A wafer cleaning apparatus of the present invention includes a vacuum chuck unit on which a wafer is mounted, a ring cover unit facing a retainer ring portion of the wafer, an expander module installed to move the ring cover unit and configured to press the retainer ring portion toward the vacuum chuck unit such that a gap between dies of the wafer widens, and a chucking module installed in the vacuum chuck unit to restrain the ring cover unit pressed by the expander module to the vacuum chuck unit.

A wafer cleaning apparatus of the present invention includes a vacuum chuck unit on which a wafer is mounted, and an ultrasonic cleaning module configured to spray a cleaning solution onto the wafer and apply ultrasonic waves to the cleaning solution to ultrasonically vibrate the cleaning solution.

A manufacturing method of a protective film agent for laser dicing that includes a solution preparation step of preparing a solution in which at least a water-soluble resin, an organic solvent, and an ultraviolet absorber are mixed; and an ion-exchange treatment step of carrying out ion exchange of sodium ions in the solution by using a cation-exchange resin.

A processing method of a wafer includes a modified layer forming step of positioning the focal point of a laser beam with a wavelength having transmissibility with respect to the wafer to the inside of a planned dividing line and executing irradiation along the planned dividing line to form modified layers inside and a water-soluble resin coating step of coating the front surface of the wafer with a water-soluble resin before or after the modified layer forming step. The processing method also includes a dividing step of expanding a dicing tape to divide the wafer into individual device chips together with the water-soluble resin with which the front surface of the wafer is coated and a modified layer removal step of executing plasma etching and removing the modified layers that remain at the side surfaces of the device chips in a state in which the dicing tape is expanded and the front surfaces of the individual device chips are coated with the water-soluble resin.

Representative implementations of techniques and methods include processing singulated dies in preparation for bonding. A plurality of semiconductor die components may be singulated from a wafer component, the semiconductor die components each having a substantially planar surface. Particles and shards of material may be removed from edges of the plurality of semiconductor die component. Additionally, one or more of the plurality of semiconductor die components may be bonded to a prepared bonding surface, via the substantially planar surface.

A chip singulation method includes, in stated order: forming a surface supporting layer on an upper surface of a wafer; thinning the wafer from the undersurface to reduce the thickness to at most 30 μm; removing the surface supporting layer from the upper surface; forming a first metal layer and subsequently a second metal layer on the undersurface of the wafer; applying a dicing tape onto an undersurface of the second metal layer; applying, onto the upper surface of the wafer, a process of increasing hydrophilicity of a surface of the wafer; forming a water-soluble protective layer on the surface of the wafer; cutting the wafer, the first metal layer, and the second metal layer by irradiating a predetermined region of the upper surface of the wafer with a laser beam; and removing the water-soluble protective layer from the surface of the wafer using wash water.

A processing method of a device wafer includes a mask coating step of coating a front surface of the device wafer with a water-soluble resin, a mask forming step of applying a laser beam along each division line, forming a groove, and removing a protective mask and a functional layer to expose a substrate, a plasma etching step of forming a division groove that divides the substrate along the groove by supplying a gas in a plasma condition, an expanding step of expanding a protective tape in a plane direction to expand a width of the division groove, an adhesive film dividing step of applying a laser beam along the division groove to divide the adhesive film that has been exposed due to the formation of the division groove, and a cleaning step of cleaning and removing the water-soluble resin.

The cleaning apparatus includes multiple kinds of cleaning modules each configured to perform a cleaning processing of a substrate, a first accommodating section configured to accommodate the multiple kinds of cleaning modules therein, and a fluid supply section configured to supply a fluid to the cleaning modules accommodated in the first accommodating section through a pipe. Each of the multiple kinds of cleaning modules includes a pipe connection portion having a common connection position to be connected with the pipe.

Compositions and methods for removing lanthanoid-containing solids and/or species from the surface of a microelectronic device or microelectronic device fabrication hardware. Preferably, the lanthanoid-containing solids and/or species comprise cerium. The composition is preferably substantially devoid of fluoride ions.

A chuck table for supporting a wafer assembly during a cleaning process comprising an axis of rotation, a first surface including an opening configured to be in communication with a vacuum source, and a second surface opposing the first surface. The second surface includes a suction opening displaced radially from both the opening in the first surface and the axis, the suction opening being in communication with the opening in the first surface such that in use a suction force can be applied via the suction opening.