JP7785490B2 - Frame unit manufacturing method and workpiece processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a frame unit and a method for processing a workpiece.

Stainless steel ring frames (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2) are currently widely used for dividing semiconductor wafers, various packaged workpieces, etc.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-216161 Patent No. 5244548

Stainless steel ring frames are heavy and expensive. To reuse them, the adhesive from the tape remaining on the surface must be washed away after use, which is time-consuming. Also, different sizes of frames must be prepared depending on the size of the workpiece, which leads to higher costs.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a frame unit that is inexpensive and capable of producing a frame unit with a frame of any shape.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the manufacturing method of the frame unit of the present invention is a manufacturing method of a frame unit which is constructed by adhering a workpiece to a sheet which covers an opening of a ring-shaped frame, and which consists only of the frame, the sheet, and the workpiece, and is characterized by comprising a workpiece adhering step of adhering the workpiece to the sheet, and a frame forming step of supplying a liquid resin which hardens in response to an external stimulus to the outer periphery of the workpiece adhered to the sheet in a ring-shaped manner surrounding the entire outer edge of the sheet , hardening the liquid resin in response to an external stimulus to form the frame, and integrating the sheet and the frame.

The method for manufacturing a frame unit of the present invention is a method for manufacturing a frame unit in which a workpiece is attached to a sheet that covers the opening of a ring-shaped frame, and includes a workpiece attachment step of attaching the workpiece to the sheet, and a frame formation step of supplying a liquid resin that hardens in response to an external stimulus in a ring-shaped manner around the outer periphery of the workpiece attached to the sheet, surrounding the workpiece, hardening the liquid resin in response to the external stimulus to form the frame, and integrating the sheet and the frame , characterized in that the workpiece is attached to one side of the sheet and the frame is formed on the other side of the sheet.

In the frame unit manufacturing method, the liquid resin may be colored in a color selected depending on the type of workpiece.

In the frame unit manufacturing method, the amount of liquid resin supplied can be selected depending on the type of workpiece, allowing the frame to be formed with the desired thickness and shape.

The method for processing a workpiece is characterized by comprising: a workpiece attachment step of attaching the workpiece to the sheet constituting the frame unit; a frame formation step of supplying a liquid resin that hardens in response to an external stimulus to an area of the sheet to which the workpiece is attached, surrounding the workpiece, and hardening the liquid resin in response to the external stimulus to form the frame and integrate the sheet and the frame; and a processing step of processing the workpiece fixed to the frame by the sheet.

The present invention has the advantage of enabling inexpensive production of frame units with frames of any shape.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a workpiece to be processed by a method for processing a workpiece according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the method for processing a workpiece according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the workpiece adhering step of the workpiece processing method shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing a frame forming step of the method for processing the workpiece shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a frame unit in which a frame is formed by the frame forming step of the method for processing a workpiece shown in FIG. 6A to 6C are side views, partly in section, schematically showing processing steps of the method for processing the workpiece shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a frame unit in which a frame is formed by the frame forming step of the method for processing a workpiece according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a side view, partly in section, schematically showing a processing step of a method for processing a workpiece according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a frame unit in which a frame is formed by the frame forming step of the method for processing a workpiece according to the first embodiment and the first modified example of the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a plan view schematically showing a frame unit in which a frame is formed by the frame forming step of the method for processing a workpiece according to the first embodiment and the second modification of the second embodiment.

Modes for carrying out the present invention (embodiments) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiments. Furthermore, the components described below include those that would be easily imagined by a person skilled in the art and those that are substantially identical. Furthermore, the configurations described below can be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications to the configuration can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[Embodiment 1]
A method for processing a workpiece according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a workpiece to be processed by the method for processing a workpiece according to the first embodiment. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the method for processing a workpiece according to the first embodiment.

(Workpiece)
The method for processing a workpiece according to the first embodiment is a method for processing a workpiece 1 shown in Fig. 1. The workpiece 1 to be processed in the method for processing a workpiece according to the first embodiment is a wafer such as a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer or an optical device wafer, which has a substrate 2 made of silicon, sapphire, gallium arsenide, or the like.

