JP2004122242A - Protection tape cutting method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sharply cut a tape into a high grade around the whole circumference of a wafer when cutting the protection tape stuck on the surface of a semiconductor wafer having an orientation flat along the wafer outer shape. <P>SOLUTION: A cutter edge 44 is swung in a cutting stroke in the orientation flat region and made to follow the orientation flat OF, the relative height of the cutter edge 44 and the semiconductor wafer W is controlled according to the turning movement of the cutter edge 44, so that the cutter edge 44 is turningly moved while fixedly retaining contact positions (e) and (e') between the cutter edge 44 and the protection tape T across the whole circumference of the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a protective tape cutting method for cutting a protective tape by attaching a wide protective tape to a surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “wafer”), and then moving the cutter blade along the outer shape of the wafer to cut the protective tape. It relates to an apparatus used for this.
[0002]
[Prior art]
One of the processing steps of a wafer is a thin processing step. As a processing means used in this step, mechanical or chemical means such as grinding, polishing, or etching is appropriately selected and used. In these thin processing means, in order to prevent the pattern formed on the wafer surface from being damaged or stained, a protective tape is attached to the surface of the wafer to protect it, and then the mechanical or chemical thin processing is performed on the back surface of the wafer. In general, a protective tape wider than the diameter of the wafer is attached to the surface of the wafer, and then the cutter blade is moved along the outer shape of the wafer to cut out and cut the protective tape.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The mechanical rigidity and strength of a wafer are reduced by being subjected to thin processing. Therefore, there is a tendency that a hard and thick protective tape having appropriate rigidity is attached to the surface of the wafer in order to suppress the addition of strength and warpage to the wafer.
[0004]
However, when the protective tape is hard and thick, it is difficult to cut the protective tape with a cutter blade, and if the cut surface of the protective tape is not cut sharply, stress may be applied during wafer processing such as backside polishing and the wafer may be damaged. There is.
[0005]
Further, since the degree of wear of the cutter blade is increased, the life of the cutter blade is shortened, the frequency of replacement thereof is increased, and the workability is reduced.
[0006]
Further, the cutter blade used in the cutting step of the protective tape is supported swingably about an upper fulcrum so as to be able to move toward and away from the wafer W so as to appropriately follow the outer periphery of the wafer. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, in the wafer W having the orientation flat OF, when the cutter blade 44 comes to the orientation flat region, the cutter blade 44 moves in the circumferential direction while swinging toward the center of the wafer. Then, the robot appropriately follows the orientation flat OF.
[0007]
However, when the cutter blade 44 is swung in such a manner to follow the orientation flat OF, the position where the cutter blade 44 comes into contact with the protective tape T (cutting position) and the orientation flat area in the process of cutting an arc portion on the outer periphery of the wafer. Is different from the position where the cutter blade 44 comes into contact with the protective tape T (cutting position) in the process of cutting.
[0008]
For example, as shown in FIG. 13, a cutter blade 44 supported so as to be swingable about an upper fulcrum Z is set so as to be in a vertical posture (a) in a process of cutting an arc region around the wafer. Then, in the process of cutting the orientation flat area, the inclined posture shown in FIG. Therefore, the tape cutting position e ′ of the cutter blade 44 when cutting the orientation flat region is shifted downward with respect to the tape cutting position e of the cutter blade when cutting the arc region.
[0009]
When the tape cutting position of the cutter blade 44 shifts downward as described above, the cutter blade 44 for cutting the orientation flat region within the range of the blade edge portion h that comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the wafer in the process of cutting the arc region. The tape cutting position e 'is included. However, the cutting edge of the blade edge portion h is often deteriorated due to abrasion of the blade edge due to sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the wafer. Therefore, the protection tape T is hard to be cut sharply in the orientation flat area, and the tape cutting quality tends to be lower than that in the arc area.
[0010]
Further, as the number of cuts increases, the tape cut quality in the orientation flat area further decreases, so that the number of wafers that can be cut until the tape cut quality reaches an allowable limit is reduced, and the cutter blade is cut. The frequency of replacement must be high.
