JPWO2019138881A1 - Cleaning equipment, cleaning methods and computer storage media - Google Patents

Abstract

The cleaning device for cleaning the object to be processed includes a rotating body that rotates about the radial direction of the cleaning surface of the object to be processed, and a plurality of cleaning tools provided on the rotating body that clean the surface to be cleaned. The plurality of cleaning tools are axially extended on the surface of the rotating body and arranged side by side in the circumferential direction of the rotating body.

Description

(Cross-reference of related applications)
This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-000981 filed in Japan on January 9, 2018, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning an object to be processed, a cleaning method using the cleaning device, and a computer storage medium.

In recent years, in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, it is possible to grind the back surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) in which devices such as a plurality of electronic circuits are formed on the front surface to thin the wafer. It is done.

Grinding of the back surface of the wafer is performed using, for example, the grinding apparatus (processing apparatus) described in Patent Documents 1 to 3. In addition to the grinding means for grinding the back surface of the wafer, the grinding device is provided with a cleaning means for cleaning the front surface of the wafer and the suction surface of the wafer in the transport pad for transporting the wafer.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a cleaning brush mechanism for cleaning the surface of a wafer by bringing a brush into contact with the surface of the wafer and a cleaning brush mechanism when the cleaning brush mechanism is in contact with the surface of the wafer. A cleaning means including a brush cleaning liquid supply mechanism for supplying a cleaning liquid to the surface is disclosed. For example, Patent Document 2 also discloses a brush cleaning device for cleaning the surface of a wafer by bringing a brush into contact with the surface of the wafer as a means for cleaning the surface of the wafer.

Further, for example, Patent Document 3 discloses a cleaning means provided with a cleaning brush that comes into contact with the suction surface and cleans the suction surface as a means for cleaning the suction surface of the transport pad.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-66198 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-343756 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-183659

Each of the cleaning means disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 described above cleans either the surface of the wafer or the suction surface of the transport pad, but the grinding apparatus may clean both of them. , Multiple cleaning means are required. Further, either the surface of the wafer or the suction surface of the transport pad may be cleaned by a plurality of cleaning means. When a plurality of cleaning means are provided in the grinding device in this way, a space for installing these cleaning means is required, but it is not considered to secure such a space in the conventional grinding device. Therefore, there is room for improvement in conventional grinding machines.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to save space in a cleaning device provided with the plurality of cleaning tools when cleaning the object to be processed using the plurality of cleaning tools. To do.

One aspect of the present invention that solves the above problems is a cleaning device for cleaning an object to be processed, which is provided on the rotating body and a rotating body that rotates about the radial direction of the cleaning surface of the object to be processed. The cleaning tools include a plurality of cleaning tools for cleaning the cleaning surface, and the plurality of cleaning tools extend axially on the surface of the rotating body and are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction of the rotating body.

One aspect of the present invention from another viewpoint is a cleaning method for cleaning an object to be processed, in which a rotating body that rotates about the radial direction of the cleaning surface of the object to be processed and a shaft on the surface of the rotating body. Using a cleaning device including a plurality of cleaning tools extending in the direction and arranged side by side in the circumferential direction of the rotating body, one of the plurality of cleaning tools is selected according to the object to be processed. Then, the rotating body is rotated to dispose the one cleaning tool on the cleaning surface so as to face the cleaning surface, and the cleaning surface is cleaned by using the one cleaning tool.

According to another aspect of the present invention from another viewpoint, a readable computer storage medium containing a program running on the computer of the control unit that controls the cleaning device so that the cleaning method is executed by the cleaning device. Is.

According to one aspect of the present invention, when cleaning the object to be processed using a plurality of cleaning tools, since a plurality of cleaning tools are provided on one rotating body, a cleaning device provided with the plurality of cleaning tools. Space saving can be realized.

It is a top view which shows the outline of the structure of the substrate processing system including the 2nd cleaning unit which concerns on 1st Embodiment schematically. It is a side view which shows the outline of the structure of a wafer. It is a top view which shows the outline of the internal structure of the 2nd cleaning unit. It is a side view which shows the outline of the internal structure of the 2nd cleaning unit. It is a perspective view which shows the outline of the structure of the cleaning mechanism. It is a flowchart which shows the main process of a wafer processing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of cleaning the surface of a wafer by the 2nd cleaning unit. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of cleaning the holding surface of a transport pad by a 2nd cleaning unit. It is a top view which shows the outline of the internal structure of the 2nd cleaning unit which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the outline of the internal structure of the 2nd cleaning unit which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of cleaning the surface of the wafer by the 2nd cleaning unit which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state of cleaning the holding surface of a transport pad by the 2nd cleaning unit which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same functional configuration are designated by the same reference numerals to omit duplicate description.

<Board processing system>
First, the configuration of the substrate processing system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing an outline of the configuration of the substrate processing system 1. In the following, in order to clarify the positional relationship, the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction that are orthogonal to each other are defined, and the Z-axis positive direction is defined as the vertically upward direction.

In the substrate processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the wafer W as a substrate shown in FIG. 2 is thinned. The wafer W is a semiconductor wafer such as a silicon wafer or a compound semiconductor wafer. A device (not shown) is formed on the surface W1 of the wafer W, and a protective material for protecting the device, for example, a protective tape P, is attached to the surface W1. Then, a predetermined process such as grinding is performed on the back surface W2 of the wafer W, and the wafer is thinned.

