Claims
- 1. A wafer polisher head drive for pressing a wafer against a continuous rotating polishing belt comprising:
- a head drive housing;
- a head portion extending from the housing for mounting an unpolished wafer when the head drive housing and head portion are in a horizontal orientation;
- a pivot mechanism extending from the head drive housing for pivoting the head drive housing and head portion from the horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation juxtaposed to a transverse vertical portion of said polishing belt, wherein said polishing belt is in a vertical position; and
- a drive in the housing for rotating the head portion and the mounted wafer while pressing the mounted wafer against the transverse vertical portion of the polishing belt.
- 2. The head drive of claim 1 wherein said head drive housing is pivoted from the vertical orientation in a sweeping arc extending in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the head drive housing in said vertical orientation.
- 3. The head drive of claim 2 wherein said pivot mechanism includes a hollow shaft connected to said head drive housing; a gearbox connected to said head drive housing; and a ball screw and nut assembly positioned in driving connection between said gearbox and said hollow shaft for sweeping said head drive housing back and forth in a in a plane parallel to the plane of the head drive housing in said vertical orientation.
- 4. The head drive of claim 3 further comprising a lock pin
- insertable into an apertured plate attached to said head drive housing for stabilizing said head drive housing in the vertical orientation during polishing of the mounted wafer.
- 5. The head drive of claim 1 further including a pneumatic cylinder having a piston rod having an outer distal end linked to said head drive housing to actuate the head drive housing between the vertical orientation and the horizontal orientation.
- 6. The head drive of claim 1 wherein said head drive housing is pivoted from the vertical orientation in a swing arc extending in the plane of the head drive housing in said vertical orientation.
- 7. The head drive of claim 6 including a motor and gearbox, said motor and gearbox driving said pivot mechanism for laterally pivoting said head drive housing; and
- further including a tiltable arm extending between said gearbox and said head drive housing, said tiltable arm, when pivoted from a vertical orientation, being tiltable to place the head portion in an orientation for unloading of a polished wafer and subsequent loading of an unpolished wafer.
- 8. The head drive of claim 7 further including
- a gearbox housing;
- a drive shaft extending from the gearbox housing;
- a clevis connected to the drive shaft and pivotable with the drive shaft and having a pivot pin connecting said tiltable arm to said head drive housing; and
- a pneumatic cylinder having a piston distal end connected to said tiltable arm for tilting the tiltable arm about said pivot pin to move said head portion to the unloading orientation.
- 9. The head drive of claim 1 further including a rotary union extending between said head drive housing and said head portion.
- 10. The head drive of claim 1 wherein said pivot mechanism includes a hollow shaft and a drive in-line with said shaft for sweeping said head drive housing and a mounted wafer back and forth in the plane of the head drive housing when in a vertical orientation.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application relates to U.S. Ser. No. 08/964,930, filed Nov. 5, 1997 entitled Modular Wafer Polishing Apparatus and Method, H. Alexander Anderson et al.; U.S. Ser. No. 08/965,037, filed Nov. 5, 1997 entitled Wafer Shuttle System; U.S. Ser. No. 08/964,773, filed Nov. 5, 1997 entitled Polishing System Including a Hydrostatic Fluid Bearing Support, David E. Weldon et al.; U.S. Ser. No. 08/965,033, filed Nov. 5, 1997 entitled Wafer Carrier Head with Attack Angle Control for Chemical Mechanical Polishing, Gregory A. Appel et al.; Ser. No. 08/965,514 filed Nov. 5, 1997 for Linear Pad Conditioning Mechanism, Ethan C. Wilson et al.; Ser. No. 08/965,067, filed Nov. 5, 1997 for Apparatus for Dispensing Slurry, Peter Mok; and U.S. Ser. No. 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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