JP7848082B2 - processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a processing apparatus for processing wafers.

There is a transport device that transports a workpiece set in which a wafer and a ring frame with an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the wafer are integrated by attaching tape to them (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This transport device has four suction cups arranged at equal angles to attract the upper surface of the ring frame. The transport device uses the suction cups to attract the ring frame and transports the integrated workpiece set.

The wafer in the workset is irradiated, for example, with a laser beam having a wavelength that absorbs the wafer, thereby forming grooves on the upper surface of the wafer. At this time, a water-soluble protective film is formed on the upper surface of the wafer to prevent the molten wafer from adhering to the device.

The protective film is formed by holding the workset on a table, dropping liquid resin onto the center of the wafer's upper surface, and then rotating the table at high speed to spread the liquid resin by centrifugal force. The liquid resin, subjected to centrifugal force, is scattered outwards from the outer edge of the wafer and adheres to the upper surface of the ring frame.

Furthermore, after laser processing as described above, the protective film is removed by holding the workpiece set on a table, spraying water onto the wafer, and rotating the table. During the removal of the protective film, the water-dissolved protective film, i.e., liquid resin, adheres to the upper surface of the ring frame.

As described above, liquid resin adheres to the upper surface of the ring frame. Therefore, by pouring water on the upper surface of the ring frame, the liquid resin adhering to the upper surface is removed (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-057618 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-145642 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-092379

However, as mentioned above, even after removing the protective film, some may remain on the top surface of the ring frame. Therefore, the protective film adheres to the suction cup that attaches to the top surface of the ring frame.

When the workpiece is repeatedly transported, a large amount of protective film adheres to the suction cup, creating a problem where the adhesive force of the protective film makes it difficult to separate the workpiece from the suction cup.

The object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus capable of removing a protective film attached to a suction cup that attracts the upper surface of a ring frame.

In one embodiment, the processing apparatus comprises a spin cleaning mechanism for cleaning a workset by spinning a spinner table that holds a workset in which wafers are supported on a ring frame by tape; a transport mechanism for loading and unloading the workset to and from the spin cleaning mechanism; and a control unit. The transport mechanism comprises a transport pad having two or more suction cups arranged at predetermined intervals for sucking the upper surface of the ring frame; and a lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the transport pad. The spin cleaning mechanism comprises the spinner table; a table rotation mechanism for rotating the spinner table; a nozzle for supplying water to the workset held on the spinner table; and a nozzle horizontal movement mechanism for moving the nozzle horizontally. The spinner table comprises a suction table that sucks the tape from the portion of the wafer to which it is attached on the suction surface, a block extending outward from the outer circumference of the suction table and supporting the lower surface of the ring frame, a clamp positioned at the outer end of the block and gripping the outer edge of the ring frame with the block, and two or more recesses positioned corresponding to the suction cups and accommodating the suction cups. The control unit cleans the suction cups by controlling the nozzle horizontal movement mechanism to position the nozzle on the rotational trajectory of the recesses, the table rotation mechanism to position the recesses directly below the nozzle, the supply of water from the nozzle to fill the recesses with water, and the lifting mechanism to lower the transport pad to bring the suction cups into the water accumulated in the recesses.

According to the above embodiment, the protective film attached to the suction cup that attracts the upper surface of the ring frame can be removed.

This is a perspective view showing a processing apparatus according to one embodiment. This is a perspective view showing a spinner table and the like in one embodiment. This is a perspective view showing a spinner table, transport pad, etc., in one embodiment.

The following describes a processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, with reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a processing apparatus 1 according to one embodiment. Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the spinner table 11, etc., of the processing apparatus 1. Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the spinner table 11, transport pad 21, etc., of the processing apparatus 1.

Note that the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions shown in Figures 1 to 3 are perpendicular to each other. The X-axis and Y-axis directions are horizontal, while the Z-axis direction is vertical. In each figure, of the two arrows indicating the X-axis direction, the side marked with "+X" is forward, and the side marked with "-X" is backward. Of the two arrows indicating the Y-axis direction, the side marked with "+Y" is left, and the side marked with "-Y" is right. Of the two arrows indicating the Z-axis direction, the side marked with "+Z" is upward, and the side marked with "-Z" is downward.

