JP7716638B2 - Workpiece machining device, control method for workpiece machining device, and server - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a workpiece processing device that processes workpieces, a control method for the workpiece processing device, and a server connected to the workpiece processing device.

Dicing machines (workpiece processing machines) are known that cut wafers and other workpieces using a disk-shaped blade rotated at high speed by a spindle. The blade of this dicing machine wears with use, which can cause chipping on the cut surface of the workpiece. Thermal deformation of the blade can also cause the position of the groove (kerf) formed in the workpiece by the blade to shift from the center of the street. For this reason, dicing machines perform blade kerf checks at preset times. For example, a dicing machine photographs the groove formed in the workpiece by the blade with a camera (such as an alignment microscope), and measures the kerf position, kerf width, and presence or absence of chipping based on the image captured by the camera (see Patent Document 1).

A known dicing device is a twin-spindle dicer equipped with two spindles to which blades are attached. Two methods for cutting or slicing a workpiece using a twin-spindle dicer are known: the meeting cutting method and the step cut method. The meeting cutting method uses two blades to cut two streets at once. The step cut method cuts the wafer along the streets by cutting a groove of a specified depth along the street with the first blade, and then cutting the bottom of the groove with the second blade.

The following two methods are known for performing kerf checks on the two blades of a twin-spindle dicer that uses a step cut method. In the first method, the first blade cuts the wafer along the street to a specified depth, the groove cut is photographed with a camera, and a kerf check of the first blade is performed based on the photographed image of the groove. Next, the second blade cuts the bottom of the groove cut with the first blade, and the groove cut with the second blade is photographed with a camera, and a kerf check of the second blade is performed based on the photographed image of the groove.

In the second method, an uncut portion of the workpiece is cut with a first blade, and another uncut portion of the workpiece is cut with a second blade. The two grooves formed by each blade are photographed with a camera, and a kerf check is performed for each blade based on the captured images (see Patent Document 2). This kerf check using the second method is also called a step kerf check or an overtaking kerf check.

JP 2011-165826 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-129822

Figure 34 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the issues with kerf checking using the first method described above. As shown in Figure 34, when performing kerf checking using the first method, groove 25B formed in the workpiece W with the second blade overlaps groove 25A formed in the workpiece W with the first blade, making it difficult to determine the processing quality of groove 25B (kerf position, kerf width, etc.) based on a photographed image of groove 25B. As a result, there is a drawback in that checking the kerf of the second blade is extremely difficult.

Figure 35 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the issues with kerf checking using the second method. As shown in Figure 35, when performing kerf checking using the second method, it is necessary to cut the uncut areas of the workpiece W with the second blade. However, because the second blade is thinner than the first blade, cutting the uncut areas with the second blade places a greater load on the second blade. Furthermore, because the processing conditions for the workpiece using the second blade differ between step cutting and kerf checking, for example, there is a possibility that the second blade may be warped during kerf checking, resulting in groove 25B being formed in a different position than during step cutting. In other words, groove 25B may not be formed in the same position during step cutting and kerf checking, which may result in the processing quality of groove 25B during step cutting not being accurately measured.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide a workpiece processing device that can accurately measure the processing quality of the processed portion formed on the workpiece, a control method for this workpiece processing device, and a server connected to this workpiece processing device.

A workpiece processing device for achieving the objectives of the present invention includes a table for holding a flat workpiece, a processing head for processing the workpiece held on the table, a relative movement mechanism for moving the processing head relative to the table, a white light interferometer integrated with the processing head that emits white light toward a processing portion formed on the workpiece and detects, for each pixel, an interference signal between the white light reflected by the processing portion and the white light reflected by a reference surface, a scan control unit that drives the relative movement mechanism to perform vertical scanning, moving the processing head and white interferometer together relative to the table in a direction perpendicular to the table, and a processing quality measurement unit that measures the processing quality of the processing portion based on the interference signal for each pixel output from the white interferometer during the vertical scan.

This workpiece processing device allows for accurate measurement of the processing quality of the workpiece using a white light interferometer integrated into the processing head.

A workpiece processing device according to another aspect of the present invention includes a processing control unit that drives the processing head and relative movement mechanism to form a processed portion on the workpiece using the processing head, and a first measurement control unit that operates the white light interferometer and scanning control unit at a position where white light can be irradiated onto the processed portion, and the processing quality measurement unit measures at least one of the processing position and processing shape of the processed portion as the processing quality. This allows at least one of the processing position and processing shape of the processed portion to be measured with high accuracy using the white light interferometer.

A workpiece machining device according to another aspect of the present invention includes a correction value determination unit that determines a correction value for correcting at least one of the machining position and machining shape of the workpiece based on the measurement results of the machining quality measurement unit, and a machining control unit drives the machining head and relative movement mechanism based on the correction value determined by the correction value determination unit to form the workpiece on the workpiece. By feeding back the correction value to the machining of the next workpiece by the machining head, the machining accuracy of the next workpiece can be further improved.

In another aspect of the present invention, a workpiece machining device has a first machining head and a second machining head as machining heads, and a machining control unit drives the relative movement mechanism and the first machining head to perform a first machining process in which a first groove is formed in the workpiece as the machined portion, and drives the relative movement mechanism and the second machining head to perform a second machining process in which a second groove is formed in the bottom of the first groove as the machined portion and cuts the workpiece, and a machining quality measurement unit measures the machining positions of the first groove and the second groove. This makes it possible to accurately measure the machining position (machining quality) of the second groove even when forming the second groove in the bottom of the first groove, as in the step cut method.

In another aspect of the workpiece machining device of the present invention, when the portion to be machined is a groove, the machining quality measurement unit measures the depth of the groove as the machined shape. This allows the depth of the groove to be measured with high accuracy.

In another aspect of the present invention, the workpiece processing device includes a second measurement control unit that operates the white light interferometer and scan control unit at a position where white light can be irradiated onto a first groove, which is a processed portion formed in the workpiece in advance before the workpiece is processed by the processing head; a processing quality measurement unit that measures the processing position of the first groove as processing quality; and a processing control unit that drives the processing head and relative movement mechanism based on the measurement results of the processing quality measurement unit to form a second groove at the bottom of the first groove and cut the workpiece. This allows the processing position of the first groove to be measured with high accuracy, thereby improving the processing accuracy of the second groove by the processing head.

In another aspect of the present invention, in a workpiece processing device, the second measurement control unit operates the white light interferometer and scanning control unit at a position where white light can be applied to the first groove formed by irradiating the workpiece with laser light. This allows for accurate measurement of the processing position of the first groove (laser groove) formed by the laser processing process.

In another aspect of the workpiece processing device of the present invention, the processing head cuts the workpiece using a rotating disc-shaped blade.

In another aspect of the present invention, the workpiece processing device includes a processing head that cuts the workpiece with a rotating disk-shaped blade, a processing control unit that drives the processing head and relative movement mechanism to form a processed portion on the workpiece with the blade, a processing quality measurement unit that measures the cross-sectional shape of the processed portion as processing quality, and a blade shape measurement unit that measures the tip shape of the blade based on the cross-sectional shape measurement results from the processing quality measurement unit. This allows the tip shape of the blade to be measured with high accuracy using a white light interferometer.

In another aspect of the workpiece machining device of the present invention, the machining control unit drives the relative movement mechanism and machining head to form a groove in the workpiece as the machining portion, the machining quality measurement unit measures the cross-sectional shape of the groove, and the blade shape measurement unit measures the blade tip shape based on the cross-sectional shape measurement results from the machining quality measurement unit. This allows the blade tip shape to be measured with high accuracy.

In another aspect of the present invention, a workpiece processing device includes a rotary drive mechanism that rotates a table around the table's rotation axis, and a processing control unit drives the processing head, relative movement mechanism, and rotary drive mechanism to cut and remove the outer periphery of the workpiece from one side of the workpiece to a predetermined depth, thereby forming a step on the outer periphery of the workpiece as the processed portion, a processing quality measurement unit measures the cross-sectional shape of the step, and a blade shape measurement unit measures the tip shape of the blade based on the cross-sectional shape measurement results by the processing quality measurement unit. This allows the tip shape of the blade to be measured with high accuracy.

A control method for a workpiece processing device to achieve the object of the present invention includes a scanning control step of performing vertical scanning by moving a white light interferometer, which emits white light toward a processed portion formed on a flat workpiece held on a table and detects, for each pixel, an interference signal between the white light reflected by the processed portion and the white light reflected by a reference surface, relative to the table in a direction perpendicular to the table, together with the processing head that processes the workpiece; and a processing quality measurement step of measuring the processing quality of the processed portion based on the interference signal for each pixel output from the white interferometer during the vertical scanning.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling a workpiece machining device includes a machining quality measurement step in which the cross-sectional shape of a machined portion formed on the workpiece is measured by a machining head having a rotating disk-shaped blade, and a blade shape measurement step in which the tip shape of the blade is measured based on the measurement results of the cross-sectional shape of the machined portion in the machining quality measurement step.

To achieve the objectives of the present invention, the server comprises a communications interface connected to a white interferometer that emits white light toward a workpiece formed on a flat workpiece held on a table and detects, for each pixel, an interference signal between the white light reflected by the workpiece and the white light reflected by a reference surface; an interference signal acquisition unit that acquires the interference signal for each pixel from the white interferometer via the communications interface while the machining head that processes the workpiece and the white interferometer are moved together in a direction perpendicular to the table by a relative movement mechanism; and a machining quality measurement unit that measures the machining quality of the workpiece based on the interference signal for each pixel acquired by the interference signal acquisition unit.

In another aspect of the server of the present invention, the machining quality measurement unit measures the cross-sectional shape of the processed portion formed on the workpiece by a machining head having a rotating disk-shaped blade, and includes a blade shape measurement unit that measures the tip shape of the blade based on the cross-sectional shape measurement results obtained by the machining quality measurement unit.

