Processing quality measurement device

Abstract

To provide a processing quality measurement device capable of accurately measuring processing quality of a processed portion formed on a workpiece.SOLUTION: A processing quality measurement device comprises: a white light interferometer 24 that is provided integrally with a processing head, the white light interferometer 24 emitting white light toward a processed portion formed on a workpiece W and detects an interference signal of the white light reflected at the processed portion and the white light reflected at a reference surface; a scanning control unit (movement control unit 72) that drives a relative movement mechanism 49 to perform vertical scanning of the processing head and the white light interferometer 24 so as to vary an optical path length of the white light reflected at the processed portion; and a processing quality measurement unit 82 that measures the processing quality of the processed portion on the basis of the interference signal output from the white light interferometer 24 during the vertical scanning.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a workpiece machining device that machines a workpiece, a control method for the workpiece machining device, and a server connected to the workpiece machining device. [Background technology]

[0002] Dicing machines (workpiece processing machines) are known that cut workpieces such as wafers using a disk-shaped blade rotated at high speed by a spindle. The blade of this dicing machine wears with use, which can cause chipping on the cut surface of the workpiece. Furthermore, due to thermal deformation of the blade, the position of the groove (kerf) formed in the workpiece by the blade can shift from the center of the street. For this reason, dicing machines perform blade kerf checks at preset intervals. For example, the dicing machine photographs the groove formed in the workpiece by the blade with a camera (such as an alignment microscope) and measures the kerf position, kerf width, and presence or absence of chipping based on the image captured by the camera (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] A known dicing device is a twin-spindle dicer equipped with two spindles to which blades are attached. Two methods for cutting or slicing a workpiece using a twin-spindle dicer are known: the meeting cutting method and the step-cut method. The meeting cutting method uses two blades to cut two streets at once. The step-cut method cuts a groove of a predetermined depth along the street with the first blade, and then cuts the bottom of the groove with the second blade, thereby cutting the wafer along the street.

[0004] There are two known methods for checking the kerf of the two blades of a twin-spindle dicer that uses the step cut method. In the first method, the first blade cuts the wafer along the street to a specified depth, the groove cut by the first blade is photographed with a camera, and the kerf of the first blade is checked based on the photographed image. Next, the second blade cuts the bottom of the groove cut by the first blade, and the groove cut by the second blade is photographed with a camera, and the kerf of the second blade is checked based on the photographed image of the groove.

[0005] In the second method, an uncut portion of the workpiece is cut with a first blade, and another uncut portion of the workpiece is cut with a second blade, and a kerf check is performed for each blade based on images taken with a camera of the two grooves formed by each blade (see Patent Document 2). The kerf check using this second method is also called a step kerf check or an overtaking kerf check. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-165826 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-129822 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Fig. 34 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the problem with the kerf check using the first method. As shown in Fig. 34, when performing a kerf check using the first method, groove 25B formed in workpiece W with the second blade overlaps groove 25A formed in workpiece W with the first blade, making it difficult to determine the processing quality of groove 25B (kerf position, kerf width, etc.) based on a photographed image of groove 25B. As a result, there is a drawback in that it is extremely difficult to check the kerf of the second blade.

[0008] FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the problem with the kerf check using the second method. As shown in FIG. 35, when performing a kerf check using the second method, it is necessary to cut the uncut portion of the workpiece W with the second blade. However, because the second blade is thinner than the first blade, cutting the uncut portion with the second blade places a heavy load on the second blade. Furthermore, because the processing conditions for the workpiece using the second blade differ between step cutting and kerf checking, for example, the second blade may be warped during kerf checking, resulting in the formation of groove 25B in a different position than during step cutting. In other words, groove 25B may not be formed in the same position during step cutting and kerf checking. As a result, the processing quality of groove 25B during step cutting may not be accurately measured.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a workpiece processing device that can accurately measure the processing quality of a processed portion formed on a workpiece, a control method for this workpiece processing device, and a server connected to this workpiece processing device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] A workpiece processing apparatus for achieving the object of the present invention includes a table for holding a flat workpiece, a processing head for processing the workpiece held on the table, a relative movement mechanism for moving the processing head relative to the table, a white interferometer integrated with the processing head, which emits white light toward a processed portion formed on the workpiece and detects, for each pixel, an interference signal between the white light reflected by the processed portion and the white light reflected by a reference surface, a scan control unit that drives the relative movement mechanism to perform vertical scanning, moving the processing head and the white interferometer together relative to the table in a direction perpendicular to the table, and a processing quality measurement unit that measures the processing quality of the processed portion based on the interference signal for each pixel output from the white interferometer during the vertical scanning.

[0011] According to this workpiece processing device, the processing quality of the processed portion can be measured with high precision using a white light interferometer provided integrally with the processing head.

[0012] In another aspect of the present invention, a workpiece machining apparatus includes a machining control unit that drives the machining head and the relative movement mechanism to form a machined portion on the workpiece using the machining head, and a first measurement control unit that operates a white light interferometer and a scan control unit at a position where the machined portion can be irradiated with white light, and a machining quality measuring unit that measures at least one of the machining position and the machining shape of the machined portion as the machining quality. This makes it possible to accurately measure at least one of the machining position and the machining shape of the machined portion using the white light interferometer.

[0013] In another aspect of the present invention, a workpiece machining device includes a correction value determination unit that determines a correction value for correcting at least one of the machining position and machining shape of the workpiece based on the measurement results of the machining quality measurement unit, and a machining control unit that drives the machining head and the relative movement mechanism based on the correction value determined by the correction value determination unit to form the workpiece on the workpiece. By feeding back the correction value to the machining of the next workpiece by the machining head, it is possible to further improve the machining accuracy of the next workpiece.

[0014] In another aspect of the present invention, the workpiece machining device has a first machining head and a second machining head as machining heads, and a machining control unit drives the relative movement mechanism and the first machining head to perform a first machining process of forming a first groove as a machined portion in the workpiece, and drives the relative movement mechanism and the second machining head to perform a second machining process of forming a second groove as a machined portion at the bottom of the first groove and cutting the workpiece, and a machining quality measurement unit measures the machining positions of the first groove and the second groove. This makes it possible to accurately measure the machining position (machining quality) of the second groove even when the second groove is formed at the bottom of the first groove as in a step cut method.

[0015] In the workpiece machining device according to another aspect of the present invention, when the portion to be machined is a groove, the machining quality measuring unit measures the depth of the groove as the machined shape, thereby enabling the depth of the groove to be measured with high accuracy.

[0016] A workpiece machining apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes a second measurement control unit that operates a white light interferometer and a scan control unit at a position where white light can be irradiated onto a first groove, which is a processed portion formed in advance in the workpiece, before machining of the workpiece by the machining head, and a machining quality measurement unit that measures the machining position of the first groove as machining quality, and a machining control unit that drives the machining head and the relative movement mechanism based on the measurement result of the machining quality measurement unit to form a second groove at the bottom of the first groove and cut the workpiece. This makes it possible to accurately measure the machining position of the first groove, thereby improving the machining accuracy of the second groove by the machining head.

[0017] In a workpiece processing device according to another aspect of the present invention, the second measurement control unit operates the white light interferometer and the scan control unit at a position where white light can be irradiated onto the first groove formed by irradiating the workpiece with laser light, thereby making it possible to accurately measure the processing position of the first groove (laser groove) formed by the laser processing process.

[0018] In a workpiece processing device according to another aspect of the present invention, the processing head cuts the workpiece with a rotating disk-shaped blade.

[0019] In another aspect of the present invention, in the workpiece processing device, the processing head includes a processing control unit that cuts the workpiece with a rotating disk-shaped blade and drives the processing head and the relative movement mechanism to form a processed portion on the workpiece with the blade, and the processing quality measurement unit includes a blade shape measurement unit that measures the cross-sectional shape of the processed portion as the processing quality and measures the tip shape of the blade based on the measurement results of the cross-sectional shape by the processing quality measurement unit. This makes it possible to accurately measure the tip shape of the blade using a white light interferometer.

[0020] In a workpiece machining device according to another aspect of the present invention, a machining control unit drives the relative movement mechanism and the machining head to form a groove in the workpiece as a machined portion, a machining quality measurement unit measures the cross-sectional shape of the groove, and a blade shape measurement unit measures the tip shape of the blade based on the measurement results of the cross-sectional shape by the machining quality measurement unit. This allows the tip shape of the blade to be measured with high accuracy.

[0021] In another aspect of the present invention, a workpiece machining apparatus includes a rotary drive mechanism that rotates a table about its rotation axis, a machining control unit drives the machining head, the relative movement mechanism, and the rotary drive mechanism to cut and remove the outer periphery of the workpiece from one surface of the workpiece to a predetermined depth, thereby forming a step portion on the outer periphery of the workpiece as the machined portion, a machining quality measurement unit measures the cross-sectional shape of the step portion, and a blade shape measurement unit measures the tip shape of the blade based on the measurement result of the cross-sectional shape by the machining quality measurement unit. This allows the tip shape of the blade to be measured with high accuracy.

[0022] A control method for a workpiece processing device for achieving the object of the present invention includes a scanning control step of performing vertical scanning by moving a white interferometer, which emits white light toward a processed portion formed on a flat workpiece held on a table and detects, for each pixel, an interference signal between the white light reflected by the processed portion and the white light reflected by a reference surface, relative to the table in a direction perpendicular to the table together with a processing head that processes the workpiece, and a processing quality measurement step of measuring the processing quality of the processed portion based on the interference signal for each pixel output from the white interferometer during the vertical scanning.

[0023] In another aspect of the present invention, in a control method for a workpiece processing device, the processing quality measurement step includes measuring the cross-sectional shape of the processed portion formed on the workpiece by a processing head having a rotating disk-shaped blade, and a blade shape measurement step for measuring the tip shape of the blade based on the measurement results of the cross-sectional shape of the processed portion in the processing quality measurement step.

[0024] To achieve the object of the present invention, a server includes a communication interface connected to a white interferometer that emits white light toward a workpiece formed on a flat workpiece held on a table and detects, for each pixel, an interference signal between the white light reflected by the workpiece and the white light reflected by a reference surface; an interference signal acquisition unit that acquires the interference signal for each pixel from the white interferometer via the communication interface while the machining head that processes the workpiece and the white interferometer are moved together in a direction perpendicular to the table by a relative movement mechanism; and a machining quality measurement unit that measures the machining quality of the workpiece based on the interference signal for each pixel acquired by the interference signal acquisition unit.

