JP5955530B2 - Cutting equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus for cutting a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer.

  Conventionally, in semiconductor manufacturing processes and various electronic component manufacturing processes, an ultra-thin cutting blade called a dicing saw is rotated at a high speed, and cutting fluid is supplied by nozzles disposed around the semiconductor blade. There is a cutting apparatus called a dicing apparatus that individually divides a plurality of devices formed on a workpiece. In the cutting apparatus, the supply of the cutting fluid by the nozzle is important in order to perform cleaning to prevent the cutting waste generated by the cutting process from adhering to the surface of the workpiece, or to remove the heat generated by the cutting process. Further, in recent years, in cutting of a workpiece in which a plurality of devices that have been miniaturized and miniaturized are formed, it is necessary to adjust the cutting position for dividing with high accuracy. A microscope is attached, a cutting position is imaged with a microscope in an imaging region adjacent to a processing region by a cutting blade, and alignment adjustment is performed based on the captured image (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2002-011641 A JP 2007-088361 A

  By the way, during cutting using a large amount of cutting fluid, an atmosphere containing a large amount of cutting fluid is generated in the processing region, but it is difficult to completely prevent the atmosphere of the processing region from flowing into the adjacent imaging region. is there. Therefore, the microscope is confiscated in the microscope box for the purpose of dustproofing and dripproofing. Since the microscope box is exposed to an atmosphere containing a large amount of cutting fluid, the cutting fluid in the atmosphere adheres to the outside, and the cutting fluid gradually stays outside the bottom as cutting progresses. The microscope box is provided with an imaging aperture, and the imaging aperture is provided with shutter means, so that it is possible to suppress the cutting fluid in the atmosphere from adhering to the microscope. However, if the cutting fluid staying outside the bottom of the microscope box drops into the imaging range on the surface of the workpiece when imaging the workpiece with the microscope, the dropped cutting fluid enters the imaging range on the surface of the workpiece. As a result, the picked-up image is affected by the dropped cutting fluid, and there is a problem that alignment adjustment or the like is hindered.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the above, Comprising: It aims at providing the cutting device which can suppress that a cutting fluid dripping in the imaging range in the surface of a workpiece.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, a chuck table for holding a workpiece, a cutting blade for cutting the workpiece held on the chuck table, and a cutting fluid for the cutting blade In a cutting apparatus comprising processing means having a nozzle to be supplied and imaging means for imaging the surface of the workpiece held on the chuck table, the imaging means is the workpiece held on the chuck table. A microscope provided with an objective lens facing the surface of the object, a microscope box that covers the periphery of the microscope and has a bottom part in which an imaging aperture is formed, and the imaging aperture at the time of shielding and at the time of imaging Shutter means for selectively opening and closing, the bottom of the microscope box is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, and the cutting fluid adhering to the bottom is below the inclined bottom Is induced in the parts, without staying in the bottom portion, characterized in that to facilitate the dropping of the position away from the imaging range.

  In the cutting device of the present invention, since the bottom portion is inclined, the cutting fluid adhering to the bottom portion is guided to the lower end portion of the inclined bottom portion, and does not stay on the bottom portion, so that dripping is promoted. Among them, the cutting fluid is suppressed from staying in the vicinity of the imaging opening that is not the lower end, and the cutting fluid staying from the vicinity of the imaging opening is prevented from dripping into the imaging range of the microscope on the surface of the workpiece. There is an effect that can be.

Drawing 1 is a figure showing the example of composition of the cutting device concerning an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the imaging unit. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the shutter unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the shutter unit. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the shutter means. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the microscope box.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments (embodiments) for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the contents described in the following embodiments. The constituent elements described below include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art and those that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the structures described below can be combined as appropriate. Various omissions, substitutions, or changes in the configuration can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Embodiment
Drawing 1 is a figure showing the example of composition of the cutting device concerning an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the imaging unit. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the shutter unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the shutter unit. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the shutter means. FIG. 3 is a side view of the microscope and shutter means in the microscope box. 4 and 5 are views of the shutter unit in the microscope box as viewed from above, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the shielding state and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the imaging state.

