JP4943478B2 - Polishing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus, and more particularly to a structure for maintaining a clean atmosphere of a polishing apparatus that polishes an object to be polished such as a semiconductor wafer to a flat and mirror surface.

In recent years, as semiconductor devices are highly integrated, circuit wiring is becoming finer and the distance between wirings is becoming narrower. In particular, in the case of photolithography of 0.5 μm or less, the flatness of the imaging surface of the stepper is required because the depth of focus becomes narrow.
Therefore, it is necessary to flatten the surface of the semiconductor wafer, but polishing is performed by a polishing apparatus as one means of this flattening method.

  Conventionally, since this type of polishing apparatus uses an abrasive liquid that is a suspension with abrasive grains for polishing, the mist of the liquid is scattered and the abrasive grains are scattered by drying after adhering, or a chemical liquid is applied to the abrasive liquid. If used, toxic gas may be generated. Further, since there is a concern about the dust generation from the power drive unit for using a relatively large power in the polishing apparatus, the installation location of the apparatus may be outside the clean room.

  However, since wafer processing devices other than polishing processing, such as etching processing and sputtering processing devices, are installed in the clean room, putting the polishing device outside the clean room will cause the polishing process to deviate from a series of semiconductor manufacturing processes. This hinders full automation of the manufacturing process. For this reason, in recent years, the entire polishing apparatus is covered with a casing and then installed in the same clean room as other wafer processing apparatuses.

  This kind of polishing apparatus needs to be devised so as not to let dust generated inside the apparatus go out, and as one of the methods, a polishing apparatus that can be installed in a clean room by the applicant of Japanese Patent Application No. 5-342830. Has been proposed.

  Also, wafers to which abrasive fluid has adhered after polishing must be cleaned for the next wafer processing step, but when the polishing apparatus is installed in a clean room, the polished wafer is cleaned in the polishing apparatus. It is desirable to carry it out into a clean room in a clean state. This is because the wafer to which the abrasive liquid adheres contaminates the clean room. For this reason, the thing provided with the washing | cleaning apparatus inside polishing apparatus came to be manufactured.

Since the polishing process generates much more dust and mist due to the processing than other wafer processes, when the polishing apparatus is installed in a clean room, the generated dust and mist contaminates the clean room. .
Further, when a cleaning device is provided in the polishing apparatus, there is a problem that dust or mist generated by the polishing process contaminates the cleaning apparatus.
Further, in the case where a cleaning device is provided in the polishing apparatus, there is a problem that dust and mist generated by the polishing process are cleaned to contaminate a cleaned wafer.
Furthermore, there is a problem in that a power drive unit that drives a large component or the like constituting the polishing apparatus is contaminated by a contaminant generated by the polishing process.

  In addition, a polishing apparatus that can be installed in a clean room may have a structure in which a wafer is roughly cleaned with a brush immediately after the polishing is completed, and then the robot receives the wafer in a wet state and carries it into the cleaning room for delivery to the cleaning machine. . On the other hand, as the number of types of films to be polished increases, polishing abrasives having a high abrasive concentration and those having strong acidity and alkalinity have come to be used. For this reason, while the wafer is received in the cleaning chamber and transferred to the cleaning machine, water droplets dripped onto the installation floor from the wafer and robot dries, and the abrasive grains remaining in the rough cleaning rise and contaminate the cleaned wafer. There are concerns about problems such as generation of harmful gases from wafers and robot adhering water.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a polishing device that is easy to maintain, can efficiently prevent dust and mist contamination caused by polishing, and can be installed in a clean room. Objective. It is another object of the present invention to provide a polishing apparatus that can be installed in a clean room and that can safely deal with harmful generated gas without secondary contamination of the wafer after cleaning.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, in a polishing apparatus that cleans an object to be polished and then cleans, a polishing block that polishes the object to be polished, and an object that has been polished and cleaned are dried. A cleaning block, a transfer device for transferring the polished object from the polishing block to the cleaning block, a first chamber in which the polishing block is disposed, and a second chamber in which the transport device and the cleaning block are disposed. The polishing block includes a turntable and a top ring that supports the object to be polished on the turntable, and a cleaning machine that roughly cleans the object to be polished after being attached to the top ring. The object to be polished is removed from the top ring after rough cleaning, and then transferred to the cleaning block by the transfer device, and cleaned and dried by the cleaning block. To.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a polishing apparatus for cleaning after polishing an object to be polished, a load / unload block for delivering a cassette containing the object to be polished, a polishing block for polishing an object to be polished, and a polishing A transport block for moving the object, a cleaning block for cleaning the polished object, an exhaust duct for exhausting air from the polishing apparatus to the outside of the polishing apparatus, a first chamber in which the polishing block is disposed, and the load unloader A filter block having a fan and a chemical filter is disposed on the ceiling of the polishing apparatus, and a duct header is provided on the floor surface of the polishing apparatus. The air that has fallen into the hole opened in the duct header is sucked in. To.

