Wafer cleaning equipment

Abstract

To wash double sides of a wafer containing a trimming part for a short time.SOLUTION: When washing a front surface 101 of a wafer 100 in which a trimming part 103 is formed, a first sponge 31 is moved between a center of the front surface 101 and a front side of the trimming part 103. Since the contact of the first sponge 31 to the trimming part 103 is suppressed, the cutting of the first sponge 31 by the trimming part 103 can be suppressed. Therefore, a frequency of an exchange of the first sponge 31 can be reduced. In addition, since the generation of cutting chips of the first sponge 31 can be suppressed, a step of washing off the cutting chips is unnecessary. Thus, the wafer 100 can be washed for a short time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wafer cleaning apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] As disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, a cleaning apparatus for cleaning the upper and lower surfaces of a wafer supports the wafer by a plurality of rollers that contact the outer peripheral edge of the wafer, and drives the wafer to rotate by rotating the rollers. Further, while a sponge is brought into contact with each of the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer, the sponge is rotated and moved in the radial direction of the wafer, thereby cleaning the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, for example, when the outer peripheral portion on the upper surface side of the wafer is trimmed by a grindstone, the sponge contacts the trimmed portion, and the sponge is scraped at the corner of the trimmed portion, so that the frequency of replacing the sponge increases.

[0005] In addition, in order to prevent the scraps of the scraped sponge from adhering to the upper surface of the wafer, it is necessary to pour cleaning water and wash it away, so that the cleaning time becomes long.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to clean both sides of a wafer, including the trimmed portion, in a short amount of time when cleaning a wafer having a trimmed portion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The wafer cleaning apparatus of the present invention (this wafer cleaning apparatus) is a wafer cleaning apparatus that supports the outer edge of a wafer having an annular trimming portion on the outer circumference of one surface that does not extend to the other surface, rotates the wafer, and cleans one surface of the wafer, the other surface, and the trimming portion, comprising: at least three support rollers that support the outer edge of the wafer; a wafer rotation mechanism that rotates at least one of the support rollers and rotates the others in a driven manner to rotate the wafer; a first sponge that contacts one surface of the wafer; a second sponge that contacts the other surface of the wafer; and the first sponge and the second sponge, The device comprises a radial movement mechanism positioned opposite to the wafer so as to sandwich it and moving the wafer in the radial direction; a first rotation mechanism that rotates the first sponge on a rotation axis extending perpendicular to one face of the wafer; a second rotation mechanism that rotates the second sponge on a rotation axis extending perpendicular to the other face of the wafer; and a two-fluid nozzle that sprays a two-fluid mixture of water and air onto the trimming portion to clean the trimming portion. The radial movement mechanism moves the first sponge between the center of one face of the wafer and the front of the trimming portion, and moves the second sponge between the center of the other face of the wafer and the outer circumference. In this wafer cleaning apparatus, the rotation axis of the first rotation mechanism and the rotation axis of the second rotation mechanism may be arranged on the same axis, and the second sponge may be larger than the first sponge so that when the radial movement mechanism moves the first sponge from the center of the wafer to the front of the trimming portion, the second sponge moves from the center of the wafer to the outer circumference. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] In this wafer cleaning apparatus, when cleaning one side of a wafer where a trimmed portion is formed, the first sponge is moved between the center of that side and just before the trimmed portion. Therefore, contact between the first sponge and the trimmed portion is suppressed, thus preventing the first sponge from being worn down by the trimmed portion. As a result, the frequency of replacing the first sponge can be reduced. In addition, the generation of shavings from the first sponge is suppressed, eliminating the need for a process to wash away these shavings. Therefore, wafers can be cleaned in a short amount of time.

[0009] Furthermore, in this wafer cleaning apparatus, while the first and second sponges are moved radially across the wafer to clean both sides, the trimmed area can be cleaned by the two fluids sprayed from the two-fluid nozzle. Therefore, both sides of the wafer and the trimmed area can be cleaned simultaneously. Consequently, the cleaning time can be kept from becoming excessively long. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing the configuration of the cleaning device. [Figure 2] This is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration and operation of the cleaning device. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration and operation of the cleaning device. [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram showing other components of the cleaning device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] As shown in Figure 1, the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 according to this embodiment is an apparatus for cleaning wafers 100.