  The cutting apparatus according to the present embodiment relatively moves a chuck table that holds a workpiece after performing alignment adjustment on the processing unit based on an image captured by the imaging unit, and a processing unit having a cutting blade. Thus, the workpiece is cut. As shown in FIG. 1, the cutting apparatus 1 includes a chuck table 10, a processing unit 20, and an imaging unit 30. The cutting apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment further includes an X-axis moving unit (not shown), a Y-axis moving unit 40, a Z-axis moving unit 50, a cassette elevator 60, a temporary placing unit 70, and a cleaning / drying unit 80. And a control means 90.

  The chuck table 10 holds the workpiece W. The chuck table 10 has a disk shape in which a portion constituting the surface is made of porous ceramic or the like, is connected to a vacuum suction source (not shown) via a vacuum suction path (not shown), and is a workpiece W placed on the surface. Is held by sucking. The chuck table 10 is detachably fixed to the table moving base 2. In addition, a clamp portion (not shown) is provided around the chuck table 10, and the clamp portion 11 is driven by an air actuator to sandwich the frame F around the workpiece W.

  Here, the workpiece W is a workpiece to be processed by the cutting device 1. In this embodiment, the workpiece W is a semiconductor wafer having a base material of silicon, sapphire, gallium, or the like, or a plate-like member made of glass, resin, or the like. is there. The workpiece W has a device-side surface on which a plurality of devices are formed and a back surface opposite to the device-side surface is attached to the dicing tape T, and the dicing tape T attached to the workpiece W is attached to the frame F. Thus, the frame F is fixed.

  The processing means 20 is for cutting the workpiece W held on the chuck table 10. The processing means 20 includes a cutting blade 21, a spindle 22, a housing 23, and a nozzle 24. The cutting blade 21 is an extremely thin cutting grindstone having a substantially ring shape, and performs a cutting process on the workpiece W by rotating. The cutting blade 21 is detachably attached to the spindle 22. The spindle 22 is rotatably supported by a cylindrical housing 23 and is connected to a blade drive source (not shown) connected to the housing 23. The cutting blade 21 is rotationally driven by the rotational force generated by the blade drive source. The nozzles 24 supply cutting fluid to the cutting blade 21. In this embodiment, the nozzles 24 are arranged in pairs so as to sandwich the cutting blade 21 in the Y-axis direction. Cutting fluid from a cutting fluid supply source (not shown) is supplied to the nozzle 24, and a plurality of injection holes (not shown) are formed in the nozzle. The cutting fluid 21 and the cutting blade 21 are supplied from the plurality of injection holes. Is sprayed toward the cutting portion of the workpiece W to be cut.

