Semiconductor wafer polishing appartus and method

Claim 1

Apparatus for polishing semiconductor wafers comprising: a housing; a wax mounting apparatus within the housing for wax mounting a first face of a semiconductor wafer to a first face of a polishing block; a first semiconductor wafer polisher within the housing for polishing a second face of the semiconductor wafer, the second face of the semiconductor wafer being opposite the first face of the semiconductor wafer; a first transfer mechanism within the housing for delivering the polishing block and semiconductor wafer from the mounting apparatus to adjacent the first semiconductor wafer polisher; and a controller for controlling operation of the mounting apparatus, the first semiconductor wafer polisher, and the first transfer mechanism.

Claim 37

A method of wax mounting a semiconductor wafer to a polishing block having first and second opposite faces comprising: applying a wax coating to the first face of the polishing block; heating the second face of the polishing block with steam thereby to heat the wax coating on the first face of the polishing block; vaporizing condensation formed on the second face of the polishing block; and bringing the semiconductor wafer into contact with the wax coating on the first face of the polishing block whereby the semiconductor wafer is bonded to the polishing block by the wax coating.

Claim 38

A method of wax mounting a semiconductor wafer to a polishing block having first and second opposite faces comprising: applying a wax coating to the first face of the polishing block; heating the second face of the polishing block with steam thereby to heat the wax coating on the first face of the polishing block; vaporizing condensation formed on the second face of the polishing block; and bringing the semiconductor wafer into contact with the wax coating on the first face of the polishing block whereby the semiconductor wafer is bonded to the polishing block by the wax coating.

Claim 41

A method of polishing semiconductor wafers comprising: (a) securing a semiconductor wafer to a polishing block so that a first face of the semiconductor wafer opposes a first face of the polishing block; (b) polishing a second face of the semiconductor wafer with a rotating polishing member, the semiconductor wafer being between the polishing block and polishing member during polishing, the polishing block being approximately at a polishing temperature T P1 during polishing; (c) controlling the temperature of the polishing block at least immediately prior to initiation of the polishing step so that the polishing block temperature at the onset of polishing is approximately equal to the temperature T P1 ; (d) serially repeating steps (a)-(c) for a plurality of semiconductor wafers so that the semiconductor wafers are polished one after the other by the polishing member.

Claim 42

A method of polishing semiconductor wafers comprising: (a) securing a semiconductor wafer to a polishing block so that a first face of the semiconductor wafer opposes a first face of the polishing block; (b) polishing a second face of the semiconductor wafer with a rotating polishing member, the semiconductor wafer being between the polishing block and polishing member during polishing, the polishing block being approximately at a polishing temperature T P1 during polishing; (c) controlling the temperature of the polishing block at least immediately prior to initiation of the polishing step so that the polishing block temperature at the onset of polishing is approximately equal to the temperature T P1 ; (d) serially repeating steps (a)-(c) for a plurality of semiconductor wafers so that the semiconductor wafers are polished one after the other by the polishing member.

Claim 53

A method of polishing semiconductor wafers comprising: (a) heating a polishing block to a temperature approximately equal to a temperature T h ; (b) securing a semiconductor wafer to the polishing block so that a first face of the semiconductor wafer opposes a first face of the polishing block; (c) polishing a second face of the semiconductor wafer with a polishing member, the polishing of the semiconductor wafer by the polishing member being initiated a fixed duration t b-p after the semiconductor wafer is secured to the polishing block; (d) removing the semiconductor wafer from the polishing block; (e) serially repeating steps (a)-(d) for a plurality of semiconductor wafers.

Claim 54

A method of polishing semiconductor wafers comprising: (a) heating a polishing block to a temperature approximately equal to a temperature T h ; (b) securing a semiconductor wafer to the polishing block so that a first face of the semiconductor wafer opposes a first face of the polishing block; (c) polishing a second face of the semiconductor wafer with a polishing member, the polishing of the semiconductor wafer by the polishing member being initiated a fixed duration t b-p after the semiconductor wafer is secured to the polishing block; (d) removing the semiconductor wafer from the polishing block; (e) serially repeating steps (a)-(d) for a plurality of semiconductor wafers.

