JP2013062431A - Joining apparatus, joining method, joining system, program, and computer storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

When bonding two substrates by pressing through an adhesive, the thickness of the substrates after bonding is made uniform.
A support wafer S held by a second holding unit 201 is pressed by a pressing member 251 onto a processing target wafer W held by a first holding unit 200 and coated with an adhesive G. The pressing member 251 has a plurality of pressing mechanisms 252. The pressing part 252b of each pressing mechanism 252 is made by the rotation of the motor M by a ball screw mechanism. Since the degree of pressing of the pressing unit 252b is controlled independently by the control of the motor M, each pressing mechanism 252 is obtained by obtaining the integrated rotational speed of the motor M at which the thickness of the wafer after bonding becomes a predetermined thickness. The pressing by the pressing portion 252b can be made equal, and thereby the thickness of the wafer after bonding can be made uniform.
[Selection] Figure 20

Description

  The present invention relates to a bonding apparatus, a bonding method, a bonding system having the bonding apparatus, a program, and a computer storage medium for bonding two substrates.

  In recent years, for example, in semiconductor device manufacturing processes, semiconductor wafers (hereinafter referred to as “wafers”) have become larger in diameter. Further, in a specific process such as mounting, it is required to make the wafer thinner. For example, if a thin wafer with a large diameter is transported or polished as it is, the wafer may be warped or cracked. For this reason, for example, in order to reinforce the wafer, the wafer is attached to, for example, a wafer that is a support substrate or a glass substrate.

  The bonding of the wafer and the support substrate is performed by interposing an adhesive between the wafer and the support substrate using, for example, a bonding apparatus. The bonding apparatus includes, for example, a first holding member that holds a wafer, a second holding member that holds a support substrate, a heating mechanism that heats an adhesive disposed between the wafer and the support substrate, and at least a first And a moving mechanism for moving the holding member or the second holding member in the vertical direction. And in this bonding apparatus, after supplying an adhesive agent between a wafer and a support substrate and heating the said adhesive agent, the wafer and a support substrate are pressed and bonded together (patent document 1).

JP 2008-182016 A

  The bonding apparatus described in Patent Literature 1 receives a plurality of suction portions, which are holding mechanisms on the holding member side, and adjusts the suction force of each suction portion in order to cope with thermal expansion and thermal deformation accompanying heat treatment. It was something that could be expected to have a corresponding effect. However, since the pressing itself is still pressed by one holding member as a whole, for example, when the peripheral portion tends to be thicker than the central portion after bonding via an adhesive, However, there was room for further improvement.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to make the thickness of a substrate after bonding uniform even when two substrates are bonded via an adhesive. It is said.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a substrate held by a first holding member and a substrate held by a second holding member disposed opposite to the first holding member. By pressing the holding member toward the first holding member by the pressing member, the joining device is joined, and the pressing member is capable of pressing the central portion against the second holding member, In addition, it is characterized in that the portions other than the central portion can be dispersed and pressed freely.

  According to the present invention, unlike the conventional case, the pressing member can freely press the second holding member by dispersing the portion other than the center portion. It is possible to press with a higher degree of pressing (pressure), and as a result, the thickness of the substrate after bonding can be made more uniform than before.

  The pressing member may have a plurality of pressing mechanisms, and each pressing mechanism may be capable of being independently pressed against a plurality of regions divided in the first holding member. Examples of division include concentric circles, radial shapes, combinations thereof, and grid shapes.

  The pressing mechanism may press one or more pressing points in the region.

  The pressing mechanism may be pressed by a ball screw mechanism.

  The pressing mechanism may be a bellows or an air cylinder that is pressed by pressurized air.

  You may make it control the press degree of each press mechanism by the feed control of the said ball screw. Examples of the feed control include control by an encoder of a servo motor that rotates a screw, and control based on pulse measurement by a pulse meter.

  The total thickness of the bonded substrates may be measured at a plurality of locations, and the pressing degree of each pressing mechanism may be controlled based on the measurement result.

  Based on the measurement result, at least one of the temperature and pressing time of the substrate may be further controlled.

  According to another aspect, the present invention provides a substrate that is held by a first holding member and a substrate that is held by a second holding member that is disposed opposite to the first holding member. In which the pressing member is pressed to the first holding member side by the pressing member, and the pressing member presses the central portion against the second holding member, and other than the central portion. This is characterized in that the uniformity of the thickness of the bonded substrates is improved by dispersing and pressing the portion.

According to still another aspect, the present invention is a bonding system for bonding a substrate to be processed and a support substrate, a bonding processing station for performing predetermined processing on the substrate to be processed and the support substrate, a substrate to be processed, and a support substrate. Or a loading / unloading station for loading / unloading the superposed substrate in which the substrate to be processed and the support substrate are bonded to / from the bonding processing station,
The bonding processing station includes a coating apparatus that applies an adhesive to a substrate to be processed or a support substrate, a heat treatment apparatus that heats the substrate to be processed or the support substrate to which the adhesive is applied, and a predetermined temperature. The support substrate bonded to the substrate to be processed that has been applied and heated to a predetermined temperature, or the front and back surfaces of the substrate to be bonded to the support substrate that has been applied with the adhesive and heated to a predetermined temperature are reversed. A bonding unit that presses and bonds the substrate to be processed and the support substrate via the adhesive, and the substrate to be processed, the support substrate, or the polymerization substrate with respect to the coating apparatus, the heat treatment apparatus, and the bonding unit. A transport area for transporting, and the joining unit includes any of the joining devices described above.

  The present invention according to another aspect is a program that operates on a computer of a control unit that controls the joining apparatus in order to cause the joining apparatus to execute the joining method.

  The present invention according to still another aspect is a readable computer storage medium storing the program.

  According to the present invention, when two substrates are bonded via an adhesive, the thickness of the bonded substrates can be made more uniform than before.

It is a top view which shows the outline of a structure of the joining system concerning this Embodiment. It is a side view which shows the outline of the internal structure of the joining system concerning this Embodiment. It is a side view of a to-be-processed wafer and a support wafer. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the outline of a structure of a joining unit. It is a top view which shows the outline of a structure of a delivery part. It is a top view which shows the outline of a structure of a delivery arm. It is a side view which shows the outline of a structure of a delivery arm. It is a top view which shows the outline of a structure of an inversion part. It is a side view which shows the outline of a structure of an inversion part. It is a side view which shows the outline of a structure of an inversion part. It is a side view which shows the outline of a structure of a holding | maintenance arm and a holding member. It is explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of a delivery part and an inversion part. It is a side view which shows the outline of a structure of a conveyance part. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the conveyance part was arrange | positioned in the joining unit. It is a top view which shows the outline of a structure of a 1st conveyance arm. It is a side view which shows the outline of a structure of a 1st conveyance arm. It is a top view which shows the outline of a structure of a 2nd conveyance arm. It is a side view which shows the outline of a structure of a 2nd conveyance arm. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the notch was formed in the 2nd holding | maintenance part. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the outline of a structure of a joining apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the outline of a structure of a joining apparatus. It is plane explanatory drawing which shows the press area | region of a joining apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the outline of a structure of a coating device. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the outline of a structure of a coating device. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the outline of a structure of the heat processing apparatus. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the outline of a structure of the heat processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the main processes of a joining process. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the 1st holding | maintenance part was raised. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that only the press mechanism of the center part was operated. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that another press mechanism was also act | operated and the to-be-processed wafer and the support wafer were joined.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the outline of the configuration of the joining system 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating the outline of the internal configuration of the joining system 1.

