JP3927018B2 - Cutting equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cutting device capable of attachment and detachment of a cover mounted on a cassette by mounting the cassette with a semiconductor wafer housed therein on a cassette mounting mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: The cutting device is provided with the cassette mounting mechanism 8 provided with a cassette table 81 mounting the cassette 7 with a semiconductor wafer housed therein, a chuck table for holding a semiconductor wafer carried out from the cassette 7 mounted on the cassette table 81, and a cutting mechanism for cutting the semiconductor wafer held on the chuck table. The cassette mounting mechanism 8 is provided with a lifting and lowering mechanism 82 for setting the cassette table 81 at a transferring position for carrying out the semiconductor wafer from the cassette 7 on the cassette table 81 and a cassette cover attaching/detaching position set downward from the transferring position. The cassette table of the cassette mounting mechanism 82 is provided with a cover attaching and detaching mechanism 9 for attaching and detaching a cassette cover 72 mounted on the cassette table 81 in the state that it is positioned at a cover attaching and detaching position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cutting device for carrying out and cutting a semiconductor wafer accommodated in a cassette.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, circuits such as ICs and LSIs are formed in a large number of regions arranged in a lattice pattern on the surface of a semiconductor wafer that is a substantially disk-shaped plate, and the circuits are formed. Individual semiconductor chips are manufactured by dividing each region by a dicing apparatus along a cutting line called a street. Such division of the semiconductor wafer is generally performed by a cutting device as a dicing device. The cutting apparatus has a cassette mounting mechanism for mounting a cassette containing a semiconductor wafer, a chuck table for holding a semiconductor wafer conveyed from the cassette mounted on the cassette mounting mechanism, and a chuck table held by the chuck table And a cutting mechanism for cutting the semiconductor wafer.
[0003]
The semiconductor wafer is housed in a cassette in a state of being attached to the surface of a protective tape attached to an annular frame so that the semiconductor wafer does not fall apart when divided into individual chips. Further, a cutting groove having a predetermined depth is formed along the cutting line without being completely divided into individual chips by a cutting device, and then the back surface of the semiconductor wafer is ground until the groove is exposed. In the dividing method called so-called dicing, the semiconductor wafer accommodated in the cassette of the cutting apparatus does not need to be supported on the frame via the protective tape, and may be a single semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor wafer housed in the cassette is transported to the clean room where the cutting device is located. A cassette with a lid with a cassette lid attached to the cassette loading / unloading opening is used so that contamination does not adhere to the surface during transport. It is supposed to be.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Thus, when a cassette with a lid is used, the operator removes the cassette lid of the cassette containing the semiconductor wafer and places it on the cassette mounting mechanism of the cutting apparatus after being transported to the clean room where the cutting apparatus is arranged. It is location. When the cutting of the semiconductor wafer accommodated in the cassette is completed and the processed semiconductor wafer is returned to the cassette, the operator attaches the cassette lid to the cassette and transports it to the next process. For this reason, the operator must perform the operation of attaching and detaching the cassette lid, and must manage the removed lid, which is troublesome to handle.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned facts, and its main technical problem is to mount and demount a cassette lid mounted on the cassette by mounting a cassette containing a semiconductor wafer on the cassette mounting mechanism. It is in providing the cutting device which can do.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the main technical problem, according to the present invention, Arranged along the side wall of the device housing A cassette mounting mechanism having a cassette table for mounting a cassette containing a semiconductor wafer, a chuck table for holding a semiconductor wafer unloaded from the cassette mounted on the cassette table, and held by the chuck table A cutting apparatus comprising a cutting mechanism for cutting a semiconductor wafer,
The cassette mounting mechanism includes an elevating mechanism that positions the cassette table at a loading / unloading position for unloading the semiconductor wafer from the cassette and a lid attaching / detaching position set below the loading / unloading position.
A lid attaching / detaching mechanism for attaching / detaching a cassette lid to / from the cassette placed on the cassette table in a state where the cassette table of the cassette placing mechanism is positioned at the lid attaching / detaching position;
A cutting device is provided.
[0007]
The lid attaching / detaching mechanism includes a movable base configured to be movable between a standby position and a working position, and a latch disposed on the movable base and operating a latch disposed on the cassette lid at the working position. Actuating means and cassette lid holding means arranged on the movable base for holding the cassette lid are provided. The cassette lid holding means comprises suction holding means for sucking and holding the cassette lid by the action of negative pressure.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a cutting device configured according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0009]
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a cutting device constructed in accordance with the present invention.
