JP5660903B2 - Processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing apparatus such as a cutting apparatus or a grinding apparatus installed in a clean room.

  A semiconductor wafer in which a plurality of devices such as IC, LSI, etc., are defined on the surface by dividing the line, and the back surface is ground by a grinding machine to be processed to a predetermined thickness, and then divided by a dicing machine (cutting machine). The device is cut along a predetermined line and divided into individual devices, and the divided devices are widely used in electric devices such as mobile phones and personal computers.

  Processing devices such as a grinding device and a dicing device are installed in a clean room, and processing is performed while supplying processing water when processing the wafer. Therefore, mist is generated by processing the wafer, and exhaust equipment is installed in the clean room so that the mist is discharged out of the clean room.

Japanese Patent No. 4170428

  However, the clean room used in the semiconductor device manufacturing process takes in outside air through a high-performance filter such as a HEPA filter (High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter) or ULPA filter (Ultra Low Penetration Air Filter) and keeps the temperature in the clean room constant. Therefore, there is a problem that the running cost of the clean room becomes expensive. Further, there is a problem that the exhaust system for exhausting the mist to the outside of the clean room is also expensive, and the equipment cost of the clean room is increased.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a point, The place made into the objective is to provide the processing apparatus which can suppress the running cost and equipment cost of a clean room.

  According to the present invention, a chuck table that holds a workpiece, a processing means that performs processing while supplying processing water to the workpiece held by the chuck table, and a housing that covers the chuck table and the processing means. A mist processing device for processing mist, the mist processing device being connected to the inside of the housing and generated during processing. And a mist removing means connected to the suction duct to capture the sucked mist and remove the mist from the air. The mist removing means is vertically positioned and connected to the suction duct. A cylindrical body having a connecting port at the upper end, a pool section for storing water dripping from an outlet at the lower end of the cylindrical body, a drain pump communicated with the bottom of the pool section, and a communication with the pool section A chamber that surrounds the cylinder except for the upper end of the cylinder, and a fan unit that communicates with the upper part of the chamber and creates a negative pressure in the chamber. Is provided with a relatively coarse first demister, and a second demister is disposed between the pool portion and the chamber so as to surround the lower end portion of the cylindrical body. The processing apparatus is characterized in that the clean air exhausted through the exhaust air is exhausted into the clean room or returned into the housing.

  Preferably, the mist removing means further includes a third demister that prevents splash of water disposed between the outlet of the cylinder and the pool portion. Preferably, the mist removing means further includes a cleaning water spray nozzle that is disposed in the upper cylinder of the first demister and that sprays cleaning water for cleaning the first demister.

  In the processing apparatus of the present invention, a mist removing means including a plurality of demisters and a fan unit for removing mist generated during processing is arranged so as to be connected to the inside of a casing covering the chuck table and the processing means. The clean air discharged through the fan unit is discharged into the clean room or returned to the housing of the processing apparatus, so that the air in the clean room is suppressed from being discharged outside the clean room, and the HEPA filter or ULPA filter It is possible to reduce the amount of outside air taken into the clean room through a high-performance filter such as the above.

  As a result, the running cost for keeping the room temperature in the clean room constant is reduced. Moreover, since the mist processing apparatus is mounted on the processing apparatus, it is not necessary to install exhaust equipment in the clean room, and the equipment cost of the clean room can be suppressed.

1 is an external perspective view of a cutting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a partial cross section schematic diagram which shows the principal part of the cutting device of 1st Embodiment. It is an external appearance perspective view of the cutting device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, an external perspective view of a cutting device (dicing device) 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, which is a kind of processing device, is shown. On the front side of the cutting apparatus 2, an operation panel 4 is provided for an operator to input instructions to the apparatus such as machining conditions.

  The wafer W to be cut is attached to a dicing tape T that is an adhesive tape, and the outer peripheral edge of the dicing tape T is attached to an annular frame F. As a result, the wafer W is supported by the annular frame F via the dicing tape T, and a plurality of wafers (for example, 25 sheets) are accommodated in the wafer cassette 6. The wafer cassette 6 is placed on a cassette elevator 8 that can move up and down.

  Behind the wafer cassette 6, a loading / unloading means 10 for unloading the wafer W before cutting from the wafer cassette 6 and loading the wafer after cutting into the wafer cassette 6 is disposed. Between the wafer cassette 8 and the loading / unloading means 10, a temporary placement area 12, which is an area on which a wafer to be carried in / out, is temporarily placed, is provided. Positioning means 14 for positioning at a certain position is provided.

