Abstract: There are provided a polishing apparatus and a polishing method capable of performing polishing a work (such as a wafer) with high efficiency and high precision, a novel work holding plate effectively holding a work and an adhering method for a work capable of adhering the work on the work holding plate with high precision. The polishing apparatus comprises: a polishing table(29); and a work holding plate(38), wherein a work held on the work holding plate(38) is polished supplying a polishing agent solution(41) in the apparatus, and in polishing action, an amount of deformation of the polishing table(29) in a direction normal to an upper surface thereof with respect to the upper surface thereof and/or an amount of deformation of the work holding plate(38) in a direction normal to a work holding surface thereof is restricted to 100 m or less by forming the polishing table(29) in one-piece, contriving flow paths of cooling water and others.

Abstract: There are provided a polishing apparatus and a polishing method capable of performing polishing a work (such as a wafer) with high efficiency and high precision, a novel work holding plate effectively holding a work and an adhering method for a work capable of adhering the work on the work holding plate with high precision. The polishing apparatus comprises: a polishing table(29); and a work holding plate(38), wherein a work held on the work holding plate(38) is polished supplying a polishing agent solution(41) in the apparatus, and in polishing action, an amount of deformation of the polishing table(29) in a direction normal to an upper surface thereof with respect to the upper surface thereof and/or an amount of deformation of the work holding plate(38) in a direction normal to a work holding surface thereof is restricted to 100 m or less by forming the polishing table(29) in one-piece, contriving flow paths of cooling water and others.

Abstract: There are provided a polishing apparatus and a polishing method capable of performing polishing a work (such as a wafer) with high efficiency and high precision, a novel work holding plate effectively holding a work and an adhering method for a work capable of adhering the work on the work holding plate with high precision. The polishing apparatus comprises: a polishing table(29); and a work holding plate(38), wherein a work held on the work holding plate(38) is polished supplying a polishing agent solution(41) in the apparatus, and in polishing action, an amount of deformation of the polishing table(29) in a direction normal to an upper surface thereof with respect to the upper surface thereof and/or an amount of deformation of the work holding plate(38) in a direction normal to a work holding surface thereof is restricted to 100 &mgr;m or less by forming the polishing table(29) in one-piece, contriving flow paths of cooling water and others.

Abstract: There are provided a polishing apparatus and a polishing method capable of performing polishing a work (such as a wafer) with high efficiency and high precision, a novel work holding plate effectively holding a work and an adhering method for a work capable of adhering the work on the work holding plate with high precision. The polishing apparatus comprises: a polishing table(29); and a work holding plate(38), wherein a work held on the work holding plate(38) is polished supplying a polishing agent solution(41) in the apparatus, and in polishing action, an amount of deformation of the polishing table(29) in a direction normal to an upper surface thereof with respect to the upper surface thereof and/or an amount of deformation of the work holding plate(38) in a direction normal to a work holding surface thereof is restricted to 100 &mgr;m or less by forming the polishing table(29) in one-piece, contriving flow paths of cooling water and others.

Abstract: An aqueous cutting fluid which can reduce the impact on working environment and the global environment, and can achieve both preventing precipitates from becoming a hard cake and keeping high dispersibility for abrasive grains is provided. Such an aqueous cutting fluid is obtained by a method comprising dispersing abrasive grains (G) in an aqueous composition comprising a dispersion medium (M) containing a hydrophilic alcohol compound such as ethylene glycol, a lipophilic alcohol compound such as propylene glycol and water, and silica colloid particles dispersed stably in the medium. The dispersion medium (M) is odorless and not flammable. The abrasive grains (G) may settle out after a time, but they do not closely contact with one another, and therefore the resulting precipitates do not become a hard cake, which allows the re-dispersion and reuse of precipitated grains.

Abstract: A wire saw which can improve a working accuracy is provided. When a wire goes to a rightward direction by a rotation of a moving motor, the wire is inclined in such a manner as to be moved toward a right and outer periphery from an inner portion of a work, and a cutting start point of the work becomes a point within the work. Further, when a wire goes to a leftward direction by a rotation of the moving motor, the wire is inclined in such a manner as to be moved toward a left and outer periphery from an inner portion of a work, and a cutting start point of the work becomes a point within the work. Then, the work is cut from the cutting start point by a sufficient slurry containing float abrasive grains supplied to a portion on the wire.

Abstract: There is provided a tension adjusting mechanism which can prevent a dancer arm from being widely rotated and a peripheral roller such as a guide roller from early abrading even in the case a wire is tensioned or loosened in accordance with a speed increase or decrease of the wire. A plurality of dancer rollers are rotatably supported to a front end of a rotatable dancer arm. A plurality of guide rollers are disposed in such a manner as to oppose to the dancer rollers, thereby successively guiding one wire on the dancer roller through the guide rollers. A predetermined tension is applied to the wire by rotating and urging the dancer arm to one direction by an urging member.

Abstract: A system for reusing water soluble slurry waste fluid wherein separated available abrasive grains and extracted water soluble coolant are reused. This system is capable of reducing a disposal cost due to a reduction of a load to a waste water disposal plant by effectively reusing water soluble slurry waste fluid, and making a contribution to a reduction of a total slicing cost by reusing abrasive grains and water soluble coolant.

