Abstract: A vehicle-mounted sensor cleaning device cleans a sensing surface of a vehicle-mounted sensor. The vehicle-mounted sensor cleaning device includes a gas nozzle spraying a gas toward the sensing surface, a gas supply device supplying the gas to the gas nozzle, and a control section controlling operation of the gas supply device. A predetermined value is set in the control section, for indicating an abnormal state of detection accuracy of the vehicle-mounted sensor based on detection accuracy information of an object which is obtained from the vehicle-mounted sensor. A gas supply threshold value is also set, for use in operating the gas supply device to direct a supply of the gas toward the sensing surface before the detection accuracy information becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined value. If the detection accuracy information has become lower than the gas supply threshold value, the control section operates the gas supply device.

Abstract: A vehicle-mounted sensor cleaning device cleans a sensing surface of a vehicle-mounted sensor. The vehicle-mounted sensor cleaning device includes a gas nozzle spraying a gas toward the sensing surface, a gas supply device supplying the gas to the gas nozzle, and a control section controlling operation of the gas supply device. A predetermined value is set in the control section, for indicating an abnormal state of detection accuracy of the vehicle-mounted sensor based on detection accuracy information of an object which is obtained from the vehicle-mounted sensor. A gas supply threshold value is also set, for use in operating the gas supply device to direct a supply of the gas toward the sensing surface before the detection accuracy information becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined value. If the detection accuracy information has become lower than the gas supply threshold value, the control section operates the gas supply device.

Abstract: A partition plate includes a material that blocks transmission of light and partitions an internal space of an enclosure into a light-projecting space where a light projector is disposed and a light-receiving space where a light receiver is disposed. A light shielding plate is configured by a material that blocks transmission of light, is provided between a light-projecting deflector, which is a portion of a deflecting mirror used for light projection, and a light-receiving deflector, which is a portion of the deflecting mirror used for light reception, and integrally rotates with the deflecting mirror. Further, the partition plate has, with respect to at least a part of a peripheral portion of the light shielding plate, an overlap portion where a plate surface of the partition plate and a plate surface of the light shielding plate overlap without being in contact with each other.

Abstract: A scanner has a rotational shaft and at least one reflection surface. The scanner rotates the at least one reflection surface together with the rotational shaft to thereby (i) change a direction of the light beam transmitted from the phototransmitter and incident on the scanner to output a changed light beam in a main scanning direction that is orthogonal to an axial direction of the rotational shaft, and (ii) reflect an arrival light beam arriving from a scanning region to thereby output the light beam to a direction in which the light beam is incident on the scanner. A photoreceiver receives the arrival light beam reflected by the scanner. The photoreceiver includes a received-light deflection mirror that deflects the arrival light beam outputted from the scanner in a second direction different from the first direction, and a light receiving device that receives the arrival light beam deflected by the received-light deflection mirror.

Abstract: There is provided a packaging bag 1 for semiconductor wafer for packaging a shipping container having semiconductor wafers stored therein, wherein the packaging bag is provided with a handle 4. The handle is preferably formed of a welded part 2 and hole 3 opened in the welded part, particularly, a plurality of holes having circular or elliptical shape are preferably provided in the welded part. Whereby there is provided a packaging bag which enables even a heavy shipping container having wafers of large diameter stored therein to be easily taken in and out of an external box, and enables a workability to improve.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for lapping or polishing a semiconductor silicon single crystal wafer is provided for eliminating the transfer of waviness of a wafer cut by a wire saw apparatus, improving the quality of the wafer, realizing automated lapping or polishing processes, allowing for single crystal processing from a cassette to another cassette, and increasing the workability and labor productivity. A small amount “e” of single-side lapping or single-side polishing is repeated alternately on the two sides “A” and “B” of a semiconductor silicon single crystal wafer “W” to get to a predetermined total lapping or polishing stock removal.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for lapping or polishing a semiconductor silicon single crystal wafer is provided for eliminating the transfer of waviness of a wafer cut by a wire saw apparatus, improving the quality of the wafer, realizing automated lapping or polishing processes, allowing for single crystal processing from a cassette to another cassette, and increasing the workability and labor productivity. A small amount of single-side lapping or single-side polishing is repeated alternately on the two surfaces of a semiconductor silicon single crystal wafer to get to a predetermined total lapping or polishing stock removal.

Abstract: A system for reusing water soluble slurry waste fluid wherein separated available abrasive grains and extracted water soluble coolant are reused. This system is capable of reducing a disposal cost due to a reduction of a load to a waste water disposal plant by effectively reusing water soluble slurry waste fluid, and making a contribution to a reduction of a total slicing cost by reusing abrasive grains and water soluble coolant.

Abstract: A wire saw slicing apparatus is capable of slicing a workpiece into wafers having a flat shape free from undulations (waviness) and includes a feeding device for feeding the workpiece or a wire along a linear feed path to force them together, and a reciprocating device for reciprocating the wire in the axial direction. A program setter sets a first cyclic pattern of the feed speed of the workpiece or the wire and a second cyclic pattern of the reciprocating speed of the wire in such a relation that the first and second cyclic patterns are synchronized at least during a time period of one of the modes of the respective cyclic patterns.

