Processing equipment

Abstract

To provide a machining device that is able to mix a surfactant into cutting water without needing a large transportation cost and requiring a large-scale facility.SOLUTION: A machining device includes: a chuck table that holds a plate-like object; cutting means 6 with a cutting blade 16 that machines the plate-like object, held by the chuck table, by cutting it; and cutting water supply means 8 that supplies cutting water to a machining area in which machining is performed. The cutting water supply means 8 includes a water source 20, a pipe 22 that guides cutting water from the water source 20, and a nozzle 24 that supplies cutting water, guided by the pipe 22, to the machining area. A vessel 26 containing a solid surfactant S is disposed in the pipe 22. The machining device is configured such that the surfactant S contained in the container 26 is dissolved by cutting water flowing through the pipe 22 and is supplied from the nozzle 24 to the machining area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing device for dividing a plate-shaped object into individual chips. [Background technology]

[0002] A wafer, on whose surface a plurality of devices such as ICs and LSIs are formed along planned dividing lines, is divided into individual device chips by a processing machine equipped with a cutting blade, and each of the divided device chips is used in electrical equipment such as mobile phones and personal computers.

[0003] The processing device includes a chuck table that holds a plate-like object, a cutting means equipped with a cutting blade that cuts and processes the plate-like object held on the chuck table, and a cutting water supply means that supplies cutting water to the processing area where the processing is performed, and can divide the wafer into individual device chips with high precision (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-138950 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] A surfactant is sometimes mixed into cutting water to prevent cutting debris from adhering to the wafer surface, but this involves the problem of high costs for transporting liquid surfactants and the need for large-scale facilities to supply the liquid surfactant to processing equipment, resulting in poor productivity.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a processing device that can mix a surfactant into cutting water without incurring large transportation costs or requiring large-scale equipment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to the present invention, there is provided the following processing device that solves the above-mentioned problems. "A processing device that divides a plate-shaped object into individual chips, The apparatus comprises a chuck table for holding a plate-like object, cutting means having a cutting blade for cutting and processing the plate-like object held on the chuck table, and cutting water supply means for supplying cutting water to a processing area where the processing is performed, The cutting water supply means includes a water source, a pipe for introducing cutting water from the water source, and a nozzle for supplying the cutting water introduced by the pipe to the machining area; A container containing a solid surfactant is disposed in the piping, and the surfactant contained in the container is dissolved by the cutting water flowing through the piping and supplied to the machining area from the nozzle. 、 The container is disposed above the downstream pipe, and when there is no flow of cutting water, the surfactant is not submerged. A processing device is provided.

[0009] It is preferable that a measuring instrument for measuring the resistivity is disposed between the container and the nozzle, and the resistivity is adjusted to a predetermined value.

[0010] The piping preferably has a first path in which the container is disposed and a second path in which the container is not disposed, the second path merges with the first path between the container and the nozzle, the measuring instrument is disposed in the first path after the merger, and the flow rate of cutting water in the first path and the flow rate of cutting water in the second path are adjusted so that the resistivity value becomes a predetermined value. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] The processing device of the present invention comprises: The apparatus comprises a chuck table for holding a plate-like object, cutting means having a cutting blade for cutting and processing the plate-like object held on the chuck table, and cutting water supply means for supplying cutting water to a processing area where the processing is performed, The cutting water supply means includes a water source, a pipe for introducing cutting water from the water source, and a nozzle for supplying the cutting water introduced by the pipe to the machining area; A container containing a solid surfactant is disposed in the piping, and the surfactant contained in the container is dissolved by the cutting water flowing through the piping and supplied to the machining area from the nozzle. 、 The container is disposed above the downstream pipe, and when there is no flow of cutting water, the surfactant is not submerged. Therefore, the surfactant can be mixed into the cutting water without incurring large transportation costs or requiring large-scale facilities. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a processing device constructed in accordance with the present invention; [Figure 2] 2 is a schematic diagram of a cutting means and a cutting water supply means of the processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a processing apparatus constructed according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] (Processing equipment 2) As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the processing device 2 includes a chuck table 4 (see Figure 1) that holds a plate-like object W, a cutting means 6 equipped with a cutting blade that cuts and processes the plate-like object W held on the chuck table 4, and a cutting water supply means 8 (see Figure 2) that supplies cutting water to the processing area where processing is performed.

