Processing equipment

Abstract

To provide a processing device that allows even an inexperienced operator with less experience and low skills to select a key pattern equally to an experienced operator.SOLUTION: A processing apparatus processes a wafer 10 that is formed, on a surface 10a, with a plurality of devices 12 partitioned by division scheduled lines 14, and the processing apparatus includes: a chuck table having a holding surface that holds the wafer and is defined by an X axis and a Y axis; imaging means 20 that picks up an image of the held wafer; display means M that displays the picked-up image; processing means that processes the held wafer; X-axis moving means and Y-axis moving means that relatively move the chuck table with respect to the imaging means and the processing means in an X-axis direction and Y-axis direction; and control means 30. The control means includes an assistance mechanism that displays a picked-up image of the wafer held on the chuck table on the display means, and displays suitability as a key pattern in an area for selecting the key pattern to assist the selection of the key pattern.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing apparatus for processing a wafer having a plurality of devices formed on its surface and partitioned by planned division lines. [Background technology]

[0002] Wafers, on the surface of which multiple devices such as ICs and LSIs are formed and partitioned along planned division lines, are divided into individual device chips using a cutting device equipped with a rotatable cutting blade, a laser processing device equipped with a laser beam irradiation means for irradiating a laser beam, or the like, and the chips are used in electrical equipment such as mobile phones and personal computers.

[0003] The cutting device includes a chuck table having a holding surface defined by X and Y axes that holds a wafer, an imaging means that images the wafer held on the chuck table, a display means that displays the image captured by the imaging means, a processing means that processes the wafer held on the chuck table, an X-axis moving means and a Y-axis moving means that move the chuck table in the X-axis and Y-axis directions relative to the imaging means and the processing means, and a control means, and is capable of cutting the wafer along the planned dividing lines with high precision and dividing it into individual device chips (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] In addition, the applicant has also proposed a technology for automatically finding characteristic points from a device imaged by an imaging means or from a circuit formed on the planned division line in order to perform alignment to position the cutting blade on the planned division line, performing pattern matching using the characteristic points as a key pattern, and detecting the position of the planned division line based on the position of the key pattern (see, for example, Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 02-290040 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 07-321181 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] According to the technology disclosed in the aforementioned Patent Document 2, feature points are automatically selected as key patterns based on the calculations of a control program that processes captured images, and pattern matching is performed. However, there are various environments in which processing devices are installed, and the environment during selection changes depending on the lighting conditions, rotational misalignment when holding a wafer, etc. Furthermore, candidate patterns for feature points that appear on a device vary widely depending on the type of wafer or device. Therefore, optimal feature points are not necessarily selected, and a skilled worker can often more appropriately select feature points as key patterns. On the other hand, it is not easy for an inexperienced worker to visually select feature points as key patterns, and it takes a longer time than a skilled worker to appropriately select a characteristic pattern.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and its main technical objective is to provide a processing device equipped with an assist mechanism that enables even an inexperienced worker with little experience or skill to select a key pattern comparable to that of an experienced worker. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned main technical problem, according to the present invention, there is provided a processing apparatus for processing a wafer having a surface on which a plurality of devices are formed and partitioned by planned dividing lines, the processing apparatus comprising: a chuck table having a holding surface defined by X- and Y-axes for holding the wafer; imaging means for imaging the wafer held on the chuck table; display means for displaying the image captured by the imaging means; processing means for processing the wafer held on the chuck table; X-axis moving means and Y-axis moving means for moving the chuck table in the X-axis and Y-axis directions relative to the imaging means and the processing means; and control means, wherein the control means comprises an assist mechanism for imaging the wafer held on the chuck table with the imaging means and displaying the image on the display means, and for displaying suitability as a key pattern in an area for selecting a key pattern to assist in selection of a key pattern. The assist mechanism calculates the similarity between an arbitrary region and other regions when the arbitrary region is set as a key pattern, and performs calculations so that the lower the similarity, the higher the suitability for the key pattern, and the display means displays the suitability assigned to the arbitrary region. In the processing device, the chuck table is rotated within an angle error range between the planned division line and the X-axis direction, and a change in similarity is calculated for each of the regions assigned the suitability, and the suitability is corrected by multiplying the suitability by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity, or changes the brightness of the area captured by the imaging means, calculates the change in similarity for each area to which an appropriateness is assigned, and corrects the appropriateness by multiplying the appropriateness by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity, or if the image capture area captured by the imaging means covers the entire area related to one device and assigns an appropriateness for the key pattern, multiplies the appropriateness by 1, and if the image capture area does not cover the entire area, multiplies the appropriateness by the ratio of the image capture area to the entire area to correct the appropriateness. A processing apparatus is provided.

