JPH11254281A - Processing device and processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] In various kinds of processing performed while supplying a processing liquid to a contact portion between an action element and a workpiece, without deteriorating processing accuracy and quality of a product formed by the processing. ,
Use less machining fluid. SOLUTION: A gas ejecting means for ejecting a gas so as to forcibly inject a machining fluid into a contact portion between an operation element and a workpiece is provided in a machining apparatus, and a gas such as air ejected from the gas ejecting means is used. The cooling fluid is concentrated on the contact portion between the working element and the workpiece to enhance the cooling effect of the contact portion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of performing various processes by bringing a working element into contact with a workpiece, while supplying a working fluid to a contact portion between the working element and the workpiece. The present invention relates to a processing method and a processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In various processing apparatuses, when a working element is brought into contact with a workpiece to perform processing, a working fluid is supplied to a contact portion between the working element and the workpiece to cool the contact section. Thus, the processing accuracy and quality of the workpiece are improved.

As a processing apparatus for performing processing while supplying a processing liquid, for example, a dicing apparatus 50 for dicing a semiconductor wafer as shown in FIG. 14 is well known.
In the dicing apparatus 50, a semiconductor wafer W as a workpiece is held on a frame F via a holding tape T and stored in a cassette 71, as shown in FIG.

[0004] On the surface of the semiconductor wafer W, there are a plurality of straight areas, ie, streets S, arranged in a grid at predetermined intervals, and a circuit pattern is formed in a large number of rectangular areas defined by the streets S. It has been subjected.

The semiconductor wafers W stored in the cassette 71 are temporarily stored one by one by the loading / unloading means 72.
And is adsorbed by the transporting means 74 and transported by the transporting means 74
Is swiveled to be conveyed to the chuck table 58 and held by suction.

The semiconductor wafer W is placed on the chuck table 58.
Is held, the chuck table 58 moves in the X-axis direction, and is positioned directly below the alignment means 75, and the street to be cut is detected by processing such as pattern matching. Further, the chuck table 58 further moves in the X-axis direction, and receives the action of the cutting means 77 having the rotating cutting blade 76 as an action element while receiving the supply of the cutting fluid, which is a kind of machining fluid. The detected street is cut. In this way, the streets are cut one by one vertically and horizontally to be diced to form individual chips.

As shown in FIG. 16, the cutting means 77 has a structure in which a cutting blade 76 is covered by a blade cover 78.
Reference numeral 9 denotes that abrasive grains such as diamond abrasive grains are fixed by electrodeposition (electroforming) to form fixed abrasive grains. As shown in FIG. 17, the cutting means 77 is provided with cutting fluid nozzles 82a and 82b so as to sandwich the cutting blade 76 mounted on the tip of a rotary spindle 81 rotatably supported by a spindle housing 80 from both sides. During the cutting, the cutting liquid is supplied from the cutting liquid nozzles 82a and 82b at a rate of about 2 liters per minute to cool the semiconductor wafer W.

[0008]

However, in the cutting means 77 having such a structure, the cutting fluid spreads to some extent over the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer W, and the cutting portion 77 is particularly focused on the contact portion between the cutting blade 76 and the semiconductor wafer W. Although the cutting fluid is supplied, the cooling effect of the contact portion is not sufficient. Therefore, chipping is likely to occur at the edge of the chip formed by dicing, and there is a problem in processing accuracy and chip quality.

Further, when a large amount of the cutting liquid for the semiconductor wafer W is supplied, a large amount of cutting chips generated by cutting is mixed with the cutting liquid and discharged in a large amount, thereby causing an environmental problem.

Further, the semiconductor wafer W and the cutting blade 7
In order to sufficiently supply cutting fluid to the contact area with 6,
Cutting fluid is used more than necessary, which is wasteful and uneconomical. In particular, it is extremely uneconomical when expensive water such as distilled water is used as a cutting fluid for improving the quality of chips.

The above problems occur not only in the above-mentioned dicing apparatus but also in various kinds of machining in which machining is performed while supplying machining fluid to a contact portion between the working element and the workpiece. It is. Therefore, in various processing,
There is a problem to be solved in reducing the amount of processing fluid used without lowering the processing accuracy and the quality of the product formed by the processing.

[0012]

As a concrete means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides at least a holding means for holding a work, and a contacting means for contacting the work held by the holding means. A processing unit having an operation element for performing processing, and a processing liquid supply unit for supplying a processing liquid to a contact portion between the operation element and the workpiece; and a processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply unit. An object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus provided with gas ejection means for ejecting a gas so as to enter a contact portion between an action element and a workpiece.

