JP5060195B2 - Cutting equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus for cutting a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer.

  For example, in the semiconductor device manufacturing process, circuits such as IC and LSI are formed in a number of regions partitioned by dividing lines called streets formed in a lattice shape on the surface of a semiconductor wafer having a substantially disk shape, Each semiconductor chip is manufactured by dividing each region in which the circuit is formed along a planned division line. As a dividing device for dividing a semiconductor wafer, a cutting device as a dicing device is generally used. The cutting apparatus includes a chuck table that holds a workpiece, an imaging unit that detects a region to be cut of the workpiece held on the chuck table, and a cutting that cuts the workpiece held on the chuck table. Means.

  In such a cutting apparatus, a cutting area in which the cutting operation is performed by the cutting means and an alignment area for detecting the area to be cut of the workpiece held on the chuck table by the imaging means are provided in the moving path of the chuck table. ing. Therefore, when the chuck table holding the workpiece is moved to the cutting area and the cutting operation is performed by the cutting means, the droplets of cutting water containing cutting waste adhere to the imaging means and contaminate the objective lens of the imaging means. There is a problem of doing.

In order to solve the above-described problem, by providing a shielding unit that shields the lower part of the objective lens case that houses the objective lens of the imaging unit, the droplets of cutting water containing cutting waste scattered by the cutting by the cutting unit are captured. There has been proposed a cutting device which is not attached to the objective lens of the means. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2007-88361 A

  The shielding means for shielding the lower part of the objective lens case containing the objective lens of the imaging means is provided at the lower end of the objective lens case at a right angle with respect to the optical axis of the objective lens and has a first hole corresponding to the objective lens case. A guide member provided, a shielding member made of a flexible sheet material provided movably below the guide member and having a second hole corresponding to the first hole, and the shielding member as the guide member And a working position for positioning the second hole at the shielding position for shielding the first hole, and cutting dust on the guide member and the shielding member. There is a problem in that the contained cutting water adheres and hinders the operation of the shielding member.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned facts, and its main technical problem is that the shielding member that shields the objective lens of the imaging means is configured to be detachable, and if the shielding member becomes dirty, it is removed and replaced or cleaned. An object of the present invention is to provide a cutting apparatus configured to be able to do this.

In order to solve the main technical problem, according to the present invention, a chuck table for holding a workpiece, and an imaging means having an objective lens for detecting a region to be processed of the workpiece held on the chuck table; A cutting device comprising: cutting means for cutting the workpiece held on the chuck table;
A cover member provided with an imaging opening that captures an image into the objective lens, and is attached to the lower end portion of the objective lens case housing the objective lens of the imaging means, surrounding the objective lens case;
A shielding means comprising: an annular frame that is detachably attached to the imaging opening of the cover member; and a transparent plate that holds an outer periphery of the annular frame and shields the objective lens ;
The cover member includes an air introduction path that communicates with the imaging opening, and the annular frame of the shielding means communicates with the air introduction path and has a plurality of pores that eject air along the lower surface of the transparent plate. Is provided in the circumferential direction,
A cutting device is provided.

The cover member includes a space portion that communicates with the air introduction path and forms an annular air chamber with the outer peripheral surface of the objective lens case and communicates with the imaging opening. Are provided with a plurality of air flow passages communicating the plurality of pores with the annular air chamber.
A female screw is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the imaging opening of the cover member, and a male screw that engages with the female screw is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the annular frame of the shielding means.