As shown in Figure 1, the workpiece 1 has a surface 4 partitioned by a plurality of intersecting planned division lines 3, and devices 5 are formed in each region of the surface 4. The devices 5 are, for example, integrated circuits such as ICs (Integrated Circuits) or LSIs (Large Scale Integration), image sensors such as CCDs (Charge Coupled Devices) or CMOSs (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductors), MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems), or various types of memories (semiconductor memory devices).

In addition, in embodiment 1, as shown in FIG. 1, the workpiece 1 is attached to a sheet 13 that covers an opening 12 of an annular frame 11 whose inner diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the workpiece 1, forming a frame unit 10, and then processed. That is, the frame unit 10 is configured by attaching the workpiece 1 to the sheet 13 that covers the opening 12 of the annular frame 11.

In embodiment 1, sheet 13 is formed in a disk shape with an outer diameter larger than that of workpiece 1. In embodiment 1, workpiece 1 has one surface 131 of sheet 13 attached to back surface 6 behind front surface 4. That is, in embodiment 1, workpiece 1 is attached to front surface 131 of sheet 13. Also, in embodiment 1, frame unit 10 has frame 11 formed on the outer edge of front surface 131 of sheet 13.

In embodiment 1, sheet 13 is an adhesive tape having a base layer made of a flexible, non-adhesive resin and an adhesive layer laminated on the base layer and made of a flexible, adhesive resin. In embodiment 1, the surface of the adhesive layer of sheet 13 is the aforementioned surface 131 attached to the back surface 6 of workpiece 1.

In embodiment 1, sheet 13 is an adhesive tape having a base layer and an adhesive layer, but the present invention is not limited to adhesive tape, and may be composed only of a base layer made of a thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, or polyester, without an adhesive layer.

(Processing method of workpiece)
The method for processing a workpiece according to the first embodiment is a method for processing the workpiece 1 described above. The method for processing a workpiece according to the first embodiment is also a method for manufacturing a frame unit for manufacturing the frame unit 10 having the above-described configuration. In the first embodiment, the method for processing the workpiece 1 is also a method for cutting the workpiece 1 along the planned division lines 3 to divide the workpiece 1 into individual devices 5. As shown in FIG. 2 , the method for processing the workpiece 1 according to the first embodiment includes a workpiece adhering step 1001, a frame forming step 1002, and a processing step 1003.

(Workpiece attachment step)
Fig. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a workpiece adhering step of the workpiece processing method shown in Fig. 2. The workpiece adhering step 1001 is a step of adhering the workpiece 1 to the sheet 13 constituting the frame unit 10.

In embodiment 1, in workpiece attachment step 1001, as shown in FIG. 3, the center of the front surface 131 of the disk-shaped sheet 13 is placed on the back surface 6 of the workpiece 1, and a roller (not shown) that moves along the sheet 13 and rolls on the sheet 13 presses the sheet 13 against the back surface 6 of the workpiece 1, thereby attaching the sheet 13 to the back surface 6 of the workpiece 1. However, in the present invention, the workpiece 1 and the sheet 13 may be housed in a vacuum chamber whose interior is depressurized, and the sheet 13 may be attached to the back surface 6 of the workpiece 1 using a vacuum mounter that attaches the sheet 13 to the back surface 6 of the workpiece 1 by using the air pressure difference between the spaces separated by the sheet 13 in the vacuum chamber. Also, in the present invention, if the sheet 13 consists only of a base layer made of a thermoplastic resin, it is desirable to heat at least the sheet 13 both when pressing the sheet 13 against the workpiece 1 with a roller and when attaching the sheet 13 to the workpiece 1 with a vacuum mounter.

(Frame formation step)
Fig. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing the frame forming step of the method for processing a workpiece shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a frame unit in which a frame is formed by the frame forming step of the method for processing a workpiece shown in Fig. 2. The frame forming step 1002 is a step in which liquid resin 51 that hardens in response to an external stimulus is supplied in a ring shape around the outer periphery of workpiece 1 attached to sheet 13, and the liquid resin 51 is hardened by the external stimulus to form frame 11, thereby integrating sheet 13 and frame 11.

In the frame formation step 1002, the coating device 50 suction-holds the back surface 132, which is the other surface of the sheet 13 to which the workpiece 1 is attached, on the holding surface of the holding table, and positions the coating nozzle 54, which is connected to the liquid resin supply source 52 via an on-off valve 53, opposite the outer edge of the sheet 13 to which the workpiece 1 is attached, which is the area surrounding the workpiece 1. Note that in embodiment 1, the back surface 132 of the sheet 13 is the surface of the base layer of the sheet 13.

