Abstract: A laser beam irradiation unit of a laser processing apparatus includes: a laser oscillator in which a repetition frequency is set so as to oscillate a pulsed laser having a pulse width shorter than a time of electronic excitation caused by irradiating the workpiece with a laser beam and oscillate at least two pulsed lasers within the electronic excitation time; a condenser that irradiates the workpiece held on the chuck table with the pulsed laser beams oscillated by the laser oscillator; and a thinning-out unit that is disposed between the laser oscillator and the condenser and guides the pulsed laser beams necessary for processing to the condenser by thinning out and discarding pulsed laser beams in a predetermined cycle.

Abstract: A severing machine includes an ingot holding unit configured to hold an SiC ingot with a wafer, which is to be produced, facing up, an ultrasonic generation unit disposed so as to face the SiC ingot held on the ingot holding unit, and configured to generate ultrasonic vibrations, and a liquid supply unit configured to supply liquid between the wafer to be produced and the ultrasonic generation unit. The ultrasonic generation unit includes an ultrasonic transducer, and a case member having a bottom surface formed to have an area equal to or greater than an area to which the ultrasonic vibrations are desired to be applied.

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 grinding apparatus includes an ultrasonic cleaning unit. The ultrasonic cleaning unit includes a pair of side walls that surround the inside and the outside of a base and grindstones, a bottom surface that connects the pair of side walls, a jet port that is formed in at least either of the side walls or the bottom surface and that jets a cleaning liquid toward at least either of the base or the grindstones, a cleaning liquid supply section that supplies the cleaning liquid to the jet port; an ultrasonic vibrator that applies an ultrasonic wave to the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply section, and an electric power supply section that applies electric power to the ultrasonic vibrator.

Abstract: A wafer forming method includes a peeling layer forming step of applying, to a SiC ingot, a laser beam of such a wavelength as to be transmitted through the SiC ingot, with a focal point of the laser beam positioned at a depth corresponding to a thickness of a wafer to be formed from a first surface of the SiC ingot, to form a peeling layer including a modified section and cracks; and a wafer forming step of immersing the SiC ingot in a liquid and applying an ultrasonic wave to the SiC ingot through the liquid, to thereby peel a part of the SiC ingot with the peeling layer as an interface and form the wafer. In the wafer forming step, the ultrasonic wave is applied to the SiC ingot while a sweep treatment of regularly varying the oscillation frequency of an ultrasonic vibrator is performed.

Abstract: A wafer processing method of dividing a wafer into a plurality of chips along a plurality of division lines includes: a shield tunnel forming step of causing a focusing point of a pulsed laser beam of a wavelength having a transmitting property with respect to the wafer to be positioned inside the wafer and applying the pulsed laser beam, and then forming a plurality of shield tunnels each including a fine hole and an amorphous region shielding the fine hole along the division lines; and a wafer dividing step of applying an external force to the wafer and then dividing the wafer in which the shield tunnels are formed along the division lines, in which the pulsed laser beam is split to have two or more of the focusing points which are along a direction parallel to the division lines.

Abstract: A crystal orientation detecting apparatus for detecting a crystal orientation of a nonlinear optical crystal substrate includes a laser beam applying unit applying a linearly polarized laser beam to a surface of the nonlinear optical crystal substrate, a harmonic detecting unit detecting a harmonic produced from the nonlinear optical crystal substrate due to a nonlinear optical effect, a recording unit recording the relationship between the angular displacement through which the plane of polarization of the laser beam and the nonlinear optical crystal substrate are rotated relatively to each other, and the intensity of the harmonic, and a crystal orientation detecting unit detecting the crystal orientation of the nonlinear optical crystal substrate based on the recorded relationship.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a laser processing method including a first application step of applying a first laser beam having a pulse width shorter than time of electron excitation generated by application of a laser beam to a workpiece, and a second application step of applying a second laser beam within the electron excitation time.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an inspecting apparatus including an illuminating unit adapted to be positioned in the periphery of a transparent member for illuminating the transparent member from the outside of the circumference thereof, an imaging unit adapted to be opposed to the transparent member for imaging the transparent member illuminated by the illuminating unit, and a displaying monitor for displaying an image obtained by the imaging unit.

Abstract: A processing method for a wafer including a crack detection step for irradiating illumination of a wavelength transparent to wafer, picking up an image of the wafer, and detecting whether a crack is generated within the wafer, a crack direction verification step for verifying, when a crack is detected, to which one of the first and second directions a direction in which the crack extends is nearer, a first cutting step for positioning the cutting blade to a scheduled division line of a direction decided to be a direction farther from the direction in which the crack extends from between the first and second directions and cutting the scheduled division line, and next a second cutting step for positioning the cutting blade to a scheduled division line of a direction decided to be nearer to the direction in which the crack extends and cutting the scheduled division line.

Abstract: A wafer processing method of dividing a wafer into a plurality of chips along a plurality of division lines includes: a shield tunnel forming step of causing a focusing point of a pulsed laser beam of a wavelength having a transmitting property with respect to the wafer to be positioned inside the wafer and applying the pulsed laser beam, and then forming a plurality of shield tunnels each including a fine hole and an amorphous region shielding the fine hole along the division lines; and a wafer dividing step of applying an external force to the wafer and then dividing the wafer in which the shield tunnels are formed along the division lines, in which the pulsed laser beam is split to have two or more of the focusing points which are along a direction parallel to the division lines.

