Claims
- 1. An apparatus for chemically mechanically polishing a semiconductor wafer, the apparatus comprising:a continuous polishing strip comprising a fixed abrasive surface; a feed roller for holding an unused portion of the continuous polishing strip; a take-up roller for holding a used portion of the continuous polishing strip; a polishing strip support disposed between a pair of polishing strip support rollers; and a pair of drive rollers positioned adjacent opposite ends of a polishing region and between the feed and take-up rollers, the drive rollers each comprising polishing strip clamping regions having clamps for releasably clamping a portion of the polishing strip to the drive rollers, wherein the drive rollers are configured to oscillate a length of the polishing strip across the polishing region.
- 2. An apparatus for chemically mechanically polishing a semiconductor wafer, the apparatus comprising:a continuous polishing strip comprising a fixed abrasive surface; a feed roller for holding an unused portion of the continuous polishing strip; a take-up roller for holding a used portion of the continuous polishing strip; a polishing strip support disposed between a pair of polishing strip support rollers; and a pair of drive rollers positioned adjacent opposite ends of a polishing region and between the feed and take-up rollers, the drive rollers each comprising polishing strip clamping regions having clamps for releasably clamping a portion of the polishing strip to the drive rollers, wherein the drive rollers are configured to oscillate a length of the polishing strip across the polishing region, and wherein each of the drive rollers is operably connected with a different drive motor.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each of the different drive motors is in communication with a servo controller configured to synchronously reciprocate the drive rollers.
- 4. An apparatus for chemically mechanically polishing a semiconductor wafer, the apparatus comprising:a continuous polishing strip comprising a fixed abrasive surface; a feed roller for holding an unused portion of the continuous polishing strip; a take-up roller for holding a used portion of the continuous polishing strip; a polishing strip support disposed between a pair of polishing strip support rollers; and a pair of drive rollers positioned adjacent opposite ends of a polishing region and between the feed and take-up rollers, the drive rollers each comprising polishing strip clamping regions having clamps for releasably clamping a portion of the polishing strip to the drive rollers, wherein the drive rollers are configured to oscillate a length of the polishing strip across the polishing region, and wherein the clamps on each of the drive rollers comprise a movable clamping member and a clamp attachment point designed to cooperate with the movable clamping member to maintain a first portion of the polishing strip on a first of the pair of drive rollers and a second portion of the polishing strip on a second of the pair of drive rollers.
- 5. An apparatus for chemically mechanically polishing a semiconductor wafer, the apparatus comprising:a continuous polishing strip comprising a fixed abrasive surface; a feed roller for holding an unused portion of the continuous polishing strip; a take-up roller for holding a used portion of the continuous polishing strip; a polishing strip support disposed between a pair of polishing strip support rollers; and a pair of drive rollers positioned adjacent opposite ends of a polishing region and between the feed and take-up rollers, the drive rollers each comprising polishing strip clamping regions having clamps for releasably clamping a portion of the polishing strip to the drive rollers, wherein the drive rollers are configured to oscillate a length of the polishing strip across the polishing region, and wherein the polishing member defines a first region of slack between the take-up roller and a first one of the pair of drive rollers, a second region of slack between the feed roller and a second one of the pair of drive rollers, and the polishing region is defined by a length of polishing strip maintained under a tension between the pair of drive rollers.
- 6. An apparatus for chemically mechanically polishing a semiconductor wafer, the apparatus comprising:a continuous polishing strip comprising a fixed abrasive surface; a feed roller for holding an unused portion of the continuous polishing strip; a take-up roller for holding a used portion of the continuous polishing strip; a polishing strip support disposed between a pair of polishing strip support rollers; and a pair of drive rollers positioned adjacent opposite ends of a polishing region and between the feed and take-up rollers, the drive rollers each comprising polishing strip clamping regions having clamps for releasably clamping a portion of the polishing strip to the drive rollers, wherein the drive rollers are configured to oscillate a length of the polishing strip across the polishing region, and wherein at least one of the take-up and feed rollers is operably connected with a motor configured to selectively rotate the at least one of the take-up and feed rollers and position a different portion of the polishing member between the pair of drive rollers.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/607,727, filed Jun. 30, 2000, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
US Referenced Citations (45)
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1031398 |
Aug 2000 |
EP |
4-250967 |
Sep 1992 |
JP |
WO 9845090 |
Oct 1998 |
WO |
WO 9922908 |
May 1999 |
WO |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (3)
Entry |
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/540,810 Fixed Abrasive Linear Polishing Belt And System—Inventors: Zhao et al. Filing Date: Mar. 31, 2000 Attorney Docket No. 7103-135. |
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/541,144 Method And Apparatus For Chemical Mechanical Planarization and Polishing Of Semiconductor Wafers Using A Continuous Polishing Member Feed—Inventors: Mooring et al., Filing Date: Mar. 31, 2000 Attorney Docket No. 7103/165. |
European Patent Office Patent Abstract of Japan, Publication No. JP2269553 dated Feb. 11, 1990, entitled “Polishing Method And Device Thereof”. |