In the cutting apparatus according to the present invention, a cover member provided with an imaging aperture that is mounted around the objective lens case at the lower end portion of the objective lens case that houses the objective lens of the imaging means, and that captures an image into the objective lens, and the cover member Since an annular frame body that is detachably attached to the imaging aperture and a shielding means that includes a transparent plate that holds the outer periphery of the annular frame body and shields the objective lens, it is supplied to the cutting portion during cutting. Even if the cutting water is scattered, the scattered splashes are shielded by the transparent plate of the shielding means and do not adhere to the objective lens. The cover member includes an air introduction path that communicates with the imaging opening, and the annular frame of the shielding means includes a plurality of fine holes that communicate with the air introduction path and eject air along the lower surface of the transparent plate. Since the air curtain is formed on the lower side of the transparent plate, the splashing of the cleaning water is suppressed from adhering to the transparent plate. When the cleaning operation adheres to the transparent plate due to the cutting operation, and the imaging means is hindered, the shielding means is detachably attached to the cover member. The imaging function of the imaging means is assured by removing the means and cleaning or by attaching the already cleaned cleaning means to the cover member.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a cutting device configured according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  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 disposed on the suction chuck support 31. A workpiece is illustrated on a holding surface which is the upper surface of the suction chuck 32. Suction holding is performed by operating a suction means that does not. The chuck table 3 is configured to be rotatable by a rotation mechanism (not shown). The chuck table 31 is provided with a clamp 33 for fixing an annular support frame that supports a semiconductor wafer, which will be described later, as a workpiece through a protective tape. The chuck table 3 configured as described above can be moved in a cutting feed direction indicated by an arrow X by a cutting feed means (not shown).

  The cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes a spindle unit 4 as cutting means. 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. Cutting water supply nozzles 44 are disposed on both sides of the cutting blade 43. This cutting water supply nozzle 44 is connected to a cutting water supply means (not shown).

  The cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes an image pickup means 5 for picking up an image of the surface of the workpiece held on the chuck table 3 and detecting a region to be cut by the cutting blade 43. The imaging means 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. The imaging means 5 in the illustrated embodiment includes a main body 51 and an objective lens case 53 that is attached to the lower end of the main body 51 and accommodates an objective lens 52. An image pickup device (CCD) or the like is disposed in the main body 51 of the image pickup means 5 configured as described above, and sends an image signal picked up through the objective lens 52 to a control means (not shown).

  The imaging means 5 in the illustrated embodiment includes a cover member 54 attached to the lower end portion of the objective lens case 53 so as to surround the objective lens case 53, and a detachably attached to the cover member 54. A shielding means 55 for shielding is provided. The cover member 54 has a fitting hole 541 that fits into the objective lens case 53 at the top, and an imaging opening 542 that captures an image into the objective lens 52 below the objective lens case 53. A ring groove 541a is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the fitting hole 541, and a seal ring 545 is disposed in the ring groove 541a. The cover member 54 has a female screw 542 a formed on the inner peripheral surface of the imaging opening 542. Further, the cover member 54 is provided with a space portion 543a that forms an annular air chamber 543 that communicates with the imaging opening 542 by the outer peripheral surface of the objective lens case 53, and communicates with the air chamber 543. An air introduction path 544 connected to a non-air supply source is formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the shielding means 55 includes an annular frame body 551 and a circular transparent plate 552 made of a glass plate having an outer peripheral portion held by the annular frame body 551. The annular frame 551 is provided with an annular holding portion 551a for holding the transparent plate 552 in the upper part of the inner periphery. The annular holding portion 551a is formed with a step from the upper surface, and the lower surface of the outer peripheral portion of the transparent plate 552 is fixed to and held by the adhesive on the holding surface that is the upper surface. Further, the annular frame 551 has a plurality of pores 551b having a rectangular cross section for blowing air along the lower surface of the transparent plate 552 below the annular holding portion 551a with a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction. In addition, a plurality of air flow passages 551c that respectively communicate with the plurality of pores 551b and open on the upper surface are provided. The plurality of air flow passages 551c are communicated with the air chamber 543 when the shielding means 55 is attached to the cover member 54. The plurality of air flow passages 551c have a diameter of 0.5 to 0.8 mm. Further, the annular frame 551 is provided with a male screw 551d which is screwed with a female screw 542a formed on the inner peripheral surface of the imaging opening 542 of the cover member 54 on the upper outer peripheral surface thereof. As shown in FIG. 3, the cover member 54 is detachably mounted by being screwed into a female screw 542a. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of recesses 551 e into which a tool for rotating the annular frame 551 is fitted are provided on the lower surface of the annular frame 551.

