JP5695520B2 - Wafer ring alignment method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an alignment method and an alignment mechanism when a wafer ring holding a semiconductor wafer or the like using an adhesive sheet is taken out from a cassette and transported to a stage for performing the next processing.

  In a manufacturing process using a semiconductor wafer, a semiconductor device (semiconductor element) can be manufactured using a metal wafer ring (also called a dicing ring) for holding the semiconductor wafer in a state of being attached to an adhesive sheet. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  In the manufacturing process using a wafer ring, the semiconductor wafer W is usually adhered and held on a sheet 2 stretched on a metal wafer ring 1 as shown in FIGS. For example, about 20 to 30 wafer rings 1 holding the semiconductor wafer W are stored in a cassette case after an electronic circuit or the like is patterned on the semiconductor wafer W in a patterning process. Then, the entire cassette case is mounted on a device for the next step, for example, a cutting device. For example, in a cutting apparatus, a wafer ring is taken out from a cassette case one by one by a robot arm or a transfer roller, transferred onto a stage in a processing area, and divided.

By the way, in order to store and take out the wafer ring in the cassette case, it is necessary to provide some clearance (for example, about 5 mm) between the inner periphery of the cassette case and the wafer ring. As a result, when the stored wafer ring is taken out, the position and direction of each wafer ring vary, and the position and direction when placed on the transfer destination table or the like are slightly different.
Therefore, if the wafer ring is grabbed by the robot arm and pulled out of the cassette case and seated on the stage in the processing area as it is, the seating posture will vary slightly for each wafer ring, and the wafer ring transfer position and orientation will vary. As a result, it takes time to adjust the position in the subsequent process.

JP 2011-096941 A

  Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of positioning pins 8, 8 are erected on the stage S to be moved, and grooves 9 provided on the outer periphery of the wafer ring 1 are formed on the positioning pins 8, 8. The adjustment is made by a method in which the robot arm 10 is pushed firmly to be seated so as to be fitted.

  However, in this method, the processing is performed after performing the positioning operation on the stage, and it is necessary to alternately perform positioning and processing on the stage, so that it takes extra time for positioning. There was a limit in shortening the processing time. In addition, the operation of the precise robot arm 10 may fluctuate due to the indentation load during positioning over a long period of time, which requires troublesome and time-consuming adjustments and repairs. It was.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a wafer ring alignment method and an alignment mechanism capable of solving the above-described conventional problems and shortening the operation time by shortening the positioning operation on the stage of the processing area. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following technical means. That is, according to the alignment mechanism of the present invention, a wafer ring in which a pair of linear portions that are parallel to each other is formed on the left and right outer edges is housed in a cassette case, and the substrate to be processed that is adhered to an adhesive sheet is the wafer ring. A wafer ring alignment mechanism that is held via the adhesive sheet and is used when the wafer ring is taken out from the opening of the cassette case and transported to the processing area together with the substrate, and the wafer ring is removed from the cassette case. The robot arm that is pulled out and transferred to the processing area, and the left and right side portions near the opening of the cassette case, are arranged so as to be able to contact and separate from the left and right linear portions of the wafer ring partially pulled out from the cassette case. Left and right centering members, and the robot arm attaches the wafer ring. A chuck for gripping freely, it was decided and a jaw portion for pushing the cassette case direction while supporting so as not to fall off the wafer ring while releasing the chuck.

Since the alignment mechanism of the present invention is configured as described above, the wafer ring is grasped by the chuck of the robot arm and pulled out to a position where a part of the left and right linear portions of the wafer ring is exposed, and then the chuck is released and the wafer ring is released. The wafer ring can be centered by pushing the wafer ring into the cassette case by the robot arm while the centering member is in contact with the left and right linear portions of the wafer, and the wafer ring can be rotated along the pushing direction of the wafer ring. You will be able to adjust the direction.
Therefore, even if wafer ring positions and directions are mounted in the cassette case, all wafer rings are uniformly centered before being pulled out of the cassette case by the robot arm and transferred to the processing area. It is possible to accurately seat at the above defined position, thereby shortening or omitting the positioning work on the stage.
In addition, while the wafer ring seated on the stage in the processing area is being processed, the next wafer ring can be pulled out from the cassette case in parallel, and the position and direction can be adjusted and placed on standby. As a result, the time required for positioning in the processing area can be shortened or eliminated, thereby reducing the total work time.

