JPH1044005A - Semiconductor wafer chamfer surface polishing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a semiconductor wafer chamfer surface polishing machine from having both sides of other than the semiconductor wafer chamfer surface polished by the polishing liquid stuck thereon. SOLUTION: A semiconductor wafer chamfer surface polishing machine for polishing the semiconductor wafer W chamfer surface M is provided with a wafer conveying mechanism for conveying the semiconductor wafer W, an obverse polishing room 4 and a reverse polishing room 7 for respectively polishing the chamfer surfaces M the obverse and the reverse of the semiconductor wafer W, and an observe polishing room conveying mechanism and a reverse polishing room conveying mechanism for respectively conveying the semiconductor wafers W conveyed by the wafer conveying mechanism to the obverse polishing room and the reverse polishing room and returning them to the wafer conveying mechanism after polishing them, while the wafer conveying mechanism is provided with an obverse side wafer washing unit 20 and a reverse side wafer cleaning unit 24 for respectively cleaning with wash water the semiconductor wafers W conveyed from the obverse polishing room and the reverse polishing room by the obverse polishing room conveying mechanism and the reverse polishing room conveying mechanism.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer for polishing a chamfered surface formed on a peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a technique of etching (etching) a chamfered surface formed on a peripheral edge of a semiconductor wafer such as a silicon wafer, a CCR (Chemical Corne) is used.
r Rounding) processing is known.
When CR processing is performed, projections are formed at the boundary between the chamfered surface and the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer. These projections are minute, but when the semiconductor wafer is housed in a resin cassette, the semiconductor wafer comes into contact with the cassette and scrapes the cassette, resulting in minute shavings. It goes without saying that the shavings cause the performance of the semiconductor wafer to deteriorate.

Therefore, apart from the CCR processing, the chamfered surface of the semiconductor wafer is subjected to CMP (Chemical Mecha).
It is known to perform a process such as a mechanical polishing process. This CMP processing is a technique of polishing with a polishing cloth while supplying a polishing liquid toward a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer. Conventionally, as an apparatus for performing the CMP processing, a polishing drum wound with a polishing cloth is used. Has been rotatably supported with its axis inclined with respect to the rotation axis of the semiconductor wafer, and pressed against the chamfered surface of the semiconductor wafer while rotating the polishing drum.

In a conventional apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer, the chamfered surface is polished as follows.
First, the semiconductor wafer transported by the transport mechanism is attached to the holder for the front side, and the chamfered surface on the front side is polished. After polishing the front side, the semiconductor wafer is removed and the semiconductor wafer is mounted on the back side holder. In this state, the chamfered surface on the back side is polished, and after polishing on the back side, the semiconductor wafer is removed from the holder and transported to the next step.

[0005]

However, the conventional semiconductor wafer chamfering surface polishing apparatus has the following problems. That is, after polishing the chamfered surface on the front side, the semiconductor wafer is replaced from the holder for the front side to the holder for the backside while the polishing liquid is attached, and the chamfered surface on the backside is further polished. Therefore, a polishing liquid is interposed between the back side holder and the semiconductor wafer, and a portion of the semiconductor wafer in contact with the holder, that is, the front surface or the back surface is slightly polished and a contact mark of the holder remains, which causes an inconvenience. I was

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and provides a semiconductor wafer chamfering surface polishing apparatus for preventing the front and back surfaces other than the chamfering surface of the semiconductor wafer from being polished by the attached polishing liquid. The purpose is to do.

[0007]

The present invention has the following features to attain the object mentioned above. That is, in the apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer according to claim 1, a polishing liquid is supplied to a chamfered surface formed on a peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer and a polishing cloth is slid in a pressed state to polish the chamfered surface. An apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a wafer, comprising: a wafer transfer mechanism for transferring the semiconductor wafer; a front-side polishing chamber and a back-side polishing chamber for polishing a chamfered surface on a front side and a back side of the semiconductor wafer; A front polishing chamber transfer mechanism and a back polishing chamber transfer mechanism for transferring a semiconductor wafer transferred by a mechanism to the front polishing chamber and the back polishing chamber and returning the semiconductor wafer to the wafer transfer mechanism after polishing, respectively, the wafer transfer mechanism comprising: Transfer from the front polishing chamber and the back polishing chamber by the front polishing chamber transfer mechanism and the back polishing chamber transfer mechanism Technology wherein that includes surface-side wafer cleaning unit with wash water to wash each and the backside wafer cleaning unit of the semiconductor wafer is employed to.

[0008] This semiconductor wafer chamfering surface polishing apparatus is provided with a front side wafer cleaning section and a rear side wafer cleaning section separately from the front side polishing chamber and the back side polishing chamber.
The semiconductor wafer having the chamfered surface on the front side polished in the front-side polishing chamber is transferred to the front-side wafer cleaning section by the front-side polishing chamber transfer mechanism, so that the polishing liquid adhered during the front-side polishing is cleaned. Further, the semiconductor wafer, whose back chamfer surface is polished in the back-side polishing chamber, is transferred to the back-side wafer cleaning section by the back-side polishing chamber transfer mechanism, so that the polishing liquid attached during back-side polishing is cleaned. Therefore, each time the polishing of the chamfered surface on the front side and the back side is completed, the semiconductor wafer is immediately cleaned in the front side wafer cleaning section and the back side wafer cleaning section separate from the front side polishing chamber and the back side polishing chamber, respectively, No polishing liquid remains and unnecessary portions are not polished. In addition, since the front-side polishing chamber and the back-side polishing chamber are separately provided, the respective polishing processes are performed separately in parallel, and the other semiconductor wafers are paralleled in the front-side wafer cleaning section and the rear-side wafer cleaning section. It is washed. Furthermore, since the front-side polishing chamber and the back-side polishing chamber, and the front-side wafer cleaning section and the back-side wafer cleaning section are provided separately, the mutual mixing of the polishing liquid and the cleaning water is small, and each of them can be easily reused. .

In the apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer according to a second aspect, in the apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer according to the first aspect, the wafer transfer mechanism is transferred from the surface polishing chamber by the surface polishing chamber transfer mechanism. A technique is provided which includes a wafer reversing means for receiving and turning over the semiconductor wafer to be transferred to the back surface polishing chamber transfer mechanism.

