Protective member forming device

Abstract

To effectively detect whether liquid resin is attached to the mounting surface of a glass table or the holding surface of a wafer holder.SOLUTION: A first captured image that is a captured image of a sheet mounting surface 22 and a second captured image that is a captured image of a wafer holding surface 53 are obtained, and when these captured images include images that respond to light with a wavelength longer than a predetermined wavelength, it is determined that liquid resin is attached to the sheet mounting surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53. Therefore, it is possible to accurately detect whether liquid resin is attached to the sheet mounting surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a protective member forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] In the protective member forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, liquid resin is supplied onto a sheet placed on the support surface of a glass table. The wafer is then held by the holding surface of a wafer holder arranged above the glass table, and the wafer holder is lowered to spread the liquid resin on the sheet with the wafer. The spread liquid resin is cured to form a protective member on the underside of the wafer. In such a protective member forming apparatus, for example, if the liquid resin cannot be spread with the wafer, an operator removes the sheet to which the liquid resin has been supplied from the glass table, along with the liquid resin and wafer. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-220548 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] During the sheet removal process, the liquid resin may adhere to the mounting surface of the glass table. The liquid resin may also adhere to the holding surface that holds the wafer. If the liquid resin adheres to the mounting surface or holding surface, it is difficult to form a uniform thickness on the protective member of the next wafer. However, since the liquid resin is transparent, it is difficult for the human eye to detect that it has adhered to the placing surface or the holding surface.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to effectively detect whether liquid resin has adhered to the mounting surface of a glass table or the holding surface of a wafer holding portion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The first protective member forming device of the present invention is a protective member forming device that forms a protective member consisting of a sheet and an ultraviolet-curable liquid resin that has been hardened by spreading it over the entire surface of one side of a wafer, and is equipped with a glass table having a sheet-mounting surface on which the sheet is placed, a wafer holding unit that holds the wafer by its wafer holding surface above the glass table, a lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the wafer holding unit, a liquid resin supply unit that supplies the liquid resin onto the sheet, a camera, an ultraviolet irradiation unit that irradiates ultraviolet light onto the liquid resin, and a first control unit, the first control unit irradiating ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet irradiation unit onto the sheet-mounting surface and capturing an image of the sheet-mounting surface with the camera to obtain a first captured image, the reflected light reflected by the hardened liquid resin changing to light of a wavelength equal to or greater than a predetermined wavelength that is different from the wavelength of the ultraviolet light irradiated from the ultraviolet irradiation unit, and a first judgment unit that judges that liquid resin is adhered to the sheet-mounting surface of the glass table if the first captured image includes an image corresponding to light of a wavelength equal to or greater than the predetermined wavelength.

[0007] In the first protective member forming device, the camera may be positioned below the glass table, and the ultraviolet light irradiation unit may be positioned below the glass table outside the imaging area of ​​the camera, and ultraviolet light may be irradiated onto the liquid resin through the glass table.

[0008] The first protective member forming device may further include a second control unit, which may lower the wafer holding unit to form a small gap between the sheet placing surface and the wafer holding surface, irradiate the wafer holding surface with ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet irradiation unit through the glass table, and acquire a second captured image by capturing an image of the wafer holding surface with the camera, and may further include a second judgment unit which judges that liquid resin is adhered to the wafer holding surface if the second captured image includes an image corresponding to light with a wavelength equal to or greater than the predetermined wavelength.

[0009] The second protective member forming apparatus of the present invention is a protective member forming apparatus for forming a protective member made of a resin and a sheet obtained by spreading and curing an ultraviolet-curable liquid resin over the entire surface of one side of a wafer, and includes a wafer holding unit that holds the wafer by a wafer holding surface, a glass table that is arranged above the wafer holding unit, a sheet holding unit that is arranged outside the glass table, a liquid resin supply unit that supplies the liquid resin onto the wafer held on the wafer holding surface, a camera, an ultraviolet irradiator that irradiates ultraviolet rays onto the liquid resin on the wafer, and a protective member formed by the glass table, the sheet holding unit, and The apparatus further comprises a third control unit that determines that liquid resin is attached to the underside of the glass table if the third control unit irradiates the glass table with ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet irradiation unit and captures an image of the underside of the glass table with the camera, and if the light reflected by the cured liquid resin changes to light with a wavelength equal to or greater than a predetermined wavelength that is different from the wavelength of the ultraviolet light irradiated from the ultraviolet irradiation unit and the third control unit includes an image corresponding to light with a wavelength equal to or greater than the predetermined wavelength within the third captured image.

[0010] In the second protective member forming device, the camera may be positioned above the glass table, and the ultraviolet light irradiation unit may be positioned above the glass table outside the imaging area of ​​the camera, and ultraviolet light may be irradiated onto the liquid resin through the glass table.

