A method of monitoring a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus including an arm configured to swing a polishing component includes performing a CMP process; learning at least two positions of the polishing component during a normal swing motion of the polish component by an optical acceptor and a processing unit to determine a plurality of expected positions of the polish component; analyzing at least one real position of the polishing component at predetermined time points during the CMP process by the optical acceptor and the processing unit; inspecting whether an abnormal event occurs based on the analyzed real position of the polishing component and the expected positions by the processing unit during the CMP process; and determining whether to send an alarm and stop the CMP process based on the inspecting result.

A processing liquid supplying apparatus including a reservoir containing an additive to be added to a liquid flowing through a passage connected at one end to a liquid supply source and at another end to a processing apparatus; an injection pump for injecting the additive into the passage; a weight measuring unit for measuring the weight of the reservoir and converting the weight into an electrical signal at a predetermined interval while the liquid flows in the passage and the additive is injected; a deciding unit for receiving the electrical signal from the weight measuring unit and deciding whether the measured value of the weight of the reservoir is being reduced at a predetermined rate; and a warning unit for issuing a warning that injection is improper when it is decided by the deciding unit that the measured value of the weight is not being reduced at the predetermined rate.

A method and a device for bonding a first substrate with a second substrate inside a sealed bonding chamber. The method includes: a) fixing of the first and second substrates, b) arranging of the first and second substrates, c) mutual approaching of the first and second substrates, d) contacting the first and second substrates at respective bond initiation points, e) generating a bonding wave running from the bond initiation points to side edges of the substrates, and f) influencing the bonding wave during course of the bonding wave, wherein targeted influencing of the bonding wave takes place by a regulated and/or controlled change of pressure inside the bonding chamber.

A method and device for bonding a first substrate with a second substrate inside a sealed bonding chamber. The method includes: a) fixing of the first and second substrates, b) arranging of the first and second substrates, c) mutual approaching of the first and second substrates, d) contacting the first and second substrates at respective bond initiation points, e) generating a bonding wave running from the bond initiation points to side edges of the substrates, and f) influencing the bonding wave during course of the bonding wave, wherein targeted influencing of the bonding wave takes place by a regulated and/or controlled change of pressure inside the bonding chamber.

A connecting device for connecting a circuit chip to a substrate is provided. The connecting device includes: a main body having a first opening and a second opening; a vibration part on the main body, the vibration part being configured to vibrate the main body; and an intake part coupled with the first and second openings to adsorb the circuit chip to the main body. Both the first and second openings are open at a surface of the main body to which the circuit chip is adsorbed, and the second opening is arranged in the first opening on a plane.

There is provided a bonding apparatus for bonding substrates together, which includes: a first holding part configured to adsorptively hold a first substrate by vacuum-drawing the first substrate on a lower surface of the first substrate; a second holding part provided below the first holding part and configured to adsorptively hold a second substrate by vacuum-drawing the second substrate on an upper surface of the second substrate; a pressing member provided in the first holding part and configured to press a central portion of the first substrate; and a plurality of substrate detection parts provided in the first holding part and configured to detect a detachment of the first substrate from the first holding part.

A laser irradiation method of irradiating, with a pulse laser beam, an irradiation object in which an impurity source film is formed on a semiconductor substrate includes: reading fluence per pulse of the pulse laser beam with which a rectangular irradiation region set on the irradiation object is irradiated and the number of irradiation pulses the irradiation region is irradiated, the fluence being equal to or larger than a threshold at or beyond which ablation potentially occurs to the impurity source film when the irradiation object is irradiated with pulses of the pulse laser beam in the irradiation pulse number and smaller than a threshold at or beyond which damage potentially occurs to the surface of the semiconductor substrate; calculating a scanning speed Vdx; and moving the irradiation object at the scanning speed Vdx relative to the irradiation region while irradiating the irradiation region with the pulse laser beam at the repetition frequency f.

An apparatus for holding a thin substrate includes a plurality of positive pressure regions including a porous material having an upper surface and a gas flowing outward from the upper surface, the gas producing a positive pressure above the upper surface in the positive pressure regions. The apparatus includes a plurality of negative pressure regions interspersed with the plurality of positive pressure regions, the negative pressure regions exerting a holding force on a bottom surface of the thin substrate. The negative pressure regions and the positive pressure regions operate to maintain the bottom surface of the thin substrate a distance from the upper surface of the porous material in the positive pressure regions. Methods of holding a thin substrate with the apparatus are also disclosed.

To provide a wafer processing method which can simplify the wafer processing process and efficiently obtain chips of stable quality. A wafer processing method includes: a tape attaching step of attaching a back grinding tape to the front surface of a wafer; a modified region forming step of applying a laser beam from the back surface of the wafer along a cut line to form modified regions inside the wafer; a back surface processing step of processing the back surface of the wafer having the modified regions to reduce a thickness of the wafer; and a dividing step of, in a state in which the back grinding tape is attached to the front surface of the wafer, applying a load to the cut line from the back surface of the wafer to divide the wafer along the cut line and obtain individual chips.

A wafer processing method for processing a wafer with devices formed in regions on a side of a front surface of the wafer, the regions being defined by first scheduled division lines and second scheduled division lines includes a first modified layer forming step and a second modified layer forming step. in the first modified layer forming step, a laser beam is irradiated with its focal point set at a height leveled with a height of a first region located inside the wafer on the side of the front surface of the wafer, whereby first modified layers are formed. In the second modified layer forming step, the laser beam is irradiated with its focal point set at a height leveled with a height of a second region located inside the wafer on a side of a back surface of the wafer, whereby second modified layers are formed.