JP2001308171A - Packaging for back grind wafer and method for housing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a packaging for back grind wafers and a method for housing the back grind wafers by which the danger of the resonance of the back grind wafers and the damage to the back grind wafers is suppressed, the secondary disaster consisting of harmful effect of the damaged back grind wafers on other back grind wafers is prevented, and the existing facilities can be used almost as they are. SOLUTION: Several distortion limiting adapters 15 among which several back grind wafers W are interposed with spaces are aligned and housed in a packaging body 2 of a conventional packaging 1 through supporting grooves in a cassette 5. Since the distortion limiting adapters 15 are in contact with the back grind wafers W and limit their distortion, the danger of contact between the back grind wafers W due to distortion or of break can be eliminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transport container for back-grind wafers such as silicon wafers used in the production of semiconductor products and a method for storing back-grind wafers. The present invention relates to a back-grind wafer transport container and a back-grind wafer storage method suitable for storing and transporting a wafer that has been formed, the back surface of which has been polished in a back-grinding process and precision processed to an extremely thin thickness.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional wafer transport container has a bottomed cylindrical container body, and a cassette 5 which is housed in the container body and aligns and stores a plurality of wafers at a predetermined pitch via support grooves 8. A lid for opening and closing the opening surface of the container body via a sealing member, and a wafer holder selectively mounted on the inner surface of the lid. The wafer is
Polishing types with diameters of 6 "(about 150 mm) and 8" (about 200 mm) are currently in mass production. Currently, the thickness of the wafer is mainly 625 μm to 725 μm.

By the way, when an electronic circuit is formed on the front surface subjected to various processing processes, the wafer is subjected to a back grinding process, and the back surface (back surface) is polished according to the thickness specification of the final product. , Ultra-thin (50 μm-30
Back-grind wafer W precisely adjusted to 4 μm)
Processed into The back-grind wafer W is very expensive because an electronic circuit is formed on the surface thereof, and is very easy to bend and mechanically broken, so it is necessary to handle it carefully. 10).

[0004]

In the conventional wafer transport container, a plurality of back-ground wafers W are simply arranged and stored in the cassette 5 through the support grooves 8 as described above. When stored and transported to another place for the next dicing step, etc., the dimensional error between the thickness of the back-grinded wafer W and the support groove 8 of the cassette 5 increases, so that it is easy to loosen, Relatively easily causes resonance of the back-ground wafer W. Further, in the conventional transport container, since no member for suppressing the back-grind wafer W is set, the swing width becomes large and the back-grind wafers W bend and come into contact with each other,
Vibration exceeding the strength limit may result in damage or breakage of the back-ground wafer W.

Further, if even a plurality of large-diameter back-grind wafers W or a plurality of back-grind wafers W on which electronic circuits are patterned are damaged during transportation, debris and the like are removed from other back-grind wafers W. A secondary disaster occurs that adversely affects the circuit. In this case, since all the back-grind wafers W are almost unusable, an extremely large financial loss occurs.

In view of such a problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-129
No. 719 and JP-A-9-246369 disclose that a substantially cylindrical cylindrical portion is erected on a container body of a transport container, and a plurality of back-grind wafers W are horizontally stacked and stored in the cylindrical portion via a cushion material. We propose a way to do it. However, in this method, a dedicated facility is indispensable, and a large problem that existing facilities cannot be used at all is newly generated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and effectively suppresses and eliminates the possibility of causing the back-grind wafer to resonate relatively easily due to vibration, or damaging or damaging the back-grind wafer. To provide a back-grind wafer transport container and a back-grind wafer storage method that can prevent a secondary disaster in which the back-grind wafer adversely affects other back-grind wafers and can use the existing equipment substantially as it is. It is intended to be.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a back grinding wafer is housed in a container body, and the back grinding wafer is inserted into the container body by a gap. Characterized in that at least a pair of deflection regulating adapters sandwiched therebetween are housed. In addition, it is preferable to form projections on both the front and back surfaces of each of the bending restriction adapters, the projections being in contact with the back grinding wafer and restricting the bending. Further, it is preferable to form a rotation restricting portion on each of the bending restricting adapters.

