Liquid resin supply device

Abstract

To provide a liquid resin supply device capable of supplying a predetermined amount of a liquid resin regardless of viscosity.SOLUTION: A liquid resin supply device includes a dispenser 50 constructed by including: a cylinder 51 that stores a liquid resin r; a cylinder capacity increase / decrease mechanism 60 that increases and decreases a capacity of the cylinder 51; a suction path 52 that allows the cylinder 51 to suck the liquid resin r; a suction valve 53 that opens and closes the suction path 52; a discharge path 54 that discharges the liquid resin r from the cylinder 51; and a discharge valve 55 that opens and closes the discharge path 54. The liquid resin supply device includes: a pressure sensor 91 that measures a pressure inside the cylinder 51; a pressure setting part 93 that sets the pressure of the cylinder 51 to a predetermined setting value; and a control part 90 that controls a capacity decrease speed of the cylinder 51 caused by the cylinder capacity increase / decrease mechanism 60 such that the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 91 keeps the setting value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid resin supplying device having a dispenser that supplies a predetermined amount of liquid resin by pumping action caused by extension and contraction of a cylinder. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, wafers used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices such as ICs and LSIs used in electronic devices are obtained by cutting a single crystal ingot of silicon or the like with a cutting device such as a blade saw or a wire saw to produce sliced ​​wafers, and then flattening both surfaces of the sliced ​​wafers with a grinding device or a polishing device. Devices such as ICs and LSIs are then formed on the front surface of the wafer with both surfaces flattened in this way, the back surface of the wafer on which these devices are formed is ground to thin the wafer to a predetermined thickness, and the thinned wafer is then cut with a dicing saw or the like to separate into individual devices.

[0003] Sliced ​​wafers cut from an ingot have warpage due to differences in the magnitude of processing strain that occurs on both sides during cutting using a cutting device such as a blade saw, and undulations that occur on the surface layers of both sides. For this reason, a processing method is practiced in which a protective member such as an ultraviolet-curable resin is formed on one side of the sliced ​​wafer to flatten that side, one flat side of the protective member is held by a holding surface of a chuck table, the other side of the sliced ​​wafer is ground to flatten that side, the protective member is then peeled off from the sliced ​​wafer, and one side of the sliced ​​wafer is ground to flatten that side while the other flat side is held by a holding surface of a chuck table.

[0004] In the above processing method, a protective member forming device for forming a protective member on one side of a sliced ​​wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as "wafer") has been proposed in Patent Documents 1 and 2. This protective member forming device uses a dispenser to supply a predetermined amount of liquid resin onto a sheet placed on a table, lowers the holding table holding the wafer above the table, spreads the liquid resin with the wafer, and then hardens the liquid resin, thereby forming a protective member made of hardened resin and a sheet over the entire surface of one side of the wafer.

[0005] Here, the dispenser is composed of an expandable cylinder that contains liquid resin, a cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism that increases / decreases the volume of the cylinder, an intake path that draws the liquid resin into the cylinder, an intake valve that opens and closes the intake path, a discharge path that discharges the liquid resin from the cylinder, and a discharge valve that opens and closes the discharge path. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-141639 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-181574 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, in liquid resin supply devices equipped with dispensers, the viscosity of the liquid resin can change depending on the wafer, and when the viscosity of the liquid resin increases, the pressure at which the liquid resin is discharged increases, causing the liquid resin to leak from sealed parts such as cylinders, discharge paths, and discharge valves, which makes it impossible to supply the specified amount of liquid resin to the sheet, resulting in the problem that a resin layer of the specified thickness cannot be formed on one side of the wafer.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid resin supplying device that can supply a predetermined amount of liquid resin regardless of viscosity.

