JP6239364B2 - Vacuum chuck device, vertical precision processing machine equipped with the same, and dicing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum chuck device, a vertical precision processing machine including the vacuum chuck device, and a dicing apparatus.

  In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices such as IC and LSI, there is a process of grinding or cutting a semiconductor wafer by performing precise machining on the semiconductor wafer. On the surface of the semiconductor wafer, streets to be divided lines are formed in a lattice shape, and devices are respectively formed in a plurality of regions partitioned by these streets. The semiconductor wafer is ground to the desired thickness by grinding the back surface, and then cut along the street and divided into individual semiconductor devices.

  Depending on the semiconductor device, for example, in the semiconductor light emitting device, in order to reduce chromaticity unevenness, the surface of the wavelength conversion part of the semiconductor light emitting device is partially cut using an end mill to correct the chromaticity. (See Patent Document 1).

In the cutting process of a semiconductor wafer, the semiconductor wafer is processed in a state of being fixed to a vacuum chuck device installed on a table (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
In this type of vacuum chuck apparatus, an adsorption disk made of a porous body having innumerable fine holes is used. The semiconductor wafer is fixed to the suction disk by evacuation while being adhered to the dicing tape, and is also fixed by an annular ring frame for transporting the semiconductor that is attracted by a magnet embedded in the chuck body.

  The vacuum chuck device is provided with push-up pins for removing the semiconductor wafer from the chuck body together with the ring frame when the processing of the semiconductor wafer is completed. After the processing of the semiconductor wafer is completed, when the push-up pin is raised, the ring frame is lifted from the chucking surface of the chuck body, and the semiconductor wafer can be taken out together with the ring frame.

  In a precision processing apparatus used for semiconductor device cutting, automation is progressing, and setting and taking out of a semiconductor wafer to and from a vacuum chuck apparatus is an automated process by a robot. The semiconductor wafer is handled by the robot in a state where the semiconductor wafer and the ring frame are adhered to the dicing tape.

JP 2012-234966 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-7414

  However, when the ring frame is pushed up with push-up pins in order to take out the semiconductor wafer from the vacuum chuck device after the processing is finished, there are the following problems.

  The magnets embedded in the ring frame and the chuck body are attracted to each other even after the vacuuming is stopped after the processing is completed. For this reason, when the ring frame is pushed up by the push-up pin, the force that pulls down by the magnetic force of the magnet and the force that the push-up pin lifts up simultaneously act on the ring frame.

  When the ring frame is pushed up by the push-up pin and moves away from the chucking surface of the chuck body, a phenomenon may occur in which the ring frame jumps due to vibration or the position of the ring frame shifts at that moment.

  When the semiconductor wafer is taken out by the robot, the position of the ring frame supported by the push-up pins needs to be at a predetermined fixed position. If the position of the ring frame is deviated, the position for placing the ring frame on the robot hand is deviated, which may hinder the transfer operation. For example, the wafer carrier that stores the processed semiconductor wafer may not enter.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and when the ring frame adhered to the dicing tape together with the semiconductor wafer is pushed up from the vacuum chuck device by the push-up pin, the ring frame jumps or moves. Provided are a vacuum chuck device that can smoothly push up a semiconductor wafer without deviation, and that can be reliably transported after processing by a robot, and a vertical precision processing machine equipped with the vacuum chuck device and a dicing device. There is.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vacuum chuck apparatus for fixing a work attached to an adhesive tape attached to an iron ring ring frame by evacuation. An adsorbing plate that adsorbs, a chuck body in which the adsorbing plate is mounted coaxially, and a plurality of magnets that fix the ring frame are embedded in the outer periphery; and a plurality of members that push up the ring frame against the magnetic force of the magnets A ring frame push-up means comprising a push-up pin and an actuator that drives the push-up pin, and a vacuum pad that vacuum- sucks the ring frame that is attracted by the magnet is provided at the upper end of the push-up pin. It is characterized by that.

It is a perspective view which shows the vertical precision processing machine by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the vacuum chuck apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the semiconductor wafer and ring frame which are mounted in the vacuum chuck apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where a ring frame is lifted in the vacuum chuck device of FIG. 2. It is a cross-sectional view of the chuck body of the vacuum chuck device of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the dicing apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vacuum chuck device and a vertical precision processing machine and a dicing device provided with the vacuum chuck device according to the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First embodiment
FIG. 1 shows a vertical precision processing machine to which a vacuum chuck device of the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 indicates a bed. A table 12 is installed on the bed 10 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction along the guide surface. Reference numeral 14 indicates the entire column. In the case of this vertical precision processing machine, the column 14 is a gate-shaped column and includes a cross rail 16 that extends horizontally.

