TW202412990A - Processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

[Topic] To easily and reliably check for air leakage from the suction pads or suction paths of the transport mechanism, and to accurately determine the appropriate replacement timing for the suction pads, piping, etc. [Solution] In a cutting device (processing device) 1 having a transport mechanism 70 and a diagnostic unit 100 for holding and transporting a wafer (processing object) W by suction, the transport mechanism 70 has: a transport pad 74 having at least four suction cups 75; a lifting mechanism 71 for lifting and lowering the transport pad 74; piping (suction path) 76A, 76B, etc., which connect the suction cup 75 with a suction source 78; a valve V1; and a pressure gauge 79, which measures the pressure in the piping 76A, 76B, and when the suction cup 75 is brought into contact with an upper surface that the suction cup 75 can suck and the suction cup 75 is connected to the suction source 78, if the absolute value |P| of the negative pressure P measured by the pressure gauge 79 exceeds a preset value |P If the value |P ₀ | does not exceed the preset value |P ₀ |, the diagnosis unit 100 determines that the suction plate 75 and the pipes 76A and 76B are abnormal.

Description

Processing equipment

The present invention relates to a processing device having a transport mechanism, wherein the transport mechanism transports a workpiece such as a wafer by sucking and holding the workpiece by at least four suction cups.

For example, in a processing device for processing thin disk-shaped wafers, the following operation is performed: a workpiece assembly consisting of a film adhered to a ring-shaped frame and a wafer is sucked and held by a conveying mechanism and conveyed to a predetermined position. Here, the conveying mechanism is composed of the following components: a conveying pad having at least four suction cups for sucking the upper surface of the workpiece, i.e., the wafer; a lifting mechanism for lifting the conveying pad; a suction path for connecting the suction cup to a suction source; and a valve disposed on the suction path (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

In this transport mechanism, a valve is opened to connect at least four suction cups to a suction source through a suction path, thereby causing each suction cup to generate suction force (negative pressure) and to suck and hold the workpiece group.

However, if the suction pad deteriorates or air leaks (leakage) occurs in the suction path connecting the suction pad to the suction source, the suction pad does not generate sufficient suction force, and the workpiece group falls from the conveying pad during transportation, and the wafer in the workpiece group that is adhered to the ring frame by the adhesive film may be damaged. Therefore, the suction pad is replaced with a new one regularly. [Known technical literature] [Patent literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-057618

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, at present, there is no established method for checking the leakage of air from the suction cup, suction path, other joints, etc., and, for example, it is impossible to accurately grasp the appropriate timing of replacing the suction cup. Therefore, even if the suction cup can still be fully used, it may be a waste to replace the suction cup with a new one.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a processing device that can simply and accurately check the leakage of air from the suction cup of the conveying mechanism and the suction path, and accurately grasp the appropriate replacement timing of the suction cup, piping, etc.

[Technical means for solving the problem] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention is a processing device, which is characterized by having: a chuck table, which holds the workpiece with a holding surface; a processing means, which processes the workpiece held on the holding surface; a conveying mechanism, which moves the workpiece into the holding surface or moves the workpiece held on the holding surface out; and a diagnosis unit, and the conveying mechanism has: a conveying pad, which has at least four suction cups for sucking the upper surface of the workpiece; a lifting mechanism, which raises and lowers the conveying pad; a suction path, The suction cup is connected to a suction source; a valve is provided in the suction path; and a pressure gauge is provided to measure the pressure in the suction path between the suction cup and the valve, and when the suction cup is brought into contact with at least four upper surfaces that the suction cup can attract and the suction cup is connected to the suction source, if the absolute value of the negative pressure measured by the pressure gauge exceeds a preset value, the diagnosis unit determines that the suction cup and the suction path are normal; if it does not exceed the preset value, the diagnosis unit determines that the suction cup and the suction path are abnormal.

[Effect of the invention] According to the present invention, the diagnostic unit opens the valve to connect the suction cup to the suction source after at least four suction cups of the conveying mechanism have been brought into contact with the suction surface of the suction cup, and measures the pressure in the suction path by means of a pressure gauge. If the absolute value of the pressure (negative pressure) measured by the pressure gauge exceeds a preset value (negative pressure If the value exceeds the absolute value), the suction cup and suction path are judged to be normal. If it does not exceed the preset value, the suction cup and suction path are judged to be abnormal. Therefore, the following effects can be obtained: the suction cup of the conveying mechanism and the air leakage of the suction path can be easily and accurately checked, and the appropriate replacement time of the suction cup, piping, etc. can be accurately grasped.

The following describes the implementation of the present invention based on the accompanying drawings.