[0011]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a main object of the present invention is to provide a protective tape cutting method and an apparatus for efficiently cutting a protective tape along the outer shape of a semiconductor wafer. Is what you do.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention has the following configuration to achieve the above object.
[0013]
The invention according to claim 1 is a protective tape cutting method in which after a wide protective tape is attached to a surface of a semiconductor wafer having an orientation flat, a cutter blade is swiveled along the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer to cut the protective tape. So,
In the process of cutting the protective tape, the cutter blade is swiveled along the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer while maintaining a constant contact position of the cutter blade with the protective tape.
[0014]
(Operation / Effect) Since the protective tape is cut along the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer while keeping the contact position of the cutter blade with the protective tape constant, even in a semiconductor wafer having an orientation flat, the cutter blade can be cut all around. Can be cut while contacting the same position with the protective tape. Therefore, the cutting conditions of the orientation flat region are the same as those of the other arc portions, so that the protective tape can be cut well and the cut quality can be kept uniform.
[0015]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the protective tape cutting method according to the first aspect, in the cutting step in the orientation flat region, the cutter blade is swung to follow the orientation flat, and the cutting blade and the semiconductor wafer are separated from each other. The relative height is controlled with the turning movement of the cutter blade, and the cutter blade is turned along the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer while the contact position of the cutter blade with respect to the protective tape is kept constant.
[0016]
(Function / Effect) When the cutter blade swings and follows the orientation flat in the orientation flat area, the cutter blade is interlocked with the turning drive of the cutter blade so as to absorb a change in the contact position of the cutter blade with the protective tape. By changing and controlling the relative height between the swing fulcrum and the semiconductor wafer, the protective tape can be cut at the same position of the cutter blade. That is, the protective tape cutting method according to the first aspect can be suitably performed.
[0017]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protective tape cutting device for cutting a protective tape by pasting a wide protective tape on a surface of a semiconductor wafer having an orientation flat, and then rotating the cutter blade along the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer to cut the protective tape. So,
A height adjusting unit configured to swing the cutter blade driven to rotate around the fulcrum to follow the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer, and to change and adjust the height of the fulcrum with respect to the semiconductor wafer;
Control means for operating the height adjusting means in conjunction with the turning movement of the cutter blade in the orientation flat area to maintain a constant contact position of the cutter blade with the protective tape;
It is characterized by having.
[0018]
(Operation / Effect) As the cutter blade swings and follows the orientation flat, the inclination posture of the cutter blade changes, and the contact position of the cutter blade with the protective tape changes in the blade edge direction. By controlling the height adjusting means in conjunction with the turning movement of the cutter blade so as to absorb the change in the contact position, the protective tape can be cut at the same position of the cutter blade. Therefore, the protective tape cutting method described in claim 1 can be suitably realized.
[0019]
The invention according to claim 4 is the protective tape cutting device according to claim 3,
Each time a predetermined number of protection tapes are cut, the contact position of the cutter blade with respect to the protection tape is changed and moved by a predetermined pitch.
[0020]
(Operation / Effect) Every time a predetermined number of tape cutting processes with a fixed contact position with respect to the protective tape are performed, the operation height of the cutter blade is shifted by a predetermined pitch. Accordingly, a plurality of new positions of the cutter blade can be used in one cutter blade, and the service life of the cutter blade can be extended, and the frequency of replacing the cutter blade can be reduced, thereby improving workability. Can be.
[0021]
The present invention also discloses the following solution.
