TW201715635A - Semiconductor wafer transport method and semiconductor wafer transport apparatus capable of transporting only wafers to the next process of out the wafers and spacers stored in a storage container - Google Patents

Abstract

The subject of the invention is to transport only wafers to the next process out of the wafers and spacers stored in a storage container. The semiconductor wafer transport method according to the invention makes use a workpiece transport mechanism to move out the transport object from the storage container with a top surface of the transport object being held. A first sensor is used to detect the status of the top surface of the transport object so as to identify the transport object. When the transport object is identified as a wafer W, a second sensor is used to detect the status of the bottom surface of the wafer W so as to check whether there is a spacer 17 existed. When a spacer 17 is found by the checking, a pushing member 104 is employed to laterally push an outer edge of the spacer 17 having a diameter larger than that of the wafer and protruding from an outer edge of the wafer W. Furthermore, a nozzle 101 blows gas toward the spacer which has been corrugated by the pushing, so as to separate the spacer 17 from the wafer W.

Description

Semiconductor wafer transfer method and semiconductor wafer transfer device

The present invention relates to an intermediate layer such as a sheet, a film, and a liner which are protected from being alternately stacked, and a semiconductor wafer which is back-polished (hereinafter, "wafer" is appropriate. The storage container (referred to as) discriminates the semiconductor wafer transfer method and the semiconductor wafer transfer device that the semiconductor wafer and the interlayer are transported.

In order to transport a plurality of semiconductor wafers to each process, a semiconductor wafer and a spacer (interlayer) are stacked and stacked in a storage container. When the interlayer and the semiconductor wafer are alternately transferred from the top surface of the object to be carried out by the conveyance mechanism, the two sheets of the same object to be carried out may be mistakenly stacked. Therefore, in the transfer method of the prior art, in order to prevent the interlayer body among the objects to be carried out from being transported to the processing process, the sensor is used to measure the state of the top surface of the object to be used to identify the semiconductor wafer and Interlayer (refer to Patent Document 1 below).

Patent Document 1 Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-248683

In the method of the prior art, when the object is transported and transported from the storage container, the top surface side of the object to be carried out is measured by the sensor, so that it can be determined that the object to be carried out is a semiconductor. The wafer is also an interlayer. However, there is a problem in that the interlayer body is directly transported to the processing process in a state in which it is in close contact with the bottom surface of the wafer due to static electricity or the like.

Further, when the worker visually finds that the interlayer is in close contact with the bottom surface of the wafer, the conveyance must be temporarily stopped, and then the worker removes the interlayer from the bottom surface of the wafer. Therefore, there is also a disadvantage that the work efficiency is lowered.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a main object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor wafer in which a semiconductor wafer and an interlayer are housed in a stacked manner, and a semiconductor wafer is transported to a semiconductor wafer. Round conveyor.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following constitution.

In the method of transporting the semiconductor wafer of the present invention, the semiconductor wafer and the interlayer which are the objects to be carried out, which are alternately stacked in the storage container, are taken out from the storage container, and the object to be transported is transported to a predetermined position. In the unloading process, the transporting means holds the top surface of the object to be carried out from the storage container, and the object to be carried out is carried out. The identification process detects the top of the object to be carried out by the first sensor. Identifying the object to be carried out in the state of the surface; The inspection process is to detect the presence or absence of the interlayer by detecting the state of the bottom surface of the semiconductor wafer by the second sensor when the identification process is recognized as a semiconductor wafer; and the pressing process is detected by the above inspection. In the case of the interlayer, the outer edge of the interlayer exposed from the outer edge of the semiconductor wafer is larger in diameter than the outer edge of the semiconductor wafer, and is pressed from the lateral direction by the pressing member; and the separation process is performed from the nozzle toward the nozzle The interlayer is sprayed with gas which is wrinkled by pressing, and the interlayer is separated from the semiconductor wafer.

(Operation and Effect) According to the above method, when the object to be carried out is a semiconductor wafer, it is detected whether or not the interlayer is in close contact with the bottom surface of the non-retaining surface of the semiconductor wafer, based on the detection result of the second sensor. When an interlayer body is in close contact with the bottom surface of the semiconductor wafer, the interlayer body exposed from the semiconductor wafer is larger than the semiconductor wafer, and the interlayer is pressed by the pressing member to cause wrinkles, thereby being between the semiconductor wafer and the layer. A gap is formed between the bodies. Then, gas is sprayed from the nozzle toward the interlayer from the side, and the gas enters the gap and separates the interlayer from the semiconductor wafer. Therefore, it is possible to reliably transfer only the semiconductor wafer to the next process.

In the above method, preferably, in the pressing process, a plurality of pressing members provided at equal intervals around the semiconductor wafer are pressed until wrinkles are formed in the interlayer.

