JP2008300556A - Frame clamp - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform dressing work while holding a work without requiring an exclusive space on the dicing device side or a structural alteration and without being restricted by the work. <P>SOLUTION: Since a frame clamp 20 has a dress member 25 on the upper surface of a frame push portion 24, it is simply required to attach an annular frame 5 holding a work 2 by means of a dicing tape 3 to a chuck table 16 as usual and since a free space above the upper surface of the frame push portion 24 is utilized, dressing work using the dress member 25 can be carried out as required without requiring an exclusive space on the dicing device or a special structural alteration. Since the dress member 25 is arranged on the upper surface at the frame push portion 24 of the frame clamp 20 arranged on the outer circumference of the chuck table 16, the work 2 can be replaced while attaching the dress member 25 without being restricted by the size of the work 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a frame clamp disposed on the outer periphery of a chuck table in a dicing apparatus.

  A semiconductor wafer in which semiconductor chips such as IC and LSI are partitioned by a plurality of streets and formed on the surface is divided into individual semiconductor chips by a dicing apparatus. The semiconductor wafer is fixed to substantially the center of the opening of the annular frame that is several cm larger than the wafer diameter by a dicing tape, mounted on the chuck table, and divided by a dicing blade.

  The dicing blade cuts a workpiece such as a wafer while rotating at a high speed, but continues incomplete cutting (so-called half-cutting) for a long time or continues to cut an evaluation element (TEG pattern) on the street. Cutting scraps such as resin adhere to the tip of the blade, the blade is clogged, and sharpness is reduced.

  In order to cope with such a phenomenon, conventionally, dressing work for eliminating clogging is performed by half-cutting the dressing member with a dicing blade. The dressing operation is performed by placing a dressing member on the chuck table on which the workpiece is placed, and cutting several lines to several tens of lines, and may be performed automatically or by an operator. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  However, in the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, the dressing member must be placed on the chuck table in place of the workpiece. When performing the dressing operation during the machining of the workpiece, the machining is temporarily interrupted and replaced with the workpiece. The dress member needs to be re-installed, and before the work is placed on the chuck table again and the processing is resumed, an operation (alignment) for confirming the cutting position is necessary, which is complicated. .

  On the other hand, there is a method in which a sub chuck table dedicated to a dressing member is provided at a position adjacent to the chuck table, or a dressing member is attached to a position adjacent to a work on a dicing tape (for example, Patent Documents). 2 and 3).

JP-A-11-204462 JP 2000-49120 A JP 2004-288916 A

  However, the method of providing the dressing member dedicated sub-chuck table requires a space for the sub-chuck table inside the dicing apparatus, and requires a change in the structure of the dicing apparatus, resulting in high costs. In addition, the method of attaching and attaching the dressing member at a position adjacent to the work on the dicing tape requires an operation of attaching the dressing member every time the work is fixed with the dicing tape, and the dressing member needs to be attached and detached. . In recent years, a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer tends to have a large diameter, and the workpiece occupies almost the entire area of the dicing tape, and there is a case where the dressing member cannot be disposed at a position adjacent to the workpiece.

  Such a situation is not limited to the dress member, and the same applies to, for example, a kerf check member for correcting the position of the dicing blade.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and does not require a dedicated space or a special structural change in the dicing apparatus, and is not subject to restrictions by the work, and dicing such as a dressing operation while holding the work. It is an object of the present invention to provide a frame clamp capable of performing an auxiliary work.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a frame clamp according to the present invention is a frame clamp disposed on the outer periphery of a chuck table, and has at least a frame pressing portion, An auxiliary member for dicing is provided on the upper surface.

  In the frame clamp according to the present invention as set forth in the invention described above, the dicing auxiliary member is a dressing member for dressing a dicing blade.

  The frame clamp according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, the dicing auxiliary member is provided so as to be replaceable.

  Since the frame clamp according to the present invention includes an auxiliary member for dicing on the upper surface of the frame pressing portion, the annular frame holding the workpiece with the dicing tape may be mounted and clamped on the chuck table as usual. Because the upper space is used, dicing equipment can be used for dicing assistance using dicing auxiliary members when necessary, without requiring special space or special structural changes in the dicing machine. The auxiliary member is arranged on the upper surface of the frame clamp part of the frame clamp arranged on the outer periphery of the chuck table, and is not subject to restrictions due to the size of the workpiece, and the workpiece can be replaced with the auxiliary member for dicing attached. Work can be carried out, and the number of dicing auxiliary member removal / removal operations can be reduced. There is an effect that that.

