JP5846956B2 - Air gun device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air gun apparatus attached to a processing apparatus such as a cutting apparatus for processing a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer.

  In semiconductor device manufacturing processes and various electronic component manufacturing processes, an ultra-thin cutting blade called a dicing saw is rotated at a high speed, and the workpiece is applied to individual products and chips while sprinkling cutting water with nozzles arranged around it. A cutting device for dividing is indispensable.

  In cutting with a cutting device, it is important to perform cutting while supplying cutting water, and the cutting waste generated by cutting is washed so that it does not adhere to the surface of the workpiece, or the heat generated by the processing is removed. There is an object of cooling, and cutting water is supplied to the cutting blade and the workpiece (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-187849).

  In addition, semiconductor devices and electronic components are becoming more and more miniaturized and highly functional on a daily basis, and accordingly, they are very sensitive to electrostatic breakdown. Therefore, the removal of static electricity in the manufacturing process is a very important item, and measures may be taken even in the division process with a dicing saw.

  In cutting a workpiece with a dicing saw, for example, a large amount of static electricity tends to be generated when the workpiece fixed on a dicing tape is peeled off from the suction holding surface of the chuck table.

  In order to quickly neutralize such static electricity, a technique is known in which an ionizer is disposed at a predetermined position of the apparatus and ionized air is sprayed onto the workpiece to quickly eliminate the static electricity (see, for example, JP-A-2002-66865). ).

  However, many ionizers discharge high-voltage current through the electrode needle, create a large amount of ions using corona discharge generated from the electrode needle, discharge the ions on the air, and adjust the static ion balance to eliminate static electricity. The method of doing is adopted.

  In this case, since ions are produced by the electrode needle, a normal ionizer cannot be used in an environment where water droplets adhere to the electrode needle. In the dicing saw, since the ionizer could not be installed in the machining chamber for machining with the cutting fluid, the ionizer was installed at a position through which the workpiece in which water droplets were removed after machining passed.

  However, it is highly possible that water droplets will adhere to the electrode needles of the ionizer in and around the machining area where cutting is performed while supplying a large amount of liquid. For safety reasons, the ionizer cannot be installed around the machining area. When the work piece bonded to the dicing tape after cutting was peeled from the suction surface of the porous chuck table, static electricity was generated.

  As a countermeasure, in a dicing saw equipped with a transport mechanism, the transport mechanism can be connected to the ground, and the suction pad of the transport mechanism that sucks the frame can also be used to quickly release the charge during peeling. I can do it.

JP 2006-187849 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-66865

  However, some dicing saws have a so-called manual type that does not have a conveyance mechanism. When an operator directly peels a workpiece from a chuck table, a conventional static elimination mechanism cannot be used.

  In addition, since the manual type dicing saw does not have a cleaning and conveying mechanism in the apparatus, high pressure air is ejected from the air gun after cutting to remove droplets on the upper surface of the workpiece. It has become necessary to consider electrostatic countermeasures against static electricity generated between the air to be applied and the upper surface of the workpiece.

  The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air gun device that can easily eject ionized air even in a place where the liquid is used to remove the liquid and discharge static electricity. It is to be.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an air gun device for ejecting a gas attached to a processing device for processing a workpiece by a processing means while supplying a processing liquid, wherein the gas supply passage communicates with a gas supply source via an electromagnetic valve. And an ion generator connected to a power source through a circuit opening / closing means and emitting ions generated by using a high-voltage current from the power source together with the gas supplied from the gas supply path, and the ion generation A housing that accommodates the device, a flexible tube that is at least antistatic treated to eject the gas carrying the ions emitted from the nozzle, and an operator disposed at the distal end of the flexible tube And a switch for simultaneously opening and closing the electromagnetic valve and the circuit opening / closing means disposed in the gripping portion, and the flexible chip is provided from the nozzle of the ion generator. The distance to the tip of the probe is set to such a length that the effect of ions is maintained, and it is possible to start and stop the gas supply and the ion generation simultaneously by operating the switch. An air gun device is provided.

  According to the air gun device of the present invention, since the ionized air from the ion generator accommodated in the housing is ejected through the flexible tube having the gripping portion, the electrode is not exposed and the electrode is short-circuited by the droplet. Thus, ionized air is easily ejected even in a place where a liquid is used, thereby eliminating static electricity and removing droplets.

