Processing apparatus

Abstract

To provide a processing apparatus capable of solving such a problem that it is uneconomical because a suction duct for sucking mist from a processing chamber and suction means for suction by the suction duct must be provided, and the suction means must be operated at all times.SOLUTION: A processing apparatus includes: a chuck table that holds a wafer W; processing means 8 including a processing tool 83 that performs processing on the wafer W held by the chuck table; processing water supply means 30 that supplies processing water L1 to a region in which the wafer W is processed by the processing tool; and a processing chamber that covers a region including the chuck table and the processing tool 83. Shower means 20 that causes mist generated during processing by the processing tool 83 to fall is disposed in an upper portion of the processing chamber.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] A wafer has a plurality of devices such as ICs and LSIs formed on its surface, separated by planned dividing lines. The back surface is ground by a grinding machine to form the wafer to a predetermined thickness, and then the wafer is divided into individual device chips by a cutting machine, and these are used in electrical devices such as mobile phones and personal computers.

[0003] The grinding device is generally composed of a chuck table for holding the wafer, a grinding means having a rotatably mounted grinding wheel with a ring-shaped arrangement of grinding stones for grinding the wafer held on the chuck table, a grinding water supply means for supplying grinding water consisting of pure water as processing water to the area where the wafer held on the chuck table is ground with the grinding stones, and a processing chamber covering the processing area, and is capable of grinding the wafer to the desired thickness.

[0004] The cutting device is generally composed of a chuck table that holds the wafer, cutting means having a rotatably mounted cutting blade that cuts the wafer held on the chuck table, cutting water supply means that supplies cutting water made of pure water as processing water to the area where the wafer held on the chuck table is cut with the cutting blade, and a processing chamber that covers the processing area, and is capable of dividing the wafer into individual device chips with high precision.

[0005] In any of the above-mentioned processing devices, the processing chamber becomes filled with mist generated by the scattering of processing water. In order to prevent the mist from adhering to the components of the processing device and causing rust or malfunctions, the applicant has proposed a processing device in which a suction duct is provided to suck the mist out of the processing chamber, and the mist sucked out of the processing chamber through the suction duct is separated into gas and liquid by a gas-liquid separation means (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7139051 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, in the technology described in Patent Document 1, a suction duct that sucks mist from the machining chamber and suction means for sucking mist by the suction duct are provided, and the outlet of the suction duct is positioned toward the liquid surface of a tank that stores the processing water used in machining, i.e., wastewater, so that the mist is sprayed toward the liquid surface. Therefore, the suction means must be constantly operating to remove the mist from the machining chamber, which is uneconomical.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and its main technical object is to provide a processing apparatus that can solve the problem that it is necessary to provide a suction duct for sucking mist from the processing chamber and a suction means for sucking mist using the suction duct, and that the suction means must be constantly running, which is uneconomical. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above-mentioned main technical problem, according to the present invention, there is provided a processing apparatus comprising a chuck table for holding a workpiece, processing means having processing tools for processing the workpiece held on the chuck table, processing water supply means for supplying processing water to an area where the workpiece is processed with the processing tools, and a processing chamber covering the area including the chuck table and the processing tools, and a shower means disposed above the processing chamber for dropping mist generated during processing with the processing tools.

[0010] The apparatus preferably comprises a drain pan disposed in the processing chamber for receiving and storing drainage water after the processing water has been used in the processing, a tank for storing the drainage water, piping equipped with an on-off valve for discharging the drainage water stored in the drainage pan into the tank, and an opening / closing unit for allowing the transport of workpieces to the processing chamber and sealing the processing chamber, and when processing a workpiece held on the chuck table with the processing means, the on-off valve is closed and the on-off unit is closed to seal the processing chamber, and when processing by the processing means is completed, the shower means is operated to drop mist floating in the processing chamber into the drainage pan, and when discharging the drainage water stored in the drainage pan into the tank, the on-off valve is opened and the on-off unit is opened to discharge the drainage water stored in the drainage pan into the tank, thereby generating negative pressure in the processing chamber and taking in outside air through the on-off unit.

