Cassette adapter

Abstract

To provide a cassette adapter capable of suppressing the intrusion of foreign matter into a wafer processing device.SOLUTION: A cassette adapter 1 can be detachably installed on a cassette mounting table of a wafer processing device including the cassette mounting table on which an open cassette containing wafers is placed, transport means for loading and unloading the wafers contained in the open cassette, and an opening through which the transport means passes. The cassette adapter 1 is equipped with a base 2 that is placed on the cassette mounting table and on which the open cassette is placed, and a cover 3 that is disposed on the base 2 and covers the excess area at the opening other than the area through which the transport means passes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cassette adapter. [Background technology]

[0002] A semiconductor wafer has a surface on which a plurality of devices are formed in a plurality of regions arranged in a lattice pattern. The back surface of such a semiconductor wafer is ground by a grinding device, and then cut by a cutting device to be divided into a plurality of chips.

[0003] Among wafer processing devices such as the grinding device and cutting device described above, there is one that has a stage on which a FOUP (Front Opening Unity Pod), which is a sealed cassette that can store wafers and be sealed in order to prevent the adhesion of foreign matter, is placed, and is equipped with a load port that opens the FOUP lid when the FOUP is placed on the stage and transports the wafers (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-165719 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2006-222310 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Although a FOUP is generally set in the wafer processing device equipped with the load port, a cassette other than a FOUP may also be set using a cassette adapter. In this case, the opening of the wafer processing device for passing the transport means for loading and unloading the wafers is opened to match the size of the FOUP, so if a single-stage open cassette that is lower in height than the FOUP is installed, for example, an extra gap will be created at the opening. If such a gap is created, there is a risk that foreign matter may easily enter the wafer processing device through the gap.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to provide a cassette adapter capable of preventing foreign matter from entering a wafer processing apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the cassette adapter of the present invention is a cassette adapter that can be removably installed on the cassette mounting table of a wafer processing apparatus which comprises a cassette mounting table on which a cassette containing wafers is mounted, a transport means for loading and unloading the wafers contained in the cassette, and an opening through which the transport means passes, and is characterized in that it comprises: a base that is mounted on the cassette mounting table and on which the cassette is mounted, and a cover that is disposed on the base and covers an excess area at the opening other than the area through which the transport means passes. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The present invention has an effect of suppressing the intrusion of foreign matter into a wafer processing apparatus. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a cassette adapter according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration example of a wafer processing apparatus in which the cassette adapter shown in FIG. 1 is installed. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration example of a FOUP cassette installed in the wafer processing apparatus shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of an open cassette installed in the wafer processing apparatus shown in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cassette adapter shown in FIG. 1 places an open cassette on a cassette mounting table of the wafer processing apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The form (embodiment) for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiment. Furthermore, the components described below include those that a person skilled in the art can easily imagine and those that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the configurations described below can be appropriately combined. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the configurations can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0011] [Embodiment 1] A cassette adapter according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the cassette adapter according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a typical configuration example of a wafer processing apparatus in which the cassette adapter shown in FIG. 1 is installed. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a typical configuration example of a FOUP cassette installed in the wafer processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a typical configuration example of an open cassette installed in the wafer processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a typical state in which the cassette adapter in FIG. 1 installs the open cassette on a cassette mounting table of the wafer processing apparatus.

[0012] (Wafer) The cassette adapter 1 shown in Fig. 1 according to the first embodiment is installed in a wafer processing apparatus 10 shown in Fig. 2. In the first embodiment, the wafer processing apparatus 10 shown in Fig. 2 is a grinding apparatus that performs a grinding process, which is a process, on a wafer 200 shown in Fig. 3. The wafer 200 to be processed by the wafer processing apparatus 10 shown in Fig. 2 is a wafer such as a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer or an optical device wafer, whose base material is silicon, sapphire, gallium, or the like. The wafer 200 has devices 203 formed in each area partitioned by planned division lines 202 set in a grid pattern on a surface 201 of the base material.

[0013] The device 203 is, for example, an integrated circuit such as an IC (Integrated Circuit) or an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), an optical element such as an LED (Light-Emitting Diode), a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) or a semiconductor memory (semiconductor memory device).

[0014] In the first embodiment, a protective tape of the same diameter (not shown) is attached to a front surface 201 of the wafer 200, and a back surface 204 behind the front surface 201 is ground by the wafer processing apparatus 10. After being ground, the wafer 200 is divided into individual devices 203 along planned division lines 202.

