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Wafer pads for fixed-spindle floating-platen lapping

  • US 8,647,172 B2
  • Filed: 03/12/2012
  • Issued: 02/11/2014
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2010
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. An at least three-point, fixed-spindle floating-platen abrading machine having resilient workpiece support pads comprising:

  • a) at least three rotary workpiece spindles having rotatable flat-surfaced spindle-tops, each of the rotary flat-surfaced spindle-tops having a respective rotary spindle-top axis of rotation at a center of a respective rotatable flat-surfaced rotary spindle-top for each respective rotary workpiece spindles;

    b) the respective axis of rotation for each of the at least three workpiece rotary spindle-tops'"'"' is perpendicular to the respective rotary spindle-tops'"'"' flat surface;

    c) an abrading machine base having a horizontal, nominally-flat top surface and a spindle-circle where the spindle-circle is coincident with the machine base nominally-flat top surface;

    d) the at least three rotary workpiece spindles are located with near-equal spacing between the respective at least three rotary workpiece spindles and the respective at least three rotary spindle-tops'"'"' axes of rotation intersect the machine base spindle-circle and the respective at least three rotary workpiece spindles are mechanically attached to the machine base top surface;

    e) the at least three workpiece rotary spindle-tops'"'"' flat surfaces are configured to be adjustably alignable to be co-planar with each other;

    f) a floating, rotatable abrading platen having a flat annular abrading surface where the platen is supported by and rotationally driven about a platen rotation axis located at a rotational center of the platen by a spherical-action rotation device located at a rotational center of the platen, and the spherical-action rotation device restrains the platen in a radial direction relative to the platen axis of rotation, and the platen axis of rotation is concentric with the machine base spindle-circle;

    g) the spherical-action rotation device is configured to cause spherical motion of the floating, rotatable platen about the rotational center of the floating, rotatable platen where the floating, rotatable platen abrading surface is nominally horizontal;

    h) flexible abrasive disk components having annular bands of abrasive-coated flat surfaces and each flexible abrasive disk component is attached in flat conformal contact with a respective floating, rotatable platen abrading surface wherein the attached abrasive disk is concentric with the floating, rotatable platen abrading surface;

    i) workpiece carriers having an impervious, compressible and resilient body having a thickness wherein each workpiece carrier'"'"'s compressible and resilient body has a top flat surface and a parallel opposed bottom flat surface, wherein each workpiece carrier'"'"'s body has a thickness between the carrier top flat surface and the carrier bottom flat surface;

    j) wherein the workpiece carrier'"'"'s bottom flat surfaces are attached in full flat-surfaced contact with the flat surfaces of the respectable spindle-tops wherein the workpiece carrier'"'"'s top flat surfaces are compressible relative to the workpiece carrier'"'"'s opposed bottom flat surfaces and wherein the workpiece carrier'"'"'s top flat surfaces are resilient relative to the workpiece carrier'"'"'s opposed bottom flat surfaces;

    k) equal-thickness workpieces having parallel opposed top and bottom flat surfaces are attached with full flat-surfaced contact of the respective workpieces'"'"' bottom surfaces with the top flat surfaces of the respective workpiece carriers;

    l) the floating rotatable abrading platen is vertically moveable to allow the abrasive surface of the abrasive disk that is attached to the floating rotatable platen abrading surface to contact the full top surfaces of the respective workpieces, wherein the respective workpiece carriers are compressed to provide uniform abrading pressure across the full top surfaces of the respective workpieces;

    m) the at least three spindle-tops having attached workpieces are configured to be rotated about the respective spindle-tops'"'"' rotation axes, and the rotatable floating abrading platen having the attached flexible abrasive disk is configured to be rotated about the rotatable floating abrading platen cylindrical-rotation axis to single-side abrade the workpieces that are attached to the flat surfaces of the at least three spindle-tops while the moving abrasive surface of the flexible abrasive disk that is attached to the moving rotatable floating abrading platen flat annular abrading surface is in force-controlled abrading contact with the top surfaces of the workpieces that are attached to the respective at least three spindle-tops.

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