JP5758993B2 - Alignment apparatus and alignment method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an alignment apparatus and an alignment method, and more particularly, to an alignment apparatus including a suction rotation unit and an alignment method using the suction rotation unit.

  When performing precise processing on a substrate or the like, it is useful to perform alignment (position adjustment) of the substrate to be processed before processing. For example, dicing can be successfully performed by aligning a dicing tape as described in Patent Document 1 before dicing.

  There are several types of alignment devices for alignment. As one of them, the alignment object (for example, a substrate) is rotated, the position of the rotating alignment object is detected, and the alignment object is moved based on the difference between the target position and the detected position. Thus, there is an alignment apparatus that performs alignment.

  The alignment apparatus will be described in detail. In the alignment apparatus, first, a spin chuck adsorbs near the center of a substrate (alignment target), and the substrate is rotated. Then, the substrate is irradiated with light from the front surface side of the substrate, and light is detected on the back surface side to determine whether or not the substrate exists at the position where the light is irradiated. Since the substrate is rotating, the position of the entire substrate can be confirmed by continuously performing the above-described irradiation and detection of light. As described above, the alignment apparatus performs alignment by detecting the position of the substrate and moving the alignment object based on the difference between the target position and the detected position.

  However, in the above-described alignment apparatus, the alignment accuracy may decrease.

  That is, since the spin chuck normally adsorbs only the vicinity of the center of the alignment target object, deformation such as bending due to its own weight may occur in the outer peripheral portion of the alignment target object. In this case, since the position of the end of the alignment object is shifted with the deformation, the above-described alignment apparatus cannot accurately detect the position of the substrate. As a result, the alignment accuracy decreases.

  In particular, a substrate on which a dicing tape is affixed as described in Patent Document 1 is easily bent due to its own weight, and this problem becomes significant. Therefore, Patent Document 2 proposes providing a support means for supporting the outer peripheral portion of the dicing tape from the back side.

  However, since the support means of Patent Document 2 is in contact with the back surface of the dicing tape, there is a problem that friction acts when the alignment target object rotates, and a load is applied to the spin chuck, resulting in an increase in power consumption.

JP 2006-135272 A JP 2011-3837 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an alignment technique that suppresses deformation of an alignment target and performs high-precision alignment with a low load.

The alignment apparatus of the present invention includes a suction rotation means , a support means , and a position detection means . The suction rotation means rotates by sucking the bottom surface of the alignment object attached to the inner part of the dicing tape in the dicing tape held on the annular dicing frame at the outer periphery of the upper surface . The support means ejects the inert gas at a position different from the position where the adsorption rotation means is adsorbed, and supports the rotating alignment object by the ejected inert gas. The support means is arranged with nozzles for injecting an inert gas upward at positions facing four equally spaced locations on the bottom side of the dicing frame. The position detection means detects the position of the alignment object. The position detection means is arranged at a position intermediate between two adjacent nozzles among the four nozzles.

Further, the alignment method of the present invention is a suction rotating means for sucking and rotating the bottom surface of the alignment target object attached to the inner part of the dicing frame in the dicing tape held on the annular dicing frame at the outer periphery of the upper surface. When,
The support means for injecting the inert gas at a position different from the position where the adsorption rotating means is adsorbing, and supporting the rotating alignment target object by the inert gas, and is provided at four positions at equal intervals on the bottom side of the dicing frame Support means in which a nozzle for injecting an inert gas upward is disposed at a position opposite to
Position detecting means for detecting the position of the alignment object;
The position of the support means when rotating is lower by the height of the air layer formed between the bottom surface of the dicing tape and the inert gas ejected from the nozzle than the bottom surface of the dicing tape adsorbed by the adsorption rotation means. Elevating means for moving between a position at the time of conveyance further lower than a position at the time of rotation,
The support means in a state of being positioned in position during transportation by the elevating means, an adsorption step of adsorbing the bottom surface of the alignment target by the attraction rotating means, in a state of being positioned in a position at the time of rotating the support means by the elevating means Rotating the alignment target object by rotating the suction rotation means while ejecting an inert gas from the nozzle of the support means to support the alignment target object, and positioning the position of the rotating alignment target object A position detection step of detecting by the detection means, and a position adjustment step of moving the alignment object.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to support a portion of the alignment target object on which the suction rotation means is not attracted by the support means, and to suppress deformation such as bending due to the weight of the alignment target object in that portion. Further, since the support means supports the alignment object so as to be lifted by the jetted inert gas, there is almost no friction acting on the alignment object, and the load applied to the suction rotation means is reduced. Furthermore, the alignment target object can be prevented from being damaged due to the solid object coming into contact with the alignment target object.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the deformation | transformation of an alignment target object can be suppressed and highly accurate alignment can be performed with a low load.

