Patent ID: 8097121

Claim:
A protective tape separation method for separating a protective tape from a surface of a semiconductor wafer integrally with a separation tape by joining the separation tape to the protective tape joined to the surface of the semiconductor wafer while pressing a non-adhesion surface side by a joining member and separating the separation tape, the method comprising: a detecting step of detecting a separation tape joining start position and a surface height of the protective tape joined to the semiconductor wafer mounted and held on a separation table; a calculating step of calculating an operation amount of approaching the joining member to the protective tape until the separation tape wound around the joining member contacts the protective tape based on the detected information of the surface height of the protective tape; a separation tape joining start step of controlling the operation to approach the joining member to the protective tape based on the calculated operation amount, and joining the separation tape to the protective tape; a separation tape joining step of relatively moving the joining member and the separation table along a direction of a surface of the protective tape while maintaining the height of the joining member based on the operation amount and joining the separation tape to the protective tape; and a tape separating step of separating the separation tape from the surface of the semiconductor wafer integrally with the protective tape, wherein the calculating step has an average value of a plurality of detected values as the surface height of the protective tape, the plurality of the detected values being obtained in the detecting step in a predetermined range including a wafer edge on a side to start joining of the separation tape of the semiconductor wafer, and wherein prior to joining of the separation tape on the protective tape, the protective tape surface height is continually measured along the diameter of the wafer, and the height of the joining member is appropriately changed in accordance with detected information in the separation tape joining step.