[0011] It is also preferable that the drain pan and the tank are connected by a drain pipe to prevent the wastewater accumulated in the drain pan from overflowing, and that the drain pipe is provided with a check valve to prevent backflow of the wastewater when negative pressure is generated in the machining chamber. It is preferable that the processing water supply means comprises pure water purification means for purifying the wastewater stored in the tank into pure water, and pure water supply means for adjusting the purified pure water to a predetermined temperature and supplying it to the processing means and to the shower means, and that the processing water is circulated among the processing means, the tank, and the pure water purification means. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The processing apparatus of the present invention comprises a chuck table for holding a workpiece, processing means equipped with processing tools for processing the workpiece held on the chuck table, processing water supply means for supplying processing water to the area where the workpiece is processed with the processing tools, and a processing chamber covering the area including the chuck table and the processing tools. A shower means is provided above the processing chamber to drop mist generated during processing with the processing tools, eliminating the need for a suction duct and suction means for sucking mist out of the processing chamber and eliminating the problem of the wastefulness of constantly operating the suction means. Furthermore, the interior of the processing chamber is cleaned with processing water sprayed from the shower means, thereby maintaining each component constituting the interior of the processing chamber in a clean condition. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall perspective view of a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 2A is a cross-sectional view of a part of the processing chamber of the processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 with the opening / closing section closed, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the part of the processing chamber shown in FIG. 1 with the opening / closing section opened. [Figure 3] 2 is a perspective view showing the circulation of processing water and wastewater in the cutting means, processing water supply means, shower means, drain pan, and tank of the processing equipment shown in FIG. 1. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a processing apparatus configured based on the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0015] 1 shows a cutting device 1 and a processing water supply means 30, which are an example of a processing device of this embodiment. The workpiece processed by the cutting device 1 of this embodiment is, for example, a semiconductor wafer W, which is supported on an annular frame F via an adhesive tape T.

[0016] The cutting device 1 of this embodiment includes a chuck table 7 that holds a wafer W, a processing tool that processes the wafer W held on the chuck table 7, more specifically, cutting means 8 that is a processing means equipped with a cutting blade 83, processing water supply means 30 that supplies processing water L1 to an area where the wafer W is processed by the cutting means 8, and a processing chamber 10 that covers an area 100 that includes the chuck table 7 and the cutting means 8, and is provided above the processing chamber 10 with shower means 20 that sprays processing water L1 to drop mist generated in the area 100 inside the processing chamber 10 during processing by the cutting means 8. Note that in Figure 1, the processing chamber 10 and the shower means 20 are indicated by two-dot chain lines for convenience of explanation.

[0017] The illustrated cutting apparatus 1 includes a housing 2 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, a cassette 4 placed on a cassette table 4a of the housing 2, a carry-in / out means 3 for carrying a wafer W supported on a frame F from the cassette 4 to a temporary storage table 5, a transport means 6 having a swivel arm for transporting the wafer W carried out to the temporary storage table 5 to a chuck table 7, an alignment means 9 for taking an image of the wafer W held on the chuck table 7 and detecting an area to be cut by the cutting means 8, and a cleaning / transport means 12 for transporting the wafer W from the carry-in / out position where the chuck table 7 is positioned in Fig. 1 to a cleaning apparatus 11. The cutting apparatus 1 is further provided with a control means (not shown) for controlling each operating part of the cutting apparatus 1, a display means, etc.

[0018] The processing chamber 10 is provided with a cover member 10a that covers the entire area 100 including the chuck table 7 and the cutting means 8, and is provided with an opening / closing section 10b in the cover member 10a near the temporary placement table 5 and adjacent to the cleaning device 11, which allows the wafer W to be transported from the outside to the inside of the processing chamber 10 and the wafer W to be removed from the processing chamber 10 to the outside.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the transport means 6 is composed of a pivot shaft 6a, an L-shaped arm 6b connected to the pivot shaft 6a, and an adsorption part 6c connected to the end of the arm 6b, and is capable of pivoting in the direction indicated by arrow R1. This allows a wafer W placed on the temporary placement table 5 to be adsorbed by the adsorption part 6c of the transport means 6 and then transported and placed on the chuck table 7, which is located at the loading / unloading position, via the opening / closing part 10b. The transport means 6 can also adsorb a wafer W that has been cleaned and dried in a cleaning device 11 and transport it to the temporary placement table 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning transport means 12 includes a vertical part 12a and an adsorption part 12b extending horizontally in the Y direction from the lower end of the vertical part 12a. The cleaning transport means 12 is configured to be able to advance and retreat in the Y direction indicated by arrow R2 and to raise and lower the vertical part 12a in the Z-axis direction indicated by arrow R3. The suction portion 12b of the cleaning and transport means 12 can be inserted through the opening and closing portion 10b to suck the wafer W positioned at the loading / unloading position, and then transport it via the opening and closing portion 10b to the cleaning device 11.