[0012] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, wafer 100 has an annular trimming portion 103 on the outer periphery of one side, the surface 101, which does not extend to the other side, the back surface 102. This trimming portion 103 is a stepped recess formed on the outer edge of the surface 101 of wafer 100. Due to this trimming portion 103, the diameter of the surface 101 of wafer 100 is smaller than the diameter of the back surface 102.

[0013] The wafer cleaning apparatus 1 supports the outer edge of the wafer 100 and rotates the wafer 100 to clean the front surface 101, back surface 102, and trimming portion 103 of the wafer 100. The wafer 100 is placed in the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 so that the front surface 101 on which the trimming portion 103 is formed faces upward.

[0014] As shown in Figure 1, the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 has a first rotating roller 11, a second rotating roller 12, a first driven roller 21, and a second driven roller 22 as support rollers that support the outer edge of the wafer 100.

[0015] The first rotating roller 11 and the second rotating roller 12 are support rollers for supporting and rotating the wafer 100. As shown in Figure 1, the first rotating roller 11 and the second rotating roller 12 each have a rotating roller section 13 that supports the outer edge of the wafer 100, a cylindrical roller rotation shaft 14, and a roller rotation motor 15 that rotates the roller rotation shaft 14.

[0016] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the rotating roller section 13 comprises a cylindrical roller body 16 and a cylindrical protrusion 17 located in the center of the upper surface 161 of the roller body 16. The rotating roller section 13 is configured to support the outer edge of the wafer 100 with the upper surface 161 of the roller body 16 and the side surface 171 of the protrusion 17.

[0017] Further, the rotating roller unit 13 is fixed to the tip of the roller rotating shaft 14, and can rotate together with the roller rotating shaft 14 as shown by the arrow 501 in FIG. 2 while supporting the outer peripheral edge of the wafer 100 by the roller rotation motor 15.

[0018] The first driven roller 21 and the second driven roller 22 are driven rollers that rotate as the wafer 100 rotates. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first driven roller 21 and the second driven roller 22 have a driven roller unit 23 that supports the outer peripheral edge of the wafer 100, and a driven roller base 24 that rotatably supports the driven roller unit 23.

[0019] Similar to the rotating roller units 13 of the first rotating roller 11 and the second rotating roller 12, the driven roller unit 23 includes a columnar roller body 26 and a columnar convex portion 27 provided at the center of the upper surface 261 of the roller body 26. And the driven roller unit 23 is configured to support the outer peripheral edge of the wafer 100 by the upper surface 261 of the roller body 26 and the side surface 271 of the convex portion 27.

[0020] Further, the driven roller base 24 has a thin plate shape, and rotatably supports the driven roller units 23 of the first driven roller 21 and the second driven roller 22 by both ends thereof. Therefore, the driven roller units 23 of the first driven roller 21 and the second driven roller 22 can rotate as shown by the arrow 502 in FIG. 2 as the wafer 100 rotates while supporting the wafer 100.

[0021] Thus, the wafer cleaning device 1 supports the wafer 100 by the first rotating roller 11, the second rotating roller 12, the first driven roller 21, and the second driven roller 22 as four support rollers. And when the rotating roller units 13 of the first rotating roller 11 and the second rotating roller 12 rotate, the wafer 100 can be driven to rotate around the rotation axis passing through the center of the wafer 100.

[0022] The roller rotation motors 15 and roller rotation shafts 14 of the first rotating roller 11 and the second rotating roller 12, as well as the driven roller bases 24 of the first driven roller 21 and the second driven roller 22, are examples of a wafer rotation mechanism that rotates at least one of the support rollers and drives the others to rotate, thereby driving the wafer 100 to rotate.

[0023] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 includes a first cleaning mechanism 30 for cleaning the surface 101 of the wafer 100 supported by the wafer cleaning apparatus 1, a second cleaning mechanism 40 for cleaning the back surface 102 of the wafer 100, and a radial movement mechanism 50 for rotating the first sponge 31 of the first cleaning mechanism 30 and the second sponge 41 of the second cleaning mechanism 40.

[0024] The first cleaning mechanism 30 is positioned above the wafer 100. The first cleaning mechanism 30 includes a first sponge 31 that contacts the surface 101 of the wafer 100, a first sponge shaft 32 that supports and rotates the first sponge 31, a first arm 33 that supports the first sponge 31 and the first sponge shaft 32 and rotates above the wafer 100, and a first cleaning water nozzle 35 that sprays cleaning water.

