Claims
- 1. A wafer processing machine comprising
a chuck for holding a wafer thereon for rotation about an axis of rotation passing transversely through said chuck; and a wafer edge processing unit for working a peripheral edge of a wafer on said chuck during rotation of said chuck, said processing unit including a first means for positioning a working medium against the peripheral edge of a wafer on said chuck and a second means for moving the working medium in a plane perpendicular to said chuck during rotation of said chuck to place the working medium in contact with at least one side of the wafer on said chuck.
- 2. A wafer processing machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first means includes an elongated backing block facing said chuck, at least one pair of spools, a tape wound on and extending between said spools and over said block and having one of a polishing medium and a grinding thereon, and a pair of clamps on opposite sides of said block for releasably clamping said tape to opposite sides of said block.
- 3. A wafer processing machine as set forth in claim 2 wherein said first means includes an elongated facing plate movably mounted on said block and disposed in backing contact with said tape, and sensing means for sensing movement of said facing plate towards said block in response to contact of said tape with a wafer on said chuck and emitting a responsive signal thereto as a measure of a contact force between said tape and a wafer on said chuck.
- 4. A wafer processing machine as set forth in claim 3 wherein said facing plate is made of rigid material and which further comprises an elastomeric layer having said rigid facing plate mounted thereon.
- 5. A wafer processing machine as set forth in claim 3 wherein said sensing means includes a beam mounting said facing plate thereon, a pair of load cells supporting said beam and emitting corresponding signals in reaction to movements of said beam and a read-out connected to said load cells to display a numeric indication of said signals.
- 6. A wafer processing machine as set forth on claim 2 wherein said second means pivots said block about a pivot axis passing longitudinally of a face of said block and disposed in a plane of a wafer on said chuck to move said tape between a first position on one side of said chuck and a second position on an opposite side of said chuck.
- 7. A wafer processing machine as set forth on claim 1 wherein the working medium is a polishing medium for polishing a peripheral edge of a wafer on said chuck.
- 8. A wafer processing machine as set forth on claim 1 wherein the working medium is a grinding medium for removing an edge bead of material from a peripheral edge of a processed wafer on said chuck.
- 9. A wafer processing machine comprising
a chuck for holding a wafer thereon for rotation about an axis of rotation passing transversely through said chuck; a wafer edge processing unit for working a peripheral edge of a wafer on said chuck during rotation of said chuck, said processing unit including a first means for sequentially positioning a selected one of a plurality of working mediums against the peripheral edge of a wafer on said chuck and a second means for moving the selected working medium in a plane perpendicular to said chuck during rotation of said chuck to place the working medium in contact with at least one side of the wafer on said chuck.
- 10. A wafer processing machine as set forth in claim 9 wherein said first means includes an elongated block facing said chuck; a plurality of pairs of spools; a plurality of tapes, each tape being wound on and extending between a respective pair of said spools and over said block and having a working medium thereon; and a pair of clamps on opposite sides of said block for releasably clamping said tapes to opposite sides of said block.
- 11. A wafer processing machine as set forth in claim 10 wherein said first means includes an elongated facing plate movably mounted on said block and disposed in backing contact with said tapes, and sensing means for sensing movement of said facing plate towards said block in response to contact of said selected tape with a wafer on said chuck and emitting a responsive signal thereto as a measure of a contact force between said selected tape and a wafer on said chuck.
- 12. A wafer processing machine as set forth in claim 11 wherein said facing plate is made of rigid material and which further comprises an elastomeric layer having said rigid facing plate mounted thereon.
- 13. A wafer processing machine as set forth in claim 11 wherein said sensing means includes a beam mounting said facing plate thereon, a pair of load cells supporting said beam and emitting corresponding signals in reaction to movements of said beam and a read-out connected to said load cells to display a numeric indication of said signals.
- 14. A wafer processing machine as set forth on claim 10 wherein said second means pivots said block about a pivot axis passing longitudinally of a face of said block and disposed in a plane of a wafer on said chuck to move said selected tape between said first and second positions.
