JP2014175422A - Cutting device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a cutting apparatus that can cope with an increase in the size of a workpiece while suppressing an increase in the size of the apparatus itself.
A cutting apparatus 1 includes chuck tables 10a and 10b for holding a workpiece W, cutting means 20a and 20b, and cleaning means 50a and 50b. In the cutting means 20a and 20b, the axial center direction of the spindle is parallel to the Y-axis direction. The cutting means 20a and 20b can be moved up and down in the Z-axis direction by the Z-axis moving means, processed and fed in the X-axis direction by the X-axis moving means 70a and 70b, and indexed and fed in the Y-axis direction by the Y-axis moving means 60a and 60b. . The cleaning means 50a cleans the workpiece W held on the chuck table 10a. The cleaning means 50b cleans the workpiece W held on the chuck table 10b.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus for dividing a plate-like workpiece into individual devices.

  Semiconductor wafers (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as wafers) in which devices such as ICs and LSIs are formed in each region partitioned by a plurality of division lines formed in a lattice pattern on the front surface are ground on the back surface. Then, after being processed to a desired thickness, it is divided into individual devices along the planned dividing line, and the divided devices are widely used in various electric devices such as mobile phones and personal computers.

  In order to improve productivity, the diameter of wafers tends to increase to 200 mm, 300 mm, and even 450 mm, and development of processing equipment such as dicing equipment and grinding equipment corresponding to the diameter of the wafer is essential. Yes. In such processing, since it is necessary to clean the wafer immediately after processing, a cleaning apparatus for cleaning the wafer is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In addition, a technique for cleaning on a chuck table for performing cutting or the like has been developed (see, for example, Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3).

JP 2008-80180 A JP 2007-080897 A JP 2007-095916 A

  Such a cleaning apparatus performs cleaning while rotating at a high speed with a vertical rotation shaft in a state where a table for holding a wafer is placed on a holding surface. The rotation speed in that case is about 1000 to 3000 rpm. Wafers have a large diameter, and when the diameter is 450 mm, the weight of the table is much heavier than a table corresponding to a diameter of 300 mm, so a high-power motor is required to perform such high-speed rotation. Therefore, the cost becomes very high and the apparatus becomes large.

  In addition, since the rotating speed is particularly high at the outer peripheral portion of the table, sufficient safety considerations are required, and costs for that are also required. For this reason, a technique for cleaning on a chuck table that performs cutting has been developed (see Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3). Since a machining feed means to move is necessary, the cutting device cannot be enlarged.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cutting device that can suppress the increase in size of the device itself while being able to cope with the increase in size of the workpiece. And

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a cutting apparatus according to the present invention includes a chuck table having a holding surface for holding a workpiece, and the workpiece held on the chuck table at the tip of a spindle. A cutting means for cutting with a cutting blade mounted on the cleaning means, a cleaning means for cleaning the workpiece cut by the cutting means, and a loading / unloading means for loading / unloading the workpiece onto / from the chuck table. The chuck table includes: a first chuck table; and a second chuck table having a holding surface having the same height as the holding surface of the first chuck table and arranged in parallel in the vicinity. Each chuck table has a rotation axis in the Z-axis direction orthogonal to the holding surface, the axial center direction of the spindle is set to the Y-axis direction parallel to the holding surface, and the cutting means It can be moved up and down in the Z-axis direction perpendicular to the holding surface of the back table, and is fed by the machining feed means for feeding in the Y-axis direction and the X-axis direction perpendicular to the Z-axis direction, and is indexed in the Y-axis direction. The cutting blade can be positioned at an arbitrary position on the holding surface of the first chuck table and the second chuck table by being indexed and fed by the indexing and feeding means for feeding. A first cleaning means for cleaning the workpiece held on the chuck table, and a second cleaning means for cleaning the workpiece held on the second chuck table. The one cleaning means and the second cleaning means include a cleaning liquid spraying means for spraying a cleaning liquid onto the upper surface of the workpiece, and a drying means for removing the cleaning liquid on the workpiece, Workpiece is After finishing the machining, the workpiece is washed while being held on the chuck table, and the workpiece held on one of the chuck tables is cut, and the workpiece held on the other chuck table is washed. Can be implemented in parallel.

