JP6351374B2 - Cleaning device and processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning a plate-like object such as a semiconductor wafer, and a processing device including the cleaning device.

  A plate-like object such as a semiconductor wafer having a plurality of devices formed on the surface is cut along, for example, a street (division line) and divided into a plurality of chips corresponding to each device. Since the plate-like object after cutting is contaminated with foreign matters such as processing scraps, it is cleaned with a cleaning device in order to remove the foreign matters.

  A cleaning device for cleaning a plate-like object includes, for example, a cleaning housing having a cleaning space therein, a cleaning table that rotates while sucking and holding the plate-like object in the cleaning housing, and a cleaning liquid is sprayed from above the cleaning table. And a cleaning nozzle. By rotating the cleaning table that sucks and holds the plate-like object and spraying the cleaning liquid from the cleaning nozzle toward the plate-like object, foreign matters attached to the plate-like object can be removed.

  By the way, since the pressure of the cleaning liquid sprayed from the above-described cleaning nozzle is very high, the cleaning liquid colliding with the plate-like object is scattered to the outside through, for example, an opening for loading / unloading formed at the upper end of the cleaning housing. End up. In order to solve this problem, a cleaning apparatus in which a movable cover is provided in the opening of the cleaning housing has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2012-40571 A JP 2013-229462 A

  However, for example, in a cleaning apparatus including a resin cover as in Patent Document 1, the device is damaged by static electricity generated when the cover is opened and closed. If a grounded metal cover as in Patent Document 2 is used, damage to the device due to static electricity can be prevented, but in this case, the structure of the cover including the opening / closing mechanism becomes complicated and the cost increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and the object of the present invention is to prevent a cleaning liquid from splashing outside without damaging the device, and to reduce the cost, And a processing apparatus including the cleaning apparatus.

According to the present invention, a rotatable cleaning table that holds a workpiece, a cleaning nozzle that injects a cleaning liquid onto the workpiece held on the cleaning table, and an opening formed in the upper end portion that accommodates the cleaning table. A cleaning housing, an exhaust means connected to the cleaning housing below the cleaning table, and an air curtain generation for generating a flow of air covering the opening of the cleaning housing and preventing the cleaning liquid from splashing from the opening e Bei means, and the air curtain generating means is disposed in the vicinity of the opening of the cleaning housing, a first injection port and the second injecting air obliquely downward from the opening into the cleaning housing The first injection port and the second injection port are positioned at a position sandwiching the cleaning table in plan view, and the air is oriented in a direction corresponding to the rotation direction of the cleaning table. Injecting, said first injection port generates a flow of air that covers the half portion of the opening, said second injection port, Ru generates a flow of air which covers the other half portion of the opening A cleaning device is provided.

  In the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the air curtain generating means jets ionized air.

  According to the present invention, the cleaning means including the cleaning device, a chuck table for holding a workpiece, a processing means for processing the workpiece held on the chuck table, and the chuck table There is provided a processing apparatus comprising: a transporting unit configured to transport the held processed workpiece to the cleaning unit.

  Since the cleaning apparatus of the present invention includes air curtain generating means for generating an air curtain (air flow) that covers the opening of the cleaning housing, the opening of the cleaning housing can be covered with the air curtain to prevent splashing of the cleaning liquid to the outside. .

  That is, in the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, air curtain generating means that does not require a movable part is provided instead of the resin or metal cover that covers the opening, so that the cleaning liquid to the outside without causing static electricity that damages the device Can be prevented, and the configuration can be simplified to keep the cost low.

  Further, the air curtain generating means includes a first injection port and a second injection port for injecting air obliquely downward from the opening into the cleaning housing, and the first injection port and the second injection port are in plan view. Therefore, it is possible to form a good down flow by injecting air in the direction corresponding to the rotation direction of the cleaning table.

