JP5755845B2 - Processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a processing apparatus that supplies cleaning water to a rotated workpiece to perform cleaning.

  For example, in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, ICs, LSIs, etc. are formed in a large number of regions arranged in a lattice pattern on the surface of a semiconductor wafer, and dicing is performed along division lines (cutting lines) dividing each region. Thus, it is divided into individual semiconductor chips. Thereafter, the divided semiconductor chips are cleaned by a cleaning device.

  As this cleaning device, the semiconductor wafer is held on a spinner table provided in a cleaning chamber in the casing, and the spinner table is rotated with the upper part of the casing closed with a shield to supply cleaning water to the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer. There is something to do. In such a cleaning apparatus, it is required to prevent the dirty spray generated from the spinner table from spreading out of the cleaning chamber by generating a downflow in the cleaning chamber. However, if the ceiling is simply provided in the cleaning chamber, there is a problem that water droplets adhering to the ceiling drop and reattach to the semiconductor wafer. Therefore, an air blower is arranged above the spinner table in the cleaning chamber, and air is blown downward from the air blower in a direction along the rotation direction of the spinner table to hold down the generated mist downward, and further to the lower part of the casing. A cleaning device is known in which mist is discharged from a connected exhaust pipe to the outside (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-260094 A

  Although the above-described cleaning device can prevent the spray generated from the spinner table from spreading outside the cleaning chamber of the cleaning device, it requires a blow mechanism in addition to the conventional exhaust mechanism and is mechanically complicated. There was a need for improvement.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus in which a mechanism for generating a downflow is simplified.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a holding table that rotatably holds a work with a vertical direction as a rotation axis, and a liquid supply that supplies liquid to the work held by the holding table. And a processing apparatus having a processing chamber surrounding the holding table and the liquid supply means, a circulation path having a lower end connected to the lower portion of the processing chamber and an upper end connected to the upper portion of the processing chamber An air flow generating means for taking in gas from the upper end of the circulation path and causing the gas to flow downward from the upper surface of the holding table in the processing chamber to generate a downflow in the processing chamber; containing the gas to be alternately arranged are separating plate towards Oite opposite side walls, the flow of gas, such as around to zigzag, generating a downflow The mist separating means for separating the mist from the gas and dropping the mist, and the mist is dropped in the circulation path in the direction of dropping, and the mist separated and dropped by the mist separating means is recovered. A gas that generates a downflow is circulated in a closed space between the processing chamber and the circulation path via the airflow generation means and the mist separation means. .

Further, the present invention in such processing apparatus, the above-mentioned invention, disposed above the Oite該mist separating means into the circulating path has a humidity adjusting means for adjusting the humidity of the gas to generate a down-flow The gas for generating the downflow is circulated between the processing chamber and the circulation path through the airflow generating means, the mist separating means, and the humidity adjusting means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a simplified processing apparatus using only an airflow generating means without using an exhaust mechanism in order to generate a downflow in a clean state in the processing chamber.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which the processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is disassembled into a lower housing, an upper housing, and a circulation path member. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.

  Hereinafter, a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this processing apparatus, the present invention is applied to a processing apparatus (cleaning apparatus) for cleaning a semiconductor wafer as a workpiece.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes a processing chamber 100 and a circulation path member 200 provided on a side portion of the processing chamber 100 so as to communicate with the processing chamber 100. Configured.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the processing chamber 100 is provided such that a substantially rectangular parallelepiped lower casing 110, an airflow control plate 120 accommodated in the lower casing 110, and a rotating shaft 131 are along the vertical direction. In addition, a disk-shaped holding table 130 that rotatably holds the semiconductor wafer W, liquid supply means 140 that supplies cleaning water as a liquid to the upper surface of the holding table 130, and an airflow disposed above the holding table 130 The generating unit 150 and an upper housing 160 that houses the airflow generating unit 150 are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a partition plate 111 is disposed at an intermediate position in the height direction of the lower housing 110 so as to partition the internal space vertically. The upper end of the lower casing 110 is an upper opening 115 that is joined to a lower end opening 161 of the upper casing 160 described later. A recessed space above the lower partition plate 111 in the lower housing 110 is a chamber lower space 112. A rotation shaft insertion port 113 into which the rotation shaft portion 131 of the holding table 130 is fitted is opened at the center of the lower partition plate 111.

