JP2012051092A - Cutting blade detecting mechanism for cutting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cutting blade detecting mechanism for a cutting device capable of surely detecting that a circular cutting edge forming a cutting blade is totally damaged by separating from an outer peripheral edge of a base.SOLUTION: The cutting blade detecting mechanism for a cutting device includes a light-emitting means arranged at one side of the cutting blade having the circular cutting edge for cutting a workpiece held on a chuck table, a light-receiving means arranged so as to face to the light-emitting means at the other side of a rotary direction of the cutting blade and receiving the light irradiated with the light-emitting means, and a control means for determining conditions of the circular cutting edge on the basis of the amount of light received with the light-receiving means. The cutting blade is composed of the circular base and the circular cutting edge mounted on a side face of an outer peripheral section of the circular base and formed so as to protrude from the outer peripheral edge of the circular base, and a light-emitting face of the light-emitting means and a light-receiving face of the light-receiving means are arranged at a location where a part of the light-emitting face and the light-receiving face is shielded with the outer peripheral section of the circular base.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cutting blade detection mechanism for detecting breakage of an annular cutting edge constituting a cutting blade provided in a cutting apparatus for cutting a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer.

  In the semiconductor device manufacturing process, a plurality of regions are partitioned by dividing lines called streets arranged in a lattice pattern on the surface of a substantially wafer-shaped semiconductor wafer, and devices such as ICs, LSIs, etc. are partitioned in the partitioned regions. Form. The semiconductor wafer in which a plurality of devices are formed in this way is cut along the streets to divide the region in which the devices are formed to manufacture individual semiconductor chips. In addition, optical device wafers with gallium nitride compound semiconductors laminated on the surface of sapphire substrates are cut along the streets into individual light devices such as light-emitting diodes and laser diodes to produce individual optical devices. is doing.

  Cutting along the streets of the above-described semiconductor wafers, optical device wafers, and the like is usually performed by a cutting apparatus having a cutting blade called a dicer. The cutting blade is composed of a circular base and an annular cutting blade that is mounted on the outer peripheral side surface of the circular base and protrudes from the outer peripheral edge of the base. The cutting blade configured as described above needs to be replaced when a predetermined amount of the annular cutting edge is worn. For this reason, the cutting device includes a cutting blade detection mechanism for detecting the replacement time of the annular cutting edge of the cutting blade whose diameter has been reduced due to wear and the chipping of the annular cutting edge.

  A cutting blade detection mechanism equipped in a cutting apparatus includes a blade intrusion portion into which an annular cutting blade of the cutting blade enters, and a light emitting means and a light receiving means arranged to face the blade intrusion portion. . The cutting blade detection mechanism is configured such that the light emitted from the light emitting means is received by the light receiving means and converted into a voltage corresponding to the amount of light received by the light receiving means, thereby being positioned at the blade entry portion between the light emitting means and the light receiving means. The state of the annular cutting edge of the cutting blade to be detected is detected. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1.)

JP-A-62-53803

  Thus, the light emitting means and the light receiving means are configured by bundling a plurality of thin optical fibers. The light emitting means configured by bundling a plurality of such thin optical fibers emits circular light having a diameter of about 1 mm. Then, the light received by the light receiving means is set so that the amount of light received by the light receiving means is 10%, for example, and the amount of light received by the light receiving means is reduced to, for example, 60% by wear of the annular cutting blade constituting the cutting blade. When it reaches, the detection mechanism composed of the light emitting means and the light receiving means is adjusted, and the light emitted by the light emitting means is reset so that the amount of light received by the light receiving means becomes, for example, 10%. For this reason, every time the annular cutting edge constituting the cutting blade is worn by a predetermined amount, the detection mechanism composed of the light emitting means and the light receiving means must be adjusted, and the adjustment work takes a lot of time and productivity is increased. There is a problem of being bad.

