JP7565361B2 - Machining system, tilt adjustment method, and computer storage medium - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a processing system, a tilt adjustment method, and a computer storage medium.

Patent Document 1 discloses a grinding device for grinding plate-shaped workpieces, which is provided with a height measuring device mounting section for mounting a height measuring device that measures the height position of the holding surface of the chuck table relative to a support surface that supports a grinding wheel, and which measures the height position of the holding surface by scanning the rotational orbit of the grinding wheel on the holding surface with the height measuring device.

JP 2013-141725 A

The technology disclosed herein appropriately adjusts the relative inclination between the grinding surface of a grinding part that grinds the object to be processed and the holding surface of a holding part that holds the object to be processed in a processing system that grinds the object to be processed.

One aspect of the present disclosure is a processing system for an object to be processed, comprising: a holding part that holds a wafer as the object to be processed on an upper surface; a holding base that holds the holding part on its upper surface; a processing part that grinds the object to be processed held in the holding part; a tilt adjustment part that adjusts the relative tilt between an upper surface of the holding part or the holding base and the grinding surface of the processing part based on distance information measured by a measuring instrument that measures the relative distance between an upper surface of the holding part or the holding base and the grinding surface of the processing part; and an information display part that displays information related to the holding part, the holding base, the processing part, and the tilt adjustment part, wherein the information display part displays, on the same screen, an input part that inputs the relative distance information between the upper surface of the holding part or the holding base measured by the measuring instrument and the grinding surface of the processing part, and an instruction part that starts operation of the tilt adjustment part.

According to the present disclosure, in a processing system that grinds an object to be processed, the relative inclination between the grinding surface of a grinding part that grinds the object to be processed and the holding surface of a holding part that holds the object to be processed can be appropriately adjusted.

1 is a plan view showing an outline of a configuration of a processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a side view showing an example of the configuration of each grinding unit and a chuck. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing contact between each grinding portion and a chuck. FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a measurement area by a measuring device. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a display panel according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing main steps of the tilt adjustment operation according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of acquisition of distance data by a measuring device. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the self-grinding state of the chuck.

In recent years, in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, a semiconductor substrate (hereinafter referred to as a "wafer") having a plurality of electronic circuits and other devices formed on its surface is ground to thin the wafer. Grinding of a wafer is performed, for example, by holding the surface of the wafer opposite to the surface to be ground with a holding means and rotating the holding means while bringing a grinding wheel of the grinding means into contact with the surface to be ground of the wafer.

In this wafer grinding process, the holding surface of the holding means and the grinding surface of the grinding wheel are adjusted to be parallel to make the in-plane thickness of the finished wafer uniform. The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 discloses a grinding device that performs high-precision adjustments to make the holding surface and grinding surface parallel. According to the grinding device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a height measuring device attached to a wheel mount that supports the grinding wheel is used to measure the height position of the holding surface of the chuck table relative to the support surface (grinding surface) of the wheel mount, and the relative inclination of the holding surface and grinding surface is adjusted based on the measurement value measured by the height measuring device.

However, in the grinding device disclosed in Patent Document 1, it was necessary to manually repeat the same measurements and adjustments over and over again while checking the measurements taken by the height measuring device until the holding surface and the grinding surface became parallel. This meant that it took a lot of time to adjust the inclination of the holding surface and the grinding surface, and there was a risk of operating errors or adjustment errors occurring due to the manual adjustment operation.

The technology disclosed herein has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and in a processing system for grinding an object to be processed, the relative inclination between the grinding surface of a grinding part that grinds the object to be processed and the holding surface of a holding part that holds the object to be processed is appropriately adjusted. Below, the processing device as the processing system according to this embodiment, and the operation of adjusting the relative inclination between the holding surface and the grinding surface (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as the "inclination adjustment operation") will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in this specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same functional configuration are given the same reference numerals to avoid redundant description.

In the processing device 1 according to the present embodiment, a process for uniformly controlling the in-plane thickness of the wafer W as the processing object is performed, specifically, an inclination adjustment operation of the holding surface and the grinding surface is performed. More specifically, for example, during grinding processing of the wafer W, the holding surface of the chuck as a holding part for holding the wafer W and the grinding surface of the grinding part for processing the wafer W are adjusted to be parallel. Also, for example, the relative inclination between the holding surface of the new chuck after replacement and the grinding surface of the grinding part is adjusted, and the chuck is self-ground using the grinding part in this state, thereby processing the chuck into the desired shape for appropriately performing grinding processing of the wafer W.

