Attraction holding table and processing apparatus

Abstract

To suck and hold a warped object to be held.SOLUTION: A suction holding table sucks and holds an object to be held, and comprises a pedestal part that is rotatable centered on a rotation axis, and a plurality of holding parts that are erected from the pedestal part and arranged at an equal interval on a circumference of a circle centered on the rotation axis. The plurality of holding parts each have a holding surface that has a suction port formed in its top face and can suck in the object to be held placed on the holding surface from the suction port. Preferably, the number of the plurality of holding parts is three or more. More preferably, the plurality of holding parts do not overlap the rotation axis. Further preferably, the circle centered on the rotation axis has a smaller diameter than that of the object to be held. The object to be held is placed on the holding parts while in contact with the holding surface of the holding parts irrespective of its size and the state of warpage, and thus the object to be held and the suction ports of the holding parts are brought into proximity to each other. Consequently, the holding parts can easily suck in the object to be held from the suction ports.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a suction holding table capable of sucking and holding a warped plate-shaped workpiece, and a processing apparatus including the suction holding table and processing the warped workpiece.

Background Art

[0002] In the manufacturing process of device chips incorporated in electronic devices, a plurality of devices such as ICs and LSIs are formed on the surface of a wafer made of semiconductor or the like. Thereafter, when the wafer is cut for each device, individual device chips are formed. In recent years, there has been a remarkable trend toward miniaturization and weight reduction of electronic devices on which device chips are mounted, and there is also a demand for thinning of the device chips mounted on the electronic devices. Therefore, the wafer before being cut is thinned by grinding from the back side with a grinding apparatus.

[0003] A grinding apparatus includes a holding unit (chuck table) that sucks and holds a workpiece such as a wafer, and a grinding unit that grinds the workpiece sucked and held by the holding unit. The grinding unit includes a grinding wheel having an annularly arranged grinding stone mounted on the lower surface thereof, and a spindle serving as a rotation axis of the grinding wheel. When the grinding wheel is rotated to move the grinding stone on an annular orbit and the grinding wheel is lowered to bring the grinding stone into contact with the workpiece surface to be processed, the workpiece is ground.

[0004] In a grinding apparatus, in order to achieve high-precision processing, it is necessary to precisely place the workpiece at a predetermined position on the holding unit. Therefore, before the workpiece is conveyed to the holding unit, the position of the workpiece is precisely adjusted by a positioning table (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] Depending on the material, thickness, and device configuration formed on the surface of the wafer that is the workpiece of the grinding device, the wafer may warp. With the positioning table described in Patent Document 1, it is not easy to precisely adjust the position of the workpiece with warpage where the outer periphery floats. Therefore, for example, a method of sucking and holding a warped workpiece on the holding surface of a suction holding table to correct the warpage of the workpiece, detecting the position of the workpiece in the state where the warpage is corrected, and adjusting the position can be considered.

[0007] However, when trying to hold the workpiece with a suction holding table having a holding surface sized corresponding to the diameter of the workpiece, the suction force (negative pressure) leaks from the gap between the holding surface and the workpiece at the outer peripheral portion of the holding surface. Therefore, it is also conceivable to suck and hold the central portion with a small amount of warpage of the workpiece with a suction holding table having a small-diameter holding surface. However, since the outer peripheral portion of the workpiece is not held, the warpage over the entire workpiece cannot be corrected. It is still difficult to precisely adjust the position of the workpiece with remaining warpage.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a suction holding table capable of sucking and holding a warped held object, and a processing apparatus capable of precisely aligning the position of the held object using the suction holding table and processing the held object.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, A suction holding table for suction-holding an object to be held, an imaging camera provided above the suction holding table and capable of imaging the object to be held held on the suction holding table, a transfer unit capable of sucking and holding the object to be held held on the suction holding table from above and transferring the object to be held, a holding unit for holding the object to be held, and a processing unit for processing the object to be held held by the holding unit, wherein the suction holding table includes a pedestal portion rotatable about a rotation axis, and a plurality of holding portions standing upright from the pedestal portion and arranged at equal intervals on the circumference of a circle centered on the rotation axis, the plurality of holding portions each have a holding surface with a suction port formed on the upper surface, and the object to be held placed on the holding surface can be sucked from the suction port, and the transfer unit can transfer the object to be held from the suction holding table to the holding unit by a transfer operation determined based on the position of the object to be held on the suction holding table detected by using the imaging camera. A processing apparatus characterized by the above. is provided.