The cutting device in the illustrated embodiment includes a device housing 2 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. In the apparatus housing 2, a chuck table 3 for holding a workpiece is disposed so as to be movable in a direction indicated by an arrow X that is a cutting feed direction. The chuck table 3 includes a suction chuck support 31 and a suction chuck 32 mounted on the suction chuck support 31, and the suction chuck 32 is connected to a negative pressure control means (not shown). Therefore, when a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer, for example, a workpiece is placed on the placement surface, which is the surface of the suction chuck 32, and a negative pressure is applied to the suction chuck 32 by a negative pressure control means (not shown), the semiconductor The wafer is sucked and held on the suction chuck 32. The chuck table 3 is configured to be rotatable by a rotation mechanism (not shown). A dummy wafer holding table 34 is mounted on the side of the chucking chuck support 31 of the chuck table 3 configured as described above. This dummy wafer holding table 34 is connected to a negative pressure control means (not shown), and sucks and holds a dummy wafer 35 having the same thickness as that of a semiconductor wafer as a workpiece. The suction chuck support 31 of the chuck table 3 is mounted with a balance weight 36 that offsets the weight of the dummy wafer holding table 34 at a point target position with respect to the rotation center of the chuck table 3. ing. Accordingly, the suction chuck support 31 of the chuck table 3 is not tilted by the weight of the dummy wafer holding table 34 and is maintained in a horizontal state.
[0010]
The cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes a spindle unit 4 as a cutting mechanism. The spindle unit 4 is mounted on a moving base (not shown) and is adjusted to move in a direction indicated by an arrow Y that is an indexing direction and a direction indicated by an arrow Z that is a cutting direction. A rotary spindle 42 supported and rotated by a rotary drive mechanism (not shown) is provided, and a cutting blade 43 attached to the rotary spindle 42 is provided.
[0011]
The cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment images the surface of the semiconductor wafer held on the surface of the suction chuck 32 constituting the chuck table 3 to detect an area to be cut by the cutting blade 43 or to form a cutting groove. An imaging mechanism 5 for confirming the state is provided. The imaging mechanism 5 images the surface of the dummy wafer 35 held on the dummy wafer holding table 34 and also confirms the cutting groove cut by the cutting blade 43. The imaging mechanism 5 is composed of optical means such as a microscope and a CCD camera. In addition, the dicing apparatus includes a display unit 6 that displays an image captured by the imaging mechanism 5.
[0012]
The cutting device in the illustrated embodiment includes a cassette mounting mechanism 8 that mounts a cassette that is disposed in a cassette mounting region and accommodates a semiconductor wafer that is a workpiece. Here, the cassette mounted on the cassette mounting mechanism 8 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The cassette 7 in the illustrated embodiment includes a cassette body 71 and a cassette lid 72 that is detachably attached to the cassette body 71. The cassette body 71 is provided with a loading / unloading opening 711 for loading / unloading a semiconductor wafer on one side, and a plurality of rack shelves 712 for placing the semiconductor wafer 10 are provided in the vertical direction. Yes. Further, insertion holes 713 and 713 into which latches described later are inserted are provided on both side walls of the carry-in / out opening 711 of the cassette body 71 (only one insertion hole 713 is shown in FIG. 2). .
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 3, the cassette lid 72 includes a fitting portion 721 fitted into the carry-in / out opening 711 of the cassette main body 71 and a flange portion 722 formed on the back surface of the fitting portion 721. . As shown in FIG. 4, two latches 73 and 73 are attached to the fitting portion 721 constituting the cassette lid 72. The latch 73 includes a latch portion 731 and a shaft portion 732, and the shaft portion 732 is rotatably supported on the front wall of the fitting portion 721 via a bearing bush 74. A rectangular key hole 731 a into which a latch key to be described later is inserted is formed at the center of the latch portion 731 constituting the latch 73. In addition, on both side walls of the fitting portion 721 constituting the cassette lid 72, the latch portion 731 is allowed to rotate at positions corresponding to the latch portions 731 and the fitting holes 713 and 713 formed in the cassette body 71. Openings 721a and 721a are provided. Accordingly, after the fitting portion 721 of the cassette lid 72 is fitted into the loading / unloading opening 711 of the cassette body 71, when the latches 73 and 73 are rotated 90 degrees from the unlocked state shown by the solid line in FIG. , 731 are inserted into the insertion holes 713 and 713 through the openings 721a and 721a as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, and the cassette lid 72 is locked to the cassette body 71. In addition, a key insertion hole 722 a is formed in the flange portion 722 constituting the cassette lid 72 at a position corresponding to the rectangular key hole 731 a provided in the latch portion 731 constituting the latch 73.