The present invention makes it possible to accurately measure the machining quality of the machined portion formed on the workpiece.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dicing device according to a first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view of the white light interferometer shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a white light interferometer. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a general control unit of the dicing device of the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a meeting cutting method. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a step cut method. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a workpiece cut by a step cutting method. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining shape measurement of the three-dimensional shape of a groove by a processing quality measuring unit. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining shape measurement of a cross-sectional shape of a groove along the Y-axis direction by a processing quality measuring unit. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a kerf check of a groove formed by a step cut method, that is, an example of measuring the machining position of the groove in the workpiece. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the determination of correction values Δy1 and Δy2 of the machining position of a groove formed by a step cut method by a correction value determination unit. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of a cutting process of a workpiece by the dicing device of the first embodiment, in particular the flow of a process of measuring the processing quality (processing position) of a groove. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining cutting of a workpiece by a dicing device of a second embodiment and back grinding of the workpiece by a grinding (polishing) device (not shown). FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a chop cutter set, which is an example of a conventional method for adjusting the cutting depth of a blade. 10 is an explanatory diagram for illustrating shape measurement of a cross-sectional shape of a half-cut groove along the Y-axis direction by a processing quality measuring unit of the second embodiment. FIG. 10A and 10B are explanatory views for explaining a workpiece after a laser-processed groove has been formed by a laser processing device (not shown) and cutting of the workpiece by a dicing device of a third embodiment. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining shape measurement of the three-dimensional shape of a laser-processed groove by a processing quality measuring unit of the third embodiment. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining shape measurement of the cross-sectional shape of a laser-processed groove along the Y-axis direction by a processing quality measuring unit of the third embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the tip shape of the blade. 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams for explaining problems that arise when cutting a workpiece with a blade that has worn unevenly. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining conventional measurement of the tip shape of a blade. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a third problem. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a general control unit of a dicing device according to a fourth embodiment. 13A and 13B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the calculation results of the cross-sectional shape of the half-cut groove along the Y-axis direction by the processing quality measuring unit of the fourth embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for measuring the shape of the tip of a blade by the dicing device of the fourth embodiment. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the problems that arise when grinding the back surface of the workpiece W after forming the half-cut grooves described in the second and fourth embodiments. FIG. 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams for explaining a trimming process of an edge portion of a workpiece using a blade. 10A and 10B are side views of the workpiece after trimming and the workpiece after backside grinding. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a step portion at an edge of the workpiece. FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of a blade of a dicing device according to a sixth embodiment. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the calculation results of the cross-sectional shape along the axial direction of the half-cut groove formed by the blade of the sixth embodiment. FIG. FIG. 23 is a functional block diagram of a server according to the seventh embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a problem of the kerf check of the first method. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a problem of the kerf check of the second method.

[First embodiment]
1 is a perspective view of a dicing apparatus 10 according to a first embodiment. Note that the X, Y, and Z axes in the figure are mutually orthogonal, with the X and Y axes being parallel to the horizontal direction and the Z axis being orthogonal to the horizontal direction.

The dicing device 10 corresponds to the workpiece processing device of the present invention and cuts flat workpieces W such as semiconductor wafers. This dicing device 10 includes a load port 12, a transport mechanism 14, a processing section 16, and a cleaning section 18.

A cassette containing a large number of workpieces W mounted on a frame F is placed on the load port 12. A transport mechanism 14 transports the workpieces W. A processing unit 16 dices the workpieces W. A cleaning unit 18 spin-cleans the diced workpieces W. Inside the housing 10A of the dicing device 10 is provided an overall control unit 60 (see Figure 5) that controls the operation of each part of the dicing device 10. The overall control unit 60 may also be provided outside the housing 10A.

Unmachined (uncut) workpieces W stored in cassettes placed on the load port 12 are transported by the transport mechanism 14 to the processing unit 16, where they are subjected to cutting or grooving processes to separate them into individual chips. The processed workpieces W are then transported by the transport mechanism 14 to the cleaning unit 18, where they are cleaned, and then transported by the transport mechanism 14 to the load port 12 and stored in a cassette.

Figure 2 is an external perspective view of the processing unit 16. As shown in Figure 2 and the previously described Figure 1, the processing unit 16 is the previously described twin-spindle dicer, and includes a pair of blades 21A, 21B, a blade cover (not shown), a pair of spindles 22A, 22B, a microscope 23, a white light interferometer 24, and a table 31.

Blades 21A and 21B are formed in a disk shape. The tip shape of blades 21A and 21B, i.e., the cross-sectional shape of the outer periphery (cutting edge) of blades 21A and 21B along the radial direction, is rectangular. Blades 21A and 21B are arranged opposite each other in the Y-axis direction and are held by spindles 22A and 22B so as to be rotatable around blade rotation axes parallel to the Y-axis direction.

Spindles 22A and 22B incorporate high-frequency motors that rotate blades 21A and 21B at high speed around the blade rotation axis. This allows blades 21A and 21B to cut the workpiece W from its front surface. Therefore, blade 21A and spindle 22A correspond to the first machining head (machining head) of the present invention. Furthermore, blade 21B and spindle 22B correspond to the second machining head (machining head) of the present invention.

By cutting the workpiece W with blade 21A, groove 25A (see Figures 6 and 7), which corresponds to the processed portion of the present invention, is formed in the workpiece W. Furthermore, by cutting the workpiece W with blade 21B, groove 25B (see Figures 6 and 7), which corresponds to the processed portion of the present invention, is formed in the workpiece W.

The microscope 23 is mounted on the Z carriage 44 integrally with the spindle 22A and is held by the Y carriage 43 and Z carriage 44 so that it can move freely in the Y and Z axes together with the spindle 22A. Although not shown, the microscope 23 is an imaging device (e.g., a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) camera) that has an imaging optical system and an image sensor. Note that the microscope 23 may also be composed of a high-magnification microscope and a low-magnification microscope with different imaging magnifications. The microscope 23 captures an image of the front surface of the workpiece W when the workpiece W is being cut. The image of the workpiece W captured by the microscope 23 is used to align the workpiece W with the blades 21A and 21B.

Figure 3 is an enlarged front view of the white interferometer 24 shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 3 and the previously described Figure 2, the white interferometer 24 is mounted integrally with the spindle 22B on the Z carriage 44 and is held by the Y carriage 43 and Z carriage 44 so that it can move freely in the Y and Z axes. The white interferometer 24 is used to measure the processing quality of grooves 25A, 25B (see Figures 6 and 7) formed in the workpiece W by the blades 21A, 21B. During this processing quality measurement, the white interferometer 24 is vertically scanned (hereinafter simply referred to as vertical scanning) in the Z axis direction perpendicular to the table 31 (workpiece W) via the Z carriage 44.

The table 31 has a porous workpiece holding surface 31a, which adsorbs and holds the workpiece W from its backside. The table 31 is held by an X carriage 36 (described below) so that it can move freely in the X-axis direction, and by a rotation unit 37 (described below) so that it can rotate freely around a rotation axis CA.

The processing unit 16 is provided with an X base 32, an X guide 34, an X drive unit 35, an X carriage 36, and a rotation unit 37. The X base 32 has a flat plate shape extending in the X-axis direction, and an X guide 34 is provided on its upper surface in the Z-axis direction. The X guide 34 has a shape extending in the X-axis direction, and guides the X carriage 36 along the X-axis direction. The X drive unit 35 uses an actuator such as a linear motor, and moves (drives) the X carriage 36 in the X-axis direction along the X guide 34.

The rotation unit 37 is provided on the upper surface of the X-carriage 36. The table 31 is provided on the upper surface of the rotation unit 37. The rotation unit 37 is driven to rotate by a rotation drive unit 38 (see Figure 5) composed of a motor, gears, etc. As a result, the rotation unit 37 rotates the table 31 in the θ direction around its rotation axis CA. The rotation drive unit 38 corresponds to the rotation drive mechanism of the present invention.

The workpiece W transported from the load port 12 by the transport mechanism 14 is held by suction on the table 31, and moves and rotates integrally with the table 31.

The processing unit 16 is also provided with a Y base 41, a Y guide 42, a pair of Y carriages 43, and a pair of Z carriages 44. The Y base 41 has a gate-like shape that straddles the X base 32 in the Y-axis direction. A Y guide 42 is provided on the side surface of the Y base 41 in the X-axis direction. The Y guide 42 has a shape that extends in the Y-axis direction, and guides each of the pair of Y carriages 43 along the Y-axis direction. The pair of Y carriages 43 are driven independently along the Y guide 42 by a Y drive unit 46 (see Figure 5), which is an actuator composed of, for example, a stepping motor and a ball screw.

A Z carriage 44 is provided on each of the pair of Y carriages 43 so that it can move freely in the Z-axis direction via a Z drive unit 48 (see Figure 5) consisting of an actuator such as a stepping motor. One side of the Z carriage 44 is provided with a spindle 22A and a microscope 23, and the other side is provided with a spindle 22B and a white light interferometer 24.

By driving the X carriage 36, the rotation unit 37, each Y carriage 43, and each Z carriage 44, the blades 21A and 21B, the microscope 23, and the white light interferometer 24 can be moved relative to the table 31 and workpiece W in the X, Y, and Z axis directions and the θ direction.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the white light interferometer 24. As shown in Figure 4, the white light interferometer 24 is a so-called Mirau-type white light interferometer, and includes a housing 50, a white light source 51, a first beam splitter 52, an objective lens 53, a glass plate 54, a second beam splitter 55, and an imaging unit 56.

The housing 50 houses a first beam splitter 52, an objective lens 53, a glass plate 54, and a second beam splitter 55. Inside the housing 50, the second beam splitter 55, the glass plate 54, the objective lens 53, and the first beam splitter 52 are arranged from the bottom to the top in the Z-axis direction. A white light source 51 is attached to the side of the housing 50, to the side of the first beam splitter 52. An imaging unit 56 is attached to the top of the housing 50, above the first beam splitter 52.

The white light source 51 emits white light L1 (light containing a mixture of light in each wavelength range of visible light) toward the first beam splitter 52 while the white interferometer 24 is scanned vertically (multiple times is also possible). The first beam splitter 52 reflects a portion of the white light L1 incident from the white light source 51 toward the objective lens 53. The first beam splitter 52 also transmits a portion of the interference signal L4 incident from the objective lens 53 and emits this portion toward the imaging unit 56.

The objective lens 53 focuses the white light L1 incident from the first beam splitter 52 onto a focal point P on the workpiece W. There are no particular limitations on the diameter of the focal point P (focused spot).

The glass plate 54 has a mirror 54a in its center that functions as a reference surface. The glass plate 54 (excluding the mirror 54a) transmits the white light L1 incident from the objective lens 53 directly and emits it toward the second beam splitter 55.

The second beam splitter 55 splits the white light L1 focused by the objective lens 53 into measurement light L2 and reference light L3. The measurement light L2 passes through and is irradiated onto the workpiece W, while the reference light L3 is reflected toward the mirror 54a. The measurement light L2 irradiated onto the workpiece W is reflected by the workpiece W and enters the second beam splitter 55. The reference light L3 reflected by the mirror 54a enters the second beam splitter 55, where a portion of it is reflected. This generates an interference signal L4 (interference light) between the measurement light L2 and the reference light L3. This interference signal L4 passes through the glass plate 54, the objective lens 53, and the first beam splitter 52 and enters the imaging unit 56.