[0010] Preferably, the plurality of holding portions are three or more.

[0011] Also, preferably, the plurality of holding portions do not overlap the rotation axis.

[0012] Furthermore, preferably, the circle centered on the rotation axis is smaller than the diameter of the object to be held.

[0014] Preferably, the conveying unit has a suction pad for sucking and holding the object to be held, and sucks and holds the object to be held in a state where the center of the suction pad overlaps with the center of the object to be held.

Advantages of the Invention

[0015] The suction holding table according to one aspect of the present invention includes a pedestal portion rotatable about a rotation axis, and a plurality of holding portions erected from the pedestal portion and arranged at equal intervals on the circumference of a circle centered on the rotation axis. Each of the plurality of holding portions has a holding surface formed with a suction port on the upper surface, and can suck the object to be held placed on the holding surface from the suction port.

[0016] When sucking and holding an object to be held with this suction holding table, the object to be held is placed over the plurality of holding portions. At this time, since the object to be held is placed on each holding portion in a state of being in contact with the holding surface of each holding portion regardless of the warped state or size, the object to be held and the suction port of each holding portion are in a close state. Therefore, each holding portion can easily suck the object to be held from the suction port.

[0017] When each holding portion sucks and holds the object to be held, the warpage of the object to be held is reduced following the shape of each holding surface. Therefore, when the outer periphery of this object to be held is photographed with an imaging camera, the position of the object to be held can be specified more precisely. And it becomes easier to hold the object to be held with the conveying unit, and based on the specified position of the object to be held, the conveying operation of the conveying unit can be determined and the object to be held can be precisely conveyed to a predetermined position, and the object to be held can be precisely processed at the conveying destination.

[0018] Therefore, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a suction holding table capable of sucking and holding a warped object to be held, and a processing apparatus capable of precisely aligning the position of the object to be held using the suction holding table and processing the object to be held.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, an object to be held sucked by the suction holding table according to the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 1 includes a perspective view schematically showing an object to be held 1. The object to be held 1 is, for example, a substantially disc-shaped wafer or the like made of a material such as Si, SiC (silicon carbide), GaN (gallium nitride), GaAs (gallium arsenide), or other semiconductors. However, the object to be held 1 is not limited thereto.

[0021] On the surface 1b of the object to be held 1, a plurality of devices such as IC (Integrated Circuit) and LSI (Large Scale Integration) are formed. Then, when the object to be held 1 is ground from the back surface 1a side to be thinned to a predetermined thickness and the thinned object to be held 1 is divided for each device, a plurality of device chips can be formed. In the manufacturing process of the device chips, various processing devices such as a grinding device for grinding the workpiece, a cutting device for dividing the workpiece, and a laser processing device are used.

[0022] As an example of a processing device for processing the object to be held 1 as a workpiece, a grinding device for grinding the workpiece will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a grinding device (processing device) 2. The grinding device 2 includes a holding unit (chuck table) 4 that sucks and holds the workpiece placed on the holding surface 4a, and a grinding unit (processing unit) 6 that is disposed above the holding unit 4 so as to be movable up and down.

[0023] The holding unit 4 has a porous member (not shown) having the same diameter as the workpiece. The porous member is housed in a recess formed in the center of the upper surface of the holding unit 4, and the upper surface of this porous member serves as the holding surface 4a. The holding unit 4 has a suction path inside whose one end reaches the bottom surface of the porous member, and a suction source is connected to the other end of this suction path. Then, when the workpiece is placed on the holding surface 4a and the suction source is activated to apply negative pressure to the workpiece through the suction path and the porous member, the workpiece is sucked and held by the holding unit 4.

