KR101140052B1 - Method and apparatus for cutting protective tape of semiconductor wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of cutting a protective tape and a cutting device for a semiconductor wafer, wherein the protective tape of the semiconductor wafer is cut out along the outer surface of the wafer by driving the cutter blade relative to the outer circumference of the semiconductor wafer. In the cutting method, the cutter blade is relatively driven along the outer circumference of the semiconductor wafer provided with the positioning notch on the outer circumference. In the first half of the notch formed so as to be recessed in the outer circumference of the wafer during the relative running of the cutter blade, the cutter blade is rotated so that each blade end faces the wafer center. In the second half of the notch, the cutter is rotated so that the blade edges face the wafer circumference.

Semiconductor, Wafer, Protective Tape, Notch, Rotating, Relative Driving

Description

Protective tape cutting method and protective tape cutting device for semiconductor wafer {METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING PROTECTIVE TAPE OF SEMICONDUCTOR WAFER}

1 is a perspective view showing an entire protective tape applying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a front view of a tape cutter tool.

3 is a perspective view of a main portion of the tape cutting tool;

4 is a plan view of a main portion of the tape cutter tool;

Fig. 5 is a side view of the main portion of the tape cutting tool.

6 is an operation explanatory diagram of an example device.

7 is an operation explanatory diagram of an example device.

8 is an operation explanatory diagram of an embodiment device.

9 is an operation explanatory diagram of an example device.

Fig. 10 is a plan view showing the tape cutting operation in the notch.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for cutting a protective tape attached to the surface of a semiconductor wafer according to the outer shape of the wafer by relatively running the cutter blade along the outer circumference of the semiconductor wafer.

Conventionally, as a means of cutting a protective tape, a protective tape is supplied to and attached to a surface of a wafer held on a table, and then a table is rotated in a state where a cutter blade is inserted into the protective tape. It is known that the cutter blade is driven relative to the protective tape to be cut along the wafer outer circumference (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-25402).

In general, a positioning orientation flat or notch is formed on the outer circumference of the wafer. In the case of a wafer having an orientation flat, it is possible to make the cutter blade move relative to the linear orientation flat by sliding the cutter blade toward the wafer center. However, since the notch formed on the outer periphery of the wafer has a small width of several millimeters in the width direction and the radial direction, the cutter blade passes through the wafer peripheral direction in the notch forming portion. Therefore, the tape cutting process is performed with a part of the protective tape facing the inside of the notch.

By the way, since the part of the protective tape facing the inside of the notch is in the exposed state, the dust generated in the back grind process is exposed to the part of the notch exposed inside the notch. There is a risk of adhering and the adhering dust falling off in the subsequent treatment step, thus causing damage to the surroundings. In addition, the protective tape portion inside the notch may be covered with dust and may be used when the notch is optically detected to align the wafer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and in the protective tape cutting process of a notched semiconductor wafer, the protective tape is largely exposed and not remaining inside the notch, and dust adhesion and the like can be suppressed. The main purpose is to

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following configuration.

As a method of cutting a protective tape of a semiconductor wafer, by relatively running the cutter blade along the outer circumference of the semiconductor wafer to cut out the protective tape attached to the surface of the semiconductor wafer along the wafer outline.

The method,

A cutter blade traveling process of relatively running the cutter blade along the outer circumference of the semiconductor wafer provided with the positioning notch on the outer circumference;

In the first half of the notch formed to be recessed into the outer periphery of the wafer during the cutter blade running process, the first rotational rotation process for rotating the cutter blade so that the blade edge toward the wafer center,

The latter half of the notch includes a second rotational rotation process in which the cutter blade is rotated so that the blade edge is directed toward the outer periphery of the wafer.

According to the method of cutting the protective tape of the semiconductor wafer of the present invention, the cutter blade reaches the notch forming portion and rotates so that the blade tip extends into the notch. That is, the portion of the protective tape remaining inside the notch is a small amount, and the exposed adhesive surface is few.

In the driving process of the cutter blade, the cutter blade may be driven along the outer circumference of the semiconductor wafer, and the cutter blade is fixed and the semiconductor wafer is rotated to rotate the central axis. In the two-rotation rotation process, the cutter blade may be rotated around the axis center located near the edge of the back of the cutter blade while the semiconductor wafer is rotated.

It is also desirable to include a changing process of changing the turning radius of the cutter blade. According to this method, it is possible to change and adjust the turning radius of the cutter blade in accordance with the external shape of the semiconductor wafer.

