JP2012009540A - Vacuum tweezers - Google Patents

Abstract

Vacuum tweezers capable of stably adsorbing a warped semiconductor wafer.
SOLUTION: An elongated main body 2, an adsorption portion 3 provided at an end of the main body 2 and having a plurality of adsorption surfaces 4 to 6, and at least one for each adsorption surface 4 to 6, are provided, And at least one suction surface has a bent portion 11 on one side, and the bent portion 11 is arranged so that the suction hole 7 approaches or separates from the object to be processed. Provided is a vacuum tweezer 1 which is configured to be rotatable about a center.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum tweezers used when sucking and transferring a semiconductor wafer using a vacuum, and more particularly to a vacuum tweezers capable of sucking and transferring a warped semiconductor wafer.

  In the field of semiconductor devices, vacuum tweezers are used for adsorbing semiconductor wafers in manufacturing processes, inspection processes, and the like. The vacuum tweezers generally have a configuration in which a vacuum communicated from a vacuum introduction unit such as a vacuum pump reaches the wafer adsorption unit by pushing a button provided on a handle-shaped main body and adsorbs the wafer (for example, Patent Document 1) reference).

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-27087 JP 2005-135958 A

  By the way, with the recent miniaturization of electronic devices, the components mounted on the electronic devices are also required to be small and thin, and the semiconductor wafers constituting the components are also thinned. Since such a semiconductor wafer is formed very thin with respect to its area, it is known that when a surface workpiece is formed on the wafer, stress is generated in the wafer and warpage increases. . For example, when 20 μm of resin was adhered to a semiconductor wafer having a wafer size of 8 inches and a wafer thickness of 100 μm, a warp of 1.5 mm was observed. On the other hand, the suction part of the vacuum tweezers is usually made in a flat shape, and stable suction may be difficult due to such a difference in wafer shape.

  When a plurality of independent suction portions are provided as in the vacuum tweezers described in Patent Document 1, the wafer suction can be stabilized by the increase in the number of suction portions. However, an increase in the number of suction portions may cause the suction portions to come into contact with the wafer and easily damage the wafer, for example, when the wafer in the carrier is extracted. In addition, as in the case of the vacuum tweezers described in Patent Document 2, in the case where a plurality of suction grooves (suction holes) are provided in one suction portion, the suction portion is less likely to contact the wafer. Since the suction portion is flat, it is difficult to reliably suck all the suction grooves for a warped wafer.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum tweezers that can be stably adsorbed to a warped semiconductor wafer.

The above-described problems are solved by the following means of the present invention.
That is, the vacuum tweezers according to claim 1 of the present invention is provided with an elongated main body, an adsorption portion provided at an end of the main body, and having a plurality of adsorption surfaces, and at least one for each adsorption surface. A suction hole for sucking the object to be processed, and at least one of the suction surfaces has a bent portion on one side, and the bending is performed so that the suction surface approaches or separates from the object to be processed. It is characterized by being configured to be rotatable around the part.
The vacuum tweezers according to claim 2 of the present invention is the vacuum tweezers according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of suction surfaces are connected in a straight line via the bent portions, and the connected suction surfaces are connected to each other. Is configured to be relatively rotatable.
The vacuum tweezers according to claim 3 of the present invention is the vacuum tweezers according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of suction surfaces are connected to the main body via the bent portion, and the plurality of suction surfaces are It is configured to be rotatable relative to the main body.
A vacuum tweezers according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the vacuum tweezers according to the third aspect, wherein the suction surface is connected to both sides of the end of the main body via bent portions. It is characterized by comprising two suction surfaces and a third suction surface connected via a bent portion in the extending direction of the main body.
Moreover, the vacuum tweezers concerning Claim 5 of this invention are the vacuum tweezers of any one of Claims 1-4, The said rotation is performed manually, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
Furthermore, the vacuum tweezers according to claim 6 of the present invention is characterized in that, in the vacuum tweezers according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the rotation is performed by a motor incorporated in a bent portion. Yes.

  According to the present invention, the suction surface of the vacuum tweezers having suction holes is configured to be bendable. This makes it possible to approach or separate the suction holes in accordance with the warp of the semiconductor wafer, and to provide vacuum tweezers that can stably suck the suction part to a warped semiconductor wafer. Can do.

