JP2002151450A - In-line wafer carriage system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an in-line wafer carriage system with a small quantity of dust to a wafer from the outside. SOLUTION: A semiconductor wafer W with a device pattern is carried from an etching system 20 to a mounting system 200 in an in-line wafer carriage system 300. The wafer carriage mechanism 300 includes a temporarily mounting stage 301 pivotally supported by a rotation shaft 303, a supporting member 304 of the rotation shaft 303, a rotation driving mechanism 162 for the rotation shaft 303, and driving mechanisms 306, 307, and 308 for reciprocating the supporting member 304 in an orbital path surrounded with a tubular dome chamber 316. The in-line wafer carriage system 300 is stored in a transparent resin-made dome chamber 316.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention conveys a semiconductor wafer having a device pattern formed on a surface thereof from an etcher room or a polishing room to a mounter room without causing contamination of a clean room internal environment. The present invention relates to an inlined wafer transfer device capable of performing such operations.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to increase the degree of integration and miniaturization of memory devices, the diameter of substrates and the size of patterns have been reduced. Conventionally, the flatness of the polished substrate (SFQ
Regarding R), the substrate is required to have a flatness equal to or less than the width of the wiring (patterning) from the viewpoint of controlling the film forming process such as lithography, and the flatness (SFQR) was conventionally 0.25 μm or less. Recently, as described above, a substrate having a flatness (SFQR) of 0.18 μm or less or 0.13 μm or less is required.

For example, a 200 mm diameter substrate has a storage capacity of 1
In the case of a megabit (1M) DRAM, the pattern size was 1.0 to 0.8 .mu.m.
m, 0.35 μm at 16M, 0.25 μm at 64M, 2
A DRAM with a storage capacity of 16M and a substrate of 0.18 µm at 56M and a diameter of 300 mm and a pattern size of 0.25 µm was changed to 0.18 µm at 64M and 0.25 µm at 256M.
A pattern size of 13 μm is required (“Introduction to Visual Technology-All about Semiconductors”, Chapter 1-12-3)
6-39, March 5, 1999, Nihon Jitsugyo Shuppansha, 4th edition).

A device wafer is obtained by slicing an ingot, grinding and lapping or polishing both sides of the wafer, etching the mirror-finished surface to give a device pattern, and applying an adhesive tape to the device surface of the wafer. Then, the adhesive tape surface of the wafer is attached to the chuck, the grindstone attached to the head is pressed against the back surface of the wafer, and both the grindstone and the wafer are slid to grind the back surface. It is removed by etching using an etching device. Alternatively, the scratches generated by the back surface grinding are removed by polishing using a polishing device.

Conventionally, the backside grinding apparatus and the etching apparatus are separately provided, and an operator carries a cassette containing wafers whose backside has been ground into the etching apparatus to perform etching. Alternatively, an operator carries in a cassette containing a wafer whose back surface has been ground into a polishing apparatus and performs polishing.

As memory devices become more highly integrated and miniaturized, and substrates become larger in diameter, the amount of investment by device manufacturers in semiconductor manufacturing equipment also increases. Since the adjustment takes a long time, the device maker is a semiconductor manufacturing device maker with a back grinding device and an etching device integrated, a back grinding device and a polishing device integrated, a CMP polishing device and a cleaning device. It is desired that a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus manufacturer deliver an integrated apparatus.

In response to such a demand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-26
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9175 provides a backside grinding device 1 with an etching mechanism in which the etching device is inlined with the backside grinding device. In such an in-line apparatus, as shown in FIG. 8, the grinding device 101 and the etching device 20 are separated by one side wall, and the transfer of the wafer from the grinding device 101 to the etching device 20 is performed by an opening provided in the partition. Was performed by the transfer robot 25 installed in the etching apparatus using the shutter 21 for opening and closing the shutter.

In FIG. 8, a grinding apparatus 101 has a pair of cassettes 117 arranged on the left and right in the front row, a temporary wafer mounting table 106 at the rear of the left cassette on the base, and a wafer cleaning mechanism 113 at the rear of the right cassette. Are arranged in the next row as pairs, and an index turntable 108 is provided at a location where the center of the base at the rear of the wafer temporary mounting table 106 and the wafer cleaning mechanism 113 is hollowed out, and the index turntable 108 is provided. In addition, three wafer chuck mechanisms 107, 107, 107 are rotatably provided at equal intervals around the axis of the table, and a wafer loading / wafer unloading zone s1, a coarse grinding zone s2, and a finisher are provided. The table is divided into a grinding zone s3, and a frame 111 standing upright from a base is provided in the rear row of the index turntable 108.
In addition, a grinding mechanism in which grindstones 111b and 111d suitable for each grinding zone are supported on spindle shafts 111a and 111c is provided corresponding to a wafer chuck mechanism located in each grinding zone.

