JP2012114465A - Adhesive tape cutting method and adhesive tape pasting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an adhesive tape cutting method which allows for enhancement of the cutting accuracy of a supporting adhesive tape that adhesion holds the semiconductor wafer of a ring frame.SOLUTION: In a state where the reference surface 62 on the distal end side of a cutter holder 43 holding a cutter blade 42 is in contact with the surface of the base material (b) of a supporting adhesive tape DT, the supporting adhesive tape DT is cut while making the reference surface of the cutter holder 43 follow up the surface of the base material. At this time, the tip of the cutter blade 42 is made to pass through the verge of the adhesion interface to a ring frame (f) without penetrating an adhesive layer (a).

Description

  The present invention relates to an adhesive tape cutting method for attaching a supporting adhesive tape, holding a semiconductor wafer on a ring frame, and cutting the adhesive tape by scanning a cutter blade along the shape of the ring frame, and an adhesive using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technique for improving the cutting efficiency of an adhesive tape.

A semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as “wafer”) having a pattern formed on the surface is thinned by backside polishing (back grinding). The wafer subjected to the back grinding process is conveyed to a mounting device that holds the semiconductor wafer on the ring frame, and is bonded and held on the ring frame via a supporting adhesive tape. At this time, a disk-shaped cutter blade that is freely rotated is pressed against a band-shaped adhesive tape that is stuck across the ring frame and the wafer located at the center thereof, and the adhesive tape is cut along the shape of the ring frame. ing.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-174940

  When cutting the adhesive tape by conventional means, when the cutter blade cuts the adhesive tape, the cutting edge of the cutter blade from which the adhesive tape has been cut penetrates the adhesive tape and comes into contact with the tape attachment surface of the ring frame. However, since it is cut and scanned, it is easily worn. Therefore, there is a problem that the service life of the cutter blade is shortened and must be frequently replaced.

  Moreover, a notch groove is formed in the tape attachment surface of the ring frame by the contact of the cutter blade when cutting the adhesive tape. When such a ring frame is reused, when cutting the adhesive tape affixed to the ring frame again, the tip of the cutter blade fits into a notch groove formed on the surface of the ring frame, Take a different route. As a result, the cutting start position and the end position do not coincide with each other, and there is a problem in that a cutting failure occurs in which the adhesive tape cannot be cut into a ring frame shape.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an adhesive tape cutting method capable of improving the cutting efficiency of a support adhesive tape for holding a semiconductor wafer on a ring frame, and an adhesive tape using the same The main purpose is to provide a pasting device.

  The present invention takes the following means to achieve the above object.

That is, the first invention is an adhesive tape cutting method for cutting an adhesive tape for supporting holding a semiconductor wafer on a ring frame,
Measure the distance to the ring frame by the measuring means arranged in the scanning direction of the cutter blade,
The drive means is operated according to the measurement result, and the protruding length from the long hole of the cutter holder to which the cutter blade is attached is pierced into the adhesive tape attached to the ring frame from the reference surface on the base end side of the cutter holder. Adjust the distance to the tip of the cutter blade,
While maintaining the distance from the ring frame to the tip of the cutter blade in a state where the base end surface is not in contact with the adhesive tape, the tip is brought close to the adhesive interface between the adhesive layer of the adhesive tape and the ring frame. Is cut along the shape of the ring frame.

  (Function / Effect) According to this method, the distance to the ring frame is measured by the measuring means in the process of cutting the adhesive tape, and the projection of the cutter blade from the long hole of the cutter holder is adjusted based on the result, and the ring Since the distance from the frame to the blade edge of the cutter blade is kept constant, it is possible to reduce a load caused by pressing when the blade edge of the cutter blade contacts the tape attachment surface of the ring frame when cutting the adhesive tape. That is, if the adhesive tape is cut while maintaining the distance at which the tip of the cutter blade is located at the part of the adhesive layer close to the adhesive interface between the ring frame and the adhesive tape, the adhesive tape can be cut without contact with the ring frame. Can do. Therefore, the service life of the cutter blade can be extended, the replacement frequency can be reduced, and the working efficiency can be improved.

  Further, if there is no contact with the ring frame, the ring frame is not damaged or damaged, so that the cutting edge does not fit into the notch groove and the cutting scanning path is not changed. As a result, the cutting start position and the end position overlap, and no cutting failure occurs.

