JP2023089631A - Protective member formation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To adhere a sheet onto a lower surface of a glass table without generating an air pool in a protective member formation apparatus.SOLUTION: A protective member formation apparatus 1 includes a sheet holding table 4 which holds a sheet 92 above a wafer table 30 and can lift the sheet 92, and a conveyance table 5 for conveying the sheet 92 to the sheet holding table 4 moved in a horizontal direction, wherein the sheet holding table 4 includes a suction port 43 annually formed on the outer periphery of a circular glass plate 40, and a unit 44 for irradiating a resin with ultraviolet rays, the conveyance table 5 includes a dome formation mechanism 51, when the sheet 92 is held by the sheet holding table 4, the center of the sheet 92 is inflated in an upper direction by the dome formation mechanism 51, the sheet holding table 4 is lowered toward the sheet 92, the center of the sheet 92 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the glass plate 40 prior to the outer peripheral part, and when the area of the part contacting the lower surface of the glass plate 40 of the sheet 92 accompanying lowering of the sheet holding table 4 is expanded to the suction port 43, the sheet 92 is sucked and held by the sheet holding table 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a protection member forming apparatus for forming a protection member by spreading a liquid resin supplied to the upper surface of a disk-shaped wafer and hardening it.

For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2, a predetermined amount of ultraviolet curable liquid resin is supplied to the upper surface of the wafer with bumps. A sheet holding table holds the sheet, and the sheet pushes the liquid resin from above to spread the liquid resin over the upper surface of the wafer. By irradiating the expanded liquid resin with ultraviolet light through the sheet and curing it, a protective member is formed that covers the bumps, absorbs the unevenness of the bumps, and protects the upper surface of the wafer.

After the protective member is formed, the wafer is held by suction on the chuck table of the grinding device via the protective member, and the surface of the wafer opposite to the surface on which the bumps are arranged is ground with a grinding wheel.

JP 2021-027239 A JP 2019-186355 A

When forming the protective member as described above, the sheet is conveyed to the sheet holding table. The sheet is conveyed by placing the sheet on the conveying table, moving the conveying table in the horizontal direction to immediately below the sheet holding table, and then lowering the sheet holding table to place the sheet on the conveying table. The sheet is held by suction.

The sheet holding table includes a glass table having a circular lower surface having the same shape as the wafer, an annular suction port formed outside the glass table for sucking and holding the sheet, and an ultraviolet irradiation unit disposed inside. there is

The sheet holding table sucks the sheet through an annular suction port to bring the upper surface of the sheet into close contact with the lower surface of the glass table. However, air pockets may form between the bottom surface of the glass table and the top surface of the sheet. Since the air pools do not disappear when the liquid resin is spread, the air pools become thin and the protective member cannot be formed with a uniform thickness.

In order to remove the air from this air pool, the seat has been given a fine textured texture. However, it takes a lot of time and is not efficient to remove the air from the annular suction port on the outer peripheral side through the embossed unevenness of the sheet.
Therefore, in the protective member forming apparatus, there is a problem that the upper surface of the sheet should be brought into close contact with the lower surface of the glass table without forming an air pool when the sheet holding table sucks and holds the sheet.

The present invention for solving the above problems is a protective member forming apparatus for forming a protective member by spreading a liquid resin supplied to the upper surface of a disk-shaped wafer and hardening it, wherein the lower surface of the wafer is formed on the holding surface. a wafer holding table for holding a wafer, a sheet holding table arranged above the wafer holding table for sucking and holding a sheet having an area larger than the wafer, and a vertical movement mechanism for moving the sheet holding table in the vertical direction to the holding surface. a conveying table for conveying the sheet to the sheet holding table; and a horizontal movement mechanism for horizontally moving the conveying table, the sheet holding table facing the upper surface of the wafer held by the wafer holding table. a glass plate having a lower surface having the same shape as the upper surface of the wafer; a frame body for exposing the lower surface of the glass plate and supporting the glass plate; a sheet suction port; and an ultraviolet irradiation unit for irradiating the liquid resin with ultraviolet rays through the glass plate; When the sheet is held by suction on the holding table, the center of the sheet is bulged upward by the dome forming mechanism of the conveying table, and the vertical movement mechanism is used to move the sheet holding table toward the sheet. to bring the central portion of the sheet into contact with the lower surface of the glass plate before the outer peripheral portion thereof, so that the sheet contacts the lower surface of the glass plate as the sheet holding table descends. The protective member forming apparatus is provided with a control section for performing control to cause the sheet holding table to suck and hold the sheet when the area of the portion expands to the sheet suction port and to bring the sheet into close contact with the lower surface of the glass plate.
In the protective member forming apparatus according to the present invention, the dome forming mechanism is disposed in the center of the upper surface of the transfer frame of the transfer table and protrudes from the upper surface of the transfer frame in a similar shape to the upper surface of the wafer and in a small shape. The sheet is placed on the elastic member protruding from the upper surface of the conveying frame, and the sheet's own weight causes the outer peripheral portion of the sheet to sag, whereby the elastic member It is preferable to inflate the central portion of the sheet placed on the .
In the protective member forming apparatus according to the present invention, the dome forming mechanism includes an annular suction port formed on the upper surface of the transfer table and having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the glass plate, and an annular suction port formed on the upper surface of the transfer table. and an air ejection port for ejecting air formed in an inner region of the sheet, and air is ejected from the air ejection port to the sheet sucked and held by the annular suction port to inflate the central portion of the sheet. .