An articulated transfer robot 115 is erected substantially at the center of the base between the row of the pair of cassettes and the row of the temporary mounting table and the cleaning mechanism, and indexes device wafers on the temporary mounting table. The wafer can be transferred to the chuck mechanism of the wafer loading / wafer unloading zone s1 of the turntable.

The diameter of a device wafer provided on a handle 112 rotatably mounted on a pair of shafts provided on the right and left sides of a base provided with an index table is provided.
Suction pads 112a, 112 having a diameter of 3/4/3 times
a is a device for cleaning a device wafer on a temporary mounting table on a chuck mechanism of a wafer loading / wafer unloading zone, and a device for cleaning a device wafer whose back surface has been ground on the chuck mechanism of a wafer loading / wafer unloading zone. (Porous ceramic wafer temporary mounting table + wafer support auxiliary plate).

Each of the chuck mechanisms provided on the index turntable 118 has a frame 110 that is erected from a base.
The cleaning is performed by a chuck cleaning mechanism 109b and a ceramic chuck cleaner 109a attached to a driving body that can move in the left-right direction on the screw rod provided in the above. The grinding device 101 is surrounded by a wall 118 and a double door 119.

The etching apparatus 20 is surrounded by a side wall, and the etcher 23 is further surrounded by an inner partition wall 22.
24, 24 are wafer storage cassettes. 25 is a transfer robot, 33 and 34 are shutters, and 21 and 35 are openings.

In the grinding apparatus 101, the wafer w transferred from the loading cassette 117 to the temporary table 106 by the articulated robot 115 is transferred to the transfer arm 112.
And the suction pad is rotated to load / unload the index table 118.
The index table is mounted on the chucking mechanism of the ding zone s1, rotates the index table 120 degrees clockwise, and the chucking mechanism moves to the first grinding zone s2.

Therefore, the wafer w is roughly ground by the coarse grinding wheel supported on the first spindle shaft 111a, and the coarsely ground wafer is indexed by the index table 118.
It is sent to the finish grinding zone s3 by rotating it by degrees. Then, the finish-ground wafer is finished and ground by a finish grinding wheel supported by the second spindle shaft 111c, and then the finish-ground wafer is rotated by rotating the index table 118 by 120 degrees to load / unload the wafer. Is transferred to

The finish-ground wafer is sucked by the right transfer pad 112 and transferred to the cleaning mechanism 113.
After being cleaned and spin-dried by the cleaning mechanism, the transfer robot 25 in the etching device 20 opens the partition wall opening 21,
The wafer is transferred to the etcher 26 through the opening 36 of the partition wall 22, where the wafer is etched, washed, and spin-dried, and transferred and stored in the unloading cassette 24 by the articulated robot 25.

While the wafer is being finish-ground by the finish grinding wheel supported by the second spindle shaft, a new wafer is transferred from the loading cassette to the temporary mounting table by the articulated robot. Then, the wafer is attracted to the arm pad, and the index table 118 is stored in the 12
Rotated by 0 degrees and placed on the chuck mechanism for coarse grinding, the first
The wafer is roughly ground by a rough grinding wheel supported by a spindle shaft. As described above, the rough grinding and the finish grinding of the wafer are simultaneously performed, so that the throughput time of the wafer grinding apparatus can be reduced.