[0009] In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides a liquid resin supply device having a dispenser comprising a cylinder for storing liquid resin, a cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism for increasing / decreasing the volume of the cylinder, an intake passage for sucking liquid resin into the cylinder, an intake valve for opening and closing the intake passage, a discharge passage for discharging liquid resin from the cylinder, and a discharge valve for opening and closing the discharge passage, characterized in that it comprises a pressure sensor for measuring the pressure in the cylinder or the discharge passage, a pressure setting unit for setting the pressure in the cylinder or the discharge passage to a predetermined set value, and a control unit for controlling the rate at which the volume of the cylinder is reduced by the cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism so that the pressure measured by the pressure sensor maintains the set value. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, the control unit controls the rate at which the volume of the cylinder is reduced by the cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism so that the pressure inside the cylinder or discharge path measured by the pressure sensor maintains the set value set by the pressure setting unit of the control unit. This prevents leakage of liquid resin from sealed parts such as the cylinder, discharge path, and discharge valve, and provides the effect of being able to supply a predetermined amount of liquid resin regardless of the viscosity of the liquid resin. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a partial perspective view of a protective member forming apparatus including a liquid resin supplying device according to the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the dispenser. [Figure 3] 2. (a) is an enlarged detailed view of part A in FIG. 2, and (b) is an enlarged detailed view of part B in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the dispenser is sucking resin. [Figure 5]5A is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the dispenser dispenses resin. [Figure 7] 7A is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line EE in FIG. 6, and FIG. 7B is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line FF in FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the dispenser. [Figure 9] 10A is a time chart showing the cylinder volume of the dispenser, FIG. 10B is a time chart showing the pressure inside the cylinder, and FIG. 10C is a time chart showing the change over time in the rate of decrease in the cylinder volume. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0013] [Configuration of protective member forming device] First, the configuration of a protective member forming apparatus equipped with a liquid resin supplying device according to the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. In the following description, the directions of the arrows shown in Fig. 1 are the X-axis (left-right direction), the Y-axis (front-rear direction), and the Z-axis (up-down direction), respectively.

[0014] The protective member forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus for forming a protective member on one surface (the lower surface in FIG. 1) of a disk-shaped wafer W, and includes a housing 100 and a cassette storage unit 110 arranged along the X-axis direction. The cassette storage unit 110 stores a first cassette 111 and a second cassette 112 in two levels, one above the other. The first cassette 111 (upper level) stores a plurality of wafers W before the protective member is formed, and the second cassette 112 (lower level) stores a plurality of wafers W on which the protective member has been formed. The wafers W are disk-shaped sliced ​​wafers cut from a cylindrical ingot such as single-crystal silicon.

[0015] The housing 100 also accommodates, in order from the -X axis direction (left side), components such as a first transport means 10, a second transport means 20, a temporary placement table 2, a sheet cutting table 4, a wafer holding unit 30, a lifting mechanism 40, a sheet holding table 6, a resin curing unit 7, a dispenser 50, and a sheet transport unit 8. The configuration of each component will be described below in order.

[0016] (First conveying means) The first transport means 10 functions to remove wafers W from the first cassette 111 and transport them to the temporary placement table 2, as well as to receive wafers W with protective members formed thereon from the sheet cutting table 4 and store them in the second cassette 112, and is equipped with a robot hand 12 installed on a base 11 and a Y-axis movement mechanism 13 that moves the base 11 in the Y-axis direction together with the robot hand 12.

[0017] Here, the Y-axis movement mechanism 13 is composed of a pair of guide rails 14 arranged parallel to each other along the Y-axis direction, a rotatable ball screw 15 arranged along the Y-axis direction between these guide rails 14, and a motor 16 for rotating the ball screw 15 forward and backward, and the ball screw 15 is threadedly inserted into a nut member (not shown) that protrudes from the underside of the base 11. Therefore, when the motor 16 is started to rotate the ball screw 15 forward and backward, the base 11, on which the nut member (not shown) protrudes and into which the ball screw 15 threads, moves along the Y-axis direction together with the robot hand 12.

[0018] (Second conveying means) The second transport means 20 receives the wafer W from the temporary placement table 2 and transports it to the wafer holding section 30, and also receives the wafer W with the protective member formed thereon from the sheet holding table 6 and transports it to the sheet cutting table 4.The second transport means 20 is equipped with a robot hand 22 installed on a base 21 and an X-axis movement mechanism 23 that moves the base 21 together with the robot hand 22 in the X-axis direction.

[0019] Here, the X-axis movement mechanism 23 is composed of a pair of guide rails 24 arranged parallel to each other along the X-axis direction, a rotatable ball screw 25 arranged between these guide rails 24 along the X-axis direction, and a motor (not shown) for rotating the ball screw 25 forward and backward, and the ball screw 25 is threadedly inserted into a nut member (not shown) protruding from the underside of the base 21. Therefore, when the motor (not shown) is started to rotate the ball screw 25 forward and backward, the base 21, on which the nut member (not shown) protruding and into which the ball screw 25 is threadedly inserted, moves along the X-axis direction together with the robot hand 22.

