Substrate manufacturing apparatus

Abstract

A substrate manufacturing apparatus comprises a reversing device (50) including: holding parts (506, 506) having a first guide (5063), which comes into contact with a straight portion of a disk-shaped object having the straight portion in the outer circumference thereof, and the edge faces in circumferential portions at both sides of the straight portion, and a second guide (5065), which comes into contact with the edge faces in the circumferential portions opposite to the straight portion, or holding parts (506, 506) having a pair of guides (5063, 5063), which come into contact with straight portions of a disk-shaped object having the straight portions at positions opposite to each other in the outer circumference thereof, and the edge faces in the circumferential portions at both sides of the straight portions; displacement mechanisms (505, 505) for displacing the first guide and the second guide, or the pair of guides, in mutually separating or approaching directions; and a rotation mechanism (502) for rotating the holding parts about a prescribed axis by 180°. When reversing the object, the reversing device (50) adjusts a substrate to a prescribed attitude.

Description

Board manufacturing equipment

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to an inverting apparatus for inverting a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer.

[0002] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer may be turned upside down to undergo a predetermined process. For example, in a process of cutting a substrate, a scribing process is performed to form a scribe line (kerf) on one main surface of the substrate, and then the substrate is turned upside down and a breaking process is performed to apply an external force to the substrate from the other main surface along the scribe line to divide the substrate.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a system for dividing and cutting a substrate having a scribe line formed thereon by a breaking process. The system includes a support supporting a substrate from below the holder, the substrate being formed by attaching a substrate to a substrate holding sheet stretched over a flat, annular holder; a breaking process section for performing a breaking process on the substrate; a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate between the support and the breaking process section; and an inversion mechanism for inverting the substrate. The transport mechanism includes a transport arm having a suction pad at its tip for suction-holding the upper surface of the holder for the substrate. The inversion mechanism includes an arm having a pair of claws at its tip for gripping the holder for the substrate from above and below, and the arm is rotatable about a horizontal axis. The substrate has a surface opposite to the surface having the scribe line attached to the substrate holding sheet, and the substrate before the breaking process is supported by the support with the surface having the scribe line facing up. The workpiece supported by the support is transported by the transport mechanism to the inversion mechanism, where it is gripped by a pair of claws attached to the arm of the inversion mechanism and turned upside down by rotating the pair of claws 180 degrees. During the inversion process, the support is moved to a retreat position so as not to interfere with the rotating workpiece, but after inversion, the workpiece is again supported by the support. The inverted workpiece is then transported from the support to the breaking processing section by the transport mechanism.

[0004] International Publication No. 2019 / 150645

[0005] As described above, the breaking process applies pressure to a predetermined location on a substrate, so the substrate to be broken must be placed on the support in a predetermined reference orientation (a reference orientation in a horizontal plane). Therefore, in the system described in Patent Document 1, a posture adjustment is performed in the break processing section to align the posture of the workpiece (the orientation in a horizontal plane; the rotation angle around an axis perpendicular to the substrate) with the reference orientation. The transport mechanism of the system transports the workpiece placed on the support to the break processing section by suction-holding its upper surface with a suction pad on a transport arm. Therefore, the posture of the workpiece transported to the break processing section is determined to some extent by the posture of the workpiece placed on the support, i.e., the posture of the workpiece placed on the support after being inverted by the inversion mechanism. Therefore, if the posture of the workpiece placed on the support by the inversion mechanism is poor, the posture of the workpiece transported to the break processing section may differ from the reference orientation, which can make it difficult to adjust the posture of the workpiece.

[0006] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to enable a substrate manufacturing apparatus equipped with an inversion device that inverts an object such as a workpiece, which consists of a substrate and a holder that holds the substrate, to adjust the substrate to a predetermined posture when inverting the object.

[0007] The substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, comprises a gripping unit having a first guide that abuts against the straight portion of a disk-shaped object having a straight portion on its outer periphery and against end faces of the circumferential portion on both sides of the straight portion, and a second guide that abuts against end faces of the circumferential portion opposite the straight portion; a displacement mechanism that displaces the first guide and the second guide in directions moving away from or toward each other; and a rotation mechanism that rotates the gripping unit 180 degrees around a predetermined axis.

[0008] Another aspect of the substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, comprises an inversion device having, for each straight portion of a disk-shaped object having straight portions at opposing positions on its outer periphery, a gripping unit having a pair of guides that abut the straight portion and the end faces of the circumferential portion on both sides of the straight portion, a displacement mechanism that displaces the pair of guides in directions moving away from or towards each other, and a rotation mechanism that rotates the gripping unit 180 degrees around a predetermined axis.

