JP7521978B2 - Protective member forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a protective member forming device that forms a protective member on one side of a wafer.

As disclosed in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2, in the manufacturing process of semiconductor wafers, etc., when a cylindrical ingot is sliced with a wire saw to form a disk-shaped wafer, warping or undulations may occur in the wafer. In order to remove this warping or undulation, a liquid resin such as polyethylene is applied to one side of the wafer on which the warping or undulations have been formed, and this is hardened to form a protective member, after which the opposite side of the wafer is ground with a rotating grinding wheel to flatten it, and further the protective member is peeled off and the exposed side is ground to flatten the wafer to a predetermined thickness.

JP 2016-167546 A JP 2017-224670 A

In the above technology, to apply and harden liquid resin on one side of a wafer, for example, a predetermined amount of liquid resin is dropped onto a sheet placed on the stage of the protective member forming device, and the wafer held by a suction holder above the stage is pressed from above against the liquid resin from one side (bottom side) to spread the liquid resin from the center of one side of the wafer toward the outer periphery between the sheet and one side of the wafer, spreading the liquid resin over the entire area of the one side, and then the liquid resin is hardened by heating or irradiating it with ultraviolet light.

The protective member forming apparatus as described above includes a first robot that takes out the wafer from the cassette and transports it to the temporary placement table, and a second robot that transports and hands over the wafer from the temporary placement table to a wafer holding section that waits directly above the stage. The second robot is also used to remove the wafer on which the protective member has been formed from the wafer holding section. Therefore, a waiting time occurs in the series of wafer transports until the second robot removes the wafer on which the protective member has been formed from the wafer holding section and transports the next wafer to the wafer holding section.

Therefore, the challenge for protective material forming devices is to reduce the waiting time during the series of wafer transports in forming the protective material, thereby improving productivity.

The present invention, which aims to solve the above-mentioned problems, is a protective member forming device that includes a cassette stage on which a cassette storing wafers in a shelf-like shape is placed, a temporary placement table on which wafers removed from the cassette are temporarily placed, a stage on which a sheet is placed, a liquid resin supply nozzle that supplies liquid resin onto the sheet placed on the stage, a wafer holding section that holds a wafer to be pressed against the liquid resin supplied to the sheet, a hardening means that hardens the liquid resin and forms a protective member consisting of the sheet and the hardened resin on one side of the wafer, a cutting table that cuts the sheet of the protective member formed on one side of the wafer into a circle along the outer periphery of the wafer, a robot that transports wafers between the temporary placement table and the stage, and between the stage and the cutting table, and a control means. The robot is a U-shaped robot hand having a suction surface on its upper surface, and is arranged directly below the robot hand and sucks a wafer having the protective member formed on one side thereof through the sheet from the upper surface side of the other side. The protective member forming device includes a suction pad that holds the sheet, a plurality of suction cups that are placed on the suction pad and that suction-hold the portion of the sheet that protrudes outside the wafer on which the protective member is formed, the robot hand, a holder that places the suction pad, a lifting means that moves the holder vertically, and a horizontal movement means that moves the holder horizontally. The temporary placement table is formed so that it can pass through the U-shaped opening of the robot hand, the cut table is placed directly below the temporary placement table so that its center is aligned with the center of the temporary placement table, and the control means controls the lifting means to lift the holder, thereby allowing the robot hand to receive the wafer on the temporary placement table after the wafer on which the protective member is formed is placed on the cut table with the suction pad, and also allows the wafer held by the robot hand to be transferred to the wafer holding section and held by the wafer holding section, and then allowing the suction pad to receive the wafer on which the protective member is formed on the stage.

The protective member forming device according to the present invention comprises a robot having a U-shaped robot hand with a suction surface on its upper surface, a suction pad arranged directly below the robot hand and for suction-holding a wafer having a protective member formed on one side from the upper surface side of the other side via a sheet, a plurality of suction cups arranged on the suction pad for suction-holding the portion of the sheet protruding outside the wafer having the protective member formed thereon, a holder for arranging the robot hand and the suction pad, a lifting means for moving the holder vertically, and a horizontal moving means for moving the holder horizontally, the temporary placement table is formed so as to be able to pass through the U-shaped opening of the robot hand, and the cutting table has a center By being positioned directly below the temporary placement table so as to be aligned on the same line as the center of the temporary placement table, the control means controls the lifting means to raise and lower the holder, thereby making it possible to place the wafer with the protective member formed on it on the cutting table with the suction pad, and then have the robot hand receive the wafer from the temporary placement table, and also to transfer the wafer held by the robot hand to the wafer holding section and have it held by the wafer holding section, and then have the suction pad receive the wafer with the protective member formed on the stage, thereby reducing waiting time in wafer transport and shortening the wafer transport time.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a protective member forming apparatus. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a robot. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a positional relationship between a temporary placement table and a cutting table.

The protective member forming device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a device that forms a protective member on one side 900 (lower side) of a wafer 90, and includes a housing 100 that forms a processing chamber, an equipment base 101 arranged within the housing 100, a column 102 standing on the equipment base 101, a support base 103 arranged adjacent to the side of the equipment base 101, and a cassette storage body 104 connected to the rear side (+Y direction side) of the housing 100 and having a cassette stage 1041 and a cassette stage 1042 aligned in the X-axis direction.

A cassette 1043 for storing wafers 90 before the protective member is formed thereon in a plurality of shelves is placed on the cassette stage 1041, and a cassette 1044 for storing wafers 90 after the protective member is formed thereon in a plurality of shelves is placed on the cassette stage 1042. Note that the cassette 1043 for storing wafers 90 before the protective member is formed and the cassette 1044 for storing wafers 90 after the protective member is formed may be arranged in a reversed left-right manner.
The wafer 90 having a circular shape in a plan view is, for example, an as-sliced wafer cut from a silicon ingot, but is not limited to this.

