JP2014078620A - Transfer mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

A transport mechanism capable of transporting a wafer attached to a protective tape attached to an annular support frame without damaging or damaging a device even when the diameter is large.
A transport mechanism for transporting a wafer attached to a protective tape attached to an annular support frame, the frame holding means for holding the upper surface of the annular support frame, and the wafer for holding the wafer A holding means; a support member for supporting the frame holding means and the wafer holding means; and a moving means for moving the support member between the first predetermined position and the second predetermined position. It consists of a holding pad that generates negative pressure by blowing air and sucks and holds the upper surface of the wafer in a non-contact state.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport mechanism for transporting a wafer attached to a protective tape mounted on an annular support frame.

  In the semiconductor device manufacturing process, a plurality of regions are partitioned by dividing lines called streets arranged in a lattice pattern on the surface of a substantially wafer-shaped semiconductor wafer, and devices such as ICs, LSIs, etc. are partitioned in the partitioned regions. Form. Each semiconductor device is manufactured by dicing the semiconductor wafer along a street with a dicing device such as a cutting device.

  In recent years, in order to improve the productivity of semiconductor device manufacturing, wafer diameters tend to be increased to 300 mm and 450 mm, and processing apparatuses such as dicing apparatuses have a configuration corresponding to the increased diameter. However, since the wafer is transported in a state of being attached to the protective tape attached to the annular support frame, the protective tape is greatly bent and hangs down due to the weight of the wafer when the wafer is transported while holding the annular support frame. There is a problem that the wafer is damaged.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, there is provided a transport mechanism including a frame holding unit that holds an annular support frame and a suction pad that sucks and holds a wafer attached to a protective tape attached to the annular support frame. It is disclosed in the following Patent Document 1. Patent Document 2 below discloses a transport mechanism including a frame holding means for holding an annular support frame and a negative pressure chamber for sucking a wafer attached to a protective tape attached to the annular support frame. Yes.

JP 2003-86543 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-244383

  Thus, when the wafer is sucked and held by the suction pad as in the transport mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that the device is damaged. Further, in the configuration in which the wafer is supported by the negative pressure formed in the negative pressure chamber as in the transport mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is difficult to control the negative pressure in the negative pressure chamber. If the negative pressure is small, the wafer is bent. If the negative pressure is high, the wafer is bent and damaged.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned facts, and the main technical problem thereof is that the wafer attached to the protective tape attached to the annular support frame is damaged to the device even if it has a large diameter. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport mechanism capable of transporting without being damaged.

In order to solve the main technical problem, according to the present invention, a transport mechanism for transporting a wafer attached to a protective tape attached to an annular support frame,
A frame holding means for holding the upper surface of the annular support frame; a wafer holding means for holding the wafer; a support member for supporting the frame holding means and the wafer holding means; Moving means for moving between two predetermined positions,
The wafer holding means includes a holding pad that generates negative pressure by blowing air and sucks and holds the upper surface of the wafer in a non-contact state.
A transport mechanism is provided.

  The transport mechanism according to the present invention includes frame holding means for holding the upper surface of the annular support frame, and wafer holding means for holding the wafer. The wafer holding means generates negative pressure by blowing air and generates a wafer. The frame holding means sucks and holds the upper surface of the annular support frame that supports the wafer via the protective tape, and the wafer holding means serves as the upper surface of the wafer. Is sucked and held in a non-contact state. Accordingly, the wafer supported by the annular support frame via the protective tape is sucked and held by the wafer holding means in a non-contact state, so that the wafer is conveyed even if the wafer diameter is 300 mm or 450 mm. At this time, the wafer is not bent due to the bending of the protective tape, and the device is not damaged or damaged.

