JPS61224327A - Cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent any microorganism from breeding by a method wherein a cleaning apparatus is composed of a wet type cleaning unit mainly removing inorganic dirt and dust and a dry type cleaning unit mainly removing organic dirt and dust while the cleanser piping system of wet type cleaning unit is provided with a channel flowing a bit of cleanser even during the stoppage of apparatus. CONSTITUTION:A cleaning apparatus is composed of a loader unit 2, a wet type cleaning unit 3, a dry type cleaning unit 4, an inspection unit 5 and an unloader unit 6 successively connected with one another while an element 7 to be cleaned which is mounted on a carrying rotary table 12 is passed through these cleaning units. At this time, fresh air A is fed to the units 6, 5, 3, 2 in the direction reverse to the shifting direction of element 7 to be blown from upper part to lower part simultaneously bypassing the unit 4. Besides, the other fresh air B is fed to the unit 4 to decompose and remove any dirt and dust sticking to the element 7, changing into carbon dioxide and steam to be exhausted out of the unit 4. Moreover, the wet type cleaning unit 3 is provided with a channel flowing a bit of cleanser even during the stoppage of apparatus to prevent any microorganism from breeding while avoiding any repollusion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a cleaning device, and more particularly to a cleaning device suitable for removing dust containing a mixture of organic and inorganic substances adhering to the surfaces of semiconductor components and the like.

[Background of the invention]

Conventional cleaning equipment for removing dust adhering to the surfaces of semiconductor components and the like is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 5g-15939.
A dry cleaning device that removes dust using ozone is known.

However, this cleaning device has little effect on removing inorganic substances when the dust is a mixture of organic and inorganic substances.
However, there was a drawback in that the organic matter that had gotten into the back of the inorganic matter could not be removed sufficiently.

On the other hand, the object to be cleaned is immersed in water in a cleaning tank, an ultrasonic vibrator is attached to this cleaning tank, and the vibrator is vibrated to vibrate the water, thereby releasing dust on the surface of the object to be cleaned. Wet-type ultrasonic cleaning devices for removal are also known.

However, with this wet ultrasonic cleaning device, large amounts of dust can be removed from the surface of the object to be cleaned.

Mainly, only inorganic dust could be removed.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a wet cleaning device and a dry cleaning device are integrated through a conveying means, and the wet cleaning device first removes inorganic dust, and then the dry cleaning device removes organic matter. A proposal has been made to remove dust from the wet cleaning system, but when the equipment stops during the wet cleaning stage, the flow of the cleaning solution also stops.
There was a problem in that microorganisms were generated near the liquid discharge port, in the liquid storage tank, and in the filter housing.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and its purpose is to provide a cleaning solution that can sufficiently remove even dust containing a mixture of organic and inorganic substances that adheres to the surface of the object to be cleaned, and that can always supply a clean cleaning solution. The goal is to provide equipment.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention provides a wet-type cleaning device that combines a wet-type cleaning device for removing mainly inorganic dust from among the dust attached to an object to be cleaned and a dry-type cleaning device for mainly removing organic dust. The intended purpose is achieved by providing a cleaning fluid piping system provided in the cleaning device with a flow path through which a small amount of cleaning fluid passes when the cleaning device is stopped.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the cleaning device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 8. Cleaning device 1
As shown in FIG. A wet cleaning bag [3, a wet cleaning device 4, an inspection device 5, and an unloader 6 are combined in order to form one device. The object to be cleaned 7 is moved by the conveying means in the order of the arrows in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the clean air A is designed to flow in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the object 7 to be cleaned.

Clean air A is used to clean the object 7 in each device 6, 5, 3.2.
Sequentially/branching from the top to the bottom of each device 6゜5.3.2
Care is taken to prevent dust generated from the cleaning from adhering to the object 7 to be cleaned. In addition, the clean air A becomes gradually contaminated as it is sent through the cleaning device 1, but because it flows in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the object 7 to be cleaned, the side from which the object 7 to be cleaned is taken out is in a clean state. The object 7 to be cleaned can be cleaned much better than when flowing in the forward direction. This clean air A.