According to the above method, the plurality of interlayers are pressed by the pressing member, whereby the interlayer between the pressing members can be easily wrinkled. Further, the pressing members provided at equal intervals are pressed until they abut against the outer edge of the semiconductor wafer, whereby the positioning of the substantially circular semiconductor wafer can also be performed.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following configuration.

In the semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus of the present invention, the semiconductor wafer and the interlayer which are the objects to be transported which are alternately stacked in the storage container are taken out from the storage container, and the object to be transported is transported to a predetermined position. The transport mechanism is configured to hold the top surface of the object to be carried out from the storage container and transport the object to be transported; the first sensor detects the top surface of the object to be transported by the transport mechanism; The sensor detects a state of the bottom surface of the semiconductor wafer; the control unit identifies the semiconductor wafer and the interlayer based on the detection result of the first sensor, and detects the result based on the detection result of the second sensor The bottom surface of the semiconductor wafer has an interlayer; the pressing mechanism is an interlayer which is exposed from the semiconductor wafer with a larger diameter of the semiconductor wafer, and is pressed by a pressing member from the side; and the nozzle is from the foregoing The laterally sprayed gas of the interlayer body pressed by the pressing member.

(Operation and Effect) According to the above configuration, it is possible to check whether or not the interlayer is in close contact with the bottom surface of the semiconductor wafer which is not recognized by the first sensor by the second sensor. Further, when the interlayer body is in close contact with the bottom surface of the semiconductor wafer, the pressing member provided in the pressing mechanism presses the interlayer body exposed from the semiconductor wafer to wrinkle the interlayer body, and then the gas is sprayed from the nozzle. The interlayer can be separated from the semiconductor wafer. That is, this configuration can ideally implement the above method.

Further, in the above configuration, preferably, the pressing mechanism includes a plurality of pressing members that surround the semiconductor wafer at equal intervals.

According to the above configuration, the plurality of interlayers are pressed by the pressing member, whereby the interlayer between the pressing members can be easily wrinkled. Further, by bringing the pressing member into contact with the outer edge of the semiconductor wafer, it is possible to cause the interlayer to wrinkle while positioning the semiconductor wafer while being held by the transport mechanism.

Further, in the above configuration, preferably, the third sensor is provided to detect a gap between the semiconductor wafer and the interlayer due to the pressing member; The control unit is configured to operate the nozzle based on the detection result of the third sensor to spray the gas toward the gap.

According to the above configuration, since the gas can surely enter the gap between the semiconductor wafer and the interlayer, the interlayer can be reliably separated from the semiconductor wafer.

According to the semiconductor wafer transfer method and the semiconductor wafer transfer device of the present invention, only the semiconductor wafer that is alternately stacked and stored in the semiconductor wafer and the interlayer of the storage container can be transported to the next process.

2‧‧‧Workpiece transport mechanism

3‧‧‧ storage container

4‧‧‧Recycling container

5‧‧‧Installation Frame Recycling Department

6‧‧‧Aligning machine

7‧‧‧ Keeping the table

8‧‧‧Frame Supply Department

9‧‧‧Flip unit

10‧‧‧ peeling station

12‧‧‧ Tape Attachment Mechanism

13‧‧‧Disbonding agency

52‧‧‧1st sensor

53‧‧‧2nd sensor

95‧‧‧Control Department

96‧‧‧ memory

97‧‧‧Top Judgment Department

98‧‧‧Bottom Discriminating Department

100‧‧‧Pushing mechanism

101‧‧‧ nozzle

102‧‧‧Cylinder block

104‧‧‧Roller (pushing member)

W‧‧‧Semiconductor Wafer

F‧‧‧ ring frame

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of a semiconductor wafer mounting device.

Figure 2 is a front view of a semiconductor wafer mounting device.

Fig. 3 is a front view showing a part of a work transport mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a plan view showing a part of the workpiece conveying mechanism.

Figure 5 is a front view of the workpiece transfer device.

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a movement structure of the workpiece conveying device.

Fig. 7 is a front view showing a part of the forward and backward movement structure in the workpiece conveying device.

Fig. 8 is a front view showing a part of the forward and backward movement structure in the workpiece conveying device.

Figure 9 is a front view of a frame transport device.

Fig. 10 is a structural view showing a configuration around the storage container.

Fig. 11 is a front view showing the configuration of the recovery container and the pressing mechanism.

Fig. 12 is a front view showing the configuration of the pressing mechanism.

Figure 13 is a front view of the table.

Figure 14 is a top plan view of the flip unit.

Figure 15 is a front view of the flip unit.

Figure 16 is a top view of the pusher.

Figure 17 is a front view of the pusher.

Figure 18 is a plan view of the tape attaching mechanism.

Figure 19 is a front view of the tape attachment mechanism.

Figure 20 is a front view of the peeling mechanism.

Figure 21 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the embodiment apparatus.

Fig. 22 is a plan view showing the bottom surface of the wafer inspected by the second sensor.

Figure 23 is a front view showing the bottom surface of the wafer inspected by the second sensor.