[Structure of processing device] First, the overall structure of a cutting device as one embodiment of the processing device of the present invention is described below based on FIG. 1. In addition, in the following description, the left-right direction in FIG. 1 is set as the X-axis direction, the front-back direction is set as the Y-axis direction, and the up-down direction is set as the Z-axis direction.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cutting device of the present invention. The cutting device 1 shown in the figure is a so-called dual dicer and has the following elements as main components: a cassette table 10 on which a cassette 11 is placed. The cassette 11 contains a plurality of workpiece sets WS (only one is shown in FIG. 1 ) including a workpiece to be processed, i.e., a wafer W; a pull-out mechanism 20 for pulling out a workpiece set WS from the cassette 11 placed on the cassette table 10; a pair of frame guides 30 for temporarily placing the workpiece set WS pulled out by the pull-out mechanism 20; a chuck table 40 for holding the workpiece set WS; and a processing means 50. , which cuts the wafer W held on the chuck table 40; a first conveying mechanism 70 and a second conveying mechanism 80, the first conveying mechanism 70 conveys the workpiece group WS into the chuck table 40, and the second conveying mechanism 80 conveys the workpiece group WS from the chuck table 40; a rotary cleaning mechanism 90, which cleans the wafer W after the cutting process; and a diagnostic unit 100 (refer to FIG. 2), which diagnoses whether there is leakage (normal or abnormal) in the leakage inspection of the first conveying mechanism 70 and the second conveying mechanism 80.

Next, the main elements constituting the cutting device 1, namely, the cassette stage 10, the extraction mechanism 20, the frame guide 30, the chuck stage 40, the processing means 50, the first and second conveying mechanisms 70 and 80, the rotary cleaning mechanism 90 and the diagnosis unit 100 are described respectively.

(Cassette table) The cutting device 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a base 2 for supporting various components. A rectangular opening 3 that is longer in the X-axis direction is opened in the center of the base 2 in the Y-axis direction, and a cassette table 10 that is raised and lowered in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) by an unillustrated lifting mechanism is provided at the right side (+X-axis direction) corner in front of the opening 3 (-Y-axis direction). Then, a rectangular box-shaped cassette 11 is arranged on the upper surface of the cassette table 10, and the rectangular box-shaped cassette 11 accommodates a plurality of workpiece groups WS (only one is shown in FIG. 1) including a workpiece, i.e., a disk-shaped wafer W. In addition, in FIG. 1, for the sake of convenience, the outline of the cassette 11 is represented by a chain line only.

Here, the front side (the upper side in FIG. 1 ) of the wafer W is divided into a plurality of rectangular areas by predetermined cutting lines called scribe lines arranged in a grid pattern, and components such as ICs and LSIs are formed in each rectangular area. Then, the wafer W having a plurality of components formed in this way is cut along the scribe lines to form a plurality of semiconductor chips. In addition, by sticking an adhesive film T on the wafer W and the ring frame F, a workpiece set WS is formed in which the two are integrated.

(Extraction mechanism) The extraction mechanism 20 is a mechanism for extracting a workpiece set WS from the cartridge 11 in the +Y axis direction (rearward), and comprises: a ball screw shaft 21 and a guide rail 22, which are arranged vertically parallel along the Y axis direction (front-rear direction) at the +X axis direction end face (right end face) of the base 2; and an inverted L-shaped extraction arm 23, which moves in the Y axis direction (front-rear direction) along these ball screw shafts 21 and guide rails 22.

Here, an electric motor 24, which is a driving source, is provided at one axial end (left end in FIG. 1 ) of the ball screw shaft 21, and the other axial end (right end in FIG. 1 ) is rotatably supported on the base 2 via a bearing 25. Then, the lower end of the vertical portion 23a of the extraction arm 23 is slidably inserted and supported on the guide rail 22, and the ball screw shaft 21 is threadedly inserted and passed through the middle portion in the height direction of the vertical portion 23a. In addition, a holding portion 26 for holding the workpiece set WS is provided at the front end of the horizontal portion 23b that is vertically bent from the upper end of the vertical portion 23a of the extraction arm 23 and horizontally extends in the -X axis direction (left).

(Frame guide) The frame guide 30 is a pair of left and right components bent in an inverted L shape, which temporarily holds the workpiece set WS extracted from the cartridge 11 by the extraction mechanism 20, and these frame guides 30 can move in opposite directions in the left and right direction (X-axis direction) along the slit-shaped guide hole 2a formed linearly along the X-axis direction (left and right direction) on the upper surface of the base 2. That is, in each frame guide 30, as shown in FIG. 2, its vertical portion 30a is respectively inserted into the guide hole 2a, and from the upper end of each vertical portion 30a, the horizontal portion 30b extends parallel to each other and horizontally toward the +Y-axis direction (backward). Here, a pair of frame guides 30 move in opposite directions along the X-axis direction (left-right direction) by a moving mechanism (not shown) provided inside the base 2, thereby expanding or reducing the distance between the two.

(Chuck table) The chuck table 40 is a disk-shaped component that holds the workpiece set WS, and is arranged in the opening portion 3 opened on the upper surface of the base 2 in a manner that the holding surface (upper surface) is exposed. Then, around this chuck table 40, four clamps 41 are arranged at equal angles (90° intervals) in the circumferential direction, and the four clamps 41 are used to fix the annular frame F of the workpiece set WS from four sides (refer to Figure 1).

Here, the chuck table 40 can be rotationally driven around a vertical axis center by a rotation drive mechanism (not shown) disposed below it, and can be reciprocated along the X-axis direction (left-right direction) by an X-axis direction moving mechanism (not shown) disposed below it. In addition, the periphery of the chuck table 40 of the opening 3 is covered by a rectangular plate-shaped cover 4 that moves together with the chuck table 40, and the X-axis direction sides (left-right) of the cover 4 of the opening 3 are respectively covered by bellows-shaped retractable covers 5 that move and retract in the X-axis direction together with the cover 4. Therefore, no matter where the chuck table 40 is located on the X-axis, the opening 3 of the base 2 is always closed by the cover 4 and the retractable cover 5, and foreign matter can be reliably prevented from intruding into the base 2 through the opening 3.

