Waffle wafer chuck apparatus and method
First Claim
1. An apparatus for supporting a substrate for processing during precision manufacturing, comprising:
- a holding member having a flat upper surface configured to attach to the substrate; and
a lower surface parallel to the upper surface of the holding member having a number of slots extending lengthwise across the lower surface and depth wise towards the upper surface facilitating flexibility in the lower surface.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for holding a substrate includes slots to increase accuracy required for precision manufacturing. The holding apparatus has a flat upper surface configured to attach to the substrate, a lower surface parallel to the upper surface of the holding apparatus having a number of slots extending lengthwise across the lower surface and depth wise towards the upper surface facilitating flexibility in the lower surface. In one implementation, a wafer chuck having slots in its lower surface and supported by a based flexes to accommodate imperfections in the surface of the base. Because of the slots, the lower surface of the wafer chuck flexes without flexing the upper surface of the wafer chuck and the wafer or other substrate mounted on the upper surface of the wafer chuck. This reduces distortion in the wafer during fabrication and facilitates the high degree of accuracy required for precision manufacturing.
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Citations
52 Claims
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1. An apparatus for supporting a substrate for processing during precision manufacturing, comprising:
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a holding member having a flat upper surface configured to attach to the substrate; and
a lower surface parallel to the upper surface of the holding member having a number of slots extending lengthwise across the lower surface and depth wise towards the upper surface facilitating flexibility in the lower surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A precision manufacturing apparatus that supports a substrate during processing, comprising:
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an energy emission system;
a holding member in line with the energy emission system having a flat upper surface configured to attach to the substrate and a lower surface parallel to the upper surface of the holding member having a number of slots extending lengthwise across the lower surface and depth wise towards the upper surface facilitating flexibility in the lower surface;
a substrate table that attaches to the lower surface of the holding member and configured to adjust the tilt of the holding member and facilitate focusing energy from the energy emission system; and
a stage coupled to the substrate table that facilitates movement of substrate table along one or more axes relative to the energy emission system. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 34, 49)
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24. A method of supporting a substrate during precision manufacturing, comprising:
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providing a holding member having a flat upper surface configured to attach to the substrate and a lower surface parallel to the upper surface of the holding member having a number of slots extending lengthwise across the lower surface and depth wise towards the upper surface facilitating flexibility in the lower surface;
attaching the substrate to the upper surface of the holding member;
coupling the lower surface of the holding member the surface of a substrate table; and
allowing the slots associated with the lower surface of the holding member to expand and contract in response to variations in the surface of the substrate table thereby minimizing the amount of distortion associated with the substrate attached to the upper surface of the holding member. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 50)
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35. A method operating a precision manufacturing apparatus that supports a substrate during processing, comprising:
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providing a holding member having a flat upper surface configured to attach to the substrate and a lower surface parallel to the upper surface of the holding member having a number of slots extending lengthwise across the lower surface and depth wise towards the upper surface facilitating flexibility in the lower surface;
attaching the substrate to the upper surface of the holding member;
coupling the lower surface of the holding member to the surface of a substrate table;
allowing the slots associated with the lower surface of the holding member to expand and contract in response to variations in the surface of the substrate table thereby minimizing the amount of distortion associated with the substrate attached to the upper surface of the holding member;
exposing the substrate to energy from an energy emission system;
adjusting the tilt of the holding member while focusing energy from the energy emission system onto the substrate; and
moving the substrate along one or more axes relative to the energy emission system to expose different portions of the substrate to energy from the energy emission system. - View Dependent Claims (36, 51)
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37. A method of manufacturing a holding member used for supporting a substrate in precision manufacturing, comprising:
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creating a holding member having an upper surface configured to attach to the substrate and a lower surface parallel to the upper surface of the holding member having a number of slots extending lengthwise across the lower surface and depth wise towards the upper surface facilitating flexibility in the lower surface;
filling the slots on the lower surface with a temporary filler material that strengthens the holding member;
precision machining the upper surface of the holding member to articulate with the substrate; and
removing the temporary material from each slot in the lower surface of the holding member once the precision machining of the upper surface is complete. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 52)
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Specification