Transport mechanism and transport mechanism setting method

Abstract

To provide a transfer mechanism which can be set easily even when a shape of a workpiece is quadrangular, circular, or another shape, and a method for setting the transfer mechanism.SOLUTION: A transfer mechanism 2 for transferring workpiece to a chuck table 32 comprises carrying-out means 6 for supporting and carrying out the workpiece from a cassette 5, imaging means 9 for capturing and storing a state of the workpiece carried out to a prescribed position, moving means 73 for modifying the state of the workpiece captured by the imaging means 9, and transferring means 8 for mounting the modified workpiece on the chuck table 32. A method for setting the transfer mechanism includes a placing step, a reversely transferring step, a reference image storing step, a modifying step, and a holding step. The modifying step captures the state of the workpiece carried out to a prescribed position from the cassette 5 by carrying-out means 6 by the imaging means 9 and modifies the state of the workpiece by the moving means 73 so that the captured image matches the reference image. The holding step transfers the modified workpiece by the transferring means 8 and holds the workpiece in the chuck table.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a transport mechanism for transporting a workpiece to a chuck table, and a method for setting the transport mechanism. [Background technology]

[0002] A workpiece (e.g., a semiconductor wafer) has multiple devices such as ICs and LSIs formed on its surface, separated by planned dividing lines. The back side is ground by a grinding machine to process it to the desired thickness, and then the workpiece is divided into individual device chips by a dicing machine for use in electrical equipment such as mobile phones and personal computers.