In the protective member forming apparatus according to the present invention, the conveying table has a dome forming mechanism that bulges the center of the held sheet upward. , the center of the sheet is expanded upward by the dome forming mechanism of the conveying table, and the sheet holding table is lowered toward the sheet using the vertical movement mechanism, so that the center portion of the sheet is moved ahead of the outer peripheral portion. The sheet is brought into contact with the lower surface of the glass plate, and when the area of the portion of the sheet in contact with the lower surface of the glass plate expands to the sheet suction port as the sheet holding table descends, the sheet is sucked and held by the sheet holding table to hold the glass plate. Since the sheet is brought into close contact with the lower surface of the wafer without forming an air pool, a uniform protective member can be formed on the wafer.

1 is an overall perspective view showing an example of a protective member forming device; FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a conveying table including a sheet roll, a sheet arranging mechanism, a horizontal movement mechanism, and a dome forming mechanism of the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a carrier table, a wafer holding table, and a sheet holding table; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which the central portion of the sheet is brought into contact with the lower surface of the glass plate before the outer peripheral portion in order to cause the sheet holding table to hold the sheet on the conveying table; As the sheet holding table descends, the area of the portion of the sheet in contact with the lower surface of the glass plate expands to the sheet suction port, and the sheet is held by suction on the sheet holding table, and the sheet is brought into close contact with the lower surface of the glass plate. It is a sectional view explaining a state. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which a liquid resin is supplied to the upper surface of a wafer held by suction on a wafer holding table; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a liquid resin supplied to the upper surface of a wafer is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from an ultraviolet irradiation unit through a glass plate; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which the sheet holding table is separated from the sheet serving as the protective member; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a conveying table provided with a dome forming mechanism of Embodiment 2; FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which the central portion of the sheet is brought into contact with the lower surface of the glass plate before the outer peripheral portion in order to hold the sheet on the conveying table provided with the dome forming mechanism of Embodiment 2 on the sheet holding table; be. As the sheet holding table descends, the area of the portion of the sheet in contact with the lower surface of the glass plate expands to the sheet suction port, and the sheet is held by suction on the sheet holding table, and the sheet is brought into close contact with the lower surface of the glass plate. It is a sectional view explaining a state.

A protective member forming apparatus 1 for forming a protective member by spreading and hardening a liquid resin supplied to an upper surface 900 of a disk-shaped wafer 90 shown in FIG. 100, a column 102 erected on the device base 101, a support base 103 arranged adjacent to the side of the device base 101, and the rear side of the housing 100 (+Y direction). side) and a cassette housing body 104 having a wafer housing space 105 .

A wafer 90 having a circular outer shape shown in FIG. 1 is, for example, a silicon wafer, and on its upper surface 900, devices 902 such as ICs and LSIs are arranged in a plurality of lattice-like regions partitioned by a plurality of dividing lines 901. formed. A plurality of bumps (projection electrodes) 903 are provided on the surface of each device 902 . The bump 903 made of copper or the like has a height of, for example, several tens of μm. The wafer 90 may be made of gallium arsenide, sapphire, gallium nitride, ceramics, resin, silicon carbide, or the like other than silicon. good.

Behind the +Y direction side of the column 102 shown in FIG. 1, a temporary placement table 111 on which the wafer 90 before forming the protective member is placed, and a sheet cutting stage 112 positioned below the temporary placement table 111 are arranged. It is The sheet cutting stage 112 is a stage for mounting the wafer 90 on which the protective member is formed.

Above the temporary placement table 111, a wafer detection unit 113 comprising a camera or the like detects the center position of the wafer 90 placed on the temporary placement table 111 before the protective member is formed thereon, using a captured image. is set. Above the sheet cutting stage 112, the sheet 92 constituting a protective member for the wafer 90 placed/held by suction on the sheet cutting stage 112 is circularly cut along the outer periphery of the wafer 90 by a revolving cutter. A cutting mechanism 114 is provided.

In the wafer storage space 105 shown in FIG. 1, a cassette 106 that can accommodate a plurality of wafers 90 arranged vertically in a shelf shape is arranged.
A first robot 115 such as a multi-joint robot for carrying wafers 90 in and out of the cassette 106 is arranged between the cassette accommodation body 104, the temporary placement table 111, and the sheet cutting stage 112. 1 robot 115 can reciprocate in the X-axis direction by an X-axis movement mechanism 116 such as a ball screw mechanism. For example, a first robot 115 having a U-shaped robot hand in a plan view unloads the wafer 90 before the protective member is formed from the cassette 106 and loads it onto the temporary placement table 111, and after the protective member is formed and The wafer 90 after the sheet 92 is circularly cut can be unloaded from the sheet cutting stage 112 and loaded into an empty shelf of the cassette 106 .

