Abstract: A sheet holding unit of a resin sheet fixing apparatus includes: a Peltier element that has an upper surface parallel to a sheet holding surface of a sheet holding table and near the sheet holding surface and a lower surface far from the sheet holding surface; a direct current (DC) power source that supplies the Peltier element with a DC; and a switch that switches a direction of the DC supplied to the Peltier element. By causing a current to flow in the Peltier element in a first direction, a resin sheet is softened and welded to a wafer, and by switching the switch to cause a current to flow in the Peltier element in a second direction, the resin sheet held on the sheet holding surface is cured and fixed to a surface on one side of the wafer.

Abstract: A grinding apparatus includes a chuck table that holds a wafer on a holding surface; a grinding unit that has a spindle unit in which a spindle with an annular grindstone mounted to a tip thereof is rotatably supported and that grinds the wafer by use of the grindstone; a grinding feeding mechanism that puts the grinding unit into grinding feeding in a grinding feeding direction perpendicular to the holding surface; a first height gauge that measures the height of the holding surface; a second height gauge that measures the height of an upper surface of the wafer; and a calculation section that calculates the difference between the height of the holding surface and the height of the upper surface of the wafer, as the thickness of the wafer. In the grinding apparatus, the first height gauge and the second height gauge are disposed in the grinding unit.

Abstract: There is provided a cutting apparatus that cuts a workpiece by a cutting blade. The cutting apparatus includes a chuck table that holds a board in which a groove is formed through cutting of the board by the cutting blade, a cutting unit having a spindle and a mount flange that is fixed to a tip part of the spindle and on which the cutting blade is mounted, and a replacement apparatus that replaces the cutting blade mounted on the mount flange with the cutting blade stored in a blade storing part and replaces the board placed on the chuck table with the board stored in a board storing part. The replacement apparatus includes a holding part that holds the cutting blade and the board under suction.

Abstract: A processing apparatus includes a first imaging unit over a chuck table that images a back surface side of a workpiece, a second imaging unit under the chuck table that images a front surface side of the workpiece in a region corresponding to a region imaged by the first imaging unit, and a control part that inverts, in a predetermined direction, either a first image obtained by imaging of a processed groove on the back surface side by the first imaging unit or a second image obtained by imaging of the processed groove on the front surface side by the second imaging unit in such a manner that orientations of the first and second images correspond with each other, and that causes a display device to display both the processed groove in the first image and the processed groove in the second image that are superimposed.

Abstract: A laser processing apparatus includes a chuck table for holding a workpiece, a laser beam applying unit for applying a pulsed laser beam to the workpiece held by the chuck table while positioning spots of the pulsed laser beam on the workpiece, thereby processing the workpiece with the pulsed laser beam, and a control unit for controlling operation of the laser beam applying unit. The laser beam applying unit includes a laser oscillator for oscillating pulsed laser to emit a pulsed laser beam, a decimator for decimating pulses of the pulsed laser beam to adjust a repetitive frequency thereof, a scanner for scanning the spots of the pulsed laser beam over the workpiece at predetermined intervals, and an f? lens for focusing the pulsed laser beam.

Abstract: A cutting blade position detecting method using a cutting apparatus including a holding table that holds a workpiece, and a cutting unit in which a cutting blade for cutting the workpiece held by the holding table is mounted in a rotatable state, includes a groove forming step of causing the cutting blade to further cut into the workpiece including a first groove formed by causing the cutting blade to cut into the workpiece, to form the workpiece with a second groove of which one end portion in a width direction does not overlap with the first groove whereas another end portion in the width direction overlaps with the first groove, and a calculating step of calculating the lower end position of the cutting blade based on a length of the one end portion in the width direction of the second groove formed in the workpiece.