In the bonding system 1, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, a processing target wafer W as a processing target substrate and a supporting wafer S as a supporting substrate are bonded via an adhesive G. Hereinafter, in the processing target wafer W, a surface bonded to the support wafer S via the adhesive G is referred to as a “bonding surface W _J ” as a surface, and a surface opposite to the bonding surface W _J is defined as a “back surface”. It is referred to as “non-bonding surface W _N ”. Similarly, in the support wafer S, a surface bonded to the processing target wafer W via the adhesive G is referred to as a “bonding surface S _J ” as a surface, and a surface opposite to the bonding surface S _J is defined as a “back surface”. It is referred to as “non-joint surface S _N ”. And in the joining system 1, the to-be-processed wafer W and the support wafer S are joined, and the superposition | polymerization wafer T as a superposition | polymerization board | substrate is formed. Note that wafer W is a wafer as a product, for example, joint surface W _J A plurality of electronic circuit is formed on the non-bonding surface W _N is polished. The support wafer S is a wafer having the same diameter as that of the wafer W to be processed and supporting the wafer W to be processed. In this embodiment, the case where a wafer is used as the support substrate will be described, but another substrate such as a glass substrate may be used.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bonding system 1 includes cassettes C _W , C _S , and C _T that can accommodate, for example, a plurality of wafers W to be processed, a plurality of support wafers S, and a plurality of superposed wafers T, respectively. The loading / unloading station 2 for loading / unloading and the processing station 3 including various processing apparatuses for performing predetermined processing on the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T are integrally connected. .

The loading / unloading station 2 is provided with a cassette mounting table 10. The cassette mounting table 10 is provided with a plurality of, for example, four cassette mounting plates 11. The cassette mounting plates 11 are arranged in a line in the X direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1). These cassette mounting plates 11, cassettes _C W to the outside of the interface system _1, C S, when loading and unloading the _{C T,} a cassette _{C W,} C S, can be placed on _{C T} . Thus, the carry-in / out station 2 is configured to be capable of holding a plurality of wafers W to be processed, a plurality of support wafers S, and a plurality of superposed wafers T. The number of cassette mounting plates 11 is not limited to the present embodiment, and can be arbitrarily determined. One of the cassettes may be used for collecting defective wafers. That is, this is a cassette that can separate from a normal superposed wafer T a wafer in which a defect occurs in the joining of the processing target wafer W and the supporting wafer S due to various factors. In the present embodiment, among the plurality of cassettes C _T, using a one cassette C _T for the recovery of the fault wafer, and using the other cassette C _T for the accommodation of a normal bonded wafer T.

In the loading / unloading station 2, a wafer transfer unit 20 is provided adjacent to the cassette mounting table 10. The wafer transfer unit 20 is provided with a wafer transfer device 22 that is movable on a transfer path 21 extending in the X direction. The wafer transfer device 22 is also movable in the vertical direction and around the vertical axis (θ direction), and includes cassettes C _W , C _S , and C _T on each cassette mounting plate 11 and a third of the processing station 3 to be described later. The to-be-processed wafer W, the support wafer S, and the superposed wafer T can be transferred to and from the transition devices 50 and 51 of the processing block G3.

  The processing station 3 is provided with a plurality of, for example, three processing blocks G1, G2, and G3 including various processing apparatuses. For example, a first processing block G1 is provided on the front side of the processing station 3 (X direction negative direction side in FIG. 1), and on the back side of the processing station 3 (X direction positive direction side in FIG. 1). A second processing block G2 is provided. Further, a third processing block G3 is provided on the processing station 3 on the side of the loading / unloading station 2 (the Y direction negative direction side in FIG. 1).

  For example, in the first processing block G1, bonding units 30 to 33 for pressing and bonding the processing target wafer W and the supporting wafer S via the adhesive G are provided in this order from the loading / unloading station 2 side in the Y direction. They are arranged side by side.

  For example, in the second processing block G2, as shown in FIG. 2, the coating apparatus 40 that applies the adhesive G to the wafer W to be processed and the wafer W to which the adhesive G is applied are heated to a predetermined temperature. Heat treatment apparatuses 41 to 43 and similar heat treatment apparatuses 44 to 46 are arranged in this order in the direction toward the loading / unloading station 2 (the negative direction in the Y direction in FIG. 1). The heat treatment apparatuses 41 to 43 and the heat treatment apparatuses 44 to 46 are provided in three stages in this order from the bottom. The number of heat treatment apparatuses 41 to 46 and the arrangement in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction can be arbitrarily set.

  For example, in the third processing block G3, transition devices 50 and 51 for the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T are provided in two stages in this order from the bottom.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a wafer transfer region 60 is formed in a region surrounded by the first processing block G1 to the third processing block G3. For example, a wafer transfer device 61 is disposed in the wafer transfer region 60. Note that the pressure in the wafer transfer region 60 is equal to or higher than atmospheric pressure, and the wafer to be processed W, the support wafer S, and the superposed wafer T are transferred in a so-called atmospheric system in the wafer transfer region 60.

  The wafer transfer device 61 has, for example, a transfer arm that can move around the vertical direction, horizontal direction (Y direction, X direction), and vertical axis. The wafer transfer device 61 moves within the wafer transfer region 60, and moves to a predetermined device in the surrounding first processing block G1, second processing block G2, and third processing block G3. S and superposed wafer T can be conveyed.

  Next, the structure of the joining units 30 to 33 described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the bonding unit 30 includes a processing container 100 that can seal the inside. A loading / unloading port 101 for the wafer W to be processed, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T is formed on the side surface of the processing container 100 on the wafer transfer region 60 side, and an opening / closing shutter (not shown) is provided at the loading / unloading port. Yes.

  The inside of the processing container 100 is partitioned by the inner wall 102 into a preprocessing region D1 and a joining region D2. The loading / unloading port 101 described above is formed on the side surface of the processing container 100 in the preprocessing region D1. In addition, a carry-in / out port 103 for the wafer W to be processed, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T is also formed on the inner wall 102.

  In the pretreatment region D <b> 1, a delivery unit 110 for delivering the processing target wafer W, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T to and from the outside of the bonding unit 30 is provided. The delivery unit 110 is disposed adjacent to the loading / unloading port 101. As will be described later, a plurality of, for example, two stages of delivery units 110 are arranged in the vertical direction, and any two of the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T can be delivered at the same time. For example, the processing target wafer W or the support wafer S before bonding may be delivered by one delivery unit 110, and the superposed wafer T after joining may be delivered by another delivery unit 110. Alternatively, the wafer W to be processed before bonding may be delivered by one delivery unit 110 and the support wafer S before joining may be delivered by another delivery unit 110.

  On the Y direction negative direction side of the pretreatment region D1, that is, the loading / unloading port 103 side, an inversion unit 111 that reverses the front and back surfaces of the support wafer S, for example, is provided vertically above the delivery unit 110. Note that the reversing unit 111 can adjust the horizontal direction of the support wafer S as described later, and can also adjust the horizontal direction of the wafer W to be processed.

  On the Y direction positive direction side of the bonding region D2, a transfer unit 112 that transfers the wafer to be processed W, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T to the delivery unit 110, the reversing unit 111, and the bonding apparatus 113 described later is provided. ing. The transport unit 112 is attached to the loading / unloading port 103.

  On the Y direction negative direction side of the bonding region D2, a bonding device 113 that presses and bonds the processing target wafer W and the support wafer S via the adhesive G is provided.

