Processing equipment

Abstract

To maintain a high processing quality while suppressing movement of processing waste toward a back surface of a substrate.SOLUTION: A processing device includes: a holding table 10 having a holding surface 11 for holding a back-surface side of a substrate; and a processing unit that processes a substrate held on the holding surface 11. The holding surface 11 has: a holding portion 12 that holds a central area of the substrate 100; a discharge groove 15 surrounding the holding portion 12; and an outer peripheral groove 18 surrounding the discharge groove 15 and communicating with a suction source to suck and hold the substrate. The processing device collects processing waste, generated by the processing unit, in the discharge groove 15.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing apparatus having a holding table for holding a substrate. [Background technology]

[0002] When a substrate is processed while held on a holding table, there is a risk that processing debris or water containing processing debris will seep into the back side of the substrate held on the holding table or the holding surface of the holding table that holds the substrate, causing the processing debris to adhere and become contaminated. For this reason, Patent Document 1 discloses a cleaning device that includes a groove formed in an annular shape on the upper surface of the holding part so as to surround the holding surface and have a diameter smaller than the diameter of the wafer, and a communication passage formed in the holding part so that one end communicates with the groove and the other end is open to the atmosphere. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-177376 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In conventional techniques, if the outer peripheral portion of the substrate protruding from the holding surface is not adsorbed to the holding surface, and the substrate flutters during processing, processing debris may find its way to the back surface of the substrate, deteriorating the processing quality. For this reason, there is a need to improve the processing quality of conventional techniques.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and its object is to provide a processing device that can maintain high processing quality while suppressing the intrusion of processing debris onto the back surface of the substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the processing apparatus of the present invention is a processing apparatus comprising a holding table having a holding surface that holds the back side of a substrate, and a processing unit that processes the substrate held on the holding surface, wherein the holding surface has a holding portion that holds a central region of the substrate, a plurality of discharge grooves that surround the holding portion, connecting portions provided between adjacent discharge grooves, and an outer peripheral groove that surrounds the plurality of discharge grooves and the connecting portion and is in communication with a suction source to hold the substrate by suction, the connecting portion transmits the suction force from the suction source to the outer circumferential groove; The processing chips generated by the processing unit are collected in the discharge groove.

[0007] The processing apparatus may further include a liquid supply unit that supplies a liquid to the substrate, and the drain groove may recover the liquid containing the processing debris.

[0008] In the processing device, the holding surface is formed smaller than the substrate, and the processing unit has a cutting blade rotatably held on a spindle, and the cutting blade is positioned at the outer periphery of the substrate exposed from the holding surface, and the outer periphery of the substrate is removed by moving the holding table and the cutting blade relative to each other while supplying the liquid cutting water to the substrate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The processing apparatus of the present invention has the effect of suppressing the intrusion of processing debris onto the rear surface of the substrate while maintaining high processing quality. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a processing device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the relationship between the cutting blade and the holding unit shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a top view showing an example of the holding surface of the holding table shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a part of the configuration of the holding table shown in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a discharging operation of the processing device according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiments. Furthermore, the components described below include those that can be easily imagined by a person skilled in the art and those that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the configurations described below can be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the configuration can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0012] In the embodiments described below, an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is set, and the positional relationship of each part will be described with reference to this XYZ Cartesian coordinate system. One direction within a horizontal plane is defined as the X-axis direction, the direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction within the horizontal plane is defined as the Y-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to both the X-axis and Y-axis directions is defined as the Z-axis direction. The XY plane containing the X-axis and Y-axis is parallel to the horizontal plane. The Z-axis direction perpendicular to the XY plane is the vertical direction.

[0013] [Embodiment] A processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the processing device according to the embodiment. Fig. 2 is a schematic view for explaining the relationship between the cutting blade and the holding unit shown in Fig. 1.

