Edge grinding device, edge grinding method, wafer trimming equipment and trimming method

Abstract

The present application provides an edge grinding device, an edge grinding method, a wafer trimming device and a trimming method. The edge grinding device includes a mounting base, a carrier table and one or more grinding mechanisms. The carrier table is configured to carry a trimmed wafer with a circular step facing upward. The one or more grinding mechanisms are fixed to the mounting base and are at the same distance from the center of the carrier table. The grinding mechanism includes: a mounting column fixed to the mounting base; a grinder extending from the top end of the mounting column toward the center of the carrier table. The grinder includes a driving wheel and a driven wheel respectively arranged at both ends thereof, and a grinding belt sleeved on the driving wheel and the driven wheel and driven by the driving wheel. The grinder can swing around the top end of the mounting column in a vertical plane toward the carrier table so that the grinding belt abuts against the edge of the circular step for grinding, and swing away from the carrier table to avoid interfering with the picking and placing of the trimmed wafer. The technical solution of the present application can effectively smooth the edge of the trimmed wafer and significantly reduce stress concentration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor wafer processing, and particularly relates to an edge grinding device, an edge grinding method, a wafer trimming device and a trimming method. Background Art

[0002] In the process of semiconductor manufacturing, wafer trimming is one of the key steps. During the trimming process, sharp edges and corners are formed on the edge of the wafer. The sharp edges and corners cause stress concentration, and the existence of stress concentration easily leads to breakage of the wafer in subsequent processes, thereby affecting the product yield and production efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present application provides an edge grinding device, an edge grinding method, a wafer trimming device and a trimming method to solve or alleviate at least some of the problems mentioned above.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present application, an edge grinding device is provided. After the outer peripheral edge of a wafer is cut, a trimmed wafer with an annular step is formed. The edge grinding device is configured to grind the edge of the annular step. The edge grinding device includes a mounting base, a carrier table fixed on the mounting base, and one or more grinding mechanisms. The carrier table is configured to carry the trimmed wafer with the annular step facing upward. One or more of the grinding mechanisms are fixed on the mounting base and are at the same distance from the center of the carrier table.

[0005] The grinding mechanism includes:

[0006] A mounting post fixed to the mounting base;

[0007] A grinder extending from the top end of the mounting post towards the center of the carrier table. The grinder includes a driving wheel and a driven wheel respectively arranged at both ends thereof, and a grinding belt sleeved on the driving wheel and the driven wheel and driven by the driving wheel. The grinder can swing around the top end of the mounting post in a vertical plane towards the carrier table so that the grinding belt abuts against the edge of the annular step for grinding, and swing away from the carrier table to avoid interfering with the picking and placing of the trimmed wafer.

[0008] Optionally, the grinding mechanism further includes a swinging assembly for swinging the grinder. The swinging assembly includes: a slide bar arranged on the side of the mounting post facing away from the carrier table and having one end slidably connected to the mounting post; a support member rotatably connected to the driving wheel, the driven wheel and the other end of the slide bar respectively, and the connection point of the support member and the driving wheel, the connection point of the support member and the driven wheel, and the connection point of the support member and the slide bar form the three vertices of a triangle.

[0009] Optionally, the support member includes a first support rod and a second support rod. Two ends of the first support rod are respectively rotatably connected to the driving wheel and the sliding rod, and two ends of the second support rod are respectively rotatably connected to the driven wheel and the sliding rod.

[0010] Optionally, the driving wheel is disposed at the top end of the mounting post and is driven by a driver on the mounting post; the second support rod is longer than the first support rod, and the included angle between the connection line of the driving wheel and the driven wheel and the first support rod is greater than the included angle between the connection line of the driving wheel and the driven wheel and the vertically upward direction when the grinding belt abuts against the edge of the annular step, so that the connection points of the first support rod, the second support rod and the sliding rod are always located outside the mounting post during the swinging process of the grinder.

[0011] Optionally, the sliding rod is slidably connected to the mounting post via a sliding table mechanism. The sliding table mechanism includes a sliding table mounted on the mounting post and extending along the length of the mounting post and a slider slidably connected to the sliding table. A driving mechanism is disposed in the sliding table to drive the slider to slide along the sliding table, and the sliding rod is rotatably connected to the slider; a first limiting position and a second limiting position are disposed on the sliding table; the first limiting position is configured such that when the slider moves to the first limiting position, the sliding rod swings the grinder so that the grinding belt abuts against the edge of the annular step; the second limiting position is configured such that when the slider moves to the second limiting position, the sliding rod swings the grinder to avoid the cutting edge wafer picking and placing.

[0012] Optionally, the grinder further includes a protective shell covering outside the grinding belt. The protective shell includes a top wall and a side wall, and the rotating shafts of the driving wheel and the driven wheel are mounted to the side wall.

[0013] Optionally, the grinder further includes a pre-pressure fine-tuning device mounted to the top wall. The pre-pressure fine-tuning device includes a flexible contact block. The contact block is disposed on the back of the contact portion between the grinding belt and the annular step and is configured to press the grinding belt against the annular step. The pre-pressure fine-tuning device is configured to adjust the distance between the contact block and the top wall to adjust the pressure of the contact block on the grinding belt.

[0014] Optionally, the contact block is configured as a layered structure, including a flexible wear-resistant layer in contact with the grinding belt and a rubber support layer combined with the flexible wear-resistant layer. The thickness of the flexible wear-resistant layer is 0.2 mm to 1 mm.

