Cleaning blade and cutting apparatus

Abstract

To normally and continuously detect the occurrence of chipping or the like of a cutting blade by a photosensor.SOLUTION: The cutting apparatus 1 includes the chuck table 10, the cutting mechanism 40 for cutting the workpiece, the cutting water nozzle 131 for supplying cutting water to the cutting blade 43, the blade changing unit (mounting / dismounting mechanism) 70 for mounting and dismounting the cutting blade 43 to and from the spindle 42, and the photosensor 140 having the light emitter 141 and the light receiver 142 for detecting the front end of the cutting blade 43, and further includes the blade stock board (cleaning blade housing part) 100 for housing the cleaning blade 120 and the controller 110 for cleaning the light emitter 141 and the light receiver 142 with the cleaning brush 120 while supplying cutting water from the cutting water nozzle 131 to the rotating cleaning blade 120 by mounting the cleaning blade 120 housed in the blade stock board 100 to the tip of the spindle 42 and rotating the spindle 42 by using the blade changing unit 70.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 16

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cleaning blade for cleaning the light-emitting portion and the light-receiving portion of a transmission-type photosensor that optically detects damage to a cutting blade, and to a cutting device equipped with the cleaning blade. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, the surface of a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as "wafer") is divided into a large number of rectangular regions by planned division lines called streets that are arranged in a grid pattern, and devices such as ICs and LSIs are formed in each rectangular region. Then, the wafer on which a large number of devices have been formed is cut along the planned division lines with a cutting blade of a cutting machine called a dicer, thereby obtaining a plurality of semiconductor chips.

[0003] However, the cutting blade used to cut wafers in a cutting device may develop chips on the cutting edge or through holes radially inward from the cutting edge due to loads during processing or collisions with scattered chips, etc. Chipping or cracks may occur in the kerf formed by cutting a wafer with a cutting blade that has developed such chips or through holes.

[0004] Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a method for detecting the presence or absence of chipping or through-holes in a cutting blade using a transmission-type photosensor. This detection method detects the presence or absence of chipping or through-holes in the cutting blade based on a voltage value converted according to the amount of light received by the light-receiving portion of the photosensor while the cutting blade is rotating. Specifically, if there is no increase in the voltage value, it is determined that no chipping has occurred in the cutting blade. If a periodic and temporary increase in voltage occurs immediately after the cutting blade begins to block light, it is determined that chipping has occurred in the cutting blade. If a state of no voltage increase continues immediately after the cutting blade begins to block light, and then a periodic and temporary increase in voltage occurs, it is determined that a through-hole has occurred in the cutting blade.

[0005] However, in the method of optically detecting chips in the cutting blade or the presence or absence of through holes using a photosensor as proposed in Patent Document 1, there is a problem in that chips generated during cutting work adhere to the light-emitting and light-receiving parts of the photosensor, making it impossible for the photosensor to properly detect the occurrence of chips in the cutting blade.

[0006] Incidentally, Patent Document 2 proposes a cutting device in which cutting fluid is less likely to adhere to the breakage detection sensor (transmission type photosensor) of the cutting blade, and even if cutting fluid does adhere, the cutting fluid can be easily discharged. Specifically, the end faces of the legs of the support base that arranges the light-emitting unit and light-receiving unit of the breakage detection sensor opposite each other are arranged approximately parallel to the tangent line of the cutting blade. With this arrangement, the end faces of the legs are also approximately parallel to the flow of the cutting fluid, making it easier for the cutting fluid to be discharged, and the flow of the cutting fluid becomes a laminar flow, so the cutting fluid is smoothly discharged from the surfaces of the light-emitting unit and the light-receiving unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-109256 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-012770 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, even with the configuration proposed in Patent Document 2, it is not possible to effectively remove cutting debris adhering to the light-emitting and light-receiving parts of the photosensor, which means that the photosensor cannot normally and continuously detect chipping of the cutting blade, etc.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a cleaning blade that can reliably remove grinding debris adhering to the light-emitting and light-receiving parts of a photosensor, and a cutting device that can normally and continuously detect the occurrence of chipping or other damage to the cutting blade using a photosensor. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The invention described in claim 1 is a cleaning blade that is used in a cutting device that cuts a workpiece with a cutting blade and has a photosensor that detects the cutting blade by inserting a part of the cutting blade located at the tip of a spindle, and cleans the photosensor, and is characterized by having a circular or annular base plate with the same outer diameter as the cutting blade, and annular brushes that are arranged to protrude outward from both sides of the outer periphery of the base plate.

[0011] The invention described in claim 2 is a cutting device comprising a chuck table for holding a workpiece, a cutting mechanism for cutting the workpiece held on the chuck table with a cutting blade attached to the tip of a spindle, a cutting water nozzle for supplying cutting water to the cutting blade, an attachment / detachment mechanism for attaching / detaching the cutting blade to / from the spindle, and a photosensor having an emitter and a receiver for detecting the tip of the cutting blade, characterized in that it comprises a cleaning blade storage section for storing the cleaning blade described in claim 1, and a control section for attaching the cleaning blade stored in the cleaning blade storage section to the tip of the spindle using the attachment / detachment mechanism and rotating the spindle, thereby supplying cutting water from the cutting water nozzle to the rotating cleaning blade while cleaning the emitter and the receiver with the cleaning brush. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to this invention, the cleaning blade attached to the tip of the spindle has a portion of its outer periphery positioned in the gap between the light-emitting and light-receiving elements of the photosensor. Then, while supplying cutting water from the cutting water nozzle of the cutting mechanism, the spindle is rotated, rotating the cleaning blade along with the spindle. The cleaning action of the cutting water sprayed from the cutting water nozzle toward the cleaning blade and the cleaning effect of the cleaning blade brush reliably removes cutting debris adhering to the surfaces of the light-emitting and light-receiving elements of the photosensor, leaving the surfaces of the light-emitting and light-receiving elements clean. This allows the photosensor to normally and continuously detect chipping and other issues in the cutting blade.

