A workpiece cutting method includes: a first step of pasting an expandable sheet on a workpiece; a second step of irradiating, after the first step, the workpiece with laser light to form a modified region and expanding the expandable sheet to divide the workpiece into a plurality of chips, and meanwhile, to form a gap disposed between the plurality of chips and extending to a side surface of the workpiece; a third step of irradiating the expandable sheet with an ultraviolet light after the first step; a fourth step of filling, after the second step and the third step, the gap with resin from an outer edge part of the workpiece including the side surface; a fifth step of curing the resin after the fourth step; and a sixth step of taking out the chips from above the expandable sheet after the fifth step.

A method for forming semiconductor devices from a semiconductor wafer includes cutting a first surface of a semiconductor wafer to form a first region that extends partially through the semiconductor wafer and the first region has a bottom portion. The method further includes directing a beam of laser light to the semiconductor wafer such that the beam of laser light is focused within the semiconductor wafer between the first surface and the second surface thereof and the beam of laser light further cuts the semiconductor wafer by material ablation to form a second region aligned with the first region. A resulting semiconductor device is disclosed as well.

A wafer processing method is disclosed. A second wafer is bonded to a first wafer. An undercut region is formed along the periphery of a front surface of the second wafer. A grinding process is performed on a back surface of the second wafer, thereby thinning the second wafer to a predetermined thickness.

A stealth dicing process for singulating semiconductor dies from a wafer substrate and associated systems and methods are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the process includes forming a first cleavage line in a wafer that extends generally in a first direction and defines a first surface corresponding to a sidewall of a semiconductor die. The process can also include forming a second cleavage line in the wafer that extends generally in a second direction perpendicular and defines a second surface oriented generally perpendicular to the first surface. Further, the second surface can correspond to at least a portion of a top surface or at least a portion of a bottom surface of the semiconductor die. In some embodiments, the process forms the second cleavage line for a first semiconductor die at a different depth from the second cleavage line for a second semiconductor die.

Disclosed are a laser annealing system and a method of fabricating a semiconductor device using the same. The laser annealing system having multiple laser devices may include a stage, on which a substrate is loaded, a light source generating a plurality of laser beams to be provided to the substrate, an optical delivery system disposed between the light source and the stage and used to deliver the laser beams, a homogenizing system disposed between the optical delivery system and the stage, the homogenizing system including an array lens including a plurality of lens cells which allow the laser beams to pass therethrough and homogenize the laser beams, and an imaging optical system disposed between the homogenizing system and the stage to image the laser beams on the substrate.

A processing apparatus configured to process a processing target object includes a modifying device configured to radiate laser light to an inside of the processing target object to form multiple modification layers along a plane direction; and a controller configured to control an operation of the modifying device at least. The controller controls the modifying device to form, in the forming of the modification layers, a first modification layer formation region in which cracks that develop from neighboring modification layers along the plane direction are not connected, and also controls the modifying device to form, in the forming of the modification layers, a second modification layer formation region in which cracks that develop from neighboring modification layers along the plane direction are connected.

A semiconductor wafer processing method, having: ablating a back side of a semiconductor wafer with a laser ablation process; and etching the back side of the semiconductor wafer with an etching process; wherein the laser ablation process forms a pattern in the back side of the semiconductor wafer; wherein the etching process preserves the pattern in the back side of the semiconductor wafer.

A wafer processing method including applying a laser beam to the wafer along projected dicing lines of the wafer while focusing the laser beam within the wafer, thereby forming modified layers in the wafer along the projected dicing lines, after the modified layers have been formed in the wafer, affixing a first tape to a reverse side of the wafer, after the first tape has been affixed to the reverse side of the wafer, developing cracks initiated from the modified layers in the wafer to divide the wafer into a plurality of device chips, and expanding the first tape to form gaps between the device chips, and after the gaps have been formed between the device chips, inserting a cutting blade into the gaps and causing the cutting blade to cut into side faces of the device chips, thereby cutting off the side faces of the device chips.

A substrate processing apparatus configured to process a substrate includes a substrate holder configured to hold, in a combined substrate in which a front surface of a first substrate and a front surface of a second substrate are bonded to each other, the second substrate; a periphery modification unit configured to form a peripheral modification layer by radiating laser light for periphery to an inside of the first substrate held by the substrate holder along a boundary between a peripheral portion of the first substrate as a removing target and a central portion thereof; and an internal modification unit configured to form, after the peripheral modification layer is formed by the periphery modification unit, an internal modification layer by radiating laser light for internal surface to the inside of the first substrate held by the substrate holder along a plane direction of the first substrate.

A laser processing device includes a control unit, and the control unit executes a first process of controlling a laser irradiation unit according to a first processing condition set such that a modified region and a modified region are formed inside a wafer; a second process of identifying a state related to each of the modified regions, and of determining whether or not the first processing condition is proper; a third process of controlling the laser irradiation unit according to a second processing condition set such that the modified regions are formed and a modified region is formed between the modified regions in a thickness direction of the wafer inside the wafer; and a fourth process of identifying a state related to each of the modified regions, and of determining whether or not the second processing condition is proper.