In this apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer, since the wafer transfer mechanism includes a wafer reversing means, the front and rear sides of the semiconductor wafer to be polished in the front polishing chamber and the rear polishing chamber by the wafer reversing means. Are directed in the same direction, the polishing process on the front surface side and the back surface side can be performed by the polishing mechanism having the same configuration.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a wafer removal mechanism, 2 denotes a wafer positioning unit, 3 denotes a wafer transfer mechanism, 4 denotes a front polishing chamber, 5 denotes a front polishing chamber transfer mechanism, 6 denotes a front polishing mechanism, and 7 denotes a back polishing. Room,
Reference numeral 8 denotes a backside polishing chamber transfer mechanism, 9 denotes a backside polishing mechanism, and 10 denotes a wafer storage mechanism.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer according to the present embodiment comprises a semiconductor wafer W
Take-out mechanism 1 for taking out wafers from cassette C1
And a wafer positioning unit 2 for positioning the semiconductor wafer W taken out from the wafer take-out mechanism 1, and a semiconductor wafer W positioned by the wafer positioning unit 2 to be transported to the front side and the back side of the semiconductor wafer W. A wafer transfer mechanism 3 for sending to the polishing process;
A surface polishing chamber transfer mechanism 5 for transferring a semiconductor wafer W transferred by the wafer transfer mechanism 3 to a surface polishing chamber 4 where the front side is polished, and returning the semiconductor wafer W to the wafer transfer mechanism 3 after polishing.
A surface polishing mechanism 6 for polishing the front side of the semiconductor wafer W in the front surface polishing chamber 4; and a back side polishing chamber for polishing the back side of the semiconductor wafer W whose front side is polished and conveyed again by the wafer conveyance mechanism 3. 7, a back-side polishing chamber transfer mechanism 8 for returning to the wafer transfer mechanism 3 after polishing, a back-side polishing mechanism 9 for polishing the back side of the semiconductor wafer W in the back-side polishing chamber 7, and a wafer transfer mechanism 3 for polishing the back side again. A wafer storage mechanism 10 for transferring the semiconductor wafers W conveyed to the storage cassette C2, and an operation control unit 12 electrically connected to each of the mechanisms and controlling these.
And

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the wafer take-out mechanism 1 includes a cassette mounting table 13 and four cassette mounting tables 13 mounted on the upper surface of the cassette mounting table 13 so as to surround a central portion. A cassette C1 and a loader unit 15 provided at a central portion of the cassette mounting table 13 for picking up semiconductor wafers W from a predetermined cassette C1 with a take-out hand 14, taking out the wafers one by one, and transferring the wafers to the wafer transfer mechanism 3. It has.

Each of the cassettes C1 is placed so that a plurality of semiconductor wafers W stored therein are in a horizontal state, and the direction in which each semiconductor wafer W is taken out is directed to the center of the cassette mounting table 13. Will be installed. The loader unit 15 is arranged such that the take-out hand 14 extending in the horizontal direction is arranged at the center of the upper surface of the cassette mounting table 13 and the cassette mounting table 1
3 is installed. The take-out hand 14 is
The loader unit 15 is rotatable about a vertical axis and is capable of moving forward and backward in the extending direction, and is supported so as to be vertically movable.

The wafer positioning unit 2 is installed at the end of the cassette mounting table 13 on the base 16 installed adjacent to the cassette mounting table 13, and the semiconductor wafer removed from the cassette C1. The center W (centering) and the orientation of the orientation flat (orientation flat) are determined on the mounting table 2a.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the wafer transfer mechanism 3 transfers the semiconductor wafer W positioned by the wafer positioning unit 2 at a first transfer unit (front side wafer cleaning unit) 20 to a surface polishing chamber transfer mechanism. 5, a semiconductor wafer W whose front side has been polished by the surface polishing mechanism 6 is received and transferred from the surface polishing chamber transfer mechanism 5 by the first transfer section 20, and the semiconductor wafer W is transferred by the second transfer section 22. A second transfer unit 23 (wafer reversing means) for inverting the W, and a third transfer unit (rear surface side wafer cleaning unit) 24 that receives the semiconductor wafer W inverted by the second transfer unit 23 and transfers the back surface polishing chamber to a back surface polishing chamber transfer mechanism. And a semiconductor wafer W whose back side has been polished by the back-side polishing mechanism 9 from the back-side polishing chamber transfer mechanism 8. And a fourth conveying unit 27. pass the wafer housing mechanism 10 by the fourth transfer section 26 aside.

The first to fourth transfer units 20, 22, 2
Reference numerals 4 and 26 denote cassette mounting tables 1 on the base 16.
The first to the fourth are arranged in the longitudinal direction in order from the end on the third side.
The transport units 21, 23, 25, and 27 are provided sequentially from one end of the cassette mounting table 13 along one side surface of the first to fourth transfer units 20, 22, 24, and 26.

The first transfer unit 21 includes a first hand 28 that sucks and supports the semiconductor wafer W by an arc-shaped suction groove 28a formed at a tip end thereof, and the first hand 28 is connected to the loader unit 15 and the second hand. A first rodless cylinder 29 that supports the first hand 28 so as to be able to move up and down, and a first rodless cylinder 29 that supports the first hand 28 so that the first hand 28 can move up and down.
0 and a first pipe section 31 which bundles respective pipes for supplying compressed air which are individually connected to the suction groove 28a of the first hand 28, the first rodless cylinder 29 and the first vertically moving cylinder 30, respectively. Have.

The first rodless cylinder 29 has both ends fixed horizontally to one side surface of the first transfer portion 20, and the first movable portion 32 of the first rodless cylinder 29 has a first hand 28. Is supported so as to be able to move up and down, and the first vertically moving cylinder 30 is provided. Further, the first movable portion 32 is supported by a first guide portion 33 disposed above and parallel to the first rodless cylinder 29 so as to be horizontally movable. The first hand 28
Extends horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the base 16, and has a base end thereof connected to the first vertically moving cylinder 3.
0 is connected to the distal end of the piston portion 30 a via a connecting member 34.

The second transfer unit 23 includes a second hand 35 that sucks and supports the semiconductor wafer W by two suction holes 35 a formed at the tip end, and a second hand 35 that transfers the second hand 35 to the first transfer unit 20. A second rodless cylinder 36 that supports the second hand 35 so as to be able to move horizontally between the second transfer portion 22 and a second vertical movement cylinder 37 that supports the second hand 35 so that the second hand 35 can move up and down.
And a second pipe section 38 which bundles respective pipes for supplying compressed air which are individually connected to the suction hole 35a of the second hand 35, the second rodless cylinder 36, and the second vertically moving cylinder 37, respectively. ing.

Both ends of the second rodless cylinder 36 are connected to the first transfer section 20 and the second transfer section 22.
The second hand 3 is fixed to one side surface of the second rodless cylinder 36 in a horizontal state.
5 is supported so as to be vertically movable and rotatable, and the second vertically movable cylinder 37 is provided. Also,
The second movable section 39 is supported by a second guide section 40 disposed above and parallel to the second rodless cylinder 36 so as to be horizontally movable.

The second hand 35 extends horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the base 16, and has a base end connected to a piston portion 37 a of a second vertical cylinder 37.
It is connected to the distal end via a connecting member 41. Also,
At the base end of the second hand 35, a reversing actuator 42 that supports the second hand 35 so as to be rotatable about the extending direction of the second hand 35 is provided.

The third transfer section 25 includes a third hand 43 for sucking and supporting the semiconductor wafer W by two suction holes 43a formed at the front end, and a third hand 43 for transferring the third hand 43 to the second transfer section 22. A third rodless cylinder 44 that supports the third hand 43 so as to be able to move up and down with the third transfer part 24;
And a third pipe section 46 for bundling compressed air supply pipes individually connected to the suction hole 35a of the third hand 43, the third rodless cylinder 44, and the third vertically moving cylinder 45, respectively. ing.

Both ends of the third rodless cylinder 44 are connected to the second transfer portion 22 and the third transfer portion 24.
Are fixed to one side surface of the third rodless cylinder 44, and the third movable portion 47 of the third rodless cylinder 44 has a third hand 4
3 is supported so as to be vertically movable, and
A vertically moving cylinder 45 is provided. Further, the third movable portion 47 is horizontally movably supported by a third guide portion 48 disposed above and parallel to the third rodless cylinder 44. Similarly to the second hand 35, the third hand 43 extends horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the base 16 and has its base end moved up and down via a connecting member 49 in the third vertical direction. It is connected to the tip of the piston 45 a of the cylinder 45.

