Image formation method

Abstract

To propose a new configuration for forming an image on a surface of a workpiece by grooving with a cutting blade.SOLUTION: An image formation method for forming an image on a surface of a workpiece includes: a preparation step of preparing gray-scale image data; and a groove formation step of forming a cut groove with a cutting blade according to a density of the image data. The cutting blade comprises a disk-shaped cutting edge, and the cut groove is formed in the same direction. The cutting blade is index-fed in a direction perpendicular to a groove direction of the cut groove in a plan view. A wide groove is formed by a plurality of cut grooves by reducing an amount of index feed for a dark portion in the image data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for forming an image on the surface of a workpiece by cutting grooves. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, display plates displaying images such as family crests, names, portrait photographs, etc. have been known, and Patent Document 2 discloses an aluminum pattern plate made by forming a rugged pattern of a family crest or the like by cutting it into a disk-shaped aluminum that has been anodized. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-250271 [Patent Document 2] Registered Utility Model No. 3007190 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The designs disclosed in Patent Document 1 and other documents are formed by forming recesses of a certain area using etching or end milling, and it is difficult to express the shading of the designs, and it is difficult to express complex shapes.

[0005] In view of the above problems, the present invention proposes a novel configuration for forming an image on the surface of a workpiece by groove processing using a cutting blade. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The problem to be solved by the present invention is as described above, and the means for solving this problem will now be described.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming method for forming an image on the surface of a workpiece, the image forming method comprising a preparation step for preparing grayscale image data, and a groove forming step for forming a cutting groove with a cutting blade according to the shade of the image data.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, the cutting blade is configured to have a disk-shaped cutting edge, and the cutting grooves are formed in the same direction.

[0009] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the present invention, the cutting blade is index-fed in a direction perpendicular to the groove direction of the cutting groove when viewed in a plane, and for areas that are dark in the image data, the index-fed amount is reduced to form a wide groove using multiple cutting grooves.

[0010] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the present invention, at least two types of cutting blades are used: a first cutting blade having a large thickness and a second cutting blade having a smaller thickness than the first cutting blade, and the cutting groove includes a first cutting groove having a large groove width and a second cutting groove having a small groove width.

[0011] According to another aspect of the present invention, the image is a person, an animal, an object, or a character.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present invention, the workpiece is a semiconductor wafer. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] The present invention provides the following effects. In other words, according to one aspect of the present invention, the unevenness is formed by setting the density of grooves per unit area, that is, the number of grooves per unit length in the Y-axis direction and the length of the grooves in the X-axis direction, making it possible to express complex shapes.

[0014] Furthermore, according to one aspect of the present invention, the shading after processing will differ depending on the depth and width of the cutting groove, so that the so-called "appearance" of the formed figure, such as the texture, expression, touch, gradation, etc., can be designed by the depth and width of the cutting groove, and even if the original image data is the same, it becomes possible to express the figure actually formed on the workpiece in a variety of ways. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of the present invention. [Figure 2] A diagram showing an example of display on a glass shield. [Figure 3] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a cutting device used in the practice of the present invention; [Figure 4] 5A to 5C are diagrams illustrating a groove forming step. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a cutting device used in the practice of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 shows an overview of the present invention, in which, for example, image data 1 of an animal's face is used to form an image G on the surface Wa of a workpiece such as a wafer W. Note that the image may be, in addition to an animal's face, a human face (so-called portrait), various objects (buildings or products), letters, etc.

[0017] Image data 1 is an image expressed in what is known as a grayscale. Here, grayscale is a display method in which grayscale values ​​are defined by dividing the range from white to black into multiple stages, and the degree of shading is defined by the grayscale value. Generally, grayscale values ​​are defined in 256 stages from white to black, with white being 255 and black being 0.

[0018] As will be described in detail later, in areas of the image data 1 with a high grayscale value (close to white), the density of the cutting grooves 5 extending in the X-axis direction is reduced, in other words, the number of grooves per unit length in the Y-axis direction is reduced, thereby ensuring a large amount of non-machined area 7 and increasing the proportion of convex portions per unit area. Note that the X-axis and Y-axis directions are perpendicular to each other.

[0019] On the other hand, for areas with low grayscale values ​​(close to black), the density of the cutting grooves 5 extending in the X-axis direction is increased, that is, the number of grooves per unit length in the Y-axis direction is increased, or the length of the grooves in the X-axis direction is increased, thereby increasing the processed area and the proportion of recesses per unit area.

[0020] In this way, it is possible to express the shade of color as the density of the straight lines (cut grooves), as shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the processed wafer W can be displayed, for example, by mounting it on a glass shield 9.

[0021] Next, an example of the processing method will be described. To implement the processing method, for example, a cutting device 2 shown in FIG. 3 can be used. The cutting device 2 is a well-known dicing device that cuts a wafer W, which is a workpiece, along planned dividing lines. The wafer W may be a semiconductor wafer or a plate-like plate, and is not particularly limited to metal, resin, or the like, and a cutting blade 20 is selected depending on the type of wafer.

