JP2022104193A - Dividing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To divide a wafer and efficiently cut an adhesive tape along the contour of the wafer.SOLUTION: A dividing device divides a wafer into individual device chips, and comprises: a cassette table on which a cassette is mounted which accommodates a plurality of frame units each including an adhesive tape, a frame, and a wafer; a chuck table that holds the frame units; a dividing unit that divides the wafer included in the frame unit held by the chuck table into individual device chips; a separation unit that cuts the adhesive tape supporting the divided wafer along an outer periphery of the wafer to separate the wafer and the frame from each other; and a wafer cassette table on which a wafer cassette is mounted which accommodates the wafer separated by the separation unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a dividing device that processes a wafer attached to an adhesive tape and supported by a frame via the adhesive tape and divides the wafer into individual device chips.

In the manufacturing process of device chips used in electronic devices such as mobile phones and personal computers, first, a plurality of planned division lines (streets) intersecting each other are set on the surface of a wafer made of a material such as a semiconductor. Then, devices such as ICs (Integrated Circuits) and LSIs (Large-scale Integration) are formed in each area partitioned by the planned division line. Then, when the wafer is divided along the planned division line, individual device chips are formed.

The waha is divided by, for example, a cutting device capable of cutting a workpiece with a cutting unit equipped with an annular cutting blade, or a laser machining device equipped with a laser machining unit capable of laser machining the workpiece with a laser beam. Will be implemented.

The wafer is attached to an adhesive tape having a diameter larger than that of the wafer before being carried into the dividing device. This adhesive tape is called a dicing tape. An inner peripheral portion of an annular frame having an opening large enough to accommodate a wafer is attached to the outer peripheral portion of the adhesive tape. That is, the wafer, the adhesive tape, and the frame are integrated to form a frame unit, and the wafer that is a part of the frame unit is carried into the dividing device and processed.

The dividing device includes a cassette table on which a cassette accommodating a plurality of wafers that became a part of the frame unit is placed, a loading / unloading unit that pulls out the wafer from the cassette placed on the cassette table, and a chuck table that sucks and holds the wafer. , Equipped with. Further, it includes a transport unit that transports the wafer carried out from the cassette to the chuck table, a split unit that divides the wafer held on the holding table, and a cleaning unit that cleans the wafer divided by the split unit.

Then, the wafer divided by the dividing device is accommodated in the cassette placed on the cassette table by the above-mentioned loading / unloading unit (see Patent Document 1). In the dividing device, after the division of all the wafers housed in the cassette and carried into the dividing device is completed and the wafers are housed in the cassette, the cassette is transported to carry out a plurality of wafers.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-36275

For example, when the device formed on the surface of the wafer is an optical element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor, there is a problem that processing debris generated during processing adheres to the device surface. It is easy to become. Therefore, when forming the frame unit, it is conceivable to attach an adhesive tape to the front surface side of the wafer instead of the back surface side to protect the front surface side.

In this case, after the wafer is divided by the dividing device, the adhesive tape is cut along the contour of the wafer, and a new adhesive tape attached to the frame is attached to the back surface side of the wafer. After that, the adhesive tape is expanded outward in the radial direction to widen the space between the device chips manufactured by dividing the wafer, and the device chips whose surface side is exposed are picked up. The picked up device chip is mounted on a predetermined mounting target such as a wiring board.

However, it is troublesome to cut the adhesive tape attached to the surface side of the wafer after the wafer is carried out from the dividing device and before the distance between the device chips is widened. Then, it takes extra time to pick up the device chip, which causes a decrease in the productivity of the device chip.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a dividing device capable of dividing a wafer and efficiently cutting an adhesive tape along the contour of the wafer.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the wafer is supported by an adhesive tape in a ring-shaped frame having an opening for accommodating the wafer, and the wafer is divided into individual device chips. A cassette table on which a cassette containing a plurality of frame units including the frame and the wafer is placed, and the frame unit carried out from the cassette placed on the cassette table are temporarily placed. A temporary placement table, a chuck table that holds the frame unit conveyed from the temporary placement table, and a division unit that divides the wafer contained in the frame unit held by the chuck table into individual device chips. A separation unit that separates the wafer and the frame by cutting the adhesive tape that supports the divided wafer along the outer periphery of the wafer, and a wafer that houses the wafer separated by the separation unit. Provided is a dividing device comprising: a wafer cassette table on which a cassette is placed.

Preferably, the frame separated by the separation unit is housed in the cassette placed on the cassette table.

Further, preferably, a cleaning unit for cleaning the wafer divided by the division unit is further provided.

Further, preferably, the wafer cassette placed on the wafer cassette table is provided in a shelf shape at predetermined intervals and has a plurality of support plates having support surfaces for supporting the wafers, respectively, and the support plate is provided. A non-slip surface is provided on the surface to prevent the wafer from falling off.