Connected to the rear of the +Y direction side of the column 102 shown in FIG. 1 are a temporary placement table 70 for temporarily placing the wafer 90 taken out of the cassette 1043, and a cutting table 72 located below the temporary placement table 70 for cutting the sheet 12 of the protective material formed on one side 900 of the wafer 90 into a circle along the outer periphery of the wafer 90. A wafer detection unit 106 consisting of a camera or the like is disposed above the temporary placement table 70 and detects the center position, etc. of the wafer 90 placed on the temporary placement table 70 and before the protective material is formed using captured images. A cutter 75 is disposed rotatably on the cutting table 72 for cutting the portion of the protective material formed on the wafer 90 that protrudes from the outer periphery of the wafer 90 into a circle along the outer periphery of the wafer 90.

Between the cassette storage body 104 and the temporary placement table 70, there is disposed a wafer transport means 1081 such as an articulated robot that transports the wafers 90 to and from the cassettes 1043 and 1044, and the wafer transport means 1081 can move back and forth in the X-axis direction by an X-axis direction moving means 1082 such as a ball screw mechanism. The wafer transport means 1081 can transport the wafers 90 before the protective member is formed from the cassette 1043 and carry them into the temporary placement table 70, and can transport the wafers 90 after the protective member has been formed from the cutting table 72 and carry them into the cassette 1044.

The wafer 90, whose center position and the like have been detected by the wafer detection unit 106 on the temporary placement table 70, is held and transported by the articulated robot 4 shown in FIG.
The robot 4 shown in Figure 2 is equipped with a U-shaped robot hand 40 having a suction surface 400 on its upper surface, a suction pad 42 arranged directly below the robot hand 40 and for suction-holding a wafer 90 having a protective material formed on one side 900 from the other upper surface 902 side via a sheet 12, a plurality of suction cups 44 arranged on the suction pad 42 for suction-holding the portion of the sheet 12 protruding outside the wafer 90 having the protective material formed thereon, a holder 46 for holding the robot hand 40 and the suction pad 42, a lifting means 47 for moving the holder 46 vertically, and a horizontal movement means 48 for moving the holder 46 horizontally.

2 includes, for example, a long plate-like first arm 481, a long plate-like second arm 482, and a cylindrical arm connector 483 extending in the Z-axis direction, and the upper surface of one end of the second arm 482 is connected to the lower surface of one end of the first arm 481 via the arm connector 483. The holder 46 is connected to the other end of the first arm 481, and the lower surface of the other end of the second arm 482 is connected to the lifting means 47. A belt pulley mechanism consisting of a rotating shaft and the like and driven by a rotating motor 489 is disposed inside the first arm 481, the second arm 482, and the arm connecting portion 483, and the horizontal moving means 48 can rotate the first arm 481 and the second arm 482 around the rotating shaft whose axial direction is the Z-axis direction (vertical direction) by the rotational force generated by the rotating motor 489. The robot hand 40 and the suction pad 42 can be rotated in a horizontal plane (within the X-axis and Y-axis plane), and the first arm 481 and the second arm 482 can be deformed from a state where they cross each other to a state where they are linear, and the robot hand 40 and the suction pad 42 can be moved linearly in a horizontal plane.

The lifting means 47, which is composed of, for example, an electric actuator, is connected to the underside of the second arm 482 of the horizontal movement means 48, and the lifting means 47, together with the horizontal movement means 48, moves the robot hand 40 and the suction pad 42 up and down in the Z-axis direction, and can position the suction pad 42 at a predetermined height. The lifting means 47 is disposed on the electric slider 109 shown in FIG. 1, and the robot 4 can move back and forth in the Y-axis direction by the electric slider 109.

2 includes, for example, a long plate-shaped hand support arm 461, a long plate-shaped pad support arm 462, and a holder rotation shaft 463 extending in the Z-axis direction. The holder rotation shaft 463 is rotatably connected to the tip of the first arm 481 with the Z-axis direction as its axial direction, and can, for example, by a belt pulley mechanism disposed in the first arm 481, pivotally move the hand support arm 461 and the pad support arm 462 in a horizontal plane (within the X-axis and Y-axis plane) in conjunction with the first arm 481, and can deform the hand support arm 461 and the pad support arm 462 from a state in which they cross the extension direction of the first arm 481 in the horizontal plane to extend in the same direction as the extension direction of the first arm 481.

The lower surface of the robot hand 40 is fixed to the upper surface of the tip end of the hand support arm 461. In addition, the upper surface of the suction pad 42 is fixed to the lower surface of the tip end of the pad support arm 462.
The plate-like robot hand 40, which is disposed on the holder 46 and holds the wafer 90 by suction, is U-shaped in a plan view, and the surface facing upward is the suction surface 400. The suction surface 400 is smoothly finished, and the end (ridge) of the suction surface 400 may be chamfered so as not to damage the wafer 90 when it comes into contact with the wafer 90.

A plurality of suction holes 401 are opened in the suction surface 400. For example, the suction holes 401 are opened at three locations at approximately equal intervals on the suction surface 400. Note that the number and locations of the suction holes 401 are not limited to this example.
In addition, the suction hole 401 may be provided with a deformable rubber suction cup or the like.

One end of each intra-hand suction path 403 that passes through the inside of the robot hand 40 is connected to each suction hole 401, and the other end of the intra-hand suction path 403 extends toward the holder 46 side, joins with it, and is then connected via a joint (not shown) to a flexible resin tube 490 that does not interfere with the rotational movement of the robot hand 40. The other end of the resin tube 490 is connected to a suction source 49 such as a vacuum generator or an ejector mechanism.
2 shows that the in-hand suction path 403 is connected to only one suction hole 401, but the in-hand suction path 403 is also connected to each of the other suction holes 401. In addition, for example, the resin tube 490 is provided with a control valve 491 that switches between a connected state and a non-connected state with the suction source 49.

The suction pad 42 is formed in a substantially H-shape in plan view, and a suction cup 44 is disposed on the underside of each tip of the suction pad 42. The suction cup 44 is formed, for example, of a deformable elastic material such as rubber in a circular shape in plan view, expanding in diameter downward. The underside of the suction cup 44 serves as the suction surface. A flexible resin tube 425 is connected to the suction cup 44 via a joint or the like (not shown), which is flexible so as not to impede the rotational movement of the suction pad 42. The other end of the resin tube 425 is, for example, joined together and connected to a suction source 49.
2 shows the resin tube 425 connected to only one suction cup 44, but the resin tube 425 also connects to each of the other suction cups 44. In addition, for example, the resin tube 425 is provided with a control valve 493 that switches between a connected state and a non-connected state with the suction source 49.