[0014]
Next, the cassette mounting mechanism 8 for mounting the cassette 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. The cassette mounting mechanism 8 includes a cassette table 81 on which the cassette 7 is mounted, and a lifting mechanism 82 that lifts and lowers the cassette table 81. As shown in FIG. 1, the cassette table 81 is provided with a positioning member 811 for positioning when the cassette 7 is placed on the upper surface, and a cassette sensor 812 for detecting that the cassette is placed. It is arranged. As shown in FIG. 5, the elevating mechanism 82 is provided with a male screw rod 821 that is disposed in the vertical direction along the side wall 22 of the apparatus housing 2 and is rotatably supported, and is capable of rotating forward and backward to rotate the male screw rod 821. A pulse motor 822 is provided, and a female screw hole 813 provided at one end of the cassette table 81 is screwed into the male screw rod 821. Accordingly, when the pulse motor 822 is rotationally driven in one direction, the cassette table 81 is lowered along the male screw rod 821, and when the pulse motor 822 is rotationally driven in the other direction, the cassette table 81 is raised along the male screw rod 821. The cassette table 81 moved up and down in this way is in the lid attaching / detaching position shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C and in the raised position shown in FIGS. 5A and 5D and FIG. Move between certain loading and unloading positions. In the carry-in / out position, the cassette table 81 was placed. Mosquito Adjustment is made corresponding to the accommodation position of the semiconductor wafer 10 accommodated in the set 7.
[0015]
The cutting device in the illustrated embodiment includes a lid attaching / detaching mechanism 9 disposed to face the cassette placing mechanism 8 as shown in FIG. The lid attaching / detaching mechanism 9 is disposed so as to face each other at the lid attaching / detaching position of the cassette table 81 shown in FIGS. The lid attaching / detaching mechanism 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 7.
The lid attaching / detaching mechanism 9 in the illustrated embodiment includes a fixed base 92 disposed on a support base 91. A guide rail 921 extending in a direction perpendicular to the male screw rod 821 of the cassette mounting means 7 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the fixed base 92. A movable base 93 is disposed on the upper surface of the fixed base 92 so as to be movable along the guide rail 921. The moving base 93 is formed in an L shape by a horizontal portion 931 and a vertical portion 932, and the horizontal portion 931 is disposed so as to be movable along the guide rail 921. Air cylinders 94, 94 are disposed on both sides of the guide rail 921 on the upper surface of the fixed base 92, and the tip ends of the piston rods 941, 941 of the air cylinders 94, 94 are located on the moving base 93. Are connected to the horizontal portion 931. The air cylinders 94, 94 are connected to high-pressure air control means (not shown), and move the moving base 93 forward and backward along the guide rail 921. Accordingly, the air cylinders 94 and 94 function as advancing / retreating means for moving the moving base 93 back and forth.
[0016]
Latch keys 95 and 95 inserted into key holes 731a and 731a formed in the latch portions 731 and 731 constituting the latches 73 and 73 protrude from the front surface of the vertical portion 932 constituting the moving base 93 and rotate. It is arranged to be possible. The latch keys 95 and 95 are rotated over an angle of approximately 90 degrees by air motors 96 and 96 disposed on the back surface of the vertical portion 932. Air motors 96, 96 Is It is connected to high pressure air control means (not shown). The latch keys 95 and 95 and the air motors 96 and 96 function as latch actuating means for actuating the latch keys 95 and 95 as will be described later. In addition, two suction pads 97 are provided on the front surface of the vertical portion 932. The suction pads 97 and 97 are connected to a negative pressure control means (not shown) and appropriately apply a negative pressure to the suction pads 97 and 97. Therefore, when the suction pads 97 and 97 come into contact with the cassette lid 72 of the cassette 8 and a negative pressure is applied thereto, the cassette lid 72 can be sucked and held. Therefore, the suction pads 97 and 97 function as a cassette lid holding means for holding the cassette lid 72 on the moving base 93.
[0017]
Returning to FIG. 1, the description will be continued. A workpiece unloading mechanism 11 for unloading a semiconductor wafer 10 as a workpiece accommodated in the cassette 7 mounted on the cassette mounting mechanism 8 is provided. The workpiece unloading mechanism 11 moves forward and backward with respect to the cassette 7 mounted on the cassette mounting mechanism 8, thereby aligning the semiconductor wafer 10 accommodated in the cassette 7 in the temporary placement region. 12 is conveyed. Hereinafter, the positioning mechanism 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 8, and 9.
