Bonding device, method, and program

Abstract

The present invention is provided with: a rail member that holds, in a conveyable manner, an end portion of a frame in which a semiconductor chip to be bonded is disposed; a pressing member that is caused to approach the frame from one direction; a heat member that applies heat to the frame and that is caused to relatively approach the frame from the other direction opposite to the one direction; and a control unit that causes the pressing member and the heat member to approach each other in a plurality of steps so as to fix the frame by means of the pressing member and the heat member, the execution time of each of the steps being settable.

Description

Bonding apparatus, method, and program

[0001] The present invention relates to a bonding apparatus, a bonding method, and a bonding program.

[0002] A wire bonding apparatus is an apparatus that connects a substrate such as a lead frame to a semiconductor chip with wires. When performing wire bonding, the wire bonding apparatus needs to fix the substrate or other heat support using a device clamper.

[0003] US Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 0305199

[0004] The technology described in Patent Document 1 clamps and fixes a semiconductor substrate on which semiconductor chips are arranged using a device clamper and a support structure (e.g., a heat block). The device clamper has an opening that exposes the semiconductor chip. With the semiconductor substrate clamped, the semiconductor chip exposed in the opening of the device clamper is bonded. When the semiconductor substrate is clamped, the clamping force of the device clamper on the semiconductor substrate may cause the semiconductor chip to lift up from the support structure. This technology detects the lifting of the semiconductor chip from the support structure. Then, this technology adjusts the clamping force according to the detected lifting, enabling appropriate wire bonding.

[0005] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 cannot prevent the semiconductor chip from lifting up from the support structure, which results in the problem that the semiconductor substrate and semiconductor chip are not properly fixed to the support structure, and therefore proper bonding is not performed.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and has as its object to make it possible to properly fix a semiconductor substrate and a semiconductor chip during bonding.

[0007] In one aspect of the present invention, a bonding apparatus includes a rail member that holds the end of a frame on which a semiconductor chip to be bonded is placed so that it can be transported; a pressing member that approaches the frame from one direction; a heat member that applies heat to the frame and approaches the frame relatively from the other direction opposite to the one direction; and a control unit that divides the distance between the pressing member and the heat member into multiple steps and approaches them to fix the frame with the pressing member and the heat member, and that makes it possible to set the execution time of each step.

[0008] A method in one aspect of the present invention is a method for controlling a bonding apparatus that includes a pressing member that approaches a frame on which a semiconductor chip to be bonded is placed from one direction to fix the frame, and a heat member that approaches the frame relatively from another direction opposite to the one direction to apply heat to the frame, and includes dividing the distance between the pressing member and the heat member into multiple steps to close the frame and fix the frame with the pressing member and the heat member, and setting the execution time of each step.

[0009] In one aspect of the present invention, the program causes a computer of a control unit in a bonding apparatus comprising: a pressing member that approaches a frame on which a semiconductor chip to be bonded is placed from one direction to fix the frame; a heat member that approaches the frame relatively from the other direction opposite to the one direction to apply heat to the frame; and a control unit that controls bonding to the semiconductor chip, to execute the following steps: dividing the distance between the pressing member and the heat member into multiple steps, bringing them closer together, fixing the frame with the pressing member and the heat member, and setting the execution time for each step.

[0010] According to the present invention, the semiconductor substrate and the semiconductor chip can be appropriately fixed during bonding.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a bonding apparatus; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which a device clamper is clamping a semiconductor substrate; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a clamping step database D141; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of a mounting process including a clamping step sequence; FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship of each component in each of a plurality of steps; FIG. 6 is a graph showing the positional relationship of each component and the suction timing in each of a plurality of steps of a bonding apparatus; and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a release step database D142.

[0012] ===Configuration of Bonding Apparatus 100=== The configuration of the bonding apparatus 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the bonding apparatus 100. The bonding apparatus 100 is an apparatus that performs wire bonding to connect, for example, leads of a semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) and electrodes of a semiconductor die 210 to be placed.

[0013] Note that the bonding apparatus 100 is not limited to being an apparatus that performs wire bonding to the electrodes of the semiconductor die 210, but may also be an apparatus that performs die bonding, flip-chip bonding, or the like, on the semiconductor die 210. Hereinafter, as an example, the bonding apparatus 100 will be described as an apparatus that performs wire bonding on the semiconductor die 210.