The fourth transfer section 27 includes a semiconductor wafer W
And a fourth hand 50 on which the
A fourth rodless cylinder 51 is supported between the transfer unit 24 and the fourth transfer unit 26 so as to be horizontally movable. The fourth rodless cylinder 51 has both ends fixed horizontally to one side surface of each of the third transfer part 24 and the fourth transfer part 26, and the fourth movable part 52 of the fourth rodless cylinder 51 has The base end of the fourth hand 50 is supported to be vertically movable.

The fourth hand 50 extends in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the base 16 and has a distal end located horizontally below the base end. The tip of the fourth hand 50 is placed on the semiconductor wafer W
, And four projections 50a that are positioned in contact with the outer edge of the semiconductor wafer W are provided.

The fourth transfer unit 26 includes the base 16
At the longitudinal end of the fourth transfer portion 26
An air cylinder 53 for hand lifting and lowering that supports the hand 50 so as to be able to move up and down is provided. The hand lifting / lowering air cylinder 53 is arranged to extend in the up-down direction, and a fourth hand support member 53b into which the side of the fourth hand 50 is fitted is attached to the tip of the cylinder rod 53a. .

As shown in FIG. 6, the first transfer section 20 is a rectangular water tank provided adjacent to the loader unit 15, and is filled with pure water as cleaning water. . The second transfer unit 22 is a rectangular water tank that is adjacent to the first transfer unit 20 and is set deeper than the first transfer unit 20.
A washing water drain hole 54 is formed at the bottom of the bottom so that the pure water overflows from the bottom and the like. The third transfer section 24 and the fourth transfer section 26
Is a rectangular water tank which is adjacent to the second delivery section 22 and set at the same depth as the first delivery section 20. The tanks are in communication with each other and are filled with pure water as cleaning water. ing.

As shown in FIG. 7, the surface polishing chamber transfer mechanism 5 comprises a pair of wafer suction disks 54 for supporting the semiconductor wafers W from above in the first transfer section 20 and the surface polishing chamber 4, respectively. A pair of suction disk support portions 55 for supporting these wafer suction disks 54 in a vertically movable and rotatable manner, and a rotation provided between the first transfer portion 20 and the surface polishing chamber 4 by rotating these suction disk support portions 55; Supported by a possible pivot member 56 and
And a swivel mechanism 57 that swivels around the center 6. That is, the pair of wafer suction disks 54 is
Are arranged symmetrically around the center.

On the other hand, the back polishing chamber transfer mechanism 8 has a third
A pair of wafer suction disks 54 for supporting the semiconductor wafer W in a suction state from above in the transfer part 24 and the backside polishing chamber 7, respectively, and a pair of suction disk support parts for supporting these wafer suction disks 54 vertically and rotatably. 55, and these suction disk support portions 55
And a turning mechanism 57 for turning around a rotatable turning shaft member 56 erected between the rear surface polishing chamber 7.

The turning mechanism 57 includes the turning shaft member 56.
Turning rotary actuator 58 for rotating
A cylindrical support member 59 that rotatably supports the pivot shaft member 56 in an inserted state. The turning rotary actuator 58 is provided below the front-side polishing chamber 4 or the back-side polishing chamber 7, and a lower gear 62 in which a connecting gear 61 fixed to a rotation drive shaft 60 is fixed to a lower portion of the turning shaft member 56. Are engaged. The cylindrical support member 59 penetrates a central portion of the base 16, and a lower flange 63 provided on a lower outer periphery is fixed to and supported on the upper surface of the base 16.

A rod-shaped turning stopper 64 extending outward in the radial direction is fixed to the lower end of the turning shaft member 56, and a turning positioning portion 65 is provided on the upper back surface of the base 16.
Are fixed at two predetermined positions (one position is not shown). The turning positioning portion 65 is in a position where the tip of the turning stopper 64 turns and locks by a predetermined amount, that is, when the wafer suction plate 54 turns to the upper part of the first transfer part 20 or the upper part of the surface polishing chamber 4. And third transfer unit 2
It is provided at a position corresponding to the case where it turns to the upper part of 4 or the upper part of backside polishing chamber 7, respectively. In addition, the turning positioning portion 65 includes a shock absorber 66 that absorbs an impact when the tip end of the turning stopper 64 comes into contact and a positioning bolt 67 that finely adjusts a locking position on a lower side surface.

An upper flange portion 68 is provided at the upper end of the turning shaft member 56, and a cylindrical member 69 is fixed on the upper flange portion 68 along the same axis.
On the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 69, a pair of suction-disc lifting air cylinders 70 arranged in the vertical direction are provided at symmetrical positions with respect to the axis of the cylindrical member 69.
Each of the suction-disc lifting and lowering air cylinders 70 includes a cylinder portion 70a fixed to an upper portion and a cylinder rod portion 70b that can move up and down in the cylinder portion 70a. The suction disk support portion 55 is fixed to a tip portion of the cylinder rod portion 70b.

The suction disk supporting portion 55 includes a frame 71 fixed to the tip of the cylinder rod portion 70b, a rotary motor 72 fixed on the upper portion of the frame 71, and a rotary motor 72.
Reducer 7 connected to a rotary drive shaft for reducing the number of rotations
3a and a rotation angle detection sensor 73b for detecting the rotation angle of the wafer suction disk 54 decelerated by the speed reducer 73a.
And a support rod 74 connected to the rotation shaft of the speed reducer 73a and supported at the lower end of the frame 71 so as to be rotatable about the vertical axis. The support rod 74 is connected to a suction means (not shown) and has a connection hole 74a penetrating vertically.
Are formed inside.

The upper surface of the wafer suction disk 54 is fixed to the lower end of the support rod 74, and is rotatable by the rotation of the rotary motor 72 along the same axis.
The wafer suction disk 54 is set to have a diameter smaller than the semiconductor wafer W to be sucked by a predetermined amount and is formed in a disk shape with a cutout portion corresponding to the orientation flat. It is shaped. further,
A suction hole (not shown) connected to the connection hole 74a is formed on the lower surface of the wafer suction disk 54. That is, the wafer suction disk 54 and the suction disk support portion 55 function as a wafer rotating mechanism that holds the semiconductor wafer W and supports the semiconductor wafer W rotatably in the circumferential direction.

The front polishing chamber 4 and the back polishing chamber 7
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the polishing chamber side plate 75, the polishing chamber top plate 76, and the polishing chamber side plate 75 are disposed on the opposite sides of the first transfer portion 20 and the third transfer portion 24 with respect to the pivot shaft member 56. It comprises a chamber shutter 77 and a polishing chamber bottom plate 78. The polishing chamber bottom plate 78 is set to be inclined toward the outside of the center, and a polishing liquid drain hole 79 for draining the polishing liquid used at the time of polishing is formed at the lowermost portion. The polishing liquid drain hole 79 is connected to a drain storage section (not shown) for reusing the used polishing liquid. A mist removal port 75a for removing mist is provided below the polishing chamber side plate 75.

