JP7655819B2 - Holding table mechanism and cutting device equipped with same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a holding table mechanism that fixes a holding table in an exchangeable manner, and a cutting device equipped with the same.

Conventionally, as in the cutting devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example, configurations are known that include a sub-table for the purpose of holding a dressing board for dressing the cutting blade, holding a test piece (such as a dressing board or a silicon piece) for checking and adjusting the cutting position of the cutting blade, and holding a test piece for checking the shape of the cutting blade. This sub-table is, for example, disposed on a cover that covers a moving mechanism that moves the holding table.

Furthermore, configurations having a circular holding surface for fixing circular workpieces such as wafers are widely known, such as the holding table disclosed in Patent Document 1. In the configuration of Patent Document 1, the sub-table can selectively hold a dress board or an end surface correction tool by suction.

On the other hand, configurations that have a rectangular holding surface for fixing a rectangular workpiece such as a package substrate are also known, such as the holding table disclosed in Patent Document 2. In the configuration of Patent Document 2, a dressing board support part for holding a dress board and a detection plate support part for holding a detection plate are provided.

As described above, a holding table is used according to the shape of the workpiece, such as circular or rectangular, and when machining workpieces of different shapes using the same machining device, it is known to replace the holding table with one that corresponds to the size of the workpiece.

JP 2011-255458 A JP 2010-87122 A

On the other hand, there are also devices in which the dressing board support and detection plate support are positioned within the rotation trajectory of the holding table, such as the holding table for rectangular workpieces described in Patent Document 2.

When using this rectangular workpiece holding table, the dressing board support and detection plate support may interfere with the sub-table, making it necessary to remove the sub-table before attaching the rectangular workpiece holding table.

As such, in the conventional configuration, it was necessary to remove the sub-table when replacing the holding table, and improvements were required.

In consideration of the above problems, the present invention proposes a new technology that can reduce the effort required to remove the sub-table when replacing the holding table according to the shape of the workpiece.

The problem that the present invention aims to solve is as described above, and the means for solving this problem will be explained next.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a holding table mechanism includes a first holding table having a first holding surface for holding a circular workpiece, a second holding table having a second holding surface for holding a rectangular workpiece, a table base arranged on a base to which one of the first holding table or the second holding table is selectively fixed and which rotates the fixed first holding table or the second holding table about a rotation axis passing through the center of the first holding surface or the second holding surface, and a first sub-table attached to the base and including a first sub-holding surface arranged so as to be exposed outside the first holding surface when the first holding table is fixed to the table base, the second holding table having a second sub-table including a second sub-holding surface, and the first sub-table is arranged at a position where the first sub-table and the second holding table do not come into contact when the second holding table is rotated about the rotation axis.

Furthermore, according to one aspect of the present invention, the rotation radius of the first holding table is set to be smaller than the rotation radius of the second holding table.

Furthermore, according to one aspect of the present invention, the height of the first sub-holding surface is set to a different height than the second holding surface.

Furthermore, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cutting device comprising a holding table mechanism and a cutting unit having a cutting blade for cutting a workpiece held by the holding table mechanism, in which the first sub-table holds a dressing board for dressing the cutting blade.

The present invention provides the following advantages.
That is, according to one aspect of the present invention, a first holding table for circular workpieces and a second holding table for rectangular workpieces can be selectively used, and a holding table mechanism including a first sub-table can be configured so that whichever holding table is selected does not come into contact with the first sub-table. This makes it unnecessary to remove the first sub-table when replacing the holding table, thereby shortening the work time and reducing the effort.

1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a cutting device including a holding table mechanism according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a first holding table. 1A is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a first holding table and a table base, and FIG. 1B is a diagram for explaining a state in which the first holding table is fixed to the table base. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating a state in which a workpiece is held by a first holding table. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a second holding table; 1A is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a second holding table and a table base, and FIG. 1B is a diagram for explaining a state in which the second holding table is fixed to the table base; FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a workpiece is held by a second holding table.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a cutting device 1 equipped with a holding table mechanism 2 according to the present invention.

The cutting device 1 includes a cutting unit 10 having a cutting blade 11. The cutting blade 11 is removably attached to the tip of a spindle (not shown) driven by a motor 12, and cuts a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer to form a cutting groove. During cutting, a machining fluid is continuously supplied to the workpiece and the cutting blade 11.