[0025] The first sponge 31 is a sponge for cleaning the surface 101 of the wafer 100 by contacting it, and is supported at the lower end of the first sponge shaft 32. The first sponge shaft 32 extends in a direction perpendicular to the surface 101 of the wafer 100. The first sponge shaft 32 is configured to rotate integrally with the first sponge 31 while supporting it.

[0026] The first arm 33 supports the first sponge 31 and the first sponge shaft 32 at its tip, while its base end is supported by the swivel shaft 51 of the radial movement mechanism 50.

[0027] The first cleaning water nozzle 35 is connected to the cleaning water source 200 and is used to spray cleaning water toward the surface 101 of the wafer 100 supported by the wafer cleaning apparatus 1.

[0028] Meanwhile, the second cleaning mechanism 40 is located below the wafer 100. The second cleaning mechanism 40 includes a second sponge 41 that contacts the back surface 102 of the wafer 100, a second sponge shaft 42 that supports and rotates the second sponge 41, a second arm 43 that supports the second sponge 41 and the second sponge shaft 42 and rotates below the wafer 100, and a second cleaning water nozzle 45 that sprays cleaning water.

[0029] The second sponge 41 is a sponge for cleaning the back surface 102 of the wafer 100 by contacting it, and is supported at the upper end of the second sponge shaft 42. As shown in Figure 2, the second sponge 41 has a larger diameter than the first sponge 31. The second sponge shaft 42 extends in a direction perpendicular to the back surface 102 of the wafer 100. The second sponge shaft 42 is configured to rotate integrally with the second sponge 41 while supporting it.

[0030] The second arm 43 supports the second sponge 41 and the second sponge shaft 42 at its tip, while its base end is supported by the swivel shaft 51. The second arm 43 is also supported by the swivel shaft 51 so as to extend in the same direction as the first arm 33 of the first cleaning mechanism 30. Therefore, the first sponge 31 of the first cleaning mechanism 30 and the second sponge 41 of the second cleaning mechanism 40 are positioned opposite each other so as to sandwich the wafer 100.

[0031] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the second sponge 41 has a larger diameter than the first sponge 31, as shown in Figure 2. Specifically, the diameter of the second sponge 41 is formed to be larger than the diameter of the first sponge 31 by twice the radial width of the trimming portion 103 on the wafer 100 (i.e., the difference between the diameter of the front surface 101 and the diameter of the back surface 102).

[0032] The second cleaning water nozzle 45 is connected to the cleaning water source 200 and is used to spray cleaning water toward the back surface 102 of the wafer 100 supported by the wafer cleaning apparatus 1.

[0033] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the radial movement mechanism 50 includes a first arm 33 of the first cleaning mechanism 30 and a second arm 43 of the second cleaning mechanism 40, a slewing shaft 51 supporting the first arm 33 and the second arm 43, a slewing motor 52 for rotating the slewing shaft 51, a driving gear 53 attached to the slewing motor 52, and a driven gear 54 attached to the lower end of the slewing shaft 51.

[0034] The swivel shaft 51 extends perpendicularly to the surface 101 of the wafer 100 supported by the wafer cleaning apparatus 1. The swivel motor 52 rotates the drive gear 53, causing the driven gear 54, which is meshed with the drive gear 53, to rotate. The rotation of the driven gear 54 causes the swivel shaft 51 to rotate.

[0035] As the swivel shaft 51 rotates, the first arm 33 of the first cleaning mechanism 30 and the second arm 43 of the second cleaning mechanism 40, which are supported by the swivel shaft 51, rotate around the swivel shaft 51 as the axis of rotation.

[0036] As a result, the first sponge 31, supported by the first arm 33 via the first sponge shaft 32, moves radially across the wafer 100 on the surface 101 of the wafer 100, passing through the center of the surface 101. Furthermore, the second sponge 41, supported by the second arm 43 via the second sponge shaft 42, also moves radially across the wafer 100 on the back surface 102 of the wafer 100, passing through the center of the back surface 102.

[0037] Thus, the radial movement mechanism 50 is configured to move the wafer 100 in the radial direction, with the first sponge 31 and the second sponge 41 facing each other so as to sandwich the wafer 100.

