JP-7855392-B2 - Protective member forming apparatus

JP7855392B2JP 7855392 B2JP7855392 B2JP 7855392B2JP-7855392-B2

Inventors

桑名一孝
樋口大地

Assignees

株式会社ディスコ

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20220418

Claims (1)

A table on which to place the sheet, The table includes a sheet transport unit that transports sheets, A resin supply unit that supplies liquid resin onto the sheet placed on the table, A holding section that holds the wafer above the table, A lifting mechanism that moves the table and the holding part up and down relative to each other, A load detection unit that detects the load caused by bringing the table and the holding unit closer together to a predetermined distance and pressing the wafer held by the holding unit against the liquid resin on the sheet, A curing mechanism for curing liquid resin spread on the underside of a wafer, A transport mechanism for transporting the resin obtained by curing the liquid resin and the wafer with the sheet attached to its lower surface, A recovery unit for recovering the wafer with the resin and the sheet attached to its lower surface, An alarm unit that issues an error when the thickness of the wafer does not match a preset thickness, when the amount of liquid resin supplied onto the sheet does not match a preset amount, when the descent speed of the holding unit is different from a preset speed, or when the load detection unit malfunctions, and the load value detected by the load detection unit when the liquid resin supplied onto the sheet is pressed by the wafer held by the holding unit does not fall within the range of a predetermined upper limit to a predetermined lower limit . The system includes a control unit that hardens the liquid resin between the sheet and the lower surface of the wafer held by the holding unit when the alarm unit issues an error , A protective member forming apparatus that transports a wafer to a recovery section using a transport mechanism, the wafer to which the resin obtained by curing the liquid resin and the sheet are attached .

Description

This invention relates to a protective member forming apparatus. When performing grinding or other machining processes on a wafer, a protective member is formed to protect the entire surface of one side of the wafer. The protective member forming apparatus supplies liquid resin onto a sheet placed on a table, lowers a holding unit that holds the wafer above the table, spreads the liquid resin with the wafer held by the holding unit, and then hardens the liquid resin to form a protective member consisting of resin and a sheet on the entire surface of one side of the wafer. The liquid resin used to form the protective component is one that hardens when subjected to a specific external stimulus, such as an ultraviolet-curing resin or a thermosetting resin. For example, in the case of an ultraviolet-curing liquid resin, it is cured by irradiating it with ultraviolet light for a predetermined time. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-061333 This is a perspective view showing the protective member forming apparatus of this embodiment.This is a cross-sectional view of a part of a protective member forming apparatus.This is an explanatory diagram showing the sheet loading process in a protective member forming apparatus.This is an explanatory diagram showing the liquid resin supply process in a protective member forming apparatus.This is an explanatory diagram showing the wafer holding process in a protective member forming apparatus.This is an explanatory diagram showing the spreading process in a protective member forming apparatus.This is an explanatory diagram showing the curing process in a protective member forming apparatus.This graph illustrates an example of how the load detection unit of this embodiment issues an error based on the detected load value. The following description will explain the liquid resin curing determination method and protective member forming apparatus according to this embodiment, with reference to the attached drawings. Figures 1 and 2 show the entire protective member forming apparatus and a part thereof according to this embodiment. Figures 3 to 7 are diagrams illustrating each process performed by the protective member forming apparatus. Figure 8 is a graph illustrating an example of how the load detection unit of this embodiment issues an error based on the detected load value. The X, Y, and Z axes shown in each diagram are perpendicular to each other. The X and Y axes are approximately horizontal, while the Z axis is vertical. In each diagram, of the two arrows indicating the X axis, the side with the letter X is considered the left, and the side without the letter X is considered the right. Of the two arrows indicating the Y axis, the side with the letter Y is considered the front, and the side without the letter Y is considered the back. Of the two arrows indicating the Z axis, the side with the letter Z is considered the top, and the side without the letter Z is considered the bottom. The protective member forming apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1 is an example of an apparatus that forms a protective member by curing a liquid resin, which has been spread over the entire surface of one side of a wafer W, by applying an external stimulus. In Figure 1, the external housing 10 of the protective member forming apparatus 1 is shown by a dashed line, and the internal components of the external housing 10 are shown in a transparent view. Of the wafer W, the side facing upwards during processing in the protective member forming apparatus 1 is called the upper surface Wa, and the side facing downwards is called the lower surface Wb. As will be described in detail later, the protective member forming apparatus 1 supplies liquid resin 31 (see Figures 2, 4, and 5) onto a sheet 30 placed on a sheet placement table 16, and operates to press the wafer W held in the wafer holding unit 20 against the liquid resin 31 from above the sheet placement table 16. As the lower surface Wb of the wafer W is pressed against the sheet 30, the liquid resin 31 is spread between the wafer W and the sheet 30 (see Figure 6). In this state, an external stimulus is applied to the liquid resin 31 to harden it, and the protective member 32 is formed by the hardened resin and the sheet 30 (see Figure 7). The wafer W with the hardened resin and sheet 30 attached may also be referred to as a workpiece. This series of operations is performed under the control of the control unit 40 (Figure 1), which provides overall control of the protective member forming apparatus 1. Unless otherwise specified, the operation of each part described below is controlled by control signals sent from the control unit 40. Wafer W is, for example, a disc-shaped azu-sliced wafer cut from a cylindrical silicon ingot. Note that wafer W is not limited to an azu-sliced wafer before device formation; it may also be a device wafer after device formation. The protective member forming apparatus 1 is equipped with a cassette housing section 11 at on