[0015] (Wafer processing equipment) Next, the wafer processing apparatus 10 will be described. The wafer processing apparatus 10 is a grinding apparatus that grinds the back surface 204 of the wafer 200. In the first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, the wafer processing apparatus 10 includes a housing 11, a cassette mounting stage 20 on which a FOUP (Front Opening Unity Pod) cassette 100 (shown in Fig. 3) that is provided outside the housing 11 and accommodates a plurality of wafers 200 is placed, a conveying means 30, a positioning means (not shown), a chuck table (not shown) that holds the wafer 200 adjusted by the positioning means, a grinding unit (not shown) that grinds the wafer 200 held on the chuck table, a cleaning unit (not shown) that cleans the wafer 200 ground by the grinding unit, and a control unit (not shown).

[0016] The transport means 30, the positioning means, the chuck table, the grinding unit, the cleaning unit, and the control unit are installed in the housing 11. The transport means 30 transports the wafer 200 accommodated in the FOUP cassette 100 into the housing 11, and transports the wafer 200 cleaned by the cleaning unit out of the housing 11 and accommodates it in the FOUP cassette 100. The transport means 30 passes under openings 40 and 102, which will be described later, when transporting the wafer 200 in and out. The positioning means adjusts the center position of the wafer 200 transported into the housing 11 by the transport means 30.

[0017] In the first embodiment, the cassette mounting table 20 is provided on a mounting table base 21 provided at an end in the X-axis direction, which is parallel to the horizontal direction and the longitudinal direction of the housing 11. The mounting table base 21 has an upper surface that is flat along the horizontal direction and is provided to protrude from one end in the X-axis direction of the housing 11. The cassette mounting table 20 has an upper surface 22 that is formed flat along the horizontal direction, and is provided so as to be movable along the X-axis direction by a mounting table moving unit (not shown), and is also provided so as to be movable along the Z-axis direction that is parallel to the vertical direction.

[0018] The control unit controls each of the above-mentioned constituent units constituting the wafer processing apparatus 10. In other words, the control unit causes the wafer processing apparatus 10 to execute processing operations on the wafer 200. The control unit is a computer having an arithmetic processing device having a microprocessor such as a CPU (central processing unit), a storage device having a memory such as a ROM (read only memory) or a RAM (random access memory), and an input / output interface device.

[0019] The arithmetic processing device of the control unit performs arithmetic processing according to a computer program stored in the storage device, and outputs control signals for controlling the wafer processing device 10 to the above-mentioned components of the wafer processing device 10 via the input / output interface device. The control unit is also connected to a display unit 50 configured with a liquid crystal display device or the like for displaying the state and images of the processing operation, an input unit 51 used when the operator registers processing content information, and an alarm unit 52 for alarming the operator. The input unit 51 includes a touch panel 53 provided on the display unit 50. The alarm unit 52 emits at least one of sound, light, and a message on the touch panel to alarm the operator.

[0020] (FOUP cassette) Next, the FOUP cassette 100 will be described. The FOUP cassette 100 shown in FIG. 3 is a sealed container that stores the wafers 200 without exposing them to the external environment. As shown in FIG. 3, the FOUP cassette 100 includes a main body 101 that stores a plurality of wafers 200 in a horizontally placed state, and a FOUP door 110. The main body 101 is a container that is closed except for an opening 102 provided on one side, and a plurality of mounting rails 103 on which the wafers 200 are placed are provided on the inner surface at intervals in the Z-axis direction. The main body 101 stores a plurality of wafers 200 at intervals in the Z-axis direction by placing both ends of the wafers 200 on the mounting rails 103.

[0021] The hoop door 110 is formed in a flat plate shape, is detachable from the main body 101, and closes the opening 102 when attached to the main body 101. As shown in Fig. 3, the hoop door 110 is equipped with a plurality of latch bars 111 that can be engaged and disengaged with recesses provided at both the top and bottom ends of the main body 101, and a latch gear 112 that moves the latch bars 111 in the Z-axis direction. The latch bars 111 are provided on the hoop door 110 so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction. The latch gear 112 is supported on the hoop door 110 so as to be rotatable about its axis, and is rotated about its axis to move the latch bars 111 in the Z-axis direction and engage and disengage the latch bars 111 with the recesses of the main body 101.

[0022] The FOUP cassette 100 is placed on the cassette mounting table 20 with the FOUP door 110, i.e., the opening 102, facing the housing 11 along the X-axis direction. In the first embodiment, two cassette mounting tables 20 are provided side by side in the Y-axis direction which is parallel to the horizontal direction and perpendicular to the X-axis direction.

