JP6093328B2 - Substrate processing system, substrate processing method, program, and computer storage medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing system for thinning a substrate on which a device is formed and the surface of a support substrate is bonded to the surface, a substrate processing method using the substrate processing system, a program, and a computer storage medium About.

  In recent years, in order to meet the demand for miniaturization and weight reduction of semiconductor devices, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as “wafer”) having a plurality of devices such as electronic circuits formed on the surface thereof is ground and polished. Then, the wafer is thinned.

  In addition, high integration of semiconductor devices has been promoted, and so-called three-dimensional integration technology has been proposed in which a plurality of highly integrated semiconductor devices are stacked three-dimensionally. In this three-dimensional integration technique, a plurality of wafers are stacked, and the wafers stacked vertically are electrically connected via through electrodes (TSV: Through Silicon Via) formed on each wafer. In this case, if the wafers are simply stacked, the semiconductor devices to be manufactured are also thickened due to the thickness of the wafers, so that the wafers are thinned.

  Such thinning of the wafer is performed by, for example, a flattening apparatus described in Patent Document 1. In the flattening processing apparatus, three chambers, a loading / unloading stage chamber, a grinding processing stage chamber, and a polishing processing stage chamber, are divided through a partition wall. The grinding stage chamber is provided with one index type turntable having three sets of chuck tables. The three sets of chuck tables are a chuck table for loading / unloading a wafer, a chuck table for performing rough grinding of the wafer, and a chuck table for performing finish grinding of the wafer. In the polishing stage chamber, a temporary table that can place two or four wafers, three sets of polishing tables that simultaneously polish two wafers, and above the temporary table and the polishing table And one index type head arranged in the head. In the flattening apparatus, rough grinding, finish grinding, and polishing are sequentially performed to thin the wafer.

JP 2011-165994 A

  However, in the flattening apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a chuck table that performs rough grinding, a chuck table that performs finish grinding, and a polishing surface plate that performs polishing are fixed in the apparatus. The number of can't be increased or decreased. That is, the number of chuck tables and polishing surface plates is set according to the time required for each processing based on the currently used rough grinding processing means, finish grinding processing means, and polishing processing means. For this reason, even if the performance of the processing means, for example, the polishing means is improved by technical innovation, for example, the number of polishing surface plates cannot be increased, and as a result, the throughput of the entire wafer processing cannot be improved.

  In addition, when one of the rough grinding means, the finish grinding means, and the polishing means is abnormal or when the other two machining means are normal, the other two machining means are normal. The entire device needs to be stopped. For this reason, the production efficiency of the product is poor.

  As described above, the flattening apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a low degree of freedom in apparatus configuration, and there is room for improvement in processing efficiency.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object thereof is to efficiently perform a process of thinning a substrate in a substrate processing system.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a substrate processing system for thinning a substrate in which a device is formed on a surface and the surface of a support substrate is bonded to the surface. A processing station capable of holding a plurality of substrates, and a loading / unloading station for loading / unloading a substrate to / from the processing station, the processing station grinding a back surface of the substrate, A damage layer removing device for removing a damaged layer formed on the back surface of the substrate by grinding with a grinding device; a cleaning device for cleaning the back surface of the support substrate after removing the damaged layer with the damaged layer removing device; A substrate transfer region for transferring the substrate to the grinding device, the damaged layer removing device, and the cleaning device, and the grinding device, the damaged layer removing A plurality of devices and cleaning devices can be arranged in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, respectively, and the grinding device, the damage layer removing device, and the cleaning device each have a housing that accommodates a substrate therein, and are independent of each other. above have housing rows predetermined processing on a substrate with, the pressure of the pressure and the damaged layer removal in the device of the grinding apparatus is a negative pressure relative to the pressure of each of the substrate transfer area, the cleaning device The internal pressure is positive with respect to the pressure in the substrate transfer region .

  According to the present invention, in one substrate processing system, grinding processing for the back surface of the substrate in the grinding device, removal processing for the damaged layer in the damage layer removing device, and cleaning processing for the back surface of the supporting substrate in the cleaning device are performed on a plurality of substrates. Can be performed continuously.

  Further, in the substrate processing system, a plurality of grinding devices, damage layer removing devices, and cleaning devices can be arranged in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, respectively, so that the number of these devices can be arbitrarily set. Therefore, for example, according to the required product specifications, the number of grinding devices, damage layer removal devices, and cleaning devices can be changed, and only the device configuration of any device can be changed. .

  In addition, since the grinding device, the damaged layer removing device, and the cleaning device can each independently perform a predetermined process, for example, while performing a predetermined process on a substrate in one apparatus, The apparatus can be removed outside the substrate processing system, and another apparatus can be installed inside the substrate processing system. For this reason, for example, even when an abnormality occurs in one apparatus or maintenance of the apparatus is not performed, it is not necessary to stop other apparatuses, and it is not necessary to stop the entire substrate processing system.

  As described above, according to the substrate processing system of the present invention, the degree of freedom of the apparatus configuration can be improved, and the substrate processing can be performed efficiently.

  The substrate transfer area is provided with a substrate transfer device that holds and transfers the substrate, and the substrate transfer device transfers a substrate before the back surface of the support substrate is cleaned by the cleaning device. And a second transport arm for transporting the substrate after the back surface of the support substrate is cleaned by the cleaning device.

  The damaged layer removing apparatus may remove the damaged layer by performing wet etching, dry etching, or polishing.

  The cleaning apparatus may supply pure water to the back surface of the support substrate for cleaning.

  The substrate processing system further includes another cleaning device for cleaning the back surface of the substrate after the damage layer is removed by the damage layer removing device and before the back surface of the support substrate is cleaned by the cleaning device. You may do it.

  The pressure in the other cleaning apparatus may be a positive pressure relative to the pressure in the substrate transfer region.

  The other cleaning apparatus may perform cleaning by supplying pure water to the back surface of the substrate.

  The substrate processing system further includes a reversing device that reverses the front and back surfaces of the substrate after the damaged layer is removed by the damaged layer removing device and before the back surface of the support substrate is cleaned by the cleaning device. It may be.

  The substrate is provided with a plug extending in the thickness direction from the surface, and the substrate processing system is configured to remove the damaged layer with the damaged layer removing device and before cleaning the back surface of the supporting substrate with the cleaning device. And a plug exposing device for exposing the plug.

  The plug exposing device may expose the plug by performing wet etching.

  The substrate processing system includes an inspection device that inspects a substrate ground by the grinding device, a substrate from which the damaged layer has been removed by the damage layer removing device, or a substrate from which the back surface of the support substrate has been cleaned by the cleaning device. Furthermore, you may have.