The wafer 90 whose center position and the like have been detected by the wafer detector 113 on the temporary placement table 111 is held and transported by the second robot 117 such as an articulated robot shown in FIG. The second robot 117 has a robot hand capable of holding the wafer 90 and pivoting in the horizontal direction, and is reciprocally movable in the Y-axis direction by a Y-axis movement mechanism 118 such as a ball screw mechanism. Then, the second robot 117 can unload the wafer 90 from the temporary placement table 111 and place it on the wafer holding table 30 shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the wafer holding table 30 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is a so-called pin chuck in which dust such as processing waste is less likely to accumulate on the holding surface 302. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It may be a porous chuck or the like provided.
The wafer holding table 30 described in detail in FIG. 3 has, for example, a rectangular bottom plate 303 in plan view, and an outer peripheral ring wall 300 is integrally erected in the +Z direction from the outer peripheral region of the top surface of the bottom plate 303 . . A circular recessed space 301 (hereinafter referred to as a suction space 301) formed inside the outer peripheral annular wall 300 is a space in which a plurality of support pins 304 are arranged. A suction path 305 is provided inside the bottom plate 303, and the suction path communicates with a suction source 309, which is an ejector or a vacuum generator.

A plurality of support pins 304 are erected at regular intervals on the upper surface of the bottom plate 303 . Each support pin 304 has a cylindrical outer shape in the example shown in FIG. 3, but may be a support pin having an outer shape of a truncated cone or a truncated pyramid. The upper end surfaces of the plurality of support pins 304 form the holding surface 302 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 having a circular outer shape as a whole. The holding surface 302 holds the lower surface 904 of the wafer 90 by suction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the protective member forming apparatus 1 includes the wafer holding table 30 and a sheet 92 arranged above the wafer holding table 30 and having an area larger than the wafer 90 (the sheet 92 after being cut into a rectangular shape). , a vertical movement mechanism 42 for moving the sheet holding table 4 in the direction perpendicular to the holding surface 302 (in the Z-axis direction, which is the vertical direction), and a conveying mechanism 42 for conveying the sheet 92 to the sheet holding table 4. It has a table 5 and a horizontal movement mechanism 53 that horizontally moves the carrier table.

A sheet arranging mechanism 8 is arranged on the device base 101 so as to pull out a belt-shaped sheet 92, position it on the conveying table 5, and cut the sheet 92 into a rectangular shape. The sheet arranging mechanism 8 shown in FIG. 2 includes, for example, a sheet supply unit 80 including a rotating shaft, a motor, and a plurality of rotating rollers, and an outer periphery (+Y direction side) of a strip-shaped sheet 92 fed from the sheet supply unit 80. a sheet gripping portion 81 that grips the sheet 92 gripped by the sheet gripping portion 81, a gripping portion moving portion 84 that pulls out the sheet 92 gripped by the sheet gripping portion 81 in the horizontal direction (+Y direction), and a sheet feeding portion 80 that feeds out At least a sheet cutting section 87 for cutting the rear end side of the strip-shaped sheet 92 to form a rectangular sheet 92 is provided.

A sheet supply unit 80 configured by a plurality of rollers, a feed motor, and the like shown in an enlarged view in FIG. A length of sheet 92 can be fed in the +Y direction. The belt-shaped sheet 92 that has been sent out moves toward the conveying table 5 side while a predetermined tension is applied by a tension roller, a sandwiching parallel plate, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper middle position of the upper surface of the device base 101 is a receiving position P1 where the conveying table 5 is positioned when the sheet 92 sent out in the +Y direction from the sheet feeding section 80 is cut. At the adjacent position on the -Y direction side of the transport table 5 positioned at the receiving position P1, sheet suction holes 870 are arranged in, for example, two rows in the X-axis direction over a length of about the width of the sheet 92 in the X-axis direction. are formed at equal intervals. The sheet suction hole 870 communicates with a suction source such as a vacuum generator (not shown). Note that the two rows of sheet suction holes 870 may be formed in the shape of two slits extending in the X-axis direction.

The sheet cutting section 87 shown in FIG. 2 is arranged near the front of the sheet feeding section 80, for example. The sheet cutting part 87 is arranged above the cutter escape groove 873 formed between the two rows of sheet suction holes 870 of the device base 101 and crossing the sheet 92 in the width direction, and is vertically movable. and a cutter 871 that advances in the cutter escape groove 873 along the extending direction (X-axis direction) of the cutter escape groove 873 .

The gripping portion moving portion 84 shown in FIG. 2 is, for example, an electric slider, which is arranged in the region on the +X direction side above the apparatus base 101, and includes a guide rail 840 extending in the Y-axis direction and a guide rail and a slide bar 841 that is guided by 840 and reciprocally movable in the Y-axis direction. The slide bar 841 extends so that its tip points in the -X direction, and the sheet gripping part 81 is attached to the -Y direction side surface of the slide bar 841 .

The sheet gripping part 81 is, for example, a gripping clamp extending in the X-axis direction (the width direction of the sheet 92) with a length substantially equal to the width of the sheet 92. The periphery of the front end side of the sheet 92 to be gripped is sandwiched between the gripping plates.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the horizontal movement mechanism 53 for horizontally moving the carrier table 5 in the Y-axis direction includes, for example, an electric slider (not shown) arranged inside the support base 103 . In the top plate of the support base 103 shown in FIG. 1, a movable long hole 531 that allows a movable arm 530 connected to the electric slider to move in the Y-axis direction extends for a predetermined length in the Y-axis direction. It is formed so as to pass through. A movable arm 530 whose lower end side is connected to an electric slider (not shown) passes vertically through, for example, a movable elongated hole 531, is exposed to the outside from the support base 103, and then extends in the +Y direction for a predetermined length. It has a substantially L-shaped outer shape when viewed from the side.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, two support members 533 extend from the side surface of the movable arm 530 on the +X direction side so that the tips of the support members 533 face the +X direction. The transport table 5 is connected to the leading end sides of the two support members 533 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conveying table 5 reciprocally movable in the Y-axis direction is disposed at a position below the sheet gripping portion 81 reciprocally movable in the Y-axis direction. The sheet gripping portion 81 with the misaligned line does not collide with the conveying table 5. - 特許庁

The conveying table 5 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 includes a dome forming mechanism 51 that expands the center of the held sheet 92 (the sheet 92 after being cut into a rectangular shape) upward. The dome forming mechanism 51 is hereinafter referred to as the dome forming mechanism 51 of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the dome forming mechanism 51 includes, for example, a circular recess 510 formed in the center of the upper surface 502 of the transport frame 50 of the transport table 5 and having a diameter smaller than that of the wafer 90. and an elastic member 511 having an upper portion protruding from the upper surface 502 of the transport frame 50 .

