JPH113876A - Wafer mounter tape cutting device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape cutting device for a wafer mounter that can increase the number of times a plastics dicing plate is used repeatedly. The present invention relates to a turntable that can be raised and lowered above a table on which a dicing frame is mounted, and that is rotatable about a vertical axis, and that the turntable has a predetermined distance from the rotation axis. The cutter held with the cutting edge down at the eccentric position, and the rotary table and the cutter, such that the cutting edge of the cutter is raised and lowered in a region of a certain height or more from the lower surface of the dicing frame mounted on the table. ,
It is characterized in that there are provided elevating means for elevating and lowering the table, and rotating means for rotating the turntable and the cutter 360 ° with the blade edge positioned on the upper surface of the dicing frame.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cutting device for a wafer mounter for holding a semiconductor wafer on a dicing frame using a tape in a wafer mounter for holding the semiconductor wafer on the dicing frame.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Semiconductor components are manufactured through various processes such as semiconductor wafer manufacturing, dicing, and circuit formation. In recent years, manufacturing costs have been reduced by performing these processes internationally. It is supposed to be. For example, wafers manufactured by European and American semiconductor manufacturers are transported to affiliates and affiliates in Southeast Asia for processing.

[0003] The wafer can be transported in various forms, and as one of the forms, there is a case where the wafer is transported in a state where the wafer is taped to a dicing frame.
In this case, there is a problem in that the dicing plate made of a stainless steel plate, which has been frequently used in the past, is extremely heavy and the transportation cost is high.

However, at present, this problem has been solved by using a plastic dicing plate.

In a wafer mounter, for example, a wafer is taped on a dicing frame as follows. That is, first, a table having a horizontal upper surface is positioned at a predetermined height, and then a dicing frame and a wafer held by the dicing frame are concentrically mounted on the table. Thereafter, the table is raised and the dicing frame and the wafer are pressed against the lower surface of the horizontally disposed tape. Subsequently, if necessary, only the center portion of the table is further raised slightly to lift the wafer and apply a predetermined tension to the tape, and the heated roller is rolled on the upper side of the tape. By heating and pressing the tape,
A tape is stuck on the upper surface of the dicing frame and the wafer.

A tape cutting device is arranged above the table and the tape. This tape cutting device includes a turntable that is vertically movable and rotatable around a central axis of a table, and a cutter that is held by the turntable.

After the tape is adhered to the upper surface of the dicing frame and the wafer as described above, the turntable and the cutter are lowered, and the blade of the cutter penetrates the portion of the tape that has risen from the upper surface of the dicing frame. By rotating the turntable and the cutter through 360 °, the tape is cut into a circular shape.

After that, the table is lowered to the original height, and the dicing frame and the wafer supported by the tape are taken out of the table.

[0009]

As the cutter, there are a knife-shaped cutter and a roller-shaped cutter. In any case, the cutter is pressed against the dicing plate with a considerably strong force to surely cut the tape. ing. In the case of a roller-shaped cutter that cuts by cutting off the tape base material, the cutter is pressed against the dicing plate with a stronger force than a knife-shaped cutter that cuts by cutting the tape base material.

[0010] For this reason, the upper surface of the dicing plate is damaged when the tape is cut.

A dicing plate made of a stainless steel plate has a high surface hardness, and can be used even when it is used repeatedly, for example, about 100 times. However, as described above, a dicing plate made of plastics is used. When the tape is cut, the blade of the cutter cuts deeply into the dicing plate. For example, even if a knife-shaped cutter in which the cutter is pressed relatively lightly against the dicing frame is used about three times, it is found that there is a problem that the blade becomes almost unusable. Was. Therefore, it became necessary to frequently replenish the dicing plate, and it was found that there was a problem that the cost was increased more than the reduction of the transportation cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned technical problems of the prior art and to provide a tape cutting device for a wafer mounter capable of increasing the number of repeated use of a plastics dicing plate. is there.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, a tape cutting apparatus for a wafer mounter according to the present invention is capable of ascending and descending above a table on which a dicing frame is mounted, and rotating about a vertical axis. A rotatable table that can be disposed, a cutter that holds the rotatable table with the blade edge down at a position eccentric from the rotation axis by a predetermined distance, the rotary table and the cutter, and the blade edge of the cutter is Elevating means for elevating and lowering the table with respect to the dicing frame mounted on the table so as to move up and down in a region at a certain height or higher, and a turntable and a needle in a state where the cutting edge is positioned on the upper surface of the dicing frame Rotating means for rotating the cutter is provided.

