Processing device

Abstract

To determine easily and in a short time whether or not a combination of a carrier pad and a spinner table in proper sizes with respect to a diameter of a wafer is set, as well as, whether or not the spinner table is mounted.SOLUTION: A carrier unit 60 of a processing device 1 comprises: a suction path 63; a pressure gauge 65 which measures a pressure of the suction path 63; a horizontal movement mechanism 66 which moves a carrier pad 62 in a horizontal direction; and an elevation mechanism 67 which moves the carrier pad 62 in a vertical direction. In a state where a center of a holding surface 41a of a spinner table 41 and a center of a suction surface 62a of the carrier pad 62 are offset just by a predetermined distance ε in the horizontal direction, a control section 70 brings the suction surface 62a of the carrier pad 62 into contact with the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 and determines a combination pattern in accordance with sizes of the spinner table 41 and the carrier pad 62 based on a pressure value which is measured by the pressure gauge 65 when the suction surface 62a of the suction pad 62 is suctioned by a suction source 64.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing apparatus having a transfer unit that suction-holds a processed wafer and transfers it from a chuck table to a spinner cleaning unit. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices such as ICs and LSIs used in various electronic devices, the backside of a wafer is ground by a grinding machine to thin the wafer to a predetermined thickness in order to reduce the size and weight of the semiconductor device. The wafer ground by the grinding machine is then held by suction on the transfer pad of the transfer unit and transported to the spinner cleaning unit, where grinding debris adhering to the surface is removed by spraying cleaning water in the spinner cleaning machine.

[0003] In the spinner cleaning unit, when the wafer size is changed, the spinner table is replaced with one of a size corresponding to the diameter of the wafer. However, depending on the thickness of the wafer after grinding, it may not be necessary to hold the outer periphery of the wafer by the spinner table. For this reason, the spinner table is replaced by an operator as needed.

[0004] However, when replacing the spinner table, it is possible that the appropriate spinner table corresponding to the wafer size is not installed, or that the installation of a new spinner table is forgotten. If the spinner cleaning unit is operated without realizing this, problems such as damage to the wafer may occur.

[0005] Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a grinding machine that optically detects whether a spinner table is attached or whether a spinner table of an appropriate size is attached using a wafer detection sensor provided on a robot hand that holds a cleaned wafer and transports it from the spinner table to a cassette. Specifically, when the height position of the robot hand's suction surface coincides with the height position of the spinner table's holding surface, the height position of the robot hand recognized by the lifting means is stored in a height storage means. Then, for example, to check whether a spinner table is attached, the wafer detection sensor provided on the robot hand is lowered to the height position stored in the height storage means. If the wafer detection sensor receives light reflected by the spinner table and turns ON, it is determined that a spinner table is attached. If the wafer detection sensor does not receive reflected light and turns OFF, it is determined that a spinner table is not attached. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-140450 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, in the grinding device proposed in Patent Document 1, the robot hand is lowered until the suction surface of the robot hand contacts the holding surface of the spinner table, and the height of the robot hand when the contact surface of the robot hand and the holding surface of the spinner table coincide is stored, which results in the problem that it takes a lot of time and effort to determine whether a spinner table is attached. Also, if the height of the holding surface of the spinner table differs depending on the diameter of the wafer, it is necessary to perform the above process for each spinner table and store for each spinner table the height of the robot hand when the contact surface of the robot hand and the holding surface of the spinner table coincide.

[0008] Furthermore, in the grinding device proposed in Patent Document 1, the determination of whether a spinner table of an appropriate size for the diameter of the wafer is attached is made by adjusting the radial position of the wafer detection sensor using an advancing / retracting means, which poses the problem that making this determination requires a lot of time and effort.

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to provide a processing apparatus that can easily and quickly determine whether a combination of a transport pad and spinner table of an appropriate size for the diameter of a wafer is set, including whether a spinner table is installed and whether it is installed correctly. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The first invention is a processing apparatus comprising a chuck table for holding a wafer, a processing unit for processing the wafer held on the chuck table, a spinner cleaning unit for supplying cleaning water to a wafer held by suction on a holding surface on the upper surface of a spinner table detachably attached to a rotation shaft to clean the wafer, a transport unit for suction-holding the wafer on a suction surface on the lower surface of a transport pad and transporting the wafer from the chuck table to the spinner table, and a control unit, wherein the transport unit comprises a suction path connecting the suction surface to a suction source, a transport pressure gauge for measuring the pressure of the suction path, a horizontal movement mechanism for moving the transport pad horizontally, and a lift mechanism for moving the transport pad vertically. and a lowering mechanism, wherein the spinner cleaning unit comprises a suction path connecting the holding surface and a suction source and a spinner pressure gauge that measures the pressure of the suction path, and the control unit brings the suction surface into contact with the holding surface while offsetting the center of the holding surface and the center of the suction surface by a predetermined distance in the horizontal direction, and determines the combination pattern when the pressure value measured by the conveying pressure gauge when the suction source sucks the suction surface, or the pressure value measured by the spinner pressure gauge when the suction source sucks the holding surface, falls within a predetermined pressure band that is preset for each combination pattern based on the size of the spinner table and the conveying pad.