[0024] The grinding unit (processing unit) 6 includes a spindle 8 that is substantially perpendicular to the holding surface 4a of the holding unit 4, and a disk-shaped wheel mount 10 is fixed to the lower end of the spindle 8. A rotational drive source such as a motor (not shown) is connected to the upper end of the spindle 8, and when this rotational drive source is activated, the spindle 8 rotates.

[0025] The grinding wheel 14 is fixed to the bottom surface of the wheel mount 10. The grinding wheel 14 includes an annular wheel base 16 having an opening formed in the central portion, and an abrasive wheel 18 annularly disposed on the bottom surface of the wheel base 16. The wheel base 16 is formed of a metal material such as aluminum. When the grinding wheel 14 is attached to the wheel mount 10, the upper surface of the wheel base 16 faces the bottom surface of the wheel mount 10.

[0026] The wheel mount 10 is provided with a plurality of through holes through which a fixture 12 such as a bolt is passed in a direction along the spindle 8, and fixing holes (not shown) are formed on the upper surface of the wheel base 16 in a corresponding arrangement to the through holes formed in the wheel mount 10. When the upper surface of the wheel base 16 is placed against the bottom surface of the wheel mount 10 and the fixture 12 is passed through the through hole of the wheel mount 10 and tightened into the fixing hole of the wheel base 16, the grinding wheel 14 can be fixed to the grinding unit 6.

[0027] When grinding a workpiece with the grinding apparatus 2, the holding unit 4 is rotated around a rotation axis substantially perpendicular to the holding surface 4a, and a rotation drive source connected to the upper end of the spindle 8 of the grinding unit 6 is operated to rotate the spindle 8. Then, the abrasive wheel 18 of the grinding wheel 14 rotates and moves along an annular orbit. Thereafter, when the grinding unit 6 is lowered, the bottom surface of the abrasive wheel 18 comes into contact with the upper surface of the workpiece (the back surface 1a of the held object 1), and the workpiece is ground.

[0028] In order to grind the entire area of the workpiece to a predetermined thickness with high precision, it is necessary to precisely position the workpiece at a predetermined position on the holding unit 4. More specifically, the position of the workpiece needs to be adjusted so that the center of the holding unit 4 and the center of the workpiece coincide, and the annular orbit along which the abrasive wheel 18 of the grinding wheel 14 rotates passes above the center of the workpiece.

[0029] A cassette for accommodating a plurality of workpieces is carried into the grinding device 2, the workpieces are successively drawn out from the cassette, each workpiece is ground, and then the workpieces are accommodated in the cassette again. Here, the position of the workpiece drawn out from the cassette is adjusted by a positioning unit before being conveyed to the holding unit 4. Then, by conveying the workpiece with its position precisely adjusted to the holding unit 4 by a predetermined conveying operation, the workpiece is precisely positioned at a predetermined position on the holding surface 4a of the holding unit 4.

[0030] Conventionally, in the positioning unit, the position of the workpiece is adjusted by bringing a plurality of pins into contact with the outer periphery of the workpiece. Here, workpieces such as semiconductor wafers processed by a processing device such as the grinding device 2 may be warped depending on the material, thickness, and the configuration of devices formed on the surface. It is not easy for the positioning unit to position the warped and deformed workpiece at a predetermined position.

[0031] Therefore, using the suction holding table according to the present embodiment, the workpiece is suction-held by the suction holding table with the workpiece as the object to be held 1, and the object to be held 1 is imaged by an imaging camera to identify positions such as the outer periphery and the center. Then, based on these identified positions, the conveying operation by the conveying unit is determined, and the object to be held 1, which is the workpiece, is conveyed to the holding unit 4 by the conveying unit, and the object to be held 1 is precisely positioned at a predetermined position on the holding surface 4a of the holding unit 4.

[0032] Next, the suction holding table according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the suction holding table 20, and FIG. 3(A) is a side view schematically showing the suction holding table 20. The suction holding table 20 includes a pedestal portion 22 and a plurality of holding portions 26 erected from the upper surface 22a of the pedestal portion 22.