[0015] Optionally, the grinder further includes a spray pipe disposed on the protective housing. The spray pipe is located at one end of the protective housing close to the carrier table and extends toward the side where the grinding belt contacts the carrier table. The spray pipe can spray a coolant to wash the grinding belt and the trimmed wafer and cool the two.

[0016] Optionally, the grinder further includes a safety sensor mounted to the protective housing and disposed toward the grinding belt. The safety sensor is configured to detect whether the grinding belt is broken and issue an alarm when the grinding belt is broken.

[0017] Optionally, the safety sensor is mounted to the top wall of the protective housing and configured to detect the part of the grinding belt close to the top wall of the protective housing. The safety sensor is a transmissive sensor, which includes a transmitting part and a receiving part. A part of the grinding belt passes between the transmitting part and the receiving part to block the detection light emitted from the transmitting part to the receiving part. When the grinding belt is broken, the receiving part receives the detection light and triggers an alarm.

[0018] Optionally, the safety sensor is a vision sensor. The vision sensor captures all or part of the grinding belt and determines whether the grinding belt is broken through image recognition.

[0019] Optionally, the edge grinding device includes six of the grinding mechanisms evenly distributed at circumferential intervals.

[0020] Optionally, when the grinding belt abuts against the edge of the annular step for grinding, the grinder is positioned to incline downward, and the horizontal component of the movement direction of the part of the grinding belt in contact with the annular step is from the inside to the outside along the radial direction of the trimmed wafer.

[0021] Optionally, the carrier table is configured to vacuum-adsorb the trimmed wafer to fix the trimmed wafer thereon, and the carrier table is driven to rotate during the grinding of the grinding belt so that the trimmed wafer rotates.

[0022] According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided an edge grinding method. The edge grinding method uses the edge grinding device described in the foregoing aspect to grind a trimmed wafer. The edge grinding method includes:

[0023] Swing the grinder away from the carrier table to an avoidance position to avoid interfering with the picking and placing of the trimmed wafer;

[0024] Centrally place the trimmed wafer on the carrier table and fix it by adsorption of the carrier table;

[0025] Swing the grinder toward the carrier table to a working position where the grinding belt abuts against the edge of the annular step of the trimmed wafer;

[0026] Actuate the abrasive belt of the grinder to grind the edge of the annular step, and at the same time rotate the carrier table to make the trimmed wafer rotate by itself;

[0027] After grinding for a preset time, stop the movement of the abrasive belt and the carrier table, and swing the grinder from the working position to avoid the position;

[0028] The carrier table releases the adsorption of the trimmed wafer, and takes away the trimmed wafer from the carrier table.

[0029] Optionally, it further includes opening the spray pipe on the grinder while actuating the abrasive belt of the grinder, and closing the spray pipe while stopping the movement of the abrasive belt and the carrier table.

[0030] According to another aspect of the present application, a wafer trimming device is provided, which is characterized in that it includes: a front-end module for providing a wafer to be processed or receiving a processed wafer; a trimming unit configured to cut the edge of the wafer to form a trimmed wafer; an edge grinding device as described in the foregoing aspect; a cleaning unit configured to clean the processed wafer; a transfer mechanism configured to transfer the wafer between the front-end module, the trimming unit, the edge grinding device, and the cleaning unit.

[0031] According to another aspect of the present application, a wafer trimming method is provided, and the wafer trimming method is used for the wafer trimming device in the foregoing aspect, and is characterized in that it includes:

[0032] Transfer the wafer from the front-end module to the trimming unit for edge cutting;

[0033] Transfer the trimmed wafer formed by cutting by the trimming unit to the edge grinding device for edge grinding;

[0034] Transfer the trimmed wafer after edge grinding to the cleaning unit for cleaning;

[0035] Transfer the cleaned trimmed wafer to the front-end module.

[0036] According to another aspect of the present application, a computer storage medium is provided, and a computer program is stored on the computer storage medium. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the edge grinding method and / or the wafer trimming method as described in the foregoing aspect.

[0037] According to the edge grinding device, edge grinding method, wafer trimming device and trimming method of the present application, it can effectively smooth the edge of the annular step of the trimmed wafer, significantly reduce stress concentration, not only reduce the breakage risk of the wafer in subsequent processes, but also improve the product yield and reliability, and ensure the stability of semiconductor devices in high-performance applications. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0038] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments recorded in the embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0039] Figure 1 Schematically showing a cross-sectional view of a trimmed wafer;

[0040] Figure 2 For Figure 1 the stress concentration diagrams at A and B in;

[0041] Figure 3 Schematically showing another cross-sectional view of a trimmed wafer;

[0042] Figure 4 For Figure 3 the stress concentration diagrams at C and D in;

[0043] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of an edge grinding device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 6 For Figure 5 the schematic diagram of the grinding mechanism in;

[0045] Figure 7 For Figure 5 the enlarged view at E of;

[0046] Figure 8 For Figure 5 the enlarged cross-sectional view at F-F of;

[0047] Figure 9 For Figure 5 the top view schematic diagram of the edge grinding device of;

[0048] Figure 10 Flowchart of an edge grinding method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 11 For Figure 5 the edge grinding device of Figure 10 when performing step S1 of the edge grinding method of;

[0050] Figure 12 For Figure 5 the edge grinding device of Figure 10 when performing step S2 of the edge grinding method of;

