JP2007088361A - Cutting equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cutting device in which splashes of cutting water scattered by cutting by a cutting means do not adhere to an objective lens of an imaging means of an alignment means.
Alignment means having an imaging means having an objective lens for detecting a region to be processed of a workpiece held on a chuck table, and cutting means for cutting the workpiece held on the chuck table And a shielding means for shielding a lower portion of the objective lens case housing the objective lens of the imaging means. The shielding means is at the lower end of the objective lens case with respect to the optical axis of the objective lens. A guide member mounted at a right angle and having a first hole corresponding to the objective lens case, and a flexible member having a second hole movably disposed below the guide member and corresponding to the first hole. A shielding member made of a sheet material having a property, and an operation of moving the shielding member along the lower surface of the guide member to position the second hole at the working position facing the first hole and the shielding position shielding the first hole hand A stage.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus for cutting a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer.

  For example, in the semiconductor device manufacturing process, circuits such as IC and LSI are formed in a number of regions partitioned by dividing lines called streets formed in a lattice shape on the surface of a semiconductor wafer having a substantially disk shape, Each semiconductor chip is manufactured by dividing each region in which the circuit is formed along a planned division line. As a dividing device for dividing a semiconductor wafer, a cutting device as a dicing device is generally used. The cutting apparatus includes: a chuck table that holds a workpiece; an alignment unit that detects a region to be cut of the workpiece held on the chuck table; and a workpiece that is held and aligned on the chuck table. Cutting means.

In such a cutting apparatus, in order to improve the cutting efficiency, two chuck tables are provided, and are held on the other chuck table while the workpiece held on one chuck table is being cut. There has been proposed a cutting apparatus that can efficiently perform an alignment operation of a workpiece without cutting the cutting means. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-163178 A

  In the above-described cutting apparatus, the cutting region in which the cutting operation is performed by the cutting unit and the alignment region in which the alignment operation is performed by the alignment unit are provided in the movement path of the chuck table. Therefore, when the chuck table holding the workpiece is moved to the cutting region and the cutting operation is performed by the cutting means, the droplets of the cutting water adhere to the alignment means and contaminate the objective lens of the imaging means of the alignment means. There's a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned facts, and its main technical problem is to provide a cutting device that prevents the splash of cutting water scattered by cutting by the cutting means from adhering to the objective lens of the imaging means of the alignment means. There is to do.

In order to solve the above main technical problem, according to the present invention, there is provided an imaging means having a chuck table for holding a workpiece and an objective lens for detecting a region to be processed of the workpiece held on the chuck table. In a cutting apparatus comprising: an alignment means provided; and a cutting means for cutting a workpiece held by the chuck table.
A shielding means for shielding the lower part of the objective lens case housing the objective lens of the imaging means;
The shielding means includes a guide member that is attached to the lower end of the objective lens case at a right angle to the optical axis of the objective lens and includes a first hole corresponding to the objective lens case, and a lower side of the guide member. A shielding member made of a flexible sheet material provided with a second hole corresponding to the first hole, and the shielding member is moved along the lower surface of the guide member. And an operating means for positioning the two holes at a working position facing the first hole and a shielding position for shielding the first hole,
A cutting device is provided.

  The actuating means includes an air piston mechanism having a cylinder, a piston slidably disposed in the cylinder, and a piston rod connected to the piston, and the piston rod is connected to the shielding member. The actuating means is disposed in the main body of the imaging means so that the sliding direction of the piston is parallel to the optical axis of the objective lens.

  According to the cutting device of the present invention, the alignment member is implemented by positioning the shielding member of the shielding means at the working position during alignment. In the cutting process, since the shielding member of the shielding means is positioned at the shielding position, the splash of cleaning water is shielded by the shielding member and does not contaminate the objective lens of the imaging means.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a cutting device configured according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a cutting apparatus configured according to the present invention.
The cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a base 2. On the base 2, a chuck table mechanism 3 that holds a workpiece and moves it in a cutting feed direction indicated by an arrow X is disposed.