[0003] The grinding device is generally composed of a cassette containing multiple wafers, a carrying means for carrying the wafers out of the cassette, a temporary placement table on which the carried-out wafers are temporarily placed and aligned, a transport means for transporting the wafers from the temporary placement table to a chuck table, and a grinding means for grinding the wafers transported to the chuck table, and can process the wafers to the desired thickness (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] In addition, a wafer temporarily placed on a temporary placement table arranged in the grinding device is aligned by multiple pins arranged on the temporary placement table moving toward the center and contacting the outer periphery of the wafer, and the center of the wafer is positioned at the center of the temporary placement table, and the holding part that constitutes the transport means is set to move from the center of the temporary placement table to the center of the chuck table. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-003611 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, when the wafer is transported to the chuck table by the above-mentioned transport means and placed in the required position, this must be done precisely with an accuracy of 1 mm or less. In particular, when the workpiece is square in shape, it is difficult to align the center using multiple pins as described above, and it is necessary to transport the wafer to the required position on the chuck table with the directions of each side accurately positioned, which poses the problem that setting up the transport mechanism is extremely cumbersome.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and its main technical objective is to provide a conveying mechanism that is easy to set up, even if the shape of the workpiece is square, circular, or other shape, and a method for setting up the conveying mechanism. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned main technical problem, according to the present invention, ,mosquito The system includes a carrying-out means for supporting and carrying out a workpiece from a cassette placed on a set table, an imaging means for imaging and storing the state of the workpiece carried out to a predetermined position by the carrying-out means, a correcting means for correcting the state of the workpiece imaged by the imaging means, and a transport means for transporting the corrected workpiece to a chuck table and placing it at a required position on the chuck table. a setting method for a transport mechanism that is compatible with circular and rectangular workpiece shapes, the setting method comprising: a placing step of placing a workpiece at a required position on the chuck table; a reverse transport step of transporting the workpiece placed on the chuck table back to the predetermined position by the transport means; and a reference image storage step of capturing an image of the state of the workpiece that has been transported back to the predetermined position by the imaging means and storing the captured state of the workpiece as a reference image, the setting method comprising: a correction step of capturing an image of the state of the workpiece that has been carried out from the cassette to the predetermined position by the carry-out means by the imaging means and correcting the state of the work by the correction means so that it matches the reference image; and a holding step of transporting the corrected workpiece by the transport means and holding it on the chuck table. is provided. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] Conveying mechanism of the present invention How to set up teeth ,mosquito The system includes a carrying-out means for supporting and carrying out a workpiece from a cassette placed on a set table, an imaging means for imaging and storing the state of the workpiece carried out to a predetermined position by the carrying-out means, a correcting means for correcting the state of the workpiece imaged by the imaging means, and a transport means for transporting the corrected workpiece to a chuck table and placing it at a required position on the chuck table. a setting method for a transport mechanism that corresponds to circular and rectangular workpiece shapes, the setting method comprising: a placing step of placing a workpiece at a required position on the chuck table; a reverse transport step of transporting the workpiece placed on the chuck table back to the predetermined position by the transport means; a reference image storage step of capturing an image of the state of the workpiece that has been transported back to the predetermined position by the imaging means and storing the captured state of the workpiece as a reference image; a correction step of capturing an image of the state of the workpiece that has been carried out from the cassette to the predetermined position by the carry-out means by the imaging means and correcting the state of the work by the correction means so that it matches the reference image; and a holding step of transporting the corrected workpiece by the transport means and holding it on the chuck table. , and the shape of the workpiece is square, Circular shape Even if the setting is easy, the setting of the transport mechanism is simplified, and the problem of being too troublesome is solved. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall perspective view of a grinding apparatus equipped with a transfer mechanism of the present invention; [Figure 2] 2 is a perspective view of a square wafer, a circular wafer, and a chuck table corresponding to the transfer mechanism of the grinding apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a reverse conveying step. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a reference image storage step. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a mode in which a wafer is carried out from a cassette in a repairing process. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are perspective views illustrating an embodiment of a repair process. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the conveying means. [Figure 8] 8 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a repair process performed by the ejection means shown in FIG. 7. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A transfer mechanism configured according to the present invention and a method for setting the transfer mechanism will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0015] 1 shows a perspective view of a grinding apparatus 1 equipped with a transfer mechanism 2 according to this embodiment. The grinding apparatus 1 includes a holding means 3 having a chuck table 32 that holds a plate-shaped workpiece by suction, a grinding means 4 that grinds the workpiece held by suction on the chuck table 32, a cassette 5 that stores a plurality of workpieces placed on a cassette table 51, a carrying means 6 that supports and carries out the workpieces from the cassette 5, a temporary placement table 7 on which the workpieces carried out by the carrying means 6 are temporarily placed, a transport means 8 that transports the workpiece from the temporary placement table 7 to the chuck table 32 and places it at a desired position on the chuck table 32, an imaging means 9 that images and stores the state of the workpiece carried out on the temporary placement table 7, a display means 12, and a control means 100 to which the display means 12 is connected and that controls each operating unit. In this embodiment, the workpiece is either a plate-shaped rectangular wafer 10A or a circular wafer 10B as shown in FIG. 2(a), and the chuck table 32 is compatible with both the rectangular wafer 10A and the circular wafer 10B.

[0016] The grinding machine 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a machine housing 20. The machine housing 20 has a roughly rectangular parallelepiped main body 21 and an upright wall 22 attached to the rear end of the main body 21 and extending in the vertical direction. The holding means 3 is disposed in the main body 21, and bellows are disposed on both sides of the holding means 3 in the Y-axis direction indicated by the arrow Y. The main body 21 accommodates a rotation drive means for rotating the chuck table 32 of the holding means 3 and a movement means (both not shown) for moving the chuck table 32 in the Y-axis direction. By operating the movement means, the bellows can be expanded and contracted to move the chuck table 32 between a loading / unloading area at the front of the drawing in FIG. 1 where an unmachined workpiece is placed, where the chuck table 32 is positioned, and a processing area at the back of the drawing directly below the grinding means 4 where the workpiece is processed. Although the control means 100 is shown outside the grinding machine 1 in FIG. 1 for ease of explanation, it is actually housed inside the machine housing 20.