The conveying frame 50 of the conveying table 5 is formed, for example, in a substantially square shape in a plan view, and a flat region other than a circular concave portion 510 formed in the center of the upper surface 502 of the conveying table 5 is cut by the sheet cutting portion 87 shown in FIG. A portion of the sheet 92 cut into a rectangular shape and protruding from the elastic member 511 is placed.
A circular plate-shaped elastic member 511 having a size that fits in a circular concave portion 510 having a diameter smaller than that of the wafer 90 shown in FIG. It is convex. The elastic member 511 is arranged in the center of the upper surface 502 of the transfer frame 50 of the transfer table 5 and protrudes from the upper surface 502 of the transfer frame 50 in a shape similar to the upper surface 900 of the wafer 90 and smaller than the upper surface 900 . I wish I could. Therefore, the wafer 90 is formed by flatly notching a portion of the outer peripheral portion, for example, an orientation flat indicating the crystal orientation in the outer peripheral portion, and correspondingly, the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 is circular. If the shape of the outer peripheral portion is partially cut flat, the shape of the elastic member 511 also has a shape of a circular outer peripheral portion that is partially cut flat accordingly.

The vertical movement mechanism 42 disposed on the front surface of the column 102 in the -Y direction shown in FIG. a motor 422 connected to the ball screw 420 to rotate the ball screw 420; As the ball screw 420 is rotated by the ball screw 420 , the elevation holder 423 is guided by the guide rail 421 to be elevated together with the supported sheet holding table 4 .

The sheet holding table 4 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 includes a glass plate 40 facing the upper surface 900 of the wafer 90 held by the wafer holding table 30 and having a lower surface 400 having the same shape as the upper surface 900 of the wafer 90, such as a circular lower surface 400; and a frame 41 that exposes the lower surface 400 of the plate 40 and supports the glass plate 40 . If the wafer 90 is formed with an orientation flat, for example, the shape of the glass plate 40 also has a shape in which the outer peripheral portion of the circular shape is notched to be flat.

The frame 41 shown in FIG. 3 includes, for example, a circular upper plate 410 in plan view, and an outer peripheral annular wall 411 integrally hangs down in the −Z direction from the outer peripheral region of the lower surface of the upper plate 410 . A circular glass plate 40 fitted in a circular space 412 formed inside the outer peripheral annular wall 411 is made of, for example, quartz glass, and the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 is formed on the outer peripheral annular wall of the frame 41 . It is a flat surface that is flush with the lower end surface of 411 .

The outer surface of the glass plate 40 is fixed to the frame 41 , and a space 412 for accommodating the ultraviolet irradiation unit 44 is provided between the upper surface of the glass plate 40 and the upper plate 410 . The ultraviolet irradiation unit 44 for irradiating the liquid resin with ultraviolet rays through the glass plate 40 is composed of, for example, a plurality of LED lights capable of downwardly irradiating ultraviolet rays of a predetermined wavelength.

A plurality of sheet suction ports 43 are formed in the frame 41 along the outer periphery of the glass plate 40 at equal intervals in a ring shape. Note that the sheet suction port 43 may be a single annular suction groove. The sheet suction port 43 communicates with a suction source 49 such as a vacuum generator through a suction channel inside the frame 41 and a suction pipe outside the frame 41 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the protective member forming apparatus 1 includes a resin nozzle 36 that supplies liquid resin to the upper surface 900 of the wafer 90 held by the wafer holding table 30 by suction. The resin nozzle 36 is a swivel nozzle that can swivel above the wafer holding table 30, has an inverted L shape in a side view, and has an injection port directed toward the center of the holding surface 302 of the wafer holding table 30. It is possible to retract from above 30 to the retracted position.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the protective member forming apparatus 1 includes a dispenser 361 that delivers a predetermined amount of liquid resin to the resin nozzle 36 and a connection pipe 362 that connects the resin nozzle 36 and the dispenser 361 . Further, the dispenser 361 is connected to a resin tank 363 arranged inside the device base 101 via a connection pipe (not shown). In this embodiment, the liquid resin supplied from the resin tank to the resin nozzle 36 by the dispenser 361 while adjusting the amount thereof is an ultraviolet curable resin that is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays.

