Grinding wheel

Abstract

A grinding wheel is mounted at a distal end of a spindle and grinds a wafer held on a holding table. The grinding wheel includes: an annular base having a mounting surface to be mounted on the distal end of the spindle; and a plurality of segment grindstones that are fixedly attached annularly to a surface opposite to the mounting surface of the annular base and that are equidistantly spaced apart from each other. The annular base has a plurality of slits formed therein. Each of the slits represents a gap that is formed between two adjacent segment grindstones and that is extended toward a side of the annular base such that the slit has a width of the gap.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A grinding wheel, disposed at a distal end of a spindle, for grinding a wafer held on a holding table, the grinding wheel comprising:
 an annular base having a mounting surface to be mounted on the distal end of the spindle; and   a plurality of segment grindstones that are fixedly attached annularly to a surface opposite to the mounting surface of the annular base and that are equidistantly spaced apart from each other, wherein   the annular base has a plurality of slits, each of the slits representing a gap that is formed between two adjacent segment grindstones and that is extended toward a side of the annular base such that the slit has a width of the gap.