[0009] In the substrate manufacturing apparatus having the above configuration, after placing the object between the first guide and the second guide or (in another embodiment) a pair of guides of the gripping unit, the displacement mechanism moves the first guide and the second guide or the pair of guides closer to each other to grip the object, and the rotation mechanism rotates the gripping unit 180 degrees to invert the object. Here, in the step of gripping the object, when the first guide and the second guide or the pair of guides are moved closer to each other, if the object is not in a predetermined orientation, the object moves and rotates in a horizontal plane along the guides, and is gripped by the guides at two points: a linear portion of the outer periphery and two circular portions on both sides of the linear portion, and the orientation of the object is fixed to the predetermined orientation.

[0010] In the substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, the object may be a substrate, or a substrate attached to a substrate holding sheet stretched over a flat, annular holder.

[0011] Furthermore, the substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention may further include a scribing processing device that forms a scribe line on one main surface of the substrate, and a breaking processing device that applies pressure to the substrate along the scribe line from the other main surface side of the substrate to break the substrate.

[0012] According to the substrate manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the substrate can be adjusted to a predetermined posture when the object is turned over.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate manufacturing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a first transport robot in the substrate manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a reversing processing unit provided in the substrate manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a top view showing a reversing processing unit provided in the substrate manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a series of processing steps in the substrate manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment (steps S101 to S110). FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a series of processing steps in the substrate manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment (steps S111 to S115). FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing specific procedures for a reversing processing step in the substrate manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a top view showing a reversing processing unit provided in a substrate manufacturing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a workpiece. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which a protective film is attached to the substrate side of a workpiece. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a cassette. FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a modified example of the arrangement of each processing unit in the substrate manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the first transport robot in the substrate manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment.

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] First Embodiment FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the structure of a workpiece W to be processed in a substrate manufacturing apparatus 100 (described later) in this embodiment. The workpiece W comprises a substantially annular wafer ring (holding fixture) W1, a dicing tape (substrate holding sheet) W2 stretched on one side of the wafer ring W1, and a substrate W3 attached to a portion of the dicing tape W2 surrounded by the wafer ring W1. The wafer ring W1 has two opposing linear portions W1a, W1a on its outer periphery, and two opposing linear portions W1b, W1b, respectively. In this embodiment, the linear portions W1b, W1b are located 90 degrees rotated from the linear portions W1a, W1a. V-shaped notches W1c, W1d are formed on both sides of one of these linear portions (the linear portion W1a located at the lower left in FIG. 8 ). The portion of the wafer ring W1 sandwiched between the notches W1c, W1d is referred to as a protruding piece P. Hereinafter, of the two main surfaces of the substrate W3, the surface facing upward in Fig. 8 will be referred to as the front surface, and the surface facing downward (the surface attached to the dicing tape W2) will be referred to as the back surface. Note that although the substrate W3 is disk-shaped in Fig. 8, it may be rectangular or have another shape.

[0016] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the main components of a substrate manufacturing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 1, the lower and upper sides of the page are the front and rear sides, respectively, of the substrate manufacturing apparatus 100. The substrate manufacturing apparatus 100 mainly includes a cassette placement unit 10, a transport unit 20, a scribing unit 30, a film bonding unit 40, a reversing unit 50, a breaking unit 60, and a film gripping unit 70.

[0017] The cassette placement unit 10 is located in the center of the front of the substrate manufacturing apparatus 100. The transport unit 20 is located behind the cassette placement unit 10 and has a first transport robot 21, a shuttle unit 22 located behind the first transport robot 21, and a second transport robot 23 located behind the first transport robot 21. The scribing processing unit 30 is located to the right and left of the first transport robot 21. The film bonding processing unit 40 is located to the right of the second transport robot 23. The reversing processing unit 50 is located behind the second transport robot 23. The breaking processing unit 60 is located to the left of the second transport robot 23. The film gripping unit 70 is located above the center of the shuttle unit 22. The configurations, functions, etc. of the cassette placement unit 10, transport unit 20, scribing processing unit 30, film bonding processing unit 40, reversing processing unit 50, breaking processing unit 60, and film gripping unit 70 will be described below.

[0018] <Cassette Placement Section> The cassette placement section 10 has multiple cassette tables 11, 11 on which cassettes C containing workpieces W are placed. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the cassette C. The cassette C has a rectangular box-shaped container body C1 having a space therein for accommodating the workpieces W. One side of the container body C1 is open for loading and unloading the workpieces W. Additionally, on the inside of the side surfaces on both sides of the opening, multiple support pieces C2 are provided facing each other, supporting the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the wafer ring W1 of the workpiece W from below. The workpieces W are accommodated in the cassette C with the surface of the substrate W3 facing up. The cassette C is placed on the cassette table 11 with its opening facing the center of a circle. Hereinafter, the center of this circle will be referred to as center G.

[0019] <Transport Section> (First Transfer Robot) Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the first transfer robot 21. The first transfer robot 21 includes a base 213 having an upper surface formed in a stepped configuration, a first arm 211 supported by a first shaft 214 provided on a lower upper surface of the base 213 so as to be movable up and down and rotatable, and a second arm 212 supported by a second shaft 215 provided on a higher upper surface of the base 213 so as to be movable up and down and rotatable. The first transfer robot 21 is disposed so that the first shaft 214 is located at the center G of a circle.