Fig. 24 is a plan view showing the action of pressing the interlayer by the pressing mechanism.

Fig. 25 is a front view showing the action of pushing the interlayer by the pressing mechanism.

Figure 26 is a front view showing the action of separating the interlayer from the bottom surface of the wafer.

Fig. 27 is a plan view showing the action of pressing the interlayer by the pressing mechanism of the modification device.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Further, in the present embodiment, a semiconductor wafer mounting device for mounting a semiconductor wafer having a protective tape on a circuit forming surface through an adhesive tape (dicing tape) to a ring frame is attached. The configuration of the transport mechanism of the present invention will be described.

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a semiconductor wafer mounting apparatus, and Fig. 2 is a front view showing the semiconductor wafer mounting apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor wafer mounting apparatus is configured to include a basic unit and has a convex shape, and a rectangular portion A that is horizontally elongated is connected to a central portion of the rectangular portion A and protrudes upward. The protruding portion B is composed; and the peeling unit C is connected to the basic unit in the lateral space on the left side of the protruding portion B. In addition, in the following description, the rectangle will be The longitudinal direction of the portion A is referred to as the left-right direction, and the horizontal direction orthogonal to the horizontal direction is referred to as the lower side and the upper side.

A workpiece transport mechanism 2 is provided at the center of the left and right of the rectangular portion A. The storage container 3 and the recovery container 4 are placed side by side on the lower side of the rectangular portion A. The mounting frame collecting portion 5 is disposed at the lower left end of the rectangular portion A.

From the upper right side of the rectangular portion A, an aligner 6, a holding table 7, a frame supply portion 8, and a reversing unit 9 are sequentially provided. A peeling station 10 is provided on the lower side of the inverting unit 9. Further, a pusher 11 is provided across the rectangular portion A and the peeling unit C.

The protruding portion B is provided with an adhesive tape attaching mechanism 12 that attaches the adhesive tape DT for support to the annular frame f.

The peeling unit C is provided with a peeling mechanism 13 that peels off the protective tape PT from the semiconductor wafer W (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as "wafer W").

As shown in Fig. 2, the workpiece transfer mechanism 2 includes a workpiece transfer device 15 that is supported on the right side of the guide rail 14 that is horizontally mounted on the upper portion of the rectangular portion A so as to be reciprocally movable left and right. The device 16 is supported on the left side of the guide rail 14 so as to be movable left and right.

The workpiece transfer device 15 is configured to transport the wafer W and the interlayer body 17 taken out from the storage container 3 to the left and right and the front and rear, and to invert the swing of the wafer W. The detailed structure is shown in Figures 3 to 9.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the workpiece transfer device 15 is equipped with a left and right movable movable table 18 that can move left and right along the guide rail 14. The front and rear movable movable table 20 is configured to be movable forward and backward along the guide rails 19 of the left and right movable movable table 18. Further, the lower portion of the movable table 20 is moved forward and backward, and the holding unit 21 that holds the wafer W and the interlayer 17 is provided so as to be movable up and down.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a drive wheel 23 that is driven in forward/reverse rotation by a motor 22 is axially supported near the right end of the guide rail 14, and a shaft is pivoted on the center side of the guide rail 14. An idle pulley 24 is supported. The slide engagement portion 18a of the right and left movable movable table 18 is coupled to a belt 25 that surrounds the drive wheels 23 and the idler pulley 24, and is rotated by the forward and reverse of the belt 25. The movable movable table 18 moves left and right.

As shown in Figs. 6 to 8, the drive wheel 27 that is driven by the motor 26 in the forward and reverse directions is supported in the vicinity of the upper end of the left and right movable movable table 18, and the shaft is supported near the lower end of the movable table 18 left and right. There is an idler wheel 28. The slider engagement portion 20a of the front and rear movable movable table 20 is coupled to the belt 29 that surrounds the drive wheels 27 and the idler pulley 28, and the front and rear movable movable table 20 is moved back and forth by the forward and reverse rotation of the belt 29. .

As shown in Fig. 5, the holding unit 21 is configured by an element such as an inverted L-shaped support frame 30 that is coupled to the lower portion of the movable table 20 that moves forward and backward, and a lifting frame 32 that is along the vertical frame portion of the support frame 30. The motor 31 is lifted and lowered by the screw feeding method; the rotary table 34 is pivotally supported by the lifting platform 32, and is rotatable around the longitudinal support shaft p through the rotating shaft 33; The winding motor is coupled to the rotating shaft 33 via the belt 35; the holding arm 38 is supported by the lower portion of the rotating table 34, and can be turned around the horizontal supporting shaft q through the rotating shaft 37; and the turning motor 40 It is linked to the rotating shaft 37 via the belt 39.

