JP7486709B2 - Temperature application device and temperature application method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a workpiece dividing device and a workpiece dividing method, and in particular to a workpiece dividing device and a workpiece dividing method for dividing a workpiece, such as a semiconductor wafer, into individual chips, on which a division line has already been machined.

Conventionally, in the manufacture of semiconductor chips (hereafter referred to as chips), a workpiece dividing device is known that divides (also referred to as singulation) a semiconductor wafer (hereafter referred to as wafer), into which a division line has been pre-processed by laser irradiation or the like, into individual chips along the division line (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

The wafer is attached to a dicing tape (hereinafter also referred to as an expansion tape) via a film-like adhesive, such as DAF (Die Attach Film) or LC tape (product name: manufactured by Lintec Corporation), and a chip protection material, and the workpiece dividing device expands (hereinafter referred to as expanding) the dicing tape to separate the wafer, the film-like adhesive, and the chip protection material into individual chips.

Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram of a wafer unit 2 to which a wafer 1 to be divided by a workpiece dividing device is attached, where Figure 10(A) is a perspective view of the wafer unit 2 and Figure 10(B) is a cross-sectional view of the wafer unit 2.

The wafer unit 2 is composed of a wafer 1, a film-like adhesive 3, a dicing tape 4, and a frame 5. The wafer 1 is attached to the dicing tape 4, which has a thickness of about 100 μm and has an adhesive layer formed on its surface, via the film-like adhesive 3, and the dicing tape 4 has its outer periphery fixed to a rigid ring-shaped frame 5.

In the workpiece dividing device, the frame 5 of the wafer unit 2 is fixed, and then the dicing tape 4 is pushed up and expanded by the rising movement of the expansion ring. This divides the wafer 1 into individual chips 6.

The dicing tape 4 has a low Young's modulus and is flexible, and the film-like adhesive 3 generally has high viscosity at around room temperature. For this reason, in order to smoothly divide the wafer 1 into individual chips 6, it is necessary to expand the dicing tape 4 after cooling and making the dicing tape 4 and film-like adhesive 3 brittle.

As a method for cooling expansion tape, the atmospheric cooling method disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known, and as a method for cooling film-like adhesive, the low-temperature chuck table method disclosed in Patent Document 2 is known.

Here, in this specification, the area of the dicing tape 4 where the wafer 1 is attached via the film-like adhesive 3, i.e., the area where the wafer 1 is divided, is referred to as the "dividing area 4A," and the area formed outside the dividing area 4A is referred to as the "non-dividing area 4B." This non-dividing area 4B is the area of the dicing tape 4 excluding the "fixing area 4C" that is fixed to the frame 5.

Patent document 1 discloses a method of cooling the expansion tape to 10 to -15°C using cold air by bringing a cooling means close to the part corresponding to the non-divided region 4B, or a method of cooling the expansion tape using cold air from a cold air inlet, but both methods cool the expansion tape by cooling the atmosphere that contains the expansion tape.

In contrast, the low-temperature chuck table method of Patent Document 2 involves bringing a low-temperature chuck table into contact with the portion of the dicing tape that corresponds to the division area 4A, and locally cooling the film-like adhesive through the dicing tape.

JP 2012-146722 A JP 2015-164233 A

The film-like adhesive 3 shown in FIG. 10 generally has a larger Young's modulus than the dicing tape 4. Due to this difference in Young's modulus, the divided region 4A of the dicing tape 4 to which the film-like adhesive 3 is attached tends to expand less than the undivided region 4B when expanded. In other words, the hardness of the divided region 4A is governed by the hardness of the film-like adhesive 3, and is harder than the undivided region 4B.

As a result, the workpiece dividing devices in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have the following problems:

The atmospheric cooling method of Patent Document 1 is a method of cooling the expansion tape by cooling the atmosphere, in other words, a method of cooling the entire expansion tape, so the difference in the amount of expansion between the divided and undivided areas of the expansion tape does not decrease, and only the undivided areas tend to expand. As a result, even if the expansion tape is expanded, the divided areas cannot be expanded to the desired amount, and there is a problem in that the wafer cannot be smoothly divided into individual chips.

