JP2019114684A - Substrate processing system, substrate processing method, program, and computer storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately process a substrate provided with a protective material on the front surface from the back surface of the substrate. SOLUTION: A substrate processing system 1 for processing from the back surface of a wafer W provided with a protective material on the front surface has a chuck 31 for holding the wafer W and a processing unit 80 for processing from the back surface of the wafer W held by the chuck 31. , 90, 100, and a detection sensor 120 that detects the presence or absence of the protective tape from at least above or below the wafer W before the wafer W is held by the chuck 31. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing system for processing from the back surface of a substrate provided with a protective material on the front surface, a substrate processing method using the substrate processing system, a program, and a computer storage medium.

  In recent years, in the semiconductor device manufacturing process, the back surface of a wafer may be ground to thin the wafer with respect to a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) on which devices such as a plurality of electronic circuits are formed on the surface. It has been done. Further, as described in, for example, Patent Document 1, a protective tape is provided on the surface of the wafer as a protective material for protecting the device.

  The grinding of the back surface of the wafer comprises, for example, a rotatable chuck that holds the front surface of the wafer and a rotatable grinding wheel including a grinding wheel that grinds the back surface of the wafer held by the chuck. It takes place in a grinding device. Then, in the grinding method described in Patent Document 1, first, a protective tape is attached to the surface of the wafer. Thereafter, in the grinding apparatus, the surface of the wafer to which the protective tape is attached is held by the chuck via the protective tape, and then the grinding wheel is brought into contact with the back surface of the wafer while rotating the chuck and the grinding wheel. Grind the back of the wafer.

JP, 2012-38801, A

  However, in the grinding method described in Patent Document 1, in the grinding apparatus, the wafer may be erroneously held by the chuck with the front and back surfaces of the wafer turned upside down, that is, with the front surface of the wafer facing upward. . There are various causes for this, but there are cases, for example, when the front and back surfaces are reversed due to an operator's erroneous operation, or when the front and back surfaces of the wafer conveyed to the grinding apparatus are originally reversed. And in such a case, the back surface of the wafer can not be properly ground.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object of appropriately processing a substrate provided with a protective material on the front surface from the back surface of the substrate.

  One aspect of the present invention which solves the above-mentioned subject is a substrate processing system processed from the back of a substrate by which a protective material was provided in the surface, and the substrate holding part which holds the surface of the substrate, and the substrate holding part A processing unit for processing from the back surface of the held substrate, and a protection material detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of the protection material at least from above or below the substrate before holding the substrate by the substrate holding unit; Have.

  One embodiment of the present invention according to another aspect is a substrate processing method of processing from the back surface of a substrate provided with a protective material on the front surface, and using the protective material detection unit, the protective material at least from above or below the substrate In the first step of detecting the orientation of the front and back of the substrate based on the detection result, and thereafter confirming that the orientation of the front and back of the substrate is normal in the first step And a second step of holding the front surface of the substrate by the substrate holding unit and processing the back surface of the substrate using the processing unit.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program operating on a computer of a control unit that controls the substrate processing system to cause the substrate processing system to execute the substrate processing method.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a readable computer storage medium storing the program.

  According to the present invention, when processing from the back surface of the substrate provided with the protective material on the front surface, the substrate is detected by detecting the presence or absence of the protective material of the substrate before grinding to confirm the orientation of the front and back surfaces of the substrate. It is possible to properly process from the back surface of the substrate in a state in which the front and back surfaces have a normal orientation.

It is a top view which shows typically the outline | summary of a structure of the substrate processing system concerning this embodiment. It is a side view showing an outline of composition of a wafer. It is a side view which shows the outline of an internal structure of a conveyance station. It is a flowchart which shows the main process of wafer processing. It is an explanatory view showing arrangement of a detection sensor concerning other embodiments. It is an explanatory view showing arrangement of a detection sensor concerning other embodiments.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same functional configuration will be assigned the same reference numerals and redundant description will be omitted.

<Substrate processing system>
First, the configuration of a substrate processing system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the outline of the configuration of a substrate processing system 1. In the following, in order to clarify the positional relationship, the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction orthogonal to one another are defined, and the Z-axis positive direction is the vertically upward direction.

