JP6445298B2 - Polishing apparatus and processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus and a processing method.

  In recent years, a processing apparatus has been used to perform various types of processing on a processing target (for example, a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or various types of films formed on the surface of the substrate). As an example of the processing apparatus, a CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) apparatus for performing a polishing process or the like of an object to be processed can be given.

  The CMP apparatus includes a polishing unit for performing a polishing process on a processing target, a cleaning unit for performing a cleaning process and a drying process on the processing target, and a processing unit that delivers the processing target to the polishing unit and performs a cleaning process by the cleaning unit. And a load / unload unit that receives the dried processed object. The CMP apparatus also includes a transport mechanism that transports the processing object in the polishing unit, the cleaning unit, and the load / unload unit. The CMP apparatus sequentially performs various processes such as polishing, cleaning, and drying while transporting a processing target by a transport mechanism (Patent Document 1).

  The processing object is often washed by bringing a roll-like sponge (hereinafter referred to as roll sponge) or a small-diameter sponge (hereinafter referred to as pencil sponge) into contact with the processing object. Sponge is a soft material such as PVA. Furthermore, for the purpose of removing the sticky particles that cannot be removed with such a soft material or removing the micro scratches on the surface of the processing object, the CMP apparatus is slightly polished. It has been proposed to provide a finishing unit inside. The finishing unit performs a finishing process by bringing a member relatively harder than PVA into contact with the object to be processed. (Patent Documents 2 and 3)

JP 2010-50436 A JP-A-8-71511 JP 2001-135604 A

  However, when the finishing unit is provided in the CMP apparatus as in the prior art and the finishing process is performed, the throughput may be significantly reduced due to an increase in processing steps. In addition, the processing target may be waiting for processing due to the process rate limiting, and in particular when the processing target is a metal film, if the processing target after polishing is left in a wet state containing a chemical component for a long time, the metal film The progress of corrosion on the surface may affect the processing performance.

  Therefore, the CMP apparatus including the finishing unit has room for improvement in the configuration of the apparatus including the transfer system so that the transfer can be efficiently performed in order to avoid the above-described problem.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to realize a polishing apparatus and a processing method capable of performing a finishing process on a processing target after main polishing while suppressing a decrease in throughput of the apparatus.

  One aspect of the polishing apparatus of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and polishing the processing object by moving the processing object and the polishing tool relative to each other while the polishing tool is in contact with the processing object. A polishing unit, a first transport robot that transports an unpolished processing object to the polishing unit and / or a polished processing object from the polishing unit, and a cleaning unit, The cleaning unit includes at least one cleaning module, a buff processing module that performs a finishing process on the processing target, and the processing target is transported between the cleaning module and the buff processing module. And a second transfer robot different from the transfer robot.

  In one embodiment of the polishing apparatus, the cleaning unit is disposed between a cleaning chamber having the cleaning module therein, a buff processing chamber having the buff processing module therein, and between the cleaning chamber and the buff processing chamber. And the second transfer robot may be disposed in the transfer chamber.

  In one embodiment of the polishing apparatus, the pressure in the transfer chamber may be higher than the pressure in the buff processing chamber.

  In one embodiment of the polishing apparatus, two buffing modules may be disposed in the buffing chamber in the vertical direction.

  In one embodiment of the polishing apparatus, the buff processing module has a buff table that holds a processing surface of the processing object facing upward, a diameter smaller than the processing object, and is brought into contact with the processing object. A buff member that performs a finishing process on the processing object; and a buff head that holds the buff member. The buff member is brought into contact with the processing object and a buffing liquid is supplied to the processing object. And the buff member can be moved relative to each other to finish the processing object.

In one embodiment of the polishing apparatus, the buff processing module includes a dresser for conditioning the buff member, a dress table for holding the dresser,
The buff processing module may condition the buff member by rotating the dress table and the buff head and bringing the buff member into contact with the dresser.

  In one embodiment of the polishing apparatus, two buffing modules are arranged in the buffing chamber in the vertical direction, and the two buffing modules are at least one of the buffing liquids used in the buffing member or the finishing process. Different ones can be used.

  Further, according to one aspect of the processing method of the present invention, a polishing step of polishing the processing object by moving the processing object and the polishing tool relative to each other while the polishing tool is in contact with the processing object; A first transporting step of transporting an unpolished processing object to perform the polishing step and / or transporting a processing target after the polishing step is completed by the transport robot; A cleaning process for cleaning an object, a buffing process for finishing the processing object, and a second transfer robot different from the first transfer robot, between the cleaning process and the buffing process. And a second transfer step different from the first transfer step for transferring the object to be processed.

In one form of the processing method, the second transfer step includes a cleaning chamber having a cleaning module for executing the cleaning step therein, and a buff processing chamber having a buff processing module for executing the buff processing step. And the second transfer robot inside the transfer chamber disposed between the two.

  Moreover, in one form of the processing method, the pressure in the transfer chamber may be higher than the pressure in the buff processing chamber.

  Moreover, in one form of the processing method, the buff processing step may be executed by two buff processing modules arranged in the vertical direction in the buff processing chamber.

  Further, in one form of the processing method, the buff processing step includes a buffing table that holds a processing surface of the processing object facing upward, a diameter smaller than the processing object, and the buffing process is brought into contact with the processing object. The buff processing module includes a buff member that performs a finishing process on the processing object and a buff head that holds the buff member. The buff processing step includes: (A) contacting the buff member with the processing object. A main buffing process for buffing the processing object by relatively moving the processing object and the buffing member while supplying a buffing liquid, and (B) the processing object after the main buffing process. A cleaning object cleaning step to be cleaned; and (C) after the cleaning object cleaning step, the cleaning of the buffing table before the next processing object enters the buff processing module. It can be provided with a buff table cleaning step of performing.

  In one form of the processing method, the buff processing step rotates the dressing table for holding a dresser for conditioning the buff member, and the buff head to bring the buff member into contact with the dresser. Accordingly, the method may further include a step of conditioning the buff member.

  Moreover, in one form of the processing method, the buff processing step includes at least one of the buff processing liquid used in the buff member or the finishing process in two buff processing modules arranged in the vertical direction in the buff processing chamber. May be performed by using different ones.

  In one form of the processing method, the processing object cleaning step includes (A) a buff chemical washing step of removing a buff processing liquid by performing a buffing process while supplying pure water, and (B) the main buffing process. A chemical buffing process in which buffing is performed while supplying a buffing liquid different from that in the process, and (C) the buffing liquid or pure water used in the chemical buffing process is used without contacting the buffing member. Then, at least one of rinsing and cleaning the object to be processed can be included.

  Moreover, in one form of the processing method, the buffing process can start a dress rinse process that is a process of cleaning the surface of the dresser during the process object cleaning process.

  Further, in one form of the processing method, the buff processing step is a process of cleaning the buff member in a state where the buff member is disposed opposite to the dresser before or after conditioning the buff member. The pad rinsing process can be performed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a polishing apparatus and a processing method capable of performing a finishing process on a processing object after main polishing while suppressing a reduction in throughput of the apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of the polishing apparatus of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the polishing module. FIG. 3A is a plan view of the cleaning unit, and FIG. 3B is a side view of the cleaning unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the upper buff processing module. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing method of the polishing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing method of the polishing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing method according to the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline of the pad rinse process. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an outline of the pad dress process. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an outline of the dress rinse process. FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating an example of a structure of a buff pad. FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating an example of a structure of a buff pad. FIG. 11C is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the buff pad. FIG. 11D is a diagram illustrating an example of a structure of a buff pad. FIG. 11E is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of a buff pad. FIG. 11F is a diagram illustrating an example of a structure of a buff pad. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the swing range of the buff pad by the buff arm. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the control of the swing speed of the buff arm. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of control of the swing speed of the buff arm. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a variation of the swinging mode of the buff arm.

  Hereinafter, a polishing apparatus and a processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Polishing device>
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a polishing apparatus (CMP apparatus) 1000 for processing a processing object includes a substantially rectangular housing 1. The interior of the housing 1 is partitioned into a load / unload unit 2, a polishing unit 3, and a cleaning unit 4 by partition walls 1a and 1b. The load / unload unit 2, the polishing unit 3, and the cleaning unit 4 are assembled independently and exhausted independently. Further, the cleaning unit 4 includes a power supply unit that supplies power to the polishing apparatus, and a control device 5 that controls the processing operation.

<Load / Unload unit>
The load / unload unit 2 includes two or more (four in this embodiment) front load units 20 on which wafer cassettes for stocking a large number of processing objects (for example, wafers (substrates)) are placed. These front load portions 20 are arranged adjacent to the housing 1 and are arranged along the width direction (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction) of the polishing apparatus. The front load unit 20 can be equipped with an open cassette, a SMIF (Standard Manufacturing Interface) pod, or a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod). Here, SMIF and FOUP are sealed containers that can maintain an environment independent of the external space by accommodating a wafer cassette inside and covering with a partition wall.

Further, a traveling mechanism 21 is laid along the front load portion 20 in the load / unload unit 2. On the traveling mechanism 21, two transfer robots (loader, transfer mechanism) 22 that can move along the arrangement direction of the wafer cassettes are installed. The transfer robot 22 can access the wafer cassette mounted on the front load unit 20 by moving on the traveling mechanism 21. Each transfer robot 22 has two hands up and down. The upper hand is used when returning processed wafers to the wafer cassette. The lower hand is used when a wafer before processing is taken out from the wafer cassette. In this way, the upper and lower hands can be used properly. Further, the lower hand of the transfer robot 22 is configured so that the wafer can be reversed.