On the other hand, the low-temperature chuck table cooling method of Patent Document 2 uses a low-temperature chuck table to locally cool the division area, so the non-division area is more likely to stretch than with the atmospheric cooling method of Patent Document 1, and this method also has the problem of being unable to smoothly divide the wafer into individual chips.

The above-mentioned problems can also occur in wafer units that do not have a film-like adhesive. In other words, because the hardness of the division area is governed by the hardness of the wafer, there is a problem in that the wafer cannot be smoothly divided into individual chips due to the difference in the amount of expansion between the division area and the non-division area of the dicing tape.

The present invention was made in consideration of these problems, and aims to provide a work division device and a work division method that can smoothly divide a wafer into individual chips without being affected by differences in the amount of expansion of the dicing tape.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, the workpiece dividing device of the present invention divides a wafer attached to a dicing tape and mounted on a ring-shaped frame into individual chips, the dicing tape having a dividing area to which the wafer is attached and a non-divided area formed outside the dividing area, and the device is equipped with a temperature difference generating means for generating a temperature difference such that the non-divided area is relatively lower than the dividing area, and an expanding means for expanding the dicing tape in which a temperature difference has been generated by the temperature difference generating means.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, the workpiece dividing method of the present invention divides a wafer attached to a dicing tape and mounted on a ring-shaped frame into individual chips, the dicing tape having a dividing area to which the wafer is attached and a non-dividing area formed outside the dividing area, and the method includes a temperature difference generating step of generating a temperature difference such that the non-dividing area is relatively cooler than the dividing area, and an expanding step of expanding the dicing tape with the temperature difference generated.

According to the present invention, a temperature difference (temperature of the dividing region > temperature of the non-dividing region) is created such that the non-dividing region is relatively cooler than the dividing region, and the hardness of the non-dividing region is made closer to that of the dividing region or is made harder than that of the dividing region. This makes it possible to eliminate or reduce the difference in the amount of expansion between the dividing region and the non-dividing region of the dicing tape when expanding the dicing tape, thereby making it possible to achieve a desired amount of expansion suitable for dividing the wafer. Therefore, the wafer can be smoothly divided into individual chips without being affected by the difference in the amount of expansion of the dicing tape.

In one aspect of the workpiece dividing device of the present invention, the temperature difference generating means preferably includes a first temperature applying means for applying a first temperature to the divided region, and a second temperature applying means for applying a second temperature, which is lower than the first temperature, to the undivided region.

In one aspect of the workpiece dividing method of the present invention, the temperature difference generating step preferably applies a first temperature to the divided region and a second temperature lower than the first temperature to the undivided region.

In one aspect of the workpiece dividing device of the present invention, the expanding means has an expanding ring that pushes up the non-dividing region of the dicing tape, and the second temperature applying means preferably applies the second temperature to a region of the non-dividing region that is located between the outer periphery of the expanding ring and the inner periphery of the frame.

In one aspect of the workpiece dividing method of the present invention, the temperature difference generating step preferably applies the second temperature to a region of the non-dividing region that is located between the outer periphery of the expanding ring that expands the dicing tape and the inner periphery of the frame.

In one embodiment of the workpiece dividing device of the present invention, the temperature difference generating means preferably includes an atmosphere cooling means for cooling the atmosphere including the dicing tape, and a local cooling means for locally cooling the non-dividing region of the dicing tape.

In one embodiment of the workpiece dividing method of the present invention, the temperature difference generating process preferably includes an atmosphere cooling process for cooling the atmosphere including the dicing tape, and a local cooling process for locally cooling the dividing region of the dicing tape.

In one embodiment of the workpiece dividing device of the present invention, the temperature difference generating means preferably includes an atmosphere cooling means for cooling the atmosphere including the dicing tape, and a local heating means for locally heating the dividing region of the dicing tape.

In one embodiment of the workpiece dividing method of the present invention, the temperature difference generating process preferably includes an atmosphere cooling process for cooling the atmosphere including the dicing tape, and a local heating process for locally heating the dividing region of the dicing tape.

In one embodiment of the workpiece dividing method of the present invention, the wafer is preferably attached to the dicing tape via a film-like adhesive.