[0022] The cutting device 2 has a cutting unit 22 equipped with a motor that rotates the cutting blade 20 at high speed, and a holding table 24 that holds the wafer W. The cutting unit 22 is index-fed a predetermined distance by a Y-axis feed mechanism (not shown), and the holding table 24 is processed and fed by an X-axis feed mechanism (not shown). The other components are similar to known components, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0023] The cutting device 2 stores image data 1 (FIG. 1), and includes a controller 30 that reads the image data 1 and controls the cutting unit 22 and the like.

[0024] Using the cutting device 2 described above, a preparation step of preparing grayscale image data is first performed. Specifically, image data that is the source of the image to be formed is stored in the controller 30, and the controller 30 defines the width in the X-axis direction and the pitch (index feed amount) in the Y-axis direction of the cut grooves to be formed in each area of ​​the wafer based on the image data. For example, a resolution of 300 dpi is set for the image data, and black (cut groove) / white (non-machined area) is defined for each pixel. The example shown in FIG. 1 shows an example of an area P of 100 x 100 pixels, and indicates that the position in area P where the cut groove 5 is to be formed is defined. Note that the coordinates are, for example, two-dimensional plane coordinates of the X and Y axes.

[0025] Next, as shown in FIG. 4, a groove forming step is performed in which the cutting blade 20 is caused to cut into the surface Wa of the wafer W to form a cut groove.

[0026] For example, the controller 30, in accordance with the definition described above, identifies a location on the wafer W corresponding to the X-position coordinate where a cutting groove is to be formed at a certain index position coordinate (position coordinate in the Y-axis direction).Then, the holding table 24 is moved so that the identified location is positioned directly below the cutting blade 20, and the cutting blade 20 is lowered to cut into the surface Wa of the wafer W from above, thereby performing a so-called chopper cut.

[0027] Here, for example, the width dx (FIG. 1) of the cut groove in the X-axis direction can be increased by increasing the cutting depth of the cutting blade 20. Alternatively, the width dx (FIG. 1) of the cut groove in the X-axis direction may be increased by processing the wafer W after cutting with the cutting blade 20.

[0028] 1 may be constant, for example, and the width d7 of the non-machined area 7 formed between adjacent cut grooves 5 in the Y-axis direction may be constant. Alternatively, the width d7 of the non-machined area 7 may not be constant by setting an arbitrary index feed amount. Also, wide cut grooves 5 may be formed by making adjacent cut grooves 5 in the Y-axis direction overlap each other.

[0029] The cutting device may be, for example, a so-called dual dicer 50 as shown in Fig. 5. In this case, two types of cutting blades are used: a first cutting blade 51 having a large thickness and a second cutting blade 52 having a smaller thickness than the first cutting blade 51, and the cutting grooves may include a first cutting groove having a large groove width and a second cutting groove having a small groove width.

[0030] This allows images to be formed using two types of cutting grooves with different widths, enabling a wider variety of images to be formed on the surface of the wafer. In addition, by simultaneously processing the cutting grooves using multiple cutting blades, it is possible to shorten the processing time required to form an image.

[0031] As described above, in the present invention, the unevenness is formed by setting the density of grooves per unit area, that is, by setting the number of grooves per unit length in the Y-axis direction and the length of the grooves in the X-axis direction, so that it is possible to represent complex shapes.

[0032] The shading after machining will differ depending on the depth and width of the cutting groove, so the texture, expression, touch, gradation, and other so-called "appearance" of the formed figure can be designed by changing the depth and width of the cutting groove.Even if the original image data is the same, it is possible to express the figure actually formed on the workpiece in a variety of ways. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1. Image data 2 Cutting equipment 5 Cutting groove 7 Non-processing area 8 Processing area 20 cutting blades 22 Cutting unit 24 Holding table 30 Controllers 51 Cutting blade 52 Cutting blade dx width dy pitch G Image W wafer Wa surface

Claims

1. An image forming method for forming an image on a surface of a workpiece, comprising: a preparation step of preparing grayscale image data; a groove forming step of forming a cutting groove by a cutting blade in accordance with the shading of the image data; An image forming method comprising:

2. The cutting blade has a disk-shaped cutting edge, The cutting grooves are formed in the same direction.

2. The image forming method according to claim 1.

3. The cutting blade is indexed in a direction perpendicular to the groove direction of the cutting groove in a plan view, For dark areas in the image data, the index feed amount is reduced to form wide grooves using multiple cutting grooves.

3. The image forming method according to claim 2.

4. The cutting blade is At least a first cutting blade having a large thickness; a second cutting blade having a thickness smaller than that of the first cutting blade; Two types of cutting blades are used: The cutting groove includes a first cutting groove having a wide groove width and a second cutting groove having a narrow groove width.

2. The image forming method according to claim 1.

5. The image is a person, an animal, an object, or a character.

2. The image forming method according to claim 1.

6. The workpiece is a semiconductor wafer.

6. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the image forming method is a method for forming an image on a recording medium.

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