[0014] When connecting a wire to the semiconductor die 210, the bonding apparatus 100 fixes the semiconductor substrate 200 using the heat support 110 and the clamper 120, which will be described later. However, when the semiconductor substrate 200 is clamped by the heat support 110 and the clamper 120, the heat of the heat support 110 may cause warping of the semiconductor substrate 200 or the semiconductor die 210. This is presumably because the heat support 110 is suddenly brought close to the semiconductor substrate 200, comes into contact with it, and is heated, causing the semiconductor substrate 200 to bulge.

[0015] Therefore, bonding apparatus 100 fixes semiconductor substrate 200 by gradually bringing heat support 110 and clamper 120 closer to semiconductor substrate 200 in multiple steps, so that semiconductor substrate 200 and semiconductor die 210 do not warp due to the heat of heat support 110. In this way, bonding apparatus 100 can suppress deformation of semiconductor substrate 200 due to sudden temperature changes, thereby achieving accurate bonding of semiconductor die 210.

[0016] Hereinafter, for convenience, the sequence in which the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 clamp the semiconductor substrate 200 through a plurality of steps will be referred to as a "clamp step sequence."

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the bonding apparatus 100 includes a heat support 110 , a clamper 120 , a bonding head 130 , a control unit 140 , and a rail member 150 .

[0018] The heat support 110 (heat member) supports one back surface 200a of the semiconductor substrate 200 transported along the rail member 150 during the bonding operation. The heat support 110 is a heat block heated to, for example, about 150 to 300 degrees. The heat support 110 has, for example, suction holes on the surface that comes into contact with the semiconductor substrate 200 for suctioning and fixing the semiconductor substrate 200 and the semiconductor die 210. That is, the heat support 110 fixes the semiconductor substrate 200 by, for example, suctioning the one back surface 200a of the semiconductor substrate 200, while applying heat to the semiconductor substrate 200 to enable bonding.

[0019] The clamper 120 (pressure member) sandwiches the semiconductor substrate 200 between the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 to fix the semiconductor substrate 200. The clamper 120 approaches the mounting surface 200b of the semiconductor substrate 200 from the opposite direction to the heat support 110. The clamper 120 then applies a clamping force to the semiconductor substrate 200 toward the heat support 110 to fix the semiconductor substrate 200. The clamper 120 may include, for example, a clamp arm 122 for fixing the semiconductor substrate 200 to the heat support 110 with a desired clamping force.

[0020] The shape of the clamper 120 and the exposed state of the semiconductor die 210 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 . FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which the clamper 120 clamps the semiconductor substrate 200. As shown in FIG. 2 , the clamper 120 is formed, for example, from a metal material and has openings 121 for exposing the semiconductor die 210. The openings 121 may expose each of the multiple semiconductor dies 210 individually, as shown in FIG. 2 , or may expose multiple semiconductor dies 210 collectively. This allows the bonding apparatus 100 to perform bonding while preventing the semiconductor substrate 200 from shifting due to the bonding operation, with the semiconductor substrate 200 fixed to the heat support 110.

[0021] 1 , the bonding head 130 includes an XY table 131, a Z-axis drive mechanism 132, and a bonding tool 133. The XY table 131 moves the bonding tool 133 in the X and Y directions. The Z-axis drive mechanism 132 moves the bonding tool 133 in the Z direction. The bonding tool 133 is cylindrical, through which a wire is inserted, and wire-bonds the wire to an electrode of the semiconductor die 210.

[0022] The control unit 140 controls the operations of the heat support 110, the clamper 120, and the bonding head 130. The control unit 140 includes a storage unit 141, a setting unit 142, an execution unit 143, and a determination unit 144.

[0023] The control unit 140 is realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software). Furthermore, some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be pre-stored in a storage device such as an HDD or flash memory of the bonding control unit 50, or may be pre-stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the HDD or flash memory of the bonding control unit 50 by inserting the storage medium into a drive device.

[0024] The storage unit 141 stores the operating conditions of the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 in the clamp step sequence. The storage unit 141 includes a clamp step database D141. The clamp step database D141 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 . FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the clamp step database D141. As shown in FIG. 3 , the clamp step database D141 stores, for example, a step ID as a primary key, the number of steps, a suction step, a step number, a height ratio of the clamper, a height ratio of the heat support, and a delay timer in association with each other. The bonding apparatus 100 generates the clamp step database D141 based on, for example, an arbitrary operational input by a user.

