Speedfam Co Ltd

Shigeto Izumi

Hatsuyuki Arai

Misuo Sugiyama

Xu-Jin Wang

Hideo Tanaka

Toshikuni Shimizu

Hisato Matsubara

A carrier and a polishing apparatus are designed to improve the mass producibility of wafers while using a retainer ring formed by a soft material. A rubber sheet,is bonded to the bottom surface of a carrier body,of the carrier,to define a pressure chamber R, a retainer ring,formed by a soft material such as EG is bonded to the bottom surface of the sheet,. A margin block,is provided projecting out from the bottom side of the sheet,, and the thickness of the retainer ring,is set to be substantially equal to the sum of the thickness L,of the margin block,and the thickness L,of the wafer W.

Carriers and polishing apparatus

A semiconductor wafer surface flattening apparatus achieves stable polish characteristics while maintaining a high throughput value and a small footprint. When an index table 22 rotates by a prescribed angle and indicates a rotation position, a first pre-polish semiconductor wafer is moved to a position near a first platen 23. First through third platens 23 through 25 are installed around the index table 22. First through third carriers 46 through 48 are installed for the platens 23 through 25. One of the carriers 46 through 48 is positioned above each of the platens, respectively. The first carrier above the first platen holds and transports the first pre-polish semiconductor wafer. Then the first pre-polish semiconductor wafer is polished. While the first semiconductor wafer is being polished, a second pre-polish semiconductor wafer is supplied to the index table 22. When the index table 22 rotates by the prescribed angle and indicates another rotation position, the second pre-polish semiconductor wafer is moved to a position near the second platen. After this, the second carrier positioned above the second pre-polish semiconductor wafer picks up, holds, and transports the second pre-polish semiconductor wafer to the second platen. Then the second pre-polish semiconductor wafer is polished. In this way, multiple semiconductor wafers are sequentially polished.

Semiconductor wafer surface flattening apparatus

A CMP apparatus has an extended life and improved polishing accuracy and is capable of not only preventing a wafer 100 from dashing out of a carrier 1 and being damaged or wound, but also adjusting the elasticity of a pressure pad to a desired value in a fine manner. The CMP apparatus includes the carrier 1, a suction mechanism 4 having an air passage 40 disposed to open on a lower surface of the carrier 1 for drawing air, and a surface plate 300 having a hard polishing pad 220 and a soft pad 210 adhered thereto. The pressure pad in the form of a porous thin Teflon layer 7 having a thickness of 5 mm is adhered to a lower surface of the carrier 1 which holds the wafer 100. Thus, the rear surface of the wafer 100 is maintained in a horizontal state by the Teflon layer 7, and the warpage and/or irregularities in the thickness of the wafer 100, which appear on the front surface of the wafer 100, can be absorbed by the soft pad 210 and the hard polishing pad 220.

Chemical and mechanical polishing apparatus

A carrier and CMP apparatus which improve the uniformity of polishing in a wafer or other workpiece and increase the margin of the amount of wear of the retainer ring to improve the operating rate of the CMP apparatus. A carrier 1 is constituted by a housing 10, a carrier base 11, a retainer ring 12, a sheet supporter 13, a hard sheet 18, and a soft backing sheet 19. The sheet supporter 13 is formed by a supporter body portion 14 having an air opening 14a communicating with an air outlet/inlet 11b of the carrier base 11, a flexible diaphragm 15, and an edge ring 16. Therefore, a wafer W is uniformly pressed by the air pressure in the pressure chamber R and fluctuation in the force pressing against the outer peripheral rim of the wafer W caused by the wear of the retainer ring 12 is countered by the diaphragm 15.

Carrier and CMP apparatus

A wafer pressurizing apparatus capable of improving the polishing accuracy of a wafer while excluding influences on a pressure sensor of a rotational force and a horizontal force created during a wafer polishing operation. The apparatus includes a carrier (1) adapted to rotate about its own axis of rotation while maintaining a surface of the wafer (200) in contact with a surface plate (210), a cylinder (300) for urging the carrier (1) against the surface plate (210), a pressure sensor in the form of a load cell (LS) for sensing an urging force applied to the wafer (200) and generating a corresponding output signal (V), and a controller (6) for controlling the urging force of the cylinder based on the output signal (V) from the load cell (LS). The carrier (1) comprises a holder (2) for holding the wafer (200), a pressure receiving member (3) disposed in confrontation with the holder (2) for receiving the urging force of the cylinder (300), and two annular flat spring members (4a, 4b) disposed between the pressure-receiving member (3) and the holder (2) so as to be deformable only in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the wafer (200). The load cell (LS) is disposed between the pressure-receiving member (3) and the holder (2).

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Ayase, Japan

Shigeto Izumi