JP6665041B2 - Cutting equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cutting device for cutting a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer.

  In a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a plurality of regions are divided by scheduled dividing lines arranged in a grid on the surface of a semiconductor wafer having a substantially disc shape, and devices such as ICs and LSIs are formed in the divided regions. . Then, the semiconductor wafer is cut along the planned dividing line to divide the region in which the device is formed and is divided into individual semiconductor devices, and the divided semiconductor devices are used for electric devices such as mobile phones and personal computers. Is done.

  A cutting device that cuts a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer along a line to be divided includes a cassette mounting unit on which a cassette containing a plurality of workpieces is mounted, and a cutting device mounted on the cassette mounting unit. Unloading and loading means for unloading and loading the workpiece from the cassette, temporary placement means for temporarily placing the workpiece unloaded by the loading and unloading means, and the workpiece temporarily placed on the temporary placement means. A holding table for holding, a cutting means for cutting a workpiece held by the holding table, and a processing feed means for processing and feeding the holding table in a processing feed direction (X-axis direction) are provided. And, by providing the second cutting means rotatably provided with the first cutting blade rotatably provided with the first cutting blade rotatably as a cutting means, the workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer along the scheduled dividing line And can be efficiently cut and divided into individual devices (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-11-026402

  By the way, the above-mentioned cutting apparatus has a problem that a plurality of mechanisms for transporting a workpiece are particularly necessary, which complicates and increases the configuration of the entire apparatus, increases the number of parts, and increases the manufacturing cost. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and a main technical problem of the present invention is to provide a cutting device capable of reducing the manufacturing cost by reducing the number of parts and simplifying the configuration of the entire device. To provide.

  In order to solve the main technical problem, according to the present invention, there is provided a cutting device for cutting a workpiece, comprising: a cassette mounting unit on which a cassette containing a plurality of workpieces is mounted; Carrying-in / out means for carrying out and carrying-in the workpiece, temporary placing means for temporarily placing the workpiece carried out by the carrying-in / out means, and holding means for holding the workpiece transferred from the temporary placing means , A cutting means for cutting the workpiece held by the holding means, and a processing feed means for processing and feeding the holding means in the X-axis direction, wherein the processing feed means comprises: An X-axis guide rail movably supporting the cassette mounting means and an X-axis drive unit for moving the holding means along the X-axis guide rail, wherein the cassette mounting means and the temporary mounting means are in the Y-axis direction. And the carrying-in / out means is provided in the cassette. A gripping portion for gripping the accommodated workpiece, a pair of regulating members for regulating the workpiece to a predetermined position, a support base on which the gripping portion and the regulating member are provided, and a support base having Y A moving part that moves in the axial direction, the temporary placement means has a bottom part and a side part that extend in the Y-axis direction and support the workpiece, and the bottom part is configured to be openable and closable. A first support rail, and a bottom portion and a side portion which are disposed immediately below the first support rail, extend in the Y-axis direction, and support the workpiece, and the bottom portion is configured to be openable and closable. A pair of second support rails, and an elevating unit that raises and lowers the first support rail and the second support rail, wherein the X-axis guide rail is at least from immediately below the temporary placement unit. The holding means is disposed below the cutting means and is provided immediately below the first support rail and the second support rail. And the workpiece is unloaded from the cassette by the loading / unloading means and temporarily placed on the first support rails constituting the temporary placement means, and the first support rail is moved by the second support rail. A cutting device is provided for lowering with the rail to open the bottom of the first support rail and holding the workpiece on the holding means.

  Cleaning means provided with a spinner table for cleaning the workpiece in the Y-axis direction adjacent to the temporary mounting means and opposite to the cassette mounting means is provided, and the workpiece is disposed immediately above the cleaning means. A pair of auxiliary temporary placement means for temporary placement are provided, the auxiliary temporary placement means extending in the Y-axis direction and having a bottom portion and a side portion that support the workpiece and the bottom portion is configured to be openable and closable. A first auxiliary support rail, and a bottom portion and a side portion which are disposed immediately below the first auxiliary support rail, extend in the Y-axis direction, and support the workpiece, and the bottom portion is openable and closable. A pair of second auxiliary support rails, and an auxiliary elevating unit for vertically moving the first auxiliary support rail and the second auxiliary support rail, the auxiliary temporary placement means and the temporary placement means The workpiece can be delivered to and from the workpiece.

  The carrying-in / out means includes an auxiliary gripping portion for gripping a workpiece positioned on the auxiliary support rail in addition to the gripping portion, the first auxiliary support rail and the second auxiliary support in addition to the pair of regulating members. A pair of auxiliary regulating members for regulating the workpiece positioned on the support rail to a predetermined position, and the cut workpiece held by the holding means is positioned immediately below the temporary placement means. At this time, the second support rail with the bottom opened is lowered, the bottom is positioned below the cut work, and the bottom is closed to support the cut work and rise. Next, an unprocessed workpiece accommodated in a cassette is gripped by the gripping portion of the loading / unloading means, and the pair of auxiliary regulating members are supported by the temporary placement means. In the cassette while moving to the cleaning means side. The work piece is positioned on the first support rail and the cut work piece is positioned on the second auxiliary support rail, and then the second auxiliary support rail is moved by the auxiliary lift unit to the first auxiliary support rail. It is preferable that the workpiece is lowered together with the auxiliary support rail, and the bottom of the second auxiliary support rail is opened to hold the cut workpiece on the spinner table.

  After the cleaning of the workpiece by the cleaning means is completed, the auxiliary temporary placing means lowers the first auxiliary support rail together with the second auxiliary support rail by the auxiliary elevating unit, and the first auxiliary support means The bottom of the rail is opened, the bottom is positioned below the cleaned workpiece, and the rail is closed and the cleaned workpiece is supported by the first auxiliary support rail and lifted. Positioning the first support rail at a height position corresponding to the first auxiliary support rail by the elevating unit, and the carrying-in / out means is supported by the first auxiliary support rail by the auxiliary gripping unit; A configuration in which the cleaned workpiece is gripped and transported to the first support rail, and then the regulating member is positioned on the side surface of the cleaned workpiece, moved to the cassette side, and loaded into the cassette. Is preferably performed.

  The cleaning means includes a nozzle for spraying cleaning water above the spinner table, and the nozzle is configured to be selectively engageable with an engaging portion of a base of the loading / unloading means. It is preferable that it is configured to swing in the Y-axis direction with movement of the engaging portion of the base of the means, and to inject cutting water from at least the outer periphery of the workpiece to the center.

  A weight is connected to the nozzle of the washing means via a wire and a pulley, and a rod is mounted on the engaging portion of the base of the carrying-in / out means so as to be able to move forward and backward. It is preferable to be configured to swing in the Y-axis direction by contacting the nozzle from a direction opposite to the movement by the nozzle.

  The cutting means includes a first cutting means rotatably provided with a first cutting blade, a second cutting means rotatably provided with a second cutting blade, the first cutting blade and a second cutting blade. A Y-axis guide rail for supporting the first cutting means and the second cutting means so as to be indexable and feedable in a Y-axis direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction; It is preferable to include a first driving unit and a second driving unit that move the first cutting unit and the second cutting unit along.

