FILM APPLICATOR FOR APPLYING A FILM TO A PLATE-SHAPED WORKPIECE

Abstract

A film application device (1) for applying a film (210) to a plate-shaped workpiece (200) to form a workpiece (200) provided with a film (210), the film application device (1) comprising: a film applying section (2) that applies the film (210) having an area larger than that of the workpiece (200) to the workpiece (200); and a film cutting section (20) which cuts the film (210) attached by the film attaching section (2) from the workpiece (200) along a circumference of the workpiece (200), wherein the film cutting section (20) comprises: a clamping table (30) which holds the workpiece (200) by a holding surface (31) which is smaller than the workpiece (200), a film holding section (40) which detachably holds a peripheral section (213) of the film (210) attached to the workpiece (200) held by the clamping table (30), a cutting section (50) which cuts the film (210) along the circumference of the workpiece (200), and a film accommodation section (21) which accommodates the cut film (210) which has fallen off due to a release of the holding by the film holding section (40), and the cutting section (50) has a cutting device (51) and a pressing section (52) which presses the cut film (210) towards the film accommodation section (21).

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONField of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a film applying device. Description of the state of the art

[0002] When grinding a wafer formed with semiconductor devices or when processing the wafer by a laser beam or a cutting blade, a film attaching device for attaching an adhesive tape, a film made of a thermoplastic resin or the like to the wafer is used to protect the devices (see, for example, JP 6 312 343 B2).

[0003] JP 2016 - 39 298 A relates to a method and an apparatus for applying a protective tape to a surface on which a circuit pattern is formed on a semiconductor wafer. PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION

[0004] In the film attachment device described in JP 6 312 343 B2, a film having a width greater than that of the wafer is attached to the wafer, after which the protruding film is cut off. When the film is attached while wound around a roll and then the film is hollowed out, the cut-out film is removed by picking up the roll. However, in a case where the film cut from the roll is attached and then the film is hollowed out, a mechanism for removing the hollowed-out excess film is required.

[0005] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a film attaching apparatus capable of easily removing an unnecessary part of a film attached to the wafer.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, a film attachment device is provided for attaching a film to a plate-shaped workpiece to form a film-coated workpiece. The film attachment device includes a film attachment section that attaches the film, which has an area larger than that of the workpiece, to the workpiece, and a film cutting section that cuts the film attached by the film attachment section from the workpiece along a circumference of the workpiece.The film cutting section includes a chuck table that holds the workpiece by a holding surface smaller than the workpiece, a film holding section that detachably holds a peripheral portion of the film attached to the workpiece held by the chuck table, a cutting section that cuts the film along the circumference of the workpiece, and a film accommodation section that accommodates the cut film that has fallen off due to a release of the hold by the film holding section. The cutting section includes a cutter and a pressing section that presses the cut film toward the film accommodation section.

[0007] Preferably, the pressing section is a rotating roller which presses the film while moving relative to the film together with the cutting device.

[0008] The present invention provides an effect that an unnecessary part of the film attached to the wafer can be easily removed.

[0009] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the mode for carrying them into effect, will best become apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by studying the following description and appended claims with reference to the attached drawings which show a preferred embodiment of the invention. SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Fig. 1 is a sectional view schematically illustrating a configuration example of a film attaching portion and a film cutting portion of a film attaching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a workpiece to which a film has been attached by the film attaching device according to the present embodiment; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the Fig. 1 illustrated film cutting section; Fig. 4 is a sectional view schematically illustrating a state in which a cutting device of the Fig. 1 shown film cutting section in the workpiece held by a holding table; Fig. 5 is a plan view schematically showing the Fig. 4 shows the film cutting section; Fig. 6 is a sectional view schematically showing a state in which the Fig. 4, the film cutting section has cut the film attached to the workpiece held by the clamping table, and a superfluous part of the film is accommodated in a film accommodation section; and Fig. 7 is a plan view showing the Fig. 6 schematically shows the film cutting section. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0011] A film attaching device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Fig. 1 is a sectional view schematically showing a configuration example of a film attaching portion and a film cutting portion of the film attaching device according to the embodiment. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a workpiece to which a film has been attached by the film attaching device according to the embodiment. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the Fig. 1 shown film cutting section.

