JPH04240749A - Dicing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a device for effectively removing generated cuttings simultaneously upon dicing irrespective of a wafer cutting direction by providing cleanser discharge means oppositely to both end sides of the cutting direction, discharging cleanser from the means at the time of relatively moving forward and backward a cutter, etc. CONSTITUTION:A placing table 1 for holding a wafer 2, a rotary cutter 8 for cutting the wafer upon relatively moving forward and backward along the placing surface of the table, and first, second cleanser discharge means 21, 22 disposed oppositely to the one and the other end sides of a cutting direction of the wafer 2 to spray cleanser to the wafer 2, are provided. Further, cleanser control means for discharging the cleanser from the means 21 when the cutter 8 is relatively moved forward and discharging the cleanser from the means 22 when the cutter 8 is relatively moved backward, is provided.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dicing apparatus for dividing a large number of integrated circuit chips formed on a silicon wafer into individual chips.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a semiconductor device manufacturing process includes a process of individually dividing a large number of elements formed on a wafer. Such a process is called a dicing process. There are several methods for dividing a wafer into individual chips, but the most commonly used method is called the dicing saw method.

The dicing saw method uses a blade having a cutting edge formed on the outer periphery of a thin wheel as a rotary cutter. The cutting blade is formed by sintering fine diamond particles, and by rotating this blade at high speed, the cutting blade cuts 20 to 40 wafers.
It is possible to cut with a width of μm. Generally, a dicing apparatus using a dicing saw method is shown in FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a table on which a wafer 2 to be diced is placed and held. This table 1 is formed into a disk shape, and is rotated by 90 degrees in the circumferential direction and positioned in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction by driving means (not shown). A stretchable dicing tape 3 having an outer diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the wafer 2 and smaller than the table 1 is attached to the upper surface of the table 1. The upper surface of this dicing tape 3 is an adhesive surface 3a, and the wafer 2 can be fixed on the table 1 by pasting the wafer 2 on the upper surface of this dicing tape.

A prismatic Z moving body 4 is provided above the table 1. This Z moving body 4 is provided with its end on the table 1 side projecting horizontally above the table 1, and its end surface 4a is formed parallel to the X axis. This Z moving body 4 is positioned and driven by a minute amount in the Z direction by a drive means (not shown).

A motor (not shown) is housed in the Z-moving body 4 with its axis horizontal, and its rotating shaft 5 projects vertically (in the Y-axis direction) from the end surface 4a of the Z-moving body 4. . The radially outer side of the rotating shaft 5 is covered with a cylindrical rotating shaft cover 6 whose one end is fixed to the end surface 4a of the Z moving body 4. This rotary shaft cover 6 is formed shorter than the rotary shaft 5, and the tip end of the rotary shaft 5 is shorter than the rotary shaft cover 6.
6 protrudes in the axial direction from the other end surface.

A blade 8 serving as a rotary cutter is fixed to the tip of the rotary shaft 5. The periphery of the blade 8 is surrounded by a box-shaped protective case 10, and only the lower end 8a used for cutting the wafer 2 is surrounded by the protective case 10.
It protrudes downward from the bottom surface of the. This case 10 is
One side of the Z moving body 4 is attached to the cylindrical rotating shaft cover.
It is fixed by fixing it to the other end surface of 6.

A holder 12 is provided at one end of the lower surface of the case 10 along the X-axis direction to hold one end 11a of each of the pair of cooling pipes 11, 11 through which cooling water flows. . A pair of cooling pipes 1 held by the holder 12
1 and 11 have their other ends 11b and 11b extended horizontally in the X-axis direction along one side and the other side of the blade 8, respectively, and are opposed to each other with the blade 8 in between. The other ends 11b, 1 of the pair of cooling pipes 11, 11, respectively.
In 1b, a plurality of discharge holes (not shown) for spraying cooling water onto the blades 8 are drilled in portions corresponding to the blades 8.

Further, one end of a plate-shaped cleaning liquid discharge pipe 12 whose width direction is perpendicular and whose longitudinal direction is parallel to the Y-axis is attached to the end surface 4a of the Z moving body 4. The middle part in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 12 is connected to the case 10.
is in contact with the other end surface along the X-axis direction. The lower end of the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 12 along the longitudinal direction is provided at approximately the same height as the lower surface of the case 10, and a plurality of cleaning liquid discharge holes 13 are bored along the longitudinal direction. The cleaning liquid supplied to the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 12 is sprayed onto the wafer 2 on the blade 8 side from the cleaning liquid discharge holes 13 .