[0013] Furthermore, according to the present invention, cleaning of the photosensor by the cleaning blade can be performed automatically by the attachment / detachment mechanism, which prevents human error and also provides the effects of improving efficiency and saving labor. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a cutting device according to the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of part A in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cutting blade fixing portion at the tip of the spindle. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the cutting blade fixing portion at the tip of the spindle. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a blade stock board. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning blade according to the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 7. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the blade replacement unit. [Figure 10] 10 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow C in FIG. 9. [Figure 11]FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing the state in which the fixing nut is removed from the fixing flange by the replacement device. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing the state before the pressing flange and cutting blade are removed from the fixed flange by the replacement device. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing the state after the pressing flange and cutting blade have been removed from the fixed flange by the replacement device. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a state before the cleaning blade is attached to the fixed flange by the replacement device. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing the state in which the cleaning blade is attached to the fixed flange by the replacement device. [Figure 16] 10 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a state in which a light-emitting portion and a light-receiving portion of a photosensor are being cleaned by a cleaning blade according to the present invention; FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0016] [Cutting equipment configuration] First, the overall configuration of a cutting device 1 according to the present invention will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. In the following description, the left-right direction in Fig. 1 is defined as the X-axis direction, the front-rear direction as the Y-axis direction, and the up-down direction as the Z-axis direction.

[0017] 1 is a perspective view of a cutting device 1 according to the present invention. The illustrated cutting device 1 is a so-called dual dicer and includes a base 2 that supports various components. A rectangular opening 2a that is long in the Y-axis direction is formed on the top surface of the base 2, and a cassette support table 3 that can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) by a lifting mechanism (not shown) is provided at the left (-Y-axis) corner in front of the opening 2a (+X-axis direction). A rectangular box-shaped cassette 4 that houses multiple work sets WS (see FIG. 3) each having a disk-shaped wafer W as a workpiece is disposed on the top surface of the cassette support table 3.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 3, the surface of the wafer W (the top surface in Fig. 3) is divided into a number of rectangular regions by dividing lines L1 and L2 arranged in a grid pattern, and devices D such as ICs and LSIs are formed in each rectangular region. The wafer W, on which a number of devices D have been formed, is cut along the dividing lines L1 and L2 by a cutting device 1 to obtain a number of semiconductor chips. The wafer W is supported by a ring frame F by bonding a dicing tape T attached to its back surface (the bottom surface in Fig. 3) to the ring frame F, and the wafer W, dicing tape T, and ring frame F are integrated as a work set WS.

[0019] The cutting device 1 is equipped with, as its main components, a chuck table 10 that holds the work set WS, a positioning mechanism 20 for positioning (centering) the work set WS removed from the cassette 4, a first transport mechanism 30 that transports the work set WS between the cassette 4, the positioning mechanism 20, and the chuck table 10, a pair of cutting mechanisms 40 that cut the wafers W held on the chuck table 10, a cleaning device 50 that cleans the cut wafers W, a second transport mechanism 60 that transports the cut wafers W (work set WS) to the cleaning device 50, a blade replacement unit 70 that automatically replaces the cutting blade 43 (see Figures 2 and 4), a blade stock board 100 for stocking replacement cutting blades 43, etc., a cutting water supply means 130 that supplies cutting water to the cutting blade 43 of the cutting mechanism 40, a photosensor 140 that optically detects chipping or the like in the cutting blade 43, and a control unit 110 that controls each component.

[0020] Below, we will explain the configuration of the main components of the cutting device 1, namely, the chuck table 10, the positioning mechanism 20, the first conveying mechanism 30, the cutting mechanism 40, the cleaning device 50, the second conveying mechanism 60, the blade replacement unit 70, the blade stock board 100, the cutting water supply means 130, the photosensor 140, and the control unit 110.

[0021] (Chuck table) The chuck table 10 is a disk-shaped member that suction-holds the wafer W together with the work set WS on its holding surface, and as shown in Fig. 1, two clamps 11 for fixing the ring frame F (see Fig. 3) of the work set WS from the periphery are disposed radially opposite each other around the periphery of the chuck table 10. The holding surface of the chuck table 10 is selectively connected to a suction source (not shown), such as a vacuum pump or an ejector. The chuck table 10 and the clamps 11 constitute a holding mechanism that holds the wafer W (work set WS), which is a workpiece.

[0022] The chuck table 10 is driven to rotate about a vertical axis by a rotation mechanism (not shown) disposed below it, and can move back and forth along the Y-axis direction (cutting feed direction) by a Y-axis direction movement mechanism (not shown) disposed below it. The periphery of the chuck table 10 at the opening 2a of the base 2 is covered by a rectangular plate-shaped cover 5 that moves together with the chuck table 10, and both sides of the cover 5 at the opening 2a in the Y-axis direction are covered by bellows-shaped expandable covers 6 and 7 that expand and contract together with the cover 5 and move in the Y-axis direction.

[0023] (positioning mechanism) The positioning mechanism 20 is a mechanism for positioning the work set WS removed from the cassette 4 by the first transport mechanism 30, and is equipped with a pair of front and rear guide rails 21 arranged parallel to each other along the Y-axis direction (left and right direction). The work set WS removed from the cassette 4 by the first transport mechanism 30 and placed on the pair of guide rails 21 is positioned (centered) by the pair of guide rails 21 moving in opposite directions along the X-axis direction.

[0024] (First conveying mechanism) The first transport mechanism 30 removes the work set WS from the cassette 4 and transports it to the positioning mechanism 20, and also holds the work set WS that has been positioned (centered) by the positioning mechanism 20 and transports it to the chuck table 10, and is capable of horizontal movement in the X-axis and Y-axis directions by a horizontal movement mechanism (not shown). The first transport mechanism 30 is provided with a vertical rod 31 that can be moved up and down in the Z-axis direction by an air cylinder mechanism (not shown), and an arm 32 that is cross-shaped in plan view is attached to the lower end of the rod 31. The arm 32 is provided with a suction pad (not shown) that suction-holds the work set WS, and a gripping portion 33 that grips the ring frame F (see FIG. 3) of the work set WS.

[0025] (cutting mechanism) The pair of cutting mechanisms 40 are disposed facing each other on both the front and rear sides (-X-axis side and +Y-axis side) of the opening 2a of the base 2, and each cutting mechanism 40 is provided with an imaging unit (not shown). Here, each imaging unit captures an image of the wafer W held by suction on the holding surface of the chuck table 10 to detect the positions of the planned dividing lines L1, L2 (see FIG. 3). Furthermore, each cutting mechanism 40 can be moved up and down in the Z-axis direction (cutting feed direction) by a Z-axis movement mechanism (not shown), and can be moved back and forth in the X-axis direction (indexing feed direction) by an X-axis movement mechanism (not shown).

