at predetermined positions, the cleaning liquid is sprayed downward and obliquely upward from the cleaning liquid nozzle 92. At the same time, the rodless cylinder 104 is driven and the table cleaning unit 90 starts to reciprocate along the upper surface of the chuck table 76. The table cleaning unit 90 reciprocates along the upper surface of the chuck table 76, so that the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning liquid nozzle 92 hits the back surface of the wafer W and the upper surface of the chuck table 76, and the back surface of the wafer W and the chuck table. The top surface of 76 is rinsed. At the same time, the wafer back surface cleaning brush 96A and the chuck table cleaning brush 96B come into contact with the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the chuck table 76, respectively, whereby the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the chuck table 76 are brush cleaned. .

  When the table cleaning unit 90 reciprocates a predetermined number of times, the spraying of the cleaning liquid stops. As a result, the cleaning step is completed, and then compressed air is jetted upward and obliquely downward from the air nozzle 94. The compressed air sprayed from the air nozzle 94 hits the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the chuck table 76, respectively, whereby the back surface of the wafer W and the chuck table 76 are dried.

  When the table cleaning unit 90 reciprocates once (may be reciprocated multiple times), the injection of compressed air stops and the movement of the table cleaning unit 90 stops (returns to the initial position, that is, the position shown in FIG. 5 and stops). This completes the cleaning process. Thus, the cleaning and drying of the back surface of the wafer W and the upper surface of the chuck table 76 is completed, and the cleaned and dried wafer W is delivered and held on the chuck table 76.

  Next, the configuration of the cleaning unit 20 will be described. The cleaning unit 20 cleans the wafer W chamfered by the processing unit 18. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cleaning unit 20 includes a spin cleaning device 110, a brush cleaning device 111, a pre-cleaning device 112, and a wafer lifting / lowering device 113. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the spin cleaning apparatus 110 has a circular cleaning tank 114. A cleaning table 116 is installed at the center of the cleaning tank 114. The wafer W is held by the cleaning table 116 with the center of the back surface being vacuum-sucked. Further, a spindle of a motor (not shown) is connected to the lower portion of the cleaning table 116, and the cleaning table 116 rotates at a low speed and a high speed when driven by the motor.

  On the inner peripheral surface of the cleaning tank 114, a front surface cleaning nozzle 118A, a front surface drying air nozzle 120A, a back surface cleaning nozzle 118B, a back surface drying air nozzle 120B, and a back surface center drying air nozzle 120C are installed. The front surface cleaning nozzle 118 </ b> A and the rear surface cleaning nozzle 118 </ b> B each clean the wafer W by spraying a cleaning liquid onto the front surface and the back surface of the rotating wafer W held by the cleaning table 116. Further, the front surface drying air nozzle 120 </ b> A and the rear surface drying air nozzle 120 </ b> B each spray compressed air on the front and rear surfaces of the rotating wafer W held by the cleaning table 116 to dry the wafer W. Further, the back surface center drying air nozzle 120C sprays compressed air onto the back surface center portion of the wafer W conveyed to the cleaning table 116 by the recovery transfer arm 164 to dry the back surface center portion of the wafer W.

  The brush cleaning device 111 has a cleaning brush 122 as shown in FIG. The cleaning brush 122 includes a front surface cleaning brush 122A and a back surface cleaning brush 122B, and the front surface cleaning brush 122A and the back surface cleaning brush 122B are arranged to face each other with a predetermined interval. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cleaning brush 122 is provided at the tip of the swing arm 124, and the swing arm 124 is fixed to the output shaft of the rotary actuator 126. The cleaning brush 122 is driven by the rotary actuator 126 to swing between a predetermined standby position (a position indicated by a two-dot broken line in FIG. 8) and a brush cleaning position (a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 8). To do. When the cleaning brush 122 is positioned at the brush cleaning position, the front surface cleaning brush 122A and the back surface cleaning brush 122B come into contact with the front surface and the back surface of the wafer W held on the cleaning table 116, respectively (the front surface cleaning brush 122A and the back surface cleaning brush). (Wafer W is sandwiched between 122B.)

  The back surface cleaning brush 122B is formed shorter than the front surface cleaning brush 122A so as not to contact the cleaning table 116 when positioned at the brush cleaning position. The pre-cleaning device 112 has a back surface cleaning nozzle 130 and a cleaning brush 132, and both are installed in a drain pan 128 disposed so as to surround the cleaning tank 114.

  The back surface cleaning nozzle 130 is disposed so as to be orthogonal to a transfer path (between the processing unit and the cleaning unit) of the wafer W, which will be described later, and injects a cleaning liquid upward. On the other hand, the cleaning brush 132 is disposed in parallel with the back surface cleaning nozzle 130 and is set upward. The wafer W chamfered by the processing unit 18 is rinsed by the back surface of the cleaning liquid sprayed from the back surface cleaning nozzle 130 in the process of being transferred onto the cleaning table 116 by a recovery transfer arm 164 described later. While being cleaned, the cleaning brush 132 is brought into contact with the brush for cleaning.

  The wafer lifting device 113 has a lifting arm 136 having a suction pad 134 at the tip. The lift arm 136 is driven by a lift drive mechanism (not shown) so as to be lifted and lowered. The wafer W cleaned by the spin cleaning device 110 is sucked and held by the suction pad 134 and transferred to a predetermined recovery standby position. To do. In the cleaning unit 20 configured as described above, the wafer W is cleaned as follows.

  The wafer W that has been transferred from the processing unit 18 to the cleaning unit 20 by the transfer arm 164 to be described later is first pre-cleaned by the pre-cleaning device 112. That is, when the wafer W transferred by the recovery transfer arm 164 reaches the position before the cleaning nozzle 130 is installed, the cleaning liquid is sprayed upward from the cleaning nozzle 130. Then, the sprayed cleaning liquid hits the back surface of the wafer W conveyed by the recovery transfer arm 164, and the back surface of the wafer W is rinsed. The rinse-cleaned wafer W is subsequently brush-cleaned with the cleaning brush 132 abutting against the back surface thereof.

