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:
Oct. 13, 2009
Filed:
Dec. 28, 2006
Sumeet S. Bhagavat, St. Louis, MO (US);
Milind S. Bhagavat, Medford, MA (US);
Roland R. Vandamme, Wentzville, MO (US);
Tomomi Komura, Tochigi, JP;
Sumeet S. Bhagavat, St. Louis, MO (US);
Milind S. Bhagavat, Medford, MA (US);
Roland R. Vandamme, Wentzville, MO (US);
Tomomi Komura, Tochigi, JP;
MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., St. Peters, MO (US);
Abstract
A double side grinder comprises a pair of grinding wheels and a pair of hydrostatic pads operable to hold a flat workpiece (e.g., semiconductor wafer) so that part of the workpiece is positioned between the grinding wheels and part of the workpiece is positioned between the hydrostatic pads. At least one sensor measures a distance between the workpiece and the respective sensor for assessing nanotopology of the workpiece. In a method of the invention, a distance to the workpiece is measured during grinding and used to assess nanotopology of the workpiece. For instance, a finite element structural analysis of the workpiece can be performed using sensor data to derive at least one boundary condition. The nanotopology assessment can begin before the workpiece is removed from the grinder, providing rapid nanotopology feedback. A spatial filter can be used to predict the likely nanotopology of the workpiece after further processing.