Apparatus for forming protective member and method for forming protective member

Abstract

The present invention provides a protective member forming apparatus and a substantially protective member forming method that reduces the drive source. [Solution] The protective member forming apparatus 1 includes a support table 16 for supporting a sheet 30, a sheet transport means 17 for transporting the sheet to the support table, a holding table 201 positioned opposite the support table for holding a wafer, a liquid resin supply means 18 for supplying liquid resin to the upper surface of a sheet or wafer, a lifting means 21 for raising and lowering the support table and the holding table relatively in the vertical direction, and a curing means 164 for curing the liquid resin spread over the entire surface of one side of the wafer. The sheet transport means includes a sheet holding section 172 for holding the sheet, a drive source 5 for moving the sheet holding section, and a connecting section 172b for connecting the drive source and a pump 22. The operation of the drive source activates the pump connected to the drive source to replenish liquid resin from the tank 184 to the buffer tank 185.

Description

[[Technical Field]]

[0001] The present invention relates to a protection member forming apparatus that supplies a liquid resin onto an upper surface of a sheet and cures the liquid resin to form a protection member that protects the entire surface of one face of a wafer, and to a method for forming the protection member. [[Background Art]]

[0002] A wafer, in which a plurality of devices such as ICs and LSIs are partitioned by planned dividing lines and formed on a surface thereof, is thinned by grinding the back surface with a grinding apparatus, then divided into individual device chips by a dicing apparatus or a laser processing apparatus, and used in electrical equipment such as mobile phones and personal computers.

[0003] Further, a bare wafer before devices are formed is formed by slicing an ingot such as a silicon ingot to produce a base wafer, and then removing undulations and warpage from the front and back surfaces of the base wafer. The applicant of the present application has proposed a resin coating apparatus that applies a liquid resin to one surface of a base wafer to absorb the undulations and warpage, spreads the liquid resin over the entire one surface of the base wafer and cures the liquid resin, thereby forming a flat surface by a sheet surface obtained by attaching a sheet to the base wafer after the liquid resin is cured, and thus facilitating handling of the base wafer (see Patent Document 1). Furthermore, a protection member forming apparatus that forms a protection member which is spread on one surface of a wafer and protects the one surface of the wafer is provided (see Patent Documents 2 and 3). [[Prior Art Documents]] [[Patent Documents]]

[0004] [[Patent Document 1]] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-143724 [[Patent Document 2]] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2024-094470 [[Patent Document 3]] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2023-089631 [[Summary of the Invention]] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] However, the technologies described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 above have the problem of high costs because they require multiple drive sources to pull the sheet from the sheet roll, operate the pump to replenish the liquid resin when supplying the liquid resin, and transport the sheet.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and its main technical problem is to provide a protective member forming apparatus and a protective member forming method that reduces the drive source. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above-mentioned main technical problems, the present invention provides a protective member forming apparatus for forming a protective member that protects the entire surface of one side of a wafer by supplying and curing a liquid resin to the upper surface of a sheet, comprising: a support table for supporting a sheet; a sheet transport means for transporting a sheet to the support table; a holding table positioned opposite the support table for holding a wafer; a liquid resin supply means for supplying a liquid resin to the upper surface of a sheet supported by the support table or a wafer held by the holding table; a lifting means for raising and lowering the support table and the holding table relative to each other in the vertical direction; and a means for spreading the liquid resin that has been pressed onto the entire surface of one side of the wafer by the lifting means between the support table and the holding table. A protective member forming apparatus is provided, comprising a curing means for curing a liquid resin, the liquid resin supply means comprising a tank containing the liquid resin, a buffer tank for temporarily storing the liquid resin, a pump for supplying the liquid resin from the tank to the buffer tank, and a dispenser for supplying the liquid resin supplied to the buffer tank to the sheet or wafer, the sheet transport means comprising a sheet holding part for holding the sheet and a drive source for moving the sheet holding part, and a connecting part for connecting the drive source and the pump of the sheet transport means, wherein the operation of the drive source operates the pump connected to the drive source to supply the liquid resin from the tank to the buffer tank.