[0025] The number of steps is the number of steps executed in the clamping step sequence. Specifically, when the number of steps is set to "4," the bonding apparatus 100 divides the steps into four and gradually moves the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 closer to the semiconductor substrate 200 to clamp it.

[0026] The suction step stores the step number of the step in which the heat support 110 performs a suction operation to suction and fix the semiconductor substrate 200. The suction operation is an operation in which the suction holes of the heat support 110 are evacuated and the semiconductor substrate 200 is fixed to the heat support 110 by suction force to the suction holes. The suction step is set to any one of a plurality of steps, and is desirably set to, for example, the step in which the heat support 110 comes into contact with the semiconductor substrate 200. Specifically, if the suction step is set to "3," the bonding apparatus 100 evacuates the suction holes of the heat support 110 in step 3 of a plurality of steps (for example, the number of steps is "4") to enable suction of the semiconductor substrate 200.

[0027] The step number is a number that indicates the order of each of the multiple steps.

[0028] The height ratio of the clamper is a ratio between the initial position of the clamper 120, which is "0%," and the position where the clamper 120 contacts the semiconductor substrate 200, which is "100%". In the clamp step database D141, the height ratio is set for each step. That is, the user can set how close the clamper 120 is to the semiconductor substrate 200 for each step. Note that the bonding apparatus 100 is not limited to setting the height ratio to increase as the steps proceed, and does not prevent the height ratio of a given step from being set to a height ratio greater than the height ratio of the next step. Alternatively, instead of the height ratio, the distance between the fixing position of the semiconductor substrate 200 and the initial position of the clamper 120 may be stored in the clamp step database D141.

[0029] The height ratio of the heat support 110 is the ratio between the initial position of the heat support 110, which is "0%," and the position where the heat support 110 contacts the semiconductor substrate 200, which is "100%". The height ratio is set for each step in the clamping step database D141. That is, the user can set how close the heat support 110 is to the semiconductor substrate 200 for each step. The bonding apparatus 100 is not limited to setting the height ratio to increase as the steps proceed, and does not prevent the height ratio of a given step from being set to a height ratio greater than the height ratio of the next step. Alternatively, the clamping step database D141 may store the distance between the fixed position of the semiconductor substrate 200 and the initial position of the heat support 110 instead of the height ratio.

[0030] The execution time is the time for which the operation of the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 is stopped in each step. Specifically, if an execution time of "1 second" is set for step 1, the bonding apparatus 100 stops the operation of the clamper 120 and the heat support 110 for "1 second" after the operation of the clamper 120 and the heat support 110 is completed in step 1. The clamp step database D141 may be configured to set different execution times for the clamper 120 and the heat support 110. This allows the bonding apparatus 100 to fix the semiconductor substrate 200 while gradually applying heat from the heat support 110 to the semiconductor substrate 200, thereby suppressing warping of the semiconductor substrate 200 during clamping. The execution time may also be the time for which the operation of only the heat support 110 is stopped. In the following description, as an example, the execution time is described as the time for which the operation of only the heat support 110 is stopped.

[0031] The setting unit 142 receives any operation input from the user and stores the operation procedures of the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 in the storage unit 141 .

[0032] The setting unit 142 stores an operation procedure in the storage unit 141 so that the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 fix the semiconductor substrate 200 through multiple steps. The setting unit 142 can set each item in the clamp step database D141. For example, if the setting unit 142 sets the number of steps to "4," the bonding apparatus 100 gradually moves the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 closer to the semiconductor substrate 200 in four stages. This allows the user to set an appropriate number of steps in the bonding apparatus 100 depending on the surrounding environment, thereby enabling accurate bonding with reduced loss of operating time.

[0033] The setting unit 142 sets the execution time for stopping the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 at a predetermined height in a predetermined step of the multiple steps based on a user's operation input (setting the "execution time" in FIG. 3). For example, when the number of steps is set to "3," the setting unit 142 may set the execution time to "2 seconds" in step "2." In this case, the bonding apparatus 100 stops the movement of the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 for 2 seconds in the second step of the three steps. This allows the bonding apparatus 100 to fix the semiconductor substrate 200 while gradually applying heat from the heat support 110 to the semiconductor substrate 200, thereby preventing warping of the semiconductor substrate 200 during clamping due to a sudden temperature change in the semiconductor substrate 200.