Another clean air B is sent into the dry cleaning device 4 which bypasses the dry cleaning device 4, and the dust adhering to the object 7 to be cleaned is decomposed and removed and converted into carbon dioxide gas and water vapor. change and immediately discharge it to the outside of the packaging W4,
This prevents dust from being sent to the next process. Oxygen gas may be sent instead of clean air B, and if oxygen gas is sent, the device 4 will help generate ozone.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the object 7 to be cleaned is transferred to the cleaning apparatus 1 with the work piece 7a placed on a stainless steel conveyor tray 8.
sent inside. The conveyance tray 8 has a vacuum hole 8a, a liquid drain hole 8b, and a pin 8c for positioning the object to be cleaned. The objects 7 to be cleaned are arranged in two rows on the inner and outer peripheries at equal intervals. FIG. 2 shows a state in which only two rows of workpieces 7a are attached, and although the others are omitted, they are actually attached over the entire circumference. The transport tray 8 on which the workpieces 7a are placed is stacked on a rack 9 in multiple stages as shown in FIG.
a, and are sequentially placed on the conveyor 2b, and transported by the conveyor 2b to a delivery position with the conveyance rotary table 10. The conveying rotary table 10 picks up the tray 8, rotates it 180 degrees by a rotary motor 11, and sends it to the wet cleaning device 3.

This conveyance rotary table 10 can be set at any angle within 360a by controlling the rotation angle of the rotary motor 11, so that the conveyance direction can be freely determined. Therefore, each device 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
By making it into a unit structure, it is possible to configure a single cleaning device according to the installation location.1 This example is a case where it is configured in a straight line, but other shapes such as U-shape, L-shape, etc. You can choose the layout.

The wet cleaning apparatus 3 shown in FIG. 4 has a central table 3a, and the object 7 placed on the table 3a is
Using liquid, brush scrubber 3b, rinse nozzle 3c
After the inorganic dust on the surface of the object 7 to be cleaned is peeled off and removed by the jet scrubber 3d, the object 7 to be cleaned is dried by injecting N2 gas onto the object 7 from the blow nozzle 3e. The table 3a is provided with a vacuum hole (not shown) that matches the vacuum hole 8a of the transfer tray 8, and by drawing a vacuum through this vacuum hole, the work piece 7a is transferred to the table 3a together with the tray 8. It is fixed. If the object 7 to be cleaned is small like a semiconductor wafer, the table 3
A groove for vacuum suction is separately formed on a.

The wet cleaning device l! 3, the vacuum is stopped and the object 7 to be cleaned is placed on the next transport rotary table 12 and transferred to the dry cleaning device 4. The object to be cleaned 7 sent by the transport rotary table 12 is placed on the tip of a rotary arm 13 as shown in FIG. sent to. Shutters 4b and 4c are provided at the entrance and exit of this front chamber 4a.
is provided and opens only when the object to be cleaned 7 passes through.

The purpose of this front chamber 4a is to prevent ozone and oxygen radicals generated in the water chamber 4d from flowing out to the wet cleaning device 3.The zero-rotation arm 13 further rotates and
There are an ultraviolet lamp 4e and an infrared lamp 4f in the water chamber 4d, and while the infrared lamp 4f heats organic dust on the surface of the object 7 to be cleaned, the ultraviolet rays irradiated by the ultraviolet lamp 4e generate heat. Chemically remove organic dust using ozone. At this time, since inorganic dust has been removed in the previous step, organic dust can be efficiently and reliably removed. When the removal of organic matter is completed, the object 7 to be cleaned is sent to the rear chamber 4 through the shutter 4g by the rotary arm 14.
After removing ozone and oxygen radicals flowing out from the water chamber 4d to the rear chamber 4h, the sample is placed on the conveyance rotary table 15 via the shutter 41. The object to be cleaned 7 is placed on the inspection device 5 by the transport rotary table 15 . As shown in FIG. 6, the inspection device 5 includes a microscope 5a, a monitor camera 5b, a monitor 50, etc., and displays the inspection results on the monitor 5c. After the inspection is completed, as shown in FIG. 7, the sheets are placed on the conveyor 6a by the conveyance rotary table 16 and stacked one after another in the rack 17.

In this way, each device is made into a unit, and the transport rotary table 1
By combining 0, 12, 15, and 16, it is possible to have a free configuration and a layout according to the installation location.

On the other hand, an example of the liquid piping system and pure water production unit of the wet cleaning equipment is shown in the 81st page! Shown in I. As a pure water production unit,
Raw water enters from the inlet 19, passes through the pump 20a, is pressure regulated by the pressure regulating valve 26, passes through the solenoid valve 27a, precision needle valve 28a or 28b, and is filtered into the pre-filter 2.
9a, the water is filtered by activated carbon filters 29b and 29a, deionized by an ion exchange resin cartridge 30, purified by a fine final filter 29d, and temporarily stored in a water storage tank 32 preferably made of a material such as fluororesin.

