Robot hand and wafer handling robot

Abstract

To suction and hold a wafer securely without increasing the size of a robot hand and a wafer transport robot even if the wafer is curved or flat and prevent contamination of the wafer after processing.SOLUTION: A robot hand 70 is formed including: a sucker 75 which is disposed at one surface 701 side, suctions and holds a wafer 100 curved in a recessed shape, and may elastically deform; a first communication port 72 formed at an attachment part 71; a first suction passage 77 which allows the sucker 75 and the first communication port 72 to communicate with each other; a suction port 78 which is open on an other surface 702 and suctions and holds a flat wafer 100; a second communication port 73 formed at the attachment part 71; and a second suction passage 79 which allows the suction port 78 and the second communication port 73 to communicate with each other. Further, a wafer transport robot 60 includes: a robot suction passage 81 which allows a holder 61 and a suction source 80 to communicate with each other; and valves 91, 92 which are disposed at one end of the robot suction passage 81 and switches between the first suction passage 77 and the second suction passage 78.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a robot hand for sucking and holding a wafer and a wafer transfer robot including the same.

Background Art

[0002] For example, in a grinding device for grinding a wafer, a wafer transfer robot is used to take out a wafer from a cassette placed on a cassette stage, transfer it to an alignment table, or transfer a wafer that has been ground and washed from a cleaning unit to a cassette and store it in the cassette.

[0003] Wafers include not only flat ones but also warped and curved ones. For example, a wafer with resin molded on one side becomes concave and curved in the central region on the resin surface side due to the shrinkage of the molded resin. Also, even a wafer without resin molding may be warped due to being thinned by grinding. In order to suck and hold such wafers, for example, in Patent Documents 1 to 3, a wafer transfer robot has been proposed in which a suction cup that can be elastically deformed is arranged on the holding surface of a robot hand, and the warped wafer is reliably sucked and held by this suction cup.

[0004] Also, in Patent Document 4, a wafer transfer robot has been proposed in which two holding parts are provided, and the wafer before grinding is held by one holding part and the wafer after grinding is held by the other holding part.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

[0006] However, if wafers before and after grinding are held by the same robot hand, a problem arises where grinding debris attached to the wafer before grinding adheres to the wafer after grinding via the robot hand.

[0007] Furthermore, as proposed in Patent Document 4, providing two holding parts on a robot hand presents the problem of increasing the size of the robot hand and the wafer transfer robot equipped with it.

[0008] Therefore, robotic hands and wafer handling robots face the challenge of being able to reliably suction and hold both curved and flat wafers without increasing their size, while also preventing contamination of the wafers after processing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention, which solves the above problems, A wafer transport robot equipped with a robotic hand that suction-holds and transports one side of a wafer, wherein the robotic hand has a mounting part that attaches to the robot's holder, It is arranged on one side. wafer Holds concave or convex surfaces by suction. At least three are arranged around the center of the wafer that is held for this purpose, on a circle centered on the center of the wafer. It comprises a suction cup, a first communication port formed in the mounting portion, a first suction passage formed inside that connects the suction cup and the first communication port, a suction port opening on the other side for suction and holding a flat wafer, a second communication port formed in the mounting portion, and a second suction passage formed inside that connects the suction port and the second communication port, A holder for attaching the mounting part of the robot hand, and the holder The system includes a robot suction path that connects the robot to a suction source, and a valve disposed at one end of the robot suction path that switches between the first suction path and the second suction path.

