JPH06181257A - Dicing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make compact the whole of a dicing apparatus by reducing the lateral width of the dicing apparatus. CONSTITUTION:A cassette region 2, a chuck region 3 and a spin washing region 4 in a dicing apparatus 1 are disposed in parallel to the axial line of a spindle 81. A chuck table in the chuck region 3 is disposed in a reciprocating manner in a direction perpendicular to the parallel line and is positioned with respect to the chuck region 3 and dicing region 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dicing device, and more particularly to a dicing device formed into a small size and a compact size.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional dicing apparatus, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-288642, has a wafer in a dicing area E and a cassette area A in which a cassette accommodating a wafer is positioned as shown in FIG. Has a chuck area B in which a chuck table for supplying the wafer is positioned, and a spin cleaning area C for cleaning the cut wafer, and the wafer is a cassette area A (cassette a).
From the carry-out area B ′ to the carry-out area B ′ to the chuck area B
Then, from the chuck area B to the dicing area E, after cutting, the chuck area B is returned to the spin cleaning area C.
After the cleaning, the dicing operation is continuously performed while moving from the spin cleaning area C to the carry-in area C ′ and from the carry-in area C ′ to the cassette area A (cassette a ′) again. In this dicing device, the carry-out area B '
, Chuck area B, spin cleaning area C, and loading area C '
Are arranged at equally divided positions on the same circumference, and have a rotation axis at the center of the circumference and a chuck portion for attaching and detaching a wafer, and the rotation axis is rotated by a certain angle so that they are adjacent to each other. It has a rotating arm D capable of simultaneously transferring wafers on one position.

[0003]

However, according to the above-mentioned conventional dicing apparatus, since the respective areas must be arranged on the same circumference with the rotating arm D as the center, a wide space is secured on the upper surface of the apparatus. Must be
The width of the device becomes very large when viewed from the operator. For this reason, a large installation area of the dicing device is required, which causes a rise in the equipment cost of the clean room.
An object of the present invention is to solve the above conventional problems by downsizing a dicing device.

[0004]

As a means for technically solving this problem, according to the present invention, a cassette area, a chuck area, and a spin cleaning area are arranged on a line parallel to the axis of the spindle. The chuck table in the chuck area is arranged so as to be capable of reciprocating in a direction perpendicular to the parallel lines, and is positioned in the chuck area and the dicing area.

[0005]

[Operation] Arrange each area on the straight line in the front-back direction (parallel to the axis of the spindle) when viewed from the operator, rather than on the circumference, the cassette area, the chuck area, and the spin cleaning area. Since the dicing region is arranged in the direction perpendicular to the straight line, the lateral width of the device can be greatly reduced, and since the regions can be arranged close to each other, the entire device can be compact and compact.

[0006]

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a dicing device, and a cassette area 2 in which a cassette 2'containing a wafer is positioned is arranged on the front end side, and a chuck area 3 and a spin area are formed on a straight line L passing through the center of the cassette area 2. The cleaning area 4 is arranged in close proximity.

Denoted at 5 is a conveying means provided at a side end portion of the dicing device 1 so that it can be moved in parallel with the straight line L, and a tape is ejected from a cassette 2'positioned in the cassette area 2. The wafer (not shown) held on the frame is taken out and transferred to the chuck area 3, or the cut wafer can be cleaned and then transferred from the spin cleaning area 4 to the cassette area 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the conveying means 5, a vertical substrate 51 is provided slidably in a straight line L direction along a guide rail 53 by a feed screw 52.
1, an arm plate 54 having an L-shaped cross section is attached by a feed screw 55 so as to be vertically movable along a guide rail 56. Further, the front end side of the arm plate 54 holds one end of a frame holding a wafer. A hand mechanism 57 is attached, and a suction mechanism 58 for attaching and detaching a wafer is provided on the rear end side, and the suction mechanism 58 is formed by a cylinder 59 so as to be vertically movable.
The cassette area 2 can be moved up and down by a feed screw 21.

The chuck area 3 has a rotatable chuck table 31 and is arranged so as to be capable of reciprocating along a straight line M perpendicular to the straight line L and positioned in the chuck area 3 and the dicing area 6. In addition to being positioned, it is also positioned in the alignment region 7 arranged at the intermediate position.

Reference numeral 8 is a spindle unit, and a rotary blade 82 is attached to the tip of the spindle 81,
The dicing can be indexed and moved in the direction of the axis N parallel to the straight line L, and the depth can be adjusted by moving the dicing in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface. The wafer can be diced along the formed streets.