The cutting unit 10 is movable in the Z-axis direction by a Z-axis movement mechanism 13Z, and in the Y-axis direction by a Y-axis movement mechanism 13Y. This allows the cutting height of the cutting blade 11 to be set (Z-axis direction) and the cutting blade 11 to be indexed (Y-axis direction).

The cutting unit 10 has an imaging unit 14 for capturing an image of the surface of the workpiece, and is capable of detecting streets (planned division lines) on the surface of the workpiece based on the image captured by the imaging unit 14 and performing alignment.

Below the cutting unit 10, the holding table mechanism 2 is arranged so as to be movable in the X-axis direction. The holding table mechanism 2 is mounted on a base 4, which is configured so as to be movable in the X-axis direction by an X-axis movement mechanism (not shown). This allows the holding table mechanism 2 to be fed for processing (X-axis direction).

The base 4 is provided inside the frame 5a of the device body 5, and bellows 5b are connected to both sides of the base 4 in the X-axis movement direction, and an X-axis movement mechanism (not shown) for moving the base 4 is provided below the bellows 5b.

In FIG. 1, a first holding table 21 and a first sub-table 31 are shown on the base 4. The first holding table 21 holds a circular workpiece (wafer W), and the first sub-table 31 holds a dress board 34.

Figures 2, 3(A) and 3(B) are diagrams showing the holding table mechanism 2, and show the case where a first holding table 21 having a first holding surface 21a for holding a circular workpiece is attached.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rotation radius R1 of the first holding table 21 is set to be smaller than the rotation radius R2 (FIG. 5) of the second holding table 22 described later.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the first holding table 21 has a porous plate 21b with a circular first holding surface 21a on the upper surface, and a circular base portion 21c that holds the porous plate 21b. The base portion 21c has a suction passage 21d that connects to the lower surface side of the porous plate 21b, and the lower surface 21u of the base portion 21c has a connection hole portion 21e that connects to the suction passage 21d.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, a frame holding portion 21f is formed on the upper surface of the base portion 21c so as to surround the periphery of the first holding surface 21a, and the annular frame F of the wafer unit U is placed on the frame holding portion 21f. The wafer unit U is a wafer W and annular frame F integrated together via tape T. The wafer W may also be held directly on the first holding surface 21a.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, magnets 21m for fixing the annular frame F of the wafer unit U are arranged at four locations spaced apart in the circumferential direction on the frame holding portion 21f of the first holding table 21.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the frame holding portion 21f of the first holding table 21 has positioning pins 21p, 21p that are abutted against the cutout portions Fp, Fp formed in the annular frame F of the wafer unit U, allowing the wafer unit U to be positioned at a specified position relative to the first holding table 21.

As shown in Figures 3(A) and (B), the first holding table 21 is removably fixed to the table base 40. The table base 40 is disposed on the base 4 (Figure 1) and configured to move in the X-axis direction and rotate around the Z-axis (vertical axis) by a motor (not shown).

A mounting surface 41 on which the first holding table 21 is placed is formed on the upper surface of the table base 40. A connection hole 41e is formed in the mounting surface 41 at a position corresponding to the connection hole 21e of the first holding table 21, and the positioning of the first holding table 21 relative to the table base 40 is performed by inserting a positioning ring 51 into both connection holes 21e, 41e.

The connection hole 41e of the table base 40 is connected to a suction source (not shown) via the suction path 42, and with the first holding table 21 fixed, the suction path 42 and the suction path 21d are connected via the connection holes 21e, 41e, generating a negative pressure on the first holding surface 21a of the porous plate 21b. This negative pressure causes the workpiece, the wafer W, to be suction-held on the first holding surface 21a via the tape T.

A suction groove 41u is formed in the circumferential direction on the support surface 41 of the table base 40 to suck the underside 21u of the first holding table 21. The suction groove 41u is connected to a suction source (not shown), and the first holding table 21 is held by suction against the table base 40.

The table base 40 is surrounded by a cover 43 at a position lower than the support surface 41, and the cover 43 closes the gap between the table base 40 and a cylindrical frame 44 fixed to the base 4 (Figure 1).

A roughly L-shaped support frame 45 is horizontally protruded from the cylindrical frame 44, and a first sub-table 31 is provided at the upper end of the support frame 45. A first sub-holding surface 31a having a suction groove is formed on the upper surface of the first sub-table 31, and the dress board 34 is suction-held on the first sub-holding surface 31a. The first sub-table 31 may be provided in multiple locations. For example, in a dual dicer in which the cutting blades 11 (Figure 1) are arranged opposite each other, first sub-tables for holding dress boards for dressing each cutting blade may be provided in two locations.