Further, by connecting the plurality of suction surfaces linearly via the bent portions, the suction surfaces can be sucked along the object to be processed curved in one direction.
Moreover, the to-be-processed object which curved the complicated shape can be adsorb | sucked by connecting a some adsorption | suction surface to a main body through a bending part.

The vacuum tweezers which concern on 1st embodiment of this invention are shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is A arrow directional view of (a). It is a figure which shows the bending part of the vacuum tweezers concerning 2nd embodiment of this invention. The vacuum tweezers which concern on 3rd embodiment of this invention are shown, (a) is a figure before bending, (b) is a figure which shows the mode after bending. The vacuum tweezers which concern on 4th embodiment of this invention are shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is BB sectional drawing of (a). It is a figure which shows another form of a suction path.

<First embodiment>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a drawing showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 (a) is a plan view of a vacuum tweezers, and FIG. 1 (b) is a side view seen from the A direction shown in FIG. 1 (a). is there.
The vacuum tweezers 1 according to the present invention mainly includes a main body 2 as a gripping part and a suction part 3 composed of suction surfaces 4, 5, and 6 that suck a workpiece such as a wafer. It is characterized by being configured to be bendable.

First, the whole structure of the vacuum tweezers 1 of this invention is demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum tweezers 1 of the present invention includes a main body 2 and a suction portion 3 provided at one end of the main body 2. The suction part 3 is provided with three suction holes 7 for sucking a workpiece W such as a semiconductor wafer.
A vacuum hose 8 is provided at the other end of the main body 2. The evacuation hose 8 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown). Further, the evacuation hose 8 and the three suction holes 7 are connected by a suction flow path 10. Further, the main body 2 is provided with a button 9, and by pressing the button 9, the vacuum communicated from the vacuuming hose 8 reaches the suction hole 7 and sucks the workpiece W.

Next, the bendable suction part 3 that is a feature of the present invention will be described.
The suction part 3 of the vacuum tweezers 1 of this embodiment is composed of three surfaces, a first suction surface 4, a second suction surface 5, and a third suction surface 6, and is shown in FIG. As described above, the second suction surface and the third suction surfaces 5 and 6 provided on both sides of the first suction surface 4 are configured to be bendable with respect to the first suction surface 4.
The three surfaces constituting the suction portion 3 are substantially rectangular, and the first suction surface 4 is provided at the end of the main body 2. The second and third suction surfaces 5 and 6 are sides along the longitudinal direction of the main body 2 among the four sides of the first suction surface 4, and the first suction surface via two opposite sides. 4 are connected to each other via bent portions 11.

  The bent portion 11 connects the first suction surface 4 and the second and third suction surfaces 5 and 6, and the second and third suction surfaces 5 and 6 are connected to the first suction surface 4. In this embodiment, rotation (folding of the suction portion 3) is performed using a hinge (also referred to as a free stop hinge) that can be fixed at an arbitrary angle. Realized. By using such a hinge, the user can fix the second and third suction surfaces 5 and 6 at an arbitrary angle.

  FIG. 1B shows a state in which the suction unit 3 is deformed so as to correspond to the workpiece W having warpage. When the amount of warpage is known in advance, the second and third suction surfaces 5 and 6 are rotated in this way, and the suction portion 3 is bent in accordance with the workpiece W having warpage. Can do. In addition, the to-be-processed object W shown in FIG.1 (b) is drawn exaggerating the amount of curvature.

  The material of the three surfaces constituting the adsorbing part 3 is preferably a synthetic resin material having a high degree of heat resistance and chemical resistance. For example, polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polytetrafluoro Ethylene (PTFE), polyimide (PI), etc. can be used.

  Moreover, it is also possible to use a flexible rubber-based material as an alternative to the synthetic resin. By using a rubber-based material, the suction surfaces 4 to 6 further follow the shape of the workpiece W, so that vacuum leakage during suction is less likely to occur.

In addition, you may shape | mold the 1st adsorption | suction surface 4 and the main body 2 integrally.
It is also possible to integrally form the three suction surfaces 4 to 6. In this case, the connection between the suction surface 4 and the suction surface 5 and between the suction surface 4 and the suction surface 6 is preferably made of an extremely thin resin (also referred to as a living hinge).