  The recovery transfer arm 164 that has passed through the pre-cleaning device 112 stops when it is positioned above the cleaning table 116. When the movement of the recovery transfer arm 164 stops, the back surface center drying air nozzle 120C is driven and compressed air is injected. The jetted compressed air hits the center of the back surface of the wafer W held by the transfer arm 164 for recovery, whereby the center of the back surface of the wafer W sucked and held by the cleaning table 116 is dried.

  The cleaning table 116 rotates at a high speed simultaneously with the jetting of compressed air from the back surface center drying air nozzle 120C, and jetting vacuum breaking air is jetted from the suction holes. This is to prevent water droplets blown off by the back surface center drying air nozzle 120 </ b> C from adhering to the cleaning table 116. The injection of compressed air by the back surface center drying air nozzle 120C is continued for a predetermined time. Then, after the predetermined time has elapsed, the injection of compressed air is stopped, and the rotation of the cleaning table 116 and the injection of air are stopped. Thereafter, the transfer arm 164 for collection descends a predetermined distance and transfers the wafer W to the cleaning table 116. The cleaning table 116 to which the wafer W has been delivered holds the back surface of the wafer W by suction. On the other hand, the recovery transfer arm 164 is retracted upward.

  When the cleaning table 116 sucks and holds the wafer W, a motor (not shown) is driven and the cleaning table 116 starts rotating at a low speed. As a result, the wafer W held on the cleaning table 116 rotates at a low speed. Next, cleaning liquid is sprayed from the front surface cleaning nozzle 118A and the rear surface cleaning nozzle 118B toward the front surface and the back surface of the wafer W rotating at a low speed, and the wafer W is spin cleaned. At the same time, the rotary actuator 126 is driven to move the cleaning brush 122 located at the standby position to the brush cleaning position. As a result, the front surface cleaning brush 122A and the rear surface cleaning brush 122B come into contact with the front surface and the back surface of the wafer W, respectively, and the wafer W is cleaned with the brush.

  The spin cleaning and the brush cleaning are continuously performed for a predetermined time, and when the predetermined time elapses, the spraying of the cleaning liquid is stopped. At the same time, the rotary actuator 126 is driven to retract the cleaning brush 122 from the brush cleaning position to the standby position. Thereby, the cleaning process is completed. After stopping the spraying of the cleaning liquid, the wafer W is rotated at a high speed, and compressed air is sprayed from the front surface drying air nozzle 120A and the back surface drying air nozzle 120B onto the front and back surfaces of the wafer W rotating at a high speed, and the wafer W is spin dried. After a predetermined time has elapsed, the injection of compressed air is stopped and the rotation of the wafer W is stopped, thereby completing the drying process. When the rotation of the wafer W is completely stopped, the elevating arm 136 of the wafer elevating device 113 waiting at a predetermined recovery standby position is lowered by a predetermined distance to recover the wafer W and transport it to the recovery standby position.

  Next, the structure of the processing conveyance part 22 is demonstrated. The processing transfer unit 22 transfers the wafer W between the measurement unit 16 and the processing unit 18, between the processing unit 18 and the cleaning unit 20, and between the cleaning unit 20 and the measurement transfer unit 14. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the processing and conveying unit 22 includes a supply transfer 140 and a recovery transfer 142.

  The transfer for transfer 140 conveys the wafer W pre-measured by the pre-measuring device 46 of the measuring unit 16 onto the chuck table 76 of the processing unit 18. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the supply transfer 140 includes a supply horizontal slide block 146 that slides along the horizontal guide 144, and a swivel and vertical movement that are installed on the supply horizontal slide block 146. And a transfer arm 148 for supply.

  The supply transfer arm 148 includes a pair of suction pads 150 and 150 at the lower end of the tip. The suction pads 150 and 150 hold the surface of the wafer W by vacuum suction. The base end of the supply transfer arm 148 is fixed to the output shaft of the arm turning motor 152, and the supply transfer arm 148 is turned by driving the arm turning motor 152. Further, the supply vertical slide block 154 provided with the arm turning motor 152 is slidably provided on a vertical guide 158 erected on the supply horizontal slide block 146. When the vertical slide block 158 is moved up and down by a lift drive means (not shown), the transfer arm 148 for supply is moved up and down.

  On the other hand, the recovery transfer 142 transports the wafer W chamfered by the processing unit 18 onto the cleaning table 116 of the cleaning unit 20, and measures the wafer W cleaned and dried by the cleaning unit 20 by the measurement transport unit 14. Transfer to the transfer robot 40. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, the recovery transfer 142 has a recovery horizontal slide block 162 that moves along the horizontal guide 144 and a vertically movable block that is installed on the recovery horizontal slide block 162. And a transfer arm 164 for recovery.

  The collection transfer arm 164 has a first suction pad 166 at the lower end of the tip and a pair of second suction pads 168 and 168 at the upper end of the tip. The wafer W that has been chamfered by the processing unit 18 is transported onto the cleaning table 116 of the cleaning unit 20 while the upper surface thereof is suction-held by the first suction pad 166. In addition, the wafer W that has been cleaned and dried by the cleaning unit 20 (the wafer W waiting at the recovery standby position by the wafer lifting device 113) is suction-held by the second suction pad 168, and the measurement transport unit 14 Is transported to the measurement transport robot 40. Further, the base end portion of the recovery transfer arm 164 is fixed to the recovery vertical slide block 170, and the recovery vertical slide block 170 is erected on the recovery horizontal slide block 162. The top is slidably provided. Then, the collection transfer arm 164 moves up and down by moving the collection vertical slide block 170 up and down by a lift drive means (not shown).

