JP2006150844A - Cutting or grinding processing of highly brittle material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cutting or grinding processing of a highly brittle material which can suppress the foaming during the processing and restrain the chips generated upon processing the highly brittle material from adhering to the material being worked. <P>SOLUTION: The cutting or grinding processing of highly brittle materials uses an agent for processing highly brittle materials, which comprises 1-10,000 ppm of 1 or more kinds of an ammonium salt, alkali metal salt and amine salt of a high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid having a weight average molecular weight of 500-50,000 that is a polyacrylic acid or a copolymer between an α-olefin and maleic acid, and which has a pH of 6-9. This cutting or grinding processing of highly brittle materials can suitably be employed for the cutting or grinding processings, especially for the cutting, precision polishing or dicing processings, of highly brittle materials including glass, ceramic or silicon in particular. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to cutting or grinding of highly brittle materials. More specifically, the present invention suppresses foaming during processing, and suppresses adhesion to work materials such as chips and polishing powder generated during processing of highly brittle materials such as glass, ceramics, and silicon. The present invention relates to cutting or grinding of highly brittle materials that can facilitate later cleaning and eliminate the reduction in yield due to poor cleaning.

  In recent years, highly brittle materials such as glass, ceramics, and silicon are frequently used as semiconductor materials and magnetic recording materials. These materials are hard and brittle, and when such highly brittle materials are cut or ground, fine particles called particles derived from fine chips or abrasive powder may adhere to the workpiece. is there. If such particles adhere to the workpiece, there is a risk that problems such as corrosion of metal elements, aluminum pads, etc. may occur in the subsequent process. Therefore, it is necessary to quickly remove such particles after cutting or grinding. In particular, in the dicing process, a device in which fine elements and circuits are formed is targeted for cutting. Therefore, there are extremely high demands on chips, contamination, and metal contamination. In the dicing process, the abrasive grains used are fine so as not to damage the device. For this reason, the generated chips are very fine and once attached to the device surface, it is difficult to remove. Therefore, conventionally, a method for reducing the adhesion of dirt is devised by devising how to apply the cutting water or by suppressing the generation of static electricity by mixing carbon dioxide into the cutting water. Also, the cleaning process after processing is devised.

  For example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below, there is a technique for improving the chip removal performance by spraying a cleaning liquid at a high pressure toward a cut workpiece after dicing a solid material and applying ultrasonic vibration to the cleaning liquid. It is disclosed. Further, Patent Document 3 below discloses a technique in which a solid material after dicing is fixed by vacuum suction, and then washed with a roll brush to prevent residual chips. Furthermore, in Patent Document 4 below, a surfactant is applied to the surface of the solid material before dicing and then dicing, and then the dicing solid material is washed to reduce chipping, cracks, and chip adhesion. Techniques that enable this are disclosed.

  In addition, as technologies relating to cutting water at the time of dicing, the following Patent Documents 5 and 6 include a surfactant, an inorganic acid such as carbonic acid or acetic acid, or a compound of a lower carboxylic acid and an ammonia base. A technique has been introduced in which a salt consisting of is added to increase the electrical conductivity of cutting water and suppress electrostatic breakdown of circuit elements. However, these documents do not mention the chip removal effect during dicing.

JP-A-6-177245 JP 11-214333 A JP 2003-209089 A Japanese Patent No. 3404456 JP-A-63-28608 JP-A-3-227556

  However, methods that improve the removal of particles from the workpiece surface in terms of apparatus and method require corresponding equipment. As a result, there is a problem in that the cost of the device itself increases in addition to the increase in size and complexity of the device. In addition, each method increases the number of processes other than the processing such as the activator application / cleaning process, and thus has a disadvantage from the viewpoint of cost. Furthermore, with regard to a method for improving the removal of particles from the surface of the work material from the composition of the processing oil, the conventional processing oil is focused on antistaticing the material or removing contamination by metal ions, No composition considering the prevention of chip adhesion has been reported.