  On the other hand, the wear amount of the annular cutting edge constituting the cutting blade is determined by a so-called setup operation in which the reference position is set by contacting the annular cutting edge of the cutting blade with the holding surface of the chuck table holding the workpiece. It can be substantially detected by carrying out the work. In addition, the chip generated in the annular cutting edge constituting the cutting blade substantially adversely affects the work piece when the annular cutting edge separates from the outer peripheral edge of the base and is completely damaged.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described facts, and provides a cutting blade detection mechanism capable of reliably detecting that the annular cutting edge constituting the cutting blade has detached from the outer peripheral edge of the base and has completely lost. It is to provide.

In order to solve the above-mentioned main technical problem, according to the present invention, light emission disposed on one side in the rotational axis direction of a cutting blade having an annular cutting edge for cutting a workpiece held on a chuck table. Means, a light receiving means disposed on the other side in the rotational axis direction of the cutting blade so as to face the light emitting means, and receiving light emitted by the light emitting means, and an amount of light received by the light receiving means A control means for determining the state of the annular cutting edge based on the cutting blade detection mechanism of the cutting device,
The cutting blade is composed of a circular base and an annular cutting blade formed on the outer peripheral side surface of the circular base and protruding from the outer peripheral edge of the base.
The light-emitting surface of the light-emitting means and the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving means are disposed at positions where part of the light is shielded by the outer periphery of the circular base.
A cutting blade detection mechanism for a cutting apparatus is provided.

  In the cutting blade detection mechanism according to the present invention, the light-emitting surface of the light-emitting means and the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving means are disposed at a position where a part is shielded by the outer periphery of the circular base constituting the cutting blade. The light emitted from the light emitting surface of the light emitting means is received by the light receiving surface of the light receiving means to detect that the annular cutting edge constituting the cutting blade has detached from the outer peripheral edge of the circular base and has been completely damaged. can do. As described above, the cutting blade detection mechanism according to the present invention detects only whether or not the light emitted from the light emitting surface of the light emitting means is received by the light receiving surface of the light receiving means. This eliminates the need for improvement in productivity, and allows for the complete detection of a fatal annular cutting edge.

The perspective view of the cutting device equipped with the cutting blade detection mechanism comprised according to this invention in this invention. The principal part perspective view of the spindle unit with which the cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is equipped. Explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the cutting blade with which the cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is equipped, and the cutting blade detection mechanism comprised according to this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the light-emitting body of the light emission means which comprises the cutting blade detection mechanism shown in FIG. 3, the light-receiving body of a light-receiving means, and the annular | circular shaped cutting blade which comprises a cutting blade.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a cutting blade detection mechanism of a cutting device configured according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cutting apparatus equipped with a cutting blade detection mechanism constructed according to the present invention. A cutting device 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a device housing 2 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. In the apparatus housing 2, a chuck table 3 for holding a workpiece is disposed so as to be movable in a direction indicated by an arrow X that is a cutting feed direction. The chuck table 3 includes a suction chuck support 31 and a suction chuck 32 disposed on the suction chuck support 31. A workpiece is illustrated on a holding surface which is the upper surface of the suction chuck 32. Suction holding is performed by operating a suction means that does not. The chuck table 3 is configured to be rotatable by a rotation mechanism (not shown). The chuck table 3 is provided with a clamp 33 for fixing an annular frame that supports a wafer, which will be described later, as a work piece via a dicing tape. The chuck table 3 configured as described above can be moved in a cutting feed direction indicated by an arrow X by a cutting feed means (not shown).

  A cutting apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a spindle unit 4 as cutting means. The spindle unit 4 is moved in an index feed direction indicated by an arrow Y in FIG. 1 by an index feed means (not shown), and is moved in a cut feed direction indicated by an arrow Z in FIG. 1 by a notch feed means (not shown). ing. The spindle unit 4 is mounted on a moving base (not shown) and is adjusted to move in a direction indicated by an arrow Y that is an indexing direction and a direction indicated by an arrow Z that is a cutting direction, and the spindle housing 41 is freely rotatable. And a cutting blade 43 attached to the front end of the rotating spindle 42. The cutting blade 43 has a circular base 431 formed of aluminum, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, and diamond abrasive grains are solidified by nickel plating on the outer peripheral side surface of the base 431 to a thickness of 15 to 30 μm. It consists of a formed annular cutting edge 432. The annular cutting edge 432 is provided so as to protrude from the outer peripheral edge of the base 431 by about 0.5 to 1.5 mm.