[0026] The pair of cutting mechanisms 40 have the same configuration, and each cutting mechanism 40 includes a spindle housing 41 arranged along the X-axis direction, a spindle motor (not shown) that is a rotational drive source housed in the spindle housing 41, a spindle 42 (see FIGS. 2 and 4) that is rotationally driven by the spindle motor, and a washer-type cutting blade 43 (see FIGS. 2 and 4) that is detachably attached to the tip of the spindle 42. Each cutting blade 43 is made by bonding abrasive grains such as diamond with a bonding agent such as a metal bond or a resin bond, and is attached to the tip of the spindle 42 and rotatably housed in a block-shaped blade housing 41A.

[0027] Here, the details of the structure for detachably attaching the cutting blade 43 to the tip of the spindle 42 will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Note that the attachment structure for the cutting blade 43 is the same for each cutting mechanism 40, and therefore only the attachment structure for the cutting blade 43 in one of the cutting mechanisms 40 will be illustrated and described below.

[0028] As shown in Figure 5, the washer-shaped cutting blade 43 is removably attached to the tip of the spindle 42 by a fixing flange 44, a holding flange 45, and a fixing nut 46, and a circular mounting hole 43a is formed in the center.

[0029] The spindle 42 is rotated at high speed by a spindle motor (not shown) built into the spindle housing 41, and the outer periphery of the tip of the spindle 42 protruding from one end face of the spindle housing 41 is tapered so that the outer diameter gradually decreases toward the tip. A screw hole 42a is formed in the axial center of the tip of the spindle 42.

[0030] The fixing flange 44 has cylindrical bosses 44A, 44B of different diameters formed at one axial end (tip end) thereof, and an annular flange 44C integrally projecting radially outward from the base end of the larger-diameter boss 44A. A tapered mounting hole 44a is formed in the axial center of this flange 44C along the axial direction and fits into a tapered surface on the outer periphery of the tip end of the spindle 42. An annular recess 44b is formed in the end face (left end face in FIG. 5) on the tip side of the flange 44C, and the annular portion radially outward from the recess 44b on the end face forms an abutment surface 44c that abuts against the cutting blade 43 and clamps the cutting blade 43 together with the holding flange 45.

[0031] A male thread 44d is formed on the outer periphery of the boss portion 44B on the small diameter side of the fixing flange 44. The annular washer-type cutting blade 43 is configured as a cutting edge (electrodeposited grinding wheel) by electroplating diamond abrasive grains dispersed in a nickel matrix.

[0032] The holding flange 45 has a circular mounting hole 45a formed in its axial center and penetrating in the axial direction, and an annular protrusion 45b is formed integrally on one axial end face (the right end face in Fig. 5) of the holding flange 45. Here, this protrusion 45b fits into an annular recess 44b formed in the end face of the flange portion 44C of the fixing flange 44 in the state shown in Fig. 5 where the cutting blade 43 is assembled, and the annular portion of one end face (the right end face in Fig. 5) of the holding flange 45 that is radially outward from the protrusion 45b forms an abutment surface 45c that abuts against the cutting blade 43 and clamps the cutting blade 43 together with the abutment surface 44c of the fixing flange 44. As shown in FIG. 5, a circular annular groove 45d is formed in the pressing flange 45, opening into the abutment surface 45c, and a plurality of through holes 45e extend from this annular groove 45d at an angle extending radially inward toward the tip (left side in FIG. 4), and each through hole 45e opens into the tip surface (left end surface in FIG. 5) of the pressing flange 45 (see FIG. 4).

[0033] The fixing nut 46 is an annular fastener having a female thread 46a formed on its inner periphery, and four circular engagement holes 46b formed at equal angular intervals (90°) around the periphery of the end face (left end face in FIG. 5) of the fixing nut 46. In addition, a threaded engagement groove 46c is formed on the outer periphery of the fixing nut 46.

[0034] The cutting blade 43 is fixed to the tip of the spindle 42 using the fixing flange 44, the holding flange 45 and the fixing nut 46 configured as described above in the following procedure.

[0035] 5, first, the fixing flange 44 is attached to the tip of the spindle 42 by fitting a tapered mounting hole 44a formed in the axial center of the fixing flange 44 into the tapered surface on the outer periphery of the tip of the spindle 42. Then, in this state, a bolt 48 inserted through a washer 47 is screwed into a threaded hole 42a formed in the axial center of the spindle 42 and tightened, thereby fixing the fixing flange 44 to the tip of the spindle 42.

[0036] Next, the cutting blade 43 is set on the presser flange 45 by fitting the mounting hole 43a formed in the center of the cutting blade 43 onto the outer peripheral surface of the protrusion 45b of the presser flange 45. Then, the mounting hole 45a formed in the axial center of the presser flange 45 is fitted onto the outer periphery of the boss portion 44A on the large diameter side of the fixed flange 44, and the cutting blade 43 is sandwiched between the abutment surface 45c of the presser flange 45 and the abutment surface 44c of the fixed flange 44.

[0037] Finally, the fixing nut 46 is set on the small-diameter boss portion 44B of the fixing flange 44 by threading the female threads 46a formed on its inner periphery onto the male threads 44d formed on the outer periphery of the small-diameter boss portion 44B of the fixing flange 44. Then, in this state, the fixing nut 46 is turned with a tool (not shown) that engages with the four engaging holes 46b formed in the fixing nut 46, and the fixing nut 46 is screwed onto the small-diameter boss portion 44B of the fixing flange 44 and fastened. Then, the fixing nut 46 presses the holding flange 45 against the cutting blade 43, and the cutting blade 43 is clamped from both axial sides by the abutment surfaces 44c of the fixing flange 44 and the abutment surfaces 45c of the holding flange 45, and fixed to the tip of the spindle 42.

[0038] (Cleaning equipment) 1, the cleaning device 50 is disposed in the center in the left-right direction (X-axis direction) forward (+Y-axis side) of the opening 2a on the base 2. The cleaning device 50 includes a spinner table 51 that rotates while holding the wafer W (work set WS) by suction, and a cleaning nozzle (not shown) that sprays cleaning water (pure water) from above onto the wafer W held by suction on the spinner table 51.

