The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus and a polishing method for polishing a substrate while detecting a film thickness of the substrate by analyzing reflected light from the substrate on a polishing pad. The polishing apparatus includes a polishing table (3) configured to support a polishing pad (2) having a through-hole (61); a pad-height measuring device (32) configured to measure a height of the polishing surface (2a); a pure-water supply line (63) and a pure-water suction line(64) coupled to the through-hole (61) ; a flow-rate adjusting device (71) coupled to the pure-water supply line (63); and an operation controller (35) configured to control an operation of the flow-rate adjusting device (71). The operation controller (35) determines a flow rate of the pure water corresponding to a measured value of the height of the polishing surface (2a) from correlation data, and controls the operation of the flow-rate adjusting device (71) such that the pure water flows through the pure-water supply line (63) at the determined flow rate.

There is provided a substrate processing apparatus with improved throughput by reconsidering a configuration of an apparatus including a batch type module and a single wafer type module. In a single wafer processing region according to single wafer processing of a processing block of the present invention, a buffer unit to and from which both a first transfer mechanism HTR and a center robot can hand over and receive a substrate(s) is provided. Therefore, the first transfer mechanism can collectively hand over and receive processed substrates and unprocessed substrates via the buffer unit. Therefore, a potential of the first transfer mechanism is drawn out, and the substrate processing apparatus having a high throughput can be provided.

A polishing liquid for polishing undoped silicate glass, the polishing liquid having a pH of 3.0 or more. A polishing method including a step of polishing a surface to be polished of a member to be polished containing undoped silicate glass by using the above-described polishing liquid. A method for manufacturing a component, including obtaining a component by using a polished member polished by the above-described polishing method.

A temporary adhesive without the formation of voids between a support and a wafer. A temporary adhesive for separatably attaching a support to a circuit side of a wafer to process a rear surface of the wafer, the temporary adhesive including a component (A) that is cured by a hydrosilylation reaction; a polymerization inhibitor (B) having a 5% mass decrease temperature of 80 C. or higher as measured using a Tg-DTA; and a solvent (C). The component (A) may include a polysiloxane (A1) including a polyorganosiloxane (a1) containing a C.sub.1-10 alkyl group and a C.sub.2-10 alkenyl group, and a polyorganosiloxane (a2) containing a C.sub.1-10 alkyl group and a hydrogen atom; and a platinum group metal-based catalyst (A2). The polymerization inhibitor (B) may be a compound of formula (1): ##STR00001##
(wherein R.sup.7 and R.sup.8 are each a C.sub.6-40 aryl group, or a combination of a C.sub.1-10 alkyl group and a C.sub.6-40 aryl group).

A temporary adhesive without the formation of voids between a support and a wafer. A temporary adhesive for separatably attaching a support to a circuit side of a wafer to process a rear surface of the wafer, the temporary adhesive including a component (A) that is cured by a hydrosilylation reaction; a polymerization inhibitor (B) having a 5% mass decrease temperature of 80 C. or higher as measured using a Tg-DTA; and a solvent (C). The component (A) may include a polysiloxane (A1) including a polyorganosiloxane (a1) containing a C.sub.1-10 alkyl group and a C.sub.2-10 alkenyl group, and a polyorganosiloxane (a2) containing a C.sub.1-10 alkyl group and a hydrogen atom; and a platinum group metal-based catalyst (A2). The polymerization inhibitor (B) may be a compound of formula (1): ##STR00001##
(wherein R.sup.7 and R.sup.8 are each a C.sub.6-40 aryl group, or a combination of a C.sub.1-10 alkyl group and a C.sub.6-40 aryl group).

A method is provided for fabricating a semiconductor wafer having a device side, a back side opposite the device side and an outer periphery edge. Suitably, the method includes: forming a top conducting layer on the device side of the semiconductor wafer; forming a passivation layer over the top conducting layer, the passivation layer being formed so as not to extend to the outer periphery edge of the semiconductor wafer; and forming a protective layer over the passivation layer, the protective layer being spin coated over the passivation layer so as to have a smooth top surface at least in a region proximate to the outer periphery edge of the semiconductor wafer.

A wafer stacking method includes the following steps. A first wafer is provided. A second wafer is bonded to the first wafer to form a first wafer stack structure. A first edge defect inspection is performed on the first wafer stack structure to find a first edge defect and measure a first distance in a radial direction between an edge of the first wafer stack structure and an end of the first edge defect away from the edge of the first wafer stack structure. A first trimming process with a range of a first width is performed from the edge of the first wafer stack structure to remove the first edge defect. Herein, the first width is greater than or equal to the first distance.

A semiconductor device assembly is provided. The assembly includes an outer semiconductor device which has an active surface and a back surface. The back surface includes a cut that extends to a depth between the active surface and the back surface, and uncut regions on opposing sides of the cut. The assembly further includes an inner semiconductor device disposed within the cut of the outer semiconductor device.

It is an object of the invention to provide a chemical solution that ensures good in-plane cleanliness uniformity on a substrate and good wafer bevel cleanliness and exhibits high capability of preventing the occurrence of defects on the substrate upon contact with the substrate. It is another object of the invention to provide a chemical solution-housing article that houses the chemical solution. The chemical solution of the invention contains 2-heptanone, water, and a carbonyl compound having 6 to 8 carbon atoms other than 2-heptanone. The content of 2-heptanone is 60% by mass or more based on the total mass of the chemical solution, and the content of water is 1 to 1000 ppm by mass based on the total mass of the chemical solution. A P value determined from formula (1) is 3 to 10. P=log.sub.10 (XY) formula (1). Here, X is the numerical value X when the concentration of water in the chemical solution is denoted by X mol/L, and Y is the numerical value Y when the concentration of the carbonyl compound in the chemical solution is denoted by Y mol/L.

A semiconductor device manufacturing method of manufacturing a semiconductor device by machining a substrate including a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface is provided. The semiconductor device manufacturing method including: forming a first trimmed part by performing trimming of the substrate from the first surface side; forming a second trimmed part by performing trimming of the substrate from the first surface side; forming an adhesive layer on the first surface using a spin coating method including rotating the substrate around a rotation axis; fixing the substrate to a support member via the adhesive layer; and grinding the substrate from the second surface side to decrease a dimension in a thickness direction of the substrate. The second trimmed part includes a part which is located on an inner side with respect to the first trimmed part in a radial direction from the rotation axis.