A protective member forming method for forming a protective member on the top surface of a substrate having projections and depressions on the top surface covers the top surface of the substrate with a resin film, adheres the resin film to the substrate so as to conform to the projections and depressions, supplies a curable liquid resin to a region superimposed on the substrate on the upper surface of the resin film, presses the liquid resin by a flat pressing surface via a cover film, thus spreads the liquid resin and cures the liquid resin, and thereby forms the protective member including the resin film, the cured liquid resin, and the cover film on the top surface of the substrate.

Described herein are carrier assemblies, and related devices and methods. In some embodiments, a carrier assembly includes a carrier; a textured material including texturized microstructures coupled to the carrier; and microelectronic components mechanically coupled to the texturized microstructures. In some embodiments, a carrier assembly includes a carrier having a front side and a back side; an electrode on the front side of the carrier; a dielectric material on the electrode; a charging contact on the back side coupled to the electrode; and microelectronic components electrostatically coupled to the front side of the carrier. In some embodiments, a carrier assembly includes a carrier having a front side and a back side; electrodes on the front side; a dielectric material including texturized microstructures on the electrodes; charging contacts on the back side coupled to the plurality of electrodes; and microelectronic components mechanically and electrostatically coupled to the front side of the carrier.

A method of forming a plurality of defects within a substrate with a laser beam focal line using a laser beam, each defect of the plurality of defects being a damage track within the substrate with a diameter of about 10 microns or less, the plurality of defects forming a contour line on the substrate. The substrate having a first surface and a second surface that is opposite from the first surface. The method further includes exerting (i) a first force on the first surface of the substrate at a location that is adjacent to the contour line and (ii) a second force on the second surface of the substrate at a location that is on the contour line. Additionally, the method includes breaking the substrate along the contour line and into a first substrate portion and a second substrate portion.

A die bonding apparatus includes a control device for controlling an imaging device. The control device is configured to: detect the dicing grooves by photographing the wafer using the imaging device; roughly determine a central position of the die by calculating the center coordinate of the die on the basis of the detected dicing grooves; move a center of the die to a center of an optical axis of the imaging device on the basis of the center coordinate; photograph the moved die by the imaging device and detect positions of pads possessed by the die on the basis of an image of the photographed die; detect a specific pad arrangement having a unique pitch on the basis of the detected dispositions of the pads; and register the detected specific pad arrangement as a template model.

A bonder includes a first chuck unit 1A, a second chuck unit 1B, a first base 21A, a second base 21B, and a first floating mechanism 3A. The first chuck unit 1A and the second chuck unit 1B are chuck units in a pair including respective suction surfaces for suction of bonding targets and are arranged while respective suction surfaces 11a and 11b face each other. The first base 21A and the second base 21B support the first chuck unit 1A and the second chuck unit 1B respectively. The first floating mechanism 3A applies gas pressure to a back surface 12a of the first chuck unit 1A to float the first chuck unit 1A from the first base 21A, thereby moving the suction surface 11a of the first chuck unit 1A toward the suction surface 11b of the second chuck unit 1B.

There is provided a conveyance system that conveys a workpiece to each of plural processing apparatuses. The conveyance system includes a conveyance passage, an automated workpiece conveying vehicle that travels on the conveyance passage, a stock unit, and a control unit. The conveyance passage is set in a space directly above the processing apparatus across the plural processing apparatus. The stock unit includes a placement base on which a workpiece stocker capable of housing plural workpieces is placed, two temporary putting bases on which the workpiece carried out from the workpiece stocker on the placement base is temporarily put, a temporary putting base movement part that moves the two temporary putting bases in such a manner as to interchange the two temporary putting bases between a first position that faces the placement base and a second position adjacent to the first position.

A laser processing apparatus includes an unloading/loading mechanism for unloading a wafer from and loading a wafer into a cassette placed on a cassette placing stand, a chuck table for rotatably holding the wafer unloaded from the cassette by the unloading/loading mechanism, an image capturing unit for capturing an image of a wafer, and a control unit. The control unit controls the unloading/loading mechanism to orient a mark indicating the crystal orientation of a processed wafer in a predetermined direction different from a direction in which the mark of an unprocessed wafer in the cassette is oriented, when the unloading/loading mechanism houses the processed wafer into the cassette.

A processing apparatus includes a tape pressure bonding unit that executes pressure bonding of a tape of a tape-attached frame to a back surface of a wafer. The tape pressure bonding unit includes an upper chamber, a lower chamber, a raising-lowering mechanism that raises and lowers the upper chamber, a vacuum part that sets the upper chamber and the lower chamber to a vacuum state, and an opening-to-atmosphere part that opens the upper chamber and the lower chamber to the atmosphere.

An apparatus for debonding a wafer from a bonded wafer stack is disclosed. The apparatus includes a flashlamp, a flashlamp control unit, and a wafer debonding unit. A processed wafer can be debonded from a bonded wafer stack by applying light pulses from the flashlamp. The flashlamp is controlled by the flashlamp control unit that includes a capacitor bank, a power supply for charging the capacitor bank, an IGBT-based switching device, and a frequency controller. The wafer debonding unit includes a debonding vacuum table, a wafer feeding robot for conveying the bonded wafer stack to the debonding vacuum table, a set of suction cups for applying vacuum to the bonded wafer stack when light pulses are being emitted by the flashlamp to debond the processed wafer from the bonded wafer stack.

A holding table manufacturing method includes forming a plurality of first grooves in a front surface of a plate-shaped body, forming a plurality of second grooves in a back surface of the plate-shaped body, laying, on one another, a plurality of the plate-shaped bodies formed respectively with a plurality of the first grooves and a plurality of the second grooves and uniting the plate-shaped bodies together to form a suction plate, and accommodating the suction plate in an accommodating recess of a frame body to form a holding table. The first grooves and the second grooves do not reach side surfaces of the plate-shaped body, the first grooves and the second grooves communicate with each other, and the thickness of the suction plate is larger than the depth of the accommodating recess.