Sheet drying device

Abstract

A thin plate drying device is provided which has a simplified structure, reliably holds thin plates on a thin plate mounting portion, and improves the reliability of the device. [Solution] A semiconductor wafer drying device 1 that dries a semiconductor wafer 2 which is a thin plate, includes a servo motor 10 which is a rotary drive means that rotates a shaft 13 which serves as a drive shaft, a support pin 25 which is a thin plate mounting section on which the semiconductor wafer 2 is placed and which is connected to the shaft 13 and rotates the shaft 13 to rotate and dry the semiconductor wafer 2, and a centrifugal fan 20 which is connected to the shaft 13 and rotates the shaft 13 to suck in air, and which presses the semiconductor wafer 2 against the support pin 25 by the suction force.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a thin plate drying apparatus for drying a thin plate such as a semiconductor wafer after cleaning. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is a technology for semiconductor wafer drying apparatus, for example, described in Patent Document 1. This semiconductor wafer drying apparatus fixes a semiconductor wafer to a plate by vacuum suction, and this plate is fixed to an ultrasonic vibration device having an ultrasonic vibration element, and the plate is heated to a high temperature by a heater provided in the ultrasonic vibration device, and the semiconductor wafer is dried by the ultrasonic vibration energy of the ultrasonic vibration element.

[0003] Such a semiconductor wafer drying apparatus requires an ultrasonic vibration device having an ultrasonic vibration element and a heater for heating the plate, which increases the number of parts and makes the structure complicated.

[0004] Another semiconductor wafer drying apparatus is described in Patent Document 2. This semiconductor wafer drying apparatus is an apparatus that dries semiconductor wafers by centrifugal force generated by rotating a wafer mounting part in a drying chamber having the wafer mounting part on which the semiconductor wafer is mounted. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3191379 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-181040 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, when the technology described in Patent Document 2 is applied to an apparatus in which a thin semiconductor wafer is placed on a wafer mounting section such as a plate and this wafer mounting section is rotated to dry the semiconductor wafer by centrifugal force, the centrifugal force may cause the semiconductor wafer to detach from the wafer mounting section and fall, resulting in a problem of a significant lack of reliability of the apparatus.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its objective is to provide a thin plate drying device that has a simplified structure, securely holds thin plates in the thin plate mounting section, and improves the reliability of the device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve this object, the invention described in claim 1 is a thin plate drying device for drying thin plates, comprising: a rotary drive means for rotatably driving a drive shaft; a thin plate mounting section for mounting the thin plate and connected to the drive shaft to rotate and dry the thin plate by rotating the drive shaft; and a pressing means for sucking air by rotating the drive shaft and pressing the thin plate against the thin plate mounting section by the suction force. The thin plate mounting portion has a plurality of support pins each formed in a columnar shape, and each of these support pins has a support portion at its upper portion for supporting an outer peripheral end of the thin plate, and a protrusion adjacent to the support portion for preventing lateral movement of the thin plate. It is characterized by the above.

[0009] The invention described in claim 2 has the configuration described in claim 1, and is characterized in that the pressure contact means is a centrifugal fan, which is rotationally driven by the drive shaft, has an upper plate, a lower plate spaced apart from the upper plate, and a plurality of blade members arranged along the circumferential direction between the upper plate and the lower plate, has an opening formed in the center of the upper plate, and has an intake tube above the opening for sucking in the air.

[0010] The invention described in claim 3 is, in addition to the configuration described in claim 2, characterized in that a gap is provided between the suction tube and the thin plate placed on the thin plate placement section, and the thin plate is sucked in from above the suction tube through the gap. The support portion of each of the plurality of support pins The present invention is characterized in that it is configured to be pressed against the

[0012] In addition, claims 4 The invention described in claims 1 to 3 In addition to the configuration described above, the thin plate is a semiconductor wafer. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the invention described in claim 1, the thin plate is rotated and dried by rotating the drive shaft, and at the same time, the pressure-contact means is connected to the drive shaft and rotates the drive shaft to suck in air, and the thin plate is pressed against the thin plate mounting section by this suction force, thereby simplifying the structure, securely holding the thin plate on the thin plate mounting section, and improving the reliability of the device. In addition, according to the invention described in claim 1, the thin plate mounting portion has a plurality of support pins each formed in a columnar shape, and each of these support pins has a support portion on the upper part that supports the outer peripheral end of the thin plate, and a protrusion adjacent to this support portion that prevents lateral movement of the thin plate, thereby making it possible to securely hold the thin plate when it is rotated and dried.

