JP7621536B2 - Processing Equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a processing device that processes wafers with a grinding wheel.

Traditionally, in the field of semiconductor manufacturing, back grinding is performed to grind the back side of a semiconductor wafer such as a silicon wafer (hereinafter referred to as a "wafer") to form a thin film (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1 discloses a grinding device in which a cup-shaped grinding wheel is attached to a spindle flange connected to the tip of a spindle. The cup-shaped grinding wheel is fastened to the spindle flange with approximately 10 bolts (not shown), and is configured to be freely attached and detached to the spindle flange.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-309673

However, in the grinding device described in Patent Document 1, the cup-shaped grinding wheel must be attached to the spindle flange by an operator manually tightening approximately 10 bolts, making the process of attaching and detaching the cup-shaped grinding wheel cumbersome.

In addition, when a cup-shaped grinding wheel is fastened with a bolt, water such as slurry can easily get in between it and the spindle flange. As a result, in the past, when replacing a worn grinding wheel, the surface tension of the water would cause the cup-shaped grinding wheel and the spindle flange to stick to each other, making it difficult to remove the cup-shaped grinding wheel from the spindle flange. If you try to force it out, the cup-shaped grinding wheel may hit the chuck, which could damage the chuck, or the cup-shaped grinding wheel may get caught in the spindle flange and become impossible to remove. As a result, maintenance time for the grinding device is lengthened, causing problems such as a decrease in daily product production.

Therefore, a technical problem arises that must be solved in order to provide a processing device that allows the grinding wheel to be easily removed when replacing it, and the present invention aims to solve this problem.

The present invention has been proposed to achieve the above-mentioned object, and the invention described in claim 1 provides a processing device comprising: a spindle flange; a grinding wheel comprising a base metal portion substantially in close contact with one surface of the spindle flange and removably attached to the spindle flange; and a grinding wheel portion installed on one surface of the base metal portion and integrated with the base metal portion; and an air outlet for blowing air at the contact point between the spindle flange and the base metal portion, the air outlet comprising: a first air outlet for blowing the air along the first contact surface from a boundary portion of a first contact surface of the spindle flange that is in close contact with the base metal portion in a horizontal direction toward the outside, the first air outlet comprising: a first air outlet for blowing the air along the first contact surface from a boundary portion of a second contact surface of the spindle flange that is in close contact with the base metal portion in a vertical direction toward the outside.

According to this configuration, when removing the grinding wheel for replacement or the like, air is blown out from the air outlet, and the air is blown onto the contact area between the spindle flange and the base metal part. Then, a force that pulls the grinding wheel off from the spindle flange acts on the contact area between the spindle flange and the base metal part, and the grinding wheel can be easily removed from the spindle flange. Furthermore, when removing the grinding wheel for replacement or the like, air is blown out from the first air outlet, and the air is blown onto the contact area between the spindle flange and the base metal part, and a force that pulls the grinding wheel off from the spindle flange part acts. Furthermore, when air is blown out from the second air outlet, the blown out air acts on the grinding wheel in a direction that removes it from the spindle flange. Therefore, the force of the air blown out from the first air outlet and the force of the air blown out from the second air outlet allow the grinding wheel to be easily removed from the spindle flange.

The invention described in claim 2 provides a processing device according to the configuration described in claim 1, in which an air circuit that communicates with the air outlet is formed within the spindle flange.

With this configuration, the air circuit that communicates with the air outlet can be compactly installed inside the spindle flange by utilizing the available space inside the spindle flange. Therefore, the air circuit can be installed inside the processing device without significantly changing the shape of the processing device itself.

The invention described in claim 3 provides a processing device having the configuration described in claim 1 or 2, further comprising an adjustment valve capable of adjusting the flow rate of air blown out from the air outlet.

With this configuration, the flow rate of air blown out of the air outlet, i.e., the force of the air, can be adjusted by the adjustment valve to easily obtain the optimum force for removing the grinding wheel from the spindle flange.

