JP2013041967A - Division device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inhibit division dust occurring when a workpiece is divided from adhering to a chip, such as a device chip, after the division.SOLUTION: Humidity control means 80 controls an atmosphere of a division chamber 15 in a housing 11 in which a workpiece 1 is housed so that sufficient moisture exists therein during division operation. Further, ionization air having an antistatic effect is supplied to the workpiece 10 from ionization air supply means 60. The structure prevents electrostatic charge on surfaces of an expand sheet 6 and the workpiece 10 and makes division dust less likely to adhere to a device chip 3a after division.

Description

  The present invention relates to a dividing apparatus that divides a workpiece from a division starting point by expanding the expanded sheet in a workpiece unit in which the workpiece on which the division starting point is formed is attached to an expanded sheet.

  A semiconductor wafer in which a large number of areas are defined on the surface of a semiconductor substrate such as silicon by division lines set in a lattice pattern, and a device made of IC, LSI, or the like is formed in these areas. Then, it is divided into individual devices along the planned dividing line. The divided device chips are widely used in electric devices such as mobile phones and personal computers.

  In order to divide a workpiece such as this kind of wafer, a cutting device called a dicer that cuts a cutting blade by cutting along a line to be divided is widely used. In recent years, a laser beam having a wavelength of transparency (for example, 1064 nm) is irradiated along the planned dividing line with the condensing point being aligned inside the workpiece, thereby dividing the workpiece into the workpiece. A modified layer is formed along the planned line to reduce the strength of the planned divided line, and then the expanded sheet adhered to the back surface of the workpiece is extended to give an external force to the planned divided line, thereby improving the modified layer. A technique is known in which a workpiece is divided using a division starting point (Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-123658 A

  However, when an external force is applied to the planned dividing line as described above to divide the workpiece from the dividing starting point of the modified layer or the like, dividing waste is generated on the side surface of the divided device chip. If the divided waste adheres to the surface of the device chip, the quality of the device is deteriorated, and problems such as hindering bonding and packaging in a later process occur. Particularly, in the case of a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) device having characteristics that cannot be cleaned after being divided into device chips, adhesion of the divided waste becomes a big problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the main technical problem thereof is that in a dividing apparatus that divides a workpiece from the division starting point, the division waste generated when dividing the workpiece is divided. An object of the present invention is to provide a dividing apparatus that can prevent adhesion to a chip, such as a device chip, to suppress deterioration in quality, and reduce the risk of hindering subsequent processes.

  The dividing device according to the present invention divides a workpiece along the division starting point by expanding the expanded sheet of the workpiece unit in which the workpiece on which the dividing starting point is formed is attached to the expanded sheet. A splitting device for holding the expanded sheet at a predetermined distance from the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece of the workpiece unit, and between the holding means and the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece A pressing unit that presses and expands the expanded sheet and divides the workpiece along the division starting point, and the expanding sheet is fixed and held by the holding unit, and the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece by the pressing unit Ionized air supply that is disposed opposite to the workpiece of the workpiece unit to which the expanded sheet is pressed between the holding means and supplies ionized air to the workpiece. An ionized air supply means, a housing that surrounds at least the holding means, the pressing means, and the ionized air supply port to define a divided chamber, and a humidity control means that controls the humidity in the divided chamber. It is characterized by providing.

  According to the dividing device of the present invention, the expanded sheet fixedly held by the holding means is pressed and expanded by the pressing means, so that the workpiece adhered to the expanded sheet is divided along the dividing starting point. The During the division operation, the division chamber in the housing in which the workpiece is accommodated has an atmosphere in which sufficient moisture exists by the humidity control means, and the ionized air has an antistatic effect on the workpiece from the ionized air supply means. Supply. By setting the divided chamber to an atmosphere in which sufficient moisture exists, the amount of adsorbed moisture on the expanded sheet and the surface of the workpiece increases, and electrical conductivity is improved to prevent charging. Further, charging can be prevented by supplying ionized air to the surface of the workpiece. For this reason, the malfunction that the division | segmentation waste produced when dividing a workpiece adheres to the chip | tip after a division | segmentation is reduced, As a result, the fall of quality is suppressed and the possibility of causing a trouble in a post process reduces.

  In the present invention, when the expanding sheet of the workpiece unit is fixed and held by the holding means that supports the holding means and the pressing means, the workpiece of the workpiece unit faces upward. And a reversing means for reversing the support table at the placement position and the division position where the work piece of the work piece unit faces downward. According to this aspect, by dividing the work piece in a state where the support base is inverted, the divided waste can naturally fall and be difficult to adhere to the chip after division, and the attachment of the divided waste can be effectively performed. Can be reduced.