Further, in the cutter blade traveling process, the first rotational rotation process, and the second rotational rotation process, it is preferable to add elasticity to the blade edge of the cutter blade so as to approach the central axis of the semiconductor wafer.

Moreover, this invention adopts the following structures, in order to achieve such an objective.

A protective tape cutting device for semiconductor wafers, wherein the cutter tape is relatively driven along the outer circumference of the semiconductor wafer to cut out the protective tape attached to the surface of the semiconductor wafer along the wafer outline.

The apparatus comprises:

Support means for rotationally supporting the cutter blade about an axis center parallel to the axis center passing through the wafer center and located near the back edge of the cutter blade,

Cutter blade traveling means for relatively running the cutter blade along the outer circumference of the semiconductor wafer having a positioning notch on the outer circumference,

In the first half of the notch formed to be recessed in the outer periphery of the wafer, the cutter blade rotates to rotate the cutter blade toward the wafer center, and rotates the cutter blade to rotate the blade edge toward the wafer periphery in the latter half of the notch. It includes a rotation means.

According to the above configuration, in the first half of the notch, the cutter blade rotates so that each blade tip faces the wafer center and enters the inside of the notch, and in the second half of the notch, the cutter blade rotates in the reverse direction so that each blade tip faces the wafer outer periphery. Proceeding from the tray, there is a small amount of the protective tape remaining inside the notch, and the exposed adhesive surface is few.

Therefore, the portion of the protective tape remaining inside the notch is a small amount, and the exposed adhesive surface is few. As a result, the adhesion of abrasive dust or the like to the adhesive surface of the protective tape portion remaining inside the notch is suppressed, and dust is eliminated in the subsequent process, which damages the surroundings and does not inhibit the optical detection of the notch portion. .

In addition, the cutter blade traveling means includes, for example, a configuration including first driving means for turning the cutter blade around the semiconductor wafer, or a holding means for holding the semiconductor wafer and a center of the semiconductor wafer held in the holding means. It is recommended to include a second drive means for rotating the retaining means in axial rotation.

In addition, the protective tape cutting device of the semiconductor wafer of the present invention preferably includes adjusting means for adjusting the turning radius of the cutter blade. According to this configuration, it is possible to change and adjust the turning radius of the cutter blade in accordance with the external shape of the semiconductor wafer.

Furthermore, it is preferable to include an elastic body which adds elasticity to the blade edge of the cutter blade so as to approach the central axis of the semiconductor wafer.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a protective tape applying device. This protective tape applying device includes a wafer supply / recovery unit 1 and a robot arm 2 to which a cassette C containing a semiconductor wafer (W, hereinafter simply abbreviated as "wafer") is loaded. Supply the protective tape T for surface protection toward the wafer conveyance mechanism 3, the alignment stage 4, the chuck table 5 for holding and holding the wafer W, and the wafer W. It is attached to the separator recovery part 7 and the chuck table 5 which peel and recover the separator s from the protective tape T with a separator supplied from the tape supply part 6 and the tape supply part 6 Attachment unit 8 for attaching the protective tape T to the held wafer W, and tape cutting tool for cutting and cutting the protective tape T attached to the wafer W according to the outer shape of the wafer W ( 9) Adhesion to the wafer W to peel off the unnecessary tape T` after the cutting process The peeling unit 10 and the tape recovery part 11 etc. which roll out and collect | recover and collect | recover the unnecessary tape T` peeled from the peeling unit 10 are provided, and the specific structure in each said structure part and mechanism is shown below. This is explained in

Two cassettes C can be loaded in the wafer supply / recovery section 1 in parallel. In each cassette C, a plurality of wafers W having a wiring pattern face upward are sandwiched in a horizontal posture in multiple stages.

The robot arm 2 provided in the wafer transfer mechanism 3 is configured to be capable of horizontally moving forward and backward, and the whole can be driven and lifted up and down. Therefore, at the blade end of the robot arm 2, a horseshoe-shaped vacuum suction wafer holder 2a is provided, and the wafer holder 2a is formed by a gap between the wafers W stored in the cassette C in multiple stages. The wafer W is sucked and held from the back surface, the wafer W held by the suction is removed from the cassette C, the alignment stage 4, the chuck table 5, and the wafer supply / recovery unit 1 Return in the order of).

The alignment stage 4 carries out alignment of the wafer W carried in by the wafer conveyance mechanism 3 based on the notch n formed in the outer periphery.