  Of the two chambers, in the first chamber in which the polishing block is arranged, a partition wall is provided in a planar shape with the lower surface of the turntable as a boundary, the first chamber is divided into two vertically and penetrates into the two upper and lower chambers. It is preferable to provide a pipe, provide a valve between each pipe and each chamber, connect one end of this valve to the main pipe, and open the main pipe to the outside of the apparatus.

  Further, it is preferable to provide a pipe penetrating the cleaning tank of the cleaning block, provide a valve between the pipe and the tank, connect the pipe to one end of the valve, and open the pipe to the outside of the apparatus.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a polishing method for cleaning a semiconductor wafer after polishing, wherein the polishing apparatus is installed in a clean room and stored in a cassette disposed in a load / unload block in a second chamber of the polishing apparatus. After the detected semiconductor wafer is detected by the sensor, the semiconductor wafer is taken out from the cassette and polished by the polishing block in the first chamber, and the polished semiconductor wafer is cleaned in the second chamber through a delivery port provided in the partition wall. The semiconductor wafer is transferred to a block, the polished semiconductor wafer is cleaned and dried in the cleaning block, and the semiconductor wafer that has been cleaned and dried is returned to the cassette.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device in which a semiconductor device is manufactured by polishing a semiconductor wafer after polishing, the polishing apparatus is installed in a clean room, and the load unloading in the second chamber of the polishing apparatus is performed. After the semiconductor wafer stored in the cassette arranged in the block is detected by the sensor, the semiconductor wafer is taken out from the cassette and polished by the polishing block in the first chamber, and the polished semiconductor wafer is provided on the partition wall. The semiconductor wafer is transferred to the cleaning block in the second chamber through the cleaning block, the polished semiconductor wafer is cleaned and dried by the cleaning block, and the semiconductor wafer after cleaning and drying is returned to the cassette.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a polishing method for cleaning a semiconductor wafer after polishing, wherein the polishing apparatus is installed in a clean room and stored in a cassette disposed in a load / unload block in a second chamber of the polishing apparatus. After the detected semiconductor wafer is detected by the sensor, the semiconductor wafer is taken out from the cassette and polished by the polishing block in the first chamber, and the polished semiconductor wafer is cleaned in the second chamber through a delivery port provided in the partition wall. The semiconductor wafer after being transported to the block is cleaned and dried in the cleaning block, and the semiconductor wafer that has been cleaned and dried is returned to the cassette. After the processing of one semiconductor wafer is completed, After processing the semiconductor wafer and processing all the semiconductor wafers in the cassette, replace the cassette. Characterized in that it.

  Another aspect of the present invention includes a load / unload block that delivers a cassette containing a polishing object, a polishing block that polishes the polishing object, a cleaning block that cleans the polishing object after polishing, and the polishing A first chamber in which a block is disposed, a second chamber in which the load / unload block and the cleaning block are disposed, and a partition partitioning the first chamber and the second chamber, the cleaning block being polished And a drying tank for drying the polished polishing object, and an exhaust duct for exhausting mist is provided in each of the cleaning tank and the drying tank.

  Another aspect of the present invention includes a load / unload block that delivers a cassette containing a polishing object, a polishing block that polishes the polishing object, a cleaning block that cleans the polishing object after polishing, and the polishing A first chamber provided with a block, a second chamber provided with the load / unload block and the cleaning block, a partition partitioning the first chamber and the second chamber, and a robot for conveying an object to be polished. The load / unload block includes a sensor for measuring the number of objects to be polished and the position of a storage shelf stored in a cassette loaded in the apparatus, and the robot is stored in the cassette after the measurement is completed. A polishing object is taken out.

  The polishing object is introduced into the first chamber through the second chamber, and the polishing object polished in the first chamber is transferred from the first chamber to the second chamber. It is preferable that the cleaned polishing object is taken out from the second chamber to the clean room.

  In the cleaning block, it is preferable that a plurality of cleaning devices are arranged in order of increasing cleanliness in a direction opposite to the air flow in the second chamber.