  In the substrate processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the wafer W as a substrate shown in FIG. 2 is thinned. The wafer W is, for example, a semiconductor wafer such as a silicon wafer or a compound semiconductor wafer. A device (not shown) is formed on the surface W1 of the wafer W, and a protective material for protecting the device, for example, a protective tape P is attached to the surface W1. Then, predetermined processing such as grinding is performed on the back surface W2 of the wafer W to thin the wafer.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing system 1 stores a wafer W before processing in a cassette C as a storage container, and carries in a plurality of wafers W from the outside into the substrate processing system 1 in cassette units, and A loading station 3 for storing the processed wafers W in a cassette C and unloading a plurality of wafers W from the substrate processing system 1 in units of cassettes; and a processing apparatus 4 for processing the wafers W for thinning And a post-processing apparatus 5 for post-processing the processed wafer W; and a transfer station 6 as a transfer unit for transferring the wafer W between the loading station 2, the processing apparatus 4 and the post-processing apparatus 5; It has a connected configuration. The loading station 2, the transfer station 6, and the processing device 4 are arranged in this order in the Y-axis direction on the X-axis negative direction side. The unloading station 3 and the post-processing device 5 are arranged side by side in this order in the Y-axis direction on the X-axis positive direction side.

(Loading station)
A cassette mounting table 10 is provided at the loading station 2. In the illustrated example, a plurality of, for example, two cassettes C can be mounted on the cassette mounting table 10 in a row in the X-axis direction. In the cassette C mounted on the cassette mounting table 10, the protective tape P is in contact with a guide (not shown) supporting the wafer W to prevent damage or deformation. The wafer W is stored such that the front surface W1 of the wafer W to which the protective tape P is attached is directed upward.

(Transportation station)
The unloading station 3 also has the same configuration as the loading station 2. A cassette mounting table 20 is provided at the unloading station 3, and for example, two cassettes C can be mounted on the cassette mounting table 20 in a row in the X-axis direction. The loading station 2 and the unloading station 3 may be integrated into one loading and unloading station, and in such a case, the loading and unloading station is provided with a common cassette mounting table.

(Processing device)
In the processing device 4, processing such as grinding and cleaning is performed on the wafer W. The processing apparatus 4 includes a rotary table 30, a transport unit 40, an alignment unit 50, a first cleaning unit 60, a second cleaning unit 70, a rough grinding unit 80 as a processing unit, a middle grinding unit 90 as a processing unit, It has a finishing grinding unit 100 as a processing unit.

  The rotary table 30 is rotatably configured by a rotation mechanism (not shown). On the rotating table 30, four chucks 31 as a substrate holding unit are provided which hold the front surface W1 of the wafer W by suction via the protective tape P. The chucks 31 are arranged uniformly on the same circumference as the rotary table 30, that is, every 90 degrees. The four chucks 31 are movable to the delivery position A0 and the processing positions A1 to A3 by rotation of the rotary table 30.

  In the present embodiment, the delivery position A0 is a position on the X-axis positive direction side and the Y-axis negative direction side of the rotary table 30, and the second cleaning unit 70, alignment on the Y-axis negative direction side of the delivery position A0. The unit 50 and the first cleaning unit 60 are arranged side by side. The alignment unit 50 and the first cleaning unit 60 are stacked and arranged in this order from above. The first processing position A1 is a position on the X-axis positive direction side and the Y-axis positive direction side of the rotary table 30, and the rough grinding unit 80 is disposed. The second processing position A2 is a position on the X axis negative direction side and the Y axis positive direction side of the rotary table 30, and the middle grinding unit 90 is disposed. The third processing position A3 is a position on the X axis negative direction side and the Y axis negative direction side of the rotary table 30, and the finish grinding unit 100 is disposed.

  The chuck 31 is held by a chuck base 32. The chuck 31 and the chuck base 32 are configured to be rotatable by a rotation mechanism (not shown).

  The transport unit 40 is an articulated robot including a plurality of, for example, three arms 41 to 43. The three arms 41 to 43 are connected by joints (not shown), and by these joints, the first arm 41 and the second arm 42 are configured to be pivotable around their respective proximal ends. Of the three arms 41 to 43, a transfer pad 44 for holding the wafer W by suction is attached to the first arm 41 at the tip. Further, the third arm 43 at the proximal end of the three arms 41 to 43 is attached to a vertical movement mechanism 45 that moves the arms 41 to 43 in the vertical direction. The transfer unit 40 having such a configuration can transfer the wafer W to the delivery position A0, the alignment unit 50, the first cleaning unit 60, and the second cleaning unit 70.

