Measuring method

A measuring apparatus for measuring thicknesses of a plurality of chips,

• the chips being produced by dividing a wafer along dividing grooves formed in and along a plurality of projected dicing lines on a face side of the wafer, the projected dicing lines each having a predetermined width and demarcating a plurality of areas in a grid form on the face side with devices constructed in the respective areas,
• the measuring apparatus comprising:
• a holding table having a holding surface for holding thereon face sides of the chips with a protective member interposed therebetween;
• a thickness measuring unit for measuring, at a plurality of measurement points, thicknesses of portions of each of the chips held on the holding surface;
• an image capturing unit for capturing images of reverse sides of the chips held on the holding surface;
• a moving unit for moving the thickness measuring unit and the image capturing unit relatively to the holding table;
• and
• a controller having a processor and configured to control at least the holding table, the thickness measuring unit, the image capturing unit, and the moving unit,
• wherein the controller includes
• a storage section for storing thickness data of each of the chips, the thickness data representing the thicknesses measured at the measurement points in association with positions of the measurement points in a predetermined plane corresponding to a reverse side of the wafer, and positions of central lines of the respective dividing grooves in the predetermined plane in the images captured by the image capturing unit,
• a setting section for setting, in a periphery of each of the chips, a thickness data unreferencing zone including measurement points that are positioned within predetermined distances from the positions of the central lines of corresponding ones of the dividing grooves and where the thickness data will not be referenced in calculating a thickness of the chip, on a basis of the thickness data, and
• a calculating section for calculating, for each of the chips, an average value of thicknesses at the measurement points except for the measurement points included in the thickness data unreferencing zone.