  Another aspect of the present invention includes a load / unload block that delivers a cassette containing a polishing object, a polishing block that polishes the polishing object, a cleaning block that cleans the polishing object after polishing, and the polishing A first chamber provided with a block, a second chamber provided with the load / unload block and the cleaning block, a partition partitioning the first chamber and the second chamber, and a robot for conveying an object to be polished. The polishing block includes a turntable to which a polishing cloth is attached, a top ring that supports the object to be polished and presses against the polishing cloth, and is subjected to rough cleaning with the polished object attached to the top ring. And a washing machine.

  In addition, it is preferable to further include a duct header having a plurality of openings disposed in a lower portion of the second chamber, and an exhaust fan for discharging the exhaust of the second chamber through the duct.

  According to the configuration described above, the first chamber in which the polishing block is installed communicates with the clean room via the second chamber in which other block portions such as a cleaning block are installed. In other words, the first room and the clean room are not in direct communication. For this reason, the pollutant generated in the first chamber does not directly contaminate the clean room.

  Further, it is preferable to block the polishing block and other block portions such as a cleaning block by a partition wall. Thereby, it can suppress that the contaminant which generate | occur | produces in a grinding | polishing block contaminates a washing | cleaning apparatus etc.

  Further, the first chamber in which the polishing block is installed and the second chamber in which the other block portions are installed are exhausted independently so that the pressure decreases in the order of the clean room, the second chamber, and the first chamber. It is preferable to do. Thereby, clean air suitable for the exhaust is supplied from the clean room. For this reason, since the cleaned clean wafer is transferred in a direction opposite to the flow of clean air in the polishing apparatus, dust and mist generated by the polishing process may contaminate the clean wafer. There is no.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the first chamber in which the polishing block is arranged is divided into a polishing processing unit and a power driving unit, and each is evacuated independently. As a result, the power drive unit is not contaminated by contaminants generated by the polishing process.

  Provided on the ceiling of the cleaning chamber is a HEPA filter that blows clean air with a wind speed of 0.3 to 0.4 m / s on the wafer surface in the moving range of the wafer and a filter block incorporating a fan. A tube with a large number of holes capable of adjusting the opening area for collecting the blown air is provided, and this filter block and the tube are connected by a duct so that air can be circulated, and on the suction side of the HEPA filter. It is preferable that the chemical filter can be attached.

Accordingly, clean air is uniformly blown into the wafer movement range of the cleaning chamber, so that dust scattering is suppressed and contamination of the object to be polished by the dust can be prevented. In addition, the harmful gas generated is excluded by the chemical filter.
Further, when the apparatus is installed in a place where there is a sufficiently clean air downflow, the ceiling is opened and the filter block is unnecessary, and the lowered air is exhausted to the floor of the installation room.

According to the polishing apparatus of the present invention, the semiconductor wafer is polished by the polishing block, and the polished semiconductor wafer is transferred from the polishing block to the cleaning block. Then, the semiconductor wafer is cleaned and dried. Therefore, the semiconductor wafer is removed from the polishing apparatus after being cleaned and dried.
And the outstanding effect enumerated below is acquired.
(1) Contaminants generated in the first chamber in which the polishing block is disposed do not directly contaminate the clean room.
(2) Moreover, it can suppress that the contaminant which generate | occur | produces in a grinding | polishing block contaminates a washing | cleaning apparatus etc.
(3) Further, dust and mist generated by the polishing process do not contaminate a clean wafer cleaned by the cleaning apparatus.
(4) Moreover, the power drive unit is not contaminated by contaminants generated by the polishing process.
(5) Moreover, the airflow in each chamber in the apparatus can be arbitrarily adjusted with a small amount of adjusting means.
(6) In addition, the direction of the airflow in the apparatus becomes clear, and the exhaust design becomes easy.
(7) Further, the pressure loss is reduced, and high exhaust efficiency is obtained.
(8) Further, since contamination of the wafer is reliably suppressed in the apparatus and harmful gases are removed, the properties of the abrasive liquid used are not restricted, and as a result, it can cope with polishing of many kinds of films. Moreover, a polishing apparatus that can be installed in a clean room can be provided.