  The chuck table mechanism 3 in the illustrated embodiment includes a first guide rail 31 a and a second guide rail 31 b disposed on the upper surface of the base 2. Each of the first guide rail 31a and the second guide rail 31b includes a pair of rail members 311 and 311 and extends in parallel with each other along the cutting feed direction indicated by an arrow X in the drawing. . On the first guide rail 31a and the second guide rail 31b, there are a first support base 32a and a second support base 32b along the first guide rail 31a and the second guide rail 31b, respectively. It is arranged to be movable. That is, guided grooves 321 and 321 are provided in the first support base 32a and the second support base 32b, respectively. The guided grooves 321 and 321 are connected to the first guide rail 31a and the second guide rail 31a. By fitting the pair of rail members 311 and 311 constituting the guide rail 31b, the first support base 32a and the second support base 32b are connected to the first guide rail 31a and the second guide rail 31b. It is configured to be movable along.

  A first cylindrical member 33a and a second cylindrical member 33b are disposed on the first support base 32a and the second support base 32b, respectively. The first cylindrical member 33a and the second cylindrical member are arranged. A first chuck table 34a and a second chuck table 34b are rotatably disposed at the upper end of 33b. The first chuck table 34a and the second chuck table 34b are made of an appropriate porous material such as porous ceramics, and are connected to suction means (not shown). Therefore, the workpieces placed on the placement surfaces 341 and 341 are sucked and held by selectively communicating the first chuck table 34a and the second chuck table 34b to the suction source by suction means (not shown). To do. Further, the first chuck table 34a and the second chuck table 34b are appropriately rotated by a pulse motor (not shown) disposed in the first cylindrical member 33a and the second cylindrical member 33b, respectively. It is like that. Note that the upper ends of the first cylindrical member 33a and the second cylindrical member 33b have holes through which the first chuck table 34a and the second chuck table 34b are inserted, respectively. A first cover member 35a and a second cover member 35b that cover 32a and the second support base 32b are disposed. On the upper surfaces of the first cover member 35a and the second cover member 35b, first blade detection means 36a and second blade detection means 36b for detecting the position of a cutting blade described later are disposed, respectively. ing.

  Continuing the description with reference to FIG. 1, the chuck table mechanism 3 in the illustrated embodiment converts the first chuck table 34a and the second chuck table 34b into a first guide rail 31a and a second guide rail 31b, respectively. 1 is provided with a first cutting feed means 37a and a second cutting feed means 37b for moving in the cutting feed direction indicated by the arrow X in FIG. The first cutting feed means 37a and the second cutting feed means 37b are arranged in parallel between a pair of rail members 311 and 311 constituting the first guide rail 31a and the second guide rail 31b, respectively. The male screw rod 371, a bearing 372 that rotatably supports one end of the male screw rod 371, and a pulse motor 373 that is connected to the other end of the male screw rod 371 and drives the male screw rod 371 to rotate forward or backward. The first cutting feed means 37a and the second cutting feed means 37b configured in this way are internally threaded with male screw rods 371 formed on the first support base 32a and the second support base 32b, respectively. 322 is screwed. Therefore, the first cutting feed means 37a and the second cutting feed means 37b respectively drive the pulse motor 373 to drive the male screw rod 371 in the normal direction or the reverse direction, thereby the first support base 32a and the second cutting feed means 37b. The first chuck table 34a and the second chuck table 34b disposed on the second support base 32b are cut along the first guide rail 31a and the second guide rail 31b, respectively, as indicated by an arrow X in FIG. It can move in the feed direction.