[0039] (Second conveying mechanism) 1 holds a work set WS having wafers W machined by a pair of cutting mechanisms 40 and transports it from the chuck table 10 to the cleaning device 50, and is movable horizontally in the X-axis and Y-axis directions by a horizontal movement mechanism (not shown). As shown in Fig. 1, the second transfer mechanism 60 is provided with a vertical rod 61 that can be moved up and down in the Z-axis direction by an air cylinder mechanism (not shown), and an arm 62 that is cross-shaped in a plan view is attached to the lower end of the rod 61, and a suction pad (not shown) that suction-holds the work set WS is provided on the arm 62.

[0040] (Blade replacement unit) The blade replacement unit 70 is a device that removes the cutting blade 43 from the spindle 42 and replaces it with a new one, and also attaches and detaches a cleaning blade (see FIGS. 7 and 8) described below to and from the spindle 42, and is disposed at the rear side (end in the -X axis direction) of the base 2 as shown in FIG. 1. Here, the blade replacement unit 70 is made up of an exchange device 80 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, and an elevating mechanism 71 and a horizontal movement mechanism 72 (see FIG. 9) that move the exchange device 80 in three-dimensional space.

[0041] The lifting mechanism 71 is mounted on a rectangular plate-shaped base plate 73 that is erected vertically on the base 2 shown in FIG. 1, and includes a first motor M1 as a drive source and a belt transmission mechanism (not shown) that is driven by the first motor M1 to lift and lower the horizontal movement mechanism 72 together with the exchange device 80 in the Z-axis direction.

[0042] 9, the horizontal movement mechanism 72 includes a support base 74 attached to the lifting mechanism 71, a first arm 75 having one end supported on the support base 74 so as to be horizontally rotatable, and a second arm 76 having one end attached to the other end (tip) of the first arm 75 so as to be horizontally rotatable. Specifically, one end of the first arm 75 is connected to an output shaft (not shown) extending vertically downward from a second motor M2 serving as a rotary drive source installed on the support base 74, and a third motor M3 serving as a rotary drive source is installed at the other end of the first arm 75. One end of the second arm 76 is connected to an output shaft (not shown) extending vertically downward from the third motor M3, and a fourth motor M4 serving as a rotary drive source is installed at the other end (tip) of the second arm 76.

[0043] An inverted L-shaped bracket 77 is attached to the output shaft of the fourth motor M4, which is attached to the tip of the second arm 76 and extends vertically downward, so as to be rotatable within a horizontal plane (XY plane), and an exchanger 80 is attached to this bracket 77. Therefore, in this horizontal movement mechanism 72, when the second motor M2 is started, the first arm 75, one end of which is connected to the output shaft of the second motor M2, rotates horizontally around the output shaft, and when the third motor M3 is started, the second arm 76, one end of which is connected to the output shaft of the third motor M3, rotates horizontally around the output shaft, so that the exchanger 80, which is attached to the other end (tip) of the second arm 76 via the bracket 77, can move horizontally within the horizontal plane (XY plane). Furthermore, when the first motor M1 of the lifting mechanism 71 is driven, a belt transmission mechanism (not shown) operates to lift the support base 74 together with the horizontal movement mechanism 72 in the Z-axis direction, so that the exchange device 80 supported by the horizontal movement mechanism 72 can also be lifted in the Z-axis direction. In other words, as described above, the exchange device 80 can move freely within three-dimensional space.

[0044] 9, 10, and 12, the configuration of the exchange device 80 will be described. The exchange device 80 is supported by an inverted L-shaped bracket 77 attached to the output shaft of a fourth motor M4 provided at the tip of a second arm 76, and can rotate within a horizontal plane (XY plane) around the output shaft of the fourth motor M4. The exchange device 80 has a substantially cylindrical housing 81, and the housing 81 is attached to the output shaft (not shown) of an electric motor 82 attached to the bracket 77, and can rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 10 around the axis line CL of the output shaft.

[0045] A pair of flange-shaped blade holding jigs 83 are formed on both sides of the housing 81 that sandwich the output axis CL of the electric motor 82, and a double-cylindrical nut holding jig 84 is formed between the pair of blade holding jigs 83 on the sides of the housing 81. The details of the configuration of the blade holding jig 83 will now be described with reference to Fig. 12. Note that the pair of blade holding jigs 83 have the same configuration, so hereinafter only the configuration of one of the blade holding jigs 83 will be described.

[0046] The blade holding jig 83, which holds the cutting blade 43 and the presser flange 45 when replacing the cutting blade 43, includes a cylindrical flange 85 with a bottom. An annular suction member 86 made of an elastic material such as rubber or resin is attached to the open end of the flange 85. An annular double lip 86a, 86b is integrally and concentrically formed on the open end of the suction member 86. A plurality of suction holes 86c are formed in the annular portion between the lip 86a, 86b, and are connected to an annular groove 85a formed in the end face of the flange 85 where the suction member 86 meets the flange 85. The annular groove 85a is selectively connected to a suction source 88 via a suction passage 85b formed in the flange 85 and a pipe 87, which is equipped with an electromagnetic on-off valve V.

[0047] 12, circular holes 85c and 85d of different diameters are formed in the axial center of flange 85, and a lens 91 that constitutes the optical system of imaging unit 90 shown in Fig. 6 is incorporated into the smaller diameter circular hole 85d. In this case, imaging unit 90 is composed of, in addition to lens 91, a light source (not shown) such as an LED that irradiates a subject with light, and an imaging element (not shown) such as a CCD sensor that captures an image via the optical system including lens 91.

[0048] Next, the configuration of the nut holding jig 84 will be explained based on Figures 9, 10 and 11. As shown in Figure 11, the nut holding jig 84 holds the fixing nut 46 when replacing the cutting blade 43 and rotates the fixing nut 46 to remove the fixing nut 46 from the fixing flange 44 or to attach the fixing nut 46 to the fixing flange 44.