In the substrate processing system 1, the wafer W before processing is stored in the cassette C, and the carry-in station 2 for carrying a plurality of wafers W into the substrate processing system 1 from the outside in cassette units, and the wafer W after processing are stored in the cassette C. After the unloading station 3 which is stored in the wafer W and carries out the plurality of wafers W from the substrate processing system 1 to the outside in cassette units, the processing device 4 which processes the wafer W to thin it, and the wafer W after the processing process. It has a configuration in which a post-processing device 5 for processing and a transfer station 6 for transporting a wafer W between the carry-in station 2, the processing device 4, and the post-processing device 5 are connected. The carry-in station 2, the transfer station 6, and the processing device 4 are arranged side by side in this order in the Y-axis direction on the negative side of the X-axis. The unloading station 3 and the post-processing device 5 are arranged side by side in this order in the Y-axis direction on the X-axis positive direction side.

(Delivery station)
The carry-in station 2 is provided with a cassette mounting stand 10. In the illustrated example, a plurality of cassettes C, for example, two cassettes C can be freely mounted in a row in the X-axis direction on the cassette mounting table 10.

(Delivery station)
The carry-out station 3 also has the same configuration as the carry-in station 2. The carry-out station 3 is provided with a cassette mounting table 20, and for example, two cassettes C can be freely placed in a row on the cassette mounting table 20 in the X-axis direction. The loading / unloading station 2 and the loading / unloading station 3 may be integrated into one loading / unloading station. In such a case, the loading / unloading station is provided with a common cassette mounting stand.

(Processing equipment)
In the processing apparatus 4, processing processing such as grinding and cleaning is performed on the wafer W. The processing device 4 has a rotary table 30, a transport unit 40, an alignment unit 50, a first cleaning unit 60, a second cleaning unit 70, a rough grinding unit 80, a medium grinding unit 90, and a finishing grinding unit 100. There is.

The rotary table 30 is rotatably configured by a rotary mechanism (not shown). On the rotary table 30, four chucks 31 that attract and hold the surface W1 of the wafer W via the protective tape P are provided. The chucks 31 are arranged evenly on the same circumference as the rotary table 30, that is, every 90 degrees. The four chucks 31 can be moved to the delivery position A0 and the processing positions A1 to A3 by rotating the rotary table 30.

In the present embodiment, the delivery position A0 is a position on the X-axis positive direction side and the Y-axis negative direction side of the rotary table 30, and the delivery position A0 is provided inside the sink 33 on the Y-axis negative direction side. The second cleaning unit 70, the alignment unit 50, and the first cleaning unit 60 are arranged side by side. The alignment unit 50 and the first cleaning unit 60 are stacked and arranged in this order from above. The first machining position A1 is a position on the X-axis positive direction side and the Y-axis positive direction side of the rotary table 30, and the rough grinding unit 80 is arranged. The second machining position A2 is a position on the X-axis negative direction side and the Y-axis positive direction side of the rotary table 30, and the intermediate grinding unit 90 is arranged. The third machining position A3 is a position on the X-axis negative direction side and the Y-axis negative direction side of the rotary table 30, and the finish grinding unit 100 is arranged.

The chuck 31 is held by the chuck base 32. The chuck 31 and the chuck base 32 are configured to be rotatable by a rotation mechanism (not shown).

The transport unit 40 is an articulated robot provided with a plurality of, for example, three arms 41 to 43. The three arms 41 to 43 are connected by joints (not shown), and these joints allow the first arm 41 and the second arm 42 to swing around the base end, respectively. A transport pad 44 that attracts and holds the wafer W is attached to the first arm 41 at the tip of the three arms 41 to 43. The transport pad 44 has a circular shape having a diameter longer than the diameter of the wafer W in a plan view, and attracts and holds the back surface W2 of the wafer W. Further, the transport pad 44 is rotatably configured by a rotating portion (not shown) provided on the first arm 41. Further, of the three arms 41 to 43, the third arm 43 at the base end is attached to a vertical movement mechanism 45 that moves the arms 41 to 43 in the vertical direction. Then, the transfer unit 40 having such a configuration can transfer the wafer W to the delivery position A0, the alignment unit 50, the first cleaning unit 60, and the second cleaning unit 70. In the present embodiment, the second cleaning unit 70 constitutes the cleaning device according to the present invention.

The alignment unit 50 adjusts the horizontal orientation of the wafer W before the grinding process. For example, while rotating the wafer W held by the spin chuck (not shown), the position of the notch portion of the wafer W is detected by the detection unit (not shown) to adjust the position of the notch portion of the wafer. Adjust the horizontal orientation of W.

In the first cleaning unit 60, the back surface W2 of the wafer W after the grinding process is cleaned, and more specifically, spin cleaning is performed. For example, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid nozzle (not shown) to the back surface W2 of the wafer W while rotating the wafer W held by the spin chuck (not shown). Then, the supplied cleaning liquid diffuses on the back surface W2, and the back surface W2 is washed.

In the second cleaning unit 70, the surface W1 of the wafer W in a state where the grounded wafer W is held by the transport pad 44, that is, the protective tape P attached to the surface W1 is cleaned, and the transport pad 44 is cleaned. The holding surface of the wafer W is cleaned. The configuration of the second cleaning unit 70 will be described later.

