JP5731158B2 - Processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing apparatus that performs a plurality of processes on a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer or an optical device wafer.

  In a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a large number of rectangular areas are defined by planned cutting lines called streets arranged in a lattice pattern on the surface of a substantially wafer-shaped semiconductor wafer, and a semiconductor circuit is formed in each of the rectangular areas. . Individual semiconductor chips are formed by separating the semiconductor wafer formed with such a large number of semiconductor circuits along the streets. In addition, an optical device wafer in which a plurality of regions are defined by streets formed in a lattice pattern on the surface of a sapphire substrate or the like, and an optical device in which a gallium nitride compound semiconductor or the like is stacked in the partitioned region is It is divided into optical devices such as individual light-emitting diodes and laser diodes along the planned dividing line, and is widely used in electrical equipment.

  As described above, in order to reduce the size and weight of the individually divided chips, usually, the wafer is ground along the back surface before being cut into individual chips by cutting along the street. The thickness is formed. Grinding of the back surface of the wafer is usually performed by pressing a grinding tool formed by fixing diamond abrasive grains with an appropriate bond such as a resin bond against the back surface of the wafer while rotating at high speed. When the back surface of the wafer is ground by such a grinding method, processing strain such as microcracks is generated on the back surface of the wafer, thereby considerably reducing the bending strength of the individually divided chips. As a measure to remove the processing strain generated on the back surface of the ground wafer, a wet etching method or etching gas for chemically etching the back surface of the ground wafer using an etching solution containing nitric acid and hydrofluoric acid. A dry etching method using is used. A polishing method for polishing the back surface of the ground wafer using loose abrasive grains has also been put into practical use. However, there is a problem that the wafer is damaged when the wafer is transported from the grinding device to the etching device or the polishing device in order to etch or polish the wafer ground by the grinding device.

  In order to solve the problems described above, a turntable that is rotatably arranged, a plurality of chuck tables that are provided on the turntable and have a holding surface that holds a wafer, and the plurality of chuck tables are positioned. 2. Description of the Related Art A wafer processing apparatus has been proposed that includes a plurality of processing means that respectively perform grinding or polishing on a wafer that is disposed in each of a plurality of processing regions and held on the plurality of chuck tables. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1.)

  In the wafer processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, a partition plate for partitioning each chuck table is disposed on the upper surface of the turntable so as to extend in the radial direction from the rotation axis, and the processing means includes a turntable. Cover means provided with a wall facing the upper surface of the partition plate in a state where the plurality of chuck tables arranged are positioned in each processing area, and splashes generated during processing by the processing means are provided. It prevents splashing to adjacent processing areas.

JP 2005-153090 A

  Thus, in the wafer processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the turntable on which the partition plates for partitioning the chuck tables are rotated is disposed at the upper end of the partition plate and the processing means. A gap of several millimeters is provided between the lower end of the cover means wall. Accordingly, there is a problem in that splashes generated during processing by the processing means enter the processing region adjacent through this gap.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned facts, and the main technical problem thereof is that splashes generated during processing by a plurality of processing means arranged in a plurality of processing regions enter adjacent processing regions. An object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus capable of preventing the above.

In order to solve the above technical problem, according to the present invention, a turntable that is rotatably provided, and a holding surface that is provided on the turntable with an equiangular phase angle and holds a workpiece. A plurality of chuck tables, and a plurality of processing means for processing the workpieces respectively disposed in the plurality of processing regions where the plurality of chuck tables are positioned and held by the plurality of chuck tables. In processing equipment,
On the upper surface of the turntable, a partition plate is provided that extends in a radial direction from the rotation axis of the partition where the plurality of chuck tables are disposed, and is formed higher than the height of the plurality of chuck tables.
The plurality of processing means include cover means including a wall having a lower surface facing the upper surface of the partition plate in a state where the plurality of chuck tables disposed on the turntable are positioned in each processing region. Arranged,
E Bei sealing mechanism chuck table of the plurality of disposed on the turntable seals between the lower surface of the wall of the top and the cover means of the partition plate in a state of being positioned in each processing region,
The sealing mechanism includes a groove formed along the longitudinal direction on the upper surface of the partition plate, and water supply means for supplying water to the groove, and the partition by the surface tension of water supplied to the groove. Forming a water film between the upper surface of the plate and the lower surface of the wall of the cover means, and filling a gap between the upper surface of the partition plate and the lower surface of the wall of the cover means;
A wafer processing apparatus is provided.

