Wafer roller assembly

Abstract

Disclosed is a wafer roller assembly structure capable of improving assemblability and reducing manufacturing costs. The present invention relates to a wafer roller assembly which is engaged with an edge of a wafer to support and rotate the wafer, the wafer roller assembly including: a support body having a first coupling unit; a rotation body having a second coupling unit to be coupled to the first coupling unit and having a support groove having the outer circumference where the edge of the wafer is engaged and supported, wherein the first coupling unit and the second coupling unit are rotatably coupled in a screw fastening manner by the rotation of the rotation body.

Description

Wafer roller assembly

[0001] The present invention relates to a roller assembly used in a wafer cleaning device, and more particularly, to a wafer roller assembly that facilitates replacement and improves assembly.

[0002] In general, the steps on the wafer surface increase due to the trend toward higher density and miniaturization of semiconductor devices and multi-layered wiring structures. To flatten these steps, a polishing process is applied, and one of the methods applied in the polishing process is the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. The chemical mechanical polishing process is a polishing process that combines chemical removal processing and mechanical removal processing into a single processing method. It is a method of flattening the surface of a wafer with steps by rotating it against a polishing pad and injecting slurry between the wafer and the polishing pad.

[0003] Wafers that have undergone this chemical mechanical polishing process undergo a cleaning process to remove any remaining slurry and fine particles from their surface before moving on to the next process. During the cleaning process, multiple roller units engage the edges of the wafer, supporting it while rotating it. The slurry and fine particles remaining on the surface of the rotating wafer are removed using brushes.

[0004] A roller unit that supports and rotates a wafer is generally composed of a rotating body (roller) that supports the edge of the wafer and a support body on which the rotating body is supported. The rotating body is mounted on the upper part of the support body, a bushing is inserted into the center of the rotating body, a screw penetrates the bushing from the upper part of the rotating body and is fastened to the support body, and an end cap is coupled to the upper part of the screw fastened to the support body.

[0005] However, since the conventional roller unit is structured so that the rotating body is fastened and separated from the support body through a screw, the work of assembling or separating the rotating body from the support body is time-consuming and cumbersome, resulting in poor workability. In addition, there was a problem that the screw frequently loosened due to the rotation and vibration of the roller unit during the process of rotating the wafer, which caused damage to the wafer during the wafer cleaning process.

[0006] In addition, the existing roller unit had problems such as the plastic being worn due to friction between the plastic-made rotating body and support and the metal-made screw during the process of attaching and detaching the rotating body to the support using a screw, causing contaminants such as fine particles to be generated at the attaching area, thereby contaminating the surface of the wafer.

[0007] In addition, the existing roller unit rotates the wafer while the wafer is interlocked and, during the process of cleaning the wafer using a cleaning solution, the cleaning solution flows between the roller unit and the wafer, causing a slip phenomenon at the contact point between the roller unit and the wafer, which prevents the wafer from rotating smoothly during the cleaning process and reduces the cleaning quality of the wafer.

[0008] The present invention has been devised to solve the above-mentioned problem, and the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a wafer roller assembly capable of firmly connecting a rotating body to a support body without using a separate screw.

[0009] Another technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a wafer roller assembly that can improve assembly efficiency and reduce manufacturing costs by minimizing the number of assembly parts and simplifying the assembly structure.

[0010] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a wafer roller assembly that can prevent a slip phenomenon of a wafer that occurs when a cleaning solution flows between the wafer and the roller assembly during a wafer cleaning process using a cleaning solution, and that enables quantitative rotation of the wafer.

[0011] The present invention for solving the above-mentioned technical problem is a wafer roller assembly that supports and rotates a wafer by engaging with the edge of the wafer, comprising: a support body having a first engaging portion; and a rotating body having a second engaging portion engaged with the first engaging portion and having a supporting groove formed around its outer circumference in which the edge of the wafer is engaged and supported; characterized in that the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion are rotationally coupled in a screw-fastening manner by rotation of the rotating body.

[0012] The first connecting portion may have a cylindrical shape protruding from the upper surface of the support body and a male screw portion formed on the outer surface thereof, and the second connecting portion may have a recessed shape corresponding to the first connecting portion on the lower surface of the rotating body and a female screw portion formed on the inner surface thereof to be connected to the male screw portion.

[0013] Alternatively, the first connecting portion may have a shape sunken in the form of a circular groove on the upper surface of the support body and a female screw portion formed on the inner surface, and the second connecting portion may have a shape protruding in a shape corresponding to the first connecting portion on the lower surface of the rotating body and a male screw portion formed on the outer surface to be connected to the female screw portion.

[0014] The fastening direction of the above support and the rotating body can be formed to be the same as the rotation direction of the wafer roller assembly.

[0015] The above-mentioned rotating body includes an inner core and an outer core disposed outside the inner core and having a support groove formed on the outer periphery, and the inner core may be composed of a hard resin and the outer core may be composed of a soft resin.

[0016] The inner core and outer core can be formed as one piece through double injection molding.

[0017] The above second connecting portion can be formed on the lower surface of the inner core.

[0018] The inner core above may have multiple cavities formed inwardly on the outer surface.

[0019] The above-mentioned rotating body can be combined and separated from the support body using an external dedicated tool, and an assembly groove can be formed on the upper surface of the rotating body into which an assembly pin provided in the dedicated tool is inserted.

[0020] The above assembly grooves can be arranged in pairs at equal intervals along the rotational direction of the rotating body.

[0021] The above assembly groove may have a shape in which a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion overlap each other.

[0022] In the above assembly groove, the small diameter part can be positioned in the rotational direction of the rotating body in which the fastening between the support body and the rotating body is released.

[0023] A support groove may be formed on the outer circumference of the above-mentioned rotating body to support the edge of the wafer, and a pressing projection may be formed on the inner wall surface of the support groove to contact the edge of the wafer and elastically press the wafer.

[0024] The above-mentioned pressing protrusions may be formed in a plurality of equal intervals along the inner wall surface of the support groove.

[0025] The above-mentioned pressing projection may have a rounded curved shape as a pressing surface that elastically presses the wafer.

[0026] A scratch groove may be formed on at least one of the inner wall surface of the above-mentioned support groove and the pressure surface of the pressure projection.

[0027] The above scratch home may have a vertical straight groove shape from top to bottom.

[0028] The above scratch home may have a straight groove shape in a diagonal direction from the top to the bottom.

[0029] A scratch groove may be formed on at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the above support groove.

[0030] According to the wafer roller assembly structure of the present invention, since the rotating body is directly connected to the support body by screw fastening without using a screw, the assembly efficiency is improved and the assembly time can be shortened.

[0031] In addition, while the conventional roller assembly used many additional parts such as bushings, screws, and end caps to connect the rotating body to the support, the present invention assembles the rotating body to the support body directly by screw connection without using additional parts such as bushings, screws, and end caps, thereby reducing the total number of assembly parts and significantly reducing manufacturing costs.

[0032] In addition, the conventional roller assembly had a problem in that the cleaning liquid seeped into the screw fastening portion during the wafer cleaning process, corroding the screw, thereby reducing the bonding strength between the rotor and the support, but in the present invention, the rotor made of a resin material manufactured as a single unit is directly fastened to the support without a screw, and no gap space is formed on the upper surface of the rotor through which the cleaning liquid can flow, so the cleaning liquid does not seep into the roller assembly, preventing the phenomenon of the fastening portion being corroded.

[0033] In addition, in the process of fastening the rotating body to the support using a screw, the existing roller assembly causes the plastic rotating body and the support to come into contact with the metal screw, resulting in the generation of contaminants such as fine particles at the fastening area. However, the wafer roller assembly of the present invention does not use a metal screw, but directly fastens the plastic rotating body to the support of the same material by screwing it, thereby preventing the generation of contaminants such as fine particles during the fastening process of the rotating body and the support, thereby preventing the situation in which the surface of the wafer is contaminated in advance.