The polishing chamber top plate 76 is disposed so as to cover the upper side of the front side polishing chamber 4 and the rear side polishing chamber 7, respectively. A circular top plate opening 76a having a slightly larger inner diameter is formed. The polishing chamber top plate 76 is provided on the base 1 directly above the outer polishing chamber side plate 75.
6, a pair of shutter air cylinders 80 supported so as to be able to expand and contract in the longitudinal direction, and a connecting member 8 is provided at the tip of a cylinder rod 80a of the shutter air cylinder 80.
A pair of plate-shaped polishing chamber shutters 77 are fixed to each other through the first through-hole 1.

A through-hole 81a is formed in the connecting member 81, and a guide rod 82 provided on a polishing chamber top plate 76 is inserted into the through-hole 81a. That is,
The connecting member 81 is supported by the guide rod 82 so as to be horizontally movable in the longitudinal direction of the base 16. These polishing chamber shutters 77 are arranged along the polishing chamber top plate 76 so as to cover the front polishing chamber 4 and the back polishing chamber 7, respectively, and extend in the longitudinal direction of the base 16 by the expansion and contraction of the shutter air cylinder 80. It is supported on the polishing chamber top plate 76 so that it can be opened and closed. Further, the pair of polishing chamber shutters 77
Semicircular notches 77a are formed at the inner edges facing each other, and a circular opening having an inner diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the support rod 74 is formed at the center at the time of closing.

The polishing chamber top plate 76 is provided with a polishing chamber top plate peripheral wall portion 83 which protrudes upward from the periphery and is arranged so as to surround the upper surface of the polishing chamber top plate 76. Further, intermediate top plates 84 are provided between the front polishing chamber 4 and the first transfer section 20 and between the back polishing chamber 7 and the third transfer section 24, respectively. An intermediate top plate peripheral wall portion 85 protruding upward from the peripheral portion and disposed so as to surround the upper surface of the intermediate portion top plate 84 is provided.

The intermediate top plate 84 is connected to the first transfer unit 2
One side edge is disposed on the upper side plate 20a, 24a on the pivot shaft member 56 side of the 0 and third transfer portions 24, and the other side edge is on the polishing chamber side plate 7 of the front polishing chamber 4 and the back polishing chamber 7.
5 are arranged on the outer surface. That is, the intermediate top plate 84 is disposed at a position lower than the polishing chamber top plate 76 and higher than the first transfer unit 20 and the third transfer unit 24.

The polishing chamber top plate peripheral wall portion 83 has a first low wall portion 83a formed on the side of the intermediate portion top plate 84, the projection amount of which is smaller than that of the other portions. ,
The second low wall portions 85a whose protrusion amounts are smaller than those of the other portions are formed on the first transfer portion 20 side and the third transfer portion 24 side, respectively. Further, on the polishing room top plate 76 and the intermediate portion top plate 84, the cleaning water is supplied and is stored shallowly by the polishing room top plate peripheral wall portion 83 and the intermediate portion top plate peripheral wall portion 85.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the front-side polishing mechanism 6 and the back-side polishing mechanism 9 hold the semiconductor wafer W held in the front-side polishing chamber 4 and the back-side polishing chamber 7 by the wafer suction plate 54, respectively. A pair of polishing drums 90 arranged on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the base 16 around the base and having axes parallel to the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer W, that is, axes rotatable in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction.
A pair of drum driving means 91 for rotating and moving each of the polishing drums 90; and a polishing liquid supply means for supplying a polishing liquid onto the polishing drum 90 and also supplying a chamfered surface of the semiconductor wafer W during polishing. 92
And each is provided.

The drum driving means 91 includes a polishing drum 9
And a polishing unit 90 that swingably moves back and forth in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the base 16 and a polishing drum 90 that is swingably supported by the drum translation unit 93 and that is connected to the distal end. Drum 90 to semiconductor wafer W
And a drum supporting portion 94 that abuts against the chamfered surface of the semiconductor wafer W in a pressed state and that is slidably supported in a direction toward the axis of the semiconductor wafer W.

The drum linear motion unit 93 is disposed between the first transfer part 20 and the front polishing chamber 4 and between the third transfer part 24 and the back polishing chamber 7.
6, a unit body 94 having a ball screw (not shown) fixed thereon and a motor etc. for rotating the ball screw.
And a linear motion part 95 screwed to the ball screw and movable along the ball screw.

The drum support portion 94 is provided with the linear motion portion 95.
A swing arm 96 having an upper end swingably supported by a pivot bearing 95a provided at the upper part of the base, and a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the base 16 fixed to the lower end of the swing arm 96. And a drum support shaft portion 97 that rotatably supports the polishing drum 90 at the distal end.
The swing arm 96 has a through hole 96a formed at an upper end thereof, and is provided with a swing rod 96b which is inserted through the through hole 96a and whose both ends are rotatably supported by the pivot bearing 95a. .

The drum support shaft 97 is fixed to the lower end of the swing arm 96 and penetrates through the polishing chamber side plate 75 inside the surface polishing chamber 4. The axis is the same in the member 98 and the bearing 98
a drum rotating shaft member 99 rotatably inserted through
And The drum rotation shaft member 99 has a polishing drum 90 fixed at the front end thereof along the same axis, and a rotation drive source (not shown) connected to the rear end.

The upper end of the swing arm 96 and the linearly moving part 9
The lower part of 5 is connected by a balance spring 100, and the lower end of the swing arm 96 and the lower part of the linear part 95 are connected by a pressing air cylinder 101. The balance spring 100 holds the drum support shaft 97 supported by the swing arm 96 at a fixed height, and holds the polishing drum 9 attached to the drum support shaft 97.
A height position of 0 is set.

The pressing air cylinder 101 is
At the time of polishing, the drum support shaft 97 held at a constant height by the balance spring 100 is pressed obliquely upward toward the semiconductor wafer W in a suction state on the wafer suction disk 54 with a certain pressing force, and the drum support shaft 97 is pressed. The outer peripheral surface of the rotating polishing drum 90 is pressed against the chamfered surface on the front side of the semiconductor wafer W in the surface polishing mechanism 6, and pressed against the chamfered surface on the back side of the semiconductor wafer W in the backside polishing mechanism 9. It is to let.

A drum cover 102 for covering half of the outer peripheral surface of the polishing drum 90
Is attached. The drum cover 102 includes a disk portion 102 a fixed to the drum cylindrical member 98 and disposed close to the inner surface of the polishing drum 90.
And an arc-shaped plate portion 102b that covers the half opposite to the semiconductor wafer W disposed in the front-side polishing chamber 4 and the back-side polishing chamber 7 in the outer peripheral surface in a close state.

The disk portion 102a and the surface polishing chamber 4
Between the inner polishing chamber side plate 95 and the disk portion 102a
The drum cylindrical member 9 in the front-side polishing chamber 4 and the back-side polishing chamber 7 is provided between the polishing chamber side plate 95 and the inside of the rear-side polishing chamber 7.
Each of the bellows members 103 that cover the bellows 8 is attached. These bellows members 103 prevent the polishing liquid from entering the drum cylindrical member 98 or the like during polishing.

The polishing liquid supply means 92 includes a plurality of supply nozzles 104 attached above the arc-shaped plate portion 102b of the drum cover 102,
A polishing liquid brush 105 fixed to 4 and disposed on the side of the semiconductor wafer W held by the wafer suction plate 54 and a polishing liquid introduction means 106 connected to the supply nozzle 104 and supplying the polishing liquid. The polishing liquid brush 105
Is formed of an elastic material such as nylon, and its tip is disposed in contact with the outer peripheral surface along the axial direction of the polishing drum 90.

