Abstract: To provide a semiconductor wafer having dot marks produced by irradiating laser beam capable of selecting a marking region capable of reading and writing marks in a state in which the marks hardly vanish and the semiconductor wafer is contained in a wafer cassette, inscribing information of an identification number or electric properties in the region and grasping past history by a unit of the wafer in processing steps or semiconductor fabrication steps thereafter, a very small dot mark is formed by irradiating laser having a diameter of 1 through 13 &mgr;m on an inner wall face of a notch (1) formed on an outer peripheral face of a semiconductor wafer (W), particularly on an inclined face of its peripheral edge.

Abstract: A fine protruded dot-like mark is formed on part of a semiconductor wafer surface. A growth layer is grown by epitaxial treatment on an entire surface of a semiconductor wafer including the dot mark so as to form a dot mark. During this growth process, the dot-like mark is changed into a polygon pyramid shape including a clear ridge line indicating the same azimuth of the crystal axis as that of the wafer. This ridge line is optically read out so that the azimuth of the crystal axis of the wafer can be specified. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a semiconductor wafer including a dot mark having a peculiar shape excellent in optical visibility and indicating the azimuth of the crystal axis and to provide a method of forming the dot mark.

Abstract: A dot mark having at its center a peaked portion rising from a face to be marked is provided on a cut face or ground face of a semiconductor wafer with the face to be marked having surface roughness of 0.3 &mgr;m or less. The rising dot mark is 1 to 15 &mgr;m in maximum length along the face to be marked and 0.01 to 5 &mgr;m in height. With even such a fine size, the dot mark is superior in visibility. This makes it possible to provide a semiconductor base material in which all processing histories in a process for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer and a semiconductor, wafer ID, chip ID, and manufacturing number or the like can be recognized.

Abstract: A beam scanning type laser marking device suitable for forming minute dot marks which can ensure the visibility is provided. In this beam scanning type laser marking device which performs a marking on a surface to be marked through a convergence lens system by scanning laser beams irradiated from a laser oscillator in a given pattern using a scanning mirror, the convergence lens system is comprised of three or more convergence lenses, a focal length of an f&thgr; lens which is arranged at a position closest to the scanning mirror side is set to a distance which prevents the f&thgr; lens from interfering with a first scanning mirror which is arranged to face the f&thgr; lens in an opposed manner, and the center of the first scanning mirror is arranged to coincide with a front-side focal position of the f&thgr; lens, and the convergence lens system has lenses thereof sequentially arranged in a telecentric relationship.

Abstract: A host device evaluates the writing quality of an ID for management based on digital information showing the writing quality of the ID for management received from an information terminal through a communication network. The host device also executes a correction of information relative to various conditions for marking the ID for management to a semiconductor wafer in accordance with results of the evaluation. Information relative to the evaluation results is transmitted to a terminal for accounting/money collection through the communication network. The terminal for accounting/money collection receives information of the number of writing times transmitted from the terminal, and the information relative to the evaluation results and transmitted from the host device, and then calculates an effective writing time number of the ID for management. The terminal for accounting/money collection executes predetermined accounting processing and money collection processing based on these calculated results.

Abstract: A semiconductor wafer having dot mark groups which are excellent in optical visibility and which have a peculiar configuration indicating the orientation of a crystallographic axis and a method of specifying the orientation of a crystallographic axis by the dot mark groups are provided. After a plurality of marks in a dot shape a part of which rising from the wafer surface within the predetermined region of a semiconductor wafer are formed, a group of epitaxial growth dot marks in which s single crystal is formed on the entire surface of the foregoing semiconductor wafer by the epitaxial growth, and a group of non-epitaxial growth dot marks in which no or little epitaxial growth is formed are made. By extracting the dot mark which is most excellent in visibility in the foregoing group of non-epitaxial growth dot marks, the orientation of a crystallographic axis is spsecified from this dot mark and the wafer center.

Abstract: A fine protruded dot-like mark is formed on part of a semiconductor wafer surface. A growth layer is grown by epitaxial treatment on an entire surface of a semiconductor wafer including the dot mark so as to form a dot mark. During this growth process, the dot-like mark is changed into a polygon pyramid shape including a clear ridge line indicating the same azimuth of the crystal axis as that of the wafer. This ridge line is optically read out so that the azimuth of the crystal axis of the wafer can be specified. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a semiconductor wafer including a dot mark having a peculiar shape excellent in optical visibility and indicating the azimuth of the crystal axis and to provide a method of forming the dot mark.

Abstract: In a laser marking method of irradiating laser beam onto a display area of a pattern display device and marking a required marking pattern on a surface of an objective article for being marked through a required display pattern displayed on the irradiated display area, a distance P between centers of adjacent dot marks formed collectively on a marking surface of the objective article for being marked is set such that, when dimensions of the dot marks in a matrix direction are set to be D1 and D2, and a gap between the dot marks adjacent in the matrix direction is G, the equation P≧{(D1+G)2+(D2+G)2}½(here, G≧0) can be satisfied. As a result, the adjacent dot marks are not fused to each other at the time of dot marking, and the dot marks are formed orderly with their shapes being maintained.

Abstract: A laser marking method and an apparatus thereof which realize stamp processing with a beautiful appearance and a high precision, without reducing the manufacturing efficiency. The laser marking method comprises a step of sequentially displaying divisional patterns each corresponding to one scanning line of a first deflector, a step of sequentially scanning the divisional patterns with a laser beam from a laser oscillator by the first deflector, and a step of moving a stamp position on a work surface for every one of scanning transmission beams respectively transmitted through the divisional patterns, in a direction perpendicular to a scanning direction, by a second deflector, thereby to synthesize and stamp the divisional patterns.