  Since the load / unload unit 2 is an area where it is necessary to maintain the cleanest state, the pressure inside the load / unload unit 2 is higher than any of the outside of the polishing apparatus, the polishing unit 3 and the cleaning unit 4. Is always maintained. The polishing unit 3 is the most dirty area because slurry is used as the polishing liquid. Accordingly, a negative pressure is formed inside the polishing unit 3, and the pressure is maintained lower than the internal pressure of the cleaning unit 4. The load / unload unit 2 is provided with a filter fan unit (not shown) having a clean air filter such as a HEPA filter, a ULPA filter, or a chemical filter. From the filter fan unit, clean air from which particles, toxic vapor, or toxic gas has been removed is constantly blown out.

<Polishing unit>
The polishing unit 3 is an area where the wafer is polished (flattened). The polishing unit 3 includes a first polishing module 3A, a second polishing module 3B, a third polishing module 3C, and a fourth polishing module 3D. As shown in FIG. 1, the first polishing module 3A, the second polishing module 3B, the third polishing module 3C, and the fourth polishing module 3D are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the polishing apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first polishing module 3A includes a polishing table 30A to which a polishing pad (polishing tool) 10 having a polishing surface is attached, and holds the wafer against the polishing pad 10 on the polishing table 30A. A top ring 31A for polishing, a polishing liquid supply nozzle 32A for supplying a polishing liquid or a dressing liquid (for example, pure water) to the polishing pad 10, and a dresser for dressing the polishing surface of the polishing pad 10 Atomizer for removing slurry and polishing products on polishing surface and polishing pad residue due to dressing by injecting a mixed fluid or liquid (for example, pure water) of 33A, liquid (for example, pure water) and gas (for example, nitrogen gas) 34A.

  Similarly, the second polishing module 3B includes a polishing table 30B, a top ring 31B, a polishing liquid supply nozzle 32B, a dresser 33B, and an atomizer 34B. The third polishing module 3C includes a polishing table 30C, a top ring 31C, a polishing liquid supply nozzle 32C, a dresser 33C, and an atomizer 34C. The fourth polishing module 3D includes a polishing table 30D, a top ring 31D, a polishing liquid supply nozzle 32D, a dresser 33D, and an atomizer 34D.

  Since the first polishing module 3A, the second polishing module 3B, the third polishing module 3C, and the fourth polishing module 3D have the same configuration, only the first polishing module 3A will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the first polishing module 3A. The top ring 31 </ b> A is supported by the top ring shaft 36. The polishing pad 10 is affixed to the upper surface of the polishing table 30A. The upper surface of the polishing pad 10 forms a polishing surface for polishing the wafer W. Note that fixed abrasive grains may be used in place of the polishing pad 10. The top ring 31 </ b> A and the polishing table 30 </ b> A are configured to rotate around their axes as indicated by arrows. The wafer W is held on the lower surface of the top ring 31A by vacuum suction. At the time of polishing, in a state where the polishing liquid is supplied from the polishing liquid supply nozzle 32A to the polishing surface of the polishing pad 10, the wafer W to be polished is pressed against the polishing surface of the polishing pad 10 by the top ring 31A and polished.

<Transport mechanism>
Next, a transport mechanism for transporting the wafer will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the first linear transporter 6 is disposed adjacent to the first polishing module 3A and the second polishing module 3B. The first linear transporter 6 has four transfer positions along the direction in which the polishing modules 3A and 3B are arranged (first transfer position TP1, second transfer position TP2, and third transfer position in order from the load / unload unit side). TP3 and fourth transfer position TP4).

  Further, the second linear transporter 7 is disposed adjacent to the third polishing module 3C and the fourth polishing module 3D. The second linear transporter 7 has three transfer positions along the direction in which the polishing modules 3C and 3D are arranged (a fifth transfer position TP5, a sixth transfer position TP6, and a seventh transfer position in order from the load / unload unit side). TP7). The first linear transporter 6 and the second linear transporter 7 transfer the unpolished wafer W to the polishing unit 3 and / or transfer the polished wafer W from the polishing unit 3. It corresponds to the transfer robot.

  The wafer is transferred to the polishing modules 3A and 3B by the first linear transporter 6. The top ring 31A of the first polishing module 3A moves between the polishing position and the second transport position TP2 by the swing operation of the top ring head. Therefore, the wafer is transferred to the top ring 31A at the second transfer position TP2. Similarly, the top ring 31B of the second polishing module 3B moves between the polishing position and the third transfer position TP3, and the delivery of the wafer to the top ring 31B is performed at the third transfer position TP3. The top ring 31C of the third polishing module 3C moves between the polishing position and the sixth transfer position TP6, and the delivery of the wafer to the top ring 31C is performed at the sixth transfer position TP6. The top ring 31D of the fourth polishing module 3D moves between the polishing position and the seventh transfer position TP7, and the delivery of the wafer to the top ring 31D is performed at the seventh transfer position TP7.

  A lifter 11 for receiving a wafer from the transfer robot 22 is disposed at the first transfer position TP1. The wafer is transferred from the transfer robot 22 to the first linear transporter 6 via the lifter 11. A shutter (not shown) is provided between the lifter 11 and the transfer robot 22 in the partition wall 1a. When the wafer is transferred, the shutter is opened so that the wafer is transferred from the transfer robot 22 to the lifter 11. It has become. A swing transporter 12 is disposed between the first linear transporter 6, the second linear transporter 7, and the cleaning unit 4. The swing transporter 12 has a hand that can move between the fourth transport position TP4 and the fifth transport position TP5. Wafer transfer from the first linear transporter 6 to the second linear transporter 7 is performed by the swing transporter 12. The wafer is transferred to the third polishing module 3C and / or the fourth polishing module 3D by the second linear transporter 7. Further, the wafer polished by the polishing unit 3 is conveyed to the cleaning unit 4 via the swing transporter 12.

The first linear transporter 6 and the second linear transporter 7 each have a plurality of transfer stages (not shown), as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-50436. Thereby, for example, a transfer stage for transferring an unpolished wafer to each transfer position and a transfer stage for transferring a polished wafer from each transfer position can be used properly. Thus, the wafer can be quickly transferred to the transfer position to start polishing, and the polished wafer can be quickly sent to the cleaning unit.

<Washing unit>
FIG. 3A is a plan view showing the cleaning unit 4, and FIG. 3B is a side view showing the cleaning unit 4. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the cleaning unit 4 includes a roll cleaning chamber 190, a first transfer chamber 191, a pen cleaning chamber 192, a second transfer chamber 193, and a drying unit. The chamber 194 is divided into a buff processing chamber 300 and a third transfer chamber 195.

  In the roll cleaning chamber 190, an upper roll cleaning module 201A and a lower roll cleaning module 201B arranged in the vertical direction are arranged. The upper roll cleaning module 201A is disposed above the lower roll cleaning module 201B. The upper roll cleaning module 201A and the lower roll cleaning module 201B clean the wafer by pressing two rotating sponges (first cleaning tools) against the front and back surfaces of the wafer while supplying the cleaning liquid to the front and back surfaces of the wafer. It is a washing machine. Between the upper roll cleaning module 201A and the lower roll cleaning module 201B, a temporary wafer holder 204 is provided.

  In the pen cleaning chamber 192, an upper pen cleaning module 202A and a lower pen cleaning module 202B arranged in the vertical direction are arranged. The upper pen cleaning module 202A is disposed above the lower pen cleaning module 202B. The upper pen cleaning module 202A and the lower pen cleaning module 202B press the rotating pencil sponge (second cleaning tool) against the wafer surface and swing it in the radial direction of the wafer while supplying the cleaning liquid to the wafer surface. Is a cleaning machine for cleaning a wafer. Between the upper pen cleaning module 202A and the lower pen cleaning module 202B, a temporary wafer placement table 203 is provided. A temporary placement table 180 for a wafer W installed on a frame (not shown) is disposed on the side of the swing transporter 12. The temporary placement table 180 is disposed adjacent to the first linear transporter 6 and is located between the first linear transporter 6 and the cleaning unit 4.

  In the drying chamber 194, an upper drying module 205A and a lower drying module 205B arranged in the vertical direction are arranged. The upper drying module 205A and the lower drying module 205B are isolated from each other. Filter fan units 207A and 207B for supplying clean air into the drying modules 205A and 205B are provided above the upper drying module 205A and the lower drying module 205B, respectively.

  The upper roll cleaning module 201A, the lower roll cleaning module 201B, the upper pen cleaning module 202A, the lower pen cleaning module 202B, the temporary placement table 203, the upper drying module 205A, and the lower drying module 205B are bolted to a frame (not shown). Fixed through.

In the first transfer chamber 191, a first transfer robot (transfer mechanism) 209 that can move up and down is arranged. In the second transfer chamber 193, a second transfer robot 210 that can move up and down is arranged. In the third transfer chamber 195, a third transfer robot (transfer mechanism) 213 capable of moving up and down is arranged. The first transfer robot 209, the second transfer robot 210, and the third transfer robot 213 are movably supported by support shafts 211, 212, and 214 that extend in the vertical direction. The first transfer robot 209, the second transfer robot 210, and the third transfer robot 213 have a drive mechanism such as a motor inside, and can move up and down along the support shafts 211, 212, and 214. ing. The first transfer robot 209 has two upper and lower hands like the transfer robot 22. As shown by the dotted line in FIG. 3A, the first transfer robot 209 is disposed at a position where the lower hand can access the temporary table 180 described above. When the lower hand of the first transfer robot 209 accesses the temporary table 180, a shutter (not shown) provided on the partition wall 1b is opened.

  The first transfer robot 209 includes a temporary placing table 180, an upper roll cleaning module 201A, a lower roll cleaning module 201B, a temporary placing table 204, a temporary placing table 203, an upper pen cleaning module 202A, and a lower pen cleaning module 202B. It operates so that the wafer W may be conveyed between. The first transfer robot 209 uses the lower hand when transferring the wafer before cleaning (wafer to which slurry is attached), and uses the upper hand when transferring the wafer after cleaning.