According to this, the cutting edge of the cutter descends to the upper surface of the dicing frame and rotates together with the turntable, so that the tape stuck on the dicing frame can be cut and cut by the cutting edge of the cutter, and the cutting of the cutter can be performed. This prevents the tip from being cut into the dicing frame. As a result, the cutting edge of the cutter is prevented from being cut into the plastic dicing plate, and the number of times the plastic dicing plate is repeatedly used can be increased.

The present invention will be described in more detail as follows. The basic configuration of the wafer mounter to which the present invention is applied may be the same as the conventional configuration, except for the specific configuration of the tape cutting device.For example, a frame loader that mounts a dicing frame on a table, a table Wafer loader for mounting wafers, dicing frame and table elevating device for raising and lowering the table on which wafers are mounted, taping device for applying tape to the upper surface of dicing frame and wafer on the raised table, and pasting to the upper surface of dicing frame and wafer A tape cutting device that cuts the attached tape along a predetermined circular cutting line.After cutting the tape, the dicing frame, the wafer and the tape attached to these upper surfaces from the table lowered by the lifting device from the table. Have an unloader to take out It may be configured.

A tape cutting device for a wafer mounter according to the present invention comprises: a turntable arranged so as to be able to ascend and descend above a table on which a dicing frame is mounted, and to be rotatable about a vertical axis; It is the same as a conventional wafer mounter tape cutting device in that it has a cutter that is held with its blade edge down at a position eccentric by a predetermined distance from the rotation axis.

The present invention is different from the conventional tape cutting apparatus using a knife-shaped cutter in that the rotary table and the cutter are used in a dicing frame in which the cutting edge of the cutter is mounted on the table. Elevating means for elevating and lowering the table so as to ascend and descend in a region between the middle part in the direction and the surface portion of the dicing frame, and rotating means for rotating the turntable and the needle cutter with the cutting edge in that state are provided. It is in.

Although the cutter used in the present invention is not particularly limited, the cutter is rotatably held around a predetermined longitudinal axis or an inclined axis on the turntable, and its cutting edge is eccentric from the axis. If the cutting edge is formed on the side opposite to the eccentric direction, the cutter tip is located on the upper surface of the dicing frame, and if the turntable is rotated, the resistance acting on the cutter tip, Since the cutter tip naturally follows the movement of the axis of the cutter tip, the cutter tip can accurately follow a predetermined trajectory with a simple configuration.

The cutter used in the present invention is not particularly limited, but a needle cutter having a needle-like body and a blade formed at one end thereof can be used.

In this needle cutter, only the blade portion protrudes from one end of the holder by inserting a needle-like body from one end side of a commercially available cylindrical holder having a built-in magnet, and is rotated around the axis thereof. It can be rotatably held by the holder. Then, if the needle cutter is pushed out from the end face on the opposite side of the holder by a certain amount or more, the magnetic attraction of the magnet of the holder is released,
The needle cutter can be safely removed from the holder by pulling out a portion of the needle-like portion protruding from one end of the holder. That is, by using this needle cutter, the rotary table can be rotatably held around a predetermined vertical axis or inclined axis by a simple operation.

In addition, the blade portion of the needle cutter has its cutting edge eccentric from its axis and has a cutting blade formed on the side opposite to the eccentric direction. By operation, while being able to be held on the rotary table so as to be rotatable around a predetermined longitudinal axis or inclined axis, the cutting edge is eccentric from the axis, and a cutting blade is provided on the opposite side to the eccentric direction. This allows the cutting edge of the cutter to accurately follow a predetermined trajectory with a simple configuration.

In a practical wafer mounter to which the present invention is applied, it is often required to be able to handle a plurality of types of dicing frames having different thicknesses. In order to meet such demands, it is recommended that the lower end of the up / down stroke of the turntable and the cutter be adjusted.

As a specific configuration capable of responding to this technical demand, a stopper for mechanically limiting the lower limit of the turntable and / or the cutter can be raised and lowered, and
It is desirable that the stopper is provided so as to be fixable at an arbitrary position, and the stopper is adjusted to receive the turntable and / or the cutter, so that the lower end position of the elevating stroke of the turntable and the cutter can be adjusted.