[0011] The second invention is a processing apparatus comprising a chuck table for holding a wafer, a processing unit for processing the wafer held on the chuck table, a spinner cleaning unit for supplying cleaning water to a wafer held by suction on a holding surface on the upper surface of a spinner table detachably attached to a rotation shaft to clean the wafer, a transport unit for suction-holding the wafer on a suction surface on the lower surface of a transport pad and transporting the wafer from the chuck table to the spinner table, and a control unit, wherein the transport unit comprises a suction path connecting the suction surface to a suction source, a transport pressure gauge for measuring the pressure in the suction path, a horizontal movement mechanism for moving the transport pad horizontally, and an elevation mechanism for moving the transport pad vertically. The spinner cleaning unit includes a suction path connecting the holding surface and a suction source, and a spinner pressure gauge that measures the pressure of the suction path, and the control unit lowers the conveying pad by a predetermined amount while arranging the center of the holding surface and the center of the suction surface on the same axis, and if the pressure value measured by the conveying pressure gauge when the suction source suctions the suction surface or the pressure value measured by the spinner pressure gauge when the suction source suctions the holding surface reaches a predetermined pressure value, determines that the installation of the spinner table is not normal, and if the predetermined pressure value is not reached, determines that the installation of the spinner table is normal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the first invention, the combination pattern based on the size of the spinner table and the transport pad can be determined simply and quickly by bringing the suction surface into contact with the holding surface with the center of the spinner table's holding surface offset by a predetermined distance from the center of the suction surface of the transport pad, and measuring the pressure (negative pressure) in the suction path when the suction source applies suction to the suction surface of the transport pad with a transport pressure gauge, or by measuring the pressure (negative pressure) in the suction path when the suction source applies suction to the holding surface of the spinner table with a spinner pressure gauge. Furthermore, if the pressure in the suction path measured by the transport pressure gauge or spinner pressure gauge is less than a predetermined value, it can be determined that the suction surface of the transport pad is not covered by the holding surface of the spinner table, and atmospheric air is being sucked directly into the suction pad or holding surface of the spinner table, meaning that the spinner table is not attached.

[0013] According to the second invention, with the center of the holding surface of the spinner table and the center of the suction surface of the transport pad aligned, the transport pad is lowered a predetermined amount (a value that forms a predetermined gap (0.1 mm to 1.0 mm) between a properly installed spinner table and the transport pad), and if the pressure value measured by the transport pressure gauge when the suction surface of the transport pad is sucked with the suction source, or the pressure value measured by the spinner pressure gauge when the holding surface of the spinner table is sucked with the suction source, reaches a predetermined pressure value (threshold value), it is determined that the spinner table is not installed correctly, and if the predetermined pressure value is not reached, it is determined that the spinner table is installed correctly, so that it can be determined easily and quickly whether the spinner table is installed correctly. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a grinding device as one embodiment of a processing device according to a first aspect of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a configuration diagram of a transfer pad and a spinner table of a grinding device according to a first aspect of the present invention. [Figure 3]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing combination patterns according to the sizes of a transfer pad and a spinner table in a grinding apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention; [Figure 4] 5(a) to 5(d) are diagrams showing the suction pressure of the transport pad in each combination pattern of the transport pad and the spinner table in the grinding device according to the first invention. [Figure 5] 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for determining a combination pattern based on the sizes of a transfer pad and a spinner table in the grinding device according to the first invention. [Figure 6] 10(a) to 10(d) are diagrams showing examples of setting a detection band for the suction pressure of the transport pad in each combination pattern of the transport pad and spinner table when the size of the suction surface of the transport pad is recognized in the grinding device of the first invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a transfer pad and a spinner table of a grinding device according to a second aspect of the present invention. [Figure 8] 10(a) is a diagram showing the configuration of the transfer pad and spinner table when the spinner table is normally attached in the grinding apparatus according to the second invention, and FIG. 10(b) is a diagram showing pressure values measured by a spinner pressure gauge. [Figure 9] 10(a) is a diagram showing the configuration of the transfer pad and spinner table when the spinner table is not properly attached in the grinding apparatus according to the second invention, and FIG. 10(b) is a diagram showing the pressure values measured by the spinner pressure gauge. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure for determining whether or not the attachment of the spinner table is normal in the grinding device according to the second aspect of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0016] <First Invention> [Grinding equipment configuration] First, the configuration of the grinding device according to the first invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. In the following description, the directions of the arrows shown in Figure 1 are the X-axis direction (left-right direction), the Y-axis direction (front-rear direction), and the Z-axis direction (up-down direction), respectively.

[0017] 1 grinds the back surface (upper surface in FIG. 1) of a disk-shaped wafer W, which is a workpiece, and mainly comprises the following components: That is, the grinding apparatus 1 mainly comprises a chuck table 10 that holds the front surface (lower surface in FIG. 1) of the wafer W, a grinding unit 20 that is a processing unit that grinds the back surface of the wafer W held on the chuck table 10, a spinner cleaning unit 40 that cleans the wafer W after grinding, a first transfer unit 50 and a second transfer unit 60 that suction-hold and transfer the wafer W, and a control unit 70.

[0018] The grinding apparatus 1 also includes other components such as a cassette 101 for storing wafers W before grinding, a cassette 102 for storing wafers W after grinding, an alignment table 103 for aligning the wafers W before grinding, and a transport robot 104 for removing one wafer W from the cassette 101 and transporting it to the alignment table 103, and receiving the cleaned wafer W from the spinner cleaning unit 40 and storing it in the cassette 102, but detailed explanations of these will be omitted.

[0019] 1, a plurality of devices (not shown) are formed on the surface facing downward, and these devices are protected by a protective tape T attached to the surface of the wafer W. The front surface (the lower surface in FIG. 1) of the wafer W is suction-held on a holding surface 10a of a chuck table 10, and the back surface (the upper surface in FIG. 1) is ground by a grinding unit 20. Note that, in addition to silicon (Si), the wafer W may be made of silicon carbide (SiC), glass, ceramics, sapphire (Al2O3), or potassium arsenide (GaAs).