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention is A chuck table for holding wafers, a processing mechanism for processing wafers held on the chuck table, a cleaning mechanism for cleaning processed wafers, a cassette stage on which a cassette containing wafers is placed, an alignment table for aligning wafers removed from the cassette, a first transport mechanism for transporting wafers aligned on the alignment table to the chuck table, a second transport mechanism for transporting processed wafers from the chuck table to the cleaning mechanism, and the cassette stage, the cleaning mechanism, and the alignment table... In contrast, the processing apparatus comprises a wafer transport robot for transporting wafers and a control unit, wherein the control unit controls the valve of the wafer transport robot, connects the robot suction path connected to the suction source with the first suction path, and controls the transport of wafers contained in the cassette placed on the cassette stage to the alignment table, and controls the valve of the wafer transport robot, connects the robot suction path connected to the suction source with the second suction path, and controls the transport of wafers from the cleaning mechanism to the cassette placed on the cassette stage. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, by switching the valve to connect the suction source to the first suction passage of the robot hand, a pre-processed wafer that is curved in a concave shape can be reliably held by a suction cup provided on one side of the robot hand. Furthermore, by reversing the robot hand and switching the valve to connect the suction source to the second suction passage of the robot hand, negative pressure can be generated at the suction port opening on the other side of the robot hand, thereby reliably holding a flat wafer after processing. Therefore, even curved wafers or thin, flat wafers can be reliably held by the robot hand.

[0012] Furthermore, by using both sides of the robot hand, one side is used to suction and hold the wafer before processing, and the other side is used to suction and hold the wafer after processing. This allows a single robot hand to suction and hold both the wafer before and after processing, without requiring a large robot hand or wafer transport robot. In addition, since the wafers before and after processing are not held by the same suction cup, the problem of the processed wafer being contaminated by processing debris adhering to the suction cup does not occur. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] This is a cross-sectional perspective view of a grinding apparatus equipped with a wafer transfer robot according to the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view of the wafer handling robot according to the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a plan view of one side of the robot hand according to the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a plan view of the other side of the robot hand according to the present invention. [Figure 5] This is a cross-sectional view along line AA in Figure 3. [Figure 6] This is a system configuration diagram for switching the suction path of a robot hand according to the present invention. [Figure 7]It is a side sectional view of a robot hand showing a state where a curved wafer before grinding is sucked and held by a suction chuck. [Figure 8] It is a side sectional view of a robot hand showing a state where a flat wafer after grinding is sucked and held by a suction port.

Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a part of a grinding apparatus 1 broken away. The illustrated grinding apparatus 1 is an apparatus for grinding a disk-shaped wafer as a workpiece, and includes a chuck table 10 for sucking and holding the wafer, a grinding mechanism 20 for grinding the wafer, a grinding feed mechanism 30 for vertically moving the grinding mechanism 20 in the Z-axis direction, a thickness measuring means 40 for measuring the thickness of the wafer during grinding, a cleaning mechanism 50 for cleaning the ground surface of the wafer after grinding, a transfer robot 60 for taking in and out the wafer with respect to a cassette 101, an alignment table 102 for aligning the wafer taken out from the cassette 101 by the transfer robot 60, a first transfer mechanism 103 for transferring the pre-grinding wafer aligned by the alignment table 102 to the chuck table 10, and a second transfer mechanism 104 for transferring the post-grinding wafer from the chuck table 10 to the cleaning mechanism 50.

[0015] The chuck table 10 is a disk-shaped member, and a disk-shaped porous member 13 made of a porous ceramic or the like is incorporated in a circular recess 12 formed in the central portion thereof. The upper surface of the porous member 13 constitutes a holding surface 11 for sucking and holding the disk-shaped wafer 100. Although not shown, the porous member 13 is connected to a suction source such as a vacuum pump. Further, the chuck table 10 is rotationally driven at a predetermined speed (for example, 300 rpm) around its vertical axis by a rotational drive mechanism including a motor or the like as a drive source disposed below it.

[0016] Here, the grinding device 1 is equipped with a rectangular box-shaped base 2 that is long in the Y-axis direction (front-to-back direction). Inside this base 2 is a horizontal movement mechanism (not shown) for moving the chuck table 10 and the wafer 100 held by it along the Y-axis direction (front-to-back direction). The upper part of the base 2 of the grinding device 1 is covered by a rectangular box-shaped cover 3 that is open at the bottom. An input display unit 4 equipped with keys and a display screen for inputting various setting values ​​is installed on the front surface (-Y direction end face) of this cover 3.

