A cutting apparatus is provided. The cutting apparatus includes a processing chamber, a chuck table, a transferring mechanism, and a cleaning member. The chuck table is disposed in the processing chamber and configured to hold a workpiece on a chuck surface of the chuck table during a cutting process. The transferring mechanism is configured to transfer the workpiece to the chuck surface before the cutting process or transfer the workpiece away from the chuck surface after the cutting process. The cleaning member is disposed in the processing chamber, and is configured to move across and clean the chuck surface, driven by the transferring mechanism.

Reclamation or recycling of a semiconductor workpiece includes vaporizing the structures and materials deposited, implanted, or formed in or on the substrate with minimally acceptable damage to the crystalline substrate through direct ionic vaporization rather than thermal ablation. The purity of the substrate therefore remains substantially free from heavy metal surface contamination and has a surface roughness that may be polished back to a mirror-like finish using chemical mechanical polishing or lapping processes. The process includes focusing coherent light on a surface of the substrate with a predetermined wavelength, power, pulse width, and pulse rate or number of pulses per unit area that causes direct ionic vaporization of material formed in or on the surface of the substrate up to a predetermined penetration depth. Advantageously, patterned, previously used test, and out of specification wafers may be reclaimed for reuse or recycled without risk of the unintended disclosure of intellectual property.

A variable-step-distance micro-milling repair cutter path generating method for damage points on a surface of an optical crystal related to a field of optical material and optical element surface repair and includes steps of establishing a mathematical model of a repair profile; determining discrete contact points between a cutter and the repair profile to obtain a cutter contact control point set by a GPR path generating method to control a movement trend of a pseudo-random path; interpolating the cutter position control point set into a spatial curve by a NURBS modeling method; creating a UG curve in a UG software according to the mathematical model, and using the UG curve as the repair path to perform a machining process simulation. The method has good elimination effects on cutter marks with constant period and improves the ability of the KDP crystal to resist strong laser damage.

A variable-step-distance micro-milling repair cutter path generating method for damage points on a surface of an optical crystal related to a field of optical material and optical element surface repair and includes steps of establishing a mathematical model of a repair profile; determining discrete contact points between a cutter and the repair profile to obtain a cutter contact control point set by a GPR path generating method to control a movement trend of a pseudo-random path; interpolating the cutter position control point set into a spatial curve by a NURBS modeling method; creating a UG curve in a UG software according to the mathematical model, and using the UG curve as the repair path to perform a machining process simulation. The method has good elimination effects on cutter marks with constant period and improves the ability of the KDP crystal to resist strong laser damage.

A method of processing a transparent member, the transparent member having a first surface extending perpendicularly to the direction of laser light emission, and a second surface and a third surface that are connected to the first surface, the method including emitting laser light in the direction perpendicular to the first surface, and scanning the laser light in the direction parallel to the first surface, wherein the second surface of the transparent member is an inclined surface, or an inclined surface is disposed on the same side of the transparent member as the second surface, and, by causing the laser light to reflect on the inclined surface toward the third surface, a modified region is formed in a region having up to 2 mm depth from the third surface from the first surface to the lower end of the third surface in the direction of laser light emission.

Examples of automated gemstone feeding are described. According to an example, a gemstone feeding machine includes a conveyor belt assembly to feed holders carrying gemstones. The conveyor belt assembly can include a plurality of conveyor belts in two sets positioned parallel to each other and the two sets can move in opposite directions. Each belt in one set can be positioned alternately with respect to each belt in the other set. The assembly can include a fixed guiding plate at a first end of the conveyor belts and a detachable guiding plate adjacent to the loading assembly at a second end of the conveyor belts. The fixed guiding plate and the detachable guiding plate each comprises a plurality of transition profiles in alignment with immediately adjacent conveyor belts.

Method and systems are presented for authentication of precious stones, according to their natural ID and/or predetermined markings created in the stones, based on unique characteristic radiation response of the stone to predetermined primary radiation.

Method and systems are presented for authentication of precious stones, according to their natural ID and/or predetermined markings created in the stones, based on unique characteristic radiation response of the stone to predetermined primary radiation.

A transfer jig for use in transferring a new cutting blade as a replacement component to the processing unit, in a cutting apparatus including a chuck table holding a workpiece, a processing unit having a spindle and a cutting blade detachably mounted on the spindle, a cutting blade changing unit changing the cutting blade, and a transfer mechanism supplying the workpiece to the processing unit. The transfer jig has a plurality of receiving portions each adapted to receive the new cutting blade and the cutting blade changed by the cutting blade changing unit. The transfer jig is adapted to be transferred by the transfer mechanism transferring the workpiece.

A crystalline material processing method includes forming subsurface laser damage at a first average depth position to form cracks in the substrate interior propagating outward from at least one subsurface laser damage pattern, followed by imaging the substrate top surface, analyzing the image to identify a condition indicative of presence of uncracked regions within the substrate, and taking one or more actions responsive to the analyzing. One potential action includes changing an instruction set for producing subsequent laser damage formation (at second or subsequent average depth positions), without necessarily forming additional damage at the first depth position. Another potential action includes forming additional subsurface laser damage at the first depth position. The substrate surface is illuminated with a diffuse light source arranged perpendicular to a primary substrate flat and positioned to a first side of the substrate, and imaged with an imaging device positioned to an opposing second side of the substrate.