  The substrate processing system may further include a control device that corrects a processing condition in the grinding device or the damaged layer removing device based on an inspection result in the inspection device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing method for thinning a substrate in which a device is formed on a surface and the surface of a support substrate is bonded to the surface. A grinding process for conveying the substrate and grinding the back surface of the substrate in the housing of the grinding device, and then transporting the substrate to the damage layer removing device via the substrate transportation region, and in the housing of the damaged layer removing device A damage layer removing step of removing the damaged layer formed on the back surface of the substrate in the grinding step, and then transporting the substrate to the cleaning device through the substrate transport region, and the support substrate in the housing of the cleaning device. A cleaning process for cleaning the back surface, and continuously performing the grinding process, the damaged layer removing process and the cleaning process on a plurality of substrates, and the grinding apparatus, the damage The removal device and the cleaning device are each configured to be freely arranged in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, and the grinding step, the damaged layer removal step, and the cleaning step can be performed by any of the grinding device, the damaged layer removal device, and The cleaning apparatus is selected, and the pressure of the grinding apparatus and the pressure in the damaged layer removing apparatus are negative with respect to the pressure in the substrate transfer region, respectively, and the pressure in the cleaning apparatus is It is characterized by a positive pressure with respect to the pressure in the substrate transfer region .

  The substrate transport area is provided with a substrate transport device having two transport arms that hold and transport the substrate, and transport of the substrate until the cleaning step is completed is the first transport of the substrate transport device. The transfer of the substrate after the cleaning step is performed by the arm may be performed by the second transfer arm of the substrate transfer apparatus.

  In the damaged layer removing step, the damaged layer may be removed by wet etching, dry etching, or polishing.

  In the cleaning step, pure water may be supplied to the back surface of the support substrate for cleaning.

  In the cleaning method, after the damaged layer removing step and before the cleaning step, the substrate is transferred to another cleaning device through the substrate transfer region, and the back surface of the substrate is placed in the housing of the other cleaning device. You may have further the other washing process to wash.

  The pressure in the other cleaning apparatus may be a positive pressure relative to the pressure in the substrate transfer region.

  In the other cleaning step, cleaning may be performed by supplying pure water to the back surface of the substrate.

  In the cleaning method, after the damaged layer removal step and before the cleaning step, the substrate is transported to the reversing device through the substrate transport region, and the reversing is performed to reverse the front and back surfaces of the substrate in the housing of the reversing device. You may have the process further.

  The substrate is provided with a plug extending in the thickness direction from the surface, and the cleaning method transfers the substrate to the plug exposing device through the substrate transfer region after the damaged layer removing step and before the cleaning step, You may further have the plug exposure process which exposes the said plug in the housing | casing of the said plug exposure apparatus.

  In the plug exposing step, the plug may be exposed by performing wet etching.

  The substrate processing method includes an inspection step of transferring the substrate to an inspection apparatus through the substrate transfer area after the grinding step, after the damage layer removing step, or after the cleaning step, and inspecting the substrate in the inspection device. Furthermore, you may have.

  The processing conditions in the grinding step or the damaged layer removal step may be corrected based on the inspection result in the inspection step.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program that operates on a computer of a control device that controls the substrate processing system so that the substrate processing method is executed by the substrate processing system.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a readable computer storage medium storing the program is provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the freedom degree of the apparatus structure of a substrate processing system can be improved, and the process which thins a board | substrate in the said substrate processing system can be performed efficiently.

It is a top view which shows the outline of a structure of the wafer processing system concerning this Embodiment. It is a side view which shows the outline of the internal structure of the wafer processing system concerning this Embodiment. It is a side view which shows the outline of the internal structure of the wafer processing system concerning this Embodiment. It is a side view of a wafer and a support substrate. It is explanatory drawing of the airflow which arises in a wafer processing system. It is a top view which shows the outline of a structure of the wafer processing system concerning other embodiment. It is a top view which shows the outline of a structure of the wafer processing system concerning other embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the process performed with the plug exposure apparatus in other embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the airflow which arises in the wafer processing system in other embodiment. It is a side view which shows the outline of the internal structure of the wafer processing system concerning other embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an outline of the configuration of a wafer processing system 1 as a substrate processing system according to the present embodiment. 2 and 3 are side views showing an outline of the internal configuration of the wafer processing system 1.

In the wafer processing system 1, the wafer W as a substrate is thinned as shown in FIG. The wafer W is bonded to the support substrate S via the adhesive G. The support substrate S is provided to reinforce the wafer W after the wafer W is thinned in the wafer processing system 1. As the support substrate S, various substrates such as a wafer and a glass substrate are used. Incidentally, the joint surface joined to the surface W _A of the wafer W to be described later in the support substrate S is called the surface S _A, the surface opposite with the surface S _A of the rear surface S _B.

The surface W _A of the wafer W, for example, a device such as a plurality of electronic circuits are formed. Surface W _A is a bonding surface that is bonded to the surface S _A of the supporting substrate S via the adhesive G, the surface of the device W _A by the adhesive G is protected. Then, in the wafer processing system 1, a predetermined process of grinding or the like is performed on the rear surface W _B of the wafer W, the wafer W is thinned. In the present embodiment, for example, a wafer W having a thickness of 300 μm to 700 μm is thinned to a thickness of 100 μm or less in the wafer processing system 1.

  Although the wafer W is supported by the support substrate S as described above, the wafer W supported by the support substrate S may be simply referred to as “wafer W” in the following description.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the wafer processing system 1 includes, for example, a loading / unloading station 2 where a cassette C capable of accommodating a plurality of wafers W is loaded / unloaded, and various processes for performing predetermined processing on the wafer W. It has a configuration in which a processing station 3 provided with the apparatus is integrally connected.

  The loading / unloading station 2 is provided with a cassette mounting table 10. The cassette mounting table 10 is provided with a plurality of, for example, four cassette mounting plates 11. The cassette mounting plates 11 are arranged in a line in the X direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1). The cassette C can be placed on these cassette placement plates 11 when the cassette C is carried in and out of the wafer processing system 1. Thus, the carry-in / out station 2 is configured to be able to hold a plurality of wafers W. The number of cassette mounting plates 11 is not limited to the present embodiment, and can be arbitrarily determined.

  In the loading / unloading station 2, a wafer transfer unit 20 is provided adjacent to the cassette mounting table 10. The wafer transfer unit 20 is provided with a wafer transfer device 22 that is movable on a transfer path 21 extending in the X direction. The wafer transfer device 22 is also movable in the vertical direction and the vertical axis (θ direction), and is a transition device for a cassette C on each cassette mounting plate 11 and a third processing block G3 of the processing station 3 described later. The wafer W can be transferred between 40 and 41. That is, the loading / unloading station 2 is configured to be able to load / unload the wafer W with respect to the processing station 3.