As shown in Figure 1, the processing apparatus 1 comprises a spin cleaning mechanism 10, a transport mechanism 20, a processing unit 30, and a control unit 40. The processing target of the processing apparatus 1 is a wafer W (shown as part of the workset S on the right side of the processing apparatus 1 in Figure 1). This wafer W is supported by a tape T on a ring frame F. The integrated wafer W, tape T, and ring frame F are called a workset S. This workset S is loaded and unloaded, for example, from a cassette C (shown on the right side of the processing apparatus 1 in Figure 1), which is placed on the upper right front surface of the processing apparatus 1, by a robot arm (not shown). Note that the apparatus comprising the spin cleaning mechanism 10, the transport mechanism 20, and the control unit 40 can be considered a cleaning apparatus.

The spin cleaning mechanism 10 comprises a spinner table 11, a table rotation mechanism 12 (see Figure 2), a nozzle 13, a nozzle rotation shaft 14, and a cleaning base section 15. The spinner table 11, which holds the workpiece set S, is rotated to clean the workpiece set S.

As shown in Figure 2, the spinner table 11 comprises a suction table 111, four blocks 112, four clamps 113, four recesses 114, and a frame mounting surface 115.

The suction table 111 uses a suction surface on its upper surface, formed from a porous material communicating with a suction source (not shown), to suck the underside of the tape T to which the wafer W is attached. This causes the workpiece set S to be adsorbed onto the suction table 111.

The four blocks 112 are arranged at 90-degree intervals in the rotational direction R, with the rotation center being the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) of the spinner table 11. They extend outward (radially) from the outer circumference of the suction table 111 and support the lower surface of the ring frame F. The blocks 112, for example, have a horizontal rectangular plate shape and are integrally provided with the frame mounting surface 115, having the same thickness (height) as the frame mounting surface 115 on which the ring frame F is placed.

Each of the four clamps 113 is positioned at the outer end of the block 112 and grips the outer edge of the ring frame F together with the block 112. Each of the four clamps 113 has a weight 1131 and a rotating shaft 1132. The weight 1131 is the lower part of the clamp 113 when the upper part of the clamp 113 is considered as the clamping portion. The rotating shaft 1132 penetrates the block 112 horizontally (parallel to the tangent to the rotation direction R of the spinner table 11), allowing the clamp 113 to rotate relative to the block 112. The clamp 113 presses against the ring frame F and prevents lateral displacement of the ring frame F by causing the weight 1131 to bounce up due to the centrifugal force generated during the rotation of the spinner table 11.

The four recesses 114 are positioned to accommodate the four suction cups 213 shown in Figures 1 and 3 of the transport mechanism 20, which will be described later. The recesses 114 are provided on the upper surface of the block 112, opening upwards. As shown in Figure 3, the recesses 114 may extend in the rotational direction R of the spinner table 11 such that the length L1 of the recesses 114 in the rotational direction R is longer than the length L2 (diameter of the suction cups 213) of the suction cups 213 in the rotational direction R. Note that the recesses 114 may not be provided on the block 112, but rather at positions on the spinner table 11 spaced away from the block 112. Furthermore, the number of recesses 114 may be any number, for example, two or more, equal to the number of suction cups 213.

The frame mounting surface 115 has a circular frame shape, for example, surrounding the circular suction table 111, and the ring frame F of the workset S shown in Figure 1 is mounted on it. The frame mounting surface 115 can also be considered as part of the suction table 111. Therefore, although the aforementioned block 112 extends outward from the outer circumference of the frame mounting surface 115, it can also be considered to extend outward from the outer circumference of the suction table 111.

