Surface shape control of the workpiece in a double-spindle triple-workstation wafer grinder

Double-spindle triple-workstation (DSTW) ultra precision grinders are mainly used in production lines for manufacturing and back thinning large diameter (≥ 300 mm) silicon wafers for integrated circuits. It is important, but insufficiently studied, to control the wafer shape ground on a DSTW grinder by adjusting the inclination angles of the spindles and work tables. In this paper, the requirements of the inclination angle adjustment of the grinding spindles and work tables in DSTW wafer grinders are analyzed. A reasonable configuration of the grinding spindles and work tables in DSTW wafer grinders are proposed. Based on the proposed configuration, an adjustment method of the inclination angle of grinding spindles and work tables for DSTW wafer grinders is put forward. The mathematical models of wafer shape with the adjustment amount of inclination angles for both fine and rough grinding spindles are derived. The proposed grinder configuration and adjustment method will provide helpful instruction for DSTW wafer grinder design. (semiconductor devices)