[0051] Figure 13 For Figure 5 the edge grinding device of Figure 10 schematic diagram when performing step S3 of the edge grinding method of

[0052] Figure 14 For Figure 5 the edge grinding device of Figure 10 schematic diagram when performing step S4 of the edge grinding method of

[0053] Figure 15 For Figure 5 the edge grinding device of Figure 10 schematic diagram when performing step S5 of the edge grinding method of

[0054] Figure 16 For Figure 5 the edge grinding device of Figure 10 schematic diagram when performing step S6 of the edge grinding method of

[0055] Figure 17 For Figure 1 the cross-sectional schematic diagram of the trimmed wafer of Figure 10 after being ground by the edge grinding method of

[0056] Figure 18 For Figure 17 the stress concentration schematic diagram at A1 and B1 of

[0057] Figure 19 For Figure 3 the cross-sectional schematic diagram of the trimmed wafer of Figure 10 after being ground by the edge grinding method of

[0058] Figure 20 For Figure 19 the stress concentration schematic diagram at C1 and D1 of

[0059] Figure 21 Schematic diagram of a wafer trimming device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Figure 22 Flow chart of a wafer trimming method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0061] Reference numerals:

[0062] Trimmed wafer W, annular step W0, edge grinding device 100, mounting base 110, carrier table 120, grinding mechanism 130, mounting post 131, grinder 132, driving wheel 1321, driven wheel 1322, grinding belt 1320, slide bar 1323, support member 1324, first support rod 1324a, second support rod 1324b, slide table 1325, slider 1326, top wall 1327a, side wall 1327b, preloading fine adjustment device 1328, fine adjustment base 1328a, contact block 1328b, fine adjustment bolt 1328c, spray pipe 1329, safety sensor 132X, wafer trimming equipment 10, front-end module 200, trimming unit 300, adsorption table 310, trimming spindle module 320, surface cleaning unit 410, rotary cleaning unit 420, positioning unit 500, measuring unit 600, front-end manipulator 710, transfer manipulator 720, first cleaning manipulator 730, second cleaning manipulator 740. Detailed implementation mode

[0063] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art shall fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0064] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "longitudinal", "transverse", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation to the present application.

[0065] In addition, in the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified and limited, it should be noted that the terms "installation", "connection", and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection, or it can be the communication inside two elements. It can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms can be understood according to specific situations.

[0066] In the semiconductor manufacturing process, wafer dicing (or called trimming) is one of the key steps. In the dicing process, the outer periphery of the wafer is cut, thereby forming a trimmed wafer W with an annular step W0. As Figure 1Schematically shown is a cross-sectional view of a trimmed wafer W. It can be seen that the annular step W0 of the trimmed wafer W will form sharp edges. These sharp edges will not only affect the stacking or bonding of the wafers, but may also bring many negative impacts to the process. From Figure 2 the Figure 1 schematic diagrams of stress concentration at positions A and B in Figure 3 it can be seen that these sharp edges will generate stress concentration. The existence of stress concentration easily leads to breakage of the wafer in subsequent processes, thus affecting the yield and production efficiency of the product. Figure 1 Schematically shown is another cross-sectional view of a trimmed wafer W, which is, for example, a trimmed wafer W obtained after cutting out the Figure 4 annular step W0 and then replacing the cutting tool (such as a thinner grinding wheel) for further cutting. From Figure 3 the

[0067] schematic diagrams of stress concentration at positions C and D in Figure 5 it can be seen that stress concentration still exists at the edges of the annular step W0, and cracks and breakages are likely to occur. Figure 5 For this reason, the present application provides an edge grinding device 100 for grinding the edges of the annular step W0. Figure 21 Figure 5 Schematic diagram of an edge grinding device 100 according to an embodiment of the present application. It mainly includes a mounting base 110, a carrier table 120 fixed on the mounting base 110, and one or more grinding mechanisms 130 ( Figure 5 2 are shown in Figure 21As shown, the mounting base 110 can be fixed to the base of the wafer edge trimming device 10 or a part of the base at this time. The carrier table 120 is configured to carry the trimmed wafer W with the annular step W0 facing upward. It may include a porous plate in contact with the trimmed wafer W and a vacuum source in fluid communication with the porous plate, so as to adsorb and fix the trimmed wafer W by evacuating the air, or break the vacuum to release the vacuum adsorption of the trimmed wafer W. One or more grinding mechanisms 130 are fixed to the mounting base 110 and are at the same distance from the center of the carrier table 120, that is, arranged along a circle concentric with the carrier table 120. Preferably, one or more grinding mechanisms 130 are circumferentially and evenly spaced along a circle concentric with the carrier table 120, and are arranged in an overall annular array, so that the trimmed wafer W is uniformly stressed in the entire circumference for more uniform grinding. In addition, the heat generated during the grinding process can be evenly conducted or dissipated by the coolant sprayed from the spray pipe 1329 described below, so that the edge thermal expansion of the trimmed wafer W is consistent, avoiding uneven grinding caused by more grinding amount in the part with more thermal expansion and less grinding amount in the part with less thermal expansion.

