Disco Corporation

Taku Iwamoto

Hironari Ohkubo

Kentaro Odanaka

Junichi Kuki

Shuichiro Tsukiji

Kouichi Nehashi

Joel Koerwer

Hiroto Yoshida

Wataru Odagiri

A laser beam irradiation unit of laser processing apparatus includes a pulse laser beam oscillating unit, a condenser that condenses a pulse laser beam and emits the beam to a workpiece held by a chuck table, a dichroic mirror disposed between the pulse laser beam oscillating unit and the condenser, a strobe light irradiation unit that emits light to a path on which the dichroic mirror and the condenser are disposed, a beam splitter disposed between the strobe light irradiation unit and the dichroic mirror, and an imaging unit disposed on the path of light split by the beam splitter. A controller actuates the strobe light irradiation unit and the imaging unit according to the timing of the pulse laser beam, and detects the width of a laser-processed groove immediately after emission of the pulse laser beam on the basis of an image signal from the imaging unit.

Laser processing apparatus

Disclosed herein is a wafer processing method including a processed position measuring step of imaging an area including a beam plasma generated by applying a pulsed laser beam to a wafer, by using an imaging unit during the formation of a laser processed groove on the wafer, and next measuring the positional relation between the position of the beam plasma and a preset processing position. Accordingly, it is possible to check whether or not the laser processed groove is formed at a desired position, in real time during laser processing. If the position of the laser processed groove is deviated, the processed position can be immediately corrected.

Wafer processing method

A wafer processing method including the steps of storing information on the intervals and positions of metal patterns formed on part of division lines on a wafer into a storage unit of a cutting apparatus, detecting the division lines, forming a cut groove along each division line by using a cutting blade, imaging an area including the cut groove at any position where the metal patterns are not formed, by using an imaging unit included in the cutting apparatus, according to the information on the intervals and positions of the metal patterns previously stored, during the step of forming the cut grooves, and measuring the positional relation between the position of the cut groove and a preset cutting position. Accordingly, kerf check can be performed without being influenced by burrs produced from the metal patterns in cutting the wafer, so that the wafer can be cut with high accuracy.

A method for forming a water-soluble resin film on a wafer having a plurality of devices thereon. The wafer is supported through an adhesive tape to an annular frame. The method includes removing the resin scattered onto the surface of the frame in forming the film on the wafer held on a spinner table, and this step further includes: rotating the spinner table; positioning a water nozzle above the frame held on the spinner table, supplying water from the nozzle to the frame, positioning an air nozzle adjacent to the water nozzle on the downstream side thereof in the rotational direction of the spinner table, and supplying air from the air nozzle against the flow of the water on the frame, whereby the water is forced to temporarily stay on the surface of the frame by the air supplied and is then expelled outward of the frame.

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Tokyo, Japan

Taku Iwamoto