  Next, the configuration of the delivery unit 110 described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the delivery unit 110 includes a delivery arm 120 and wafer support pins 121. The delivery arm 120 can deliver the wafer W to be processed, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T to the outside of the bonding unit 30, that is, between the wafer transfer device 61 and the wafer support pins 121. The wafer support pins 121 are provided in a plurality of, for example, three locations, and can support the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T.

  The delivery arm 120 includes an arm unit 130 that holds the processing target wafer W, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T, and an arm driving unit 131 that includes, for example, a motor. The arm part 130 has a substantially disk shape. The arm drive unit 131 can move the arm unit 130 in the X direction (vertical direction in FIG. 5). Moreover, the arm drive part 131 is attached to the rail 132 extended | stretched to a Y direction (left-right direction in FIG. 5), and is comprised so that the movement on the said rail 132 is possible. With this configuration, the delivery arm 120 can move in the horizontal direction (X direction and Y direction), and the wafer W to be processed, the support wafer S, and the overlap between the wafer transfer device 61 and the wafer support pins 121. The wafer T can be delivered smoothly.

  On the arm part 130, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a plurality of, for example, four wafer support pins 140 for supporting the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T are provided. A guide 141 for positioning the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T supported by the wafer supporting pins 140 is provided on the arm unit 130. A plurality of guides 141 are provided, for example, at four locations so as to guide the side surfaces of the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T.

  On the outer periphery of the arm part 130, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, notches 142 are formed at, for example, four locations. The notch 142 causes the transfer arm of the wafer transfer device 61 to interfere with the arm unit 130 when the wafer W to be processed, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T are transferred from the transfer arm of the wafer transfer device 61 to the transfer arm 120. Can be prevented.

  The arm part 130 is formed with two slits 143 along the X direction. The slit 143 is formed from the end surface of the arm portion 130 on the wafer support pin 121 side to the vicinity of the center portion of the arm portion 130. The slit 143 can prevent the arm unit 130 from interfering with the wafer support pins 121.

  Next, the configuration of the reversing unit 111 described above will be described. As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the reversing unit 111 includes a holding arm 150 that holds the support wafer S and the wafer W to be processed. The holding arm 150 extends in the horizontal direction (X direction in FIGS. 8 and 9). The holding arm 150 is provided with, for example, four holding members 151 for holding the support wafer S and the wafer W to be processed. As shown in FIG. 11, the holding member 151 is configured to be movable in the horizontal direction with respect to the holding arm 150. Further, on the side surface of the holding member 151, a notch 152 for holding the outer periphery of the support wafer S and the wafer W to be processed is formed. These holding members 151 can sandwich and hold the support wafer S and the wafer W to be processed.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the holding arm 150 is supported by a first drive unit 153 provided with, for example, a motor. By this first drive unit 153, the holding arm 150 is rotatable about the horizontal axis and can move in the horizontal direction (X direction in FIGS. 8 and 9 and Y direction in FIGS. 8 and 10). The first drive unit 153 may rotate the holding arm 150 about the vertical axis to move the holding arm 150 in the horizontal direction. Below the first drive unit 153, for example, a second drive unit 154 including a motor or the like is provided. By this second driving unit 154, the first driving unit 153 can move in the vertical direction along the support pillar 155 extending in the vertical direction. As described above, the support wafer S and the wafer W to be processed held by the holding member 151 by the first drive unit 153 and the second drive unit 154 can rotate around the horizontal axis and move in the vertical and horizontal directions. it can.

  A position adjustment mechanism 160 that adjusts the horizontal direction of the support wafer S and the wafer W to be processed held by the holding member 151 is supported by the support column 155 via a support plate 161. The position adjustment mechanism 160 is provided adjacent to the holding arm 150.

  The position adjustment mechanism 160 includes a base 162 and a detection unit 163 that detects the positions of the notches of the support wafer S and the wafer W to be processed. The position adjusting mechanism 160 detects the positions of the notch portions of the support wafer S and the wafer W to be processed by the detection unit 163 while moving the support wafer S and the wafer W to be processed held in the holding member 151 in the horizontal direction. Thus, the horizontal orientation of the support wafer S and the wafer W to be processed is adjusted by adjusting the position of the notch portion.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the delivery unit 110 configured as described above is arranged in two stages in the vertical direction, and the reversing unit 111 is arranged vertically above the delivery unit 110. That is, the delivery arm 120 of the delivery unit 110 moves in the horizontal direction below the holding arm 150 and the position adjustment mechanism 160 of the reversing unit 111. Further, the wafer support pins 121 of the delivery unit 110 are disposed below the holding arm 150 of the reversing unit 111.

  Next, the configuration of the transport unit 112 described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 13, the transport unit 112 has a plurality of, for example, two transport arms 170 and 171. The first transfer arm 170 and the second transfer arm 171 are arranged in two stages in this order from the bottom in the vertical direction. The first transfer arm 170 and the second transfer arm 171 have different shapes as will be described later.

  At the base end portions of the transfer arms 170 and 171, for example, an arm driving unit 172 having a motor or the like is provided. Each arm 170, 171 can be independently moved in the horizontal direction by the arm driving unit 172. The transfer arms 170 and 171 and the arm driving unit 172 are supported by the base 173.

  The conveyance part 112 is provided in the loading / unloading port 103 formed in the inner wall 102 of the processing container 100 as shown in FIG.4 and FIG.14. The transport unit 112 can be moved in the vertical direction along the loading / unloading port 103 by, for example, a driving unit (not shown) provided with a motor or the like.

The first transfer arm 170 holds and transfers the back surface of the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T (non-bonding surfaces W _N and S _{N in the} processing target wafer W and the supporting wafer S). As shown in FIG. 15, the first transfer arm 170 has an arm portion 180 whose tip is branched into two tip portions 180 a and 180 a, and a support that is formed integrally with the arm portion 180 and supports the arm portion 180. Part 181.

  On the arm portion 180, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, a plurality of resin O-rings 182 are provided, for example, at four locations. The O-ring 182 is in contact with the back surface of the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T, and the frictional force between the O-ring 182 and the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S, and the back surface of the overlapping wafer T is The O-ring 182 holds the back surface of the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T. The first transfer arm 170 can horizontally hold the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S, and the superposed wafer T on the O-ring 182.

  On the arm portion 180, guide members 183 and 184 provided outside the wafer W to be processed, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T held by the O-ring 182 are provided. The first guide member 183 is provided at the distal end of the distal end portion 180 a of the arm portion 180. The second guide member 184 is formed in an arc shape along the outer periphery of the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T, and is provided on the supporting portion 181 side. These guide members 183 and 184 can prevent the wafer W to be processed, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T from jumping out of the first transfer arm 170 or sliding down. In addition, when the to-be-processed wafer W, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T are held at appropriate positions on the O-ring 182, the to-be-processed wafer W, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T are in contact with the guide members 183 and 184. do not do.

Second transfer arm 171 carries for example the surface of the support wafer S, that is, holding the outer periphery of the joint surface S _J. That is, the second transfer arm 171 holds and conveys the outer periphery of the joint surface S _J of the support wafer S to the front and back surfaces by the reversing unit 111 has been reversed. As shown in FIG. 17, the second transfer arm 171 has an arm portion 190 whose front end branches into two front end portions 190 a and 190 a, and a support that is formed integrally with the arm portion 190 and supports the arm portion 190. Part 191.