[0009] The processing device may either change the brightness of the area imaged by the imaging means, calculate the change in similarity for each area to which a suitability has been assigned, and correct the suitability by multiplying the suitability by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity, or, if the imaging area imaged by the imaging means covers the entire area related to one device and has been assigned a suitability for a key pattern, multiply the suitability by 1, or, if the imaging area does not cover the entire area, multiply the suitability by the ratio of the imaging area to the entire area to correct the suitability.In either case, the processing device may change the brightness of the area imaged by the imaging means, calculate the change in similarity for each area to which a suitability has been assigned, and correct the suitability by multiplying the suitability by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity.

[0010] When the imaging area captured by the imaging means covers the entire area related to one device and assigns a suitability to the key pattern, the processing device multiplies the suitability by 1, and when the imaging area does not cover the entire area, the processing device multiplies the suitability by the ratio of the imaging area to the entire area to correct the suitability.In this case, the processing device may change the brightness of the area captured by the imaging means, calculate the change in similarity for each area to which a suitability has been assigned, and multiply the suitability by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity. The processing device may also vary the brightness of the area imaged by the imaging means, calculate the change in similarity for each area to which a suitability has been assigned, and modify the suitability by multiplying the suitability by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity, and if the imaging area imaged by the imaging means covers the entire area related to one device and has been assigned a suitability for a key pattern, multiply the suitability by 1, and if the imaging area does not cover the entire area, multiply the suitability by the ratio of the imaging area to the entire area to modify the suitability, and further vary the brightness of the area imaged by the imaging means, calculate the change in similarity for each area to which a suitability has been assigned, and modify the suitability by multiplying the suitability by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The processing apparatus of the present invention processes a wafer having a surface on which a plurality of devices are formed and partitioned by planned division lines, and includes a chuck table having a holding surface defined by X and Y axes for holding the wafer, an imaging means for imaging the wafer held on the chuck table, a display means for displaying the image captured by the imaging means, a processing means for processing the wafer held on the chuck table, an X-axis moving means and a Y-axis moving means for moving the chuck table in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction relative to the imaging means and the processing means, and a control means, wherein the control means is provided with an assist mechanism for imaging the wafer held on the chuck table with the imaging means and displaying the image on the display means, and for displaying the suitability as a key pattern in an area for selecting a key pattern to assist in the selection of a key pattern. The assist mechanism calculates the similarity between an arbitrary region and other regions when the arbitrary region is set as a key pattern, and performs calculations so that the lower the similarity, the higher the suitability for the key pattern, and the display means displays the suitability assigned to the arbitrary region. In the processing device, the chuck table is rotated within an angle error range between the planned division line and the X-axis direction, and a change in similarity is calculated for each of the regions assigned the suitability, and the suitability is corrected by multiplying the suitability by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity. or by changing the brightness of the area imaged by the imaging means, calculating a change in similarity for each area to which an appropriateness has been assigned, and correcting the appropriateness by multiplying the appropriateness by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity, or by multiplying the appropriateness by 1 if the imaged area imaged by the imaging means covers the entire area related to one device and assigns an appropriateness of a key pattern, or by multiplying the appropriateness by a ratio of the imaged area to the entire area if the imaged area does not cover the entire area.Since this system is designed to be used in a variety of ways, even workers with little experience or skill can be assisted in selecting key patterns when performing alignment, and can select key patterns with efficiency comparable to that of experienced and highly skilled workers. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall perspective view of a cutting device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which an image of a wafer is captured by an imaging means and displayed on a display means. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of an area displayed on a display unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 10A is a conceptual diagram showing an enlarged view of an arbitrary region, and FIG. 10B is a conceptual diagram showing the region shown in FIG. 10A after it has been rotated. [Figure 5] (a) Conceptual diagram of an arbitrary area imaged at average illuminance, (b) Conceptual diagram of an area imaged at a brighter illuminance than the area shown in (a), and (c) Conceptual diagram of an area imaged at a darker illuminance than the area shown in (a). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a processing apparatus configured based on the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0015] 1 shows an overall perspective view of a cutting apparatus 1, which is one embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention. The workpiece processed by the cutting apparatus 1 is a semiconductor wafer 10 (see also FIG. 2) having a plurality of devices 12 formed on a surface 10a and partitioned by planned division lines 14, and is held in an annular frame F via a protective tape T.

