JPS6372125A - Workpiece cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To remove foreign substances attached to a workpiece by spraying a clean gas from a nozzle to the workpiece, thereby moving and inclining, or rotating the workpiece held by a holding tool. to the nozzle. CONSTITUTION:A holding part 8b that is one end of a holding tool 7 is opened by a supporting point 10 in the direction of the arrow A and a workpiece 6 such as a wafer and the like is set between the holding part 8b and holding part 8a that is other end of the holding tool 7 and then, the workpiece 6 is held and fixed by closing the holding part 8b in the direction of the arrow B. After that, a dustless pump 1 is driven to feed a purified gas by opening a gas output port of a cylinder 25. Its gas is sprayed from a nozzle 5 to the workpiece 6 after being filtrated by a filter 3. As a result, the purified gas can be sprayed from the nozzle, thereby scanning the whole faces of the workpiece. This operation not only can blow-off foreign substances attached on the surface of the workpiece 6 to remove them but also can clean fine foreign substances at minutely recessed parts.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention is applicable to, for example, semiconductor manufacturing equipment that uses wafers as workpieces, disk manufacturing equipment that uses magnetic disks or optical disks as workpieces, etc., in which workpieces are cleaned in the cleaning step of each manufacturing process. The present invention relates to a device for removing attached foreign matter such as dust, and particularly to a workpiece cleaning device that removes attached foreign matter by spraying clean gas.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventional workpiece cleaning equipment, for example, workpiece cleaning equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, places and fixes a wafer as a workpiece on the top of a spin head provided in the center of a cleaning tank, and cleans the workpiece while rotating the spinhead. Cleaning water or chemicals were sprayed onto the wafer surface like a shower. Then, foreign matter such as dust attached to the surface of the wafer is washed away with this water or chemical solution.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in such conventional workpiece cleaning equipment,
The water or chemical solution sprayed onto the wafer as a workpiece may contain foreign matter, which may even contaminate the wafer. Also.

The cleaning chemical solution may cause a slight chemical change to the wafer, which may have an adverse effect on subsequent steps of the manufacturing process. Furthermore, by spraying water or a chemical solution onto the wafer surface from a fixed direction, it has not been possible to sufficiently remove the microscopic foreign matter in the microscopic depressions. For these reasons, the yield of wafers as products has been reduced. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve such problems.

Means for Solving the Problems The means of the present invention for solving the above problems consists of a source of dry, clean gas, a filter for filtering the gas from this source, and a filter for filtering the clean gas after passing through the filter. a nozzle that ejects a jet toward a workpiece to be removed, a gripping tool that holds the workpiece near the jetting port of the nozzle, and a robot arm that raises and lowers and tilts and rotates the gripping tool relative to the nozzle; The robot arm and the gripping tool have a lateral movement mechanism that moves the entirety in a direction substantially perpendicular to the airflow ejected from the nozzle, and the workpiece held by the gripping tool is moved and tilted and rotated with respect to the nozzle. This is accomplished by a workpiece cleaning device that removes foreign matter adhering to the workpiece by spraying clean gas onto the workpiece from a nozzle.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the workpiece cleaning device according to the present invention. In FIG. Gas, inert gas such as argon gas, or air is supplied under pressure. A filter 3 is connected to the dust-free pump 1 through a pipe 2. This filter 3 filters and cleans the dust contained in the gas supplied from the dust-free pump 1, and is designed to remove, for example, dust of about 0.1 micron. .

A nozzle 5 is connected to the filter 3 through a pipe 4. This nozzle 5 jets the clean gas that has passed through the filter 3 toward a workpiece 6 from which foreign substances are to be removed, such as a wafer, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., and has a small hole at the tip of the cylindrical object. It is formed and used as a spout.

A gripper 7 is provided near the spout of the nozzle 5. This gripping tool 7 holds the workpiece 6 in front of the nozzle 5, and is provided with gripping parts 8a and 8b at both ends, and the workpiece 6 is held on the inner surface of these gripping parts 8a and 8b. Opposing claws 9, 9 made of a softer material (for example Teflon) are provided. Note that these claws 9, 9 are attached to the workpiece 6 as shown in FIG.
It is provided so as to grip the plate surface at, for example, three places. Further, one of the gripping parts 8b can be opened and closed in the directions of arrows A and B by means of a fulcrum 10 provided in the intermediate part, and when the workpiece 6 is opened in the direction of arrow A, the workpiece 6 is held between the gripping parts 8a and 8b. By setting the workpiece 6 and closing it in the direction of arrow B, the workpiece 6 is gripped and fixed.

