JP7504596B2 - Wafer peeling and cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a wafer peeling and cleaning device, and in particular to a wafer peeling and cleaning device that peels off wafers that have been cut into multiple pieces simultaneously by a wire saw and put into a batch state (bundled) from a slice base, separates them into individual pieces, and cleans them.

When an ingot is cut with a wire saw, the wafers are cut out while still adhered to the slice base. For this reason, the wafers must be peeled off from the slice base and separated into individual wafers. In addition, immediately after being cut with the wire saw, the wafers have machining fluids adhering to them, so they must be cleaned to remove the machining fluids.

Conventionally, the wafer peeling and cleaning operations were performed by a single wafer peeling and cleaning device. The wafer peeling and cleaning device is composed of a rough cleaning section, a wafer peeling and cleaning section, a cleaning section, and a collection section. Immediately after cutting, the wafers are first transported to the rough cleaning section where they are roughly cleaned. The roughly cleaned wafers in a batch state are then transported to the wafer peeling and cleaning section where they are peeled one by one from the slice base and separated into individual wafers. The wafers peeled from the slice base are transported by a transfer device to the single wafer cleaning section. They are then cleaned one by one, and collected in the collection section where they are stored in a cassette.

In the wafer peeling section, in order to peel off the wafers efficiently, a pair of peeling suction pads are arranged at a predetermined interval, and the wafers are vacuum-sucked and held by the pair of peeling suction pads. It is known that the peeling suction pads are swung back and forth and raised and lowered by a lifting rotary actuator, and stopped at a predetermined transfer position, as described in Patent Document 1.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-288902

In the device described in Patent Document 1, the wafer is vacuum-sucked by a pair of suction pads for peeling, swung back and forth, and moved up and down, which is desirable in terms of efficient wafer peeling, but is not sufficient for lifting the peeled wafer and transferring it reliably to the suction pads for transfer at the transfer position. In particular, if the speed of the lifting movement is increased to improve efficiency, there is a risk that the wafer will fall during the process or the attitude of the wafer will become unstable, resulting in damage.
There was also an issue that when the wafer was tilted, the peeling suction pad could not properly hold the wafer.

The object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional technology described above, and to provide a wafer peeling and cleaning device that can reliably pick up the wafer with a peeling suction pad even if the wafer is tilted, peel the wafer one by one with a small force, and reliably transport the peeled wafer to a transfer device or a single wafer cleaning section, thereby reducing time and improving efficiency overall.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a wafer peeling and cleaning device that peels off a batch of wafers, which have been cut into multiple pieces at the same time, one by one from a slice base in a wafer peeling and cleaning section, transports the peeled wafers to a single wafer cleaning section for single wafer cleaning, and after cleaning, collects them in a cassette in a collection section. The wafer peeling and cleaning section includes a hot water tank formed in a rectangular box shape in which hot water is stored, a workpiece holding section that is installed in the hot water tank and holds the wafers, and, with the wafers held by the workpiece holding section, It is equipped with a first peeling suction pad arranged so that its central axis coincides with the central axis of the wafer, a second peeling suction pad arranged below the first peeling suction pad and expanding and contracting in the axial direction, a first guide rail arranged along the longitudinal direction of the hot water bath, a first feed motor that moves the first and second peeling suction pads along the longitudinal direction of the hot water bath along the first guide rail, and a lifting rotary actuator that moves the first and second peeling suction pads up and down vertically.

In addition, in the above, it is preferable that the second peeling suction pad is a bellows-type vacuum suction pad.

Furthermore, it is desirable that the first peeling suction pad is a flat vacuum pad with a flat surface and has a stronger suction force than the second peeling suction pad.

Furthermore, when the wafers in the batch are peeled off one by one to separate them into individual wafers, it is desirable that the wafers are held by suction in such a manner that the second peeling suction pad abuts against the edge of the wafer and pulls it in, and then the first peeling suction pad suctions the central axis of the wafer.

Furthermore, it is desirable to have a fall prevention plate that prevents the wafers from falling forward when peeling them one by one from the batch state to separate them, and the second peeling suction pad pulls the wafers toward the fall prevention plate, centering on the vicinity of the adhesive portion of the wafers in the batch state.

Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a swing rotary actuator that swings the first and second peeling suction pads in a direction along the axis of the wafer, and to drive the swing rotary actuator to swing the first and second peeling suction pads, thereby peeling the wafer off the slice base.

Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a water supply nozzle vertically above the wafer, and to supply hot water or water vertically above the wafer near the center when peeling the wafers one by one.

Furthermore, it is desirable to have air nozzles provided on both sides of the wafer, and when the edge of the wafer set in the hot water bath is suction-held by the first and second peeling suction pads and the wafer is peeled off one by one, the air nozzles blow air onto the sides of the wafer.

Furthermore, it is desirable that the air nozzle blow air from the bottom to the top of the wafer.

Furthermore, it is desirable that the air nozzle blow air onto multiple wafers in a batch when peeling off one wafer.

According to the present invention, even if the wafer is tilted, the wafer can be reliably attracted to the peeling suction pad, and the time from the peeling operation to the transfer device to the single wafer cleaning section can be shortened, resulting in a wafer peeling and cleaning device with improved overall efficiency.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a wafer peeling and cleaning device; FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the configuration of the wafer separation unit; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of a peeling device. A partial cross-sectional plan view showing the configuration of the delivery device. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a configuration of a peeling device; FIG. 1 is a side view showing a configuration of a peeling device. A front view showing the configuration of the wafer peeling unit FIG. 1 is a front view showing a configuration of a delivery device; FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing the configuration of a delivery device. An enlarged side view of a main part showing details of the suction part for peeling An enlarged front view of a main part showing details of the suction part for peeling Illustration of the peeling process A side view showing the configuration of the single wafer cleaning unit. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the configuration of a transport unit; FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the configuration of the recovery unit;

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of a wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus 1 according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of a wafer peeling and cleaning unit 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus 1 of this embodiment is mainly composed of a rough cleaning unit 10, a wafer peeling and cleaning unit 100, a transport unit 310, a single wafer cleaning unit 350, a detection unit 400, and a recovery unit 500. An overview of each of the main units will be described.

The rough cleaning section 10 shower-cleans the wafers W (wafers W bonded to slice bases S) in a batch state immediately after cutting with a wire saw to remove slurry that adhered during cutting. The rough cleaning section 10 is equipped with a rough cleaning device 12 that cleans the wafers W. The rough cleaning device 12 has a cleaning process in which the wafers W are immersed with the mounting plate M on the top and the slice grooves on the bottom and cleaned. When cleaning, the wafers are shaken up and down to create a water flow in the grooves for cleaning. When cleaning is completed, the wafers removed from the rough cleaning section 10 are transported directly to the next wafer peeling section 100 by a lifter.

