Claims
- 1. A wafer polishing apparatus comprising:
- a module frame;
- a continuous belt rotatable with respect to the frame, said belt having at least one vertically-oriented belt transverse portion including a polishing pad assembly;
- at least one pivotable wafer-holding head drive within the frame and having a head portion movable to a vertical first position parallel and juxtaposed to the belt transverse portion;
- said head drive including a wafer carrier for holding a wafer on said head portion of the head drive;
- a drive for moving said head portion and a held wafer into a vertical polishing position abutting the belt transverse portion and means for applying pressure to force the held-wafer against the polishing pad assembly; and
- wherein after polishing the head drive is pivotable away from the belt transverse portion to a position for unloading a polished wafer from said head portion.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 further including:
- a gripper for receiving an unpolished wafer; and
- a shuttle associated with the frame for moving the gripper and an unpolished wafer from a wafer-receiving first position to said head drive when said head drive is pivoted away from said belt, to a second position for loading the unpolished wafer on the head portion of the head drive or for unloading a polished wafer from the head portion of the head drive.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said shuttle includes a rail attached to said frame and wherein said gripper is vertically movable for loading the unpolished wafer on the head portion of the head drive.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 2 further including a pair of vertically-spaced drums, an inner surface of said belt being in contact with each of said drums, one of said drums being driven rotatively to rotate said belt.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 2 including a motor for rotating said head portion while the held-wafer is forced against the polishing pad assembly.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 2 further including a robot for conveying the unpolished wafer to said gripper.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said head drive is pivoted from the vertical first position in a sweeping arc extending perpendicularly from the belt transverse portion.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said head drive is pivoted from the vertical first position in a swing arc extending parallel to the belt transverse portion.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 2 further including a multiplicity of said head drives within said frame; a matching number of grippers and shuttles; and a matching numbers of belt transverse portions and polishing pad assemblies on said belt.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein a multiplicity of the recited apparatus are placed in an end-to-end or a side-by-side configuration with an associated robot movably in a pathway between the apparati to mount an unpolished wafer onto respective ones of said grippers.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said wafer carrier is a vacuum assembly in said head drive.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a pair of vertically-spaced drums, an inner surface of said belt being in contact with each of said drums, one of said drums being driven rotatively to rotate said belt.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 1 including a motor for rotating said head portion and said held-wafer while the held-wafer is forced against the polishing pad assembly.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said head drive is pivoted from the vertical first position in a sweeping arc extending perpendicularly from the belt transverse portion.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said head drive is pivoted from the vertical first position in a swing arc extending parallel to the belt transverse portion.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a robot and a shuttle, said robot being movable to convey an unpolished wafer to said shuttle and wherein said shuttle moves the unpolished wafer to said head portion, all while said unpolished wafer is in a horizontal orientation.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 1 further including means for sweeping the head portion back and forth in a direction parallel to the belt transverse portion.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 1 containing at least two belt transverse portions on each of opposite sides of said belt and a like number of wafer-holding head drives pivotable against said belt transverse portions.
- 19. A method of polishing a semiconductor wafer comprising:
- providing a continuous polishing belt including a polishing surface and having a vertically-oriented belt transverse portion and a pivotable wafer-holding head drive;
- placing the drive into a horizontal orientation;
- placing a horizontally-oriented wafer on the head drive;
- actuating a wafer carrier to hold the wafer on the head drive;
- pivoting the head drive to a vertical polishing position in which the held-wafer is in an abutting relation with the belt transverse portion;
- pressure-forcing the held-wafer against the belt transverse portion while the belt is turning;
- polishing the wafer; and
- upon completion of polishing, moving the held-wafer away from the belt, pivoting the head drive back to the horizontal-orientation and removing a polished wafer in a horizontal orientation from the head drive.
- 20. The method of claim 19 further including the step of shuttling the unpolished wafer from an offset first position horizontally to a second position above the horizontally-oriented head drive.
- 21. The method of claim 19 further including the step of actuating a wafer carrier, said step comprises vacuum attaching the wafer to a head portion of the head drive and further including the step of rotating the head portion and the held-wafer during the pressure-forcing step.
- 22. The method of claim 19 further comprising:
- simultaneously pressure-forcing a second head drive and a second held-wafer against a second belt transverse portion on an oppositely-facing side of the belt or on the same side of the belt; and
- simultaneously polishing the second held-wafer.
- 23. The method of claim 19 further comprising simultaneously sweeping the held-wafer back and forth across the belt transverse portion.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application relates to U.S. Ser. Nos. 08/965,037, filed Nov. 5, 1997 entitled Wafer Shuttle System, John Weiguo Zhang et al.; 08/964,817, filed Nov. 5, 1997 entitled Wafer Polishing Head Drive, Linh X. Can et al.; 08/964,773, filed Nov. 5, 1997 entitled Polishing System Including a Hydrostatic Fluid Bearing Support, David E. Weldon et al.; 08/965,033, filed Nov. 5, 1997 entitled Wafer Carrier Head with Attack Angle Control for Chemical Mechanical Polishing, Gregory A. Appel et al.; 08/965,514, filed Nov. 5, 1997 for Linear Pad Conditioning Mechanism, Ethan C. Wilson et al.; 08/965,067, filed Nov. 5, 1997 for Apparatus for Dispensing Slurry, Peter Mok; and 08/964,774, filed Nov. 5, 1997 entitled Polishing Tool Having a Sealed Chamber for Support of Polishing Pad, Shou-Sung Chang et al.; all assigned to applicants' assignee. The disclosures of each of the above related applications are incorporated herein by reference.
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