For example, a U-shaped opening 426 is formed in the center of the suction pad 42, which is similar or congruent in plan view to the U-shaped opening 405 of the robot hand 40. In addition, the center of the robot hand 40 and the center of the suction pad 42 are approximately aligned.

For example, the cutting table 72 shown in detail in FIG. 3 includes a suction holder 720 formed in a circular shape in a plan view, a cover portion 722 surrounding the suction holder 720, and a clearance groove 723 disposed between the suction holder 720 and the cover portion 722 and having a diameter slightly larger than that of the wafer 90. For example, a suction hole 7201 is formed in the center of the suction holder 720, and the suction hole 7201 is connected to a suction source (not shown).

A support pillar 77 that supports the temporary placement table 70 and cutter 75 is erected in the +Z direction on the cover section 722, and on the front surface of the support pillar 77 on the -X direction side, a table support arm 773 in which the temporary placement table 70 is embedded, and a cylinder support arm 770 extend horizontally in the -X direction from the top.

The temporary placement table 70 is formed so that it can pass through the U-shaped opening 405 of the robot hand 40, which moves up and down in the Z-axis direction, in the Z-axis direction. That is, the table support arm 773, which has the temporary placement table 70 embedded in its tip end and is formed as a long plate facing in the -X direction, is formed to be narrower than the U-shaped opening 405, and the tip end is rounded into a semicircular shape to fit the U-shaped opening 405.

The temporary placement table 70 is embedded in the tip side of the table support arm 773, for example, so that the upper surface of the table support arm 773 and the suction holding surface 700 are flush with each other. The wafer 90 temporarily placed on the suction holding surface 700 of the temporary placement table 70 is also placed on one area of the upper surface of the table support arm 773, but is not limited to this shape. For example, the center of the temporary placement table 70 and the center of the suction holding portion 720 of the cutting table 72 approximately coincide with each other. The temporary placement table 70 has a smaller diameter than the wafer 90 so that it only contacts the central portion closer to the wafer 90.

The temporary placement table 70, which is circular in plan view, has a suction holding surface made of a porous material, or a suction holding surface 700 on which suction holes 703 and suction grooves 701 are formed in the radial direction from the suction holes 703 as shown in FIG. 3, and the suction force generated by a suction source (not shown) can be transmitted to the suction holding surface 700.

A temporary table rotation means 709 consisting of a spindle, a motor, etc. is connected to the underside of the temporary table 70, and the temporary table 70 can rotate the suction-held wafer 90 around a rotation axis whose axial direction is the Z-axis direction, allowing the wafer 90 held below the wafer detection unit 106 to pass over the outer edge, etc.

The cylinder support arm 770 has, for example, the same external shape as the table support arm 773, and can pass in the Z-axis direction through the opening 405 of the robot hand 40, which moves up and down, and the opening 426 of the suction pad 42 shown in FIG. 2, which moves up and down. A lifting cylinder 78 is disposed at the tip of the cylinder support arm 770 on the -X direction side.

The lift cylinder 78 has a rod 782 that extends in the Z-axis direction from a bottomed cylindrical cylinder case 780 supported by a cylinder support arm 770, and is positioned so as to overlap the center line of the suction holder 720. A cutter support bar 783 extending horizontally is attached to the rod 782, and a cutter 75 facing the escape groove 723 is disposed on the underside of the tip of the cutter support bar 783. The lift cylinder 78 can be rotated around a rotation axis whose axial direction is the Z-axis direction by a cutter rotation motor 76. When the lift cylinder 78 rotates, the cutter 75 rotates along the escape groove 723.

In FIG. 3, the cutting table 72 has one clearance groove 723, but for example, it may have a further clearance groove outside the clearance groove 723 in a concentric circle centered on the center of the suction holding part 720, and the cutter support bar 783 may be made extendable and retractable in the horizontal direction, so that the cutter 75 can cut the protective sheet 12 of the wafers 90 of different diameters into a circular shape along the outer periphery of the wafer 90.

On the device base 101 shown in FIG. 1, there are arranged sheet supplying means 11 consisting of a rotating shaft, a motor, and multiple rotating rollers, and a stage 14 consisting of a transparent material such as glass and having a circular upper surface 140 on which a sheet 12 onto which liquid resin is dripped is placed. The sheet supplying means 11 consisting of multiple rollers can send out a sheet 12 of a desired length from a sheet roll 129 formed by winding a sheet 12 consisting of a predetermined resin into a roll, toward the stage 14 located forward (in the +Y direction).

The center position of the upper surface of the device base 101 is a temporary placement surface 1011 on which the sheet 12 sent from the sheet supply means 11 in the +Y direction is placed during cutting, and in an area of the temporary placement surface 1011 close to the sheet supply means 11, a plurality of sheet suction holes 1013 are formed, for example, in two rows at equal intervals in the X-axis direction, over a length approximately equal to the width of the sheet 12 in the X-axis direction. The sheet suction holes 1013 are connected to a suction source such as a vacuum generator (not shown). The sheet suction hole 1013 may be formed as a single slit extending in the X-axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the protective member forming device 1 includes a gripping unit 15 that grips the outer peripheral edge (the outer peripheral edge on the +Y direction side) of the sheet 12, a horizontal movement mechanism 16 that moves the sheet 12 gripped by the gripping unit 15 so as to be pulled out in a horizontal direction (+Y direction) parallel to the upper surface 140 of the stage 14, and a liquid resin supply nozzle 179 that supplies liquid resin onto the sheet 12 placed on the stage 14.

The protective member forming apparatus 1 includes a sheet cutting means 80 that cuts the rear end side (−Y direction side) of the sheet 12 gripped by the gripping portion 15 and pulled out from the sheet 12 relative to the leading end side (+Y direction side).
The sheet cutting means 80 is disposed, for example, near the front of the sheet supplying means 11. As shown in Fig. 1, the sheet cutting means 80 includes a cutter clearance groove (not shown) that is formed between two rows of sheet suction holes 1013 in the temporary placement surface 1011 of the device base 101 and crosses the width direction of the sheet 12, and a cutter moving means 802 that is disposed above the cutter clearance groove and moves the cutter 801 that advances within the cutter clearance groove along the extension direction of the cutter clearance groove, and that can raise and lower the cutter 801 and move it in the X-axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the horizontal movement mechanism 16 can move the movable arm 160 in the Y-axis direction, for example, by an electric slider (not shown) arranged in the support base 103.

