In accordance with the following step of a method of manufacturing a MOSFET, a first cutting step of cutting a silicon carbide wafer along a plane substantially parallel to a {11-20} plane is performed. After the first cutting step, a second cutting step of cutting the silicon carbide wafer along a plane substantially perpendicular to the {11-20} plane and substantially perpendicular to the first main surface is performed.

Provided is a cutting method of cutting a workpiece by using a cutting apparatus including a chuck table configured to hold the workpiece and a cutting unit having a cutting blade configured to cut the workpiece held by the chuck table and an ultrasonic vibrator configured to ultrasonically vibrate the cutting blade in a radial direction of the cutting blade. The cutting method includes a holding step of holding the workpiece by the chuck table, and a cutting step of performing ultrasonic cutting that cuts the workpiece by the cutting blade vibrated ultrasonically and normal cutting that cuts the workpiece by the cutting blade not vibrated ultrasonically on the same cutting line of a plurality of cutting lines set on the workpiece.

A cutting unit includes a spindle housing, a spindle, a mounter fixed to the front end portion of the spindle for supporting a cutting blade, and a fixing flange for fixing the cutting blade to the mounter. The mounter includes a boss portion for axially slidably supporting the fixing flange, the boss portion being fitted to an engaging hole formed in a central portion of the fixing flange, a flange portion projecting radially outward from the outer circumference of the boss portion, the flange portion having a supporting surface for supporting the cutting blade on the front side opposed to the fixing flange, and a cylindrical portion formed on the rear side of the flange portion. The flange portion has a suction hole opening. The cylindrical portion has a communication passage communicating with the suction hole. The communication passage is connected through a rotary joint to a suction unit.

An ultrasonic resonator support structure 10 including a holder 17 supports an ultrasonic resonator 16 at both sides such that the ultrasonic resonator 16 is rotatable to the holder 17. The ultrasonic resonator 16 includes an ultrasonic horn 13 with a machining tool 12 attached, and a first booster 14 and a second booster 15 coaxially fixed one by one to both ends in the axial directions of the ultrasonic horn 13. The holder 17 has a rolling bearing mechanism 18 that rotatably supports the first booster 14 side of the ultrasonic resonator 16 and a gas bearing mechanism 19 that rotatably supports the second booster 15 side of the ultrasonic resonator 16.

A cutting apparatus includes a width measuring unit for measuring the width of a grooving groove formed in a wafer by laser grooving and the width of a cut groove formed by a cutting blade. The width measuring unit includes an imaging camera for imaging the grooving groove and the cut groove, and an illuminating unit for illuminating an area to be imaged by the imaging camera with light supplied in a predetermined light quantity. Therefore, when first light is radiated from the illuminating unit, a first image in which the grooving groove is sharply imaged can be imaged by the imaging camera, whereas when second light is radiated from the illuminating unit, a second image in which the cut groove is clearly imaged can be imaged by the imaging camera. Consequently, the grooving groove and the cut groove can be easily distinguished from each other.

A cutting apparatus includes a cutting unit including a spindle as a rotational shaft and a mount flange for mounting a cutting blade thereon, the mount flange being fixed to a distal end of the spindle, a support unit for supporting a cutting blade housed in a blade case, the support unit including a blade case support for supporting the blade case for housing the cutting blade therein, a changing mechanism for dismounting a cutting blade that has been mounted on the mount flange from the mount flange and mounting the cutting blade that has been supported on the support unit on the mount flange, and a moving mechanism for moving the changing mechanism between a changing position, a blade transfer position, and a retracted position.

There is provided a processing method of a wafer for processing the wafer that includes, on a front surface side, a device region in which a device is formed in each of plural regions marked out by plural planned dividing lines and includes a recess part on the back surface side and includes an annular reinforcing part at a peripheral part. The processing method of a wafer includes a holding step of holding the bottom surface of the recess part, a cutting step of cutting the wafer along the planned dividing lines by a cutting blade to divide the device region into plural device chips and form grooves on the front surface side of the reinforcing part, and a dividing step of dividing the reinforcing part along the planned dividing lines with the grooves being the points of origin by giving an external force to the reinforcing part.

A blade attachment-detachment assisting apparatus includes a nut rotating part having an engagement pin that engages with an engagement hole of a nut, a nut grip part that grips an annular groove of the nut, a housing that supports the nut rotating part rotatably by a predetermined angle, and a lock mechanism. The nut rotating part is capable of advancing and retreating, relative to the housing, to a protrusion position and a fixing position at which engagement between the nut grip part and the nut is kept, and is fixed to the housing with the intermediary of a spring. The lock mechanism includes an inside surface by which advancing and retreating of the nut rotating part are restricted through engagement of the nut rotating part with the housing when the housing is rotated in one direction at the fixing position to which the nut rotating part has been pushed.

In a described example, an apparatus includes: a process chamber configured for a pressure greater than one atmosphere, having a device chuck configured to support electronic devices that are mounted on package substrates and partially covered in mold compound, the electronic devices spaced from one another by saw streets; and a saw in the process chamber configured to cut through the mold compound and package substrates in the saw streets to separate the molded electronic devices one from another.

A groove having any length is manufactured in a quartz-based waveguide chip without limitation of a chip size. A marker indicating a planned cutting line extending from a connection end surface of a quartz-based waveguide chip in an in-chip plane direction is formed in advance by processing a core layer of the waveguide of the quartz-based waveguide chip, an irradiation position of laser light is aligned with a position of a starting point of the marker in a state where quartz-based waveguide chip is placed on a stage, and a groove is manufactured in the connection end surface of the quartz-based waveguide chip by moving the stage in the extending direction of the marker while irradiating the quartz-based waveguide chip with the laser light from an upper side.