2nd invention is the adhesive tape sticking apparatus which sticks and hold | maintains a semiconductor wafer on a ring frame via the adhesive tape for support,
Wafer holding means for holding the semiconductor wafer;
Frame holding means for holding the ring frame opposite to the semiconductor wafer held by the wafer holding means;
A tape supply means for supplying a strip-like support adhesive tape toward the ring frame;
Affixing means for adhering and holding the semiconductor wafer on the ring frame by moving the affixing means against the non-adhesive surface of the adhesive tape,
The distance to the ring frame is measured by measuring means arranged in the scanning direction of the cutter blade, the drive means is operated according to the measurement result, and the protruding length from the long hole of the cutter holder equipped with the cutter blade Is the distance from the ring frame to the tip of the cutter blade stabbed into the adhesive tape affixed to the ring frame, and the base end surface on the base end side of the cutter holder is kept constant in a non-contact state with respect to the adhesive tape, A cutting mechanism for cutting the adhesive tape along the shape of the ring frame by bringing the tip close to the adhesive interface between the adhesive layer of the adhesive tape and the ring frame;
Peeling means for peeling off the unnecessary adhesive tape after cutting;
It is provided with.

  (Operation / Effect) According to this configuration, the distance from the blade edge of the cutter blade stuck to the supporting adhesive tape attached between the ring frame and the semiconductor wafer to the ring frame is kept constant. The tape can be cut along the shape of the ring frame. That is, the first method invention can be suitably realized.

  According to the adhesive tape cutting method and the adhesive tape application apparatus using the same according to the present invention, the adhesive tape is cut while keeping the length of the cutter blade stabbed into the adhesive tape constant. Contact of the cutter blade to the surface can be avoided. That is, it is possible to reduce wear of the cutting edge of the cutter blade and reduce the replacement frequency of the cutter blade, and to improve the cutting efficiency of the adhesive tape.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an entire semiconductor wafer mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of a tape cutting mechanism. It is a perspective view of the principal part of a tape cutting mechanism. It is a top view of the principal part of a tape cutting mechanism. It is the perspective view which expanded the front-end | tip of the cutter blade. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which stabbed the cutter blade in the adhesive tape for support. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which cut | disconnects the adhesive tape for a support of an Example apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which cut | disconnects the adhesive tape for a support of an Example apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which cut | disconnects the adhesive tape for a support of an Example apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which cut | disconnects the adhesive tape for a support of an Example apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which cut | disconnects the adhesive tape for a support of an Example apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which cut | disconnects the adhesive tape for a support of an Example apparatus.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cutaway perspective view showing an overall configuration of a semiconductor wafer mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  A semiconductor wafer mounting apparatus 1 of this embodiment includes a wafer transfer mechanism including a wafer supply unit 2 in which cassettes C for storing wafers W subjected to back grinding are loaded in multiple stages, a robot arm 4 and a pressing mechanism 5. 3, an alignment stage 7 for aligning the wafer W, an ultraviolet irradiation unit 14 for irradiating the wafer W placed on the alignment stage 7 with ultraviolet rays, a chuck table 15 for attracting and holding the wafer W, and a ring A ring frame supply unit 16 in which frames f are stored in multiple stages, a ring frame transport mechanism 17 for transferring the ring frame f to a supporting adhesive tape DT that is a dicing tape, and a supporting adhesive tape DT for the ring frame f. The ring processing unit 18 attached from the back side and the ring tape to which the supporting adhesive tape DT is attached A ring frame raising / lowering mechanism 26 for moving the frame f up and down, a mount frame producing unit 27 for producing a mount frame MF by integrating the wafer W on the ring frame f to which the supporting adhesive tape DT is attached, The first mount frame transport mechanism 29 that transports the manufactured mount frame MF, the peeling mechanism 30 that peels off the protective tape PT attached to the surface of the wafer W, and the mount from which the protective tape PT is peeled off by the peeling mechanism 30 A second mount frame transport mechanism 35 that transports the frame MF, a turntable 36 that changes the direction and transport of the mount frame MF, and a mount frame collection unit 37 that stores the mount frames MF in multiple stages.

  The wafer supply unit 2 is provided with a cassette table (not shown), and a cassette C in which wafers W each having a protective tape PT affixed to a pattern surface (hereinafter referred to as “surface” as appropriate) is stored in multiple stages. Is to be placed. At this time, the wafer W maintains a horizontal posture with the pattern surface facing upward.

  The wafer transfer mechanism 3 is configured to turn and move up and down by a drive mechanism (not shown). That is, the position of a wafer holding portion of the robot arm 4 described later and the pressing plate 6 provided in the pressing mechanism 5 is adjusted, and the wafer W is transferred from the cassette C to the alignment stage 7.

