Workpiece edge grinding machine and method
AssigneeLapmaster International, LLC
InventorsRobert Lewis Rhoades, Ian Currier, Czeslaw Gibas, Isaak Garbar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A grinding machine for edge grinding the peripheral wafer edge of a semiconductor wafer is configured for conducting an in situ dressing operation to refurbish or dress the peripheral grinding rim surface of a grinding wheel. The grinding machine includes at least one wafer-holding chuck, a grinding wheel, and a dressing tool that are linearly spaced apart and can be respectively moved relative to each other to selectively conduct the grinding and dressing operations. In one form plural grinding stations are disclosed.
Claims22
An edge grinding module for grinding a peripheral edge of a flat semiconductor wafer comprising:
- a wafer-holding chuck rotatable about a rotational axis for rotatably supporting a semiconductor wafer having a peripheral wafer edge;
- a grinding wheel rotatable about a rotational axis having a peripheral grinding rim surface spaced from the wafer-holding chuck;
- and
- a dressing tool having a peripheral dressing face spaced from the peripheral grinding rim surface of the grinding wheel;
- wherein one of the wafer-holding chuck and the grinding wheel is movable to contact the peripheral wafer edge of the semiconductor wafer supported on the wafer-holding chuck and the peripheral grinding rim surface in a grinding operation, and one of the grinding wheel and the dressing tool are movable to contact the peripheral grinding rim surface of the grinding wheel and the peripheral dressing face of the dressing tool during a dressing operation.
A method of operation of an edge grinding module for grinding a peripheral edge of a flat semiconductor wafer comprising:
- securing a wafer to a wafer-holding chuck rotationally disposed along a first rotational axis;
- rotating a grinding wheel rotationally disposed along a second rotational axis spaced with respect to the wafer-holding chuck;
- conducting a grinding operation by moving the wafer-holding chuck or the grinding wheel to contact the peripheral edge of the flat semiconductor wafer and a peripheral grinding rim surface of the grinding wheel;
- and separately conducting a grinding wheel dressing operation compromising,
- locating a dressing tool having a peripheral dressing face adjacent to the grinding wheel;
- and
- conducting the dressing operation by moving the dressing tool or the grinding wheel to contact a peripheral dressing face and the peripheral grinding rim surface.
A grinding machine for automated edge grinding of flat semiconductor wafers comprising:
- a wafer loading station for receiving one or more wafers;
- a wafer unloading station for removal of the one or more wafers;
- a plurality of edge grinding modules aligned between the wafer loading station and the wafer unloading station, each edge grinding module including a wafer-holding chuck rotationally aligned on a first rotational axis, a grinding wheel rotationally aligned on a second rotational axis, and a dressing tool rotationally aligned a third rotational axis, wherein the wafer-holding chuck, the grinding wheel, and the dressing tool are relatively movable to periodically conduct a grinding operation on the one or more wafers and to separately conduct a dressing operation on the grinding wheel to dress the grinding wheel with the dressing tool;
- and
- a Cartesian robot to transport the one or more wafer between the wafer loading station, the wafer unloading station, and the plurality of edge grinding modules.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.