Wafer polishing apparatus
By connecting the polishing mechanism to the protective cover in the wafer grinding and polishing equipment and driving its rotation, combined with the design of the elastic protective component, the problem of backsplattering of grinding slurry is solved, and the polishing quality and equipment stability are improved.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SHENZHEN PENGXIN MICRO INTEGRATED CIRCUIT MFG CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-14
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-14
AI Technical Summary
In chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processes, the high relative speed between the polishing disc and the protective shield can cause the abrasive slurry to splash back onto the polishing disc, reducing the polishing quality.
Design a wafer grinding and polishing device, wherein the polishing mechanism is connected to a protective cover. The rotation of the polishing mechanism drives the protective cover to rotate, reducing the possibility of back splashing of the grinding slurry. An elastic protective component is used to prevent liquid from entering the polishing mechanism, ensuring the device's airtightness.
This improves the smoothness of the wafer surface, reduces the possibility of polishing slurry splashing back onto the polishing pad after hitting the protective cover, ensures stable equipment operation, and reduces equipment failures.
Smart Images
Figure CN224488720U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of wafer processing technology, and more particularly to a wafer grinding and polishing apparatus. Background Technology
[0002] Currently, Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) is a core process in semiconductor manufacturing used to achieve global planarization of wafer surfaces. It precisely removes excess material (such as metals, dielectric layers, or polysilicon) and eliminates surface irregularities at the micron to nanometer scale by simultaneously applying chemical reactions and mechanical abrasion to the wafer surface. In CMP, the polishing disk rotates at high speed, and the abrasive slurry splashes onto the surrounding protective shield. However, due to the high relative speed between the polishing disk and the shield, the abrasive slurry can easily splash back onto the polishing disk, reducing polishing quality. Utility Model Content
[0003] This disclosure provides a wafer grinding and polishing apparatus.
[0004] The technical solution of this disclosure embodiment is implemented as follows:
[0005] This disclosure provides a wafer grinding and polishing apparatus, including a base. The apparatus includes: a polishing mechanism rotatably mounted on the top of the base; and a protective cover located around the polishing mechanism to prevent backsplashing of the grinding slurry. The protective cover is connected to the polishing mechanism, and the rotation of the polishing mechanism drives the protective cover to rotate.
[0006] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the polishing mechanism includes: a base, rotatably mounted on the top of the base, and the top of the base has a groove; an electric cylinder, mounted at the bottom of the groove; multiple connecting shafts, one end of which is connected to the output end of the electric cylinder, and the other end of which passes through the base and is connected to the protective cover; the electric cylinder drives the connecting shafts to move up and down in a vertical direction; and a polishing disc, mounted on the top of the base.
[0007] In some embodiments of this disclosure, there are three connecting shafts, and the included angle between the three connecting shafts is 120°.
[0008] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the length of one of the connecting shafts is greater than the lengths of the other two connecting shafts; the two shorter connecting shafts of the three connecting shafts are of equal length.
[0009] In some embodiments of this disclosure, multiple sets of elastic protection components are installed on the sidewall of the polishing mechanism to prevent liquid from entering the polishing mechanism; each set of elastic protection components is disposed at the location where a corresponding connecting shaft passes through the base, and each set of elastic protection components is connected to a corresponding connecting shaft.
[0010] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the base sidewall is further provided with a plurality of movable holes, the number of which corresponds to the number of the elastic protection components; the elastic protection components are installed in the movable holes and are located at the end of the movable holes away from the electric cylinder.
[0011] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the elastic protection component includes: a first elastic baffle, one end of which is connected to the polishing disc and the other end of which is connected to the connecting shaft; and a second elastic baffle, one end of which is connected to the connecting shaft and the other end of which is connected to the bottom of the movable hole in the vertical direction.
[0012] In some embodiments of this disclosure, a motor is provided inside the base; the output end of the motor is connected to the bottom center of the polishing mechanism.