[0014] 1, the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment is an apparatus that performs any processing on a substrate 100 that is a processing target. In other words, the processing apparatus 1 is, for example, a processing apparatus that processes the substrate 100. The substrate 100 includes, for example, a semiconductor wafer or an optical device wafer formed into a disk shape from silicon, sapphire, gallium arsenide, or the like.

[0015] 1, the processing apparatus 1 is a processing apparatus that cuts a substrate 100. The processing apparatus 1 includes a holding table 10, a processing unit 20, and a control unit 30. The control unit 30 is electrically connected to the holding table 10 and the processing unit 20.

[0016] The holding table 10 has a holding surface 11 that holds the substrate 100. The holding surface 11 holds the back side of the substrate 100. The holding table 10 is in communication with a suction source (not shown) and holds the substrate 100 by suction using negative pressure supplied from the suction source. The holding table 10 can be moved along the X-axis direction by an X-axis moving means 41 (described later) and can be rotated around the Z-axis by a rotary drive source (not shown). The holding table 10 is, for example, a chuck table. The holding table 10 is provided with multiple clamps (two in this embodiment) that clamp the substrate 100. The X-axis moving means 41 is, for example, composed of a ball screw, a pulse motor, etc.

[0017] In the example shown in FIG. 2 , the holding table 10 includes a holding portion 12 that holds the substrate 100 and a frame 13 that surrounds the holding portion 12. The holding portion 12 is a suction plate formed in a disk shape. The holding portion 12 is made of, for example, a porous holding member, and its upper surface forms part of a holding surface 11 that holds the substrate 100. The holding portion 12 includes, for example, a porous plate. The holding portion 12 holds the substrate 100 while contacting the back surface 120 of the substrate 100.

[0018] The frame 13 has a recess 14 formed in the center thereof, the recess 14 having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the holding portion 12. A suction path is formed in the recess 14, which connects the holding portion 12 to a suction source (not shown). The holding table 6 can be used by fitting the holding portion 12 into the recess 14 of the frame 13.

[0019] The holding surface 11 of the holding table 10 includes a holding portion 12 and a continuous upper surface (surface) extending from the holding portion 12 to a frame 13. The holding surface 11 is formed smaller than the substrate 100. That is, the frame 13 has an outer diameter smaller than the diameter of the substrate 100. Therefore, the holding table 10 is configured to be able to suction-hold the substrate 100 with the outer periphery of the substrate 100 protruding outward from the holding surface 11. Note that the holding table 10 may hold a substrate smaller than the holding surface 11 or a substrate of the same size as the holding surface 11.

[0020] The processing unit 20 processes the substrate 100 held on the holding table 10. In other words, the processing unit 20 is an example of a processing unit that processes the substrate 100 held on the holding table 10. The processing unit 20 has, for example, a cutting blade 21 that cuts the substrate 100 held on the holding surface 11 of the holding table 10. The cutting blade 21 is an extremely thin blade that has a rotating ring shape. The cutting blade 21 is rotatably held by a spindle 222 inside a housing 211. The spindle 212 is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown) housed in the housing 211. The cutting blade 21 is detachably attached to the tip of the spindle 212 and rotates when the spindle 212 is rotated.

[0021] 1, the machining unit 20 can be moved along the Y-axis direction by a Y-axis moving means 42, and can be moved along the Z-axis direction by a Z-axis moving means 43. The Y-axis moving means 42 moves the machining unit 20 in the Y-axis direction relative to the holding surface 11 of the holding table 10. The Y-axis moving means 42 and the Z-axis moving means 43 are formed by, for example, a ball screw, a nut, a pulse motor, etc.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2 , the processing unit 20 has a nozzle 22 that supplies a liquid to the substrate 100 held on the holding surface 11. The liquid includes, for example, cleaning water for cleaning the substrate 100. The nozzle 22 supplies the liquid from above to the upper surface 110 of the substrate 100 held on the holding surface 11. The nozzle 22 is configured to be able to supply the liquid to, for example, a portion of the substrate 100 that is to be cut by the cutting blade 21. The nozzle 22 is provided, for example, near the cutting blade 21, and supplies the liquid under the control of the control unit 30. In this embodiment, the nozzle 22 is an example of a liquid supply unit, and is provided in the processing device 1.