The etching apparatus 2 shown in the plan view of FIG.
0 has the structure shown in the side view shown in FIGS. In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a first surrounding the entire etching apparatus.
The wall 22, 22 is a second wall surrounding the spinner 23, 24, 24
Is a cassette, 25 is an articulated transfer robot, 25a, 2
5b and 25c are arms, 25d is a shaft, and 25e is 2/3 to 4/3 times the device wafer diameter, preferably 7/8 to 1/1.
1x diameter suction pad, 25f is rotating shaft, 25g, 25g
Is an air flow path. A number of small holes 25h having a diameter of 0.3 to 1 mm are formed on the surface of the suction pad 25e on which the device wafer is suctioned. FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 show enlarged portions of the arm and the suction pad. The thickness of the suction pad 25e is about 2 mm, and the height of the air passage 25g is about 0.5 mm. The air passage 25g of the shaft 25d communicates with the air passage 25g of the suction pad, and the pressure is reduced when the device wafer w is sucked.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a wafer mounting plate (spinner); 27, a spinner rotation drive shaft; 28, an etching solution supply nozzle provided on the rotation drive shaft; 29, a rinsing solution supply and air supply provided on the rotation drive shaft. Nozzle, 30 is mantle,
31 is a hood, 32 is a lifting mechanism, and 33 and 35 are gates.
Gate valves 34 and 36 are gates (openings) through which the arm of the transfer robot 25 can enter and exit.

To open and close the gates 34 and 36, a plate is attached to the shaft via a hinge, and a pulley running around the shaft and idle roll, a gear, and an end of the shaft. Using a gear and a pulley drive mechanism, the rotation is performed by rotating a shaft on which the plate is mounted (see JP-A-2000-269175).

Using the etching apparatus 20, the back surface of the device wafer is cleaned and the dried wafer is passed through a gate 34 having an open suction pad 25e of the articulated transfer robot 25 in the etcher chamber. The device is moved onto the device wafer on the cleaning mechanism 113 of the grinding apparatus 101, and after sucking the device wafer, the device 36 is passed through the gate 36 in the etcher chamber via the gate 34, and the back surface is ground on the spinner 26. The wafer is placed, the suction pad 25e of the articulated transfer robot 25 is returned to the standby position, and the
The gates 34 and 36 are closed, the back surface of the device wafer is etched, washed with a cleaning liquid, and then dried by blowing air from an air supply nozzle. The gate 36 is opened and the device wafer is placed on the suction pad of the articulated transfer robot 25. It is adsorbed and stored in the storage cassette 24.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-225561 discloses a backside grinding device in which a polishing device is replaced with an inline polishing device instead of an etching device. Further, JP-A-2000-
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 225561 discloses a back grinding device with a polishing mechanism in which a polishing mechanism is built in a back grinding device. A backside grinding device in which an etching mechanism or a polishing mechanism is connected to these grinding devices in a built-in or in-line manner, compared with a conventional backside grinding device and an etching device, or a case where a backside grinding device and a polishing device are provided together, There is an advantage that the device can be simplified and made compact.

Before the device wafer whose back surface is etched or polished (polished) is subjected to a dicing process, a frame F on which an adhesive tape T is stretched as shown in FIG. Is applied to a mounting step of attaching the back surface of the wafer to the substrate, and then to a step of peeling off the adhesive tape protecting the device surface.

Such mounters are also known (JP-A-63-155641, JP-A-1-103850,
Nos. 1-220454 and 5-335403). An adhesive tape peeling device is also known (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
000-68293).

[0024]

According to the proposal of the smart card, in order to manufacture a device wafer having a smaller thickness, it is necessary for a device manufacturer to move a thin wafer which is easily damaged in each processing step. Shortening of the distance is required, and it should be avoided that an operator carries and carries a cassette into a device of the next process, and it is desired to inline an etching device or a polishing device and a mounter device. The etching equipment or polishing equipment maker and the mounter equipment maker are separate companies, and in order to assemble the equipment in which both are inlined by one company, the technology and know-how in other fields are insufficient. I have.

Further, in a conventional in-line system in which an etching apparatus or a polishing apparatus and a mounter apparatus are arranged in parallel through one side wall, an opening is provided in the one side wall, and the opening is opened and closed by a shutter, jointly by both companies, In order to provide a wafer transfer mechanism across both chambers where both apparatuses are installed, it is necessary to provide an etching apparatus or polishing apparatus maker and a mounter apparatus maker.
You will spend a lot of time on your footprint agreement.

The inventor of the present invention arranges an etching apparatus or a polishing apparatus and a mounter apparatus in parallel through one side wall, and does not provide an opening in the one side wall, and transfers and loads a wafer to the front side walls of both apparatuses. Is attached, so that the etching device or polishing device maker and the mounter device maker are attached.
If only the footprint area between the cars is determined and the position of the opening provided on the front side wall is determined, the two companies will omit some of the wafer storage cassettes, but each manufacturer will be the only manufacturer.
The present inventors have found that it is possible to design the conventional apparatus without any significant design change at the discretion of the present invention, and arrived at the present invention.

