WO2007123007A1

WO2007123007A1 - Sheet cutting apparatus and sheet cutting method

Info

Publication number: WO2007123007A1
Application number: PCT/JP2007/057755
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kan Nakata; Kenji Kobayashi; Hideaki Nonaka; Yoshiaki Sugishita
Original assignee: Lintec Corporation
Priority date: 2006-04-19
Filing date: 2007-04-06
Publication date: 2007-11-01
Also published as: JP2007288010A; TW200808505A

Abstract

A sheet cutting apparatus (10) which cuts a sheet (S) of such a size that the sheet is protruded from the outer periphery of a semiconductor wafer (W) by a cutter blade (12) along the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer (W), after the sheet is stuck onto the semiconductor wafer (W). The sheet cutting apparatus (10) comprises an imaging camera (30) for imaging the outer peripheral shape of the semiconductor wafer (W). Based on the image data, the movement route of the cutter blade (12) is determined, and the cutter blade (12) is moved by a robot (11) along the moving route to cut the sheet (S).

Description

Sheet cutting device and cutting method

Technical field

The present invention relates to a sheet cutting device and a cutting method, and more specifically, after a sheet having a size protruding from the outer periphery of a plate-like member is attached to the plate-like member, the sheet is moved along the outer periphery of the plate-like member. The present invention relates to a sheet cutting apparatus and a cutting method that can be cut.

Background art

Conventionally, a protective sheet for protecting a circuit surface serving as a surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as “wafer”) has been applied.

[0003] Since a wafer with a protective sheet is subjected to back-grinding (back grinding) in a later process, when the protective sheet is applied, it is cut so that it does not protrude from the outer periphery of the wafer. Therefore, it is required to prevent damage and damage due to sheet entrainment. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, a cutter blade having a center of rotation is provided on the vertical line at the top of the wafer, and the cutter blade is rotated in a plane so that the sheet sticks out of the outer periphery of the wafer. A sheet cutting apparatus and a cutting method for cutting a sheet in accordance with a wafer shape are disclosed.

[0004] Patent Document 1: JP 2005-19841

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0005] However, in the sheet cutting device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the cutter blade rotates around the rotation center axis on the wafer, so that the wafer center and the rotation center are The alignment device for alignment is an essential component of the sheet cutting device, and the processing time required for alignment and the total time required to complete the sheet cutting become long, leading to a decrease in cutting efficiency. There is. In addition, when the alignment device generates an error for some reason, the error appears as a deviation between the center of the wafer and the rotation center of the cutter blade, and the cutter blade hits the outer periphery of the wafer and causes the wafer or cutter to move. This leads to the problem of damage to the blade. Also, it is possible to cut when a sheet is pasted on a pasting object having a planar shape such as a polygon or an ellipse, because the object to be pasted on the sheet is limited to a circular shape like a wafer. There is also the inconvenience that it is not possible.

[0006] [Object of invention]

The present invention has been devised by paying attention to such inconveniences, and the object of the present invention is to provide a sheet having a size that protrudes from the outer periphery of a plate-like member such as a wafer. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet cutting apparatus and a cutting method capable of cutting a sheet according to the shape of a plate member.

Another object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for an alignment device for accurately positioning the plate-like member, to improve sheet cutting efficiency, and to limit the planar shape of the plate-like member. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet cutting apparatus and a cutting method that do not occur.

Means for solving the problem

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sheet having a size protruding from the outer periphery of the plate-like member, and then sticking the sheet along the outer periphery of the plate-like member via a cutter blade. In the sheet cutting device that cuts

Including imaging means for imaging the outer peripheral shape of the plate-like member;

The cutter blade is provided so as to be able to operate in a predetermined manner according to the movement trajectory based on the imaging data of the imaging means, and the sheet is cut.

In the present invention, the plate-like member has a substantially circular planar shape, and the cutter blade is rotatably provided with the center of the plate-like member obtained by the imaging means as the rotation center. Can be adopted.

[0009] In addition, it is preferable that the imaging unit has a function of detecting whether or not the actual cutting locus of the cutter blade is deviated from the movement locus and whether or not the force is detected.

[0010] Furthermore, the cutter blade may be configured to be supported by an articulated robot that is numerically controlled.

[0011] Further, the cutter blade can be provided such that a toe-in angle, a camber angle, and a caster angle can be adjusted at the time of cutting.

