JPH1179770A - Scribing device and cleavage method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to accelerate a crack when scribing is executed and to assure a fracture surface with high accuracy. SOLUTION: This scribing device has a blade 12 which scribes a thin sheet W, such as semiconductor wafer, and a supporting member 15 disposed in the position below this blade 12. A tension applying means 16 is arranged on the front surface side of this supporting member 15. This tension applying means 16 has a liftable supporting block 38 having a projecting curved surface capable of curving a surface W1 to be worked which is the surface of the thin sheet W. The surface W1 to be worked of the thin sheet W supported to a curved surface shape is kept in the state of receiving the strongest pulling stress. The blade 12 is pressed thereto, by which the crack is generated. The crack is formed to a neutral point between a tensile stress and a compressive stress.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a scribe device and a cleavage method, and more particularly, to a scribe device used for breaking a thin plate such as a semiconductor wafer, and a method of cleaving a thin plate using the scribe device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a semiconductor wafer such as ceramics or silicone is cut into predetermined chips as a member to be processed, a method using a scribe device has been adopted. This scribing device is capable of forming a scribe line by pressing a rotating blade or a straight blade made of diamond or the like against the wafer and relatively moving the wafer, and thereafter applying a shearing force to form chips in predetermined units. Obtainable.

Conventionally, when forming a scribe line, a scribe device or a scribe line formed by maintaining a member to be processed in a flat state and moving a blade while contacting the surface to be processed with a predetermined pressure. After that, there is known a method of applying appropriate tension to a workpiece and cleaving while applying a shearing force (for example,
See Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-4099 and JP-A-6-283758.

[0004]

However, when a hard material such as ceramics is used as a workpiece, cracks formed by scribing become shallow and cracks of the expected degree cannot be formed. The surface on the opposite side is liable to be cracked or chipped, so that the dimensional accuracy of the end face after cleavage cannot be maintained with high accuracy.

In the case where a deep crack is generated, conventionally, high pressure is applied to the blade for scribing, which shortens the life of the blade, lowers the accuracy of the scribe line, and increases the frequency. This leads to a reduction in machining efficiency due to the replacement of the blade.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been devised in view of such inconvenience, and an object of the present invention is to enable formation of an expected crack and maintain high dimensional accuracy of a fractured surface. In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a scribe device and a cleavage method capable of securing the life of a blade used for scribe over a long period of time.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a scribing device according to the present invention comprises a blade for scribing a workpiece, a blade for supporting the workpiece and being relatively movable with respect to the blade. The present invention employs a configuration including: a provided supporting member; and tension applying means for applying a tension to the workpiece in a direction orthogonal to a surface of the blade when scribing the workpiece. In such a configuration, when the blade is applied to the work surface,
Cracks can be developed with the aforementioned tension,
Even if the pressure of the blade is not increased, cracks are formed without difficulty. Therefore, the fracture surface due to the subsequent cleavage becomes extremely smooth, and the dimensional accuracy on the back surface side can be maintained with high accuracy.

According to the cleavage method of the present invention, the processing member is set on a supporting member with respect to a blade for scribing the processing member, and a tension is applied to the processing member along a direction perpendicular to the surface of the blade. Applying a tension to the workpiece, scribing the workpiece by relatively moving the workpiece and the blade in a tensioned state, and breaking the workpiece along a scribe line of the workpiece. And a breaking step.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The tension applying means in the scribing device may be provided with a support surface for deforming a workpiece surface of a workpiece into a convex curved surface, or both ends of the workpiece may be substantially the same. It can be constituted by means for applying a pulling force in a plane. At this time, the member to be processed may be fixed on the outer peripheral side by using an appropriate clamping device, and a support surface serving as a convex curved surface may be positioned on the back side of the member to be processed. Then, by applying a mutual pressing force between the relative surfaces of the support surface and the workpiece, the workpiece can be deformed so as to follow the outer surface shape of the support surface. The movement of the support surface can be exemplified using a cylinder device, and the support surface can be moved so that the work surface is pressed against the support surface while the support surface is fixed. Furthermore, a hollow support block having a large number of vacuum holes is provided on the convex curved surface, and the inside of this support block is suctioned and decompressed to deform the workpiece so as to follow the convex curved surface, or It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a pressurizing device that can be separated and approached is provided, and the workpiece is pressed against the convex curved surface to be deformed by the pressurizing device.