In the rough grinding unit 80, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is roughly ground. The rough grinding unit 80 has a rough grinding unit 81 provided with a circularly rotatable rough grinding wheel (not shown). Further, the rough grinding portion 81 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction along the support column 82. Then, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is roughly ground by rotating the chuck 31 and the rough grinding wheel in a state where the back surface W2 of the wafer W held by the chuck 31 is in contact with the rough grinding wheel.

In the medium grinding unit 90, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is medium ground. The medium grinding unit 90 has a medium grinding unit 91 provided with an annular shape and rotatable medium grinding wheel (not shown). Further, the middle grinding portion 91 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction along the support column 92. The particle size of the abrasive grains of the medium grinding wheel is smaller than the particle size of the abrasive grains of the coarse grinding wheel. Then, in a state where the back surface W2 of the wafer W held by the chuck 31 is in contact with the medium grinding wheel, the back surface W2 is medium ground by rotating the chuck 31 and the medium grinding wheel, respectively.

In the finish grinding unit 100, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is finish grinded. The finish grinding unit 100 has a finish grinding unit 101 having an annular shape and a rotatable finish grinding wheel (not shown). Further, the finish grinding unit 101 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction along the support column 102. The particle size of the abrasive grains of the finishing grinding wheel is smaller than the particle size of the abrasive grains of the medium grinding wheel. Then, in a state where the back surface W2 of the wafer W held by the chuck 31 is in contact with the finish grinding wheel, the back surface W2 is finished and ground by rotating the chuck 31 and the finish grinding wheel, respectively.

(Post-processing device)
In the post-processing device 5, post-processing is performed on the wafer W processed by the processing device 4. As the post-treatment, for example, a mounting process for holding the wafer W on the dicing frame via the dicing tape, a peeling process for peeling off the protective tape P attached to the wafer W, and the like are performed. Then, the post-processing device 5 transfers the wafer W, which has been post-processed and held in the dicing frame, to the cassette C of the unloading station 3. A known device is used for each of the mounting process and the peeling process performed by the post-processing device 5.

(Transport station)
The transfer station 6 is provided with a wafer transfer area 110. The wafer transfer region 110 is provided with a wafer transfer device 112 that is movable on a transfer path 111 that extends in the X-axis direction. The wafer transfer device 112 has a transfer fork 113 and a transfer pad 114 as a wafer holding unit for holding the wafer W. The tip of the transport fork 113 is branched into two to attract and hold the wafer W. The transport fork 113 transports the wafer W before the grinding process. The transport pad 114 has a circular shape having a diameter longer than the diameter of the wafer W in a plan view, and sucks and holds the wafer W. The transport pad 114 transports the wafer W after the grinding process. The transport fork 113 and the transport pad 114 are configured to be movable in the horizontal direction, the vertical direction, the horizontal axis, and the vertical axis, respectively.

(Control unit)
The substrate processing system 1 is provided with a control unit 120. The control unit 120 is, for example, a computer and has a program storage unit (not shown). The program storage unit stores a program that controls the processing of the wafer W in the substrate processing system 1. Further, the program storage unit also stores a program for controlling the operation of the drive system of the above-mentioned various processing devices and transfer devices to realize the wafer processing described later in the substrate processing system 1. The program is recorded on a computer-readable storage medium H such as a computer-readable hard disk (HD), flexible disk (FD), compact disk (CD), magnet optical desk (MO), or memory card. It may have been installed in the control unit 120 from the storage medium H.

<First Embodiment>
Next, the configuration of the second cleaning unit 70 of the processing apparatus 4 described above will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the second cleaning unit 70 has a processing container 200. On the side surface of the processing container 200, a transport pad 44 of the transport unit 40 and a carry-in outlet 201 into which the wafer W held by the transport pad 44 is carried in and out are formed. Further, the carry-in / outlet 201 is provided with an opening / closing shutter (not shown).

In the illustrated example, the processing container 200 was a housing, but the shape of the processing container 200 is not limited to this. For example, the upper surface of the processing container 200 may be open and the carry-in / outlet 201 may be omitted. Further, the processing container 200 itself may be omitted. In such a case, the cleaning mechanism 210, the rotating mechanism 220, and the cleaning liquid tank 230, which will be described later, are provided inside the sink 33, respectively.

Inside the processing container 200, a cleaning mechanism 210 for cleaning the surface W1 (protective tape P) of the wafer W and the holding surface 44a of the wafer W of the transfer pad 44, a rotating mechanism 220 for rotating the cleaning mechanism 210, and the wafer W A cleaning liquid tank 230 for storing the cleaning liquid on the surface W1 is provided. In the present embodiment, the wafer W and the transport pad 44 form the object to be processed of the present invention, and the surface W1 and the holding surface 44a form the cleaning surface of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning mechanism 210 has a configuration in which a plurality of, for example, four cleaning tools 212 to 215 are attached to the surface of the rotating body 211. The rotating body 211 rotates about the radial direction (X-axis direction) of the surface W1 of the wafer W and the radial direction (X-axis direction) of the holding surface 44a of the transport pad 44 as the central axis. Further, the rotating body 211 has, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cleaning mechanism 210 (rotating body 211) is attached to the rotating mechanism 220. The rotating mechanism 220 is provided on a shaft 221 connected to both ends of the rotating body 211 in the axial direction (X-axis direction), a drive unit 222 provided on one shaft 221 to rotate the rotating body 211, and the other shaft 221. It has a support portion 223 that supports the rotating body 211. The drive unit 222 has, for example, an actuator (not shown) built in, and can rotate the rotating body 211 via the shaft 221.