[0020] The first arm 211 is a horizontal articulated arm formed by connecting multiple connecting members, and is configured so that the tip of the first arm 211 can move forward and backward in a predetermined direction in a horizontal plane by extending or bending the connecting portions (joints) of the connecting members. A first hand 211a is attached to the tip of the first arm 211. The first hand 211a includes a rectangular, plate-shaped gripper support member 2112, a first substrate gripper 2111 provided at one tip (front end) of the gripper support member 2112 in the long side direction, and a second substrate gripper 2113 provided at the other tip (rear end) of the gripper support member 2111. The first substrate gripper 2111 is configured so that it can be displaced in the direction in which the gripper support member 2112 extends by a displacement drive mechanism (not shown). This allows the distance between the first substrate gripper 2111 and the second substrate gripper 2113 to be changed, making it possible to grip the substrate W between the first substrate gripper 2111 and the second substrate gripper 2113 .

[0021] The second arm 212 is a horizontal articulated arm to which a plurality of connecting members are connected, similar to the first arm 211, and is configured so that the tip of the second arm 212 can advance and retreat in a predetermined direction in a horizontal plane by extending or bending the connecting portions (joints) of the connecting members. A second hand 212a that can hold the workpiece W by vacuum suction to the upper surface of the wafer ring W1 of the workpiece W is provided at the tip of the second arm 212 via a hanging support 212b. The hanging support 212b is configured to be extendable and retractable, and the second hand 212a moves up and down when the hanging support 212b extends and retracts, or when the second shaft 215 moves up and down.

[0022] In the substrate manufacturing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, the workpiece W is removed from the cassette C by the first arm 211, and then transferred from the first arm 211 to the second arm 212. The workpiece W is then transported by the second arm 212 to the scribing processing section 30, and then transported to the transport position POS1 of the shuttle unit 22 in FIG.

[0023] The first arm 211 removes the workpiece W from the cassette C in the following procedure. First, the first shaft 214 is rotated and the first arm 211 is extended, and the first hand 211a is moved to a position facing the opening of the cassette C placed on the cassette table 11. Next, the first shaft 214 is raised and lowered and the first arm 211 is further extended, and the first hand 211a is inserted into the space below the target workpiece W stored in the cassette C. After the first hand 211a has been inserted, the first shaft 214 is raised to position the workpiece W between the first substrate gripper 2111 and the second substrate gripper 2113, and the distance between the first substrate gripper 2111 and the second substrate gripper 2113 is changed so that the workpiece W is sandwiched and gripped by the first substrate gripper 2111 and the second substrate gripper 2113. Thereafter, with the workpiece W held, the first arm 211 is bent to move the first hand 211a back from the cassette C.

[0024] The workpiece W is transferred from the first arm 211 to the second arm 212 according to the following procedure. First, the second shaft 215 is rotated, and the first shaft 214 is lowered or the second shaft 215 is raised as necessary to prevent interference between the first arm 211 and the second arm 212. Then, the second arm 212 is extended, and the second hand 212a is moved above the workpiece W held by the first hand 211a. Next, the first shaft 214 is raised or the second shaft 215 is lowered, and the second hand 212a is brought into contact with the upper surface of the wafer ring W1 of the workpiece W. As a result, the wafer ring W1 is attracted to the second hand 212a. In this state, the first hand 211a releases its grip on the workpiece W, and the first shaft 214 is lowered or the second shaft 215 is raised. As a result, the workpiece W is transferred from the first hand 211a to the second hand 212a.

[0025] The second arm 212 transports the workpiece W to the scribing processing unit 30 according to the following procedure. After the workpiece W is transferred from the first arm 211 to the second arm 212, with the workpiece W held by suction on the second hand 212a, the second shaft 215 is rotated and the second arm 212 is extended, causing the second hand 212a to enter the scribing processing unit 30. Next, the second shaft 215 is lowered or the hanging support 212b is extended downward, causing the second hand 212a to lower and bring the workpiece W into contact with the upper surface of a table on which the workpiece W is placed, which is provided in the scribing processing unit 30. In this state, the suction of the workpiece W by the second hand 212a is released, and the second shaft 215 is raised or the hanging support 212b is retracted upward to separate the second hand 212a from the workpiece W, and the second arm 212 is bent to cause the second hand 212a to retreat from the scribing processing unit 30. As a result, the workpiece W is transported to the scribing processing section 30.

[0026] The removal of the workpiece W from the scribing processing unit 30 by the second arm 212 is performed according to the following procedure. It is assumed that the second hand 212a has not moved from the position facing the scribing processing unit 30 after retreating from the scribing processing unit 30. First, the second arm 212 is extended to allow the second hand 212a to enter the scribing processing unit 30. Next, the second shaft 215 is lowered or the hanging support 212b is extended downward to bring the second hand 212a into contact with the upper surface of the wafer ring W1 of the workpiece W placed on the platform of the scribing processing unit 30. This causes the wafer ring W1 to be attracted to the second hand 212a. In this state, the second shaft 215 is raised or the hanging support 212b is retracted upward to separate the second hand 212a from the platform, and the second arm 212 is bent to cause the second hand 212a to retreat from the scribing processing unit 30. This removes the workpiece W from the scribing processing unit 30.

