JP6732381B2 - Cutting equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cutting device for cutting a work piece.

In a device chip manufacturing process, grid-like planned dividing lines called streets are set on the surface of a wafer made of silicon or a compound semiconductor, and devices such as ICs and LSIs are formed in respective regions defined by the dividing lines. To be done. These wafers are cut along division lines to be divided into individual device chips.

The cutting is performed, for example, by a cutting device having a cutting unit including a cutting blade. The cutting blade has an annular shape with a hole in the center, and an appropriate one is selected according to the type of the workpiece and the processing content and is attached to the cutting unit. The cutting unit has a cylindrical spindle that serves as an axis of rotation, and the cutting blade is attached to the spindle by inserting the spindle into the hole.

During cutting, the cutting blade rotates as the spindle rotates. When the rotating cutting blade comes into contact with the work piece, the work piece is cut. Then, as the cutting progresses, the cutting blade is consumed and the cutting ability decreases.

The annular cutting blade includes abrasive grains and a bond material that holds the abrasive grains. In a state where the abrasive grains are appropriately exposed from the bond material, the abrasive grains come into contact with the workpiece, so that the workpiece can be appropriately cut. However, with an unused cutting blade or a cutting blade that has worn down and has deteriorated cutting ability, the abrasive particles are buried in the bond material, or the abrasive particles have fallen off from the bond material, so perform appropriate cutting. Not in a ready state.

Therefore, in order to make an unused cutting blade or a cutting blade having a reduced cutting force ready for cutting, the cutting blade is dressed. The dressing is performed by mounting the target cutting blade on the cutting unit and cutting the dressing board while rotating the cutting blade. When the dressing board is cut, the cutting blade is properly consumed, the abrasive grains are appropriately exposed from the bond material, and the state where appropriate cutting can be performed is achieved.

Further, when an unused cutting blade is attached to the cutting unit, the distance from the rotating shaft to the outer circumference of the cutting blade may not be uniform over the entire circumference. When a dressing board is cut with such a cutting blade, the outer circumference of the portion relatively large in distance from the rotating shaft is consumed severely, and the distance from the rotating shaft to the outer circumference is uniform over the entire circumference. The machine is ready for cutting.

In this way, dressing of the cutting blade is performed for the purpose of appropriately exposing the abrasive grains from the bond material (also called sharpening) and making the distance from the rotating shaft to the outer circumference uniform (also called perfect circle formation). Be implemented.

Here, the dressing board is formed by mixing abrasive particles such as alumina-based WA (white alundum) or silicon carbide-based GC (green carborundum) into a bond material such as resin or ceramics. There is. An appropriate type of dressing board is used according to the type of cutting blade to be dressed and the purpose of dressing.

Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a dressing board used for dressing. The dressing board is a dressing board that has a portion used for dressing and a portion used for forming a perfect circle, and that each portion can be used depending on the purpose of dressing.

Further, Patent Document 2 has two dressing board chuck tables for holding a dressing board, and it is possible to select which dressing board chuck table is to be used depending on the purpose of dressing. Is disclosed.

JP, 2006-218571, A JP, 2011-16175, A

There are a plurality of types of dressing boards that differ in the type of bond material and abrasive grains, their mixing ratio, and the like. The dressing board must be properly used depending on the type of cutting blade to be dressed and the purpose of dressing. Incorrect selection of the dressing board to be used may result in improper rounding and sharpening, which may worsen the condition of the dressing board and the cutting blade. However, since there are many types of cutting blades and dressing boats, it is highly possible that the dressing board to be used is selected incorrectly.

