KR20030067391A - Chemical mechanical polishing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus is provided to be easily adapted to each semiconductor process by including a plurality of loading devices so that an additional constitution becomes unnecessary regarding various processes. CONSTITUTION: A plurality of platens(32) have each polishing surface. A plurality of carrier heads pressurize the polishing surface of a wafer to polish the wafer, maintaining the wafer to polish. A plurality of loading devices include a wafer maintaining portion positioned in a predetermined circumference with respect to the rotation center of the loading device, disposed in a position accessible to the carrier head. The loading devices can rotate and increase the wafer placed on the loading devices. A cleaning unit(40) cleans the polished wafer. The wafer before a polishing process or the wafer after the polishing process is received in a plurality of wafer cassette units(10). The first transfer apparatus(11) transfers the wafer received in the wafer cassette unit and waiting for being polished or the wafer cleaned in the cleaning unit. The second transfer apparatus(16) transfers the wafer prior to the polishing process to the loading device and transfers the wafer placed on the loading device to the cleaning unit after the polishing process. The wafer is temporarily received in an intermediate standby unit(15) between the first and second transfer apparatuses.

Description

Chemical Mechanical Polishing Apparatus

The present invention relates to a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus for polishing and planarizing semiconductor wafers and surface thin films.

BACKGROUND A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus is a device for planarizing wafers and surface thin films to reduce non-uniformity of wafers and surface thin films caused by repetition of masking, etching, and wiring processes during semiconductor wafer manufacturing.

Such a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus is disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,830,045.

In the above technique, a device for loading a wafer into a carrier head of a polishing unit and a device for removing a polished wafer from a carrier head for polishing a wafer is composed of a single device. Since the wafers waiting to be moved have the same space, there is a high possibility that the wafers waiting to be polished are exposed to contaminants by the wafers after polishing, and before the wafers are transferred to the cleaning unit, the wafers waiting to be polished are transferred to the polishing unit. I have a problem that I can't access. In addition, since a slurry or the like may remain in the previous stage of polishing in the carrier head for adsorbing the wafer waiting to be polished after completion of polishing, the wafer waiting to be polished may be exposed to contaminants.

In addition, according to US Pat. No. 5,804,507, different polishing liquids are supplied to each polishing unit, and when the wafers are sequentially polished, movement and control is advantageous to each polishing unit, but one wafer is polished with one polishing liquid. Even if it is necessary, there is a problem that the wafer must pass through each polishing unit. In addition, when an unexpected problem occurs in the wafer being polished, the wafers that are being polished in each polishing unit also have a problem that the polishing should be stopped.

The present invention has been made to solve the above conventional problems, the present invention has the following object.

It is a main object of the present invention to provide a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus capable of flattening a surface or a thin film of an object such as a semiconductor wafer with a mirror finish to a certain thickness.

Another object of the present invention is to allow a wafer to flow naturally through each component in accordance with a program already planned in an apparatus for planarizing an object such as a semiconductor wafer to mirror finish.

Another object of the present invention is to allow the semiconductor wafer to be polished in various ways by a program that is set in advance as necessary in moving each step.

Another object of the present invention is to return to the cassette section through each step from the cassette section in order to planarize the wafer and the surface thin film, starting from the cassette section in a dry state and going through the respective steps and wetted with polishing liquid or the like, It is to return to the cassette part in the dry state from the last cleaning part again.

Another object of the present invention is to measure the thin film thickness of the wafer to be polished by a cassette unit or a thin film measuring apparatus installed therein before moving to the polishing unit for polishing the wafer and the surface thin film, and transmits the polishing target thickness as a signal to the controller. In this way, the polishing unit can produce a wafer having a predetermined thickness by polishing only the thickness according to the instruction of the controller.

Another object of the present invention is to separate the loading device for transferring the wafer to the polishing unit and the loading device for transferring to the cleaning unit after polishing is completed, so that the contaminants remaining on the wafer after polishing do not act as a contamination source on the wafer waiting to be polished. To avoid it.

Another object of the present invention is to allow a wafer to be safely adsorbed to and removed from the carrier head when the wafer is adsorbed and removed from the carrier head.

Another object of the present invention is to remove the wafer when the loading device is rotated and moved to the lower portion of the carrier head to remove the polished wafer and at the same time to prevent the wafer from drying by the nozzle installed inside the loading device, It is possible to wash away the contaminants remaining in the carrier head to eliminate the problem of polishing quality in the subsequent polishing of the wafer.