As shown in Figure 1, the processing device 1 has a configuration in which a loading/unloading station 2 and a processing station 3 are integrally connected. In the loading/unloading station 2, a cassette C capable of housing multiple wafers W is loaded and unloaded, for example, between the outside. The processing station 3 is equipped with various processing devices that perform the desired processing on the wafers W.

The loading/unloading station 2 is provided with a cassette mounting table 10. A wafer transport area 20 is provided adjacent to the cassette mounting table 10 on the positive Y-axis side of the cassette mounting table 10. The wafer transport area 20 is provided with a wafer transport device 22 that is movable on a transport path 21 that extends in the X-axis direction.

The wafer transport device 22 has a transport fork 23 that holds and transports the wafer W. The transport fork 23 is configured to be movable horizontally, vertically, around a horizontal axis, and around a vertical axis. The wafer transport device 22 is configured to be able to transport the wafer W to the cassette C on the cassette mounting table 10, the alignment section 50 described below, and the first cleaning section 60 described below.

In processing station 3, processing such as grinding and cleaning is performed on the wafer W. Processing station 3 has a transfer unit 30 that transfers the wafer W, a grinding unit 40 that performs a grinding process on the wafer W, an alignment unit 50 that adjusts the horizontal orientation of the wafer W before the grinding process, a first cleaning unit 60 that cleans the wafer W after the grinding process, and a second cleaning unit 70.

The transfer unit 30 is an articulated robot equipped with multiple, for example three, arms 31. Each of the three arms 31 is configured to be freely rotatable. A transfer pad 32 that adsorbs and holds a wafer W is attached to the arm 31 at the tip. The arm 31 at the base end is attached to a lifting mechanism 33 that raises and lowers the arm 31 in the vertical direction. The transfer unit 30 is configured to be able to transport the wafer W to the transfer position A0 of the grinding unit 40, the alignment unit 50, the first cleaning unit 60, and the second cleaning unit 70.

The grinding section 40 is provided with a rotating table 41. Four chucks 42 are provided on the rotating table 41 as holding sections for suction-holding the wafer W. For example, a porous chuck is used as the chuck 42, which suction-holds the surface of the wafer W. The surface of the chuck 42, i.e., the holding surface of the wafer W, has a convex shape in which the center protrudes compared to the ends when viewed from the side. Note that this protrusion in the center is very small, but in the illustrations in the following explanation, the protrusion in the center of the chuck 42 may be illustrated larger for clarity.

As shown in FIG. 2, the chuck 42 is held by a chuck base 43 as a holding base. The chuck base 43 is provided with a tilt adjustment unit 44 that adjusts the relative tilt between each grinding unit (rough grinding unit 80, medium grinding unit 90, and finish grinding unit 100) and the chuck 42. The tilt adjustment unit 44 has a fixed shaft 45 provided on the underside of the chuck base 43 and multiple, for example, two lifting shafts 46. Each lifting shaft 46 is configured to be freely expandable and contractible, and raises and lowers the chuck base 43. This tilt adjustment unit 44 can tilt the chuck 42 and the chuck base 43 by raising and lowering one end of the outer periphery of the chuck base 43 (the position corresponding to the fixed shaft 45) in the vertical direction using the lifting shaft 46. This allows the relative tilt between each grinding unit (grinding surface) at the processing positions A1 to A3 and the surface (holding surface) of the chuck 42 to be adjusted.

The configuration of the tilt adjustment unit 44 is not limited to this, and can be selected arbitrarily as long as it is possible to adjust the relative angle (parallelism) of the surface (holding surface) of the chuck 42 to each grinding portion (grinding surface).

The four chucks 42 can be moved to the transfer position A0 and the processing positions A1 to A3 by the rotation of the rotary table 41. In addition, each of the four chucks 42 is configured to be rotatable around a vertical axis by a rotation mechanism (not shown).

At the transfer position A0, the transfer unit 30 transfers the wafer W. At the processing position A1, a rough grinding unit 80 is disposed and performs rough grinding of the wafer W. At the processing position A2, a medium grinding unit 90 is disposed and performs medium grinding of the wafer W. At the processing position A3, a finish grinding unit 100 is disposed and performs finish grinding of the wafer W.