[0018]
The alignment mechanism 12 in the illustrated embodiment includes a center table 121 on which the semiconductor wafer 10 unloaded from the cassette 7 by the workpiece unloading mechanism 11 is placed. The center table 121 includes a suction chuck support base 122 and a suction chuck 123 mounted on the suction chuck support base 122. The suction chuck support base 122 and the suction chuck 123 are appropriately rotated by an electric motor 124 as a rotating means. The suction chuck 123 is connected to a negative pressure control means (not shown) so that a negative pressure is appropriately applied.
[0019]
The alignment mechanism 12 in the illustrated embodiment includes a pair of movement adjustment plates 131 and 131 disposed on the upper wall 21 of the apparatus housing 2 so as to face each other with the center table 121 interposed therebetween. The pair of movement adjustment plates 131 and 131 includes semicircular recesses 131a and 131a for avoiding interference with a workpiece mounting table, which will be described later, in the center portion on the opposite sides, and the upper surface thereof is The center table 121 is disposed at a position slightly lower than the upper surface. Guided pins 132, 132 are provided at both ends on the lower surfaces of the pair of movement adjusting plates 131, 131, respectively, and the guided pins 132, 132 are guide grooves formed in the upper wall 21 of the apparatus housing 2. 211 and 211 are inserted. Therefore, the pair of movement adjustment plates 131 and 131 to which the guided pins 132 and 132 are attached are configured to be movable along the guide grooves 211 and 211.
[0020]
In the illustrated embodiment, four air cylinders 133 for moving the pair of movement adjusting plates 131 and 131 along the guide grooves 211 and 211 are provided, and piston rods of the four air cylinders 133 are provided. 134 are connected to the guided pins 133, respectively. The piston rod 134 of the air cylinder 133 is provided with a plurality of connecting holes 134a and guided by connecting pins 135 that pass through the connecting holes 134a at positions corresponding to the size of the semiconductor wafer 10 accommodated in the cassette 7. Connected to the pin 132. The four air cylinders 133 are connected to compressed air control means (not shown). Four air cylinders 133 operated by compressed air control means (not shown) position the pair of movement adjustment plates 131 and 131 at a retracted position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 8 and an adjustment position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Accordingly, the four air cylinders 133 function as adjustment plate actuating means for positioning the pair of movement adjustment plates 131 and 131 at the retracted position and the adjustment position.
[0021]
The pair of movement adjustment plates 131 and 131 that constitute the alignment mechanism 12 are provided with adjustment pins 136 and 136 that protrude from the upper surface at both ends, respectively. As shown in FIG. 9, the adjustment pin 136 includes a cylindrical adjustment portion 136a and a shaft portion 136b formed so as to protrude from the lower surface of the adjustment portion 136a. The shaft portion 136b is a pair of movement adjustment plates 131. , 131 are fitted into shaft holes 131b. The shaft portion 136b constituting the adjustment pin 136 is provided eccentric from the center of the adjustment portion 136a. Therefore, the adjustment pin 136 can change the distance between the adjustment parts 136a by rotating around the shaft part 136b, and adjusts according to a slight difference in diameter depending on the manufacturing lot of the semiconductor wafer. be able to. The pair of movement adjustment plates 131 and 131 are formed with screw holes 131c that reach the shaft hole 131b from the end surfaces, and a regulation bolt 137 is screwed into the screw holes 131c. The regulation bolt 137 regulates the rotation of the adjustment pin 136 by tightening the shaft portion 136b after the adjustment pin 136 is adjusted. The center table 121, the pair of movement adjustment plates 131 and 131, the adjustment pin 136, and the air cylinder 133 that constitute the alignment mechanism 12 are operated by an adjustment plate that positions the pair of movement adjustment plates 131 and 131 at the retracted position and the adjustment position. The means functions as center adjusting means for aligning the center position of the semiconductor wafer.
[0022]
The alignment mechanism 12 in the illustrated embodiment includes a semiconductor wafer crystal orientation detection means 138 disposed on the upper wall 21 of the apparatus housing 2 as shown in FIG. The semiconductor wafer crystal orientation detection means 138 is formed of, for example, a reflection type detector, and detects a notch 10a (see FIG. 2) or an orientation flat representing the crystal orientation provided on the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer 10. The semiconductor wafer crystal orientation detecting means 138 is disposed in the middle between the pair of movement adjusting plates 121 and 121, and a plurality of semiconductor wafer crystal orientation detecting means 138 are provided to correspond to the size of the semiconductor wafer.