[0034] Here, the setting unit 142 may be able to set, for example, an execution time for stopping only the heat support 110 at a predetermined height in a predetermined step among the multiple steps based on a user's operation input. This allows the bonding apparatus 100 to fix the semiconductor substrate 200 while gradually applying heat from the heat support 110 to the semiconductor substrate 200, thereby suppressing warping of the semiconductor substrate 200 during clamping due to a sudden temperature change in the semiconductor substrate 200.

[0035] The setting unit 142 sets the execution of the suction operation for the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 at a predetermined step among the multiple steps based on a user's operational input (setting the "suction step" in FIG. 3 ). This enables the bonding apparatus 100 to suction and fix the semiconductor substrate 200 at an appropriate timing according to the characteristics of the semiconductor substrate 200, and makes it possible to suppress warping of the semiconductor substrate 200 during clamping.

[0036] The setting unit 142 may be able to set multiple steps individually for each of the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 (setting the "number of steps" in FIG. 3). That is, the bonding apparatus 100 can set the number of steps according to the characteristics of the semiconductor substrate 200. In this case, the bonding apparatus 100 can, for example, first bring the clamper 120 into contact with the semiconductor substrate 200 and then gradually move the heat support 110 closer to the semiconductor substrate 200 to fix it, or first bring the heat support 110 into contact with the semiconductor substrate 200 and then bring the clamper 120 into contact with the semiconductor substrate 200 to fix it. This allows the bonding apparatus 100 to suppress warping of the semiconductor substrate 200 and enable accurate bonding.

[0037] The setting unit 142 may be capable of setting the steps so that the distance between the heat support 110 and the semiconductor substrate 200 in a first step among the steps corresponding to a first time is greater than the distance between the heat support 110 and the semiconductor substrate 200 in a second step among the steps corresponding to a second time subsequent to the first time. In other words, the setting unit 142 may be capable of setting the heat support 110 to gradually approach the semiconductor substrate 200. This allows the bonding apparatus 100 to suppress warping of the semiconductor substrate 200 and enable accurate bonding.

[0038] As described above, based on any operational input by the user, bonding apparatus 100 can set the number of steps, the amount of operation (height ratio) at each step, and the stop time (execution time) at each step for heat support 110 and clamper 120. In this way, bonding apparatus 100 allows the user to set the operating conditions of heat support 110 and clamper 120 applied to the clamp in accordance with the characteristics of each semiconductor substrate 200, which may have different arrangements and numbers of semiconductor dies 210, thereby enabling appropriate bonding.

[0039] The execution unit 143 operates the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 in accordance with the set operation procedure, with reference to the storage unit 141. That is, the execution unit 143 moves the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 toward the semiconductor substrate 200 in multiple steps, causing the clamper 120 to press and fix the semiconductor substrate 200 against the heat support 110.

[0040] The determination unit 144 determines whether the suction operation of the heat support 110 has been successful (whether the heat support 110 has been suctioned). The determination unit 144 may determine whether the suction operation has been successful by, for example, measuring the degree of vacuum in the suction holes while the heat support 110 is in contact with the semiconductor substrate 200 and performing the suction operation. This allows the bonding apparatus 100 to determine whether to operate the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 in multiple steps.

[0041] The rail member 150 is a member that holds the end of the semiconductor substrate 200, on which the semiconductor chip to be bonded is placed, so that it can be transported. The rail member 150 may be, for example, U-shaped so that it covers the top and bottom surfaces of the end of the semiconductor substrate 200, or L-shaped so that the back surface of the end of the semiconductor substrate 200 is placed on it. Any shape can be used as long as it can hold the semiconductor substrate 200 in a direction along the rail. The semiconductor substrate 200 is transported to a predetermined position along the rail member 150 by a transport device (not shown). The bonding device 100 clamps the semiconductor substrate 200 on the rail member 150, which is placed in a predetermined position, using the heat support 110 and the clamper 120.