2, the rough grinding unit 80 has a rough grinding wheel 81 with an annular rough grinding stone on its underside, a mount 82 that supports the rough grinding wheel 81, a spindle 83 that rotates the rough grinding wheel 81 via the mount 82, and a drive unit 84 that incorporates, for example, a motor (not shown). In addition, an attachment portion 85 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the mount 82 for attaching a measuring device 110 for measuring the relative distance between the underside (grinding surface) of the rough grinding wheel 81 and the surface (holding surface) of the chuck 42. In addition, the rough grinding unit 80 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction along the support 86 shown in FIG. 1.

Here, as described above, the holding surface of the chuck 42 has a convex shape. Therefore, in the rough grinding process of the wafer W using the rough grinding unit 80, a part of the annular rough grinding wheel comes into contact with the wafer W as a processing point, as shown by the bold line in Figure 3. More specifically, the annular rough grinding wheel comes into contact with the wafer W from the center to the outer peripheral edge in an arc-shaped manner, and the entire surface of the wafer W is ground by rotating the chuck 42 and the rough grinding wheel 81 in this state.

The measuring device 110 is connected to the mounting portion 85 of the mount 82 with the rough grinding wheel 81 removed from the mount 82. The measuring point of the measuring device 110 is set at the same height as the grinding surface height of the rough grinding wheel 81, and rotates along an arc-shaped area (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "measurement area R") corresponding to the outer edge (outer edge of the grinding position) of the rough grinding wheel 81 shown in FIG. 4 as the mount 82 (spindle 83) rotates, thereby measuring the relative distance between the holding surface or the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface along the measurement area R. The relative distance between the holding surface or the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface measured by the measuring device 110 is displayed, for example, on a display unit 110a provided on the measuring device 110. In the following description, the end portion of the arc-shaped measurement region R upstream of the mount 82 in the rotational direction may be referred to as the "measurement end portion Ra," the end portion of the mount 82 downstream of the rotational direction may be referred to as the "measurement end portion Rb," and the midpoint between the measurement end portion Ra and the measurement end portion Rb (the center portion of the chuck 42) may be referred to as the "measurement center Rc."

The type of measuring device 110 attached to the attachment portion 85 is not particularly limited and can be selected arbitrarily. For example, the measuring device 110 may be a contact measuring device that measures the relative distance to the grinding surface by contacting the holding surface. Alternatively, a non-contact measuring device may be used that measures the relative distance to the grinding surface by irradiating sensor light onto the holding surface and detecting the reflected light of the sensor light from the holding surface.

Furthermore, the mounting position of the measuring device 110 is not limited to the outer peripheral surface of the mount 82 as described above, and may be configured to be mounted, for example, on the underside of the mount 82, as long as the measurement point can be set at the same height as the grinding surface height of the rough grinding wheel 81.

The medium grinding unit 90 has a configuration similar to that of the rough grinding unit 80. That is, the medium grinding unit 90 has a medium grinding wheel 91 equipped with an annular medium grinding stone, a mount 92, a spindle 93, a drive unit 94, an attachment unit 95, and a support 96. The grain size of the abrasive grains of the medium grinding stone is smaller than the grain size of the abrasive grains of the rough grinding stone.

The finish grinding unit 100 has a configuration similar to that of the rough grinding unit 80 and the medium grinding unit 90. That is, the finish grinding unit 100 has a finish grinding wheel 101 equipped with an annular finish grinding stone, a mount 102, a spindle 103, a drive unit 104, an attachment unit 105, and a support 106. The grain size of the abrasive grains of the finish grinding stone is smaller than the grain size of the abrasive grains of the medium grinding stone.

The above processing device 1 is provided with a display panel 120 as an information display unit. The display panel 120 is, for example, a monitor or a touch panel, and may be attached directly to the processing device 1 or may be capable of being viewed remotely.

As shown in FIG. 5, the display panel 120 displays, on the same screen, a display area 121 that displays various information related to the tilt adjustment operation between the holding surface and the grinding surface, an input area 122 for inputting various information related to the tilt adjustment operation, a switching area 123 for switching between the various information displayed in the display area 121 and the operating mode of the tilt adjustment operation, and an instruction area 124 for executing the tilt adjustment operation in the processing device 1.

The display area 121 displays, for example, the chuck 42 as the target for the tilt adjustment operation, the position of the chuck 42 (processing position A1 in the example of Figure 5), and information related to the tilt of the chuck base 43 that holds the chuck 42, such as the height position of the lifting axis 46 of the tilt adjustment unit 44 provided below the chuck base 43.