  The collection transfer arm 164 and the supply transfer arm 148 are arranged at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction so as not to interfere with each other. Accordingly, the first suction pad 166 and the second suction pad 168 of the recovery transfer arm 164 can be positioned directly below the suction pad 150 of the supply transfer arm 148.

  In the processing / conveying section 22 configured as described above, the transfer arm 148 for supply and the transfer arm 164 for recovery have a “wafer receiving position”, “processing section delivery position”, “standby position” as shown in FIG. ] And “cleaning part delivery position” to move the wafer W. The operation of the wafer chamfering apparatus 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above is as follows.

  As shown in FIG. 1, first, the supply / recovery robot 34 takes out one wafer W from one wafer cassette 30. Then, the taken wafer W is transferred to the second transfer arm 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40. The delivery of the wafer W is performed as follows. In the initial state, the transfer arms 42A and 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40 are positioned at a predetermined standby position (position shown in FIG. 1) and are on standby. When the wafer W is taken out from the wafer cassette 30, the transfer arm 36 of the supply / recovery robot 34 moves to a predetermined wafer delivery position (position shown in FIG. 1).

  When the transfer arm 36 of the supply / recovery robot 34 moves to the wafer delivery position, the transfer arms 42A and 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40 turn a predetermined amount so as to face the transfer arm 36 of the supply / recovery robot 34. Then, the transfer arm 36 of the supply / recovery robot 34 moves forward by a predetermined distance with respect to the transfer transfer robots 42A and 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40, and the wafer W is transferred to the second transfer arm 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40.

  The transfer arm 36 of the supply / recovery robot 34 that has delivered the wafer W moves backward by a predetermined distance. On the other hand, the transfer arms 42A and 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40 turn a predetermined amount and return to the original standby position. Thereby, the reception of the wafer W is completed. In this state, the transfer arms 42 </ b> A and 42 </ b> B of the measurement transfer robot 40 are positioned so as to face the thickness measurement sensor 54 of the previous measurement device 46.

  The measurement transfer robot 40 that has received the wafer W advances the transfer arms 42 </ b> A and 42 </ b> B and transfers the wafer W to the pre-measurement device 46. Then, the approximate center position of the wafer W is measured by passing through the pre-centering sensor 52 during this transfer process. The thickness of the central portion of the wafer W transferred to the pre-measurement device 46 is first measured by the thickness sensor 54. Then, after the measurement, it is delivered to the measurement table 50. The transfer arms 42 </ b> A and 42 </ b> B of the measurement transfer robot 40 that has transferred the wafer W retract and retract from the measurement table 50.

  On the other hand, the measurement table 50 to which the wafer W has been transferred rotates the wafer W, the pre-alignment sensor 56 measures the approximate position of the notch relative to the rotating wafer W, and the fine alignment sensor 58 receives the wafer W. The diameter of the wafer is measured to accurately determine the wafer center position. At the same time, the thickness sensor 54 measures the thickness of the outer peripheral portion of the wafer W.

  When the above measurements are completed, the measurement table 50 temporarily stops rotating. Then, a predetermined amount is rotated based on the measurement result of the pre-alignment sensor 56, and the notch is positioned at a predetermined notch measurement position. When the notch is positioned at the notch measurement position, the measurement table 50 rotates the wafer W slowly. Then, the fine alignment sensor 58 accurately measures the notch position with respect to the rotating wafer W. At the same time, the notch depth is measured. After the measurement is completed, the measurement table 50 stops rotating.

  Thus, the pre-measurement of the wafer W is completed. Then, the wafer W is positioned based on the measurement result. Positioning is performed as follows. First, the measurement table 50 is rotated by a predetermined amount so that the notch is directed in a predetermined direction. Since the position of the notch can be known from the result of the previous measurement, the rotation amount of the measurement table 50 is determined based on the measurement result of the previous measurement.

  Next, the chuck table 76 is moved a predetermined distance from the predetermined origin position in the XY direction. This is because the center of the chuck table 76 and the center of the wafer W coincide with each other when the wafer W is transferred from the measurement table 50 to the chuck table 76 by the supply transfer arm 148 described below. Here, the origin position is set as follows. That is, when the wafer W whose center coincides with the center of the measurement table 50 is transferred to the chuck table 76 by the supply transfer arm 148, the chuck table is located at a position where the center of the chuck table 76 coincides with the center of the wafer W. The origin position 76 is set.

  Since the center position of the wafer W can be known from the result of the previous measurement, the movement amount of the chuck table 76 is determined based on the measurement result of the previous measurement. Thus, the positioning of the wafer W is completed. After the positioning is completed, the wafer W is transferred from the measurement table 50 to the chuck table 76. The conveyance is performed as follows.

  During the above positioning, the transfer arm 148 for supply is on standby at the “wafer receiving position” shown in FIG. On the other hand, the recovery transfer arm 164 is waiting at the standby position. When the positioning is completed, the supply transfer arm 148 turns 90 ° in the clockwise direction. As a result, the suction pad 150 of the supply transfer arm 148 is positioned above the measurement table 50 as indicated by a two-dot broken line in FIG. The supply transfer arm 148 descends by a predetermined distance, receives the wafer W on the measurement table 50, and then rises again by a predetermined distance. Then, it turns 90 ° counterclockwise and returns to the “wafer receiving position”. The supply transfer arm 148 that has returned to the “wafer receiving position” slides along the horizontal guide 144 to move to the “processed part delivery position” shown in FIG.

  Here, the chuck table 76 positioned at the predetermined position as described above is waiting at the position of the predetermined height (hereinafter referred to as “wafer receiving reference position”) at the “processed portion delivery position”. When the transfer arm 148 for supply is moved to the “processing part delivery position”, the chuck table 76 is lowered by a predetermined distance and moved to the “table cleaning position”. On the other hand, the supply transfer arm 148 that has moved to the “processing part delivery position” is also lowered by a predetermined distance and moved to the “back surface cleaning position”.

