Method for fixing an article

Abstract

To secure a complex shaped article to a support member.SOLUTION: An article fixing method includes a fixing member disposing step of disposing a fixing member on a support member, a placing step of placing an article on the support member via the fixing member, and an integrating step of heating the article or the supporting member to a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point of the fixing member, stopping the heating to solidify the fixing member, and fixing the article and the supporting member integrally. Preferably, the fixing member is a powdery thermoplastic resin. More preferably, the softening point of the securing member is below the melting and softening points of the article and the support member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for fixing an article, which is not plate-shaped, to a support member.

Background Art

[0002] In the manufacturing process of device chips used in electronic devices such as mobile phones and personal computers, first, a plurality of intersecting planned division lines (streets) are set on the surface of a wafer made of a material such as semiconductor. Then, devices such as IC (Integrated Circuit) and LSI (Large-Scale Integration) are formed in each region partitioned by the planned division lines.

[0003] Thereafter, an adhesive tape called a dicing tape, which is an annular frame having an opening and is adhered so as to close the opening, is adhered to the back surface or the front surface of the wafer. Then, a frame unit in which the adhesive tape, the wafer, and the annular frame are integrated is formed. Then, when the wafer included in the frame unit is processed and divided along the planned division lines, individual device chips are formed.

[0004] However, an object to be processed by a processing device such as a cutting device is not always in a plate shape such as a wafer. In other words, there may be a case where processing of an object to be processed having a shape that is not easily fixed by sticking to an adhesive tape is desired in a processing device. Therefore, for example, a method is known in which wax is disposed on a support member, and the object to be processed is fixed to the support member by this wax (see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] When an article such as a workpiece is attached to a support member with wax, it is necessary to wash the article with an organic solvent to remove the wax after the processing of the article is completed. Therefore, costs are incurred for preparing the organic solvent and disposing of the used organic solvent. Also, the processing efficiency of the article decreases due to the time required for the washing process.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a method for fixing an article that can fix the article to the support member so that it can be easily separated from the support member later.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for fixing an article, comprising: a fixing member disposing step of disposing a fixing member on a support member; a placing step of placing the article on the support member via the fixing member; and an integrating step of heating the article or the support member to a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point of the fixing member, stopping the heating, and solidifying the fixing member to integrally fix the article and the support member. The fixing member is a powdery thermoplastic resin, and the article is an object to be processed by a processing device. In the integrating step, there is provided a method for fixing an article, characterized in that the fixing member heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point and softened or melted wraps around the bottom surface and a part of the side surface of the article.

[0009] Good Preferably, the softening point of the fixing member is lower than the melting points and softening points of the article and the support member.

Effects of the Invention

[0010] According to the method for fixing an article according to one aspect of the present invention, a fixing member is disposed on a support member that supports the article, the article is placed on the support member via the fixing member, and the article or the support member is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point of the fixing member. Then, the fixing member softens and its shape collapses, and the fixing member comes into contact with a wide area of the article. Thereafter, when the heating is stopped, the fixing member solidifies and the article and the support member are integrally fixed.

[0011] When the article is fixed to the support member by this method, when separating the article from the support member, the article or the support member is heated again to a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point of the fixing member to soften the fixing member. Then, the article can be easily separated from the support member. At this time, unlike wax, it is difficult for the fixing member to remain on the article, so a cleaning process using an organic solvent becomes unnecessary. Therefore, the article can be easily separated from the support member.

[0012] Therefore, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for fixing an article that can fix the article to the support member so that it can be easily separated from the support member later.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] With reference to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment according to one aspect of the present invention will be described. First, the article to be fixed by the fixing method of the article according to this embodiment will be described. The article is, for example, a workpiece to be processed by a processing apparatus such as a cutting apparatus. FIG. 2 includes a perspective view schematically showing the article 1.

[0015] The article 1 is formed of, for example, materials such as Si (silicon), SiC (silicon carbide), GaN (gallium nitride), GaAs (gallium arsenide), or other semiconductors, or materials such as sapphire, glass, quartz, etc. The glass is, for example, alkali glass, non-alkali glass, soda-lime glass, lead glass, borosilicate glass, fused silica, etc. However, the article 1 is not limited thereto.