[0049] 10, the nut holding jig 84 includes an electric motor 92 as a rotational drive source, and an output shaft (motor shaft) 92a extending from the electric motor 92 rotatably penetrates the housing 81. Here, the output shaft 92a extends in a direction (left-right direction in FIG. 10) perpendicular to the output axis CL of the electric motor 82, which is the rotational drive source of the blade holding jig 83, and a housing 93 of the nut holding jig 84 is attached to an end (right end in FIG. 10) that penetrates the housing 81 and protrudes therefrom so as to be slidable along the output shaft 92a of the electric motor 92. Furthermore, the housing 93 of the nut holding jig 84 can be slid along the output shaft 92a by an actuator 94 provided on the output shaft 92a of the electric motor 92.

[0050] As shown in Fig. 9, the housing 93 of the nut holding jig 84 includes an inner cylinder 93A and an outer cylinder 93B, which are concentrically formed and have a double bottomed cylindrical shape. Four pins 95 are arranged at equal angular intervals (90° pitches) around the circumferential direction on the open end face of the inner cylinder 93A. Each pin 95 is slidably held in the inner cylinder 93A and is biased in the protruding direction (to the right in Fig. 10) by a biasing means (not shown), such as a spring. When the nut holding jig 84 holds the fixing nut 46, the four pins 95 are inserted into and fitted into four engagement holes 46b formed in the end face of the fixing nut 46 (see Fig. 11).

[0051] Four retaining levers 96 are arranged at equal angular intervals (90° intervals) in the circumferential direction in the cylindrical space between the inner cylindrical portion 93A and the outer cylindrical portion 93B of the housing 93, and a claw portion 96a is formed at the tip of each retaining lever 96. The base end of each retaining lever 96 is supported by the housing 93 so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 10. When the actuator 94 slides the housing 93 along the output shaft 92a of the electric motor 92, these retaining levers 96 rotate about the base end in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 10 to open or close. When replacing the cutting blade 43, the actuator 94 slides the housing 93 along the output shaft 92a of the electric motor 92 to the right in FIG. 10, and the four retaining levers 96, which are in the open state as shown in FIG. 9, close as shown in FIG. 11, and the claw portion 96a of each retaining lever 96 engages with the engagement groove 46c formed on the outer surface of the fixing nut 46 to hold the fixing nut 46.

[0052] 1, a rectangular plate-shaped temporary placement cover 97 is disposed near the blade replacement unit 70 on the base 2 so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow in the figure around a hinge 98 at its lower end. During cutting processing, this temporary placement cover 97 stands upright as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 to open the chuck table 10, and when replacing the cutting blade 43, it is tilted down as shown by the chain line in FIG. 1 to be used for temporary placement.

[0053] (Blade Stock Board) 1, a disk-shaped mounting table 101 is disposed near the cassette 4 on the side of the base 2, and an electric motor (not shown) serving as a rotation drive source is connected to a rotation shaft 102 extending from the center of the mounting table 101. A disk-shaped blade stock board 100 shown in FIG. 6 is disposed on the mounting table 101.

[0054] 6, a plurality of (seven in the illustrated example) replacement cutting blades 43, two pressing flanges 45, and one cleaning blade 120 according to the present invention are arranged at equal angular pitches (36° pitches) in the circumferential direction on the blade stock board 100. Note that the numbers of cutting blades 43, pressing flanges 45, and cleaning blades 120 arranged on the blade stock board 100 are not limited to those described above and can be any number.

[0055] Although not shown, the cutting blade 43 has identification marks such as numbers, letters, and barcodes attached thereto, and these identification marks are optically read by the imaging unit 90 provided on the blade holding jig 83.

[0056] (Cutting water supply means) The cutting water supply means 130 supplies cutting water to each cutting blade 43 while the cutting blade 43 of each cutting mechanism 40 is cutting the wafer W, and includes a pair of cutting water nozzles 131 (see FIG. 2) that spray cutting water toward each blade housing 41A, and a cutting water supply source 132 that supplies cutting water from each cutting water nozzle 131 to the cutting blade 43. Here, in each cutting mechanism 40, the pair of cutting water nozzles 131 are arranged on both the front and back sides of the cutting blade 43, sandwiching it therebetween (see FIG. 5), and as shown in detail in FIG. 2, each cutting water nozzle 131 penetrates each blade housing 41A vertically and then extends vertically downward from the bottom surface of each blade housing 41A, with its lower end bent at a right angle to extend horizontally along the cutting blade 43, forming an L shape. On the inner surface of each cutting water nozzle 131 facing the cutting blade 43, a plurality of (four in the illustrated example) circular injection ports 131a are formed at appropriate intervals along the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction).

[0057] Each cutting water nozzle 131 is connected to a cutting water supply source 132 via a pipe 134 connected to a plug 133 attached to the upper surface of the blade housing 41A.

[0058] (Photo sensor) The photosensor 140 is a transmission-type breakage detection sensor (photointerrupter) that optically detects chipping or the like in the cutting blade 43, and is incorporated into the blade housing 41A of each cutting mechanism 40. As shown in Fig. 5, this transmission-type photosensor 140 is configured by arranging a light-emitting unit 141, which is made up of a plurality of light-emitting elements 141a such as LEDs that emit light when a current is passed through it, and a light-receiving unit 142, which is made up of a plurality of light-receiving elements 142a such as phototransistors that receive the light emitted from the light-emitting elements 141a of the light-emitting unit 141 and convert it into a voltage (current) (photoelectric conversion), facing each other with a gap δ therebetween.

[0059] 5, in the photosensor 140 configured as described above, when the cutting blade 43 arranged in the gap δ between the light-emitting unit 141 and the light-receiving unit 142 blocks the light emitted from the plurality of light-emitting elements 141a of the light-emitting unit 141, the light-receiving elements 142a of the light-receiving unit 142 do not receive the light, and the output voltage drops. However, when a chip occurs in the cutting blade 43, the light passes through the chipped portion and is received by the light-receiving unit 142, and the output voltage of the light-receiving unit 142 increases. Therefore, the increase in the output voltage of the light-receiving unit 142 detects that a chip has occurred in the cutting blade 43.

[0060] (Control unit) The control unit 110 controls each of the components constituting the cutting device 1, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs arithmetic processing according to a control program, and memories such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). In particular, in this embodiment, as will be described later, the control unit 110 cleans the light-emitting portion 141 and the light-receiving portion 142 of the photosensor 140 with the cleaning blade 120 when replacing the cutting blade 43, and this will be described in detail later.