  Further, in the dicing process by the dicing apparatus, the blade is usually rotated at a high speed. Therefore, if a normal surfactant or the like is included in the processing oil, bubbles are generated during processing, and as a result, not only the work efficiency is lowered, but also it may cause trouble of the equipment. However, no processing oil has been reported which mentions this point.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and suppresses foaming during processing, and also provides a material to be processed such as chips and polishing powder generated during processing of highly brittle materials such as glass, ceramics, and silicon. It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly brittle material cutting or grinding process that can suppress the adhesion of the resin and facilitate post-processing cleaning to eliminate the reduction in yield due to poor cleaning.

  The present inventors have made various studies from the viewpoint of processing agents in the processing of highly brittle materials, particularly in dicing processing used for semiconductor materials. As a result, by adding a specific additive to the processing agent, while suppressing foaming during processing, it has a high anti-adhesion effect on chips, polishing powder or particles while being water-soluble, and processing of highly brittle materials In particular, the inventors have found that high productivity can be realized in cutting or grinding of a brittle material used for a semiconductor material, particularly cutting or precision polishing such as dicing, and the present invention has been completed.

The present invention is as follows.
[1] Cutting or grinding of a highly brittle material using a highly brittle material processing agent containing 1 to 10,000 ppm of an alkali salt of a high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid having a weight average molecular weight of 500 to 50,000 in the highly brittle material processing agent. A method of cutting or grinding a highly brittle material, wherein:
[2] A high brittle material processing agent containing 1 to 10,000 ppm of an alkali salt of a high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid having a weight average molecular weight of 500 to 50,000 in the high brittle material processing agent, and containing no free abrasive grains, A method for cutting or grinding a highly brittle material, comprising cutting or grinding a highly brittle material without mixing the agent for processing a highly brittle material and free abrasive grains.
[3] The alkali salt of high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid is one or more of ammonium salt, alkali metal salt, and amine salt of high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid. A method of cutting or grinding brittle materials.
[4] The cutting or grinding method of a highly brittle material according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the pH of the highly brittle material processing agent is 6 to 9.
[5] The cutting or grinding method for a highly brittle material according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the highly brittle material is a highly brittle material containing glass, ceramics, or silicon.
[6] The highly brittle material cutting or grinding method according to [1] or [2], wherein the highly brittle material is a semiconductor wafer.
[7] The highly brittle material cutting or grinding method according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein the cutting or grinding process is a cutting process or a precision polishing process.
[8] The highly brittle material cutting or grinding method according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein the cutting or grinding process is a dicing process.

The highly brittle material cutting or grinding method of the present invention has the above-described configuration, thereby suppressing adhesion of chips and grinding powder generated during processing of the highly brittle material, and facilitating cleaning after processing. The yield due to defects can be reduced. Moreover, the cutting or grinding method of the highly brittle material of the present invention can prevent foaming of the processing agent during cutting or grinding, and as a result, work efficiency can be improved.
Another cutting method or grinding method of a highly brittle material according to the present invention can perform cutting or grinding processing while preventing the adhesion of loose abrasive grains by having the above-described configuration. As a result, cleaning after processing can be facilitated and yield due to poor cleaning can be reduced.
In the high brittle material cutting or grinding method of the present invention, the high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid alkali salt is one or more of ammonium salt, alkali metal salt, and amine salt of high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid. And more excellent adhesion suppressing effect of chips and grinding powder.
In the highly brittle material cutting or grinding method of the present invention, when the pH of the highly brittle material processing agent is 6 to 9, the balance of the ratio between the high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid and the alkali salt is appropriate, and the method is more excellent. It has the effect of suppressing adhesion of chips and grinding powder.
In the cutting or grinding method of the highly brittle material of the present invention, the above-mentioned preferred effects are obtained in cutting or grinding of highly brittle materials including glass, ceramics or silicon, for example, semiconductor wafers.
The highly brittle material cutting or grinding method of the present invention exhibits the above-described advantageous effects, particularly in cutting, precision polishing, or dicing. In particular, in dicing processing, generation of bubbles during processing due to high-speed rotation of the blade or the like can be suppressed, and the working efficiency of dicing processing can be further improved.