In the input area 122 as an input section, for example, information relating to the relative distance between the holding surface and the grinding surface measured by the measuring instrument 110, for example, in the example of Figure 5, the measurement value at the measurement center Rc of the measurement area R and the measurement value at the other measurement end Rb are input by the operator.

When the switching area 123 is selected, for example, by an operator, the operating mode of the tilt adjustment operation between the holding surface and the grinding surface is switched between the flat mode Mf described below and the self-grind mode Mg described below.

The instruction area 124 as an instruction section starts the operation of the tilt adjustment section 44 to perform the tilt adjustment operation between the holding surface and the grinding surface, for example, when the instruction area 124 is selected by an operator.

In the tilt adjustment operation of the processing device 1, when the operator selects the instruction area 124, the amount of movement of the lift shaft 46 of the tilt adjustment unit 44 is calculated based on the measurement value of the measuring device 110 entered in the input area 122. The lift shaft 46 is then automatically moved based on this calculated value to automatically adjust the relative tilt of the holding surface and the grinding surface. At this time, the height positions of the two lift shafts 46, i.e., the tilt of the holding surface, are displayed in real time in the display area 121.

Note that the information output to the display panel 120 is not limited to this embodiment and can be set arbitrarily.

The processing apparatus 1 is also provided with a control unit 130. The control unit 130 is, for example, a computer equipped with a CPU, memory, etc., and has a program storage unit (not shown). The program storage unit stores a program that controls the processing of the wafer W in the processing apparatus 1. The program storage unit also stores a program that controls the tilt adjustment operation between the grinding surface and the holding surface, which will be described later. The above program may be recorded in a computer-readable storage medium H and installed in the control unit 130 from the storage medium H.

The processing device 1 according to this embodiment is configured as described above. Next, the tilt adjustment operation performed by the processing device 1 will be described. As described above, the operation modes of the tilt adjustment operation include, for example, an operation for adjusting the holding surface or the upper surface of the chuck base 43 to be parallel to the grinding surface (hereinafter referred to as "flat mode Mf"), and an operation for machining a new chuck 42 after replacement into a desired convex shape (hereinafter referred to as "self-grind mode Mg").

In the following description, first, the tilt adjustment operation in the self-grind mode Mg in the processing device 1 will be described. That is, the case where a new chuck 42 is held by the chuck base 43 and the relative tilt between the holding surface of the new chuck 42 and the grinding surfaces of each grinding unit is adjusted will be described as an example. Note that the tilt adjustment of each grinding unit (rough grinding unit 80, medium grinding unit 90, and finish grinding unit 100) can be performed by the same operation, but in the following description, the case where the relative tilt between the grinding surface of the rough grinding unit 80 as a grinding unit and the holding surface of the chuck 42 is adjusted will be described as an example.

First, the rough grinding wheel 81 is removed from the rough grinding section 80, and then the measuring device 110 (a contact measuring device in this embodiment) is attached to the mounting section 85 (step S1 in FIG. 6). Once the measuring device 110 is attached to the mounting section 85, the relative inclination between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface is checked prior to the chuck base 43 holding the new chuck 42 (step S2 in FIG. 6).

When checking the relative inclination between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface, the operator first selects the switching area 123 displayed on the display panel 120, and the operating mode for the inclination adjustment operation is determined to be the flat mode Mf (step S2-1 in Figure 6).

Next, the measuring device 110 measures the relative distance between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface, and obtains distance data D1 (step S2-2 in FIG. 6). Specifically, the rough grinding unit 80 is lowered along the support 86 to bring the contact terminal (probe) of the measuring device 110 into contact with the upper surface of the chuck base 43, and then, while rotating the spindle 83 (measuring device 110) in this state, the measuring device 110 measures the relative distance between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface at multiple points.

The measuring device 110 moves on the upper surface of the chuck base 43 by the rotation of the spindle 83 so as to correspond to the measurement area R shown in FIG. 4, that is, in an arc shape connecting the measurement end Ra and the measurement other end Rb of the chuck base 43. In the above-mentioned step S2-2, as shown in FIG. 7(b), the measuring device 110 moves on the upper surface of the chuck base 43 along the measurement area R, following the inclination of the chuck base 43, and obtains distance data D1 at at least three points corresponding to the measurement end Ra, the measurement other end Rb, and the measurement center Rc, as shown in FIG. 7(a). In the following description, the distance data D obtained at the measurement end Ra, the measurement other end Rb, and the measurement center Rc may be referred to as distance data Da, Db, and Dc, respectively.