[0016] The cutting device 1 has a housing 2 having an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is equipped with a cassette 4 placed on a cassette table 4a that can be raised and lowered, a transfer means 3 that transfers the wafer 10 held in a frame F from the cassette 4 to a temporary storage table 5, a transfer means 6 having a swivel arm that transfers the wafer 10 transferred to the temporary storage table 5 to a chuck table 7 having a holding surface 7a, a cutting means 8 that is provided as a processing means for processing the wafer 10 held on the chuck table 7 and has a cutting blade, an imaging means 20 that images the wafer 10 held on the chuck table 7 and performs alignment to detect the planned division line 14 to be cut by the cutting blade of the cutting means 8, a cleaning and carrying out means 9a that transfers the wafer 10 from the transfer and carrying out position where the chuck table 7 is positioned in Figure 1 to a cleaning device 9 (details omitted), a control means 30, and a display means M.

[0017] The holding surface 7a of the chuck table 7 is a substantially horizontal XY plane defined by the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction. The holding surface 7a is made of a breathable material, and a suction source (not shown) is connected to the holding surface 7a. By activating the suction source, negative pressure is generated on the holding surface 7a. Inside the housing 2, there are disposed an X-axis moving means for moving the chuck table 7 in the X-axis direction relative to the imaging means 20 and the cutting means 8, and a Y-axis moving means for moving the chuck table 7 in the Y-axis direction (both not shown).

[0018] At least the imaging means 20 and the display means M are connected to the control means 30. The control means 30 of this embodiment is configured by a computer and includes a central processing unit (CPU) that performs calculations according to a control program, a read-only memory (ROM) that stores the control program, etc., a readable / writable random access memory (RAM) that temporarily stores detected values, calculation results, etc., an input interface, and an output interface (details not shown). In FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, the control means 30 is shown outside the housing 2, but in reality, it is disposed inside the housing 2. In addition to the imaging means 20 and the display means M, the control means 30 of this embodiment is connected to the cutting means 8, X-axis movement means and Y-axis movement means (not shown), etc., and controls each operating unit of the cutting device 1.

[0019] The control means 30 is equipped with an assist mechanism that takes an image of the wafer W held on the chuck table 7, displays the captured image on the display means M, and displays the suitability of the key pattern in the area for selecting the key pattern to assist in the selection of the key pattern (the assist mechanism will be described in detail later).

[0020] The cutting device 1 of this embodiment has roughly the configuration as described above, and the function and action of the assist mechanism of this embodiment will be described below.

[0021] When operating the assist mechanism in the cutting device 1 of this embodiment, first, the wafer 10 stored in the cassette 4 is transported to the chuck table 7 by the carry-in / out means 3, the transport means 6, etc., and placed thereon, where it is held by suction. Next, the X-axis moving means and Y-axis moving means described above are operated to position the wafer 10 held on the chuck table 7 directly below the imaging means 20, as shown in Fig. 2. An image of a portion of the wafer 10 is captured by the imaging means 20, and the captured image is sent to the control means 30, and the captured image is displayed on the display means M.