  A rectangular exhaust port 114 </ b> A to which the lower end of the circulation path member 200 is connected is opened in one of the peripheral walls 114 surrounding the chamber lower space 112 in the lower housing 110.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 121 is formed in the center of the airflow control plate 120 to fit the rotating shaft 131 of the holding table 130. The airflow control plate 120 is formed with a plurality of vent holes 122 that surround the opening 121 along an arc concentric with the opening 121. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the airflow control plate 120 is provided so as to be positioned above the upper edge of the exhaust port 114 </ b> A so as to divide the chamber lower space 112 in the lower housing 110 vertically. ing.

  The vent hole 122 is set such that the opening area gradually decreases as it approaches the exhaust port 114A from a region far from the exhaust port 114A. As described above, by setting the opening area of the vent hole 122, the air flow control plate 120 can be ventilated substantially uniformly over the entire area.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a plurality of clamps 132 that hold the semiconductor wafer W are provided at the peripheral edge of the holding table 130. The holding table 130 is rotatably supported on the upper end of the rotating shaft 131 inserted through the opening 121 of the airflow control plate 120.

  Further, the rotary shaft 131 has a mechanism that expands and contracts like a telescope structure in which a plurality of cylindrical bodies are combined. By extending the rotating shaft 131, the holding table 130 can be raised to the workpiece transfer position. Further, the holding table 130 can be lowered to a predetermined cleaning position set in the chamber lower space 112 by contracting the rotating shaft portion 131. Below the partition plate 111 of the lower housing 110, the holding table 130 is rotated via a lifting means (not shown) having a motor or the like that lifts and lowers the holding table 130 by expanding and contracting the rotating shaft 131 and a rotation transmission mechanism (not shown). A table rotation driving means (not shown) for rotating the shaft 131 is disposed.

  The holding table 130 moves up and down by the expansion and contraction of the rotating shaft 131 as described above, but it is only necessary that the holding table 130 can be rotated when it is lowered and placed at the cleaning position. Therefore, when the holding table 130 is disposed at the cleaning position, a rotation transmission mechanism (not shown) is configured to connect the holding table 130 to the rotation shaft portion 131 so as to be able to transmit rotation.

On the lower housing 110 side, a liquid supply means 140 that ejects cleaning water is provided on the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W held on the holding surface (upper surface) of the holding table 130. Here, as the cleaning water, pure water or pure water containing CO ₂ is used to prevent static electricity.

  The liquid supply means 140 includes a rising portion 141 disposed on the side of the holding table 130, a piping portion 142 that is parallel to the holding surface of the holding table 130 from the upper end of the rising portion 141, and the tip of the piping portion 142. The nozzle portion 142A is bent downward. Although not shown, a cleaning water container for supplying cleaning water to the liquid supply means 140 is disposed below the lower partition plate 111 in the lower housing 110 and is supplied via a pipe (not shown). It has become so. Further, the rising portion 141 is rotationally driven to swing the piping portion 142 so that cleaning water can be uniformly ejected to the semiconductor wafer W. And the piping part 142 is set so that it may move to the retreat position which does not interfere with the raising / lowering operation | movement of the holding table 130. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the airflow generation means 150 includes a fan 151 that is rotated by a fan rotation driving means (not shown), a unit casing 152 that houses the fan 151, and a fan 151 that is in the unit casing 152. And a filter 153 disposed on the downstream side. The unit casing 152 is fitted to the downstream end of the upper casing 160.