For example, a movable hole 1033 that allows the movable arm 160 to move in the Y-axis direction is formed through the top plate of the support base 103 shown in FIG. 1 and extends a predetermined length in the Y-axis direction. The movable arm 160 extends, for example, in the +Z direction through the movable hole 1033 and is exposed to the outside from the support base 103, then extends horizontally a predetermined length in the +Y direction and further extends horizontally across the sheet 12 in the +X direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gripping portion 15 is disposed on the inner surface on the -Y direction side of the portion of the movable arm 160 that extends across the sheet 12 in the X axis direction. The gripping portion 15 is, for example, a gripping clamp that clamps the outer peripheral edge of the sheet 12 to be gripped between a pair of gripping plates that can move toward and away from each other in the Z axis direction.

1, in this embodiment, the liquid resin supply nozzle 179 is disposed adjacent to the gripping portion 15 and is movable by the horizontal movement mechanism 16 to supply a predetermined amount of liquid resin onto the sheet 12. Note that the liquid resin supply nozzle 179 may be a swivel nozzle that can swivel above the stage 14 and is inverted L-shaped when viewed from the side, with an injection port directed toward the center of the stage 14.
In this embodiment, the liquid resin supply nozzle 179 is disposed in the center of an area of the portion of the movable arm 160 that extends across the sheet 12 in the X-axis direction, and is, for example, a linear nozzle extending in the Z-axis direction. The liquid resin supply nozzle 179 can be positioned directly above the central area of the upper surface 140 of the stage 14 by the horizontal movement mechanism 16.

As shown in FIG. 1, the protective member forming device 1 includes a dispenser 171 that delivers a predetermined amount of liquid resin to a liquid resin supply nozzle 179, and a connection pipe 172 that connects the liquid resin supply nozzle 179 and the dispenser 171. The connection pipe 172, which is made of a flexible resin tube or the like, is connected to a supply port on the upper end side of the liquid resin supply nozzle 179 shown in FIG. 1. The dispenser 171 is also connected to a resin supply source (not shown). In this embodiment, the liquid resin supplied by the resin supply source to the liquid resin supply nozzle 179 is an ultraviolet-curable resin that is cured by irradiation with ultraviolet rays, but may be a thermosetting resin that is cured by application of heat.

For example, the protective member forming device 1 may be equipped with an ionizer nozzle that removes electricity from the sheet 12. The ionizer nozzle converts air supplied from an air supply source to the sheet 12 placed on the stage 14 into positively charged ionized air and, for example, approximately the same amount of negatively charged ionized air, and then sprays the air toward the sheet 12 from above the sheet 12.

The stage 14, which is circular in plan view and has a flat upper surface 140 with an area larger than the area of one side 900 forming the protective member of the wafer 90 shown in FIG. 1 and on which a sheet 12 (cut rectangular sheet 12) with an area larger than the upper surface 140 is placed, is made of, for example, quartz glass. The stage 14 is surrounded by a suction cover 143 with a rectangular shape in plan view, and suction holes 144 are arranged at the four corners of the upper surface of the suction cover 143. A suction source (not shown), such as a vacuum generator, is connected to the suction holes 144. When the cut rectangular sheet 12 is placed on the upper surface 140 of the stage 14 and the upper surface of the suction cover 143, the suction force generated by the suction source is transmitted to the suction holes 144, and the sheet 12 is suction-held on the stage 14 and the suction cover 143. Suction holes may also be arranged between the stage 14 and the suction cover 143.

A curing means 149 is disposed below the stage 14 to cure the liquid resin and form a protective member consisting of the sheet 12 and the cured resin on one side 900 of the wafer 90. The curing means 149 includes, for example, a UV lamp capable of irradiating ultraviolet light of a predetermined wavelength upward. Note that if the liquid resin supplied onto the sheet 12 is a thermosetting resin, the curing means 149 may be a heater or the like.

An expansion means 51 is provided on the front surface of the -Y direction of the column 102 shown in Figure 1, which moves the wafer holding part 50 and the stage 14 relatively closer to the upper surface 140 in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface 140 (Z-axis direction) and spreads the liquid resin supplied to the upper surface of the sheet 12 with one side 900, which is the lower surface of the wafer 90 held by the wafer holding part 50.
The expansion means 51 is composed of a ball screw 510 having an axis in the Z-axis direction (vertical direction), a pair of guide rails 511 arranged parallel to the ball screw 510, a motor 512 connected to the ball screw 510 and rotating the ball screw 510, and a lifting holder 513 whose internal nut screws into the ball screw 510 and whose side is in sliding contact with the guide rails 511, and as the motor 512 rotates the ball screw 510, the lifting holder 513 is guided by the guide rails 511 and rises and falls together with the wafer holding part 50 it supports.

The wafer holding unit 50 that holds the wafer 90 includes a wheel support unit 502 held by an elevation holder 513, and a disk-shaped wheel 500 fixed to the underside of the wheel support unit 502. The wheel 500 is configured by fitting a porous plate into a frame so that it is exposed downward, and the flat underside of the wheel 500 becomes the holding surface 503 that holds the wafer 90 by suction. The holding surface 503 is connected to a suction source (not shown), such as a vacuum generator.

The protective member forming device 1 is equipped with a control means 19 that controls the operation of each component of the device. The control means 19, which is composed of a CPU, memory and other storage elements, is electrically connected to, for example, a rotation motor constituting the horizontal movement means 48 of the robot 4 shown in FIG. 2, and a lifting means 47 such as an electric actuator.

As an example of control by the control means 19, for example, the swivel motor 489 shown in FIG. 2 is a servo motor, and an encoder (not shown) of the swivel motor 489 is connected to the control means 19, which also functions as a servo amplifier, and an operation signal is supplied from the output interface of the control means 19 to the swivel motor 489, causing the swivel motor 489 to rotate, and the number of rotations detected by the encoder (not shown) is output as an encoder signal to the input interface of the control means 19. Then, upon receiving the encoder signal, the control means 19 can sequentially recognize the positions in the horizontal plane of the robot hand 40 and the suction pad 42 that are swiveled by the swivel motor 489. In a substantially similar manner, the control means 19 controls the lifting means 47 to position the robot hand 40 and the suction pad 42 at a predetermined height in the Z-axis direction.

