| 摘要 |
<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical device wafer processing method and a laser processing apparatus for dividing the wafer into an individual optical device without deteriorating the quality of the optical device. <P>SOLUTION: This optical device wafer processing method includes a laser-processed groove-forming step of applying a laser beam LB for performing ablation to the front side or back side of a substrate 100 of an optical device wafer 10 along streets, thereby forming a laser-processed groove 140 as a break start point on the front side or back side of the substrate along each street, and a wafer dividing step of applying external force to the optical device wafer, breaks the optical device wafer along the laser-processed groove to be the break start point and dividing the wafer into individual optical devices. In performing the laser-processed groove-forming step, an etching gas atmosphere for etching a modified substance produced by (52) applying the laser beam to the substance is generated (7), whereby an etching gas is converted into a plasma by the application of the laser beam to thereby etch away the modified substance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&INPIT |