A robot arm 11 is provided at the bottom of the gripping tool 7, and this robot arm 11 is attached to a lateral movement mechanism 12. The robot arm 11 has the gripping tool 7
The position of the nozzle 5 relative to the nozzle 5 is raised, lowered, tilted, and rotated, and the first arm 13, the second arm 14, and the third arm 15 are rotatably coupled around a fulcrum shaft. The first arm 13 is provided at the upper end of the slider 16 of the lateral movement mechanism 12 so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows C and D. It is provided so that it can rotate in the E and F directions.

The third arm 15 is provided at the tip of the second arm 14 so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows G and H. Further, a rod 17 is provided on the third arm 15 so as to protrude in its axial direction, and this rod 17 is rotatable in the directions of arrows I and J.

The tip of this rod 17 is attached to the lower end of the gripping tool 7. Here, the rotation of the first arm 13 in the directions of arrows C and D, and the rotation of the second arm 14 in the directions of arrows E and F.
In combination with rotation of direction.

The gripping tool 7 is raised and lowered relative to the nozzle 5. Furthermore, as the third arm 15 rotates in the directions of arrows G and H, the gripping tool 7 approaches or recedes from the nozzle 5 and is tilted. By rotating in the I and J directions, the gripping tool 7 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to the nozzle 5.

The lateral movement mechanism 12 moves the robot arm 11 and the gripping tool 7 as a whole in a direction substantially perpendicular to the jet airflow from the nozzle 5 (direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 1), as shown in FIG. As shown.

A rotary drive source 18 such as a motor, a first link 19 attached to the rotating shaft of the rotary drive source 18, and a second link 20 rotatably axially coupled to the tip of the first link 19. and a slider 16 which is rotatably connected within its thickness at the tip of the second link 20 (see FIG. 1) and which rides over the guide protrusion 21. When the rotational drive source 18 is driven, the first link 19 rotates in the arrow direction or the L direction, and the second link 20 coupled thereto is pulled or pushed.

The slider 16 slides along the guide protrusion 21 in the direction of arrow M or N. As a result, the robot arm 11 and the gripper 7 as a whole move in a direction perpendicular to the nozzle 5.

Note that the lateral movement mechanism 12 is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 3; for example, as shown in FIG.
The drive arm 23 may be deformed into a curved shape and connected, and a heater 24 may be provided near the drive arm 23.

In this case, by heating the drive arm 23 to a predetermined temperature with the heater 24, the drive arm 23 returns to its original shape when molded and extends, and the slider 16 moves along the guide protrusion 21 as indicated by the arrow M. Slide in the N direction. Further, as another example, the slider 16 and the guide protrusion 21 may be used as a magnetic levitation type or air levitation type linear motor. In these cases, dust generation due to the lateral movement mechanism 12 can be almost eliminated. .

Further, the supply source for sending out dry clean gas is not limited to the dust-free pump 1 shown in FIG. 1, but may also be a cylinder 25 as shown in FIG. 5, for example.
1 For example, pressurize and seal an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or argon gas or air, or inject liquefied nitrogen gas, etc., and supply clean gas from the gas outlet to the filter 3 via piping 2. It looks like this.

Note that the entire workpiece cleaning apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 is installed inside a clean room, and placed in the down blow of clean air in the clean room. In addition, each component of the gripping tool 7, the robot arm 11, and the lateral movement mechanism 12 has an oval or streamlined cross-sectional shape, so that it does not disturb the downflow in the clean room or the airflow ejected from the nozzle 5. It is like that. This is to prevent dust from accumulating on the rear surfaces of the members due to generation of vortices on the rear side of the airflow that hits each member.

Next, the use of the workpiece cleaning device configured as described above will be explained. First, in FIG. 1, one gripping part 8b of the gripping tool 7 is opened in the direction of arrow A by the fulcrum 10, a workpiece 6 such as a wafer is set between this gripping part 8b and the other gripping part 8a, and By closing in direction B, the workpiece 6 is gripped and fixed. Next, the dust-free pump 1 shown in FIG. 1 is operated, or the gas outlet of the cylinder 25 shown in FIG. Squirt towards. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3 or 4, the lateral movement mechanism 12 slides the slider 16 in the directions of arrows M and N to move the entire robot arm 11 and gripper 7 orthogonally to the nozzle 5. The workpiece 6 held by the gripping tool 7 is moved toward the nozzle 5 by moving the gripping tool 7 in the direction and raising and lowering the gripping tool 7 by rotating the first arm 13 and the second arm 14 of the robot arm 11. to move in parallel.

As a result, the clean gas from the nozzle 5 can be sprayed onto the entire surface of the workpiece 6 while being scanned.

Furthermore, at the same time as the scanning operation of spraying clean gas, arrow G of the third arm 15 of the robot arm 11,
By rotation in the H direction.

