Wafer stripping and cleaning device

Abstract

The present invention shortens the time from the peeling operation until the wafer is conveyed to a single wafer cleaning unit by a transfer device without damaging the wafer, and improves the overall efficiency. In a wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus, a wafer peeling unit (100) has a first peeling chuck (200) and a second peeling chuck (201), a fall stop plate (214), and two take-out prevention plates (216) having a slit (216a) formed in the upper portion of the fall stop plate (214), and a transfer device (118) has a transfer chuck (300) and a pressure switch that detects that a wafer (W) is sucked and held by the transfer chuck (300). According to the detection signal of the pressure switch, the vacuum suction of the first stripping suction cup (200) and the second stripping suction cup (201) is released, and the retraction of the delivery suction cup (300) and the descending of the first stripping suction cup (200) and the second stripping suction cup (201) are started.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of an application with an international application date of January 20, 2020 (date of entering the Chinese national phase: July 16, 2021), an international application number of PCT / JP2020 / 001753 (national application number: 202080009605.0), and an invention name of “Wafer stripping and cleaning device”. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to a wafer stripping and cleaning device, and in particular to a wafer stripping and cleaning device for stripping wafers that are cut into multiple pieces at the same time by a wire saw and are in a batch state (bundled) from a slicing base to separate them into individual pieces and clean them. Background Art

[0003] When the ingot is cut by a wire saw, the wafer is cut out in a state where it is completely bonded to the slicing base. Therefore, the wafer needs to be peeled off from the slicing base to be separated into individual pieces. In addition, the wafer just after being cut by the wire saw has processing fluid attached to it, so it needs to be cleaned to remove the processing fluid.

[0004] In the past, the wafer stripping and cleaning operations were performed by a wafer stripping and cleaning device. In addition, the wafer stripping and cleaning device is composed of a preliminary cleaning section, a wafer stripping single-piece section, a cleaning section, and a recovery section. The wafers that have just been cut are first transported to the preliminary cleaning section for preliminary cleaning. Then, the wafers in batches after preliminary cleaning are transported to the wafer stripping single-piece section, where the wafers are stripped from the slicing base one by one to be singulated. The wafers stripped from the slicing base are transported to the single-piece cleaning section by the handover device. Then, the single-piece cleaning is performed, and the wafers are recovered one by one in the recovery section and stored in a box.

[0005] In the wafer peeling unit, in order to efficiently peel the wafer, a pair of peeling suction cups are arranged at a predetermined interval, and the wafer is vacuum-adsorbed and held by the pair of peeling suction cups. Then, the peeling suction cups are swung in the front-back direction, and are moved up and down by the lifting and lowering rotary actuator, and stopped at a predetermined handover position. The above technology is well known and is described in Patent Document 1.

[0006] Prior art literature

[0007] Patent Literature

[0008] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-288902 Summary of the invention

[0009] Problem that the invention aims to solve

[0010] In the technology described in Patent Document 1, a pair of peeling suction cups are used to vacuum absorb the wafer so that it is swung in the front-back direction and moved up and down. Therefore, it is preferred in terms of efficient wafer peeling. However, it is not sufficient to lift the peeled wafer and reliably deliver it to the delivery suction cup at the delivery position. In particular, when the lifting speed is increased to improve efficiency, there is a possibility that the wafer falls in the middle or the wafer posture is unstable, causing damage.

[0011] In addition, there is also a problem that when the wafer is tilted, it cannot be smoothly sucked by the peeling suction pad.

[0012] The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems of the above-mentioned prior art and to obtain the following wafer stripping and cleaning device, that is, even if the wafer is tilted, the wafer can be reliably adsorbed by the stripping suction cup, and the wafer can be simply stripped one by one with less force, and the stripped wafer can be reliably transported to the handover device or the single-wafer cleaning section, thereby shortening the time and improving the efficiency overall.

[0013] Solutions for solving problems

[0014] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is a wafer stripping and cleaning device, wherein the wafer stripping and cleaning device strips batch wafers cut into multiple pieces at the same time from a slicing base one by one in a wafer stripping and singulating section to separate the wafers, transports the stripped wafers to a singulating cleaning section and performs singulating cleaning on the wafers, and after cleaning, recovers the wafers in a box by a recovery section. In the wafer stripping and cleaning device, the wafer stripping and singulating section includes:

[0015] A hot water tank formed in a rectangular box shape in which hot water is stored; a workpiece holding portion disposed in the hot water tank to hold the wafer; a first stripping suction cup configured so that its central axis coincides with the central axis of the wafer when the wafer is held by the workpiece holding portion; a second stripping suction cup configured at a lower side than the first stripping suction cup and extending and retracting in the axial direction; a first guide rail disposed along the length direction of the hot water tank; a first feed motor that moves the first stripping suction cup and the second stripping suction cup along the first guide rail and along the length direction of the hot water tank; and a lifting and lowering rotary actuator that moves the first stripping suction cup and the second stripping suction cup up and down relative to the vertical upper side.

[0016] In the above, it is preferable that the second peeling suction cup is a bellows type vacuum suction cup.

[0017] Furthermore, it is preferable that the first peeling suction cup is a flat vacuum suction cup having a flat surface and has a stronger suction force than the second peeling suction cup.

[0018] Furthermore, preferably, when the wafers are peeled off one by one from a batch state and singulated, the wafers are adsorbed and held by the second peeling suction cup abutting and pulling the end face of the wafer closer and then the first peeling suction cup adsorbs the center axis of the wafer.

[0019] Furthermore, preferably, the wafer stripping and cleaning device has a fall-stopping plate, which prevents the wafers from falling forward when they are stripped one by one from the wafers in a batch state and singulated, and the second stripping suction cup pulls the wafer toward the fall-stopping plate side with the vicinity of the bonding portion of the wafers in the batch state as the center.

[0020] Furthermore, it is preferred that a swinging rotary actuator is provided to swing the first peeling suction cup and the second peeling suction cup in a direction along the axis of the wafer, and the swinging rotary actuator is driven to swing the first peeling suction cup and the second peeling suction cup, thereby peeling the wafer from the slicing base.

[0021] Furthermore, it is preferable that a water supply nozzle is provided vertically above the wafer, and hot water or water is supplied vertically above the wafer from near the center when the wafers are peeled off one by one.

[0022] Furthermore, preferably, the wafer stripping and cleaning device has air nozzles arranged on both sides of the wafer, and when the end faces of the wafer placed on the hot water tank are adsorbed and held by the first stripping suction cup and the second stripping suction cup and the wafers are stripped one by one, the air nozzles are used to blow air toward the sides of the wafer.

[0023] Furthermore, preferably, the air nozzle blows and supplies air from a lower side toward an upper side of the wafer.

[0024] Furthermore, it is preferable that the air nozzle blows and supplies air to a plurality of wafers in a batch state when peeling one of the wafers.

[0025] Effects of the Invention

[0026] According to the present invention, a wafer stripping and cleaning device can be obtained, that is, even if the wafer is tilted, the wafer can be reliably adsorbed by the stripping suction cup, shortening the time from the stripping operation to the transportation to the single-wafer cleaning section by the handover device, thereby improving the efficiency as a whole. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 It is a top view showing the overall structure of the wafer stripping and cleaning apparatus.

[0028] Figure 2 It is a top view showing the structure of a wafer separation unit.

[0029] Figure 3 It is a top view showing the structure of the peeling device.

[0030] Figure 4 It is a top partial cross-sectional view showing the structure of the delivery device.

[0031] Figure 5 It is a front view showing the structure of the peeling device.

[0032] Figure 6 It is a side view showing the structure of the peeling device.

[0033] Figure 7 It is a front view showing the structure of a wafer separation unit.

[0034] Figure 8 It is a front view showing the structure of the delivery device.