  In the cutting apparatus of the present invention, since the spindle of the cutting means is processed and fed in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction, the chuck table only needs to have a rotation mechanism in the Z-axis direction. While it is possible to cope with an increase in the size of an object, an increase in the size of the device itself can be suppressed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of a cutting apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a configuration example of the cutting device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front view of cutting means and the like of the cutting apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a side view of cutting means and the like of the cutting apparatus according to the embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments (embodiments) for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the contents described in the following embodiments. The constituent elements described below include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art and those that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the structures described below can be combined as appropriate. Various omissions, substitutions, or changes in the configuration can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  A cutting apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of a cutting apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a configuration example of the cutting device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front view of cutting means and the like of the cutting apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a side view of cutting means and the like of the cutting apparatus according to the embodiment.

  The cutting apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment cuts the workpiece W by relatively moving the cutting means 20 and the chuck table 10 holding the workpiece W. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cutting device 1 is provided with two cutting means 20, that is, a 2-spindle dicer, a so-called facing dual type cutting device, and a workpiece W before and after cutting. , A loading / unloading means 40 for loading / unloading the workpiece W to / from the chuck table 10, a chuck table 10 having a holding surface 11 for holding the workpiece W, and a workpiece held by the chuck table 10. A cutting means 20 for cutting the workpiece W, a cleaning means 50 for cleaning the workpiece W cut by the cutting means 20, and a control means (not shown) are provided.

  Here, the workpiece W is a workpiece to be machined by the cutting apparatus 1. In this embodiment, silicon, sapphire, gallium, or the like is used as a base material, and the device is placed in an area partitioned by division lines that are orthogonal to each other. A plurality of semiconductor wafers and optical device wafers. The workpiece W has a device-side surface on which a plurality of devices are formed and a back surface opposite to the device-side surface is attached to the dicing tape T, and the dicing tape T attached to the workpiece W is attached to the frame F. Thus, the frame F is fixed. The workpiece W is divided into individual devices by causing the cutting device 1 to move the chuck table 10 and the cutting means 20 relative to each other and performing cutting on the planned dividing lines. In the present invention, a substrate made of resin, glass, ceramics, or the like can be used as the workpiece W. In particular, a semiconductor wafer having an outer diameter of 450 mm is preferable as the workpiece W.

  The cassette 30 accommodates a plurality of workpieces W adhered to the annular frame F via the adhesive tape T. The cassette 30 is provided in the apparatus main body 2 of the cutting apparatus 1 so as to be movable up and down in the Z-axis direction. In the present embodiment, two cassettes 30 are provided.

  The carry-in / out means 40 takes out one workpiece W before cutting from the cassette 30 and places it on the holding surface 11 of the chuck table 10, and also carries out the workpiece after cutting on the holding surface 11 of the chuck table 10. The workpiece W is accommodated in the cassette 30. The carry-in / out means 40 is provided between the cassette 30 and the chuck table 10 so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction. In the present embodiment, the carry-in / out means 40 is a rotation that rotates around a rotation axis parallel to the Z-axis and a joint that allows the pick part 41 that holds the workpiece W to move in the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction. It consists of a robot arm with multiple joints.

  The chuck table 10 holds the workpiece W by placing the workpiece W before being processed on the holding surface 11 by the loading / unloading means 40. The chuck table 10 includes a first chuck table 10a and a second chuck table 10b having a holding surface 11 having the same height as the holding surface 11 of the first chuck table 10a. The second chuck table 10b is juxtaposed in the Y-axis direction in the vicinity of the first chuck table 10a. Each chuck table 10a, 10b includes a base drive source 12 (shown in FIG. 3 that corresponds to the rotation axis) perpendicular to the holding surface 11 and is parallel to the Z-axis direction by the base drive source 12. It is rotated around the center axis. Each chuck table 10a, 10b has a disk shape in which a portion constituting the holding surface 11 is formed of porous ceramic or the like, and is connected to a vacuum suction source (not shown) via a vacuum suction path (not shown). The mounted workpiece W is held by suction. Further, as shown in FIG. 3 and the like, a partition wall 90 is provided between the chuck tables 10a and 10b so as to be movable up and down in the Z-axis direction.