[0020] The opening / closing section 10b is provided with an opening / closing means 14 as shown in FIG. 2. The opening / closing means 14 includes an air cylinder 14c that raises and lowers a lifting rod 14a, the lower end of which is provided with an opening / closing door 14b. By operating the air cylinder 14c to lower the lifting rod 14a in the direction indicated by arrow R4 in FIG. 2(a), the opening / closing section 10b is closed by the opening / closing door 14b, thereby sealing the processing chamber 10. By operating the air cylinder 14c to raise the opening / closing door 14b in the direction indicated by arrow R5 in FIG. 2(b), the opening / closing section 10b is opened, connecting the region 100 inside the processing chamber 10 to the outside, thereby permitting the transport of wafers W in the direction indicated by arrow R6.

[0021] 1, the chuck table 7 includes a suction chuck 7a that is breathable and forms a holding surface, and the holding means including the chuck table 7 includes clamps 7b that grip the frame F when a wafer W is supported on the chuck table 7, and a cover plate 7c that protrudes from the center of the chuck table 7 and covers the periphery of the chuck table 7. Suction means (not shown) is connected to the suction chuck 7a of the chuck table 7, and by operating the suction means, a negative pressure is generated on the holding surface.

[0022] Disposed inside the housing 2 are an X-direction moving means for moving the chuck table 7 in the X direction, a Y-direction moving means for moving the cutting means 8 in the Y direction, a Z-direction moving means for moving the cutting means 8 in the Z direction, and a rotary drive means for rotating the chuck table 7 (all of which are not shown). The X-direction moving means, the Y-direction moving means, the Z-direction moving means, and the rotary drive means are each provided with a position detecting means. This allows the X-direction position of the chuck table 7, the Y-direction and Z-direction positions of the cutting means 8, and the rotational position of the chuck table 7 to be accurately detected, and the X-direction moving means, the Y-direction moving means, the Z-direction moving means, and the rotary drive means are driven based on the detected position information, making it possible to accurately position the chuck table 7 and the cutting means 8 at any desired position and rotation angle.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 1, shower means 20 is disposed above a machining chamber 10 formed in the cutting machine 1 of this embodiment, and drops mist generated during cutting by the cutting machine 8. The shower means 20 sprays machining water L1 supplied from machining water supply means 30 onto the region 100. The machining water supply means 30 recovers wastewater L2 used in cutting and purifies the wastewater L2 into pure water. The pure water supply means 30 adjusts the purified pure water to a predetermined temperature and supplies it to the cutting machine 1 as machining water L1, and also supplies it to the shower means 20 (see also Fig. 3), circulating the machining water L1.

[0024] 1 and 3, the cutting means 8, machining water supply means 30, and shower means 20 of the cutting device 1 of this embodiment will be described, and the circulation of the machining water L1 will be described more specifically.

[0025] Figure 3 shows the cutting means 8 of the cutting device 1 that constitutes the processing device of this embodiment, the shower means 20 arranged above the area 100 that includes the chuck table 7 and the cutting means 8, etc., the drain pan 60 that collects the wastewater L2 that has flowed through the waterproof cover 66 arranged on either side of the chuck table 7, the processing water supply means 30, and the tank 72 that stores the wastewater L2, and other components are omitted for convenience of explanation.