[0034] In addition, by forming the direction in which the rotating body and the support body are fastened to be the same as the direction in which the wafer roller assembly rotates, the fastening force between the rotating body and the support body gradually weakens as the rotational movement of the wafer roller assembly continues, thereby preventing the rotating body from being released from the support body.

[0035] In addition, when fastening a rotating body to a support, the rotating body can be fastened by aligning it to the exact position of the support by using the alignment protrusion and alignment groove structure, and the phenomenon of the rotating body being fastened to the support in a tilted state due to the male screw portion and female screw portion not being accurately engaged with each other during the fastening of the rotating body and the support can be prevented. In addition, there is an effect of increasing the contact area between the rotating body and the support according to the interlocking structure of the alignment protrusion and alignment groove, thereby increasing the bonding strength between the rotating body and the support.

[0036] In addition, by configuring the assembly and separation of the rotor and the support to be possible using a dedicated tool when assembling or separating them, the situation in which the rotor is arbitrarily separated from the support due to an unexpected external force can be prevented in advance. In addition, as the fastening force between the rotor and the support increases, the rotor can be easily separated from the support only by using a dedicated tool, so the situation in which the rotor is arbitrarily separated from the support during the wafer cleaning process can be prevented in advance.

[0037] In addition, since a pressing protrusion capable of elastically pressing the wafer horizontally during the rotation of the wafer is formed in the support groove portion of the roller assembly where the edge of the wafer is engaged, the contact friction between the roller assembly and the wafer increases, thereby preventing the slip phenomenon of the wafer caused by the cleaning liquid flowing between the wafer and the roller assembly during the wafer cleaning process. Accordingly, since the rotational driving force of the roller assembly is fully transmitted to the wafer during the wafer cleaning process, the wafer can rotate smoothly at a set speed without the slip phenomenon, and thus uniform cleaning work can be performed over the entire surface of the wafer, thereby improving the cleaning quality of the wafer.

[0038] In addition, since a plurality of elastically deformable pressure protrusions are formed at equal intervals around the inner wall surface of the support groove of the rotating body, reliable quantitative rotation of the wafer can be achieved in accordance with the number and interval of formation of the pressure protrusions, and since the output speed of the wafer can always be maintained at a set speed in accordance with the input speed of the roller assembly, the cleaning quality of the wafer can be improved.

[0039] In addition, since the pressing surface of the pressing projection that presses the wafer horizontally is formed in a rounded curved shape, when the pressing projection of the rotating body makes initial contact with the edge contact surface of the wafer, a soft contact with minimal impact is possible, thereby preventing damage to the contact surface of the wafer due to contact with the pressing projection, and even if the pressing projection repeatedly makes contact with the contact surface of the wafer during the rotation of the roller assembly, the contact impact applied to the wafer is minimized, thereby preventing damage to the wafer. In addition, even if the pressing projection repeatedly makes contact with the wafer, the rounded pressing surface shape of the pressing projection disperses the stress due to the contact, thereby preventing the pressing projection from being easily broken.

[0040] In addition, since the material of the pressure projection is formed of a resin material that is more flexible than the material of the rotating body, even if the pressure projection repeatedly comes into contact with the contact surface of the wafer, the contact impact with the wafer is minimized, thereby preventing damage to the contact surface of the wafer. In addition, the pressure projection made of a flexible resin material is elastically deformed in the process of coming into contact with the contact surface of the wafer, thereby reliably pushing and rotating the wafer. In addition, along with the rotational force of the wafer, the contact surface of the wafer subsequently comes into contact with the inner wall surface of the support groove, thereby applying continuous rotational force to the wafer, so that the wafer can always rotate at a constant speed without slipping. Accordingly, the contact surface of the wafer always maintains a state of contact with the inner wall surface of the support groove and rotates without slipping, so that the wafer always rotates smoothly without vibration, thereby having the advantage of stably performing the wafer cleaning operation.

[0041] In addition, since a scratch groove pattern is formed on at least one of the inner wall surface of the support groove that comes into contact with the edge contact surface of the wafer and the pressure surface of the pressure projection, the contact frictional force with the wafer is further increased due to the scratch groove pattern when in contact with the contact surface of the wafer, thereby more completely suppressing the slip phenomenon that may occur between the roller assembly and the wafer, and thus, there is an advantage that the output speed of the wafer can always be maintained constant in accordance with the input speed of the roller assembly. In particular, since the scratch groove is formed in a vertical or diagonal linear groove pattern structure that faces downward, even if a cleaning solution flows into the scratch groove during the wafer cleaning process, the cleaning solution does not remain in the scratch groove but can be continuously discharged downward, thereby minimizing the slip phenomenon of the wafer caused by the residual cleaning solution.

[0042] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a wafer roller assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] Fig. 2 is a side view of the wafer roller assembly of Fig. 1.

[0044] Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of Figure 1.

[0045] Fig. 4 is a side view of the support of Fig. 3.

[0046] Fig. 5 is a plan view of the rotating body of Fig. 3 viewed from above.

[0047] Fig. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the rotating body of Fig. 3.

[0048] Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the rotating body of Fig. 3, virtually separated.

[0049] Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the cross-sectional structure of a wafer roller assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0050] Figure 9 is a perspective view showing the structure of a dedicated tool that can assemble or disassemble a rotating body to a support body.

[0051] Figure 10 is an example drawing showing an assembly pin of a special tool being inserted into an assembly groove formed on the upper surface of a rotating body.

[0052] Figure 11 is an exemplary diagram illustrating the direction in which a rotating body is separated or joined from a support body by use of a dedicated tool.

[0053] Fig. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of a wafer roller assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0054] Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the wafer roller assembly of Fig. 12.

[0055] Fig. 14 is a side view showing a wafer roller assembly structure according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0056] Fig. 15 is a detailed drawing showing the detailed structure of a pressure projection formed in a support groove portion of a rotating body in the roller assembly of Fig. 14.

[0057] Fig. 16 is an exemplary diagram showing a wafer being rotated by the rotational drive of the roller assembly while a plurality of roller assemblies of Fig. 14 are engaged with the edge of the wafer.

[0058] Figure 17 is a side view showing the edge of the wafer being engaged and in contact with the support groove portion of the roller assembly on which the pressure projection is formed.

[0059] Figure 18 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the pressurizing projection coming into contact with the edge contact surface of the wafer by the rotation of the rotating body.

[0060] Figure 19 is an operational diagram sequentially showing the process before and after a pressure projection formed on the inner wall surface of a support groove comes into contact with the edge contact surface of a wafer as the roller assembly rotates.

[0061] Figure 20 is an exemplary drawing showing a modified example in which a vertical straight scratch groove pattern is formed on the inner wall surface of a support groove of a rotating body.

[0062] Figure 21 is an exemplary drawing showing another modified example in which a diagonal straight scratch groove pattern is formed on the inner wall surface of the support groove of the rotating body.

[0063] Figure 22 is an exemplary drawing showing another modified example in which a scratch groove pattern is formed on the inner wall surface of the support groove and the upper and lower surfaces of the support groove, respectively.

[0064] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0065] These examples are provided to more fully explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. The following examples may be modified in various ways, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples. Rather, these examples are provided to more faithfully and completely explain the present disclosure and fully convey the spirit of the present invention.

[0066] The terms used herein are used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, the singular forms used herein may include the plural forms, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0067] The drawings are intended solely to facilitate understanding of the invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Furthermore, relative thicknesses, lengths, and sizes in the drawings may be exaggerated for convenience and clarity of explanation.

[0068] Referring to the attached drawings 1 to 8, a wafer roller assembly (100) according to a first embodiment of the present invention has a function of supporting and rotating a wafer by having a plurality of rollers interlocked in a certain arrangement at the edge of the wafer in a cleaning process for removing slurry and fine particles remaining on the surface of the wafer after a CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) process.

