JPH11274109A - Multi-spindle dicing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve productivity in response to a trend of increasing the diameter of a wafer, by providing a common base with a first and a second spindle unit, each of which has two spindles and can be moved in the direction of the axis of the spindle. SOLUTION: In the case where one street is for example, beveled with a first spindle unit 51 and a street adjacent thereto is beveled with a second spindle unit 52, the unit 51 is moved to a desired distance in the direction of Y-axis to position a first blade 74 and a second blade 75 in the extension line of the street 31 which is first to be cut with the first blade 74 and the second blade 15 and at the same position in the direction of Y-axis, and a unit 52 is moved to a desired distance in the direction of Y-axis to position a third blade 76 and a fourth blade 77 in the extension line of the street S2 which is next to be cut with the blades 76, 77 and at the same position in the direction of Y-axis.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dicing apparatus for dicing a semiconductor wafer, and more particularly, to a multi-axis dicing apparatus having a plurality of spindle units to improve productivity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A multi-axis dicing apparatus of this type includes:
For example, the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-11601 is well known as a conventional example.

[0003] In the dicing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-11601, two spindles each having a cutting blade mounted at the tip thereof are provided in the Y-axis direction, and one spindle is parallel to the other spindle. By allowing the blade to move in the Y-axis direction while maintaining the state, the positional relationship between the blades in the Y-axis direction can be adjusted. Further, both spindles are disposed on a common base, and by moving the base in the Y-axis direction, the Y-axis is integrally formed.
It is movable in the axial direction. Refer to the above publication for details of the configuration.

In such a dicing apparatus, for example, a blade for forming a V-groove or a flat groove is mounted on the first spindle, and a blade for cutting is mounted on the second spindle. That is, when the chuck table holding the semiconductor wafer is moved in the X-axis direction under the action of both blades while the positions in the Y-axis direction are matched, chamfering (bevel cutting) or step cutting (step) A cut chip can be formed, and a high-quality semiconductor chip without chipping can be formed.

[0005] Further, by mounting the same cutting blade on both spindles and simultaneously cutting two streets, the productivity of dicing can be improved.

[0006]

However, the diameter of the semiconductor wafer must be one to improve chip productivity.
Since the diameter tends to increase to 2 inches or 16 inches, it is difficult to further improve the productivity with the conventional multi-axis dicing apparatus. Therefore, there is a problem in providing a dicing apparatus capable of forming a chamfered or stepped chip of high quality and having high productivity.

[0007]

As a specific means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises a first spindle and a second spindle, wherein the first spindle is provided with respect to the second spindle. It is movable in the axial direction, the axial positional relationship between the blade mounted on the first spindle and the blade mounted on the second spindle can be adjusted, and further, the first spindle and the second spindle share a common base. A first spindle unit disposed on the base and integrally movable in the axial direction, a third spindle and a fourth spindle, wherein the third spindle is axially movable with respect to the fourth spindle; To adjust the axial positional relationship between the blade mounted on the third spindle and the blade mounted on the fourth spindle. Further, the third spindle and the fourth spindle can be adjusted. And a second spindle unit that is disposed on a common base and is integrally movable in the axial direction.The first spindle unit and the second spindle unit are further mounted on the common base. An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-axis dicing device which is disposed so as to be movable in an axial direction.

[0008] The diameter of the blade mounted on the spindle is 5 cm or less, the first spindle unit and the second spindle unit are arranged in parallel, the first spindle unit and the second spindle It is an additional requirement that the units are disposed facing each other, and that one or more spindle units are further disposed in addition to the first spindle unit and the second spindle unit.

According to the multi-axis dicing apparatus configured as described above, special cutting such as bevel cut and step cut for improving the quality of a chip can be performed on two or more streets by one cutting feed operation. In the case of ordinary cutting, four or more streets can be performed by one cutting feed operation.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As one embodiment of the present invention, a multi-axis dicing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be described as an example.

The multi-axis dicing apparatus 10 includes a chuck table 11 for sucking and holding a semiconductor wafer W to be diced, and an alignment means 12 for detecting a street to be cut formed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer W.
And a cutting means 13 for cutting the streets detected by the alignment means 12.

The chuck table 11 has a suction portion 14 for sucking and holding the semiconductor wafer W. The suction portion 14 is formed on an upper surface of a movable plate 15 having a rectangular shape. On the other hand, on the lower surface of the movable plate 15, an engaged portion 16 is provided in the Y-axis direction.
It is slidably engaged with a pair of rails 18 arranged in the axial direction.

Four legs 19 project downward from the base 17, and a concave portion formed at the lower end of each leg 19
It is slidably engaged with a pair of guide rails 20 arranged in the axial direction.

