A method of processing a wafer includes a protective member affixing step of affixing a protective member whose area covers a face side or a reverse side of the wafer to the wafer, and after the protective member affixing step has been carried out, a ring-shaped stiffener removing step of removing a ring-shaped stiffener from the wafer. The ring-shaped stiffener removing step includes a ring-shaped stiffener separating step of dividing the wafer along an outer circumference of a device region to separate the device region and the ring-shaped stiffener from each other, and after the ring-shaped stiffener separating step has been carried out, a removing step of processing the ring-shaped stiffener with a grindstone to remove the ring-shaped stiffener from the wafer while a processing fluid is being supplied to the wafer.

A laser beam irradiating unit of a laser processing apparatus includes a laser oscillator configured to oscillate a laser, a condenser configured to condense a laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator, and a plasma light detector configured to detect plasma light emitted from a region subjected to processing by application of the laser beam.

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 wafer processing method includes a polyolefin sheet providing step of positioning a wafer in an inside opening of a ring frame and providing a polyolefin sheet on a back side or a front side of the wafer and on a back side of the ring frame, a uniting step of heating the polyolefin sheet as applying a pressure to the polyolefin sheet to thereby unite the wafer and the ring frame through the polyolefin sheet by thermocompression bonding, a dividing step of applying a laser beam to the wafer to form modified layers in the wafer, thereby dividing the wafer into individual device chips, and a pickup step of heating the polyolefin sheet in each of the plurality of separate regions corresponding to each device chip, pushing up each device chip through the polyolefin sheet, then picking up each device chip from the polyolefin sheet.

A semiconductor wafer imaging system for imaging a semiconductor wafer includes shroud panels defining a black box, a camera positioned in the black box for imaging the semiconductor wafer, and an illumination panel for directing diffuse light to the semiconductor wafer. A portion of the diffuse light is reflected off the semiconductor wafer and the camera images the semiconductor wafer by detecting the reflected diffuse light.

A semiconductor wafer processing system for processing a semiconductor wafer includes a semiconductor wafer processing station for processing the semiconductor wafer and a semiconductor wafer imaging system that images the semiconductor wafer after the semiconductor wafer processing station processes the semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor wafer imaging system includes shroud panels defining a black box, a camera positioned in the black box for imaging the semiconductor wafer, and an illumination panel for directing diffuse light to the semiconductor wafer. A portion of the diffuse light is reflected off the semiconductor wafer and the camera images the semiconductor wafer by detecting the reflected diffuse light.

A method of detecting defects on a semiconductor wafer includes directing diffuse light to the semiconductor wafer and reflecting the diffuse light off of the semiconductor wafer. The method further includes detecting the diffuse light with a camera to generate an image of the semiconductor wafer and analyzing the image to detect defects on the semiconductor wafer.

An element chip manufacturing method including: preparing a semiconductor substrate including a first layer having a first principal surface, and a second layer having a second principal surface, the first layer provided with element regions, a dicing region, and an alignment mark, wherein the first layer includes a semiconductor layer, and the second layer includes a metal layer adjacent to the semiconductor layer; irradiating a first laser beam absorbed in the metal film and passing through the semiconductor layer, from the second principal surface side to a first region corresponding to the mark; imaging the semiconductor substrate from the second principal surface side with a camera, and then calculating a second region corresponding to the dicing region on the second principal surface; irradiating a second laser beam to the second region from the second principal surface side; and dicing the semiconductor substrate into a plurality of element chips.

A wafer processing method includes a polyester sheet providing step of positioning a wafer in an inside opening of a ring frame and providing a polyester sheet on a back side or a front side of the wafer and on a back side of the ring frame, a uniting step of heating the polyester sheet as applying a pressure to the polyester sheet to thereby unite the wafer and the ring frame through the polyester sheet by thermocompression bonding, a dividing step of applying a laser beam to the wafer to form shield tunnels in the wafer, thereby dividing the wafer into individual device chips, and a pickup step of picking up each device chip from the polyester sheet.

A chuck assembly for holding a plate comprises a member configured to hold the plate, the member including a flexible portion configured to have a central opening, and a first cavity formed by the flexible portion, wherein the plate is held by the flexible portion by reducing pressure in the first cavity, a light-transmitting member covering the central opening of the member, and a fluid path in communication with a second cavity defined by the member, the plate held by the member and the light-transmitting member for pressurizing the second cavity.