[0027] The second arm 212 transports the workpiece W to the shuttle unit 22 in the same manner as the transport procedure of the workpiece W to the scribing processing unit 30 described above. The workpiece W transported to the shuttle unit 22 is transported to various processing units (film bonding processing unit 40, reversal processing unit 50, breaking processing unit 60) as described below. The workpiece W that has undergone a series of processes in the various processing units is then transported back to the shuttle unit 22 (transport position POS1 in FIG. 1 ). The first transport robot 21 receives the workpiece W transported to the shuttle unit 22 with the second arm 212 in the same manner as the procedure for removing the workpiece W from the scribing processing unit 30 described above. The first transport robot 21 then stores the workpiece W in the cassette C via the first arm 211 by performing the reverse procedures of the procedure for transferring the workpiece W from the first arm 211 to the second arm 212 and the procedure for removing the workpiece W from the cassette C described above.

[0028] (Shuttle Unit) The shuttle unit 22 is located behind the first transfer robot 21. The shuttle unit 22 includes a base 221 and a stage 222 that is provided on the base 221 so as to be slidable in the front-to-rear direction between transfer positions POS1 and POS2 in FIG. 1. The stage 222 has a recess 222a that has the same shape as the workpiece W. The workpiece W is placed in the recess 222a of the stage 222, and is moved between transfer positions POS1 and POS2 by the stage 222.

[0029] (Second Transport Robot) The second transport robot 23 is located behind the shuttle unit 22. The second transport robot 23 has an arm similar to the second arm 212 of the first transport robot 21. A detailed description of the configuration and operation of the arm will be omitted.

[0030] <Scribe Processing Section> The scribe processing section 30 is a section that performs a process (scribing process) to form a scribe line on the substrate W3 of the workpiece W. The scribe line is formed by rotating a disk-shaped cutter called a scribing wheel while pressing it against the substrate W3 along the intended division position. A known mechanism can be used as the scribing processing section 30.

[0031] <Film Application Processor> The film application processor 40 is a section that performs a process (film application process) of applying a protective film F to the substrate W3 of the workpiece W on which a scribe line has been formed. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the state in which the protective film F has been applied to the surface of the substrate W3 of the workpiece W. The protective film F has a circular shape with a diameter several millimeters larger than the inner circumference of the wafer ring W1. The protective film F is applied to the workpiece W so as to cover the entire surface of the substrate W3 and its peripheral portion covers at least the vicinity of the inner edge of the upper surface of the wafer ring W1. The protective film F is made of, for example, a polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a polyolefin resin such as polyethylene, or a polyvinyl resin such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). A known mechanism can be used as the film application processor 40.

[0032] <Reversal Processing Unit> Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the reversal processing unit 50, and Fig. 4 is a top view thereof. In Fig. 4, the workpiece W placed in the reversal processing unit 50 is indicated by a dashed line. The reversal processing unit 50 includes a base 501, a rotation device 502, a support column 503, a frame 504, and displacement devices 505, 505. The reversal processing unit 50 is disposed behind the second transfer robot 23 so that the rotation device 502 is on the right side. In the following description, the side where the rotation device 502 is located will be referred to as the right side, and the side where the support column 503 is located will be referred to as the left side.

[0033] The base 501 is a rectangular plate that is long in the left-right direction (horizontal), and the rotation device 502 is disposed on the right end of the upper surface of the base 501. The rotation device 502 includes a rotary actuator 5020 (the rotary actuator 5020 is shown by a dashed line in FIG. 4 ) with a rotation angle of approximately 180 degrees, a disk-shaped rotating unit 5021 fixed to an output shaft (not shown) of the rotary actuator 5020, and two frame fixing units 5022, 5022 fixed to the rotating unit 5021 at symmetrical positions across the output shaft. The output shaft of the rotary actuator 5020 extends horizontally, and the rotary actuator 5020 is disposed on the base 501 so that an extension line of the output shaft (hereinafter referred to as the horizontal axis S) is aligned with the center line of the base 501 in the front-to-rear direction. Although the rotation device 502 of this embodiment has a rotary actuator 5020 with a rotation angle of 360 degrees or less, it may have a configuration with a motor with a rotation angle of 360 degrees or more.