[0042] ===Operation of Bonding Apparatus 100=== The operation of the bonding apparatus 100 will be described with reference to Figures 4, 5, and 6. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the mounting process including the clamp step sequence. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship of each component in each of the multiple steps. Figure 6 is a graph showing the positional relationship of each component and the timing of suction in each of the multiple steps of the bonding apparatus 100. In Figure 6, the horizontal axis represents the passage of time, and the vertical axis represents the distance relative to the semiconductor substrate 200. Note that in Figure 6, for "suction" and "suction check," the vertical axis represents the timing when the suction operation is turned on.

[0043] The following describes a mounting process that includes a sequence (hereinafter referred to as a "clamp step sequence") for clamping the semiconductor substrate 200 through a plurality of steps in the bonding apparatus 100. Note that the following describes, as an example, the operation under the setting conditions of step ID "001" in the clamp step database D141 shown in FIG.

[0044] In step S100, the bonding apparatus 100 transports the semiconductor substrate 200 to a predetermined position along the rail member 150 using a transport device (not shown). The bonding apparatus 100 clamps the semiconductor substrate 200 using the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 without using multiple steps. At this time, the bonding apparatus 100 determines whether the suction operation of the heat support 110 to the semiconductor substrate 200 was successful. If the bonding apparatus 100 determines that the suction operation was successful (step S100: NO), the processing proceeds to step S111 and the bonding operation is started.

[0045] If it is determined that the suction operation was not successful (step S100: YES), the bonding apparatus 100 determines whether the number of retries is less than a predetermined set value. If it is determined that the number of retries is equal to or greater than the predetermined set value (step S101: NO), the bonding apparatus 100 determines that a situation has arisen in which the semiconductor substrate 200 cannot be clamped, and stops the process (step S102).

[0046] If it is determined that the number of retries is less than a predetermined set value (step S101: YES), the bonding apparatus 100 determines whether or not the clamp step sequence is set to be executed. If the bonding apparatus 100 is not set to execute the clamp step sequence (step S103: NO), the bonding apparatus 100 executes a clamping process regardless of multiple steps (step S104). This allows the bonding apparatus 100 to start the bonding operation quickly depending on the situation, rather than necessarily executing the clamp step sequence during a retry.

[0047] If it is set to execute the clamp step sequence (step S103: YES), the bonding apparatus 100 executes the clamp step sequence. In this way, the bonding apparatus 100 can be set to execute a clamp step sequence that can suppress the occurrence of warpage, for example, when the semiconductor substrate 200 is warped due to clamping without using multiple steps, causing the heat support 110 to fail to adsorb the semiconductor substrate 200.

[0048] The clamp step sequence from step S105 to step S110 will be described below.

[0049] In step S105, the bonding apparatus 100 sets the step N to N = 1. The bonding apparatus 100 identifies the step condition set by the user based on the clamp step database D141 (here, as an example, the condition with a step ID of "001").

[0050] In step S106, the bonding apparatus 100 compares the number of steps in the step condition (hereinafter referred to as the "set number of steps." Here, the set number of steps is "4.") with step N, and if the current step N is less than the set number of steps (step S106: YES), the bonding apparatus 100 proceeds to step S107 to continue the step operation. On the other hand, if the current step N is equal to or greater than the set number of steps (step S106: NO), the bonding apparatus 100 determines that the clamp step sequence has been completed, and proceeds to step S100 to determine whether or not suction was successful.

[0051] In step S107, the bonding apparatus 100 performs a clamping operation in multiple steps based on the step conditions. Specifically, as shown in Figures 5A and 5B, in step 1, the bonding apparatus 100 performs an operation of moving the clamper 120 closer to the semiconductor substrate 200 so that the height ratio changes from D10 (here, the height ratio is 0%) to D11 (here, the height ratio is 40%). Here, for example, the bonding apparatus 100 moves the clamper 120 closer to the semiconductor substrate 200 at a constant speed, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 6 (step 1 in Figure 6).

[0052] At the same time, the bonding apparatus 100 performs an operation of moving the heat support 110 closer to the semiconductor substrate 200 so that the height ratio changes from D20 (here, the height ratio is 0%) to D21 (here, the height ratio is 40%). Here, for example, the bonding apparatus 100 moves the heat support 110 closer to the semiconductor substrate 200 at a constant speed, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 6 (step 1 in FIG. 6).