  When the wafer W and the chuck table 76 are respectively positioned at predetermined positions, the table cleaning device 62 is driven, and the back surface of the wafer W and the upper surface of the chuck table 76 are cleaned by the table cleaning device 62. Specifically, the cleaning is performed as follows. First, the cleaning liquid is ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 92 downward and obliquely upward. At the same time, the rodless cylinder 104 is driven and the table cleaning unit 90 starts to reciprocate along the upper surface of the chuck table 76. As a result, the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning liquid nozzle 92 hits the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the chuck table 76, and the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the chuck table 76 are rinse-cleaned. At the same time, the wafer back surface cleaning brush 96A and the chuck table cleaning brush 96B come into contact with the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the chuck table 76, respectively, whereby the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the chuck table 76 are brush cleaned. .

  When the table cleaning unit 90 reciprocates a predetermined number of times, the spraying of the cleaning liquid stops. Subsequently, compressed air is jetted upward and obliquely downward from the air nozzle 94. The compressed air sprayed from the air nozzle 94 hits the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the chuck table 76, respectively, whereby the back surface of the wafer W and the chuck table 76 are dried.

  When the table cleaning unit 90 reciprocates once, the movement of the table cleaning unit 90 stops, and at the same time, the injection of compressed air stops. Thereby, the cleaning and drying of the back surface of the wafer W and the upper surface of the chuck table 76 are completed. As described above, before the wafer W is received by the chuck table 76, the back surface of the wafer W and the upper surface of the chuck table 76 are cleaned in advance, so that it is possible to prevent dirt from being accumulated on the upper surface of the chuck table 76. . Thereby, it is possible to prevent the chuck table 76 from causing a suction failure.

  When the cleaning is completed, the chuck table 76 rises again by a predetermined distance and is positioned at the original “wafer receiving reference position”. When the chuck table 76 is positioned at the “wafer receiving reference position”, the wafer W held on the supply transfer arm 148 is placed on the chuck table 76. The chuck table 76 holds the wafer W by suction. On the other hand, the supply transfer arm 148 releases the adsorption of the wafer W, whereby the wafer W is delivered. The supply transfer arm 148 that has delivered the wafer W moves up to a “transport position” (a position in the height direction when the supply transfer arm 148 transports the wafer W) by moving up a predetermined distance, and then horizontally. By sliding along the guide 144, it moves again to the “wafer receiving position”.

  On the other hand, the wafer W held on the chuck table 76 is held in a state where the center thereof coincides with the center of the chuck table 76 and the notch is held in a predetermined direction by the positioning operation described above. Therefore, it is not necessary to position again, and processing can be started as it is. The chamfering device 60 of the processing unit 18 sucks and holds the wafer W by the chuck table 76 and then starts chamfering the wafer W.

  Here, while the processing unit 18 is chamfering the wafer W, the pre-measurement device 46 of the measurement unit 16 performs pre-measurement of the wafer W to be chamfered next by the processing unit 18 in advance. At the same time, the transfer arm 164 for collection is moved to the “processing part delivery position” and is on standby. When a series of chamfering processes (peripheral and notch chamfering processes) is completed in the processing unit 18, the chuck table 76 moves to the "processing unit delivery position". On the other hand, the transfer arm 164 for recovery has already been waiting at this “working part delivery position”, and when the chuck table 76 moves to the “working part delivery position”, it is lowered by a predetermined distance, and the wafer W is removed from the chuck table 76. Receive it and go up again a predetermined distance. Thereafter, the transfer arm 164 for collection is moved to the “cleaning part delivery position” shown in FIG. 11 by sliding along the horizontal guide 144.

  By the way, the transfer arm 164 for recovery moved to the “cleaning part delivery position” as described above is lowered there by a predetermined distance and delivers the wafer W to the cleaning table 116 of the spin cleaning apparatus 110. The transferred wafer W is pre-cleaned on the back surface in the process of being transferred from the processing unit 18 to the “cleaning unit delivery position”.

  That is, the wafer W transferred from the chuck table 76 of the processing unit 18 to the cleaning table 116 of the cleaning unit 20 by the recovery transfer arm 164 passes through the pre-cleaning device 112 in the transfer process, and the back surface is pre-cleaned at this time. Is done. Specifically, the cleaning is performed as follows. When the wafer W transferred from the chuck table 76 by the recovery transfer arm 164 reaches the position before the installation position of the pre-cleaning device 112, the cleaning liquid is sprayed upward from the cleaning nozzle 130 of the pre-cleaning device 112. The sprayed cleaning liquid hits the back surface of the wafer W conveyed by the recovery transfer arm 164, and thereby the back surface of the wafer W is rinse-cleaned. Further, the rinse-cleaned wafer W is subsequently brought into contact with the cleaning brush 132 on the back surface thereof, thereby being cleaned by the brush.

  In this manner, the back surface of the wafer W is pre-cleaned in the process of being transferred from the processing unit 18 to the “cleaning unit delivery position”, whereby dirt such as sludge and coolant adhered during processing is roughly removed. In addition, by cleaning the back surface of the wafer W in advance as described above, it is possible to prevent the adhesion of dirt to the cleaning table 116 of the spin cleaning device 110 and the occurrence of poor adsorption.

  When the collection transfer arm 164 moves to the “cleaning unit delivery position”, the back surface center drying air nozzle 120C is driven and the compressed air is injected. The cleaning table 116 rotates at a high speed simultaneously with the injection of the compressed air from the back surface center drying air nozzle 120C, and the suction vacuum breaking air is sprayed from the suction holes. The compressed air sprayed from the back surface center drying air nozzle 120C hits the back surface center portion of the wafer W held by the recovery transfer arm 164, whereby the back surface center portion of the wafer W is dried.