[0008] Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for forming a protective member that protects the entire surface of one side of a wafer, using the protective member forming apparatus described above, comprising: a sheet support step of supporting a sheet on a support table; a wafer holding step of holding a wafer on a holding table; a liquid resin supply step of supplying a liquid resin to the sheet or wafer; an expansion step of spreading the liquid resin over the entire surface of one side of the wafer; and a curing step of curing the spread liquid resin, thereby forming a protective member that protects the entire surface of one side of the wafer, and further comprising a liquid resin supply step in the sheet support step of supplying liquid resin from the tank to the buffer tank by having the sheet transport means transport the sheet to the support table. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The protective member forming apparatus of the present invention includes a support table for supporting a sheet, a sheet transport means for transporting a sheet to the support table, a holding table positioned opposite the support table for holding a wafer, a liquid resin supply means for supplying a liquid resin to the upper surface of a sheet supported by the support table or a wafer held by the holding table, a lifting means for raising and lowering the support table and the holding table relative to each other in the vertical direction, and a curing means for curing the liquid resin that has been spread over the entire surface of one side of the wafer by the lifting means between the support table and the holding table, wherein the liquid resin supply means includes a tank containing the liquid resin, a buffer tank for temporarily storing the liquid resin, and the tank The sheet transport means comprises a pump for supplying liquid resin to the buffer tank and a dispenser for supplying the liquid resin supplied to the buffer tank to the sheet or wafer. The sheet transport means comprises a sheet holding part for holding the sheet and a drive source for moving the sheet holding part, and a connecting part for connecting the drive source and the pump of the sheet transport means. Since the operation of the drive source operates the pump connected to the drive source to supply liquid resin from the tank to the buffer tank, a drive source for driving the pump is omitted, making it possible to reduce the number of drive sources in the protective member forming apparatus and solving the problem of high costs due to having many drive sources.

[0010] Furthermore, the method for forming a protective member of the present invention is a method for forming a protective member that protects the entire surface of one side of a wafer using the protective member forming apparatus described above, and comprises a sheet support step of supporting a sheet on a support table, a wafer holding step of holding a wafer on a holding table, a liquid resin supply step of supplying a liquid resin to the sheet or wafer, an expansion step of spreading the liquid resin over the entire surface of one side of the wafer, and a curing step of curing the spread liquid resin to form a protective member that protects the entire surface of one side of the wafer, and includes a liquid resin supply step in the sheet support step in which the sheet transport means transports the sheet to the support table and supplies the liquid resin from the tank to the buffer tank, thereby solving the problem of high costs due to the large number of drive sources in the protective member forming apparatus when forming a protective member. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] Overall perspective view of the protective member forming apparatus. [Figure 2] A conceptual diagram showing the implementation status at the start of the sheet support process. [Figure 3] A conceptual diagram showing the state after the sheet has been pulled out during the sheet support process. [Figure 4] A conceptual diagram showing the state in which the sheet is being transported onto the support table. [Figure 5] A conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of the liquid resin supply process. [Figure 6] (a) A schematic side view showing the sheet and wafer facing each other, (b) A schematic side view showing an embodiment of the liquid resin supply process, (c) A schematic side view showing an embodiment of the expansion process, (d) A schematic side view showing the embodiment of the expansion process being completed and the holding table being retracted upward, and (e) A schematic side view showing an embodiment of the curing process. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments relating to a protective member forming apparatus and a protective member forming method configured according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0013] (Protective member forming apparatus) Figure 1 shows an overall perspective view of a protective member forming apparatus 1 suitable for carrying out the protective member forming method of this embodiment. The illustrated protective member forming apparatus 1 is an example of an apparatus that forms a protective member by curing a liquid resin that has been spread over the entire surface of one side of a semiconductor wafer W. In Figure 1, for the sake of explanation, the external housing 10 of the protective member forming apparatus 1 is shown with a dashed line, and the internal components of the external housing 10 are shown in a transparent state. In the following description, of the wafer W, the side facing upwards during processing in the protective member forming apparatus 1 will be referred to as the upper surface Wa, and the side facing downwards will be referred to as the lower surface Wb.