When both ends of the workpiece are pulled in the same plane, pins or shafts are fixed to both ends of the workpiece, and these pins or shafts are moved by a cylinder device or the like. Can apply a tensile force.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a scribe device according to this embodiment. In this drawing, a scribing device 10 is provided with a blade 12 for scribing a thin plate W as a member to be processed made of ceramics or the like, a support member 15 disposed below the blade, and provided on the support member 15. And a tension applying means 16 for applying a predetermined tensile force to the thin plate W.

In the present embodiment, the blade 12 is constituted by a rotary blade made of diamond or the like. This blade 1
Numeral 2 is rotatably held by the block-shaped holding body 20, and is arranged such that the outer peripheral edge portion protrudes from below the holding body 20. The holding body 20 is provided so as to be able to ascend and descend via a pressure adjusting section 21 provided at an upper portion thereof, so that the contact pressure of the blade 12 with respect to the thin plate W is provided so as to be adjustable. An imaging device 22 such as an optical microscope is disposed at a position adjacent to the blade 12. The imaging device 22 and the slider 24 supporting the blade 12 are driven by an X-axis driving device 25 and a Z-axis driving device. Device 26
Through the slider base 2 along two orthogonal X and Z directions.
7 is provided so as to be movable. The slider base 27 has a fixed positional relationship with the scriber body.

The support member 15 is constituted by a plate located substantially in a horizontal plane. This support member 15
The θ-axis drive device 28 is provided on the base 18 and provided on the upper surface of the θ-axis drive device 28 so as to be pivotable in a horizontal plane. It is supported on a shaft drive 30. Therefore, the thin plate W placed on the support member 15 can move in the Y-axis direction and the θ-axis direction, respectively. The base 18 can be moved in the Y-axis direction.

The tension applying means 16 is provided on the support member 1.
5 and a pair of left and right clamp devices 32 fixed via bolts 31 to the upper surface of the support 5, and a pressing member 34 disposed on the support member 15 between the clamp devices 32 and 32.
And an elastic sheet 35 stretched between the pair of clamp devices 32 above the pressing member 34. The pair of right and left clamp devices 32
Chucks 36 arranged at predetermined intervals on their upper ends
These chucks 36 hold both ends of the thin plate W to hold the thin plate W in a fixed position.

The pressing member 34 is connected to the elastic sheet 3
A support block 38 that forms a support surface that supports the support block 5 from below and pushes it up, and a frame 39 that is located on the lower surface side of the support block 38 and supports the support block 38
And a cylinder (not shown) provided between the frame 39 and the support member 15 to vertically displace the upper surface of the support block 38. Here, the support block 38 is provided in a curved surface shape having a predetermined radius of curvature with a convex upper surface side, and an upper edge viewed from the side surface forms a gentle arch. Therefore, when the upper surface position of the support block 38 is located above the height of the upper end of the clamp device 32, the thin plate W follows the upper surface shape of the support block 38 via the elastic sheet 35 as shown in FIG. Deformed into a thin plate W
, A tensile stress can be applied to the work surface W1 side. The cylinder for displacing the pressing member 34 is fixed at a fixed position of the scriber main body, and the pressing member 34 does not rotate when the support member 15 is turned by the θ-axis driving device 28 while being able to be displaced up and down. It has become. Thereby, even if the thin plate W is rotated, it is possible to always apply the tension of the thin plate W in a direction orthogonal to the cutting direction by the blade 12, that is, in a direction orthogonal to the surface of the blade 12. W can be cleaved in any direction. Further, even when the support member 15 moves in the Y-axis direction, tension can always be applied to the thin plate W.

