Abstract: A wafer manufacturing method includes a wafer preparing step of preparing a wafer including a semiconductor device formed in each of a plurality of regions demarcated by a plurality of streets intersecting each other, a removing step of separating, from the wafer, a defective device region including a semiconductor device determined to be a defective product among a plurality of the semiconductor devices formed in the wafer, and a fitting step of fitting, into a through hole formed by separating the defective device region from the wafer, a device chip including a semiconductor device as a non-defective product having same functions as those of the semiconductor device determined to be a defective product and having a size capable of being fitted into the through hole.

Abstract: A wafer forming method includes a peeling layer forming step of applying, to a SiC ingot, a laser beam of such a wavelength as to be transmitted through the SiC ingot, with a focal point of the laser beam positioned at a depth corresponding to a thickness of a wafer to be formed from a first surface of the SiC ingot, to form a peeling layer including a modified section and cracks; and a wafer forming step of immersing the SiC ingot in a liquid and applying an ultrasonic wave to the SiC ingot through the liquid, to thereby peel a part of the SiC ingot with the peeling layer as an interface and form the wafer. In the wafer forming step, the ultrasonic wave is applied to the SiC ingot while a sweep treatment of regularly varying the oscillation frequency of an ultrasonic vibrator is performed.

Abstract: An information transmission method to be implemented in an information transmission system including a processing apparatus configured to process an objective material, a communication apparatus, and a responsive device communicably connected with the communication apparatus, is provided. The method includes controlling the processing apparatus to generate an error identification code indicating error information concerning an error occurring in the processing apparatus and controlling a display of the processing apparatus to display the generated error indication code; and controlling an image capturing unit in the communication apparatus to read the error identification code displayed on the display in the processing apparatus and controlling a communication unit in the communication apparatus to transmit the error information included in the error identification code to the responsive device.

Abstract: A laser processing apparatus includes a laser beam applying mechanism for applying a laser beam to a workpiece held by a holding mechanism while keeping a converged spot of the laser beam in the workpiece, and a temperature detector for detecting a temperature of the holding mechanism or a temperature of an actuator of a moving mechanism that moves the holding mechanism in a processing feed direction. The laser beam applying mechanism has a converged spot position adjusting unit. The controller, depending on a temperature change detected by the temperature detector, controls the converged spot position adjusting unit to establish a position of the converged spot of the laser beam in a thicknesswise direction of the workpiece.

Abstract: A wafer processing method includes a holding step of holding a wafer on a chuck table; a dressing step of cutting a peripheral marginal area of the wafer by a cutting blade mounted to a cutting unit to condition a state of a cutting edge; and a dividing step of cutting streets by the cutting blade mounted to the cutting unit to divide the wafer into individual device chips.

Abstract: An inspection method for a divided wafer includes a wafer lamination step of stacking a transfer wafer on top of a wafer that has been divided into a plurality of chips, a particle transfer step of, after the wafer lamination step is carried out, positioning the transfer wafer on a lower side and the divided wafer on an upper side and applying a vibration to the wafer stacked on the transfer wafer, to drop particles adhering to side surfaces of the chips onto the transfer wafer, and an inspection step of, after the particle transfer step is carried out, inspecting the particles on the transfer wafer.

Abstract: A tape mounter includes a frame delivery mechanism for delivering a ring frame, a wafer delivery mechanism for delivering a wafer, a tape affixing mechanism for affixing a dicing tape to a ring frame and a wafer and integrally combining the ring frame and the wafer with each other to turn them into a frame set, a frame cassette stage for placing a frame cassette thereon, a robot capable of removing a ring frame from the frame cassette placed on the frame cassette stage or storing the frame set into the frame cassette placed on the frame cassette stage, and a controller.

Abstract: A method of processing a wafer to divide the wafer into individual device chips, includes a second modified layer forming step of applying a laser beam to the wafer while positioning a focused spot of the laser beam inside the wafer along the projected dicing lines extending in a second direction intersecting with a first direction, thereby forming second modified layers in the wafer along the projected dicing lines extending in the second direction. In the second modified layer forming step, when the focused spot of the laser beam along the projected dicing lines extending in the second direction reaches first modified layers, the focused spot of the laser beam is shifted along the first modified layers to thereby undulate the laser beam in a staggered pattern to prevent the second modified layers from being formed straight in the wafer along the projected dicing lines extending in the second direction.

Abstract: A processing method of a workpiece with a circular disc shape includes sticking a tape to one surface of the workpiece and integrating the workpiece and a frame through the tape, holding the workpiece by a holding unit with the interposition of the tape, and irradiating the other surface of the workpiece located on the opposite side to the one surface with a pulsed laser beam having such a wavelength as to be absorbed by the workpiece from the side of the other surface. In irradiating the laser beam, the other surface is annularly irradiated with the laser beam in the state in which the orientation of the laser beam is adjusted in such a manner that the laser beam has an angle of incidence formed due to inclination with respect to a normal to the other surface of the workpiece by a predetermined angle.

Abstract: A wafer processing apparatus including a supporting unit having a frame fixing section fixing the frame, and a wafer table having a front side and a rear side, the front side including a supporting face supporting the wafer and a transparent plate, a liquid layer forming unit including a nozzle section and forming a layer of a liquid on the supporting face of the wafer table, an imaging unit including an imaging camera positioned adjacent to the rear side of the wafer table and opposite to the supporting face on the front side of the wafer table and an air blowing nozzle blowing air to a region between the wafer table and the adhesive sheet.

