JP2008113389A - Method for manufacturing piezoelectric vibrator, piezoelectric vibrator, and electronic component - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing piezoelectric vibrators in which the production efficiency can be improved when tuning fork type piezoelectric vibrators are manufactured using a piezoelectric substrate. <P>SOLUTION: A piezoelectric vibrator is formed by wet-etching the piezoelectric substrate, forming an external shape of a tuning fork type piezoelectric vibration chip so that tips of mutually opposite vibration arm portions are united, and forming electrode patterns on respective piezoelectric vibration chips, and then the part between the mutually opposite vibration arm portions is cut by a cutting means. Here, a cutting margin for the cutting means is provided between the mutually opposite vibration arm portions. Intervals can be made smaller than that when the vibration arm portions are parted by etching, so more piezoelectric vibrators can be manufactured using one piezoelectric substrate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for manufacturing a tuning fork-type piezoelectric vibrator using a piezoelectric substrate made of, for example, quartz.

  The tuning fork type crystal resonator is small, inexpensive, and has low power consumption, so that it has been conventionally employed as a signal source for engraving the rate of a wristwatch, and its application is going to expand.

  FIG. 16 shows an example of a tuning-fork type crystal resonator. The crystal resonator 2 has a cutout portion 21a in which the upper side of both sides is cut out in a rectangular shape and the lower center is cut upward. A substantially square base 21 having a notch 21b and two (a pair of) vibrating arm portions 22 (22a, 22a, 22b) extending in parallel with each other from the upper end side of the base 21. 22b) and a crystal piece (crystal blank) 20 is provided. On both main surfaces of the vibrating arm portions 22a and 22b, groove portions 23 and 24 each having a role of increasing vibration efficiency and suppressing power loss are provided. Excitation electrodes for exciting tuning fork vibration based on flexural vibration are formed in the groove portions 23 and 24 and the vibrating arm portions 22a and 22b. The excitation electrode is omitted in FIG. 16, and its detailed configuration will be described when the present invention is described.

  An example of a manufacturing process of the above-described crystal resonator 2 will be described. For example, in the wafer W made of quartz, as shown by a chain line in FIG. 17, the formation regions 11 to 14 of the crystal resonator 2 are set, and an etching mask is formed in each of these formation regions 11 to 14. Then, after the mask pattern in which the surface of the crystal wafer W is exposed is formed on the mask so as to correspond to the outer shape of the crystal unit 2, the crystal wafer W is immersed in an etching solution and etched, and then the mask is Removed.

  FIG. 18 shows the crystal piece 20 in which the outer shape is formed by the etching in the crystal resonator formation region 11 and the mask is removed. In this region, the crystal piece 20 is arranged in the front-rear direction (Y in the figure). The vibrating arm portions 22a and 22b face each other in the direction), and a large number are arranged in the lateral direction (X direction in the figure). At this time, a part of the outer periphery of the crystal piece 20 is not etched and remains as the support portion 15. The support portion 15 connects the base 21 of each crystal resonator 2 and the edge of the formation region 11, and 20 is fixed to the crystal wafer W. By fixing the crystal piece 20 to the crystal wafer W in this manner, electrodes described later can be formed even if the crystal piece 20 is small.

  Then, after a metal film is formed on the front and back surfaces of the crystal resonator forming region 11 by sputtering or the like, the metal film is formed by etching, whereby an excitation electrode is formed and the crystal resonator 2 is formed from the crystal piece 20. The

  The crystal resonator 2 is formed from the crystal resonator formation regions 12 to 14 similarly to the formation region 11, and the crystal resonator 2 in which the electrodes are formed in the formation regions 11 to 14 is broken off from the support portion 15. Separated from the quartz wafer W.

  As described above, the crystal wafer W is wet-etched, and the outer shape of the crystal piece 20 of the crystal resonator 2 is collectively formed for each wafer W. However, the crystal has anisotropy, and when the outer shape of the crystal piece 20 is formed by the anisotropy, the etching does not proceed straight along the thickness direction of the crystal wafer W, and the wafer W It progresses so as to spread slightly in the lateral direction.

  Therefore, the mask pattern for etching for forming the outer shape of the crystal resonator 2 must be formed in consideration of the spread of the etching, and between each crystal piece 20 in which the outer shape is formed and between the crystal piece 20 and the crystal. A predetermined interval will be formed between the edge of the formation region of the piece 20. Specifically, for example, as indicated by L1 in FIG. 18, between the arm portion 22 and the arm portion 22 of the crystal piece 20 in the front-rear direction, and between the base portion 21 and the base portion 21 aligned in the lateral direction as indicated by L2. An interval is provided, and further, an interval is also provided between the base portion 21 of the crystal piece 20 and the edge portion of the formation region 11 via the support portion 15 as indicated by L3 in the drawing. The size of these L1 to L3 is usually about 200 μm to 300 μm.