  The imaging means 30 is for imaging the surface of the workpiece W held on the chuck table 10. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the imaging unit 30 includes a microscope 31, a microscope box 32, a shutter unit 33, and an air blow 34. The imaging unit 30 is attached to the support portion 3 on which the processing unit 20 is supported so that the imaging unit 30 has a predetermined positional relationship with the processing unit 20. The air blow 34 injects gas supplied from a gas supply device (not shown) onto the surface of the workpiece W through an imaging opening 32b described later when the imaging unit 30 images the surface of the workpiece W. By removing the cutting fluid adhering to the surface of the workpiece W, the factor that hinders the acquisition of a sharp image existing in the imaging range imaged by the imaging means 30 from the surface of the workpiece W is removed. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the microscope 31 has an objective lens 31 a that faces the surface of the workpiece W held on the chuck table 10. The microscope 31 receives the reflected image light from the imaging range S on the surface of the workpiece W and enters the image sensor (not shown) via the objective lens 31a, and thereby holds the image data of the surface of the workpiece W that is held. Based on the generated image data, the control means 90 is used to perform alignment adjustment for adjusting the relative position between the processing means 20 and the workpiece W.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the microscope box 32 covers the periphery of the microscope 31 and suppresses the outside atmosphere from entering the microscope box 32. As shown in FIG. 2, the microscope box 32 has a bottom portion 32 a in which an imaging opening 32 b for imaging the surface of the held workpiece W by the microscope 31 is formed in part. As shown in FIG. 4, the imaging opening 32 b is located at a substantially central position in the X-axis direction so as not to narrow the imaging range S of the microscope 31 with respect to the surface of the workpiece W at a position facing the microscope 31 in the Z-axis direction. The part is formed in a circular shape. Here, the bottom 32a is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, and in this embodiment, is inclined with respect to the X axis. The bottom portion 32a is an upper end portion 32c farthest from the workpiece W held in the Z-axis direction, with one end portion in the X-axis direction view (the left end portion in FIG. 2), and the other end in the X-axis direction view. The portion (the right end portion in FIG. 2) is inclined so as to be the lower end portion 32d closest to the workpiece W held in the Z-axis direction. That is, the lower end 32d is formed at a position away from the imaging opening 32b, that is, away from the imaging range S by the microscope 31.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the shutter unit 33 selectively opens and closes the imaging opening 32 b during shielding and during imaging, and is accommodated in the microscope box 32. As shown in FIG. 4, the shutter unit 33 includes an air cylinder mechanism 35, a shielding plate 36, and a guide member 37. Here, the time of shielding means a state in which the imaging aperture 32b is shielded, that is, closed, by covering the imaging aperture 32b with the shielding plate 36, as shown in FIG. Further, when imaging, as shown in FIG. 5, the imaging aperture 32b is not covered by the shielding plate 36, and the imaging aperture 32b is opened so that the surface of the workpiece W can be imaged by the microscope 31. That is, it means an open state.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the air cylinder mechanism 35 moves the shielding plate 36 along the bottom portion 32a, that is, in the Y-axis direction in the present embodiment, and includes a cylinder portion 35a, a piston 35b, and a flange portion 35c. It is comprised including. The cylinder part 35a is disposed on the upper surface of the bottom part 32a in the microscope box 32, and is connected to a gas supply device (not shown) through a gas supply path (not shown). The cylinder part 35a moves the piston 35b along the bottom part 32a, that is, in the present embodiment in the Y-axis direction, with the gas supplied from the gas supply device. As shown in FIG. 4, the piston 35b is formed with a flange portion 35c at the tip, and for example, the connecting portion 36f of the shielding plate 36 is fixed to the flange portion 35c by fixing means F1 and F2 such as bolts and nuts. Thus, the shielding plates 36 are connected.

  The shielding plate 36 closes the imaging opening 32b at the time of shielding, and includes a plate-like portion 36a, a plurality of projections 36b, 36c, 36d, a skirt portion 36e, and a connection portion 36f. Yes.

  The plate-like portion 36a is a plane parallel to the bottom portion 32a and covers the imaging opening 32b when shielded. In the present embodiment, the plate-like portion 36a has a rectangular shape, and extends upward from a portion of the outer periphery facing the air cylinder mechanism 35 in the Y-axis direction to form a connection portion 36f.

  The plurality of protrusions 36b to 36d are formed to protrude from the plate-like portion 36a toward the bottom portion 32a, that is, downward from the bottom surface of the plate-like portion 36a. In the present embodiment, the plurality of protrusions 36b to 36d are formed in a shape capable of supporting the shielding plate 36 by making point contact with the bottom 32a by doweling or pressing. For example, the plurality of protrusions 36b to 36d are formed so that the cross-sectional shape in a plane including the Z axis is a semicircle or a semi-ellipse. The protrusions 36b and 36c support the shielding plate 36 at a position where the imaging opening 32b is sandwiched between the projections 36b and 36c. Further, the protrusion 36d supports the shielding plate 36 at a position on the axis of the piston 35b. That is, the plurality of protrusions 36b to 36d support the shielding plate 36 at three points. The plurality of protrusions 36b to 36d are not limited to the shape that makes point contact with the bottom portion 32a, but may have a shape that makes line contact with the bottom portion 32a, for example, a semi-cylindrical column, a semi-elliptical column, and one vertex in the Z-axis direction. One may be formed in the polygonal column etc. which oppose the bottom part 32a.