[0038] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 includes a first rotation mechanism 60 that rotates a first sponge 31 on a rotation axis extending perpendicular to the surface 101 of the wafer 100, and a second rotation mechanism 70 that rotates a second sponge 41 on a rotation axis extending perpendicular to the back surface 102 of the wafer 100.

[0039] As shown in Figure 2, the first rotating mechanism 60 includes a sponge rotating motor 61, a rotating shaft 62 attached to the sponge rotating motor 61, a first driving pulley 63 attached to the tip of the rotating shaft 62, a first driven pulley 65 connected to the first driving pulley 63 via a first endless belt 64, and the first sponge shaft 32 attached to the first driven pulley 65.

[0040] The sponge rotation motor 61 rotates the rotating shaft 62, causing the first drive pulley 63 at its tip to rotate, and the first endless belt 64 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the first drive pulley 63. As the first endless belt 64 rotates, the first driven pulley 65 and the first sponge shaft 32 rotate. As a result, the first sponge 31 attached to the tip of the first sponge shaft 32 rotates around the first sponge shaft 32, which extends perpendicular to the surface 101 of the wafer 100, as shown by arrow 503.

[0041] As shown in Figure 2, the second rotation mechanism 70 includes, in addition to the sponge rotation motor 61 and rotation shaft 62 described above, a second drive pulley 73 attached to the base end of the rotation shaft 62, a second driven pulley 75 connected to the second drive pulley 73 via a second endless belt 74, and the second sponge shaft 42 attached to the second driven pulley 75.

[0042] The sponge rotation motor 61 rotates the rotating shaft 62, causing the second drive pulley 73 to rotate, and the second endless belt 74 to rotate in conjunction with the rotation of the second drive pulley 73. As the second endless belt 74 rotates, the second driven pulley 75 and the second sponge shaft 42 rotate. As a result, the second sponge 41 attached to the tip of the second sponge shaft 42 rotates around the second sponge shaft 42, which extends perpendicular to the back surface 102 of the wafer 100, as shown by arrow 504.

[0043] In this embodiment, the first sponge shaft 32, which is the rotation axis of the first rotation mechanism 60, and the second sponge shaft 42, which is the rotation axis of the second rotation mechanism 70, are arranged on the same axis.

[0044] Furthermore, the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 is equipped with a two-fluid nozzle 80 that sprays a two-fluid mixture of water and air onto the trimming portion 103 of the wafer 100 to clean the trimming portion 103. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the two-fluid nozzle 80 is mounted downwards on the base end side of the first arm 33 of the first cleaning mechanism 30 via a mounting plate 37.

[0045] The two-fluid nozzle 80 is configured to spray a two-fluid mixture of water and air. Specifically, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the two-fluid nozzle 80 has an air pipe 81 that can communicate with an air source 91 and a water pipe 82 that can communicate with a water source 92. The two-fluid nozzle 80 can generate the two-fluid mixture by mixing the air supplied via the air pipe 81 with the water supplied via the water pipe 82. The two-fluid nozzle 80 also has a nozzle 83 at its lower end that sprays the two-fluid mixture downwards.

[0046] The two-fluid nozzle 80 moves on the surface 101 of the wafer 100 as the first arm 33 rotates by the first rotation mechanism 60, so that it is positioned above the trimming portion 103 of the wafer 100 and can inject the two fluids from the nozzle 83 onto the trimming portion 103.

[0047] Furthermore, the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 has a control unit 7 inside for controlling the wafer cleaning apparatus 1. The control unit 7 includes a CPU that performs calculations according to a control program, and a storage medium such as memory. The control unit 7 executes various processes and provides overall control of each component of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1. For example, the control unit 7 controls the aforementioned components of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 to perform cleaning on the wafer 100.

[0048] The cleaning process using the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 in this embodiment will be described below.

[0049] In the cleaning process using the wafer cleaning apparatus 1, first, the operator supports the wafer 100 on the first rotating roller 11, second rotating roller 12, first driven roller 21, and second driven roller 22 of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 so that the surface 101 where the trimming portion 103 is formed faces upward. Next, the control unit 7 controls the radial movement mechanism 50 to bring the first sponge 31 of the first cleaning mechanism 30 into contact with the surface 101 of the wafer 100, and the second sponge 41 of the second cleaning mechanism 40 into contact with the back surface 102.

[0050] Next, the control unit 7 rotates the rotating roller sections 13 of the first rotating roller 11 and the second rotating roller 12 using the roller rotation motor 15. As a result, the wafer 100 rotates with the rotation axis passing through the center of the wafer 100.