  The second transfer robot 210 operates to transfer the wafer W between the upper pen cleaning module 202A, the lower pen cleaning module 202B, the temporary placement table 203, the upper drying module 205A, and the lower drying module 205B. . Since the second transfer robot 210 transfers only the cleaned wafer, it has only one hand. The transfer robot 22 shown in FIG. 1 takes out the wafer from the upper drying module 205A or the lower drying module 205B using the upper hand, and returns the wafer to the wafer cassette. When the upper hand of the transfer robot 22 accesses the drying modules 205A and 205B, a shutter (not shown) provided on the partition wall 1a is opened.

  The buff processing chamber 300 includes an upper buff processing module 300A and a lower buff processing module 300B. The third transfer robot 213 transfers the wafer W between the upper roll cleaning module 201A, the lower roll cleaning module 201B, the temporary placement table 204, the upper buff processing module 300A, and the lower buff processing module 300B. Operate. The third transfer robot 213 has two upper and lower hands. The first transport robot 209 of the cleaning unit 4 includes an upper roll cleaning module 201A, a lower roll cleaning module 201B, an upper pen cleaning module 202A, a lower pen cleaning module 202B, a temporary table 203, and a temporary table 204. The wafer W is transferred between the two. The second transfer robot 210 transfers the wafer W between the upper pen cleaning module 202A, the lower pen cleaning module 202B, the upper drying module 205A, the lower drying module 205B, and the temporary placement table 203. The third transfer robot 213 transfers the wafer W between the upper roll cleaning module 201A, the lower roll cleaning module 201B, the upper buff processing module 300A, the lower buff processing module 300B, and the temporary placement table 204. This corresponds to a second transfer robot different from the transfer robot.

  The relationship between the pressures of the chambers is that buff processing chamber 300 <third transfer chamber 195> roll cleaning chamber 190 <first transfer chamber 191> pen cleaning chamber 192 <second transfer chamber 193> drying chamber 194. . That is, the first transfer chamber 191, the second transfer chamber 193, and the third transfer chamber 195 are all at a positive pressure than the adjacent buff treatment chamber 300, the cleaning chambers 190 and 192, or the drying chamber 194. . Further, the first transfer chamber 191 has a positive pressure than the polishing unit 3. Shutters (not shown) are provided on the wall surfaces facing the transfer chambers of the buff processing chamber 300, the roll cleaning chamber 190, the pen cleaning chamber 192, and the drying chamber 194, respectively. Each of the transfer robots 209, 210, and 213 delivers a substrate to and from the buff processing chamber 300, the roll cleaning chamber 190, the pen cleaning chamber 192, or the drying chamber 194 when the shutter is opened. Even when these shutters are opened, the above-described pressure relationship is maintained, so that the substrate is always transferred from the transfer chamber to the buff processing chamber 300, each cleaning chamber 190, 192, or by the transfer of the substrate by the transfer robot. An air flow toward the drying chamber 194 is generated. Thereby, the contaminated atmosphere in the buff processing chamber 300, the cleaning chambers 190 and 192, and the drying chamber 194 is prevented from going outside.

In particular, the polishing unit 3 uses a polishing liquid, and the buffing chamber 300 may also use the polishing liquid as the buffing liquid. Therefore, by setting the pressure balance as described above, the particle component in the polishing unit 3 does not flow into the first transfer chamber 191 and the particle component in the buff processing chamber 300 does not flow into the third transfer chamber. In this way, by increasing the internal pressure of the transfer chamber adjacent to the unit or processing chamber that uses the polishing liquid, the cleanliness of each transfer chamber, each cleaning chamber, and the drying chamber can be maintained, and contamination of the substrate can be prevented. it can. Unlike the example of FIG. 3, when the polishing unit 3, the roll cleaning chamber 190, the pen cleaning chamber 192, the drying chamber 194, and the buff processing chamber 300 are directly adjacent to each other without being separated from each other by the transfer chamber, The pressure balance between the chambers is such that the drying chamber 194> the roll cleaning chamber 190 and the pen cleaning chamber 192> the buff processing chamber 300 ≧ the polishing unit 3.

  Next, a description will be given of conveyance when a wafer that has been polished by the polishing unit 3 is processed in the order of buffing, cleaning with a roll sponge, cleaning with a pencil sponge, and drying.

  First, the lower hand of the first transfer robot 209 receives the wafer W from the temporary placement table 180. The lower hand of the first transfer robot 209 places the wafer W on the temporary placement table 204. The lower hand of the third transfer robot 213 transfers the wafer W to either the upper buff processing module 300A or the lower buff processing module 300B. After the buffing process, the upper hand of the third transfer robot 213 transfers the wafer W to either the upper roll cleaning module 201A or the lower roll cleaning module 201B. After the roll cleaning, the upper hand of the first transfer robot 209 transfers the wafer W to the upper pen cleaning module 202A and the lower pen cleaning module 202B. After the pen cleaning, the second transfer robot 210 transfers the wafer W to either the upper drying module 205A or the lower drying module 205B. Note that the transfer route of the wafer W shown here is an example, and is not limited to this transfer route. For example, it is not necessary to first transfer the wafer W to the upper buff processing module 300A or the lower buff processing module 300B. For example, the wafer W can be transported in the order of roll cleaning, buffing, pen cleaning, and drying. This is because the surface of the wafer W is finally cleaned by a combination of the individual cleaning capabilities of these modules.

  The temporary placement table 203 can be used as a delivery table for the wafer W from the first transfer chamber 191 to the second transfer chamber 193, for example, after performing roll cleaning and drying without performing pen cleaning. . The temporary table 203 may not be provided if it is not necessary.

  Each of the buff processing chamber 300, the roll cleaning chamber 190, the pen cleaning chamber 192, and the drying chamber 194 may have two modules at the top and bottom. Thereby, the wafer W continuously conveyed can be distributed to the upper and lower two modules, and a plurality of wafers W can be processed in parallel to improve the throughput. For example, a certain wafer W is processed using only the upper module, and the next wafer W is processed using only the lower module. That is, this embodiment has a plurality of cleaning lines. Here, the cleaning line refers to a moving path when one wafer W is cleaned by each module in the cleaning unit into which the wafer W is loaded.

  The first linear transporter 6 and the second linear transporter 7 transport an unpolished wafer to each transport position and perform a polished wafer from the transport position in order to perform polishing by each polishing module of the polishing unit 3. To do. On the other hand, each transfer robot in the cleaning unit 4 receives the wafer from the temporary table 180 and transfers the wafer among the buff processing chamber 300, the roll cleaning chamber 190, the pen cleaning chamber 192, and the drying chamber 194. As described above, the first linear transporter 6 and the second linear transporter 7 and the respective transport robots in the cleaning unit 4 separate their roles. In this way, by sharing the transport operation performed by each transport device, it is possible to reduce the transport waiting time and improve the throughput. As a result, it is possible to avoid the problem that the corrosion due to the chemical solution or the like progresses while the wafer W waits for the transfer.

  As described above, the cleaning unit 4 includes a transfer chamber having a transfer robot inside between the adjacent chambers of the buff processing chamber 300, the roll cleaning chamber 190, the pen cleaning chamber 192, and the drying chamber 194. Since each transfer robot only transfers between adjacent modules, the transfer of the wafer W is divided, and the waiting time for transfer can be reduced and the throughput can be improved. In particular, the throughput is further improved by leveling the processing time of the buff processing chamber 300, the roll cleaning chamber 190, the pen cleaning chamber 192, and the drying chamber 194.

  Further, the upper buff processing module 300A and the lower buff processing module 300B of the buff processing chamber 300 can use different buff processing liquids or buff pads (described later). In this case, the first buff processing can be performed by the upper buff processing module 300A, and the second buff processing can be performed by the lower buff processing module 300B. For example, a buffing process and a buff cleaning process, which will be described later, can be performed continuously.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the buff processing chamber 300, the roll cleaning chamber 190, and the pen cleaning chamber 192 are arranged in order from the far side from the load / unload unit 2 in the cleaning unit 4 is shown. However, it is not limited to this. The arrangement mode of the buff processing chamber 300, the roll cleaning chamber 190, and the pen cleaning chamber 192 can be appropriately selected according to the quality and throughput of the wafer. In the present embodiment, an example in which the upper buff processing module 300A and the lower buff processing module 300B are provided is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and only one buff processing module may be provided. In this embodiment, the roll cleaning module and the pen cleaning module are described as the modules for cleaning the wafer W in addition to the buff processing chamber 300. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two-fluid jet cleaning (2FJ cleaning) ) Or megasonic cleaning. In the two-fluid jet cleaning, a micro droplet (mist) placed in a high-speed gas is ejected from the two-fluid nozzle toward the wafer W to collide with it, and a shock wave generated by the collision of the micro droplet on the wafer W surface is used. Thus, particles or the like on the surface of the wafer W are removed (cleaned). In the megasonic cleaning, ultrasonic waves are applied to the cleaning liquid, and the action force due to the vibration acceleration of the cleaning liquid molecules is applied to the adhered particles such as particles to remove them. Hereinafter, the upper buff processing module 300A and the lower buff processing module 300B will be described. Since the upper buff processing module 300A and the lower buff processing module 300B have the same configuration, only the upper buff processing module 300A will be described.