[0068] Figure 6 is Figure 5 a schematic diagram of the grinding mechanism 130 in [description], in which a schematic diagram of its position in a swinging position is shown by a solid line, and a schematic diagram of its swinging to another swinging position is shown by a dotted line. Combining Figure 5 and Figure 6 it can be seen that the grinding mechanism 130 mainly includes a mounting post 131 fixed to the mounting base 110 and a grinder 132 extending from the top of the mounting post 131 toward the center of the carrier table 120. The grinder 132 includes a driving wheel 1321 and a driven wheel 1322 respectively provided at both ends thereof, and a grinding belt 1320 sleeved on the driving wheel 1321 and the driven wheel 1322 and driven by the driving wheel 1321. The positions of the driving wheel 1321 and the driven wheel 1322 can be interchanged. Preferably, the driving wheel 1321 can be provided at the top of the mounting post 131 and driven by a driver provided on the mounting post 131. Such an arrangement can avoid the excessive weight of the outer suspended end of the grinder 132 from the mounting post 131, so that the mounting stability is better and the driving connection distance is shorter.

[0069] The grinding mechanism 130 further includes a swing assembly that enables the grinder 132 to swing towards or away from the carrier 120 around the top end of the mounting post 131 in a vertical plane. The swing assembly mainly includes a slide bar 1323 and a support member 1324. The slide bar 1323 is arranged on the side of the mounting post 131 facing away from the carrier 120 and one end (such as the lower end in the figure) is slidably connected to the mounting post 131. The support member 1324 is rotatably connected to the driving wheel 1321, the driven wheel 1322, and the other end of the slide bar 1323 (such as the upper end in the figure), for example, hinged. And the connection point of the support member 1324 and the driving wheel 1321, the connection point of the support member 1324 and the driven wheel 1322, and the connection point of the support member 1324 and the slide bar 1323 form the three vertices of a triangle. Thus, the combined structure of the support member 1324 and the grinder 132 is overall in a stable shape and does not deform during the swinging process of the grinder 132. The slide bar 1323 slides along the mounting post 131 to drive the grinder 132 to swing via the support member 1324. Specifically, the grinder 132 swings towards the carrier 120 around the top end of the mounting post 131 in a vertical plane, that is, swings inward, so that the grinding belt 1320 abuts against the edge of the annular step W0 for grinding. As Figure 5 shown, when the grinding belt 1320 abuts against the edge of the annular step W0 for grinding, the grinder 132 is positioned to incline downward to simultaneously abut against the upper and lower edges of the annular step W0. The horizontal component of the movement direction of the contact part of the grinding belt 1320 and the annular step W0 is from the inside to the outside along the radial direction of the edge-cut wafer W, so that the grinding debris can be easily driven outside the edge-cut wafer W, thereby avoiding the grinding debris from contaminating or scratching the surface of the edge-cut wafer W. Overall, the movement direction of the contact part of the grinding belt 1320 and the annular step W0 is outward and downward.

[0070] Preferably, in order to facilitate the inward swing of the grinder 132 towards the carrier 120 and provide effective support for the grinder 132, the height of the mounting post 131 can be approximately flush with the carrier 120. The horizontal distance between the mounting post 131 and the center of the carrier 120 can be about 1.2 to 1.3 times the radius of the trimmed wafer W. For example, for a trimmed wafer W with a radius of 150 mm (i.e., a 12-inch wafer with a diameter of 300 mm), the horizontal distance between the mounting post 131 and the center of the carrier 120 can be about 200 mm. In addition, the grinder 132 can swing away from the carrier 120 around the top end of the mounting post 131 in the vertical plane, that is, swing outwards, to avoid interfering with the picking and placing of the trimmed wafer W. The horizontal distance between the end of the grinder 132 where the driven wheel 1322 is located and the center of the carrier 120 can be about 1.2 to 1.8 times the radius of the trimmed wafer W. For example, for a trimmed wafer W with a radius of 150 mm, the horizontal distance between the end of the grinder 132 where the driven wheel 1322 is located and the center of the carrier 120 can be about 250 mm, so as to provide sufficient clearance space for the picking and placing of the trimmed wafer W.

[0071] In Figure 5 and Figure 6 In the illustrated embodiment, the support member 1324 includes a first support rod 1324a and a second support rod 1324b. The two ends of the first support rod 1324a are respectively rotatably connected to, for example, hinged to the driving wheel 1321 and the sliding rod 1323. The two ends of the second support rod 1324b are respectively rotatably connected to, for example, hinged to the driven wheel 1322 and the sliding rod 1323. At the upper end of the sliding rod 1323, the first support rod 1324a, the second support rod 1324b and the sliding rod 1323 form a rotatable connection. The connection lines between the first support rod 1324a, the second support rod 1324b and the driving wheel 1321 and the driven wheel 1322 form the three sides of the above triangle. The second support rod 1324b can be designed to be longer than the first support rod 1324a, and the angle between the connection line of the driving wheel 1321 and the driven wheel 1322 and the first support rod 1324a (such as Figure 5 angle b in) is greater than the angle between the connection line of the driving wheel 1321 and the driven wheel 1322 and the vertically upward direction when the grinding belt 1320 abuts against the edge of the annular step W0 (such as Figure 5The angle a) in the figure is such that the connection point of the first support rod 1324a, the second support rod 1324b, and the slide rod 1323 is always located outside the mounting post 131 during the swinging process of the grinder 132, facilitating the transfer of force from the slide rod 1323 to the support member 1324, enabling the slide rod 1323 to smoothly pull the support member 1324 to drive the swinging of the grinder 132. Additionally, in an alternative embodiment, the support member 1324 may also be integrally formed as a bent or curved rod, or a plate, or a block with a varying shape, as long as its structure has a structure rotatably connected to the driving wheel 1321, the driven wheel 1322, and the slide rod 1323, and its geometric shape is preferably designed such that the connection point with the slide rod 1323 is always located outside the mounting post 131 during the swinging process of the grinder 132, facilitating the transfer of force from the slide rod 1323 to the support member 1324, enabling the slide rod 1323 to smoothly pull the support member 1324 to drive the swinging of the grinder 132.