The dividing unit is a cutting unit including an annular cutting blade for cutting the wafer.

The division unit is a laser beam irradiation unit that irradiates the wafer with a laser beam and laser-processes the wafer.

The dividing device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a separation unit that separates the wafer and the frame by cutting the adhesive tape supporting the divided wafer along the outer circumference of the wafer. Further, the wafer cassette table on which the wafer cassette for accommodating the wafer separated by the separation unit is placed is provided. Therefore, after processing the wafer, the adhesive tape can be cut and then carried out from the dividing device, so that it does not take time and effort to cut the adhesive tape outside the dividing device.

Here, in the dividing device, the divided wafers cannot be carried out until the wafers included in all the frame units housed in the cassette are divided by the dividing unit. Therefore, in the dividing device according to one aspect of the present invention, after dividing the wafer, the adhesive tape is cut by utilizing the time waiting for the division of the other wafer to be completed.

Therefore, even if the adhesive tape is cut by the dividing device, the increase in the time required from carrying the wafer into the dividing device to carrying it out can be extremely small. That is, the amount of reduction in the time required to cut the adhesive tape outside the dividing device is significantly larger than the amount of increase in the required time, and the time required to manufacture the device chip as a whole is significantly larger. It will be reduced. That is, when the dividing device according to one aspect of the present invention is used, the productivity of the device chip is increased.

Therefore, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dividing device capable of dividing the wafer and efficiently cutting the adhesive tape along the contour of the wafer.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view schematically showing the front surface side of the wafer, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view schematically showing the back surface side of the wafer. It is a perspective view schematically showing how the adhesive tape, the frame, and the wafer are integrated. It is a perspective view which shows typically the division apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows schematicly by partially enlarging a dividing device. FIG. 5A is a perspective view schematically showing a frame unit in a state where the wafer is divided, and FIG. 5B is a perspective view schematically showing how the wafer is separated from the frame unit. .. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of cutting the adhesive tape schematically. It is a perspective view which shows typically the state of sticking to the other adhesive tape on the back surface of the wafer in the divided state. It is a perspective view schematically showing the state of peeling off the adhesive tape attached to the surface of a wafer.

The dividing device according to one aspect of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a wafer, which is a workpiece to be divided by the dividing device according to the present embodiment, will be described. FIG. 1A is a perspective view schematically showing the front surface 1a of the wafer 1, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view schematically showing the back surface 1b of the wafer 1.

The wafer 1 is made of, for example, materials such as Si (silicon), SiC (silicon carbide), GaN (gallium nitride), GaAs (gallium arsenide), or other semiconductors, or materials such as sapphire, glass, and quartz. It is a substantially disk-shaped substrate or the like. The surface 1a of the wafer 1 is partitioned by a plurality of scheduled division lines 3 that intersect each other. Devices 5 such as ICs, LSIs, CCDs, and CMOSs are formed in each region of the surface 1a of the wafer 1 partitioned by the scheduled division line 3.

When the wafer 1 is divided along the scheduled division line 3 using the division device according to the present embodiment, individual device chips are formed. However, the workpiece to be divided by the dividing device is not limited to this.

The wafer 1 divided by the dividing device is integrated with an adhesive tape called a dicing tape and a ring-shaped frame before being carried into the dividing device. Then, the wafer 1 is carried into the dividing device in a state of being a part of the frame unit and divided. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing how the wafer 1 is attached to the adhesive tape 9 attached to the frame 7 so as to close the opening 13 of the ring-shaped frame 7.

For example, the frame 7 is made of a material such as metal and includes an opening 13 having a diameter larger than the diameter of the wafer 1. When forming the frame unit, the wafer 1 is positioned in the opening 13 of the frame 7 and is housed in the opening 13. The adhesive tape 9 is larger than the diameter of the opening 13 and includes an adhesive layer (not shown) and a base material layer that supports the adhesive layer. The adhesive tape 9 is attached to the frame 7 and the wafer 1 by the adhesive force developed in the adhesive layer.

When the frame unit is formed, the wafer 1 is supported by the frame 7 via the adhesive tape 9. Then, when the wafer 1 is divided by the dividing device, the individual device chips formed are directly supported by the frame 7 via the adhesive tape 9. After that, if the space between the device chips is widened by expanding the adhesive tape 9, the device chips can be easily picked up.

For example, when the adhesive tape 9 is attached to the back surface 1b side of the wafer 1 when forming the frame unit and the front surface 1a side of the wafer 1 is exposed, the device chip formed by dividing the wafer 1 can be picked up as it is. However, in the process of dividing the wafer 1 with the dividing device, processing chips may adhere to the device 5 on the surface 1a of the wafer 1 and the quality of the formed device chip may become a problem.