On the arm part 190, as shown in FIG.17 and FIG.18, the 2nd holding member 192 is provided in multiple, for example, four places. The second holding member 192 includes a mounting portion 193 for mounting the outer peripheral portion of the joint surface S _J of the support wafer S, extending from the mounting portion 193 upwards, the inner surface from the lower side to the upper side And a taper portion 194 expanding in a taper shape. The mounting portion 193 holds an outer peripheral portion within 1 mm from the peripheral edge of the support wafer S, for example. Further, since the inner side surface of the tapered portion 194 is tapered from the lower side to the upper side, for example, the support wafer S delivered to the second holding member 192 is displaced from a predetermined position in the horizontal direction. In addition, the support wafer S is smoothly guided and positioned by the taper portion 194 and is held by the placement portion 193. The second transfer arm 171 can hold the support wafer S horizontally on the second holding member 192.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 19, the notch 201a is formed in the 2nd holding | maintenance part 201 of the joining apparatus 113 mentioned later, for example in four places. When the support wafer S is transferred from the second transfer arm 171 to the second holding unit 201, the second holding member 192 of the second transfer arm 171 is moved to the second holding unit 201 by the notch 201a. Interference can be prevented.

  Next, the configuration of the above-described joining device 113 will be described. As shown in FIG. 20, the bonding apparatus 113 includes a first holding unit 200 that holds and holds the processing target wafer W on the upper surface, and a second holding unit 201 that holds the supporting wafer S on the lower surface by suction. doing. The first holding unit 200 is provided below the second holding unit 201 and is disposed so as to face the second holding unit 201. That is, the wafer W to be processed held by the first holding unit 200 and the support wafer S held by the second holding unit 201 are arranged to face each other.

  Inside the first holding unit 200, a suction tube 210 for sucking and holding the processing target wafer W is provided. The suction pipe 210 is connected to a negative pressure generator (not shown) such as a vacuum pump. The first holding unit 200 is made of a material having a strength that does not deform even when a load is applied by a pressurizing mechanism 260 described later, for example, a ceramic such as silicon carbide ceramic or aluminum nitride ceramic.

  A heating mechanism 211 that heats the wafer W to be processed is provided inside the first holding unit 200. For the heating mechanism 211, for example, a heater is used.

  Below the first holding unit 200, a moving mechanism 220 that moves the first holding unit 200 and the wafer W to be processed in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction is provided. The moving mechanism 220 can move the first holding unit 200 three-dimensionally with an accuracy of, for example, ± 1 μm. The moving mechanism 220 includes a vertical moving unit 221 that moves the first holding unit 200 in the vertical direction and a horizontal moving unit 222 that moves the first holding unit 200 in the horizontal direction. The vertical moving unit 221 and the horizontal moving unit 222 each have, for example, a ball screw (not shown) and a motor (not shown) that rotates the ball screw. B

  A support member 223 that is extendable in the vertical direction is provided on the horizontal moving part 222. The support member 223 is provided at, for example, three locations outside the first holding unit 200. As shown in FIG. 21, the support member 223 can support the protruding portion 230 provided to protrude downward from the lower surface of the outer periphery of the second holding portion 201.

  In the above moving mechanism 220, the wafer W to be processed on the first holding unit 200 can be aligned in the horizontal direction, and the first holding unit 200 is raised as shown in FIG. A bonding space R for bonding the processing wafer W and the support wafer S can be formed. The joint space R is a space surrounded by the first holding part 200, the second holding part 201, and the protruding part 230. Further, when the bonding space R is formed, the vertical distance between the processing target wafer W and the supporting wafer S in the bonding space R can be adjusted by adjusting the height of the support member 223.

  In addition, below the 1st holding | maintenance part 200, the raising / lowering pin (not shown) for supporting and raising / lowering the to-be-processed wafer W or the superposition | polymerization wafer T from the downward direction is provided. The elevating pin is inserted through a through hole (not shown) formed in the first holding part 200 and can protrude from the upper surface of the first holding part 200. For the second holding unit 201, for example, aluminum which is an elastic body is used.

  On the outer peripheral lower surface of the second holding portion 201, as shown in FIG. 20, the above-described protruding portion 230 protruding downward from the outer peripheral lower surface is formed. The protruding portion 230 is formed along the outer periphery of the second holding portion 201. Note that the protruding portion 230 may be formed integrally with the second holding portion 201.

  A sealing material 231 for maintaining the airtightness of the joining space R is provided on the lower surface of the protruding portion 230. The sealing material 231 is provided in an annular shape in a groove formed on the lower surface of the protruding portion 230, and for example, an O-ring is used. Moreover, the sealing material 231 has elasticity. Note that the sealing material 231 may be any component having a sealing function, and is not limited to this embodiment.

  A suction tube 240 for sucking and holding the support wafer S is provided inside the second holding unit 201. The suction tube 240 is connected to a negative pressure generator (not shown) such as a vacuum pump.

  In addition, an intake pipe 241 for taking in the atmosphere of the joint space R is provided inside the second holding unit 201. One end of the intake pipe 241 opens at a place where the support wafer S is not held on the lower surface of the second holding unit 201. The other end of the intake pipe 241 is connected to a negative pressure generator (not shown) such as a vacuum pump.

  Furthermore, a heating mechanism 242 for heating the support wafer S is provided inside the second holding unit 201. For the heating mechanism 242, for example, a heater is used.

  On the upper surface of the second holding unit 201, a support member 250 that supports the second holding unit 201 from a support plate 236 disposed above the second holding unit 201, and the second holding unit 201 are vertically mounted. A pressing member 251 that presses downward is provided. In the present embodiment, the pressing member 251 has five pressing mechanisms 252. Each pressing mechanism 252 has the same configuration, the motor M arranged on the support plate 263 or above the support plate 263, the shaft 252a rotated by the motor M, and the pressing unit that moves up and down by the rotation of the shaft 252a. 252b. And this press part 252b moves up and down by rotation of the shaft 252a by a ball screw mechanism. Although the second holding portion 201 may be directly pressed by each pressing portion 252b, in the present embodiment, the second holding portion 201 is pressed via the spacer 253.

  The spacer 253 is divided into five. That is, as shown in FIG. 22, four arc-shaped spacers 253b to 253e having a central angle of 90 degrees are arranged on the outer periphery of the circular spacer 253a at the center. And the press part 252b of the press mechanism 252 presses the center part in the area | region of these spacers 253a-253e.

  The degree of pressing by the pressing portion 252b of each pressing mechanism 252, that is, control of the motor M is performed by a control unit 360 described later. For example, when the pulse motor is used as the motor M, the count by the pulse is counted. When the servo motor is used, the pressure is controlled by the encoder 252 so that the degree of pressing by the pressing portion 252b is fine and each pressing portion 252b. Can be controlled independently.

  In addition, since the structure of the joining units 31-33 is the same as that of the structure of the joining unit 30 mentioned above, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Next, the configuration of the coating apparatus 40 described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 23, the coating apparatus 40 has a processing container 270 that can be sealed inside. A loading / unloading port (not shown) for the wafer W to be processed is formed on the side surface of the processing container 270 on the wafer transfer region 60 side, and an opening / closing shutter (not shown) is provided at the loading / unloading port.

  A spin chuck 280 that holds and rotates the wafer W to be processed is provided at the center of the processing container 270. The spin chuck 280 has a horizontal upper surface, and a suction port (not shown) for sucking the wafer W to be processed is provided on the upper surface, for example. The wafer W to be processed can be sucked and held on the spin chuck 280 by suction from the suction port.