The three suction holes 7 are circular suction ports formed at substantially the center of the three surfaces 4 to 6 constituting the suction part 3. A suction flow path 10 is connected to the suction hole 7. The suction channel 10 is a channel that connects the suction hole 7 and the vacuum hose 8. The suction hole 7 and the suction channel 10 are formed by drilling inside the suction surfaces 4 to 6. In the bent portion 11, the suction channel 10 of the second and third suction surfaces 5 and 6 and the suction channel 10 of the first suction surface 4 are connected by a suction channel hose 10 a.
The suction hole 7 is not limited to the circular shape as described above, and can suck a processing object such as a wafer such as a ring-shaped groove or a mesh-shaped suction port composed of a plurality of small-diameter holes. If possible, various configurations can be adopted.

In addition, although the magnitude | size of the adsorption | suction part 3 of this embodiment is 10 mm x 15 mm (the up-down direction of Fig.1 (a) is 15 mm), the magnitude | size of the adsorption | suction part 3 is dependent on the magnitude | size of the to-be-processed object W. Therefore, it can be changed as appropriate.
In addition, the suction holes 7 of the present embodiment are formed one by one on each of the three suction surfaces 4 to 6. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a plurality of suction holes may be formed on one suction surface. Good.
In addition, the suction holes 7 of the present embodiment are arranged in a straight line in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the main body. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the three suction holes 7 draw a triangle. It may be arranged.
Further, the number of suction surfaces is not limited to three, and for example, a suction portion 3 having a five-surface configuration (four bent portions) can be appropriately employed.

  In the vacuum tweezers 1 of the present embodiment, the suction part 3 is composed of three suction surfaces 4 to 6, and these three suction surfaces 4 to 6 are connected via the bent part 11, so that the suction part 3 is It can be bent. As a result, the suction part 3 composed of the suction surfaces 4 to 6 can be deformed according to the workpiece (semiconductor wafer) W that warps in one direction, so that the workpiece W can be stably sucked. can do.

<Second embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a view showing the vacuum tweezers 1A according to the present embodiment. Here, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and description of similar parts will be omitted.
The vacuum tweezers 1A according to the second embodiment automatically rotates the second and third suction surfaces 5 and 6 (folds the suction portion 3) by incorporating a motor and a speed reducer into the bent portion 12. It is characterized by.

  A motor and a speed reducer are incorporated in the bent portion 12 of the vacuum tweezers 1A shown in FIG. The motor incorporated in the bent portion 12 is controlled by a control means (not shown), and can rotate the second and third suction surfaces 5 and 6 to a desired angle. In addition, by storing various angles in the control means, it is possible to correspond to the workpieces W with various amounts of warping.

<Third embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 3 is a view showing the vacuum tweezers 1B according to the present embodiment. Here, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and description of similar parts will be omitted. In the following description, a connection portion between the first suction surface 4 and the second suction surface 5 will be described, and description of the first suction surface 4 and the third suction surface 6 (see FIG. 1) will be omitted. . The vacuum tweezers 1B according to the third embodiment is characterized by bending using air pressure.

The first suction surface 4 and the second suction surface 5 of the vacuum tweezers 1B shown in FIG. 3 are connected by a tubular member 13, and this tubular member 13 constitutes a bent portion.
The tubular member 13 has a cylindrical structure and is formed of a flexible material such as synthetic rubber. One end 13 a of the tubular member 13 is closed, and the surface constituting the one end 13 a is bonded to the end surface of the second suction surface 5. The other end 13b of the tubular member 13 is open, is formed inside the first suction surface 4, and is connected to a second suction channel 10b independent of the first suction channel 10a. The second suction channel 10 b is in communication with the suction hole 7 a formed in the first suction surface 4. That is, the inside of the tubular member 13 communicates with the adsorption portion 7a.
On the other hand, the first suction channel 10 a formed inside the first suction surface 4 and the second suction surface 5 communicates with the suction portion 7 b formed on the second suction surface 5.
Further, the second suction channel 10b communicates with a vacuum evacuation hose (not shown) in the same manner as the first suction channel 10a. That is, the inside of the tubular member 13 is evacuated by evacuating the vacuum tweezers 1B.

  Two tension coil springs having different spring constants are connected between the first suction surface 4 side and the second suction surface 5 side. Reference numerals 14 and 15 in FIG. 3A are tension coil springs, and the spring constant of the tension coil spring 14 is larger than the spring constant of the tension coil spring 15.