[0025] In a server according to another aspect of the present invention, the processing quality measurement unit measures the cross-sectional shape of the processed portion formed on the workpiece by a processing head having a rotating disk-shaped blade, and includes a blade shape measurement unit that measures the tip shape of the blade based on the measurement results of the cross-sectional shape by the processing quality measurement unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0026] The present invention can accurately measure the machining quality of the machined portion formed on the workpiece. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dicing device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view of the white light interferometer shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a white light interferometer. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a general control unit of the dicing device of the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a meeting cutting method. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a step cut method. [Figure 8]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a workpiece cut by a step cutting method. [Figure 9] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining shape measurement of the three-dimensional shape of a groove by a processing quality measuring unit. FIG. [Figure 10] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining shape measurement of a cross-sectional shape of a groove along the Y-axis direction by a processing quality measuring unit. FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a kerf check of a groove formed by a step cut method, that is, an example of measuring the machining position of the groove in the workpiece. FIG. [Figure 12] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the determination of correction values ​​Δy1 and Δy2 for the machining position of a groove formed by a step cut method by a correction value determination unit. FIG. [Figure 13] 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of a cutting process of a workpiece by the dicing device of the first embodiment, and in particular the flow of a process of measuring the processing quality (processing position) of a groove. [Figure 14] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining cutting of a workpiece by a dicing device of a second embodiment and back grinding of the workpiece by a grinding (polishing) device (not shown). FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a chop cutter set, which is an example of a conventional method for adjusting the cutting depth of a blade. [Figure 16] 10 is an explanatory diagram for illustrating shape measurement of a cross-sectional shape of a half-cut groove along the Y-axis direction by a processing quality measuring unit of the second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 17] 10A and 10B are explanatory views for explaining a workpiece after a laser-processed groove has been formed by a laser processing device (not shown) and cutting of the workpiece by a dicing device of a third embodiment. [Figure 18] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining shape measurement of the three-dimensional shape of a laser-processed groove by a processing quality measuring unit of a third embodiment. FIG. [Figure 19] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining shape measurement of a cross-sectional shape of a laser-processed groove along the Y-axis direction by a processing quality measuring unit of a third embodiment. FIG. [Figure 20] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the tip shape of the blade. [Figure 21] 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams for explaining problems that arise when cutting a workpiece with a blade that has worn unevenly. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining conventional measurement of the tip shape of a blade. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a third problem. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a general control unit of a dicing device according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 25] 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the calculation result of the cross-sectional shape of the half-cut groove along the Y-axis direction by the processing quality measuring unit of the fourth embodiment. FIG. [Figure 26] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for measuring the shape of the tip of the blade by the dicing apparatus of the fourth embodiment. [Figure 27] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a problem that occurs when grinding the back surface of the workpiece W after forming the half-cut grooves described in the second and fourth embodiments. FIG. [Figure 28] 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams for explaining a trimming process of an edge portion of a workpiece using a blade. [Figure 29] 10A and 10B are side views of the workpiece after trimming and the workpiece after backside grinding. [Figure 30] FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a step portion at an edge of the workpiece. [Figure 31] FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of a blade of a dicing device according to a sixth embodiment. [Figure 32] 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the calculation results of the cross-sectional shape along the axial direction of the half-cut groove formed by the blade of the sixth embodiment. FIG. [Figure 33] FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of a server according to the seventh embodiment. [Figure 34] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the problem of the kerf check in the first method. [Figure 35] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the problem of the kerf check in the second method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] [First embodiment] 1 is a perspective view of a dicing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment. Note that the X, Y, and Z axes in the figure are mutually perpendicular, with the X and Y axes being parallel to the horizontal direction and the Z axis being perpendicular to the horizontal direction.

[0029] The dicing device 10 corresponds to the workpiece processing device of the present invention, and cuts and processes a flat workpiece W such as a semiconductor wafer. The dicing device 10 includes a load port 12, a transfer mechanism 14, a processing unit 16, and a cleaning unit 18.

[0030] A cassette containing a large number of workpieces W mounted on a frame F is placed on the load port 12. A transport mechanism 14 transports the workpieces W. A processing unit 16 dices the workpieces W. A cleaning unit 18 spin-cleans the diced workpieces W. Inside the housing 10A of the dicing device 10 is provided a general control unit 60 (see FIG. 5) that controls the operation of each part of the dicing device 10. The general control unit 60 may also be provided outside the housing 10A.

[0031] An unmachined (uncut) workpiece W stored in a cassette placed on the load port 12 is transported by the transport mechanism 14 to the processing unit 16, where it is subjected to cutting or grooving or other cutting processes to separate it into individual chips. The workpiece W that has been processed by the processing unit 16 is then transported by the transport mechanism 14 to the cleaning unit 18, where it is cleaned, and then transported by the transport mechanism 14 to the load port 12 and stored in a cassette.

[0032] Fig. 2 is an external perspective view of processing unit 16. As shown in Fig. 2 and the above-mentioned Fig. 1, processing unit 16 is the above-mentioned twin-spindle dicer, and includes a pair of blades 21A, 21B, a blade cover (not shown), a pair of spindles 22A, 22B, a microscope 23, a white light interferometer 24, and a table 31.

[0033] Blades 21A and 21B are formed in a disk shape. The tip shapes of blades 21A and 21B, i.e., the cross-sectional shapes of the outer peripheries (cutting edges) of blades 21A and 21B along the radial direction of blades 21A and 21B, are rectangular. Blades 21A and 21B are arranged opposite each other in the Y-axis direction and are held by spindles 22A and 22B so as to be rotatable about blade rotation axes parallel to the Y-axis direction.

[0034] The spindles 22A and 22B incorporate high-frequency motors that rotate the blades 21A and 21B at high speed around the blade rotation axis. This allows the blades 21A and 21B to cut the workpiece W from its front surface. Therefore, the blade 21A and spindle 22A correspond to the first processing head (processing head) of the present invention. The blade 21B and spindle 22B correspond to the second processing head (processing head) of the present invention.

[0035] By cutting the workpiece W with the blade 21A, a groove 25A (see FIGS. 6 and 7) corresponding to the processed portion of the present invention is formed in the workpiece W. Also, by cutting the workpiece W with the blade 21B, a groove 25B (see FIGS. 6 and 7) corresponding to the processed portion of the present invention is formed in the workpiece W.

[0036] The microscope 23 is mounted on the Z carriage 44 integrally with the spindle 22A, and is held by the Y carriage 43 and the Z carriage 44 so as to be movable in the Y and Z axes together with the spindle 22A. Although not shown, the microscope 23 is an imaging device having an imaging optical system and an image sensor [for example, a COMS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) camera]. Note that the microscope 23 may be composed of a high-magnification microscope and a low-magnification microscope with different imaging magnifications. The microscope 23 photographs the front surface of the workpiece W when the workpiece W is being cut. The image of the workpiece W photographed by the microscope 23 is used for aligning the workpiece W with the blades 21A and 21B.

[0037] Fig. 3 is an enlarged front view of white interferometer 24 shown in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 3 and the above-described Fig. 2, white interferometer 24 is provided integrally with spindle 22B on Z carriage 44, and is held by Y carriage 43 and Z carriage 44 so as to be movable in the Y and Z axes directions. White interferometer 24 is used to measure the processing quality of grooves 25A, 25B (see Figs. 6 and 7) formed in workpiece W by blades 21A, 21B. During measurement of this processing quality, white interferometer 24 is vertically scanned (hereinafter simply referred to as vertical scanning) via Z carriage 44 in the Z axis direction perpendicular to table 31 (workpiece W).

[0038] The table 31 has a workpiece holding surface 31a formed in a porous state, and this workpiece holding surface 31a adsorbs and holds the workpiece W from its back side. The table 31 is held by an X carriage 36 (described later) so as to be movable in the X-axis direction, and is held by a rotation unit 37 (described later) so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis CA.

[0039] Processing section 16 is provided with X base 32, X guide 34, X drive section 35, X carriage 36, and rotation unit 37. X base 32 has a flat plate shape extending in the X-axis direction, and X guide 34 is provided on its upper surface in the Z-axis direction. X guide 34 has a shape that extends in the X-axis direction, and guides X carriage 36 along the X-axis direction. X drive section 35 uses an actuator such as a linear motor, and moves (drives) X carriage 36 in the X-axis direction along X guide 34.

[0040] Rotation unit 37 is provided on the upper surface of X-carriage 36. Table 31 is provided on the upper surface of rotation unit 37. Rotation unit 37 is driven to rotate by rotation drive unit 38 (see FIG. 5) which is composed of a motor, gears, etc. As a result, rotation unit 37 rotates table 31 in the θ direction around its rotation axis CA. Note that rotation drive unit 38 corresponds to the rotation drive mechanism of the present invention.

[0041] The workpiece W transferred from the load port 12 by the transfer mechanism 14 is held by suction on the table 31, and moves and rotates integrally with the table 31.

[0042] Processing unit 16 is also provided with a Y base 41, a Y guide 42, a pair of Y carriages 43, and a pair of Z carriages 44. Y base 41 has a gate-like shape that straddles X base 32 in the Y-axis direction. Y guide 42 is provided on a side surface of Y base 41 in the X-axis direction. Y guide 42 has a shape that extends in the Y-axis direction, and guides each of the pair of Y carriages 43 along the Y-axis direction. The pair of Y carriages 43 are driven independently along Y guide 42 by Y drive unit 46 (see FIG. 5), which is an actuator constituted by, for example, a stepping motor, a ball screw, etc.

[0043] Z carriage 44 is provided on each of the pair of Y carriages 43 so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction via Z drive unit 48 (see FIG. 5) configured with an actuator such as a stepping motor. Spindle 22A and microscope 23 are provided on one side of Z carriage 44, and spindle 22B and white light interferometer 24 are provided on the other side of Z carriage 44.

[0044] By driving the X carriage 36, the rotation unit 37, each Y carriage 43, and each Z carriage 44, the blades 21A, 21B, the microscope 23, and the white interferometer 24 can be moved relative to the table 31 and the workpiece W in the X, Y, and Z axis directions and the θ direction.

[0045] Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the white interferometer 24. As shown in Fig. 4, the white interferometer 24 is a so-called Mirau-type white interferometer, and includes a housing 50, a white light source 51, a first beam splitter 52, an objective lens 53, a glass plate 54, a second beam splitter 55, and an imaging unit 56.