[0012] The Fig. 1 according to the embodiment is a device for attaching a film 210 to a front surface 203 of a Fig. 2 to form a film-coated workpiece 211. The workpiece 200 to which the film 210 is applied by the film application device 1 according to the embodiment is a wafer such as a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer or an optical device wafer having a substrate 201 comprising, for example, silicon (Si), sapphire (Al2O3), gallium arsenide (GaAs), or silicon carbide (SiC).

[0013] As in Fig. 2, the workpiece 200 has components 204, each formed in a respective region of the front surface 203, which are divided by a plurality of intersecting streets 203. The component 204 is, for example, an integrated circuit such as an integrated circuit (IC) or a large-scale integration circuit (LSI), an imaging sensor such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), or the like.

[0014] In the embodiment, the workpiece 200 has the film 210 attached to the front surface 203 side. A rear surface 205 opposite the front surface 203 is ground in a state where the front surface 203 side is held by the film 210 on a chuck table of a grinding device, thereby thinning the workpiece 200 to a predetermined final thickness. After being thinned, the workpiece 200 is divided into individual components 204 along the streets 202.

[0015] The film 210 is formed in the shape of a plate made of a thermoplastic resin, the area of ​​a plan view thereof being larger than the area of ​​the workpiece 200. In the embodiment, the film 210 is formed in a rectangular shape, both the width and the length of a plan view thereof being larger than the outer diameter of the workpiece 200. In the embodiment, a predetermined length of the film 210 wound around a cylindrical roll is cut out, and then the film 210 cut out from the roll is attached to the front surface 203 of the workpiece 200 by the film attaching device 1.

[0016] Both the front surface and the back surface of the film 210 are flat. The film 210 comprises a thermoplastic resin having flexibility and non-stick property, and does not have an adhesive layer containing an adhesive resin. In addition, the thermoplastic resin constituting the film 210 has a contractible and expandable property, is softened when heated beyond its softening point, and contracts when further heated. In the embodiment, the film 210 comprises a plastic that is transparent or semi-transparent to visible light. In the embodiment, the film 210 is a film made of a polymer synthesized from an alkene as a monomer, and includes, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, or the like as the thermoplastic resin.In the embodiment, the thickness of the film 210 is equal to or greater than 50 µm and equal to or less than 150 µm.

[0017] The film attaching device 1 according to the embodiment is a device for attaching the film 210 cut out in a predetermined length, which is in Fig. 2 is shown in dashed lines, on the workpiece 200 and for cutting the film 210 along an outer edge 206, which represents the circumference of the workpiece 200, in order to Fig. 2 to form a workpiece 211 provided with a film, shown by a continuous line.

[0018] As in Fig. 1, the film applying device 1 comprises a film applying section 2 which applies to the workpiece 200 the rectangular film 210 which, in a plan view, has a larger area than the workpiece 200; a film cutting section 20 which cuts the film 210 applied by the film applying section 2 along the outer edge 206 of the workpiece 200 and removes a superfluous part 212 (shown in Fig. 6) cuts the film 210 away from the workpiece 200; and a conveying section (not shown) that conveys the workpiece 200 with the film 210 attached thereto from the film attaching section 2 to the film cutting section 20. Note that the redundant part 212 refers to a part of the rectangular film 210 attached to the workpiece 200, which part protrudes further outward than the outer edge 206.

[0019] As in Fig. 1, the film attachment section 2 includes a pressure reduction chamber 3, a support table 4, and a heating unit 5. The pressure reduction chamber 3 includes an upper case 6 and a lower case 7 that fix the film 210 while being arranged on opposite sides of a peripheral part 213 of the film 210 (a portion of the unnecessary part 212 of the film 210, the portion being on the outer side); pressure reduction units 8 and 9 connected to the cases 6 and 7, respectively; and atmospheric air opening units 10 and 11 connected to the cases 6 and 7, respectively.

[0020] The pressure reduction chamber 3 hermetically seals the portion between the upper casing 6 and the film 210 and the portion between the film 210 and the lower casing 7 when the film 210 is sandwiched between the casings 6 and 7. The pressure reduction units 8 and 9 reduce the gas pressures within the casings 6 and 7, respectively. The atmospheric air opening units 10 and 11 open the interior of the casings 6 and 7 to the atmospheric air.