[0011] The second protective member forming device may further include a fourth control unit, which may lower the glass table, the sheet holding unit, the camera, and the ultraviolet irradiation unit to form a small gap between the underside of the glass table and the wafer holding surface, irradiate ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet irradiation unit onto the wafer holding surface through the glass table, and capture an image of the wafer holding surface with the camera to obtain a fourth captured image, and may further include a fourth judgment unit that judges that liquid resin is adhered to the wafer holding surface if the fourth captured image includes an image corresponding to light with a wavelength equal to or greater than the predetermined wavelength. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The first protective member forming device and the second protective member forming device acquire images of the sheet placement surface or the underside of the glass table, and images of the wafer holding surface, and if these images contain images corresponding to light with a wavelength equal to or greater than a predetermined wavelength, it is determined that liquid resin is attached to the sheet placement surface, the underside of the glass table, or the wafer holding surface. This makes it possible to effectively detect that liquid resin is attached to these surfaces. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a first protective member forming device. [Figure 2] 3A and 3B are explanatory views showing the configurations of a first wafer holding mechanism and a first sheet holding mechanism. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a sheet placement surface to which liquid resin is attached. [Figure 4] 10 is a graph showing an example of the G value of reflected light from a liquid resin attached to a sheet placement surface or a wafer holding surface, which changes over time. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a second protective member forming device. [Figure 6] 4A and 4B are explanatory views showing the configurations of a second sheet holding mechanism and a second wafer holding mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The first protective member forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus for spreading and curing an ultraviolet-curable liquid resin over the entire surface of one side of a wafer 100 to form a protective member made of a resin and a sheet.

[0015] The wafer 100 is, for example, a disk-shaped silicon as-sliced ​​wafer. The wafer 100 is formed, for example, in a disk shape, and has a front surface 101 and a back surface 102. The back surface 102 and the front surface 101 of the wafer 100 correspond to examples of one side and the other side of the wafer 100, respectively.

[0016] The first protective member forming device 1 comprises a housing 200, an apparatus base 201 arranged within the housing 200, a column 202 erected on the apparatus base 201, a support base 203 arranged adjacent to the apparatus base 201, and a cassette storage body 204 connected to the rear end side of the housing 200.

[0017] The cassette housing body 204 houses a cassette 207. The cassette 207 houses a plurality of wafers 100 before a protective member is formed thereon, and a plurality of wafers 100 on which a protective member is formed.

[0018] A temporary placement table 211 and a cutting table 212 located below the temporary placement table 211 are disposed on the -Y direction side of the cassette housing main body 204. A sheet cutter 8 is disposed on the cutting table 212. The sheet cutter 8 cuts off excess sheet 12 along the outline of the wafer 100.

[0019] A first wafer transport mechanism 4 is disposed between the cassette housing main body 204 and the temporary placement table 211. The first wafer transport mechanism 4 transports the wafer 100 into and out of the cassette 207. That is, the first wafer transport mechanism 4 transports the wafer 100, on which the protective member has not yet been formed, out of the cassette 207 and into the temporary placement table 211. Furthermore, the first wafer transport mechanism 4 transports the wafer 100, on which the protective member has been formed, out of the cutting table 212 and into the cassette 207.

[0020] A second wafer transfer mechanism 5 is disposed on the −Y direction side of the first wafer transfer mechanism 4. The second wafer transfer mechanism 5 retrieves the wafer 100 on which the protective member has been formed and transfers it to the cutting table 212. The second wafer transfer mechanism 5 also transfers the wafer 100 from the temporary placement table 211 and hands it over to the holding table 52 of the first wafer holding mechanism 50.

[0021] The device base 201 is equipped with a sheet supply mechanism 10 having a roll portion 11 containing a sheet 12 wound in a roll shape, a first sheet holding mechanism 20 including a glass table 21 that holds the sheet 12, and a first sheet placing mechanism 30.

[0022] The first sheet placing mechanism 30 includes an arm unit 31 extending in the X-axis direction intersecting the Y-axis direction, and a clamp unit 32 attached to the arm unit 31. The first sheet placing mechanism 30 clamps the sheet 12 wound around the roll unit 11 with the clamp unit 32, pulls the sheet 12 in the +Y direction with the arm unit 31, positions the sheet on the glass table 21, and cuts it to a predetermined size. This allows the first sheet placing mechanism 30 to place the sheet 12 on the glass table 21.

[0023] The first sheet holding mechanism 20 has a glass table 21 and a table support base 24 that supports the glass table 21. The glass table 21 has a sheet placement surface 22 on which the sheet 12 is placed. The glass table 21 and the sheet placement surface 22, which is the upper surface of the glass table 21, are made of glass such as quartz glass. The sheet 12 is placed on this sheet placement surface 22 by the first sheet placement mechanism 30.

[0024] 2, a circular suction port 224 that communicates with the suction source 222 and the suction path 223 is provided around the sheet placement surface 22 of the glass table 21 in the first sheet holding mechanism 20. The suction port 224 is an example of a sheet holding section that is arranged on the outside of the glass table 21. The suction port 224 allows the sheet placement surface 22 to suck and hold the sheet 12 using the suction force from the suction source 222.