[0022] The control program constituting the assist mechanism stored in the control unit 30 performs the following arithmetic processing on the image data captured by the imaging unit 20. More specifically, first, in the image capture area captured by the imaging unit 20 and displayed on the display unit M, multiple areas including circuit components or pattern shapes formed by printing or the like on the device 12 and the planned division lines 14 are captured. The areas are, for example, areas k1 to k10, as shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the areas may be areas where individual patterns are captured individually (e.g., areas k1 to k9), or may be a composite area k10 (area k2 + area k6 + area k7 + area k8) where multiple individually captured areas are combined. Note that the pattern on the device 12 shown in FIG. 3 is simplified for ease of explanation and differs from the pattern observed on the actual device 12. 3, for convenience of explanation, only some patterns are displayed as regions k1 to k10, but in reality, all patterns are captured as regions that become key patterns and are the subject of calculation by the assist mechanism of the control means 30. Also, the display means M in FIG. 3 displays the entire region 100 related to one device 12. The entire region 100 is the region that includes the device 12 and the planned division line 14 adjacent to the device 12, and is the region necessary for properly selecting a characteristic key pattern related to the device 12.

[0023] As described above, once the entire area 100 captured by the imaging means 20 is displayed on the display means M, the suitability of the area as a characteristic key pattern suitable for use in alignment is calculated. There are various possible methods for calculating the suitability, and the method is not particularly limited, but for example, the calculation is performed as follows.

[0024] 3, a plurality of regions k1 to k10 are captured in the entire region 100 displayed on the display means M. If region k1 is set as the key pattern, the similarity with the other regions is calculated based on, for example, the following formula (1), and an aptitude X1 is calculated based on the maximum value of the calculated similarities. Suitability X1 = maximum similarity - maximum similarity with other regions (1)

[0025] The similarity is an evaluation of the degree of similarity between an arbitrary region and other regions by pattern matching, and is calculated, for example, between 0 and 100. If there is another region configured with the same pattern as the arbitrary region, they will match perfectly through pattern matching, and the similarity will be calculated as the maximum value of 100. The "maximum similarity" in the above formula (1) is a fixed value, which is 100 in this embodiment. Furthermore, the "maximum similarity with other regions" in the above formula (1) is, for example, the largest similarity among the multiple similarities calculated by performing multiple pattern matching between the arbitrary region and regions other than the arbitrary region captured in the entire region 100 displayed on the display means M. That is, according to the above formula (1), the similarity between an arbitrary region and a plurality of other regions is calculated, and the similarity obtained when pattern matching is performed with the most similar region is subtracted from the maximum similarity (=100). It can be understood that the higher the similarity with other regions, the smaller the suitability X1, and the lower the similarity with other regions, i.e., the more distinctive the arbitrary region, the larger the suitability value X1, and the higher the suitability as a key pattern to be used in alignment. Note that, for the entire region 100 captured on the display means M shown in Figure 3, for example, the suitability of region k1 = 40, the suitability of region k2 = 60, the suitability of region k3 = 40, the suitability of region k4 = 20, the suitability of region k5 = 50, the suitability of region k6 = 30, the suitability of region k7 = 15, the suitability of region k8 = 10, and the suitability of region k10 = 80 are displayed in the upper right corner of each region. For convenience of explanation, the suitability of all areas corresponding to each pattern on the device 12 is not displayed, but the suitability X1 can also be displayed for all areas.

[0026] The assistance mechanism of this embodiment, as described above, displays the aptitude X1 calculated based on the above formula (1) for each of the multiple regions k1 to k9 and k10 on the device 12 in the entire key pattern selection region 100 displayed on the display means M shown in FIG. 3. The aptitude X1 becomes a higher value the more distinctive the pattern contained in each region is determined to be by the control program. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the composite region k10 has the highest aptitude X1 (=80). By referring to this aptitude X1 value on the display means M, even an operator with little experience and skill can be assisted in selecting a key pattern when performing alignment, allowing the operator to select a key pattern with efficiency comparable to that of an experienced and highly skilled operator. Furthermore, even an operator with high skill can efficiently exclude regions with low aptitude when selecting a key pattern, thereby enabling the operator to select a key pattern efficiently. 3, when the suitability X1 is displayed on the display means M together with the entire area 100 related to the device 12, it is also possible to change the color of the suitability value in association with the suitability value. For example, if the suitability is 70 or higher, it is considered highly recommended and is displayed in blue, and as the score decreases, the color may change to green, yellow, or red.

[0027] The suitability X1 calculated based on the above formula (1) can be corrected based on the following technical concept.