Therefore, when forming the frame unit, it is conceivable to attach the adhesive tape 9 not to the back surface 1b side of the wafer 1 but to the front surface 1a side to protect the front surface 1a side. In this case, after the wafer 1 is divided by the dividing device, the adhesive tape 9 is cut around the wafer 1, another adhesive tape is attached to the back surface 1b side of the wafer 1, and the adhesive tape 9 remaining on the front surface 1a side is peeled off. Then, the device chip is picked up by expanding the other adhesive tape.

However, it is troublesome to cut the adhesive tape 9 after the frame unit is carried out from the dividing device, and it takes time to replace the adhesive tape. That is, it takes extra time and effort to pick up the device chip, which causes a decrease in the productivity of the device chip. Therefore, in the dividing device according to the present embodiment, it is possible to divide the wafer 1 and cut the adhesive tape 9 along the contour of the divided wafer 1. Therefore, it is not necessary to cut the adhesive tape outside the dividing device.

Hereinafter, the dividing device according to the present embodiment will be described. When dividing the wafer 1 along the scheduled division line 3, for example, a cutting device provided with an annular cutting blade is used. Alternatively, a laser processing device that irradiates the wafer 1 with a laser beam to laser-process the wafer 1 is used. Hereinafter, the dividing device will be described by taking the case where the dividing device according to the present embodiment is a cutting device as an example, but the dividing device according to the present embodiment is not limited to the cutting device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a cutting device 2 which is an example of the dividing device according to the present embodiment. Further, FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing a part of the cutting device 2. As shown in FIG. 3, a cassette table 6 on which the cassette 15 is placed is provided at a corner of the base 4 of the cutting device 2. The cassette table 6 can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) by an elevating mechanism (not shown).

In FIG. 3, the outline of the cassette 15 placed on the cassette table 6 is shown by a two-dot chain line. FIG. 4 includes a perspective view schematically showing a part of the cassette 15. The cassette 15 includes a housing 17 that can accommodate a plurality of frame units 11 inside. A carry-in / out port 19 is formed on the front side of the housing 17, and the frame unit 11 is carried in / out of the cassette 15 through the carry-in / out port 19.

A plurality of accommodating rails 21 are provided on the inner surfaces of the side walls of the housing 17 at height positions corresponding to each other. The frame 7 of the frame unit 11 carried into the cassette 15 has one end mounted on the accommodating rail 21 provided on one side wall and the other end mounted on the accommodating rail 21 provided on the other side wall. In the cutting device 2, the cassette 15 accommodating the plurality of frame units 11 is placed on the cassette table 6, the frame units 11 are carried out one after another from the cassette 15, and the wafers 1 contained therein are processed one after another.

Temporarily placed at a position adjacent to the cassette table 6 on the upper surface of the base 4 including a pair of guide rails 8 that are approached and separated from each other while maintaining a state parallel to the Y-axis direction (left-right direction, indexing feed direction). A table 10 is provided. Further, at a position adjacent to the temporary placement table 10 on the upper surface of the base 4, a carry-in / out unit 12 for carrying out the frame unit 11 housed in the cassette 15 placed on the cassette table 6 from the cassette 15 is provided. There is. The carry-in / out unit 12 has a grip portion on the front surface capable of gripping the frame 7.

When carrying out the frame unit 11 housed in the cassette 15, the carry-in / out unit 12 is moved toward the cassette 15, the frame 7 is gripped by the grip portion, and then the carry-in / out unit 12 is separated from the cassette 15. Move in the direction. Then, the frame unit 11 is pulled out from the cassette 15 to the temporary table 10. At this time, the cassette table 6 is raised and lowered so that the height of the frame unit 11 to be carried out and the height of the grip portion correspond to each other.

Then, when the pair of guide rails 8 are moved in an interlocking direction in the X-axis direction and the frame 7 is sandwiched between the pair of guide rails 8, the frame unit 11 is positioned at a predetermined position. Then, the frame unit 11 whose position has been adjusted is conveyed to the chuck table 20 described later.

A long opening 4a is formed in the X-axis direction (front-rear direction, machining feed direction) at a position adjacent to the cassette table 6 on the upper surface of the base 4. Inside the opening 4a, a ball screw type X-axis moving mechanism (machining feed unit) (not shown) and a bellows-shaped dust-proof / drip-proof cover 26 that covers the upper part of the X-axis moving mechanism are arranged.

The X-axis movement mechanism is connected to the lower part of the X-axis movement table 16 and has a function of moving the X-axis movement table 16 in the X-axis direction. For example, the X-axis moving table 16 moves between a loading / unloading position close to the cassette table 6 and a machining position below the cutting unit 32 described later. A table base 18 for supporting the chuck table 20 that sucks and holds the frame unit 11 is provided on the X-axis moving table 16.