The protective member forming apparatus 1 includes a control section 7 that controls the entire apparatus. The control unit 7 is composed of a CPU that performs arithmetic processing according to a control program, a storage medium such as a memory, and the like. The control unit 7 is electrically connected to the motor 422 (for example, the servomotor 422) of the vertical movement mechanism 42 shown in FIG. 1 via, for example, a wired or wireless communication path. That is, an operation signal is supplied to the servomotor 422 from the output interface of the control unit 7 which also functions as a servo amplifier, and the rotation speed of the servomotor 422 detected by the encoder is sent to the input interface of the control unit 7 as an encoder signal. output. The controller 7 receives the number of revolutions of the servomotor 422 as an encoder signal, and feedback-controls the Z-axis feed speed of the sheet holding table 4 and the movement distance of the sheet holding table 4 by the vertical movement mechanism 42. Control is performed to position the table 4 at a desired height position.

The control unit 7 can control the movement of the conveying table 5 in the Y-axis direction by the horizontal movement mechanism 53, which is an electric slider, by using substantially the same technology as described above. 81 can be controlled to move in the Y-axis direction. Further, the control section 7 can control the feeding operation of the sheet 92 by the sheet feeding section 80 by controlling the rotation speed of the feeding motor of the sheet feeding section 80 .

The operation of the protective member forming apparatus 1 when forming protective members on the wafer 90 using the protective member forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described below.
First, the first robot 115 shown in FIG. 1 takes out one wafer 90 from the cassette 106 and transports it onto the temporary placement table 111 . When the wafer detection unit 113 detects the center position of the wafer 90 on the temporary placement table 111, the second robot 117 carries out the wafer 90 by sucking and holding the wafer 90, moves in the -Y direction, and moves to the wafer holding table 30. The wafer 90 is placed on the . Then, the wafer holding table 30 sucks and holds the wafer 90 with the center of the wafer 90 substantially aligned with its own center. The upper surface 900 of the wafer 90 is exposed upward, and the second robot 117 leaves from above the wafer 90 .

In parallel with the transfer of the wafer 90 to the wafer holding table 30, under the control of the control unit 7, the sheet supply unit 80 rotates the sheet roll 920 while the leading end of the strip-shaped sheet 92 is moved in the +Y direction by guide rollers or the like. is sent out horizontally to Further, the sheet gripping portion 81 is moved in the −Y direction by the gripping portion moving portion 84 under the control of the control portion 7 , and the sheet gripping portion 81 grips the front end of the strip-shaped sheet 92 .

Next, the sheet gripping portion 81 moves in the +Y direction as the sheet 92 is fed by the sheet feeding portion 80, and the sheet gripping portion 81 gripping the sheet 92 is positioned at the receiving position P1 shown in FIGS. Further, feeding of the sheet 92 by the sheet supply section 80 is temporarily stopped.

In parallel with the feeding of the sheet 92 by the sheet supply unit 80, the horizontal movement mechanism 53 positions the conveying table 5 at the receiving position P1 under the control of the control unit 7, and the conveying frame of the conveying table 5 is moved. The sheet 92 gripped by the sheet gripping portion 81 is positioned above the upper surface 502 of the elastic member 50 and the upper surface of the elastic member 511 .

A strip-shaped sheet 92 pulled out horizontally in the +Y direction by a predetermined length by the sheet gripping portion 81 is placed on the upper surface of the elastic member 511 so as to cover the entire surface. A suction force generated by a suction source (not shown) is transmitted to the sheet suction holes 870 shown in FIG. be. At this stage, the cutter 871 of the sheet cutting section 87 is on standby above the sheet 92 .

The cutter 871 descends until the lowest end of its cutting edge is in the cutter escape groove 873 . Further, the cutter 871 advances in the +X direction along the extending direction of the cutter escape groove 873 and cuts the sheet 92 . After the cutter 871 cuts the sheet 92 in the width direction, the cutter 871 rises in the +Z direction and retreats from the rectangular sheet 92 . When the sheet gripping portion 81 releases the gripping of the sheet 92, the sheet 92 is placed on the elastic member 511 projecting from the upper surface 502 of the transport frame 50 as shown in FIG. The central portion 922 of the sheet 92 placed on the elastic member 511 is expanded by the weight of the cut sheet 92 causing the outer peripheral portion 921 of the sheet 92 to hang down. That is, the central portion 922 of the sheet 92 placed and held on the conveying table 5 is swollen upward relative to the outer peripheral portion 921 by the dome forming mechanism 51 .

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the conveying table 5 with the sheet 92 placed thereon is further moved in the +Y direction and positioned directly below the sheet holding table 4 . For example, the center of the sheet 92 on the conveying table 5 and the center of the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 on the sheet holding table 4 are substantially aligned.

