Processing equipment

Abstract

To prevent spray containing machining chips from being ejected from a machining chamber.SOLUTION: A first seal plate 135 and a second seal plate 136 are disposed above a passage port 132 and close the passage port 132 together with a partition plate 62. Further, a space L is defined between the first seal plate 135 and the second seal plate 136. Most of spray W including machining chips, directed toward the passage port 132, is blocked by the first seal plate 135 and the partition plate 62 and stays in a machining chamber 120. In addition, small spray passes through a slight gap G1 between the first seal plate 135 and the partition plate 62 and stays in a space L between the first seal plate 135 and the second seal plate 136 to form a water seal WS. The water seal WS can prevent the spray from being discharged from the passage port 132 of the machining chamber 120.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a grinding apparatus that grinds a wafer held on a chuck table with a grinding wheel. This grinding apparatus includes at least a turntable that arranges two chuck tables, a partition plate that is arranged on the turntable and partitions at least two chuck tables, and a moving mechanism that rotates the turntable and moves the chuck table in the horizontal direction. The chuck table is moved between a processing position and a transfer position as the turntable rotates. At the processing position, the wafer held on the chuck table is ground by the grinding wheel. At the transfer position, the wafer is loaded and unloaded with respect to the chuck table.

[0003] And the grinding apparatus includes a processing chamber that houses the chuck table and the grinding wheel that have moved to the processing position. The side plate of the processing chamber has a passage opening through which the chuck table passes. When the chuck table moves to the processing position, the passage opening is blocked by the partition plate.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the processing chamber where the passage opening is blocked as described above, grinding water is supplied to the rotating grinding wheel while the wafer is being ground by the grinding wheel. As a result, the spray of grinding water, which is affected by the centrifugal force of the grinding wheel, is scattered throughout the processing chamber.

[0006] Furthermore, the spray contains grinding debris and is struck against the partition plate by the centrifugal force of the grinding wheel. As a result, the spray may escape outside the processing chamber through the small gap between the partition plate, which is positioned to block the passage opening, and the passage opening itself. In this case, the spray may contaminate the discharge pad, which is waiting outside the processing chamber to discharge the ground wafer from the chuck table, and the wafer before it is loaded onto the chuck table, which is held by the loading mechanism.

[0007] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to suppress the ejection of a spray containing processing debris from the processing chamber when processing a wafer in the processing chamber using a processing fluid such as grinding water. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention's processing apparatus (this processing apparatus) comprises: a chuck table that holds a wafer on a holding surface; processing means for rotating a processing tool to process the wafer held on the holding surface; processing fluid supply means for supplying processing fluid to the processing tool; and moving means for moving the chuck table horizontally to position the chuck table at a processing position where the wafer held on the holding surface can be processed by the processing tool, and at a transport position for loading and unloading wafers onto the holding surface, wherein the processing apparatus includes: a processing chamber for housing the chuck table and the processing tool when they have moved to the processing position; a passage opening formed in the side plate of the processing chamber through which the chuck table passes; a partition plate erected next to the chuck table and moving horizontally with the chuck table by the moving means to close the lower part of the passage opening when the chuck table moves to the processing position; and at least It consists of a first seal plate on the processing chamber side and a second seal plate on the outside of the processing chamber. It comprises two sealing plates, The gap between the first sealing plate and the partition plate is formed to be larger than the gap between the second sealing plate and the partition plate. .