[0014] In the illustrated protective member forming apparatus 1, liquid resin 31 is supplied onto a sheet 30 placed on a support table 16, and the wafer W held on the wafer holding surface 203 of the holding table 201 of the wafer holding mechanism 20 is pressed against the liquid resin 31 from above the support table 16 (this will be explained in detail later). As one side of the wafer W is pressed towards the sheet 30, the liquid resin 31 before curing is spread between the wafer W and the sheet 30. In this state, an external stimulus (e.g., ultraviolet light) is applied to the liquid resin 31 to cure it, and the protective member is formed together with the sheet 30.

[0015] This series of operations is performed under the control of the control unit 40, which provides overall control of the protective member forming apparatus 1. Unless otherwise specified, the operation of each part described below is controlled by a control signal sent from the control unit 40, which implements a control program stored in the memory unit 41.

[0016] The wafer W is, for example, a disk-shaped as-sliced wafer cut out from an ingot such as cylindrical silicon. The wafer W is not limited to an as-sliced wafer before device formation, and may be a device wafer after devices have been formed on an upper surface thereof.

[0017] The protective member forming apparatus 1 includes a cassette housing portion 11 at one end side (the deep end) of an outer housing 10 in the Y-axis direction. A plurality of housing spaces 111 and 112 are formed in the cassette housing portion 11. A carry-in cassette Ca that houses a plurality of wafers W before a protective member is formed is placed in one of the housing spaces 111. A carry-out cassette Cb that houses a plurality of wafers W after a protective member has been formed is placed in the other adjacent housing space 112.

[0018] A temporary placement table (not shown) and a sheet cutting table 14 are provided at a position on the near side of the cassette housing portion 11 in the Y-axis direction. The temporary placement table is disposed above the sheet cutting table 14 so as to overlap the sheet cutting table 14 in a plan view. The sheet cutting table 14 is provided with a sheet cutter 141 that rotates and cuts the sheet 30, which has been attached to the wafer W via the above-mentioned resin, into a circular shape along the outer contour of the wafer W.

[0019] A first conveyance mechanism 12A that carries wafers W into and out of cassettes Ca and Cb is provided on the near side of the temporary placement table and the sheet cutting table 14 in the X-axis direction. The first conveyance mechanism 12A includes a robot hand 122A supported on a pedestal 121A, and the pedestal 121A is movably supported along a pair of guide rails 123 extending in the X-axis direction. The pedestal 121A includes a threaded engagement portion (not shown) that threadedly engages with a ball screw 124 extending in the X-axis direction, and when the ball screw 124 is rotated by the driving force of a motor 125, the pedestal 121A moves in the X-axis direction.

[0020] The first transport mechanism 12A transports wafers W between the cassette storage section 11 and a temporary storage table and a sheet cutting table 14 (not shown) by moving the base 121A in the X-axis direction and operating the robot hand 122A. More specifically, the first transport mechanism 12A can remove wafers W from cassette Ca in the storage space 111 and place them on the temporary storage table before the protective member is formed. The first transport mechanism 12A can also remove wafers W after the protective member has been formed from the sheet cutting table 14 and load them into cassette Cb in the storage space 112.

[0021] As shown in Figure 1, a second transport mechanism 12B is provided on the front side of the base 15 in the X-axis direction. The second transport mechanism 12B includes a robot hand 122B mounted on a pedestal 121B and is supported to move together with the pedestal 121B along a pair of guide rails 123B extending in the Y-axis direction. The pedestal 121B moves in the Y-axis direction with the same configuration as the first transport mechanism 12A described above.

[0022] The second transport mechanism 12B transports the wafer W between the temporary storage table and the sheet cutting table 14 and the holding table 201 of the wafer holding mechanism 20 by moving the base 121B in the Y-axis direction and operating the robot hand 122B. More specifically, the second transport mechanism 12B can receive the wafer W from the temporary storage table before the protective member is formed and transport it, then hand it over to the holding table 201 of the wafer holding mechanism 20. Furthermore, the second transport mechanism 12B can receive the wafer W from the holding table 201 of the wafer holding mechanism 20 after the protective member has been formed and transport it to the sheet cutting table 14.

[0023] The protective member forming apparatus 1 is equipped with a base 15 on the rear side in the X-axis direction relative to the temporary placement table and the sheet cutting table 14. The support table 16 is mounted on the base 15. The support table 16 is made of a translucent material such as quartz glass and is formed in a disc shape. The upper surface of the support table 16 is a flat sheet support surface 161 on which the sheet 30 is placed. An ultraviolet lamp 162, which will be described later, is mounted on the lower side of the sheet support surface 161.