[0051] Furthermore, the control unit 7 connects the first cleaning water nozzle 35 of the first cleaning mechanism 30 and the second cleaning water nozzle 45 of the second cleaning mechanism 40 to the cleaning water source 200. As a result, cleaning water is sprayed toward the front surface 101 and the back surface 102 of the wafer 100, respectively.

[0052] Next, the control unit 7 drives the sponge rotation motors 61 of the first rotation mechanism 60 and the second rotation mechanism 70 to rotate the first sponge 31 of the first cleaning mechanism 30, which is in contact with the surface 101 of the wafer 100, and the second sponge 41 of the second cleaning mechanism 40, which is in contact with the back surface 102.

[0053] Next, the control unit 7 connects the air source 91 to the air pipe 81 of the two-fluid nozzle 80 and the water source 92 to the water pipe 82. As a result, the two-fluid mixture, which is a mixture of water and air, is injected from the nozzle 83 of the two-fluid nozzle 80.

[0054] Next, the control unit 7 drives the swivel motor 52 of the radial movement mechanism 50 to rotate the swivel shaft 51, as shown by the arrow 505 in Figure 3. As a result, the first arm 33 of the first cleaning mechanism 30 and the second arm 43 of the second cleaning mechanism 40 rotate around the swivel shaft 51 as the pivot axis.

[0055] As a result, the first sponge 31, which is supported and rotated by the first arm 33, moves radially across the wafer 100 on the surface 101 of the wafer 100, passing through the center of the surface 101. Furthermore, the second sponge 41, which is supported and rotated by the second arm 43, also moves radially across the wafer 100 on the back surface 102 of the wafer 100, passing through the center of the back surface 102.

[0056] In this process, the control unit 7 uses the radial movement mechanism 50 to move the first sponge 31 between the center of the surface 101 of the wafer 100 and the front of the trimming portion 103.

[0057] As described above, the first sponge 31 and the second sponge 41 are positioned opposite each other so as to sandwich the wafer 100, and the diameter of the second sponge 41 is twice the radial width of the trimming portion 103 compared to the diameter of the first sponge 31. Therefore, by moving the first sponge 31 between the center of the surface 101 of the wafer 100 and the front of the trimming portion 103, the second sponge 41 can be moved between the center and the outer edge of the back surface 102 of the wafer 100.

[0058] In this embodiment, under the control of the control unit 7, the radial movement mechanism 50 moves the first sponge 31 between the center of the surface 101 of the wafer 100 and the front of the trimming portion 103, and moves the second sponge 41 between the center of the back surface 102 of the wafer 100 and the outer circumference. As a result, the rotating first sponge 31 and second sponge 41 can be brought into contact with the entire surface 101 and back surface 102 to which the cleaning water is being sprayed, thereby cleaning the entire surface 101 and back surface 102.

[0059] Furthermore, as the first arm 33 rotates due to the first rotation mechanism 60, the two-fluid nozzle 80 also moves on the surface 101 of the wafer 100. When the two-fluid nozzle 80 is positioned above the trimming portion 103, the two fluids from the nozzle 83 are sprayed onto the trimming portion 103. As a result, the trimming portion 103 is cleaned by the two fluids.

[0060] As described above, in this embodiment, when cleaning the surface 101 of the wafer 100 on which the trimming portion 103 is formed, the first sponge 31 is moved between the center of the surface 101 and the front of the trimming portion 103. Therefore, contact between the first sponge 31 and the trimming portion 103 is suppressed, and thus the first sponge 31 is prevented from being worn down by the trimming portion 103. As a result, the frequency of replacing the first sponge 31 can be reduced. In addition, since the generation of shavings from the first sponge 31 is suppressed, the process of washing away these shavings becomes unnecessary. Therefore, the wafer 100 can be cleaned in a short time.

[0061] Furthermore, in this embodiment, while the first sponge 31 and the second sponge 41 are moved radially across the wafer 100 to clean the surface 101 and back surface 102, the trimming portion 103 is cleaned by the two fluids sprayed from the two-fluid nozzle 80. Therefore, the surface 101, back surface 102, and trimming portion 103 can be cleaned simultaneously. Consequently, the cleaning time can be kept from becoming excessively long.