Another object of the present invention is that when the polished wafer is moved to the cleaning unit by the second carrier, each cleaning unit constitutes a plurality of independent chambers so that the cleaning solution used for cleaning in each chamber affects the adjacent chamber. It is to avoid giving.

Another object of the present invention is to move the wafer, which has undergone each cleaning step in the cleaning unit, to the cassette unit by the first transport device in a dry state by rotating at a high speed while the finger of the spindle is securely held.

Another object of the present invention is to check whether the wafer is properly polished by a thin film measuring apparatus that can install a wafer that has been chemically mechanically polished in a cassette, and if a defect occurs, it sends a signal to the controller to transfer the wafer back to the polishing unit for polishing the wafer again. To make it possible.

The present invention provides a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention in order to achieve the above-mentioned various objects, each of which comprises a plurality of platens each having a polishing surface; A plurality of carrier heads holding a wafer to be polished and pressing the wafer against a polishing surface to polish the wafer; A plurality of loading devices disposed in a position accessible to the carrier head, having a portion located on a predetermined circumference at a rotational center thereof to hold the wafer, and capable of rotating and raising the wafer placed thereon; A cleaning unit for cleaning the polished wafer; A plurality of wafer cassette portions for storing a wafer before polishing and a wafer after polishing; A first transporting device for transporting a wafer stored in the wafer cassette part and waiting to be polished or a wafer in which the cleaning part is completed in the cleaning part; A second conveying apparatus for conveying the wafer before polishing with the loading device and conveying the wafer, which has been polished and seated on the loading device, to the cleaning unit; And an intermediate standby portion for temporarily accommodating a wafer between the first transport device and the second transport device.

The plurality of loading devices of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention are composed of three loading devices, and the transport route can be changed between the plurality of carrier heads.

The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that it further comprises a measuring device capable of measuring the thin film thickness of the wafer adjacent to the second transport device.

The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that it further comprises a measuring device that can be installed in the wafer cassette portion to measure the thin film thickness of the wafer.

1 is a plan view of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

2 is a front view showing a loading device of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of the platen and the carrier head of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a carrier head of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the carrier head sucks the wafer from the loading plate or removes the wafer from the carrier head to the loading plate in the polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

6 is a schematic view showing a cleaning apparatus of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

<Code Description of Main Parts of Drawing>

10: wafer cassette portion 11: first transport apparatus

20: loading part 31: grinding part

40: washing unit 60: control unit

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

1 is a plan view showing the arrangement of various components of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention includes a wafer cassette unit 10, a first transporting device 11, an intermediate standby unit 15, a second transporting device 16, and a loading unit. It consists of 20, the grinding | polishing part 31, the washing | cleaning part 40, and the control part 60. As shown in FIG.

The wafer cassette unit 10 is located in the upper right portion of the polishing apparatus and accommodates a plurality of wafers to be polished or polished for polishing. The wafer cassette unit 10 is inserted into the wafer cassette unit 10 to be polished for polishing. The wafer being used is taken out by the first transport apparatus 11 to be described later and moved to the intermediate standby part 15, and the wafer moved to the intermediate standby part 15 is respectively polished in the polishing part 31 and the cleaning part 40. After polishing and cleaning are completed, the wafer cassette unit 10 is inserted into the wafer cassette unit 10 again by the first transport device 11.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the wafer cassette unit 10 according to the present invention may be configured with three, but may be configured with a number more or less.

The first transport device 11 is located between the wafer cassette section 10 and the intermediate standby section 15 to be described later, and is installed adjacent to the spin-rinse dry 44 of the cleaning section 40 to be described later. , A conveying device 12, a plurality of arms 13, and a hand 14.

The conveying device 12 is provided with a slider (not shown) adjacent to the wafer cassette section 10 in parallel to the cassette device of the wafer cassette section 10, and fixed to the slider 13 and with an arm 13. And an arm support for supporting the arm support and one shaft installed under the arm support so that the arm support can be lifted up and down vertically according to the height of each floor shelf in each cassette device. It is possible to use a conveying device which is already known before the filing of. The transfer device 12 may be configured with a wheel to move on the rail under the rail and the arm support.

The hand 14 is composed of a hand capable of picking up a wafer, and serves to pick up uncleaned wafers, transfer them to an intermediate atmosphere, and pick up the wafers that have been cleaned and put them into a wafer cassette.