The distance data D1 acquired by the measuring device 110 is displayed, for example, on the display unit 110a or display panel 120 of the measuring device 110, and the display is visually confirmed, for example, by an operator. Here, the distance data D1 displayed on the display unit 110a or the like is zero-adjusted using the distance data Da1 measured at the measuring end Ra as the reference distance. In other words, the distance data Db1 and Dc1 are displayed as difference values from the zero-adjusted distance data Da1.

Here, if the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface are parallel, the displayed distance data Db1 and Dc1 will be the same value as the reference distance data Da1, i.e., Da1 = Db1 = Dc1 = 0. In this case, it is determined that the upper surface of the chuck base 43 is parallel to the grinding surface, and a new chuck 42 is held on the chuck base 43 (step S5 in FIG. 6).

On the other hand, if the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface are not parallel, the distance data Db1 and Dc1 notified to the operator will be different from the reference distance data Da1, i.e., Da1 = 0, Db1 ≠ 0, and Dc1 ≠ 0. In such a case, it is determined that the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface are not parallel, and the inclination of the chuck base 43 is adjusted (step S3 in FIG. 6).

In adjusting the inclination of the chuck base 43, first, the distance data Db1, Dc1 measured by the measuring instrument 110 is input by the operator into the input area 122 of the display panel 120 (step S3-1 in Figure 6), and then the operator selects the indication area 124 of the display panel 120 (step S3-2 in Figure 6).

When the operator selects the instruction area 124, the movement (lift) amount of each of the two lift shafts 46 of the tilt adjustment unit 44 is automatically calculated based on the distance data Db1 and Dc1 input in the input area 122 (step S3-3 in FIG. 6). Specifically, the movement amount of the lift shafts 46 is automatically calculated with the height positions of the two lift shafts 46 when the upper surface of the chuck base 43 becomes parallel to the grinding surface, more specifically, when Da1 = Db1 = Dc1 = 0, as the target positions. When the movement amount of the lift shafts 46 is calculated, the operation of the tilt adjustment unit 44 is started. Then, when the lift shafts 46 are moved to the target position based on the calculated movement amount, the upper surface of the chuck base 43 is adjusted to be parallel to the grinding surface (step S3-4 in FIG. 6).

Once the parallelism between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface has been adjusted, the relative inclination between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface is then adjusted to an inclination for performing self-grinding of the chuck 42 held by the chuck base 43 (step S4 in Figure 6).

When adjusting the inclination between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface, the operator first selects the switching area 123 displayed on the display panel 120, and the operating mode for the inclination adjustment operation is switched from the flat mode Mf to the self-grind mode Mg (step S4-1 in Figure 6).

Next, the measuring device 110 measures the relative distance between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface, and distance data D2 is obtained (step S4-2 in FIG. 6). The method of obtaining distance data D2 is the same as the method of obtaining distance data D1 in step S2-2. That is, after the contact terminal (probe) of the measuring device 110 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the chuck base 43, the spindle 83 (measuring device 110) is rotated in this state, and the measuring device 110 measures the relative distance between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface at multiple points.

As described above, the measuring device 110 moves on the holding surface of the chuck 42 or on the upper surface of the chuck base 43 along the arc-shaped measurement area R shown in Fig. 4 by rotating the spindle 83. In the above-mentioned step S4-2, distance data Da2, Db2, and Dc2 are acquired at at least three points including the measurement end Ra, the other measurement end Rb, and the measurement center Rc of the measurement area R, as shown in Fig. 7.

The distance data D2 acquired by the measuring device 110 is displayed, for example, on the display unit 110a or display panel 120 of the measuring device 110, and the display is visually confirmed, for example, by an operator. Here, the distance data D2 notified to the operator is zero-adjusted using the distance data Da2 measured at the measuring end Ra as the reference distance. In other words, the distance data Db2 and Dc2 are displayed as difference values from the zero-adjusted distance data Da2.

Here, in the self-grinding process of the chuck 42, the chuck 42 is machined into a generally conical shape with a convex holding surface as shown in Figure 8, so it is necessary to adjust the relative inclination between the holding surface and the grinding surface to a desired inclination for machining the chuck 42. Therefore, in the inclination adjustment operation as the self-grinding mode Mg according to this embodiment, the inclination of the chuck 42 is adjusted based on the distance data D2 acquired in step S4-2.

Specifically, first, the distance data Db2, Dc2 measured by the measuring instrument 110 is input by the operator into the input area 122 of the display panel 120 (step S4-3 in Figure 6), and then the operator selects the instruction area 124 of the display panel 120 (step S4-4 in Figure 6).