The driving devices 25, 26, 28, and 30 for the X, Y, Z, and θ axes are respectively provided so as to be drivable through a control device (not shown). The information obtained by presetting the relative movement trajectory between the blade and the blade 12 is stored, and the information is read out to control each driving device individually.

Next, a scribing process using the scribing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 2, the thin plate W and the blade 12 are shown separated from each other in order to avoid complicating the drawing.
It should be understood that these are actually in contact.

As shown in FIG. 2A, when the rotating blade 12 is brought into contact with the work surface W1 by applying tension to the work surface W1 by the tension applying means 16, an initial contact point is formed at the contact point. Cracks C can be generated.
At this time, the contact point of the blade 12 on the work surface W1 is as shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), since the maximum tensile stress is acting, the crack C can be generated even if the contact pressure by the blade 12 is small.

Next, when the position of the blade 12 is slightly lowered, as shown in FIG. 2 (B), a tensile stress acts closer to the processing surface W1, so that cracks are generated from the processing surface W1 side. C will gradually progress deeper.

When the blade 12 is further lowered, the crack C
As shown in FIG. 2C and FIG. 3, a point at which the tensile stress and the compressive stress (or the breaking strength of the thin plate W) are balanced is defined as the neutral point N, and is formed up to the neutral point N position. This ends the scribe. At this time, the setting of the neutral point N is not limited, and adjustment to a shallow position or a deep position can be performed by changing the curvature of the thin plate W. Therefore, for example, if the neutral point N is set at a deep position, a crack C having a depth of half or more of the thickness of the thin plate 11 can be generated. For this purpose, means for separating and approaching the chuck may be provided.

After the scribe is completed in this way, as shown in FIG. 2D, a shear stress is applied through an appropriate fulcrum 40 to maintain a simple and highly accurate end face shape. Can be broken.

The tension applying means 16 in the scribing device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the tension applying means 41 shown in FIGS.
Can also be adopted. The tension applying means 41 is configured to apply a pulling force to the left and right ends of the thin plate W in the same plane. In particular,
A plurality of pins 43 that can be fixed to holes 42 formed on both left and right ends of the thin plate W, a pair of arms 44 that hold these pins 43 on a coaxial line, and a pair of arms 44 connected to both ends of these arms 44. A cylinder device 45 for moving the pair of arms 44 in a direction away from each other. Since the tension in the plane direction can be generated also by such a tension applying means 41, generation and promotion of the crack C can be achieved without increasing the contact pressure of the blade 12. In addition, as long as a pulling force can be applied to both left and right ends of the thin plate W, the tension applying means 41
Can be redesigned. For example, a configuration or the like that reduces the number of cylinders employed can be considered. Further, a configuration in which only the thin plate W can be rotated while the tension applying means 41 is fixed can be adopted. In this case, the thin plate W
Can be cleaved in any direction.

Further, the pressing member 34 in the above embodiment is used.
Can be replaced with the suction member 50 shown in FIG. The suction member 50 includes a support block 52 that forms a support surface having a number of vacuum holes 51 and a vacuum pump 53 connected to the support block 52. Therefore, the thin plate W placed on the support block 52 can be brought into close contact with the vacuum pump 53 by driving and reducing the pressure in the support block 52 by suction. When such a configuration is adopted, it is not necessary to raise and lower the suction member 50 itself, and the above-described clamp device can be omitted, so that the structure can be simplified and the work preparation process can be saved. Can maintain the deformation state of the thin plate W with high accuracy.

Further, the present invention can employ a scribe device 60 shown in FIG. This scribing device is provided with a chuck 61 as a support member for supporting and positioning both ends of the thin plate W and a lower surface side of the thin plate W supported by the chucks 61, and having an upper end having a predetermined radius of curvature. Surface 62A to be a convex curved surface having
And a correction plate 63 as a pressing device that is disposed on the left and right sides of the blade 12 and that can be separated from and approached to the support block 62. Although not shown here, the chuck 61 is supported by a driving device that can move in the left-right direction in FIG. 7 and the rotation direction in the horizontal plane. Also,
The support block 62 can be moved up and down via a cylinder device 65 disposed at the lower end thereof, and the correction plate 63 is also provided so as to be able to move up and down via a cylinder device 66. Here, the support block 62
The straightening plate 63 constitutes a tension applying means 69. With such a scribe device 60, it is possible to apply the same tension as in the above-described configuration.

