Element position identification device and element position identification method

Abstract

To provide an element position identification device capable of performing processing for identifying positions of a plurality of elements on a substrate in a short time, and an element position identification method.SOLUTION: An element position identification device comprises: a first processing section 40 for performing detection processing of element position information indicating positions of a plurality of semiconductor elements 210 (211) on substrates 200 (200a-200c) for each of divided imaging regions A1-An based on picked-up images of the plurality of divided imaging regions A1-An; and a second processing section 50 which acquires the element position information from the first processing section 40 and performs relating processing for relating correspondent element position information to each of the plurality of divided imaging regions A1-An adjacent to each other in parallel with operation of the first processing section 40 in order to identify the positions of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 (211) on the substrates 200 (200a-200c).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an element position identification device and an element position identification method, and more particularly to an element position identification device and an element position identification method using an image obtained by imaging a substrate by dividing it into a plurality of imaging areas.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an element position identification device using an image obtained by imaging a substrate by dividing it into a plurality of imaging areas has been known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a chip position identification device (element position identification device) including an imaging unit that images a substrate on which a plurality of semiconductor chips (elements) are arranged apart from each other, and a control unit that controls the imaging unit to image a plurality of divided imaging areas obtained by dividing a predetermined area on the substrate so as to include a common semiconductor chip between adjacent divided imaging areas. In the chip position identification device of Patent Document 1, the control unit first performs a search process for acquiring the position of a semiconductor chip for each of the plurality of divided imaging areas. Then, in Patent Document 1, with respect to a common semiconductor chip between adjacent divided imaging areas, an association process is performed to associate the position of the semiconductor chip in one acquired divided imaging area with the position of the semiconductor chip in the other divided imaging area, and acquire the position of the semiconductor chip considering the positional deviation of the plurality of divided imaging areas. In Patent Document 1, this association process is performed for all the divided imaging areas for which the search process has been completed, and the positions of all the chips on the substrate are acquired (identified). That is, in the chip position identification device of Patent Document 1, after the search process for all the plurality of divided imaging areas on the substrate is completed, the positions of all the chips on the substrate are identified by sequentially performing the association process on adjacent divided imaging areas.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0005] In the above Patent Document 1, after the search processing for all a plurality of divided imaging regions is completed, a chip position specifying device that specifies the positions of all chips on a substrate by sequentially performing an association process on adjacent divided imaging regions is disclosed. However, since the association process cannot be performed unless the search processing for all the plurality of divided imaging regions on the substrate is completed, particularly when a very large number of elements are mounted on one substrate, it may take a very long time to specify the chip positions on the substrate. Therefore, there is a need for an element position specifying device and an element position specifying method capable of performing the process of specifying the positions of a plurality of elements on a substrate in a short time.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and one object of the present invention is to provide an element position specifying device and an element position specifying method capable of performing the process of specifying the positions of a plurality of elements on a substrate in a short time.

MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS

[0007] To achieve the above object, an element position specifying device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an imaging unit that captures a plurality of divided imaging region images obtained by dividing an imaging region of a substrate on which a plurality of elements are arranged so that the divided imaging regions adjacent to each other include a common element, and a first processing unit that performs a detection process of element position information indicating the positions of a plurality of elements on the substrate for each divided imaging region based on each of the plurality of captured divided imaging region images. A second processing unit that acquires the element position information from the first processing unit and performs an association process of associating the element position information corresponding to each of the plurality of adjacent divided imaging regions in parallel with the operation of the first processing unit to specify the positions of the plurality of elements on the substrate.

[0008] In the device for identifying element positions according to one aspect of the present invention, as described above, based on each of the plurality of captured divided imaging region images, for each divided imaging region, a first processing unit that performs a detection process of element position information indicating the positions of a plurality of elements on the substrate, and a second processing unit that acquires the element position information from the first processing unit and performs an association process of associating the element position information corresponding to each of the plurality of adjacent divided imaging regions in parallel with the operation of the first processing unit in order to identify the positions of the plurality of elements on the substrate. As a result, by using the first processing unit and the second processing unit, the detection process and the association process of the element position information can be performed in parallel, so that the process of the second processing unit can be performed in parallel without waiting for the completion of the process of the first processing unit. As a result, the process of identifying the positions of the plurality of elements on the substrate can be performed in a shorter time.

[0009] In the device for identifying element positions according to the first aspect, preferably, it further includes a storage unit that stores the element position information acquired from the first processing unit, and the second processing unit is configured to perform an association process on the element position information corresponding to each of the plurality of adjacent divided imaging regions acquired from the storage unit in parallel with the operation of the detection process performed by the first processing unit. With this configuration, since the storage unit can store the element position information, even when the detection process performed by the first processing unit ends earlier than the association process performed by the second processing unit, the first processing unit can store the element position information in the storage unit without waiting for the completion of the association process of the second processing unit. Therefore, the first processing unit can perform the next detection process without waiting for the completion of the association process of the second processing unit. As a result, the process of identifying the positions of the plurality of elements on the substrate can be performed in a shorter time.