[0020] (Temporary table) The temporary placement table 2 is used to temporarily place the wafer W taken out from the first cassette 111 by the robot hand 12 of the first transport means 10, and the center position and orientation of the wafer W temporarily placed on the temporary placement table 2 are optically detected by the wafer detection unit 3.

[0021] (Sheet cutting table) The sheet cutting table 4 is disposed below the temporary placement table 2, and is used to place the wafer W on which the protective member is formed. The sheet S attached to the wafer W is cut along the periphery of the wafer W by the sheet cutter 5.

[0022] (Wafer holder) The wafer holding unit 30 includes a disk-shaped wafer holding table 31, the underside of which forms a holding surface that generates negative pressure when connected to a suction source (not shown). The wafer W is then sucked and held on the holding surface by the negative pressure generated on the holding surface of the wafer holding table 31.

[0023] (Lifting mechanism) The lifting mechanism 40 is a mechanism for raising and lowering the wafer holding table 31 of the wafer holding unit 30 together with the wafer W held thereon by suction in the Z-axis direction, and is installed on a column 130 that stands vertically on the base 120. That is, the lifting mechanism 40 includes a pair of guide rails 41 attached vertically and parallel to each other to the end face of the column 130 in the +X-axis direction, a lifting plate 42 that moves up and down in the Z-axis direction along these guide rails 41, a rotatable ball screw 43 vertically disposed between the pair of guide rails 41, and a motor 44 that rotates the ball screw 43 forward and backward, and the wafer holding table 31 of the wafer holding unit 30 is attached to the lifting plate 42. Although not shown, a nut member is attached to the back surface of the lifting plate 42, and the ball screw 43 is threadedly inserted into the nut member.

[0024] Therefore, when the motor 44 is started to rotate the ball screw 43 forward and backward, the lifting plate 42, to which a nut member (not shown) that screws onto the ball screw 43 is attached, can move up and down in the Z-axis direction along the pair of guide rails 41 together with the wafer holding portion 30 and the wafer W that is suction-held on the wafer holding table 31 of the wafer holding portion 30.

[0025] (sheet holding table) The sheet holding table 6 installed on the base 120 is a disk-shaped member made of a light-transmitting material such as quartz glass, and its upper surface forms a flat holding surface on which the sheet S is placed. The holding surface of the sheet holding table 6 has a plurality of suction holes 6a formed therein, and when a negative pressure is generated in each suction hole 6a by a suction source (not shown), the sheet S is attracted by this negative pressure and held on the holding surface of the sheet holding table 6.

[0026] (Resin hardening part) The resin curing unit 7 is located below the sheet holding table 6, and as described below, when the liquid resin r (see Figures 4 and 6) supplied onto the sheet S placed on the sheet holding table 6 is an ultraviolet curing resin, it is equipped with a UV lamp (not shown) that irradiates ultraviolet light onto the ultraviolet curing resin r through the sheet holding table 6 made of a translucent material.

[0027] (Dispenser) The dispenser 50 supplies a predetermined amount of liquid resin r stored in a resin tank 80 installed in the base 120 to the upper surface of the sheet S held on the upper surface of the sheet holding table 6, and is connected to the resin tank 80 via a pipe 82 and to a nozzle 81 via a pipe 83. The nozzle 81 is disposed near the sheet holding table 6 and is attached horizontally to the upper end of a vertical rotating shaft 81a, with its tip opening downward. The position of the nozzle 81 (the dripping position of the liquid resin r) can be moved to above the center position of the sheet holding table 6 and to a retracted position retracted therefrom by rotating the rotating shaft 81a.

[0028] The dispenser 50 is provided with a first pressure sensor 91 and a second pressure sensor 92 that measure the pressure of the liquid resin r when the liquid resin r is being discharged, and a control unit 90 that controls the operation of the dispenser 50 based on the pressure values ​​measured by the first pressure sensor 91 and the second pressure sensor 92. The details of the configuration of the dispenser 50 and the details of the control by the control unit 90 will be described later. The liquid resin supply device according to the present invention is configured to include the dispenser 50, a resin tank 80, a nozzle 81, the control unit 90, the first and second pressure sensors 91, 92, etc.

[0029] (sheet transport section) The sheet conveying unit 8 pulls out the sheet S from the sheet roll R on which the sheet S is wound in a roll shape and conveys it to the sheet holding table 6, and is equipped with a clamp unit 9a attached to the side of an arm 9 that is movable in the X-axis direction. Therefore, when the arm 9 moves in the -X-axis direction with the clamp unit 9a gripping the end of the sheet S wound around the sheet roll R, the sheet S is pulled out from the sheet roll R and held on the upper surface of the sheet holding table 6, and the sheet S held on the sheet holding table 6 is cut to an appropriate length. Note that the sheet S is made of a film such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is a light-transmitting material.

