A device wafer processing method includes a holding step of holding a face side of a device wafer by a holding table, a cutting step of cutting the device wafer by a cutting blade from a reverse side of the device wafer along streets and forming cutting grooves that do not reach a functional layer, and a laser processing step of applying a laser beam having a wavelength absorbable by the device wafer to the device wafer from the reverse side of the device wafer along the cutting grooves and dividing the device wafer into individual devices. The laser processing step is carried out in a state in which the device wafer is continuously held on the holding table without being unloaded from the holding table, after the cutting step is carried out.

A device wafer processing method includes a protective film coating step of coating a face side of a device wafer with a protective film, a laser processing step of applying a laser beam having a wavelength absorbable by the device wafer to the device wafer along streets and forming laser processing grooves that divide a device layer, a tape affixing step of affixing a tape to the protective film on the device wafer, a holding step of holding the face side of the device wafer by a holding table via the tape and exposing a reverse side of the device wafer, and a cutting step of cutting the device wafer held on the holding table, by a cutting blade from the reverse side along the streets, and dividing the device wafer into individual devices.

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.

Defluorination processes for removing fluorine residuals from a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer are provided. In one example implementation, a method for processing a workpiece can include supporting a workpiece on a workpiece support. The workpiece can have a photoresist layer. The workpiece can have one or more fluorine residuals on a surface of the workpiece. The method can include performing a defluorination process on the workpiece at least in part using a plasma generated from a first process gas. The first process gas can include a hydrogen gas. Subsequent to performing the defluorination process, the method can include performing a plasma strip process on the workpiece to at least partially remove a photoresist layer from the workpiece.

A mounting apparatus of a chip including a mechanism configured to arrange a front surface of a chip and a front surface of a substrate to face each other such that a back surface of the chip is attached to a sheet, the sheet having a first portion corresponding to the selected chip and a the second portion arranged at a periphery of the first portion corresponding to the selected chip in the sheet when seen in a direction perpendicular to the front surface of the substrate; a holding mechanism moving in a direction that is not perpendicular to the front surface of the substrate and arranged to hold the second portion of the sheet; and a pushing mechanism for pushing the back surface of the chip through the first portion of the sheet so that the front surface of the chip is brought close to the front surface of the substrate with the first portion deformed in a state where the second portion is held by the holding mechanism, and configured to release the pushing mechanism from the first portion of the sheet to strip the sheet from the back surface of the chip.

A workpiece-separating device includes: a holding member that detachably holds a workpiece among a layered body in which the workpiece that includes a circuit board and a supporting body that allows laser beams to pass therethrough are layered with each other via a separating layer that peelably alters with absorption of the laser beams; a laser irradiation part that performs irradiation of Gaussian beams pulse-oscillated as the laser beams toward the separating layer through the supporting body of the layered body held by the holding member; and a controlling part that controls an operation of the laser irradiation part, wherein the controlling part controls a distance between centers of the adjacent Gaussian beams of the laser beams pulse-oscillated from the laser irradiation part to be less than three times of a standard deviation when a relationship between a beam diameter and irradiation intensity is assumed as a normal distribution.

Implementations of methods of forming a plurality of semiconductor die may include forming a damage layer beneath a surface of a die street in a semiconductor substrate, singulating the semiconductor substrate along the die street into a plurality of semiconductor die, and removing one or more particulates in the die street after singulating through applying sonic energy to the plurality of semiconductor die.

The method for manufacturing an element chip includes: sticking an adhesive tape having translucency to a front surface of a semiconductor wafer; measuring a position and a width of a second close contact portion in a dividing region; applying a laser beam having a beam diameter smaller than the width of the second close contact portion to the adhesive tape such that the laser beam does not protrude from the second close contact portion based on the width of the second close contact portion and the beam diameter, and forming an exposed portion; exposing the front surface to plasma with a back surface held by a dicing tape, and while protecting an element region from the plasma with an adhesive tape, etching the dividing region exposed in the exposed portion to dice the substrate into a plurality of element chips; and removing the adhesive tape remaining on the front surface.

Representative implementations of devices and techniques provide a device and a technique for processing integrated circuit (IC) dies. The device comprises a die tray (such as a pick and place tray, for example) for holding the dies during processing. The die tray may include an array of pockets sized to hold individual dies. The technique can include loading dies on the die tray, cleaning the top and bottom surfaces of the dies, and ashing and activating both surfaces of the dies while on the die tray, eliminating the need to turn the dies over during processing.

A workpiece-separating device includes: a holding member that detachably holds a workpiece among a layered body in which the workpiece that includes a circuit board and a supporting body that allows laser beams to pass therethrough are layered with each other via a separating layer that peelably alters with absorption of the laser beams; a laser irradiation part that performs irradiation of Gaussian beams pulse-oscillated as the laser beams toward the separating layer through the supporting body of the layered body held by the holding member; and a controlling part that controls an operation of the laser irradiation part, wherein the controlling part controls a distance between centers of the adjacent Gaussian beams of the laser beams pulse-oscillated from the laser irradiation part to be less than three times of a standard deviation when a relationship between a beam diameter and irradiation intensity is assumed as a normal distribution.