[0009] In this processing apparatus, the moving means may include a turntable on which at least two chuck tables are arranged, and a rotating mechanism for rotating the turntable, and the turntable may be provided with a partition plate that separates at least two chuck tables. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] In this processing apparatus, at least two sealing plates are positioned above the passage opening of the processing chamber, and together with a partition plate positioned below the passage opening, they seal the opening. Furthermore, since the sealing plates are formed with a gap in the thickness direction of the partition plate, a space is formed between the sealing plates. In this processing apparatus with such a configuration, most of the processing fluid spray generated in the processing chamber and directed toward the passage opening is blocked by the sealing plates and partition plate and remains inside the processing chamber. Smaller spray particles pass through the gap between the sealing plates and partition plate and remain in the space between the sealing plates, forming a water seal. This water seal prevents the spray from being discharged from the passage opening of the processing chamber. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing the configuration of the grinding device. [Figure 2] This is a top view showing the configuration of the processing room. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram showing the first and second gates. [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram showing the first seal plate and the second seal plate. [Figure 5] This is an explanatory diagram showing the first seal plate and the second seal plate. [Figure 6] This is an explanatory diagram showing the water seal formed between the first seal plate and the second seal plate. [Figure 7] This is an explanatory diagram showing the side sealing plate. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] The grinding device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a processing device. The grinding device 1 includes a rough grinding mechanism 30 and a finish grinding mechanism 31, and grinds the wafer 100 held on the chuck table 5 by the rough grinding mechanism 30 and the finish grinding mechanism 31.

[0013] The wafer 100 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a workpiece, and is, for example, a circular semiconductor wafer. Devices (not shown) are formed on the surface 101 of the wafer 100. The surface 101 of the wafer 100 faces downward in FIG. 1 and is protected by attaching a protective tape 105. The back surface 104 of the wafer 100 is a workpiece surface to be subjected to a grinding process.

[0014] The grinding device 1 has a first device base 10 and a second device base 11 disposed behind the first device base 10 (on the +Y direction side). On the front side (-Y direction side) of the first device base 10, a first cassette stage 160 and a second cassette stage 162 are provided. A first cassette 161 in which the wafer 100 before processing is accommodated is placed on the first cassette stage 160. A second cassette 163 in which the wafer 100 after processing is accommodated is placed on the second cassette stage 162.

[0015] The first cassette 161 and the second cassette 163 each include a plurality of shelves inside, and one wafer 100 is accommodated on each shelf. That is, the first cassette 161 and the second cassette 163 accommodate a plurality of wafers 100 in a shelf-like manner.

[0016] The openings (not shown) of the first cassette 161 and the second cassette 163 face the +Y direction side. A robot 155 is disposed on the +Y direction side of these openings. The robot 155 carries (stores) the wafer 100 after processing into the second cassette 163. Further, the robot 155 takes out the wafer 100 before processing from the first cassette 161 and places it on the temporary placement table 154 of the temporary placement mechanism 152.

[0017] The temporary placement mechanism 152 is used to temporarily place the wafer 100 taken out from the first cassette 161, and is provided at a position adjacent to the robot 155. The temporary placement mechanism 152 has a temporary placement table 154 and an alignment member 153. The alignment member 153 includes a plurality of alignment pins arranged outside so as to surround the temporary placement table 154, and a slider that moves the alignment pins in the radial direction of the temporary placement table 154. In the alignment member 153, when the alignment pins are moved toward the center in the radial direction of the temporary placement table 154, the circle connecting the plurality of alignment pins is reduced in diameter. As a result, the wafer 100 placed on the temporary placement table 154 with the back surface 104 facing up is aligned (centered) at a predetermined position.

[0018] An unloading mechanism 170 is provided at a position adjacent to the temporary placement mechanism 152. The unloading mechanism 170 transports the wafer 100 temporarily placed on the temporary placement mechanism 152 to the chuck table 5 located at the transfer position 501 near the temporary placement mechanism 152 and places it on the holding surface 50 thereof. The transfer position 501 is the position of the chuck table 5 when loading and unloading the wafer 100 onto and from the holding surface 50.

[0019] The chuck table 5 has a holding surface 50 for sucking and holding the wafer 100. The holding surface 50 is communicated with a suction source (not shown) and can suck and hold the wafer 100 through the protective tape 105. The chuck table 5 is rotatable about a central axis extending in the Z-axis direction passing through the center of the holding surface 50 while the wafer 100 is sucked and held by the holding surface 50.

[0020] In the present embodiment, three chuck tables 5 are arranged on the upper surface of the turntable 6 disposed on the second device base 11. Each chuck table 5 is covered on its side surface by a chuck table cover 61 provided on the upper surface of the turntable 6.