[0023]
The semiconductor wafer crystal orientation detection means 138 detects the notch 10a representing the crystal orientation provided on the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer by rotating the center table 121 that sucks and holds the semiconductor wafer 10. By stopping the driving of the electric motor 124 based on the detection signal from the semiconductor wafer crystal orientation detecting means 138, the position of the crystal orientation of the semiconductor wafer 10 is aligned. When the mark indicating the crystal orientation of the semiconductor wafer 10 is orientation flat, both end portions of the orientation flat are detected by the semiconductor wafer crystal orientation detection means 138, and a control means (not shown) detects based on this detection signal. The crystal orientation of the semiconductor wafer 10 can be aligned by calculating the angle between the two end portions and inverting the center table 121 by this half angle. Accordingly, a center table 121 for holding the semiconductor wafer 10, a semiconductor wafer crystal orientation detection means 138 for detecting a mark indicating a crystal orientation provided on the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer, and a turning means for turning the center table 121. The electric motor 124 functions as crystal orientation adjusting means.
[0024]
Returning to FIG. 1, the description will be continued. The cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment carries a first wafer that conveys a semiconductor wafer 10 that is unloaded to the positioning mechanism 12 and positioned as described later onto the chuck table 3. A mechanism 14, cleaning means 15 for cleaning the semiconductor wafer 10 cut on the chuck table 3, and a second transfer mechanism 16 for transferring the semiconductor wafer 10 cut on the chuck table 3 to the cleaning means 15. It has. The first transport mechanism 14 and the second transport mechanism 16 include suction holding portions 141 and 161, respectively. As shown in FIG. 10, air flows along the inner surface of the conical pad as shown in FIG. It is composed of Bernoulli pads that generate negative pressure. The configuration of the Bernoulli pad itself may be a conventionally known one. The suction holding parts 141 and 161 made of Bernoulli pads are connected to high-pressure air control means (not shown) so that negative pressure is generated at the center by appropriately flowing air along the inner surface of the conical pad. It has become.
[0025]
The cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, and the operation thereof will be described below.
When the semiconductor wafer 10 is cut, the cassette 7 in which the semiconductor wafer 10 is accommodated in the cassette body 71 and the cassette lid 72 is mounted is placed on the cassette table 81 of the cassette mounting mechanism 8 as shown in FIG. Placed on. When the cassette 7 is placed on the cassette table 81, the cassette table 81 is positioned at the carry-in / out position which is the raised position as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. When the cassette 7 is placed at a predetermined position on the cassette table 81 as shown in FIG. 5A, the cassette sensor 812 sends a detection signal to a control means (not shown). Based on the detection signal from the cassette sensor 812, control means (not shown) executes the following control. First, as shown in FIG. 5A, the pulse motor 822 of the lifting mechanism 82 is rotationally driven in one direction, and the cassette table 81 on which the cassette 7 is placed is lowered along the male screw rod 821. It is positioned at a lid attaching / detaching position facing the lid attaching / detaching mechanism 9 shown in b).
[0026]
Next, the air cylinders 94, 94 of the lid attaching / detaching mechanism 9 are operated, and the moving base 93 is moved to the left in the drawing from the standby position shown in FIG. 5B, and the operation shown in FIG. Position to position. At this time, the latch keys 95, 95 disposed in the vertical portion 932 of the moving base 93 are inserted from the key insertion holes 722 a, 722 a formed in the flange portion 722 of the cassette lid 72 to form the latches 73, 73. The key holes 731a and 731a are inserted. At this time, the latches 73 and 73 are in a locked state indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. When the movable base 93 is positioned at the work position shown in FIG. 5C, the suction pads 97, 97 disposed on the front surface of the vertical portion 932 come into contact with the surface of the cassette lid 72. Next, the air motors 96, 96 are actuated to turn the latch keys 95, 95 approximately 90 degrees in one direction, thereby bringing the latches 73, 73 into the unlocked state shown by the solid line in FIG. Then, a negative pressure is applied to the suction pads 97 and 97 to hold the cassette lid 72 by suction. Thereafter, the air cylinders 94, 94 of the lid attaching / detaching mechanism 9 are operated, and the moving base 93 is moved to the right in the drawing from the working position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5 (c), and 2 in FIG. Position it at the standby position indicated by the dotted line. At this time, the cassette lid 72 is sucked and held by suction pads 97 and 97 disposed on the movable base 93. In this way, when the movable base 93 holding the cassette lid 72 is positioned at the standby position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5C, the pulse motor 822 of the elevating mechanism 82 is driven to rotate in the other direction. Then, the cassette table 81 on which the cassette body 71 from which the cassette lid 72 has been removed is placed is raised along the male screw rod 821 and positioned at the loading / unloading position shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
[0027]
As described above, the cassette table 81 on which the cassette body 71 from which the cassette lid 72 has been removed is placed is positioned at the loading / unloading position shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. Preparation of the cutting operation of the semiconductor wafer 10 is completed.
