JP5228852B2 - Substrate dividing method and substrate dividing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate dividing method and a substrate dividing apparatus for dividing a substrate on which a scribe line is formed along the scribe line.

Conventionally, as this kind of dividing method, there is known a method of dividing a substrate by bending the substrate with both sides of the substrate sandwiched between scribe lines (see Patent Document 1).
The dividing apparatus used for this dividing method is located on the lower side of the substrate, a pair of fixing plates for placing the substrate around the scribe line, and located on the upper side of the substrate and corresponding to the pair of fixing plates. And a pair of presser plates for pressing the substrate.
In this case, both sides of the substrate with the scribe line as the center are sandwiched between the fixed plate and the presser plate from the top and bottom, and valley-folded to the sharp ridges formed on the inner ends of the presser plates, thereby forming the scribe line. The substrate is divided along the line.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-3577

  However, in such a dividing method, since the break operation (dividing) is performed by holding the two places of the substrate between the fixing plate and the holding plate, in addition to the pressing force for dividing the substrate, A compressive force is applied to the upper side, and a tensile force is applied to the lower side. The compressive force and tensile force tend to be biased by frictional force between the substrate and the fixing plate or presser plate, and the break end surface of the substrate is not accurately divided at right angles in the thickness direction and width direction. It was. That is, there is a problem that the break end face is not broken straight from the scribe line but is broken so as to bend diagonally.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate dividing method and a substrate dividing apparatus that can divide a substrate so that a break end surface is perpendicular to a thickness direction and a width direction along a scribe line. .

A substrate dividing method according to the present invention is a substrate dividing method in which a substrate having a scribe line formed on a surface thereof is divided along a scribe line in a state where the substrate is set on a set table. Holds the split side part of the board with a light load so as to contact between them, and sets the center position in the width direction of the split side part of the board between the surface holding member and the scribe line by the point fixing member In a state of being pressed against the table, the dividing member protrudes from the end of the set table by the dividing member, and the dividing side portion of the substrate that is the other side of the substrate feeding direction is pressed into the mountain folded state and divided. To do.

A substrate dividing apparatus according to the present invention is a substrate dividing device that divides a substrate having a scribe line formed on the surface along the scribe line, and the substrate is set between the set table and the set table. A surface holding member that holds the split side portion with a light load that contacts the split side portion, and a point fixing member that presses the center position in the width direction in the split side portion of the substrate between the surface holding member and the scribe line against the set table. And a dividing member that divides the scribe line protruding from the end of the set table by pressing the divided side portion of the substrate, which is the other side in the substrate feeding direction, in a mountain-folded state.

According to these configurations, the surface holding member prevents the substrate from being lifted excessively , and the substrate is divided by the dividing member in a state where the substrate is pressed and fixed by the point fixing member. The frictional force generated between them can be extremely suppressed. For this reason, almost no tensile force or compressive force is applied to the substrate, and only the bending force for division can be applied. Further, in the dividing operation, the substrate can be positioned on the set table by the point fixing member. Therefore, since the substrate in the positioning state can be divided mainly by the pressing force of the dividing member, the substrate can be divided along the scribe line so that the break end surface is perpendicular to the thickness direction and the width direction. it can. In addition, as a board | substrate, any of a single thing and the thing of bonding may be sufficient.

In this case, it is preferable that the split member is circularly moved around the edge of the substrate at the end of the set table, and the split side portion of the substrate is folded in a mountain.

  According to this configuration, the fulcrum of the mountain fold in the substrate can be secured stably, and the division accuracy can be improved.

The point fixing member and the dividing member are preferably arranged so as to be equidistant from the edge.

According to this configuration, since the substantial force point for dividing the substrate can be set to a line-symmetrical position with the edge as the center, the bending force can be uniformly applied with the edge as the center. Thereby, a board | substrate can be divided | segmented with sufficient precision so that a break end surface may become perpendicular | vertical in the thickness direction and the width direction along a scribe line.

In this case, division member, Rukoto the male press the center position in the width direction of the divided side site is preferable.