[0035] Fig. 9 It is a side partial cross-sectional view showing the structure of the delivery device.

[0036] Fig.10 It is an enlarged side view of a main part showing the detailed structure of the adsorption unit for peeling.

[0037] Fig.11 It is an enlarged front view of a main part showing the detailed structure of the peeling adsorption unit.

[0038] Fig.12 This is a diagram illustrating the effect of the peeling operation.

[0039] Fig.13 It is a side view showing the structure of the single-wafer cleaning unit.

[0040] Fig.14 It is a top view showing the structure of the transport unit.

[0041] Fig.15 It is a top view showing the structure of the recovery unit.

[0042] Description of Reference Numerals

[0043] 1. Wafer stripping and cleaning device; 10. Preliminary cleaning section; 12. Preliminary cleaning device; 100. Wafer stripping and single-wafer section; 310. Conveying section; 350. Single-wafer cleaning section; 400. Inspection section; 500. Recovery section; 112. Hot water tank; 114. Stripping device; 118. Handover device; 120. Hot water; 122. Workpiece holding section; 312. Reciprocating conveyor; 352. Single-wafer brushing section; 354. Single-wafer pre-rinsing section; 356. Single-wafer rinsing section; 402. Conveying unit; 508. Wafer conveying robot arm; 136. First guide rail; 138. Linear guide; 140. First slide table; 142. Nut member; 144, lead screw; 148, first feed motor; 150, peeling unit; 152, bearing block; 154, swing frame; 160, swing rotary actuator; 162, drive gear; 164, driven gear; 168, rotating shaft; 170, bearing member; 172, support plate; 174, rotating plate; 176, connecting rod; 178, 180, 194, 196, 210, 212, pin; 182, bearing unit; 186, 188, rotating shaft; 190, 192, arm; 198, suction cup support plate; 200, first peeling suction cup; 201, second peeling suction cup; 202, support plate; 204, lifting rotary Rotary actuator; 206, rotating plate; 208, connecting rod; 214, anti-fall plate; 214a, passage; 214S, position sensor; 214-1, abutment plate; 214-2, stainless steel plate; 80, 81, air nozzle; 216, take out two prevention plates; 216a, slit; 222, drive unit; 240, second slide table; 248, second feed motor; 236, second guide rail; 274, support; 276, support frame; 278, rotary actuator for rotation; 280, drive gear; 284, rotary shaft; 282, driven gear; 286, bearing unit; 288, rotary frame; 290, rotary shaft; 292, Rotary actuator for direction conversion; 294, swivel arm; 296, support plate; 298, cylinder for suction cup advance and retreat; 300, suction cup for transfer; 378, rotating brush; 380, cleaning liquid nozzle; 382, ​​roller conveyor; 384, blower nozzle; 402, conveying unit; 411, endless belt conveyor; 411a, guide member; 412, positioning pin; 502, 502A, 502B, wafer recovery unit; 510A, 510B, wafer recovery box; 504, defective wafer recovery unit; 506, adhesive residue wafer recovery unit; 514, adhesive residue wafer recovery box; M, mounting plate; S, slicing base; W, wafer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 1 is a top view showing the structure of a wafer stripping and cleaning device 1 according to the present invention. Figure 2FIG. 2 is a top view showing the structure of the wafer separation unit 100. Figure 1 As shown, the wafer separation and cleaning apparatus 1 of this embodiment is mainly composed of a preliminary cleaning unit 10, a wafer separation and singulation unit 100, a conveying unit 310, a singulation and singulation cleaning unit 350, a detection unit 400, and a recovery unit 500. The outline of each main part is described below.

[0045] The preliminary cleaning section 10 sprays and cleans the wafers W (wafers W bonded to the slicing base S) in a batch state just after being cut by a wire saw, to remove the slurry attached during cutting. The preliminary cleaning section 10 has a preliminary cleaning device 12 for cleaning the wafers W. In the preliminary cleaning device 12, there is a cleaning process of immersing and cleaning with the mounting plate M set on the upper side and the slicing tank set on the lower side. During cleaning, while shaking up and down, a water flow is generated in the tank for cleaning. When cleaning is completed, the wafer sent out from the preliminary cleaning section 10 is directly transported by the elevator to the next wafer stripping single wafer section 100.

[0046] In the wafer separation unit 100, the wafers W in batch state are separated one by one from the slicing base S to be separated into individual pieces. Figure 2 As shown, the wafer separation unit 100 mainly includes a hot water tank 112 , a separation device 114 , and a transfer device 118 . The transfer device 118 receives the wafer separated from the slicing base S by the separation device 114 and transfers it to the reciprocating conveyor 312 of the conveying unit 310 .

[0047] The transport unit 310 receives the wafer W separated and singulated in the wafer separation singulation unit 100 and transports it to the next singulation cleaning unit 350. Then, the wafer W is transported to the singulation cleaning unit 350 by a shuttle conveyor 312 included in the transport unit 310.

[0048] The single-wafer cleaning section 350 performs single-wafer cleaning on each of the wafers W that have been stripped and singulated in the wafer stripping single-wafer section 100. The single-wafer cleaning section 350 is composed of a single-wafer brushing section 352, a single-wafer pre-rinsing section 354, and a single-wafer rinsing section 356. The single-wafer brushing section 352 sprays a cleaning liquid on the back and surface of the transported wafer W while performing brushing. After cleaning, in order to prevent the cleaning liquid from being carried into the next process, compressed air is sprayed to remove the liquid. Then, the wafer W after brushing is transported to the single-wafer pre-rinsing section 354 of the next process.

[0049] The wafer pre-rinsing section 354 sprays the pre-rinsing liquid from the pre-rinsing liquid nozzle onto the back and front of the wafer being transported, while scrubbing with a rotating brush. After cleaning, the wafer is sprayed with compressed air to remove the liquid. Then, the wafer is transported to the wafer rinsing section 356 for the next process.

[0050] The wafer rinsing section 356 sprays the rinsing liquid from the rinsing liquid nozzle onto the back and front of the wafer while scrubbing with a rotating brush. After cleaning, the wafer W from which the liquid has been removed is transferred to the endless belt conveyor 411 of the inspection section 400 and transported to a predetermined receiving position of the inspection section 400.

[0051] The inspection unit 400 inspects each of the cleaned wafers W for cracks, defects, and adhesive residues, and measures the thickness of each wafer W. The inspected wafers W are then handed over to the wafer transport robot 508 of the recovery unit 500 .

[0052] The wafer conveying robot 508 is a multi-jointed robot with a freely rotatable robot arm 520 at the top. The wafer W is held and conveyed by suction by a suction cup 522 provided at the top of the robot arm 520. The recovery unit 500 is composed of two wafer recovery units 502A and 502B for recovering normal wafers, a defective wafer recovery unit 504 for recovering defective wafers, and an adhesive residual wafer recovery unit 506 for recovering adhesive residual wafers in order to distinguish adhesive residual wafers from defective wafers (cracked wafers, defective wafers, wafers with poor thickness, and residual materials).

[0053] Then, the wafer transport robot 508 receives the wafers W from the inspection unit 400 , and stores the wafers W in cassettes of the wafer recovery units 502 , 504 , and 506 based on the inspection results.

[0054] Next, the detailed structure of the wafer separation unit 100 will be described. Figure 2 1 is a top view showing the structure of the wafer separation unit 100. Figure 3 is a top view showing the structure of the peeling device 114, Figure 4 is a top partial cross-sectional view showing the structure of the delivery device 118, Figure 5 is a front view showing the structure of the peeling device 114, Figure 6 is a side view showing the structure of the peeling device 114, Figure 7 1 is a front view showing the structure of the wafer separation unit 100. Figure 8 is a front view showing the structure of the delivery device 118, Fig. 9 1 is a side partial cross-sectional view showing the structure of the transfer device 118. The wafer separation unit 100 is mainly composed of a hot water tank 112, a separation device 114, and a transfer device 118.