(Processing means) The cutting device 1 of this embodiment of a double cutting machine has a first cutting unit 51 and a second cutting unit 52 arranged side by side on the left side (-X axis side) of the base 2 as processing means (cutting means). These first cutting units 51 and second cutting units 52 are respectively arranged to face each other on the front and rear sides (-Y axis side and +Y axis side) across the opening 3 opened on the upper surface of the base 2, and imaging units 53 are respectively installed on these first cutting units 51 and second cutting units 52. Here, each imaging unit 53 photographs the wafer W held on the holding surface of the chuck table 40 and detects the position of the cutting path.

Furthermore, the first cutting unit 51 and the second cutting unit 52 can move up and down in the Z-axis direction (cutting feed direction) by a pair of front and rear Z-axis direction moving mechanisms 55, and can move forward and backward in the Y-axis direction (indexing feed direction) by a pair of front and rear Y-axis direction moving mechanisms 60, respectively.

Here, each Z-axis direction moving mechanism 55 is respectively composed of the following components: a pair of Z-axis guide rails 56, which are arranged vertically and parallel to each other in front and behind the rectangular plate-shaped slider 61; a lifting plate 57, which can move up and down along these Z-axis guide rails 56; a rotatable Z-axis ball screw shaft 58, which is arranged vertically between the pair of Z-axis guide rails 56; and a forward and reverse rotatable pulse motor 59, which rotationally drives the Z-axis ball screw shaft 58. Then, the first cutting unit 51 and the camera unit 53 and the second cutting unit 52 and the camera unit 53 are respectively installed at the lower part of each lifting plate 57. In addition, a nut member (not shown) is protrudingly provided on the back side of each lifting plate 57, and the Z-axis ball screw shaft 58 is threadedly inserted through the nut member.

In the Z-axis direction moving mechanism 55 constructed as described above, if the Z-axis pulse motor 59 is driven and the Z-axis ball screw shaft 58 rotates forward and reversely, the lifting plate 57 protrudingly provided with a nut component (not shown) threadedly engaged with the Z-axis ball screw shaft 58 will move up and down along a pair of Z-axis guide rails 56, so the first cutting unit 51 and the camera unit 53 and the second cutting unit 52 and the camera unit 53 respectively mounted on each lifting plate 57 will also move up and down along the Z-axis direction (cutting feed direction).

Furthermore, each of the front and rear pairs of Y-axis moving mechanisms 60 is respectively equipped with the aforementioned slider 61, but these sliders 61 can move along the Y-axis direction along an upper and lower pair of Y-axis guide rails 63, respectively. The upper and lower pair of Y-axis guide rails 63 are arranged parallel to each other along the Y-axis direction (front and rear direction) on the front side of a door-shaped column 62 vertically erected on the base 2.

Then, in the front and rear pair of Y-axis direction moving mechanisms 60, a pair of Y-axis ball screw shafts 64 that can rotate along the Y-axis direction (front and rear direction) are respectively arranged between the upper and lower pair of Y-axis guide rails 63, and the Y-axis ball screw shafts 64 are respectively screwed with nut components (not shown) protruding from the back of each pair of sliders 61. In addition, one axial end of each Y-axis ball screw shaft 64 is respectively connected to a rotation drive source, that is, a Y-axis pulse motor 65 (only one is shown in FIG. 1 ).

Therefore, in each Y-axis direction moving mechanism 60, if the Y-axis pulse motor 65 is driven to rotate the Y-axis ball screw shaft 64 forward and reversely, a pair of front and rear sliders 61 protrudingly provided with a nut member (not shown) threadedly engaged with the Y-axis ball screw shaft 64 can move in the Y-axis direction (indexing feed direction) along the Y-axis guide rail 63 together with the lifting plate 57. Therefore, the first cutting unit 51 and the camera unit 53 and the second cutting unit 52 and the camera unit 53 respectively mounted on the lifting plate 57 can move in the Y-axis direction (indexing feed direction) along the Y-axis guide rail 63.

As described above, in the cutting device 1 shown in FIG. 1 , the chuck table 40 and the wafer W (workpiece group WS) held on the chuck table 40 can move along the X-axis direction (left-right direction), and the first cutting unit 51 and the imaging unit 53 and the second cutting unit 52 and the imaging unit 53 can move along the Y-axis direction (front-back direction) and the Z-axis direction (up-down direction), respectively.

(First and second transport mechanisms) The first transport mechanism 70 attracts and holds the workpiece set WS extracted from the cartridge 11 by the extraction mechanism 20 and temporarily placed on the left and right pair of frame guides 30 and transports it to the chuck table 40. It can be raised and lowered in the Z-axis direction (up and down direction) by the lifting mechanism 71 shown in FIG. 2, and can be moved horizontally on the XY plane by a moving mechanism not shown.