[0024] A column 19 is provided at a position in front of the support table 16 in the X-axis direction, projecting upward from the base 15. The column 19 is provided with a lifting mechanism 21 that moves the wafer holding mechanism 20 in the Z-axis direction to move it closer to and further away from the support table 16. The lifting mechanism 21 includes a pair of guide rails 211, 211 extending in the Z-axis direction, a lifting base 212 supported so as to be movable in the Z-axis direction relative to the pair of guide rails 211, 211, and a ball screw 213 extending in the Z-axis direction and screwed into a threaded portion of the lifting base 212 (not shown). When the ball screw 213 is rotated by the driving force of the motor 214, the lifting base 212 moves in the Z-axis direction (up and down direction) along the pair of guide rails 211. When the ball screw 213 is rotated in a first direction, the lifting base 212 moves downward, and when the ball screw 213 is rotated in a second direction, the lifting base 212 moves upward.

[0025] The wafer holding mechanism 20 includes a circular holding table 201. The lower surface of the holding table 201 is a wafer holding surface 203 that holds the wafer W by suction (see Figure 5), and is positioned opposite the sheet holding surface 161 of the support table 16. In other words, the wafer holding mechanism 20 is configured to be positioned above the support table 16. Furthermore, a suction source (not shown) is connected to the wafer holding mechanism 20, and it is possible to hold the wafer W by generating negative pressure on the suction surface of the wafer holding mechanism 20.

[0026] The wafer holding mechanism 20 is supported by a lifting base 212 which is operated by a lifting means 21, and the wafer holding mechanism 20 moves in the Z-axis direction in conjunction with the lifting base 212. The wafer holding surface 203, located above the support table 16, is a surface that is substantially parallel to the sheet holding surface 161 of the support table 16.

[0027] Figure 2 shows a schematic conceptual diagram illustrating the configuration of the protective member forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment, including the sheet transport means 17 and the liquid resin supply means 18. As shown in the figure, the protective member forming apparatus 1 includes a sheet transport means 17 that pulls out a sheet 30 from a sheet supply unit 171, a support table 16 (shown with a dashed line for illustrative purposes) that supports the sheet 30, and a liquid resin supply unit 18 that supplies liquid resin to the upper surface of the sheet 30 supported on the support table 16. The liquid resin supply means 18 includes a tank 184 containing liquid resin 31, a pump 22 that replenishes the liquid resin 31 from the tank 184 to a buffer tank 185, a dispenser 181 that supplies the liquid resin 31 onto the wafer W supported on the support table 16, and a resin supply nozzle 183.

[0028] In this embodiment, the tank 184 and the buffer tank 185 are connected by a connecting pipe 186a, the buffer tank 185 and the dispenser 181 are connected by a connecting pipe 186b, and the dispenser 181 and the resin supply nozzle 183 are connected by a connecting pipe 182. The tank 184 has a relatively large capacity, while the buffer tank 185 has a smaller capacity than the tank 184. In Figure 2, components that are not the main part of the present invention, support means for each component, and wiring are omitted as appropriate, and other components are shown in a simplified manner as appropriate. The buffer tank 185 has a function to remove air bubbles from the liquid resin 31.

[0029] As shown in Figure 2, the sheet conveying means 17 is operated by a drive source 5 and conveys and places the sheet 30 onto the sheet support surface 161 of the support table 16. The sheet conveying means 17 includes a sheet supply unit 171 on which the rolled sheet 30 is supported, a sheet holding unit 172 that is movable in the Y-axis direction, and a gripping unit 173 attached to the side of the sheet holding unit 172 at a position along the X-axis direction. In the sheet conveying means 17, the gripping unit 173 grips the end of the rolled sheet 30 supported by the sheet supply unit 171, and the drive source 5 moves the sheet holding unit 172 in the direction indicated by arrow R1 in Figure 2 along the Y-axis direction to pull out and hold the sheet 30. In the direction of pulling out the sheet 30, a cutting mechanism 6 is disposed adjacent to the position where the gripping unit 173 grips the end of the sheet 30. The cutting mechanism 6 is equipped with a cutter 61, and the cutter 61 is lowered by a drive means (not shown). Below the cutter 61, a holding part 62 is provided to receive the tip of the cutter 61. Adjacent to the holding part 62 of the cutting mechanism 6, a suction part 178 is provided to suck up the sheet 30 along the X-axis direction in the figure. That is, the free end of the sheet 30 on the sheet supply part 171 side after it has been cut by the cutter 61 is sucked up by this suction part 178.