  The robot arm 4 of the wafer transfer mechanism 3 is provided with a horseshoe-shaped wafer holder (not shown) at its tip. Further, the robot arm 4 is configured such that the wafer holding unit can advance and retreat through the gap between the wafers W stored in multiple stages in the cassette C. The wafer holding part at the tip of the robot arm is provided with a suction hole so that the wafer W is vacuum-sucked from the back side and held.

  The pressing mechanism 5 of the wafer transport mechanism 3 includes a circular pressing plate 6 having substantially the same shape as the wafer W at the tip thereof, and the pressing plate 6 moves above the wafer W placed on the alignment stage 7. Thus, the arm portion is configured to be able to advance and retract. The shape of the pressing plate 6 is not limited to a circular shape, and may be any shape that can correct the warp occurring on the wafer W. For example, the tip of a bar or the like may be pressed against the warped portion of the wafer W.

  Further, the pressing mechanism 5 operates when a suction failure occurs when the wafer W is placed on the holding table of the alignment stage 7 described later. Specifically, when the wafer W is warped and the wafer W cannot be sucked and held, the pressing plate 6 presses the surface of the wafer W, corrects the warpage, and makes the surface flat. In this state, the holding table vacuum-sucks the wafer W from the back surface.

  The alignment stage 7 includes a holding table that aligns the mounted wafer W on the basis of an orientation flat, a notch or the like provided on the periphery thereof, and covers the entire back surface of the wafer W by vacuum suction.

  The alignment stage 7 sucks the wafer W onto the holding table in a state where the warp is corrected by the pressing plate 6.

  Further, the alignment stage 7 has an initial position where the wafer W is placed and aligned, and an intermediate position between the chuck table 15 and the ring frame elevating mechanism 26 arranged in multiple stages above the tape processing unit 18 described later. The wafer W is configured to be transported and moved with the wafer W being sucked and held.

  The ultraviolet irradiation unit 14 is located above the alignment stage 7 in the initial position. The ultraviolet irradiation unit 14 irradiates ultraviolet rays toward the protective tape PT which is an ultraviolet curable adhesive tape attached to the surface of the wafer W. That is, the adhesive strength of the protective tape PT is reduced by irradiation with ultraviolet rays.

  The chuck table 15 has a circular shape that is substantially the same shape as the wafer W so as to cover the surface of the wafer W and can be vacuum-sucked. The chuck table 15 rings the wafer W from a standby position above the tape processing unit 18 by a drive mechanism (not shown). It moves up and down over the position where it is attached to the frame f.

  That is, the chuck table 15 is in contact with the wafer W which has been warped by the holding table and held in a flat state, and is held by suction.

  Further, the chuck table 15 is accommodated in an opening of a ring frame lifting mechanism 26 that sucks and holds a ring frame f to which a support adhesive tape DT described later is attached from the back surface, and the wafer W is used for supporting the center of the ring frame f. It descends to a position close to the adhesive tape DT.

  At this time, the chuck table 15 and the ring frame elevating mechanism 26 are held by a holding mechanism (not shown). The chuck table 15 corresponds to the wafer holding means of the present invention, and the ring frame lifting mechanism 26 corresponds to the frame holding means.

  The ring frame supply unit 16 has a wagon shape with a pulley provided at the bottom, and is loaded into the apparatus main body. The ring frame f accommodated in multiple stages inside is opened and slid up and sent out.

  The ring frame transport mechanism 17 vacuum-sucks the ring frames f housed in the ring frame supply unit 16 one by one from the upper side in order, and places the ring frame at an alignment stage (not shown) and a position where the supporting adhesive tape DT is attached. The frames f are conveyed in order. The ring frame transport mechanism 17 also functions as a holding mechanism that holds the ring frame f at the attaching position of the supporting adhesive tape DT when the supporting adhesive tape DT is attached.

  The tape processing unit 18 includes a tape supply unit 19 that supplies the supporting adhesive tape DT, a tension mechanism 20 that applies tension to the supporting adhesive tape DT, a pasting unit 21 that attaches the supporting adhesive tape DT to the ring frame f, a ring frame a tape cutting mechanism 24 for cutting the supporting adhesive tape DT affixed to f, a peeling unit 23 for peeling unnecessary tape after being cut by the tape cutting mechanism 24 from the ring frame f, and unnecessary remaining after cutting A tape collecting unit 25 for collecting the tape is provided. The tape supply unit 19 corresponds to the tape supply means of the present invention, the sticking unit corresponds to the sticking means, the tape cutting mechanism 24 corresponds to the cutting mechanism, and the peeling unit 23 corresponds to the peeling means.