The present invention allows the wafer to be smoothly divided into individual chips without being affected by differences in the amount of expansion of the dicing tape.

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a main part of a workpiece dividing device according to a first embodiment; Flowchart of work division method FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the work division device of FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of dividing a wafer into chips by the work dividing device of FIG. 1. Dicing tape expansion maintained by sub-ring FIG. 13 is a structural diagram of a main part of a workpiece dividing device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a structural diagram of a main part of a workpiece dividing device according to a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a structural diagram of a main part of a workpiece dividing device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a structural diagram of a main part of a workpiece dividing device according to a fifth embodiment. An explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a wafer unit.

Below, preferred embodiments of the workpiece dividing device and workpiece dividing method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made to the following embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

[Workpiece dividing device 10A of the first embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a workpiece dividing device 10A according to a first embodiment.

The workpiece dividing device 10A is equipped with a first temperature applying means and a second temperature applying means that constitute the temperature difference generating means. That is, the workpiece dividing device 10A is equipped with a disk-shaped low-temperature chuck table 12 that corresponds to the first temperature applying means, a ring-shaped low-temperature plate 14 that corresponds to the second temperature applying means, and an expand ring 16 that constitutes the expand means.

As an example, the dicing tape 4 of the wafer unit 2 shown in FIG. 10 is placed on the flat upper surface 12A of the low-temperature chuck table 12. The wafer unit 2 is configured by mounting a disk-shaped wafer 1 to a frame 5 via the dicing tape 4. The wafer 1 is attached to the dicing tape 4 via a film-like adhesive 3 such as DAF or LC tape. Of the dicing tape 4 of the wafer unit 2, the circular division area 4A placed on the upper surface 12A of the low-temperature chuck table 12 is cooled by the low-temperature chuck table 12, and a part of the ring-shaped non-division area 4B formed outside the division area 4A of the dicing tape 4 is placed on the flat upper surface 14A of the low-temperature plate 14 and cooled. This area 4E is a ring-shaped area between the outer periphery 16A of the expand ring 16 and the inner periphery 5A of the frame 5. In other words, the ring-shaped push-up region 4D of the dicing tape 4, which is in contact with the upper surface 16B of the expand ring 16, is excluded from the region 4E that is cooled by the low-temperature plate 14. The reason for this will be described later.

The thickness of the wafer 1 is, for example, about 50 μm, and the thickness of the film-like adhesive 3 is several μm to about 100 μm. The dicing tape 4 is, for example, a PVC (polyvinyl chloride) tape. Furthermore, the film-like adhesive 3 is made of a base material with a larger Young's modulus than the dicing tape 4, for example, a PO (polyolefin) based material.

The low-temperature chuck table 12 holds the dividing region 4A of the dicing tape 4 by vacuum suction, thereby contact-applying a first temperature to the part of the dicing tape 4 present in the dividing region 4A, the entire film-like adhesive 3, and the entire wafer 1. The first temperature is, for example, 5°C or lower, and preferably about 5°C to -5°C. As a result, the dividing region 4A is cooled to the first temperature by the low-temperature chuck table 12.

The method of cooling the divided region 4A by the low-temperature chuck table 12 includes supplying a refrigerant to the inside of the low-temperature chuck table 12, but it is also possible to use a method of freezing the upper surface 12A of the low-temperature chuck table 12 using the Peltier effect. In this way, only the divided region 4A is selectively cooled by the low-temperature chuck table 12.

The reason for cooling the division area 4A using the low-temperature chuck table 12 is to make the film-like adhesive 3 easier to divide by cooling it and making it brittle. In other words, the film-like adhesive 3 has a high viscosity at room temperature, so even if the expand ring 16 pushes up the dicing tape 4 from below, the film-like adhesive 3 expands together with the dicing tape 4 and is not divided.

It is preferable that the diameter of the low-temperature chuck table 12 is approximately equal to the diameter of the wafer 1. For example, if the diameter of the wafer 1 is 8 inches (approximately 200 mm), it is preferable that the diameter of the upper surface of the low-temperature chuck table 12 is also approximately 8 inches.