[0021] The support table 4 is arranged within the lower housing 7 and has the rear surface 205 of the workpiece 200, with the rear surface 205 being placed on an upper surface of the support table 4. The heating unit 5 is arranged within the support table 4 and heats the film 210 through the support table 4 and the workpiece 200.

[0022] The film attaching section 2 fixes the film 210 while the workpiece 200 is attached to the upper surface of the support table 4 and the film 210 is arranged between the housings 6 and 7 of the pressure reduction chamber 3. The film attaching section 2 reduces the pressures in the casings 6 and 7 by the pressure reducing unit 8 and 9 and heats the workpiece 200 by the heating unit 5 via the support table 4. The film attaching section 2 opens the inside of the upper casing 6 to the atmospheric air through the atmospheric air opening unit 10 connected to the upper casing 6, brings the film 210 into close contact with the front surface 203 of the workpiece 200 by a differential pressure in the casings 6 and 7, heats and softens the film 210 by the heating unit 5, and adheres the film 210 to the front surface 203 of the workpiece 200.

[0023] As in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3, the film cutting section 20 includes a film accommodation section 21, a chuck table 30, a film holding section 40, and a cutting section 50.

[0024] The film accommodation section 21 serves to accommodate the excess part 212 of the film 210, the excess part 212 being cut along the outer edge 206 of the workpiece 200 and being dropped by releasing the hold by the film holding section 40. The film accommodation section 21 includes a lower plate 22 parallel to a horizontal direction and a plurality of peripheral plates 23 erected from an outer edge of the lower plate 22. The plan view shape of the lower plate 22 of the film accommodation section 21 is a rectangular shape that is larger than the plan view shape of the film 210 still to be cut along the outer edge 206 of the workpiece 200.

[0025] The chuck table 30 serves to hold the workpiece 200 with a holding surface 31 smaller than the workpiece 200. The chuck table 30 is arranged in the center of the lower plate 22 of the film accommodation section 21 and is formed in a disc shape with an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the workpiece 200. The workpiece 200 is attached to the upper surface of the chuck table 30, which is the holding surface 31 for holding the workpiece 200. The chuck table 30 holds the rear surface 205 of the workpiece 200 with the film 210 attached to the front surface 203 thereof, on the holding surface 31.

[0026] The film holding section 40 serves to detachably hold the peripheral part 213 of the film 210 attached to the workpiece 200 held by the chuck table 30. The film holding sections 40 are each provided on a pair of oppositely arranged peripheral plates 23 (hereinafter referred to as a reference numeral 23-1) of the film accommodation section 21. Each film holding section 40 has a pair of film holding plates 41 formed in a plate shape parallel to the peripheral plates 23-1 and aligned in the direction parallel to the peripheral plates 23-1. The film holding plates 41 of each film holding section 40 are moved along the peripheral plates 23-1 by a moving unit (not shown) between holding positions shown in Fig. 3 are shown as a solid line, in which they are close to each other and hold the peripheral part 213 of the film 210 on upper surfaces thereof, and holding release positions shown in Fig. 3 are shown as a dashed line, in which they are spaced from each other and do not hold the peripheral part 213 of the film 210.

[0027] The upper surfaces of the film holding plates 41 of each film holding section 40 are provided with a plurality of suction holes 42 connected to a vacuum drive source (not shown). The suction holes 42 are arranged on the upper surfaces of the film holding plates 41 at intervals along the longitudinal direction of the film holding plates 41. The film holding section 40 holds the peripheral part 213 of the film 210 on the upper surfaces of the film holding plate 41 under suction by the suction holes 42 of the film holding plates 41 positioned at the holding positions being sucked by the vacuum drive source.

[0028] The film holding section 40 releases the holding of the peripheral part 213 of the film 210 by stopping the suction of the suction holes 42 and positioning the film holding plates 41 at the holding release positions. In this way, the film holding section 40 releasably holds the peripheral part 213 of the film 210 attached to the workpiece 200 held by the chuck table 30 by moving the film holding plates 41 between the holding positions and the holding release positions, suction by the vacuum drive source, and stopping the suction. Note that the upper surfaces of the film holding plates 41 of each film holding section 40 are located above the holding surface 31 of the chuck table 30.