In the frame formation step 1002, the coating device 50 moves the coating nozzle 54 and the sheet 13 to which the workpiece 1 is attached relatively along the outer edge of the sheet 13 as illustrated by the arrow 100 in Figure 4, while opening the on-off valve 53 to supply liquid resin 51, which hardens in response to an external stimulus, from the coating nozzle 54.

In the frame formation step 1002, the applicator 50 supplies liquid resin 51 from the applicator nozzle 54 to the entire outer edge of the surface 131 of the sheet 13. Thus, in the frame formation step 1002, the applicator 50 supplies liquid resin 51 that hardens in response to an external stimulus to the outer edge of the sheet 13 to which the workpiece 1 is attached, which is the area surrounding the workpiece 1, and supplies liquid resin 51 that hardens in response to an external stimulus in a ring shape around the outer periphery of the workpiece 1 attached to the sheet 13.

In the frame formation step 1002, an external stimulus is applied for a predetermined period of time to the liquid resin 51 supplied around the entire outer edge of the sheet 13. The external stimulus hardens the liquid resin 51, forming a frame 11 on the outer edge of the surface 131 of the sheet 13. The sheet 13 and the frame 11 are integrated to produce a frame unit 10, as shown in FIG. 5. In the frame formation step 1002, the flow rate at which the liquid resin 51 is supplied from the application nozzle 54, the relative movement speed between the application nozzle 54 and the outer edge of the sheet 13, and the number of times the application nozzle 54 moves relative to the outer edge of the sheet 13 are appropriately selected depending on the type of workpiece 1, thereby selecting the amount of liquid resin 51 to be supplied.

In the frame formation step 1002, the amount of liquid resin 51 to be supplied is selected to form a frame 11 with the desired thickness, width, and shape depending on the type of workpiece 1. Note that the number of times the application nozzle 54 moves relative to the outer edge of the sheet 13 refers to the number of times the application nozzle 54 moves around the entire outer edge of the sheet 13.

Furthermore, in the frame formation step 1002, an external stimulus such as ultraviolet light irradiation, ultrasonic waves, or heat is applied to the liquid resin 51. In other words, the liquid resin 51 is a liquid resin that hardens when an external stimulus such as ultraviolet light irradiation, ultrasonic waves, or heat is applied, and once hardened, it becomes the frame 11.

The workpiece attachment step 1001 and the frame formation step 1002 constitute the frame unit manufacturing method of the present invention. That is, in the frame formation step 1002, the liquid resin 51 may be layered multiple times on the sheet 13 to thicken the frame 11, increase the width of the frame 11, or form the frame 11 into any shape.

(Processing step)
Fig. 6 is a side view, partly in section, showing a schematic diagram of the processing steps of the method for processing the workpiece shown in Fig. 2. Processing step 1003 is a step of processing the workpiece 1 fixed to the frame 11 by the sheet 13.

In embodiment 1, in processing step 1003, the cutting device 60 suction-holds the workpiece 1 onto the holding surface 62 of the chuck table 61 via the sheet 13, and clamps the frame 11 with clamps 63 arranged around the periphery of the chuck table 61. In embodiment 1, in processing step 1003, the cutting device 60 uses an imaging unit to capture an image of the workpiece 1 suction-held on the chuck table 61, and performs alignment.

In embodiment 1, in processing step 1003, the cutting device 60 supplies processing water while moving the cutting blade 21 and the workpiece 1 relatively along the planned dividing lines 3, cutting the cutting blade 64 along the planned dividing lines 3 of the workpiece 1 until it reaches the sheet 13. In embodiment 1, the cutting device 60 cuts all of the planned dividing lines 3 of the workpiece 1 based on the processing conditions, dividing the workpiece 1 into individual devices 5.

In embodiment 1, in processing step 1003, cutting processing is performed on the workpiece 1. However, the present invention is not limited to cutting processing, and various other processes may be performed, such as laser processing in which a laser beam is irradiated, grinding processing in which an exposed surface of the workpiece 1 (e.g., back surface 6) is ground, and polishing processing in which an exposed surface of the workpiece 1 (e.g., back surface 6) is polished.