The purified water stored here is used as primary purified water.

Furthermore, this method does not restrict the scope of the claims;
- As next-purified water, RO using ion exchange water or reverse osmosis equipment
Water can also be used.6 For cleaning at a lower level of cleanliness, it is also possible to use city water. Filter management by trapping foreign matter in each filter is performed by a pressure gauge 31.

Furthermore, the overflow of sub-purified water passes through the channel 42 and is filtered many times in the filtration system. The primary pure water that has passed through the channel 44 is sent to the wet cleaning section 39 and the brush 3b by the pump 20b.
is sent to the self-cleaning nozzle 38, but on the way,
The electromagnetic valves 27c and 27e are actuated by the electric signal, and the electric signal is supplied when necessary. When passing through the flow path 45, the water is transported to the raw water inlet and subjected to re-purification, similar to the primary pure water in the flow path 42. The primary pure water passing through the electromagnetic valve 27e is passed through a final filter, preferably membrane filters 34b, 34.
The water is filtered at c and supplied to each cleaning mechanism. In addition, the primary pure water that has passed through the flow path 43 is sent to the ultrapure water production unit 1, for example, 1 manufactured by Nippon Millipore Limited.
The water is made ultrapure through a li-Q system 33 or the like. The ultrapure water obtained here is supplied to the flow path 47 when necessary by the solenoid valve 27b.
It is sent by the hepump 20d. Furthermore, the ultrapure water that is finally filtered by the membrane filter 34a and sent to the rinsing nozzle 3c and passed through the high pressure pump 21 is transferred to the accumulator 36.
A certain amount of water is stored in the water tank, and is discharged as high-pressure pure water from the jet nozzle 3d by opening the high-pressure solenoid valve 27d when necessary. After being discharged, these rinsing and jet liquids return to the wet cleaning section 39, and by opening the electromagnetic valve 25, they are returned to the raw water inlet 9 through the flow path 46 by the pump 20c, via the electromagnetic valve 27f. This is because ultrapure water and pure water after cleaning are often cleaner than raw water, and are returned to the inlet in consideration of the lifespan of the filter.

Here, when the solenoid valve 27a is stopped, the solenoid valve 27a is switched to the precision needle valve 28b side, which reduces the flow rate, for example.
7b is also switched to the precision needle valve 28c side.

Further, the solenoid valve 27c is similarly switched to the manual cock 23 side. As a result, even when the apparatus is stopped, a finely regulated amount of liquid continues to flow through each filter, and the generation of microorganisms inside the filters, piping, etc. can be suppressed.

Also, when cleaning the piping system, the cleaning agent is introduced from the inlet 40 and circulated through each thread path, making it possible to clean the inside walls of the piping, valves, cocks, filter housing, etc. After cleaning, one manual cock is used. 24, after discharging the washing water, introducing raw water as usual, and repeating the circulation and discharge,
This is to return to normal operating condition.

As described above, according to this embodiment, a small amount of liquid can be constantly flowed through the entire channel system, so that the generation of microorganisms can be suppressed and re-contamination of the object to be cleaned by the cleaning device can be prevented.

Filters, valves, and valves used in each part shown in this example
The number and position of the cocks and valves are not limited to those in this example, and the mechanism for passing a small amount of liquid is not limited to this example. The selection is made based on cleanliness, etc., and the same applies to the material. Further, the deionized water device may be installed within the cleaning device or may be provided separately outside.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, a small amount of cleaning liquid is allowed to flow through the piping system in the wet cleaning device of a cleaning device that removes dust containing a mixture of inorganic and organic substances from the surface of the object to be cleaned, so that it passes even when the device is stopped. Since the cleaning device is provided with a channel, it is possible to prevent the generation of microorganisms within the device, and it is possible to prevent re-contamination of objects to be cleaned by the cleaning device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

11th! I is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the cleaning device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a tray, and FIG.
7 to 7 are cross-sectional views of each part shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 8 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of the piping system of the wet cleaning device according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Cleaning device, 3...Wet type cleaning device, 4...Dry type cleaning device, 7...Object to be cleaned, 23...Manual cock, 28b. 28c...Precision needle valve.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning device consisting of a wet cleaning device that removes dust attached to an object to be cleaned using a liquid and a dry cleaning device that removes dust attached to an object to be cleaned using heating and ozone, wherein the wet cleaning device A cleaning device characterized in that a cleaning fluid piping system in the cleaning device is provided with a flow path through which a small amount of cleaning fluid passes when the cleaning device is stopped.