[0021] Furthermore, the grinding device 1 has three partition plates 62 erected next to the chuck table 5 on the upper surface of the turntable 6. In this embodiment, the partition plates 62 are provided on the upper surface of the turntable 6 so as to extend from the outer edge of the turntable 6 toward the center and to protrude above the upper surface of the chuck table cover 61. The turntable 6 is divided into three substantially equal areas by these partition plates 62, and a chuck table 5 is arranged in each area. Therefore, the three chuck tables 5 are arranged at equal intervals on a circle centered on the center of the turntable 6. The partition plates 62 divide the spaces between the chuck tables 5.

[0022] As described above, the turntable 6 has three chuck tables 5. The grinding device 1 also has a rotation mechanism 60 that rotates the turntable 6. The turntable 6 can rotate on its own axis around a central axis that passes through the center of the turntable 6 and extends in the Z-axis direction, by this rotation mechanism 60. As the turntable 6 rotates, the three chuck tables 5 revolve around it.

[0023] This allows the turntable 6 to move the chuck table 5 horizontally, positioning it at a transport position 501 near the temporary placement mechanism 152, a first processing position 502 below the rough grinding mechanism 30, and a second processing position 503 below the finish grinding mechanism 31. Thus, the turntable 6 and the rotation mechanism 60 that rotates the turntable 6 constitute an example of a moving means that positions the chuck table 5 at the first processing position 502, the second processing position 503, and the transport position 501.

[0024] The first processing position 502 and the second processing position 503 are positions on the chuck table 5 where the wafer 100 held on the holding surface 50 can be processed by a processing tool. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the three chuck tables 5 are configured such that when one chuck table 5 is positioned at the first processing position 502, the other two chuck tables 5 are positioned at the transport position 501 and the second processing position 503, respectively.

[0025] A first column 12 is erected on the rear (+Y direction side) of the second device base 11. A rough grinding mechanism 30 for rough grinding the wafer 100 and a rough grinding feed mechanism 20 for feeding the rough grinding mechanism 30 are arranged on the front of the first column 12. The rough grinding mechanism 30 is an example of a processing means for processing the wafer 100 held on the holding surface 50 by rotating a workpiece.

[0026] The rough grinding feed mechanism 20 comprises a pair of guide rails 201 parallel to the Z-axis direction, a lifting table 203 that slides on the guide rails 201, a ball screw 200 parallel to the guide rails 201, a motor 202 that rotationally drives the ball screw 200, and a holder 204 attached to the lifting table 203. The holder 204 holds the rough grinding mechanism 30.

[0027] The lifting table 203 is slidably mounted on the guide rail 201. A nut (not shown) is fixed to the lifting table 203. A ball screw 200 is screwed into this nut. The motor 202 is connected to one end of the ball screw 200.

[0028] In the rough grinding feed mechanism 20, the motor 202 rotates the ball screw 200, causing the lifting table 203 to move along the guide rail 201 in the Z-axis direction. As a result, the holder 204 attached to the lifting table 203, and the rough grinding mechanism 30 held by the holder 204, also move along the lifting table 203 in the Z-axis direction. In this way, the rough grinding feed mechanism 20 feeds the rough grinding mechanism 30 along the Z-axis direction.

[0029] The rough grinding mechanism 30 includes a spindle housing 301 fixed to a holder 204, a spindle 300 rotatably held in the spindle housing 301, a motor 302 for rotationally driving the spindle 300, a wheel mount 303 attached to the lower end of the spindle 300, and a grinding wheel 304 detachably connected to the lower surface of the wheel mount 303.

[0030] The spindle housing 301 is held in the holder 204 so as to extend in the Z-axis direction. The spindle 300 extends in the Z-axis direction so as to be perpendicular to the holding surface 50 of the chuck table 5 and is rotatably supported in the spindle housing 301.

[0031] Motor 302 is connected to the upper end of spindle 300. This motor 302 causes spindle 300 to rotate around a rotation axis extending in the Z-axis direction.