It is sectional drawing which shows typically schematic structure of the alignment apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a schematic configuration of an alignment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are cross-sectional views schematically showing a schematic operation for conveying an alignment target object to the alignment apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows typically schematic structure of the spin chuck position adjustment part of the alignment apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an outline function of an alignment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  An alignment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The alignment apparatus 100 is an apparatus that performs alignment (position alignment) of the alignment target object 10. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a schematic configuration of the alignment apparatus 100. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a schematic configuration of an alignment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a schematic configuration of the alignment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 101 of the alignment apparatus 100 includes a spin chuck (suction rotation means) 110 that sucks and rotates the alignment target object 10.

  The casing 101 is also provided with a bridge 102 that is a structure that is a structure that supports the imaging unit 120. The imaging unit 120 constitutes a position detection unit of the alignment object 10 (strictly, the substrate 11) of the image recognition unit 156 of the main control unit 150 (not shown) provided in the housing 101. The image recognition unit 156 recognizes the image captured by the imaging unit 120 and detects the position of the alignment target object 10.

  The alignment apparatus 100 further includes a support portion (support means) 130 that supports the rotating alignment object 10 with an inert gas ejected at a position different from the position where the spin chuck 110 is adsorbed.

  Since the alignment apparatus 100 includes such a support portion 130, the alignment device 100 supports the outer peripheral portion of the rotating alignment target object 10 that is not attracted by the spin chuck 110, and the alignment target object 10 is bent by its own weight. Etc. can be suppressed. Thereby, the alignment apparatus 100 can avoid the fall of the precision in the position detection of the alignment target object 10 resulting from a deformation | transformation of the alignment target object, and can perform highly accurate alignment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an alignment target object 10 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a substrate 11 is attached to a dicing tape (film) 12 that is larger than the substrate 11. It is held by a dicing frame 13 which is a frame (see FIGS. 1 and 2 above). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, it is preferable that the support portion 130 supports at least a portion of the dicing tape 12 where the substrate 11 is not attached, and the dicing frame 13 presses the support portion. Accordingly, it is possible to support the dicing tape 12 that is flexible and easily deformed, and to suppress deformation of the alignment target object 10.

As described above, the alignment apparatus 100, the use of the imaging unit 120 and the image recognition unit 156 to the position detecting means, also the material of the position detection target der Ru board 11 is a silicon be a glass (In some cases, even a laminated substrate of glass and silicon) can be used. In addition, since the optical position is not detected, the dicing tape 12 may be an opaque material or color.

  The spin chuck 110 only needs to be capable of vacuum-sucking the alignment target object 10 by a mechanism such as a vacuum pump and rotating the suctioned alignment target object 10 in the in-plane direction of the suction surface. For example, a spin chuck composed of a general vacuum chuck and a motor can be used.

  The alignment apparatus 100 further includes a spin chuck position adjustment unit 111 that moves the spin chuck 110 in the in-plane direction of the suction surface. The alignment apparatus 100 aligns the alignment target object 10 to a target position by moving the spin chuck 110 by the spin chuck position adjusting unit 111 based on the position of the alignment target object 10 detected by the position detection unit.

  The support unit 130 supports the rotating alignment target object 10 with an inert gas ejected at a position different from the position where the spin chuck 110 is adsorbed.

  Such a support part 130 includes, for example, a nozzle 131 that ejects an inert gas to the alignment object 10 at the different positions, and the direction in which the inert gas is ejected from the nozzle 131 is opposite to the direction of gravity. It is preferable that As described above, the support unit 130 applies a force having a vector component in the direction opposite to the gravitational direction to the portion of the alignment target 10 that is not attracted by the spin chuck 110 by the inert gas ejected from the nozzle 131. In addition, deformation such as bending due to the weight of the alignment target object 10 in that portion can be suppressed.

  The shape of the nozzle 131 is not limited. Further, when a plurality of nozzles 131 are provided, the number and arrangement thereof are not limited. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the nozzles 131 have a box shape, and the number thereof is four. The four nozzles 131 are arranged outside the spin chuck 110 at intervals of 90 ° in the circumferential direction. On the upper surface of the nozzle 131, a number of minute ejection holes are provided at locations corresponding to the outer peripheral portion of the alignment object 10.