[0014] According to the invention described in claim 2, the pressure contact means is a centrifugal fan which is rotationally driven by the drive shaft and has an upper plate, a lower plate spaced apart from the upper plate, and a plurality of blade members arranged along the circumferential direction between the upper plate and the lower plate, with an opening formed in the center of the upper plate and an intake tube for drawing in air being provided above the opening, thereby enabling the thin plate to be more securely held on the thin plate mounting portion and further improving the reliability of the device.

[0015] According to the invention described in claim 3, a gap is provided between the suction tube and the thin plate placed on the thin plate placement section, and the thin plate is sucked in from above the suction tube through this gap. Each support portion of the plurality of support pins By configuring it to be pressed against Each support portion of the plurality of support pins This allows the thin plate to be held more securely, further improving the reliability of the device.

[0017] Claim 4 In the invention described above, since the thin plate is a semiconductor wafer, when the semiconductor wafer is rotated to dry, the semiconductor wafer will not come off the thin plate mounting portion and fall, thereby increasing the product yield. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which a thin plate drying apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer drying apparatus. [Diagram 2] 2 is a perspective view showing a state where an upper outer tank is removed from the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus of FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state in which a semiconductor wafer is in pressure contact with the support pins in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] 2 is a bottom view showing the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus of FIG. 1. [Figure 8] 2A and 2B are perspective views of the upper plate of the centrifugal fan of FIG. 1, respectively, showing the upper surface side and the lower surface side. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the upper surface side showing the lower plate of the centrifugal fan of FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the fan support member of FIG. 5. [Figure 11] 2A and 2B are a perspective view and a front view showing a support pin of the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. [One embodiment] 1 to 11 show one embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which a thin plate drying apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer drying apparatus. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which an upper outer tank is removed from the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a front view showing the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state in which a semiconductor wafer is pressed against the support pins of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a bottom view showing the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus of Fig. 1.

[0021] The semiconductor wafer drying apparatus 1 of this embodiment will be described below.

[0022] The semiconductor wafer drying apparatus 1 of this embodiment is an apparatus that rotates a cleaned semiconductor wafer 2 as a thin plate and dries the semiconductor wafer 2 by centrifugal force. The semiconductor wafer 2 of this embodiment is made of, for example, SiC (silicon carbide) and is a 6-inch wafer.

[0023] As shown in Figs. 1 to 7, the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus 1 of this embodiment has a rectangular base plate 3 that is attached to, for example, a workbench (not shown). Near both ends of the base plate 3 in the longitudinal direction, three mounting holes 3a are provided for mounting the base plate 3 to the workbench. A lower outer tank 4 is installed on the base plate 3, and a flange portion 4a is integrally formed with the lower outer tank 4 at the lower portion of the lower outer tank 4 so as to protrude toward the outer periphery. The flange portion 4a is fixed to the base plate 3 via fixing screws 5 at regular intervals in the circumferential direction. In this way, the lower outer tank 4 is fixed to the base plate 3. The upper outer tank 6 is fitted into the upper opening end of the lower outer tank 4, so that the upper outer tank 6 is fixed to the lower outer tank 4. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the lower outer tank 4 has three exhaust pipes 4b on the peripheral wall for discharging air discharged from a centrifugal fan 20 (described later).

[0024] 1 to 5, the upper outer tank 6 is tapered so that the peripheral wall gradually narrows in diameter as it goes upward, and rises vertically upward near its upper end. The upper outer tank 6 is formed with a flange portion 6a at its upper end so as to protrude outward from the outer periphery, and an opening portion 6b is formed on the inner periphery of this flange portion 6a.

[0025] A cylindrical body 7 formed in a cylindrical shape as shown in Fig. 5 is installed in the center of the lower outer tank 4, and an annular plate 8 is placed on the open end of the cylinder 7. The annular plate 8 has an opening 8a that is slightly larger in diameter than the centrifugal fan 20, and a shaft 13 (described later) is disposed at the center of the opening 8a. The annular plate 8 is intended to control the airflow so that it does not fly up when the semiconductor wafers 2 are dried by the centrifugal force generated by rotating the semiconductor wafers 2 after cleaning. The cylinder 7 is provided with a communication hole 7a that communicates with the inside of the lower outer tank 4.