[0012] Further, the imaging means further has a blade edge inspection function for inspecting the tip side of the cutter blade. It is recommended that the cutting edge inspection be performed when the sheet cutting operation is completed and before z or the sheet cutting operation.

[0013] When a change in the length of the cutter blade is detected by the blade edge inspection function, the insertion depth of the cutter blade can be adjusted according to the amount of change.

[0014] Furthermore, the imaging means can be constituted by an infrared camera.

[0015] Further, a configuration may be adopted in which a table that supports the plate-like member is included and the plate-like member is heated by a heating unit.

[0016] Further, according to the present invention, after a sheet having a size protruding from the outer periphery of the plate-like member is attached to the plate-like member, the sheet is cut along the outer periphery of the plate-like member via a cutter blade. In the cutting method,

A method is adopted in which the outer peripheral shape of the plate-like member is imaged by an imaging means, and the cutter blade is moved in accordance with a movement locus based on imaging data of the imaging means to cut the sheet.

[0017] In the cutting method, when the planar shape of the plate-like member is substantially circular, the imaging means obtains the center of the plate-like member, and then the cutter blade rotates about the center as the rotation center. Cutting can be done.

The invention's effect

[0018] According to the present invention, the movement trajectory of the cutter blade can be determined based on the imaging data, and the sheet is cut according to the shape of the plate-like member by the movement of the cutter blade according to the movement trajectory. It becomes possible to carry out with high accuracy. In addition, since it is not necessary to position the plate-shaped member using the alignment device, it is possible to reduce the essential configuration of the device and omit the time required for alignment, and there is no restriction on the planar shape of the plate-shaped member. The versatility of can be given.

Furthermore, when the planar shape of the plate-like member is substantially circular, the movement trajectory can be easily determined by obtaining the center thereof.

In addition, if the imaging means detects the deviation between the cutting position of the cutter blade and the movement trajectory based on the imaging data, the cutting operation is stopped if the cutter blade cannot be cut accurately for some reason. The necessary measures can be taken, etc. Can be prevented in advance.

Further, when the cutter blade holding means is constituted by an articulated robot that is numerically controlled, it is possible to perform sheet cutting to give a variety of cutter blade movement trajectories and to form a complicated planar shape. it can.

In addition, if the cutter blade is provided with adjustable toe angle, camber angle, and caster angle at the time of cutting, the sheet can be cut under optimum conditions by adjusting these according to the thickness, rigidity, etc. of the sheet. It becomes.

Furthermore, in the configuration that can inspect the blade edge of the cutter blade, if the cutter blade breaks or wears and changes its length, the cutting depth can be reduced by adjusting the insertion depth of the cutter blade thereafter. It can be avoided.

In addition, by imaging with an infrared camera, it is possible to cope with a case where an opaque sheet is attached to the plate-like member, and further, by heating the support table, the plate-like member can be imaged more clearly. it can.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a sheet cutting device and a table according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a tip end region of the robot.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a cutter blade.

[FIG. 4] (A) is a schematic plan view taken by the imaging camera when the cutter blade and the imaging camera are positioned at a predetermined position above the table T, and (B) is a schematic diagram showing a state where a predetermined amount of the blade is inserted. The top view and (C) are schematic plan views which show the state which has cut | disconnected the sheet | seat with the cutter blade.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram for cutting the sheet while maintaining the toe-in angle.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram for cutting a sheet while maintaining a camber angle.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram for cutting a sheet while maintaining a caster angle.

Explanation of symbols

[0020] 10 sheet cutting device

11 Robot (holding means)

12 Cutter blade

12B blade 30 Imaging camera (imaging means)

S sheet

w Semiconductor wafer (plate member)

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

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

FIG. 1 shows a sheet cutting apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, and a wafer W as a plate-like member that is provided in the sheet cutting apparatus 10 and has a substantially circular planar shape, and is supported substantially horizontally. A schematic front view of a table T on which a protective adhesive sheet S is attached to the upper surface (circuit surface) of the wafer _W is shown. In this figure, a sheet cutting apparatus 10 includes a robot 11, a cutter blade 12 held by the robot 11, and an imaging means 13 mounted on the robot 11.

