Dicing Frame

Abstract

To provide a dicing frame that can accommodate semiconductor wafers and glass substrates of different shapes using the same frame. [Solution] The dicing frame 1 has a circular outer shape and one opening 30 that penetrates in the thickness direction, and is used to hold a substrate with dicing tape that covers the opening 30 and dice the substrate, and the opening 30 has a non-circular and non-rectangular opening shape in a planar view that can surround both a first substrate that is circular in a planar view and a second substrate 15 that is rectangular in a planar view.

Description

Cross Reference

[0001] The contents of the patents, patent applications and publications cited throughout this application are hereby incorporated by reference. [Technical Field]

[0002] The present invention relates to a dicing frame. [Background technology]

[0003] Generally, in the manufacturing process of semiconductor products, a semiconductor wafer (e.g., a silicon wafer or a compound semiconductor wafer) substrate having numerous electronic elements (with circuit patterns) formed on its surface is cut into semiconductor chips as electronic elements. This cutting process is called a dicing process. In the dicing process, the wafer substrate is held in an annular frame called a dicing frame. The individual semiconductor chips (dies) cut in the dicing process are then mounted and fixed onto die pads such as lead frames (die bonding process), after which they undergo processes such as wire bonding, and, if necessary, are sealed with molding resin. Products such as ICs and LSIs are completed through many such processes (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] The dicing process for a wafer substrate involves attaching a dicing tape to the back surface of the wafer substrate, where no circuit pattern is formed, placing the wafer substrate in a dicing frame and holding it via the dicing tape, and then dicing the wafer substrate from its front surface. After dicing, the UV-curable dicing tape is removed from the wafer substrate, for example, by irradiating the back surface of the dicing tape with ultraviolet light.

[0005] The shape of a general-purpose wafer substrate is usually approximately circular. The term "approximately circular" is used here because the wafer substrate is processed on part of its outer periphery to indicate crystal orientation, known as an orientation flat (OF), index flat (IF), or notch, and is therefore not exactly circular. However, hereafter, to distinguish it from a rectangular shape, the planar shape of a processed wafer substrate will be referred to as "circular." Conventionally known dicing frames are annular (i.e., hollow ring-shaped) frames with openings for accommodating and holding such circular wafer substrates. Recently, dicing frames have come to accommodate and hold substrates other than wafer substrates. One example of such a substrate is a glass substrate used as an interposer on which rewired and singulated dies (chiplets) are mounted.

[0006] However, near the periphery of a circular wafer substrate, there are fragments that cannot be used to make semiconductor chips. These fragments are disposed of as waste after multiple semiconductor chips are picked up from the wafer substrate. As a result, the presence of the fragments reduces product yield. Recently, however, wafer substrates that are rectangular in plan view and can reduce the amount of such fragments have become known. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-299226 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] Conventionally, wafer substrates that are circular in plan view and rectangular glass or wafer substrates have been held in dicing frames with openings specifically designed for those substrates and subjected to dicing processes. Specifically, dicing frames that accommodate and hold circular wafer substrates have circular openings. Similarly, dicing frames that accommodate and hold rectangular glass or wafer substrates have rectangular openings. Because dicing frames with different opening shapes are used for dicing substrates with different shapes in plan view, excessive costs are incurred for inventory management and quality control of the frames.

[0009] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a dicing frame that can accommodate substrates of different shapes using the same frame. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] (1) A dicing frame according to an embodiment for achieving the above object is a dicing frame having a circular outer shape and one opening penetrating in the thickness direction, which is used to hold a substrate with a dicing tape that covers the opening and to dice the substrate, and the opening has a non-circular and non-rectangular opening shape in a planar view that can surround both a first substrate that is circular in a planar view and a second substrate that is rectangular in a planar view. (2) In a dicing frame according to another embodiment, the opening may preferably have a shape that combines a circular area in a plan view with cutout areas that are cut out at four points on the outer edge of the circular area in a direction outward from the opening surface. (3) In a dicing frame according to another embodiment, the cutout region may preferably have an outer edge portion that forms an arc protruding in and outward directions in a plan view. (4) In a dicing frame according to another embodiment, the outer edge of the cutout region may preferably have a smaller radius of curvature than the outer edge of the circular region. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a dicing frame that can accommodate substrates of different shapes using the same frame. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a dicing frame according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing how a rectangular wafer substrate is accommodated and held in a dicing frame. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a rectangular wafer substrate is housed and held in a dicing frame. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which a rectangular wafer substrate is housed and held in the dicing frame. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which a circular wafer substrate is housed and held in the dicing frame. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the dimensions of the dicing frame. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating a dicing frame according to the second modification. [Explanation of symbols]