According to the invention, when removing the grinding wheel for replacement or other reasons, air can be sprayed from the air outlet onto the contact point between the spindle flange and the base metal portion, forcing the grinding wheel to peel off from the spindle flange portion and easily remove it. This is expected to reduce the maintenance time of the processing equipment and increase the daily production volume.

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of a processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a vertical sectional side view showing the internal structure of a main unit and a transport unit shown in FIG. 1 . 1 is a perspective view of a grinding wheel applied to the processing device, the grinding wheel being attached to the lower surface of a spindle flange, as viewed obliquely from below. FIG. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of the spindle flange and the grinding wheel, showing the spindle flange with the grinding wheel attached thereto. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of the spindle flange and the grinding wheel, showing the grinding wheel removed from the spindle flange. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the spindle flange shown in FIG. 5 .

The present invention provides a processing device that can easily remove a grinding wheel when replacing it, and is realized by providing a processing device for processing wafers, which is configured to include a grinding wheel having a disk-shaped spindle flange, an annular base metal part that is substantially in close contact with one surface of the spindle flange and is detachably attached to the spindle flange, and a grinding wheel part that is installed on one surface of the base metal part and integrated with the base metal part, and an air outlet that blows air onto the contact point between the spindle flange and the base metal part.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiment, when the number, numerical value, amount, range, etc. of components is mentioned, the number is not limited to the specific number, and may be more or less than the specific number, unless otherwise specified or when it is clearly limited to a specific number in principle.

In addition, when referring to the shape or positional relationship of components, etc., this includes things that are substantially similar or similar to that shape, etc., unless otherwise specified or considered in principle to be clearly different.

In addition, drawings may exaggerate characteristic parts to make the features easier to understand, and the dimensional ratios of components may not be the same as in reality. In addition, in cross-sectional views, hatching of some components may be omitted to make the cross-sectional structure of the components easier to understand.

In addition, in the following description, expressions indicating directions such as up/down and left/right are not absolute, but are appropriate when each part of the processing device of the present invention is in the orientation depicted, but if the orientation changes, they should be interpreted differently depending on the change in orientation. Also, the same symbols are used for the same elements throughout the description of the embodiments.

Figures 1 and 2 show an example of a processing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic basic configuration of the processing device 10, omitting the spindle feed mechanism 11C and transport unit 12 shown in Figure 2. Figure 2 is a vertical side view showing the internal structure of the main unit 11 and transport unit 12 shown in Figure 1.

In Figures 1 and 2, the processing device 10 polishes the back surface of a wafer W, specifically, the back surface (the surface opposite to the front surface on which devices are formed) of a substrate made of a hard-to-cut material such as sapphire or silicon carbide. However, the object to be processed by the processing device 10 is not limited to these, and may be, for example, glass or silicon, or a composite substrate attached to a support substrate.

The processing device 10 includes a main unit 11, a transport unit 12, and a control unit 13 that controls the overall operation of the processing device 10.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the main unit 11 includes an arch-shaped column 11A, a spindle 15 to which a grinding wheel 14 is attached, three linear guides 11B that support the spindle 15 so that it can slide in the vertical direction V, and a spindle feed mechanism 11C that raises and lowers the spindle 15 in the vertical direction V.

As shown in FIG. 1, the column 11A has an opening on the front surface 11Aa and a groove 11Ab that is recessed vertically and penetrates the column from top to bottom in the vertical direction V.

The spindle 15 is housed in the groove 11Ab of the column 11A via the spindle casing 16 so as to be slidable in the up-down direction (vertical direction V). As shown in FIG. 2, the grindstone 14 is detachably attached to the spindle 15 via a spindle flange 17 connected to the lower end. Although not shown, the spindle 15 is rotated by a motor (not shown) and rotates together with the grindstone 14. The detailed configurations of the grindstone 14 and the spindle flange 17 will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 1, the linear guide 11B is composed of two front linear guides 11Ba (left and right) that are arranged in the front part of the groove 11Ab in the column 11A and support both the front left and right ends of the spindle casing 16, and one rear linear guide 11Bb that is arranged in the rear part (rear surface) of the groove 11Ab and supports the rear center of the spindle casing 16. The front linear guide 11Ba and rear linear guide 11Bb are arranged parallel to each other along the axis of the spindle 15 (vertical direction V). As a result, the front linear guide 11Ba and rear linear guide 11Bb function as guide rails for the spindle casing 16.