The optical path length of the reference light L3 is constant, but the optical path length of the measurement light L2 changes in response to the vertical scanning of the white light interferometer 24. As is well known, when the optical path length difference between the measurement light L2 and the reference light L3 is zero (including nearly zero), constructive interference occurs between the measurement light L2 and the reference light L3 across the entire wavelength range of visible light, resulting in the maximum signal strength of the interference signal L4 (see, for example, JP 2017-106860 A).

The imaging unit 56 includes a two-dimensional imaging element, either a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), in which multiple pixels (light receiving elements) are arranged two-dimensionally in the X and Y directions. While the white light interferometer 24 is being scanned vertically one time (or multiple times), the imaging unit 56 captures the interference signal L4 incident from the first beam splitter 52 for each pixel, thereby detecting (acquiring) the interference signal L4 for each pixel and outputting the interference signal L4 for each pixel to the integrated control unit 60 (see Figure 5).

[Functions of the general control unit]
FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the integrated control unit 60 of the dicing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the integrated control unit 60 includes an arithmetic circuit configured with various processors, memories, and the like. The various processors include a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a programmable logic device (e.g., a simple programmable logic device (SPLD), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA)). The various functions of the integrated control unit 60 may be implemented by a single processor or by multiple processors of the same or different types.

In addition to the spindles 22A and 22B, microscope 23, white light interferometer 24, X drive unit 35, rotation drive unit 38, Y drive unit 46, and Z drive unit 48, the overall control unit 60 is also connected to an operation unit 62, a memory unit 64, a display unit 66, etc.

The operation unit 62 uses a keyboard, mouse, operation panel, operation buttons, etc., and accepts input of various operations by the operator. The memory unit 64 stores the control program (not shown) for the dicing apparatus 10, as well as measurement results by the processing quality measurement unit 82 (described below). The display unit 66 uses various known monitors, such as an LCD display. This display unit 66 displays measurement results by the processing quality measurement unit 82, various setting screens for the dicing apparatus 10, etc.

By executing a control program (not shown) stored in the memory unit 64, the overall control unit 60 functions as a blade drive control unit 70, a movement control unit 72, an imaging control unit 74, a detection control unit 76, a processing control unit 78, a measurement control unit 80, a processing quality measurement unit 82, and a correction value determination unit 84. Note that what is described as a "unit" of the overall control unit 60 (as well as the server 200, described below) may also be a "circuit," a "device," or a "equipment." In other words, what is described as a "unit" may be composed of firmware, software, hardware, or a combination of these.

The blade drive control unit 70 controls the rotational drive of blades 21A and 21B by spindles 22A and 22B.

The movement control unit 72 drives the relative movement mechanism 49, which includes the X drive unit 35 (X carriage 36), rotation drive unit 38 (rotation unit 37), Y drive unit 46 (Y carriage 43), and Z drive unit 48 (Z carriage 44), thereby moving the blades 21A and 21B, microscope 23, and white light interferometer 24 relative to the table 31 and workpiece W.

For example, before aligning the workpiece W with the blades 21A and 21B, the movement control unit 72 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the microscope 23 to a position where a predetermined alignment reference for the workpiece W can be photographed. The alignment reference here refers to a reference used by the dicing device 10 to recognize the position of the street C (see Figure 6, etc., also known as the planned dividing line) on the workpiece W, and may be, for example, a recognition mark.

In addition, when aligning the workpiece W with the blades 21A and 21B, the movement control unit 72 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 to align the blades 21A and 21B with the processing start position of the workpiece W.

Furthermore, when cutting the workpiece W with the blades 21A and 21B, the movement control unit 72 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 to perform cutting feed of the workpiece W in the X direction, index feed of the blades 21A and 21B in the Y axis direction, and cutting feed in the Z axis direction.

Furthermore, when measuring the processing quality of grooves 25A, 25B (see Figures 6 and 7) formed in the workpiece W by blades 21A, 21B, the movement control unit 72 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the white light interferometer 24 and perform vertical scanning. Therefore, the movement control unit 72 functions as the scan control unit of the present invention.

The photography control unit 74 controls the photography of the workpiece W by the microscope 23. After adjusting the position of the microscope 23 as described above, the photography control unit 74 causes the microscope 23 to photograph the workpiece W. As a result, the photographed image of the workpiece W is output from the microscope 23 to the detection control unit 76.

The detection control unit 76 performs alignment detection to detect the position of street C (see Figures 6 and 7) on the workpiece W by detecting alignment references in the captured image based on the captured image of the workpiece W input from the microscope 23 using a known image recognition method. The detection control unit 76 then outputs the alignment detection results to the machining control unit 78.

Based on the alignment detection results from the detection control unit 76, the processing control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A, 22B and relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and movement control unit 72 to perform cutting processing using the blades 21A, 21B for each street C (see Figure 6) on the workpiece W. Here, since the dicing device 10 of this embodiment is a so-called twin-spindle dicer, the processing control unit 78 selectively executes, for example, a meeting cutting method or a step cut method as the cutting method for the workpiece W. The cutting method is selected using the operation unit 62.

Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the meeting cutting method. As shown in Figure 6, in the meeting cutting method, blades 21A and 21B of the same shape (same thickness) are attached to spindles 22A and 22B. Based on the alignment detection results from the detection control unit 76, the machining control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A and 22B and relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and movement control unit 72 to repeatedly perform simultaneous machining for each of the two streets C.

Simultaneous machining is a process in which two streets C are cut at once using two identical blades 21A, 21B, simultaneously forming groove 25A with blade 21A and groove 25B with blade 21B. The grooves 25A, 25B formed using the meeting cutting method are so-called full-cut grooves with approximately the same shape. With the meeting cutting method, the cutting range of the workpiece W can be divided into two, with each range assigned to a different blade 21A, 21B, thereby shortening the machining time for the workpiece W.

Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the step cut method. Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a workpiece W cut using the step cut method. As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the step cut method is selected when the workpiece W is a laminated body in which a low-dielectric-constant insulating film (low-k film) and a functional film forming a circuit are laminated on the surface of a substrate such as silicon. In this step cut method, blades 21A and 21B of different thicknesses (or blades 21A and 21B of the same shape) are attached to spindles 22A and 22B. Then, in the step cut method, grooves 25A and 25B are formed for each street C using blades 21A and 21B.

Specifically, based on the alignment detection results from the detection control unit 76, the machining control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A, 22B and the relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and movement control unit 72, respectively, to repeatedly perform the first machining process and the second machining process for each street C.

The first processing step involves cutting the street C using a wide blade 21A, for example, approximately 50 μm wide, to form a groove 25A (corresponding to the first groove of the present invention) of a predetermined depth along the street C. In the step-cut method, the groove 25A is a so-called half-cut groove. This removes the low-k film and other materials from the street C.

The second processing step involves cutting the bottom of groove 25A with a narrow blade 21B, for example, approximately 30 μm wide, to form groove 25B. In the step-cut method, groove 25B is a so-called full-cut groove that is narrower than groove 25A. This divides the workpiece W along street C.

The measurement control unit 80 corresponds to the first measurement control unit of the present invention, and operates the movement control unit 72 and white light interferometer 24 when measuring the processing quality of the grooves 25A and 25B formed in the workpiece W by the blades 21A and 21B.

When the previously described meet cutting method is selected, the measurement control unit 80 first drives the relative movement mechanism 49 via the movement control unit 72 to perform position adjustment, moving the white interferometer 24 relative to a position where measurement light L2 can be irradiated onto the groove 25A to be measured in the workpiece W. Here, the positions of the grooves 25A and 25B formed in the workpiece W by the blades 21A and 21B are known. Therefore, the measurement control unit 80 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 relative to the groove 25A based on the known position of groove 25A. This eliminates the need to search for groove 25A. Note that if groove 25A is present within the irradiation range (within the spot) of measurement light L2 without performing position adjustment of the white interferometer 24, for reasons such as the spot diameter of the measurement light L2 emitted from the white interferometer 24 being sufficiently large, this position adjustment may be omitted.

The measurement control unit 80 then operates the white interferometer 24 (white light source 51 and imaging unit 56) at a position where the measurement light L2 can be irradiated onto the groove 25A. This causes the white interferometer 24 to irradiate the groove 25A with the measurement light L2, and the imaging unit 56 outputs an interference signal L4 for each pixel. While the white interferometer 24 is irradiating the measurement light L2 and outputting the interference signal L4 for each pixel, the measurement control unit 80 also drives the relative movement mechanism 49 via the movement control unit 72 to vertically scan the white interferometer 24.

Similarly, the measurement control unit 80 controls the movement control unit 72 and the white light interferometer 24 to adjust the position of the white light interferometer 24 relative to the groove 25B, and to operate and vertically scan the white light interferometer 24.

On the other hand, when the step-cut method described above is selected, the measurement control unit 80 controls the movement control unit 72 and the white interferometer 24 to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 relative to the grooves 25A and 25B along the same street C, and to operate and vertically scan the white interferometer 24.

The processing quality measurement unit 82 acquires the interference signal L4 for one vertical scan for each pixel of the imaging unit 56 from the white interferometer 24 via a communication interface (not shown). As a result, when the aforementioned meeting cutting method is selected, the processing quality measurement unit 82 acquires the interference signal L4 for one vertical scan for each pixel (hereinafter simply referred to as "interference signal L5A") from the white interferometer 24 for each groove 25A, 25B. Furthermore, when the aforementioned step cutting method is selected, the processing quality measurement unit 82 acquires the interference signal L4 for one vertical scan for each pixel (hereinafter simply referred to as "interference signal L5B") from the white interferometer 24, which corresponds to the grooves 25A, 25B along the same street C.

Then, the processing quality measurement unit 82 performs a so-called kerf check to measure the processing quality (also called the processing state) of the grooves 25A, 25B formed in the workpiece W based on the interference signal L5A or interference signal L5B acquired from the white light interferometer 24. Note that the processing quality of the grooves 25A, 25B in the first embodiment refers to the processing position of the grooves 25A, 25B, i.e., the position in the Y-axis direction.

Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the measurement of the three-dimensional shape of grooves 25A and 25B by the processing quality measurement unit 82. Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the measurement of the cross-sectional shape of grooves 25A and 25B along the Y-axis direction by the processing quality measurement unit 82. Note that Figures 9 and 10 use as an example the shape measurement (kerf check) of grooves 25A and 25B formed by the step cut method described above in Figure 7 and elsewhere.