  The cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes a gate-type support frame 4 disposed across the first guide rail 31a and the second guide rail 31b. The gate-shaped support frame 4 includes a first pillar portion 41 disposed on the side of the first guide rail 31a and a second pillar portion disposed on the side of the second guide rail 31b. 42 and a support portion 43 arranged along an index feed direction indicated by an arrow Y perpendicular to a cutting feed direction indicated by an arrow X by connecting the upper ends of the first pillar portion 41 and the second pillar portion 42. Thus, an opening 44 that allows the movement of the first chuck table 34a and the second chuck table 34b is provided at the center. The upper end portions of the first column portion 41 and the second column portion 42 are formed to be wide, and openings 411 and 421 that allow the movement of the spindle unit of the cutting means to be described later are provided at the upper end portions, respectively. ing. A pair of guide rails 431 and 431 are provided on one surface of the support portion 43 along the index feed direction indicated by the arrow Y, and the other surface is in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface as shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, a pair of guide rails 432 and 432 are provided along (the index feed direction indicated by the arrow Y).

  The cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment includes a first alignment means 5a and a second alignment means movably disposed along a pair of guide rails 431 and 431 provided on the support portion 43 of the portal-type support frame 4. The alignment means 5b is provided. The first alignment means 5a and the second alignment means 5b are respectively a moving block 51, moving means 52, 52 for moving the moving block 51 along a pair of guide rails 431, 431, and a moving block 51. Imaging means 53 and 53 mounted on the. The moving blocks 51 and 51 are respectively provided with guided grooves 511 and 511 that are fitted to the pair of guide rails 431 and 431. The guided grooves 511 and 511 are fitted to the pair of guide rails 431 and 431. Accordingly, the moving blocks 51 and 51 are configured to be movable along the pair of guide rails 431 and 431.

  The moving means 52 and 52 include a male screw rod 521 disposed in parallel between the pair of guide rails 431 and 431, a bearing 522 that rotatably supports one end of the male screw rod 521, and the male screw rod 521. A pulse motor 523 is connected to the end and drives the male screw rod 521 to rotate forward or backward. In the moving means 52 and 52 configured as described above, the male screw rod 521 is screwed into the female screw 512 formed on the moving blocks 51 and 51, respectively. Accordingly, the moving means 52 and 52 drive the pulse motor 523 to drive the male screw rod 521 in the normal direction or the reverse direction, thereby moving the moving blocks 51 and 51 along the pair of guide rails 431 and 431 in FIG. It can move in the index feed direction indicated by Y.

  The imaging means 53 includes a main body 531 attached to the moving block 51 and an objective lens case 533 attached to the lower end of the main body 531 and containing the objective lens 532 (see FIG. 2). An image pickup device (CCD) or the like is disposed in the main body 531 of the image pickup means 53 configured as described above, and sends an image signal picked up through the objective lens 532 to a control means (not shown).

The first alignment means 5 a and the second alignment means 5 b in the illustrated embodiment include a shielding means 54 that shields the lower side of the objective lens case 533. This shielding means 54 is demonstrated with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG.
In the illustrated embodiment, the shielding means 54 is disposed at the lower end of the objective lens case 533 at a right angle with respect to the optical axis of the objective lens 532 and movably disposed below the guide member 55. A shielding member 56, and an actuating means 57 that moves the shielding member 56 along the lower surface of the guide member 55.

  The guide member 55 includes a rectangular guide portion 551 and a cylindrical attachment portion 552 for attaching the guide plate 551 to the lower end portion of the objective lens case 533. The guide portion 551 has a first hole 551a corresponding to the objective lens case 533 at the center, and a pair of guide grooves 551b and 551c are formed on the lower surface thereof in the longitudinal direction so as to face each other. The cylindrical mounting portion 552 is formed standing from the periphery of the first hole 551a. The guide member 55 configured as described above is fitted to the objective lens case 533 by fitting a cylindrical mounting portion 552 to the lower end portion of the objective lens case 533 and using a fixing means such as an adhesive or a screw.

