The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 22, 1999
Filed:
Feb. 10, 1997
Fumihiko Hasegawa, Nishishirakawa, JP;
Makoto Kobayashi, Nishishirakawa, JP;
Fumio Suzuki, Nishishirakawa, JP;
Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A workpiece holding mechanism is used for holding a wafer. The wafer is sandwiched between a holding plate of the workpiece holding mechanism and a polishing pad attached to a polishing turn table. The workpiece is pressed against the polishing pad with a predetermined pressure so that the bottom surface of the wafer is polished. Water is confined within a fluid confinement space defined between an elastic membrane and the holding plate so as to press the wafer via the elastic membrane. There is provided a volume adjustment screw that can be advanced toward the fluid confinement space and be retracted therefrom. Through adjustment of the screw, the elastic membrane is caused to have a flat surface, so that the elastic member is in close contact with the entire surface of the wafer. A holding membrane made of polyurethane foam is bonded to the surface of the elastic membrane, and a template is bonded to the surface of the holding membrane so as to improve the holding performance. Accordingly, a uniform pressure can be applied onto the wafer during polishing, and the wafer is prevented from shifting from a desired position even when polishing is performed at a high speed.