[0072] Figure 5 or Figure 6 An embodiment of the mechanism for sliding the slide rod 1323 is shown in the figure. Specifically, the slide rod 1323 is slidably connected to the mounting post 131 via a slide table 1325 mechanism. The slide table 1325 mechanism may include a slide table 1325 mounted on the mounting post 131 and extending along the length of the mounting post 131, and a slider 1326 slidably connected to the slide table 1325. A driving mechanism is provided in the slide table 1325 to drive the slider 1326 to slide along the slide table 1325. For example, the driving mechanism may include a motor and a lead screw connected to the slider 1326, and the motor drives the lead screw to rotate to drive the slider 1326 to move; or the driving mechanism may include a linear motor. The slide rod 1323 is rotatably connected to the slider 1326, and the movement of the slider 1326 along the slide table 1325 drives the lower end of the slide rod 1323 to move, enabling the slide rod 1323 to pull the support member 1324 to swing. In a specific embodiment, a first limit position and a second limit position are provided on the slide table 1325. When the slider 1326 moves to the first limit position, the swinging assembly swings the grinder 132 so that the grinding belt 1320 abuts against the edge of the annular step W0; when the slider 1326 moves to the second limit position, the swinging assembly swings the grinder 132 to avoid the pick-up and placement of the trimmed wafer W. Preferably, when the mounting post 131 and the slider 1326 move to the second limit position, the horizontal distance between the end of the grinder 132 where the driven wheel 1322 is located and the center of the carrier table 120 can be approximately 1.2 to 1.8 times the radius of the trimmed wafer W, preferably 1.5 to 1.8 times, to provide sufficient clearance space while preventing the grinder from swinging outwards too much and occupying too much space.

[0073] It should be understood that Figure 1 、 3, in FIGS. 5 and 6, parallel double broken lines are used to schematically show partial views in which longer structures are omitted, such as the mounting posts 131, the trimmed wafer W, etc.

[0074] In a specific embodiment, the grinder 132 further includes a protective shell covering the grinding belt 1320 to protect the grinding belt 1320 and ensure the safety of the operator. The protective shell may include a top wall 1327a and a side wall 1327b (see Figure 9 ). It is possible to only provide the side wall 1327b for mounting the rotating shafts of the driving wheel 1321 and the driven wheel 1322, and not provide a side wall or provide a partial side wall on the side where the driving wheel 1321, the driven wheel 1322 are connected to the support member 1324. Refer to Figure 5 , Figure 7 and Figure 8 , the grinder 132 may further include a preloading fine adjustment device 1328 mounted to the top wall 1327a. The preloading fine adjustment device 1328 includes a fine adjustment base 1328a, a flexible contact block 1328b mounted to the fine adjustment base 1328a, and a fine adjustment bolt 1328c that movably connects the fine adjustment base 1328a to the top wall 1327a of the protective shell. As shown in the enlarged view in Figure 7 , the contact block 1328b is disposed on the back of the contact portion between the grinding belt 1320 and the trimmed wafer W and is configured to press the grinding belt 1320 against the annular step W0. The contact block 1328b may be provided with a layered structure. The contact block 1328b is configured with a layered structure, including a flexible wear-resistant layer in contact with the grinding belt 1320 and a rubber support layer combined with the flexible wear-resistant layer. The material of the flexible wear-resistant layer is, for example, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), and its thickness may be 0.2 mm to 1 mm to flexibly contact the grinding belt 1320, avoid damaging the grinding belt 1320, and also be able to have a certain wear resistance, thus having a longer service life. The rubber support layer has a higher hardness than the flexible wear-resistant layer and is used to provide support for the flexible wear-resistant material to prevent the contact block 1328b from being overly deformed when pressing against the grinding belt 1320 and failing to adjust the contact pressure between the grinding belt 1320 and the trimmed wafer W. The thickness of the rubber support layer may be approximately 25 mm to 30 mm. As shown in the cross-sectional view in Figure 8 , in order to facilitate avoiding the grinding belt 1320, the fine adjustment base 1328a is set in the Figure 8 U-shaped bent shape shown, and the upper grinding belt 1320 passes through the middle space of the U-shape without interference. The preloading fine adjustment device 1328 can adjust the distance between the contact block 1328b and the top wall 1327a through the fine adjustment bolt 1328c to adjust the pressure of the contact block 1328b on the grinding belt 1320. This adjustment process can be manually adjusted, or the fine adjustment bolt 1328c can be connected to an electro-actuating device for electric control and adjustment.

[0075] In a preferred embodiment, asFigure 6 The grinder 132 further includes a spray pipe 1329 disposed on the protective housing. The spray pipe 1329 is located at one end of the protective housing close to the carrier table 120, that is, at the end where the driven wheel 1322 is located in this embodiment, and extends toward the side where the grinding belt 1320 contacts the carrier table 120. The spray pipe 1329 can spray a coolant to flush the grinding belt 1320 and the trimmed wafer W and cool the two.

