Patent ID: 7288467

Claim:
A wafer processing method adapted to divide a wafer a plurality of devices are formed on front surface thereof which are partitioned by streets, comprising: a resist film-forming step adapted to coat a rear surface of the wafer with a resist film, and expose and sensitize portions of the resist film other than regions corresponding to the streets, a silylation step adapted to supply a silylation agent onto a surface of the resist film and silylate the resist film in a sensitized region, a street-corresponding resist film-removing step, which is carried out in an etching unit for plasmatizing a predetermined gas and carrying out an etching operation with the resultant gas, adapted to plasmatize an oxygen- or chlorine-containing gas and supply the resultant gas onto the rear surface of the wafer coated with the resist film silylated by the silylation step, and ash and remove the resist film in an unsilylated region corresponding to the streets, and a street-etching step adapted to plasmatize a stable fluoride gas and supply the resultant gas onto the rear surface of the wafer, etch and remove the resist film in the region corresponding to the streets, and thereby divide the wafer into individual devices.