The arm 13 is connected between the arm support and the hand 14 to allow horizontal movement of the hand 14 to the required position.

The first transport apparatus 11 having the above-described configuration is armed by the spin-rinse dry 44 of the wafer cassette unit 10, the intermediate standby unit 15, or the cleaning unit 40 according to the instruction of the controller 60. By rotating the plane 13 and raising and lowering the shaft according to the wafer height at a specific height of the cassette device as necessary, the position of the hand 14 is shifted, and the hand 14 picks up the wafer and then the control unit ( The arm 13 rotates to the direction indicated by 60, and the hand 14 moves the wafer by dropping the wafer to the target point.

The intermediate standby part 15 serves to temporarily stand a wafer which is positioned between the first transport device 11 and the second transport device 16 and moved by the first transport device 11 for polishing.

The second transportation device 16 is located between the intermediate standby unit 15 and the loading unit 20 to be described later, and next to the first clean chamber device of the cleaning unit 40 to be described later. The wafer is waiting to move to the loading section 20 or the polishing is completed in the loading section 20 serves to move the wafer waiting for cleaning to the cleaning unit 40, which is a cleaning device, for this purpose The second transportation device 16 includes a plurality of arms 17 to facilitate movement, and a single hand 18 for picking up the wafer, and the plurality of arms 17 rotate to form an intermediate standby portion ( 15) and rotation of the loading unit 20 and the cleaning unit 40 to the place indicated by the control unit 60 of the first clean chamber is carried out the direction movement and wafer transport.

The loading unit 20 is installed adjacent to the second transporting device 16, the polishing unit 31, and the cleaning unit 40, and polishes the wafer transferred from the second transporting device 16 to the polishing unit 31. Transfers the wafer to another polishing unit 31 for re-polishing the wafer polished in the polishing unit 31 or again, and transfers the polished wafer to the cleaning unit 40 for cleaning, To this end, as shown in FIG. 1, the first loading device 21 includes a first loading device 21, a second loading device 22, and a third loading device 23.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the loading devices connects a drive shaft to a shaft connecting portion 24 formed at one lower end thereof, and the left and right rotations can be rotated about a predetermined circumference from a rotation center by a rotation and lifting operation of the drive shaft. And an arm 25 installed to be movable up and down by a distance, and a loading cup 26 disposed on an upper end of the other side of the arm 25.

The loading cup 26 has a loading in which the wafer can be placed in the process of transferring the wafer from the second transport device 16 to the polishing unit 31 or from the polishing unit 31 to the second transport device 16 therein. A plate 27, a plurality of springs 28, a sensor unit 29 for detecting whether the wafer is seated on the upper surface of the loading plate 27, the carrier head 33 and the wafer to be described later It comprises a plurality of nozzles 30 used to clean the.

The spring 28 is installed on the lower portion of the loading plate 27 to adsorb the wafer seated on the loading plate 27 to the lower portion of the carrier head 33 to be described later or the lower portion of the carrier head 33. When the wafer adsorbed on the strip is removed by the loading plate 27, the wafer is tilted so that the wafer can be stably contacted on the lower surface of the carrier head 33 and the upper surface of the loading plate 27.

The loading unit 20 of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention is illustrated in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 so that the loading device is composed of three, but one or more plural numbers are suitable for the polishing apparatus and the polishing process of the polishing unit. Can be composed of dogs.

The polishing unit 31 is disposed at the rear end of the loading unit 20 and includes two polishing devices with the second loading device 22 interposed therebetween, and each polishing device polishes the wafer and the thin film to planarize it. 3, a platen 32 having a polishing surface as shown in FIG. 3, and a carrier head 33 for holding a wafer to be polished and pressing the wafer against the polishing surface in order to polish the wafer. It consists of.

As shown in FIG. 4, the carrier head 33 includes a carrier housing 34 driven by a carrier drive shaft; The lower surface of the carrier housing 34 is capable of raising and lowering vertically, the lower surface of which provides a surface for mounting a wafer having a controllable size, and an adjustment chamber 35 is formed therein to adjust the adjustment. A wafer support assembly 36 capable of adsorbing or removing the wafer by adjusting the pressure inside the chamber 34; And a loading chamber 37 formed in a space defined by the carrier housing 34 and the wafer support assembly 36 to control the vertical position of the wafer support assembly 36. In addition, the carrier head 33 is movable on the outer side of the wafer support assembly 36 in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the wafer support assembly 36, and the movement in the vertical direction is supported by the wafer. Retainer ring 38 is installed to be made separately from the vertical movement of the assembly (36).