  Continuing with reference to FIG. 2, a blade cover 44 covering the upper half of the cutting blade 43 is attached to the front end of the spindle housing 41. The blade cover 44 includes a first cover member 441 mounted on the spindle housing 41 and a second cover member 442 mounted on the first cover member 441 in the illustrated embodiment. A female screw hole 441a and two positioning pins 441b are provided in the side surface of the first cover member 441, and an insertion hole 442a is provided in a position corresponding to the female screw hole 441a in the second cover member 442. It has been. Further, on the surface of the second cover member 442 facing the first cover member 441, two recesses (not shown) into which the two positioning pins 441b are fitted are formed. The first cover member 441 and the second cover member 442 configured in this way are provided with two recesses (not shown) formed in the second cover member 442 provided in the first cover member 441. The positioning is performed by fitting to the positioning pin 441b. Then, the fastening bolt 443 is inserted into the insertion hole 442a of the second cover member 442, and is screwed into the female screw hole 441a provided in the first cover member 441, whereby the second cover member 442 is engaged with the first cover member 442. The cover member 441 is attached.

  Cutting water supply pipes 451 and 452 are disposed on the first cover member 441 and the second cover member 442 constituting the blade cover 44, respectively. The cutting water supply pipes 451 and 452 are respectively disposed on both sides of an annular cutting edge 432 constituting the cutting blade 43 and sprayed with cutting water toward both side surfaces of the annular cutting edge 432. Cutting water supply nozzles 461 and 462 are connected. The cutting water supply pipes 451 and 452 are connected to a cutting water supply means (not shown).

  The first cover member 441 constituting the blade cover 44 of the spindle unit 4 in the illustrated embodiment is provided with a cutting blade detection mechanism 5 for detecting breakage of the annular cutting edge 432 of the cutting blade 43. Has been. The cutting blade detection mechanism 5 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The cutting blade detection mechanism 5 in the illustrated embodiment includes a mounting member 52 attached to the first cover member 441 by a fastening bolt 51 as shown in FIG. 2, and a vertical direction to the mounting member 52 as shown in FIG. The support member 53 is slidably disposed, the light emitting means 6 is disposed on one side of the support member 53, and the light receiving means 7 is disposed on the other side of the support member 53. As shown in FIG. 3, the mounting member 52 is formed with a guide groove 521 having a groove width corresponding to the thickness of the support member 53 and having a lower opening and a vertical direction. A support member 53 is slidably disposed in the guide groove 521 in the vertical direction.

  The support member 53 is formed of a metal material such as stainless steel or aluminum into a plate shape having a thickness corresponding to the groove width of the guide groove 521, and a circular base that constitutes the cutting blade 43 is formed below the support member 53. A cutting blade entry recess 531 into which the outer peripheral portion of 431 and the annular cutting edge 432 enter is formed, and a light emitter attachment portion 532 and a photoreceptor attachment portion 533 are provided on both sides of the cutting blade entry recess 531. The support member 53 configured in this manner is disposed so as to be slidable in the vertical direction of the guide groove 521 formed in the mounting member 52, and is moved and adjusted in the vertical direction by an adjustment screw 54 mounted on the mounting member 52. It has become so.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the light emitting means 6 includes a light emitter 60 disposed on a light emitter attachment portion 532 of a support member 53 with a light emission surface 601 facing the blade entry recess 531, and light emitted to the light emitter 60. And a light source 61 that emits light. The light emitter 60 is formed in a circular shape having a diameter of about 1 mm by bundling a plurality of optical fibers having a circular cross section. The light emitter 60 configured in this manner is attached to the light emitter attachment portion 532 of the support member 53 as shown in FIG. The light source 61 is composed of a laser light emitting diode (LED), for example, and is controlled by the control means 8.