[0025] 1, a first resin supply unit 40 is provided near the glass table 21 as a liquid resin supply unit that supplies liquid resin onto the sheet 12. The first resin supply unit 40 has a resin supply nozzle 41 for supplying liquid resin to the sheet 12. In this embodiment, the resin supply nozzle 41 is provided on the arm unit 31 of the first sheet placing mechanism 30 and moves in the Y-axis direction together with the arm unit 31. The first resin supply unit 40 uses the resin supply nozzle 41 to supply liquid resin sucked from a liquid resin tank (not shown) to the center of the upper surface of the sheet 12 held by the sheet placing surface 22 of the glass table 21.

[0026] In this embodiment, the liquid resin is an ultraviolet-curable resin used to form a protective member that protects the entire surface of the front surface 101 of the wafer 100. In forming the protective member, the back surface 102 of the wafer 100 is pressed from above onto the liquid resin supplied onto the sheet 12 placed on the sheet placement surface 22 of the glass table 21, and the liquid resin is spread over the entire surface of the back surface 102 and hardened.

[0027] On the -Y direction side of the column 202, there are arranged a first wafer holding mechanism 50 that holds the wafer 100 handed over from the second wafer transport mechanism 5, and a lifting mechanism 60 that raises and lowers the first wafer holding mechanism 50.

[0028] The first wafer holding mechanism 50 has a support structure 51 attached to a lifting mechanism 60, and a holding table 52 attached to the support structure 51. The support structure 51 is attached to the lifting mechanism 60 while supporting the holding table 52, and is moved in the Z-axis direction by the lifting mechanism 60.

[0029] 1 and 2, the holding table 52 of the first wafer holding mechanism 50 has a wafer holding surface 53 disposed so as to face the sheet placing surface 22 of the glass table 21. The holding table 52 is an example of a wafer holding unit that holds the wafer 100 by the wafer holding surface 53 above the glass table 21. Wafer holding surface 53 is made of, for example, a porous material. By connecting wafer holding surface 53 to a suction source (not shown), wafer holding surface 53 of holding table 52 can suction-hold front surface 101, which is the other surface of wafer 100.

[0030] 1 raises and lowers the holding table 52. That is, the lifting mechanism 60 moves the first wafer holding mechanism 50 including the holding table 52 closer to the sheet placing surface 22 of the glass table 21 along the Z-axis direction, thereby spreading the liquid resin supplied onto the sheet 12 held on the sheet placing surface 22 over the entire back surface 102, which is one surface of the wafer 100 held on the holding table 52.

[0031] The lifting mechanism 60 includes a ball screw 61 extending in the Z-axis direction, a motor 62 connected to one end of the ball screw 61, a pair of guide rails 63 extending parallel to the ball screw 61, and a lifting plate 64 to which the first wafer holding mechanism 50 is attached. The lifting plate 64 is installed so as to be slidable relative to the pair of guide rails 63. A nut portion (not shown) is formed on the lifting plate 64. The ball screw 61 is threadedly engaged with this nut portion.

[0032] In the lifting mechanism 60, the ball screw 61 is rotated by the motor 62, and thereby the lifting plate 64 moves in the Z-axis direction together with the first wafer holding mechanism 50 along a pair of guide rails 63. This allows the lifting mechanism 60 to raise and lower the first wafer holding mechanism 50 along the Z-axis direction, which is approximately perpendicular to the sheet placing surface 22 of the glass table 21. In this way, the lifting mechanism 60 can spread the liquid resin accumulated on the sheet placing surface 22 over the entire back surface 102 of the wafer 100.

[0033] 2, the first sheet holding mechanism 20 is provided below the glass table 21 with an ultraviolet irradiator 90 that irradiates ultraviolet rays onto the liquid resin on the sheet placement surface 22 that has been spread over the entire back surface 102 of the wafer 100, and a camera 80. The camera 80 is a color camera that can capture a color image of a subject. In this embodiment, the camera 80 is used to capture an image of the sheet placement surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53.

[0034] In this embodiment, the camera 80 is disposed below the glass table 21. A plurality of ultraviolet irradiation units 90 are disposed so as to surround the camera 80.

[0035] The ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 irradiates the liquid resin with ultraviolet rays. That is, the ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 irradiates, for example, relatively strong ultraviolet rays via the glass table 21 onto the liquid resin that has been spread over the entire back surface 102 of the wafer 100 by the lifting mechanism 60, thereby curing the liquid resin. In this way, the first protective member forming apparatus 1 can form a protective member including the cured resin and the sheet on the back surface 102 of the wafer 100 by curing the ultraviolet-curable liquid resin that has been spread over the entire back surface 102 of the wafer 100.

[0036] The camera 80 is used to capture an image of the sheet placing surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53 from below using light from the ultraviolet irradiating unit 90 when no sheet 12 is placed on the sheet placing surface 22 and no wafer 100 is held on the wafer holding surface 53. The ultraviolet irradiating unit 90 is disposed below the glass table 21 and outside the imaging area of ​​the camera 80 so as not to interfere with imaging by the camera 80.

[0037] The first protection member forming apparatus 1 also includes a touch panel 9 on the side surface of the cassette housing main body 204, for example.

[0038] The touch panel 9 displays various types of information related to the first protective member forming apparatus 1. The touch panel 9 is also used to set various types of information. In this way, the touch panel 9 functions as an input member for inputting information, and also as a display member for displaying information.