  The air introduction path 544 of the cover member 54 configured as described above is supplied with 10 to 15 liters (10 to 15 liters / minute) of air per minute from an air supply source (not shown). The air supplied to the air introduction path 544 flows into the air chamber 543 as shown by an arrow in FIG. The air flowing into the air chamber 543 passes from the plurality of pores 551b to the lower surface of the transparent plate 552 through the plurality of air flow passages 551c provided in the annular frame 551 constituting the shielding means 55 as indicated by arrows in FIG. Erupt along.

  Returning to FIG. 1 and continuing the description, the cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes a display unit 7 for displaying an image captured by the imaging unit 5. Further, a cassette placement table 8 for placing a cassette that accommodates a workpiece is disposed in the cassette placement area 8 a of the apparatus housing 2. The cassette mounting table 8 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction by a lifting means (not shown). On the cassette mounting table 8, a cassette 9 for storing the workpiece W is mounted. The workpiece W accommodated in the cassette 9 has a grid-like street formed on the surface of the wafer, and devices such as capacitors, LEDs and circuits are formed in a plurality of rectangular areas partitioned by the grid-like street. Has been. The workpiece W formed in this way is accommodated in the cassette 9 with the back surface adhered to the surface of the protective tape T mounted on the annular support frame F.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the cutting device is supported by a workpiece W (an annular frame F supported via a protective tape T) accommodated in a cassette 9 placed on a cassette placement table 8. ) To the temporary table 10, the first conveyance unit 12 to convey the workpiece W carried to the temporary table 10 onto the chuck table 3, and cutting on the chuck table 3. The cleaning means 13 for cleaning the processed workpiece W and the second transfer means 14 for transferring the workpiece W cut on the chuck table 3 to the cleaning means 13 are provided.

The operation of the cutting apparatus configured as described above will be briefly described.
The workpiece W accommodated in a predetermined position of the cassette 9 placed on the cassette placement table 8 is positioned at the carry-out position when the cassette placement table 8 moves up and down by lifting means (not shown). Next, the unloading means 11 moves forward and backward to unload the workpiece W positioned at the unloading position onto the temporary placement table 10. The workpiece W carried out to the temporary placement table 10 is conveyed onto the chuck table 3 by the turning operation of the first conveying means 12. When the workpiece W is placed on the chuck table 3, suction means (not shown) is operated to suck and hold the workpiece W on the chuck table 3. Further, the support frame F that supports the workpiece W via the protective tape T is fixed by the clamp 33. The chuck table 3 holding the workpiece W in this way is moved to a position immediately below the image pickup means 5. When the chuck table 3 is positioned immediately below the image pickup means 5, the street formed on the workpiece W is detected by the image pickup means 5, and the spindle unit 4 is moved and adjusted in the direction of the arrow Y which is the indexing direction. A precision alignment operation with the cutting blade 43 is performed. The imaging means 5 images the workpiece W through the transparent plate 552 of the shielding means 55 attached to the objective lens 52 and the objective lens case 53.

  Thereafter, the cutting blade 5 is cut and fed by a predetermined amount in the direction indicated by the arrow Z and rotated in the predetermined direction, while the chuck table 3 holding the workpiece W is sucked and held in the direction indicated by the arrow X (cutting blade). The workpiece W held on the chuck table 3 is cut along a predetermined street by the cutting blade 43 by moving at a predetermined cutting feed rate in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis 43 (cutting process). ). In this cutting process, cutting water is supplied from the cutting water supply nozzle 44 to the cutting blade 43 and the cutting portion of the workpiece W. When the workpiece W is cut along a predetermined street in this way, the chuck table 3 is indexed and fed in the direction indicated by the arrow Y by the street interval, and the above-described cutting process is performed. If the cutting process is performed along all the streets extending in the predetermined direction of the workpiece W, the chuck table 3 is rotated 90 degrees to extend in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction of the workpiece W. By performing a cutting operation along existing streets, all the streets formed in a lattice shape on the workpiece W are cut and divided into individual chips. The divided chips do not fall apart due to the action of the protective tape T, and the state of the wafer supported by the frame F is maintained.