  The cutting means 20 cuts the workpiece W held by the chuck tables 10a and 10b with a cutting blade 21 attached to the tip of a spindle (not shown). The spindles are rotatably supported by prismatic housings 22 and connected to blade drive sources (not shown) respectively housed in the housings 22. The cutting blade 21 is an extremely thin cutting grindstone having a substantially ring shape, and is detachably attached to the spindle. The cutting blade 21 is rotationally driven by the rotational force generated by the blade drive source. In the present embodiment, two cutting means 20 (hereinafter denoted by reference numerals 20a and 20b) are provided. The axial center direction of the spindle of each cutting means 20a, 20b is set to the Y-axis direction parallel to the holding surface 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, one cutting means 20a includes a Y-axis moving means 60a (corresponding to an index feed means), an X-axis moving means 70a (corresponding to a machining feed means), a Z-axis moving means 80a, and the like. It is provided on one side of the column part 3 erected from the apparatus main body 2. The other cutting means 20b includes, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a Y-axis moving means 60b (corresponding to an index feed means), an X-axis moving means 70b (corresponding to a machining feed means), a Z-axis moving means 80b, and the like. It is provided on the other side of the column part 3 via.

  The cutting means 20a and 20b can be moved up and down in the Z-axis direction orthogonal to the holding surface 11 by the Z-axis moving means 80a and 80b, and processed and fed in the X-axis direction orthogonal to both the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction. Is fed (moved) by the X axis moving means 70a and 70b. The cutting means 20a and 20b are indexed and fed by Y-axis moving means 60a and 60b that index and feed in the Y-axis direction. The cutting means 20a and 20b are moved in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction by the X-axis moving means 70a and 70b, the Y-axis moving means 60a and 60b, and the Z-axis moving means 80a and 80b. The cutting blade 21 can be positioned at an arbitrary position on the holding surface 11 of the chuck table 10a and the second chuck table 10b. An imaging means for imaging the upper surface of the workpiece W is also fixed to the Z-axis moving means, and moves integrally with the spindle.

  The cleaning means 50 includes a first cleaning means 50a for cleaning the workpiece W held on the first chuck table 10a, and a second for cleaning the workpiece W held on the second chuck table 10b. Cleaning means 50b. As shown in FIG. 2, each of the first cleaning means 50a and the second cleaning means 50b is a cleaning liquid that injects a cleaning liquid onto the upper surface of the workpiece W held on the holding surface 11 of the chuck tables 10a and 10b. An injection pipe 51 (corresponding to the cleaning liquid spraying means) and a drying pipe 52 (corresponding to the drying means) for removing the cleaning liquid on the workpiece W held on the holding surfaces 11 of the chuck tables 10a and 10b are provided. Yes.

  The cleaning liquid injection pipe 51 is supplied with a cleaning liquid (pure water, at least one of various chemical solutions, or a mixture of pressurized water and at least one of pure water and various chemical solutions) from a cleaning liquid supply source (not shown). The cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the upper surface of the workpiece W from a nozzle-like slit (not shown) that is a pipe and faces the holding surface 11. The drying pipe 52 is a pipe to which a pressurized gas or the like is supplied from a pressurized gas supply source (not shown), and the pressurized gas is supplied to the upper surface of the workpiece W from a nozzle-like slit (not shown) facing the holding surface 11. Spray on. In the present embodiment, the cleaning liquid injection pipe 51 and the drying pipe 52 of each of the cleaning units 50a and 50b are arranged in parallel with a space therebetween. The cleaning liquid ejection pipe 51 and the drying pipe 52 are integrally provided by a cleaning moving means 53 (shown in FIG. 3) so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction, and above the holding surface 11 of the chuck tables 10a and 10b in the X-axis direction. It is provided to be freely movable. Further, an exhaust duct 100 (shown in FIG. 2) is opened in the vicinity of each of the cleaning means 50a and 50b. The opening is opened at a position relatively close to the height of the holding surface, and generates a flow of downflow in the atmosphere in the cutting apparatus. In order to promote the occurrence of downflow, an air supply means may be provided above the chuck tables 10a and 10b, and gas may be supplied toward the holding surface 11 of the chuck tables 10a and 10b.