  Accordingly, the atmosphere in the cleaning housing is appropriately exhausted by the exhaust means connected below the cleaning table, and the contaminated cleaning liquid generated by the collision with the workpiece to be cleaned is reattached to the workpiece. Can be suppressed. Further, since the air curtain generating means does not require a movable part, it is advantageous for space saving of the cleaning device.

It is a figure which shows typically the structural example of a washing | cleaning apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows typically the flow of the air which generate | occur | produces with an air injection nozzle. It is a top view which shows typically the flow of the air which generate | occur | produces with an air injection nozzle. It is a perspective view which shows typically the structural example of the processing apparatus containing a washing | cleaning apparatus.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration example of a cleaning device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 also shows an object to be cleaned (processed object) to be cleaned by the cleaning device. As shown in FIG. 1, the washing | cleaning apparatus 1 is provided with the bottomed cylindrical washing | cleaning housing 3 provided with the circular opening 3a in the upper end part.

  A disc-shaped cleaning table (spinner table) 5 that rotates while sucking and holding a workpiece (workpiece) 31 is accommodated in the internal space of the cleaning housing 3. Around the cleaning table 5, four clamps 7 for holding and fixing an annular frame 37 that supports the object to be cleaned 31 from four directions are installed.

  The object to be cleaned 31 is, for example, a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer, and the surface side is divided into a central device region and an outer peripheral surplus region surrounding the device region. The device area is further divided into a plurality of areas by streets (division lines) arranged in a grid pattern, and a device 33 such as an IC is formed in each area.

  A dicing tape 35 having a diameter larger than that of the object to be cleaned 31 is attached to the back side of the object to be cleaned 31. An outer peripheral portion of the dicing tape 35 is fixed to an annular frame 37. That is, the article to be cleaned 31 is supported by the frame 37 via the dicing tape 35. Note that FIG. 1 shows the article 31 to be cleaned after being processed along the street.

  A rotary drive source 11 such as a motor is connected to the lower portion of the cleaning table 5 via a spindle 9 extending in the vertical direction. The cleaning table 5 is a spindle that serves as a rotating shaft by the rotational force of the rotary drive source 11. Rotate around 9 axes. The upper surface of the cleaning table 5 is a holding surface 5 a that sucks and holds the object to be cleaned 31.

  The holding surface 5a is connected to a suction source (not shown) through a flow path (not shown) formed inside the cleaning table 5, and the object to be cleaned 31 is a negative of the suction source acting on the holding surface 5a. The suction is held by the cleaning table 5 with pressure.

  On the side wall 3 b of the cleaning housing 3, an exhaust pipe 13 that discharges mist-like cleaning liquid, air, etc. existing in the internal space of the cleaning housing 3 to the outside of the cleaning housing 3 is attached at a position below the cleaning table 5. ing. The cleaning housing 3 is connected to an exhaust pump (exhaust means) (not shown) via the exhaust pipe 13.

  Above the cleaning table 5, a cleaning nozzle 15 for injecting a cleaning liquid onto an object to be cleaned 31 sucked and held by the cleaning table 5 is arranged. The cleaning nozzle 15 is connected to a swing mechanism (not shown) via a support arm 17 and is swung in the radial direction of the cleaning table 5 above the cleaning table 5.

  A pair of air injection nozzles (air curtain generating means) 19 and 21 sandwiching the cleaning table 5 in a plan view are arranged at positions close to the opening 3a of the cleaning housing 3. The base ends of the air injection nozzles 19 and 21 are connected to an air supply source 27 via an air supply pipe 23, an opening / closing valve 25, and the like.

  An injection port (first injection port) 19a for injecting air obliquely downward is formed at the tip of the air injection nozzle 19 positioned on the opening 3a side of the cleaning housing 3. The injection port 19a is formed longer in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction, and can generate a thin film-like air flow (air curtain) covering the half of the opening 3a.

  Similarly, an injection port (second injection port) (not shown) for injecting air obliquely downward is formed at the tip of the air injection nozzle 21 located on the opening 3a side of the cleaning housing 3. This injection port is also formed longer in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction, and can generate a thin film-like air flow covering the remaining half of the opening 3a.