  A saddle 18 is installed on the upper surface of the cross rail 16 so as to be movable in the left-right direction along the guide surface. A spindle head 20 is held on the saddle 18 so as to be movable in the vertical direction, and a spindle 22 is provided on the spindle head 20. An end mill 24 is attached to the main shaft as a tool.

  The vertical precision processing machine of this embodiment is a machine that performs ultra-precise processing on the order of submicrons or nanometers with an end mill 24 on a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer. The main shaft 22 is supported by an air bearing and can rotate at high speed.

  In such a vertical precision processing machine, the Y-axis is an axis that controls the movement of the saddle 18, the X-axis is an axis that controls the movement of the table 12, and the X-axis and the Y-axis are on the horizontal plane of the tool. Perform positioning. The Z axis is an axis for positioning the main shaft 22 in the vertical direction, and mainly controls the cutting amount of the tool. The C-axis is an axis for rotating or indexing a vacuum chuck device described below.

  The vacuum chuck device of the present embodiment is a device that fixes a semiconductor wafer as a work by vacuum suction, and is installed on a table 12. Hereinafter, the configuration of the vacuum chuck device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Here, FIG. 2 shows the vacuum chuck device 60 in a state where no semiconductor wafer is placed. FIG. 3 shows the vacuum chuck device 60 in a state where the semiconductor wafer 100 is placed using a dicing tape 102 and a ring frame 104 which are adhesive tapes. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the semiconductor wafer 100 is pushed up from the vacuum chuck device 60 together with the ring frame 104 and separated from the suction surface. This is the state immediately after being placed on the vacuum chuck device 60 or at the time of removal after processing.

  The semiconductor wafer 100 is attached to the surface of the dicing tape 102. An iron ring frame 104 having an inner diameter larger than that of the semiconductor wafer 100 is attached to the surface of the same dicing tape 102. In this way, the semiconductor wafer 100 is conveyed as a set with the dicing tape 102 and the ring frame 104, and is taken out.

  The vacuum chuck device 60 includes, as main components, a suction plate 62 that sucks the semiconductor wafer 100 by vacuuming, a chuck body 64 that holds the suction plate 62 concentrically, and a C axis that rotates and indexes the chuck body 64. And a rotary table 65.

  The suction disk 62 is formed in a disk shape from a porous material having innumerable pores. The suction disk 62 has a diameter sufficiently larger than the diameter of the semiconductor wafer 100. A magnet 66 is embedded in the outer peripheral portion of the chuck body 64 to which the suction plate 62 is fixed with a predetermined interval. These magnets 66 are magnets that fix the ring frame 104 made of iron to the chuck body 64 with a magnetic force.

  In the vacuum chuck device 60 of the present embodiment, the following ring frame push-up mechanism 70 is provided to remove the ring frame 104 from the chuck body 64 against the magnetic force.

  2 to 4, reference numerals 72 </ b> A and 72 </ b> B are air cylinders that operate the ring frame push-up mechanism 70. The air cylinders 72 </ b> A and 72 </ b> B are disposed on both sides of the vacuum chuck device 60. Among these, the support plate 74 is attached to the rod 73 of the air cylinder 72 </ b> A, and the push-up pin 75 is supported via the support plate 74.

  In the other air cylinder 72B, a support plate 76 having a curved shape along the circumferential direction of the chuck body 64 is attached to the tip of a rod 77, and push-up pins 75 are provided at two positions on both ends of the support plate 76. Has been placed. A total of three push-up pins 75 are simultaneously pushed up by the air cylinders 72 </ b> A and 72 </ b> B and protrude from the cutout holes 79, 80 and 81 formed in the outer peripheral portion of the chuck main body 64 to the upper surface of the chuck main body 64. Can be pushed up.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a vacuum drawing hole 84 is formed at the center of the chuck body 64. A vacuum passage connected to the vacuum suction hole 84 is formed inside the vacuum chuck device 60 so that the suction force of the semiconductor wafer 100 is generated on the porous suction disk 62 by the negative pressure of the vacuum passage. It has become.