The working element is composed of fixed abrasive grains, the fixed abrasive grains are grinding wheels, the processing means is grinding means, the holding means is a chuck table, and the workpiece is a semiconductor wafer. , The processing liquid is water, the gas jetted by the gas jetting means is air, the holding means is a chuck table, the fixed abrasive is a cutting blade, the processing means is a cutting means, the workpiece Is a semiconductor wafer, the processing liquid is water, and the gas ejected by the gas ejection means is air.

Further, the present invention is a processing method for performing a required processing on a workpiece by bringing an operation element of the processing means into contact with the workpiece held by the holding means. Provided is a processing method for performing processing while ejecting gas so that the processing liquid enters a contact portion between the working element and the workpiece when the processing is performed while supplying the processing liquid to a contact portion with the workpiece. Things.

The fixed abrasive is used as an operating element, a grinding wheel is used as the fixed abrasive, the required processing is surface grinding of the workpiece, the holding means is a chuck table, and the workpiece is a chuck table. A semiconductor wafer, using water as a processing liquid, using air as a gas, the surface grinding is a surface grinding of a semiconductor wafer, a holding table as a chuck table, using a cutting blade as a fixed abrasive, required The processing is an additional requirement that the processing is a cutting process, the workpiece is a semiconductor wafer, water is used as a processing liquid, and air is used as a gas, and the cutting is dicing of the semiconductor wafer. .

According to the processing apparatus and the processing method configured as described above, the working fluid is forcibly pushed into the contact portion between the working element and the workpiece by jetting a gas such as air, which is extremely effective. The working fluid is efficiently supplied to the contact portion.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As a first embodiment of the present invention, a grinding apparatus 30 shown in FIG. 1 and a method of grinding a semiconductor wafer while supplying grinding water using the grinding apparatus 30 will be exemplified. Will be explained.

In the grinding apparatus 30, a semiconductor wafer to be ground is processed by a loading / unloading means 37c from a cassette 37b.
7d, and is placed on a chuck table 33 as a holding means located near the centering table 37d by a transport means 35b.

The chuck table 33 is positioned immediately below the grinding means 34b, which is a processing means, as the turntable 32 rotates, and the chuck table 33 rotates, and the chuck table 33 is mounted below the grinding means 32b. The grinding wheel, which is an element, descends while rotating to apply an appropriate pressing force, whereby the semiconductor wafer is ground, for example, rough finished here.

Then, the turntable 32 further rotates,
The grinding table 34 is positioned immediately below the grinding means 34a, the chuck table 33 rotates, and the grinding wheel attached to the lower part of the grinding means 34a descends while rotating to apply an appropriate pressing force. For example, a mirror finish is performed here.

The chuck table 33 holding the thus ground semiconductor wafer is a turntable 32.
The semiconductor wafer after grinding is moved to the vicinity of the temporary receiving table 36a by the rotation of the temporary receiving table 36a.
It is conveyed to 6a for cleaning. After the washing, the sheet is conveyed to the center alignment table 37e, and then stored in the cassette 37a by the carrying-in / out means 37c.

A wall 38 is provided upright from the end of the work table 31. A pair of rails 39 are provided on the inner surface of the wall 38 in a vertical direction. As the slide plate 40 moves up and down, the slide plate 4
The grinding means 34a, 34b fixed to zero move up and down.

As shown in FIG. 2, the grinding means 34a and 34b have a spindle 42 rotatably supported at the center of a spindle housing 41, and a mounter 43 on a disc mounted on the lower end of the spindle 42. The grinding wheel 44 is mounted below the mounter 43. As shown in FIG. 6, a grinding water supply path 45 for flowing grinding water penetrates through the spindle 42, and the grinding water supply path 45 passes through a branch path 46 in the mounter 44 and is connected to the grinding wheel 44. It penetrates to the grinding water supply port 47. Further, a grinding wheel 48, which is an operation element, protrudes downward from the outside of the grinding water supply port 47.