[0033] The pedestal portion 22 is formed in a disk shape or a column shape with a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the object to be held 1. A rotary drive source such as a motor (not shown) is connected to the bottom of the pedestal portion 22, and the pedestal portion 22 can rotate about the rotation axis 24 by this rotary drive source.

[0034] The plurality of holding parts 26 are arranged at equal intervals on the upper surface 22a on the circumference of a circle 22b centered on the rotation axis 24. The number of the plurality of holding parts 26 is preferably three or more, and particularly preferably three. The diameter of the circle 22b centered on the rotation axis 24 is smaller than the diameter of the object 1 to be held. And it is preferable that the diameter of the circle 22b is larger than half of the diameter of the object 1 to be held. For example, when the object 1 to be held is an 8-inch diameter Si wafer, the diameter of the circle 22b is preferably about 130 mm. Further, the plurality of holding parts 26 do not overlap the rotation axis 24.

[0035] The plurality of holding parts 26 are cylindrical members, and each has a holding surface 34 formed with a suction port 30 on the upper surface. As shown in FIG. 3, a suction passage 32 is formed inside the holding part 26 along a direction substantially perpendicular to the upper surface 22a, and the upper end of this suction passage 32 reaches the suction port 30. Further, a ventilation passage (not shown) is formed inside the pedestal part 22, and a suction source (not shown) such as a pump is connected to one end of this ventilation passage.

[0036] For example, the ventilation passage formed inside the pedestal part 22 reaches the suction passage 32 of each holding part 26. Or, the pedestal part 22 has the same number of ventilation passages as the number of holding parts 26, and each of these ventilation passages reaches the suction passage 32 of each holding part 26. That is, the suction holding table 20 may have a unified suction system reaching each holding part 26, or may have an individual suction system reaching each holding part 26 respectively.

[0037] The height of each holding part 26 is preferably larger than the magnitude of the warp of the warped object 1 to be held. More specifically, when the object 1 to be held is placed on each holding part 26 as described later, the holding part 26 is preferably at a height such that the lowest part of the surface 1b of the object 1 to be held does not contact the upper surface 22a of the pedestal part 22. However, since the magnitude of the warp of the object 1 to be held varies depending on the type of the object 1 to be held and the like, the height of the holding part 26 may be determined in consideration of the magnitude of the warp that may occur in the object 1 to be held and suction-held by the suction holding table 20.

[0038] The outer diameter of the holding surface 34 of each holding portion 26 is preferably, for example, 10 mm or less. However, it is not limited thereto. The heights of the respective holding portions 26 are unified, and all the holding surfaces 34 are included in the same plane. As will be described later, the object to be held 1 is placed on each holding portion 26. When the suction source is operated in this state, the object to be held 1 placed on the holding surface 34 can be sucked from the suction port 30 through the ventilation path formed inside the pedestal portion 22 and the suction paths 32 of the respective holding portions 26.

[0039] Next, as a method of using the suction holding table 20 according to the present embodiment, a method of transporting the object to be held 1 to the suction holding table 20 and sucking and holding the object to be held 1 with the suction holding table 20 will be described. For example, when the suction holding table 20 is incorporated into a processing apparatus such as a grinding apparatus 2, the object to be held 1 as a workpiece to be processed by the processing apparatus is accommodated in a cassette, and the object to be held 1 is carried into the processing apparatus.

[0040] FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing a state in which the object to be held 1 is transported to the suction holding table 20 by the first transport unit 36. The processing apparatus includes, for example, a first transport unit 36 that takes out the object to be held 1 accommodated in the cassette from the cassette and transports it to the suction holding table 20.

[0041] The first transport unit 36 includes a moving part 36a and a plate-like support part 36b whose one end is supported by the moving part 36a. The moving part 36a can move forward and backward and up and down toward the cassette or the suction holding table 20, and the first transport unit 36 can move the support part 36b to a predetermined position by moving the moving part 36a.