  The alignment unit 50 adjusts the horizontal direction of the wafer W before the grinding process. For example, while rotating the wafer W held by the spin chuck (the spin chuck 200 shown in FIG. 5 described later), the position of the notch of the wafer W is detected by the detection unit (the detection unit 201 shown in FIG. Then, the position of the notch is adjusted to adjust the horizontal direction of the wafer W.

  In the first cleaning unit 60, the back surface W2 of the wafer W after the grinding process is cleaned, more specifically, spin-cleaned. For example, while rotating the wafer W held by a spin chuck (not shown), the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid nozzle (not shown) to the back surface W2 of the wafer W. Then, the supplied cleaning liquid diffuses on the back surface W2, and the back surface W2 is cleaned.

  The second cleaning unit 70 cleans the transfer pad 44 while cleaning the surface W1 of the wafer W in a state where the wafer W after grinding processing is held by the transfer pad 44, that is, the protective tape P attached to the surface W1. Wash.

  In the rough grinding unit 80, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is roughly ground. The rough grinding unit 80 has a rough grinding portion 81 provided with a ring-shaped rotatable rough grinding wheel (not shown). In addition, the rough grinding portion 81 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction along the support 82. Then, while the back surface W2 of the wafer W held by the chuck 31 is in contact with the rough grinding wheel, the chuck 31 and the rough grinding wheel are respectively rotated to roughly grind the back surface W2 of the wafer W.

  In the middle grinding unit 90, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is middle ground. The middle grinding unit 90 has a middle grinding portion 91 having an annular shape and a rotatable middle grinding wheel (not shown). The middle grinding portion 91 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction along the support 92. The grain size of the abrasive grains of the medium grinding wheel is smaller than the grain size of the abrasive grains of the rough grinding stone. Then, while the back surface W2 of the wafer W held by the chuck 31 is in contact with the middle grinding stone, the chuck 31 and the middle grinding wheel are respectively rotated to middle grind the back surface W2.

  In the finish grinding unit 100, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is finish ground. The finish grinding unit 100 has a finish grinding portion 101 provided with a ring-shaped rotatable finish grinding wheel (not shown). The finish grinding unit 101 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction along the support 102. The grain size of the abrasive grains of the finish grinding wheel is smaller than the grain size of the abrasive grains of the medium grinding wheel. Then, while the back surface W2 of the wafer W held by the chuck 31 is in contact with the finish grinding wheel, the back surface W2 is finish ground by rotating the chuck 31 and the finish grinding wheel respectively.

(Post-processing device)
In the post-processing apparatus 5, post-processing is performed on the wafer W processed by the processing apparatus 4. As the post-processing, for example, a mounting process of holding the wafer W on the dicing frame through the dicing tape, a peeling process of peeling the protective tape P attached to the wafer W, and the like are performed. Then, the post-processing apparatus 5 carries the post-processing and carries the wafer W held by the dicing frame to the cassette C of the unloading station 3. A known device is used for the mounting process and the peeling process performed by the post-processing device 5 respectively.

(Transport station)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the transfer station 6 is provided with a wafer transfer area 110. In the wafer transfer area 110, a wafer transfer apparatus 112 movable on the transfer path 111 extending in the X-axis direction is provided. The wafer transfer apparatus 112 has a transfer fork 113 and a transfer pad 114 as a wafer holding unit for holding the wafer W. The tip of the transfer fork 113 is branched into two, and the wafer W is held by suction. The transfer fork 113 transfers the wafer W before the grinding process. The transfer pad 114 has a circular shape with a diameter longer than that of the wafer W in plan view, and holds the wafer W by suction. The transfer pad 114 transfers the wafer W after the grinding process. The transfer fork 113 and the transfer pad 114 are attached to the moving mechanism 115. The transfer fork 113 and the transfer pad 114 are configured to be movable in the horizontal direction, the vertical direction, around the horizontal axis, and around the vertical axis by the moving mechanism 115, respectively.