  The tension mechanism 20 sandwiches the supporting adhesive tape DT from both ends in the width direction and applies tension in the tape width direction. That is, when the soft support adhesive tape DT is used, vertical tension occurs on the surface of the support adhesive tape DT along the supply direction due to the tension applied in the tape supply direction. In order to avoid this vertical wrinkle and to apply the supporting adhesive tape DT uniformly to the ring frame f, tension is applied from the tape width direction side.

  The affixing unit 21 is disposed at a standby position diagonally below (lower left diagonal in FIG. 1) of the ring frame f held above the supporting adhesive tape DT. The sticking roller 22 provided in the sticking unit 21 transports and holds the ring frame f by the ring frame transport mechanism 17 at the sticking position of the supporting adhesive tape DT, and supplies the supporting adhesive tape DT from the tape supply unit 19. At the same time as the movement starts, it moves to the right sticking start position in the tape supply direction.

  The affixing roller 22 that has reached the affixing start position rises and presses the supporting adhesive tape DT against the ring frame f, and rolls from the affixing start position toward the standby position to press the supporting adhesive tape DT. However, it is attached to the ring frame f. The pasting roller 22 corresponds to the pasting member of the present invention.

  The peeling unit 23 peels an unnecessary portion of the supporting adhesive tape DT cut by the tape cutting mechanism 24 described later from the ring frame f. Specifically, when the attaching and cutting of the supporting adhesive tape DT to the ring frame f are completed, the holding of the supporting adhesive tape DT by the tension mechanism 20 is released. Next, the peeling unit 23 moves on the ring frame f toward the tape supply unit 19 and peels off the unnecessary supporting adhesive tape DT after cutting.

  The tape cutting mechanism 24 is disposed below the supporting adhesive tape DT on which the ring frame f is placed. When the supporting adhesive tape DT is attached to the ring frame f by the attaching unit 21, the holding of the supporting adhesive tape DT by the tension mechanism 20 is released, and the tape mechanism 24 is raised. The raised tape cutting mechanism 24 cuts the supporting adhesive tape DT along the ring frame f. Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the tape cutting mechanism 24 will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tape cutting mechanism 24 has a pair of support arms 41 on a movable base 40 that can be driven up and down, and capable of driving and turning about a longitudinal axis X located on the center of the ring frame f. The cutter unit 44 provided in parallel with the cutter unit 44 provided on the free end side of the support arm 41 is mounted with the cutter blade 42 with the blade tip facing upward on the cutter holder 43, and the support arm 41 rotates around the longitudinal axis X. Thus, the cutter blade 42 is configured to travel along the tape application surface of the ring frame f to cut out the supporting adhesive tape DT.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the movable base 40 is connected to the rotary shaft 46 of the motor 45 and the three-link mechanism 47, and is moved up and down along the vertical rail 48 by the forward / reverse rotational drive of the motor 45. It has become so. A motor 49 is provided at the free end of the movable table 40, and a rotating shaft 51 of the motor 49 is connected to the support member 52 via a bearing 50. A support arm 41 is supported by a side end portion of the support member 52 so as to be horizontally slidable, and the distance from the cutter blade 42 to the rotation axis X of the motor 45 by the slide adjustment of the support arm 41, that is, The turning radius of the cutter blade 42 can be changed and adjusted in accordance with the ring frame diameter.

  A support bracket 53 is fixed to the free end portion of the support arm 41, and a unit movable base 55 that allows the cutter unit 44 to slide along the vertical rail 54 of the support bracket 53 is provided. A horizontal bracket 56 is attached to the end of the support bracket 53, and the unit movable base 55 and the horizontal bracket 56 are connected by a spring 57 so as to be elastically biased in the direction in which the cutter blade 42 is pushed up.

  The cutter holder 43 is attached to a bracket 58 in which a cylindrical main body is connected to one end of the unit movable base 55. A screw shaft 60 is screwed into a screw groove formed on the inner peripheral wall of the main body. A cutter blade 42 is fixedly attached to a mounting block connected to the tip portion of the screw shaft 60 via a bearing. As shown in FIG. 5, a long hole having a substantially cutter blade shape formed at the tip of the cutter holder 43. The protrusion length is adjusted by moving the cutter blade 42 forward and backward from 61. The reference surface 62 of the cutter holder 43 on the side where the cutter blade 42 protrudes is a flat surface. Furthermore, the other end side of the screw shaft 60 is connected to a pulse motor 64 via a connecting rod 63 as shown in FIG. That is, the length of the cutter blade 42 protruding from the long hole 61 of the cutter holder 43 in conjunction with the forward / reverse drive of the pulse motor 64 can be adjusted.