Machining apparatus according to the present invention, Bei example a sealing mechanism where a plurality of chuck table disposed on the turntable to seal between the lower surface of the wall of the top and cover means of the partition plate in a state of being positioned in each processing region The sealing mechanism includes a groove formed along the longitudinal direction on the upper surface of the partition plate, and water supply means for supplying water to the groove, and the partition plate has a surface tension caused by the surface tension of the water supplied to the groove. Since a water film is formed between the upper surface and the lower surface of the wall of the cover means, and the gap between the upper surface of the partition plate and the lower surface of the wall of the cover means is filled , splashes generated during processing by each processing means Intrusion into the adjacent processing area is prevented.

The perspective view of the processing apparatus comprised according to this invention. The perspective view of the grinding | polishing means with which the processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is equipped. A first seal mechanism for sealing between the partition plate and the wall of the cover means in a state where a plurality of chuck tables disposed on the turntable provided in the processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 are positioned in each processing region. Sectional drawing which shows embodiment. A second seal mechanism that seals between the partition plate and the wall of the cover means in a state where a plurality of chuck tables disposed on the turntable provided in the processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is positioned in each processing region. Sectional drawing which shows embodiment. A third seal mechanism that seals between the partition plate and the wall of the cover means in a state where a plurality of chuck tables disposed on the turntable provided in the processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is positioned in each processing region. Sectional drawing which shows embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a processing apparatus configured according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a processing apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention.
The processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is provided with an apparatus housing generally indicated by numeral 2. This device housing 2 has a rectangular parallelepiped main portion 21 that extends elongated and an upright wall 22 that is provided at the rear end portion (upper right portion in FIG. 1) of the main portion 21 and extends substantially in the vertical direction. ing. The apparatus housing 2 formed in this way includes a carry-in / carry-out area 2a for carrying in / out a wafer, which will be described later, a rough grinding area 2b, a finish grinding area 2c, and a polishing area 2d.

  A turntable 3 is rotatably disposed in the main portion 21 of the apparatus housing 2, and the turntable 3 is loaded and unloaded area 2a, rough grinding area 2b, and finish grinding area by a table rotating means (not shown). It is rotated in the direction indicated by arrow A along 2c and polishing region 2d. The turntable 3 is provided with four chuck tables 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d. The four chuck tables 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d are arranged with an equiangular phase angle of 90 degrees in the illustrated embodiment. Each of the chuck tables 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d includes a disk-shaped base and a suction holding chuck made of a porous ceramic material disposed on the top surface of the base. The workpiece placed on the surface is sucked and held by operating a suction means (not shown). The chuck tables 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d configured as described above are rotated by a rotation driving mechanism (not shown).

  On the upper surface of the turntable 3, partition plates 36, 36, 36, 36 for partitioning an area where the four chuck tables 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d are disposed are disposed. The partition plates 36, 36, 36, 36 are arranged to extend in the radial direction from the rotational axis of the turntable 3, and the height thereof is higher than the height of the chuck tables 4 a, 4 b, 4 c, 4 d. ing. The partition plates 36, 36, 36, and 36 are a grinding chamber formed by a grinding chamber cover means, which will be described later, disposed in the grinding region including the rough grinding region 2 b and the finish grinding region 2 c, and the polishing It has a function of partitioning chuck tables respectively positioned in polishing chambers formed by polishing chamber cover means (to be described later) disposed in the region 2d.

  A rough grinding unit 5 as a rough grinding means is disposed in the rough grinding region 2b. The rough grinding unit 5 includes a unit housing 51, a rough grinding wheel 52 rotatably attached to the lower end of the unit housing 51, and a rough grinding wheel 52 attached to the upper end of the unit housing 51 to rotate in a predetermined direction. A servo motor 53 and a moving base 54 on which the unit housing 51 is mounted are provided. Guided rails 55, 55 are provided on the moving base 54, and the guided rails 55, 55 are movably fitted to the guide rails 22 a, 22 a provided on the upright wall 22, so that rough movement is achieved. The grinding unit 5 is supported so as to be movable in the vertical direction, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the holding surfaces of the chuck tables 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d. The rough grinding unit 5 in the illustrated form includes grinding feed means 56 that moves the moving base 54 along the guide rails 22a and 22a. The grinding feed means 56 includes a male screw rod 57 disposed in the vertical direction in parallel with the guide rails 22a, 22a provided on the upright wall 22 and rotatably supported, and a pulse for rotationally driving the male screw rod 57. A rough grinding unit includes a motor 58 and a female screw block (not shown) that is mounted on the moving base 54 and is screwed with the male screw rod 57. The pulse motor 58 drives the male screw rod 57 to rotate forward and backward. Move 5 up and down.