Then, when a cutting operation start command is issued, the workpiece unloading mechanism 11 moves forward and backward to transport the semiconductor wafer 10 accommodated in a predetermined position of the cassette body 71 onto the center table 121 of the alignment mechanism 12. If the semiconductor wafer 10 is placed on the center table 121, the alignment mechanism 12 executes the alignment of the center of the semiconductor wafer 10 and the alignment of the crystal orientation. Hereinafter, these positioning operations will be described mainly with reference to FIG.
[0028]
As described above, when the semiconductor wafer 10 is placed on the center table 121, the four air cylinders 134 of the alignment mechanism 12 are operated, and the pair of movement adjustment plates 131 and 131 are retracted as indicated by solid lines in FIG. A predetermined amount is moved along the guide grooves 211 and 211 from the position in a direction approaching each other. Then, the pair of movement adjustment plates 131 and 131 are moved to the adjustment position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 8, and all of the four adjustment pins 136 disposed on the pair of movement adjustment plates 131 and 131 are semiconductors. By contacting the outer peripheral edge of the wafer 10, the semiconductor wafer 10 is centered.
[0029]
When the center alignment of the semiconductor wafer 10 placed on the center table 121 is completed, the four air cylinders 134 are operated to move the pair of movement adjustment plates 131 and 131 in directions away from each other. Position it at the retracted position indicated by the solid line. Then, the alignment mechanism 12 performs alignment of the crystal orientation of the semiconductor wafer 10. That is, as described above, negative pressure is applied to the center table 121 to hold the semiconductor wafer 10 by suction, the electric motor 124 is rotationally driven to rotate the center table 121, and the position corresponding to the size of the semiconductor wafer 10. The semiconductor wafer crystal orientation detecting means 138 disposed on the semiconductor wafer is operated. Then, by stopping the driving of the electric motor 124 at the position where the semiconductor wafer crystal orientation detecting means 138 detects the notch 10a representing the crystal orientation provided on the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer, the position of the crystal orientation of the semiconductor wafer 10 is stopped. Aligned. When the mark indicating the crystal orientation of the semiconductor wafer 10 is orientation flat, both end portions of the orientation flat are detected by the semiconductor wafer crystal orientation detection means 138, and a control means (not shown) detects based on this detection signal. The crystal orientation of the semiconductor wafer 10 can be aligned by calculating the angle between the two end portions and inverting the center table 121 by this half angle. Thus, when the alignment of the crystal orientation of the semiconductor wafer 10 is completed, the negative pressure acting on the center table 121 is released, and the suction and holding of the semiconductor wafer 10 is released.
[0030]
As described above, the semiconductor wafer 10 aligned on the center table 121 is transferred onto the placement surface of the suction chuck 32 constituting the chuck table 3 by the turning operation of the first transfer mechanism 14. At this time, since the center position and the crystal orientation are aligned as described above, the semiconductor wafer 10 is placed on the chuck table 3 with a predetermined positional relationship. Since the suction holding portion 141 of the first transport mechanism 14 that transports the semiconductor wafer 10 is constituted by a Bernoulli pad, it does not come into contact with the surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 and may damage the surface of the semiconductor wafer. There is no. The semiconductor wafer 10 conveyed on the mounting surface of the suction chuck 32 is sucked and held by a negative pressure applied by a negative pressure control means (not shown). The chuck table 3 that sucks and holds the semiconductor wafer 10 in this manner is moved to a position directly below the imaging mechanism 5. When the chuck table 3 is positioned immediately below the image pickup mechanism 5, a cutting line formed on the semiconductor wafer 10 is detected by the image pickup mechanism 5, and the spindle unit 4 is moved and adjusted in the arrow Y direction which is an indexing direction, thereby adjusting the precise position. Matching work is performed. Further, the spindle unit 4 is operated so that the cutting blade 43 is positioned on the dummy wafer 35 held on the dummy wafer holding table 34, and the cutting blade 43 is rotated and moved in the direction indicated by the arrow Z which is the cutting direction. The dummy wafer 35 is cut and the cutting depth is set.