  Thus, the space is formed between the crystal piece 20 and the crystal piece 20 and between the crystal piece 20 and the edge of the formation region 101, so that the crystal resonator 2 is formed in the formation regions 11 to 14 accordingly. Therefore, the number and size of the formation regions that can be formed in the wafer W are also limited, and improvement is required for improving the production efficiency of the crystal unit 2.

In Patent Document 1, as described above, the wafer is etched to form the outer shape of the tuning fork type crystal resonator and the support portion for supporting the crystal fork crystal formation region. Although the technology to separate is described, the above problem cannot be solved.
JP 2001-1222697

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a piezoelectric device capable of improving production efficiency when manufacturing a tuning fork type piezoelectric vibrator using a piezoelectric substrate made of, for example, quartz crystal. An object is to provide a method for manufacturing a vibrator.

In the piezoelectric vibrator manufacturing method of the present invention, a large number of tuning fork-type piezoelectric vibrators are arranged in parallel so that the respective vibrating arm portions extending from the base portion are in parallel, and two of these piezoelectric vibrators are arranged. A large number of tuning fork type piezoelectric vibrators are formed on one piezoelectric substrate so that the groups are arranged with the vibrating arms facing each other, and then divided into individual piezoelectric vibrators to form a tuning fork type. In a method of manufacturing a piezoelectric vibrator,
Performing wet etching on the piezoelectric substrate and forming the outer shape of the tuning-fork type piezoelectric vibrating piece so that the tips of the vibrating arm portions facing each other are integrated;
Next, forming a piezoelectric vibrator by forming an electrode pattern on each piezoelectric vibrating piece;
Thereafter, a step of cutting between the vibrating arm portions facing each other by a cutting means,
An allowance by a cutting means is included between the vibrating arm portions facing each other.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a piezoelectric vibrator manufacturing method in which a large number of tuning fork type piezoelectric vibrators are arranged in parallel so that the vibrating arm portions extending from the base portion are parallel to each other. A large number of tuning fork type piezoelectric vibrators are formed on one piezoelectric substrate so that the two groups are arranged so that the vibrating arms are opposed to each other, and then divided into individual piezoelectric vibrators. In a method of manufacturing a piezoelectric vibrator of a mold,
Performing wet etching on the piezoelectric substrate and forming the outer shape of the tuning-fork type piezoelectric vibrating piece so that the bases of the piezoelectric vibrating pieces adjacent in parallel to each other are integrated;
Next, forming a piezoelectric vibrator by forming an electrode pattern on each piezoelectric vibrating piece;
And then cutting between the bases adjacent to each other in parallel by a cutting means,
A margin by a cutting means is included between the bases adjacent to each other in parallel.

In another piezoelectric vibrator manufacturing method, a large number of tuning fork type piezoelectric vibrators are arranged in parallel so that the respective vibrating arm portions extending from the base portion are parallel to each other. A large number of tuning fork-type piezoelectric elements on one piezoelectric substrate so that the groups face each other and the vibrating arm portions of the piezoelectric vibrators of one group and the vibrating arm portions of the piezoelectric vibrators of the other group are alternately arranged. In a method of manufacturing a tuning fork-type piezoelectric vibrator by forming a vibrator and then dividing it into individual piezoelectric vibrators,
Wet etching is applied to the piezoelectric substrate, so that the vibrating arms of one group of piezoelectric vibrators are integrated with the vibrating arms of the other groups of piezoelectric vibrators sandwiching the piezoelectric vibrator, respectively. Forming the outer shape of the piezoelectric vibrating piece of
Then, a step of cutting between the vibrating arm portion of one group and the vibrating arm portion of the other group by a cutting means,
Forming a piezoelectric vibrator by forming an electrode pattern on each piezoelectric vibrating piece,
A margin by a cutting means is included between the vibrating arm portion of the piezoelectric vibrator of one group and the vibrating arm portion of the piezoelectric vibrator of another group sandwiching the piezoelectric vibrator. .

  In these manufacturing methods, the method further includes a step of cutting between the base portion and the substrate region where the piezoelectric vibrator is not formed by a cutting means, and between the base portion and the substrate region where the piezoelectric vibrator is not formed. For example, the cutting means is selected from a cutting blade, a laser beam, and sand blasting.

  The piezoelectric vibrator of the present invention is manufactured by the above-described method. For example, an example of the piezoelectric vibrator is a quartz vibrator, and the piezoelectric substrate is made of quartz. The electronic component of the present invention includes the piezoelectric vibrator.