  In the vacuum chuck device 60 of this embodiment, a vacuum pad 82 is attached to the upper end portion of the push-up pin 75. The upper end surface of the vacuum pad 82 is a suction surface that sucks the ring frame 104 by the negative pressure of the vacuum circuit.

  The vacuum chuck device according to the present embodiment is configured as described above. Next, its operation and effect will be described.

  A semiconductor wafer 100 is attached to the surface of the dicing tape 102, and a ring frame 104 is attached to the surface of the same dicing tape 102. In this state, the semiconductor wafer 100 is placed on a robot hand (not shown) and set on the chuck body 64 of the vacuum chuck device 60. Thereafter, a negative pressure is applied to the suction plate 62, and the semiconductor wafer 100 is fixed in a state of being sucked by the suction plate 62.

  In the precision processing machine of this embodiment, ultra-precision processing is performed using the end mill 24 to cut the surface of the semiconductor wafer 100 with submicron or nanometer order while flowing pure water.

  When the processing of the semiconductor wafer 100 is completed, the chuck main body 64 on which the semiconductor wafer 100 is placed is rotated at a high speed by driving the C axis, and water attached to the semiconductor wafer 100 is drained.

  In the vacuum chuck device 60 of the present embodiment, the semiconductor wafer 100 is vacuum-sucked by the suction disk 62 and the ring frame 104 is fixed by the magnet 66 embedded in the outer periphery of the chuck body 64. 64 has a structure with a good rotation balance, enabling efficient draining by high-speed rotation. When draining of the semiconductor wafer 100 is completed, the chuck body 64 stops.

  Thereafter, in the vacuum chuck device 60, the vacuum suction by the suction disk 62 is released, and at the same time, the ring frame 104 is pushed up as follows.

  The air cylinders 72A and 72B are operated, and the three push-up pins 75 are simultaneously raised. At this time, a vacuum is applied to the vacuum pad 82 provided on the push-up pin 75. The ring frame 104 is pushed up by these push-up pins 75 while being attracted to the vacuum pad 82. At this time, the ring frame 104 is applied with a force pushed up by the push-up pin 75 while being attracted to the magnet 66.

  Further, when pushed up by the push-up pin 75, the ring frame 104 is separated from the chuck main body 64. However, the ring frame 104 is attracted to the vacuum pad 82 and held by the push-up pin 75, and the chuck main body is held. Therefore, the ring frame 104 and the semiconductor wafer 100 can be lifted from the chuck body 64 while maintaining the positions of the ring frame 104 and the semiconductor wafer 100 without causing any vibration or jumping by reaction at the moment of separation.

  Next, a robot hand (not shown) enters the ring frame 104 and the semiconductor wafer 100 supported at three points by the push-up pins 75 and picks them up from the bottom. As described above, since there is no deviation in the relative position between the ring frame 104 and the push-up pins 75, the semiconductor wafer 100 can be always placed on the regular position on the hand together with the ring frame 104. As a result, the robot can reliably store the semiconductor wafer 100 in the wafer carrier.

  When automating sub-micron or nanometer-order ultra-precision processing on a semiconductor wafer 100 with a vertical precision processing machine, conventionally, when the ring frame 104 is taken out from the vacuum chuck device 60, it is caused by a reaction when leaving the chuck body 64. The position of the semiconductor wafer 100 is displaced due to vibration, and there is a problem that the semiconductor wafer 100 does not enter when it is placed on the robot hand and stored in the wafer carrier. However, according to the present embodiment, such a problem is solved, and the vertical precision is eliminated. It is possible to smoothly perform ultra-precision processing of a semiconductor wafer by a processing machine.

Second embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the second embodiment, the semiconductor wafer is cut along a street formed in a lattice shape on the surface of the semiconductor wafer, for example, with a cutting blade having a cutting edge with a thickness of about 20 to 40 μm, and individual semiconductors are cut. This is an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a dicing apparatus called a slicer that divides.

  A prismatic column 52 is installed on the bed 50. In the dicing apparatus of this embodiment, the column 52 can be moved in the front-rear direction by a feed mechanism (not shown). A spindle unit 54 is attached to the side surface of the column 52 in a horizontal posture via a lifting platform 53 that moves up and down. The main shaft unit 54 is provided with a main shaft 55.