Abstract: A crystal orientation detecting apparatus for detecting a crystal orientation of a nonlinear optical crystal substrate includes a laser beam applying unit applying a linearly polarized laser beam to a surface of the nonlinear optical crystal substrate, a harmonic detecting unit detecting a harmonic produced from the nonlinear optical crystal substrate due to a nonlinear optical effect, a recording unit recording the relationship between the angular displacement through which the plane of polarization of the laser beam and the nonlinear optical crystal substrate are rotated relatively to each other, and the intensity of the harmonic, and a crystal orientation detecting unit detecting the crystal orientation of the nonlinear optical crystal substrate based on the recorded relationship.

Abstract: A method of processing a plate-shaped work-piece with a laser beam so as to be divided along a plurality of projected dicing lines on the workpiece includes: forming a plurality of first shield tunnels, each including fine pores and an amorphous substance surrounding the fine pores, in the workpiece along the projected dicing lines by applying a pulsed laser beam having a wavelength transmittable through the workpiece to the workpiece along the projected dicing lines while positioning a converged zone of the pulsed laser beam within the workpiece; changing the converged zone of the pulsed laser beam to be applied to the workpiece to a position along thicknesswise directions of the workpiece; and, forming a plurality of second shield tunnels in the workpiece adjacent and parallel to the first shield tunnels along the direction in which the pulsed laser bream is applied.

Abstract: A single-crystal substrate having a film deposited on a surface thereof is processed to divide the single-crystal substrate along a plurality of preset division lines, including a shield tunnel forming step of applying a pulsed laser beam having such a wavelength that permeates through the single-crystal substrate to the single-crystal substrate from a reverse side thereof along the division lines to form shield tunnels, each including a fine hole and an amorphous region shielding the fine hole, in the single-crystal substrate along the division lines, a film removing step of removing the film deposited on the single-crystal substrate along the division lines, and a dividing step of exerting an external force on the single-crystal substrate to which the shield tunnel forming step and the film removing step are performed to divide the single-crystal substrate along the division lines along which the shield tunnels have been formed.

Abstract: A method for detecting an internal crack in a wafer includes a first image recording step of applying near infrared light having a transmission wavelength to a reference wafer having the same configuration as a target wafer to be subjected to the detection of the internal crack, thereby obtaining a first image of the reference wafer having no internal crack and then recording the first image, a processing step of processing the target wafer, a second image recording step of applying the near infrared light to the target wafer, thereby obtaining a second image of the processed target wafer and then recording the second image, and an internal crack detecting step of removing the same image information between the first image and the second image from the second image to obtain a residual image, thereby detecting the residual image as the internal crack in the target wafer.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a processing method of a single-crystal substrate having a film formed on a front side or a back side thereof to divide the single-crystal substrate along a plurality of preset division lines. The method includes a film removing step of removing the film along the division lines, a shield tunnel forming step of applying a pulsed laser beam having a wavelength which permeates through the single-crystal substrate along the division lines to form shield tunnels, each including a fine hole and an amorphous region shielding the fine hole, in the single-crystal substrate along the division lines, and dividing step of exerting an external force on the single-crystal substrate to which the shield tunnel forming step is performed to divide the single-crystal substrate along the division lines.

Abstract: A laser beam irradiation unit of a laser processing apparatus includes: a laser oscillator in which a repetition frequency is set so as to oscillate a pulsed laser having a pulse width shorter than a time of electronic excitation caused by irradiating the workpiece with a laser beam and oscillate at least two pulsed lasers within the electronic excitation time; a condenser that irradiates the workpiece held on the chuck table with the pulsed laser beams oscillated by the laser oscillator; and a thinning-out unit that is disposed between the laser oscillator and the condenser and guides the pulsed laser beams necessary for processing to the condenser by thinning out and discarding pulsed laser beams in a predetermined cycle.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a laser processing method including a first application step of applying a first laser beam having a pulse width shorter than time of electron excitation generated by application of a laser beam to a workpiece, and a second application step of applying a second laser beam within the electron excitation time.

Abstract: A focusing unit of a laser processing apparatus includes: a focusing lens that focuses a laser beam oscillated from a laser beam oscillating unit; and a spherical aberration extending lens that extends the spherical aberration of the focusing lens. A pulsed laser beam is applied from the focusing unit to a workpiece held on a chuck table, to form shield tunnels each composed of a fine hole and an amorphous region shielding the fine hole, the shield tunnels extending from an upper surface toward a lower surface of the workpiece.

Abstract: A processing method for a wafer including a crack detection step for irradiating illumination of a wavelength transparent to wafer, picking up an image of the wafer, and detecting whether a crack is generated within the wafer, a crack direction verification step for verifying, when a crack is detected, to which one of the first and second directions a direction in which the crack extends is nearer, a first cutting step for positioning the cutting blade to a scheduled division line of a direction decided to be a direction farther from the direction in which the crack extends from between the first and second directions and cutting the scheduled division line, and next a second cutting step for positioning the cutting blade to a scheduled division line of a direction decided to be nearer to the direction in which the crack extends and cutting the scheduled division line.