[0076] Also as Figure 6 The grinder 132 may further include a safety sensor 132X mounted to the protective housing and disposed toward the grinding belt 1320. The safety sensor 132X is configured to detect whether the grinding belt 1320 is broken and can issue an alarm when the grinding belt 1320 is broken. Thereby, the operator can be timely prompted to replace the grinding belt 1320, avoiding damage to the wafer or other components by the broken grinding belt 1320, or accidental injury to the operator, and ensuring the effective operation of the edge grinding device. The safety sensor 132X is mounted to the top wall 1327a of the protective housing and is configured to detect the portion of the grinding belt 1320 close to the top wall 1327a of the protective housing. The safety sensor 132X may be a through-beam sensor, and the through-beam sensor includes a transmitting portion and a receiving portion. A portion of the grinding belt 1320 passes between the transmitting portion and the receiving portion to block the detection light emitted from the transmitting portion to the receiving portion. When the grinding belt 1320 is broken, the receiving portion receives the detection light and triggers an alarm. In other embodiments, the safety sensor 132X may also be a vision sensor. The vision sensor captures all or part of the grinding belt 1320 and determines whether the grinding belt 1320 is broken through image recognition.

[0077] Figure 9 For Figure 5 FIG. 12 is a top view schematic diagram of the edge grinding device 100 according to an embodiment of the present application, in which six grinding mechanisms 130 arranged at equal circumferential intervals are shown, presenting an annular array as a whole. The annular array form of the grinding mechanisms 130 ensures that a uniform grinding force can be applied to the edge of the trimmed wafer W, which helps to optimize the stress distribution during grinding. This uniformity can reduce local wear and overheating phenomena and improve the grinding efficiency. By increasing the number of the grinding mechanisms 130, the wear of the grinding belt 1320 on each grinding mechanism 130 can be slowed down, the service life of the grinding belt 1320 can be extended, and the operation of replacing the grinding belt 1320 can be reduced, thereby improving the processing efficiency. In actual implementation, more or fewer grinding mechanisms 130 can be set considering factors such as layout space, motion interference, and manufacturing cost.

[0078] Figure 10 FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an edge grinding method according to an embodiment of the present application. The edge grinding method may include:

[0079] S1: Swing the grinder 132 away from the carrier 120 to an avoidance position that avoids interfering with the picking and placing of the trimmed wafer W. Refer to Figure 11 ;

[0080] S2: Place the trimmed wafer W concentrically on the carrier 120 and fix it by adsorption of the carrier 120. Refer to Figure 12 ;

[0081] S3: Swing the grinder 132 towards the carrier 120 to a working position where the grinding belt 1320 abuts against the edge of the annular step W0 of the trimmed wafer W. Refer to Figure 13 ;

[0082] S4: Actuate the grinding belt 1320 of the grinder 132 to grind the edge of the annular step W0, and at the same time rotate the carrier 120 to make the trimmed wafer W rotate on its own axis. Refer to Figure 14 ;

[0083] S5: After grinding for a preset time, stop the movement of the grinding belt 1320 and the carrier 120, and swing the grinder 132 from the working position to the avoidance position. Refer to Figure 15 ;

[0084] S6: Release the adsorption of the trimmed wafer W by the carrier 120, and remove the trimmed wafer W from the carrier 120. Refer to Figure 16 .

[0085] In addition, the edge grinding method may further include turning on the spray pipe 1329 on the grinder 132 while "actuating the grinding belt 1320 of the grinder 132" in step S4, and turning off the spray pipe 1329 while "stopping the movement of the grinding belt 1320 and the carrier 120" in step S5.

[0086] It should be understood that although Figures 11 to 16 when the grinder 132 is shown in the avoidance position, the driven wheel 1322 is more outward than the driving wheel 1321, that is, the grinding mechanism 130 is in an overall radially outwardly turned posture, but in an alternative embodiment, when the grinder 132 is in the avoidance position, the driven wheel 1322 may be more inward than the driving wheel 1321, that is, the grinding mechanism 130 is still in an overall radially inwardly turned posture, as long as sufficient avoidance space can be provided.

[0087] Figure 17 For Figure 1 the trimmed wafer W after Figure 10 being ground by the edge grinding method shown in Figure 18 is a schematic cross-sectional view, Figure 17 and for Figure 2As can be seen from the stress concentration diagrams at positions A and B, after using the edge grinding device 100 of the present application to perform the edge grinding method of the present application, the edges of the annular steps W0 of the trimmed wafer W can be effectively smoothed, significantly reducing stress concentration. This not only reduces the risk of wafer breakage in subsequent processes but also improves the product yield and reliability, ensuring the stability of semiconductor devices in high-performance applications.

[0088] Figure 19 For Figure 3 the trimmed wafer W after being Figure 10 ground by the edge grinding method, the cross-sectional schematic diagram is shown in Figure 20 For Figure 19 the stress concentration diagrams at positions C1 and D1, compared with Figure 4 the stress concentration diagrams at positions C and D, obvious smoothing and stress concentration reduction effects can also be seen.

[0089] Figure 21 FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a wafer trimming device 10 according to an embodiment of the present application, which includes the aforementioned edge grinding device 100, and specifically further includes:

[0090] A front-end module 200 for providing a wafer to be processed or receiving a processed wafer.