  As described above, in the cutting device according to the present invention, the temporary placing means for temporarily placing the workpiece carried out by the carrying-in / out means extends in the Y-axis direction, and the bottom and the side support the workpiece. A pair of first support rails whose bottoms are configured to be openable and closable, and a bottom and side portions disposed immediately below the first support rails and extending in the Y-axis direction to support a workpiece. An elevating unit that raises and lowers the first support rail and the second support rail directly below a pair of second support rails having bottoms configured to be openable and closable; An X-axis guide rail for supporting the holding means for holding the workpiece transferred from the temporary placement means so as to be movable in the X-axis direction is provided from immediately below the temporary placement means to at least a region below the cutting means. And positioning the holding means immediately below the first support rail and the second support rail. At the same time, the workpiece is unloaded from the cassette by the loading / unloading means and temporarily placed on the first support rails constituting the temporary placement means, and the first support rail is lowered together with the second support rail. The bottom of the first support rail is opened to hold the workpiece on the holding means. Thereby, since the conveying means for conveying the workpiece is substantially constituted only by the carrying-in / out means, the number of parts is reduced, the cost is reduced, and the first support rail and the second With the support rails, it is possible to properly use the support rails that support the transfer between the clean work piece before processing or after washing and drying and the unwashed work piece after processing, so that contamination can occur. It is possible to prevent the unprocessed or cleaned and dried clean wafer from being indirectly contaminated by the workpiece.

1 is an overall perspective view of a cutting device configured according to the present invention. It is a principal part perspective view of the cutting device shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the cutting mechanism equipped with the cutting device shown in FIG. It is AA sectional drawing in FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of the carry-out / carry-in mechanism 7 shown in FIG. It is a principal part front view of the carrying out / in carrying-in mechanism shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a temporary placement mechanism and an auxiliary temporary placement mechanism that constitute the cutting device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 8 is a side view of the temporary placing mechanism shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a temporary placing mechanism that forms the cutting device shown in FIG. 1. It is a perspective view of the cleaning mechanism which comprises the cutting apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which a gripping member and a pair of regulating pins of the carry-out / carry-in mechanism are positioned at a standby position. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state in which an annular frame supporting a workpiece accommodated in a cassette positioned in a cassette mounting mechanism is gripped by a gripping member of an unloading / loading mechanism. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state in which a workpiece supported by an annular frame by a carry-out / carry-in mechanism is carried to a pair of first support rails of a temporary placing mechanism. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state where a workpiece supported on a ring-shaped frame via a dicing tape is placed on an upper surface of a holding table. It is a perspective view showing the state where a pair of 1st support rails of a temporary placing mechanism were raised and were located in an upper position. It is a perspective view showing the state where the cutting mechanism was arranged and the holding table which held the workpiece by suction was moved to the processing area. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where a holding table that holds a cut workpiece by suction is positioned at a workpiece attaching / detaching position. FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a state in which a pair of second support rails located on the lower side of the temporary placing mechanism are positioned at a lower position from the state shown in FIG. 16. FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the pair of second support rails of the temporary placing mechanism is positioned at an intermediate position slightly below the upper position from the state illustrated in FIG. 17. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a workpiece accommodated in a cassette mounted on a cassette mounting mechanism is gripped by a gripping portion of an unloading / loading mechanism. A new workpiece is positioned on the pair of first support rails of the temporary placing mechanism by the gripping portions of the carry-out / in mechanism, and a pair of second workpieces located on the lower side of the auxiliary temporary placing mechanism are placed on the cut workpiece. It is a perspective view showing the state where it was located in the auxiliary support rail. FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a state where a pair of second auxiliary support rails of the auxiliary temporary placing mechanism are positioned at a lower position from the state of FIG. 20; FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a state where the first and second support rails of the temporary placement mechanism and the first and second auxiliary support rails of the auxiliary temporary placement mechanism are positioned at the upper position from the state of FIG. 21, and a nozzle of the cleaning mechanism. It is a perspective view which shows the state which moves. FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing a state in which the carry-out and carry-in mechanism 7 is positioned at the standby position from the state shown in FIG. 22 and first and second auxiliary support rails constituting the auxiliary temporary placing mechanism are positioned at the lower position. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which a pair of first auxiliary support rails of an auxiliary temporary placing mechanism that supports a cleaned workpiece supported by an annular frame is positioned at an upper position. 24 shows a state in which the cleaned workpiece supported by the annular frame is moved from the state of FIG. 24 to the pair of first support rails of the temporary placement mechanism from the pair of first auxiliary support rails of the auxiliary temporary placement mechanism. It is a perspective view. FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing a state in which the pair of first support rails of the temporary placing mechanism is positioned at the intermediate position from the state of FIG. 26, and the gripping member and the pair of regulating pins of the unloading / loading mechanism are positioned at the standby position. FIG. 28 is a perspective view showing a state in which the carry-out / carry-in mechanism is operated from the state shown in FIG. 27 to accommodate the cleaned workpiece supported by the annular frame in the cassette.

  Hereinafter, a cutting device configured according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view (partially omitted) of a preferred embodiment of a cutting device configured according to the present invention. The cutting device in the illustrated embodiment includes a stationary base 2, a holding table mechanism 3 as a holding unit that is disposed on the stationary base 2 and holds a workpiece, and is held by the holding table mechanism 3. And a cutting mechanism 4 as cutting means for cutting the workpiece.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the holding table mechanism 3 includes two X-axis guides disposed on the stationary base 2 along a processing feed direction indicated by an arrow X (hereinafter, referred to as “X-axis direction”). Rails 31, a movable base 32 slidably disposed on the two X-axis guide rails 31, 31, and a cylindrical support member 33 disposed on the movable base 32 A holding table 34, which holds a workpiece rotatably supported on the table, and a moving base 32 on which the holding table 34 is disposed, are moved along two X-axis guide rails 31, 31 in the processing feed direction (X (In the axial direction). The holding table 34 includes a table body 341 rotatably supported by the cylindrical support member 33, and a suction chuck 342 disposed on the upper surface of the table body 341. The table body 341 is formed such that the outer diameter is larger than the outer diameter of a wafer as a workpiece to be described later and smaller than the inner diameter of an annular frame that supports the wafer via a dicing tape. The suction chuck 342 is formed of porous ceramics, is connected to suction means (not shown), and is adapted to apply a negative pressure as appropriate. Therefore, the workpiece placed on the suction chuck 342 is suction-held on the suction chuck 342 by operating a suction unit (not shown). Further, the holding table 34 is configured to be rotated by a pulse motor (not shown) provided in the cylindrical support member 33.

  The processing feed means 35 is provided between the two X-axis guide rails 31, 31 and extends in the X-axis direction. The X-axis linear rail 351 is movably fitted to the X-axis linear rail 351. It comprises an X-axis coil mover 352 mounted on the movable base 32 on which the holding table 34 is disposed. The X-axis linear rail 351 is formed, for example, by alternately joining N poles and S poles of a plurality of columnar permanent magnets to form an axis. The plurality of columnar permanent magnets formed of the axis is made of stainless steel. It is arranged and arranged in a cylindrical case made of a non-magnetic material of steel. The X-axis linear rail 351 thus configured has support members 353, 353 mounted on both ends thereof as shown in FIG. 2, and is attached to the stationary base 2 via the support members 353, 353. Can be The processing and feeding means 35 including the X-axis linear rail 351 and the X-axis coil mover 352 constitutes a so-called linear shaft motor. Thrust is generated repeatedly. Therefore, the direction in which the X-axis coil mover 352 moves along the X-axis linear rail 351 can be changed by changing the direction of the current applied to the X-axis coil mover 352. The processing and feeding means 35 configured as described above moves the movable base 32 on which the holding table 34 is disposed to the work attaching / detaching area and the cutting mechanism 4 which are located in a front area of a cassette 60 described later and shown in FIG. It is moved between the upper processing area and the processing area. Although the processing feed unit 35 in the illustrated embodiment has been described as an example configured by a so-called linear shaft motor, the configuration is not limited to this, and may be configured by, for example, a ball screw mechanism.