The retaining arms 38 are horseshoe shaped. A slightly protruding pad 41 is provided on the holding surface of the holding arm 38. A through hole having a small diameter from the surface of the pad 41 to the inside is formed at a predetermined pitch on the concentric circumference. The plurality of through holes constitute a through hole group and communicate with the same position of one flow path formed inside the holding arm 38. Each of the through holes of the through hole group is formed in a taper shape that is expanded from the flow path in the holding arm to the holding surface. The pad 41 having the through-hole group is provided in plural at a predetermined position on the holding surface. Further, the holding arm 38 is connected to the air compressor by a flow path formed inside the communication path and a connection flow path connected to the proximal end side of the flow path.

The air compressor is switched by the control unit. That is, the top surface of the wafer W, that is, the top surface of the interlayer body 17 is adsorbed and held by the pad 41 of the holding arm 38 by driving the air compressor to a negative pressure. Further, by setting the air compressor to a positive pressure, the interlayer 17 entering the adsorption hole can be removed.

By using the movable structure described above, the wafer W and the interlayer 17 that are adsorbed and held can be moved back and forth, left and right, and around the longitudinal support p by the holding arm 38, and by the fifth figure The flipping of the horizontal fulcrum q shows the wafer W flipped back and forth.

As shown in Fig. 9, the frame transporting device 16 is configured by the following elements: the vertical frame 44 is coupled to the front and rear movable movable table 43. The lower part of the lifting frame 45 is supported by being able to slide up and down along the vertical frame 44; the extension and extension link mechanism 46 moves the lifting frame 45 up and down; the motor 47 drives the flexion and extension linkage mechanism 46. The plate 48 is a wafer W that is attached to the lower end of the lifting frame 45; and a plurality of adsorption pads 49 are disposed around the adsorption plate 48 for adsorbing the annular frame f. Therefore, the frame conveying device 16 can hold and hold the mounting frame MF placed on the holding table 7 and carry it up and down, and carry it forward and backward. The adsorption pad 49 is slidably adjustable in the horizontal direction corresponding to the size of the annular frame f.

As shown in Fig. 10, the storage container 3 is formed at two positions on the opposite side walls of the container, and a notch 50 is formed downward from the upper portion at the center as an entry path of the holding arm 38 of the workpiece transfer device 15. A cushion material 51 made of an elastic material is laid on the lowermost layer inside the storage container. The interlayer body 17 and the wafer W are alternately stacked on the buffer material 51 in this order. Further, in the present embodiment, the wafer W is stored in the storage container 3 with the polishing surface facing upward. In addition, the interlayer 17 may be a material for protecting the back surface of the wafer W, and may be, for example, a film or sheet such as interlayer paper or PET (polyethylene terephthalate). This interlayer 17 is larger than the wafer W. In the present embodiment, the interlayer 17 which is larger than the diameter of the wafer W by 2 mm is used.

A first sensor 52 whose detection surface faces downward is provided above the storage container 3. Further, in the present embodiment, the first sensor 52 uses a color sensor, but is not limited to the color sensor, and may be capable of recognizing the wafer W accommodated in the storage container 3. The top surface and the other sensors and optical cameras of the interlayer 17 are.

The recovery container 4 is a simple recovery container formed by erecting two pillars 99 at each corner portion of a square flat plate. Regarding the pillar, the distance between the pillars 99 provided at the opposite corner portions is set to be longer than the diameter of the interlayer body 17 so that the interlayer body 17 is housed inside. Further, the interval between the two pillars 99 arranged in parallel at the corner portion is set to a distance at which the pressing mechanism 100, which will be described later, enters without any interference during the lift adjustment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, a second sensor 53 having a detection surface facing upward is provided on the base of the storage container 3 and the right side region of the recovery container 4. In other words, the wafer W held by the holding arm 38 is inspected while the holding arm 38 of the workpiece conveying device 15 holding the wafer W is temporarily stopped or passed over the second sensor 53. The non-retaining surface is the bottom surface. That is, it is checked whether or not the interlayer 17 is in close contact with the top surface of the wafer W. Further, in the present embodiment, the second sensor 53 uses a color sensor, but is not limited to the color sensor, and may be another surface that can recognize the top surface of the wafer W and the interlayer body 17. Detector and optical camera.

Above the recovery container 4, a plurality of pressing mechanisms 100 and one nozzle 101 are provided so as to surround the recovery container 4. Further, the number of nozzles 101 may be two or more.

In the plan view of Fig. 1, the pressing mechanism 100 is provided above each corner portion of the rectangular recovery container 4. As shown in Fig. 11, four pressing mechanisms 100 are provided on the holding plate 112, and the holding plate 112 is coupled and fixed to an arm 111 that is cantilevered above the recovery container 4 from a support frame 110 that is erected on the base of the apparatus. front end.

As shown in Fig. 12, each of the pressing mechanisms 100 is constituted by elements such as a cylinder 102, a movable table 103, and a pressing member 104.

The cylinder block 102 is horizontally provided in the fixed frame such that the front end of the rod faces the center of the recovery container 4.

