TWI754069B - online system - Google Patents

Abstract

The subject of this invention is to reduce the standby time of an apparatus, and to realize continuous processing among a plurality of apparatuses. As a means of solving the problem, the online system (1) is provided with: a protective member attaching device (2), a grinding device (3), and a handover means (4) for handing over the wafer between the protective member attaching device and the grinding device. The delivery means is provided with a temporary storage box (6) arranged in a height direction with a plurality of racks on which wafers can be placed. The temporary storage box is formed by dividing a plurality of support frames into a plurality of fields in the Z direction, and includes a handover field (D) in which the protective member attaching device and the grinding device can be accessed in common, and only the protective member attaching device or grinding device. The first and second collection areas (R1, R2) that can be accessed by one of them.

Description

online system

The present invention relates to an in-line system for conveying a workpiece between a plurality of processing apparatuses.

Conventionally, in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, an in-line system that transfers a workpiece between a plurality of apparatuses and can continuously perform predetermined processing on the workpiece has been proposed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). The online system described in Patent Document 1 includes a grinding device as a first device and a laser processing device as a second device. In addition, this in-line system is further provided with transfer means for transferring the workpiece between the grinding device and the laser processing device. With these, the workpiece is ground to a predetermined thickness by a grinding device, and then laser-processed along the planned dividing line by a laser processing device. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-038929

(The problem to be solved by the invention)

However, in Patent Document 1, the grinding device and the laser processing device do not necessarily have the same processing time (processing time per workpiece). For example, when the machining time of the grinding device is longer than the machining time of the laser machining device, a waiting time occurs in the transfer means on the side of the laser machining device. In addition, when one of the apparatuses fails, the one apparatus cannot deliver the workpiece to the other apparatus, so that a standby time occurs in the other apparatus. As a result, the standby time occurs in one device, which may affect the processing capability of the entire system.

The present invention has been developed in view of such a point, and one of its objects is to provide an in-line system capable of reducing the standby time of an apparatus and enabling continuous processing among a plurality of apparatuses. (means to solve the problem)

An in-line system according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a first apparatus for processing wafers; a second apparatus for processing wafers processed by the first apparatus; and delivery means arranged on a Between the first apparatus and the second apparatus arranged in the X direction, the wafer is transferred from the first apparatus to the second apparatus, and characterized in that: the first apparatus is provided with: based on the transfer means, arranged in the -X direction side, the first robot that transfers the wafer, the second device is provided with: a second robot that is arranged on the +X direction side with reference to the transfer means, and the second robot that transfers the wafer, the transfer means is provided with: a temporary storage box , which supports a plurality of wafers in a frame shape; and a platform, which has a mounting surface on which a temporary storage box is placed, and the temporary storage box is provided with: A plurality of support frames, which support the wafers in a frame shape; Side plates, It is connected to the two sides of the support frame in the Y direction orthogonal to the X direction in the direction of the mounting surface of the platform and faces each other; The top plate is connected to the upper side of the side plate; The bottom plate is connected to the lower side of the side plate; , which is formed on the side in the -X direction; The second opening, which is formed on the side in the +X direction; The second area that the robot moves in the Z direction is arranged to be staggered in the Z direction. In the area where the first area and the second area overlap, the wafer is transferred from the first device to the second device. The first recovery area , which is the domain that deducts the handover domain from the first domain, and recovers wafers in the process of being taken out from the first device; and the second recycling domain, which is the domain that deducts the handover domain from the second domain, and recovers A wafer in the middle of processing after being taken out from the second apparatus.

