Patent ID: 7118645

Claim:
A method for applying a protective tape to a semiconductor wafer, comprising the steps of: putting an outer peripheral member formed from members different from a holding table on a plane same as a holding table putting holding means so as to be arranged near a periphery of the holding means; forming a minute gap by arranging an outer periphery of the wafer near an inner side of the outer peripheral member when a wafer is put on holding means located in an inner opening formed by the outer peripheral member; setting a surface height of the outer peripheral member same as a plane height similar to a surface height of the wafer put on the holding member; affixing a protective tape over an outer peripheral member and a face on which a pattern of the wafer is formed; and cutting the protective tape along an outer periphery of the wafer at a part covering the minute gap formed by an outer periphery of the wafer and the outer peripheral member.