[0010] In this case, preferably, while the first processing unit is performing the detection process, each time the second processing unit performs an association process on a set of element position information corresponding to each of a plurality of divided imaging regions adjacent to each other, the second processing unit acquires element position information corresponding to a divided imaging region adjacent to any one of the set of divided imaging regions, and is configured to sequentially perform the association process on the element position information. With this configuration, even when the detection process performed by the first processing unit finishes earlier than the association process performed by the second processing unit, the second processing unit can sequentially acquire all the element position information and perform the association process without acquiring it all at once. As a result, the amount of information acquired at one time is reduced, and thus the processing load on the second processing unit can be reduced.

[0011] In the element position specifying apparatus further including the storage unit, preferably, the first processing unit detects element position information for each of the plurality of divided imaging regions on each of the plurality of substrates, and the second processing unit, each time the first processing unit detects the element position information corresponding to all the divided imaging regions included in one substrate, acquires, from the first processing unit or the storage unit, the element position information corresponding to all the divided imaging regions included in one substrate, and then is configured to perform an association process on one substrate in parallel with the detection operation of the first processing unit on other substrates. With this configuration, the detection process of the first processing unit on other substrates and the association process of the second processing unit on one substrate can be performed in parallel. As a result, when there are a plurality of substrates, the process of specifying the positions of a plurality of elements on the plurality of substrates can be performed in a shorter time compared to the case where the detection process and the association process are performed one by one for each substrate.

[0012] In this case, preferably, the second processing unit is configured to perform an association process on the element position information of the plurality of divided imaging regions on the (n - 1)-th substrate in parallel with the operation of the detection process on the n-th substrate (n is a natural number) performed by the first processing unit. With this configuration, during the association process on the (n - 1)-th substrate for which the detection process has been completed earlier, the detection process on the new n-th substrate can also be performed.

[0013] In the device for specifying the element position further including the above-described memory unit, preferably, each time the first processing unit detects the element position information corresponding to one divided imaging region, the second processing unit acquires the element position information corresponding to one divided imaging region from the first processing unit or the memory unit and is configured to perform an association process. With this configuration, the second processing unit can acquire the element position information for each divided imaging region without waiting for the completion of the detection process for the entire substrate by the first processing unit. As a result, the second processing unit can perform the association process for the element position information for each divided imaging region without waiting for the completion of the detection process for the entire substrate by the first processing unit.

[0014] The method for specifying the element position according to this second aspect includes an imaging step of imaging a plurality of divided imaging regions obtained by dividing the imaging region of a substrate on which a plurality of elements are arranged so that the divided imaging regions adjacent to each other include common elements, a detection step of detecting, for each divided imaging region, element position information indicating the positions of the plurality of elements on the substrate based on each of the plurality of imaged divided imaging region images, and an association step of associating the element position information corresponding to each of the plurality of divided imaging regions in parallel with the detection step in order to specify the positions of the plurality of elements on the substrate.

[0015] The method for specifying the element position according to the above-described second aspect includes, as described above, a detection step of detecting, for each divided imaging region, element position information indicating the positions of the plurality of elements on the substrate, and an association step of associating the element position information corresponding to each of the plurality of divided imaging regions in parallel with the detection step in order to specify the positions of the plurality of elements on the substrate. Thereby, since the detection step and the association step of the element position information can be performed in parallel, the processing of the association step can be performed in parallel without waiting for the completion of the processing of the detection step. As a result, it is possible to provide a method for specifying the element position capable of specifying the positions of the plurality of elements on the substrate in a short time.

Effects of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, as described above, it is possible to provide an element position identification device and an element position identification method capable of performing a process of identifying the positions of a plurality of elements on a substrate in a short time.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

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Figure 6

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Figure 8

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] [First Embodiment] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the configuration of an element position identification device 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0020] (Overall Configuration of the Element Position Identification Device) As shown in FIG. 1, the element position specifying apparatus 100 includes a substrate holding unit 10, an imaging unit 20, a moving mechanism 30, a first processing unit 40, and a second processing unit 50. The element position specifying apparatus 100 is an apparatus for specifying the positions of a plurality of semiconductor elements 210 arranged in a predetermined region A on the substrate 200.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, in the substrate 200, a plurality of semiconductor elements 210 are arranged spaced apart from each other in the predetermined region A. The plurality of semiconductor elements 210 are arranged in the X direction and in the Y direction orthogonal to the X direction. The XY plane corresponds to a horizontal plane. Also, the direction in which the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 are placed on the substrate 200 is defined as the Z direction.

[0022] As the semiconductor element 210, for example, a rectangular and thin element with a side length of about several hundred μm to a dozen or so mm, such as a memory, is used. Note that the semiconductor element 210 is an example of the "element" in the claims.