  The injection of compressed air by the back surface center drying air nozzle 120C is continued for a predetermined time. Then, after the predetermined time has elapsed, the injection of compressed air is stopped, and the rotation of the cleaning table 116 and the injection of air are stopped. Thereafter, the transfer arm 164 for collection descends a predetermined distance and transfers the wafer W to the cleaning table 116. The cleaning table 116 to which the wafer W has been delivered holds the back surface of the wafer W by suction. On the other hand, the recovery transfer arm 164 that has delivered the wafer W rises again by a predetermined distance, and then slides along the horizontal guide 144 to move to the “standby position” shown in FIG.

  The spin cleaning apparatus 110 that has received the wafer W starts cleaning the wafer W after the recovery transfer arm 164 is lifted. This cleaning method is as follows. When the cleaning table 116 sucks and holds the wafer W, a motor (not shown) is driven to start the rotation of the cleaning table 116 at a low speed, and the wafer W held on the cleaning table 116 is rotated at a low speed. Next, cleaning liquid is sprayed from the front surface cleaning nozzle 118 </ b> A and the rear surface cleaning nozzle 118 </ b> B toward the front surface and the back surface of the wafer W rotating at a low speed. The sprayed cleaning liquid hits the front and back surfaces of the wafer W, whereby the wafer W is spin cleaned. At the same time, the rotary actuator 126 is driven to move the cleaning brush 122 located at the standby position to the brush cleaning position. As a result, the front surface cleaning brush 122A and the back surface cleaning brush 122B come into contact with the front surface and the back surface of the wafer W, respectively, and thereby the front surface and the back surface of the wafer W are brush cleaned.

  The spin cleaning and the brush cleaning are continuously performed for a predetermined time, and when the predetermined time elapses, the spraying of the cleaning liquid is stopped. At the same time, the rotary actuator 126 is driven to move the cleaning brush 122 from the brush cleaning position to the standby position. After stopping the spraying of the cleaning liquid, the wafer W is rotated at a high speed, and compressed air is sprayed from the front surface drying air nozzle 120A and the back surface drying air nozzle 120B onto the front and back surfaces of the wafer W rotating at a high speed. The jetted compressed air hits the front and back surfaces of the wafer W, and thereby the wafer W is spin-dried.

  When a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the supply of compressed air, the injection of compressed air is stopped, and at the same time, the rotation of the wafer W is stopped. Thus, the cleaning / drying process of the wafer W in the cleaning unit 20 is completed. On the other hand, while the wafer W is being cleaned and dried by the cleaning unit 20 as described above, the wafer W to be chamfered next is supplied to the processing unit 18 and the processing has already been started.

  When the cleaning and drying of the wafer W is completed by the spin cleaning device 110, the lifting arm 136 of the wafer lifting device 113 is lowered by a predetermined distance and receives the wafer W from the cleaning table 116. The lift arm 136 that has received the wafer W moves up a predetermined distance while holding the wafer W and returns to the original “recovery standby position”. On the other hand, when the chamfering process of the next wafer W is completed in the processing unit 18, the transfer arm 164 for collection receives the wafer W from the chuck table 76 and transports it to the cleaning table 116 by the same procedure as described above.

  Here, above the cleaning table 116, the wafer W previously cleaned and dried by the spin cleaning device 110 is waiting while being held by the lifting arm 136 of the wafer lifting device 113. The transfer arm 164 delivers the wafer W transferred from the processing unit 18 to the spin cleaning device 110, then moves up a predetermined distance, and receives the wafer W from the lifting arm 136. At this time, the transfer arm 164 for collection receives the back surface of the wafer W by suction with the suction pads 168 and 168 provided at the top of the tip. The transfer arm 164 for receiving the wafer W is lowered by a predetermined distance and moves to the “standby position”.

  Here, when the wafer W chamfered by the processing unit 18 as described above is transferred to the cleaning unit 20 by the transfer arm 164 for recovery, the processing unit 18 performs alignment of the wafer W to be chamfered next. . When the alignment is completed, the supply transfer arm 148 transports the wafer W from the measurement unit 16 to the processing unit 18. In the processing unit 18, the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the chuck table 76 are cleaned and dried by the table cleaning device 62, and then the wafer W is received by the chuck table 76 and chamfering processing of the wafer W is started.

  On the other hand, the transfer arm 148 for supplying the wafer W transferred to the chuck table 76 moves to the “wafer receiving position”. At the same time, the transfer arm 164 for recovery which has been located at the “standby position” moves to the “wafer receiving position”. When the supply transfer arm 148 and the collection transfer arm 164 move to the “wafer receiving position”, the transfer arms 42A and 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40 turn 90 ° in the clockwise direction. As a result, the transfer arms 42A and 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40 are positioned so as to face the wafer W held by the recovery transfer arm 164. Thereafter, the transfer arms 42A and 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40 move forward by a predetermined distance toward the wafer W held by the recovery transfer arm 164. Then, the first transfer arm 42A receives the wafer W held by the transfer arm 164 for recovery and moves back again. Thereafter, the transfer arms 42A and 42B turn 90 ° counterclockwise and return to their original positions.

  On the other hand, the collection transfer arm 164 that has delivered the wafer W slides along the horizontal guide 144 to move to the “processing unit delivery position” and waits until the processing is completed. On the measurement table 50 of the pre-measuring device 46, the wafer W to be chamfered next is on standby (waiting in a positioning state), and the transfer arm 148 for supply is the measurement table. A wafer W is received from 50. Then, after the recovery transfer arm 164 recovers the processed wafer W, the supply transfer arm 148 transports the received wafer W to the processing unit 18. In the processing unit 18, the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the chuck table 76 are cleaned and dried by the table cleaning device 62, and then the wafer W is received by the chuck table 76 and chamfering processing of the wafer W is started.