[0069] A wafer roller assembly (100) according to the present invention includes a support (110) and a rotating body (140). The rotating body (140) in contact with the wafer is coupled to the support (110) and supported by the support (110). The supporting body (110) is connected to a driving means such as a motor (not shown) to transmit rotational force to the rotating body (140). That is, as the motor operates, the supporting body (110) and the rotating body (140) coupled to the supporting body (110) rotate simultaneously, and the wafer engaged with the outer surface of the rotating body (140) rotates.

[0070] The support (110) has a first coupling portion (112) for coupling with a rotating body (140). The first coupling portion (112) is rotationally coupled with a second coupling portion (126) of the rotating body (140) described later in a screw-fastening manner.

[0071] The first connecting portion (112) has a flat cylindrical shape on the upper surface of the support (110) and has a shape that protrudes upwards by a predetermined height. The first connecting portion (112) has a male screw portion (113) formed on the outer surface. The male screw portion (113) is rotationally connected to the female screw portion (127) of the second connecting portion (126) described later in a screw-fastening manner.

[0072] At this time, the diameter of the first coupling portion (112) may be formed to be at least 1 / 2 of the upper surface diameter of the support (110). If the diameter of the first coupling portion (112) is formed to be less than 1 / 2 of the upper surface diameter of the support (110), the contact area between the male screw portion (113) of the support (110) and the female screw portion (127) of the rotor (140) may be small, thereby weakening the bonding force between the support (110) and the rotor (140). Therefore, it is preferable to form the diameter of the first coupling portion (112) to be at least 1 / 2 of the upper surface diameter of the support (110). At this time, it is also possible to increase the protruding height of the first coupling portion (112) so that the contact area between the male screw portion (113) of the support (110) and the female screw portion (127) of the rotor (140) may be further increased.

[0073] Such a support (110) may be composed of an engineering plastic material. For example, the support (110) may be composed of PEEK (Polyetheretherketone) resin, which has the highest level of heat resistance and mechanical strength among engineering plastic materials and excellent chemical resistance. The support (110) may be injection-molded using PEEK resin so that the first joint (112) is integrally formed on the upper surface.

[0074] Meanwhile, the rotating body (140) is rotatably connected to the upper part of the support body (110) in a screw-fastening manner. The rotating body (140) is directly engaged with the edge of the wafer (not shown) and supported by the support body (110).

[0075] The rotating body (140) is formed with a support groove (134) on the outer circumference thereof, in which the edges of the wafer are engaged and supported. When viewed from the side of the rotating body (140), the support groove (134) may have a groove shape in which one side of the outer circumference of the rotating body (140) is recessed in a square shape toward the center of the rotating body (140), and when viewed from the top of the rotating body (140), it may have a circular groove shape that follows the outer circumference of the rotating body (140).

[0076] The rotating body (140) has a second connecting portion (126) for connecting with the support body (110). The second connecting portion (126) of the rotating body (140) is rotationally connected to the first connecting portion (112) of the support body (110) in a screw-fastening manner.

[0077] The second coupling portion (126) has a circular groove shape that is sunken into the lower surface of the rotating body (140) in a shape corresponding to the first coupling portion (112) of the support body (110). The second coupling portion (126) has a female screw portion (127) formed on the inner surface that is fastened to the male screw portion (113) of the first coupling portion (112). That is, the female screw portion (127) of the second coupling portion (126) is rotationally fastened to the male screw portion (113) of the first coupling portion (112) in a screw fastening manner.

[0078] In this case, since the second connecting portion (126) of the rotating body (140) is formed to have a large diameter size corresponding to the diameter of the first connecting portion (112) of the support body (110), when the rotating body (140) and the support body (110) are connected, the male screw portion (113) of the first connecting portion (112) and the female screw portion (127) of the second connecting portion (126) are fastened to each other with a large contact area, so that the connecting force between the rotating body (140) and the support body (110) can be greatly increased.

[0079] The rotating body (140) can be integrally injection-molded with the second connecting portion (126) on the lower surface to form one body.

[0080] In such a wafer roller assembly (100), the first coupling portion (112) and the second coupling portion (126) are rotationally coupled in a screw-fastening manner by the rotation of the rotating body (140). That is, when assembling the wafer roller assembly (100), if the second coupling portion (126) of the rotating body (140) is positioned above the first coupling portion (112) of the support body (110) and the rotating body (140) is rotated in the fastening direction (locking direction), the female thread portion (127) of the inner surface of the second coupling portion (126) can be rotationally coupled in a screw-fastening manner to the male thread portion (113) of the outer surface of the first coupling portion (112).

[0081] In this way, unlike conventional roller assemblies that use separate screws to connect a rotating body to a support, the wafer roller assembly (100) of the present invention has a rotating body (140) directly connected to the support body (110) by screw fastening without a screw, so that assembly between the rotating body (140) and the support body (110) can be performed very simply and quickly, thereby improving assembly efficiency and shortening assembly time.

[0082] In addition, while the existing roller assembly used many additional parts such as bushings, screws, and end caps to connect the rotating body to the support, the wafer roller assembly (100) of the present invention assembles the rotating body (140) itself directly to the support body (110) by screw fastening without using additional parts such as bushings, screws, and end caps, so that the total number of assembly parts constituting the wafer roller assembly (100) is greatly reduced, and thus the manufacturing cost of the roller assembly (100) can be greatly reduced.

[0083] Meanwhile, the first joint portion (112) of the support (110) and the second joint portion (126) of the rotor (140) are provided with alignment means capable of aligning the rotor (140) to be positioned at the exact assembly position of the support (110). The alignment means includes an alignment protrusion (114) formed in the first joint portion (112) and an alignment groove (128) formed in the second joint portion (126).

[0084] The alignment protrusion (114) has a cylindrical shape that protrudes upward from the center of the upper surface of the first connecting portion (112) of the support body (110). At this time, the diameter of the alignment protrusion (114) is formed to be sufficiently smaller than the diameter of the first connecting portion (112). Correspondingly, the alignment groove (128) is formed to have a groove shape corresponding to the alignment protrusion (114) inside the second connecting portion (126) of the rotating body (140).

[0085] In this way, by forming an alignment protrusion (114) in the first connecting portion (112) of the support (110) and forming an alignment groove (128) corresponding to the alignment protrusion (114) in the second connecting portion (126) of the rotating body (140), when assembling the rotating body (140) to the support (110), the rotating body (140) can be fastened to the support (110) while being aligned at the exact assembly position of the support (110) using the alignment protrusion (114) and alignment groove (128) structures. In this way, when assembling the rotating body (140) to the support body (110), the male screw portion (113) of the first connecting portion (112) and the female screw portion (127) of the second connecting portion (126) do not precisely engage with each other, thereby preventing the rotating body (140) from being incorrectly fastened to the support body (110) in an inclined state.

[0086] In addition, the rotating body (140) and the support body (110) are provided with a structure in which the alignment protrusion (114) and the alignment groove (128) have an additional contact area and are interlocked separately from the connection by the male screw portion (113) of the first connecting portion (112) and the female screw portion (127) of the second connecting portion (126), thereby greatly increasing the contact area between the rotating body (140) and the support body (110), thereby further increasing the bonding strength between the rotating body (140) and the support body (110).

[0087] The rotating body (140) may be composed of an engineering plastic material, similar to the support body (110) mentioned above. Accordingly, the wafer roller assembly (100) has a structure in which the rotating body (140) composed of an engineering plastic material is directly fastened to the support body (110) composed of the same engineering plastic material. That is, the wafer roller assembly (100) of the present invention can be directly fastened to the support body (110) composed of the same engineering plastic material by a screw fastening method, without using any fastening means made of a metal material such as a screw.

[0088] In the case of a conventional roller assembly that fastens a rotating body to a support using a metal screw, there was a problem that the cleaning solution seeped into the screw fastening portion during the wafer cleaning process, corroding the screw, thereby reducing the bonding strength between the rotating body and the support. However, the wafer roller assembly (100) of the present invention has a structure in which a resin-made rotating body (140) manufactured as a single unit is directly fastened to a resin-made support (110) without a separate screw, and since no gap space is formed on the upper surface of the rotating body (140) through which the cleaning solution can penetrate, the cleaning solution does not seep into the wafer roller assembly (100), thereby corroding the fastening portion, thereby preventing the problem of reducing the bonding strength between the rotating body (140) and the support (110).