[0046] The housing 50 accommodates a first beam splitter 52, an objective lens 53, a glass plate 54, and a second beam splitter 55. Inside the housing 50, the second beam splitter 55, the glass plate 54, the objective lens 53, and the first beam splitter 52 are arranged from the bottom to the top in the Z-axis direction. A white light source 51 is attached to a side surface of the housing 50 and to the side of the first beam splitter 52. An imaging unit 56 is attached to the top surface of the housing 50 and above the first beam splitter 52.

[0047] While the white interferometer 24 is vertically scanned once (or multiple times), the white light source 51 emits white light L1 (light containing a mixture of light in each wavelength range of visible light) toward the first beam splitter 52. The first beam splitter 52 reflects a portion of the white light L1 incident from the white light source 51 toward the objective lens 53. The first beam splitter 52 also transmits a portion of the interference signal L4 incident from the objective lens 53 and emits this portion toward the imaging unit 56.

[0048] The objective lens 53 focuses the white light L1 incident from the first beam splitter 52 onto a focal point P on the workpiece W. The diameter of the focal point P (focused spot) is not particularly limited.

[0049] The glass plate 54 has a mirror 54a in its center that functions as a reference surface. The glass plate 54 (excluding the mirror 54a) transmits the white light L1 incident from the objective lens 53 as is and emits it toward the second beam splitter 55.

[0050] The second beam splitter 55 splits the white light L1 collected by the objective lens 53 into measurement light L2 and reference light L3, transmits the measurement light L2 to irradiate the workpiece W, and reflects the reference light L3 toward the mirror 54a. The measurement light L2 irradiated to the workpiece W is reflected by the workpiece W and enters the second beam splitter 55. The reference light L3 reflected by the mirror 54a enters the second beam splitter 55, and a portion of it is reflected by the second beam splitter 55. This generates an interference signal L4 (interference light) between the measurement light L2 and the reference light L3. This interference signal L4 passes through the glass plate 54, the objective lens 53, and the first beam splitter 52 and enters the imaging unit 56.

[0051] The optical path length of the reference light L3 is constant, but the optical path length of the measurement light L2 changes in response to the vertical scanning of the white light interferometer 24. As is well known, when the difference in optical path length between the measurement light L2 and the reference light L3 is zero (including almost zero), the interference between the measurement light L2 and the reference light L3 is constructive across the entire wavelength range of visible light, and the signal intensity of the interference signal L4 is maximized (see, for example, JP 2017-106860 A).

[0052] The imaging unit 56 includes a two-dimensional imaging element of a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) type or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type in which a plurality of pixels (light receiving elements) are two-dimensionally arranged in the X and Y axes directions. The imaging unit 56 captures the interference signal L4 incident from the first beam splitter 52 for each pixel while the white light interferometer 24 is being vertically scanned (or multiple times), thereby detecting (acquiring) the interference signal L4 for each pixel and outputting the interference signal L4 for each pixel to the general control unit 60 (see FIG. 5).

[0053] [Functions of the central control unit] FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the integrated control unit 60 of the dicing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the integrated control unit 60 includes an arithmetic circuit configured with various processors, memory, and the like. The various processors include a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a programmable logic device (e.g., a simple programmable logic device (SPLD), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA)). The various functions of the integrated control unit 60 may be realized by a single processor or by multiple processors of the same or different types.

[0054] In addition to the spindles 22A, 22B, microscope 23, white light interferometer 24, X drive unit 35, rotation drive unit 38, Y drive unit 46, and Z drive unit 48, an operation unit 62, a memory unit 64, a display unit 66, etc. are connected to the overall control unit 60.

[0055] The operation unit 62 uses a keyboard, mouse, operation panel, operation buttons, etc., and accepts input of various operations by an operator. The memory unit 64 stores a control program (not shown) for the dicing apparatus 10, and also stores measurement results by a processing quality measurement unit 82 (described below). The display unit 66 uses various known monitors, such as a liquid crystal display. This display unit 66 displays the measurement results by the processing quality measurement unit 82, various setting screens for the dicing apparatus 10, etc.

[0056] The overall control unit 60 executes a control program (not shown) stored in the storage unit 64, thereby functioning as a blade drive control unit 70, a movement control unit 72, an imaging control unit 74, a detection control unit 76, a processing control unit 78, a measurement control unit 80, a processing quality measurement unit 82, and a correction value determination unit 84. Note that what is described as a "unit" of the overall control unit 60 (as well as the server 200 described below) may also be a "circuit," a "device," or a "equipment." In other words, what is described as a "unit" may be composed of firmware, software, hardware, or a combination of these.

[0057] The blade drive control unit 70 controls the rotational drive of the blades 21A and 21B by the spindles 22A and 22B.

[0058] The movement control unit 72 drives a relative movement mechanism 49 including an X drive unit 35 (X carriage 36), a rotation drive unit 38 (rotation unit 37), a Y drive unit 46 (Y carriage 43), and a Z drive unit 48 (Z carriage 44), thereby moving the blades 21A, 21B, the microscope 23, and the white light interferometer 24 relative to the table 31 and the workpiece W.

[0059] For example, before aligning the workpiece W with the blades 21A and 21B, the movement control unit 72 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the microscope 23 to a position where it can capture an image of a predetermined alignment reference on the workpiece W. The alignment reference here is a reference that the dicing device 10 uses to recognize the position of the street C (see FIG. 6, etc., also referred to as the planned dividing line) on the workpiece W, and for example, a recognition mark or the like is used.

[0060] Furthermore, when aligning the workpiece W with the blades 21A, 21B, the movement control unit 72 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 to align the blades 21A, 21B with the machining start position of the workpiece W.

[0061] Furthermore, when cutting the workpiece W with the blades 21A and 21B, the movement control unit 72 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 to perform cutting feed of the workpiece W in the X direction, index feed of the blades 21A and 21B in the Y axis direction, and cutting feed of the blades 21A and 21B in the Z axis direction.

[0062] Furthermore, when measuring the processing quality of the grooves 25A, 25B (see FIGS. 6 and 7) formed in the workpiece W by the blades 21A, 21B, the movement control unit 72 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 to perform position adjustment and vertical scanning of the white interferometer 24. Therefore, the movement control unit 72 functions as a scan control unit of the present invention.

[0063] The photographing control unit 74 controls photographing of the workpiece W by the microscope 23. After adjusting the position of the microscope 23 as described above, the photographing control unit 74 causes the microscope 23 to photograph the workpiece W. As a result, the photographed image of the workpiece W is output from the microscope 23 to the detection control unit 76.

[0064] The detection control unit 76 performs alignment detection to detect the position of the street C (see FIGS. 6 and 7) of the workpiece W by detecting alignment standards in the captured image using a known image recognition method based on the captured image of the workpiece W input from the microscope 23. Then, the detection control unit 76 outputs the alignment detection result to the processing control unit 78.

[0065] Based on the alignment detection result by the detection control unit 76, the processing control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A, 22B and the relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and the movement control unit 72 to perform cutting processing with the blades 21A, 21B for each street C (see FIG. 6) of the workpiece W. Here, since the dicing apparatus 10 of this embodiment is a so-called twin-spindle dicer, the processing control unit 78 selectively executes, for example, a meeting cutting method or a step cut method as the cutting method for the workpiece W. The selection of the cutting method is performed by the operation unit 62.

[0066] Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the meeting cutting method. As shown in Fig. 6, in the meeting cutting method, blades 21A and 21B of the same shape (same thickness) are attached to spindles 22A and 22B. Based on the alignment detection result by the detection control unit 76, the machining control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A and 22B and the relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and the movement control unit 72 to repeatedly perform simultaneous machining for each of two streets C.

[0067] Simultaneous machining is a process in which two streets C are cut at once using two blades 21A and 21B of the same shape, and grooves 25A and 25B are formed by blade 21A and blade 21B, respectively, simultaneously. Note that grooves 25A and 25B formed by the meeting cutting method are so-called full-cut grooves of approximately the same shape. With the meeting cutting method, the cutting range of the workpiece W can be divided into two, and each range can be assigned to a different blade 21A or 21B, thereby shortening the machining time for the workpiece W.

[0068] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the step cut method. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a workpiece W cut by the step cut method. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the step cut method is selected when the workpiece W is a laminate in which a low-dielectric-constant insulating film (low-k film) and a functional film forming a circuit are laminated on the surface of a substrate such as silicon. In this step cut method, blades 21A and 21B of different thicknesses (or blades 21A and 21B of the same shape) are attached to spindles 22A and 22B. Then, in the step cut method, grooves 25A and 25B are formed for each street C by the blades 21A and 21B.

[0069] Specifically, based on the alignment detection results by the detection control unit 76, the processing control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A, 22B and the relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and the movement control unit 72, respectively, to repeatedly perform the first processing process and the second processing process for each street C.

[0070] The first processing step is a step of cutting the street C with a wide blade 21A, for example, about 50 μm wide, to form a groove 25A (corresponding to the first groove of the present invention) of a predetermined depth along the street C. In the step-cut method, the groove 25A is a so-called half-cut groove. This removes the low-k film and the like on the street C.

[0071] The second processing step is a step in which the bottom of groove 25A is cut with blade 21B, which has a width of, for example, about 30 μm, to form groove 25B. In the step-cut method, groove 25B is a so-called full-cut groove that is narrower than groove 25A. This divides the workpiece W along the street C.

[0072] The measurement control unit 80 corresponds to the first measurement control unit of the present invention, and operates the movement control unit 72 and the white light interferometer 24 when measuring the processing quality of the grooves 25A, 25B formed in the workpiece W by the blades 21A, 21B.

[0073] When the aforementioned meet cutting method is selected, the measurement control unit 80 first drives the relative movement mechanism 49 via the movement control unit 72 to perform position adjustment, moving the white interferometer 24 relatively to a position where the measurement light L2 can be irradiated onto the groove 25A to be measured in the workpiece W. Here, the positions of the grooves 25A and 25B formed in the workpiece W by the blades 21A and 21B are known. Therefore, the measurement control unit 80 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 relative to the groove 25A based on the known position of the groove 25A. This eliminates the need to search for the groove 25A. Note that if the groove 25A is present within the irradiation range (within the spot) of the measurement light L2 without performing position adjustment of the white interferometer 24, for reasons such as a sufficiently large spot diameter of the measurement light L2 emitted from the white interferometer 24, this position adjustment may be omitted.