A porous member having the same diameter as the wafer 1 is exposed on the upper surface of the chuck table 20, and the upper surface of the porous member serves as a holding surface 22 for sucking and holding the wafer 1 via the adhesive tape 9. There is. Further, a plurality of clamps 24 are arranged on the outside of the holding surface 22 of the chuck table 20. Each clamp 24 fixes the frame 7 of the frame unit 11 mounted on the chuck table 20 from the outside.

Inside the chuck table 20, a suction path (not shown) is formed in which one end leads to the porous member and the other end leads to a suction source (not shown). When the frame unit 11 is placed on the chuck table 20, the frame 7 is fixed by the clamp 24, and the suction source is operated, the wafer 1 is sucked and held by the chuck table 20 via the adhesive tape 9.

The chuck table 20 is connected to a rotation drive source (not shown) such as a motor, and can rotate around an axis perpendicular to the holding surface 22. In other words, the chuck table 20 is rotatable around a rotation axis that is generally parallel to the Z-axis direction. Further, the chuck table 20 moves in the X-axis direction by the above-mentioned X-axis movement mechanism.

The transport of the frame unit 11 carried out from the cassette 15 to the chuck table 20 by the carry-in / out unit 12 is provided at a position adjacent to the temporary placement table 10 and the opening 4a on the upper surface of the base 4. It is carried out by the transport unit 14 of 1. The first transport unit 14 has a shaft portion that can be raised and lowered and is rotatable upward from the upper surface of the base 4, an arm portion that extends horizontally from the upper end of the shaft portion, and a lower tip of the arm portion. It has a holding portion provided.

When the frame unit 11 is transported from the temporary placement table 10 to the chuck table 20 by the first transport unit 14, the X-axis moving table 16 is moved to position the chuck table 20 at a predetermined loading / unloading position. Then, the first transfer unit 14 lifts the frame unit 11 temporarily placed on the temporary placement table 10, moves the frame unit 11 above the chuck table 20, and lowers the frame unit 11 to lower the chuck table 20. Put on.

The cutting device 2 includes a support structure 28 arranged so as to cross the opening 4a above the movement path from the loading / unloading region of the X-axis moving table 16 to the machining region. The support structure 28 is provided with an image pickup unit 30 facing downward. The image pickup unit 30 takes an image of the wafer 1 sucked and held by the chuck table 20 moving to the machining area below the cutting unit 32, and detects the position and orientation of the scheduled division line 3 set on the surface 1a. The image pickup unit 30 is, for example, an infrared camera capable of transmitting an image on the surface 1a side through the wafer 1.

The machining region is provided with a cutting unit (division unit) 32 that divides the wafer 1 included in the frame unit 11 held in the chuck table 20 into individual device chips. The cutting unit 32 includes a cutting blade 34 having an annular grindstone portion on the outer periphery thereof, and a spindle 36 having a cutting blade 34 mounted on the tip portion and along the Y-axis direction which is the rotation axis of the cutting blade 34.

A rotary drive source (not shown) such as a motor is connected to the base end side of the spindle 36. By cutting the rotating cutting blade 34 into the wafer 1 held by the chuck table 20, the wafer 1 can be cut and divided. When the wafer 1 is cut along all scheduled split lines 3, individual device chips are formed. After that, the chuck table 20 is moved to the loading / unloading region by the X-axis moving mechanism.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view schematically showing a wafer 1 which is machined by a cutting unit (splitting unit) 32 along a scheduled division line 3 and has a cutting groove 3a formed along the scheduled division line 3. .. When cutting the wafer 1, the lower end of the grindstone portion of the cutting blade 34 reaches the adhesive tape 9. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the wafer 1 is cut with the cutting blade 34, processing marks are also formed on the upper surface of the adhesive tape 9. When the wafer 1 is divided along the scheduled division line 3, individual device chips 5a are formed.

An opening 4b is formed at a position adjacent to the temporary placement table 10 and the opening 4a on the upper surface of the base 4, and the cleaning unit 38 for cleaning the processed frame unit 11 is housed in the opening 4b. The cleaning unit 38 includes a spinner table that holds the frame unit 11. A rotation drive source (not shown) for rotating the spinner table at a predetermined speed is connected to the lower part of the spinner table.

The cutting device 2 includes a second transfer unit 40 that transfers the frame unit 11 from the chuck table 20 located in the carry-in / out area to the cleaning unit 38. The second transport unit 40 has an arm portion that can move along the Y-axis direction and a holding portion provided below the tip of the arm portion.

When the frame unit 11 is transported from the chuck table 20 to the cleaning unit 38 by the second transport unit 40, the frame unit 11 is first held by the holding portion. Then, the arm portion is moved along the Y-axis direction, and the frame unit 11 is placed on the spinner table of the cleaning unit 38. After that, the frame unit 11 is held on the spinner table to wash the wafer 1.