When the operator selects the instruction area 124, the movement (lift) amount of each of the two lift shafts 46 of the tilt adjustment unit 44 is automatically calculated based on the distance data Db2, Dc2 input in the input area 122 (step S4-5 in FIG. 6). Specifically, when the relative tilt between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface becomes the desired tilt shown in FIG. 8, more specifically, the height position of the two lift shafts 46 when the chuck base 43 is arranged at the desired tilt is set as the target position, and the movement amount of the lift shaft 46 is automatically calculated. When the movement amount of the lift shaft 46 is calculated, the operation of the tilt adjustment unit 44 is started. Then, when the lift shaft 46 is moved to the target position based on the calculated movement amount, the relative tilt between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface is adjusted to the desired tilt for performing self-grinding of the chuck 42 (step S4-6 in FIG. 6).

Then, once the relative inclination between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface has been adjusted in this manner, a new chuck 42 is held on the chuck base 43 (step S5 in Figure 6), and the series of inclination adjustment operations in the self-grind mode Mg in the processing apparatus 1 is completed.

After the series of tilt adjustment operations are performed, the measuring device 110 is removed from the mounting portion 85, and the rough grinding wheel 81 is attached to the rough grinding portion 80. Then, as shown in Figures 3 and 8(a), a part of the annular rough grinding stone is abutted against the holding surface of the chuck 42, and in this state, the chuck 42 and the rough grinding wheel 81 are rotated, so that the chuck 42 is machined into the desired approximately conical shape, as shown in Figures 8(b) and 8(c).

In the above embodiment, the parallelism between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface is adjusted (step S4 in FIG. 6), and then the chuck 42 is held by the chuck base 43 (step S5 in FIG. 6). However, the timing of holding the chuck 42 is not limited to this. That is, for example, the parallelism between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface may be adjusted (step S3 in FIG. 6), and then the chuck 42 may be held by the chuck base 43 (step S5 in FIG. 6), and then the relative inclination between the holding surface of the chuck 42 and the grinding surface may be adjusted for self-grinding (corresponding to step S4 in FIG. 6).

In addition, in the above embodiment, after adjusting the parallelism between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface (step S3 in FIG. 6), distance data D2 is acquired (step S4-2 in FIG. 6) to further perform self-grinding of the chuck 42, but acquisition of this distance data D2 may be omitted as appropriate. That is, for example, since the parallelism between the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface is adjusted in the previous process, Db2 = Dc2 = 0 may be input when inputting distance data D2 in step S4-3 in FIG. 6.

In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the processing device 1 performs tilt adjustment operation in self-grind mode Mg, but as described above, the processing device 1 can perform tilt adjustment operation in flat mode Mf to adjust the holding surface of the chuck 42 and the grinding surface to be parallel.

The tilt adjustment operation in flat mode Mf for adjusting the holding surface of the chuck 42 and the grinding surface so that they are parallel is performed in a manner similar to the tilt adjustment operation of the upper surface of the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface in steps S1 to S3 of Figure 6 described above.

Specifically, when it becomes necessary to adjust the parallelism between the holding surface and the grinding surface, the rough grinding wheel 81 is first removed from the rough grinding unit 80, and then the measuring device 110 is attached to the mounting unit 85 (step S1 in FIG. 6). Next, the relative inclination between the holding surface of the chuck 42 held by the chuck base 43 and the grinding surface is confirmed (step S2 in FIG. 6).

When checking the relative inclination between the holding surface of the chuck 42 and the grinding surface, the operation mode of the inclination adjustment operation is determined to be the flat mode Mf by selecting the switching area 123 (step S2-1 in FIG. 6), and then the relative distance between the holding surface and the grinding surface is measured by the measuring device 110, and distance data D3 (distance data Da3, Db3, Dc3) is obtained (step S2-2 in FIG. 6). The distance data D3 obtained by the measuring device 110 is displayed, for example, on the display unit 110a or display panel 120 of the measuring device 110, and the display is confirmed, for example, by the operator's visual inspection. Note that the distance data D3 notified to the operator is zero-adjusted with the distance data Da3 as the reference distance, and the distance data Db3 and Dc3 are displayed as difference values from the zero-adjusted distance data Da3.

Next, the inclination of the holding surface and grinding surface of the chuck 42 is adjusted based on the distance data D3 acquired by the measuring instrument 110 (step S3 in Figure 6).