[0032] The wheel mount 303 is formed in a disc shape and is fixed to the lower end of the spindle 300, rotating in accordance with the rotation of the spindle 300. The wheel mount 303 supports the grinding wheel 304.

[0033] The grinding wheel 304 is formed such that its outer diameter is approximately the same as the outer diameter of the wheel mount 303. The grinding wheel 304 includes an annular wheel base 305 made of a metal material. On the underside of the wheel base 305, a plurality of roughly rectangular parallelepiped-shaped coarse grinding wheels 306 are arranged and fixed in an annular manner around the entire circumference. The coarse grinding wheels 306 are rotated by the rotation of the spindle 300 to grind the back surface 104 of the wafer 100 held in the chuck table 5. The coarse grinding wheels 306 are an example of a workpiece and are grinding wheels containing relatively large abrasive grains.

[0034] Furthermore, the rough grinding mechanism 30 is connected to a grinding water supply unit 90 that supplies grinding water, an example of a processing fluid, to the rough grinding wheel 306. The grinding water supply unit 90 is an example of a processing fluid supply means for supplying processing fluid to a workpiece, and includes a grinding water channel 92 connected to the rough grinding mechanism 30, and a grinding water valve 91 located in the grinding water channel 92. The grinding water channel 92 is connected to a grinding water channel (not shown) that extends in the Z-axis direction inside the spindle 300. The grinding water channel 92 is also connected to a grinding water source 401 via the grinding water valve 91.

[0035] During rough grinding by the rough grinding mechanism 30, the grinding water valve 91 is opened, and the grinding water source 401 is supplied to the grinding water channel in the spindle 300 via the grinding water channel 92. As a result, the grinding water is ejected downward from the opening at the lower end of the grinding water channel toward the rough grinding wheel 306 and supplied to the contact area between the rough grinding wheel 306 and the wafer 100.

[0036] The grinding water supply unit 90 may also be a grinding water nozzle that sprays grinding water onto the outer surface of the coarse grinding wheel 306.

[0037] A first height gauge 81 is positioned adjacent to the chuck table 5 located below the rough grinding mechanism 30. The first height gauge 81 measures the thickness of the wafer 100 by contact or non-contact during rough grinding, for example.

[0038] Furthermore, a second column 13 is erected at the rear of the second device base 11, adjacent to the first column 12 along the X-axis direction. A finish grinding mechanism 31 for finish grinding the wafer 100 and a finish grinding feed mechanism 21 for feeding the finish grinding mechanism 31 are provided on the front of the second column 13. The finish grinding mechanism 31 is an example of a processing means for rotating a workpiece to process the wafer 100 held on the holding surface 50.

[0039] The finish grinding feed mechanism 21 has the same configuration as the rough grinding feed mechanism 20 and can feed the finish grinding mechanism 31 along the Z-axis direction. The finish grinding mechanism 31 has the same configuration as the rough grinding mechanism 30, except that it is equipped with a finish grinding wheel 307 instead of a rough grinding wheel 306. The finish grinding wheel 307 is an example of a workpiece and is a grinding wheel containing relatively small abrasive grains.

[0040] Furthermore, the finish grinding mechanism 31, like the rough grinding mechanism 30, is connected to a grinding water supply unit 90 that supplies grinding water, an example of a processing fluid, to the finish grinding wheel 307. During finish grinding, when the grinding water valve 91 is opened, the grinding water source 401 is supplied to the contact area between the rough grinding wheel 306 and the wafer 100 via the grinding water channel 92 and the grinding water flow path in the spindle.

[0041] A second height gauge 83 is positioned adjacent to the chuck table 5, which is located below the finish grinding mechanism 31. The second height gauge 83 measures the thickness of the wafer 100 by contact or non-contact, for example, during finish grinding.

[0042] After finish grinding, the wafer 100 is discharged by the discharge mechanism 172. The discharge mechanism 172 discharges the wafer 100, which has been held in the chuck table 5 located at the transport position 501, from the chuck table 5 and transports it to the spinner table 157 of the single-wafer spinner cleaning mechanism 156.