  According to the piezoelectric vibrator manufacturing method of the present invention, when forming a large number of piezoelectric vibrators so as to be arranged in parallel by performing wet etching on the piezoelectric substrate, the tips of the vibrating arm portions facing each other are formed. The outer shape of the tuning-fork type piezoelectric vibrating piece is formed so that a margin by the cutting means is included between the vibrating arm portions, and the vibrating arm portions facing each other are cut by the cutting means. Yes. As described in the background art section, when etching is performed, it is necessary to consider the lateral spread of the etching. Therefore, the gap between the vibrating arm portion and the vibrating arm portion of the piezoelectric vibrating piece facing each other by the etching is required. In the case of cutting, there is a certain limit to reducing the interval between the vibrating arm portions. In the present invention, for example, by using a cutting blade or a laser as the cutting means, the interval can be reduced. Therefore, the size of the region for forming the piezoelectric vibrator in the piezoelectric substrate can be reduced. As a result, when setting the area on a single piezoelectric substrate, the layout of the area and the number of degrees of freedom that can be set increase, so the number of piezoelectric vibrators produced on the piezoelectric substrate can be improved, The production efficiency of the piezoelectric vibrator can be improved.

  According to the piezoelectric vibrator manufacturing method of another invention, when forming a large number of piezoelectric vibrators arranged in parallel by performing wet etching on the piezoelectric substrate, the base portions of the piezoelectric vibrator pieces adjacent to each other in parallel are The outer shape of the tuning-fork type piezoelectric vibrating piece is formed so that a margin by the cutting means is included between the bases that are integrated and adjacent to each other in parallel, and the bases that are adjacent to each other in parallel are cut by the cutting means. ing. By cutting the space between the base portions using, for example, a cutting blade or a laser as a cutting means, the distance between the base portions can be made shorter than etching between the base portions. Therefore, the number of piezoelectric vibrators that can be formed on one piezoelectric substrate can be increased. As a result, the number of piezoelectric vibrators produced on one piezoelectric substrate can be improved, and the production efficiency of the piezoelectric vibrator can be improved.

  A method for manufacturing a tuning fork type crystal resonator which is a piezoelectric resonator will be described as an embodiment of the present invention. The structure of the crystal unit 2 according to this embodiment is the same as that of the crystal unit 2 described with reference to FIG. 15 in the background art section, and thus the description of the same part is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the crystal resonator 2 has a pair of one electrode and the other electrode. First, focusing on the vibrating arm portion 22 a of the vibrating arm portion 22, one excitation electrode 31 is formed between the entire inner surfaces of the two groove portions 23 and 24 of the vibrating arm portion 22 a and between the groove portions 23 and 24. That is, the excitation electrodes 31 in the groove portions 23 and 24 of the vibrating arm portion 22a are connected to each other by the excitation electrode 31 formed in the bridge portion corresponding to the groove portions 23 and 24. The other excitation electrode 41 is formed on both side surfaces 25, 25 of the vibrating arm portion 22a, and on the main surfaces 26, 26 (front side and back side) above the second groove portion 23 on the tip side. Yes.

  Furthermore, an adjustment weight 40, which is a metal film for adjusting the oscillation frequency by adjusting the weight of the vibration arm portion 22a, is provided at the distal end portion. The adjustment weight 40 forms a part of the excitation electrode 41, but the film thickness and electrode material are changed from those of the other parts. In FIG. 1, the excitation electrodes 31 and 41 are illustrated using a hatched area and a black dotted area separately for easy understanding of the drawing. Accordingly, the hatched lines in FIG. 1 do not indicate the cross section of the crystal piece 20.

  When attention is paid to the vibrating arm portion 22b, the other excitation electrode 41 is formed on the entire inner surface of the two groove portions 23 and 24 of the vibrating arm portion 22b and between each of the groove portions 23 and 24. One excitation electrode 31 is formed on both side surfaces 21 and 21 of the vibrating arm portion 22b and on the main surfaces 22 and 22 (front side and back side) above the second groove portion 23 on the front end side. Yes.

  Note that an adjustment weight 30 for adjusting the oscillation frequency by adjusting the weight is also provided at the tip of the vibrating arm portion 22a. The arrangement of the electrodes provided on the vibrating arm portions 22a and 22b is the same except that the excitation electrodes 31 and 41 have an opposite relationship to each other. Then, an electrode pattern including extraction electrodes 32 is formed on the surface of the base portion 21 so that the one excitation electrode 31 is electrically connected, and the base portion 21 is connected so that the other excitation electrode 41 is connected. An electrode pattern composed of lead electrodes 42 is formed on the surface of the electrode.