[0027]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an etching apparatus for etching a back surface opposite to a device surface of a semiconductor wafer on which a device pattern has been formed is surrounded by four peripheral walls and a ceiling. An etcher chamber (A) installed in a compartment, an etching surface of a semiconductor wafer carried out from the etcher chamber is placed on an adhesive tape attached to a ring-shaped transfer frame, and the adhesive tape is placed on the adhesive tape. A mounter room (B) in which a mounter device to be bonded is installed in a room surrounded by four peripheral walls and a ceiling and adjacent to the etcher room with one partition wall, and the etcher.
A semiconductor wafer that can be linearly reciprocated on an orbital path surrounded by a cylindrical dome provided on the front wall of each of the chamber and the mounter chamber, and that has been etched and cleaned by an etching device in the etcher chamber. A wafer transfer mechanism (C) for transferring wafers into a mounter chamber, wherein the wafer transfer mechanism (C) is a temporary mounting table supported on a rotating shaft, a support for the rotating shaft, and a rotating shaft. Rotary drive mechanism,
A drive mechanism for reciprocating the support member on a track path surrounded by the cylindrical dome chamber; and a side wall of the cylindrical dome chamber and a front wall of an etcher chamber adjacent to the side wall. An entrance through which a temporary mounting table supported by the rotary shaft can move between the two chambers is provided, and a side wall of the cylindrical dome chamber and a front wall of a mounter chamber adjacent to the side wall are provided with the rotary shaft. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inline wafer transfer device, characterized in that an inlet / outlet is provided so that a bearing table can be moved between both chambers.

The empty space, in which the wafer storage cassette in the etcher chamber 20 is omitted and the storage cassette in the mounter chamber and one transfer robot are omitted, is a space in which the wafer temporary storage table can freely move. Requires less. Also, since the track path where the temporary mounting table moves back and forth is surrounded by the cylindrical dome chamber, there is little opportunity for dust to adhere to the adhesive tape and the device wafer.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a polishing apparatus for polishing a back surface opposite to a device surface of a semiconductor wafer on which a device pattern is applied is installed in a room surrounded by four peripheral walls and a ceiling. A polishing chamber (A), a mounter device for placing a polished surface of a semiconductor wafer unloaded from the polishing chamber on an adhesive tape stuck to an annular transfer frame and bonding the same to the adhesive tape. And a mounter room (B) which is a part room surrounded by a ceiling and which is installed in a part room adjacent to the polishing room by a partition wall on one side, and provided on each front wall of the polishing room and the mounter room. Wafer transfer capable of linearly reciprocating on an orbital path surrounded by a cylindrical dome and transferring a semiconductor wafer polished and cleaned by a polishing device in a polishing chamber into a mounter chamber. A inline wafer transfer apparatus including a structure (C), said wafer transfer mechanism (C)
Has a temporary mounting table supported by a rotary shaft, a support for the rotary shaft, a rotary drive mechanism for the rotary shaft, and a drive mechanism for reciprocating the support on an orbital path surrounded by the cylindrical dome chamber. An entrance through which a temporary table supported by the rotating shaft can move between the two chambers is provided on a side wall of the cylindrical dome chamber and a front wall of the polishing chamber adjacent to the side wall. Do
An inlet / outlet through which a temporary mounting table supported by the rotating shaft can move between the two chambers is provided on a side wall of the mounting chamber and a front wall of the mounter chamber adjacent to the side wall. An apparatus is provided.

An empty space in which the wafer storage cassette in the polishing chamber is omitted and the storage cassette in the mounter chamber and one transfer robot are omitted is a space in which the wafer temporary mounting table can freely move, so that there is little design change. I'm done. Also,
Since the orbital path through which the temporary mounting table moves is surrounded by the cylindrical dome chamber, there is little opportunity for dust to adhere to the adhesive tape and the device wafer.

[0031]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a composite apparatus in which a back grinding apparatus, an etching apparatus, and a mounter apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention are inlined, FIG. 2 is a front view of the composite apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial front view of a drive mechanism for reciprocating the inlined wafer transfer device, FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of the drive mechanism shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a rotary tee. FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a rotation driving mechanism of the temporary mounting table, and FIG. 12 is a plan view of a combined apparatus in which a back grinding device, a polishing device, and a mounter device are inlined.