[0022]
(1) In a protective tape attaching device for attaching a protective tape to a surface of a semiconductor wafer having an orientation flat,
Holding means for mounting and holding the semiconductor wafer,
Tape supply means for supplying a protective tape toward the held semiconductor wafer,
Sticking means for sticking the supplied protective tape to the surface of the semiconductor wafer,
Tape cutting means for turning the cutter blade along the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer to cut the protection tape attached to the surface of the semiconductor wafer,
Peeling means for peeling off unnecessary tape after cutting the protective tape by the tape cutting mechanism,
A collecting unit for collecting the peeled unnecessary tape,
And the tape cutting means is configured to swing the cutter blade driven to rotate around the fulcrum to follow the outer periphery of the wafer, and height adjusting means for changing and adjusting the height of the fulcrum with respect to the semiconductor wafer. ,
Control means for operating the height adjusting means in conjunction with the turning movement of the cutter blade in the orientation flat area to maintain a constant contact position of the cutter blade with the protective tape. Tape sticking device.
[0023]
According to the invention of the above (1), the protection tape is supplied from the tape supply means toward the semiconductor wafer placed on the holding means, and the protection tape is attached to the surface of the semiconductor wafer by the attaching means. Next, the tape cutting means operates to cut the protective tape along the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer. In the process of cutting the protective tape, the cutter blade swings and follows the orientation flat, so that the inclination posture of the cutter blade changes, and the contact position of the cutter blade with the protective tape changes in the blade edge direction. The height adjusting means is controlled in conjunction with the turning movement of the cutter blade so as to absorb the change in the contact position, and cuts the protective tape at the same position of the cutter blade. Unnecessary protection tape cut out in a substantially shape of the semiconductor wafer is collected.
[0024]
Therefore, the protective tape adhered to the wafer having the orientation flat can be satisfactorily cut under the same cutting conditions over the entire circumference of the wafer, and uniform cutting quality can be ensured.
[0025]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a protective tape attaching device provided with a protective tape cutting device as an example.
[0026]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the protective tape attaching device. The protective tape applying apparatus 1 includes a wafer supply unit 3 in which a cassette C1 containing a semiconductor wafer W having an orientation flat (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “wafer W”) is loaded in front of a base 2; A wafer recovery unit 4 for recovering the processed wafer W ′ to which the protection tape T has been attached and cut out is provided. A wafer transfer mechanism 6 having a robot arm 5 is provided between the wafer supply unit 2 and the wafer recovery unit 3, and an alignment stage 7 is provided at the back right side of the base 2. Is provided with a tape supply unit 8 for supplying the protection tape T toward the wafer W. Further, a separator collecting unit 9 that collects only the separator S from the protective tape T with a separator supplied from the tape supplying unit is provided at the lower right of the tape supplying unit 8. On the left side of the alignment stage 7, a chuck table 10 for placing and holding the wafer W by suction, a tape sticking unit 11 for sticking the protective tape T to the wafer W held by the chuck table 10, and sticking to the wafer W A tape peeling unit 12 for peeling off the unnecessary tape T ′ after the cutting process is provided, and a tape for cutting and cutting the protection tape T attached to the wafer W along the outer shape of the wafer W above the tape removing unit 12. A cutting mechanism 13 is provided. Further, a tape collecting unit 14 that winds and collects the unnecessary tape T ′ peeled off by the tape peeling unit 12 is provided above the left side of the base 2. Further, a static electricity removing device 15 for removing static electricity from the protection tape T before being attached to the wafer W and the unnecessary tape T ′ before being collected is provided respectively with the chuck table 10 interposed therebetween.
[0027]
Hereinafter, each mechanism will be specifically described.
[0028]
The wafer supply unit 3 includes a cassette table 17 that can be moved up and down, and a cassette C1 in which wafers W having pattern surfaces facing upward are inserted in multiple stages in a horizontal posture and placed on the cassette table 17.
[0029]
The robot arm 5 provided in the wafer transfer mechanism 6 is configured to be capable of moving forward and backward horizontally, and is entirely driven and rotated. At the tip of the robot arm 5, a horseshoe-shaped vacuum suction type wafer holding unit 5a is provided, and the wafer holding unit 5a is inserted into the gap between the wafers W stored in the cassette C1 in multiple stages to place the wafer W on the back surface. The wafer W held by suction is held out of the cassette C1, and the wafer W held by suction is drawn out of the cassette C1 and transported in the order of an alignment stage 7, a chuck table 10, and a wafer collection unit 4, which will be described later.