A driven portion 21 extends vertically from the base portion 17, and the driven portion 21 has a female screw hole formed in the X-axis direction. This female screw hole is screwed into a ball screw 22 which is a male screw provided in the X-axis direction.
Then, the ball screw 22 is rotated by being driven by a drive source 24 (for example, a pulse motor) connected to the end of the ball screw 22 via a reduction gear 23, whereby the chuck table 11 is arranged in the X-axis direction. It is guided by a pair of guide rails 20 and is movable in the X-axis direction.

Although not shown, the lower portion of the base portion 17 is provided with appropriate driving means, which is driven by the driving means, so that the movable plate 15 is guided by the rail 18 and can move in a required range in the Y-axis direction. It has become. Further, a suitable rotating means is provided below the base 17, and the suction unit 14 is rotatable by being driven by the rotating means.

An alignment means 12 is disposed above the suction section 14 in the moving range of the chuck table 11. In the alignment means 12, as shown in FIG. 1, a ball screw 34 is provided in the Y-axis direction above the support table 33, and its end is connected to a drive source 36 via a reduction gear 35. ing. A connecting member 37 is screwed into the ball screw 34.

A pair of rails 38 are provided below the support table 33 in the Y-axis direction. Of the connecting member 37 in the slot 40 by the rotation of
The movable portion 41 that moves in the axial direction and is connected to the connecting member 37
Can move in the Y-axis direction.

The movable section 41 is provided with an image pickup means (not shown), and is connected to a microscope 42 suspended from the movable section 41. Further, the imaging means is also connected to the monitor 43, and can display the captured image on the monitor 43.

The cutting means 13 has a structure in which a first spindle unit 51 and a second spindle unit 52 are accommodated inside a base 50 having a U-shaped cross section.

Slots 53 and 54 which are long in the Y-axis direction are provided on the upper surface of the base 50, and ball screws 55 and 56 are provided in the upper portion thereof in the Y-axis direction.
The ball screw 55 is connected to a drive source 58 via a speed reducer 57, and the ball screw 56 is connected to a drive source 60 via a speed reducer 59.

A connecting member 61 is screwed into the ball screw 55, and the connecting member 61 moves in the Y-axis direction as the ball screw 55 rotates. A connecting member 62 is screwed into the ball screw 56, and the connecting member 62 moves in the Y-axis direction with the rotation of the ball screw 56.

The connecting member 61 is connected to a base 63 having a U-shaped cross section constituting the first spindle unit 51 through a slot 53.
2 is connected to a base 64 constituting the second spindle unit 52 through a slot 54.

A pair of support rails 65 are provided above the base 63.
A pair of support rails 66 are formed on the base 64 so as to protrude in the Y-axis direction.

In addition, two pairs of engaged parts 67 and 68 are arranged in the lower part of the base 50 in the Y-axis direction. A support rail 65 protruding from an upper portion of the base 63 is provided on the engaged portion 67.
Are slidably engaged, and as the connecting member 61 moves, the first spindle unit 51 is guided by the engaged portion 67 and moves by the same amount in the same direction. Further, a support rail 66 protruding from the upper part of the base 64 is slidably engaged with the engaged portion 68, and with the movement of the connecting member 62,
Guided by the engaged portion 68, the second spindle unit 52 also moves by the same amount in the same direction.

In the first spindle unit 51, a first spindle 70 and a second spindle 71 are rotatably supported by a first spindle housing 70a and a second spindle housing 70b, respectively. One spindle housing 70a is movable in the axial direction (Y-axis direction) while maintaining a parallel state with the second spindle housing 71a. In the second spindle unit 52, the third spindle 7
The second and fourth spindles 73 are respectively a third spindle housing 72a and a fourth spindle housing 73.
a and the third spindle housing 72a is rotatably supported by the fourth spindle housing 73a.
Can be moved in the axial direction (Y-axis direction) while maintaining the parallel state with.

At the tip of each spindle, a first blade 74, a second blade 75, and a third blade 7
6. The fourth blade 77 is mounted, and each blade rotates with the rotation of each spindle. Blades to be attached to each spindle include a V-groove forming blade used for chamfering, a flat groove forming blade used for step cutting,
There are cutting blades and the like used for cutting, and these are combined and mounted according to the purpose of cutting. Further, it is preferable to use a blade having a diameter of 5 cm or less for each blade in order to reduce the interval between the blades.

The case where the semiconductor wafer W having the street S formed on the surface thereof as shown in FIG. 2 is bevel-cut by using the multi-axis dicing apparatus 10 configured as described above will be described as an example.