[0028] As described above, when the wafer 10 is held on the frame F via the protective tape T, it is held at a predetermined angle relative to the frame F. However, the wafer 10 held on the frame F has an angular error θ in the rotational direction, for example, the angular error θ = ±3°. If the wafer 10 is misaligned in the rotational direction relative to the frame F within the range of such angular error θ, the suitability of each of the above-mentioned regions as a key pattern may be impaired (degraded). Therefore, after calculating the suitability X1 for each region of the entire region 100 on the device 12, the wafer 10 held on the chuck table 7 is rotated within the angular error range of ±3°.

[0029] Next, pattern matching is performed between an arbitrary region before rotation, such as region k1 shown in FIG. 4(a), and the region k1 after θ rotation shown in FIG. 4(b), to calculate the similarity. Because the arbitrary region k1 before rotation and the arbitrary region k1 after rotation are the same region, the similarity is expected to reach the maximum value of 100 even with the aforementioned θ rotation. However, the similarity may decrease from 100 due to factors such as the number of pixels in the image captured by the imaging unit 20 and the lighting conditions. This decrease means that if this region k1 is selected as a key pattern and the wafer 10 is misaligned in the rotational direction within the angular error θ range, the reliability of proper alignment will decrease. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the arbitrary region k1 is rotated together with the wafer 10 within the angular error θ range, the similarity to the region k1 before rotation is calculated, and a coefficient (angular error similarity coefficient) for downwardly correcting the suitability X1 is determined. In addition, when the wafer 10 held on the chuck table 7 is rotated in multiple stages within the range of the angular error θ, multiple similarities are calculated, and a coefficient (angular error similarity coefficient) for lowering the suitability X1 is determined based on the lowest similarity among the multiple similarities.

[0030] Once the angle error similarity coefficient is determined, the corrected aptitude X2 is calculated using the following equation (2), i.e., by multiplying the aptitude X1 calculated based on the above equation (1) by the above angle error similarity coefficient. The angle error similarity coefficient is set to be smaller than 1 as the similarity decreases due to the above θ rotation. For example, if the similarity is 100 despite the θ rotation, the coefficient is set to "1", if the similarity decreases to 80, the coefficient is set to "0.8", and if the similarity decreases to 50, the coefficient is set to "0.5". Suitability X2 = Suitability X1 × Angle Error Similarity Coefficient (2)

[0031] The calculation of such equation (2) is performed for each area (e.g., areas k1 to k8, k10) corresponding to each pattern on the device 12, and the suitability X1 assigned to each area is corrected to suitability X2, which is displayed corresponding to each area. According to the above equation (2), it is possible to lower the evaluation of an area where suitability as a key pattern may be impaired if the wafer 10 is misaligned in the rotational direction within the angle error range, and by referring to the suitability X2, it is possible to provide more appropriate assistance to an operator with less experience and skill when selecting a key pattern.

[0032] The suitability X1 or suitability X2 calculated based on the above formula (1) or formula (2) can be further corrected by the following technical concept. Note that the following explanation will be given on the assumption that the suitability X2 is corrected.

[0033] The similarity calculated by the pattern matching described above may vary depending on the amount of light irradiated onto the region imaged by the imaging means 20. Fig. 5(a) shows a region k1 imaged by the imaging means 20 when the wafer 10 is illuminated with a standard amount of light, Fig. 5(b) shows a region k1 imaged by the wafer 10 under bright conditions in which the amount of light irradiated onto the wafer 10 is increased compared to Fig. 5(a), and Fig. 5(c) shows a region k1 imaged by the wafer 10 under dark conditions in which the amount of light irradiated onto the wafer 10 is decreased compared to Fig. 5(a). In this embodiment, the brightness of the region imaged by the imaging means 20 is changed, and the similarity between the region k1 imaged by illuminating the wafer 10 with the standard illuminance shown in Fig. 5(a) and the bright region k1 shown in Fig. 5(b) and the similarity between the region k1 imaged by illuminating the wafer 10 with the standard illuminance shown in Fig. 5(a) and the dark region k1 shown in Fig. 5(c) are calculated, and the changes therebetween are calculated. For example, if the similarity calculated based on the area k1 when it is brightened as shown in Figure 5(b) is 90, and the similarity calculated based on the area k1 when it is darkened as shown in Figure 5(c) is 80, the coefficient 0.8 based on the lowest similarity of 80 is used as the brightness similarity coefficient, and this is multiplied by the suitability X2 calculated as above based on the following equation (3) to calculate the suitability X3, which is the corrected suitability X2. Suitability X3 = Suitability X2 × Brightness Similarity Coefficient (3)