[0053] In step S108, the bonding apparatus 100 stops the operation of the heat support 110 for the time indicated by the execution time of step 1 based on the step conditions ("execution time" of step 1 in FIG. 6).

[0054] In step S109, the bonding apparatus 100 refers to the clamp step database D141 to determine whether or not to cause the heat support 110 to perform a suction operation. In this case, since the suction step is "3", the bonding apparatus 100 does not perform a suction operation.

[0055] In step S110, the bonding apparatus 100 increments step N and repeats the process from step S106.

[0056] 5B and 5C, in step 2, the bonding apparatus 100 performs an operation of moving the clamper 120 closer to the semiconductor substrate 200 so that the height ratio changes from D11 (here, 40% height ratio) to D12 (here, 60% height ratio) (dashed line in step 2 in FIG. 6). At the same time, the bonding apparatus 100 performs an operation of moving the heat support 110 closer to the semiconductor substrate 200 so that the height ratio changes from D21 (here, 40% height ratio) to D22 (here, 80% height ratio) (dash-dotted line in step 2 in FIG. 6).

[0057] 5C and 5D, in step 3, the bonding apparatus 100 performs an operation of moving the clamper 120 closer to the semiconductor substrate 200 so that the height ratio changes from D12 (here, 60% height ratio) to D13 (here, 95% height ratio) (dashed line in step 3 in FIG. 6). At the same time, the bonding apparatus 100 performs an operation of moving the heat support 110 closer to the semiconductor substrate 200 so that the height ratio changes from D22 (here, 80% height ratio) to a predetermined height ratio (here, 100% height ratio) (dashed line in step 3 in FIG. 6). That is, in step 3, the heat support 110 comes into contact with the semiconductor substrate 200.

[0058] Here, the bonding apparatus 100 refers to the clamping step database D141 and causes the heat support 110 to perform a suction operation in step 3 ("Suction" in FIG. 6 is ON). The bonding apparatus 100 may start the suction operation of the heat support 110 at the same time as starting the operation of step 3 (two-dot chain line in step 3 in FIG. 6), or may start the suction operation after a predetermined time has elapsed since moving to step 3. This enables the bonding apparatus 100 to suction and fix the semiconductor substrate 200 at an appropriate timing according to the characteristics of the semiconductor substrate 200, thereby suppressing warping of the semiconductor substrate 200 during clamping.

[0059] Furthermore, the bonding apparatus 100 may start the suction operation when the operation of the heat support 110 at the height ratio of step 3 is completed. Specifically, the bonding apparatus 100 may start the suction operation at the point where the dashed line in Figure 6 overlaps with the dashed line indicating the position of the semiconductor substrate 200. This allows the bonding apparatus 100 to suction and fix the semiconductor substrate 200 at an appropriate timing according to the characteristics of the semiconductor substrate 200, and makes it possible to suppress warping of the semiconductor substrate 200 during clamping.

[0060] Finally, in step S4, the bonding apparatus 100 brings the clamper 120 into contact with the semiconductor substrate 200, and clamps the semiconductor substrate 200 with the heat support 110 and the clamper 120. At this time, in step S106, the bonding apparatus 100 determines that the current number of steps, "4," is equal to or greater than the set number of steps ("4" in this case), and proceeds to step S100 to determine whether or not suction was successful ("Suction Check" in FIG. 6 is ON).

[0061] ===Modification of Bonding Apparatus 100=== A modification of the bonding apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 7 . FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a release step database D142. The storage unit 141 in the bonding apparatus 100 according to the modification may further include a release step database D142. The bonding apparatus 100 references the release step database D142, and after bonding is completed with the semiconductor substrate 200 clamped by the heat support 110 and the clamper 120, releases the suction operation at an appropriate timing and releases the clamped state in multiple steps. This allows the bonding apparatus 100 to avoid wire breakage due to vibrations when releasing the clamped state of the semiconductor substrate 200.

[0062] 7, the release step database D142 stores, for example, a release step ID as a primary key, the number of steps, the release step, the step number, the height ratio of the clamper, the height ratio of the heat support, and the execution time in association with each other. The bonding apparatus 100 generates the release step database D142 based on, for example, a user's operation input. Note that the number of steps, the step number, the height ratio of the clamper, the height ratio of the heat support, and the execution time are the same as those in the clamp step database D141 of FIG. 3, and therefore their description will be omitted.