As shown in detail in Figure 2, this first conveying mechanism 70 has an H-shaped conveying pad 74 installed at the front end of an L-shaped support bar 73, and suction cups 75 are respectively installed at the four corners of the conveying pad 74, and the L-shaped support bar 73 is installed at the lower end of the vertical rod 72.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2 , each suction cup 75 is formed into a hollow cone shape with an opening at the bottom by an elastic body such as rubber, and a flexible pipe (suction path) 76A is connected to each of the four suction cups 75, and the four pipes (suction paths) 76A are joined by a joint 77 and connected to a pipe (suction path) 76B. Then, the pipe (suction path) 76B is connected to a suction source 78 such as a vacuum pump, and a valve V1 is provided in the middle of the pipe 76B to selectively cut off the connection between each suction cup 75 and the suction source 78. Furthermore, a pressure gauge (pressure sensor) 79 is provided between the joint 77 of the piping 76B and the valve V1, and the pressure gauge (pressure sensor) 79 is used to measure the pressure (negative pressure) in the piping (suction path) 76A, 76B. In addition, the valve V1 and the pressure gauge 79 are electrically connected to the diagnosis unit 100, and the pressure measured by the pressure gauge 79 is transmitted to the diagnosis unit 100. As described later, the diagnosis unit 100 diagnoses the presence or absence of air leakage (normal or abnormal) from the suction plate 75, the piping (suction path) 76A, 76B, etc. based on the measured value of the pressure transmitted from the pressure gauge 79.

The second conveying mechanism 80 attracts and holds the workpiece group WS having the wafer W that has completed the predetermined cutting process by the first cutting unit 51 and the second cutting unit 52, and conveys it from the chuck table 40 to the later-described rotary table 91 of the rotary cleaning mechanism 90, and the basic structure of the second conveying mechanism 80 is the same as the basic structure of the aforementioned first conveying mechanism 70.

That is, as shown in FIG6 , the second transport mechanism 80 can be raised and lowered in the Z-axis direction (up and down direction) by the lifting mechanism 81, and can be horizontally moved on the XY plane by the moving mechanism not shown. Then, as shown in detail in FIG6 , the second transport mechanism 80 has an H-shaped transport pad 84 mounted on a support bar 83, and suction cups 85 are respectively installed at the four corners of the transport pad 84, and the support bar 83 is mounted on the lower end of the vertical rod 82.

Here, a flexible pipe (suction path) 86A is connected to each of the four suction cups 85, and the four pipes (suction paths) 86A are joined by a joint 87 and connected to a pipe (suction path) 86B. Then, the pipe (suction path) 86B is connected to a suction source 88, and a valve V2 is provided in the middle of the pipe 86B to selectively cut off the connection between each suction cup 85 and the suction source 88. In addition, a pressure gauge (pressure sensor) 89 is provided between the joint 87 of the pipe 86B and the valve V2, and the pressure gauge (pressure sensor) 89 is used to measure the pressure (negative pressure) in the pipes (suction paths) 86A and 86B. In addition, the valve V2 and the pressure gauge 89 are electrically connected to the diagnostic unit 100, and the pressure measured by the pressure gauge 89 is transmitted to the diagnostic unit 100. As described later, the diagnostic unit 100 diagnoses the presence or absence of air leakage (normal or abnormal) from the suction plate 85, the piping (suction path) 86A, 86B, etc. based on the measured value of the pressure transmitted from the pressure gauge 89.

In addition, in the present embodiment, although four suction cups 75, 85 are provided on the conveying pad 74 of the first conveying mechanism 70 and the conveying pad 84 of the second conveying mechanism 80, respectively, the number of these suction cups 75, 85 may be any number as long as it is four or more.

(Rotary cleaning mechanism) The rotary cleaning mechanism 90 is used to clean the wafer W that has been cut, and as shown in FIG1 , it is arranged on the base 2 at a portion further back and to the right than the opening 3. The rotary cleaning mechanism 90 includes: a rotary table 91 that rotates while sucking and holding the workpiece group WS (wafer W); and a spray nozzle (not shown) that sprays a cleaning liquid from above to the workpiece group WS (wafer W) sucked and held on the rotary table 91.

(Diagnostic section) The diagnostic section 100 shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 detects whether the suction cup 75 from the first conveying mechanism 70, the pipe (suction path) 86A, 86B and the pressure (negative pressure) in the pipe (suction path) 76A, 76B and the pressure (absolute value) in the pipe (suction path) 86A, 86B are positively charged based on the pressure gauges 79, 89 installed in the first conveying mechanism 70 and the second conveying mechanism 80. Air leakage (leakage) from the suction cup 85 and the piping (suction path) 86A and 86B of the second conveying mechanism 80 is detected. If the measured pressure (absolute value) exceeds the preset setting value (absolute value), it is diagnosed as normal because there is no air leakage. If it does not exceed the setting value, it is diagnosed as abnormal because there is air leakage. The details of this diagnostic method will be described later.

[Function of cutting device] Next, the function of the cutting device 1 constructed as above will be described.

When the wafer W is cut, the workpiece set WS is extracted from the cassette 11 placed on the cassette table 10 by the extraction mechanism 20 and temporarily placed on a pair of frame guides 30. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2 , the pair of frame guides 30 move toward each other to reduce the distance between them.