According to this configuration, for example, the wafer after being processed by the first apparatus can be temporarily placed in the temporary cassette through the first opening. On the other hand, the second device can take out the wafer temporarily placed in the temporary cassette from the second opening on the opposite side of the first opening. That is, in the first apparatus, the workpiece can be taken in and out from the first opening on the -X side, and in the second apparatus, the wafer can be taken in and out from the second opening on the +X side. In particular, since a plurality of wafers can be temporarily stored in the temporary storage box, even when the processing time of the first device and the second device are different, there is no standby time in one device. Wafers are continuously processed between the first and second devices. In addition, the plurality of support frames constituting the temporary storage box are divided into a plurality of areas in the Z direction, and the processed wafers are transferred in a transfer area that can be accessed in common by the first and second robots. Furthermore, by separately setting a first recovery area accessible by the first automatic device and a second recovery area accessible by the second automatic device, even if any one of the first and second devices fails, Wafers in the process of processing may be temporarily collected in the first or second collection area. As a result, in the other device of the first and second devices, the occurrence of standby time can be suppressed.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned in-line system according to one aspect of the present invention, the handover area includes more supports than the first collection area and the second collection area.

In addition, the above-mentioned in-line system according to one aspect of the present invention is provided with a rotating means for rotatable ±90 degrees of the stage with a direction perpendicular to the placement surface of the placement cassette as an axial direction and a center of the placement surface as an axis . [Effect of invention]

According to the present invention, the standby time of the apparatus can be reduced, and continuous processing can be realized among a plurality of apparatuses.

Hereinafter, the online system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the online system of the present embodiment. In addition, the online system of this embodiment is not limited to the structure shown in FIG. 1, It can change suitably. 1, the X-direction inner side is referred to as the -X side, the X-direction front side is referred to as the +X side, the Y-direction inner side is referred to as the -Y side, and the Y-direction front side is referred to as the +Y side. In this embodiment, the X direction is used as the left-right direction of the device, the Y direction is used as the front-back direction of the device, and the Z direction is used as the vertical direction, and the X, Y, and Z directions are orthogonal to each other.

As shown in FIG. 1, the in-line system 1 includes: a protective member sticking device 2 as a first device; a grinding device 3 as a second device; The handover means 4 for the handover of W; and the control means 5 for collectively controlling these. The protective member sticking device 2 and the grinding device 3 are arranged at a slight interval in the X direction. The delivery means 4 is arranged between the protective member sticking device 2 and the grinding device 3 . That is, the protective member sticking device 2 is arranged in the −X direction (right side) with reference to the delivery means 4 , and the grinding device 3 is arranged in the +X direction (left side) with reference to the delivery means 4 .

The wafer W to be processed is, for example, a diced wafer before a device pattern is formed, and a cylindrical ingot is sliced with a wire saw to form a disk shape. The wafer W is not limited to workpieces such as silicon, gallium arsenide, silicon carbide, and the like. For example, it may be a ceramic, glass, or sapphire-based inorganic material substrate, a ductile material such as a plate-like metal or resin, or various processing materials that require a micron-submicron-level flatness (TTV: Total Thickness Variation) as a crystal. circle W. The flatness here means, for example, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value among the heights in the thickness direction measured with the ground surface of the wafer W as a reference plane.

Wafer W after being sliced from the ingot has undulations formed on the surface. The in-line system 1 of the present embodiment is configured to remove the undulations from the surface of the wafer W after dicing. Specifically, in the in-line system 1 , a protective member is attached to one side of a plate-shaped wafer W, and the wafer W is ground and processed from the other side, thereby removing undulations. That is, the in-line system 1 of the present embodiment is configured such that a protective member is attached to one side of the wafer W, the other side of the wafer is ground and processed as the first processing, and the second processing is performed in a series of process to continuously implement these two types of processing.

The protective member sticking device 2 is configured to stick a protective member made of resin and a film on the surface of the wafer W (neither are shown). Although the detailed configuration is omitted, the actual protective member sticking device 2 is configured by disposing a first robot 21 for transferring the wafer W in a rectangular parallelepiped frame 20 having a longitudinal direction in the Y direction. On the front surface of the housing 20 is a first load port 22 on which a cassette (not shown) in which a plurality of wafers W are accommodated is placed.