  Below the spin chuck 280, for example, a chuck drive unit 281 provided with a motor or the like is provided. The spin chuck 280 can be rotated at a predetermined speed by the chuck driving unit 281. Further, the chuck driving unit 281 is provided with an elevating drive source such as a cylinder, and the spin chuck 280 can be moved up and down.

  Around the spin chuck 280, there is provided a cup 282 that receives and collects the liquid scattered or dropped from the wafer W to be processed. Connected to the lower surface of the cup 282 are a discharge pipe 283 for discharging the collected liquid and an exhaust pipe 284 for evacuating and exhausting the atmosphere in the cup 282.

  As shown in FIG. 24, a rail 290 extending along the Y direction (left and right direction in FIG. 24) is formed on the side of the cup 282 in the negative X direction (downward direction in FIG. 24). The rail 290 is formed, for example, from the outside of the cup 282 on the Y direction negative direction (left direction in FIG. 24) side to the outside of the Y direction positive direction (right direction in FIG. 24) side. An arm 291 is attached to the rail 290.

  As shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, the arm 291 supports an adhesive nozzle 293 that supplies a liquid adhesive G to the wafer W to be processed. The arm 291 is movable on the rail 290 by a nozzle driving unit 294 shown in FIG. As a result, the adhesive nozzle 293 can move from the standby unit 295 installed on the outer side of the cup 282 on the positive side in the Y direction to above the center of the wafer W to be processed in the cup 282, and further to the wafer W to be processed. It can move in the radial direction of the wafer W to be processed. The arm 291 can be moved up and down by a nozzle driving unit 294, and the height of the adhesive nozzle 293 can be adjusted.

  As shown in FIG. 23, a supply pipe 296 that supplies the adhesive G to the adhesive nozzle 293 is connected to the adhesive nozzle 293. The supply pipe 296 communicates with an adhesive supply source 297 that stores the adhesive G therein. Further, the supply pipe 296 is provided with a supply device group 298 including a valve for controlling the flow of the adhesive G, a flow rate adjusting unit, and the like.

Note that a back rinse nozzle (not shown) for injecting the cleaning liquid toward the back surface of the processing target wafer W, that is, the non-bonding surface W _N may be provided below the spin chuck 280. The non-bonded surface W _N of the wafer to be processed W and the outer peripheral portion of the wafer to be processed W are cleaned by the cleaning liquid sprayed from the back rinse nozzle.

  Next, the structure of the heat processing apparatus 41-46 mentioned above is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 25, the heat treatment apparatus 41 has a processing container 300 whose inside can be closed. A loading / unloading port (not shown) for the wafer W to be processed is formed on the side surface of the processing container 300 on the wafer transfer region 60 side, and an opening / closing shutter (not shown) is provided at the loading / unloading port.

  A gas supply port 301 for supplying an inert gas such as nitrogen gas is formed inside the processing container 300 on the ceiling surface of the processing container 300. A gas supply pipe 303 communicating with a gas supply source 302 is connected to the gas supply port 301. The gas supply pipe 303 is provided with a supply device group 304 including a valve for controlling the flow of the inert gas, a flow rate adjusting unit, and the like.

  An intake port 305 that sucks the atmosphere inside the processing container 300 is formed on the bottom surface of the processing container 300. An intake pipe 307 communicating with a negative pressure generator 306 such as a vacuum pump is connected to the intake port 305.

  Inside the processing container 300, a heating unit 310 that heats the processing target wafer W and a temperature adjustment unit 311 that controls the temperature of the processing target wafer W are provided. The heating unit 310 and the temperature adjustment unit 311 are arranged side by side in the Y direction.

  The heating unit 310 includes an annular holding member 321 that houses the hot plate 320 and holds the outer periphery of the hot plate 320, and a substantially cylindrical support ring 322 that surrounds the outer periphery of the holding member 321. The hot plate 320 has a thick, substantially disk shape, and can place and heat the wafer W to be processed. In addition, the heating plate 320 includes a heater 323, for example. The heating temperature of the hot plate 320 is controlled by the control unit 360, for example, and the wafer W to be processed placed on the hot plate 320 is heated to a predetermined temperature.

  Below the hot plate 320, for example, three elevating pins 330 for supporting and elevating the wafer W to be processed from below are provided. The elevating pin 330 can be moved up and down by the elevating drive unit 331. Near the center of the hot plate 320, through holes 332 that penetrate the hot plate 320 in the thickness direction are formed, for example, at three locations. The elevating pins 330 are inserted through the through holes 332 and can protrude from the upper surface of the heat plate 320.

  The temperature adjustment unit 311 has a temperature adjustment plate 340. As shown in FIG. 26, the temperature adjustment plate 340 has a substantially square flat plate shape, and the end surface on the heat plate 320 side is curved in an arc shape. In the temperature adjustment plate 340, two slits 341 along the Y direction are formed. The slit 341 is formed from the end surface of the temperature adjustment plate 340 on the heat plate 320 side to the vicinity of the center of the temperature adjustment plate 340. The slits 341 can prevent the temperature adjustment plate 340 from interfering with the elevating pins 330 of the heating unit 310 and elevating pins 350 of the temperature adjusting unit 311 described later. The temperature adjustment plate 340 includes a temperature adjustment member (not shown) such as a Peltier element. The cooling temperature of the temperature adjustment plate 340 is controlled by, for example, the control unit 360, and the processing target wafer W placed on the temperature adjustment plate 340 is cooled to a predetermined temperature.

  The temperature adjustment plate 340 is supported by the support arm 342 as shown in FIG. A drive unit 343 is attached to the support arm 342. The drive unit 343 is attached to a rail 344 extending in the Y direction. The rail 344 extends from the temperature adjustment unit 311 to the heating unit 310. The drive unit 343 allows the temperature adjustment plate 340 to move between the heating unit 310 and the temperature adjustment unit 311 along the rail 344.

  Below the temperature adjustment plate 340, for example, three elevating pins 350 for supporting and elevating the wafer W to be processed from below are provided. The elevating pin 350 can be moved up and down by an elevating drive unit 351. The elevating pin 350 is inserted through the slit 341 and can protrude from the upper surface of the temperature adjusting plate 340.

  In addition, since the structure of the heat processing apparatuses 42-46 is the same as that of the heat processing apparatus 41 mentioned above, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Moreover, in the heat treatment apparatuses 41 to 46, the temperature of the superposed wafer T can also be adjusted. Further, in order to adjust the temperature of the superposed wafer T, a temperature adjusting device (not shown) may be provided. The temperature adjustment device has the same configuration as the heat treatment device 41 described above, and a temperature adjustment plate is used instead of the hot plate 330. A cooling member such as a Peltier element is provided inside the temperature adjustment plate, and the temperature adjustment plate can be adjusted to a set temperature.

  The above joining system 1 is provided with a control unit 360 as shown in FIG. The control unit 360 is a computer, for example, and has a program storage unit (not shown). The program storage unit stores a program for controlling the processing target wafer W, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T in the bonding system 1 and the pressing mechanism 252 of the bonding apparatus 113. The program storage unit also stores a program for controlling the operation of drive systems such as the above-described various processing apparatuses and transfer apparatuses to realize the below-described joining process in the joining system 1. The program is recorded on a computer-readable storage medium H such as a computer-readable hard disk (HD), a flexible disk (FD), a compact disk (CD), a magnetic optical desk (MO), or a memory card. May have been installed in the control unit 360 from the storage medium H.

  Next, a method for joining the processing target wafer W and the supporting wafer S performed using the joining system 1 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing an example of main steps of the joining process.