The operation of the protective member forming apparatus 1 when forming a protective member on a wafer 90 using the protective member forming apparatus 1 will be described below.
First, the first target wafer 90 before the protective member is formed is taken out from the cassette 1043 by the wafer transport means 1081 shown in Fig. 1 and transported to the temporary placement table 70. Then, for example, in a state in which the center of the suction holding surface 700 of the temporary placement table 70 shown in Fig. 3 is approximately aligned with the center of the wafer 90, the wafer 90 is suction-held by the temporary placement table 70, and the wafer transport means 1081 moves away from the wafer 90.

The outer periphery of the wafer 90 temporarily placed on the temporary placement table 70 is placed in the imaging area of the camera of the wafer detection unit 106, and the camera is focused on, for example, the upper surface 902 of the wafer 90, and an image showing the outer periphery of the wafer 90 is formed. The temporary placement table 70 is rotated by the temporary placement table rotation means 709 shown in FIG. 3, and the position of the outer periphery of the wafer 90 relative to the camera of the wafer detection unit 106 is changed. Then, the camera captures similar images of the wafer 90 held by suction on the temporary placement table 70 at multiple locations (for example, two more locations spaced apart from the previously captured location in the circumferential direction of the wafer 90). That is, second and third captured images showing the outer periphery of the wafer 90 are further formed. Then, the center of the wafer 90 is identified by a conventionally known geometric calculation process based on the edge coordinates of three points of the outer periphery of the wafer 90 in the captured image.
Furthermore, the amount and direction of deviation of the center of the wafer 90 from the center of the temporary placement table 70 is recognized, and the temporary placement table 70 is rotated so that the deviation direction is parallel to the X-axis direction.

Next, the wafer 90 on the temporary placement table 70 is transported to the wafer holder 50 by the robot 4. Specifically, under the control of the control means 19, the robot hand 40 moves up and down together with the suction pad 42 by the lifting means 47 shown in Figures 1 and 2, and the robot hand 40 is positioned at the height of the first wafer 90 on the temporary placement table 70.

Furthermore, under the control of the horizontal movement means 48 by the control means 19, the robot hand 40 is rotated together with the suction pad 42, so that the U-shaped opening 405 of the robot hand 40 faces the table support arm 773 in the X-axis direction. Furthermore, the horizontal movement means 48 causes the robot hand 40 to move linearly in the +X direction, and the U-shaped opening 405 enters the table support arm 773 and the temporary placement table 70. At the same time, the opening 426 of the suction pad 42 enters the cylinder support arm 770 and the lifting cylinder 78, so the progress of the robot hand 40 is not impeded by the suction pad 42.
When the robot hand 40 is advanced, it is advisable to make the cutter support bar 783 parallel to the X-axis direction.

Then, for example, after the position of the robot hand 40 in the horizontal plane (position in the X-axis direction) is finely adjusted so that the center of the robot hand 40 and the center of the wafer 90 already recognized approximately coincide with each other, the lifting means 47 raises the robot hand 40 and brings the suction surface 400 into contact with the downward facing one side 900 of the wafer 90. Then, the suction force generated by the suction source 49 shown in Fig. 2 is transmitted to the suction hole 401 of the robot hand 40 through the open control valve 491, the resin tube 490, and the suction path 403 in the hand, and the robot hand 40 sucks and holds the area of the downward facing one side 900 of the wafer 90 that protrudes from the temporary placement table 70 with the suction surface 400, which is the upper surface. Also, the suction holding of the wafer 90 by the temporary placement table 70 is released.
In addition, the temporary placement table 70 may be equipped with an X-axis moving mechanism that can move in the X-axis direction, and instead of fine-tuning the position in the X-axis direction when the robot hand 40 receives the wafer 90 as described above, the temporary placement table 70 may be moved in the X-axis direction so that the center of the robot hand 40 and the center of the wafer 90 approximately coincide with each other.

Then, the robot hand 40, which has suction-held the wafer 90, moves, for example, in the -X direction and removes the wafer 90 from the temporary placement table 70. After that, the robot 4 moves in the -Y direction by the electric slider 109 shown in FIG. 1 and delivers the wafer 90 to the wafer holder 50. That is, with the center of the holding surface 503 of the wafer holder 50 and the center of the wafer 90 approximately aligned, the wafer holder 50 suction-holds the top surface 902 of the wafer 90 with the holding surface 503. Next, the suction hold of one side 900 of the wafer 90 by the robot hand 40 is released, and the robot hand 40 retreats from below the wafer 90.

For example, after the center position of the first wafer 90 is detected and the robot hand 40 removes the first wafer 90 from the temporary placement table 70, the temporary placement table 70 becomes empty. In order to improve the throughput of the protective member formation, the wafer transport means 1081 shown in FIG. 1 removes the second target wafer 90 before the protective member is formed from the cassette 1043 and transports it to the temporary placement table 70, where the center position is detected.

In parallel with the transport of the first wafer 90 to the wafer holder 50, the sheet supply means 11 rotates the sheet roll 129, and the leading edge of the strip-shaped sheet 12 is sent out horizontally in the +Y direction by a guide roller or the like. The horizontal movement mechanism 16 moves the gripper 15 disposed on the movable arm 160 in the -Y direction, and the gripper 15 grips the leading edge (outer peripheral end) of the strip-shaped sheet 12.

Next, as the sheet supplying means 11 feeds out the sheet 12, the gripping unit 15 moves in the +Y direction and is positioned at the sheet cutting position P2 shown in FIG. 1. The sheet supplying means 11 also temporarily stops feeding out the sheet 12. The strip-shaped sheet 12 pulled out horizontally in the +Y direction by the gripping unit 15 for a predetermined length is temporarily placed on the temporary placement surface 1011 of the device base 101, and the suction force generated by a suction source (not shown) is transmitted to the sheet suction hole 1013, so that the rear end of the sheet 12 is suctioned and held on the temporary placement surface 1011. At this stage, the cutter 801 of the sheet cutting means 80 is waiting above the sheet 12.

