Apparatus for improving flatness of polished wafers

• US 4,313,284 A
• Filed: 03/27/1980
• Issued: 02/02/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: SunEdison, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Monsanto Company (Bayer AG)
• Inventors: Walsh, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Whitehead, Harold D.
• Application Number:
  US06/134,714
• Time in Patent Office: 677 Days
• Field of Search: 51/131 R, 51/131.4, 51/131.5, 51/235
• US Class Current: 451/288
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 37/015 Temperature control
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 37/30 for single side lapping of plane surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 55/02 Equipment for cooling the grinding surfaces, e.g. devices for feeding coolant cooling or lubricating during dressing operation B24B53/095; incorporated in grinding wheels B24D

Abstract

Apparatus for improving polished wafer flatness such as slices of semiconductor materials through mounting of the wafers onto a deformable thin disc carrier which is mounted through a resilient device to a rotable pressure plate, the combined mounting being rotably engageable with a rotable turntable supported polishing surface, the turntable having an axis of rotation to edge bow away from the mounted wafers. The carrier is deformed to a concave shape opening toward the bowed table; thus permitting the mounted wafers to achieve through rotation polishing, uniformly improved flatness.

Claims

1. Apparatus for improving polished wafer flatness comprising:

a thin deformable carrier disc mounted to a resilient ring which is mounted to a rotable pressure plate, said pressure plate, resilient ring, and first carrier surface forming a chamber, said chamber in communication with a vacuum means for deforming said carrier disc into an inwardly convex shape toward the chamber;

said deformed carrier having wafers mounted on a second surface which is concave;

said wafers rotably engageable with a polishing pad mounted turntable having an internal cooling means for disapating heat from the polishing pad and first surface of the turntable, the turntable second surface being cooler than the first surface during polishing resulting in a thermal bow of the turntable toward the second surface.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the wafers are wax mounted to the concave surface of the carrier.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the rotable turntable provides frictional drive rotation of the wafer mounted carrier, pressure plate.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the wafers are rotated through an independent pressure plate rotation drive means.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein multiple pressure plate, carrier apparatus are engageable with the turntable, the multiple apparatus being engageable with the turntable in respective radius dimensions of the turntable.