When the wafer 1 is cleaned by the cleaning unit 38, a cleaning fluid (typically, a mixed fluid in which water and air are mixed) is injected toward the wafer 1 while rotating the spinner table. Then, the frame unit 11 washed by the washing unit 38 is transferred from the spinner table to the temporary placement table 10 by the first transfer unit 14.

In the conventional cutting device (splitting device) 2, the frame unit 11 including the divided wafer 1 is pushed into the cassette 15 from the temporary placement table 10 by the loading / unloading unit 12. Then, the frame unit 11 housed in the cassette 15 was similarly pulled out one after another, divided by the cutting unit (division unit) 32, washed, and returned to the cassette 15.

The cutting device 2, which is a dividing device according to the present embodiment, further cuts the adhesive tape 9 supporting the divided wafer 1 along the outer periphery of the wafer 1 to separate the wafer 1 and the frame 7. The separation unit 42 is provided on the rear side of the base 4.

The frame unit 11 that has been washed by the cleaning unit 38 and transferred to the temporary storage table 10 by the second transfer unit 40 is transferred to the separation unit 42. The transfer of the frame unit 11 to the separation unit 42 is carried out by the third transfer unit 46 provided on the base 4. Next, the third transfer unit 46 and the like will be described with reference to FIG.

The third transfer unit 46 is supported by a support structure 44 provided in a gate shape at the end of the base 4. The support structure 44 has a rail portion that extends between the upper part of the temporary placement table 10 and the upper part of the separation unit 42, and includes a slide portion 48 that is slidably attached to the rail portion. The slide portion 48 moves along the rail portion of the support structure 44 by a drive mechanism (not shown). The drive mechanism is, for example, a ball screw type drive mechanism including a drive source such as a pulse motor. However, the drive mechanism is not limited to this.

The base end portion of the arm portion 50 to which the elevating unit 52 is fixed to the tip end is attached to the slide portion 48. The elevating unit 52 accommodates the upper end portion of the rod 54 along the vertical direction, and the lower end portion of the rod 54 is exposed below the elevating unit 52. For example, the elevating unit 52 is an air cylinder and can elevate the rod 54. The central portion of the flat plate-shaped support portion 56 that supports the frame support portion 58 is fixed to the lower end of the rod 54, and the frame support portion 58 is fixed to the lower surfaces of both ends of the support portion 56.

Each frame support portion 58 has a suction portion on the lower surface that sucks and holds the frame 7 of the frame unit 11 from above. For example, a suction port is provided at the lower end of each suction portion, and a suction source is connected to each suction portion via a tube or the like.

FIG. 4 includes a perspective view schematically showing the frame unit 11 transported by the third transport unit 46. When transporting the frame unit 11 placed on the temporary placement table 10, first, the slide portion 48 is moved to move the frame support portion 58 above the temporary placement table 10, and the elevating unit 52 is operated to operate the frame. The support portion 58 is brought into contact with the frame unit 11. Then, the frame 7 is sucked and held by each suction portion.

After that, the elevating unit 52 is operated to lift the frame unit 11, and the slide portion 48 is moved to move the frame unit 11 above the separation unit 42. Then, the elevating unit 52 is operated to place the frame unit 11 on the separation unit 42, and the suction of the frame 7 by each suction unit is released. After that, the third transport unit 46 is retracted from the periphery of the separation unit 42.

Next, the separation unit 42 will be described. 3 and 4 include perspective views schematically showing the separation unit 42. Further, FIG. 6 includes a cross-sectional view schematically showing an enlarged part of the separation unit 42. The separation unit 42 includes a wafer support table 60 that supports the wafer 1 from below via the adhesive tape 9, and a frame support portion 62 that supports the frame 7 from below via the adhesive tape 9.

The wafer support table 60 is configured in the same manner as the chuck table 20, for example. As shown in FIG. 6 and the like, the wafer support table 60 has a porous member 60a having a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the wafer 1 on the upper surface, and the frame body 60b for accommodating the porous member 60a so as to be exposed upward. Further have. The porous member 60a is connected to a suction source (not shown), and when the suction source is operated, the wafer 1 can be sucked and held via the adhesive tape 9.

The frame support portion 62 is formed so as to surround the wafer support table 60 from the outer circumference at predetermined intervals. The frame support portion 62 may be provided with a suction mechanism similar to that of the wafer support table 60, or may be able to suck and hold the frame 7 of the frame unit 11. However, the frame support portion 62 is not limited to this.