When region 4E of dicing tape 4 is placed on its upper surface 14A, low-temperature plate 14 applies a second temperature, which is lower than the first temperature, to region 4E of dicing tape 4 by contact. The second temperature is preferably, for example, 5°C lower than the first temperature. In this case, the second temperature is approximately 0 to -10°C. This creates a temperature difference in which region 4E is relatively lower than division region 4A.

As a method for cooling the region 4E using the low-temperature plate 14, a method of supplying a refrigerant to the inside of the low-temperature plate 14, similar to the low-temperature chuck table 12, may also be used. Alternatively, a method of freezing the upper surface 14A of the low-temperature plate 14 using the Peltier effect may be used. In this way, the region 4E is locally cooled by the low-temperature plate 14.

The reason why the low-temperature plate 14 cools the region 4E to a lower temperature than the dividing region 4A is to make the hardness of the region 4E closer to that of the dividing region 4A or to make the hardness of the region 4E harder than that of the dividing region 4A. In other words, the expansion force transmitted from the expand ring 16 to the dicing tape 4 is reliably transmitted from the region 4E to the dividing region 4A, expanding the dividing region 4A to the desired amount, and smoothly dividing the wafer 1 into individual chips 6.

The dicing tape 4 is expanded by the expansion ring 16, so its size is naturally larger than the wafer 1. For example, if the diameter of the wafer 1 is 8 inches, the diameter of the dicing tape 4 is preferably about 300 mm. The wafer 1 is attached to the approximate center of the dicing tape 4 via the film-like adhesive 3, and the length between the outer periphery 1A of the wafer 1 and the inner periphery 5A of the frame 5 is about 50 mm.

The diameter of the film-like adhesive 3 is slightly larger than the diameter of the wafer 1. In other words, the film-like adhesive 3 used is, for example, about 1 cm larger in diameter than the wafer 1, taking into account the amount of misalignment that may occur when the wafer 1 is attached to the film-like adhesive 3. The region between the outer periphery 3A of the film-like adhesive 3 and the inner periphery 5A of the frame 5 corresponds to the non-dividing region 4B, which includes the push-up region 4D and region 4E. Note that in FIG. 1, the difference in diameter between the wafer 1 and the film-like adhesive 3 is exaggerated.

The expand ring 16 is disposed inside the low-temperature plate 14 and surrounding the low-temperature chuck table 12, and is connected to a ring lifting mechanism 18 constituting the expanding means, and is raised and lowered. A roller 20 is rotatably provided on the upper surface 16B of the expand ring 16, which pushes up the push-up region 4D of the dicing tape 4, to reduce the frictional force between the push-up region 4D and the expand ring 16. Note that FIG. 1 shows the expand ring 16 waiting in the lowered position. The expand ring 16 is preferably made of a metal with good thermal conductivity, such as aluminum.

The wafer 1 shown in FIG. 10 has planned division lines formed in advance in a grid pattern inside it by laser irradiation or the like. The expand ring 16 in FIG. 1 rises to push up the push-up area 4D of the dicing tape 4 from below, expanding the dicing tape 4 (see FIG. 4). By expanding the dicing tape 4 in this way, the wafer 1 is divided along the planned division lines, and the wafer 1 is divided into individual chips 6 together with the film-like adhesive 3.

Returning to FIG. 1, the frame 5 of the wafer unit 2 is fixed to a frame fixing mechanism 22. A sub-ring 24 is provided on the outer periphery of the expand ring 16. The sub-ring 24 is raised and lowered together with the expand ring 16 by a ring lifting mechanism 18. This sub-ring 24 has the function of maintaining the expanded state of the expanded dicing tape 4 and maintaining the spacing between the individual divided chips 6 (see FIG. 5).

The operation of the work division device 10A, which divides the wafer 1 into individual chips 6, will be described below according to the flowchart in FIG. 2 and the block diagram of the work division device 10A in FIG. 3.

In the embodiment of the work division device 10A, the temperature difference between the division area 4A and the area 4E during expansion is important. For this reason, in the work division device 10A, as shown in FIG. 3, the low-temperature chuck table 12, the low-temperature plate 14, and the ring lifting mechanism 18 are controlled by the same control unit 40 under temperature control. That is, when the low-temperature chuck table 12 applies a first temperature to the division area 4A and the low-temperature plate 14 applies a second temperature to the area 4E, the control unit 40 raises the ring lifting mechanism 18 to expand the dicing tape 4.