[0034] The support column 503 is fixed perpendicular to the top surface of the base 501 at the center in the front-to-rear direction of the left end of the top surface of the base 501. The frame 504 has a horizontally long rectangular shape, and a frame fixing part 5022 of the rotation device 502 is fixed to the right side, and its left side is rotatably supported on the upper end of the support column 503. The frame 504 is supported between the frame fixing part 5022 and the support column 503 so that its center in the front-to-rear direction and the horizontal axis S approximately coincide with each other. The frame 504 is configured to be approximately horizontal when the rotation angle of the rotary actuator 5020 is 0 degrees and 180 degrees. With this configuration, when the output shaft of the rotary actuator 5020 rotates from a rotation angle of 0 degrees to a rotation angle of 180 degrees, the frame 504, which is in a horizontal state, rotates 180 degrees about the horizontal axis S and returns to a horizontal state.

[0035] The displacement device 505 has air cylinders 5051 fixed to the center of the front-rear direction inside the left and right side surfaces of the frame body 504, respectively, and a movable part 506 connected to a rod 5052 of the air cylinder 5051. The rod 5052 is displaceable in the left-right direction relative to the main body of the air cylinder 5051. With this configuration, the left and right movable parts 506 are displaced in directions approaching or separating from each other.

[0036] The movable section 506 has a support member 5061 fixed to the tip of the rod 5052, and a gripping device 5063 connected to the support member 5061 via two guide shafts 5062. Guide shaft insertion members 5041 are fixed between the front and rear side surfaces of the frame body 504 in the left and right sections within the frame body 504, respectively, and two guide shafts 5062 are inserted into two guide shaft insertion holes (not shown) formed in the guide shaft insertion members 5041. With this configuration, the guide shafts 5062 move in the left-right direction along the guide shaft insertion holes, so that when the support member 5061 is displaced in the left-right direction together with the rod 5052, the guide shafts 5062 and the gripping device 5063 are prevented from swinging in the front-back direction.

[0037] The gripping tool 5063 has a linear guide portion 5063a, which is a linear guide portion fixed to the guide shaft 5062, and circumferential guide portions 5063b provided at the front and rear ends of the linear guide portion 5063a and extending perpendicular to the linear guide portion 5063a. The front circumferential guide portion 5063b of the right gripping tool 5063 has a sloped surface that slopes rightward from the front to the rear. The rear circumferential guide portion 5063b of the right gripping tool 5063 also has a sloped surface that slopes rightward from the rear to the front. The left gripping tool 5063 has a shape that is bilaterally symmetrical to the right gripping tool 5063. A groove 5064 that fits over the protruding piece P of the workpiece W is formed inside the linear guide portion 5063a of the right gripping tool 5063. The pair of left and right gripping tools 5063 together corresponds to the gripping portion. With the above-described configuration, when the left and right gripping tools 5063 are displaced in a direction approaching each other and the workpiece W is gripped by the gripping tools 5063, the inside of the linear guide portion 5063 a abuts against the end face of the linear portion of the workpiece W, and the tip of the circumferential guide portion 5063 b abuts against the outer circumferential surface of the workpiece W (the end face of the circumferential portion).

[0038] <Break Processing Section> The break processing section 60 is a section that performs a process (break processing) on ​​the workpiece W, which has a scribe line formed on the substrate W3 and a protective film F attached thereto, to divide the substrate W3 at the scribe line formation position. The substrate W3 is divided by bringing a pressing tool called a break bar into contact with the substrate W3 along the scribe line on the back side of the substrate W3 and then further pressing the pressing tool in. A known mechanism can be used as the break processing section 60.

[0039] <Film gripping unit> The film gripping unit 70 is a device for peeling off the protective film F from the substrate W3 of the workpiece W after the breaking process that is placed on the stage 222 of the shuttle unit 22 while the stage 222 of the shuttle unit 22 moves from the transport position POS2 to the transport position POS1. Although detailed illustrations and explanations are omitted, the film gripping unit 70 includes a gripping arm that grips the outer peripheral edge of the protective film F that is attached to the substrate W3 of the workpiece W placed on the stage 222 of the shuttle unit 22 that is at the transport position POS2. When the stage 222 of the shuttle unit 22 moves from the transport position POS2 to the transport position POS1 with the gripping arm of the film gripping unit 70 gripping the protective film F, the protective film F is peeled off from the substrate W3.

[0040] In addition to the above configuration, the substrate manufacturing apparatus 100 further includes a control unit 80 that controls the operation of each unit. In FIG. 1, the control unit 80 is shown as a functional block. The control unit 80 is realized by a general-purpose or dedicated computer. Note that the control unit 80 does not need to be provided integrally with the above-mentioned components such as the cassette placement unit 10, the transport unit 20, the scribing unit 30, the film attachment unit 40, the reversing unit 50, the breaking unit 60, and the film gripping unit 70.

[0041] The substrate manufacturing apparatus 100 also includes a film disposal section (not shown) located below the film gripping section 70 and below the shuttle unit 22. The film disposal section is a rectangular box-shaped container with an open top and an internal space. When the protective film F gripped by the film gripping section 70 and peeled off from the substrate W3 is released from the grip of the protective film F by the film gripping section 70, it falls into the film disposal section below and is collected. An opening (not shown) that connects to the space inside the film disposal section is formed in the center of the base 221 of the shuttle unit 22.