  The workpiece in the present invention refers to, for example, a MEMS wafer made of silicon, a semiconductor wafer or a compound semiconductor wafer, an optical device wafer made of sapphire or silicon carbide (SiC), and various wafers on which no device is formed. And substrate. In addition, the division starting point referred to in the present invention is a region of reduced strength formed on the workpiece along the planned division line, and is irradiated with a laser beam having a wavelength that is transparent to the workpiece as described above. In addition to the modified layer formed by cutting, there are a cutting groove formed by a cutting blade on the workpiece, a laser groove formed by irradiating a laser beam having a wavelength that absorbs the workpiece, and the like. Can be mentioned.

  According to the present invention, divided scrap generated when a workpiece is divided is prevented from adhering to chips such as device chips after the division, so that deterioration in quality is suppressed and the possibility of hindering subsequent processes is reduced. There is an effect that a dividing device capable of performing the above is provided.

It is a perspective view which shows the workpiece unit which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a sectional side view showing the dividing device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the division mechanism which is the principal part of the division device. It is a sectional side view which shows the state by which the workpiece unit was set by the same dividing device. It is a sectional side view which shows the state which divided | segmented the to-be-processed object with the same dividing device.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a workpiece unit 7 according to an embodiment. This workpiece unit 7 has an expanded sheet 6 attached to an annular frame 5, and a disk-like workpiece 1 having a large number of devices 3 formed on the surface of the expanded sheet 6. It is. A grid-like division planned line 2 is set on the workpiece 1, and a device 3 made of IC, LSI, or the like is formed on the surface of many rectangular areas partitioned by the division planned line 2. Examples of the workpiece 1 include a MEMS wafer whose substrate is made of silicon. An orientation flat 4 showing a crystal orientation is formed on the periphery of the workpiece 1.

  A division starting point is formed in advance on the workpiece 1 along the division line 2. The division starting point is a reduced intensity region formed on the workpiece 1 along the planned division line 2 as described above, and is formed by irradiating the workpiece 1 with a laser beam having a wavelength having transparency. Or a laser groove formed by irradiating the workpiece 1 with a laser beam having an absorptive wavelength, or the like.

  The frame 5 is made of a rigid metal plate such as a stainless steel plate, and the expanded sheet 6 is a resin adhesive on one side of a base material made of a synthetic resin sheet having elasticity such as polyvinyl chloride or polyolefin. A layer is formed. The expanded sheet 6 is stuck to one side of the frame 5 via an adhesive layer. Then, the workpiece 1 is adhered to the adhesive layer of the expanded sheet 6 so that the back side is aligned and concentrically with the frame 5, thereby forming the workpiece unit 7. By configuring the workpiece unit 7 in this way, the workpiece 1 is handled via the frame 5 and the expanded sheet 6.

  FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the dividing device 10 according to an embodiment. Reference numeral 11 denotes a rectangular parallelepiped shape including a floor portion 12, four side wall portions 13 and a lid portion 14 that closes an upper opening so as to be freely opened and closed. It is a housing. In the housing 11, a divided chamber 15 is defined which is sealed from the outside by closing the lid portion 14. In the dividing chamber 15, a dividing mechanism 20 that holds the workpiece unit 7 and divides the workpiece 1 is disposed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the dividing mechanism 20 includes a rectangular support base 21, a cylindrical mounting drum 31 fixed to the center of the support base 21, and a holding provided around the mounting drum 31. Means 40. The upper surface of the mounting drum 31 is a horizontal mounting surface 32 on which the workpiece 1 is mounted via the expanded sheet 6.

  The holding means 40 is disposed concentrically around the mounting drum 31, and is provided on an annular holding table 41 on which the frame 5 of the workpiece unit 7 is mounted, and on the outer periphery of the holding table 41. It comprises a plurality of movable clamps 45 that hold and hold 5 from above. A frame 5 of the workpiece unit 7 is placed on the holding table 41, and a plurality of movable clamps 45 that hold the frame 5 from above are attached to the outer periphery of the holding table 41. By holding the frame 5 placed on the holding table 41 with the movable clamp 45, the expanded sheet 6 at a position separated from the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece 1 of the workpiece unit 7 by a predetermined distance is fixedly held.

  The holding table 41 is supported by a plurality of air cylinders 35 provided on the support base 21 so as to be movable up and down. The air cylinder 35 is provided such that a piston rod 37 extends and contracts in a vertical direction from a cylinder body 36 fixed on the support base 21, and a holding table 41 is fixed to the upper end of the piston rod 37.