[0013] In some embodiments of this disclosure, a gap is provided between the protective cover and the polishing disc.
[0014] Therefore, in this embodiment, the polishing mechanism is rotatably mounted on the top of the base; the protective cover is located around the polishing mechanism and connected to it. When the device is running, since the polishing mechanism and the protective cover are connected, the rotation of the polishing mechanism drives the protective cover connected to it to rotate. That is to say, the polishing mechanism and the protective cover are relatively stationary, which reduces the possibility of the polishing slurry splashing onto the protective cover and then splashing back onto the polishing pad, making it easier to obtain a smooth wafer surface. Attached Figure Description
[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort, wherein:
[0016] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the wafer grinding and polishing apparatus provided in the embodiments of this application in its working state;
[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the wafer grinding and polishing apparatus provided in the embodiments of this application in a non-working state;
[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the base, connecting shaft, and protective cover provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0019] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the polishing mechanism provided in the embodiments of this application;
[0020] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the elastic protection component and connecting shaft provided in the embodiments of this application;
[0021] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the connecting shaft, movable hole, base, and polishing disc provided in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation
[0022] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the specific technical solutions of the utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of this application. The following embodiments are used to illustrate the embodiments of this application, but are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application.
[0023] In the following description, references are made to “some embodiments,” which describe a subset of all possible embodiments. However, it is understood that “some embodiments” may be the same subset or different subsets of all possible embodiments and may be combined with each other without conflict.
[0024] In the following description, the terms "first, second, third" are used merely to distinguish similar objects and do not represent a specific ordering of objects. It is understood that "first, second, third" may be interchanged in a specific order or sequence where permitted, so that the embodiments of this application described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein.
[0025] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which embodiments of this application belong. The terminology used herein is for descriptive purposes only and is not intended to limit the scope of embodiments of this application.
[0026] This disclosure provides a wafer grinding and polishing apparatus, with reference to... Figure 1 As shown, the device includes a base 1, and also includes a polishing mechanism 2, a protective cover 3, and multiple sets of elastic protective components 4.
[0027] In this embodiment of the disclosure, reference is made to Figure 1 As shown, the polishing mechanism 2 is rotatably mounted on the top of the base 1.
[0028] It should be noted that in the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process, the chemical reagents (such as oxidants) in the polishing slurry soften or corrode the wafer surface material (such as copper and silicon oxide). The softened material layer is removed by physical polishing through the high-speed rotation of the polishing disc 24 against the wafer surface.
[0029] In this embodiment of the disclosure, reference is made to Figure 1As shown, the protective cover 3 is located around the polishing mechanism 2 to prevent the polishing slurry from splashing back; the protective cover 3 is connected to the polishing mechanism 2, and the rotation of the polishing mechanism 2 drives the protective cover 3 to rotate.
[0030] It should be noted that, referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, when the polishing disk 24 rotates at high speed, the polishing slurry is scattered outward under the action of centrifugal force. The protective cover 3 forms a ring-shaped barrier to prevent the polishing slurry from splashing. At the same time, when the wafer slips and is thrown out of the polishing disk 24, the protective cover 3 can block the rapidly rotating wafer, withstand the impact kinetic energy, and prevent the wafer from flying out of the polishing disk 24, avoiding large-area breakage and difficult debris cleaning caused by impact with the external structure.
[0031] In this embodiment of the disclosure, reference is made to Figure 1 As shown, multiple sets of elastic protection components 4 are installed on the side wall of the polishing mechanism 2 to prevent liquid from entering the polishing mechanism 2.
[0032] It should be noted that, referring to Figure 1 As shown, the elastic protection component 4 is used to ensure the sealing of the polishing mechanism 2 and prevent liquid from entering the polishing mechanism 2 during the addition of grinding slurry, which could cause equipment failure.
