Patent ID: 7140951

Claim:
An apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising: a first affixing mechanism which affixes a first holding member to a rear surface of a semiconductor wafer which is opposite to an element forming surface thereof; a breaking mechanism which discretely divides the semiconductor wafer by breaking the semiconductor wafer; an expanding mechanism for expanding the first holding member to widen gaps of semiconductor elements of the discretely divided semiconductor wafer, the expanding mechanism comprising a heating section for heating the first holding member when expanding the first holding member so that gaps between each semiconductor element are greater than or equal to 10 μm; a second affixing mechanism which affixes a second holding member to the element forming surface side of the semiconductor wafer; a peeling mechanism which peels the first holding member; and a grinding apparatus for grinding a rear surface side of an element forming surface of the discretely divided semiconductor wafer to a predetermined thickness.