[0034] The calculation of Equation (3) is performed for each region (e.g., regions k1 to k8, k10) corresponding to each pattern on the device 12, and the aptitude X2 assigned to each region is corrected to aptitude X3, which is then displayed for each region. While the aptitude X3 described above is calculated by multiplying the aptitude X2 calculated based on Equation (2) by the aptitude X3, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if it is not necessary to consider that the aptitude X2 may be reduced due to an angle error when holding the wafer 10 on the frame F, the aptitude X3 may be calculated by multiplying the aptitude X1 calculated based on Equation (1) by the brightness similarity coefficient. Correcting the aptitude X3 in this way also allows less experienced and less skilled workers to select key patterns that are less susceptible to changes in brightness, providing more appropriate assistance.

[0035] The suitability X1 to X3 calculated based on the above formulas (1) to (3) can be further corrected by the following technical concept. Note that the following explanation will be given on the premise that the suitability X3 is corrected by the above formula (3).

[0036] In the above-described embodiment, an image is captured by the imaging means 20 so as to cover the entire area 100 relating to one device 12, and the image is displayed on the display means M, and an aptitude level is assigned to each of the areas k1 to k8 and k10 that form the key pattern. If the captured area captured by the imaging means 20 and displayed on the display means M is a partial area 110 (a small area indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 3 ) that does not fill the entire area 100, even if an aptitude level is calculated for an arbitrary area using the partial area 110, the reliability is lower than that of the aptitude level when the entire area 100 is used as the captured area. Therefore, in this embodiment, the aptitude level X3 is corrected by multiplying the aptitude level X3 by the ratio of the area of ​​the captured area to the entire area 100 (captured area / entire area) based on the following formula (4), and then an aptitude level X4 is calculated. For example, if the imaging area includes the entire area 100, it is multiplied by "1", and if the imaging area does not fill the entire area 100 but is a partial area 110 that covers only 1 / 4 of the area of ​​the entire area 100 shown in Figure 3, it is multiplied by, for example, "0.25". Suitability X4 = Suitability X3 x [imaging area / total area]...(4)

[0037] The above-mentioned aptitude X4 makes it possible to take into account the reliability of the aptitude due to the narrow and insufficient area captured by the imaging means 20, motivating the worker to adjust the imaging area to be wider, and has the effect of providing more appropriate assistance to workers with less experience and skill when selecting a key pattern. Note that, although the above-mentioned formula (4) shows an example in which [imaging area / total area] is multiplied by the aptitude X3, the present invention is not limited to this, and the aptitude X1 or the aptitude X2 may be multiplied by this for correction.

[0038] According to the above-described embodiment, the operator can refer to the suitability displayed by the assist mechanism as described above to appropriately select a characteristic key pattern, and alignment is performed using the key pattern, allowing the cutting means 8 to appropriately divide the wafer 10 into individual device chips.

[0039] In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the above-described assist mechanism is applied to a cutting device 1 having, as a processing means, cutting means 8 that cuts the planned dividing line 14 of the wafer 10 with a cutting blade, as described above. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to a laser processing device in which the processing means is a laser beam application means that applies a laser beam to the planned dividing line 14 of the wafer 10, and the same effects as those described above can be achieved. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1:Cutting device 2: Housing 3: Carrying in / out means 4: Cassette 5: Temporary table 6: Means of transport 7: Chuck table 7a: Holding surface 8: Cutting means 9: Cleaning equipment 9a: Cleaning and transporting means 10: Wafer 12: Device 14: Planned division line 20: Imaging means 30: Control means M:Display means