2, the spindle feed mechanism 11C includes a slider 18 connected to the spindle casing 16, a ball screw 19 that raises and lowers the spindle casing 16 up and down (vertical direction V), and a spindle motor 20 that rotates the ball screw 19. When the spindle motor 20 is driven to rotate the ball screw 19 in a positive or negative direction, the slider 18 descends or ascends in the vertical direction V together with the spindle casing 16 and spindle 15 depending on the rotation direction of the ball screw 19. As a result, the grinding wheel 14 attached to the lower end of the spindle 15 also descends or ascends, and the wafer W is ground as the grinding wheel 14 descends.

The main unit 11 is also provided with an in-process gauge (not shown) that measures the thickness of the wafer W. When the thickness of the wafer W measured by the in-process gauge reaches a desired value, the spindle motor 20 is driven to rotate the ball screw 19 in the reverse direction, and the slider 18 rises together with the spindle casing 16 and spindle 15. The grinding wheel 14 attached to the lower end of the spindle 15 also moves away from the wafer W.

The transport unit 12 includes a chuck table 21 capable of suction-holding the wafer W, a slider 22 on which the chuck table 21 is placed, and a slider drive mechanism 23 that drives the slider 22.

The chuck table 21 is connected to a negative pressure source (not shown), and the wafer W can be held by suction on the chuck table 21. The chuck table 21 can also be rotated around the axis of the chuck table 21 by the chuck table motor 24.

The slider drive mechanism 23 includes a slider 22, a rail 25, a belt and pulley mechanism 26, and a slider motor 27. The drive of the slider motor 27 is transmitted to the slider 22 via the belt and pulley mechanism 26, allowing the slider 22 and the chuck table 21 to slide together on the rail 25 in the left-right direction in FIG. 2.

The operation of the processing device 10 is controlled by the control unit 13. The control unit 13 controls each of the components that make up the processing device 10 according to a predetermined procedure. The control unit 13 is composed of, for example, a CPU, a memory, etc. The functions of the control unit 13 may be realized by controlling using software, or may be realized by operating using hardware.

The processing device 10 configured as described above grinds the wafer W in the following procedure under the control of the control unit 13. First, the wafer W is held by suction on the chuck table 21.

Next, the wafer W is carried below the grinding wheel 14 by the slider 22, and then the spindle motor 20 is driven. When the spindle motor 20 is driven, the ball screw 19 rotates forward, and the spindle casing 16 connected to the slider 22 moves down together with the spindle 15 and grinding wheel 14, bringing the grinding wheel 14 close to the wafer W. The chuck table motor 24 is also driven in addition to the spindle motor 20, and the grinding wheel 14 and the chuck table 21 are rotated while the grinding wheel 14 is pressed against one surface (back surface) of the wafer W, and the wafer W is ground.

When the wafer W is ground to the desired thickness, the control unit 13 stops driving the spindle motor 20 and the chuck table motor 24. This also stops the rotation of the grindstone 14 and the chuck table 21.

The spindle motor 20 is then driven in the reverse direction to rotate the ball screw 19 in the reverse direction. The reverse rotation of the ball screw 19 causes the spindle casing 16 connected to the spindle feed mechanism 11C to rise together with the spindle 15 and grinding wheel 14, separating the grinding wheel 14 from the wafer W. Next, the slider 22 transports the wafer W together with the chuck table 21 to the rear of the main unit 11. Thereafter, the chuck table 21 releases the wafer W from suction, and the grinding process of the wafer W by the processing device 10 is completed.

Next, the mechanism for attaching and detaching the grinding wheel 14 to the spindle flange 17, in particular the mechanism for smoothly removing the grinding wheel 14 from the spindle flange 17, will be described in detail with reference to Figures 3 to 6.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the grinding wheel 14 attached to the underside of the spindle flange 17, viewed from below. Figures 4 and 5 are vertical cross-sectional views of Figure 3, with Figure 4 showing the grinding wheel 14 attached to the spindle flange 17 and Figure 5 showing the grinding wheel 14 removed from the spindle flange 17. Figure 6 is an enlarged view of a portion of the spindle flange 17 shown in Figure 5.