First, a cassette C _W housing a plurality of the processed the wafer _W, the cassette C _S accommodating a plurality of support wafer _S, and an empty cassette C _T is a predetermined cassette mounting plate 11 of the carry-out station 2 Placed. Thereafter, the wafer _W to be processed in the cassette CW is taken out by the wafer transfer device 22 and transferred to the transition device 50 of the third processing block G3 of the processing station 3. At this time, the wafer W to be processed is transported with its non-bonding surface W _N facing downward.

Next, the wafer W to be processed is transferred to the coating device 40 by the wafer transfer device 61. The wafer W to be processed loaded into the coating device 40 is transferred from the wafer transfer device 61 to the spin chuck 280 and is sucked and held. At this time, the non-bonding surface W _N of the wafer W is held by suction.

Subsequently, the adhesive nozzle 293 of the standby unit 295 is moved above the central portion of the wafer W to be processed by the arm 291. Thereafter, while rotating the wafer W by the spin chuck 280, and supplies the adhesive G from the adhesive nozzles 293 on the bonding surface W _J of wafer W. Supplied adhesive G is diffused into the entire surface of the bonding surface W _J of wafer W by the centrifugal force, the adhesive G on the bonding surface W _J of the wafer W is applied (step of FIG. 27 A1 ).

  Next, the wafer W to be processed is transferred to the heat treatment apparatus 41 by the wafer transfer apparatus 61. At this time, the inside of the heat treatment apparatus 41 is maintained in an inert gas atmosphere. When the wafer to be processed W is carried into the heat treatment apparatus 41, the superposed wafer T is transferred from the wafer transfer apparatus 61 to the lift pins 350 that have been lifted and waited in advance. Subsequently, the elevating pins 350 are lowered, and the processing target wafer W is placed on the temperature adjustment plate 340.

  Thereafter, the temperature adjustment plate 340 is moved along the rail 344 to the upper side of the heat plate 320 by the driving unit 343, and the wafer W to be processed is transferred to the lift pins 330 that have been lifted in advance and are waiting. Thereafter, the elevating pins 330 are lowered, and the wafer W to be processed is placed on the hot plate 320. And the to-be-processed wafer W on the hot platen 320 is heated to predetermined temperature, for example, 100 degreeC-300 degreeC (process A2 of FIG. 27). By performing the heating by the hot plate 320, the adhesive G on the wafer W to be processed is heated and the adhesive G is cured.

  Thereafter, the elevating pins 330 are raised, and the temperature adjusting plate 340 is moved above the hot plate 320. Subsequently, the wafer W to be processed is transferred from the lift pins 330 to the temperature adjustment plate 340, and the temperature adjustment plate 340 moves to the wafer transfer region 60 side. During the movement of the temperature adjusting plate 340, the temperature of the processing target wafer W is adjusted to a predetermined temperature.

  The wafer W to be processed that has been heat-treated by the heat treatment apparatus 41 is transferred to the bonding unit 30 by the wafer transfer apparatus 61. The processed wafer W transferred to the bonding unit 30 is transferred from the wafer transfer device 61 to the transfer arm 120 of the transfer unit 110 and then transferred from the transfer arm 120 to the wafer support pins 121. Thereafter, the wafer W to be processed is transferred from the wafer support pins 121 to the reversing unit 111 by the first transfer arm 170 of the transfer unit 112.

  The wafer to be processed W transferred to the reversing unit 111 is held by the holding member 151 and moved to the position adjusting mechanism 160. Then, the position adjusting mechanism 160 adjusts the position of the notch portion of the processing target wafer W to adjust the horizontal direction of the processing target wafer W (step A3 in FIG. 27).

Thereafter, the wafer W to be processed is transferred from the reversing unit 111 to the bonding apparatus 113 by the first transfer arm 170 of the transfer unit 112. The to-be-processed wafer W conveyed to the joining apparatus 113 is mounted in the 1st holding | maintenance part 200 (process A4 of FIG. 27). On the first holding portion 200, a state where the bonding surface W _J of wafer W is facing upward, i.e. wafer W in a state where the adhesive G is facing upward is placed.

  While the processes A1 to A4 described above are performed on the processing target wafer W, the supporting wafer S is processed following the processing target wafer W. The support wafer S is transferred to the bonding unit 30 by the wafer transfer device 61. In addition, about the process in which the support wafer S is conveyed to the joining unit 30, since it is the same as that of the said embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The support wafer S transferred to the bonding unit 30 is transferred from the wafer transfer device 61 to the transfer arm 120 of the transfer unit 110 and then transferred from the transfer arm 120 to the wafer support pins 121. Thereafter, the support wafer S is transferred from the wafer support pins 121 to the reversing unit 111 by the first transfer arm 170 of the transfer unit 112.

The support wafer S transferred to the reversing unit 111 is held by the holding member 151 and moved to the position adjusting mechanism 160. Then, the position adjustment mechanism 160 adjusts the position of the notch portion of the support wafer S to adjust the horizontal direction of the support wafer S (step A5 in FIG. 27). The support wafer S whose horizontal direction has been adjusted is moved in the horizontal direction from the position adjustment mechanism 160 and moved upward in the vertical direction, and then the front and back surfaces thereof are reversed (step A6 in FIG. 27). That is, the bonding surface S _J of the support wafer S is directed downward.

Thereafter, the support wafer S is moved downward in the vertical direction, and is then transferred from the reversing unit 111 to the bonding apparatus 113 by the second transfer arm 171 of the transfer unit 112. In this case, second transfer arm 171, since it holds only the outer peripheral portion of the joint surface S _J of the support wafer S, for example, that the joint surface S _J is soiled by particles or the like adhering to the second transfer arm 171 There is no. The support wafer S transferred to the bonding apparatus 113 is sucked and held by the second holding unit 201 (step A7 in FIG. 27). In the second holding portion 201, the supporting wafer S is held in a state where the bonding surfaces S _J is directed downward of the support wafer S.

  In the bonding unit 30, when the wafer to be processed W and the support wafer S are held by the first holding unit 200 and the second holding unit 201, respectively, a moving mechanism is provided so that the wafer to be processed W faces the support wafer S. The horizontal position of the first holding unit 200 is adjusted by 220 (step A8 in FIG. 27). At this time, the pressure between the second holding unit 201 and the support wafer S is, for example, 0.1 atm (= 0.01 MPa).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 28, the first holding unit 200 is raised by the moving mechanism 220 and the support member 223 is extended to support the second holding unit 201 by the support member 223. At this time, by adjusting the height of the support member 223, the vertical distance between the wafer to be processed W and the support wafer S is adjusted to be a predetermined distance (step A9 in FIG. 27). Note that the predetermined distance is such that when the sealant 231 comes into contact with the first holding unit 200 and the center of the second holding unit 201 and the supporting wafer S is bent as described later, the supporting wafer S Is the height at which the central portion of the wafer contacts the wafer W to be processed. In this way, a sealed joint space R is formed between the first holding part 200 and the second holding part 201. After that, the air that causes the waste existing in the joint space R from the intake pipe 241 is sucked and discharged.

  After that, first, the pressing mechanism 252 at the center portion is operated, and the second holding portion 201 is pressed downward in the vertical direction by the pressing portion 252b, that is, toward the first holding portion 200 side via the spacer 253a. Then, as shown in FIG. 29, the center part of the second holding part 201 is bent, and at the same time, the center part of the support wafer S held by the second holding part 201 is also bent, and the center part of the support wafer S is bent. Then, it comes into contact with the central portion of the bonding surface W of the wafer W to be processed.