[0062] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the two-fluid nozzle 80 is attached to the base end side of the first arm 33 of the first cleaning mechanism 30. Therefore, since the two-fluid nozzle 80 is separated from the first sponge 31 and the second sponge 41, when the trimming portion 103 is cleaned by the two fluids ejected from the two-fluid nozzle 80, it is possible to suppress the two fluids containing the dirt used to clean the trimming portion 103 from coming into contact with the first sponge 31 or the second sponge 41.

[0063] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the second sponge 41 is formed to be larger than the first sponge 41 so that when the radial movement mechanism 50 moves the first sponge 31 from the center of the wafer 100 to the front of the trimming portion 103, the second sponge 41 moves from the center of the wafer 100 to the outer circumference. Therefore, it is possible to easily clean the entire surface 101 and the entire back surface 102 of the wafer 100 with the first sponge 31 and the second sponge 41 while avoiding contact between the first sponge 31 and the trimming portion 103 of the wafer 100.

[0064] Furthermore, when the two-fluid nozzle 80 is not positioned above the trimming portion 103, the control unit 7 may either spray only water from the two-fluid nozzle 80 or stop spraying fluid from the two-fluid nozzle 80.

[0065] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 has four support rollers, namely a first rotating roller 11, a second rotating roller 12, a first driven roller 21, and a second driven roller 22, as support rollers that support the outer edge of the wafer 100. In this regard, the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 only needs to be equipped with at least three support rollers. Therefore, the number of support rollers that support the outer edge of the wafer 100 may be three or five or more. Note that at least one of the support rollers is a rotating roller that includes a roller rotation motor 15.

[0066] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the two-fluid nozzle 80 is attached to the base end of the first arm 33 of the first cleaning mechanism 30, while the first sponge 31 is attached to the tip of the first arm 33, so that the two-fluid nozzle 80 and the first sponge 31 are relatively far apart. In this regard, the first sponge 31 and the two-fluid nozzle 80 may be arranged adjacent to each other, for example, by using a first arm 33 that is V-shaped or Y-shaped with a split tip.

[0067] In this case, the control unit 7 may either spray only water from the two-fluid nozzle 80 or stop spraying fluid from the two-fluid nozzle 80 when the two-fluid nozzle 80 is not positioned above the trimming portion 103, while when the two-fluid nozzle 80 is positioned above the trimming portion 103, it may spray both fluids from the two-fluid nozzle 80 to clean the trimming portion 103.

[0068] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the second sponge 41 is formed larger than the first sponge 31 in order to clean the entire surface 101 and back surface 102 while avoiding contact between the first sponge 31 and the trimming portion 103 of the wafer 100. In this regard, instead of forming the second sponge 41 larger than the first sponge 31, the first arm 33 supporting the first sponge 31 may be made shorter than the second arm 43 supporting the second sponge 41.

[0069] In other words, in this embodiment, when the radial movement mechanism 50 moves the first sponge 31 from the center of the wafer 100 to the front of the trimming portion 103, the first arm 33 supporting the first sponge 31 may be formed to be shorter than the second arm 43 supporting the second sponge 41, so that the second sponge 41 moves from the center of the wafer 100 to the outer circumference.

[0070] Alternatively, the control unit 7 may individually rotate the first arm 33 supporting the first sponge 31 and the second arm 43 supporting the second sponge 41 so that the entire surface 101 and back surface 102 can be cleaned while avoiding contact between the first sponge 31 and the trimming portion 103 of the wafer 100.

[0071] In this embodiment, the wafer 100 is placed in the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 such that the surface 101 on which the trimming portion 103 is formed faces upward. In this regard, the wafer 100 may be placed in the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 such that the surface 101 on which the trimming portion 103 is formed faces downward. In this case, the first cleaning mechanism 30, which includes a first sponge 31 for cleaning the surface 101, is positioned below the wafer 100, while the second cleaning mechanism 40, which includes a second sponge 41 for cleaning the back surface 102, is positioned above the wafer 100. The two-fluid nozzle 80 is positioned upward on the first arm 33 of the first cleaning mechanism 30 so as to spray the two fluids upward from the nozzle 83.