The perspective view of the cutting device as a dicing apparatus equipped with the conveyance mechanism comprised according to this invention. The perspective view of the 1st conveyance mechanism as a conveyance mechanism comprised according to this invention with which the cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was equipped. AA line sectional view in FIG.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a transport mechanism configured according to the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a cutting apparatus equipped with a transport mechanism constructed according to the present invention.
The cutting device in the illustrated embodiment includes a device housing 2 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. In the apparatus housing 2, a chuck table 3 for holding a workpiece is disposed so as to be movable in a direction indicated by an arrow X that is a cutting feed direction. The chuck table 3 includes a chuck table main body 31 and a suction chuck 32 mounted on the chuck table main body 31. A holding surface which is a surface of the suction chuck 32 is a workpiece, for example, a disk shape. The wafer is sucked and held by suction means (not shown). The chuck table 3 is configured to be rotatable by a rotation mechanism (not shown). The chuck table 3 is provided with a clamp 33 for fixing an annular support frame for supporting a wafer, which will be described later, as a workpiece through a protective tape. The chuck table 3 configured as described above can be moved in a cutting feed direction indicated by an arrow X by a cutting feed means (not shown).

  The cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes a spindle unit 4 as cutting means. The spindle unit 4 is mounted on a moving base (not shown) and is adjusted to move in a direction indicated by an arrow Y that is an indexing direction and a direction indicated by an arrow Z that is a cutting direction. A rotary spindle 42 supported and rotated by a rotary drive mechanism (not shown) is provided, and a cutting blade 43 attached to the rotary spindle 42 is provided.

  The cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment is for imaging the surface of the wafer held on the holding surface, which is the surface of the suction chuck 32 constituting the chuck table 3, and detecting the region to be cut by the cutting blade 43. An imaging mechanism 5 is provided. The imaging mechanism 5 is composed of optical means such as a microscope and a CCD camera. In addition, the cutting apparatus includes a display unit 6 that displays an image captured by the imaging mechanism 5.

  The cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes a cassette 7 for stocking a semiconductor wafer 8 as a workpiece. Here, the relationship between the semiconductor wafer 8 as a workpiece, the annular support frame 9 and the protective tape 10 will be described. The semiconductor wafer 8 is divided into a plurality of regions by streets arranged in a lattice pattern on the surface, and devices such as IC and LSI are formed in the partitioned regions. The annular support frame 9 is formed in an annular shape from a metal material such as stainless steel, and a tape adhering portion 92 (the back surface in the state of FIG. 1) to which the opening 91 for accommodating the semiconductor wafer and the protective tape 10 are adhered. Is formed). The protective tape 10 has an adhesive layer on the upper surface and is attached to a tape adhering portion 92 so as to cover the opening 91, and the semiconductor wafer 8 is adhered to the upper surface of the protective tape 10. Thus, the semiconductor wafer 8 supported by the annular support frame 9 via the protective tape 10 is accommodated in the cassette 7. Further, the cassette 7 is placed on a cassette table 71 that is movably moved up and down by a lifting / lowering means (not shown) in the cassette placing portion 70.

  The cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment is a workpiece that carries a semiconductor wafer 8 (a state supported by an annular support frame 9 by a protective tape 10) as a workpiece housed in a cassette 7 to a temporary placement portion 11. The unloading means 12, the first transfer mechanism 13 for transferring the semiconductor wafer 8 unloaded by the workpiece unloading means 12 onto the chuck table 3, and the semiconductor wafer 8 cut on the chuck table 3 are cleaned. And a second transport mechanism 15 for transporting the semiconductor wafer 8 cut on the chuck table 3 to the cleaning means 14.

Next, the first transport mechanism 13 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The first transport mechanism 13 in the illustrated embodiment includes an L-shaped operating arm 131. One end of the L-shaped operating arm 131 is connected to the lifting means 132. The elevating means 132 is composed of, for example, an air piston, and operates the operating arm 131 in the vertical direction as indicated by an arrow 130a in FIG. Further, the lifting / lowering means 132 connected to one end of the operating arm 131 is connected to a turning mechanism 133 including an electric motor capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation. Therefore, by driving the turning mechanism 133 in the forward rotation direction or the reverse rotation direction, the operation arm 131 is swung in the direction indicated by the arrow 130b in FIG. As a result, the operating arm 131 is operated in a horizontal plane, and a support member 21 that supports a frame holding means and a wafer holding means, which will be described later, attached to the other end of the operating arm 131 is placed in the horizontal plane. 11 and the cleaning means 14 and the chuck table 3 are moved. Accordingly, the operating arm 131, the lifting and lowering means 132, and the turning mechanism 133 are moving means for moving the support member 21 that supports the frame holding means and the wafer holding means described later between the first predetermined position and the second predetermined position. Function as.