  When the opening / closing valve 25 is opened and air is supplied to the air injection nozzles 19 and 21, air is injected from the injection port 19 a of the air injection nozzle 19 and the injection port of the air injection nozzle 21. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the flow of air generated by the air injection nozzle 19, and FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically showing the flow of air generated by the air injection nozzles 19 and 21. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the injection port 19 a is formed so as to be able to inject air A obliquely downward (in a direction that forms a predetermined angle with the horizontal direction), and the air A injected from the injection port 19 a It flows into the cleaning housing 3 from 3a. Similarly, the injection port of the air injection nozzle 21 is formed so that air can be injected obliquely downward, and the air injected from this injection port also flows into the cleaning housing 3 from the opening 3a.

  The pair of air injection nozzles 19 and 21 are provided at positions sandwiching the cleaning table 5 in plan view, and inject air A and B in a direction corresponding to the rotation direction R of the cleaning table 5 as shown in FIG. it can. Thereby, disturbance of air A and B by rotation of washing table 5 can be controlled, and a good down flow suitable for exhaust can be formed.

  The air injection nozzles 19 and 21 and the air supply pipe 23 may be provided with an ionizer that ionizes the air supplied from the air supply source 27. Thereby, ionized air A and B can be injected from the air injection nozzles 19 and 21, and the to-be-cleaned object 11 can be neutralized. In this case, it is not necessary to provide a static eliminator separately from the cleaning device 1, which is advantageous in reducing the cost of the device and saving space.

  As described above, the cleaning apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes the air injection nozzles (air curtain generating means) 19 and 21 that generate the air flow (air curtain) covering the opening 3a of the cleaning housing 3, so that the cleaning is performed. The opening 3a of the housing 3 can be covered with an air curtain to prevent the cleaning liquid from splashing outside.

  That is, in the cleaning apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the air injection nozzles 19 and 21 that do not require a movable part are provided instead of the resin or metal cover that covers the opening 3a. It is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid from splashing to the outside without being generated, and to simplify the configuration of the apparatus to keep the cost low.

  Further, the air injection nozzles 19 and 21 include an injection port (first injection port) 19a and an injection port (second injection port) for injecting air A and B obliquely downward from the opening 3a into the cleaning housing 3. Since the injection port 19a of the air injection nozzle 19 and the injection port of the air injection nozzle 21 are positioned at a position sandwiching the cleaning table 5 in plan view, the air A, B can be injected to form a good downflow.

  As a result, the atmosphere in the cleaning housing 3 is appropriately exhausted by an exhaust pump (exhaust means) connected below the cleaning table 5, and processing waste generated by collision with the object to be cleaned (workpiece) 31. It is possible to prevent the mist-like cleaning liquid contaminated with the foreign matter from reattaching to the object to be cleaned 11. Further, since the air injection nozzles 19 and 21 do not require a movable part, it is advantageous for space saving of the cleaning device 1.

  Next, a processing apparatus including the above-described cleaning apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing a configuration example of a processing apparatus including a cleaning apparatus. In this embodiment, a cutting apparatus will be described as an example of a processing apparatus. However, the processing apparatus of the present invention may be another apparatus such as a laser processing apparatus or a grinding apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the processing apparatus 2 includes a base 4 that supports each component. In the base 4, a rectangular opening 4a is provided at a corner portion on one side of the front end, and a cassette mounting table 6 is installed in the opening 4a so as to be movable up and down. On the upper surface of the cassette mounting table 6, a rectangular parallelepiped cassette 8 that houses a plurality of objects to be cleaned (processed objects) 31 supported by a frame 37 via a dicing tape 35 is mounted. In FIG. 4, only the outline of the cassette 8 is shown for convenience of explanation.