[0033] Understandably, referring to Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown, the polishing mechanism 2 is rotatably mounted on top of the base 1; the protective cover 3 is located around the polishing mechanism 2 and connected to it; the elastic protective component 4 is installed on the side wall of the polishing mechanism 2. During operation, since the polishing mechanism 2 and the protective cover 3 are connected, the rotation of the polishing mechanism 2 drives the connected protective cover 3 to rotate. In other words, the polishing mechanism 2 and the protective cover 3 are relatively stationary, reducing the possibility of polishing slurry splashing onto the protective cover 3 and then back onto the polishing disc 24, making it easier to obtain a smooth wafer surface. The elastic protective component 4 is used to prevent liquid from entering the polishing mechanism 2 during operation, which could cause equipment malfunction.
[0034] In some embodiments of this disclosure, reference is made to Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the polishing mechanism 2 includes: a base 21, rotatably mounted on the top of the base 1, and a groove 211 is provided on the top of the base 21; multiple movable holes 26 are provided on the side wall of the base 21; an electric cylinder 22 is installed at the bottom of the groove 211; multiple connecting shafts 23, one end of which is connected to the output end of the electric cylinder 22, and the other end passes through the base 21 and is connected to the protective cover 3; the electric cylinder 22 drives the connecting shafts 23 to move up and down in the vertical direction; each set of elastic protection components 4 is set at the point where the corresponding connecting shaft 23 passes through the base 21, and each set of elastic protection components 4 is connected to the corresponding connecting shaft 23; and a polishing disc 24 is installed on the top of the base 21.
[0035] It should be noted that, referring to Figure 1 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 6 As shown, the side wall of the base 21 has multiple movable holes 26, the number of which corresponds to the number of connecting shafts 23. The connecting shafts 23 pass through the movable holes 26 of the base 21 in a horizontal direction and connect to the protective cover 3. The electric cylinder 22 drives the connecting shafts 23 to move vertically up and down within the movable holes 26, thereby causing the protective cover 3 to move up and down. Compared with the traditional process of using three cylinders to control the lifting and lowering of the protective cover 3, using one electric cylinder 22 makes it easier to control the lifting and lowering speed of the protective cover 3, resulting in a smoother up and down movement of the protective cover 3.
[0036] In some embodiments of this disclosure, reference is made to Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the polishing mechanism 2 also includes a polishing pad 25, which is mounted on top of the polishing disc 24.
[0037] It should be noted that, referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the polishing pad 25 is made of a flexible material. The polishing disk 24, acting as a power transmission carrier, stably transmits power to the polishing pad 25 through rotation. The polishing pad 25 absorbs localized impacts (such as vibrations or microbump contacts) between the wafer and the polishing disk 24 through elastic deformation, preventing cracks or structural chipping on the brittle wafer surface.
[0038] Understandably, referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, when the protective cover 3 needs to be raised to the working position, that is, when the top height of the protective cover 3 is higher than the height of the polishing pad 25, its annular structure covers the circumference of the polishing pad 25, achieving dual protection during synchronous rotation. First, by reducing the relative speed between the polishing disk 24 and the protective cover 3, the polishing slurry splashed onto the protective cover 3 cannot splash back onto the polishing disk 24, resulting in a smoother wafer surface. Second, when the wafer slips due to vacuum adsorption failure, the protective cover absorbs the impact kinetic energy and prevents the wafer from flying out of the polishing disk 24, avoiding large-area breakage and difficult debris cleaning caused by impact with the external structure. When the protective cover 3 is lowered to the non-working position, that is, when the top height of the protective cover 3 is lower than the height of the polishing pad 25, it provides an unobstructed path for the robot to safely pick up and place the wafer, while completely exposing the surfaces of the polishing disk 24 and the polishing pad 25, facilitating maintenance operations (rinsing residual slurry, debris recovery).