The cutter 801 is positioned at a start position on the -X direction side by the cutter moving means 802. In other words, the cutter 801 is positioned at one end of a cutter clearance groove (not shown) exposed from one side of the strip-shaped sheet 12. The cutter 801 is then lowered by the cutter moving means 802 until the bottom end of the cutter 801 is within the cutter clearance groove (not shown). The cutter 801 then advances in the +X direction along the extension direction of the cutter clearance groove, and the sheet 12 is cut by the cutter 801. After the cutter 801 cuts the sheet 12 in the width direction, the cutter 801 rises in the +Z direction and retreats from the rectangular sheet 12.

Then, the gripping unit 15 gripping the leading end of the rectangularly cut sheet 12 moves further in the +Y direction, passing under the wafer holding unit 50 and being positioned so that the cut sheet 12 covers the stage 14. As a result, the stage 14 and the suction cover 143 are covered with the rectangular sheet 12, and the sheet 12 is sucked and held on the stage 14 and the suction cover 143 by transmitting the suction force generated by a suction source (not shown) to the suction holes 144 formed in the four corners of the suction cover 143. The gripping unit 15 then releases its grip on the sheet 12.

Next, the liquid resin supply nozzle 179 arranged on the movable arm 160 is moved in the Y-axis direction by the horizontal movement mechanism 16, and positioned to supply liquid resin to the center of the sheet 12 placed on the stage 14.

Then, the dispenser 171 shown in FIG. 1 delivers a predetermined amount of liquid resin, the temperature of which is controlled to a reference temperature, to the liquid resin supply nozzle 179, which then drips the liquid resin onto the upper surface of the sheet 12 on the stage 14. Then, when a predetermined amount of liquid resin has accumulated on the sheet 12, the supply of liquid resin to the sheet 12 is stopped, and the liquid resin supply nozzle 179 is retracted from above the sheet 12.

Next, the wafer holding part 50 is lowered by the expansion means 51, and the underside 900 of the wafer 90 held by the wafer holding part 50 comes into contact with the liquid resin. Note that, before the wafer 90 comes into contact with the liquid resin on the sheet 12, it is preferable to apply a small amount of liquid resin in the form of a droplet to the center of the underside of the wafer 90 held by the wafer holding part 50. When the wafer holding part 50 is further lowered, the liquid resin pressed by the underside 900 of the wafer 90 is spread out in the radial direction of the wafer 90. As a result, a film of liquid resin is formed over the entire surface of the underside 900 of the wafer 90.

The wafer 90 is pressed against the liquid resin for a predetermined time, and after a film of the liquid resin is formed over the entire surface of one side 900 of the wafer 90, the curing means 149 shown in Fig. 1 irradiates the liquid resin film with ultraviolet light. As a result, the liquid resin film is cured, and a protective member made of the rectangular sheet 12 and resin is formed on one side 900 of the wafer 90.
During the formation of the protective member on the first wafer 90, the center of the second wafer 90 is detected on the temporary placement table 70, and the robot hand 40 waits while holding the wafer 90 by suction.

After the protective member is formed as described above, the wafer 90 is separated from the stage 14 together with the sheet 12 and the protective member made of resin. That is, the transmission of the suction force generated by the suction source (not shown) to the suction holes 144 of the suction cover 143 is blocked. Furthermore, for example, air is supplied to the suction holes 144 and ejected upward from the suction holes 144, and the sheet 12 is lifted from the upper surface 140 of the stage 14 and the upper surface of the suction cover 143 by the ejection pressure of this air, eliminating the vacuum suction force remaining between the upper surface 140 and the sheet 12, and making it possible to reliably remove the wafer 90 and the protective member from the stage 14. In addition, after the wafer holding unit 50 releases the suction holding of the wafer 90, it is raised by the expansion means 51 and removed from the wafer 90. Note that before the wafer 90 is released from the stage 14, the second wafer 90 is transported to the wafer holding unit 50 by the robot hand 40. Additionally, the third wafer 90 is transported to the vacant temporary placement table 70.

Next, the first wafer 90 after the protective member has been formed is transported to the cutting table 72 by the suction pad 42 of the robot 4. Specifically, the robot 4 is moved to the vicinity of the stage 14 by the electric slider 109. Furthermore, under the control of the horizontal movement means 48 by the control means 19, the suction pad 42 is rotated together with the robot hand 40, and the suction pad 42 is positioned above the wafer 90 so that the center of the suction pad 42 approximately coincides with the center of the wafer 90 on the stage 14.

Furthermore, under the control of the control means 19, the holder 46 is lowered by the lifting means 47 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the suction pad 42 is lowered together with the robot hand 40, and the suction cups 44 arranged on the suction pad 42 come into contact with, for example, the four corners of the portion of the rectangular sheet 12 protruding outside the wafer 90 on which the protective member is formed. Then, the suction force generated by the suction source 49 shown in Fig. 2 is transmitted to the suction cups 44 through the open control valve 493 and the resin tube 425, and the suction pad 42 suction-holds the wafer 90 on which the protective member is formed from the top surface 902 side via the sheet 12.

The suction pad 42, which holds the wafer 90 by suction with the suction cups 44 via the sheet 12, is raised and moved in the -X direction by the lifting means 47 and horizontal movement means 48, and then moves away from under the wafer holder 50. Then, the robot 4 is moved by the electric slider 109 to the vicinity of the cutting table 72. As explained above, the second wafer 90 is held by suction on the temporary placement table 70 with its center position already detected.

The suction pad 42, which holds the first wafer 90 by suction through the sheet 12, is rotated together with the robot hand 40 under the control of the horizontal movement means 48 by the control means 19, so that, for example, the U-shaped opening 426 of the suction pad 42 faces the cylinder support arm 770 in the X-axis direction. In addition, for example, the lifting means 47 positions the suction pad 42 at a height where at least the wafer 90 held by the suction cups 44 of the suction pad 42 through the sheet 12 does not come into contact with the lifting cylinder 78 shown in FIG. 2. At this time, the cutter support bar 783 is retracted so as not to come into contact with the robot 4, for example, by pointing its tip toward the +X direction.