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a back grind for accommodating a plurality of deflection regulating adapters and a plurality of back grind wafers in a container body via a support groove. A method for accommodating wafers, wherein the plurality of deflection control adapters accommodate each back-grinded wafer in the container body so as to sandwich each back-grinded wafer via a gap.

Here, the transport container in the claims may be a top open box type or a front open box type. As a means for aligning and storing a plurality of back-grind wafers in the transport container, a method of aligning and storing a plurality of back-grind wafers in a cassette and storing the cassette in a container body, supporting grooves on both inner side walls of the container body. Are formed integrally, and a plurality of back-ground wafers are aligned and stored using the plurality of support grooves without using a cassette. Regarding the material and diameter of the back-grind wafer, silicon, 3 ", 6", 8 ", 1"
The number of back-ground wafers can be changed as needed, such as 2 ″.
It can be 24 sheets, 25 sheets, 26 sheets, and the like.

According to the first or fourth aspect of the invention, when the transport container is transported or the like, even if the back-grind wafer stored therein is bent, the deflection control adapter opposed to the back-grinding wafer through the gap is used as a back. It contacts the grind wafer and limits its deflection.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. A plurality of deflection regulating adapters 15 for sandwiching a plurality of back-grind wafers W via a gap are detachably arranged and accommodated in one container body 2 via a support groove 8 of a cassette 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transport container 1 has a bottomed rectangular cylindrical container body 2, and is removably housed in the container body 2, and includes a plurality of back-grind wafers W and a deflection regulating adapter 15. And a cassette member 5 made of polypropylene for alternately arranging and storing the container body 2 and a sealing member 12
And a wafer holder 13 selectively mounted on the inner surface of the lid 9 to protect a plurality of wafers W from vibration and impact. The container main body 2 is translucently injection-molded using, for example, polypropylene or the like having excellent chemical resistance. The outer periphery of the opening of the container body 2 is formed to be thin and the sealing member 1 is formed.
A plurality of fitting recesses 3 are formed, and a plurality of hooks 4 project from upper portions of both outer side walls of the container body 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cassette 5 has a pair of left and right side walls 6 facing each other with a gap therebetween, and end walls 7 are mounted between the front and rear portions of the pair of side walls 6, respectively.
The inner surface of each side wall 6 has a plurality of support grooves 8 extending vertically.
Are formed side by side in the front-rear direction, and the plurality of support grooves 8 are formed with the plurality of back-grind wafers W and the deflection regulating adapter 1.
And 5 are positioned, aligned, and stored in parallel at a predetermined pitch. The lid 9 is transparently injection-molded using polycarbonate or the like having excellent impact resistance and heat resistance so that the back-grind wafer W can be confirmed, and is a plate-like engagement piece 10 that can swing from the lower portions of both side walls. Are respectively protruding, and each engagement piece 1
The plurality of holes 11 of the container main body 2
Close the opening surface of the.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sealing member 12 is formed in a frame shape using various thermoplastic elastomers such as polyester-based elastomer or synthetic rubber such as silicone rubber or fluorine rubber. Sometimes, it is tightly fitted as a packing in the fitting concave portion 3 of the container body 2 to secure airtightness.
The wafer retainer 13 is basically injection-molded into a substantially frame shape using various thermoplastic elastomers made of a polyester-based elastomer or the like having excellent impact resistance, or a synthetic resin such as polypropylene, and is detachably mounted inside the lid 9. Be attached.
On both side walls of the wafer holder 13, spring-like support pieces 14 having a substantially L-shaped cross section are formed in a line in the front-rear direction, and the front end of each support piece 14 has a back-grind wafer W and an upper part of a deflection regulating adapter 15. V-grooves are formed to guide the outer peripheral edge and press-fit against each other, and each V-groove regulates the movement of the back grinding wafer W in the support groove 8 and the deflection regulating adapter 15.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the deflection restricting adapters 15 is formed of a synthetic resin having a predetermined rigidity such as polypropylene or polycarbonate, or various metals such as ceramic or aluminum. The deflection control adapter 15 is formed in a disk shape having substantially the same size as the back grinding wafer W, and separates each back grinding wafer W from other back grinding wafers W.