[0039] The first protective member forming apparatus 1 is also provided with a control unit 7 that controls each member of the first protective member forming apparatus 1.

[0040] The control unit 7 includes a CPU that performs calculations according to a control program, and a storage medium such as a memory. The control unit 7 controls the above-mentioned components of the first protective member forming apparatus 1 to perform various operations. For example, the control unit 7 performs a protective member forming operation on the wafer 100.

[0041] In addition, the control unit 7 is equipped with a first control unit 71, a second control unit 72, a first judgment unit 73 and a second judgment unit 74, and uses these to perform a resin adhesion detection operation to determine whether or not liquid resin is adhering to the sheet placing surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53.

[0042] The resin adhesion detection operation will be described below. First, an overview of resin adhesion detection will be described. As shown in Fig. 3, when liquid resin 300 adheres to sheet placement surface 22 of glass table 21, the liquid resin hardens when irradiated with ultraviolet light from ultraviolet irradiation unit 90. Then, the reflected light (fluorescent light) reflected by the hardened liquid resin changes to light with a wavelength equal to or greater than a predetermined wavelength that is different from the wavelength of the ultraviolet light irradiated from ultraviolet irradiation unit 90.

[0043] Here, the wavelength of the light reflected from the liquid resin attached to the sheet placing surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53 corresponds to the value (G value; 256 gradations) of the G component (G in RGB) of the reflected light. The G value of the reflected light gradually increases as the liquid resin hardens over the course of ultraviolet irradiation.

[0044] 4 is a graph showing an example of the G value of reflected light, which changes over time as the liquid resin attached to the sheet placing surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53 hardens. In the example shown in this figure, the wavelength of the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 is 356 nm. In this case, the wavelength of the light reflected by the completely hardened liquid resin on the sheet placing surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53 is 430 nm, which corresponds to a G value of 236. In addition, the wavelength of the light reflected by the liquid resin immediately after hardening has begun is, for example, 400 nm, which corresponds to a G value of 190.

[0045] Therefore, by acquiring a color image of the sheet placing surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53 with the camera 80 and using a G value of 190 as a threshold, it is possible to determine whether or not liquid resin is attached to the sheet placing surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53 based on the G value of the reflected light contained in this image. In other words, if the image contains an image (pixel) corresponding to light with a G value of 190 or more (light with a predetermined wavelength of 400 nm or more), it can be determined that liquid resin is attached to the sheet placing surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53.

[0046] Therefore, in the resin adhesion detection operation, first, a determination is made as to whether or not liquid resin is attached to the sheet placement surface 22. That is, the first control unit 71 focuses the camera 80 on the sheet placement surface 22 of the glass table 21. Then, the first control unit 71 irradiates ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 onto the sheet placement surface 22, and captures an image of the sheet placement surface 22 with the camera 80. In this way, the first control unit 71 obtains a first captured image, which is an image of the sheet placement surface 22. Note that the imaging range in this imaging is, for example, the entire surface of the sheet placement surface 22.

[0047] Next, the first determination unit 73 determines whether the first captured image contains an image corresponding to light with a wavelength equal to or greater than a predetermined wavelength (400 nm in the above example). This determination is made based on, for example, whether the first captured image contains an image corresponding to light with a G value equal to or greater than 190. If such an image is contained in the first captured image, the first determination unit 73 determines that liquid resin is attached to the sheet placing surface 22.

[0048] Then, if the first judgment unit 73 determines that liquid resin is attached to the sheet placement surface 22, the control unit 7 uses the touch panel 9 to display to the worker by voice and / or image that liquid resin is attached to the sheet placement surface 22.

[0049] After determining whether or not the liquid resin is attached to the sheet placing surface 22, the second control unit 72 determines whether or not the liquid resin is attached to the wafer holding surface 53. That is, the second control unit 72 controls the lifting mechanism 60 to lower the holding table 52, thereby creating a small gap between the wafer holding surface 53 of the holding table 52 and the sheet placing surface 22 of the glass table 21. In this state, the second control unit 72 focuses the camera 80 on the wafer holding surface 53. Then, the second control unit 72 irradiates the wafer holding surface 53 with ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 via the glass table 21, and captures an image of the wafer holding surface 53 with the camera 80. As a result, the second control unit 72 obtains a second captured image, which is an image of the wafer holding surface 53. Note that the imaging range in this image is, for example, the entire surface of the wafer holding surface 53.

[0050] Next, the second determination unit 74 determines whether or not the second captured image contains an image corresponding to light having a wavelength equal to or greater than a predetermined wavelength (400 nm in the above example). This determination is made based on, for example, whether or not the second captured image contains an image corresponding to light having a G value equal to or greater than 190. If such an image is contained in the second captured image, the second determination unit 74 determines that liquid resin is attached to the wafer holding surface 53.

[0051] Then, when the second judgment unit 74 judges that liquid resin is adhering to the wafer holding surface 53, the control unit 7 uses the touch panel 9 to display to the operator by voice and / or image that liquid resin is adhering to the wafer holding surface 53.

