# US 2019/0378745 A1 · Wafer processing method

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- Number: US 2019/0378745 A1
- Document ID: US20190378745A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/419,139
- Filed: 2019-05-22
- Published: 2019-12-12
- Earliest claimed: 2018-06-06
- Assignees: Disco Corporation
- Applicants: Disco Corporation
- Inventors: Shigenori HARADA; Minoru MATSUZAWA; Hayato KIUCHI; Yoshiaki YODO; Taro ARAKAWA; Masamitsu Agari; Emiko KAWAMURA; Yusuke FUJII; Toshiki MIYAI; Makiko OHMAE
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190378745A1

## CPC

- H10P 72/7402: {Wafer tapes, e.g. grinding or dicing support tapes}
- B28D 5/022: {by cutting with discs or wheels}
- C09J 5/06: involving heating of the applied adhesive
- C09J 7/10: without carriers
- C09J 7/35: Heat-activated
- H10P 54/00: Cutting or separating of wafers, substrates or parts of devices
- H10P 72/0428: {Apparatus for mechanical treatment or grinding or cutting}
- H10P 72/0434: {mainly by convection}
- H10P 72/0436: {mainly by radiation}
- H10P 72/0442: {Apparatus for placing on an insulating substrate, e.g. tape}
- H10P 72/78: using vacuum or suction, e.g. Bernoulli chucks
- H10W 46/00: Marks applied to devices, e.g. for alignment or identification
- C09J 2203/326: for bonding electronic components such as wafers, chips or semiconductors
- C09J 2301/416: use of irradiation
- C09J 2301/502: process for debonding adherents
- C09J 2467/00: Presence of polyester
- H10P 72/7416: {used during dicing or grinding}
- H10P 72/742: {involving stretching of the auxiliary support post dicing}
- H10W 46/503: {Located in scribe lines}
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
- B28D: WORKING STONE OR STONE-LIKE MATERIALS
- C09J: ADHESIVES; NON-MECHANICAL ASPECTS OF ADHESIVE PROCESSES IN GENERAL; ADHESIVE PROCESSES NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE; USE OF MATERIALS AS ADHESIVES (preparation of glue or gelatine C09H)
- H10W: GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

A wafer processing method includes a polyester sheet providing step of positioning a wafer in an inside opening of a ring frame and providing a polyester sheet on a back side of the wafer and on a back side of the ring frame, a uniting step of heating the polyester sheet as applying a pressure to the polyester sheet to thereby unite the wafer and the ring frame through the polyester sheet by thermocompression bonding, a dividing step of cutting the wafer by using a cutting apparatus to thereby divide the wafer into individual device chips, and a pickup step of blowing out air to push up each device chip and picking up each device chip from the polyester sheet.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A wafer processing method for dividing a wafer along a plurality of division lines to obtain a plurality of individual device chips, the division lines being formed on the front side of the wafer to thereby define a plurality of separate regions where a plurality of devices are individually formed, the wafer processing method comprising:
a ring frame preparing step of preparing a ring frame having an inside opening for accommodating the wafer;
a polyester sheet providing step of positioning the wafer in the inside opening of the ring frame and providing a polyester sheet on a back side of the wafer and on a back side of the ring frame;
a uniting step of heating the polyester sheet as applying a pressure to the polyester sheet after performing the polyester sheet providing step, thereby uniting the wafer and the ring frame through the polyester sheet by thermocompression bonding to form a frame unit in a condition where the front side of the wafer and the front side of the ring frame are exposed;
a dividing step of cutting the wafer along each division line by using a cutting apparatus including a rotatable cutting blade after performing the uniting step, thereby dividing the wafer into the individual device chips; and
a pickup step of blowing out air from the polyester sheet side to push up each device chip and picking up the device chip from the polyester sheet after performing the dividing step.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The wafer processing method according to claim 1, wherein the uniting step includes a step of applying infrared light to the polyester sheet, thereby performing the thermocompression bonding.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The wafer processing method according to claim 1, wherein the polyester sheet is larger in size than the ring frame, and the uniting step includes an additional step of cutting the polyester sheet after heating the polyester sheet, thereby removing a part of the polyester sheet outside an outer circumference of the ring frame.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The wafer processing method according to claim 1, wherein the pickup step includes a step of expanding the polyester sheet to thereby increase a spacing between any adjacent ones of the device chips.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The wafer processing method according to claim 1, wherein the polyester sheet is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene naphthalate.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The wafer processing method according to claim 5, wherein the polyester sheet is formed of polyethylene terephthalate, and the polyester sheet is heated in the range of 250° C. to 270° C. in the uniting step.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The wafer processing method according to claim 5, wherein the polyester sheet is formed of polyethylene naphthalate, and the polyester sheet is heated in the range of 160° C. to 180° C. in the uniting step.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The wafer processing method according to claim 1, wherein the wafer is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, gallium nitride, gallium arsenide, and glass.