Next, the light receiving means 7 will be described with reference to FIG.
The light receiving means 7 corresponds to the light receiving body 70 disposed on the light receiving body mounting portion 533 of the support member 53 with the light receiving surface 701 facing the blade intrusion recess 531, and the amount of light received by the light receiving body 70. It consists of a photoelectric converter 71 that converts voltage. The light receiving body 70 is formed in a circular shape having a diameter of about 1 mm by bundling a plurality of optical fibers having a circular cross section like the light emitting body 60. As shown in FIG. 3, the light receiving body 70 configured in this way is mounted on the light receiving body mounting portion 533 of the support member 53, and the light receiving body 70 faces the light emitting surface 601 of the light emitting body 60 of the light emitting means 6. Arranged. The photoelectric converter 71 converts it into a voltage value corresponding to the amount of light received by the photoreceptor 70 and sends it to the control means 8.

Here, the relationship between the light emitting surface 601 of the light emitting body 60 constituting the light emitting means 6 and the light receiving surface 701 of the light receiving body 70 constituting the light receiving means 7 and the cutting blade 43 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. To do.
The light-emitting surface 601 of the light-emitting body 60 and the light-receiving surface 701 of the light-receiving body 70 are disposed at positions where a part thereof is shielded from light by the outer peripheral portion of the circular base 431 constituting the cutting blade 43. In the illustrated embodiment, the center P1 of the light emitting surface 601 of the light emitter 60 and the center P2 of the light receiving surface 701 of the light receiver 70 are at positions corresponding to the outer peripheral edge 431a of the circular base 431 constituting the cutting blade 43. It is positioned to become. The position adjustment of the light emitting surface 601 of the light emitting body 60 and the light receiving surface 701 of the light receiving body 70 is performed by moving and adjusting the support member 53 in the vertical direction by the adjusting screw 54 attached to the mounting member 52.

The cutting blade detection mechanism 5 in the illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, and the operation thereof will be described below.
In a state where the cutting blade 43 is rotating, the control means 8 energizes (ON) the light source 61 of the light emitting means 6. As a result, the light source 61 of the light emitting means 6 emits light, and the emitted light is irradiated from the light emitting surface 601 of the light emitting body 60 toward the light receiving surface 701 of the light receiving body 70 constituting the light receiving means 7. The light received by the light receiving surface 701 of the light receiving body 70 is transmitted to the photoelectric converter 71, and the photoelectric converter 71 sends a voltage signal corresponding to the amount of light received by the light receiving surface 701 of the light receiving body 70 to the control means 8. Output. As described above, the light emitting surface 601 of the light emitting body 60 and the light receiving surface 701 of the light receiving body 70 are positioned so that the respective centers P1 and P2 correspond to the outer peripheral edge 431a of the circular base 431 constituting the cutting blade 43. Therefore, when the annular cutting edge 432 constituting the cutting blade 43 is broken and does not leave the outer peripheral edge 431a of the circular base 431, the light is emitted from the light emitting surface 601 of the light emitter 60. The received light is not received by the light receiving surface 701 of the photoreceptor 70 or does not reach a threshold value described later even if received. On the other hand, when the annular cutting edge 432 constituting the cutting blade 43 is broken and detached from the outer peripheral edge 431 a of the circular base 431, the center P 1 of the light emitting surface 601 of the light emitting body 60 and the light receiving surface 701 of the light receiving body 70. Is positioned so as to correspond to the outer peripheral edge 431a of the circular base 431 constituting the cutting blade 43, so that 50% or more of the light emitted from the light emitting surface 601 of the light emitting body 60 Is received by the light receiving surface 701 of the photoreceptor 70. That is, the control means 8 receives 50% of light received by the light receiving surface 601 of the light emitter 60 and received by the light receiving surface 701 of the light emitter 60 based on the detection signal from the photoelectric converter 71 (threshold). In the case described above, it is determined that the annular cutting edge 432 constituting the cutting blade 43 has been completely damaged, and the fact that the annular cutting edge 432 has been completely damaged is displayed on the display means described later. As a result, the operator can confirm that the annular cutting edge 432 has been completely damaged.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the description continues and the cutting apparatus 1 in the illustrated embodiment images the surface of the workpiece held on the chuck table 3 and detects an area to be cut by the cutting blade 43. An image pickup means 11 is provided. The imaging means 11 is composed of optical means such as a microscope and a CCD camera. Further, the cutting apparatus 1 includes a display unit 12 that displays an image captured by the imaging unit 11, a determination result by the control unit 8 of the cutting blade detection mechanism 5, and the like.