Further, the separation unit 42 has an annular hole 64 between the wafer support table 60 and the frame support portion 62, and the annular hole 64 is provided with a cutting portion 66 capable of cutting the adhesive tape 9. The cutting portion 66 is provided with a sharp cutting edge made of metal or the like at the upper end, and can rotate and move along the annular hole 64 and can move up and down.

When the adhesive tape 9 supporting the divided wafer 1 is cut along the outer periphery of the wafer 1 to separate the wafer 1 and the frame 7, first, the adhesive tape 9 is used on the wafer support table 60. The wafer 1 is sucked and held. Next, the cutting portion 66 housed in the annular hole 64 is raised, and the adhesive tape 9 is cut from below with a cutting blade. After that, the cutting portion 66 is moved along the annular hole 64, and the adhesive tape 9 is cut along the outer periphery of the wafer 1.

When the cut portion 66 is made to go around the wafer 1, the gap between the central portion and the outer peripheral portion of the adhesive tape 9 is cut in an annular shape to form the cut portion 9b (see FIG. 5B), and the wafer 1 is the frame 7. Separated from. FIG. 5B is a perspective view schematically showing how the wafer 1 separated from the frame 7 is lifted. On the surface 1a of the wafer 1, the adhesive tape 9 in the region overlapping the wafer 1 remains as it is. At this point, the wafer 1 is divided into device chips 5a, and each device chip 5a is continuously supported by the adhesive tape 9 of the portion.

The divided wafer 1 separated from the frame 7 by the separation unit 42 is housed in the wafer cassette 23 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Here, the wafer cassette 23 includes a housing 25 capable of accommodating a plurality of wafers 1 inside. A carry-in / out port 29 is formed on the front side of the housing 25, and the wafer 1 is carried in / out to the wafer cassette 23 through the carry-in / out port 29.

The wafer cassette 23 includes a plurality of support plates 27 arranged in a shelf shape at predetermined intervals inside the housing 25. Each support plate 27 has a support surface on the upper surface that supports the wafer 1. The wafer 1 carried into the wafer cassette 23 is placed on one of the support plates 27 and accommodated in the wafer cassette 23. At this time, since the wafer 1 is supported by the support plate 27 on the entire surface, if the wafer cassette 23 is used, the wafer 1 that has been divided and is extremely vulnerable to impact or the like can be safely transported.

However, if the wafer 1 moves on the support plate 27 while the wafer cassette 23 is being moved, the wafer 1 may collide with the inner wall of the housing 25 or may fall to the outside from the carry-in / out port 29, resulting in damage. There is a risk of doing. Therefore, it is preferable that the support surface of the support plate 27 is provided with a non-slip material that prevents the wafer 1 from falling off.

Anti-slip can be realized by covering the support surface with a member having a large surface friction coefficient, such as rubber or urethane resin. Alternatively, anti-slip may be realized by applying a satin finish to the support surface. Here, the non-slip does not need to be formed on the entire surface of the support surface. For example, if a non-slip is provided at a position close to the carry-in / out port 29 on the support surface of the support plate 27, the wafer 1 can be prevented from falling off from the wafer cassette 23.

An up-and-down wafer cassette table 68 capable of supporting the wafer cassette 23 is provided at a position adjacent to the separation unit 42 on the side of the base 4 of the cutting device (splitting device) 2. Further, the cutting device 2 has a wafer carry-in unit 70 on the upper surface of the base 4 for carrying the wafer 1 separated from the frame 7 by the separation unit 42 into the wafer cassette 23. The wafer carry-in unit 70 can be realized by, for example, a robot mechanism in which a plurality of arms are connected by joints. An example of the wafer carry-in unit 70 will be described with reference to FIG.

The waha carry-in unit 70 is, for example, a shaft portion 72, an arm portion 74 extending horizontally from the upper end of the shaft portion 72, a joint portion 76 provided at the tip of the arm portion 74, and a joint portion 76 in the horizontal direction. It is provided with an arm portion 78 extending to the arm portion 78 and a suction holding portion 80 provided at the tip of the arm portion 78. The shaft portion 72 can be rotated by a drive source such as a motor, and can be raised and lowered by an elevating mechanism such as an air cylinder. Further, in the joint portion 76, the angles of the arm portion 74 and the arm portion 78 can be changed.

When the arm portion 74 and the arm portion 78 are rotated by rotating the shaft portion 72 and the joint portion 76, etc., the horizontal position away from the shaft portion 72 with the diameter obtained by adding the lengths of the arm portion 74 and the arm portion 78. The suction holding portion 80 can be moved to an arbitrary position within the range inside. The suction holding portion 80 is provided with a suction holding surface having a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the wafer 1 on the lower surface thereof, and is connected to a suction source (not shown) via a suction path (not shown).