[0026] The bottom side of the base plate 3 is 7 As shown in FIG. 1, a motor plate 9 is fixed, and a servo motor 10 serving as a rotation drive means is attached to this motor plate 9. This servo motor 10 has an output shaft 11, and a drive pulley 12 is fixed to this output shaft 11.

[0027] The shaft 13 as a drive shaft is rotatably provided in the center of the base plate 3, and the driven pulley 14 is fixed to the lower side of the shaft 13. A belt 15 is wound between the driven pulley 14 and the drive pulley 12, and the drive pulley 12 is rotated by driving the servo motor 10, and the driven pulley 14 is rotated via the belt 15, thereby rotating the shaft 13 in one direction. The rotation speed of the servo motor 10 can be controlled by a speed controller 16 shown in FIG. 7 and an encoder 17 shown in FIG. 5. An umbrella-shaped cover 18 is fixed to the upper part of the shaft 13 as shown in FIG. 5, and this cover 18 is for preventing cleaning water from flowing downward along the shaft 13 when cleaning with a cleaning liquid such as pure water or carbonated water before drying.

[0028] Next, the structure of the centrifugal fan 20 will be described.

[0029] Figures 8(A) and (B) are a perspective view of the upper surface side and a perspective view of the lower surface side showing the upper plate of the centrifugal fan of Figure 1. Figure 9 is a perspective view of the upper surface side showing the lower plate of the centrifugal fan of Figure 1. Figure 10 is a perspective view showing the fan support member of Figure 5. Figures 11(A) and (B) are a perspective view and a front view showing the support pin of the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus of Figure 1.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 5, a centrifugal fan 20 as a pressure contact means is provided on the upper part of the shaft 13 so as to rotate by the rotational drive of the shaft 13. The centrifugal fan 20 is supported by a fan support member 30 shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 10. The centrifugal fan 20 has an upper plate 21, a lower plate 22 provided at a distance from the upper plate 21, and a plurality of (eight in this embodiment) blade members 23 arranged along the circumferential direction between the upper plate 21 and the lower plate 22. A circular opening 21a is formed in the center of the upper plate 21 as shown in FIG. 8(A) and (B). A cylindrical suction tube 24 having an inner diameter equal to the diameter of the opening 21a is erected above the opening 21a. The suction tube 24 is configured to communicate between the upper plate 21 and the lower plate 22 through the opening 21a. Similarly, an opening 22a is formed in the center of the lower plate 22 at the same position as the upper plate 21 as shown in FIG. 6.

[0031] 8(A), a plurality of (four in this embodiment) cylindrical support pins 25 serving as thin plate mounting portions are detachably attached to four mounting holes 21c by fastening members such as mounting screws (not shown) on the upper surface of the upper plate 21. By detachably providing the plurality of support pins 25 on the upper plate 21 in this manner, if a support pin 25 is damaged, it can be appropriately replaced.

[0032] On the underside of the upper plate 21, mounting grooves 21b into which the upper edges of the eight blade members 23 respectively fit are formed at regular intervals in an arc-like shape, as shown in Figure 8(B), while on the upper surface of the lower plate 22, mounting grooves 22b into which the lower edges of the eight blade members 23 respectively fit are formed at regular intervals in an arc-like shape, as shown in Figure 9.

[0033] The upper surface of the upper plate 21 is provided with four connection holes 21d shown in FIGS. 8(A) and (B) into which a plurality of connection members 28 for connection to the lower plate 22 are inserted as shown in FIG.

[0034] The lower plate 22, like the upper plate 21, is provided with four connecting holes 22d shown in Fig. 9 into which connecting members 28 for connecting to the upper plate 21 via a plurality of connecting members 28 as shown in Fig. 6. The lower plate 22 is also provided with eight fixing screw holes 22e, and the lower plate 22 is fixed to the fan support member 30 by fastening members such as fixing screws (not shown) that pass through these fixing screw holes 22e and fixing screw holes 34 of the fan support member 30 as shown in Fig. 10.

[0035] 10, the fan support member 30 is integrally formed with an annular portion 31 formed in the shape of an annular plate and a straight portion 32 spanning the diameter of the annular portion 31. A shaft attachment hole 33 for attachment to the shaft 13 is formed in the center of the straight portion 32, and the annular portion 31 is provided with the above-mentioned fixing screw holes 34 at positions corresponding to the eight fixing screw holes 22e of the lower plate 22.