In the wafer peeling section 100, wafers W in a batch are peeled one by one from the slice base S to produce single wafers. As shown in FIG. 2, the wafer peeling section 100 is mainly composed of a hot water bath 112, a peeling device 114, and a transfer device 118. The transfer device 118 receives the wafers peeled from the slice base S by the peeling device 114 and transfers them to the shuttle conveyor 312 of the transport section 310.

The transport unit 310 receives the wafers W that have been separated and separated into individual wafers in the wafer separation unit 100, and transports them to the next single wafer cleaning unit 350. The wafers W are then transported to the single wafer cleaning unit 350 by the shuttle conveyor 312 provided in the transport unit 310.

The single wafer cleaning section 350 cleans the wafers W that have been separated by the single wafer separation section 100, one by one. The single wafer cleaning section 350 is composed of a single wafer brush cleaning section 352, a single wafer pre-rinse section 354, and a single wafer rinsing section 356. The single wafer brush cleaning section 352 brushes and sprays cleaning liquid onto the front and back surfaces of the transported wafers W. After cleaning, compressed air is sprayed to drain the liquid so that the cleaning liquid is not carried over to the next process. After brush cleaning, the wafers W are transported to the single wafer pre-rinse section 354 for the next process.

The single wafer pre-rinse section 354 uses a rotating brush to brush-clean the backside and frontside surfaces of the transported wafers while spraying pre-rinse liquid from a pre-rinse liquid nozzle onto them. After cleaning, compressed air is sprayed onto the wafers to drain them. The wafers are then transported to the single wafer rinse section 356 for the next process.

The single wafer rinsing section 356 uses a rotating brush to clean the wafer W from the backside while spraying rinsing liquid from a rinsing liquid nozzle onto the backside of the wafer. After cleaning, the wafer W from which the liquid has been drained is transferred onto the round belt conveyor 411 of the detection section 400 and transported to a designated receiving position of the detection section 400.

The detection unit 400 detects the presence or absence of cracks, chips, and residual adhesive on each of the cleaned wafers W, and measures the thickness of each one. Then, the wafers W after inspection are handed over to the wafer transport robot 508 in the recovery unit 500.

The wafer transport robot 508 is an articulated robot with a rotatable hand unit 520 at its tip, and the wafer W is transported while being suction-held by a suction pad 522 at the tip of the hand unit 520. The recovery unit 500 is made up of two wafer recovery units 502A and 502B that recover normal wafers, a defective wafer recovery unit 504 that recovers defective wafers, and an adhesive-remaining wafer recovery unit 506 that recovers adhesive-remaining wafers in order to separate adhesive-remaining wafers from defective wafers (cracked wafers, chipped wafers, wafers with poor thickness, scraps).

Then, the wafer transport robot 508 receives the wafers W from the detection unit 400, and based on the detection results, sorts and stores the wafers W in cassettes in each of the wafer collection units 502, 504, and 506.

Next, the details of the wafer peeling unit 100 will be described. Figure 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of the wafer peeling unit 100, Figure 3 is a plan view showing the configuration of the peeling device 114, Figure 4 is a partial plan sectional view showing the configuration of the transfer device 118, Figure 5 is a front view showing the configuration of the peeling device 114, Figure 6 is a side view showing the configuration of the peeling device 114, Figure 7 is a front view showing the configuration of the wafer peeling unit 100, Figure 8 is a front view showing the configuration of the transfer device 118, and Figure 9 is a partial side sectional view showing the configuration of the transfer device 118. The wafer peeling unit 100 is mainly composed of a hot water bath 112, a peeling device 114, and a transfer device 118.

The configuration of the hot water tank 112 will be described. The hot water tank 112 is formed in a rectangular box shape, and hot water 120 is stored inside. The wafer W to be peeled off from the slice base S is set on a workpiece holder 122 provided in the hot water tank 112. Then, by setting the wafer W on the workpiece holder 122, the slice base S bonded to the wafer W is immersed in the hot water 120. At this time, it is preferable that the entire wafer W is not immersed in the hot water 120, but rather that it is immersed up to 2 to 3 cm above the portion of the wafer W fixed with wax.

The schematic configuration of the peeling device 114 will be described mainly with reference to FIG. 3. The peeling device 114 is a device that peels off the wafers W set in the hot water bath 112 one by one from the slice base S. As shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 7, a pair of first guide rails 136, 136 are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the hot water bath 112 near the right side of the hot water bath 112. A first slide table (traveling body) 140 is slidably supported on the first guide rails 136, 136 via linear guides 138, 138 (FIG. 5).

A nut member 142 (FIG. 5) is fixed to the underside of the first slide table 140, and the nut member 142 is screwed onto a threaded rod 144 disposed between a pair of first guide rails 136, 136. Both ends of the threaded rod 144 are rotatably supported by bearing members 146, 146, and one end of the threaded rod 144 is connected to a first feed motor 148 (FIG. 6) installed at one end of the first guide rails 136, 136. The threaded rod 144 rotates when the first feed motor 148 is driven, and as a result, the first slide table 140 moves along the first guide rails 136, 136.

A peeling unit 150 for peeling the wafer W from the slice base S is provided on the first slide table 140. As shown in Figures 3, 5, and 6, the peeling unit 150 has a bearing block 152 provided on the first slide table 140. A support shaft 156 provided at the base end of a swing frame 154 is supported on the bearing block 152 so that it can swing freely.

A swing rotary actuator 160 is installed on the first slide table 140 via a bracket 158, and a drive gear 162 is fixed to the output shaft of the swing rotary actuator 160. A driven gear 164 is engaged with the drive gear 162, and the driven gear 164 is fixed to the tip of a rotating shaft 168. The rotating shaft 168 is supported rotatably by a bearing member 170, and the bearing member 170 is supported by a support plate 172 fixed to the swing rotary actuator 160.

A disk-shaped rotating plate 174 (Figs. 5 and 6) is coaxially fixed to the driven gear 164, and one end of a connecting rod 176 is connected to the rotating plate 174 by a pin 178. The other end of the connecting rod 176 is connected to the swing frame 154 by a pin 180.

With the above configuration, the oscillating frame 154 oscillates around the support shaft 156 provided at its base end by driving the oscillating rotary actuator 160. In other words, when the oscillating rotary actuator 160 is driven, the rotating plate 174 rotates back and forth within a range of 180°, and this back and forth rotation is transmitted to the oscillating frame 154 via the connecting rod 176, causing the oscillating frame 154 to oscillate.

A bearing unit 182 is provided at the upper end of the oscillating frame 154, and two rotating shafts 186, 188 are supported by the bearing unit 182 so that they can rotate freely. Arms 190, 192 are fixed to the tips of the rotating shafts 186, 188, respectively, and the tips of the arms 190, 192 are connected to a pad support plate 198 via pins 194, 196. A pair of first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 are arranged at a predetermined interval on the pad support plate 198, and the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 hold the wafer W by vacuum suction.

