A method of processing a workpiece includes a thermosetting step of heating an area of an expandable sheet around a workpiece to a predetermined temperature or higher and thereafter cooling the heated area of the expandable sheet to make the area harder than before the area has been heated, and after the thermosetting step, an expanding step of expanding the area of the expandable sheet around the workpiece in planar directions to divide the workpiece into chips or to increase distances between the adjacent chips.

Provided is a component-manufacturing film that includes a first region S1 and a second region S2 disposed so as to surround the region S1; the region S1 is formed of a base layer and an adhesive layer provided on one surface side of the base layer; the region S2 is formed of the base layer, the adhesive layer, and an additional layer affixed onto the layer. In the temperature range of 190° C. or lower, a tensile elastic modulus of the additional layer is equal to or greater than the tensile elastic modulus of the base layer. Further provided are a component-manufacturing tool and method, the latter including a component fixing step; a film placement step of performing placement so that the boundary between the region S1 and the region S2 is located inside with respect to an edge of the chuck table; a chucking step; and a heating step.

Consistent with an example embodiment, there is a method for preparing integrated circuit (IC) device die from a wafer substrate having a front-side with active devices and a back-side. The method comprises pre-grinding the backside of a wafer substrate to a thickness. The front-side of the wafer is mounted onto a protective foil. A laser is applied to the backside of the wafer, at first focus depth to define a secondary modification zone in saw lanes. To the backside of the wafer, a second laser process is applied, at a second focus depth shallower than that of the first focus depth, in the saw lanes to define a main modification zone, the secondary modification defined at a pre-determined location within active device boundaries, the active device boundaries defining an active device area. The backside of the wafer is ground down to a depth so as to remove the main modification zone. The IC device die are separated from one another by stretching the protective foil.

A method of processing a workpiece includes: a frame unit preparing step of preparing a frame unit including a tape affixed to an undersurface of the workpiece; a protective film forming step of forming a protective film on a top surface of the workpiece; a cutting step of cutting the workpiece by applying a laser beam; an interval expanding step of widening intervals between chips formed in the cutting step by expanding the tape outward in a radial direction; and an etching step of removing altered regions formed in the respective 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 modified layers in the wafer, thereby dividing the wafer into individual device chips, and a pickup step of heating the polyester sheet in each of the plurality of separate regions corresponding to each device chip, pushing up each device chip through the polyester sheet, then picking up each device chip from the polyester sheet.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a film for semiconductor back surface having reworkability, and an application of the film. A film for semiconductor back surface has: an adhering strength at 70° C. of 7 N/10 mm or less to a wafer before the film is thermally cured; and a rupture elongation at 25° C. of 700% or less. The film for semiconductor back surface preferably has a degree of swelling due to ethanol of 1% by weight or more. The film for semiconductor back surface preferably contains an acrylic resin.

The method for manufacturing an element chip includes a mounting step and a plasma dicing step. In the mounting step, a semiconductor substrate with flexibility, which has a first main surface and a second main surface located at an opposite side of the first main surface, which has a plurality element regions and a dividing region for defining the element regions, and on which a mask for covering the first main surface in the element region and for exposing the first main surface in the dividing region is formed, is mounted on a stage. In the plasma dicing step, the semiconductor substrate is diced into a plurality of element chips including the element; region by exposing the first main surface side of the semiconductor substrate to plasma on the stage and etching from the first main surface side to the second main surface while forming a groove on the dividing region.

The present invention relates to a film for semiconductor device production, which includes: a separator; and a plurality of adhesive layer-attached dicing tapes each including a dicing tape and an adhesive layer laminated on the dicing tape, which are laminated on the separator at a predetermined interval in such a manner that the adhesive layer attaches to the separator, in which the separator has a cut formed along the outer periphery of the dicing tape, and the depth of the cut is at most ⅔ of the thickness of the separator.

A chip manufacturing method includes a modified layer forming step of forming a modified layer and a crack by applying, along planned dividing lines, a first laser beam having a wavelength transmitted through a substrate of a wafer including the substrate and a laminate in a state in which the back surface side of the substrate is exposed and a condensing point of the first laser beam is positioned within the substrate from the back surface side of the substrate, a grinding step of thinning the wafer to a predetermined thickness by grinding the back surface side of the substrate exposed in the modified layer forming step, and a laser-processed groove forming step of forming a laser-processed groove in the laminate by applying, along the planned dividing lines, a second laser beam having a wavelength absorbed by the substrate, from the front surface side of the wafer.

A die bonding apparatus includes a push-up unit, a head having a collet that sucks a die, and a control device. The control device is configured to suck a dicing tape using a dome plate; land the collet onto the die using the head; suck the die using the collet; lift plural blocks from the dome plate; stop the outermost block disposed on the outermost side among the plural blocks from lifting at a height where the die is peeled off from the dicing tape; and lift blocks other than the outermost block among the plural blocks higher than the outermost block to a predefined height.