  Next, a manufacturing method of the crystal unit 2 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 2 shows a wafer W that is a piezoelectric substrate made of quartz crystal on which the quartz crystal resonator 2 is formed. For example, as shown by a chain line in the drawing, formation regions 101 to 105 of the quartz crystal resonator 2 (crystal piece 20) are set. Is done.

  The outline of this manufacturing method will be described with reference to the formation region 101 shown in FIG. 3. In this manufacturing method, as shown by a dotted line in the figure, the crystal piece 20 constituting the crystal unit 2 is moved in the front-rear direction (Y in the figure). Direction)), the vibrating arm portions 22 face each other, and the outer region of the crystal piece 20 is formed by wet etching so as to be continuous in the lateral direction (X direction in the figure). Then, by this wet etching, between the base portions 21 of the crystal pieces 20 (crystal resonator 2) continuous in the lateral direction, between the vibrating arm portions 22 of the crystal pieces 20 facing front and rear, and the bottom portion of the base portion 21 and the edge of the formation region 101 In between, a margin to be a margin corresponding to the width of a blade to be diced later remains, and a mask is formed so as to be connected to each other through these margins. Thereafter, an electrode is formed on the crystal piece 20 to form the crystal resonator 2, and a margin is cut by the blade to separate the crystal resonator 2 from each other. Hereinafter, the manner in which the crystal resonator 2 is formed in the formation region 101 will be described. However, the crystal resonator 2 is manufactured from the other formation regions 102 to 105 in the same manner as the formation region 101.

  The manner in which the cross section along the arrow AA in the figure, which is the part where the vibrating arm portion 22 of the crystal resonator 2 is formed, in the formation region 101 will be described with reference to FIGS. After polishing and washing the crystal wafer W described above, a metal film 51 is formed by sputtering (FIG. 4A). The metal film 51 is, for example, a film in which gold (Au) is laminated on a chromium (Cr) base film.

  Subsequently, after applying a photoresist on such a metal film 51 by, for example, a spray method (FIG. 4B), the photoresist is exposed and exposed so as to form a crystal piece 20 shape, that is, a tuning fork shape pattern. Development is performed to form a tuning fork-shaped resist film 52 (FIG. 4C).

  Thereafter, the quartz wafer W is immersed in a potassium iodide (KI) solution using the resist film 52 as a mask and wet etching is performed to remove a portion of the metal film 51 not covered with the resist film 52. Then, the surface made of quartz is exposed, and the mask pattern 50 for forming the outer shape of the quartz piece 20 having the same shape is formed on the front and back of the formation region 101. After the mask pattern 50 is formed, the resist film remaining on the quartz wafer W is completely removed (FIG. 4D). FIG. 7 shows the surface of the formation region 101 after the resist film is peeled off. The hatched lines in the figure are attached to the portions where the metal film 51 is formed in order to make the figure easy to see, as in FIG.

  Then, using the metal film 51 as a mask, the quartz wafer W is immersed in hydrofluoric acid as an etching solution and wet etching is performed, so that the outer shape of many quartz pieces 20 is formed on the quartz wafer W as a piezoelectric substrate ( FIG. 4 (e)).

  Next, a photoresist is applied to the entire surface of the quartz wafer W by, for example, a spray method to form a resist film 53 (FIG. 5A). Next, the resist film 53 corresponding to the grooves 23 and 24 shown in FIG. 1 is removed (FIG. 5B). Further, in the step shown in FIG. 5B, the resist film 53 corresponding to the groove portion of the vibrating arm portion is peeled off, and the resist film 53 remains inside the outer shape of the crystal piece 20 formed in the previous step. In addition, the other resist film 53 may be peeled off. Subsequently, using the resist film 53 as a mask, the quartz wafer W is immersed in a KI solution and wet etching is performed to remove the metal film 51 where the resist film 53 has been peeled off, and then the resist remaining on the quartz wafer W. All of the film 53 is peeled off (FIG. 5C).

  Thereafter, using the metal film 51 as a mask, the quartz wafer W is immersed in hydrofluoric acid as an etching solution and wet etching is performed to form grooves 23 and 24 on both main surfaces of the quartz piece 20 (FIG. 5). (D)). Further, when the resist film 53 is left inside the outer shape of the crystal piece 20 formed in the previous process, for example, one or more steps are formed on the edge of the crystal piece 20. Thereafter, the metal film 51 remaining on the quartz wafer W is removed (FIG. 5E).

    FIG. 8 shows the state of the formation region 101 when the metal film 51 is thus removed. In order to clarify the etched region in the formation region 101, the portions through which the front and back sides penetrate are shown with dots.