<Buff processing module>
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the upper buff processing module. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper buff processing module 300 </ b> A includes a buff table 400 on which a wafer W is installed, and a buff pad (third cleaning tool) 502 for performing buff processing on the processing surface of the wafer W. 500, a buff arm 600 that holds the buff head 500, a liquid supply system 700 for supplying a buff treatment liquid, and a conditioning unit 800 for conditioning (shaping) the buff pad 502. As shown in FIG. 4, the buff pad (third cleaning tool) 502 has a smaller diameter than the wafer W. For example, when the wafer W is Φ300 mm, the buff pad 502 is preferably Φ100 mm or less, more preferably Φ60 to 100 mm. The larger the buff pad diameter, the smaller the area ratio with the wafer, and the buffing speed of the wafer increases. On the other hand, regarding the in-plane uniformity of the wafer processing speed, the in-plane uniformity improves as the diameter of the buff pad decreases. This is because the unit processing area is small, and as shown in FIG. 4, the buff pad 502 is advantageously moved in the plane of the wafer W by the buff arm 600 to perform relative movement such as swinging on the entire surface of the wafer. It becomes. The buffing liquid includes at least one of DIW (pure water), a cleaning chemical, and a polishing liquid such as a slurry. There are mainly two types of buffing methods. One is a method of removing contaminants such as slurry remaining on the wafer to be processed and a residue of a polishing product when contacting the buff pad, and the other is the above-mentioned contamination. This is a method of removing a fixed amount of a processing target to which an object has adhered by polishing or the like. In the former, the buffing liquid is preferably a cleaning chemical or DIW, and in the latter, a polishing liquid is preferable. However, in the latter case, the removal amount in the above processing is, for example, less than 10 nm, preferably 5 nm or less, which is desirable for maintaining the state of the surface to be processed (flatness and remaining film amount) after CMP. In some cases, the removal rate is not as high as that of normal CMP. In such a case, the processing speed may be adjusted by appropriately performing a treatment such as dilution on the polishing liquid. The buff pad 502 is formed of, for example, a foamed polyurethane hard pad, a suede soft pad, or a sponge. The type of the buff pad may be appropriately selected according to the material of the processing object and the state of the contaminant to be removed. For example, when the contaminant is buried in the surface of the object to be treated, a hard pad that can easily apply physical force to the contaminant, that is, a pad having high hardness or rigidity, may be used as the buff pad. On the other hand, when the object to be processed is a material having a low mechanical strength such as a Low-k film, a soft pad may be used to reduce damage to the surface to be processed. In addition, when the buffing liquid is a polishing liquid such as slurry, the removal speed of the object to be treated, the removal efficiency of contaminants, and the presence or absence of damage are not determined solely by the hardness or rigidity of the buff pad, so it may be selected as appropriate. good. The surface of these buff pads may be provided with groove shapes such as concentric grooves, XY grooves, spiral grooves, and radial grooves. Moreover, you may use the sponge-like material which can permeate | transmit a buff processing liquid like a PVA sponge, for example. As a result, the flow distribution of the buffing liquid in the buff pad surface can be made uniform, and the contaminants removed by the buffing process can be quickly discharged.

  The buff table 400 has a mechanism for adsorbing the wafer W. Further, the buffing table 400 can be rotated around the rotation axis A by a driving mechanism (not shown). Further, the buff table 400 causes the wafer W to perform an angular rotation motion (an arc motion whose angle is less than 360 °) or a scroll motion (also referred to as an orbital motion or a circular locus motion) by a driving mechanism (not shown). It may be. The buff pad 502 is attached to the surface of the buff head 500 that faces the wafer W. The buff head 500 can be rotated around the rotation axis B by a driving mechanism (not shown). Further, the buff head 500 can press the buff pad 502 against the processing surface of the wafer W by a driving mechanism (not shown). The buff arm 600 can move the buff head 500 in a region where the buff head 502 in the range of the radius or diameter of the wafer W contacts the wafer W as indicated by an arrow C. Further, the buff arm 600 can swing the buff head 500 to a position where the buff pad 502 faces the conditioning unit 800.

  The conditioning unit 800 is a member for conditioning the surface of the buff pad 502. The conditioning unit 800 includes a dress table 810 and a dresser 820 installed on the dress table 810. The dress table 810 can be rotated around the rotation axis D by a driving mechanism (not shown). Further, the dress table 810 may cause the dresser 820 to perform a scrolling motion by a driving mechanism (not shown). The dresser 820 is a diamond dresser in which diamond particles are electrodeposited and fixed on the surface, or diamond abrasive grains are arranged on the entire surface or part of the contact surface with the buff pad, and the resin brush bristles are in contact with the buff pad. The brush dresser is arranged on the entire surface or a part of it, or a combination thereof.

When conditioning the buff pad 502, the upper buff processing module 300 </ b> A rotates the buff arm 600 until the buff pad 502 reaches a position facing the dresser 820. The upper buff processing module 300A performs conditioning of the buff pad 502 by rotating the dress table 810 around the rotation axis D, rotating the buff head 500, and pressing the buff pad 502 against the dresser 820. As a conditioning condition, the conditioning load may be 80 N or less, and is preferably 40 N or less from the viewpoint of the life of the buff pad 502. Further, it is desirable to use the buff pad 502 and the dresser 820 at a rotation speed of 500 rpm or less. In the present embodiment,
Although an example in which the processing surface of the wafer W and the dress surface of the dresser 820 are installed along the horizontal direction is shown, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the upper buff processing module 300A can arrange the buff table 400 and the dress table 810 so that the processing surface of the wafer W and the dress surface of the dresser 820 are installed along the vertical direction. In this case, the buff arm 600 and the buff head 500 perform buff processing by bringing the buff pad 502 into contact with the processing surface of the wafer W arranged in the vertical direction, and buff pad against the dress surface of the dresser 820 arranged in the vertical direction. It arrange | positions so that 502 can be made to contact and a conditioning process can be performed. Further, even when either the buff table 400 or the dress table 810 is arranged in the vertical direction and all or part of the buff arm 600 rotates so that the buff pad 502 arranged on the buff arm 600 faces each table surface. good.

  The liquid supply system 700 includes a pure water nozzle 710 for supplying pure water (DIW) to the processing surface of the wafer W. The pure water nozzle 710 is connected to a pure water supply source 714 via a pure water pipe 712. The pure water pipe 712 is provided with an on-off valve 716 that can open and close the pure water pipe 712. The control device 5 can supply pure water to the processing surface of the wafer W at an arbitrary timing by controlling the opening / closing of the on-off valve 716.

  In addition, the liquid supply system 700 includes a chemical nozzle 720 for supplying a chemical (Chemi) to the processing surface of the wafer W. The chemical solution nozzle 720 is connected to a chemical solution supply source 724 via a chemical solution pipe 722. The chemical solution pipe 722 is provided with an on-off valve 726 that can open and close the chemical solution pipe 722. The control device 5 can supply the chemical solution to the processing surface of the wafer W at an arbitrary timing by controlling the opening / closing of the on-off valve 726.

  The upper buff processing module 300A can selectively supply a polishing liquid such as pure water, a chemical solution, or a slurry to the processing surface of the wafer W through the buff arm 600, the buff head 500, and the buff pad 502. . The buff pad 500 is provided with at least one or more through holes, and the buff processing liquid can be supplied through the main holes.

  That is, the branched pure water pipe 712 a branches from between the pure water supply source 714 and the on-off valve 716 in the pure water pipe 712. Further, a branched chemical liquid pipe 722 a branches from between the chemical liquid supply source 724 and the on-off valve 726 in the chemical liquid pipe 722. The branched pure water pipe 712 a, the branched chemical liquid pipe 722 a, and the polishing liquid pipe 732 connected to the polishing liquid supply source 734 merge with the liquid supply pipe 740. The branch pure water pipe 712a is provided with an on-off valve 718 that can open and close the branch pure water pipe 712a. The branch chemical liquid pipe 722a is provided with an on-off valve 728 that can open and close the branch chemical liquid pipe 722a. The polishing liquid pipe 732 is provided with an on-off valve 736 that can open and close the polishing liquid pipe 732.

  The first end of the liquid supply pipe 740 is connected to three lines of a branched pure water pipe 712 a, a branched chemical liquid pipe 722 a, and a polishing liquid pipe 732. The liquid supply pipe 740 extends through the inside of the buff arm 600, the center of the buff head 500, and the center of the buff pad 502. The second end of the liquid supply pipe 740 opens toward the processing surface of the wafer W. The control device 5 controls the opening / closing of the opening / closing valve 718, the opening / closing valve 728, and the opening / closing valve 736, so that any of the polishing liquid such as pure water, chemical liquid, and slurry is applied to the processing surface of the wafer W at any timing. One or a mixture of any combination thereof can be supplied.

The upper buff processing module 300A supplies the processing liquid to the wafer W via the liquid supply pipe 740 and rotates the buff table 400 around the rotation axis A to press the buff pad 502 against the processing surface of the wafer W, thereby The wafer W can be buffed by swinging in the direction of arrow C while rotating around the rotation axis B. Although the conditions in the buff processing are basically this processing is defect removal by mechanical action, on the other hand, considering the reduction of damage to the wafer W, the pressure is 3 psi or less, preferably 2 psi or less. desirable. Further, the rotational speeds of the wafer W and the buff head 500 are desirably 1000 rpm or less in consideration of the in-plane distribution of the buff processing liquid. Moreover, the moving speed of the buff head 500 is 300 mm / sec or less. However, since the distribution of the optimum movement speed differs depending on the rotation speed of the wafer W and the buff head 500 and the movement distance of the buff head 500, it is desirable that the movement speed of the buff head 500 is variable in the wafer W plane. As a method of changing the moving speed in this case, for example, a method in which the swing distance in the wafer W plane is divided into a plurality of sections and the moving speed can be set for each section is desirable. Further, as the buff processing liquid flow rate, a large flow rate is good in order to maintain a sufficient distribution of the processing liquid in the wafer surface even when the wafer W and the buff head 500 are rotated at a high speed. On the other hand, however, an increase in the flow rate of the processing liquid leads to an increase in processing cost.

  Here, the buff processing includes at least one of buff polishing processing and buff cleaning processing.