[0023] The control unit 30 includes an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an input / output interface device. The control unit 30 is a computer that can execute programs and the like for controlling the above-mentioned components in accordance with a series of processing steps performed by the processing device 1 using these devices.

[0024] The control unit 30 controls each mechanism (X-axis moving means 41, Y-axis moving means 42, Z-axis moving means 43) that drives the processing apparatus 1, the processing unit 20, etc. The control unit 30 controls each part of the processing apparatus 1 and realizes processing by the processing apparatus 1. The control unit 30 controls each part of the processing apparatus 1, including the holding table 10 and the processing unit 20, for example, by executing a program, and realizes processing of the substrate 100. The control unit 30 controls the processing unit 20 to perform a process of cutting the substrate 100 using a liquid while the substrate 100 is held on the holding surface 11 of the holding table 10. The control unit 30 performs a process of removing the outer periphery of the substrate 100 by positioning the cutting blade 21 at the outer periphery of the substrate 100 exposed from the holding surface 11 and supplying the liquid, i.e., cutting water, to the substrate 100, thereby moving the holding table 10 and the cutting blade 21 relatively.

[0025] The processing device 1 controls the processing position of the substrate 100 held on the holding table 10 by moving the holding table 10 and the processing unit 20 relative to each other using an X-axis moving means 41, a Y-axis moving means 42, and a Z-axis moving means 43. With the substrate 100 held on the holding surface 11 of the holding table 10, the processing device 1 cuts the substrate 100 with a cutting blade 21 while supplying a liquid to the cutting location.

[0026] The processing unit 20 included in the processing apparatus 1 is not limited to a cutting unit that uses a cutting blade to cut the substrate 100. For example, the processing unit 20 may be a grinding unit that uses a grinding wheel or the like to grind the substrate 100, a polishing unit that uses a polishing pad or the like to polish the substrate 100, or a laser processing unit that irradiates a laser beam onto the substrate 100 to perform laser processing.

[0027] (Example of retention table configuration) An example of the configuration of the holding surface 11 of the holding table 10 according to the embodiment will be described. Fig. 3 is a top view showing an example of the holding surface 11 of the holding table 10 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a part of the configuration of the holding table 10 shown in Fig. 1.

[0028] For example, in full-cut trimming of the substrate 100, the processing apparatus 1 performs a process of removing the outer periphery of the substrate 100. In the processing apparatus 1, the holding surface 11 of the holding table 10 is formed smaller than the substrate 100 so that the cutting blade does not collide with the holding table 10. Full-cut trimming is a process of removing unnecessary portions of the substrate 100 while the outer periphery of the substrate 100 protrudes from the holding surface 11 and is not held by the holding table 10. When performing full-cut trimming, the processing apparatus 1 may cause cutting water containing cutting chips to flow from the outer periphery of the substrate 100 onto the holding surface 11, and the cutting chips may be sucked into the holding portion 12. Furthermore, the processing apparatus 1 may be contaminated by the adhesion of cutting chips to the back surface of the substrate 100 held on the holding table 10. For this reason, the processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment maintains high processing quality while suppressing the flow of cutting chips and liquid containing cutting chips onto the back surface of the substrate 100.

[0029] As in the present embodiment, the processing apparatus 1 is effective when performing processing while supplying cutting water, because the liquid containing the processing debris makes it easier for the processing debris to reach the back surface of the substrate 100 held on the holding table 10. However, processing that does not use liquid water also generates processing debris, and there is a risk that the processing debris will adhere to and contaminate the back surface of the substrate 100 held on the holding table 10, so the processing apparatus 1 is also effective when not using liquid water.