- 15. A wafer processing machine as set forth in claim 10 wherein said processing unit includes means for rotating at least one spool of each said pairs of spools to advance said tape thereon with said clamps spaced from said block.
- 16. A wafer processing machine as set forth in claim 9 which further comprises an indexing means for moving one of said chuck and said processing unit laterally of each other to sequentially position said working mediums in contact with a wafer on said chuck.
- 17. A wafer processing machine as set forth in claim 16 wherein each working medium has a different grade of abrasive surface from the other of said working mediums.
- 18. A wafer grinding and polishing machine comprising
a grinding station for grinding a peripheral edge of a wafer; a polishing station for polishing the peripheral edge of a wafer ground in said grinding station, said polishing station including a rotatable chuck for receiving a wafer thereon for rotation about an axis of rotation passing perpendicularly of said chuck and a polishing unit for polishing a peripheral edge of a wafer on said chuck during rotation of said chuck, said polishing unit including a first means for positioning a polishing medium against the peripheral edge of a wafer on said chuck and a second means for moving the polishing medium in a plane perpendicular to said chuck during rotation of said chuck to place the polishing medium in contact with at least one side of the wafer on said chuck; and a conveyor for moving a wafer from said grinding station to said polishing station.
- 19. A machine as set forth in claim 18 wherein said first means includes an elongated block facing said chuck; a plurality of pairs of spools; a plurality of tapes, each tape being wound on and extending between a respective pair of said spools and over said block and having a polishing medium thereon; and a pair of clamps on opposite sides of said block for releasably clamping said tapes to opposite sides of said block.
- 20. A machine as set forth in claim 19 wherein said first means includes an elongated facing plate movably mounted on said block and disposed in backing contact with said tapes, and sensing means for sensing movement of said facing plate towards said block in response to contact of said selected tape with a wafer on said chuck and emitting a responsive signal thereto as a measure of a contact force between said selected tape and a wafer on said chuck.
- 21. A machine as set forth in claim 19 said second means pivots said block about a pivot axis passing longitudinally of a face of said block and disposed in a plane of a wafer on said chuck to move said selected tape between said first and second positions.
- 22. A machine as set forth in claim 18 which further comprises an indexing means for moving one of said chuck and said polishing unit laterally of each other to sequentially position said polishing mediums in contact with a wafer on said chuck.
- 23. A machine as set forth in claim 22 wherein each polishing medium has a different grade of abrasive surface from the other of said polishing mediums.
- 24. A processing unit for working an edge of a substrate, said working unit including
a first means for positioning a working medium against an edge of a moving substrate; and a second means for moving the working medium in a plane perpendicular to the substrate during movement of the substrate to place the working medium in contact with at least one side of the moving substrate.
- 25. A processing unit as set forth in claim 24 wherein said first means includes an elongated backing block facing the substrate, at least one pair of spools, a tape wound on and extending between said spools and over said block and having a working medium thereon, and a pair of clamps on opposite sides of said block for releasably clamping said tape to opposite sides of said block.
- 26. A processing unit as set forth in claim 25 wherein said first means includes an elongated facing plate movably mounted on said block and disposed in backing contact with said tape, and sensing means for sensing movement of said facing plate towards said block in response to contact of said tape with a substrate and emitting a responsive signal thereto as a measure of a contact force between said tape and the substrate.
- 27. A processing unit as set forth in claim 26 wherein said sensing means includes a beam mounting said facing plate thereon, a pair of load cells supporting said beam and emitting corresponding signals in reaction to movements of said beam and a read-out connected to said load cells to display a numeric indication of said signals.
- 28. A processing unit as set forth on claim 25 wherein said second means pivots said block about a pivot axis passing longitudinally of a face of said block to move said tape between a first position on one side of the substrate and a second position on an opposite side of the substrate.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of pending application Ser. No. 09/491,812, filed Jan. 28, 2000.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09491812 |
Jan 2000 |
US |
Child |
09740154 |
Dec 2000 |
US |