Peeling apparatus and peeling method

Abstract

To provide a new technique for peeling a protective tape stuck to the surface of a workpiece.SOLUTION: According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a peeling apparatus for peeling off a protective tape stuck to a front surface of a workpiece, the peeling apparatus including at least a holding table having a holding surface that holds a back surface of the workpiece with the protective tape stuck to a front surface thereof, a peeling unit that peels off the protective tape from the workpiece held by the holding table, and a moving unit that relatively moves the holding surface and the peeling unit in parallel to the holding surface. Preferably, the peeling unit includes a pointed portion that enters between the workpiece and the protective tape to peel off an end portion of the protective tape, and a clamp unit that clamps the end portion of the protective tape peeled off, and the pointed portion moves in a direction away from the front surface of the workpiece after entering between the workpiece and the protective tape.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for peeling a protective tape from the surface of a workpiece. [Background technology]

[0002] Silicon wafers (hereinafter referred to as workpieces) have multiple IC, LSI, and other devices formed on their surface. After the backside is ground to a specified thickness, the wafer is cut into individual devices using a cutting machine, and these devices are used in electrical equipment such as mobile phones and personal computers.

[0003] A protective tape for protecting the surface (device surface) of the workpiece is attached, and then the back surface of the workpiece is ground using a known grinding device to thin it.

[0004] Thereafter, a dicing tape is applied to the back surface of the workpiece, the protective tape is peeled off, and the workpiece is separated into individual devices from the front surface side by a cutting device.

[0005] Here, as an apparatus and method for peeling a protective tape from the surface of a workpiece, a method is known in which a peeling tape is attached to an end of the protective tape on a holding table, and the protective tape is peeled off by moving the workpiece and the holding table relative to each other while pulling the peeling tape (see, for example, Patent Document 1). However, there is a problem in that a separate peeling tape is required, which increases manufacturing costs.

[0006] To solve this problem, the applicant has developed a technique in which the cutting edge of a peeling knife is pressed against the end of the protective tape to form a peeling starting point, and the outer edge of the protective tape peeled from the surface of the workpiece is clamped with a clamping means to peel it off, and this technique is now in practical use (see, for example, Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-204860 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-204383 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, in the technology described in Patent Document 2, the peeling knife is inserted parallel to the gap between the protective tape and the workpiece, and then the peeling knife and the workpiece are moved relative to each other in the horizontal direction to perform the peeling.

[0009] Therefore, if the tip of the peeling knife comes into contact with the surface of the workpiece, there is a concern that the tip may scratch the surface and damage the workpiece.

[0010] In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a novel technique for peeling off a protective tape adhered to the surface of a workpiece. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The problem to be solved by the present invention is as described above, and the means for solving this problem will now be described.

[0012] According to one aspect of the present invention, a peeling device that peels off a protective tape adhered to the surface of a workpiece includes at least a holding table having a holding surface that holds the back surface of the workpiece with the protective tape adhered to its surface, a peeling unit that peels off the protective tape from the workpiece held on the holding table, and a moving unit that moves the holding surface and the peeling unit relatively parallel to the holding surface, wherein the peeling unit has a pointed end that enters between the workpiece and the protective tape to peel off an end of the protective tape, and a clamp unit that clamps the end of the peeled protective tape, and the pointed end enters between the workpiece and the protective tape and then moves in a direction away from the surface of the workpiece.

[0013] According to one aspect of the present invention, the peeling unit has a support portion, a movable member having the pointed end portion at its front end and supported at its rear end by the support portion, and a drive unit for operating the movable member.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present invention, the pointed end moves along an arcuate locus in a direction away from the surface of the workpiece obliquely upward after peeling of the protective tape begins.

[0015] According to one aspect of the present invention, the clamp unit has a pair of clamp mechanisms that clamp the protective tape on both sides of the point that is peeled off by the pointed end, and each clamp mechanism has a fixed portion, a moving portion that moves in position relative to the fixed portion, and a drive portion for moving the moving portion, and clamps the end of the protective tape between the clamp portions provided on the fixed portion and the moving portion, respectively.

[0016] According to one aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises a detection unit for detecting the protective tape clamped by the clamp mechanism after peeling.