[0061] Incidentally, when the cutting blade 43 reaches the end of its service life due to wear or when a chip or the like is detected by the photosensor 140, it is replaced with a new one by the blade replacement unit 70, as will be described later, and when this cutting blade 43 is replaced, the cleaning blade 120 is attached to the tip of the spindle 42 by the blade replacement unit 70, and the cleaning blade 120, which rotates together with the spindle 42, cleans the light-emitting portion 141 and the light-receiving portion 142 of the photosensor 140. Here, the configuration of the cleaning blade 120 according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 7 and 8.

[0062] (cleaning blade) The cleaning blade 120 shown in Figures 7 and 8 is composed of a circular metal or resin substrate 121 having the same outer diameter as the cutting blade 43, and a plurality of brushes 122 planted so as to protrude outward from both sides of the outer periphery of the substrate 121, with the plurality of brushes 122 planted at equal angular pitches around the circumference on both sides of the substrate 121 to form a circular ring.

[0063] [Action of cutting device] Next, the operation of the cutting device 1 configured as above, that is, the cutting process of the wafer W by the cutting device 1, the replacement of the cutting blade 43, and the cleaning of the photosensor 140 will be described.

[0064] When cutting the wafer W, one work set WS is removed from the cassette 4 by the first transport mechanism 30 shown in Fig. 1, and the removed work set WS is transported to the positioning mechanism 20 and placed on the pair of guide rails 21. In the positioning mechanism 20, the pair of guide rails 21 move in directions approaching each other along the X-axis direction, thereby positioning (centering) the work set WS (wafer W).

[0065] As described above, once the work set WS (wafer W) has been positioned (centered) by the positioning mechanism 20, the work set WS is held by the first transport mechanism 30 and transported to the chuck table 10, where it is placed on the holding surface of the chuck table 10. Then, the ring frame F (see FIG. 3) of the work set WS is gripped by two clamps 11, and the work set WS is fixed on the holding surface of the chuck table 10. Thereafter, the chuck table 10, together with the work set WS held thereon, is moved in the Y-axis direction by a Y-axis movement mechanism (not shown) toward the pair of cutting mechanisms 40.

[0066] In each cutting mechanism 40, an imaging unit (not shown) captures an image of the surface of the wafer W, and image processing such as pattern matching based on the captured image detects the planned dividing lines L1, L2 (see FIG. 3) to be cut. When the planned dividing lines L1, L2 of the wafer W are detected in this manner, the positions in the X-axis direction of each cutting blade 43 of each cutting mechanism 40 are respectively determined by an X-axis moving mechanism (not shown), and the positions of each cutting blade 43 in the X-axis direction are aligned with the position of the planned dividing line L1 to be cut.

[0067] Then, from the above state, each cutting blade 43 of both cutting mechanisms 40 is rotated at high speed by a spindle motor (not shown), while each cutting blade 43 is lowered by a predetermined cutting depth by a Z-axis movement mechanism (not shown), and the chuck table 10 and the wafer W held thereon are moved in the Y-axis direction by a Y-axis movement mechanism (not shown). The wafer W is then cut along the dividing lines L1 by each cutting blade 43 of both cutting mechanisms 40. After this operation has been performed for all dividing lines L1 in one direction, the chuck table 10 and the wafer W held thereon are rotated 90° by a rotation mechanism (not shown), and cutting is similarly performed along dividing lines L2 in the other direction perpendicular to the dividing lines L1 along which cutting has been completed. When cutting of the wafer W along all dividing lines L1 and L2 has been completed, multiple semiconductor chips on which individual devices D are mounted are obtained.

[0068] As described above, once the required cutting process is completed for the wafers W, the work set WS is held by the second transport mechanism 60 shown in Fig. 1 and transported to the cleaning device 50, where the work set WS is placed and held on the spinner table 51 of the cleaning device 50. Then, the work set WS (wafer W) held on the spinner table 51 is rotated together with the spinner table 51 by a rotation mechanism (not shown), and is cleaned with cleaning water sprayed from a cleaning nozzle (not shown). Note that pure water is preferably used as the cleaning water.

[0069] As described above, after the work set WS (wafer W) is cleaned by the cleaning device 50, the work set WS is held by the first transport mechanism 30 shown in FIG. 1 and stored in the cassette 4, completing the series of cutting processes on the wafer W.

[0070] Incidentally, when the cutting blade 43 of the cutting mechanism 40 becomes worn due to cutting of the wafer W by the cutting blade 43, the cutting blade 43 is replaced with a new one by a blade replacement unit 70 shown in Fig. 9. When replacing the cutting blade 43, the cutting blade 43 is detached from the fixing flange 44 in the following procedure. Note that when replacing the cutting blade 43, the fixing flange 44 remains attached to the tip of the spindle 42 by the bolts 48.

[0071] That is, as shown in Fig. 11, the lifting mechanism 71 (see Fig. 9) of the blade replacement unit 70 moves the replacement device 80 closer to the tip of the spindle 42, and four pins 95 (only two are shown in Fig. 11) of a nut holding jig 84 of the replacement device 80 are inserted into and fitted into four engagement holes 46b formed in the end face of the fixing nut 46, and the actuator 94 slides the housing 93 of the nut holding jig 84 along the output shaft 92a of the electric motor 92 to the right in Fig. 11, causing the four holding levers 96 (only two are shown in Fig. 11) to close from the state shown in Fig. 10 to the state shown in Fig. 11. Then, the claws 96a formed at the tips of the four holding levers 96 engage with the engagement grooves 46c formed in the outer peripheral surface of the fixing nut 46, so that the fixing nut 46 is held by the four holding levers 96.

[0072] Once the fixing nut 46 is held by the nut holding jig 84 of the replacement device 80 as described above, the electric motor 92 is driven to rotate the nut holding jig 84 in the direction that loosens the fixing nut 46 (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 11 ), thereby removing the fixing nut 46 from the fixing flange 44. Once the fixing nut 46 has been removed from the fixing flange 44 in this manner, the blade holding jig 83 of the replacement device 80 removes the presser flange 45 and the cutting blade 43 from the fixing flange 44 in the following procedure.