[0023] The substrate holding unit 10 is configured to be able to hold the substrate 200. Specifically, the substrate holding unit 10 includes a substrate mounting table 11 on which the substrate 200 is placed in a horizontal state. Grooves or holes connected to a negative pressure generating means such as a vacuum pump (not shown) are formed in the substrate mounting table 11. The substrate holding unit 10 holds the substrate 200 by bringing the grooves or holes formed in the substrate mounting table 11 into a negative pressure state, and releases the holding state of the substrate 200 by bringing the grooves or holes formed in the substrate mounting table 11 into an atmospheric open state.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, the imaging unit 20 is configured to be able to image the substrate 200. Specifically, the imaging unit 20 is disposed above the substrate mounting table 11 on which the substrate 200 is placed in the Z direction so as to image the substrate 200 from above in the Z direction. The imaging unit 20 includes an imaging camera 21 for imaging the substrate 200. The image data of the substrate 200 imaged by the imaging camera 21 is output to the first processing unit 40. Note that the imaging unit 20 is configured to image a plurality of divided imaging region images obtained by dividing the imaging region of the substrate 200 on which a plurality of semiconductor elements 211 are arranged so as to include a common semiconductor element 211 between adjacent divided imaging regions A1 to An. In the present embodiment, adjacent divided imaging regions are imaged by shifting their positions by a distance d1 in the X direction or the Y direction, for example.

[0025] The moving mechanism 30 is configured to be able to move the substrate holding unit 10 relative to the imaging unit 20 within the XY plane. Specifically, the moving mechanism 30 includes an X-direction moving mechanism 31 that moves the substrate holding unit 10 along the X direction and a Y-direction moving mechanism 32 that moves the substrate holding unit 10 along the Y direction. The X-direction moving mechanism 31 and the Y-direction moving mechanism 32 are, for example, linear motion mechanisms that combine a servo motor or a pulse motor and a ball screw, or linear motion mechanisms using a linear motor. The moving mechanism 30 is disposed below the substrate holding unit 10 in the Z direction.

[0026] The first processing unit 40 is configured to be able to control each part of the element position specifying device 100. Specifically, the first processing unit 40 controls a negative pressure generating means (not shown) so that the grooves or holes formed in the substrate mounting table 11 are in a negative pressure state in order to hold the substrate 200, and so that the grooves or holes formed in the substrate mounting table 11 are in an air-open state in order to release the holding of the substrate 200. Further, the first processing unit 40 controls the imaging unit 20 to image the substrate 200. Further, the first processing unit 40 controls the moving mechanism 30 to move the substrate holding unit 10 with respect to the imaging unit 20. The first processing unit 40 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as a processor, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), etc., and is a computer capable of image processing. Further, the first processing unit 40 is configured to perform a detection process of element position information indicating the positions of a plurality of semiconductor elements 210 on the substrate 200 for each of the divided imaging regions A1 to An (see FIG. 3) based on each of the plurality of captured divided imaging region images.

[0027] The second processing unit 50 is connected to the first processing unit 40 by a communication line, and associates the element position information of each semiconductor element 210 among a plurality of divided imaging regions A1 to An (see FIG. 3) on the substrate 200 acquired by the first processing unit 40, and is configured to acquire the positions of all the semiconductor elements 210 arranged in a predetermined region A on the substrate 200. The second processing unit 50 is a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as a processor, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. Note that the second processing unit 50 does not need to have as high a performance as the first processing unit 40, and for example, a computer that does not perform image processing may be used. Further, the second processing unit 50 includes a storage unit 51 inside, and is configured to acquire information stored in the storage unit 51 as necessary. Further, the second processing unit 50 acquires element position information from the first processing unit 40, and in order to specify the positions of a plurality of semiconductor elements 210 on the substrate 200, in parallel with the operation of the first processing unit 40, it is configured to perform an association process of associating the element position information corresponding to each of a plurality of adjacent divided imaging regions A1 to An.

[0028] The storage unit 51 includes, for example, a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. In the first embodiment, the storage unit 51 is included inside the second processing unit 50, and is configured to at least temporarily store the element position information of the semiconductor element 210 on the substrate 200 acquired from the first processing unit 40.

[0029] Here, the association process performed by the second processing unit 50 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3. First, the second processing unit 50 acquires the element position information for each of the divided imaging regions A1 to An stored in the storage unit 51. Next, the second processing unit 50 associates the element position information of the semiconductor elements 211 commonly included in two adjacent divided imaging regions among the divided imaging regions A1 to An, and calculates the coordinate shift (shift amount and shift direction) between the two divided imaging regions. Specifically, among the six semiconductor elements 211 that are commonly imaged in the divided imaging region A1 including the reference point B1 and the divided imaging region A2 adjacent to the divided imaging region A1 and including the reference point B2, based on the coordinates of any one of the semiconductor elements 211, the positional shift between the two divided imaging regions A1 and A2 is specified.

