JPH0770585B2 - Wafer support method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Outline] The present invention relates to a method of supporting a wafer when inspecting or processing both sides of a disk-shaped wafer, and an object thereof is to prevent the wafer from being damaged or contaminated by an external force. A groove having a width wider than the thickness of the wafer is provided on each outer peripheral side surface of the plurality of rotating wheels arranged around the disk-shaped wafer, and the side wall of the groove is substantially parallel to the wafer. It is configured to support the wafer so as to leave a play between the outer peripheral end surface of the wafer and the bottom surface of the groove.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a wafer supporting method capable of rotating, tilting, and tipping a disk-shaped wafer.

In manufacturing a semiconductor device or the like, a disk-shaped wafer is usually used as a substrate in the process of manufacturing, and various processes are performed on this. An inspection for observing the surface of the wafer is inserted at an important point in the process in order to check the processing state and the presence or absence of microcracks that may occur during processing and cause defects. In that observation, the wafer may be rotated or tilted in the plane direction due to the influence of the reflection state of the surface, and the occurrence of microcracks is not limited to one side, so the observation is targeted at both sides. There is a need.

Therefore, it is desirable that the wafer be supported when performing the above observation so that all of the above conditions are satisfied.

[Conventional technology]

A commonly used method of supporting a wafer when performing the above observation is to sandwich the wafer with tweezers.

This method allows double-sided observation of the wafer, but is not desirable because the operation is unstable and the wafer is easily damaged.

As an alternative to this, there is a method of adsorbing and supporting the wafer W on the vacuum chuck C as shown in the side view of FIG.

This method is convenient for observation because the wafer can be stably rotated or tilted in the surface direction by moving the chuck C.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in this method, since the chuck C contacts one surface of the wafer W, it is necessary to turn over the wafer W and perform chucking again when performing double-sided observation, and there is a problem that the chuck C contaminates the surface of the wafer W. .

[Means for solving problems]

The above problem is that, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 for explaining the present invention, the thickness of the wafer is different from the outer peripheral side surface of each of the plurality of rotating wheels arranged around the disk-shaped wafer. A groove having a wide width is provided, and the wafer is supported on the side wall of the groove that is substantially parallel to the wafer so as to leave play between the outer peripheral end surface of the wafer and the bottom surface of the groove. This is solved by the configured wafer support method.

[Action]

In the present invention, the peripheral portion of the wafer W is placed on and supported by the side walls of the grooves 1 of the plurality of rotating wheels 2 and 3.
Further, the outer peripheral end surface of the wafer W is supported while leaving a play with the bottom surface of the groove 1.

Here, when the groove 1 is resembled in a kite shape, the side wall indicates the side surface and the bottom surface indicates the bottom portion. Accordingly, since the groove 1 provided on the outer peripheral side surface of the rotating wheel has a chevron shape, the side walls are upper and lower surfaces substantially parallel to the wafer W, the bottom surface is substantially perpendicular to the surface of the wafer W, and substantially parallel to the outer peripheral end surface. Will be the surface.

As a result, since the wafer W is supported only by the peripheral portion, the front and back surfaces are opened, and the rotating wheels 2 and 3 are supported even if the wafer W is rotated by rotating any of the rotating wheels 2 and 3. Even if the substrate 11 is rotated and the wafer W is tilted or turned upside down, no abnormal external force is applied to the wafer W. As a result, it is possible to prevent damage to the wafer W and reduce contamination due to adhesion of debris and the like.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, a wafer supporting apparatus according to an embodiment to which the method of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the schematic plan view of FIG.
The solid line in the figure shows the state in which the wafer W is supported, and the broken line shows the state in which the wafer W is released.

In FIG. 2, reference numerals 2 and 3 are rotary wheels having the groove 1 shown in FIG. 1 and supporting the wafer W. Two rotary wheels 2 and four rotary wheels 3 have the groove 1 in the same plane. As shown in FIG. Then, the rotation of the rotating wheel 2 rotates the wafer W in the surface direction.
The above-mentioned arrangement of the rotating wheel does not hinder the support and rotation of the wafer W even when the wafer W is provided with facets.

