Patent ID: 7892949

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of: (a) providing a semiconductor wafer having a substrate including a front surface, an interlayer insulating film formed on the front surface of the substrate, a first chip region formed over the front surface of the substrate, a second chip region formed over the front surface of the substrate and arranged next to the first chip region, a cutting region formed over the front surface of the substrate and formed between the first chip region and the second chip region in a plan view, a metal pattern formed over the front surface of the substrate and formed in the cutting region in the plan view and arranged between the first chip region and the second chip region in the plan view, and a back surface opposed to the front surface, wherein the interlayer insulating film has a wiring layer and a low-dielectric constant film, wherein the substrate is comprised of silicon, and wherein the low-dielectric constant film is more brittle than the substrate; (b) after the step of (a), forming a first modified region in the cutting region of the semiconductor wafer by irradiating along the cutting region and between the first chip region and the metal pattern in the plan view with a laser, and forming a second modified region in the cutting region of the semiconductor wafer by irradiating along the cutting region and between the second chip region and the metal pattern in the plan view with the laser, wherein portions of the first modified region and the second modified region which do not overlap with the metal pattern in the plan view are irradiated with the laser, respectively; and (c) after the step of (b), removing the metal pattern, the interlayer insulating film and a portion of the substrate by running a dicing saw along the cutting region and between the first modified region and the second modified region in the plan view, wherein a width of the dicing saw is smaller than a distance between the first modified region and the second modified region.