As shown in FIG. 2, the semiconductor wafer W to be cut is held on the frame F via the holding tape T, and is mounted on the suction section 14 of the chuck table 11 and held by suction. . Then, the chuck table 11 is driven by the drive source 24 to move in the X-axis direction, and is positioned immediately below the microscope 41 constituting the alignment means 12.

Then, the surface of the semiconductor wafer W is magnified and imaged, and the street to be cut is detected by the alignment means 12 by processing such as pattern matching. When a street to be cut is detected, the blade mounted on each spindle is aligned in the Y-axis direction in accordance with the position of the street.

For example, the semiconductor wafer W is placed on the street S
When bevel cutting along the first blade 7
Fourth, a V-groove forming blade is used as the third blade 76, and a cutting blade is used as the second blade 75 and the fourth blade 77. Then, for example, one street is bevel cut by the first spindle unit 51, and the next street is bevel cut by the second spindle unit 52.

The positional relationship between the blades at this time is shown in FIG.
become that way. That is, the driving source 58 to move the first spindle unit 51 in the required range Y-axis direction, the first blade 74 and second blade 75, in a straight line in the extension of the streets S ₁ to be the first cutting So that both blades have the same position on the Y axis.

On the other hand, the third blade 76 and fourth blade 77 by a driving source 60 moves the second spindle unit 52 in the required range Y-axis direction, then the extension of the streets S ₂ to be cut At the same time, so that the positions of both blades on the Y axis are equal.

In this positional relationship, each blade rotates and descends to a predetermined height, and the chuck table 11
First V when but moves in the + X direction, by the first blade 74 is a blade for V grooves formed on the streets S ₁
When the groove is formed and the chuck table is further moved in the + X direction, the second blade 75 which is a cutting blade is next used.
Street S ₁ is being bevel cutting streets S ₁ is being cut by. And further the chuck table 11 is moved in the + X direction, the V-groove the streets S ₂ by a third blade 76 is formed a blade for V groove formation, then it is cutting blade further moves the chuck table 11 is Street S by the fourth blade 77
₂ is cut streets S ₂ is beveled cut.

In this way, two streets can be simultaneously bevel-cut by one cutting feed operation as shown in FIG. If the diameter of each blade is 5 cm or less and the spindles can approach each other to the extent that the blades do not come into contact with each other, the moving distance of the chuck table 11 in the X-axis direction in one cutting and feeding operation is shortened. The productivity can be further improved. Although the semiconductor wafer is drawn to a certain thickness in FIG. 4, it is actually very thin, about several hundred μm (the same applies to the example of FIG. 6 described below).

When the two streets are cut in this way, the base 63 is then driven by the drive source 58 while maintaining the positional relationship between the first spindle 70 and the second spindle 71 to move the base 63 in the + Y direction. , The first spindle unit 51 moves by two streets in the + Y direction, and is driven by the drive source 60 while maintaining the positional relationship between the third spindle 72 and the fourth spindle 73. Base 6
4 moves in the + Y direction and the second spindle unit 52
Moves in the + Y direction by two streets, and the two streets S ₃ and S ₄ are further bevel-cut. Thus, by gradually moving the first spindle unit 51 and the second spindle unit 52 in the + Y direction, two streets can be bevel-cut simultaneously by one cutting feed operation.

Although not described here, if the same operation as described above is performed using flat groove forming blades as the first blade 74 and the third blade 76, step cutting can be performed.

Instead of bevel cut or step cut,
In a case where ordinary cutting is performed only by the cutting blade, as shown in FIG. 5, the same cutting blade is used for the first blade 74, the second blade 75, the third blade 76, and the fourth blade 77. Attach.

Then, the first blade 74 is located on the extension of the street S ₁ and the second blade 7
5 is positioned on the extension of the streets S _2. Further, the positions the third blade 76 on the extension of the streets S _3, to position the fourth blade 77 on the extension of the streets S _4. Then, each cutting blade rotates and descends to a predetermined height, and the chuck table 1 is rotated.
As 1 moves in the + X direction, the streets S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ , and S ₄ can be cut at the same time by one cutting feed operation as shown in FIG. Thus, productivity can be improved by cutting four streets simultaneously by one cutting feed operation.

When the four streets are cut in this way, the first spindle 70 and the second spindle 7
The base 63 moves in the + Y direction while the positional relationship with the first spindle unit 51 is maintained, the first spindle unit 51 moves by four streets in the + Y direction, and the third spindle unit 51 moves. The base 6 is driven by the drive source 60 while maintaining the positional relationship between the second spindle 72 and the fourth spindle 73.
4 moves in the Y-axis direction to move the second spindle unit 52
Moves in the + Y direction by four streets, and four streets S ₅ , S ₆ , S ₇ , and S ₈ are further cut. Thus, by gradually moving the first spindle unit 51 and the second spindle unit 52 in the + Y direction, four streets can be simultaneously cut by one cutting feed operation.

