JPH06132385A - Alignment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable an alignment, device to easily align wafers even if they are different from each other in distance between their center and orientation flat. CONSTITUTION:Wafer numbers which indicate the alignment order of wafers 30 and the geometrical outline dimensional data corresponding to the wafer numbers are stored in a control device 20, a mounting means 11 where the wafer 30 is mounted, and positioning means 12 which are driven and controlled by a control device to alternately approach to or recede from the mounting means 11 to initial positions in different directions making their front sides confront the circumference of a wafer 30 are provided. Furthermore, direction setting means 13 which are driven and controlled by a control device to alternately approach by a prescribed distance or recede from the mounting means 11 to an initial position corresponding to the geometrical outline of the wafer 30 so as to make their front sides confront the orientation of the wafer 30, and pressing means 14 which are driven and controlled by a control device to alternately approach or recede from the mounting means 11 to an initial position in different directions making their front sides confront the circumference of the wafer 30 are additionally provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an alignment apparatus for aligning a wafer having an orientation flat (hereinafter referred to as an orientation flat), and in particular, it can easily perform alignment even if wafers having different distances from the center to the orientation flat are mixed. Alignment device

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Next, a conventional alignment apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 2A and 2B are views for explaining a conventional alignment apparatus. FIG. 2A is a plan view of a main part schematically showing the configuration of the alignment apparatus, and FIG. 2B is a plan view of a wafer. Figure (c) is a plan view of the monitor wafer. In the present specification, the same parts, the same materials and the like are designated by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the conventional alignment apparatus corresponds to the respective movement elements constituting the alignment apparatus, that is, the mounting means 11, the circumferential guide 12, etc. A control device 10 that controls the operation of each drive unit (not shown) that is driven separately, and a surface that can be accommodated within the area of the wafer 30 in plan view, and the wafer 30 in a horizontal state on the surface. A mounting means for mounting, for example, a disc-shaped stage 11, and a driving unit (not shown) controlled by the control device 10 are driven in a radial direction of the wafer 30 mounted on the stage 11 and a central direction thereof. After moving forward, pressing and moving the circumferential surface of the wafer 30 on the stage 11 from a plurality of directions, for example, three directions in the radial direction, and aligning the center of the wafer 30 with a predetermined position, for example, the center of the stage 11, Circumferential gas that retreats along the radial direction And de 12, and circumferential surface relative to the wafer 30 mounted with the circumferential surface to the stage 11, the controller 10
Is driven by a drive unit (not shown) controlled by the stage 11
The wafer 30 mounted on the stage 11 is aligned with the center of the stage 11 while moving forward along the same route as the center of the wafer.
When the direction of a is set to be perpendicular to the forward direction, the guide roller 13 that moves the circumferential surface so as to slightly contact the orientation flat 30a at the time of forward movement, and the rod 11 is formed in a rod shape so that the axial center is vertical. The peripheral surface of the wafer 30 on the stage 11 that is in contact with the peripheral surface of the guide roller 13 by the drive of a drive unit (not shown) controlled by the controller 10 is provided at a position apart from the side surface. When the orientation flat 30a is in contact with either one of the guide rollers 13 by pressing from a plurality of directions, for example, two directions in the radial direction, the wafer 30 is rotated horizontally at a small angle with the center or the vicinity thereof as the center of rotation. Then
The orientation flat 30a is configured to include a pair of link guides 14 for aligning the direction of the orientation flats with the pair of guide rollers 13.

A method of aligning the wafer 30 with the conventional alignment apparatus having the above structure will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the main part for explaining the alignment process, and is shown in FIG.
(d) is a plan view of the main part in the order of steps, and (e) is a plan view of the main part showing the alignment state of the monitor wafer.

First, as shown in FIG.
Wafer 30 with the a facing the guide roller 13.
Is placed on stage 11. In addition, the wafer 30 is staged
Place on 11 and rotate the stage 11
It is naturally possible to configure the device so that 30a faces the guide roller 13.

Then, when the control device 10 is turned on,
The control device 10 advances the circumferential guide 12 in the direction of the stage 11 as shown by the arrow A via the drive unit to move the stage 11 to the stage 11.
The wafer 30 placed on the wafer is moved so that the center of the wafer 30 coincides with the center of the stage 11, and then the wafer 30 is moved back along the same route (see FIG. 2B).

Next, the control device 10 advances the guide roller 13 in the direction of the stage 11 by a predetermined distance as shown by the arrow B via the drive unit, and then at that position the guide roller 13 is moved.
Temporarily stop 13. At this time, the guide roller
As described above, at least one of the 13 is in a state in which its circumferential surface is in slight contact with the orientation flat 30a of the wafer 30 (see FIG. 6 (c)).