The work 6 is appropriately inclined with respect to the nozzle 5, and the work 6 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to the nozzle 5 by rotation of the rod 17 in the directions of arrows I and J. As a result, the angle of the clean gas blown from the nozzle 5 onto the workpiece 6 can be changed as appropriate within the solid angle of 2π.

As a result, foreign matter such as dust attached to the surface of the workpiece 6 can be blown off and removed, and minute foreign matter in the minute recesses can also be removed.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment uses a dust-free pump 1 as a source of clean gas.
A heater 26 is provided on the gas path between the filter 3 and the nozzle 5, for example between the filter 3 and the nozzle 5, for heating the clean gas to about 50°C to 100°C. In this case, by spraying clean gas heated by the heater 26 onto the workpiece 6 from the nozzle 5, the foreign matter adhering to the workpiece 6 can be easily peeled off.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a third embodiment. In this embodiment, a vacuum suction section 27 is provided below the gripper 7 of the workpiece 6 to suck out foreign matter removed from the workpiece 6 by spraying clean gas from the nozzle 5. This vacuum suction part 27 is made up of a tray 28 and a suction pipe 29, which has a large opening on the top surface, and is removed from the workpiece 6 and dropped by pulling it in the direction of arrow P by a vacuum source connected to the suction pipe 29. The catcher sucks all the foreign matter into the tray 28. In this case, it is possible to prevent dust from adhering to the next process equipment adjacent to the workpiece cleaning device of the present invention, and to improve the cleanliness inside the clean room. Although only one nozzle 5 is provided, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of nozzles 5 may be provided. In this case, the scanning operation of spraying clean gas onto the entire surface of the workpiece 6 is performed quickly. Therefore, the foreign matter removal process can be carried out quickly. Further, the gripping tool 7 for the workpiece 6 may be attached with a device 9 such as an ultrasonic vibrating device 9 to apply vibration to the workpiece 6. In this case, the synergistic effect of the blowing of clean gas by the nozzle 5 and the application of vibration by the gripping tool 7 makes it easier to remove foreign substances attached to the workpiece 6.

Effects of the Invention Since the present invention is configured as described above, in the cleaning step during the manufacturing process in which the workpiece 6 is a wafer, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc., the workpiece 6 is cleaned by spraying clean gas from the nozzle 5 onto the workpiece 6. Foreign matter attached to the surface of 6 can be blown away and removed.

Therefore, since no chemicals are used as in the past, there is no chemical change to the workpiece 6, and the filter 3
The cleanliness of the gas is improved by passing through the nozzle 5, so the clean gas from the nozzle 5 contains almost no dust and does not contaminate the workpiece 6 unlike the conventional method. It is possible to prevent an adverse effect on the subsequent steps of the manufacturing process in step 6. Further, since the workpiece 6 is raised and lowered in all directions and tilted one rotation by the robot arm 11 supporting the gripper 7, the clean gas from the nozzle 5 is blown onto the surface of the workpiece 6 from all angles, resulting in fine It is also possible to remove minute foreign matter in the recessed areas. Therefore, the yield of products such as wafers, magnetic disks, optical disks, etc. can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the work cleaning device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which a work is held by a gripper, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the structure of a lateral movement mechanism, and FIG. The figure is a plan view showing a modification of the lateral movement mechanism, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a modification of the clean gas supply source, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the second embodiment, and FIG. It is an explanatory diagram showing an example of. 1... Dust-free pump (supply source) 3... Filter 5... Nozzle 6... Workpiece 7... Gripping tool 9... Claw 11... Robot arm 12... Lateral movement Mechanism 16... Slider 21... Guide protrusion 25... Cylinder (supply source) 26... Heater 27... Vacuum suction unit Applicant Hitachi Electronic Engineering Co., Ltd. Figure 1 2+ Figure 2

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A supply source of dry clean gas, a filter that filters the gas from this supply source, a nozzle that spouts the clean gas after passing through the filter toward the workpiece that is the object of foreign matter removal, and A gripper that holds the workpiece near the jet nozzle; a robot arm that raises and lowers and tilts and rotates the gripper relative to the nozzle; and a lateral movement mechanism that moves the workpiece held in the gripper in the direction of the nozzle, and rotates the workpiece held at an angle relative to the nozzle to blow clean gas from the nozzle onto the workpiece to remove foreign matter from the workpiece. A workpiece cleaning device characterized in that the workpiece is removed. (2) The workpiece cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising a heater for heating the clean gas provided on the gas path between the clean gas supply source and the nozzle. (3) The workpiece cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a vacuum suction unit provided below the workpiece gripper for sucking foreign matter removed from the workpiece.