The front end of the movable table 103 is bent downward. The movable table 103 connects the front end of the rod and the front end of the movable table 103 so as to reciprocately move on the guide rail 105 which is fixed to the fixed frame of the annular frame.

In the present embodiment, the pressing member 104 is a roller 104 that is rotatable. The roller 104 is rotatably supported by a lower support shaft at a lower end of the arm 106 that is supported by the movable table 103 and protrudes from the front side of the movable table 103. That is, each of the rollers 104 is configured to advance toward the center of the recovery container 4 or to retreat from the center side. Further, the roller 104 may be formed by coating a metal roller with an elastic insulator, or may be a rubber and sponge of an elastic body or a roller made of a fluororesin.

The nozzle 101 is provided at substantially the same height as the roller 104 on the side opposite to the direction in which the holding arm 38 of the workpiece transfer device 15 faces. The front end of the nozzle 101 faces the center of the recovery container 4. Therefore, the nozzle 101 sprays air or ion wind to the periphery of the wafer W held by the holding arm 38.

The holding table 7 performs alignment of the ring frame f by a movable pin that moves forward and backward. Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the wafer holding stage 55 is provided with a wafer W held in the center, and the frame holding portion 56 surrounds the wafer holding table 55.

The wafer holding stage 55 is a metal chuck table, and is connected to an external vacuum device through a flow path formed therein. Further, the wafer holding stage 55 is raised and lowered by the cylinder 57. Further, the wafer holding stage 55 is not limited to a metal, and may be formed of a porous ceramic.

The frame holding portion 56 is formed with a layer portion corresponding to the thickness of the frame. That is, when the annular frame f is placed on the segment, the top of the frame holding portion 56 and the top surface of the annular frame f are formed into a flat surface.

Further, as shown in Fig. 1, the holding table 7 is configured to be capable of being laid along the position between the set position of the wafer W and the adhesive tape attaching mechanism 12 by a driving mechanism (not shown). 58 reciprocating movement.

The frame supply unit 8 houses a drawer type cassette in which a predetermined number of annular frames are accommodated.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 , the reversing unit 9 is attached to the elevating table 60 that can be moved up and down along the vertically-arranged vertical rail 59, and can be mounted in a cantilever manner by a rotary actuator 61. The seat frame 62 that rotates about the horizontal support shaft r is provided with a chucking claw 63 at a base portion and a front end portion of the seat frame 62 so as to be rotatable about the support shaft s. The reversing unit 9 is placed on the peeling table 10 by turning the circuit forming surface into the upward mounting frame MF after the mounting frame MF having the circuit surface facing downward from the frame conveying device 16 is turned over.

The peeling table 10 reciprocates between the receiving position of the mounting frame directly below the reversing unit 9 and the peeling position of the protective tape PT of the peeling unit C.

The pusher 11 accommodates the mounting frame MF placed on the peeling table 10 in the mounting frame collecting portion 5 . The specific configuration is shown in Figs. 16 and 17.

The pusher 11 is provided with a fixed seat piece 66 and a holding piece 68 that is opened and closed by the cylinder 67 in the upper portion of the movable table 65 that horizontally moves left and right along the guide rail 64. The fixing piece 66 and the holding piece 68 are configured to sandwich one end portion of the mounting frame MF from above and below. Further, the lower portion of the movable table 65 is coupled to the belt 70 that is rotated by the motor 69, and the movable table 65 is reciprocated to the right and left by the forward and reverse movement of the motor 69.

As shown in Figs. 18 and 19, the tape attaching mechanism 12 is provided with a tape supply portion 71 for loading a wide-width adhesive tape DT of a roll type, a roller 72, a peeling roller 73, and a tape cutting. The cutting mechanism 74, the tape collecting portion 75, and the like. That is, when the wafer W placed on the holding table 7 and the ring frame f are carried into the tape attaching position, the attaching roller 72 is advanced from the right side of the 18th drawing to the left side, and the adhesive tape DT is attached to the wafer W. With the top surface of the ring frame f.

When the tape is attached, the disc-shaped cutting blade is wound in a state where the tape cutting mechanism 74 is lowered, and the attached adhesive tape DT is cut into a circular shape along the annular frame f. Then, the peeling roller 73 is moved from the right side of the 18th drawing to the left side, and the unnecessary tape remaining outside the cutting line is peeled off from the ring frame f and wound up in the tape collecting portion 75 for recycling.

As shown in Fig. 20, the peeling mechanism 13 is configured to guide a peeling tape t having a roll type having a width smaller than the wafer diameter through the guide roller 80 to a knife edge-shaped peeling bar (bar) 81. After the folding back is reversed, the winding shaft 82 is wound and recovered.

As shown in Fig. 2, the mounting frame collecting portion 5 is provided with a cassette 90 that is collected by the mounting frame MF. The cassette 90 has a vertical rail 92 that is coupled to and fixed to the apparatus frame 91, and a lifting table 94 that is lifted and lowered by the screw feed along the vertical rail 92 by the motor 93. Therefore, the mounting frame collecting portion 5 is configured to lower the mounting frame MF by placing it on the lifting table 94 at a pitch.