After that, the control device 10 advances the link guide 14 in the direction of the stage 11 via the drive unit to press the circumferential surface of the wafer 30 on the stage 11 as shown by the arrow C, and the orientation flat 30a. Is in contact with either one of the guide rollers 13, the wafer 30 is rotated horizontally by a small angle with its center or the vicinity thereof as the center of rotation, and the orientation flat is rotated.
By aligning the direction of 30a with the direction in which the pair of guide rollers 13 are arranged, the alignment of the wafer 30 on the stage 11 is completed.

Of course, after this, the guide roller 13 and the link guide 14 are returned to their initial positions by following their respective routes by the control device 10.

[0010]

Even in the conventional alignment apparatus described above, the cut depth D of the orientation flat 30a of the wafer 30 to be aligned (see FIG. 2 (b)), that is, the radius of the wafer 30 If the value obtained by subtracting the length of the shortest distance (perpendicular) between the center and the orientation flat is exactly the same, there will be no problem.

However, among the wafers 30 on which the semiconductor chips 30b are formed, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), the semiconductor chips 30b which are samples for the purpose of quality control or the like are included in the normal semiconductor chips 30b. There are some with ".
Then, such a semiconductor chip 30b 'as a sample
The semiconductor chip 30b 'is a normal semiconductor chip 30b and a sample semiconductor chip 30b' as shown in the stage where the wafer 30 is completed, that is, the stage where the electrical characteristics of the semiconductor chip 30b 'can be measured.
Will be cut off between and.

The semiconductor chip 30 as a sample in this way
Since the semiconductor chips left on the wafer 30 'with the b'cut off (hereinafter referred to as the monitor wafer 30') are no different from the normal semiconductor chip 30b, this monitor wafer 30 'is also the normal wafer 30'. It was passed on to the subsequent process together with.

However, as described above, the monitor wafer in which the original orientation flat 30a is cut off to have the pseudo orientation flat 30 'having a large cut depth D value.
When trying to align 30 'with a conventional alignment device, as shown in FIG.
Was not in contact with the pseudo orientation flat 30a 'of the monitor wafer 30' mounted on the stage 11, so alignment could not be performed.

The present invention has been made to solve such a drawback, and an object thereof is to provide an alignment apparatus capable of easily performing alignment even if wafers having different cut depths D are mixed.

[0015]

As shown in FIG. 1, the purpose is to align the center of a notched circular wafer having an orientation flat mounted on a mounting means with a predetermined position, and to change the orientation flat direction. In an alignment device that aligns wafers one by one in a predetermined direction, the wafer number indicating the alignment order of the wafers 30 and the geometrical shape dimension data of each wafer 30 corresponding to each wafer number are displayed. Stored controller 20 and wafer 30
A mounting means 11 having a smaller surface and mounting the wafer 30 with the orientation flat 30a oriented in a predetermined direction in the order of the wafer numbers, and the peripheral surface of the wafer 30 on the mounting means 11 and the front in the traveling direction. Positioning means 12 facing each other and alternately driven and controlled by the control device 20 to approach the mounting means 11 from a plurality of directions and retract to the initial position, and the wafer on the mounting means 11
Face the front in the direction of travel with the orientation flat 30a of 30
On the mounting means 11, a direction determining means 13 that is driven and controlled by 20 to alternately advance and retract a predetermined distance corresponding to the geometrical shape of the wafer 30 toward the mounting means 11 and retract to the initial position. The front surface of the wafer 30 faces the front surface in the traveling direction, and the control device
This is achieved by an alignment apparatus characterized in that the mounting means 11 is driven and controlled by 20 and includes a pressing means 14 for alternately approaching from a plurality of directions and retracting to an initial position. .

[0016]

In the alignment apparatus of the present invention, the positioning unit 12 is driven and controlled by the control unit 20 to horizontally move the wafer 30 placed on the stage 11 having a disk shape and a flat surface. , The center of the wafer 30 is superimposed on the center of the stage 11.

After that, the controller 20 moves the direction determining means 13 in accordance with the geometrical shape of the wafer 30 on the stage 11 to bring it closer to the orientation flat 30a of the wafer 30. When the pressing means 14 is driven and controlled by the control device 20 in such a state to move toward the stage 11 and press the circumferential surface of the wafer 30, the orientation flat 30a is aligned in a predetermined direction. It will be.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an alignment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a plan view of a main part schematically showing the configuration of the alignment apparatus, FIG. 1 (b) and FIG. FIG. 3C is a plan view of relevant parts showing an intermediate state of the alignment process.