[0017] Furthermore, a rectangular opening 14, elongated in the Y-axis direction, is formed on the upper surface of the base 2, and the chuck table 10 is housed in this opening 14. The area around the chuck table 10 in the opening 14 is covered by a rectangular plate-shaped cover 15, and the front and rear portions of the cover 15 (in the -Y direction and +Y direction) of the opening 14 are covered by bellows-shaped expandable covers 16 and 17, respectively, which move and expand and contract together with the cover 15. Therefore, no matter what position the chuck table 10 is in in the front and rear direction (Y-axis direction), the opening 14 is always covered by the cover 15 and the expandable covers 16 and 17, preventing foreign matter from entering the base 2.

[0018] The grinding mechanism 20 includes a spindle 21 having a rotational axis in the Z-axis direction, a housing 22 that rotatably supports the spindle 21, a spindle motor 23 that rotationally drives the spindle 21, a mount 24 connected to the lower end of the spindle 21, and a grinding wheel 25 detachably mounted on the lower surface of the mount 24. Here, the grinding wheel 25 includes a base 251 and a plurality of roughly rectangular parallelepiped-shaped grinding wheels 252 arranged in an annular shape on the lower surface of the base 251. Each grinding wheel 252 is a processing tool for grinding the wafer 100, and its lower surface constitutes a grinding surface that contacts the wafer 100.

[0019] A rectangular box-shaped column 5 is erected on the +Y-axis end (rear end) of the upper surface of the base 2, and a grinding feed mechanism 30 is provided on the -Y-axis end face (front) of this column 5. The grinding feed mechanism 30 moves the grinding mechanism 20 up and down in a direction perpendicular to the holding surface 11 of the chuck table 10 (Z-axis direction), and moves a rectangular plate-shaped lifting plate 31 attached to the rear side of the housing 22 and a holder 26 attached to the lifting plate 31 that supports the housing 22, together with the housing 22 and the spindle 21, spindle motor 23, grinding wheel 25, etc. held in the housing 22, in the Z-axis direction along a pair of left and right guide rails 32.

[0020] A rotatable ball screw shaft 33 is erected between a pair of left and right guide rails 32, along the Z-axis direction (vertical direction), and the upper end of the ball screw shaft 33 is connected to a reversible motor 34, which is the drive source. The motor 34 is mounted vertically via a rectangular plate-shaped bracket 35 attached to the upper surface of the column 5.

[0021] Furthermore, the lower end of the ball screw shaft 33 is rotatably supported by the column 5, and a nut member (not shown), which protrudes horizontally toward the rear (+Y axis direction) from the back surface of the lifting plate 31, is screwed onto this ball screw shaft 33.

[0022] A thickness measuring means 40 is positioned on the side of the opening 14 on the upper surface of the base 2 for measuring the thickness of the wafer 100 held on the holding surface 11 of the chuck table 10. Here, the thickness measuring means 40 is a contact-type height gauge that measures the thickness of the wafer 100 whose surface is being ground by the grinding mechanism 20.

[0023] The cleaning mechanism 50 cleans the grinding surface of the wafer after grinding, and includes a spinner table 51 that holds and rotates the polished wafer, and a spray nozzle 52 that sprays cleaning water or high-pressure air toward the polishing surface of the wafer 100.

[0024] Figure 2 is a perspective view of a wafer transfer robot 60 according to the present invention. The illustrated wafer transfer robot 60 is an articulated robot, and a plate-shaped robot hand 70 is mounted on its holder 61. Here, a mounting portion 71 is formed at the base end of the robot hand 70, and the robot hand 70 is attached to the holder 61 of the wafer transfer robot 60 by inserting and fixing this mounting portion 71 into the holder 61.