The table rotation mechanism 12 shown in Figure 2 is located in a part hidden by the cleaning base section 15 shown in Figure 1, and is therefore represented by a hidden line (dashed line). The table rotation mechanism 12 comprises a motor 121, an encoder 122, and a rotating base 123, and rotates the spinner table 11.

The motor 121 rotates the rotating base 123 in the rotational direction R. The encoder 122 detects the rotation angle of the rotating base 123 caused by the motor 121. This rotation angle is used to control the rotation of the spinner table 11 by the control unit 40, which will be described later. The rotating base 123 is connected to the lower part of the suction table 111 (spinner table 11) and rotates together with the spinner table 11 in the rotational direction R. The configuration of the table rotation mechanism 12 is arbitrary; it only needs to rotate the spinner table 11.

The nozzle 13 supplies water L to the workpiece set S held on the spinner table 11. The nozzle 13 supplies water to the workpiece set S, for example, to remove a water-soluble protective film formed on the wafer W, or to remove a protective film that adhered to the ring frame F during protective film formation. As shown in Figure 2, the nozzle 13 also supplies water L to each of the four recesses 114. The water L supplied by the nozzle 13 may be a liquid such as a cleaning solution with additives. In addition to the nozzle 13 that supplies water L, a nozzle for supplying a water-soluble resin to form a protective film on the wafer W may also be provided. In this case, the spin cleaning mechanism 10 functions as a protective film formation mechanism. When the spin cleaning mechanism 10 functions as a protective film formation mechanism, for example, the water-soluble resin may be supplied to the center of the upper surface of the wafer W, and the spinner table 11 may rotate at high speed to distribute the water-soluble resin across the entire upper surface of the wafer W by centrifugal force.

The nozzle rotation axis 14 shown in Figure 1 is an example of a nozzle horizontal movement mechanism that moves the nozzle 13 horizontally. It is connected to the horizontal arm portion of the nozzle 13 and rotates around the Z-axis as its center of rotation. This causes the nozzle rotation axis 14 to rotate the nozzle 13, thereby moving it horizontally. The nozzle rotation axis 14 functions as an example of a nozzle horizontal movement mechanism together with an actuator such as a motor that rotates the nozzle rotation axis 14. However, the configuration of the nozzle horizontal movement mechanism is arbitrary; it only needs to move the nozzle 13 horizontally.

The cleaning base section 15 has an upward opening on its upper surface, and the aforementioned spinner table 11, table rotation mechanism 12, etc., are housed in this opening. The cleaning base section 15 should extend above the nozzle 13 and function as a barrier to prevent water supplied by the nozzle 13 from being blown away by the rotation of the spinner table 11.

The transport mechanism 20 comprises a transport pad 21, a lifting mechanism 22, and a horizontal movement mechanism 23, and transports the workpiece set S to and from the spin cleaning mechanism 10. For example, the transport mechanism 20 transports the workpiece set S between the spinner table 11 and the chuck table 31.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the transport pad 21 comprises two holding arms 211, a connecting arm 212, and four suction cups 213.

The two holding arms 211 are arranged parallel to each other and form a horizontal rectangular plate shape. The connecting arm 212 also forms a horizontal rectangular plate shape and connects the centers of the two holding arms 211. The two holding arms 211 and the single connecting arm 212 form an H-shape in plan view. Four suction cups 213 are positioned one at each end of the lower part of the two holding arms 211. The four suction cups 213 are connected to a suction source (not shown), and the air suction from this suction source creates suction on the upper surface of the ring frame F. Similar to the four recesses 114 described above, the four suction cups 213 are arranged at predetermined intervals (90-degree intervals when there are four suction cups 213) in the rotation direction R of the spinner table 11. Furthermore, the number of suction cups 213 can be two or more, as is the number of recesses 114.

