A bonding apparatus configured to bond substrates comprises a first holder configured to vacuum-exhaust a first substrate to attract and hold the first substrate on a bottom surface thereof; a second holder disposed under the first holder, and configured to vacuum-exhaust a second substrate to attract and hold the second substrate on a top surface thereof; a mover configured to move the first holder and the second holder relatively in a horizontal direction; a laser interferometer system configured to measure a position of the first holder or the second holder which is moved by the mover; a linear scale configured to measure a position of the mover; and a controller configured to control the mover based on a measurement result of the laser interferometer system and a measurement result of the liner scale.

A micro device mass transfer equipment including a base stage, a moving stage, a substrate stage, a laser device, a rolling and pressing mechanism, and a heating mechanism is provided. The moving stage is movably disposed on the base stage, and moves with a moving path. The substrate stage is movably disposed on the base stage, and is adapted to move between different positions overlapping the moving stage. The laser device is movably disposed on the base stage. The laser device is adapted to move relative to the substrate stage, and emits a laser beam toward the substrate stage. The rolling and pressing mechanism is disposed on the moving path of the moving stage, and forms a contact region with the moving stage. The heating mechanism is disposed corresponding to the contact region, and is adapted to heat the contact region between the moving stage and the rolling and pressing mechanism.

A method of processing a workpiece with a disk-shaped blade containing abrasive grains includes the steps of placing an auxiliary plate made of a material having a modulus of elasticity higher than a material of which a front surface side of the workpiece is made, on the front surface side of the workpiece, causing the blade rotated to cut into the front surface side of the workpiece to cut the workpiece as well as the auxiliary plate, and removing the auxiliary plate from the workpiece that has been cut by the blade.

A wafer shape metrology system includes a wafer shape metrology sub-system configured to perform stress-free shape measurements on an active wafer, a carrier wafer, and a bonded device wafer. The active wafer includes functioning logic circuitry and the carrier wafer is electrically passive. The wafer shape metrology system includes a controller communicatively coupled to the wafer shape metrology sub-system. The controller is configured to receive stress-free shape measurements; determine overlay distortion between features on the active wafer and the carrier wafer; and convert the overlay distortion to a feed-forward correction for one or more lithographic scanners. The controller is also configured to determine a control range for a bonder or lithography scanner; predict an overlay distortion pattern; calculate an optimal control signature based on a minimal achievable overlay; and provide a feed-forward correction to the bonder or lithography scanner based on the calculated optimal control signature.

Data received from an in-situ monitoring system includes, for each scan of a sensor, a plurality of measured signal values for a plurality of different locations on a layer. A thickness of a polishing pad is determined based on the data from the in-situ monitoring system. For each scan, a portion of the measured signal values are adjusted based on the thickness of the polishing pad. For each scan of the plurality of scans and each location of the plurality of different locations, a value is generated representing a thickness of the layer at the location. This includes processing the adjusted signal values using one or more processors configured by machine learning. A polishing endpoint is detected or a polishing parameter is modified based on the values representing the thicknesses at the plurality of different locations.

A bonding apparatus is configured to bond a first substrate and a second substrate to prepare a combined substrate. The first substrate includes a base substrate, and a device layer formed on a surface of the base substrate facing the second substrate. The bonding apparatus includes a first holder configured to hold the first substrate; a second holder configured to hold the second substrate; a moving unit configured to move the first holder and the second holder relative to each other; and a total thickness measurement controller configured to control a thickness detector, which is configured to measure a total thickness of the combined substrate, to measure the total thickness at multiple points.

A device includes: a separating unit 10 which forms a weak layer WL in a semiconductor wafer WF supported by a base support unit BS to divide the wafer WF into a thinned wafer WF1 and a residual wafer WF2 with the weak layer WL as a boundary, and separates the wafer WF2 from the wafer WF1; a first transfer unit 20 which transfers the wafer WF1 from which the wafer WF2 is separated by the unit 10; a processing unit 30 which applies predetermined processing to the WF1 transferred by the unit 20; a second transfer unit 40 which transfers the wafer WF1 to which the predetermined processing is applied by the unit 30; and a reinforcing member pasting unit 50 which pastes a reinforcing member AS on the wafer WF1 transferred by the unit 40. The unit 20 and the unit 40 transfer the wafer WF1 with the unit BS.

A bonding apparatus according to an embodiment includes a first chuck, a second chuck, and a pushpin arranged in a center portion of the second chuck. The first chuck includes a first area and a second area in a plane view. The first chuck includes a first rib arranged to divide the first area and the second area from each other in the plane view. The first area includes an area that overlaps the pushpin in the plane view. The second area encircles an outer perimeter of the first area in the plane view. The first chuck has a plurality of pins arranged at intervals in the second area, and has no pin in the area of the first area that overlaps the pushpin in the plane view.

A separating device and a method of separation are disclosed. The separating device and the method of separation are for separating a flexible substrate fixed on a carrier substrate having a first divided area and a second divided area, the flexible substrate includes an effective area defined corresponding to the first divided area and an ineffective area defined corresponding to the second divided area. The separating device comprises: a movable platen, for raising the second divided area, thereby partially separating the carrier substrate from the flexible substrate, and thereby forming a slit; a separating sheet, for separating the flexible substrate along the slit, thereby separating the effective area of the flexible substrate from the first divided area of the carrier substrate; and a suction head, for removing the separated flexible substrate from the carrier substrate.

A semiconductor manufacturing device includes a table having an upper face on which a frame having a first opening to which a substrate is fixed by an adhesive is disposed, the table having a plurality of first through holes penetrating the table in a vertical direction and provided side by side in a first direction parallel to the upper face and a plurality of second through holes each provided between the adjacent first through holes and penetrating the table in the vertical direction; and a container provided on the table, the container including a first sidewall provided on the frame, a second sidewall provided on the frame, the second sidewall facing the first sidewall, a distance between the second sidewall and the first sidewall being larger than a first inner diameter of the first opening, and a joint allowing an outside of the container and an inside of the container to communicate with each other.