In Figures 3 to 6, the spindle flange 17 is connected and fixed to the lower end of the spindle 15 shown in Figure 2, is integral with the spindle 15, and is formed in a substantially circular plate shape.

A small diameter protrusion 17B is provided on the underside of the main body 17A of the spindle flange 17. The small diameter protrusion 17B has a circular shape with an outer diameter smaller than that of the main body 17A. The underside of the small diameter protrusion 17B has an inverted bowl-shaped recess 29 formed on the inner circumferential surface with an inclined surface 28 that gradually slopes upward from the lower opening toward the center. An inner plate 30 is disposed within the recess 29.

The inner plate 30 is a disk-shaped member that can be accommodated in the recess 29 of the spindle flange 17 in a substantially tight fit, and its outer circumferential surface is provided with an inclined surface 30a that corresponds to the inclined surface 28 of the recess 29. The inner plate 30 is accommodated in the recess 29 and attached to the underside of the spindle flange 17 with bolts 31.

In addition, an air circuit 32 that carries air 100 is formed inside the main body 17A of the spindle flange 17. The air circuit 32 has a first air circuit 32a having an air supply port 33a that takes in air 100 and an air outlet 34a that is a first air outlet that blows the air 100 taken in from the air supply port 33a to the outside, and a second air circuit 32b having an air supply port 33b that also takes in air 100 and an air outlet 34b that is a second air outlet that blows the air 100 taken in from the air supply port 33b to the outside. The opening diameters of the air outlet 34a of the first air circuit 32a and the air outlet 34b of the second air circuit 32b are set smaller than the passage diameters of the circuits 32a and 32b, and are narrowed to increase the force of blowing out the air 100.

The air outlet 34a of the first air circuit 32a is formed at the boundary between the small diameter protrusion 17B and the main body 17A, and the air 100 is blown out from the base of the small diameter protrusion 17B along the outer circumferential bottom surface 17a of the main body 17A in a substantially horizontal direction, i.e., the air 100 is blown out substantially perpendicularly to the direction in which the grindstone 14 is attached and detached. On the other hand, the air outlet 34b of the second air circuit 32b is also formed at the boundary between the small diameter protrusion 17B and the main body 17A, and the air 100 is blown out from the base of the small diameter protrusion 17B along the outer circumferential surface 17b of the small diameter protrusion 17B in a substantially vertical direction, i.e., the air 100 is blown out substantially parallel to the direction in which the grindstone is attached and detached. The air outlets 34a of the first air circuit 32a and the air outlets 34b of the second air circuit 32b are preferably provided in a plurality of units each at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

The air supply port 33a of the first air circuit 32a and the air supply port 33b of the second air circuit 32b are each connected to an air source 35. Flow rate adjustment valves 36a, 36b capable of adjusting the flow rate of air 100 are provided between the air source 35 and the air supply port 33a, and between the air source 35 and the air supply port 33b, respectively.

The grindstone 14 comprises an annular base metal portion 37 and a grindstone portion 38 mounted on one surface of the base metal portion 37.

The base metal portion 37 is formed in an annular shape. The cross section of the base metal portion 37 has an inclined surface 37a, an inner peripheral surface 37b, an outer peripheral surface 37c, an upper surface 37d, and a lower surface 37e, and is generally pentagonal in cross section. The inner diameter of the base metal portion 37 is approximately equal to the outer diameter of the small diameter protrusion 17B of the spindle flange 17, and the outer diameter is approximately equal to the outer diameter of the main body portion 17A of the spindle flange 17. The thickness of the base metal portion 37, i.e., the height of the outer peripheral surface 37c, is set to be larger than the amount of protrusion from the outer peripheral bottom surface 17a of the spindle flange 17 when the inner plate 30 is accommodated and attached in the recess 29 provided on the lower surface of the spindle flange 17. The inclination angle of the inclined surface 37a is approximately 30 degrees, and it is inclined downward from the inner peripheral surface 37b toward the outer peripheral side.