[0025] The wafer transfer robot 60 is equipped with a drive unit 62 that moves the robot hand 70 to a predetermined position. This drive unit 62 includes a first arm 63, a second arm 64, a robot hand rotation mechanism 65 that rotates the robot hand 70 horizontally, a first arm rotation mechanism 66 that rotates the first arm 63 horizontally, and a second arm rotation mechanism 67 that rotates the second arm 64 horizontally.

[0026] Furthermore, one longitudinal end of the first arm 63 is rotatably connected to the axial robot hand rotation mechanism 65, and the other longitudinal end of the first arm 63 is rotatably connected to one longitudinal end of the second arm 64 via the first arm rotation mechanism 66. In addition, the other longitudinal end of the second arm 64 is connected to the second arm rotation mechanism 67, which also has the function of moving the second arm 64 in the Z-axis direction.

[0027] Here, the robot hand rotation mechanism 65 rotates the robot hand 70 horizontally relative to the first arm 63 using a rotational driving force generated by a rotational driving source (not shown), and the first arm rotation mechanism 66 rotates the first arm 63 horizontally relative to the second arm 64 using a rotational driving force generated by a rotational driving source (not shown). The second arm rotation mechanism 67 rotates the second arm 64 horizontally relative to the Z-axis movement mechanism 68 using a rotational driving force generated by a rotational driving source (not shown). The Z-axis movement mechanism 68 is controlled by a control unit (not shown) and moves the robot hand 70 up and down in the Z-axis direction on the grinding device 1 shown in Figure 1.

[0028] Furthermore, a housing 69 is fixed to the upper end of the robot hand rotation mechanism 65, and a motor (not shown) is housed in this housing 69. The motor's output shaft (motor shaft) 691 protrudes from the housing 69 in the Y-axis direction, which is perpendicular to the vertical direction (Z-axis direction), and a holder 61 is attached to the tip of this output shaft 691.

[0029] Therefore, by driving a motor (not shown) to rotate the robot hand 70 half a turn around the output shaft 691, the robot hand 70 can be flipped so that one face 701 and the other face 702 alternately face upward.

[0030] A circular first communication port 72 is opened on one surface 701 of the mounting portion 71 of the robot hand 70, and a circular second communication port 73 is opened on the other surface 702 of the mounting portion 71 of the robot hand 70. A robot suction path 81 extending from the suction source 80 via a valve mechanism 90 is connected to these first communication ports 72 and second communication ports 73, and as described later, the valve mechanism 90 selectively switches between communication between the suction source 80 and the first communication port 72 (first suction path 77 described later) or the second communication port 73 (second suction path 79 described later) and the suction source 90.

[0031] Figure 3 is a plan view of one side of the robot hand according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a plan view of the other side of the robot hand, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of line AA in Figure 3, and Figure 6 is a system configuration diagram for switching the suction path of the robot hand.

[0032] The robot hand 70 according to the present invention is a flat plate-shaped member having a substantially fork-shaped holding portion 74 at its tip for adsorbing and holding a wafer. On one side 701 of the robot hand 70 shown in Figure 3, four suction cups 75 for adsorbing and holding a wafer 100 are attached to the holding portion 74 at four locations shown (symmetrical positions with respect to the widthwise center line of the robot hand), and a circular hole 76 is opened in the center of each suction cup 75. Here, as shown in Figures 2 and 5, each suction cup 75 is formed into a tapered cylindrical shape that opens toward the opening side (downward in Figure 5) using an elastic material such as elastically deformable rubber. The four circular holes 76 opening in each suction cup 75 and the first communication port 72 opening in the mounting portion 71 of the robot hand 70 are in communication with each other by a first suction passage 77 formed inside the robot hand 60.

[0033] Furthermore, on the other side 702 of the robot hand 70 shown in Figure 4, there are five locations on the holding portion 74 (four locations symmetrical with respect to the widthwise centerline of the robot hand 70 and one location located at the widthwise center of the base end of the holding portion 74), each of which has three circular suction ports 78. Each suction port 78 and the second communication port 73 that opens into the mounting portion 71 of the robot hand 70 are connected to each other by a second suction passage 79 formed inside the robot hand 70.