Abstract: An inspecting apparatus includes a table for supporting a workpiece thereon, a light applying unit for applying light to the workpiece supported on the table, and a light detector for detecting light reflected from the workpiece. The light detector includes a camera and a diffusion plate disposed between the table and the camera.

Abstract: A measuring method includes storing thickness data of each of chips held on a holding surface of a holding table, the thickness data being obtained by measurement of thicknesses of portions of the chip at a plurality of measurement points and representing the thicknesses measured at the measurement points in association with positions of the measurement points in a predetermined plane corresponding to a reverse side of the wafer, storing positions of central lines of dividing grooves in the predetermined plane in captured images of reverse sides of the chips, setting, in a periphery of each of the chips, a thickness data unreferencing zone including measurement points where the thickness data will not be referenced in calculating the thickness of the chip, and calculating, for each of the chips, an average value of thicknesses at the measurement points except for the measurement points included in the thickness data unreferencing zone.

Abstract: A laser processing method includes a scattered-light blocking film stacking step of stacking a scattered-light blocking film that blocks scattered light of a laser beam on an upper surface side of a wafer, a holding step of holding a lower surface side of the wafer by a chuck table, a laser processing step of forming a layer of water on the upper surface side of the wafer and irradiating a region to be processed in the wafer with the laser beam while moving the chuck table and a laser beam irradiation unit relatively, and a scattered-light blocking film removal step of removing the scattered-light blocking film from the wafer for which the laser processing step has ended.

Abstract: A laser processing apparatus includes an energy distribution correcting unit that forms skirt parts of a Gaussian distribution of an energy distribution in a Y-axis direction regarding a laser beam emitted from a laser oscillator into a perpendicular distribution, an imaging lens group composed of two or more lenses that form an image of the beam shape of the laser beam for which the energy distribution has been corrected by the energy distribution correcting unit on the upper surface of the workpiece, and one cylindrical lens that adjusts the energy density in an X-axis direction regarding the laser beam for which the energy distribution has been corrected by the energy distribution correcting unit.

Abstract: A method of processing a wafer includes a groove forming step of forming grooves in the wafer to a depth equal to or larger than a thickness of chips to be produced from the wafer from a face side of the wafer along projected dicing lines, a separation initiating point forming step of positioning a focused spot of a laser at a depth in the wafer corresponding to a thickness of the chips from a reverse side of the wafer, applying the laser beam to the wafer while moving the focused spot and the wafer relatively to each other, thereby forming separation initiating points in the wafer that are parallel to the face side of the wafer and made up of modified layers and cracks, and a chip peeling step of peeling off the chips from the wafer at the separation initiating points.

Abstract: A laser beam irradiation unit of a laser processing apparatus includes a laser oscillator that oscillates a laser, a Y-axis scanner that executes a high-speed scan with a laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator in a Y-axis direction, an X-axis scanner that executes processing feed of the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator in an X-axis direction, and a beam condenser. The Y-axis scanner is selected from any of an AOD, a resonant scanner, and a polygon scanner and the X-axis scanner is selected from a galvano scanner and a resonant scanner.

Abstract: A grinding wheel includes an annular base having a free end portion and a plurality of segment grindstones fixed on the free end portion of the annular base in a state of being spaced from one another in a circumferential direction. The plurality of segment grindstones are divided into a plurality of grindstone groups each including a predetermined number of segment grindstones. Each of the segment grindstones included in each of the grindstone groups has a grinding surface formed into a rectangular shape having a long side and a short side. The segment grindstones of the grindstone group are sequentially fixed on the free end portion of the annular base from an outer circumferential side toward an inner circumferential side such that directions in which the long sides of the segment grindstones extend are changed from the circumferential direction to a diametric direction of the free end portion.

Abstract: An edge alignment method includes (a) calculating coordinates of points having a possibility of corresponding to an edge of the workpiece, (b) forming an approximate circle by using a least squares method on all the coordinates, (c) calculating deviations between the approximate circle and respective ones of all the points, and if plural ones of the points have deviations greater than or equal to a preset threshold, respectively, then determining the point, the deviation of which is greatest, to be a false detection position, and excluding from consideration candidates the point determined to be the false detection position, and (d) estimating a position of the edge of the workpiece from the coordinates of three or more of the points still remaining without exclusion, and based on the estimated position of the edge, deriving a machining area at the outer peripheral portion of the workpiece.

Abstract: A workpiece processing method for processing a workpiece using a processing apparatus including a chuck table, a processing unit, a moving mechanism for moving the chuck table and the processing unit relative to each other, and an imaging unit for imaging the workpiece, where the chuck table includes a holding member formed by a transparent body and a supporting member supporting a part of the holding member and connected to an angle control mechanism. The method includes a tape affixing step, a holding step of holding the workpiece by the chuck table via the tape, and an identifying step of imaging the top surface side of the workpiece through the transparent holding member by the imaging unit positioned in a region that is on a lower side of the holding member and is not superimposed on the supporting member, and identifying a region to be processed in the workpiece.

Abstract: A fine adjustment device that is interposed between a table base rotatably supporting a chuck table for holding a workpiece on a holding surface and a base supporting the table base and that adjusts a distance between the table base and the base. The fine adjustment device includes: a support member that has an upper section and an intermediate section and a lower section, with the upper section fixed to the table base and with the intermediate section fixed to the base; an accommodating chamber formed in the support member; a piezoelectric actuator that is accommodated in the accommodating chamber and is capable of contracting and extending in a perpendicular direction; and a contraction-extension structure to have the accommodating chamber contracted and extended in the perpendicular direction.