Wafer dicing apparatus

Abstract

The application provides a wafer dicing device, and relates to the technical field of semiconductors, which comprises a fixing assembly for fixing a wafer, one side of the fixing assembly is provided with a cutter head assembly, and the cutter head assembly is provided with an observation assembly; the position of the wafer on the fixing assembly is determined through the observation assembly, and the wafer on the fixing assembly is cut and diced through the cutter head assembly. Through the observation assembly, the position of the wafer on the fixing assembly can be observed more clearly, so that when the wafer is diced by the cutter head assembly, the cutter head assembly can be accurately aligned with the wafer, the wafer can be accurately diced by the cutter head assembly, and the wafer is divided into small sample pieces with a target position and a target size, so that the dicing precision is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and more specifically to a wafer dicing apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] In semiconductor chip manufacturing, to monitor various process parameters, in addition to the standard product chip, multiple Process Control Monitors (PCMs) are often designed on the wafer to monitor wafer fabrication. When using a PCM to create prototypes, the wafer is typically first manually divided into several pieces according to the target location. The divided prototypes are then placed on a prototype holder and manually moved near the cutting head for manual cutting. For target dimensions in the micrometer (µm) range, the target size cannot be accurately determined before the cutting head cuts through the prototype, resulting in a low probability of the cutting head hitting the target and low prototyping accuracy. Utility Model Content

[0003] The purpose of this application is to provide a wafer dicing apparatus that can effectively improve the accuracy of wafer dicing.

[0004] In one aspect of this application, a wafer dicing apparatus is provided, including a fixing component for fixing a wafer, a cutting head assembly is provided on one side of the fixing component, and an observation component is provided on the cutting head assembly. The position of the wafer on the fixing component is determined by the observation component, and the wafer on the fixing component is diced by the cutting head assembly.

[0005] Optionally, the fixing component includes a support platform and a guide rail, the support platform being slidably connected to the guide rail so that the support platform can move along the guide rail, and the wafer is disposed on the support platform.

[0006] Optionally, the guide rail is set in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the cutter head assembly.

[0007] Optionally, the cutter head assembly includes a cutter housing and cutter heads and knobs respectively disposed at both ends of the cutter housing. The knobs are connected to the cutter heads, and by rotating the knobs, the cutter heads are driven to move in a direction perpendicular to the guide rail to move closer to or away from the wafer.

[0008] Optionally, a lead screw is also provided inside the cutter housing, the knob is connected to the lead screw, the cutter head is sleeved on the lead screw, and rotating the knob drives the lead screw to rotate, thereby causing the cutter head to move in a direction perpendicular to the guide rail.

[0009] Optionally, a push-pull handle is slidably provided on the cutter housing. The push-pull handle is fixedly connected to the lead screw. The lead screw is pushed and pulled by the push-pull handle to move in a direction perpendicular to the guide rail so that the cutter head cuts the wafer.

[0010] Optionally, the observation component includes a microscope fixed to the blade housing, the lens of which corresponds to the wafer.

[0011] Optionally, the blade housing is provided with two connection points, the observation component is connected to the connection points of the blade housing by a bracket, the bracket is fixed to the observation component by a fixing point, and a triangle is formed between the fixing point and the connection points of the blade housing.

[0012] Optionally, the support platform is provided with a sample preparation area, the width of which along the direction of the cutting head assembly is ≤20cm, and the sample preparation area is used to support the wafer with a diameter of 20cm or less.

[0013] Optionally, the cutter head is provided with an anti-corrosion layer.