[0055] The structure of the hot water tank 112 is described. The hot water tank 112 is formed into a rectangular box shape, and hot water 120 is stored inside. The wafer W peeled from the slicing base S is placed on the workpiece holding portion 122 provided in the hot water tank 112. Moreover, by placing the wafer W on the workpiece holding portion 122, the slicing base S bonded to the wafer W is immersed in the hot water 120. At this time, it is not necessary to immerse the entire wafer W in the hot water 120, but it is preferably immersed 2 to 3 cm above the portion of the wafer W fixed by the wax.

[0056] Mainly based on Figure 3 The schematic structure of the peeling device 114 is described below. The peeling device 114 is a device that peels the wafers W placed in the hot water tank 112 from the slicing base S one by one. Figure 2 and Figure 5 , Figure 7 As shown, near the right side of the hot water tank 112, a pair of first guide rails 136, 136 are arranged along the length direction of the hot water tank 112. The first slide table (traveling body) 140 is provided with linear guides 138, 138 ( Figure 5 ) is slidably supported on the first guide rails 136, 136.

[0057] A nut member 142 ( Figure 5 ), the nut member 142 is threadedly connected to the lead screw 144 disposed between the pair of first guide rails 136, 136. The two ends of the lead screw 144 are supported by the bearing members 146, 146 in a manner that the lead screw 144 can rotate freely. In addition, a first feed motor 148 ( Figure 6 ) is connected to one end of the lead screw 144. By driving the first feed motor 148, the lead screw 144 rotates, and as a result, the first slide table 140 moves along the first guide rails 136, 136.

[0058] A peeling unit 150 for peeling the wafer W from the slicing base S is provided on the first slide table 140. Figure 3 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 As shown, the peeling unit 150 is provided with a bearing block 152 on the first slide table 140. A support shaft 156 provided at a base end of a swing frame 154 is supported by the bearing block 152 so as to be swingable.

[0059] A swinging rotary actuator 160 is provided on the first slide table 140 via a bracket 158, and a driving gear 162 is fixed to the output shaft of the swinging rotary actuator 160. A driven gear 164 meshes with the driving gear 162, and the driven gear 164 is fixed to the top end of a rotating shaft 168. The rotating shaft 168 is rotatably supported by a bearing member 170, and the bearing member 170 is supported by a support plate 172 fixed to the swinging rotary actuator 160.

[0060] A rotating plate 174 ( Figure 5 , Figure 6 ), one end of the connecting rod 176 is connected to the rotating plate 174 using a pin 178. And, the other end of the connecting rod 176 is connected to the swing frame 154 using a pin 180.

[0061] According to the above structure, the swing frame 154 swings around the support shaft 156 provided at its base end by driving the swing rotary actuator 160. That is, when the swing rotary actuator 160 is driven, the rotating plate 174 reciprocates within a range of 180 degrees, and the reciprocating rotation is transmitted to the swing frame 154 via the connecting rod 176, and the swing frame 154 swings.

[0062] A bearing unit 182 is provided at the upper end of the swing frame 154, and two rotating shafts 186 and 188 are rotatably supported by the bearing unit 182. Arms 190 and 192 are fixed to the top ends of the rotating shafts 186 and 188, respectively, and the top ends of the arms 190 and 192 are connected to the suction cup support plate 198 by pins 194 and 196. A pair of first and second peeling suction cups 200 and 201 are arranged on the suction cup support plate 198 at a predetermined interval, and the first and second peeling suction cups 200 and 201 hold the wafer W by vacuum suction.

[0063] A support plate 202 is mounted on the back of the swing frame 154, and a lifting and lowering rotary actuator 204 is provided on the support plate 202. A fan-shaped rotary plate 206 is fixed to the output shaft of the lifting and lowering rotary actuator 204, and one end of a connecting rod 208 is connected to the rotary plate 206 by a pin 210. The other end of the connecting rod 208 is connected to one arm 190 by a pin 212.

[0064] According to the above structure, the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 provided on the suction cup support plate 198 are moved vertically upward by driving the lifting rotary actuator 204. That is, when the lifting rotary actuator 204 is driven, the rotating plate 206 reciprocates within a range of 180 degrees, and the reciprocating rotation is transmitted to the arm 190 via the connecting rod 208, and one arm 190 performs reciprocating angular motion in the up-down direction. When the arm 190 performs the reciprocating angular motion, the arm 192 on the other side also becomes a swing lever and performs the reciprocating angular motion, and as a result, the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 provided on the suction cup support plate 198 are lifted vertically upward.

[0065] The first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 that suck and hold the wafer W are moved up and down by the lifting and lowering rotary actuator 204. In addition, the suction cup support plate 198 provided with the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 is connected to the swing frame 154 via the arms 190 and 192, so that the suction cup support plate 198 swings in the front-rear direction by the swing frame 154 swinging.

[0066] That is, the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 are swung in the front-rear direction by the swinging rotary actuator 160, and the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 are moved up and down by the lifting rotary actuator 204. Then, the wafer W is peeled from the slicing base S by the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 as follows.

[0067] The end surface of the wafer W placed in the hot water tank 112 is sucked and held by the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201. Next, the swinging rotary actuator 160 is driven to swing the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 in the front-back direction (the direction along the axis of the wafer). Here, the adhesive bonding the wafer W and the slicing base S is fully softened by being immersed in the hot water 120. Therefore, the wafer W is peeled from the slicing base S by being swung multiple times.

[0068] When the wafer W is peeled off from the slicing base S, the lifting and lowering rotary actuator 204 is driven, and the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 move upward while holding the peeled wafer W. Then, they stop at a predetermined handover position. After the wafer W transferred to the handover position is handed over to the handover device 118, it is transferred to the reciprocating conveyor 312 by the handover device 118 and transported to the next process by the reciprocating conveyor 312.

[0069] On the other hand, the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201, which have completed the transfer of the wafer W, are driven by the lifting and lowering rotary actuator 204 to move downward and return to the original peeling operation position. The wafer W is peeled from the slicing base S by the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 being swung, but some wafers W are peeled from the slicing base S before being swung by the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201.

[0070] In this case, the wafer W may fall forward and cannot be recovered. Therefore, a fall prevention plate 214 is provided in front of the wafer W to be peeled off to prevent the wafer W from falling forward. The fall prevention plate 214 is provided on the support plate 202 provided with the lifting and lowering rotary actuator 204, and swings together with the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201.

[0071] The first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 are moved up and down through the passage 214a formed in the anti-falling plate 214. In addition, a two-piece anti-falling plate 216 is fixed on the upper part of the anti-falling plate 214, and the wafer W peeled from the slicing base S is transferred to a predetermined delivery position through a slit 216a formed in the two-piece anti-falling plate 216. The slit 216a is formed with a width that is just enough for one wafer W to pass through (for example, a width of 1.1 to 1.5 times the thickness of the wafer W), so that in the case of peeling two wafers at the same time, the two wafers can be prevented from sticking to each other and being transferred to the delivery position at the same time. Specifically, by setting the width of the slit 216a to a width of 1.1 to 1.5 times the thickness of the wafer W, it is possible to prevent two wafers W from being transferred simultaneously, and to prevent surface damage.

[0072] Here, the anti-fall plate 214 is preferably subjected to waterproof processing such as fluororesin processing on its surface. The reason is that if the anti-fall plate 214 is not subjected to waterproof processing, a water film is formed on its surface, and the wafer W sticks to the anti-fall plate 214, so that when the wafer W is transferred to the delivery position through the slit 216a, the wafer W may deviate from or fall off the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201, making the transfer difficult. By performing waterproof processing on the surface of the anti-fall plate 214, a water film will not be formed, so that the wafer W can be prevented from sticking to the anti-fall plate 214.