  A finish grinding unit 50 as finish grinding means is disposed in the finish grinding region 2c. The finish grinding unit 50 has substantially the same configuration as that of the rough grinding unit 5 except that the finish grinding wheel 520 is different from the rough grinding wheel 52 of the rough grinding unit 5. The same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The processing apparatus in the illustrated embodiment is a grinding chamber that is disposed in the rough grinding unit 5 disposed in the rough grinding region 2b and the finish grinding unit 50 disposed in the finish grinding region 2c and forms a grinding chamber as a processing chamber. Cover means 6 is provided. The cover means 6 includes a box-shaped cover member 60 as a whole. The cover member 60 has an upper wall 61, a front wall 62, and both side walls 63, 63. A partition wall 64 is provided on the lower surface of the upper wall 61 constituting the cover member 60. Both side walls 63, 63 of the cover member 60 have shoulder surfaces 63a, 63a facing downward in the middle in the vertical direction, and the lower half portions of the side walls 63, 63 are in close contact with the side surfaces 24, 24 of the apparatus housing 2. The shoulder surfaces 63a and 63a are placed on the upper surfaces of the side walls 24 and 24 of the apparatus housing 2. On the upper wall 61 of the cover member 60, circular openings 65a and 66a for allowing the rough grinding wheel 52 and the finishing grinding wheel 520 to be inserted are formed, and upward from the peripheral edges of the circular openings 65a and 66a. Extending cylindrical members 65 and 66 are provided. A rubber bellows member made of rubber that can be expanded and contracted is disposed between the cylindrical members 65 and 66 and the unit housings 51 and 51, and both ends of the bellows member are connected to the cylindrical members 65 and 66 and the unit housing 51. , 51 are preferably mounted respectively. Almost half of the cylindrical members 65 and 66 and a part of the upper wall 61 are formed separately from the upper wall 61, and constitute maintenance inspection doors 67 and 68 that can be opened and closed around the outer sides, respectively.

  A polishing means 7 is disposed in the polishing region 2d (a part of the outline is shown by a two-dotted line in FIG. 1). The polishing means 7 will be described with reference to FIG. The polishing means 7 shown in FIG. 2 comprises chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) means, a mounter 72 for detachably mounting the polishing tool 71, a spindle unit 73 for rotating the mounter 72, and the spindle unit 73 as described above. The chuck table 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d is supported so as to be movable in the direction perpendicular to the holding surface of the chuck table 4a, 4c, 4d (Z-axis direction) and in the direction parallel to the holding surface of the chuck table (Y-axis direction). Spindle unit supporting means 74 for rotating, first polishing feed means 75 for moving the spindle unit 73 in a direction perpendicular to the holding surface of the chuck table (Z-axis direction), and the spindle unit 73 for the holding surface of the chuck table. Second polishing feed means 76 for moving in a direction parallel to the direction (Y-axis direction); It is provided. The spindle unit 73 includes a servo motor 731 for rotating the mounter 72.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the spindle unit support means 74 includes a support base 741, a first moving base 742, and a second moving base 743. On one side surface of the support base 741, first guide rails 741a and 741a extending in a direction indicated by an arrow Y parallel to the holding surfaces of the chuck tables 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d are provided. On one side surface of the first moving base 742, there are provided first guided rails 742b and 742b that fit with the first guide rails 741a and 741a provided on the support base 741. Second guide rails 742a and 742a extending in a direction indicated by an arrow Z perpendicular to the holding surfaces of the chuck tables 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d are provided on the other side surface of one moving base 742. The first moving base 742 configured in this manner is supported by fitting the first guided rails 742b and 742b with the first guide rails 741a and 741a provided on the support base 741. The base 741 is supported so as to be movable along the guide rails 741a and 741a.

  On one side surface of the second moving base 743, second guided rails 743b and 743b which are fitted to the second guide rails 742a and 742a provided on the first moving base 742 are provided. By fitting the second guided rails 743b and 743b with the second guide rails 742a and 742a provided on the first moving base 742, the second moving base 743 The movable base 742 is supported so as to be movable along the second guide rails 742a and 742a. The spindle unit 73 is mounted on the other side surface of the second moving base 743 configured as described above.