[0020] Next, the main components of the grinding apparatus 1, namely, the chuck table 10, the grinding unit 20, the spinner cleaning unit 40, the first transfer unit 50, the second transfer unit 60, and the control unit 70 will be described.

[0021] (Chuck table) The chuck table 10 is a disk-shaped member, the upper surface of which constitutes a holding surface 10a, and this holding surface 10a is selectively connected to a suction source (not shown), such as an ejector or a vacuum pump. Although not shown, the chuck table 10 has a rotation axis extending vertically below it, which is rotated at a predetermined speed around the vertical axis by a rotation mechanism. The chuck table 10 can also be moved back and forth along the Y-axis direction (front-back direction) by a horizontal movement mechanism (not shown) provided below it. A thickness gauge 11 is disposed near the chuck table 10 on the base 100 to measure the thickness of the wafer W during grinding.

[0022] (Grinding unit) 1, the grinding unit 20 includes a holder 21 that is open at the top, a spindle motor 22 that is a rotational drive source that is fixed to the holder 21 in a vertically placed state, a spindle 23 that is rotationally driven by the spindle motor 22, a disk-shaped mount 24 that is attached to the lower end of the spindle 23, and a grinding wheel 25 that is detachably attached to the underside of the mount 24. Here, a plurality of grinding stones 25a that are processing tools are attached to the grinding wheel 25 in an annular shape. The spindle motor 22 is electrically connected to a control unit 70 (see FIG. 2), and its drive is controlled by the control unit 70.

[0023] The grinding unit 20 can be raised and lowered in the Z-axis direction (up and down direction) by a vertical movement mechanism 30, and this vertical movement mechanism 30 is disposed on the −Y-axis direction end face (front face) of a rectangular box-shaped column 110 that is erected vertically on the +Y-axis direction end face (rear end face) of the upper surface of the base 100, as shown in Fig. 1. The vertical movement mechanism 30 raises and lowers a rectangular plate-shaped lift plate 31 attached to the back face of the holder 21, together with the holder 21 and the spindle motor 22, grinding wheel 25, etc. held by the holder 21, in the Z-axis direction along a pair of left and right guide rails 32. The pair of left and right guide rails 32 are disposed perpendicular to the front face of the column 110 and parallel to each other.

[0024] A rotatable ball screw 33 is provided vertically along the Z-axis direction (up-down direction) between the pair of left and right guide rails 32, and the upper end of the ball screw 33 is connected to a servo motor 34, which serves as a drive source and can rotate forward and backward. The servo motor 34 is attached in a vertical position via a rectangular plate-shaped bracket 35 attached to the upper surface of the column 110. The lower end of the ball screw 33 is rotatably supported by the column 110, and a nut member (not shown) that protrudes horizontally from the back surface of the lifting plate 31 toward the rear (+Y-axis direction) is threadedly engaged with the ball screw 33.

[0025] Therefore, when the servo motor 34 is started to rotate the ball screw 33 forward or backward, the lifting plate 31, to which a nut member (not shown) that screws onto the ball screw 33 is attached, moves up and down along the Z-axis direction together with the grinding unit 20. The servo motor 34 is electrically connected to the control unit 70, and its driving is controlled by the control unit 70.

[0026] (Spinner cleaning unit) The spinner cleaning unit 40 is a unit that cleans the back surface (upper surface) of the wafer W after grinding, and includes a spinner table 41 that holds and rotates the wafer W after grinding, and a cleaning nozzle 42 that sprays cleaning water toward the back surface (surface to be ground) of the wafer W. Note that pure water is preferably used as the cleaning water.

[0027] The spinner table 41 is detachably attached to the upper end of a vertical rotation shaft 43. As shown in FIG. 2, a disk-shaped porous member 41A made of porous ceramic or the like is installed in the center of the upper portion of the table. The upper surface of the porous member 41A forms a circular holding surface 41a. The porous member 41A is selectively connected to a suction source 45, such as an ejector or a vacuum pump, via a suction path 44. The suction path 44 is provided with a spinner pressure gauge 46 and an on-off valve V1. The spinner pressure gauge 46 and the on-off valve V1 are electrically connected to a control unit 70. Pressure data measured by the spinner pressure gauge 46 is transmitted to the control unit 70. The on-off valve V1 is controlled by the control unit 70 to selectively connect the porous member 41A to the suction source 45.

[0028] (First conveying unit and second conveying unit) The first transport unit 50 holds the wafer W temporarily placed on the alignment table 103 and transports it to the chuck table 10, and as shown in Fig. 1, is provided with a disk-shaped transport pad 52 that oscillates in a horizontal plane around a vertical axis 51. Although not shown, a porous disk is incorporated in the center of the lower part of the transport pad 52, and when the porous disk is connected to a suction source (not shown), the lower surface becomes a suction surface, and the wafer W is sucked by the suction surface and held by the transport pad 52.

[0029] The second transport unit 60 holds the wafer W ground by the grinding unit 20 and transports it from the chuck table 10 to the spinner cleaning unit 40, and like the first transport unit 50, is provided with a disk-shaped transport pad 62 that oscillates in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis 61. As shown in Fig. 2, a porous disk 62A is incorporated in the center of the lower part of the transport pad 62, and the porous disk 62A is selectively connected to a suction source 64 such as an ejector or a vacuum pump by a suction path 63. The lower surface of the porous disk 62A forms a suction surface 62a that suction-holds the wafer W.