[0042] Next, a series of processes performed under the control of the control unit 80 in the substrate manufacturing apparatus 100 having the above configuration will be described. Figures 5A and 5B are flowcharts showing the flow of such processes. Note that, at the start of the processes, the stage 222 of the shuttle unit 22 is positioned at the transfer position POS1.

[0043] First, the first transport robot 21 takes out the workpiece W from the cassette C and transports the workpiece W to the scribing processing section 30 (step S101). Specifically, the first arm 211 of the first transport robot 21 takes out the workpiece W from the cassette C, and the second arm 212 receives the taken-out workpiece W from the first arm 211 and transports the workpiece W to the scribing processing section 30. Once the workpiece W has been transported to the scribing processing section 30, the workpiece W is then subjected to scribing processing (step S102).

[0044] Next, the second arm 212 of the first transport robot 21 takes out the workpiece W from the scribing processing section 30 and transports the workpiece W to the stage 222 located at POS 1 of the shuttle unit 22 (step S103). Next, the stage 222 moves from POS 1 to POS 2 and transports the workpiece W to the rear side of the shuttle unit 22 (step S104).

[0045] When the workpiece W is transported to the rear side of the shuttle unit 22, the second transport robot 23 receives the workpiece W from the stage 222 and transports the workpiece W to the film attachment processing unit 40 (step S105). Subsequently, the protective film F is attached to the workpiece W (step S106).

[0046] After the protective film F is attached to the workpiece W, the second transport robot 23 removes the workpiece W from the film attachment processing section 40 and transports the workpiece W to the inversion processing section 50 (step S107). Subsequently, the workpiece W is turned upside down (step S108).

[0047] After the workpiece W has been inverted, the second transport robot 23 takes out the workpiece W from the inversion processing section 50 and transports the workpiece W to the breaking processing section 60 (step S109). Subsequently, the workpiece W is subjected to a breaking process (step S110).

[0048] After the breaking process, the second transport robot 23 takes out the workpiece W from the breaking process section 60 and transports the workpiece W to the inversion process section 50 (step S111). Subsequently, the workpiece W is turned upside down (step S112).

[0049] Once the workpiece W has been inverted, the second transport robot 23 takes the workpiece W out of the inversion processing section 50 and transports the workpiece W to the stage 222 located at the transport position POS2 of the shuttle unit 22 (step S113).

[0050] Once the workpiece W is transported to the stage 222, while the stage 222 moves from the transport position POS2 to the transport position POS1, the film gripping portion 70 grips the front peripheral portion of the protective film F attached to the workpiece W, and the stage 222 moves to the transport position POS1 while gripping the protective film F, thereby peeling off the protective film F from the workpiece W (step S114).

[0051] Thereafter, the first transport robot 21 receives the workpiece W from the stage 222 located at the transport position POS1 and stores the workpiece W in the cassette C (step S115). Specifically, the second arm 212 of the first transport robot 21 receives the workpiece W from the stage 222 and transfers the received workpiece W to the first arm 211, which stores the workpiece W in the cassette C.

[0052] Next, the specific procedure for the inversion processing step of step S108 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 6. In step S107, the workpiece W transported to the inversion processing unit 50 by the second transport robot 23 is held by suction by the arm of the second transport robot 23 and is positioned between the left and right grippers 5063, 5063, with the protruding piece P facing the linear guide portion 5063a of the right gripper 5063.

[0053] First, the rod 5052 of the left air cylinder 5051 is displaced to the right, and the rod 5052 of the right air cylinder 5051 is displaced to the left, bringing the left and right grippers 5063, 5063 closer to each other (step S201). When the left and right grippers 5063, 5063 approach each other, the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece W closest to the gripper 5063 comes into contact with the gripper 5063, 5063. When the left and right grippers 5063, 5063 approach each other further from this state, the workpiece W, while being sucked and held by the arm of the second transport robot 23, is pushed by the grippers 5063, 5063, and moves and rotates within a horizontal plane. When the gripping tools 5063, 5063 approach each other until the distance between the linear guide portions 5063a of the left and right gripping tools 5063, 5063 becomes equal to the distance between the linear portions W1a, W1a of the workpiece W, the linear portion W1a of the workpiece W abuts against the inside of the linear guide portion 5063a, and the circumferential portions on both sides of the linear portion W1a abut against the tips of the circumferential guide portions 5063b. As a result, the workpiece W is gripped at two points, the linear portion W1a and the circumferential portions on both sides thereof, and the posture (orientation in the horizontal plane) of the workpiece W is adjusted to a predetermined posture.

[0054] Next, the suction of the workpiece W by the arm of the second transport robot 23 is released, and the arm is retracted from the inversion processing unit 50 (step S202).

