JP5122232B2 - Cutting blade - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cutting blade used by being mounted on a spindle of a cutting apparatus.

  A semiconductor wafer formed on the surface by dividing a plurality of devices such as IC, LSI, etc. by dividing lines is divided into individual devices by a dicing device (cutting device) to which a cutting blade is attached, and is used for cellular phones and personal computers. It is used for electrical equipment.

  The dicing apparatus includes a chuck table that holds a wafer and a cutting unit that cuts the wafer held by the chuck table, and can divide the wafer into individual devices with high accuracy.

The cutting blade attached to the dicing apparatus is a consumable item. When the blade sensor detects chipping of the cutting edge or a predetermined amount of wear, it needs to be replaced with a new cutting blade. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-144034, the cutting blade is a precision component with a very thin cutting blade formed to protrude from the outer periphery of the circular base. It must be very careful not to damage it.
JP 2001-144034 A

  As described above, the cutting blade is a consumable item, and when the blade sensor detects chipping of the cutting edge or a predetermined amount of wear, it needs to be replaced with a new cutting blade. However, when the cutting blade is detached from the spindle of the dicing apparatus or attached to the spindle, there is a problem that the cutting blade of the cutting blade may be damaged by coming into contact with surrounding parts.

  The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cutting blade that can be mounted on a spindle of a dicing apparatus without damaging the cutting blade of the cutting blade.

According to the present invention, a circular base having an opening to be attached to the spindle at the center and having a gripped portion formed surrounding the opening, and a cut formed by projecting from the outer periphery of the circular base. A cutting blade composed of a blade, and a protective member that protects the cutting blade is covered so as to surround the cutting blade, and the protective member is attached to the spindle of the cutting device after the cutting blade is mounted. A cutting blade is provided that is removed by cutting water .

  Preferably, the protective member is formed from a water-soluble resin such as polyvinyl alcohol.

  In the cutting blade of the present invention, since the cutting blade is covered with the protective member, the cutting blade is prevented from being damaged even if it contacts with peripheral parts when the cutting blade is mounted on the spindle of the cutting means.

  When the cutting blade is covered with a water-soluble resin such as polyvinyl alcohol, the protective member can be removed by supplying cutting water while rotating the cutting blade.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the external appearance of a cutting apparatus (dicing apparatus) 2 that can divide a semiconductor wafer into individual chips (devices), and the present invention is applied to a cutting blade used in the cutting apparatus. .

  On the front side of the cutting device 2, there is provided operating means 4 for an operator to input instructions to the device such as machining conditions. In the upper part of the apparatus, there is provided a display means 6 such as a CRT for displaying a guidance screen for an operator and an image taken by an imaging means described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, on the surface of the wafer W to be diced, the first street S1 and the second street S2 are formed orthogonally, and the first street S1 and the second street S2 A plurality of devices D are partitioned and formed on the wafer W.

  The wafer W is attached to a dicing tape T that is an adhesive tape, and the outer peripheral edge of the dicing tape T is attached to an annular frame F. As a result, the wafer W is supported by the frame F via the dicing tape T, and a plurality of wafers (for example, 25 sheets) are accommodated in the wafer cassette 8 shown in FIG. The wafer cassette 8 is placed on a cassette elevator 9 that can move up and down.

  Behind the wafer cassette 8, a loading / unloading means 10 for unloading the wafer W before cutting from the wafer cassette 8 and loading the wafer after cutting into the wafer cassette 8 is disposed. Between the wafer cassette 8 and the loading / unloading means 10, a temporary placement area 12, which is an area on which a wafer to be carried in / out, is temporarily placed, is provided. Positioning means 14 for positioning at a certain position is provided.

  In the vicinity of the temporary placement area 12, transport means 16 having a turning arm that sucks and transports the frame F integrated with the wafer W is disposed, and the wafer W carried to the temporary placement area 12 is It is attracted by the transport means 16 and transported onto the chuck table 18 and is sucked by the chuck table 18, and is held on the chuck table 18 by fixing the frame F by a plurality of fixing means 19.