As described above, the workpiece processing method and frame unit manufacturing method according to embodiment 1 supply liquid resin 51 to sheet 13 and harden the liquid resin 51 with an external stimulus to form frame 11, making it possible to inexpensively form frames 11 of any shape. As a result, the workpiece processing method according to embodiment 1 has the effect of being able to inexpensively manufacture frame units 10 equipped with frames 11 of any shape.

Furthermore, the workpiece processing method and frame unit manufacturing method according to embodiment 1 enable the frame 11 to be formed in any shape at low cost, which has the advantage that the frame 11 can be disposed of together with the sheet 13. As a result, the workpiece processing method according to embodiment 1 reduces the effort and man-hours required to reuse the frame 11.

Furthermore, the workpiece processing method and frame unit manufacturing method according to embodiment 1 allow the shape of the frame 11 to be arbitrarily formed depending on the type of workpiece 1, eliminating the need to prepare frames 11 of various sizes in advance, and also providing the advantage of being able to distinguish the type of workpiece 1 at a glance.

[Embodiment 2]
A method for processing a workpiece according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a frame unit in which a frame is formed by the frame formation step of the method for processing a workpiece according to the second embodiment. Fig. 8 is a side view, partially in cross section, schematically showing the processing step of the method for processing a workpiece according to the second embodiment. In Figs. 7 and 8, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted.

The method for processing the workpiece according to the second embodiment is the same as that according to the first embodiment, except that in the frame forming step 1002, liquid resin 51 is supplied onto the outer edge of the back surface 132 of the sheet 13 to form a frame 11 on the outer edge of the back surface 132 of the sheet 13, thereby manufacturing the frame unit 10-1. That is, in the second embodiment, the workpiece 1 is attached to the front surface 131, which is one surface of the sheet 13, and the frame 11 is formed on the back surface 132, which is the other surface of the sheet 13.

The method for processing a workpiece and manufacturing a frame unit according to the second embodiment involves supplying liquid resin 51 to a sheet 13 and hardening the liquid resin 51 with an external stimulus to form a frame 11. As a result, similar to the first embodiment, it is possible to inexpensively manufacture a frame unit 10-1 with a frame 11 of any shape.

In addition, in the workpiece processing method according to embodiment 2, because the frame 11 is formed on the back surface 132 of the sheet 13, in processing step 1003, the frame 11 is positioned behind the front surface 131 of the sheet 13 on which the workpiece 1 is processed, as shown in FIG. 8. As a result, in processing step 1003, in the workpiece processing method according to embodiment 2, processing water does not accumulate on the inner edge of the frame 11, but can be drained from the outer edge of the sheet 13 along the front surface 131 of the sheet 13 as shown by arrow 200 in FIG. 8. This prevents processing debris from adhering to the sheet 13 or frame 11 and also prevents the adhering processing debris from scattering during subsequent processing steps. Note that the clamp unit 63 is omitted from FIG. 6.

[Variation 1]
A method for processing a workpiece according to the first embodiment and the first modification of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a frame unit in which a frame is formed by the frame forming step of the method for processing a workpiece according to the first embodiment and the first modification of the second embodiment. In Fig. 9, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted.

The workpiece processing method according to Modification 1 is the same as that according to Embodiment 1, except that in frame formation step 1002, the liquid resin 51 is colored in a color selected according to the type of workpiece 1 by, for example, mixing a colorant of a color selected according to the type of workpiece 1 into the liquid resin 51, and as shown in FIG. 9, a frame unit 10-2 is manufactured that includes a frame 11-2 colored in a color selected according to the type of workpiece 1. Note that in Modification 1, as in Embodiment 2, the workpiece 1 may be attached to the front surface 131 of the sheet 13, and the frame 11 may be formed on the back surface 132 of the sheet 13.

The method for processing a workpiece and manufacturing a frame unit according to Variation 1 supplies liquid resin 51 to a sheet 13 and hardens the liquid resin 51 with an external stimulus to form a frame 11-2. As a result, similar to Embodiment 1, it is possible to inexpensively manufacture a frame unit 10-2 equipped with a frame 11-2 of any shape.

In addition, the workpiece processing method and frame unit manufacturing method according to variant 1 have the frame 11-2 colored in a color that corresponds to the type of workpiece 1, which also has the effect of making it possible to distinguish the type of workpiece 1 at a glance.