[0030] [Function of the protective member forming device] Next, the operation of the protective member forming apparatus 1 configured as above, that is, the method of forming a protective member on one surface of the wafer W, will be described.

[0031] To form a protective member on one surface of the wafer W, the first transport means 10 takes out the wafer W from the first cassette 111 and temporarily places the taken-out wafer W on the temporary placement table 2. Then, the center position and orientation of the wafer W temporarily placed on the temporary placement table 2 are optically detected by the wafer detection unit 3. Then, the wafer W, whose center position and orientation have been detected in this manner, is transported by the second transport means 20 to the wafer holding unit 30 and is suction-held on the holding surface (lower surface) of the wafer holding table 31 of the wafer holding unit 30.

[0032] Meanwhile, in the sheet conveying section 8, with one end of the sheet S wound around the sheet roll R being gripped by the clamp section 9a, the arm 9 moves in the −X-axis direction, whereby the sheet S is pulled out from the sheet roll R and conveyed to the sheet holding table 6. Then, the sheet S conveyed to the sheet holding table 6 is sucked and held on the holding surface of the sheet holding table 6 by a suction source (not shown).

[0033] Next, the liquid resin r stored in the resin tank 80 is sent to the dispenser 50 via a pipe 82, and a predetermined amount of the liquid resin r is supplied by the dispenser 50 to the nozzle 81 via a pipe 83. At this time, the nozzle 81 opens above the center position of the sheet holding table 6.

[0034] As described above, when a predetermined amount of liquid resin r is supplied to the nozzle 81 by the dispenser 50, the predetermined amount of liquid resin r is dripped from the nozzle 81 toward the center of the upper surface of the sheet S held by suction on the holding surface of the sheet holding table 6. Then, the wafer holding table 31 is lowered together with the wafer W held thereon by the lifting mechanism 40, and the liquid resin r dripped onto the sheet S is spread by the wafer W.

[0035] Thus, when the liquid resin r is spread to a uniform thickness on the sheet S by the wafer W descending together with the wafer holding table 31, the wafer holding table 31 is raised by the lifting mechanism 40 and separated from the wafer W, leaving the sheet S, the liquid resin r, and the wafer W on the sheet holding table 6 side. Then, when the multiple UV lamps (not shown) provided in the resin curing unit 7 are turned on from this state, ultraviolet (UV) rays emitted upward from each UV lamp pass through the transparent, light-transmitting sheet holding table 6 and sheet S and are irradiated onto the liquid resin r, which is cured by the ultraviolet rays. As a result of the curing of the liquid resin r, a protective member made of the sheet S and cured resin is formed on one side of the wafer W.

[0036] The wafer W having the protective member formed on one surface through the above process is transported by the second transport means 20 to the sheet cutting table 4, and on the sheet cutting table 4, the sheet S attached to the wafer W is cut along the outer periphery of the wafer W by the sheet cutter 5. Then, the wafer W from which the sheet S has been cut in this manner is transported by the first transport means 10 to the second cassette 112 and stored in the second cassette 112, completing the series of steps for forming the protective member on the wafer W.

[0037] The wafer W having a protective member formed on one side is suction-held with the protective member facing down on the holding surface of a chuck table of a grinding device (not shown), and the other side of the wafer W, on which warpage or waviness remains, is ground to a flat surface. Next, the protective member is peeled off and removed from one side of the wafer W, and then the wafer W is suction-held with the other side, which has been ground to a flat surface, facing down on the holding surface of the chuck table, and the one side on which warpage or waviness remains is ground to a flat surface. As a result, both sides of the wafer W are finished to be flat and free of warpage or waviness.

[0038] [Dispenser configuration] Next, the configuration of the dispenser 50 constituting the liquid resin supply device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0039] The dispenser 50 supplies a predetermined amount of liquid resin r stored in a resin tank 80 to a nozzle 81, and is composed of a cylinder 51 that contains the liquid resin r, a cylinder volume increase / decrease mechanism 60 that increases / decreases the volume of the cylinder 51, an intake path 52 that draws the liquid resin r into the cylinder 51, an intake valve 53 that opens and closes the intake path 52, a discharge path 54 that discharges the liquid resin r from the cylinder 51, and a discharge valve 55 that opens and closes the discharge path 54.