  As described above, the base portions 21 of the crystal pieces 20 that are continuous in the horizontal direction (X direction) are connected to each other with a cutting margin that is later cut off by a blade when dicing, as indicated by M1 in the figure, Further, the base portions 21 of the crystal pieces 20 at both the left and right ends of the formation region 101 are connected to the edge portions of the formation region 101 with the cutting margin M2 interposed therebetween (only the crystal piece 20 at the left end is shown in the drawing).

  Further, the tip and tip of the vibrating arm portion 22 of the crystal piece 20 in the front-rear direction (Y direction) are connected with a cutting margin M3 interposed therebetween, and the lower portion of the base portion 21 of each crystal piece 20 is the edge of the formation region 101. Are connected to each other with a cutting margin M4 interposed therebetween, and each crystal piece 20 is supported in the formation region 101 by margins M2 and M4. The sizes of the margins M1 to M4 indicated by N1 to N4 in the drawing are provided so as to correspond to the accuracy of dicing and the width of the blade, and are each 50 μm to 150 μm, for example. In this state, since the vibrating arm portion 22 and the vibrating arm portion 22 are connected to each other, and the side portion of the base portion 21 and the side portion of the base portion 21 are connected to each other, as described in the background art section. Compared to the case where the conventional manufacturing method supports only the peripheral portion of the crystal resonator forming region via the support portion, the durability of each crystal piece 20 is high and breakage is suppressed.

  Returning to FIG. 6, the process of creating an electrode pattern will be described next. First, a metal film 61 to be an electrode is formed on both sides of the crystal side 20 by sputtering (FIG. 4A). As the metal film 61, for example, a film in which gold (Au) is laminated on a chromium (Cr) base film is used.

  Subsequently, a photoresist is applied on such a metal film 61 by a spray method (FIG. 6B). Then, the resist film 62 other than the resist film 62 to be an electrode pattern is removed by photolithography (FIG. 6C). Thereafter, the metal film 61 where the resist film 62 has been peeled is etched to form an electrode pattern (FIG. 6D). Thereafter, all the resist film 62 remaining on the crystal piece 20 is peeled off (FIG. 6E).

  Further, when the adjustment weights 30 and 40, which are metal films provided at the tip portions of the vibrating arm portions 22a and 22b, are formed as shown in FIG. 1, both main parts of the crystal piece 20 shown in FIG. After the step of forming the grooves 23 and 24 on the surface, a photoresist is applied to the surface of the crystal wafer W by, for example, a spray method to form a resist film. Then, by photolithography, the resist film is left only at the tip portions of the vibrating arm portions 22a and 22b shown in FIG. Next, the quartz wafer W is immersed in a KI solution and wet etching is performed to remove the metal film 51 where the resist film has been peeled off, and then the resist film remaining at the tip portions of the vibrating arm portions 22a and 22b is removed. Peel off. Thereafter, the step of creating the electrode pattern shown in FIGS. 6A to 6E is performed. Thus, the metal film 51 used as a mask for forming the groove portions 23 and 24 on both main surfaces of the crystal piece 20 is left only at the tip portions of the vibrating arm portions 22a and 22b, and then an electrode film pattern is formed. As a result, the adjustment electrode film at the tip becomes thick, and the adjustment range of the oscillation frequency becomes large.

  FIG. 9 shows the formation region 101 of the crystal resonator 2 in the state where the excitation electrodes 31 and 41, the extraction electrodes 32 and 42, and the adjustment weights 30 and 40 are formed as described above. However, in order to avoid complication of the drawing, each electrode film pattern is simplified in FIG. 9 and the subsequent drawings.

  Next, a process for cutting out the crystal unit 2 will be described. First, the crystal wafer W is placed on a work table having a placement surface 71 for dicing. The placement surface 71 is provided, for example, at a position in contact with the crystal resonator 2 in the formation region 101 or close to the crystal resonator 2, and each crystal resonator 2 that is cut out is placed on the placement surface 71. Each is placed at a predetermined position with its front and back directions and arrangement maintained.

  First, as shown in FIG. 10, the dicing blade 72 is moved laterally with respect to the work table mounting surface 71 to cut the margin M3, and the vibration arm portion 22 of the crystal resonator 2 facing the front and rear direction and the vibration. The arm portion 22 is separated. For example, a vibration test is performed on the vibrating arm portions 22 of the crystal resonators 2 that can be vibrated by being separated from each other by using a probe (not shown). .