[0017] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for peeling off a protective tape adhered to the surface of a workpiece, the method including at least a holding step of holding the workpiece on a holding table having a holding surface that holds the back surface of the workpiece with the protective tape adhered to its surface; a peeling portion forming step of inserting a pointed tip between the workpiece and the protective tape to peel off the end of the protective tape and form a peeling portion; and a peeling step of clamping the peeling portion with a clamp unit and moving the protective tape and the workpiece relative to each other to peel off the protective tape from the workpiece, wherein the pointed tip moves in a direction away from the surface of the workpiece after entering between the workpiece and the protective tape. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] The present invention provides the following effects. That is, according to one aspect of the present invention, the pointed tip does not come into contact with the surface of the workpiece during the series of processes for peeling off the protective tape, and damage to the surface of the workpiece can be reliably prevented. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a peeling device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a frame unit. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overview of a separation unit. [Figure 4] 5A to 5C are diagrams showing how a swing arm portion of a movable member swings. [Figure 5] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing how a moving part of a clamp mechanism swings. [Figure 6] 1A is a plan view showing the state before peeling of the protective tape begins, and FIG. 1B is a plan view showing the state immediately after peeling of the protective tape begins. [Figure 7] 1A is a plan view showing how the peeling of the protective tape progresses, and FIG. 1B is a plan view showing a state where the peeling of the protective tape is completed. [Figure 8] 5A to 5C are diagrams showing the steps of peeling off the protective tape. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1, the peeling device 1 peels off a protective tape 3 adhered to a surface 10a of a wafer 10, which is a workpiece. The peeling device 1 includes a control unit 2, which controls the operation of each operating part and whether or not a holding table 30 is suction-held, so that the protective tape 3 is peeled off automatically.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the wafer 10 is a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer or optical device wafer made of, for example, silicon, sapphire, or gallium as a base material. Devices D are formed on the wafer 10 in areas defined by a plurality of planned division lines set in a grid pattern on the front surface 10a. A protective tape 3 is attached to the front surface 10a of the wafer 10, and the devices D are protected by the protective tape 3. A tape T is attached to the back surface 10b of the wafer 10 and integrated with an annular frame F to form a frame unit U. The frame unit U is supplied to a peeling device 1 (FIG. 1), where the protective tape 3 is peeled off. Note that the protective tape 3 may be peeled off after the frame unit U is formed, or the protective tape 3 may be peeled off from the wafer 10 alone.

[0022] 2, the protective tape 3 is formed in a disk shape having the same size as the wafer 10. The protective tape 3 is configured to include a base layer made of, for example, a synthetic resin that transmits ultraviolet rays and an adhesive layer that is provided on the surface of the base layer and adheres to the surface 10a of the wafer 10. The adhesive layer is configured of, for example, a material whose adhesive strength decreases to a very low state when irradiated with ultraviolet rays, and when peeling off the protective tape 3, for example, the protective tape 3 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays in advance.

[0023] As shown in Figure 1, the peeling device 1 is configured to include a holding table 30 having a holding surface 32 that holds the back surface 10b of a wafer 10 having a protective tape 3 attached to its surface, a peeling unit 40 that peels the protective tape 3 from the wafer 10 held on the holding table 30, and a moving unit 52 that moves the holding surface 32 and the peeling unit 40 relatively in a direction parallel to the holding surface 32.

[0024] The holding table 30 is connected to a suction source (not shown) and configured to generate negative pressure on the holding surface 32 exposed on the upper side. The holding surface 32 holds the wafer 10 by suction via the tape T, and the protective tape 3 attached to the wafer 10 is exposed on the upper side.

[0025] The peeling unit 40 is supported so as to be suspended from a rail 40a extending in the horizontal direction (the X direction in FIG. 1), and is disposed so as to be positioned above the holding table 30.

[0026] The moving unit 52 is configured to include, for example, a guide rail 52a that guides the holding table 30 in the horizontal direction, a ball screw 52b (not shown) through which a part of the holding table 30 is inserted, and a motor 52c that rotates the ball screw 52b. The control unit 2 controls the driving of the motor 52c, thereby moving the holding table 30 in the horizontal direction.

[0027] Although the moving unit 52 is configured to move the holding table 30 horizontally while not moving the peeling unit 40 horizontally, thereby moving the holding surface 32 and the peeling unit 40 relatively, the moving unit 52 may be configured to move the peeling unit 40 horizontally while not moving the holding table 30 horizontally. Furthermore, the holding table 30 and the peeling unit 40 may be configured to move in opposite directions.

[0028] As shown in Figure 3, the peeling unit 40 has a pointed end 42 that enters between the wafer 10 and the protective tape 3 to peel off the end 3t of the protective tape 3, and a clamp unit 44 that clamps the end 3t of the peeled protective tape 3.

