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 protective film is disposed on a surface of a workpiece has a hardness in a range from 0.0093 GPa to 0.13 GPa. A protective film agent includes a water-soluble resin, a light absorbing agent, a plasticizer, and a solvent in which the water-soluble resin, the light absorbing agent, and the plasticizer are dissolved. The ratio of the mass of the plasticizer to a mass of the water-soluble resin is in a range from 15% to 53%, and a protective film formed from the protective film agent has a hardness in a range from 0.0093 GPa to 0.13 GPa.

Abstract: There is provided a manufacturing method of chips in which a wafer segmented into a plurality of regions by a plurality of planned dividing lines set in a lattice manner is divided to manufacture the chips. The manufacturing method of chips includes a groove forming step of holding the wafer including a first surface and a second surface by a holding table and forming grooves having a depth smaller than a thickness of the wafer along the planned dividing lines on the side of the first surface of the wafer, a first protective film coating step of coating the first surface of the wafer and side surfaces of the grooves with a first protective film, and a dividing step of dividing the wafer along the planned dividing lines. Plasma etching is executed for the wafer from the side of the first surface in the dividing step.

Abstract: A processing method for processing an SiC ingot includes a peel-off zone forming step of applying a processing pulsed laser beam having a wavelength transmittable through the ingot to the ingot while positioning a focused spot of the processing pulsed laser beam at a depth corresponding to a thickness of a wafer to be peeled off from the ingot, to form belt-shaped peel-off zones each including cracks in the ingot, a reflected beam detecting step of applying an inspecting laser beam having a wavelength transmittable through the ingot and reflectable from cracks of the peel-off zones and detecting an intensity of a beam reflected by the cracks, and a processing laser beam output power adjusting step of adjusting an output power of the processing pulsed laser beam to keep the intensity of the reflected beam detected in the reflected beam detecting step within a predetermined range.

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: An Si substrate manufacturing method includes a separation band forming step of forming a separation band through positioning a focal point of a laser beam with a wavelength having transmissibility with respect to Si to a depth, equivalent to a thickness of an Si substrate to be manufactured, from a flat surface of an Si ingot and irradiating the Si ingot with the laser beam while relatively moving the focal point and the Si ingot in a direction <110> parallel to a cross line at which a crystal plane {100} and a crystal plane {111} intersect or a direction [110] orthogonal to the cross line, and an indexing feed step of executing indexing feed of the focal point and the Si ingot relatively in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the separation band is formed.

Abstract: A processing method for processing an SiC ingot includes a peel-off zone forming step of applying a processing pulsed laser beam having a wavelength transmittable through the ingot to the ingot while positioning a focused spot of the processing pulsed laser beam at a depth corresponding to a thickness of a wafer to be peeled off from the ingot, to form belt-shaped peel-off zones each including cracks in the ingot, a reflected beam detecting step of applying an inspecting laser beam having a wavelength transmittable through the ingot and reflectable from cracks of the peel-off zones and detecting an intensity of a beam reflected by the cracks, and a processing laser beam output power adjusting step of adjusting an output power of the processing pulsed laser beam to keep the intensity of the reflected beam detected in the reflected beam detecting step within a predetermined range.

Abstract: There is provided a manufacturing method of a III-V compound crystal including a seed-crystal-formed substrate provision step of providing a seed-crystal-formed substrate in which a III-V compound seed crystal has been formed on a substrate, a seed crystal partial separation step of separating part of a portion in contact with the substrate in the III-V compound seed crystal from the substrate, and a crystal growth step of generating and growing the III-V compound crystal by reacting a group III element and a group V element with use of the III-V compound seed crystal as a nucleus after the seed crystal partial separation step.

Abstract: There is provided a manufacturing method of a III-V compound crystal including a seed-crystal-formed substrate provision step of providing a seed-crystal-formed substrate in which a III-V compound seed crystal has been formed on a substrate, a seed crystal partial separation step of separating part of a portion in contact with the substrate in the III-V compound seed crystal from the substrate, and a crystal growth step of generating and growing the III-V compound crystal by reacting a group III element and a group V element with use of the III-V compound seed crystal as a nucleus after the seed crystal partial separation step.

Abstract: A lift-off method transfers an optical device layer in an optical device wafer to a transfer substrate. The optical device layer is formed on the front side of an epitaxy substrate through a buffer layer. A composite substrate is formed by bonding the transfer substrate through a bonding agent to the front side of the optical device layer, thereby forming a composite substrate. The buffer layer is broken up by applying a laser beam having a wavelength transmissive to the epitaxy substrate and absorptive to the buffer layer from the back side of the epitaxy substrate to the buffer layer after performing the composite substrate forming step, thereby breaking the buffer layer. An optical device layer is transferred by peeling off the epitaxy substrate from the optical device layer after performing the buffer layer breaking step, thereby transferring the optical device layer to the transfer substrate.

Abstract: A separation apparatus for separating a composite substrate formed from a first substrate and a second substrate joined together includes an exfoliation unit for advancing into a boundary region between the first substrate and the second substrate of the composite substrate supported by a supporting face of a supporting base and a side face supporting unit to exfoliate the composite substrate into the first substrate and the second substrate. The exfoliation unit includes a wedge portion for advancing into the boundary region between the first substrate and the second substrate, an exfoliation member having a gas outlet open at a tip end of the wedge portion, and an exfoliation member advancing and retracting unit for advancing and retracting the wedge portion of the exfoliation member to and from the boundary region between the first substrate and the second substrate which configure the composite substrate.

Abstract: A lift-off method transfers an optical device layer in an optical device wafer to a transfer substrate. The optical device layer is formed on the front side of an epitaxy substrate through a buffer layer. A composite substrate is formed by bonding the transfer substrate through a bonding agent to the front side of the optical device layer, thereby forming a composite substrate. The buffer layer is broken up by applying a laser beam having a wavelength transmissive to the epitaxy substrate and absorptive to the buffer layer from the back side of the epitaxy substrate to the buffer layer after performing the composite substrate forming step, thereby breaking the buffer layer. An optical device layer is transferred by peeling off the epitaxy substrate from the optical device layer after performing the buffer layer breaking step, thereby transferring the optical device layer to the transfer substrate.

Abstract: A separation apparatus for separating a composite substrate formed from a first substrate and a second substrate joined together includes an exfoliation unit for advancing into a boundary region between the first substrate and the second substrate of the composite substrate supported by a supporting face of a supporting base and a side face supporting unit to exfoliate the composite substrate into the first substrate and the second substrate. The exfoliation unit includes a wedge portion for advancing into the boundary region between the first substrate and the second substrate, an exfoliation member having a gas outlet open at a tip end of the wedge portion, and an exfoliation member advancing and retracting unit for advancing and retracting the wedge portion of the exfoliation member to and from the boundary region between the first substrate and the second substrate which configure the composite substrate.