As shown in FIG. 3, the polishing liquid introducing means 106 includes a slurry tank 107 for storing the polishing liquid, and a slurry pump 108 for sucking the polishing liquid from the slurry tank 107 and guiding the polishing liquid to the supply nozzle 104. ing. Reference numeral 109 denotes a cyclone for removing discharged mist used to reuse the used polishing liquid.

As shown in FIG. 11, the grinding drum 90 has a wheel body 110 made of an aluminum alloy which is fixed to a mounting flange 99a provided at the end of the drum rotating shaft member 99 with a bolt 109 along the same axis. And a polishing cloth 1 provided so as to cover the outer peripheral surface of the wheel body 110.
11 is provided. On the outer peripheral surface of the wheel body 110, a ridge-shaped key 110a extending parallel to the axis and protruding outward in the radial direction is provided. The key 110a is inserted into the polishing cloth 111 from the inside to prevent the polishing cloth 111 from rotating. It has been.

The polishing cloth 111 is formed by laminating a plurality of unit polishing cloths 111a formed in an annular shape from non-woven fabric having non-uniform fiber orientations into a cylindrical shape, and has the same axis on the outer peripheral surface of the wheel body 110. It is attached in an extrapolated state. On both end surfaces of the polishing cloth 111, annular reinforcing plates 112 made of vinyl chloride and having the same outer diameter as the polishing cloth 111 are arranged, respectively.
An annular pressing plate 113 made of stainless steel and having an outer diameter smaller than that of the polishing cloth 111 is disposed on the outer surface of the polishing pad 111.

The compression ratio of the polishing cloth 111 is 6 to 10%.
Is set to 8% in the present embodiment. The thickness of the polishing pad 111 in the radial direction is set to about four times the thickness of the semiconductor wafer W. For example, when the thickness of the semiconductor wafer W is 0.75 mm, the thickness is 3.0 mm. The compression ratio is JIS L-10
Is intended to comply with the 96, read the thickness T ₁ of 1 minutes after loading the initial load W ₀ to the unit polishing cloth 111a, at the same time load W
Increased to _1, it is calculated by the following equation from a reading of the thickness T ₂ of the post 1 minute. Compression rate (%) = (T ₁ −T ₂ ) / T ₁ × 100 (W ₀ = 300 g / cm ² , W ₁ = 1800 g / c
m ² )

The pressing plate 113 on the base end side of the polishing drum 90
The pressing plate 113 at the tip end side of the polishing drum 90 is engaged with the enlarged diameter portion 110b formed on the outer peripheral surface of the base end portion of the wheel main body 110.
Is supported in a pressed state toward the base end by an annular polishing cloth pressing plate 115 fixed at the position. Therefore, the polishing cloth 111 is held between the reinforcing plate 112 and the holding plate 113 and is compressed in the axial direction by a constant pressing force.

As shown in FIG. 12, the wafer storage mechanism 10 takes out the semiconductor wafer W disposed above the third transfer unit 24 and transferred to the third transfer unit 24 by the storage hand 116 and transfers the semiconductor wafer W. Loader unit 1
5 and a storage cassette mounting portion 117 for mounting the storage cassette C2 storing the semiconductor wafers W transferred by the unloader unit 15 at a predetermined position.

The unloader unit 15 includes the base 1
6 is supported in a hanging state by a beam member 119 erected above two pillar members 118 erected on the beam member 6, and is extended by a horizontal moving device 120 attached to the beam member 119. It is movable along a direction, that is, a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the base 16. On the side surface of the horizontal moving device 120, a storage air cylinder 121 that can expand and contract in the vertical direction is fixed at an upper part to be in a hanging state. A hand swinging rotation unit 122 provided with 116 is supported.

The hand oscillating rotating part 122 is provided around the horizontal axis perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the base 16.
6 for rocking the rotary actuator 123
And a rotary actuator 124 for rotating the storage hand 116 about its extending direction as an axis. The storage hand 116 has a plurality of suction holes (not shown) connected to suction means (not shown) formed at a tip end thereof, and the semiconductor wafer W transferred to the fourth transfer unit 26 is sucked by these suction holes. I support it.

The storage cassette mounting portion 117 is provided on the side surface on the end side of the base 16 and is disposed at a position lower than the fourth transfer portion 26. The storage cassette mounting portion 117 has a water tank portion 125 in which four storage cassettes C2 can be arranged in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the base 16 and is filled with pure water. Cassette hands 126 arranged inside the storage tank C2 and individually placed and positioned, and the water tank unit 12
The cassette hand 12 is installed between the base 5 and the base 16.
6 is provided with four cassette lifting air cylinders 127 for individually supporting the lifting and lowering of the cassettes 6.

The loading position of the semiconductor wafer W in the storage cassette C2 is set so that the front and back surfaces thereof are parallel to the longitudinal direction of the base 16 and the axis of the semiconductor wafer W is horizontal. The cassette hand 126
Is formed in an L-shaped vertical section, and the upper portion thereof corresponds to the cylinder rod 1 of the air cylinder 127 for elevating and lowering the cassette.
27a is fixed to the tip.

Next, a method for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer in one embodiment of the apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer according to the present invention will be described.
[Wafer positioning step], [Surface polishing step], [Wafer inversion step], [Backside polishing step], and [Wafer accommodation step] will be described separately.

[Wafer Removal Step] First, the cassette C1 containing the semiconductor wafers W before the polishing process is set at a predetermined position on the cassette mounting table 13 such that the surface of the semiconductor wafers W faces downward.

The loader unit 15 is driven to move the pick-up hand 14 up and down, and the semiconductor wafer W at a predetermined position from the center of the cassette mounting table 13 is moved.
To hold the semiconductor wafer W by suction.
After the suction, the take-out hand 14 is returned to the center of the cassette mounting table 13 again, and is rotated about the vertical axis so that the tip holding the semiconductor wafer W is directed to the wafer positioning unit 2.

[Wafer Positioning Step] The picking hand 14 holding the semiconductor wafer W is moved upward by the loader unit 15 and set at a height corresponding to the mounting table 2a of the wafer positioning unit 2, and then the picking hand 14 is set. Is horizontally moved onto the mounting table 2a of the wafer positioning unit 2. At this time, the first hand 28 is previously arranged below the mounting table 2a.

Then, the suction is released while the semiconductor wafer W is placed on the mounting table 2a, and the semiconductor wafer W is released and transferred to the wafer positioning unit 2. Next, the wafer positioning unit 2 is driven to center the semiconductor wafer W on the mounting table 2a and determine the orientation of the orientation flat, thereby positioning the semiconductor wafer W in a predetermined direction.

[Surface Polishing Step] Next, the first hand 28 is raised by the first vertical movement cylinder 30, and the positioned semiconductor wafer W is placed on the upper surface, and is suction-held by the suction groove 28a. Then, the first hand 28 is moved horizontally by the first rodless cylinder 29 above the first transfer unit 20 to transfer the semiconductor wafer W to the first transfer unit 20.