Next, the cutting mechanism 4 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the cutting mechanism 4 has a gate-shaped support frame 41 fixed on the stationary base 2. The gate-shaped support frame 41 connects the first pillar 411 and the second pillar 412 disposed at an interval with the upper ends of the first pillar 411 and the second pillar 412. And a support portion 413 arranged along an index feed direction (Y-axis direction) indicated by an arrow Y orthogonal to a machining feed direction indicated by an arrow X, and straddles the two X-axis guide rails 31, 31. It is arranged as follows. In the specification of the present application, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction orthogonal to each other form a horizontal plane, and the direction orthogonal to the X- and Y-axis directions and going in the vertical direction is Defined as Z-axis direction.

  In FIGS. 1 and 2, the first cutting means 5a and the second cutting means 5b are provided on the back side of the support portion 413 constituting the portal-type support frame 41 in FIGS. The first cutting means 5a and the second cutting means 5b will be described with reference to FIGS. Each of the first cutting means 5a and the second cutting means 5b includes an index feed moving base 51, a cutting moving base 52, and a spindle unit 53, respectively. The indexing moving base 51 of the first cutting means 5a and the indexing feed base 51 of the second cutting means 5b are respectively provided with two Y-axis guides provided on the left side surface of the support portion 413 in FIG. Guide grooves 511 and 511 that fit with the rails 413a and 413a are provided. By fitting the guide grooves 511 and 511 with the two Y-axis guide rails 413a and 413a, the indexing feed moving base is provided. 51 is configured to be movable along two Y-axis guide rails 413a, 413a. On one surface of the indexing and moving base 51 of the first cutting means 5a and the indexing and moving base 51 of the second cutting means 5b, there are provided recesses 513 in which indexing means, which will be described later, are provided. Is formed. Further, the other surfaces of the indexing moving base 51 of the first cutting means 5a and the indexing feed base 51 of the second cutting means 5b are respectively arranged along the cutting feed direction indicated by the arrow Z as shown in FIG. A pair of guide rails 512, 512 (only one guide rail is shown in FIG. 4).

  The cutting moving base 52 of the first cutting means 5a and the cutting feed moving base 52 of the second cutting means 5b are respectively supported portions 521 extending in the up-down direction and perpendicular to the lower end of the supported portions 521. It consists of a horizontally extending mounting part 522. As shown in FIG. 4, a guided groove 523 fitted on a pair of Z-axis guide rails 512 and 512 provided on the other surface of the indexing movable base 51 on a surface of the supported portion 521 on the side of the mounting portion 522. , 523 (only one guide groove is shown in FIG. 4), and the guided grooves 523, 523 are fitted into the two Z-axis guide rails 512, 512, so that the notches are formed. The moving base 52 is configured to be movable in the cutting and feeding direction indicated by the arrow Z along the two Z-axis guide rails 512 and 512. In this manner, the notch moving base 52 mounted on the indexing feed moving base 51 has a mounting portion 522 on a lower side of the supporting portion 413 constituting the portal type supporting frame 41 as shown in FIGS. It is arranged to protrude.

  The spindle unit 53 is mounted on the lower surface of a mounting portion 522 that forms the cutting base 52 of the first cutting means 5a and the second cutting means 5b. The spindle unit 53 of the first cutting means 5a and the spindle unit 53 of the second cutting means 5b are rotatably supported by the spindle housing 531 and the spindle housing 531 as shown in FIGS. The rotary spindle 532 includes a rotary spindle 532, a cutting blade 533 attached to one end of the rotary spindle 532, a cutting water supply pipe 534 for supplying cutting water, and a servomotor (not shown) for driving the rotary spindle 532 to rotate. Are arranged along the index feed direction indicated by the arrow Y. The cutting blade 533 forming the spindle unit 53 of the first cutting means 5a and the cutting blade 533 forming the spindle unit 53 of the second cutting means 5b are arranged to face each other.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first cutting means 5a and the second cutting means 5b in the illustrated embodiment move the indexing feed bases 51, 51 along two Y-axis guide rails 413a, 413a. An index feed unit 54 for moving in the index feed direction (Y-axis direction) indicated by the arrow Y is provided. The indexing and feeding means 54 includes a common Y-axis linear rail 540 disposed along the two Y-axis guide rails 413a and 413a, and a first Y-axis linear rail 540 that is movably fitted to the common Y-axis linear rail 540. The first Y-axis coil mover 544a mounted on the indexing feed base 51 of the cutting means 5a and the indexing feed moving base of the second cutting means 5b movably inserted into the common Y-axis linear rail 540. And a second Y-axis coil mover 544b mounted on the table 51. The common Y-axis linear rail 540 is formed, for example, by alternately connecting N poles and S poles of a plurality of columnar permanent magnets to form a shaft. It is arranged in a cylindrical case made of a non-magnetic material such as stainless steel. As shown in FIG. 3, the common Y-axis renewal 540 thus configured has support members 543, 543 mounted on both ends thereof, and supports the support frame 41 via the support members 543, 543. It is attached to the support portion 413. The first coil mover 544a and the second coil mover 544b, which are movably fitted to the common Y-axis linear rail 540, are respectively used for the index feed moving base 51 and the second coil mover 51 of the first cutting means 5a. The cutting means 5b is disposed in a concave portion 513 provided in the indexing moving base 51, and is mounted on one surface of the indexing feeding moving base 51, respectively.

  As described above, the indexing and feeding means 54 including the common Y-axis linear rail 540, the first coil mover 544a, and the second coil mover 544b performs the above-described X-axis linear rail 361, X-axis coil mover 362, and A so-called shaft motor is constructed similarly to the machining feed means 35 composed of the following. When a current flows through the first coil mover 544a and the second coil mover 544b, the attractive force and the repulsive force due to the magnetic force are repeated, and the propulsive force is generated. Occurs. Therefore, by changing the direction of the current applied to the first coil mover 544a and the second coil mover 544b, the first coil mover 544a and the second coil mover 544b can share a common Y-axis linear rail. The direction of travel along 540 can be changed. Although the indexing and feeding means 54 in the illustrated embodiment has been described as an example constituted by a so-called linear shaft motor, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be constituted by a ball screw mechanism.

  Further, the first cutting means 5a and the second cutting means 5b in the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, move the notch moving bases 52, 52 along two Z-axis guide rails 512, 512. Cutting feed means 55 are provided for moving in the cutting feed direction (Z-axis direction) indicated by arrow Z. The cut feed means 55, 55 are respectively provided with a male screw rod 551 disposed in parallel with the two Z-axis guide rails 512, 512, a bearing 552 rotatably supporting one end of the male screw rod 551, and a male screw rod 551. And a pulse motor 553 for driving the male screw rod 551 to rotate forward or reverse. In the cut feed means 55, 55 configured as described above, the male screw rod 551 is screwed to the male screw 521a formed on the supported portion 521 of the cut feed moving base 52, respectively. Therefore, the notch feeding means 55, 55 drives the pulse motor 553 to drive the male screw rod 551 in the forward or reverse direction, thereby moving the notch moving base 52 along the two Z-axis guide rails 512, 512. In FIG. 4, it can be moved in the cutting feed direction (Z-axis direction) indicated by arrow Z.