  A contact type displacement sensor 65 for measuring the length of the cutter blade 42 protruding from the reference surface 62 of the cutter holder 43 is provided in the vicinity of the tape cutting mechanism 24. The displacement sensor 65 is attached to a bracket 68 at the tip of the robot arm 67 provided in the support column 66. The robot arm 67 extends and contracts in conjunction with the measurement position where the displacement sensor 65 faces the tip of the cutter blade 42 and the standby position deviated from the turning scanning trajectory of the cutter blade 42 in conjunction with the expansion and contraction of the cylinder. It is configured. In addition, the bracket 68 at the tip of the robot arm 67 is configured to be movable up and down at the measurement position.

  The pulse motor 64 corresponds to the driving means of the present invention, and the displacement sensor 65 corresponds to the measuring means. The measuring means is not limited to the displacement sensor 65 and may be either a contact type sensor or a non-contact type sensor as long as the length of the cutter blade 42 protruding from the cutter holder 43 can be measured.

  The ring frame elevating mechanism 26 is in a standby position above the position where the supporting adhesive tape DT is attached to the ring frame f. The ring frame elevating mechanism 26 descends when the attaching process of the supporting adhesive tape DT to the ring frame f is completed, and holds the ring frame f by suction. At this time, the ring frame transport mechanism 17 holding the ring frame f returns to the initial position above the ring frame supply unit 16.

  Further, when the ring frame elevating mechanism 26 sucks and holds the ring frame f, the ring frame elevating mechanism 26 moves up to the bonding position with the wafer W. At this time, the chuck table 15 holding the wafer W by suction is also lowered to the bonding position of the wafer W.

  The mount frame manufacturing unit 27 includes a sticking roller 28 whose peripheral surface is elastically deformable. The affixing roller 28 rolls while pressing the non-adhesive surface of the supporting adhesive tape DT affixed to the back surface of the ring frame f.

  The first mount frame transport mechanism 29 is configured to vacuum-suck the mount frame MF integrally formed with the ring frame f and the wafer W and transfer the mount frame MF to a peeling table (not shown) of the peeling mechanism 30.

  The peeling mechanism 30 includes a peeling table for placing and moving the wafer W, a tape supply unit 31 for supplying peeling adhesive tapes (hereinafter simply referred to as “peeling tape”) Ts, and attaching and peeling of the peeling tape Ts. It comprises a peeling unit 32 to be performed, and a tape collecting unit 34 for collecting the peeled peeling tape Ts and the protective tape PT. Here, the structure excluding the peeling table in the peeling mechanism 30 is mounted in a fixed position on the apparatus main body.

  The tape supply unit 31 guides and supplies the peeling tape Ts derived from the original fabric roller to the lower end portion of the peeling unit 32 via a guide roller.

  The tape collecting unit 34 is configured to guide the peeling tape Ts fed from the lower end portions of the two peeling units 32 upward through a motor-driven feed roller and a guide roller to wind and collect the tape.

  The peeling unit 32 includes a peeling plate 33. The release plate 33 presses the surface of the protective tape PT attached to the pattern surface of the wafer W (wafer W attached to the mount frame MF via the dicing tape DT) conveyed by the release table. Moving. At this time, the peeling plate 33 attaches the peeling tape Ts to the protective tape PT while pressing the non-adhesive surface of the peeling tape Ts, and peels the peeling tape Ts and the protective tape PT together. . As the peeling tape Ts, a tape having a width smaller than the diameter of the wafer W is used.

  The second mount frame transport mechanism 35 is configured to vacuum-suck the mount frame MF delivered from the peeling mechanism 30 and transfer it to the turntable 36.

  The turntable 36 is configured to align the mount frame MF and store it in the mount frame collection unit 37. That is, when the mount frame MF is placed on the turntable 36 by the second mount frame transport mechanism 35, alignment is performed based on the orientation flat of the wafer W, the positioning shape of the ring frame f, and the like. In order to change the direction in which the mount frame MF is stored in the mount frame collection unit 37, the turntable 36 is turned. Further, when the storage direction is determined, the turntable 36 pushes out the mount frame MF with a pusher (not shown) and stores the mount frame MF in the mount frame collection part 37.