The shielding member 56 is made of a flexible sheet material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin, and a second hole 56a corresponding to the first hole 551a is provided at a predetermined position. The shielding member 56 formed in this way is engaged with a pair of guide grooves 551b and 551c formed on the lower surface of the guide portion 551 constituting the guide member 55 on both sides.
It is arranged to be movable along the lower surface of the guide portion 551. Accordingly, by positioning the second hole 56a provided in the shielding member 56 at the open position facing the first hole 551a, the imaging through the objective lens case 533 by the imaging means 53 is enabled. Further, the first hole 551a is shielded by positioning the shielding member 56 at a shielding position that is moved at least by an amount corresponding to the diameter of the second hole 56a from the open position. Note that two holes 56 b and 56 b for connecting to the operating means 57 are provided at one end of the shielding member 56.

  The actuating means 57 is constituted by an air piston mechanism in the illustrated embodiment. The actuating member 57 comprising an air piston mechanism includes a cylinder 571, a piston 572 slidably disposed in the cylinder 571, a piston rod 573 to which one end of the piston 572 is coupled, and the piston rod 573. And a connecting member 574 attached to the other end. In the operating means 57 configured in this way, the first chamber 571a and the second chamber 571b defined by the piston 572 in the cylinder 571 are communicated with an air control circuit (not shown). The connecting member 574 attached to the other end of the piston rod 573 has a length corresponding to the width of the shielding member 56, and includes a clamping groove 574 a that clamps one end of the shielding member 56. The connecting member 574 is formed with two holes 574b and 574b corresponding to the two holes 56b and 56b provided at one end of the shielding member 56 in a direction orthogonal to the holding groove 574a. One end of the shielding member 56 is inserted into the holding groove 574a of the connecting member 574 configured as described above, and the bolts 58 are inserted into the holes 574b and 574b provided in the connecting member 574 and the holes 56b and 56b provided in the shielding member 56. , And the nut 59 is screwed into the bolt 58 to attach the shielding member 56 to the connecting member 574.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the actuating means 57 configured as described above is appropriately fixed so that the cylinder 571 is aligned with the main body 531 of the imaging means 53 so that the sliding direction of the piston 572 is parallel to the optical axis of the objective lens 532. Mounted by means. The connecting member 574 is positioned above one end in the longitudinal direction of the guide portion 551 constituting the guide member 55. For this reason, the shielding member 56 made of a flexible sheet is bent at a substantially right angle from one edge in the longitudinal direction of the guide portion 551. Therefore, the actuating means 57 can move the shielding member 56 along the lower surface of the guide portion 551 constituting the guide member 55 by actuating the piston rod 573 in the vertical direction in FIG. That is, when the piston rod 573 of the actuating means 57 is operated to the lower position shown by the solid line, the shielding member 56 is positioned at the open position shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, and when the piston rod 573 is operated to the upper position, the shielding member 56 is shown in FIG. Is positioned at the shielding position indicated by a two-dot chain line. By thus forming the shielding member 56 with a flexible sheet, the operation means 57 can be easily arranged.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the description will be continued. The other surface of the support portion 43 constituting the portal-type support frame 4 (opposite to the surface on which the first alignment means 5a and the second alignment means 5b are disposed). The first cutting means 6a and the second cutting means 6b are disposed on the side surface. The 1st cutting means 6a and the 2nd cutting means 6b are demonstrated with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. The first cutting means 6a and the second cutting means 6b include an indexing movement base 61, a cutting movement base 62, and a spindle unit 63, respectively. The indexing movement base 61 is provided with guided grooves 611 and 611 fitted to a pair of guide rails 432 and 432 provided on the other surface of the support portion 43 on one surface. By fitting 611 and 611 to the pair of guide rails 432 and 432, the indexing movement base 61 is configured to be movable along the pair of guide rails 432 and 432. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the other surface of the index movement base 61 is provided with a cutting feed direction indicated by an arrow Z (a direction perpendicular to the placement surfaces 341 of the first chuck table 34a and the second chuck table 34b). ) Is provided with a pair of guide rails 612 and 612 (only one guide rail is shown in FIG. 5). In addition, clearance grooves 613 and 613 are provided on one surface of the index movement bases 61 and 61 so as to allow the insertion of a male screw rod of an index feeding means, which will be described later, with a step in the vertical direction.