As shown in FIG. 5, the four cleaning tools 212 to 215 include a sponge cleaning tool 212 as a substrate cleaning tool, an air cleaning tool 213 as a substrate dryer, a stone cleaning tool 214 as a pad cleaning tool, and a pad cleaning tool. Has a brush cleaning tool 215. Each of these cleaning tools 212 to 215 extends in the axial direction (X-axis direction) on the surface of the rotating body 211. Further, the cleaning tools 212 to 215 are provided on the four surfaces of the rotating body 211, that is, they are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction of the rotating body 211.

The sponge cleaning tool 212 cleans the surface W1 (protective tape P) of the wafer W. The sponge cleaning tool 212 has, for example, a sponge that extends longer than the diameter of the surface W1. A cleaning liquid, for example, pure water, is supplied to the sponge cleaning tool 212 by the cleaning liquid tank 230 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Then, in the sponge cleaning tool 212, the sponge contains a cleaning liquid, and the surface W1 of the wafer W is contacted with the cleaning liquid while being supplied to clean the surface W1.

The cleaning liquid tank 230 is provided below the cleaning mechanism 210. The cleaning liquid tank 230 is connected to a liquid supply unit 231 that supplies the cleaning liquid to the inside of the cleaning liquid tank 230 and a drainage unit 232 that discharges the cleaning liquid inside the cleaning liquid tank 230. Then, while supplying the cleaning liquid from the liquid supply unit 231, the cleaning liquid is discharged from the drainage unit 232, and the cleaning liquid is always stored inside the cleaning liquid tank 230. The cleaning liquid may be overflowed from the upper surface of the cleaning liquid tank 230 to constantly discharge the cleaning liquid inside the cleaning liquid tank 230.

Further, the cleaning liquid tank 230 is configured to be vertically movable by the elevating mechanism 233. The cleaning liquid tank 230 and the rotating body 211 (sponge cleaning tool 212) may be relatively movable, and the rotating body 211 may be configured to be able to move up and down, or both the cleaning liquid tank 230 and the rotating body 211 can be moved up and down. It may be configured as. Further, each of the cleaning liquid tank 230 and the rotating body 211 may be fixed. In such a case, it is possible to clean the wafer W and the object to be processed of the transport pad 44 while constantly cleaning the cleaning tools 212 to 215 provided on the rotating body 211 with the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid tank 230.

In such a case, when cleaning the surface W1 of the wafer W with the sponge cleaning tool 212, first, the cleaning liquid tank 230 is raised with the sponge cleaning tool 212 positioned on the lower surface of the rotating body 211, and the sponge cleaning tool 212 is used. Is immersed in the cleaning solution. As a result, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the sponge cleaning tool 212. After that, the rotating body 211 is rotated, and the sponge cleaning tool 212 containing the cleaning liquid is brought into contact with the surface W1 of the wafer W in a state of being arranged on the upper surface of the rotating body 211. In this state, the entire surface of the surface W1 is cleaned by bringing the sponge cleaning tool 212 into contact with the surface W1 while supplying the cleaning liquid to the surface W1 while rotating the wafer W by the transport pad 44.

The air cleaning tool 213 dries the surface W1 of the wafer W cleaned by the sponge cleaning tool 212. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the air cleaning tool 213 has, for example, a nozzle 213a that injects air onto the surface W1. Then, the rotating body 211 is rotated, and the air cleaning tool 213 is arranged on the upper surface of the rotating body 211. After that, the entire surface of the surface W1 is dried by injecting air from the nozzle 213a of the air cleaning tool 213 onto the surface W1 while rotating the wafer W by the transport pad 44. In the illustrated example, the nozzle 213a has a circular shape, but the shape of the nozzle 213a is not limited to this. For example, the nozzle may have a slit shape extending in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the air cleaner 213.

The stone cleaning tool 214 cleans the holding surface 44a of the transport pad 44. The stone washer 214 has, for example, a grindstone that extends longer than the diameter of the holding surface 44a. Then, the rotating body 211 is rotated, and the stone cleaning tool 214 is arranged on the upper surface of the rotating body 211. After that, the entire surface of the holding surface 44a is cleaned by bringing the stone cleaning tool 214 into contact with the holding surface 44a while rotating the wafer W by the transport pad 44.

The brush cleaning tool 215 cleans the holding surface 44a of the transport pad 44. The brush cleaning tool 215 has, for example, a brush that extends longer than the diameter of the holding surface 44a. Then, the rotating body 211 is rotated, and the brush cleaning tool 215 is arranged on the upper surface of the rotating body 211. After that, the entire surface of the holding surface 44a is cleaned by bringing the brush cleaning tool 215 into contact with the holding surface 44a while rotating the wafer W by the transport pad 44.

<Wafer processing>
Next, the wafer processing performed by using the substrate processing system 1 configured as described above will be described.

First, the cassette C containing the plurality of wafers W is placed on the cassette mounting table 10 of the carry-in station 2. In order to prevent the protective tape from being deformed, the wafer W is housed in the cassette C so that the surface of the wafer W to which the protective tape is attached faces upward.