  The holding table 41 has a mounting height at which the piston rod 37 extends so that the upper holding surface 42 is flush with the mounting surface 32 of the mounting drum 31, and the piston rod 37 contracts and the holding surface 42 becomes the mounting drum. 31 is positioned at two extended positions closer to the support base 21 side than the mounting surface 32. When the piston rod 37 is contracted, the expand sheet 6 is pressed and expanded between the holding means 40 and the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece 1. In the present embodiment, the pressing drum 30 is configured by the mounting drum 31 and the air cylinder 35.

  The support base 21 of the dividing mechanism 20 is rotatably supported on the opposing side wall 13 of the housing 11 via a horizontal rotating shaft 22, and the dividing mechanism 20 is entirely centered on the rotating shaft 22 by the reversing means 50. As a rotational drive. The reversing means 50 is disposed on the floor 12 in the housing 11, and has a motor 52 provided with a driving pulley 51 on a driving shaft parallel to the rotating shaft 22, and a driven pulley provided at one end of the rotating shaft 22. 53 and a transmission belt 54 wound around the pulleys 51 and 53. According to the reversing means 50, the power of the motor 52 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 22 via the transmission belt 54, and the dividing mechanism 20 is rotated about the rotating shaft 22.

  In the workpiece unit 7, the workpiece 1 is placed concentrically on the placement surface 32 of the placement drum 31 via the expand sheet 6 with respect to the dividing mechanism 20, the surface is exposed, and the frame 5 is held. It is placed on the table 41 and held by the movable clamp 45. In this embodiment, with the workpiece unit 7 held by the dividing mechanism 20 in this manner, the workpiece 1 of the workpiece unit 7 is directed upward by rotating the dividing mechanism 20 by the reversing means 50. And the divided position where the workpiece 1 is turned downward by reversing 180 ° from the placement position.

  A disk-like ionized air supply means 60 is disposed at a position facing the workpiece 1 positioned at the division position and facing downward in the center of the floor portion 12 in the housing 11. An ionized air supply port 61 for supplying ionized air toward the workpiece 1 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the ionized air supply means 60. The ionized air supply port 61 is formed in an annular shape obliquely rising from the outer peripheral portion of the ionized air supply means 60 to the inner peripheral side, and the ionized air comes into contact with the workpiece 1 as a conical airflow directed upward. It is like that.

  In the ionized air supply means 60, ionized air is supplied from an ionized air generating unit 70 installed outside the housing 11 via a supply pipe 71, and the ionized air is ejected from an ionized air supply port 61. ing. Moreover, the division | segmentation waste collection | recovery tray 19 is set on the ionized air supply means 60 so that attachment or detachment is possible.

  Further, a humidifier 81 is installed on the floor 12 in the housing 11, and a hygrometer 82 is installed on the side wall 13. The humidity measurement value in the hygrometer 82 is supplied to humidity control means 80 provided outside the housing 11, and the humidity control means 80 operates the humidifier 81 based on the humidity measurement value to move inside the divided chamber 15. Perform feedback control to maintain appropriate humidity.

  The above is the configuration of the dividing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment. In this dividing apparatus 10, the dividing mechanism 20 having the pressing means 30 and the holding means 40, the reversing means 50 for inverting the dividing mechanism 20, and the ionized air supply port 61 are provided. The ionized air supply means 60 that is included is surrounded by a housing 11 that defines the dividing chamber 15. Next, the dividing operation of the workpiece 1 by the dividing device 10 will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, the dividing mechanism 20 is positioned at the mounting position where the mounting drum 31 is on the upper side, and the mounting surface 32 facing upward is made almost horizontal. Further, the piston rod 37 of the air cylinder 35 is extended so that the holding table 41 is set to a mounting height at which the holding surface 42 is flush with the mounting surface 32 of the mounting drum 31. Then, the lid 14 is opened, the workpiece 1 of the workpiece unit 7 is placed on the placement surface 32 of the placement drum 31 via the expand sheet 6 to expose the surface, and the holding table 41 is held. The frame 5 placed on the surface 42 is pressed and held by the movable clamp 45 from above. Next, the lid portion 14 is closed to obtain the set state shown in FIG.

Next, the humidifier 81 is actuated, and the humidity control means 80 controls the atmosphere in the division chamber 15 to be maintained at a sufficient humidity (for example, 9.5 / m ³ or more in absolute humidity). . When the humidity in the dividing chamber 15 is stably controlled, the reversing means 50 is operated to invert the dividing mechanism 20 by 180 ° as shown in FIG. 5, and the workpiece 1 turned downward is ionized air supply means 60. And it is made to oppose above the division | segmentation waste collection | recovery tray 19. FIG. Then, ionized air is ejected from the ionized air supply port 61 of the ionized air supply means 60 to supply the ionized air to the surface of the workpiece 1. From this state, the piston rod 37 of the air cylinder 35 is contracted to bring the holding table 41 closer to the support 21 and is positioned at the extended position.

