Workpiece-separating device and workpiece-separating method

A workpiece-separating method of, with respect to a laminated body in which a workpiece including a circuit substrate is laminated via a supporting body and a separating layer, peeling away the supporting body from the workpiece due to denaturation of the separating layer with an irradiation of a laser beam, the workpiece-separating method comprising:

• a holding process of detachably holding one of the workpiece and the supporting body with a holding member;
• a laser irradiation process of irradiating the separating layer with the laser beam from a laser irradiation part through the other of the supporting body and the workpiece of the laminated body being held by the holding member;
• and
• a relative moving process of moving relatively a laser irradiation position from the laser irradiation part with respect to the supporting body and the separating layer of the laminated body being held by the holding member in at least a direction intersecting a laser irradiation direction from the laser irradiation part,
• wherein the laser irradiation part has a laser scanner which moves the spot like laser beam along the laminated body,
• wherein in the laser irradiation process, an entire irradiated face of the separating layer in an area of the laser beam irradiated from the laser scanner toward the laminated body is divided into a plurality of irradiation areas each having a band shape that is elongated in one of two directions intersecting a light irradiation direction from the laser irradiation part, and the irradiation from the laser scanner with respect to each divided irradiation area is an aligned irradiation in which parts of the spot like laser beams are aligned so as to overlap with each other on a plane intersecting the light irradiation direction, and
• wherein in the relative moving process, the aligned irradiation is performed by an operation of the laser scanner with respect to one irradiation area of the plurality of irradiation areas divided into band shapes, the aligned irradiation is performed with respect to a next irradiation area after an entirety of the one irradiation area of the plurality of irradiation areas is filled by the aligned irradiation in a gapless manner, and the aligned irradiation is subsequently similarly repeated for each of the irradiation areas so that all of the plurality of irradiation areas are eventually subjected to the aligned irradiation.