In particular, when dressing is required during cutting of the work piece and trying to perform dressing, if the cutting blade becomes unusable when the dressing board is selected incorrectly, the cutting blade must be replaced and the perfect circle must be rounded out again. I have to. Then, the mounting position and size of the cutting blade will change slightly, so it will be difficult to position the new cutting blade with respect to the work piece like the cutting blades that have been used until then. Processing cannot be continued, causing a problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to determine whether the dressing board held on the dressing board chuck table is a dressing board that meets the dressing conditions to be implemented. It is to provide a cutting device that can judge.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a first chuck table that holds a workpiece and a workpiece that can be mounted with a first cutting blade and that is held on the first chuck table are cut into the first cutting table. A first cutting unit that processes with a blade, an imaging camera that images the workpiece held on the chuck table, a control unit that controls each component, and an identification mark that dresses the first cutting blade are provided. A first dressing board chuck table for holding the attached first dressing board, and the control unit has a designating unit, an identifying unit, a determining unit, and an output unit, The designating unit has a function of designating a type of dressing board, and the identifying unit uses the imaging camera to identify the identification mark of the first dressing board held on the chuck table for the first dressing board. It has a function of identifying the type of the first dressing board held on the chuck table for the first dressing board from the captured image obtained by imaging, and the determination unit is identified by the identification unit. And a function of determining whether the type of the first dressing board matches the type of the dressing board designated by the designating unit, and the output unit outputs the determination result of the determining unit. A cutting device having a function is provided.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, the identification mark may be formed of a barcode, a pattern, an uneven portion, or a color attached to these. Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, a second cutting unit which is capable of mounting a second cutting blade and which processes a workpiece held by the first chuck table with the second cutting blade, A second dressing board chuck table for holding a second dressing board having an identification mark for dressing the second cutting blade; and the identification section is the second dressing board chuck table. The type of the second dressing board held on the second dressing board chuck table from the captured image obtained by capturing the identification mark of the second dressing board held on the imaging camera with the imaging camera. Further has a function of identifying the type, the determining unit determines whether the type of the second dressing board identified by the identifying unit is the type of dressing board designated by the designating unit. It may further have a function.

A cutting device according to an aspect of the present invention uses an imaging camera to capture an image of an identification mark attached to a dressing board held on a dressing board chuck table, and a dressing board that matches the dressing conditions to be implemented is mounted. Can be determined. Then, the determination result is output to notify the operator of the cutting device. Therefore, it can be warned by notifying the operator of the determination result that the wrong dressing board is attached to the dressing board chuck table.

An operator who knows that the wrong dressing board is installed on the dressing board chuck table can install the correct dressing board again. Therefore, in the cutting device, there is no possibility of performing dressing using an incorrect dressing board.

As described above, the present invention provides the cutting device capable of determining whether the dressing board held on the dressing board chuck table is a dressing board that meets the dressing conditions to be performed.

It is a perspective view which shows a cutting device typically. It is a fragmentary sectional view explaining the positional relationship of the cutting unit of a cutting device, a chuck table, a chuck table for dressing boards, and an imaging camera. FIG. 3(A) is a perspective view showing an example of an identification mark attached to a dressing board, and FIG. 3(B) is a perspective view showing another example of an identification mark attached to a dressing board. FIG. 3C is a perspective view showing another example of the identification mark attached to the dressing board.

An embodiment according to an aspect of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration example of a cutting device 2 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the cutting device 2 includes a base 4 that supports each structure.

A rectangular opening 4a is formed at the front corner of the base 4, and a cassette support 6 that moves up and down is provided in the opening 4a. On the upper surface of the cassette support base 6, a cassette 8 that houses a plurality of workpieces 11 is placed. Note that, in FIG. 1, only the outline of the cassette 8 is shown for convenience of description.

The workpiece 11 is, for example, a circular wafer made of a semiconductor material such as silicon, and the front surface side thereof is divided into a central device region and an outer peripheral surplus region surrounding the device region. The device region 15 is further divided into a plurality of regions by dividing lines (streets) arranged in a grid pattern, and devices such as IC and LSI are formed in each region.

A dicing tape 17 having a diameter larger than that of the workpiece 11 is attached to the back surface side of the workpiece 11. The outer peripheral portion of the dicing tape 17 is fixed to the annular frame 19. That is, the workpiece 11 is supported by the frame 19 via the dicing tape 17.

In the present embodiment, a circular wafer made of a semiconductor material such as silicon is used as the workpiece 11, but the material, shape, structure, etc. of the workpiece 11 are not limited. For example, a rectangular substrate made of a material such as ceramics, resin, or metal can be used as the workpiece 11. There are no restrictions on the type, quantity, or arrangement of devices.