In addition to cutting the adjacent streets as described above, the streets are also cut in the direction in which the blades gradually approach from both ends, or the semiconductor wafer W is divided into halves and divided into regions. By cutting or the like, productivity can be similarly improved.

FIG. 7 shows a multi-axis dicing apparatus according to the present invention.
As shown in (1), the first spindle unit 51 and the second spindle unit 52 may be configured to face each other. In this case, the first blade 74 is positioned on the extension of the streets S _1, the second blade 75 is to be positioned on the extension of the streets S _2.

The third blade 76 is connected to the street S
_n it is positioned on the extension of, positioning the fourth blade 77 on the extension of the streets S _n-1. Then, the chuck table 11 moves in the + X direction to cut from the streets at both ends.

When the four streets are cut, the first spindle 70 and the second spindle 7
The first spindle unit 51 moves by two streets in the + Y direction while maintaining the positional relationship with the first spindle unit 1 and the second spindle unit 51 while maintaining the positional relationship between the third spindle 72 and the fourth spindle 73. unit 52 is moved in the -Y direction two partial street only, are further four streets _{S 3, S 4, S n} -2, S n-3 are cut. Thus, by moving the first spindle unit 51 and the second spindle unit 52 gradually in the approaching direction, four streets can be simultaneously cut by one cutting feed operation.

Although the multi-axis dicing apparatus described in the present embodiment is composed of two spindle units, the number of spindle units may be three or more, and the higher the number of spindle units, the higher the productivity. Can be.

[0045]

As described above, according to the multi-axis dicing apparatus according to the present invention, special cutting for improving the quality of chips such as bevel cut and step cut can be performed in two or more streets by one cutting feed operation. Can be performed, and
In the case of normal cutting, since four or more streets can be performed by one cutting feed operation, productivity can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of a multi-axis dicing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state where a semiconductor wafer to be diced is held by a frame.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where two streets are bevel-cut by two using the multi-axis dicing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a semiconductor wafer in which two streets are bevel-cut.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which streets are cut four by four using the multi-axis dicing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a semiconductor wafer in which four streets are cut.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a street is cut four by four using a multi-axis dicing apparatus in which a first spindle unit and a second spindle unit are arranged to face each other.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Multi-axis dicing apparatus 11 Chuck table 12 Alignment means 13 Cutting means 14
... Suction unit 15 ..Movable plate 16... Engaged unit 17... Base 1
8 rail 19 leg 20 guide rail 21 driven part 22 ball screw 23 reduction gear 24
… Drive source 33… support base 34… ball screw 35…
Reduction gear 36 Drive source 37 Connection member 38 Rail
39: engaged portion 40: slot 41: movable portion 42: microscope
43 monitor 50 base 51 first spindle unit 52 second spindle unit 53, 54 slot 55, 56 ball screw 57 reduction gear
58 drive source 59 reduction gear 60 drive source 61, 62 connecting member 63, 64 base 65, 66 support rail 6
7, 68 engaged part 70 first spindle 70a first spindle housing 71 second spindle 71a second spindle housing 72 third spindle 72a Third spindle housing 73 Fourth spindle 73a Fourth spindle housing 74 First blade 75 Second blade 7
6 ... third blade 77 ... fourth blade

Claims (5)

[Claims] A first spindle and a second spindle, the first spindle being axially movable with respect to the second spindle, and a blade mounted on the first spindle. The positional relationship in the axial direction with the blade mounted on the second spindle can be adjusted, and the first spindle and the second spindle are disposed on a common base and move integrally in the axial direction. A possible first spindle unit, a third spindle and a fourth spindle, the third spindle being axially movable with respect to the fourth spindle and The axial positional relationship between the mounted blade and the blade mounted on the fourth spindle can be adjusted. Further, the third spindle and the fourth spindle are disposed on a common base and integrally formed. Axis A first spindle unit and a second spindle unit that are further movable in the axial direction on a common base. Dicing equipment. 2. The multi-axis dicing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of the blade mounted on the spindle is 5 cm or less. 3. The multi-axis dicing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first spindle unit and the second spindle unit are arranged in parallel. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first spindle unit and the second spindle unit are arranged to face each other.
A multi-axis dicing apparatus according to item 1. 5. The multi-axis dicing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one spindle unit in addition to the first spindle unit and the second spindle unit.