Next, the wafer W in the cassette C is taken out by the transfer fork 113 of the wafer transfer device 112 and transferred to the processing device 4. At this time, the front and back surfaces are inverted so that the back surface of the wafer W faces upward by the transport fork 113.

The wafer W conveyed to the processing apparatus 4 is delivered to the alignment unit 50. Then, in the alignment unit 50, the horizontal orientation of the wafer W is adjusted (step S1 in FIG. 6).

Next, the wafer W is conveyed from the alignment unit 50 to the delivery position A0 by the transfer unit 40, and is delivered to the chuck 31 at the delivery position A0. The chuck 31 holds the surface W1 of the wafer W. After that, the chuck 31 is moved to the first processing position A1. Then, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is roughly ground by the rough grinding unit 80 (step S2 in FIG. 6).

Next, the chuck 31 is moved to the second processing position A2. Then, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is medium-ground by the medium-grinding unit 90 (step S3 in FIG. 6).

Next, the chuck 31 is moved to the third processing position A3. Then, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is finish-ground by the finish grinding unit 100 (step S4 in FIG. 6).

Next, the chuck 31 is moved to the delivery position A0. Here, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is roughly cleaned by the cleaning liquid using a cleaning liquid nozzle (not shown) (step S5 in FIG. 6). In this step S6, cleaning is performed to remove dirt on the back surface W2 to some extent.

Next, the wafer W is conveyed from the delivery position A0 to the second cleaning unit 70 by the transfer unit 40. In the second cleaning unit 70, first, as shown in FIG. 7A, the cleaning liquid tank 230 is raised with the sponge cleaning tool 212 positioned on the lower surface of the rotating body 211, and the sponge cleaning tool 212 is cleaned with the cleaning liquid L. Immerse in. As a result, the cleaning liquid L is supplied to the sponge cleaning tool 212. After that, as shown in FIG. 7B, the rotating body 211 is rotated, and the sponge cleaning tool 212 containing the cleaning liquid L is arranged on the upper surface of the rotating body 211, that is, the sponge cleaning tool 212 is placed on the surface W1 of the wafer W. The sponge cleaning tool 212 is brought into contact with the surface W1 in a state of facing each other. Then, the entire surface of the surface W1 (protective tape P) is cleaned by bringing the sponge cleaning tool 212 into contact with the surface W1 while supplying the cleaning liquid to the surface W1 while rotating the wafer W by the transport pad 44. Step S6 in FIG.

After that, as shown in FIG. 7C, the rotating body 211 is rotated, the air cleaning tool 213 is arranged on the upper surface of the rotating body 211, and the wafer W is raised by the transport pad 44. Then, in a state where the air cleaning tool 213 is arranged to face the surface W1 of the wafer W, air is injected from the air cleaning tool 213 to the surface W1 while rotating the wafer W by the transport pad 44, so that the entire surface of the surface W1 is covered. It is dried (step S7 in FIG. 6).

Before the wafer W is held by the transfer pad 44 in steps S6 and S7, the transfer pad 44 is cleaned by using the stone cleaning tool 214 and the brush cleaning tool 215 of the second cleaning unit 70 (FIG. 6). Step T1). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8A, the stone cleaning tool 214 is arranged on the upper surface of the rotating body 211, that is, the stone cleaning tool 214 is arranged facing the holding surface 44a of the conveying pad 44, and is conveyed. The entire surface of the holding surface 44a is cleaned by bringing the stone cleaning tool 214 into contact with the holding surface 44a while rotating the wafer W by the pad 44. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, the wafer W is rotated by the transport pad 44 in a state where the brush cleaning tool 215 is arranged on the upper surface of the rotating body 211, that is, in a state where the brush cleaning tool 215 is arranged facing the holding surface 44a. By bringing the brush cleaning tool 215 into contact with the holding surface 44a, the entire surface of the holding surface 44a is cleaned.

The transport pad 44 may be cleaned by either one of the stone cleaning tool 214 and the brush cleaning tool 215, or both of them. Further, the washing of the transport pad 44 is performed at an arbitrary timing up to step S6.

Next, the wafer W is transferred from the second cleaning unit 70 to the first cleaning unit 60 by the transfer unit 40. Then, in the first cleaning unit 60, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is finished and cleaned with the cleaning liquid using a cleaning liquid nozzle (not shown) (step S8 in FIG. 6). In this step S8, the back surface W2 is washed and dried to a desired cleanliness.

After that, the wafer W is transferred from the first cleaning unit 60 to the aftertreatment device 5 by the wafer transfer device 112. Then, the post-processing device 5 performs post-processing such as a mounting process for holding the wafer W on the dicing frame and a peeling process for peeling off the protective tape P attached to the wafer W (step S9 in FIG. 6).

After that, the wafer W that has been subjected to all the processing is conveyed to the cassette C of the cassette mounting table 20 of the unloading station 3. In this way, a series of wafer processing in the substrate processing system 1 is completed.

As described above, in the second cleaning unit 70, a plurality of cleaning tools 212 to 215 are required to clean the surface W1 of the wafer W and the holding surface 44a of the transport pad 44. Even in such a case, since a plurality of cleaning tools 212 to 215 are attached to the surface of the rotating body 211 as in the cleaning mechanism 210 of the present embodiment, space saving of the second cleaning unit 70 is realized. can do. Moreover, an appropriate cleaning tool 212 to 215 can be selected simply by rotating the rotating body 211, and the surface W1 of the wafer W or the holding surface 44a of the transport pad 44 can be appropriately cleaned.

