Abstract: A first peel-off layer extending along a side surface of a truncated cone that has a first bottom surface positioned near a face side of a wafer and a second bottom surface positioned within the wafer and smaller in diameter than the first bottom surface, and a second peel-off layer extending along the second bottom surface of the truncated cone are formed in the wafer. Then, external forces are exerted on the wafer thicknesswise of the wafer, thereby dividing the wafer along the first peel-off layer and the second peel-off layer that function as division initiating points.

Abstract: A method is of forming, inside a workpiece having first and second surfaces, a separation start point for separating the workpiece into the first and second surface sides. The method includes: holding the workpiece to expose the first surface; setting a specific region on the first surface; and repeating processing feed and indexing feed to form modified portions inside the workpiece and form a separation start point including the modified portions. The processing feed is of relatively moving a condensing point of a laser beam in a processing feed direction with respect to the workpiece while emitting the laser beam toward the first surface with the condensing point positioned inside the workpiece to form a strip-shaped modified portion inside the workpiece. The indexing feed is being of relatively moving the condensing point in an indexing feed direction, orthogonal to the processing feed direction, with respect to the workpiece.

Abstract: A communication control method for a communication device includes (i) blocking communication of the communication device with a wireless device by causing a metal-containing member to be close to the communication antenna among a plurality of antennas, or by covering at least a part of the communication antenna with the metal-containing member; (ii) charging a capacitor by the communication device, based on energy acquired by an energy acquisition antenna of the communication device, regardless of whether the communication device can communicate with the wireless device, to keep a voltage of the capacitor equal to or higher than the predetermined value; and (iii) resuming communication of the communication device with the wireless device when the metal-containing member is stopped from being close to the communication antenna or when at least a part of the communication antenna is stopped from being covered with the metal-containing member.

Abstract: A monocrystalline silicon wafer fabricated such that a particular crystal plane, e.g., a crystal plane (100), included in crystal planes {100} is exposed on each of face and reverse sides of the monocrystalline silicon wafer is irradiated with a laser beam along a first direction parallel to the particular crystal plane and inclined to a particular crystal orientation, e.g., a crystal orientation [010], included in crystal orientations <100> at an angle of 5° or less, thereby forming a peel-off layer that functions as separation initiating points between a part of the monocrystalline silicon wafer that belongs to the face side thereof and a part of the monocrystalline silicon wafer that belongs to the reverse side thereof.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a wafer from an ingot includes positioning the focused spot of a laser beam transmittable through the ingot in the ingot, applying the laser beam to the ingot to form a separation layer in the ingot while moving the ingot and the focused spot relatively to each other, applying external forces to the ingot to sever the ingot along the separation layer that acts as a separation initiating point, thereby separating a piece of the ingot as the wafer off from the ingot, and forming a mark indicative of the crystal orientation of the material of the wafer on the wafer.

Abstract: After ultrasonic waves have been applied via a layer of liquid to an ingot for separating the ingot along separation layers formed therein to thereby produce a wafer from the ingot, the wafer and the ingot are moved relatively to each other along a direction in which the separation layers extend, thereby pulling apart the wafer and the ingot from each other.

Abstract: A laser processing method includes a laser beam applying step of applying, while masking, with a masking unit, part of a pulsed laser beam having a wavelength transmittable through a workpiece such that the part of the laser beam that enters the workpiece via an outer peripheral side surface thereof has an intensity smaller than a processing threshold value of the workpiece, adjusting the height of a focused spot of the laser beam to position the focused spot within the workpiece, and moving the focused spot and the workpiece relatively to each other so as to move the focused spot along an outer peripheral area of the workpiece, thereby forming a modified layer in the workpiece.

Abstract: In a flattening step included in a series of steps for manufacturing wafers from an ingot, the ingot is ground until the ingot has a thickness smaller than a thickness of the ingot as of the point in time when the series of steps is to be started, by a thickness obtained by adding up a finishing thickness of the wafer, an assumed thickness of a separation layer, and a distributed thickness obtained by dividing a surplus thickness of the ingot by a number obtained by subtracting one from a maximum number of wafers that can be manufactured from the ingot.

Abstract: A wafer processing method for processing a wafer that has an effective region and a chamfer at an end part of a periphery surrounding the effective region includes a modified layer forming step of applying a laser beam of such a wavelength as to be transmitted through the wafer, with a focal point of the laser beam positioned in the inside of a boundary part between the effective region and the chamfer, to thereby form a modified layer along the chamfer, a chamfer removing step of holding the effective region of the wafer and exerting an external force on the periphery of the wafer to thereby remove the chamfer, and a processing step of grinding a back surface of the wafer from which the chamfer has been removed, to thereby process the wafer to a desired thickness.