  The skirt portion 36e extends from the outer periphery of the plate-like portion 36a toward the bottom portion 32a. In this embodiment, the skirt portion 36e is bent from a portion (three sides) of the outer periphery (four sides) of the plate-like portion 36a excluding a portion (one side) where the connecting portion 36f is formed. It is integrally formed toward the bottom 32a. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the skirt portion 36e is formed so as to spread from the plate-like portion 36a toward the bottom portion 32a to the outside of the plate-like portion 36a. The skirt portion 36e is formed so as to substantially shield the interval d2 between the plate-like portion 36a formed by the plurality of protrusions 36b to 36d and the bottom portion 32a with a slight gap d1. In other words, the skirt portion 36e has an extension amount from the plate-like portion 36a toward the bottom portion 32a in the Z-axis direction, and the distance d2 between the plate-like portion 36a and the bottom portion 32a, that is, the protrusion amounts of the plurality of protrusion portions 36b to 36d. Is set smaller than. Here, the slight gap d1 refers to a slight gap (for example, several mm or less, preferably about 0.1 mm) such that the skirt portion 36e does not contact the bottom portion 32a.

  The guide member 37 guides the movement of the shielding plate 36 by the air cylinder mechanism 35, that is, the movement in the Y-axis direction in this embodiment. The guide member 37 is disposed at a position facing the shield plate 36 in the X-axis direction on the top surface of the bottom 32a in the microscope box 32 and in contact with the shield plate 36, and extends in the Y-axis direction. The guide member 37 has an L-shaped cross-section in a plane orthogonal to the Y axis, and is fixed to the bottom 32a by fixing means F3 and F4 such as bolts and nuts, for example. The number of guide members 37 is not limited to one, and two guide members 37 may be disposed with the shielding plate 36 interposed therebetween.

  The X axis moving means moves the workpiece W held on the chuck table 10 relative to the cutting blade 21 in the X axis direction. The X-axis moving means is provided in the apparatus body 4 and includes an X-axis ball screw, an X-axis pulse motor, and a pair of X-axis guide rails. The X-axis ball screw is disposed in the X-axis direction, is screwed with a nut (not shown) provided at the lower portion of the table moving base 2, and an X-axis pulse motor is connected to one end. The pair of X-axis guide rails are formed in parallel with the X-axis ball screw, and the table moving base 2 is slidably mounted thereon. The X-axis moving means rotates the X-axis ball screw by the rotational force generated by the X-axis pulse motor, thereby bringing the table moving base 2 (chuck table 10) into a pair of X-axis guides as shown in FIG. The apparatus body 4 is moved in the X-axis direction while being guided by a rail.

  Here, the table moving base 2 is supported in the apparatus main body 4 so as to be rotatable about the central axis of the table moving base 2. The table moving base 2 is connected to a base driving source (not shown) housed in the apparatus main body 4. The table moving base 2 can be rotated at an arbitrary angle, for example, 90 degrees or continuously by the rotational force generated by the base driving source, and the chuck table 10 is centered on the table moving base 2 with respect to the cutting blade 21. Rotation driving such as arbitrary angle rotation and continuous rotation can be performed around the axis.

  The Y-axis moving unit 40 moves the cutting blade 21 relative to the workpiece W held on the chuck table 10 in the Y-axis direction. The Y-axis moving means 40 is provided in the apparatus main body 4 and includes a Y-axis ball screw (not shown), a Y-axis pulse motor 41, and a pair of Y-axis guide rails (not shown). The Y-axis ball screw is arranged in the Y-axis direction, is screwed with a nut (not shown) provided inside the blade moving base 5, and a Y-axis pulse motor 41 is connected to one end. . The pair of Y-axis guide rails are formed in parallel with the Y-axis ball screw, and the blade moving base 5 is slidably mounted thereon. The Y-axis moving means 40 rotates the Y-axis ball screw by the rotational force generated by the Y-axis pulse motor 41, thereby guiding the blade moving base 5 with the pair of Y-axis guide rails with respect to the apparatus main body 4. Are moved in the Y-axis direction.