Next, an operation of manufacturing the mounting frame MF using the wafer W conveyed from the storage container 3 by the apparatus of the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 21 and the twenty-second to twenty-fifth drawings.

Simultaneously, the transfer of the ring frame f from the frame supply unit 8 to the holding table 7 and the transfer of the wafer W from the wafer storage container 3 to the holding table 7 are performed.

One of the frame transporting devices 16 sucks the annular frame from the frame supply unit 8 and transfers it to the holding table 7 (step S1). When the frame holding portion 56 is released from the suction, the alignment of the annular frame f is performed by the support pin (step S20). In other words, the ring frame f is placed in the state of the holding table 7 to stand by until the wafer W is transported.

As shown in Fig. 10, the other workpiece conveyance device 15 lowers the holding arm 38 to the storage container 3 with the pad 41 facing downward, and then descends to a predetermined height. At the predetermined position, the air compressor is actuated by the negative pressure to hold the uppermost object to be carried out by the pad 41 of the arm 38 (hereinafter, simply referred to as "workpiece"), and then raised to a predetermined height above the storage container 3 ( Step S10).

When the predetermined height is reached, the top surface of the workpiece held by the holding arm 38 is detected by the first sensor 52 (step S11). The test The result is sent to the top surface discrimination unit 97 of the control unit 95. In the memory 96 of the control unit 95, the back surface of the wafer W subjected to the back surface polishing, the surface of the wafer W on which the circuit is formed, and the interlayer body 17 are set in advance with different levels of color. Benchmark range. Therefore, the top surface discrimination unit 97 determines which portion of the reference range of the memory 96 the tone level of the detection result belongs to. That is, it is determined which of the wafer W and the interlayer body 17 the workpiece is (step S12).

<When discriminating as interlayer]

When it is determined that the workpiece is the interlayer body 17, the workpiece transfer device 15 transports the interlayer body 17 above the recovery container 4. Then, the workpiece transfer device 15 stops the negative pressure, and causes the interlayer body 17 adsorbed and held by the holding arm 38 to fall to the recovery container (step S13).

<When discriminating as wafer W>

At this time, the workpiece conveyance device 15 covers the bottom surface of the non-retaining surface of the wafer W to the second sensor 53 as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23 while retreating from the storage container 3, and detects the bottom surface. status. The second sensor 53 transmits the detection result of the bottom surface of the wafer W to the bottom surface discrimination unit 98.

The bottom surface discrimination unit 98 determines which portion of the reference range in the memory is the tone level of the detection result. That is, it is determined whether or not the interlayer body 17 is in close contact with the bottom surface side of the wafer W (step S15). As a result of the discrimination, when the bottom surface determining unit 98 determines that the interlayer body 17 is in close contact with the bottom surface of the wafer W, the control unit 95 moves the workpiece conveying device 15 to the position of the recovery container 4, and holds it above the recovery container 4. The arm 38 is stopped.

The control unit 95 causes the four pressing mechanisms 100 to operate in synchronization. In other words, as shown in Fig. 24, the cylinder block 102 is actuated to move the movable table 103 forward, and the roller 104 is pressed against the interlayer body 17 slightly exposed from the outer periphery of the wafer W (step S16). After the roller 104 contacts the interlayer body 17 and then moves a predetermined distance (for example, 1 mm or less than 1 mm of the exposure distance), the movement of the roller 104 is stopped. At this time, the pressed interlayer 17 is wrinkled, and a gap is formed between the wafer W and the interlayer 17. Further, since the roller 104 abuts the outer circumference of the wafer W at equal intervals, the wafer W is positioned (center aligned) while being held by the holding arm 38.

Then, the control unit 95 causes the nozzle 101 to operate. That is, as shown in Figs. 25 and 26, the air from the nozzle 101 enters the gap between the wafer W and the interlayer 17, and the interlayer 17 is separated from the bottom surface of the wafer W. The separated interlayer 17 is dropped while being recovered to the recovery container 4 (step S17).

The wafer W that has not detected the interlayer 17 and the wafer W that has separated the interlayer 17 are not transported to the alignment machine 6 in step S17 (step S18).

The alignment machine 6 adsorbs the center of the bottom surface of the wafer W with the adsorption pad 77 shown in Fig. 1 protruding from the center thereof. At the same time, the workpiece transfer device 15 releases the adsorption of the wafer W and retreats to the upper side. The aligning machine 6 accommodates the adsorption pad 77 in the stage, and aligns it according to a notch of the wafer W (step S19). Further, since the wafer W subjected to the separation processing of the interlayer 17 in step S17 is center-aligned by the roller 104, it is simplified to the alignment processing based only on the detection of the notch.