The lifting mechanism 22 raises and lowers the transport pad 21. For example, the lifting mechanism 22 is an actuator such as an air cylinder. The lifting mechanism 22 is connected, for example, to the center of the transport pad 21's connecting arm 212 via a rod protruding downward from the bottom, and raises and lowers the transport pad 21 by moving the rod up and down. The configuration of the lifting mechanism 22 is arbitrary and not limited to an air cylinder; any mechanism that raises and lowers the transport pad 21 is acceptable. For example, it may include a motor, a ball screw, and a guide rail, with the motor rotating the ball screw to raise and lower the transport pad 21.

The horizontal movement mechanism 23 comprises a motor 231, a ball screw 232, a slider 233, and a pair of upper and lower guide rails 234. The horizontal movement mechanism 23 moves the lifting mechanism 22 horizontally (in the Y-axis direction).

The motor 231 is positioned at the right end of the ball screw 232 and rotates the ball screw 232. The ball screw 232 is positioned in the Y-axis direction, and as it rotates, the slider 233, which is screwed onto the ball screw 232, moves in the Y-axis direction along the two guide rails 234. The aforementioned lifting mechanism 22 is fixed to the slider 233. Therefore, when the slider 233 moves horizontally in the Y-axis direction, the lifting mechanism 22 and the transport pad 21 connected to this lifting mechanism 22 move horizontally (in the Y-axis direction). The pair of upper and lower guide rails 234 are fixed to the front of the column 52 of the device base 50 (described later) and extend in the Y-axis direction above and below the ball screw 232, respectively. The configuration of the horizontal movement mechanism 23 is arbitrary; any mechanism that moves the transport pad 21 horizontally is acceptable.

The processing unit 30 comprises a chuck table 31, a laser irradiation unit 32, an imaging unit 33, a casing 34, a Y-axis movement mechanism 35, and an X-axis movement mechanism 36, and performs laser processing on the wafer W to be processed.

The chuck table 31 sucks the workpiece set S through its upper surface, which is formed by a porous material that communicates with a suction source (not shown).

The laser irradiation unit 32 focuses the laser beam emitted by the oscillator housed inside the casing 34 and irradiates the wafer W vertically downward (in the -Z axis direction). This laser beam has, for example, a wavelength that is absorbed by the wafer W. On the upper surface of the wafer W, where the protective film is formed, the laser beam from the laser irradiation unit 32 irradiates the wafer W, causing grooves to be formed, for example, along the planned division lines.

The imaging unit 33 images the wafer W. The image of the wafer W captured by the imaging unit 33 is sent, for example, to the control unit 40 (described later), which uses this control unit 40 to determine the irradiation position of the laser beam onto the wafer W.

The casing 34 protrudes forward from the front surface of the column 52 of the device base 50, which will be described later. The laser irradiation unit 32 and imaging unit 33 are fixed to the front end of the casing 34.

The Y-axis movement mechanism 35 comprises a motor 351, a ball screw 352, a slider 353, and a pair of front and rear guide rails 354. The Y-axis movement mechanism 35 moves the chuck table 31 in the Y-axis direction.

The motor 351 is positioned at the right end of the ball screw 352 and rotates the ball screw 352. The ball screw 352 is positioned in the Y-axis direction, and as it rotates, the slider 353, which is screwed onto the ball screw 352, moves in the Y-axis direction along the two guide rails 354. The chuck table 31 is fixed to the upper surface of the slider 353. Therefore, when the slider 353 moves horizontally in the Y-axis direction, the chuck table 31 moves in the Y-axis direction. The pair of front and rear guide rails 354 are fixed to the upper surface of the slider 363 of the X-axis movement mechanism 36 (described later) and extend in the Y-axis direction from the front and rear of the ball screw 352, respectively. The configuration of the Y-axis movement mechanism 35 is arbitrary; any mechanism that moves the chuck table 31 in the Y-axis direction is acceptable.

The X-axis movement mechanism 36 comprises a motor 361, a ball screw 362, a slider 363, and a pair of guide rails 364. The X-axis movement mechanism 36 moves the Y-axis movement mechanism 35 and the chuck table 31 fixed to the Y-axis movement mechanism 35 in the X-axis direction.