In addition, the carrier head 33 can be moved in a direction perpendicular to the lower surface of the retainer ring 38 on the outer side of the retainer ring 38, and the movement in the vertical direction is supported by the wafer. It further includes a conditioner ring (39) which is installed to be separate from the vertical movement of the assembly (36).

The carrier head 33 having the above configuration is vacuum-adsorbed the wafer brought from a specific loading device of the loading unit 20 to be transferred to the wafer, and the specific loading device is lowered and rotated to return to its original position. Upon completion, the carrier head 33 descends while adsorbing the wafer to contact the platen 32. At this time, the carrier head 33 is pressed against the platen 32 to rotate, thereby polishing the wafer. When polishing is completed, the carrier head 33 moves upward to return to its original position, and the specific loading device of the loading unit 20 rotates and lifts down the carrier head 33 to take the polished wafer in FIG. 5. As shown in the figure, the carrier head 33 ejects the adsorbed air and drops the wafer to take over the wafer to the loading device, thereby completing the unloading.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the carrier head sucks the wafer from the loading plate or removes the wafer from the carrier head to the loading plate in the polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

The polishing apparatus in the polishing part according to the present invention is composed of two in the embodiment of FIG. 1 of the present invention, but may be configured in one or more according to the number of the loading device and the polishing process.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning unit 40 is located on the upper left of the third loading device 23 and to the left of the first transporting device 11 and the second transporting device 16. ) Is a first clean chamber (Wafer film chamber 41) for first cleaning the wafer that has been polished in the polishing unit 31 and carried by the second transportation device 16; A second clean chamber (Double Side Brushed Chamber) 42 and a third clean chamber (Double Side Brushed Chamber) 43 for performing secondary and tertiary cleaning on the wafer having the first cleaning; Spin-Rinse Dry (44) for drying the cleaned wafers.

In addition, the cleaning unit 40 is provided with one wafer transfer apparatus, and the wafer transfer apparatus transfers the wafer to the next process for the wafer having the cleaning process of each portion, and thus, the first clean chamber and the second clean chamber. The wafer is cleaned while the third clean chamber and the spin-rinse dry are sequentially moved. The wafer, which has been cleaned in the spin-rinse dry, is transported by the first transport device 11 to the wafer cassette unit 10. And insertion.

As shown in FIG. 6, the first clean chamber 41 includes a wafer transfer roller 45 and a chemical spray device 46. The wafer polished by the second transport device 16 is completed. Is placed in the first clean chamber 41, the wafer transfer roller 45 rotates to transfer the wafer, and a high pressure rinse and a water film through the nozzles of the chemical injection device 46 are rotated. The generator 54 first cleans the foreign substances of the wafer contaminated in the whole process.

The second clean chamber 42 includes a friction brush 48, a wafer rotation roller 47, and a spray 49. The two upper and lower brushes simultaneously cover the front and rear surfaces of the wafer. After removing the foreign matter by rubbing, the wafer rotation roller 47 washes the wafer while rotating in place while the wafer is placed thereon. After the rotation of the roller is brushed in a mechanical manner to shake off the foreign matter. At this time, the secondary cleaning of the wafer is completed by spraying a rinse of high pressure with a chemical spray device (49). When the secondary cleaning is completed, the upper brush of the friction brush is moved upwards to secure the wafer transfer space, and the wafer is transferred to the third clean chamber 43 by the wafer transfer device in the cleaning unit 40.

The third clean chamber 43 has the same configuration and process as the second clean chamber 42, but may use different chemicals from the second clean chamber 42. In addition, cleaning is completed by additionally cleaning the edge portion of the wafer using ultrasonic waves, and the wafer transfer device in the cleaning portion 40 transfers the wafer to the spin-rinse dry 44.

The spin-rinse dry 44 is composed of a spindle (50), the left and right movable roller (51), the rinsing device using ultrasonic, the nitrogen injection device (53) and the heating lamp (52), When the wafer cleaned in the 3 clean chamber 43 is placed in the spin-rinse dry 44, the spindle of the Spindler 50 rotates at a high speed while the wafer is held by the nitrogen injection device. N2 Blow, and the lamp is heated to dry the wafer. At this time, the surface of the wafer may be cleaned using ultrasonic waves.