[0013] 1,40 Dicing Frame 3,5,7,9 Cutout area 3a,5a,7a,9a outer edge 15 Wafer substrate (an example of a second substrate) 16 Glass substrate (an example of a second substrate) 17 Wafer substrate (an example of a first substrate) 20 Semiconductor chips (dies) 25 Dicing Tape 30 Opening 30a Circular Area 30b outer edge DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below do not limit the inventions according to the claims. Furthermore, not all of the elements and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the present invention.

[0015] Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a dicing frame according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a rectangular wafer substrate housed and held in the dicing frame. Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a rectangular wafer substrate housed and held in the dicing frame. Fig. 4 shows a plan view of a rectangular wafer substrate housed and held in the dicing frame. Fig. 5 shows a plan view of a circular wafer substrate housed and held in the dicing frame.

[0016] The dicing frame 1 according to this embodiment has a single opening 30 that has a circular outer shape and penetrates in the thickness direction, and is used to hold a substrate with a dicing tape 25 (see FIG. 2) that closes the opening 30 and dices the substrate. The opening 30 has a non-circular and non-rectangular opening shape in plan view that can surround both a first substrate that is circular in plan view and a second substrate that is rectangular in plan view. The dicing frame 1 according to this embodiment will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the dicing frame 1 according to this embodiment has an annular (ring-shaped) outer shape and one opening 30 penetrating the frame in the thickness direction. The dicing frame 1 can be used to hold a semiconductor (e.g., a silicon semiconductor or a compound semiconductor) wafer substrate 15 within the opening 30 via a highly flexible dicing tape 25 (see FIG. 2) and to dice the wafer substrate 15. Here, "dicing" refers to cutting the wafer substrate 15 into multiple semiconductor chips. The wafer substrate 17, which is circular in plan view and will be described later, corresponds to the "first substrate," and the wafer substrate 15 and the glass substrate 16, which are rectangular in plan view, described above, correspond to the "second substrate." Here, an example of the glass substrate 16 is a substrate that functions as the interposer described above.

[0018] The dicing frame 1 is a plate-shaped molded body primarily made of resin or metal. Techniques for producing such a molded body are not particularly limited and include, for example, injection molding, mold molding, or build-up molding using a 3D printer. The molding material of the dicing frame 1 preferably contains, in addition to one or more resins, a particulate, fibrous, needle-like, plate-like, or amorphous filler. A more preferred example of such a molding material is a mixture of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin or polyamide-based resin, which have excellent fluidity, dimensional stability, and precision moldability, with carbon fiber or calcium carbonate, which imparts strength or rigidity, and / or aluminum borate whiskers, which have excellent chemical resistance and reinforcing properties. The thickness of the dicing frame 1 is preferably 0.1 to 3 mm, more preferably 0.2 to 2 mm.

[0019] Opening The opening 30 is a through-hole capable of surrounding (i.e., accommodating) the wafer substrate 15, which is rectangular in plan view, and the wafer substrate 17, which is circular in plan view. The wafer substrate 15, which is rectangular in plan view, can be substituted for the glass substrate 16, which is rectangular in plan view. The opening 30 has a non-circular and non-rectangular shape in plan view, combining a circular region 30a, which occupies the majority of the opening 30, with cutout regions 3, 5, 7, and 9, which cut out four locations on the outer edge of the circular region 30a radially outward. The cutout regions 3, 5, 7, and 9 are approximately crescent-shaped regions that communicate with the circular region 30a in a direction that protrudes arc-like radially outward from the opening 30. The shape of the opening 30 in plan view is neither circular nor rectangular. The opening 30 has the cutout regions 3, 5, 7, and 9 to accommodate a rectangular wafer substrate 15 that cannot be accommodated in the circular region 30a alone. The cutout regions 3 and 7 are formed at positions facing each other with respect to the center (also simply referred to as the center point) of the circular region 30a, and the cutout regions 5 and 9 are formed at positions facing each other with respect to the center point.

