JP6310752B2 - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning a disk-shaped workpiece such as a wafer with a cleaning liquid and drying it.

  The disk-shaped workpiece that has been subjected to processing such as grinding and polishing is dried by rotating the disk-shaped workpiece at high speed after washing the upper and lower surfaces (both sides) (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 1). 2).

JP 2010-238850 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-180198

  However, when the disk-shaped workpiece is rotated at a high speed, the cleaning liquid adhering to the disk-shaped workpiece is scattered to form a mist and scatter. And when this mist-like cleaning liquid takes in the fine dust in the atmosphere, the fine dust adheres to the disk-shaped workpiece. In particular, when turbulent air flow is generated by spin rotation of the holding mechanism that holds the disk-shaped workpiece, after the mist-like cleaning liquid rises on the turbulent air flow, it takes in fine dust and falls onto the disk-shaped workpiece and reattaches. .

  The present invention has been considered in view of such a problem. By preventing the sprayed and sprayed cleaning liquid from re-adhering to the disk-shaped workpiece, fine particles adhere to the disk-shaped workpiece. The purpose is to prevent.

  The cleaning apparatus according to the present invention includes a cleaning unit that holds the outer peripheral edge of a disk-shaped workpiece and rotates the disk-shaped workpiece to clean both surfaces of the disk-shaped workpiece, and a circle cleaned by the cleaning unit. A drying unit for rotating the disk-shaped work while holding the outer peripheral edge of the plate-shaped work and drying the disk-shaped work, and an outer peripheral edge of the disk-shaped work cleaned by the cleaning unit, Conveying means for conveying the workpiece from the cleaning unit to the drying unit, an outer wall surrounding the cleaning unit and the drying unit, a blocking wall for blocking the cleaning unit and the drying unit, and a disc by the conveying means And a door that opens and closes an opening provided in the blocking wall, the drying unit holds an outer peripheral edge of the disk-shaped workpiece. The outer periphery holding part At least three outer peripheral holding mechanisms arranged at equal angles at positions spaced apart from the rotation shaft, and clean air is directed from above the disc-shaped workpiece held by the outer peripheral holding mechanism toward the disc-shaped workpiece. A clean air supply section for spraying, and the blocking wall includes an inlet through which the clean air supplied from the clean air supply section flows from the drying unit side to the cleaning unit side, and the outer wall includes the flow path An exhaust port is provided for exhausting the clean air to the outside after the clean air that has flowed into the cleaning unit from the inlet crosses the periphery of the disk-shaped workpiece held by the cleaning unit. When washing a workpiece, when the conveying means is conveying a disk-shaped workpiece, and when the drying unit is drying a disk-shaped workpiece, Clean air supply unit for supplying clean air is to maintain the flow flowing from the drying unit side to the cleaning unit side through the fluid inlet.

According to the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the clean air supply unit blows clean air from above the workpiece, so that turbulent air flow upward does not occur even when the workpiece is rotated at a high speed. Further, the cleaning liquid which has been sprayed from the work and formed into a mist does not go upwards of the work but goes to the side or the lower side of the work and flows into the cleaning unit from the inlet. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the mist-like cleaning liquid containing fine dust from falling on the workpiece and reattaching the fine dust.
In addition, not only during drying, but also during cleaning and transport, the flow of clean air flowing from the drying unit side to the cleaning unit side is maintained through the inlet, so that the cleaning liquid splashed from the cleaning unit will enter the drying unit side. Intrusion can be prevented.

The perspective view which shows a washing | cleaning apparatus. Side surface sectional drawing which shows a washing | cleaning apparatus. Side surface sectional drawing which shows a washing | cleaning apparatus.

  A cleaning apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a cleaning unit 12 that cleans a disk-shaped workpiece 20, a drying unit 13 that dries the workpiece 20 that has been cleaned by the cleaning unit 12, and a workpiece 20 that has been cleaned by the cleaning unit 12. Conveying means 14 that conveys the cleaning unit 12 to the drying unit 13, an outer wall 11 that surrounds the cleaning unit 12 and the drying unit 13, and a blocking wall 15 that blocks the cleaning unit 12 and the drying unit 13 are provided.