The first robot 21 is disposed at the rear of the first loading port 22 and offset to the front side of the casing 20 . The first robot 21 takes out the wafer W from the workpiece cassette on the first loading port 22 . Specifically, the first robot 21 is configured by providing a suction-type hand 24 at the front end of a robot arm 23 formed of a multi-joint link. The hand 24 is the surface on which the wafer W is sucked and held. In addition, the robot arm 23 is configured to be able to be raised and lowered by means of raising and lowering, not shown. The first robot 21 can move the hand 24 to an arbitrary position within the movable range of the robot arm 23 . As will be described in detail later, the protective member sticking apparatus 2 sticks a protective member on the surface of the wafer W, and then uses the first robot 21 to transfer the wafer W to the delivery means 4 .

The grinding device 3 is configured to grind the opposite surface of the wafer W to which the protective member is attached to a predetermined thickness. The detailed configuration is omitted, but the actual grinding device 3 is configured by disposing a second robot 31 for transferring the wafer W in a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped frame 30 having a longitudinal direction in the Y direction. On the front surface of the frame body 30 is a second load port 32 on which a workpiece cassette (not shown) for accommodating a plurality of wafers W after grinding is placed.

The second robot 31 is disposed at the rear of the second loading port 32 , rather than the front side of the casing 30 . The second robot 31 is configured by providing a suction-type hand 34 at the front end of a robot arm 33 formed of a multi-joint link. The hand 34 is the surface on which the wafer W is attracted and held. In addition, the robot arm 33 is configured to be able to ascend and descend by means of ascending and descending means (not shown). The second robot 31 can move the hand 34 to an arbitrary position within the movable range of the robot arm 33 . As will be described in detail later, in the grinding apparatus 3 , the second robot 31 takes out the wafer W from the delivery means 4 and transfers it to a predetermined position in the apparatus. Then, after the grinding device 3 grinds the wafer W to a predetermined thickness, the second robot 31 transfers the wafer W to the second loading port 32 .

The delivery means 4 is arranged in the frame body 40 which connects the front side part of the frame body 20 and the front side part of the frame body 30 . Each of the housings 20 , 40 , and 30 is connected to form a single delivery space (not shown) that communicates inside. The delivery means 4 is configured to temporarily place the wafer W to which the protective member has been attached temporarily. Specifically, the delivery means 4 includes a temporary cassette 6 that supports the wafers W in a rack-like manner, and a stage 7 having a placement surface 70 on which the temporary cassette 6 is placed.

The temporary storage box 6 is formed into a box shape in which the left and right are opened, and a plurality of shelf plates 60 are provided inside. The temporary cassette 6 accommodates a plurality of wafers W so as to be placed on each shelf 60 and is stacked in the Z direction. Specifically, the temporary cassette 6 is formed into a square shape in a top view that is larger than the outer diameter of the wafer W, and a pair of side plates 61 connects both ends of a plurality of shelf plates 60 that support the wafer W in a shelf-like manner. constitute. In FIG. 1 , a plurality of shelf plates 60 are arranged in the Z direction, and the two sides of the shelf plate 60 in the Y direction where the mounting surface direction of the platform 7 is orthogonal to the X direction are provided by a pair of side plates 61 to link.

In addition, the lower sides (lower ends) of the pair of opposing side plates 61 are connected by the bottom plate 62 , and the upper sides (upper ends) of the pair of side plates 61 are connected by the top plate 63 . Due to this, a plurality of flat slits are formed on the left and right side surfaces of the temporary storage box 6 . Here, a plurality of openings formed on the side surface (-X surface) of the temporary cassette 6 on the side (right side) of the protective member sticking device 2 are used as the first openings 64 (see FIG. 2 ) so that the openings on the side of the grinding device 3 The plurality of openings formed on the side surface (+X side surface) of the temporary storage box 6 (left side) serve as the second openings 65 .

The stage 7 is a mounting surface 70 having a square shape when viewed from above, which is larger than the temporary storage box 6 . The temporary cassette 6 is placed on the placement surface 70 . Further, the stage 7 is provided with a rotation means 71 that rotates the stage 7 by a predetermined angle with a direction perpendicular to the placement surface 70 (Z direction) as an axial direction and the center of the placement surface 70 as an axis. The rotation means 71 is constituted by, for example, an electric motor, and is provided below the platform 7 . The rotation means 71 is comprised so that the table 7 may rotate freely, for example, ±90 degrees. The rotation direction will be described later.