[0073] In addition, by not setting the surface of the anti-falling plate 214 to a mirror-like state but to a slightly rough surface in advance, the wafer W can be suppressed or prevented from being adsorbed on the anti-falling plate 214. By using this processing and waterproof processing at the same time, the wafer W can be more reliably prevented from sticking to the anti-falling plate 214.

[0074] Thus, even when two wafers are peeled off from the slicing base at the same time and the two wafers are attached to each other, when passing through the slit 216a of the two prevention plates 216, the second wafer attached to the first wafer cannot pass through the slit 216a and fall down, so it can always be transferred to the handover position one by one. In addition, in this case, the wafer that cannot pass through the slit 216a and fall down can be prevented from falling forward by the anti-fall plate 214, so it can be reliably recovered when the next peeling is performed.

[0075] Next, the schematic structure of the delivery device 118 will be described. The delivery device 118 is a device that receives the wafer W peeled from the slicing base S by the first peeling suction cup 200 of the peeling device 114 and delivers it to the reciprocating conveyor 312. Figure 2 , Figure 4 as well as Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Fig. 9 As shown, the delivery device 118 is provided on the second slide table 240 of the driving unit 222 , and the delivery device 118 moves along the second guide rails 236 , 236 by driving the second feed motor 248 .

[0076] A support column 274 is vertically erected on the second slide table 240 of the driving unit 222. A support frame 276 is vertically erected on the top of the support column 274, and a rotary actuator 278 for rotation is horizontally provided on the support frame 276. A driving gear 280 is meshed with the output shaft of the rotary actuator 278 for rotation, and a driven gear 282 fixed to a rotary shaft 284 is meshed with the driving gear 280. The rotary shaft 284 is rotatably supported by a bearing unit 286 provided on the top of the support frame 276, and the rotary actuator 278 is driven to rotate the rotary shaft 284 within a range of 180°.

[0077] A rotating frame 288 is fixed to the base end of the rotating shaft 284, and a rotating shaft 290 is rotatably supported by the rotating frame 288. An output shaft of a direction-changing rotary actuator 292 provided on the rotating frame 288 is fixed to the base end of the rotating shaft 290, and the rotating shaft 290 rotates within a range of 90 degrees by driving the direction-changing rotary actuator 292.

[0078] A rotating arm 294 formed in an L-shape is fixed to the top end of the rotating shaft 290, and a support plate 296 is fixed to the top end of the rotating arm 294. A suction cup advancing and retreating cylinder 298 is provided on the support plate 296, and a transfer suction cup 300 is provided at the top end of the rod of the suction cup advancing and retreating cylinder 298. The wafer W peeled by the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 of the peeling device 114 is transferred to the transfer suction cup 300 after being transported to a predetermined transfer position.

[0079] In the transfer device 118, by driving the rotation actuator 278, the wafer W held by the transfer suction cup 300 is rotated within a range of 180 degrees on the vertical plane, and by driving the direction change rotation actuator 292, the wafer W is changed in direction from the vertical state to the horizontal state.

[0080] The wafer W peeled by the peeling device 114 is received and delivered to the reciprocating conveyor 312 as follows. The wafer W peeled from the slicing base S is lifted and transferred to a predetermined delivery position while being held by the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201. The delivery suction cup 300 is already on standby at the delivery position, and the wafer W is located at a position coaxial with the axis of the delivery suction cup 300.

[0081] When the wafer W is transferred to the delivery position, the suction cup advance and retreat cylinder 298 is then driven, and the delivery suction cup 300 is advanced by a predetermined amount toward the wafer W. As a result, the delivery suction cup 300 is in close contact with the end surface of the wafer W. Next, the delivery suction cup 300 is driven, and the wafer W is held by the delivery suction cup 300 by suction. The situation that the wafer W is held by the delivery suction cup 300 by suction is detected by a pressure switch (not shown) provided on the side of the delivery suction cup 300.

[0082] Here, as long as it is a place where the pressure in the transfer suction cup 300 can be detected, the pressure switch can be set at any position that does not hinder the adsorption of the wafer W. For example, a pressure switch can be set in an air suction pipe (not shown) configured in the rotating arm 294 for operating the transfer suction cup 300. However, the setting place of the pressure switch is not limited to the inside of the rotating arm 294 as long as it is a position where the pressure in the air suction pipe can be detected. It can also be set at any position between the part where the air suction pipe extends from the rotating arm 294 to the outside and is connected to the air suction pump (not shown). Alternatively, it is also possible to set the pressure switch inside the part of the rotating arm 294 to which the transfer suction cup 300 is connected in a manner that can directly detect the pressure in the transfer suction cup 300.

[0083] Then, based on the detection signal, the vacuum adsorption of the first peeling suction cup 200 is released, that is, air is allowed to flow in. Thus, the wafer W is transferred from the first peeling suction cup 200 to the transfer suction cup 300. In addition, the vacuum adsorption of the second peeling suction cup 201 may be released at the same time as the release of the first peeling suction cup 200. However, the release may be performed before the wafer W is raised or before the wafer W is transferred to the transfer position. In this case, the posture of the wafer W is stable.

[0084] The transfer suction cup 300 that has received the wafer W starts driving the suction cup advance and retreat cylinder 298 according to the detection signal of the pressure switch, and retreats from the first peeling suction cup 200. Similarly, the first peeling suction cup 200 that has received the wafer W starts to descend according to the detection signal of the pressure switch, and returns to the original peeling operation position. When the transfer suction cup 300 retreats, the rotation actuator 278 is driven to rotate, and the rotation arm 294 rotates 180°. As a result, the wafer W is transferred to the upper position of the reciprocating conveyor 312. In addition, a sensor, device, etc. with the same function, such as a touch sensor, can be used instead of the above-mentioned pressure switch.

[0085] The wafer W transferred to the upper side of the reciprocating conveyor 312 is in a state of being orthogonal to the reciprocating conveyor 312, so after the transfer, the direction change rotary actuator 292 is driven, and the swivel arm 294 rotates 90 degrees around the rotation axis 290. As a result, the wafer W is located at a predetermined height from the reciprocating conveyor 312 in a horizontal state.

[0086] After the direction-changing rotary actuator 292 is driven, the suction cup advance-retract cylinder 298 is driven, and the delivery suction cup 300 is advanced by a predetermined amount toward the reciprocating conveyor 312. As a result, the wafer W is placed on the reciprocating conveyor 312. When the wafer W is placed on the reciprocating conveyor 312, the driving of the delivery suction cup 300 is stopped. Then, the suction cup advance-retract cylinder 298 is driven, and the delivery suction cup 300 is retracted from the reciprocating conveyor 312.

[0087] After the wafer W is delivered, the delivery suction cup 300 returns to the original delivery position in the opposite manner to the above. On the other hand, the reciprocating conveyor 312 to which the wafer W is delivered is driven by a driving component (not shown) to convey the delivered wafer W to the next process. In addition, the drive of the wafer stripping unit 100 is automatically controlled by a control device (not shown), and each structural device operates based on a drive signal output from the control device.

[0088] Next, a method for peeling a wafer in the wafer peeling unit 100 will be described in detail. In the state before starting, the first slide table 140 provided with the peeling unit 150 is located at one end of the first guide rail 136 (at Figure 2 On the other hand, the second slide table 240 provided with the handover device 118 is located at the other end of the second guide rail 236 (at Figure 2 middle is the upper end).

[0089] The wafer W that has been cut multiple times by the wire saw is placed in the workpiece holding portion 122 provided in the hot water tank 112. Thus, the slicing base S to which the wafer W is bonded is immersed in the hot water 120 accumulated in the hot water tank 112. In addition, the wafer W can be placed manually by an operator or automatically transported to the workpiece holding portion 122 by a robot (not shown) and placed automatically.