  The outer wall 11 has a rectangular parallelepiped box shape that is long in the ± Y direction, and includes an exhaust port 111 on the side surface on the cleaning unit 12 side. In FIG. 1, the upper surface on the + Z side and the side surface on the + X side are drawn transparently so that the inside of the outer wall 11 can be seen.

  The cleaning unit 12 includes an outer periphery holding / rotating unit 124 that holds the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece 20 and rotates the workpiece 20, and a cleaning sponge that cleans the upper surface (+ Z side surface) of the workpiece 20 held by the outer periphery holding / rotating unit 124. 121, a cleaning sponge 122 that cleans the lower surface (surface on the −Z side) of the workpiece 20 held by the outer periphery holding and rotating means 124, and an arm 123 that moves the cleaning sponge 121. The outer periphery holding and rotating means 124 holds the workpiece 20 parallel to the XY plane, and rotates the workpiece 20 around a rotation axis perpendicular to the XY plane. The cleaning unit 12 cleans the workpiece 20 by supplying the cleaning liquid to the rotating workpiece 20 held by the outer periphery holding and rotating means 124 and bringing the cleaning sponges 121 and 122 into contact with each other.

  The drying unit 13 includes an outer peripheral holding mechanism 131 that holds the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece 20 cleaned by the cleaning unit 12, a rotating unit 132 that rotates the outer peripheral holding mechanism 131, and a cover 133 that surrounds the outer periphery holding mechanism 131. A clean air supply unit 134 that blows clean air toward the workpiece 20 held by the outer periphery holding mechanism 131 is provided.

  The outer periphery holding mechanism 131 includes three outer periphery holding portions 311 that hold the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece 20. The three outer periphery holding portions 311 are arranged at equal angles (120 degrees in the illustrated example) at positions equidistant from the rotation axis of the outer periphery holding mechanism 131 by the rotating means 132. The outer periphery holding mechanism 131 holds the workpiece 20 parallel to the XY plane. In addition, the number of outer periphery holding | maintenance parts 311 may be four or more instead of three.

  The rotating means 132 rotates the entire outer periphery holding mechanism 131 about a rotation axis perpendicular to the XY plane, thereby rotating the workpiece 20 held by the outer periphery holding mechanism 131 at a high speed and scattering the cleaning liquid adhering to the workpiece 20. As a result, the workpiece 20 is dried. The cover 133 includes a cylindrical side wall portion formed in a cylindrical shape, and a truncated cone side wall portion whose diameter decreases toward the upper side (+ Z direction) from the cylindrical side wall portion, and the cylindrical side wall portion includes a plurality of vent holes. 331 is provided.

  The clean air supply unit 134 is disposed on the upper surface of the outer wall 11 and blows clean air toward the work 20 from above the work 20 held by the outer periphery holding mechanism 131.

  The conveying means 14 includes an outer peripheral holding and conveying unit 144 that holds the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece 20 cleaned by the cleaning unit 12, an arm 143 that supports the outer peripheral holding and conveying unit 144, and a rotating unit 141 that rotates the arm 143. It has. When the rotation unit 141 rotates the arm 143 about a support axis perpendicular to the XY plane, the outer periphery holding and conveying unit 144 supported by the arm 143 moves in parallel to the XY plane, and the outer periphery holding and conveying unit 144 The held workpiece 20 is conveyed from the cleaning unit 12 to the drying unit 13.

  The blocking wall 15 separates the inside of the outer wall 11 into a −Y side cleaning chamber in which the cleaning unit 12 is disposed and a + Y side drying chamber in which the drying unit 13 is disposed. The blocking wall 15 is provided with an outer peripheral holding and conveying unit 144 and an opening 151 for allowing the workpiece 20 held by the outer peripheral holding and conveying unit 144 to pass therethrough.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning apparatus 10 includes an opening / closing door 16 that opens and closes the opening 151 and an opening / closing means 17 that moves the opening / closing door 16 in the ± Z direction in addition to the configuration described in FIG. 1. . The open / close door 16 is formed to have substantially the same size as the opening 151 and is disposed on the cleaning chamber side.