In this state, the first transfer unit 2
The wafer suction plate 54 positioned above the lower position 0 is lowered together with the suction plate supporting portion 55 by the suction disk lifting / lowering air cylinder 70 and is brought into contact with the semiconductor wafer W. At this time, the suction of the first hand 28 is released to release the semiconductor wafer W, and the semiconductor wafer W is suction-held by the wafer suction disk 54 along the same axis.

In a state where the wafer suction board 54 holds the semiconductor wafer W, the turning rotary actuator 58
To rotate the turning shaft member 56 by 180 ° and the wafer suction plate 54 by 180 ° to be positioned above the surface polishing chamber 4. Then, the polishing chamber shutter 77 of the surface polishing chamber 4 is slid by the operation of the shutter air cylinder 80, and the top plate opening 7 of the polishing chamber top plate 76 is opened.
6a is opened.

With the top plate opening 76a open, the wafer suction disk 54 is lowered by the suction disk lifting / lowering air cylinder 70 and placed at a predetermined position in the surface polishing chamber 4. At this time, the orientation of the semiconductor wafer W held on the wafer suction disk 54 is such that the orientation flat is arranged along a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the base 16. Further, in this state, the polishing chamber shutter 77 is slid again by the operation of the shutter air cylinder 80, and the top plate opening 76a of the polishing chamber top plate 76 is closed. At this time, the support rod 74 is disposed in the circular opening formed by the cutout portion 77a of the polishing chamber shutter 77 that abuts on each other.

Next, the pair of polishing drums 90 in the surface polishing chamber 4 are moved from the base 16 side to both sides of the semiconductor wafer W in the holding state by driving the drum linear motion unit 93. Further, by operating the pressing air cylinder 101 to push up the swing arm 96, the polishing cloth 111 of the pair of polishing drums 90 is removed from the semiconductor wafer W.
Are pressed against the chamfered surface on the front side from both sides in a pressed state with a predetermined pressing force. At this time, the orientation flat of the semiconductor wafer W is brought into contact with the polishing cloth 111 of one of the polishing drums 90 near the lower portion of the polishing liquid brush 105.

In this state, the slurry pump 108 is driven and the polishing liquid sucked up from the slurry tank 107 is removed.
It is supplied from one supply nozzle 104 onto the polishing pad 111. Then, by driving a rotation drive source (not shown), the polishing drum 90 which comes into contact with the chamfered surface of the orientation flat is moved to the polishing cloth 1.
Polishing is performed by rotating the semiconductor wafer W along a chamfered surface of the orientation flat in a direction toward the axis of the semiconductor wafer W.

At this time, the polishing cloth 1
The polishing liquid supplied on the surface 11 moves to the semiconductor wafer W side by its own weight and the rotation of the polishing drum 90, contacts the tip of the polishing liquid brush 105, and spreads in the axial direction of the polishing drum 90. That is, since the polishing liquid is uniformly supplied in the axial direction of the polishing drum 90 and is adapted to the polishing cloth 111, good polishing performance can be obtained with the polishing cloth 111 at any position in the axial direction.

After finishing polishing the chamfered surface of the orientation flat,
The other polishing drum 90 is similarly rotated, and the polishing liquid is supplied to the polishing cloth 111 from the other supply nozzle 104. At the same time, the rotation motor 72 is driven to rotate the semiconductor wafer W together with the wafer suction disk 54 by 180 ° (half a circle).
Rotate. At this time, the rotation of the rotation motor 72 is reduced to a predetermined rotation speed by the speed reducer 73a, and the rotation angle of the wafer suction disk 54 is detected by the rotation angle detection sensor 73b, so that the semiconductor wafer W is accurately rotated by 180 °. . That is, since the pair of polishing drums 90 are symmetrically arranged around the axis of the semiconductor wafer W on both sides of the semiconductor wafer W in the rotating state, the semiconductor wafer W is made to make a half turn, so that the polishing drum 90 is formed over the entire circumference. The chamfered surface on the front side is polished.

At this time, since the polishing cloth 111 is slid along the chamfered surface in the direction toward the axis of the semiconductor wafer W, the contact between the polishing cloth 111 and the chamfered surface M of the semiconductor wafer W is made as shown in FIG. At this point, the direction in which the polishing cloth 111 moves (the direction of the arrow A in the figure) is perpendicular to the direction in which the chamfered surface M of the semiconductor wafer W moves, so that circumferential streaks due to polishing are prevented.

Further, since the polishing pad 111 is brought into contact with the chamfered surface M in a pressed state to be elastically deformed and slid, the polishing pad 11 is brought into contact with the outer surface S of the semiconductor wafer W.
One raised portion 111b is formed, and the raised portion 111b contacts the outer surface S in a pressed state and slides from the outer surface S toward the chamfered surface M. That is, the chamfered surface M is polished by the polishing cloth 111, and the outer surface S is also polished at the same time without causing any streaks in the circumferential direction.

The polishing liquid used in the above-mentioned polishing flows directly from the polishing drum 90 onto the polishing chamber bottom plate 78 or the circular plate portion 1 of the drum cover 102.
It is guided downward by 02b and flows down onto the polishing chamber bottom plate 78. The disk 102 of the drum cover 102
“a” prevents the polishing liquid from scattering around the drum cylindrical member 98, and the arc-shaped plate portion 102 b prevents the polishing liquid from scattering into the polishing chamber side plate 75.

The polishing liquid flowing down on the polishing chamber bottom plate 78 is
It flows to the polishing liquid drain hole 79 according to the inclination, and is discharged to the drainage storage section (not shown). The used polishing liquid in the drainage storage section is subjected to mist removal processing by the cyclone 109 for reuse. The polishing drum 90 is moved by a predetermined amount in the axial direction by the drum linear motion unit 93 for each semiconductor wafer W to be polished, and polishes the polishing drum 111 over a wide range on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The life is extended.

After polishing the chamfered surface M on the front side, the polishing chamber shutter 77 is slid to open the top plate opening 76a of the polishing chamber top plate 76. Then, the wafer suction plate 54 holding the semiconductor wafer W is raised to above the polishing chamber top plate 76 by the suction disk lifting / lowering air cylinder 70.

While the chamfered surface M on the front side of the semiconductor wafer W held by the one wafer suction plate 54 in the surface polishing chamber 4 is being polished, the other wafer suction plate 54 carries out the wafer removal process. Further, another semiconductor wafer W transported to the first transfer section 20 through the wafer positioning step is suction-held in the same manner as the one wafer suction board 54.

In this state, the rotation rotary actuator 58 is driven to rotate the rotation shaft member 56, and the one and the other wafer suction disks 54 are respectively rotated by 180 °. That is, the semiconductor wafer W held on one wafer suction disk 54 is transferred again to above the first transfer unit 20, and the semiconductor wafer W held on the other wafer suction disk 54 is moved to the surface polishing chamber 4. The upper chamfered surface M is polished in the same manner as the semiconductor wafer W transferred above and held by the one wafer suction disk 54.

At the time of turning, the polishing liquid may fall onto the polishing chamber top plate 76 and the intermediate portion top plate 84 from one of the wafer suction disks 54 and the held semiconductor wafer W during turning. However, the polishing chamber top plate 76 and the intermediate top plate 84 have their peripheral portions raised by the polishing chamber top plate peripheral wall portion 83 and the intermediate top plate peripheral wall portion 85, and the cleaning water is stored therein. The polishing chamber top plate peripheral wall 83
In addition, it does not flow down from the middle top plate peripheral wall portion 85 to other portions and does not dry and adhere.