Abstract: A processing apparatus includes a wafer cassette table, a wafer carrying-out mechanism, a wafer table, a frame housing unit, a frame carrying-out mechanism, a frame table, a tape sticking unit, a tape-attached frame conveying mechanism, a tape pressure bonding unit, a frame unit carrying-out mechanism, a reinforcing part removing unit, a ring-free unit carrying-out mechanism, and a frame cassette table. The wafer carrying-out mechanism includes a Bernoulli chuck mechanism that jets gas to the back surface of the wafer and generates a negative pressure. The gas jetted by the Bernoulli chuck mechanism is inert gas. The wafer carrying-out mechanism jets the inert gas from the Bernoulli chuck mechanism to suppress oxidation of the back surface of the wafer when the wafer is carried out.

Abstract: A wafer is positioned in an opening of a first frame. The wafer is pressure-bonded at one surface thereof to a first tape together with the first frame, onto a second tape pressure-bonded to a second frame. The wafer is processed by pressure-bonding the second tape, which is pressure-bonded to the second frame having an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the opening of the first frame, to another surface of the wafer, cutting the first tape along an outer periphery of the second frame, imparting an external stimulus to the first tape to lower a pressure-bonding force with which the first tape is pressure-bonded to the one surface of the wafer, and peeling off the first tape from the one surface of the wafer pressure-bonded to the second tape.

Abstract: A protective sheet application method for applying a protective sheet on a front surface of a substrate includes mounting the substrate on a support table in a vacuum chamber, mounting the protective sheet on the substrate to separate a space in the vacuum chamber into a first compartment and a second compartment, depressurizing the first compartment to a predetermined air pressure and also depressurizing the second compartment, opening the depressurized second compartment to the atmosphere to bring the protective sheet into close contact with the substrate by a predetermined force, and opening the depressurized first compartment to the atmosphere to separate the lower housing and the upper housing from each other. A protective sheet application apparatus for applying the protective sheet on the front surface of the substrate includes the vacuum chamber.

Abstract: A recognition method of a kerf includes a bonding step of bonding a workpiece to a dicing tape greater in size than the workpiece, a pre-machining imaging step of imaging an optimal region of the dicing tape where the workpiece is not bonded, a kerf forming step of forming a kerf in the optimal region by a cutting machine, a post-machining imaging step of imaging the optimal region with the kerf formed therein, and a recognition step of comparing intensities of light received at each two corresponding pixels in respective images of the optimal region as acquired by the pre-machining imaging step and the post-machining imaging step, subtracting the each two pixels where intensities of received light are the same, and recognizing as the kerf a region formed by the remaining pixels.

Abstract: A processing method of a device wafer includes a mask coating step of coating a front surface of the device wafer with a water-soluble resin, a mask forming step of applying a laser beam along each division line, forming a groove, and removing a protective mask and a functional layer to expose a substrate, a plasma etching step of forming a division groove that divides the substrate along the groove by supplying a gas in a plasma condition, an expanding step of expanding a protective tape in a plane direction to expand a width of the division groove, an adhesive film dividing step of applying a laser beam along the division groove to divide the adhesive film that has been exposed due to the formation of the division groove, and a cleaning step of cleaning and removing the water-soluble resin.

Abstract: A manufacturing method of a protective film agent for laser dicing that includes a solution preparation step of preparing a solution in which at least a water-soluble resin, an organic solvent, and an ultraviolet absorber are mixed; and an ion-exchange treatment step of carrying out ion exchange of sodium ions in the solution by using a cation-exchange resin.

Abstract: A tape expanding apparatus for expanding an expandable tape of a frame unit in which a workpiece is supported through the expandable tape to an annular frame includes a frame holding unit for holding the annular frame, a chuck table surrounded by the frame holding unit and having a holding surface for holding the workpiece through the expandable tape, and a position adjusting unit for adjusting a position of the workpiece with respect to the holding surface. The position adjusting unit includes a position detecting unit for detecting the position of the workpiece held on the holding surface and a position control unit having an abutting unit adapted to abut against an outer circumference of the annular frame supported by the frame holding unit and a moving mechanism for moving the abutting unit according to the position of the workpiece detected by the position detecting unit.