  In the vicinity of the temporary placement area 12, transport means 16 having a turning arm that sucks and transports the frame F integrated with the wafer W is disposed, and the wafer W carried to the temporary placement area 12 is It is sucked by the transport means 16 and transported onto the chuck table 18 and is sucked by the chuck table 18 and is held on the chuck table 18 by fixing the frame F by a plurality of clamps 19.

  The chuck table 18 is configured to be rotatable and reciprocally movable in the X-axis direction. Above the movement path of the chuck table 18 in the X-axis direction, an alignment unit 20 that detects a street to be cut of the wafer W is provided. It is arranged.

  The alignment unit 20 includes an imaging unit 22 that images the surface of the wafer W, and can detect a street to be cut by a process such as pattern matching based on an image acquired by imaging. The image acquired by the imaging unit 22 is displayed on a display unit (not shown).

  On the left side of the alignment means 20, a cutting means 24 for cutting the wafer W held on the chuck table 18 is disposed. The cutting means 24 is configured integrally with the alignment means 20, and both move together in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction.

  The cutting means 24 is configured by attaching a cutting blade 28 to the tip of a rotatable spindle 26 and is movable in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction. The cutting blade 28 is located on the extended line of the imaging means 22 in the X-axis direction.

  The wafer W that has been subjected to the cutting process is transported to the spinner cleaning device 27 by the transport means 25, cleaned by the spinner cleaning device 27, and spin-dried.

  The above-described mechanism portion of the cutting device 2 is accommodated in the housing 30. The housing 30 includes a frame 32 and a transparent plate 34 formed from acrylic resin or the like attached to the frame 32.

  The operator can access the chuck table 18 by grasping the handle 36 and opening and closing the cover 37, and can access the cutting means 24 by grasping the handle 38 and opening and closing the cover 39.

  Further, by grasping the handle 40 and opening and closing the cover 41, the wafer cassette 6 can be placed on the cassette elevator 8, or the wafer cassette 6 can be taken out from the cassette elevator 8.

  FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional schematic view showing the main part of the cutting device 2 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The cutting device 2 is equipped with a mist processing device 42 for processing mist generated during cutting.

  The mist processing device 42 is connected to the inside of the housing 30 and sucks the mist generated during the cutting process. The mist processing device 42 is connected to the suction duct 44 and captures the sucked mist to remove the mist from the air. And mist removing means 46.

  The mist removing means 46 includes a cylindrical body 48 having a connection port 48a that is vertically positioned and connected to the suction duct 44 at an upper end portion, and a pool portion that stores water dripped from an outlet 48b provided at the lower end portion of the cylindrical body 48. 50, a drain pump 52 provided in communication with the bottom of the pool section 50, a chamber 55 that communicates with the pool section 50 except for the upper end of the cylinder 48, and communicates with the upper portion of the chamber 55. And a fan unit 56 that generates a negative pressure in the chamber 55.

  The fan unit 56 generates a suction force in the suction duct 44 and generates a negative pressure in the chamber 55, and a high-performance filter 60 connected to an exhaust port 61 provided on the back of the cutting device 2. Consists of.

  The high-performance filter 60 is configured by a HEPA filter (High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter) or a ULPA filter (Ultra Low Penetration Air Filter).

  The HEPA filter is used for the purpose of removing dust, dust, etc. from the air to make it clean air. According to Japanese Industrial Standard JIS Z8122, “99.97% or more of particles with a rated air volume of 0.3 μm in diameter. It is defined as an “air filter having a collection rate and an initial pressure loss of 245 Pa or less”.

  The ULPA filter is used for the purpose of removing dust, dust, etc. from the air to make it clean air. According to the Japanese Industrial Standard JIS Z8122, “99.9995% or more with respect to particles with a rated air volume of 0.15 μm in diameter. It is defined as an “air filter having a particle collection rate and an initial pressure loss of 245 Pa or less”.

  A first demister 62 having a relatively coarse mesh is disposed inside the cylinder 48, and a high-performance second demister 64 that surrounds the lower end of the cylinder 48 between the pool portion 50 and the chamber 55. Is arranged. Further, a third demister 66 is disposed between the outlet 48 b of the cylinder 48 and the pool portion 50 to prevent the water from splashing.

  Here, the demister is also called a wire mesh demister, and is used to separate and remove liquid fine particles (mist) entrained in the gas.

  As its configuration, an extremely fine wire formed of SUS or the like is made into a knitted shape, and a corrugated shape is applied, and the corrugated shapes are overlapped so as to be staggered. As a result, it has a space volume of 95% or more and at the same time has a large contact area and high repair efficiency.