  A rectangular opening 4b that is long in the front-rear direction (X-axis direction) is formed at a position close to the cassette mounting table 6. In this opening 4b, an X-axis moving table 10, an X-axis moving mechanism (not shown) for moving the X-axis moving table 10 in the X-axis direction (front-rear direction, machining feed direction), and dustproof covering the X-axis moving mechanism A drip-proof cover 12 is provided.

  The X-axis movement mechanism includes a pair of X-axis guide rails (not shown) parallel to the X-axis direction, and the X-axis movement table 10 is slidably installed on the X-axis guide rails. A nut portion (not shown) is fixed to the lower surface side of the X-axis moving table 10, and an X-axis ball screw (not shown) parallel to the X-axis guide rail is screwed to the nut portion.

  An X-axis pulse motor (not shown) is connected to one end of the X-axis ball screw. By rotating the X-axis ball screw with the X-axis pulse motor, the X-axis moving table 10 moves in the X-axis direction along the X-axis guide rail.

  On the X-axis moving table 10, a chuck table 14 that sucks and holds an object to be cleaned 31 is provided. Around the chuck table 14, four clamps 16 for holding and fixing an annular frame 37 that supports the object to be cleaned 31 from four directions are installed.

  The chuck table 14 is connected to a rotation drive source (not shown) such as a motor, and rotates around a rotation axis extending in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction). Further, the chuck table 14 moves in the X-axis direction together with the X-axis movement table 10 by the above-described X-axis movement mechanism.

  The upper surface of the chuck table 14 serves as a holding surface 14a for sucking and holding the object 31 to be cleaned. The holding surface 14 a is connected to a suction source (not shown) through a flow path (not shown) formed inside the chuck table 14.

  A first transport mechanism (not shown) for transporting the object to be cleaned 31 is provided at a position close to the opening 4b. The cleaning object 31 carried into the chuck table 14 by the first transport mechanism is sucked and held on the chuck table 14 by the negative pressure of the suction source acting on the holding surface 14a.

  Above the base 4, a gate-type support structure 20 that supports two sets of cutting units (processing means) 18 is disposed so as to straddle the opening 4 b. Two sets of cutting unit moving mechanisms 22 for moving each cutting unit 18 in the Y-axis direction (index feed direction) and the Z-axis direction (vertical direction) are provided on the upper front surface of the support structure 20.

  The cutting unit moving mechanism 22 includes a pair of Y-axis guide rails 24 arranged in front of the support structure 20 and parallel to the Y-axis direction. On the Y-axis guide rail 24, a Y-axis moving table 26 constituting each cutting unit moving mechanism 22 is slidably installed.

  A nut portion (not shown) is fixed to the back side (rear side) of each Y-axis moving table 26, and a Y-axis ball screw 28 parallel to the Y-axis guide rail 24 is screwed to each nut portion. Has been. A Y-axis pulse motor 30 is connected to one end of each Y-axis ball screw 28. If the Y-axis ball screw 28 is rotated by the Y-axis pulse motor 30, the Y-axis moving table 26 moves in the Y-axis direction along the Y-axis guide rail 24.

  A pair of Z-axis guide rails 32 parallel to the Z-axis direction are provided on the front surface (front surface) of each Y-axis moving table 26. A Z-axis moving table 34 is slidably installed on the Z-axis guide rail 32.

  A nut portion (not shown) is fixed to the back surface side (rear surface side) of each Z-axis moving table 34, and a Z-axis ball screw 36 parallel to the Z-axis guide rail 32 is screwed to each nut portion. Has been. A Z-axis pulse motor 38 is connected to one end of each Z-axis ball screw 36. When the Z-axis ball screw 36 is rotated by the Z-axis pulse motor 38, the Z-axis moving table 34 moves in the Z-axis direction along the Z-axis guide rail 32.

  Under each Z-axis moving table 34, a cutting unit 18 that cuts the workpiece 31 is provided. In addition, a camera (not shown) that images the object to be cleaned 31 is installed at a position adjacent to each cutting unit 18. By moving the Y-axis movement table 26 and the Z-axis movement table 34 as described above, each cutting unit 18 and each camera move in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction.