  Hereinafter, a frame clamp which is the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a configuration example of a dicing apparatus including a frame clamp according to the present embodiment. The dicing apparatus 1 is an apparatus for cutting a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer. For example, when dicing a semiconductor wafer as the workpiece 2, the workpiece 2 is integrated with the annular frame 5 via a dicing tape 3. A plurality of sheets are accommodated in the cassette unit 11 in a state. Then, the dicing apparatus 1 includes a chuck table 16 for holding the work 2 integrated with the annular frame 5 with a frame clamp 20 together with the carry-in / out means 12, the conveying means 13, the cleaning means 14, and the conveying means 15; A camera 17 and a cutting means 18 for cutting the workpiece 2 held on the chuck table 16 are provided.

  The unloading / unloading means 12 unloads the workpiece 2 (annular frame 5) accommodated in the cassette unit 11 to a placement area that can be conveyed by the conveying unit 13, and loads the cut workpiece 2 into the cassette unit 11. It is. The conveyance means 13 conveys the workpiece 2 carried out to the placement area by the carry-in / out means 12 onto the chuck table 16. The cleaning means 14 is for cleaning the workpiece 2 processed by the cutting means 18. The conveying means 15 conveys the workpiece 2 processed by the cutting means 18 from the chuck table 16 to the cleaning means 14.

  The chuck table 16 is connected to a drive source (not shown) and is rotatable. The chuck table 16 is provided so as to be movable in the X-axis direction by a feed mechanism such as a ball screw, a nut, a pulse motor or the like. Further, as shown in FIG. 3 and the like, the chuck table 16 has a suction portion 16a made of a porous material for holding the work 2 portion by suction with a suction force from a negative pressure source. The camera 17 is for imaging the surface of the workpiece 2 held on the chuck table 16, and an alignment unit (not shown) detects an area portion to be cut based on an image acquired by the camera 17, and a cutting means. 18 is used for positioning of the cutting operation.

  The cutting means 18 cuts the workpiece 2 held on the chuck table 16 with a dicing blade 19, and is provided so as to be movable up and down in the Z-axis direction by a not-shown cutting feed mechanism such as a ball screw, nut, pulse motor, etc. Further, it is provided so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction by an index feed mechanism (not shown) such as a ball screw, a nut, and a pulse motor.

  Next, the frame clamp 20 of the present embodiment will be described. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration example in the vicinity of the chuck table 16 including the frame clamp 20 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a front view showing a configuration in the vicinity of the chuck table 16 during work dicing. 4 is a front view showing a configuration in the vicinity of the chuck table 16 during dressing. The frame clamp 20 of the present embodiment is for holding a plurality of portions of the annular frame 5 that is formed slightly larger than the chuck table 16 and has a cross shape on the outer periphery of the chuck table 16 in the X and Y axis directions. Are arranged in four places.

  Here, each frame clamp 20 is fixedly supported on the chuck table 16 by two support pins 21 each extending in the radial direction. Each frame clamp 20 is provided with a frame pusher that clamps the annular frame 5 between the placement portion 22 on which the annular frame 5 is placed and the placement portion 22 that is provided so as to be opened and closed by the turning mechanism 23. It is comprised as a movable type provided with the part 24. FIG.

  Each frame clamp 20 includes a dress member 25 that is an auxiliary member for dicing on the upper surface of the frame pressing portion 24. The dress member 25 may be of any size and shape as long as it fits within the range of the surface shape of the frame pressing portion 24, depending on the required processing amount, etc. In accordance with the surface shape of the portion 24, it is formed in a strip shape of the same size. Here, the type of the dressing member 25 includes abrasive grains such as GC (green carborundum) abrasive grains and WA (white alundum) abrasive grains according to the abrasive grain size and bond type of the dicing blade 19 to be used. A resin plate, a Si plate, or the like is used. Further, the attachment of the dressing member 25 to the upper surface of the frame pressing portion 24 may be performed by using an appropriate method such as a vacuum adsorption method, a sandwiching method, etc., in addition to adhesive bonding, wax bonding, double-sided tape bonding, etc. Since the dress member 25 itself is a consumable item, it is desirable to replace it.

  In such a configuration, the annular frame 5 having the target workpiece 2 is mounted on the chuck table 16 and held by the frame clamp 20, and the cutting position alignment process with respect to the street of the workpiece 2 is performed in advance using the camera 17. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the dicing blade 19 is positioned at a portion to be cut of the work 2 and the chuck table 16 is processed and fed in the X-axis direction, whereby the work 2 is diced. Here, since the streets of the work 2 are formed in a grid shape, after the dicing along the streets in one direction is completed, the chuck table 16 is rotated by 90 degrees so that the streets in the other direction orthogonal to the one direction are obtained. Dicing along the street. At this time, the dressing member 25 on the upper surface of the frame pressing portion 24 of the frame clamp 20 is held at a position one step lower than the surface of the workpiece 2 as shown in FIG. 3, and the dressing member 25 is subjected to the dicing operation by the dicing blade 19. There will be no hindrance.