  As a result, the expand sheet 6 is expanded in the radial direction, and the workpiece 1 on the mounting drum 31 is cleaved along the division line 2 where the division start points are formed as shown in FIG. It is divided into 3a. When the workpiece 1 is divided into a large number of device chips 3 a, the dividing mechanism 20 is reversed again to the mounting position, and the process proceeds to a pick-up process in which the device chip 3 a is peeled from the expanded sheet 6.

Now, according to the dividing apparatus 10 of this embodiment, the workpiece 1 is turned downward by reversing the dividing mechanism 20, the piston rod 37 of the air cylinder 35 is reduced, and the expanded sheet 6 is expanded, thereby the workpiece. 1 is divided into a number of device chips 3a. During the dividing operation, an atmosphere in which sufficient moisture exists in the dividing chamber 15 in which the workpiece 1 is accommodated by the humidity control means 80 (as described above, for example, an absolute humidity of 9.5 / m ³ or more). In addition to this, ionized air is supplied from the ionized air supply means 60 to the surface of the workpiece 1.

  By setting the divided chamber 15 to an atmosphere in which sufficient moisture exists, the amount of adsorbed moisture on the surfaces of the expanded sheet 6 and the workpiece 1 is increased, so that electrical conductivity is improved and charging can be prevented. Further, charging can be prevented by supplying ionized air having an antistatic effect to the surface of the workpiece 1. For this reason, the malfunction that the division | segmentation waste produced when dividing the to-be-processed object 1 adheres to the device chip 3a after a division | segmentation is reduced. As a result, the deterioration of device quality is suppressed, and the risk of hindering subsequent processes is reduced.

  Further, since the workpiece 1 is divided in a downward state, as shown in FIG. 5, the divided waste (indicated by the arrow C) naturally falls and hardly adheres to the divided device chip 3 a, Adhesion can be effectively reduced. Since the fallen divided waste is stored in the divided waste collection tray 19, the inside of the divided chamber 15 is not contaminated, and the divided waste can be easily discarded.

  The holding means 40 of the above embodiment is configured to hold and hold the frame 5 on the holding table 41 with the movable clamp 45, but the holding means 40 is not limited to this form, and the expanded sheet 6 is sandwiched from above and below. Various forms such as holding can be applied. Moreover, although the mounting drum 31 has the mounting surface 32, it may be a cylindrical body that does not have the mounting surface 32 and opens upward. Further, contrary to the configuration in which the mounting drum 31 is fixed and the air cylinder 35 is expanded and contracted to expand the expanded seat 6, the air cylinder 35 side is not expanded and contracted, and the mounting drum 31 can be moved up and down. The expandable sheet 6 may be configured to expand when the is lifted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Workpiece, 3 ... Device, 3a ... Device chip, 6 ... Expand sheet, 7 ... Workpiece unit, 10 ... Dividing device, 11 ... Housing, 15 ... Divided chamber, 21 ... Support base, 30 ... Pressing means 40 ... holding means, 50 ... reversing means, 60 ... ionized air supply means,
61 ... ionized air supply port, 80 ... humidity control means.

Claims (2)

A dividing apparatus that divides a workpiece along the division starting point by expanding the expanded sheet of the workpiece unit in a form in which the workpiece on which the dividing starting point is formed is attached to the expanded sheet,
Holding means for fixing and holding the expanded sheet at a predetermined distance from the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece of the workpiece unit;
A pressing unit that presses and expands the expanded sheet between the holding unit and the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece, and divides the workpiece along the division starting point;
The expanding sheet is fixedly held by the holding means and opposed to the workpiece of the workpiece unit in which the expanding sheet is pressed between the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece and the holding means by the pressing means. An ionized air supply means disposed and having an ionized air supply port for supplying ionized air to the workpiece;
A housing that surrounds at least the holding means, the pressing means, and the ionized air supply port to define a divided chamber;
Humidity control means for controlling the humidity in the divided chamber;
A dividing apparatus comprising: A support for supporting the holding means and the pressing means;
A position where the workpiece of the workpiece unit faces upward when the expand sheet of the workpiece unit is fixedly held by the holding means, and a division position where the workpiece of the workpiece unit faces downward Reversing means for reversing the support base;
The dividing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

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