The dicing apparatus according to the present invention is constructed as described above. First, the carrier means 5 is advanced to the position P to hold one end of the frame from the cassette 2'in the cassette area 2 by the hand mechanism 57. With taking out
The transfer means is retracted to the position of Q and the wafer is supplied onto the chuck table 31 located in the chuck area 3.

Next, the chuck table 31 on which the wafer is sucked and fixed is moved in the direction of the straight line M to move the alignment area 7.
Then, the wafer is correctly positioned by a known alignment means.

After that, the chuck table 31 is moved to the dicing area 6 and reciprocated in the direction of the straight line M to cut (dicing) one street, and then the chuck table is rotated 90 ° to cut the other street. Wafer dicing is performed. The spindle unit 8 is moved at least in the direction of the axis N of the spindle 81 and in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface, and the chuck table 31 reciprocates in the direction M of the dicing region 6 to perform dicing. 31 may be held in the dicing area 6 and the spindle unit 8 may be reciprocated. In any case, the dicing is performed by relatively moving in the direction of the straight line M.

After the dicing, the chuck table 31 is returned to the chuck area 3, the transport means 5 is advanced from Q to P, the suction mechanism 58 sucks the wafer in the chuck area 3, and the hand mechanism 57 moves the inside of the cassette area 2. Next, the second wafer to be diced is gripped, the state is held, and the transfer means 5 is retracted to Q.

When the conveying means 5 is retracted to Q,
The wafer of the suction mechanism 58 is supplied to the spin cleaning area 4, and the wafer of the hand mechanism 57 is supplied to the chuck area. That is, the wafer after dicing is chucked in the chuck area 3
It is possible to simultaneously transfer the wafer from the cassette area 2 to the chuck area 3 simultaneously with the transfer from the cassette cleaning area 4 to the spin cleaning area 4.

After that, the wafer is cleaned in the spin cleaning area 4, and the carrier means 5 is retracted from the position Q to the position R as shown in FIG. 1 after the cleaning, and the cleaned wafer is held by the hand mechanism (frame). (1) is gripped) and the transfer means 5 is advanced from R to P, and the cleaned wafer is stored in a predetermined area of the cassette area 2.

During this time, the wafer in the chuck area 3 undergoes the alignment process as described above and is diced in the dicing area 6, and after dicing, is returned to the chuck area 3 again and stands by.

After storing the cleaned wafers in the cassette area 2, the suction mechanism 58 of the transfer means 5 sucks the wafers waiting in the chuck area 3 and the hand mechanism 57 holds the wafers in the cassette area 2. The second wafer is gripped, the state is held and the transfer means 5 is retracted to Q, the wafer of the suction mechanism 58 is supplied to the spin cleaning area 4, and the wafer of the hand mechanism 57 is supplied to the chuck area 3. The same process as is repeated. As a result, a series of steps are continuously and efficiently performed.

In this case, the chuck area 3 and the spin cleaning area 4 are arranged close to each other on the straight line L of the cassette area 2, and the chuck table 31 of the chuck area 3 is perpendicular to the axis N of the spindle 81. Since the conveying means 5 is formed so as to reciprocate along the straight line L, the lateral width W of the dicing device 1 can be reduced as compared with the conventional case. Moreover, since the transfer means 5 can be mounted on the upper surface of the dicing device 1 and does not protrude laterally, the entire device can be compact and compact. still,
The hand mechanism 57 of the transfer means 5 is used for carrying out the wafer in the cassette and for carrying the cleaned wafer into the cassette, and the suction mechanism 58 is used for transferring the wafer after the dicing to the spin cleaning area. Therefore, it is possible to prevent cross contamination.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The cassette area, the chuck area, and the spin cleaning area in the dicing machine are arranged on a straight line in the front-back direction (parallel to the spindle axis) when viewed from the operator, and the dicing area is perpendicular to the chuck area. Since they are arranged in the same direction, the lateral width of the device can be greatly reduced, and since the respective regions can be arranged close to each other, the entire device can be made compact and compact.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a conveying unit.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Dicing device 2 ... Cassette area 2 '... Cassette 21 ... Feed screw 3 ... Chuck area 3
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Chuck table 4 ... Spin cleaning area 5 ... Conveying means 51 ... Vertical substrate 52 ... Feed screw
53 ... Guide rail 54 ... Arm plate 55 ... Feed screw 56 ... Guide rail 57 ... Hand mechanism
58 ... Adsorption mechanism 59 ... Cylinder 6 ... Dicing area 7 ... Alignment area 8 ... Spindle unit
81 ... Spindle 82 ... Rotating blade

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cassette area, a chuck area, and a spin cleaning area are arranged on a line parallel to an axis of a spindle, and a chuck table in the chuck area can reciprocate in a direction perpendicular to the parallel line. And a dicing device configured to be positioned in the chuck area and the dicing area.