First, in step S100 of FIG. 2, the frame 5 of the wafer unit 2 is fixed to the frame fixing mechanism 22 as shown in FIG. 1. This causes the divided region 4A of the wafer unit 2 to be placed on the upper surface 12A of the low-temperature chuck table 12, and the region 4E to be placed on the upper surface 14A of the low-temperature plate 14. The control unit 40 drives the low-temperature chuck table 12 and the low-temperature plate 14 in advance, and sets the temperature of the low-temperature chuck table 12 to a first temperature and the temperature of the low-temperature plate 14 to a second temperature lower than the first temperature.

Next, in the temperature difference generating process in step S110 of FIG. 2, the division area 4A of the wafer unit 2 is vacuum-adsorbed by the low-temperature chuck table 12, and the division area 4A is securely brought into contact with the upper surface 12A of the low-temperature chuck table 12. At this time, since the low-temperature chuck table 12 is set to the first temperature, this contact imparts the first temperature of about 5 to -5°C to the division area 4A, and the division area 4A is cooled to the first temperature. This makes the film-like adhesive 3 brittle, and it becomes easily breakable when an expanding force is applied.

In addition, since region 4E is in contact with low-temperature plate 14 at the same time as division region 4A is cooled by low-temperature chuck table 12, a second temperature that is 5°C lower than division region 4A is applied to region 4E, and region 4E is cooled to the second temperature. This makes region 4E relatively colder than division region 4A. In other words, the hardness of region 4E is brought closer to the hardness of division region 4A, or the hardness of region 4E is harder than the hardness of division region 4A.

Next, during the expansion process in step S120 in FIG. 2, the expansion ring 16 is raised by the ring lifting mechanism 18, as shown in FIG. 4, to expand the dicing tape 4 and divide the wafer 1 together with the film-like adhesive 3.

Specifically, the control unit 40 releases the vacuum suction of the division area 4A by the low-temperature chuck table 12, and the control unit 40 controls the ring lifting mechanism 18 to raise the expand ring 16 and the sub-ring 24. The expand ring 16 is raised, for example, at 400 mm/sec, and pushed up 15 mm. At this time, the sub-ring 24 stops at a position below the frame 5. At this time, the hardness of the region 4E of the dicing tape 4 is made close to that of the division area 4A, or the hardness of the region 4E is made harder than that of the division area 4A, so that the expansion force transmitted from the expand ring 16 to the dicing tape 4 is reliably transmitted from the region 4E to the division area 4A via the push-up region 4D, and the division area 4A expands to the desired expansion amount. As a result, the wafer 1 is divided along the planned division line, and is smoothly divided into individual chips 6. Furthermore, gaps of several μm to 100 μm are formed between the individual chips 6 that have been separated, but since the film-like adhesive 3 has cooled and become brittle, the film-like adhesive 3 is also separated along the planned separation line together with the wafer 1. This allows the wafer 1 to be smoothly separated into each chip 6 with the film-like adhesive 3 attached to its backside.

When the dicing tape 4 is released from the expansion ring 16, it returns to its original shape due to its elasticity, eliminating the gaps between each chip 6, so it is necessary to maintain the expanded state of the dicing tape 4 at least in the areas where each chip 6 is present.

Therefore, in step S130 of FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 5, the sub-ring 24 is further raised and inserted into a position above the frame 5, and the non-dividable region 4B of the expanded dicing tape 4 is clamped between the sub-ring 24 and the frame 5. Alternatively, the dicing tape 4 can be thermally contracted using heat to maintain the expanded state.

Next, in step S140 of FIG. 2, the expand ring 16 is lowered to release the expansion of the dicing tape 4 by the expand ring 16. At this time, the sub-ring 24 is left in the position shown in FIG. 5, so the expanded state of the dicing tape 4 is maintained. This maintains a wide gap between each chip 6, preventing the film-like adhesive 3 from re-adhering, and also making it easy to pick up the chip 6 from the dicing tape 4. The above is the function of the work division device 10A, whose operation is controlled by the control unit 40.