[0039] In some embodiments of this disclosure, reference is made to Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, a motor 11 is installed inside the base 1; the output end of the motor 11 is connected to the center of the bottom of the polishing mechanism 2. Here, the motor 11 eliminates the rotational eccentric torque through centrally symmetrical power transmission, ensuring that the polishing disc 24 rotates absolutely concentrically, so that the polishing disc 24 rotates smoothly.
[0040] In some embodiments of this disclosure, reference is made to Figure 3 As shown, there are three connecting shafts 23, with an included angle of 120° between them. The length of one connecting shaft 23 is greater than the length of the other two connecting shafts 23. The two shorter connecting shafts 23 are of equal length.
[0041] It should be noted that, referring to Figure 3 As shown, a hole needs to be opened at the center of the polishing mechanism 2 to facilitate the arrangement of wiring (electric wires, signal lines, etc.), so the electric cylinder 22 is arranged off-center. The three connecting shafts 23, which are symmetrically distributed at 120°, adopt an unequal length design with two short and one long shaft: the two shorter shafts are of equal length and are arranged close to the edge of the polishing mechanism 2, while the other extended shaft is offset around the central area occupied by the output end of the motor 11, actively avoiding the spatial position of the output end of the motor 11 through the differential shaft length; the equal-length short shafts construct a rigid triangular support base 1 in the limited space to ensure the stable lifting and lowering of the protective cover 3, while the extended shaft bypasses the area above the central motor 11, providing an interference-free installation path for the electric cylinder 22, and achieving precise and stable lifting and lowering movement of the protective cover 3 while ensuring that the motor 11 provides a smooth rotational force to the polishing mechanism 2.
[0042] In some embodiments of this disclosure, reference is made to Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 6As shown, the number of elastic protection components 4 corresponds to the number of movable holes 26. The elastic protection components 4 are installed in the movable holes 26 and are located at the end of the movable hole 26 away from the electric cylinder 22.
[0043] It should be noted that the reference Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 6 As shown, the elastic protective component 4 fits perfectly against the outer wall of the base 21 to seal the movable hole 26, ensuring the sealing of the polishing mechanism 2 and preventing liquid from entering the interior of the polishing mechanism 2 and causing device malfunction.
[0044] In some embodiments of this disclosure, reference is made to Figure 1 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the elastic protection component 4 includes: a first elastic baffle 41, one end of which is connected to the polishing disc 24 and the other end of which is connected to the connecting shaft 23; and a second elastic baffle 42, one end of which is connected to the connecting shaft 23 and the other end of which is connected to the bottom of the movable hole 26 in the vertical direction.
[0045] It should be noted that the reference Figure 1 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the elastic protection component 4 is divided into a first elastic baffle 41 and a second elastic baffle 42. The first elastic baffle 41 is used to seal the top of the connecting shaft 23 to the movable hole 26 in the vertical direction, and the second elastic baffle 42 is used to seal the bottom of the connecting shaft 23 to the movable hole 26 in the vertical direction.
[0046] In some embodiments of this disclosure, reference is made to Figure 3 As shown, among the three connecting shafts 23, at least one connecting shaft 23 has a length greater than the radius of the polishing disk 24.
[0047] It should be noted that the reference Figure 3 As shown, for example, among the three connecting shafts 23, the longer connecting shaft 23 has a length of 848 mm, and the shorter connecting shaft 23 has a length of 774 mm. This makes the center of the connecting shaft 23 misaligned with the center of the motor 11, preventing mutual interference between the motor 11 and the electric cylinder 22.
[0048] In some embodiments of this disclosure, reference is made to Figure 1 As shown, there is a gap between the protective cover 3 and the polishing disc 24.
[0049] It should be noted that the reference Figure 1As shown, when the distance between the protective cover 3 and the polishing disc 24 is too large, the protective effect will be significantly weakened. The high-speed rotating polishing disc 24 may splash some of the polishing slurry onto other parts of the device, increasing the difficulty of cleaning. When the distance between the protective cover 3 and the polishing disc 24 is too small, the risk of polishing slurry splashing back onto the polishing disc 24 will increase, affecting the polishing accuracy. Therefore, a suitable distance (23mm) between the protective cover 3 and the polishing disc 24 is crucial for balancing the protective effect, reducing polishing slurry splashing and back-splashing problems, and lowering the equipment cleaning and maintenance costs.