[0040] Here, the cylinder 51 is an expandable, bellows-like cylindrical member that alternately sucks in and expels the liquid resin r by pumping action, and one end (the left end in Figure 2) of the cylinder 51 is connected to a connecting member 56 via a circular flange 51A, and the other end (the right end in Figure 2) is connected to a movable plate 61 of the cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism 60 via a disc-shaped plate 51B.

[0041] The cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism 60 includes a rotatable ball screw 62 that threadably fits into a movable plate 61, and a motor 63 that rotates the ball screw 62 in the forward and reverse directions. The movable plate 61 is connected to one end of the cylinder 51 via a plate 51B. The other end of the ball screw 62 is rotatably supported by a bearing 64. Therefore, when the motor 63 is started to rotate the ball screw 62 in the forward and reverse directions, the movable plate 61, into which the ball screw 62 threadably fits, moves in the directions of arrows a and b, thereby extending and retracting the cylinder 51. The motor 63 is provided with an encoder 65 that detects the number of rotations, rotation speed, rotation direction, etc. of the motor 63, and the motor 63 and encoder 65 are electrically connected to the control unit 90.

[0042] The suction valve 53 includes a cylindrical inner cylinder 53A with a bottom that is supported vertically by a fixed flange 57A, a valve seat member 53B that selectively seats on the outer periphery of the upper end of the inner cylinder 53A, and a bellows-shaped outer cylinder 53C that connects the valve seat member 53B to a connecting member 56. The upper end of the inner cylinder 53A is closed, and a circular supply port 53a opens at the upper end side of the inner cylinder 53A, as shown in FIG. 3(b). The valve seat member 53B and the connecting member 56 are connected to each other by a connecting cylinder 58 that is also a bellows cylinder like the outer cylinder 53C. The interiors of the inner cylinder 53A and the connecting cylinder 58 form a suction passage 52, which communicates with the interior of the cylinder 51 through a communication hole 56a formed in the connecting member 56. The inner cylinder 53A is connected to a resin tank 80 via a pipe 82 shown in FIG. 1.

[0043] Discharge valve 55 includes a cylindrical inner cylinder 55A with a bottom supported vertically by a connecting member 56, a valve seat member 55B selectively seated on the outer periphery of the upper end of inner cylinder 55A, and a bellows-shaped outer cylinder 55C connecting valve seat member 55B and connecting member 56. The upper end of inner cylinder 55A is closed, and a circular discharge port 55a opens at the upper end side of inner cylinder 55A as shown in FIG. 3(a). Discharge port 55a and supply port 53a open in opposite directions (positions 180° out of phase with each other) (see FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b)). Valve seat member 55B and fixed flange 57B are connected to each other by a connecting cylinder 59, which is a bellows-shaped cylinder similar to outer cylinder 55C. Here, discharge passage 54 is formed by the interior of inner cylinder 55A and the interior of connecting cylinder 59, and this discharge passage 54 communicates with the interior of cylinder 51 via communication hole 56a formed in connecting member 56. In addition, discharge passage 54 is connected to nozzle 81 shown in FIG. 1 via piping 83.

[0044] Thus, suction valve 53 and discharge valve 55 are alternately opened and closed by valve opening / closing mechanism 70, the operation of which is controlled by control unit 90. Here, valve opening / closing mechanism 70 is made up of an air cylinder, and is composed of cylinder 71, piston 72 slidably fitted inside cylinder 71, and piston rod 73 extending from piston 72 through cylinder 71. Further, a connecting member 74 is attached to the end of piston rod 73, which connects valve seat member 53B of suction valve 53 and valve seat member 55B of discharge valve 55.

[0045] Here, the interior of cylinder 71 is divided into chambers S1 and S2 by piston 72, and as compressed air is alternately supplied to these chambers S1 and S2, valve seat members 53B and 55B move alternately in the directions of arrows c and d via piston 72, piston rod 73, and connecting member 74, and as will be described later, the movement of these valve seat members 53B and 55B alternately opens and closes suction valve 53 and discharge valve 55.

[0046] 2, the dispenser 50 is provided with a first pressure sensor 91 that measures the internal pressure of the cylinder 51 and a second pressure sensor 92 that measures the internal pressure of the discharge passage 54, and these first pressure sensor 91 and second pressure sensor 92 are electrically connected to the control unit 90. The control unit 90 is provided with a pressure setting unit 93 that sets a predetermined set value for the internal pressure of the cylinder 51 or the internal pressure of the discharge passage 54.