Claims

1. A processing apparatus for processing a wafer having a surface on which a plurality of devices are formed and partitioned by planned division lines, The wafer processing apparatus includes a chuck table having a holding surface defined by X- and Y-axes for holding a wafer, an imaging means for imaging the wafer held on the chuck table, a display means for displaying the image captured by the imaging means, a processing means for processing the wafer held on the chuck table, an X-axis moving means and a Y-axis moving means for moving the chuck table in the X-axis and Y-axis directions relative to the imaging means and the processing means, and a control means, The control means an assist mechanism for displaying an image of the wafer held on the chuck table, which is captured by the imaging means, on the display means and displaying suitability as a key pattern in an area for selecting a key pattern, thereby assisting in the selection of a key pattern; the assist mechanism calculates the similarity between an arbitrary region and another region when the arbitrary region is set as a key pattern, and performs a calculation such that the lower the similarity, the higher the suitability of the arbitrary region as a key pattern; and displays the suitability of the arbitrary region on the display means; A processing device that rotates the chuck table within an angle error range between the planned division line and the X-axis direction, calculates the change in similarity for each area to which the suitability is assigned, and corrects the suitability by multiplying the suitability by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity.

2. A processing apparatus for processing a wafer having a surface on which a plurality of devices are formed and partitioned by planned division lines, comprising: The wafer processing apparatus includes a chuck table having a holding surface defined by X- and Y-axes for holding a wafer, an imaging means for imaging the wafer held on the chuck table, a display means for displaying the image captured by the imaging means, a processing means for processing the wafer held on the chuck table, an X-axis moving means and a Y-axis moving means for moving the chuck table in the X-axis and Y-axis directions relative to the imaging means and the processing means, and a control means, The control means an assist mechanism for displaying an image of the wafer held on the chuck table, which is captured by the imaging means, on the display means and displaying suitability as a key pattern in an area for selecting a key pattern, thereby assisting in the selection of a key pattern; the assist mechanism calculates the similarity between an arbitrary region and another region when the arbitrary region is set as a key pattern, and performs a calculation such that the lower the similarity, the higher the suitability of the arbitrary region as a key pattern; and displays the suitability of the arbitrary region on the display means; A processing device that changes the brightness of the area captured by the imaging means, calculates the change in similarity for each area to which an appropriateness level has been assigned, and modifies the appropriateness level by multiplying the appropriateness level by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity level.

3. A processing apparatus for processing a wafer having a surface on which a plurality of devices are formed and partitioned by planned division lines, comprising: The wafer processing apparatus includes a chuck table having a holding surface defined by X- and Y-axes for holding a wafer, an imaging means for imaging the wafer held on the chuck table, a display means for displaying the image captured by the imaging means, a processing means for processing the wafer held on the chuck table, an X-axis moving means and a Y-axis moving means for moving the chuck table in the X-axis and Y-axis directions relative to the imaging means and the processing means, and a control means, The control means an assist mechanism for displaying an image of the wafer held on the chuck table, which is captured by the imaging means, on the display means and displaying suitability as a key pattern in an area for selecting a key pattern, thereby assisting in the selection of a key pattern; the assist mechanism calculates the similarity between an arbitrary region and another region when the arbitrary region is set as a key pattern, and performs a calculation such that the lower the similarity, the higher the suitability of the arbitrary region as a key pattern; and displays the suitability of the arbitrary region on the display means; If the imaging area captured by the imaging means covers the entire area related to one device and assigns a suitability for the key pattern, the processing device multiplies the suitability by 1, and if the imaging area does not cover the entire area, the processing device corrects the suitability by multiplying the suitability by the ratio of the imaging area to the entire area.

4. A processing apparatus as described in claim 2 or 3, which rotates the chuck table within the angular error range between the planned dividing line and the X-axis direction, calculates the change in similarity for each area to which the suitability is assigned, and corrects the suitability by multiplying the suitability by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity.

5. A processing device as described in claim 3, which changes the brightness of the area imaged by the imaging means, calculates the change in similarity for each area to which a suitability has been assigned, and corrects the suitability by multiplying the suitability by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity.

6. Varying the brightness of the area imaged by the imaging means, calculating the change in similarity for each area to which an appropriateness is assigned, and correcting the appropriateness by multiplying the appropriateness by a coefficient based on the lowest similarity; The processing device of claim 1, wherein if the imaging area captured by the imaging means covers the entire area related to one device and assigns a suitability for the key pattern, the suitability is multiplied by 1, and if the imaging area does not cover the entire area, the suitability is corrected by multiplying the suitability by the ratio of the imaging area to the entire area.

Images