  In the buff polishing process, the wafer W and the buff pad 502 are moved relative to each other while the buff pad 502 is brought into contact with the wafer W, and a polishing liquid such as a slurry is interposed between the wafer W and the buff pad 502 to thereby remove the wafer W. This is a process for polishing and removing the treated surface. In the buff polishing process, the physical action force applied to the wafer W by the roll sponge in the roll cleaning chamber 190 and the physical action force applied to the wafer W by the pen sponge in the pen cleaning chamber 192 are stronger than the physical action force. This process can be added to W. By the buffing treatment, it is possible to realize removal of the surface layer portion to which contaminants are attached, additional removal of portions that could not be removed by the main polishing in the polishing unit 3, or improvement of morphology after the main polishing.

  In the buff cleaning process, the wafer W and the buff pad 502 are moved relative to each other while the buff pad 502 is brought into contact with the wafer W, and a cleaning process liquid (chemical solution or chemical solution and pure water) is interposed between the wafer W and the buff pad 502. In this process, contaminants on the surface of the wafer W are removed or the processing surface is modified. In the buff cleaning process, the physical action force applied to the wafer W by the roll sponge in the roll cleaning chamber 190 and the physical action force applied to the wafer W by the pen sponge in the pen cleaning chamber 192 are stronger than the physical action force. This process can be added to W. By the buff cleaning treatment, sticky particles that cannot be removed by a soft material such as PVA sponge and contaminants embedded in the substrate surface can be removed.

  That is, the polishing apparatus 1000 of the present embodiment is configured such that some of the cleaning modules (upper buff processing module 300A and lower buff processing module 300B) are other cleaning modules (upper roll cleaning module 201A, Wafer W and the cleaning tool are moved relative to each other while the cleaning tool is in contact with wafer W at a pressure higher than that of lower roll cleaning module 201B, upper pen cleaning module 202A, and lower pen cleaning module 202B). Has the function of cleaning.

  As described above, the polishing apparatus 1000 of the present embodiment includes the cleaning modules (the upper buff processing module 300A and the lower buff processing module 300B) having a large mechanical action, and thus the polishing apparatus with enhanced cleaning capability. Can be realized.

  Specifically, in the upper roll cleaning module 201A and the lower roll cleaning module 201B, the pressure for pressing the roll sponge (first cleaning tool) against the wafer W is usually less than 1 psi.

  In the upper pen cleaning module 202A and the lower pen cleaning module 202B, the pressure for pressing the pencil sponge (second cleaning tool) against the wafer W is usually less than 1 psi.

  On the other hand, the upper buff processing module 300A and the lower buff processing module 300B move the wafer W and the buff pad 502 relative to each other while bringing the buff pad 502 (third cleaning tool) into contact with the wafer W at, for example, 1 to 3 psi. This has a function of cleaning the wafer W.

  Therefore, the polishing apparatus 1000 of the present embodiment includes cleaning modules (upper buff processing module 300A and lower buff processing module 300B) having a larger mechanical action than the cleaning modules provided in the conventional polishing apparatus. So the cleaning ability can be enhanced.

  If the upper buff processing module 300A or the lower buff processing module 300B is provided in the polishing unit 3, the processing time in the polishing unit 3 increases, which may affect WPH (Wafer Per Hour). On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the upper buff processing module 300A and the lower buff processing module 300B are provided in the cleaning unit 4, the rate limiting in the polishing unit 3 can be reduced and the decrease in WPH can be suppressed. .

<Overall flowchart>
Next, a processing method of the polishing apparatus 1000 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing method of the polishing apparatus 1000 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 briefly describes the flow of the processing method of the entire polishing apparatus 1000.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the processing method for the processing object, the wafer W is first polished by the polishing unit 3 (step S101). Subsequently, in the processing method, the wafer W polished by the polishing unit 3 is transferred to the buff processing chamber 300, and the final polishing (light polishing) of the wafer W is performed by the upper buff processing module 300A or the lower buff processing module 300B. Is performed (step S102).

  Subsequently, the processing method performs buff cleaning (third cleaning process) of the wafer W by the upper buff processing module 300A or the lower buff processing module 300B (step S103). Here, the processing method includes a plurality of cleaning steps. The buff cleaning of the wafer W is a part of a plurality of cleaning processes, and the wafer W is cleaned by moving the wafer W and the cleaning tool relative to each other while the cleaning tool (buff pad 502) is in contact with the wafer W. . The buffing (step S102) and the buff cleaning (step S103) may be performed continuously in one buff module, or may be realized by using two upper and lower buff modules in succession.

  Subsequently, in the processing method, the wafer W is transported to the roll cleaning chamber 190, and roll cleaning (first cleaning process) of the wafer W is performed by the upper roll cleaning module 201A or the lower roll cleaning module 201B (step S104). In the roll cleaning, the wafer W is cleaned by moving the wafer W and the cleaning tool relative to each other while bringing the cleaning tool (roll sponge) into contact with the wafer W at a lower pressure than the buff cleaning.

Subsequently, in the processing method, the wafer W is transferred to the pen cleaning chamber 192, and the pen cleaning (second cleaning process) of the wafer W is performed by the upper pen cleaning module 202A or the lower pen cleaning module 202B (step S105). In the pen cleaning, the wafer W is cleaned by relatively moving the wafer W and the cleaning tool while bringing the cleaning tool (pen sponge) into contact with the wafer W at a pressure lower than that of the buff cleaning.

  Subsequently, in the processing method, the wafer W is transferred to the drying chamber 194, the wafer W is dried by the upper drying module 205A or the lower drying module 205B (step S106), the wafer W is taken out, and the processing is ended.

  As described above, the processing method of the present embodiment includes a plurality of cleaning steps, and some cleaning steps have a larger mechanical action than the cleaning steps provided in the conventional processing method (buff cleaning step). Therefore, the cleaning ability can be enhanced as compared with the conventional case.

  In the example of FIG. 5, an example in which the buffing process is performed after the polishing process by the polishing unit 3 is shown, but the buffing process is not essential, and further, the buff cleaning process, the roll cleaning process, and the pen cleaning process The order of can be arbitrarily changed.

  For example, FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing method of the polishing apparatus 1000 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 6, the flow of the processing method of the entire polishing apparatus 1000 will be briefly described.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the processing method, first, the wafer W is polished by the polishing unit 3 (step S201). Subsequently, in the processing method, the wafer W polished by the polishing unit 3 is transferred to the roll cleaning chamber 190, and the wafer W is subjected to roll cleaning (first cleaning step) by the upper roll cleaning module 201A or the lower roll cleaning module 201B. Is performed (step S202). In the roll cleaning, the wafer W is cleaned by moving the wafer W and the cleaning tool relative to each other while bringing the cleaning tool (roll sponge) into contact with the wafer W. Here, the reason why the roll cleaning is performed before the buff cleaning is to maintain the cleaning performance by reducing the introduction of slurry and polishing residue into the buff processing module. Since buff cleaning is intended to remove contaminants that are difficult to remove with conventional cleaning methods, removing contaminants that can be removed with conventional cleaning in advance eliminates back-contamination due to slurry and polishing residues. The cleaning performance is maintained by minimizing the influence.

  Subsequently, in the processing method, the wafer W is transferred to the buff processing chamber 300, and the wafer W is buff cleaned (third cleaning process) by the upper buff processing module 300A or the lower buff processing module 300B (step S203). ). The buff cleaning of the wafer W is a part of a plurality of cleaning processes, and the wafer W is brought into contact with the cleaning tool (buff pad 502) at a higher pressure than other cleaning processes (roll cleaning, pen cleaning). The wafer W is cleaned by relatively moving the W and the cleaning tool.

  Subsequently, in the processing method, the wafer W is transferred to the pen cleaning chamber 192, and the pen cleaning (second cleaning process) of the wafer W is performed by the upper pen cleaning module 202A or the lower pen cleaning module 202B (step S204). In the pen cleaning, the wafer W is cleaned by moving the wafer W and the cleaning tool relative to each other while the cleaning tool (pen sponge) is in contact with the wafer W.

  Subsequently, in the processing method, the wafer W is transferred to the drying chamber 194, the wafer W is dried by the upper drying module 205A or the lower drying module 205B (step S205), the wafer W is taken out, and the processing is ended.

<Buff module flowchart>
Next, a processing method in the upper buff processing module 300A of the polishing apparatus 1000 will be described in detail. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing method according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, first, as the processing on the buff table 400 side, the processing method is as follows.
Is placed on the buffing table 400 (step S301). Note that a buffer material may be provided on the stage of the buff table 400. For this reason, the wafer W can be adsorbed directly through the stage of the buff table 400 or adsorbed through the buffer material. The buffer material is made of an elastic material such as polyurethane, nylon, fluorine rubber, or silicone rubber, and is in close contact with the stage of the buff table 400 via an adhesive resin layer. Since the cushioning material has elasticity, it prevents the wafer from being damaged, and reduces the influence of the irregularities on the surface of the buffing table 400 on the buffing process.

  Subsequently, the processing method performs first-out (preloading) of the buff processing liquid onto the wafer surface (step S302). For example, the liquid replacement on the processing surface of the wafer W can be performed by supplying the buff processing liquid into the processing surface of the wafer W in advance. The liquid replacement is performed by, for example, DIW remaining on the surface of the wafer W after being polished by the polishing unit 3 or in the previous cleaning process, such as a liquid remaining on the processing surface of the wafer W before the buffing process, Is to replace For example, when the buffing liquid is a polishing liquid containing an abrasive component, it is mixed with DIW and diluted to cause aggregation of the abrasive component contained in the polishing liquid, thereby forming a scratch on the surface to be processed. Risk increases. Therefore, by providing this advance processing, it is possible to discharge the agglomerated abrasive components to the outside of the wafer W before the buffing process, and thus the above risk can be reduced. In addition, by supplying the buff processing liquid into the processing surface of the wafer W in advance, the buffing performance at the start of the buff processing can be stabilized. It is possible to suppress the decrease. In addition, as a method of this advance processing, there is a method of supplying through an external supply nozzle (chemical solution nozzle 720 if chemical solution), or supplying via a branched chemical solution pipe 722a or polishing solution pipe 732. In the former case, the supply position of the buff processing liquid may be moved within the surface of the wafer W by swinging the external supply nozzle. As for the latter, for example, the buffing liquid is supplied in a state where the buff head 600 is moved to the vicinity of the rotation center of the wafer W and the buff pad 502 is not in contact with the wafer W. At this time, the buff processing liquid may be supplied while moving the buff head 600 in the plane of the wafer W. As a method of movement, for example, arc motion, linear motion, unidirectional motion, reciprocal motion, or a combination thereof, and the moving speed of the buff head 600 in the wafer W plane is determined by program motion. Either constant speed or variable speed motion may be selected.