The cutting or grinding method of a highly brittle material of the present invention uses a highly brittle material processing agent containing 1 to 10,000 ppm of an alkali salt of a high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid having an average molecular weight of 500 to 50,000 in the highly brittle material processing agent. Cutting or grinding a highly brittle material.
Further, another high brittle material cutting or grinding method according to the present invention comprises 1 to 10,000 ppm of an alkali salt of a high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid having an average molecular weight of 500 to 50,000 in a high brittle material processing agent, A highly brittle material is cut or ground using a highly brittle material processing agent that does not contain, without mixing the highly brittle material processing agent and free abrasive grains.

  The high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid is not particularly limited as long as it is a compound having a plurality of carboxyl groups in the molecule. For example, in addition to compounds having only carboxyl groups as other functional groups in the molecule, hydrocarbon groups such as methyl and ethyl groups (straight chain or branched hydrocarbon groups, unsaturated or saturated hydrocarbon groups, aliphatic hydrocarbons) A group, an aromatic hydrocarbon group, etc. The hydrocarbon group may contain one or more heteroatoms such as O, S, and halogen such as Cl and Br. Is usually 1 to 15, preferably 1 to 10, and more preferably 1 to 6.), hydroxyl group, phenolic hydroxyl group, carbonyl group, amino group, sulfonyl group and other functional groups other than carboxyl group It may be a compound having In the high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid, some of the carboxyl groups in the molecule may be changed to carboxylic acid derivatives such as esters, imides, amides, and anhydrides.

  As described above, the high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid is not particularly limited as long as it is a compound having a plurality of carboxyl groups in the molecule. For example, the high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid may be a homopolymer or a copolymer. In the case of a copolymer, the monomer may be a copolymer composed of only two or more monomers having a carboxyl group, or one or more monomers having a carboxyl group and a carboxyl group. The copolymer which consists of 1 type, or 2 or more types of the other monomer which does not have this may be sufficient. The high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid is a reaction such as graft polymerization, oxidation, or addition to a homopolymer or copolymer, particularly oxidation and hydrolysis of a functional group of a main chain or a side chain of a polymer compound. The compound which introduce | transduced the carboxyl group into the molecule | numerator by performing reaction, etc. may be sufficient. For example, the compound etc. which converted the functional group (nitrile group etc.) of the principal chain or side chain, such as polyacrylonitrile, into carboxylic acid by hydrolysis, etc. are mentioned.

  Examples of the monomer having a carboxyl group include carboxylic acids having a carbon-carbon double bond such as acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, maleic acid, crotonic acid, itaconic acid and undecylenic acid. The monomer having a carboxyl group may be a carboxylic acid derivative having a group that changes to a carboxyl group by hydrolysis or the like. Examples of the carboxylic acid derivative include esters, imides, amides, and anhydrides. Specific examples of the carboxylic acid derivative include, for example, esters of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid (monomethyl ester, dimethyl ester, monoethyl ester, diethyl ester, etc.), amides and imides, maleic imides, 2-methylmaleic acid, Examples thereof include derivatives of carboxylic acids having a carbon-carbon double bond such as maleic anhydride derivatives such as maleic acid monomethyl ester, maleic acid monoethyl ester and maleic acid monophenyl ester.

  As described above, when the high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid is a copolymer, one or more of other monomers having no carboxyl group can be used. There is no particular limitation on the type of such other monomer. Examples of the other monomer include α-olefins such as propylene, 1-butene, isobutylene, 1-pentene, 1-dodecene and 1-tetradecene, aromatic vinyl compounds such as styrene, and halogenated compounds such as vinyl chloride. Examples include vinyl compounds, diene compounds such as butadiene and isoprene.

  Examples of the alkali salt include alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts, amine salts, ammonium salts and the like. More specifically, for example, examples of the alkali metal salt include Li salt, Na salt and K salt. Examples of the alkaline earth metal salt include Ca salt, Mg salt and Ba salt. Further, examples of the amine salt include alkanolamine salts such as monoethanolamine salt, diethanolamine salt, triethanolamine salt, and monopropanolamine salt, and alkylamines such as methylamine salt, ethylamine salt, and propylamine salt. Examples include salts. Among these, alkali metal salts, amine salts and ammonium salts are preferable because of their high solubility in water. Furthermore, an ammonium salt is particularly preferable in order to suppress the influence on the highly brittle material.