  A cleaning water spray nozzle 68 for spraying cleaning water for cleaning the first demister 62 is disposed in the upper cylinder 48 of the first demister 62. The washing water injection nozzle 68 is connected to a water source 74 via a valve 70 and a pipe line 72.

  Further, a water level sensor 76 is disposed in the pool portion 50 for storing water. The drain pump 52, the valve 70 and the water level sensor 76 are connected to the controller 78 and are controlled by the controller 78.

  In the cutting apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, the fan unit 56 is driven to suck the mist that is generated when the wafer W is cut with the cutting blade 8 while supplying the cutting water and floats in the housing 30. 44, the mist in the air is captured by the first demister 62 and the second mister 64 of the mist removing means 46, and the water droplets dripping from the first and second demisters 62 and 64 enter the pool section 50. Can be stored.

  The water level sensor 76 detects the water level in the pool unit 50. When the water level reaches a predetermined position, the controller 78 operates the drain pump 52 to discharge the water in the pool unit 50 to the outside of the apparatus. The first demister 62 is cleaned by spraying cleaning water from the cleaning water jet nozzle 68.

  Since the first demister 62 has a small diameter and a small passage area, the wind speed passing through the first demister 62 is fast, and mist is easily captured. Further, since the second demister 64 has a large passage area, the wind speed is slow, and water droplets are prevented from entering the chamber 55.

  The air from which the mist is removed to a considerable extent by the first and second demisters 62 and 64 enters the chamber 55, and further passes through the high performance filter 60 of the fan unit 56, so that the mist and dust in the air are almost completely removed. After being removed, clean air is discharged from the discharge port 61 into the clean room.

  Referring to FIG. 3, an external perspective view of a cutting device 2A according to the second embodiment of the present invention is shown. In the present embodiment, an exhaust port 54 is opened in the housing 30, and the clean air discharged through the high performance filter 60 of the fan unit 56 shown in FIG. 2 is discharged into the housing 30 and cut. It is circulated in the device 2A. Since the configuration of the mist removing means 46 of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, its description is omitted to avoid duplication.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the mist removing means 46 is connected to the inside of the casing 30 that covers the chuck table 18 and the processing means 24, so that the mist generated during the cutting process is efficiently removed. As a result, it is possible to reduce the amount of air taken into the clean room via a high-performance filter such as a HEPA filter or a ULPA filter, and to reduce the room temperature inside the clean room. The running cost for keeping constant can be reduced.

  Moreover, since it is not necessary to provide exhaust equipment in the clean room, the equipment cost of the clean room can be kept low. If the cutting process is continued, the high-performance filter 60 of the fan unit 56 is contaminated, so the fan unit 56 needs to be replaced periodically.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the example in which the present invention is applied to the cutting apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is similarly applied to other processing apparatuses such as a grinding apparatus and a polishing apparatus. be able to.

2,2A Cutting device 18 Chuck table 24 Cutting means 28 Cutting blade 30 Housing 42 Mist processing device 44 Suction duct 46 Mist removing means 48 Cylindrical body 50 Pool portion 52 Drain pump 55 Chamber 56 Fan unit 60 High performance filter 62 First demister 64 2nd demister 66 3rd demister 68 Washing water injection nozzle 76 Water level sensor

Claims (3)

A chuck table for holding a workpiece, a processing means for performing processing while supplying processing water to the workpiece held on the chuck table, and a housing that covers the chuck table and the processing means. A processing device,
The processing device is equipped with a mist processing device for processing mist,
The mist processing apparatus is connected to the inside of the housing and sucks mist generated during processing, and removes mist from air by capturing the mist connected to the suction duct and sucking the mist. Means and
The mist removing means includes a cylindrical body that is vertically positioned and connected to the suction duct at an upper end portion, a pool portion that stores water dripped from an outlet at the lower end portion of the cylindrical body, A drain pump communicated with the bottom, a chamber communicating with the pool portion except for the upper end portion of the cylinder, and surrounding the cylinder, and arranged to communicate with the upper portion of the chamber. Including a fan unit for pressure,
A first demister having a relatively coarse mesh is disposed inside the cylindrical body, and a second demister is disposed between the pool portion and the chamber so as to surround the lower end portion of the cylindrical body. And
The processing apparatus, wherein the clean air discharged through the fan unit is discharged into a clean room or returned into the housing.   The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a third demister for preventing splash of water is disposed between the outlet of the cylinder and the pool portion.   3. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mist removing unit further includes a cleaning water spray nozzle that sprays cleaning water for cleaning the first demister, which is disposed in the cylindrical body on the top of the first demister. .

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