[0042] The first transport unit 36 enters the support part 36b below the object to be held 1 inside the cassette, lifts the object to be held 1 with the support part 36b, and withdraws the support part 36b to take out the object to be held 1 from the cassette. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the object to be held 1 is transported above the suction holding table 20. At this time, the object to be held 1 is positioned so as to cover above each holding portion 26 of the suction holding table 20 and overlap with the upper surface 22a.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 4, at this time, the entering direction of the support portion 36b and the orientation of the pedestal portion 22 of the suction holding table 20 are adjusted so that the support portion 36b does not overlap with each holding portion 26. Further, a notch portion 36c may be formed at the tip of the support portion 36b so that the tip does not overlap with the holding portion 26.

[0044] Thereafter, the first transfer unit 36 lowers the support portion 36b to lower the object 1 to be held. Then, the object 1 to be held is placed on each holding portion 26, and the support of the object 1 by the support portion 36b is released. Thereafter, the support portion 36b is pulled out from the suction holding table 20 by retracting the moving portion 36a. Then, the object 1 to be held remains on the holding portion 26 of the suction holding table 20. FIG. 3(B) is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the object 1 to be held placed on the suction holding table 20.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 3(B), each holding portion 26 supports the object 1 to be held in a region that is not the center of the object 1 to be held. Here, since the back surface 1a of the object 1 to be held contacts one end of each holding surface 34, the object 1 to be held is close to the suction port 30 of the holding portion 26. Therefore, when the suction source connected to the suction path 32 of the holding portion 26 is operated in this state, a negative pressure can be applied to the object 1 to be held, and the object 1 to be held placed on the holding surface 34 is sucked from the suction port 30.

[0046] FIG. 5(A) is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the object 1 to be held suction-held by the suction holding table 20. As shown in FIG. 5(A), the object 1 to be sucked gradually deforms so as to approach the suction port 30 and deforms until it closes the suction port 30. As a result, the back surface 1a of the object 1 to be held contacts the entire area of the holding surface 34 of the holding portion 26, and the shape of the object 1 to be held conforms to the holding surface 34. Then, the object 1 to be held is finally suction-held by the suction holding table 20 in a state where the warpage is reduced.

[0047] In this way, since the suction holding table 20 according to this embodiment floats without supporting the central portion of the object 1 to be held, the object 1 to be held can be brought into contact with the holding surfaces 34 of the respective holding portions 26 regardless of the warpage state or size thereof. At this time, since the object 1 to be held and each suction port 30 are in a close proximity state, each holding portion 26 can easily suck the object 1 from the suction port 30. Then, when the object 1 to be held is sucked and held by each holding portion 26, the warpage of the object 1 to be held is reduced following the shape of each holding surface 34.

[0048] According to the suction holding table 20 according to this embodiment, since the object 1 to be held can be fixed by suction holding and the warpage of the object 1 to be held can be reduced, for example, the position of the outer periphery of the object 1 to be held can be accurately detected by photographing the outer periphery of the object 1 to be held with a camera. Then, based on the accurately detected position of the outer periphery of the object 1 to be held, the central position of the object 1 to be held can be accurately specified.

[0049] Also, even when the object 1 to be held is transported from the suction holding table 20 to the holding unit 4 (see FIG. 1), if the warpage of the object 1 to be held is reduced, it becomes easier for the transport unit to hold the object 1 to be held. Then, by determining the transport operation of the transport unit based on the specified position of the object 1 to be held, the object 1 to be held can be accurately transported to a predetermined position of the holding unit 4, and the object 1 to be held can be accurately processed at the transport destination.

[0050] Next, the process of detecting the position of the object 1 to be held with the imaging camera and the process of carrying out the object 1 to be held from the suction holding table 20 will be described. FIG. 5(B) is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state in which the outer periphery of the object 1 to be held is detected with the imaging camera 20a. The imaging camera 20a is disposed above the outer periphery of the pedestal portion 22 of the suction holding table 20 and is directed downward. The imaging camera 20a includes an image sensor such as a CCD sensor or a CMOS sensor, for example.