[0014] The wafer dicing apparatus provided in this application embodiment can more clearly observe the wafer position on the fixed component by setting an observation component. In this way, when the dicing head component dices the wafer, the dicing head component can accurately align with the wafer, so that the dicing head component can accurately dice the wafer, thereby dividing the wafer into small samples with target positions and target sizes, thereby improving the dicing accuracy. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments of this application will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of this application and should not be regarded as a limitation of the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0016] Figure 1 This is one of the schematic diagrams of the wafer dicing apparatus provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0017] Figure 2 This is the second schematic diagram of the wafer dicing device provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0018] Icons: 10-Support platform; 11-Guide rail; 12-Observation component; 13-Knob; 14-Push-pull handle; 15-Bracket; 16-Connection point; 17-Knife housing; 18-Knife head; 19-Sample preparation area. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0020] In the description of this application, it should be noted that the terms "inner" and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, or the orientation or positional relationship commonly used when the product is in use. They are used only for the convenience of describing this application and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used only to distinguish descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0021] It should also be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "setup" and "connection" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0022] Please refer to Figure 1 As shown in the figure, this application provides a wafer dicing apparatus, including: a fixing component for fixing a wafer, a cutting head 18 component is provided on one side of the fixing component, and an observation component 12 is provided on the cutting head 18 component. The position of the wafer on the fixing component is determined by the observation component 12, and the wafer on the fixing component is diced by the cutting head 18 component.

[0023] The wafer is mounted on a fixing assembly, and a cutting head 18 assembly on one side of the fixing assembly is used to cut and cleave the wafer into multiple small samples. When the cutting head 18 assembly cleaves the wafer, the position of the wafer can be confirmed by the observation assembly 12, so that the cutting head 18 assembly can be aligned with the wafer. Therefore, when the cutting head 18 assembly cleaves the wafer, the cleaving position can be accurately determined, and small samples of the required size and position can be obtained.

[0024] For example, the observation component 12 includes a microscope, such as a cylindrical microscope. By adjusting the focal length and magnification of the cylindrical microscope, the position of the dicing head 18 component aligned with the wafer can be clearly confirmed, the dicing position can be confirmed, and thus the dicing accuracy can be improved.

[0025] Therefore, the wafer dicing apparatus provided in this application embodiment, by setting the observation component 12, can more clearly observe the wafer position on the fixed component. In this way, when the dicing head 18 component dices the wafer, the dicing head 18 component can accurately align with the wafer, so that the dicing head 18 component can accurately dice the wafer, thereby dividing the wafer into small samples with target positions and target sizes, so as to improve the dicing accuracy.

[0026] Specifically, the fixing component includes a carrier stage 10 and a guide rail 11. The carrier stage 10 is slidably connected to the guide rail 11 so that the carrier stage 10 can move along the guide rail 11, and the wafer is placed on the carrier stage 10.

[0027] A wafer is placed on a carrier stage 10, which is located on a guide rail 11. The carrier stage 10 can move along the guide rail 11, so that the wafer on the carrier stage 10 can also move along the guide rail 11 with the carrier stage 10. The wafer can then be moved to the position of the dicing head 18 assembly, which facilitates the dicing head 18 assembly to perform dicing operations on the wafer.

[0028] In addition, since the carrier stage 10 can move along the guide rail 11, multiple wafers can be arranged side by side on the carrier stage 10. After the cutter head 18 assembly completes the dicing of a wafer, the next wafer is moved to the position of the cutter head 18 assembly through the guide rail 11 to dic the next wafer. In this way, multiple wafers on the carrier stage 10 can be diced in sequence to realize batch wafer dicing operation and improve the efficiency of batch operation.

[0029] For example, in this application, the guide rail 11 is arranged along the x-direction, so the support platform 10 moves along the x-direction on the guide rail 11.

[0030] Furthermore, the guide rail 11 is set perpendicular to the setting direction of the cutter head 18 assembly. In this application, the guide rail 11 is set along the x-direction, while the cutter head 18 assembly is set along the y-direction, and the two are perpendicular. In this way, the wafer is moved along the x-direction by the support stage 10 to a position aligned with the cutter head 18 assembly, and then the cutter head 18 assembly is pushed towards the wafer along the y-direction, so that the cutter head 18 assembly can cleave the wafer.

[0031] As for the cutter head 18 assembly, it includes a cutter housing 17 and cutter heads 18 and knobs 13 respectively disposed at both ends of the cutter housing 17. The knobs 13 are connected to the cutter heads 18. By rotating the knobs 13, the cutter heads 18 are driven to move in a direction perpendicular to the guide rail 11 to move closer to or away from the wafer.