As shown in Figures 9, 10, and the previously described Figure 5, the machining quality measuring unit 82 calculates the height of each pixel of the imaging unit 56, i.e., the height in the Z-axis direction of the corresponding position on the workpiece W (the inner surface of grooves 25A and 25B, and the front surface of workpiece W) corresponding to each pixel, based on the interference signal L5B. Note that since this method of calculating height position is a well-known technique, a detailed explanation will be omitted here. This allows the machining quality measuring unit 82 to generate three-dimensional shape information 86 that indicates the three-dimensional shape of grooves 25A and 25B as shown in Figure 9. The machining quality measuring unit 82 can also generate cross-sectional shape information 88 that indicates the cross-sectional shape of grooves 25A and 25B along the Y-axis direction as shown in Figure 10.

At this time, the positional relationship between the workpiece W and the white interferometer 24 is known based on the alignment detection results by the detection control unit 76. Therefore, the processing quality measurement unit 82 can simultaneously calculate the XY axis position coordinates of the corresponding positions on the workpiece W that correspond to each pixel of the imaging unit 56 (hereinafter abbreviated as workpiece-corresponding position coordinates) based on the XY axis position coordinates of the white interferometer 24 during vertical scanning. As a result, the processing positions of grooves 25A and 25B within the workpiece W can be individually determined based on at least one of the three-dimensional shape information 86 and cross-sectional shape information 88 and the workpiece-corresponding position coordinates.

Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of kerf checking of grooves 25A and 25B formed using the step cut method, i.e., measuring the machining positions of grooves 25A and 25B within the workpiece W. As shown in Figure 11, the machining quality measurement unit 82 calculates the groove center position CL1 in the Y-axis direction of groove 25A within the workpiece W, and calculates the groove center position CL2 in the Y-axis direction of groove 25B, based on at least one of three-dimensional shape information 86 and cross-sectional shape information 88 and the workpiece-corresponding position coordinates. Groove center position CL1 corresponds to the machining position of groove 25A, and groove center position CL2 corresponds to the machining position of groove 25B.

Then, the machining quality measurement unit 82 outputs the measurement results of the machining position of groove 25A (groove center position CL1) and the machining position of groove 25B (groove center position CL2) to the correction value determination unit 84, memory unit 64, and display unit 66. As a result, the measurement results of the machining positions of grooves 25A and 25B are stored in the memory unit 64 and displayed on the display unit 66.

Figure 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating how the correction value determination unit 84 determines the correction values Δy1 and Δy2 for the machining positions of grooves 25A and 25B formed using the step cut method.

As shown in Figure 12 and the previously described Figure 5, the correction value determination unit 84 determines a correction value Δy1 that corrects the machining position of groove 25A by blade 21A in the Y-axis direction, and a correction value Δy2 that corrects the machining position of groove 25B by blade 21B in the Y-axis direction.

Specifically, the correction value determination unit 84 is preset with a target value for the machining position of grooves 25A and 25B corresponding to the type of workpiece W, for example, the Y-axis position of street C within the workpiece W. As a result, the correction value determination unit 84 determines a correction value Δy1 based on the measurement results (groove center position CL1) of the machining position of groove 25A by the machining quality measurement unit 82 and the target value for the machining position of groove 25A. The correction value determination unit 84 also determines a correction value Δy2 based on the measurement results (groove center position CL2) of the machining position of groove 25B by the machining quality measurement unit 82 and the target value for the machining position of groove 25B.

The correction value determination unit 84 then outputs the determined correction values Δy1 and Δy2 to the machining control unit 78. As a result, the machining control unit 78 corrects the machining positions (Y-axis positions) of the grooves 25A and 25B to be formed on the new street C of the workpiece W by the blades 21A and 21B based on the correction values Δy1 and Δy2 input from the correction value determination unit 84.

The method for measuring the machining position (machining quality) of grooves 25A, 25B formed using the meeting cutting method and the method for determining the correction values Δy1, Δy2 are basically the same as those for the step cutting method described above. In this case, the machining quality measurement unit 82 measures the machining position (groove center positions CL1, CL2) for each groove 25A, 25B based on the interference signal L5A, etc., and the correction value determination unit 84 determines the correction values Δy1, Δy2 based on the measurement results.

[Operation of the First Embodiment]
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of the cutting process of the workpiece W by the dicing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment having the above-described configuration, which corresponds to the control method of the workpiece processing apparatus of the present invention, and in particular the flow of the process of measuring the processing quality (processing position) of the grooves 25A and 25B.

As shown in FIG. 13, when the workpiece W is adsorbed and held on the table 31, the movement control unit 72, photography control unit 74, and detection control unit 76 of the integrated control unit 60 are activated. This causes the movement control unit 72 to drive the relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the microscope 23. After this position adjustment, the microscope 23 photographs the alignment reference of the workpiece W under the control of the photography control unit 74, and the detection control unit 76 then performs alignment detection based on the image of the alignment reference photographed by the microscope 23 (step S1).

Once alignment detection is complete, the movement control unit 72 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 based on the alignment detection results to align the street C to be machined with the blades 21A and 21B.

Then, the machining control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A, 22B and the relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and movement control unit 72 to cut the street C with the blades 21A, 21B using the meeting cutting method (see FIG. 6) or the step cutting method (see FIG. 7) (step S2). This forms grooves 25A, 25B along the street C. Step S2 is repeated until measurement of the machining quality (here, the machining position) of the grooves 25A, 25B begins (NO in step S3). Alternatively, after the first grooves 25A, 25B are formed, the process may proceed immediately to step S4.

When starting measurement of the processing quality of grooves 25A and 25B (YES in step S3), the measurement control unit 80 first drives the relative movement mechanism 49 via the movement control unit 72 based on the known positions of grooves 25A and 25B to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 to a position where measurement light L2 can be irradiated onto grooves 25A and 25B (step S4). This allows the position adjustment of the white interferometer 24 to be performed quickly. After this position adjustment, the measurement control unit 80 activates the white interferometer 24 (step S5). As a result, measurement light L2 is irradiated onto grooves 25A and 25B from the white interferometer 24, and interference signals L4 for each pixel are output from the imaging unit 56 to the processing quality measurement unit 82.

Furthermore, while the white interferometer 24 is irradiating the measurement light L2 and outputting the interference signal L4, the measurement control unit 80 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 via the movement control unit 72 to vertically scan the white interferometer 24 (step S6, corresponding to the scanning control step of the present invention). As a result, the processing quality measurement unit 82 acquires the interference signal L5A (meeting cutting method) or the interference signal L5B (step cutting method) (step S7).

Then, the processing quality measurement unit 82 generates either three-dimensional shape information 86 or cross-sectional shape information 88 of the grooves 25A, 25B as shown in Figures 9 and 10, based on the interference signal L5A or interference signal L5B acquired from the white light interferometer 24. The processing quality measurement unit 82 also calculates the workpiece-corresponding position coordinates described above based on the alignment detection results from the detection control unit 76 and the position coordinates of the white light interferometer 24 in the X and Y axis directions during vertical scanning.

Then, the machining quality measurement unit 82 calculates the machining positions (groove center positions CL1, CL2) of grooves 25A, 25B as the machining quality of the grooves 25A, 25B, as shown in FIG. 11, based on at least one of the three-dimensional shape information 86 and cross-sectional shape information 88 and the workpiece-corresponding position coordinates. This completes the measurement of the machining positions of grooves 25A, 25B (kerf check) (step S8, corresponding to the machining quality measurement step of the present invention). The machining quality measurement unit 82 then outputs the measurement results of the machining positions of grooves 25A, 25B to the correction value determination unit 84, memory unit 64, and display unit 66.

In this way, in this embodiment, the cross-sectional shapes of grooves 25A and 25B can be obtained using the white light interferometer 24, so the machining positions (machining quality) of grooves 25A and 25B can be measured without having to analyze images of grooves 25A and 25B captured by the microscope 23 as in the conventional method. This makes it possible to accurately measure the machining position of groove 25B even when groove 25B is formed at the bottom of groove 25A, as in the step-cut method, i.e., even when it is difficult to determine the machining position of groove 25B based on the image captured by the microscope 23.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is possible to perform a kerf check on the groove 25B formed using the actual step cut method, without performing the so-called step kerf check in which a groove 25B is formed using a narrow blade 21B in an uncut portion of the workpiece W as shown in Figure 35. This allows the machining position of the groove 25B to be measured with high precision.

Once measurement of the machining positions of grooves 25A and 25B (kerf check) is complete, the correction value determination unit 84 determines machining position correction values Δy1 and Δy2 for each groove 25A and 25B based on the measurement results of the machining positions of grooves 25A and 25B (groove center positions CL1 and CL2) and the target values for those machining positions, as shown in Figure 12 (step S9). Next, the correction value determination unit 84 outputs the determined correction values Δy1 and Δy2 to the machining control unit 78.

Then, the machining control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A, 22B and relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and movement control unit 72 based on the correction values Δy1, Δy2 to perform cutting of the next and subsequent streets C using the meeting cutting method or step cutting method (step S100). This allows cutting to be performed for each blade 21A, 21B at a position shifted by the correction values Δy1, Δy2 in the Y-axis direction from the target position (design position) of the next and subsequent streets C. As a result, grooves 25A, 25B can be formed along the next and subsequent streets C with high precision.

[Effects of the first embodiment]
As described above, in the dicing device 10 of the first embodiment, the cross-sectional shapes of the grooves 25A and 25B can be measured with high precision using the white light interferometer 24, and the machining positions (machining quality) of the grooves 25A and 25B can be measured with high precision based on the measurement results of the cross-sectional shapes. In particular, even when the groove 25B is formed at the bottom of the groove 25A, as in the step cut method, the machining position (machining quality) of the groove 25B can be measured with high precision.

In addition, in the first embodiment, vertical scanning of the white interferometer 24 can be performed using the relative movement mechanism 49 (Z carriage 44 and Z drive unit 48) of the blade 21B, eliminating the need for a separate dedicated scanning mechanism and reducing costs. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, by integrating the blade 21B and white interferometer 24 into the Z carriage 44, it is possible to use conventional alignment detection methods to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 relative to the grooves 25A, 25B (machined portion) of the workpiece W.