The control means 5 is constituted by a processor, a memory, or the like that executes various processes. The memory is composed of one or a plurality of storage media such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory) according to the application. In the memory, for example, control programs for each part of the control device are stored. The control means 5 mutually controls the driving of the protective member sticking device 2 , the grinding device 3 , and the delivery means 4 , for example.

However, in an online system in which a plurality of apparatuses are combined, it is assumed that the processing time (machining time) of each apparatus differs per workpiece. For example, in the present embodiment, the processing time of the general grinding device 3 is longer than that of the protective member attaching device 2 . In the conventional in-line system, when transferring wafers between a plurality of devices, only one wafer can be transferred one by one. Therefore, due to the difference in processing time of each device, a waiting time may occur in a predetermined device. question.

Furthermore, when one device fails, the one device cannot deliver the workpiece to the other device. Therefore, there is a possibility that a standby time may occur in the other device. As a result, the standby time occurs in one device, which may affect the processing capability of the entire system.

In addition, each of the devices (in this embodiment, the protective member sticking device 2 and the grinding device 3) constituting the online system is developed independently, and the conveying means of each device (in this embodiment, the first robot 21 and the second robot The movable range (particularly, the movable range in the Z direction) of the device 31) is different. Therefore, in order to smoothly transfer wafers between these two devices, it is necessary to design transfer means corresponding to the movable ranges of each of the first robot 21 and the second robot 31 . In this case, for example, the first robot 21 and the second robot 31 can be modified to adjust the movable range. However, as a result, there is a fear that the number of design man-hours for the online system will increase.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention have devised the in-line system 1 of the present embodiment, focusing on the transfer means for transferring wafers between a plurality of apparatuses. Specifically, in this embodiment, as the delivery means 4 , the temporary cassette 6 opened to the left and right is arranged between the two processing apparatuses (the protective member sticking apparatus 2 and the grinding apparatus 3 ).

The temporary cassette 6 is provided with a plurality of shelf plates 60 arranged in the Z direction, and can temporarily accommodate a plurality of wafers W processed by one processing device (protective member attaching device 2 ). In this case, the protective member attaching device 2 can be accessed from the right side of the temporary storage box 6 . The other processing device (grinding device 3 ) accesses from the left side of the temporary cassette 6 , takes out the wafer W temporarily stored in advance, and performs predetermined processing.

In particular, since a plurality of wafers W can be temporarily stored in the temporary storage box 6, even when the processing time of the protective member attaching device 2 and the grinding device 3 are different, there is no waiting time for one device. , the wafer W can be continuously processed between the protective member attaching device 2 and the grinding device 3 .

Then, the plurality of shelf plates 60 (supporting frames) constituting the temporary cassette 6 are divided into a plurality of areas in the Z direction, and the crystals processed in the delivery area D that can be accessed in common by the first and second robots 21 and 31 are processed. The handover of the circle W. Furthermore, by separately setting the first recycling area R1 accessible by the first automatic device 21 and the second recycling area R2 accessible by the second automatic device 31 , even if the protective member attaching device 2 and the grinding device 3 are used. In the event of failure of one of the two, the wafer W in the process of processing may be temporarily recovered in the first or second recovery areas R1 and R2. As a result, in the other of the protective member sticking device 2 and the grinding device 3, the occurrence of standby time can be suppressed.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 1-3, the display method on the shelf of the temporary storage box concerning this embodiment, and the operation|movement of an in-line system are demonstrated. 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams showing an example of the operation of the online system according to the present embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 2 shows an example of the operation of delivering the workpiece between two processing apparatuses, and FIG. 3 shows an example of the operation when the operator accesses the delivery means. In addition, in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, for the convenience of description, a part of the structure shown in FIG. 1 is abbreviate|omitted. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, for the convenience of description, the number of the shelf plate (support frame) is different. Moreover, the 1st load port is set as the workpiece cassette which accommodated the wafer after slicing.

First, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the manner of displaying the temporary cassettes 6 on the shelf will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , in the temporary cassette 6 , 11 shelf plates 60 form a total of 12 support frames. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the numbers "-3" to "9" are attached in order from the lowermost support frame.

The 1st robot 21 is comprised so that it may raise and lower between the 1st - 9th support frames in the Z direction. Here, the area between the first to ninth support frames of the temporary storage box 6 is the “first area A1” showing the movement of the first robot 21 , that is, the Z direction of the first robot 21 range of motion.

On the other hand, the second robot 31 is configured in the Z direction to be able to ascend and descend between the -3rd to 6th support frames. Here, the area between the -3rd to 6th support frames of the temporary cassette 6 is the "second area A2" showing the movement of the second robot 31, that is, Z of the second robot 31 range of motion in the direction. In this way, the first area A1 and the second area A2 are arranged to be shifted in the Z direction.

In addition, the area where the first area A1 and the second area A2 overlap, that is, the area between the first to sixth support frames of the temporary cassette 6 represents the first and second robots 21 and 31 The "delivery area D" of the temporary storage box 6 that can be accessed in common. As will be described in detail later, in the present embodiment, the wafer W is transferred between the protective member sticking device 2 and the grinding device 3 via the transfer area D.

In addition, the area of the transfer area D is deducted from the first area A1, that is, the area between the seventh to ninth support racks of the temporary storage box 6 is a """ which indicates that only the first robot 21 can access. The first recycling area R1". In the first recovery area R1 , the wafer W in the middle of processing after being taken out from the protective member sticking device 2 is recovered.

Similarly, the area of the transfer area D is deducted from the second area A2, that is, the area between the -3rd to -1st support racks of the temporary storage box 6 indicates that only the second robot 31 is accessible. The "Second Recycling Area R2". In the second recovery area R2, the wafer W in the process of being taken out from the grinding device 3 is recovered.

In addition, in the present embodiment, there are more support frames in the delivery area D than the three-stage support frame in the first and second collection areas R1 and R2, and six support frames are provided.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 , a description will be given of the normal operation of the in-line system, that is, a series of flows from the first process to the transfer of the wafer to the second process.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , first, in the protective member attaching device 2 , the first robot 21 takes out the wafer W from the workpiece cassette on the first loading port 22 . The first robot 21 sucks and holds the upper surface of the wafer W by the hand 24 , and transfers the wafer W to a predetermined position in the housing 20 . The wafer W is attached with a protective member as the first process. The processed wafer W is sucked and held by the hand 24 again, and then transferred to the temporary cassette 6 .

In the temporary box 6, the first opening 64 is directed to the -X side (right side), and the second opening 65 is directed to the +X side (left side). The first robot 21 is a predetermined rack 60 that adjusts the hand 24 so that the wafer W can be placed in the delivery area D. Specifically, the first robot 21 is in the delivery area D, and the height of the hand 24 is adjusted so that the height of the wafer W and the predetermined first opening 64 are equal. Then, the first robot 21 inserts the wafer W into the temporary cassette 6 through the first opening 64 and places the wafer W on a predetermined rack plate 60 .

In addition, when the wafers W are loaded into the racks 60 through the first openings 64 , the control means 5 can also determine whether the wafers W are loaded based on the outputs of sensors (not shown) provided in the respective racks 60 . It is placed on each shelf 60, and the operation of the first robot 21 is controlled. The order of placing the wafers W on the racks 60 is not particularly limited, and the wafers W may be placed from the lowermost racks 60 or the wafers W may be placed from the uppermost racks 60 . In addition, the first robot 21 can confirm the vacancy of the shelf 60 every time, and can place the wafer W on any vacant shelf 60 .

In the grinding apparatus 3 , the second robot 31 carries out the wafers W accommodated in the temporary cassette 6 . The control means 5 controls the operation of the second robot 31 by judging whether or not the wafer W is placed on each shelf 60 based on the output of a sensor (not shown) provided on each shelf 60 , for example.