The horizontal movement means 48 moves the suction pad 42, which holds the first wafer 90 by suction, in the +X direction, and the cylinder support arm 770 and the lift cylinder 78 shown in FIG. 3 enter the U-shaped opening 426 of the suction pad 42 shown in FIG. 2. At the same time, the table support arm 773 enters the U-shaped opening 405 of the robot hand 40, so the movement of the suction pad 42 is not impeded by the robot hand 40.

Then, after the position of the suction pad 42 in the horizontal plane is finely adjusted so that the center of the first wafer 90, which is held by the suction pad 42 and whose center is recognized, approximately coincides with the center of the suction holding part 720 of the cutting table 72, the lifting means 47 lowers the suction pad 42 to bring the sheet 12, which is attached to one side 900 of the rectangular first wafer 90 via hardened resin, into contact with the upper surfaces of the suction holding part 720 and cover part 722 shown in FIG. 3. Then, the wafer 90 is positioned inside the clearance groove 723 of the cutting table 72, and the rectangular sheet 12 covers the clearance groove 723.

The suction force generated by a suction source (not shown) is transmitted to the suction holes 7201 opening in the upper surface of the suction holding section 720, and the cutting table 72 suction-holds the sheet 12 that forms the lower surface of the protective member formed on the wafer 90. In addition, the suction-holding of the sheet 12 by the suction cups 44 is released.

Then, under the control of the lifting means 47 by the control means 19, the holder 46 is raised, whereby the suction pad 42 is raised in the +Z direction together with the robot hand 40, enabling the cutter 75 to cut the sheet 12. For example, the lifting cylinder 78 lowers the cutter 75 until the bottom end of the cutter 75 reaches the clearance groove 723. Then, the cutter turning motor 76 turns the cutter 75 around the center of the suction holding part 720 as the rotation axis along the clearance groove 723, and the rectangular sheet 12 including the portion of the protective member protruding from the outer periphery of the wafer 90 is cut into a circle along the outer periphery of the first wafer 90.
Then, the wafer 90 on which the protective member is formed and the sheet 12 is cut into a circular shape is carried out from the cutting table 72 by the wafer carrying means 1081 shown in FIG.

As explained above, the third wafer 90 is already held by suction with its center position detected on the temporary placement table 70, which is arranged directly above the cutting table 72 so that the centers of the cutting table 72 are aligned on the same line. As a result, the suction pad 42, which is separated from the first wafer 90 on which the protective member is formed, is raised in the +Z direction together with the robot hand 40 by raising the holder 46 under the control of the lifting means 47 by the control means 19, as described above, and the suction surface 400 of the robot hand 40 moves toward the outer peripheral area of one side 900 of the third wafer 90 that protrudes from the temporary placement table 70.

For example, while the position of the robot hand 40 in the horizontal plane is finely adjusted so that the center of the robot hand 40 and the center of the recognized third wafer 90 approximately coincide, the lifting means 47 lifts the robot hand 40 and brings the suction surface 400 into contact with the downward-facing side 900 of the wafer 90. At this time, the table support arm 773 and temporary placement table 70 enter the U-shaped opening 405 of the robot hand 40. At the same time, the cylinder support arm 770 and lifting cylinder 78 enter the opening 426 of the suction pad 42, so the lifting of the robot hand 40 is not hindered by the suction pad 42.

The robot hand 40 holds the downward-facing side 900 of the third wafer 90 by suction using the suction surface 400, which is the upper surface. The suction holding of the wafer 90 by the temporary placement table 70 is also released. Thereafter, similar to the first wafer 90 described above, the third wafer 90 is transferred to the wafer holder 50, and a protective member is formed for the third wafer 90. In this way, the robot 4 does not waste any time in carrying the first wafer 90 onto the cutting table 72 and carrying the third wafer 90 out of the temporary placement table 70. During this time, a protective member is being formed for the second wafer 90 on the stage 14.

In this manner, the formation of protective members on the wafers 90 is carried out continuously. For example, a case will be described in which the seventh wafer 90 on which a protective member has been formed is placed on the stage 14 shown in FIG. 1, the wafer holding part 50 has already moved upward from the seventh wafer 90, and the eighth wafer 90 on which no protective member has been formed and which is held by the robot hand 40 is handed over to the wafer holding part 50 that is not holding a wafer 90.

With the center of the holding surface 503 of the wafer holding unit 50 and the center of the eighth wafer 90 approximately aligned, the wafer holding unit 50 suction-holds the upper surface 902 of the wafer 90 on the holding surface 503. Next, after the robot hand 40 releases the suction hold of the lower surface 900 of the wafer 90, the control unit 19 controls the lifting means 47 to lower the empty robot hand 40, which is located directly below the wafer holding unit 50 and has just handed over the eighth wafer 90 to the wafer holding unit 50, and the suction pad 42, which is not holding anything.

For example, the position of the suction pad 42 in the horizontal plane is finely adjusted so that the center of the suction pad 42 and the center of the seventh wafer 90 on which the protective member is formed on the stage 14 approximately coincide with each other, and the suction cups 44 arranged on the descending suction pad 42 contact and suck and hold the four corners of the portion of the rectangular sheet 12 protruding from the seventh wafer 90, and the suction pad 42 receives the seventh wafer 90 on which the protective member is formed on the stage 14. Then, the suction pad 42, which sucks and holds the seventh wafer 90 via the sheet 12 with the suction cups 44, is raised by the lifting means 47 and the horizontal moving means 48, and then moves to the -X direction side, and the robot 4 moves to the vicinity of the cutting table 72 by the electric slider 109 shown in FIG. 1. Meanwhile, a new sheet 12 is placed on the stage 14, liquid resin is supplied onto the sheet 12, and a protective member is formed on one side 900 of the eighth wafer 90 held by the wafer holding unit 50 by suction. In this way, the robot 4 does not waste any movement in transferring the eighth wafer 90 to the wafer holder 50 and removing the seventh wafer 90 from the stage 14.