When the wafer 1 separated from the frame 7 by the separation unit 42 is housed in the wafer cassette 23 by the wafer carry-in unit 70, the suction holding portion 80 is first moved above the wafer 1 placed on the wafer support table 60. After that, by lowering the shaft portion 72, the suction holding surface of the suction holding portion 80 is brought into contact with the back surface 1b which is the upper surface of the wafer 1. Then, the suction source connected to the suction holding portion 80 is operated, and the wafer 1 is sucked and held by the suction holding portion 80 from above.

Next, the suction holding from below the wafer 1 by the wafer support table 60 of the separation unit 42 is released. Then, the shaft portion 72 is raised to lift the wafer 1. FIG. 5B is a perspective view schematically showing the lifted wafer 1 and the frame 7 remaining on the frame support portion 62 (see FIG. 4 and the like).

After that, the suction holding portion 80 is inserted into the inside of the wafer cassette 23 from the carry-out port 29 of the wafer cassette 23 placed on the wafer cassette table 68. At this time, the heights of the suction holding portion 80 and the wafer cassette table 68 are adjusted in advance so that the wafer 1 can be accommodated on the predetermined support plate 27.

Then, after the wafer 1 is placed on the support plate 27, the suction holding of the wafer 1 by the suction holding portion 80 is released, and the suction holding portion 80 is taken out from the wafer cassette 23. The wafer 1 is accommodated in the wafer cassette 23. To. Similarly, in the cutting device (splitting device) 2, the wafers 1 divided by the cutting unit (splitting unit) 32 are sequentially separated from the frame 7 by the separating unit 42 and housed in the wafer cassette 23. Then, after a predetermined number of wafers 1 are housed in the wafer cassette 23, the wafer cassette 23 is carried out.

Here, the frame 7 remaining on the frame support portion 62 of the separation unit 42 is returned to the cassette 15 placed on the cassette table 6. That is, first, the frame support portion 58 of the third transport unit 46 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the frame 7, and the frame 7 is sucked and held by the frame support portion 58. Then, when the frame 7 is sucked and held by the frame support portion 62, the suction holding of the frame 7 by the frame support portion 62 is released.

After that, the elevating unit 52 is operated to lift the frame 7, the slide portion 48 is moved along the rail of the support structure 44 to move the frame 7 onto the temporary placement table 10, and the elevating unit 52 is operated to operate the frame 7. To lower. Then, the suction holding of the frame 7 by the frame support portion 58 is released on the temporary placement table 10. After that, the loading / unloading unit 12 is operated to accommodate the frame 7 in the cassette 15 placed on the cassette table 6.

Here, after the wafer 1 and the frame 7 are separated by the separation unit 42, either the wafer 1 or the frame 7 may be carried out from the separation unit 42 first. That is, the frame 7 may be carried out before the wafer 1 is carried out.

For example, the frame 7 is held by the frame support portion 58 of the third transport unit 46 from the time when the frame unit 11 is carried into the separation unit 42 until the adhesive tape 9 is cut by the cutting portion 66 and the frame 7 is carried out. May be maintained. In this case, the wafer 1 may be carried out from the separation unit 42 after the frame 7 is carried out. In this case, the suction start operation and the suction release operation of the frame 7 by the frame support portion 58 can be partially omitted, so that the operation efficiency of the cutting device (splitting device) 2 can be improved.

The wafer 1 housed in the wafer cassette 23 and carried out from the cutting device 2 then proceeds to the pick-up process of the device chip 5a carried out outside the cutting device 2. In the pick-up process, the wafer 1 is attached to a new adhesive tape. FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing how the wafer 1 is attached to the new adhesive tape 9a.

In the pick-up step, first, the adhesive tape 9a is attached to the frame 7a so as to close the opening 13a of the ring-shaped frame 7a, and the adhesive surface of the adhesive tape 9a is exposed inside the opening 13a. After that, the back surface 1b side of the wafer 1 carried out from the wafer cassette 23 is attached to the adhesive surface of the adhesive tape 9a. Then, the wafer 1 is housed in the opening 13a of the frame 7a, and a new frame unit 11a (see FIG. 8) is formed.

Next, the old adhesive tape 9 attached to the surface 1a of the wafer 1 is peeled off from the wafer 1. FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically showing how the adhesive tape 9 is peeled off from the wafer 1. When the adhesive tape 9 is peeled off from the wafer 1, the surface of each device chip 5a on which the device 5 is formed is exposed upward.

After that, when the adhesive tape 9a is expanded radially outward inside the opening 13a, the distance between the respective device chips 5a is widened, and the device chip 5a can be easily picked up. Then, each device chip 5a is picked up, and the device chip 5a is mounted on a predetermined mounting target.