Further, the intermediate top plate 84 is set lower than the polishing room top plate 76 and higher than the first transfer unit 20 and the third transfer unit 24, and the polishing room top plate peripheral wall portion 83 and the intermediate unit top plate are set. The peripheral wall 85 has a first low wall 83a.
And the second low wall portion 85a are formed, so that the polishing liquid dropped on the polishing chamber top plate 76 together with the washing water is transferred from the polishing chamber top plate 76 to the intermediate portion top plate via the first low wall portion 83a. Then, it flows down to the first transfer part 20 and the third transfer part 24 from the intermediate part top plate 84 via the second low wall part 85a.

[Wafer Inverting Step] After the semiconductor wafer W whose surface has been polished is transferred to above the first transfer unit 20, the held wafer suction plate 54 is lowered, and the pure water in the first transfer unit 20 is removed. And the wafer suction disk 54 is rotated by a predetermined amount. At this time, the polishing liquid adhering to the semiconductor wafer W and the wafer suction plate 54 is washed away with pure water.

After the polishing liquid has been washed off, the wafer suction disk 54 is raised again to be positioned above the first transfer section 20, and the second hand 35 is moved to a position lower than the wafer suction disk 54 by the second vertical movement cylinder 37. After the setting, the second rodless cylinder 36 moves the wafer horizontally below the wafer suction plate 54 of the first transfer unit 20. In this state, the wafer suction plate 54 is lowered, and the semiconductor wafer W is placed on the second hand 35. At this time,
Release the suction of the wafer suction board 54 to release the semiconductor wafer W
Is released, and the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer W, that is, the front surface side is sucked by the suction hole 35a of the second hand 35 to hold the semiconductor wafer W.

Next, the second hand 35 holding the semiconductor wafer W is moved by the second rodless cylinder 36 to the second hand 35.
It moves horizontally to the transfer unit 22. The second hand 35 transferred to the second transfer unit 22 is set at a position higher than the radius of the semiconductor wafer W with respect to the bottom of the second transfer unit 22. In this state, the reversing actuator 4
2 is driven to move the second hand 35 to 1
Rotate 80 °. Then, the third hand 43 is moved below the semiconductor wafer W held by the second hand 35 by the third vertically moving cylinder 45 and the third rodless cylinder 44.

After the third hand 43 is positioned below the second hand 35, the second hand 35 is lowered to place the semiconductor wafer W on the third hand 43. At this time, the suction of the second hand 35 is released to release the semiconductor wafer W, and the suction hole 35 a of the third hand 43 sucks the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer W, that is, the back surface side, and holds the semiconductor wafer W. The third hand 43 is a semiconductor wafer W
And then horizontally moved by the third rodless cylinder 44 to the third transfer section 24.

[Back-Surface Polishing Step] After the third hand 43 is placed on the third transfer unit 24, the wafer suction plate 54 of the back-surface polishing chamber transfer mechanism 8 previously positioned above the third transfer unit 24 is lowered. At the same time, it is brought into contact with the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W on the third hand 43. At this time, the suction of the third hand 43 is released to release the semiconductor wafer W, and the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W, that is, the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W is suctioned by the wafer suction disk 54 of the back-surface polishing chamber transfer mechanism 8 to hold the semiconductor wafer W. Hold.

Thereafter, similarly to the front surface polishing step, the semiconductor wafer W having the back surface held downward is transferred into the back surface polishing room 7 by the back surface polishing room transfer mechanism 8, and the orientation flat and the outer edge portion on the back surface side are transferred. Polishing of the entire chamfered surface. At this time, similarly to the front side, the outer side is also polished on the back side at the same time. Then, after the polishing of the chamfered surface on the back side is completed, the semiconductor wafer W held on the wafer suction plate 54 of the back surface polishing chamber transfer mechanism 8 is again placed above the third transfer unit 24 in the same manner as in the front surface polishing step. Be transported.

In the same manner as in the front surface polishing step, while the chamfered surface M on the back surface side of the semiconductor wafer W held by the one wafer suction plate 54 in the back surface polishing chamber 7 is being polished, the other wafer suction plate is polished. Numeral 54 suctions and holds another semiconductor wafer W transported to the third transfer unit 24 through the surface polishing step and the wafer reversing step in the same manner as the one wafer suction disk 54.

In this state, the rotation rotary actuator 58 is driven to rotate the rotation shaft member 56, and the one and the other wafer suction disks 54 are respectively rotated by 180 °. That is, the semiconductor wafer W held by the one wafer suction disk 54 is transported again above the third transfer unit 24, and the semiconductor wafer W held by the other wafer suction disk 54 is moved to the back polishing chamber 7 Is polished in the same manner as the semiconductor wafer W transferred above and held by the one wafer suction disk 54.

[Wafer Storing Step] After the semiconductor wafer W whose back surface has been polished is transferred to above the third transfer section 24, the held wafer suction plate 54 is lowered and pure water in the third transfer section 24 is removed. And the wafer suction disk 54 is rotated by a predetermined amount. At this time, the polishing liquid adhering to the semiconductor wafer W and the wafer suction plate 54 is washed away with pure water.

After the polishing liquid has been washed off, the wafer suction board 54 is further lowered, and the semiconductor wafer W is placed on the fourth hand 50 which is previously arranged near the bottom of the third transfer section 24. At this time, the semiconductor wafer W is released by releasing the suction of the wafer suction disk 54 and the fourth hand 5
The semiconductor wafer W is positioned and held on the projection 0 by the projection 50a.

Next, the fourth hand 50 holding the semiconductor wafer W is horizontally moved by the fourth rodless cylinder 51 to the fourth transfer section 26 in a state of being submerged. At this time, the side in the moving direction of the fourth hand 50 moved to the fourth transfer unit 26 is fitted into the fourth hand support member 53b of the air cylinder 53 for hand elevating. Thereafter, the fourth hand 50 is lifted above the fourth transfer unit 26 by the hand lifting air cylinder 53 with the semiconductor wafer W placed thereon.

At this time, the unloader unit 15
Is driven to dispose the distal end of the storage hand 116 above the fourth transfer part 26 with the suction hole facing downward,
The fourth hand 50 is a semiconductor hand W for storing the hand 1.
The ascent is stopped at a position where it comes into contact with the reference numeral 16. In this state,
The upper surface of the semiconductor wafer W is sucked by the suction holes of the storage hand 116 and the semiconductor wafer W is held. Thereafter, the fourth hand 50 is again lowered and retracted to the vicinity of the bottom of the fourth transfer part 26 by the hand lifting / lowering air cylinder 53.

Next, the storage hand 116 holding the semiconductor wafer W in a horizontal state is rotated by 90 ° about the extending direction by operating the rotary rotary actuator 124 to bring the semiconductor wafer W into a vertical state. Then, in this state, the storage hand 116 is raised together with the hand swing rotation unit 122 by operating the storage air cylinder 121, and then the swing rotary actuator 12 is rotated.
3 is rotated by 105 ° about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the base 16 to rotate downward (in the direction of the arrow in the figure) and swing upward, and the water is moved above the water tank section 125 of the storage cassette mounting section 117. The semiconductor wafer W is located.