  Subsequently, the processing method performs main buff processing (step S303). In the main buff processing, at least one of DIW, cleaning chemical, or polishing liquid is supplied to the processing surface of the wafer W as the buff processing liquid. Although the cleaning chemical varies depending on the process, for example, the main buffing may be performed with a chemical used for subsequent cleaning. In this case, the cleaning ability increases in combination with the mechanical action of buffing (higher pressure and higher rotation than cleaning). A different polishing liquid is used depending on the process. For example, the slurry used in the polishing unit 3 may be diluted. When a polishing liquid containing an abrasive component is supplied, the processing surface of the wafer W is polished by the abrasive particles in the polishing liquid, and defects (defects and defects) on the processing surface of the wafer W generated during polishing before buffing are removed. can do.

In this state, the buff processing is performed with the pressure between the predetermined buff pad 502 and the wafer W, the rotation speed of the buff pad 502 and the wafer W, the movement pattern and the movement speed distribution of the buff arm 600 on the wafer W surface. About this pressure, rotation speed, and moving speed, you may be comprised from several steps. For example, in the first main buff processing step, the buff processing may be performed under a high pressure condition, and in the second buff processing step, the pressure may be lower than that in the first step. As a result, contaminants to be removed in the first step can be intensively removed, and finishing can be performed in the second step, so that an efficient buffing process can be performed. In addition, a RampUp step and a RampDown step may be introduced before and after the main buff processing. For example, in the RampUp step, the buff pad 502 is brought into contact with the wafer W at a lower pressure than the main buff step in the subsequent stage, or the buff head 500 and the buff table 40 are contacted.
This is a step of rotating 0 at a low speed. The RampUp step is introduced in order to avoid the occurrence of scratches when the buff head 500 starts touching down and starts buffing, and suddenly starts buffing at high pressure / high rotation. To do. Subsequently, the main buff process performs a main buff step. The main buff step is a step in which the buff pad 502 is brought into contact with the wafer W at a pressure higher than that of the RampUp step, and the buff head 500 and the buff table 400 are rotated at a high speed. The RampDown step is a step in which the buff pad 502 is brought into contact with the wafer W at a pressure lower than that of the main buff step, and the buff head 500 and the buff table 400 are rotated at a low speed. Further, under such pressure and rotation conditions, the buff head 500 performs a horizontal movement within the wafer W surface. Since the optimal moving speed distribution varies depending on the number of rotations of the wafer W and the buff head 500 and the moving distance of the buff head 500, it is desirable that the moving speed of the buff head 500 be variable in the wafer W plane. As a method of changing the moving speed in this case, for example, a method in which the swing distance in the wafer W plane is divided into a plurality of sections and the moving speed can be set for each section is desirable.

  In the RampDown step, particularly when the buffing liquid is a polishing liquid containing an abrasive component, in the subsequent buffing liquid washing step, depending on the slurry, abrasive agglomeration may occur due to dilution, which may become a scratch (scratch) source. is there. Therefore, by reducing the pressure applied to the wafer W by the buff pad 502 in advance, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of scratches, particularly in a transient state at the next step transition. The RampUp step and the RampDown step are not essential and can be omitted. In the main buffing process, when the slurry is supplied to polish the processing surface of the wafer W, the polishing amount is less than 10 nm, preferably 5 nm or less as described above.

  Subsequently, in the processing method, a buff processing liquid washing process is performed (step S304). The buff processing liquid rinsing process is a process of removing the buff processing liquid in the main buff processing from the processing surface (and the buff pad 502) of the wafer W. The buff treatment liquid rinsing process is used to prevent the buff treatment liquid used in the main buff treatment from being mixed in the subsequent chemical buff treatment, particularly when there is a chemical buff treatment in the subsequent stage. The buff treatment liquid washing process is performed in a state where the buff pad 502 is brought into contact with the wafer W while the pure water is supplied onto the wafer W, the buff head 500 and the buff table 400 are rotated, and the buff arm 600 is swung. The buffing conditions (pressure, buffing pad, wafer rotation speed, and buffing arm moving condition) may be different from the main buffing process. For example, the pressure of the buffing pad 502 on the wafer W is preferably smaller than the main buffing process condition. Further, pure water may be supplied onto the wafer W from an external supply nozzle, but supply through a through hole provided in the buff pad or combined use with an external supply nozzle is more preferable. These particularly effectively remove the buffing liquid from the contact surface of the buff pad 502 with the wafer W.

  Subsequently, the processing method performs chemical buffing (step S305). The chemical buffing process is a process of removing the buffing liquid (particularly in the case of slurry) used in the main buffing process from the processing surface (and buff pad 502) of the wafer W. The chemical buffing also serves as an assist when the defect to be removed cannot be removed only by the main buffing. If the buffing liquid used in the main buffing process is a cleaning chemical, this step may be skipped. This is because the same processing is repeated. Even if the buffing liquid used in the main buffing process is a cleaning chemical, the chemical buffing process may be performed using a buffing liquid different from the main buffing process. Further, the buffing conditions (pressure, buffing pad, wafer rotation speed, and buffing arm moving condition) may be different from the main buffing process. For example, it is preferable that the pressure of the buff pad 502 on the wafer W is smaller than the main buff processing condition. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the reattachment of the buffing liquid removed from the wafer W.

  Subsequently, in the processing method, a buff chemical washing process is performed (step S306). The buff chemical rinsing process is a process of removing the buffing liquid used in the chemical buffing process from the processing surface (and the buff pad 502) of the wafer W. The buff chemical rinsing process is performed in a state where the buff pad 502 is brought into contact with the wafer W while pure water is supplied onto the wafer W, the buff head 500 and the buff table 400 are rotated, and the buff arm 600 is swung. The buff conditions (pressure, buff pad, wafer rotation speed, and buff arm movement condition) may be different from the main buff process. Note that this step may be skipped if the chemical rinsing process or the DIW rinsing process in the subsequent stage is sufficient.

  After step S305 or step S306, the buff head 500 is raised and the buff arm 600 is pivoted, so that the buff pad 502 is detached from the processing surface of the wafer W. In this state, DIW rinsing (step 308) is performed as processing on the buff table 400 side, but chemical rinsing processing may be performed before that (step S307). The chemical rinsing process is performed with the buff table 400 rotated. Depending on the buffing liquid, if the DIW rinsing process is started immediately after the chemical buffing process, the defect detached from the processing surface of the wafer W by the chemical buffing process may be reattached due to the change in pH and the zeta potential. In the case of such a buffing solution, by introducing this step, the defect that has been detached while maintaining the zeta potential is discharged out of the diameter of the wafer W, reducing the risk of reattachment of the detached defect in the subsequent DIW rinsing process. can do.

  Subsequently, the processing method performs DIW rinse processing (step S308). The DIW rinsing process is a process of removing the buffing liquid (particularly in the case of slurry) used in the chemical buffing process from the processing surface (and the buff pad 502) of the wafer W. The DIW rinse process is performed with the buffing table 400 rotated.

  Subsequently, in the processing method, the suction of the wafer W on the buff table 400 is released, and the wafer W is withdrawn from the buff table 400 (step S309). Subsequently, the processing method cleans the stage on the buff table 400 where the wafer W is placed (step S310). Here, the stage cleaning process includes a case where the stage of the buff table 400 is directly cleaned and a case where the buffer material is cleaned. By cleaning the suction surface of the wafer W on the wafer W stage of the buff table 400, the surface of the stage and the buffer agent can be cleaned, and the back surface opposite to the processing surface of the wafer W to be processed next is contaminated. Can be prevented. The stage cleaning process is performed by supplying fluid (DIW, chemical solution, etc.) from the nozzle while the buffing table 400 is rotated. If the fluid is a high-pressure fluid (for example, 0.3 MPa), a mechanical action is also added, and the cleaning effect is further improved. In addition to supplying the fluid from the nozzle, the stage cleaning process may be performed by ultrasonic waves or cavitation in order to improve the cleaning efficiency.

  As processing on the buff table 400 side, the processing method returns to step S301 when processing another wafer W after step S310.

  Next, processing on the dress table 810 side will be described. After step S306, the buff head 500 is raised and the buff arm 600 is rotated, so that the buff pad 502 is separated from the processing surface of the wafer W and disposed opposite to the dresser 820. In this state, the processing method performs pad rinse processing (step S311). FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline of the pad rinse process. In the pad rinse process, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, while the buff head 500 is rotated over the dresser 820, DIW is sprayed from below to perform rough cleaning of contaminants attached to the surface of the buff pad 502.

Subsequently, pad dress processing is performed (step S312). FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an outline of the pad dress process. In the pad dress process, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the buff pad 502 is pressurized to the dresser 820 while supplying the processing liquid R from the center of the buff head 500 and the buff pad 502 via the buff arm 600, and the buff pad 502 and the dresser 820 are rotated. Then, the surface of the buff pad 502 is conditioned. As a conditioning condition, the conditioning load may be 80 N or less, and is preferably 40 N or less from the viewpoint of the life of the buff pad. Further, it is desirable to use the buff pad 502 and the dresser 820 at a rotation speed of 500 rpm or less.