  Continuing the description with reference to FIG. 1, the stationary base 2 has a cassette mounting mechanism 6 as a cassette mounting means on which a cassette 60 accommodating a plurality of workpieces such as semiconductor wafers is mounted. A loading / unloading mechanism 7 serving as loading / unloading means for loading and unloading the workpiece from the cassette 60 mounted on the cassette mounting mechanism 6 and loading the cut workpiece into the cassette 60; A temporary placing mechanism 8 as temporary placing means for temporarily placing the workpiece carried out by the mechanism 7, an auxiliary temporary placing mechanism 9 as auxiliary temporary placing means disposed adjacent to the temporary placing mechanism 8, A cleaning mechanism 10 for cleaning the workpiece after cutting. The cassette mounting mechanism 6 is configured such that the cassette 60 is mounted on a cassette table 61 which is moved up and down by an elevating unit driven based on a drive signal output from control means (not shown). The cassette 60 accommodates a semiconductor wafer W attached to a surface of a dicing tape T mounted on an annular frame F. In addition, a notch F-1 and a flat surface F-2 are provided on the outer periphery of the annular frame F to which a restriction pin as a restriction member described later is engaged.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the carrying-in / carrying-out mechanism 7 includes a carrying / moving unit 71 as a moving unit disposed on the surface side of the supporting unit 413 constituting the portal-shaped supporting frame 41, and the carrying / moving unit 71. The support base 72 is moved in the Y-axis direction, and a connecting member 73 connects the support base 72 and the transfer unit 71. The transport moving means 71 is composed of a belt mechanism for moving the connecting member 73 to which the support base 72 is connected in the Y-axis direction. 5 and 6, the semiconductor wafer W stored in the cassette 60 mounted on the cassette mounting mechanism 6 is diced on the support base 72 constituting the unloading / loading mechanism 7. A gripping member 74 as a gripping portion for gripping the annular frame F supported via the tape T, an air cylinder 740 for vertically moving the gripping member 74, and the air cylinder 740 disposed on both sides of the gripping member 74 A restriction pin 75 as a pair of restriction members for engaging the notch F-1 and the flat surface F-2 provided on the annular frame F to regulate the annular frame F at a predetermined position is attached. (See FIG. 6). The unloading / loading mechanism 7 configured as described above moves the support base 72 toward the cassette 60 mounted on the cassette mounting mechanism 6, and moves the pair of regulating pins 75 to the semiconductor wafer housed in the cassette 60. The semiconductor wafer W is restricted to a predetermined position by engaging the notch F-1 and the flat surface F-2 provided on the annular frame F supporting the dicing tape T via the dicing tape T. Then, the holding member 74 is moved upward by the air cylinder 740 to hold the annular frame F between the support base 72 and the holding member 74.

  The support base 72 constituting the unloading / loading mechanism 7 is provided on the lower side for holding an annular frame F that supports a cut semiconductor wafer W, which will be described later, via a dicing tape T. An auxiliary gripping member 76 as an auxiliary gripping portion, an air cylinder 760 for moving the auxiliary gripping member 76 in the vertical direction, and an annular frame disposed on both sides of the auxiliary gripping member 76 and engaged with the annular frame F. An auxiliary regulating pin 77 as a pair of auxiliary regulating members for regulating F to a predetermined position is attached (see FIG. 6). Further, the support base 72 constituting the unloading / loading mechanism 7 is provided with an engaging means 78 which selectively engages with the jet nozzle 13 of the cleaning mechanism described later. The engagement means 78 includes an engagement rod 781 that is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat downward from the lower surface of the support base 72, and an air cylinder 782 that advances and retreats the engagement rod 781. Further, the region of the support base 72 where the gripping member 74 is provided and the region where the auxiliary gripping member 76 is provided are connected via an inclined connecting portion 79. The height at which the frame F is gripped is higher than the height at which the annular frame F is gripped by the auxiliary gripping member 76, that is, the region where the gripping member 74 is provided and the auxiliary gripping member 76 are provided. A step is set between the region and the region. The reason for providing the step by the inclined connecting portion 79 will be described later.

  The temporary placement mechanism 8 as the temporary placement means will be described with reference to FIGS. The temporary placing mechanism 8 is disposed adjacent to the cassette placing mechanism 6 in the Y-axis direction and immediately above the workpiece attachment / detachment area of the holding table 34. The temporary placing mechanism 8 includes a pair of first support rails 80A and a pair of second support rails 80B disposed immediately below the first support rails 80A. The first support rail 80A has bottoms 81a and 81b and side parts 82a and 82b that extend in the Y-axis direction and support both sides of the annular frame F in the X-axis direction. , 81b can be opened and closed by opening and closing means 85a, 85b. The second support rail 80B has substantially the same configuration as the first support rail 80A, and extends in the Y-axis direction to support both sides of the annular frame F in the X-axis direction. And bottom portions 86a and 86b and side portions 87a and 87b. The bottom portions 86a and 86b can be opened and closed by opening and closing means 88a and 88b. In FIG. 7, the opening / closing means 88a is not visible in the drawing, but is positioned immediately below the opening / closing means 85a.

  The above-described first and second support rails 80A and 80B are positioned vertically and integrated, and include an elevating unit 89 for moving the both vertically. It should be noted that flanges 83a, 83b projecting inward from each other are provided at the upper ends of the side portions 82a, 82b constituting the pair of first support rails 80A, and one end sides of the flange portions 83a, 83b are connected to each other. , And a connecting portion 84. The opening / closing means 85a, 85b, 88a, 88b are air motors in the illustrated embodiment, and all the bottoms 81a, 81b, 86a, 86b of the first and second support rails 80A, 80B are closed. The state (see FIG. 8A), the state where all of the bottoms 81a, 81b, 86a, 86b are in the open position (see FIG. 8B), the bottoms 81a, 81b are maintained in the closed position, and the bottom 86a is maintained. , 86b in the open position (see FIG. 8C). The elevating unit 89 includes an air cylinder 891 attached to a fixing member (not shown). The tip of a piston rod 862 of the air cylinder 891 is connected to the connecting unit 84.

  The auxiliary temporary placing mechanism 9 is disposed immediately adjacent to the temporary placing mechanism 8 in the Y-axis direction and on the opposite side of the cassette placing mechanism 6 in the Y-axis direction, directly above a cleaning mechanism 10 as a cleaning means described later. ing. This auxiliary temporary placing mechanism 9 has the same configuration as the temporary temporary placing mechanism 8, and as shown in FIG. 7, is provided with a pair of first auxiliary supporting rails 90A and directly below the first auxiliary supporting rails 90A. And a pair of second auxiliary support rails 90B. The first auxiliary support rail 90A has bottom portions 91a, 91b and side portions 92a, 92b extending in the Y-axis direction and supporting both side portions of the annular frame F in the X-axis direction. The components 91a and 91b can be opened and closed by opening and closing means 95a and 95b. The second auxiliary support rail 90B also has the same configuration as the first auxiliary support rail 90A, and extends in the Y-axis direction to support both sides of the annular frame F in the X-axis direction. And bottom portions 96a and 96b and side portions 97a and 97b, and the bottom portions 96a and 96b can be opened and closed by opening and closing means 98a and 98b.