  The incision moving base 62 includes a supported portion 621 extending in the vertical direction and a mounting portion 622 extending horizontally at right angles from the lower end of the supported portion 621. As shown in FIG. 4, guided grooves 623 and 623 that fit with a pair of guide rails 612 and 612 provided on the other surface of the indexing movement base 61 are provided on the surface of the supported portion 621 on the mounting portion 622 side. (Only one guided groove is shown in FIG. 5), and the notched moving base 62 is provided by fitting the guided grooves 623 and 623 to the pair of guide rails 612 and 612. Is configured to be movable along the pair of guide rails 612 and 612 in the cutting feed direction indicated by the arrow Z. As shown in FIG. 1, the notch moving base 62 attached to the indexing movement base 61 in this way is the other surface of the support frame 4 on which the mounting part 622 is mounted on the indexing movement base 61. The first alignment means 5a and the second alignment means 5b are arranged so as to protrude from the side through the opening 44 to one surface side where the first alignment means 5a and the second alignment means 5b are mounted.

  The spindle unit 63 is mounted on the lower surface of the mounting portion 622 that forms the cutting movement base 62 of the first cutting means 6a and the second cutting means 6b. As shown in FIG. 4, the spindle unit 63 includes a spindle housing 631, a rotary spindle 632 rotatably supported by the spindle housing 631, a cutting blade 633 attached to one end of the rotary spindle 632, and a cutting tool. A cutting water supply pipe 634 that supplies water, a blade cover 635 that covers the cutting blade 633, and a servomotor (not shown) that rotationally drives the rotary spindle 632 are provided, and an index feed in which the axial direction of the rotary spindle 632 is indicated by an arrow Y It is arranged along the direction. Note that the cutting blade 633 of the first cutting means 6a and the cutting blade 633 of the second cutting means 6b are disposed to face each other.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the first cutting means 6a and the second cutting means 6b are arranged so that the index moving bases 61 and 61 are moved along the pair of guide rails 432 and 432 in the index feed direction indicated by the arrow Y in FIG. Indexing feed means 64, 64 for moving are provided. The index feeding means 64 and 64 are formed of a male screw rod 641 disposed in parallel between the pair of guide rails 432 and 432, a bearing 642 that rotatably supports one end of the male screw rod 641, and a male screw rod 641. A pulse motor 643 is connected to the other end and drives the male screw rod 641 to rotate forward or backward. The male screw rods 641 and 641 are disposed at height positions corresponding to the escape grooves 613 and 613 provided in the indexing movement bases 61 and 61, respectively. In the index feeding means 64 and 64 configured as described above, male screw rods 641 and 641 are screwed into female screws 614 and 614 formed on the index moving bases 61 and 61, respectively. Therefore, the index feeding means 64 and 64 drive the pulse motors 643 and 643 to drive the male screw rods 641 and 641 in the normal direction or the reverse direction, respectively, thereby causing the indexing movement bases 61 and 61 to be paired with the guide rails 432 and 432. 1 can be moved in the index feed direction indicated by the arrow Y in FIG. When the index movement bases 61 and 61 move, the male threaded rods 641 and 641 pass through the clearance grooves 613 and 613 provided in the index movement bases 61 and 61, so that the index movement bases 61 and 61 are The movement is allowed.