[0074] Next, the measurement control unit 80 operates the white interferometer 24 (white light source 51 and imaging unit 56) at a position where the measurement light L2 can be irradiated onto the groove 25A. As a result, the white interferometer 24 irradiates the groove 25A with the measurement light L2, and the imaging unit 56 outputs an interference signal L4 for each pixel. Furthermore, while the white interferometer 24 is irradiating the measurement light L2 and outputting the interference signal L4 for each pixel, the measurement control unit 80 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 via the movement control unit 72 to vertically scan the white interferometer 24.

[0075] Similarly, the measurement control unit 80 controls the movement control unit 72 and the white light interferometer 24 to adjust the position of the white light interferometer 24 relative to the groove 25B, and to operate and vertically scan the white light interferometer 24.

[0076] On the other hand, when the step cut method described above is selected, the measurement control unit 80 controls the movement control unit 72 and the white interferometer 24 to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 with respect to the grooves 25A and 25B along the same street C, and to operate and vertically scan the white interferometer 24.

[0077] The processing quality measuring unit 82 acquires an interference signal L4 for one vertical scan for each pixel of the imaging unit 56 from the white interferometer 24 via a communication interface (not shown). As a result, when the aforementioned meet cutting method is selected, the processing quality measuring unit 82 acquires an interference signal L4 for one vertical scan for each pixel (hereinafter simply referred to as "interference signal L5A") from the white interferometer 24 for each groove 25A, 25B. When the aforementioned step cutting method is selected, the processing quality measuring unit 82 acquires an interference signal L4 for one vertical scan for each pixel (hereinafter simply referred to as "interference signal L5B") from the white interferometer 24, which corresponds to the grooves 25A, 25B along the same street C.

[0078] Then, the processing quality measuring unit 82 performs a so-called kerf check to measure the processing quality (also referred to as the processing state) of the grooves 25A, 25B formed in the workpiece W based on the interference signal L5A or the interference signal L5B acquired from the white interferometer 24. Note that the processing quality of the grooves 25A, 25B in the first embodiment refers to the processing positions of the grooves 25A, 25B, i.e., the positions in the Y-axis direction.

[0079] Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining shape measurement of the three-dimensional shape of grooves 25A, 25B by the processing quality measuring unit 82. Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining shape measurement of the cross-sectional shape of grooves 25A, 25B along the Y-axis direction by the processing quality measuring unit 82. Note that Figs. 9 and 10 will be explained using as an example shape measurement (kerf check) of grooves 25A, 25B formed by the step cut method described above with reference to Fig. 7 etc.

[0080] 9, 10, and the above-described FIG. 5, the machining quality measuring unit 82 calculates the height of each pixel of the imaging unit 56, i.e., the height in the Z-axis direction of the corresponding position on the workpiece W (the inner surfaces of the grooves 25A and 25B, and the front surface of the workpiece W) corresponding to each pixel, based on the interference signal L5B. Note that since the method for calculating this height position is a well-known technique, a detailed description thereof will be omitted here. As a result, the machining quality measuring unit 82 can generate three-dimensional shape information 86 indicating the three-dimensional shapes of the grooves 25A and 25B as shown in FIG. 9. The machining quality measuring unit 82 can also generate cross-sectional shape information 88 indicating the cross-sectional shapes of the grooves 25A and 25B along the Y-axis direction as shown in FIG. 10.

[0081] At this time, the positional relationship between the workpiece W and the white interferometer 24 is known based on the alignment detection result by the detection control unit 76. Therefore, the processing quality measuring unit 82 can simultaneously calculate the position coordinates in the X and Y axes of the corresponding positions of the workpiece W corresponding to each pixel of the imaging unit 56 (hereinafter abbreviated as workpiece-corresponding position coordinates) based on the position coordinates in the X and Y axes of the white interferometer 24 during vertical scanning. As a result, the processing positions of the grooves 25A, 25B in the workpiece W can be individually determined based on at least one of the three-dimensional shape information 86 and the cross-sectional shape information 88 and the workpiece-corresponding position coordinates.

[0082] 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a kerf check of grooves 25A, 25B formed by the step cut method, i.e., an example of measuring the machining positions of grooves 25A, 25B in workpiece W. As shown in Fig. 11, the machining quality measurement unit 82 calculates a groove center position CL1 in the Y-axis direction of groove 25A in workpiece W, and calculates a groove center position CL2 in the Y-axis direction of groove 25B, based on at least one of three-dimensional shape information 86 and cross-sectional shape information 88 and the workpiece-corresponding position coordinates. Groove center position CL1 corresponds to the machining position of groove 25A, and groove center position CL2 corresponds to the machining position of groove 25B.

[0083] Then, the machining quality measuring unit 82 outputs the measurement results of the machining position of groove 25A (groove center position CL1) and the machining position of groove 25B (groove center position CL2) to the correction value determining unit 84, the memory unit 64, and the display unit 66. As a result, the measurement results of the machining positions of grooves 25A and 25B are stored in the memory unit 64 and displayed on the display unit 66.

[0084] FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the determination by the correction value determination unit 84 of the correction values ​​Δy1 and Δy2 for the machining positions of the grooves 25A and 25B formed by the step cut method.

[0085] As shown in Figure 12 and the above-mentioned Figure 5, the correction value determination unit 84 determines a correction value Δy1 for correcting the machining position of groove 25A by blade 21A in the Y-axis direction, and a correction value Δy2 for correcting the machining position of groove 25B by blade 21B in the Y-axis direction.

[0086] Specifically, the correction value determination unit 84 is preset with target values ​​for the machining positions of the grooves 25A and 25B corresponding to the type of workpiece W, for example, the Y-axis position of the street C within the workpiece W. As a result, the correction value determination unit 84 determines a correction value Δy1 based on the measurement result (groove center position CL1) of the machining position of the groove 25A by the machining quality measurement unit 82 and the target value for the machining position of the groove 25A. In addition, the correction value determination unit 84 determines a correction value Δy2 based on the measurement result (groove center position CL2) of the machining position of the groove 25B by the machining quality measurement unit 82 and the target value for the machining position of the groove 25B.

[0087] Then, the correction value determination unit 84 outputs the determined correction values ​​Δy1, Δy2 to the above-mentioned machining control unit 78. As a result, the machining control unit 78 corrects the machining positions (Y-axis direction positions) of the grooves 25A, 25B to be formed on the new street C of the workpiece W by the blades 21A, 21B, based on the correction values ​​Δy1, Δy2 input from the correction value determination unit 84.

[0088] The method for measuring the machining positions (machining quality) of the grooves 25A, 25B formed by the meeting cutting method and the method for determining the correction values ​​Δy1, Δy2 are basically the same as those for the step cutting method described above. In this case, the machining quality measurement unit 82 measures the machining positions (groove center positions CL1, CL2) of each groove 25A, 25B based on the interference signal L5A, etc., and the correction value determination unit 84 determines the correction values ​​Δy1, Δy2 based on the measurement results.

[0089] [Operation of the first embodiment] Figure 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of the cutting processing of the workpiece W by the dicing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration, which corresponds to the control method of the workpiece processing apparatus of the present invention, and in particular the flow of the measurement processing of the processing quality (processing position) of the grooves 25A, 25B.

[0090] 13, when the workpiece W is sucked and held on the table 31, the movement control unit 72, photography control unit 74, and detection control unit 76 of the integrated control unit 60 are activated. As a result, the movement control unit 72 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the microscope 23, and after this position adjustment, the microscope 23 photographs the alignment reference of the workpiece W under the control of the photography control unit 74, and further the detection control unit 76 performs alignment detection based on the photographed image of the alignment reference by the microscope 23 (step S1).

[0091] When the alignment detection is completed, the movement control unit 72 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 based on the alignment detection result to perform alignment between the street C to be machined and the blades 21A and 21B.

[0092] Next, the machining control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A, 22B and the relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and the movement control unit 72, and the blades 21A, 21B cut the street C by the meeting cutting method (see FIG. 6) or the step cutting method (see FIG. 7) (step S2). As a result, grooves 25A, 25B are formed along the street C. Step S2 is repeated until measurement of the machining quality (here, the machining position) of the grooves 25A, 25B is started (NO in step S3). Note that after the first grooves 25A, 25B are formed, the process may proceed to step S4 immediately.

[0093] When starting measurement of the processing quality of the grooves 25A and 25B (YES in step S3), the measurement control unit 80 first drives the relative movement mechanism 49 via the movement control unit 72 based on the known positions of the grooves 25A and 25B to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 to a position where the measurement light L2 can be irradiated onto the grooves 25A and 25B (step S4). This allows the position adjustment of the white interferometer 24 to be performed quickly. After this position adjustment, the measurement control unit 80 activates the white interferometer 24 (step S5). As a result, the white interferometer 24 irradiates the grooves 25A and 25B with the measurement light L2, and the imaging unit 56 outputs an interference signal L4 for each pixel to the processing quality measurement unit 82.

[0094] Furthermore, while the white interferometer 24 is irradiating the measurement light L2 and outputting the interference signal L4, the measurement control unit 80 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 via the movement control unit 72 to vertically scan the white interferometer 24 (step S6, which corresponds to the scan control step of the present invention). As a result, the processing quality measurement unit 82 acquires the interference signal L5A (meeting cutting method) or the interference signal L5B (step cutting method) (step S7).

[0095] 9 and 10, based on the interference signal L5A or L5B acquired from the white interferometer 24. The processing quality measuring unit 82 also calculates the workpiece-corresponding position coordinates described above, based on the alignment detection result obtained by the detection control unit 76 and the position coordinates of the white interferometer 24 in the X and Y axis directions during vertical scanning.

[0096] Next, the machining quality measuring unit 82 calculates the machining positions (groove center positions CL1, CL2) of the grooves 25A, 25B as the machining quality of the grooves 25A, 25B, as shown in FIG. 11 , based on at least one of the three-dimensional shape information 86 and the cross-sectional shape information 88 and the workpiece-corresponding position coordinates. This completes the measurement of the machining positions of the grooves 25A, 25B (kerf check) (step S8, corresponding to the machining quality measuring step of the present invention). Then, the machining quality measuring unit 82 outputs the measurement results of the machining positions of the grooves 25A, 25B to the correction value determining unit 84, the memory unit 64, and the display unit 66.