[0034] Here, the system for switching the suction path of the robot hand 70 will be explained based on Figure 6. The robot suction path 81 extending from the suction source 80 branches into two robot suction paths 811 and 812 in the valve mechanism 90, and electromagnetic valves 91 and 92 are provided in these first and second robot suction paths 811 and 812, respectively. The first suction path 811 extending from each electromagnetic valve 91 and 92 is connected to a first communication port 72 and a second communication port 73, which open into the mounting portions 71 on one side 701 and the other side 702 of the robot hand 70, respectively. The opening and closing control of each electromagnetic valve 91 and 92 is performed by a control unit (not shown).

[0035] Next, the grinding process of a wafer 100 using a grinding apparatus 1 equipped with a robot hand 70 and a wafer transfer robot 60 according to the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 7 and 8. Figure 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the robot hand showing a curved wafer held by a suction cup before grinding, and Figure 8 is a side cross-sectional view of the robot hand showing a wafer held by a suction port after grinding. When grinding the wafer 100, the wafer 100 before grinding is removed from the cassette 101 by the wafer transfer robot 60. Here, as shown in Figure 7, the surface to be ground on the wafer 100 is molded with resin 110, and as this resin 110 shrinks, the wafer 100 warps, and the wafer 100 is curved in a concave shape with a convex shape on the bottom. When removing such a curved wafer 100 before grinding from the cassette 101 by the wafer transfer robot 60, as shown in Figure 7, one side 701 of the robot hand 70 is set facing upwards, and the wafer 100 is supported by four suction cups 75 (only two are shown in Figure 7). The control unit then opens one electromagnetic valve 91 shown in Figure 6 and closes the other electromagnetic valve 92.

[0036] Then, each suction cup 95 is vacuumed by the suction source 80. That is, air is drawn in by the suction source 80 from the circular holes 76 opening in each suction cup 75 through the first suction passage 77, the first communication port 72, the first robot suction passage 811, and the open electromagnetic valve 91, so negative pressure is generated in each suction cup 75, and the curved wafer 100 is held by the robot hand 70 while being sucked in by the negative pressure generated in the four suction cups 75. At this time, each suction cup 75, which is made of an elastic material, elastically deforms along the shape of the curved wafer 100 and adheres closely to the convex surface of the wafer 100, so no gap is formed between the wafer 100 and each suction cup 75. For this reason, suction errors of the wafer 100 due to vacuum leaks etc. do not occur, and the wafer 100 is reliably sucked and held by the robot hand 60. Furthermore, since excessive load is not placed on the support portion of the wafer 100 by the suction cup 75, damage to the wafer 100 is prevented. Alternatively, each suction cup 75 may be attached to the concave surface of the wafer 100 to hold the wafer 100 in place. In this case, the concave wafer 100 housed in the cassette 101 is positioned with its concave side facing downwards.

[0037] As described above, once the wafer 100 is removed from the cassette 101 while being held by the robot hand 70, it is transported to the alignment table 102 shown in Figure 1, where it is aligned. The aligned wafer 100 is then held by the first transport mechanism 103 and transported to the chuck table 10.

[0038] In the chuck table 10, the wafer 100 is placed face down on the holding surface 11 of the chuck table 10. Then, the porous member 13 is evacuated by a suction source (not shown), generating negative pressure in the porous member 13, and the wafer 100, which is placed on the upper surface (holding surface 11) of the porous member 13, is attracted and held on the holding surface 11 by the negative pressure.

[0039] From the above state, a horizontal movement mechanism (not shown) is driven to move the chuck table 10 in the +Y axis direction (rearward), positioning the wafer 100, which is held by suction on the chuck table 10, below the grinding wheel 25 of the grinding mechanism 20. Then, a rotation drive mechanism (not shown) is driven to rotate the chuck table 10 at a predetermined speed. Simultaneously, the spindle motor 23 is started to rotate the grinding wheel 25 at a predetermined speed (for example, 1000 rpm).