  The first polishing feed means 75 has the same configuration as the grinding feed means 56. That is, the first polishing feed means 75 is a male motor which is disposed between the pulse motor 751 and the second guide rails 742a and 742a in parallel with the second guide rails 742a and 742a and is driven to rotate by the pulse motor 751. A screw rod (not shown) and a female screw block (not shown) mounted on the second moving base 743 and screwed with the male screw rod are provided, and a male screw rod (not shown) is driven forward and reverse by a pulse motor 751. Thus, the second moving base 743, that is, the spindle unit 73 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow Z perpendicular to the holding surfaces of the chuck tables 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d. The second polishing feed means 76 is disposed between the pulse motor 761 and the first guide rails 741a and 741a in parallel with the first guide rails 741a and 741a, and is driven to rotate by the pulse motor 761. A male screw rod (not shown) and a female screw block (not shown) mounted on the first moving base 742 and screwed with the male screw rod are provided, and the male screw rod (not shown) is driven to rotate forward and backward by a pulse motor 761. As a result, the first moving base 742, that is, the second moving base 743 and the spindle unit 73 are moved in the direction indicated by the arrow Y parallel to the holding surfaces of the chuck tables 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d. .

  Continuing the description with reference to FIG. 2, the processing apparatus in the illustrated embodiment is a polishing chamber disposed in the polishing means 7 disposed in the polishing region 2 d (see FIG. 1) to form a polishing chamber as a processing chamber. Cover means 8 is provided. The polishing chamber cover means 8 includes a cover member 81 which is formed in a box shape as a whole and is opened at the bottom, and the cover member 81 has an upper wall 811 and side walls 812, 813, 814 and 815. . An elliptical hole 816 is provided in the upper wall 811 of the cover member 81. The hole 816 is formed in an elliptical shape that is long in the direction of the arrow Y, and the polishing tool 71 can be inserted therethrough. The cover means 8 in the illustrated embodiment includes a boot 82 that connects the cover member 81 and the spindle unit 73. The boot 82 is formed in a bellows shape by a flexible material such as rubber, and its lower end is attached to the periphery of the elliptical hole 816 of the cover member 81, and its upper end is attached to the spindle unit 73. Yes. The boot 82 configured in this manner prevents the polishing liquid from scattering in the polishing chamber and allows the spindle unit 73, that is, the polishing tool 71, to move in the arrow Y direction and the Z direction. A discharge port 817 is provided in the upper wall 811 of the cover member 81, and the discharge port 817 is connected to dust collection means (not shown) via a dust collection duct 83. The polishing chamber cover means 8 configured as described above is arranged on the upper side of the turntable 3 in the polishing region 2d so that the cover member 81 is partially shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  In the processing apparatus in the illustrated embodiment, the plurality of chuck tables 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d disposed on the turntable 3 are positioned in the rough grinding region 2b, the finish grinding region 2c, and the polishing region 2d, respectively. A sealing mechanism is provided for preventing the machining liquid from entering the adjacent area. This sealing mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 shows a first embodiment of a seal mechanism configured between the partition plates 36, 36, 36, 36 provided on the turntable 3 and the grinding chamber cover means 6 and the polishing chamber cover means 8. ing. 3 includes a groove 91 formed in the longitudinal direction on the upper surface of the partition plate 36, a communication passage 92 communicating with the groove 91, and a water supply means communicating with the communication passage 92. 93. The sealing mechanism 9 a configured as described above operates the water supply means 93 to supply water to the groove 91 formed in the longitudinal direction on the upper surface of the partition plate 36 through the communication path 92. As a result, the gap between the upper surface of the partition plate 36 and the lower surface of the front wall 62 and the partition wall 64 constituting the cover member 60 of the grinding chamber cover means 6, and the cover member 81 of the upper surface of the partition plate 36 and the polishing chamber cover means 8. Since the gap with the lower surface of the side wall 815 constituting the wall is as narrow as several millimeters, the space between the upper surface of the partition plate 36 and the front wall 62 of the cover member 60 and the lower surfaces of the partition wall 64 is reduced by the surface tension of the water supplied to the groove 91. A water film 90 is formed between the upper surface of the partition plate 36 and the lower surface of the cover member 81, and this water film 90 fills the gap and functions as a seal. Accordingly, splashes generated during the grinding process from the grinding chamber formed by the grinding chamber cover means 6 and splashes generated during the polishing process from the polishing chamber formed by the polishing chamber cover means 8 enter the adjacent processing region. Is prevented.