The partial see-through | perspective perspective view which shows the installation state of the polishing apparatus of 1st Example of this invention. The internal perspective view of the polishing apparatus shown in FIG. Explanatory drawing which looked at the inside from the side of the polishing apparatus shown in FIG. Sectional drawing which looked at the polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 from upper direction. Explanatory drawing which shows the flow of the air in FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the flow of the wafer in FIG. The partially transparent perspective view which shows the installation state of the polishing apparatus of 2nd Example of this invention. The internal perspective view of the polishing apparatus shown in FIG. Explanatory drawing which looked at the inside from the side of the polishing apparatus shown in FIG. Explanatory drawing which looked at the inside from the side of the polishing apparatus of 3rd Example of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a polishing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a state where the polishing apparatus 50 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is installed in a clean room. The side surface 3A where the cassette delivery port 1 and the operation panel 2 of the apparatus 50 are located protrudes as a partition wall 3 into the working zone 4 with high cleanliness, and the other side surface 3B and the ceiling 3C are released into the utility zone 5 with low cleanness. . The polishing apparatus 50 includes a load / unload block that transfers a cassette containing wafers, a transfer block that moves the wafers from the cassette, a polishing block that polishes the wafer, and a cleaning block that cleans the polished wafer. The control block for controlling the operation of the apparatus is arranged on a common base, and a wall plate is provided around the ceiling and the ceiling so as to cover the whole, and is configured in a box shape.

  FIG. 2 is a view showing the inside of the apparatus. The polishing block 6 and the other load / unload block 7, the transport block 8, the cleaning block 9, and the control block 10 are partitioned by the partition wall 11 and arranged independently on the common base 12.

  1 is placed on the stage 14 of the load / unload block 7, and the number of wafers 16 stored by the sensing sensor 15 and the position of the storage shelf 17 are measured (wafers of the wafers). And the information is stored in the computer 18 in the control block 10. When the mapping is completed, the finger 20 of the robot 19 mounted on the transfer block 8 takes out the wafer 16.

  The wafer 16 taken out from the cassette 13 passes through the wafer transfer hole 21 of the partition wall 11 while being captured by the fingers 20 of the robot 19, is mounted on the top ring 22 of the polishing block 6, and is polished on the rotary table 23. . A polishing cloth is attached to the surface of the rotary table 23, and the rotary table 23 rotates in a state where the abrasive liquid flows down, and the wafer 16 mounted on the top ring is polished.

  The polished wafer 16 is transferred to the cleaning block 9 by the robot 19 and mounted in the cleaning tank 24 in the block. When the cleaning is completed, the wafer 16 is mounted in the drying tank 25 in the same block, and after draining and drying, the robot 19 takes out the wafer 16 from the cleaning block 9 and returns it to the storage shelf 17 of the cassette 13. Thus, the polishing of one wafer is completed, but the remaining wafers are continuously polished, and the cassette 13 is replaced when the processing of all the wafers is completed.

  According to the polishing apparatus of the present invention, the semiconductor wafer is polished by the polishing block, and the polished semiconductor wafer is transferred from the polishing block to the cleaning block. Then, the semiconductor wafer is cleaned with a cleaning liquid and dried. Therefore, the semiconductor wafer is removed from the polishing apparatus after being cleaned and dried.

  FIG. 3 is a view of the inside of the polishing apparatus as viewed from the side. The polishing apparatus 50 is partitioned by a partition wall 11, and a first chamber 27 in which the polishing block 6 is disposed, the load / unload block 7, the transfer block 8, the cleaning block 9, and the control block 10 are disposed. It consists of the second chamber 26.

  A polishing liquid receiver 28 for preventing and collecting abrasive liquid is attached around the rotary table 23 in the first chamber 27, and this serves as a partition to divide the first chamber 27 into two upper and lower chambers 27a and 27b. Yes. A duct 29 is attached to the upper chamber 27a together with the opening adjustment valve 30, and a duct 31 is attached to the lower chamber 27b together with the opening adjustment valve 32. Both ducts join together and are connected to the exhaust pipe (not shown) of the clean room through the exhaust port 33.

  The abrasive mist generated during polishing is exhausted from the exhaust port 33 through the duct 29 of the upper chamber 27a. Further, dust from the drive belt of the drive unit 34 of the rotary table 23 is exhausted from the exhaust port 33 through the duct 31. The partition wall 11 is provided with a hole 36 in addition to the wafer delivery hole 21, and a movable blade 35 is attached to the hole to form an opening area-adjusted type of beam.

  As for the air suitable for the exhaust of the upper chamber 27a, first, air in the working zone 4 having a high cleanliness flows from the cassette transfer port 1 into the second chamber 26, and then this air is supplied to the wafer transfer hole 21 provided in the partition wall 11 and It flows into the upper chamber 27a through the hole 36 whose opening area is adjusted by the movable blade 35. This inflow air volume is adjusted by the movable blade 35 and the valve 30.