[0052] As described above, in this embodiment, a first captured image that is an image of the sheet placing surface 22 and a second captured image that is an image of the wafer holding surface 53 are acquired, and if these captured images contain an image corresponding to light with a wavelength equal to or greater than a predetermined wavelength, it is determined that liquid resin is attached to the sheet placing surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53. This makes it possible to effectively detect whether liquid resin is attached to the sheet placing surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53.

[0053] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if liquid resin is found adhering to the sheet placing surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53, this fact is displayed to the operator using the touch panel 9. Therefore, the operator can easily recognize that liquid resin is adhering to these surfaces. Furthermore, the operator can remove the adhering liquid resin and form a protective member on the wafer 100 in a state where no liquid resin is adhering to the sheet placing surface 22 or the wafer holding surface 53. This makes it possible to form a protective member of uniform thickness. In other words, it is possible to prevent the formation of a protective member of uneven thickness.

[0054] In the first protective member forming apparatus 1, the camera 80 and the ultraviolet ray irradiation unit 90 are disposed below the glass table 21. In this regard, the camera 80 may be installed at any position as long as it is a position where it can capture images of the sheet placing surface 22 of the glass table 21 and the wafer holding surface 53 of the holding table 52. The ultraviolet ray irradiation unit 90 may also be installed at any position as long as it is outside the imaging area of ​​the camera 80 and is a position where it can irradiate ultraviolet rays onto the liquid resin spread on the back surface 102 of the wafer 100, the sheet placing surface 22, and the wafer holding surface 53.

[0055] The protective member forming apparatus according to this embodiment may be a second protective member forming apparatus 2 shown in Fig. 5. Similar to the first protective member forming apparatus 1, the second protective member forming apparatus 2 is an apparatus that forms a protective member made of a sheet and an ultraviolet-curable liquid resin that is spread and hardened over the entire surface of one side of the wafer 100.

[0056] The second protective member forming apparatus 2 shown in Figure 5 has the same configuration as the first protective member forming apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1, except that instead of the first sheet holding mechanism 20, the first sheet placing mechanism 30, the first resin supply unit 40, and the first wafer holding mechanism 50, it has a second sheet holding mechanism 120, a second sheet placing mechanism 130, a second resin supply unit 140, and a second wafer holding mechanism 150.

[0057] As shown in Figure 5, the device base 201 of the second protective member forming device 2 is equipped with the above-mentioned sheet supply mechanism 10 having a roll portion 11 of the sheet 12, a second sheet holding mechanism 120 that holds the sheet 12, a second sheet placing mechanism 130 that transfers the sheet to the second sheet holding mechanism 120, and a second wafer holding mechanism 150 that holds the wafer 100.

[0058] The second sheet placement mechanism 130 includes a conveying table 135 having a circular elastic member 136 made of, for example, sponge, and a sheet placement mechanism 132 having a gripping portion 133 that grips the sheet 12. The sheet placement mechanism 132 grips the outer periphery of the sheet 12 from the roll portion 11 in the sheet supply mechanism 10 with the gripping portion 133 and pulls it out in the horizontal direction (+Y direction), and also positions the sheet 12 so that it covers the elastic member 136 of the conveying table 135 and can cut it to a predetermined size.

[0059] The second sheet placing mechanism 130 also has a table moving mechanism 131 that moves the conveying table 135 along the Y-axis direction. The table moving mechanism 131 can position the conveying table 135, which has an elastic member 136 covered with the sheet 12, below the second sheet holding mechanism 120.

[0060] The second sheet holding mechanism 120 is attached to the lifting plate 64 of the lifting mechanism 60 via a support structure 65 , and is configured to be raised and lowered by the lifting mechanism 60 .

[0061] 6, the second sheet holding mechanism 120 has a glass table 121 arranged above the second wafer holding mechanism 150, and a table support 124 that supports the glass table 121. The glass table 121 has a sheet holding surface 122 that holds the sheet 12. The glass table 121 and the sheet holding surface 122, which is the lower surface of the glass table 121, are made of glass, such as quartz glass.

[0062] 6, a circular suction port 224 that communicates with a suction source 222 and a suction path 223 is provided around the sheet holding surface 122 of a glass table 121 in the second sheet holding mechanism 120. The suction port 224 is an example of a sheet holding section that is arranged on the outside of the glass table.

[0063] When the conveying table 135 having the elastic member 136 covered by the sheet 12 is positioned below the second sheet holding mechanism 120, the second sheet holding mechanism 120 is moved downward by the lifting mechanism 60. As a result, the sheet holding surface 122 of the second sheet holding mechanism 120 comes into contact with the sheet 12 covering the elastic member 136, and presses the elastic member 136 via the sheet 12. In this state, by applying a suction force from the suction source 222 to the suction port 224, the sheet holding surface 122 can suction and hold the sheet 12 on the elastic member 136.

[0064] In the second protective member forming apparatus 2, the lifting mechanism 60 is configured to raise and lower the second sheet holding mechanism 120, which includes the glass table 121, the suction port 224, the camera 80, and the ultraviolet light irradiation unit 90. The second sheet holding mechanism 120, which holds the sheet 12 by suction with the sheet holding surface 122, is moved upward by the lifting mechanism 60.