When adjusting the relative inclination between the holding surface and grinding surface of the chuck 42, first, the distance data Db3, Dc3 measured by the measuring device 110 is input by the operator into the input area 122 (step S3-1 in Figure 6), and then the instruction area 124 is selected (step S3-2 in Figure 6).

When the instruction area 124 is selected by the operator, the movement amount of the two lifting shafts 46 of the tilt adjustment unit 44 is automatically calculated based on the distance data Db3 and Dc3 input in the input area 122 (step S3-3 in FIG. 6). Specifically, the movement amount of the lifting shafts 46 is automatically calculated with the height positions of the two lifting shafts 46 when the holding surface becomes parallel to the grinding surface, more specifically, when Da3 = Db3 = Dc3 = 0, as the target positions. When the movement amount of the lifting shafts 46 is calculated, the operation of the tilt adjustment unit 44 is started. Then, when the lifting shafts 46 are moved to the target position based on the calculated movement amount, the holding surface of the chuck 42 is adjusted to be parallel to the grinding surface (step S3-4 in FIG. 6). In this way, the tilt adjustment operation as a series of flat mode Mf in the processing device 1 is completed.

As described above, according to the tilt adjustment operation of this embodiment, the relative tilt of the holding surface and the grinding surface of the chuck 42 can be automatically adjusted to the desired tilt by simply selecting the instruction area 124 after inputting the distance data D, which is the measured value, into the input area 122. Therefore, unlike the conventional tilt adjustment operation, there is no need to perform manual adjustments many times until the desired parallelism (tilt) is obtained, and the time required for the tilt adjustment operation can be significantly reduced. In addition, since the tilt adjustment of the holding surface and the grinding surface can be performed by automatic adjustment without human intervention, the occurrence of manual operation errors and adjustment errors as in the conventional method can be suppressed.

According to this embodiment, among the three distance data Da, Db, and Dc measured by the measuring device 110, the distance data Da is adjusted to zero as a reference distance, and the distance data Db and Dc are displayed as difference values from the distance data Da, and the operator inputs only the distance data Db and Dc into the input area 122. In other words, there is no need to input all the measurement values as input values, and the amount of information manually input into the input area 122 when adjusting the tilt can be reduced, thereby suppressing the occurrence of manual input errors.

In the above embodiment, the zero point adjustment was performed using the distance data Da acquired at the measurement end Ra as the reference distance as described above, but the reference distance data D may be distance data Db or Dc acquired at the other measurement end Rb or measurement center Rc.

In the above embodiment, the relative angle of the holding surface with respect to the grinding surface is adjusted by tilting the chuck base 43 (chuck 42) by operating the tilt adjustment unit 44 provided below the chuck base 43, but the configuration of the tilt adjustment unit is not limited to this. That is, for example, the relative angle of the grinding surface with respect to the holding surface of the chuck 42 may be adjusted by providing a tilt adjustment unit on each grinding unit side. Also, for example, each of the holding surface and grinding surface of the chuck 42 may be configured to be tiltable.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the processing in the grinding unit 40 has been described as grinding the wafer W, the holding surface of the chuck 42, and the upper surface of the chuck base 43, but the processing performed in the processing apparatus 1 is not limited to grinding. Specifically, for example, in the processing apparatus 1, a polishing process may be performed on the wafer W, the holding surface of the chuck 42, and the upper surface of the chuck base 43. In this way, the grinding process described in the above example and each of such polishing processes are included in the "processing" performed by the processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment.

The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The above embodiments may be omitted, substituted, or modified in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Processing device 42 Chuck 43 Chuck base 44 Tilt adjustment unit 80 Rough grinding unit 120 Display panel 122 Input area 124 Instruction area 130 Control unit W Wafer

Claims (12)