[0029] Figure 4 shows the configuration of the peeling unit 40 with part of the clamp unit 44 omitted, and the peeling unit 40 further includes a support part 45, a movable member 46 having a pointed end 42 at its front end and supported at its rear end by the support part 45, and a drive unit 47 for operating the movable member 46.

[0030] The support portion 45 is configured to include a bracket 45a connected to a rail 40a (FIG. 1) that supports the peeling unit 40, a support plate 45b fixed to the bracket 45a, and a pivot support mechanism 45c fixed to the support plate 45b.

[0031] The movable member 46 includes a connecting arm 46a having a base end 46b rotatably connected to the rotation support mechanism 45c, and a swinging arm 46c fixed to the tip of the connecting arm 46a and extending in the vertical direction. The connecting arm 46a is configured as a pair of upper and lower connecting arms 46a connected to the upper part of the swinging arm 46c, and the lower end of the swinging arm 46c is configured to swing.

[0032] The drive unit 47 is configured to include, for example, an actuator such as a motor (not shown), and rotates the base end 46b of the connecting arm 46a, which is rotatably supported by the rotation support mechanism 45c, to swing the swing arm 46c. The swing arm 46c is set to swing between, for example, a standby angle P1 before peeling starts and a post-peeling angle P2 after peeling is completed.

[0033] A pointed portion 42 is provided at the lower end, which is the tip of the swing arm portion 46c. The tip of the pointed portion 42 is the side facing the wafer 10, and the side fixed to the swing arm portion 46c is the rear end. The pointed portion 42 can be configured as a tapered plate that narrows toward the tip in a plan view, for example, as shown in FIG. 6(A), and is configured to turn up the protective tape 3, as will be described in detail later.

[0034] 3, the clamp unit 44 has a clamp mechanism 48 for clamping the protective tape 3 to be peeled off at the pointed end 42. The clamp mechanism 48 has a fixed portion 48a, a moving portion 48d that moves relative to the fixed portion 48a, and a drive portion 48h for moving the moving portion 48d.

[0035] 3 and 4, the fixed portion 48a of the clamp mechanism 48 is fixed to the lower end of the bracket 45a and has a clamping portion 48b that forms a downwardly facing inclined surface. The clamping portion 48b is provided in a direction toward the pointed end 42.

[0036] 5 is a diagram showing the horizontal movement of the moving part 48d, in which the moving part 48d, which is formed of an arm-like member extending horizontally, moves back and forth horizontally by a driving part 48h formed of an air cylinder or the like. The moving part 48d is provided with a clamping part 48e that faces the clamping part 48b of the fixed part 48a and clamps the end of the turned-up protective tape 3 between itself and the clamping part 48b, as will be described in detail later. The clamping part 48e of the moving part 48d is formed of an inclined surface and is configured to be parallel to the inclined surface of the clamping part 48b of the fixed part 48a.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 3, a detection unit 49 may be further provided for detecting the protective tape that has been clamped by the clamp mechanism after peeling.

[0038] Specifically, at least one detection unit 49 is provided on the inclined surface of the clamping portion 48b of the fixed portion 48a shown in Figure 3, or on the side of the inclined surface (Y direction), or on the inclined surface of the clamping portion 48e of the moving portion 48d, or on the side of the inclined surface (Y direction).

[0039] The detection unit 49, for example, vacuums the peeled protective tape 3, and when the vacuum pressure is equal to or greater than a threshold, it can detect peeling of the protective tape 3, thereby detecting a peeling failure. In addition to being configured to vacuum the protective tape 3, the detection unit 49 may also be configured to detect a peeling failure of the protective tape 3 using, for example, an optical non-contact sensor or a contact physical sensor.

[0040] 6(A) is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of the clamp mechanisms 48, in which the clamp units 44 are arranged on both sides of the tip 42 (movable member 46) in the Y direction in plan view, i.e., on both sides of the Y direction perpendicular to the movement direction (X direction) of the wafer 10 (holding table 30 (FIG. 1)) in plan view. In this way, the clamp unit 44 is configured to have a pair of clamp mechanisms 48 and is configured to clamp the protective tape 3 on both sides of the portion to be peeled off by the tip 42.

[0041] 1, the bracket 45a is provided with a tape position detection unit 53 for detecting the position of the end of the protective tape 3. The tape position detection unit 53, for example, irradiates a laser beam downward parallel to the vertical direction, receives reflected light of the laser beam, and outputs the detection result to the control unit 2. As will be described in detail later, the control unit 2 detects the position of the end of the protective tape 3 based on the detection result, and causes the drive unit 47 to swing the swing arm portion 46c of the movable member 46, causing the pointed end 42 to enter between the protective tape 3 and the wafer 10, thereby peeling off the protective tape 3.