  The wafer transfer device 22 is provided with a position adjusting mechanism (not shown) for adjusting the position of the wafer W. The position adjustment mechanism adjusts the orientation of the wafer W while detecting the position of the notch portion of the wafer W, and further centers the wafer W.

  The processing station 3 is provided with a plurality of, for example, three processing blocks G1, G2, and G3 including various processing apparatuses. For example, a first processing block G1 is provided on the X direction positive direction side of the processing station 3, and a second processing block G2 is provided on the X direction negative direction side of the processing station 3. Further, a third processing block G3 is provided on the loading / unloading station 2 side (Y direction negative direction side) of the processing station 3.

A first processing block G1 to the second processing block G2, finish grinding to finish grinding the rough grinding device 30 for rough grinding the back surface W _B of the wafer W, the back surface W _B of rough grinding wafer W device 31 When a damaged layer removal apparatus 32 for removing the damaged layer formed on the back surface W _B of the wafer W by being rough grinding and finish grinding, other cleaning a back surface W _B of the wafer W damaged layer has been removed A wafer cleaning device 33 as a cleaning device is provided.

  In the first processing block G1, for example, three rough grinding apparatuses 30 and one finish grinding apparatus 31 are arranged in this order from the carry-in / out station 2 side in the Y direction. In the second processing block G2, for example, one wafer cleaning device 33, one damaged layer removing device 32, and two finish grinding devices 31 are arranged in this order from the loading / unloading station 2 side in the Y direction. .

  In addition, the number of the rough grinding apparatus 30, the finish grinding apparatus 31, the damage layer removal apparatus 32, and the wafer cleaning apparatus 33 can be set arbitrarily. In the present embodiment, the processing capability (tact) of the wafer W in the wafer processing system 1 is set to 30 wafers / hour, for example. When the processing capabilities of the rough grinding device 30 and the finish grinding device 31 are, for example, 10 sheets / hour, respectively, three rough grinding devices 30 and three finish grinding devices 31 are provided. Further, when the processing capability of the damaged layer removing device 32 and the wafer cleaning device 33 is, for example, 10 sheets / hour, respectively, one damaged layer removing device 32 and one wafer cleaning device 33 are provided.

  Further, the arrangement of the rough grinding device 30, the finish grinding device 31, the damaged layer removing device 32, and the wafer cleaning device 33 can be arbitrarily set. In this embodiment, the rough grinding device 30, the finish grinding device 31, the damage layer removing device 32, and the wafer cleaning device 33 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction, but they may be arranged in a stacked manner in the vertical direction.

  In the third processing block G3, as shown in FIG. 2, transition devices 40 and 41 for the wafer W are provided in two stages in this order from the bottom.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a wafer transfer region 50 as a substrate transfer region is formed in a region surrounded by the first processing block G1 to the third processing block G3. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a fan filter unit 51 (FFU: Fan Filter Unit) is provided on the ceiling surface of the wafer transfer region 50. An exhaust port 52 for exhausting the atmosphere inside the wafer transfer region 50 is formed on the bottom surface of the wafer transfer region 50. An exhaust pipe 54 that communicates with a negative pressure generator 53 such as a vacuum pump is connected to the exhaust port 52. With this configuration, a downward air flow (down flow) from the fan filter unit 51 toward the exhaust port 52 is formed inside the wafer transfer region 50.

  In the wafer transfer region 50, a wafer transfer device 60 as a substrate transfer device is arranged. The wafer transfer device 60 moves in the wafer transfer region 50 and can transfer the wafer W to a predetermined device in the surrounding first processing block G1, second processing block G2, and third processing block G3.

The wafer transfer device 60 has two transfer arms 61 and 62. The first transfer arm 61 transfers the wafer W before being cleaned by the wafer cleaning device 33 as will be described later. The second transfer arm 62 transfers the wafer W after being cleaned by the wafer cleaning device 33 as will be described later. These transfer arms 61 and 62, it is possible to hold the outer peripheral portion of the back surface W _B of the wafer W, to hold the wafer W horizontally. The first transfer arm 61 for transporting the dirty wafer W before cleaning, may hold any location on the back surface W _B of the wafer W, for example by holding the center portion of the back surface W _B Also good.

  The wafer transfer device 60 is provided with a position adjusting mechanism (not shown) for adjusting the position of the wafer W. The position adjustment mechanism adjusts the orientation of the wafer W while detecting the position of the notch portion of the wafer W, and further centers the wafer W.

  An arm driving unit 63 is provided at the base end of the transfer arms 61 and 62. Each arm 61, 62 can move independently in the horizontal direction by the arm driving unit 63. The arm driving unit 63 is supported by the base 64. The base 64 is provided with a moving mechanism (not shown), and the transfer arms 61 and 62 are configured to be movable up and down by the moving mechanism, and are configured to be rotatable around the vertical axis.

  Next, the configuration of each of the devices 30 to 33 arranged in the above-described processing station 3 illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described.

  The rough grinding apparatus 30 includes a housing 30a that can accommodate the wafer W therein. A load / unload port 30b for the wafer W is formed on the side surface of the housing 30a on the wafer transfer region 50 side, and an open / close shutter 30c is provided at the load / unload port 30b.

The rough grinding apparatus 30 of the housing 30a, for example, the back surface W _B of the wafer W held on the chuck being in contact with the grinding wheel, for grinding the back surface W _B by rotating the chuck and the grinding wheel respectively . At this time, the grinding liquid on the rear surface W _B of the wafer W, for example, water is supplied. In addition, the structure in the housing | casing 30a of the rough grinding apparatus 30 is not limited to this Embodiment, A various structure can be taken.

  The finish grinding apparatus 31 has a housing 31a that can accommodate the wafer W therein. A loading / unloading port 31b for the wafer W is formed on the side surface of the housing 31a on the wafer transfer area 50 side, and an opening / closing shutter 31c is provided at the loading / unloading port 31b.

The configuration of the finish grinding device 31 is substantially the same as the configuration of the rough grinding device 30, but the particle size of the grinding wheel in the finish grinding device 31 is smaller than the particle size of the grinding wheel of the rough grinding device 30. Then, in the housing 31a of the finishing grinding device 31, for example, while supplying the grinding fluid to the back surface W _B of the wafer W held on the chuck, being in contact with the back surface W _B to the grinding wheel, chuck and grinding grinding the back surface W _B by rotating the grinding wheel, respectively.