[0030] For example, in FIG. 3, the coordinates as the element position information of the semiconductor elements 211 indicated by the solid line arrows extending from the reference point B1 and the reference point B2 are (x1, y1) based on the reference point B1 and (x2, y2) based on the reference point B2. In the present embodiment, since the adjacent divided imaging regions are imaged with their positions shifted by a distance d1 in the X direction or the Y direction, when there is no shift in the imaging fields of the two divided imaging regions A1 and A2, the relationship x1 + d1 = x2, y1 = y2 holds. Here, for example, if the relationship y1 = Δy + y2 holds in the element position information referred from the storage unit 51, it can be understood that the reference point B2 is shifted by Δy in the Y direction with respect to the reference point B1. Therefore, it can be understood that the two adjacent divided imaging regions A1 and A2 are imaged in a state shifted by Δy in the Y direction.

[0031] Further, based on the positions of the common semiconductor elements 211, the second processing unit 50 acquires the position information of the semiconductor elements 210 other than the common semiconductor elements 211 in the adjacent divided imaging regions A1 and A2 with respect to the reference B1. Specifically, for example, the coordinates of the semiconductor element 210 indicated by the dotted arrow extending from the semiconductor element 211 indicated by the solid line arrow extending from the reference point B1 and the reference point B2 are (x3, y3) with respect to the reference point B2. At this time, assuming that the semiconductor elements 210 are arranged at equal intervals every distance d2 in the X and Y directions, the relationships x3 = x2+(2×d2) and y3 = y2 + d2 hold. Here, as described above, it is known that the two adjacent divided imaging regions A1 and A2 are shifted by Δy in the Y direction. Therefore, the coordinates of this semiconductor element 210 with respect to the reference point B1 are specified as (x1 + d1+(2×d2), y1 - Δy + d2).

[0032] As described above, the association process performed by the second processing unit 50 calculates the deviation of the element position information of each of the adjacent divided imaging regions A1 to An, and specifies the semiconductor elements 210 (211) of the adjacent divided imaging regions A1 to An as element position information with respect to one reference (reference point B1). By performing this association process for all the divided imaging regions A1 to An, the positions of all the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 (211) in the predetermined region A on the substrate 200 are specified.

[0033] (Flow of the process of the element position specifying method) Here, in the element position specifying apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1, a method for specifying the positions of the semiconductor elements 210 for each of the divided imaging regions A1 to An (see FIG. 3) by the first processing unit 40 and associating the element position information of the semiconductor elements 210 included in each of the divided imaging regions A1 to An by the second processing unit 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. In this first embodiment, a method for specifying the positions of the semiconductor elements 210 in each of the three substrates 200a to 200c will be described.

[0034] First, as the imaging process in step S1, as shown in FIG. 3, in order for the first processing unit 40 to detect the element position information of a plurality of semiconductor elements 210, the first processing unit 40 controls the imaging unit 20 to image a predetermined area A on the substrate 200 with a plurality of divided imaging areas A1 to An that are divided so as to include a common semiconductor element 211 between adjacent divided imaging areas A1 to An. Specifically, with the substrate 200 held by the substrate holding unit 10 (see FIG. 1), the first processing unit 40 controls the moving mechanism 30 (see FIG. 1) that moves the substrate holding unit 10 holding the substrate 200 by a predetermined amount of movement, and the imaging unit 20 that images each of the plurality of divided imaging areas A1 to An, so as to image a plurality of divided imaging areas A1 to An that are divided so as to include a common semiconductor element 211 between adjacent divided imaging areas A1 to An. Here, the divided imaging areas A1 to An are each an area obtained by dividing the predetermined area A into n (n is a natural number) areas.

[0035] At this time, the first processing unit 40 (see FIG. 1) controls the imaging unit 20 (see FIG. 1) to image a plurality of divided imaging areas A1 to An that are divided so that each of the plurality of divided imaging areas A1 to An includes a column of common semiconductor elements 211 between adjacent divided imaging areas A1 to An. Specifically, the first processing unit 40 alternately controls the moving mechanism 30 (see FIG. 1) that moves the substrate holding unit 10 holding the substrate 200 by a predetermined amount of movement and the imaging unit 20 that images each of the plurality of divided imaging areas A1 to An, thereby imaging the plurality of divided imaging areas A1 to An. Note that the imaging process for the substrate 200a starts at time t0 shown in FIG. 6. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S2.

[0036] As the detection step of step S2, the first processing unit 40 (see FIG. 1) is configured to detect the position of each of a plurality of semiconductor elements 210 using a known detection method such as a gray search method. Specifically, the first processing unit 40 sets the reference points B1 to Bn at the upper left corners of the divided imaging regions A1 to An as coordinates of (X coordinate, Y coordinate) = (0, 0), and detects the distance of each of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 from the reference points B1 to Bn, and detects the coordinate data of each of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 as element position information. In the present embodiment, the first processing unit 40 is configured to detect the coordinates of the center of gravity of the semiconductor element 210 with respect to the reference points B1 to Bn as the element position information.