Abstract: Dispersion of cracks in a crack layer across a ground surface is reduced in chamfering a semiconductor silicon wafer. The semiconductor silicon wafer is clamped by a clamp device, which is freely rotated and a polisher having the shape of a ring built in a polishing device, which is freely rotated, is disposed in a place, the polisher having a periphery shaping edge on a peripheral side surface, wherein the polishing device is moved in a radial direction of the wafer so as to position the periphery shaping edge close to the periphery of the wafer, and the wafer and the polishing device are rotated relatively to each other, while slurry containing suspension of abrasive grains is supplied to a narrow space therebetween from a slurry supply nozzle.

Abstract: In a wire saw for slicing a cylindrical workpiece such as a silicon ingot so as to obtain wafers or the like, the feed rate of slurry fed to the workpiece, the viscosity of the slurry, or the feed rate of a wire is varied according to the cutting length in the workpiece or the angle between the wire and the circumference of the workpiece. It becomes possible to obtain wafers or the like, each having a uniform thickness.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing wire for use in a wire saw used for slicing a semiconductor ingot into wafers is disclosed. A starting wire, which is an iron or iron alloy wire plated with copper or copper alloy, is drawn into a fine wire in a finish drawing step. Subsequently, copper or copper alloy plating is removed from the fine wire surface through chemical polishing with an acid treatment solution or a like solution, physical polishing with polishing cloth or the like, or electropolishing, or through combined polishing thereof. The method makes it possible to manufacture wire having excellent quality characteristics without raising a problem such as metal contamination of product wafers sliced from the ingot.

Abstract: There is disclosed a method of manufacturing a semiconductor wafer which includes at least a slicing process for slicing a semiconductor monocrystalline ingot in order to obtain a disc-shaped semiconductor wafer. In the method, the sliced semiconductor wafer is etched before being transported to a subsequent process. Even when a monocrystalline ingot having a large diameter is sliced through use of a wire saw, the method prevents generation of breakage, cracks, chips, or the like in processes subsequent to the slicing process, thereby enabling production of large-diameter wafers with high productivity and high yield through utilization of the advantage of the wire saw in slicing a large-diameter monocrystalline ingot; i.e., high cutting speed and a small amount of slicing stock removal.

Abstract: A method of slicing a semiconductor single crystal ingot by a wire saw slicing apparatus and a semiconductor wafer produced by the method, in which the running direction of the wire is not corresponding with the cleavage directions of the semiconductor single crystal ingot so that occurrence of cracks or breakage in the semiconductor wafer produced by the method can be suppressed significantly without any additional processes or an increase in cost.

Abstract: A system for reusing oily slurry waste fluid is capable of decreasing the total amount of oily slurry waste fluid to be discarded by collecting and reusing available abrasive grains, oil and water from the oily slurry waste fluid, thereby reducing the volume carbon dioxide generated when burning the oily slurry waste fluid and being an effective solution to the environmental problems.

Abstract: A wire saw slicing method capable of slicing a workpiece into wafers having a flat shape free from undulations (waviness) includes feeding the workpiece or a wire along a linear feed path to force them together, and reciprocating the wire in the axial direction. A first cyclic pattern of the feed speed of the workpiece or the wire and a second cyclic pattern of the reciprocating speed of the wire are set in such a relation that the first and second cyclic patterns are synchronized at least during a time period of one of the modes of the respective cyclic patterns.

Abstract: A slicing method of the type using a wire saw slicing apparatus including a plurality of main rollers rotatably supported at their opposite ends by pairs of bearing units and parallel spaced at predetermined intervals, and a wire wound spirally over and around the main rollers at a predetermined pitch so as to form a number of laterally spaced lines of wire stretched across a slicing zone defined between two adjacent ones of the main rollers, in which a workpiece such as a silicon semiconductor single crystal ingot is sliced into wafer-like pieces as it is forced against the lines of wire running across the slicing zone while the main rollers are rotating, with a slurry continuously supplied to the lines of wire in the slicing zone, characterized in that the main rollers are displaced in the axial direction while the workpiece is being sliced. With this axial displacement of the main rollers, the wafers as sliced from the workpiece have a controlled amount of "sori" (warp or bow).

Abstract: A water-soluble cutting fluid is produced by dissolving a polymer fatty acid triglyceride imidazole, 2-methyl-1-stearate, and boric acid imidazole in the dispersion of inorganic bentonite in water thereby preparing a main component and adding oleic acid (agent for enhancing the lubricity), Na salt of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (metallic ion adsorbent), benzotriazole (rust-preventing auxiliary agent), and a silicone type defoaming agent to the main component.

Abstract: An improved method of using an ID saw slicing machine for slicing a single crystal ingot in a direction normal to the axis of the ingot to obtain wafers, of which the improvement lies in that the cutting load which the blade of the ID saw slicing machine imposes upon the single crystal ingot is continually detected in terms of three vector elements along three mutually perpendicular directions throughout the slicing operation, and that, when the magnitude of that vector element of the cutting load which extends in the slicing direction exceeds a predetermined value, the feed rate of the ingot to the blade is decreased and, at the same time, the rotational speed of the blade is increased in accordance with a predetermined control pattern.

Abstract: To keep, with a simple structure, roller bearing devices, rotatably supporting the end sections of two rollers, at the same and substantially constant temperature, working fluid is applied not only to the slicing sections, but also to roller bearing devices 14b, 14c, 16b, 16c, 18b and 18c. The flow rate of the working-fluid supply to nozzles 20, 22 for slicing-section is controlled in such a way that the temperature of the working fluid coming down from the slicing sections becomes a first preset temperature; and the flow rate of the working-fluid supply to nozzles 24-29 for bearing-section is controlled in such a way that the temperature of the working fluid coming down from the bearing sections becomes a second preset temperature.