[0017] The carry-in / out means 6 is disposed between the cassette 5 and the temporary placement table 7. The carry-in / out means 6 includes a cylindrical arm base 60, an arm mechanism 61 with multiple arms, and a robot hand 62 formed at the tip of the arm mechanism 61. A motor and an air cylinder (not shown) are disposed inside the arm base 60, and can rotate and raise / lower the arm mechanism 61. A motor is also disposed at the connection portion of the multiple arms that make up the arm mechanism 61, and can fold and extend the arm mechanism 61. The robot hand 62 in this embodiment is substantially U-shaped, and has multiple suction holes 63 disposed on its surface. The suction holes 63 are connected to suction means (not shown), and are capable of sucking in plate-shaped workpieces. The robot hand 62 can be inverted, and the surface on which the suction holes 63 are formed can be faced upward or downward. The robot hand 62 of the transport means 6 can be inserted into the cassette 5, the work contained therein is sucked out and carried out, and then the work can be transported to the temporary placement table 7, inverted, and placed from above.

[0018] The temporary placement table 7 includes a suction chuck 71 and a base 72 that supports the suction chuck 71. A suction means (not shown) that generates a negative suction pressure on the suction chuck 71 is connected to the suction chuck 71. The base 72 also includes a moving means 73 that functions as a correction means for correcting the state of the workpiece held by the suction chuck 71. The moving means 73 can rotate the suction chuck 71 by a desired angle and move the suction chuck 71 by a desired distance in the X-axis and Y-axis directions indicated by the arrows in the figure. The moving means 73 can, for example, move the suction chuck 71 by approximately 10 mm in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. When the temporary placement table 7 is not holding a workpiece, the center of the temporary placement table 7 is located at the center of the area within which the temporary placement table 7 can move in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. Hereinafter, this position of the temporary placement table 7 will be referred to as the "origin position."

[0019] The conveying means 8 comprises an arm portion 81, a holding portion 82 arranged at the tip of the arm portion 81, and a base end portion 83 that rotates the arm portion 81 and extends and contracts in the vertical direction. By rotating the arm portion 81 around the base end portion 83, the workpiece sucked by the suction chuck 71 of the temporary placement table 7 can be conveyed to the chuck table 32.

[0020] As shown in the figure, the imaging means 9 is positioned directly above the center of the suction chuck 71 when the temporary placement table 7 is positioned at the origin position, and captures an image of the area below. The imaging means 9 is fixed to a location on the device housing 20 via a fixing member (not shown). The imaging means 9 includes a memory (not shown) for storing the captured image, and in this embodiment, the memory is disposed in the control means 100. The image captured by the imaging means 9 is stored in the memory and can be displayed on the display means 12.

[0021] The grinding apparatus 1 shown in Fig. 1 includes a grinding feed means 11 that moves the grinding means 4 described above in the vertical direction along the pair of guide rails 221, 221. The grinding means 4 includes a grinding wheel 42 that is driven by an electric motor or the like and rotatably supported, and a plurality of grinding stones 43 that are annularly arranged on the underside of the grinding wheel 42. The grinding feed means 11 includes a male threaded rod 11a that is arranged on the front side of the upright wall 22 and extends in the vertical direction. The upper and lower ends of this male threaded rod 11a are rotatably supported by the upright wall 22. A pulse motor 11b is arranged at the upper end of the male threaded rod 11a as a drive source for rotating the male threaded rod 11a, and the output shaft of this pulse motor 11b is connected to the male threaded rod 11a. A screw connection portion (not shown) is formed on the rear surface of the movable base 41, and a female screw hole extending in the vertical direction is formed in the connection portion, and the male screw rod 11a is screwed into this female screw hole. Such grinding feed means 11 can lower the grinding means 4 together with the movable base 41 by rotating the pulse motor 11b in the forward direction, and can raise the grinding means 4 together with the movable base 41 by rotating the pulse motor 11b in the reverse direction.