[0042] Next, a method for peeling the protective tape using the peeling device configured as above will be described.

[0043] <Holding step> As shown in FIG. 3, this is a step in which the wafer 10 is held by a holding table 30 having a holding surface 32 for holding the back surface 10b of the wafer 10, which is the workpiece having the protective tape 3 attached to its surface.

[0044] Specifically, the control unit 2 (FIG. 1) generates a negative pressure on the holding surface 32, thereby suction-holding the wafer 10 via the tape T and exposing the protective tape 3 upward. Note that the wafer 10 may also be suction-held directly on the holding surface 32.

[0045] <Removal part formation step> As shown in FIG. 4, this is a step in which the pointed end 42 is inserted between the wafer 10 and the protective tape 3 to peel off the end of the protective tape 3 and form a peeled portion 3h.

[0046] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 2 (FIG. 1) moves the holding table 30 in a direction (to the right in FIG. 3) that brings it closer to the tip 42, and detects the position of the end of the protective tape 3 based on the detection result of the protective tape 3 by the tape position detection unit 53. Then, the control unit 2 (FIG. 1) activates the drive unit 47 to swing the swing arm portion 46c of the movable member 46, and brings the tip 42 at the lower end of the swing arm portion 46c into contact with the end surface 3m of the protective tape 3 (see FIG. 8(B)), thereby causing the tip 42 to enter between the protective tape 3 and the wafer 10. Note that, preferably, as shown in FIG. 8(B), the control unit 2 (FIG. 1) swings the swing arm portion 46c (FIG. 4) so ​​that the tip 42 comes into contact with the end surface 3m of the protective tape 3 at the timing when the tip 42 reaches its lowest position.

[0047] 8(A) to 8(F), the swing arm 46c (FIG. 3) swings, causing the tip 42 to move along an arcuate path 42k. As shown in FIG. 8(B), the lowest position 42s of the arcuate path 42k is set to be higher than the height position 10s of the surface 10a of the wafer 10. This prevents the tip 42 from coming into contact with the surface 10a of the wafer 10 and damaging the surface 10a.

[0048] Furthermore, by moving the pointed end 42 along the arc trajectory 42k, as shown in Figure 8(C), the pointed end 42 comes into contact with the protective tape 3 and turns up the protective tape 3, and after the pointed end 42 enters between the protective tape 3 and the wafer 10, the pointed end 42 moves in a direction away from the surface 10a of the wafer 10. This makes it possible to reliably prevent the pointed end 42 from coming into contact with the surface 10a of the wafer 10 and damaging the surface 10a.

[0049] Then, as shown in Figure 6(B) and Figures 8(C) and (D), the pointed end 42 rolls up the end of the protective tape 3, forming a peeled portion 3h in the protective tape 3 that is separated from the surface 10a of the wafer 10.

[0050] In this embodiment, the swing arm portion 46c of the movable member 46 is swung to move the tip 42 along an arc trajectory 42k, thereby moving the tip 42 diagonally upward and away from the surface 10a of the wafer 10. However, the swing arm portion 46c may also be moved upward in the vertical direction without swinging, thereby moving the tip 42 diagonally upward relative to the surface 10a of the wafer 10, which is moving horizontally.

[0051] <Peeling step> As shown in FIG. 6(B), this is a step in which the peeling portion 3h is clamped by the clamp unit 44, and the protective tape 3 and the wafer 10 are moved relative to each other to peel the protective tape 3 from the wafer 10.

[0052] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 6(B), the control unit 2 (Fig. 1) clamps both sides of the peeling portion 3h of the protective tape 3 that has been turned up by the pointed end 42 with the clamp mechanisms 48. That is, by driving the drive unit 48h (Fig. 5), the clamping unit 48e (moving unit 48d (Fig. 5)) approaches the clamping unit 48b, and the protective tape 3 is clamped by both the clamping units 48b and 48d.

[0053] Then, the control unit 2 (FIG. 1) further moves the wafer 10 (holding table 30 (FIG. 3)) to the right (horizontally) in FIG. 6(B) while maintaining the state in which the protective tape 3 is sandwiched.

[0054] 7(A), the protective tape 3 is peeled off completely, and finally, as shown in FIG. 7(B), the protective tape 3 is completely peeled off, exposing the surface 10a of the wafer 10. The completely peeled protective tape 3 is collected by a winding device (not shown) or the like.