The chuck table 5 is moved from the wafer transfer mechanism 3 to be vacuum suctioned on the wafer W placed in a predetermined alignment position. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface of this chuck table 5 pivotally moves the cutter blade 12 with which the tape cutter tool 9 mentioned later is rotated according to the outer shape of the wafer W, and a protective tape. In order to cut (T), the cutter running groove 13 is formed.

Returning to FIG. 1, the tape supply part 6 rolls and guides the protective tape T with a separator drawn out from the supply bobbin 14 to the guide roller group 15, and the separator ( It is comprised so that the protective tape T which peeled s) may be led to the attachment unit 8. As shown in FIG. The supply bobbin 14 is configured to give an appropriate rotational resistance to prevent excessive tape feeding.

The separator recovery part 7 is driven to rotate in the direction in which the recovery bobbin 16 which rolls up the separator s peeled from the protective tape T rolls up.

As shown in Fig. 6, the attachment unit 8 is provided with an attachment roller 17 horizontally forward and reciprocally driven horizontally and horizontally by the slide guide mechanism 18 and a screw transfer drive mechanism (not shown). It is supposed to be.

The peeling unit 10 is provided with the peeling roller 19 horizontally in front, and is reciprocally driven horizontally and horizontally by the slide guide mechanism 18 and the screw transmission drive mechanism which is not shown in figure.

The tape recovery part 11 is rotationally driven in the direction in which the recovery bobbin 20 which rolls up unnecessary tape T 'rolls up.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tape cutting tool 9 is basically around the longitudinal axis X positioned on the center of the chuck table 5 at the lower part of the movable platform 21 capable of driving up and down. A drive pivotable pair of support arms 22 is mounted in parallel. In addition, a cutter blade 12 having a blade tip downward is attached to the cutter unit 23 provided on the free end side of the support arm 22, and the support arm 22 pivots on the longitudinal axis X. FIG. The cutter blade 12 is configured to travel along the outer circumference of the wafer W to cut out the protective tape T. The detailed structure is shown in FIGS. 2 to 6.

As shown in Fig. 2, the movable table 21 is capable of moving up and down the screw 25 along the longitudinal rail 25 by forward and reverse driving the motor 24. As shown in Figs. The rotating shaft 26 which is rotatably equipped around the longitudinal axis X at the free end of the movable table 21 is provided with two belts 28 on the motor 27 arranged on the movable table 21. The rotational shaft 26 rotates at a low speed in a predetermined direction by the operation of the motor 27. Thus, at the lower end of the support member 29 extending downward from the pivot shaft 26, the support arm 22 is slidably supported in the horizontal direction so as to be slide-adjustable, and the slide adjustment of the support arm 22 is performed. This makes it possible to change and adjust the distance from the longitudinal axis X of the cutter blade 12, that is, the turning radius of the cutter blade 12 in accordance with the wafer diameter.

In addition, the rotating shaft 26, the motor 27, and the belt 28 constitute the cutter blade traveling means and the first drive means in the present invention. In addition, the support arm 22 is corresponded to the adjustment means of this invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, a bracket 30 is fixedly attached to the free end of the support arm 22. The cutter unit 23 is attached to this bracket 30. The cutter unit 23 is a rotating member 31 supported by the bracket 30 so as to be rotatable within a constant small range around the longitudinal axis Y, and a vertical wall-shaped support bracket connected to the lower surface of the end of the rotating member 31. 32, a cutter support member 33 connected to the side of the support bracket 32, a bracket 34 supported by the cutter support member 33, a cutter holder 35 attached to the bracket 34, and the like. It consists of. The cutter blade 12 is screwed to the side surface of the cutter holder 35.

Here, as shown in FIG. 4, above the rotating member 31, an operation flange 38 which integrally rotates with the rotating member 31 by the joining of the long hole 36 and the protrusion 37. Is arranged. By rotating this operation flange 38 by the air cylinder 39, the whole cutter unit 23 with respect to the support arm 22 changes the attitude | position around the longitudinal axis Y, It is possible to adjust the angle of the cutter blade 12 with respect to the running direction within a predetermined small range.

In addition, with respect to the cutter support member 33, the bracket 34 is slidably supported in the longitudinal direction of the support arm 22 (in the opposite direction to the ground in FIG. 5), and a spring is not shown. Is pushed so as to slide in a direction close to the longitudinal axis X by the.