[0065] In addition, a second wafer holding mechanism 150 is disposed below the second sheet holding mechanism 120. The second wafer holding mechanism 150 holds the wafer 100 carried out from the temporary placement table 211 by the second wafer transport mechanism 5.

[0066] 6, the second wafer holding mechanism 150 is a pin chuck-type holding table, and has a frame 153 with a recessed space. A plurality of support pins 155 are provided in the recessed space of the frame 153. The upper end surfaces of these support pins 155 form the circular wafer holding surface 152 shown in FIG.

[0067] Thus, the second wafer holding mechanism 150 is an example of a wafer holding unit that holds the wafer 100 by the wafer holding surface 152. That is, in the second wafer holding mechanism 150, the recessed space of the frame 153 is connected to a suction source (not shown), so that the wafer holding surface 152, which is the upper end surface of the multiple support pins 155, can hold the front surface 101, which is the other surface of the wafer 100, by suction. The second wafer holding mechanism 150 may be a porous chuck type holding table having a holding surface made of a porous material.

[0068] 5, a second resin supply unit 140 is provided near the second wafer holding mechanism 150 as a liquid resin supply unit that supplies liquid resin onto the wafer 100 held on the wafer holding surface 152. The second resin supply unit 140 has a resin supply nozzle 141 for supplying liquid resin to the sheet 12. In this embodiment, the resin supply nozzle 141 is configured to supply liquid resin sucked from a liquid resin tank (not shown) to the center of the back surface 102, which is the upper surface of the wafer 100 held by the wafer holding surface 152 of the second wafer holding mechanism 150.

[0069] In the second protective member forming apparatus 2, while liquid resin is being supplied to the wafer 100 held by the second wafer holding mechanism 150 and the sheet holding surface 122 (see FIG. 6) of the second sheet holding mechanism 120 is holding the sheet, the lifting mechanism 60 moves the second sheet holding mechanism 120 closer to the wafer 100 along the Z-axis direction, and presses the sheet holding surface 122 holding the sheet 12 against the liquid resin on the wafer 100. This allows the liquid resin to be spread over the entire back surface 102, which is one of the surfaces of the wafer 100.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 6, the second sheet holding mechanism 120 is provided with the above-mentioned ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 above the glass table 121, which irradiates ultraviolet rays onto the liquid resin on the sheet holding surface 122 that has been spread over the entire back surface 102 of the wafer 100, and the above-mentioned camera 80 for capturing an image of the sheet holding surface 122 or the wafer holding surface 152, which is the underside of the glass table 121.

[0071] In the second protective member forming apparatus 2, the camera 80 is disposed above the glass table 121. A plurality of ultraviolet ray irradiation units 90 are disposed so as to surround the camera 80.

[0072] As described above, the ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 cures the liquid resin by irradiating the liquid resin, which has been spread over the entire back surface 102 of the wafer 100 by the lifting mechanism 60, with relatively strong ultraviolet light via the glass table 121. In this way, the second protective member forming apparatus 2 can form a protective member, including the cured resin and the sheet, on the back surface 102 of the wafer 100 by curing the ultraviolet-curable liquid resin that has been spread over the entire back surface 102 of the wafer 100.

[0073] When no sheet 12 is held on the sheet holding surface 122 and no wafer 100 is held on the wafer holding surface 152, the camera 80 is used to capture an image of the sheet holding surface 122 or the wafer holding surface 152 from above using light from the ultraviolet irradiator 90. Note that in the second protective member forming apparatus 2 as well, the ultraviolet irradiator 90 is disposed above the glass table 121 and outside the imaging area of ​​the camera 80 so as not to interfere with imaging by the camera 80.

[0074] Also, as shown in FIG. 5, in the second protective member forming device 2, the control unit 7 is equipped with a third control unit 75, a fourth control unit 76, a third judgment unit 77, and a fourth judgment unit 78, which are used to perform a resin adhesion detection operation to determine whether or not liquid resin is adhering to the sheet holding surface 122 or the wafer holding surface 152.

[0075] The resin adhesion detection operation in the second protective member forming device 2 will be described below. As in the case of the first protective member forming apparatus 1 described above, in the resin adhesion detection operation in the second protective member forming apparatus 2, a color image of the sheet holding surface 122 or the wafer holding surface 152 is acquired by the camera 80, and the presence or absence of liquid resin is determined based on the G value of reflected light contained in this image, with a G value of 190 set as a threshold. In other words, if the image contains an image (pixel) corresponding to light with a G value of 190 or more (light with a predetermined wavelength of 400 nm or more), it is determined that liquid resin is adhered to the sheet holding surface 122 or the wafer holding surface 152.