[0063] The release step stores the step number of a step for performing a release operation to release the suction state of the semiconductor substrate 200 held by the heat support 110. The release operation is an operation for releasing the suction force created by the vacuum state of the suction holes and releasing air from the suction holes. The release step is set to any one of the multiple steps. Specifically, if the release step is set to "1," the bonding apparatus 100 releases the vacuum state of the suction holes of the heat support 110 and releases air from the suction holes to detach the semiconductor substrate 200 from the heat support 110 in step 1 of the multiple steps (for example, the number of steps is "4").

[0064] As described above, based on user input, bonding apparatus 100 can arbitrarily set the timing of the release operation, the number of steps required for release, the amount of operation (height ratio) in each step, and the stop time (execution time) in each step, individually for heat support 110 and clamper 120. This allows bonding apparatus 100 to allow the user to set the conditions for releasing the clamp by heat support 110 and clamper 120 according to the characteristics of each semiconductor substrate 200, which may have different arrangements and numbers of semiconductor dies 210, thereby avoiding problems such as wire breakage due to vibration of semiconductor substrate 200.

[0065] Summary: <1> The bonding apparatus 100 includes a rail member 150 that transportably holds an end of a semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) on which a semiconductor die 210 (semiconductor chip) to be bonded is placed, a clamper 120 (pressing member) that approaches the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) from one direction, a heat support 110 (heat member) that applies heat to the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) and moves the heat support 110 (heat member) relatively close to the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) from the other direction opposite to the one direction, and a control unit 140 that divides the distance between the clamper 120 (pressing member) and the heat support 110 (heat member) into multiple steps to close the distance and fix the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) with the clamper 120 (pressing member) and the heat support 110 (heat member), and that makes it possible to set the execution time of each step. This allows the bonding apparatus 100 to suppress deformation of the semiconductor substrate 200, thereby achieving accurate bonding of the semiconductor die 210.

[0066] <2> The bonding apparatus according to <1>, wherein the control unit 140 in the bonding apparatus 100 can set, based on a user's operational input, a plurality of time-correlated steps that indicate a first distance between the clamper 120 (pressure member) and the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) and a second distance between the heat support 110 (heat member) and the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame). This allows the bonding apparatus 100 to suppress deformation of the semiconductor substrate 200 due to a sudden temperature change, thereby achieving accurate bonding of the semiconductor die 210.

[0067] <3> The bonding apparatus according to <1> or <2>, wherein the control unit 140 in the bonding apparatus 100 sets execution times for stopping the clamper 120 (pressing member) and the heat support 110 (heat member) at a predetermined height for multiple steps based on user input, and causes the clamper 120 (pressing member) to press and fix the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) against the heat support 110 (heat member) based on the multiple steps and execution times. This enables the bonding apparatus 100 to fix the semiconductor substrate 200 while gradually applying heat from the heat support 110, thereby suppressing warping of the semiconductor substrate 200 during clamping.

[0068] <4> The bonding apparatus 100 according to <1> or <3>, wherein the control unit 140 in the bonding apparatus 100 sets the execution of the suction operation of the heat support 110 (heat member) on the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) based on a user's operation input at a predetermined step among the plurality of steps. This enables the bonding apparatus 100 to suction and fix the semiconductor substrate 200 at an appropriate timing according to the characteristics of the semiconductor substrate 200, and can suppress warping of the semiconductor substrate 200 during clamping.

[0069] <5> The bonding apparatus 100 according to any one of <1> to <4>, wherein the control unit 140 in the bonding apparatus 100 sets the number of steps in the plurality of steps based on an operational input from a user. This allows the user to set an appropriate number of steps in the bonding apparatus 100 depending on the surrounding environment, thereby enabling accurate bonding with reduced loss of operating time.

[0070] <6> The bonding apparatus 100 according to any one of <1> to <5>, wherein the control unit 140 in the bonding apparatus 100 sets the plurality of steps based on a user's operation input so that the distance between the heat support 110 (heat member) and the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) in a first step of the plurality of steps corresponding to a first time is greater than the distance between the heat support 110 (heat member) and the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) in a second step of the plurality of steps corresponding to a second time subsequent to the first time. This enables the bonding apparatus 100 to suppress warping of the semiconductor substrate 200 and perform accurate bonding.