  The Z-axis moving unit 50 moves the cutting blade 21 relative to the workpiece W held on the chuck table 10 in the Z-axis direction. The Z-axis moving means 50 is provided on the blade moving base 5 and includes a Z-axis ball screw 51, a Z-axis pulse motor 52, and a pair of Z-axis guide rails 53a and 53b. . The Z-axis ball screw 51 is disposed in the Z-axis direction, is screwed with a nut (not shown) provided in the arm portion 6 to which the support portion 3 is connected, and has a Z-axis pulse motor at one end. 52 are connected. The pair of Z-axis guide rails 53a and 53b is formed in parallel with the Z-axis ball screw 51, and the arm portion 6 is slidably mounted thereon. The Z-axis moving means 50 rotates the Z-axis ball screw 51 by the rotational force generated by the Z-axis pulse motor 52, so that the support part 3 is moved by the pair of Z-axis guide rails 53a and 53b via the arm part 6. It is moved in the Z-axis direction with respect to the apparatus body 4 while being guided.

  The cassette elevator 60 has a plurality of storage portions in the Z-axis direction that store the workpieces W one by one, and stores a plurality of workpieces W at a time. The cassette elevator 60 is configured such that a space formed inside the apparatus main body 4 can be raised and lowered in the Z-axis direction. The temporary placing means 70 has a pair of rails 71 and temporarily places the workpiece W before and after machining on the pair of rails 71. The cleaning / drying unit 80 includes a spinner table 81 on which the processed workpiece W is placed and held. The spinner table 81 is connected to a spinner table driving source housed in the apparatus body 4. When the workpiece W is held on the spinner table 81, the cleaning / drying unit 80 rotates the workpiece W by the rotational force generated by the spinner table driving source, and the workpiece W is fed from a cleaning liquid ejecting apparatus (not shown). The cleaning is performed by spraying a cleaning liquid, and the workpiece W after cleaning is dried by spraying a gas from a gas spray device (not shown).

  The control means 90 controls each of the above-described components constituting the cutting device 1. The control means 90 causes the cutting device 1 to perform a machining operation on the workpiece W. Further, when the imaging unit 30 images the surface of the workpiece W, the control unit 90 drives the air cylinder mechanism 35 to shift the imaging opening 32b from the closed state to the opened state. is there. The control means 90 is mainly composed of an arithmetic processing unit constituted by, for example, a CPU or the like and a microprocessor (not shown) provided with a ROM, a RAM, etc. It is connected to operating means used when registering content information and the like.

  Next, the machining operation of the cutting device 1 according to this embodiment will be described. First, when the operator registers the machining content information and receives an instruction to start the machining operation, the machining operation is started. In the processing operation, the workpiece W is unloaded from the cassette elevator 60 to the temporary placing means 70 by the unloading / unloading means 100, placed on the pair of rails 71 of the temporary placing means 70, and then chucked by the unillustrated conveying means. It is conveyed to the table 10 and held on the chuck table 10.

  Next, alignment adjustment is performed. In alignment adjustment, first, the control unit 90 moves the chuck table 10 holding the workpiece W in the X-axis direction to the imaging position. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 90 moves the shielding plate 36 from the state where the imaging opening 32 b is closed by the shielding plate 36 to the air cylinder mechanism 35 in the Y-axis direction by the air cylinder mechanism 35. The shielding plate 36 is moved in an approaching direction (A direction in the figure) to bring the imaging opening 32b into an open state as shown in FIG. At this time, even if the shielding plate 36 moves in the X-axis direction when moving in the approaching direction, the movement in the X-axis direction is restricted by the guide member 37, so the shielding plate 36 moves smoothly in the approaching direction. be able to. Next, the control unit 90 images the surface of the workpiece W held by the imaging unit 30 and adjusts the relative position of the held workpiece W with respect to the processing unit 20 based on the captured image.

  Next, the control means 90 moves the chuck table 10 holding the workpiece W at the imaging position to the machining position in the X-axis direction. Here, before the chuck table 10 is moved to the processing position and the processing is executed, the control means 90 starts the air cylinder mechanism from the state where the imaging opening 32b is opened as shown in FIG. 35, the shielding plate 36 is moved in the Y-axis direction in the separating direction (B direction in the figure) for separating the shielding plate 36 from the air cylinder mechanism 35, and the imaging opening 32b is closed as shown in FIG. State. At this time, even if the shielding plate 36 moves in the X-axis direction when moving in the separation direction, the movement in the X-axis direction is restricted by the guide member 37, so the shielding plate 36 moves smoothly in the separation direction. be able to.