  The wafer transfer area 110 is provided with a detection sensor 120 as a protective material detection unit that detects the presence or absence of the protective tape P in the wafer W. As the detection sensor 120, a sensor that measures the thickness to check the presence or absence of the protective tape P without contacting the protective tape P is used, and for example, a white confocal (confocal) optical system sensor is used. The detection sensor 120 irradiates the wafer W (protective tape P) with light having a predetermined wavelength band, and further receives the reflected light reflected from the front surface of the protective tape P and the reflected light reflected from the back surface. Then, the presence or absence of the protective tape P is detected based on the received both reflected lights.

  Although a white confocal optical system sensor is used as the detection sensor 120 in this embodiment, the configuration of the detection sensor 120 is not limited to this, and any configuration may be used as long as it detects the presence or absence of the protective tape P. Can be used. For example, the wafer W (protective tape P) is irradiated with light having a predetermined wavelength band, and the amount of light reflected from the surface of the wafer W (protective tape P) is measured to obtain a protective tape P The presence or absence may be detected.

  A plurality, for example, two, of the detection sensors 120 are provided, and are arranged corresponding to the position at which the cassette C is mounted on the cassette mounting table 10. Further, the detection sensor 120 is disposed at a height position above the cassette C mounted on the cassette mounting table 10. Then, the detection sensor 120 detects the presence or absence of the protective tape P from above the wafer W held by the transfer fork 113 of the wafer transfer apparatus 112. As described above, in the cassette C, the wafer W is stored such that the front surface W1 of the wafer W to which the protective tape P is attached is directed upward. Therefore, if the detection sensor 120 detects that the protective tape P is present on the upper surface of the wafer W, it is confirmed that the orientation of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W is normal.

  In the present embodiment, the detection sensor 120 detects the presence or absence of the protective tape P from above the wafer W held by the transport fork 113, but may detect the presence or absence of the protective tape P from below the wafer W . In such a case, if the detection sensor 120 detects that the protective tape P is not present on the lower surface of the wafer W, the orientation of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W is confirmed to be normal. Further, the detection sensors 120 may be provided at two positions above and below the wafer W, and the presence or absence of the protective tape P may be detected from both the upper side and the lower side of the wafer W.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a control unit 130 is provided in the substrate processing system 1. The control unit 130 is, for example, a computer and has a program storage unit (not shown). The program storage unit stores a program for controlling the processing of the wafer W in the substrate processing system 1. The program storage unit also stores a program for realizing the below-described wafer processing in the substrate processing system 1 by controlling the operation of drive systems such as the above-described various processing apparatuses and transport apparatuses. 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 disc (CD), a magnet optical desk (MO), a memory card, etc. It may be one that has been installed in the control unit 130 from the storage medium H.

<Wafer processing>
Next, wafer processing performed using the substrate processing system 1 configured as described above will be described.

  First, a cassette C containing a plurality of wafers W is placed on the cassette mounting table 10 of the loading station 2. As described above, in order to prevent the protective tape P from being damaged or deformed in the cassette C, the wafer W is directed such that the surface W1 of the wafer W to which the protective tape P is attached is directed upward. W is stored.

  Next, the wafer W in the cassette C is taken out by the transfer fork 113 of the wafer transfer apparatus 112. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the detection sensor 120 detects the presence or absence of the protective tape P from above the wafer W held by the transfer fork 113, and based on the detection result, the front and back surfaces of the wafer W are detected. The orientation is confirmed (step S1 in FIG. 4).

  In step S1, when the detection sensor 120 detects that the protective tape P is present on the upper surface of the wafer W, it is confirmed that the orientation of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W is normal. In such a case, the wafer W is transported to the processing apparatus 4 after the front and back surfaces of the wafer W are inverted by the transfer fork 113 and the back surface W2 is directed upward.

  On the other hand, when it is detected by the detection sensor 120 that there is no protective tape P on the upper surface of the wafer W in step S1, the direction of the front and back of the wafer W is confirmed to be opposite (abnormal). In such a case, the front and back surfaces of the wafer W are inverted by the transfer fork 113, and the front surface W1 is directed upward (step T1 in FIG. 4). Thereafter, after the wafer W is returned to the cassette C, that is, after the wafer W is stored with the front and back surfaces normal, the wafer W is taken out of the cassette C by the transfer fork 113 again. Then, after the front and back surfaces of the wafer W are inverted by the transfer fork 113 and the back surface W2 is directed upward, the wafer W is transferred to the processing apparatus 4. In such a case, even if the wafer W is accommodated in the cassette C with the orientation of the front and back surfaces being incorrect, the subsequent processing can be normally continued.