  In the cutting step, as described above, cutting water is supplied from the cutting water supply nozzle 44 to the cutting blade 43 and the cutting portion of the workpiece W. This cutting water is scattered forward and backward by the rotation of the cutting blade 43 in the cutting feed direction. A part of the scattered droplets is scattered to the imaging means 5 side. However, the scattered splashes are shielded by the transparent plate 552 of the shielding unit 55 and do not adhere to the objective lens 52. Further, in the cutting process, air is supplied from an air supply source (not shown) to the air introduction path 544 of the cover member 54 attached to the lower end portion of the objective lens case 53 of the imaging means 5, and this air is described above. As described above, the air curtain is formed along the lower surface of the transparent plate 552 from the plurality of pores 551b through the air chamber 543 and the plurality of air flow passages 551c, so that an air curtain is formed below the transparent plate 552. The spray of cleaning water is prevented from adhering to the transparent plate 552. In addition, when the above-described cutting process is continued for a long time, the cleaning means 55 can be attached to and detached from the cover member 54 when the cleaning water adheres to the transparent plate 552 and the imaging means 5 has troubled imaging. Therefore, the shielding means 55 is removed and washed, or the already-shielded shielding means 55 is attached to the cover member 54.

  As described above, when the cutting operation is completed along the street of the workpiece W, the chuck table 3 holding the workpiece W is returned to the position where the workpiece W is first sucked and held. Then, the suction holding of the workpiece W is released. Next, the workpiece W is transferred to the cleaning unit 13 by the second transfer unit 14. The workpiece W conveyed to the cleaning means 13 is cleaned and dried here. The workpiece W cleaned and dried in this manner is carried out to the temporary placement table 10 by the first conveying means 12. Then, the workpiece W is stored in a predetermined position of the cassette 9 by the unloading means 11. Accordingly, the carry-out means 11 also has a function as a carry-in means for carrying the processed workpiece W into the cassette 9.

The perspective view of the cutting device comprised according to this invention. The principal part disassembled perspective view of the imaging means with which the cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is equipped. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of an imaging unit equipped in the cutting apparatus shown in FIG. The top view of the shielding means which comprises the imaging means shown to FIG. 2 and FIG. Sectional drawing of the shielding means shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2: Device housing 3: Chuck table 4: Spindle unit 41: Spindle housing 42: Rotating spindle 43: Cutting blade 44: Cutting water supply nozzle 5: Imaging means 52: Objective lens 53: Objective lens case 54: Cover member 542: Imaging Opening 543: Air chamber 544: Air introduction path 55: Shielding means 551: Annular frame 551b: Plural pores 551c: Plural air flow passages 552: Transparent plate 51: Cutting blade base 511: Disc-shaped base Main body 512: Blade mounting portion 7: Display means 8: Cassette mounting table 9: Cassette 10: Temporary placing table 11: Unloading means 12: First conveying means 13: Cleaning means 14: Second conveying means
W: Workpiece
F: Annular support frame
T: Protective tape

Claims (3)

A chuck table for holding a workpiece, an imaging means having an objective lens for detecting a region to be machined of the workpiece held on the chuck table, and cutting the workpiece held on the chuck table. A cutting device comprising:
A cover member provided with an imaging opening that captures an image into the objective lens, and is attached to the lower end portion of the objective lens case housing the objective lens of the imaging means, surrounding the objective lens case;
A shielding means comprising: an annular frame that is detachably attached to the imaging opening of the cover member; and a transparent plate that holds an outer periphery of the annular frame and shields the objective lens ;
The cover member includes an air introduction path that communicates with the imaging opening, and the annular frame of the shielding means communicates with the air introduction path and has a plurality of pores that eject air along the lower surface of the transparent plate. Is provided in the circumferential direction,
The cutting device characterized by the above. The cover member is provided with a space portion that communicates with the air introduction path and forms an annular air chamber with the outer peripheral surface of the objective lens case and communicates with the imaging opening, and the annular frame body of the shielding means a plurality of air flow passages are provided, the cutting device according to claim 1, wherein communicating the pores and the annular air chamber of said plurality of the. The inner peripheral surface of the imaging opening of the cover member is formed with a female screw, on the outer peripheral surface of the annular frame of said shielding means female screw screwed to the male screw is formed, according to claim 1 Or the cutting apparatus of 2 .

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