The motor 361 is positioned at the front end of the ball screw 362 and rotates the ball screw 362. The ball screw 362 is positioned in the X-axis direction, and as it rotates, the slider 363, which is screwed onto the ball screw 362, moves in the X-axis direction along the two guide rails 364. As described above, the guide rail 354 (Y-axis movement mechanism 35) is fixed to the upper surface of the slider 363. Therefore, when the slider 363 moves horizontally in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis movement mechanism 35 and the chuck table 31 move in the X-axis direction. The pair of left and right guide rails 364 are fixed to the upper surface of the base 51 of the device base 50 and extend in the X-axis direction from the left and right sides of the ball screw 362, respectively. The configuration of the X-axis movement mechanism 36 is arbitrary; any mechanism that moves the chuck table 31 in the X-axis direction is acceptable.

Furthermore, the processing unit 30 described above, which performs processing on the wafer W, is not limited to one equipped with a laser irradiation unit 32 that performs laser processing on the wafer W; it may also be other processing units, such as a polishing mechanism that polishes the wafer W.

The control unit 40, shown by the dashed line in Figure 1, is a processor (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit) that functions as an arithmetic processing unit that controls the operation of various parts of the processing apparatus 1, such as the spin cleaning mechanism 10 (table rotation mechanism 12, nozzle 13, nozzle rotation axis 14, etc.) and the transport mechanism 20 (lifting mechanism 22, etc.), or acquires information (e.g., detection results and captured images) from various parts such as the encoder 122 and the imaging unit 33. The control unit 40 also includes memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory), a read-only semiconductor memory in which a predetermined control program is pre-recorded, and RAM (Random Access Memory), a semiconductor memory that can be written to and read at any time and used as a working memory area as needed when the processor executes various control programs. The processing apparatus 1 may have multiple control units 40, for example, by providing one or more control units 40 in each of the spin cleaning mechanism 10, transport mechanism 20, and processing unit 30. Furthermore, the control unit of another device may also serve as the control unit 40 of the processing apparatus 1, or a control unit that controls both the processing apparatus 1 and other devices may be provided.

The device base 50 comprises a base 51 and a column 52. The base 51 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The guide rail 364 (the X-axis movement mechanism 36 of the processing unit 30) is fixed to the upper surface of the base 51. The column 52 has a short rectangular parallelepiped shape in the front-to-back direction and is located at the rear of the base 51. The casing 34 of the processing unit 30 and the guide rail 234 of the horizontal movement mechanism 23 of the conveying mechanism 20 are fixed to the front surface of the column 52.

Next, the cleaning process for the suction cup 213 will be explained, omitting any details that overlap with the above explanation.

The cleaning process for the suction cup 213 described below may be performed each time the transport pad 21 transports one workset S, but it can also be performed at any time, such as when the transport of one cassette C's workset S is complete, when the set time has arrived, or when the user issues a cleaning instruction.

First, the control unit 40 positions the nozzle 13 on the rotational trajectory of the four recesses 114 using the nozzle rotation axis 14. Next, the control unit 40 rotates the spinner table 11 using the table rotation mechanism 12 so that one of the four recesses 114 is positioned directly below the nozzle 13, as shown in Figure 2. Then, the control unit 40 supplies water from the nozzle 13 to fill the recesses 114 with water L. Since there are four recesses 114, it is best to repeat the operation of rotating the spinner table 11 and filling the recesses 114 with water L four times.

The control unit 40 then lowers the transport pad 21 using the lifting mechanism 22, causing the four suction cups 213 to immerse in the water L accumulated in the four recesses 114. This removes the water-soluble protective film adhering to the suction cups 213, allowing them to be cleaned. The protective film adheres to the suction cups 213 because it adheres to the ring frame F during its formation or removal, and then adheres to the suction cups 213 when they use suction to remove the protective film from the upper surface of the ring frame F.

