Abstract: Disclosed is a method for efficiently separating a sapphire wafer serving as a substrate, on which semiconductor elements are formed, into unit chips by scribing the sapphire wafer, after grinding and lapping a rear surface of the sapphire wafer and then sand-blasting the sapphire wafer. The method includes the steps of: (a) grinding a rear surface of the sapphire wafer so that the sapphire wafer has a designated thickness; (b) lapping the rear surface of the ground sapphire wafer so that the sapphire wafer has a designated thickness; (c) polishing the rear surface of the lapped sapphire wafer so that the sapphire wafer has a designated thickness; (d) sand-blasting the rear surface of the polished sapphire wafer by uniformly blasting particles at a designated pressure during a designated time onto the rear surface of the polished sapphire wafer; and (e) scribing the rear surface of the sand-blast ground sapphire wafer.

Abstract: A process of lapping a wafer includes the steps of relieving adhesive stress of an ultraviolet tap attached to a first side of the wafer by irradiation of ultraviolet light, maintaining a lapping jig at a usable temperature of the ultraviolet tape to cause a binder applied to the lapping jig to be melted, bonding the first side of the wafer to the lapping jig, and lapping the wafer.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method for cutting a semiconductor wafer having a semiconductor layer formed on the top surface thereof by units of a chip having a prescribed size. The method comprises the steps of lapping the bottom surface of the wafer so that the wafer has a prescribed thickness, and scanning a laser beam onto the bottom surface of the wafer to form a scribe line on the bottom surface of the wafer. The chip is defined by the scribe line. The method further comprises polishing the bottom surface of the wafer having the scribe line formed thereon, and dividing the wafer into a plurality of the chips along the scribe line. With the method of the present invention, contaminants, such as dust or spots, produced in the course of forming the scribe line is easily removed without an additional cleaning process.

Abstract: An apparatus for conditioning the polishing pads of a chemical-mechanical polishing system includes a tool having a cutting tip and positioned almost perpendicular to the surface of the polishing pad arranged on a rotary surface table of the system. The apparatus also has a horizontal moving unit for moving the tool in a direction almost parallel to the surface of the polishing pad, a base unit positioned at a side of the rotary surface table and supporting the horizontal moving unit, and a vertical moving unit for adjusting a vertical position of the tool relative to the surface of the polishing pad. The conditioning apparatus precisely determines a target depth of cut in a polishing pad by moving the tool in a vertical direction, thus allowing the tool to precisely flatten the surface of the polishing pad during a conditioning process.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for conditioning the polishing pads of a chemical-mechanical polishing system is disclosed. The conditioning apparatus includes a tool having a cutting tip and positioned almost perpendicular to the surface of the polishing pad arranged on a rotary surface table of the system. The apparatus also has a horizontal moving unit for moving the tool in a direction almost parallel to the surface of the polishing pad, a base unit positioned at a side of the rotary surface table and supporting the horizontal moving unit, and a vertical moving unit for adjusting a vertical position of the tool relative to the surface of the polishing pad. The conditioning apparatus and method of this invention precisely determines a target depth of cut in a polishing pad by moving the tool in a vertical direction, thus allowing the tool to precisely flatten the surface of the polishing pad during a conditioning process.

Abstract: A novel process for lapping a wafer is disclosed, which includes the steps of relieving adhesive stress of an ultraviolet tap attached to a first side of a wafer by irradiation of ultraviolet light, maintaining a lapping jig at a usable temperature of the ultraviolet tape to cause binder applied to the lapping jig to be melted, bonding the first side of the wafer to the lapping jig, and lapping the wafer. Thus, the present invention can provide a process capable of preventing damage to a wafer owing to deformation of an ultraviolet tape. The invention can also simplify an entire process to shorten the time required to complete the process and can minimize damage to a wafer by carrying out a lapping process using an ultraviolet tape as well as a grinding process capable of increasing etching amount of a wafer.