Processing method of device wafer

US11646229B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-11646229-B2
Application numberUS-202117172316-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateFeb 10, 2021
Priority dateFeb 21, 2020
Publication dateMay 9, 2023
Grant dateMay 9, 2023

How to read this patent

A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.

  1. Title

    What the patent document calls the invention.

  2. Abstract

    A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.

  3. Assignees and inventors

    Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.

  4. Key dates

    Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.

  5. First independent claim

    The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.

  6. CPC / IPC classifications

    Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.

  7. Citations and related patents

    Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.

Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

A processing method of a device wafer includes a mask coating step of coating a front surface of the device wafer with a water-soluble resin, a mask forming step of applying a laser beam along each division line, forming a groove, and removing a protective mask and a functional layer to expose a substrate, a plasma etching step of forming a division groove that divides the substrate along the groove by supplying a gas in a plasma condition, an expanding step of expanding a protective tape in a plane direction to expand a width of the division groove, an adhesive film dividing step of applying a laser beam along the division groove to divide the adhesive film that has been exposed due to the formation of the division groove, and a cleaning step of cleaning and removing the water-soluble resin.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

What is claimed is: 1. A processing method of a device wafer which has a functional layer layered on a front surface of a substrate, the functional layer having a plurality of devices and a plurality of division lines formed therein, the plurality of division lines demarcating the plurality of devices and crossing each other, the processing method comprising: a mask coating step of coating, after a state in which an adhesive film for die-bonding attached to a back surface of the device wafer is attached to a front surface of a protective tape mounted to an annular frame is prepared, a front surface of the device wafer with a water-soluble resin as a protective mask; a mask forming step of, after the mask coating step is carried out, applying a laser beam to the front surface of the device wafer, forming a groove along each of the division lines by ablation processing, and removing the protective mask and the functional layer to expose the substrate; a plasma etching step of, after the mask forming step is carried out, supplying a gas in a plasma condition to the front surface of the device wafer to form a division groove that divides the substrate along the groove; an expanding step of, after the plasma etching step is carried out, expanding the protective tape in a plane direction to expand a width of the division groove, thereby forming an expanded division groove; an adhesive film dividing step of, after the expanding step is carried out, applying a laser beam to the adhesive film that has been exposed due to the formation of the expanded division groove, and dividing the adhesive film along the expanded division groove by ablation processing; and a cleaning step of, after the adhesive film dividing step is carried out, cleaning and removing the water-soluble resin. 2. The processing method of a device wafer according to claim 1 , further comprising: an additional coating step of applying the water-soluble resin to the device wafer that has the division groove formed therein, after the plasma etching step is carried out and before the adhesive film dividing step is carried out. 3. The processing method of a device wafer according to claim 1 , further comprising: a contracting step, after the expanding step, of contracting the protective tape in the opposite plane direction as the expanding step while still maintaining the expanded division groove, wherein a heating unit heats a portion of the protective tape between an inner edge of the annular frame and an outer edge of the adhesive film during the contracting step. 4. The processing method of a device wafer according to claim 1 , wherein, during the expanding step, a holding surface of a holding table applies a uniform external force in a radial direction to the protective tape. 5. The processing method of a device wafer according to claim 1 , wherein, during the expanding step, a plurality of roller members press against the protective tape.

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • involving stretching of the auxiliary support post dicing · CPC title

  • Wafer tapes, e.g. grinding or dicing support tapes · CPC title

  • Cleaning for reclaiming · CPC title

  • of Group IV materials · CPC title

  • with electromagnetic radiation, e.g. laser annealing (laser cutting H10P54/20) · CPC title

Patent family

Related publications grouped by family.

External sources

Frequently asked questions

Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.

What does patent US11646229B2 cover?
A processing method of a device wafer includes a mask coating step of coating a front surface of the device wafer with a water-soluble resin, a mask forming step of applying a laser beam along each division line, forming a groove, and removing a protective mask and a functional layer to expose a substrate, a plasma etching step of forming a division groove that divides the substrate along the g…
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Disco Corp
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification H10P72/7402. Mapped technology areas include Electricity.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue May 09 2023 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 4 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).