[0089] In addition, when assembling the wafer roller assembly (100), the fastening direction (F) of the support (110) and the rotating body (140) has the same direction as the rotation direction of the wafer roller assembly (100). In this way, if the direction in which the rotating body (140) rotates is formed to be the same as the direction in which the wafer roller assembly (100) rotates so that the rotating body (140) is fastened to the support (110), as the rotational movement of the wafer roller assembly (100) engaged with the edge of the wafer continues, the fastening force between the rotating body (140) and the supporting body (110) gradually weakens, thereby preventing the rotating body (140) from being released from the supporting body (110).

[0090] The rotor (140) includes an inner core (120) and an outer core (130) made of different materials. The rotor (140) has a shape in which the outer core (130) is arranged on the outside of the inner core (120) in a manner that surrounds the inner core (120).

[0091] Figure 7 illustrates a rotating body (140) virtually separated into an inner core (120) and an outer core (130).

[0092] The rotor (140) has a shape in which an inner core (120) and an outer core (130) of different materials are integrally joined to form one body. In the rotor (140), the second joint (126) is formed on the lower surface of the inner core (120).

[0093] The inner core (120) is composed of a lower region (121), an upper region (122), and a middle region (123).

[0094] The lower region (121) is positioned at the lowest part of the inner core (120) and has the largest diameter. The upper region (122) is positioned at the highest part of the inner core (120) and has a smaller diameter than the lower region (121). The middle region (123) is positioned between the lower region (121) and the upper region (122) and has a smaller diameter than the upper region (122). That is, the middle region (123) is a region having the smallest diameter that connects the lower region (121) with the largest diameter and the upper region (122) with a smaller diameter than the lower region (121).

[0095] When the inner core (120) and the outer core (130) are combined, the lower surface of the lower region (121) of the inner core (120) is exposed to the lower surface of the rotating body (140). Then, a second connecting portion (126) is formed on the lower surface of the lower region (121) exposed to the lower surface of the rotating body (140).

[0096] In a state where the inner core (120) and the outer core (130) are combined, the upper surface of the upper region (122) of the inner core (120) is exposed to the upper portion of the rotating body (140). At this time, an assembly groove (125) into which an assembly pin (230) of a dedicated tool (200) can be inserted is formed on the upper surface of the upper region (122) exposed to the upper portion of the rotating body (140) so that the rotating body (140) can be assembled or disassembled to the support body (110) using a dedicated tool (200) described later. The structure of this assembly groove (125) will be described in detail later.

[0097] The middle region (123) of the inner core (120) corresponds to the neck portion connecting the lower region (121) and the upper region (122). In this middle region (123), a plurality of cavities (124) are formed inwardly on the outer surface. The plurality of cavities (124) are arranged at equal intervals along the outer surface of the middle region (123). In the embodiment, a structure in which four cavities (124) are arranged at equal intervals on the outer surface of the middle region (123) is shown as an example.

[0098] In this case, the plurality of cavities (124) formed in the middle region (123) increase the bonding force between the inner core (120) and the outer core (130) by allowing the resin for injection of the outer core (130) to be introduced into the cavity (124) of the inner core (120) when the outer core (130) is secondarily injected outside the inner core (120) after the first injection of the inner core (120). However, in the drawing (Fig. 8), the shape in which the resin for injection of the outer core (130) is introduced into the cavity (124) of the inner core (120) is not separately illustrated.

[0099] The outer core (130) forms the overall outer shape of the rotor (140). Like the inner core (120), the outer core (130) is largely composed of a lower region (131), an upper region (133), and a middle region.

[0100] The lower region (131) is positioned at the lowest portion of the outer core (130) and has the largest diameter. The upper region (133) is positioned at the highest portion of the outer core (130) and has a smaller diameter than the lower region (131). The middle region is positioned between the lower region (131) and the upper region (133) and has a smaller diameter than the upper region (133). That is, the middle region is a region having the smallest diameter that connects the lower region (131) with the largest diameter and the upper region (133) with a smaller diameter than the lower region.

[0101] In a state where the outer core (130) is coupled to the outside of the inner core (120), the lower surface of the lower region (131) of the outer core (130) is exposed to the lower surface of the rotating body (140). In addition, the lower surface portion of the lower region (131) exposed to the lower surface of the rotating body (140) is arranged in a manner that surrounds the lower surface portion of the lower region (121) of the inner core (120) also exposed to the lower surface of the rotating body (140).

[0102] In a state where the outer core (130) is coupled to the outside of the inner core (120), the upper surface of the upper region (133) of the outer core (130) is exposed to the upper part of the rotating body (140). At this time, the upper surface of the upper region (131) of the outer core (130) exposed to the upper part of the rotating body (140) is arranged in a form that surrounds the upper surface portion of the upper region (122) of the inner core (120) also exposed to the upper part of the rotating body (140).

[0103] The middle region of the outer core (130) corresponds to the neck portion connecting the lower region (131) and the upper region (133). When the rotor (140) is viewed from the side, the middle region of the outer core (130) is positioned corresponding to the middle region (123) of the inner core (120). A support groove (134) is formed on the outer circumference of the middle region of the outer core (130) to which the edge portion of the wafer (not shown) is engaged.

[0104] The inner core (120) and outer core (130) having such a configuration may be composed of different materials. For example, the inner core (120) may be composed of a hard resin and the outer core (130) may be composed of a soft resin.

[0105] In this case, the inner core (120) may be composed of the same engineering plastic material as the support (110). For example, the inner core (120) of the rotor (140) may be composed of PEEK resin, which has excellent heat resistance, chemical resistance, and mechanical strength, like the support (110).

[0106] In this way, by configuring the inner core (120) with the same hard PEEK material as the support (110), the second joint (126) of the inner core (120) made of the hard PEEK material can be joined with a much stronger bonding force to the first joint (112) of the support (110) made of the same hard PEEK material. That is, since the joint portion of the support (110) and the rotor (140) is made of a hard PEEK resin having excellent mechanical strength, heat resistance, and chemical resistance, the joint portion of the support (110) and the rotor (140) can maintain a much stronger bonding force.

[0107] The outer core (130) may be composed of a relatively soft resin that is more flexible than the inner core (120) composed of only a hard PEEK resin. For example, the outer core (130) may be composed of a soft resin that is a composite of PEEK and polyurethane. When the outer core (130) is composed of a soft resin that is a composite of PEEK and polyurethane resin, damage to the edge portion of the wafer that is engaged with the outer periphery of the outer core (130) can be prevented.

[0108] In this way, the inner core (120) of the rotating body (140) is formed of a hard PEEK material with high strength, and the outer core (130) is formed of a double structure of a soft PEEK+PU (polyurethane) material with lower rigidity than the inner core (120), thereby increasing the bonding strength between the hard inner core (120) and the support (110), while allowing the wafer to be stably supported in the support groove (134) formed in the soft outer core (130).

[0109] In addition, compared to the existing rotating body structure composed only of soft materials such as polyurethane, the outer core (130) of the rotating body (140) is composed of a material in which soft and hard PEEK and soft polyurethane are mixed, thereby improving the strength of the outer surface of the rotating body (140) where the wafers are engaged.

[0110] In the rotating body (140), the inner core (120) and the outer core (130) can be integrally formed through double injection molding. For example, the inner core (120) made of a hard resin and the outer core (130) made of a soft resin can be integrally formed through double injection molding to form a single rotating body (140). That is, the rotating body (140) can be formed by first injection molding the inner core (120) with a hard resin, and then second injection molding the outer core (130) on the outside of the inner core (120) with a soft resin. At this time, the inner core (120) and the outer core (130) can be configured to have different colors in addition to their material compositions, thereby obtaining various design effects.