[0023] The robot 11 includes a base portion 14, a first arm 15A to a sixth arm 15F disposed on the upper surface side of the base portion 14 and provided so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows A to F, and a sixth arm. A tool holding chuck 19 attached to the front end side of 15 F, that is, the free end side of the robot 11. The second, third and fifth arms 15B, 15C and 15E are rotatably provided in the YXZ plane in FIG. 1, and the first, fourth and sixth arms 15A, 15D and 15F have their axes. It is provided so that it can rotate around. The robot 11 in this embodiment is controlled by numerical control. In other words, the amount of movement of each joint relative to the workpiece (wafer W) is controlled by numerical information corresponding to each, and the amount of movement is all controlled by a program. Each time a change is made, a completely different method is used than when the cutter blade position is changed manually. Furthermore, with the conventional cutting device, it was necessary to readjust the cutting diameter each time as the posture of the cutter blade was changed (toe angle α1, chamber angle a2, caster angle a3 described later). The robot 11 according to the embodiment can maintain the cutting diameter at a set value with high accuracy regardless of how the posture of the cutter blade is changed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tool holding chuck 19 is disposed at a position where the cutter blade receptacle 20 having a substantially cylindrical shape is spaced from the cutter blade receptacle 20 by an interval of about 120 degrees in the circumferential direction. And is provided with three chuck claws 21 for holding the cutter blade 12 detachably. Yes. Each chuck claw 21 is formed as a pointed portion 21A having an acute angle at the inner end, and can be moved back and forth in the radial direction with respect to the center of the cutter blade receiver 20 by air pressure.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cutter blade 12 includes a blade holder 12A that forms a base region, and a blade 12B that is detachably fixed to the distal end side of the blade holder 12A. The blade holder 12A has a substantially cylindrical shape, and grooves 22 are formed along the axial direction at the base end side of the outer circumferential surface at intervals of about 120 degrees in the circumferential direction, and the tip of the chuck claw 21 is formed in these grooves 22. By engaging the pointed portion 21A, the position of the cutter blade 12 with respect to the tool holding chuck 19 is kept constant! /.

[0026] The imaging means 13 includes an imaging camera 30, and imaging data of the imaging camera 30 is output to a controller (not shown). As shown in FIG. 1, the imaging camera 30 is positioned above the cutter blade 12 at a predetermined position, and the tool holding chuck 30 is positioned below the cutter blade 12 so that the sheet S, Ueno, and W are positioned thereunder. It is supported by a bracket 31 attached to the outer periphery of 19. The sheet S in the present embodiment is transparent or translucent, and even if the wafer W is positioned on the lower surface side of the sheet S, the outer peripheral edge position of the wafer W can be imaged. It becomes like this. As shown in FIG. 4, the imaging camera 30 images the tip region of the blade 12B and a partial region of the sheet S and Ueno, W positioned below the imaging region as an imaging area, and sends the imaging data to the controller. Output. Then, the image data is processed by the controller to identify the outer peripheral positions of the UE and W, and the movement locus by the blade 12B is determined. Thereby, the cutter blade 12 moves corresponding to the movement locus. Thus, the controller controls the robot 11 in a predetermined manner.

In addition, the controller that processes the imaging data of the imaging camera 30 uses the intersection of the vertical bisectors a and b of the two strings A and B as the center C of the wafer W, as shown in FIG. And a function for outputting a signal for operating the robot 11 with the center C as the rotation center of the blade 12B.

Further, the imaging means 13 detects whether or not the actual cutting locus of the blade 12B is deviated from the movement locus determined by the image processing (see FIG. 4C), and detects the deviation. Function to stop the operation of the entire device or notify a predetermined alarm when Configured.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the cutter blade 12 is inspected at the tip end side of the blade 12B by the blade edge inspection function of the imaging means 13 after the cutting operation is completed or before the cutting operation is performed. It is also configured to. The imaging camera 30 images the tip region of the blade 12B, outputs the imaged data to the controller, and performs image processing with the controller to change the length of the blade 12B with respect to the reference length and the edge shape with respect to the edge reference shape. Changes are detected. When the robot 11 detects a short change due to the tip of the blade 12B being bent or worn, the robot 11 adjusts the insertion depth at the next cutting so as to compensate for the change. As a result, the insertion depth of the cutter blade 12 is prevented from being insufficient. If it is determined that the blade 12B is shortened by the above inspection, the sheet S that was cut immediately before may not be completely cut, so a signal is sent to the outside to inspect the sheet S. Can be output. When damage to the blade edge is detected, cutting can be performed in a normal blade edge region by changing the insertion depth, or the robot 11 can be switched to another new cutter blade 12.