Further, in the second cleaning unit 70 as in the present embodiment, the cleaning mechanism 210 is arranged so as to extend in the X-axis direction from the carry-in outlet 201. Here, for example, when four cleaning tools 212 to 215 are arranged side by side in a plan view, the occupied area of the second cleaning unit 70 becomes large, but according to the present embodiment, the occupied area of the second cleaning unit 70 is large. Can be made smaller. The cleaning mechanism 210 may be arranged so as to extend in the Y-axis direction.

<Second embodiment>
In the above embodiment, the configuration of the second cleaning unit 70 is not limited to the above.

In the cleaning mechanism 210 of the above embodiment, the rotating body 211 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, but the shape of the rotating body 211 is not limited to this. For example, the rotating body 211 has a triangular prism shape, and a sponge cleaning tool 212, a stone cleaning tool 214, and a brush cleaning tool 215 may be provided on the surface of the rotating body 211. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 9, the air cleaning tool 213 is arranged so as to extend in the Y-axis direction on the carry-in / outlet 201 side of the cleaning mechanism 210. Then, when the wafer W held by the transport pad 44 passes through the air cleaning tool 213, air is ejected from the air cleaning tool 213 to the surface W1 to dry the surface W1.

The air cleaning tool 213 may not have a shape extending in the Y-axis direction, but may be, for example, a single nozzle for injecting air. In such a case, it is preferable that the nozzle of the air cleaner 213 is movable in the Y-axis direction by a moving mechanism (not shown). Then, while rotating the wafer W by the transport pad 44, air is ejected from the nozzle of the air cleaning tool 213 to the surface W1 to dry the surface W1.

Further, the rotating body 211 may have a polygonal prism shape having a pentagonal or larger side surface shape. In such a case, in addition to the four cleaning tools 212 to 215, a cleaning tool for cleaning the back surface W2 of the wafer W may be provided on the side surface of the rotating body 211.

In the cleaning mechanism 210 of the above embodiment, the rotating body 211 and the cleaning tools 212 to 215 are each extended longer than the diameter of the holding surface 44a of the transport pad 44 (the diameter of the surface W1 of the wafer W), but cleaning is performed. The axial length of the tools 212 to 215 is not limited to this. As described above, in steps S6 and S7, the cleaning of the surface W1 of the wafer W is performed while rotating the wafer W. Therefore, if the sponge cleaning tool 212 and the air cleaning tool 213 are at least half the diameter of the surface W1, the entire surface of the surface W1 can be cleaned and dried. Similarly, in step T1, the holding surface 44a of the transport pad 44 is also cleaned while rotating the transport pad 44, so that the stone cleaning tool 214 and the brush cleaning tool 215 are each at least half the diameter of the holding surface 44a or more. If so, the entire surface of the holding surface 44a can be cleaned.

In the above embodiment, when cleaning the surface W1 of the wafer W and the holding surface 44a of the transport pad 44, the transport pad 44 is rotated around the vertical axis, but the transport pad 44 and the cleaning mechanism 210 rotate relatively. do it. For example, the cleaning mechanism 210 may be rotated about the vertical axis by a rotation mechanism (not shown), or both the transport pad 44 and the cleaning mechanism 210 may be rotated about the vertical axis.

In the above embodiment, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid tank 230 to the sponge cleaning tool 212, but the method of supplying the cleaning liquid to the sponge cleaning tool 212 is not limited to this. For example, the sponge cleaning tool 212 may have a built-in cleaning liquid nozzle (not shown), and the cleaning liquid may be supplied from the cleaning liquid nozzle to the sponge of the sponge cleaning tool 212.

Further, in the above embodiment, the protective tape P is attached to the surface W1 of the wafer W in order to protect the device, but the protective material for the device is not limited to this. For example, a support substrate such as a support wafer or a glass substrate may be bonded to the surface W1 of the wafer W, and the present invention can be applied even in such a case.

<Third embodiment>
In the cleaning mechanism 210 of the above embodiment, the cleaning tools 212 to 215 are provided on the side surfaces of the rotating body 211, respectively, but the configuration of the cleaning mechanism 210 is not limited to this.

As shown in FIG. 10, according to the third embodiment, the work drying tool 300, the chuck cleaning tool 301, and the work cleaning tool 302 are arranged side by side in this order in the Y-axis direction in the cleaning mechanism 210.

The work drying tool 300 is provided with an air cleaning tool 213 that injects air onto the surface W1 of the wafer W to dry the surface W1. Further, the work drying tool 300 is configured to be movable in the X-axis direction inside the second cleaning unit 70 by the moving mechanism 303.

The chuck cleaning tool 301 is provided with a rotating body 211, and at least a stone cleaning tool 214 and a brush cleaning tool 215 are provided on the surface of the rotating body 211. The stone cleaning tool 214 and the brush cleaning tool 215 each have a grindstone and a brush that extend longer than the diameter of the holding surface 44a in the X-axis direction, respectively.