[0030]
The alignment stage 7 aligns the wafer W loaded and loaded by the wafer transfer mechanism 6 based on an orientation flat OF formed on the outer periphery thereof.
[0031]
The chuck table 10 mounts the wafer W transferred from the wafer transfer mechanism 6 in a predetermined alignment posture, and covers the entire back surface of the wafer W and vacuums through the suction hole 18 as shown in FIG. It is designed to adsorb. Further, a cutter running groove 19 is formed on the upper surface of the chuck table 10 for cutting a protective tape by rotating a cutter blade 44 of the tape cutting mechanism 13 described below along the outer shape of the wafer W. . A plurality of cutter running grooves 19 corresponding to the outer shapes of wafers W having different sizes are provided. The initial position of the cutter running groove 19 where the cutter blade is first inserted is a wide radiation groove 20 and is connected to each cutter running groove 19.
[0032]
Returning to FIG. 1, the tape supply unit 8 guides the protective tape T with a separator fed from a tape bobbin 22 axially supported by a vertical wall 21 of the apparatus body around a guide roller group 23 to peel off the separator S. The protective tape T is guided to the tape sticking unit 11. Further, the tape bobbin 22 is configured so that an appropriate rotation resistance is given to prevent the tape from being fed out excessively. In addition, a tape wider than the diameter of the wafer W is used as the protective tape.
[0033]
In the separator collecting section 9, a collecting bobbin 24 for winding up the separator S peeled off from the protective tape T is pivotally supported by the vertical wall 21 of the apparatus main body, and is rotationally driven in a winding direction by a drive mechanism (not shown) at the back of the vertical wall. It has become so.
[0034]
The tape affixing unit 11 is gripped by rails of the apparatus main body so that its frame can slide in the tape running direction, and is linked to each other via a drive unit such as a motor (not shown). As shown in FIG. 7, a sticking roller 25 is rotatably supported on the frame, and the sticking roller 25 is driven to move up and down by a cylinder (not shown). That is, the sticking roller 25 sticks the protective tape T to the surface of the wafer W while pressing and rolling the surface of the protective tape T.
[0035]
The tape peeling unit 12 is gripped by a rail of the apparatus main body so that its frame can slide in the tape running direction, and is linked to each other via a drive unit such as a motor (not shown). As shown in FIG. 7, a peeling roller 26 is rotatably supported by the frame, and the peeling roller 26 is driven to move up and down by a cylinder (not shown). The peeling roller 26 is for peeling off the unnecessary protection tape after being cut along the outer shape of the wafer W from the wafer W.
[0036]
In the tape collecting section 14, a collecting bobbin 27 for winding the unnecessary tape T 'is pivotally supported by the vertical wall 21 of the apparatus main body, and is driven to rotate in the winding direction by a driving mechanism (not shown) on the back of the vertical wall. I have.
[0037]
Returning to FIG. 1, the wafer collecting section 4 is provided with a cassette table 28 which can be moved up and down. It is designed to be placed on a cassette table 28.
[0038]
As shown in FIG. 2, the tape cutting mechanism 13 is provided with a movable base 31 supported on a rear surface of a vertical wall 21 of the apparatus main body so as to slide up and down along a pair of left and right vertical rails 30. A support arm 31a connected to the movable base 31 extends cantileverly in front of the apparatus main body through an opening 32 of the vertical wall 21, and a cutter unit 33 is mounted on the support arm.
[0039]
The movable base 31 is driven up and down by screw feed by driving the screw shaft 34 to rotate forward and reverse. As shown in FIG. 3, the screw shaft 34 is operatively connected to a motor 36 via a slip-free wrapping transmission mechanism 35 using a timing belt or the like. The lower limit of the movable table 31 is restricted by the adjustable stopper bolt 37. Note that these configurations for moving the movable base 31 up and down correspond to height adjusting means of the present invention.