A rectangular opening 4b that is long in the X-axis direction (front-back direction, processing feed direction) is formed on the side of the cassette support 6. An X-axis moving table 10, an X-axis moving mechanism (not shown) for moving the X-axis moving table 10 in the X-axis direction, and a dustproof and drip-proof cover 12 for covering the X-axis moving mechanism are provided in the opening 4b. ..

The X-axis moving mechanism includes a pair of X-axis guide rails (not shown) parallel to the X-axis direction, and the X-axis moving table 10 is slidably attached to the X-axis guide rails. A nut portion (not shown) is provided on the lower surface side of the X-axis moving table 10, and an X-axis ball screw (not shown) parallel to the X-axis guide rail is screwed into the nut portion.

An X-axis pulse motor (not shown) is connected to one end of the X-axis ball screw. By rotating the X-axis ball screw with the X-axis pulse motor, the X-axis moving table 10 moves in the X-axis direction along the X-axis guide rail.

A chuck table 14 for holding the workpiece 11 is provided above the X-axis moving table 10. Around the chuck table 14, four clamps 16 for fixing the annular frame 19 supporting the workpiece 11 from four sides are arranged.

The chuck table 14 is connected to a rotary drive source (not shown) such as a motor, and rotates about a rotation axis substantially parallel to the Z-axis direction (vertical direction). Further, the chuck table 14 is processed and fed in the X-axis direction by the above-mentioned X-axis moving mechanism.

The upper surface of the chuck table 14 is a holding surface 14 a that holds the workpiece 11. The holding surface 14a is connected to a suction source (not shown) through a suction path formed inside the chuck table 14.

A transport unit (not shown) that transports the workpiece 11 to the chuck table 14 is provided at a position close to the opening 4b. The workpiece 11 transported by the transport unit is placed on the holding surface 14a of the chuck table 14 so that the front surface side is exposed upward, for example.

On the upper surface of the base 4, a gate-shaped support structure 24 for supporting the two cutting units 22 (first cutting unit 22a and second cutting unit 22b) is arranged so as to straddle the opening 4b. .. Two sets of cutting unit moving mechanisms 26 for moving each cutting unit 22 in the Y-axis direction (left-right direction, indexing feed direction) and the Z-axis direction are provided on the upper front surface of the support structure 24.

Each cutting unit moving mechanism 26 is commonly provided with a pair of Y-axis guide rails 28 arranged in front of the support structure 24 and parallel to the Y-axis direction. A Y-axis moving plate 30 that constitutes each cutting unit moving mechanism 26 is slidably attached to the Y-axis guide rail 28.

A nut portion (not shown) is provided on the rear surface side (rear surface side) of each Y-axis moving plate 30, and a Y-axis ball screw 32 parallel to the Y-axis guide rail 28 is screwed into the nut portion. Has been done. A Y-axis pulse motor 34 is connected to one end of each Y-axis ball screw 32. When the Y-axis ball screw 32 is rotated by the Y-axis pulse motor 34, the Y-axis moving plate 30 moves in the Y-axis direction along the Y-axis guide rail 28.

A pair of Z-axis guide rails 36 parallel to the Z-axis direction are provided on the surface (front surface) of each Y-axis moving plate 30. A Z-axis moving plate 38 is slidably attached to the Z-axis guide rail 36.

A nut portion (not shown) is provided on the back surface side (rear surface side) of each Z-axis moving plate 38, and a Z-axis ball screw 40 parallel to the Z-axis guide rail 36 is screwed into the nut portion. Has been done. A Z-axis pulse motor 42 is connected to one end of each Z-axis ball screw 40. When the Z-axis ball screw 40 is rotated by the Z-axis pulse motor 42, the Z-axis moving plate 38 moves in the Z-axis direction along the Z-axis guide rail 36.

The cutting unit 22 is provided below each Z-axis moving plate 38. The cutting unit 22 includes an annular cutting blade 46 (see FIG. 2) mounted on one end side of a spindle 44 (see FIG. 2) serving as a rotating shaft. An image pickup camera (image pickup unit) 48 for picking up an image of the workpiece 11 or the like is provided at a position adjacent to the cutting unit 22.