  Further, in the supply / recovery unit 12, the supply / recovery robot 34 takes out the wafer W to be chamfered next from the wafer cassette 30 and stands by at a predetermined wafer delivery position. When the supply transfer arm 148 transports the wafer W from the measurement unit 16 to the processing unit 18, the transport arms 42 </ b> A and 42 </ b> B of the measurement transport robot 40 rotate a predetermined amount so as to face the transport arm 36 of the supply / recovery robot 34. . Then, the transfer arm 36 of the supply / recovery robot 34 moves forward by a predetermined distance with respect to the transfer transfer robots 42A and 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40, and the wafer W is transferred to the second transfer arm 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40.

  The transfer arm 36 of the supply / recovery robot 34 that has delivered the wafer W to the second transfer arm 42B moves back a predetermined distance and then moves up a predetermined distance. Then, the wafer W is moved forward by a predetermined distance again and the chamfered wafer W held by the first transfer arm 42A of the measurement transfer robot 40 is received. The transfer arm 36 of the supply / recovery robot 34 that has received the chamfered wafer W retreats a predetermined distance and then turns a predetermined amount. Then, the wafer W is moved in front of the same wafer cassette 30 as when the wafer W is taken out, and the wafer W is stored in the same position as when the wafer W is taken out.

  On the other hand, the transfer arms 42A and 42B of the measurement transfer robot 40 that has received the wafer W to be newly processed turn a predetermined amount and then move forward by a predetermined distance to transfer the wafer W to the pre-measurement device 46. The processing of the wafers W is as described above, and the wafers W accommodated in the wafer cassette 30 can be sequentially processed by repeatedly performing the above steps.

  As described above, in the wafer chamfering apparatus 10 of this embodiment, before the wafer W is held by the chuck table 76, the back surface of the wafer W and the upper surface of the chuck table 76 are cleaned and held in advance. . For this reason, even if dirt is attached to the wafer, it is removed at the stage where the wafer is held by the chuck table 76, so that the dirt adheres to the chuck table 76 and causes an adsorption failure or failure. There is no. In addition, this makes it possible to always stabilize the machining accuracy. In addition, maintainability is also improved.

  Further, in the wafer chamfering apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, before the chamfered wafer W is held by the cleaning table 116, the back surface of the wafer W is cleaned and held in advance. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent the cleaning table 116 from causing a suction failure or failure. Furthermore, the cleaning degree is improved because the brush cleaning is performed in addition to the normal spin cleaning. Thereby, it is possible to effectively prevent a failure of the recovery transfer 142 caused by insufficient cleaning and a failure of the post-measurement apparatus when post-measurement is performed. Moreover, even if it is supplied to the next wrapping device as it is, the wrapping device will not break down.

  In the table cleaning device 62 and the pre-cleaning device 112 of the above-described embodiment, the rinse cleaning and the brush cleaning are performed simultaneously, but only the brush cleaning may be performed. In the above embodiment, the table cleaning device 62 is used only for cleaning the upper surface of the chuck table 76 and the back surface of the wafer W before processing. However, the wafer after processing using the table cleaning device 62 is used. The surface of W can also be cleaned. The cleaning method in this case is as follows.

  First, the chuck table 76 that has been chamfered and has returned to the “processed portion delivery position” is lowered by a predetermined distance and is positioned at a predetermined “surface cleaning position”. Next, the cleaning liquid is ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 92. At the same time, the rodless cylinder 69 is driven to reciprocate the table cleaning unit 90. Thereby, the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning liquid nozzle 63 hits the surface of the wafer W, and the surface of the wafer W is rinsed. At the same time, the chuck table cleaning brush 65B comes into contact with the surface of the wafer W, whereby the surface of the wafer W is brush cleaned. After reciprocating the table cleaning unit 90 a predetermined number of times, as in the case of the chuck table 76, the spraying of the cleaning liquid is stopped, and then the compressed air is sprayed from the air nozzle 64 to dry the surface of the wafer W.

  Thus, the surface of the processed wafer W can be cleaned using the table cleaning device 62 of the present embodiment. As a result, it is possible to prevent the recovery transfer 142 from being broken and the transfer line from being contaminated by holding the wafer W contaminated by processing.

  Next, a second embodiment of the wafer chamfering apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the upper part of the oil pan 75 installed in the processing section 18 is covered with a cover 200 so that the upper part of the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82 and the upper part of the chuck table 76 are opened and closed as necessary. It is configured. That is, the cover 200 is provided with a swingable grindstone cover 202 and a slidable shutter 204. When the grindstone cover 202 is opened, the upper part of the outer peripheral grinding stone 82 is opened, and when the shutter 204 is opened. The upper portion of the chuck table 76 is configured to open.

  The wafer chamfering apparatus of the second embodiment is different from the wafer chamfering apparatus of the first embodiment described above in that a wafer surface cleaning apparatus 206 is installed on the shutter 204. The wafer surface cleaning device 206 cleans the surface of the wafer W immediately before processing and immediately after processing. Hereinafter, the configuration of the wafer surface cleaning apparatus 206 will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the shutter 204 is formed in a bellows shape and can be opened and closed in a direction orthogonal to the feed direction of the chuck table 76, that is, in the X direction in the drawing. A rodless cylinder 208 is installed in the vicinity of the shutter 204, and a carriage 208 </ b> A of the rodless cylinder 208 is connected to the tip of the shutter 204. The shutter 204 is opened and closed by driving the rodless cylinder 208.