  The first and second auxiliary support rails 90A and 90B are positioned vertically and integrated, and include an auxiliary elevating unit 99 for moving the both vertically. Incidentally, flanges 93a, 93b projecting inward from each other are provided at the upper ends of the side portions 92a, 92b constituting the pair of first auxiliary support rails 90A, and one end of the flange portions 93a, 93b. The sides are connected by a connecting portion 94. The opening / closing means 95a, 95b, 98a, 98b comprises an air motor in the illustrated embodiment, and closes all the bottoms 91a, 91b, 96a, 96b of the pair of first and second auxiliary support rails 90A, 90B. It can be operated in a state where it is in a position, a state where all of the bottom parts 91a, 91b, 96a and 96b are in an open position, a state where the bottom parts 91a and 91b are kept in a closed position and the bottom parts 96a and 96b are in an open position. It has become. The auxiliary lifting unit 99 includes an air cylinder 991 attached to a fixing member (not shown), and a piston rod 992 of the air cylinder 991 is connected to the connection unit 94. As shown in FIG. 7, the temporary placing mechanism 8 and the auxiliary temporary placing mechanism 9 have a U-shape in plan view, are disposed so that the opening sides face each other, and are mounted on the frame F held on one side. The held wafer can be transferred to the other side along the bottom of both mechanisms. The operation of the bottom portion of the auxiliary temporary placing mechanism 9 is the same as the operation of the first and second support rails 80A and 80B shown in FIG. When FIG. 8 is referred to for the operation of 9, the numbers given based on the constituent members of the temporary placing mechanism 8 are replaced with the numbers of the constituent members of the auxiliary temporary placing mechanism 9 to refer to.

  Next, the cleaning mechanism 10 as the cleaning means will be described with reference to FIGS. The cleaning mechanism 10 in the illustrated embodiment is disposed adjacent to the temporary placing mechanism 8 and on the opposite side of the cassette placing mechanism 6 in the Y-axis direction. The cleaning mechanism 10 includes a cleaning housing 11. The cleaning housing 11 includes a front wall 111, a rear wall 112, side walls 113 and 114, and a low wall (not shown). A spinner table 12 is provided in the cleaning housing 11 configured as described above. The spinner table 12 includes a table main body 121, a suction chuck 122 provided on the upper surface of the table main body 121, and a servomotor 123 that drives the table main body 121 to rotate. The table main body 121 is formed such that the outer diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the wafer W and smaller than the inner diameter of an annular frame F that supports the wafer W via the dicing table T. The suction chuck 122 is formed of porous ceramics and connected to a suction unit (not shown) so that a negative pressure is applied as appropriate. Therefore, the workpiece placed on the suction chuck 122 is suction-held on the suction chuck 122 by operating a suction unit (not shown).

  1 and 10, the front wall 111 of the cleaning housing 11 is provided with a guide hole 111a formed along the Y-axis direction, and the guide hole 111a is provided in the guide hole 111a. An injection nozzle 13 that injects cleaning water to the workpiece held in the nozzle is disposed so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction. The other end of a wire 15 having one end connected to a weight 14 is connected to the injection nozzle 13 via a pulley 16, and is configured to move in a direction indicated by an arrow Y <b> 1 by gravity of the weight 14. The engagement means 78 provided on the support base 72 constituting the unloading / loading mechanism 7 includes an engagement rod 781 provided so as to be able to advance and retreat downward from the lower surface of the support base 72. The ejection nozzle 13 is brought into contact with the ejection rod 13 in a direction indicated by an arrow Y1 which is moved by gravity of the weight 14 of the ejection nozzle 13 in a state where the engagement rod 781 is advanced. The injection nozzle 13 is connected to a cleaning water supply unit (not shown).

The cutting device in the illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described below.
First, as shown in FIG. 11, the air cylinder 891 of the temporary placing mechanism 8 is operated to position the pair of first support rails 80A at the upper position, and the gripping member 74 of the carrying-out / loading mechanism 7 (see FIG. 6). The support base 72 on which the pair of regulating pins 75 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) are disposed is positioned at the position shown (standby position).

  Next, the transfer unit 71 (see FIGS. 1 and 5) of the unload / load mechanism 7 is operated to support the support base 72 on which the gripping member 74 and the pair of regulating pins 75 are disposed as shown in FIG. Is moved to the cassette mounting mechanism 6 side, and the pair of regulating pins 75 are connected to a notch F-1 and a flat plate provided on an annular frame F supporting the semiconductor wafer W accommodated in the cassette 60 via a dicing tape T. The position of the semiconductor wafer W is regulated to a predetermined position by engaging with the surface F-2 (see FIG. 1). Then, by operating the air cylinder 740, the annular frame F is gripped between the support base 72 and the gripping member 74 (see FIG. 6).

  When the annular frame F is gripped by the support base 72 and the holding member 74, the transfer unit 71 of the unloading / loading mechanism 7 is operated to move the support base 72 to the side opposite to the cassette mounting mechanism 6. As shown in FIG. 13, the annular frame F is transported to the pair of first support rails 80A located on the upper side of the temporary placing mechanism 8, released from the gripping state by the gripping member 74, and temporarily placed.

  When the annular frame F is transported to the pair of first support rails 80A of the temporary placing mechanism 8 and temporarily placed, as shown in FIG. 14, the air cylinder 891 is operated to move the pair of first support rails 80A. Descend to the lower position. As a result, the dicing tape T to which the semiconductor wafer W attached to the annular frame F is adhered is placed on the upper surface of the holding table 34 positioned at the workpiece attaching / detaching position in the holding table mechanism 3. . Then, by operating the opening / closing means 85a, 85b, 88a, 88b, the bottom portions 81a, 81b, 86a, 86b of the pair of first and second support rails 80A, 80B are opened by solid lines in FIG. Position.

  Next, by operating a suction unit (not shown), the semiconductor wafer W is suction-held on the upper surface of the holding table 34 via the dicing tape T as shown in FIG. Then, the air cylinder 891 of the temporary placing mechanism 8 is operated to raise the pair of first and second support rails 80A and 80B together while keeping the bottom portions 81a, 81b, 86a and 86b at the open positions.

  As shown in FIG. 15, when the semiconductor wafer W is suction-held on the upper surface of the holding table 34 via the dicing tape T, the processing and feeding means 35 constituting the holding table mechanism 3 is operated to suction-hold the semiconductor wafer W. The holding table 34 is moved to a processing area where the cutting mechanism 4 is provided as shown in FIG. Then, a predetermined cutting process is performed on the semiconductor wafer W held on the holding table 34 by the first cutting means 5a and the second cutting means 5b. Since the holding table 34 has an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the semiconductor wafer W and smaller than the inner diameter of the annular frame F as described above, the annular frame F slightly hangs down by its own weight, and the holding table 34 has There is no interference with the cutting blades 533 of the first cutting means 5a and the second cutting means 5b, and the cost is reduced because no frame holding mechanism is required.

  As described above, when the semiconductor wafer W held on the holding table 34 is subjected to a predetermined cutting process, the holding table 34 holding the cut semiconductor wafer W by suction is operated by operating the processing feeding means 35 as shown in FIG. At the workpiece attachment / detachment position shown in FIG. In this state, the cut semiconductor wafer W held by the holding table 34 is positioned immediately below the temporary placing mechanism 8.