[0016] Conventionally, the shape of the workpiece to be processed by a processing apparatus was mainly circular or rectangular flat plate. Devices such as ICs and LSIs were formed side by side on the surface of the workpiece, and when the workpiece was divided into individual devices by a processing apparatus such as a cutting apparatus, individual device chips were obtained.

[0017] When loading the workpiece into the processing apparatus, an adhesive tape having a diameter larger than that of the workpiece was attached to the back surface of the workpiece, and the outer peripheral portion of the adhesive tape was attached to the inner peripheral portion of a ring frame formed of metal. That is, a frame unit in which the workpiece, the adhesive tape, and the ring frame were integrated was formed.

[0018] However, in recent years, in processing apparatuses, processing of articles having various shapes different from plate shapes has been desired. For example, in a processing apparatus, processing of articles such as cylindrical, prismatic, spherical, etc. may be desired. However, even if a workpiece having such a shape is attached to an adhesive tape, a sufficient adhesive area cannot be secured, and the workpiece cannot be sufficiently fixed.

[0019] Therefore, in the method for fixing an article according to the present embodiment, the article is fixed to the support member by a method other than using an adhesive tape. Hereinafter, each step of the method for fixing an article according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of each step of the method for fixing an article according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the case where the article to be fixed is prismatic will be described as an example, but the shape of the article to be fixed is not limited to prismatic.

[0020] In the method for fixing an article according to the present embodiment, first, a fixing member arranging step S10 of arranging a fixing member on a support member is performed. FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a support member 2 having a fixing member 4 arranged on an upper surface 2a.

[0021] The support member 2 to which the article is fixed is formed of, for example, a hard resin, metal, glass, semiconductor material, or the like. The support member 2 is, for example, a rectangular or circular plate-like object. An accommodation recess (not shown) capable of partially accommodating the article to be fixed may be formed on the upper surface 2a of the support member 2, or a regulating convex portion (not shown) for defining the fixing position of the article may be formed.

[0022] The fixing member 4 is, for example, a powdery (powder-like) thermoplastic resin. There are no particular limitations on the shape, average particle size, particle size distribution, and other characteristics of the powdery fixing member 4. The thermoplastic resin is, for example, polyolefin (PO), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or the like.

[0023] The fixing member 4 is arranged and used on the support member 2 as described later. When the fixing member 4 is heated and the temperature of the fixing member 4 exceeds the softening point, the fixing member 4 softens and its shape collapses. Or, when the fixing member 4 is formed of a thermoplastic resin that does not soften until it reaches the melting point, when the temperature of the fixing member 4 exceeds the melting point, the fixing member 4 melts and its shape collapses.

[0024] At this time, in order to sufficiently support the article as described later, the support member 2 needs not to soften (melt). That is, it is preferable that the support member 2 does not soften (melt) when the fixing member 4 softens (melts) by heating. More specifically, it is preferable that the softening point (melting point) of the fixing member 4 is lower than the melting point or softening point of the support member 2.

[0025] In the fixing member disposing step S10, the fixing member 4 is disposed on the upper surface 2a of the support member 2. More specifically, the fixing member 4 is disposed on the upper surface 2a of the support member 2 in a region including the region where the article to be fixed in the later-described placing step S20 is placed. FIG. 1 schematically shows the support member 2 disposed on the upper surface 2a of the support member 2.

[0026] There is no particular limitation on the method of disposing the fixing member 4 on the support member 2. For example, it may be carried out manually by an operator or may be carried out by a powder spraying machine. It is only necessary that the article is fixed to the support member 2 with sufficient fixing force later, and the fixing member 4 does not necessarily need to be uniformly sprayed in a predetermined region. Also, it is not necessary that the predetermined region is completely covered with the fixing member 4, and the upper surface 2a of the support member 2 may be partially exposed in the predetermined region.

[0027] Furthermore, the fixing member 4 does not necessarily need to be disposed aiming at a predetermined region of the upper surface 2a of the support member 2, and may be disposed over the entire upper surface 2a of the support member 2. In this case, since there is no need to adjust the region where the fixing member 4 is disposed, the fixing member 4 can be disposed on the upper surface 2a of the support member 2 extremely easily. However, if the fixing member 4 is disposed over a wide region of the upper surface 2a of the support member 2, the fixing member 4 that does not contribute to the fixing of the article increases, so the cost of the fixing member 4 increases.