[0055] Next, the output shaft of the rotary actuator 5020 is rotated from a rotation angle of 0 degrees to a rotation angle of 180 degrees (step S203). As a result, the frame 504 fixed to the rotating unit 5021 via the frame fixing unit 5022 rotates 180 degrees from the horizontal state, and the workpiece W gripped by the grippers 5063, 5063 supported by the frame 504 is turned upside down.

[0056] The reversal process in step S112 is performed in the same procedure as the above reversal process, except that in step S203, the output shaft of the rotary actuator 5020 is rotated from a rotation angle of 180 degrees to a rotation angle of 0 degrees.

[0057] In this way, the substrate manufacturing apparatus according to this embodiment can adjust the posture of the workpiece W to a predetermined position when the workpiece W is inverted. Furthermore, when the workpiece W is held by the grippers 5063, 5063, the protruding piece P of the workpiece W is fitted into the groove 5064 formed on the inside of the right linear guide portion 5063a, so that the posture of the workpiece W is reliably fixed.

[0058] Second Embodiment Next, a substrate manufacturing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The substrate manufacturing apparatus of the second embodiment typically processes substrates such as semiconductor wafers that have a linear portion (also called an orientation flat) at one location on their periphery. The substrate manufacturing apparatus of the second embodiment is, for example, an apparatus for cleaning substrates or performing surface treatment on substrates. Below, only the configuration of the inversion processing unit, which is a characteristic part of the substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, will be described.

[0059] 7 is a top view showing a reversing processing unit 50A provided in the substrate manufacturing apparatus of the second embodiment. In FIG. 7, the substrate placed in the reversing processing unit 50A is indicated by a dashed line. The reversing processing unit 50A is the same as the reversing processing unit 50 of the first embodiment except for the shape of the gripper 5063 on the right side. Therefore, the same reference numerals are used for parts that are the same or equivalent to those of the reversing processing unit 50 of the first embodiment.

[0060] The inversion processing unit 50A includes a first gripping tool 5063 and a second gripping tool 5065. In this embodiment, the first gripping tool 5063 is located on the left side, and the second gripping tool 5065 is located on the right side.

[0061] The first gripping tool 5063 has a linear guide portion 5063a, which is a linear guide portion fixed to the guide shaft 5062, and circumferential guide portions 5063b, which are provided at the front and rear ends of the linear guide portion 5063a and extend perpendicular to the linear guide portion 5063a. The front circumferential guide portion 5063b of the first gripping tool 5063 has an inclined surface that slopes leftward from the front to the rear. The rear circumferential guide portion 5063b of the first gripping tool 5063 also has an inclined surface that slopes leftward from the rear to the front. The second gripping tool 5065 is fixed to the guide shaft 5062. The left side of the second gripping tool 5065 is curved to fit the outer periphery of the substrate, and this curved surface serves as the second circumferential guide portion 5065a.

[0062] The linear guide portion 5063a and the circumferential guide portion 5063b together correspond to the first guide, and the second circumferential guide portion 5065a corresponds to the second guide. Furthermore, the first gripping tool 5063 and the second gripping tool 5065 together correspond to the gripping portion.

[0063] With this configuration, when the first gripping tool 5063 and the second gripping tool 5065 are displaced in a direction toward each other and the workpiece W is gripped by the first gripping tool 5063 and the second gripping tool 5065, the inside of the linear guide portion 5063a abuts against the linear portion of the substrate, and the tip of the circumferential guide portion 5063b and the second circumferential guide portion 5065a of the second gripping tool 5065 abut against the outer peripheral surface of the substrate.

[0064] (Variant Examples) The above describes specific examples of forms for implementing the present invention, but the substrate manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to those shown in the above embodiments, and appropriate modifications are permitted within the scope of the spirit of the present invention.

[0065] For example, in the above embodiment, the rotation device 502 includes a rotary actuator 5020 with a rotation angle of approximately 180 degrees, but it may also include a motor with a rotation angle of 360 degrees or more. In this case, the output shaft of the motor is rotated from a rotation angle of 0 degrees to a rotation angle of 180 degrees, and then further rotated from a rotation angle of 180 degrees to a rotation angle of 360 degrees to invert the object. The rotation angles of the rotary actuator and the motor can be set by pulse input.

[0066] In the above embodiment, one air cylinder 5051 is connected to each of the left and right gripping tools (two gripping tools 5063 in the first embodiment, and the first gripping tool 5063 and the second gripping tool 5065 in the second embodiment), but the air cylinder 5051 may be connected to only one of the left and right gripping tools (thus providing only one air cylinder 5051), and the other gripping tool may be fixed. In this case, only the gripping tool connected to the air cylinder 5051 moves toward or away from the other gripping tool.

[0067] Furthermore, in the substrate manufacturing apparatus of the above embodiment, the transport section 20 has a first transport robot 21, a shuttle unit 22, and a second transport robot 23, which transport the workpiece W or substrate, but the configuration may also be such that the workpiece W or substrate is transported by a single transport robot having a configuration similar to that of the first transport robot 21.