  If the cut semiconductor wafer W held by the holding table 34 is positioned immediately below the temporary placing mechanism 8, at least the bottom portions 86a and 86b of the pair of second support rails 80B located below the temporary placing mechanism 8. The air cylinder 891 is operated in a state where is maintained at the open position to lower the pair of second support rails 80B to the lower position as shown in FIG. Then, the bottom portions 86a and 86b of the pair of second support rails 80B are positioned at the closed position to support the annular frame F, and the holding table 34 releases the suction holding of the semiconductor wafer W.

  Next, the pair of second support rails 80B supporting the annular frame F is raised by operating the air cylinder 891 of the temporary placing mechanism 8, and as shown in FIG. Positioning the pair of second support rails 80B at an intermediate position where the gripping member 76 and the pair of regulating pins 77 of the loading mechanism 7 can move above the cut semiconductor wafer W supported by the pair of second support rails 80B. .

  Then, the transfer unit 71 of the unloading / loading mechanism 7 is operated to move the support base 72 toward the cassette mounting mechanism 6 as shown in FIG. 20, and a pair of regulating pins 75 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). Notch F-1 and a flat surface F-2 (FIG. 1) provided on an annular frame F supported via a dicing tape T by bringing the unprocessed semiconductor wafer W accommodated in the cassette 60 into close proximity. ), The position of the semiconductor wafer W is regulated at a predetermined position. Then, by operating the air cylinder 740, the annular frame F supporting the new semiconductor wafer W is gripped between the support base 72 and the gripping member 74 (see FIG. 6). This operation is performed while moving the gripping member 74 and the pair of regulating pins 75 above the cut semiconductor wafer W supported by the second support rail 80B.

  Next, by operating the air cylinder 891 of the temporary placing mechanism 8 to slightly raise the pair of second support rails 80B supporting the cut semiconductor wafer W, an annular shape supporting the cut semiconductor wafer W is formed. The end face of the frame F on the cassette mounting mechanism 6 side is positioned at a position facing a pair of auxiliary regulation pins 77 provided on the support base 72. As described above, in the region of the support base 72 on the cassette mounting mechanism 6 side, there are a region where the holding member 74 is installed with a step via the inclined connecting portion 79 and a region where the auxiliary holding member 76 is installed. The position where the auxiliary regulating pin 77 is disposed is lower than the position where the gripping member 74 is disposed with a step. The step is set so as to correspond to the distance between the bottom of the first support rail 80A and the bottom of the second support rail 80B. Therefore, after that, the transfer unit 71 of the unload / load mechanism 7 is operated to move the support base 72 on the opposite side of the cassette mounting mechanism 6 as shown in FIG. The annular frame F supporting the new semiconductor wafer W gripped by the above is transported to the pair of first support rails 80A located on the upper side of the temporary placing mechanism 8 to release the gripping state by the gripping member 74, The annular frame F supporting the cut semiconductor wafer W on which the pair of auxiliary control pins 77 is in contact is transported to the pair of second auxiliary support rails 90B located on the lower side of the auxiliary temporary placing mechanism 9.

  When the annular frame F supporting the cut semiconductor wafer W is transported to the pair of second auxiliary support rails 90B located on the lower side of the auxiliary temporary placing mechanism 9, the air cylinder 991 is operated as shown in FIG. Then, the pair of second auxiliary support rails 90B is lowered to be positioned at the lower position. As described above, in the auxiliary temporary placing mechanism 9 as well, the first auxiliary supporting rail 90A and the second auxiliary supporting rail 90B located at the upper part are integrally formed, similarly to the temporary placing mechanism 8. Therefore, they can be lowered integrally. In this state, the dicing tape T to which the semiconductor wafer W attached to the annular frame F is attached comes into contact with the upper surface of the spinner table 12 of the cleaning mechanism 10. Then, by positioning the bottom portions 96a and 96b of the pair of second auxiliary support rails 90B from the closed position to the open position (see FIG. 8 (c)), the cut semiconductor wafer W can be transferred via the dicing tape T. It is placed on the upper surface of the spinner table 12. Then, by operating suction means (not shown), the cut semiconductor wafer W is suction-held on the upper surface of the spinner table 12 via the dicing tape T.

  In the present embodiment, the dicing tape T, to which the semiconductor wafer W attached to the annular frame F is attached, is brought into contact with the upper surface of the spinner table 12 of the cleaning mechanism 10 to form a pair of second auxiliary supports. The semiconductor wafer W is placed on the upper surface of the spinner table 12 by positioning only the bottom portions 96a and 96b of the rail 90B from the closed position to the open position. However, such control is not necessarily required. As shown, the bottom portions 91a and 91b and the bottom portions 96a and 96b may be always controlled to be in the open position and the closed position at the same time. In this case, the opening / closing means 95a, 95b, 98a, and 98b formed of four members And the control logic can be simply configured.

  Next, the first and second support rails 80A and 80B of the temporary placement mechanism 8 and the first and second auxiliary support rails 90A and 90B of the auxiliary temporary placement mechanism 9 are moved upward as shown in FIG. By moving the spinner table 12, the washing water 130 is sprayed from the spray nozzle 13 by operating the washing water supply means (not shown) as shown in FIG. At this time, the engaging rod 781 of the engaging means 78 provided on the support base 72 of the unloading / loading mechanism 7 is advanced to a position where it is engaged with the injection nozzle 13, and the transport moving means 71 is operated. The engaging rod 781 is reciprocated in the Y-axis direction. Therefore, the injection nozzle 13 is reciprocated in the Y-axis direction in cooperation with the gravity of the weight 14 connected to one end of the connected wire 15 without adding a separate driving mechanism to the injection nozzle 13. Can be. The reciprocating range of the injection nozzle 13 may be at least a range from the outer periphery to the center of the cut semiconductor wafer W. As a result, the cut semiconductor wafer W suction-held on the spinner table 12 via the dicing tape T is subjected to spinner cleaning. Also, in the reciprocating movement of the injection nozzle 13 in the Y-axis direction, the carry-out / carry-in mechanism 7 is a driving source, so that downsizing can be achieved and cost can be reduced. Further, since the spinner table 12 is formed such that the outer diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the semiconductor wafer W and smaller than the inner diameter of the annular frame F as described above, the annular frame F slightly sags by its own weight and is supplied to the semiconductor wafer W. The drained cleaning water is smoothly discharged, and a frame holding mechanism is not required, thereby reducing costs.

  As described above, when the cut semiconductor wafer W is cleaned, the carry-out / carry-in mechanism 7 is positioned at the standby position, and the pair of first auxiliary support rails 90A located on the upper stage side of the auxiliary temporary placement mechanism 9 are arranged. With the bottom portions 91a and 91b and the bottom portions 96a and 96b of the second auxiliary support rail 90B located on the lower side positioned at the open position (see FIG. 8B), the auxiliary elevating unit 99 is operated. By lowering, the bottom portions 91a and 91b of the first auxiliary support rail 90A are positioned at the height of the annular frame F supporting the semiconductor wafer, and as shown in FIG. With the bottom portions 91a, 91b, 96a, and 96b of the second auxiliary support rail 90B closed, an annular frame F that supports the cleaned semiconductor wafer W is supported. Then, the suction assist of the semiconductor wafer W is released by the spinner table 12.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 25, the pair of auxiliary support rails 90A that support the cleaned semiconductor wafer W are moved up by operating the auxiliary elevating unit 99 to be positioned at the upper position. Then, the support base 72 of the unloading / loading mechanism 7 is moved, and the auxiliary gripping member 76 is operated to grip the annular frame F.