According to this configuration, the frictional force between the substrate and the dividing member can be reduced as much as possible, and almost no tensile force or compressive force acts on the substrate, and only the bending force for dividing acts. Can do. Thereby, a board | substrate can be divided | segmented with sufficient precision so that a break end surface may become perpendicular | vertical in the thickness direction and the width direction along a scribe line.

  In this case, the substrate is a striped substrate formed by combining a TFT mother substrate in which a plurality of TFTs are formed in a matrix and an opposing mother substrate onto which liquid crystal is dropped and bonded via a sealing material. It is preferable that they are divided.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to efficiently take a plurality of small bonded substrates (liquid crystal panels) from a strip-shaped substrate (high yield).

  Hereinafter, a dividing apparatus and a dividing method using the dividing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this dividing apparatus, a disk-shaped ODF (One Drop Filling) mother substrate is divided into strips along a scribe line, and then divided along a scribe line formed on an opposing mother substrate. A strip-shaped ODF mother substrate (substrate) is further divided at the scribe line to form a pre-TFT liquid crystal panel in which unnecessary chips remain. The pre-TFT liquid crystal panel becomes a small TFT liquid crystal panel by dividing unnecessary chips in a later process. Therefore, first, an ODF mother substrate that is the basis of a strip panel to be divided will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ODF mother substrate 1 includes a TFT mother substrate 2 which is a circular glass substrate in which a plurality of TFTs 7 are formed in a matrix, and a sealing material 8 onto which liquid crystal is dropped. The counter mother board | substrate 3 which is a glass substrate is bonded together, and is comprised (refer Fig.1 (a)). On the other hand, a plurality of TFT liquid crystal panels 4 taken from the ODF mother substrate 1 have a configuration in which a counter substrate 6 is bonded to a TFT substrate 5 with a sealant 8 interposed therebetween, and are formed in a rectangular shape as a whole. In this case, the TFT substrate 5 and the counter substrate 6 in the TFT liquid crystal panel 4 are aligned on two sides in the vertical direction and one side in the horizontal direction, and the remaining one side in the horizontal direction faces the TFT substrate 5. The substrate 6 is set back. A terminal area 9 for connecting an FPC or the like is formed on the set-back portion of the TFT substrate 5 (see FIG. 1B).

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1A, the ODF mother substrate 1 that takes a plurality of TFT liquid crystal panels 4 is scribed to move (reciprocate) a diamond cutter (not shown) relative to the ODF mother substrate 1. The scribe lines 11 are formed in a lattice shape by an apparatus or the like. Vertical scribe lines 12 that correspond to the width of the TFT liquid crystal panel 4 (corresponding to two sides in the vertical direction) are formed at the same positions on the outer surfaces of the TFT mother substrate 2 and the counter mother substrate 3, respectively. Further, a TFT scribe line 13 (see FIG. 2) that matches the length of the TFT liquid crystal panel 4 (corresponding to two sides in the horizontal direction) is formed on the outer surface of the TFT mother substrate 2, and similarly, the counter mother substrate 3 An opposing scribe line 14 that matches the length of the TFT liquid crystal panel 4 is formed on the outer surface. Further, on the outer surface of the opposed mother substrate 3, opposed half scribe lines 15 that form irregular portions are formed.

  First, along both the vertical scribe lines 12, the TFT mother substrate 2 and the opposing mother substrate 3 are broken, and the ODF mother substrate 1 is divided into strips. Next, in each strip-shaped ODF mother substrate 1, the opposing mother substrate 3 is broken along the opposing half scribe line 15, and then dicing is performed along the opposing half scribe line 15, followed by the TFT. The mother substrate 2 is broken along the TFT scribe line 13. By this break, the pre-TFT liquid crystal panel 16 in which the terminal area 9 is exposed and the opposing scribe line 14 is left and the unnecessary chip 17 remains is divided. Then, finally, the unnecessary chip 17 is divided and removed by the break along the opposing scribe line 14, and the TFT liquid crystal panel 4 is created.

  That is, the substrate W to be divided in the embodiment is a strip-like ODF substrate 18 immediately before being divided into the pre-TFT liquid crystal panel 16, specifically, the counter mother substrate 3 is moved along the counter half scribe line 15. This is a strip-shaped ODF substrate 18 in a broken state. In the division of the dividing device 21 of the embodiment, the TFT scribe line 13 and the counter half scribe line 15 adjust the number of reciprocations of the diamond cutter and the pressing force of the diamond cutter so that the unnecessary chip 17 is not divided by mistake. Then, the ODF mother substrate 1 may be scribed strongly, and the opposing scribe line 14 may be scribed weakly.

