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

A peeling apparatus includes a holding table that holds an ingot, a water supply unit that forms a layer of water on an upper surface of the ingot, an ultrasonic unit that applies an ultrasonic wave to the upper surface of the ingot through the layer of water, a peeling confirmation unit that confirms peeling-off of a wafer to be manufactured, a wafer delivery unit that lowers a suction pad having a suction surface facing the upper surface of the ingot, to hold the wafer to be manufactured on the suction surface under suction, and delivers the wafer from the ingot, and a controller. After the peeling-off of the wafer is confirmed by the peeling confirmation unit, the controller positions the water supply unit, the ultrasonic unit, and the peeling confirmation unit at retracted positions and operates the wafer delivery unit to deliver the wafer from the ingot.

A wafer producing method for producing a wafer from an ingot, the ingot being previously formed with a separation layer along which the wafer is to be separated from the ingot. The wafer producing method includes a first ultrasonic vibration applying step of applying ultrasonic vibration to a given area of the ingot at a high density to thereby form a partially broken portion where a part of the separation layer is broken, a second ultrasonic vibration applying step of applying the ultrasonic vibration to the whole area of the ingot larger than the given area at a low density, after performing the first ultrasonic vibration applying step, thereby forming a fully broken portion where the separation layer is fully broken in such a manner that breaking starts from the partially broken portion, and a separating step of separating the wafer from the ingot along the fully broken portion.

A method of producing a wafer includes a peel-off layer forming step to form a peel-off layer in a hexagonal single-crystal ingot by applying a laser beam having a wavelength transmittable through the hexagonal single-crystal ingot while positioning a focal point of the laser beam in the hexagonal single-crystal ingot at a depth corresponding to the thickness of a wafer to be produced from an end face of the hexagonal single-crystal ingot, an ultrasonic wave generating step to generate ultrasonic waves from an ultrasonic wave generating unit positioned in facing relation to the wafer to be produced across a water layer interposed therebetween, thereby to break the peel-off layer, and a peel-off detecting step to detect when the wafer to be produced is peeled off the hexagonal single-crystal ingot by positioning an image capturing unit sideways of the wafer to be produced.

Implementations of methods of thinning a semiconductor substrate may include: providing a semiconductor substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposing the first surface, the semiconductor substrate having a thickness between the first surface and the second surface. The method may further include inducing damage into a portion of the semiconductor substrate at a first depth into the thickness forming a first damage layer, inducing damage into a portion of the semiconductor substrate at a second depth into the thickness forming a second damage layer, and applying ultrasonic energy to the semiconductor substrate. The method may include separating the semiconductor substrate into three separate thinned portions across the thickness along the first damage layer and along the second damage layer.

An ultrasonic peening-type integrated machining method for cutting and extrusion includes: applying transverse ultrasonic vibration or a vibration component, which is vertical to a cutting speed direction to a cutting tool on a machine tool; setting a cutting parameter and an ultrasonic vibration parameter such that a dynamic negative clearance angle is generated in a cutting procedure and a flank face of the cutting tool conducts ultrasonic peening extrusion on the surface of the workpiece; setting an extrusion overlap ratio; setting a wear standard of flank faces extruded by the cutting tool; controlling a vibration cutting trajectory phase difference of the cutting tool during two adjacent rotations; and turning on the machine tool in order to ensure that cutting and surface extrusion strengthening of the workpiece are completed in one procedure without separate strengthening procedures. The method conducts extrusion strengthening on the surface of the workpiece while cutting the workpiece.

Systems and methods are described for controlled crack propagation in a material using ultrasonic waves. A first stress in applied to the material such that the first stress is below a critical point of the material and is insufficient to initiate cracking of the material. A controlled ultrasound wave is then applied to the material causing the total stress applied at a crack tip in the material to exceed the critical point. In some implementations, the controlled cracking is used for wafering of a material.

A processing apparatus includes: a holding unit that holds a workpiece; a processing mechanism that processes the workpiece held by the holding unit; a processing liquid supplying mechanism that supplies a processing liquid containing an oxidizing agent to at least the workpiece held by the holding unit at the time of processing the workpiece by the processing means; a processing waste liquid recovery section that recovers a processing waste liquid containing the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supplying mechanism to the workpiece; a discharge passage through which the processing waste liquid is discharged from the processing waste liquid recovery section to the outside of the processing apparatus; and a waste liquid treatment mechanism that is disposed in the discharge passage and that decomposes the processing liquid contained in the processing waste liquid while the processing waste liquid flows through the discharge passage.

A method of producing a wafer includes forming a peel-off layer in a hexagonal single-crystal ingot by applying a laser beam having a wavelength transmittable through the ingot while positioning a focal point of the laser beam in the ingot at a depth corresponding to the thickness of a wafer to be produced from an end face of the ingot, generating ultrasonic waves from an ultrasonic wave generating unit positioned in facing relation to the wafer to be produced across a water layer interposed therebetween, thereby to break the peel-off layer, and detecting when the wafer to be produced is peeled off the ingot based on a change that is detected in the height of an upper surface of the wafer to be produced by a height detecting unit positioned above the upper surface of the wafer to be produced across the water wafer interposed therebetween.

Systems and methods are described for controlled crack propagation in a material using ultrasonic waves. A first stress in applied to the material such that the first stress is below a critical point of the material and is insufficient to initiate cracking of the material. A controlled ultrasound wave is then applied to the material causing the total stress applied at a crack tip in the material to exceed the critical point. In some implementations, the controlled cracking is used for wafering of a material.