In the vicinity of the chuck table 33, there is provided a gas ejecting means 10 in which the nozzle 11 rises from the worktable 31, and the ejection port 12 at the tip thereof is directed toward the chuck table 33. This gas jetting means 1
In FIG. 2, a gas such as high-pressure air is supplied from the gas supply unit 13 as shown in FIG. Note that the gas jetting means 10 is provided in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the gas 14 may be ejected from one ejection port 12 provided in a nozzle 11 that can rotate and move up and down, or as shown in FIG.
A plurality of ejection ports 12 may be arranged in the nozzle 11 so as to expand in the horizontal direction, and the gas 14 may be ejected from each ejection port 12. Further, the gas jetting means 10
As shown in FIG. 3C, the nozzle 11 may be provided with a slit-shaped ejection port 12 in the horizontal direction.

The vertical movement of the grinding means 34 (34a, 34b), the rotation of the spindle 42, and the rotation of the chuck table 33 are controlled by the control unit 20, and are configured as shown in FIG.

A pulse motor 21 is provided on an upper portion of the outside of the wall body 38, and a driving portion 23 is engaged with a ball screw 22 driven and rotated by the pulse motor 21.
The driving section 23 penetrates the wall 38 and is connected to the slide plate 40. Then, the control unit 20 drives the pulse motor 21 via the pulse motor driver 24, and the ball screw 22 rotates with the rotation of the pulse motor 21 so that the drive unit 23 moves up and down. The grinding means 34 moves up and down along 39. The drive unit 23 is directly connected to the control unit 20, and the spindle 4 is controlled under the control of the control unit 20.
Drive 2 rotations.

A linear scale 25 is disposed outside the wall 38 in the vertical direction. Position information of the drive unit 23 on the linear scale 25 is transferred to the control unit 20. This position information is transmitted to the control unit 20. For precise control of the vertical movement of the grinding means 34 in the above.

The control unit 20 includes a servo driver 26
Is connected to an encoder 27 and a servomotor 28 provided below the chuck table 33, and the rotation of the chuck table 33 can be controlled by driving the encoder 27 and the servomotor 28.

When grinding the semiconductor wafer W held on the chuck table 33 by the grinding means 34 (34a, 34b), the grinding means 34 (3) is rotated while rotating the chuck table 33 and the spindle 42.
4a and 34b) are lowered, and the rotating grinding wheel 48 is pressed against the semiconductor wafer W to perform grinding. At the same time, grinding water, which is a processing liquid, flows in from the upper portion of the grinding water supply path 45, and is supplied from the grinding water supply port 47, which is a processing liquid supply means, through the grinding water supply path 45 and the branch path 46. Is supplied with grinding water 49.

The grinding wheel 44 includes a wheel base 44
As shown in FIG. 5, the wheel base 44a has a grinding water supply port 47 for supplying grinding water in a circular shape at regular intervals, and a grinding water supply port 47 on the outside of the wheel base 44a at regular intervals. A grindstone 48 is provided. The upper part is fixed to the mounter 43 with bolts or the like. The grinding wheel 48 is a fixed abrasive in which abrasive grains such as diamond abrasive grains are fixed on one surface by a bonding agent such as resinoid bond.

When the surface of a semiconductor wafer is ground using the grinding apparatus 30 having the above-described configuration, the semiconductor wafer W to be ground is placed on the chuck table 33 and held as shown in FIG. Under the control of the control unit 20, while rotating the chuck table 33 and rotating the spindle 42 to rotate the grinding wheel 44, the grinding means 34 (34a, 34b) is lowered,
The rotating grinding wheel 48 is brought into contact with the semiconductor wafer W while applying an appropriate pressing force to the semiconductor wafer W.
Grinding surface.

At this time, expensive pure water is supplied to the grinding water supply passage 45 at a rate of about 0.4 liter / min. W.

At the same time, a gas is supplied to the gas jetting means 10 to blow out air 14 of preferably 3 to 5 atm from the jet port 12 at 5 l / min to 20 l / min. As the grinding water, not only pure water but also lubricating oil or the like can be used. The gas ejected from the gas ejecting means 10 is, in addition to air, an inert gas or a machining liquid in the form of a mist. Can be used.

The grinding water 15 is generated by the jetted air 14.
As shown in FIG. 7, the flow is forced into a slight gap in the contact portion between the semiconductor wafer W and the grinding wheel 48. The cooling water of the semiconductor wafer W is further promoted by the grinding water thus entered, in combination with the generation of heat of vaporization due to the vaporization of the grinding water.