A support plate 202 is attached to the rear of the oscillating frame 154, and a lifting rotary actuator 204 is installed on the support plate 202. A fan-shaped rotating plate 206 is fixed to the output shaft of the lifting rotary actuator 204, and one end of a connecting rod 208 is connected to the rotating plate 206 by a pin 210. The other end of the connecting rod 208 is connected to one of the arms 190 by a pin 212.

With the above configuration, the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 provided on the pad support plate 198 are raised and lowered vertically upward by driving the lifting rotary actuator 204. That is, when the lifting rotary actuator 204 is driven, the rotating plate 206 rotates back and forth within a range of 180°, and the reciprocating rotation is transmitted to the arm 190 via the connecting rod 208, and one arm 190 performs reciprocating angular motion in the up and down direction. When the arm 190 performs reciprocating angular motion, the other arm 192 also performs reciprocating angular motion as a swinging lever, and as a result, the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 provided on the pad support plate 198 are lifted vertically upward.

The first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 that suction-hold the wafer W are moved up and down by being driven by the lifting rotary actuator 204. In addition, the pad support plate 198 on which the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 are provided is connected to the oscillating frame 154 via the arms 190, 192, so that it oscillates in the front-back direction as the oscillating frame 154 oscillates.

That is, the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 are swung in the front-back direction by driving the swinging rotary actuator 160, and are raised and lowered by driving the lifting rotary actuator 204. The first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 then peel the wafer W from the slice base S as follows.

The edge of the wafer W set in the hot water bath 112 is suction-held by the first and second suction pads 200, 201 for peeling. Next, the rotary actuator 160 for rocking is driven to rock the first and second suction pads 200, 201 for peeling back and forth (direction along the axis of the wafer). Here, the adhesive bonding the wafer W to the slice base S is sufficiently thermally softened because it is immersed in the hot water 120. Therefore, the wafer W is peeled off from the slice base S by being rocked multiple times.

When the wafer W is peeled off from the slice base S, the lifting rotary actuator 204 is driven, and the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 move upward while holding the peeled off wafer W. They then stop at a predetermined transfer position. The wafer W transferred to the transfer position is transferred to the transfer device 118, and then transferred to the shuttle conveyor 312 by the transfer device 118, and then transported to the next process by the shuttle conveyor 312.

Meanwhile, after the transfer of the wafer W is completed, the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 are driven by the lifting rotary actuator 204 to move downward and return to their original peeling operation positions. The wafer W is peeled off from the slice base S by applying a rocking motion to its edge by the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201, but some of the wafers W may have already been peeled off from the slice base S before they are rocked by the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201.

In this case, there is a risk that the wafer W will fall forward and become impossible to retrieve. For this reason, a fall prevention plate 214 is provided in front of the wafer W to be peeled off to prevent the wafer W from falling forward. The fall prevention plate 214 is provided on a support plate 202 on which a lifting rotary actuator 204 is installed, and oscillates together with the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201.

The first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 move up and down through a passage 214a formed in the anti-fall plate 214. A double-picking prevention plate 216 is fixed to the top of the anti-fall plate 214, and the wafers W peeled off from the slice base S are transported to a predetermined transfer position through a slit 216a formed in the double-picking prevention plate 216. The slit 216a is formed with a width that allows just one wafer W to pass through (for example, 1.1 to 1.5 times the thickness of the wafer W). This prevents the two wafers from sticking to each other and being transported to the transfer position at the same time when two wafers are peeled off at the same time. Specifically, the width of the slit 216a is set to 1.1 to 1.5 times the thickness of the wafer W, which prevents two wafers from being transported at the same time and prevents the surfaces from being scratched.

Here, it is preferable that the surface of the anti-falling plate 214 is treated to be water-repellent, for example, by fluororesin processing. If the anti-falling plate 214 is not treated to be water-repellent, a water film will form on its surface and the wafer W will stick to the anti-falling plate 214, which may cause the wafer W to slip or come off the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 when it is transported to the delivery position through the slit 216a, making transportation difficult. By treating the surface of the anti-falling plate 214 to be water-repellent, a water film will not form, making it possible to prevent the wafer W from sticking to the anti-falling plate 214.

In addition, by making the surface of the anti-fall plate 214 slightly rough rather than mirror-finished, it is possible to suppress or prevent the wafer W from adhering to the anti-fall plate 214, and by combining this with a water-repellent treatment, it is possible to more reliably prevent the wafer W from sticking to the anti-fall plate 214.

As a result, even if two wafers are simultaneously peeled off from the slice base and stuck to each other, when passing through the slit 216a of the double-picking prevention plate 216, the second wafer that is stuck to the first wafer will not be able to pass through the slit 216a and will fall, so they can always be transferred one at a time to the delivery position. In this case, the wafer that falls without being able to pass through the slit 216a is prevented from falling forward by the fall prevention plate 214, so it can be reliably retrieved the next time it is peeled off.

Next, the schematic configuration of the delivery device 118 will be described. The delivery device 118 is a device that receives the wafer W, which has been peeled off from the slice base S by the first peeling suction pad 200 of the peeling device 114, from the first peeling suction pad 200 and delivers it to the shuttle conveyor 312. As shown in Figures 2, 4, 7, 8, and 9, the delivery device 118 is provided on the second slide table 240 of the drive unit 222, and moves along the second guide rails 236, 236 by driving the second feed motor 248.

A support column 274 is set up vertically on the second slide table 240 of the drive unit 222. A support frame 276 is set up vertically on the top of this support column 274, and a rotary actuator 278 for rotation is set up horizontally on the support frame 276. A drive gear 280 is engaged with the output shaft of the rotary actuator 278 for rotation, and a driven gear 282 fixed to a rotating shaft 284 is engaged with the drive gear 280. The rotating shaft 284 is supported rotatably by a bearing unit 286 set up on the top of the support frame 276, and rotates within a range of 180° by driving the rotary actuator 278 for rotation.

A rotating frame 288 is fixed to the base end of the rotating shaft 284, and a rotating shaft 290 is supported by the rotating frame 288 so that it can rotate freely. The output shaft of a direction-changing rotary actuator 292 installed on the rotating frame 288 is fixed to the base end of the rotating shaft 290, and the rotating shaft 290 rotates within a range of 90° by driving the direction-changing rotary actuator 292.

A rotating arm 294 formed in an L-shape is fixed to the tip of the rotating shaft 290, and a support plate 296 is fixed to the tip of the rotating arm 294. A pad advance/retract cylinder 298 is provided on the support plate 296, and a transfer suction pad 300 is provided on the rod tip of the pad advance/retract cylinder 298. The wafer W peeled by the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 of the peeling device 114 is transported to a predetermined transfer position and then transferred to the transfer suction pad 300.

In the transfer device 118, the wafer W held by suction on the transfer suction pad 300 is rotated in a range of 180° on a vertical plane by driving the rotation rotary actuator 278, and its direction is changed from the vertical state to the horizontal state by driving the direction change rotary actuator 292.