Next, the sheet holding table 4 is lowered by the vertical movement mechanism 42 under the control of the control section 7 (see FIG. 1), and the sheet holding table 4 is projected upward by a predetermined height from the upper surface 502 of the conveying frame 50 of the conveying table 5. The central portion 922 of the sheet 92 placed on the upper surface of the extended elastic member 511 contacts the flat lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 before the outer peripheral portion 921 .
The vertical movement mechanism 42 has a function of recognizing the height position of the sheet holding table 4 (for example, control of the number of revolutions of the motor 422 by the control unit 7, or the height position of the sheet holding table 4 extending in the Z-axis direction). ), and recognizes that the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 has come into contact with the central portion 922 of the sheet 92 at the height position of the sheet holding table 4 . Alternatively, the transport table 5 or the sheet holding table 4 may be provided with a load sensor for detecting a vertical load, and the contact of the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 with the central portion 922 of the sheet 92 may be recognized from the value of the load sensor.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the sheet holding table 4 is lowered at a predetermined speed by the vertical movement mechanism 42, so that the elastic member 511 which is a sponge is pressed and compressed, and the upper surface of the elastic member 511 is compressed. and the upper surface 502 of the conveying frame 50 are at the same height, the area of the portion of the sheet 92 on the conveying table 5 that is in contact with the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 expands up to the sheet suction port 43 . That is, the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion 921 of the sheet 92 is flush with the upper surface of the central portion 922 , and the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion 921 contacts the sheet suction port 43 in addition to the upper surface of the central portion 922 . Since the vertical movement mechanism 42 recognizes the height position of the sheet holding table 4 , the vertical movement mechanism 42 recognizes that the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 has come into contact with the central portion 922 of the sheet 92 before moving the elastic member 511 . By further lowering the sheet holding table 4 by the amount of protrusion from the upper surface 502 of the conveying frame 50 , not only the upper surface of the central portion 922 of the sheet 92 but also the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion 921 come into contact with the sheet suction port 43 . can be recognized as Alternatively, the control unit 7 recognizes the height position of the upper surface 502 of the transport frame 50, and the height position obtained by adding the thickness of the sheet 92 used to the height position of the upper surface 502 of the transport frame 50 is the height of the glass sheet. When the lower surface 400 of the plate 40 descends, the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion 921 in addition to the upper surface of the central portion 922 is recognized as being in contact with the sheet suction port 43, and the suction force generated by the suction source 49, which will be described later, is applied to the sheet suction port 43. may initiate the transmission of

After reaching this state, the suction source 49 is operated under the control of the control unit 7 (see FIG. 1), and the suction force generated by the suction source 49 is transmitted to the sheet suction port 43 . The upper surface of the outer peripheral portion 921 of the sheet 92 is held by suction, and the upper surface of the sheet 92 is brought into close contact with the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 without causing an air pool.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6 , the sheet holding table 4 sucking and holding the sheet 92 is lifted, and the sheet 92 is separated from the conveying table 5 . Furthermore, the transport table 5 is retracted in the -Y direction and retracted from between the sheet holding table 4 and the wafer holding table 30 .

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the resin nozzle 36 pivots and is positioned at a position where the liquid resin is supplied to the center of the upper surface 900 of the wafer 90 suction-held by the wafer holding table 30 . The dispenser 361 shown in FIG. 1 feeds a predetermined amount of liquid resin 369 temperature-controlled to the reference temperature to the resin nozzle 36 , and the resin nozzle 36 drips the liquid resin 369 toward the upper surface 900 of the wafer 90 . When a predetermined amount of the liquid resin 369 is deposited on the central region of the upper surface 900 , the supply of the liquid resin 369 to the wafer 90 is stopped, and the rotating resin nozzle 36 is withdrawn from the wafer 90 .

Next, under the control of the control unit 7, the sheet holding table 4 is lowered by the vertical movement mechanism 42 as shown in FIG. Contact. Further, when the sheet holding table 4 descends, the liquid resin 369 pressed by the lower surface of the sheet 92 is spread in the radial direction of the wafer 90 . As a result, a film of the liquid resin 369 is formed on the entire upper surface 900 of the wafer 90 .

After the sheet 92 is pressed against the liquid resin 369 for a predetermined time and a film of the liquid resin 369 is formed on the entire upper surface 900 of the wafer 90, the ultraviolet irradiation unit 44 shown in FIG. The ultraviolet rays transmitted through the glass plate 40 are directed toward the surface of the glass plate 40 and irradiated. As a result, the film of the liquid resin 369 is cured to form a protective member 98 consisting of the rectangular sheet 92 and the cured resin 369 on the upper surface 900 of the wafer 90 . That is, since there was no air pool between the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 and the sheet 92 and the lower surface 400 and the sheet 92 were in close contact, a uniform protective member 98 could be formed on the wafer 90 . The hardened resin 369 absorbs unevenness corresponding to the bumps 903 of the wafer 90 and the upper surface of the sheet 92 becomes a flat surface.

After forming the protective member 98 as described above, the transmission of the suction force generated by the suction source 49 shown in FIG. 8 to the sheet suction port 43 is cut off. Further, the sheet holding table 4 that has released the suction holding of the sheet 92 rises and separates from the sheet 92 .

Further, the suction holding of the lower surface 904 of the wafer 90 by the wafer holding table 30 is released, and the wafer 90 on which the protective member 98 shown in FIG. 8 is formed is transported to the sheet cutting stage 112 by the second robot 117 shown in FIG. Then, the second robot 117 places the wafer 90 on the sheet cutting stage 112 with the protective member 98 facing downward, and the protective member 98 is held by the sheet cutting stage 112 by suction. Then, the cutting mechanism 114 cuts the excess rectangular sheet 92 into a circular shape along the outer peripheral edge of the wafer 90 . After that, the wafer 90 is accommodated in an empty shelf of the cassette 106 by the first robot 115 .

For example, after the cassette 106 is filled with the wafers 90 on which the protective members 98 are formed, the cassette 106 is transported to a grinding device (not shown). After that, the wafer 90 is sucked and held by a chuck table of a grinding device (not shown) with the lower surface 904 on which the protective member 98 is not formed facing upward, and the rotating grinding wheel is lowered from above the wafer 90, The lower surface 904 facing upward of the wafer 90 is ground while a grinding wheel is brought into contact with the lower surface 904 to reduce the thickness to a predetermined thickness. After that, the protective member 98 is peeled off from the wafer 90 by a tape peeling device.