  The amount of dust generated in the lower chamber 27b is very small compared to the abrasive mist, and therefore the amount of exhaust in the same chamber may be small. Therefore, the valve 32 is throttled and slightly negative in the same chamber, and the air is between the components. It is compensated by a slight leak from the gap.

  Ducts 37a and 37b and opening area adjusting valves 38 and 39 are attached to the washing tank 24 and the drying tank 25 of the washing block 9 of the second chamber 26, respectively. Connected to an exhaust pipe (not shown). Accordingly, the mist of the cleaning water generated in the cleaning tank 24 and the drying tank 25 is exhausted from the exhaust port 40 through the ducts 37a and 37b. The intake corresponding to the exhaust is made from the cassette delivery port 1 in common with the intake of the second chamber 27 described above, and the air volume is adjusted by valves 38 and 39.

  A shutter 41 is attached to the opening 21 of the partition wall so that the dust in the first chamber 27 does not flow backward from the opening 21 toward the second chamber 26 after the first chamber 27 is opened during maintenance or the like. 41 is closed.

  Instead of the movable blade 35, the size of the hole 36 may be adjusted, and a shutter for opening and closing the hole 36 may be further provided. An opening / closing door may be provided instead of the shutter.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the polishing apparatus as viewed from above. A polishing block 6, a cleaning block 9, a transport block 8, a control block 10, and the like are installed inside the box-shaped polishing apparatus. Further, the polishing block 6 is located on the back side when viewed from the working zone 4 through the partition wall 3.

  The clean air inflow passage of the polishing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. Each chamber of the first chamber 27 including the polishing block and the second chamber 26 including the cleaning block is independent, and the internal pressure decreases in the order of the clean room 4, the second chamber 26, and the first chamber 27. So that it is exhausted. Exhaust air is exhausted through the duct 33 and the duct 40 in the figure. For this reason, clean air in the clean room (working zone) 4 flows from the wafer transfer port into the second chamber 26 provided with a cleaning block and the like, and a part thereof flows toward the duct 40 provided in the second chamber. Further, a portion of the clean air that has flowed into the second chamber passes through the opening 21 provided in the partition wall 11 and flows into the first chamber 27 in which the polishing block is disposed, and flows toward the duct 33. FIG. 5 shows the flow of clean air with arrows.

  In this way, since the internal air pressure is exhausted so that the pressure decreases in the order of the clean room, the second chamber, and the first chamber, clean air flows from the low pollution level to the high level, and a reverse flow occurs. Absent. For this reason, the pollutant generated in the polishing apparatus does not flow out into the clean room and is contaminated, and the highly contaminated air in the first chamber does not flow out into the second chamber and contaminates the cleaning device or the like. .

  Further, the exhaust, intake, and atmospheric pressure of each chamber in the polishing apparatus can be arbitrarily adjusted by a movable vane plate in another hole of the partition wall and a valve provided in the duct. For this reason, it can be arbitrarily controlled by an adjusting means with less airflow in the apparatus.

  Furthermore, since the interior is divided into simple shapes, the direction of the airflow in the apparatus becomes clear and the exhaust design is easy. Also, the exhaust duct can be simply configured. For this reason, the pressure loss caused by bending the exhaust duct into a complicated path or increasing the length of the tube and the pressure loss caused by complicated division of the internal shape are reduced, and high exhaust efficiency can be obtained.

  Next, the passage path of the wafer in the polishing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The wafer is carried into the polishing apparatus from the working zone 4, passes through the second chamber 26 in which the cleaning block and the like are arranged, is transferred to the first chamber 27 in which the polishing block is arranged, and is polished. Since the polishing process uses an abrasive liquid, the abrasive liquid adheres to the polished wafer and is contaminated. In order to bring the polished wafer into a clean state and carry it out into the clean room, the wafer is transferred from the first chamber to the cleaning device 9a in the second chamber. The wafer cleaned here is transferred to the cleaning device 9b for cleaning with a higher cleanliness. The cleaned wafer is dried in the cleaning device 9 b and transferred to the working zone 4. The arrows in the figure indicate the flow of the wafer.

  In this manner, the cleaned wafer is unloaded in the direction opposite to the clean air flow described above. Therefore, the wafer is cleaned by the cleaning device and is transported in a clean direction, so that the cleaned wafer is carried out without being contaminated.