[0040]
Returning to FIG. 2, a cutting drive shaft 38 rotatable around a vertical axis X located on the center of the chuck table 10 is provided near the tip of the support arm 31a, and is connected to a lower end of the cutting drive shaft 38. A pair of telescopic arms 40 are supported on the boss portion 39 so as to be slidable horizontally. A pivot bracket 42 formed in a gate shape is rotatably supported around a longitudinal axis Y on a support member 41 connected to the distal end of the telescopic arm 40.
[0041]
A cutter holder 43 is supported by the pivot bracket 42 so as to be swingable about a horizontal fulcrum Z, and a cutter blade 44 having a cutting edge downward is detachably attached to a lower portion of the cutter holder 43.
[0042]
Here, the cutting drive shaft 38 is linked to a motor 46 via a slip-free wrapping transmission mechanism 45 using a timing belt or the like. That is, by rotating and driving the cutting drive shaft 38, the cutter blade 44 is pivotally moved around the vertical axis X with a radius R to cut out and cut the protective tape T attached to the wafer W.
[0043]
The rotation bracket 42 is rotatable around the vertical axis Y by an air cylinder 47 shown in FIG. 4, and the direction of the edge of the cutter blade 44 is adjusted by adjusting the rotation phase of the rotation bracket 42. You can do it.
[0044]
Also, the cutter holder 43 can be pivotally operated around the fulcrum Z by the air cylinder 48 shown in FIG. 4, and the cutter blade 44 swings around the upper fulcrum Z integrally with the cutter holder 43, so that the cutter blade 43 is rotated. The reference numeral 44 moves in the distance from the vertical axis X.
[0045]
The control unit 47 controls the rotational drive of the motor 36 to control the vertical drive of the tape cutting mechanism 13 in order to adjust the contact position (height) of the cutter blade 44 with the protective tape T. The detailed description will be described in the following operation description.
[0046]
Next, a series of operations for attaching the protective tape T to the surface of the wafer W using the above-described apparatus will be described.
[0047]
When the cassette C1 in which the wafers W are stored in multiple stages is placed on the cassette table 17 of the wafer supply unit, the cassette table 17 moves up and down and stops at a position where the robot W can take out the wafer W to be taken out. .
[0048]
Next, the wafer transfer mechanism 6 is turned to insert the wafer holding portion 5a of the robot arm 5 into the gap between the wafers in the cassette C1, and the robot arm 5 transfers the wafer W from the back surface (lower surface) by the wafer holding portion 5a. The wafer W is sucked and held, taken out, and transferred to the alignment stage 7.
[0049]
The wafer W placed on the alignment stage 7 is aligned using the orientation flat OF, and the wafer W whose alignment has been completed is sucked and held by the robot arm 5 again, carried out, and transferred to the chuck table 10. You.
[0050]
The wafer W placed on the chuck table 10 is aligned and held by suction so that the center thereof is on the center of the chuck table 10. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the tape affixing unit 11 and the tape peeling unit 12 are at the left initial position, and the cutter unit 33 of the tape cutting mechanism 13 is at the upper initial position.
[0051]
When the alignment of the wafer W is completed, the application roller 25 of the tape application unit 11 is lowered as shown in FIG. 8, and the tape runs on the wafer W while pressing the protection tape T downward with the application roller 25. The protective tape T rolls in the opposite direction (from left to right in FIG. 8), whereby the protective tape T is uniformly applied to the entire surface of the wafer W. Then, when the tape applying unit 11 reaches the end position, the applying roller 25 is raised.
[0052]
Next, the motor 36 is activated, the tape cutting mechanism 13 is lowered, and as shown in FIG. 9, the cutter unit 33 which has been waiting above is lowered to the cutting action position, and the cutter blade 44 radiates the chuck table 10. At the position of the groove 20, the protective tape T is pierced and penetrated, and is stopped when it is lowered to a predetermined height position. In this case, the telescopic arm 40 is previously slid so that the turning radius R of the cutter blade 44 with respect to the vertical axis X corresponds to the size of the wafer W to be processed.
[0053]
When the cutter blade 44 is stopped at a predetermined height position, the motor 46 is activated to rotate the cutting drive shaft 38 in a predetermined direction, and accordingly, the cutter blade 44 pivots around the vertical axis X. Then, the protection tape T is cut along the outer shape of the wafer. At this time, a predetermined tension is applied to the protective tape T by the tape applying unit 11 and the tape removing unit 12.
[0054]
The following control is performed in the tape cutting process. That is, in the tape cutting process in the orientation flat area of the wafer W, the cutter blade 44 follows the orientation flat OF by swinging about the fulcrum Z integrally with the cutter holder 43. In the first half from the start end of the orientation flat OF to the center portion, the cutter blade 44 gradually swings closer to the center side of the wafer W with the turning movement, and in the second half from the center portion to the end of the orientation flat OF, the cutter blade 44 is rotated. Is gradually moved away from the center of the wafer W to the original turning radius R with the turning movement, and the cutter unit 33 is moved up and down by the motor 36 in conjunction with the swing of the cutter blade 44 around the fulcrum Z. Controlled.
[0055]
That is, in the first half of the orientation flat area where the cutter blade 44 swings closer to the center side of the wafer W from the position of the turning radius R, the cutter unit 33 is controlled to descend according to the swing amount, and in the second half of the orientation flat area, The cutter unit 33 is controlled to move upward to the original height position in accordance with the swing amount. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the contact position e ′ of the cutter blade 44 with the protective tape T in the orientation flat region is maintained the same as the contact position e of the cutter blade 44 with the protective tape T in the circular arc region of the outer shape of the wafer W. You can do it.
[0056]
In addition, data such as the size of the wafer W and the orientation flat OF, the height from the surface of the wafer W to the fulcrum Z, and the like are input in advance to the control unit 47 that controls the operation of the motor 36 that controls the elevation of the cutter unit 33. The target height position of the cutter unit 33 required to keep the contact position e constant is stored and stored as map data corresponding to the turning position of the cutter blade 44 around the vertical axis X. Therefore, when the turning position of the cutter blade 44 is detected by a sensor such as a rotary encoder, the target height position of the cutter unit 33 is calculated based on the detection data, and the rotation of the motor 36 is controlled by this. Has become.
[0057]
When the tape cutting along the outer periphery of the wafer W is completed, the cutting drive shaft 38 is stopped, and the cutter unit 33 is raised to the original standby position as shown in FIG. Next, the tape peeling unit 12 winds and peels off the unnecessary tape T ′ that has been cut out and cut on the wafer W while moving the wafer W in the direction opposite to the tape running direction.
[0058]
When the tape peeling unit 12 reaches the end position of the peeling operation, the tape peeling unit 12 and the tape attaching unit 11 move in the tape running direction and return to the initial position. At this time, the unnecessary tape T ′ is wound around the collection bobbin 27, and a certain amount of the protection tape T is fed out from the tape supply unit 8.
[0059]
Thus, a series of operations for attaching the protective tape T to the surface of the wafer W is completed, and thereafter, this operation is repeated. In this case, every time the processing of a predetermined number of sheets is completed, the cutting action height of the cutter unit 22 is changed by a predetermined amount by a command issued automatically or by an artificial operation, and as shown in FIG. By shifting the contact position e with the protective tape T, that is, the tape cutting position upward by a predetermined pitch p, it can be used for cutting a large number of sheets without replacing one cutter blade 44.
[0060]
In the present embodiment, in the process of cutting the protection tape T attached to the wafer W having the orientation flat, the tape cutting mechanism 44 is operated so that the contact position of the cutter blade 44 with the protection tape T is the same. By controlling the height of 44, the protection tape can be cut under substantially the same conditions, and the cut quality of the protection tape T can be kept uniform.