[0020] The cutout regions 3, 5, 7, and 9 each have an outer edge 3a, 5a, 7a, or 9a that forms an arc protruding in and outward directions in a plan view. Because the opening 30 has the cutout regions 3, 5, 7, and 9, even if the rectangular wafer substrate 15 cannot be accommodated in the circular region 30a, the four corners of the wafer substrate 15 can be positioned within the four cutout regions 3, 5, 7, and 9. Furthermore, the outer edges 3a, 5a, 7a, and 9a preferably have a smaller radius of curvature than the outer edge 30b of the circular region 30a. That is, the outer edges 3a, 5a, 7a, and 9a are curved more sharply than the outer edge 30b of the circular region 30a, and have a curved shape with a smaller radius. The cutout regions 3, 5, 7, and 9 are relatively wide, allowing for flexible adaptation to changes in the size and placement position of the rectangular wafer substrate 15 in a plan view.

[0021] In this embodiment, the cutout areas 3, 5, 7, and 9 are formed in four locations on the inner periphery of the opening 30. However, the opening 30 may have five or more cutout areas. Even in this case, however, the four cutout areas are arranged in positions that allow the rectangular second substrate to be accommodated without the four corners of the substrate colliding with the frame.

[0022] [Positioning notch] 1, the dicing frame 1 has positioning notches (cutouts) 11, 13 on the upper left and right sides of the outer peripheral surface. In this embodiment, the shape of the notches 11, 13 is a generally V-shaped cutout facing inward, but is not limited to this shape.

[0023] [Example of using a dicing frame] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a wafer substrate 15 held by a dicing frame 1 has grid-like streets 21 formed on its surface 22. The streets 21 correspond to dicing lines. Semiconductor chips (dies) 20 are formed in each of the areas partitioned by the streets 21. The wafer substrate 15 is adhesively held on the surface of a dicing tape 25 that covers the backside of an opening 30 in the dicing frame 1 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). With the wafer substrate 15 adhesively held on the dicing frame 1 in this manner, multiple semiconductor chips (dies) 20 are cut off using cutting means such as a diamond blade (not shown). The multiple semiconductor chips (dies) 20 are then individually picked up from the dicing tape 25 and transported to another area.

[0024] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the dimensions of the dicing frame.

[0025] [Example of dimensions of dicing frame 1] The dimensions of each part of the dicing frame 1 are, for example, as shown below in FIG. 6. The inner diameter (φA) of the circular region 30a that mainly occupies the opening 30 is 350±0.5 mm. The diameter (φB) of the circumscribed circle of the dicing frame 1 is 400±0.5 mm. The length (φT) from the center of one outer edge of the opposing cutout regions 3, 7 (or cutout regions 5, 9) to the center of the other outer edge is 369+0 / -0.5 mm. The horizontal length (C) and vertical length (D) of the dicing frame 1 in a plan view are both 380+0 / -0.5 mm.

[0026] The opening 30 of the dicing frame 1 formed according to the above-mentioned dimensions is large enough to accommodate a rectangular wafer substrate 15 (diagonal length: 250 mm × √2 = approximately 353.55 mm) measuring 250 mm × 250 mm (length and width), as shown in Fig. 4. Note that the above-mentioned dimensions of the dicing frame 1 are merely examples, and can be changed as appropriate depending on whether the wafer substrate to be accommodated and held is circular or rectangular, and on its size.

[0027] Here, the wafer substrate 15 is a rectangular substrate with a diagonal length of 353.55 mm in the example of Fig. 4. As shown in Fig. 5, a circular wafer substrate 17 with an outer diameter of 300 mm can also be accommodated in the opening 30 of the dicing frame 1 formed according to the above-mentioned dimensional specifications.

[0028] <Variation 1> The dicing frame 1 according to the embodiment described above is provided with positioning notches 11 and 13. However, as shown in Fig. 7, the shape of a dicing frame 40 according to Modification 1 may be a shape that does not include the above-mentioned notches 11 and 13.

[0029] <Variation 2> The dicing frames 1 and 40 according to the above embodiments can be used for dicing both the wafer substrates 15 and 17, but can also be used for dicing both the rectangular glass substrate 16 and the circular wafer substrate 17.