Thus, even if the supply amount of the grinding water is as small as 0.4 liter / minute, the cooling of the semiconductor wafer W is promoted by the ejection of the air, and the surface of the semiconductor wafer W is hardly burnt. Specifically, when air was used, the surface burn did not occur even after grinding about 300 semiconductor wafers, whereas when air was not used, the grinding failure occurred in the second grinding. This was confirmed by experiments. Therefore, when air is not used, it is necessary to supply cutting water of 2 liters / minute or more as in the related art.

When air is supplied, grinding distortion and cracks hardly occur in the semiconductor wafer W, the surface roughness is reduced, and mirror polishing becomes possible.
2, it is possible to grind the thickness of the semiconductor wafer as thin as 200 μm or less, for example, without reducing the rotation speed.

Further, wear of the grinding wheel 48 is reduced,
Life is extended. Specifically, the case where the grinding is performed by supplying only the grinding water as in the related art, and the case where the grinding water is supplied and the air 14 is jetted from the gas jetting means 10 to perform the grinding as in the present invention. And grinding wheel 48 respectively
As a result of measuring the amount of abrasion, a graph shown in FIG. 8 was obtained.

In FIG. 8, the horizontal axis (X axis) is
The vertical axis (Y-axis) represents the amount of wear. In both cases, the amount of wear increases as the number of grindings increases, and the number of grindings and the amount of wear are proportional to each other. The inclination of the straight line is 0.6969 in the case of the conventional grinding without using air, and the inclination of the straight line is 1.0034 in the case of the conventional grinding without air. The degree of is smaller. That is, it was confirmed that the life of the grinding wheel can be extended by about 30% in the case of the grinding of the present invention.

In order to prevent the rotational speed of the spindle 42 from decreasing due to friction between the grinding wheel 48 and the semiconductor wafer W during grinding, an additional current may be applied to the motor that drives the spindle 42. However, in the case of the grinding of the present invention, it was confirmed by an experiment that the grinding fluid enters into a small gap formed between the grinding wheel 48 and the semiconductor wafer W, so that the friction is small and the additional current can be reduced. . The experimental results are shown in the graph of FIG. 9 with the horizontal axis representing the number of grindings and the vertical axis representing the additional current. It was confirmed that the additional current can be reduced as the value increases. Further, as shown in the graph, it was also confirmed that the abrupt increase of the additional current caused by the unevenness of the wear of the grinding wheel 48 observed in the case of the conventional grinding was eliminated and the stability of the additional current was increased.

Next, as a second embodiment of the present invention,
A dicing apparatus for dicing a semiconductor wafer and a method for dicing a semiconductor wafer while supplying a cutting fluid in the dicing apparatus will be described as an example.
The dicing apparatus described here differs from the dicing apparatus 50 described in the prior art only in the configuration of the cutting means, and is otherwise configured in the same manner as the conventional dicing apparatus. And a description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 10, the cutting means 51, which is a processing means, has a structure in which a cutting blade 52, which is an operation element, is covered by a blade cover 53. Abrasive grains such as diamond abrasive grains are fixed by electrodeposition (electroforming) to form fixed abrasive grains. Also, from the blade cover 53, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, two cutting fluid nozzles 55a and 55b serving as machining fluid supply means sandwich the cutting blade 52 therebetween.
Are arranged in parallel with the cutting blade 52 at a certain distance.

As shown in FIG. 11, the cutting blade 52
A cutting fluid nozzle 56 for supplying a machining fluid as a machining fluid is provided near a contact portion between the cutting blade 52 and the semiconductor wafer W at a position on an extension of the surface of the surface. Gas ejecting means 57 for ejecting such a gas is provided.

When cutting the semiconductor wafer W, which is a workpiece, using the cutting means 51 configured as described above, a cutting liquid, for example, water is supplied from each cutting liquid nozzle and the semiconductor wafer W is cut. The chuck table 58, which is a holding means for sucking and holding, moves in the X-axis direction, and the cutting blade 52, which is an operation element, rotates to form a dicing groove.

As shown in FIG. 11, the cutting fluid nozzle 55
a, 55b is supplied to the cutting blade 52
Then, the cutting fluid supplied from the cutting fluid nozzle 56 also flows toward the contact portion between the semiconductor wafer W and the semiconductor wafer W. Further, the cutting fluid supplied from the cutting fluid nozzle 56 is concentrated on the contact portion by the air jetted from the gas jetting means 57, and the cutting fluid is sufficiently supplied to the contact portion, so that the cutting blade 52 and the semiconductor wafer W It penetrates even into the slight gaps created between them, promoting cooling.