  Thereafter, the remaining surrounding pressing mechanism 252 is operated, and the second holding portion 201 is pressed downward in the vertical direction by the pressing portion 252b via the spacers 253b to 253e, so that the support wafer as shown in FIG. The entire bonding surface of S comes into contact with the entire bonding surface of the wafer W to be processed. By pressing the central portion and then pressing the peripheral portion in this way, even when air that can be a void exists in the bonding space R, the air is brought into contact with the wafer W to be processed. Therefore, the air can be released from between the processing target wafer W and the supporting wafer S. In this way, the processing target wafer W and the support wafer S are bonded by the adhesive G while suppressing the generation of voids (step A10 in FIG. 27).

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 30, the height of the support member 223 is adjusted, and the lower surface of the second holding unit 201 is brought into contact with the non-joint surface S of the support wafer S. At this time, the sealing material 231 is elastically deformed, and the first holding unit 200 and the second holding unit 201 are in close contact with each other. And while heating the to-be-processed wafer W and the support wafer S by predetermined | prescribed temperature, for example, 200 degreeC with the heating mechanisms 211 and 152, the 2nd holding | maintenance part 201 is further set to predetermined pressure by each press part 252b of each press mechanism 252. For example, it is pressed downward at 0.5 MPa. Then, the processing target wafer W and the support wafer S are more firmly bonded and bonded (step A11 in FIG. 27).

  At this time, the pressurization degree by each press part 252b of each press mechanism 252, that is, the press degree, can be performed by control of the motor M. Therefore, it is easy to make uniform the thickness of the superposed wafer T when the wafer to be processed W and the support wafer S are bonded together.

  That is, the degree of pressing from a predetermined pressing start point when reaching the desired thickness of the overlapped wafer T, that is, the M accumulated rotation number of the motor (for example, the accumulated pulse number in the case of a pulse motor or the encoder in the case of a servo motor) Is measured in advance, and the motor M of the pressing mechanism 252 is stopped when the predetermined cumulative number of rotations is reached from the point of time when pressing starts from a predetermined position. In the case of the form, all of the five divided regions corresponding to the spacers 253a to 253e can be pressed equally. Therefore, it is possible to make the thickness of the desired superposed wafer T uniform.

  The superposed wafer T in which the wafer to be processed W and the support wafer S are bonded in this way is transferred from the bonding apparatus 110 to the delivery unit 110 by the first transfer arm 170 of the transfer unit 112. The overlapped wafer T transferred to the transfer unit 110 is transferred to the transfer arm 120 via the wafer support pins 121, and further transferred from the transfer arm 120 to the wafer transfer device 61.

Next, the superposed wafer T is transferred to the heat treatment device 42 by the wafer transfer device 61. In the heat treatment apparatus 42, the temperature of the superposed wafer T is adjusted to a predetermined temperature, for example, normal temperature (23 ° C.). Thereafter, bonded wafer T is transferred to the transition unit 51 by the wafer transfer apparatus 61, as by the wafer transfer apparatus 22 of the subsequent unloading station 2 is transported to the cassette C _T of predetermined cassette mounting plate 11. In this way, a series of bonding processing of the processing target wafer W and the supporting wafer S is completed.

  According to the above embodiment, in the coating apparatus 40 and the heat treatment apparatus 41, the processing target wafer W is sequentially processed, the adhesive G is applied to the processing target wafer W, and heated to a predetermined temperature. At 30, the front and back surfaces of the support wafer S are reversed. Thereafter, in the bonding unit 30, the wafer W to be processed that has been coated with the adhesive G and heated to a predetermined temperature is bonded to the support wafer S whose front and back surfaces are reversed. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the processing target wafer W and the supporting wafer S can be processed in parallel. Further, while the wafer to be processed W and the support wafer S are bonded in the bonding unit 30, another wafer to be processed W and the support wafer S can be processed in the coating apparatus 40, the heat treatment apparatus 41, and the bonding unit 30. Therefore, the wafer W to be processed and the support wafer S can be bonded efficiently, and the throughput of the bonding process can be improved.

  Here, when the bonding apparatus of Patent Document 1 described above is used, it is necessary to invert the front and back surfaces of the wafer outside the bonding apparatus. In such a case, it is necessary to transfer the wafer to the bonding apparatus after inverting the front and back surfaces of the wafer, so there is room for improvement in the throughput of the entire bonding process. Further, when the front and back surfaces of the wafer are reversed, the bonded surface of the wafer faces downward. In such a case, when a transfer device that holds the back surface of a normal wafer is used, the bonding surface of the wafer is held by the transfer device. For example, when particles are attached to the transfer device, There was a risk of adhering to the bonding surface of the wafer. Further, the bonding apparatus of Patent Document 1 does not have a function of adjusting the horizontal direction of the wafer and the support substrate, and there is a possibility that the wafer and the support substrate are bonded to each other while being displaced.

  In this regard, according to the present embodiment, since both the reversing unit 111 and the bonding apparatus 113 are provided in the bonding unit 30, the support wafer S is reversed by the transfer unit 112 after the support wafer S is reversed. Immediately, it can be conveyed to the joining device 113. As described above, since the reversal of the support wafer S and the bonding of the wafer to be processed W and the support wafer S are performed together in one bonding unit 30, the wafer to be processed W and the support wafer S are efficiently bonded. be able to. Therefore, the throughput of the bonding process can be further improved.

Also, second transfer arm 171 of the transfer unit 112, so holding the outer peripheral portion of the joint surface S _J of the support wafer S, for example, that the joint surface S _J is soiled by particles or the like adhering to the second transfer arm 171 There is no. Further, the first transfer arm 170 of the transfer unit 112 holds and transfers the non-bonded surface W _N of the processing target wafer W, the bonded surface S _J of the support wafer S, and the back surface of the overlapped wafer T. As described above, since the transfer unit 112 includes the two types of transfer arms 170 and 171, the wafer to be processed W, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T can be transferred efficiently.

  Further, in the second transfer arm 171, since the inner surface of the tapered portion 194 of the second holding member 192 is enlarged from the lower side toward the upper side, the taper portion 194 is transferred to, for example, the second holding member 192. Even if the support wafer S to be moved is displaced from a predetermined position in the horizontal direction, the support wafer S can be smoothly guided and positioned by the tapered portion 194.

  Further, in the first transfer arm 170, guide members 183 and 184 are provided on the arm unit 180, so that the wafer W to be processed, the support wafer S, and the overlapped wafer T jump out of the first transfer arm 170. , Can prevent sliding down.

  The reversing unit 720 can reverse the front and back surfaces of the support wafer S by the first driving unit 153 and can adjust the horizontal orientation of the support wafer S and the wafer W to be processed by the position adjustment mechanism 160. Therefore, the supporting wafer S and the processing target wafer W can be appropriately bonded in the bonding apparatus 113. In the bonding apparatus 113, the reversal of the support wafer S and the adjustment of the horizontal orientation of the support wafer S and the wafer W to be processed are performed together in one reversing unit 111. The wafer S can be joined efficiently. Therefore, the throughput of the bonding process can be further improved.

  Moreover, since the delivery part 110 is arrange | positioned at 2 steps | paragraphs at the perpendicular direction, any two of the to-be-processed wafer W, the support wafer S, and the superposition | polymerization wafer T can be delivered simultaneously. Therefore, the wafer W to be processed, the support wafer S, and the superposed wafer T can be efficiently transferred to and from the outside of the bonding unit 30, and the throughput of the bonding process can be further improved.