[0030] [Effects of the embodiment] The dicing frame 1, 40 according to the above-described embodiment is a frame having a circular outer shape and a single opening 30 penetrating through in the thickness direction, and can be used to hold and dice wafer substrates 15, 17 within the opening 30. The opening 30 has a non-circular and non-rectangular opening shape in plan view, which can accommodate both a circular wafer substrate 17 and a rectangular wafer substrate 15 in plan view, a circular wafer substrate 17 and a rectangular glass substrate 16 in plan view, and even a circular glass substrate and a rectangular glass substrate 16 in plan view. Therefore, the dicing frame 1, 40 can be used by itself to dice wafer substrates and / or glass substrates of different shapes.

[0031] Furthermore, according to the dicing frame 1, 40 of the above embodiment, the opening 30 has a shape that combines a circular area 30a in a plan view with cutout areas 3, 5, 7, and 9 that are formed by cutting out four locations on the outer edge of the area 30a in a direction outward from the opening surface. Therefore, a wafer substrate 17 that is circular in a plan view is accommodated and held in the circular area 30a of the opening 30 in the dicing frame 1, 40. Furthermore, a wafer substrate 15 that is rectangular in a plan view or a rectangular glass substrate 16 is accommodated and held in a non-circular or non-rectangular opening 30 that includes the circular area 30a and cutout areas 3, 5, 7, and 9 of the dicing frame 1, 40. Therefore, both circular and rectangular semiconductor wafers or glass substrates can be reliably accommodated and held by the same frame.

[0032] Furthermore, according to the dicing frame 1, 40 of the above embodiment, the cutout regions 3, 5, 7, and 9 have arc-shaped outer edges 3a, 5a, 7a, and 9a that protrude outward from the opening surface, i.e., radially outward, in a plan view. Therefore, the four corners of the rectangular wafer substrate 15 can be more reliably positioned at the positions of the arc-shaped outer edges 3a, 5a, 7a, and 9a of the cutout regions 3, 5, 7, and 9. Additionally, because the outer edges 3a, 5a, 7a, and 9a are configured to form curved surfaces and have no corners, the dicing frame 1, 40 can be reduced from cracking at any point on the outer edges 3a, 5a, 7a, and 9a.

[0033] Furthermore, in the dicing frame 1, 40 according to the embodiment, the outer edges 3a, 5a, 7a, 9a of the cutout regions 3, 5, 7, 9 have a smaller radius of curvature than the outer edge 30b of the circular region 30a. Therefore, the outer edges 3a, 5a, 7a, 9a of the cutout regions 3, 5, 7, 9 have an arc shape that protrudes radially outward from the outer edge 30b of the circular region 30a in a planar view. Therefore, the dicing frame 1, 40 can flexibly accommodate changes in the size and position of the wafer substrate 15 or glass substrate 16, which is rectangular in a planar view. Furthermore, the dicing frame 1, 40 can more reliably accommodate and hold the wafer substrate 15 or glass substrate 16.

[0034] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. The shape of the cutout regions 3, 5, 7, and 9 is not limited to a generally crescent shape in plan view, and may be, for example, rectangular in plan view. Furthermore, the joints between the outer edges 3a, 5a, 7a, and 9a of the cutout regions 3, 5, 7, and 9 and the outer edge 30b of the circular region 30a are preferably curved rather than sharply cornered. This reduces the risk of the dicing tape 25 tearing at the joints. [Industrial Applicability]

[0035] The present invention can be used in a substrate dicing process.

Claims

1. A dicing frame having an annular outer shape and one opening penetrating in a thickness direction, the dicing frame being used to hold a substrate with a dicing tape that closes the opening, the dicing frame comprising: The opening has a non-circular and non-rectangular opening shape in a plan view, and is capable of surrounding both a first substrate that is circular in a plan view and a second substrate that is rectangular in a plan view.

2. The dicing frame according to claim 1 , wherein the opening has a shape that combines a circular area in a plan view with cutout areas that are formed by cutting out four places on the outer edge of the circular area in a direction outward from the opening surface.

3. The dicing frame according to claim 2 , wherein the cutout region has an outer edge portion that forms an arc protruding in and outward directions in a plan view.

4. The dicing frame according to claim 3 , wherein the outer edge of the cutout region has a smaller radius of curvature than the outer edge of the circular region.

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