[Variation 2]
A method for processing a workpiece according to the first embodiment and the second modification of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 10 is a plan view schematically showing a frame unit in which a frame is formed by the frame forming step of the method for processing a workpiece according to the first embodiment and the second modification of the second embodiment. In Fig. 10, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted.

The method for processing the workpiece according to Modification 2 is the same as that of Embodiment 1, except that, as shown in FIG. 10, the planar shape of the workpiece 1-3 is formed to be rectangular, and the planar shapes of the inner and outer edges of the sheet 13-3 and the frame 11-3 manufactured in frame forming step 1002 are formed to be square. Note that in Modification 2, as in Embodiment 2, the workpiece 1-3 may be attached to the front surface 131 of the sheet 13-3, and the frame 11-3 may be formed on the back surface 132 of the sheet 13-3.

In variant 2, workpiece 1-3 is a resin package substrate such as a rectangular QFN (Quad Flat No-lead) package substrate having multiple devices sealed in resin, a ceramic substrate, a ferrite substrate, a substrate containing at least one of nickel and iron, or a glass substrate.

The method for processing a workpiece and manufacturing a frame unit according to Variation 2 involves supplying liquid resin 51 to a sheet 13-3 and hardening the liquid resin 51 with an external stimulus to form a frame 11-3. As a result, similar to Embodiment 1, it is possible to inexpensively manufacture a frame unit 10-3 equipped with a frame 11-3 of any shape.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications. In other words, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, an IC tag such as an RFID tag can be embedded in the frames 11, 11-2, and 11-3, making it possible to read and write information for each frame 11, 11-2, and 11-3, and the workpieces 1, 1-3 can be managed by the IC tag for each frame unit 10, 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3. After the workpieces 1, 1-3 are peeled from the sheets 13, 13-3, the sheets 13, 13-3 and frames 11, 11-2, and 11-3 can be crushed to reduce their volume before disposal, or can be dissolved in a liquid (solvent, etc.) before disposal.

1, 1-3 Workpiece 10, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3 Frame unit 11, 11-2, 11-3 Frame
12 Opening 13, 13-3 Sheet 51 Liquid resin 131 Surface (one side)
132 Back side (other side)
1001: Workpiece attachment step 1002: Frame formation step 1003: Processing step

Claims (5)

A method for manufacturing a frame unit comprising a sheet covering an opening of an annular frame and a workpiece attached to the sheet, the frame unit consisting of only the frame, the sheet, and the workpiece ,
a workpiece adhering step of adhering the workpiece to the sheet;
A method for manufacturing a frame unit, comprising: a frame forming step of supplying a liquid resin that hardens when exposed to an external stimulus to the outer periphery of the workpiece attached to the sheet in a ring shape surrounding the entire outer edge of the sheet , hardening the liquid resin when exposed to an external stimulus to form the frame, and integrating the sheet and the frame. A method for manufacturing a frame unit in which a workpiece is attached to a sheet that covers an opening of an annular frame, comprising:
a workpiece adhering step of adhering the workpiece to the sheet;
a frame forming step of supplying a liquid resin that hardens in response to an external stimulus in a ring shape around the outer periphery of the workpiece attached to the sheet, surrounding the workpiece, hardening the liquid resin in response to the external stimulus to form the frame, and integrating the sheet and the frame ;
The method for manufacturing a frame unit comprises attaching the workpiece to one side of the sheet and forming the frame on the other side of the sheet. A method for manufacturing a frame unit according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the liquid resin is colored in a color selected according to the type of workpiece. A method for manufacturing a frame unit according to claim 1, claim 2, or claim 3, in which the amount of liquid resin supplied is selected depending on the type of workpiece, forming the frame with the desired thickness and shape. A method for processing a workpiece, comprising:
a workpiece adhering step of adhering a workpiece to the sheet constituting the frame unit according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 3 or claim 4;
a frame forming step of supplying a liquid resin that hardens in response to an external stimulus to an area of the sheet to which the workpiece is attached, surrounding the workpiece, hardening the liquid resin in response to the external stimulus to form the frame, and integrating the sheet and the frame;
and a processing step of processing the workpiece fixed to the frame with the sheet.