  Note that the method of reversing the front and back surfaces of the wafer W in step T1 described above is an example, and any method can be taken if the back surface W2 of the wafer W transferred to the alignment unit 50 is directed upward.

  The wafer W transferred to the processing apparatus 4 as described above is delivered to the alignment unit 50 with the back surface W2 directed upward. Then, in the alignment unit 50, the horizontal direction of the wafer W is adjusted (step S2 in FIG. 4).

  Next, the wafer W is transported by the transport unit 40 from the alignment unit 50 to the delivery position A0 and delivered to the chuck 31 at the delivery position A0. The chuck 31 holds the surface W1 of the wafer W. Thereafter, the rotary table 30 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise to move the chuck 31 to the first processing position A1. Then, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is roughly ground by the rough grinding unit 80 (step S3 in FIG. 4).

  Next, the rotary table 30 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise, and the chuck 31 is moved to the second processing position A2. Then, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is internally ground by the middle grinding unit 90 (step S4 in FIG. 4).

  Next, the rotary table 30 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise to move the chuck 31 to the third processing position A3. Then, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is finish ground by the finish grinding unit 100 (step S5 in FIG. 4).

  Next, the rotary table 30 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise, or the rotary table 30 is rotated 270 degrees clockwise to move the chuck 31 to the delivery position A0. Here, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is roughly cleaned by the cleaning liquid using the cleaning liquid nozzle (not shown) (step S6 in FIG. 7). In this step S6, cleaning is performed to remove the dirt on the back surface W2 to a certain extent.

  Next, the wafer W is transferred by the transfer unit 40 from the delivery position A0 to the second cleaning unit 70. Then, in the second cleaning unit 70, the surface W1 (protective tape P) of the wafer W is cleaned and dried in a state where the wafer W is held by the transfer pad 44 (Step S7 in FIG. 7).

  Next, the wafer W is transferred by the transfer unit 40 from the second cleaning unit 70 to the first cleaning unit 60. Then, in the first cleaning unit 60, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is finish-cleaned by the cleaning liquid using the cleaning liquid nozzle (not shown) (step S8 in FIG. 7). In this step S8, the back surface W2 is washed and dried to a desired cleanliness.

  Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred by the wafer transfer device 112 from the first cleaning unit 60 to the post-processing device 5. Then, in the post-processing apparatus 5, post-processing such as mounting processing for holding the wafer W on the dicing frame and peeling processing for peeling the protective tape P attached to the wafer W is performed (step S9 in FIG. 7).

  Thereafter, the wafer W subjected to all the processes is transferred to the cassette C of the cassette mounting table 20 of the unloading station 3. Thus, a series of wafer processing in the substrate processing system 1 is completed.

  According to the above embodiment, in step S1, the detection sensor 120 detects the presence or absence of the protective tape P from above the wafer W held by the transfer fork 113, and based on the detection result, the front and back of the wafer W You can check the orientation of the When it is confirmed in step S1 that the orientation of the front and back of the wafer W is normal, the wafer W is processed in a state where the front and back of the wafer W is inverted by the transfer fork 113 and the back W2 is directed upward. It is transported to the device 4. On the other hand, even if it is confirmed in step S1 that the front and back direction of the wafer is not normal, the back surface W2 of the wafer W is further directed upward by the transfer fork 113 after the front and back surface is reversed in step T1. Then, the wafer W is transferred to the processing apparatus 4. As described above, in the present embodiment, by confirming the orientation of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W in step S1, the orientation of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W transported to the processing apparatus 4 can be reliably made normal. As a result, in processing apparatus 4, front surface W1 of wafer W is held by chuck 31 and rough grinding unit 80, middle grinding unit 90, and finish grinding unit 100 are sequentially used to appropriately grind back surface W2 of wafer W. be able to.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, in one substrate processing system 1, a series of processing can be continuously performed on a plurality of wafers W, and the throughput of wafer processing can be improved.