When the Y-axis moving plate 30 is moved in the Y-axis direction by each cutting unit moving mechanism 26, the cutting unit 22 and the imaging camera 48 are indexed and fed in the Y-axis direction. When the Z-axis moving plate 38 is moved in the Z-axis direction by each cutting unit moving mechanism 26, the cutting unit 22 and the imaging camera 48 move up and down.

A circular opening 4c is formed at a position opposite to the opening 4a with respect to the opening 4b. In the opening 4c, a cleaning unit 50 for cleaning the workpiece 11 after cutting is provided. A control unit (control means) 52 is connected to the components such as the X-axis moving mechanism, the chuck table 14, the cutting unit 22, the cutting unit moving mechanism 26, the imaging camera 48, and the cleaning unit 50. Each component is controlled by this control unit (control means) 52.

Further, the X-axis moving table 10 of the cutting device 2 according to the present embodiment is provided with two dressing board chuck tables 54. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing one configuration example of the dressing board chuck table 54.

FIG. 2 shows the imaging camera 48 in a state of being positioned to image the dressing board 21 and the cutting blade 46 in a state of being positioned to start cutting of the workpiece 11. However, due to the configuration of the cutting device 2 shown in FIG. 1, the imaging camera 48 and the cutting blade 46 cannot be simultaneously positioned in this way. In FIG. 2, for convenience of explanation, the respective positions are displayed in this manner.

As shown in FIG. 2, the dressing board chuck table 54 is arranged on the rear end side of the chuck table 14 of the X-axis moving table 10, and is used when dressing the cutting blade 46. The dressing board chuck table 54 has a support plate 56 extending rearward from the X-axis moving table 10. The lower surface on the front end side of the support plate 56 is fixed to the upper surface on the rear end side of the X-axis moving table 10.

The upper surface of the dressing board chuck table 54 is a holding surface 54a that holds the dressing board. For example, a cross-shaped suction groove is formed in the holding surface 54a in a plan view, and a suction hole is formed at the center of the cross. The suction hole communicates with a suction source (not shown) through a suction path (not shown) inside the dressing board chuck table 54.

When the dressing board 21 is placed on the holding surface 54a of the dressing board chuck table 54, a negative pressure is applied from the suction source to suck and hold the dressing board 21 on the holding surface 54a.

If the cutting device 2 is not provided with the dressing board chuck table 54, the dressing board 21 is held by the chuck table 14 when dressing the cutting blade. Then, when performing the cutting process, it is necessary to remove the dressing board 21 held by the chuck table 14 and hold the workpiece 11 instead, but this replacement work is troublesome.

Furthermore, when the cutting blade is consumed during the cutting process and it is desired to dress the cutting blade, the workpiece 11 needs to be moved in order to hold the dressing board 21 on the chuck table 14. Then, in order to continue the cutting process after dressing, this is difficult if the workpiece 11 must be repositioned in exactly the same state as before the movement. When the cutting device 2 is provided with the dressing board chuck table 54 in addition to the chuck table 14, such a problem does not occur.

The dressing board chuck table 54 is arranged on the rear end side of the chuck table 14 of the X-axis moving table 10. If the dressing board chuck table 54 is arranged on the front end side of the chuck table 14, the cutting chips of the dressing board 23 will be scattered on the workpiece 11 held on the chuck table 14, and The workpiece 11 is contaminated.

When the workpiece 11 held on the chuck table 14 is cut, the image pickup camera 48 images the workpiece 11 and confirms a key pattern and a planned cutting line used to determine a cutting position. Used for. Further, the imaging camera 48 can move above the dressing board chuck table 54 and can image the dressing board 21 held by the holding surface 54a. An identification mark 23 (see FIG. 3) is attached to the dressing board 21, and the identification mark 23 is reflected in the captured image. Then, the image data obtained by imaging is sent to the control unit 52 of the cutting device 2.

Next, the components of the control unit 52 of the cutting device 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 1, and the respective functions will be further described. The control unit 52 is, for example, a management device of the cutting device 2, and the control unit 52, each component described below, and the function thereof may be realized as a program in the management device.