[0028] Next, the placement step S20 is performed. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the placement step S20. In the placement step S20, the article 1 is placed on the support member 2 via the fixing member 4. For example, when the article 1 is prismatic, the bottom surface 1a which is the surface to be fixed of the article 1 is directed downward, and the bottom surface 1a is brought into contact with the fixing member 4 disposed on the support member 2. FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the article 1 placed on the support member 2 via the fixing member 4.

[0029] Next, the integration step S30 is performed. In the integration step S30, the article 1 or the support member 2 is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point of the fixing member 4, the heating is stopped, the fixing member 4 is solidified, and the article 1 and the support member 2 are integrally fixed. The heating temperature at this time is, for example, 200°C or higher. However, the heating temperature is preferably determined by the material of the thermoplastic resin constituting the fixing member 4 as described below.

[0030] For example, when the thermoplastic resin constituting the fixing member 4 is polyethylene (PE), the heating temperature is preferably 120°C or higher. When the thermoplastic resin is polypropylene (PP), the heating temperature is preferably 160°C or higher. When the thermoplastic resin is polystyrene (PS), the heating temperature is preferably 220°C or higher. Furthermore, when the thermoplastic resin is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the heating temperature is preferably 250°C or higher. However, the heating temperature is not limited to these.

[0031] For example, in the integration step S30, the support member 2 on which the article 1 etc. are placed is placed on a hot plate, and the support member 2 etc. are heated by the hot plate. Or, the support member 2 etc. are irradiated with infrared rays using an infrared lamp to heat the support member 2 etc. Or, hot air is applied to the support member 2 etc. with a heat gun capable of ejecting hot air to heat the support member 2 etc.

[0032] In the integrated step S30, the temperature of the fixing member 4 is raised to soften or melt it, and the shape of the fixing member 4 is distorted. At this time, the fixing member 4 widely contacts the bottom surface 1a of the article 1. Also, the article 1 may sink into the softened fixing member 4, and the fixing member 4 may penetrate not only the bottom surface 1a of the article 1 but also a part of the side surface of the article 1. Further, the softened fixing member 4 may deform following the minute uneven shape on the surface of the article 1 and the fixing member 4 may enter into every corner of the uneven shape.

[0033] Furthermore, the softened fixing member 4 contacts a wide area of the upper surface 2a of the article 1 and the supporting member 2. And when an uneven shape is formed on the upper surface 2a of the supporting member 2, the fixing member 4 deforms following the uneven shape and enters into every corner of the uneven shape.

[0034] Thereafter, heating of the supporting member 2 etc. is stopped to lower the temperature of the fixing member 4 to solidify the fixing member 4. FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing the article 1 fixed to the supporting member 2 by the solidified fixing member 4a. At this time, the article 1 is fixed to the supporting member 2 by the fixing member 4a with a strong fixing force.

[0035] For example, when the article 1 has a shape such as a columnar shape or a spherical shape, even if the article 1 is placed on the adhesive tape, the adhesive tape cannot be greatly deformed, so the area of the region where the article 1 contacts the adhesive tape becomes small. Therefore, the article 1 cannot be strongly fixed with the adhesive tape.

[0036] Also, instead of the adhesive tape, it is conceivable to prepare a resin sheet formed of a thermoplastic resin, place the article 1 at the center of the resin sheet, place the inner peripheral portion of the ring frame on the outer peripheral portion of the resin sheet, and heat and soften the resin sheet. In this case, it is expected that a frame unit in which the article 1, the resin sheet, and the ring frame are integrated is formed by stopping heating and solidifying the resin sheet thereafter.

[0037] However, in this case, it is conceivable that the shape of the resin sheet collapses during heating and the shape of the sheet can no longer be reproduced even when heating is stopped and cooling is performed. On the other hand, in the method for fixing an article according to the present embodiment, since the fixing member 4 made of a thermoplastic resin and softened or the like is supported by the support member 2, the article 1 does not lose support. That is, the article 1 is fixed by the support member 2 with sufficient fixing force and is supported by the support member 2.