Further, the vaporization of the cutting fluid is promoted by the ejection of air, and the heat of the contact portion is taken away by the vaporization heat, so that the cooling effect is further increased.

As described above, when the cutting fluid is concentrated on the contact portion between the cutting blade 52 and the semiconductor wafer W to promote the cooling of the contact portion, chipping hardly occurs in the semiconductor wafer W during cutting, and the processing is performed. It was confirmed that the accuracy was increased and the quality of the chip was improved.

The cutting means may be constructed as shown in FIGS. In the cutting means 62 in the examples of FIGS. 12 and 13, two cutting fluid nozzles 60 a and 60 b are arranged in parallel with the cutting blade 59 at a certain distance so as to sandwich the cutting blade 59. On the outside, two gas jetting means 61 in parallel
a and 61b are provided. And the gas ejection means 61
A large number of air ejection ports (not shown) are provided on the cutting fluid nozzle sides a and 61b.

When air is jetted out while supplying the cutting fluid in such a configuration, the cutting fluid supplied from the cutting fluid nozzle 60a is mostly discharged by the air ejected from the gas jetting means 61a. It is concentrated on one side of the contact portion with W. Similarly, the cutting fluid supplied from the cutting fluid nozzle 60 b also
Most of the air is blown out from 1b and concentrated on the other side of the contact portion between the cutting blade 59 and the semiconductor wafer W.

In this way, the cutting water penetrates into the contact portion between the cutting blade and the semiconductor wafer W more than in the case of the example of FIG. 11, and the cooling effect is further enhanced. As a result, the processing accuracy and quality of the chip are further improved.

In the present embodiment, a grinding device and a dicing device have been described as examples of the processing device, but the present invention is not limited to these. For example, a shaft polishing machine for polishing the outer peripheral surface of a shaft made of cylindrical iron, a surface grinding machine for performing various processes on the surface of stone, glass, metal, etc., a cutting machine for cutting various hard materials, and a semiconductor ingot. The present invention is also applicable to a semiconductor ingot cutting machine or the like for slicing.

There are various working elements used in these various devices. However, abrasives such as natural diamond abrasives, artificial diamond abrasives, CBN abrasives, carborundum abrasives and alundum abrasives are available. Any fixed abrasive, which is a grindstone obtained by hardening particles by vitrified bond, metal bond, resinoid bond, electrodeposition, electroforming, or the like, may be used.

When the processing apparatus is installed in a relatively closed room such as a clean room, the gas ejected from the gas ejection means is preferably air. This is because the inert gas may cause the operator to have difficulty breathing.

[0053]

According to the processing apparatus and the processing method configured as described above, the working fluid is forcibly pushed into the contact portion between the working element and the workpiece by jetting gas such as air. The working fluid is supplied very effectively and efficiently, and the gas is expelled to promote the vaporization of the working fluid, and the heat of the vaporization deprives the heat of the contact portion to increase the cooling effect.

Therefore, even if the supply amount of the working fluid is made much smaller than the conventional one, for example, 1/5 or less, processing comparable to the conventional one can be performed. It is possible to perform thin residue grinding and mirror polishing of 200 μm or less, which could not be achieved. In addition, the amount of wear of the grinding wheel is reduced by the reduction of friction during grinding, and the life of the grinding wheel can be extended.

Further, in the dicing of the semiconductor wafer, since the working fluid is forcibly pushed into and supplied to the contact portion between the working element and the semiconductor wafer, the contact portion is sufficiently cooled by heat of vaporization. In addition, chipping hardly occurs on both sides of the dicing groove, and high-quality chips can be produced.

The present invention is not limited to a cutting device such as a grinding device and a dicing device, but can be applied to all processing devices for processing a workpiece by an action element while supplying a processing liquid. In addition, environmental and economical problems can be solved at the same time by saving processing fluid.

In addition, not only the quality of the workpiece can be made equal to the conventional one, but also an excellent effect of enabling high-quality processing which could not be achieved conventionally.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a grinding apparatus which is a first embodiment of a processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a grinding unit, a chuck table, and a gas ejection unit of the grinding device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of gas ejection means provided in the grinding device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the grinding device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a grinding wheel constituting a grinding means of the grinding device.