[0047] [Operation of the liquid resin supply device] Next, the operation of the liquid resin supplying device equipped with the dispenser 50 configured as above will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0048] First, the suction operation of the dispenser 50 will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. When the dispenser 50 sucks liquid resin r stored in the resin tank 80, the motor 63 of the cylinder volume adjusting mechanism 60 is started and the ball screw 62 is rotated in a predetermined direction. This causes the movable plate 61, into which the ball screw 62 is threaded, to move in the direction of arrow b in Figure 4, thereby expanding the cylinder 51 and increasing the volume of the cylinder 51. At the same time, when compressed air is supplied from an air supply source (not shown) to one chamber S1 in the cylinder 71 of the valve opening / closing mechanism 70, the piston 72, piston rod 73, and connecting member 74 move in the direction of arrow d, and the two valve seat members 53B and 55B also move in the same direction. Then, the discharge port 55a opening into the inner cylinder 55A of the discharge valve 55 is closed by the valve seat member 55B as shown in Figure 5(a), while the supply port 53a opening into the inner cylinder 53A of the suction valve 53 opens as shown in Figure 5(b).

[0049] Therefore, when the suction valve 53 opens with the discharge valve 55 closed as described above, the movable plate 61 of the cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism 60 moves in the direction of arrow b in Figure 4, causing the cylinder 51 to extend, and the liquid resin r stored in the resin tank 80 is sucked into the cylinder 51 from the suction path 52 through the communicating hole 56a of the connecting member 56, as shown by hatching in Figure 4.

[0050] Then, when a predetermined amount of liquid resin r is sucked into the cylinder 51, the liquid resin r in the cylinder 51 is discharged by the next discharging action. The discharging action of the dispenser 50 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0051] When motor 63 of cylinder volume adjusting mechanism 60 is started and ball screw 62 is rotated in the reverse direction, movable plate 61 threadedly inserted into ball screw 62 moves in the direction of arrow a in Figure 6, causing cylinder 51 to contract as shown and decreasing the volume of cylinder 51. At the same time, when compressed air is supplied from an air supply source (not shown) to the other chamber S2 within cylinder 71 of valve opening / closing mechanism 70, piston 72, piston rod 73, and connecting member 74 move in the direction of the arrow, causing two valve seat members 53B, 55B to move in the same direction. As a result, discharge port 55a opening into inner cylinder 55A of discharge valve 55 opens as shown in Figure 7(a), while supply port 53a opening into inner cylinder 53A of suction valve 53 is closed by valve seat member 53B as shown in Figure 7(b).

[0052] Therefore, when the discharge valve 55 opens while the suction valve 53 is closed as described above, the movable plate 61 of the cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism 60 moves in the direction of arrow a in Figure 6, causing the cylinder 51 to contract, and the liquid resin r sucked into the cylinder 51 is discharged into the discharge path 54 through the communication hole 56a of the connecting member 56, as shown by hatching in Figure 6, and is then supplied from this discharge path 54 through the piping 83 to the nozzle 81 shown in Figure 1.

[0053] As described above, in the dispenser 50, the volume of the cylinder 51 is increased and decreased and the suction valve 53 and the discharge valve 55 are opened and closed alternately and continuously, so that a predetermined amount of liquid resin r is supplied from the dispenser 50 to the nozzle 81 shown in FIG. 1.

[0054] In the state shown in Figure 6 where the dispenser 50 discharges the liquid resin r from the cylinder 51, as the viscosity of the liquid resin r increases, the pressure at which the liquid resin r is discharged increases, causing the liquid resin r to leak from sealing parts such as the cylinder 51, the discharge path 54, and the discharge valve 55, and as a result, the predetermined amount of liquid resin r cannot be supplied to the nozzle 81, resulting in the problem that a resin layer of the predetermined thickness cannot be formed on one side of the wafer W, as mentioned above.