  In order to obtain the above-described effects, the following arrangement of the cleaning device is considered in the present invention. When a plurality of cleaning steps are performed by individual cleaning apparatuses, the plurality of cleaning apparatuses are arranged in a direction opposite to the flow of clean air according to the cleanliness of the wafer after cleaning. That is, an apparatus for increasing the cleanliness of a cleaned wafer is disposed upstream of the clean air flow. For example, in FIG. 6, the cleaning device 9b is installed upstream of clean air (working zone 4 side) in order to clean the wafer with higher cleanliness than the cleaning device 9a. As a result, the above-described effects can be obtained in wafer transfer between a plurality of cleaning apparatuses.

  FIG. 7 shows a state where the polishing apparatus 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is installed in a clean room. The side face 3A of the apparatus 50 with the cassette delivery port 1 and the operation panel 2 protrudes as a partition wall 3 into the working zone 4 having a high cleanness, and the other side face 3B and the ceiling 3C are released to the utility zone 5 having a low cleanness degree. . The polishing apparatus 50 includes a load / unload block that transfers a cassette containing wafers, a transfer block that moves the wafers from the cassette, a polishing block that polishes the wafer, and a cleaning block that cleans the polished wafer. The control block for controlling the operation of the apparatus is arranged on a common base, and wall plates (outer grooves) are provided around the ceiling and the ceiling so as to cover the whole, and is configured in a box shape. A filter block 60 is mounted on the ceiling 3C to circulate clean air in a cleaning space containing a load / unload block, a transport block, a cleaning block, and a control block.

  FIG. 8 shows the inside of the apparatus. The polishing block 6 and the other load / unload block 7, the transport block 8, the cleaning block 9, and the control block 10 are partitioned by the partition wall 11 and are independently arranged on the common base 12.

  7 is placed on the stage 14 of the load / unload block 7 and the number of wafers 16 stored by the sensing sensor 15 and the position of the storage rack 17 are measured (wafer mapping). The information is stored in the computer 18 in the control block 10. When the mapping is completed, the finger 20 of the robot 19 mounted on the transfer block 8 takes out the wafer 16.

  The wafer 16 taken out from the cassette 13 passes through the wafer transfer hole 21 of the partition wall 11 while being captured by the fingers 20 of the robot 19, is mounted on the top ring 22 of the polishing block 6, and is polished on the rotary table 23. . A polishing cloth is attached to the surface of the rotary table 23, and the rotary table 23 rotates in a state where the abrasive liquid flows down, and the wafer 16 mounted on the top ring is polished.

  The polished wafer 16 is roughly cleaned with an attached cleaning machine (not shown) attached to the top ring 22 and then transferred to the cleaning block 9 by the robot 19 and mounted in the cleaning tank 24 in the block. Is done. When the cleaning is completed, the wafer 16 is mounted in the drying tank 25 in the same block, and after draining, the robot 16 takes out the wafer 16 from the cleaning block 9 and returns it to the storage shelf 17 of the cassette 13. Thus, the polishing of one wafer is completed, but the cassette 13 is replaced when the remaining wafers are continuously polished and all the wafers have been processed.

  FIG. 9 is a view of the inside of the polishing apparatus as seen from the side. The polishing apparatus 50 is partitioned by a partition wall 11, a cleaning chamber (second chamber) 26 in which the load / unload block 7, the transfer block 8, the cleaning block 9, and the control block 10 are disposed, and the polishing block 6. And a polishing chamber (first chamber) 27 in which is disposed.

  Mist and generated gas of abrasive liquid generated during polishing are exhausted from the exhaust port 29 together with dust on the drive belt of the drive unit 34 of the rotary table 23. Also, the mist of cleaning water generated in the cleaning tank 24 and the drying tank 25 is exhausted from the exhaust port 31. These exhaust gases are discharged out of the apparatus 50 through an exhaust pipe 51 shown in FIG. The air suitable for these exhaust gases flows from the cassette delivery port 1 into the second chamber 26 where the clean air in the clean room includes the cleaning block, and further, the air flowing from the intake port of the filter block 60 enters the second chamber 26. It is supplied to the first chamber 27 from the blowout, the wafer delivery hole 21 provided in the partition wall 11 and the hole 40 whose opening area is adjusted.

  A fan 41 is built in the filter block 60, a HEPA filter 42 having a filtration accuracy of 0.1 μm is attached to the outlet side of the fan 41, and a chemical filter 43 for adsorbing and removing harmful gases is attached to the inlet side of the fan 41. ing. The clean air from the filter 42 is blown down to the moving range of the robot 19 and the range including the cleaning tank 24 and the drying tank 25, that is, the moving range of the wafer, and the speed is effective in preventing cross-contamination between adjacent wafers. 0.3 to 0.4 m / s. A part of the blown-down air flows into the first chamber 27 described above and also into the openings of the cleaning tank 25 and the drying tank 26 and is exhausted outside the apparatus. Descent to the floor.