  Next, the control means 90 cuts the workpiece W along the planned division line based on the machining content information, and divides the outer periphery of the workpiece W to divide each of a plurality of devices to be described later. Cutting such as a process of cutting in the circumferential direction and removing a part of the outer periphery of the workpiece W (hereinafter simply referred to as “removal process”) is performed. At this time, the atmosphere containing the cutting fluid generated in the machining area corresponding to the machining position also flows into the imaging area corresponding to the imaging position, and the cutting fluid in the atmosphere adheres to the outside of the microscope box 32. As the cutting process proceeds, the cutting fluid adhering to the side surface of the outside of the microscope box 32 moves to the outside of the bottom portion 32a along the side surface, and the cutting fluid adhering to the outside of the bottom portion 32a stays outside the bottom portion 32a. . Here, since the bottom portion 32a is inclined, the cutting fluid adhering to the outside of the bottom portion 32a moves outside the bottom portion 32a from the upper end portion 32c toward the lower end portion 32d, that is, is guided to the lower end portion 32d. . The cutting fluid L collected at the lower end portion 32d is disposed on the surface of the workpiece W finally held, the surface of the chuck table 10, the chuck table moving base 2, and both ends of the chuck table moving base 2. Drip on the surface of the bellows. The processed workpiece W is transferred from the chuck table 10 to the cleaning / drying unit 80 by a transfer unit (not shown), cleaned and dried by the cleaning / drying unit 80, and then temporarily transferred by a transfer unit (not shown). It is transported to the placing means 70 and carried into the cassette elevator 60 from the temporary placing means 70 by the carry-in / out means 100.

  As described above, the cutting device 1 according to this embodiment does not stay in the bottom portion 32a and is promoted to drip at the lower end portion 32d. Therefore, the cutting fluid is located near the imaging opening 32b outside the bottom portion 32a. Is retained and dripping from the peripheral end of the imaging opening 32b is suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the cutting fluid from dripping into the imaging range S of the microscope 31 on the surface of the workpiece W facing the imaging opening 32b in the Z-axis direction.

  Further, in the cutting device 1 according to the present embodiment, the plurality of projecting portions 36b to 36d project from the plate-like portion 36a toward the bottom portion 32a and make point contact with the bottom portion 32a, whereby the shielding plate 36 is brought into contact with the bottom portion 32a. I support it. Therefore, the contact area of the shielding plate 36 with respect to the bottom portion 32a is reduced as compared with the case where the shielding plate 36 is in direct contact with the bottom portion 32a, that is, in surface contact. Therefore, even if the cutting fluid in the atmosphere is dried between the shielding plate 36 and the upper surface of the bottom portion 32a, it is possible to suppress the shielding plate 36 from adhering to the bottom portion 32a. Thereby, it is suppressed that the shielding plate 36 is difficult to slide with respect to the bottom portion 32a, the malfunction of the opening / closing operation of the imaging opening 32b, and the components such as the air cylinder mechanism 35 that moves the shielding plate 36 of the shutter means 33. Can be prevented from being damaged or broken. Further, in the point contact, since the wear of the microscope box 32 or the shielding plate 36 can be suppressed with respect to the surface contact, dust generation due to wear can be suppressed, and the inside of the microscope box 32 can be kept clean. it can.

  Further, the cutting device 1 according to the present embodiment uses the skirt portion 36e formed on the outer periphery of the plate-like portion 36a to provide a gap between the shielding plate 36 and the bottom portion 32a formed by the plurality of projection portions 36b to 36d. It can shield compared with the case where 36e is not formed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the outside atmosphere, particularly the atmosphere containing the cutting fluid, from entering the microscope box 32 at the time of shielding.