  When the auxiliary gripping member 76 is operated to grip the annular frame F, as shown in FIG. 26, the transporting and moving means 71 of the unloading / loading mechanism 7 is operated to support the washed semiconductor wafer W. A pair of first support rails 80A located on the upper side of the temporary placing mechanism 8 adjacent in the Y-axis direction from a pair of first auxiliary supporting rails 90A located on the upper side of the auxiliary temporary placing mechanism 9 of the frame F. And the gripping state by the auxiliary gripping member 76 is released.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 27, the elevating unit 89 is operated to lower the pair of first support rails 80A of the temporary placing mechanism 8 so as to be positioned at the intermediate position, and the transport moving means 71 is operated to carry out the unloading / loading. The holding member 74 and the pair of regulating pins 75 disposed on the support base 72 of the loading mechanism 7 are positioned at the standby position. Further, the lifting / lowering portion 89 is operated to raise the pair of first support rails 80A, and the position of the auxiliary gripping member 76 and the regulating pin 75 located above the auxiliary regulating pin 77 supports the semiconductor wafer W. Adjust to a height that matches the annular frame F.

  When the position of the regulating pin 75 is adjusted to the height corresponding to the annular frame F that supports the semiconductor wafer W, the transporting and moving means 71 of the unloading / loading mechanism 7 is operated, and as shown in FIG. By moving the table 72 to the cassette 60 of the cassette mounting mechanism 6, the annular frame F supporting the washed semiconductor wafer W is accommodated in a predetermined position of the cassette 60. When accommodating the cleaned semiconductor wafer W in the cassette 60, the height position of the cassette table 61 is adjusted in advance so that the cleaned semiconductor wafer W is accommodated in the accommodating position of the cassette 60 to be accommodated. .

  As described above, during the operation of cleaning the semiconductor wafer W after cutting and accommodating the semiconductor wafer W in the cassette 60, the semiconductor wafer W is unloaded from the cassette 60 to the pair of first support rails 80A of the temporary placing mechanism 8. The new semiconductor wafer W thus carried is conveyed to the holding table 34 constituting the holding table mechanism 3 as described above and held by suction. Then, the new semiconductor wafer W sucked and held by the holding table 34 is moved by the working feeding means 35 to the working area where the cutting mechanism 4 is arranged, and the first cutting means 5a and the second cutting means 5b Thus, a predetermined cutting process is performed.

  As described above, when the holding table for holding the workpiece is positioned in the workpiece attachment / detachment area, the cutting device in the illustrated embodiment uses the semiconductor device accommodated in the cassette 60 by the carry-in / carry-out mechanism 7. The wafer W is unloaded from the annular frame F supporting the dicing tape T via the dicing tape T, and temporarily placed on the pair of first support rails 80A located on the upper side of the temporary placing mechanism 8. The semiconductor wafer W supported on the annular frame F via the dicing tape T by moving down the first support rail 80A is placed on the holding table 34, and the bottom portions 81a, 81b are opened and closed by the opening / closing means 85a, 85b, 88a, 88b. , 86a and 86b, the semiconductor wafer W is held on the holding table 34 via the dicing tape T. Since the transport means for transporting the annular frame F supporting the semiconductor wafer W via the dicing tape T is substantially only the carry-out / load-in mechanism 7, the number of parts is reduced and the cost is reduced. The size can be reduced. Further, the carry-out / carry-in mechanism 7 has an annular frame F that supports the cut semiconductor wafer W via a dicing tape T on the auxiliary temporary placement mechanism 9 disposed directly above the spinner table 12 of the cleaning mechanism 10. Has the function of transporting the device, so that the size of the apparatus can be further reduced.

  Further, on the support base 72 of the carry-out / carry-in mechanism 7, there is provided an engaging means 78 provided with a movable engaging rod 781, and the engaging rod 781 is attached to the spinner table 12 of the cleaning mechanism 10. A driving source for reciprocating movement of the injection nozzle 13 in the Y-axis direction by engaging with the injection nozzle 13 that supplies cleaning water to the semiconductor wafer W held by suction is required. Absent.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the temporary placement mechanism 8 serving as the temporary placement means includes the first support rail 80A and the second support rail 80B, and the auxiliary temporary placement mechanism 9 includes the first auxiliary support rail 90A and the second support rail 90A. In order to support the semiconductor wafer W which has not been processed or is not contaminated after cleaning, only the first support rail 80A and the first auxiliary support rail 90A are used. The transfer of the semiconductor wafer W that has been placed, cut, and to which contaminants have adhered is selectively used such that the semiconductor wafer W is temporarily placed exclusively on the second support rail 80B and the second auxiliary support rail 90B, and the transfer path is distinguished. The semiconductor wafer W after the cleaning is prevented from being contaminated again by contaminants or the like.

  The present invention is realized by the embodiment as described above, but is not limited thereto, and may include various modifications. For example, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the temporary placement mechanism 8 as the temporary placement means and the auxiliary temporary placement mechanism 9 as the auxiliary temporary placement means are provided with opening and closing means 85a, 85b, 88a, and 88b. , 81b, 86a, and 86b are opened outwardly, thereby realizing a configuration in which the bottom can be opened and closed. Instead, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, FIG. It can also be in the form. Hereinafter, a temporary placement mechanism 8 ′ as another embodiment of the above-described temporary placement mechanism 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 9. The temporary placing mechanism 8 ′ can be adopted as an auxiliary temporary placing mechanism 9 ′ that replaces the auxiliary temporary placing mechanism 9 with the same configuration.

  The temporary placing mechanism 8 ′ is disposed at the same position as the temporary placing mechanism 8 shown in FIG. 1, and is located adjacent to the cassette placing mechanism 6 in the Y-axis direction and in the workpiece attaching / detaching area of the holding table 34. It is arranged directly above. As shown in FIG. 9 (a), the temporary placement mechanism 8 'is provided integrally with a pair of first support rails 80A' located on the upper side and directly below the first support rails 80A '. And a pair of second support rails 80B '. The first support rail 80A 'has bottom portions 81a' and 81b 'and side portions 82a' and 82b 'that extend in the Y-axis direction and support both side portions of the annular frame F. Also, the second support rail 80B 'has substantially the same configuration as the first support rail 80A', and extends in the Y-axis direction to support both sides of the annular frame F. 86a 'and 86b' and side parts 87a 'and 87b'.

  The above-mentioned first and second support rails 80A 'and 80B' are integrally formed in the vertical direction, and upper ends of the side portions 82a 'and 82b' constituting the pair of first support rails 80A '. Are provided with flange portions 83a 'and 83b' projecting inward from each other, and a connecting portion 84 'is provided so as to connect one end portions of the flange portions 83a' and 83b '. The flange portions 83a 'and 83b' are configured to be slidable in the direction indicated by arrow X1 with respect to the connecting portion 84 '. The temporary placing mechanism 8 'includes an elevating unit 89' for vertically moving the first and second support rails 80A 'and 80B', and the elevating unit 89 'is attached to a fixing member (not shown). It comprises an air cylinder 891 ', and a piston rod 892' of the air cylinder 891 'is connected to the connecting portion 84'. Also, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, air cylinders 85a 'and 85b' are provided in the connecting portion 84 ', and are provided in the air cylinders 85a' and 85b '. The distal ends of the retractable engagement rods 851a ', 851b' are connected to support members 852a ', 852b' disposed on the flange portions 83a ', 83b'. By operating the engaging rods 851a and 851b in the direction indicated by the arrow X so that the bottoms 81a 'and 81b' and the bottoms 86a 'and 86b' shown by solid lines in FIG. From the position, it is possible to arbitrarily control a state in which the bottoms 81a ', 81b' and the bottoms 86a ', 86b' shown by two-dot chain lines are separated from each other to be in the open position. Although the temporary placement mechanism 8 ′ is shown as another embodiment of the temporary placement mechanism 8, it is naturally possible to adopt a similar configuration as another embodiment of the auxiliary temporary placement mechanism 9.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the pair of regulating pins 75 are arranged as the pair of regulating members that regulate the workpiece provided in the carrying-in / out means at a predetermined position has been described. The shape is not necessarily limited to the pin shape as shown in the drawings, and any shape may be used as long as the member has a function of engaging with the annular frame F supporting the semiconductor wafer W and moving on the support rail. You may.