  The damaged layer removing device 32 has a housing 32a that can accommodate the wafer W therein. A load / unload port 32b for the wafer W is formed on the side surface of the housing 32a on the wafer transfer region 50 side, and an open / close shutter 32c is provided at the load / unload port 32b.

In the casing 32a of the damage layer removing device 32, wet etching is performed using a treatment liquid in which, for example, hydrogen fluoride (HF) and nitrous acid (HNO ₂ ) are mixed. Then the damaged layer removal apparatus 32, damaged layer formed on the back surface W _B of the wafer W by fine grinding device 31 is removed. In addition, the structure in the housing | casing 32a of the damage layer removal apparatus 32 can take various structures, if it is a structure which performs wet etching. In this embodiment, a general wet etching configuration is adopted, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The wafer cleaning device 33 has a housing 33a that can accommodate the wafer W therein. A loading / unloading port 33b for the wafer W is formed on the side surface of the housing 33a on the wafer transfer area 50 side, and an opening / closing shutter 33c is provided at the loading / unloading port 33b.

In the housing 33a of the wafer cleaning device 33, for example, while rotating the wafer W held by the spin chuck, for supplying pure water onto the rear surface W _B of the wafer W. Then, the supplied pure water is diffused over the rear surface W _B of the wafer W, the back surface W _B is cleaned. In addition, the structure in the housing | casing 33a of this wafer cleaning apparatus 33 can take a various structure. In the present embodiment, for example, a high cleanliness cleaning apparatus used in a coating and developing treatment apparatus in a photolithography process, for example, a cleaning apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-034437 is used.

  The wafer processing system 1 is provided with a control device 70 as shown in FIG. The control device 70 is a computer, for example, and has a program storage unit (not shown). The program storage unit stores a program for controlling the processing of the wafer W in the wafer processing system 1. The program storage unit also stores a program for controlling operations of drive systems such as the above-described various processing apparatuses and transfer apparatuses to realize later-described wafer processing in the wafer processing system 1. The program is recorded on a computer-readable storage medium H such as a computer-readable hard disk (HD), a flexible disk (FD), a compact disk (CD), a magnetic optical desk (MO), or a memory card. May have been installed in the control device 70 from the storage medium H.

  Next, the airflow generated in the wafer processing system 1 when the wafer W is thinned in the wafer processing system 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the arrow in FIG. 5 has shown the direction of the airflow.

  In the wafer processing system 1, the pressure in the wafer cleaning apparatus 33 is the highest. Accordingly, the pressure in the wafer cleaning device 33 becomes positive with respect to the pressure in the wafer transfer region 50, and when the opening / closing shutter 33c of the wafer cleaning device 33 is opened, an air flow from the wafer cleaning device 33 toward the wafer transfer region 50 is generated. .

  The pressure in the wafer transfer region 50 is positive with respect to the pressure in the rough grinding device 30, the pressure in the finish grinding device 31, and the pressure in the damaged layer removal device 32. Therefore, when each of the open / close shutters 30c, 31c, and 32c is opened, an air flow is generated from the wafer transfer region 50 toward the rough grinding device 30, the finish grinding device 31, and the damage layer removing device 32.

  First, a cassette C containing a plurality of wafers W is placed on a predetermined cassette placement plate 11 in the carry-in / out station 2. Thereafter, the wafer W in the cassette C is taken out by the wafer transfer device 22 and transferred to the transition device 40 of the third processing block G3 of the processing station 3.

Next, the wafer W is transferred to the rough grinding apparatus 30 by the first transfer arm 61 of the wafer transfer apparatus 60. At this time, an arbitrary rough grinding device 30 is selected from the three rough grinding devices 30 and conveyed. In rough grinding device 30, while supplying the grinding fluid to the back surface W _B of the wafer W held on the chuck, being in contact with the back surface W _B to the grinding wheel, the rear surface by rotating the chuck and the grinding wheel respectively grinding the W _B. The grinding amount of the rough grinding apparatus 30 is set according to the thickness of the wafer W before thinning and the thickness of the wafer W required after thinning.

Next, the wafer W is transferred to the finish grinding device 31 by the first transfer arm 61 of the wafer transfer device 60. At this time, among the three finish grinding apparatuses 31, any finish grinding apparatus 31 is selected and conveyed. In fine grinding apparatus 31 while supplying the grinding fluid to the back surface W _B of the wafer W held on the chuck, the back surface by being in contact with the back surface W _B to the grinding wheel, rotating the chuck and the grinding wheel respectively grinding the W _B. At this time, the wafer W is ground to the thickness after thinning required as a product. Note that the rear surface W _B of the wafer W which is finish grinding at the finish grinding device 31, for example, the thickness damaged layer of about 1μm is formed.

Next, the wafer W is transferred to the damaged layer removing device 32 by the first transfer arm 61 of the wafer transfer device 60. In damaged layer removal apparatus 32, wet etching is performed on the back surface W _B of the wafer W, the damaged layer formed on the back surface W _B of the wafer W with the grinding device 31 finish as described above is removed. By removing the damaged layer in this way, the thinned wafer W becomes difficult to break, that is, the reduction in the bending strength of the wafer W can be suppressed.

Next, the wafer W is transferred to the wafer cleaning device 33 by the first transfer arm 61 of the wafer transfer device 60. In the wafer cleaning apparatus 33, while rotating the wafer W held by the spin chuck, for supplying pure water onto the rear surface W _B of the wafer W. Then, the supplied pure water is diffused over the rear surface W _B of the wafer W, the back surface W _B is cleaned.

  Next, the wafer W is transferred to the transition device 41 by the second transfer arm 62 of the wafer transfer device 60. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the cassette C of the predetermined cassette mounting plate 11 by the wafer transfer device 22 of the loading / unloading station 2. Thus, a series of wafer processing in the wafer processing system 1 is completed.

According to the above embodiment, the one in a wafer processing system 1, coarse grinding process of the rear surface W _B of the rough grinding device 30 definitive the wafer W, finish grinding of the back surface W _B in fine grinding apparatus 31, the damaged layer removing device removal process of the damaged layer in the 32, and the cleaning process of the rear surface W _B in wafer cleaning device 33, can be performed continuously for a plurality of wafers W.

  In the wafer processing system 1, the rough grinding device 30, the finish grinding device 31, the damaged layer removing device 32, and the wafer cleaning device 33 are configured to be arranged in a plurality in a vertical direction or a horizontal direction. The number of 30-33 can be set arbitrarily. Therefore, for example, the number of the rough grinding device 30, the finish grinding device 31, the damaged layer removal device 32, and the wafer cleaning device 33 can be changed according to the required product specifications. In addition, only the device configuration of any of the devices 30 to 33 can be changed.