  In the cassette mounting area 13a of the apparatus housing 2, a cassette mounting table 13 for mounting a cassette for storing a workpiece is disposed. The cassette mounting table 13 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction by lifting means (not shown). On the cassette mounting table 13, a cassette 14 that houses the semiconductor wafer 10 as a workpiece is placed. The semiconductor wafer 10 accommodated in the cassette 14 has a grid-like street formed on the surface, and devices such as ICs and LSIs are formed in a plurality of rectangular regions partitioned by the grid-like street. The semiconductor wafer 10 thus formed is accommodated in the cassette 14 with the back surface adhered to the front surface of the dicing tape T mounted on the annular support frame F.

  Further, the cutting device in the illustrated embodiment is a semiconductor wafer 10 accommodated in a cassette 14 placed on a cassette placement table 13 (a state in which the wafer is supported on an annular frame F via a dicing tape T). Is carried out to the temporary placement table 15 and the semiconductor wafer 10 after being cut back returned to the temporary placement table 15 is carried into the cassette 14 and the semiconductor wafer 10 carried out to the temporary placement table 15 is transferred to the temporary placement table 15. First transport means 17 for transporting onto the chuck table 3, cleaning means 18 for cleaning the semiconductor wafer 10 cut on the chuck table 3, and cleaning means for the semiconductor wafer 10 cut on the chuck table 3 Second conveying means 19 for conveying to 18 is provided.

Next, a cutting operation for cutting the semiconductor wafer 10 along a predetermined street using the above-described cutting apparatus 1 will be described.
The semiconductor wafer 10 (supported by the annular frame F via the dicing tape T) accommodated in a predetermined position of the cassette 14 placed on the cassette placing table 13 is moved by the lifting means (not shown). The placement table 13 is positioned at the carry-out position by moving up and down. Next, the carry-out / carry-in means 16 moves forward and backward to carry the semiconductor wafer 10 positioned at the carry-out position onto the temporary placement table 15. The semiconductor wafer 10 transported to the temporary placement table 15 is transported onto the chuck table 3 by the turning motion of the first transport means 17.

  When the semiconductor wafer 10 is placed on the chuck table 3, suction means (not shown) is operated to suck and hold the semiconductor wafer 10 on the chuck table 3. An annular frame F that supports the semiconductor wafer 10 via the dicing tape T is fixed by the clamp 33. In this way, the chuck table 3 holding the semiconductor wafer 10 is moved to a position directly below the imaging means 11. When the chuck table 3 is positioned immediately below the image pickup means 11, the street formed on the semiconductor wafer 10 is detected by the image pickup means 11, and the spindle unit 4 is moved and adjusted in the arrow Y direction as the indexing direction to cut the street and cut. A precision alignment operation with the annular cutting edge 432 constituting the blade 43 is performed.

  Thereafter, the chuck table 3 is moved to a cutting region below the cutting blade 43, the cutting blade 43 is rotated in a predetermined direction, and a predetermined amount is cut and fed in the direction indicated by the arrow Z, thereby forming a circle constituting the cutting blade 43. The lower end of the annular cutting edge 432 is positioned at a position where it reaches the dicing tape T. Then, the chuck table 3 holding the semiconductor wafer 10 by suction is moved at a predetermined cutting feed speed in a direction indicated by an arrow X which is a cutting feed direction. As a result, the semiconductor wafer 10 held on the chuck table 3 is cut along a predetermined street by the annular cutting edge 432 constituting the cutting blade 43 (cutting process). When performing this cutting process, cutting water is sprayed from the cutting water supply nozzles 461 and 462 toward the side surface of the annular cutting edge 432 constituting the cutting blade 43.