The wafer W peeled off by the peeling device 114 is received and transferred onto the shuttle conveyor 312 as follows. The wafer W peeled off from the slice base S is lifted while being held by suction on the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 and transported to a predetermined transfer position. The transfer suction pad 300 is already waiting at the transfer position, and the wafer W is positioned coaxially with the axis of the transfer suction pad 300.

When the wafer W is transferred to the delivery position, the pad advance/retract cylinder 298 is then driven, and the delivery suction pad 300 advances a predetermined distance toward the wafer W. As a result, the delivery suction pad 300 comes into close contact with the end face of the wafer W. Next, the delivery suction pad 300 is driven, and the wafer W is sucked and held by the delivery suction pad 300. A pressure switch (not shown) provided on the delivery suction pad 300 detects that the wafer W has been sucked and held by the delivery suction pad 300.
Here, the pressure switch can be installed anywhere where it can detect the pressure inside the delivery suction pad 300 and does not interfere with the suction of the wafer W. For example, the pressure switch can be installed in an air suction pipe (not shown) for operating the delivery suction pad 300, which is arranged inside the swing arm 294. However, the installation location of the pressure switch is not limited to the inside of the swing arm 294 as long as it can detect the pressure inside the air suction pipe, and the pressure switch can be installed anywhere between the part where the air suction pipe comes out from the swing arm 294 and is connected to the air suction pump (not shown). Alternatively, the pressure switch can be installed inside the part of the swing arm 294 to which the delivery suction pad 300 is connected so that the pressure inside the delivery suction pad 300 can be directly detected.
Then, this detection signal causes the vacuum suction of the first peeling suction pad 200 to be released, that is, air is allowed to flow in. As a result, the wafer W is delivered from the first peeling suction pad 200 to the delivery suction pad 300. The vacuum suction of the second peeling suction pad 201 may be released simultaneously with the release of the first peeling suction pad 200. However, the vacuum suction may also be released before the wafer W is raised or before it is transported to the delivery position, which will stabilize the posture of the wafer W.

The delivery suction pad 300 that has received the wafer W starts driving the pad advance/retract cylinder 298 in response to a detection signal from the pressure switch, and retreats from the first peeling suction pad 200. Similarly, the first peeling suction pad 200 that has received the wafer W starts descending in response to a detection signal from the pressure switch, and returns to its original peeling position. When the delivery suction pad 300 retreats, the rotation rotary actuator 278 is then driven, and the rotation arm 294 rotates 180°. As a result, the wafer W is transferred to a position above the shuttle conveyor 312. Note that instead of the pressure switch, a sensor or device having a similar function, such as a touch sensor, can be used.

The wafer W transferred above the shuttle conveyor 312 is perpendicular to the shuttle conveyor 312, so after transfer, the direction-changing rotary actuator 292 is driven and the swivel arm 294 rotates 90° around the rotation axis 290. As a result, the wafer W is positioned horizontally at a predetermined height from the shuttle conveyor 312.

After the direction-changing rotary actuator 292 is driven, the pad advance/retract cylinder 298 is driven, and the delivery suction pad 300 advances a predetermined amount toward the shuttle conveyor 312. As a result, the wafer W is placed on the shuttle conveyor 312. When the wafer W is placed on the shuttle conveyor 312, the drive of the delivery suction pad 300 is stopped. Then, the pad advance/retract cylinder 298 is driven, and the delivery suction pad 300 retreats from the shuttle conveyor 312.

After the wafer W has been delivered, the delivery suction pad 300 returns to the original delivery position by performing the reverse operation. Meanwhile, the shuttle conveyor 312 to which the wafer W has been delivered is driven by a drive means (not shown) to transport the delivered wafer W to the next process. The drive of the wafer peeling unit 100 is automatically controlled by a control device (not shown), and each component device operates based on the drive signal output from the control device.

Next, the details of the method of peeling the wafer in the single wafer peeling section 100 will be described. Before starting, the first slide table 140 on which the peeling unit 150 is installed is located at one end (the lower end in FIG. 2) of the first guide rail 136 (this position is called the peeling operation start position). Meanwhile, the second slide table 240 on which the transfer device 118 is installed is located at the other end (the upper end in FIG. 2) of the second guide rail 236.

The wafers W that have been multi-cut by the wire saw are set on the workpiece holder 122 provided in the hot water tank 112. As a result, the slice base S to which the wafers W are attached is immersed in the hot water 120 stored in the hot water tank 112. The wafers W may be set manually by an operator, or may be automatically transported to the workpiece holder 122 by a manipulator (not shown) and set there automatically.

When the wafer W is set in the hot water bath 112, the control device first drives the second feed motor 248 to move the second slide table 240 downward in FIG. 2. Next, the second slide table 240 is positioned at a predetermined starting position for the transfer operation. Then, when the second slide table 240 is positioned at the starting position for the transfer operation, the peeling operation of the wafer W is started.

Next, the control device drives the first feed motor 148 and the second feed motor 248 in synchronization with each other to move the first slide table 140 and the second slide table 240 forward (moving them upward in FIG. 2). A non-contact position sensor 214S is provided on the pad support plate 198 of the peeling device 114 provided on the first slide table 140, and the position sensor 214S is activated when the distance to the edge of the wafer W reaches a predetermined distance.

By inputting the activation signal of the position sensor 214S, the control device stops the driving of the first feed motor 148 and the second feed motor 248, and stops the first slide table 140 and the second slide table 240. As a result, the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 of the peeling device 114 provided on the first slide table 140 come into contact with the edge surface of the wafer W. The control device drives the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 that are in contact with the edge surface of the wafer W, and causes the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 to suction and hold the wafer W.

Figure 10 is an enlarged side view of the main part showing the details of the peeling suction part, and Figure 11 is an enlarged front view. The anti-fall plate 214 has a resin pressing plate 214-1 that protects the surface on the end face side of the wafer W as the reference surface, and a stainless steel plate 214-2 made of stainless steel on the opposite side to ensure the flatness of the pressing plate 214-1. Here, the surface of the resin pressing plate 214-1, which is the surface that contacts the wafer W, is preferably water-repellent, such as fluororesin processing, as described above, and it is even more preferable that the water-repellent surface is not a mirror surface but has a surface roughness to the extent that the wafer W does not adhere to it. In addition, the first peeling suction pad 200 is arranged so that its central axis coincides with the central axis of the wafer W, and the second peeling suction pad 201 is arranged below the first peeling suction pad 200. The first peeling suction pad 200 is a flat vacuum pad suitable for transporting workpieces with a flat surface, and has stronger suction power than the second peeling suction pad 201. The second peeling suction pad 201 is a bellows-type vacuum suction pad that expands and contracts in the axial direction.

The wafer W is bonded to the slice base S with adhesive, and is placed on the upper side of the mounting plate M, and then set in the workpiece holder 122 of the hot water bath 112. The adhesive bonding the wafer W to the slice base S is sufficiently thermally softened because it is immersed in the hot water 120. An air supply mechanism is provided next to the slice base S, and air nozzles 80, 81 are provided on both lower sides of the wafer W. The air nozzles 80, 81 are installed so that they blow air from the lower side to the upper side in two directions of the side of the wafer W, that is, they blow air forcefully. A water supply nozzle (not shown) is provided vertically above the wafer W near the center of the wafer.

The first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 suction and hold the wafer W as follows. First, the second peeling suction pad 201 abuts against the edge of the wafer W. The second peeling suction pad 201 is positioned below the central axis of the wafer W and is expandable and contractible in the axial direction, for example like a bellows-type vacuum suction pad. Therefore, even if the surface of the object to be suctioned is somewhat inclined from a plane perpendicular to the axial direction, the suction portion of the suction pad can be tilted to some extent to follow the surface of the object to be suctioned.

As a result, even if the wafer W is tilted as shown in FIG. 12, the second peeling suction pad 200 can reliably suction the wafer W by following the tilt of the wafer W with its suction portion, and can pull the base of the wafer W toward the anti-fall plate 214, centering on the vicinity of the adhesive portion of the wafer W. This ensures that the peeling operation can be started reliably and efficiently.

Figure 12 is an explanatory diagram of the peeling operation. When peeling off one wafer W, air is blown from air nozzles 80 and 81 from the bottom to the top on both sides of the wafer W as shown by arrows F and G.

Specifically, for the first wafer W at the leftmost end to be peeled in FIG. 12, air is blown at least between the first and second wafers. For efficient peeling, it is desirable to also blow air between the second and third wafers, and between the third and fourth wafers. However, since the adhesive bonding the wafer W and slice base S is immersed in hot water 120 and is sufficiently thermally softened while several wafers are being peeled, the number of wafers blown at the same time may be reduced as the peeling operation progresses.

On the other hand, by supplying hot water or water vertically above the wafer W near the center as indicated by arrow H, water is supplied from the center, ensuring a constant gap in the center. And by blowing air from both sides of the wafer W, the gaps on both sides can be kept balanced, allowing for a clean edge cut between the wafers.

In other words, by supplying air, the water film is removed, the wafers W are prevented from sticking together due to the surface tension of the water, and the edges are cut, and when one wafer W is lifted, the next wafer is prevented from being lifted at the same time. In addition, by blowing air onto multiple wafers, particularly between the first and second wafers and between the second and third wafers, it is possible to prevent the next waiting wafer W (second wafer) after the lifted wafer W from sticking to the next waiting wafer W (third wafer). This improves efficiency in continuing the peeling operation in sequence.

After the second peeling suction pad 201 pulls the wafer W toward the anti-fall plate 214, the first peeling suction pad 200, which is a flat vacuum pad with a flat surface, firmly suctions the central axis of the wafer W. This makes it possible to handle the wafer W in a short time in a state suitable for transporting the wafer W, and also eliminates the risk of the wafer W falling during transport.

Next, the control device drives the swing rotary actuator 160 to swing the swing frame 154 back and forth, swinging the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 back and forth (in the direction along the axis of the wafer). The first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 swing around the vicinity of the bonded portion between the wafer W and the slice base S as the swing center. Therefore, the wafer W is swung multiple times by the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201, and is easily peeled off from the slice base S. In addition, the back and forth swinging during peeling allows the wafer W to be peeled off from its base, making it possible to peel the wafer efficiently overall.

The control device stops driving the swing rotary actuator 160 when the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 have been swung a predetermined number of times. Next, the lifting rotary actuator 204 is driven to rotate the arms 190, 192 upward, and move the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 upward. At this time, the central axis of the wafer W is firmly fixed by the first peeling suction pad 200.

The wafer W held by suction on the first peeling suction pad 200 is guided by a pressing plate 214-1 made of resin (e.g., fluororesin) with good sliding properties, and passes through a slit 216a (FIG. 3) of a double-picking prevention plate 216 fixed to the top of the anti-fall plate 214. This prevents double-picking.

In other words, even if the next wafer W to be peeled off sticks to the wafer W that is mainly held by the first peeling suction pad 200, the wafer W that has been stuck to the first peeling suction pad 200 is peeled off when passing through the slit 216a, so that only one wafer W that is being held by the first peeling suction pad 200 can be removed at any one time.

In addition, if a wafer falls without passing through the slit 216a, it is prevented from falling forward by the anti-fall plate 214, so that it can be reliably retrieved the next time it is peeled off. At this time, the edge side of the wafer W abuts against the pressing plate 214-1, which is made of resin (e.g., fluororesin) with very high surface lubricity, so it is prevented from being scratched.

The first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 that have moved upwards stop at the position indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 8 as the transfer position. At the transfer position, the transfer suction pad 300 of the transfer device 118 is waiting, and the wafer W, whose end face is suction-held by the first peeling suction pad 200 that is firmly adsorbing the central axis of the wafer W, is positioned coaxially with the axis of the transfer suction pad 300.

The transfer position is a position where the transfer suction pad 300 is approximately horizontal (the position where the swivel arm 294 is horizontal in FIG. 8) and the wafer W remains vertical, so it is a position that is not easily affected by wafer bending due to gravity. In addition, after transfer, the suction pads 200 and 201 can immediately return to the operation of peeling off the next wafer W, allowing efficient peeling operations to be continued in sequence.

When the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 stop at the predetermined transfer position, the control device drives the pad advance/retract cylinder 298 to advance the transfer suction pad 300 a predetermined distance toward the wafer W. As a result, the transfer suction pad 300 comes into close contact with the back surface of the end surface of the wafer W that is adsorbed to the first peeling suction pad 200. The wafer W is then adsorbed and held by the transfer suction pad 300 on both the end surface on the first peeling suction pad 200 side and the back surface.

The fact that the wafer W is held by the transfer suction pad 300 is detected by a pressure switch (not shown) provided on the transfer suction pad 300 side. This detection signal releases the vacuum suction of the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201, i.e., air flows in. The transfer suction pad 300 is a flat vacuum pad with a flat surface, like the first peeling suction pad 200, and firmly suctions the central axis of the wafer W. As a result, the wafer W is transferred from the first peeling suction pad 200 to the transfer suction pad 300, and the transfer suction pad 300 firmly suctions the central axis of the wafer W. This allows the wafer W to be handled in a state suitable for transportation, and eliminates the risk of it dropping during transport.

Then, the control device drives the pad advance/retract cylinder 298 to move the delivery suction pad 300 back from the first peeling suction pad 200. As the delivery suction pad 300 moves back, the control device drives the lift rotary actuator 204 to rotate the arms 190, 192 downward, and move the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 downward to return them to their original peeling positions.

After driving the pad advance/retract cylinder 298, the control device drives the rotary actuator 278 to rotate the rotary arm 294 by 180° and transfer the wafer W to a position above the shuttle conveyor 312. After the transfer, the control device drives the rotary actuator 292 to change direction. The rotary arm 294 rotates 90° around the rotation shaft 290.