[0037] Specifically, for example, the first processing unit 40 acquires the position of the semiconductor element 210 in a predetermined divided imaging region A1 as coordinates based on the relative positional relationship with the reference point B1. Similarly, the position of the semiconductor element 210 in another divided imaging region A2 is acquired as coordinates based on the relative positional relationship with the reference point B2. At this time, the position of the semiconductor element 211 (for example, the semiconductor element 211 indicated by the solid line arrow in FIG. 3) that is commonly included in the divided imaging region A1 including the reference point B1 and the divided imaging region A2 adjacent to the divided imaging region A1 and including the reference point B2 is acquired as separate coordinates in each of the divided imaging regions A1 and A2. Then, the process proceeds to step S3.

[0038] As step S3, the first processing unit 40 determines whether or not the detection of the element position information of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 has been completed in all of the divided imaging regions A1 to An. If there are still divided imaging regions A1 to An in which the detection of the element position information has not been completed, the operation of returning to the process of step S2 is repeated, and the element position information is detected in each of the plurality of divided imaging regions A1 to An. When the detection of the element position information of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 has been completed in all of the divided imaging regions A1 to An, the process proceeds to step S4.

[0039] As the communication step of step S4, the first processing unit 40 (see FIG. 1) is configured to transmit the coordinates of each of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 for each of the divided imaging regions A1 to An on one substrate 200a to the storage unit 51 included in the second processing unit 50 as element position detection information. In this first embodiment, after detecting the coordinates of each of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 on one substrate 200a in all the divided imaging regions A1 to An, the first processing unit 40 (see FIG. 1) transmits all the element position information to the storage unit 51 in a batch. The element position information transmitted from the first processing unit 40 is temporarily stored in the storage unit 51. Note that the communication step for the substrate 200a is executed at time t1 shown in FIG. 6. Then, the process proceeds to the process of step S5.

[0040] As step S5, the first processing unit 40 determines whether or not the detection of the element position information of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 has been completed for all the substrates 200a to 200c for which the element position identification is to be performed. If the detection of the element position information of the substrate 200a has been completed and there are substrates 200b and 200c for which the detection of the element position information has not been completed yet, the processes of steps S1 to S4 are performed for each of the substrates 200b and 200c. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, after the time t1 when the communication step of the substrate 200a is executed, the process from step S1 is performed for the substrate 200b set in the substrate holding unit 10 in place of the substrate 200a from time t2. The same applies to the substrate 200c. At the time t5 when the detection of the element position information of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 has been completed for all the substrates 200a to 200c, the detection process of the element position information by the first processing unit 40 is completed.

[0041] Here, the operation of the second processing unit 50 (see FIG. 1) for associating the element position information will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 5, and 6. First, as the reference step of step S11, the second processing unit 50 acquires the element position information for each of the divided imaging regions A1 to An stored in the storage unit 51. Note that this reference step performed by the second processing unit 50 is performed at the same timing as the time t1 when the communication step by the first processing unit 40 is performed, as shown in FIG. 6. Then, the process proceeds to the process of step S12.

[0042] As the association process in step S12, the second processing unit 50 associates the element position information of the semiconductor element 211 based on, for example, the element position information of the semiconductor element 211 common to the adjacent divided imaging regions A1 and A2, and specifies the element position information with respect to one reference (reference point B1). Further, based on the position of the common semiconductor element 211, the second processing unit 50 specifies the element position information of the semiconductor element 210 other than the common semiconductor element 211 in the divided imaging region A2 among the adjacent divided imaging regions A1 and A2 with respect to the reference B1. Note that the operation of the association process for the plurality of divided imaging regions A1 to An in the substrate 200a performed by the second processing unit 50 is performed in parallel with the operation of the detection process performed by the first processing unit 40 on the substrate 200b as shown in FIG. 6. Then, the process proceeds to step S13.

[0043] In step S13, the second processing unit 50 determines whether or not the association of the element position information of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 has been completed in all the divided imaging regions A1 to An. If there are still divided imaging regions A1 to An in which the detection of the element position information has not been completed, the operation of returning to the process of step S11 is repeated, and the element position information is associated in each of the plurality of divided imaging regions A1 to An. When the association process of the element position information of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 has been completed in all the divided imaging regions A1 to An, the process proceeds to step S14.

[0044] As step S14, the second processing unit 50 determines whether or not the association process of the element position information of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 has been completed for all the substrates 200a to 200c for which element position identification is performed. For example, when the association process of the element position information of the substrate 200a has been completed and there are substrates 200b and 200c for which the association process of the element position information has not yet been completed, the processes of steps S11 to S14 are performed for each of the substrates 200b and 200c. At the time t6 when the association process of the element position information of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 has been completed for all the substrates 200a to 200c, the element position information in each of the substrates 200a to 200c can be specified, and the element position identification process ends.