In the protective member forming apparatus 1, instead of the conveying table 5 having the dome forming mechanism 51 of Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 3, a conveying table 54 having a dome forming mechanism 55 of Embodiment 2 shown in FIG. may be provided.
The conveying table 54 is connected to the tip side of the two support members 533 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and is formed in a substantially square plate shape in a plan view, and its upper surface 540 serves as a flat suction surface. ing. The dome forming mechanism 55 shown in FIG. and an air ejection port 552 that is formed in the inner region and ejects air.

For example, the annular suction port 550 may be formed in plural at equal intervals so as to form an annular shape as a whole, or may be a single annular suction groove. The annular suction port 550 communicates with a suction source 59 such as a vacuum generator through a suction channel 542 inside the carrier table 54 and a suction pipe outside the carrier table 54 . If the wafer 90 has an orientation flat and the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 correspondingly has a shape in which a part of the circular outer peripheral portion is cut flat, the shape of the annular suction port 550 will also be In accordance with this, it may be formed in an annular shape in which a part of the annular shape is linear as a whole.

The air ejection port 552 is formed in the center of the upper surface 540 so as to penetrate the conveying table 54 in the thickness direction (Z-axis direction). are in communication. For example, the air supply pipe 581 is provided with a solenoid valve 582 capable of switching between a state in which the air supply pipe 581 is communicated with the air source 58 and a state in which the air is released to the atmosphere. The solenoid valve 582 is electrically connected to the controller 7 shown in FIG.

A case where the sheet 92 is sucked and held by the conveying table 54 having the dome forming mechanism 55 of the second embodiment, and the sheet holding table 4 receives and holds the sheet 92 sucked and held by the conveying table 54 will be described below. explain.

Wafer 90 is sucked and held by wafer holding table 30 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and cutter 871 (see FIG. 3) of strip-shaped sheet 92 supplied by sheet supply unit 80 and positioned above conveying table 54 shown in FIG. , and until the sheet gripping unit 81 releases the grip of the rectangularly cut sheet 92 on the transport table 54, the transport table 5 including the dome forming mechanism 51 of the first embodiment described above. is carried out in substantially the same manner as in .

When the sheet gripping portion 81 shown in FIG. 2 releases the grip of the rectangularly cut sheet 92, the sheet 92 is placed on the upper surface 540 of the transport table 54 shown in FIG. They are placed in matching condition. Next, under the control of the control unit 7 shown in FIG. 1, the suction source 59 is operated, the suction force generated by the suction source 59 is transmitted to the annular suction port 550, and the outer peripheral portion of the sheet 92 is pulled into the annular suction port 550. The lower surface of 921 is held by suction.

Next, under the control of the control unit 7, the solenoid valve 582 shown in FIG. , and the air 589 ejected from the air ejection port 552 inflates the central portion 992 of the seat 92 upward. That is, the central portion 922 of the sheet 92 sucked and held by the annular suction port 550 of the conveying table 5 is swollen upward into a dome shape by the dome forming mechanism 55 . The amount of air 589 supplied from the air source 58 to the conveying table 54 is adjusted to an amount that does not cause the lower surface of the outer peripheral portion 921 of the sheet 92 to be sucked and held by the annular suction port 550 .

Next, under the control of the control unit 7, the sheet holding table 4 is lowered by the vertical movement mechanism 42 shown in FIG. contacts the flat lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 before the outer peripheral portion 921 .

When the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 contacts the central portion 922 of the sheet 92, the solenoid valve 582 opens the air supply pipe 581 to the atmosphere under the control of the controller 7 as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the sheet holding table 4 is lowered at a predetermined speed by the vertical movement mechanism 42, so that the dome-shaped central portion 922 of the sheet 92 is pushed downward and , the air 589 between the upper surface 540 of the conveying table 54 and the sheet 92 is released to the atmosphere through the air supply pipe 581 .
The conveying table 54 is provided with an air exhaust port for extracting the air 589 between the upper surface 540 of the conveying table 54 and the sheet 92 , and an air exhaust port provided in the air exhaust port between the upper surface 540 of the conveying table 54 and the sheet 92 . While maintaining the pressure of the air 589 at a predetermined value, that is, to prevent the dome-shaped bulge of the seat 92 from suddenly deflating, a regulator with a relief valve is provided to enable the air to escape. good.
The vertical movement mechanism 42 has a function of recognizing the height position of the sheet holding table 4, and detects when the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 contacts the central portion 922 of the sheet 92 at the height position of the sheet holding table 4. It has recognized.
Alternatively, the transport table 5 or the sheet holding table 4 may be provided with a load sensor for detecting a vertical load, and the contact of the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 with the central portion 922 of the sheet 92 may be recognized from the value of the load sensor.
It may also be recognized that the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 has contacted the central portion 922 of the sheet 92 by the value of the regulator with relief valve.

Then, as shown in FIG. 11 , the area of the portion of the sheet 92 on the conveying table 54 that is in contact with the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 expands to the sheet suction port 43 . That is, the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion 921 of the sheet 92 is flush with the upper surface of the central portion 922 , and the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion 921 contacts the sheet suction port 43 in addition to the upper surface of the central portion 922 . Note that, for example, the control unit 7 recognizes the height position of the upper surface 540 of the conveying table 54, and the thickness of the sheet 92 used is added to the height position of the upper surface 540 of the conveying table 54. When the lower surface 400 of the plate 40 descends, the upper surface of the central portion 922 and the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion 921 are recognized as having come into contact with the sheet suction port 43, and the suction force generated by the suction source 49 is transmitted to the sheet suction port 43. may be started.

