JPH06196556A - Dicing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow automatic control in the positional control of the rotary shaft of a spindle, stopping operation of a dicing apparatus, etc., by providing means for monitoring a blade in dicing process, and means for automatically controlling a spindle fixed with the blade. CONSTITUTION:The dicing apparatus comprises a blade 1 for cutting a semiconductor wafer into a plurality of pellets, a flange 2 being employed as a holder when the blade 1 is fixed to a spindle 3, a sensor projecting section (or a camera) 4a for monitoring the blade 1 from lateral direction, a sensor light receiving section (or a camera) 4b, a wheel cover 5 mounting the sensors 4a, 4b, and means 6 for automatically controlling the spindle 3 based on an output from the sensor 4b.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dicing apparatus in semiconductor manufacturing technology, and relates to a technology for automatically controlling a spindle to which the blade is attached by constantly monitoring a blade for cutting a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a dicing process for dividing a semiconductor wafer into a plurality of pellets, a blade for cutting the semiconductor wafer uses a material containing a hard component such as diamond.

However, if the amount of cutting the semiconductor wafer is increased, wear of the tip of the hard blade is unavoidable even if any hard blade is used, so that the cutting amount set before the cutting work is reached. Without cutting, left uncut, the cutting amount was confirmed again after the completion of one step, and the cutting step was repeated if necessary.

The blade may be damaged during the dicing process, and a known example of a device for detecting the damage of the blade is the following blade damage detecting device.

That is, this blade breakage detecting device is
A spot light is projected perpendicularly to the blade surface from the rotation axis direction of the blade, and when the blade is damaged, the sensor light receiving unit of the device detects the spot light, and the dicing device comprises an emergency stop system. is there.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned technique, the blade tip portion is abraded in accordance with the number of cutting lines, and the uncut amount of the blade is inevitably increased.

For this reason, when trying to reduce the cutting amount set before the work, there is a problem that the position of the rotary shaft of the spindle to which the blade is attached must be corrected during the work.

Further, in the blade breakage detection device cited as the above-mentioned publicly known example, when a blade with slits is used, even if the blade is not damaged, the device causes a false detection such as a blade breakage. There was a point.

An object of the present invention is to provide a monitoring means for monitoring a blade for cutting a semiconductor wafer and an automatic control means for controlling a spindle to which the blade is attached in the dicing process, so that the position of the rotary shaft of the spindle can be controlled. It is to provide a dicing device that automatically controls correction and emergency stop of the device.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0011]

Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, a brief description will be given to the outline of typical ones.
It is as follows.

That is, by providing the monitoring means for monitoring the blade for cutting the semiconductor wafer and the automatic control means for controlling the spindle based on the output from the monitoring means, the position of the rotary shaft of the spindle is corrected and the apparatus is stopped. This is a dicing device that automatically controls.

Further, even when a slitted blade is used, erroneous detection such as recognition of blade damage is eliminated, and trouble such as blade damage can be accurately detected.

[0014]

According to the above-mentioned means, since the monitoring means for monitoring the blade and the automatic control means for controlling the spindle to which the blade is attached are provided, it is possible to automatically set the setup amount in the vertical direction of the blade after the blade is mounted and Detection of blade damage, vertical blade
It is possible to improve the efficiency of the entire dicing process by automatically controlling the horizontal blur detection, the one-sided wear detection, the vertical and horizontal wear detection of the blade, and the like.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a front view of the essential parts of a dicing apparatus which is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sensor (or camera) provided in the apparatus according to the present invention, which detects the tip of a blade. It is a figure which shows a state.

The structure of the dicing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is made of a hard material such as diamond, and is cut to divide a semiconductor wafer, not shown, into a plurality of pellets. A blade 2 is a flange used as a holder when the blade 1 is attached to the spindle 3, 4a is a sensor projecting portion (or camera) that emits light to constantly monitor the tip of the blade 1, and 4b is a sensor receiving light. Parts (or cameras) and 5 are wheel covers on which the sensors (or cameras) 4a and 4b are installed.

Further, 6 is an automatic control means for controlling the spindle 3 based on the output from the sensor (or camera) 4b.

In the present invention, a sensor (or camera) 4 is used in order to reliably detect a blade with a slit (not shown).
The directions of a and 4b are set parallel to the rotation direction of the blade 1. That is, the sensors 4a and 4b for projecting and receiving light are attached in the left and right directions above (or below) the blade 1 on the wheel cover 5, and the sensors 4a and 4b indicate the state of the tip of the blade 1. Monitoring from the side.