From the above state, if the first conveying mechanism 70 moves above the workpiece set WS by means of a moving mechanism not shown in the figure, the conveying pad 74 of the first conveying mechanism 70 is lowered in the -Z axis direction by means of a lifting mechanism 71 (see FIG. 2 ), and the four suction cups 75 provided on the conveying pad 74 contact the upper surface of the annular frame F (see FIG. 1 ) of the workpiece set WS. Then, because the valve V1 shown in FIG. 2 is opened, the suction cup 75 and the suction source 78 are connected via the piping (suction path) 76A, 76B, so that the suction cup 75 is sucked by the suction source 78 and a negative pressure is generated in the suction cup 75, and the workpiece set WS is adsorbed on the suction cup 75 by means of the negative pressure. Thereafter, if the conveying pad 74 is raised in the +Z-axis direction together with the workpiece set WS by the lifting mechanism 71 and the workpiece set WS is separated from the frame guide 30, then a pair of frame guides 30 are moved in the direction of separation from each other along the guide holes 2a of the base 2 by a moving mechanism not shown, as shown in FIG. 1, and the distance between the two frame guides 30 is expanded so that the workpiece set WS can pass between these frame guides 30.

Next, the chuck table 40 moves below the workpiece set WS along the +X axis direction by the unillustrated X axis direction moving mechanism, and from this state, the conveying pad 74 descends in the -Z axis direction by the lifting mechanism 71 (refer to FIG. 2 ), and the workpiece set WS held by the conveying pad 74 is delivered to the chuck table 40. Then, the workpiece set WS delivered to the chuck table 40 is attracted and held on the holding surface of the chuck table 40, and the chuck table 40 holding the workpiece set WS moves toward the -X axis direction by the unillustrated X axis direction moving mechanism.

On the other hand, in the first cutting unit 51 and the second cutting unit 52 shown in FIG. 1 , if an image is obtained by photographing the front side of the wafer W by each imaging unit 53, the scribe line to be cut is detected by pattern matching processing based on the image. In this way, if the scribe line of the wafer W is detected, the Y-axis direction positions of the cutting blades 51a (only one is shown in FIG. 1 ) of the first cutting unit 51 and the second cutting unit 52 are indexed and fed by a pair of Y-axis direction moving mechanisms 60, respectively, and the Y-axis direction positions of these cutting blades 51a are aligned with the positions of the scribe lines to be cut.

Then, starting from the above state, the cutting blades 51a of the first cutting unit 51 and the second cutting unit 52 are respectively driven to rotate at high speed, while being lowered by a predetermined cutting amount by a pair of front and rear Z-axis moving mechanisms 55, and the chuck table 40 and the workpiece group WS (wafer W) held on the chuck table 40 are moved in the X-axis direction by the X-axis moving mechanism not shown. Then, the wafer W is cut along the cutting paths by the cutting blades 51a of the first cutting unit 51 and the second cutting unit 52. If this operation is performed on all the cutting paths in one direction, the chuck table 40 and the workpiece set WS held on the chuck table 40 are rotated by 90° by a rotation drive mechanism (not shown) to similarly cut the wafer W along the cutting paths in another direction orthogonal to the cutting paths that have been cut. Then, if the cutting along all the cutting paths of the wafer W is completed, a plurality of semiconductor chips equipped with individual components can be obtained.

When the dicing process of the wafer W is completed as described above, the workpiece set WS held on the chuck table 40 is transferred to the second transfer mechanism 80. That is, similarly to the first transfer mechanism 70, the workpiece set WS is transferred to the rotary cleaning mechanism 90 while being held by the four suction cups 85 provided on the transfer pad 84 of the second transfer mechanism 80, and is transferred to the rotary table 91 of the rotary cleaning mechanism 90.

The workpiece set WS transferred to the turntable 91 is held by attraction on the holding surface of the turntable 91, while rotating at a predetermined speed together with the turntable 91, and is cleaned by a cleaning liquid sprayed from a nozzle not shown, thereby removing cutting chips attached to the wafer W due to the cutting process.

[Leakage inspection of the transport mechanism] Next, the method of leak inspection (diagnosis of air leakage) of the first transport mechanism 70 and the second transport mechanism 80 is explained.

(First transport mechanism) First, the following describes the method of leak inspection of the first transport mechanism 70 based on Figures 2 to 4.

For the leakage inspection of the first conveying mechanism 70, the diagnostic unit 100 diagnoses whether there is air leakage in the four suction cups 75 arranged on the conveying pad 74 and the pipes (suction paths) 76A and 76B connecting the suction cups 75 and the suction source 78. The following describes the diagnostic procedure according to the flow chart shown in Figure 3 and the time chart shown in Figure 4.

During the leak inspection of the first conveying mechanism 70, as shown in Fig. 2, the conveying pad 74 is positioned above the pair of frame guides 30, while the pair of frame guides 30 are moving toward each other and the distance between them is reduced. Then, the lifting mechanism 71 is driven (step S1 in Fig. 3), and the conveying pad 74 descends in the -Z axis direction.