[0030] The drive source 5 described above is, for example, a servo motor. A ball screw 52 is connected to the output shaft of the drive source 5, and the ball screw 52 is screwed into a female screw hole in a connecting portion 172b formed at the end of the extension portion 172a of the seat holding portion 172. When the drive source 5 is operated, the ball screw 52 rotates, and together with the connecting portion 172b, the seat holding portion 172 can be moved in the Y-axis direction.

[0031] The pump 22 that supplies liquid resin 31 from tank 184 to buffer tank 185 is a diaphragm-type pump having a diaphragm 22b inside, as shown in Figure 2. By moving the rod 22a in the direction indicated by the arrow R2 along the Y-axis, the diaphragm 22b inside the pump housing 22a is activated, making it possible to draw the liquid resin 31 from tank 184 into the storage section 22c inside the pump 22 via the one-way valve 23.

[0032] Furthermore, by moving the rod 22a of the pump 22 in the direction indicated by arrow R3 in the figure along the Y-axis, the diaphragm 22b also moves in the direction indicated by R3, and the liquid resin 31 stored in the storage section 22c is supplied to the buffer tank 185 via the one-way valve 24 and the connecting pipe 186a. At that time, the action of the one-way valve 23 prevents the liquid resin 31 from flowing back into the tank 184. In the illustrated embodiment, a diaphragm-type pump is shown as the pump 22, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the pump 22 may be a single-acting piston pump or a double-acting piston pump, or any other type of pump in which the liquid resin 31 is discharged into the connecting pipe 186a by the rod 22a moving back and forth in the Y-axis direction. However, considering the characteristics of the liquid resin 31, it is preferable to use a diaphragm-type pump for the pump 22.

[0033] The above connecting portion 172b has a through hole formed in it, which is not shown in the illustration. A rod 174 is inserted through the rod 22a of the pump 22 via a connecting member 176. The rod 174 has a first enlarged diameter portion 174a formed with a diameter larger than the through hole of the connecting portion 172b, and a second enlarged diameter portion 174b formed at a position spaced apart from the first enlarged diameter portion 174a. The rod 22a, connecting member 176, and rod 174 that drive the pump 22 are integrally formed and guided by an appropriate guide member (not shown), and are configured to slide along the Y-axis direction. By operating the drive source 5 described above, the connecting portion 172b is moved in the direction indicated by arrow R2 and brought into contact with the first enlarged diameter portion 174a of the rod 174, thereby moving the rod 22a of the pump 22 in the direction indicated by arrow R2. This allows the liquid resin 31 stored in the tank 184 to be sucked into the pump 22. Furthermore, by operating the drive source 5 to move the connecting portion 172b in the direction indicated by arrow R3, and bringing the connecting portion 172b into contact with the second enlarged diameter portion 174b, the rod 22a of the pump 22 is moved in the direction indicated by arrow R3, and the liquid resin 31 sucked into the pump 22 can be discharged. In other words, the above-mentioned connecting portion 172b functions as a connecting portion that connects the drive source 5 of the sheet conveying means 17 and the pump 22.

[0034] As described above, the rod 174 of the pump 22 in this embodiment, which moves together with the rod 22a, is configured to be relatively movable between the first enlarged diameter portion 174a and the second enlarged diameter portion 174b with respect to the connecting portion 172b that moves the sheet holding portion 172. This allows the stroke amount to be adjusted by the configuration shown, even if the amount of movement of the sheet holding portion 172 in the sheet conveying means 17 differs from the stroke amount of the rod 22a required to operate the pump 22. However, the present invention does not necessarily have to have the above configuration, and if the amount of movement of the sheet holding portion 172 of the sheet conveying means 17 and the stroke amount of the rod 22a required to operate the pump 22 are the same, the drive source 5 of the sheet conveying means 17 and the rod 22a of the pump 22 may be directly connected via the connecting portion 172b.