  The mount frame collection unit 37 is placed on a mountable table (not shown). In other words, the mount frame MF pushed out by the pusher can be stored in an arbitrary stage of the mount frame collection unit 37 by moving the mounting table up and down.

  Next, the operation of the above-described embodiment apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, initial conditions such as the thickness of the supporting adhesive tape DT are set from an operation panel (not shown). When the setting of the initial conditions is completed, the control unit 70 operates the robot arm 67 to move the displacement sensor 65 to the measurement position facing the cutter blade 42, as shown in FIGS.

  When the cutter blade 42 reaches the measurement position, the bracket 68 is moved up and down by a predetermined distance set in advance to bring the displacement sensor 65 into contact with the tip of the cutter blade 42. At this time, the displacement amount of the contact part of the displacement sensor 65 is measured. The measured actual value is transmitted to the control unit 70 and subjected to a comparison calculation process with a predetermined reference value. At this time, the reference value is set to a predetermined value less than the thickness of the supporting adhesive tape DT from the state in which the reference surface 62 of the cutter holder 43 is in contact with the displacement sensor 65. Then, the amount of rotation of the pulse motor 64 is calculated according to the deviation obtained from the arithmetic processing in the control unit 70, and the signal is transmitted to the pulse motor 64. The pulse motor 64 rotates in response to the signal, and the protruding length of the cutter blade 42 is adjusted.

  In this embodiment, as the protruding length of the cutter blade 42, as shown in FIG. 6, the reference surface 62 of the cutter holder 43 is in contact with the surface of the base material b which is the non-adhesive surface of the supporting adhesive tape DT. Thus, the distance between the blade edge and the adhesion interface between the adhesive layer a and the ring frame f is set. In other words, the cutter blade 42 is set so that the tip of the cutter blade 42 is at a position just before the adhesive layer a can be completely penetrated.

  Thus, the setting of the tape cutting mechanism 24 is completed, and the process of creating the mount frame MF that holds the wafer W on the ring frame f via the supporting adhesive tape DT is executed as follows.

  The wafer holding part of the robot arm 4 is inserted into the gap of the cassette C. The wafers W are sucked and held from below and taken out one by one. The extracted wafer W is transferred to the alignment stage 7.

  The wafer W is placed on the holding table by the robot arm 4 and sucked and held from the back surface. At this time, the suction level of the wafer W is detected by a pressure gauge (not shown) and compared with a reference value determined in advance in relation to the pressure value during normal operation.

  When the suction abnormality is detected, the wafer W is pressed from the surface by the pressing plate 6, and the wafer W is sucked and held in a flat state in which the warp is corrected. The wafer W is aligned based on the orientation flat or notch.

  When the alignment on the alignment stage 7 is completed, the ultraviolet irradiation unit 14 irradiates the surface of the wafer W with ultraviolet rays.

  When the ultraviolet irradiation process is performed, the wafer W is transferred to the next mount frame manufacturing unit 27 together with the alignment stage 7 while being held by suction on the holding table. That is, the alignment stage 7 moves to an intermediate position between the chuck table 15 and the ring frame lifting mechanism 26.

  When the alignment stage 7 stands by at a predetermined position, the upper chuck table 15 is lowered, and the bottom surface of the chuck table 15 comes into contact with the wafer W to start vacuum suction. When the vacuum suction of the chuck table 15 is started, the suction holding on the holding table side is released, and the wafer W is received in a state in which the chuck table 15 is held flat by correcting the warp. The alignment stage 7 that has transferred the wafer W returns to the initial position.

  Next, the ring frames f stored in multiple stages in the ring frame supply unit 16 are vacuum-sucked one by one by the ring frame transport mechanism 17 and taken out. The taken-out ring frame f is aligned on an alignment stage (not shown) and then conveyed to a support adhesive tape attaching position above the support adhesive tape DT.

  When the ring frame f is held by the ring frame transport mechanism 17 and is at the attaching position of the supporting adhesive tape DT, the supply of the supporting adhesive tape DT from the tape supply unit 19 is started. At the same time, the sticking roller 22 moves to the sticking start position.