  Next, the dividing device 21 will be described with reference to FIG. The dividing device 21 includes a set table 22 for setting the substrate W, and a surface holding member (first break member) that holds the substrate W to be divided-side portion 52 between the set table 22 with a light load that contacts the set table 22. 23, a point fixing member (second break member) 24 for pressing and fixing the center position in the width direction of the split-side portion 52 between the surface holding member 23 and the TFT scribe line 13 to the set table 22; A split member (third break member) 25 that divides the split-side portion 51 of the substrate W protruding from the end of the table 22 into a mountain; a receiving table 26 that receives the split substrate W (split-side portion 51); A fixing mechanism that supports and fixes the point fixing member 24, and a breaker (not shown) that supports the dividing member 25 and the receiving table 26 and performs a breaking operation on them. When a frame for supporting the configuration device (all not shown), a control unit 27 that controls these devices overall, and a.

  Further, the dividing device 21 as a whole is inclined toward the substrate feeding direction, and can smoothly transport the substrate W by air levitation of a set table 22 described later. In the dividing device 21, the set table 22 is disposed on the upstream side in the substrate feeding direction, and the receiving table 26 is disposed on the downstream side. Then, the substrate W is sent downstream. Further, a surface holding member 23 and a point fixing member 24 are disposed in order from the upstream side immediately above the set table 22, and a dividing member 25 is disposed immediately above the receiving table 26. Further, the alignment camera 28 faces between the point fixing member 24 and the dividing member 25. The substrate W that has been sent is aligned based on the imaging result of the alignment camera 28, positioned by the point fixing member 24, then pressed downstream by the dividing member 25, and lifted upstream by the surface holding member 23. Is divided along the TFT scribe line 13 by being folded in a mountain.

  The set table 22 is disposed on the set table main body 31, the set table main body 31 and a porous material set plate 32 on which the substrate W is transported, and a floating mechanism (shown) that floats the substrate W through the set plate 32. And a substrate guide 34 that is disposed on both sides of the substrate feed direction on the upper surface of the set table main body 31 and regulates the position of the width direction of the substrate W, and provided at the downstream end of the set table main body 31 when dividing the substrate W. And an edge 35 serving as a fulcrum. The substrate W is transported downstream while being guided by the set plate 32 and the substrate guide 34 with the TFT mother substrate 2 on which the TFT scribe line 13 is formed as an upper surface.

  The set table body 31 is formed longer than the substrate W, and a plate groove 41 in which a set plate 32 made of a porous material is installed is formed at the center thereof. Further, in the center portion of the plate groove 41, a compressed air groove 42 serving as an air chamber for the flying pressurized air is formed with a narrow width.

  Although not shown in particular, the levitation mechanism includes a plurality of compressed air supply ports provided in the compressed air groove 42, a compressed air supply facility that supplies compressed air, and a compressed air supply tube that connects the compressed air supply port and the compressed air supply facility. Yes. The compressed air is supplied while the substrate W is being divided, and the substrate W is floated through the set plate 32. After ascending by the pressure air ejected from the set plate 32 by the ascending mechanism, it is sent to the downstream side by its own weight due to the inclination of the dividing device 21. Note that the supply of compressed air may be stopped each time the dividing member 25 performs the division.

  The substrate guide 34 is screwed to both ends of the set table main body 31 in the substrate W feeding direction, and restricts the position of the width direction of the substrate W during transport. The substrate guide 34 can be appropriately changed according to the width dimension of the substrate W to be divided. The edge 35 is made of a material such as a cemented carbide and is provided on the upper surface of the downstream end of the set table 22 and is formed longer (wider) than the width dimension of the substrate W. Thereby, the reaction force can be applied to the substrate W evenly from the edge 35 during the division.