  The control means controls the above-described components constituting the cutting device 1. The control means causes the cutting apparatus 1 to perform a machining operation on the workpiece W. The control means is composed mainly of a microprocessor (not shown) provided with an arithmetic processing unit constituted by, for example, a CPU or the like, ROM, RAM, etc. It is connected to operation means used when registering information and the like.

  Next, the machining operation of the cutting device 1 according to this embodiment will be described. First, when the operator registers the machining content information and receives an instruction to start the machining operation, the machining operation is started. In the machining operation, the control means causes the carry-in / out means 40 to take out the workpiece W from the cassette 30 and place it on the holding surfaces 11 of the chuck tables 10a and 10b, and then the chuck tables 10a and 10b. To hold. At this time, the cleaning liquid injection pipe 51 and the drying pipe 52 of each of the cleaning units 50a and 50b are separated most from the cassette 30 in the X-axis direction and lowered most in the Z-axis direction by the cleaning moving unit 53, and are lowered to the chuck table 10a. , 10b is retracted from above the holding surface 11.

  The control means positions the cutting blade 21 of the cutting means 20a, 20b on any scheduled division line of the workpiece W held on one of the chuck tables 10a, 10b. Then, the control means appropriately drives the moving means 60a, 60b, 70a, 70b, 80a, 80b, the spindle of the cutting means 20 and the imaging means, the base drive source 12 and the like based on the processing content information, and the chuck The workpiece W held on one of the tables 10a and 10b is cut along a planned dividing line and divided into a plurality of devices.

  When the cutting is performed along all the division lines of the workpiece W held on one of the chuck tables 10a and 10b, the control means holds the cutting blade 21 of the cutting means 20a and 20b on the other of the chuck tables 10a and 10b. It positions on the arbitrary division | segmentation scheduled lines of the workpiece W made. Then, the control means appropriately drives the moving means 60a, 60b, 70a, 70b, 80a, 80b, the spindle of the cutting means 20 and the imaging means, the base drive source 12 and the like based on the processing content information, and the chuck The workpiece W held on the other side of the tables 10a and 10b is cut along a planned division line and divided into a plurality of devices.

  In addition, when the workpiece W held on the other side of the chuck tables 10a and 10b is cut along the scheduled division line, the control unit is provided with the cleaning units 50a and 50b provided on one of the chuck tables 10a and 10b. The cleaning liquid injection pipe 51 and the drying pipe 52 are raised in the Z-axis direction by the cleaning moving means 53. Then, the control means moves the cleaning liquid injection pipe 51 and the drying pipe 52 to the cleaning moving means 53 in the X-axis direction above the workpiece W, while supplying the cleaning liquid from the nozzle of the cleaning liquid injection pipe 51 to the workpiece W. Spray on top. When the spray of the cleaning liquid is finished, the control means moves the cleaning liquid spray pipe 51 and the drying pipe 52 to the cleaning moving means 53 in the Y-axis direction above the workpiece W, while pressing the pressurized gas from the nozzle of the drying pipe 52. Is sprayed onto the workpiece W to remove the cleaning liquid on the workpiece W.