  Each cutting unit 18 includes an annular cutting blade 40 attached to one end of a spindle (not shown) that rotates about the Y axis. A motor (not shown) is connected to the other end side of each spindle, and rotates the cutting blade 40 mounted on the spindle. The object to be cleaned 31 is cut by rotating the cutting blade 40 into the object to be cleaned 31.

  A cleaning unit (cleaning means) 42 including the above-described cleaning device 1 is disposed at a position opposite to the opening 4a with respect to the opening 4b. A second transport mechanism (transport means) (not shown) for transporting the article to be cleaned 31 is provided at a position close to the cleaning unit 42. The workpiece 31 cut by the cutting unit 18 is transported from the chuck table 14 to the cleaning unit 42 by the second transport mechanism.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to description of the said embodiment, A various change can be implemented. For example, in the above embodiment, the pair of air injection nozzles 19 and 21 provided at positions sandwiching the cleaning table 5 in plan view are used as the air curtain generating means, but the configuration of the air curtain generating means is not limited to this. .

  For example, three or more air injection nozzles arranged around the opening 3a may be used as the air curtain generating means. Also in this case, a good downflow can be formed by injecting air from the injection port in a direction corresponding to the rotation direction R of the cleaning table 5.

  In addition, the configurations, methods, and the like according to the above-described embodiments can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the object of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cleaning apparatus 3 Cleaning housing 3a Opening 3b Side wall 5 Cleaning table 5a Holding surface 7 Clamp 9 Spindle 11 Rotation drive source 13 Exhaust pipe 15 Cleaning nozzle 17 Support arm 19 Air injection nozzle (air curtain production | generation means)
19a injection port (first injection port)
21 Air injection nozzle (air curtain generation means)
23 Air supply pipe 25 Open / close valve 27 Air supply source 31 Object to be cleaned (workpiece)
33 Device 35 Dicing tape 37 Frame A, B Air R Rotation direction 2 Processing device 4 Base 4a, 4b Opening 6 Cassette mounting table 8 Cassette 10 X-axis moving table 12 Dust / drip-proof cover 14 Chuck table 14a Holding surface 16 Clamp 18 Cutting unit (processing means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Support structure 22 Cutting unit moving mechanism 24 Y-axis guide rail 26 Y-axis moving table 28 Y-axis ball screw 30 Y-axis pulse motor 32 Z-axis guide rail 34 Z-axis moving table 36 Z-axis ball screw 38 Z-axis pulse motor 40 Cutting blade 42 Cleaning unit (cleaning means)

Claims (3)

A rotatable cleaning table for holding the workpiece;
A cleaning nozzle for injecting a cleaning liquid onto the workpiece held on the cleaning table;
A cleaning housing that houses the cleaning table and has an opening formed at the upper end;
Exhaust means connected to the cleaning housing below the cleaning table;
E Bei an air curtain generating means for preventing the cleaning liquid from being scattered from the opening to generate a flow of air that covers the opening of the cleaning housing, and
The air curtain generating means includes:
Provided near the opening of the cleaning housing, and includes a first injection port and a second injection port for injecting air obliquely downward from the opening into the cleaning housing;
The first injection port and the second injection port are positioned at a position sandwiching the cleaning table in plan view, and inject the air in a direction corresponding to the rotation direction of the cleaning table ,
It said first injection port generates a flow of air that covers the half portion of the opening, said second injection port includes a characterized Rukoto generate a flow of air which covers the other half portion of the opening Cleaning device to do.   The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air curtain generating unit ejects ionized air.   A cleaning unit including the cleaning device according to claim 1, a chuck table for holding a workpiece, a processing unit for processing the workpiece held on the chuck table, and the chuck table A processing apparatus comprising: a transport unit configured to transport the held processed workpiece to the cleaning unit.