A processing system for an object to be processed, comprising:
a holder that holds a wafer as the processing object on an upper surface thereof;
A holding base that holds the holding part on an upper surface thereof;
a processing unit that grinds the object held by the holding unit;
a tilt adjustment unit that adjusts a relative tilt between the upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base and the grinding surface of the processing unit based on distance information measured by a measuring device that measures the relative distance between the upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base and the grinding surface of the processing unit;
an information display unit that displays information relating to the holding unit, the holding base, the processing unit, and the tilt adjustment unit,
The information display unit includes:
an input unit for inputting relative distance information between the upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base measured by the measuring device and the grinding surface of the processing unit;
and an instruction unit for starting the operation of the tilt adjustment unit, on the same screen. A control unit for controlling an operation of the tilt adjustment unit,
When the instruction section displayed on the information display section is selected,
The processing system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the operation of the tilt adjustment unit based on a difference between the distance information input to the input unit and a predetermined relative distance between an upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base and the grinding surface of the processing unit. the processing unit includes a mounting portion for the measuring device to acquire the distance information,
The processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the measuring device obtains the distance information for at least three points within a surface of the holding unit or the holding base. the measuring device is attached so as to be movable along an arc-shaped measurement area passing through a center of the holding unit or the holding base,
The input unit includes:
The distance information at a measurement center that is the center of the measurement area;
The processing system according to claim 3 , wherein the distance information at one end of the measurement area is input. A control unit for controlling an operation of the tilt adjustment unit,
The processing system according to claim 4, wherein the control unit controls the operation of the tilt adjustment unit to adjust the relative distance between the holding unit or the holding base and the processing unit at the measurement center and the one end of the measurement area, using the distance information at the other end of the measurement area as a reference height. the distance information input to the input unit is the distance information at a measurement center, which is the center of the measurement area, measured along an arc-shaped measurement area passing through a center of the holding unit or the holding base, and the distance information at one end of the measurement area;
The processing system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the operation of the tilt adjustment unit to adjust the relative distance between the holding unit or the holding base and the processing unit at the measurement center and the one end of the measurement area, using the distance information at the other end of the measurement area as a reference height. a holder that holds a wafer as an object to be processed on an upper surface thereof;
A holding base that holds the holding part on an upper surface thereof;
a processing unit that grinds the object held by the holding unit;
a tilt adjustment unit that adjusts a relative tilt between the upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base and the grinding surface of the processing unit based on distance information measured by a measuring device that measures the relative distance between the upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base and the grinding surface of the processing unit;
A method for adjusting a relative inclination between an upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base and a grinding surface of the processing unit in a processing system having the holding unit, the holding base, the processing unit, and an information display unit that displays information regarding the inclination adjustment unit, comprising:
Acquiring relative distance information between an upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base and a grinding surface of the processing unit;
inputting the distance information into an input section displayed on the information display section;
selecting an instruction section displayed on the same screen as the input section to start operation of the tilt adjustment section. the measuring device for acquiring the distance information is attached to the processing system so as to be movable along an arc-shaped measurement area passing through a center of the holding unit or the holding base;
The inclination adjustment method according to claim 7 , wherein, in obtaining the distance information, the distance information is obtained for at least three points along the measurement area. In inputting the distance information,
The distance information at a measurement center that is the center of the measurement area;
The inclination adjustment method according to claim 8 , further comprising the step of: inputting the distance information at one end of the measurement area. After the instruction unit is selected, calculating a movement amount of the inclination adjustment unit based on a difference between the distance information input to the input unit and a predetermined relative distance between an upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base and a grinding surface of the processing unit;
The inclination adjustment method according to claim 7, further comprising: moving the inclination adjustment unit based on the calculated value of the movement amount. When inputting the distance information, the distance information is measured along an arc-shaped measurement area passing through a center of the holding unit or the holding base, the distance information being at a measurement center that is the center of the measurement area, and the distance information being at one end of the measurement area;
calculating a movement amount of the tilt adjustment unit based on a relative distance between an upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base and a grinding surface of the processing unit at the measurement center and the one end of the measurement area, using the distance information at the other end of the measurement area as a reference height;
The tilt adjustment method according to claim 7 , further comprising: moving the tilt adjustment unit based on the calculated value of the amount of movement. A readable computer storage medium storing a program that operates on a computer of a control unit that controls a processing system so as to cause the processing system to execute a method for adjusting the relative inclination of the upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base and the grinding surface of the processing unit,
The processing system includes:
The holding part holds a wafer as a processing object on an upper surface thereof;
the holding base that holds the holding part on an upper surface thereof;
the processing unit that processes the processing object held by the holding unit;
a tilt adjustment unit that adjusts a relative tilt between the upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base and the grinding surface of the processing unit based on distance information measured by a measuring device that measures the relative distance between the upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base and the grinding surface of the processing unit;
an information display unit that displays information relating to the holding unit, the holding base, the processing unit, and the tilt adjustment unit,
The tilt adjustment method includes:
Acquiring relative distance information between an upper surface of the holding unit or the holding base and a grinding surface of the processing unit, the relative distance information being input to an input unit displayed on the information display unit;
and starting operation of the tilt adjustment unit when an instruction unit displayed on the same screen as the input unit is selected.

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