[0040] As described above, with the wafer 100 and grinding wheel 25 rotating, the grinding feed mechanism 30 is driven to lower the grinding wheel 25 in the -Z axis direction. That is, when the motor 34 is driven and the ball screw shaft 33 rotates, the lifting plate 31, which is provided with a nut member (not shown) that is screwed onto the ball screw shaft 33, lowers in the -Z axis direction together with the housing 22 and the grinding wheel 25. Then, the lower surface (machining surface) of the grinding wheel 252 of the grinding wheel 25 comes into contact with the upper surface of the wafer 100. In this state, when the grinding wheel 25 is lowered further by a predetermined amount in the -Z axis direction, the upper surface of the wafer 100 is ground by the grinding wheel 252 by a predetermined amount. The thickness of the wafer 100 during grinding is measured by the thickness measuring mechanism 40.

[0041] Once the grinding process on the wafer 100 described above is completed, the vacuum of the porous member 13 is stopped and the suction holding of the wafer 100 is released. Then, the second transport mechanism 103 transports the thin wafer 100 after grinding to the cleaning mechanism 50, where the wafer 100 is placed on the spinner table 51 of the cleaning mechanism 50.

[0042] In the cleaning mechanism 50, the spinner table 51 and the wafer 100 placed on it rotate at a predetermined speed, and cleaning water and high-pressure air are sprayed from the spray nozzle 52 toward the rotating wafer 100. As a result, the upper surface (grinding surface) of the wafer 100 is cleaned by the cleaning water and high-pressure air, and foreign matter such as grinding debris adhering to the upper surface of the wafer 100 is removed. After cleaning is complete, the wafer 100 is held by the robot hand 70 of the wafer transfer robot 60 and transported to the cassette 101, where it is stored.

[0043] When the thin, flat wafer 100, after grinding, is transported from the cleaning mechanism 50 to the cassette 101 by the wafer transport robot 60, the robot hand 70 is rotated halfway so that the other side 702 of the robot hand 70 faces upward as shown in Figure 4. Then, the holding part 74 of the robot hand 70 enters below the spinner table 51 and rises, and the control unit opens one electromagnetic valve 92 as shown in Figure 6 and closes the other electromagnetic valve 91.

[0044] Then, each suction port 78 is evacuated by the suction source 80. That is, the material is sucked in by the suction source 80 from the multiple suction ports 78 opening on the other side 702 of the robot hand 70 through the second suction passage 79, the second communication port 73, the second robot suction passage 812, and the open electromagnetic valve 92, so that negative pressure is generated at each suction port 78, and as shown in Figure 8, the thin and flat wafer 100 that has been ground is securely held by the robot hand 70 in a state where it is sucked in by the negative pressure generated at the multiple suction ports 78.

[0045] Therefore, according to this embodiment, whether the wafer 100 is curved before grinding or thin and flat after grinding, it can be reliably held by the robot hand 70 through suction. As described above, in this embodiment, the curved wafer 100 before grinding is held by suction using the negative pressure generated by four suction cups 75 provided on one side 701 of the robot hand 70, and the thin, flat wafer 100 after grinding is held by suction using the negative pressure generated by a plurality of suction ports 78 opening on the other side 702 of the robot hand 70. Therefore, even if processing debris generated on the wafer 100 before grinding adheres to the suction cups 75, the wafer 100 after grinding, which is held by suction using the negative pressure generated by the plurality of suction ports 78 opening on the other side 702 of the robot hand 70, will not be contaminated by the processing debris adhering to the suction cups 75.

[0046] Furthermore, in this embodiment, one side 701 of a single robot hand 70 is used to suction and hold the curved wafer 100 before grinding, and the other side 702 of the robot hand 70 is used to suction and hold the thin, flat wafer 100 after grinding. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide two robot hands 70 on the wafer transfer robot 60, which prevents the robot hand 70 and the wafer transfer robot 60 equipped with it from becoming larger and increasing in cost.

