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AssigneeNone recorded
InventorFrederic Metral
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The invention provides a chemical-mechanical polishing machine for polishing a wafer of a material, the machine comprising a rotary polishing turntable, a polishing head comprising a non-rotary portion and a rotary portion, and means for delivering an abrasive to the surface of the polishing turntable. The machine is remarkable in the means for distributing the abrasive comprise a hollow abrasive delivery ring fitted with abrasive feed means, with a plurality of abrasive delivery orifices distributed over its bottom face, and fixing means enabling it to be secured to the non-rotary portion of the polishing head, the ring being disposed around the rotary portion in a plane that is substantially parallel to the plane of the polishing turntable, but that is spaced apart therefrom. The invention is applicable to polishing wafers of semiconductor material.
A machine for polishing a wafer for use in fabricating substrates comprising:
A device for delivering an abrasive to the surface of a turntable of a polishing machine for polishing a wafer, comprising a non-rotatable tubular ring having means for receiving an abrasive from a supply, the ring having a plurality of abrasive delivery orifices distributed over a bottom surface of the ring, wherein the ring is to be secured to a non-rotatable portion of the polishing machine.
A method for polishing a wafer, which comprises positioning a wafer in contact with a polishing head while feeding an abrasive onto the polishing head from a non-rotatable tubular ring having orifices for delivering the abrasive, and rotating the wafer against the polishing head to polish the wafer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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No related US applications are recorded in the indexed filing history.
Backward citations are indexed for grants only.
Work carriers: for single side lapping of plane surfaces
Devices for feeding, applying, grading or recovering grinding, polishing or lapping agents: for feeding of fluid, sprayed, pulverised, or…
Machines, devices, or processes for grinding or polishing
Term end not estimated
The present invention relates to a chemical-mechanical polishing machine for polishing a wafer of material for use in fabricating substrates in optics, optoelectronics, or electronics, in particular a wafer of semiconductor material. The invention also relates to a device for delivering abrasive that is fitted to such a machine.
The above-mentioned wafers are used in fabricating integrated circuits. During such fabrication, techniques are used whereby layers coming from a first wafer constituting a source substrate are transferred and bonded directly onto a second wafer constituting a support. Such direct bonding techniques have very high requirements in terms of absence of roughness and flatness of the surfaces that are to be put into contact, and they require the surfaces of the wafers to be perfectly polished.
Furthermore, in some layer transfer methods, for example the method known under the name SMART CUT®, multiple layers are transferred from a wafer, and the surface of the wafer is reconditioned before each new operation of removing a layer. This reconditioning step is also performed by polishing.
Other characteristics and advantages of the invention appear on reading the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention given by way of non-limiting example. The description refers to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a prior art chemical-mechanical polishing machine;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side view of the chemical-mechanical polishing machine of the invention;
The invention specifically provides a chemical-mechanical polishing machine for polishing a wafer of a material, in particular a semiconductor material, for use in fabricating substrates for optics, optoelectronics, or electronics, the machine comprising:
a polishing turntable driven in rotation;
a polishing head movable relative to the polishing turntable and comprising a non-rotary portion and a rotary portion having fixing means for fixing to the wafer to be polished, the rotary portion enabling the wafer to be rotated while maintaining one of its faces in contact with the polishing turntable; and