[0022] The conveying mechanism 2 of this embodiment includes the above-mentioned carrying-out means 6, conveying means 8, imaging means 9, and a moving means 73 for the temporary placement table 7 which functions as a correction means, and the state of the workpiece imaged by the imaging means 9 is corrected by the moving means 73, and the corrected workpiece is conveyed by the conveying means 8 to the chuck table 32 and placed accurately in the required position on the chuck table 32.

[0023] In addition to the imaging means 9, each operating unit such as the holding means 3, grinding means 4, carrying-out means 6, temporary placement table 7, and transporting means 8 is connected to the control means 100 and is appropriately controlled based on instruction signals from the control means 100.

[0024] The grinding apparatus 1 of this embodiment has roughly the above-mentioned configuration, and the function, operation, and setting method of the transport mechanism 2 disposed in the grinding apparatus 1 will be described below.

[0025] In this embodiment, the workpiece transported by the transport mechanism 2 can be selected from a rectangular wafer 10A or a circular wafer 10B shown in FIG. 2 . The chuck table 32 has a first region 34a that corresponds to the shape of the rectangular wafer 10A and sucks the wafer 10A, and a second region 34b that corresponds to the shape of the wafer 10B and sucks the circular wafer 10B together with the first region 34a. The first region 34a and the second region 34b are separated by a partition 33, and negative suction pressures can be generated individually in the first region 34a and the second region 34b. When the wafer 10A is held by suction, negative suction pressure is generated only in the first region 34a. When the circular wafer 10B is held by suction, negative suction pressure is generated in both the first region 34a and the second region 34b. In the embodiment described below, a rectangular wafer 10A is transported by the transport mechanism 2.

[0026] 1, a cassette 5 of the grinding apparatus 1 stores a plurality of wafers 10A. The wafers 10A are sucked and carried out by the robot hand 62 of the carrying-out means 6, and then transported and placed on the suction chuck 71 of the temporary storage table 7. If the wafers 10A are supported and carried out in a desired state when they are carried out from the cassette 5, they can be accurately transported to the suction chuck 71 of the temporary storage table 7, and can be precisely transported from the suction chuck 71 of the temporary storage table 7 to the chuck table 32 positioned in the carry-in / out area. However, in reality, the wafers 10A are stored in the cassette 5 with a certain amount of play, and when the wafers 10A are carried out from the cassette 5, the state of the wafers 10A placed on the suction chuck 71 of the temporary storage table 7, i.e., their positions in the rotational direction, X-axis direction, and Y-axis direction, vary. If the wafer 10A is transported from the temporary placement table 7 by the transport means 8 while this variation remains, the wafer 10A cannot be accurately positioned at the required position on the chuck table 32, i.e., in the first region 34a, and negative suction pressure leaks from the gap formed between the wafer 10A and the first region 34a, preventing the chuck table 32 from properly suction-holding the wafer 10A and hindering grinding. Even if the wafer 10A is properly positioned on the temporary placement table 7, the transport means 8 may not properly transport the wafer 10A to the chuck table 32. Therefore, a correction step is performed to correct the state of the wafer 10A by operating the moving means 73 of the temporary placement table 7, which functions as a correction means, so that the wafer 10A, which has been removed from the cassette 5, can be accurately transported to the first region 34a of the chuck table 32 and properly suction-held.

[0027] When carrying out the above correction, information about a reference state for correcting the state of the wafer 10A is required. If this reference state can be set efficiently, the problem of the inconvenience of carrying out the wafer 10A from the cassette 5 for processing can be further alleviated, and grinding processing by the grinding apparatus 1 can also be carried out efficiently. A method for setting the transport mechanism 2 realized in this embodiment will be described below.

[0028] First, when carrying out the method for setting the transfer mechanism 2 of this embodiment, the chuck table 32 is positioned in the carry-in / out area where the chuck table 32 is positioned in Fig. 1. The orientation of the first area 34a, which is the required position of the chuck table 32 at this time, is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, the state shown in Fig. 2. This state is maintained as the appropriate state of the chuck table 32. A loading step is carried out in which an operator accurately positions and loads the rectangular wafer 10A in the first area 34a of the chuck table 32 positioned in such an appropriate state.