Further, instead of this configuration, a sensor is provided for detecting that the movable part of the elevating device for elevating and lowering the rotary table and the cutter reaches a predetermined position. The operation of the elevating device may be stopped when it is detected that the piston of the cylinder has reached a predetermined position.

Further, in the present invention, after the cutter is lowered to the upper surface of the dicing frame, while rotating the turntable and the cutter, the cutting edge of the cutter floats above the dicing frame due to cutting resistance or the like. Cutting may be uncertain.

Therefore, in the present invention, when the cutter is held so as to be able to move up and down with respect to the turntable, and its cutting edge is positioned on the upper surface of the dicing frame mounted on the table, the cutter is cut from the upper surface of this dicing frame. Provided with an urging means for preventing the floating of the cutter, the cutting edge of the cutter lowered to the upper surface of the dicing frame is surely located in a region between the middle of the tape in the thickness direction and the surface of the dicing frame. It is recommended that

[0027]

According to the present invention, there is provided an elevating means for raising and lowering the table so that the cutting edge of the cutter moves up and down in a region between the surface of the dicing frame mounted on the table and the middle part in the thickness direction of the tape. Since the cutting edge is provided with a rotating table and a rotating means for rotating the needle cutter in that state, the tape is cut with the cutting edge of the cutter without cutting the cutting edge of the cutter deeper than a certain amount into the dicing frame. Therefore, it is possible to repeatedly cut the tape without cutting the easily damaged plastic dicing frame deeper than a certain depth, and to increase the number of times the plastic dicing frame is repeatedly used. can get.

[0028]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a tape cutting device for a wafer mounter according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. The basic structure of the wafer mounter to which the present invention is applied will be described. Has the same configuration as the conventional one except for the specific configuration of the tape cutting device, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

As shown in the side view of FIG. 1, the tape cutting device for a wafer mounter includes a lifting frame 3 supported by a guide 2 fixed to a rear frame 1 of the wafer mounter so as to be able to move up and down. Lifting means 4 comprising a cylinder for lifting and lowering.

A turntable 5 is provided at the front of the lifting frame 3.
Are supported rotatably about the vertical axis, and a rotating means 6 including a motor for rotating the turntable 5 is supported. Further, on the lower surface of the turntable 5, via a mounting bracket 7 and a holder 8, A cutter 9 composed of a needle cutter is attached.

The elevating means 4 comprises an elevating frame 3, a turntable 5, a mounting bracket 7, a holder 8 and a cutter 9 as shown in FIG.
As shown in (2), the cutting edge of the cutter 9 is mounted on the table 10 of the wafer mounter, and is moved up and down in a range of a position in contact with the surface of the dicing frame 11 from a middle part in the thickness direction of the tape to which the tape is attached. It is composed of

Dicing frame 11 on table 10
After the adhesive tape is stuck on the upper surface of the wafer (not shown), the elevating means 4 lowers the elevating frame 3, the rotary table 5, the mounting bracket 7, the holder 8 and the cutter 9, and the cutter 9
The lifting / lowering means 4 is stopped at a position where the cutting edge contacts the upper surface of the dicing frame 11, and the rotating means 6 is subsequently started.

At the front end of the lifting frame 3, a sensor 12 for detecting the rotational position of the turntable 5 is provided. When the sensor 12 detects that the turntable 5 has started rotating and then turned, the turntable 5 is rotated. The rotation is stopped.

By this rotation, the tape is cut into a circular shape by the cutter 9, and then the lifting / lowering means 4 is operated in reverse to move the lifting / lowering frame 3, the rotating table 5, the mounting bracket 7, the holder 8 and the cutter 9 to a predetermined height. On the other hand, the table 10, the dicing frame 11, the wafer and the tape cut into a circle are moved downward, and thereafter, the dicing frame 11 and the wafer fixed with the tape are taken out of the table 10.

The cutter 9 is rotatably held around a predetermined tilt axis at a position eccentric from the rotation axis of the turntable 5 via a mounting member 7 shown in FIGS.

That is, the mounting member 7 includes a mounting member 7a bolted to the lower surface of the turntable 5, and a mounting member 7a.
7b rotatably connected to the shaft about the horizontal axis L1
A holder holding cylinder 7c connected to one arm of the lever 7b, and biasing means 7d formed of a tension coil spring mounted between the other arm of the lever 7b and the mounting member 7a. It has.