[0026] The drain pan 60 is disposed in the processing chamber 10 and receives and stores the drainage water L2 after the processing water L1 has been used for cutting processing by the cutting means 8, and the drainage water L2 after the processing water L1 has been sprayed from the shower means 20 to cause the mist to fall within the area 100.

[0027] The drain pan 60 includes an outer frame 61 and two waterproof covers 66 that sandwich the chuck table 7. The outer frame 61 includes a pair of opposing outer walls 62a, 62a extending in the X direction indicated by the arrow X in the figure, a pair of opposing outer walls 62b, 62b extending in the Y direction indicated by the arrow Y in the figure, a pair of inner walls 63a, 63a disposed parallel to the outer wall 62a at a predetermined distance inside the outer walls 62a, 62b, and a pair of inner walls 63b, 63b disposed parallel to the outer wall 62b, and a bottom wall 64 connecting the lower edges of the outer walls 62a, 62b and the inner walls 63a, 63b. The outer frame 61 is formed, for example, from a stainless steel plate material that is resistant to corrosion and rust.

[0028] The outer walls 62a, 62b, inner walls 63a, 63b, and bottom wall 64 form a rectangular drainage recovery channel 70 whose longitudinal direction is along the X direction and whose lateral direction is along the Y direction, and which recovers drainage water L2. An opening 60A is formed inside the inner walls 63a, 63b that constitute the drainage recovery channel 70, penetrating vertically and allowing the chuck table 7 to move in the X direction. The bottom wall 64 that constitutes the drainage recovery channel 70 is slightly inclined in the X and Y directions, and a drainage discharge hole 65 is disposed in the corner (left corner in the figure) that is the lowest position of the drainage recovery channel 70. A pipe 67 equipped with an on-off valve 67a that drains the drainage water L2 stored in the drain pan 60 to the tank 72 is connected to the drainage discharge hole 65. The on-off valve 67a can be opened and closed by rotating an operating means 67b that operates the on-off valve 67a. The operating means 67b is preferably electromagnetically driven. To prevent the waste water L2 accumulated in the waste water recovery path 70 of the drain pan 60 from overflowing when the on-off valve 67a is closed, a drain hole is formed at a predetermined height in the waste water recovery path 70, and the drain hole is connected to the tank 72 by a drain pipe 68. A check valve 68a is provided in the drain pipe 68 to prevent the waste water L2 stored in the tank 72 from flowing back toward the processing chamber 10 when negative pressure is generated in the processing chamber 10, as will be described later.

[0029] Each of the two waterproof covers 66 includes two gate-shaped fixing brackets 66a and a waterproof, accordion-shaped resin cover member 66b. The fixing brackets 66a are sized to straddle the inner walls 63a, 63a of the outer frame 61, which face each other in the Y direction, and are attached to both ends of the cover member 66b. One of the fixing brackets 66a of the two waterproof covers 66 is fixed to the inner walls 63b of the outer frame 61, which face each other in the X direction. The drain pan 60 configured in this manner is fixed to the base (not shown) of the cutting machine 1 using appropriate fixing devices. The cover plate 7c, on which the chuck table 7 is disposed in the center, is attached so that it is sandwiched between the fixing brackets 66a of the two waterproof covers 66. The end surface of the cover plate 7c in the X direction has the same gate-like shape as the fixing bracket 66a, and like the fixing bracket 66a, has a dimension that straddles the opposing inner walls 63a, 63a of the outer frame 61 in the Y direction. Therefore, the cover plate 7c is attached to the waterproof cover 66 after the outer frame 61 of the drain pan 60 is installed on the cutting device 1. According to the above-mentioned configuration, the chuck table 7 can move along the inner walls 63a, 63a of the drain pan 60.