  For example, a control unit including a computer that controls each mechanism for performing this test including the probe allocates an address to each crystal resonator 2 in the region 101, and there is an abnormality in the result of the vibration test of each crystal resonator 2. It is determined whether or not there is, and the determination result and the address of the crystal unit 2 are stored in association with each other.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 11, the blade 72 is moved in the vertical direction with respect to the mounting surface 71 of the work table. For example, when the blade 72 moves a certain distance, the blade 72 is moved in the horizontal direction with respect to the mounting surface 71. By making intermittent feeding, the margin M1 and the margin M2 are cut, the base 21 and the base 21 of the crystal resonators 2 arranged in the horizontal direction are separated, and the left and right crystal resonators 2 in the crystal resonator formation region 101 are separated. The base 21 is separated from the left and right edges of the formation region 101.

  After that, as shown in FIG. 12, the blade 72 is moved in the lateral direction with respect to the mounting surface 71 to cut the margin M4, and the base 21 is separated from the front and rear edges of the formation region 101. The vibrator 2 is separated from the wafer W.

  After separating the crystal unit 2 from the wafer W, the control unit holds the crystal unit 2 at a point on the mounting surface 71 where the crystal unit 2 determined to have no abnormality as a result of the vibration test is mounted. The arm 73 is moved. The arm 73 is lifted across the side wall of the base 21 where no electrode is formed as shown in FIG. 13A in order to prevent the electrode from being damaged.

  When the crystal unit 2 is transported from the mounting surface 71, the crystal unit 2 may be sucked by using a nozzle having a suction port for sucking the crystal unit 2 or the like. From the viewpoint of preventing this, it is preferable to carry by such an arm. Further, since the side wall of the quartz crystal resonator 2 is formed by dicing as described above, the influence of the anisotropy of the quartz crystal is suppressed as compared with the case where it is formed by etching, so that high flatness and high perpendicularity are achieved. Is formed. Therefore, the arm 73 can hold and carry the crystal unit 2 in a stable state.

  In order to manufacture the package 8 which is an electronic component including the crystal resonator 2 conveyed by the arm 73, as shown in FIG. Is placed in the case body 8a. The placed crystal resonator 2 is fixed to the case body 8a via a conductive adhesive in the case body 8a described later. As described above, the arm 73 sequentially lifts the crystal unit 2 from the placement surface 71 and places it in the case body 8a based on the determination result of the vibration test.

  FIG. 14 shows the configuration of the package 8 formed from the case body 8a and the crystal resonator 2. As shown in FIG. The package 8 is made of ceramic having an SMD (Surface Mounted Device) structure, and includes the case body 8a and, for example, a metal lid body 8b. The case body 8a and the lid body 8b are seam welded via a sealing material 8c made of, for example, a welding material, and the inside thereof is in a vacuum state. In the tuning fork type crystal resonator 2 described above, the lead electrodes 32 and 42 of the base 21 are fixed to the pedestal 81 portion in the package 8 via the conductive adhesive 8d, and the vibrating arm portions 22a and 2b are inside the package 7. It is fixed to the pedestal 81 in a lateral posture extending into the space.

  Conductive paths 82 and 83 (83 is a conductive path on the back side of the drawing) are wired on the surface of the pedestal 81, and the lead-out electrodes 32 and 42 of the base portion 21 are connected via the conductive adhesive 8d. Connected to the conductive paths 82 and 83. The conductive paths 82 and 83 are respectively connected to electrodes 84 and 85 provided to face the longitudinal direction of the outer bottom surface of the case body 8a. As a result, the electrodes 84 and 85 and the conductive paths 82 and 83 are connected. Further, when the current is applied to the lead electrodes 32 and 42 of the base portion 21 through the conductive adhesive 8d, the crystal resonator 2 is vibrated. In this way, a package type crystal resonator is configured, and this crystal resonator is mounted on a wiring board (not shown) on which circuit components of the oscillation circuit are mounted.

  Some of the package type crystal resonators thus formed are transported to, for example, a test mechanism for performing a drop test, where they are tested for drop characteristics. The control unit does not transfer the crystal resonator 2 that has been determined to be abnormal as a result of the vibration test to the test mechanism and the case body 8a. Is retained.