  In this embodiment, a HEPA filter is used as the filter 153. This HEPA filter is an air filter having a particle collection rate of 99.97% or more with respect to particles having a particle size of 0.3 μm at a rated flow rate and an initial pressure loss of 245 Pa or less.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the upper housing 160 has a lower end opening 161 joined to abut on the upper opening 115 of the upper end of the lower housing 110, and the air flow generating means storage unit 162, and this air flow generation And an intake side connection portion 164 communicating with the means storage portion 162. The airflow generating means storage unit 162 stores the airflow generating means 150. The inside of the upper housing 160 is a chamber upper space 163.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the airflow generation means storage portion 162 and the intake side connection portion 164 are partitioned through a partition wall 165, but communicate with each other through an opening 165 </ b> A formed in the center of the partition wall 165. Yes. An intake side opening 166 to which the upper opening 212 of the circulation path member 200 is connected is formed on one side of the intake side connection 164. The intake side opening 166 is formed on the same side of the upper casing 160 as the exhaust port 114 </ b> A formed in the lower casing 110.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, among the side walls of the airflow generation means storage section 162 in the upper housing 160, the side walls on the side different from the intake side opening 166 are below the mounting position of the airflow generation means 150. A work loading / unloading port 167 is opened.

  In the processing chamber 100, the chamber lower space 112 and the chamber upper space 163 form a chamber internal space.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the circulation path member 200 includes a substantially rectangular tube-shaped member main body 210 having a waste liquid port 213 formed at the bottom, and a waste liquid connected to the member main body 210 so as to communicate with the waste liquid port 213. And a discharge pipe 220.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a lower opening 211 that opens on one side is formed in the lower portion of the member main body 210. An upper opening 212 that opens in the same direction as the lower opening 211 is formed in the upper portion of the member main body 210. The lower opening 211 of the member main body 210 is connected so as to communicate with the exhaust port 114 </ b> A of the processing chamber 100. Further, the upper opening 212 of the member main body 210 is connected to communicate with the intake-side opening 166 of the processing chamber 100.

  In addition, a mist separating unit 230 is provided above the lower opening 211 in the member main body 210. Further, a humidity adjusting means 240 is provided above the mist separating means 230 in the member main body 210.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the mist separating means 230 has separation plates 231 and 232 provided alternately toward the opposite side walls in the member main body 210. As the humidity adjusting means 240, a device provided with a known humidifier or dehumidifier can be applied.

  Next, the operation and operation of the processing apparatus 1 will be described. From the workpiece loading / unloading port 167, the diced semiconductor wafer W is placed on the holding table 130 and held by the clamp 132. Then, the workpiece loading / unloading port 167 is closed by shielding means (not shown). At this stage, the semiconductor wafer W is in a form in which the divided chips are integrally held by an adhesive tape or the like.

  Next, after the holding table 130 is lowered to a predetermined cleaning position, the fan 151 of the airflow generation unit 150 is rotated by a fan rotation driving unit (not shown) to generate a downflow. And the holding table 130 is rotated through the rotating shaft part 131 by the table rotation drive means which is not shown in figure. At the same time, the liquid supply unit 140 ejects cleaning water from the nozzle part 142 </ b> A toward the semiconductor wafer W while the rising part 141 is rotationally driven to swing the pipe part 142.

  The cleaning water sprayed from the nozzle portion 142A cleans the semiconductor wafer W, passes through the air holes 122 of the airflow control plate 120 in a state including dust and the like, and then flows over the partition plate 111 to It is discharged to the waste liquid discharge pipe 220 through the waste liquid port 213. By generating a downflow as indicated by the dashed arrow A1 from the fan 151 of the airflow generation means 150, air mixed with mist that is likely to be wound up from the holding table 130 can be conveyed downward.