Claim 57

A method of polishing a plurality of semiconductor wafers comprising: applying a coat of bonding agent to a first face of a first polishing block; bonding a first semiconductor wafer to the first polishing block, a first face of the first semiconductor wafer opposing the first face of the first polishing block; polishing a second face of the first semiconductor wafer with a rotating polishing member; removing the first semiconductor wafer from the first polishing block after completion of polishing of the second face of the first semiconductor wafer by the polishing member; applying a coat of bonding agent to a first face of a second polishing block before completion of polishing of the second face of the first semiconductor wafer by the polishing member; bonding a second semiconductor wafer to the second polishing block before completion of polishing of the second face of the first semiconductor wafer by the polishing member, a first face of the second semiconductor wafer opposing the first face of the second polishing block; polishing a second face of the second semiconductor wafer with the rotating polishing member; removing the second semiconductor wafer from the second polishing block after completion of polishing of the second face of the second semiconductor wafer by the polishing member; applying a coat of bonding agent to a first face of a third polishing block before completion of polishing of the second face of the first semiconductor wafer by the polishing member; bonding a third semiconductor wafer to the third polishing block before completion of polishing of the second face of the second semiconductor wafer by the polishing member, a first face of the third semiconductor wafer opposing the first face of the third polishing block; polishing a second face of the third semiconductor wafer with the rotating polishing member; removing the third semiconductor wafer from the third polishing block after completion of polishing of the second face of the third semiconductor wafer by the polishing member; removing the coat of bonding agent from the first face of the first polishing block and then applying a second coat of bonding agent to the first face of the first polishing block before completion of polishing of the second face of the third semiconductor wafer by the polishing member; bonding a fourth semiconductor wafer to the first polishing block before completion of polishing of the second face of the third semiconductor wafer by the polishing member, a first face of the fourth semiconductor wafer opposing the first face of the first polishing member; polishing a second face of the fourth semiconductor wafer with the rotating polishing member.

Claim 58

A method of polishing a plurality of semiconductor wafers comprising: applying a coat of bonding agent to a first face of a first polishing block; bonding a first semiconductor wafer to the first polishing block, a first face of the first semiconductor wafer opposing the first face of the first polishing block; polishing a second face of the first semiconductor wafer with a rotating polishing member; removing the first semiconductor wafer from the first polishing block after completion of polishing of the second face of the first semiconductor wafer by the polishing member; applying a coat of bonding agent to a first face of a second polishing block before completion of polishing of the second face of the first semiconductor wafer by the polishing member; bonding a second semiconductor wafer to the second polishing block before completion of polishing of the second face of the first semiconductor wafer by the polishing member, a first face of the second semiconductor wafer opposing the first face of the second polishing block; polishing a second face of the second semiconductor wafer with the rotating polishing member; removing the second semiconductor wafer from the second polishing block after completion of polishing of the second face of the second semiconductor wafer by the polishing member; applying a coat of bonding agent to a first face of a third polishing block before completion of polishing of the second face of the first semiconductor wafer by the polishing member; bonding a third semiconductor wafer to the third polishing block before completion of polishing of the second face of the second semiconductor wafer by the polishing member, a first face of the third semiconductor wafer opposing the first face of the third polishing block; polishing a second face of the third semiconductor wafer with the rotating polishing member; removing the third semiconductor wafer from the third polishing block after completion of polishing of the second face of the third semiconductor wafer by the polishing member; removing the coat of bonding agent from the first face of the first polishing block and then applying a second coat of bonding agent to the first face of the first polishing block before completion of polishing of the second face of the third semiconductor wafer by the polishing member; bonding a fourth semiconductor wafer to the first polishing block before completion of polishing of the second face of the third semiconductor wafer by the polishing member, a first face of the fourth semiconductor wafer opposing the first face of the first polishing member; polishing a second face of the fourth semiconductor wafer with the rotating polishing member.