  In the dicing apparatus of this embodiment, the main shaft 55 is supported by an air bearing, and can be rotated at a high speed. A cutting blade 56 is attached to the main shaft 55 as a tool.

  Further, a table 58 is installed on the bed 50 so as to be movable in the left-right direction along the guide surface, and a vacuum chuck device 60 for placing and fixing a work on the table 58 is installed. This vacuum chuck device is the same as the vacuum chuck device 60 of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In such a dicing apparatus, the X-axis is an axis that controls the movement of the table 58, the Y-axis is an axis that controls the movement of the column 52, and the X-axis and the Y-axis position the cutting blade on the horizontal plane. Do. The Z axis is an axis for positioning the main shaft 55 in the vertical direction, and mainly controls the cutting amount of the cutting blade. The C axis is a control axis for rotating and indexing the vacuum chuck device 60.

  In the dicing apparatus according to the present embodiment, a process of cutting along a grid-like street while flowing pure water through the semiconductor wafer 100 fixed to the vacuum chuck device 60 by the cutting blade 56 is performed.

  When the processing of the semiconductor wafer 100 is completed, the chuck main body 64 on which the semiconductor wafer 100 is placed is rotated at a high speed by driving the C axis, and water attached to the semiconductor wafer 100 is drained.

  In the vacuum chuck device 60, when draining is completed, the vacuum suction by the suction disk 62 is released and the ring frame 104 is pushed up at the same time.

  Similarly to the first embodiment, the ring frame 104 is attracted to the vacuum pad 82 and is held by the push-up pin 75 and is separated from the chuck main body 64. The ring frame 104 and the semiconductor wafer 100 can be lifted from the chuck main body 64 while maintaining the positions of the ring frame 104 and the semiconductor wafer 100 without causing vibration or shaking. Thus, the processed semiconductor wafer 100 can be placed on the robot hand and securely stored in the wafer carrier.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Bed, 12 ... Table, 14 ... Column, 16 ... Cross rail, 18 ... Saddle, 22 ... Main shaft, 24 ... End mill, 56 ... Cutting blade, 60 ... Vacuum chuck device, 62 ... Suction disk, 64 ... Chuck body, 65 ... Rotary table, 66 ... Magnet, 70 ... Ring frame push-up mechanism, 72A, 72B ... Air cylinder, 74 ... Support plate, 75 ... Push-up pin, 76 ... Support plate, 82 ... Vacuum pad, 84 ... Vacuum drawing hole, 100 ... Semiconductor wafer, 102 ... Dicing tape, 104 ... Ring frame

Claims (5)

In a vacuum chuck device that fixes a workpiece attached to an adhesive tape attached to an iron ring ring frame by vacuuming,
A suction disk made of a porous material and vacuum-sucking the workpiece;
A chuck body in which the suction plate is coaxially mounted and a plurality of magnets for fixing the ring frame are embedded in an outer peripheral portion;
A plurality of push-up pins that push up the ring frame against the magnetic force of the magnet, and a ring frame push-up means comprising an actuator that drives the push-up pins,
A vacuum chuck device, wherein a vacuum pad for vacuum-sucking the ring frame that is attracted by the magnet is provided at an upper end portion of the push-up pin.   The vacuum chuck apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a C-axis that continuously rotates the chuck body and indexes the workpiece.   The vacuum chuck apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece is a semiconductor wafer. The spindle head that supports the spindle vertically is installed on the column so that it can move in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) and the horizontal direction (Y-axis direction), and the table on which the workpiece is placed can move in the front-rear direction (X-axis direction) In a vertical precision processing machine installed on a bed and cutting a semiconductor wafer as a workpiece with an end mill mounted on the spindle,
A vertical precision processing machine, wherein the table is provided with the vacuum chuck device according to claim 1, and the semiconductor wafer is detachably fixed by the vacuum chuck device. A horizontally supported main shaft is installed on a column so as to be movable in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction), and the column is installed on a bed so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (Y-axis direction). In a dicing apparatus that is installed on the bed so as to be movable in the left-right direction (X-axis direction) and cuts a semiconductor wafer as a workpiece along a street formed in a lattice shape on the surface by a cutting blade mounted on the main shaft ,
3. A dicing apparatus, wherein the table is provided with the vacuum chuck device according to claim 1 or 2, and the semiconductor wafer is detachably fixed by the vacuum chuck device.

Images