  According to the above-described embodiment, when manufacturing a large number of crystal resonators 2 so as to be arranged in parallel in the respective formation regions 101 to 105 of the wafer W, the crystal resonators 2 are arranged in two rows in the horizontal direction. In addition, the ends of the vibrating arm portions 22 are opposed to each other across the margin M3 between the rows, and the side portions of the base portions 21 of the adjacent crystal resonators 2 in each row are connected across the margin M1. As described above, the outer shape is formed by wet etching. After the etching, after the electrodes are formed, the margins M1 and M3 are removed by the blade 72 corresponding to the width, and the crystal resonators 2 are separated from each other. The widths of the margins M1 and M3 are smaller than the interval necessary for performing wet etching. Therefore, compared to the case where the intervals required for etching are set between the vibrating arm portions 22 and the base portion 21 when forming the external shape of the crystal resonator 2 as in the conventional method shown in the background art column, Since the front and rear lengths (the length in the Y direction in the figure) of the formation regions 101 to 105 can be reduced, the degree of freedom in layout of each formation region is increased and the number of formation regions formed on one wafer W is increased. Can be increased. Further, the number of crystal resonators 2 that can be formed in each of the formation regions 101 to 105 can be increased. Therefore, the production efficiency of the crystal unit 2 can be improved.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, when forming the outer shape of the crystal resonator 2, the base 21 of each crystal resonator 2 and the peripheral edges of the formation regions 101 to 105 are connected, and the supporting margin M2 and margin M4 are also the blade 72. The margins M2 and M4 are removed by the blade 72 after the outer shape is formed, and the crystal unit 2 is separated from the wafer W. Therefore, the front and rear lengths of the respective formation regions 101 to 105 can be further reduced, and the distance between the side portion of the base 21 and the edge portions of the respective formation regions 101 to 105 can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to increase the number of crystal resonators 2 formed in each of the regions 101 to 105.

  In this embodiment, since the base 21 of the crystal resonator 2 is separated from the wafer W by dicing, the crystal vibration is compared with the case where the base 21 is folded from the margin M4 that supports the periphery of the formation region. Inversion of the front and back of the child 2 can be suppressed. As described above, due to the anisotropy of the crystal during etching, the side wall of the crystal may not be formed with high verticality, so that even the same crystal unit 2 is resistant to the impact received from the front side and from the back side. The impact resistance may be different. Accordingly, when the drop test described above is performed, it is possible to prevent the accuracy of the crystal unit 2 from being lowered because the front and back of the crystal unit 2 are reversed.

  Instead of cutting with a cutting tool such as the blade 72, the cutting may be performed by sand blasting a laser or an abrasive to the wafer W, or by supplying a high-pressure fluid. In the case of cutting with a laser, for example, the margins M1 to M4 are formed in accordance with the diameter of a laser beam irradiation spot on the wafer W.

  In the above embodiment, when forming the external shape of the crystal piece 20 by forming a mask in the formation region 101 of the crystal resonator 2 and performing wet etching, the external shape of the crystal piece 20 is formed as shown in FIG. May be. As shown in this figure, the crystal pieces 20 are arranged in two rows in the lateral direction of the crystal resonator forming region 101, and the crystal pieces 20 in each row face each other in the front-rear direction. The two vibrating arm portions 22 of the crystal pieces 20 in one row are sandwiched from the left and right by the vibrating arm portions 22 in the other rows, and the crystal pieces 20 in each row are alternately arranged, and the vibrating arm portions between the rows. 22 and 22 are connected via a cutting margin M5 to be removed. In this case, after the etching, the margin M5 is cut by, for example, laser or sand blasting, and the excitation electrodes 31 and 41, the extraction electrodes 32 and 42, and the adjustment weights 30 and 40 are provided on the crystal piece 20 in the same manner as the above-described embodiment. Then, the crystal unit 2 is formed. Thereafter, margins M2 and M4 connecting the base 21 of the crystal piece 20 and the edge of the formation region 101 are cut in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, and the crystal unit 2 is separated from the wafer W. The size of each margin M5 indicated by N5 in the drawing is provided so as to correspond to the diameter of the laser beam irradiation spot and the accuracy of sandblasting. Also in such an embodiment, the number of crystal resonators 2 formed from the wafer W can be increased.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the tuning fork type | mold crystal resonator based on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the wafer for forming the said crystal oscillator. It is the top view which showed the formation area of the crystal oscillator of the said wafer. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing method of the tuning fork type crystal resonator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing method of the tuning fork type crystal resonator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing method of the tuning fork type crystal resonator which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the mask pattern for crystal piece outline formation used for the said manufacturing method. It is a top view of the external shape of the crystal piece formed by the said manufacturing method. It is a top view of the external shape of the crystal resonator formed by the said manufacturing method. It is explanatory drawing which showed a mode that between the vibrating arm parts of the said quartz oscillator was cut | disconnected. It is explanatory drawing which showed a mode that between the base parts of the said crystal oscillator was cut | disconnected. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state where the crystal resonator is separated from the wafer W. It is explanatory drawing which showed a mode that an electronic component was manufactured from the said crystal oscillator. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the said electronic component. It is a top view of the crystal oscillator formation area in the manufacturing method of other embodiments. It is the schematic of the crystal oscillator for demonstrating a prior art. It is explanatory drawing which showed the formation area of the wafer of the said crystal oscillator. It is explanatory drawing which showed the crystal oscillator formed in the said formation area.