Second Embodiment
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cutting of a workpiece W by a dicing apparatus 10 of a second embodiment and back-grinding of the workpiece W by a grinding (polishing) apparatus (not shown). In the first embodiment, each street C is completely cut (separated) when cutting the workpiece W by the dicing apparatus 10. In contrast, as shown by reference character XIVA in FIG. 14 , when cutting the workpiece W by the dicing apparatus 10 of the second embodiment, each street C is not completely cut by the blades 21A and 21B, but a certain amount of each street C is left uncut, thereby forming half-cut grooves 90A and 90B (corresponding to the processed portion). Note that the half-cut groove 90A formed by the blade 21A and the half-cut groove 90B formed by the blade 21B have substantially the same shape.

Then, as shown by symbol XIVB in Figure 14, a grinding device separate from the dicing device 10 is used to grind the backside of the workpiece W to remove any remaining cut portions, thereby completely cutting each street C as shown by symbol XIVC in Figure 14.

When half-cutting each street C using the dicing device 10 in this way, if the processing depth (also called the cutting depth or the machining depth) of the street C by the blades 21A and 21B is insufficient, the workpiece W will not be cut even if the backside of the workpiece W is ground, resulting in poor cutting. Conversely, if the blades 21A and 21B cut the street C too deeply, the workpiece W will crack before the backside of the workpiece W is ground. Therefore, if the cutting depth accuracy of the blades 21A and 21B is low, yield will decrease, especially in the production of devices with thin overall thicknesses (processing thin workpieces W).

Furthermore, the diameter of blades 21A and 21B changes due to wear, and their height position in the Z-axis direction changes due to temperature changes. Therefore, it is important to highly accurately control the machining depth of blades 21A and 21B in the Z-axis direction for each street C (workpiece W).

Figure 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a chop cutter set (see, for example, JP 2017-164843 A), which is an example of a conventional method for adjusting the machining depth of blades 21A and 21B. As shown in Figure 15, in the chop cutter set, a dummy workpiece WA is placed near a workpiece W held on table 31, and the relative height of this dummy workpiece WA to the workpiece W is measured with a high-precision sensor (such as an air microgauge). After that, blades 21A and 21B perform chop cutting (chop processing) on the dummy workpiece WA to form chop cut marks 92 (kerfs).

The length cx of each chop cut mark 92 formed on each blade 21A, 21B is measured based on an image captured by the microscope 23. Next, the machining depth of each blade 21A, 21B is calculated based on the length cx of each chop cut mark 92 and the known diameter of each blade 21A, 21B, and the machining depth of each blade 21A, 21B is corrected (adjusted) based on the calculation results.

However, this chop cutter set has the following two problems. The first problem is that because the chop cutter set does not directly measure the machining depth of each chop cut mark 92, minute errors between the chop cutter set and the actual cutting process cumulatively affect the accuracy of the machining depth of blades 21A, 21B. In this case, if the machining depth error of blades 21A, 21B is repeatable, it can be corrected in a fixed manner, but if the error varies, it will have a negative impact on the absolute accuracy of the machining depth of blades 21A, 21B (the correction limit will be lowered).

The second problem is that the chop cutter set does not cut the actual workpiece W with the blades 21A and 21B, and does not measure the machining depth of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B formed in the actual workpiece W. Therefore, in order to feed back the correction value for the machining depth of the blades 21A and 21B to the dicing device 10, it was necessary to chop and cut another dummy workpiece WA after machining of the workpiece W was completed, and to measure the length cx using a separate inspection device and input the results into the dicing device 10.

In the dicing apparatus 10 of the second embodiment, the machining depths cz1 and cz2 (see FIG. 16) of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B formed in the workpiece W are measured using a white light interferometer 24. In the second embodiment, the machining widths cy1 and cy2 of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B are also measured simultaneously with the machining depths cz1 and cz2. Here, the machining widths cy1 and cy2 and the machining depths cz1 and cz2 of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B correspond to the machining quality (machined shape) of the machined portion in this invention.

The dicing device 10 of the second embodiment has basically the same configuration as the dicing device 10 of the first embodiment described above, so parts that are the same in function or configuration as those of the first embodiment described above will be assigned the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, the machining control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A, 22B and relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and movement control unit 72, cutting each street C of the workpiece W by simultaneous machining with the blades 21A, 21B using the meeting cutting method. As a result, half-cut grooves 90A, 90B are formed for every two streets C.

The measurement control unit 80 of the second embodiment controls the white interferometer 24 and the relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 and operate and vertically scan the white interferometer 24 for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B. As a result, the processing quality measurement unit 82 of the second embodiment acquires an interference signal L5A from the imaging unit 56 for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B.

Figure 16 is an explanatory diagram illustrating shape measurement of the cross-sectional shapes of half-cut grooves 90A, 90B along the Y-axis direction by the processing quality measurement unit 82 of the second embodiment. As shown in Figure 16, the processing quality measurement unit 82 of the second embodiment generates cross-sectional shape information 88 for each of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B, similar to the first embodiment, based on the interference signal L5A for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B obtained from the white light interferometer 24.

Next, based on the cross-sectional shape information 88 of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B, the machining quality measurement unit 82 calculates the machining width cy1 and machining depth cz1 of the half-cut groove 90A, as well as the machining width cy2 and machining depth cz2 of the half-cut groove 90B, as the machining quality (machined shape) of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B. Here, the machining depths cz1 and cz2 are the depths of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B in the Z-axis direction at the center positions of the machining widths cy1 and cy2, respectively. The machining depths cz1 and cz2 may also be the depths to the lowest points of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B in the Z-axis direction. The machining quality measurement unit 82 then outputs the measurement results of the machining depths cz1 and cz2 for each half-cut groove 90A and 90B to the correction value determination unit 84, the memory unit 64, and the display unit 66.

The correction value determination unit 84 of the second embodiment determines a correction value Δz1 for the machining depth cz1 corresponding to the blade 21A and a correction value Δz2 for the machining depth cz2 corresponding to the blade 21B based on the measurement results of the machining depths cz1 and cz2 by the machining quality measurement unit 82 and the target values tz for the machining depths cz1 and cz2 of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B corresponding to the type of workpiece W.

The correction value determination unit 84 also outputs the determined correction values Δz1 and Δz2 to the machining control unit 78. Based on the correction values Δz1 and Δz2 input from the correction value determination unit 84, the machining control unit 78 controls the relative movement mechanism 49 and the like to correct the machining depths cz1 and cz2 of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B formed on the new street C of the workpiece W by the blades 21A and 21B.

The flow of the cutting process of the workpiece W using the dicing device 10 of the second embodiment, and in particular the flow of the process for measuring the processing quality (processing depths cz1, cz2) of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B, is basically the same as the flow of the cutting process of the first embodiment shown in Figure 13, and therefore a detailed description will be omitted here.

As described above, the dicing apparatus 10 of the second embodiment can accurately measure the cross-sectional shape of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B using the white light interferometer 24, and can therefore accurately measure the machining depths cz1, cz2 (machining quality) based on these measurement results. Furthermore, because the machining depths cz1, cz2 can be measured while the blades 21A, 21B are cutting the workpiece W, accurate correction values Δz1, Δz2 can be immediately applied to the cutting of the next or subsequent street C. Furthermore, because the correction values Δz1, Δz2 can be determined each time cutting is performed on one line of street C, the machining accuracy of the machining depths cz1, cz2 for each blade 21A, 21B can be further improved.

[Third embodiment]
17 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the workpiece W after the laser grooves 94 have been formed by a laser processing device (not shown) and cutting of the workpiece W by the dicing device 10 of the third embodiment. In the first embodiment, when the workpiece W is a laminate in which a low-k film or the like is stacked on a silicon substrate, cutting is performed by the dicing device 10 using the step cut method to form grooves 25A, 25B for each street C (see FIG. 7).

In contrast, in the third embodiment, as shown by symbols XVIIA and XVIIB in Figure 17, a laser processing process is performed on the workpiece W in advance for each street C using a laser processing device (not shown). This forms a laser-processed groove 94 (laser groove, corresponding to the first groove) for each street C, thereby removing the low-k film.

Next, in the third embodiment, the dicing device 10 forms groove 25B (corresponding to the second groove) shown in Figure 7 at the bottom of each laser-machined groove 94 in the workpiece W, completely cutting through street C. By removing the low-k film, which is brittle and difficult to process, through laser processing, the processing stability of the workpiece W by the dicing device 10 is improved.

Here, groove 25B is formed based on the position of street C, or based on the center position of the machining width cy in the Y-axis direction of laser-machined groove 94. In the latter case, conventionally, the laser-machined groove 94 in the workpiece W is photographed using a microscope 23, and the center position of the machining width cy is determined based on the image captured by this microscope 23.

However, the laser-machined groove 94 may appear black and rough, with raised edge portions 94a on both sides of the laser-machined groove 94. In such cases, even if an image of the laser-machined groove 94 captured by the microscope 23 is analyzed, it is difficult to distinguish between the machining width cy of the laser-machined groove 94 and the machining width gy of the laser-machined groove 94 including the edge portions 94a. For this reason, with conventional methods, the measurement accuracy of the center position of the machining width cy varies, adversely affecting the machining accuracy of the groove 25B.

Therefore, in the dicing device 10 of the third embodiment, a white light interferometer 24 is used to measure the center position of the processing width cy, which is the processing position of the laser-processed groove 94 pre-formed in the workpiece W (processing quality of the first groove).

The dicing device 10 of the third embodiment has basically the same configuration as the dicing device 10 of the first embodiment described above, so parts that are the same in function or configuration as those of the first embodiment described above will be assigned the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

The measurement control unit 80 of the third embodiment corresponds to the second measurement control unit of the present invention. Before cutting the workpiece W with the blades 21A and 21B, the measurement control unit 80 controls the white interferometer 24 and relative movement mechanism 49 to repeatedly adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 relative to the laser-machined groove 94, and operate and vertically scan the white interferometer 24 for each laser-machined groove 94. As a result, the processing quality measurement unit 82 of the third embodiment acquires an interference signal L5A for each laser-machined groove 94 from the imaging unit 56.

Figure 18 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the measurement of the three-dimensional shape of the laser-machined groove 94 by the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the third embodiment. Figure 19 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the measurement of the cross-sectional shape of the laser-machined groove 94 along the Y-axis direction by the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the third embodiment.

As shown in Figures 18 and 19, the processing quality measurement unit 82 of the third embodiment generates at least one of three-dimensional shape information 86 and cross-sectional shape information 88 for each laser-machined groove 94, similar to the first embodiment, based on the interference signal L5A for each laser-machined groove 94 obtained from the white light interferometer 24.