As described above, when the transport pad 74 descends, it is determined whether the four suction cups 75 provided on the transport pad 74 have contacted the upper surface of the pair of frame guides 30 (step S2). If the four suction cups 75 have contacted the upper surface (contact surface) of the frame guide 30 (step S2: Yes), the valve V1 is opened (step S3). Here, the width L1 of the upper surface (contact surface) contacted by each suction cup 75 of each frame guide 30 is set to be larger than the maximum diameter φd of each suction cup 75 (L1>φd), and the entire surface of each suction cup 75 is in contact with the upper surface of the frame guide 30. Furthermore, the lowering movement of the transfer pad 74 continues until the four suction cups 75 come into contact with the upper surface of the frame guide 30 (step S2 → step S1).

As mentioned above, if the valve V1 is opened (step S3), each suction cup 75 is connected to the suction source 78 via the piping (suction path) 76A, 76B, so that a negative pressure is generated in each suction cup 75, and the time elapsed since the valve V1 is opened is measured (step S4), and the pressure (negative pressure) P in the piping (suction path) 76A, 76B is measured by the pressure gauge 79 (step S5).

However, if the valve V1 is opened, the pressure P in the pipes (suction paths) 76A and 76B will gradually decrease. Here, three modes represented by the solid line A, the dotted line B, and the chain line C in FIG. 4 are considered as the modes of pressure P decrease. The mode represented by the solid line A is a mode in which there is no air leakage in the suction cup 75 and the pipes 76A and 76B, and the pressure P decreases rapidly. The mode represented by the dotted line B is a mode in which there is a slight air leakage in the suction cup 75 and the pipes 76A and 76B, so the pressure P decreases slightly slowly. In addition, the mode represented by the chain line C is a mode in which there is a large amount of air leakage in the suction cup 75 and the pipes 76A and 76B, so the pressure P decreases very slowly.

As described above, when the pressure P in the pipes 76A and 76B is measured by the pressure gauge 79, the diagnostic unit 100 determines whether the absolute value |P| of the measured pressure (negative pressure) P exceeds the preset value (absolute value) |P ₀ | (|P|>|P ₀ |?) (step S6).

In the pattern represented by the solid line A in FIG4 , at time _t1 , the absolute value |P| of the pressure P exceeds the set value | _P0 | at point a shown in FIG4 and decreases to the pressure _P1 . Also, in the pattern represented by the dotted line B in FIG4 , at time _t2 slightly later than time _t1 , the absolute value |P| of the pressure P exceeds the set value | _P0 | at point b shown in FIG4 and decreases to the pressure _P1 .

Therefore, in the above two modes, since the absolute value |P| of the pressure P measured by the pressure gauge 79 exceeds the set value | _P0 | at time _t1 and _t2 respectively (step S6: yes), the diagnosis unit 100 closes the valve V1 at time _t1 and _t2 respectively (step S7), and measures the elapsed time since the valve V1 is closed (step S8).

When the valve V1 is closed as described above, the connection between the pipes (suction paths) 76A and 76B of each suction cup 75 and the suction source 78 is cut off, the suction of the air in the pipes 76A and 76B to the suction source 78 is stopped, and it is determined whether a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) ΔT ₁ has passed since the valve V1 was closed (step S9). If the predetermined time ΔT ₁ has passed (step S9: yes), it is determined whether the absolute value |P| of the pressure P in the pipes 76A and 76B measured by the pressure gauge 79 has exceeded the predetermined set value |P ₀ | (step S10). In the mode indicated by the solid line A in FIG. 4 , even at time t ₃ after the predetermined time ΔT ₁ has passed, the pressure P is maintained at a fixed value P ₁ , so the absolute value |P| of the pressure P at time t ₃ after the predetermined time ΔT ₁ has passed is maintained at a value P ₁ exceeding the set value |P ₀ | as indicated by point c, and the determination result in step S10 becomes yes. This means that there is no leakage of air from the suction cup 75 and the piping 76A and 76B (actually, the inflow of external air into the suction cup 75 and the piping 76A and 76B). Therefore, the diagnosis unit 100 diagnoses that the suction cup 75 and the piping 76A and 76B are normal and can continue to be used (step S11), and ends a series of diagnosis processing (step S12).

In contrast, in the mode indicated by the dotted line B in FIG. 4 , the absolute value |P| of the pressure P measured by the pressure gauge 79 at time t ₄ after the predetermined time ΔT ₁ has passed since the valve V1 was closed does not exceed the set value |P ₀ | as indicated by point d in FIG. 4 , so the determination result in step S10 is NO. This means that there is a slight leakage of air from the suction cup 75 and the pipes 76A and 76B, so the diagnosis unit 100 diagnoses that the suction cup 75 and the pipes 76A and 76B are abnormal and need to be replaced (step S13), and ends a series of diagnosis processing (step S12).