[0055] Therefore, in this embodiment, the control unit 90 controls the rate at which the volume of the cylinder 51 is reduced by the cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism 60 so that the pressure inside the cylinder 51 measured by the first pressure sensor 91 maintains the set value set by the pressure setting unit 93 of the control unit 90. This control method will be described below with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0056] That is, when the liquid resin r is discharged from the dispenser 50 as described above (step S1 in FIG. 8), the first pressure sensor 91 measures the pressure P inside the cylinder 51 (step S2 in FIG. 8). Here, the volume V of the cylinder 51, the pressure P, and the volume reduction rate U of the cylinder 51 change over time in the cylinder 51, respectively, as shown in FIGS. 9(a) to 9(c). As shown in FIG. 9(b), the pressure P inside the cylinder 51 rises rapidly, and if it rises above the set value P0 as indicated by the dashed line, the problem described above occurs. For this reason, the control unit 90 determines whether the measured pressure P inside the cylinder 51 exceeds the set value P0 set by the pressure setting unit 93 (step S3 in FIG. 8).

[0057] 9(b), when the pressure P inside the cylinder 51 exceeds the set value P0 at time t1 (step S3: Yes), the control unit 90 reduces the rotation speed of the motor 63 of the cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism 60 to reduce the contraction speed of the cylinder 51 and decrease the amount of liquid resin r discharged per unit time from the cylinder 51 (step S4). As a result, as shown in FIG. 9(b), in the conventional system, the pressure P inside the cylinder 51 rises to a pressure P1 higher than the set value P0. However, when the rotation speed of the motor 63 is reduced and the contraction speed of the cylinder 51, that is, the volume reduction speed U of the cylinder 51, is reduced from the conventional U1 to U2, the pressure P inside the cylinder 51 is maintained at the set value P0, as shown in FIG. 9(b).

[0058] 9(a) from V1 to V2, a predetermined amount (V1-V2) of liquid resin r is discharged from the cylinder 51. Conventionally, however, the volume of the cylinder 51 decreases from V1 to V2 at a constant rate over time as shown by the dashed line K in FIG. 9(a), and at time t2, the predetermined amount (V1-V2) of liquid resin r is discharged from the cylinder 51. In contrast, in this embodiment, when the pressure P inside the cylinder 51 measured by the first pressure sensor 91 exceeds a set value P0 at time t1, the rotation speed of the motor 63 of the cylinder volume adjusting mechanism 60 is reduced to slow down the contraction speed of the cylinder 51. As a result, the volume V of the cylinder 51 gradually decreases from time t1 as shown by the solid line L in FIG. 9(a). Therefore, in this embodiment, it takes time t3 to eject a predetermined amount (V1-V2) of liquid resin r, and the time required to eject a predetermined amount (V1-V2) of liquid resin r is longer than conventional by time Δt (t3-t2).

[0059] As described above, when the pressure P in the cylinder 51 exceeds the set value P0 at time t1 as shown in FIG. 9(b) (Step S3: Yes), the rotation speed of the motor 63 of the cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism 60 is reduced to slow the contraction speed of the cylinder 51, thereby reducing the amount of liquid resin r discharged per unit time from the cylinder 51 (Step S4). The control unit 90 then calculates the volume reduction rate U of the cylinder 51 (Step S5). The volume reduction rate U of the cylinder 51 is shown in FIG. 9(c). The volume reduction rate U2 in this embodiment is calculated using the gradient (dV / dt) of the straight line L shown in FIG. 9(a). In contrast, the conventional volume reduction rate U, calculated as the gradient of the dashed line K representing the time change in the volume V of the conventional cylinder 51 shown in FIG. 9(a), is U1 shown in FIG. 9(c). This value U1 decreases to U2 at time t1.

[0060] In this embodiment, the allowable range ΔU of the volume reduction rate U (=U max -U min ) is set, and as described above, when the volume decrease rate U2 after time t1 in this embodiment is calculated (step S5), the control unit 90 determines whether the calculated volume decrease rate U2 exceeds the allowable range ΔU (step S6 in FIG. 8). If the result of this determination is that the volume decrease rate U2 does not exceed the allowable range ΔU (step S6: No), the processing of steps S2 to S6 is repeated.

[0061] On the other hand, if the change in the volume V of the cylinder 51 over time is small as shown by the chain line M in FIG. 9(a) and the volume V of the cylinder 51 has not decreased to V2 even at time t3, the volume decrease rate U calculated as the gradient of the chain line M becomes U3 shown in FIG. 9(c), which exceeds the allowable range ΔU (step S6: Yes). Therefore, the control unit 90 determines that the liquid resin r is clogged or leaking from the dispenser 50, displays an error message (step S7), and terminates the process (step S8). Note that even if the type (viscosity) of the liquid resin r or the set value P0 of the pressure P in the cylinder 51 is incorrect, the volume decrease rate U exceeds the allowable range ΔU. Therefore, the control unit 90 can detect such an error by displaying an error message (step S7). Here, the allowable range ΔU of the volume decrease rate U is set to a different value for each type (viscosity) of the liquid resin r.