[0031]
Thereafter, the cutting blade 43 is positioned at the set cutting depth and rotated in a predetermined direction, while the chuck table 3 holding the semiconductor wafer 10 is sucked and held in the direction indicated by the arrow X (cutting blade 43). By cutting and feeding in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the semiconductor wafer 10, a cutting groove having a predetermined depth is formed along the predetermined cutting line by the cutting blade 43 in the semiconductor wafer 10 held by the chuck table 3. That is, the cutting blade 43 is mounted on the spindle unit 4 that is moved and adjusted in the direction indicated by the arrow Y that is the indexing direction and the direction indicated by the arrow Z that is the cutting direction, and is rotationally driven. Is moved in the cutting feed direction (X-axis direction) along the lower side of the cutting blade 43, so that the semiconductor wafer 10 held on the chuck table 3 is not completely cut by the cutting blade 43, but on a predetermined cutting line. It cuts with the predetermined cutting depth set along. After the semiconductor wafer 10 has been cut in this way, the chuck table 3 holding the semiconductor wafer 10 is returned to the position where the semiconductor wafer 10 was first sucked and held, and the suction holding of the semiconductor wafer 10 is released here. .
[0032]
Next, the cut semiconductor wafer 10 whose suction holding is released on the chuck table 3 is transported to the cleaning means 15 by the operation of the second transport mechanism 16. At this time, since the suction holding unit 161 of the second transport mechanism 16 is configured by a Bernoulli pad, it does not contact the surface of the semiconductor wafer 10, so that the surface of the semiconductor wafer is not damaged and cutting is performed. A semiconductor wafer in a state in which grooves are formed and easily divided is not broken. The semiconductor wafer 10 transferred to the cleaning means 15 is cleaned and removed by the cleaning means 15 during the cutting. The semiconductor wafer 10 cleaned by the cleaning means 15 is transported onto the center table 121 of the alignment mechanism 12 by the first transport mechanism 14. Also at this time, since the suction holding portion 141 of the first transport mechanism 14 is configured by a Bernoulli pad, it does not contact the surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 and therefore does not damage the surface of the semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor wafer 10 conveyed onto the center table 121 of the alignment mechanism 12 is accommodated in a predetermined position of the cassette body 71 positioned at the loading / unloading position by the workpiece unloading means 11.
[0033]
When the above cutting operations are repeatedly performed and the cutting process is completed for all the semiconductor wafers 10 accommodated in the cassette body 71, a process of mounting the cassette lid 72 on the cassette body 71 is performed. Hereinafter, the cassette lid mounting process will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6A shows a state where the semiconductor wafer 10 that has been subjected to the cutting process is accommodated in the cassette body 71 positioned at the carry-in / out position. To attach the cassette lid 72 to the cassette body 71, the pulse motor 822 of the elevating mechanism 82 is rotationally driven in one direction from the state of FIG. And is positioned at a lid attaching / detaching position facing the lid attaching / detaching mechanism 9 shown in FIG. At this time, the cassette lid 72 removed as described above is sucked and held by the suction pads 97, 97 disposed on the vertical portion 932 constituting the moving base 93 of the lid attaching / detaching mechanism 9.
[0034]
Next, the air cylinders 94, 94 of the lid attaching / detaching mechanism 9 are operated, and the moving base 93 is moved to the left in the drawing from the standby position shown in FIG. 6B, and the operation shown in FIG. Position to position. At this time, the fitting portion 721 of the cassette lid 72 held by the vertical portion 932 of the moving base 93 is fitted into the carry-in / out opening 72 of the cassette body 71. Then, the air motors 96, 96 are actuated to rotate the latches 73, 73 in the other direction by approximately 90 degrees, thereby bringing the latches 73, 73 into the locked state indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. When the latches 73 and 73 are locked in this way, the negative pressure applied to the suction pads 97 and 97 is released, and the suction holding of the cassette lid 72 is released. Thereafter, the air cylinders 94, 94 of the lid attaching / detaching mechanism 9 are actuated, and the moving base 93 is moved to the right in the drawing from the working position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 6C, and 2 in FIG. Position it at the standby position indicated by the dotted line. At this time, the cassette lid 72 is mounted on the cassette body 71 and is not held on the moving base 93 of the lid attaching / detaching mechanism 9. When the moving base 93 is positioned at the standby position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6C, the pulse motor 822 of the lifting mechanism 82 is driven to rotate in the other direction, and the cassette lid 72 is attached to the cassette body 71. The cassette table 81 on which the cassette 7 is placed is raised along the male screw rod 821 and positioned at the loading / unloading position shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. In this way, the cassette 7 in which the cassette lid 72 is mounted on the cassette body 71 positioned at the carry-in / out position is transported to the next process by the operator.