  The clean air supply unit 134 includes a filter 341 that takes in air from the outside of the outer wall 11 and removes fine dust and the like to make clean air, and a fan 342 that blows clean air generated by the filter 341 downward. Since the clean air supply unit 134 is disposed above the outer periphery holding mechanism 131, the clean air supplied from the clean air supply unit 134 is blown onto the workpiece 20 b held by the outer periphery holding mechanism 131.

  In the cleaning apparatus 10 configured as described above, in the cleaning unit 12, the workpiece 20 is held by the outer periphery holding and rotating means 124, and the cleaning sponges 121 and 122 are brought into contact with both surfaces of the workpiece 20 while rotating the workpiece 20. Wash. After the cleaning is completed, the conveying means 14 holds the workpiece 20 and conveys it to the drying unit 13, and the outer peripheral holding portion 311 holds the cleaned workpiece 20. And the workpiece | work 20 is dried by rotating the workpiece | work 20 at high speed. By rotating the workpiece 20 at a high speed in the drying unit 13, the cleaning liquid adhering to the workpiece 20 is sprayed and scattered.

  When cleaning the workpiece 20a or when drying the workpiece 20b, the opening / closing means 17 moves the opening / closing door 16 in the + Z direction so that the opening 151 is closed, and the cleaning liquid scattered from the cleaning unit 12 enters the drying unit 13. Prevent intrusion. Since the opening / closing door 16 is provided on the cleaning chamber side, even if the cleaning liquid splashed from the cleaning unit 12 adheres to the opening / closing door 16, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid attached to the opening / closing door 16 from entering the drying unit 13. it can.

  However, the opening / closing door 16 does not completely block the opening 151 but leaves a slight gap 152 at the top of the opening 151. The gap 152 functions as an inlet through which clean air supplied by the clean air supply unit 134 flows from the drying unit 12 side to the cleaning unit 12 side. The opening / closing door 16 blocks the opening 151 from below and forms a gap above the opening 151, thereby preventing the cleaning liquid scattered from the cleaning unit 12 from reaching the gap 152.

  The clean air blown to the workpiece 20b passes through the side of the workpiece 20b together with the mist-like cleaning liquid scattered from the workpiece 20b, and goes out of the cover 133 from the vent hole 331 toward the inside of the cover 133 downward. Clean air that has flowed out of the cover 133 flows into the cleaning chamber from a gap (inlet) 152 between the open / close door 16 and the opening 151.

  By spraying clean air onto the workpiece 20b from above the workpiece 20b held by the outer periphery holding mechanism 131, when the drying unit 13 dries the workpiece 20, the mist-like cleaning liquid is prevented from splashing above the workpiece 20b. . Thereby, it is possible to prevent the mist-like cleaning liquid scattered above the workpiece 20b from dropping and reattaching to the workpiece 20b.

  By providing the blocking wall 15 with the inlet 152 through which the clean air flows into the cleaning chamber, the mist-like cleaning liquid scattered on the side and under the workpiece 20b flows into the cleaning chamber together with the clean air. Since the mist-like cleaning liquid scattered from the work 20b does not stay in the drying chamber, the cleaning liquid can be prevented from reattaching to the work 20b.

  The clean air that has flowed into the cleaning unit 12 from the inflow port crosses the periphery of the work 20a held by the outer periphery holding and rotating means 124, and from the exhaust port 111 provided on the outer wall 11 on the side opposite to the blocking wall 15. The air is exhausted outside the outer wall 11. The mist-like cleaning liquid scattered by the cleaning of the workpiece 20a rides on the air flow and is discharged from the exhaust port 111. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the mist-like cleaning liquid from entering the drying unit 13 side from the inlet 152. Accordingly, in parallel with drying the workpiece 20b by the drying unit 13, even if the next workpiece 20a is cleaned by the cleaning unit 12, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid from adhering to the workpiece 20b being dried. Thereby, the processing capability (the number of workpieces that can be cleaned per unit time) of the cleaning apparatus 10 can be increased.