Other Embodiments
In the above embodiments, the detection sensor 120 is provided in the wafer transfer area 110 of the transfer station 6, but the installation position of the detection sensor 120 is not limited to this. The detection sensor 120 can be disposed at an arbitrary position from the time when the wafer W is taken out of the cassette C and held by the chuck 31 at the delivery position A0, and may be disposed, for example, inside the processing device 4.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the detection sensor 120 may be provided in the alignment unit 50. The alignment unit 50 has a spin chuck 200 for attracting and holding the surface W1 (protective tape P) of the wafer W, and a detection unit 201 for detecting the position of the notch of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 200. . The detection sensor 120 is disposed above the wafer W held by the spin chuck 200 and detects the presence or absence of the protective tape P.

  In such a case, steps S1 and T1 are different in the wafer processing of the above embodiment. That is, in step S 1, the wafer W taken out of the cassette C by the transfer fork 113 of the wafer transfer apparatus 112 is transferred to the alignment unit 50 of the processing apparatus 4 and held by the spin chuck 200. Thereafter, before the horizontal direction of the wafer W is adjusted, the detection sensor 120 detects the presence or absence of the protective tape P from above the wafer W.

  If the detection sensor 120 detects that the protective tape P is not present on the upper surface of the wafer W, it is confirmed that the orientation of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W is normal. In such a case, the subsequent step S2 is performed.

  On the other hand, when the detection sensor 120 detects that the protective tape P is present on the upper surface of the wafer W, it is confirmed that the direction of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W is opposite (abnormal). In such a case, the wafer W held by the spin chuck 200 is unloaded from the alignment unit 50 by the transfer fork 113 of the wafer transfer device 112 in step T1. Then, the front and back surfaces of the wafer W are inverted by the transfer fork 113, and the front surface W1 is directed upward. Thereafter, after the wafer W is returned to the cassette C, that is, after the wafer W is stored with the front and back surfaces normal, the wafer W is taken out of the cassette C by the transfer fork 113 again. Thereafter, the front and back surfaces of the wafer W are inverted by the transfer fork 113, and the back surface W2 is directed upward, and then the wafer W is transferred to the alignment unit 50. Then, the subsequent step S2 is performed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 5, the detection sensor 120 detects the presence or absence of the protective tape P from above the wafer W held by the spin chuck 200, but detects the presence or absence of the protective tape P from below the wafer W. Alternatively, the presence or absence of the protective tape P may be detected from both the upper side and the lower side of the wafer W.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the detection sensor 120 may detect the presence or absence of the protective tape P with respect to the wafer W being transported by the transport unit 40. Specifically, the detection sensor 120 is disposed, for example, above the alignment unit 50 and below the wafer W held by the transfer unit 40.

  In such a case, steps S1 and T1 are different in the wafer processing of the above embodiment. That is, once alignment of the wafer W in step S2 is performed, the presence or absence of the protective tape P is detected by the detection sensor 120 with respect to the wafer W being transported by the transport unit 40 in step S1.

  In step S1, when the detection sensor 120 detects that the protective tape P is present on the lower surface of the wafer W, it is confirmed that the orientation of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W is normal. In such a case, the subsequent step S3 is performed.

  On the other hand, when the detection sensor 120 detects that the protective tape P is not present on the upper surface of the wafer W, it is confirmed that the orientation of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W is opposite (abnormal). In such a case, in step T1, the wafer W held by the transfer unit 40 is returned to the alignment unit 50 and then unloaded from the alignment unit 50 by the transfer fork 113 of the wafer transfer device 112. Then, after the back surface W 2 of the wafer W is directed upward by the transfer fork 113, the wafer W is transferred again to the alignment unit 50. Then, the subsequent step S2 is performed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, the detection sensor 120 detects the presence or absence of the protective tape P from below the wafer W held by the transport unit 40, but detects the presence or absence of the protective tape P from above the wafer W Alternatively, the presence or absence of the protective tape P may be detected from both the upper side and the lower side of the wafer W.

  Even when the detection sensor 120 is disposed inside the processing device 4 as described above, the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be obtained. Note that the method of reversing the front and back surfaces of the wafer W in step T1 described above is an example, and any method can be adopted if the back surface W2 of the wafer W delivered to the chuck 31 is directed upward. However, when reversing the front and back of the wafer W in step T1 by the transfer fork 113 of the wafer transfer apparatus 112, providing the detection sensor 120 in the wafer transfer area 110 of the transfer station 6 as in the above embodiment is more efficient. good.

