Disco Corporation

Kensuke Nagaoka

Yuki Ogawa

Tsubasa Obata

Yuri Ban

Karl Heinz Priewasser

The invention relates to a method of processing a substrate. The substrate has one side and a side opposite to the one side. The substrate has, on the one side or on the side opposite to the one side, at least one recess. The method comprises providing a protective film and applying the protective film to the side of the substrate having the at least one recess so that at least a central area of a front surface of the protective film is in direct contact with the side of the substrate having the at least one recess. The method further comprises applying pressure to the protective film so that the protective film enters into the at least one recess along at least part of a depth of the recess, and processing the one side of the substrate and/or the side of the substrate opposite to the one side.

Method of processing a substrate

A method for dividing a wafer including: attaching a protective tape to a functional layer of the wafer with the adhesive layer of the tape in contact with the functional layer; and a wafer dividing step. The dividing step includes a cut groove forming step and a laser processing step. The cut groove forming step uses a blade to form a cut groove with a depth that does not reach the functional layer, resulting in part of the substrate being left along each division line. The laser processing step includes applying a laser beam to the part of the substrate left after the cut groove forming step and the functional layer of the wafer to form a laser processed groove having a depth reaching the tape. The tape is closely attached to the functional layer during the tape attaching step to prevent the adhesion of debris to the devices.

Wafer processing method including attaching a protective tape to a front side of a functional layer to prevent debris adhesion

A wafer having a substrate and a functional layer formed on the front side of the substrate is processed by attaching a protective tape curable by an external stimulation to the front side of the functional layer. The substrate is cut from the back side along each division line by using a cutting blade, thereby forming a cut groove having a depth not reaching the functional layer, with a part of the substrate left between the bottom of the cut groove and the functional layer. A laser beam is applied along the cut groove, thereby dividing the remaining part of the substrate to divide the wafer into device chips. When the groove is formed, an uncut portion in which the cut groove is not formed is left in a peripheral marginal area of the wafer.

Wafer processing method

Disclosed herein is a wafer processing method for dividing a wafer into a plurality of individual devices along a plurality of crossing division lines. The wafer is composed of a substrate and a functional layer formed on the front side of the substrate. The division lines are formed on the front side of the functional layer. A laser beam having a transmission wavelength to the substrate is applied to the wafer from the back side thereof to detect the height of an interface between the functional layer and the substrate in an area corresponding to each division line. The depth of cut by a cutting blade for cutting the substrate is next set according to the height detected above. The back side of the substrate is next cut by the cutting blade according to the depth of cut set above to thereby form a cut groove having a depth not reaching the functional layer with a remaining part of the substrate left between the bottom of the cut groove and the functional layer along each division line, the remaining part having a uniform thickness. Thereafter, the remaining part and the functional layer are cut along each division line to thereby divide the wafer.

A wafer has a substrate, a functional layer and division lines. The wafer is held on a chuck table with a protective member attached to the front side of the functional layer in contact with the chuck table. The height of the back side of the wafer is detected in a Z direction along each division line while moving the chuck table in an X direction. An X coordinate is recorded for each division line, as well as a corresponding Z coordinate. A cutting blade is positioned on the back side of the wafer and moved in the Z direction according to the recorded X and Z coordinates while moving the chuck table in the X direction to thereby form a cut groove having a depth not reaching the functional layer, with a part of the substrate left between the bottom of the cut groove and the functional layer.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Kensuke Nagaoka