  The receiving table 26 is disposed on the downstream side of the set table 22 with a slight gap, and is disposed so that the upper surface thereof is flush with the set table 22. In addition, a stop pin 43 for restricting the position of the sent substrate W is provided at the center of the receiving table 26 so as to be able to appear and retract. The substrate W stops feeding when the tip thereof (the concave surface of the opposite mother 3 substrate on the dicer processing surface) abuts against the stop pin 43. In this state, the center of the opposite half scribe line 15 formed on the substrate W is an edge. Positioned to align with the end of 35. Further, the receiving table 26 is configured to be rotatable together with the split member 25 described later around the corner portion 44 of the edge 35 described above.

  The alignment camera 28 is fixedly disposed immediately above the edge 35, and a portion serving as a positioning reference for the TFT scribe line 13 or the TFT 7 formed on the upper surface of the substrate W sent from the TFT mother substrate 2 side. Take an image. Then, while observing the imaging result displayed on the monitor (not shown), the substrate W is placed on the substrate W so that the opposing half scribe line 15 is positioned at the corner 44 of the edge 35 by an alignment device (not shown) or human work. , Y and θ directions are aligned. The alignment of the substrate W is performed at least when the substrate W is introduced into the apparatus.

  The surface holding member 23 is disposed immediately above the upstream side of the set table 22 with a slight gap so that the substrate W can pass therethrough. Further, the surface holding member 23 covers the substrate W so as to cross the substrate W (see FIG. 2B), and an elastic member 45 made of a silicon rubber material is disposed on the flat bottom surface. This prevents excessive lift of the split-side portion 52 of the substrate W during splitting and does not damage the substrate W.

  The point fixing member 24 is provided immediately above the set table 22 between the surface holding member 23 and the TFT scribe line 13, and is attached to the point fixing member main body 46 and the tip of the point fixing member main body 46. , And a hemispherical point pushing portion 47 configured to be able to push the substrate W. Further, the point fixing member 24 is configured to be movable up and down with respect to the substrate W by the above-described fixing mechanism, and positions the aligned substrate W by pressing the center in the width direction.

  The dividing member 25 is composed of a micrometer head, and the distance from the edge 35 (hereinafter simply referred to as “pressing distance d1”) is the distance from the edge 35 to the point fixing member 24 (hereinafter simply referred to as “point pressing”). The distance d2 ”is the same as that of the distance d2), and is provided with a slight gap so that the substrate W can pass therethrough (see FIG. 2A). That is, the point fixing member 24 and the dividing member 25 are disposed at line-symmetric positions with the opposing half scribe line 15 (edge 35) as the center. Further, the dividing member 25 is configured to be rotatable around the edge 35 together with the receiving table 26. By rotating, the dividing member 25 presses while sliding the front end portion (dividing side portion 51) of the substrate W. ,To divide. That is, since the receiving table 26 and the dividing member 25 are circularly moved around the edge 35 to fold the substrate W, the fulcrum of the mountain fold in the substrate W can be stably secured. Further, it is possible to divide the substrate W by applying only a pressing force to the divided portion 51 of the substrate W.

  Next, a method for dividing the substrate W using the above-described dividing device 21 will be described with reference to FIG. In this dividing method, the substrate holding side portion 52 is held with a light load so as to be in contact with the surface holding member 23, and the portion between the surface holding member 23 and the TFT scribe line 13 is held with the point fixing member 24. The center position in the width direction of the split side portion 52 is pressed against the set table 22, and in this state, the split side portion 51 of the substrate W protruding from the end of the set table 22 is folded and split by the split member 25.

  More specifically, the substrate W is conveyed by utilizing the air levitation and the inclination of the dividing device 21 itself while being guided by the substrate guide 34, and the opposing half scribe line 15 is edged by the stop pin 43 of the receiving table 26. It stops so that it may be located in the just upper part of 35. Then, after a specific TFT 7 or the like is imaged by the alignment camera 28 and it is confirmed that the position is not shifted, the point fixing member 24 is positioned by pressing the center in the width direction of the substrate W. Specifically, positioning is performed so that the center of the opposed half scribe line 15 formed on the opposed mother substrate 3 is aligned with the corner 44 of the edge 35. As a result, the broken TFT scribe line 13 is positioned on the set table 22 side from the edge 35, and the base end of the terminal area 9 is positioned immediately above the edge 35.