  When the cleaning by the cleaning means 50a, 50b is completed, the control means releases the holding of the cleaned workpiece W on the chuck tables 10a, 10b, and the cleaned work W is loaded into the cassette 30 by the loading / unloading means 40. The workpiece W before cutting is placed on the holding surface 11 of the chuck tables 10a and 10b by the loading / unloading means 40. In this way, the cutting device 1 cleans the workpiece W while the workpiece W is held on the chuck tables 10a and 10b after the end of the cutting, and performs cutting of the workpiece W held on one of the chuck tables 10a and 10b. The workpiece W held on the other chuck table 10a, 10b is cleaned in parallel (can be performed). The cutting device 1 alternately performs cutting and cleaning of the workpiece W on the chuck tables 10a and 10b (can be performed).

  As described above, in the cutting apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, since the spindles of the cutting means 20a and 20b are processed and fed in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction, the chuck tables 10a and 10b are moved to the Z-axis. Only the base drive source 12 rotating around is provided. For this reason, in particular, there is no need for a mechanism for feeding the huge and heavy chuck tables 10a and 10b corresponding to a semiconductor wafer having an outer diameter of 450 mm as the workpiece W at a high speed, for example, in the X-axis direction. Even when W is cut into a semiconductor wafer having an outer diameter of 450 mm as W, an effect that the enlargement of the cutting device 1 can be suppressed is achieved.

  Further, the chuck table 10a, 10b corresponding to a semiconductor wafer having an outer diameter of 450 mm as the workpiece W is not moved in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction, and is far more than the chuck tables 10a, 10b. The small spindle is moved in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction. For this reason, the occupation space of the cutting device 1 can be suppressed. Further, by using the two chuck tables 10a and 10b for the cutting process and the cleaning process, it is possible to process the workpiece W in a space efficient manner without requiring a dedicated space for cleaning. Therefore, while making it possible to cope with an increase in the size of the workpiece W, an increase in the size of the cutting device 1 itself can be suppressed.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cutting device 10 Chuck table 10a 1st chuck table 10b 2nd chuck table 11 Holding surface 20, 20a, 20b Cutting means 21 Cutting blade 40 Carry-in / out means 50 Cleaning means 50a First cleaning means 50b Second cleaning means 51 Cleaning liquid injection pipe (cleaning liquid injection means)
52 Drying pipe (drying means)
60a, 60b Y-axis moving means (index feeding means)
70a, 70b X-axis moving means (machining feed means)
W Workpiece

Claims (1)

A chuck table having a holding surface for holding a workpiece, a cutting means for cutting the workpiece held on the chuck table with a cutting blade attached to the tip of a spindle, and the cutting means cut by the cutting means A cutting apparatus comprising: a cleaning unit that cleans a workpiece; and a loading / unloading unit that loads and unloads the workpiece onto and from the chuck table,
The chuck table
A first chuck table; and a second chuck table that has a holding surface that is the same height as the holding surface of the first chuck table and is juxtaposed in the vicinity, each chuck table having the holding surface A rotation axis in the Z-axis direction orthogonal to
The axial center direction of the spindle is set in the Y-axis direction parallel to the holding surface, and the cutting means can be moved up and down in the Z-axis direction orthogonal to the holding surface of the chuck table. The workpiece is fed by a machining feed means for machining and feeding in the X-axis direction orthogonal to the axial direction, and is indexed and fed by an index feeding means for indexing and feeding in the Y-axis direction. The first chuck table and the second chuck table are The cutting blade can be positioned at an arbitrary position on the holding surface,
The cleaning means includes
A first cleaning means for cleaning the workpiece held on the first chuck table; and a second cleaning means for cleaning the workpiece held on the second chuck table. The first cleaning means and the second cleaning means include cleaning liquid spraying means for spraying a cleaning liquid onto the upper surface of the workpiece, and drying means for removing the cleaning liquid on the workpiece. And
The workpiece is cleaned while being held on the chuck table after the cutting process is finished, and the workpiece held on one of the chuck tables and the workpiece held on the other chuck table are cleaned. A cutting apparatus capable of performing cleaning of a workpiece in parallel.

Images