[0043] The spinner cleaning mechanism 156 is a spinner cleaning unit for cleaning the wafer 100. The spinner cleaning mechanism 156 includes a spinner table 157 for holding the wafer 100, and a nozzle 158 for spraying cleaning water and drying air toward the spinner table 157.

[0044] In the spinner cleaning mechanism 156, the spinner table 157 holding the wafer 100 rotates, and cleaning water is sprayed toward the back surface 104 of the wafer 100, so that the back surface 104 is spinner cleaned. After that, drying air is blown onto the wafer 100 to dry it.

[0045] The wafer 100, cleaned by the spinner cleaning mechanism 156, is then loaded by the robot 155 into the second cassette 163 on the second cassette stage 162.

[0046] Furthermore, the grinding apparatus 1 has a control unit 7 inside for controlling the grinding apparatus 1. The control unit 7 is equipped with 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 comprehensively controls each component of the grinding apparatus 1. For example, the control unit 7 controls the aforementioned components of the grinding apparatus 1 to perform grinding on the wafer 100.

[0047] Furthermore, the grinding apparatus 1 includes a processing chamber 120 that covers a portion of the turntable 6. The processing chamber 120 is configured to accommodate the chuck table 5, which has been moved to the first processing position 502 and the second processing position 503, and the processing tools, a rough grinding wheel 306 and a finish grinding wheel 307.

[0048] In this embodiment, the machining chamber 120 is provided on the second device base 11 so as to cover the chuck table 5 located at a first machining position 502 below the rough grinding mechanism 30 and a second machining position 503 below the finish grinding mechanism 31, as well as the rough grinding wheel 306 and the finish grinding wheel 307, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

[0049] As shown in Figure 2, the machining chamber 120 has a pair of side walls 121 extending in the Y-axis direction, and a back wall 122 extending in the X-axis direction below the rough grinding mechanism 30 and the finish grinding mechanism 31. The back wall 122 connects the +Y-direction ends of the pair of side walls 121. Furthermore, the machining chamber 120 has a top plate 123 that covers its upper part. The top plate 123 covers the upper part of the space enclosed by the pair of side walls 121 and the back wall 122, the -Y-direction front end wall 126, the first gate 130 and the second gate 140. The top plate 123 is provided with a first introduction hole 124 that allows the introduction of a rough grinding wheel 306 into the machining chamber 120, and a second introduction hole 125 that allows the introduction of a finish grinding wheel 307 into the machining chamber 120.

[0050] Furthermore, the processing chamber 120 has a pair of short front end walls 126 at its -Y direction end, which form part of the -Y direction surface (front surface) of the processing chamber 120. The front end walls 126 are provided at the +X direction and -X direction ends of the processing chamber 120. In addition, the processing chamber 120 has a first gate 130 and a second gate 140 between the pair of front end walls 126, which form another part of the front surface of the processing chamber 120.

[0051] The first gate 130 is used to bring the chuck table 5, which is moved by the turntable 6, into the processing chamber 120. On the other hand, the second gate 140 is used to remove the chuck table 5 from the processing chamber 120 to the outside.

[0052] As shown in Figure 2, the first gate 130 extends from the end of the front end wall 126 on the -X direction side toward the center 127 of the turntable 6. The second gate 140 extends from the end of the front end wall 126 on the +X direction side toward the center 127 of the turntable 6.

[0053] As shown in Figure 3, the first gate 130 and the second gate 140 are provided with side plates 131 formed to close the lower part of the top plate 123. These side plates 131 are provided to extend from the front end wall 126 shown in Figure 2 toward the center 127 of the turntable 6. Also, as shown in Figure 3, a passage opening 132 is formed in these side plates 131 through which the chuck table 5 can pass. In other words, the grinding device 1 has a passage opening 132 formed in the side plate 131 of the processing chamber 120 through which the chuck table 5 passes.

