Abstract: A cutting blade supplying apparatus includes a cutting blade stocker that stocks a plurality of cutting blades, a carrying unit that carries out the cutting blade from the cutting blade stocker and carries the cutting blade to a cutting apparatus, a transferring unit that transfers the cutting blade carried by the carrying unit to a blade replacing unit of the cutting apparatus, and a control unit. The control unit selects the cutting blade needed by the cutting apparatus and causes the cutting blade to be carried by the carrying unit to the cutting apparatus.

Abstract: A combined chuck table mechanism includes a chuck table, an electrostatic attraction section, and a vacuum suction section. The chuck table has a holding surface for holding a plate-shaped workpiece. The electrostatic attraction section has electrodes provided in the chuck table for charging an upper surface, a holding surface, through supply of power and electrostatically attracting the workpiece. The vacuum suction section has a porous portion that is formed to be flush with the upper surface, that communicates with a suction source, and that has fine holes, suction ports. The combined chuck table mechanism further includes a control unit adapted to achieve holding of the workpiece through a combined force by supplying power to the electrodes and a negative pressure to the suction ports.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing surface acoustic wave device chips includes grinding a reverse side of a wafer with a surface acoustic wave device formed in each area demarcated by a plurality of crossing projected dicing lines on a face side of the wafer; before or after grinding, applying a laser beam to the reverse side of the wafer such that the laser beam is focused at a position within the wafer, the position being closer to the face side of the wafer than a position corresponding to a reverse side of each of the surface acoustic wave device chips to be produced from the wafer, thereby forming a modified layer for diffusing an acoustic wave; and after grinding and applying the laser beam, dividing the wafer along the projected dicing lines into a plurality of the surface acoustic wave device chips.

Abstract: A conveyance system for conveying a workpiece to each of a plurality of processing apparatuses includes a conveyance passage disposed in a space directly above the processing apparatus over the plurality of processing apparatuses, an automated conveying vehicle for traveling on the conveyance passage, the automated conveying vehicle including a workpiece storage member having a housing space for housing a workpiece therein, a traveling member having a storage space for storing the workpiece storage member therein, a traveling mechanism mounted on the traveling member, a lifting and lowering mechanism disposed in the traveling member for lifting and lowering the workpiece storage member while suspending the workpiece storage member from above, and a receiver for receiving control signals.

Abstract: There is provided a method of laser-processing a device wafer with a laser beam applied thereto. The device wafer has a face side having thereon a plurality of crossing projected dicing lines and devices formed in respective areas demarcated by the projected dicing lines. The method includes a covering step of supplying the face side of the device wafer with water and a powdery protective film agent to cover the face side with an aqueous solution in which the powdery protective film agent is dispersed, a protective film forming step of evaporating the water content of the aqueous solution to form a protective film on the face side, and a laser processing step of applying a laser beam having a wavelength that is absorbable by the device wafer to the device wafer along the projected dicing lines to form laser-processed grooves in the device wafer along the projected dicing lines.

Abstract: A screwdriver is connected to an electric power supply, and rotates a mounted bit to tighten a screw. The screwdriver includes a camera, an image information recording section, a basic information registration section, a determination section, and an LED unit. The camera captures the screw to be tightened or surroundings of a threaded hole in which the screw is to be tightened. The recording section records an image captured by the camera. The registration section registers beforehand image information, which has been acquired by capturing with the camera an image of the surroundings of the threaded hole, as basic information. The determination section determines whether or not new image information, which has been newly acquired by capturing an image of the surroundings of the threaded hole with the camera, coincides with the basic information. The LED unit notifies a result of determination by the determination section.

Abstract: A measuring instrument disposed on a pipe through which a liquid flows includes two ultrasonic vibrators disposed on an upstream side and a downstream side of the pipe, and an ultrasonic conductor disposed between the ultrasonic vibrators and held in contact with the liquid. The measuring instrument derives the temperature of the liquid in contact with the ultrasonic conductor by generating ultrasonic waves from one of the ultrasonic vibrators and observing the ultrasonic waves propagated through the ultrasonic conductor with the other of the ultrasonic vibrators.

Abstract: A laser processing apparatus includes two chuck tables for holding workpieces on their holding surfaces, an X-axis feed unit for moving the chuck tables which are being arrayed in an X-axis direction, a laser beam applying unit for applying a laser beam to the workpiece on one at a time of the chuck tables to process the workpiece, and a pair of delivery areas arrayed in the X-axis direction on both sides of the laser beam applying unit, for delivering workpieces to and from the chuck tables. The laser beam applying unit includes a laser oscillator, a beam condenser, and a laser beam scanning unit for displacing a position where the laser beam is applied to the holding surface of the one of the chuck tables.

Abstract: A conveyance system for conveying a workpiece to each of a plurality of processing apparatuses includes a conveyance passage, an automated conveying vehicle for travelling on the conveyance passage, the automated conveying vehicle including a workpiece storage member, travelling mechanisms, and a receiver, a stock unit including a storage member holding base and a receiver, and a storage member conveying unit for conveying the workpiece storage member between a region of the conveyance passage above the stock unit and the storage member holding base or between a region of the conveyance passage above the processing apparatus and the inside of the processing apparatus.

Abstract: An information transfer mechanism includes processing apparatus and a head-mounted display, and transfers information of the processing apparatus to an operator. The processing apparatus has an information transmitter for transmitting positional information of the processing apparatus, individual identification information of the processing apparatus, and notice information to be notified to the operator. The head-mounted display receives the notice information of the processing apparatus which have entered a visual field thereof and displays the received notice information in overlapping relation to the scene of peripheral processing apparatus.