The dressing board 34 is used to condition the cutting blade 11 (Figure 1) by cutting into the tip of the worn cutting blade 11 (Figure 1) (dressing). Specifically, by cutting the cutting blade 11 into the dressing board 34, the tip of the cutting blade can be corrected to be flat (flat dressing), sharpened, rounded, etc. The first sub-holding surface 31a of the first sub-table 31 is configured so that the upper surface 34a of the dressing board 34 is approximately the same height as the first holding surface 21a of the first holding table 21.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first sub-table 31 is positioned farther from the center of the rotation radius R1 of the first holding table 21. This allows the first holding table 21 to rotate without interfering with the first sub-table 31.

With the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 1, when machining a circular workpiece (wafer W), the first holding table 21 is fixed to the table base 40 (FIG. 3(A)), and cutting is performed with the cutting blade 11. On the other hand, when machining a rectangular workpiece, the second holding table 22 is used instead of the first holding table 21, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6(A) and 6(B).

As shown in Figures 5, 6 (A) and 6 (B), the second holding table 22 has a rectangular second holding surface 22a, and the second holding surface 22a holds a rectangular workpiece, such as a package substrate P as shown in Figure 7.

The second holding table 22 has a porous plate 22b with a rectangular second holding surface 22a on the upper surface, and a base portion 22c that holds the porous plate 22b. A suction passage 22d that connects to the lower surface of the porous plate 22b is formed in the base portion 22c, and a connection hole portion 22e that connects to the suction passage 22d is formed in the lower surface 22u of the base portion 22c.

As shown in Figures 5 and 7, frame holding portions 22f are formed at four locations on the outer periphery of the base portion 22c at positions outside the second holding surface 22a, and the annular frame Fa of the wafer unit Ua is placed on the frame holding portions 22f. The wafer unit Ua is formed by integrating the package substrate P and the annular frame Fa via the tape Ta. The package substrate P may also be held directly on the second holding surface 22a.

As shown in Figures 5 and 7, a magnet 22n is arranged on each frame holding portion 22f of the second holding table 22 to fix the annular frame Fa of the wafer unit Ua.

As shown in Figures 5 and 7, some of the frame holding portions 22f have protruding positioning pins 22q, 22q that abut against the cutout portions Fq, Fq formed in the annular frame Fa of the wafer unit Ua, allowing the wafer unit Ua to be positioned at a specified position relative to the second holding table 22.

As shown in Figures 6(A) and 6(B), the second holding table 22 is removably fixed to the mounting surface 41 of the table base 40. As with the first holding table 21 described above, the second holding table 22 is positioned relative to the table base 40 by inserting the positioning ring 51 into both connection holes 22e and 41e.

As shown in Figures 6(A) and (B), suction paths 46a, 46b leading to a suction source (not shown) are formed in the table base 40, and are connected to suction paths 26a, 26b formed in the second holding table 22. The suction paths 26a, 26b are connected to a pair of second sub-tables 32, 33 provided on the second holding table 22.

The upper surface of each of the second sub-tables 32, 33 is formed with a second sub-holding surface 32a, 33a having a suction groove, and negative pressure is generated on the second sub-holding surface 32a, 33a by suction through the suction paths 26a, 26b. Note that, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the first holding table 21 is used, the suction paths 46a, 46b are closed by the first holding table 21.

As shown in Figures 6(A) and 6(B), the second sub-tables 32 and 33 are provided so as to protrude laterally from the rectangular base portion 22c. The dress board 35 and the blade detection plate 36 are respectively held by suction on the second sub-holding surfaces 32a and 33a of the second sub-tables 32 and 33. It is also possible to provide only one second sub-table.

The dressing board 35 is used to adjust the condition of the cutting blade 11 (Fig. 1) by cutting the tip of the worn cutting blade 11 into it (dressing). Specifically, by cutting the cutting blade 11 into the dressing board 35, the tip of the cutting blade can be corrected to be flat (flat dressing), sharpened, rounded, etc. The blade detection plate 36 is used to detect the vertical origin position by contacting the lower end of the cutting blade 11 (Fig. 1). When cutting the cutting blade 11 (Fig. 1) into the dressing board 35 or the blade detection plate 36, the second holding table 22 is rotated 90 degrees from the state shown in Fig. 5 to position the dressing board 35 or the blade detection plate 36 below the cutting blade 11 (Fig. 1).