[0028] As shown in Fig. 1, the table T includes an outer table 41 having a substantially square shape in plan view, and a flat surface.

It is constituted by a substantially circular inner table 42. The outer table 41 is formed in a concave shape that can receive the inner table 42 in a state where a gap is formed between the outer table 41 and the outer edge of the inner table 42, and can be moved up and down with respect to the base 45 via the single-axis robot 44. Is provided. On the other hand, the inner table 42 is provided so as to be movable up and down with respect to the outer table 41 via the single-axis robot 46. Accordingly, the outer table 41 and the inner table 42 can be moved up and down integrally, and can be moved up and down independently of each other, so that a predetermined height position can be set according to the thickness of the sheet S and the thickness of the wafer W. Can be adjusted.

[0029] On the upper side of the table T, a sheet feeding unit (not shown) for feeding the sheet S on the wafers W is arranged, and the sheet S fed on the wafer W from the sheet feeding unit. Is a sheet while a bonding roller (not shown) rotates on the sheet S. The sheet s is attached to the upper surface of the wafer w by moving in the feeding direction.

Next, a method for cutting the sheet S in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Sheet S is affixed to wafer W as outlined in Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-198806.

As an initial setting, as shown in FIG. 5, the toe-in angle a 1 in which the center line of the cutter blade 12 is inclined with respect to the cutting direction along the outer periphery of the wafer W in the top view of the cutting direction is shown in FIG. As shown in Fig. 7, the center line of the cutter blade 12 is seen in the cutting direction as seen from the side of the cutting direction. The caster angle α 3 inclined to is input to the controller. The reason for setting the toe angle ex 1, the camber angle ex 2 and the caster angle ex 3 is to enable cutting under optimum conditions in accordance with the thickness and rigidity of the sheet S.

[0032] First, the sheet cutting device 10 performs the operation of removing the cutter blade 12 from the tool holding chuck 19 that temporarily acts as a transfer device and switching it to the suction arm, and does not show it. Take the wafer W out of the wafer cassette and place it on the table. Regarding the placement of wafer W, since the wafer cassette has a predetermined dimensional accuracy, the wafer W may be positioned so that the outer periphery of the wafer W fits in the gap between the outer table 41 and the inner table 42. it can.

Subsequently, a sheet S is stuck on the upper surface side of the wafer W. While this sticking operation is being performed, the sheet cutting device 10 performs an operation of changing the suction arm force to the cutter blade 12 as well. Then, after the application of the sheet S is completed, the cutter blade 12 and the imaging camera 30 are positioned at a predetermined position above the table ridge as shown in FIG. The image data of the imaging camera 30 at that time is shown in FIG. The lowering amount of the cutter blade 12 is determined by the initial setting, and the points at which the sheet S is cut by the blade 12B are the reference lines LX and LY provided in the imaging camera 30 shown in FIG. It is set as the intersection of Therefore, when the cutter blade 12 is lowered so that the outer periphery of the wafer W coincides with the intersection of the reference lines LX and LY, the blade 12 mm is inserted into the sheet S by a predetermined amount as shown in FIG. It becomes.

Next, in the state shown in FIG. 4 (B), the cutter blade 12 is moved by the above-described string Α and Β. The diameters of the center of rotation C and the wafer W are obtained, and this determines the trajectory of the blade 12B during cutting.

[0035] With the movement locus determined in this way, the cutter blade 12 cuts the sheet S along the outer periphery of the wafer W according to the movement locus in which the rotation center C is the rotation center of the cutter blade 12. It will be. While this cutting operation is performed, the imaging camera 30 determines whether or not the actual cutting locus of the cutter blade 12 is displaced with respect to the moving locus, as shown in FIG. When the deviation is detected, a predetermined signal is output to stop the cutting operation, or an alarm is issued to perform the required inspection work. Yes.

Note that the V notch region indicating the crystal orientation of the wafer W can be dealt with by taking in real-time imaging data from the imaging camera 30 and generating correction data and outputting the correction data to the robot 11 by the controller. At this time, the insertion depth of the blade 12B is displaced so as to be relatively shallow, so that cutting can be performed with high precision even in a very small area such as a V-notch! .