Unlike the mode represented by the solid line A and the mode represented by the dotted line B in FIG. 4 , in the mode represented by the chain line C, the pressure P measured by the pressure gauge 79 decreases very slowly, and it can be considered that a large amount of air leakage occurs in the suction cup 75 and the pipes 76A and 76B. Assuming this situation, when the absolute value |P| of the pressure P measured by the pressure gauge 79 since the valve V1 is opened does not exceed the set value |P ₀ | (step S6: No), the diagnosis section determines whether the time elapsed since the valve V1 is opened has exceeded the predetermined time ΔT ₂ shown in FIG. 4 (step S14). During the period when the predetermined time ΔT ₂ has not yet elapsed (step S14: No), the processing of steps S4 to S6 is repeated. At time t ₅ when the predetermined time ΔT ₂ has elapsed, the absolute value |P| of the pressure P measured by the pressure gauge 79 shows P ₃ and does not exceed the predetermined value |P ₀ | as shown by point e in FIG. 4. | (step S14: Yes), the diagnosis unit 100 diagnoses that the suction cup 75 and the pipes 76A and 76B are abnormal and need to be replaced (step S13), and ends a series of diagnosis processing (step S12). In addition, in the present embodiment, although the predetermined elapsed time _ΔT2 from opening the valve V1 is set to be longer than the predetermined elapsed time _ΔT1 from closing the valve V1 ( _ΔT2 > _ΔT1 ), this may be set to the opposite ( _ΔT2 < _ΔT1 ), or may be set to the same value ( _ΔT1 = _ΔT2 ). As described above, in the present embodiment, the diagnostic unit 100 opens the valve V1 to connect the suction cup 75 to the suction source 78 while the four suction cups 75 of the first transport mechanism 70 are in contact with the flat upper surface of the frame guide 30, and measures the pressure P of the pipes 76A and 76B by the pressure gauge 79. If the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P measured by the pressure gauge 79 exceeds the preset setting value |P _{0 |, the suction cup 75 or the pipes (suction path) 76A and 76B are diagnosed to be normal. If the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P measured by the pressure gauge 79 exceeds the preset setting value |P 0 |} , the diagnostic unit 100 determines that the suction cup 75 or the pipes (suction path) 76A and 76B are normal. |The suction cup 75 or the piping (suction path) 76A, 76B is diagnosed as abnormal, so the following effect can be obtained: the air leakage from the suction cup 75 and the piping (suction path) 76A, 76B of the first conveying mechanism 70 can be simply and accurately checked, and the appropriate replacement timing of the suction cup 75, the piping 76A, 76B, etc. can be accurately grasped.

In the above embodiment, the suction cups 75 of the first transport mechanism 70 and the pipes 76A and 76B are checked for leakage by making the four suction cups 75 of the first transport mechanism 70 contact the flat upper surface of the frame guide 30. However, as shown in FIG5 , the four suction cups 75 of the first transport mechanism 70 may be brought into contact with the flat annular portion (contact surface) 40a of the outer circumferential upper surface of the chuck table 40, and the suction cups 75 and the pipes (suction path) 76A and 76B may be checked for leakage by the same method as described above. In this case, the width L2 of the annular portion 40a of the outer circumference of the upper surface of the chuck table 40 is set to be larger than the maximum diameter φd of each suction cup 75 (L2>φd). In addition, in Fig. 5, the same symbols are used for the same elements as those shown in Fig. 2, and the re-explanation of these elements is omitted. In addition, the suction cup 75 may be brought into contact with the supporting surface of the supporting frame F of the fixture 41 instead of the annular portion 40a on the outer circumference of the upper surface of the chuck table 40, and the suction cup 75 and the pipes (suction paths) 76A and 76B may be inspected for leakage by the same method as described above.

(Second transport mechanism) The second transport mechanism 80 can be inspected for leaks in the same manner as the first transport mechanism 70.

That is, in the leakage inspection of the second conveying mechanism 80, as shown in FIG6, the four suction cups 85 of the second conveying mechanism 80 are brought into contact with the flat annular portion (contact surface) 91a of the outer circumferential upper surface of the rotating table 91 of the rotary cleaning mechanism 90, and the suction cups 85 and the pipes (suction paths) 86A and 86B are inspected for leakage by the same method as described above. In this case, the width L3 of the annular portion 91a of the outer circumference of the upper surface of the rotating table 91 is set to be larger than the maximum diameter φd of each suction cup 85 (L3>φd). In addition, in FIG6, the same symbols are marked for the same elements as those shown in FIG2 and FIG5, and the re-explanation of these elements is omitted. In addition, the first transport mechanism 70 may also transport the workpiece set WS from the chuck table 40 to the rotary table 91 of the rotary cleaning mechanism 90 .

Furthermore, although the above description has been given of a method of applying the present invention to a cutting device, the present invention is also applicable to any other processing device having a transport mechanism that sucks and holds the workpiece by a suction cup and transports it.

Furthermore, although the above example has been given of using the upper surface of the frame guide 30 and the annular portion 40a of the upper surface of the chuck table 40 as the contact surface with which the suction cup 75 contacts when the first transport mechanism 70 is leaked, and using the annular portion 91a of the rotating table 91 as the contact surface with which the suction cup 85 contacts when the second transport mechanism 80 is leaked, any other flat surface may be used as the surface with which the suction cups 75 and 85 contact.

In addition, the application of the present invention is not limited to the above-described implementation methods, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention patent application and the technical ideas described in the specification and drawings.