  Moreover, since the inside of the heat treatment apparatus 41 can be maintained in an inert gas atmosphere, it is possible to suppress the formation of an oxide film on the wafer W to be processed. For this reason, the heat processing of the to-be-processed wafer W can be performed appropriately.

In the above-described embodiment, the wafer to be processed W and the support wafer S are bonded in a state where the wafer to be processed W is disposed on the lower side and the support wafer S is disposed on the upper side. The support wafer S may be disposed upside down. In such a case, a step A1~A4 described above relative to the support wafer S, applying an adhesive agent G on the bonding surface S _J of the support wafer S. Further, the above-described steps A5 to A7 are performed on the processing target wafer W, and the front and back surfaces of the processing target wafer W are reversed. And the process A8-A11 mentioned above is performed, and the support wafer S and the to-be-processed wafer W are joined. However, from the viewpoint of protecting the electronic circuit and the like on the processing target wafer W, it is preferable to apply the adhesive G on the processing target wafer W.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the adhesive G is applied to either the processing target wafer W or the support wafer S in the coating apparatus 40, but the adhesive G is applied to both the processing target wafer W and the support wafer S. May be applied.

  In the above embodiment, the wafer W to be processed is heated to a predetermined temperature of 100 ° C. to 300 ° C. in the step A3. However, the heat treatment of the wafer W to be processed may be performed in two stages. For example, in the heat treatment apparatus 41, after heating to a first heat treatment temperature, for example, 100 ° C to 150 ° C, the heat treatment apparatus 44 is heated to a second heat treatment temperature, for example, 150 ° C to 300 ° C. In such a case, the temperature of the heating mechanism itself in the heat treatment apparatus 41 and the heat treatment apparatus 44 can be made constant. Therefore, it is not necessary to adjust the temperature of the heating mechanism, and the throughput of the bonding process between the processing target wafer W and the supporting wafer S can be further improved.

  In the joining device 131 in the above embodiment, a ball screw mechanism is used for pressing as the pressing mechanism 252, but an air cylinder or a pressure bellows may be used instead. In this case, the degree of pressing can be controlled by controlling the pressure of the air supplied into the air cylinder and the pressure bellows.

  Also in such a case, the thickness of the superposed wafer T after joining can be made uniform by making each air cylinder and pressure bellows controllable. In such a case, it is preferable that each can be controlled independently. And, for example, an air cylinder that measures the thickness of a plurality of locations of a wafer by a sensor, an imaging device, etc. for monitoring the bonding state, and takes charge of the region where the thickness is thicker than the predetermined thickness or conversely thinned. In addition, by controlling the pressure of the air of the pressurized bellows, it is possible to realize a superposed wafer T having a uniform thickness as a whole.

  In the above-described embodiment, only the pressing degree is controlled. However, the pressing time and the wafer temperature may be controlled together with it.

  Moreover, in the said joining apparatus 131, although the press disperse | distributed by the press mechanism 252 of the press apparatus 251 was divided into 5 in the center circular part corresponding to the spacers 253a-253e, and the surrounding arc-shaped part, In dividing and pressing, various division modes can be adopted. For example, it is good also as a division | segmentation aspect which divided | segmented into several concentric form, or divided | segmented radially, and also combined the concentric form and radial form. Further, it may be divided into a grid.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, in the divided | segmented area | region, each one pressing point, ie, the point where the press part 252b contact | abuts, was set only one place, However, Two or more pressing points are set to the divided | segmented area | region. May be.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious for those skilled in the art that various modifications or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the idea described in the claims, and these naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood. The present invention is not limited to this example and can take various forms. The present invention can also be applied to a case where the substrate to be processed is another substrate such as an FPD (flat panel display) other than a wafer or a mask reticle for a photomask. The present invention can also be applied when the supporting substrate is another substrate such as a glass substrate other than the wafer.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bonding system 2 Loading / unloading station 3 Processing station 30-33 Bonding unit 40 Coating apparatus 41-46 Heat processing apparatus 60 Wafer transfer area 110 Delivery part 111 Inversion part 112 Transfer part 113 Bonding apparatus 150 Holding arm 151 Holding member 152 Notch 153 1st 1 driving unit 154 second driving unit 160 position adjusting mechanism 170 first transport arm 171 second transport arm 182 O-ring 183 first guide member 184 second guide member 192 second holding member 193 194 Taper 251 Pressing member 252 Pressing mechanism 253 Spacer 301 Gas supply port 305 Intake port 360 Control unit 370 Inspection device 410 Substrate processing system 420 Stripping system 421 Loading / unloading station 422 Stripping processing station 423 Post processing Station 424 Interface station 425 Wafer transfer area 440 First transfer device 450 Peeling device 451 First cleaning device 452 Second transfer device 453 Second cleaning device 461 Third transfer device 630 Bernoulli chuck 640 Inspection device G Adhesive M Motor S Support wafer T Superposition wafer W Processed wafer

Claims (12)

The substrate held by the first holding member and the substrate held by the second holding member disposed opposite to the first holding member are pressed against the first holding member side. A joining device that joins by pressing with a member,
The said pressing member can press the center part with respect to a said 2nd holding member, and can distribute and press parts other than the said center part, The joining apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The press member has a plurality of press mechanisms, and each press mechanism is independently pressable against a plurality of divided regions in the first holding member. The joining apparatus according to 1. The joining device according to claim 2, wherein the pressing mechanism presses one or more pressing points in the region. The joining apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pressing mechanism is pressed by a ball screw mechanism. The joining device according to claim 2, wherein the pressing mechanism is a bellows or an air cylinder that is pressed by pressurized air. The joining device according to claim 4, wherein the degree of pressing of each pressing mechanism is controlled by feed control of the ball screw. 6. The bonding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the entire thickness of the bonded substrates is measured at a plurality of locations, and the degree of pressing of each pressing mechanism is controlled based on the measurement result. 8. The bonding apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising controlling at least one of a temperature and a pressing time of the substrate based on the measurement result. A substrate that is held by the first holding member and a substrate that is held by the second holding member that is disposed opposite to the first holding member, and the second holding member is pressed toward the first holding member. A joining method of pressing and joining by:
The pressing member improves the uniformity of the thickness of the bonded substrates by pressing the central portion against the second holding member and by dispersing and pressing portions other than the central portion. A joining method, characterized by comprising: A bonding system for bonding a substrate to be processed and a support substrate,
A bonding processing station for performing predetermined processing on the substrate to be processed and the support substrate;
A loading / unloading station for loading / unloading a substrate to be processed, a supporting substrate, or a polymerization substrate in which the substrate to be processed and the supporting substrate are bonded to / from the bonding processing station;
The bonding processing station is
A coating apparatus for applying an adhesive to a substrate to be processed or a support substrate;
A heat treatment apparatus for heating the substrate to be treated or the support substrate coated with the adhesive to a predetermined temperature;
A support substrate bonded to a substrate to be processed that has been coated with the adhesive and heated to a predetermined temperature, or a substrate to be bonded to a support substrate that has been coated with the adhesive and heated to a predetermined temperature A bonding unit that reverses the back surface and presses and bonds the substrate to be processed and the support substrate via the adhesive,
A transport region for transporting a substrate to be processed, a support substrate or a polymerized substrate to the coating apparatus, the heat treatment apparatus, and the joining unit;
The said joining unit has a joining apparatus in any one of Claims 1-8, The joining system characterized by the above-mentioned. A program that operates on a computer of a control unit that controls the joining device in order to cause the joining device to execute the joining method according to claim 9. A readable computer storage medium storing the program according to claim 11.

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