JPH07130691A - Automatic wafer grinder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic wafer grinder capable of unattended operation of grinding, polishing and cleaning wafers. CONSTITUTION:A robot 1, surrounded by grinders 3 and 4, a polishing machine 5 and a cleaning device 6, carries wafers 2 under process. This arrangement makes unattended operation in production lines possible because of automated grinding, polishing and cleaning of wafers.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic wafer grinding apparatus for automatically grinding and polishing a wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a wafer used for an integrated circuit (IC) or the like is manufactured by slicing a semiconductor ingot, but the surface needs to be polished after slicing.
For this reason, conventionally, an apparatus for polishing the surface of a ground wafer has been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-207559
And Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-43832.

[0003]

However, in the conventional apparatus, since the manufacturing process is not automated, it is difficult to introduce it into the mass production line, and when the wafer has a large diameter as in recent years, the work between each process is not performed. There was also a problem that it was difficult to standardize the transfer device because a special transfer device had to be installed for the transfer of the transfer device. The present invention has been made in order to improve the conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wafer grinding apparatus capable of automating each process and standardizing a transfer device.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention arranges a necessary number of radix machines such as a grinding machine, a polishing machine and a cleaning machine around a robot, and conveys a wafer to be processed in each step. The robot is used for carrying.

[0005]

[Operation] With the above configuration, the grinding, polishing and cleaning of the wafer can be automated, and standardization of each device makes it easy to increase or decrease the number of devices according to the mass production line or each device.

[0006]

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall layout of the wafer grinding machine, FIG.
Is a flow chart showing the operation, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a robot for carrying a wafer 2. Around the robot 1, a plurality of grinders 3, 4 centering on the robot 1, a grinder 5 and a cleaning machine 6, and an unloading machine. A module 7 and a loading module 8 are sequentially arranged in the counterclockwise direction, and a reversing machine 9 for temporarily placing the wafer 2 and reversing the wafer 2 is arranged between the grinding machine 3 and the grinding machine 4. Each of these devices has been standardized and manufactured in advance, the number of bases can be increased or decreased according to the production line, and each device can be updated.

Next, referring to the flow chart of FIG.
The grinding and polishing steps of will be described. As for the wafer 2 sliced from the semiconductor ingot by a slicing machine (not shown), a plurality of wafers 2 are cassette 12 after beveling processing.
1 is set in the loading module 8 of FIG. 1 (step 21). Thereafter, in step 22, the robot 1 takes out one wafer 2 from the loading module 8 and conveys it to the grinder 3. The grinder 3 grinds the A surface (one surface) of the wafer 2 (step 2).
3).

The wafer 2 whose surface A has been ground is transferred to the reversing machine 9 by the robot 1 (step 24), and the surfaces A and B are reversed by the reversing machine 9 (step 25). Conveyed to the grinding machine 4 (Step 2
6) Then, in step 27, the B surface of the wafer 2 is ground.

The wafer 2 whose surface B has been ground is transferred to the polishing machine 5 by the robot 1 (step 28), and one surface is polished by the polishing machine 5 (step 29). Then, the polished wafer 2 is cleaned by the robot 1 to the cleaning machine 6
Is conveyed to (step 30) and washed by the washing machine 6 to remove chips and the like generated in the grinding process and the polishing process (step 31). The cleaned wafer 2 is
The robot 1 again transfers the unloading module 7 to the unloading module 7 (step 32), and in step 33, the unloading module 7 stores the empty cassette 12 ′.

Thereafter, the above operation is continuously repeated to perform the wafer 2
Since both sides are ground and one side is polished and cleaned automatically, unmanned operation can be performed by using the robot 1 to transfer the wafer 2 between the steps.

As shown in FIG. 3, the grinders 3, 4 and the grinder 5, the washing machine 6, the reversing machine 9 and the robot 1 are provided in the clean room 14, and the unloading module 7 is used.
If the loading module 8 is installed at the boundary between the clean room 14 and the non-clean room 15 and the wafer 2 is loaded and unloaded from the non-clean room 15 side,
Since it is not necessary for the worker to enter the clean room 14 to work, it is not necessary to wear dustproof clothes and the like, and the clean room 14 can be made unmanned. Figure 3
Medium 16 is a carriage.

[0012]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the grinding machine, the polishing machine, the washing machine and the like are standardized and arranged around the robot, and the robot performs the transfer between the steps. The wafer grinding, polishing, and cleaning processes can be automated,
Mass production of wafers becomes possible. Also, by using a robot to transfer wafers, it is possible to easily handle large-diameter wafers, and standardize each device to increase or decrease each device according to the scale of the mass production line, to update each device or to install a large size. It will be easier to implement.

The entire apparatus is installed in a clean room,
Since only the wafer is loaded and unloaded from the non-clean room side, the clean room can be unmanned, and it is economical because only the clean room needs to be locally provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall arrangement of a wafer grinding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wafer grinding apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a wafer grinding apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Robot, 2 ... Wafer, 3, 4 ... Grinding machine, 5 ... Polishing machine, 6 ... Cleaning machine, 7 ... Unloading module, 8
… Loading module, 9… Reversing machine, 14… Clean room, 15… Non-clean room.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Arrangement of grinding machines 3 and 4, a polishing machine 5 and a cleaning machine 6 having a necessary number of radii around the robot 1, and the wafer 1 to be processed in each step is conveyed by the robot 1. Wafer automatic grinding machine. 2. The automatic wafer grinding machine according to claim 1, wherein a reversing machine 9 for reversing the wafer 2 is installed between the plurality of grinding machines 3 and 4. 3. The automatic wafer grinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a loading module and unloading modules 8 and 7 are installed between the grinding machine 3 in the first step and the cleaning machine 6 in the final step. 4. The grinders 3, 4, the grinder 5, the washer 6, the reversing machine 9, the robot 1 and the like are provided in the clean room 14, and the unloading module 7 and the loading module 8 are provided at the boundary between the clean room 14 and the non-clean room 15. The automatic wafer grinding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the automatic wafer grinding machine is installed so that the wafer 2 can be loaded and unloaded from the non-clean room 15 side.