In the structure shown in FIG. 7, similarly to the structure shown in FIG. 1, the chuck 61 is separated and approached at a desired position with respect to the thickness direction of the thin plate W at the desired neutral point when tension is generated. Means may be provided so as to be movable, or only the thin plate W may be rotatable while the tension applying means 69 is fixed.

Further, the elastic sheet 3 in the above-described embodiment is used.
Instead of 5 and the pressing member 34, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a sheet member 71 having a slit S and a pressing member 72 having a curved head shape and capable of ascending and descending may be employed. The slit S is formed in a region of the sheet material 71 that faces a blade (not shown).
The rise has made the upper part acceptable. This makes it possible to apply a tension to the thin plate W in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the blade 12, similarly to the above-described configuration. When such a configuration is adopted, it is not necessary to curve the sheet material 71 together with the thin plate W, so that tension can be applied to the thin plate W with a small force. Can also be used.

Further, the shape of the blade, the method of generating the chuck and the tension, and the like are not limited to those of the above-described embodiment. For example, a blade that does not roll may be used as long as it is a blade.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The structure that scribes the workpiece with tension applied by the tension applying means is adopted, so that the crack can be developed without increasing the pressure of the blade, and the crack can be formed without difficulty. Becomes Therefore, there is obtained an effect that the fracture surface due to the subsequent cleavage becomes extremely smooth and the dimensional accuracy on the back surface side can be maintained with high accuracy.

In particular, when the tension applying means is provided with a support surface for deforming into a convex curved surface, a contradictory compressive stress can be generated on the surface opposite to the surface to be processed. In addition to preventing the occurrence of cracks, chips, and the like on the opposite surface, the depth of the crack can be appropriately adjusted, and an optimum crack can be formed according to the thickness of the workpiece.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a scribe device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a scribe step.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of crack propagation.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a main part showing a modification of the tension applying means.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a main part showing a suction member that is substituted for a pressing member.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a modified example of the scribe device.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of a main part showing a modification of the scribe device.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a state where the scribe device of FIG. 8 is operated.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... scribing device, 12 ... blade, 15 ...
Support member, 16: tension applying means, 38: support block forming a support surface, 41: tension applying means, W
... a thin plate as a workpiece, 52 ... a support block that forms a support surface, 60 ... a scribe device, 62
A: support surface, 63: straightening plate as pressure device, 69: tension applying means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Mitsuro Takeda 10-1 Nakazawacho, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Yamaha Corporation

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A blade for scribing a workpiece, a support member for supporting the workpiece and being provided to be relatively movable with respect to the blade, and a blade for scribing the workpiece. And a tension applying means for applying tension to the workpiece along a direction perpendicular to the plane of the scribing device. 2. A scribing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said tension applying means is provided with a support surface for deforming a work surface of said work member into a convex curved surface. 3. The tension applying means includes a hollow support block provided with a large number of vacuum holes on a convex curved surface, and deforms the workpiece by reducing the pressure in the support block. The scribing device according to claim 2, wherein 4. The tension applying means includes a pressurizing device which is capable of separating from and approaching the convex curved surface, and presses the workpiece to the convex curved surface by the pressurizing device to deform the workpiece. 3. The scribe device according to claim 2, wherein: 5. A scribing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said tension applying means applies a pulling force to both ends of said workpiece in substantially the same plane. 6. A step of setting the workpiece on a support member with respect to a blade for scribing the workpiece, and a tension applying step of applying tension to the workpiece along a direction perpendicular to the surface of the blade. From the step of scribing the workpiece by relatively moving the workpiece and the blade in a tensioned state, and from the breaking step of breaking the workpiece along the scribe line of the workpiece. Cleavage method.