  The wafer surface cleaning device 206 is provided at the tip of the shutter 204. The wafer surface cleaning device 206 includes a cleaning liquid nozzle 210, an air nozzle 212, and a wafer surface cleaning brush 214. The cleaning liquid nozzle 210 is provided in parallel with the upper surface of the chuck table 76. A large number of injection holes are provided along the axis at a position obliquely below the cleaning liquid nozzle 210, and the cleaning liquid is injected obliquely downward from the injection holes. The sprayed cleaning liquid hits the surface of the wafer W held on the chuck table 76 and rinses the surface of the wafer W.

  The air nozzle 212 is provided in parallel with the cleaning liquid nozzle 210 and is disposed above the cleaning liquid nozzle 210. A large number of injection holes are provided along the axis at positions obliquely below the air nozzle 212, and compressed air is injected obliquely downward from the injection holes. The jetted compressed air hits the surface of the wafer W held on the chuck table 76 and dries the wafer W.

  The wafer surface cleaning brush 214 is arranged in a direction directly below, and abuts against the surface of the wafer W held on the chuck table 76 to brush clean the surface of the wafer W. The operation of the wafer surface cleaning apparatus 206 configured as described above is as follows. In addition, since it is the same as 1st Embodiment mentioned above except the process of delivering the wafer W to the process part 18, and the process of receiving the wafer W from the process part 18, only the said delivery process and a receiving process are demonstrated here. .

  When the supply transfer arm 148 holding the wafer W is moved to the “processing portion delivery position” shown in FIG. 11, the rodless cylinder 208 is driven and the shutter 204 is opened. When the shutter 204 is opened, the supply transfer arm 148 is lowered by a predetermined distance and is positioned at the “back surface cleaning position”. On the other hand, the chuck table 76 is lowered by a predetermined distance and is positioned at a predetermined “table cleaning position”. As described above, the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the chuck table 76 are cleaned by the table cleaning device 62. When the cleaning is completed, the chuck table 76 rises again by a predetermined distance and is positioned at the original “wafer receiving reference position”. Then, the wafer W is received from the transfer arm 148 for supply. The transfer arm 148 for supplying the wafer W moves to the “wafer receiving position” again.

  When the supply transfer arm 148 moves to the “wafer receiving position”, the cleaning liquid is sprayed obliquely downward from the cleaning liquid nozzle 210. Next, the rodless cylinder 208 is driven to close the shutter 204. When the shutter 204 is closed, the wafer surface cleaning device 206 moves along the surface of the wafer W held on the chuck table 76. As a result, the cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning liquid nozzle 210 hits the surface of the wafer W to rinse the surface of the wafer W. At the same time, the wafer surface cleaning brush 214 comes into contact with the surface of the wafer W, whereby the surface of the wafer W is brush cleaned.

  When the shutter 204 is completely closed, the spraying of the cleaning liquid is stopped, whereby the cleaning of the surface of the wafer W before processing is completed. Thereafter, the chamfering device 60 starts chamfering of the wafer W. When the chamfering process is completed and the chuck table 76 is moved to the “processing part delivery position”, compressed air is jetted obliquely downward from the air nozzle 212. Next, the rodless cylinder 208 is driven to open the shutter 204. When the shutter 204 is opened, the wafer surface cleaning device 206 moves along the surface of the wafer W held on the chuck table 76. As a result, the compressed air sprayed from the air nozzle 210 hits the surface of the processed wafer W and the wafer W is dried. At the same time, the wafer surface cleaning brush 214 comes into contact with the surface of the wafer W, whereby the surface of the wafer W is brush cleaned.

  When the shutter 204 is completely opened, the jet of compressed air is stopped, whereby the cleaning of the surface of the wafer W after processing is completed. As described above, since the transfer arm 164 for recovery is already waiting at the “processing portion delivery position”, the transfer arm 164 for recovery receives the cleaned and dried wafer W from the chuck table 76 and performs “cleaning”. Move to the department delivery position.

  As described above, in the wafer chamfering apparatus according to the second embodiment, the surface of the wafer W immediately before and immediately after the processing can be cleaned by the opening / closing operation of the shutter 204. As a result, it is possible to prevent in advance processing defects caused by processing the wafer W to which dirt has adhered, and to cause a failure of the recovery transfer 142 caused by holding the wafer W dirty by processing, or dirt on the transfer line. Can be prevented.

  In this embodiment, the wafer surface cleaning device 206 is used only for cleaning the surface of the wafer W. However, the wafer surface cleaning device 206 is used to clean the upper surface of the chuck table 76. May be. In the present embodiment, the shutter 204 is opened and closed only once. However, the wafer W may be cleaned by opening and closing the shutter 204 a plurality of times.

  Next, a third embodiment of the wafer chamfering apparatus according to the present invention will be described. The wafer chamfering apparatus according to the third embodiment is configured so that the surface of the wafer W can be cleaned during processing. Since this point is the same as the wafer chamfering apparatus of the first or second embodiment described above, only the cleaning mechanism for the wafer W during this processing will be described here.

  As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, a cleaning brush 220 is installed at a position in front of the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82 in a direction directly below. The cleaning brush 220 is installed in parallel with the upper surface of the chuck table 76, and is disposed along the direction orthogonal to the feed direction of the chuck table 76, that is, the X direction in the drawing. A rod of a cylinder 222 is connected to the upper part of the cleaning brush 220, and the cylinder 222 is fixed by a frame (not shown). The cleaning brush 220 moves forward and backward by driving the cylinder 222.

  The operation of the wafer chamfering apparatus of the third embodiment configured as described above is as follows. Since the operations other than the processing steps are the same as those in the first embodiment or the second embodiment described above, only the processing steps of the wafer W will be described here. When the chuck table 76 sucks and holds the wafer W supplied from the supply transfer arm 148, the cylinder 222 is driven and the cleaning brush 220 is lowered by a predetermined distance.