[0032] The cutting head 18 and the knob 13 are located at opposite ends of the cutter housing 17. The cutting head 18 faces the wafer on the support stage 10, while the knob 13 is away from the wafer and faces outwards for easy operation. When the knob 13 is rotated, the cutting head 18 moves along the y-direction. When the cutting head 18 moves closer to the wafer along the y-direction, it can cleave the wafer; when the cutting head 18 moves away from the wafer along the y-direction, it retracts the cutting head.

[0033] To achieve the above functions, specifically, a lead screw is also provided inside the cutter housing 17, the knob 13 is connected to the lead screw, the cutter head 18 is sleeved on the lead screw, and the knob 13 is rotated to drive the lead screw to rotate, thereby causing the cutter head 18 to move in a direction perpendicular to the guide rail 11.

[0034] The lead screw is installed inside the blade housing 17. The two ends of the lead screw are connected to the knob 13 and the blade head 18, respectively. The blade head 18 is sleeved on the lead screw. The knob 13 is connected to the lead screw. By rotating the knob 13, the lead screw is driven to rotate, so that the blade head 18 on the lead screw can move linearly in the y direction along the lead screw. The blade head 18 moves closer to or away from the wafer on the support stage 10 in the y direction.

[0035] The aforementioned lead screw and cutter head 18 can form a lead screw and nut pair structure to convert the rotational motion of the lead screw into the linear motion of the cutter head 18.

[0036] In addition, anti-slip textures can be provided on the outer periphery of the knob 13. The anti-slip textures can prevent slippage when rotating the knob 13, thus ensuring operability.

[0037] The aforementioned knob 13 drives the cutting head 18 to move closer to the wafer. That is, by turning the knob 13, the cutting head 18 is brought closer to the wafer. Then, the handle 14 needs to be pushed and pulled to push the cutting head 18 to hit the wafer and cleave it.

[0038] Specifically, a push-pull handle 14 is slidably provided on the cutter housing 17. The push-pull handle 14 is fixedly connected to the lead screw. The lead screw is pushed and pulled by the push-pull handle 14 to move in a direction perpendicular to the guide rail 11 so that the cutter head 18 cuts the wafer.

[0039] The push-pull handle 14 can slide relative to the blade housing 17 in the y-direction. The push-pull handle 14 is fixed to the lead screw, so as to drive the lead screw to move in the y-direction, and then the blade head 18 sleeved on the lead screw moves in the y-direction. In this way, the push-pull handle 14 directly drives the lead screw and the blade head 18 to move linearly, so that the blade head 18 hits the wafer, thus realizing the dicing of the wafer.

[0040] As mentioned above, the observation component 12 for observing the wafer position includes a microscope, which is fixed on the blade housing 17, with the microscope lens corresponding to the wafer. The microscope is fixed on the blade housing 17, and before the blade head 18 cuts the wafer, focusing and magnification adjustments are made using the microscope to clearly confirm the position of the wafer and the blade head 18, thereby enabling precise dicing of the wafer by the blade head 18.

[0041] Furthermore, by the present application Figure 1 It can be seen that two connection points 16 are provided on the blade housing 17. The connection points 16 between the observation component 12 and the blade housing 17 are connected by a bracket 15. The bracket 15 and the observation component 12 are fixed by a fixing point. A triangle is formed between the fixing point and the connection point 16 of the blade housing 17.

[0042] In the example of this application, the connection point 16 can be a screw. A bracket 15 is also provided between the microscope and the blade housing 17. The bracket 15 is connected to the blade housing 17 by bolts. The bracket 15 is also connected to the microscope. The bracket 15 has two legs, which are respectively connected to two connection points 16. The two connection points 16 are located on the outside of the blade housing 17. The fixing point of the bracket 15 and the microscope and the two connection points 16 of the bracket 15 and the blade housing 17 form a triangle.

[0043] The triangle provides stability, and this design ensures that the support 15 can be stably connected to the blade housing 17 and the microscope, providing stable support for the microscope and ensuring the stability of the microscope installation. When the microscope is stable, it can ensure the accuracy of the cutting position observed by the microscope, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the blade head 18 cutting the wafer.