  The chuck table 18 is configured to be rotatable and reciprocally movable in the X-axis direction. Above the movement path of the chuck table 18 in the X-axis direction, an alignment unit 20 that detects a street to be cut of the wafer W is provided. It is arranged.

  The alignment unit 20 includes an imaging unit 22 that images the surface of the wafer W, and can detect a street to be cut by a process such as pattern matching based on an image acquired by imaging. The image acquired by the imaging unit 22 is displayed on the display unit 6.

  On the left side of the alignment means 20, a cutting means 24 for cutting the wafer W held on the chuck table 18 is disposed. The cutting means 24 is configured integrally with the alignment means 20, and both move together in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction.

  The cutting means 24 is configured by attaching a cutting blade 28 to the tip of a rotatable spindle 26 and is movable in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction. The cutting blade 28 is located on the extended line of the imaging means 22 in the X-axis direction.

  Referring to FIG. 3, an exploded perspective view showing the mounting relationship between the spindle 26 to which the blade mount 36 is fixed and the cutting blade 28 is shown. A spindle 26 that is rotationally driven by a servo motor (not shown) is rotatably accommodated in a spindle housing 32 of the spindle unit 30.

  The blade mount 36 includes a boss portion 38 and a fixed flange 40 formed integrally with the boss portion 38. A male screw 42 is formed on the boss portion 38. Further, the blade mount 36 has a mounting hole.

  The blade mount 36 has a mounting hole inserted into the small diameter portion of the spindle 26 and is screwed into a male screw formed on the small diameter portion of the spindle 26 to be tightened, as shown in FIG. It is attached to the tip of

  The cutting blade 28 is called a hub blade, and is constituted by electrodepositing a cutting edge 50 in which diamond abrasive grains are dispersed in a nickel base material on the outer periphery of a circular base 46 having a circular hub 48 serving as a gripped portion. Yes.

  The cutting blade 28 is attached to the spindle 26 by inserting the mounting hole 52 of the cutting blade 28 into the boss 38 of the blade mount 36 and screwing the fixing nut 54 into the male screw 42 of the boss 38.

  Referring to FIG. 4, an enlarged perspective view of the cutting means 24 equipped with the cutting blade 28 is shown. A blade cover 60 covers the cutting blade 28, and a cutting water nozzle 71 (see FIG. 7) that extends along the side surface of the cutting blade 28 is attached to the blade cover 60. Cutting water is supplied to the cutting water nozzle 71 through the pipe 72.

  Reference numeral 62 denotes a detachable cover, which is attached to the blade cover 60 with screws 64. The detachable cover 62 has a cutting water nozzle 70 that extends along the side surface of the cutting blade 28 when attached to the blade cover 60. The cutting water is supplied to the cutting water nozzle 70 via the pipe 74.

  A blade detection block 66 is attached to the blade cover 60 with screws 68. A blade sensor (not shown) composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element is attached to the blade detection block 66, and the state of the cutting blade 50 of the cutting blade 28 is detected by this blade sensor.

  When the blade sensor detects chipping of the cutting edge 50 or wear of a predetermined amount or more, the cutting blade 28 is replaced with a new cutting blade. Reference numeral 76 denotes an adjusting screw for adjusting the position of the blade sensor.

  Referring to FIG. 5 (A), a perspective view of a normal cutting blade 28 is shown. As described above, the cutting blade 28 is called a hub blade, and is formed by electrodepositing a cutting blade 50 in which diamond abrasive grains are dispersed in a nickel base material on the outer periphery of a circular base 46 having a circular hub 48. Yes.

  FIG. 5B shows a perspective view of the cutting blade 28A according to the embodiment of the present invention. Since the cutting blade 50 of the cutting blade 28 is very thin, when the cutting blade 28 is mounted on the blade mount 36 of the spindle 26, the cutting blade 50 may come into contact with surrounding parts and be damaged.