[0097] As described above, in this embodiment, the cross-sectional shapes of grooves 25A and 25B can be obtained using white light interferometer 24, and therefore the machining positions (machining quality) of grooves 25A and 25B can be measured without analyzing images of grooves 25A and 25B taken by microscope 23 as in the conventional method. This makes it possible to accurately measure the machining position of groove 25B even when groove 25B is formed at the bottom of groove 25A, as in the step cut method, that is, even when it is difficult to determine the machining position of groove 25B based on the image taken by microscope 23.

[0098] Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is possible to perform a kerf check on the groove 25B formed by the actual step cutting method, without performing a so-called step kerf check in which the groove 25B is formed by the narrow blade 21B in the uncut portion of the workpiece W as shown in Fig. 35. Therefore, it is possible to measure the machining position of the groove 25B with high precision.

[0099] When the measurement of the machining positions of the grooves 25A and 25B (kerf check) is completed, the correction value determination unit 84 determines the machining position correction values ​​Δy1 and Δy2 for each of the grooves 25A and 25B based on the measurement results of the machining positions of the grooves 25A and 25B (groove center positions CL1 and CL2) and the target values ​​for those machining positions (step S9), as shown in Fig. 12. Next, the correction value determination unit 84 outputs the determined correction values ​​Δy1 and Δy2 to the machining control unit 78.

[0100] Then, the machining control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A, 22B and the relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and the movement control unit 72 based on the correction values ​​Δy1, Δy2 to perform cutting of the next and subsequent streets C by the meeting cutting method or the step cutting method (step S100). This allows cutting of each of the blades 21A, 21B at positions shifted by the correction values ​​Δy1, Δy2 in the Y-axis direction from the target positions (design positions) of the next and subsequent streets C. As a result, grooves 25A, 25B can be formed along the next and subsequent streets C with high precision.

[0101] [Effects of the first embodiment] As described above, in the dicing device 10 of the first embodiment, the cross-sectional shapes of the grooves 25A and 25B can be measured with high precision using the white light interferometer 24, and the processing positions (processing quality) of the grooves 25A and 25B can be measured with high precision based on the measurement results of the cross-sectional shapes. In particular, even when the groove 25B is formed at the bottom of the groove 25A, as in the step cut method, the processing position (processing quality) of the groove 25B can be measured with high precision.

[0102] In addition, in the first embodiment, vertical scanning of the white interferometer 24 can be performed using the relative movement mechanism 49 (Z carriage 44 and Z drive unit 48) of the blade 21B, so there is no need to provide a separate dedicated scanning mechanism, and costs can be reduced. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, by providing the blade 21B and the white interferometer 24 integrally on the Z carriage 44, it is possible to perform position adjustment of the white interferometer 24 with respect to the grooves 25A, 25B (machined portion) of the workpiece W using a conventional alignment detection method.

[0103] [Second embodiment] FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cutting of a workpiece W by a dicing apparatus 10 of a second embodiment and back-grinding of the workpiece W by a grinding (polishing) apparatus (not shown). In the first embodiment, each street C is completely cut (separated) when cutting the workpiece W by the dicing apparatus 10. In contrast, as shown by reference symbol XIVA in FIG. 14, when cutting the workpiece W by the dicing apparatus 10 of the second embodiment, each street C is not completely cut by the blades 21A and 21B, but a certain amount of each street C is left uncut, thereby forming half-cut grooves 90A and 90B (corresponding to the processed portion). Note that the half-cut groove 90A formed by the blade 21A and the half-cut groove 90B formed by the blade 21B have substantially the same shape.

[0104] Then, as shown by symbol XIVB in Figure 14, the back surface of the workpiece W is ground using a grinding device separate from the dicing device 10 to remove any remaining cut portions, thereby completely cutting each street C as shown by symbol XIVC in Figure 14.

[0105] When half-cutting each street C using the dicing device 10 in this manner, if the processing depth (also referred to as the cutting depth or the milling depth) of the street C by the blades 21A and 21B is insufficient, the workpiece W cannot be cut even after back-grinding, resulting in poor cutting. Conversely, if the blades 21A and 21B cut the street C too deeply, the workpiece W will crack before back-grinding. Therefore, if the cutting depth accuracy of the blades 21A and 21B is low, the yield will decrease, especially in the production of devices with a thin total thickness (processing of a thin workpiece W).

[0106] Furthermore, the diameter of the blades 21A and 21B changes due to wear, and their height position in the Z-axis direction changes due to temperature changes. Therefore, it is important to highly accurately control the machining depth of the blades 21A and 21B in the Z-axis direction for each street C (workpiece W).

[0107] Fig. 15 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a chop cutter set (see, for example, JP 2017-164843 A) which is an example of a conventional method for adjusting the machining depth of blades 21A and 21B. As shown in Fig. 15, in the chop cutter set, a dummy workpiece WA is placed near a workpiece W held on a table 31, and the relative height between this dummy workpiece WA and the workpiece W is measured with a high-precision sensor (such as an air microgauge), and then blades 21A and 21B perform chop cutting (chop processing) on ​​the dummy workpiece WA to form chop cut marks 92 (kerfs).

[0108] Then, the length cx of each chop cut mark 92 formed on each blade 21A, 21B is measured based on an image of the chop cut mark 92 taken by the microscope 23. Next, the machining depth of the blades 21A, 21B is calculated based on the length cx of each chop cut mark 92 and the known diameters of the blades 21A, 21B, and the machining depth of the blades 21A, 21B is corrected (adjusted) based on the calculation result.

[0109] However, this chop cutter set has the following two problems. The first problem is that because the chop cutter set does not directly measure the machining depth of each chop cut mark 92, minute errors that occur between the chop cutter set and the actual cutting process cumulatively affect the accuracy of the machining depth of blades 21A, 21B. In this case, if the error in the machining depth of blades 21A, 21B is repeatable, it can be corrected in a fixed manner, but if the error varies, it will have a negative impact on the absolute accuracy of the machining depth of blades 21A, 21B (the correction limit will be lowered).

[0110] The second problem is that the chop cutter set does not cut the actual workpiece W with the blades 21A, 21B, and does not measure the machining depth of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B formed in the actual workpiece W. Therefore, in order to feed back the correction value for the machining depth of the blades 21A, 21B to the dicing device 10, it was necessary to chop-cut another dummy workpiece WA after the machining of the workpiece W was completed, and to measure the length cx with a separate inspection device and input the result to the dicing device 10.

[0111] Therefore, in the dicing apparatus 10 of the second embodiment, the machining depths cz1, cz2 (see FIG. 16) of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B formed in the workpiece W are measured using a white light interferometer 24. In the second embodiment, the machining widths cy1, cy2 of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B are also measured simultaneously with the machining depths cz1, cz2. Here, the machining widths cy1, cy2 and machining depths cz1, cz2 of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B correspond to the machining quality (machined shape) of the machined portion in this invention.

[0112] The dicing apparatus 10 of the second embodiment has basically the same configuration as the dicing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment, so the same functions or configurations as those of the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0113] The machining control unit 78 of the second embodiment drives the spindles 22A, 22B and the relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and the movement control unit 72, and cuts each street C of the workpiece W by simultaneous machining processing with the blades 21A, 21B using the meeting cutting method. As a result, half-cut grooves 90A, 90B are formed for every two streets C.

[0114] The measurement control unit 80 of the second embodiment controls the white interferometer 24 and the relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 and to operate and vertically scan the white interferometer 24 for each of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B. As a result, the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the second embodiment acquires an interference signal L5A from the imaging unit 56 for each of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B.

[0115] 16 is an explanatory diagram for describing shape measurement of the cross-sectional shapes of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B along the Y-axis direction by the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the second embodiment. As shown in Fig. 16, the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the second embodiment generates cross-sectional shape information 88 of each of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B based on the interference signal L5A for each of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B acquired from the white interferometer 24, in the same way as in the first embodiment.

[0116] Next, based on the cross-sectional shape information 88 of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B, the machining quality measurement unit 82 calculates the machining width cy1 and machining depth cz1 of the half-cut groove 90A and the machining width cy2 and machining depth cz2 of the half-cut groove 90B as the machining quality (machined shape) of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B. Here, the machining depths cz1 and cz2 are the depths of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B in the Z-axis direction at the centers of the machining widths cy1 and cy2, respectively. Note that the machining depths cz1 and cz2 may also be the depths to the lowest points of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B in the Z-axis direction. The machining quality measurement unit 82 then outputs the measurement results of the machining depths cz1 and cz2 for each half-cut groove 90A and 90B to the correction value determination unit 84, the memory unit 64, and the display unit 66.

[0117] The correction value determination unit 84 of the second embodiment determines a correction value Δz1 for the machining depth cz1 corresponding to the blade 21A and a correction value Δz2 for the machining depth cz2 corresponding to the blade 21B based on the measurement results of the machining depths cz1 and cz2 by the machining quality measurement unit 82 and the target values ​​tz for the machining depths cz1 and cz2 of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B corresponding to the type of workpiece W.

[0118] Furthermore, the correction value determination unit 84 outputs the determined correction values ​​Δz1, Δz2 to the machining control unit 78. As a result, the machining control unit 78 controls the relative movement mechanism 49 and the like based on the correction values ​​Δz1, Δz2 input from the correction value determination unit 84, and corrects the machining depths cz1, cz2 of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B to be formed on the new street C of the workpiece W by the blades 21A, 21B.

[0119] The flow of the cutting processing of the workpiece W by the dicing apparatus 10 of the second embodiment, particularly the flow of the measurement processing of the processing quality (processing depths cz1, cz2) of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B, is basically the same as the flow of the cutting processing of the first embodiment shown in Figure 13 above, so a detailed explanation will be omitted here.

[0120] As described above, in the dicing apparatus 10 of the second embodiment, the cross-sectional shapes of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B can be measured with high accuracy using the white light interferometer 24, and the machining depths cz1, cz2 (machining quality) can be measured with high accuracy based on the measurement results. Furthermore, since the machining depths cz1, cz2 can be measured during cutting of the workpiece W with the blades 21A, 21B, accurate correction values ​​Δz1, Δz2 can be immediately applied to cutting of the next or subsequent street C. Furthermore, since the correction values ​​Δz1, Δz2 can be determined each time cutting of one line of street C is performed, the machining accuracy of the machining depths cz1, cz2 for each blade 21A, 21B can be further improved.