Then, the processing quality measurement unit 82 measures the processing width cy and its center position for each laser-processed groove 94 based on at least one of the three-dimensional shape information 86 and cross-sectional shape information 88 for each laser-processed groove 94 and the position coordinates in the X and Y axes of the corresponding positions on the workpiece W that correspond to each pixel of the imaging unit 56. The processing quality measurement unit 82 then outputs the measurement results of the center position of the processing width cy for each laser-processed groove 94 to the processing control unit 78, memory unit 64, and display unit 66.

In the third embodiment, the machining control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A, 22B and relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and movement control unit 72 based on the measurement results of the center position of the machining width cy for each laser-machined groove 94, and simultaneously cuts the bottom of each laser-machined groove 94 using the blades 21A, 21B using the meeting cutting method. As a result, grooves 25A, 25B, which are full-cut grooves, are formed for each laser-machined groove 94.

The process flow for measuring the processing quality (center position of processing width cy) of laser-processed grooves 94 in a workpiece W using the dicing device 10 of the third embodiment, and the process flow for cutting grooves 25A and 25B are basically the same as the process flow from step S3 onwards in the cutting process of the first embodiment shown in Figure 13. However, in the third embodiment, step S9 is omitted, and in step S10, cutting of grooves 25A and 25B is performed using blades 21A and 21B based on the measurement results of the center position of processing width cy for each laser-processed groove 94.

As described above, the dicing device 10 of the third embodiment can accurately measure the cross-sectional shape of each laser-processed groove 94 using the white light interferometer 24, and based on these measurement results, can accurately measure the processing width cy and its center position (processing quality) of each laser-processed groove 94. As a result, the processing accuracy of the grooves 25A and 25B within the laser-processed groove 94 by the dicing device 10 can be improved.

[Fourth embodiment]
In the above-described embodiments, the machining quality of various grooves such as the grooves 25A, 25B, the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B, and the laser-machined groove 94 is measured, and the cutting of the workpiece W by the blades 21A, 21B is corrected based on the measurement results. In contrast, in the fourth embodiment, the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B are measured based on the measurement results of the machining quality of various grooves by the blades 21A, 21B.

Figure 20 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the tip shape of blades 21A and 21B. As shown in Figure 20, the tip shape of blades 21A and 21B (cross-sectional shape of the outer periphery of the blade along the radial direction) is ideally rectangular as indicated by reference symbol XXA, meaning that edges E1 and E2 formed by the outer periphery (tip surface) and side of blade 21A and 21B are upright; however, in reality, edges E1 and E2 have a rounded shape as indicated by reference symbol XXB. Normally, cutting of workpiece W is performed using blades 21A and 21B indicated by reference symbol XXB, but abnormal wear (uneven wear, etc.) may occur on blades 21A and 21B as indicated by reference symbol XXC.

Figure 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the problems that occur when cutting a workpiece W with unevenly worn blades 21A, 21B. As shown in Figure 21, when blades 21A, 21B are unevenly worn, the way edges E1 and E2 of blades 21A, 21B contact the workpiece W differs from one another. As a result, the quality of both ends of grooves 25A, 25B (half-cut grooves 90A, 90B) formed by edges E1 and E2, respectively, differs from one another. Therefore, it is important to measure the tip shape of blades 21A, 21B to determine the uneven wear state of blades 21A, 21B.

Figure 22 is an explanatory diagram illustrating conventional measurement of the tip shape of blades 21A and 21B. As shown in Figure 22, conventionally, as described in the second embodiment above, chop cut marks 92 are formed on a workpiece W or the like using blades 21A and 21B, and the chop cut marks 92 for each blade 21A and 21B are photographed using microscope 23. The cross-sectional shape of the tip portion 92a of each chop cut mark 92 is then measured based on the photographed image of each chop cut mark 92. Next, the tip shapes of blades 21A and 21B are measured based on the cross-sectional shape of the tip portion 92a of each blade 21A and 21B, thereby determining the uneven wear state of blades 21A and 21B. Note that symbol XXIIA indicates chop cut marks 92 formed by normal blades 21A and 21B, and symbol XXIIB indicates chop cut marks 92 formed by unevenly worn blades 21A and 21B.

However, when measuring the tip shape of blades 21A, 21B based on a photographed image of chop cut marks 92, the following three problems arise. The first problem is that because the tip shape of blades 21A, 21B can only be measured based on the shape of tip portions 92a of chop cut marks 92, the state of uneven wear of blades 21A, 21B cannot be determined until the amount of uneven wear of blades 21A, 21B has reached a certain level. As a result, there is a risk that the processing quality of workpiece W by blades 21A, 21B will fall below tolerance, resulting in defects.

The second problem is that, since the cutting process of the workpiece W must be temporarily interrupted to form and photograph the chop cut marks 92, the productivity of the cutting process of the workpiece W using the dicing device 10 decreases.

Figure 23 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the third problem. As shown by reference symbol XXIIIA in Figure 23, the third problem is that if stray light or other reflections occur at the tip portion 92a when the tip portion 92a is photographed by the microscope 23, highlight blowouts or the like occur in the tip portion image 93, which is the image of the tip portion 92a photographed by the microscope 23. As a result, the tip portion image 93 does not accurately reflect the cross-sectional shape of the tip portion 92a, and as shown by reference symbol XXIIIB in Figure 23, it is not possible to accurately measure cross-sectional shape information 88A of the chop cut mark 92 along the Y-axis direction based on the tip portion image 93. This makes it impossible to accurately measure the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B.

In the dicing device 10 of the fourth embodiment, the cross-sectional shape (processing quality) of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B is measured using a white light interferometer 24 during cutting of the workpiece W, and the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B are measured based on this cross-sectional shape.

Figure 24 is a functional block diagram of the overall control unit 60 of the dicing machine 10 of the fourth embodiment. The dicing machine 10 of the fourth embodiment has basically the same configuration as the dicing machine 10 of the above embodiments, except that the overall control unit 60 functions as the blade shape measurement unit 100 instead of the correction value determination unit 84. Therefore, parts that are identical in function or configuration to the above embodiments are given the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

In the fourth embodiment, the machining control unit 78, as in the second embodiment, drives the spindles 22A, 22B and relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and movement control unit 72 to form half-cut grooves 90A, 90B (see Figure 14) for each street C.

The measurement control unit 80 of the fourth embodiment, as in the second embodiment, controls the white interferometer 24 and relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 and operate and vertically scan the white interferometer 24 for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B. As a result, the processing quality measurement unit 82 of the fourth embodiment acquires an interference signal L5A from the white interferometer 24 for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B.

Figure 25 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the calculation results of the cross-sectional shape of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B along the Y-axis direction by the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the fourth embodiment. As shown in Figure 25 and the previously described Figure 24, the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the fourth embodiment generates cross-sectional shape information 88 for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B, similar to the second embodiment, based on the interference signal L5A for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B acquired from the white light interferometer 24. The processing quality measuring unit 82 then outputs the measurement results (cross-sectional shape information 88) of the cross-sectional shape, which is the processing quality of each half-cut groove 90A, 90B, to the blade shape measuring unit 100.

The blade shape measuring unit 100 measures the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B based on the cross-sectional shape measurement results (cross-sectional shape information 88) for each half-cut groove 90A and 90B input from the processing quality measuring unit 82. Because the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B are transferred to the bottoms of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B, respectively, the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B can be measured from the cross-sectional shapes of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B. The measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B by the blade shape measuring unit 100 are stored in the memory unit 64 and displayed on the display unit 66.

[Operation of the Fourth Embodiment]
26 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process for measuring the tip shapes of blades 21A, 21B by dicing apparatus 10 of the fourth embodiment, which corresponds to the method for controlling a workpiece machining apparatus of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 26, similar to the first embodiment (see Fig. 13), alignment detection (step S1) and cutting of each street C by the meeting cutting method (step S2) are performed, and half-cut grooves 90A, 90B are formed along each street C.

When measurement of the tip shape of the blades 21A and 21B begins (YES in step S3A), steps S4 to S7 are executed as in the first embodiment. That is, for each half-cut groove 90A and 90B, the position of the white interferometer 24 is adjusted (step S4), the white interferometer 24 is activated and vertically scanned (steps S5 and S6), and an interference signal L5A is acquired by the processing quality measurement unit 82 (step S7).

Then, the processing quality measurement unit 82 generates cross-sectional shape information 88 for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B based on the interference signal L5A for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B acquired from the white light interferometer 24. This allows the cross-sectional shapes of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B to be measured with high accuracy without forming chop-cut marks 92 or photographing the chop-cut marks 92 with the microscope 23 (step S11). The processing quality measurement unit 82 then outputs the cross-sectional shape information 88 for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B to the blade shape measurement unit 100.

The blade shape measuring unit 100 receives the cross-sectional shape information 88 for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B and measures the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B based on the cross-sectional shape information 88 (step S12, which corresponds to the blade shape measurement step of the present invention). The blade shape measuring unit 100 then outputs the measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B to the memory unit 64 and the display unit 66. As a result, the measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B are stored in the memory unit 64 and displayed on the display unit 66.

The operator determines the wear state of each blade 21A, 21B based on the measurement results of the tip shapes of blades 21A, 21B displayed on display unit 66, and determines whether blades 21A, 21B need to be replaced. The wear state of each blade 21A, 21B and whether replacement is necessary may be determined automatically by the integrated control unit 60.

As described above, the dicing device 10 of the fourth embodiment can accurately measure the cross-sectional shape of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B using the white light interferometer 24, and therefore can accurately measure the tip shape of the blades 21A, 21B based on these measurement results. As a result, the state of uneven wear in the tip shape of the blades 21A, 21B and its progression can be accurately determined. This allows the operator to be prompted to replace, true (correct the shape of the blades 21A, 21B), or dress (sharpen and re-sharpen the blades 21A, 21B) before the processing quality of the workpiece W falls below tolerance and a defect occurs.

Furthermore, with the dicing device 10 of the fourth embodiment, it is possible to measure the tip shape of the blades 21A and 21B while the blades 21A and 21B are cutting the workpiece W, without forming or photographing the chop cut marks 92. As a result, the productivity of the dicing device 10 can be improved compared to conventional methods.

In the fourth embodiment described above, half-cut grooves 90A, 90B are formed in each street C by simultaneous machining using blades 21A, 21B. However, grooves 25A, 25B (meeting cutting method), which are full-cut grooves as described in the first embodiment, etc., may also be formed. Even in this case, if the uneven wear of blades 21A, 21B progresses, the uneven wear state of the tip shapes of blades 21A, 21B can be determined based on the cross-sectional shapes (cross-sectional shape information 88) of each groove 25A, 25B.

Fifth Embodiment
FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a problem that occurs when the back surface of the workpiece W is ground after the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B described in the second and fourth embodiments are formed.