In the above configuration, when the back-grind wafer W is stored in the transport container 1 and transported, first, the deflection control adapter 15 and the back-grind wafer are supported via the support groove 8 from the front to the rear of the cassette 5. The back-grinding wafers W are alternately arranged and stored, and the back-grinding wafer W is sandwiched between the pair of front and rear deflection control adapters 15 as a set. After that, the lid 9 with the wafer holder 13 is tightly fitted to the opening surface of the container body 2 via the sealing member 12, and the back grinding wafer W and the bending restriction adapter 15 are fitted to the plurality of support pieces 14 of the wafer holder 13. If the movement is restricted, a plurality of back-ground wafers W can be appropriately stored in the transport container 1 and transported safely.

According to the above configuration, even if the back grind wafer W bends in the front-rear direction due to vibrations during movement or transportation, the adjacent deflection regulating adapter 15 comes into contact with the upper portion, the center portion, or the like of the back grind wafer W. To limit further deflection. Therefore, with a simple configuration, the back-ground wafers W flex and come into contact with each other, vibrate beyond the strength limit, and the back-grind wafer W is damaged,
The possibility of breakage can be eliminated very effectively.

Further, since the deflection regulating adapter 15 also functions as a partition plate, a plurality of large-diameter back-grind wafers W and a plurality of back-grind wafers W on which electronic circuits are patterned are damaged during transportation. Even
There is no possibility that debris or the like adversely affects the electronic circuit of another back-ground wafer W. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of the secondary disaster and prevent the entire back-grind wafer W from becoming unusable. Also,
Since the existing transport container 1 can be used as it is, no special transport equipment or supply equipment is required,
It can be expected to make effective use of existing facilities, and is inexpensive.

Further, since the existing transport container 1 is used as it is, an extra cushioning material can be omitted at the time of packing, and through this, compact packing can be greatly expected. Furthermore, since each of the deflection control adapters 15 is formed in a plate shape that can be stored in the support groove 8, it is possible to handle the deflection control adapter 15 in the same manner as the back grind wafer W by a transfer device that loads and unloads the back grind wafer W. Will be possible. Therefore, new equipment for handling the deflection regulating adapter 15 is not required.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show a second embodiment of the present invention.
5, a pair of left and right protrusions 16 that are in contact with the back-grind wafer W are integrally formed on both front and back surfaces. Each protrusion 16 is formed into a front rod shape using a flexible material such as a thermoplastic elastomer, and is formed so as to be parallel to the insertion direction of the back grinding wafer W (from the upper direction to the lower direction in FIG. 3). The grinding wafer W is formed on the front and back surfaces of the grinding wafer W, respectively. Means for integrally forming the projections 16 include a method such as heat welding or ultrasonic welding. The other parts are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the same operation and effect as those of the above embodiment can be expected. Further, even if the back-grinding wafer W bends due to the vibration during the movement or the transportation, the protrusion protruding from the adjacent warp regulating adapter 15. Since the portion 16 contacts the upper portion, the center portion, and the like of the back-ground wafer W and effectively restricts its bending, it is apparent that the amount of bending of the back-ground wafer W can be further reduced. Further, if each protrusion 16 is formed of a flexible material such as a thermoplastic elastomer and the buffer effect is ensured, there is no risk of damaging the back-grind wafer W even if the deflection control adapter 15 is made of metal.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a third embodiment of the present invention.
A pair of right and left protrusions 16 that come into contact with the back-grind wafer W are projected from both the front and back surfaces of the respective 5.
Are projected outward in the radial direction, and the rotation restricting piece 17 is fitted (including a loose fit having a gap of about 3 mm) between the lower portions of the pair of side walls 6 forming the cassette 5 when the back grind wafer W is stored. Like that. The contact portion of the rotation restricting piece 17 with the lower portion of the side wall 6 has an R shape, a C surface shape,
Preferably, it is formed in an inclined shape. The other parts are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the same operation and effect as those in the above embodiment can be expected. Further, since the rotation restricting piece 17 restricts the rotation of the deflection restricting adapter 15 inside the cassette 5, the removal of the back-grind wafer W can be prevented. The risk of the arm of the take-out robot touching the deflection regulating adapter 15 can be effectively eliminated, and the safety of work can be greatly improved.

