The present disclosure provides a container for storing slurry having fumed silica particles. The container includes a main body having an inner space for accommodating the slurry, and a filter disposed in the inner space of the main body. The filter is a porous membrane having a plurality of pores. The filter has an upper surface and a bottom surface. The plurality of pores has a pore size distribution decreasing from the upper surface to the bottom surface.

According to one embodiment, a bonding apparatus includes first and second stages, first and second measuring devices, a stress generator, and a controller. The controller generates a focus map for each deformation amount of the first stage based on a deformation amount of the first stage deformed by the stress generator and the shape of the first substrate held by the deformed first stage. In the alignment processing of the first substrate, when causing the first measuring device to measure an alignment mark arranged on the first substrate held by the first stage, the controller uses a focus setting based on the focus map corresponding to the deformation amount applied to the first stage.

A positioning method includes detecting coordinates (X.sub.11, Y.sub.11) of a rotation center on a surface of a holding table with a first image capturing unit and stores the detected coordinates as a new first reference position, detecting coordinates (X.sub.21, Y.sub.21) of a rotation center on another surface of the holding table with a second image capturing unit and stores the detected coordinates as a new second reference position, calculating a first deviation between a previous rotation center on the surface of the holding table and the coordinates (X.sub.11, Y.sub.11), calculating a second deviation between a previous rotation center on the other surface of the holding table and the coordinates (X.sub.21, Y.sub.21), correcting a coordinate system of images captured by the first image capturing unit to eliminate the first deviation, and correcting a coordinate system of images captured by the second image capturing unit to eliminate the second deviation.

A method of handling a wafer includes a frame unit forming step of forming a frame unit by placing the wafer in a central opening of an annular frame, affixing a dicing tape to a surface of the annular frame, and affixing the wafer to the dicing tape, a dividing step of processing the wafer along projected dicing lines thereon to divide the wafer into individual device chips including respective devices, a package unit forming step of forming a package unit by affixing a sheet to another surface of the annular frame and surrounding the wafer with the dicing tape and the sheet, and a delivery step of delivering the package unit.

A verification method for device chips, includes a providing step of providing a wafer having a front surface with a plurality of devices formed thereon and demarcated by streets, the devices including non-defective devices and defective devices that are distinguished from each other based on an electrical characteristic, a dividing step of dividing the wafer into individual device chips along the streets, a defective device chip extracting step of extracting defective device chips from the individual device chips, the defective device chips corresponding to the defective devices and being defective in the electrical characteristic, and a verification step of verifying a physical characteristic of each of the extracted defective device chips.

The present disclosure generally relates to ensuring a plasma plume or cloud that forms during a laser cutting process does not lead to undesired re-deposition of material onto the substrate. At least one electrode is biased to draw the electrons of the plasma plume or cloud towards the electrode and away from the substrate. A vacuum port and/or a blower may be strategically located to ensure proper gas flow away from the substrate and hence, directing of the electrons away from the substrate. In so doing, material re-deposition is less likely to occur.

A method for bonding a first substrate with a second substrate at respective contact faces of the substrates with the following steps: holding the first substrate to a first sample holder surface of a first sample holder with a holding force F.sub.H1 and holding the second substrate to a second sample holder surface of a second sample holder with a holding force F.sub.H2; contacting the contact faces at a bond initiation point and heating at least the second sample holder surface to a heating temperature T.sub.H; bonding of the first substrate with the second substrate along a bonding wave running from the bond initiation point to the side edges of the substrates, wherein the heating temperature T.sub.H is reduced at the second sample holder surface during the bonding.

A device for bonding of a second substrate onto a first substrate, comprising a receiving apparatus for receiving the first substrate which has been coated with a bond layer and the second substrate which is held on the bond layer, and an action apparatus for applying a bond force to the second substrate on one action side of the second substrate, which side faces away from the bond layer proceeding from an initial zone A, which lies within an edge zone R of the action side as far as action on the entire action side. Furthermore, this invention relates to a corresponding method.

A method of aligning two wafers during a bonding process includes aligning a first wafer having a plurality of alignment markings with a second wafer having a plurality of alignment markings. The method further includes placing a plurality of flags between the first wafer and the second wafer. The method further includes detecting movement of the plurality of flags with respect to the first wafer and the second wafer using at least one sensor. The method further includes determining whether the wafers remain aligned within an alignment tolerance based on the detected movement of the plurality of flags relative to the first wafer and the second wafer.

A method of singulating a wafer includes providing a wafer having a plurality of die formed as part of the wafer and separated from each other by spaces, wherein the wafer has first and second opposing major surfaces, and wherein a layer of material is formed along the second major surface. The method includes placing the wafer onto a carrier substrate. The method includes singulating the wafer through the spaces to form singulation lines after the placing the wafer on the carrier substrate, wherein singulating comprises stopping in proximity to the layer of material. The method includes applying a pressure to the entire wafer thereby separating the layer of material in the singulation lines, wherein applying the pressure comprises using a fluid. The method provide a way to batch separate layers of material disposed on wafers after singulating the wafers.