Processed wafer as top plate of a workpiece carrier in semiconductor and mechanical processing

A method comprising:

• forming a through hole in a substrate, the through hole extending between a first side of the substrate and a second side of the substrate as an electrical contact accessible from the second side of the substrate;
• applying a conductive layer over the first side of the substrate, the conductive layer being in contact with the through hole as an electrode of an electrostatic carrier;
• and
• applying a dielectric over the substrate and the applied layer as a surface upon which to electrostatically carry a workpiece held in place by the electrode.

A plasma processing system comprising:

• a plasma chamber;
• a plasma source to generate a plasma containing gas ions in the plasma chamber;
• and
• a workpiece holder in the chamber having a puck to carry the workpiece for fabrication processes, a top plate thermally coupled to the puck, and a cooling plate fastened to and thermally coupled to the top plate, the cooling plate having a cooling channel to carry a heat transfer fluid to transfer heat from the cooling plate,
• the workpiece being a thinned silicon wafer that is carried by workpiece carrier so that the carrier is carried by the puck, the workpiece carrier including a substrate, an electrode formed on the substrate to carry an electric charge to grip the thinned silicon wafer, a through hole through the substrate and connected to the electrode, a dielectric layer over the substrate to isolate the electrode from the thinned silicon wafer.