Next, FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the seal mechanism configured between the partition plates 36, 36, 36, 36 provided on the turntable 3 and the grinding chamber cover means 6 and the polishing chamber cover means 8. The description will be given with reference.
The seal mechanism 9b in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 has a front wall 62 and a partition wall 64 constituting the cover member 60 of the grinding chamber cover means 6 and a side wall 815 constituting the cover member 81 of the polishing chamber cover means 8 on the lower surface. An open communication path 94 is provided, the communication path 94 is connected to the water supply means 93, and water is supplied from the communication path 94 to a groove 91 formed in the longitudinal direction on the upper surface of the partition plate 36, whereby the partition plate The gap between the upper surface of 36 and the lower surface of the front wall 62 and the partition wall 64 constituting the cover member 60 of the grinding chamber cover means 6, and the side wall 815 constituting the cover member 81 of the partition plate 36 and the polishing chamber cover means 8. Since the gap between the lower surface of the partition plate 36 and the lower surface of the partition wall 64 is reduced by the surface tension of the water supplied to the groove 91, Between the upper and lower surfaces of the cover member 81 of Riita 36 each water film 90 is formed, the water film 90 functions as a seal filling the gap.
As the sealing mechanism, a sealing effect can be further obtained by combining the sealing mechanism 9a shown in FIG. 3 with the sealing mechanism 9b shown in FIG.

Next, a third embodiment of the sealing mechanism formed between the partition plates 36, 36, 36, 36 provided on the turntable 3 and the grinding chamber cover means 6 and the polishing chamber cover means 8 will be described with reference to FIG. This will be described with reference to (a) and (b).
The seal mechanism 9c in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) is formed by being attached to the upper end of the partition plate 36 along the longitudinal direction and having a section made of an elastic material such as rubber curved in a semicircular shape. The first seal member 95, the lower end of the front wall 62 and the partition wall 64 constituting the cover member 60 of the grinding chamber cover means 6 and the lower end of the side wall 815 constituting the cover member 61 of the polishing chamber cover means 8, respectively. The second seal member 96 is formed along the longitudinal direction and has a cross section made of an elastic material such as rubber curved in a semicircular shape. Both ends of the first seal member 95 are attached to the upper end surface of the partition plate 36 by an appropriate adhesive, and the second seal member 96 has a front wall 62 and a partition that both ends constitute the cover member 60 of the grinding chamber cover means 6. The lower end surface of the wall 64 and the lower end surface of the side wall 815 constituting the cover member 81 of the polishing chamber cover means 8 are attached with an appropriate adhesive. The first seal member 95 and the second seal member 96 configured as described above are elastically deformed by the curved central projections contacting each other, so that the upper surface of the partition plate 36 and the cover of the grinding chamber cover means 6 are covered. The gap between the front wall 62 constituting the member 60 and the lower surface of the partition wall 64 and the gap between the upper surface of the partition plate 36 and the lower surface of the side wall 815 constituting the cover member 81 of the polishing chamber cover means 8 are filled and closed. Accordingly, splashes generated during the grinding process from the grinding chamber formed by the grinding chamber cover means 6 and splashes generated during the polishing process from the polishing chamber formed by the polishing chamber cover means 8 enter the adjacent processing region. Is prevented.

  Returning to FIG. 1 and continuing the description, a first cassette mounting portion 11a and a second cassette mounting portion 11b are provided at the front end portion (the lower left end portion in FIG. 1) of the main portion 21 of the apparatus housing 2. It has been. A first cassette 111 in which a wafer before processing is accommodated is placed on the first cassette placing portion 11a, and a second cassette for housing the processed wafer is placed on the second cassette placing portion 11b. A cassette 112 is placed. Further, a temporary placement region 12 is provided in the front portion (lower left portion in FIG. 1) of the main portion 21 of the apparatus housing 2, and the pre-grinding that has been carried out of the first cassette 111 in the temporary placement region 12 is provided. Centering means 120 for aligning the center of the wafer is provided. A cleaning region 13 is provided behind the temporary storage region 12 (upper right in FIG. 1), and a spinner cleaning means 130 for cleaning the processed wafer is disposed in the cleaning region 13. The spinner cleaning means 130 cleans the wafer after being ground by the rough grinding unit 5 as the rough grinding means and the finish grinding unit 50 as the finish grinding means, and polished by the polishing means 7. The cleaning water is scattered from the cleaning surface by centrifugal force and spinner dried.