  When the application roller 22 reaches the application start position, the tension mechanism 20 holds both ends in the width direction of the supporting adhesive tape DT, and tension is applied in the tape width direction.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 810, the affixing roller 22 is raised, and the supporting adhesive tape DT is pressed and affixed to the end of the ring frame f. When the supporting adhesive tape DT is affixed to the end of the ring frame f, the affixing roller 22 rolls toward the tape supply unit 19 side which is the standby position. At this time, the affixing roller 22 rolls while pressing the supporting adhesive tape DT from the non-adhesive surface, and affixes the supporting adhesive tape DT to the ring frame f. When the sticking roller 22 reaches the end of the sticking position, the holding of the supporting adhesive tape DT by the tension mechanism 20 is released.

  At the same time, the tape cutting mechanism 24 is raised, and the cutter blade 42 is pierced into the supporting adhesive tape DT as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the reference surface 62 of the cutter holder 43 is brought into contact with the surface of the base material b constituting the supporting adhesive tape DT, and is stuck and fixed until just before the cutting edge of the cutter blade 42 penetrates the adhesive layer a. To do. In this state, the motor 45 is driven to rotate and the support arm 41 is rotated about the longitudinal axis X, whereby the reference surface 62 of the cutter holder 43 follows the surface of the support adhesive tape DT and the cutting portion of the cutter blade 42 is changed. The supporting pressure-sensitive adhesive tape DT is cut along the shape of the ring frame f without penetrating the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer a while maintaining a certain length. When the cutting of the supporting adhesive tape DT is completed, as shown in FIG. 12, the peeling unit 23 moves toward the tape supply unit 19 and peels off the unnecessary supporting adhesive tape DT.

  Next, the tape supply unit 19 is operated to feed out the supporting adhesive tape DT, and the cut unnecessary portion of the tape is sent out to the tape collecting unit 25. At that time, the sticking roller 22 moves to the sticking start position so as to stick the supporting adhesive tape DT to the next ring frame f.

  The ring frame f to which the supporting adhesive tape DT is attached moves upward while the frame portion is sucked and held by the ring frame lifting mechanism 26. At this time, the chuck table 15 is also lowered. That is, the chuck table 15 and the ring frame elevating mechanism 26 move to a position where the wafer W is bonded to each other.

  When each mechanism 15 and 26 reaches a predetermined position, each mechanism is held by a holding mechanism (not shown). Next, the sticking roller 28 moves to the sticking start position of the supporting adhesive tape DT, rolls while pressing the non-adhesive surface of the supporting adhesive tape DT attached to the bottom surface of the ring frame f, and supports adhesive. The tape DT is attached to the wafer W. As a result, a mount frame MF in which the ring frame f and the wafer W are integrated is manufactured.

  When the mount frame MF is manufactured, the chuck table 15 and the ring frame lifting mechanism 26 move upward. At this time, a holding table (not shown) moves below the mount frame MF, and the mount frame MF is placed on the holding table. The mounted mount frame MF is sucked and held by the first mount frame transport mechanism 29 and transferred to the peeling table.

  The peeling table on which the mount frame MF is mounted moves toward the lower side of the peeling unit 32. When the mount frame MF reaches the lower side of the peeling unit 32, the peeling plate 33 sticks the peeling tape Ts supplied from the tape supply unit 31 while pressing it against the protective tape PT on the surface of the wafer W. The peeling plate 33 peels off the protective tape PT from the surface of the wafer W together with the peeling tape Ts while peeling the attached peeling tape Ts.

  The mount frame MF that has completed the peeling process of the protective tape PT moves to the standby position of the second mount frame transport mechanism 35 by the peeling table.

  Then, the mount frame MF paid out from the peeling mechanism 30 is transferred to the turntable 36 by the second mount frame transport mechanism 35. The transferred mount frame MF is aligned by an orientation flat or a notch, and the accommodation direction is adjusted. When the alignment and the storage direction are determined, the mount frame MF is pushed out by the pusher and stored in the mount frame collection unit 37.

  This completes one round of operation. Each time the support adhesive tape DT is cut by the tape cutting mechanism 24, the length of the cutter blade 42 protruding from the cutter holder 43 is measured by the displacement sensor 65. At this time, if there is a deviation due to the comparison between the actual measurement value and the reference value, the pulse motor 64 is operated to adjust the protruding length of the cutter blade 42 to be constant.

  As described above, when the cutter blade 42 is pierced into the support adhesive tape DT and cut while being swung and scanned along the shape of the ring frame f, the reference surface of the cutter holder 43 is placed on the surface of the base material b of the support adhesive tape DT. By making the contact 62 follow, the cutting edge of the cutter blade 42 can be cut while passing through the adhesive interface without passing through the adhesive layer a. Therefore, since the cutter blade 42 does not contact the tape attachment surface of the ring frame f, the service life of the cutter blade 42 can be extended, and as a result, the replacement frequency of the cutter blade 42 can be reduced, so that the working efficiency can be improved. it can.