Claim 64

A method of polishing semiconductor wafers comprising: (a) securing a semiconductor wafer to a polisher; (b) polishing a face of the semiconductor wafer with a rotating polishing member of the polisher; (c) serially repeating steps (a) and (b) for a plurality of semiconductor wafers so that the semiconductor wafers are polished one after the other by the polisher; (d) measuring flatness characteristics of at least one of the plurality semiconductor wafers after it is polished by the polishing member; (e) modifying the shape of the polishing member based on the measured flatness characteristics such that semiconductor wafers subsequently polished by the modified polishing member have improved flatness.

Claim 65

A method of polishing semiconductor wafers comprising: (a) securing a semiconductor wafer to a polisher; (b) polishing a face of the semiconductor wafer with a rotating polishing member of the polisher; (c) serially repeating steps (a) and (b) for a plurality of semiconductor wafers so that the semiconductor wafers are polished one after the other by the polisher; (d) measuring flatness characteristics of at least one of the plurality semiconductor wafers after it is polished by the polishing member; (e) modifying the shape of the polishing member based on the measured flatness characteristics such that semiconductor wafers subsequently polished by the modified polishing member have improved flatness.

Claim 76

A method of polishing a plurality of semiconductor wafers comprising the steps of: serially applying coats of a bonding agent to first faces of the polishing blocks; serially bonding the semiconductor wafers to the polishing blocks, the semiconductor wafers having first faces opposing the first faces of the polishing blocks; serially polishing second faces of the semiconductor wafers, each polishing block and semiconductor wafer being polished consecutively; serially removing the semiconductor wafers from the polishing blocks after completion of polishing; serially removing the wax from each polishing block after removal of the semiconductor wafer therefrom, the polishing block having completed one cycle of operation of the apparatus upon removal of the semiconductor wafer; the step of serially bonding the semiconductor wafers to the polishing blocks comprising the step of bonding the semiconductor wafers to one of the polishing blocks prior to completion of polishing of the immediately preceding semiconductor wafer mounted to the immediately preceding polishing block; the step of serially bonding the semiconductor wafers to the polishing blocks comprising the step of serially bonding a second of the semiconductor wafers to one of the polishing blocks following removal of a first of the semiconductor wafers previously bonded to said one polishing block, said step of bonding the second semiconductor wafer being completed prior to completion of polishing of the semiconductor wafer mounted on the polishing block which said one polishing block immediately precedes.

Claim 77

A method of polishing a plurality of semiconductor wafers comprising the steps of: serially applying coats of a bonding agent to first faces of the polishing blocks; serially bonding the semiconductor wafers to the polishing blocks, the semiconductor wafers having first faces opposing the first faces of the polishing blocks; serially polishing second faces of the semiconductor wafers, each polishing block and semiconductor wafer being polished consecutively; serially removing the semiconductor wafers from the polishing blocks after completion of polishing; serially removing the wax from each polishing block after removal of the semiconductor wafer therefrom, the polishing block having completed one cycle of operation of the apparatus upon removal of the semiconductor wafer; the step of serially bonding the semiconductor wafers to the polishing blocks comprising the step of bonding the semiconductor wafers to one of the polishing blocks prior to completion of polishing of the immediately preceding semiconductor wafer mounted to the immediately preceding polishing block; the step of serially bonding the semiconductor wafers to the polishing blocks comprising the step of serially bonding a second of the semiconductor wafers to one of the polishing blocks following removal of a first of the semiconductor wafers previously bonded to said one polishing block, said step of bonding the second semiconductor wafer being completed prior to completion of polishing of the semiconductor wafer mounted on the polishing block which said one polishing block immediately precedes.