[0035] The drive source 5 is not limited to being composed of a servo motor. For example, the drive source 5 may be composed of an air cylinder, and the operation of the air cylinder may cause the connecting portion 172b to move back and forth in the Y-axis direction, thereby causing the rod 22a of the pump 22 to move back and forth in the Y-axis direction.

[0036] In this embodiment, the resin supply nozzle 183 is formed in the center of the X-axis direction on the lower surface side of the X-axis component member 172d, where the gripping portion 173 is disposed in the sheet holding portion 172. By operating the dispenser 181 described above, the liquid resin 31 stored in the buffer tank 185 can be supplied onto the sheet holding surface 161 of the support table 16 at any desired timing. The buffer tank 185 is provided with a return passage 187 that returns the liquid resin 31 to the tank 184 if it overflows. If the amount of liquid resin 31 stored in the buffer tank 185 exceeds a specified amount, it is returned to the tank 184 via the return passage 187.

[0037] The protective member forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment has a configuration that is generally as described above, and a method for forming a protective member that is suitably carried out using the protective member forming apparatus 1 described above will be explained below.

[0038] (Sheet support process, liquid resin replenishment process) In carrying out the method for forming the protective member of this embodiment, a sheet support step is performed in which the sheet 30 is supported on the support table 16 described above, and a liquid resin supply step is performed in which liquid resin 31 is supplied from the tank 184 to the buffer tank 185 by the sheet transporting means 17 transporting the sheet 30 to the support table 16. More specifically, first, as shown in Figure 2, the drive source 5 is activated to move the sheet holding part 172 in the direction indicated by arrow R2, and the gripping part 173 is positioned at the end of the sheet 30 with the gripping part 173 open. Next, the gripping part 173 is activated to grip one end of the sheet 30. At this time, as the rod 22a of the pump 22 moves to the left in the Y-axis direction in the figure along with the movement of the sheet holding part 172, liquid resin 31 is sucked from the tank 184 by the diaphragm 22b of the pump 22.

[0039] As described above, once the sheet 30 is gripped by the gripping part 173, the drive source 5 is activated to move the sheet holding part 172 together with the connecting part 172b, and as shown in Figure 3, the sheet 30 is pulled out in the Y-axis direction to the length required to place it on the support table 16, and the drive source 5 is stopped. Then, after the sheet 30 has been pulled out as shown in the figure, the cutting mechanism 6 is activated to lower the cutter 61 and cut the sheet 30 to a predetermined length. At this time, the suction part 172c described above is activated in the sheet holding part 172 to suck in the vicinity of the other end of the cut sheet 30. As a result, one end of the cut sheet 30 is gripped by the gripping part 173 and the other end is sucked in by the suction part 172c, and the sheet 30 cut by the sheet holding part 172 is held in a properly spread-out state. The sheet 30 at this time is approximately square and is set to be larger in size than the wafer W that will form the protective member described later.

[0040] As described above, with the sheet 30 cut to a predetermined length held by the sheet holding part 172, the drive source 5 is further activated to move the sheet holding part 172 together with the connecting part 172b in the direction indicated by arrow R1 in Figure 4, positioning the cut sheet 30 at a predetermined position on the support table 16. Then, negative pressure is generated on the support table 16 to suck the sheet 30, and the gripping of the sheet 30 by the gripping part 173 and the suction by the suction part 172c are released to support the sheet 30 on the support table 16. As the sheet holding part 172 operates during this sheet support process, the rod 22a of the pump 22 moves in the direction indicated by arrow R3, so that the liquid resin 31 sucked into the diaphragm 22b of the pump 22 is compressed and discharged to the connecting pipe 186a side via the one-way valve 24 and supplied to the buffer tank 185, thus performing a liquid resin replenishment process. In this way, the sheet support process and the liquid resin replenishment process are performed simultaneously.