1: Cutting device (processing device) 2: Base 2a: Guide hole 3: Opening of base 4: Cover 5: Retractable cover 10: Cassette base 11: Cassette 20: Extraction mechanism 21: Ball screw shaft 22: Guide rail 23: Extraction arm 23a: Vertical part of extraction arm 23b: Horizontal part of extraction arm 24: Electric motor 25: Bearing 26: Holding part 30: Frame guide 30a: Vertical part of frame guide 30b: Horizontal part of frame guide 40: Chuck base 40a: Annular part of chuck base 41: Clamp 50: Processing means 51: First cutting unit 51a: Cutting blade 52: Second cutting unit 53: Camera unit 55: Z-axis moving mechanism 56: Z-axis guide rail 57: Lifting plate 58: Z-axis ball screw shaft 59: Z-axis pulse motor 60: Y-axis moving mechanism 61: Slide block 62: Cylinder 63: Y-axis guide rail 64: Y-axis ball screw shaft 65: Y-axis pulse motor 70: First conveying mechanism 71: Lifting mechanism 72: Rod 73: Support bar 74: Conveying pad 75: Suction cup 76A, 76B: Piping (suction path) 77: Connector 78: Suction source 79: Pressure gauge 80: Second transport mechanism 81: Lifting mechanism 82: Rod 83: Support bar 84: Transport pad 85: Suction cup 86A, 86B: Pipe (suction path) 87: Connector 88: Suction source 89: Pressure gauge 90: Rotary cleaning mechanism 91: Rotating table 91a: Annular portion of the rotating table 100: Diagnosis section φd: Maximum diameter of the suction cup F: Annular frame L1: Width of the upper surface of the annular frame L2: Width of the annular portion of the chuck table L3: Width of the annular portion of the rotating table T: Film V1, V2: Valve W: Wafer WS: Workpiece Set

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cutting device, which is one embodiment of the processing device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view showing a state where a leak check of the first conveying mechanism is performed by a frame guide of the cutting device of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a leak check procedure performed by a diagnostic unit in the cutting device of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a time chart showing a temporal change in suction pressure of the first conveying mechanism in the cutting device of the present invention during a leak check. FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing a state where a leak check of the first conveying mechanism is performed by a chuck table of the cutting device of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view showing a state where a leak check of the second conveying mechanism is performed by a rotary table of the cutting device of the present invention.

2a: Guide hole

30: Frame guide

30a: Vertical part of the frame guide

30b: Horizontal part of the frame guide

40: Chuck table

41: Clamp

70: First transport mechanism

71: Lifting mechanism

72: Rod

73:Supporting strips

74: Transport pad

75: Suction cup

76A, 76B: Piping (suction path)

77:Connection

78: Attraction source

79: Pressure gauge

100: Diagnosis Department

φd: Maximum diameter of the suction cup

L1: Width of the upper surface of the ring frame

V1: Valve

Claims (5)

A processing device, which comprises: a chuck table, which holds a workpiece with a holding surface; a processing means, which processes the workpiece held on the holding surface; a conveying mechanism, which moves the workpiece into the holding surface or moves the workpiece held on the holding surface out; and a diagnostic unit, wherein the conveying mechanism comprises: a conveying pad, which has at least four suction cups for sucking the upper surface of the workpiece; a lifting mechanism, which raises and lowers the conveying pad; a suction path, which connects the suction cup with a suction source; a valve, which is arranged in the suction path; and a pressure gauge, which measures the pressure in the suction path between the suction cup and the valve, When the suction cup is brought into contact with at least four upper surfaces that the suction cup can attract and the suction cup is connected to the suction source, if the absolute value of the negative pressure measured by the pressure gauge exceeds the preset value, the diagnostic unit determines that the suction cup and the suction path are normal; if it does not exceed the preset value, the diagnostic unit determines that the suction cup and the suction path are abnormal. A processing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, when the suction cup is brought into contact with at least four upper surfaces that the suction cup can attract and the suction cup is connected to the suction source, if the absolute value of the negative pressure measured by the pressure gauge exceeds a preset value, the diagnostic unit closes the valve, and, if the absolute value of the negative pressure measured by the pressure gauge after a predetermined time has passed since the valve was closed, exceeds the preset value, the diagnostic unit determines that the suction cup and the suction path are normal; if it does not exceed the preset value, the diagnostic unit determines that the suction cup and the suction path are abnormal. A processing device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the workpiece is a workpiece group formed by integrating a ring-shaped frame and a wafer with a film, and the processing device comprises: a cassette stage for carrying a cassette for accommodating the workpiece group; a pull-out mechanism for pulling out the workpiece group from the cassette mounted on the cassette stage; and a frame guide for temporarily placing the workpiece group pulled out by the pull-out mechanism, the frame guide having a contact surface having an area wider than that of the suction cup, and the diagnostic unit diagnoses whether the suction cup and the suction path are normal or abnormal when at least four suction cups attract the contact surface of the frame guide. A processing device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the device comprises: a rotary cleaning mechanism that rotates a rotary table holding the workpiece and sprays cleaning water on the workpiece held on the rotary table to clean the workpiece; The rotary table has a contact surface that is wider than the suction cup; The diagnostic unit diagnoses whether the suction cup and the suction path are normal or abnormal when at least four suction cups attract the contact surface of the rotary table. A processing device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the chuck table has a contact surface having an area wider than that of the suction cup, and the diagnostic unit diagnoses whether the suction cup and the suction path are normal or abnormal when at least four suction cups attract the contact surface of the chuck table.