Wafer processing method
AssigneeDisco Corporation
InventorKazuma Sekiya
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wafer processing method for processing a wafer includes an annular groove forming step, a close contact making step, a protective member fixing step, a grinding step, and a peeling step. The wafer has a device area and a peripheral marginal area surrounding the device area on the front side, and devices each having asperities are formed in the device area. In the annular groove forming step, an annular groove is formed on the front side of the wafer along the inner circumference of the peripheral marginal area. In the close contact making step, the device area and the annular groove are covered with a protective film, and the protective film is bring into close contact with the front side of the wafer.
Claims10
A wafer processing method for processing a wafer having a central device area and a peripheral marginal area surrounding said device area on the front side, a plurality of devices each having asperities being formed in said device area, said wafer processing method comprising:
- an annular groove forming step of forming an annular groove on the front side of said wafer along the inner circumference of said peripheral marginal area, said annular groove having a depth greater than a finished thickness of said wafer;
- a close contact making step of covering said device area and said annular groove on the front side of said wafer with a protective film after performing said annular groove forming step, and next bringing said protective film into close contact with the front side of said wafer so as to follow said asperities of each device formed on the front side of said wafer;
- a protective member fixing step of covering said protective film and an exposed part of said peripheral marginal area with a protective member formed from a liquid resin curable by external stimulus after performing said close contact making step, thereby fixing said protective member through said protective film to the front side of said wafer;
- a grinding step of holding said protective member fixed to said wafer on a holding surface of a chuck table in the condition where the back side of said wafer ie exposed after performing said protective member fixing step, and next grinding the back side of said wafer to thereby reduce the thickness of said wafer to the finished thickness of said wafer, so that the bottom of said annular groove is exposed to the back side of said wafer, thereby separating said wafer along said annular groove into an annular portion including said peripheral marginal area and a circular portion including said device area in the condition where said protective member is fixed to said wafer;
- and
- a peeling step of peeling said protective member and said protective film from said device area of said circular portion and removing said protective member and said protective film together with said annular portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.