[0015] (Chuck table 4) 1, a circular porous suction chuck 10 connected to a suction means (not shown) is disposed on the upper end portion of the chuck table 4. The suction means of the chuck table 4 generates a suction force on the upper surface of the suction chuck 10, thereby suction-holding the plate-like object W placed on the upper surface of the suction chuck 10.

[0016] The chuck table 4 is rotated by a chuck table motor (not shown) with the vertical axis as its axis, and is fed for processing in the X-axis direction indicated by the arrow X in FIG. 1 by an X-axis feed means (not shown).

[0017] (Cutting means 6) As shown in Figure 2, the cutting means 6 includes a spindle housing 12 that is movable in the Y-axis and Z-axis directions, a spindle 14 that is rotatably supported by the spindle housing 12, an annular cutting blade 16 fixed to the tip of the spindle 14, and a blade cover 18 that covers the top of the cutting blade 16.

[0018] In the cutting means 6, the cutting edge of the cutting blade 16 rotated at high speed is caused to cut into the plate-like object W held by suction on the chuck table 4, thereby performing cutting work.

[0019] The Y-axis direction is the direction indicated by the arrow Y in Figures 1 and 2, which is perpendicular to the X-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction is the direction indicated by the arrow Z in Figures 1 and 2, which is the up-down direction perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis directions.

[0020] (Cutting water supply means 8) Continuing the explanation with reference to FIG. 2, the cutting water supply means 8 includes a water source 20, a pipe 22 for conducting cutting water from the water source 20, and a nozzle 24 for supplying the cutting water conducted by the pipe 22 to the machining area.

[0021] (Water source 20) Although not shown, the water source 20 includes a tank that stores cutting water (for example, pure water) and a pump that pumps out the cutting water in the tank.

[0022] (Pipe 22) A container 26 containing a solid surfactant S is arranged in the piping 22, and the surfactant S contained in the container 26 is dissolved by the cutting water flowing through the piping 22, and the cutting water containing the surfactant S is supplied to the machining area from the nozzle 24.

[0023] Container 26 has a supply port 26a at the top and a discharge port 26b at the bottom. A net 26c is disposed inside container 26 for placing solid surfactant S thereon. Container 26 is also disposed above downstream piping 22 so that surfactant S does not become submerged when there is no cutting water flow. In other words, when cutting is not being performed and the supply of cutting water is stopped, surfactant S does not dissolve excessively.

[0024] 2, the piping 22 includes a first path 22a in which the container 26 is disposed, and a second path 22b in which the container 26 is not disposed. A first valve 28 for adjusting the amount of cutting water sent from the water source 20 into the container 26 and a shower head 30 for dispersing the cutting water sent from the water source 20 and spraying it into the container 26 are installed in the first path 22a.

[0025] The second path 22b joins the first path 22a between the container 26 and the nozzle 24. The joining point of the first path 22a and the second path 22b is indicated by the reference symbol 22c. As shown in FIG. 2, a second valve 32 is installed in the second path 22b to adjust the amount of cutting water sent to the first path 22a downstream of the container 26. The openings of the first and second valves 28 and 32 are adjusted by a control means 34 which may be composed of a computer.

[0026] Preferably, a measuring instrument 36 for measuring the resistivity is disposed in the piping 22 between the container 26 and the nozzle 24, and the resistivity is adjusted to a predetermined value. In the illustrated embodiment, the measuring instrument 36 is disposed in the first path 22a after the second path 22b joins with the first path 22a. The measurement result by the measuring instrument 36 is output to the control means 34.

[0027] Then, based on the measurement results from the measuring instrument 36, the openings of the first and second valves 28, 32 are controlled by the control means 34, and the flow rates of the cutting water in the first path 22a and the second path 22b are adjusted so that the resistivity becomes a predetermined value. In other words, cutting water containing a predetermined concentration of surfactant S is supplied from the nozzle 24 to the machining area.

[0028] (Nozzle 24) The nozzle 24 is attached to the blade cover 18 and extends in the X-axis direction. The nozzle 24 has a plurality of ejection holes (not shown) formed along the X-axis direction for ejecting cutting water toward the cutting blade 16. A pair of nozzles 24 are provided on both sides of the cutting blade 16, but only one of the nozzles 24 is shown in the drawing.