  Next, the outer peripheral motor 78 is driven, and the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82 rotates at a high speed. Next, the chuck table 76 is fed to the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82 by a predetermined distance. As a result, the outer periphery of the wafer W comes into contact with the groove of the outer peripheral grinding stone 82. When the outer periphery of the wafer W comes into contact with the groove of the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82, the chuck table drive motor 77 is driven and the chuck table 76 rotates. As a result, the outer periphery of the wafer W is ground by the outer peripheral grinding wheel 82 and chamfered.

  By the way, when the wafer W is fed toward the outer peripheral grinding stone 82 and comes into contact with the groove of the outer peripheral grinding stone 82, the cleaning brush 220 comes into contact with the surface of the wafer W. The wafer W rotates with the cleaning brush 220 in contact with the surface, and as a result, the surface of the wafer W is brush cleaned. In the processing, since coolant is supplied from a coolant supply nozzle (not shown), this coolant serves as a cleaning liquid.

  When the chamfering is finished and the chuck table 76 is moved to the “processing part delivery position”, the cylinder 222 is driven and the cleaning brush 220 is raised by a predetermined distance. As described above, in the wafer chamfering apparatus according to the third embodiment, the surface of the wafer W can be cleaned during processing, so that it is possible to prevent the dirt from being sequentially deposited on the surface of the wafer W. . As a result, the cleaning performed later can be simplified, and it is possible to prevent the dirt from being easily removed.

  In this embodiment, the cleaning brush 220 is installed in front of the outer peripheral grinding stone 82, but the installation position of the cleaning brush 220 is not limited to this. However, by disposing the cleaning brush 220 on the front side of the outer peripheral grinding stone 82 as in the present embodiment, it is possible to effectively prevent the coolant and sludge from scattering. Further, it is possible to prevent the coolant or the like from being sucked from the gap between the wafer W and the chuck table 76.

  In the series of embodiments described above, the brush is not provided with a drive mechanism, but the brush is formed in a columnar shape, and the surface of the wafer W or the upper surface of the chuck table 76 is brush cleaned while being rotated by a motor or the like. You may make it do. In addition to a brush, a scraper (wiper) such as rubber may be used.

Plan view showing the configuration of the wafer chamfering device The perspective view which shows the structure of a wafer chamfering apparatus Side view showing the configuration of the processing section and processing transport section The perspective view which shows the structure of a process part Side view showing configuration of table cleaning device Plan view showing the configuration of the table cleaning device Front sectional view showing the configuration of the cleaning section Plan view showing the configuration of the cleaning section Side view showing the configuration of the transfer for supply Side view showing configuration of collection transfer Plan view showing the transport path of the processing transport section Side surface sectional drawing which shows the structure of the principal part of the wafer chamfering apparatus of 2nd Embodiment Front sectional view showing the configuration of the wafer surface cleaning device Plan view showing configuration of wafer surface cleaning device The side view which shows the structure of the principal part of the wafer chamfering apparatus of 3rd Embodiment. The top view which shows the structure of the principal part of the wafer chamfering apparatus of 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Wafer chamfering apparatus, 12 ... Supply / recovery part, 14 ... Measurement conveyance part, 16 ... Measurement part, 18 ... Processing part, 20 ... Cleaning part, 22 ... Processing conveyance part, 76 ... Chuck table, 82 ... Outer peripheral grinding wheel, 88 ... Notch grinding wheel, 90 ... Table cleaning unit, 110 ... Spin cleaning device, 111 ... Brush cleaning device, 112 ... Pre-cleaning device, 148 ... Transfer arm for supply, 164 ... Transfer arm for recovery, 204 ... Shutter, 206 ... Wafer surface cleaning device, 220 ... cleaning brush, W ... wafer

Claims (5)

A processing section that chamfers the wafer edge held by the chuck table by grinding with a grindstone, a cleaning section that cleans the wafer chamfered by the processing section, and the wafer that is chamfered by the processing section. In a wafer chamfering apparatus comprising a transport means for transporting to a part,
The cleaning unit includes a wafer holding unit that sucks and holds a central portion of the back surface of the wafer, a rotation driving unit that rotates the wafer holding unit to rotate the wafer, and a wafer held by the wafer holding unit. A cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid; a cleaning brush located at a predetermined cleaning position and in contact with the front and back surfaces of the wafer held by the wafer holding means; the cleaning brush at a predetermined cleaning position and a standby position; a brush moving means for moving between, Ri Tona,
The transport means sucks and holds the surface of the wafer, moves horizontally between the processing unit and the cleaning unit, transports the wafer chamfered by the processing unit to the cleaning unit,
A wafer chamfering apparatus provided with a brush which is provided in the middle of a conveyance path of the conveyance means and abuts against the back surface of the wafer conveyed by the conveyance means and brush-cleans the back surface of the wafer. 2. The wafer chamfering apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cleaning unit includes an air injection unit that injects compressed air toward a back surface of a wafer that is transferred to the wafer holding unit by the transfer unit. Wherein provided in the brush, the wafer chamfering apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a cleaning liquid supplying means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the rear surface of the wafer carried by the conveying means. A processing unit that chamfers and chamfers the periphery of the wafer held on the chuck table with a grindstone, a cleaning unit that cleans the wafer chamfered by the processing unit, and holds and holds the surface of the wafer, and the processing unit In a wafer chamfering apparatus comprising: a transport unit that horizontally moves between the cleaning unit and chamfered in the processing unit to transport the wafer to the cleaning unit;
A wafer chamfering apparatus provided with a brush which is provided in the middle of a conveyance path of the conveyance means and abuts against the back surface of the wafer conveyed by the conveyance means and brush-cleans the back surface of the wafer. The wafer chamfering apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a cleaning liquid supply unit that is provided in the brush and supplies a cleaning liquid to a back surface of a wafer that is transferred by the transfer unit.

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