[0029] The cutting section 50 serves to cut the film 210 attached to the workpiece 200 held on the clamping table 30 along the outer edge 206 of the workpiece 200. The cutting section 50 has a cutter 51 that cuts into the film 210 to cut the film 210; a rotating roller 52 as a pressing section that presses the unnecessary part 212 of the cut film 210, the unnecessary part being located on the outer side of the workpiece 200, toward the film accommodating section 21; a clamping roller 53 that clamps the film 210 between itself and the clamping table 30; and a moving unit 54 (shown in Fig. 1) which raises and lowers the cutting device 51, the rotating roller 52 and the clamping roller 53 and moves them in the circumferential direction of the clamping table 30.

[0030] The cutting device 51 is supported by the moving unit 54, and a lower end of a cutting edge is arranged on the outer edge 206 of the workpiece 200 held by the clamping table 30. The cutting device 51 is moved by the moving unit 54 along the outer edge 206 of the workpiece 200 held by the clamping table 30.

[0031] The rotating roller 52 is rotatably supported by a lower end portion of a support column 55 supported by the moving unit 54 and is arranged on the outer periphery side of the chuck table 30 relative to the cutting device 51. A lower end of the rotating roller 52 is arranged at the same height as the lower end of the cutting edge of the cutting device 51.

[0032] The clamp roller 53 is rotatably supported by the lower end portion of the support column 56 supported by the moving unit 54 and is arranged on the inner periphery side of the chuck table 30 relative to the cutting device 51. A lower end of the clamp roller 53 is arranged above the lower end of the rotating roller 52 and the lower end of the cutting edge of the cutting device 51.

[0033] The moving unit 54 raises and lowers the cutter 51, the rotating roller 52, and the pinch roller 53 together, and moves the cutter 51, the rotating roller 52, and the pinch roller 53 together in the circumferential direction of the chuck table 30. The rotating roller 52 and the pinch roller 53 are moved together with the cutter 51 in the circumferential direction of the chuck table 30 relative to the film 210, the rotating roller 52 rolls on the film 210 while moving relative to the film 210 to press the film 210 toward the film accommodating section 21, and the pinch roller 53 rolls on the film 210 while moving relative to the film 210 to press the film 210 toward the holding surface 31 of the chuck table 30.In this case, since the lower end of the pinch roller 53 is arranged above the lower end of the rotating roller 52 and the lower end of the cutting edge of the cutter 51, the rotating roller 52 presses the unnecessary part 212 of the film 210 toward the film accommodation section 21 while moving in the circumferential direction relative to the film 210 together with the cutter 51 cutting into the film 210.

[0034] A control unit 100 is used to control the components that configure the film application device 1 to apply the film 210 to the front surface 203 side of the workpiece 200 and to cause the film application device 1 to perform a film application process of cutting the film 210 along the outer edge 206 of the workpiece 200. The control unit 100 is a computer that includes an arithmetic processing device including a microprocessor such as a central processing unit (CPU), a storage unit including a memory such as a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM), and an input / output interface device, and that can execute a computer program.

[0035] The arithmetic processing device of the control unit 100 executes the computer program stored in the ROM on the RAM to generate control signals for controlling the film application device 1. The arithmetic processing device of the control unit 100 outputs the generated control signals to the components of the film application device 1 via the input / output interface device.

[0036] Additionally, the control unit 100 is connected to a display unit including a liquid crystal display for displaying a machining operation status, images, and the like, as well as an input unit used when an operator registers machining content information or the like. The input unit includes a touch panel, a keyboard, or the like provided on the display unit.

[0037] Next, a film attaching operation of the film attaching device 1 having the above-mentioned configuration will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 4 is a sectional view schematically illustrating a state in which the cutting device of the Fig. 1 cuts into the film attached to the workpiece held by the clamping table. Fig. 5 is a plan view schematically showing the Fig. 4 represents the foil cutting section. Fig. 6 is a sectional view schematically showing a state in which the Fig. 4, the film cutting section cuts the film attached to the workpiece held by the clamping table, and the unnecessary part of the film is accommodated in the film accommodating section. Fig. 7 is a plan view showing the Fig. 6 schematically shows the film cutting section.