The second robot 31 adjusts the hand 34 to a height at which the wafer W can be taken out from the predetermined rack 60 on which the wafer W is placed within the delivery area D. Specifically, the second robot 31 adjusts the height of the hand 24 in the delivery area D so that the front end of the hand 34 matches the predetermined second opening 65 . Then, the second robot 31 inserts the hand 34 into the second opening 65 to suck and hold the upper surface of the wafer W placed on the predetermined rack 60 .

Next, the second robot 31 takes out (carries out) the wafer W from the second opening 65 and transfers it to a predetermined position in the housing 30 . Then, the surface of the wafer W on the opposite side to the protective member is ground, and the waviness is removed as a second process. The processed wafer W is sucked and held by the hand 34 again, and transferred to the workpiece cassette on the second loading port 32 .

According to this embodiment, for example, the wafer W after being processed by the protective member attaching apparatus 2 can be placed in the temporary cassette 6 through the first opening 64 . On the other hand, the grinding device 3 can take out the wafer W temporarily placed in the temporary cassette 6 from the second opening 65 on the opposite side of the first opening 64 . That is, in the protective member attaching device 2, the wafer W can be taken in and out from the first opening 64 on the -X side, and in the grinding device 3, the wafer W can be taken in and out from the second opening 65 on the +X side.

In this way, the wafer W is transferred between the two processing apparatuses (the protective member attaching apparatus 2 and the grinding apparatus 3 ) via the temporary holding cassette 6 as the temporary holding means, and it is not necessary to grasp the status of each processing apparatus. That is, it is not necessary to confirm the conveyance positions of the conveyance robots (the first and second robots 21 and 31 ) of each processing device, and a complicated control structure is not required. As a result, the wafer W can be transferred between plural processing apparatuses with a simple configuration.

In particular, since a plurality of wafers W can be temporarily placed in the temporary cassette 6, even when the processing times of the protective member attaching device 2 and the grinding device 3 are different, there is no waiting time for one device, and it is possible to The wafer W is continuously processed between the protective member attaching device 2 and the grinding device 3 . Then, the plurality of support frames constituting the temporary cassette 6 are divided into a plurality of fields in the Z direction, and the processed wafers are transferred in a transfer field that can be accessed in common by the first and second robots 21 and 31 .

Next, the operation of the online system when the operator is required to access the device will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , for example, when the protective member attaching apparatus 2 processes the wafer W and the processing cannot be continued due to some failure, the first robot 21 transfers the wafer W to the protective member attaching device. A plurality of wafers W at predetermined locations in the apparatus 2 are temporarily collected in the temporary cassette 6 . Specifically, the first robot 21 picks up the wafer W from a predetermined position in the protective member sticking device 2 and stores the wafer W in a predetermined rack 60 in the first recovery area R1.

In this case, the second robot 31 can be stored in the temporary cassette 6 in the delivery area D irrespective of the operation status of the protective member sticking device 2 . That is, the wafer W is transferred from the temporary cassette 6 to the grinding apparatus 3 by the second robot 31 , and the processing can be continued in the grinding apparatus 3 . Therefore, a standby time does not occur on the grinding device 3 side.

Similarly, when the wafer W is processed by the grinding device 3 and the processing cannot be continued due to some failure, the second robot 31 temporarily collects the plurality of wafers W that have been transferred to a predetermined location in the grinding device 3 . in the temporary storage box 6. Specifically, the second robot 31 picks up the wafer W from a predetermined location in the grinding device 3 and stores the wafer W in the predetermined rack 60 in the second recovery area R2.

In this case, the first robot 21 can access the temporary cassette 6 in the delivery area D irrespective of the operation status of the grinding device 3 . That is, the wafer W is transferred from the temporary cassette 6 to the protective member attaching device 2 by the first robot 21 , and the processing can be continued in the protective member attaching device 2 . Therefore, a standby time does not occur on the side of the protective member sticking device 2 .