[0030] 3, the holding surface 11 of the holding table 10 has the above-mentioned holding portion 12, a plurality of discharge grooves 15, and a peripheral groove 18. The holding portion 12 holds the central region of the substrate 100. The central region of the substrate 100 is, for example, a region on the back side of the substrate 100 including the center or the vicinity of the center of the disk-shaped substrate 100.

[0031] In the holding surface 11, a plurality of discharge grooves 15 are formed on the surface (upper surface) of the frame body 13 between the outer periphery of the holding portion 12 and the outer periphery groove 18. The plurality of discharge grooves 15 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the outer periphery of the holding portion 12. The discharge grooves 15 are grooves that allow cutting water that has flowed between the substrate 100 and the holding surface 11 to flow inward without being directed toward the holding surface 11, and to be drained to the outside of the frame body 13.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 4, the discharge groove 15 has a concave cross section to allow cutting chips contained in the cutting water to enter the interior. A bottom 151 of the discharge groove 15 communicates with the discharge passage 17. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the cross section of the discharge groove 15 is rectangular, but it may be other shapes, such as elliptical or tapered. One end of the discharge passage 17 communicates with a part of the discharge groove 15, and the other end communicates with an outlet of the frame 13 (not shown). The cutting water that flows into the discharge groove 15 flows into the discharge passage 17 by gravity or, if connected to a suction source, by attractive force caused by suction, and is then discharged from the discharge passage 17 to the outside of the frame 13.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 3 , the holding surface 11 has connecting portions 16 between adjacent discharge grooves 15 on the upper surface 131 of the frame body 13. The holding surface 11 has the discharge grooves 15 and connecting portions 16 arranged alternately along the outer periphery of the holding portion 12. By providing the plurality of discharge grooves 15 and connecting portions 16 on the holding surface 11, the strength of the frame body 13 is maintained even if the radial width of the discharge grooves 15 is increased. Furthermore, by having the connecting portions 16 on the holding surface 11, it is possible to form suction passages 19, etc., that communicate with the outer circumferential grooves 18 (described later) inside the frame body 13 in which the connecting portions 16 are formed.

[0034] The peripheral groove 18 surrounds the plurality of discharge grooves 15 and communicates with a suction source to hold the substrate 100 by suction. The peripheral groove 18 is formed in the frame 13 as an annular groove that follows the entire outer periphery of the frame 13. The peripheral groove 18 is an annular groove with a diameter larger than the diameter of the substrate 100, and is formed on the surface (top surface) of the frame 13 between the plurality of discharge grooves 15 and the outer edge of the frame 13. The peripheral groove 18 does not have to be annular, and may instead be formed as multiple discontinuous grooves spaced apart.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 4 , the peripheral groove 18 communicates with a suction path 19 formed inside the frame 13. The suction path 19 is configured so that connection between a suction source 192 and an air supply source 193 can be switched by an electromagnetic valve 191. When the peripheral groove 18 is connected to the suction source 192 under the control of the control unit 30, the negative pressure supplied from the suction source 192 is used to suction and hold the substrate 100. When the peripheral groove 18 is connected to the air supply source 193 under the control of the control unit 30, pressurized air is supplied from the air supply source 193, which blows the air out of the frame 13, making it easier to remove the substrate from the holding table 10. The suction path 19 communicates with the holder 12, and supplies negative pressure from the suction source 192 to the holder 12.

[0036] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a discharging operation of the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in Fig. 5, in the processing apparatus 1, the holding portion 12 of the holding table 10 suction-holds the central region of the substrate 100, and the outer circumferential groove 18 suction-holds the substrate 100 near the outer periphery of the frame 13. In this way, the processing apparatus 1 can prevent the outer periphery 130 of the substrate 100 from floating above the holding surface 11 and flapping during processing, because the holding table 10 suction-holds the substrate 100 with the holding portion 12 and the outer circumferential groove 18.