[0023] 1, the wafer processing apparatus 10 includes an opening 40 and a port door 41 for opening and closing the opening 40. The opening 40 is disposed at a position facing in the X-axis direction a FOUP door 110 of a FOUP cassette 100 placed on the cassette mounting table 20. The opening 40 is a hole that communicates between the inside and outside of the housing 11, and in this embodiment, is formed to have the same size as the opening 102 of the FOUP cassette 100. When the opening 40 is opened by the port door 41, the transport means 30 for loading and unloading the wafers 200 passes through the opening 40 to the inside.

[0024] The port door 41 is supported by a port door moving mechanism (not shown) so as to be movable between an open position where the opening 40 is open and a closed position where the opening 40 is closed. In the open position, the port door 41 is positioned entirely below the opening 40, allowing the loading and unloading of the wafers 200. In the closed position, the port door 41 completely closes the opening 40, isolating the inside of the FOUP cassette 100 from the interior of the housing 11.

[0025] In addition, the port door 41 is equipped with an adsorption mechanism (not shown) for adsorbing and holding the hoop door 110, and an engagement / disengagement mechanism (not shown) for rotating the latch gear 112 of the hoop door 110 to engage and disengage the hoop door 110 with the recess of the main body 101.

[0026] In the above-mentioned wafer processing apparatus 10, the control unit receives and registers processing conditions input by the operator from the input unit 51 or the like, and the FOUP cassette 100 containing the wafers 200 is placed on the cassette placement stage 20. At this time, the cassette placement stage 20 is located at a position away from the opening 40 provided in the housing 11, the FOUP door 110 is attached to the main body 101 and closes the opening 102, and the port door 41 closes the opening 40. When the control unit receives an instruction to start the processing operation from the operator, the wafer processing apparatus 10 starts the processing operation.

[0027] In a processing operation, the control unit of the wafer processing apparatus 10 moves the cassette mounting table 20 in a direction approaching the opening 40, and when the FOUP door 110 of the FOUP cassette 100 comes into close contact with the port door 41, the control unit causes the suction mechanism of the port door 41 to suction and hold the FOUP door 110 to the port door 41, and causes the engagement mechanism to rotate the latch gear 112 to disengage the recess of the latch bar 111. In a processing operation, the control unit of the wafer processing apparatus 10 moves the port door 41 which has suctioned and held the FOUP door 110, to open the openings 40, 102.

[0028] In a processing operation, the control unit of the wafer processing apparatus 10 causes the transport means 30 to take out one wafer 200 from the main body 101 of the FOUP cassette 100 and transport it to the positioning means and the chuck table in that order. In a processing operation, the control unit of the wafer processing apparatus 10 causes the chuck table to suck and hold the wafer 200, causes the grinding unit to grind the wafer 200, and causes the cleaning unit to clean the wafer 200 and store it in the FOUP cassette 100.

[0029] In the processing operation, the wafer processing device 10 grinds the wafers 200 in the FOUP cassette 100 one by one in order. When all the wafers 200 in the FOUP cassette 100 have been ground in the processing operation, the wafer processing device 10 closes the opening 40 with the port door 41, attaches the FOUP door 110 to the main body 101, and closes the opening 102 of the main body 101 with the FOUP door 110, thereby completing the processing operation.

[0030] 4 (corresponding to the cassette described in claim 1) may be installed on the cassette mounting stage 20 of the above-mentioned wafer processing apparatus 10. The open cassette 120 has the same configuration as the FOUP cassette 100 except that it does not have a FOUP door 110 and is composed only of a main body 101. Therefore, the same parts as the FOUP cassette 100 are given the same reference numerals and their explanations are omitted. The open cassette 120 is composed only of a main body 101 and the opening 102 is left open, i.e., it is a non-sealed container.

[0031] In addition, in embodiment 1, the open cassette 120 is a so-called single-tier cassette that can accommodate only one wafer 200, as shown in FIG. 4, and the height 125 is lower than the height 105 (shown in FIG. 3) of the FOUP cassette 100 and the height of the opening 40.

[0032] (Cassette adapter) 4 on the cassette mounting stage 20 of the wafer processing apparatus 10, and covers the upper part of the opening 40. The cassette adapter 1 can be detachably installed on the cassette mounting stage 20 of the wafer processing apparatus 10, and the open cassette 120 is installed on the cassette mounting stage 20 by being installed on the cassette mounting stage 20.

[0033] As shown in Fig. 1, the cassette adapter 1 includes a base 2, a cover 3, and a rotating arm 4. The base 2 and the cover 3 are formed into flat plates of uniform thickness and substantially the same shape. The base 2 is placed on a cassette mounting table 20 of the wafer processing apparatus 10, and an open cassette 120 is placed thereon. The base 2 is also provided with a positioning protrusion 5 for positioning the open cassette 120.