In the combined apparatus shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 in which the backside grinding apparatus, the etching apparatus and the mounter apparatus are inlined, 101 is a backside grinding apparatus, 20 is an etching apparatus, 200 is a mounter apparatus, and 300 is an inlined apparatus. It is a wafer transfer device. The back surface grinding device and the etching device are the same as those of the back surface grinding device 1 with the etching mechanism described above with reference to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-269175, and the storage cassettes 24 and 2 of the etching device (etcher) 20.
4 is omitted, and the in-line wafer transfer device 300 is provided on the front wall of the etching device.

The mounter device 200 has a peripheral side wall 201.
a, 201b, 201c, 201d, and the front wall 2
The reference numeral 01a has an opening 202 through which the temporary placement table 301 of the inlined wafer transfer device 300 can enter and exit. The upper surface is covered with a ceiling 203 to form a compartment 204 with the side walls and the ceiling. In the compartment 204, an arm 205 is supported on a base 206 by a support shaft 207, and a wafer suction plate 210 is fixed to a side surface of the arm 205 downward by a long rod 211, and is long. The rod-like rod 211 can be moved up and down by a cylinder 212, and the cylinder 212 is installed so as to be movable on the rail 213 in the left-right direction. The rail 213 is received by the slider-214. You can move. The reciprocating drive mechanism of the slider-214 is omitted from the drawing.
The hollow portion of the suction plate 210 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown). By reducing the pressure in the hollow portion, the wafer suction plate 210 can suction the device surface covered with the protective tape of the device wafer w. .

A recognition camera 208 for confirming wafer alignment is provided above the wafer suction plate 210, and the device wafer w which is placed on the temporary mounting table 301 and transferred is provided.
Contributes to centering adjustment. That is, the recognition camera 208 checks whether the center point of the temporary table 301 and the center point of the device wafer w match in the vertical direction. The center point coincides with the slider 2 receiving the rail 213 by moving the cylinder 212 left and right on the rail 213 so that the center point of the device wafer w coincides with the center point of the temporary mounting table 301.
14 is determined by moving back and forth in the groove 215. In addition, the temporary storage table 3
The center point of 01 and the frame center point of the chamber 219 are determined by the sensor installation position of the in-line wafer transfer device 300 described later so as to be on the same line m.

Reference numeral 216 denotes a frame holder in which frames F having an adhesive tape T adhered to the lower surface thereof are stacked in multiple stages, and the bottom plate can be raised by a cylinder from below at a height of one frame. It has become. 217 is a frame holder-21
A shaft 218 capable of reciprocating in the left-right direction one frame M having an adhesive tape adhered to the lower surface of the uppermost stage sent out from 6.
Suction is performed by the suction jig 218a attached to the belt, and is moved to the left. After the centering on the belt 218b is completed, the depressurization of the suction jig is stopped to release the frame M, and then the belt 218b is intermittently rotated. This is an alignment / transfer mechanism that is driven and transferred to the chamber mechanism 219 located to the left.

Next, the device wafer w adsorbed on the wafer adsorbing plate 210 described above is advanced in the backward direction, the cylinder is lowered, and the device tape w adheres to the adhesive tape surface adhered to the frame on the chamber mechanism 219. Then, the pressure reduction of the wafer suction plate 210 is stopped, and the wafer suction plate 210 is raised,
By retreating forward, the device wafer is mounted on the adhesive tape attached to the frame.

At the rear of the chamber mechanism 219, a frame transport / rotation mechanism 220 is provided. The frame transport / rotation mechanism 220 reverses the frame from the chamber mechanism 219 by rotating the rotation shaft 224 of the arm 222 engaged with the jig 221 with the motor 223 by 180 degrees. The frame M is brought into contact with one end of the transport arm 225 to move the frame M forward by a transport mechanism (not shown) in the backward direction indicated by the arrow, and moved to the storage transport path 226.
Then, the frame M is moved and stored in the cassette 227 in which the frame is rotated by 90 degrees.