[0047] Although the above description concerns an application of the present invention to a robot hand provided in a grinding apparatus and a wafer transfer robot equipped therewith, the present invention is similarly applicable to a robot hand provided in any processing apparatus other than a grinding apparatus and a wafer transfer robot equipped therewith.

[0048] Furthermore, while the above embodiments described an example of using suction cups to hold the convex portion of a curved wafer, it is also possible to use suction cups to hold the concave portion of the wafer. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, specification, and drawings. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0049] 1: Grinding device, 2: Base, 3: Case, 4: Input display unit, 5: Column, 10: Chuck table, 11: Holding surface of chuck table, 12 Recess in the chuck table, 13: Porous member, 14: Opening in the base, 15: Cover, 16, 17: Expandable cover, 20: Processing mechanism, 21: Spindle, 22: Housing, 23: Spindle motor, 24: Mount, 25: Grinding wheel, 251: Base, 252: Grinding wheel, 30: Grinding feed mechanism, 31: Lifting plate, 32: Guide rail, 33: Ball screw shaft, 34: Motor, 35: Bracket, 40: Thickness measuring mechanism, 50: Cleaning mechanism, 51: Spinner table, 52: Spray nozzle, 60: Wafer transfer robot, 61: Holder, 62: Drive unit, 63: First arm, 64: Second arm, 65: Robot hand rotation mechanism, 66: First arm rotation mechanism, 67: Second arm rotation mechanism, 69: Housing, 691: Output shaft (motor shaft), 70: Robot hand, 701: One side of the robot hand, 702: Other side of the robot hand, 71: Mounting part, 72: First communication opening, 73: Second communication port, 74: Holding part, 75: Suction cup, 76: Circular hole, 77: First suction path, 78: Suction port, 79: Second suction path, 80: Suction source, 81: Robot suction path, 811: First robot suction path, 812: Second robot suction path, 90: Valve mechanism, 91, 92: Electromagnetic switch valve, 100: Wafer, 101: Cassette, 102: Alignment table, 103: First transport mechanism, 104: Second transport mechanism, 110: Resin

Claims

1. A wafer transport robot equipped with a robotic hand for suction-holding and transporting one side of a wafer, The robot hand includes a mounting portion for attachment to a robot holder, at least three suction cups arranged on one side of the wafer to hold the wafer's concave or convex surface by suction, arranged on a circle centered on the wafer's center so as to surround the center, a first communication opening formed in the mounting portion, and a first suction passage formed inside that connects the suction cups to the first communication opening. A suction port opening on the other side for suction and holding a flat wafer, a second communication port formed in the mounting portion, and a second suction passage formed inside that connects the suction port and the second communication port, Equipped with, A holder for mounting the attachment portion of the robot hand, a robot suction path connecting the holder and a suction source, and a valve disposed at one end of the robot suction path for switching between the first suction path and the second suction path. A wafer handling robot equipped with [a specific feature / ability].

2. A processing apparatus comprising: a chuck table for holding wafers; a processing mechanism for processing wafers held on the chuck table; a cleaning mechanism for cleaning processed wafers; a cassette stage on which a cassette containing wafers is placed; an alignment table for aligning wafers removed from the cassette; a first transport mechanism for transporting wafers aligned on the alignment table to the chuck table; a second transport mechanism for transporting processed wafers from the chuck table to the cleaning mechanism; a wafer transport robot according to Claim 1 for transporting wafers to the cassette stage, the cleaning mechanism, and the alignment table; and a control unit, The control unit is Controlling the valve of the wafer transport robot, connecting the robot suction path connected to the suction source with the first suction path, and controlling the transport of the wafers contained in the cassette placed on the cassette stage to the alignment table, The system controls the valve of the wafer transport robot, connects the robot suction path connected to the suction source with the second suction path, and controls the transport of wafers from the cleaning mechanism to the cassette placed on the cassette stage. Processing equipment.

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