  In addition, since the rough grinding device 30, the finish grinding device 31, the damaged layer removal device 32, and the wafer cleaning device 33 can perform predetermined processing independently of each other, for example, for the wafer W in one device. Even while a predetermined process is being performed, another apparatus can be removed from the wafer processing system 1, and another apparatus can be installed inside the wafer processing system 1. For this reason, for example, even when an abnormality occurs in one apparatus or maintenance of the apparatus is performed, it is not necessary to stop other apparatuses and it is not necessary to stop the entire wafer processing system 1.

  As described above, according to the wafer processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the degree of freedom of the apparatus configuration can be improved, and wafer processing can be performed efficiently.

  In the wafer transfer device 60, the first transfer arm 61 is a transfer arm that transfers the wafer W before being cleaned by the wafer cleaning device 33, and the second transfer arm 62 is cleaned by the wafer cleaning device 33. This is a transfer arm for transferring the wafer W. Thus, since the dirty wafer W before cleaning and the clean wafer W after cleaning are transferred by separate transfer arms 61 and 62, particles adhering to one wafer W, for example, the rough grinding device 30, the finish grinding device 31, it is possible to suppress the grinding residue generated by the damaged layer removing device 32 from adhering to another wafer W. Therefore, wafer processing can be performed more appropriately.

Further, since the pressure in the wafer cleaning device 33 is positive with respect to the pressure in the wafer transfer region 50, an air flow from the wafer cleaning device 33 toward the wafer transfer region 50 is generated. In other words, the atmosphere in the wafer transfer region 50 does not flow into the wafer cleaning device 33, and particles or the like do not flow into the wafer cleaning device 33. Therefore, it is possible to maintain the atmosphere in the wafer cleaning apparatus 33 to clean the cleaning of the back surface W _B of the wafer W in the wafer cleaning apparatus 33 can be performed appropriately.

  Further, since the pressure in the wafer transfer region 50 is positive with respect to the pressure in the rough grinding device 30 and the pressure in the finish grinding device 31, the rough grinding device 30 and the finish grinding device from the wafer transfer region 50. An air flow toward 31 is generated. In other words, the atmosphere in the rough grinding device 30 and the finish grinding device 31 does not flow into the wafer transfer region 50, and particles such as grinding residue do not flow into the wafer transfer region 50.

  Further, since the pressure in the wafer transfer region 50 is positive with respect to the pressure in the damaged layer removal device 32, an air flow from the wafer transfer region 50 toward the damaged layer removal device 32 is generated. In other words, the atmosphere in the damaged layer removal device 32 does not flow into the wafer transfer region 50, and the processing liquid used in the damaged layer removal device 32 does not scatter in the wafer transfer region 50.

  As described above, since the airflow is appropriately controlled in the wafer processing system 1, wafer processing can be performed more appropriately.

Also, the wafer cleaning apparatus 33, for example, since the cleaning device having a high cleanliness, such as those used in the coating and developing system of the photolithographic process is used, it is possible to clean the rear surface W _B of the wafer W at a high degree of cleanliness . Here, the wafer W thinned by the wafer processing system 1 is then subjected to post-processing such as formation of a through electrode. In this post-processing, a photolithography process is performed on the wafer W in order to form the through-holes of the through-electrodes. However, since the formation of the through-holes requires high accuracy, the wafer is subjected to the process before performing the predetermined process. W is washed with high cleanliness. In this respect, since the wafer cleaning apparatus 33 of the wafer processing system 1 can clean the wafer W with high cleanliness, it is possible to reduce the subsequent processing burden and to improve the manufacturing efficiency of the product.

  In the wafer processing system 1 of the above embodiment, the wet etching is performed in the damaged layer removing device 32. However, the processing is not limited to this as long as it is a process for removing the damaged layer.

In damaged layer removing device 32, for example it may be polished back surface W _B of the wafer W. As such polishing, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) using a processing liquid (slurry) containing abrasive grains such as silica (SiO ₂ ) may be performed, or dry processing without using a processing liquid. Dry polishing may be performed. Be polished in any way, it is possible to remove the damaged layer on the back surface W _B of the wafer W. It should be noted that the internal configuration of the casing 32a of the damage layer removing device 32 can employ a general configuration for performing chemical mechanical polishing or dry polishing, and a detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Further, in the damage layer removing apparatus 32, for example, dry etching may be performed. In addition, the general structure which performs dry etching can be employ | adopted for the structure inside the housing | casing 32a of the damage layer removal apparatus 32, The detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

In such a case, a predetermined etching process is performed in a vacuum atmosphere in the casing 32a of the damaged layer removing device 32. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, a load lock device 100 is provided between the wafer transfer region 50 and the damaged layer removing device 32 so that the internal atmosphere can be switched between an air atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere. The load lock device 100 is connected to the wafer transfer region 50 via the gate valve 101 and is connected to the damaged layer removing device 32 via the gate valve 102. Even in such a damaged layer removing device 32, dry etching is performed with respect to the back surface W _B of the wafer W, it is possible to remove the damaged layer of the back surface W _B.

As shown in FIG. 7, the wafer processing system 1 of the above embodiment includes a plug exposure device 200 that exposes plugs provided on the wafer W, a reversing device 201 that reverses the front and back surfaces of the wafer W, and a support substrate S. the supporting substrate cleaning apparatus 202 for cleaning a back surface S _B, may further have. In such a case, in the first processing block G1, for example, three rough grinding devices 30 and three finish grinding devices 31 are arranged in this order from the carry-in / out station 2 side in this order. In the second processing block G2, for example, one support substrate cleaning device 202, one reversing device 201, one wafer cleaning device 33, one plug exposing device 200, and one damaged layer removing device 32 are provided in a loading / unloading station. Arranged in the Y direction in this order from the second side.

  Note that the number of the rough grinding device 30, the finish grinding device 31, the damaged layer removing device 32, the wafer cleaning device 33, the plug exposing device 200, the reversing device 201, and the supporting substrate cleaning device 202 can be arbitrarily set. Also, the arrangement of these devices can be arbitrarily set. In the present embodiment, the devices are arranged in the horizontal direction, but may be arranged in the vertical direction.

  The plug exposure device 200 has a housing 200a that can accommodate the wafer W therein. A loading / unloading port 200b for the wafer W is formed on the side surface of the housing 200a on the wafer transfer area 50 side, and an opening / closing shutter 200c is provided at the loading / unloading port 200b.