[0051] When the outer periphery of the object 1 to be held is imaged using the imaging camera 20a to obtain an imaging image, and specific image processing is performed on the imaging image, the outer periphery of the object 1 in the area shown in the imaging image can be detected, and the position of the outer periphery on the suction holding table 20 can be specified. Then, by operating the rotation drive source connected to the pedestal portion 22 to rotate the pedestal portion 22 around the rotation axis 24 by a predetermined angle, the imaging position of the imaging camera 20a that images the outer periphery of the object 1 is switched.

[0052] When a plurality of locations on the outer periphery of the object 1 to be held are imaged by the imaging camera 20a and the positions of the plurality of locations on the outer periphery of the object 1 can be specified, the positions of the respective parts of the object 1 on the suction holding table 20 can be calculated. For example, the position at the center of the object 1 can be specified.

[0053] FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically showing a second transfer unit 38 that transfers the object 1 to be processed, which is an object to be processed by the grinding unit (processing unit) 6, from the suction holding table 20 to the holding unit 4. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the object 1 held by suction by the second transfer unit 38 on the suction holding table 20.

[0054] The second transfer unit 38 will be described. The second transfer unit 38 includes an arm portion 40 that extends along a direction substantially parallel to the upper surface 22a of the pedestal portion 22 of the suction holding table 20, and a support body 42 fixed to the tip of the arm portion 40. A shaft portion is fixed to the base end side (not shown) of the arm portion 40, and by rotating this shaft portion, the arm portion 40 moves, and the support body 42 can be moved between above the suction holding table 20 and above the holding unit 4.

[0055] The support body 42 is, for example, an annular member having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the object 1 to be held, and a plurality of through holes are provided along the vertical direction. A pin 44 that can move up and down along the through hole is inserted into each through hole. The pin 44 includes a cylindrical body having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the through hole and a head having a diameter larger than the diameter of the through hole, and the head is placed on the support body 42 around the through hole, so that the pin 44 is supported by the support body 42.

[0056] At the lower end of the cylindrical body of each pin 44, a disc-shaped suction pad 48 is fixed. Around the cylindrical body of the pin 44, an elastic member 46 such as a coil spring is wound, with its upper end in contact with the lower surface of the support 42 and its lower end in contact with the upper surface of the suction pad 48. When an upward force is applied to the suction pad 48, the cylindrical body of the pin 44 rises inside the through-hole of the support 42, the head of the pin 44 floats from the support 42, and the elastic member 46 is compressed, applying a repulsive force to the suction pad 48.

[0057] The suction pad 48 houses a porous member 54 that is exposed downward, and a suction passage (not shown) communicating with the porous member 54 penetrates the suction pad 48 vertically. This suction passage reaches a connection portion 50 provided at the center of the upper surface of the suction pad 48, and one end of a suction tube 52 is connected to this connection portion 50. The other end of the connection portion 50 is connected to a suction source (not shown).

[0058] When the workpiece 1 suction-held on the suction holding table 20 is held by the second transfer unit 38 and carried out from the suction holding table 20, the arm portion 40 is moved to move the suction pad 48, and the suction pad 48 is placed on the back surface (upper surface) 1a of the workpiece 1. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the center 54b of the porous member 54 is aligned with the center 1d of the workpiece 1 whose position has been specified using the imaging camera 20a.

[0059] Next, the suction source connected to the suction tube 52 is activated to apply a negative pressure to the workpiece 1 through the porous member 54, and the workpiece 1 is suction-held by the suction pad 48. Then, the suction source connected to the suction passage 32 of the holding portion 26 of the suction holding table 20 is stopped, and the suction holding of the workpiece 1 by the suction holding table 20 is released. Then, the workpiece 1 is carried out from the suction holding table 20 by raising and moving the arm portion 40, and the workpiece 1 is conveyed to the holding unit 4 (see FIG. 1).

[0060] At this time, the second transfer unit 38 transfers the object 1 to be held so that the center 1d of the object 1 to be held overlaps with the center of the holding surface 4a of the holding unit 4. Then, the object 1 to be held is sucked and held by the holding unit 4, and the suction holding of the object 1 to be held by the suction pad 48 of the second transfer unit 38 is released. When the object 1 to be held is sucked and held by the holding unit 4 with the center 1d of the object 1 to be held overlapping the center of the holding surface 4a of the holding unit 4, the object 1 to be held can be appropriately processed by the grinding unit (processing unit) 6.