The tension of the urging means 7d can be adjusted by screwing and retracting an adjustment bolt 7f screwed to an L-shaped bracket 7e fixed to the other arm of the lever 7b. The adjustment bolt 7f is fixed to the bracket 7e by a lock nut 7g shown in FIG.

The axis C of the holder holding cylinder 7c is shown in FIG.
3 is inclined (negative caster) so as to spread downward with respect to the vertical axis V1 and parallel to the tangent of the turntable 5 as shown in the plan view of FIG. It is inclined (toe-out) so as to warp inward in the rotation source direction with respect to the horizontal axis L2. The holder 8 and the cutter 9 are coaxially attached to the holder holding cylinder 7c.

The cutter 9 is a commercially available one. As shown in the front view of FIG. 6 and the side view of FIG. 7, the cutter 9 has a needle-like portion 9a having a circular cross section and a blade portion 9b formed at one end thereof. , The cutting edge 9c is eccentric from the axis of the needle-like portion 9a,
The cutting edge 9d of the blade portion 9b is formed on the side opposite to the eccentric direction of the cutting edge 9c.

The holder 8 is also commercially available,
It has a cylindrical shape with a built-in magnet for chucking the cutter 9, and has a needle-like body 9 of the cutter 9 from its lower end.
When a is inserted over a certain length, the cutter 9 is attracted by the magnet, and only the blade portion 9b protrudes from the lower end of the holder 8 and holds the cutter 9 rotatably around its axis. Have been.

A protruding rod is inserted into the holder 8 so as to be able to advance and retreat in the axial direction thereof. When the cutter 9 is held by the holder 8, the protruding rod projects from the upper end of the holder 8 by a predetermined amount. Has become. When the protruding rod is pushed into the holder 8, the magnetic attraction of the cutter 9 by the magnet of the holder 8 is released, and the cutter 9 is pulled out of the holder 8 with a part of the needle-like portion 9a protruding from the lower end of the holder. Thus, the cutter 9 can be safely removed from the holder 8 without touching the blade 9b.

The attachment and detachment of the cutter 9 to and from the holder 8 is performed by disassembling the holder 8 from the holder holding cylinder 7c.

As described above, the cutter 9 is held at a position eccentric from the rotation axis of the turntable 5 so as to be rotatable around a predetermined inclination axis C, while the cutting edge 9c of the cutter 9 is held at the inclination axis. If the eccentricity is set from the center C, the cutting edge 9c naturally follows the inclined axis C by rotating the turntable 5, and the cutting edge 9d faces at a certain angle with respect to the tangent of the movement locus of the cutter 9. And the stability of cutting is improved.

Generally, it is desired that a wafer mounter can handle a plurality of types of dicing frames 11 having different thicknesses. For this reason,
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The lower end stroke of the piston is adjusted by adjusting the position of the lower end sensor S so that the lower end sensor S for detecting that the piston has fallen to the predetermined lower end stroke end is built in or supported by the cylinder constituting the lower end stroke. Adjust the height of the end and cut the tip 9 of the cutter 9
The lower limit position where d falls can be adjusted according to the thickness of the dicing frame 11.

However, the lower limit position at which the cutting edge 9d of the cutter 9 descends may be adjusted so as to coincide with the upper surface of the dicing frame 11. Instead of adjusting the position of the stroke end at the lower end of the lifting / lowering means 4, Alternatively, the position of the stroke end at the upper end of the table 10 may be adjusted.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the mounting member 7 is bolted to the lower surface of the turntable 5, and the mounting member 7 is rotatable about the horizontal axis L1. The connected lever 7b and this lever 7
and a biasing means 7d comprising a tension coil spring mounted between the other arm of the lever 7b and the mounting member 7a.
And

As a result, the cutter 9 is held so as to be able to move up and down with respect to the turntable 5, and the cutting edge 9 c is prevented from floating from the upper surface of the tape on the dicing frame 11 mounted on the table 10. The tape stuck on the dicing frame 11 can be cut.

In this case, in order to surely prevent the cutter 9 from cutting into the dicing frame 11,
It is preferable to provide limiting means for limiting the amount of the cutter 9 lowered with respect to the turntable 5.

In the above embodiment, the lifting means 4 is configured to lower the cutting edge 9d of the cutter 9 to the upper surface of the dicing frame 11, but in the present invention, in order to cut the tape reliably, The cutting edge 9d of the cutter 9 is
Lower surface of dicing frame 11 (upper surface of table 10)
If the height of the dicing frame 11 is higher than a certain level, the dicing frame 11 may be lowered to a position lower than the upper surface.