[0076] Specifically, in the resin adhesion detection operation in the second protective member forming device 2, first, a determination is made as to whether or not liquid resin is attached to the sheet holding surface 122, which is the underside of the glass table 121. That is, the third control unit 75 focuses the camera 80 on the sheet holding surface 122 of the glass table 121. Then, the third control unit 75 causes the ultraviolet irradiation unit 90 to irradiate ultraviolet light onto the glass table 121, and causes the camera 80 to capture an image of the sheet holding surface 122, which is the underside of the glass table 121. In this way, the third control unit 75 obtains a third captured image, which is an image of the sheet holding surface 122. Note that the imaging range in this imaging is, for example, the entire surface of the sheet holding surface 122.

[0077] Next, the third determination unit 77 determines whether or not the third captured image contains an image corresponding to light having a wavelength equal to or greater than a predetermined wavelength (400 nm in the above example). This determination is made based on, for example, whether or not the third captured image contains an image corresponding to light having a G value equal to or greater than 190. If such an image is contained in the third captured image, the third determination unit 77 determines that liquid resin is attached to the sheet holding surface 122.

[0078] Then, if the third judgment unit 77 determines that liquid resin is attached to the sheet holding surface 122, the control unit 7 uses the touch panel 9 to display to the worker by voice and / or image that liquid resin is attached to the sheet holding surface 122.

[0079] After determining whether or not the liquid resin is adhering to the sheet holding surface 122, the fourth control unit 76 determines whether or not the liquid resin is adhering to the wafer holding surface 152. That is, the fourth control unit 76 controls the lifting mechanism 60 to lower the second sheet holding mechanism 120, which includes the glass table 121, the suction port 224, the camera 80, and the ultraviolet ray irradiation unit 90. As a result, the fourth control unit 76 creates a state in which a small gap is formed between the wafer holding surface 152 of the second wafer holding mechanism 150 and the sheet holding surface 122 of the glass table 121. In this state, the fourth control unit 76 focuses the camera 80 on the wafer holding surface 152. Then, the fourth control unit 76 irradiates ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet ray irradiation unit 90 onto the wafer holding surface 152 via the glass table 121, and captures an image of the wafer holding surface 152 with the camera 80. As a result, the fourth control unit 76 acquires a fourth captured image, which is an image of the wafer holding surface 152. The imaging range in this imaging is, for example, the entire surface of the wafer holding surface 152.

[0080] Next, the fourth determination unit 78 determines whether or not the fourth captured image contains an image corresponding to light having a wavelength equal to or greater than a predetermined wavelength (400 nm in the above example). This determination is made based on, for example, whether or not the fourth captured image contains an image corresponding to light having a G value equal to or greater than 190. If such an image is contained in the fourth captured image, the fourth determination unit 78 determines that liquid resin is attached to the wafer holding surface 152.

[0081] Then, if the fourth judgment unit 78 judges that liquid resin is adhering to the wafer holding surface 152, the control unit 7 uses the touch panel 9 to display to the operator by voice and / or image that liquid resin is adhering to the wafer holding surface 152.

[0082] In this way, the second protective member forming device 2 also acquires a third captured image that is an image of the sheet holding surface 122 and a fourth captured image that is an image of the wafer holding surface 152, and if these captured images contain an image corresponding to light with a wavelength equal to or greater than a predetermined wavelength, it is determined that liquid resin is attached to the sheet holding surface 122 or the wafer holding surface 152. This makes it possible to effectively detect that liquid resin is attached to the sheet holding surface 122 or the wafer holding surface 152.

[0083] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if liquid resin is adhering to the sheet holding surface 122 or the wafer holding surface 152, this fact is displayed to the operator using the touch panel 9. Therefore, the operator can easily recognize that liquid resin is adhering to these surfaces. Furthermore, the operator can remove the adhering liquid resin and form the protective member on the wafer 100 in a state where no liquid resin is adhering to the sheet holding surface 122 or the wafer holding surface 152. This makes it possible to form a protective member of uniform thickness.

[0084] In the second protective member forming apparatus 2, the camera 80 and the ultraviolet ray irradiation unit 90 are disposed above the glass table 121. In this regard, the camera 80 may be installed at any position as long as it is able to capture images of the sheet holding surface 122, which is the underside of the glass table 121, and the wafer holding surface 152 of the second wafer holding mechanism 150. The ultraviolet ray irradiation unit 90 may also be installed at any position as long as it is outside the imaging area of ​​the camera 80 and is able to irradiate ultraviolet rays onto the liquid resin spread on the back surface 102 of the wafer 100, the sheet holding surface 122, and the wafer holding surface 152. Since camera 80 only needs to be able to capture images of wafer holding surface 152 and sheet holding surface 122, camera 80 may be placed on an arm extending horizontally and the arm may be rotated so as to capture images of wafer holding surface 152 and sheet holding surface 122 separately.