Abstract: A store system includes a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of an RFID medium attached to an item and position information of a visitor terminal carried by a visitor, an event detection unit that detects an event that the RFID medium or the visitor terminal enters or leaves a predetermined area in a store space based on the acquired position information, an event information storage unit that stores event information including an ID that identifies the RFID medium or the visitor terminal, information about the predetermined area based on the position information, and a detection time of the event, and a status determination unit that determines a status, which is a state of the item or is an action content of the visitor, based on the event information.

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 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 water refining apparatus for refining water flowing therein includes a filter for filtering the water to remove solid particles therefrom, a sterilizing unit disposed downstream of the filter and for irradiating the water with ultraviolet rays to sterilize the water, an ion exchange filter disposed downstream of the sterilizing unit and for performing an ion exchange on impurity ions contained in the water to remove impurities from the water, a deaerating unit for deaerating the water, and a measuring unit disposed downstream of the deaerating unit and for measuring a dissolved oxygen concentration in the water.

Abstract: Irradiation conditions for a laser beam to respective ones of a plurality of regions included in the upper surface of an ingot are set according to the numbers of photons of fluorescence occurring when excitation light is irradiated to the respective regions. Here, it is to be understood that the number of the photons of the fluorescence occurring from a region of an ingot depends on the concentration of an impurity doped in the ingot. A separation layer can therefore be formed at a uniform depth from the upper surface of the ingot even if regions of different impurity concentrations are included in the ingot. It is hence possible to reduce a kerf loss when wafers are sliced from an ingot.

Abstract: A processing apparatus includes a chuck table for holding a bonded wafer thereon, a grinding unit for grinding the bonded wafer, a cleaning unit for cleaning the bonded wafer, and a processing unit for removing a beveled portion of an outer circumferential end portion of the bonded wafer before the grinding unit grinds the bonded wafer. The processing unit includes a support for supporting the bonded wafer with a surface thereof being exposed and a laser beam applying unit for emitting a laser beam having a wavelength transmittable through the wafer. The laser beam applying unit applies the laser beam to the wafer supported on the support, from the exposed surface, while positioning a focused spot thereof within the outer circumferential excessive region of the wafer, to form a modified layer in the wafer along which to remove the beveled portion from the wafer.

Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention is an information processing device including: a storage configured to store information about a product and identification information of a radio tag that is attached to the product; and a control unit configured to, when receiving the identification information of the radio tag attached to the product, from a product recipient terminal held by a product recipient who obtains the product, associate information about the product recipient with the identification information of the radio tag. The control unit is further configured to, when the information about the product recipient is associated with the identification information of the radio tag, control so that the information about the product, which is stored in the storage, can be provided to the product recipient terminal.

Abstract: A method of processing a bonded wafer formed by bonding a first wafer and a second wafer to each other via a bonding layer includes a coordinate generating step of generating coordinates of an undersurface position of the first wafer, the undersurface position being to be irradiated with laser beams, such that an end position of a crack extending from modified layers formed within the first wafer is located at an outer circumference of the bonding layer, and a modified layer forming step of forming a plurality of modified layers in a ring shape by irradiating the coordinates generated in the coordinate generating step with the laser beams of a wavelength transmissible through the first wafer.

Abstract: A processing method of a bonded wafer includes generating coordinates of an outermost circumference of a joining layer, forming a plurality of modified layers by positioning focal points of laser beams inside a first wafer, from a back surface of the first wafer, holding a second wafer side on a chuck table and grinding the back surface of the first wafer to thin the first wafer. The plurality of focal points of the laser beams are set in a form of descending stairs to reach the lowermost focal point from the uppermost focal point so as to gradually get closer to the joining layer from an inner side toward an outer side in a radial direction of the first wafer. A crack that extends from the modified layer formed by the lowermost focal point reaches the coordinates of the outermost circumference of the joining layer.

Abstract: A wafer processing method includes bonding one surface of a first wafer to a second wafer, the first wafer having a device region on the one surface, a peripheral surplus region, and a chamfered peripheral edge; forming an annular modified layer along a boundary of the device region and the peripheral surplus region by applying a laser beam to the first wafer from the other surface of the first wafer with a focal point of the laser beam placed at the boundary; after forming the modified layer, grinding the first wafer from the other surface to thin the first wafer to a finished thickness; and exerting an external force on the peripheral surplus region that is close to the peripheral edge with respect to a region in which the modified layer is formed, to thereby facilitate the separation of the peripheral surplus region.

Abstract: A method of processing a SiC ingot includes a resistance value measuring step of measuring an electric resistance value of an end face of the SiC ingot, a laser beam output adjusting step of adjusting the output of a laser beam according to the electric resistance value measured in the resistance value measuring step, and a peeling belt forming step in which, while a laser beam of such a wavelength as to be transmitted through the SiC ingot is being applied to the SiC ingot with a focal point of the laser beam positioned at a depth corresponding to the thickness of a wafer to be formed, the SiC ingot and the focal point are put into relative processing feeding in an X-axis direction to form a belt-shaped peeling belt in the inside of the SiC ingot.