JPS62128135A - Apparatus for inspecting whole surface of wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a semiconductor wafer to be inspected easily over the whole surface thereof, by applying a spot luminous flux to one point on the periphery of the wafer to be inspected, and moving the wafer by a distance corresponding to the radius thereof while rotating it so as to allow the luminous flux to scan the surface of the wafer spirally from the periphery to the center. CONSTITUTION:A wafer 1 is placed on a wafer stage 2 and is rotated by means of a stage rotating mechanism 3. A spot luminous flux 6 is applied to one point on the periphery of the wafer 1 and, as it is, the stage rotating mechanism 3 is moved by means of rollers 5 along a track 4 by a distance corresponding to the radius of the wafer. Since the wafer 1 is rotated also during the movement of the stage rotating mechanism, the spot luminous flux 6 scans the surface of the wafer 1 spirally from the periphery to the center of the wafer 1. Accordingly, the whole surface of the wafer 1 can be thereby observed visually and continuously. The wafer stage may be moved by a manually, electrically (motor, solenoid) or air acutuated means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an apparatus for visually inspecting the surface of a semiconductor wafer.

[Background of the Invention] When visually inspecting the surface of a semiconductor wafer forming an integrated circuit, it is common to focus a beam of light and irradiate it onto the wafer surface in order to improve inspection accuracy.

Although this improves inspection accuracy, it is not easy to continuously inspect the entire wafer without missing anything.

[Object of the Invention] An object of the present invention is to provide a wafer entire surface inspection apparatus that can easily inspect the entire wafer using spot light.

The purpose of this is to project a spot light beam onto a point on the periphery of a semiconductor wafer, which is an object to be inspected, and move the wafer by a distance corresponding to the radius of the wafer without rotating the wafer. This is achieved by scanning in a spiral from the center toward the center.

That is, the wafer entire surface inspection apparatus of the present invention includes a wafer stage on which a semiconductor wafer is placed, a movable rotation mechanism that supports and rotates this wafer stage, a track that guides this movable rotation mechanism, and at least a movable rotation mechanism that rotates on this trajectory. It is provided with a device for driving the semiconductor wafer by a distance corresponding to the radius of the semiconductor wafer, and it is particularly preferable that the trajectory is straight or arcuate.

[Example] Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 are side views of an embodiment of the wafer entire surface inspection apparatus of the present invention, Fig. 1 shows the scanning start position by the spot light beam, and Fig. 2 shows the scanning end position by the spot light beam. It shows.

In the figure, 1 is a wafer, 2 is a wafer stage, 3 is a wafer stage rotation mechanism, 4 is a track, 5 is a roller provided for moving the wafer stage rotation mechanism, and 6 is a focused spot light beam. As shown in the figure, a wafer 1 is placed on a wafer stage 2, and the wafer that rotates a wafer stage rotation mechanism 3 also rotates. As shown in FIG. 1, a spot around the wafer 1 is illuminated with a spot light beam 6. As shown in FIG.

In this state, when the wafer stage rotation mechanism 3 is moved by the rollers 5 on the track 4 by a distance corresponding to the radius of the wafer, the state shown in FIG. 2 is obtained. Since the wafer 1 is rotating during the movement, the spot light beam 6 scans the surface of the wafer 1 in a spiral pattern from the periphery of the wafer 1 toward the center of the wafer, so that the entire surface of the wafer can be visually observed continuously. be able to.

Manual, electric (motor,
(solenoid) or pneumatically actuated means.

The motion of the wafer stage is preferably a linear motion, but it may also be moved in an arc around the center.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the entire surface of a wafer can be easily inspected using a spot light beam by a simple operation of rotating and moving the wafer stage of a visual wafer inspection apparatus.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the wafer entire surface inspection apparatus of the present invention, showing the scanning start position. FIG. 2 is a side view similar to FIG. 1, showing the scanning end position. In the figure, 1 is a wafer, 2 is a wafer stage, 3 is a wafer stage rotation mechanism, 4 is a track, and 5 is a roller. 6 indicates the luminous flux.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A wafer stage on which a semiconductor wafer is placed, a movable rotation mechanism that supports and rotates this wafer stage, a track that guides this movable rotation mechanism, and at least one of the above-mentioned movable rotation mechanisms on this trajectory. A full-surface wafer inspection device characterized by being equipped with a device that moves a distance corresponding to the radius of a semiconductor wafer. 2. The entire wafer inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the trajectory is a straight line. 3. The entire wafer inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the trajectory is arcuate.