  Further, the first cutting means 6a and the second cutting means 6b in the illustrated embodiment are configured such that the cutting moving bases 62 and 62 are moved along a pair of guide rails 612 and 612 as shown in FIGS. Cutting feed means 65, 65 for moving in the cutting feed direction indicated by the arrow Z are provided. The incision feeding means 65 and 65 include a male threaded rod 651 disposed in parallel with the pair of guide rails 612 and 612, a bearing 652 that rotatably supports one end of the male threaded rod 651, and the other end of the male threaded rod 651. And a pulse motor 653 for driving the male screw rod 651 in the normal direction or the reverse direction. In the cutting feed means 65 and 65 configured as described above, the male screw rod 651 is screwed into a female screw 622 a formed on the supported portion 621 of the cutting movement base 62. Accordingly, the cutting feed means 65 and 65 drive the pulse motor 653 and drive the male screw rod 651 in the normal direction or the reverse direction, respectively, so that the cutting movement base 62 is moved along the pair of guide rails 622 and 622 in FIG. In FIG. 5, it can move in the cutting feed direction indicated by the arrow Z.

  The cutting apparatus in the illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, and the operation thereof will be described mainly with reference to FIG.

  First, a semiconductor wafer W (see FIG. 6) as a workpiece is transferred onto the first chuck table 34a by a workpiece transfer means (not shown). At this time, the first chuck table 34a is positioned at the workpiece attaching / detaching position shown in FIG. In the semiconductor wafer W, a plurality of rectangular regions are formed by a plurality of division lines (streets) formed in a lattice pattern on the surface, and devices are formed in the plurality of rectangular regions, respectively. The semiconductor wafer W formed in this manner is attached to the surface of a protective tape attached to an annular frame (not shown). The semiconductor wafer W placed on the first chuck table 34a is sucked and held on the first chuck table 34a by operating a suction means (not shown) (first workpiece holding step).

  As described above, the first chuck table 34a that sucks and holds the semiconductor wafer W is moved to the first alignment region 50a by the operation of the first cutting feed means 37a. Next, the moving means 52 of the first alignment means 5a is operated to position the imaging means 53 of the first alignment means 5a directly above the first chuck table 34a. Then, the actuating means 57 of the shielding means 54 is actuated to position the shielding member 56 at the open position, so that the first hole 551a and the second hole 56a are aligned. Next, the surface of the semiconductor wafer W held on the first chuck table 34a is imaged by the imaging means 53 of the first alignment means 5a, and a street which is a cutting region formed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer W is detected. Is done. Then, the index feeding means 64 of the first cutting means 6 a and the index feeding means 64 of the second cutting means 6 b are operated to align the respective cutting blades 633 with the streets detected by the imaging means 53. The alignment to be performed is performed (first alignment step).

  While the first alignment process is being performed on the semiconductor wafer 10 held on the first chuck table 34a, the semiconductor wafer W as a workpiece is shown in FIG. It is conveyed onto the second chuck table 34b positioned at the workpiece attaching / detaching position shown. The semiconductor wafer W placed on the second chuck table 34b is sucked and held on the second chuck table 34b by operating a suction means (not shown) (second workpiece holding step).

  If the semiconductor wafer W is sucked and held on the second chuck table 34b, the second chuck table 34b is moved to the second alignment region 50b by the operation of the second cutting feed means 37b. Next, the moving means 52 of the second alignment means 5b is operated to position the imaging means 53 of the second alignment means 5b directly above the second chuck table 34b. Then, the actuating means 57 of the shielding means 54 is actuated to position the shielding member 56 at the open position, so that the first hole 551a and the second hole 56a are aligned. Next, a second alignment step of detecting a region to be cut of the semiconductor wafer W held on the second chuck table 34b by the second alignment means 5b is performed. The second alignment process is performed in the same manner as the first alignment process described above.