[0121] [Third embodiment] 17 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the workpiece W after the laser grooves 94 have been formed by a laser processing device (not shown) and cutting of the workpiece W by the dicing device 10 of the third embodiment. In the first embodiment, when the workpiece W is a laminate in which a low-k film or the like is stacked on a silicon substrate, cutting is performed by the dicing device 10 using a step cut method to form grooves 25A, 25B for each street C (see FIG. 7).

[0122] 17, in the third embodiment, a laser processing process is performed in advance on the workpiece W for each street C using a laser processing device (not shown). As a result, a laser processed groove 94 (laser groove, corresponding to a first groove) is formed for each street C, and the low-k film is removed.

[0123] Next, in the third embodiment, the dicing device 10 forms grooves 25B (corresponding to the second grooves) shown in FIG. 7 at the bottom of each laser-processed groove 94 in the workpiece W, thereby completely cutting the streets C. By removing the low-k film, which is brittle and difficult to process, by laser processing, the processing stability of the workpiece W by the dicing device 10 is improved.

[0124] Here, the groove 25B is formed based on the position of the street C, or based on the center position of the machining width cy in the Y-axis direction of the laser-machined groove 94. In the latter case, conventionally, the laser-machined groove 94 in the workpiece W is photographed with a microscope 23, and the center position of the machining width cy is determined based on the image photographed by the microscope 23.

[0125] However, the laser-processed groove 94 may appear black and rough, with raised edge portions 94a on both sides of the laser-processed groove 94. In this case, even if an image of the laser-processed groove 94 captured by the microscope 23 is analyzed, it is difficult to distinguish between the processing width cy of the laser-processed groove 94 and the processing width gy of the laser-processed groove 94 including the edge portions 94a. For this reason, with the conventional method, the measurement accuracy of the center position of the processing width cy varies, which adversely affects the processing accuracy of the groove 25B.

[0126] Therefore, in the dicing device 10 of the third embodiment, the white light interferometer 24 is used to measure the center position of the processing width cy, which is the processing position of the laser-processed groove 94 formed in advance in the workpiece W (processing quality of the first groove).

[0127] The dicing apparatus 10 of the third embodiment has basically the same configuration as the dicing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment, so the same functions or configurations as those of the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0128] The measurement control unit 80 of the third embodiment corresponds to the second measurement control unit of the present invention. Before cutting the workpiece W with the blades 21A, 21B, the measurement control unit 80 controls the white interferometer 24 and the relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 with respect to the laser-processed groove 94, and to operate and vertically scan the white interferometer 24, repeatedly for each laser-processed groove 94. As a result, the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the third embodiment acquires an interference signal L5A for each laser-processed groove 94 from the imaging unit 56.

[0129] Fig. 18 is an explanatory diagram for explaining shape measurement of the three-dimensional shape of the laser-processed groove 94 by the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the third embodiment. Fig. 19 is an explanatory diagram for explaining shape measurement of the cross-sectional shape of the laser-processed groove 94 along the Y-axis direction by the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the third embodiment.

[0130] As shown in Figures 18 and 19, the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the third embodiment generates at least one of three-dimensional shape information 86 and cross-sectional shape information 88 for each laser-processed groove 94 based on the interference signal L5A for each laser-processed groove 94 obtained from the white light interferometer 24, as in the first embodiment.

[0131] Next, the processing quality measuring unit 82 measures the processing width cy and its center position for each laser-processed groove 94 based on at least one of the three-dimensional shape information 86 and the cross-sectional shape information 88 for each laser-processed groove 94 and the position coordinates in the X and Y axes of the corresponding positions on the workpiece W corresponding to each pixel of the imaging unit 56. Then, the processing quality measuring unit 82 outputs the measurement results of the center position of the processing width cy for each laser-processed groove 94 to the processing control unit 78, the storage unit 64, and the display unit 66.

[0132] The machining control unit 78 of the third embodiment drives the spindles 22A, 22B and the relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and movement control unit 72 based on the measurement results of the center position of the machining width cy for each laser-machined groove 94, and cuts the bottom of each laser-machined groove 94 by simultaneous machining processing with the blades 21A, 21B using the meeting cutting method. As a result, grooves 25A, 25B, which are full-cut grooves, are formed for each laser-machined groove 94.

[0133] The flow of the process for measuring the processing quality (center position of the processing width cy) of the laser-processed grooves 94 in the workpiece W by the dicing apparatus 10 of the third embodiment, and the flow of the cutting process for the grooves 25A, 25B are basically the same as the flow from step S3 onwards of the cutting process of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 13. However, in the third embodiment, step S9 is omitted, and in step S10, cutting of the grooves 25A, 25B is performed by the blades 21A, 21B based on the measurement results of the center position of the processing width cy for each laser-processed groove 94.

[0134] As described above, the dicing device 10 of the third embodiment can accurately measure the cross-sectional shape of each laser-processed groove 94 using the white light interferometer 24, and based on the measurement results, can accurately measure the processing width cy and its center position (processing quality) of each laser-processed groove 94. As a result, the processing accuracy of the grooves 25A, 25B in the laser-processed groove 94 by the dicing device 10 can be improved.

[0135] [Fourth embodiment] In the above-described embodiments, the machining quality of various grooves such as the grooves 25A, 25B, the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B, and the laser-machined groove 94 is measured, and the cutting of the workpiece W by the blades 21A, 21B is corrected based on the measurement results. In contrast, in the fourth embodiment, the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B are measured based on the measurement results of the machining quality of various grooves by the blades 21A, 21B.

[0136] 20 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B. As shown in FIG. 20, the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B (cross-sectional shapes of the outer peripheries of the blades along the radial direction) are ideally rectangular as indicated by the reference symbol XXA, i.e., edges E1 and E2 formed by the outer peripheries (tip surfaces) and side surfaces of the blades 21A and 21B are raised, but in reality, the edges E1 and E2 have rounded shapes as indicated by the reference symbol XXB. Normally, cutting of the workpiece W is performed using the blades 21A and 21B indicated by the reference symbol XXB, but abnormal wear (uneven wear, etc.) may occur in the blades 21A and 21B as indicated by the reference symbol XXC.

[0137] FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating problems that occur when cutting a workpiece W with unevenly worn blades 21A, 21B. As shown in FIG. 21, when blades 21A, 21B are unevenly worn, the way edges E1 and E2 of blades 21A, 21B contact the workpiece W differs from each other. As a result, the quality of both ends of grooves 25A, 25B (half-cut grooves 90A, 90B) formed by edges E1 and E2, respectively, differs from each other. Therefore, it is important to measure the tip shapes of blades 21A, 21B to determine the uneven wear state of blades 21A, 21B.

[0138] FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a conventional method for measuring the tip shape of blades 21A and 21B. As shown in FIG. 22, conventionally, as described in the second embodiment, chop cut marks 92 are formed on a workpiece W or the like using blades 21A and 21B, and the chop cut marks 92 for each blade 21A and 21B are photographed using a microscope 23. Then, the cross-sectional shape of the tip portion 92a of each chop cut mark 92 is measured based on the photographed image of each chop cut mark 92. Next, the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B are measured based on the cross-sectional shape of the tip portion 92a of each blade 21A and 21B, thereby determining the uneven wear state of the blades 21A and 21B. Note that reference numeral XXIIA denotes the chop cut mark 92 formed by normal blades 21A and 21B, and reference numeral XXIIB denotes the chop cut mark 92 formed by unevenly worn blades 21A and 21B.

[0139] However, when measuring the tip shapes of blades 21A, 21B based on photographed images of chop-cut marks 92, the following three problems arise. The first problem is that because the tip shapes of blades 21A, 21B can be measured only from the shape of tip portions 92a of chop-cut marks 92, the state of uneven wear of blades 21A, 21B cannot be determined until the amount of uneven wear of blades 21A, 21B has reached a certain level. As a result, there is a risk that the processing quality of workpiece W by blades 21A, 21B will fall below tolerance, resulting in defects.

[0140] The second problem is that since the cutting process of the workpiece W needs to be interrupted temporarily during the cutting process to form the chop cut marks 92 and take photographs, the productivity of the cutting process of the workpiece W by the dicing device 10 decreases.

[0141] FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the third problem. As shown by reference numeral XXIIIA in FIG. 23, when the tip portion 92a is photographed by the microscope 23, reflection of stray light or the like occurs at the tip portion 92a, resulting in highlight blowout or the like in the tip portion image 93, which is the image of the tip portion 92a photographed by the microscope 23. As a result, the tip portion image 93 does not accurately reflect the cross-sectional shape of the tip portion 92a, and as shown by reference numeral XXIIIB in FIG. 23, it is not possible to accurately measure cross-sectional shape information 88A of the chop-cut mark 92 along the Y-axis direction based on the tip portion image 93. This makes it impossible to accurately measure the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B.

[0142] Therefore, in the dicing apparatus 10 of the fourth embodiment, the cross-sectional shape (processing quality) of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B is measured using a white light interferometer 24 during cutting of the workpiece W, and the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B are measured based on this cross-sectional shape.

[0143] 24 is a functional block diagram of the overall control unit 60 of the dicing apparatus 10 of the fourth embodiment. The dicing apparatus 10 of the fourth embodiment has basically the same configuration as the dicing apparatus 10 of each of the above embodiments, except that the overall control unit 60 functions as the blade shape measuring unit 100 instead of the correction value determining unit 84. For this reason, parts that are the same in function or configuration as those of the above embodiments are given the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

[0144] As in the second embodiment, the machining control unit 78 of the fourth embodiment drives each spindle 22A, 22B and the relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and the movement control unit 72 to form half-cut grooves 90A, 90B (see Figure 14) for each street C.

[0145] As in the second embodiment, the measurement control unit 80 of the fourth embodiment controls the white interferometer 24 and the relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 and operate and vertically scan the white interferometer 24 for each of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B. As a result, the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the fourth embodiment acquires an interference signal L5A from the white interferometer 24 for each of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B.

[0146] 25 is an explanatory diagram for describing the calculation results of the cross-sectional shapes of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B along the Y-axis direction by the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 25 and the already described FIG. 24, the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the fourth embodiment generates cross-sectional shape information 88 for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B, similar to the second embodiment, based on the interference signal L5A for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B acquired from the white interferometer 24. Then, the processing quality measuring unit 82 outputs the measurement results (cross-sectional shape information 88) of the cross-sectional shape, which is the processing quality of each half-cut groove 90A, 90B, to the blade shape measuring unit 100.