While it is possible for water L to accumulate in only some of the four recesses 114, and for the spinner table 11 to be rotated 90 degrees at a time in the rotational direction R to clean the four suction cups 213, it is preferable that the spinner table 11 be rotated 90 degrees at a time so that water L accumulates in all four recesses 114.

When the suction cup 213 is to be placed in the water L accumulated in the recess 114, the control unit 40 controls the lifting mechanism 22 to raise and lower the transport pad 21 so that the process of placing the suction cup 213 in the water L accumulated in the recess 114 and then removing the suction cup 213 from the water L while it is in contact with the water L is repeated, for example, two or more times, thereby cleaning the suction cup 213.

Furthermore, the control unit 40 may clean the suction cup 213 by controlling the following: dropping the suction cup 213 into the water L accumulated in the recess 114, and reciprocating the spinner table 11 within a predetermined angular range (as described above, the range in which the suction cup 213 can swing in the rotational direction R, since the length L1 of the recess 114 in the rotational direction R is longer than the length L2 of the suction cup 213 in the rotational direction R). Alternatively, the process of dropping the suction cup 213 into the water L accumulated in the recess 114 and then removing the suction cup 213 from the water L may be repeated, for example, two or more times, while rotating the spinner table 11 within a predetermined angular range each time the suction cup 213 is dropped into the water.

Furthermore, after the cleaning of the suction cup 213 is complete, the water L accumulated in the recess 114 may be blown away by rotating the spinner table 11 at high speed, or it may be left accumulated so that, for example, the protective film removed from the suction cup 213 is blown away when the spinner table 11 rotates.

In the embodiment described above, the processing apparatus 1 includes a spin cleaning mechanism 10 that rotates a spinner table 11, which holds a workset S in which wafers W are supported on a ring frame F by tape T, to clean the workset S; a transport mechanism 20 that loads and unloads the workset S to and from the spin cleaning mechanism 10; and a control unit 40. The transport mechanism 20 includes a transport pad 21 on which two or more suction cups 213 that suck the upper surface of the ring frame F are arranged at predetermined intervals, and a lifting mechanism 22 that raises and lowers the transport pad 21. The spin cleaning mechanism 10 includes a spinner table 11, a table rotation mechanism 12 that rotates the spinner table 11, a nozzle 13 that supplies water to the workset S held on the spinner table 11, and a nozzle rotation shaft 14 which is an example of a nozzle horizontal movement mechanism that moves the nozzle 13 in the horizontal direction. The spinner table 11 comprises a suction table 111 that sucks the tape T to the portion of the wafer W attached to the suction surface, a block 112 that extends outward from the outer circumference of the suction table 111 and supports the lower surface of the ring frame F, a clamp 113 positioned at the outer end of the block 112 that grips the outer edge of the ring frame F with the block 112, and two or more recesses 114 positioned to accommodate the suction cups 213. The control unit 40 cleans the suction cups 213 by controlling the nozzle rotation axis 14 to position the nozzle 13 on the rotation trajectory of the recesses 114, the table rotation mechanism 12 to position the recesses 114 directly below the nozzle 13, supplying water L from the nozzle 13 to fill the recesses 114 with water L, and lowering the transport pad 21 with the lifting mechanism 22 to bring the suction cups 213 into the water accumulated in the recesses 114.

Therefore, even if the protective film adhering to the upper surface of the ring frame F during its formation or removal adheres to the suction cup 213 that sucks the upper surface of the ring frame F, the suction cup 213 can be cleaned and the protective film removed by immersing it in the water L accumulated in the recess 114. This prevents the protective film from accumulating on the suction cup 213 due to repeated transport of the workset S, thus preventing the adhesive force of the protective film from making it impossible to separate the workset S from the suction cup 213.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control unit 40 controls the lifting mechanism 22 to raise and lower the transport pad 21 so as to repeatedly lower the suction cup 213 into the water L accumulated in the recess 114 and then detach the suction cup 213 from the water L while it is submerged, thereby cleaning the suction cup 213.