[0055] 7(B), it is preferable to maintain the height position of the tip 42 higher than the height position of the front surface 10a of the wafer 10. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 2 (FIG. 1) controls the drive unit 47 to maintain the swing arm 46c at the post-peeling angle P2 indicated by the imaginary line until peeling is completed.

[0056] As a result, the swing arm portion 46c does not return to the waiting angle P1 (FIG. 4) during the process of peeling, and damage to the wafer 10 by the pointed end 42 can be prevented.

[0057] After the protective tape 3 has been peeled off, the control unit 2 (FIG. 1) returns the holding table 30 shown in FIG. 4 to the position it was in before the peeling started, and returns the swing arm portion 46c to the standby angle P1.

[0058] In this way, during the entire process of peeling off the protective tape 3, the pointed tip 42 does not come into contact with the surface 10a of the wafer 10, which is the workpiece, and damage to the surface of the workpiece can be reliably prevented. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 1 Peeling device 2. Control Unit 3 Protective tape 3h Peeling part 3m end face 3t end 10 wafers 10a surface 10b back side 10s position 30 Holding table 32 Holding surface 40 Peeling unit 40a rail 42 Point 42k arc trajectory 42s bottom position 44 Clamp unit 45 Support part 45a bracket 45b Support plate 45c Rotating support mechanism 46 Movable parts 46a Connecting arm 46b Proximal end 46c Swing arm 47 Drive Unit 48 Clamping mechanism 48a Fixed part 48b Clamping part 48d Moving part 48e Clamping part 48h drive unit 49 Detection Unit 52 Mobile Unit 52a Guide rail 52b ball screw 52c motor 53 Tape position detection unit D Device Front annular frame P1 Standby angle P2 Post-peel angle T-tape U Frame Unit

Claims

1. A peeling device for peeling off a protective tape attached to a surface of a workpiece, comprising: a holding table having a holding surface for holding the back surface of the workpiece having the protective tape attached to its surface; a peeling unit that peels off the protective tape from the workpiece held on the holding table; a moving unit that moves the holding surface and the peeling unit relatively in parallel with the holding surface, The peeling unit comprises: a pointed tip that penetrates between the workpiece and the protective tape to peel off the end of the protective tape; a clamp unit that clamps an end of the peeled protective tape, A peeling device in which the pointed tip moves in a direction away from the surface of the workpiece after entering between the workpiece and the protective tape.

2. The peeling unit comprises: A support part; a movable member having a tip end provided on a front end side thereof and a rear end side thereof supported by the support portion; a drive unit for operating the movable member; 2. The peeling device according to claim 1.

3. After the protective tape starts to peel off, the pointed tip moves along an arcuate locus in a direction away from the surface of the workpiece in an obliquely upward direction.

3. The peeling device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the clamp unit has a pair of clamp mechanisms that clamp the protective tape on both sides of the portion to be peeled off by the pointed end, Each clamping mechanism is The fixing portion; a moving part whose position relative to the fixed part moves; a drive unit for moving the moving unit, an end of the protective tape is clamped between clamp portions provided on the fixed portion and the moving portion, 3. The peeling device according to claim 1 or 2.

5. the clamp unit has a pair of clamp mechanisms that clamp the protective tape on both sides of the portion to be peeled off by the pointed end, Each clamping mechanism is The fixing portion; a moving part whose position relative to the fixed part moves; a drive unit for moving the moving unit, an end of the protective tape is clamped between clamp portions provided on the fixed portion and the moving portion, 4. The peeling device according to claim 3.

6. The tape clamping mechanism further includes a detection unit for detecting the protective tape after peeling and clamped by the clamp mechanism.

5. The peeling device according to claim 4.

7. The tape clamping mechanism further includes a detection unit for detecting the protective tape after peeling and clamped by the clamp mechanism.

6. The peeling device according to claim 5.

8. A peeling method for peeling off a protective tape attached to a surface of a workpiece, comprising: a holding step of holding the workpiece with a holding table having a holding surface that holds the back surface of the workpiece with the protective tape attached to the surface; a peeling portion forming step of inserting the pointed end portion between the workpiece and the protective tape to peel off the end portion of the protective tape and form a peeling portion; a peeling step of clamping the peeling portion with a clamp unit and relatively moving the protective tape and the workpiece to peel the protective tape from the workpiece; At least A peeling method in which the pointed tip moves in a direction away from the surface of the workpiece after entering between the workpiece and the protective tape.

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