By setting the first recycling area R1 accessible only by the first robot 21 and the second recycling area R2 accessible only by the second robot 31 in this way, even in the protective member attaching device 2 and the grinding device 3 When any one of them fails, the wafer W in the middle of processing may be temporarily collected in the first or second collection areas R1 and R2. As a result, in the other device of the protective member sticking device 2 and the grinding device 3, the occurrence of the waiting time can be suppressed, that is, the reduction of the waiting time can be realized.

In addition, when the operator wants to confirm the wafer W in the temporary cassette 6 or during maintenance, the operation of each processing device (the protective member attaching device 2 and the grinding device 3 ) is stopped, and the stage 7 is rotated by the rotating means 71 . to rotate by a predetermined angle.

The rotation means 71 rotates the stage 7 by 90 degrees in the + direction, for example, and positions the first opening 64 to the +Y direction side, that is, the apparatus front side. Here, the device top view is counterclockwise as the + direction around the Z axis. In addition, the rotating means 71 may rotate the stage 7 by 90 degrees in the − direction, and may position the second opening 65 to the +Y direction side. In this case, the clockwise direction from the top of the device becomes the - direction around the Z-axis.

As shown in FIG. 3 , with the first opening 64 or the second opening 65 facing the front side of the apparatus, the operator can extract the wafers W stored in the temporary cassette 6 without accessing each processing apparatus. As a result, an interlock for maintenance becomes unnecessary, and the control structure of the online system 1 can be simplified.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the in-line system 1 in which a protection member is attached to the wafer W and the wafer W is ground to remove the waviness is taken as an example, and the protection member attaching device 2 is provided as the first processing device, and the grinding device 3 is provided as the The configuration of the second processing apparatus is not limited to this configuration. The first and second processing apparatuses are applicable to any processing apparatuses, for example, cutting apparatuses, grinding apparatuses, polishing apparatuses, laser processing apparatuses, plasma etching apparatuses, edge trimming apparatuses, enlargement apparatuses, crushing apparatuses, etc. of various processing devices. In addition, the number of processing apparatuses is not limited to two, and three or more processing apparatuses may be combined to constitute an online system. Furthermore, the arrangement relationship (positional relationship) of each processing apparatus can be appropriately changed.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the temporary storage box 6 is placed on the stage 7 as a configuration of the temporary storage means, but it is not limited to this configuration. The platform 7 and the temporary cassette 6 may be formed integrally.

In addition, as the wafer W to be processed, according to the type of processing, for example, semiconductor device wafers, optical device wafers, package substrates, semiconductor substrates, inorganic material substrates, oxide wafers, green ceramic substrates, press Various workpieces such as electrical substrates. As the semiconductor device wafer, a silicon wafer or a compound semiconductor wafer after device formation can also be used. As the optical device wafer, a sapphire wafer or a silicon carbide wafer after device formation can also be used. In addition, CSP (Chip Size Package) substrates may be used as package substrates, silicon, gallium arsenide, etc. may be used as semiconductor substrates, and sapphire, ceramics, glass, etc. may be used as inorganic material substrates. In addition, lithium tantalate and lithium niobate after device formation or before device formation can also be used as the oxide wafer.

In addition, although the said embodiment is the structure which provided the support frame of the temporary cassette 6 in 12 steps, it is not limited to this structure. The number of supports can be appropriately changed, and can be less or more than 12 sections. In addition, when a plurality of supports are divided into plural areas (first and second areas A1, A2, delivery areas D, first and second recovery areas R1, R2), the number of supports for each area can be appropriately changed. . For example, the number of the support racks in the first and second recovery areas R1 and R2 is determined according to the number of wafers W (for example, 5 wafers) that can be transferred to a predetermined location in the protective member attaching device 2 or the grinding device 3 . set up.

In addition, although each embodiment of this invention was described, the above-mentioned embodiment and modification may be combined in whole or in part as another embodiment of this invention.

