Method of manufacturing semiconductor wafers and process of and apparatus for grinding used for the same method of manufacture

A process of grinding a wafer comprising the steps of:

• flattening a thin, disc-like, sliced wafer by simultaneously grinding both sides of the wafer by passing the wafer between paired cylindrical grinding rolls supported at both ends in bearings;
• and
• simultaneously backing up the paired cylindrical grinding rolls with rigid rolls held in contact with the back side of the pairs cylindrical grinding rolls over the entire length thereof to prevent flexing of the cylindrical grinding rolls during grinding of the wafer with contact pressures applied by the rigid rolls.

A process for grinding a semiconductor wafer comprising flattening a thin, disc-like, sliced wafer by simultaneously grinding both sides of the wafer by passing the wafer in a wafer feed direction between paired cylindrical rotating grinding rolls supported at both ends in bearings, one of said rotating grinding rolls being held in a fixed location and the other of the rotating grinding rolls being selectively movable toward and away from said one grinding roll, said rotating grinding rolls being rotated in a direction such that surfaces of the rolls which contact the wafer move opposite said wafer feed direction.