[0037] The processing apparatus 1 removes the outer peripheral portion 130 of the substrate 100 by moving the holding table 10 and the cutting blade 21 relative to each other while supplying liquid cutting water 500 to the substrate 100 while holding the substrate 100 by suction. In this case, when the cutting water 500 flows from the gap between the substrate 100 being processed and the holding table 10 from the outer peripheral portion 130 toward the central region of the holding part 12, the processing apparatus 1 collects the cutting water 500 in the discharge groove 15 and discharges it from the discharge path 17 to the outside of the frame 13. In this way, because the processing apparatus 1 collects the cutting water 500 in the discharge groove 15, it is possible to prevent the central region of the substrate 100 inside the discharge groove 15 and the center of the holding surface 11 from being contaminated.

[0038] As described above, the processing apparatus 1 can maintain high processing quality while suppressing the intrusion of the cutting water 500 onto the back surface of the substrate 100. Furthermore, in full-cut trimming, which has a holding surface 11 smaller than the substrate 100 and exposes and removes the outer periphery 130 of the substrate 100 from the holding surface 11, the cutting blade is positioned next to the outer periphery of the holding surface 11 for processing, so the cutting water 500 used for processing is more likely to intrude onto the back surface of the substrate 100 from the side of the holding surface 11 than in conventional processing in which the cutting blade is positioned above the holding surface. For this reason, the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment can be effectively used for full-cut trimming.

[0039] Although the processing device 1 according to the embodiment has been described as a grinding device, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be implemented in various modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the processing device 1 may be a cutting device other than a grinding device or a laser processing device.

[0040] In the processing device 1 according to the embodiment, the discharge groove 15 is formed as a plurality of independent through grooves, but may also be formed as a ring-shaped groove. In that case, the connecting portion 16 including the flow path for sucking / supplying air to the outer circumferential groove 18 is eliminated, so the processing device 1 may simply have a flow path communicating with the outer circumferential groove 18 formed separately inside the frame 13.

[0041] In the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, the holder 12 that holds the central region of the substrate 100 may be a porous plate or a plate-like object such as SUS with suction grooves on its surface that communicate with the suction path. When the holder 12 has suction grooves, cutting chips that have gotten into the grooves can be easily removed by cleaning, but with a porous plate, cutting chips get stuck in the pores, reducing the suction force. For this reason, the processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment is particularly effective when it has a holder 12 that is a porous plate.

[0042] The processing device 1 according to the embodiment will be described as realizing a processing unit by the control unit 30 cooperating with the processing unit 20, but is not limited thereto. For example, the processing device 1 may realize the processing unit 20 and the control unit 30 as one processing unit. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1 Processing equipment 10 Holding table 11 Holding surface 12 Holding part 13 Frame 14 Recess 15 Discharge groove 16 Connecting part 17 Exhaust channel 18 Peripheral groove 19 Suction channel 20 Processing Unit 21 Cutting blade 22 nozzles 30 Control Unit 41 X-axis movement means 42 Y-axis movement means 43 Z-axis movement means 100 boards 500 cutting water

Claims

1. a holding table having a holding surface that holds the back side of the substrate; a processing unit that processes the substrate held on the holding surface; A processing device comprising: The holding surface is a holder that holds a central region of the substrate; a plurality of discharge grooves surrounding the holding portion; a connecting portion provided between adjacent discharge grooves; a peripheral groove that surrounds the plurality of discharge grooves and the connecting portion and communicates with a suction source to suction-hold the substrate; the connecting portion transmits the suction force from the suction source to the outer circumferential groove; The processing device is characterized in that the processing chips generated by the processing unit are collected in the discharge groove.

2. further comprising a liquid supply unit that supplies liquid to the substrate; 2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drain groove recovers the liquid containing the processing debris.

3. The holding surface is formed smaller than the substrate, The processing unit comprises: a cutting blade rotatably held on a spindle; The processing device described in claim 2, characterized in that the cutting blade is positioned on the outer periphery of the substrate exposed from the holding surface, and the outer periphery of the substrate is removed by moving the holding table and the cutting blade relative to each other while supplying the liquid cutting water to the substrate.

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