Although cutting water is used for cutting the semiconductor wafer, an air curtain (air curtain) not shown in the optical path is provided to reduce the amount of the cutting water entering the optical path of the laser beam emitted from the sensor 4a. The wall formed by the flow) may be used for clearing to improve the light receiving accuracy of the sensor 4b.

Here, the main operation of the laser beam (or camera) (not shown) emitted from the sensor 4a will be described.

The laser beam (or camera) constantly monitors the state of the blade 1, and the detected state of the blade 1 is simultaneously compared with basic data stored in advance in the apparatus. The main actions of the laser light (contents of the output signal) are listed below.

(1). Correction of spindle height when the outer diameter of the blade is worn.

(2). Automatically sets the spindle height when the blade is replaced and when the power is turned on.

(3). Request for blade replacement when the blade is broken, worn on one side, or shaken.

(4). Automatic offset at the time of thermal expansion of the spindle.

Next, the dicing device controller according to the present invention will be described.

The dicing device controller according to the present invention includes:
The image of the side surface state of the blade 1 is stored in advance,
Alternatively, initial values of data such as the thickness and width of the blade 1 are stored.

When the dicing device is turned on, each drive shaft (not shown) performs a reset operation, recognizes that the blade 1 is being monitored, and determines the position of the blade 1 in the height direction and the radial direction. Is automatically set.

After the power is turned on, the position of the blade 1 changes little by little due to various environmental changes.
Since a and 4b simultaneously detect the position of the blade 1, the position of the blade 1 is continuously corrected.

Further, when the dicing work starts, the tip of the blade 1 is worn, damaged, or shaken, so that the sensors 4a and 4b recognize the change of the blade 1 and send a signal to the main body control unit. Is issued, the apparatus main body is controlled by a control program (not shown), and the operation corresponding to the actions (1) to (4) is performed.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

For example, the sensor used in the present invention can be attached not only to the wheel cover but also to any place of the apparatus (such as a pedestal). If the wheel cover is not present, or if the wheel cover is transparent, or if the wheel cover is If transparent, monitor the blade from the outside, from a foil cover or other obstruction.

Further, in the present embodiment, a defect of the blade can be detected even during cutting, but it may be used as a pre-inspection for blade damage or wear before cutting, and the process may proceed to the cutting process when there is no abnormality.

[0034]

The effects obtained by the typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.
It is as follows.

(1). In the dicing process, by providing a monitoring means for monitoring the blade for cutting the semiconductor wafer and an automatic control means for controlling the spindle based on the output from the monitoring means, it is possible to correct the position of the rotating shaft of the spindle and to prevent troubles. It is possible to automatically control the stoppage of the device.

(2). In the dicing process, it is possible to automatically control the setup amount of the blade in the vertical direction after the blade is installed, the damage of the blade, the blur detection of the blade in the vertical and horizontal directions, the single wear / longitudinal wear detection of the blade and its correction. Becomes

(3). Since this dicing device can correctly manage the state of the blade, it is possible to use a blade with slits.

(4). Since this dicing device can correctly manage the state of the blade, it is possible to improve the yield at the time of pellet selection.

(5). The present dicing apparatus can automatically control the spindle, so that the efficiency of the entire dicing process can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of essential parts showing a dicing apparatus that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which a sensor (or a camera) provided in the dicing apparatus according to the present invention detects a tip portion of a blade.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Blade 2 Flange 3 Spindle 4a Sensor Emitter (or Camera) 4b Sensor Receiver (or Camera) 5 Wheel Cover 6 Automatic Control Means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A dicing device for cutting a semiconductor wafer into a plurality of pellets, wherein a monitoring means for monitoring a blade for cutting the semiconductor wafer, and a spindle to which the blade is attached based on an output from the monitoring means. And a automatic control means for controlling the 2. The monitoring means is a sensor for monitoring at least a part of a tip portion of the blade from the lateral direction of the blade, and the spindle emitted from the sensor is detected by detecting light emitted / received. The dicing device according to claim 1, wherein the dicing device is automatically controlled. 3. The monitoring means is a camera for monitoring at least a part of a tip portion of the blade from the lateral direction of the blade, and the spindle is automatically controlled by image processing using the camera. The dicing device according to claim 1.