[0054] As described above, when one chuck table 5 is positioned at the first processing position 502, the other two chuck tables 5 are positioned at the transport position 501 and the second processing position 503, respectively. In this embodiment, when the chuck tables 5 are positioned in this manner, as shown in Figure 2, two of the three partition plates 62 provided on the turntable 6 are positioned to overlap the first gate 130 and the second gate 140.

[0055] Therefore, the partition plate 62 moves horizontally with the chuck table 5 by the turntable 6, which is a means of movement, and is configured to close the lower part of the passage openings 132 of the first gate 130 and the second gate 140 when one of the chuck tables 5 moves to the first processing position 502, as shown in Figure 3.

[0056] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the grinding device 1 has two sealing plates, a first sealing plate 135 and a second sealing plate 136, at the first gate 130 and the second gate 140 (only the second sealing plate 136 is shown in Figure 3). The first sealing plate 135 and the second sealing plate 136 are made of, for example, rubber sheets and are positioned on the lower surface of the horizontally extending side plate 131 (the upper surface of the passage opening 132) so as to close the passage opening 132 from above. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, in this embodiment, the horizontal lengths of the first sealing plate 135 and the second sealing plate 136 are approximately equal to the horizontal length of the passage opening 132. Therefore, the space between the sides of the first sealing plate 135 and the second sealing plate 136 and the sides of the passage opening 132 is substantially sealed without any gaps.

[0057] As shown in Figure 4, the first sealing plate 135 is attached to the inner edge (the inner side of the processing chamber 120) of the lower surface of the side plate 131 so as to hang downwards. The second sealing plate 136 is attached to the outer edge (the outer side of the processing chamber 120) of the lower surface of the side plate 131 so as to hang downwards. In other words, the first sealing plate 135 and the second sealing plate 136 are positioned above the passage opening 132 with a gap between them in the horizontal direction, which is the thickness direction of the partition plate 62.

[0058] Furthermore, the first sealing plate 135 and the second sealing plate 136 extend parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition plate 62 that closes the lower part of the passage opening 132. A small gap is provided between the lower ends of the first sealing plate 135 and the second sealing plate 136 and the upper end of the partition plate 62 to prevent contact between the first sealing plate 135 and the second sealing plate 136 and the partition plate 62, thereby preventing obstruction of the rotation of the turntable 6. Hereafter, as shown in Figure 4, the gap between the lower end of the first sealing plate 135 and the upper end of the partition plate 62 will be referred to as gap G1, and the gap between the lower end of the second sealing plate 136 and the upper end of the partition plate 62 will be referred to as gap G2.

[0059] Therefore, when one chuck table 5 is positioned at the first processing position 502, the passage openings 132 of the first gate 130 and the second gate 140 are closed at the bottom by the partition plate 62, and closed at the top by the first sealing plate 135 and the second sealing plate 136 through small gaps G1 and G2. Alternatively, the gap G1 between the partition plate 62 and the first sealing plate 135 may be made larger than the gap G2 between the partition plate 62 and the second sealing plate 136 to facilitate the entry of the spray W into the space L, while the smaller gap G2 allows water to accumulate in the space L, thereby forming a water seal WS.

[0060] In the grinding apparatus 1 having this configuration, when the wafer 100 is ground by the rough grinding mechanism 30 or the finish grinding mechanism 31 shown in Figure 1, grinding water is supplied from the grinding water supply unit 90 between the rotating rough grinding wheel 306 or the finish grinding wheel 307 and the wafer 100. Then, in the processing chamber 120, a spray of grinding water containing grinding debris is generated, and this spray is scattered by the centrifugal force of the rough grinding wheel 306 or the finish grinding wheel 307 and heads towards the passage openings 132 of the first gate 130 and the second gate 140.

[0061] In the grinding apparatus 1, as shown in Figure 4, the first sealing plate 135 and the second sealing plate 136 are positioned above the passage opening 132, and together with the partition plate 62 positioned below the passage opening 132, they close the passage opening 132. Furthermore, since the first sealing plate 135 and the second sealing plate 136 are formed with a gap between them in the horizontal direction, a space L is formed between them.