The blade 8 is mounted on the top surface of the case 10.
A cutting fluid supply section 14 is provided for supplying cutting fluid to. This cutting fluid supply section 14 has one end 14a connected to the case 1.
0 horizontally protrudes outward from the other side surface 10a, and a plurality of discharge holes (not shown) for discharging cutting fluid are bored in the lower surface of one end portion 14a. The cutting fluid discharged from this discharge hole is discharged downward, and
It is supplied to the periphery of the blade 8 to lubricate the cutting part.

[0011] The cooling pipes 11, 11, cutting fluid supply section 14
The cleaning liquid discharge pipes 12 are each connected to a supply means (not shown), and when the blade 8 is performing cutting work, cooling water, cutting fluid, and cleaning liquid are constantly discharged from the respective discharge holes. . The operation of dividing the wafer 2 into individual chips 2a using such a dicing apparatus will be described below.

When the wafer 2 is stuck to the adhesive surface 3a of the dicing tape on the table 1, the rotary motor (not shown) is activated, and the blade 8 is moved as shown by the arrow (
Rotate in the direction shown in b). At the same time, the cooling pipe 1
Cooling water is discharged from 1 and 11, cutting fluid is discharged from the cutting fluid supply section 14, and cleaning fluid is discharged from the cleaning fluid discharge pipe 12, respectively.

Next, the table 1 is driven in the Y-axis direction,
When the blade 8 is positioned above the dicing position, the Z moving body 4 is driven downward by a small amount, and the blade 8 moves the wafer 2 to the dicing table.
Cut it together with the upper layer of pipe 3. At this point, the table 1 is driven in the X-axis direction, so that the blade 8 moves relatively on the table 1 and cuts the wafer 2 along the X-axis.

Once the blade 8 has cut the wafer 2 from one end to the other in the X-axis direction, the Z moving body 4 is driven upward, and the blade 8 is separated from the wafer 2. Next, the table 1 is driven in the Y-axis direction by the width of the wafer 2, and the Z moving body 4 is driven down again. When the table 1 is driven in the opposite direction along the X-axis, the blade 8 cuts the wafer 2 from the other end to one end in the X-axis direction. In this way, the blade 8 is
The wafer 2 is cut into a predetermined width in the Y-axis direction by relatively reciprocating on the bull 1.

Next, the table 1 is rotated by 90 degrees in the circumferential direction as shown by the arrow (b) in the figure. Then, the wafer 2 is cut into a predetermined width in the Y-axis direction in the same manner as described above. As a result, the wafer 2 is cut into individual chips 2a in a checkerboard pattern. When cutting is completed, the wafer 2 is separated into individual chips 2a by pulling the expandable dicing tape 3 radially outward.

According to such a dicing apparatus, the blade 8 rotates in a fixed direction and moves over the table 1 in the direction of X.
The wafer 2 is divided into individual chips 2a by relatively reciprocating along the axial direction. At this time, the blade 8 completely cuts the wafer 2 from the upper surface to the lower surface, and simultaneously cuts the upper layer of the adhesive surface 3a of the dicing tape 3. For this reason, chips of the wafer 2 and chips of the adhesive tape 3 are generated by cutting. If such chips are not quickly removed immediately after cutting, they will adhere to the wafer 2 due to static electricity and will be difficult to remove later. For this reason, the dicing apparatus is provided with a cleaning liquid discharge pipe 12 to spray a large amount of cleaning liquid onto the wafer 2.

By the way, in the conventional dicing apparatus, the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 12 is provided only in one direction of relative movement of the blade 8. Therefore, the table 1 is connected to the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 1 from the blade 8.
When the wafer 2 is fed and driven toward the wafer 2, the portion of the wafer 2 immediately after cutting comes closer to the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 12, so chips generated on the cut portion are effectively removed before they adhere to the wafer 2. can do. However, the above table 1
When the wafer 2 is fed from the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 12 toward the blade 8, the portion of the wafer 2 immediately after cutting moves away from the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 12, so chips generated in this portion are effectively removed. It is difficult to do so, and there is a possibility that these chips may adhere to the wafer 2.