(Means and effects for solving other problems)
In the present invention, the jaw portion of the robot arm preferably includes a vertical surface for pushing the wafer ring into the cassette case and a horizontal surface for receiving the lower surface of the edge portion of the wafer ring.
As a result, even if the chuck is released at the wafer ring pull-out position, one end of the wafer ring is supported by the horizontal surface of the jaw, preventing the wafer ring from dropping downward, and the wafer ring on the vertical surface. Can be pushed toward the cassette case.

In another alignment method of the present invention, the wafer ring is gripped by the chuck of the robot arm until a part of the left and right linear portions of the wafer ring is exposed to the outside of the drawer opening (opening) of the cassette case. The first procedure for pulling out the wafer ring from the cassette case, and then pushing the wafer ring into the cassette case while releasing the chuck and supporting the wafer ring so that it does not fall off, and at the same time, the centering member contacts the left and right linear portions of the wafer ring. The second step of centering and adjusting the direction of the wafer ring, and then moving the centering member back to the original position, holding the wafer ring again with the robot arm chuck, pulling it out of the cassette case, and transporting it to the processing area. It consists of 3 procedures.
As a result, all wafer rings can be centered uniformly in the process of being pulled out of the cassette case by the robot arm and transported to the stage in the processing area, and can be accurately seated on the stage in the processing area. It becomes.

The perspective view which shows the robot arm and wafer ring in the alignment mechanism which is one Example of this invention. The partially expanded sectional view of FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the 1st process of the wafer ring extraction procedure by a robot arm. Explanatory drawing which shows the 2nd process of the wafer ring extraction procedure similar to FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the 3rd process of the wafer ring extraction procedure similar to FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the 4th process of the wafer ring extraction procedure similar to FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the 5th process of the wafer ring extraction procedure similar to FIG. The top view for demonstrating the conventional alignment method.

Hereinafter, details of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
The alignment mechanism of the present invention is used in, for example, an apparatus that divides a substantially circular semiconductor wafer W into individual semiconductor chips (semiconductor elements). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the semiconductor wafer W is adhered and held on a sheet 2 stretched on a metal wafer ring 1. The left and right peripheral portions of the wafer ring 1 are provided with straight portions 1a and 1a that are parallel to each other.

  The wafer ring 1 to which the semiconductor wafer W is adhered is stored in a cassette case 3 with, for example, about 20 to 30 wafers stored therein, and is set at a cassette mounting position in the next process. Here, it is assumed that the next process is a break process and is set at the cassette mounting position of the break device. The break device is provided with a robot arm 4 for taking out the wafer rings 1 one by one from the cassette case 3 and transporting them on the stage in the processing area.

  The robot arm 4 includes a chuck 5 that detachably grips one edge of the wafer ring 1 and a jaw 6 that can be pushed in the cassette case while supporting the wafer ring 1 so that it does not fall off when the chuck 5 is released. And. The jaw 6 is formed with a width in an arc shape so as to stably support a part of the peripheral surface of the circular wafer ring 1, and a vertical surface 6 a for pushing the wafer ring 1 into the cassette case 3. And a horizontal surface 6b for receiving the lower surface of the edge portion of the wafer ring 1.

  Further, on the left and right sides in the vicinity of the drawer opening 3a of the cassette case 3, it moves simultaneously toward the left and right linear portions 1a, 1a of the wafer ring 1 in a state where a part of the cassette case 3 protrudes outside, Left and right centering members 7 and 7 that are in contact with or separate from the straight portions 1a and 1a are disposed. The tip of the centering member 7 is preferably formed by a rotating body such as a roller having a small friction coefficient.

Next, a procedure for pulling out the wafer ring 1 from the cassette case 3 by the robot arm 4 will be described with reference to FIGS.
3 to 7, (a) is a partial cross-sectional view as seen from the plane, and (b) is a partial cross-sectional view as seen from the side.