  A duct header 45, which is a flat box-like tube, is attached to the floor surface. The duct header 45 is provided with a large number of holes 46, and the holes 46 are provided with blades 47 whose opening area can be adjusted. The duct header 45 is connected to the filter block 60 by a duct 48. Air descending to the floor of the apparatus is sucked from the hole 46, collected in the duct header 45, and sucked into the chemical filter 43 through the duct 48.

  Therefore, the harmful gas emitted from the cleaning liquid containing a little abrasive liquid adhering to the wafer 16 and the finger 20 of the robot 19 entering the second chamber 26 in the wet state after the rough cleaning from the first chamber 27 is It is filtered and removed by the chemical filter 43 together with the descending air. In addition, the abrasive grains from the cleaning liquid that dries on the floor surface are also prevented from being scattered by the descending air, and a part thereof is filtered by the filter 42 together with the air.

  Replenishment of the air exhausted to the outside of the apparatus, that is, makeup air, is replenished from the opening 53 provided with the wing plate 49 provided in the filter block 60 and only slightly replenished from the cassette delivery port 1. ing. The air descending speed of the second chamber 26 is adjusted by adjusting the wing plate 47 of the duct header 45 and the wing plate 49 of the makeup opening 53.

  FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. The filter block 60 is removed from the ceiling of the second chamber 26 and the ceiling of the second chamber 26 is removed and released. An exhaust fan 41 is attached to the lower surface of the duct header 45. This is a case where no harmful gas is generated from the abrasive liquid and the down flow in the clean room is used when the entire apparatus is installed in a clean room with high cleanliness. The descending air is exhausted out of the apparatus by the exhaust fan 41. Also in this embodiment, a flat tube (duct header) having a large number of holes on the upper surface is arranged on the base of the cleaning chamber, and air passes through the flat duct header 45 and is exhausted out of the apparatus by the exhaust fan 41.

Note that the duct header 45 is not necessarily a flat tubular body, but may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape, for example, as long as it can collect the descending air.
Further, the filtration accuracy of the filter, the necessity of installing the chemical filter, and the like should be appropriately selected according to the cleanliness required for the clean room and the type of abrasive liquid used for polishing.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example of the semiconductor wafer is described as the object to be polished. However, it is needless to say that the present invention can be similarly applied to an object to be polished such as a glass substrate or a ceramic substrate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cassette delivery port 2 Operation panel 3 Partition wall 4 Working (clean) zone 5 Utility zone 6 Polishing block 7 Load unload block 8 Transport block 9 Cleaning block 10 Control block 11 Bulkhead 12 Common base 21 Opening (hole)
22 Top ring 23 Rotary table 24 Washing tank 25 Drying tank 26 Second chamber 27 First chamber 41 Fan 42 Filter 43 Chemical filter 45 Duct header 50 Polishing device 60 Filter block

Claims (14)