[0073] That is, the electric motor 82 of the replacement device 80 is driven to rotate the blade holding jig 83, so that the blade holding jig 83 faces the presser flange 45 and the cutting blade 43, as shown in Fig. 12. Then, from this state, when the inner and outer lip portions 86a, 86b of the suction member 86 of the blade holding jig 83 are pressed against the end face of the presser flange 45, an annular space S is formed between the inner and outer lip portions 86a, 86b of the suction member 86 and the end face of the presser flange 45. From this state, when the on-off valve V is opened, the annular groove 85a formed in the flange 85 of the blade holding jig 83 is connected to the suction source 88 via the suction path 85b and the piping 87, and the annular groove 45d formed in the presser flange 45 is connected to the space S via a plurality of through-holes 45e formed in the presser flange 45.

[0074] As described above, when the space S is connected to the suction source 88, a negative pressure is generated in the space S and also in the annular groove 45d connected to the space S. As a result, the pressing flange 45 is sucked and held by the blade holding jig 83 due to the negative pressure generated in the space S, and the cutting blade 43 is sucked and held by the pressing flange 45 due to the negative pressure generated in the annular groove 45d. As a result, the pressing flange 45 is sucked and held by the blade holding jig 83 together with the cutting blade 43, and the pressing flange 45 and cutting blade 43 are removed from the fixed flange 44 as shown in FIG. 13. When the pressing flange 45 and cutting blade 43 are removed from the fixed flange 44 in this way, the fixed flange 44 is left at the tip of the spindle 42 as shown in FIG. 13.

[0075] In the above state, the blade holding jig 83 of the replacement device 80 faces the cleaning blade 120 placed on the blade stock board 100 shown in Fig. 6, and the attachment hole 120a formed in the center of the cleaning blade 120 is fitted into the outer surface of the protrusion 45b of the presser flange 45 to set the cleaning blade 120 on the presser flange 45. Then, the attachment hole 45a formed in the axial center of the presser flange 45 is fitted onto the outer periphery of the large-diameter boss portion 44A of the fixed flange 44, and the cleaning blade 120 is sandwiched between the abutment surface 45c of the presser flange 45 and the abutment surface 44c of the fixed flange 44. The cleaning blade 120 is sucked and held by the blade holding jig 83 via the presser flange 45, and as shown in Fig. 14, the cleaning blade 120 is moved in the direction of the arrow by the lifting mechanism 71 and horizontal movement mechanism 72 shown in Fig. 9 until the cleaning blade 120 faces the fixed flange 44 left on the spindle 42.

[0076] 14 , when the inner and outer lip portions 86a, 86b of the suction member 86 of the blade holding jig 83 are pressed against one end surface of the presser flange 45, an annular space S is formed between the inner and outer lip portions 86a, 86b of the suction member 86 and the end surface of the presser flange 45. When the on-off valve V is opened in this state, the annular groove 85a formed in the flange 85 of the blade holding jig 83 is connected to the suction source 88 via the suction path 85b and the piping 87. When the space S is connected to the suction source 88 in this way, a negative pressure is generated in the space S, and the presser flange 45 is sucked and held by the blade holding jig 83 due to this negative pressure. At this time, the annular groove 45d is sucking in the atmosphere.

[0077] Next, the protrusion 45b of the pressing flange 45 is fitted into the mounting hole 120a formed in the center of the cleaning blade 120. As a result, the annular groove 45d is closed by the cleaning blade 120, and the blade holding jig 83 suction-holds the cleaning blade 120 via the pressing flange.

[0078] As described above, when the cleaning blade 120 is sucked and held by the blade holding jig 83 of the replacement device 80, the blade holding jig 83 moves in the direction of the arrow in Figure 14, and the pressing flange 45 and cleaning blade 120 held by it are fitted into the fixed flange 44. Then, from this state, the blade holding jig 83 moves in a direction away from the pressing flange 45 (to the left in Figure 15), and the cleaning blade 120 and pressing flange 45 remain on the fixed flange 44.

[0079] As described above, when the cleaning blade 120 and the pressing flange 45 are left fitted into the fixed flange 44, and the fixing nut 46 is screwed onto the male thread 44d of the fixed flange 44 using the nut holding jig 84, the cleaning blade 120 is clamped between the fixed flange 44 and the pressing flange 45 and assembled to the tip of the spindle 42, as shown in Figure 16.

[0080] 16, part of the outer periphery of the cleaning blade 120 attached to the tip of the spindle 42 is located in the gap δ between the light-emitting portion 141 and the light-receiving portion 142 of the photosensor 140. From this state, when cutting water is supplied from the cutting water nozzles 131 of each cutting mechanism 40 to the cleaning blade 120 from the cutting water supply source 132 shown in FIG. 1 via the piping 134 and the cutting water supply source 132 shown in FIG. 1, the spindle motor (not shown) is started to rotate the spindle 42 at a predetermined speed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 16, causing the cleaning blade 120 to rotate together with the spindle 42. The cleaning action of the cutting water sprayed toward the cleaning blade 120 from the multiple nozzles 131a opening in each pair of cutting water nozzles 131 and the cleaning effect of the brush 122 of the cleaning blade 120 reliably removes cutting debris adhering to the surfaces of the light-emitting portion 141 and the light-receiving portion 142 of the photosensor 140, leaving the surfaces of the light-emitting portion 141 and the light-receiving portion 142 clean. Therefore, the photosensor 140 can normally and continuously detect the occurrence of chipping or the like in the cutting blade 43.

[0081] In addition, the cutting water nozzle 131 may be one that sprays cutting water onto the cutting blade 43 from the outside of the cutting blade 43 in the tangential direction of the cutting blade 43, and when such a cutting water nozzle 131 is provided, the cleaning blade 120 may be rotated by the flow of cutting water sprayed from the cutting water nozzle 131, thereby cleaning the light-emitting portion 141 and the light-receiving portion 142 of the photosensor 140.

[0082] Once the light-emitting portion 141 and the light-receiving portion 142 of the photosensor 140 have been cleaned by the cleaning blade 120 as described above, the cleaning blade 120 is removed from the fixed flange 44 by reversing the procedure described above, and a new cutting blade 43 is attached to the tip of the spindle 42 by the blade replacement unit 70.