[0045] [Effect of the First Embodiment] In the above first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0046] In the above first embodiment, as described above, based on each of the plurality of captured divided imaging region images, for each of the divided imaging regions A1 to An, a first processing unit 40 that performs a detection process of element position information indicating the positions of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 (211) on the substrate 200 (200a to 200c), and while acquiring the element position information from the first processing unit 40 and specifying the positions of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 (211) on the substrate 200 (200a to 200c), in parallel with the operation of the first processing unit 40, a second processing unit 50 that performs an association process of associating the element position information corresponding to each of the plurality of adjacent divided imaging regions A1 to An is provided. Thereby, using the first processing unit 40 and the second processing unit 50, the detection process and the association process of the element position information can be performed in parallel, so that the process of the second processing unit 50 can be performed in parallel without waiting for the completion of the process of the first processing unit 40. As a result, the process of specifying the positions of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 (211) on the substrate 200 (200a to 200c) can be performed in a short time.

[0047] Also, in the above-described first embodiment, as described above, it further includes a storage unit 51 that stores the element position information acquired from the first processing unit 40. The second processing unit 50 is configured to perform an association process on the element position information corresponding to each of the plurality of adjacent divided imaging regions A1 to An acquired from the storage unit 51 in parallel with the operation of the detection process performed by the first processing unit 40. As a result, since the storage unit 51 can store the element position information, even when the detection process performed by the first processing unit 40 ends earlier than the association process performed by the second processing unit 50, the first processing unit 40 can store the element position information in the storage unit 51 without waiting for the completion of the association process of the second processing unit 50. Therefore, the first processing unit 40 can perform the next detection process without waiting for the completion of the association process of the second processing unit 50. As a result, the process of specifying the positions of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 (211) on the substrate 200 (200a to 200c) can be performed in a shorter time.

[0048] Also, in the above-described first embodiment, as described above, each time the second processing unit 50 performs an association process on a set of element position information corresponding to each of the plurality of adjacent divided imaging regions A1 to An in parallel with the operation of the detection process performed by the first processing unit 40, the second processing unit 50 acquires the element position information corresponding to the divided imaging regions A1 to An adjacent to any one of the set of divided imaging regions A1 to An, and is configured to sequentially perform the association process on the element position information. As a result, even when the detection process performed by the first processing unit 40 ends earlier than the association process performed by the second processing unit 50, the second processing unit 50 can sequentially acquire and perform the association process on all the element position information without acquiring all the element position information at once. As a result, since the amount of information acquired at one time is reduced, the processing load on the second processing unit 50 can be reduced.

[0049] Also, in the first embodiment described above, as described above, the first processing unit 40 detects element position information for each of a plurality of divided imaging regions A1 to An on each of the plurality of substrates 200 (200a to 200c). The second processing unit 50, each time the first processing unit 40 detects element position information corresponding to all the divided imaging regions A1 to An included in one substrate 200 (200a to 200c), acquires, from the first processing unit 40 or the storage unit 51, the element position information corresponding to all the divided imaging regions A1 to An included in one substrate 200 (200a to 200c), and then, in parallel with the detection operation of the first processing unit 40 on other substrates 200 (200a to 200c), is configured to perform an association process on one substrate 200 (200a to 200c). With this configuration, the detection process of the first processing unit 40 on other substrates 200 (200a to 200c) and the association process of the second processing unit 50 on one substrate 200 (200a to 200c) can be performed in parallel. As a result, when there are a plurality of substrates 200 (200a to 200c), the process of specifying the positions of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 (211) on the plurality of substrates 200 (200a to 200c) can be performed in a shorter time compared to the case where the detection process and the association process are performed one by one for each substrate.

[0050] Also, in the first embodiment described above, as described above, the second processing unit 50 is configured to perform an association process on the element position information of the plurality of divided imaging regions A1 to An on the first substrate 200a (the (n - 1)-th substrate) in parallel with the operation of the detection process on the second substrate 200b (the n-th substrate) performed by the first processing unit 40. Thereby, even during the association process on the first substrate 200a (the (n - 1)-th substrate) for which the detection process has been completed earlier, the detection process on the new second substrate 200b (the n-th substrate) can be performed.

[0051] [Second Embodiment] Next, the element position identification device 100a and the element position identification method of the semiconductor element 210 according to the second embodiment will be described. The device configuration of the element position identification device 100a is the same as that of the element position identification device 100 shown in FIG. 1, except for the first processing unit 40a. In the second embodiment, processing is performed based on the operation flow of the first processing unit 40a in FIG. 7. Note that in the second embodiment, descriptions of the points common to the first embodiment are omitted.

[0052] In the second embodiment, the same processing as step S1 in FIG. 4 is executed in step S21 in FIG. 7. Also, the same processing as step S2 in FIG. 4 is executed in step S22 in FIG. 7. Here, the first processing unit 40a is configured to transmit the element position information to the storage unit 51 included in the second processing unit 50 each time the element position information of each of the divided imaging regions A1 to An is detected in step S23. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the first processing unit 40 transmits the element position information to the storage unit 51 at the timing of time t11 when the detection of the element position information in one divided imaging region A1 is completed.