  Subsequently, pad rinse processing is performed (step S313). In the pad rinsing process, the surface of the buff pad 502 is cleaned by spraying DIW from below while rotating the buff head 500 over the dresser 820, as in step S311. The pad rinsing process in this step is a process for removing the dress residue on the surface of the buff pad 502 after the pad dressing process.

  With the above processing, the conditioning of the surface of the buff pad 502 is completed, and the buff pad 502 is moved from the dresser 820 to the wafer W as step S302 to start the buff processing so as to perform the buff processing of the next wafer. Meanwhile, on the dress table 810 side, a dress rinse process is performed (step S321). FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an outline of the dress rinse process. The dress rinse process is a process of cleaning the surface of the dresser 820 by retracting the buff arm 600 from above the dresser 820 and spraying DIW onto the dresser 820 while rotating the dress table 810 as shown in FIG.

<Buff pad>
Next, the buff pad 502 used in the upper buff processing module 300A and the lower buff processing module 300B will be described.

  When buff cleaning or buffing is performed using a buff pad 502 having a diameter smaller than that of the wafer W, in order to increase the linear velocity of the buff pad 502, it is necessary to rotate the buff pad 502 at a high speed. At this time, the processing liquid supplied from the center of the buff pad 502 is in a state of being easily scattered by centrifugal force. On the other hand, since the buff pad 502 is pressed against the wafer W to perform buff cleaning or buffing, the processing liquid is difficult to spread inside the buff pad 502, and the processing liquid may not reach the processing surface of the wafer W evenly. Therefore, it is desirable that the buff pad 502 is such that the processing liquid easily circulates inside the buff pad 502 and the processing liquid is difficult to scatter outside the buff pad 502. Therefore, the surface of the buff pad is preferably provided with the above-described groove shape, hole, and the like, and specific examples will be given below.

  11A to 11F are diagrams illustrating an example of the structure of the buff pad 502. FIG. FIG. 11A schematically shows the processing surface of the buff pad 502. As shown in FIG. 11A, an opening 510 for allowing the processing liquid to flow is formed in the center of the buff pad 502. Further, as shown in FIG. 11A, a plurality of grooves 530 that communicate with the opening 510 and extend radially are formed on the processing surface of the buff pad 502 (the surface that contacts the processing surface of the wafer W). Here, the groove 530 does not extend to the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502, but extends to the outer peripheral portion 550 inside the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502. That is, the first end of the groove 530 communicates with the opening 510, and the second end of the groove 530 communicates with the outer peripheral portion 550 of the processing surface of the buff pad 502.

  With such a shape of the buff pad 502, since the radial groove 530 is formed, the processing liquid easily spreads inside the buff pad 502 due to centrifugal force, and the groove 530 extends to the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502. Since it stops at the outer peripheral portion 550, the processing liquid is hardly scattered outside the buff pad 502.

  FIG. 11B schematically shows a state where the processing surface of the buff pad 502 and a part of the processing surface of the buff pad 502 (the broken line 555 portion) are enlarged. As shown in FIG. 11B, an opening 510 for allowing the processing liquid to flow is formed in the center of the buff pad 502. Further, as shown in FIG. 11B, a plurality of grooves 530 that communicate with the opening 510 and extend radially are formed on the processing surface of the buff pad 502. Here, the groove 530 extends to the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502. That is, the first end of the groove 530 communicates with the opening 510, and the second end of the groove 530 communicates with the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502. In this case, as shown in the enlarged view, the groove 530 has a narrowed portion 535 in which the groove width is narrower than other portions in the vicinity of the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502. Further, the groove width of the groove 530 becomes narrower in a tapered shape as it approaches the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502.

  With such a shape of the buff pad 502, since the radial groove 530 is formed, the processing liquid easily spreads inside the buff pad 502 by centrifugal force, and the narrowed portion 535 is formed in the groove 530, or the groove Since 530 is narrowed in a tapered shape, the processing liquid is hardly scattered outside the buff pad 502.

  FIG. 11C schematically shows the processing surface of the buff pad 502. As shown in FIG. 11C, an opening 510 for allowing the processing liquid to flow is formed in the center of the buff pad 502. Also, as shown in FIG. 11C, a plurality of grooves 530 are formed on the processing surface of the buff pad 502 so as to communicate with the openings 510 and extend radially. Here, the groove 530 includes a groove 530a extending radially and a groove 530b branched from the groove 530a into two and extending radially. Further, the groove 530 b does not extend to the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502, but extends to the outer peripheral portion 550 inside the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502. That is, the first end of the groove 530 communicates with the opening 510, and the second end of the groove 530 communicates with the outer peripheral portion 550 of the processing surface of the buff pad 502.

  With such a shape of the buff pad 502, since the radial grooves 530a and 530b are formed, the treatment liquid is likely to spread inside the buff pad 502 due to centrifugal force, and the groove 530 does not reach the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502. Since it does not extend and stops at the outer peripheral portion 550, it is difficult for the processing liquid to scatter outside the buff pad 502. In addition to this, with such a shape of the buff pad 502, one groove 530 a is branched into two grooves 530 b in the outer peripheral portion 550 of the buff pad 502. The distribution of grooves can be equalized.

  FIG. 11D schematically shows the processing surface of the buff pad 502. As shown in FIG. 11D, an opening 510 for allowing the processing liquid to flow is formed in the center of the buff pad 502. Further, as shown in FIG. 11D, a groove 530 is formed on the processing surface of the buff pad 502. The groove 530 includes a plurality of grooves 530 c that communicate with the opening 510 and extend radially, and a plurality of grooves 530 d that are concentrically formed in the buff pad 502. The groove 530 c does not extend to the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502, but extends to the outer peripheral portion 550 inside the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502. That is, the first end of the groove 530 c communicates with the opening 510, and the second end of the groove 530 c communicates with the outer peripheral portion 550 of the processing surface of the buff pad 502.

  With such a shape of the buff pad 502, since the radial groove 530c is formed, the processing liquid easily spreads inside the buff pad 502 by centrifugal force, and the groove 530c extends to the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502. Since it stops at the outer peripheral portion 550, the processing liquid is hardly scattered outside the buff pad 502. In addition, since the concentric groove 530d is formed in such a shape of the buff pad 502, the processing liquid easily circulates inside the buff pad 502.

  FIG. 11E schematically shows the processing surface of the buff pad 502. As shown in FIG. 11E, an opening 510 for allowing the processing liquid to flow is formed in the center of the buff pad 502. Further, as shown in FIG. 11E, projecting portions 560 and 570 are formed on the processing surface of the buff pad 502 by embossing. Projecting portions 560 are radially formed on the inner peripheral portion of the buff pad 502. A projecting portion 570 that surrounds the outer peripheral portion 550 in the circumferential direction is formed on the outer peripheral portion 550 of the buff pad 502.

  With such a shape of the buff pad 502, since the radial protrusions 560 are formed, the processing liquid easily spreads inside the buff pad 502 by centrifugal force, and the protrusions surround the outer peripheral part 550 in the circumferential direction. Since 570 is formed, the processing liquid is hardly scattered outside the buff pad 502.

  FIG. 11F schematically shows the processing surface of the buff pad 502. As shown in FIG. 11F, an opening 510 for allowing the processing liquid to flow is formed in the center of the buff pad 502. Further, as shown in FIG. 11F, a plurality of grooves 530 that communicate with the opening 510 and extend radially are formed on the processing surface of the buff pad 502. Also, several grooves 580 (three in FIG. 11F) are formed on the outer peripheral portion 550 of the buff pad 502 so as to surround the outer peripheral portion 550 in the circumferential direction. The groove 530 does not extend to the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502 but extends to the innermost groove 580. That is, the first end of the groove 530 communicates with the opening 510, and the second end of the groove 530 communicates with the groove 580.

  With such a shape of the buff pad 502, since the radial groove 530 is formed, the processing liquid easily spreads inside the buff pad 502 due to centrifugal force, and the groove 530 extends to the outer peripheral end 540 of the buff pad 502. Since the groove 580 communicates with the groove 580, the treatment liquid is accumulated in the groove 580, and the treatment liquid is hardly scattered outside the buff pad 502.

<Oscillation of buff arm>
Next, details of swinging of the buff arm 600 when performing buff processing in the upper buff processing module 300A and the lower buff processing module 300B will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a view for explaining the swing range of the buff pad 502 by the buff arm 600. As shown in FIG. 12, the buff arm 600 reciprocates the buff pad 502 to a position where the buff pad 502 does not completely overlap the wafer W (to a position where the buff pad 502 is 100% overhanged with respect to the wafer W). It can be swung. Here, when the overlapping area of the buff pad 502 and the wafer W is reduced, the buff pad 502 is inclined at the outer peripheral portion of the wafer W, so that uniform contact of the buff pad 502 with the wafer W is inhibited. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, a ring-shaped support guide 410 can be arranged outside the buff table 400. The support guide 410 is not limited to the ring shape as shown in FIG. 12, and may be any shape that can support the portion where the buff pad 502 swings. Further, the support guide 410 may perform relative movement with the wafer W.

  When the buff arm 600 is moved at a constant speed so as not to overhang the buff pad 502 from the wafer W, the sliding distance of the buff pad 502 is shorter in the outer peripheral portion of the wafer W than in the inner peripheral portion, and the removal speed is reduced in buff polishing. Decrease. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 12, the buff pad 502 is reciprocally shaken to a position where the buff pad 502 does not completely overlap the wafer W and the buff table 400 (to a position where the buff pad 502 overhangs 100% with respect to the wafer W). By moving, the sliding distance of the buff pad 502 at the outer peripheral portion and the inner peripheral portion of the wafer W can be equalized.

