Patent 7214424 was granted and assigned to Nitto Denko on May, 2007 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A heat-peelable adhesive sheet which shows small increase in the degree of contamination caused by a heat treatment for lowering an adhesive force is disclosed. The heat-peelable pressure sensitive adhesive sheet comprises a heat-expandable layer containing heat-expandable microspheres and expanding upon heating, and a non-heat expandable pressure-sensitive adhesive layer formed on at least one side thereof. The heat-peelable pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet can achieve the desired adhesive properties such as an excellent adhesive force before heating and also show a quick lowering of the adhesive force upon heating. Further, it shows small increase in the degree of contamination due to the treatment for lowering the adhesive force. Due to those characteristics, the heat-peelable pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet is practically applicable to, for example, the production of electronic parts made of thinner semiconductor wafers.