[0062] Therefore, as shown in Figure 5, most of the spray W containing processing debris that heads toward the passage opening 132 is blocked by the first sealing plate 135 and the partition plate 62, and is scattered into the processing chamber 120. The spray W scattered into the processing chamber 120 is then exhausted from an exhaust port located in the processing chamber 120 and communicating with a suction source.

[0063] Furthermore, when the coarse grinding wheel 306 or the finish grinding wheel 307 is subjected to centrifugal force and blocked by the first seal plate 135 and the partition plate 62, the spray W1 passes through the gap G1 between the first seal plate 135 and the partition plate 62. The spray W1 then remains in the space L between the first seal plate 135 and the second seal plate 136. As a result, as shown in Figure 6, a water seal WS consisting of the grinding water spray is formed on the upper end surface of the partition plate 62. This water seal WS prevents the spray that has passed through the gap G1 from leaking out and being discharged from the passage opening 132 of the processing chamber 120. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the loading mechanism 170 and the unloading mechanism 172, which are located outside the passage opening 132, as well as the wafer 100 on the chuck table 5 located at the transport position 501, from becoming contaminated by the spray.

[0064] Furthermore, the water seal WS can increase or maintain its size by absorbing small spray particles that have newly entered the space L through the gap G1. After the volume of the water seal WS has become sufficiently large, in order to maintain its volume, some of the water forming the water seal WS flows radially along the turntable 6 along the first seal plate 135 and the second seal plate 136 and is discharged from both ends of the first seal plate 135 and the second seal plate 136. In other words, both ends in the longitudinal direction of the first seal plate 135 and the second seal plate 136 act as drainage outlets. This prevents the volume of the water seal WS from becoming too large. After the volume of the water seal WS has become sufficiently large, in order to maintain its volume, the water from the water seal WS may be drained through the gap G1 or the gap G2.

[0065] As shown in Figure 7, protrusions 621 rising upward between the first seal plate 135 and the second seal plate 136 may be formed at both longitudinal ends of the upper surface of the partition plate 62 (Figure 7 shows only the protrusion 621 formed at one end of the upper surface of the partition plate 62). Such protrusions 621 can suppress the discharge of water from both ends of the first seal plate 135 and the second seal plate 136, making it possible to increase the volume of the water seal WS. This makes it possible to effectively suppress spray leakage with a larger water seal WS. In this case, after the volume of the water seal WS has become sufficiently large, the water from the water seal WS is drained through gap G1 or gap G2 in order to maintain that volume.

[0066] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 7, a side sealing plate 138 may be provided on the portion of the side plate 131 facing the side portion 622 of the partition plate 62 to close the gap between the side portion 622 of the partition plate 62 and the side plate 131. The upper end of the side sealing plate 138 is in contact with, for example, the lower end of the second sealing plate 136.

[0067] The side sealing plate 138 prevents spray leakage from the gap between the side portion 622 of the partition plate 62 and the side plate 131. The side sealing plate 138 also facilitates the drainage of water accumulated in the space L (see Figure 4) formed above the partition plate 62.

[0068] The side sealing plate 138 may be provided as a single plate on the side plate 131, or two or more plates may be provided at intervals in the horizontal direction, which is the thickness direction of the partition plate 62. The side sealing plate 138 may be made of rubber, or a plate made of sponge or brush.

[0069] Furthermore, the side sealing plate 138 may be attached to the inner surface of the side plate 131 that forms the side of the passage opening 132, or it may be attached to the outer surface of the side plate 131, as shown in Figure 7. Similarly, the first sealing plate 135 and the second sealing plate 136 may be attached to the lower surface of the side plate 131 that forms the upper surface of the passage opening 132, as shown in Figure 4, or they may be attached to the outer surface of the side plate 131, as shown in Figure 7.

[0070] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the grinding device 1 is equipped with two sealing plates, a first sealing plate 135 and a second sealing plate 136. In this regard, the grinding device 1 only needs to be equipped with at least two sealing plates on the side plate 131. Therefore, the grinding device 1 may be equipped with three or more sealing plates.