According to the first embodiment of the workpiece dividing device 10A configured as described above, the low-temperature chuck table 12 that applies a first temperature to the divided region 4A and the low-temperature plate 14 that applies a second temperature lower than the first temperature to the region 4E are separately provided, so that a relative temperature difference (e.g., 5°C) can be created between the divided regions 4A and 4E, making the hardness of the region 4E closer to that of the divided region 4A, or making the hardness of the region 4E harder than that of the divided region 4A.

As a result, the workpiece dividing device 10A of the first embodiment can eliminate or reduce the difference in the amount of expansion between the dividing area 4A and the area 4E of the dicing tape 4 during the expanding process, and can expand the dividing area 4A to the desired amount of expansion. Therefore, the wafer 1 can be smoothly divided into individual chips 6 without being affected by the difference in the amount of expansion of the dicing tape 4.

The region 4E is set in the region between the outer periphery 16A of the expand ring 16 and the inner periphery 5A of the frame 5. That is, the push-up region 4D of the dicing tape 4, which the expand ring 16 abuts against, is excluded from the region 4E to which the second temperature is applied. This makes it possible to prevent the push-up region 4D from becoming brittle due to the effect of applying the second temperature to the push-up region 4D, and thus preventing it from breaking during expansion. Depending on the second temperature, the entire region of the non-dividing region 4B may be cooled to the second temperature. That is, the push-up region 4D may also be cooled to the second temperature.

The low-temperature chuck table 12 is a member that comes into contact with the divided region 4A to apply a first temperature to the divided region 4A, and the low-temperature plate 14 is a member that comes into contact with the region 4E to locally apply a second temperature to the region 4E. This allows the divided region 4A to be cooled to the first temperature and the region 4E to be cooled to the second temperature, both of which are the target temperatures, in a short period of time.

As another example, the first temperature by the low-temperature chuck table 12 is set to 5 to -5°C, and the second temperature by the low-temperature plate 14 is set to 5°C lower than the first temperature, so that the hardness of region 4E can be made closer to the hardness of divided region 4A, or made harder than the hardness of divided region 4A.

In another embodiment, the low-temperature plate 14 may be brought into contact with the region 4E from above the dicing tape 4 to cool the region 4E to the second temperature. However, when the low-temperature plate 14 is brought into contact with the region 4E from above the dicing tape 4, the low-temperature plate 14 may come into contact with the film-like adhesive 3, in which case the low-temperature plate 14 adheres to the film-like adhesive 3. When the low-temperature plate 14 is peeled off from the film-like adhesive 3, the dicing tape 4 may vibrate, and this vibration may cause chip cracks. In the workpiece dividing device 10A of the first embodiment, the low-temperature plate 14 is in contact with the region 4E from below the dicing tape 4, so that the occurrence of the above-mentioned chip cracks can be prevented.

The purpose of the present invention is to create a temperature difference where the undivided region 4B is relatively cooler than the divided region 4A. Therefore, it is within the scope of the present invention to create a temperature difference where the undivided region 4B is relatively cooler than the divided region 4A by cooling the region 4E and heating the divided region 4A. For example, the same effect can be obtained by locally cooling the region 4E to 0 to -10°C using a cooling method and locally heating the divided region 4A to a temperature 5°C higher than this temperature using a heating method.

In another use, cooling area 4E and heating dividing area 4A causes the stress during expansion to be greater in dividing area 4A, which is advantageous when dividing a metal composite film on the planned dividing line during expansion.

To be more specific, the wafer 1, which has a dividing line processed in advance by laser irradiation or the like, has only the silicone, which is the base material of the wafer 1, divided by the work dividing device 10A. Therefore, if a metal composite film exists on the dividing line, the metal composite film will not be divided even after the dividing line is processed, and if it is not divided during the subsequent expanding process, this will cause a decrease in product production. Therefore, the work dividing device 10A of the first embodiment is capable of cooling the region 4E and heating the dividing region 4A, so that the stress during expanding is applied more to the dividing region 4A. As a result, a larger stress acts on the dividing region 4A, and the metal composite film can be divided reliably.