The grindstone portions 38 are installed on the underside 37e of the base metal portion 37 along the outer periphery of the base metal portion 37 and are integrated with the base metal portion 37.

When the grinding wheel 14 is attached to the spindle flange 17 for use, as shown in Figures 3 and 5, the grinding wheel portion 38 faces downward and the upper surface 37d of the base metal portion 37 is in close contact with the outer circumferential bottom surface 17a of the spindle flange 17, and the grinding wheel 14 is fixed to the spindle flange 17 using mounting screws (not shown). In this attached state, the inner circumferential surface 37b of the base metal portion 37 and the outer circumferential surface 17b of the small diameter protrusion portion 17B of the spindle flange 17 are also in almost close contact with each other.

In the processing device 10 configured in this manner, when water such as slurry is used during grinding, water may penetrate between the outer circumferential bottom surface 17a of the spindle flange 17 and the upper surface 37d of the base metal portion 37, and between the outer circumferential surface 17b of the small diameter protrusion 17B and the inner circumferential surface 37b of the base metal portion 37. The penetration of water generates an adhesive force due to surface tension between the outer circumferential bottom surface 17a of the spindle flange 17 and the upper surface 37d of the base metal portion 37, and between the outer circumferential surface 17b of the small diameter protrusion 17B and the inner circumferential surface 37b of the base metal portion 37. Therefore, when replacing the grinding wheel 14 whose grinding wheel portion 38 has worn out, the grinding wheel 14 may be difficult to remove from the spindle flange 17.

In the machining device 10 of this embodiment, under the control of the control unit 13, air 100 is blown out from the air circuit 32 to blow between the outer bottom surface 17a of the spindle flange 17 and the upper surface 37d of the base metal portion 37, and between the outer surface 17b of the small diameter protrusion portion 17B and the inner surface 37b of the base metal portion 37, respectively, and the force of the blown air 100 weakens the surface tension between them, forcing them to be peeled off, allowing them to be easily removed.

More specifically, when removing the grinding wheel 14 from the spindle flange 17, first remove the mounting screw (not shown) that attaches the grinding wheel 14 to the spindle flange 17. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, air 100 is fed from the air source 35 into the first air circuit 32a through the air supply port 33a. The amount of air 100 fed is adjusted by the flow rate control valve 36a. The air 100 fed into the first air circuit 32a is compressed in the first air circuit 32a and blown from the air blowing port 34a substantially horizontally toward the space between the outer circumferential bottom surface 17a of the spindle flange 17 and the upper surface 37d of the base metal part 37, blowing away the water between the outer circumferential bottom surface 17a of the spindle flange 17 and the upper surface 37d of the base metal part 37, while applying a peeling force. Then, when the air 100 has been supplied for a predetermined time, the supply of air 100 into the first air circuit 32a is stopped.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, air 100 is sent from the air source 35 into the second air circuit 32b through the air supply port 33b. The amount of air 100 sent here is also adjusted by the flow rate control valve 36b. The air 100 sent into the second air circuit 32b is compressed in the second air circuit 32b and blown from the air outlet 34b toward the space between the outer peripheral surface 17b of the spindle flange 17 and the upper surface 37d of the base metal part 37 in a substantially vertical direction, blowing away the water between the outer peripheral surface 17b of the spindle flange 17 and the upper surface 37d of the base metal part 37 while applying a downward peeling force to the grinding wheel 14. This downward peeling force allows the grinding wheel 14 to be smoothly removed from the spindle flange 17. This allows it to be replaced with another grinding wheel 14.

In addition, if the position of the air outlet 43a leading to the first air circuit 32a and the position of the air outlet 43b leading to the second air circuit 32b are shifted by a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction so that the air 100 blown out does not interfere with each other, it is possible to simultaneously blow air 100 from the air outlet 43a leading to the first air circuit 32a and the air outlet 43b leading to the second air circuit 32b, respectively, to impart a peeling force to the grinding wheel 14.