[0090] When the wafer W is placed in the hot water tank 112, the control device first drives the second feed motor 248 to move the second slide table 240 in the hot water tank 112. Figure 2 Next, the second slide table 240 is positioned at a predetermined start position of the transfer operation. Then, when the second slide table 240 is positioned at the start position of the transfer operation, the peeling operation of the wafer W is started.

[0091] Next, the control device drives the first feed motor 148 and the second feed motor 248 synchronously to move the first slide table 140 and the second slide table 240 forward (towards Figure 2 A non-contact position sensor 214S is provided on the suction cup support plate 198 of the peeling device 114 provided on the first slide table 140. When the distance from the end surface of the wafer W reaches a predetermined distance, the position sensor 214S is activated.

[0092] The control device stops the driving of the first feed motor 148 and the second feed motor 248 by inputting the operation signal of the position sensor 214S, and stops the first slide table 140 and the second slide table 240. As a result, the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 of the peeling device 114 provided on the first slide table 140 abut against the end surface of the wafer W. The control device drives the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 abutting against the end surface of the wafer W, so that the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 suck and hold the wafer W.

[0093] Fig.10 is an enlarged side view of a main part showing the detailed structure of the peeling adsorption unit, Fig.11It is an enlarged front view. In the anti-falling plate 214, the end face side of the wafer W is a reference surface, and a resin-made abutment plate 214-1 that serves as a protective surface, and the side opposite to the end face side of the wafer W serves as a stainless steel plate 214-2 made of stainless steel for ensuring the flatness of the abutment plate 214-1. Here, the surface of the side contacted by the wafer W, that is, the surface of the resin-made abutment plate 214-1 is preferably waterproofed by fluororesin processing or the like as described above, and more preferably waterproofed and its surface is not a mirror surface but has a surface roughness to the extent that the wafer W will not be adsorbed. In addition, the first peeling suction cup 200 is configured so that its central axis coincides with the central axis of the wafer W, and the second peeling suction cup 201 is configured at a lower side than the first peeling suction cup 200. In addition, the first peeling suction cup 200 is a flat vacuum suction cup suitable for conveying workpieces with a flat surface, and has a stronger adsorption force than the second peeling suction cup 201. The second peeling suction cup 201 is a bellows-type vacuum suction cup having a serpentine shape that expands and contracts in the axial direction.

[0094] The wafer W is bonded to the slicing base S by an adhesive and arranged at an upper position relative to the mounting plate M, and then the wafer W is placed in the workpiece holding portion 122 of the hot water tank 112. Here, the adhesive bonding the wafer W and the slicing base S is fully softened by being immersed in the hot water 120. An air supply mechanism is provided on the side of the slicing base S, and air nozzles 80 and 81 are provided on the two lower side surfaces of the wafer W. Moreover, the air nozzles 80 and 81 are configured to blow out the supply air from the lower side toward the upper side from two directions of the side surface of the wafer W, that is, to blow the air strongly. In addition, a water supply nozzle (not shown) is provided vertically above the wafer W and near the center of the wafer.

[0095] The wafer W is held by the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 as follows. First, the second peeling suction cup 201 is brought into contact with the end surface of the wafer W. The second peeling suction cup 201 is configured to be located below the central axis of the wafer W and can be extended and retracted in the axial direction like a bellows-type vacuum suction cup, so that a second peeling suction cup of the type that can be used is capable of following the inclination of the surface of the adsorbed object to a certain extent even if the surface of the adsorbed object is inclined to a certain extent relative to a surface perpendicular to the axial direction.

[0096] Therefore, if Fig.12 As shown, even if the wafer W is tilted, the suction portion of the second peeling suction cup 200 can reliably suck the wafer W according to the tilt of the wafer W, and can pull the base of the wafer W toward the anti-falling plate 214 side with the vicinity of the bonding portion of the wafer W as the center. In this way, the peeling operation can be started reliably and efficiently.

[0097] Fig.121 and 2 are diagrams for explaining the effect of the peeling operation. When peeling one wafer W, air is blown from the air nozzles 80 and 81 onto both sides of the wafers W from the lower side toward the upper side as indicated by arrows F and G. FIG.

[0098] Specifically, compared to Fig.12 For the wafer W at the leftmost end of the wafer to be peeled, which is the first wafer, air is blown at least between the first and second wafers. In addition, air is blown between the second and third wafers, and between the third and fourth wafers, which is preferred for efficient wafer peeling. However, during the peeling operation of multiple wafers, the adhesive bonding the wafer W and the slicing base S is sufficiently softened by being immersed in the hot water 120, so the number of wafers blown can be reduced while the peeling operation is being performed.

[0099] On the other hand, by supplying hot water or water from near the center vertically above the wafer W as shown by arrow H, water is supplied from the center, and a certain gap can be ensured in the center. In addition, by allowing air to flow from both sides of the wafer W, the gaps on both sides can be maintained in a well-balanced manner, and the wafers can be neatly separated.

[0100] That is, by supplying air to remove the water film, the wafers W are prevented from sticking together due to the surface tension of the water, thereby separating the wafers W and preventing the next wafer from being lifted when one wafer W is lifted. In addition, by blowing the supplied air toward the plurality of wafers, in particular, blowing the supplied air between the first and second wafers and between the second and third wafers, it is also possible to prevent the next standby wafer W (the second wafer) of the lifted wafer W from sticking closely to the next standby wafer W (the third wafer). As a result, the efficiency can be improved in terms of sequentially continuing the peeling operation.

[0101] After the wafer W is pulled toward the falling prevention plate 214 by the second peeling suction cup 201, the center axis of the wafer W is firmly sucked by the first peeling suction cup 200, which is a flat vacuum suction cup with a flat surface. Therefore, the wafer W can be processed in a short time in a state suitable for conveying the wafer W, and the possibility of falling during the process can be eliminated.

[0102] Next, the control device drives the swinging rotary actuator 160 to swing the swing frame 154 back and forth, and swings the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 back and forth (along the axis of the wafer). In addition, the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 swing around the vicinity of the bonding portion between the wafer W and the slicing base S as the swing center. Therefore, the wafer W is given multiple swings by the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201, and is easily peeled from the slicing base S. In addition, during peeling, the wafer W is peeled from the root by the back and forth swinging, and the overall peeling can be efficiently performed.

[0103] When the control device causes the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 to swing a predetermined number of times, the control device stops the driving of the swinging rotary actuator 160. Next, the lifting rotary actuator 204 is driven to rotate the arms 190 and 192 upward, thereby moving the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 upward. At this time, the central axis of the wafer W is firmly fixed by the first peeling suction cup 200.

[0104] The wafer W held by the first peeling suction cup 200 is guided by a resin (e.g., fluororesin) abutment plate 214-1 having good sliding properties, and passes through the slits 216a ( Figure 3 ). Thus, taking out two wafers W is prevented.

[0105] That is, even if the wafer W to be peeled off next is attached to the wafer W mainly held by the first peeling suction cup 200, the wafers W stuck together are peeled off when passing through the slit 216a, so only one wafer W that is always held by the first peeling suction cup 200 can be taken out.

[0106] In addition, the wafer that cannot pass through the slit 216a and falls is prevented from falling forward by the anti-falling plate 214, so it can be reliably recovered during the next peeling. At this time, the end surface side of the wafer W abuts against the abutting plate 214-1 made of resin (such as fluororesin) with very high surface lubricity, so it can be prevented from being damaged.

[0107] The first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 moved upward are Figure 8 At the delivery position, the delivery suction cup 300 of the delivery device 118 is on standby, and the wafer W, whose end face is firmly adsorbed by the first peeling suction cup 200 adsorbing the central axis of the wafer W, is located at a position coaxial with the axis of the delivery suction cup 300.