As a result, both end surfaces of the wafer W become parallel to the shuttle conveyor 312. The control device drives the pad advance/retract cylinder 298 to advance the delivery suction pad 300 toward the shuttle conveyor 312. As a result, the wafer W is placed on the shuttle conveyor 312. The control device then stops driving the delivery suction pad 300 and delivers the wafer W to the shuttle conveyor 312.

After stopping the drive of the delivery suction pad 300, the control device drives the pad advance/retract cylinder 298 to move the delivery suction pad 300 back from the shuttle conveyor 312, and drives the shuttle conveyor 312 to transport the wafer W to the next process. After driving the pad advance/retract cylinder 298, the control device also drives the direction-changing rotary actuator 292 and the turning rotary actuator 278 to return the delivery suction pad 300 to its original delivery position.

By the time the delivery suction pad 300 returns to the delivery position, the suction pads 200 and 201 have already performed the peeling operation of the next wafer W, so the peeling operation of the second wafer W is complete. This reduces wasted time and allows efficient peeling operations to be continued in sequence.

In other words, the transfer of the first wafer W is completed through a series of steps, and the suction pads 200, 201 are returned to their original peeling positions as the transfer suction pad 300 retreats. The control device then drives the first feed motor 148 and the second feed motor 248 in synchronization with each other to advance the first slide table 140 and the second slide table 240 a predetermined amount. This causes the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201 to come into contact with the edge surface of the second wafer W to be peeled off. The control device peels off the second wafer W in the same manner as described above.

In this manner, the wafers W adhered to the slice base S are sequentially peeled off and transported to the next process, completing one cycle of the peeling operation. Next, the transport section 310 receives the wafers W peeled off and separated by the wafer separation section 100, and transports them to the next single wafer cleaning section 350. The transport section 310 is then equipped with a shuttle conveyor 312, which transports the wafers W to the single wafer cleaning section 350.

The single wafer cleaning section 350 cleans the wafers W that have been separated by the single wafer separation section 100 one by one. This single wafer cleaning section 350 is composed of a single wafer brush cleaning section 352, a single wafer pre-rinse section 354, and a single wafer rinsing section 356.

Figure 13 is a side view showing the configuration of the single wafer cleaning section 350. The single wafer brush cleaning section 352 has a cleaning tank with a chamber structure (not shown). In the cleaning tank, as shown in Figure 13, a pair of rotating brushes 378, 378, a pair of cleaning liquid nozzles 380, 380 for spraying cleaning liquid, two pairs of roller conveyors 382, 382, 382, 382 for transporting wafers, and a pair of air knife nozzles 384, 384 for draining the liquid are arranged.

In the single-wafer brush cleaning section 352, the wafers W transported by the shuttle conveyor 312 of the transport section 310 are brush-cleaned by rotating brushes 378, 378 while cleaning liquid is sprayed from cleaning liquid nozzles 380, 380 onto the back and front surfaces of the wafers W. After cleaning, compressed air is sprayed from air knife nozzles 384, 384 to drain the cleaning liquid so that it is not carried over to the next process. After brush cleaning, the wafers W are transported by roller conveyor 382 to the single-wafer pre-rinse section 354 for the next process.

The single wafer pre-rinse section 354 has a similar configuration to the single wafer brush cleaning section 352. In the single wafer pre-rinse section 354, the wafers transported by the roller conveyor 382 of the single wafer brush cleaning section 352 are brush-cleaned by a rotating brush while pre-rinse liquid is sprayed from a pre-rinse liquid nozzle onto the back and front surfaces of the wafers. After cleaning, compressed air is sprayed to drain the liquid. After brush cleaning, the wafers W are transported by the roller conveyor to the single wafer rinsing section 356 for the next process.

The single wafer rinsing section 356 has a configuration similar to that of the single wafer brush cleaning section 352. In the single wafer rinsing section 356, the wafer W is brush-cleaned by a rotating brush while rinsing liquid is sprayed from a rinsing liquid nozzle onto the back surface of the wafer transported by the roller conveyor of the single wafer rinsing cleaning section. After cleaning, the wafer W is transported by the roller conveyor to the next detection section 400.

The detection section 400 detects the presence or absence of cracks, chips, and adhesive residue on each wafer W after cleaning, and measures the thickness of each wafer W. The detection section 400 is composed of a transport unit 402 for transporting the wafer W after cleaning in the single wafer cleaning section 350 to a predetermined receiving position, a rotation drive unit for lifting the wafer W transported to the receiving position to a predetermined detection position and rotating it, a thickness measurement unit for measuring the thickness of the wafer W rotated by the rotation drive unit, a defective wafer detection unit for detecting cracks, chips, and adhesive residue on the wafer W rotated by the rotation drive unit, and a transfer unit for transferring the wafer W after detection to the wafer transfer robot of the next recovery section 500.

Figure 14 is a plan view showing the configuration of the transport unit 402, which includes a round belt conveyor 411. The round belt conveyor 411 is connected to the terminal end of the single wafer cleaning section 350. A pair of guide members 411a, 411a are arranged on both sides of the round belt conveyor 411, and the wafers W are guided to move in a straight line by the guide members 411a, 411a.

As shown in FIG. 14, five positioning pins 412, 412, ... are arranged in an arc at the end position of the round belt conveyor 411, and the wafer W transported by the round belt conveyor 411 is positioned at a predetermined receiving position when it comes into contact with the positioning pins 412, 412, ... In addition, when the wafer W comes into contact with the positioning pins 412, 412, ..., a sensor (not shown) is activated, and the drive of the round belt conveyor 411 is stopped by the activation of this sensor. Then, the wafer W, after detection, is handed over to the wafer transport robot 508 of the recovery section 500.

Figure 15 is a plan view showing the configuration of the recovery section 500, and wafer recovery sections 502A and 502B are each equipped with an upper and lower two-tiered cassette holder (not shown). The cassette holder is supported by a cassette positioning mechanism (not shown) so that it can be moved up and down freely, and wafer recovery cassettes 510A and 510B for recovering wafers W are set in each of the cassette holders, two by two.

Like wafer recovery units 502A and 502B, defective wafer recovery unit 504 and adhesive remaining wafer recovery unit 506 each have a cassette holder (not shown), which is supported by a cassette positioning mechanism (not shown) so that it can be raised and lowered freely. A defective wafer recovery cassette 512 for recovering defective wafers W and an adhesive remaining wafer recovery cassette 514 for recovering adhesive remaining wafers W are set in this cassette holder.

When one wafer W is stored, the cassette positioning mechanism (not shown) is driven to raise the wafer recovery cassette 510A by one partition level. The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus 1 of this embodiment is configured as described above. All of the devices that make up this wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus 1 are driven and controlled by a control device (not shown), and operate based on the drive signal output by this control device.

The wafer peeling and cleaning device 1 described above is used to peel and clean sliced wafers cut using a normal cutting method (a method in which only one ingot is cut at a time). The batch of wafers W cut using a wire saw are transported to the wafer peeling and cleaning device 1 by a transport device (not shown).