  The support member 21 attached to the other end portion of the operating arm 131 is formed in an H shape, and is formed in a central support portion 211 and both ends of the central support portion 211 and orthogonal to the central support portion 211. And both side support portions 212, 212 extending in the direction. Four frame holders for sucking and holding the upper surface of the annular support frame 9 that supports the semiconductor wafer 8 via the protective tape 10 are provided at both ends of the both side support portions 212 and 212 constituting the support member 21. A frame holding means 22 having members 22a, 22a, 22a, 22a is disposed. The four frame holding members 22a, 22a, 22a, 22a constituting the frame holding means 22 may be well-known ones, and are connected to suction means (not shown) via flexible pipes 23, 23, 23, 23, respectively. And communicates with the suction source as appropriate. Therefore, the four frame holding members 22a, 22a, 22a, 22a constituting the frame holding means 22 suck the upper surface of the support frame 9 that supports the semiconductor wafer 8 via the protective tape 10 when communicated with the suction source. Hold. The flexible pipes 23, 23, 23, and 23 are desirably disposed along the operation arm 131. Also, the frame holding members 22a, 22a, 22a, 22a are respectively attached to the lower ends of the support rods 24, 24, 24, 24 disposed on both side support portions 212, 212 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. The coil springs 25, 25, 25, 25 disposed between the lower side support portions 212, 212 are biased to be pressed downward.

  Wafer holding means 26 for sucking and holding the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 8 supported by the support frame 9 via the protective tape 10 in a non-contact state is disposed in the central support portion 211 constituting the support member 21. Yes. As shown in FIG. 3, the wafer holding means 26 includes a holding pad 260 that utilizes Bernoulli's principle of generating negative pressure by blowing air and sucking and holding the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 8 in a non-contact state. . The holding pad 260 includes a conical surface 261 formed on the lower surface, a spout 262 that ejects air along the conical surface 261, and an air supply passage that communicates with the spout 262 and is connected to air supply means (not shown). H.263. An attachment screw 264 is provided at the upper end of the holding pad 260. The attachment screw 264 is inserted from the lower side through the attachment hole 211a provided in the central support portion 211 of the support member 21, and the nut 265 is screwed. By combining, the holding pad 260 is attached to the central support portion 211 of the support member 21. When the air supply means (not shown) is operated, the wafer holding means 26 configured in this way is blown along the conical surface 261 via the air supply passage 263 and the jet outlet 262, and is generated by the jet flow of this air. The upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 8 is sucked and held in a non-contact state by the negative pressure.

The cutting apparatus equipped with the first transport mechanism 13 configured according to the present invention is configured as described above, and the operation thereof will be described below.
The semiconductor wafer 8 supported via the protective tape 10 on the annular support frame 9 accommodated in a predetermined position of the cassette 7 is positioned at the carry-out position when the cassette table 71 moves up and down by a lifting means (not shown). Next, the workpiece unloading means 12 moves forward and backward to grip the annular support frame 9 supporting the semiconductor wafer 8 positioned at the unloading position via the protective tape 10 and unloads it to the temporary placement section 11. . The semiconductor wafer 8 supported on the annular support frame 9 transported to the temporary placement unit 11 via the protective tape 10 includes an elevating means 132, a turning mechanism 133, a suction means (not shown), and a first transport mechanism 13. By the operation of the air supply means, it is sucked and held by the frame holding means 22 and the wafer holding means 26 and is conveyed onto the holding surface of the suction chuck 32 constituting the chuck table 3. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the four frame holding members 22 a, 22 a, 22 a, 22 a of the frame holding means 22 constituting the first transport mechanism 13 support the semiconductor wafer 8 via the protective tape 10. The upper surface of the support frame 9 is sucked and held, and the wafer holding means 26 sucks and holds the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 8 in a non-contact state as described above. Thus, the semiconductor wafer 8 supported by the annular support frame 9 via the protective tape 10 is sucked and held by the wafer holding means 26 in a non-contact state, so that the diameter of the semiconductor wafer 8 is 300 mm and 450 mm. Even when the diameter is large, the semiconductor wafer 8 is not bent due to the bending of the protective tape 10 during transportation, and the device is not damaged or broken.

