Claims
- 1. A process for planarizing a semiconductor wafer surface comprising:providing a semiconductor wafer from a semiconductor ingot, wherein the provided semiconductor wafer has two major surfaces; forming a layer of planarization material over at least one major surface, wherein the planarization material has a pre-planarization viscosity of about 20 cp to about 1000 cp; contacting the planarization material with a flat surface of an object with a force sufficient to substantially transfer the surface flatness from the flat surface to the planarization material; solidifying the material while in contact with the flat surface wherein the material undergoes a reduction in volume that is less than about 10 percent; separating the flat surface from contact with the material; and transferring the flat surface into the underlying semiconductor wafer.
- 2. The process of claim 1 wherein the flat surface is coated with a release agent.
- 3. The process of claim 1 wherein the flat surface is an optically flat surface.
- 4. The process of claim 2 wherein the release agent is a teflon sheet.
- 5. The process of claim 1 wherein the layer of planarization material is formed on both major surfaces.
- 6. The process of claim 5 wherein the flat surface is an optically flat surface.
- 7. The process of claim 6 wherein the object is a fused silica optical flat.
- 8. The process of claim 1 wherein the planarization material is selected from the group consisting of epoxy resins and spin-on-glass.
- 9. The process of claim 1 wherein the flat surface is transferred into the underlying semiconductor wafer by plasma etching the planarization material.
- 10. The process of claim 1 further comprising forming an intermediate layer on the semiconductor wafer before the layer of planarization material is formed thereon and wherein the flat surface is transferred from the planarization material into the intermediate layer and from the intermediate layer into the underlying semiconductor wafer.
STATEMENT OF RELATED APPLICATIONS
The application is a continuation in part of Blalock 1-5-3-29, Provisional Serial No. 60/044,582, filed Apr. 22, 1997, which is now Ser. No. 09/024,488, abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/695,181, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,424 filed Aug. 1, 1996 which is a continuation in part of Ser. No. 08/245,279, filed May 18, 1994, abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 07/593,362, filed Oct. 1, 1990, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/349,975, filed May 8, 1989, abandoned, which a continuation of Ser. No. 07/020,332, filed Feb. 27, 1987, abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
4874463 |
Koze et al. |
Oct 1989 |
A |
6048799 |
Prybyla |
Apr 2000 |
A |
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60/044582 |
Apr 1997 |
US |
Continuations (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
07/349975 |
May 1989 |
US |
Child |
07/593362 |
|
US |
Parent |
07/020332 |
Feb 1987 |
US |
Child |
07/349975 |
|
US |
Continuation in Parts (4)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/024488 |
Feb 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/627084 |
|
US |
Parent |
08/695181 |
Aug 1996 |
US |
Child |
09/024488 |
|
US |
Parent |
08/245279 |
May 1994 |
US |
Child |
08/695181 |
|
US |
Parent |
07/593362 |
Oct 1990 |
US |
Child |
08/245279 |
|
US |