When the alignment of the wafer W is completed, the adsorption pad 77 that adsorbs the wafer W protrudes from the surface of the alignment machine 6. The workpiece transfer device 15 is moved to this position, and the top surface of the wafer W is adsorbed and held. The adsorption pad 77 is desorbed and then lowered.

The workpiece transfer device 15 is moved to the holding table 7, and the wafer W is placed on the wafer holding stage 55 while the surface of the protective tape is held downward (step S20).

When the arrangement of the wafer W and the annular frame f in the holding stage 7 is completed, the wafer holding stage 55 is lowered, so that the top surface of both the wafer W and the annular frame f becomes the same height, and then moves along the track 58 to the tape attachment. Agency 12.

When the holding table 7 reaches the loading position of the tape attaching mechanism 12, the attaching roller 72 is lowered, and the adhesive tape DT is rolled from right to left. Thereby, an adhesive tape DT is attached to the ring frame f and the polishing surface side of the wafer W. When the attaching roller 72 reaches the end position, the tape cutting mechanism 74 is lowered, and the adhesive tape DT is cut while winding the circular cutter along the ring frame f.

When the cutting is completed, the tape cutting mechanism 74 is raised, and the peeling roller 73 is moved from the right to the left, and the cut unnecessary tape is wound and recovered (step S21).

When the production of the mounting frame MF is completed, the holding table 7 is moved to the set position of the rectangular portion A of Fig. 1 and then stopped. At this position, the frame transport device 16 sucks and transports the mounted mounting frame MF and transfers it to the reversing unit 9.

The reversing unit 9 is such that the front surface of the mounting frame MF is turned over with the surface of the protective tape facing up, and then placed on the peeling table 10 (step S22).

The control unit 95 moves the peeling table 10 to the loading position of the peeling mechanism 13. When the peeling station 10 reaches the loading position of the peeling mechanism 13, the peeling bar 81 is lowered to the tape attaching start end of the mounting frame MF. When the peeling tape t is attached to the protective tape PT by the pressing of the peeling bar 81, the peeling table 10 moves. Simultaneously with the movement of the peeling table 10, the peeling tape t is continuously wound around the winding shaft 82, whereby the protective tape PT and the peeling tape t are continuously peeled off integrally (step S23).

When the peeling of the protective tape PT is completed, the peeling bar 81 is raised back to the standby position. At the same time, the peeling table 10 is moved to the standby position of the pusher 11 of the rectangular portion A. The mounting frame MF is sucked and held by the holding piece 68 of the pusher 11, and is collected in the frame collecting portion 9 (step S24).

After one round of the operation of creating the mounting frame MF by using the wafer W with the protective tape described above, the control unit 95 performs a comparison operation process of whether or not the count value of the mounting frame MF reaches a predetermined number (step S25), if the reservation is not reached. The number is repeated, and the processing of steps S1 to S25 is repeated.

According to the above-described embodiment, the second sensor detects the bottom surface of the wafer W taken out from the storage container 3, that is, the bottom surface. Therefore, it can be determined whether or not the interlayer 17 is in close contact with the bottom surface of the wafer W. Further, when the interlayer 17 is in close contact with the bottom surface of the wafer W, the interlayer body 17 slightly exposed from the outer edge of the wafer W is pressed by the roller 104 of the pressing mechanism 100, Therefore, wrinkles are formed in the interlayer body 17, and a gap is formed between the wafer W and the interlayer body 17. In this state, air is ejected from the nozzle 101 toward the gap between the wafer W and the interlayer body 17, whereby the interlayer body 17 can be surely separated from the bottom surface of the wafer W. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the process of transporting the wafer W in which the interlayers 17 are in close contact with each other to the next processed wafer W.

Further, since a plurality of rollers 104 are provided at equal intervals around the outer circumference of the wafer W, the interlayers 17 between the rollers 104 can be easily wrinkled by pressing the interlayers 17 by the rollers 104. Further, by abutting the plurality of rollers 104 against the outer edge of the wafer W, the center alignment of the wafer W can be performed while being held by the holding arm 38. Therefore, the alignment of the alignment machine 6 of the next process can detect only the notch and rotate to a predetermined position according to the notch.

Further, the present invention can also be carried out as follows.

(1) In the apparatus of the above embodiment, the number of the pressing mechanisms 100 is not limited to four, and may be one or plural. When the pressing mechanism 100 is two, it is provided on the outer circumference of the wafer W at intervals of 180°. That is, the two rollers 104 are disposed at opposite positions. Further, when the number of the pressing mechanisms 100 is three, it is sufficient to be provided on the outer circumference of the wafer W at an interval of 120°.

(2) In the apparatus of the above embodiment, the position of the nozzle 101 is fixed, but the tip end of the nozzle 101 may be configured to be adjustable in the right and left or up and down directions. That is, the gap between the wafer W and the interlayer body 17 is detected by an optical camera and a line sensor, and the leading end of the nozzle 101 is sprayed with air toward the gap.