[0147] The blade shape measuring unit 100 measures the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B based on the measurement results (cross-sectional shape information 88) of the cross-sectional shapes of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B input from the processing quality measuring unit 82. Because the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B are transferred to the bottoms of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B, respectively, the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B can be measured from the cross-sectional shapes of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B. The measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B by the blade shape measuring unit 100 are stored in the memory unit 64 and displayed on the display unit 66.

[0148] [Operation of the fourth embodiment] 26 is a flowchart showing the flow of a process for measuring the tip shapes of blades 21A, 21B by a dicing apparatus 10 of a fourth embodiment, which corresponds to a control method for a workpiece processing apparatus of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 26, similar to the first embodiment (see Fig. 13), alignment detection (step S1) and cutting of each street C by the meeting cutting method (step S2) are performed, and half-cut grooves 90A, 90B are formed along each street C.

[0149] When starting to measure the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B (YES in step S3A), the processes from step S4 to step S7 are executed as in the first embodiment. That is, for each half-cut groove 90A and 90B, the position of the white interferometer 24 is adjusted (step S4), the white interferometer 24 is operated and vertically scanned (steps S5 and S6), and an interference signal L5A is obtained by the processing quality measuring unit 82 (step S7).

[0150] Next, the processing quality measuring unit 82 generates cross-sectional shape information 88 for each of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B based on the interference signal L5A for each of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B acquired from the white interferometer 24. This allows the cross-sectional shapes of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B to be measured with high accuracy without forming chop-cut marks 92 or photographing the chop-cut marks 92 with the microscope 23 (step S11). Then, the processing quality measuring unit 82 outputs the cross-sectional shape information 88 for each of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B to the blade shape measuring unit 100.

[0151] Having received the cross-sectional shape information 88 for each half-cut groove 90A, 90B, the blade shape measuring unit 100 measures the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B based on the cross-sectional shape information 88 (step S12, which corresponds to the blade shape measuring step of the present invention). Then, the blade shape measuring unit 100 outputs the measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B to the storage unit 64 and the display unit 66. As a result, the measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B are stored in the storage unit 64 and displayed on the display unit 66.

[0152] The operator determines the wear state of each of the blades 21A, 21B based on the measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B displayed on the display unit 66, and determines whether or not the blades 21A, 21B need to be replaced, etc. Note that the determination of the wear state of each of the blades 21A, 21B and whether or not replacement, etc. is necessary may be automatically performed by the integrated control unit 60.

[0153] As described above, the dicing apparatus 10 of the fourth embodiment can accurately measure the cross-sectional shapes of the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B using the white light interferometer 24, and can therefore accurately measure the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B based on the measurement results. As a result, the state of uneven wear in the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B and its progression can be accurately determined. This allows the operator to be prompted to replace, true (correct the shape of the blades 21A, 21B), or dress (sharpen and re-sharpen the blades 21A, 21B) before the processing quality of the workpiece W falls below tolerance and a defect occurs.

[0154] Furthermore, with the dicing apparatus 10 of the fourth embodiment, it is possible to measure the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B while the blades 21A, 21B are cutting the workpiece W, without forming or photographing the chop cut marks 92. As a result, the productivity of the dicing apparatus 10 can be improved compared to conventional methods.

[0155] In the fourth embodiment, the blades 21A and 21B form the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B in the respective streets C by simultaneous machining, but the grooves 25A and 25B (meeting cutting method), which are full-cut grooves, as described in the first embodiment, etc., may also be formed. Even in this case, if the uneven wear of the blades 21A and 21B progresses, the uneven wear state of the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B can be determined based on the cross-sectional shapes (cross-sectional shape information 88) of the grooves 25A and 25B.

[0156] [Fifth embodiment] FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a problem that occurs when the back surface of the workpiece W is ground after the half-cut grooves 90A, 90B described in the second and fourth embodiments are formed.

[0157] As shown by reference numeral XXVIIA in Fig. 27, the edge portion 110, which is the outer periphery of the workpiece W, has a shape that protrudes convexly in the radial direction of the workpiece W. Therefore, when the back surface of the workpiece W is ground after half-cut grooves 90A, 90B (not shown in Fig. 27) are formed for each street C of the workpiece W, the edge portion 110 ends up being thin and acute-angled, as shown by reference numeral XXVIIB in Fig. 27. As a result, a problem occurs in that cracks are likely to occur starting from this edge portion 110.

[0158] Therefore, in the dicing apparatus 10 of the fifth embodiment, blades 21A and 21B are used to perform a trimming process on the edge portion 110 of the workpiece W. Furthermore, the dicing apparatus 10 of the fifth embodiment measures the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B based on steps 112A and 112B (see FIG. 29) formed on the edge portion 110 by the trimming process. Note that the dicing apparatus 10 of the fifth embodiment has basically the same configuration as the dicing apparatus 10 of the fourth embodiment, and therefore, components that are the same in function or configuration as those of the fourth embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

[0159] Fig. 28 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the trimming process of the edge portion 110 of the workpiece W using the blades 21A and 21B. Fig. 29 is a side view of the workpiece W after the trimming process and the workpiece W after the backside grinding.

[0160] As shown by symbol XXIXA in Figures 28 and 29, the processing control unit 78 of the fourth embodiment drives each spindle 22A, 22B and the relative movement mechanism 49 via the blade drive control unit 70 and the movement control unit 72, thereby controlling the execution of the trimming process of the edge portion 110.

[0161] Specifically, during trimming, the processing control unit 78 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 (rotation drive unit 38) via the movement control unit 72 to rotate the table 31 about its rotation axis CA. At the same time, the processing control unit 78 drives the relative movement mechanism 49 via the movement control unit 72 to adjust the attitude and position of the blades 21A and 21B. In the attitude adjustment, the attitudes of the blades 21A and 21B are adjusted so that the blade rotation axes are parallel to the radius (diameter) of the workpiece W. In the position adjustment, the relative positions of the blades 21A and 21B with respect to the workpiece W are adjusted so that the cutting edges of the blades 21A and 21B contact the edge portion 110 from the front surface side (one surface side) of the workpiece W.

[0162] Next, the machining control unit 78 drives the spindles 22A, 22B via the blade drive control unit 70 to rotate the blades 21A, 21B, and also drives the relative movement mechanism 49 (Z drive unit 48) via the movement control unit 72 to move the blades 21A, 21B downward in the Z axis direction by a predetermined amount. As a result, a trimming process is performed in which the edge portion 110 is cut and removed by the blades 21A, 21B from the front surface side of the workpiece W to a predetermined depth position, and steps 112A, 112B (corresponding to the processed portion) are formed in the edge portion 110. Note that the step portion 112A is formed by the blade 21A, and the step portion 112B is formed by the blade 21B.

[0163] By performing back grinding on the workpiece W after the trimming process, an edge portion 110 is formed on a surface perpendicular to the front and back surfaces of the workpiece W, as shown by symbol XXIXB in Figure 29, thereby preventing the occurrence of cracks starting from this edge portion 110.

[0164] Figure 30 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the step portions 112A and 112B of the edge portion 110 of the workpiece W. As shown by reference symbol XXXA in Figure 30, when the edges E1 and E2 of the blades 21A and 21B are in an upright state (see reference symbol XXA in Figure 20), the cross-sectional shape of the step portions 112A and 112B is a right angle.

[0165] On the other hand, as shown by reference symbol XXXB in Figure 30, when edges E1, E2 become rounded (R-shaped: see reference symbol XXB in Figure 20) due to wear of blades 21A, 21B, the cross-sectional shape of steps 112A, 112B also becomes R-shaped, resulting in edge portion 110 being formed with a substantially acute angle. As a result, there is a risk of cracks originating from edge portion 110. Therefore, in dicing apparatus 10 of the fifth embodiment, the processing quality (cross-sectional shape) of steps 112A, 112B formed by the trimming process is measured, thereby measuring and monitoring the tip shape of blades 21A, 21B.

[0166] As in the fourth embodiment, the measurement control unit 80 of the fifth embodiment controls the white interferometer 24 and the relative movement mechanism 49 to adjust the position of the white interferometer 24 and operate and vertically scan the white interferometer 24 for each of the step portions 112A and 112B. As a result, the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the fifth embodiment acquires an interference signal L5A from the white interferometer 24 for each of the step portions 112A and 112B.

[0167] Similar to the fourth embodiment, the processing quality measuring unit 82 of the fifth embodiment generates cross-sectional shape information 88 indicating the cross-sectional shape of each of the step portions 112A, 112B based on the interference signal L5A for each of the step portions 112A, 112B acquired from the white light interferometer 24. Then, the processing quality measuring unit 82 outputs the measurement results (cross-sectional shape information 88) of the cross-sectional shape, which is the processing quality for each of the step portions 112A, 112B, to the blade shape measuring unit 100.

[0168] The blade shape measuring unit 100 of the fifth embodiment measures the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B based on the measurement results (cross-sectional shape information 88) of the cross-sectional shapes of the step portions 112A and 112B input from the processing quality measuring unit .

[0169] The flow of the trimming process of the workpiece W by the dicing apparatus 10 of the fifth embodiment, particularly the flow of the process of measuring the cross-sectional shape (processing quality) of the step portions 112A, 112B and the process of measuring the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B, is basically the same as that of the fourth embodiment shown in Fig. 26. However, in the fifth embodiment, the trimming process is performed in step S2 of Fig. 26, and the cross-sectional shapes of the step portions 112A, 112B are measured in step S11.

[0170] As described above, the dicing apparatus 10 of the fifth embodiment can also accurately measure the cross-sectional shapes (processing quality) of the step portions 112A and 112B, as in the fourth embodiment. As a result, the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B can be accurately measured based on the cross-sectional shapes of the step portions 112A and 112B. This makes it possible to monitor whether the tip shapes (edges E1 and E2) of the blades 21A and 21B are rounded during the trimming process of the edge portion 110, thereby preventing cracks from occurring.

[0171] [Sixth embodiment] Fig. 31 is an enlarged view of the blades 21A and 21B of the dicing apparatus 10 according to the sixth embodiment. Fig. 32 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the calculation results of the cross-sectional shapes of the half-cut grooves 90A and 90B formed by the blades 21A and 21B according to the sixth embodiment, taken along the Y-axis direction.