The control unit 52 has a designation section 52a, and information regarding the cutting blade 46 is input to the designation section 52a. Then, the designating unit 52a designates the type of dressing board to be used for dressing the cutting blade 46 based on the input information about the cutting blade 46.

Information regarding the designated type of dressing board is sent to the output unit 52d of the control unit 52, and the output unit 52 transmits the type of dressing board to the operator of the cutting device 2. The output unit 52 has a display, for example, and displays the type of the dressing board on the screen. Then, the operator places the dressing board 21 of the corresponding type on the holding surface 54a of the dressing board chuck table 54. The dressing board is suction-held on the holding surface 54a.

The control unit 52 moves the imaging camera 48 to above the dressing board chuck table 54 as shown in FIG. 2, and images the dressing board 21 suction-held. The obtained captured image is sent to the identification unit 52b of the control unit 52. The identification unit 52b extracts the identification mark 23 reflected in the captured image, identifies the type of the dressing board 21 from the identification mark 23 (see FIG. 3), and controls information about the type of the dressing board 21. It is sent to the determination unit 52c of the unit 52.

The determination unit 52c of the control unit 52 receives the information regarding the type of the dressing board 21 held on the dressing chuck table 54 from the identification unit 52b. In addition, information regarding the type of the designated dressing board is received from the designation unit 52a. Then, it is determined whether or not the two match, and information regarding the determination result is sent to the output unit 52d. The output unit 52d outputs the determination result and notifies the operator of the apparatus of the determination result. For example, when the output unit 52d has a display, the determination result is displayed on the screen.

The output unit 52d may further include, for example, a buzzer, and in that case, particularly when the determination results do not match, a warning sound is emitted to warn the operator of the apparatus. When the output unit 52d has such a buzzer, the operator does not need to be careful about the type of the dressing board 21 except when the buzzer sounds a warning sound. Further, when the determination results are in agreement, the buzzer may emit a sound notifying that it is in a normal state.

If the determination results are in agreement, the dressing board 21 is of a type suitable for dressing the cutting blade 46, and therefore the dressing board 21 can be used to dress the cutting blade 46 without any problem. On the other hand, if the determination results do not match, the dressing board 21 held by the dressing chuck table 54 is unsuitable, and the operator of the apparatus replaces the dressing board 21 with an appropriate one. Then, the control unit 52 is made to make the determination again.

As described above, when the dressing board 21 is imaged by the imaging camera 48 of the cutting device 2 and the type of the dressing board is determined by the control unit 52, it is possible to determine whether the dressing board 21 meets the dressing conditions.

Next, the identification mark 23 attached to the dressing board 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C are perspective views showing the dressing board 21 and the identification marks 23 (23a, 23b, 23c) provided on the dressing board 21. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the identification mark 23a attached to the dressing board 21 is composed of a bar code. The identification code 23a is formed by printing on the dressing board 21, for example. Alternatively, it is formed by engraving the dressing board 21 using a laser processing device or the like. Alternatively, the tape on which the identification code 23a is printed is adhered to the dressing board 21 to configure it.

The identification mark 23a stores information about the type of the dressing board 21 to which the identification mark 23a is attached, and the type of the dressing board 21 can be identified from the identification mark 23a.

The identification mark 23 does not have to be a bar code, and may be, for example, an identification mark 23b formed of a pattern as shown in FIG. Similarly, the identification mark 23b formed of a pattern is also formed by printing, engraving, sticking a sticker, or the like. Information on the type of the dressing board 21 with the identification mark 23b is stored in the identification mark 23b.

Furthermore, the identification mark 23 does not have to be a barcode or a pattern, and for example, as shown in FIG. 3C, the identification mark 23c formed of an uneven portion may be used. Similarly, the identification mark 23c composed of the uneven portion is also formed by printing, engraving or the like. In addition, a seal with embossing or the like to form irregularities is attached, or a seal having the same planar shape as the convex portion is attached.