  FIG. 3 shows a state before the robot arm 4 is inserted into the cassette case 3. From this posture, as shown in FIG. 4, the robot arm 4 is advanced and inserted into the cassette case 3, and the wafer ring 1 is clamped by the chuck 5. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5, the wafer ring 1 is pulled out from the cassette case 3 until a part of the linear portions 1a, 1a located on the left and right sides of the wafer ring 1 is exposed to the outside of the drawer port 3a. The drawing position is set so that one end of the wafer ring 1 is not separated from the shelf 3b of the cassette case 3. Thus, even if the chuck 5 is released at the drawing position, the one end of the wafer ring 1 is placed on the shelf. The wafer ring 1 is supported by the plate 3b (support part) and the other end part is supported by the horizontal surface 6b of the jaw part 6 of the chuck 5 so that the wafer ring 1 does not fall down.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, while the chuck 5 of the robot arm 4 is released and the wafer ring 1 is pushed into the cassette case 3 by the vertical surface 6a of the jaw 6, the left and right linear portions 1a and 1a of the wafer ring 1 are moved. Centering members 7 and 7 are brought into contact with each other. As a result, the wafer ring 1 can be centered, and at the same time, the direction of the wafer ring 1 can be corrected by rotating the left and right linear portions 1a, 1a in a parallel posture along the pushing direction of the wafer ring 1. . At this time, the centering members 7 and 7 are in contact with the straight portions 1a and 1a while sliding, so that a large load is not applied to the robot arm 4.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the centering members 7, 7 are retracted to their original positions, and the wafer ring 1 is again gripped by the chuck 5 of the robot arm 4 and pulled out from the cassette case 3. Thereafter, the robot arm 4 is transported to the stage in the processing area of the breaking device and seated at the mounting position.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even when the position and orientation of the wafer ring 1 are separately mounted in the cassette case 3, in the process of being pulled out from the cassette case 3 by the robot arm 4 and transported to the stage in the processing area, All wafer rings 1 are centered uniformly and can be accurately seated at a predetermined position on the stage, which eliminates the need for positioning work on the stage or makes fine adjustments even when positioning is performed. You will be able to do just that. In addition, while the wafer ring 1 seated on the stage in the processing area is being processed such as scribe or break, the next wafer ring 1 is taken out from the cassette case 3 in parallel and placed in a standby state. Therefore, the time required for positioning can be shortened, and the total work time can be shortened.

  While typical examples of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above embodiment, the semiconductor wafer W is stored in the cassette case 3 so that the semiconductor wafer W faces upward. However, the semiconductor wafer W may be stored facing downward. Further, the semiconductor wafer W held on the wafer ring 1 is not necessarily limited to a circular one but may be a quadrangle. The wafer ring 1 itself is not limited to a circle as long as it has left and right straight portions 1a, 1a necessary for centering. Although the said embodiment is a cutting device, the process using a wafer ring other than this may be sufficient. Others The present invention can be appropriately modified and changed within the scope of achieving the object and without departing from the scope of the claims.

  The present invention is used in a manufacturing process using a wafer ring.

W Semiconductor wafer 1 Wafer ring 1a Left and right straight portions 2 Sheet 3 Cassette case 3a Cassette case outlet (opening)
3b Cassette case shelf 4 Robot arm 5 Robot arm chuck 6 Robot arm jaw 6a Jaw vertical surface 6b Jaw horizontal surface

Claims (1)

A wafer ring in which a pair of linear portions that are parallel to each other is formed on the left and right outer edge portions is stored in a cassette case, and a substrate to be processed that is adhered to an adhesive sheet is held on the wafer ring via the adhesive sheet. ,
A wafer ring alignment mechanism used when taking out the wafer ring from the opening of the cassette case and transporting it to the processing area together with the substrate,
A robot arm that pulls out the wafer ring from the cassette case and transports it to a processing area;
The left and right centering members disposed so as to be in contact with and separated from the left and right linear portions of the wafer ring partially pulled out from the cassette case on the left and right sides near the opening of the cassette case,
The robot arm includes a chuck for detachably holding the wafer ring, and a jaw for pushing the wafer ring toward the cassette case while supporting the wafer ring so as not to drop off when the chuck is released. Using the characteristic wafer ring alignment mechanism ,
A first procedure of grasping the wafer ring with the chuck of the robot arm and pulling out the wafer ring from the cassette case to a position where a part of the left and right linear portions of the wafer ring is exposed outside the drawer opening of the cassette case;
Next, the chucking is released and the robot arm is pushed into the cassette case while supporting the wafer ring so that it does not fall off, and at the same time, a centering member is brought into contact with the left and right linear portions of the wafer ring so A second procedure for making adjustments;
Next, a wafer ring alignment method comprising: a third step of retracting the centering member to the original position, holding the wafer ring again by the chuck of the robot arm, pulling it out from the cassette case, and transporting it to the processing area .

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