[0172] In each of the above embodiments, the tip shape of blades 21A and 21B is rectangular when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the Y-axis direction (blade rotation axis), but in the sixth embodiment, as shown in Figure 31, the tip shape of blades 21A and 21B is V-shaped when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the Y-axis direction (blade rotation axis).

[0173] The dicing device 10 of the sixth embodiment has basically the same configuration as the dicing device 10 of the fourth embodiment, except that the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B are V-shaped. Therefore, parts that are identical in function or configuration to those of the fourth embodiment will be given the same symbols and their descriptions will be omitted.

[0174] As in the sixth embodiment, by using the V-shaped blades 21A and 21B, it is possible to perform chamfering at any angle on the workpiece W. This makes it possible to adjust the angle of reflection of light when the workpiece W is an optical device.

[0175] Here, the V-shaped blades 21A and 21B also wear down with use, causing their tips to become rounded, making it impossible to cut (chamfer) the workpiece W at the designed angle. For this reason, conventionally, operators would determine the lifespan of the blades 21A and 21B by checking the cutting angle of the blades 21A and 21B from the cross section of the optical device (chip) after cutting.

[0176] In contrast, as shown in FIG. 32, the dicing apparatus 10 of the sixth embodiment can accurately measure the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B, more specifically, the tip angles α of the blades 21A and 21B, based on the measurement results of the cross-sectional shapes (cross-sectional shape information 88) of each half-cut groove 90A and 90B, as in the fourth embodiment. This allows the operator to determine the lifespan of the blades 21A and 21B based on the measurement results of the tip angles α of the blades 21A and 21B, without having to check the cross-section of the optical device after cutting. This determination may be made automatically by the integrated control unit 60.

[0177] [Seventh embodiment] 33 is a functional block diagram of the server 200 of the seventh embodiment. In each of the above embodiments, the integrated control unit 60 of the dicing apparatus 10 performs the processes of measuring the processing quality of various processed portions of the workpiece W, determining the correction values ​​Δy1, Δy2, Δz1, and Δz2 (hereinafter abbreviated as various correction values), and measuring the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B. In contrast, in the seventh embodiment, the server 200 performs the above-mentioned processes.

[0178] 33, the server 200 is connected to one or more dicing apparatuses 10 (white light interferometer 24 and integrated control unit 60) via a communication interface 202. The dicing apparatus 10 of the seventh embodiment has basically the same configuration as the dicing apparatuses 10 described in the above embodiments, but the integrated control unit 60 does not necessarily function as the processing quality measuring unit 82, the correction value determining unit 84, and the blade shape measuring unit 100.

[0179] The server 200 exchanges various information (data) with the dicing apparatus 10 via the communication interface 202. The server 200 acquires the interference signal L4 (interference signals L5A, L5B) from the white light interferometer 24 of the dicing apparatus 10 via the communication interface 202. The server 200 also outputs various correction values ​​and measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B to the overall control unit 60 of the dicing apparatus 10 via the communication interface 202.

[0180] The server 200 executes a control program (not shown) to function as at least an interference signal acquisition unit 204, a processing quality measurement unit 206, a correction value determination unit 208, and a blade shape measurement unit 210.

[0181] The interference signal acquisition unit 204 acquires the above-mentioned interference signals L5A and L5B from the white light interferometer 24 via the communication interface 202 and outputs the interference signals L5A and L5B to the processing quality measurement unit 206.

[0182] Similar to the processing quality measuring unit 82 in each of the above-described embodiments, the processing quality measuring unit 206 measures the processing quality (processing position and processing shape) of various workpieces cut by the blades 21A and 21B based on the interference signals L5A and L5B acquired from the interference signal acquiring unit 204, and outputs the measurement results to the correction value determining unit 208 and the blade shape measuring unit 210.

[0183] Similar to the correction value determination unit 84 in the first to third embodiments, the correction value determination unit 208 determines various correction values ​​based on the measurement results of the processing quality by the processing quality measurement unit 206, and outputs the various correction values ​​to the general control unit 60 via the communication interface 202. This executes so-called feedback control in which the processing positions and shapes (processing depths) of various workpieces to be cut in the dicing device 10 are corrected.

[0184] Similar to the blade shape measuring unit 100 of the fourth to sixth embodiments, the blade shape measuring unit 210 measures the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B based on the measurement results of the processing quality (cross-sectional shape) by the processing quality measuring unit 206. The measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A, 21B are stored in the server 200 for each dicing device 10 and are also displayed on a monitor (not shown) connected to the server 200.

[0185] Furthermore, the blade shape measuring unit 210 outputs the measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B to the general control unit 60 via the communication interface 202. As a result, the measurement results of the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B are also stored in the memory unit 64 of the dicing apparatus 10 and displayed on the display unit 66.

[0186] As described above, in the seventh embodiment, the processes of measuring the processing quality of various processed portions of the workpiece W, determining various correction values, and measuring the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B are performed by the server 200, thereby achieving the same effects as the above embodiments.

[0187] Furthermore, each process corresponding to a plurality of dicing devices 10 can be performed collectively by server 200 (high-performance arithmetic processing device). This allows the functions of dicing device 10 to be reduced, i.e., the programs (analysis software) that execute each process can be reduced, thereby reducing the cost of dicing device 10.

[0188] Furthermore, various data (interference signals L5A, L5B, processing quality of the workpiece, various correction values, and tip shapes of blades 21A, 21B) for each of the multiple dicing devices 10 can be stored in server 200. As a result, various correction values ​​can be determined (feedback control) based on the various stored data, or the tip shapes of blades 21A, 21B can be measured. Furthermore, by having server 200 perform machine learning, the measurement accuracy of the processing quality of various workpieces, the determination accuracy of various correction values, and the measurement accuracy of the tip shapes of blades 21A, 21B can be further improved.

[0189] [others] In each of the above embodiments, the dicing device 10 is provided with a pair of blades 21A, 21B and a pair of spindles 22A, 22B, but the number of blades and spindles (i.e., the number of processing heads of the present invention) may be one or three or more.

[0190] In each of the above embodiments, a twin-spindle dicer (a pair of blades 21A, 21B and a pair of spindles 22A, 22B) has been used as an example of the processing head of the present invention, but the present invention can also be applied when the dicing device 10 is provided with one or more laser processing heads that perform laser processing (including ablation groove processing) on ​​the workpiece W.

[0191] In the above embodiments, white light interferometer 24 is provided on one of the pair of Z carriages 44 (one of the twin spindles) and microscope 23 is provided on the other of the pair of Z carriages 44 (the other of the twin spindles), but white light interferometer 24 may also be provided on the other of the pair of Z carriages 44 (the other of the twin spindles). Similarly, microscope 23 may also be provided on one of the Z carriages 44. In other words, microscope 23 and white light interferometer 24 may be provided for each of multiple Z carriages 44. Furthermore, in the above embodiments, Z carriage 44 moves white light interferometer 24 in the Z axis direction to perform the above-mentioned vertical scanning, but vertical scanning may also be performed by moving table 31 in the Z axis direction.

[0192] In each of the above embodiments, the white interferometer 24 is provided on the Z carriage 44, so that the blade 21B and the white interferometer 24 are scanned together in the Z-axis direction, but the white interferometer 24 may be provided separately from the blade 21B and the Z carriage 44. In this case, a separate actuator (carriage) is provided that can scan the white interferometer 24 in the Z-axis direction.

[0193] In each of the above embodiments, the dicing apparatus 10 is provided with a Mirau-type white light interferometer 24, but various other types of known white light interferometers 24, such as a Michelson-type or Fizeau-type, may also be provided.

[0194] The dicing apparatus 10 of each of the above embodiments may be combined as appropriate. For example, the dicing apparatus 10 of the first embodiment and the dicing apparatus 10 of the second embodiment may be combined to simultaneously measure both the processing position and the processing shape as the processing quality of various processed portions. Furthermore, the dicing apparatus 10 of the first to third embodiments may be combined with the dicing apparatus 10 of the fourth to sixth embodiments as appropriate to enable both the processing quality of various processed portions and measurement of the tip shapes of the blades 21A and 21B to be performed.

[0195] In each of the above embodiments, the measurement of the processing quality of various processed parts such as grooves 25A, 25B, half-cut grooves 90A, 90B, laser-processed groove 94, and step portions 112A, 112B has been described as examples of the processed parts of the present invention, but the present invention can also be applied to measuring the processing quality of various processed parts formed in the workpiece W by the dicing device 10 or other devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0196] 10... dicing device, 21A, 21B... blade, 22A, 22B... spindle, 23... microscope, 24... white light interferometer, 25A, 25B... groove, 31... table, 49... relative movement mechanism, 51... white light source, 56... imaging unit, 60... overall control unit, 70... blade drive control unit, 72... movement control unit, 74... photography control unit, 76... detection control unit, 78... processing control unit, 80... measurement control unit, 82... processing quality measurement unit, 84... correction value determination unit, 86... three-dimensional shape information, 88... cross-sectional shape information, 90A, 90B... half-cut groove, 94... laser processing Groove, 100...blade shape measuring unit, 110...edge portion, 112A, 112B...step portion, 200...server, 202...communication interface, 204...interference signal acquiring unit, 206...machining quality measuring unit, 208...correction value determining unit, 210...blade shape measuring unit, C...street, CL1, CL2...groove center position, cy, cy1, cy2...machining width, cz1, cz2...machining depth, E1, E2...edge, L1...white light, L2...measurement light, L3...reference light, L4, L5A, L5B...interference signal, W...workpiece, Δy1, Δy2, Δz1, Δz2...correction value

Claims

[Claim 1] a table for holding the workpiece; a machining head that processes the workpiece held on the table; a relative movement mechanism that moves the processing head relative to the table; A processing quality measuring device for measuring processing quality of a processed portion formed on a workpiece by a workpiece processing device comprising: a white interferometer provided integrally with the machining head, which emits white light toward a machined portion formed on the workpiece and detects an interference signal between the white light reflected by the machined portion and the white light reflected by a reference surface; a scanning control unit that drives the relative movement mechanism to perform vertical scanning, which moves the processing head and the white light interferometer together relative to the table in a direction perpendicular to the table, thereby changing the optical path length of the white light reflected by the processed portion; a processing quality measuring unit that measures processing quality of the processed portion based on the interference signal output from the white light interferometer during the vertical scanning; A processing quality measuring device equipped with:

Images