As shown by reference numeral XXVIIA in Figure 27, the edge portion 110, which is the outer periphery of the workpiece W, has a shape that protrudes convexly in the radial direction of the workpiece W. For this reason, when half-cut grooves 90A, 90B (not shown in Figure 27) are formed for each street C of the workpiece W and then the back surface of the workpiece W is ground, the edge portion 110 becomes thin and acute-angled, as shown by reference numeral XXVIIB in Figure 27. As a result, there is a problem in that cracks are likely to occur starting from this edge portion 110.

The dicing device 10 of the fifth embodiment therefore uses blades 21A and 21B to perform a trimming process on the edge portion 110 of the workpiece W. The dicing device 10 of the fifth embodiment also measures the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B based on the step portions 112A and 112B (see Figure 29) formed on the edge portion 110 by the trimming process. The dicing device 10 of the fifth embodiment has essentially the same configuration as the dicing device 10 of the fourth embodiment, and therefore components that are functionally or structurally identical to those of the fourth embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

Figure 28 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the trimming process of the edge portion 110 of the workpiece W using blades 21A and 21B. Figure 29 is a side view of the workpiece W after trimming and after backside grinding.

As shown by reference numeral XXIXA in Figures 28 and 29, the processing control unit 78 of the fourth embodiment drives the spindles 22A, 22B and the relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and movement control unit 72, thereby controlling the execution of the trimming process for the edge portion 110.

Specifically, during trimming, the processing control unit 78 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 (rotation drive unit 38) via the movement control unit 72 to rotate the table 31 around its rotation axis CA. At the same time, the processing control unit 78 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 via the movement control unit 72 to adjust the attitude and position of the blades 21A and 21B. In attitude adjustment, the attitude of the blades 21A and 21B is adjusted so that the blade rotation axis is parallel to the radius (diameter) of the workpiece W. In position adjustment, the relative position of the blades 21A and 21B with respect to the workpiece W is adjusted so that the cutting edges of the blades 21A and 21B contact the edge portion 110 from the front surface (one side) of the workpiece W.

Next, the machining control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A, 22B via the blade drive control unit 70 to rotate the blades 21A, 21B, and also drives the relative movement mechanism 49 (Z drive unit 48) via the movement control unit 72 to move the blades 21A, 21B a predetermined amount downward in the Z axis direction. This performs a trimming process in which the blades 21A, 21B cut and remove the edge portion 110 from the front surface of the workpiece W to a predetermined depth position, forming steps 112A, 112B (corresponding to the processed portion) in the edge portion 110. Note that step 112A is formed by blade 21A, and step 112B is formed by blade 21B.

By performing back grinding on the workpiece W after trimming, an edge portion 110 is formed on a surface perpendicular to the front and back surfaces of the workpiece W, as shown by symbol XXIXB in Figure 29, thereby preventing the occurrence of cracks originating from this edge portion 110.

Figure 30 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the step portions 112A, 112B of the edge portion 110 of the workpiece W. As shown by reference symbol XXXA in Figure 30, when edges E1, E2 of blades 21A, 21B are in an upright state (see reference symbol XXA in Figure 20), the cross-sectional shape of step portions 112A, 112B is a right angle.

On the other hand, as shown by reference symbol XXXB in Figure 30, if edges E1, E2 become rounded (R-shaped: see reference symbol XXB in Figure 20) due to wear of blades 21A, 21B, the cross-sectional shape of steps 112A, 112B also becomes R-shaped, resulting in edge portion 110 being formed with a roughly acute angle. As a result, there is a risk of cracks originating from edge portion 110. Therefore, with the dicing device 10 of the fifth embodiment, the processing quality (cross-sectional shape) of steps 112A, 112B formed by the trimming process is measured, thereby measuring and monitoring the tip shape of blades 21A, 21B.

The measurement control unit 80 of the fifth embodiment, like the fourth embodiment, controls the white interferometer 24 and relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 and operate and vertically scan the white interferometer 24 for each of the stepped portions 112A and 112B. As a result, the processing quality measurement unit 82 of the fifth embodiment acquires an interference signal L5A from the white interferometer 24 for each of the stepped portions 112A and 112B.

The processing quality measuring unit 82 of the fifth embodiment measures the step portion 112A,
Based on the interference signal L5A for each of the stepped portions 112A, 112B, cross-sectional shape information 88 indicating the cross-sectional shape of each of the stepped portions 112A, 112B is generated in the same manner as in the fourth embodiment. Then, the processing quality measuring unit 82 outputs the measurement results (cross-sectional shape information 88) of the cross-sectional shape, which is the processing quality for each of the stepped portions 112A, 112B, to the blade shape measuring unit 100.

The blade shape measuring unit 100 of the fifth embodiment measures the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B based on the cross-sectional shape measurement results (cross-sectional shape information 88) for each step portion 112A and 112B input from the processing quality measuring unit 82.

The flow of the trimming process for the workpiece W using the dicing apparatus 10 of the fifth embodiment, particularly the process for measuring the cross-sectional shape (processing quality) of the stepped portions 112A, 112B and the process for measuring the tip shape of the blades 21A, 21B, is basically the same as that of the fourth embodiment shown in Figure 26. However, in the fifth embodiment, the trimming process is performed in step S2 of Figure 26, and the cross-sectional shape of the stepped portions 112A, 112B is measured in step S11.

As described above, the dicing device 10 of the fifth embodiment, like the fourth embodiment, can accurately measure the cross-sectional shape (processing quality) of the step portions 112A, 112B. As a result, the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B can be accurately measured based on the cross-sectional shapes of the step portions 112A, 112B. This makes it possible to monitor whether the tip shapes (edges E1, E2) of the blades 21A, 21B are rounded during the trimming process of the edge portion 110, thereby preventing the occurrence of cracks.

Sixth Embodiment
Fig. 31 is an enlarged view of the blades 21A and 21B of the dicing device 10 according to the sixth embodiment. Fig. 32 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the calculation results of the cross-sectional shapes of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B formed by the blades 21A and 21B according to the sixth embodiment, taken along the Y-axis direction.

In the above embodiments, the tip shape of blades 21A and 21B is rectangular when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the Y-axis direction (blade rotation axis), but in the sixth embodiment, as shown in Figure 31, the tip shape of blades 21A and 21B is V-shaped when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the Y-axis direction (blade rotation axis).

The dicing device 10 of the sixth embodiment has basically the same configuration as the dicing device 10 of the fourth embodiment, except that the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B are V-shaped. Therefore, parts that are functionally or structurally the same as those of the fourth embodiment are given the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

As in the sixth embodiment, by using V-shaped blades 21A and 21B, it is possible to perform chamfering on the workpiece W at any angle. This allows the angle of light reflection to be adjusted if the workpiece W is an optical device.

The V-shaped blades 21A and 21B also wear down with use, causing their tips to become rounded, making it impossible to cut (chamfer) the workpiece W at the designed angle. For this reason, operators have traditionally determined the end of the blades' service life by checking the cutting angle achieved by blades 21A and 21B from the cross section of the optical device (chip) after cutting.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 32, the dicing apparatus 10 of the sixth embodiment can accurately measure the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B, more specifically the tip angles α of the blades 21A and 21B, based on the measurement results of the cross-sectional shape (cross-sectional shape information 88) of each half-cut groove 90A, 90B, as in the fourth embodiment. This allows the operator to determine the lifespan of the blades 21A and 21B based on the measurement results of the tip angles α of the blades 21A and 21B, without having to check the cross-section of the optical device after cutting. This determination may also be made automatically by the integrated control unit 60.

Seventh Embodiment
33 is a functional block diagram of the server 200 of the seventh embodiment. In each of the above embodiments, the integrated control unit 60 of the dicing apparatus 10 performs the processes of measuring the processing quality of various processed portions of the workpiece W, determining the correction values Δy1, Δy2, Δz1, and Δz2 (hereinafter abbreviated as various correction values), and measuring the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B. In contrast, in the seventh embodiment, the server 200 performs the above-mentioned processes.

As shown in FIG. 33, the server 200 is connected to one or more dicing apparatuses 10 (white light interferometer 24 and integrated control unit 60) via a communication interface 202. The dicing apparatus 10 of the seventh embodiment has basically the same configuration as the dicing apparatuses 10 described in the above embodiments, but the integrated control unit 60 does not necessarily function as the processing quality measurement unit 82, correction value determination unit 84, and blade shape measurement unit 100.

The server 200 exchanges various information (data) with the dicing apparatus 10 via its communication interface 202. The server 200 acquires the interference signal L4 (interference signals L5A, L5B) from the white light interferometer 24 of the dicing apparatus 10 via the communication interface 202. The server 200 also outputs various correction values and measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B to the overall control unit 60 of the dicing apparatus 10 via the communication interface 202.

By executing a control program (not shown), the server 200 functions as at least an interference signal acquisition unit 204, a processing quality measurement unit 206, a correction value determination unit 208, and a blade shape measurement unit 210.

The interference signal acquisition unit 204 acquires the aforementioned interference signals L5A and L5B from the white light interferometer 24 via the communication interface 202 and outputs these interference signals L5A and L5B to the processing quality measurement unit 206.

Similar to the processing quality measurement unit 82 in each of the above embodiments, the processing quality measurement unit 206 measures the processing quality (processing position and processing shape) of various workpieces cut by the blades 21A and 21B based on the interference signals L5A and L5B acquired from the interference signal acquisition unit 204, and outputs the measurement results to the correction value determination unit 208 and the blade shape measurement unit 210.

The correction value determination unit 208, like the correction value determination unit 84 in the first to third embodiments, determines various correction values based on the measurement results of the processing quality by the processing quality measurement unit 206 and outputs the various correction values to the integrated control unit 60 via the communication interface 202. This executes so-called feedback control, in which the processing position and shape (processing depth) of various workpieces cut by the dicing device 10 are corrected.

Similar to the blade shape measuring unit 100 in the fourth to sixth embodiments described above, the blade shape measuring unit 210 measures the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B based on the measurement results of the processing quality (cross-sectional shape) by the processing quality measuring unit 206. The measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B are stored for each dicing device 10 in the server 200 and are displayed on a monitor (not shown) connected to the server 200.

In addition, the blade shape measuring unit 210 outputs the measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B to the general control unit 60 via the communication interface 202. As a result, the measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B are also stored in the memory unit 64 of the dicing device 10 and displayed on the display unit 66.