The work cleaning tool 302 is provided with a sponge cleaning tool 212, a sponge cleaning nozzle 304, and a sponge cleaning roller 305. Further, the sponge cleaning tool 212 is attached to a rotation mechanism (not shown) incorporating an actuator (not shown), and is configured to be rotatable via a shaft (not shown). Further, the work cleaning tool 302 is configured to be vertically movable by an elevating mechanism (not shown), and is controlled so as to project upward from the upper end portion of the chuck cleaning tool 301 when cleaning the surface W1 of the wafer W. Ru. The sponge cleaning tool 212 has, for example, a sponge that extends longer than the diameter of the surface W1 of the wafer W in the X-axis direction.

Next, a method of cleaning the surface W1 of the wafer W as the object to be processed and the holding surface 44a of the transport pad 44 using the cleaning mechanism 210 according to the third embodiment will be described.

When cleaning the surface W1 of the wafer W, first, the cleaning liquid L (for example, pure water) is supplied from the sponge cleaning nozzle 304 to the sponge cleaning tool 212. After that, as shown in FIG. 11A, the work cleaning tool 302 is raised by the elevating mechanism while the sponge cleaning tool 212 and the sponge cleaning roller 305 are rotated, and the sponge cleaning tool 212 containing the cleaning liquid L is placed on the wafer W. It is brought into contact with the surface W1. Then, the entire surface of the surface W1 (protective tape P) is cleaned by bringing the sponge cleaning tool 212 into contact with the surface W1 while moving the wafer W in the Y-axis direction by the transport pad 44.

At this time, since the sponge cleaning tool 212 contains the cleaning liquid L, dirt on the surface W1 of the wafer W can be appropriately removed. Further, the dirt removed by the sponge cleaning tool 212 is appropriately removed from the sponge cleaning tool 212 by the sponge cleaning roller 305.

In cleaning the surface W1, the wafer W may be rotated by the transport pad 44.

After that, as shown in FIG. 11B, the wafer W is moved above the work drying tool 300 by the transport pad 44. Then, as shown in FIG. 11C, with the air cleaning tool 213 arranged facing the surface W1 of the wafer W, air is injected from the air cleaning tool 213 to the surface W1 while rotating the wafer W by the transport pad 44. By moving the air cleaning tool 213 in the X-axis direction in this state, the entire surface W1 (protective tape P) is dried.

In cleaning the surface W1 (protective tape P) of the wafer W, the transfer pad 44 is cleaned using the chuck cleaning tool 301 before the wafer W is held by the transfer pad 44. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12A, the stone cleaning tool 214 is arranged on the upper surface of the rotating body 211, that is, the stone cleaning tool 214 is arranged to face the holding surface 44a of the conveying pad 44, and is conveyed. By bringing the stone cleaning tool 214 into contact with the holding surface 44a while rotating the pad 44, the entire surface of the holding surface 44a is cleaned. Further, as shown in FIG. 12B, with the brush cleaning tool 215 arranged on the upper surface of the rotating body 211, that is, with the brush cleaning tool 215 arranged facing the holding surface 44a, while rotating the transport pad 44, By bringing the brush cleaning tool 215 into contact with the holding surface 44a, the entire surface of the holding surface 44a is cleaned.

When cleaning the transport pad 44, a cleaning liquid (for example, pure water) may be supplied from a cleaning liquid supply line (not shown) connected to the holding surface 44a of the transport pad 44. The cleaning liquid supply line is switchably connected to, for example, the suction line of the wafer W inside the transport pad 44, and is switched from the suction line when cleaning the transport pad 44. By supplying the cleaning liquid to the transport pad 44 in this way, dirt on the holding surface 44a of the transport pad 44 can be appropriately removed.

The transport pad 44 may be cleaned by either one of the stone cleaning tool 214 and the brush cleaning tool 215, or both of them. Further, the transfer pad 44 is washed at an arbitrary timing until the surface W1 of the wafer W is washed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modifications or modifications within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood that it belongs.

1 Substrate processing system 2 Carry-in station 3 Carry-out station 4 Processing equipment 5 Post-treatment equipment 6 Conveyance station 40 Conveyance unit 44 Conveyance pad 44a Holding surface 70 Second cleaning unit 120 Control unit 210 Cleaning mechanism 211 Rotating body 212 Sponge cleaning tool 213 Air Cleaning tool 214 Stone cleaning tool 215 Brush cleaning tool 220 Rotating mechanism 230 Cleaning liquid tank 300 Work drying tool 301 Chuck cleaning tool 302 Work cleaning tool L Cleaning liquid P Protective tape W Wafer W1 Front surface W2 Back surface

As shown in FIG. 5 , the cleaning mechanism 210 has a configuration in which a plurality of, for example, four cleaning tools 212 to 215 are attached to the surface of the rotating body 211. The rotating body 211 rotates about the radial direction (X-axis direction) of the surface W1 of the wafer W and the radial direction (X-axis direction) of the holding surface 44a of the transport pad 44 as the central axis. Further, the rotating body 211 has, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

Next, the chuck 31 is moved to the delivery position A0. Here, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is roughly cleaned by the cleaning liquid using a cleaning liquid nozzle (not shown) (step S5 in FIG. 6). In this step S5 , cleaning is performed to remove dirt on the back surface W2 to some extent.