  When the substrate W is positioned, the dividing member 25 and the receiving table 26 start rotating around the corner portion 44 of the edge 35, and the stop pin 43 is immersed in the receiving table 26. At this time, since the dividing member 25 starts to rotate together with the receiving table 26 from a state having a slight gap with the substrate W, the receiving table 26 moves away from the substrate W when the dividing member 25 contacts the substrate W. It will be. When the front end portion (divided side portion 51) of the substrate W is pressed by the dividing member 25, the substrate W is bent into a convex shape. At this time, the elastic member 45 made of a silicon rubber material on the lower surface of the surface holding member 23 is slightly deformed to prevent the base end side (divided side portion 52) of the substrate W from being lifted, and by the point fixing member 24. Since the point is pressed, the frictional force generated on the substrate W can be suppressed as much as possible. For this reason, almost no tensile force or compressive force acts on the substrate W, and only the bending force for division can be applied.

  When the pressing is further continued, the TFT scribe line 13 formed on the outer surface of the TFT mother substrate 2 of the substrate W is cracked to be divided into the pre-TFT liquid crystal panel 16. At this time, since the dividing member 25 rotates about the edge 35 as described above, the TFT mother substrate 2 and the counter mother substrate 3 are also bent in a mountain-folded state about the edge 35. Therefore, when the substrate W is divided into the pre-TFT liquid crystal panel 16, the terminal area 9 in which the TFT 7 on the counter mother substrate 3 side of the TFT mother substrate 2 is formed is rotated away from the counter mother substrate 3. Therefore, the TFT 7 is not damaged by the counter mother substrate 3. Further, the divided pre-TFT liquid crystal panel 16 falls on the receiving table 26 and is collected on a collecting tray (not shown) disposed on the downstream side of the receiving table 26. Therefore, the pre-TFT liquid crystal panel 16 is not damaged. Then, the receiving table 26 and the dividing member 25 return to their original positions, and after the stop pin 43 protrudes from the upper surface of the receiving table 26, the point fixing member 24 and the surface holding member 23 are slightly raised, so that the substrate W is floated. It is conveyed and the next division side part 51 is divided.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, an experimental result when the substrate W is divided by changing the pressing distance d1 with respect to the pressing distance d2 will be described. In addition, this experiment was performed on the same conditions as the division | segmentation of the board | substrate W by the above-mentioned division | segmentation apparatus 21 except the pressing distance d1. The experimental results were displayed with the TFT substrate 5 on the lower side and the counter substrate 6 on the upper side, unlike the above division work.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the substrate W is divided by shortening the pressing distance d <b> 1 with respect to the pressing distance d <b> 2 (see FIG. 4A), the break end surface 16 a of the TFT mother substrate 2 is the TFT scribe line 13. In the thickness direction, both upper ends protrude obliquely forward, and the central portion bites backward, that is, the upper side tends to be bent and divided in the width direction. As a result, the center of the upper end of the break end face 16a reaches the TFT 9 formed on the TFT 7, and there is a possibility that a terminal failure will occur (see FIGS. 4B and 4C).

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the point pressing distance d2 is equal to the pressing distance d1 (see FIG. 4A), the break end surface 16a of the TFT mother substrate 2 tends to be divided substantially vertically. At this time, the frictional force generated between the substrate W and the point fixing member 24 and between the substrate W and the dividing member 25 can be extremely suppressed. For this reason, the tensile force and the compressive force hardly act on the substrate W, and only the bending force for the division can be applied. Therefore, the substrate W can be divided along the TFT scribe line 13 so that the break end face 16a is perpendicular to the thickness direction and the width direction (see FIGS. 5B and 5C).

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the substrate W is divided by making the pressing distance d1 longer than the pressing distance d2 (see FIG. 6A), the break end surface 16a of the TFT mother substrate 2 is formed on the TFT scribe line 13. From the starting point, the upper ends in the thickness direction tend to bite diagonally backward, and the upper side tends to be curved and divided in the width direction. As a result, both the upper end sides of the break end face 16a reach the TFT terminal formed on the TFT 7, and there is a risk of terminal failure (see FIGS. 6B and 6C).