The control unit 60 determines the state of each of the components constituting the polishing apparatus according to the present invention and determines and instructs a function to be performed by each component.

The control unit 60 stores the wafers stored in the wafer cassette unit 10 and the wafers waiting to be polished, and specifies the positions of the wafers to be polished to be transported to the first transport device 11 to transfer the wafers. Signal to carry to the intermediate standby (15). In addition, the cleaning unit 40 detects that the cleaning of the wafer has been completed by the signal from the cleaning unit 40 and instructs the first transport device 11 to signal the wafer to be transported to the wafer cassette unit 10. do. In addition, the control unit 60 transmits a signal instructing the second transportation device 16 to transport the wafer located in the intermediate standby unit 15 to the loading unit 20. In addition, the controller 60 loads the wafer transferred from the second transport apparatus 16 to the specific polishing apparatus by the specific loading device of the loading unit 20, and unloads the wafer that has been polished in the specific polishing apparatus. A signal is instructed to be conveyed to the polishing apparatus PM2. In addition, the control unit 60 instructs the second transportation device 16 to carry a signal to transfer the wafer, which has been polished and transferred from the loading unit 20, to the first clean chamber of the cleaning unit 40. In addition, when the polishing apparatus according to the present invention includes a thin film thickness measuring device 61 of a wafer, which will be described later, the control unit 60 receives a polishing target size of the wafer from the thin film thickness measuring device 61 and sends it to the polishing unit 31. It is instructed to polish by the corresponding dimension, or to measure the thin film thickness after completion of the polishing to instruct to repeat the polishing if a defect occurs. In addition, the control unit 60 is provided with a thin film thickness measuring apparatus for the wafer cassette 10, which will be described later, according to the present invention, and the thin film thickness of the wafer before being transferred from the cassette unit 10 to the intermediate standby section 15 for polishing. Is measured with a thin film thickness measuring device and instructs the polishing unit 31 to grind as much as the corresponding size, or measures the thin film thickness of the wafer after polishing and cleaning is completed. In response to the signal, the first carrier 11 is instructed to carry the wafer to the intermediate standby unit 15.

In addition to the configuration of the polishing apparatus, the present invention is a thin film thickness of the wafer positioned next to the intermediate standby portion 15 between the first transport apparatus 11 and the second transport apparatus 16 as an exemplary configuration of the present invention. It may be provided with a thin film thickness measuring device 61 capable of measuring the second, the second conveying device 16 carries the wafer to the thin film thickness measuring device and the thin film thickness measuring device measures the thickness of the wafer to be polished By subtracting the desired thickness of the wafer, the degree of polishing is calculated and the thickness of the polishing target is transmitted to the control unit 60 as a signal, and the second transport device 16 is transported to the loading unit 20 after the measurement is completed. The polishing unit 31 may produce a wafer having a constant thickness by polishing only the thickness according to the instruction of the control unit 60. In addition, when the polishing is completed, the wafer is transported to the thin film thickness measuring device 61, and when the thickness of the wafer thin film is polished and found to be defective, the wafer is signaled to the controller 60, and the controller 60 loads the wafer into the loading unit 20. Can be instructed to grind and grind again.

In addition, a thin film thickness measuring device may be added to the wafer cassette unit 10 so as to measure the thin film thickness, and the thin film thickness of the wafer is measured and polished to the controller 60 before being transferred to the intermediate standby unit 15 for polishing. The thickness of the object is transmitted as a signal, and the first transport device 11 is transported to the intermediate standby part after the measurement is completed. The polishing unit 31 may produce a wafer having a constant thickness by polishing only the thickness according to the instruction of the control unit 60. In addition, according to the process, before the wafer is polished and the wafer cleaned in the cleaning unit 40 is inserted into the cassette device, the thin film thickness measuring device attached to the cassette unit measures the thickness of the polished wafer by measuring the thickness of the polished wafer. There is a number. If a defective wafer that is not properly polished is found, the thin film thickness measuring apparatus installed in the cassette unit signals the controller 60 to the controller 60 and the controller 60 signals the first carrier 11 to detect the wafer. It may be instructed to move to the intermediate atmosphere 15 and polish again. The thin film thickness measuring apparatus of the wafer may be configured individually or together, and the thin film thickness measuring process may be performed in each measuring apparatus before and after polishing, depending on the configuration, and the thin film thickness measurement before and after polishing may be performed. It may be carried out in another measuring device.