[0036] 11(A) and (B), each of the four support pins 25 is integrally formed with a flat support portion 26 that supports the outer peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 2 and a protrusion 27 that is adjacent to the support portion 26 and prevents lateral movement of the semiconductor wafer 2. A rounded portion is formed between the flat support portion 26 and the protrusion 27 so as to rise smoothly from the support portion 26 to the protrusion 27. The protrusion 27 has a cylindrical portion 27a and a conical portion 27b formed on the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 27a.

[0037] In this embodiment, by forming an arc portion between the support portion 26 and the protrusion 27 and forming the protrusion 27 with the cylindrical portion 27a and the conical portion 27b, when the semiconductor wafer 2 is transferred using a transfer robot not shown, the semiconductor wafer 2 can be reliably and easily transferred to the multiple support pins 25 without being damaged.

[0038] In addition, a small gap G of, for example, about 1 mm is provided between the semiconductor wafer 2 supported by the support portion 26 of the support pin 25 and the upper end of the suction cylinder 24, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, and the semiconductor wafer 2 is pressed against the support portion 26 of the support pin 25 by sucking air from the upper side of the suction cylinder 24 through this gap G.

[0039] The support pins 25 are formed with opposing recesses 25a at their lower parts, which are used to prevent the tool from turning when the support pins 25 are rotated with a tool to attach or detach them, and these recesses 25a make it easy to attach and detach the support pins 25 to the upper plate 21.

[0040] Next, the operation of the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus 1 of this embodiment will be described.

[0041] 1 to 3, a cleaned semiconductor wafer 2 is placed on each of the support portions 26 of the four support pins 25 by a transfer robot (not shown) or the like. When a power switch (not shown) is turned on, the servo motor 10 is driven and its output shaft 11 is rotated at, for example, 1500 rpm. Then, the shaft 13 is rotated via the drive pulley 12, belt 15, and driven pulley 14, and the centrifugal fan 20 is rotated clockwise as indicated by the arrow in FIGS. 1 and 3.

[0042] When the centrifugal fan 20 is driven to rotate and its blade members 23 rotate, air is sucked in from the suction tube 24 with a suction pressure of 130 Pa as shown by the arrows in Fig. 6, and this suction force presses the semiconductor wafers 2 against the support parts 26 of the four support pins 25. The air sucked in from the suction tube 24 and exhausted through the blade members 23 of the centrifugal fan 20 is smoothly guided to the lower outer tank 4 via the tapered peripheral wall part of the upper outer tank 6 as shown by the arrows in Fig. 6, and then exhausted to the outside through the exhaust pipe 4b of the lower outer tank 4. The peripheral wall part of the upper outer tank 6 is tapered in order to prevent the cleaning liquid for the semiconductor wafers 2 from scattering outside the apparatus and to smoothly guide the cleaning liquid to the exhaust pipe 4b of the lower outer tank 4.

[0043] At the same time, the semiconductor wafer 2 pressed against the support portions 26 of the four support pins 25 also rotates clockwise. When the semiconductor wafer 2 rotates in this manner, the semiconductor wafer 2 is dried by the centrifugal force caused by the rotation.

[0044] As described above, according to this embodiment, the outer peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 2 is placed on each of the support portions 26 of the four support pins 25, and these support pins 25 are connected to the output shaft 11 of the servo motor 10 via the centrifugal fan 20, shaft 13, driven pulley 14, belt 15, and drive pulley 12 to rotate the shaft 13, thereby rotating and drying the semiconductor wafer 2, and at the same time, the centrifugal fan 20 is connected to the shaft 13 to rotate the shaft 13, thereby sucking in air, and this suction force presses the semiconductor wafer 2 against the multiple support pins 25. This simplifies the structure, ensures that the semiconductor wafer 2 is held securely by the multiple support pins 25, and improves the reliability of the device.

[0045] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the centrifugal fan 20 is driven to rotate by the rotation of the shaft 13, and has an upper plate 21, a lower plate 22 spaced apart from the upper plate 21, and a plurality of blade members 23 arranged along the circumferential direction between the upper plate 21 and the lower plate 22, with an opening 21a formed in the center of the upper plate 21 and an intake tube 24 for sucking in air being provided above the opening 21a, so that the semiconductor wafer 2 can be more securely held by the plurality of support pins 25, and the reliability of the apparatus can be further improved.