  When dressing the dicing blade 19 at any time during or after the dicing operation, the chuck table 16 is slightly moved in the −X direction, for example, as shown in FIG. At the same time, the dicing blade 19 is slightly lowered so as to contact the dress member 25, and the chuck table 16 is moved in the + X direction to cut the dress member 25 in the short direction. At this time, the chuck table 16 can be rotated by 90 degrees in order to rotate the direction of the work 2, but the dress member 25 is disposed orthogonally in both the X and Y axis directions, so The dressing member 25 exists outside the workpiece 2 in the X-axis direction even if the orientation is such that the dressing can be performed without being affected by the rotation of the chuck table 16. Further, since the dressing member 25 is always present in the vicinity of the workpiece 2, even when dressing the dicing blade 19 in the middle of cutting the workpiece 2, the dressing member 25 is executed only by slightly feeding the chuck table 16 in the X-axis direction. Can do. Such a dressing operation is performed for several lines to several tens of lines by indexing and feeding the dicing blade 19 in the Y-axis direction.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the frame clamp 20 itself uses the empty space on the upper surface of the frame pressing portion 24 to provide the dress member 25 on the upper surface, so that the annular frame 5 holding the workpiece 2 is chucked as usual. What is necessary is just to mount | wear to the table 16 and hold | maintain with the frame clamp 20, and the dressing operation | work using the dress member 25 can be performed as needed, without requiring the exclusive space and special structure change for the dicing apparatus 1. FIG. The dress member 25 is disposed on the upper surface region of the frame pressing portion 24 of the frame clamp 20 that holds the annular frame 5 portion, and is not restricted by the size of the work 2 and is mounted with the dress member 25. The work 2 can be replaced as it is, and the number of work of detaching the dress member 25 can be reduced.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the dressing member 25 is mounted on the upper surface of the frame pressing portion 24 of the frame clamp 20, the dressing member 25 is removed from the chuck table 16 even when dressing is performed during cutting. This eliminates the need for troublesome work such as placing the workpiece 2, and there is no change in the holding state of the work 2. Further, when the dress member 25 is used for dressing of the dicing blade 19 and is consumed, the dress member 25 may be peeled off from the frame pressing portion 24 and a new dress member 7 may be replaced and mounted. Alternatively, the entire frame clamp 20 may be replaced.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, the example of the movable frame clamp that rotates the frame pressing portion 24 and presses the annular frame 5 has been described. However, the frame pressing portion that is movable forward and backward in the radial direction is moved in the radial direction to move the annular frame. It may be a type that can hold down.

  In the present embodiment, the dress member 25 is used as an auxiliary member for dicing and the dressing operation of the dicing blade 19 is performed. However, the present invention is not limited to the dress member and can be similarly applied. For example, if the blade must be replaced during machining of the workpiece due to blade breakage, etc., the dicing position after blade replacement varies slightly in the Y-axis direction due to the tightening condition of the blade mounting nut and individual blade differences. To do. Therefore, in order to correct the dicing position after replacing the blade, it is common to actually cut into a material that conforms to the workpiece, such as a dummy Si plate, and perform the work (calf check) to recognize and correct the dicing line with an alignment camera. Is. Therefore, the dicing auxiliary member included in the frame clamp may be a kerf check member such as a Si plate. According to this, even when performing a kerf check, it is not necessary to replace the workpiece with a dummy Si member or the like and place it again, so the kerf check can be easily performed even while the workpiece is being processed. It has the effect of being able to.

It is a schematic perspective view which shows the structural example of a dicing apparatus provided with the frame clamp of embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the structural example vicinity of the chuck table containing the frame clamp of this Embodiment. It is a front view which shows the structure around the chuck table at the time of work dicing. It is a front view which shows the structure around the chuck table at the time of dressing.

Explanation of symbols

16 Chuck table 20 Frame clamp 24 Frame pressing part 25 Dress member

Claims (3)

A frame clamp disposed on the outer periphery of the chuck table,
Having at least a frame pressing part,
A frame clamp comprising a dicing auxiliary member on an upper surface of the frame pressing portion.   The frame clamp according to claim 1, wherein the dicing auxiliary member is a dressing member for dressing a dicing blade.   The frame clamp according to claim 1, wherein the dicing auxiliary member is provided so as to be replaceable.

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