An alignment apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention is
The configuration is based on the conventional alignment apparatus described with reference to FIG. That is, the alignment apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1A, shows the wafer number indicating the alignment order of the wafers 30 and the geometrical shape data of the wafers 30 corresponding to the respective wafer numbers. And a controller 20 that stores the memory 30 and a surface that is smaller than the wafer 30. On this surface, the orientation flat 30a is placed in a predetermined direction, that is, a mounting means on which the wafer 30 is mounted in the order of the wafer numbers toward the direction determining means 13. For example, a disc-shaped stage 11 having a flat surface in the horizontal direction, and a control device 20 facing the circumferential surface of the wafer 30 on the stage 11 and the front in the traveling direction.
Is driven and controlled by the stage 11 to move in multiple directions, such as 3
Positioning means for alternately approaching from the direction and retracting to the initial position, pressing the peripheral surface of the wafer 30 on the stage 11 when approaching, and aligning the center of the wafer 30 with the center of the stage 11. , For example, the circumferential guide 12 and the stage
The cylinder axis faces the orientation flat 30a of the wafer 30 on the upper surface of the wafer 11, and is driven and controlled by the controller 20 to advance toward the stage 11 by a predetermined distance corresponding to the geometric shape of the wafer 30. That is, the direction determining means 13 for alternately advancing and retracting the wafer 30 on the stage 11 to the initial position until the cylindrical surface lightly contacts the orientation flat 30a on the stage 11, for example, a pair of guide rollers 13 and the stage 11 Wafer 30
Has a side surface that can contact the circumferential surface of the
It is controlled to alternately approach the stage 11 from a plurality of directions and retreat to the initial position, and when the stage 11 is approached, the circumferential surface of the wafer 30 placed on the stage 11 is moved in a plurality of directions. , For example, lightly pressing from two directions, this wafer
It is composed of a pressing means for aligning the orientation flat 30a of 30 in the juxtaposed direction of the guide rollers 13, for example, a pair of rod-shaped link guides 14.

In the alignment apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention thus constructed, the controller 20 is provided with the wafer number indicating the alignment order of the wafer and the geometric shape data of the wafer corresponding to each wafer number. If it is stored, the control device 20 drives the circumferential guide to match the center of the wafer 30 (monitor wafer 30 ') mounted on the stage 11 with the center of the stage 11, and then the wafer 30 The guide roller 13 is advanced according to the geometrical shape data of the (monitor wafer 30 ') to such an extent that the cylindrical surface thereof is in slight contact with the orientation flat 30a (30a') of the wafer 30.

Thus, if the link guide 14 is moved in the direction of the stage 11 in this state, the wafer 30 (monitor wafer 30 ') will have its circumferential surface pressed from the link guide 14 in two directions and the orientation flat 30a (orientation flat 30a). 30a ') is aligned in parallel with the juxtaposed direction of the guide rollers 13 (see FIGS. (B) and (c)).

[0022]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the present invention can provide an alignment apparatus that can easily perform alignment even when wafers having different distances from the center to the orientation flat are mixed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an alignment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a conventional alignment device,

FIG. 3 is a plan view of relevant parts for explaining an alignment step.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 and 20 are control devices, 11 is a stage (mounting means), 12
Is the circumferential guide (positioning means), 13 is the guide roller
(Direction determining means), 14 is a link guide (pressing means),
30 is a wafer, 30a is a wafer orientation flat (orientation flat), 30 'is a monitor wafer,
30a 'indicates the orientation flat (orientation flat) of the monitor wafer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A notched circular wafer having an orientation flat mounted on a mounting means is aligned with the center of the wafer at a predetermined position, and the wafers are aligned one by one with the orientation flat being directed in the predetermined direction. In the alignment device, the controller (20) that stores the wafer number indicating the alignment order of the wafer (30) and the geometrical shape data of the wafer (30) corresponding to each wafer number.
And a mounting means (11) having a surface smaller than the wafer (30) on which the orientation flat (30a) is oriented in a predetermined direction to mount the wafer (30) in the order of the wafer numbers. 11) Face the peripheral surface of the upper wafer (30) and the front in the traveling direction, and the mounting means (1) is driven and controlled by the control device (20).
1) Positioning means (12) for alternately approaching from multiple directions and retracting to the initial position, orientation flat (30a) of wafer (30) on mounting means (11) and front in the traveling direction. Face-to-face and control equipment (20)
Orientation means (13) that is driven and controlled by the device to alternately advance and retract to the initial position by a predetermined distance corresponding to the geometrical shape of the wafer (30) in the mounting means (11) direction. The wafer (30) on the mounting means (11) faces the peripheral surface of the wafer (30) in the traveling direction, and is driven and controlled by the control device (20).
An alignment apparatus comprising (1) a pressing means (14) for alternately approaching from a plurality of directions and retracting to an initial position.