[0111] Fig. 9 illustrates a special tool that can assemble or disassemble a rotating body to or from a support. Fig. 10 illustrates an assembly pin of a special tool being inserted into an assembly groove on the upper surface of a rotating body when assembling or disassembling the rotating body and the support, and Fig. 11 illustrates a direction in which a rotating body is separated or joined from a support by use of a special tool.

[0112] Referring to FIGS. 9 and 11, the wafer roller assembly (100) of the present invention can be assembled or separated by directly screwing the rotating body (140) to the support body (110). In this case, the rotating body (140) can be assembled or separated from the support body (110) by rotating it by hand, but if a dedicated tool (200) is used, the rotating body (140) can be more easily assembled or separated from the support body (110).

[0113] To this end, an assembly groove (125) into which an assembly pin (230) of a dedicated tool (200) is inserted may be formed on the upper surface of the rotating body (140). In particular, the assembly groove (125) may be formed on the upper surface of an inner core (120) made of a hard resin. Since the assembly groove (125) is a portion where a strong external force is applied by interlocking with the assembly pin (230) of the dedicated tool (200), a certain level of strength is required so as not to be broken even with repeated use. Therefore, it is preferable to form the assembly groove (125) on a portion of the inner core (120) made of a hard resin.

[0114] The dedicated tool (200) is composed of a handle portion (220) and a head portion (210), as illustrated in Fig. 9. An assembly pin (230) is formed on the lower surface of the head portion (210) to be inserted into the assembly groove (125) of the rotating body (140) and engage with the assembly groove (125).

[0115] The assembly grooves (125) may be arranged in pairs at equal intervals along the rotational direction of the rotating body (140). That is, a pair of assembly grooves (125) may be arranged at equal intervals along the rotational direction of the rotating body (140) on the upper surface of the inner core (120). At this time, two or more assembly grooves (125) may be arranged at equal intervals along the rotational direction of the rotating body (140).

[0116] The assembly groove (125) may have a shape in which a large diameter portion (125a) and a small diameter portion (125b) overlap each other. The large diameter portion (125a) of the assembly groove (125) is an area into which the assembly pin (230) of the special tool (200) can be inserted or removed, and has a diameter larger than the lower head portion of the assembly pin (230). When assembling the rotating body (140) to the support body (110), the assembly pin (230) of the special tool (200) is inserted into the large diameter portion (125a) of the assembly groove (125) of the rotating body (140), and then the handle portion (220) of the special tool (200) is rotated clockwise (F), so that the rotating body (140) can be easily fastened to the support body (110).

[0117] In the assembly groove (125), the small diameter portion (125b) is a portion that forms a smaller diameter than the lower head portion of the assembly pin (230), and the small diameter portion (125b) can be arranged in the rotational direction (R) of the rotating body (140) in which the fastening between the support body (110) and the rotating body (140) is released. Therefore, when the rotating body (140) assembled to the support body (110) is to be separated, the lower head portion of the assembly pin (230) is inserted into the large diameter portion (125a) and then moved to the small diameter portion (125b), and then the handle portion (220) is rotated counterclockwise (R), so that the rotating body (140) can be easily separated from the support body (110). At this time, even when the fastening state of the rotating body (140) from the support body (110) is completely released by the rotation of the dedicated tool (200), the head portion of the assembly pin (230) is maintained in a state of engagement with the small diameter portion (125b) of the assembly groove (125), so that when the dedicated tool (200) is lifted upward, the rotating body (140) is pulled upward, and the rotating body (140) can be easily separated from the support body (110).

[0118] In the embodiment, the locking of the rotating body (140) is performed using the large-diameter portion (125a) of the assembly groove (125) and the release of the rotating body (140) is performed using the small-diameter portion (125b). However, conversely, it is also possible to configure the locking of the rotating body (140) using the small-diameter portion (125b) of the assembly groove (125) and the release of the rotating body (140) using the large-diameter portion (125a). However, the direction in which the rotating body (140) is locked and the direction in which the wafer roller assembly (100) rotates must be set to be the same in order to prevent the rotating body (140) from being released from the support (110) due to the rotation of the wafer roller assembly (100).

[0119] In this way, when the dedicated tool (200) is used to assemble or separate the rotating body (140) and the support body (110), the work of fastening or separating the rotating body (140) to or from the support body (110) can be performed very simply, and the state in which the rotating body (140) is fastened to the support body (110) is maintained very firmly, thereby improving the fastening force between the rotating body (140) and the support body (110). In addition, when the wafer roller assembly (100) is assembled using the dedicated tool (200), the problem of contamination by the human body that may occur when assembling manually using the user's hands can also be improved.

[0120] In addition, if the locking direction of the rotating body (140) and the rotational direction of the wafer roller assembly (100) are set to be the same, it is possible to prevent in advance a situation in which the rotating body (140) is arbitrarily separated from the support body (110) due to external force such as vibration generated by continuous rotation of the wafer roller assembly (100). In addition, since the fastening force between the rotating body (140) and the support body (110) increases, the rotating body (140) can be easily separated from the support body (110) only by using a dedicated tool (200), so it is possible to prevent in advance a situation in which the rotating body (140) is arbitrarily separated from the support body (110) during the wafer washing process.

[0121] Meanwhile, FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of a wafer roller assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the wafer roller assembly of FIG. 12.

[0122] Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, the wafer roller assembly according to the second embodiment of the present invention has a first joint portion and a second joint portion having shapes that are opposite to each other compared to the wafer roller assembly of the first embodiment described above.

[0123] That is, the wafer roller assembly according to the second embodiment of the present invention has a first coupling portion (112A) having a shape in which a circular groove is sunken into the upper surface (111) of the support body (110), and a female screw portion (113A) is formed on the inner surface of the first coupling portion (112A). In addition, the second coupling portion (126A) has a shape protruding downward on the lower surface of the rotating body (140) so as to correspond to the shape of the first coupling portion (112A) of the support body (110), and a male screw portion (127A) that is fastened to the female screw portion (113A) of the first coupling portion (112A) is formed on the outer surface of the second coupling portion (126A). Accordingly, the rotating body (140) can be assembled with the support body (110) by rotatingly connecting the male screw portion (127A) formed on the outer surface of the second connecting portion (126A) with the female screw portion (113A) formed on the inner surface of the first connecting portion (112A) of the support body (110) in a screw-fastening manner.

[0124] In addition, an alignment groove (114A) and an alignment protrusion (128A) may be formed on the first joint portion (112A) of the support (110) and the second joint portion (126A) of the rotor (140), respectively, so that the rotor (140) can be aligned to be positioned at the exact assembly position of the support (110). In this case, the alignment protrusion (128A) has a shape that protrudes downward in a cylindrical shape at the center of the lower surface of the second joint portion (126A) of the rotor (140), and correspondingly, the alignment groove (114A) is formed on the inside of the first joint portion (112A) of the support (110) to have a groove shape corresponding to the alignment protrusion (128A).

[0125] In this way, by forming an alignment protrusion (128A) in the second connecting portion (126A) of the rotating body (140) and forming an alignment groove (114A) corresponding to the alignment protrusion (128A) in the first connecting portion (112A) of the support body (110), when assembling the rotating body (140) to the support body (110), the rotating body (140) can be fastened to the support body (110) while being aligned at the exact assembly position of the support body (110) using the alignment protrusion (128A) and alignment groove (114A) structures.

[0126] Meanwhile, Fig. 14 is a side view showing a wafer roller assembly having a pressure projection formed inside a support groove of a rotating body, which shows a third embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 15 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a detailed structure of a pressure projection formed on an inner wall surface of a support groove of a rotating body.