The wafer W is then loaded onto a lifter (not shown) provided in the wafer peeling and cleaning device 1. The wafer W loaded onto the lifter is first transported by the lifter to the rough cleaning section 10. There, the wafer W is shower-cleaned to remove any slurry that adhered to the wafer during cutting. The shower cleaning in the rough cleaning section 10 is performed while the wafer is still loaded onto the lifter, and once the shower cleaning is complete, the wafer is transported to the wafer peeling and single-wafer section 100.

The wafers W transported to the wafer peeling section 100 are first inverted upside down by an inversion mechanism provided on the lifter (the wafers W are positioned so that they are on the upper side relative to the mounting plate M), and then set in the workpiece holder 122 of the hot water bath 112. The wafers W set in the workpiece holder 122 are peeled off one by one from the slice base S by the first and second peeling suction pads 200, 201, and the peeled wafers W are transferred sequentially to the shuttle conveyor 312 of the transfer section 310. The wafers W are then transported to the wafer cleaning section 350 by this shuttle conveyor 312.

The above process is carried out for each wafer W that has been peeled off from the slice base S, and the process ends when all the wafers W have been stored in the cassette. After completion, each device returns to the state it was in before the start-up.

The wafer peeling and cleaning device 1 can peel and clean sliced wafers cut using a multi-cutting method (a method in which different types of ingots are cut simultaneously in one cut). The peeling and cleaning of wafers cut using the multi-cutting method will be described below.

Wafer cut by the multi-cutting method must be collected by wafer type, and are processed as follows. Note that the process up to the time of transport to the wafer peeling unit 100 is the same as for wafers cut by the normal cutting method described above.

When the multi-cut wafers W are set in the work holder 122 of the wafer peeling section 100, a partition plate (not shown) of a partitioning device is set between the lots of each wafer W. Then, once the partition plate is set, the peeling operation is started by the first peeling suction pad 200. The peeling operation is first performed on the wafers W of the first lot, and the peeled wafers W are transferred sequentially onto the shuttle conveyor 312 of the transport section 310.

When peeling of all the wafers W of the first lot is completed, the first partition plate (not shown) inserted between the first and second lots is detected. When the first partition plate is detected, the control device determines that the wafers to be peeled thereafter are wafers W of the second lot. This makes it possible to separate the wafers by lot, and to collect the wafers without mixing different types of wafers.

When all the wafers W in the second lot have been peeled off, the second partition plate (not shown) inserted between the second and third lots is detected, and the control device detects the second partition plate. Thereafter, the wafers to be peeled off are determined to be wafers W in the third lot.

As described above, in the single wafer peeling section 100, when the edge of the wafer is held by the peeling suction pad and peeled off one by one, air is blown and supplied by the air nozzle, so that the gaps between the wafers in the batch are kept well balanced, damage to the wafers is eliminated, and only one wafer can be lifted up efficiently. After that, the processes in the transport section 310, single wafer cleaning section 350, detection section 400, and collection section 500 can proceed smoothly, and an efficient wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus 1 can be provided.

[Appendix A]
The present invention also includes the following.
(Appendix A, Section 1)
A wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus which peels off a batch of wafers, which have been cut into a large number of wafers at the same time, one by one from a slice base in a wafer peeling and cleaning section to separate the wafers, transports the peeled wafers to a single wafer cleaning section to clean the wafers, and collects the wafers in a cassette in a collection section,
The wafer peeling unit includes:
a hot water tank formed in a rectangular box shape in which hot water is stored;
a workpiece holder that is installed in the hot water bath and holds the wafer to be peeled;
a suction pad for suction-holding one end surface of the wafer;
A first guide rail disposed along the longitudinal direction of the hot water tank;
a first feed motor for moving the peeling suction pad along the first guide rail in the longitudinal direction of the hot water tank;
a rotary actuator for raising and lowering the peeling suction pad vertically upward;
an air nozzle provided on a side surface of the wafer;
and when the edge faces of the wafers set in the hot water bath are suction-held by the suction pad for peeling and the wafers are peeled off one by one, air is blown onto the side faces of the wafers by the air nozzle.

(Appendix A, Section 2)
The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air nozzles are provided on both sides of the wafer.

(Appendix A, Section 3)
3. The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air nozzle is provided below the wafer.

(Appendix A, Section 4)
4. The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the air nozzle blows air from the lower side to the upper side of the wafer.

(Appendix A, Section 5)
The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of appendix A-1 to A-4, wherein the air nozzle blows air onto a batch of multiple wafers when peeling one of the wafers.

(Appendix A, Section 6)
The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of appendix A items 1 to 5, wherein the air nozzle blows and supplies air at least between the first and second wafers when peeling one of the wafers.

(Appendix A, Section 7)
The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of Appendix A, paragraphs 1 to 6, is characterized in that, when peeling one of the wafers, the air nozzle blows and supplies air between the first and second wafers and between the second and third wafers.

(Appendix A, Section 8)
The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of appendix A items 1 to 7, characterized in that a water supply nozzle is provided vertically above the wafer, and hot water or water is supplied vertically above the wafer near the center when the wafers are peeled one by one.

(Appendix A, Section 9)
The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of appendix A items 1 to 8, further comprising a swing rotary actuator for swinging the peeling suction pad in a direction along the axis of the wafer, and driving the swing rotary actuator to swing the peeling suction pad, thereby peeling the wafer off from the slice base.

(Appendix A, item 10)
10. The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the center of the oscillation is set in the vicinity of the adhesive portion between the slice base and the wafer.

The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to the present invention can solve the following problems of the invention described in Patent Document 1.
In the invention described in Patent Document 1, the wafer is oscillated in the direction along the axis, which is desirable in terms of efficient wafer peeling, but when the wafer is lifted at the wafer peeling section, the next wafer is also lifted.
The next waiting wafer after the lifted wafer may come into close contact with the second waiting wafer, which may result in damage to the wafer, such as cracks, chipping, microcracks, etc.

The wafer peeling and cleaning device of the present invention provides an air nozzle on the side of the wafer, and when the edge of the wafer is held by suction with a peeling suction pad and peeled off one by one, the air nozzle blows air and supplies it, so that the gaps between the wafers in the batch can be kept well balanced. Therefore, when a wafer is lifted, the next wafer is not lifted at the same time, and damage to the wafers is eliminated, and only one wafer can be lifted efficiently.

