Method and apparatus for slicing workpiece

Abstract

Disclosed are an improved method and apparatus for slicing a workpiece such as a semiconductor ingot, in which coolant nozzles are disposed near the cutting edge of an annular blade, air nozzles are respectively equipped near the both side surfaces, the air nozzles are connected to a compressed air supply source via pressure regulators and electromagnetic valves, a deflection detector is located in the vicinity of one of the side surfaces, which detector is connected to the air nozzles via a computer and the pressure regulators, wherein, in the course of slicing, for example, if an actual deflection has been detected toward one of the side surfaces, the compressed air is blown from an adjacent air nozzle to the one of the side surfaces and the secondary pressure of the pressure regulator connecting to the adjacent air nozzle is regulated higher or lower, as the blade is deflected larger or smaller. In such a manner, deflection of the blade is minimized to decrease a warpage of a sliced wafer obtained by the annular saw blade method and apparatus.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.