[0030] The suction path 63 is provided with a conveying pressure gauge 65 and an on-off valve V2, which are electrically connected to the control unit 70. Therefore, pressure data measured by the conveying pressure gauge 65 is transmitted to the control unit 70, and the on-off valve V2 is controlled by the control unit 70 to open and close, thereby selectively connecting the porous disk 62A to the suction source 64.

[0031] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the second transport unit 60 is provided with a horizontal movement mechanism 66 that moves the transport pad 62 horizontally and a lifting mechanism 67 that moves the transport pad 62 vertically. The horizontal movement mechanism 66 and the lifting mechanism 67 are electrically connected to the control unit 70 and their operations are controlled by the control unit 70.

[0032] (Control unit) The control unit 70 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs arithmetic processing according to a control program, and storage units such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). In particular, in this embodiment, the control unit 70 determines the combination pattern (patterns A, B, C, and D shown in FIG. 3) based on the size of the transport pad 62 of the second transport unit 60 and the spinner table 41, based on the pressure (negative pressure) measured by a transport pressure meter 65 provided in the suction path 63 that connects the porous disk 62A of the second transport unit 60 and the suction source 64, and also determines whether the spinner table 41 is attached to the rotation shaft 43 (see FIG. 1), which will be described in detail later. In addition, the control unit 70 controls the operation of the horizontal movement mechanism 66 and the lifting mechanism 67 (see Figure 2) provided in the second conveying unit 60, and also controls the opening and closing of an opening / closing valve V1 provided in the suction path 44 connecting the porous member 41A of the spinner table 41 to the suction source 45, and an opening / closing valve V2 provided in the suction path 63 connecting the porous disc 62A incorporated in the conveying pad 62 of the second conveying unit 60 to the suction source 64.

[0033] [Function of grinding equipment] Next, the operation of the grinding device 1 configured as above will be described.

[0034] In grinding a wafer W by the grinding apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, one wafer W is clamped and removed from a plurality of wafers W accommodated in a cassette 101 by the transfer robot 104. The wafer W removed from the cassette 101 by the transfer robot 104 is then transferred to the alignment table 103 by the transfer robot 104, and temporarily placed on the alignment table 103 for alignment. Thereafter, the wafer W temporarily placed on the alignment table 103 is suction-held by the transfer pad 52 of the first transfer unit 50 and transferred to the chuck table 10.

[0035] As described above, the wafer W transferred to the chuck table 10 by the first transfer unit 50 is placed on the holding surface 10a of the chuck table 10 and is suction-held by the holding surface 10a. Then, the chuck table 10 holding the wafer W is moved in the +Y-axis direction by a horizontal movement mechanism (not shown) and positioned directly below the grinding wheel 25 of the grinding unit 20. Then, from this state, the chuck table 10 and the wafer W held thereon are rotated at a predetermined speed about their respective axes by a rotation mechanism (not shown), and the spindle motor 22 of the grinding unit 20 is started to rotate the spindle 23 and the grinding wheel 25 at a predetermined speed, while the grinding wheel 25 is lowered in the -Z-axis direction by the vertical movement mechanism 30.

[0036] As described above, when the rotating grinding wheel 25 descends and the grinding stone 25a comes into contact with the wafer W, the back surface (top surface) of the wafer W is ground by the rotating grinding stone 25a, and the thickness of the wafer W during the grinding process is measured by the thickness measuring device 11. During the grinding process of the wafer W, grinding water is supplied from a grinding water supply source (not shown) to the contact portion between the wafer W and the grinding stone 25a, and the grinding water cools the contact portion between the wafer W and the grinding stone 25a, and the grinding water also washes away and removes grinding chips generated by grinding.

[0037] When the wafer W is ground to a predetermined finishing thickness, the rotation of the chuck table 10 and the grinding wheel 25 stops. The grinding wheel 25 then rises, and the wafer W on the chuck table 10 is suction-held by the transfer pad 62 of the second transfer unit 60 and transferred to the spinner cleaning unit 40. Specifically, when the on-off valve V2 shown in FIG. 2 opens, the porous disk 62A incorporated in the transfer pad 62 of the second transfer unit 60 is connected to the suction source 64 via the suction path 63, causing the porous disk 62A to be evacuated, generating a negative pressure in the porous disk 62A. The wafer W is then attracted by the negative pressure generated in the porous disk 62A and held by suction on the suction surface 62a below the porous disk 62A.

[0038] The wafer W transported to the spinner cleaning unit 40 is placed on the spinner table 41 and held by suction on the spinner table 41. That is, when the on-off valve V1 shown in Fig. 2 opens, the porous member 41A incorporated in the spinner table 41 is connected to the suction source 45 via the suction path 44, so that the porous member 41A is evacuated and a negative pressure is generated in the porous member 41A. Then, the wafer W is attracted by the negative pressure generated in the porous member 41A and held by suction on the holding surface 41a of the porous member 41A.

[0039] As a result, the spinner table 41 and the wafer W held thereon are rotated. Then, cleaning water is sprayed from the cleaning nozzle 42 toward the rotating wafer W, thereby cleaning the wafer W and removing foreign matter such as grinding debris adhering to the wafer W. The wafer W thus cleaned is held by the transfer robot 104 and transferred from the spinner table 41 to the cassette 102, and is stored in the cassette 102, thereby completing the series of grinding processes for the wafer W.