  In addition, since the on / off of the ion generator and the on / off of the high-pressure air supply can be controlled simultaneously by a switch arranged on the gripping part, the workability is good and only the required amount of air can be used, resulting in a high energy saving effect. .

It is a perspective view of the cutting device with which the air gun device of the present invention was attached to the front of the case. It is explanatory drawing of the air gun apparatus which concerns on this invention embodiment of the state which is not ejecting ionized air. It is explanatory drawing of the air gun apparatus of the state which is ejecting ionized air.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a manual type cutting device 2 in which an air gun device 25 according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to the front surface of an exterior cover 22 is shown.

  The cutting device 2 includes a processing region 4 disposed on the left side toward the cutting device 2 and a carry-in / out region 6 disposed on the right side. A display monitor 8 having a touch panel function is disposed above the processing area 4.

  The processing area 4 and the carry-in / out area 6 are partitioned by a plate-shaped partition wall 10. A gate 12 is formed below the partition wall 10 to connect the processing region 4 and the carry-in / out region 6, and the chuck table (not shown) is moved through the gate 12 to be held on the chuck table. The workpiece such as the semiconductor wafer thus moved is moved between the processing region 4 and the loading / unloading region 6.

  In the machining area 4, a cutting unit 14 having a cutting blade 16 attached to the tip of a spindle that is rotationally driven is disposed. The processing area 4 includes a partition wall 10 disposed on the right side, a plate-shaped partition wall 18 disposed on the rear side of the cutting unit 14 toward the cutting device 2, an upper surface partition wall portion 20a, and a left partition wall. By being surrounded by a protective cover 20 having a portion 20b and a front partition wall portion 20c, the space is defined as a closed space. Preferably, the protective cover 20 is formed of a transparent body such as an acrylic resin whose inside can be visually confirmed.

  The outer periphery of the cutting device 2 is covered with an exterior cover 22, and a normal air gun 24 is detachably disposed on the front side of the exterior cover 22, and the grip portion of the air gun device 25 according to the embodiment of the present invention. 44 is detachably mounted by a hook 45.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the air gun device 25 includes an ion generator 26 housed in a housing 28. The housing 28 is fixed to the front surface of the exterior cover 22 of the cutting device 2 by a plurality of screws 29. As the ion generator 26, for example, an ionizer manufactured by SMC Corporation, a trade name “nozzle type IZL10 series” can be used.

  The ion generator 26 is connected to a gas supply source 34 such as a compressed air source via a gas supply path 30 and an electromagnetic valve 32. The ion generator 26 is further connected to a power source 36 through circuit switching means 38 such as a relay contact. The electromagnetic valve 32 is also connected to the power source 36 via the circuit opening / closing means 38.

  A flexible tube 42 is connected to the nozzle 40 of the ion generator 26. Preferably, the flexible tube 42 is formed from an antistatic material. As an alternative, the surface of the flexible tube 42 may be subjected to antistatic treatment.

  A grip 44 that is gripped by an operator is disposed at the distal end of the flexible tube 42. The grip 44 is provided with a switch 46 for turning on / off the circuit opening / closing means 38 such as a relay contact.

  The distance from the nozzle 40 of the ion generator 26 to the tip 42a of the flexible tube 42 is set to such a length that the effect of ions is maintained. Preferably, this length is 500 mm or less.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the cutting device 2 provided with the air gun device 25 of the present invention will be described. The cutting device 2 is a manual type cutting device in which an operator manually mounts a workpiece on a chuck table.

  When cutting a workpiece such as a wafer, the workpiece is attached to a dicing tape, and the outer peripheral portion of the dicing tape is put into the cutting device 2 in a state of being attached to the annular frame.

  In carrying out the cutting of the workpiece, the operator opens the protective cover 20 and places the workpiece on the chuck table positioned in the carry-in / out area 6, and the workpiece is diced by the chuck table. The annular frame is clamped and fixed by a clamp.

  By feeding the chuck table, the workpiece is moved to the machining area 4 via the gate 12, and the workpiece is cut by the cutting blade 16 that rotates at high speed while supplying cutting water in the machining area 4. To do.