The in-line wafer transfer device 300 includes a temporary table 301, a rotating mechanism for the temporary table, a reciprocating mechanism for moving the temporary table in the left-right direction, and a transparent dome. As shown in FIG. 7, the rotating mechanism of the temporary placing table includes a supporting arm 302 of the temporary placing table,
Tally table 162, rotary shaft 303, rotary table
Bull support 304. The support arm 302 is hollow, and is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) so that the pressure on the temporary table 301 can be reduced. As shown in FIG. 6, the rotary table 162 is
2a, left angle adjustment bolt 162b, air supply port 162
c, an air exhaust port 162d, and a swing table. The rotation angle of the rotating shaft 303 that supports the support arm 302 of the temporary table is adjusted according to the degree of air supply and exhaust. The rotation axis rotates clockwise by the supply of air, and the rotation axis rotates clockwise by exhaustion of air.

The reciprocating mechanism for moving the temporary table horizontally is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, a support table 3 for fixing the rotary table support 304 to the belt 306.
05, belt drive timing pulley 307,3
08, motor 308 with reducer for rotating timing pulley 307, pulley case 309, LM guide 310, end plates 311 and 312, sensor 31
3, a control mechanism 314 and a wiring bracket 315.
The temporary mounting table and the reciprocating mechanism for moving the temporary mounting table in the left-right direction are housed in a transparent dome 316 so that external dust is removed from the device wafer,
Prevents sticking to adhesive tape.

The wafer that has been etched, cleaned and dried by the transfer robot 25 in the etcher chamber is transferred onto the temporary table 301 with the device surface facing upward, and the wafer is strongly fixed to the temporary table by reducing the pressure of the temporary table. . Next, air is supplied to the air supply port 162a of the rotary table 162, and the temporary table 301 is rotated clockwise by 90 degrees to move the temporary table 301 to a position indicated by a virtual line in FIG. .

The motor 308 with a speed reducer is driven by a command from the control device 314, and the driving force is transmitted to the belt 306 via the pulley 307. With the movement of the belt, the temporary mounting table 301 is mounted on the mounter 301. The device 200 moves toward the front wall 201a (to the right). The sensor 313 is rotatable.
When the arrest of the bull support 304 is caught (the temporary table is at the position indicated by the phantom line in FIG. 1), a signal is transmitted to the control device 314, and the control device issues a drive stop command to the motor 308 with a speed reducer. The driving of the motor with a reduction gear 308 stops. When the drive of the motor 308 with the reducer stops, the controller issues a command for air exhaust to the rotary table 162, exhausts air from the air exhaust port 162b, and moves the temporary table 301 clockwise. Is rotated by 90 degrees in the reverse direction to move the temporary placement table 301 to the position shown by the solid line in FIG.

When the wafer suction plate 210 of the mounter comes into contact with the wafer, the pressure of the temporary mounting table 301 is stopped, and the suction plate 210 that has absorbed the wafer is slightly raised.
Air is supplied to the air supply port 162a of the table, and the temporary table 301 is rotated clockwise by 90 degrees (the temporary table is shown in FIG. 1).
By rotating the motor 308 with a speed reducer in the opposite direction, the belt 306 moves leftward (toward the etching device) and stops in front of the front wall of the etching device. It is ready to receive the next device wafer.

As another mode of the above embodiment, the temporary table 30
The reciprocating movement in the left-right direction is not limited to the belt method, but the bottom of the rotary table support 304 is fixed to the screw rod with a screw body, and the rotary motor is rotated by a servo motor. Bull support 3
04 may be movable in the left-right direction.
The bottom of the taller table support 304 may be fixed to a movable table provided on the rail, and may be moved left and right by a linear motor.

Further, using the mounting device. The in-line transfer device of the etching device and the mounter device has been described above. However, the in-line transfer device 300 of the present invention can be used as an in-line transfer device of a polishing device and a mounter device.

FIG. 12 shows a first grinding device 111a, a second grinding device 111c, a polishing device 400, a cleaning device 113, cassettes 117 and 117, an index table 118 and a conveying device described in JP-A-2000-254857. This is a composite device in which the mounter device 20 is inlined using the inline transfer device 300 of the present invention to the polishing device built-in back surface grinding device 1 having three robots 115a, 115b, 115c.

The back-ground and polished device wafer is
After being cleaned by the cleaning device 113, the transfer robot 115c transfers the wafer to the temporary table 301 of the inline transfer device 300. The transfer of the wafer from the polishing apparatus built-in back side grinding apparatus 1 into the mounter apparatus 20 is the same as the method described above.