[0040] [Determination method by the control unit] Next, the judgment performed by the control unit 70 in the grinding apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, specifically, the judgment of combination patterns A, B, C, and D based on the sizes of the transport pad 62 of the second transport unit 60 and the spinner table 41 of the spinner cleaning unit 40 shown in FIG. 3, and the method of judging whether the spinner table 41 is attached to the rotating shaft 43 (see FIG. 1) will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

[0041] 3, there are four combination patterns A, B, C, and D depending on the size of the transport pad 62 of the second transport unit 60 and the spinner table 41 of the spinner cleaning unit 40. That is, pattern A is a combination in which the transport pad 62 is small and the spinner table 41 is large, and pattern B is a combination in which both the transport pad 62 and the spinner table 41 are large. Furthermore, pattern C is a combination in which both the transport pad 62 and the spinner table 41 are small, and pattern D is a combination in which the transport pad 62 is large and the spinner table 41 is small.

[0042] Next, a method for determining whether the combination pattern based on the sizes of the transport pad 62 and the spinner table 41 is pattern A, B, C, or D, and a method for determining whether the spinner table 41 is attached to the rotation shaft 43 (see FIG. 1) will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5. The upper rows of each of FIGS. 4(a) to 4(d) and 6(a) to 6(d) show a diagram illustrating the time variation of the pressure (absolute value of negative pressure) |P| in the suction path 63 (see FIG. 2) measured by the transport pressure gauge 65, the middle rows show a plan view illustrating the positional relationship between the transport pad 62 and the spinner table 41, and the lower rows show a side view illustrating the positional relationship between the transport pad 62 and the spinner table 41.

[0043] First, the transport pad 62 located above the spinner table 41 is moved horizontally by the horizontal movement mechanism 66 (see Figure 2) of the second transport unit 60 (step S1 in Figure 5), and as shown in Figure 4, the center of the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 and the center of the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 are offset horizontally by a predetermined distance ε.

[0044] Next, the lifting mechanism 67 (see FIG. 2) of the second transport unit 60 lowers the transport pad 62 (step S2 in FIG. 5), and it is determined whether the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 has come into contact with the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 (step S3 in FIG. 5). That is, the transport pad 62 is lowered until the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 comes into contact with the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41, as shown by the chain line in FIG. 4. Specifically, if the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 is not in contact with the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 (step S3: No), the descent of the transport pad 62 continues until the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 comes into contact with the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 (steps S2 → S3). The contact of the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 with the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 can be confirmed by detecting the load of the motor (not shown), which is the drive source of the lifting mechanism 67, or by visual inspection.

[0045] When the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 comes into contact with the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 (step S3: Yes), the descent of the transport pad 62 is stopped (step S4), and the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 is sucked (step S5). That is, when the on-off valve V2 shown in Fig. 2 opens, the porous disk 62A of the transport pad 62 is connected to the suction source 64 via the suction path 63, so that the porous disk 62A is evacuated, generating a negative pressure in the porous disk 62A.

[0046] As described above, in the state where the porous disk 62A of the transfer pad 62 is being sucked by the suction source 64, the pressure (negative pressure) in the suction path 63 is measured by the transfer pressure gauge 65 (see FIG. 2) (step S6 in FIG. 5), and the measurement data is transmitted to the control unit 70. Here, when the combination pattern according to the sizes of the transfer pad 62 and the spinner table 41 is pattern A shown in FIG. 4(a) (see FIG. 3), that is, when the transfer pad 62 is small-sized and the spinner table 41 is large-sized, the entire suction surface 62a of the transfer pad 62 is blocked by the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41, and the suction surface 62a does not suck air in the atmosphere. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the absolute value |P| of the gauge pressure (negative pressure) P measured by the transfer pressure gauge 65 indicates a high value a.

[0047] Also, when the combination pattern according to the sizes of the transfer pad 62 and the spinner table 41 is pattern B shown in FIG. 4(b) (see FIG. 3), that is, when both the transfer pad 62 and the spinner table 41 are large-sized, most of the suction surface 62a of the transfer pad 62 is blocked by the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41, but a part of the suction surface 62a (the crescent part R1 in the middle of FIG. 4(b)) is not covered by the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 and opens to the atmosphere. Therefore, air in the atmosphere is sucked into the suction path 63 (see FIG. 2) from this part R1. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the absolute value |P| of the gauge pressure (negative pressure) P measured by the transfer pressure gauge 65 indicates a value b (<a) lower than c.

[0048] When the combination pattern according to the sizes of the transfer pad 62 and the spinner table 41 is pattern C shown in Fig. 4(c) (see Fig. 3), that is, when both the transfer pad 62 and the spinner table 41 are of a small size combination, a part of the suction surface 62a of the transfer pad 62 is blocked by the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41. However, the other part of the suction surface 62a (the crescent part R2 shown in the middle row of Fig. 4(c)) is not covered by the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 and opens to the atmosphere. Therefore, air in the atmosphere is sucked into the suction path 63 (see Fig. 2) from this part R2. In this case, since the ratio of the area of the crescent part (open part) R2 to the area of the suction surface 62a of the transfer pad 62 is larger than that in pattern B shown in Fig. 4(b), as shown in Fig. 4(c), the absolute value |P| of the gauge pressure (negative pressure) P measured by the transfer pressure gauge 65 indicates a value c (<b) lower than b.

[0049] Also, when the combination pattern according to the sizes of the transfer pad 62 and the spinner table 41 is pattern D shown in Fig. 4(d) (see Fig. 3), that is, when the transfer pad 62 is of a large size and the spinner table 41 is of a small size combination, most of the part R3 of the suction surface 62a of the transfer pad 62 except the part blocked by the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 opens to the atmosphere. Therefore, a large amount of air in the atmosphere is sucked into the suction path 63 (see Fig. 2) from this open part R3. For this reason, as shown in the upper row of Fig. 4(d), the absolute value |P| of the gauge pressure (negative pressure) P measured by the transfer pressure gauge 65 indicates a value d (<c) lower than c. Therefore, among the values a, b, c, d of the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P measured by the transfer pressure gauge 65, the magnitude relationship a > b > c > d holds.