The usage of the vacuum tweezers of this embodiment will be described.
First, the vacuum tweezers 1 </ b> B is brought close to the workpiece W without performing vacuuming. When evacuation is performed after the vacuum tweezers 1B are sufficiently approached, the suction holes 7a of the first suction surface 4 are attracted to the workpiece W and the inside of the tubular member 13 is evacuated.
When the inside of the tubular member 13 is evacuated, the tubular member 13 contracts in a direction in which both ends thereof approach. Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, simultaneously with the contraction of the tubular member 13, the second suction surface 5 rotates in the direction in which the tension coil spring 14 having a large spring constant contracts (in the R2 direction). The second suction surface 5 rotates until the second suction surface 5 comes into contact with the workpiece W. When the suction hole 7b of the second suction surface 5 is in contact with the workpiece W, suction is also performed on the second suction surface 5.
Although not shown, the vacuum tweezers 1B of the second embodiment is provided with a third suction surface in the same manner as the vacuum tweezers 1 of the first embodiment, and suction is also performed on the third suction surface.

  By using such a method, the second and third suction surfaces 5 and 6 are automatically moved according to the amount of warp without rotating the second and third suction surfaces 5 and 6 in advance. It can be rotated.

<Fourth embodiment>
Next, a fourth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
4A and 4B are views showing the vacuum tweezers 1C according to the present embodiment, in which FIG. 4A is a plan view and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. The vacuum tweezers 1C according to the fourth embodiment is substantially the same as the first embodiment except for the configuration of the suction surface.
The suction surfaces 24 to 26 constituting the suction portion 3C of the vacuum tweezers 1C of the present embodiment are first surfaces connected to both sides of the end portion of the main body 2 via bent portions 31 as shown in FIG. 24 and the 2nd surface 25, and the 3rd surface 26 connected via the bending part 32 in the extension direction of the edge part of the main body 2 is comprised.
Similar to the first embodiment, each of the surfaces 24 to 26 has a substantially rectangular shape, and the suction hole 7 is formed at a substantially center of each of the surfaces 24 to 26.

As the configuration of the bent portions 31 and 32, a method using a hinge capable of fixing an angle as illustrated, a motor and a speed reducer, an actuator using air pressure, or the like can be appropriately employed.
By adopting the suction part 3C having such a configuration, it becomes possible to suck the object to be processed having a more complicated shape.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, independent suction channels 35 and 36 can be provided for each suction hole 7.
When the suction of a plurality of suction holes is evacuated through one suction flow path, if the suction of one suction hole is removed, the suction pressure of the other suction holes may be reduced. As in the vacuum tweezers 1D shown in FIG. 5, by providing the suction channel 35 as the suction channel for the central suction hole 7A and the suction channel 36 as the suction channel for the suction holes 7B at both ends, respectively. Even when one of the suction holes is removed, the suction of another suction hole is maintained, so that the object to be processed can be prevented from falling.

  Moreover, although this vacuum tweezers improves the adsorption | suction of the to-be-processed object with a curvature, it can be used also for the to-be-processed object without a curvature.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vacuum tweezers, 2 ... Main body, 3 ... Adsorption part, 4 ... 1st adsorption surface, 5 ... 2nd adsorption surface, 6 ... 3rd adsorption surface, 7 ... Adsorption hole, 8 ... Vacuuming hose, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 ... Button, 10 ... Suction flow path, 11 ... Bending part, 12 ... Bending part (motor), 13 ... Tubular member, 14, 15 ... Tensile coil spring.

Claims (6)

An elongated body,
An adsorption portion provided at an end of the main body and having a plurality of adsorption surfaces;
And at least one suction hole for each suction surface, and a suction hole for sucking the object to be processed.
At least one of the suction surfaces has a bent portion on one side, and is configured to be rotatable around the bent portion so that the suction surface approaches or separates from the object to be processed. Features vacuum tweezers.   The plurality of suction surfaces are connected in a straight line via the bent portion, and the connected suction surfaces are configured to be relatively rotatable with each other. Vacuum tweezers.   2. The vacuum tweezers according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of suction surfaces are connected to the main body via the bent portion and configured to be rotatable relative to the main body. . The suction surfaces are first and second suction surfaces connected to both sides of the end of the main body via bent portions, and
The vacuum tweezers according to claim 3, wherein the vacuum tweezers are configured by a third suction surface connected via a bent portion in the extending direction of the main body.   The vacuum tweezers according to claim 1, wherein the rotation is performed manually.   The vacuum tweezers according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the rotation is performed by a motor incorporated in the bent portion.

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