[0053] As shown in step S24 thereafter, the first processing unit 40 performs this processing in each of the plurality of divided imaging regions A1 to An, and at time t13, transmits the element position information of all the divided imaging regions An of the substrate 200a to the storage unit 51. Also, as shown in step S25 thereafter, the first processing unit 40 performs this processing on both of the plurality of substrates 200a and 200b. Note that the second processing unit 50 performs the reference step of step S11 shown in FIG. 5 from the timing of time t11, which is earlier than the time t13 when the element position information of all the divided imaging regions A1 to An of the substrate 200a is sent from the first processing unit 40, and the processing content is the same as the flowchart shown in FIG. 5.

[0054] (Effect of the Second Embodiment) Next, the effect of the second embodiment will be described.

[0055] In the above-described second embodiment, each time the first processing unit 40a detects the element position information corresponding to one divided imaging region A1 to An, the second processing unit 50 acquires the element position information corresponding to one divided imaging region A1 to An from the first processing unit 40a or the storage unit 51, and is configured to perform an association process. As a result, the second processing unit 50 can acquire the element position information for each of the divided imaging regions A1 to An without waiting for the completion of the detection process of the entire substrate 200 (200a to 200c) by the first processing unit 40. Consequently, the second processing unit 50 can perform the association process of the element position information for each of the divided imaging regions A1 to An without waiting for the completion of the detection process of the entire substrate 200 (200a to 200c) by the first processing unit 40.

[0056] Note that other effects of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment described above.

[0057] [Modification Example] It should be considered that the embodiments disclosed this time are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the description of the above-described embodiments, and further includes all modifications (modification examples) within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

[0058] For example, in the above-described first and second embodiments, an example in which a thin semiconductor element 210 such as a memory is applied as the element of the present invention is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. Various elements other than the semiconductor element 210 may be applied as the element of the present invention.

[0059] Also, in the above-described first and second embodiments, an example in which the first processing unit 40 (40a) controls the operations of the imaging unit 20 and the moving mechanism 30 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the second processing unit 50 may control the operations of the imaging unit 20 and the moving mechanism 30, or the operations of the imaging unit 20 and the moving mechanism 30 may be controlled by a separately provided processing unit.

[0060] Further, in the above-described first and second embodiments, an example in which the storage unit 51 is included inside the second processing unit 50 has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the storage unit 51 may be included inside the first processing unit 40(40a), or may be an external device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). Further, the storage unit 51 may be configured to be provided at a location separated from the first processing unit 40(40a) and the second processing unit 50 by being connected to the first processing unit 40(40a) and the second processing unit 50 via a network.

[0061] Further, in the above-described first and second embodiments, an example in which the first processing unit 40(40a) detects element position information as the position of the center of gravity of each of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210 using a known detection method such as a grid search method has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, any method may be used as long as the position of the element can be detected. For example, the position including the rotation angle of each of the semiconductor elements 210 may be detected using machine learning. Further, the first processing unit 40 may detect, for example, the position of each corner of the plurality of semiconductor elements 210.

[0062] Further, in the above-described first and second embodiments, an example in which the first processing unit 40(40a) performs an operation of detecting element position information and ends the operation has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the first processing unit 40(40a) may be configured to perform a determination process of determining whether a semiconductor element 210 is a good product or a defective product, adding a determination process for determining the element state, and transmitting it to the storage unit 51 in association with the element position information.

[0063] Further, in the above-described first and second embodiments, an example in which there are a plurality of substrates 200(200a to 200c) on which element position identification is performed has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, this element position identification method may be used for one substrate 200. In that case, it is preferable to use the element position identification method according to the second aspect using the element position identification device 100a of the second embodiment.

[0064] In addition, in the above-described first and second embodiments, a storage unit 51 for storing the element position information acquired from the first processing unit 40 is further included, and the second processing unit 50 performs an association process on the element position information corresponding to each of a plurality of adjacent divided imaging regions A1 to An acquired from the storage unit 51 in parallel with the operation of the detection process performed by the first processing unit 40. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the element position information may be directly transmitted from the first processing unit 40 to the second processing unit 50 without including the storage unit 51.

[0065] In addition, in the above-described first and second embodiments, each time the second processing unit 50 performs an association process on a set of element position information corresponding to each of a plurality of adjacent divided imaging regions A1 to An in parallel with the operation of the detection process performed by the first processing unit 40, the second processing unit 50 acquires the element position information corresponding to the divided imaging regions A1 to An adjacent to any one of the set of divided imaging regions A1 to An, and sequentially performs an association process on the element position information. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the second processing unit 50 may acquire all the element position information at once and then sequentially perform an association process on the element position information of the adjacent divided imaging regions A1 to An.