[0035]
As described above, since the cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes the lid attaching / detaching mechanism 9 disposed to face the cassette placing mechanism 8, the cassette 7 containing the semiconductor wafer 10 is placed in the cassette placing means. 8, the cassette lid 72 attached to the cassette loading / unloading opening 711 can be automatically attached and detached. Therefore, it is not necessary for the operator to perform the attaching / detaching operation of the cassette lid 72, and the management of the removed cassette lid 72 becomes unnecessary.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
Since the cutting device according to the present invention is configured as described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
[0037]
That is, the cutting apparatus according to the present invention includes the lid attaching / detaching mechanism for attaching / detaching the cassette lid to / from the cassette placed on the cassette table in a state where the cassette table of the cassette placing means is positioned at the lid attaching / detaching position. The operator does not need to perform the operation of attaching and detaching the cassette lid, and management of the removed cassette lid becomes unnecessary.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cutting device constructed in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cassette applied to the cutting apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cassette lid constituting the cassette shown in FIG. 2;
4 is a cross-sectional view of the cassette lid shown in FIG. 3. FIG.
5 is an explanatory view showing an operating state of a cassette mounting means and a lid attaching / detaching mechanism provided in the cutting apparatus shown in FIG.
6 is an explanatory view showing an operating state of cassette mounting means and a lid attaching / detaching mechanism provided in the cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main part of a lid attaching / detaching mechanism provided in the cutting apparatus shown in FIG.
8 is a perspective view showing a part of the alignment mechanism provided in the cutting apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a part of the preparation pin mounting portion constituting the alignment mechanism shown in FIG.
10 is a cross-sectional view of a Bernoulli pad used in a transport mechanism equipped in the cutting apparatus shown in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
2: Device housing
3: Chuck table
31: Suction chuck support base
32: Suction chuck
4: Spindle unit
41: Spindle housing
42: Rotating spindle
43: Cutting blade
5: Imaging mechanism
6: Display means
7: Cassette
71: Cassette body
72: Cassette lid
73: Latch
8: Cassette mounting means
81: Cassette table
811: Positioning member
812: Cassette sensor
82: Lifting mechanism
821: Male thread rod
822: Pulse motor
9: Lid attaching / detaching mechanism
91: Support stand
92: Fixed base
93: Mobile base
94: Air cylinder
95: Latch key
96: Air motor
97: Suction pad
10: Semiconductor wafer
11: Workpiece unloading mechanism
12: Positioning mechanism
12: Positioning mechanism
121: Center table
122: Suction chuck support
123: Suction chuck
124: Electric motor
131: Movement adjustment plate
132: Guided pin
133: Air cylinder
136: Adjustment pin
138: Semiconductor wafer crystal orientation detection means
14: First transport mechanism
15: Cleaning means
16: Second transport mechanism

Claims (3)

A cassette mounting mechanism having a cassette table disposed along a side wall of the apparatus housing for mounting a cassette containing a semiconductor wafer, and a semiconductor wafer unloaded from the cassette mounted on the cassette table are held. In a cutting apparatus comprising: a chuck table; and cutting means for cutting a semiconductor wafer held on the chuck table.
The cassette mounting mechanism includes an elevating mechanism that positions the cassette table at a loading / unloading position for unloading the semiconductor wafer from the cassette and a lid attaching / detaching position set below the loading / unloading position.
A lid attaching / detaching mechanism for attaching / detaching a cassette lid to / from the cassette placed on the cassette table in a state where the cassette table of the cassette placing mechanism is positioned at the lid attaching / detaching position;
The cutting device characterized by the above.   The lid attaching / detaching mechanism operates a movable base configured to be movable between a standby position and a working position, and a latch disposed on the movable base and disposed on the cassette lid at the working position. The cutting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a latch actuating unit; and a cassette lid holding unit that is disposed on the movable base and holds the cassette lid.   The cutting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cassette lid holding means comprises suction holding means for sucking and holding the cassette lid by the action of negative pressure.

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