  The flow of air passing through the side of the holding table 130 (indicated by the broken line arrow A2) becomes the flow of air (indicated by the broken line arrow A3) toward the exhaust port 114A through the airflow control plate 120. Here, the air holes 122 formed in the airflow control plate 120 are set so as to become smaller as they become closer to the exhaust port 114A, so that the flow of air passing through the region close to the exhaust port 114A increases. It is possible to prevent air from flowing evenly over the entire airflow control plate 120.

  The flow of air that has passed through the airflow control plate 120 (indicated by the dashed arrow A3) is conveyed to the exhaust port 114A side and is circulated into the circulation path member 200 from the lower opening 211 of the circulation path member 200. The flow of air introduced from the lower opening 211 (indicated by the broken arrow A4) is guided to the mist separation means 230.

  The mist separation means 230 separates the mist by making the separation plates 231 and 232 provided alternately toward the opposite side walls into a zigzag air flow (indicated by a broken arrow A5). The liquid can be discharged to the waste liquid discharge pipe 220 through the waste liquid port 213 at the lower end of the circulation path member 200.

  The flow of air from which the mist of the cleaning liquid has been separated by the mist separation means 230 (shown by the broken line arrow A6) is adjusted for humidity by passing through the humidity adjustment means 240, and the flow of air having an appropriate humidity (arrow) (Shown as A7). The humidity adjusting unit 240 includes a known humidifier, a dehumidifier, or the like, and performs humidification or dehumidification so that the humidity automatically becomes a predetermined humidity by detecting the humidity of the air passing through the humidity adjusting unit 240. It has come to be.

  The air flow (indicated by arrow A7) that has passed through the humidity adjusting means 240 is sucked into the air flow (indicated by arrow A8) that passes through the opening 165A formed in the partition wall 165 by the suction action of the fan 151. Then, it goes down through the filter 153 (indicated by an arrow A1). The flow of air blown toward the semiconductor wafer W (indicated by the arrow A1) passes through the filter 153 so that fine dust is captured, so that it becomes a clean air flow and the dust adheres to the semiconductor wafer W. Can be prevented.

  In this processing apparatus 1, after the cleaning process has passed for a predetermined time, the supply of the cleaning water is stopped, the rotation of the holding table 130 is continued, and the cleaning water is blown off from the semiconductor wafer W by centrifugal force, and can be further dried. .

  In this way, after the cleaning and drying of the semiconductor wafer W is completed, the holding table 130 is raised again, and the semiconductor wafer W may be taken out from the workpiece loading / unloading port 167.

  In the processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, the mechanism for generating the downflow may be only the airflow generating means 150, and the air can be circulated through the circulation path member 200, which is a simplified configuration compared to the conventional one. It can be.

  In addition, when a HEPA filter is used, the life of the filter 153 differs depending on the outside air environment. However, as with the processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, the circulation of the gas affects the outside air environment. Therefore, it is possible to use the filter 153 with a long life stably.

  Furthermore, it becomes possible to circulate gas (air) by separating the mist by disposing the mist separating means 230 in the circulation path member 200 and discharging the wash water separated by the mist separating means 230, Separately, no exhaust means is required.

  In the processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, since the gas is circulated as described above, it is easy to adjust the humidity. By adjusting the humidity, the generation of static electricity during cleaning and drying can be suppressed. Incidentally, the humidity is 55% or more, which is effective for suppressing the generation of static electricity, and is preferably around 60%.

  Furthermore, since the processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment uses the air flow control plate 120 that performs uniform suction and exhaust in the plane, the flow of air passing through the side of the holding table 130 (in FIG. 4, an arrow A5). Can be made uniform, and it is possible to prevent mist-like cleaning liquid, fine dust, and the like from being raised up above the semiconductor wafer W locally. Therefore, it is possible to prevent dust and the like from adhering to the semiconductor wafer W again.

(Other embodiments)
The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the description and the drawings, which constitute a part of the disclosure of the above embodiment, do not limit the present invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

  For example, the processing apparatus 1 in the above embodiment applies the present invention to a spin cleaning machine, but applies the present invention to a protective film spin coater or the like for uniformly coating a protective film on a semiconductor wafer W or the like. It is also possible to do. As described above, when the present invention is applied to a protective film spin coater or the like, the humidity adjusting means may not be provided.