[0071] <7> The bonding apparatus 100 according to any one of <1> to <6>, wherein the control unit 140 in the bonding apparatus 100 sets each of the first distance and the second distance in the plurality of steps based on an operational input by a user. This enables the bonding apparatus 100 to suppress warping of the semiconductor substrate 200 and perform accurate bonding.

[0072] <8> The bonding apparatus 100 according to any one of <1> to <6>, wherein the heat support 110 (heat member) adsorbs the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) and further includes a determination unit 144 that determines whether the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) is adsorbed to the heat support 110 (heat member), and when the determination unit 144 determines that the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) is not adsorbed to the heat support 110 (heat member), the execution unit 143 moves the clamper 120 (pressing member) and the heat support 110 (heat member) toward the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) in multiple steps, and presses and fixes the semiconductor substrate 200 (frame) against the heat support 110 (heat member) with the clamper 120 (pressing member). This allows the bonding apparatus 100 to determine whether to operate the heat support 110 and the clamper 120 in multiple steps, thereby enabling the bonding operation to be started quickly depending on the situation.

[0073] The embodiments described through the above embodiments of the invention can be combined, modified, or improved as appropriate depending on the application, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. It is clear from the claims that such combinations, modifications, or improvements are also included within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0074] 100...bonding device, 110...heat support, 120...clamper, 130...bonding head, 140...control unit, 141...storage unit, 142...setting unit, 143...execution unit, 144...determination unit, 150...rail member.

Claims

1. A bonding device comprising: a rail member that holds an end of a frame on which a semiconductor chip to be bonded is placed so that it can be transported; a pressing member that approaches said frame from one direction; a heat member that applies heat to said frame and that approaches said frame relatively from the other direction opposite to the one direction; and a control unit that divides the distance between said pressing member and said heat member into a number of steps to bring them closer to each other and fix the frame with said pressing member and said heat member, and that makes it possible to set the execution time of each step.

2. The bonding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is capable of setting the plurality of steps associated with time, which indicate a first distance between the pressing member and the frame and a second distance between the heat member and the frame, based on a user's operational input.

3. The bonding apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit sets the execution time for stopping the pressing member and the heat member at a predetermined height for the multiple steps based on a user's operational input, and causes the pressing member to press the frame against the heat member and fix it based on the multiple steps and the execution time.

4. The bonding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets the execution of the suction operation of the heat member on the frame at a predetermined step in the plurality of steps based on a user's operational input.

5. The bonding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets the number of steps in the plurality of steps based on an operational input by a user.

6. The bonding apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit sets the plurality of steps based on a user's operational input so that the distance between the heat member and the frame in a first step of the plurality of steps corresponding to a first time is greater than the distance between the heat member and the frame in a second step of the plurality of steps corresponding to a second time subsequent to the first time and subsequent to the first time.

7. The bonding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit sets each of the first distance and the second distance in each of the plurality of steps based on an operational input by a user.

8. The bonding apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a judgment unit which adsorbs the frame, and which judges whether or not the frame is adsorbed to the heat member, and when the judgment unit judges that the frame is not adsorbed to the heat member, the control unit moves the pressing member and the heat member toward the frame through the multiple steps, and presses the frame against the heat member with the pressing member to fix it.

9. A method for controlling a bonding apparatus comprising: a pressing member which approaches a frame on which a semiconductor chip to be bonded is placed from one direction, for fixing the frame; and a heat member which approaches the frame relatively from the other direction opposite to the one direction, for applying heat to the frame, the method including dividing the distance between the pressing member and the heat member into a plurality of steps, bringing them closer together to fix the frame with the pressing member and the heat member, and setting the execution time of each step.

10. A program that causes a computer of a control unit in a bonding apparatus comprising: a pressing member that approaches a frame on which a semiconductor chip to be bonded is placed from one direction, the pressing member for fixing the frame; a heat member that approaches the frame relatively from the other direction opposite to the one direction, the heat member for applying heat to the frame; and a control unit that controls bonding to the semiconductor chip, to execute the following: dividing the distance between the pressing member and the heat member into a plurality of steps, bringing them closer together to fix the frame with the pressing member and the heat member, and setting the execution time for each step.

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