[0030] 3 includes a pure water purification means 31 that purifies wastewater L2 pumped from a tank 72 via a path P1 by a pump 74 into pure water, and a pure water supply means 32 that adjusts the temperature of the purified water purified by the pure water purification means 31 to a predetermined value and supplies the purified water to the outside. The purified water purified and adjusted to a predetermined temperature by the processing water supply means 30 is supplied as processing water L1 to the cutting means 8 via paths P2 and P3 and to the shower means 20 via paths P2 and P4. The pure water purification means 31 may be a well-known pure water generating device, and may include, for example, a filtration unit that purifies wastewater L2 pumped from the tank 72, a fresh water tank that stores the purified water, an ultraviolet irradiation unit that irradiates ultraviolet light on the fresh water delivered from the fresh water tank to destroy organic matter contained in the fresh water, and an ion exchange resin unit that produces pure water from the fresh water produced by the ultraviolet irradiation unit (all of which are not shown). The pure water supply means 32 is configured to include, for example, a temperature sensor, a temperature controller including heating means and cooling means, a pressure pump, etc. (all of which are omitted from the drawing), and can adjust the temperature of the pure water purified by the pure water purification means 31 to a desired temperature, for example, 23°C, and send it to the above-mentioned path P2. The illustrated paths P3 and P4 are provided with on-off valves V1 and V2 controlled by the above-mentioned control means, and can supply the above-mentioned machining water L1 to the cutting means 8 and shower means 20 at appropriate times.

[0031] As shown in an enlarged portion of Figure 3, the cutting means 8 comprises a spindle housing 81 arranged in the Y direction indicated by the arrow Y, a spindle 82 rotatably held in the spindle housing 81, a cutting blade 83 held at the tip of the spindle 82, a blade cover 84 covering the cutting blade 83, a processing water supply nozzle 85 arranged in the blade cover 84 and supplying processing water L1 to the area where the wafer W is processed by the cutting blade 83, a processing water inlet 86 that introduces processing water L1 from the blade cover 84, and a spindle motor (not shown) that rotates and drives the spindle 82.

[0032] The shower means 20 is provided with injection holes (not shown) on the entire lower surface 20a side for injecting the machining water L1 supplied from the machining water supply means 30 over the entire area inside the machining chamber .

[0033] The processing apparatus of this embodiment has roughly the configuration as described above, and the functions, actions, and effects of the processing apparatus of this embodiment will be described below.

[0034] First, cutting is performed on a wafer W by the cutting device 1 of this embodiment. When performing the cutting, the opening / closing means 14 is operated to raise the opening / closing door 14b and open the opening / closing portion 10b formed on the cover member 10a of the processing chamber 10. Then, the loading / unloading means 3 and the transporting means 6 are operated to transport and place the wafer W unloaded from the cassette 4 via the opening / closing portion 10b on the chuck table 7 positioned at the loading / unloading position. Next, the suction means is operated to hold the wafer W by suction, and the clamp 7b grips the frame F to hold the wafer W. Next, the opening / closing means 14 is operated to close the opening / closing portion 10b with the opening / closing door 14b, and the opening / closing valve 67a of the piping 67 arranged in the drain pan 60 is closed to seal the processing chamber 10.

[0035] With the processing chamber 10 sealed as described above, the wafer W is cut by the cutting means 8. When performing cutting, the X-direction moving means is operated to position the chuck table 7 directly below the alignment means 9 and image it. The rotation drive means is operated to align the predetermined dividing lines that define the devices D on the surface of the wafer W in the X direction, and the Y-direction moving means is operated to align the wafer W with the cutting blade 83. Next, the X-direction moving means is operated to move the wafer W directly below the cutting means 8, as shown in FIG. 3 . The cutting blade 83, rotating at high speed in the direction indicated by arrow R7, is positioned on the dividing lines aligned in the X direction and cuts the wafer W from above. The wafer W is then moved in the X direction to form the cutting groove S. At this time, the processing water supply means 30 is operated, the on-off valve V1 of the path P3 is opened, and processing water L1 is sprayed from the processing water supply nozzle 85 onto the area where cutting is to be performed. Furthermore, the cutting blade 83 of the cutting means 8 is indexed and fed onto a division line adjacent in the Y direction to the division line on which the cut groove S has been formed and on which the cut groove S has not been formed, and cutting is performed in the same manner as above to form the cut groove S. By repeating these steps, the cut grooves S are formed along all of the division lines along the X direction. Next, the chuck table 7 is rotated 90 degrees as described above to align the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the cut groove S was previously formed with the X direction, and the above-mentioned cutting is performed on all of the division lines newly aligned in the X direction, thereby forming the cut grooves S along all of the division lines formed on the wafer W. In this way, the wafer W can be divided into chips for each device D along the division lines of the wafer W.

