Dicing tape and a method of dicing a semiconductor wafer

A method of dicing a semiconductor wafer into individual chips which comprises:

• (a) attaching said semiconductor wafer to a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer formed on one surface of a substrate sheet of a dicing tape wherein said substrate sheet comprises an upper layer in direct contact with said pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, an intermediate layer adjacent to said upper layer, and a lower layer adjacent to said intermediate layer, and an anti-extensibility (A) of said upper layer, an anti-extensibility (B) of said intermediate layer, and an anti-extensibility (C) of said lower layer satisfy the equation (I):
• B<A≦C (I),
• said anti-extensibility being a product of a modulus of elasticity and a layer thickness, and thereafter,
• (b) dicing said semiconductor wafer with a dicing blade in such a manner that said upper layer is completely cut through from a top surface to a back surface, said intermediate layer is partly cut from a top surface to an inner point therein, and said lower layer is not cut.