In the above embodiment, examples of the semiconductor wafer W include a silicon wafer (Si), a gallium arsenide wafer (GaAs), and silicon carbide (SiC). In addition to semiconductor wafers, workpieces include semiconductor product packages, ceramics, glass, sapphire (Al ₂ O ₂ ) -based inorganic material substrates, various electronic components such as liquid crystal display drivers, plate metal and resin ductility. Various processing materials such as materials can be listed.

  Moreover, although the processing apparatus 1 which concerns on this embodiment wash | cleaned and dried with the holding table 130, if it is the structure which can be wash | cleaned at least, it will not be limited to this.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the holding table 130 is configured to be rotatable when placed in the cleaning position. However, the rotation transmission mechanism always rotates the rotation driving means regardless of the lifting / lowering operation of the holding table 130. May be transmitted to the rotating shaft 131.

  In the above-described embodiment, the rotating shaft 131 of the holding table 130 is a mechanism that extends and contracts with a telescope structure in which a plurality of cylindrical bodies are combined. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the circulation path member 200 is attached to the processing chamber 100. However, it is of course possible to have a structure in which the processing chamber and the circulation path are partitioned in the housing.

  In the above embodiment, a HEPA filter is used as the filter 153. However, an ULPA (Ultra Low Penetration Air Filter) filter may be applied, or other various filters may be applied.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the mist separating means 230 has the structure in which the separation plates 231 and 232 are alternately provided toward the opposing side walls in the member main body 210, but has a function of separating the mist. If it is, it will not be limited to this.

  As described above, the processing apparatus according to the present invention is useful as a workpiece cleaning such as the semiconductor wafer W, drying, and a protective film spin coater, and is particularly suitable for cleaning the semiconductor wafer W after dicing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Processing apparatus 100 Processing chamber 110 Lower housing | casing 111 Partition plate 112 Chamber lower space 114A Exhaust port 120 Airflow control plate 122 Vent hole 130 Holding table 131 Rotating shaft part 132 Clamp 140 Liquid supply means 142A Nozzle part 150 Airflow generation means 151 Fan 153 Filter 160 Upper housing 163 Chamber upper space 164 Intake side connection part 165A Opening part 166 Intake side opening part 167 Workpiece inlet / outlet port 200 Circulation path member 211 Lower opening part 212 Upper opening part 213 Waste liquid outlet 230 Mist separation means 240 Humidity adjustment means

Claims (2)

A holding table that rotatably holds the work with the vertical direction as a rotation axis, a liquid supply means that supplies liquid to the work held by the holding table, a processing chamber that surrounds the holding table and the liquid supply means, A processing apparatus comprising:
A circulation path having a lower end connected to the lower portion of the processing chamber and an upper end connected to the upper portion of the processing chamber;
An airflow generating means for taking in gas from the upper end of the circulation path and flowing the gas from above to below the upper surface of the holding table in the processing chamber to generate a downflow in the processing chamber;
Are alternately arranged is separating plate towards the side wall of Oite facing into the circulation path, and the flow of gases, such as around to zigzag, by separating the mist contained in the gas to generate a down-flow from the gas Mist separating means for dropping,
A waste liquid port that is disposed in a dropping direction in which the mist is dropped in the circulation path, and is separated and dropped by the mist separating means, and collects the liquefied mist.
A processing apparatus characterized in that a gas that generates a downflow is circulated in a closed space between the processing chamber and the circulation path via the airflow generation means and the mist separation means. A humidity adjusting means for adjusting the humidity of the gas that is disposed above the mist separating means in the circulation path and generates a downflow;
The gas for generating a downflow is circulated between the processing chamber and the circulation path through the airflow generation means, the mist separation means, and the humidity adjustment means. Processing equipment.

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