[0127] The roller assembly (100A) according to the third embodiment of the present invention, which will be described later, is characterized in that a pressing projection (136) is additionally formed inside the support groove (134) of the rotating body (140) to increase the contact frictional force with the wafer (W), and except for this, the roller assembly (100) has the same basic structure and configuration as the roller assembly of the above-described embodiments. Therefore, below, only the configuration related to the pressing projection (136) that is different from the above-described embodiments will be specifically described, and a separate redundant description of the configuration that is the same as the above-described embodiments will be omitted.

[0128] Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, a wafer roller assembly (100A) according to a third embodiment of the present invention includes a support (110) and a rotating body (140), and a support groove (134) is formed on the outer circumference of the rotating body (140) to engage and support an edge of a wafer (W), and a pressing projection (136) is formed on an inner wall surface (135) of the support groove (134) to contact an edge of the wafer (W) and elastically press the wafer (W).

[0129] The rotating body (140) includes an inner core (120) and an outer core (130) disposed outside the inner core (120), and a support groove (134) is formed on the outer surface of the outer core (130) into which an edge of a wafer (W) is inserted and supported by being engaged. When viewed from the side of the rotating body (140), the support groove (134) has a rectangular groove shape in which one side of the outer surface of the rotating body (140) is recessed toward the center of the rotating body (140), and when viewed from the top of the rotating body (140), it has a circular groove shape that follows the outer periphery of the rotating body (140).

[0130] The inner core (120) and the outer core (130) are composed of different materials. Preferably, the inner core (120) may be composed of a hard resin and the outer core (130) may be composed of a soft resin. For example, the inner core (120) may be composed of a hard PEEK material with high strength and the outer core (130) may be composed of a soft PEEK+PU (polyurethane) material with lower rigidity than the inner core (120). The inner core (120) and the outer core (130) composed of different materials are integrally formed through double injection molding to form a single rotating body (140).

[0131] Since the rotating body (140) is composed of a double structure of an inner core (120) composed of a hard PEEK material and an outer core (130) composed of a soft PEEK+PU material, the bonding strength between the hard inner core (120) and the support (110) can be increased, and the wafer (W) can be rotated by utilizing the contact frictional force of the soft PEEK+PU resin by engaging the support groove (134) formed in the soft outer core (130).

[0132] A pressing projection (136) is formed on the inner wall surface (135) of a support groove (134) formed on the outer surface of a soft outer core (130) to contact an edge contact surface (S) of a wafer (W) that is engaged with the inside of the support groove (134) and to elastically press the wafer (W) in a horizontal direction. The pressing projection (136) has a structure that protrudes horizontally from the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove (134) toward the wafer (W) by a certain width.

[0133] The pressure projection (136) is made of a soft, elastically deformable resin material, and is elastically compressed when in contact with the wafer (W) and elastically restored to its original state when the contact with the wafer (W) is released. Accordingly, when the rotating body (140) rotates, the pressure projection (136) comes into contact with the edge contact surface (S) of the wafer (W) and presses the wafer (W) horizontally through elastic deformation, thereby increasing the contact friction between the rotating body (140) and the wafer (W).

[0134] The pressure projections (136) may be provided in one or more numbers on the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove (134), and preferably, a plurality of them may be arranged at regular intervals around the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove (134).

[0135] The pressure projection (136) is formed to protrude with a small protrusion width from the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove (134). That is, in the process in which the pressure projection (136) repeatedly comes into contact with the edge contact surface (S) of the wafer (W) by the rotation of the rotating body (140), the protrusion width of the pressure projection (136) protruding from the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove (134) has a small protrusion width so as to minimize the impact applied to the wafer (W) by the pressure projection (136). In this case, the protrusion width of the pressure projection (136) can be set to have a small protrusion width size that can increase the contact frictional force with the wafer (W) while minimizing the impact applied to the wafer (W).

[0136] The pressurizing protrusion (136) may be composed of the same material as the outer core (130). For example, the pressurizing protrusion (136) may be composed of the same soft PEEK+PU material as the outer core (130). In this case, the pressurizing protrusion (136) may be integrally molded with the outer core (130) during the injection molding process of the outer core (130).

[0137] The pressurizing protrusion (136) may be composed of a different material from the outer core (130). In this case, it is preferable that the pressurizing protrusion (136) be composed of a soft resin material that is more flexible than the outer core (130). For example, the outer core (130) may be composed of a PEEK+PU material, and the pressurizing protrusion (136) may be composed of a PU (polyurethane) material, which is a soft resin material that is more flexible than the outer core (130). In this case, the pressurizing protrusion (136) made of the PU material may be manufactured to be formed integrally with the outer core (130) through double injection during the manufacture of the rotating body (140).

[0138] In this way, when the pressure projection (136) is formed of a more flexible resin material than the outer core (130), the elastic deformation is more flexible when it comes into contact with the contact surface (S) of the wafer, so that the impact applied to the wafer (W) is minimized, the contact surface (S) of the wafer is prevented from being damaged, and the wafer (W) can always maintain smooth rotational movement without vibration. In addition, since the pressure projection (136) made of soft resin is elastically deformed and can reliably push and rotate the wafer (W) in the rotational direction during the process of coming into contact with the contact surface (S) of the wafer, the wafer (W) can always rotate at a constant speed without slipping. In addition, during the short period when the contact with the pressure projection (136) is released, the contact surface (S) of the wafer maintains continuous contact with the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove again and rotates by the contact frictional force, so the wafer (W) can always maintain smooth rotation without slipping.

[0139] A plurality of pressure protrusions (136) can be arranged at equal intervals along the perimeter of the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove. In the embodiment, a structure in which four pressure protrusions (136) are arranged at 90° intervals is shown as an example, but the number and interval of the pressure protrusions (136) formed are not necessarily limited thereto and can be variously changed and applied.

[0140] In this way, when a plurality of pressure protrusions (136) are formed at equal intervals around the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove, it becomes possible to reliably control the rotational motion of the wafer (W) in accordance with the number and interval of the pressure protrusions (136), thereby enabling reliable quantitative rotation of the wafer (W), and thereby enabling the output speed of the wafer (W) to always be maintained constant in accordance with the input speed of the roller assembly (100A). In this way, it becomes possible to rotate the wafer (W) at a set constant speed through the roller assembly (100A) operating as a driving roller, thereby enabling uniform cleaning over the entire surface of the wafer (W) and greatly improving the cleaning quality of the wafer (W).

[0141] The pressing surface (PS) of the pressing projection (136) that comes into contact with the contact surface (S) of the wafer (W) has a gently rounded curved shape. That is, as shown in FIG. 15, the pressing surface (PS) of the pressing projection (136) that comes into contact with the wafer (W) has a gently rounded curved shape in the shape of an arc. In this case, the portion connecting the pressing surface (PS) of the pressing projection (136) and the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove (134) may also be formed into a gently rounded shape.

[0142] In this way, when the pressing surface (PS) of the pressing projection (136) initially comes into contact with the contact surface (S) of the wafer (W) during the rotation process of the roller assembly (100A), the pressing surface (PS) having a rounded curved shape undergoes elastic deformation and can be in close contact with the contact surface (S) of the wafer without impact to elastically press the wafer (W), thereby preventing damage to the contact surface (S) of the wafer (W) due to repeated contact with the pressing projection (136). In addition, even if the pressing projection (136) repeatedly comes into contact with the wafer (W) due to the continuous rotation of the roller assembly (100A), the contact impact is reduced, so that the wafer (W) can be prevented from being damaged, and the pressing surface (PS) shape of the pressing projection (136) having a rounded curved shape disperses stress, so that the pressing projection (136) can be prevented from being easily broken.

[0143] As described above, the present invention increases the contact frictional force with the wafer (W) through the pressing protrusions (136) when the rotating body (140) rotates by forming a plurality of elastically deformable pressure protrusions (136) in the support groove (134) portion of the rotating body (140) that engage the edge contact surface (S) of the wafer (W), thereby preventing the slip phenomenon of the wafer caused by the penetration of the cleaning liquid between the wafer (W) and the roller assembly (100A) during the wafer cleaning process, and since the rotational driving force of the roller assembly (100A) is completely transmitted to the wafer (W) without the slip phenomenon and the wafer can smoothly rotate at a set speed, the problem of the deterioration of the cleaning quality of the wafer caused by the uneven rotation of the wafer as in the past can be improved.