Abstract: A cutting blade mounting method of sandwiching both side surfaces of an annular cutting blade by a first flange and a second flange, the first flange being mounted on an end of a spindle and having a suction hole sucking and holding a side surface of the cutting blade to a sandwiching surface of the first flange, includes: a cutting blade provisional holding step of sucking and holding the cutting blade to the first flange by making the cutting blade abut against the sandwiching surface of the first flange at a perfect circle position at which a center of the cutting blade coincides with an axis of the spindle, and making a suction force act on the suction hole; and a fixing step of fixing the cutting blade maintaining the perfect circle position in the cutting blade provisional holding step to the first flange by the second flange.

Abstract: A method of processing a wafer having a face side where devices are formed in respective areas demarcated by a grid of projected dicing lines includes a groove forming step, a protective film sticking step, a protective-member-combined wafer forming step, a grinding step, a tape bonding step, a holding step, a peeling step, and a die-attach film dividing step.

Abstract: A wafer processing method for dividing a wafer into individual device chips. The wafer processing method includes a thermocompression bonding sheet providing step of positioning the wafer in an inside opening of a ring frame and providing a thermocompression bonding sheet on a back side of the wafer and on a back side of the ring frame, a uniting step of heating the thermocompression bonding sheet as applying a pressure to the thermocompression bonding sheet to thereby unite the wafer and the ring frame through the thermocompression bonding sheet by thermocompression bonding, a dividing step of cutting the wafer to thereby form a plurality of dividing grooves and dividing the wafer into the individual device chips, a flattening step of flattening the thermocompression bonding sheet, and a back side observing step of observing the back side of each device chip through the thermocompression bonding sheet.

Abstract: There is provided a conveyance system that conveys a workpiece to each of plural processing apparatuses. The conveyance system includes a conveyance passage, an automated workpiece conveying vehicle that travels on the conveyance passage, a stock unit, and a control unit. The conveyance passage is set in a space directly above the processing apparatus across the plural processing apparatuses. The stock unit includes a workpiece conveying part that conveys the workpiece between a workpiece stocker that houses the workpiece supplied to the processing apparatus and the automated workpiece conveying vehicle.

Abstract: A wafer producing method includes a peel-off layer forming step of applying a laser beam of a wavelength passing through a hexagonal single crystal ingot with a focal point of the laser beam positioned at a depth corresponding to a thickness of a wafer to be produced from an end face of the hexagonal single crystal ingot to form a peel-off layer, a production history forming step of applying a laser beam of a wavelength passing through the wafer with a focal point of the laser beam positioned inside the wafer at a position corresponding to each of a plurality of devices to be formed on a front surface of the wafer to form a production history, and a wafer peeling step of peeling off the wafer from the hexagonal single crystal ingot.

Abstract: A cutting blade mounting method of sandwiching both side surfaces of an annular cutting blade by a first flange and a second flange, the first flange being mounted on an end of a spindle and having a suction hole sucking and holding a side surface of the cutting blade to a sandwiching surface of the first flange, includes: a cutting blade provisional holding step of sucking and holding the cutting blade to the first flange by making the cutting blade abut against the sandwiching surface of the first flange at a perfect circle position at which a center of the cutting blade coincides with an axis of the spindle, and making a suction force act on the suction hole; and a fixing step of fixing the cutting blade maintaining the perfect circle position in the cutting blade provisional holding step to the first flange by the second flange.

Abstract: A wafer processing method for forming cut grooves in streets of a wafer provided with a plurality of devices includes a holding step ST1 of holding the back surface side of the wafer by a holding surface of a chuck table, a measurement step ST2 of partitioning the front surface of the wafer held by the chuck table into a plurality of regions and measuring the surface height of the streets in each of the regions, a region-basis height setting step ST3 of setting the lowest surface height in each region as the surface height of the wafer in each region, and a cutting step ST4 of forming cut grooves in the front surface of the wafer while setting, on a region basis, a tip position of a cutting blade, based on the surface height of the wafer set in the region-basis height setting step ST3.

Abstract: A method of using a laminated dressing board is provided. In the laminated dressing board, a shape adjustment dressing layer containing first abrasive grains and used for shape adjustment of a cutting blade and a setting dressing layer containing second abrasive grains and used for setting of the shape-adjusted cutting blade are laminated. The method includes a holding step of holding the shape adjustment dressing layer side of the laminated dressing board by a chuck table, a setting dressing step of causing the cutting blade to cut into the laminated dressing board from the setting dressing layer side to form a first groove in the setting dressing layer, and a shape adjustment dressing step of causing the cutting blade to cut into the bottom of the first groove along the first groove to form a second groove in the shape adjustment dressing layer.

Abstract: A protective member forming method includes forming a water film on a flat holding surface of a support base, placing a wafer on the water film formed on the holding surface and next freezing the water film in a condition where the wafer floats on an upper surface of the water film owing to the surface tension of the water film, thereby forming an ice layer and fixing the wafer on the ice layer, supplying a liquid resin curable by the application of ultraviolet light to the upper surface of the wafer, opposing a transparent sheet to the wafer with the liquid resin interposed therebetween, and applying ultraviolet light to the liquid resin, thereby curing the liquid resin to form a protective member on a whole of the upper surface of the wafer.

Abstract: A wafer holding apparatus for holding a wafer having undulation. The wafer holding apparatus includes a holding portion having a holding surface for holding the wafer, the holding portion being composed of a plurality of piezoelectric elements having suction holes selectively connected to a vacuum source, the piezoelectric elements having front end surfaces collected to form the holding surface. The wafer holding apparatus further includes a frame member supporting the holding portion and a control unit controlling a voltage to be applied to each of the piezoelectric elements according to the undulation of the wafer, whereby the wafer is held on the holding surface in the condition where the undulation of the wafer is followed by undulation produced on the holding surface due to a change in a length of each of the piezoelectric elements.