[0038] In the film application device 1 having the configuration described above, the control unit 100 controls the components to perform a film application process. During the film application process, the film application section 2 of the film application device 1 applies the film 210 to the front surface 203 of the workpiece 200, as mentioned above. In the film attaching device 1, the conveying unit conveys the workpiece 200 with the film 210 attached to the front surface 203 thereof from the film attaching section 2 to the film cutting section 20, places the workpiece 200 on the holding surface 31 of the chuck table 30, and places the peripheral part 213 of the film 210 on the upper surfaces of the film holding plates 41 positioned at the holding positions. In this case, the film attaching device 1 arranges the chuck table 30 and the workpiece 200 at such positions that they are coaxial with each other.

[0039] The film applying device 1 holds the peripheral part 213 of the film 210 on the upper surfaces of the film holding plates 41 of the film holding sections 40 under suction, lowers the cutter 51 of the cutting section 50, the rotating roller 52 and the pinch roller 53 by the moving unit 54 and, as shown in the Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, causes the cutting edge of the cutter 51 to cut into the film 210, causes the rotating roller 52 to press the unnecessary part 212 of the film 210, and causes the clamping roller 53 to press the film 210 against the holding surface 31 of the chuck table 30. The film attachment device 1 rotates the cutter 51 of the cutting section 50, the rotating roller 52, and the clamping roller 53 by at least one revolution in the circumferential direction of the chuck table 30 by the moving unit 54, and cuts the film 210 along the outer edge 206 over the entire circumference of the workpiece 200 by the cutter 51. In this case, since the lower end of the rotating roller 52 is located below the lower end of the clamping roller 53, the unnecessary part 212 of the cut film 210, which is located on the outer side relative to the outer edge 206 of the workpiece 200, is positioned below the part attached to the workpiece 200.In addition, at the time of cutting the film 210, the rotary roller 52 is positioned at the rear in the moving direction relative to the cutter 51 moved in the circumferential direction of the chuck table, and the film 210 cut by the cutter 51 is surely pressed down toward the film accommodation portion by the rotary roller.

[0040] The film attaching device 1 stops suction of the film 210 to the film holding plates 41 of the film holding sections 40, moves the film holding plates 41 to the holding release positions, and lifts the cutter 51, the rotating roller 52, and the pinch roller 53 by the moving unit 54. Then, as shown in the Fig. 6 and Fig.7, the excess part 212 of the film 210 located on the outer side relative to the outer edge 206 of the yet-to-be-cut workpiece 200 is dropped into the film accommodation section 21 and accommodated in the film accommodation section 21. In this way, the film attachment device 1 forms the film-attached workpiece 211 (the body including the workpiece 200 and the disc-shaped film 210 attached to the workpiece 200 and having the same diameter as that of the workpiece 200).

[0041] The film attachment device 1 according to the above-described embodiment includes the rotary roller 52 as a pressing portion for pressing the unnecessary portion 212 of the film 210 cut by the cutting portion 50 toward the film accommodation portion 21, and therefore, the unnecessary portion 212 of the film 210 can be securely separated from the portion for forming the film-attached workpiece 211 attached to the workpiece 200. Consequently, the film attachment device 1 can solve the phenomenon in which the unnecessary portion 212 of the film 210 attached to the workpiece 200 comes into contact with the workpiece 200 and is difficult to drop, and can easily remove the unnecessary portion 212 of the film 210 attached to the workpiece 200.

Claims

[1] Film application device (1) for applying a film (210) to a plate-shaped workpiece (200) to form a workpiece (200) provided with a film (210), the film application device (1) comprising: a film applying section (2) that applies the film (210) having an area larger than that of the workpiece (200) to the workpiece (200); and a film cutting section (20) which cuts the film (210) attached by the film attaching section (2) from the workpiece (200) along a circumference of the workpiece (200), wherein the film cutting section (20) comprises: a clamping table (30) which holds the workpiece (200) by a holding surface (31) which is smaller than the workpiece (200), a film holding section (40) which detachably holds a peripheral section (213) of the film (210) attached to the workpiece (200) held by the clamping table (30), a cutting section (50) which cuts the film (210) along the circumference of the workpiece (200), and a film accommodation section (21) which accommodates the cut film (210) which has fallen off due to a release of the holding by the film holding section (40), and the cutting section (50) has a cutting device (51) and a pressing section (52) which presses the cut film (210) towards the film accommodation section (21). [2] The film attaching device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the pressing portion (52) is a rotary roller which presses the film (210) while moving relative to the film (210) together with the cutting device (51).

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