[0144] Figure 16 illustrates a view in which the roller assembly of the present invention engages with the edge portion of the wafer to rotate the wafer.

[0145] As can be seen in Fig. 16, a plurality of roller assemblies (100A) of the present invention are arranged at equal intervals around the edge of the wafer (W) to perform a cleaning operation of the wafer (W) using a cleaning solution while rotating the wafer (W) at a set speed. At this time, the rotational direction of the roller assembly (100A) is maintained in a direction opposite to the rotational direction of the wafer (W). For example, when the roller assembly (100A) rotates counterclockwise, the wafer (W) engaged with the roller assembly (100A) rotates clockwise, and when the roller assembly (100A) rotates clockwise, the wafer (W) rotates counterclockwise.

[0146] The wafer (W) is rotated in one direction using the frictional force of the outer core (130) of the rotating body (140) made of soft PEEK+PU resin provided in each roller assembly (100A) while being engaged with four roller assemblies (100A), and the wafer is cleaned using a cleaning solution.

[0147] In this case, only one roller assembly among the four roller assemblies (100A) interlocked with the wafer (W) can be used as a drive roller that actually drives the wafer (W), and the remaining three roller assemblies can be used as guide rollers that are indirectly driven through the rotation of the wafer (W). At this time, one roller assembly used as a drive roller and three roller assemblies used as guide rollers can all be used as a roller assembly (100A) to which the above-described pressure projection (136) structure is applied. Alternatively, the roller assembly used as the drive roller can be used as a roller assembly (100A) to which the above-described pressure projection (136) structure is applied, and the remaining three roller assemblies used as guide rollers can be roller assemblies (100) in the form of the above-described embodiment (Fig. 2) to which the pressure projection structure is not applied, thereby implementing a cleaning system. In the embodiment, four roller assemblies (100A) having a pressure projection (136) structure applied are arranged and one of them is operated as a driving roller for driving a wafer (W). However, it is also possible to use various numbers of roller assemblies (100A) operating as driving rollers for driving a wafer (W), such as one, two, or three, unlike the embodiment.

[0148] Meanwhile, Fig. 17 is a side view showing the edge of the wafer engaging with the support groove of the roller assembly, and Fig. 18 shows in detail the pressing projection of the rotating body coming into contact with the edge of the wafer when the roller assembly rotates.

[0149] As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the wafer (W) is rotated by utilizing the frictional force of the inner surface of the support groove (134) made of PEEK+PU resin while a portion of its edge is inserted into the support groove (134) of the rotating body (140) and is in contact with the inner wall surface and the lower surface of the support groove (134).

[0150] In this case, the vertical width of the support groove (134) is formed to be larger than the thickness width of the wafer (W), so that the wafer (W) can be smoothly inserted into the support groove (134), and the edge of the wafer (W) is simultaneously contacted with the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove (134) and the lower surface (138) of the support groove (134) while inserted into the support groove (134), so that the rotational movement of the wafer (W) is performed according to the rotational drive of the roller assembly (100A).

[0151] When the wafer (W) engaged with the roller assembly (100A) rotates due to the rotational drive, the pressure projection (136) provided on the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove (134) comes into contact with the contact surface (S) of the wafer and is elastically deformed to pressurize the contact surface (S) of the wafer (W), thereby increasing the contact frictional force between the wafer contact surface (S) and the pressure projection (136). Therefore, even if a cleaning liquid flows between the wafer (W) and the support groove (134) during the wafer cleaning process, the wafer (W) can be smoothly rotated at a set speed without a slip phenomenon.

[0152] FIG. 19 sequentially shows the process before and after the pressure projection comes into contact with the contact surface of the wafer when the roller assembly rotates. When the roller assembly (100A) rotates, the wafer (W) rotates in conjunction using the contact frictional force between the soft inner wall surface (135) of the support groove and the contact surface (S) of the wafer. At this time, as shown in the left picture of FIG. 19, before the pressure projection (136) comes into contact with the contact surface (S) of the wafer, the contact surface (S) of the wafer and the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove are always maintained in contact, so that the wafer (W) rotates by the contact frictional force between the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove and the contact surface (S) of the wafer.

[0153] However, during the wafer cleaning process, the cleaning liquid may penetrate into the gap between the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove and the contact surface (S) of the wafer, thereby reducing the frictional force between the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove and the contact surface (S) of the wafer, which may cause the wafer (W) to slip. However, since the pressure protrusions (136) are formed at regular intervals around the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove and the wafer (W) rotates at a high speed, even if the cleaning liquid penetrates between the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove and the contact surface (S) of the wafer, as shown in the central drawing of FIG. 19, the pressure protrusions (136) come into contact with the contact surface (S) of the wafer and are compressed, thereby horizontally pressing the contact surface (S) of the wafer, thereby greatly increasing the contact frictional force between the contact surface (S) of the wafer and the pressure protrusions (136), so that the wafer (W) can be rotated at a set speed without the slip phenomenon.

[0154] And, as shown in the right picture of Fig. 19, when the contact between the contact surface (S) of the wafer and the pressure projection (136) is released, the contact surface (S) of the wafer is again maintained in contact with the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove, so that the wafer (W) can be continuously rotated by utilizing the frictional force with the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove.

[0155] In this way, the rotating body (140) in which a plurality of pressure protrusions (136) are formed at regular intervals on the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove has a fast rotation speed, so when the rotating body (140) rotates at a high speed, the plurality of pressure protrusions (136) repeatedly and continuously contact the contact surface (S) of the wafer at very short time intervals to pressurize the wafer (W) and push it reliably in the rotational direction, so that the wafer (W) can smoothly perform a rotational movement at a set speed in conjunction with the rotating body (140) of the roller assembly (100A) without slipping.

[0156] Meanwhile, FIGS. 20 and 21 show various modified examples of the inner wall structure of the support groove of the rotating body that comes into contact with the contact surface of the wafer.

[0157] First, Fig. 20 shows a vertical straight scratch groove (139) pattern formed on the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove of the rotating body. As seen in Fig. 20, a vertical straight scratch groove (139) is formed from the top to the bottom (up-down direction in the drawing) on ​​the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove of the rotating body (140).

[0158] The scratch groove (139) is formed in the shape of a fine scratch groove on the entire inner wall surface (135) of the support groove (134) including the rounded, curved pressure surface (PS) of the pressure projection (136). That is, a plurality of scratch grooves (139) are formed at regular intervals along the periphery of the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove to form a scratch groove pattern. In this case, the scratch grooves (139) are arranged in a vertical direction (up-down direction) perpendicular to the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer (W), so that even if the cleaning liquid flows into the scratch groove (139) during the wafer cleaning process, the cleaning liquid can be smoothly discharged downward. Accordingly, the slip phenomenon caused between the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove and the wafer contact surface (S) during the wafer cleaning process can be more completely suppressed.

[0159] Fig. 21 illustrates an example of a diagonal, straight scratch groove (139) pattern formed on the inner wall surface (135) of a support groove of a rotating body (140). As illustrated in Fig. 21, a diagonal, straight scratch groove (139) may be formed on the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove of a rotating body (140) from the top to the bottom.

[0160] The scratch groove (139) is formed in the form of a fine scratch on the entire inner wall surface (135) of the support groove including the rounded curved shape of the pressure surface (PS) of the pressure projection (136), and a plurality of scratch grooves (139) can be formed in a pattern form in which they are arranged at regular intervals along the perimeter of the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove.