[0029] As shown in Figure 1, the processing apparatus 2 of the illustrated embodiment comprises a cassette table 42 that can be raised and lowered on which a cassette 40 containing a plurality of plate-like objects W is placed, a transport means 46 that pulls out the unprocessed plate-like objects W from the cassette 40 and transports them to a temporary storage table 44, and also transports the processed plate-like objects W positioned on the temporary storage table 44 into the cassette 40, a first transport means 48 that transports the unprocessed plate-like objects W transported from the cassette 40 to the temporary storage table 44 to the chuck table 4, an imaging means 50 that images the plate-like objects W held on the chuck table 4 and detects the area to be processed, a cleaning means 52 that cleans the processed plate-like objects W, and a second transport means 54 that transports the processed plate-like objects W from the chuck table 4 to the cleaning means 52.

[0030] (Plate-shaped object W) The plate-like object W is a disk-shaped wafer that can be made of an appropriate semiconductor material such as silicon, etc. The plate-like object W shown in FIG.

[0031] Next, the operation of the processing device 2 will be described.

[0032] First, the unprocessed plate-like object W is drawn out from the cassette 40 and carried out to the temporary storage table 44 by the carry-in / out means 46, and then the unprocessed plate-like object W is transported from the temporary storage table 44 to the chuck table 4 by the first transport means 48. Next, the suction means connected to the suction chuck 10 is activated to generate a suction force on the upper surface of the suction chuck 10, and the plate-like object W is suction-held on the upper surface of the suction chuck 10.

[0033] Thereafter, the plate-like object W is imaged by the imaging means 50, and the area of ​​the plate-like object W to be machined is aligned with the cutting blade 16 based on the image of the plate-like object W imaged by the imaging means 50. Next, the cutting edge of the cutting blade 16, which is being rotated at high speed, is caused to cut into the plate-like object W, and cutting water is supplied from the nozzle 24 to the portion (machining area) where the cutting edge of the cutting blade 16 is to cut, while the chuck table 4 is moved in the X-axis direction for machining. This allows the plate-like object W to be machined as desired.

[0034] As described above, the container 26 containing the solid surfactant S is disposed in the pipe 22 of the cutting water supply means 8. Therefore, the surfactant S contained in the container 26 is dissolved by the cutting water flowing through the pipe 22, and the cutting water containing the surfactant S is supplied from the nozzle 24 to the machining area.

[0035] Furthermore, when cutting water is supplied from the nozzle 24 to the machining area, the openings of the first and second valves 28, 32 are controlled by the control means 34 based on the measurement results from the measuring instrument 36. Then, by adjusting the flow rate of cutting water in the first path 22a and the flow rate of cutting water in the second path 22b so that the resistivity of the cutting water becomes a predetermined value, cutting water containing a predetermined concentration of surfactant S can be supplied from the nozzle 24 to the machining area.

[0036] As described above, in the illustrated embodiment, a solid surfactant S can be used, and therefore, compared to a liquid surfactant, the surfactant S can be mixed into the cutting water without incurring large transportation costs or requiring large-scale equipment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 2: Processing equipment 4: Chuck table 6:Cutting means 8: Cutting water supply means 16: Cutting blade 20: Water source 22: Piping 22a: First Route 22b: Second Path 24: Nozzle 26: Container 36: Measuring Instruments S: surfactant

Claims

1. A processing device for dividing a plate-like object into individual chips, The apparatus comprises a chuck table for holding a plate-like object, cutting means having a cutting blade for cutting and processing the plate-like object held on the chuck table, and cutting water supply means for supplying cutting water to a processing area where the processing is performed, The cutting water supply means includes a water source, a pipe for introducing cutting water from the water source, and a nozzle for supplying the cutting water introduced by the pipe to the machining area; a container for accommodating a solid surfactant is disposed in the piping, and the surfactant accommodated in the container is dissolved by the cutting water flowing through the piping and supplied to the machining area from the nozzle; The container is disposed above the downstream pipe, and the surfactant is not submerged when there is no flow of cutting water.

2. 2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a measuring instrument for measuring the resistivity is disposed between the container and the nozzle, and the resistivity is adjusted to a predetermined value.

3. The processing device described in claim 2, wherein the piping has a first path in which the container is disposed and a second path in which the container is not disposed, the second path merges with the first path between the container and the nozzle, the measuring instrument is disposed in the first path after the merger, and the flow rate of cutting water in the first path and the flow rate of cutting water in the second path are adjusted so that the resistivity value becomes a predetermined value.

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