Conventionally, in order to peel off the adhesive tape 9 from the front surface 1a of the wafer 1 and attach another adhesive tape 9a to the back surface 1b of the wafer 1, the adhesive tape 9 is cut along the outer periphery of the wafer 1 outside the cutting device 2. It was carried out in. On the other hand, when the cutting device (splitting device) 2 according to the present embodiment is used, the cutting operation of the adhesive tape 9 can be completed before the wafer 1 is carried out to the outside. Therefore, it is not necessary to cut the adhesive tape 9 outside the cutting device 2.

Then, inside the cutting device 2, after the division of one wafer 1 is completed, the wafer 1 is completed until the division of the wafer 1 is completed for all of the plurality of frame units 11 housed in the cassette 15. It is necessary to wait for the carry-out. In the cutting device 2, the time for waiting can be used to cut the adhesive tape 9.

Therefore, the increase in the time required from carrying the wafer 1 into the cutting device (splitting device) 2 to completing the division and carrying it out is extremely small. The reduction in the time required to cut the adhesive tape 9 outside the dividing device is significantly larger than the increase in the required time, and the time required to manufacture the device chip as a whole is significantly larger. Will be reduced to. Therefore, the cutting device (splitting device) 2 according to the present embodiment can divide the wafer 1 and efficiently cut the adhesive tape 9 along the contour of the wafer 1.

The present invention is not limited to the description of the above embodiment, and can be modified in various ways. For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the dividing device is the cutting device 2 and the dividing unit is the cutting unit 32 provided with the cutting blade 34 for cutting the wafer 1 has been described as an example, but one aspect of the present invention is the same. Not limited to.

For example, the dividing device according to one aspect of the present invention may be a laser processing device including a laser beam irradiation unit that irradiates a wafer 1 held by the holding surface 22 with a laser beam as a dividing unit. Even in this case, the dividing device (laser processing device) can cut the adhesive tape 9 along the outer periphery of the wafer 1 after the wafer 1 is laser-processed and divided.

In addition, the structure, method, and the like according to the above-described embodiment can be appropriately modified and implemented as long as they do not deviate from the scope of the object of the present invention.

1 Waha 1a Front side 1b Back side 3 Scheduled division line 3a Cutting groove 5 Device 5a Device chip 7,7a Frame 9,9a Adhesive tape 9b Cutting part 11, 11a Frame unit 13, 13a Opening 15 Cassette 17, 25 Housing 19, 29 Carry-in / out entrance 21 Storage shelf 23 Waha cassette 27 Support plate 2 Cutting device 4 Base 4a, 4b Opening 6 Cassette table 8 Guide rail 10 Temporary storage table 12 Carry-in / out unit 14, 40, 46 Transport unit 16 X-axis moving table 18 Table base 20 Chuck table 22 Holding surface 24 Clamp 26 Dustproof and drip-proof cover 28 Support structure 30 Imaging unit 32 Cutting unit 34 Cutting blade 36 Spindle 38 Cleaning unit 42 Separation unit 44 Support structure 48 Slide part 50 Arm part 52 Lifting unit 54 Rod 56 Support part 58 Frame support part 60 Weha support table 60a Porous member 60b Frame body 62 Frame support part 64 Circular hole 66 Cutting part 68 Weha cassette table 70 Weha carry-in unit 72 Shaft part 74, 78 Arm part 76 Joint part 80 Suction holding part

Claims (6)

A dividing device that divides a wafer supported by an adhesive tape into a ring-shaped frame having an opening for accommodating the wafer into individual device chips.
A cassette table on which a cassette containing a plurality of frame units including the adhesive tape, the frame, and the wafer is placed, and
A temporary storage table on which the frame unit carried out from the cassette placed on the cassette table is temporarily placed, and a temporary storage table.
A chuck table for holding the frame unit conveyed from the temporary table and
A dividing unit that divides the wafer contained in the frame unit held on the chuck table into individual device chips, and a dividing unit.
A separation unit that separates the wafer and the frame by cutting the adhesive tape that supports the divided wafer along the outer circumference of the wafer.
A wafer cassette table on which a wafer cassette for accommodating the wafer separated by the separation unit is placed, and a wafer cassette table.
A splitting device characterized by comprising. The dividing device according to claim 1, wherein the frame separated by the separation unit is housed in the cassette placed on the cassette table. The division device according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning unit for cleaning the wafer divided by the division unit. The wafer cassette placed on the wafer cassette table is provided inside with a plurality of support plates arranged in a shelf shape at predetermined intervals and having a support surface for supporting each of the wafers.
The dividing device according to claim 1, wherein the support surface is provided with a non-slip material for preventing the wafer from falling off. The dividing device according to claim 1, wherein the dividing unit is a cutting unit including an annular cutting blade for cutting the wafer. The dividing device according to claim 1, wherein the dividing unit is a laser beam irradiation unit that irradiates the wafer with a laser beam and laser-processes the wafer.

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