  The nozzle 131 is provided with a gas supply unit (not shown) 133. The gas supply unit 133 is, for example, a gas cylinder (not shown) that contains an inert gas, a gas pipe (not shown) that connects the gas cylinder and the nozzle 131 and supplies the inert gas discharged from the gas cylinder to the nozzle 131. ) And a flow rate regulator (not shown) for adjusting the flow rate of the inert gas flowing through the gas pipe. In addition, you may comprise a flow regulator with a solenoid valve. The gas supply unit 133 is configured to supply the inert gas to the nozzle 131 at a very high flow rate based on a command from the gas supply control unit 151 (see FIG. 5).

  The support unit 130 also includes an elevating stage 132 that moves the nozzle 131 in a direction away from and in contact with the alignment object 10. In the present embodiment, since the nozzle 131 is provided on the lifting stage 132, as the lifting stage 132 moves up and down, in the up and down direction, in other words, in the direction of separating from and contacting the alignment target object 10. Moving. The raising / lowering stage 132 can be comprised by a general electric stage etc., for example.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views for schematically explaining the operation of the elevating stage 132. The alignment object 10 is transported to the alignment apparatus 100 using the robot arm 50. The robot arm 50 holds the dicing frame 13 portion at the end of the alignment target object 10 with a sucker or the like, and conveys the alignment target object 10 from the processing apparatus in the previous process to the alignment apparatus 100.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 3A, if the position where the spin chuck 110 and the alignment target object 10 are in contact with the upper surface of the nozzle 131 are in the same plane (the same height), the alignment target object 10. When the deformation (such as the dicing tape 12) is bent due to its own weight, the alignment object 10 (the portion where the substrate 11 overlaps) may not be smoothly placed on the spin chuck 110. In this case, the alignment object 10 cannot be successfully attracted to the spin chuck 110.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3B, before the alignment object 10 is transported, the lifting stage 132 moves the nozzle 131 in a direction away from the alignment object 10, thereby causing the alignment object 10 ( Can be successfully adsorbed to the spin chuck 110.

  As described above, the lifting stage 132 moves in the direction in which the nozzle 131 moves away from or in contact with the alignment target object 10, so that the alignment target object 10 can be successfully transferred into the alignment apparatus 100.

  When the alignment target object 10 is transported into the alignment apparatus 100 and the spin chuck 110 is rotated while adsorbing the alignment target object 10, as shown in FIG. 1, the position where the spin chuck 110 and the alignment target object 10 are in contact with each other. It is preferable that the elevating stage 132 moves the nozzle 131 so that the upper surface of the nozzle 131 is slightly lower. This is because deformation due to the weight of the alignment target object 10 is eliminated by the air layer of the inert gas ejected from the nozzle 131, and the alignment target object 10 is held substantially horizontally.

  FIG. 4 is a top view schematically showing a schematic configuration of the spin chuck position adjusting unit 111. As the spin chuck position adjusting unit 111, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a tray 115 that supports the spin chuck 110, an L-shaped movable plate 114 that horizontally supports the tray 115, and the movable plate 114 are arranged on the surface of the suction surface. First linear moving means 112 that linearly moves in the first direction (x-axis direction) in the inward direction (direction along the paper surface), and second that moves the movable plate 114 in the second direction (y-axis direction). The structure provided with the linear movement means 113 is mentioned. According to such a spin chuck position adjusting unit 111, the movable plate 114 can be moved by linearly moving the movable plate 114 in the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction by the first linear moving unit 112 and the second linear moving unit 113. Synchronously, the spin chuck 110 supported by the tray 115 moves in the in-plane direction of the suction surface according to the movement distance.

  As described above, the position detection unit that detects the position of the alignment target object 10 includes the imaging unit 120 and the image recognition unit 156. The imaging unit 120 is provided on the bridge 102 and images the alignment object 10 from above.

  In the present embodiment, the imaging unit 120 images a region including the end portion of the substrate 11 of the alignment target object 10. The imaging unit 120 captures an angle detection mark such as an orientation flat provided on the substrate 11. The image recognizing unit 156 calculates a deviation and a rotation angle between the center of the alignment object 10 and the rotation center (that is, the rotation center of the spin chuck 110) based on the image captured by the imaging unit 120. Thereby, the position of the alignment target object 10 can be detected.

  A schematic operation of the alignment apparatus 100 will be described below. FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the schematic function of the alignment apparatus. As shown in FIG. 5, the main control unit 150 of the alignment apparatus 100 includes a gas supply control unit 151, an elevating stage control unit 152, a spin chuck control unit 154, and an image recognition unit 156.