[0041] (Wafer holding process) Prior to or following the implementation of the sheet support process and liquid resin replenishment process described above, a wafer holding process is performed in which the wafer W is held on the wafer holding surface 203 of the holding table 201 of the wafer holding mechanism 20 described above. More specifically, as explained with reference to Figure 1, the first transport mechanism 12A, the second transport mechanism 12B, etc. are operated to unload and transport the wafer W, which does not have a protective member formed on it, from the cassette Ca, and the wafer W is held by suction on the wafer holding surface 203 of the holding table 201 of the wafer holding mechanism 20, with the side that will form the protective member facing downwards. Note that this wafer holding process may be performed at any time before the expansion process described later. By performing the sheet support process and wafer holding process described above, the sheet 30 and the wafer W will be in a state facing each other, as shown in Figure 6(a).

[0042] (Liquid resin supply process) Once the sheet 30 is supported on the support table 16, the drive source 5 described above is activated to move the sheet holding unit 172 in the direction indicated by arrow R2 in Figure 5, so that the resin supply nozzle 183, which is located on the lower side of the X-axis component 172b of the sheet holding unit 172, is positioned in the center of the support table 16 holding the sheet 30, as can be understood from Figure 5 and Figure 6(b), which shows a schematic of the state shown in Figure 5. Then, the dispenser 181 described above is activated to supply a predetermined amount of liquid resin 31 from the resin supply nozzle 183 onto the sheet 30 supported on the support table 16, as shown in Figure 6(b). The amount of liquid resin 31 supplied at this time is such that it spreads without excess or deficiency between the sheet 30 and the wafer W when the wafer W is pressed and integrated via the liquid resin 31 shown in the figure.

[0043] (Expansion process) As described above, after the sheet support process, wafer holding process, and liquid resin supply process have been carried out, an expansion process is performed to spread the liquid resin 31 over the entire surface of one side of the wafer W. More specifically, as shown in Figure 6(c), the holding table 201 holding the wafer W is lowered, and the wafer W is pressed against the sheet 30 on which the liquid resin 31 has been supplied to the upper surface, spreading the liquid resin 31 over the entire surface of one side of the wafer W and integrating the sheet 30 and the wafer W. Once the wafer W has been pressed and the resin expanded as shown in the figure, the negative pressure generated on the wafer holding surface 203 of the wafer holding mechanism 20 is released, and the holding table 201 is moved to the upper retracted position as shown in Figure 6(d).

[0044] (hardening process) Next, a curing process is performed to cure the liquid resin 31 that was spread out in the expansion process described above. More specifically, as described above, the liquid resin 31 is a resin that hardens with ultraviolet light, so as shown in Figure 6(e), an ultraviolet lamp 162, which is positioned below the sheet holding surface 161 of the support table 16 made of a light-transmitting material, is activated to irradiate the liquid resin 31 with ultraviolet light. As a result, the liquid resin 31 hardens, and a protective member consisting of the sheet 30 and the hardened resin can be formed on the wafer W with the waviness and warping of the wafer W removed. Note that the liquid resin 31 in the present invention is not limited to an ultraviolet-curing resin, but may be other liquid resins. For example, if the liquid resin 31 is made of a thermosetting resin, a heating means as a curing means may be provided on the support table 16 or the holding table 201 of the wafer holding mechanism 20, and after performing the expansion process described above by pressing the wafer W onto the sheet 30 to which the liquid resin 31 has been supplied, the liquid resin 31 may be hardened by heating.

[0045] As described above, once the liquid resin 31 is supplied between the sheet 30 and the wafer W and cured to form a protective member, the second transport mechanism 12B is activated to transport the wafer W to the sheet cutting table 14, and the sheet cutter 141 cuts the sheet 30 along the circular outer shape of the wafer W. Next, the first transport mechanism 12A transports the wafer W with the protective member formed on it to the cassette Cb for storage. By performing the sheet support step, liquid resin replenishment step, wafer holding step, liquid resin supply step, expansion step, and curing step described above, a protective member can be appropriately formed on the wafer W.

[0046] As described above, once a protective member is formed on the wafer W and placed in the cassette Cb, the sheet support step, liquid resin replenishment step, wafer holding step, liquid resin supply step, expansion step, and curing step described above are repeated.

[0047] In the embodiment described above, when the drive source 5 is operated to move the sheet holding section 172 that holds the sheet 30 and perform the sheet support process, the pump 22 is also operated and the liquid resin replenishment process is performed, so a separate drive source for driving the pump 22 is omitted. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of drive sources in the illustrated protective film forming apparatus 1, and the problem of high costs due to having many drive sources can be solved.