As described above, in the seventh embodiment, the processes of measuring the machining quality of various processed portions of the workpiece W, determining various correction values, and measuring the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B are performed by the server 200, thereby achieving the same effects as the previous embodiments.

In addition, the processes corresponding to multiple dicing devices 10 can be performed collectively on the server 200 (a high-performance processing device). This allows the functions of the dicing device 10 to be reduced, i.e., the programs (analysis software) that execute each process can be reduced, thereby reducing the cost of the dicing device 10.

Furthermore, various data (interference signals L5A, L5B, processing quality of the workpiece, various correction values, and tip shapes of blades 21A, 21B) for each of multiple dicing devices 10 can be stored in server 200. As a result, various correction values can be determined (feedback control) based on the various stored data, or the tip shapes of blades 21A, 21B can be measured. Furthermore, by having server 200 perform machine learning, the accuracy of measuring the processing quality of various workpieces, the accuracy of determining various correction values, and the accuracy of measuring the tip shapes of blades 21A, 21B can be further improved.

[others]
In each of the above embodiments, the dicing device 10 is provided with a pair of blades 21A, 21B and a pair of spindles 22A, 22B, but the number of blades and spindles (i.e., the number of processing heads of the present invention) may be one or three or more.

In the above embodiments, a twin-spindle dicer (a pair of blades 21A, 21B and a pair of spindles 22A, 22B) was used as an example of the machining head of the present invention, but the present invention can also be applied when the dicing device 10 is equipped with one or more laser machining heads that perform laser machining (including ablation groove machining) on the workpiece W.

In the above embodiments, a white light interferometer 24 is provided on one of the pair of Z carriages 44 (one of the twin spindles) and a microscope 23 is provided on the other of the pair of Z carriages 44 (the other of the twin spindles), but a white light interferometer 24 may also be provided on the other of the pair of Z carriages 44 (the other of the twin spindles). Similarly, a microscope 23 may also be provided on one of the Z carriages 44. In other words, a microscope 23 and a white light interferometer 24 may be provided for each of multiple Z carriages 44. Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the Z carriage 44 moves the white light interferometer 24 in the Z-axis direction to perform the vertical scanning described above, but vertical scanning may also be performed by moving the table 31 in the Z-axis direction.

In each of the above embodiments, the white interferometer 24 is mounted on the Z carriage 44, allowing the blade 21B and the white interferometer 24 to scan together in the Z-axis direction. However, the white interferometer 24 may also be mounted separately from the blade 21B and the Z carriage 44. In this case, a separate actuator (carriage) is provided that can scan the white interferometer 24 in the Z-axis direction.

In each of the above embodiments, the dicing apparatus 10 is equipped with a Mirau-type white light interferometer 24, but various other types of known white light interferometers 24, such as a Michelson-type or Fizeau-type, may also be installed.

The dicing apparatus 10 of each of the above embodiments may be combined as appropriate. For example, the dicing apparatus 10 of the first and second embodiments may be combined to simultaneously measure both the processing position and processing shape as the processing quality of various processed parts. Furthermore, the dicing apparatus 10 of the first to third embodiments may be combined with the dicing apparatus 10 of the fourth to sixth embodiments as appropriate to enable both the processing quality of various processed parts and measurement of the tip shape of the blades 21A and 21B to be performed.

In the above embodiments, the measurement of the processing quality of various processed parts, such as grooves 25A, 25B, half-cut grooves 90A, 90B, laser-machined groove 94, and stepped portions 112A, 112B, has been described as examples of the processed parts of the present invention. However, the present invention can also be applied to measuring the processing quality of various processed parts formed on the workpiece W by the dicing device 10 or other devices.

10...Dicing device, 21A, 21B...Blade, 22A, 22B...Spindle, 23...Microscope, 24...White interferometer, 25A, 25B...Groove, 31...Table, 49...Relative movement mechanism, 51...White light source, 56...Imaging unit, 60...General control unit, 70...Blade drive control unit, 72...Movement control unit, 74...Photography control unit, 76...Detection control unit, 78...Processing control unit, 80...Measurement control unit, 82...Processing quality measurement unit, 84...Correction value determination unit, 86...Three-dimensional shape information, 88...Cross-sectional shape information, 90A, 90B...Half-cut groove, 94...Laser-processed groove 100...Blade shape measurement unit, 110...Edge portion, 112A, 112B...Step portion, 200...Server, 202...Communication interface, 204...Interference signal acquisition unit, 206...Processing quality measurement unit, 208...Correction value determination unit, 210...Blade shape measurement unit, C...Street, CL1, CL2...Groove center position, cy, cy1, cy2...Processing width, cz1, cz2...Processing depth, E1, E2...Edge, L1...White light, L2...Measurement light, L3...Reference light, L4, L5A, L5B...Interference signal, W...Workpiece, Δy1, Δy2, Δz1, Δz2...Correction values

Claims (15)

a table for holding a flat workpiece;
a machining head that processes the workpiece held on the table;
a relative movement mechanism that moves the processing head relative to the table;
a white interferometer provided integrally with the processing head, which emits white light toward a processed portion formed on the workpiece and detects, for each pixel, an interference signal between the white light reflected by the processed portion and the white light reflected by a reference surface;
a scanning control unit that drives the relative movement mechanism to perform vertical scanning, which moves the processing head and the white light interferometer together relative to the table in a direction perpendicular to the table, thereby changing the optical path length of the white light reflected by the processed portion;
a processing quality measuring unit that measures processing quality of the processed portion based on the interference signal for each pixel output from the white light interferometer during the vertical scanning;
A workpiece processing device comprising: a machining control unit that drives the machining head and the relative movement mechanism to form the machined portion on the workpiece by the machining head;
a first measurement control unit that operates the white light interferometer and the scan control unit at a position where the white light can be irradiated onto the workpiece;
Equipped with
2. The workpiece machining device according to claim 1, wherein the machining quality measuring unit measures at least one of a machining position and a machining shape of the workpiece as the machining quality. a correction value determination unit that determines a correction value for correcting at least one of the machining position and the machining shape of the workpiece based on the measurement result of the machining quality measurement unit;
3. The workpiece machining device according to claim 2, wherein the machining control unit drives the machining head and the relative movement mechanism based on the compensation value determined by the compensation value determination unit to form the machined portion on the workpiece. The machining heads include a first machining head and a second machining head,
The processing control unit
a first machining process of driving the relative movement mechanism and the first machining head to form a first groove as the machined portion in the workpiece;
a second machining process in which the relative movement mechanism and the second machining head are driven to form a second groove at the bottom of the first groove as the machined portion and cut the workpiece;
Run
The workpiece machining device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the machining quality measuring unit measures the machining positions of the first groove and the second groove. A workpiece machining device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein when the machined portion is a groove, the machining quality measuring unit measures the depth of the groove as the machined shape. a second measurement control unit that operates the white light interferometer and the scan control unit at a position where the white light can be irradiated onto a first groove that is the processed portion that has been formed in advance on the workpiece before the workpiece is processed by the processing head;
the machining quality measuring unit measures the machining position of the first groove as the machining quality;
The workpiece processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a processing control unit that drives the processing head and the relative movement mechanism based on the measurement results of the processing quality measurement unit to form a second groove at the bottom of the first groove and cut the workpiece. The workpiece processing device described in claim 6, wherein the second measurement control unit operates the white light interferometer and the scanning control unit at a position where the white light can be irradiated onto the first groove formed by irradiating the workpiece with laser light. A workpiece processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the processing head cuts the workpiece with a rotating disc-shaped blade. The processing head cuts the workpiece with a rotating disk-shaped blade,
a machining control unit that drives the machining head and the relative movement mechanism to form the machined portion on the workpiece with the blade;
the processing quality measuring unit measures a cross-sectional shape of the processed portion as the processing quality;
The workpiece machining device according to claim 1 , further comprising a blade shape measuring unit that measures a tip shape of the blade based on a measurement result of the cross-sectional shape by the machining quality measuring unit. the machining control unit drives the relative movement mechanism and the machining head to form a groove in the workpiece as the machined portion;
the processing quality measuring unit measures the cross-sectional shape of the groove,
10. The workpiece machining device according to claim 9, wherein the blade shape measuring unit measures the tip shape of the blade based on the measurement result of the cross-sectional shape by the machining quality measuring unit. a rotation drive mechanism that rotates the table around a rotation axis of the table;
the machining control unit drives the machining head, the relative movement mechanism, and the rotation drive mechanism to cut and remove the outer periphery of the workpiece from one surface side of the workpiece to a predetermined depth position, thereby forming a step portion on the outer periphery of the workpiece as the processed portion;
the processing quality measuring unit measures the cross-sectional shape of the step portion,
The workpiece machining device according to claim 10 , wherein the blade shape measuring unit measures the tip shape of the blade based on the measurement result of the cross-sectional shape by the machining quality measuring unit. a scanning control step of performing vertical scanning by moving a white light interferometer, which emits white light toward a processed portion formed on a flat workpiece held on a table and detects, for each pixel, an interference signal between the white light reflected by the processed portion and the white light reflected by a reference surface, integrally with a processing head that processes the workpiece in a direction perpendicular to the table, thereby changing the optical path length of the white light reflected by the processed portion;
a processing quality measuring step of measuring processing quality of the processed portion based on the interference signal for each pixel output from the white light interferometer during the vertical scanning;
A method for controlling a workpiece machining device having the above construction. In the machining quality measuring step, a cross-sectional shape of the machined portion formed on the workpiece by the machining head having a rotating disk-shaped blade is measured;
13. The method for controlling a workpiece machining device according to claim 12, further comprising a blade shape measuring step of measuring a tip shape of the blade based on a measurement result of the cross-sectional shape of the processed portion in the machining quality measuring step. a communication interface connected to a white interferometer that emits white light toward a processed portion formed on a flat workpiece held on a table and detects, for each pixel, an interference signal between the white light reflected by the processed portion and the white light reflected by a reference surface;
an interference signal acquisition unit that acquires the interference signal for each pixel from the white interferometer via the communication interface while a processing head that processes the workpiece and the white interferometer are moved relative to each other in a direction perpendicular to the table by a relative movement mechanism to change the optical path length of the white light reflected by the processed portion;
a processing quality measuring unit that measures processing quality of the processed portion based on the interference signal for each pixel acquired by the interference signal acquiring unit;
A server comprising: the machining quality measuring unit measures a cross-sectional shape of the machined portion formed on the workpiece by the machining head having a rotating disk-shaped blade;
The server according to claim 14 , further comprising a blade shape measuring unit that measures a tip shape of the blade based on a measurement result of the cross-sectional shape by the processing quality measuring unit.