As shown in FIG. 5, the first sub-table 31 is positioned farther from the center of the rotation radius of the second holding table 22 than the maximum value R2 of the rotation radius of the second holding table 22. This allows the second holding table 22 to rotate without interfering with the first sub-table 31.

In addition, the second sub-tables 32 and 33 are positioned inside the maximum rotation radius R2 of the second holding table 22. This prevents the second sub-tables 32 and 33 from interfering with the first sub-table 31 when the second holding table 22 rotates.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6(B), in this embodiment, the height position H1 of the first sub-holding surface 31a of the first sub-table 31 is set to a different height than the second holding surface 22a of the second holding table 22.

Specifically, in the second holding table 22, the height position Ha of the second holding surface 22a, the second sub-tables 32, 33, the frame holding portion 22f (Figure 5), and other parts are positioned at a higher position than the height position H1 of the first sub-table 31.

This ensures that each part of the second holding table 22 does not interfere with the first sub-table 31. Figure 6 (B) shows how the height position H2 of the lowest point of the second sub-table 32 is set higher than the highest position H1 of the first sub-table 31.

With the above configuration, even if the first sub-table 31 is configured to be positioned inside the maximum rotation radius R2 of the second holding table 22 in the plan view of Figure 5, the first sub-table 31 can be positioned lower than the second holding table 22, thereby realizing a configuration in which the two do not interfere with each other. Note that the height position relationship between the first sub-table 31 and the second holding table 22 may be reversed from that in Figure 6 (B) to prevent the two from interfering with each other.

In this way, in a holding table mechanism that can selectively use a first holding table for circular workpieces and a second holding table for rectangular workpieces and is configured with a first sub-table 31, a configuration can be realized in which whichever holding table is selected does not come into contact with the first sub-table 31, as shown in Figures 2, 3(B), 5, and 6(B). This makes it unnecessary to remove the first sub-table 31 when replacing the holding table, thereby shortening work time and reducing labor.

For example, when using the second holding table, it is preferable to cover the first sub-table to prevent dirt from adhering to the holding surface. The same applies in the opposite case.

2 Holding table mechanism 4 Base 5 Apparatus body 5a Frame 5b Bellows 10 Cutting unit 11 Cutting blade 12 Motor 13 Y-axis movement mechanism 13 Z-axis movement mechanism 14 Imaging unit 21 Holding table 21a Holding surface 21b Porous plate 21c Base portion 21d Suction path 21e Connection hole portion 21e Connection hole portion 21f Frame holding portion 21m Magnet 21p Pin 21q Pin 21u Lower surface 22 Holding table 22a Holding surface 22b Porous plate 22c Base portion 22d Suction path 22e Connection hole portion 22f Frame holding portion 22n Magnet 26a Suction path 26b Suction path 31 First sub-table 31a First sub-holding surface 32 Second sub-table 33 Second sub-table 32a Second sub-holding surface 33a Second sub-holding surface 34 Dressing board 31a Upper surface 35 Dressing board 36 Blade detection plate 40 Table base 41e Connection hole 41u Suction groove 42 Suction path 43 Cover 44 Cylindrical frame 45 Support frame 46a Suction path 46b Suction path 51 Positioning ring F Annular frame Fa Annular frame H1 Height position H2 Height position Ha Height position P Package substrate R1 Maximum value R2 Maximum value T Tape U Wafer unit Ua Wafer unit W Wafer

Claims (4)

a first holding table having a first holding surface for holding a circular workpiece;
a second holding table having a second holding surface for holding a rectangular workpiece;
a table base disposed on a base, to which one of the first holding table or the second holding table is selectively fixed, and which rotates the fixed first holding table or the fixed second holding table about a rotation axis passing through a center of the first holding surface or the second holding surface;
a first sub-table including a first sub-holding surface attached to the base and arranged so as to be exposed outside the first holding surface when the first holding table is fixed to the table base;
A holding table mechanism comprising:
the second holding table has a second sub-table including a second sub-holding surface;
a holding table mechanism in which the first sub-table is disposed at a position where the first sub-table and the second holding table do not come into contact with each other when the second holding table is rotated about the rotation shaft. The rotation radius of the first holding table is set to be smaller than the rotation radius of the second holding table.
2. The holding table mechanism according to claim 1. The height of the first sub-holding surface is set to a different height from the second holding surface.
3. The holding table mechanism according to claim 1 or 2. The holding table mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
a cutting unit having a cutting blade for cutting a workpiece held by the holding table mechanism,
A cutting apparatus, wherein a dressing board for dressing the cutting blade is held on the first sub-table.