Here, there are cases where the plug P is provided from the surface W _A in the thickness direction in the wafer W as shown in FIG. Plug P is, when the back surface W _B is grinding the wafer W in the grinding apparatus 31 finish and rough grinding device 30, in a strict sense not exposed on the rear surface W _B. Attempting to expose the plug P by grinding the back surface W _B with the grinding wheel in the grinding apparatus 31 and the rough grinding device 30 finish, because the plug P is likely to suffer damage by the grinding wheel. Therefore, (the dotted line in FIG. 8) back surface W _B of the wafer W is cut thinly by treatment in the plug exposed device 200, the plug P is exposed from the back surface W _B.

Specifically, wet etching is performed in the casing 200a of the plug exposure apparatus 200 using, for example, an alkaline processing liquid. Then the plug exposed device 200, cutting backside thinning W _B of the wafer W as described above, to expose the plug P from the rear surface W _B. In addition, the structure in the housing | casing 200a of the plug exposure apparatus 200 can take various structures, if it is a structure which performs wet etching. In this embodiment, a general wet etching configuration is adopted, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The reversing device 201 has a housing 201a that can accommodate the wafer W therein. A loading / unloading port 201b for the wafer W is formed on the side surface of the housing 201a on the wafer transfer area 50 side, and an opening / closing shutter 201c is provided at the loading / unloading port 201b.

In the casing 201a of the reversing device 201, for example, the outer peripheral portion of the wafer W is held and rotated around the horizontal axis by 180 degrees, so that the front and back surfaces of the wafer W are reversed. That is, in the reversing device 201, the back side S _B of the supporting substrate S faces upward, front and rear surfaces of the wafer W so as to face the back surface W _B is below the wafer W is reversed.

The support substrate cleaning apparatus 202 has a housing 202a that can accommodate the wafer W (support substrate S) therein. A loading / unloading port 202b for the wafer W is formed on the side surface of the housing 202a on the wafer transfer region 50 side, and an opening / closing shutter 202c is provided at the loading / unloading port 202b. For example rough grinding apparatus 30, fine grinding device 31, the grinding scraps generated in the damaged layer removing device 32 may be attached to the rear surface S _B of the supporting substrate S flows around the the wafer W, the supporting substrate cleaning apparatus 202, backside S _B of such support substrate S is cleaned.

The housing 202a of the supporting substrate cleaning apparatus 202, for example, while rotating the wafer W (the supporting substrate S), supplies the pure water onto the rear surface S _B of the supporting substrate S, for example, the scrubbing implement having a brush It is brought into contact with the rear surface _{S B.} Then, the pure water and scrubbing implement, the rear surface S _B of the supporting substrate S is cleaned. In addition, the structure in the housing | casing 202a of this support substrate washing | cleaning apparatus 202 can take a various structure. In the present embodiment, a general scrub cleaning apparatus configuration is adopted, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the thinning process of the wafer W in the wafer processing system 1 shown in FIG. 7 will be described. As described in the above embodiment, the wafer W is transferred to the rough grinding device 30, the finish grinding device 31, and the damaged layer removing device 32, and predetermined processing is performed in each device.

The wafer W from which the damaged layer has been removed by the damaged layer removing device 32 is transferred to the plug exposing device 200 by the first transfer arm 61 of the wafer transfer device 60. In the plug exposed device 200, wet etching is performed on the rear surface W _B of the wafer W, the back surface W _B of the wafer W as described above is cut thin, plug P is exposed from the back surface W _B.

Then, the wafer W is transferred to the wafer cleaning device 33 by the first transfer arm 61 of the wafer transfer unit 60, the back surface W _B of the wafer W is cleaned by the pure water.

Next, the wafer W is transferred to the reversing device 201 by the first transfer arm 61 of the wafer transfer device 60. In reversing device 201, the front and back surfaces of the wafer W is inverted, the rear surface S _B of the supporting substrate S is directed upward.

Here, in the above embodiment, the wafer W to the back surface W _B is washed with wafer cleaning device 33, which had been conveyed by the second transfer arm 62 of the wafer transfer unit 60, in this embodiment, the 1 is transported by one transport arm 61. In this embodiment, in a subsequent supporting substrate cleaning apparatus 202 is the back side S _B of the supporting substrate S is cleaned, the wafer W immediately after cleaning the wafer cleaning device 33 is still dirty. For this reason, when the wafer W is transferred from the wafer cleaning device 33 to the reversing device 201, the first transfer arm 61 is used.

Next, the wafer W is transferred to the support substrate cleaning device 202 by the first transfer arm 61 of the wafer transfer device 60. In the supporting substrate cleaning apparatus 202, the back side S _B of the supporting substrate S is cleaned by pure water and scrubbing implement.

  Next, the wafer W is transferred to the transition device 41 by the second transfer arm 62 of the wafer transfer device 60. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the cassette C of the predetermined cassette mounting plate 11 by the wafer transfer device 22 of the loading / unloading station 2. Thus, a series of wafer processing in the wafer processing system 1 is completed.

  Also in this embodiment, the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be enjoyed. That is, according to the wafer processing system 1, the rough grinding device 30, the finish grinding device 31, the damaged layer removal device 32, the plug exposure device 200, the wafer cleaning device 33, the reversing device 201, and the support substrate cleaning device 202 are independently provided. Therefore, predetermined processing in these apparatuses can be performed continuously, the degree of freedom of the apparatus configuration can be improved, and wafer processing can be performed efficiently.

  In the wafer transfer device 60, the first transfer arm 61 is a transfer arm that transfers the wafer W before being cleaned by the support substrate cleaning device 202, and the second transfer arm 62 is cleaned by the support substrate cleaning device 202. This is a transfer arm that transfers the wafer W after the transfer. As described above, the dirty wafer W before cleaning and the clean wafer W after cleaning are transferred by the separate transfer arms 61 and 62, so that the particles adhering to one wafer W adhere to other wafers W. Can be suppressed. Therefore, wafer processing can be performed more appropriately.

  Next, the airflow generated in the wafer processing system 1 when the wafer W is thinned in the wafer processing system 1 shown in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the arrow in FIG. 9 has shown the direction of the airflow.

The pressure in the reversing device 201 and the pressure in the support substrate cleaning device 202 are respectively positive with respect to the pressure in the wafer transfer region 50. Therefore, when each of the open / close shutters 201c and 202c is opened, an air flow from the reversing device 201 and the support substrate cleaning device 202 toward the wafer transfer region 50 is generated. This pressure relationship is the same as the pressure relationship between the wafer cleaning apparatus 33 and the wafer transfer region 50 shown in FIG. In this case, the atmosphere in the wafer transfer region 50 does not flow into the reversing device 201 and the support substrate cleaning device 202, and particles or the like do not flow into the reversing device 201 and the support substrate cleaning device 202. Therefore, it is possible to maintain the atmosphere of the reversing device 201 supporting the substrate cleaning apparatus 202 for cleaning, inversion processing of the wafer W in the reversing device 201, and the back side S _B of the supporting substrate S in the support substrate cleaning apparatus 202 Washing can be performed appropriately.