[0161] In this case, the scratch groove (139) forms an array structure that is inclined at a predetermined angle (θ) with respect to the vertical direction, unlike the vertical scratch groove (139) illustrated in FIG. 20. That is, the scratch groove (139) can be formed in a linear groove pattern shape that is inclined at a predetermined angle from the top to the bottom. At this time, the inclined direction of the scratch groove (139) can be set differently depending on the rotational direction of the rotating body (140). That is, the scratch groove (139) can be formed to be arranged in a form that is inclined at an angle toward the rotational direction of the rotating body (140) so that the cleaning liquid that has flowed into the scratch groove (139) can easily be discharged downward by utilizing the centrifugal force generated by the rotational movement of the rotating body (140) and the cleaning liquid remaining inside the scratch groove (139).

[0162] As the scratch groove (139) is formed in the form of a plurality of diagonal straight groove patterns, even if cleaning liquid flows into the scratch groove (139) during the cleaning process of the wafer (W), the cleaning liquid remaining inside the scratch groove (139) can be discharged more smoothly downward from the scratch groove (139) by the centrifugal force of the rotating body (140). Accordingly, the amount of cleaning liquid remaining on the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove is minimized, and the contact frictional force is increased, so that the slip phenomenon caused between the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove and the wafer contact surface (S) can be more completely suppressed.

[0163] In the above drawings 20 and 21, a structure in which a scratch groove (139) is formed on the entire inner wall surface (135) of the support groove including the pressing surface (PS) of the pressing projection (136) is described as a modified example, but such a scratch groove (139) may be formed only on the pressing surface (PS) side of the pressing projection (136) or may be formed only on the inner wall surface (135) side of the support groove excluding the pressing surface (PS) of the pressing projection (136).

[0164] Meanwhile, the scratch groove (139) structure to prevent slipping of the wafer (W) can be formed on the upper surface (137) or lower surface (138) of the support groove in addition to the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove mentioned above.

[0165] Fig. 22 is another modified example of a rotation support groove that prevents slipping of a wafer, showing a structure in which a scratch groove (139) pattern is formed on the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove as well as the upper surface (137) and lower surface (138) of the support groove.

[0166] As illustrated in Fig. 22, the scratch groove (139) for preventing slipping of the wafer can be formed on the entire upper surface (137) and lower surface (138) of the support groove, including the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove. That is, the scratch groove (139) can be formed in the form of a scratch groove pattern on the entire area of ​​the inner surface of the support groove (134) where the edge of the wafer (W) is engaged.

[0167] In this case, the scratch groove (139) formed on the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove can be formed in a straight scratch groove pattern shape in the vertical and diagonal directions as shown in FIG. 20 and FIG. 21, and the scratch groove (139) formed on the upper surface (137) and lower surface (138) of the support groove can be formed in various scratch groove pattern shapes such as a straight line, a curve, and a mesh pattern.

[0168] In the case of the scratch groove (139) formed on the upper surface (137) and lower surface (138) of the support groove, if the structure is such that the cleaning solution does not remain in the scratch groove pattern portion formed on the upper surface (137) and lower surface (138) of the support groove and can be easily discharged to the outside, the scratch groove can be formed in various scratch groove pattern shapes without being limited to any specific pattern shape.

[0169] In this way, if a scratch groove (139) pattern structure is formed in a specific area of ​​the inner surface of the support groove (134) that is in contact with the edge of the wafer (W), the contact friction with the wafer (W) can be further increased, so that the slip phenomenon caused between the roller assembly (100A) and the wafer (W) can be more completely suppressed. Accordingly, the output speed of the wafer (W) can always be kept constant at a speed corresponding to the input speed of the roller assembly (100A), so that uniform cleaning by the cleaning solution can be enabled over the entire surface of the wafer (W), and the cleaning quality of the wafer can be greatly improved.

[0170] In particular, by forming the shape of the scratch groove (139) formed on the inner wall surface (135) of the support groove that transmits the rotational driving force to the wafer (W) into a vertical or diagonal straight groove pattern structure from top to bottom, the contact frictional force with the wafer contact surface (S) is greatly increased, thereby preventing slippage of the wafer, and even if the cleaning liquid flows into the scratch groove (139) during the cleaning process of the wafer (W), the cleaning liquid does not remain in the scratch groove (139) but is continuously discharged downward, thereby minimizing the phenomenon of slippage of the wafer caused by the cleaning liquid remaining at the contact portion between the roller assembly and the wafer.

[0171] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and those skilled in the art will be able to make appropriate changes within the scope described in the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. In a wafer roller assembly that supports and rotates the wafer by engaging the edge of the wafer, a support having a first joint; and A rotating body having a second connecting portion connected to the first connecting portion and having a supporting groove formed around the outer circumference in which the edge of the wafer is engaged and supported; A wafer roller assembly in which the first coupling part and the second coupling part are rotationally coupled in a screw-fastening manner by the rotation of the rotating body.

2. In paragraph 1, The above first connecting portion has a cylindrical shape protruding from the upper surface of the support body and has a male screw portion formed on the outer surface. The second connecting portion has a shape that is sunken into the lower surface of the rotating body in a shape corresponding to the first connecting portion, and has a female screw portion formed on the inner surface to be connected to the male screw portion. Wafer roller assembly.

3. In paragraph 1, The first joint has a circular groove-shaped recessed shape on the upper surface of the support body and a female screw portion is formed on the inner surface. The second connecting portion has a shape that protrudes from the lower surface of the rotating body in a shape corresponding to the first connecting portion, and has a male screw portion formed on the outer surface that is connected to the female screw portion. Wafer roller assembly.

4. A wafer roller assembly in the first paragraph, wherein the direction of fastening of the support and the rotating body is the same as the direction of rotation of the wafer roller assembly.

5. In the first paragraph, the rotating body, Inner core and, It comprises an outer core which is arranged on the outside of the inner core and has a support groove formed on its outer periphery, A wafer roller assembly, wherein the inner core is composed of a hard resin and the outer core is composed of a soft resin.

6. A wafer roller assembly in the fifth paragraph, wherein the inner core and the outer core are integrally formed through double injection molding.

7. A wafer roller assembly in the fifth paragraph, wherein the second joining part is formed on the lower surface of the inner core.

8. A wafer roller assembly in the fifth paragraph, wherein the inner core has a plurality of cavities formed inwardly on the outer surface.

9. In the first paragraph, the rotating body can be combined and separated from the support body using an external dedicated tool, A wafer roller assembly having an assembly groove formed on the upper surface of the above-mentioned rotating body into which an assembly pin provided in the above-mentioned dedicated tool is inserted.

10. In the 9th paragraph, a wafer roller assembly in which a pair of assembly grooves are arranged at equal intervals along the rotational direction of the rotating body.

11. In the 9th paragraph, the assembly groove has a shape in which a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion overlap each other. A wafer roller assembly.

12. In the 11th paragraph, a wafer roller assembly, wherein the small diameter portion in the assembly groove is arranged in the rotational direction of the rotating body in which the fastening between the support body and the rotating body is released.

13. In paragraph 1, A support groove is formed around the outer circumference of the above-mentioned rotating body so that the edge of the above-mentioned wafer is interlocked and supported, A wafer roller assembly having a pressing projection formed on the inner wall surface of the support groove to contact the edge of the wafer and elastically pressurize the wafer.

14. A wafer roller assembly in the 13th paragraph, wherein a plurality of the pressure protrusions are formed at equal intervals along the inner wall surface of the support groove.

15. A wafer roller assembly in claim 13, wherein the pressure projection has a rounded curved shape as a pressure surface for elastically pressing the wafer.

16. A wafer roller assembly in accordance with claim 13, wherein a scratch groove is formed on at least one of the inner wall surface of the support groove and the pressing surface of the pressing projection.

17. A wafer roller assembly in claim 16, wherein the scratch groove has a vertical straight groove shape extending from the top to the bottom.

18. A wafer roller assembly in claim 16, wherein the scratch groove has a straight groove shape in a diagonal direction from top to bottom.

19. A wafer roller assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein a scratch groove is formed on at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the support groove.

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