JPH0560660B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in this type of semiconductor wafer processing equipment, for example, equipment that vacuum-chucks a wafer and transports it, or equipment that vacuum-chucks a wafer and processes it by rotating it at high speed, After processing, the processed wafer is removed and replaced with an unprocessed wafer, and the processing steps for each wafer are performed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional semiconductor wafer processing equipment described above does not have an automatic cleaning mechanism on the part that directly contacts and attracts the wafer, so when a wafer with dust adheres comes into contact with the attraction surface, the or become contaminated by another factor, and the wafer becomes contaminated when it is contacted by a new, clean wafer that is then picked up. In the wafer manufacturing process, it is important to maintain a high level of cleanliness of the wafers because the yield of products decreases due to the influence of dust. Moreover, in conventional equipment, cleaning the wafer contact area must be done manually, and humans are also a source of dust.
Human work had its own limitations, which had a negative impact on the manufacturing process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus in which a suction surface that comes into contact with a wafer is kept clean.

[Differences between the invention and the prior art] Compared to the conventional semiconductor wafer processing apparatus described above,
The present invention has an original content in that the apparatus includes an automatic cleaning mechanism for the wafer suction surface.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to the present invention is a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus equipped with a cleaning mechanism for cleaning a wafer suction mechanism, the cleaning mechanism comprising: The wafer suction mechanism's wafer-supporting suction surface is cleaned with cleaning water, and the wafer suction mechanism has a plurality of suction ports on the wafer-supporting suction surface. The device vacuum suctions the wafer and blows out clean air when cleaning the suction surface for supporting the wafer.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a wafer transfer mechanism.

In FIG. 1, this type of wafer transfer mechanism has a transfer arm 1 equipped with a wafer suction mechanism. The transport arm 1 is supported by a rotating shaft 1a, expands and contracts in the length direction, and moves up and down.
The wafer suction mechanism is provided at the tip of the transfer arm 1, and as the transfer arm 1 moves, the wafer carrier 4 accommodates a plurality of wafers 5 arranged vertically.
and the wafer chuck 6. The wafer suction mechanism has a suction surface 1c and a suction port 1b.
It has The suction surface 1c is formed in a semicircular arc shape and supports the plate surface of the wafer 5. A plurality of suction ports 1b are opened on the suction surface 1c, and the suction ports 1b hold the wafer 5 on the suction surface 1c by vacuum suctioning the plate surface of the wafer 5, and also blow clean air when cleaning the suction surface 1c. It spouts outward.

Further, a cleaning mechanism is provided in the middle of the transport path of the wafer suction mechanism. The cleaning mechanism includes a cleaning brush 2, a pure water nozzle 3, and a dryer 7. The cleaning brush 2 cleans the suction surface 1c by injecting water from the pure water nozzle 3. The dryer 7 blows clean warm air onto the cleaned suction surface 1c to dry the suction surface 1c.

In the first embodiment, the transfer arm 1 is rotated in the direction of the wafer 5 in the wafer carrier 4, and the wafer 5 is
Hold the back side of the board by vacuum suction. The transfer arm 1 takes out the wafer 5, rotates it, places the wafer 5 on a wafer chuck 6, and the wafer chuck 6 vacuum-chucks the wafer 5. Next, the transport arm 1 rotates below the cleaning brush 2, and the suction surface 1c of the transport arm 1 is cleaned by the rotation of the cleaning brush 2 and the pure water from the pure water nozzle 3. At this time, clean air is blown out to prevent pure water from entering the suction port 1b.
Next, the transport arm 1 rotates below the dryer 7, and the dryer is dried with clean warm air.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 2 is a perspective view of Embodiment 2 of the present invention, which is an example in which the present invention is applied to a wafer holding mechanism. 8 is a wafer chuck that vacuum-chucks wafers and can rotate at high speed. Reference numeral 9 denotes a cleaning brush for cleaning the suction surface 8a of the wafer chuck 8, and the brush 9 has a position _S1 on the suction surface 8a of the wafer chuck 8 and a retracted position.
It is installed so that it can move back and forth between it and _S2 . 10 is a pure water nozzle that supplies pure water during cleaning; 11 is a load arm that attaches the wafer to the wafer chuck 8;
Reference numeral 12 denotes an unload arm for unloading wafers from the wafer chuck 8. In the second embodiment, the wafer is transferred to the wafer chuck 8 by the load arm 11, and when the processing on the wafer is completed, the wafer is removed by the unload arm 12. Next, the cleaning brush 9, which had been retracted laterally, rotates onto the wafer chuck 8 and cleans the suction surface 8a of the wafer chuck 8 together with the pure water from the pure water nozzle 10. At this time, the vacuum suction port 8b of the wafer chuck 8
Clean air is blown out from the vacuum suction port 8b to prevent pure water from entering. When the cleaning is finished, the cleaning brush 9 rotates and retreats from above the wafer chuck 8. Here, the wafer chuck 8 rotates at high speed, scattering the pure water by centrifugal force, and performing drying. Once the wafer chuck 8 is clean, the next wafer is transferred and the next process is performed.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention uses a cleaning brush to clean the suction surface that supports the wafer, so it is possible to keep the suction surface clean at all times and prevent wafer contamination. Since clean air is ejected from the suction port, cleaning water can be prevented from entering the suction port, and the suction port does not interfere with wafer suction. In addition, since cleaning is performed mechanically without the intervention of humans, who are the source of dust generation, it is possible to maintain a higher level of cleanliness than cleaning by humans.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG.
The figure is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. 1...transport arm, 1c, 8a...suction surface,
2, 9...Cleaning brush, 3, 10...Pure water nozzle, 4...Wafer carrier, 5...Wafer, 6...
... Wafer jacket, 7... Dryer, 8... Wafer jacket, 11... Load arm, 12...
unload arm.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A semiconductor wafer processing apparatus equipped with a cleaning mechanism for cleaning a wafer suction mechanism, wherein the cleaning mechanism cleans the wafer support suction surface of the wafer suction mechanism with cleaning water; The suction mechanism has a plurality of suction ports on the wafer support suction surface, and the suction ports vacuum-suction the semiconductor wafer to the wafer support suction surface and blow out clean air when cleaning the wafer support suction surface. A semiconductor wafer processing apparatus characterized by: