JP2006352031A - Device and method of dividing platy member - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device and method of dividing a platy member capable of keeping mutual distances of each chip proper after divided into pieces, and capable of preventing the pieces from being damaged by avoiding mutual contacts of the chips. <P>SOLUTION: The device cuts or polishes a wafer W affixed to a dicing tape DT or a protective sheet PS each having an ultraviolet curing adhesive layer US into pieces; and includes a table 11 supporting the wafer W, a rotary cutter 13 that cuts or a grinder 50 that polishes the wafer W, and a ultraviolet irradiating device 15 juxtaposed therewith. A hardened portion US1 is formed from the ultraviolet curing adhesive layer US appearing by cutting or polishing with the device 15, and the distances of the chips C after being divided into the pieces are designed to be kept constant with the cured portion US1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a plate member dividing apparatus and a dividing method, and more specifically, when a plate member attached to an adhesive sheet is divided, a gap between individual chips is kept constant. The present invention relates to a plate-like member dividing device and a dividing method capable of preventing chip damage.

  Conventionally, semiconductor wafers (hereinafter simply referred to as “wafers”) have been diced along a predetermined street line in a grid pattern. This dicing is performed by grinding the back surface of the wafer and then cutting with a rotary cutter from the circuit surface side to form cutting grooves in the shape of ridges (for example, see Patent Document 1), and on the circuit surface side of the wafer. A direction (for example, refer to Patent Document 2) is known in which a ridge-like cutting groove is formed and then the back surface of the wafer is ground.

  FIG. 10 shows a dicing process diagram of a conventional example in which a cutting groove is formed after the back surface grinding. In FIG. 10, a protective sheet PS is attached to the circuit surface side of a wafer W formed by grinding the back surface (see FIG. 10A), and an ultraviolet curable adhesive is applied on the base sheet BS. It is mounted on the ring frame RF via a dicing tape DT formed by laminating the layers US (see FIG. 10B). The protective sheet PS on the mounted wafer W is peeled off via the peeling sheet PT and the peeling chuck 100 (see FIG. 10C), and the fixing hook 102 is moved on the table 101. Through this, the ring frame RF is fixed (see FIG. 10D). Then, the inner table 103 arranged so as to be movable up and down in the region of the table 101 is raised to apply tension to the dicing tape DT, and in this state, the cutting grooves CL are formed in a grid shape by cutting using the rotary cutter 105. Thus, the chip C separated into pieces can be obtained.

  FIG. 11 shows a dicing process diagram of a conventional example called a so-called tip dicing method in which a cutting groove is formed prior to back surface grinding. In the figure, before the back surface grinding of the wafer W, cutting grooves CL shallower than the thickness of the wafer W are formed on the circuit surface side in the shape of ridges, and the protective sheet PS is attached to the circuit surface (FIG. 11 (A) and (B)). The wafer W is sucked and held on the suction table 200 via the protective sheet PS (see FIG. 11C), and the back grinding by the grinder 201 is performed up to a position reaching the cutting groove CL (see FIG. 11D). ), A chip C can be formed (see FIG. 11E).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-266182 JP 2002-16021 A

  However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, since the dicing tape DT is stretched on the table 101 as shown in FIG. 10D, the wafer W is transferred from the table 101 to the ring frame. When it is removed together with the RF, the dicing tape DT is loosened as shown in FIG. 10 (E), which causes a disadvantage that the gap between the chips C is clogged. Such inconvenience results in contact between the edges of the chips C, which causes damage to the chips C.

  Similarly, even in the method described in Patent Document 2, since the rigidity of the wafer W is reduced by being extremely thinly ground, when the wafer W is applied to the protective sheet PS with tension applied thereto, The residual stress of the chip C tends to be warped and contracted, and the gap of the cutting groove CL is narrowed. Due to this, the edge damage of the chip C is caused by contact between the edges of the chips C. Inconvenience of inviting.

  In any of the dicing methods described above, as shown in FIG. 11 (F), the suction collet 300 during bonding is caused by the chip C due to the positional change in which the mutual distance between the chips C is narrowed. There is also an inconvenience that a case where the time spans between them occurs.

[Object of invention]
The present invention has been devised by paying attention to such inconveniences, and its purpose is to keep the distance between the chips after separation into individual pieces and to avoid damage by avoiding contact between the chips. An object of the present invention is to provide a plate-like member dividing apparatus and dividing method that can be used.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plate-like member dividing device that cuts a plate-like member attached to an energy ray-curable adhesive sheet and separates the plate-like member into pieces.
A table that supports the plate-like member, a cutter that cuts the plate-like member supported by the table, and an energy beam irradiation device that is attached to the cutter,
The energy ray irradiating apparatus employs a configuration in which the adhesive sheet portion exposed after cutting by the cutting by the cutter is irradiated with energy rays to cure the adhesive sheet portion.

Further, the present invention attaches the cutting surface side of the plate-like member in which the cutting groove shallower than the thickness of the plate-like member is formed on the energy ray curable adhesive sheet, and grinds the opposite side of the cutting surface to In the plate-like member dividing device for dividing the plate-like member into pieces,
A table that supports the plate-like member, a grinder that grinds the plate-like member supported by the table, and an energy beam irradiation device that is attached to the grinder,
The energy beam irradiating apparatus employs a configuration in which the adhesive sheet portion exposed after grinding by the grinding of the grinder is irradiated with energy rays to cure the adhesive sheet portion.

  In the plate-like member dividing device, it is preferable that a removing device for removing cutting waste or grinding waste of the plate-like member is provided in the irradiation device.

  Further, the energy beam irradiation is configured to be performed substantially simultaneously following the cutting or grinding.

  The plate-like member is a semiconductor wafer, and the energy ray curable adhesive sheet is configured by providing an energy ray curable adhesive layer on a base sheet.

Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for dividing a plate-like member that cuts a plate-like member attached to an energy ray curable adhesive sheet and separates the plate-like member into pieces.
The plate-like member is supported on the table via the adhesive sheet,
The plate member is cut with a cutter from the upper surface side of the plate member,
Irradiate energy rays to the adhesive sheet portion exposed after cutting by the cutting,
A method is adopted in which the plate-like member is singulated in a state where the adhesive sheet portion is cured by irradiation with the energy beam.

Further, the present invention attaches the cutting surface side of the plate-like member in which the cutting groove shallower than the thickness of the plate-like member is formed on the energy ray curable adhesive sheet, and grinds the opposite side of the cutting surface to In the dividing method of the plate-shaped member that separates the plate-shaped member,
The plate-like member is supported on a table via the adhesive sheet,
Grinding the plate member from the opposite side of the cutting surface of the plate member with a grinder,
Irradiate the energy sheet to the adhesive sheet portion exposed after grinding by the grinding,
A method of dividing the plate-like member into pieces in a state where the adhesive sheet portion is cured by irradiation with the energy rays can also be adopted.

  In the method for dividing the plate-like member, it is preferable to remove the cutting waste or grinding waste of the plate-like member following cutting or grinding.

  Moreover, in the said division | segmentation method of the said plate-shaped member, the method that the irradiation of the said energy ray is performed substantially simultaneously following the said cutting or grinding is taken.

  Further, the plate-like member in the method for dividing the plate-like member is a semiconductor wafer, and the energy ray curable adhesive sheet is intended to be provided with an energy ray curable adhesive layer on a base sheet. Can do.

According to the present invention, an energy ray curable adhesive layer is exposed between chips along with cutting and grinding, and the exposed adhesive sheet portion is irradiated with energy rays and cured to form a plate shape. The member can be divided. For this reason, even when the adhesive sheet is loosened, warped, or contracted when the division of the plate-like member is finished, the distance between the chips, that is, the gap of the cutting groove is kept constant. Thus, contact between the chip edges can be prevented and damage or the like can be avoided.
In addition, since it is possible to remove the debris generated by cutting and grinding, it is possible to simplify or omit the cleaning process in the subsequent process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. Here, FIG. 1A shows a schematic perspective view of a dicing apparatus 10 acting as a dividing apparatus, and FIG. 1B shows a state in which a wafer W as a plate member is mounted on a ring frame RF. A cross-sectional view is shown. In these drawings, a dicing apparatus 10 includes a table 11 that supports a wafer W, a rotary cutter 13 that forms chips C separated by cutting so as to form a cutting groove CL on the wafer W, An ultraviolet irradiating device 15 that irradiates ultraviolet rays as energy rays attached to the rotary cutter 13 and a removing device 16 that sucks cutting waste when the wafer W is cut by the rotary cutter 13 are configured.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the wafer W is diced in a state of being mounted on the ring frame RF via a dicing tape DT as an adhesive sheet. The dicing tape DT is configured by laminating an ultraviolet curable adhesive layer US on a base sheet BS, and the back surface side of the wafer W (the side opposite to the circuit surface) on the surface of the ultraviolet curable adhesive layer US. ) Is affixed. Although not shown here, the circuit surface of the wafer W is protected by a protective sheet (not shown) until the wafer W is cut by the rotary cutter 13.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the table 11 is provided with an outer table 11A that supports the ring frame RF and a table that can be moved up and down relative to the outer table 11A to raise the surface position of the wafer W to form the dicing tape DT. It is comprised by the inner side table 11B which provides a fixed tension | tensile_strength. The table 11 is supported on the upper surface side of the slider 20 via a rotating mechanism 21. The slider 20 is supported by guide rails 22 and 22, and the X axis in FIG. It is provided to be movable in the direction. The rotation mechanism 21 can form a substantially square chip C by rotating the table 11 in a plane and rotating the table 11 by 90 degrees. In addition, in the outer table 11A, fixing hooks 25 and 25 are provided at their relative positions in the X-axis direction in FIG. The frame RF and thus the wafer W are provided so as to be held at a fixed position.

  The rotary cutter 13 includes a cutter blade 13A and a shaft-shaped blade holder 13B that rotatably supports the cutter blade 13A. The rotary cutter 13 is supported by a cutter support 30. The cutter support 30 includes a base 32 that can move along a pair of rails 31, 31 oriented in the Y-axis direction in FIG. 1, a robot body 33 that stands up from the base 32, and the front side of the robot body 33. 3 and a slider 33A of the robot body 33 shown in FIG. 3. The blade holder is provided so as to be movable up and down along the vertical guide rails 35, 35. It is comprised with the raising / lowering slider 36 which supports the base of 13B, Thereby, the said cutter blade 13A can move to the orthogonal biaxial direction of Y and Z in FIG.

  The ultraviolet irradiation device 15 is supported by the lift slider 36 via a support member (not shown). The ultraviolet irradiation device 15 is configured to irradiate the ultraviolet curable adhesive layer US portion, which is formed in a linear shape with a cutting groove CL formed by the cutter blade 13A, to cure the portion. Therefore, the ultraviolet irradiation device 15 in the present embodiment is a spot type in order to partially irradiate ultraviolet rays.

  The removal device 16 is disposed between the ultraviolet irradiation device 15 and the cutter blade 13A, is supported by the lift slider 36 via a support member (not shown), and is attached to the ultraviolet irradiation device 15. The removing device 16 includes a suction cylinder 40 having an opening at the lower end side, and a vacuum hose 41 connected to the suction cylinder 40, and removes the cutting waste by suctioning cutting waste when the cutter blade 13 cuts the wafer W. As a result, the ultraviolet curable adhesive layer US that appears linearly is filled with the cutting waste without leaving the cutting waste in the cutting groove CL formed in the wafer W. Is prevented and does not interfere with ultraviolet irradiation.

When dicing is performed by the dicing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment as described above, that is, when the wafer C is divided to form individual chips C, it is mounted on the ring frame RF in the previous step. The wafer W is aligned, and this is transferred onto the table 11 via a robot arm (not shown). Then, with the ring frame RF fixed by the fixing hooks 25 and 25 and the wafer W being set at a predetermined position, the inner table 11B is raised by a predetermined amount, and tension is applied to the dicing tape DT.
Next, by moving the table 11 and rotating the cutter blade 13A, the cutter blade 13A forms a cutting groove CL on the wafer W along a preset trajectory, and the wafer W is separated into a substantially square planar shape. Chip C is formed by singulation. The cutting waste generated thereby is sucked and removed by the removing device 16 and irradiated with ultraviolet rays through the cutting grooves CL to form a cured portion US1 in the ultraviolet curable adhesive layer US of the dicing tape DT (see FIG. 4).

  Each chip C divided and separated after dicing is kept mounted on the ring frame RF via the dicing tape DT, and the ring frame RF is taken out from the table 11 by a suction pad (not shown). It will be transferred to a later process. At this time, the dicing tape DT is in a state in which a tension is temporarily applied by the rise of the inner table 11B during the dicing described above, and the slack is caused by releasing the tension. The slack does not reach the formation site of the cutting groove CL.

  That is, according to the first embodiment, the mutual spacing between the chips C can be maintained by the presence of the cured portion US1 of the ultraviolet curable adhesive layer US that is exposed between the chips C. The gaps corresponding to the grooves CL are kept constant, and edge damage due to contact between the chips C can be prevented. Further, since it is possible to prevent the relative position shift with the suction collet when the chip C is bonded, it is possible to avoid the disadvantage that the suction collet straddles between the chips C.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the same reference numerals are used for the same or equivalent components as in the first embodiment, and the description is omitted or simplified.

  The second embodiment is a dividing device 45 that divides the wafer W into pieces by grinding the back surface of the wafer W that has been so-called pre-diced, and the wafer to be divided by the dividing device 45. 5B, as shown in FIG. 5B, a cutting groove CL shallower than the thickness of the wafer W is formed in advance on the circuit surface side before the back surface grinding, and the protective sheet PS is formed on the circuit surface side. It is affixed. Further, in the second embodiment, the grinder 50 for grinding the back surface of the wafer W is adopted, and accordingly, the ultraviolet irradiation device 15 and the removal device 16 have a structure along the outer periphery of the grinder 50. Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the grinder 50 includes a motor M, a rotating member 51 fixed to the output shaft of the motor M, a grindstone holder 53 attached to the lower end of the rotating member 51, A grindstone 55 attached to the lower surface of the grindstone holder 53 and a support arm 57 that supports the motor M are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the ultraviolet irradiation device 15 has a substantially ¼ arc planar shape surrounding the outer periphery of the grindstone holder 53, and its lower end side region is formed as an ultraviolet irradiation region. Yes.

  The removal device 16 is disposed between the grindstone holder 53 and the ultraviolet irradiation device 15. The removing device 16 includes a suction tube 60 having a planar shape along the inner periphery of the ultraviolet irradiation device 15 and having a suction port on the lower surface side, and a vacuum hose 61 connected to the suction tube 60. .

  In the second embodiment, the wafer W is sucked and fixed onto the table 11 via the protective sheet PS, and the back side of the wafer W is ground by the grinder 50. This grinding is performed until the cutting groove CL formed in advance is reached, whereby the wafer C can be separated into individual chips C. Grinding debris generated during grinding is removed by suction by the removing device 16, while the ultraviolet curable adhesive layer US portion appearing between the cutting grooves CL forming the chip C is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to be cured portion US1 (see FIG. 9). Form.

  Accordingly, even in such a second embodiment, the cured portion US1 can be formed in the ultraviolet curable adhesive layer US portion exposed between the chips C, so that the gap of the cutting groove CL is narrowed after the division is completed. It is possible to provide the dividing device 45 that can prevent the edge of the chip C from being damaged. More specifically, when the protective sheet PS is attached to the wafer W, the protective sheet PS is attached in a state where a certain tension is applied. In this case, the wafer W is before grinding. Therefore, no warpage or shrinkage deformation occurs due to the rigidity of the thickness. However, when an aggregate of chips C that has been made extremely thin by grinding, the initial rigidity cannot be maintained, so that the stress to be reduced acts on the protective sheet PS. Even in this case, according to the present embodiment, the ultraviolet curable adhesive layer US between the chips C is kept in a state in which the cured portion US1 is formed, thereby making the gap of the cutting groove CL constant. It becomes possible to maintain the edge, and damage to the edge due to contact between the chips C can be prevented.

As described above, the best configuration, method, and the like for carrying out the present invention have been disclosed in the above description, but the present invention is not limited to this.
That is, the present invention has been illustrated and described mainly with respect to specific embodiments, but the shape, position, or position of the above-described embodiments can be reduced without departing from the scope of the technical idea and object of the present invention. With respect to the arrangement and the like, those skilled in the art can make various changes as necessary.

For example, although the energy ray in the said embodiment demonstrated the case where it was an ultraviolet-ray, another energy ray may be sufficient and the irradiation apparatus corresponding to this can be employ | adopted. Further, the ultraviolet irradiation device 15 and the removal device 16 are not limited to the illustrated configuration example, and various modifications can be made as long as they exhibit substantially the same operation.
The object to be separated can also be a plate-like member other than a wafer.