  The semiconductor wafer 8 transported onto the suction chuck 32 of the chuck table 3 by the first transport mechanism 13 is released from the suction and holding by the frame holding means 22 and the wafer holding means 26 constituting the first transport mechanism 13. At the same time, it is sucked and held by the suction chuck 32. The chuck table 3 that sucks and holds the semiconductor wafer 8 in this way is moved to a position immediately below the imaging mechanism 5. When the chuck table 3 is positioned immediately below the image pickup mechanism 5, the street formed on the semiconductor wafer 8 is detected by the image pickup mechanism 5, and the spindle unit 4 is moved and adjusted in the arrow Y direction as an indexing direction for precise alignment. Work is done.

  Thereafter, while the cutting blade 43 is rotated in a predetermined direction, the chuck table 3 holding the semiconductor wafer 8 is held in a predetermined direction in a direction indicated by an arrow X that is a cutting feed direction (a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis of the cutting blade 43). By moving at the cutting feed rate, the semiconductor wafer 8 held on the chuck table 3 is cut along a predetermined cutting line by the cutting blade 43. That is, the cutting blade 43 is mounted on the spindle unit 4 that is moved and adjusted in the direction indicated by the arrow Y that is the indexing direction and the direction indicated by the arrow Z that is the cutting direction, and is rotationally driven. Is moved in the cutting feed direction along the lower side of the cutting blade 43, so that the semiconductor wafer 8 held on the chuck table 3 is cut along a predetermined street by the cutting blade 43. When cut along the street, the semiconductor wafer 8 is divided into individual devices. The divided devices do not fall apart due to the action of the protective tape 10, and the state of the semiconductor wafer 8 supported by the support frame 9 is maintained. After the cutting of the semiconductor wafer 8 is completed in this way, the chuck table 3 holding the semiconductor wafer 8 is returned to the position where the semiconductor wafer 8 is first sucked and held. Here, the suction holding of the semiconductor wafer 8 is released. .

  Next, the semiconductor wafer 8 divided into individual semiconductor chips released from suction and holding on the chuck table 3 is transported to the cleaning means 14 by the second transport mechanism 15. In the semiconductor wafer 8 divided into individual devices conveyed to the cleaning means 14, the contamination generated during the cutting is cleaned and removed by the cleaning means 14. The semiconductor wafer 8 cleaned by the cleaning means 14 is transferred to the temporary placement unit 11 by the first transfer mechanism 13. At this time, the first transport mechanism 13 is configured such that the four frame holding members 22a, 22a, 22a and 22a constituting the frame holding means 22 support the semiconductor wafer 8 via the protective tape 10 as described above. 9 holds the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 8, and the wafer holding means 26 sucks and holds the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 8 divided into individual devices in a non-contact state. There is no contact, and loss or breakage caused by contact between devices can be prevented. The semiconductor wafer 8 transported to the temporary placement unit 11 is stored in a predetermined position of the cassette 7 by the workpiece unloading means 12.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the first transport mechanism 13 has been described, but the second transport mechanism 15 may be configured as the present invention. Moreover, although the example which applied the conveyance mechanism by this invention to the cutting device was shown in embodiment mentioned above, it can apply widely to processing apparatuses which process wafers, such as a laser processing apparatus.

2: Device housing 3: Chuck table 31: Chuck table body 32: Suction chuck 4: Spindle unit 41: Spindle housing 42: Rotating spindle 43: Cutting blade 5: Imaging mechanism 6: Display means 7: Cassette 71: Cassette table 8: Semiconductor wafer 9: Annular support frame 10: Protection tape 11: Temporary placement part 12: Workpiece carry-out means 13: First transport mechanism 131: Operating arm 132: Lifting means 133: Turning mechanism 14: Cleaning means 15: First 2 transport mechanism 21: support member 22: frame holding means 26: wafer holding means 260: holding pad

Claims (1)

A transport mechanism for transporting a wafer attached to a protective tape attached to an annular support frame,
A frame holding means for holding the upper surface of the annular support frame; a wafer holding means for holding the wafer; a support member for supporting the frame holding means and the wafer holding means; Moving means for moving between two predetermined positions,
The wafer holding means includes a holding pad that generates negative pressure by blowing air and sucks and holds the upper surface of the wafer in a non-contact state.
A transport mechanism characterized by that.

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