  Specific examples of the alkali salt of the high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid include, for example, an acrylic acid or methacrylic acid homopolymer or copolymer alkali salt, and a maleic acid homopolymer or copolymer alkali salt. And an unsaturated salt of an unsaturated fatty acid polymer or copolymer. More specifically, for example, alkali salt of polyacrylic acid, alkali salt of polymethacrylic acid, alkali salt of polyalkenyl succinic acid, copolymer of α-olefin such as isobutylene and maleic anhydride or acrylic acid Salts, alkali salts of copolymers of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid and maleic acid, alkali salts of copolymers of styrene sulfonic acid and acrylic acid or methacrylic acid, alkali salts of copolymers of acrylic acid and acrylamide, etc. Can be mentioned. Among these, an alkali salt of polyacrylic acid, particularly Na salt or ammonium salt of polyacrylic acid is preferable.

  The alkali salt of the high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid may be used alone or in combination of two or more. When two or more types are included, for example, two or more types of alkali salts of high molecular weight polycarboxylic acids having different high molecular weight polycarboxylic acids and alkali salts can be used in combination. Further, two or more alkali salts of high molecular weight polycarboxylic acids having different high molecular weight polycarboxylic acids and common alkali salts may be used in combination. Two or more alkali salts of polycarboxylic acids may be used in combination.

  The ratio of the polymer carboxylic acid alkali salt of the polymer carboxylic acid to the alkali is not particularly limited, and can be various ratios as necessary. However, the influence on the highly brittle material to be processed is affected. In order to keep it to a minimum, it is preferable to adjust the ratio of the polymeric carboxylic acid and the alkali so that the pH of the highly brittle material processing oil after addition becomes 6-9.

  The weight average molecular weight of the alkali salt of the polymeric carboxylic acid is 500 to 50000, preferably 500 to 30000, more preferably 1000 to 20000, more preferably 1000 to 18000, and particularly preferably 1500 to 15000. If the weight average molecular weight of the alkali salt of the polymer carboxylic acid is less than 500, it is not sufficient to improve the workability of the highly brittle material and the cleaning property of the particles, and the weight average molecular weight of the alkali salt of the polymer carboxylic acid is If it exceeds 50,000, the solubility in the highly brittle material processing agent is inferior, and separation, gelation and the like occur, and the stability of the highly brittle material processing agent becomes insufficient.

  The content of the alkali salt of the polymer carboxylic acid is 1 to 10000 ppm, preferably 1 to 5000 ppm, more preferably 2 to 4000 ppm, more preferably 3 to 3000 ppm, and particularly preferably 3 to 1500 ppm. If the content of the alkali salt of the polymer carboxylic acid is less than 1 ppm, it is not preferable because it is insufficient for improving the workability and the cleaning property. If the addition amount exceeds 10000 ppm, the high brittle material processing agent is added. In addition to poor solubility, separation, gelation, etc. occur and the stability of the highly brittle material processing agent becomes insufficient, such being undesirable. On the other hand, when the content of the alkali salt of the polymer carboxylic acid is within the above range, processability and cleaning properties can be improved. Further, when the content of the alkali salt of the polymer carboxylic acid is within the above range, there is a merit that the waste liquid treatment after processing can be easily or unnecessary because it is a trace amount.

  As a solvent for the highly brittle material processing agent, water (pure water, purified water) is usually used from the viewpoint of influence on the highly brittle material, but if necessary, a medium other than water, such as an oil agent, or water. And a mixed solvent of a medium other than water such as an oil agent. In the case of such a mixed solvent, the amount of water is not particularly limited, but is usually 10 to 99.5% by mass, preferably 40 to 99.5% by mass in 100% by mass of the highly brittle material processing agent. More preferably, it is 60-99.5 mass%. By setting it as this range, since the effect by addition of the alkali salt of the said polymeric carboxylic acid is fully exhibited, it is preferable. In addition, the said highly brittle material processing agent can be used not only for the processing agent which mix | blended water from the beginning as mentioned above but for a predetermined aqueous | water-based processing by adding water at the time of use. If necessary, it can be further diluted with water before use.