[0085] In the first protective member forming device 1 and the second protective member forming device 2, the smaller the pixels of the color image captured by the camera 80, the smaller the resin that can be detected. For example, if one pixel is 1 μm, then 1 μm of resin can be detected from the captured image. Therefore, it is preferable that the pixels of the camera 80 be as small as possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 1: first protective member forming device, 2: second protective member forming device, 4: first wafer transport mechanism, 5: second wafer transport mechanism, 7: control unit, 8: sheet cutter, 9: touch panel, 10: sheet supply mechanism, 11: roll unit, 12: sheet, 20: first sheet holding mechanism, 21: glass table, 22: sheet placement surface, 24: table support base, 30: first sheet placement mechanism, 31: arm portion, 32: clamp portion, 40: first resin supply unit, 41: resin supply nozzle, 50: first wafer holding mechanism, 51: support structure, 52: holding table, 53: wafer holding surface, 60: lifting mechanism, 61: ball screw, 62: motor, 63: guide rail, 64: lifting plate, 65: support structure, 71: first control section, 72: Second control unit, 73: First determination unit, 74: Second determination unit, 75: Third control unit, 76: Fourth control unit, 77: Third determination unit, 78: Fourth determination unit, 80: Camera, 90: UV irradiation unit, 100: wafer, 101: front surface, 102: back surface, 120: second sheet holding mechanism, 121: glass table, 122: sheet holding surface, 124: table support base, 130: second sheet placement mechanism, 131: table movement mechanism, 132: sheet arrangement mechanism, 133: gripping portion, 135: conveying table, 136: elastic member, 140: second resin supply unit, 141: resin supply nozzle, 150: second wafer holding mechanism, 152: wafer holding surface, 153: frame body, 155: support pin, 190: G value, 200: housing, 201: device base, 202: column, 203: support base, 204: cassette storage body, 207: cassette, 211: temporary placement table, 212: cutting table, 222: suction source, 223: suction path, 224: suction port, 300: Liquid resin

Claims

1. A protective member forming apparatus for forming a protective member made of a sheet and an ultraviolet-curable liquid resin by spreading the resin over the entire surface of one side of a wafer, a glass table having a sheet placement surface on which a sheet is placed; a wafer holder that holds a wafer by a wafer holding surface above the glass table; a lifting mechanism for lifting and lowering the wafer holder; a liquid resin supply unit that supplies a liquid resin onto the sheet; A camera and an ultraviolet irradiation unit that irradiates the liquid resin with ultraviolet rays; a first control unit; the first control unit irradiates the sheet placement surface with ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light irradiation unit, and acquires a first captured image by capturing an image of the sheet placement surface with the camera; The light reflected by the cured liquid resin is changed into light having a wavelength equal to or greater than a predetermined wavelength that is different from the wavelength of the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light irradiation unit, a first determination unit that determines that liquid resin is attached to the sheet placement surface of the glass table if the first captured image includes an image corresponding to light having a wavelength equal to or greater than the predetermined wavelength; Protective member forming device.

2. The camera is disposed below the glass table, the ultraviolet ray irradiation unit is disposed below the glass table and outside the imaging area of ​​the camera, and irradiates the liquid resin with ultraviolet rays through the glass table; The protective member forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

3. Further comprising a second control unit, the second control unit lowers the wafer holding unit to form a small gap between the sheet placement surface and the wafer holding surface, irradiates the wafer holding surface with ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet irradiation unit through the glass table, and captures an image of the wafer holding surface with the camera to obtain a second captured image; a second determination unit that determines that liquid resin is attached to the wafer holding surface if the second captured image includes an image corresponding to light having a wavelength equal to or greater than the predetermined wavelength; The protective member forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A protective member forming apparatus for forming a protective member made of a sheet and an ultraviolet-curable liquid resin by spreading the resin over the entire surface of one side of a wafer, a wafer holding portion that holds a wafer by a wafer holding surface; a glass table disposed above the wafer holder; a sheet holding unit disposed outside the glass table; a liquid resin supply unit that supplies a liquid resin onto the wafer held on the wafer holding surface; A camera and an ultraviolet irradiation unit that irradiates ultraviolet rays onto the liquid resin on the wafer; a lifting mechanism for lifting up and down the glass table, the sheet holding unit, the camera, and the ultraviolet ray irradiation unit; a third control unit; the third control unit irradiates the glass table with ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light irradiation unit, and acquires a third captured image by capturing an image of the underside of the glass table with the camera; The light reflected by the cured liquid resin is changed into light having a wavelength equal to or greater than a predetermined wavelength that is different from the wavelength of the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light irradiation unit, and a third determination unit that determines that liquid resin is attached to the underside of the glass table if the third captured image includes an image corresponding to light having a wavelength equal to or longer than the predetermined wavelength. Protective member forming device.

5. The camera is disposed above the glass table, the ultraviolet ray irradiation unit is disposed above the glass table and outside the imaging area of ​​the camera, and irradiates the liquid resin with ultraviolet rays through the glass table; The protective member forming apparatus according to claim 4.

6. Further comprising a fourth control unit, the fourth control unit lowers the glass table, the sheet holding unit, the camera, and the ultraviolet ray irradiation unit, and in a state in which a small gap is formed between the lower surface of the glass table and the wafer holding surface, irradiates the wafer holding surface with ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet ray irradiation unit through the glass table, and captures an image of the wafer holding surface with the camera, thereby obtaining a fourth captured image; a fourth determination unit that determines that liquid resin is attached to the wafer holding surface if the fourth captured image includes an image corresponding to light having a wavelength equal to or greater than the predetermined wavelength; The protective member forming apparatus according to claim 4 or 5.

Images