According to the above configuration, since the air can surely enter the gap between the wafer W and the interlayer body 17, the interlayer body 17 can be separated from the wafer W with higher precision.

(3) In the apparatus of the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 27, the roller 104 that abuts the outer edge of the wafer W may be rolled in a clockwise manner along the outer circumference of the wafer W, rolled counterclockwise, or reciprocated.

According to the above configuration, the range in which the roller 104 presses the interlayer 17 is enlarged, and it becomes easier to form a gap between the wafer W and the interlayer 17.

(4) In the apparatus of the above embodiment, the nozzle may be provided on the side of the storage container 3. In other words, before the bottom surface of the wafer W is inspected by the second sensor, all of the wafer W is ejected from the nozzle above the storage container 3, and the interlayer body 17 is initially separated from the wafer W. deal with.

According to the above configuration, when the wafer W is taken out from the storage container 3, the wafer W and the interlayer body 17 are not completely in contact with each other, and the interlayer body 17 is attached to the extent that the interlayer body 17 can be separated by a slight external force. At the bottom surface of the wafer, the interlayer 17 can be separated from the bottom surface of the wafer W. However, when the interlayer body 17 is in close contact with the substantially entire surface of the bottom surface of the wafer W, the preliminary separation process does not completely separate the interlayer body 17 from the wafer W. Therefore, the bottom surface of the wafer W is configured to be transported during the transfer process. Whether or not the interlayer 17 remains is detected by the second sensor.

Further, according to the above configuration, the number of separation processes on the side of the recovery container 4 can be reduced, so that the time during which the wafer W is transferred to the next process and the processing time can be shortened.

(5) The apparatus of the above-described embodiment may be configured to check whether the interlayer body 17 is detached from the holding arm 38 in step S13 shown in Fig. 21 when only the transfer arm 38 is transported to the recovery container 4 by the holding arm 38. Recovered to the recovery container 4. For example, after the negative pressure of the holding arm 38 is stopped for a predetermined time, the negative pressure is actuated to detect a pressure change. That is, as long as the pressure is higher than the predetermined value, it can be determined that the interlayer body 17 remains in the holding arm 38. At this time, the air pressure device is switched to the static pressure to allow the gas to be discharged from the adsorption hole, whereby the interlayer body 17 can be separated and removed from the holding arm 38.

17‧‧‧ Interlayer

99‧‧‧ pillar

100‧‧‧Pushing mechanism

101‧‧‧ nozzle

104‧‧‧Roller (pushing member)

W‧‧‧Semiconductor Wafer

Claims (5)

In a method of transporting a semiconductor wafer, a semiconductor wafer and an interlayer which are objects to be carried out, which are alternately stacked in a storage container, are taken out from the storage container, and the object to be transported is transported to a predetermined position, and the following process is provided: In the unloading process, the transporting means holds the top surface of the object to be carried out from the storage container, and the object to be carried out is carried out. The identification process is performed by the first sensor detecting the state of the top surface of the object to be transported. Carrying out the object; the inspection process is to check the presence or absence of the interlayer by detecting the state of the bottom surface of the semiconductor wafer by the second sensor when the identification process is recognized as a semiconductor wafer; the pressing process is performed by When the interlayer inspection is performed, the outer edge of the interlayer exposed from the outer edge of the semiconductor wafer is larger than the diameter of the semiconductor wafer, and the pressing member is pressed from the lateral direction; and the separation process is performed from the nozzle. The interlayer is sprayed with gas to the interlaminar body which is wrinkled by pressing, and the interlayer is separated from the semiconductor wafer. The method of transporting a semiconductor wafer according to claim 1, wherein in the pressing process, a plurality of pressing members provided at equal intervals around the semiconductor wafer are pressed until wrinkles are formed in the interlayer. A semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus is configured to take out a semiconductor wafer and an interlayer which are objects to be carried out, which are alternately stacked in a storage container, from the storage container, and transport the object to a predetermined position. The transporting mechanism holds the top surface of the object to be carried out from the storage container, and conveys the object to be transported; the first sensor detects the top surface of the object to be transported by the transport mechanism; the second sensing The state of detecting the bottom surface of the semiconductor wafer; the control unit identifies the semiconductor wafer and the interlayer based on the detection result of the first sensor, and detects the semiconductor crystal based on the detection result of the second sensor The bottom surface of the circle has an interlayer; the pressing mechanism compares the interlayer of the semiconductor wafer with a large diameter and is exposed from the semiconductor wafer, and presses the member from the side; and the nozzle is pressed from the front The laterally sprayed gas of the interlayer body pressed by the member. The semiconductor wafer transfer device of claim 3, wherein the pressing mechanism includes a plurality of pressing members that surround the semiconductor wafer at equal intervals. The semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising: a third sensor that detects a gap between the semiconductor wafer and the interlayer due to the pressing member; and the control unit The system is configured to operate the nozzle according to the detection result of the third sensor to spray the gas toward the gap.