[0036] While the above-described cutting process is being performed on the wafer W, the opening / closing portion 10b of the processing chamber 10 and the opening / closing valve 67a of the piping 67 are closed to seal the processing chamber 10, and the processing water L1 used in the cutting process becomes wastewater L2 and is collected in the wastewater recovery path 70 of the drain pan 60. Furthermore, mist generated by the scattering of the processing water L1 during the cutting process floats in the area 100 inside the processing chamber 10. If this misty processing water L1 adheres to the components of the cutting device 1, it may cause rust and / or malfunction of the components. Therefore, the mist generated inside the processing chamber 10 is removed by the following procedure.

[0037] First, as described above, after the cutting of the wafer W is completed, the on-off valve V1 on the path P3 is closed, and while the processing chamber 10 is kept sealed, the on-off valve V2 on the path P4 is opened to operate the shower means 20. This causes processing water L1 purified by the processing water supply means 30 to be supplied to the shower means 20 and sprayed from the underside 20a of the shower means 20 into the region 100 inside the processing chamber 10 for a predetermined time (e.g., 5 to 10 seconds). The droplets of processing water L1 sprayed from the shower means 20 are larger than the mist floating in the processing chamber 10, and the mist floating in the processing chamber 10 is captured by the droplets of processing water L1 and falls onto the drain pan 60. The processing water L1 that has captured the mist and fallen flows over the chuck table 7 and the waterproof cover 66 of the drain pan 60 and is collected in the drain recovery path 70 together with the wastewater L2 used in the cutting process. It is preferable that the water storage capacity of the drainage recovery path 70 is set to a capacity that can store the amount of processing water L1 supplied to the cutting means 8 in at least one cutting process and the amount of processing water L1 sprayed from the shower means 20.

[0038] As described above, according to the processing apparatus of this embodiment, the mist floating in the processing chamber 10 can be caused to fall by the processing water L1 sprayed from the shower means 20, eliminating the need for a suction duct and suction means for sucking the mist from the processing chamber 10 and eliminating the problem of the wastefulness of constantly operating the suction means. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the area 100 inside the processing chamber 10 is cleaned by the processing water L1 sprayed from the shower means 20, so each component constituting the interior of the processing chamber 10 can be kept clean.

[0039] As described above, once the mist in the processing chamber 10 has been caused to fall into the drain pan 60 by the processing water L1 sprayed from the shower means 20, the on-off valve 67a of the piping 67 is opened, and the above-mentioned opening / closing means 14 is operated to raise the opening / closing door 14b and open the opening / closing unit 10b. This allows the wastewater L2 accumulated in the drainage recovery path 70 of the drain pan 60 to flow from the piping 67 to the tank 72, and as the wastewater L2 flows into the tank 72 through the piping 67, air inside the processing chamber 10 is sucked in, generating negative pressure. Due to the action of this negative pressure, clean outside air is introduced into the region 100 inside the processing chamber 10 through the opening / closing unit 10b.

[0040] As described above, when the mist in the processing chamber 10 is dropped, the processing chamber 10 is sealed, and then the opening / closing part 10b is opened when drainage water L2 is discharged from the drain pan 60 to the tank 72. Therefore, even if mist remains in the processing chamber 10, it is sucked out of the processing chamber 10 through the piping 67 and discharged to the tank 72 side, and clean outside air is introduced from the opening / closing part 10b, thereby replacing the air in the processing chamber 10. This makes it possible to make the air in the processing chamber 10 cleaner.

[0041] Even if the wastewater L2 accumulates in the wastewater recovery path 70 of the drain pan 60 and is likely to overflow, the wastewater L2 flows from the drain pipe 68 to the tank 72, thereby preventing overflow. Furthermore, since the drain pipe 68 is provided with the check valve 68a as described above, the wastewater L2 is prevented from flowing back from the tank 72 to the drain pan 60 through the drain pipe 68, even when negative pressure is generated in the processing chamber 10 and outside air is introduced through the opening / closing portion 10b.