[0050]

As described above, the present invention relates to a turntable that can be moved up and down above a table on which a dicing frame is mounted and rotatable around a vertical axis. A cutter held with the blade edge down at a position eccentric by a predetermined distance from the rotation axis, and a rotating table and the cutter, the blade edge of the cutter being separated from the surface of a dicing frame mounted on the table by a tape. Elevating means for elevating with respect to the table so as to ascend and descend from a lower surface in a region having a certain height or more so as to ascend and descend in a region between the middle portions in the thickness direction; and And a rotating means for rotating the turntable and the needle cutter in a state where the rotation is performed.

This prevents the cutter from cutting into the dicing frame deeper than a certain height from the lower surface of the dicing frame, and prevents the dicing frame from being cut through at a certain position during repeated use and becoming unusable. The number of repeated use of the plastic dicing frame which can be prevented and easily damaged can be dramatically increased.

In the present invention, in particular, the cutter is rotatably held on a rotary table about a predetermined longitudinal axis or an inclined axis, and the cutting edge is eccentric from the axis, and the cutter is opposite to the eccentric direction. If the cutting edge is formed, the cutting edge of the cutter naturally follows the predetermined longitudinal axis or the inclined axis with the rotation of the turntable, and the cutting edge is tangent to the moving path of the cutter. , And the tape can be stably cut.

In the present invention, in particular, when the cutter is constituted by a needle cutter having a needle-like body and a blade formed at one end thereof, a simple operation can be achieved by a simple operation by using a commercially available holder. The cutter can be held on the turntable so as to be rotatable around a predetermined longitudinal axis or inclined axis. Further, since the cutting edge is eccentric from the axis and the cutting edge is formed on the side opposite to the eccentric direction, the cutting edge of the cutter is set to a predetermined longitudinal axis or an inclined axis with the rotation of the turntable. And move the cutting blade at a certain angle with respect to the tangent of the moving path of the cutter.
The effect of stably cutting the tape can be obtained.

Further, in the present invention, if the lower ends of the up-and-down strokes of the turntable and the cutter are configured to be adjustable,
The stroke end of the lower end of the cutting edge of the cutter can be adjusted according to the thickness of the dicing frame handled by the wafer mounter, and the effect of increasing the versatility of the wafer mounter can be obtained.

In addition, in the present invention, if the cutter is held on the turntable so as to be able to move up and down and is provided with a biasing means for preventing the tip of the dicing frame from floating from the upper surface of the dicing frame mounted on the table, Is prevented, and the tape can be cut reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing one embodiment of a tape cutting device for a wafer mounter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a mounting bracket suitably used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a mounting bracket suitably used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a mounting bracket suitably used in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a mounting bracket suitably used in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a cutter suitably used in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a cutter suitably used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 4 Elevating means 5 Rotating table 6 Rotating means 9 Cutter 10 Table 11 Dicing frame

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A rotary table which can be raised and lowered above a table on which a dicing frame is mounted, and which is rotatable around a vertical axis, and which is eccentric to the rotary table by a predetermined distance from the rotary axis. The cutter held with the cutting edge down at the position, the rotating table and the cutter, so that the cutting edge of the cutter is raised and lowered in a region of a certain height or more from the lower surface of the dicing frame mounted on the table. A tape cutting device for a wafer mounter, comprising: elevating means for elevating / lowering a table; and rotating means for rotating a turntable and a cutter in a state where the blade edge is located on the upper surface of a dicing frame. 2. A cutter is rotatably held on the rotary table about a predetermined longitudinal axis or an inclined axis, and its tip is eccentric from its axis, and is cut in the opposite direction to the eccentric direction. 2. The tape cutting device for a wafer mounter according to claim 1, wherein the device has a blade. 3. A needle cutter comprising a needle-like body and a blade formed at one end thereof.
Or the tape cutting device for a wafer mounter according to 2. 4. The tape cutting device for a wafer mounter according to claim 1, wherein the lower ends of the up-and-down strokes of the turntable and the cutter are configured to be adjustable. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutter is held on the turntable so as to be able to move up and down, and biasing means is provided for preventing the tip of the dicing frame from floating from the upper surface of the dicing frame mounted on the table. The tape cutting device for a wafer mounter according to claim 1.