PROTECTION OF WORK PIECE DURING SURFACE PROCESSING
First Claim
1. An arrangement for supporting a work piece having opposed first and second surfaces while operations are carried out on the first surface, to protect the second surface, comprising:
- a vacuum chuck having a support surface, the vacuum chuck being at least partially porous to allow passage of a vacuum signal therethrough;
a frame;
a protective material held by the frame;
said frame and said protective material together comprising a frame assembly;
a frame holder to hold the frame assembly to the vacuum chuck; and
a fastening arrangement to fasten the frame holder to the vacuum chuck adjacent the support surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides an apparatus and method for protecting a work piece during surface processing. The apparatus employs a protective material to protect a wafer during backside grinding. The apparatus can further include a vacuum chuck that allows the passage of a vacuum signal, a frame holding the protective material, a frame holder to hold the frame, and a fastening arrangement to fasten the frame holder to the chuck adjacent a support surface. The method provided by the invention can include providing a vacuum chuck, placing a protective material in contact with the chuck, placing a wafer in contact with the protective material, applying a vacuum signal securing the wafer with the chuck, and grinding the backside surface of the wafer.
129 Citations
33 Claims
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1. An arrangement for supporting a work piece having opposed first and second surfaces while operations are carried out on the first surface, to protect the second surface, comprising:
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a vacuum chuck having a support surface, the vacuum chuck being at least partially porous to allow passage of a vacuum signal therethrough;
a frame;
a protective material held by the frame;
said frame and said protective material together comprising a frame assembly;
a frame holder to hold the frame assembly to the vacuum chuck; and
a fastening arrangement to fasten the frame holder to the vacuum chuck adjacent the support surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of back grinding a semiconductor wafer having an initial thickness, a front side surface with circuitry and an opposed backside surface, comprising the steps of:
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providing a protective material having a first surface for contact with the front side surface of said wafer;
providing a vacuum chuck having a support surface, the vacuum chuck being at least partially porous to allow passage of the vacuum signal therethrough;
placing said protective material in contact with said support surface;
placing the front side surface of said wafer in contact with the first surface of said protective material;
applying the vacuum signal through said protective material with said vacuum chuck to thereby communicate the vacuum signal with the front side surface of said wafer securing the wafer with the vacuum chuck;
processing the backside surface of said wafer;
removing the vacuum signal to release said wafer; and
removing said wafer from said protective material. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. An apparatus for use in protecting a semiconductor wafer during processing, comprising:
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a frame; and
a protection material secured across the frame, wherein the protection material has an area greater than an area of a first surface of the semiconductor wafer. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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31. A method for use in assembling a frame assembly capable of use in protecting a wafer during processing, comprising:
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applying a tensile force to a protective material; and
positioning the protective material over a frame, wherein the frame has an area greater than an area of the wafer; and
securing the protective material with the frame. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
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Specification