  Further, the pressure in the wafer transfer region 50 is positive with respect to the pressure in the plug exposure device 200. Therefore, when the opening / closing shutter 200c is opened, an air flow from the wafer transfer region 50 toward the plug exposing device 200 is generated. This pressure relationship is the same as the pressure relationship between the rough grinding device 30, the finish grinding device 31, the damaged layer removing device 32, and the wafer transfer region 50 shown in FIG. In such a case, the atmosphere in the plug exposure device 200 does not flow into the wafer transfer region 50, and the processing liquid used in the plug exposure device 200 does not scatter in the wafer transfer region 50.

In the wafer processing system 1 of the above embodiment, for example, the damage layer removing process (for example, wet etching) in the damaged layer removing apparatus 32 and the plug exposing process (for example, wet etching) in the plug exposing apparatus 200 are performed. Accordingly, there is a case where the back surface W _B of the wafer W is properly cleaned. In such a case, by omitting the wafer cleaning device 33, it may be omitted cleaning processing of the back surface W _B of the wafer W in the wafer cleaning apparatus 33.

  Moreover, in the wafer processing system 1 of the above embodiment, the plug P may be exposed by, for example, the damage layer removing device 32. Further, depending on the specifications of the product, it may not be necessary to expose the plug P in the first place. In such a case, the plug exposure device 200 may be omitted, and the plug P exposure processing in the plug exposure device 200 may be omitted.

  The wafer processing system 1 of the above embodiment may have an inspection apparatus 300 for inspecting the wafer W after thinning as shown in FIG. The inspection apparatus 300 is arranged, for example, on the uppermost layer of the third processing block G3.

In the inspection device 300, for example, using a laser displacement meter, for measuring the surface roughness of the back surface W _B of the thickness and the wafer W of the wafer W. The measurement of the surface roughness of the thickness and the back surface W _B of the wafer W is not limited to the measurement method using a laser beam, it may take a variety of ways. Further, the inspection apparatus 300 may inspect the appearance of the wafer W.

The inspection apparatus 300 can inspect the wafer W at various timings. For example inspection apparatus 300, the wafer W to the back surface W _B at the finish grinding device 31 is ground, the wafer W damage layer is removed with damage layer removal apparatus 32, the wafer W plug P is exposed with the plug exposed 200, a wafer the wafer W backside W _B is cleaned in the cleaning device 33, and the wafer W to the back surface S _B is cleaned of the supporting substrate S supporting substrate cleaning apparatus 202 can be inspected.

  For example, when inspecting the wafer W after processing by the finish grinding apparatus 31, the wafer W is transferred to the inspection apparatus 300 by the wafer transfer apparatus 60. As a result of the inspection of the wafer W by the inspection apparatus 300, for example, when the thickness of the wafer W is not a desired thickness, the processing conditions in the rough grinding apparatus 30 and the finish grinding apparatus 31 are corrected by the control apparatus 70. Is done. Specifically, for example, the grinding wheels of the rough grinding device 30 and the finish grinding device 31 are exchanged, or the parallelism between the grinding wheel and the chuck is adjusted.

For example, when inspecting the wafer W after processing by the damaged layer removing apparatus 32 or the wafer W after processing by the plug exposure apparatus 200, the wafer W is transferred to the inspection apparatus 300 by the wafer transfer apparatus 60. The result of the inspection of the wafer W in the inspection device 300, for example, when the surface roughness of the back surface W _B of the wafer W is not in the desired surface roughness is controlled by the device 70 damaged layer removal apparatus 32 or The processing conditions in the plug exposure device 200 are corrected. Specifically, for example, the processing liquid used in the damaged layer removing device 32 or the plug exposing device 200 is replaced or the processing time is adjusted.

For example, when the wafer W after cleaning by the wafer cleaning device 33 or the wafer W after cleaning by the support substrate cleaning device 202 is inspected, the wafer W is transferred to the inspection device 300 by the wafer transfer device 60. As a result of the inspection of the wafer W by the inspection apparatus 300, for example, when the thickness of the wafer W is not a desired thickness, the processing conditions in the rough grinding apparatus 30 and the finish grinding apparatus 31 are corrected by the control apparatus 70. Is done. Further, for example, surface roughness of the back surface W _B of the wafer W when it is not already on the desired surface roughness, the process conditions in the damaged layer removal device 32 is corrected by the control device 70.

  According to the present embodiment, based on the inspection result of the inspection apparatus 300, the processing conditions in the rough grinding apparatus 30, the processing conditions in the finish grinding apparatus 31, and the processing conditions in the damaged layer removal apparatus 32 or the plug exposure apparatus 200 are fed back. Since it can be controlled, the wafer processing performed in the wafer processing system 1 can be performed more appropriately thereafter.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the wafer W is thinned to a thickness of, for example, 100 μm or less in the wafer processing system 1 has been described. However, in the wafer processing system 1, the wafer W can be thinned to an arbitrary thickness. For example, when the thickness required after thinning is relatively large, for example, when the thickness is 100 μm to 200 μm, a protective tape is attached to the wafer W instead of the support substrate S.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious for those skilled in the art that various modifications or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the idea described in the claims, and these naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wafer processing system 2 Loading / unloading station 3 Processing station 22 Wafer transfer apparatus 30 Coarse grinding apparatus 30a Case 31 Finish grinding apparatus 31a Case 32 Damage layer removal apparatus 32a Case 33 Wafer cleaning apparatus 33a Case 50 Wafer transfer area 51 Fan Filter unit 52 Exhaust port 60 Wafer transfer device 61 First transfer arm 62 Second transfer arm 70 Control device 200 Plug exposure device 200a Case 201 Reverse device 201a Case 202 Support substrate cleaning device 202a Case 300 Inspection device G1 First 1 processing block G2 2nd processing block G3 3rd processing block P plug S support substrate S _A surface S _B surface W wafer W _A surface W _B surface

Claims (26)