Next, FIGS. 7 to 9 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this case, a semicircular cross section that comes into contact with the back grinding wafer W from both the front and back surfaces of each deflection control adapter 15 is shown. A plurality of projections 16 are arranged and projected, respectively, and a pair of left and right semicircular rotation regulating pieces 17 are arranged and projected outward in the radial direction from the lower outer peripheral edge of each bending regulation adapter 15. A pair of side walls 6 forming the cassette 5 when W is stored
(Including a loose fit having a gap of about 3 mm). The contact portion of the rotation regulating piece 17 with the lower portion of the side wall 6 is preferably formed in an R shape, a C surface shape, or an inclined shape. The other parts are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, the same operation and effect as those of the above embodiment can be expected, and the material of each protrusion 16 and each rotation restricting piece 17 can be reduced, so that it can be manufactured at low cost.

In the above-described embodiment, each of the deflection restricting adapters 15 is formed in a thin disk shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be formed into a square, a polygon, or a combination of these with a circle. It is also possible to form. In addition, a plurality of bending restriction adapters 15 are arranged and stored one by one from the front part to the rear part of the cassette 5 via the support grooves 8 one by one, and a plurality of support grooves 8 vacated every other sheet of the cassette 5 are stored.
The back grind wafers W may be inserted and housed, respectively, and each back grind wafer W may be sandwiched by a set of two bending control adapters 15 with a gap therebetween, or the reverse operation may be performed.

The number of back grind wafers W to be stored in the transport container 1 is not particularly limited, and is a storage mode in which the back grind wafers W are held at intervals by the flexure restricting adapter 15 via the support grooves 8. I just want it. Therefore, a part of the support groove 8 can be made empty. In addition, a plurality of protrusions 16 may be detachably mounted on both front and back surfaces of each deflection control adapter 15. Means for detachably mounting the protrusion 16 include concave and convex fitting, concave and convex engagement, use of an adhesive tape, and the like. Further, the shape and the number of the protrusions 16 can be appropriately increased or decreased as needed. For example, the shape of the protrusion 16 may be a front rectangle, a triangle, a polygon, an ellipse, an oval, or the like.

[0028]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a back-grind wafer transport container according to the present invention will be described below together with comparative examples. The following vibration test and drop impact test were respectively performed using the transport container 1 of the example and the transport container 1 of the comparative example, and the broken state of the back-ground wafer W subjected to the back-grind polishing was confirmed.

From the front part to the rear part of the transport container cassette 5 of the embodiment, the deflection regulating adapter 15 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and the back grinding wafer W having a thickness of about 300 μm and a diameter of 8 ″ are staggered through the supporting groove 8. The back-grind wafer W is sandwiched between the pair of front and rear deflection regulating adapters 15 as a set, and a lid 9 with a wafer holder 13 is sealed on the opening surface of the container body 2. Closely fitted through the member 12,
The plurality of supporting pieces 14 of the wafer holder 13 regulate the movement of the back grinding wafer W and the deflection regulating adapter 15, and the transport container 1 has twelve back grinding wafers W.
Was stored.