[0091] A trimming unit 300 configured to trim the edge of the wafer to form a trimmed wafer W, which may specifically include a suction table 310 for adsorbing and fixing the wafer and a trimming spindle module 320 disposed above the suction table 310. There may be two trimming spindle modules 320 shown in the figure, or there may be one. The trimming spindle module 320 may have a grinding wheel for wafer trimming, and the trimming spindle module 320 can feed in the vertical and radial directions to trim the edge of the wafer. The suction table 310 may be movable as shown in the figure, and it can move between a loading / unloading position for interacting with the robot and a processing position below the trimming spindle module 320. The loading / unloading position is the position of the suction table 310 in the figure, and the processing position is the position of the virtual circle on the right side of the loading / unloading position in the figure.

[0092] A cleaning unit configured to clean the processed wafer, which may include a surface cleaning unit 410 for brushing or scrubbing the surface of the wafer and a rotary cleaning unit 420 for cleaning and drying the wafer by rotary cleaning.

[0093] A positioning unit 500 and a measuring unit 600 for positioning the wafer before processing and measuring the thickness or edge of the processed wafer, respectively.

[0094] A transfer mechanism configured to transfer wafers between a front-end module 200, a trimming unit 300, an edge grinding device 100, a cleaning unit, a positioning unit 500, and a measuring unit 600. It may include multiple manipulators, such as a front-end manipulator 710, a transfer manipulator 720, a first cleaning manipulator 730, and a second cleaning manipulator 740. The transfer manipulator 720 can move along a track between the positioning unit 500, the trimming unit 300, and the edge grinding device 100 to transfer wafers. The first cleaning manipulator 730 can transfer wafers along a track between the edge grinding device 100 and the surface cleaning unit 410. The second cleaning manipulator 740 can also be arranged to transfer wafers along a track between the surface cleaning unit 410 and the rotary cleaning unit 420.

[0095] Figure 21 The solid arrows in the figure indicate the possible movement directions of related components, such as manipulators.

[0096] Figure 22 It is a flowchart of a wafer trimming method according to an embodiment of the present application. The wafer trimming method mainly includes:

[0097] S10: Transfer the wafer from the front-end module 200 to the trimming unit 300 for edge cutting. Specifically, it may include: S11: Transfer the wafer from the front-end module 200 to the positioning table of the positioning unit 500 via the front-end manipulator 710 for positioning; S12: Transfer the wafer from the positioning unit 500 to the adsorption table 310 of the trimming unit 300 via the transfer manipulator 720; S13: The adsorption table 310 moves from the loading / unloading position to the processing position.

[0098] S20: Transfer the trimmed wafer W formed by the trimming unit 300 to the edge grinding device 100 for edge grinding. Specifically, it includes: S21: The adsorption table 310 moves from the processing position to the loading / unloading position; S22: Transfer the trimmed wafer W from the adsorption table 310 of the trimming unit 300 to the carrier table 120 of the edge grinding device 100 via the transfer manipulator 720. The steps for edge grinding can refer to Figure 10 the steps of the edge grinding method shown in the figure.

[0099] S30: Transfer the edge-ground trimmed wafer W to the cleaning unit for cleaning. Specifically, it may include: S31: Transfer the ground trimmed wafer W from the edge grinding device 100 to the surface cleaning unit 410 for cleaning via the first cleaning manipulator 730; S32: Transfer the trimmed wafer W from the surface cleaning unit 410 to the rotary cleaning unit 420 via the second cleaning manipulator 740.

[0100] S40: Transfer the trimmed wafer after cleaning to the front-end module 200, which may specifically include: S41: Transfer the trimmed wafer W from the cleaning unit to the measurement unit 600 via the front-end manipulator 710 for measurement; S42: Transfer the trimmed wafer W from the measurement unit 600 to the front-end module 200 via the front-end manipulator 710.

[0101] It should be understood that the above steps are only exemplary. In alternative embodiments, relevant steps may be added or reduced.

[0102] This application also provides a computer storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the foregoing edge grinding method is implemented. In a further embodiment, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the foregoing wafer trimming method may also be implemented.

[0103] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the embodiments of the present application, rather than limiting the embodiments of the present application. Those of ordinary skill in the relevant art can also make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, all equivalent technical solutions also belong to the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The patent protection scope of the embodiments of the present application shall be defined by the claims.

Claims

1. An edge grinding device, characterized in that: After the outer periphery of the wafer is cut, a trimmed wafer with an annular step is formed, the edge grinding device is configured to grind the edge of the annular step, and includes a mounting seat, a carrier platform fixed on the mounting seat, and one or more grinding mechanisms fixed on the mounting seat and at the same distance from the center of the carrier platform, the carrier platform is configured to carry the trimmed wafer in a manner that the annular step faces upward; The grinding mechanism comprises: a mounting post secured to the mounting base; A grinder extending from the top of the mounting column toward the center of the carrier, the grinder comprising a driving wheel and a driven wheel respectively arranged at two ends thereof and a grinding belt fitted to the driving wheel and the driven wheel and driven by the driving wheel, the grinder being able to swing in a vertical plane around the top of the mounting column toward the carrier so that the grinding belt abuts against the edge of the annular step for grinding, and swinging away from the carrier to avoid interfering with the placement and taking of the trimmed wafer; 7. The swiftly and minutely adjusting device for a wood-planer working table as claimed in claim 1, wherein said linking rod and said adjusting base are pivotally connected to each other with a bolt, and said bolt has a round shank to contact with said linking rod. said linking rod having a round shank and said adjusting base being connected to said linking rod. said linking rod having a round shank and said adjusting base being connected to said linking rod. A protective shell is arranged outside the grinding belt, and a pre-pressure fine-adjustment device is installed on the top wall of the protective shell, the pre-pressure fine-adjustment device includes a flexible contact block, the contact block is arranged on the back side of the contact portion of the grinding belt and the annular step, and is configured to press the grinding belt against the annular step, and the pre-pressure fine-adjustment device is configured to adjust the distance between the contact block and the top wall to adjust the pressure of the contact block on the grinding belt.