In addition, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes, substitutions, and deformations can be implemented without departing from the spirit of the technical idea of the present invention. Furthermore, if the technical idea of the present invention can be realized by another method due to the advancement of technology or another derived technology, the method can also be used to implement it. Therefore, the scope of the patent application covers all the embodiments included within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. [Industrial availability]

As described above, the present invention has the effect of reducing the standby time of the apparatus and realizing continuous processing among plural apparatuses, and is particularly useful in an in-line system for transferring wafers between plural processing apparatuses.

1‧‧‧Online system 2‧‧‧Protective member attachment device (1st device) 21‧‧‧First automatic device 3‧‧‧ Grinding device (2nd device) 31‧‧‧Second automatic device4‧‧ ‧Transfer means 6‧‧‧Temporary box 60‧‧‧Shelf plate (support frame) 61‧‧‧Side plate 62‧‧‧Bottom plate 63‧‧‧Top plate 64‧‧‧First opening 65‧‧‧Second opening 7 ‧‧‧Platform 70‧‧‧Mounting surface 71‧‧‧Rotating means W‧‧‧Wafer A1‧‧‧First area A2‧‧‧Second area D‧‧‧Transfer area R1‧‧‧First recovery Field R2‧‧‧Second recycling field

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the online system of the present embodiment. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the operation of the online system according to the present embodiment. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the operation of the online system according to the present embodiment.

1‧‧‧Online System

2‧‧‧Protective member attachment device (first device)

3‧‧‧grinding device (second device)

4‧‧‧Means of Handover

6‧‧‧Temporary storage box

7‧‧‧Platform

20‧‧‧Frame

21‧‧‧First automatic device

23‧‧‧Robot arm

24‧‧‧Hands

30‧‧‧Frame

31‧‧‧Second automatic device

33‧‧‧Robot

34‧‧‧Hands

40‧‧‧Frame

60‧‧‧Shelf plate (support frame)

62‧‧‧Bottom

63‧‧‧Top Plate

64‧‧‧First Opening

65‧‧‧Second opening

70‧‧‧Mounting surface

71‧‧‧Rotating Means

W‧‧‧Wafer

A1‧‧‧First area

A2‧‧‧Second field

D‧‧‧Transfer field

R1‧‧‧First Recycling Field

R2‧‧‧Second recycling area

Claims (3)

An in-line system comprising: a first apparatus for processing wafers; a second apparatus for processing wafers processed by the first apparatus; and delivery means arranged in an X direction Between the first device and the second device, the wafer is transferred from the first device to the second device, and characterized in that: the first device is provided with: with the transfer means as a reference, it is arranged at- The first robot that transfers the wafers on the X-direction side, and the second device includes a second robot that transfers the wafers on the +X-direction side with the transfer means as a reference, and the transfer means is a comprising: a temporary cassette that supports a plurality of wafers in a rack-like shape; and a stage that has a mounting surface on which the temporary cassette is placed, the temporary cassette is provided with: a plurality of support frames that are rack-shaped supporting the wafer on the ground; a side plate, which is connected to the two sides of the support frame in the Y direction orthogonal to the X direction respectively in the direction of the placing surface of the platform; the top plate is connected to the upper edge of the side plate; The bottom plate is connected to the lower side of the side plate; the first opening is formed on the side surface in the -X direction; the second opening is formed on the side surface in the +X direction; a transfer area, which extends in the Z direction orthogonal to the XY direction, the first robot and the second robot can access, and transfer the wafer processed by the first device to the second device; the first 1 recovery area, which is arranged in the Z direction on one side of the handover area, accessible only by the first robot, and recovers the wafers taken out from the first device during the processing of the first device and a second recovery area, which is arranged in the Z direction on the other side of the handover area, accessible only by the second robot, and recovers from the second device during processing of the second device wafer. According to the online system of claim 1 of the scope of the application, wherein the handover area is provided with more support frames than the first recovery area and the second recovery area. The in-line system as claimed in claim 1 or 2 of the scope of claim 1, wherein the platform is provided with a direction perpendicular to the placement surface on which the temporary cartridge is placed as an axis direction and the center of the placement surface as an axis. Rotation means that can rotate freely by ±90 degrees.

Images