[0072] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the diameter of the second sponge 41 is formed to be larger than the diameter of the first sponge 31 by twice the radial width of the trimming portion 103 on the wafer 100 (i.e., the difference between the diameter of the front surface 101 and the diameter of the back surface 102), as shown in Figure 2. In this regard, as shown in Figure 4, the diameter of the second sponge 41 may be formed to be larger than the diameter of the first sponge 31 by D1, which is the radial width of the trimming portion 103 on the wafer 100 (i.e., the difference between the radius of the front surface 101 and the radius of the back surface 102).

[0073] In this case, it is preferable that the first sponge 31 and the second sponge 41 are positioned such that a portion of the outer circumference of the first sponge 31 and a portion of the outer circumference of the second sponge 41 are at the same position in the radial direction. For example, in the example shown in Figure 4, when the first sponge 31 and the second sponge 41 are positioned near the center of the wafer 100, the +Y direction ends of the outer circumferences of the first sponge 31 and the second sponge 41 overlap. That is, the centers of the first sponge 31 and the second sponge 41 are offset from each other so that such overlap occurs.

[0074] In this case as well, as shown by the arrow 506 in Figure 4, when the pivot shaft 51 rotates, the first sponge 31 supported by the first arm 33 moves between the center of the surface 101 of the wafer 100 and the front of the trimming portion 103, and the second sponge 41 supported by the second arm 43 moves between the center and the outer circumference of the back surface 102 of the wafer 100, thereby cleaning the entire surface 101 and back surface 102. Therefore, it is possible to easily clean the entire surface 101 and back surface 102 of the wafer 100 with the first sponge 31 and the second sponge 41 while avoiding contact between the first sponge 31 and the trimming portion 103 of the wafer 100. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0075] 1: Wafer cleaning device, 7: Control unit, 11: First rotating roller, 12: Second rotating roller, 13: Rotating roller section, 14: Roller rotation shaft, 15: Motor for roller rotation, 16: Roller body, 17: Protrusion, 21: First driven roller, 22: Second driven roller, 23: Driven roller section, 24: Driven roller base, 26: Roller body, 27: Protrusion section, 30: First cleaning mechanism, 31: First sponge, 32: First sponge shaft, 33: First arm, 35: First cleaning water nozzle, 37: Mounting plate, 40: Second cleaning mechanism, 41: Second sponge, 42: Second sponge shaft, 43: Second arm, 45: Second washing water nozzle, 50: Radial movement mechanism, 51: Swivel shaft, 52: Swivel motor, 53: Drive gear, 54: Drive gear, 60: First rotation mechanism, 61: Motor for rotating the sponge, 62: Rotating shaft, 63: First drive pulley, 64: First endless belt, 65: First driven pulley, 70: Second rotating mechanism, 73: Second drive pulley, 74: Second endless belt, 75: Second driven pulley, 80: Two-fluid nozzle, 81: Air piping, 82: Water piping, 83: Spray nozzle, 91: Air source, 92: Water source, 200: Washing water source, 100: Wafer, 101: Front side, 102: Back side, 103: Trimmed portion

Claims

1. A wafer cleaning apparatus that supports the outer edge of a wafer having an annular trimming portion on the outer periphery of one side that does not extend to the other side, rotates the wafer, and cleans one side of the wafer, the other side, and the trimming portion, At least three support rollers that support the outer edge of the wafer, A wafer rotation mechanism that rotates the wafer by driving at least one of the support rollers to rotate and driving the others to rotate, A first sponge in contact with one side of the wafer, A second sponge in contact with the other side of the wafer, The first sponge and the second sponge are positioned opposite each other so as to sandwich the wafer, and a radial movement mechanism moves them in the radial direction of the wafer. A first rotation mechanism that rotates the first sponge on a rotation axis extending perpendicular to one side of the wafer, A second rotation mechanism that rotates the second sponge on a rotation axis extending perpendicular to the other surface of the wafer, The device includes a two-fluid nozzle that sprays a two-fluid mixture of water and air onto the trimming portion to clean the trimming portion, A wafer cleaning apparatus in which the radial movement mechanism moves the first sponge between the center of one side of the wafer and the front of the trimming portion, and the second sponge between the center of the other side of the wafer and the outer circumference.

2. The rotation axis of the first rotation mechanism and the rotation axis of the second rotation mechanism are arranged on the same axis. When the radial movement mechanism moves the first sponge from the center of the wafer to the front of the trimming portion, the second sponge moves from the center of the wafer to the outer circumference, such that the second sponge is larger than the first sponge. The wafer cleaning apparatus according to claim 1.

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