(A) is a schematic perspective view of the dicing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a wafer to be divided in the same embodiment is mounted on a ring frame. The schematic front view of the said dicing apparatus. The schematic plan view of the said dicing apparatus. Sectional drawing which shows the state by which division | segmentation and ultraviolet irradiation were performed. (A) is a schematic perspective view of a plate-like member dividing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is a wafer to be divided in the same embodiment is diced first, and a protective sheet is provided on the circuit surface side. Sectional drawing which shows the state stuck. The perspective view similar to FIG. 5 (A) which shows the state which abbreviate | omitted the ultraviolet irradiation device and the removal apparatus. The schematic front view of the division apparatus of the plate-shaped member which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The schematic plan view of the dividing apparatus of the plate-shaped member which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows the state by which back surface grinding and ultraviolet irradiation were performed with the division apparatus of the plate-shaped member which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. (A)-(E) are process drawings for demonstrating the conventional dicing method. (A)-(F) are process drawings for demonstrating the other example of the conventional dicing method.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Dicing apparatus 11 Table 13 Rotary cutter 15 Ultraviolet irradiation apparatus 16 Removal apparatus 45 Dividing apparatus 50 Grinder CL Cutting groove W Wafer (plate-shaped member)
PS protective sheet DT dicing tape (adhesive sheet)
US UV curable adhesive layer US1 Cured part

Claims (10)

In the plate-like member dividing apparatus that cuts the plate-like member attached to the energy ray curable adhesive sheet and separates the plate-like member into pieces,
A table that supports the plate-like member, a cutter that cuts the plate-like member supported by the table, and an energy beam irradiation device that is attached to the cutter,
The said energy ray irradiation apparatus irradiates an energy ray to the adhesive sheet part exposed after cutting by the cutting with the said cutter, and hardens the said adhesive sheet part, The division | segmentation apparatus of the plate-shaped member characterized by the above-mentioned. The cutting surface side of the plate-like member in which the cutting groove shallower than the thickness of the plate-like member is formed is pasted on the energy ray curable adhesive sheet, and the opposite side of the cutting surface is ground to separate the plate-like member into pieces. In the plate-shaped member dividing apparatus to be
A table that supports the plate-like member, a grinder that grinds the plate-like member supported by the table, and an energy beam irradiation device that is attached to the grinder,
The said energy beam irradiation apparatus irradiates an energy ray to the adhesive sheet part exposed after grinding by grinding of the said grinder, and hardens the said adhesive sheet part, The division | segmentation apparatus of the plate-shaped member characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. The plate-shaped member dividing device according to claim 1, wherein a removal device for removing cutting waste or grinding waste of the plate-like member is provided in the energy beam irradiation device. 4. The plate member dividing device according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation with the energy beam is performed substantially simultaneously with the cutting or grinding. The plate member is a semiconductor wafer, and the energy ray curable adhesive sheet is configured by providing an energy ray curable adhesive layer on a base sheet. The plate-like member dividing device according to 3 or 4. In the dividing method of the plate-like member that cuts the plate-like member attached to the energy ray curable adhesive sheet and separates the plate-like member,
The plate-like member is supported on the table via the adhesive sheet,
The plate member is cut with a cutter from the upper surface side of the plate member,
Irradiate energy rays to the adhesive sheet portion exposed after cutting by the cutting,
The plate-like member dividing method, wherein the plate-like member is divided into pieces in a state where the adhesive sheet portion is cured by irradiation with the energy rays. The cutting surface side of the plate-like member in which the cutting groove shallower than the thickness of the plate-like member is formed is pasted on the energy ray curable adhesive sheet, and the opposite side of the cutting surface is ground to separate the plate-like member into pieces. In the method of dividing the plate-like member to be converted,
The plate-like member is supported on a table via the adhesive sheet,
Grinding the plate member from the opposite side of the cutting surface of the plate member with a grinder,
Irradiate the energy sheet to the adhesive sheet portion exposed after grinding by the grinding,
The plate-like member dividing method, wherein the plate-like member is divided into pieces in a state where the adhesive sheet portion is cured by irradiation with the energy rays. The method for dividing a plate-like member according to claim 6 or 7, wherein removal of cutting waste or grinding waste of the plate-like member is performed following cutting or grinding. 9. The plate member dividing method according to claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein the irradiation of the energy beam is performed substantially simultaneously with the cutting or grinding. The plate member is a semiconductor wafer, and the energy ray curable adhesive sheet is configured by providing an energy ray curable adhesive layer on a base sheet. The method for dividing a plate-like member according to 8 or 9.

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