When this state is reached, the suction source 49 operates under the control of the control unit 7 shown in FIG. The upper surface of the outer peripheral portion 921 of the glass plate 40 is held by suction, and the sheet 92 is brought into close contact with the lower surface 400 of the glass plate 40 without generating an air pool.
Subsequent steps are performed in substantially the same manner as in the transfer table 5 having the dome forming mechanism 51 of Embodiment 1 described above. A protective member 98 (see FIG. 8) can be formed.

It goes without saying that the protective member forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be implemented in various forms within the scope of the technical idea. Further, the shape of each component of the protective member forming apparatus 1 shown in the accompanying drawings and the process of forming the protective member 98 are not limited to this, and can be changed as appropriate within the range where the effects of the present invention can be exhibited. is.

1: Protective member forming apparatus 100: Case 101: Apparatus base 102: Column 103: Support base 104: Cassette accommodation body 105: Wafer accommodation space 106: Cassette 111: Temporary placement table 112: Sheet cutting stage 113: Wafer detector 114 : Cutting mechanism 115: First robot 116: X-axis movement mechanism 117: Second robot 118: Y-axis movement mechanism 30: Wafer holding table 300: Outer peripheral annular wall 301: Concave space 302: Holding surface 303: Bottom plate 304: Support Pin 305: Suction path 309: Suction source 36: Resin nozzle 361: Dispenser 362: Connection pipe 363: Resin tank 4: Sheet holding table 40: Glass plate 400: Lower surface 41 of glass plate: Frame 410: Upper plate 411: Periphery Annular wall 412: Space inside frame 42: Vertical movement mechanism 420: Ball screw 422: Motor 423: Elevating holder 43: Sheet suction port 44: Ultraviolet irradiation unit 49: Suction source 5: Conveying table
50: Conveying frame 502: Upper surface of conveying frame
51: Dome Forming Mechanism of Embodiment 1 510: Circular Concave 511: Elastic Member 53: Horizontal Moving Mechanism 530: Movable Arm 531: Movable Long Hole 533: Supporting Member 54: Conveying Table Equipped with Dome Forming Mechanism of Embodiment 2 540: Upper surface 55 of conveying table: Dome forming mechanism 550 of Embodiment 2: Annular suction port 552: Air ejection port 58: Air source 581: Air supply pipe 582: Solenoid valve 59: Suction source 7: Control unit 8: Sheet arrangement mechanism 80 : Sheet supply unit 81: Sheet gripping unit 84: Gripping unit moving unit 840: Guide rail 841: Slide bar 87: Sheet cutting unit 870: Sheet suction hole 871: Cutter 873: Cutter escape groove 90: Wafer 900: Upper surface of wafer 901: Planned division line 902: Device 903: Bump 904: Lower surface of wafer 92: Sheet 920: Sheet roll

Claims (3)

A protection member forming apparatus for forming a protection member by spreading and curing a liquid resin supplied to the upper surface of a disk-shaped wafer,
A wafer holding table for holding the lower surface of the wafer with a holding surface, a sheet holding table arranged above the wafer holding table for sucking and holding a sheet having an area larger than the wafer, and the sheet holding table being perpendicular to the holding surface. a vertical movement mechanism for movement, a conveyance table for conveying the sheet to the sheet holding table, and a horizontal movement mechanism for horizontally moving the conveyance table,
The sheet holding table includes a glass plate facing the upper surface of the wafer held by the wafer holding table and having a lower surface of the same shape as the upper surface of the wafer, and a frame that exposes the lower surface of the glass plate and supports the glass plate. , a sheet suction port that is annularly formed along the outer periphery of the glass plate and communicates with a suction source, and an ultraviolet irradiation unit that irradiates the liquid resin with ultraviolet rays through the glass plate,
The conveying table has a dome forming mechanism that expands the center of the held sheet upward,
When the sheet holding table is caused to hold the sheet by suction, the center of the sheet is expanded upward by the dome forming mechanism of the conveying table, and the sheet is moved toward the sheet by using the vertical movement mechanism. By lowering the holding table, the center portion of the sheet is brought into contact with the lower surface of the glass plate before the outer peripheral portion, and the sheet is brought into contact with the lower surface of the glass plate as the sheet holding table is lowered. a protective member forming apparatus comprising a control unit for performing control to cause the sheet holding table to suck and hold the sheet when the area of the portion where the sheet is drawn expands to the sheet suction port, and to bring the sheet into close contact with the lower surface of the glass plate. The dome forming mechanism includes an elastic member disposed in the center of the upper surface of the transfer frame of the transfer table and protruding from the upper surface of the transfer frame in a similar shape to the upper surface of the wafer and having a small shape,
The sheet is placed on the elastic member protruding from the upper surface of the conveying frame, and the center portion of the sheet placed on the elastic member is suspended by the sheet's own weight. 2. The protective member forming apparatus according to claim 1, which inflates the . The dome forming mechanism includes an annular suction port formed on the upper surface of the conveying table and having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the glass plate, and an area formed on the upper surface of the conveying table inside the annular suction port and ejecting air. 2. The protection member forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an air jetting port for blowing air from the air jetting port onto the sheet sucked and held by the annular suction port to inflate the central portion of the sheet.

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