[0108] The handover position is when the handover suction cup 300 is approximately horizontal (at Figure 8 The position in the middle is the position where the rotating arm 294 is in a horizontal position, and the wafer W is kept in a vertical state and is not easily affected by the wafer bending caused by gravity. In addition, after the handover, the suction cups 200 and 201 can quickly return to the peeling action of the next wafer W, and can continue the efficient peeling operation in sequence.

[0109] When the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 stop at a predetermined handover position, the control device drives the suction cup advance and retreat cylinder 298 to advance the handover suction cup 300 by a predetermined amount toward the wafer W. As a result, the handover suction cup 300 is closely attached to the back surface of the wafer W sucked by the first peeling suction cup 200. Thus, the back surface of the wafer W is also sucked and held by the handover suction cup 300 together with the end surface on the first peeling suction cup 200 side.

[0110] The situation that the wafer W is held by the transfer suction cup 300 is detected by a pressure switch (not shown) provided on the side of the transfer suction cup 300. And, based on the detection signal, the vacuum adsorption of the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 is released, that is, air is allowed to flow in. The transfer suction cup 300 is a flat vacuum suction cup with a flat surface like the first peeling suction cup 200, and firmly adsorbs the central axis of the wafer W. Thus, the wafer W is transferred from the first peeling suction cup 200 to the transfer suction cup 300, and the central axis of the wafer W is firmly adsorbed by the transfer suction cup 300. Therefore, the wafer W can be processed in a state suitable for transportation, and the possibility of falling in the middle can also be eliminated.

[0111] Next, the control device drives the suction cup advance and retreat cylinder 298 to move the transfer suction cup 300 backward from the first peeling suction cup 200. While the transfer suction cup 300 is retreating, the control device drives the lifting and lowering rotary actuator 204 to rotate the arms 190 and 192 downward, so that the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 move downward and return to the original peeling operation position.

[0112] On the other hand, after the suction cup advance and retreat cylinder 298 is driven, the control device drives the rotation actuator 278 to rotate the rotation arm 294 180 degrees, and transfers the wafer W to the upper position of the reciprocating conveyor 312. Then, after the transfer, the direction change rotation actuator 292 is driven. The rotation arm 294 rotates 90 degrees around the rotation axis 290.

[0113] As a result, both end surfaces of the wafer W are parallel to the reciprocating conveyor 312. The control device drives the suction cup advance and retreat cylinder 298 to move the transfer suction cup 300 toward the reciprocating conveyor 312. As a result, the wafer W is placed on the reciprocating conveyor 312. Next, the control device stops driving the transfer suction cup 300 and transfers the wafer W to the reciprocating conveyor 312.

[0114] After stopping the driving of the delivery suction cup 300, the control device drives the suction cup advance and retreat air cylinder 298 to retreat the delivery suction cup 300 from the reciprocating conveyor 312, and drives the reciprocating conveyor 312 to transport the wafer W to the next process. In addition, after driving the suction cup advance and retreat air cylinder 298, the control device drives the direction change rotary actuator 292 and the rotation rotary actuator 278 to return the delivery suction cup 300 to the original delivery position.

[0115] Before the transfer suction cup 300 returns to the transfer position, the suction cups 200 and 201 perform the peeling operation of the next wafer W, so the peeling operation of the second wafer W is completed. Therefore, unnecessary time can be reduced, and efficient peeling operations can be sequentially continued.

[0116] That is, the delivery of the first wafer W is completed in a series of processes, and the delivery suction cup 300 is retreated while the suction cups 200 and 201 are returned to the original peeling operation position. In addition, the control device drives the first feed motor 148 and the second feed motor 248 synchronously to advance the first slide table 140 and the second slide table 240 by a predetermined amount. As a result, the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201 abut against the end surface of the second peeled wafer W. The control device peels the second wafer W in the same manner as described above.

[0117] As described above, the wafers W bonded to the slicing base S are sequentially peeled off and transported to the next process, completing a cycle of peeling operations. Next, the transport unit 310 receives the wafers W peeled off and singulated by the wafer peeling singulation unit 100, and transports them to the next singulation cleaning unit 350. Then, the transport unit 310 is provided with a reciprocating conveyor 312, and the reciprocating conveyor 312 is used to transport the wafers W to the singulation cleaning unit 350.

[0118] The wafer cleaning section 350 cleans each wafer W separated and singulated by the wafer separation singulation section 100 . The wafer cleaning section 350 includes a wafer brush cleaning section 352 , a wafer pre-rinsing section 354 , and a wafer rinsing section 356 .

[0119] Fig.13 3 is a side view showing the structure of the single-chip cleaning unit 350. The single-chip brush cleaning unit 352 has a cleaning tank (not shown) with a chamber structure. Fig.13As shown, a pair of rotating brushes 378, 378, a pair of cleaning liquid nozzles 380, 380 for discharging cleaning liquid, two pairs of roller conveyors 382, ​​382, ​​382, ​​382 for wafer conveyance, and a pair of blower nozzles 384, 384 for liquid removal are arranged in the cleaning tank.

[0120] In the single wafer scrubbing section 352, the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the cleaning liquid nozzles 380, 380 onto the back and front of the wafer W conveyed by the reciprocating conveyor 312 of the conveying section 310, and the wafer W is scrubbed by the rotating brushes 378, 378. After the cleaning, in order to prevent the cleaning liquid from being carried into the next process, the liquid is removed by spraying compressed air from the blower nozzles 384, 384. Then, the wafer W that has been scrubbed is conveyed by the roller conveyor 382 to the single wafer pre-rinsing section 354 of the next process.

[0121] The wafer pre-rinsing section 354 has the same structure as the wafer brushing section 352. In the wafer pre-rinsing section 354, the wafer conveyed by the roller conveyor 382 of the wafer brushing section 352 is brushed by a rotating brush while spraying the pre-rinsing liquid from the pre-rinsing liquid nozzle onto the back and front of the wafer. After cleaning, the liquid is removed by spraying compressed air. Then, the wafer W that has been brushed is conveyed to the wafer rinsing section 356 of the next process by the roller conveyor.

[0122] The wafer rinsing section 356 also has a substantially similar structure to the wafer brushing section 352. In the wafer rinsing section 356, the wafer W is brushed by a rotating brush while the rinsing liquid is sprayed from the rinsing liquid nozzle onto the back and front of the wafer conveyed by the roller conveyor of the wafer rinsing cleaning section. After cleaning, the wafer W is conveyed to the next inspection section 400 by the roller conveyor.

[0123] The inspection unit 400 inspects the wafers W that have been cleaned for cracks, defects, and adhesive residues one by one, and measures the thickness of each wafer. The inspection unit 400 is composed of the following units: a conveying unit 402, which is used to convey the wafers W that have been cleaned in the single-wafer cleaning unit 350 to a predetermined receiving position; a rotation driving unit, which lifts the wafers W conveyed to the receiving position to a predetermined inspection position and rotates it; a thickness measuring unit, which measures the thickness of the wafers W rotated by the rotation driving unit; a defective wafer inspection unit, which inspects the wafers W that have been rotated by the rotation driving unit for cracks, defects, and adhesive residues; and a handover unit, which is used to hand over the wafers W that have been inspected to the wafer conveying robot arm of the next recovery unit 500.

[0124] Fig.141 is a top view showing the structure of the conveying unit 402, and the conveying unit 402 has an endless belt conveyor 411. The endless belt conveyor 411 is connected to the terminal end of the single-wafer cleaning unit 350. A pair of guide members 411a, 411a are arranged on both sides of the endless belt conveyor 411, and the guide members 411a, 411a are used to guide the wafer W to move straight.