[0029] Next, as shown in Fig. 3(a), a reverse transfer step is performed in which the wafer 10A placed on the chuck table 32 is sucked by the transfer means 8 and transferred back to a predetermined position. More specifically, as shown in Fig. 3(a), the arm portion 81 of the transfer means 8 is rotated in the direction indicated by arrow R1, and the wafer 10A held on the chuck table 32 positioned in the transfer area is sucked by the holder 82. Next, as shown in Fig. 3(b), the arm portion 81 of the transfer means 8 is rotated in the direction indicated by arrow R2, and the wafer 10A is transferred and placed on the temporary placement table 7, which is a predetermined position in this embodiment, and is held by suction. This reverse transport operation is realized by the reverse operation of the operation in which the wafer 10A, which has been removed from the cassette 5, is sucked and held by the suction chuck 71 of the temporary placement table 7, and then transported from the suction chuck 71 to the chuck table 32 by the transport means 8. This reverse transport process makes the state of the wafer 10A held by the suction chuck 71 of the temporary placement table 7 the reference state for accurately transporting the wafer 10A from the suction chuck 71 of the temporary placement table 7 to the required position on the chuck table 32, i.e., to the first area 34a.

[0030] The wafer 10A, which has been transported back to a predetermined position, i.e., placed on the suction chuck 71 of the temporary placement table 7 and held by suction, by the reverse transport process, is then imaged by the imaging means 9 as shown in FIG. 4, and an image showing the state of the wafer 10A is stored as a reference image 110 in a memory provided in the control means 100 of the imaging means 9 (reference image storage process).

[0031] As described above, once the reference image 110 stored in the reference image storage step is stored in the memory of the imaging means 9, the grinding process of the grinding device 1, which will be described below, is carried out.

[0032] When grinding is performed, as shown in Fig. 5, the carrying-out means 6 is operated to remove the wafer 10A accommodated in the cassette 5 by suction support, and then the wafer 10A is carried to the suction chuck 71 of the temporary placement table 7, where it is placed and held by suction. Next, as shown in Fig. 6, the state of the wafer 10A held by suction on the temporary placement table 7 is imaged by the imaging means 9. The imaged image information 120 is sent to the control means 100 and displayed on the display means 12. However, as described above, the wafer 10A is accommodated in the cassette 5 with some play, and certain variations may occur when the wafer 10A is held by suction on the suction chuck 71 of the temporary placement table 7. The memory of the control means 100 stores the reference image 110 stored in the reference image storing step as described above, and the control means 100 compares the image information 120 showing the actual state of the wafer 10A transferred from the cassette 5 to the temporary placement table 7 with the reference image 110, as displayed on the display means 12 in Fig. 6, to detect any deviation in state between the two. More specifically, the control means 100 detects a positional deviation X1 in the X-axis direction and a positional deviation Y1 in the Y-axis direction between the center O1 of the reference image 110 and the center O2 of the image information 120 showing the captured actual state of the wafer 10A, and further detects an angular deviation θ1 between a predetermined side 112 of the reference image 110 and a side 122 of the image information 120 that is closest to the predetermined side 112.

[0033] As described above, once the deviation X1 in the X-axis direction, deviation Y1 in the Y-axis direction, and deviation θ1 in the rotation direction of the actual wafer 10A relative to the reference image 110 are detected, the moving means 73 provided as the correcting means is operated to correct the position of the temporary placement table 7 by X1 in the X-axis direction, Y1 in the Y-axis direction, and θ1 in the rotation direction so that the state of the wafer 10A held on the suction chuck 71 of the temporary placement table 7 coincides with the reference image 110 (correction step). As a result, the position of the wafer 10A held on the temporary placement table 7 coincides with the position stored as the reference image 110.