[0018] If these chips adhere to the wafer 2, they will have an adverse effect on the product. Particularly in the case of devices where the optical characteristics of the chip surface have a severe effect on the functionality, such as solid-state image sensors and ultraviolet erasable memories, when these chips adhere to the surface, they create optical shadows. This results in a significant decrease in manufacturing yield. Due to recent high integration, pixel size or memory size has decreased to 5μ.
This problem is becoming more and more serious as the number of solar cells is decreasing to less than m.

[0019]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As described above, conventional dicing apparatuses may not be able to effectively remove chips generated during dicing depending on the direction in which the wafer is fed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a dicing apparatus that can effectively remove generated chips simultaneously with dicing, regardless of the direction in which the wafer is cut.

[0021]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention includes a mounting table that holds a wafer on a mounting surface, a mounting table that moves relatively back and forth along the mounting surface of the mounting table, and a wafer as described above. a rotary cutter that cuts the wafer to a predetermined width by relatively moving back each time the wafer is fed at a relatively predetermined pitch in a direction perpendicular to the cutting direction along the mounting surface of the mounting table; a first cleaning liquid discharging means disposed opposite to each other on one terminal end side in the cutting direction and spraying a cleaning liquid onto the wafer; and a first cleaning liquid discharging means disposed oppositely on the other terminal end side in the cutting direction of the wafer and spraying the cleaning liquid onto the wafer. When the rotary cutter and the second cleaning liquid discharging means move relative to each other in the forward direction, the cleaning liquid is discharged from the first cleaning liquid discharging means, and when the rotary cutter moves relatively in the backward direction, the second cleaning liquid discharge means discharges the cleaning liquid. It is characterized by having a cleaning liquid control means for discharging the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid discharging means.

[0022]

[Operation] According to such a configuration, it is possible to always spray the cleaning liquid onto the portion of the wafer immediately after cutting, regardless of the cutting direction.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Note that the same components as those in the conventional example are given the same symbols and their explanations are omitted.

Z moving body 20 of the dicing apparatus of the present invention
The length of the end face 20a on the table 1 side in the X-axis direction is longer than the length of the protective case 10 in the X-axis direction. One ends of a pair of first and second cleaning liquid discharge pipes 21 and 22 are respectively attached to the lower end portions of both ends in the X-axis direction of the end surface 20a. These first and second cleaning liquid discharge pipes 2
1 and 22 are formed longer than the diameter of the table 1 and extend horizontally along the Y-axis direction. That is, the first and second cleaning liquid discharge pipes 21 and 22 are provided perpendicularly to the blade 8, and are spaced apart from each other in parallel with the blade 8 in between. The pair of cleaning liquid discharge pipes 21 and 22 are each provided with a plurality of discharge holes 24 that open toward the blade 8 side. These pair of cleaning liquid discharge pipes 21 and 22 are driven in the vertical direction together with the Z moving body 20 by a driving means (not shown).

[0025] The first and second cleaning liquid discharge pipes 21 and 22
and a cooling pipe 11 attached to the protective case 10.
The piping is shown in Figure 2. This piping has a tank 27 filled with pure water pressurized by a pump. The upstream end of a supply pipe 28 is connected to this tank 27 . A filter 29 is provided in the middle of this supply pipe 28, and a first filter 29 is provided at the downstream end of this supply pipe 28.
~The upstream ends of the third branch pipes 30, 31, and 32 are connected. These first to third branch pipes 30, 31,
32 has first to third flowmeters 33 and 34 in the middle, respectively.
, 35 are provided, and first to third control valves 36, 37, and 38 made of electromagnetic valves are provided in the upstream portion. The downstream ends of the first to third branch pipes 30, 31, and 32 are connected to the first cleaning liquid discharge pipe 21, the cooling pipe 11, and the second cleaning liquid discharge pipe 22, respectively.

[0026] The first to third control valves 36, 37,
38 is controlled by the movement signal of the blade 8,
Based on the drive signal along the X-axis, the control device (not shown) performs the following operation.

