Abstract: A grinding method for grinding a workpiece includes a first grinding step of grinding the workpiece in such a manner that an outer circumferential part of the workpiece becomes thinner than a central part of the workpiece, a measurement step of measuring the thickness of the workpiece at the outer circumferential part, and a second grinding step of grinding the workpiece. In the second grinding step, the grinding is started from the central part of the workpiece and the grinding is ended when the workpiece reaches a finished thickness decided based on the thickness of the workpiece at the outer circumferential part measured in the measurement step.

Abstract: A manufacturing method of a plate-shaped object includes a shield tunnel forming step of forming plural shield tunnels in a plate-shaped workpiece formed of a hard material and an etching step of etching the shield tunnels by an etchant. The plate-shaped object is capable of being bent by an external force. In the shield tunnel forming step, plural shield tunnels are formed in a first shield tunnel region having a first length along a line-shaped first processing-planned region set on one surface of the workpiece, and plural shield tunnels are formed in a second shield tunnel region having a second length along a line-shaped second processing-planned region that is different from a region on an extension line of the first processing-planned region and is adjacent to the first processing-planned region on the one surface.

Abstract: A wafer manufacturing method includes: a crack layer forming step of applying a laser beam of such a wavelength as to be transmitted through an ingot to the ingot, with a focal point of the laser beam positioned in a region spaced from an end face of the ingot by a distance corresponding to the thickness of the wafer to be manufactured, to form a crack layer, a cut groove forming step of positioning a cutting blade on an extension line of the crack layer and forming a cut groove continuous with the crack layer in a periphery of the ingot; and a peeling step of applying an ultrasonic wave to the end face of the ingot to peel off the wafer to be manufactured, along the crack layer.

Abstract: A laser beam application unit of a laser processing machine includes a laser oscillator, a spot shaper, a polygon mirror, and a condenser. The laser oscillator emits a pulsed laser beam. The spot shaper is configured to shape a spot profile of the pulsed laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator such that the spot profile becomes long in a Y-axis direction and short in an X-axis direction. The polygon mirror disperses the spot, which has been shaped by the spot shaper, in the X-axis direction. The condenser focuses the pulsed laser beam, which has been dispersed by the polygon mirror, on a workpiece held on a chuck table.

Abstract: An affixing method includes a pressing step of pressing a tape against a wafer with a tape affixing roller and pressing the wafer against a suction table with the tape affixing roller, an evacuating step of evacuating a vacuum chamber that houses the suction table and the tape affixing roller therein to create a vacuum in the vacuum chamber, and an affixing step of affixing the tape to the wafer with the tape affixing roller by causing the tape affixing roller to roll on the tape while the tape affixing roller is pressing the wafer.

Abstract: After separation layers are formed inside a single-crystal silicon ingot, a single-crystal silicon substrate is split off from the single-crystal silicon ingot with use of these separation layers as the point of origin. This can improve the productivity of the single-crystal silicon substrate compared with the case of manufacturing the single-crystal silicon substrate from the single-crystal silicon ingot by a wire saw.

Abstract: A suction holding table for holding a holdable object under suction includes a base seat rotatable about a rotational axis, and a plurality of holders erected from the base seat and angularly spaced at equal angular intervals along a circle around the rotational axis, in which each of the holders has an upper surface functioning as a holding surface with a suction port defined therein, and attract the holdable object to the holder under a negative pressure applied via the suction port.

Abstract: A peeling tool includes a lower surface portion that is to be placed on a holding sheet affixed to a first surface of a workpiece, an upper surface portion corresponding to a second surface of the workpiece to which a protective sheet is affixed, and an abutting portion that has a shape conforming to an outer peripheral shape of the workpiece, that has a thickness corresponding to a thickness of the workpiece, and that is to abut on an outer peripheral portion of the workpiece. The upper surface portion has a width larger than a width of a peeling tape that is to be affixed to the protective sheet and used for peeling off the protective sheet, and is formed of a material that rejects affixing of the peeling tape. The lower surface portion is formed of a material that rejects affixing of the holding sheet.

Abstract: There is provided a method for executing processing for a workpiece. The method includes a table imaging step of imaging a foreign object of a transparent part of a holding table having the transparent part composed of a transparent member at least in part of a holding surface and forming a foreign object taken image, a holding step of holding the workpiece by the holding table after executing the table imaging step, a workpiece imaging step of imaging the workpiece held by the holding table through the transparent part and forming a workpiece taken image, and a processing step of executing cutting for the workpiece held by the holding table by a cutting unit.

Abstract: A cutting machine includes a monitoring unit that monitors a cutting edge of a cutting blade. The monitoring unit includes an imaging unit that images the cutting edge of the cutting blade, a pulse light source that emits a pulse light to illuminate an imaging zone imaged by the imaging unit, and a camera that captures an image outputted from the imaging unit. The imaging unit includes a first imaging unit that images one side surface of the cutting edge of the cutting blade, a second imaging unit that images an opposite side surface of the cutting edge, and a third imaging unit that images an outer peripheral edge portion of the cutting edge.