2: stationary base 3: holding table mechanism 32: moving base 34: holding table 35: processing feed mechanism 351: X-axis linear rail 4: cutting mechanism 5a: first cutting means 5b: second cutting means 54: Indexing and feeding means 540: Y-axis linear rail 6: Cassette mounting mechanism 60: Cassette 7: Unloading / loading mechanism 71: Transporting means 72: Support base 74: Holding member 75: A pair of regulating pins 76: Auxiliary holding member 77 : A pair of auxiliary regulating pins 8: Temporary placing mechanism 80A: A pair of first supporting rails 80B: A pair of second supporting rails 9: Auxiliary temporary placing mechanism 90A: A pair of first auxiliary supporting rails 90B: A pair of first supporting rails 2 auxiliary support rails 10: cleaning means 11: cleaning housing 12: spinner table 13: injection nozzle 14: weight 15: wire 16: pulley F: annular Frame T: dicing tape W: semiconductor wafer

Claims (7)

A cutting device for cutting a workpiece,
Cassette mounting means for mounting a cassette accommodating a plurality of workpieces; loading / unloading means for loading and unloading the workpiece from the cassette; and temporarily placing the workpiece unloaded by the loading / unloading means Temporary holding means, holding means for holding the workpiece transferred from the temporary holding means, cutting means for cutting the workpiece held by the holding means, and processing the holding means in the X-axis direction. Processing feed means for feeding, at least,
The processing feed unit includes: an X-axis guide rail that supports the holding unit so as to be movable in the X-axis direction; and an X-axis driving unit that moves the holding unit along the X-axis guide rail.
The cassette mounting means and the temporary mounting means are arranged in the Y-axis direction,
The carrying-in / out means includes a gripping portion for gripping the workpiece accommodated in the cassette, a pair of regulating members for regulating the workpiece at a predetermined position, and a support provided with the gripping portion and the regulating member. A moving unit that moves the support base and the support base in the Y-axis direction,
The temporary placement means includes a pair of first support rails extending in the Y-axis direction and supporting a workpiece, and a pair of first support rails configured to be openable and closable. A pair of second support rails disposed immediately below the support rails, extending in the Y-axis direction, supporting a workpiece, and having a bottom portion and a side portion, the bottom portions being configured to be openable and closable; An elevating unit that raises and lowers the support rail and the second support rail,
The X-axis guide rail is disposed from immediately below the temporary placement means to at least a region below the cutting means,
The holding means is positioned immediately below the first support rail and the second support rail, and the workpiece is carried out of the cassette by the carrying-in / out means to constitute the temporary placing means. Temporarily put on the support rail of
A cutting device for lowering the first support rail together with the second support rail to open the bottom of the first support rail and holding a workpiece on the holding means; Cleaning means provided with a spinner table for cleaning the workpiece in the Y-axis direction adjacent to the temporary mounting means and opposite to the cassette mounting means is provided, and the workpiece is disposed immediately above the cleaning means. An auxiliary temporary placement means for temporary placement is provided,
The auxiliary temporary placement means includes a pair of first auxiliary support rails extending in the Y-axis direction and supporting a workpiece, the pair of first auxiliary support rails being configured to be openable and closable. A pair of second auxiliary support rails disposed directly below the auxiliary support rails, extending in the Y-axis direction, supporting a workpiece, and having a bottom and side portions, the bottom being configured to be openable and closable; An auxiliary elevating unit that moves the first auxiliary support rail and the second auxiliary support rail up and down, so that a workpiece can be transferred between the auxiliary temporary placement means and the temporary placement means. The cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the cutting device is configured. The carrying-in / out means includes an auxiliary gripping portion for gripping a workpiece positioned on the auxiliary support rail in addition to the gripping portion, the first auxiliary support rail and the second auxiliary support in addition to the pair of regulating members. A pair of auxiliary regulating members for regulating the workpiece positioned on the support rail to a predetermined position,
When the cut workpiece held by the holding means is positioned immediately below the temporary placement means, the second support rail having the bottom opened lowers and the bottom has been cut. It is positioned at the bottom of the object, rises in support of the machined workpiece with the bottom closed,
Next, the unprocessed workpiece accommodated in the cassette is gripped by the gripping portion of the loading / unloading means, and the pair of auxiliary regulating members are attached to the side faces of the cut workpiece supported by the temporary placement means. Positioning the workpiece contained in the cassette on the first support rail while moving to the cleaning means side, and positioning the cut workpiece on the second auxiliary support rail;
Next, the second auxiliary support rail is lowered together with the first auxiliary support rail by the auxiliary elevating unit to open the bottom of the second auxiliary support rail, and the cut workpiece is removed from the spinner table. 3. The cutting device according to claim 2, wherein the cutting device is held. After the cleaning of the workpiece by the cleaning means is completed, the auxiliary temporary placing means lowers the first auxiliary support rail together with the second auxiliary support rail by the auxiliary elevating unit, and the first auxiliary support means Opening the bottom of the rail and positioning the bottom at the bottom of the cleaned workpiece and closing and supporting the cleaned workpiece with the first auxiliary support rail and rising.
The temporary placement means positions the first support rail at a height position corresponding to the first auxiliary support rail by the elevating unit,
The carrying-in / out means grasps the cleaned workpiece supported by the first auxiliary support rail by the auxiliary gripper, conveys the workpiece to the first support rail, and then cleans the regulating member. The cutting device according to claim 3, wherein the cutting device is positioned on a side surface of the workpiece, moves toward the cassette, and is loaded into the cassette.   The washing means includes a nozzle for spraying washing water above the spinner table, and the nozzle is configured to be selectively engageable with an engaging portion of a support base of the carrying-in / out means, and The cutting according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the cutting means oscillates in the Y-axis direction with movement of the engaging portion of the support base of the input means, and injects cutting water from at least the outer periphery of the workpiece to the center. apparatus. A weight is connected to the nozzle of the washing means via a wire and a pulley,
A rod is attached to the engaging portion of the support base of the carrying-in / out means so as to be able to move forward and backward. The rod that has moved out contacts the nozzle from a direction opposed to the movement of the nozzle due to gravity and swings in the Y-axis direction. The cutting device according to claim 5, which moves.   The cutting means includes a first cutting means rotatably provided with a first cutting blade, a second cutting means rotatably provided with a second cutting blade, and the first cutting blade and the second cutting blade. A Y-axis guide rail that supports the first cutting means and the second cutting means so as to be indexable and feedable in a Y-axis direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction; The cutting device according to claim 1, further comprising a first driving unit and a second driving unit that move the first cutting unit and the second cutting unit along the axis.