In addition, the cutter holder 35 is supported by the bracket 34 so as to be rotatable around the longitudinal axis Z through the rear edge of the cutter blade 12, and the blade tip of the cutter blade 12 is the longitudinal axis X. It is pushed so that it may be rotated by the spring 41 in the direction near (). In addition, the spring 41 is corresponded to the elastic body of this invention. Therefore, as a rigid body, it is not limited to a spring, For example, resin belt, rubber | gum, etc. can be used.

In addition, the bracket 30 which supports the cutter unit 23 so that rotation is possible is equivalent to the support means by this invention, and the rotation member 31, the long hole 36, the projection 37, the air cylinder 39 ) And the spring 41 constitute the cutter blade rotational rotation means in the present invention.

Next, a series of basic operations for attaching the protective tape T to the surface of the wafer W using the above embodiment apparatus will be described based on FIGS. 6 to 9.

When the attachment instruction is issued, the robot arm 2 in the wafer conveyance mechanism 3 is moved to the loaded cassette C placed on the wafer supply / recovery section 1, and the wafer holding section 2a is moved to the cassette. It is inserted between the gaps of the wafers accommodated in (C). The robot arm 2 sucks and holds the wafer W from the rear surface (lower surface) by the wafer holding section 2a, and transfers the removed wafer W to the alignment stage 4.

The wafer W placed on the alignment stage 4 is positioned using the notch n formed on the outer circumference of the wafer W. As shown in FIG. The wafer W in which the alignment has been solved is again carried out by the robot arm 2 and placed on the chuck table 5.

The wafer W placed on the chuck table 5 is held and held in a state where the center thereof is positioned so that the center thereof is on the center of the chuck table 5. In that case, as shown in FIG. 6, the attachment unit 8 and the peeling unit 10 are in the initial position on the left side, and the cutter blade 12 of the tape cutting tool 9 is respectively in the initial position of the upper side, respectively. I'm waiting.

Next, as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 6, the attachment roller 17 of the attachment unit 8 is lowered and the wafer (with the protective tape T pressed downward on the attachment roller 17). W) is rotated forward (right in FIG. 6), whereby the protective tape T is attached to the entire surface of the wafer W. FIG.

As shown in Fig. 7, when the attachment unit 8 reaches the end position, the cutter blade 12, which is waiting on the upper side, descends, and the protective tape (in the cutter running groove 13 of the chuck table 5) Stabbed in T).

When the cutter blade 12 is lowered to a predetermined cutting height position and stopped, as shown in FIG. 8, the support arm 22 rotates in a predetermined direction, whereby the cutter blade 12 has the longitudinal axis X. The protective tape T is cut according to the wafer outline by turning around.

When the tape cutting along the outer circumference of the wafer W is completed, as shown in FIG. 9, the cutter blade 12 is raised to the original standby position, and then the wafer (with the peeling unit 10 moving forward) moves forward. W) Cut off and cut off the unnecessary tape (T`) left over and peel off.

When the peeling unit 10 reaches the end position of the peeling operation, the peeling unit 10 and the attachment unit 8 move in the reverse direction to return to the initial position. At this time, the unnecessary tape T 'is rolled up by the recovery bobbin 20, and a certain amount of protective tape T is fed out from the tape supply part 6.

When the tape attaching operation is completed, after the adsorption on the chuck table 5 is released, the wafer W on which the attaching process has been solved is moved to the wafer holding section 2a of the robot arm 2, and the wafer is supplied. It is to be inserted into the cassette (C) of / recovery section (1).

After the one-time tape applying process is completed, the above operation is repeated sequentially.

Therefore, in the tape cutting step in the protective tape applying step, tape cutting at the notch n formed on the outer circumference of the wafer W is performed as follows. In addition, the notch n is curved by concave about 4 to 5 mm in the opening width in the circumferential direction and about 3 mm in depth.

As the rod of the air cylinder 39 extends while the cutter blade 12 advances the peripheral edges other than the notch n of the wafer W, as shown in FIG. The cutter blade 12 is bent in the circumferential direction with an inclination angle that is properly hit against the outer circumferential edge of the wafer W to move in contact with it. When the cutter blade 12 reaches an end portion above the notch n, the rod of the air cylinder 39 contracts, and the cutter blade 12 becomes free in the inward direction. Thus, as shown in (b) of FIG. 10, from the outer periphery of the wafer W, the outer cutter blade 12 rotates by the force which pushes a spring toward the cutter blade pivot center direction at the edge of the blade. By advancing with the edge, it progresses with the blade tip digging into the notch n. When the blade tip reaches the lower portion of the notch n, the cutter blade 12 is rotated again while the cutter blade 12 is extended, and the cutter blade 12 is rotated in the reverse direction to move toward the wafer outer periphery. (Refer to FIG. 10 (c)). When the cutter blade 12 reaches an end portion below the notch n, the cutter blade 12 again proceeds along the outer circumference of the wafer W, as shown in FIG. Goes.