  According to the above configuration, the substrate W is prevented from being lifted excessively by the surface holding member 23, and the substrate W is fixed by the dividing member 25 in a state where the center position in the width direction of the substrate W is fixed by the point fixing member 24. Since the substrate W can be divided only by pressing force, the break end face 16a is perpendicular to the thickness direction and the width direction along the TFT scribe line 13. The substrate W can be divided so that

  When the substrate W is composed of a single layer, the TFT scribe line 13 is positioned by the stop pin 43 so as to be positioned at the corner portion 44 of the edge 35, and the point is fixed around the TFT scribe line 13. The member 24 and the dividing member 25 are arranged at line symmetrical positions. Then, the substrate W is divided by rotating the dividing member 25 around the corner portion 44 of the edge 35. As a result, the substantial force point for dividing the substrate W can be set to a line-symmetrical position with the TFT scribe line 13 as the center, so that the bending force can be uniformly applied with the TFT scribe line 13 as the center. . The surface holding member 23 prevents the substrate W from being lifted excessively, and the point fixing member 24 pushes and fixes the center position in the width direction of the substrate W to fix the substrate W in the width direction by the dividing member 25. Since the position is pressed and divided at a point, the substrate W can be divided only by the pressing force, so that the break end surface 16a is perpendicular to the thickness direction and the width direction along the TFT scribe line 13. W can be divided (not shown).

(A) is a perspective view of an ODF mother substrate, (b) is a perspective view of a TFT liquid crystal panel. (A) is a side view of a dividing | segmenting apparatus, (b) is AA sectional drawing. (A) is a figure of a fixing process, (b) is a figure of a division | segmentation process. When a board | substrate is divided | segmented by shortening a pressing distance with respect to a point-pushing distance, (a) is a side view of a dividing device, (b) is a top view, (c) is a side view. (A) is a side view of the dividing device, and (b) is a plan view, and (c) is a side view when the point pressing distance and the pressing distance are divided equally. (A) when a board | substrate is divided | segmented by making a pressing distance long with respect to a point-pushing distance, (b) is a top view, (c) is a side view.

Explanation of symbols

  2 ... TFT mother substrate 3 ... Opposite mother substrate 9 ... TFT 11 ... Scribe line 13 ... TFT scribe line 14 ... Opposite scribe line 15 ... Opposite half scribe line 22 ... Set table 23 ... Surface holding member 24 ... Point fixing member 25 ... Split Member 35 ... Edge d1 ... Pressing distance d2 ... Pushing distance W ... Substrate

Claims (6)

A substrate dividing method in which a substrate on which a scribe line is formed is divided along the scribe line in a state where the substrate is set on a set table,
The substrate between the surface holding member and the scribe line is held by a surface holding member with a light load such that the portion to be divided of the substrate is in contact with the set table. In the state where the center position in the width direction in the divided side portion of the set table is pressed against the set table,
Dividing the substrate by dividing the portion of the substrate on the dividing side, which protrudes from the end of the set table by the dividing member, in a mountain-folded state against the scribe line. Method.   2. The substrate dividing method according to claim 1, wherein the dividing member is circularly moved around an edge on the substrate side at an end of the set table to press the divided side portion in a mountain folded state. .   The substrate dividing method according to claim 2, wherein the point fixing member and the dividing member are arranged so as to be equidistant from the edge.   The substrate dividing method according to claim 1, wherein the dividing member presses a center position in a width direction of the dividing side portion.   The substrate is obtained by dividing a bonded substrate composed of a TFT mother substrate in which a plurality of TFTs are formed in a matrix and an opposing mother substrate onto which a liquid crystal is dropped and bonded through a sealing material into strips. 5. The method for dividing a substrate according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is divided. A substrate dividing apparatus for dividing a substrate having a scribe line formed on a surface thereof along the scribe line,
A set table for setting the substrate;
A surface holding member that holds the portion to be divided of the substrate with a light load that contacts the set table;
A point fixing member that presses the center position in the width direction of the substrate to be divided between the surface holding member and the scribe line against the set table;
A dividing member that projects from the end of the set table and divides the scribe line by pressing the divided side portion of the substrate that is the front in the substrate feeding direction in a mountain-folded state. Substrate dividing device.

Images