[0042] As described above, after the mist in the processing chamber 10 is dropped and removed and the outside air is introduced through the opening / closing portion 10b, the wafer W is transported from the chuck table 7 to the cleaning device 11 by the cleaning and transporting means 12, where it is cleaned and dried, and then stored in a desired position in the cassette 4 by the transporting means 6 and the carrying-in / out means 3. This completes the processing of one wafer W.

[0043] In the above-described embodiment, the wastewater L2 is purified into pure water by the cutting device 1, the tank 72, and the pure water purification means 31 of the machining water supply means 30, and the purified water is circulated as the machining water L1. This allows the wastewater L2 to be reused as the machining water L1 without being discharged to the outside, enabling environmentally friendly cutting processing.

[0044] In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a cutting machine, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the present invention can be applied to a grinding machine instead of the cutting machine 1. Furthermore, the present invention is described as including a processing water supply means 30 including a pure water purification means 31 that purifies wastewater L2 stored in a tank 72 into pure water and a pure water supply means 31 that adjusts the purified pure water to a predetermined temperature and supplies it to the cutting means 8 and the shower means 20. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the processing water supply means 30 may not be provided, and pure water adjusted to a predetermined temperature may be supplied solely as processing water L1 from an external processing water supply means to the processing apparatus of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1:Cutting device 2: Housing 3: Carrying in / out means 4: Cassette 5: Temporary table 6: Means of transport 7: Chuck table 7a: Suction chuck 7b: Clamp 7c: Cover plate 8: Cutting means 83: Cutting blade 9: Alignment means 10: Processing room 10a: Cover member 10b: Opening and closing section 11: Cleaning equipment 12: Cleaning transport means 14: Opening and closing means 14a: Lifting rod 14b: Opening and closing door 14c: Air cylinder 20: Shower means 20a: Bottom surface 30: Processing water supply means 30 31: Pure water purification means 32: Pure water supply means 60: Drain pan 60A: Opening 61: Outer frame 62a, 62b: Outer wall 63a, 63b: Inner wall 64: Bottom wall 65: Drainage hole 66: Waterproof cover 66a: Fixing bracket 66b: Cover member 67: Piping 67a: On-off valve 67b: Operation means 68: Drain pipe 68a: Check valve 70: Wastewater collection channel 72: Tank L1: Processed water L2: Drainage

Claims

1. A processing device, The apparatus comprises a chuck table for holding a workpiece, a processing means having a processing tool for processing the workpiece held on the chuck table, a processing water supply means for supplying processing water to an area where the workpiece is processed by the processing tool, and a processing chamber that covers an area including the chuck table and the processing tool, The processing apparatus has shower means disposed above the processing chamber for dropping mist generated during processing by the processing tool.

2. a drain pan disposed in the processing chamber for receiving and storing drainage water after the processing water has been used in the processing; a tank for storing the drainage water; piping equipped with an on-off valve for causing the drainage water stored in the drain pan to flow into the tank; and an on-off part for allowing the transport of workpieces to the processing chamber and sealing the processing chamber; When the workpiece held on the chuck table is processed by the processing means, the on-off valve is closed and the on-off unit is closed to seal the processing chamber; When the processing by the processing means is completed, the shower means is operated to cause the mist floating in the processing chamber to fall into the drain pan, The processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein when drainage water accumulated in the drainage pan is discharged into the tank, the opening / closing valve is opened and the opening / closing section is opened, thereby discharging the drainage water accumulated in the drainage pan into the tank, thereby generating negative pressure in the processing chamber and drawing in outside air through the opening / closing section.

3. 3. The processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the drain pan and the tank are connected by a drain pipe to prevent the wastewater accumulated in the drain pan from overflowing, and the drain pipe is provided with a check valve to prevent the wastewater from flowing back when negative pressure is generated in the processing chamber.

4. 3. The treatment apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processing water supply means comprises: a pure water purification means for purifying the wastewater stored in the tank into pure water; and a pure water supply means for adjusting the purified pure water to a predetermined temperature and supplying it to the processing means and to the shower means, and the processing water is circulated between the processing means, the tank, and the pure water purification means.

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