  The above-mentioned highly brittle material processing agent appropriately contains one or more of various additives added to general processing oils as necessary, unless the processing performance and cleaning performance are significantly reduced. Can be made. As said additive, the well-known rust preventive agent, antifoamer, anticorrosive agent, antiseptic | preservative, coloring agent etc. which are added to the general processing oil agent are mentioned, for example. Moreover, although the said highly brittle material processing agent may contain a free abrasive grain as needed, it is good also as what does not contain a free abrasive grain.

  The usage form of the agent for processing a highly brittle material can be an appropriate usage form according to cutting or grinding. For example, if necessary, it may be further diluted with water at the time of use. Moreover, although you may contain a loose abrasive as needed, it is good also as what does not contain a loose abrasive. For example, using the above-mentioned agent for processing a highly brittle material that does not contain free abrasive grains, the highly brittle material can be cut or ground without mixing the agent for processing a highly brittle material and free abrasive grains. . In the case of this method, it is inevitable that some abrasive grains fall off from the grindstone are included, but the amount of loose abrasive grains in cutting or grinding can be reduced. Therefore, cutting or grinding can be performed while preventing such loose abrasive particles from adhering, and as a result, cleaning after processing can be facilitated and yield due to poor cleaning can be reduced.

  In order to perform the highly brittle material cutting or grinding method of the present invention more satisfactorily, various conditions such as the liquid temperature, supply amount, and processing speed of the highly brittle material processing agent can be appropriately adjusted. For example, the supply amount of the high brittle material processing agent is usually 0.5 liter / min or more, preferably 0.7 liter / min or more, more preferably 1.2 liter / min or more.

  In the highly brittle material cutting or grinding method of the present invention, the kind, material and shape of the highly brittle material are not particularly limited. Specific examples of the highly brittle material include a highly brittle material containing glass, ceramics, or silicon. More specifically, for example, semiconductor wafers (Si wafers, etc.), semiconductor substrate materials (crystals, sapphire, gallium arsenide, metal oxides such as silicon oxide and aluminum oxide), and various magnetic materials (ferrites, neodymium magnets) , Samarium / cobalt magnets, etc.).

  There is no limitation in particular in the specific kind of the said cutting or grinding process. Specific examples of the cutting or grinding process include a cutting process, a precision polishing process, and a dicing process. Moreover, there is no limitation in particular also about the apparatus which performs the said cutting or grinding process, A well-known cutting or grinding apparatus can be used suitably. Furthermore, the specific method of the cutting or grinding is not particularly limited, and can be performed by a known method.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described specifically by way of examples. In addition, this invention is not limited to a following example.

(1) Preparation of agent for processing highly brittle materials A component for processing highly brittle materials was prepared by blending each component shown in Table 1 into pure water at a ratio shown in Table 1.
In addition, the detail of each component added by Comparative Examples 2-6 is described below.
<1> “Nonion Activator A”; Polyoxyalkylene condensate of ethylenediamine
<2> “Nonion activator B”; polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene glycol
<3> “Commercially available product A”; polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene copolymer
<4>"Commercially available product B"; polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene alkyl ether
<5>"Commercially available product C"; polyoxyethylene octyl phenyl ether

(2) Dicing processing of highly brittle material and performance evaluation thereof A Si wafer (φ6 ″, t; 0.635 mm) was fixed with a dicing tape, and then dicing processing was performed using the processing agent for highly brittle materials ( Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 to 6) As a reference example, dicing was performed using pure water as a highly brittle material processing agent under the following conditions.
Device used: “DFD641 FULL AUTOMATIC DICING SAW” (manufactured by Disco)
Cutting conditions: Feed rate: 50 mm / s, cutting depth: 30 μm to dicing tape, spindle rotation speed: 40000 rpm
Cutting water flow rate: 0.7 l / min (blade nozzle), 1.0 l / min (shower nozzle), no spinner cleaning