  Wafer transfer means 14 is disposed behind the first cassette mounting portion 11a and the second cassette mounting portion 11b. The wafer transport means 14 includes a conventionally known multi-axis joint robot 142 to which a hand 141 is attached, and a moving means 143 that moves the multi-axis joint robot 142 in the width direction of the apparatus housing 2. The hand 141 is configured to be inverted 180 degrees (upside down). The moving means 143 is mounted on a guide rod 143b attached to support pillars 143a and 143a erected on the main portion 21 of the apparatus housing 2 at intervals in the width direction, and is movably mounted on the guide rod 143b. A moving block 143c, a screw rod 143d that is arranged in parallel with the guide rod 143b and is screwed into a screw hole formed in the moving block 143c, and a pulse motor 143e that can be rotated forward and reversely and that rotates the screw rod 143d. The multi-axis joint robot 142 is attached to the moving block 143c. The moving means 143 configured as described above moves the moving block 143c, that is, the multi-axis joint robot 142 along the guide rod 143b by driving the pulse motor 143e in the normal direction or the reverse direction to rotate the screw rod 143d. The wafer conveying means 14 configured as described above operates the moving means 143 and the multi-axis joint robot 142 to carry out the unground wafer accommodated in the predetermined position of the first cassette 111, which will be described later. Then, the wafer after being ground and cleaned and dried by the spinner cleaning means 130 is carried into a predetermined position of the second cassette 112.

  The grinding apparatus in the illustrated embodiment conveys the wafer before grinding, which is conveyed to the centering means 120 and centered, to the chuck table 4 (a, b, c, d) positioned in the carry-in / out area 2a. A wafer carrying-in means 15 to carry out, a wafer after processing held on the chuck table 4 (a, b, c, d) positioned in the carrying-in / out area 2a, and a protective film removing means to be described later and the spinner A wafer unloading means 16 for conveying to the cleaning means 130 is provided. The wafer carry-in means 15 and the wafer carry-out means 16 are fixed to support pillars 17 and 17 attached to the apparatus housing 2 and are mounted so as to be movable along guide rails 18 extending in the front-rear direction (longitudinal direction) of the apparatus housing 2. ing. The wafer carrying means 15 includes a suction pad 151, a support rod 512 that supports the suction pad 151 at the lower end, and a moving block 153 that is connected to the upper end of the support rod 152 and is attached to the guide rail 18. . In the wafer carry-in means 15 configured as described above, the moving block 153 is appropriately moved along the guide rail 18 in the direction indicated by the arrow B by the moving means (not shown), and the support rod 152 is moved by the moving means (not shown) to the arrow C. Is moved appropriately in the vertical direction indicated by, and is turned in the direction indicated by arrow H.

  The wafer carry-out means 16 includes a suction pad 161, a guide rail 162 that supports the suction pad 161 so as to be movable in the direction indicated by arrow D, a support rod 163 that supports the guide rail 162 at the lower end, and the support The moving block 164 is connected to the upper end of the rod 163 and mounted on the guide rail 18 and moves in the direction indicated by the arrow E. The diameter of the suction pad 161 of the wafer carry-out means 16 is formed larger than the diameter of the suction pad 151 of the wafer carry-in means 15. The reason why the suction pad 161 of the wafer unloading means 16 is formed to have a large diameter is to increase the suction holding area because the wafer that has been ground and thinned is easily broken. In the wafer unloading means 16 configured as described above, the moving block 164 is appropriately moved along the guide rail 18 by a moving means (not shown), and the suction pad 621 is indicated by an arrow D by the moving means (not shown). The support rod 163 is appropriately moved in the vertical direction as indicated by an arrow F by a moving means (not shown).

  The processing apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes a suction pad cleaning means 19 for cleaning the holding surface (lower surface) of the suction pad 161 of the wafer carry-out means 16. The suction pad cleaning means 19 includes a rotatable cleaning sponge 191 and a cleaning pool 192 for storing the cleaning sponge 191 in a submerged state, and the suction pad 161 between the carry-in / out area 2a and the spinner cleaning means 130. It is arrange | positioned in the movement path | route.