  Therefore, the cutting blade 28 </ b> A of the present embodiment is configured to be covered with the protection member 80 so as to surround the cutting blade 50. Preferably, the protective member 80 is made of a water-soluble resin such as polyvinyl alcohol.

  FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing that the cutting blade 28 </ b> A is housed in the housing case 78. The housing case 78 is formed from a resin molded body, and is preferably transparent.

  The housing case 78 may be composed of a main body case 90 and a cover 92 attached to the main body case 90 by a hinge portion 94 so as to be opened and closed. The main body case 90 is formed with a circular convex portion 96 into which the mounting hole 52 of the cutting blade 28A is fitted.

  A hook 98 is formed integrally with the cover 92, and the cover 98 is closed with respect to the main body case 90 by engaging the hook 98 with an engaging protrusion 100 formed on the main body case 90. Retained. The cutting blade 28A is carried in a state of being accommodated in the accommodating case 78, and is taken out from the accommodating case 78 when the spindle 26 of the cutting device 2 is mounted.

  When the blade sensor detects chipping of the cutting edge 50 or wear of a predetermined amount or more, as shown in FIG. 7A, after the detachable cover 62 is removed from the blade cover 60, the cutting blade 28 is newly cut. Replace with a blade. 7A and 7B, the blade detection block 66 is also removed from the blade cover 60, but the blade detection block 66 is not necessarily removed.

  In order to replace the cutting blade 28, the fixing nut 54 is first loosened and removed as shown by an arrow 82 in FIG. 7A, and the cutting blade 28 is removed as shown by an arrow 84. Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the cutting blade 28A whose outer periphery is covered with the protective member 80 is attached to the blade mount 36 as indicated by the arrow 86, and then the fixing nut 54 is attached to the boss as indicated by the arrow 88. The cutting blade 28 </ b> A is attached to the spindle 26 by being screwed onto the male screw 40 of the portion 38 and tightening.

  Since the protection member 80 is formed of a water-soluble resin such as polyvinyl alcohol, the cutting water is supplied from the cutting nozzles 70 and 71 while rotating the cutting blade 28A as shown in FIG. 8 before starting the dicing of the wafer. Then, the protection member 80 is melted by the cutting water and the cutting blade 50 is exposed. Therefore, the wafer can be diced in this state.

It is an external appearance perspective view of the cutting device with which the cutting blade of this invention is mounted | worn. It is a perspective view which shows the wafer integrated with the flame | frame. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the relationship between a spindle unit and the cutting blade which should be mounted | worn with a spindle. It is an expansion perspective view of a cutting means. FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a normal cutting blade, and FIG. 5B is a perspective view of a cutting blade according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the state which accommodates the cutting blade in a storage case. FIG. 7A is an exploded perspective view showing a state where a used cutting blade is removed, and FIG. 7B is an exploded perspective view showing a state where a new cutting blade according to the embodiment of the present invention is mounted. It is a perspective view of the cutting means which shows the state which removes a protection member with cutting water.

Explanation of symbols

2 Cutting device (dicing device)
18 Chuck table 24 Cutting means 26 Spindle 28, 28A Cutting blade 50 Cutting blade 78 Storage case 80 Protective member

Claims (3)

It is composed of a circular base having an opening to be attached to the spindle at the center and having a gripped portion formed surrounding the opening, and a cutting blade formed to protrude from the outer periphery of the circular base. A cutting blade,
A protective member that protects the cutting blade is covered so as to surround the cutting blade ,
The protective blade is removed by cutting water after the cutting blade is mounted on a spindle of a cutting apparatus . Cutting blade according to claim 1, wherein said protective member, characterized in that they are composed of water-soluble resin. 3. The cutting blade according to claim 1, wherein the cutting blade is removably accommodated in a blade housing case comprising a main body case for housing the cutting blade and a cover attached to the main body case so as to be opened and closed by a hinge portion. .

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