During the dicing process, the presence or absence of bubbling was visually observed and distinguished into the following three levels. Further, after the dicing process, the remaining state of the chips was visually observed on the surface and kerf portion of each chip cut when dicing, and was classified into the following four levels. These results are shown in Table 1 below.
<Cut residual criteria>
A: Chips are not observed in individual chips and kerf parts.
○: Slight chip residue is observed on each chip and kerf.
(Triangle | delta): The residue of a chip | tip is recognized by each chip | tip and a kerf part.
X: A large amount of chips remained in each chip and kerf.
<Bubbling evaluation criteria>
○: No problem.
Δ: Slightly bubbling.
X: There is much foaming.

(3) Effects of Examples From Table 1, in the reference example using pure water, foaming at the time of dicing is at a level with no problem, but the surface and kerf portion of each chip cut out during dicing It can be seen that chips remain on the surface and the adhesion of chips generated during processing of the highly brittle material is not sufficiently suppressed. Further, in Comparative Example 1 using a polyacrylate that is outside the scope of the present invention and in Comparative Example 2 using a nonionic activator (polyoxyalkylene condensate of ethylenediamine), as in the case of the pure water, dicing processing is performed. Although foaming at the time is almost at a problem level, chips remain on the surface and kerf of each chip cut when dicing, and the effect of suppressing the adhesion of chips generated during processing of highly brittle materials It can be seen that no improvement is recognized.

  In addition, from Table 1, Comparative Example 3 using a nonionic activator (polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene glycol), polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene copolymer, polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene alkyl ether, and polyoxyethylene In Comparative Examples 4 to 6 using octylphenyl ether, it can be seen that not only the improvement of chip adhesion suppression effect during dicing is not recognized, but also foaming during dicing is recognized. Particularly in Comparative Example 6, foaming was recognized as the foam overflowed from the tank in the apparatus.

  On the other hand, from Table 1, in Examples 1 to 6, which are within the scope of the present invention, after any dicing, chips remaining on the surface of the individual chips and the kerf portion separated when dicing are recognized. There was little or no. In particular, it can be seen that when the concentration of the polyacrylate contained is 100 ppm or more, the remaining chips are scarcely observed, and a more excellent chip adhesion suppression effect is exhibited. Moreover, in Examples 1-6, since foaming at the time of dicing is suppressed to the extent which does not have a problem, working efficiency can be improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the specific examples described above, and can be variously modified examples within the scope of the present invention depending on the purpose and application.

Claims (8)

  Cutting or grinding a highly brittle material using a highly brittle material processing agent containing 1 to 10,000 ppm of an alkali salt of a high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid having a weight average molecular weight of 500 to 50,000 in the highly brittle material processing agent. A method for cutting or grinding a highly brittle material.   A high brittle material processing agent containing 1 to 10,000 ppm of an alkali salt of a high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid having a weight average molecular weight of 500 to 50,000 in a high brittle material processing agent and containing no free abrasive grains. A method for cutting or grinding a highly brittle material, comprising cutting or grinding a highly brittle material without mixing the processing agent and loose abrasive grains.   3. The cutting or grinding of a highly brittle material according to claim 1, wherein the alkali salt of the high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid is one or more of ammonium salt, alkali metal salt, and amine salt of high molecular weight polycarboxylic acid. Processing method.   The method of cutting or grinding a highly brittle material according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the highly brittle material processing agent has a pH of 6 to 9.   The method for cutting or grinding a highly brittle material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the highly brittle material is a highly brittle material containing glass, ceramics, or silicon.   The method for cutting or grinding a highly brittle material according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the highly brittle material is a semiconductor wafer.   The method for cutting or grinding a highly brittle material according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cutting or grinding is cutting or precision polishing.   The method for cutting or grinding a highly brittle material according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cutting or grinding is dicing.