  When the cutting process is completed, the chuck table is returned to the carry-in / out area 6 and the air gun 24 is removed from the outer cover 22, and high-pressure air is jetted from the air gun 24 onto the workpiece and the annular frame held by the chuck table. Remove droplets on top of workpiece.

  Static electricity is generated by friction generated between air blown at high speed during air blow and the upper surface of the workpiece. Furthermore, static electricity is generated when the workpiece is peeled from the chuck table.

  Therefore, in the cutting apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment, the workpiece from which the droplets on the surface side have been removed by the air gun 24 is peeled off from the chuck table, and then the annular frame that supports the workpiece is held with one hand. On the other hand, the air gun device 25 according to the embodiment of the present invention is removed from the hook 45, and the operator pushes the switch 46 in a state where the operator grips the grip portion 44, thereby closing the circuit opening / closing means 38 as shown in FIG.

  As a result, the ion generator 26 and the electromagnetic valve 32 are simultaneously turned on, high-pressure air is supplied from the gas supply source 34 to the ion generator 26, and ions are generated by corona discharge with the electrode needles of the ion generator 26. .

  Note that the voltage applied to the electrode needle of the ion generator 26 is about 2500 V, and air is ionized by this high voltage, and positive ions and negative ions are generated in a balanced state.

  The generated mixed fluid of the ions 48 and the high-pressure air is ejected from the tip 42a toward the workpiece as the ionized air 50 through the flexible tube 42, and neutralizes the surface of the workpiece by neutralizing the static electricity. By ejecting ionized air to the back side of the workpiece, the droplets on the back side of the workpiece are removed and static electricity is removed.

  While the switch 46 is being pressed, the ionized air 50 is ejected from the tip 42a of the flexible tube 42, and the ejection stops when the switch 46 is released. Since the ion generator 26 is accommodated in the housing 28, it is completely shielded from the droplets.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the contact point of the relay operated by the switch 46 is used as the circuit opening / closing means 38. However, the ion generator 26 is turned on / off and the electromagnetic valve 32 is turned on using a software wafer. / Off may be controlled simultaneously.

  In the above-described embodiment, after the cutting process is finished, the high-pressure air is ejected from the air gun 24 to the work piece and the annular frame held by the chuck table, and the liquid droplets on the work piece upper surface are removed. Instead of using the air gun 24, the air gun device 25 may be used to eject droplets on the workpiece upper surface by ejecting the ionized air 50 to the workpiece and the annular frame held by the chuck table. Good.

  By using the air gun device 25, static electricity due to friction generated between the ionized air 50 sprayed at a high speed and the upper surface of the workpiece can be suppressed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the continuous injection type air gun has been described as the air gun device 25. However, the ion generator 26 may be incorporated in an intermittent injection type air gun device that vibrates dust. In this intermittent injection type air gun device, the amount of air used can be reduced, and an effective and efficient dust removal function can be exhibited.

2 Cutting device 4 Processing region 6 Carrying in / out region 10 Partition wall 12 Gate 14 Cutting unit 16 Cutting blade 20 Protective cover 22 Exterior cover 24 Air gun 25 Air gun device 26 Ion generator 28 Housing 32 Electromagnetic valve 34 Gas supply source 36 Power source 38 Circuit Opening and closing means 40 Nozzle 42 Flexible tube 44 Grip part 46 Switch 48 Ion 50 Ionized air

Claims (2)

An air gun device that ejects gas attached to a processing device that processes a workpiece with a processing means while supplying a processing fluid,
A gas supply path communicating with the gas supply source via a solenoid valve;
An ion generator connected to a power source via a circuit opening / closing means and emitting ions generated using a high-voltage current from the power source together with the gas supplied from the gas supply path;
A housing that houses the ion generator;
At least an antistatic flexible tube that ejects the gas carrying the ions emitted from the nozzle from the tip;
A gripping part gripped by an operator disposed at the tip of the flexible tube;
A switch for simultaneously opening and closing the solenoid valve and the circuit opening and closing means disposed in the gripping portion;
The distance from the nozzle of the ion generator to the tip of the flexible tube is set to such a length that the effect of ions is maintained,
An air gun apparatus characterized in that the gas supply and the ion generation can be started and ended simultaneously by operating the switch.   The air gun apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a distance from the nozzle of the ion generating apparatus to a tip of the flexible tube is 500 mm or less.

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