The support guide 410 is not limited to the case where the buff pad 502 is swung to a position where it does not completely overlap the wafer W, but may be provided when the buff pad 502 is swung out of the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W.

  Further, the support guide 410 can control the position in the height direction. Thereby, for example, when the buff pad 502 protrudes from the wafer W and swings, the height of the support guide 410 can be adjusted to substantially coincide with the height of the processing surface of the wafer W. Further, for example, the buff pad 502 can be prevented from protruding from the wafer W by adjusting the height of the support guide 410 to be higher than the height of the processing surface of the wafer W. Further, by adjusting the height of the support guide 410 to be higher than the height of the processing surface of the wafer W, the processing liquid used for the buff processing can be kept on the processing surface of the wafer W.

  Further, the polishing apparatus 1000 divides the swing range of the buff pad 502 into a plurality of arbitrary sections, and for each section, the swing speed of the buff arm 600, the rotational speed of the buff head 500, the rotational speed of the buff table 400, and the buff pad. It is possible to control at least one of the pressing forces of 502 on the wafer W.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the control of the swing speed of the buff arm. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of control of the swing speed of the buff arm. In FIG. 13, the support guide is not shown in order to simplify the description. In FIG. 14, the horizontal axis indicates the position of the buff head 500, and the vertical axis indicates the swing speed of the buff arm. The examples in FIGS. 13 and 14 are examples in which the swing speed of the buff arm 600 is controlled. However, the polishing apparatus 1000 is not limited to this, and at least one of the swing speed of the buff arm 600, the rotation speed of the buff head 500, the rotation speed of the buff table 400, and the pressing force of the buff pad 502 against the wafer W is a section. Can be controlled for each.

  In the example of FIG. 13, the swing of the buff arm 600 is a reciprocating motion in a range between the center of the wafer W and a position where the buff pad 502 does not completely overlap the wafer W and the buff table 400. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the polishing apparatus 1000 divides the swing range of the buff pad 502 into a plurality of sections (n sections). Further, the polishing apparatus 1000 can variably control the swing speed of the buff arm 600 as V1, V2, V3... Vn−1, Vn for each of a plurality of sections.

  By variably controlling the swing speed of the buff arm 600 for each of a plurality of sections of the swing range of the buff arm 600, for example, the stay time of the buff pad 502 at the outer peripheral portion can be made longer than the inner peripheral portion of the wafer W. it can. Thereby, the sliding distance of the buff pad 502 in the outer peripheral part and the inner peripheral part of the wafer W, and hence the processing speed distribution can be equalized.

  FIG. 12 shows an example in which the buff arm 600 is swung linearly until the buff pad 502 overhangs 100% at both ends of the wafer W. FIG. 13 shows an example in which the buff arm 600 is linearly swung from the center of the wafer W to a position where the buff pad 502 is 100% overhanging at one end of the wafer W. However, the swing of the buff arm 600 is not limited to these.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a variation of the swinging mode of the buff arm 600. In FIG. 15, the support guide is omitted for the sake of simplicity.

As shown in FIG. 15, the buff arm 600 may reciprocate the buff pad 502 by linear motion, or may move it only in one direction by linear motion. Further, the buff arm 600 may reciprocate the buff pad 502 by an arc motion or may move only in one direction by an arc motion. Here, when the buff arm 600 performs linear motion and arc motion, it is preferable to move the buff pad 502 with respect to the center of the wafer W so as to pass through a range of ± 10 mm, for example.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the buff arm 600 may move the buff pad 502 between both ends of the wafer W, or may move the buff pad 502 between the center and the end of the wafer W. Also in this case, the buff arm 600 is preferably moved with respect to the center of the wafer W so as to pass through a range of ± 10 mm, for example.

3 Polishing unit 4 Cleaning unit 5 Control device 10 Polishing pad 190 Roll cleaning chamber 191 First transport chamber 192 Pen cleaning chamber 193 Second transport chamber 194 Drying chamber 195 Third transport chamber 201A Upper roll cleaning module 201B Lower roll cleaning module 202A Upper pen cleaning module 202B Lower pen cleaning module 205A Upper drying module 205B Lower drying module 300 Buff processing chamber 300A Upper buff processing module 300B Lower buff processing module 400 Buff table 410 Support guide 500 Buff head 502 Buff pad 510 Openings 530, 530a, 530b, 530c, 530d, 580 Groove 535 Narrow part 540 Outer end 550 Outer part 560, 570 Protruding part 600 Buff arm 700 Liquid supply system 800 Conditioning Part 810 dress table 820 dresser 1000 polishing apparatus W wafer

Claims (17)

A polishing unit for polishing the processing object by moving the processing object and the polishing tool relative to each other while bringing the polishing tool into contact with the processing object;
A cleaning unit;
A first transport robot that transports an unpolished processing object to the polishing unit and / or transports a polished processing object from the polishing unit to the cleaning unit,
The washing unit is
At least one cleaning module;
A buff processing module for performing a finishing process of the processing object;
Wherein the cleaning module for transferring the processed object between the buffing module, have a, a different second transfer robot and the first transfer robot, the second transfer robot, unpolished The processing object is not used when transporting the processing object to the polishing unit, and when transporting the processing object after polishing from the polishing unit to the cleaning unit ,
Polishing equipment. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The washing unit is
A cleaning chamber having the cleaning module therein;
A buffing chamber having the buffing module therein;
A transfer chamber disposed between the cleaning chamber and the buffing chamber;
The second transfer robot is disposed in the transfer chamber.
Polishing equipment. The polishing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
The pressure in the transfer chamber is higher than the pressure in the buffing chamber,
Polishing equipment. The polishing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
In the buff processing chamber, two buff processing modules are arranged in the vertical direction,
Polishing equipment. The polishing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The buff processing module is
A buffing table that holds the processing surface of the processing object upward;
A buff member that is smaller in diameter than the object to be processed and performs a finishing process on the object to be processed in contact with the object to be processed;
A buff head for holding the buff member,
The buff member is brought into contact with the object to be processed, and a buffing liquid is supplied, and the processing object and the buff member are moved relative to each other to perform a finishing process on the object to be processed.
Polishing equipment. The polishing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
The buff processing module is
A dresser for conditioning the buff member;
A dress table for holding the dresser;
Further comprising
The buff processing module is
The buff member is conditioned by rotating the dress table and the buff head and bringing the buff member into contact with the dresser.
Polishing equipment. In the polishing apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, which refers to claim 2 ,
Two buffing modules are arranged in the buffing chamber in the vertical direction,
The two buff processing modules are characterized in that at least one of the buff processing liquids used for the buff member or the finishing process is different from each other.
Polishing equipment. A polishing step of polishing the processing object by moving the processing object and the polishing tool relative to each other while bringing the polishing tool into contact with the processing object;
A cleaning step of cleaning the processing object;
A buffing process for finishing the processing object;
The first transfer robot transfers an unpolished object to be processed in order to execute the polishing process, and / or the object to be processed after the polishing process is completed to the cleaning process or the buffing process. A first conveying step for conveying;
A second transfer step different from the first transfer step, in which the processing object is transferred between the cleaning step and the buffing step by a second transfer robot different from the first transfer robot. If, have a, the second transfer robot is characterized in that it will not be used in the first conveying step,
Processing method. In the processing method of Claim 8,
The second transfer step includes a transfer chamber disposed between a cleaning chamber having a cleaning module for executing the cleaning step and a buff processing chamber having a buff processing module for executing the buff processing step. Executed by the second transfer robot inside the chamber,
Processing method. The processing method according to claim 9, wherein
The pressure in the transfer chamber is higher than the pressure in the buffing chamber,
Processing method. The processing method according to claim 9, wherein
The buff processing step is performed by two buff processing modules arranged in the vertical direction in the buff processing chamber.
Processing method. In the processing method of any one of Claims 8-11,
The buffing process includes
A buffing table that holds the processing surface of the processing object upward;
A buff member that is smaller in diameter than the object to be processed and performs a finishing process on the object to be processed in contact with the object to be processed;
A buff processing module having a buff head for holding the buff member,
In the buff treatment step, (A) the buff member is brought into contact with the object to be treated, and the buff member is buffed by supplying the buff treatment liquid and relatively moving the object to be treated and the buff member. A main buffing step for performing processing, (B) a processing target cleaning step for cleaning the processing target after the main buffing step, and (C) after the processing target cleaning step, a next processing target is transferred to the buff processing module. A buffing table cleaning process for cleaning the buffing table before entering;
Characterized by comprising,
Processing method. The processing method of claim 12,
The buffing process includes
A dress table for holding a dresser for conditioning the buff member; and a step of conditioning the buff member by rotating the buff head and bringing the buff member into contact with the dresser. Characterized by the
Processing method. The processing method according to claim 12 or 13, which refers to claim 9 .
The buffing process includes
In the two buff processing modules arranged in the vertical direction in the buff processing chamber, the buff processing module is executed by using at least one of the buff members or the buff processing liquid used for the finishing process that is different from each other. To
Processing method. The processing method according to claim 12 or 13,
The processing object cleaning process includes (A) a buffing chemical washing process for removing the buffing liquid by performing buffing while supplying pure water, and (B) a buffing liquid different from that in the main buffing process. A chemical buffing process for buffing while supplying, and (C) rinsing the object to be processed using the buffing liquid or pure water used in the chemical buffing process without contacting the buffing member. The process of
A processing method comprising at least one of In the processing method according to any one of claim 13, claim 14 that cites claim 13, and claim 15 that cites claim 13 .
The buffing process includes
During the process object cleaning step, a dress rinse process that is a process of cleaning the surface of the dresser is started.
Processing method. In the processing method according to any one of claims 14 to 16 , which refers to claim 13 and claim 13 .
The buff processing step includes performing a pad rinse process, which is a process of cleaning the buff member in a state where the buff member is disposed to face the dresser, before or after conditioning of the buff member. Features
Processing method.