A substrate processing system for thinning a substrate in which a device is formed on a surface and the surface of a support substrate is bonded to the surface,
A processing station for performing predetermined processing on the substrate;
A plurality of substrates, and a loading / unloading station for loading / unloading substrates to / from the processing station,
The processing station is
A grinding device for grinding the back surface of the substrate;
A damage layer removing device for removing a damaged layer formed on the back surface of the substrate by grinding with the grinding device;
A cleaning device for cleaning the back surface of the support substrate after removing the damaged layer by the damaged layer removing device;
A substrate transport region for transporting the substrate to the grinding device, the damaged layer removing device and the cleaning device;
A plurality of the grinding device, the damage layer removing device, and the cleaning device can be arranged in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, respectively.
And wherein the grinding apparatus, the damaged layer removing device and said cleaning device comprises a housing for accommodating the substrate therein, respectively, have rows predetermined processing to the substrate in the housing independently,
The pressure of the grinding device and the pressure in the damaged layer removing device are negative pressures relative to the pressure in the substrate transfer region, respectively.
The substrate processing system is characterized in that the pressure in the cleaning apparatus is a positive pressure with respect to the pressure in the substrate transfer region . The substrate transfer area is provided with a substrate transfer device that holds and transfers the substrate,
The substrate transfer device includes a first transfer arm that transfers a substrate before the back surface of the support substrate is cleaned by the cleaning device, and a first transfer arm that transfers the substrate after the back surface of the support substrate is cleaned by the cleaning device. The substrate processing system according to claim 1, further comprising two transfer arms. The damaged layer removing device, and removing the damaged layer by performing wet etching, dry etching or polishing, the substrate processing system according to claim 1 or 2. The cleaning device is characterized in that washing with pure water is supplied to the back surface of the supporting substrate, the substrate processing system according to any one of claims 1-3. After the damage layer is removed by the damage layer removing device, and before the back surface of the support substrate is cleaned by the cleaning device, further having another cleaning device for cleaning the back surface of the substrate, The substrate processing system as described in any one of Claims 1-4 . 6. The substrate processing system according to claim 5 , wherein the pressure in the other cleaning apparatus is a positive pressure with respect to the pressure in the substrate transfer region. The other cleaning device is characterized in that washing by supplying pure water to the rear surface of the substrate, the substrate processing system according to claim 5 or 6. The apparatus further comprises a reversing device that reverses the front and back surfaces of the substrate after the damage layer is removed by the damage layer removing device and before the back surface of the support substrate is cleaned by the cleaning device. Item 8. The substrate processing system according to any one of Items 1 to 7 . The substrate is provided with a plug extending in the thickness direction from the surface,
The apparatus further comprises a plug exposing device that exposes the plug after the damaged layer is removed by the damaged layer removing device and before the back surface of the support substrate is cleaned by the cleaning device. The substrate processing system as described in any one of 1-8 . The substrate processing system according to claim 9 , wherein the plug exposing device exposes the plug by performing wet etching. The apparatus further comprises an inspection device for inspecting the substrate ground by the grinding device, the substrate from which the damaged layer has been removed by the damage layer removing device, or the substrate from which the back surface of the support substrate has been cleaned by the cleaning device. The substrate processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 10 . The substrate processing system according to claim 11 , further comprising a control device that corrects a processing condition in the grinding device or the damaged layer removing device based on an inspection result in the inspection device. A substrate processing method for thinning a substrate in which a device is formed on a surface and the surface of a support substrate is bonded to the surface,
A grinding step of transporting the substrate to the grinding device through the substrate transport region and grinding the back surface of the substrate in the housing of the grinding device;
A damage layer removing step of removing the damaged layer formed on the back surface of the substrate by the grinding step in the casing of the damaged layer removing device; ,
Thereafter, the substrate is transported to the cleaning device through the substrate transport region, and the cleaning step of cleaning the back surface of the support substrate in the housing of the cleaning device,
The grinding step, the damage layer removal step and the cleaning step are continuously performed on a plurality of substrates,
In addition, the grinding device, the damaged layer removing device, and the cleaning device are each configured to be freely arranged in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, and the grinding step, the damaged layer removing step, and the cleaning step are each performed by any of the grinding methods. Performed by selecting an apparatus, the damaged layer removing apparatus and the cleaning apparatus ,
The pressure of the grinding device and the pressure in the damaged layer removing device are negative pressures relative to the pressure in the substrate transfer region, respectively.
The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the pressure in the cleaning apparatus is a positive pressure relative to the pressure in the substrate transfer region . In the substrate transfer area, a substrate transfer device provided with two transfer arms for holding and transferring a substrate is provided,
The transfer of the substrate until the cleaning step is completed is performed by the first transfer arm of the substrate transfer device,
The substrate processing method according to claim 13 , wherein the transfer of the substrate after the cleaning step is performed by a second transfer arm of the substrate transfer apparatus. 15. The substrate processing method according to claim 13 , wherein the damaged layer is removed by performing wet etching, dry etching, or polishing in the damaged layer removing step. The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 13 to 15 , wherein in the cleaning step, pure water is supplied to the back surface of the support substrate for cleaning. After the damage layer removing step and before the cleaning step, another cleaning is performed in which the substrate is transferred to another cleaning device through the substrate transfer region, and the back surface of the substrate is cleaned in the housing of the other cleaning device. and further comprising the step, the substrate processing method according to any one of claims 13 to 16. The substrate processing method according to claim 17 , wherein the pressure in the other cleaning apparatus is a positive pressure with respect to the pressure in the substrate transfer region. In the above other cleaning steps, and wherein the washing with pure water is supplied to the back surface of the substrate, the substrate processing method according to claim 17 or 18. After the damage layer removing step and before the cleaning step, the substrate further includes a reversing step of transporting the substrate to the reversing device via the substrate transporting region and reversing the front and back surfaces of the substrate in the housing of the reversing device. wherein the substrate processing method according to any one of claims 13-19. The substrate is provided with a plug extending in the thickness direction from the surface,
After the damage layer removing step and before the cleaning step, the method further includes a plug exposing step of conveying the substrate to the plug exposing device through the substrate conveying region and exposing the plug in the housing of the plug exposing device. The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 13 to 20 , wherein the substrate processing method is characterized. The substrate processing method according to claim 21 , wherein in the plug exposing step, the plug is exposed by performing wet etching. After the grinding step, after the damaged layer removing step, or after the cleaning step, the method further comprises an inspection step of transferring the substrate to an inspection device via the substrate transfer region and inspecting the substrate in the inspection device. The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 13 to 22 . The substrate processing method according to claim 23 , wherein a processing condition in the grinding step or the damaged layer removal step is corrected based on an inspection result in the inspection step. 25. A program that operates on a computer of a control device that controls the substrate processing system so that the substrate processing method according to any one of claims 13 to 24 is executed by the substrate processing system. A readable computer storage medium storing the program according to claim 25 .

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