[0050] When the pressure (negative pressure) P in the suction path 63 measured by the transfer pressure meter 65 is transmitted to the control unit 70, the control unit 70 determines whether the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P is a±ΔP (step S7 in FIG. 5). Here, ΔP provides a band (width) above and below the pressure a, as shown in FIG. 4, and the control unit 70 determines whether the absolute value |P| is within a band width 2ΔP (the shaded area in FIG. 4) centered on the pressure a. This is also the case in the subsequent steps S9, S11, and S13. The pressure values a, b, c, and d and their band width ΔP are preset for each combination pattern of the size of the spinner table 41 and the transfer pad 62.

[0051] If the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P is a±ΔP (step S7: Yes), the control unit 70 determines that the combination pattern of the sizes of the transport pad 62 and the spinner table 41 is pattern A (see FIG. 3) shown in FIG. 4(a) (step S8 in FIG. 5), and ends the process (step S16 in FIG. 5). On the other hand, if the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P is not a±ΔP (step S7: No), the control unit 70 determines whether the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P transmitted from the transport pressure meter 65 is b±ΔP (step S9 in FIG. 5).

[0052] If the result of the above determination is that the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P is b±ΔP (step S9: Yes), the control unit 70 determines that the combination pattern of the sizes of the transport pad 62 and the spinner table 41 is pattern B (see FIG. 3) shown in FIG. 4(b) (step S10 in FIG. 5), and ends the process (step S16 in FIG. 5). On the other hand, if the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P is not b±ΔP (step S9: No), the control unit 70 determines whether the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P transmitted from the transport pressure meter 65 is c±ΔP (step S11 in FIG. 5).

[0053] If the result of the above determination is that the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P is c±ΔP (step S11: Yes), the control unit 70 determines that the combination pattern of the sizes of the transport pad 62 and the spinner table 41 is pattern C (see FIG. 3) shown in FIG. 4(c) (step S12 in FIG. 5), and ends the process (step S16 in FIG. 5). On the other hand, if the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P is not c±ΔP (step S11: No), the control unit 70 determines whether the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P transmitted from the transport pressure meter 65 is d±ΔP (step S13 in FIG. 5).

[0054] If the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P is d±ΔP (step S13: Yes), the control unit 70 determines that the combination pattern of the sizes of the transport pad 62 and the spinner table 41 is pattern D (see FIG. 3) shown in FIG. 4(d) (step S14 in FIG. 5), and terminates the process (step S16 in FIG. 5). On the other hand, if the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P is not d±ΔP (step S13: No), that is, if the absolute value |P| of the pressure (negative pressure) P is lower than d±ΔP, the control unit 70 determines that the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 is not covered by the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41, and that air from the atmosphere is being sucked directly into the transport pad 62. Therefore, the control unit 70 determines that the spinner table 41 is not attached, outputs an error (step S15 in FIG. 5), and terminates the process (step S16).

[0055] As described above, in the grinding apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, the center of the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 and the center of the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 are offset horizontally by a predetermined distance ε, the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 is brought into contact with the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41, and the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 is sucked by the suction source 64. The pressure (negative pressure) in the suction path 63 is measured with the transport pressure gauge 65. Furthermore, if the pressure in the suction path 63 measured by the transport pressure gauge 65 is less than a predetermined value (d±ΔP), it can be determined that the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 is not covered by the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41, and atmospheric air is being sucked directly into the transport pad 62, indicating that the spinner table 41 is not attached. This determination is made by a spinner table presence / absence determination unit provided in the control unit 70.

[0056] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a predetermined pressure band 2ΔP (see Figure 4) is set for the pressure value used to determine the combination pattern based on the size of spinner table 41 and transport pad 62. Therefore, even if there is a slight fluctuation in the pressure (negative pressure) of suction path 63 measured by transport pressure meter 65, it is possible to easily and quickly determine whether a combination of transport pad 62 and spinner table 41 of an appropriate size for the diameter of wafer W has been set, including whether spinner table 41 is attached.

[0057] Incidentally, if a size recognition unit that recognizes the size of the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 is provided in the second transport unit 60, and as shown in Fig. 6, the control unit 70 sets a detection band 2ΔP' (<2ΔP) that is narrower than the pressure band 2ΔP shown in Fig. 4 for each of combination patterns A, B, C, and D based on the sizes of the spinner table 41 and the transport pad 62, it will be possible to determine four or more combination patterns based on the sizes of the spinner table 41 and the transport pad 62. Note that in Fig. 6, the same elements as those shown in Fig. 4 are assigned the same symbols.

[0058] In this embodiment, the control unit 70 determines the combination pattern based on the sizes of the spinner table 41 and the transport pad 62, or determines whether or not the spinner table 41 is attached, based on the pressure (absolute value of negative pressure) |P| measured by the transport pressure gauge 65 provided in the suction path 63 that sucks the transport pad 62. However, the control unit 70 may also determine the combination pattern based on the sizes of the spinner table 41 and the transport pad 62, or determine whether or not the spinner table 41 is attached, based on the pressure measured by the spinner pressure gauge 46 provided in the suction path 44 that sucks the spinner table 41.