  Even if the tape attachment surface of the ring frame f has a scratch or the like, the tip of the cutter blade 42 does not penetrate the adhesive layer a, so that the tip does not fit into the scratch. That is, the cutting scanning path is not changed due to the influence of scratches on the tape application surface in the process of cutting the supporting adhesive tape. As a result, the cutting start position and the end position overlap each other, and the supporting adhesive tape can be reliably cut out.

  Further, even if the scanning is performed while the tip is in contact with the ring frame f, the notched groove is not formed on the surface by the flat surface 59 of the tip. Therefore, it is possible to increase the number of times the ring frame is reused.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as follows.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the reference adhesive 62 of the cutter holder 43 is brought into contact with the substrate surface of the support adhesive tape DT, and the support adhesive tape DT is cut while following the surface of the substrate b. You may comprise so that 43 may be in a non-contact state and the position of the front-end | tip of the cutter blade 42 may pass through just before not penetrating the adhesion layer a.

  For example, a light source or a sound wave generator is disposed in front of the cutter blade 42 in the scanning direction, and the reflected light or sound wave reflected and returned from the surface of the ring frame f or the base material b is measured. At 70, the distance is calculated. Further, the length of the cutter blade 42 protruding from the long hole 61 of the cutter holder 43 may be configured by operating the amount of rotation of the pulse motor 64 using the calculation result.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the protruding length of the cutter blade 42 is performed using the pulse motor 64, but a piezo element that allows further fine adjustment may be used.

  (3) Although the affixing surface of the supporting adhesive tape DT of the ring frame f is directed downward, the affixing surface of the supporting adhesive tape DT may be turned upside down and affixing, cutting, and peeling treatment may be performed. .

  (4) In the above embodiment, the supporting adhesive tape DT is applied to the ring frame f and the back surface of the wafer W at the same time. However, after the dicing tape DT is applied to the ring frame f, Alternatively, the wafer W may be brought close to the dicing tape DT while being pressed by the adhering roller while being rolled and pasted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 24 ... Tape cutting mechanism 28 ... Sticking roller 41 ... Support arm 42 ... Cutter blade 43 ... Cutter holder 44 ... Cutter unit 45 ... Motor 47 ... Link mechanism 62 ... Reference plane 64 ... Pulse motor 65 ... Displacement sensor 67 ... Robot arm W ... Semiconductor Wafer DT… Supporting adhesive tape X… Shaft center

Claims (2)

A pressure-sensitive adhesive tape cutting method for cutting a pressure-sensitive adhesive tape for supporting a semiconductor wafer on a ring frame,
Measure the distance to the ring frame by the measuring means arranged in the scanning direction of the cutter blade,
The drive means is operated according to the measurement result, and the protruding length from the long hole of the cutter holder to which the cutter blade is attached is pierced into the adhesive tape attached to the ring frame from the reference surface on the base end side of the cutter holder. Adjust the distance to the tip of the cutter blade,
While maintaining the distance from the ring frame to the tip of the cutter blade in a state where the base end surface is not in contact with the adhesive tape, the tip is brought close to the adhesive interface between the adhesive layer of the adhesive tape and the ring frame. The adhesive tape is cut along the shape of the ring frame. An adhesive tape attaching device for attaching and holding a semiconductor wafer on a ring frame via an adhesive tape for support,
Wafer holding means for holding the semiconductor wafer;
Frame holding means for holding the ring frame opposite to the semiconductor wafer held by the wafer holding means;
A tape supply means for supplying a strip-like support adhesive tape toward the ring frame;
Affixing means for adhering and holding the semiconductor wafer on the ring frame by moving the affixing means against the non-adhesive surface of the adhesive tape,
The distance to the ring frame is measured by measuring means arranged in the scanning direction of the cutter blade, the drive means is operated according to the measurement result, and the protruding length from the long hole of the cutter holder equipped with the cutter blade Is the distance from the ring frame to the tip of the cutter blade stabbed into the adhesive tape affixed to the ring frame, and the base end surface on the base end side of the cutter holder is kept constant in a non-contact state with respect to the adhesive tape, A cutting mechanism for cutting the adhesive tape along the shape of the ring frame by bringing the tip close to the adhesive interface between the adhesive layer of the adhesive tape and the ring frame;
Peeling means for peeling off the unnecessary adhesive tape after cutting;
An adhesive tape affixing device characterized by comprising:

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