The wafer processing apparatus in the illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, and the operation thereof will be described mainly with reference to FIG.
In order to process the wafer by the above-described processing apparatus, the first cassette 111 in which the wafer before processing is accommodated is placed on the first cassette mounting portion 11a, and an empty space for accommodating the wafer after processing. The second cassette 112 is placed on the second cassette placing portion 11b. When a processing start switch (not shown) is turned on, the wafer transfer means 16 is activated and stored in a predetermined position of the first cassette 111 placed on the first cassette placement portion 11a. The unprocessed wafer is unloaded and conveyed to the centering means 120. The centering means 120 performs centering of the conveyed unprocessed wafer. Next, the wafer carry-in means 15 is operated, and the unprocessed wafer centered by the centering means 120 is carried onto the chuck table 4a positioned in the carry-in / out area 2a. At the start of machining, the turntable 3 is positioned at the origin position shown in FIG. 1, the chuck table 4a disposed on the turntable 3 is in the carry-in / out area 2a, and the chuck table 4b is in the rough grinding area. 2b, the chuck table 4c is positioned in the finish grinding region 2c, and the chuck table 4d is positioned in the polishing region 2d. The unprocessed wafer placed on the chuck table 4a positioned in the loading / unloading area 2a by the wafer loading means 15 is sucked and held on the chuck table 4a by a suction means (not shown).

  If the wafer before processing is sucked and held on the chuck table 4a positioned in the loading / unloading area 2a, the table rotating means (not shown) is operated to show the turntable 3 in a predetermined direction indicated by an arrow A in FIG. In this embodiment, it is rotated by an angle of 90 degrees. As a result, the chuck table 4a that sucks and holds the unprocessed wafer is positioned in the rough grinding region 2b, the chuck table 4b is in the finish grinding region 2c, the chuck table 4c is in the polishing region 2d, and the chuck table 4d is in the loading / unloading region. 2a, respectively. If the chuck tables 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d are positioned in the respective areas in this way, the rough grinding unit 5 performs roughing on the wafer held on the chuck table 4a positioned in the rough grinding area 2b. Grinding is performed. During this time, the unprocessed wafer is conveyed to the chuck table 4d positioned in the loading / unloading area 2a, and the unprocessed wafer is sucked and held on the chuck table 4d.

  Next, a table rotating means (not shown) is operated to rotate the turntable 3 further 90 degrees in a predetermined direction indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 1 (therefore, the turntable 3 is 180 degrees from the origin position shown in FIG. 1). Rotate). As a result, the chuck table 4a holding the roughly ground wafer in the rough grinding region 2b is positioned in the finish grinding region 2c, and the chuck table 4d holding the wafer before processing in the carry-in / out region 2a is rough ground. Positioned in region 2b. The chuck table 4b is positioned in the polishing area 2d, and the chuck table 4c is positioned in the loading / unloading area 2a. In this state, the finish grinding unit 50 performs finish grinding on the roughly ground wafer held on the chuck table 4a positioned in the finish grinding region 2c, and is positioned in the rough grinding region 2b. Rough grinding is performed by the rough grinding unit 5 on the wafer held on the chuck table 4d. During this time, the unprocessed wafer is conveyed to the chuck table 4c positioned in the loading / unloading area 2a, and the unprocessed wafer is sucked and held on the chuck table 4c.

  Next, a table rotating means (not shown) is operated to further rotate the turntable 3 by 90 degrees in a predetermined direction indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 1 (therefore, the turntable 3 is 270 degrees from the origin position shown in FIG. 1). Rotate). As a result, the chuck table 4a holding the wafer subjected to finish grinding in the finish grinding region 2c is positioned in the polishing region 2d, and the chuck table 4d holding the wafer subjected to rough grinding in the rough grinding region 2b is used in the finish grinding region 2c. In addition, the chuck table 4c that sucks and holds the unprocessed wafer in the loading / unloading area 2a is positioned in the rough grinding area 2b. Then, the chuck table 4b is positioned in the loading / unloading area 2a. As described above, the finish grinding unit 50 performs finish grinding on the roughly ground wafer held on the chuck table 4d positioned in the finish grinding region 2c by turning the turntable 3. The rough grinding unit 5 performs rough grinding on the wafer held by the chuck table 4c positioned in the rough grinding region 2b.

  Further, the polishing process is performed by the polishing means 7 on the wafer that has been subjected to finish grinding and is held by the chuck table 4a positioned in the polishing region 2d. On the other hand, the wafer before processing is conveyed to the chuck table 4b positioned in the carry-in / out region 2a during this time, and the wafer before processing is sucked and held on the chuck table 4b.