[0061] In this way, the second transfer unit 38 transfers the object 1 to be held from the suction holding table 20 to the holding unit 4 by a transfer operation determined based on the position of the object 1 to be held on the suction holding table 20 detected by using the imaging camera 20a. Therefore, when using the grinding apparatus (processing apparatus) 2 having the suction holding table 20 according to the present embodiment and using the suction holding table 20 to perform positioning of the object 1 to be held, the position of the warped object 1 to be held can be precisely adjusted and the object 1 to be held can be processed.

[0062] In the above-described embodiment, the case where the center 54b of the porous member 54 of the suction pad 48 is overlapped with the center 1d of the object 1 to be held and the object 1 to be held is transferred by the second transfer unit 38 has been described. However, one aspect of the present invention is not limited to this. Even if the center 54b of the porous member 54 of the suction pad 48 does not overlap with the center 1d of the object 1 to be held, the second transfer unit 38 may transfer the object 1 to be held so that the center 1d of the object 1 to be held coincides with the center of the holding surface 4a of the holding unit 4. In this case, the transfer operation of the second transfer unit 38 is determined so that such transfer of the object 1 to be held can be realized.

[0063] In the above-described embodiment, the case where the suction pad 48 of the second transfer unit 38 sucks and holds the region including the center 1d of the object 1 to be held has been described. However, one aspect of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the suction pad 48 of the second transfer unit 38 may be an annular suction pad having a shape that overlaps with the circle 22b in which the holding portions 26 of the suction holding table 20 are arranged. In this case, since the most warpage-corrected region of the object 1 to be held can be sucked and held by the suction pad on each holding portion 26, the accuracy of transferring the object 1 by the second transfer unit 38 is improved.

[0064] In addition, the structures, methods, and the like according to the above-described embodiments, modifications, and the like can be appropriately changed and implemented without departing from the scope of the object of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0065] 1 Object to be held 1a Back surface 1b Front surface 1d Center 2 Grinding device 4 Holding unit 4a Holding surface 6 Grinding unit 8 Spindle 10 Wheel mount 12 Fixture 14 Grinding wheel 16 Wheel base 18 Grinding stone 20 Suction holding table 20a Imaging camera 22 Pedestal part 22a Upper surface 22b Circle 24 Rotation axis 26 Holding portion 30 Suction port 32 Suction path 34 Holding surface 36 First transfer unit 36a Moving part 36b Support part 36c Notch part 38 Second transfer unit 40 Wrist 42 Support 44 Pin 46 Elastic member 48 Suction pad 50 Connection part 52 Suction tube 54 Porous member 54b Center

Claims

1. An adsorption and holding table for adsorbing and holding an object to be held, an imaging camera provided above the adsorption and holding table and capable of imaging the object to be held held on the adsorption and holding table, a conveying unit capable of sucking and holding the object to be held held on the adsorption and holding table from above and conveying the object to be held, a holding unit for holding the object to be held, a processing unit for processing the object to be held held by the holding unit, and comprising: The adsorption and holding table has a pedestal portion rotatable about a rotation axis, and a plurality of holding portions standing upright from the pedestal portion and arranged at equal intervals on the circumference of a circle centered on the rotation axis. Each of the plurality of holding portions has a holding surface with a suction port formed on the upper surface, and can suck the object to be held placed on the holding surface from the suction port. The processing apparatus is characterized in that the conveying unit can convey the object to be held from the adsorption and holding table to the holding unit by a conveying operation determined based on the position of the object to be held on the adsorption and holding table detected by using the imaging camera.

2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of holding portions are three or more.

3. The processing apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the plurality of holding portions do not overlap the rotation axis.

4. The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the circle centered on the rotation axis is smaller than the diameter of the object to be held.

5. The conveying unit has a suction pad for sucking and holding the object to be held, and is characterized in that the center of the suction pad and the center of the object to be held overlap to suck and hold the object to be held. The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

Images