[0044] In addition, please refer to the embodiments of this application. Figure 2 As shown, a sample preparation area 19 is provided on the support stage 10. The width of the sample preparation area 19 along the direction of the cutter head 18 assembly is ≤20cm. The sample preparation area 19 is used to support wafers with a diameter of 20cm or less.

[0045] The sample preparation area 19 on the support stage 10 is used to place wafers. The size of the sample preparation area 19 matches the size of the wafers, and the size of the sample preparation area 19 limits the size of the wafers. For example, the width of the sample preparation area 19 along the setting direction of the cutter head 18 assembly is ≤20cm, that is, the width of the sample preparation area 19 along the y-direction is ≤20cm. The dimension in this direction is the same as the diameter of the wafer, that is, the diameter of the wafer is ≤20cm. In other words, this application is applicable to wafers with a diameter ≤20cm. The length of the sample preparation area 19 along the x-direction is not limited. When the length of the sample preparation area 19 along the x-direction is different, different numbers of wafers can be arranged according to the diameter of the wafers. The length of the sample preparation area 19 along the x-direction is the sum of the diameters of the multiple wafers arranged along the x-direction. With the movement of the guide rail 11, the different wafers arranged in rows along the x-direction are aligned with the cutter head 18 in sequence. Thus, multiple wafers can be cut in the same process to improve the preparation efficiency.

[0046] Furthermore, when using the cutting head 18 to cut and cleave the wafer, in order to ensure the surface cleanliness of the wafer, an anti-corrosion operation can be performed on the cutting head 18 to form an anti-corrosion layer, ensuring that the cutting head 18 is not corroded by air, water vapor, etc., and thus preventing rust and impurities from being transferred to the wafer when the cutting head 18 cuts the wafer.

[0047] The material of the cutting head 18 also needs to have certain physical properties such as hardness, brittleness, and surface roughness to ensure effective cutting of the wafer and guarantee the cutting quality of the wafer.

[0048] The above description is merely an embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Various modifications and variations can be made to this application by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A wafer dicing apparatus, characterized in that, include: A fixing assembly for fixing wafers, wherein a cutting head assembly is provided on one side of the fixing assembly, and an observation assembly is provided on the cutting head assembly. The position of the wafer on the fixing assembly is determined by the observation assembly, and the wafer on the fixing assembly is cut and diced by the cutting head assembly.

2. The wafer dicing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fixing component includes a support platform and a guide rail. The support platform is slidably connected to the guide rail so that the support platform can move along the guide rail. The wafer is disposed on the support platform.

3. The wafer dicing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The guide rail is set perpendicular to the direction of the cutter head assembly.

4. The wafer dicing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The cutting head assembly includes a cutting head housing and cutting heads and a knob respectively disposed at both ends of the cutting head housing. The knob is connected to the cutting head. By rotating the knob, the cutting head is driven to move in a direction perpendicular to the guide rail, so as to move closer to or away from the wafer.

5. The wafer dicing apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that, The cutter housing is also equipped with a lead screw, the knob is connected to the lead screw, the cutter head is sleeved on the lead screw, and rotating the knob drives the lead screw to rotate, thereby causing the cutter head to move in a direction perpendicular to the guide rail.

6. The wafer dicing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, A push-pull handle is slidably disposed on the blade housing. The push-pull handle is fixedly connected to the lead screw. The lead screw is pushed and pulled by the push-pull handle to move in a direction perpendicular to the guide rail so that the blade head cuts the wafer.

7. The wafer dicing apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that, The observation assembly includes a microscope, which is fixed on the blade housing, and the lens of the microscope corresponds to the wafer.

8. The wafer dicing apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, The blade housing has two connection points. The observation component is connected to the connection points of the blade housing via a bracket. The bracket is fixed to the observation component via a fixing point. The fixing point and the connection points of the blade housing form a triangle.

9. The wafer dicing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The support platform is provided with a sample preparation area, the width of which along the direction of the cutting head assembly is ≤20cm, and the sample preparation area is used to support the wafer with a diameter of 20cm or less.

10. The wafer dicing apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that, The cutter head is provided with an anti-corrosion layer.

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