[0071] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the turntable 6 has three chuck tables 5. In this regard, the turntable 6 only needs to have at least two chuck tables 5 and a partition plate 62 that separates at least two chuck tables. Therefore, the turntable 6 may have two chuck tables 5 or four or more chuck tables 5.

[0072] Furthermore, the processing apparatus according to this embodiment is not limited to the grinding apparatus 1 equipped with the turntable 6 as described above, but may also be a grinding apparatus equipped with a single chuck table, as disclosed in Patent Document 3. This grinding apparatus is equipped with a means for horizontally moving the chuck table between a processing position and a transport position. A partition plate is placed next to the chuck table. This partition plate is configured to close the lower part of the passage opening of the processing chamber when the chuck table moves to the processing position. At least two sealing plates are provided above the passage opening, spaced apart in the thickness direction of the partition plate. In this configuration as well, the water seal formed between the two sealing plates prevents spray from being discharged from the passage opening of the processing chamber. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0073] 1: Grinding device, 5: Chuck table, 6: Turntable, 7: Control unit, 10: First device base, 11: Second device base, 12: First column, 13: Second column, 20: Rough grinding feed mechanism, 21: Finish grinding feed mechanism, 30: Rough grinding mechanism, 31: Finishing grinding mechanism, 50: Holding surface, 60: Rotation mechanism, 61: Chuck table cover, 62: Partition plate, 81: First height gauge, 83: Second height gauge, 90: Grinding water supply unit, 91: Grinding water valve, 92: Grinding water channel, 100: Wafer, 101: Front surface, 104: Back surface, 105: Protective tape, 120: Processing room, 121: Side wall, 122: Back wall, 123: Top plate, 124: First introduction hole, 125: Second entry hole, 126: Front end wall, 130: First gate, 131: Side panel, 132: Pass-through opening, 135: First sealing plate, 136: Second sealing plate, 138: Side seal plate, 140: Second gate, 152: Temporary placement mechanism, 153: Alignment member, 154: Temporary placement table, 155: Robot, 156: Spinner cleaning mechanism, 157: Spinner table, 158: Nozzle, 160: First cassette stage, 161: First cassette, 162: Second cassette stage, 163: Second cassette, 170: Loading mechanism, 172: Discharge mechanism, 200: Ball screw, 201: Guide rail, 202: Motor, 203: Height-adjustable table, 204: Holder, 300: Spindle, 301: Spindle housing, 302: Motor, 303: Wheel mount, 304: Grinding wheel, 305: Wheel base, 306: Coarse grinding wheel, 307: Finishing grinding wheel, 401: Grinding water source, 501: Conveying position, 502: First processing position, 503: Second processing position, 621: convex part, 622: lateral part, G1: Gap, G2: Gap, L: Space, W: Spray, W1: Spray, WS: Water seal

Claims

1. A processing apparatus comprising: a chuck table for holding a wafer on a holding surface; processing means for rotating a processing tool to process the wafer held on the holding surface; processing fluid supply means for supplying processing fluid to the processing tool; and moving means for moving the chuck table horizontally to position the chuck table at a processing position where the wafer held on the holding surface can be processed by the processing tool, and at a transport position for loading and unloading wafers from the holding surface, A processing chamber that houses the chuck table and the processing tool when they are moved to the processing position, A passage opening formed in the side plate of the processing chamber through which the chuck table passes, A partition plate is erected next to the chuck table and moves horizontally with the chuck table by the moving mechanism, closing the lower part of the passage opening when the chuck table moves to the processing position. The device comprises two sealing plates, one on the processing chamber side and the other on the outside of the processing chamber, which are positioned above the passage opening, spaced apart in the thickness direction of the partition plate, and extending parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partition plate, thereby closing the lower part of the passage opening. The gap between the first sealing plate and the partition plate is formed to be larger than the gap between the second sealing plate and the partition plate. Processing equipment.

2. The means of transport is, A turntable on which at least two of the chuck tables are arranged, It comprises a rotating mechanism for rotating the turntable, The turntable is equipped with a partition plate that separates at least two chuck tables. The processing apparatus according to claim 1.

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