[0125] like Fig.14 As shown, at the terminal position of the endless belt conveyor 411, five positioning pins 412, 412, ... are arranged in a circular arc, and the wafer W conveyed by the endless belt conveyor 411 abuts against the positioning pins 412, 412, ..., so that the wafer W is positioned at a predetermined receiving position. In addition, when the wafer W abuts against the positioning pins 412, 412 ..., a sensor not shown in the figure is activated, and the driving of the endless belt conveyor 411 is stopped by the operation of the sensor. Then, the wafer W that has completed the detection is handed over to the wafer conveying robot 508 of the recovery unit 500.

[0126] Fig.15 1 is a top view showing the structure of the recovery unit 500. The wafer recovery units 502A and 502B are provided with upper and lower two-layer box holders (not shown). The box holders are supported by a box positioning mechanism (not shown) so as to be able to move up and down freely. Wafer recovery boxes 510A and 510B for recovering wafers W are placed on the box holders in pairs.

[0127] The defective wafer recovery unit 504 and the adhesive residue wafer recovery unit 506 are also provided with a box holder (not shown) similarly to the wafer recovery units 502A and 502B, respectively, and the box holder is supported by a box positioning mechanism (not shown) so as to be able to move up and down freely. Then, a defective wafer recovery box 512 for recovering defective wafers W and an adhesive residue wafer recovery box 514 for recovering adhesive residue wafers W are placed on the box holder.

[0128] In addition, when a wafer W is stored, the unillustrated box positioning mechanism is driven, and the wafer recovery box 510A rises by an amount corresponding to the separation of one layer. The wafer stripping and cleaning device 1 of this embodiment is constructed as described above. In addition, all the devices constituting the wafer stripping and cleaning device 1 are controlled and driven by a control device not shown in the figure, and work based on the drive signal output by the control device.

[0129] The wafer stripping and cleaning apparatus 1 described above is used for stripping and cleaning sliced ​​wafers cut by a conventional cutting method (a method of cutting only one ingot as opposed to cutting at one time). The batched wafers W cut by a wire saw are transported to the wafer stripping and cleaning apparatus 1 by a transport device (not shown).

[0130] Then, the wafer W is loaded on an elevator (not shown) of the wafer stripping and cleaning device 1. The wafer W loaded on the elevator is first transported to the preliminary cleaning unit 10 by the elevator. Moreover, spray cleaning is performed here to remove the slurry attached during cutting. The spray cleaning of the preliminary cleaning unit 10 is performed while the wafer is loaded on the elevator. When the spray cleaning is completed, the wafer is transported to the wafer stripping singulation unit 100.

[0131] The wafer W transported to the wafer peeling singulation unit 100 is first turned upside down by the reversing mechanism provided in the elevator (after the wafer W is arranged to be located on the upper side relative to the mounting plate M), and then placed on the workpiece holding unit 122 of the hot water tank 112. The wafer W placed on the workpiece holding unit 122 is peeled off from the slicing base S piece by piece by the first peeling suction cup 200 and the second peeling suction cup 201, and the peeled wafers W are sequentially transferred to the reciprocating conveyor 312 of the conveying unit 310. Then, the reciprocating conveyor 312 transports the wafer to the single wafer cleaning unit 350.

[0132] The above operation is performed one by one for each wafer W peeled from the slicing base S, and the operation is completed when all the wafers W are stored in the cassette. After the completion, each device returns to the state before the start-up.

[0133] The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus 1 can peel and clean sliced ​​wafers cut by a multi-cutting method (a method of simultaneously cutting different types of ingots rather than a single cutting method). The peeling and cleaning of wafers cut by the multi-cutting method will be described.

[0134] Since the wafers cut by the multi-cutting method need to be collected for each type of wafer, they are handled as follows: The steps before being transported to the wafer separation unit 100 are the same as those for the wafers cut by the normal cutting method described above.

[0135] When the multi-cut wafers W are placed on the workpiece holding portion 122 of the wafer stripping singulation unit 100, a partition plate (not shown) of a partitioning device is placed between batches of wafers W. Then, with the partition plate placed, the stripping operation by the first stripping suction cup 200 is started. The stripping operation is first performed on the wafers W of the first batch, and the stripped wafers W are sequentially transferred to the reciprocating conveyor 312 of the conveying unit 310.

[0136] When the peeling of the wafers W of the first batch is completed, the first partition plate (not shown) inserted between the first batch and the second batch is detected. When the first partition plate is detected, the control device determines that the wafers to be peeled off are the wafers W of the second batch. In this way, the wafers can be distinguished according to each batch, and the wafers can be recovered without mixing different types of wafers.

[0137] When the peeling of wafers W of the second lot is completed, the second partition plate (not shown) inserted between the second lot and the third lot is detected, and the control device detects the second partition plate and determines that the wafers to be peeled are wafers W of the third lot.

[0138] According to the above, in the wafer stripping unit 100, when the end surface of the wafer is held by the stripping suction cup and stripped one by one, the air nozzle is used to blow out the supply air, so that the gap between the wafers in the batch state can be well balanced, the damage to the wafers can be eliminated, and only one wafer can be efficiently lifted. Moreover, the processes of the conveying unit 310, the single-wafer cleaning unit 350, the detection unit 400 and the recovery unit 500 can be smoothly performed, and a highly efficient wafer stripping cleaning device 1 can be provided.

[0139] [Supplement A] The present invention includes the following contents.

[0140] (Note Item A 1)

[0141] A wafer stripping and cleaning device, characterized in that:

[0142] The wafer stripping and cleaning device is used to strip batch wafers that are cut into multiple pieces at the same time from a slicing base one by one in a wafer stripping and singulating section to separate the wafers, and then transport the stripped wafers to a singulating cleaning section to perform singulating cleaning on the wafers. After cleaning, the wafers are recovered in a box by a recovery section.

[0143] In the wafer stripping and cleaning device,

[0144] The wafer stripping unit comprises:

[0145] A hot water tank formed in a rectangular box shape, in which hot water is stored;

[0146] A workpiece holding portion, which is disposed in the hot water tank and holds the wafer to be peeled;

[0147] A peeling suction cup that sucks and holds an end surface of one side of the wafer;

[0148] a first guide rail disposed along the length direction of the hot water tank;

[0149] a first feed motor that moves the peeling suction cup along the first guide rail and along the length direction of the hot water tank;

[0150] a lifting and lowering rotary actuator for lifting and lowering the peeling suction cup relative to a vertical position above; and

[0151] an air nozzle disposed on a side of the wafer,

[0152] When the end surfaces of the wafers placed in the hot water tank are sucked and held by the peeling suction cup and the wafers are peeled off one by one, the air nozzle is used to blow air toward the side surfaces of the wafers.

[0153] (Note Item A 2)

[0154] The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to Note A Item 1 is characterized in that the air nozzles are arranged on both side surfaces of the wafer.

[0155] (Note A Item 3)

[0156] The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to item 1 or 2 of Appendix A is characterized in that the air nozzle is arranged on the lower side of the wafer.

[0157] (Note A 4)

[0158] The wafer stripping and cleaning apparatus according to any one of Supplementary Note A Items 1 to 3, wherein the air nozzle blows and supplies air from a lower side toward an upper side of the wafer.

[0159] (Note A Item 5)

[0160] The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of Supplementary Note A Items 1 to 4, wherein the air nozzle blows and supplies air to a plurality of wafers in a batch state when peeling one of the wafers.

[0161] (Note A 6)

[0162] The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of Supplementary Note A Items 1 to 5, wherein the air nozzle blows and supplies air at least between the first wafer and the second wafer when peeling one wafer.

[0163] (Note A Item 7)

[0164] The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of Supplementary Note A Items 1 to 6, wherein the air nozzle blows and supplies air between the first and second wafers and between the second and third wafers when peeling one wafer.