The identification mark 23 also includes a barcode, a pattern, or a color added to the uneven portion, and is used for displaying information regarding the type of the dressing board 21. For example, when a barcode is printed as the identification mark 23 when the dressing board 21 is manufactured, if the color of the ink used for the printing is changed depending on the time of manufacturing, the dressing is changed from the color attached to the identification mark 23. The manufacturing time of the board 21 can be determined. The identification mark 23 is not limited to these.

The dressing boat 21 installed in the cutting device 2 according to the present embodiment is provided with the identification mark 23 as described above. The cutting device 2 images the dressing board 21 using the imaging camera 48 used to image the workpiece 11 and obtains information regarding the type of the dressing board 21 using the identification mark 23 reflected in the captured image. Then, the cutting blade 46 can be dressed using the dressing board 21 determined to be suitable for the cutting blade 46. Therefore, there is no possibility of dressing with an inappropriate dressing board 21.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the description of the above embodiment and can be implemented with various modifications. For example, in the above embodiment, the cutting device 2 including the cutting unit 22 and the dressing board chuck table 54, respectively, has been described. However, the numbers of the cutting unit and the dressing board chuck table included in the cutting device 2 are not limited to this, and the cutting device 2 may include one, for example.

Further, for example, in the above embodiment, the type of dressing board is discriminated from the identification mark. However, not only the dressing board but also the cutting blade may be provided with an identification mark so that the imaging camera of the cutting device can determine the type of the cutting blade. Then, the information about the type of cutting blade can be automatically input to the control unit, so that the labor of input can be reduced and the risk of inputting the type of cutting blade is eliminated.

In addition, the structures, methods, and the like according to the above-described embodiments can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the object of the present invention.

2 cutting device 4 base 4a, 4b, 4c opening 6 cassette support 8 cassette 10 X-axis moving table 12 dust-proof and drip cover 14 chuck table 14a holding surface 16 clamp 22 cutting unit 22a first cutting unit 22b second cutting unit 24 Support structure 26 Cutting unit moving mechanism 28 Y-axis guide rail 30 Y-axis moving plate 32 Y-axis ball screw 34 Y-axis pulse motor 36 Z-axis guide rail 38 Z-axis moving plate 40 Z-axis ball screw 42 Z-axis pulse motor 46 Cutting blade 48 Imaging Camera (imaging unit)
50 cleaning unit 52 control unit (control means)
52a Designating Part 52b Identification Part 52c Judgment Part 52d Output Part 54 Chuck Table for Dressing Board 54a Holding Surface 56 Support Plate 11 Workpiece 15 Device Area 17 Dicing Tape 19 Frame 21 Dressboard 23, 23a, 23b, 23c Identification Mark

Claims (3)

A first chuck table for holding a work piece, and a first cutting unit capable of mounting a first cutting blade and processing the work piece held by the first chuck table with the first cutting blade. An imaging camera for imaging the workpiece held on the chuck table, a control unit for controlling each component, and a first dressing board with an identification mark for dressing the first cutting blade. A first dressing board chuck table for holding,
The control unit has a designation unit, an identification unit, a determination unit, and an output unit,
The designation unit has a function of designating the type of dressing board,
The discriminating section is for the first dressing board from a captured image obtained by capturing the discrimination mark of the first dressing board held on the chuck table for the first dressing board with the image capturing camera. Has a function of identifying the type of the first dressing board held on the chuck table,
The determining unit has a function of determining whether or not the type of the first dressing board identified by the identifying unit matches the type of dressing board designated by the designating unit,
The cutting device, wherein the output unit has a function of outputting a determination result of the determination unit. The cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the identification mark is composed of a bar code, a pattern, a concavo-convex portion, or a color attached to these. A second cutting unit capable of mounting a second cutting blade and processing the workpiece held by the first chuck table with the second cutting blade;
Further comprising a second dressing board chuck table for holding a second dressing board having an identification mark for dressing the second cutting blade,
The identifying unit uses the image of the identification mark of the second dressing board held on the chuck table for the second dressing board with the image capturing camera to obtain the image for the second dressing board. Further having a function of identifying the type of the second dressing board held on the chuck table,
The determination unit further has a function of determining whether the type of the second dressing board identified by the identification unit is the type of dressing board designated by the designation unit. The cutting device according to claim 1.