[0034] After the correction step is performed, the transport means 8 is operated to transport the wafer 10A held on the temporary placement table 7 to the chuck table 32, where it is placed and held by suction (holding step). According to the setting method for the transport mechanism 2 including the placing step, reverse transport step, reference image storage step, correction step, and holding step described above, the wafer 10A placed on the temporary placement table 7 is aligned with the position of the reference image 110, as described above, and the wafer 10A transported by the transport means 8 is accurately positioned in the first region 34a of the chuck table 32, preventing suction failures. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the reverse transport step is included, so that a reference state is created at a predetermined position from which the wafer 10A is carried out, and this state is imaged and stored. This makes it easier to set up the transport mechanism 2, and eliminates the problem of it being too cumbersome. Furthermore, in this embodiment, after the setting method for the transport mechanism 2 is performed in this manner, the chuck table 32 is moved to the processing area directly below the grinding means 4, and grinding is performed by the grinding means 4 to a desired thickness. Note that, in the above embodiment, the case where the square wafer 10A is used as the workpiece transported by the transport mechanism 2 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to the case where a circular wafer 10B is used, and wafers of shapes other than square and circular may also be used.

[0035] The conveying mechanism 2 of this embodiment has the configuration described above, so that even if the shape of the workpiece is square, circular, or any other shape as described above, the conveying mechanism can be easily set up, eliminating the problem of being troublesome.

[0036] The transfer mechanism of the present invention is not limited to the transfer mechanism 2 of the above-described embodiment. For example, the repairing means is not limited to the moving means 73 of the temporary placement table 7 provided as the repairing means in the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be adopted. For example, instead of the carrying-out means 6 provided in the grinding apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, a carrying-out means 6' shown in FIG. 7 can be employed, and the repairing process performed by the moving means 73 can be performed by the carrying-out means 6'. Note that in this embodiment, the temporary placement table 7 is not used, and the transfer means 8 suctions the wafer 10A supported by the carrying-out means 6' and transports it to the chuck table 32. Furthermore, with regard to the carrying-out means 6' shown in FIG. 7, the same components as those of the carrying-out means 6 shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same numbers, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0037] The carrying-out means 6' shown in Fig. 7 includes an arm base 60 and an arm mechanism 61, and a robot hand 64 is provided at the tip of the arm mechanism 61. The robot hand 64 includes a robot hand cover 65 that is roughly doughnut-shaped, and a rotating plate 66 supported by the robot hand cover 65. The rotating plate 66 can be rotated in the direction indicated by arrow R4 to a desired position. As shown in the figure, a plurality of suction holes 67 are arranged on the surface of the rotating plate 66, and suction means (not shown) is connected to the robot hand 64, so that a negative suction pressure can be generated in the suction holes 67.

[0038] Like the carrying-out means 6 described in the previous embodiment, the carrying-out means 6' also supports the wafer 10A stored in the cassette 5 by suction using the negative pressure generated in the suction hole 67, and carries it out to a predetermined position where the imaging means 9 is arranged (the position where the temporary placement table 7 was arranged in the above embodiment), as shown in Figure 8.

