Modular wafer polishing apparatus and method

Abstract

A wafer polishing apparatus includes a module frame; a continuous belt rotatable with respect to the frame, the belt having at least one vertically-oriented belt transverse portion including a polishing pad assembly; and at least one pivotable wafer-holding head drive within the frame and having a distal end portion movable to a vertical first position parallel and juxtaposed to the belt transverse portion. The head drive includes a wafer carrier for holding a wafer on the distal end portion of the head drive, while a drive moves the distal end portion and a held wafer into a vertical polishing position abutting the belt transverse portion and pressure is applied to the held-wafer against the polishing pad assembly while the wafer-holding distal end portion is rotated and swept side-by-side. After polishing the drive is reversed and the head drive is pivoted away from the belt transverse portion to a horizontal or other orientation and the then polished wafer removed. Multiple modules may be placed end-to-end or side-by-side with a robot pathway therebetween to load unpolished wafers and to unload polished wafers to a buffing station, to a cassette or other processing station.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.