  When the semiconductor wafer 10 is cut along a predetermined street as described above, the spindle unit 4 is indexed and fed in the direction indicated by the arrow Y in FIG. 1 to perform the cutting process. When the cutting process is performed along all the streets extending in the predetermined direction of the semiconductor wafer 10, the chuck table 3 is rotated 90 degrees to extend in a direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction of the semiconductor wafer 10. By performing the cutting process along the streets, all the streets formed in a lattice shape on the semiconductor wafer 10 are cut and divided into individual devices. The divided individual devices are not separated by the action of the dicing tape T, and the state of the wafer supported by the annular frame F is maintained.

  As described above, when the cutting process is completed along the street of the semiconductor wafer 10, the chuck table 3 holding the semiconductor wafer 10 is first returned to the position where the semiconductor wafer 10 is sucked and held. Then, the suction holding of the semiconductor wafer 10 is released. Next, the semiconductor wafer 10 is transferred to the cleaning unit 18 by the second transfer unit 19. The semiconductor wafer 10 conveyed to the cleaning means 18 is cleaned and dried here. The semiconductor wafer 10 thus cleaned and dried is transported to the temporary placement table 15 by the first transport means 17 after drying. Then, the semiconductor wafer 10 is stored in a predetermined position of the cassette 14 by the unloading / loading means 16.

  When the cutting process described above is performed, the cutting blade detection mechanism 5 is also operated, and the state of the annular cutting edge 432 constituting the cutting blade 43 is monitored. Then, the control means 8 of the cutting blade detection mechanism 5 receives light by the light receiving surface 701 of the light receiving body 70 based on the detection signal from the photoelectric converter 71 constituting the light receiving means, and the amount of received light is the light emitting surface 601 of the light emitting body 60. If it is 50% or more of the light radiated from, it is determined that the annular cutting edge 432 constituting the cutting blade 43 is completely damaged, and an indication means that the annular cutting edge 432 is completely damaged is displayed. 12 is displayed. As a result, the operator can confirm that the annular cutting edge 432 has been completely damaged. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, the annular cutting edge 432 constituting the cutting blade 43 is broken and detached from the outer peripheral edge 431a of the circular base 431, that is, the light receiving surface 701 of the light receiving body 70. Therefore, it is determined only whether or not the amount of received light is 50% or more of the light emitted from the light emitting surface 601 of the light emitter 60. Therefore, the positions of the light emitting surface 601 of the light emitter 60 and the light receiving surface 701 of the light receiver 70 Adjustment is unnecessary, productivity is improved, and all the damages of the fatal annular cutting edge 432 can be reliably detected.

1: Cutting device 2: Device housing 3: Chuck table 4: Spindle unit 42: Rotating spindle 43: Cutting blade 44: Blade cover 461, 462: Cutting water supply nozzle 5: Cutting blade detection mechanism 52: Mounting member 53: Support member 6: Light emitting means 60: Light emitting body 601: Light emitting surface 61: Light source 7: Light receiving means 70: Light receiving body 701: Light receiving surface 71: Photoelectric converter 8: Control means 10: Semiconductor wafer 11: Imaging means 12: Display means 13: Cassette placing table 14: Cassette 15: Temporary placing table 16: Unloading / carrying means 17: First conveying means 18: Cleaning means 19: Second conveying means

Claims (1)

A light emitting means disposed on one side in the rotational axis direction of the cutting blade having an annular cutting edge for cutting the workpiece held on the chuck table, and a light emitting means disposed on the other side in the rotational axis direction of the cutting blade. Light receiving means disposed opposite to the light emitting means for receiving light emitted by the light emitting means, and control means for determining the state of the annular cutting edge based on the amount of light received by the light receiving means In a cutting blade detection mechanism of a cutting apparatus comprising:
The cutting blade is composed of a circular base and an annular cutting blade formed on the outer peripheral side surface of the circular base and protruding from the outer peripheral edge of the base.
The light-emitting surface of the light-emitting means and the light-receiving means light-receiving surface are disposed at positions where a part thereof is shielded from light by the outer peripheral portion of the circular base.
A cutting blade detection mechanism for a cutting apparatus.

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