[0083] That is, the blade holding jig 83 that holds the cleaning blade 120 moves to the blade stock board 100 shown in Fig. 6 and transfers the cleaning blade 120 to the blade stock board 100, and the blade holding jig 83 suction-holds the cutting blade 43 and the pressing flange 45 that are stocked on the blade stock board 100 as shown in Fig. 13, and assembles the cutting blade 43 and the pressing flange 45 to the fixing flange 44 that remains on the spindle 42 as shown in Fig. 12. Finally, the nut holding jig 84 of the replacement device 80 holds the fixing nut 46 with four holding levers 96 as shown in Fig. 11, and in a state in which the fixing nut 46 is fitted into the boss portion 44B on the small diameter side of the fixing flange 44 and the female thread 46a of the fixing nut 46 is screwed into the male thread 44d of the boss portion 44B on the small diameter side of the fixing flange 44, the nut holding jig 84 and the fixing nut 46 are rotated by the electric motor 92 shown in Fig. 10 in the direction opposite to the arrow direction in Fig. 11 (the direction in which the fixing nut 46 is tightened). Then, as shown in Figure 5, the cutting blade 43 is clamped between the fixing flange 44 and the holding flange 45 and attached to the tip of the spindle 42, the cutting blade 43 is replaced with a new one, and cutting of the wafer W is continued using this replaced cutting blade 43.

[0084] As described above, in this embodiment, the blade replacement unit 70 automatically replaces the cutting blade 43 and cleans the photosensor 140 with the cleaning blade 120 when the cutting blade 43 is replaced, thereby preventing human error and achieving efficiency and labor savings.

[0085] In the above embodiment, a wafer W has been described as an example of the workpiece to be cut, but the present invention can also be applied to a cutting device and a cleaning blade provided therein that cuts any other workpiece other than a wafer W. The cleaning blade 120 according to the present invention includes a light-emitting unit 141 and a light-receiving unit 142, and can also be used to clean a non-contact setup sensor that detects the tip of the cutting blade 43 by inserting the cutting blade 43.

[0086] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when the cutting blade 43 is replaced, the light-emitting portion 141 and the light-receiving portion 142 of the photosensor 140 are cleaned. However, when the cutting blade 43 is removed, that is, when the cutting blade 43 or the like is not interposed between the light-emitting portion 141 and the light-receiving portion 142, and the light-receiving voltage of the light-receiving portion 142 is equal to or higher than a predetermined voltage value, the cutting blade 43 may be replaced without cleaning the photosensor 140.

[0087] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the application of the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims and the technical ideas described in the specification and drawings. [Explanation of symbols]

[0088] 1: cutting device, 2: base, 2a: opening of base, 3: cassette support, 4: cassette 5: Cover, 6, 7: Telescopic cover, 10: Chuck table, 11: Clamp, 20: Positioning mechanism, 21: Guide rail, 30: First conveying mechanism, 31: Rod, 32: Arm, 33: Grip, 40: Cutting mechanism, 41: Spindle housing, 41A: blade housing, 42: spindle, 42a: screw hole of spindle, 43: cutting blade, 43a: cutting blade mounting hole, 44: fixing flange, 44A, 44B: boss portion of fixing flange, 44C: flange portion, 44a: mounting hole, 44b: recess, 44c: contact surface, 44d: male screw, 45: holding flange, 45a: mounting hole, 45b: protrusion, 45c: contact surface, 45d: annular groove, 45e: through hole, 46: fixing nut, 46a: female screw, 46b: engagement hole, 46c: engagement groove, 47: washer, 48: Bolt, 50: Cleaning device, 51: Spinner table, 60: Second conveying mechanism, 61: Rod, 62: Arm, 70: Blade replacement unit (detachable mechanism), 71: moving mechanism, 72: lifting mechanism, 73: horizontal moving mechanism, 74: base plate, 75: support table, 76: First arm, 77: Second arm, 78: Bracket, 80: Exchange device, 81: Housing, 82: electric motor, 83: blade holding jig, 84: nut holding jig, 85: flange, 85a: annular groove, 85b: suction passage, 85c, 85d: circular holes, 86: suction member, 86a, 86b: Lip portion, 87: Pipe, 88: Suction source, 90: Imaging unit, 91: lens; 92: electric motor; 92a: output shaft of electric motor; 93: housing; 93A: inner cylinder portion, 93B: outer cylinder portion, 94: actuator, 95: pin, 96: Holding lever, 96a: Claw portion of holding lever, 97: Temporary cover, 98: Hinge, 100: Blade stock board (cleaning blade storage section), 101: Placement table, 102: Rotating shaft, 110: Control unit, 120: Cleaning blade, 120a: Mounting hole, 121: substrate, 122: brush, 130: cutting water supply means, 131: cutting water nozzle, 131a: nozzle, 132: cutting water supply source, 133: plug, 134: piping, 140: photosensor, 141: light emitting unit, 141a: light emitting element, 142: light receiving unit, 142a: light receiving element, CL: output shaft center of electric motor, D: device, F: ring frame, L1, L2: planned division line, M1: first motor, M2: second motor, M3: third motor, M4: 4th motor, S: space, T: dicing tape, V: on-off valve, W: wafer (workpiece), WS: workpiece set, δ: gap

Claims

1. A cleaning blade is provided in a cutting device that cuts a workpiece with a cutting blade, the cleaning blade being provided with a photosensor that detects the cutting blade by inserting a part of the cutting blade disposed at the tip of a spindle, and that cleans the photosensor, a circular or annular substrate having the same outer diameter as the cutting blade; annular brushes arranged so as to protrude outward from both sides of the outer periphery of the substrate; A cleaning blade comprising:

2. a chuck table for holding the workpiece; a cutting mechanism that cuts the workpiece held on the chuck table with a cutting blade attached to the tip of a spindle; a cutting water nozzle for supplying cutting water to the cutting blade; an attachment / detachment mechanism for attaching and detaching the cutting blade to and from the spindle; a photosensor having a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion for detecting the tip of the cutting blade; A cutting device comprising: a cleaning blade storage section that stores the cleaning blade according to claim 1; a control unit that uses the attachment / detachment mechanism to attach the cleaning blade housed in the cleaning blade housing unit to the tip of the spindle and rotates the spindle, thereby supplying cutting water from the cutting water nozzle to the rotating cleaning blade while cleaning the light-emitting unit and the light-receiving unit with the cleaning brush; A cutting device comprising:

Images