  On the other hand, when the first alignment step is completed, the actuating means 57 of the shielding means 54 is actuated to position the shielding member 56 at the shielding position, and the second hole 56a is retracted from the first hole 551a. The first hole 551 a is shielded by the shielding portion 561 of the shielding member 56. Then, the first chuck table 34a is moved to the cutting area. Next, the index feeding means 64 of the first cutting means 6a is operated to form the cutting blade 633 of the first cutting means 6a on the semiconductor wafer W held on the first chuck table 34a as shown in FIG. Then, it is positioned at a position corresponding to the central street, and the cutting feed means 65 is further operated to lower the cutting blade 633 to be positioned at a predetermined cutting feed position. Further, the index feed means 64 of the second cutting means 6b is operated to correspond the cutting blade 633 of the second cutting means 6b to the endmost street formed on the semiconductor wafer W held by the first chuck table 34a. Then, the cutting feed means 65 is actuated to lower the cutting blade 633 and position it at a predetermined cutting feed position. Then, the first cutting feed means 37a is operated while rotating the cutting blade 633 of the first cutting means 6a and the cutting blade 633 of the second cutting means 6b to move the first chuck table 34a to the arrow X1 in FIG. The semiconductor wafer W held by the first chuck table 34a is moved at a high speed by the cutting blade 633 of the first cutting means 6a and the cutting blade 633 of the second cutting means 6b. Under the action, cutting is performed along the predetermined street (first cutting step).

  In the first cutting step described above, cutting water is supplied from the cutting water supply pipes 634 and 634 to the cutting portion. This cutting water is scattered forward and backward in the cutting feed direction by the rotation of the cutting blade 633 of the first cutting means 6a and the cutting blade 633 of the second cutting means 6b. A part of the scattered droplets is scattered toward the first alignment means 5a. However, since the shielding member 56 of the shielding means 54 mounted on the imaging means 53 of the first alignment means 5a is positioned at the shielding position, the splash of washing water is shielded by the shielding member 56 and the objective of the imaging means 53 is used. The lens 532 is not contaminated.

  As described above, if the semiconductor wafer W held on the first chuck table 34a is cut along a predetermined street, the index feed means 64 of the first cutting means 6a and the index feed of the second cutting means 6b. By operating the means 64, the first cutting means 6a and the second cutting means 6b are moved in the index feed direction indicated by the arrow Y1 in FIG. 1 by the street interval (index feed process), and the first cutting process described above. To implement. In this manner, the semiconductor wafer W is cut along all the streets formed in a predetermined direction by repeatedly performing the index feeding process and the first cutting process. When the semiconductor wafer W is cut along all the streets formed in the predetermined direction, the first chuck table 34a holding the semiconductor wafer W is rotated by 90 degrees. Then, the semiconductor wafer W is cut along all the streets formed in a lattice shape by repeatedly performing the indexing feeding step and the first cutting step on the semiconductor wafer W held on the first chuck table 34a. And divided into individual chips. Even if the semiconductor wafer W is divided into individual chips, the semiconductor wafer W is stuck to a protective tape mounted on an annular frame (not shown), so that the wafer form is maintained without being separated.

  When the first cutting step described above is completed, the second chuck table 34b holding the semiconductor wafer W on which the second alignment step has been performed is moved to the second cutting region 60b (see FIG. 2). . The operating means 57 of the shielding means 54 mounted on the imaging means 53 of the second alignment means 5b is operated to position the shielding member 56 at the shielding position, and the second hole 56a is moved from the first hole 551a. The first hole 551a is shielded by the shielding portion 561 of the shielding member 56 by retracting. Then, after the first cutting step, the semiconductor wafer W held on the second chuck table 34b by the first cutting means 6a and the second cutting means 6b as in the first cutting step described above is applied to the semiconductor wafer W held on the second chuck table 34b. On the other hand, the second cutting step is performed. In the second cutting step, cutting water is supplied from the cutting water supply pipes 634 and 634 to the cutting portion. This cutting water is scattered by the rotation of the cutting blade 633 of the second cutting means 6a and the cutting blade 633 of the second cutting means 6b, and a part of the scattered splashes is scattered to the second alignment means 5b side. However, since the shielding member 56 of the shielding means 54 mounted on the imaging means 53 of the second alignment means 5b is positioned at the shielding position, the splash of washing water is shielded by the shielding member 56 and the objective of the imaging means 53 is used. The lens 532 is not contaminated.