2. The edge grinding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The slide bar is slidably connected to the mounting column via a slide mechanism, the slide mechanism comprises a slide mounted to the mounting column and extending along the length of the mounting column and a slider slidably connected to the slide, the slide is provided with a driving mechanism to drive the slider to slide along the slide, and the slide bar is rotatably connected to the slider; The slide table is provided with a first limit position and a second limit position; the first limit position is arranged so that when the slider moves to the first limit position, the slide bar causes the grinder to swing so that the grinding belt abuts against the edge of the annular step; the second limit position is arranged so that when the slider moves to the second limit position, the slide bar causes the grinder to swing so as to avoid the trimmed wafer from being taken or placed.

3. The edge grinding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The protective shell comprises a top wall and a side wall, and the rotating shafts of the driving wheel and the driven wheel are mounted on the side wall.

4. The edge grinding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The contact block is constructed as a layered structure, including a flexible wear-resistant layer in contact with the grinding belt and a rubber support layer combined with the flexible wear-resistant layer, and the thickness of the flexible wear-resistant layer is 0.2 mm to 1 mm.

5. The edge grinding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The grinder also includes a spray pipe arranged on the protective shell, the spray pipe is located at one end of the protective shell close to the supporting platform and extends toward the side where the grinding belt contacts the supporting platform, and the spray pipe can spray coolant to rinse the grinding belt and the trimmed wafer and cool down both.

6. The edge grinding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sander further includes a safety sensor mounted to the protective shell and disposed toward the sanding belt, wherein the safety sensor is configured to detect whether the sanding belt is broken and to issue an alarm when the sanding belt is broken.

7. The edge grinding device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The safety sensor is mounted to the top wall of the protective shell and is configured to detect a portion of the grinding belt close to the top wall of the protective shell. The safety sensor is a through-beam sensor, which includes a transmitting part and a receiving part. A portion of the grinding belt passes between the transmitting part and the receiving part to block the detection light emitted by the transmitting part to the receiving part. When the grinding belt breaks, the receiving part receives the detection light and triggers an alarm.

8. The edge grinding device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The safety sensor is a visual sensor, which photographs all or part of the grinding belt and determines whether the grinding belt is broken through image recognition.

9. The edge grinding device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The edge grinding device comprises six grinding mechanisms which are evenly spaced and distributed in the circumferential direction.

10. The edge grinding device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: When the grinding belt abuts against the edge of the annular step for grinding, the grinder is positioned to tilt downward, and the horizontal component of the movement direction of the contact portion of the grinding belt with the annular step is from inside to outside along the radial direction of the trimmed wafer.

11. The edge grinding device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The carrier is configured to vacuum absorb the trimmed wafer to fix the trimmed wafer thereon, and when the polishing belt is polishing, the carrier is driven to rotate to make the trimmed wafer rotate.

12. An edge grinding method, characterized in that: The edge grinding method uses an edge grinding device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11 to grind a trimmed wafer, and the edge grinding method comprises: Swing the grinder away from the carrier to a avoidance position to avoid interfering with the placement of the trimmed wafer; Placing the trimmed wafer on the carrier platform in a manner that the wafer is aligned with the carrier platform and fixed by adsorption by the carrier platform; Swing the grinder toward the carrier to a working position where the grinding belt abuts against the edge of the annular step of the trimmed wafer; Actuating the grinding belt of the grinder to grind the edge of the annular step, and rotating the carrier to rotate the trimmed wafer; After the preset grinding time, the grinding belt and the carrier platform are stopped from moving, and the grinder is swung from the working position to the yield position; The carrier platform releases the adsorption of the trimmed wafer and removes the trimmed wafer from the carrier platform.

13. The edge grinding method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises opening a spray pipe on the sander while actuating a sanding belt of the sander, and closing the spray pipe while stopping the movement of the sanding belt and the carrier.

14. A wafer trimming device, characterized in that: include: A front-end module for providing wafers to be processed or receiving processed wafers; a trimming unit configured to trim an edge of the wafer to form a trimmed wafer; The edge grinding device according to any one of claims 1 to 11; a cleaning unit configured to clean the processed wafer; The transfer mechanism is configured to transfer the wafer between the front-end module, the trimming unit, the edge grinding device, and the cleaning unit.

15. A wafer trimming method, the wafer trimming method being used for the wafer trimming device according to claim 14, characterized in that: include: Transfer the wafer from the front-end module to the trimming unit for edge cutting; Transferring the trimmed wafer formed by the trimming unit to an edge grinding device for edge grinding; The trimmed wafer after edge grinding is transferred to the cleaning unit for cleaning; The cleaned and trimmed wafers are transferred to the front-end module.

16. A computer storage medium, characterized in that: The computer storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the edge grinding method according to claim 12 or 13 and / or the wafer trimming method according to claim 15 are implemented.

Images