  First, when the alignment object 10 is carried into the alignment apparatus 100, the spin chuck control unit 154 causes the alignment object 10 to be attracted to the spin chuck 110 and rotated. At this time, the gas supply control unit 151 controls the gas supply unit 133 so that the inert gas is supplied to the nozzle 131 as shown by the arrow 134 (see FIG. 1), and the arrow 135 (see FIG. Inert gas is spouted upward as shown in FIG. The outer peripheral part of the alignment target object 10 is supported by the jetted inert gas, and the alignment target object 10 is prevented from being deformed. Moreover, since the alignment target object 10 is supported so that it floats, there is almost no friction which acts on the alignment target object 10, and the load concerning the spin chuck 110 is reduced.

  Subsequently, the image recognition unit 156 images the substrate 11 by the imaging unit 120. The image recognizing unit 156 acquires an image captured by the image capturing unit 120 and calculates a difference between the position of the alignment target object 10 and the target position of alignment input in advance to the main control unit 150 based on the image. Then, information indicating the difference is transmitted to the spin chuck controller 154. The spin chuck control unit 154 controls the spin chuck 110 and the spin chuck position adjustment unit 111 so that the received difference is eliminated. As described above, the alignment apparatus 100 can perform alignment of the alignment target object 10.

  The main control unit 150 of the alignment apparatus 100 may be configured by hardware logic. Alternatively, it may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as follows.

  That is, the main control unit 150 includes a CPU such as an MPU that executes instructions of a program that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the program, and a RAM (Random Access) that expands the program into an executable format. Memory) and a storage device (storage medium) such as a memory for storing the program and various data.

  The object of the present invention is not limited to the case where the program is stored in the program memory of the main control unit 150, but the program code of the program (executable program, intermediate code program, or source program) is recorded. This can also be achieved by supplying a recording medium to the apparatus, and reading and executing the program code recorded on the recording medium.

  The above description of the embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments but by the claims. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

10-Alignment object 11-Substrate 12-Dicing tape (film)
13-Dicing frame 50-Robot arm 100-Alignment device 101-Case 102-Bridge 110-Spin chuck (adsorption rotation means)
111-spin chuck position adjustment unit 120-imaging unit 130-support unit (support means)
133-Gas supply unit 150-Main control unit 151-Gas supply control unit 152-Lifting stage control unit 154-Spin chuck control unit 156-Image recognition unit

Claims (3)

An adsorbing rotation means for adsorbing and rotating the bottom surface of the alignment object attached to the inner part of the dicing frame in the dicing tape held on the outer peripheral portion of the upper surface by the annular dicing frame ;
A support means for ejecting an inert gas at a position different from the position where the adsorption rotation means is adsorbed, and supporting the rotating alignment object by the inert gas ejected;
Position detecting means for detecting the position of the alignment object,
The support means is arranged with nozzles that eject the inert gas upward at positions facing four equally spaced locations on the bottom side of the dicing frame,
The said position detection means is the alignment apparatus arrange | positioned in the intermediate position of two adjacent nozzles among the said four said nozzles . The support means is lower than the bottom surface of the dicing tape adsorbed by the adsorption rotation means by the height of the air layer formed between the inert gas ejected from the nozzle and the bottom surface of the dicing tape. The alignment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an elevating unit that moves between a position at the time of rotation and a position at the time of conveyance further below the position at the time of rotation . An adsorbing rotation means for adsorbing and rotating the bottom surface of the alignment object attached to the inner part of the dicing frame in the dicing tape held on the outer peripheral portion of the upper surface by the annular dicing frame;
A support means for ejecting an inert gas at a position different from the position where the adsorption rotating means is adsorbed, and supporting the rotating alignment target by the inert gas being ejected, the bottom surface of the dicing frame Support means in which nozzles for injecting the inert gas upward are arranged at positions facing four equally spaced locations on the side;
Position detecting means for detecting the position of the alignment object;
The support means is lower than the bottom surface of the dicing tape adsorbed by the adsorption rotation means by the height of the air layer formed between the inert gas ejected from the nozzle and the bottom surface of the dicing tape. Elevating means for moving between the position at the time of rotation and the position at the time of conveyance further lower than the position at the time of rotation,
In a state of being positioned with said support means in position at the time of the conveyance by the elevating means, an adsorption step of adsorbing the bottom surface of the alignment target by the attraction rotating means,
With the support means positioned at the rotation position by the elevating means, the suction rotation means is rotated while jetting an inert gas from the nozzle of the support means to support the alignment object. A rotation step of rotating the alignment object;
A position detecting step of detecting the position of the rotating alignment object by the position detecting means ;
Alignment how; and a position adjustment step of moving the alignment object.

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