  While the second cutting process described above is being performed, the first chuck table 34a holding the semiconductor wafer W for which the first cutting process has been completed is first directed from the cutting region 60a toward the workpiece attachment / detachment position. Can be moved. Here, the suction holding of the semiconductor wafer W divided into individual chips held on the first chuck table 34a is released. Then, the semiconductor wafer W divided into individual chips is transferred to the next process by a workpiece transfer means (not shown).

  When the semiconductor wafer W divided into individual chips is transferred to the next process as described above, the first workpiece holding process for holding the next semiconductor wafer W on the first chuck table 34a is performed. carry out. Then, the first alignment step and the first cutting step are sequentially performed.

  On the other hand, the second chuck table 34b holding the semiconductor wafer W on which the above-described second cutting process has been performed is the first cutting process for the next semiconductor wafer W held on the first chuck table 34a. Is being moved from the second cutting region 60b toward the workpiece attachment / detachment position. Here, the suction holding of the semiconductor wafer W divided into individual chips held on the second chuck table 34b is released. Then, the semiconductor wafer W divided into individual chips is transferred to the next process by a workpiece transfer means (not shown). In this way, when the semiconductor wafer W divided into individual chips is transported to the next process, the second workpiece holding process for holding the next semiconductor wafer W on the second chuck table 34b is performed. To do. Then, the second alignment process and the second cutting process are sequentially performed.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a cutting apparatus having two chuck tables has been described. However, the present invention is also effective even if the chuck table is applied to a single cutting apparatus. Is obtained.

The principal part perspective view of the cutting device comprised according to this invention. The disassembled perspective view of the shielding means with which the imaging means with which the cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is equipped is mounted | worn. The perspective view which shows the state which mounted | wore the imaging means with the shielding means shown in FIG. The perspective view which shows the cutting means of the cutting device shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the cutting position of the cutting blade of the 1st cutting means with which the cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is equipped, and the cutting blade of the 2nd cutting means.

Explanation of symbols

2: base 3: chuck table mechanism 31a: first guide rail 31b: second guide rail 32a: first support base 32b: second support base 34a: first chuck table 34b: second Chuck table 36a: first blade detecting means 36b: second blade detecting means 37a: first cutting feed means 37b: second cutting feed means 4: portal support frame 5a: first alignment means 5b : Second alignment means 52: moving means 53: imaging means 532: objective lens 533: objective lens case 54: shielding means 55: guide member 56: shielding member 57: actuating means 58: connecting member 6a: first cutting means 6b: Second cutting means 61: Indexing movement base 62: Cutting movement base 63: Spindle unit 632: Rotating spindle 633: Cutting blade 64: Indexing feed Stage 65: incision-transfer means

Claims (3)

A chuck table for holding a workpiece, an alignment means having an imaging means having an objective lens for detecting a region to be processed of the workpiece held on the chuck table, and a workpiece held on the chuck table In a cutting device comprising a cutting means for cutting an object,
A shielding means for shielding the lower part of the objective lens case housing the objective lens of the imaging means;
The shielding means includes a guide member that is attached to the lower end of the objective lens case at a right angle to the optical axis of the objective lens and includes a first hole corresponding to the objective lens case, and a lower side of the guide member. A shielding member made of a flexible sheet material provided with a second hole corresponding to the first hole, and the shielding member is moved along the lower surface of the guide member. And an operating means for positioning the two holes at a working position facing the first hole and a shielding position for shielding the first hole,
The cutting device characterized by the above.   The operating means includes an air piston mechanism having a cylinder, a piston slidably disposed in the cylinder, and a piston rod connected to the piston, and the piston rod is connected to the shielding member. The cutting device according to claim 1.   3. The cutting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the actuating means is disposed in the main body of the imaging means so that the sliding direction of the piston is parallel to the optical axis of the objective lens.

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