[0059] <Second Invention> Next, a grinding apparatus according to the second invention will be described below with reference to Figures 7 to 10, but the configuration and operation of the grinding apparatus according to the present invention are the same as those of the grinding apparatus 1 according to the first invention shown in Figure 1, so a repeated description thereof will be omitted. However, the grinding apparatus according to the present invention differs from the grinding apparatus 1 according to the first invention in that the control unit 70 determines whether or not the spinner table 41 is properly attached based on the absolute value of the pressure (negative pressure) measured by the spinner pressure gauge 46 when the spinner table 41 of the spinner cleaning unit 40 is sucked.

[0060] Here, the configurations of the spinner cleaning unit 40 and the second transfer unit 60 in the grinding apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 7. In Fig. 7, the same elements as those shown in Fig. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a repeated description of these elements will be omitted below.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 7, in the spinner cleaning unit 40, a spinner table 41 is attached to the upper end of an output shaft (motor shaft) 48a of a motor 48, which is a rotational drive source housed in a motor case 47. A rotary joint 49 is connected to the lower end of the output shaft (motor shaft) 48a of the motor 48, and a porous member 41A of the spinner table 41 is connected to a suction source 45 via a communication passage (not shown) formed between the output shaft 48a of the motor 48 and the rotary joint 49 and a suction passage 44 connected to the communication passage. A spinner pressure gauge 46 and an on-off valve V1 are provided in the suction passage 44, and the spinner pressure gauge 46 and the on-off valve V1 are electrically connected to the control unit 70. The configuration of the second transfer unit 60 is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0062] Next, a method for determining whether or not the spinner table 41 is properly attached by the control unit 70 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0063] First, the transport pad 62 located above the spinner table 41 is moved horizontally by the horizontal movement mechanism 66 of the second transport unit 60 (step S21 in FIG. 10), and the center of the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 and the center of the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 are aligned in the horizontal direction, as shown in FIG. 7. That is, it is determined whether the center of the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 and the center of the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 are aligned in the horizontal direction (whether their axes are aligned) (step S22 in FIG. 10). If the axes are not aligned (step S22: No), the horizontal movement of the transport pad 62 is continued (step S21 in FIG. 10).

[0064] On the other hand, if the center of the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 and the center of the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 are aligned in the horizontal direction (step S22 in FIG. 10: Yes), the horizontal movement of the transport pad 62 is stopped (step S23 in FIG. 10), and the lifting mechanism 67 of the second transport unit 60 lowers the transport pad 62 by a predetermined amount (step S24 in FIG. 10). Here, the predetermined amount is set to a value that forms a slight gap δ of about 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm between the properly attached spinner table 41 and the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62, as shown in FIG. 8(a).

[0065] While the transport pad 62 is descending, it is determined whether the transport pad 62 has descended a predetermined amount (step S25 in Figure 10). If the transport pad 62 has not descended the predetermined amount (step S25 in Figure 10: No), the descent of the transport pad 62 continues (step S24). If the transport pad 62 has descended the predetermined amount (step S25 in Figure 10: Yes), the descent of the transport pad 62 is stopped (step S26 in Figure 10).

[0066] Thereafter, the on-off valve V1 of the spinner cleaning unit 40 is opened, and the porous member 41A of the spinner table 41 is sucked by the suction source 45 (step S27 in FIG. 10). The pressure (negative pressure) in the suction path 44 at this time is measured by the spinner pressure gauge 46 (step S28 in FIG. 10), and the measurement data is sent to the control unit 70. Here, as shown in FIG. 8(a), when the spinner table 41 is properly attached to the upper end of the output shaft 48a of the motor 48, a predetermined gap δ is formed between the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 and the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41, so that air in the atmosphere is sucked into the porous member 41A of the spinner table 41. Therefore, the pressure (absolute value of the negative pressure) P1 measured by the spinner pressure gauge 46 becomes smaller than a predetermined threshold value P0 (P1), as shown in FIG. 8(b). <P0)。

[0067] 9(a), if the spinner table 41 is not properly attached to the upper end of the output shaft 48a of the motor 48, the spinner table 41 will be raised by δ from its normal height position, forming a gap δ between the upper end of the output shaft 48a of the motor 48 and the spinner table 41, while the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 will be in close contact with the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41. As a result, no air from the atmosphere will be sucked in between the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 and the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41, and the pressure (absolute value of the negative pressure) P2 measured by the spinner pressure gauge 46 will be greater than the predetermined threshold value P0 (P2>P0), as shown in FIG.

[0068] Therefore, the control unit 70 determines whether the absolute value of the pressure (negative pressure) in the suction passage 44 measured by the spinner pressure gauge 46 is smaller than a predetermined threshold value P0 (step S29 in FIG. 10). If the absolute value of the pressure (negative pressure) is smaller than the predetermined threshold value P0 as shown in FIG. 8(b) (step S29 in FIG. 10: Yes), the control unit 70 determines that the spinner table 41 is properly attached as shown in FIG. 8(a) (step S30 in FIG. 10) and ends the process (step S32 in FIG. 10). On the other hand, if the absolute value of the pressure (negative pressure) measured by the spinner pressure gauge 46 is larger than the predetermined threshold value P0 as shown in FIG. 9(b) (step S29 in FIG. 10: No), the control unit 70 determines that the spinner table 41 is not properly attached as shown in FIG. 9(a) and therefore is improperly attached (step S31 in FIG. 10) and ends the process (step S32 in FIG. 10).