Abstract: A method of processing a plate-shaped workpiece includes a sheet affixing step of laying a thermocompression bonding sheet on a surface of the workpiece and heating and pressing the thermocompression bonding sheet against the workpiece to affix the thermocompression bonding sheet to the workpiece, a laser beam applying step of applying a laser beam having a wavelength absorbable by the workpiece to another surface of the workpiece along a projected dicing line established thereon, thereby processing the workpiece along the projected dicing line, and a sheet joining step of pressing the thermocompression bonding sheet while reheating the thermocompression bonding sheet to soften the same, so that the thermocompression bonding sheet is joined up by closing dividing grooves or through holes made in the thermocompression bonding sheet when the workpiece is processed in the laser beam applying step.

Abstract: There is provided a wet etching method including an etchant supply step of supplying an etchant from an etchant supply nozzle to a to-be-etched surface of a workpiece, an etching step of etching the to-be-etched surface with the etchant remaining on the to-be-etched surface, and an etchant removal step of, after performing the etching step, removing the etchant, which still remains on the resulting etched surface, from the etched surface. The etchant supply step, the etching step, and the etchant removal step are repeated a plurality of times in this order.

Abstract: A spindle unit includes a spindle having a processing tool fitted to a distal end of the spindle; and a spindle housing having a thrust bearing and a radial bearing configured to support the spindle by air in a rotatable and noncontact manner, the thrust bearing including an air supply portion configured to supply air to a gap between an outer surface of the spindle, the outer surface being in a direction orthogonal to an axial direction of the spindle, and an inner surface of the spindle housing, and an adjusting unit capable of adjusting a distance of the gap in a direction perpendicular to the outer surface of the spindle.

Abstract: A peeling layer is formed by applying a laser beam only to a central region of a workpiece other than a peripheral region extending inward from the peripheral edge of the workpiece by a predetermined distance. In this case, the application of the laser beam does not form the peeling layer in the peripheral region of the workpiece, and the formation of an ablation trace on the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece is prevented. As a result, it is possible to reduce a probability of occurrence of chipping in the peripheral region of a wafer peeled off from the workpiece when the wafer is subjected to a post-process.

Abstract: A manufacturing method of a device chip includes removing a film in regions corresponding to streets, forming a modified layer inside a wafer by irradiating a laser beam from the back surface side of the wafer along regions corresponding to the regions from which the film has been removed, and giving an external force to the wafer to divide the wafer into individual device chips. In film removal, the distance from an end part of the street in the width direction to the region from which the film is to be removed is set equal to or shorter than a predetermined upper limit value to cause formation of a step between a region in which a substrate is exposed and a region coated with the film at an outer edge part of the device chip when the wafer is divided into the individual device chips in the dividing step.

Abstract: A processing method of a wafer includes trimming the wafer along its outer peripheral edge while causing a cutting blade to cut from a front surface into a chamfered portion to a depth greater than a finish thickness, so that an annular stepped portion is formed in an outer peripheral surplus region. A protective member is bonded to a side of the front surface of the wafer, and the wafer is ground from its back surface to thin the wafer to a finish thickness. Between trimming and grinding, a laser beam is applied to the stepped portion, so that annular modified layers which are to be fractured under a pressing force to be applied by the grinding are formed in the stepped portion, whereby the fractured fragments of the stepped portion are subdivided.

Abstract: A wafer producing method for producing a wafer from a semiconductor ingot includes a thermal stress wave generating step of applying a pulsed laser beam having a wavelength that is absorbable by the semiconductor ingot to the semiconductor ingot held on the chuck table to generate a thermal stress wave and a fracture layer forming step of applying a pulsed laser beam having a wavelength that is transmittable through the semiconductor ingot to the semiconductor ingot in synchronism with a time during which the thermal stress wave reaches a position corresponding to a thickness of a wafer to be produced from the semiconductor ingot, causing the pulsed laser beam whose wavelength is transmittable through the semiconductor ingot to be absorbed in a region where a band gap is reduced by a tensile stress of the thermal stress wave.

Abstract: A method of processing a wafer having a plurality of intersecting streets on a face side thereof with protrusions on the streets includes a holding step of holding a protective sheet of a wafer unit on a holding table, an upper surface heightwise position detecting step of detecting a heightwise position of an upper surface of a reverse side of the wafer along the streets, and a laser beam applying step of applying a laser beam having a wavelength transmittable through the wafer to the wafer from the reverse side thereof along the streets while positioning a focused point of the laser beam within the wafer on the basis of the heightwise position, to thereby form modified layers in the wafer along the streets.

Abstract: A plate-shaped workpiece holding tool includes a holding base having a joint port coupled to a suction source and a holding surface for holding the plate-shaped workpiece thereon, a first O-ring disposed on the holding surface, a second O-ring disposed on the holding surface radially inwardly of the first O-ring, a suction port that is open in the holding surface between the first O-ring and the second O-ring and held in fluid communication with the joint port, and a liquid supply mechanism for forming a liquid seal between the holding surface and the plate-shaped workpiece radially outwardly of the first O-ring.

Abstract: In a processing method for a wafer with a mark formed in an outer peripheral portion thereof, a frame unit having the wafer, a tape, and a ring frame is provided, a set of processing conditions for processing the wafer is selected, and a representative image associated with the set of processing conditions is displayed on a display unit. The ring frame includes a notch formed in an outer periphery thereof. In the frame unit, the mark and the notch are in a positional relationship set in accordance with the set of processing conditions. The positional relationship is presented in the representative image.