[0050] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the resilient protection component 4 includes a accordion baffle that folds or stretches as the connecting shaft 23 moves up and down.
[0051] It should be noted that the reference Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, when the connecting shaft 23 moves upward, the accordion baffle above the connecting shaft 3 folds, and the accordion baffle below the connecting shaft 23 extends; when the connecting shaft 23 moves downward, the accordion baffle above the connecting shaft 3 extends, and the accordion baffle below the connecting shaft 23 folds. The folding and extending of the accordion baffles completely seals the movable hole 26, preventing liquid from entering the base 21 and causing device malfunction.
[0052] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the sequence numbers of the embodiments described above are merely for descriptive purposes and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments. It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element.
[0053] The sequence numbers of the embodiments in this application are for descriptive purposes only and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments. The methods disclosed in the several method embodiments provided in this application can be arbitrarily combined to obtain new method embodiments without conflict. The features disclosed in the several product embodiments provided in this application can be arbitrarily combined to obtain new product embodiments without conflict. The features disclosed in the several method or device embodiments provided in this application can be arbitrarily combined to obtain new method or device embodiments without conflict.
[0054] The above are merely specific embodiments of this application, but the protection scope of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the embodiments of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.
Claims
1. A wafer grinding and polishing apparatus, comprising a base (1), characterized in that, The device includes: Polishing mechanism (2) is rotatably mounted on top of the base (1); A protective cover (3) is located around the polishing mechanism (2) to prevent the polishing slurry from splashing back; wherein the protective cover (3) is connected to the polishing mechanism (2), and the rotation of the polishing mechanism (2) drives the protective cover (3) to rotate.
2. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The polishing mechanism (2) includes: The base (21) is rotatably mounted on the top of the base (1), and the top of the base (21) is provided with a groove (211); An electric cylinder (22) is installed at the bottom of the groove (211); Multiple connecting shafts (23) are connected at one end to the output end of the electric cylinder (22) and at the other end through the base (21) and connected to the protective cover (3); the electric cylinder (22) drives the connecting shafts (23) to move up and down in the vertical direction; A polishing disc (24) is mounted on top of the base (21).
3. The polishing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, There are three connecting shafts (23), and the included angle between the three connecting shafts (23) is 120°.
4. The polishing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, One of the connecting shafts (23) is longer than the other two connecting shafts (23); the two shorter connecting shafts (23) are of equal length.
5. The polishing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The polishing mechanism (2) further includes multiple sets of elastic protection components (4), which are installed on the side wall of the polishing mechanism (2) to prevent liquid from entering the polishing mechanism (2).
6. The polishing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, The polishing mechanism (2) further includes: each set of the elastic protection components (4) is disposed at the location where the corresponding connecting shaft (23) passes through the base (21), and each set of the elastic protection components (4) is connected to the corresponding connecting shaft (23).
7. The polishing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, The base (21) is also provided with a plurality of movable holes (26) on its side wall, the number of which corresponds to the number of the elastic protective components (4); The elastic protection component (4) is installed in the movable hole (26) and is located at the end of the movable hole (26) away from the electric cylinder (22).
8. The polishing apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, The resilient protection component (4) includes: The first elastic baffle (41) is connected at one end to the polishing disc (24) and at the other end to the connecting shaft (23); The second elastic baffle (42) is connected at one end to the connecting shaft (23) and at the other end to the bottom of the movable hole (26) in the vertical direction.
9. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base (1) is equipped with a motor (11); the output end of the motor (11) is connected to the bottom center of the polishing mechanism (2).
10. The polishing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, A gap is provided between the protective cover (3) and the polishing disc (24).