Therefore, according to the processing device 10 of this embodiment, when the grinding wheel 14 is removed for replacement or the like, air 100 is blown out from the air outlets 34a, 34b, and the air 100 is blown onto the contact area between the spindle flange 17 and the base metal portion 37, forcibly peeling the grinding wheel 14 off the spindle flange 17 and easily removing it. This reduces the maintenance time of the processing device 10 and is expected to increase the daily production volume.

In addition, since an air circuit 32 having air outlets 34a, 34b is provided within the spindle flange 17, it can be provided compactly within the spindle flange 17, and the air circuit 32 can be provided without changing the size of the processing device 10.

The air circuit 32 also has an air outlet 34a through which air 100 is blown out approximately horizontally toward the contact point between the spindle flange 17 and the base metal portion 37, and an air outlet 34b through which air 100 is blown out approximately parallel to the vertical direction in which the grinding wheel 14 is attached and detached. Therefore, the force of the air 100 blown out from the air outlet 34a and the force of the air 100 blown out from the air outlet 34b can be used to easily remove the grinding wheel 14 from the spindle flange 17.

In addition, flow rate control valves 36a, 36b are provided between the air source 35 and the air circuit 32, allowing the amount of air 100 flowing to be adjusted. The flow rate of the air 100 blown out from the air outlets 34a, 34b, i.e., the force of the air 100, can be adjusted by the flow rate control valves 36a, 36b, making it easy to obtain the optimum force for removing the grinding wheel 14 from the spindle flange 17.

In the above embodiment, the air circuit 32 is disclosed as having both a first air circuit 32a having an air supply port 33a and an air outlet 34a, and a second air circuit 32b having an air supply port 33b and an air outlet 34b. However, the air circuit 32 may have only one of the first air circuit 32a and the second air circuit 32b.

Furthermore, the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the present invention extends to such modifications.

10: Processing device 11: Main unit 11A: Column 11Aa: Front surface 11Ab: Groove 11B: Linear guide 11Ba: Front linear guide 11Bb: Rear linear guide 11C: Spindle feed mechanism 12: Transport unit 13: Control unit 14: Grindstone 15: Spindle 16: Spindle casing 17: Spindle flange 17A: Main body 17B: Small diameter protrusion 17a: Outer circumferential bottom surface 17b: Outer circumferential surface 18: Slider 19: Ball screw 20: Spindle motor 21: Chuck table 22: Slider 23: Slider drive mechanism 24: Chuck table motor 25: Rail 26: Pulley mechanism 27: Slider motor 28: Inclined surface 29: Recess 30: Inner plate 30a: Inclined surface 31: Bolt 32 : Air circuit 32a : First air circuit 32b : Second air circuit 33a : Air supply port 33b : Air supply port 34a : Air blowing port 34b : Air blowing port 35 : Air source 36a : Flow rate adjustment valve 36b : Flow rate adjustment valve 37 : Base metal portion 37a : Inclined surface 37b : Inner peripheral surface 37c : Outer peripheral surface 37d : Upper surface 37e : Lower surface 38 : Grindstone portion 100 : Air V : Vertical direction W : Wafer

Claims (3)

A spindle flange;
a grindstone including a base metal portion that is substantially in close contact with one surface of the spindle flange and is detachably attached to the spindle flange, and a grindstone portion that is disposed on one surface of the base metal portion and integrated with the base metal portion;
an air outlet for blowing air onto a contact portion between the spindle flange and the base metal portion;
Equipped with
The air outlet is
a first air outlet that blows the air from a boundary portion of a first contact surface of the spindle flange that is in contact with the base metal portion in a horizontal direction toward the outside along the first contact surface;
a second air outlet that blows the air from a boundary portion of a second contact surface of the spindle flange that is in close contact with the base metal portion along the second contact surface toward the outside;
A processing apparatus comprising: The processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that an air circuit communicating with the air outlet is formed within the spindle flange. The processing device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an adjustment valve capable of adjusting the flow rate of air blown out from the air outlet.

Images