  Further, even when the drying unit 13 is not drying the workpiece 20b, during the cleaning in which the cleaning unit 12 is cleaning the workpiece 20a, the clean air supply unit 134 is operated and the inlet 152 is interposed. Thus, the flow of clean air exhausted from the drying unit 13 through the cleaning unit 12 is maintained. This prevents the scattered cleaning liquid from flowing into the drying chamber.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when conveying the workpiece 20 c from the cleaning unit 12 to the drying unit 13, the opening / closing means 17 opens the opening 151 by moving the opening / closing door 16 in the −Z direction, and the outer periphery holding and conveying unit 144. And the workpiece 20c held by the workpiece 20c can pass therethrough. Also at this time, the clean air supply unit 134 is operated to maintain the flow of clean air exhausted from the drying unit 13 through the cleaning unit 12 to the outside. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid floating in the cleaning chamber from flowing into the drying chamber from the opening 151. Moreover, even if the next workpiece 20a is cleaned in parallel with the transfer of the workpiece 20c by the transfer means 14, the scattered cleaning liquid can be prevented from entering the drying chamber. Thereby, the processing capability of the washing | cleaning apparatus 10 can be improved.

  In addition, although the exhaust port 111 in this embodiment is formed in the side wall by the side of the washing | cleaning unit 12 among the outer walls 11, it may be formed in the bottom plate by the side of the washing | cleaning unit 12. Further, as the exhaust port 111, a drain port for discharging the cleaning liquid can be used. In that case, it is preferable to make the diameter of the drain outlet larger than that of a normal drain outlet.

10 cleaning device, 11 outer wall, 111 exhaust port,
12 Cleaning unit,
121, 122 cleaning sponge, 123 arm, 124 outer periphery holding rotation means,
13 Drying unit,
131 outer periphery holding mechanism, 311 outer periphery holding portion,
132 rotating means, 133 cover, 331 vent hole, 134 clean air supply unit, 341 filter, 342 fan,
14 Conveying means,
141 rotating unit, 143 arm, 144 outer periphery holding and conveying unit, 441 outer periphery holding unit,
15 barrier wall, 151 opening, 152 gap (inlet),
16 Opening / closing door, 17 Opening / closing means,
20, 20a-20c Workpiece

Claims (1)

A cleaning unit that holds the outer periphery of the disk-shaped work, rotates the disk-shaped work, and cleans both surfaces of the disk-shaped work;
A drying unit for rotating the disk-shaped work while holding the outer peripheral edge of the disk-shaped work cleaned by the cleaning unit, and drying the disk-shaped work;
Conveying means for holding the outer peripheral edge of the disk-shaped workpiece cleaned by the cleaning unit, and conveying the disk-shaped workpiece from the cleaning unit to the drying unit;
An outer wall surrounding the washing unit and the drying unit;
A blocking wall that blocks the cleaning unit and the drying unit;
An open / close door that opens and closes an opening provided in the blocking wall in order to enable the transfer of the disk-shaped workpiece by the transfer means;
A cleaning device comprising:
The drying unit
An outer periphery holding mechanism in which at least three outer periphery holding portions that hold the outer peripheral edge of the disk-shaped workpiece are arranged at equal angles at positions spaced apart from the rotation axis;
A clean air supply unit that blows clean air from above the disk-shaped workpiece held by the outer periphery holding mechanism toward the disk-shaped workpiece;
With
The blocking wall includes an inlet through which clean air supplied from the clean air supply unit flows from the drying unit side to the cleaning unit side,
The outer wall is provided with an exhaust port for exhausting the clean air to the outside after the clean air flowing into the cleaning unit side from the inlet crosses the periphery of the disk-shaped workpiece held by the cleaning unit,
Either when the cleaning unit is cleaning the disk-shaped workpiece, when the transport means is transporting the disk-shaped workpiece, or when the drying unit is drying the disk-shaped workpiece. Sometimes, the cleaning apparatus maintains the flow of clean air supplied by the clean air supply unit from the drying unit side to the cleaning unit side via the inflow port.

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