Abstract: In a wire saw for slicing a cylindrical workpiece such as a silicon ingot so as to obtain wafers or the like, the feed rate of slurry fed to the workpiece, the viscosity of the slurry, or the feed rate of a wire is varied according to the cutting length in the workpiece or the angle between the wire and the circumference of the workpiece. It becomes possible to obtain wafers or the like, each having a uniform thickness.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing wire for use in a wire saw used for slicing a semiconductor ingot into wafers is disclosed. A starting wire, which is an iron or iron alloy wire plated with copper or copper alloy, is drawn into a fine wire in a finish drawing step. Subsequently, copper or copper alloy plating is removed from the fine wire surface through chemical polishing with an acid treatment solution or a like solution, physical polishing with polishing cloth or the like, or electropolishing, or through combined polishing thereof. The method makes it possible to manufacture wire having excellent quality characteristics without raising a problem such as metal contamination of product wafers sliced from the ingot.

Abstract: A wire saw apparatus which is less susceptible to loosening of the wire and to breakage thereof, includes a wire supply spool, a cutting head having a plurality of main rollers around which a wire from the wire supply spool is wrapped, a wire take-up spool for taking-up the wire from the cutting head, and a plurality of guide rollers for guiding the wire which are arranged between the wire supply spool and the cutting head and between the cutting head and the wire take-up spool, wherein each of the guide rollers has a peripheral groove having a square-shaped section with a width of 2-20 times the diameter of the wire, and the number of turns of the wire which is wrapped around each guide roller in the groove having a square-shaped section is not less than 1 and not more than 5.

Abstract: A method of slicing a semiconductor single crystal ingot by a wire saw slicing apparatus and a semiconductor wafer produced by the method, in which the running direction of the wire is not corresponding with the cleavage directions of the semiconductor single crystal ingot so that occurrence of cracks or breakage in the semiconductor wafer produced by the method can be suppressed significantly without any additional processes or an increase in cost.

Abstract: A wire saw for slicing a semiconductor single crystal ingot with which alignment of the crystallographic orientation of the ingot is simple and easy in a slicing process and a method for slicing the ingot by means of the wire saw. Main rollers are three-dimensionally arranged with a predetermined distance between each other, and a wire runs over the main rollers to form arrays of wire portions parallel to each other, with said wire saw an ingot being sliced into rods by pressing it to an array of wire portions between a pair of main rollers that are used to slice the ingot, while the wire is being driven and slurry is fed to the array of wire portions between the pair of main rollers, wherein the wire runs over the pair of main rollers used for slicing in a ratio of one turn over the pair of main rollers to more than one turn over the other main roller or rollers so that the array of wire portions running over the pair of main rollers used for slicing can be arranged at a desired pitch.

Abstract: A wire saw for slicing a semiconductor single crystal ingot with which alignment of the crystallographic orientation of the ingot is simple and easy in a slicing process and a method for slicing the ingot by means of the wire saw. Main rollers are three-dimensionally arranged with a predetermined distance between each other, and a wire runs over the main rollers to form arrays of wire portions parallel to each other, with said wire saw an ingot being sliced into rods by pressing it to an array of wire portions between a pair of main rollers that are used to slice the ingot, while the wire is being driven and slurry is fed to the array of wire portions between the pair of main rollers, wherein the wire runs over the pair of main rollers used for slicing in a ratio of one turn over the pair of main rollers to more than one turn over the other main roller or rollers so that the array of wire portions running over the pair of main rollers used for slicing can be arranged at a desired pitch.

Abstract: A water-soluble cutting fluid is produced by dissolving a polymer fatty acid triglyceride imidazole, 2-methyl-1-stearate, and boric acid imidazole in the dispersion of inorganic bentonite in water thereby preparing a main component and adding oleic acid (agent for enhancing the lubricity), Na salt of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (metallic ion adsorbent), benzotriazole (rust-preventing auxiliary agent), and a silicone type defoaming agent to the main component.

Abstract: A roller with grooves for a wire saw around which a cutting wire is wrapped. The roller comprises a core member having an inside divided into two areas which have a boundary at the center in the longitudinal direction of the core member, wherein each of the areas has a passage for circulation of a coolant and the inlet and the outlet of each passage are provided in the vicinity of the outer end of one area side in which the passage belongs.

Abstract: To keep, with a simple structure, roller bearing devices, rotatably supporting the end sections of two rollers, at the same and substantially constant temperature, working fluid is applied not only to the slicing sections, but also to roller bearing devices 14b, 14c, 16b, 16c, 18b and 18c. The flow rate of the working-fluid supply to nozzles 20, 22 for slicing-section is controlled in such a way that the temperature of the working fluid coming down from the slicing sections becomes a first preset temperature; and the flow rate of the working-fluid supply to nozzles 24-29 for bearing-section is controlled in such a way that the temperature of the working fluid coming down from the bearing sections becomes a second preset temperature.