[0046] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, a gap G is provided between the suction tube 24 and the semiconductor wafer 2 placed on the multiple support pins 25, and the semiconductor wafer 2 is pressed against the multiple support pins 25 by sucking air from the upper side of the suction tube 24 through this gap G. This allows the semiconductor wafer 2 to be more securely held by the multiple support pins 25, further improving the reliability of the device.

[0047] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, each of the support pins 25 formed in a columnar shape has a plurality of support portions 26 at its upper portion for supporting the outer peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 2, and protrusions 27 adjacent to these support portions 26 for preventing lateral movement of the semiconductor wafer 2. This makes it possible to securely hold the semiconductor wafer 2 while it is being rotated and dried.

[0048] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when the semiconductor wafer 2 is rotated and dried, the semiconductor wafer 2 does not come off the multiple support pins 25, fall, and become damaged, and the yield of the semiconductor wafer 2 as a product can be increased. [Other embodiments] The above-described embodiment has been described in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention.

[0049] For example, in the above embodiment, an example is described in which the semiconductor wafer 2 made of SiC is used, but the present invention is not limited to this, and suitable materials such as silicon can also be used. Furthermore, the workpiece is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, and the present invention may be applied to other thin plates, etc.

[0050] In the above embodiment, an example in which the suction tube 24 is formed into a cylindrical shape has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. As long as there is no impediment to the movement of the transfer robot, a flange portion may be provided at the upper open end of the suction tube 24 so as to protrude toward the outer periphery. The suction tube 24 may be configured to be detachable by means of attachment / detachment means such as screw connection, and may be replaced with one having a different diameter depending on the size (area) of the semiconductor wafer 2 to be placed on the multiple support pins 25. In addition, the suction tube 24 may be configured to have an intake vane member smaller than that of the above embodiment on the inner peripheral surface thereof to further increase the suction pressure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 1. Semiconductor wafer drying equipment 2. Semiconductor wafer (thin plate) 3 Base plate 3a Mounting hole 4 Lower outer tank 4a Flange part 4b Exhaust pipe 5 Fixing screw 6 Upper outer tank 6a Flange 6b opening 7 Cylinder 7a Communication hole 8 Annular Plate 8a opening 9 Motor Plate 10 Servo motor (rotation drive means) 11 Output shaft 12 Drive pulley 13 Shaft (drive shaft) 14 Driven pulley 15 Belt 16 Speed ​​Controller 17 Encoder 18 Cover 20 Centrifugal Fan 21 Upper Board 21a opening 21b Mounting groove 21c Mounting hole 21d Connection hole 22 Lower plate 22a opening 22b Mounting groove 22d connection hole 23 Blade member 24 Suction cylinder 25 Support pin (thin plate placement part) 25a Recess 26 Support part 27 Protrusion 27a Cylinder section 27b Cone section 30 Fan support member 31 Circular Ring 32 Straight section 33 Shaft mounting hole 34 Fixing screw hole G Gap

Claims

1. A thin plate drying apparatus for drying thin plates, comprising: A rotation drive means for rotating the drive shaft; a thin plate mounting section on which the thin plate is mounted and which is connected to the drive shaft and rotates and dries the thin plate by driving the drive shaft to rotate; a pressure contact means connected to the drive shaft, which sucks in air by rotating the drive shaft, and presses the thin plate against the thin plate placement portion by the suction force; A thin plate drying apparatus characterized in that the thin plate mounting portion has a plurality of support pins each formed in a columnar shape, and each of these support pins has a support portion on its upper portion that supports the outer peripheral edge of the thin plate, and a protrusion adjacent to the support portion that prevents lateral movement of the thin plate.

2. The thin plate drying apparatus of claim 1, characterized in that the pressure contact means is a centrifugal fan that is rotationally driven by the drive shaft, has an upper plate, a lower plate spaced apart from the upper plate, and a plurality of blade members arranged along the circumferential direction between the upper plate and the lower plate, an opening is formed in the center of the upper plate, and an suction tube that draws in the air is provided above the opening.

3. The thin plate drying apparatus of claim 2, characterized in that a gap is provided between the suction tube and the thin plate placed on the thin plate placing section, and the air is sucked in from the upper side of the suction tube through the gap to press the thin plate against the support sections of each of the multiple support pins.

4. 4. The thin plate drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thin plate is a semiconductor wafer.

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