An operation of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention having the configuration as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

In the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention, when a wafer for polishing is transported from the outside of the polishing apparatus to the wafer cassette unit 10, the first conveying apparatus 11 may perform the wafer cassette unit according to the instruction of the controller 60. At 10, the wafer stored for polishing is found and taken out and moved to the intermediate standby section 15.

If the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention includes a thin film thickness measuring device 61 of a wafer capable of measuring the thin film thickness of the wafer, the second transportation device 16 may measure the wafer as a thin film thickness measuring device ( 61).

Subsequently, when the second transport device 16 carries the wafer, which is placed in the intermediate standby unit 15 or the thin film thickness measuring device 61 of the wet wafer, by the signal of the control unit 60 to the loading unit 20, the loading unit 20 is used to transfer the wafer to the polishing unit 31 to polish the wafer in the polishing unit 31, and if the polishing apparatus according to the present invention includes a thin film thickness measuring device 61, each polishing The apparatus grinds by the dimensions indicated by the controller 60.

Subsequently, the polished wafer is transported to the cleaning unit 40 by the second transport device 16 according to the instruction of the control unit 60. When the cleaning of the wafer is completed, the first transport device 11 is cleaned. The wafer placed in the spin-rinse dry of 40 is picked up and stored in a specific cassette of the wafer cassette unit 10 as instructed by the controller 60, thereby completing all the processes for polishing the wafer.

If the polishing apparatus according to the present invention includes a thin film thickness measuring device in the wafer cassette unit 10, the thin film thickness measuring device checks whether the wafer is properly polished and accordingly, if a defective product is found, a signal is sent to the controller 60. In order to grind the wafer again, the wafer is transferred back to the polishing unit 31, and the polishing is performed again as much as the size indicated by the control unit 60.

In the above-described process, the process of transferring the wafer from the loading unit 20 to the polishing unit 31 for polishing may be carried out in various ways as necessary, and can be roughly divided into parallel mode and parallel mode 1 in parallel. Can be configured in the mode 2 method.

In the direct thermal mode, the wafer transported by the second transport device 16 is placed in the first loading device 21, and the first loading device 21 is the first polishing device PM1 of the polishing unit 31. After rotating to the carrier head 33 to the lower side (Shift). At this time, if the carrier head 33 of the first polishing apparatus vacuum-adsorbs the wafer placed in the first loading device 21, the first loading device 21 is lowered again to rotate and return to its original position, thereby loading. Is complete. When the loading is completed, the carrier head 33 of the first polishing apparatus is lowered to perform polishing by pressing and rotating the wafer placed on the platen.

When the polishing is completed in the first polishing device PM1, the second loading device 22 takes over the wafer adsorbed to the lower portion of the carrier head 33 of the first polishing device PM1 according to a signal from the controller 60. After receiving it and transporting it below the carrier head 33 of the second polishing device PM2, the carrier head 33 of the second polishing device PM2 is capable of vacuum-absorbing the wafer placed in the second loading device 22. The second polishing device PM2 operates in the same process as the first polishing device polishes the wafer to perform secondary polishing of the wafer.

When the polishing of the wafer is completed in the second polishing device PM2, the third loading device 23 rotates and moves upward under the carrier head 33 of the second polishing device PM2 according to a signal from the controller 60. After the wafer is taken down from the carrier head 33 of the second polishing device PM2, the wafer is lowered, rotated, and returned to its original position to complete the unloading. At this time, the second transportation device 16 removes the polished wafer. Take it.

In the polishing process as described above, the three loading devices are a first loading device which performs only a process of adsorbing the wafer to the lower surface of the carrier head 33, and a process of adsorbing the wafer to the lower surface of the carrier head 33. And a second loading device for sequentially removing the wafer from the lower surface of the carrier head 33 and a third loading device for performing only the process of removing the wafer from the lower surface of the carrier head 33. It is composed.

Unlike the above embodiment, another embodiment of the method of polishing the wafer (parallel mode 1) will be described as an example. The second transport device 16 supplies the wafer to the first loading device 21, and immediately By taking a new wafer from the intermediate standby part 15 or the intermediate measuring device and supplying it to the third loading device 23, the first polishing device PM1 polishes the wafer supplied from the first loading device 21 and then the second wafer. The polishing apparatus PM2 polishes the wafer supplied from the third loading device 23. The wafer that has been polished in the first polishing device PM1 or the second polishing device PM2 is unloaded by the second loading device 22 and is turned over to the second transport device 16. This allows two new wafers to be polished at the same time.