FIG. 6 supplies grinding water using the grinding device,
It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that a semiconductor wafer is ground by blowing air.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by A in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of grindings and the wear amount of a grinding wheel when a semiconductor wafer is ground using the grinding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing a relationship between the number of ground semiconductor wafers and a spindle additional current value when a semiconductor wafer is ground using the same grinding apparatus.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing cutting means of a dicing apparatus which is a second embodiment of the processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a first configuration example of the cutting means and a state of dicing a semiconductor wafer while supplying cutting water and blowing air using the cutting means.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing a second configuration example of the cutting means and a state of dicing a semiconductor wafer while supplying cutting water and jetting air using the cutting means.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing a second configuration example of the cutting means and a state of dicing a semiconductor wafer while supplying cutting water and blowing air using the cutting means.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a dicing apparatus.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a surface of a semiconductor wafer held by a frame.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory view showing a conventional cutting means in a dicing apparatus.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of the cutting means and a state of dicing a semiconductor wafer while supplying cutting water using the cutting means.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Gas ejection means 11 ... Nozzle 12 ... Jet outlet 13 ... Gas supply part 14 ... Air 20 ... Control part 21 ... Pulse motor 22 ... Ball screw 23 ... Driving part 24 ... Pulse motor driver 25 Linear scale 26 Servo driver 27 Encoder 28
... Servo motor 30 ... Grinding device 31 ... Work table 32 ... Turn table 33 ... Chuck table 34, 34a, 34b ...
Grinding means 35a, 35b Transport means 36a, 36b Temporary support 37a, 37b Cassette 37c Loading / unloading means 37d, 37e Center alignment table 38
Wall 39: Rail 40: Slide plate 41: Spindle housing
42 Spindle 43 Mounter 44 Grinding wheel 44a
Wheel base 45 Grinding water supply path 46 Branch path 47 Grinding water supply port 48 Grinding grindstone 49 Grinding water 50 Dicing device 51 Cutting means 52
Cutting blade 53: Blade cover 54: Outer peripheral portion 55a, 5
5b cutting fluid nozzle 56 cutting fluid nozzle 57 gas jetting means 58
... blade cover 59 ... cutting blades 60a, 60b ... cutting fluid nozzles 61a, 61b ... gas jetting means 62 ... cutting means 71 ... cassette 72 ... carry-in / out means 73 ... temporary storage area 74 ... convey means 75 ... alignment means 76 ...
... cutting blade 77 ... cutting means 78 ... blade cover 79 ...
Blade cover 80 Spindle housing 81 Rotating spindle 82a, 82b Cutting fluid nozzle

Claims (12)

[Claims] At least a holding means for holding a workpiece, a processing means having an operation element for performing processing by contacting the workpiece held by the holding means, A machining fluid supply means for supplying a machining fluid to a contact portion with the workpiece, wherein a gas is supplied so that the machining fluid supplied from the machining fluid supply means enters the contact portion between the working element and the workpiece. Processing equipment provided with gas ejection means for ejecting gas. 2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the action element is constituted by fixed abrasive grains. 3. The processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the fixed abrasive is a grinding wheel, and the processing means is a grinding means. 4. The processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the holding means is a chuck table, the workpiece is a semiconductor wafer, the processing liquid is water, and the gas jetted by the gas jetting means is air. 5. The processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the holding means is a chuck table, the fixed abrasive is a cutting blade, and the processing means is a cutting means. 6. The processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the workpiece is a semiconductor wafer, the processing liquid is water, and the gas jetted by the gas jetting means is air. 7. A processing method in which an operation element of a processing means is brought into contact with a workpiece held by a holding means to perform a required processing on the workpiece, and wherein the working element and the workpiece are connected to each other. A processing method in which, when performing processing while supplying a processing liquid to a contact portion, the processing is performed while jetting a gas so that the processing liquid enters a contact portion between the working element and the workpiece. 8. The processing method according to claim 7, wherein fixed abrasive grains are used as the action element. 9. The processing method according to claim 8, wherein a grinding wheel is used as the fixed abrasive, and the required processing is surface grinding of the workpiece. 10. A chuck table as a holding means, a semiconductor wafer as a workpiece, and water as a processing liquid,
The processing method according to claim 9, wherein air is used as the gas, and the surface grinding is a surface grinding of a semiconductor wafer. 11. The processing method according to claim 8, wherein the holding means is a chuck table, a cutting blade is used as the fixed abrasive, and the required processing is cutting. 12. A semiconductor wafer is used as a workpiece, water is used as a processing liquid, and air is used as a gas, and the cutting is dicing of the semiconductor wafer.
The processing method described in 1.