  In the above embodiment, the protective tape P is attached to the surface W1 of the wafer W in order to protect the device, but the protective material of the device is not limited to this. For example, a support substrate such as a support wafer or a glass substrate may be attached to the surface W1 of the wafer W, and the present invention can be applied even in such a case.

  In the substrate processing system 1 of the above embodiment, the processing apparatus 4 includes the rough grinding unit 80, the middle grinding unit 90, and the finish grinding unit 100, but the configuration of the unit is not limited to this. For example, even if the rough grinding unit 80 is disposed at the first processing position A1, the finish grinding unit 100 is disposed at the second processing position A2, and the polishing unit (not shown) is disposed at the third processing position A3. Good.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to this example. It is apparent that those skilled in the art can conceive of various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and the technical scope of the present invention is also natural for them. It is understood to belong to For example, although the back surface W2 of the wafer W is ground in the substrate processing system 1 of the above embodiment, the present invention can also be applied to the case where laser processing or processing with a cutting blade is performed from the back surface W2 of the wafer W.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 substrate processing system 2 loading station 3 unloading station 4 processing device 5 post-processing device 6 transfer station 30 rotating table 31 chuck 40 transfer unit 50 alignment unit 60 first cleaning unit 70 second cleaning unit 80 rough grinding unit 90 middle grinding Unit 100 Finishing grinding unit 110 Wafer transfer area 112 Wafer transfer apparatus 120 Detection sensor 130 Control part P Protective tape W Wafer W1 Front surface W2 Back surface

Claims (11)

A substrate processing system for processing from the back surface of a substrate provided with a protective material on the front surface, comprising:
A substrate holding unit that holds the surface of the substrate;
A processing unit configured to process from the back surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit;
A substrate processing system, comprising: a protective material detection unit that detects the presence or absence of the protective material at least from above or below the substrate before the substrate is held by the substrate holding unit. A processing apparatus comprising the substrate holding unit and the processing unit;
And a transport unit configured to transport the substrate to the processing apparatus,
The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the protective material detection unit is provided in the processing apparatus or the transport unit. The substrate processing system according to claim 2, wherein the transfer unit has a transfer device that transfers the substrate and reverses the front and back of the substrate. When it is confirmed that the orientation of the front and back of the substrate is normal based on the detection result by the protective material detection unit, the transport device transports the substrate to the processing device,
If it is confirmed that the orientation of the front and back of the substrate is not normal based on the detection result by the protective material detection unit, the transport device reverses the front and back of the substrate and returns the container to the container that accommodates the substrate. The substrate processing system according to claim 3. If it is confirmed that the orientation of the front and back of the substrate is not normal based on the detection result by the protective material detection unit, the transfer device carries out the substrate returned to the storage container again, and the processing device The substrate processing system according to claim 4, wherein the substrate processing system transports the substrate. A substrate processing method for processing from the back surface of a substrate provided with a protective material on the front surface,
A first step of detecting the presence or absence of the protective material at least from above or below the substrate using a protective material detection unit, and confirming the orientation of the front and back surfaces of the substrate based on the detection result;
Thereafter, in the first step, when it is confirmed that the orientation of the front and back of the substrate is normal, the substrate holding unit holds the surface of the substrate, and processing is performed from the back of the substrate using a processing unit. A substrate processing method having a second step. The substrate holding unit and the processing unit are provided in a processing apparatus,
The substrate processing method according to claim 6, wherein the first step is performed in the inside of the processing apparatus or in the inside of a transport unit that transports the substrate to the processing apparatus. In the first step, when it is confirmed that the front and back surfaces of the substrate are not in the normal direction, the third step is to reverse the front and back surfaces of the substrate in the transport unit and return the container to the container. The substrate processing method according to claim 7, further comprising: The substrate processing method according to claim 8, wherein in the third step, the transport unit again unloads the substrate returned to the storage container and transports the substrate to the processing apparatus. The program which operate | moves on the computer of the control part which controls the said substrate processing system to make the substrate processing system perform the substrate processing method as described in any one of Claims 6-9. A readable computer storage medium storing the program according to claim 10.

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