Abstract: There is provided a method of processing a wafer having devices formed in respective areas on a face side thereof that are demarcated by a plurality of crossing projected dicing lines on the face side. The method of processing a wafer includes a wafer unit forming step of forming a wafer unit having a wafer, a tape, and an annular frame, a dividing step of dividing the wafer along the projected dicing lines into a plurality of device chips, a pick-up step of picking up one at a time of the device chips from the wafer unit, and a measuring step of measuring the device chip picked up in the pick-up step. The method also includes a distinguishing step, before the pick-up step, of inspecting properties of the devices to distinguish acceptable devices and defective devices among the devices and storing distinguished results.

Abstract: A laser processing apparatus includes: a chuck table for holding a single-crystal SiC ingot on a holding surface thereof; a laser beam applying unit for applying a laser beam to the single-crystal SiC ingot held on the holding surface of the chuck table; and a camera unit configured to capture an image of the single-crystal SiC ingot held on the holding surface of the chuck table. The chuck table includes a porous material making up the holding surface and a glass frame made of a non-porous material and having a recess defined therein and receiving the porous material fitted therein, and a negative pressure transfer path for transferring a negative pressure to the porous material fitted in the recess.

Abstract: A waste liquid treating device includes a holding section that holds an adhesion plate, a vertically moving mechanism that moves the holding section vertically, and a peeling mechanism that peels off water-containing swarf from the adhesion plate held by the holding section. The peeling mechanism includes two air nozzles extending in parallel to each other in a horizontal direction with a spacing therebetween and including jet ports formed to face each other, a valve disposed in a piping providing communication between the two air nozzles and an air source, and a control unit that performs control of opening and closing of the valve and control of the vertically moving mechanism for moving the adhesion plate in the vertical direction in the spacing between the two air nozzles.

Abstract: A processing apparatus includes a chuck table, a first and second image capturing units, a display device, and a controller. The first image capturing unit obtains a first image group of images captured of a processed groove in the workpiece at different positions along a thicknesswise direction, each including a piece of first image information representing a shape of the processed groove. The second image capturing unit obtains a second image group of images captured of the processed groove at different positions along the thicknesswise direction of the workpiece, each including a piece of second image information representing a shape of the processed groove. The controller orders the pieces of at least either the first or the second image information into a sequence along the thicknesswise direction, thereby generating a three-dimensional image of the processed groove, and displays the three-dimensional image on the display device.

Abstract: A wafer having on one side a device area with a plurality of devices is processed by providing a protective film and applying the protective film, for covering the devices on the wafer, to the one side of the wafer, so that a front surface of the protective film is in direct contact with the one side of the wafer. The protective film is heated during and/or after applying the protective film to the one side of the wafer, so that the protective film is attached to the one side of the wafer, and the side of the wafer opposite to the one side is processed. Further, the invention relates to a method of processing such a wafer in which a liquid adhesive is dispensed only onto a peripheral portion of a protective film and/or only onto a peripheral portion of the wafer.

Abstract: A cutting apparatus includes a cutting unit that has a spindle with an annular cutting blade mounted to a tip part of the spindle through a blade mount, and a determining unit. The determining unit has a second flow path that is connected to a first flow path in a mounter of the blade mount for causing a negative or positive pressure to act on the first flow path, a measuring device that obtains a measured value of at least one of a pressure and a flow rate in the second flow path, and a screw-engaged state determining section that determines that a screw-engaged state of a fixed nut with a boss section of the mounter where the cutting blade is disposed is defective in a case where the measured value when the negative or positive pressure acts on the first flow path indicates an abnormal value.

Abstract: A wafer manufacturing apparatus includes a chuck table configured to hold an SiC ingot by a suction surface with a wafer to be manufactured on an upper side, an ultrasonic oscillating unit configured to oscillate an ultrasonic wave, a water supply unit, and a peeling unit configured to suck and hold the wafer to be manufactured, and peel the wafer to be manufactured. The chuck table includes a porous plate forming the suction surface and a base supporting the porous plate, and sucks and holds the SiC ingot even in a state in which an area of a second surface of the SiC ingot is smaller than an area of the suction surface, and the water flows on the suction surface exposed on the periphery of the SiC ingot.