[0068] The arrangement of various processing units, such as the reversing processing unit, cassette placement unit 10, transport unit 20, and scribing processing unit 30, is not limited to the example of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 . In the modified example shown in FIG. 11 , a first transport robot 21 is arranged in the center of a rectangular parallelepiped storage container H, and a film peeling device / reversing processing unit accommodating unit 50X, two scribing processing units 30, a film bonding processing unit 40, a breaking processing unit 60, and a cassette placement unit 10 consisting of two cassette tables 11 are arranged around the first transport robot 21 within the storage container H. The film peeling device / reversing processing unit accommodating unit 50X has a two-tier structure, with the film peeling device accommodated in the upper tier and the reversing processing unit 50 (or 50A) accommodated in the lower tier. The film peeling device has a configuration similar to the combination of the shuttle unit 22 and film gripping unit 70 in the above embodiment. By arranging the reversing processing unit 50 (or 50A) in the same film peeling device as the film peeling device, the installation space of the substrate manufacturing apparatus can be reduced. In this modification, the movement of the workpieces W to the cassette placement section 10 and each processing section is performed entirely by the first transport robot 21, and there is no second transport robot 23. This makes it possible to further reduce the installation space for the substrate manufacturing apparatus and also to reduce the cost of the apparatus.

[0069] While the first transport robot 21 shown in FIG. 2 was used in the above embodiment, a first transport robot 21A shown in FIG. 12 may be used instead. This first transport robot 21A has a single shaft 214A that is vertically movable and rotatable and is provided on the upper surface of a base 213A. Both a first arm 211A and a second arm 212A are supported by this shaft 214A. The first arm 211A and the second arm 212A may be the same as the first arm 211 and the second arm 212 in the first transport robot 21 of the above embodiment.

[0070] In the first transport robot 21A of this modification, both the first arm 211A and the second arm 212A are supported on a single (common) shaft, so only one mechanism for raising and lowering and rotating the shaft 214A is required. Therefore, the first transport robot 21A of the modification has the advantage of lowering the equipment cost compared to the first transport robot 21 of FIG. 2 , which has two shafts (the first shaft 214 and the second shaft 215) for raising and lowering. Meanwhile, while the first transport robot 21A of the modification lifts and lowers and rotates the first arm 211A and the second arm 212A simultaneously on the common shaft 214A, the first transport robot 21 of FIG. 2 has the advantage of lifting and lowering and rotating the first arm 211A and the second arm 212 independently.

[0071] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100...Substrate manufacturing apparatus 10...Cassette placement section 11...Cassette stage 20...Transport section 21, 21A...First transport robot 2111...First substrate gripper 2112...Grip support member 2113...Second substrate gripper 211a...First hand 212, 212A...Second arm 212a...Second hand 212b...Support 213, 213A...Base 214...First axis 214A...Axis 215...Second axis 22...Shuttle unit 221...Base 222...Stage 222a...Recess 23...Second transport robot 30...Scribe processing section 40...Film bonding processing section 50, 50A...Inversion processing section 501...Base 502...Rotation device 5020...Rotary actuator 5021...Rotation section 5022...Frame fixing portion 503...Support column 504...Frame 5041...Guide shaft insertion member 505...Displacement device 5051...Air cylinder 5052...Rod 506...Movable portion 5061...Support member 5062...Guide shaft 5063...Gripping tool, first gripping tool 5063a...Straight guide portion 5063b...Circumferential guide portion 5064...Groove 5065...Second gripping tool 5065a...Second circular guide portion 50X...Film peeling device / reversal processing unit storage portion 60...Break processing unit 70...Film gripping portion 80...Control portion W...Workpiece W1a, W1b...Straight portion W1c, W1d...Notched portion C...Cassette H...Storage container

Claims

1. A substrate manufacturing apparatus comprising: a gripping portion having a first guide that abuts against the straight portion and the end faces of the circumferential portions on both sides of the straight portion of a disk-shaped object having a straight portion on its outer periphery, and a second guide that abuts against the end face of the circumferential portion facing the straight portion; a displacement mechanism that displaces the first guide and the second guide in a direction of separating from or approaching each other; and a rotation mechanism that rotates the gripping portion 180 degrees about a predetermined axis.

2. A substrate manufacturing apparatus comprising: a gripping portion having a pair of guides that abut against each straight portion of a disk-shaped object having straight portions at opposite positions on its outer periphery, the straight portion and the end faces of the circumferential portions on both sides of the straight portion; a displacement mechanism that displaces the pair of guides in a direction of separating from or approaching each other; and a rotation mechanism that rotates the gripping portion 180 degrees about a predetermined axis.

3. The substrate manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the object is a substrate.

4. The substrate manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the object is a substrate attached to a substrate holding sheet stretched on a flat annular fixture.

5. Further, the substrate manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, comprising: a scribing processing apparatus that forms a scribe line on one main surface of the substrate; and a break processing apparatus that applies pressure to the substrate along the scribe line from the other main surface side of the substrate to divide the substrate.

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