[0066] In the above-described first embodiment, the first processing unit 40 detects the element position information for each of the plurality of divided imaging regions A1 to An on each of the plurality of substrates 200 (200a to 200c), and the second processing unit 50 acquires, from the first processing unit 40 or the storage unit 51, the element position information corresponding to all the divided imaging regions A1 to An included in one substrate 200 (200a to 200c) each time the first processing unit 40 detects the element position information corresponding to all the divided imaging regions A1 to An included in one substrate 200 (200a to 200c), and performs an association process. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the second processing unit 50 may acquire the element position information corresponding to all the divided imaging regions A1 to An included in one substrate 200 (200a to 200c) and perform an association process after the first processing unit 40 detects the element position information corresponding to all the divided imaging regions A1 to An included in two or more substrates 200.

[0067] Also, in the above-described first embodiment, an example was shown in which the second processing unit 50 performs an association process on the element position information of a plurality of divided imaging regions A1 to An on the (n - 1)-th substrate 200 (200a to 200c) in parallel with the operation of the detection process on the n-th substrate 200 (200a to 200c) performed by the first processing unit 40, where n is a natural number. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the second processing unit 50 may perform an association process on the element position information of a plurality of divided imaging regions A1 to An on a substrate 200 (200a to 200c) other than the (n - 1)-th substrate, such as the (n - 2)-th substrate, in parallel with the operation of the detection process on the n-th substrate 200 (200a to 200c) performed by the first processing unit 40, where n is a natural number.

[0068] Also, in the above-described second embodiment, an example was shown in which the second processing unit 50 acquires the element position information corresponding to one divided imaging region A1 to An from the first processing unit 40 or the storage unit 51 each time the first processing unit 40 detects the element position information corresponding to one divided imaging region A1 to An and performs an association process. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the second processing unit 50 may acquire the element position information corresponding to two or more predetermined numbers of divided imaging regions A1 to An and perform an association process each time the first processing unit 40 detects the element position information corresponding to two or more predetermined numbers of divided imaging regions A1 to An.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0069] 10 Substrate holding unit 20 Imaging unit 30 Moving mechanism 40, 40a First processing unit 50 Second processing unit 51 Storage unit 100, 100a Element position specifying device 200, 200a to 200c Substrate 210, 211 Semiconductor element (element) A1 to An Divided imaging region

Claims

1. An imaging unit that captures a plurality of divided imaging region images obtained by dividing an imaging region of a substrate on which a plurality of the elements are arranged so that the elements adjacent to each other include common elements; A first processing unit that performs a detection process of element position information indicating positions of the plurality of elements on the substrate for each of the divided imaging regions based on each of the plurality of captured divided imaging region images; An element position specifying apparatus comprising: a second processing unit that acquires the element position information from the first processing unit and performs an association process of associating the element position information corresponding to each of the plurality of adjacent divided imaging regions in parallel with the operation of the first processing unit in order to specify positions of the plurality of elements on the substrate.

2. Further comprising a storage unit that stores the element position information acquired from the first processing unit, The element position specifying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second processing unit is configured to perform the association process on the element position information corresponding to each of the plurality of adjacent divided imaging regions acquired from the storage unit in parallel with the operation of the detection process performed by the first processing unit.

3. The element position specifying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each time the second processing unit performs the association process on a set of the element position information corresponding to each of the plurality of adjacent divided imaging regions, the second processing unit acquires the element position information corresponding to the divided imaging region adjacent to any one of the set of divided imaging regions and sequentially performs the association process on the element position information.

4. The first processing unit detects the element position information for each of the plurality of divided imaging regions in each of the plurality of substrates, The element position specifying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each time the first processing unit detects the element position information corresponding to all the divided imaging regions included in one substrate, the second processing unit acquires the element position information corresponding to all the divided imaging regions included in the one substrate from the first processing unit or the storage unit, and then performs the association process on the one substrate in parallel with the detection process by the first processing unit on other substrates.

5. The second processing unit is configured to perform the association process on the element position information of the plurality of divided imaging regions on the (n - 1)-th substrate in parallel with the operation of the detection process on the n-th substrate (n is a natural number) performed by the first processing unit. The element position specifying apparatus according to claim 4.

6. The second processing unit is configured to acquire the element position information corresponding to the one divided imaging region from the first processing unit or the storage unit every time the first processing unit detects the element position information corresponding to the one divided imaging region, and perform the association process. The element position specifying apparatus according to claim 2.

7. An imaging step of imaging a plurality of divided imaging regions obtained by dividing an imaging region of a substrate on which a plurality of the elements are arranged so that the plurality of elements include common elements between adjacent divided imaging regions; A detection step of detecting, for each of the divided imaging regions, element position information indicating positions of the plurality of elements on the substrate based on each of the plurality of imaged divided imaging region images; An element position specifying method including an association step of associating the element position information corresponding to each of the plurality of divided imaging regions in parallel with the detection step in order to specify positions of the plurality of elements on the substrate.

Images