That is, when a motor (not shown) housed in the Z moving body 20 is started and the blade 8 rotates, the second valve 37 opens. When the table 1 is fed and driven in the +X direction shown in FIG.
valve 36 opens. Next, when the table 1 is fed and driven in the -X direction, the first valve 36 closes and the third valve 36 closes.
valve 38 opens. Furthermore, when the table 1 is driven in the + direction, the third valve 38 closes and the first valve 36 opens. When the rotation of the blade 8 is stopped, the first to third valves 36, 37, 3
8 are all closed.

Although not shown, the cutting fluid is supplied to the cutting fluid supply section 14 at the same time as the blade 8 is rotated. Furthermore, when the rotation of the blade 8 stops, the supply of cutting fluid is stopped.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the table 1 is driven in the +X direction, the first cleaning liquid discharge pipe 21
A cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the wafer 2 from a large number of discharge holes 24 . At this time, the portions cut by the blade 8 sequentially approach the first cleaning liquid discharge pipe 21, so that the cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the wafer 2 immediately after cutting. This allows chips generated at the cut portion to be quickly and effectively removed.

When the table 1 is driven in the -X direction, cleaning liquid is discharged from the second cleaning liquid discharge pipe 22. In this case as well, the parts cut by the blade 8 sequentially approach the second cleaning liquid discharge pipe 22, so that the cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the part of the wafer 2 immediately after cutting. As a result, chips generated at the cut portion of the wafer 2 can be effectively removed.

According to such a dicing apparatus, the generated chips can be quickly and effectively removed regardless of the direction in which the table 1 is driven, thereby preventing the chips from adhering to the wafer 2 due to static electricity. can be prevented. This makes it possible to improve product quality and yield. Note that this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be modified in various ways without changing the gist of the invention.

The cleaning liquid discharge pipes 21 and 2 of the above embodiment
2 is provided with discharge holes 24 that open at predetermined intervals, but the same effect can be obtained by providing continuous slit-shaped discharge holes 40 along the longitudinal direction as shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b). It is possible to obtain the following effects.

On the other hand, although this dicing apparatus cuts the wafer 2 by feeding and driving the table 1,
Similar effects can be obtained even with a configuration in which the table 1 is fixed and the blade 8 is fed and driven together with the first and second cleaning liquid discharge pipes 21 and 22.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of slits 41 which open toward the lower end side 42a are provided near the openings of the discharge holes 24 of the cleaning liquid discharge pipes 21 and 22. Comb-shaped rectifying plates 4 provided at the same intervals as the discharge holes 24 along the longitudinal direction of the
2, the discharge hole 24 of the cleaning water discharge pipe 21...
The cleaning liquid discharged from the
sprayed on top.

[0035]

As described above, in the dicing apparatus of the present invention, regardless of the direction in which the wafer is cut, the cleaning liquid is always sprayed onto the wafer in the rear part of the wafer in the direction in which the rotary cutter moves. At the same time, these chips can be effectively removed without adhering to the wafer. This makes it possible to improve product yield.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a piping diagram showing the main parts.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 4(a) is a plan view of a cleaning liquid discharge pipe of another embodiment;
(b) is also a side view.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Table, 2...Wafer, 3...Dicing tape, 8
...Blade (rotary cutter), 21...First cleaning liquid supply pipe, 22...Second cleaning liquid supply pipe, 33...First control valve (control means), 34...Second control valve (control means)
, 35...Third control valve (control means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A mounting table that holds a wafer on a mounting surface; a mounting table that moves relatively forward along the mounting surface of the mounting table; a rotary cutter that cuts the wafer to a predetermined width by relatively moving back each time the wafer is fed by a predetermined pitch in a direction perpendicular to the cutting direction; a first cleaning liquid discharging means disposed facing each other and spraying a cleaning liquid onto the wafer; a second cleaning liquid discharging means disposed oppositely on the other terminal end side of the wafer in the cutting direction and spraying the cleaning liquid onto the wafer; When the rotary cutter relatively moves in the forward direction, cleaning liquid is discharged from the first cleaning liquid discharging means, and when the rotary cutter relatively moves in the backward direction, the cleaning liquid is discharged from the second cleaning liquid discharging means. A dicing apparatus comprising a cleaning liquid control means.