[0036] After the cutting of the sheet S is completed, the cutter blade 12 returns to a predetermined standby position and undergoes a blade edge inspection. In the same manner as described above, the sheet cutting apparatus 10 temporarily changes to a suction arm (not shown), sucks and holds the wafer W and stores it in a wafer cassette (not shown). On the other hand, the outer unnecessary sheet portion generated by the cutting is scraped off by a scraping device (not shown). Thereafter, the next Ueno and W are transferred onto the table T again by the suction arm held by the sheet cutting apparatus 10, and thereafter the cutting operation is performed in the same manner.

Therefore, according to such an embodiment, there is an effect that the sheet S can be cut in accordance with the outer shape of the wafer W and the alignment of the wafer W without being aligned.

As described above, the best configuration, method, and the like for carrying out the present invention are the forces disclosed in the above description. The present invention is not limited to this.

That is, although the present invention has been illustrated and described with particular reference to particular embodiments, the shape, position, or arrangement of the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the technical idea and purpose of the present invention. As necessary, the person skilled in the art It can be obtained.

[0039] For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the sheet S is transparent or translucent has been described.

In the case of a sheet that transmits a specific wavelength, an imaging camera that can recognize the wavelength may be used. That is, if the sheet S is infrared transmissive, if the imaging camera 30 is an infrared camera, the outer peripheral position of the wafer W positioned on the lower surface side of the sheet S can be imaged even if the sheet S is opaque. And substantially the same cutting can be performed.

[0040] Furthermore, a coil as a heating means may be built in the inner table 42 of the table T that supports the wafer W. With this configuration, the wafer W can be imaged more clearly during imaging by the infrared camera.

[0041] Further, the plate-like member is not limited to the semiconductor wafer W, and other plate-like members such as glass, steel plate, and resin plate can also be targeted. It may be a wafer or a composite wafer. Further, the planar shape of the plate-like member is not limited to a substantially circular shape, and may be various planar shapes such as an ellipse and a polygon.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the sheet S is attached to the substantially circular wafer W and cut along the outer periphery of the wafer W is shown. However, the plate-like member having a planar shape other than the circle is used. May be. In this case, in addition to the method of determining and cutting the movement locus while capturing the imaging data from the imaging camera 30 in real time, the movement locus is determined in advance based on the imaging data covering the entire area of the plate member and cutting is performed. Of course it is possible.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A sheet cutting device that cuts the sheet along the outer periphery of the plate member via a cutter blade after a sheet having a size protruding from the outer periphery of the plate member is attached to the plate member. ,

A sheet cutting apparatus characterized in that the sheet is cut by providing the cutter blade in a predetermined operation according to a movement trajectory based on imaging data of the imaging means.

[2] The planar shape of the plate-like member is substantially circular, and the cutter blade is rotatably provided with the center of the plate-like member obtained by the imaging means as a rotation center. Item 1. The sheet cutting device according to Item 1.

[3] The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the imaging unit has a function of detecting whether or not the actual cutting locus of the cutter blade is deviated from the movement locus. Cutting device.

[4] The sheet cutting device according to [1], [2] or [3], wherein the cutter blade is supported by an articulated robot that is numerically controlled.

5. The sheet cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutter blade is provided such that a toe-in angle, a camber angle, and a caster angle can be adjusted at the time of cutting.

[6] The imaging means further includes a blade edge inspection function for inspecting the tip side of the cutter blade, and performs the blade edge inspection when the sheet cutting operation is completed and before the Z or sheet cutting operation. The sheet cutting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein

[7] The sheet cutting according to claim 6, wherein when a change in the length of the cutter blade is detected by the cutting edge inspection function, the insertion depth of the cutter blade is adjusted according to the change amount. apparatus.

8. The sheet cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit is configured by an infrared camera.

9. The sheet cutting device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a table that supports the plate-like member, and the plate-like member is heated by a heating unit.

[10] After pasting a sheet of a size protruding from the outer periphery of the plate-like member to the plate-like member, A sheet cutting method for cutting the sheet along the outer periphery of the plate-like member through a single blade;

A sheet cutting method characterized in that the outer peripheral shape of the plate-like member is imaged by an imaging means, and the cutter blade is moved according to a movement trajectory based on imaging data of the imaging means to cut the sheet.

When the planar shape of the plate-like member is substantially circular, the center of the plate-like member is obtained by the imaging means, and then the cutting is performed by rotating a cutter blade with the center as the rotation center. The sheet cutting method according to claim 10.