In the above polishing process, the three loading devices remove the wafer from the first and third loading devices and the lower surface of the carrier head 33, which perform only a process of adsorbing the wafer to the lower surface of the carrier head 33. It consists of a second loading device performing only a process to make.

In addition, as another embodiment (parallel mode 2), the process of allowing the wafers to be adsorbed on the lower surface of the carrier head 33 by setting the process of the parallel mode 1 above is reversed. The second loading device may be configured to perform the first and third loading devices that perform only a process of removing the wafer from the lower surface of the carrier head 33.

According to the present invention, since the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus is provided with a plurality of loading devices, the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus can be configured to cope with various processes without any additional configuration, and thus can be easily used for each semiconductor process.

In addition, all movements of the wafer for polishing are controlled, managed and monitored by the control unit in a batch, and all the spaces in which the wafer moves are separated from each other. Even if it generate | occur | produces, it is comprised so that it may not affect another wafer.

In addition, since the loading and unloading of the wafer are performed by different mechanisms, the contamination caused by the previous wafer polishing does not affect the wafer polishing of the next step, and a separate time for cleaning the carrier head is required. It is not necessary and can carry out continued grinding | polishing.

In addition, since all components are modularized, maintenance is convenient for each module, and it is configured to easily respond to changes according to the continuous development of technology.

Claims (12)

A plurality of platens 32 each having a polishing surface; A plurality of carrier heads 33 which hold a wafer to be polished and press the wafer against a polishing surface to polish the wafer; A plurality of loading devices disposed in a position accessible to the carrier head 33, having a portion located on a predetermined circumference at a rotational center thereof to hold the wafer, and capable of rotating and raising the wafer placed thereon; A cleaning unit 40 for cleaning the wafer having been polished; A plurality of wafer cassette portions 10 for storing a wafer before polishing and a wafer after polishing; A first transport device (11) for transporting a wafer stored in the wafer cassette section (10) and waiting for polishing, or a wafer having been cleaned by the cleaning section (40); A second transporting device (16) for transporting the wafer before polishing with the loading device and transporting the wafer, which has been polished and seated on the loading device, to the cleaning unit (40); And an intermediate standby portion (15) for temporarily receiving a wafer between the first transport device (11) and the second transport device (16). 2. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a measuring device capable of measuring a thin film thickness of the wafer adjacent to the second conveying device (16). 2. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a measuring device which is added to the wafer cassette section (10) to measure the thin film thickness of the wafer. 2. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first transport apparatus (11) has a hand capable of picking up a wafer, and holds the cleaned wafer and the object before polishing. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit (40) can clean the polished wafer in three or more steps. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit (40) has a spin dry function of drying the cleaned wafers by rotating the wafers after cleaning the polished wafers. The load device of claim 1, further comprising: an arm (25) having a shaft connecting portion (24) for connecting a drive shaft to one side lower end thereof; It is disposed on the upper end of the other side of the arm 25, the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, characterized in that consisting of a loading cup 26 is provided with a loading plate 27 on which the wafer can be placed The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of platens is composed of two platens, the plurality of carrier heads are composed of two carrier heads, and the plurality of loading devices are composed of three loading devices Chemical mechanical polishing equipment. 9. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of loading devices are capable of changing a transport route between the plurality of carrier heads. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the three loading devices are loading devices that perform only a process of adsorbing the wafer to the lower surface of the carrier head 33, and a process of adsorbing the wafer to the lower surface of the carrier head 33; And a loading device for sequentially removing the wafer from the lower surface of the carrier head 33 and a loading device for removing the wafer from the lower surface of the carrier head 33. Chemical mechanical polishing equipment. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the three loading devices are two loading devices that only perform the process of adsorbing the wafer to the lower surface of the carrier head 33, and the wafer to remove the wafer from the lower surface of the carrier head 33 A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus comprising one loading device performing only a process. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the three loading devices are one loading device that performs only a process of adsorbing the wafer to the lower surface of the carrier head 33, and to remove the wafer from the lower surface of the carrier head 33 A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus comprising two loading devices for performing only a process.