In a polishing apparatus for cleaning after polishing an object to be polished,
A polishing block for polishing an object to be polished;
A cleaning block for cleaning and drying the polished object after polishing;
A transfer device for transferring an object to be polished after polishing from the polishing block to the cleaning block;
A first chamber in which the polishing block is disposed;
A second chamber in which the transfer device and the cleaning block are arranged;
The polishing block has a turntable and a top ring that supports a polishing object on the turntable,
It has a washing machine that roughly cleans the object to be polished after being polished while attached to the top ring,
The polishing apparatus is characterized in that the object to be polished is detached from the top ring after rough cleaning, then transferred to the cleaning block by the transfer device, and cleaned and dried by the cleaning block. In a polishing apparatus for cleaning after polishing an object to be polished,
A load / unload block for delivering a cassette containing a polishing object;
A polishing block for polishing an object to be polished;
A transport block for moving an object to be polished;
A cleaning block for cleaning an object to be polished after polishing;
An exhaust duct exhausting from the polishing apparatus to the outside of the polishing apparatus;
A first chamber in which the polishing block is disposed;
A second chamber in which the load / unload block, the transfer block, and the cleaning block are arranged;
A filter block having a fan and a chemical filter is arranged on the ceiling of the polishing apparatus, a duct header is attached to the floor surface of the polishing apparatus, and the air dropped into the hole opened in the duct header is sucked in. A polishing apparatus.   The polishing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the duct header is connected to the filter block by a duct. A polishing method for cleaning a semiconductor wafer after polishing,
After the polishing apparatus is installed in the clean room and the semiconductor wafer stored in the cassette arranged in the load / unload block in the second chamber of the polishing apparatus is detected by the sensor, the semiconductor wafer is taken out from the cassette and is stored in the first chamber. Polishing with the polishing block, the polished semiconductor wafer is transferred to the cleaning block in the second chamber through the transfer port provided in the partition, and the polished semiconductor wafer is cleaned and dried by the cleaning block A polishing method, wherein the semiconductor wafer after drying is returned to the cassette. A semiconductor device manufacturing method for manufacturing a semiconductor device by polishing after polishing a semiconductor wafer,
After the polishing apparatus is installed in the clean room and the semiconductor wafer stored in the cassette arranged in the load / unload block in the second chamber of the polishing apparatus is detected by the sensor, the semiconductor wafer is taken out from the cassette and is stored in the first chamber. Polishing with the polishing block, the polished semiconductor wafer is transferred to the cleaning block in the second chamber through the transfer port provided in the partition, and the polished semiconductor wafer is cleaned and dried by the cleaning block A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, wherein the dried semiconductor wafer is returned to the cassette. A polishing method for cleaning a semiconductor wafer after polishing,
After the polishing apparatus is installed in the clean room and the semiconductor wafer stored in the cassette arranged in the load / unload block in the second chamber of the polishing apparatus is detected by the sensor, the semiconductor wafer is taken out from the cassette and is stored in the first chamber. Polishing with the polishing block, the polished semiconductor wafer is transferred to the cleaning block in the second chamber through the transfer port provided in the partition, and the polished semiconductor wafer is cleaned and dried by the cleaning block After the dried semiconductor wafer is returned to the cassette and the processing of one semiconductor wafer is completed, the remaining semiconductor wafers are subsequently processed, and the processing of all the semiconductor wafers in the cassette is completed. A polishing method characterized by exchanging a cassette. A load / unload block for delivering a cassette containing a polishing object;
A polishing block for polishing an object to be polished;
A cleaning block for cleaning an object to be polished after polishing;
A first chamber in which the polishing block is disposed;
A second chamber in which the load / unload block and the cleaning block are arranged;
A partition wall separating the first chamber and the second chamber;
The cleaning block includes a cleaning tank for cleaning the polished object after polishing, and a drying tank for drying the polished object after cleaning,
A polishing apparatus, wherein an exhaust duct for exhausting mist is provided in each of the cleaning tank and the drying tank.   The polishing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein an opening adjustment valve is provided in each of the exhaust ducts.   The polishing apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, wherein an exhaust duct and an opening adjusting valve are provided in the polishing block. A load / unload block for delivering a cassette containing a polishing object;
A polishing block for polishing an object to be polished;
A cleaning block for cleaning an object to be polished after polishing;
A first chamber in which the polishing block is disposed;
A second chamber in which the load / unload block and the cleaning block are arranged;
A partition wall separating the first chamber and the second chamber;
A robot for conveying an object to be polished;
The load / unload block includes a sensor for measuring the number of polishing objects stored in a cassette loaded in the apparatus and the position of a storage shelf, and the polishing object is stored in the cassette after the measurement is completed. Polishing apparatus characterized by taking out   The polishing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a control block for controlling the apparatus, wherein information on the number and position of objects to be polished measured by the sensor is stored in the control block.   The cleaning block includes a cleaning tank for cleaning the polished object to be polished, and a drying tank for drying the object to be cleaned. The polishing object that has been cleaned and dried after polishing is the same cassette as that before the polishing by the robot. The polishing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the polishing apparatus is returned to step (a). A load / unload block for delivering a cassette containing a polishing object;
A polishing block for polishing an object to be polished;
A cleaning block for cleaning an object to be polished after polishing;
A first chamber in which the polishing block is disposed;
A second chamber in which the load / unload block and the cleaning block are arranged;
A partition wall separating the first chamber and the second chamber;
A robot for conveying an object to be polished;
The polishing block includes a turntable with a polishing cloth, a top ring that supports and presses the polishing object, and a washing machine that performs rough cleaning with the polishing object attached to the top ring. A polishing apparatus comprising:   The cleaning block includes a cleaning tank for cleaning the polished polishing object, and a drying tank for drying the cleaned object, and the object roughly cleaned by the cleaning machine is cleaned and dried by the cleaning block, The polishing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the polishing apparatus is returned to a cassette loaded into a load / unload block by the robot.

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