[0061]
Further, each time a predetermined number of protective tapes T are cut, the contact position of the cutter blade 44 with respect to the protective tape T is moved and changed by a predetermined pitch, so that one cutter blade 44 can be used for a long time. Therefore, the frequency of replacing the cutter blade 44 can be reduced, and workability can be improved.
[0062]
The present invention can be implemented in the following forms.
[0063]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the height of the cutter blade 44 in the orientation flat area is controlled by controlling the elevation drive means of the cutter unit 33 has been described. The height of the cutter blade 44 in the orientation flat area can be controlled while the cutter unit 33 is fixed at a predetermined cutting action height. According to this, the operating part to be lifted / lowered becomes lightweight, and control with excellent accuracy and responsiveness can be executed.
[0064]
(2) In the above embodiment, the cutter blade 44 is moved up and down with respect to the wafer W, but the chuck table 10 is moved up and down in conjunction with the swing of the cutter blade around the fulcrum Z, so that the protection tape T It is also possible to keep the contact position of the cutter blade 44 constant.
[0065]
(3) If the cutter blade 44 is configured to be able to move horizontally in the near and far directions, and the cutter blade 44 is horizontally moved in parallel while keeping a constant posture in the orientation flat area to follow the orientation flat OF, the cutter blade 44 can be moved. The tape cutting of the entire circumference of the wafer W can be performed while maintaining the contact position of the cutter blade 44 with the protection tape T constant without performing the elevation control.
[0066]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the tape is cut while maintaining the contact position of the cutter blade with the protective tape constant, so that the protective tape attached to the wafer having the orientation flat can be removed from the wafer. Good and uniform cutting quality can be secured over the entire circumference.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a protective tape attaching device.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the tape cutting mechanism.
FIG. 3 is a rear view of the tape cutting mechanism.
FIG. 4 is a front view showing a main part of the cutter unit.
FIG. 5 is a front view of the cutter blade.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a main part of a tape cutting mechanism and a chuck table.
FIG. 7 is a schematic front view of a protective tape attaching process.
FIG. 8 is a schematic front view of a protective tape attaching process.
FIG. 9 is a schematic front view of a protection tape cutting step.
FIG. 10 is a schematic front view of a protective tape peeling process.
FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a protection tape cutting portion in the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a plan view of a semiconductor wafer.
FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional protection tape cutting portion.
[Explanation of symbols]
44… cutter blade
W… Semiconductor wafer
T: Protective tape
Z ... fulcrum
OF… Orientation flat
e, e '... contact position

Claims (4)

After attaching a wide protective tape to the surface of the semiconductor wafer having an orientation flat, a protective tape cutting method for cutting the protective tape by rotating the cutter blade along the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer,
A method for cutting a protective tape, comprising: rotating a cutter blade along an outer shape of a semiconductor wafer while maintaining a constant contact position of the cutter blade with the protective tape in a process of cutting the protective tape. The protective tape cutting method according to claim 1,
In the cutting process in the orientation flat area, the cutter blade is swung to follow the orientation flat, and the relative height between the cutter blade and the semiconductor wafer is controlled with the turning movement of the cutter blade, so that the cutter blade with respect to the protective tape is controlled. Wherein the cutter blade is swiveled along the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer while keeping the contact position of the protective tape constant. After pasting a wide protective tape on the surface of a semiconductor wafer having an orientation flat, a protective tape cutting device that cuts the protective tape by rotating the cutter blade along the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer,
A height adjusting unit configured to swing the cutter blade driven to rotate around the fulcrum to follow the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer, and to change and adjust the height of the fulcrum with respect to the semiconductor wafer;
Control means for operating the height adjusting means in conjunction with the turning movement of the cutter blade in the orientation flat area to maintain a constant contact position of the cutter blade with the protective tape. Tape cutting device. The protective tape cutting device according to claim 3,
A protective tape cutting device, wherein a contact position of a cutter blade with respect to a protective tape is changed and moved by a predetermined pitch every time a predetermined number of protective tapes are cut.

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