Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Toru Takisawa

Takao Yonehara

Kenji Yamagata

Kiyofumi Sakaguchi

Takanori Watanabe

Akira Okita

Yasutomo Fujiyama

Kazuo Kokumai

Senju Kanbe

Mitsuhiro Ishii

The spaces in chuck grooves and are evacuated to chuck the entire surface of a wafer to the chuck surface of a wafer support table and curve the wafer A wafer is horizontally opposed to the wafer and the center of the wafer is pressed by a press pin . The centers of the two wafers and are contacted, and the contact portion gradually spreads to the vicinity of the periphery of a central portion and takes a substantially circular shape. After that, the chuck by the chuck grooves is stopped. Consequently, the wafer flattens, and the entire surfaces of the wafers and are contacted.

Substrate processing apparatus, substrate support apparatus, substrate processing method, and substrate fabrication method

The spaces in chuck grooves and are evacuated to chuck the entire surface of a wafer to the chuck surface of a wafer support table and curve the wafer A wafer is horizontally opposed to the wafer and the center of the wafer is pressed by a press pin The centers of the two wafers and are contacted, and the contact portion gradually spreads to the vicinity of the periphery of a central portion and takes a substantially circular shape. After that, the chuck by the chuck grooves is stopped. Consequently, the wafer flattens, and the entire surfaces of the wafers and are contacted.

Two wafers are properly brought into contact with each other. The first wafer is supported by a wafer support table ( ) having an annular peripheral portion ( ). The substrate support table ( ) is in contact with only the peripheral portion ( ) of the first wafer. While the second wafer opposing the first wafer is supported, the lower surface of the second wafer is pressed near its central portion, so the first and second wafers come into contact with each other outward from the central portion. The central portion ( ) of the wafer support table ( ) is not in contact with the first wafer. Even when particles adhere to the central portion, unevenness on the supported first wafer can be prevented. Therefore, no gas is left between the wafers. This invention also provides a wafer support table formed by fabricating a silicon wafer. A commercially available silicon wafer is fabricated by lithography to prepare a wafer support table ( ). The wafer support table ( ) has sealing portions ( ) and deflection prevention portions ( ). The wafer to be supported is chucked by reducing the pressure between the sealing portions ( ). The wafer to be supported is in contact only with the sealing portions ( ) and the deflection prevention portions ( )

Wafer bonding method, apparatus and vacuum chuck

One wafer is placed on a wafer support table with its frontside facing upward, and the other wafer is chucked by a wafer chuck portion with its frontside facing upward. The wafer chuck portion is pivoted about a shaft through about 180&deg; to make the two wafers face each other substantially parallel. In response to the cancel of the chucking of the upper wafer by the wafer chuck portion, the central portion of the upper wafer is pressed by a press pin to superimpose the two wafers.

Substrate processing apparatus and method

An anodization apparatus for anodizing the surface of a semiconductor substrate by supporting the semiconductor substrate between a pair of electrodes in an electrolytic solution and applying a voltage across the pair of electrodes. The anodization apparatus includes an elastic sealing member for supporting a peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate such that a surface portion of a semiconductor substrate remains exposed, a support jig which includes a tapered hollow portion for supporting the sealing member, and a device for introducing a fluid of gas or liquid into the tapered hollow portion. When the fluid is introduced, the sealing member is pressed against and brought into hermetic contact with the tapered hollow portion and with the entire peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate such that the electrolytic solution is separated into electrically isolated parts by coordination between the semiconductor substrate, the sealing member, and the support jig. Anodization of the semiconductor substrate may then be carried out, such as by producing a porous silicon layer on the surface of the semiconductor substrate.

Growing community of inventors

Atsugi, Japan

Toru Takisawa