This allows for more reliable removal of the protective film attached to the suction cup 213 by repeatedly detaching it from the water L accumulated in the recess 114.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the recess 114 extends in the rotational direction R of the spinner table 11, and the control unit 40 controls the suction cup 213 to immerse in the water L accumulated in the recess 114, and to reciprocate the spinner table 11 within a predetermined angular range while the suction cup 213 is immersed in the water L, thereby cleaning the suction cup 213.

This allows for more reliable removal of the protective film attached to the suction cup 213 by the reciprocating rotation of the spinner table 11 while the suction cup 213 is in contact with the water L accumulated in the recess 114.

It goes without saying that the processing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and may be implemented in various different forms within the scope of its technical concept. Furthermore, the shapes of the components shown in the attached drawings are not limited thereto and can be appropriately modified within the scope that allows the effects of the present invention to be achieved.

As described above, the present invention makes it possible to remove the protective film attached to the suction cup that attracts the upper surface of the ring frame. Therefore, it is particularly useful in processing apparatuses that form a protective film on wafers before processing them.

1: Processing device 10: Spin cleaning mechanism 11: Spinner table 111: Suction table 112: Block 113: Clamp 1131: Weight 1132: Rotating shaft 114: Recess 115: Frame mounting surface 12: Table rotation mechanism 121: Motor 122: Encoder 123: Rotating base 13: Nozzle 14: Nozzle rotation shaft (nozzle horizontal movement mechanism)
15: Washing base section 20: Transport mechanism 21: Transport pad 211: Holding arm 212: Connecting arm 213: Suction cup 22: Lifting mechanism 23: Horizontal movement mechanism 231: Motor 232: Ball screw 233: Slider 234: Guide rail 30: Processing section 31: Chuck table 32: Laser irradiation section 33: Imaging section 34: Casing 35: Y-axis movement mechanism 351: Motor 352: Ball screw 353: Slider 354: Guide rail 36: X-axis movement mechanism 361: Motor 362: Ball screw 363: Slider 364: Guide rail 40: Control unit 50: Device base 51: Base 52: Column C: Cassette F: Ring frame L: Water R: Rotation direction S: Workset T: Tape W: Wafer

Claims (3)

A processing apparatus comprising: a spin cleaning mechanism that rotates a spinner table holding a workset in which wafers are supported on a ring frame by tape to clean the workset; a transport mechanism that loads and unloads the workset to and from the spin cleaning mechanism; and a control unit,
The transport mechanism is,
The system comprises a transport pad having two or more suction cups arranged at predetermined intervals to attract the upper surface of a ring frame, and a lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the transport pad.
The spin cleaning mechanism is,
The system comprises a spinner table, a table rotation mechanism for rotating the spinner table, a nozzle for supplying water to a workpiece held on the spinner table, and a nozzle horizontal movement mechanism for moving the nozzle horizontally.
The spinner table is
The device comprises a suction table for sucking up tape from the portion of the wafer to which it is attached on the suction surface, a block extending outward from the outer circumference of the suction table and supporting the lower surface of the ring frame, a clamp positioned at the outer end of the block and gripping the outer edge of the ring frame with the block, and two or more recesses positioned corresponding to the suction cups for housing the suction cups.
The control unit is
The nozzle horizontal movement mechanism positions the nozzle on the rotational trajectory of the recess,
The table rotation mechanism positions the recess directly below the nozzle,
The process involves supplying water from the nozzle to fill the recess with water,
A processing apparatus that cleans a suction cup by controlling the lifting mechanism to lower the transport pad and cause the suction cup to come into contact with the water accumulated in the recess. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the lifting mechanism to raise and lower the transport pad so as to repeatedly lower the suction cup into the water accumulated in the recess and then lift the suction cup away from the water while it is submerged, thereby cleaning the suction cup. The recess extends in the rotational direction of the spinner table,
The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the suction cup to be placed in the water accumulated in the recess, and the spinner table to be rotated back and forth within a predetermined angular range while the suction cup is placed in the water, thereby cleaning the suction cup.