APPARATUS FOR GRINDING SEMICONDUCTOR WAFER

This invention relates to an apparatus for grinding a semiconductor wafer (W) which includes a table (2) having a work stage (10) on which a semiconductor wafer to be ground is placed, at least the work stage being rotated, and a grinding wheel (3) which is moved in a direction perpendicular to or parallel to the work stage while being rotated about an axis parallel to a rotational axis of the work stage (10). In this apparatus, a semiconductor wafer (W) is cooled during grinding. In order to perform cooling, the apparatus has an inlet flow path (21, 22) for guiding cooling liquid to a grinding surface (S) of the semiconductor wafer (W), and an outlet flow path (13, 23, 24) for collecting the cooling liquid flowed onto the work stage. The apparatus also includes temperature detector (32), arranged in the outlet flow path (13, 23, 24), for detecting a temperature of the recovered cooling liquid. The rotational speed of the grinding wheel (3) or the rotary table (2) is controlled based on the temperature of the cooling liquid detected by the temperature detector (32).