Polishing Pad Shaping for Wafer Angle and Step Precision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing polishing apparatuses struggle to maintain the desired angle and step on the outer circumference of a wafer during polishing, leading to suboptimal finishing results.
Innovation Solution
A polishing apparatus equipped with a shaping unit that can be positioned adjacent to the chuck table and moved to shape the polishing pad into a desired form, allowing for precise polishing of wafers with angled and stepped surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If polishing processing is performed with a conventional polishing pad on a wafer with desired angle and step, then the polishing process can be completed, but the desired angle and step cannot be maintained on the wafer surface
Solution Approach 1:
The polishing pad is pre-shaped into a desired shape before the polishing process begins. This preliminary shaping of the polishing pad allows it to maintain the desired angle and step on the wafer surface during polishing, resolving the contradiction between maintaining precision and keeping the process simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The shape of the polishing pad is changed as a parameter to match the desired wafer shape. By modifying the polishing pad's geometry to have specific angles and steps, the system maintains these features on the wafer surface during polishing without complicating the overall process.
2Manufacturing precision
If a polishing pad is used to polish a wafer surface requiring specific angle and step, then general polishing can be achieved, but the specific shape requirements cannot be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The polishing pad is pre-shaped into a desired shape before the polishing process begins. This preliminary shaping of the polishing pad allows it to maintain the desired angle and step on the wafer surface during polishing, resolving the contradiction between maintaining precision and keeping the process simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The shape of the polishing pad is changed as a parameter to match the desired wafer shape. By modifying the polishing pad's geometry to have specific angles and steps, the system maintains these features on the wafer surface during polishing without complicating the overall process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables the polishing apparatus to maintain the desired angle and step on the wafer's surface during polishing, ensuring high precision and consistency in finishing.
Implementation Method 1
a shaping unit configured to come into contact with a polishing surface of the polishing pad and shape the polishing surface into a desired shape
Implementation Method 2
a rotatable polishing pad configured to polish the workpiece held by the chuck table
Implementation Method 3
polishing the workpiece while the polishing surface of the polishing pad is held in contact with the workpiece
Data Source
AI summary
A polishing apparatus includes a chuck table configured to hold the workpiece, a polishing unit including a rotatable polishing pad configured to polish the workpiece held by the chuck table, a moving mechanism configured to move a holding unit to a loading and unloading region for loading and unloading the workpiece onto and from the chuck table and a polishing region for polishing the workpiece by the polishing unit, a raising and lowering mechanism configured to bring the polishing pad into contact with the workpiece held by the chuck table or separate the polishing pad from the workpiece by raising or lowering the polishing unit, and a shaping unit configured to shape the polishing pad. The shaping unit comes into contact with a polishing surface of the polishing pad, and shapes the polishing surface into a desired shape.