The cutter blade 12 rotates and digs into the notch n, and rotates in the reverse direction in the latter part of the notch n. The protective tape T in the notch n is cut out and taken out. The remaining tape t remaining in the notch n is reduced.

In addition, this invention can be implemented with the following forms.

(1) The cutter holder 35 may be configured to be rotatable by an actuator such as a pulse motor. In this case, the remaining tape t in the notch n can be further reduced by controlling the cutter blade 12 to move while rotating the cutter blade 12 in accordance with the internal edge of the notch n based on a previously input program. have.

(2) The method of the present invention can be implemented in a shape in which a tape is cut by rotating the wafer W with respect to the cutter blade 12. In the case of realizing the configuration, the chuck table 5 which sucks and holds the wafer W may be configured to rotate by, for example, driving means such as a motor. In this configuration, the motor corresponds to the second drive means of the present invention.

The present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essence thereof, and therefore, the scope of the invention should be referred to, rather than the foregoing description, with reference to the appended claims.

According to the present invention, by cutting the protective tape inside the notch by cutting the protective tape inside the notch while the cutter blade rotates in the forward and reverse directions, the portion of the protective tape remaining inside the notch is small, and the exposed adhesive surface is also reduced. do. As a result, the adhesion of abrasive dust or the like on the adhesive surface of the protective tape portion remaining inside the notch is suppressed, and dust is eliminated in the subsequent process, causing damage to the surroundings or inhibiting optical detection of the notched portion. none.

Claims (10)

A protective tape cutting method of a semiconductor wafer in which a cutter tape is relatively moved along the outer circumference of the semiconductor wafer to cut out a protective tape attached to the surface of the semiconductor wafer along the wafer outline. The method, In the first half of the notch formed while driving the cutter blade relatively along the outer circumference of the semiconductor wafer provided with the notch for positioning at the outer circumference, and recessed into the outer circumference of the wafer, the cutter edge is cut off at the end of the blade. The back surface of the cutter blade parallel to the axis center passing through the wafer center by the cutter blade autorotating means so as to face the wafer center and deviated rearward from the longitudinal axis of the cutter blade in the opposite direction to the traveling direction ( Rotate the circumference around the edge, and push the edge of the blade with elastic force toward the cutter blade pivot center to dig the blade tip into the notch. In the second half of the notch, the cutter blade is rotated. A cutting tape for cutting the protective tape of a semiconductor wafer, wherein the blade is rotated by a cutter blade rotating means so that the edges thereof face the outer circumference of the wafer. . delete delete delete delete A protective tape cutting device for semiconductor wafers, wherein the cutter tape is relatively moved along the outer circumference of the semiconductor wafer to cut out the protective tape attached to the surface of the semiconductor wafer along the wafer outline. The apparatus comprises: The cutter blade is supported by rotating around the edge of the cutter blade parallel to the axis center passing through the wafer center and deviating backward from the longitudinal axis of the cutter blade opposite to the traveling direction. Way; Cutter blade traveling means for relatively running the cutter blade along the outer circumference of the semiconductor wafer including the positioning notch in the outer circumferential portion; In the first half of the notch formed so as to be recessed in the outer periphery of the wafer, the cutter blade is rotated around the axis of the support means so that the blade tip faces the wafer center, and the blade edge is pushed by the elastic body toward the cutter blade pivot center direction. And a cutter blade rotational rotation means for rotating the cutter blade so that the blade edge is directed toward the outer periphery of the wafer at the second half of the notch. The method of claim 6, And said cutter blade traveling means is first drive means for pivoting said cutter blade around said semiconductor wafer. The method of claim 6, The cutter blade traveling means includes: holding means for holding the semiconductor wafer; And a second driving means for rotating the holding means around a central axis of the semiconductor wafer held by the holding means. The method of claim 6, The apparatus comprises: And a control means for adjusting a turning radius of the cutter blade. delete

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