[0048] In the embodiment described above, the wafer holding mechanism 20 that holds the wafer W is lowered by the lifting means 21 during the expansion process to spread the liquid resin. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The lifting means may be provided on the support table 16 side, and the sheet 30 supported on the support table 16 may be raised and pressed against the wafer holding mechanism 20 to spread the liquid resin 31.

[0049] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the sheet 30 was positioned and supported on a support table 16 located on the lower side, liquid resin 31 was supplied onto the sheet 30, and then the wafer W was pressed against it to spread the liquid resin 31. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the positions of the support table 16 and the holding table 201 of the wafer holding mechanism 20 shown in Figure 1 may be swapped vertically, so that the wafer W is held by the holding table 201 located on the lower side, and the support table 16 is positioned opposite the holding table 201 to support the sheet 30. When performing the liquid resin supply process, the liquid resin 31 is dropped onto the wafer W, and the support table 16 supporting the sheet 30 is positioned above it. The holding table 201 supporting the wafer W is then raised, or the support table 16 supporting the sheet 30 is lowered and pressed against it from above to spread the liquid resin 31 and perform the expansion process. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0050] 1: Protective member forming apparatus 5: Power source 6: Cutting mechanism 61: Cutter 10: External enclosure 11: Cassette storage compartment 111, 112: Storage space 12A: First conveying mechanism 12B: Second transport mechanism 13: Temporary Table 14: Sheet cutting table 141: Sheet cutter 15: Base 16: Support Table 161: Sheet holding surface 162: UV lamp 17: Sheet transport means 171: Sheet supply unit 172: Sheet holding section 172a: Extension 172b: Connection part 172d: X-axis component 173:Gripping part 18: Liquid resin supply means 181: Dispenser 182: Connecting pipe 183: Resin supply nozzle 184: Tank 185: Buffer Tank 186a, 186b: Connecting pipes 19: Column 20: Wafer holding mechanism 201: Holding Table 203: Wafer holding surface 21: Lifting and lowering means 211: Guide rail 212: Lifting base 22: Pump 22a: Rod 22b: Diaphragm 23, 24: One-way valve 30: Sheet 31: Liquid resin 40: Control Unit 41: Storage part Ca, Cb: Cassette W: Wafer

Claims

1. A protective member forming apparatus for forming a protective member that protects the entire surface of one side of a wafer by supplying liquid resin to the upper surface of a sheet and curing it, A support table that supports the seat, A sheet transport means for transporting a sheet to the support table, A holding table is positioned opposite the support table that holds the wafer, A liquid resin supply means for supplying liquid resin to the upper surface of a sheet supported on the support table or a wafer held on the holding table, A lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the support table and the holding table in a relative vertical direction, A curing means for curing liquid resin spread across the entire surface of one side of the wafer by the lifting means between the support table and the holding table, Includes, The liquid resin supply means comprises a tank containing liquid resin, a buffer tank for temporarily storing liquid resin, a pump for supplying liquid resin from the tank to the buffer tank, and a dispenser for supplying the liquid resin supplied to the buffer tank to the sheet or wafer. The sheet transport means comprises a sheet holding unit for holding the sheet and a drive source for moving the sheet holding unit. The sheet transport means includes a connecting part that connects the drive source and the pump, A protective member forming apparatus that, by operating the drive source, operates the pump connected to the drive source to supply liquid resin from the tank to the buffer tank.

2. A method for forming a protective member, comprising forming a protective member that protects the entire surface of one side of a wafer using the protective member forming apparatus described in claim 1, A sheet support step in which the sheet is supported on the support table, A wafer holding step in which a wafer is held on the holding table, A liquid resin supply step of supplying a liquid resin to the sheet or wafer, A spreading step of spreading the liquid resin over the entire surface of one side of the wafer, A method for forming a protective member, comprising a curing step of curing the spread liquid resin to form a protective member that protects the entire surface of one side of the wafer, and a liquid resin supply step in the sheet support step, in which the sheet transport means transports the sheet to the support table to supply liquid resin from the tank to the buffer tank.

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