[Workpiece dividing device 10B according to the second embodiment]
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main portion of a work division device 10B of the second embodiment, and components that are the same as or similar to those of the work division device 10A of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

The difference in the configuration of the workpiece dividing device 10B compared to the workpiece dividing device 10A is that the second temperature is imparted to the region 4E by locally cooling the region 4E with the cooling air 28 sprayed from the nozzle 26. In this case, the temperature of the cooling air 28 is set to a second temperature that is lower than the first temperature by the low-temperature chuck table 12, and as a result, the region 4E is locally cooled to the second temperature.

In addition, the workpiece dividing device 10B sprays cooling air 28 onto the area 4E from the lower side of the dicing tape 4, thereby preventing the film-like adhesive 3 from peeling off from the dicing tape 4 due to the wind pressure of the cooling air 28.

As with the workpiece dividing device 10B, a first temperature is applied locally to the dividing region 4A by a contact-type low-temperature chuck table 12, and a second temperature is applied to the region 4E by locally blowing non-contact cooling air 28, thereby obtaining the same effect as the workpiece dividing device 10A. Also, as with the workpiece dividing device 10A, the region 4E may be cooled and the dividing region 4A may be heated.

[Workpiece dividing device 10C according to the third embodiment]
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a main portion of a work division device 10C of the third embodiment. Components that are the same as or similar to those of the work division device 10A of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and the work division device 10B of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6 are given the same reference numerals and will not be described.

The difference in the configuration of the work division device 10C from the work division device 10B is that the cooling air 32 sprayed from the cold air nozzle 30 cools the air inside the chamber 34, thereby cooling the atmosphere including the dicing tape 4 and applying a first temperature to the entire dicing tape 4. In this case, the temperature of the cooling air 32 is set to the first temperature by the low-temperature chuck table 12. In the work division device 10C, the cooling air 32 corresponds to the atmosphere cooling means, and the cooling air 28 sprayed locally from the nozzle 26 corresponds to the local cooling means. Also, cooling by the cooling air 32 corresponds to the atmosphere cooling process, and cooling by the cooling air 28 corresponds to the local cooling process.

As with the work division device 10C, the atmosphere containing the dicing tape 4 may be cooled by the cooling air 32, while the region 4E may be locally cooled by the cooling air 28, thereby applying a first temperature to the division region 4A and a second temperature to the non-division region 4B. This creates a temperature difference in which the non-division region 4B is relatively cooler than the division region 4A, thereby achieving the same effect as the work division devices 10A and 10B. Also, as with the work division devices 10A and 10B, the region 4E may be cooled and the division region 4A may be heated.

[Workpiece dividing device 10D of the fourth embodiment]
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a main portion of a work division device 10D of the fourth embodiment. Components that are the same as or similar to those of the work division device 10A of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and the work division device 10C of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 7 are given the same reference numerals and will not be described.

The difference in the configuration of the work division device 10D from the work division device 10C is that the second temperature is applied to the region 4E by locally cooling the region 4E with the low-temperature plate 14. In the work division device 10D, the low-temperature plate 14 corresponds to the local cooling means, and the cooling air 32 corresponds to the atmospheric cooling means. Moreover, the cooling by the cooling air 32 corresponds to the atmospheric cooling process, and the cooling by the low-temperature plate 14 corresponds to the local cooling process.

As with the work division device 10D, the atmosphere including the dicing tape 4 may be cooled by the cooling air 32, while the low-temperature plate 14 may further locally cool the region 4E, thereby applying a first temperature to the division region 4A and a second temperature to the region 4E. This creates a temperature difference in which the undivided region 4B is relatively cooler than the division region 4A, and thus provides the same effect as the work division devices 10A, 10B, and 10C. Also, as with the work division devices 10A, 10B, and 10C, the region 4E may be cooled and the division region 4A may be heated.

[Workpiece dividing device 10E of the fifth embodiment]
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a main portion of a work division device 10E of the fifth embodiment. Components that are the same as or similar to those of the work division device 10A of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and the work division device 10D of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 8 are given the same reference numerals and will not be described.