[0034] One end of the rotating arm 4 is rotatably connected to the base 2, and the other end is rotatably connected to the cover 3. The rotating arm 4 is rotatably connected to the base 2 and the cover 3. In this manner, the rotating arm 4 is rotatably connected to the base 2 and the cover 3, and thus the cover 3 is disposed on the base 2 via the rotating arm 4. In the first embodiment, the rotating arm 4 is connected to both edges in the Y-axis direction of the base 2 and the cover 3 that are placed on the cassette mounting table 20.

[0035] Furthermore, cassette adapter 1 is provided so that cover 3 can be displaced freely with respect to base 2 between a storage position where cover 3 abuts against positioning protrusion 5 shown by dashed lines in Fig. 1 and overlaps base 2, and an installation position where cover 3 stands upright on base 2 and the angle between base 2 and cover 3 exceeds 90 degrees, shown by dashed lines in Fig. 1. That is, cassette adapter 1 is provided with a stopper that prevents cover 3 from falling over from the installation position shown by dashed lines in Fig. 1.

[0036] With the cover 3 of the cassette adapter 1 located at the installation position, the base 2 is installed on the cassette mounting table 20, and the open cassette 120 is installed on the base 2 with the opening 102 facing the opening 40. When the wafer processing apparatus 10 starts a processing operation with the open cassette 120 installed on the cassette mounting table 20 via the cassette adapter 1, the cassette mounting table 20 moves toward the housing 11 and the cover 3 comes into contact with the port door 41.

[0037] In the processing operation, when the open cassette 120 is placed on the cassette mounting table 20 via the cassette adapter 1, the wafer processing apparatus 10 moves further toward the housing 11, and the cover 3 slides on the housing 11 so that the angle with respect to the base 2 gradually approaches 90 degrees. In the processing operation, when the open cassette 120 is placed on the cassette mounting table 20 via the cassette adapter 1, the wafer processing apparatus 10 stops at a position close to the housing 11, and the angle of the cover 3 with respect to the base 2 becomes approximately 90 degrees, as shown in FIG. 5. Then, the cover 3 comes into contact with the port door 41 above the opening 40 of the housing 11, covers the upper part of the opening 40, and is positioned above the opening 102 of the open cassette 120, allowing the movement of the conveying means 30 within the openings 40, 102.

[0038] In the processing operation, when the cover 3 is located at the position shown in Fig. 5 with the open cassette 120 placed on the cassette placement table 20 via the cassette adapter 1, the control unit of the wafer processing apparatus 10 opens the port door 41, removes the wafer 200 from the open cassette 120, and grinds the wafer 200 in the same manner as when the FOUP cassette 100 is placed. In this manner, when the angle of the cover 3 with respect to the base 2 becomes approximately 90 degrees as shown in Fig. 5, the cover 3 contacts the port door 41 above the opening 40 of the housing 11 and is located above the opening 102 of the open cassette 120, thereby covering the upper part of the opening 40. The upper part of the opening 40 is a region other than the region through which the conveying means 30 passes in the opening 40 (the region facing the opening 102 in the X-axis direction), and is also a surplus region as described in the claims.

[0039] As described above, in the cassette adapter 1 according to the first embodiment, when the open cassette 120 is placed on the base 2 installed on the cassette placement table 20 of the wafer processing apparatus 10, the cover 3 covers the upper part of the opening 40 except for the area of ​​the opening 40 through which the transport means 30 passes, thereby preventing foreign matter from entering the housing 11 from the upper part of the opening 40 and not interfering with the loading and unloading of the transport means 30. As a result, the cassette adapter 1 has the effect of preventing foreign matter from entering the wafer processing apparatus 10.

[0040] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In other words, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the wafer processing device 10 is a grinding device that grinds the wafer 200, but the present invention is not limited to a grinding device and may be various processing devices such as a cutting device that cuts the wafer 200 along the planned division lines 202. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1 Cassette Adapter 2 Base 3 Cover 10 Wafer processing equipment 20 Cassette placement table 30 Means of transportation 40 Opening 120 Open Cassette (Cassette) 200 wafers

Claims

[Claim 1] A cassette adapter detachably installable on a cassette mounting stage of a wafer processing apparatus, the cassette mounting stage being provided with a cassette for accommodating wafers, a transport means for loading and unloading the wafers accommodated in the cassette, and an opening for allowing the transport means to pass through, the cassette adapter comprising: a base that is placed on the cassette placement table and on which the cassette is placed; a cover disposed on the base and covering an excess area of ​​the opening other than an area through which the conveying means passes; A cassette adapter comprising:

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