[0039] Here, the wafer 10A carried out to the predetermined position is imaged by the imaging means 9 while being held by suction by the robot hand 64, and image information 130 of the imaged wafer 10A is acquired and sent to the control means 100. The image information 130 sent to the control means 100 is compared with the previously stored reference image 110, and as in the above-described embodiment, any deviation in state between the two is detected. More specifically, the control means 100 detects a positional deviation X2 in the X-axis direction and a positional deviation Y2 in the Y-axis direction between the center O1 of the reference image 110 and the center O3 of the image information 130 showing the actual state of the imaged wafer 10A, and further detects an angular deviation θ2 between a predetermined side 112 of the reference image 110 and a side 132 of the image information 130 that is closest to the predetermined side 112. As described above, once the X-axis deviation X2, Y-axis deviation Y2, and rotational deviation θ2 of the image information 130 indicating the actual state of the wafer 10A relative to the reference image 110 are detected, the arm mechanism 61 is operated to correct the position of the wafer 10A sucked into the robot hand 64 by X2 in the X-axis direction and Y2 in the Y-axis direction, thereby aligning the center O1 of the reference image 110 with the center O3 of the image information 130. Furthermore, a correction step is performed in which the rotating plate 66 of the robot hand 64 is operated to rotate the wafer 10A by θ2 to correct the position, and the position of the wafer 10A held by the robot hand 64 is completely aligned with the position stored as the reference image 110. After performing this correction step, the transport means 8 is operated to transport the wafer 10A from the robot hand 64 and accurately position it in the first region 34a of the chuck table 32 (holding step). In this way, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained by implementing the setting method of the transport mechanism 2. Next, the chuck table 32 is moved to the processing area directly below the grinding means 4, and the grinding means 4 performs grinding to a desired thickness.

[0040] The correction means of the present invention can be further modified. For example, instead of the above-mentioned conveying means 8 which conveys from the predetermined position to the chuck table 32 by a turning motion, a mechanism for conveying in a straight line in the Y-axis direction to the chuck table 32 may be employed. In this case, the correction in the Y-axis direction can be performed by correcting the control amount in the Y-axis direction instructed by the control means 100 based on the above-mentioned deviation Y1.

[0041] As can be understood from the above explanation, the correction means in the present invention is any means capable of determining an arbitrary position between the time when the wafer 10A is transported from the cassette 5 to the chuck table 32 as a predetermined position, setting a reference state at the predetermined position where the wafer 10A will be correctly transported to the first region 34a of the chuck table 32, comparing the state of the wafer 10A that is actually transported with the reference state, and correcting the amount of deviation in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the rotational direction using a carrying-out means, a transporting means, a chuck table rotation driving means, or a combination thereof so that the state of the wafer 10A coincides with the reference state. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1: Grinding device 2: Transport mechanism 3: Holding means 32; Chuck table 34a:First area 34b:Second area 4: Grinding means 42: Grinding wheel 43: Grinding wheel 5: Cassette 51: Cassette table 6:Export means 60: Arm base 61: Arm mechanism 62: Robot Hand 63: Suction hole 6': Export means 60: Arm base 61: Arm mechanism 64: Robot Hand 65: Robot Hand Cover 66: Rotating plate 67: Suction hole 7: Temporary table 71: Vacuum chuck 72: Base 73: Transportation 8: Means of transport 81: Arm section 82: Holding part 83: Proximal end 9: Imaging means 10A: Wafer (square) 10B: Wafer (circular) 11: Grinding feed means 12:Display means 20: Device housing 21: Main body 22: Upright wall 100: Control means 120, 130: Image information

Claims

[Claim 1] A method for setting a transport mechanism that is compatible with circular and square workpiece shapes, comprising: a transport means that supports and transports a workpiece from a cassette placed on a cassette table; an imaging means that images and stores the state of the workpiece transported to a predetermined position by the transport means; a correction means that corrects the state of the workpiece imaged by the imaging means; and a transport means that transports the corrected workpiece to a chuck table and places it in a desired position on the chuck table, a placing step of placing a workpiece at a required position on the chuck table; a reverse conveying step of conveying the workpiece placed on the chuck table back to the predetermined position by the conveying means; a reference image storage step of capturing an image of the state of the workpiece conveyed in reverse to the predetermined position by the imaging means and storing the captured image of the state of the workpiece as a reference image; a correcting step in which the state of the workpiece carried out from the cassette to the predetermined position by the carrying-out means is imaged by the imaging means, and the correcting means corrects the state of the workpiece so that it matches the reference image; a holding step in which the conveying means conveys the corrected workpiece and holds it on the chuck table.

Images