[0038] The article 1 integrated with the support member 2 by the integration step S30 is then carried to a processing device such as a cutting device and processed. At this time, since the article 1 is fixed to the support member 2 with sufficient fixing force, the article 1 is appropriately processed. Then, when the support member 2 or the like on which the article 1 and the fixing member 4a are placed is heated again to a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point (melting point) to soften the fixing member 4a, the article 1 can be easily separated from the support member 2.

[0039] Note that when separating the article 1 from the support member 2, the support member 2 or the like may be heated to a temperature higher than the temperature when the support member 2 or the like was heated in the integration step S30. In this case, since the fixing member 4a softens more than when the integration step S30 was performed, it is difficult for the fixing member 4a to remain on the article 1. Further, even when a slight amount of the fixing member 4a remains on the article 1, it is also possible to wipe off the fixing member 4a from the article 1 before the temperature of the fixing member 4a drops and the fixing member 4a solidifies again.

[0040] [[ID=X]] For example, when the article 1 is fixed to the support member 2 with a wax that exhibits adhesiveness, the wax may stick to the article 1 and it may be troublesome to remove the wax from the article 1. On the other hand, when the fixing member 4 made of a thermoplastic resin is reheated and softened, the fixing member 4 does not stick to the article 1 and it does not take time to remove the fixing member 4a from the article 1.

[0041] Furthermore, when releasing the fixation of the article 1, it is not necessary to heat the support member 2 or the like. For example, it is also possible to peel the article 1 from the fixing member 4a by lifting the article 1 with sufficient force. Since the solidified fixing member 4a does not have adhesiveness like wax, it is difficult for the fixing member 4a to remain on the article 1 even in this case.

[0042] As described above, according to the method for fixing an article according to the present embodiment, the article 1 is fixed to the support member 2 by the fixing member 4 formed of a powdery thermoplastic resin. Therefore, an article 1 having a complex shape can be fixed to the support member 2 so that it can be easily separated from the support member 2 later.

[0043] Note that the present invention is not limited to the description of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made and implemented. For example, in the above embodiment, the placement step S20 is performed after the fixing member arrangement step S10, and the case where the article 1 is placed on the support member 2 via the fixing member 4 has been described. However, the method for fixing an article according to the present embodiment is not limited to this.

[0044] That is, in the method for fixing an article according to one aspect of the present invention, after placing the article 1 on the support member 2 via the fixing member 4, a further fixing member 4 may be sprayed from above the article 1. In this case, when the integration step S30 is performed, the softened fixing member 4a contacts a wider area on the surface of the article 1 and a part of the article 1 is covered with the fixing member 4a. Therefore, when the heating is stopped, the article 1 is more strongly fixed to the support member 2.

[0045] Furthermore, the fixing member arrangement step S10 may be performed after the placement step S20. That is, after placing the article 1 on the upper surface 2a of the support member 2, a powdery fixing member 4 may be sprayed from above the article 1 or the like. In this case, the bottom surface 1a of the article 1 is widely supported by the upper surface 2a of the support member 2. Therefore, the inclination of the article 1 due to variations in the spraying state of the fixing member 4 or the like can be reduced.

[0046] In addition, the structure, method, etc. according to the above embodiment can be appropriately changed and implemented as long as they do not deviate from the scope of the object of the present invention.

Description of Symbols

[0047] 1 Article 1a Bottom Surface 2 Support Member 2a Upper Surface 4 Fixing Member 4a Fixing Member

Claims

Claim 1 A method for fixing an article, comprising: a fixing member disposing step of disposing a fixing member on a support member; a placing step of placing the article on the support member via the fixing member; an integration step of heating the article or the support member to a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point of the fixing member, stopping the heating, solidifying the fixing member, and integrally fixing the article and the support member; wherein: the fixing member is a powdery thermoplastic resin; the article is a workpiece to be processed by a processing device; in the integration step, the fixing member heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point and softened or melted wraps around the bottom surface and a part of the side surface of the article. A method for fixing an article, characterized in that. Claim 2 The method for fixing an article according to claim 1, characterized in that the softening point of the fixing member is lower than the melting point and the softening point of the article and the support member.

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