For example, after the cassette 1044 is filled with the wafers 90 on which the protective member is formed, the cassette 1044 is transported to a grinding device (not shown). The wafers 90 are then placed on the holding surface of a chuck table of the grinding device (not shown) with the top surface 902 on which the protective member is not formed facing up, and a rotating grinding wheel is lowered from above the wafer 90 to grind the wafer 90 while the grinding wheel is brought into contact with the top surface 902 of the wafer 90. The protective member is then peeled off from the wafer 90 by a tape peeling device, and one side 900 of the wafer 90 that was protected by the protective member is then further ground to produce a wafer 90 with flat surfaces on both sides.

As described above, in the protective member forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention, the robot 4 includes the U-shaped robot hand 40 having the suction surface 400 on its upper surface, the suction pad 42 arranged directly below the robot hand 40 and for suction-holding the wafer 90 having a protective member formed on one surface 900 from the other upper surface 902 side via the sheet 12, a plurality of suction cups 44 arranged on the suction pad 42 for suction-holding the portion of the sheet 12 protruding from the wafer 90 having the protective member formed thereon, the holder 46 for arranging the robot hand 40 and the suction pad 42, the lifting means 47 for moving the holder 46 in the vertical direction, and the horizontal moving means 48 for moving the holder 46 in the horizontal direction. The temporary placement table 70 is formed to be able to pass through the U-shaped opening 405 of the robot hand 40, and is arranged to be able to move the cutting tape 11 and the suction pad 42. Since the holder 72 is positioned directly below the temporary placement table 70 so that its center is aligned on the same line as the center of the temporary placement table 70, the control means 19 controls the lifting means 47 to raise and lower the holder 46, thereby making it possible for the robot hand 40 to receive the wafer 90 on the temporary placement table 70 after the wafer 90 on which the protective member has been formed is placed on the cutting table 72 by the suction pad 42, and also makes it possible for the robot hand 40 to transfer the wafer 90 held by the wafer holding section 50 and hold it in the wafer holding section 50, after which the wafer 90 on which the protective member has been formed on the stage 14 can be received by the suction pad 42, thereby reducing the waiting time in transporting the wafer 90 and shortening the transport time for the wafer 90.
Furthermore, for example, by providing an X-axis movement mechanism that moves the temporary placement table 70 in the X-axis direction, the operation of lifting the robot hand 40 together with the suction pad 42 that transports the wafer 90 with a protective member formed thereon to the cutting table 72 can align the center of the robot hand 40 with the center of the wafer 90 temporarily placed on the temporary placement table 70, allowing the robot hand 40 to suction and hold the wafer 90, thereby further shortening the time it takes to receive the wafer 90.

The protective member forming device 1 according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be implemented in various different forms within the scope of its technical concept. Furthermore, the shapes of the components of the protective member forming device 1 shown in the attached drawings are not limited to these, and may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the effects of the present invention.

90: Wafer 900: One side (lower side) of wafer 902: Upper side of wafer 1: Protective member forming device 100: Housing 102: Column 101: Device base 1011: Temporary placement surface 1013: Sheet suction hole 103: Support base 1033: Movable hole 104: Cassette storage body 1041, 1042: Cassette stage
1043, 1044: Cassette
70: Temporary placement table 700: Suction holding surface 703: Suction hole 701: Suction groove 709: Temporary placement table rotation means 72: Cut table 720: Suction holding part 7201: Suction hole 722: Cover part 723: Relief groove 75: Cutter 77: Support column 773: Table support arm 770: Cylinder support arm 78: Lifting cylinder 780: Cylinder case 782: Rod 783: Cutter support bar 106: Wafer detection part
1081: Wafer transport means 1082: X-axis direction moving means
4. Robot
40: Robot hand 400: Suction surface 401: Suction hole 403: Suction path inside the hand 405: U-shaped opening 42: Suction pad 425: Resin tube 426: Opening 493: Control valve
44: Suction cup 46: Holder 461: Hand support arm 462: Pad support arm 463: Holder rotation shaft 47: Lifting means
48: Horizontal moving means 481: First arm 482: Second arm 483: Arm connecting portion 489: Swivel motor 109: Electric slider 49: Suction source 490: Resin tube 491: Control valve 11: Sheet supply means 12: Sheet 129: Sheet roll 14: Stage 140: Upper surface of stage 143: Suction cover 144: Suction hole
149: Hardening means 50: Wafer holding part 500: Wheel 502: Wheel support part 503: Holding surface 51: Expansion means 510: Ball screw 511: Guide rail 512: Motor 16: Horizontal movement mechanism 160: Movable arm 15: Grip part 80: Sheet cutting means Cutter escape groove 801: Cutter 802: Cutter moving means 179: Liquid resin supply 171: Dispenser 172: Connection pipe 19: Control means

Claims (1)

a cassette stage for placing a cassette in which wafers are stored like a shelf; a temporary placement table for temporarily placing wafers removed from the cassette; a stage for placing a sheet; a liquid resin supply nozzle for supplying liquid resin onto the sheet placed on the stage; a wafer holder for holding a wafer to be pressed against the liquid resin supplied to the sheet; hardening means for hardening the liquid resin to form a protective member composed of the sheet and the hardened resin on one side of the wafer; a cutting table for cutting the sheet of the protective member formed on one side of the wafer into a circle along an outer periphery of the wafer; a robot for transporting wafers between the temporary placement table and the stage, and between the stage and the cutting table; and control means,
The robot comprises a U-shaped robot hand having a suction surface on its upper surface, a suction pad arranged directly below the robot hand for suction-holding a wafer having the protective material formed on one surface from the upper surface side of the other surface via the sheet, a plurality of suction cups arranged on the suction pad for suction-holding an overhanging portion of the sheet outside the wafer having the protective material formed thereon, a holder for arranging the robot hand and the suction pad, a lifting means for moving the holder in a vertical direction, and a horizontal moving means for moving the holder in a horizontal direction;
the temporary placement table is formed so as to be able to pass through a U-shaped opening of the robot hand,
the cutting table is disposed directly below the temporary placement table so that the center of the cutting table is aligned on the same line as the center of the temporary placement table;
The control means controls the lifting means to raise and lower the holder, thereby enabling the robot hand to receive the wafer on the temporary placement table after the wafer with the protective member formed thereon is placed on the cutting table by the suction pad, and also enabling the suction pad to receive the wafer on the stage with the protective member formed thereon after the wafer held by the robot hand is transferred to the wafer holding section and held by the wafer holding section.

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