[0165] (Note A Item 8)

[0166] The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to any one of items 1 to 7 of Note A is characterized in that a water supply nozzle is provided vertically above the wafer, and hot water or water is supplied vertically above the wafer from near the center when the wafers are stripped one by one.

[0167] (Note A 9)

[0168] A wafer stripping and cleaning device according to any one of items 1 to 8 of Note A, characterized in that a swinging rotary actuator is provided to swing the stripping suction cup in a direction along the axis of the wafer, and the swinging rotary actuator is driven to swing the stripping suction cup, thereby stripping the wafer from the slicing base.

[0169] (Note A Item 10)

[0170] The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to Supplementary Note A Item 9 is characterized in that the center of the swing is set near the bonding portion between the slicing base and the wafer.

[0171] According to the wafer stripping and cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the following problems of the invention described in Patent Document 1 can be solved.

[0172] In the invention described in Patent Document 1, the wafer is swung in the direction along the axis, which is preferable in terms of efficient wafer separation. However, when the wafer is lifted by the wafer separation unit, the next wafer is also lifted.

[0173] The next standby wafer after the lifted wafer may come into close contact with the second standby wafer after that, which may cause damage such as breakage, chipping, fragmentation, or small cracks in the wafer.

[0174] According to the wafer stripping and cleaning device of the present invention, an air nozzle is provided on the side of the wafer, and when the end surface of the wafer is held by the stripping suction cup and stripped one by one, the air nozzle is used to blow out the supply air, so that the gap between the wafers in the batch state can be well balanced. Therefore, when lifting a wafer, the next wafer will not be lifted together, damage to the wafer can be eliminated, and only one wafer can be lifted efficiently.

[0175] [Supplementary Note B] The present invention also includes the following contents.

[0176] (Note Item B 1)

[0177] A wafer stripping and cleaning device, characterized in that:

[0178] The wafer stripping and cleaning device is used to strip batch wafers that have been cut into multiple pieces at the same time from a slicing base one by one in a wafer stripping and singulating section to separate the wafers. The stripped wafers are handed over to a handover device at a handover position. The handover device is used to transport the wafers to a single-wafer cleaning section and clean the wafers. After cleaning, the wafers are recovered in a box by a recovery section.

[0179] The wafer stripping and cleaning device includes:

[0180] The wafer peeling unit comprises a peeling suction cup for adsorbing and holding the end surface of the wafer, a lifting and lowering rotary actuator for lifting and lowering the peeling suction cup relative to the vertical upper side, a fall-stopping plate provided on a support plate provided with the lifting and lowering rotary actuator, and two take-out prevention plates having a slit formed on the upper part of the fall-stopping plate and fixed to the fall-stopping plate;

[0181] The delivery device includes a delivery suction cup for receiving the wafer peeled by the wafer peeling unit from the peeling suction cup and a pressure switch for detecting that the wafer is sucked and held by the delivery suction cup; and

[0182] A control device releases the vacuum suction of the peeling suction cup according to the detection signal of the pressure switch, and causes the transfer suction cup to start retreating from the peeling suction cup, thereby causing the peeling suction cup to start descending.

[0183] (Note Item B 2)

[0184] The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to Supplementary Note B Item 1 is characterized in that the fall-down prevention plate is provided with a resin abutment plate on the end surface side of the wafer.

[0185] (Note Item B 3)

[0186] The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to item 2 of Supplementary Note B is characterized in that a stainless steel plate made of stainless steel is provided on the side opposite to the abutting plate.

[0187] (Note Item B 4)

[0188] The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to any one of Supplementary Note B Items 1 to 3 is characterized in that the wafer sucked and held by the stripping suction cup is guided by the abutment plate, passes through the slit and stops at the handover position.

[0189] (Note B Item 5)

[0190] The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of Supplementary Note B Items 1 to 4, wherein the transfer suction cup and the peeling suction cup are flat vacuum suction cups.

[0191] (Supplementary Note B 6)

[0192] The wafer stripping and cleaning apparatus according to any one of Supplementary Note B Items 1 to 5, wherein the width of the slit is set to be 1.1 to 1.5 times the thickness of the wafer.

[0193] (Note B Item 7)

[0194] The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to any one of items 1 to 6 of Appendix B is characterized in that the wafer stripping and cleaning device has a rotating arm having the transfer suction cup at the top end, and the transfer position is a position where the rotating arm is horizontal.

[0195] (Supplementary Note B Item 8)

[0196] The wafer peeling and cleaning apparatus according to any one of Supplementary Note B Items 1 to 7, wherein at the transfer position, the wafer is located coaxially with the axis of the transfer suction cup.

[0197] The wafer separation and cleaning apparatus of the present invention can solve the following problems of the invention described in Patent Document 1.

[0198] That is, in the technology described in Patent Document 1, if the wafer is sucked by the stripping suction cup and the speed of moving the stripping suction cup upward is increased, the surface of the wafer may be damaged. In addition, since the stripping suction cup is returned to the original stripping operation position after the delivery suction cup is retreated from the stripping suction cup position at the delivery position, the timing of starting the stripping operation is delayed, and time is wasted in sequentially performing the stripping operation. Furthermore, since the timing of delivering the wafer to the delivery suction cup is unclear, if the timing of moving the stripping suction cup downward is too early, the surface of the wafer may be damaged, or damage such as rupture, defect, fragmentation, and small cracks may be caused.

[0199] According to the present invention, a wafer stripping and cleaning apparatus can be obtained that shortens the time from stripping operation to transfer to a wafer cleaning section by a transfer device without damaging the wafer, thereby improving efficiency as a whole.

Claims

1. A wafer stripping and cleaning device, The wafer stripping and cleaning device strips and cleans wafers bonded to a slicing base one by one from the slicing base. The wafer stripping and cleaning device is characterized in that it comprises: a first peeling suction cup, the central axis of which is arranged to coincide with the central axis of the wafer; as well as The second peeling suction cup is arranged at a position closer to the slicing base than the first peeling suction cup and is retractable in the axial direction. A water supply nozzle is provided vertically above the wafer, and hot water or water is supplied vertically above the wafer from near the center when the wafers are peeled off one by one.

2. The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second peeling suction cup is a bellows-type vacuum suction cup.

3. The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first peeling suction cup is a flat vacuum suction cup having a flat surface, and has a stronger suction force than the second peeling suction cup.

4. The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: When the wafers adhered to the slicing base are peeled off piece by piece and separated into individual pieces, the wafers are held by suction by the second peeling suction cup abutting against and pulling the end surface of the wafer closer and then the first peeling suction cup sucking the central axis of the wafer.

5. The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The wafer peeling and cleaning device has a fall-stopping plate, which prevents the wafers from falling forward when the wafers are peeled off one by one from the batch state and are singulated. The surface of the anti-falling plate with which the wafer contacts is waterproofed. The second peeling suction cup pulls the wafers toward the falling prevention plate around the vicinity of the bonding portion of the wafers in the batch state.

6. The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: A swinging rotary actuator is provided to swing the first peeling suction cup and the second peeling suction cup in a direction along the axis of the wafer, and the swinging rotary actuator is driven to swing the first peeling suction cup and the second peeling suction cup, thereby peeling the wafer from the slicing base.

7. The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The wafer stripping and cleaning device also has: a hot water bath for softening an adhesive material that bonds the wafer to the slicing base; and Air nozzles are disposed on both sides of the wafer. When the wafers placed in the hot water tank and adhered to the slicing base are held by suction at their end faces by the first and second peeling suction cups and the wafers are peeled off one by one, the air nozzles are used to blow air toward the side surfaces of the wafers.

8. The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The air nozzle blows and supplies air from the lower side of the wafer toward the upper side.

9. The wafer stripping and cleaning device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The air nozzle blows and supplies air to a plurality of wafers in a batch state when peeling one of the wafers.

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