[0047]

According to the present invention, the in-line transfer device 300 of the present invention.
It is easy to inline the etching apparatus and the mounter apparatus or inline the polishing apparatus and the mounter apparatus. Since the inline transfer apparatus is covered with the dome, dust from the outside adheres to the wafer when the wafer is transferred. Nothing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a combined apparatus including an in-line back grinding apparatus, an etching apparatus, and a mounter showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the multifunction device.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the multifunction device taken along line II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial front view of a reciprocating drive mechanism of the inline wafer transfer device.

FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of the drive mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a rotary table.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a rotation drive mechanism of the temporary table.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a known in-line back grinding apparatus / etching apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the etching apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the etching apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a step of mounting a wafer on a frame ring.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a combined device in which a back surface grinding device, a polishing device, and a mounter device are inlined.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 Grinding device 20 Etching device 113 Cleaning mechanism 115 Articulated transfer robot 162 Rotary table 200 Mounter device 300 Inline wafer transfer device 301 Temporary table 306 Belt w Wafer

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5F004 AA16 BA00 BC06 5F031 CA02 FA01 FA12 FA15 GA43 GA51 GA54 LA08 LA13 MA22 MA23 MA24 NA02 NA05 NA08

Claims (2)

[Claims] An etcher (A) in which an etching apparatus for etching a back surface opposite to a device surface of a semiconductor wafer on which a device pattern is applied is installed in a room surrounded by four peripheral walls and a ceiling. The etching surface of the semiconductor wafer carried out of the etcher chamber is placed on an adhesive tape attached to an annular transfer frame, and the adhesive tape is placed thereon.
A mounter room (B) in which a mounter device to be bonded to a floor is mounted in a room surrounded by four peripheral walls and a ceiling and adjacent to the etcher room with one partition wall, and the etcher room And a reciprocating linear path on a track path surrounded by a cylindrical dome provided on the front wall of each of the mounter chambers. What is claimed is: 1. An in-line wafer transfer device comprising a wafer transfer mechanism (C) for transferring a wafer into a mounter chamber, wherein the wafer transfer mechanism (C) includes a temporary mounting table supported on a rotating shaft, a support for the rotating shaft, and a rotating shaft. A rotary drive mechanism, and a drive mechanism for reciprocating the support member on a track path surrounded by the cylindrical dome chamber, and a side wall of the cylindrical dome chamber and an etcher adjacent to the side wall. On the front wall of the room There is provided an entrance through which the temporary mounting table supported by the rotary shaft can move between the two chambers. The side wall of the cylindrical dome chamber and the front wall of the mounter chamber adjacent to the side wall are supported by the rotary shaft. An in-and-out wafer transfer device provided with an entrance through which the temporary table can move back and forth between the two chambers. 2. A polishing chamber (A) in which a polishing apparatus for polishing a back surface opposite to a device surface of a semiconductor wafer on which a device pattern is applied is mounted in a room surrounded by four peripheral walls and a ceiling. The polished surface of the semiconductor wafer unloaded from the polishing chamber is placed on an adhesive tape attached to an annular transfer frame, and a mounter device for attaching to the adhesive tape is surrounded by four peripheral walls and a ceiling. A mounter chamber (B) which is installed in a part room adjacent to the polishing chamber with a partition on one side, and a cylindrical dome provided on a front wall of each of the polishing room and the mounter room. A wafer transfer mechanism (C) that is capable of linearly reciprocating on the enclosed orbital path and transfers a semiconductor wafer polished and cleaned by a polishing device in a polishing chamber into a mounter chamber; The wafer transfer mechanism (C) is a temporary mounting table supported on a rotary shaft, a support for the rotary shaft, a rotary drive mechanism for the rotary shaft, and the cylindrical dowel. A drive mechanism for reciprocating along a track path surrounded by a drum chamber, and a side wall of the cylindrical dome chamber and a front wall of a polishing chamber adjacent to the side wall are supported by the rotating shaft. There is provided an entrance through which the temporary mounting table can move between the two chambers. A temporary mounting table supported by the rotary shaft moves between the side walls of the cylindrical dome chamber and the front wall of the mounter chamber adjacent to the side wall. An inline wafer transfer device, wherein an entrance capable of being provided is provided.