[0062] On the other hand, if the pressure P inside the cylinder 51 detected by the pressure sensor 91 does not exceed the set value P0 shown in Figure 9(b) (step S3: No), it is determined whether a predetermined amount (V1-V2) of liquid resin r has been ejected from the cylinder 51 (step S9), and if a predetermined amount (V1-V2) of liquid resin r has been ejected from the cylinder 51 (step S9: Yes), the processing is terminated (step S8), and if the predetermined amount of liquid resin r has not yet been ejected from the cylinder 51 (step S9: No), the ejection of liquid resin r continues until the predetermined amount of liquid resin r is ejected from the cylinder 51.

[0063] As described above, in this embodiment, the control unit 90 controls the volume reduction rate U of the cylinder 51 by the cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism 60 so that the pressure P inside the cylinder 51 measured by the first pressure sensor 91 is maintained at the set value P0 set by the pressure setting unit 93 of the control unit 90, thereby preventing leakage of the liquid resin r from sealing parts such as the cylinder 51, the discharge path 54, and the discharge valve 55. Therefore, a predetermined amount of the liquid resin r can be supplied from the nozzle 81 to the sheet S regardless of the viscosity of the liquid resin r, and an effect is obtained in which a resin layer of a predetermined thickness can be formed on one side of the wafer W.

[0064] In this embodiment, the rate of volume reduction of the cylinder 51 is controlled based on the pressure inside the cylinder 51 measured by one of the first pressure sensors 91, but the rate of volume reduction of the cylinder 51 may also be controlled based on the pressure in the discharge passage 54 measured by the second pressure sensor 92.

[0065] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the application of the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims and the technical ideas described in the specification and drawings. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 1: protective member forming device, 2: temporary placement table, 3: wafer detection unit, 4: Sheet cutting table, 5: Sheet cutter, 6: Sheet holding table, 6a: suction hole, 7: resin curing section, 8: sheet conveying section, 9: arm, 9a: clamp section, 10: First conveying means, 11: Base, 12: Robot hand, 13: Y-axis movement mechanism, 14: guide rail, 15: ball screw, 16: motor, 20: second conveying means, 21: Base, 22: Robot and hand, 23: X-axis movement mechanism, 24: Guide rail, 25: ball screw, 30: wafer holder, 31: wafer holder table, 40: lifting mechanism, 41: guide rail, 42: lifting plate, 43: ball screw, 44: motor, 50: dispenser, 51: cylinder, 51A: flange, 51B: plate, 52: Intake passage, 53: Intake valve, 53A: Inner cylinder, 53B: Valve seat member, 53C: Outer cylinder, 53a: supply port, 54: discharge passage, 55: discharge valve, 55A: inner cylinder, 55B: valve seat member, 55C: outer cylinder, 55a: discharge port, 56: connecting member, 56a: communication hole, 57A, 57B: fixed flange, 58, 59: connecting cylinder, 60: cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism, 61: Movable plate, 62: Ball screw, 63: Motor, 64: Bearing, 65: Encoder, 70: valve opening / closing mechanism, 71: cylinder, 72: piston, 73: piston rod, 74: connecting member, 80: resin tank, 81: nozzle, 81a: rotating shaft, 82, 83: piping, 90: control unit, 91: first pressure sensor, 92: second pressure sensor, 93: pressure setting unit, 100: Housing, 110: Cassette storage section, 111: First cassette, 112: Second cassette, 120: Base, 130: Column, R: Sheet roll, r: Liquid resin, S: Sheet, S1, S2: chamber, W: wafer

Claims

[Claim 1] a cylinder for containing liquid resin; a cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism for increasing / decreasing the volume of the cylinder; a suction passage for suctioning the liquid resin into the cylinder; an intake valve that opens and closes the intake passage; a discharge path for discharging the liquid resin from the cylinder; a discharge valve that opens and closes the discharge path; A liquid resin supply device including a dispenser comprising: a pressure sensor for measuring the pressure in the cylinder or the discharge passage; a pressure setting unit that sets the pressure inside the cylinder or the discharge passage to a predetermined set value; a control unit that controls a volume reduction rate of the cylinder by the cylinder volume increasing / decreasing mechanism so that the pressure measured by the pressure sensor maintains the set value; A liquid resin supplying device comprising:

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