[0069] As described above, in the grinding device of the second invention, when the center of the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 and the center of the suction surface 62a of the transport pad 62 are aligned, the transport pad 62 is lowered a predetermined amount, and the holding surface 41a of the spinner table 41 is sucked by the suction source 45.If the pressure value (absolute value of negative pressure) measured by the spinner pressure gauge 46 does not reach a predetermined pressure value (threshold value), it is determined that the spinner table 41 is properly installed, and if the pressure value is greater than the predetermined pressure value (threshold value), it is determined that the spinner table 41 is not properly installed.Therefore, it can be easily and quickly determined whether the spinner table 41 is properly installed.

[0070] In this embodiment, the control unit 70 determines whether the installation of the spinner table 41 is normal or not based on the pressure (absolute value of negative pressure) measured by the spinner pressure gauge 46 provided in the suction path 44 that sucks the spinner table 41, but the control unit 70 may also determine whether the installation of the spinner table 41 is normal or not based on the pressure measured by the conveying pressure gauge 65 provided in the suction path 63 that sucks the conveying pad 62.

[0071] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example of applying the present invention to a grinding device as one form of processing device has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to other processing devices such as polishing devices and cutting devices (including half-cut cutting devices, bit cutting devices, etc.).

[0072] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the application of the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims and the technical ideas described in the specification and drawings. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 1: grinding device (processing device), 10: chuck table, 10a: holding surface, 11: Thickness measuring device, 20: Grinding unit (processing unit), 21: Holder, 22: spindle motor, 23: spindle, 24: mount, 25: grinding wheel, 25a: grinding wheel, 30: vertical movement mechanism, 31: lifting plate, 32: guide rail, 33: ball screw, 34: pulse motor, 35: bracket, 40: Spinner cleaning unit, 41: Spinner table, 41A: Porous member, 41a: holding surface, 42: cleaning nozzle, 43: rotating shaft, 44: suction path, 45: suction source, 46: Spinner pressure gauge, 47: Motor case, 48: Motor, 48a: Output shaft (motor shaft) 49: rotary joint, 50: first conveying unit, 51: shaft, 52: conveying pad, 60: second conveying unit, 61: shaft, 62: conveying pad, 61A: porous disc, 62a: suction surface, 63: suction path, 64: suction source, 65: conveying pressure gauge, 66: horizontal movement mechanism, 67: lifting mechanism, 70: control unit, 100: base, 101, 102: cassette, 103: Alignment table, 104: Transport robot, 110: Column, T: Protective tape, V1, V2: On-off valve, W: Wafer

Claims

1. A processing apparatus comprising: a chuck table for holding a wafer; a processing unit for processing the wafer held on the chuck table; a spinner cleaning unit for supplying cleaning water to a wafer held by suction on a holding surface on the upper surface of a spinner table detachably attached to a rotation shaft to clean the wafer; a transport unit for holding the wafer by suction on a suction surface on the lower surface of a transport pad and transporting the wafer from the chuck table to the spinner table; and a control unit, The transport unit includes: a suction path connecting the suction surface and a suction source; a conveying pressure meter for measuring the pressure of the suction path; a horizontal movement mechanism that moves the transport pad in a horizontal direction; a lifting mechanism that moves the transport pad in a vertical direction, The spinner cleaning unit includes: a suction path connecting the holding surface and a suction source; a spinner pressure gauge for measuring the pressure in the suction passage, The control unit A processing apparatus characterized in that the suction surface is brought into contact with the holding surface while the center of the holding surface and the center of the suction surface are offset horizontally by a predetermined distance, and the combination pattern is determined when the pressure value measured by the conveying pressure gauge when the suction source suctions the suction surface, or the pressure value measured by the spinner pressure gauge when the suction source suctions the holding surface, falls within a predetermined pressure band that is preset for each combination pattern based on the size of the spinner table and the conveying pad.

2. the transport unit further includes a size recognition unit that recognizes the size of the suction surface of the transport pad; 2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets a detection band having a narrower range than the pressure band for each combination pattern based on the sizes of the spinner table and the transport pad.

3. 3. The machining apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a spinner table presence / absence determination unit that determines that the spinner table is not attached when the pressure value measured by the conveying pressure gauge and the pressure value measured by the spinner pressure gauge are not within the pressure band or the detection band.

4. A processing apparatus comprising: a chuck table for holding a wafer; a processing unit for processing the wafer held on the chuck table; a spinner cleaning unit for supplying cleaning water to the wafer held by suction on a holding surface on the upper surface of a spinner table detachably attached to a rotation shaft to clean the wafer; a transport unit for holding the wafer by suction on a suction surface on the lower surface of a transport pad and transporting the wafer from the chuck table to the spinner table; and a control unit, The transport unit includes: a suction path connecting the suction surface and a suction source; a conveying pressure meter for measuring the pressure of the suction path; a horizontal movement mechanism that moves the transport pad in a horizontal direction; a lifting mechanism that moves the transport pad in a vertical direction, The spinner cleaning unit includes: a suction path connecting the holding surface and a suction source; a spinner pressure gauge for measuring the pressure in the suction passage, The control unit With the center of the holding surface and the center of the suction surface aligned on the same axis, the conveying pad is lowered by a predetermined amount, and if the pressure value measured by the conveying pressure gauge when the suction source sucks the suction surface or the pressure value measured by the spinner pressure gauge when the suction source sucks the holding surface reaches a predetermined pressure value, it is determined that the spinner table is not properly attached, and if the predetermined pressure value is not reached, it is determined that the spinner table is properly attached. A processing device characterized by:

5. 5. The processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined lowering amount of the transport pad is set to a value that forms a predetermined gap between the spinner table and the transport pad when the spinner table is properly attached.

6. 6. The processing device according to claim 5, wherein the gap is set to 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm.

Images