[Appendix B]
The present invention further includes the following.
(Appendix B Section 1)
A wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus in which a batch of wafers cut simultaneously is peeled off one by one from a slice base in a wafer peeling and cleaning section, the peeled wafers are delivered to a delivery device at a delivery position, the delivery device transports the wafers to a single wafer cleaning section for single wafer cleaning, and after cleaning, the wafers are recovered in a cassette in a recovery section,
the wafer peeling unit including a peeling suction pad for suction-holding an edge of the wafer, a lifting rotary actuator for lifting and lowering the peeling suction pad vertically upward, a tilting stopper plate provided on a support plate on which the lifting rotary actuator is installed, and a double-picking prevention plate having a slit formed in an upper portion of the tilting stopper plate and fixed to the tilting stopper plate;
the delivery device including a delivery suction pad that receives the wafer peeled off at the wafer peeling unit from the peeling suction pad, and a pressure switch that detects that the wafer is sucked and held on the delivery suction pad;
a control device which, in response to a detection signal from the pressure switch, releases the vacuum suction of the peeling suction pad, and starts the retraction of the delivery suction pad from the peeling suction pad and the descent of the peeling suction pad;
A wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus comprising:

(Appendix B 2)
2. The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the anti-fall plate is a resin pressing plate provided on the end face side of the wafer.

(Appendix B Section 3)
The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to appended claim B2, further comprising a stainless steel plate provided on the opposite side of the pressing plate.

(Appendix B Item 4)
The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wafer held by the peeling suction pad is guided by the pressing plate, passes through the slit, and stops at the transfer position.

(Appendix B Section 5)
5. The wafer separating and cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the delivery suction pad and the separation suction pad are flat vacuum pads.

(Appendix B Section 6)
The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the width of the slit is 1.1 to 1.5 times the thickness of the wafer.

(Appendix B Item 7)
The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a rotating arm having the suction pad for delivery at a tip thereof, and the delivery position is a position where the rotating arm is horizontal.

(Appendix B, Section 8)
8. The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, at the transfer position, the wafer is positioned coaxially with the axis of the transfer suction pad.

The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to the present invention can solve the following problems of the invention described in Patent Document 1.
That is, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, when the speed at which the peeling suction pad is moved upward after sucking the wafer with the peeling suction pad is increased, the surface of the wafer may be damaged. Also, at the transfer position, the transfer suction pad is moved back from the peeling suction pad position before the peeling suction pad is returned to the original peeling position, so the timing at which the peeling operation starts is delayed, resulting in wasted time in sequentially performing the peeling operations. Furthermore, since the timing at which the wafer is transferred to the transfer suction pad is not clear, if the timing at which the peeling suction pad is moved downward is too early, there is a risk that the surface of the wafer may be damaged or that damage such as cracks, chips, chipping, microcracks, etc. may occur.
According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus which improves the overall efficiency by shortening the time from the peeling operation to the transfer to the single wafer cleaning section by the delivery device without damaging the wafer.

1 ... wafer peeling and cleaning device, 10 ... rough cleaning section, 12 ... rough cleaning device, 100 ... wafer peeling and cleaning section, 310 ... transport section, 350 ... single wafer cleaning section, 400 ... detection section, 500 ... recovery section, 112 ... hot water tank, 114 ... peeling device, 118 ... delivery device, 120 hot water,
122: workpiece holder; 312: shuttle conveyor; 352: single-wafer brush cleaning section; 354: single-wafer pre-rinse section; 356: single-wafer rinsing section; 402: transport unit; 508: wafer transport robot;
136: first guide rail; 138: linear guide; 140: first slide table; 142: nut member; 144: threaded rod; 148: first feed motor;
150: peeling unit; 152: bearing block; 154: swing frame; 160: swing rotary actuator; 162: driving gear; 164: driven gear; 168: rotating shaft; 170: bearing member; 172: support plate; 174: rotating plate; 176: connecting rod; 178, 180, 194, 196, 210, 212: pin; 182: bearing unit; 186, 188: rotating shaft; 190, 192: arm; 8: pad support plate, 200: first peeling suction pad, 201: second peeling suction pad, 202: support plate, 204: lifting rotary actuator, 206: rotation plate, 208: connecting rod, 214: fall prevention plate, 214a: passage, 214S: position sensor, 214-1: pressing plate, 214-2: stainless steel plate, 80, 81: air nozzle, 216: double-picking prevention plate, 216a: slit,
222... drive unit, 240... second slide table, 248... second feed motor, 236... second guide rail, 274... support column, 276... support frame, 278... rotary actuator for turning, 280... drive gear, 284... turning shaft, 282... driven gear, 286... bearing unit, 288... turning frame, 290... rotating shaft, 292... rotary actuator for changing direction, 294... turning arm, 296... support plate, 298... pad advancing/retreating cylinder, 300... delivery suction pad,
378: rotating brush; 380: cleaning liquid nozzle; 382: roller conveyor; 384: air knife nozzle;
402... conveying unit 411... round belt conveyor, 411a... guide member, 412... positioning pin,
502, 502A, 502B...wafer recovery section, 510A, 510B...wafer recovery cassette, 504...defective wafer recovery section, 506...adhesive remaining wafer recovery section, 514...adhesive remaining wafer recovery cassette,
M: mounting plate, S: slice base, W: wafer

Claims (9)

A wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus for peeling wafers adhered to a slice base one by one from the slice base and cleaning the wafers,
a first suction pad for peeling arranged so that a central axis of the first suction pad coincides with a central axis of the wafer;
a second peeling suction pad arranged closer to the slice base than the first peeling suction pad and extending and contracting in an axial direction ;
A wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus comprising: a water supply nozzle disposed vertically above said wafers; and when said wafers are peeled one by one, hot water or water is supplied vertically above said wafers from near their centers. The wafer peeling and cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that the second peeling suction pad is a bellows-type vacuum suction pad. The wafer peeling and cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first peeling suction pad is a flat vacuum pad with a flat surface and has a stronger suction force than the second peeling suction pad. A wafer peeling and cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that when the wafers attached to the slice base are peeled off one by one to separate them into individual wafers, the wafers are held by suction in such a way that the second peeling suction pad abuts against the edge of the wafer and pulls it in, and then the first peeling suction pad sucks the central axis of the wafer. a fall prevention plate for preventing the wafer from falling forward when the wafer is peeled off one by one from the batch state to be separated into individual wafers;
The anti-tilt plate has a water-repellent surface that comes into contact with the wafer,
5. The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second peeling suction pad draws the wafer toward the tilting stopper plate, centering around the vicinity of the adhesive portion of the wafer in a batch state. A wafer peeling and cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a swinging rotary actuator is provided for swinging the first and second peeling suction pads in a direction along the axis of the wafer, and the wafer is peeled off from the slice base by driving the swinging rotary actuator to swing the first and second peeling suction pads. a hot water bath for softening the adhesive material bonding the wafer to the slicing base;
Air nozzles provided at both side positions of the wafer;
Further comprising:
7. A wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein when peeling off the wafers one by one by suction-holding the edge faces of the wafers bonded to the slice base set in the hot water bath with the first and second peeling suction pads, air is blown and supplied to the side faces of the wafers by the air nozzle. 8. The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the air nozzle blows air from below the wafer toward above the wafer. 8. The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the air nozzle blows and supplies air to a batch of a plurality of wafers when peeling one of the wafers.