[Modification of Embodiment]
In the above embodiment, the bottom 32a is formed to be inclined in the X-axis direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the microscope box. As shown in FIG. 6, the bottom portion 32 a may be formed to be inclined with respect to the Y axis. The bottom portion 32a has one end portion (the left end portion in the figure) in the Y-axis direction as an upper end portion 32e and the other end portion (right end portion in the figure) in the Y-axis direction becomes a lower end portion 32f. So as to be inclined. That is, the lower end 32 f is formed at a position away from the imaging opening 32 b formed on the chuck table 10 side in the Y-axis direction, that is, away from the imaging range S by the microscope 31. In this case, the cutting fluid adhering to the outside of the bottom portion 32a moves outside the bottom portion 32a from the upper end portion 32e to the lower end portion 32f toward the side opposite to the chuck table 10 in the Y-axis direction, that is, the lower end portion. 32f. The cutting fluid L collected at the lower end portion 32f is finally dropped onto the chuck table moving base 2, the surface of the bellows disposed at both ends of the chuck table moving base 2, and the like. In the present modification, the lower end portion 32f is formed at a position that does not face the chuck table 10 in the Z-axis direction, and the dripping of the cutting fluid L on the surface of the workpiece W held can be suppressed. In addition to the same effects as the embodiment, it is possible to reliably suppress the cutting fluid L dripped onto the surface of the workpiece W from moving on the surface and being positioned in the imaging range S of the microscope 31.

  In the above-described embodiment and the modification, one of the ends of the bottom portion 32a is the lower end portions 32d and 32f. However, the surface of the workpiece W is cut into the imaging range S of the microscope 31 from the lower end portions 32d and 32f. If the liquid is not dripped, that is, not near the imaging opening 32b, the lower ends 32d and 32f may be formed in the middle of both ends of the bottom 32a. Further, both ends of the bottom portion 32a are defined as lower end portions 32d and 32f, and by forming upper end portions 32c and 32e in the middle of the both ends of the bottom portion 32a, for example, the center portion, the bottom portion 32a is formed in an inverted V-shaped cross section. Also good.

  In the embodiment and the modification, the air cylinder mechanism 35 is used as a mechanism for moving the shielding plate 36. However, any actuator or the like may be used as long as the actuator can open and close the imaging opening 32b. . In addition, the imaging plate 32b is opened and closed by moving the shielding plate 36 in the Y-axis direction. However, the shielding plate 36 may be moved in the X-axis direction, or may be rotated around the rotation axis. . In this case, the plurality of protrusions 36b to 36d are preferably formed in the plate-like portion 36a so as not to pass through the imaging opening 32b when viewed in the Z-axis direction due to the movement of the shielding plate 36.

  Further, the shielding plate 36 is not limited to a rectangular shape, and may be a disk or an ellipse. The skirt portion 36e is formed so as to spread outside the plate portion 36a from the plate portion 36a toward the bottom portion 32a. However, the skirt portion 36e may be formed in parallel with the Z-axis direction. It may be formed so as to narrow toward the bottom 32a from the inside of the plate-like portion 36a.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cutting device 10 Chuck table 20 Processing means 30 Imaging means 31 Microscope 31a Objective lens 32 Microscope box 32a Bottom part 32b Imaging opening 32c, 32e Upper end part 32d, 32f Lower end part 33 Shutter means 35 Air cylinder mechanism 35a Cylinder part 35b Piston 36 Shielding Plate 36a Plate-shaped portion 36b to 36d Projection portion 36e Skirt portion 37 Guide member 40 Y-axis moving means 50 Z-axis moving means 60 Cassette elevator 70 Temporary placing means 80 Cleaning / drying means 90 Control means 100 Loading / unloading means

Claims (1)

A chuck table for holding a workpiece, a cutting blade for cutting the workpiece held on the chuck table, a processing means having a nozzle for supplying a cutting fluid to the cutting blade, and a chuck table In a cutting apparatus comprising an imaging means for imaging the surface of the workpiece that has been made,
The imaging means has a microscope having an objective lens facing the surface of the workpiece held by the chuck table, and a bottom portion that covers the periphery of the microscope and is partially formed with an imaging aperture. A microscope box, and shutter means for selectively opening and closing the imaging opening at the time of shielding and at the time of imaging,
The bottom portion of the microscope box is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, and the cutting fluid adhering to the bottom portion is guided to the lower end portion of the inclined bottom portion, does not stay on the bottom portion, and leaves the imaging range. A cutting device that promotes dripping at a predetermined position .

Images