Further, the horizontal moving device 120 is driven to move the storage hand 116 in the extending direction of the beam member 119 to position the semiconductor wafer W immediately above the storage position of the predetermined storage cassette C2. Thereafter, the storage air cylinder 121 is extended, and the semiconductor wafer W held by the storage hand 116 is lowered to the storage position of the storage cassette C2. Then, the suction of the storage hand 116 is released, and the semiconductor wafer W is opened and stored in the storage cassette C2.

After a predetermined number of semiconductor wafers W are stored in the storage cassette C2 by the above-described steps, the cassette hand 126 on which the storage cassette C2 is mounted is raised by the cassette lifting air cylinder 127 and stored. The handle portion of the cassette C2 is brought out of the water tank 125 upward. Thereafter, the semiconductor wafer W is taken out of the water tank section 125 together with the storage cassette C2 and transferred to the next step.

Since the apparatus for chamfering and polishing a semiconductor wafer has a first transfer section 20 and a third transfer section 24 for cleaning the semiconductor wafer W separately from the front polishing chamber 4 and the back polishing chamber 7, By transferring the semiconductor wafer W, whose chamfered surface M on the front side has been polished in the front polishing chamber 4, to the first transfer unit 20 by the front polishing chamber transfer mechanism 5, the polishing liquid adhered during the front side polishing is washed.

Further, the semiconductor wafer W, whose back chamfered surface M has been polished in the backside polishing chamber 7, is transferred to the third transfer section 24 by the backside polishing chamber transfer mechanism 8, so that the polishing liquid adhered during the backside polishing is transferred. Is washed. Therefore,
Each time polishing of the chamfered surface M on the front side and the back side is completed, the semiconductor wafer W is immediately washed in the first transfer section 20 and the third transfer section 24 provided separately from the front polishing chamber 4 and the back polishing chamber 7, respectively. Therefore, the polishing liquid does not remain and does not polish unnecessary portions.

Further, since the front polishing chamber 4 and the rear polishing chamber 7 are separately provided, the polishing processes are individually performed in parallel with each other. The wafer W is cleaned in parallel. Furthermore, since the front polishing chamber 4 and the rear polishing chamber 7 and the first transfer section 20 and the third transfer section 24 are provided separately, the mixing of the polishing liquid and the cleaning water is small, and the reuse of each of them is small. Easy to do.

Further, since the wafer transfer mechanism 3 includes the wafer reversing means, the front and back sides of the semiconductor wafer to be polished in the front and rear polishing chambers are directed in the same direction by the wafer reversing means. Thus, the polishing process on the front side and the back side can be performed by the polishing mechanism having the same configuration.

[0103]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) According to the apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer according to the first aspect, the front-side wafer cleaning section and the back-side wafer cleaning section are provided separately from the front-side polishing chamber and the back-side polishing chamber. Each time the polishing of the chamfered surface on the back side is completed, the semiconductor wafers are immediately cleaned in the front-side wafer cleaning unit and the back-side wafer cleaning unit, respectively. Without leaving, high flatness can be maintained and a high quality semiconductor wafer can be manufactured. In addition, since the front polishing chamber and the back polishing chamber are separately provided, the polishing process is separately performed in parallel with each other, and another semiconductor wafer is cleaned in parallel in the front wafer cleaning section and the rear wafer cleaning section. By processing, a large amount of semiconductor wafers can be continuously and efficiently polished in a short time. In addition, since the front and rear polishing chambers and the front and rear wafer cleaning sections are separately provided, the reuse of the polishing liquid and the cleaning water can be reduced by reducing the mutual mixing of the polishing liquid and the cleaning water. This makes it easy to reduce running costs and the like.

(2) According to the apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer according to the second aspect, since the wafer transfer mechanism includes the wafer reversing means, the wafer is reversed in the front polishing chamber and the rear polishing chamber by the wafer reversing means. Since the front side and the back side of the semiconductor wafer are respectively oriented in the same direction, the polishing on the front side and the back side can be performed by the polishing mechanism having the same configuration. Therefore, the cost of the polishing apparatus can be reduced, and the maintainability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of an apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a chamfering surface polishing apparatus for a semiconductor wafer according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a left side view showing one embodiment of a chamfering surface polishing apparatus for a semiconductor wafer according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a wafer transfer mechanism in one embodiment of the semiconductor wafer chamfering surface polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a wafer transfer mechanism in one embodiment of the semiconductor wafer chamfering surface polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing first to fourth transfer units in one embodiment of the semiconductor wafer chamfering surface polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a surface polishing chamber and a surface polishing mechanism in one embodiment of the semiconductor wafer chamfering surface polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a partially broken plan view showing a surface polishing chamber and a surface polishing mechanism in one embodiment of the chamfered surface polishing apparatus for a semiconductor wafer according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of a surface polishing mechanism in one embodiment of a chamfered surface polishing apparatus for a semiconductor wafer according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a polishing drum in one embodiment of a chamfered surface polishing apparatus for a semiconductor wafer according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a wafer accommodating mechanism in one embodiment of the semiconductor wafer chamfering surface polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a principal part for describing polishing of a chamfered surface in an embodiment of a chamfered surface polishing apparatus for a semiconductor wafer according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 3 wafer transport mechanism 4 front polishing chamber 5 front polishing chamber transfer mechanism 6 front polishing mechanism 7 back polishing chamber 8 back polishing chamber transfer mechanism 9 back polishing mechanism 20 first transfer section (front wafer cleaning section) 23 second transfer section ( Wafer reversing means) 24 Third transfer unit (backside wafer cleaning unit) 42 Reversing actuator M Chamfer surface W Semiconductor wafer

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shigeru Kimura 985 Ino, Ginya, Ikuno-cho, Asago-gun, Hyogo Pref. 985 No.1 Ino, Ginya, Machiguchi Mitsubishi Materials Corporation Ikuno Works (72) Inventor Shoji Tsuruta 5-1-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Mitsubishi Materials Silicon Corporation (72) Inventor Shigeo Kumabe 1-5-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Mitsubishi Materials Silicon Corporation

Claims (2)

[Claims] An apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer, wherein a polishing liquid is supplied to a chamfered surface formed on a peripheral edge of a semiconductor wafer and a polishing cloth is slid in a pressed state to polish the chamfered surface. A wafer transfer mechanism for transferring a semiconductor wafer; a front-side polishing chamber and a back-side polishing chamber for polishing a chamfered surface on the front side and the back side of the semiconductor wafer, respectively; A backside polishing chamber transfer mechanism and a backside polishing chamber transfer mechanism, which transfer to the chamber and the backside polishing chamber and return to the wafer transfer mechanism after polishing, respectively, wherein the wafer transfer mechanism includes the frontside polishing chamber transfer mechanism and the backside polishing chamber Cleaning the semiconductor wafers transferred from the front-side polishing chamber and the back-side polishing chamber by cleaning water, respectively; Chamfer polishing apparatus of a semiconductor wafer, characterized in that it comprises a surface-side wafer cleaning unit and the back-side wafer cleaning unit that. 2. The apparatus for polishing a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer according to claim 1, wherein the wafer transfer mechanism receives the semiconductor wafer transferred from the front polishing chamber by the front polishing chamber transfer mechanism and reverses the semiconductor wafer. An apparatus for chamfering a chamfered surface of a semiconductor wafer, comprising a wafer reversing means for transferring the wafer to a chamber transfer mechanism.