Protective tape separating method and apparatus using the same

An apparatus for joining a separating adhesive tape or the like while pressing it from its non-adhesive face side with a joining member onto a protective tape joined to a surface of a semiconductor wafer held on a ring frame through a supporting adhesive tape, and separating the separating adhesive tape or the like, thereby separating the protective tape together with the separating adhesive tape or the like from the surface of the semiconductor wafer, the apparatus comprising:

• holding means on and by which a mount frame, in which the semiconductor wafer with the protective tape is supported on the ring frame through the supporting adhesive tape, is mounted and held horizontally;
• separating adhesive tape or the like supplying means for supplying the strip type of separating adhesive tape or the like toward the joining member;
• ascending/descending means for relatively moving the joining member, around and to which the separating adhesive tape or the like is wound and supplied, upward/downward with respect to the holding means;
• driving means for relatively and horizontally moving the holding means and the joining member;
• detecting means for detecting a front end edge of the protective tape in a non-contact manner during the relative and horizontal movement of the holding means and the joining member;
• controlling means for controlling the ascending/descending means so as to stop the horizontal movement at a time point when a joining operating portion of the joining member has reached a position directly above the front end edge of the protective tape and to relatively move the joining member close to the holding means to press the separating adhesive tape or the like wound around the joining member against the protective tape on the basis of a detection result of the detecting means and for controlling driving of the driving means so as to start the relative movement of the holding means and the joining member again from the stop position as a starting point to simultaneously separate the separating adhesive tape or the like onto the protective tape and separate the separating adhesive tape;
• and
• tape collecting means for collecting the protective tape integral with the separated separating adhesive tape or the like.