The difference between the work division device 10E and the work division device 10A is that the cooling air 36 ejected from the cold air ejection port 30 cools the air inside the chamber 34, thereby cooling the atmosphere including the dicing tape 4 and applying the second temperature to the entire dicing tape 4. In other words, the temperature of the cooling air 36 is set to the second temperature. Also, a heating means is provided on the low-temperature chuck table 12, and the division area 4A is locally heated by this heating means, thereby applying a first temperature higher than the second temperature. In the work division device 10E, the cooling air 36 corresponds to the atmosphere cooling means, and the low-temperature chuck table 12 corresponds to the local heating means. Also, the cooling by the cooling air 36 corresponds to the atmosphere cooling process, and the heating by the low-temperature chuck table 12 corresponds to the local heating process.

As with the workpiece dividing device 10E, the atmosphere containing the dicing tape 4 may be cooled by the cooling air 36, while the dividing region 4A may be locally heated by the low-temperature chuck table 12, thereby applying a first temperature to the dividing region 4A and a second temperature to the region 4E. This creates a temperature difference in which the undivided region 4B is relatively colder than the dividing region 4A, and thus it is possible to obtain the same effect as the workpiece dividing devices 10A, 10B, 10C, and 10D.

In the embodiment, the workpiece dividing apparatus 10A-10E for dividing the wafer unit 2 having the film-like adhesive 3 has been described, but the present invention is also effective in the case of a wafer unit 2 without the film-like adhesive 3, in which the first temperature applying means and the second temperature applying means are used to apply a temperature difference (temperature of the divided region 4A > temperature of the region 4E) between the divided region 4A and the region 4E for expansion. In other words, even in the case of a wafer unit 2 without the film-like adhesive 3, the hardness of the divided region 4A is controlled by the hardness of the wafer 1, so that it is more difficult to expand than the region 4E. By applying a temperature difference as described above, the amount of expansion of the divided region 4A becomes equal to the amount of expansion of the region 4E, or the divided region 4A expands more easily than the region 4E, so that the wafer 1 can be divided smoothly.

Even in a wafer unit 2 without a film-like adhesive 3, in order to create a temperature difference between the divided regions 4A and 4E, the divided region 4E may be cooled and the divided region 4A may be heated.

The dicing tape 4 stretches differently in the X-Y directions depending on the tape production direction. In principle, it tends to stretch more easily in directions parallel to the tape production direction and less easily in directions perpendicular to the tape production direction. By taking into account the stretching characteristics of the dicing tape 4 and the expansion direction by the expand ring 16, the wafer unit 2 can be set in the workpiece dividing device to improve the uniformity of the stretching of the dicing tape 4 during expansion.

1...wafer, 2...wafer unit, 3...film-like adhesive, 4...dicing tape, 4A...division area, 4B...non-division area, 4C...fixation area, 4D...push-up area, 5...frame, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E...workpiece division device, 12...low-temperature chuck table, 14...low-temperature plate, 16...expanding ring, 18...ring lifting mechanism, 20...roller, 22...frame fixing mechanism, 24...sub-ring, 26...nozzle, 28...cooling air, 30...cold air outlet, 32...cooling air, 34...chamber, 36...cooling air, 40...control unit

Claims (4)

A temperature applying device for reducing a difference in an expansion amount of a dicing tape that occurs when dividing a wafer into individual chips by expanding the dicing tape to which a wafer is attached using an expansion ring, comprising:
a temperature applying means for cooling or heating a region of the dicing tape to which the wafer is attached, and for making a region outside the region to which the wafer is attached lower in temperature than the region to which the wafer is attached;
Temperature application device. the temperature applying means makes a region of the dicing tape that is outside the expand ring lower in temperature than a region to which the wafer is attached;
The temperature applying device according to claim 1 . A temperature application method for reducing a difference in an expansion amount of a dicing tape that occurs when dividing a wafer into individual chips by expanding the dicing tape to which a wafer is attached using an expansion ring, comprising:
The method includes a temperature application step of cooling or heating a region of the dicing tape to which the wafer is attached, and setting a temperature of a region outside the region to which the wafer is attached to a lower temperature than the region to which the wafer is attached.
Temperature application method. The temperature application step is to make a region of the dicing tape that is outside the expand ring lower in temperature than a region to which the wafer is attached.
The temperature application method according to claim 3.

Images