  As described above, when each chuck table 4 that sucks and holds the wafer is positioned in the rough grinding region 2b, the finish grinding region 2c, and the polishing region 2d, the partition plates 36, 36, 36, 36 provided on the turntable 3 Since the seal mechanism 9a, the seal mechanism 9b, or the seal mechanism 9c is formed between the grinding chamber cover means 6 and the polishing chamber cover means 8, the grinding chamber formed by the grinding chamber cover means 6 is subjected to grinding. The generated splashes and the splashes generated during the polishing process from the polishing chamber formed by the polishing chamber cover means 8 are prevented from entering the adjacent processing region.

  Next, the turntable 3 (not shown) is operated to turn the turntable 3 further 90 degrees in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 1 (therefore, the turntable 3 is rotated 360 degrees from the origin position shown in FIG. 1). Move). As a result, the chuck table 4a holding the wafer that has been polished in the polishing region 2d and from which the grinding distortion has been removed is positioned in the carry-in / out region 2a, and the chuck that holds the wafer that has been subjected to finish grinding in the finish grinding region 2c. The table 4d is positioned in the polishing region 2d, and the chuck table 4c holding the wafer subjected to rough grinding in the rough grinding region 2b is positioned in the finish grinding region 2c, and the wafer before processing is sucked and held in the loading / unloading region 2a. The chuck table 4b is positioned in the rough grinding region 2b.

  The chuck table 4a positioned in the carry-in / carry-out area 2a releases the wafer suction holding. Next, the wafer unloading means 16 is operated to hold the wafer on the chuck table 4 a on the suction pad 161, unload from the chuck table 4 a, and transport to the spinner cleaning means 130. The processed wafer conveyed to the spinner cleaning means 130 is cleaned and spinner dried here. The processed wafer thus cleaned and dried is carried into a predetermined position of the second cassette 112 by the wafer transport means 14.

  If the wafer unloading means 16 unloads the processed wafer on the chuck table positioned in the loading / unloading area 2a and transports it to the spinner cleaning means 130, the suction pad 161 is cleaned by the suction pad cleaning means 19. Position in the area. Then, the suction pad cleaning means 19 is operated, and the cleaning sponge 191 is brought into contact with the suction surface of the suction pad 161 and rotated while being submerged in the cleaning pool 192 to clean the suction surface of the suction pad 161. When the suction surface of the suction pad 161 is cleaned, the wafer carry-out means 16 positions the suction pad 161 at the standby position.

2: Device housing 2a: Loading / unloading area 2b: Rough grinding area 2c: Finish grinding area 2d: Polishing area 3: Turntables 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d: Chuck table 5: Rough grinding unit 50: Finish grinding unit 51: Unit housing 52: Coarse grinding wheel 520: Finishing grinding wheel 53: Servo motor 56: Grinding feed means 6: Grinding chamber cover means 60: Cover member 7: Polishing means 71: Polishing tool 72: Mounter 73: Spindle unit 75: First polishing feed means 76: Second polishing feed means 8: Polishing chamber cover means 81: Cover members 9a, 9b, 9c: Sealing mechanism 91: Groove 92: Communication path 93: Water supply means 94: Communication path 95: First seal member 96: Second seal member 111: First cassette 112: Second cassette 120: Centering means 130: Spinner cleaning means 14: Wafer conveying means 15: Wafer carrying means 16: Wafer carrying means

Claims (1)

A plurality of chuck tables each having a turntable disposed rotatably, a plurality of chuck tables each having a holding surface that holds a workpiece and is disposed on the turntable with an equiangular phase angle, and the plurality of chuck tables are positioned. In a processing apparatus comprising: a plurality of processing units that are respectively disposed in a plurality of processing regions and that respectively process the workpieces held on the plurality of chuck tables;
On the upper surface of the turntable, a partition plate is provided that extends in a radial direction from the rotation axis of the partition where the plurality of chuck tables are disposed, and is formed higher than the height of the plurality of chuck tables.
The plurality of processing means include cover means including a wall having a lower surface facing the upper surface of the partition plate in a state where the plurality of chuck tables disposed on the turntable are positioned in each processing region. Arranged,
E Bei sealing mechanism chuck table of the plurality of disposed on the turntable seals between the lower surface of the wall of the top and the cover means of the partition plate in a state of being positioned in each processing region,
The sealing mechanism includes a groove formed along the longitudinal direction on the upper surface of the partition plate, and water supply means for supplying water to the groove, and the partition by the surface tension of water supplied to the groove. Forming a water film between the upper surface of the plate and the lower surface of the wall of the cover means, and filling a gap between the upper surface of the partition plate and the lower surface of the wall of the cover means;
A wafer processing apparatus characterized by that.

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