From the front to the rear of the transport container cassette 5 of the comparative example, only the back-ground wafers W were aligned and accommodated via the support grooves 8, and the deflection control adapter 15 was omitted. Then, the lid 9 with the wafer holder 13 is tightly fitted to the opening surface of the container body 2 via the seal member 12, and the plurality of support pieces 14 of the wafer holder 13 regulate the movement of the back-grind wafer W, and are transported. The container 1 accommodated 25 back-ground wafers W.

Vibration Test Using a vibration tester, the transport container 1 of the example and the transport container 1 of the comparative example were fixed on a diaphragm of the vibration tester via a band made of canvas, respectively, and 30 Hz × 5 minutes. +5
Vibration was applied under the conditions of 0 Hz × 5 minutes + 70 Hz × 5 minutes. When the application of the vibration was completed, the lid 10 of each transport container 1 was slowly opened, and the presence or absence of breakage of the back-grind wafer W was visually inspected. Table 1 summarizes the results.

[0032]

[Table 1]

Drop Impact Test The transport container 1 of the embodiment and the transport container 1 of the comparative example are subjected to an outer package using a cardboard box and an inner package in which the upper and lower portions of the transport container 1 are brought into contact with a buffer member. The container 1 was dropped. The falling direction was an erect direction in which the bottom surface of the transport container 1 was opposed to the concrete surface. When the container 1 was dropped, the container 1 was naturally dropped from a height of 40 cm from the concrete surface so that an impact of about 50 G was applied to the transport container 1. After dropping in this manner, the lid 10 of each transport container 1 was slowly opened, and the state of damage of the back-grind wafer W was visually inspected.

[0034]

[Table 2]

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to effectively suppress or eliminate the possibility that the vibration of the back-ground wafer is relatively easily caused by vibration, the back-grind wafer is damaged, and the possibility of breakage is caused. There is an effect that can be. In addition, it is possible to prevent a secondary disaster in which a damaged back-ground wafer adversely affects other back-ground wafers. In addition, existing equipment can be used approximately as is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a back-grind wafer transport container and a back-grind wafer storage method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory front view showing a flexure restricting adapter in the embodiment of the back-grind wafer transport container according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a second embodiment of a back-grind wafer transport container and a back-grind wafer storage method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3, showing a second embodiment of the back-grind wafer transport container according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory front view showing a flexure restricting adapter in a third embodiment of the back-grind wafer transport container according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5 showing a deflection regulating adapter in a third embodiment of the transport container for back-grind wafers according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the back-grind wafer transport container according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory front view showing a flexure restricting adapter in a fourth embodiment of the transport container for back-ground wafers according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of FIG. 8, showing a flexure restricting adapter in a fourth embodiment of the back-grind wafer transport container according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional plan view showing a bent state of a back-grind wafer aligned and housed in a cassette of a conventional transport container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transport container 2 Container main body 5 Cassette 8 Support groove 9 Lid 13 Wafer holding 15 Deflection control adapter 16 Protrusion 17 Rotation restricting piece (rotation restricting part) W Back grinding wafer

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page F term (reference) 3E096 AA06 BA16 BB04 CA09 DA30 DB08 DC02 FA01 FA10 5F031 CA02 DA01 DA09 FA01 FA09 PA13

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A back-grind wafer transport container for storing a back-grind wafer in a container body, wherein the container body houses at least a pair of deflection control adapters that sandwich the back-grind wafer through a gap. A transport container for back-ground wafers, characterized in that: 2. The back-grind wafer transport container according to claim 1, wherein projections are formed on both front and back surfaces of each of the flex-regulation adapters so as to contact the back-grind wafer and regulate the flex. 3. The container for transporting a back-ground wafer according to claim 1, wherein a rotation restricting portion is formed in each of the deflection restricting adapters. 4. A method for storing a back-grind wafer in which a plurality of deflection control adapters and a plurality of back-grind wafers are stored in a container body via supporting grooves, wherein the container body includes the plurality of back-grind wafers. A method for storing a back-ground wafer, wherein the deflection-controlling adapter stores each back-grind wafer so as to sandwich the back-grind wafer via a gap.