A method of forming an integrated circuit is described. The method first positions a semiconductor wafer in a processing chamber, and second, laser anneals at least a portion of the semiconductor wafer. The laser annealing includes tracing a first laser beam, in a first path having a first direction, across the at least a portion of the semiconductor wafer, tracing a second laser beam, in a second path having a second direction, opposite to and colinear with the first direction, across the at least a portion of the semiconductor wafer.

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes a step of preparing a semiconductor wafer source which includes a first main surface on one side, a second main surface on the other side and a side wall connecting the first main surface and the second main surface, an element forming step of setting a plurality of element forming regions on the first main surface of the semiconductor wafer source, and forming a semiconductor element at each of the plurality of element forming regions, and a wafer source separating step of cutting the semiconductor wafer source from a thickness direction intermediate portion along a horizontal direction parallel to the first main surface, and separating the semiconductor wafer source into an element formation wafer and an element non-formation wafer after the element forming step.

A laser machining device which condenses a laser light inside a wafer and forms modified regions in a plurality of layers in the wafer, includes an infrared imaging optical system configured to face one surface of the wafer. In a case where a modified region positioned on a side of another surface opposite to the one surface of the wafer is defined as a first modified region and another modified region is defined as a second modified region, among the modified regions in the plurality of layers, the infrared imaging optical system has a focusing range that includes the first modified region and the another surface, and simultaneously images the first modified region and the another surface, and the second modified region is positioned outside the focusing range.

A laser machining apparatus has a laser beam irradiation unit that includes: a pulsed laser oscillator that oscillates a pulsed laser beam at a given repetition frequency; first and second condensers that collect the pulsed laser beam oscillated by the pulsed laser oscillator; and a beam splitting unit arranged between the pulsed laser oscillator and the first and second condensers to split the pulsed laser beam oscillated by the pulsed laser oscillator and direct the resultant beams alternately toward the first and second condensers. The beam splitting unit includes a photoelastic modulator that has a piezo element and a synthetic quartz formed in one piece and modulates the laser beam so that a polarization plane of the laser beam is alternately at 0 and 90 degrees by applying, to the piezo element, a high frequency voltage at a frequency that matches the natural frequency of the synthetic quartz.

There is provided a laser processing method for cutting a semiconductor object along a virtual plane facing a surface of the semiconductor object in the semiconductor object. The laser processing method includes a first step of forming a plurality of first modified spots along the virtual plane to obtain first formation density, by causing laser light to enter into the semiconductor object from the surface, and a second step of forming a plurality of second modified spots along the virtual plane so as to obtain second formation density higher than the first formation density, by causing laser light to enter into the semiconductor object from the surface after the first step.

Disclosed herein is a laser processing apparatus including a beam swinging unit provided between a pulsed laser oscillator and a focusing unit for swinging the optical path of a pulsed laser beam oscillated from the pulsed laser oscillator and then introducing the pulsed laser beam to the focusing unit. The beam swinging unit includes a polygon scanner provided on the upstream side of the focusing unit for scanning the pulsed laser beam oscillated from the pulsed laser oscillator and introducing the pulsed laser beam scanned to the focusing unit and an acoustooptic deflecting unit provided on the upstream side of the polygon scanner and on the downstream side of the pulsed laser oscillator for deflecting the optical path of the pulsed laser beam oscillated from the pulsed laser oscillator and introducing the pulsed laser beam deflected to the polygon scanner.

A method for manufacturing a display panel includes providing a mother substrate that includes a display area and a non-display area, and includes a first substrate, a second substrate facing the first substrate, and a sealant provided between the first substrate and the second substrate, generating a crack on the sealant through irradiation of laser onto the sealant between the first substrate and the second substrate, and cutting a part of the second substrate and a part of the sealant at a position corresponding to the crack.

A SiC wafer is processed by a laser beam having a wavelength that transmits SiC to form a peeling plane in a region of the wafer which corresponds to a device area of a first surface of the wafer. A plurality of devices demarcated by a plurality of intersecting projected dicing lines in the device area are formed on the first surface. An annular groove is formed on a second surface of the wafer which is opposite the first surface, in a boundary region of the wafer between the device area and an outer peripheral excessive area surrounding the device area. A portion of the wafer which is positioned radially inwardly of the annular groove is peeled from the peeling plane, thereby thinning the device area and forming an annular stiffener area on a region of the second surface which corresponds to the outer peripheral excessive area.

Laser light L is converged at an object to be processed 1, so as to form a modified region 7 including a modified spot S in the object 1. At this time, the laser light L is converged at a front face 3 of the object 1 while an aberration of the laser light L is corrected such as to locate a converging point of the laser light L near the front face 3 serving as a laser light entrance surface, so as to form a second modified spot S.sub.2 exposed at the front face 3 in the object 1.

A lift-off method for transferring an optical device layer in an optical device wafer to a transfer substrate, the optical device layer being formed on the front side of an epitaxy substrate through a buffer layer. A transfer substrate is bonded through a bonding layer to the front side of the optical device layer of the optical device wafer, thereby forming a composite substrate. A pulsed laser beam having a wavelength transmissive to the epitaxy substrate and absorptive to the buffer layer is applied from the back side of the epitaxy substrate to the buffer layer, thereby breaking the buffer layer, and the epitaxy substrate is peeled from the optical device layer, thereby transferring the optical device layer to the transfer substrate. Ultrasonic vibration is applied to the composite substrate in transferring the optical device layer.