Before the wafer W is held by the transfer pad 44 in steps S6 and S7, the transfer pad 44 is cleaned by using the stone cleaning tool 214 and the brush cleaning tool 215 of the second cleaning unit 70 (FIG. 6). Step T1). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8A, the stone cleaning tool 214 is arranged on the upper surface of the rotating body 211, that is, the stone cleaning tool 214 is arranged to face the holding surface 44a of the conveying pad 44, and is conveyed. while rotating the pad 4 4, that is brought into contact with the holding surface 44a of the stone cleaner 214, the entire surface of the holding surface 44a is cleaned. The state of arranging the brush cleaner 215 as shown in FIG. 8 (b) on the upper surface of the rotary member 211, i.e., in a state of facing the holding surface 44a of the brush cleaner 215, while rotating the conveying pad 4 4 By bringing the brush cleaning tool 215 into contact with the holding surface 44a, the entire surface of the holding surface 44a is cleaned.

Claims (15)

A cleaning device that cleans the object to be processed.
A rotating body that rotates about the radial direction of the cleaning surface of the object to be processed, and
It has a plurality of cleaning tools provided on the rotating body and for cleaning the cleaning surface.
The plurality of cleaning tools extend axially on the surface of the rotating body and are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction of the rotating body. In the cleaning device according to claim 1,
The object to be treated includes a substrate provided with a protective material on the surface thereof.
The cleaning surface is the protective material provided on the surface of the substrate.
The plurality of cleaning tools include a substrate cleaning tool that cleans the cleaning surface by abutting the cleaning surface while supplying the cleaning liquid. In the cleaning device according to claim 2,
The plurality of cleaning tools include a substrate dryer that supplies a gas to the cleaning surface to dry the cleaning surface. In the cleaning device according to claim 2,
It further has a cleaning liquid tank for storing the cleaning liquid and supplying the cleaning liquid to the substrate cleaning tool. In the cleaning device according to claim 1,
The object to be processed includes a transport pad that holds and transports a substrate provided with a protective material on its surface.
The cleaning surface is a holding surface of the substrate of the transport pad.
The plurality of cleaning tools include a pad cleaning tool that comes into contact with the cleaning surface to clean the cleaning surface. In the cleaning apparatus according to claim 5,
The object to be treated includes a substrate provided with a protective material on the surface thereof.
The cleaning surface includes the protective material provided on the surface of the substrate as a second cleaning surface.
The cleaning device
A substrate cleaning tool that is provided independently of the rotating body and that comes into contact with the second cleaning surface in a state of containing a cleaning liquid to clean the second cleaning surface.
It is provided independently of the rotating body, and has a substrate dryer that supplies gas to the second cleaning surface to dry the second cleaning surface. In the cleaning device according to claim 1,
The cleaning tool extends axially on the surface of the rotating body with a length of at least half the radial direction of the cleaning surface. In the cleaning device according to claim 1,
The object to be processed and the cleaning tool rotate relatively with respect to a direction orthogonal to the cleaning surface as a central axis. A cleaning method for cleaning the object to be processed.
A rotating body that rotates about the radial direction of the cleaning surface of the object to be processed as a central axis, and a plurality of cleaning tools that extend in the axial direction on the surface of the rotating body and are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction of the rotating body. Using the equipped cleaning device
One of the plurality of cleaning tools is selected according to the object to be treated.
The rotating body is rotated to dispose the one cleaning tool on the cleaning surface so as to face the cleaning surface, and the cleaning surface is cleaned using the one cleaning tool. In the cleaning method according to claim 9,
The object to be treated includes a substrate provided with a protective material on the surface thereof.
The cleaning surface is the protective material provided on the surface of the substrate.
While supplying the cleaning liquid from the one cleaning tool to the cleaning surface, the one cleaning tool is brought into contact with the cleaning surface to clean the cleaning surface. In the cleaning method according to claim 10,
Gas is supplied to the cleaning surface from another cleaning tool different from the one cleaning tool to dry the cleaning surface. In the cleaning method according to claim 9,
The object to be processed includes a transport pad that holds and transports a substrate provided with a protective material on its surface.
The cleaning surface is a holding surface of the substrate of the transport pad.
The cleaning tool is brought into contact with the cleaning surface to clean the cleaning surface. In the cleaning method according to claim 12,
The object to be treated includes a substrate provided with a protective material on the surface thereof.
The cleaning surface includes the protective material provided on the surface of the substrate as a second cleaning surface.
Another cleaning tool provided independently of the rotating body is brought into contact with the second cleaning surface in a state of containing the cleaning liquid to clean the second cleaning surface.
Gas is supplied to the second cleaning surface from yet another cleaning tool provided independently of the rotating body to dry the second cleaning surface. In the cleaning method according to claim 9,
When cleaning the cleaning surface with the one cleaning tool, the object to be processed and the one cleaning tool are relatively rotated about a direction orthogonal to the cleaning surface as a central axis. A readable computer storage medium containing a program that operates on the computer of the control unit that controls the cleaning device so that the cleaning method for cleaning the object to be processed is executed by the cleaning device.
The cleaning method is
A rotating body that rotates about the radial direction of the cleaning surface of the object to be processed as a central axis, and a plurality of cleaning tools that extend in the axial direction on the surface of the rotating body and are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction of the rotating body. Using the equipped cleaning device
One of the plurality of cleaning tools is selected according to the object to be treated.
The rotating body is rotated to dispose the one cleaning tool on the cleaning surface so as to face the cleaning surface, and the cleaning surface is cleaned using the one cleaning tool.

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