Explanation of symbols

W Crystal wafers M1 to M5 Margin 2 Crystal resonator 20 Crystal piece 21 Base 22a, 22b Vibration arm portion 8 Package 31, 41 Excitation electrode 32, 42 Extraction electrode 72 Blade 101-105 Crystal resonator formation region

Claims (8)

A large number of tuning fork type piezoelectric vibrators are arranged in parallel so that the respective vibrating arm portions extending from the base portion are in parallel, and two groups of these piezoelectric vibrators make the vibrating arm portions face each other. In a method of manufacturing a tuning fork type piezoelectric vibrator by forming a large number of tuning fork type piezoelectric vibrators on one piezoelectric substrate and then dividing the piezoelectric vibrator into individual piezoelectric vibrators,
Performing wet etching on the piezoelectric substrate and forming the outer shape of the tuning-fork type piezoelectric vibrating piece so that the tips of the vibrating arm portions facing each other are integrated;
Next, forming a piezoelectric vibrator by forming an electrode pattern on each piezoelectric vibrating piece;
Thereafter, a step of cutting between the vibrating arm portions facing each other by a cutting means,
A method for manufacturing a piezoelectric vibrator characterized in that an allowance by a cutting means is included between the vibrating arm portions facing each other. A large number of tuning fork type piezoelectric vibrators are arranged in parallel so that the respective vibrating arm portions extending from the base portion are in parallel, and two groups of these piezoelectric vibrators make the vibrating arm portions face each other. In a method of manufacturing a tuning fork type piezoelectric vibrator by forming a large number of tuning fork type piezoelectric vibrators on one piezoelectric substrate and then dividing the piezoelectric vibrator into individual piezoelectric vibrators,
Performing wet etching on the piezoelectric substrate and forming the outer shape of the tuning-fork type piezoelectric vibrating piece so that the bases of the piezoelectric vibrating pieces adjacent in parallel to each other are integrated;
Next, forming a piezoelectric vibrator by forming an electrode pattern on each piezoelectric vibrating piece;
And then cutting between the bases adjacent to each other in parallel by a cutting means,
A method for manufacturing a piezoelectric vibrator, wherein a margin by a cutting means is included between bases adjacent to each other in parallel.   The step of forming the outer shape of the piezoelectric vibrating piece by wet etching includes a step of integrating the tips of the vibrating arm portions facing each other, and cutting between the vibrating arm portions facing each other by a cutting means. 3. The method of manufacturing a piezoelectric vibrator according to claim 2, wherein a margin by a cutting means is included between the vibrating arm portions facing each other. A large number of tuning-fork type piezoelectric vibrators are arranged in parallel so that the vibrating arms extending from the base are in parallel, and two groups of these piezoelectric vibrators face each other, and each piezoelectric member of one group A large number of tuning fork-type piezoelectric vibrators are formed on one piezoelectric substrate so that the vibrating arm parts of the vibrators and the vibrating arm parts of the other groups of piezoelectric vibrators are alternately arranged, and then individual piezoelectric vibrations are formed. In a method of manufacturing a tuning fork-type piezoelectric vibrator by dividing the child,
Wet etching is applied to the piezoelectric substrate, so that the vibrating arms of one group of piezoelectric vibrators are integrated with the vibrating arms of the other groups of piezoelectric vibrators sandwiching the piezoelectric vibrator, respectively. Forming the outer shape of the piezoelectric vibrating piece of
Then, a step of cutting between the vibrating arm portion of one group and the vibrating arm portion of the other group by a cutting means,
Forming a piezoelectric vibrator by forming an electrode pattern on each piezoelectric vibrating piece,
A margin by a cutting means is included between the vibrating arm portion of the piezoelectric vibrator of one group and the vibrating arm portion of the piezoelectric vibrator of another group sandwiching the piezoelectric vibrator. A method of manufacturing a piezoelectric vibrator.   The method further includes a step of cutting between the base portion and the substrate region where the piezoelectric vibrator is not formed by a cutting means, and includes a margin between the base portion and the substrate region where the piezoelectric vibrator is not formed. The method for manufacturing a piezoelectric vibrator according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric vibrator is manufactured.   6. The method of manufacturing a piezoelectric vibrator according to claim 1, wherein the cutting means is selected from a cutting blade, a laser beam, and sand blast.   A piezoelectric vibrator manufactured by the method according to claim 1.   An electronic component comprising the piezoelectric vibrator according to claim 7.

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