The rotating wheel 2 is an auxiliary base body that moves in the vertical direction in the figure by driving an air cylinder 12 fixed to the base of a Y-shaped base body 11.
Installed in 12.

The rotating wheel 3 is a set of two, and a fulcrum is provided at the tip of the base 11.
It is attached to the tip (upper side in the figure) of a lever 14 having 13.

Between the tip of the opposite side of the lever 14 and the auxiliary base body 21, there is provided a lever 15 which is inclined so that the side of the auxiliary base body 21 is closer to the side of the air cylinder 12 and whose both ends are pin-joined.

Further, the auxiliary base 21 is provided with a belt wheel 22 that is belt-connected to the rotary wheel 2 and a motor 23 that rotates the belt wheel 22.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned structure, when the auxiliary base 21 is moved upward in the drawing by driving the air cylinder 12, the rotating wheels 2 and 3 support the wafer W with the wafer W sandwiched from the periphery as shown by the solid lines, When it is moved downward, the wafer W is released as shown by the broken line.

At the time of supporting, the upward movement of the auxiliary base 21 is stopped at an appropriate position so that a play is left between the bottom surface of the groove 1 and the outer peripheral surface of the wafer W. Does not press the outer peripheral surface of the wafer W. This is because the width of the groove 1 is wider than the thickness of the wafer W so that external force is not applied to the wafer W. For example, damage to the wafer W such as occurrence of a chip at the edge of the wafer W is prevented. To prevent.

In addition, a rotating wheel 2 for rotating the wafer W in a supported state
Can be obtained by driving the motor 23.

The present supporting apparatus includes a motor 31 for rotating the substrate 11 about the vertical center line of FIG. 2 in order to turn the wafer W inside out or tilt it, and a base of the substrate 11 serving as a fulcrum and a tip perpendicular to the figure. And a drive mechanism (not shown) that can be swung in various directions.

Further, in order to support and release the wafer W when the present supporting device is used, it is preferable to combine it with a wafer mounting stage whose mounting surface is smaller than the wafer W and which can be moved up and down.

That is, if the supporting operation is performed on the wafer W placed on the stage located at the upper point and the stage is retracted to the lower side when the wafer is in the supporting state, the surface rotation of the wafer W is of course not tilted or tilted. You can also flip inside out. The release of the wafer W may be performed by performing the operation opposite to the case of supporting.

Instead of moving the stage up and down, the support device may be moved up and down.

Thus, the present supporting apparatus can support the wafer W in a state where both sides are opened, rotate, turn over, and tilt the wafer W, and can reduce damage and contamination of the wafer W during that time.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, the peripheral portion of the wafer is placed on the side wall of the groove provided in the rotating wheel, and the outer peripheral edge surface and the bottom surface of the groove are provided with play so that they are supported, so that they can be rotated or turned over or tilted. No abnormal external force is applied to the peripheral edge of the wafer.

Therefore, it is possible to open both sides of the wafer without damaging the peripheral edge of the wafer or contaminating it with the fragments, and it is possible to easily observe both sides.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view (a) and a partially enlarged side sectional view (b) for explaining the method of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing a wafer supporting apparatus as an application example of the method of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating an example of a conventional method. In the figure, 1 is a groove, 2 and 3 are rotary wheels, 11 is a base, 12 is an air cylinder, 13 is a fulcrum, 14 and 15 are levers, 21 is an auxiliary base, 22 is a belt wheel, 23 and 31 are motors, W Is a wafer and C is a vacuum chuck.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A groove having a width wider than the thickness of the wafer is provided on each of the outer peripheral side surfaces of a plurality of rotating wheels arranged around the disk-shaped wafer, and the groove is substantially parallel to the wafer. A method of supporting a wafer, wherein the wafer is supported on the side wall of the groove so as to leave a play between the outer peripheral end surface of the wafer and the bottom surface of the groove.