Patent ID: 6168499
Filing Date: 2001-01-02
Classification: B24B,Y10S

Abstract:
A grinding apparatus for grinding semiconductor wafers, comprising: a rotary chuck to which a wafer to be ground is fixable; a grinder disposed over the rotary chuck, the grinder having a grinding disc, and a rotary shaft to which said grinding disc is mounted, whereby the wafer fixed to the chuck is ground by placing the grinding disc in contact with a principal surface of the wafer and rotating the disc; a first cooling water supply system which supplies cooling water between the principal surface of the wafer and the grinder; a first height gauge having a first contact head, a first housing supporting said contact head, and first differential transformer means operatively connected to said first connection body for outputting an electric signal corresponding to the vertical distance between a reference point and a tip of said contact head, whereby the first height gauge measures the vertical distance from a standard reference point to the principal surface of the wafer by placing the tip of said contact head in contact with the principal surface of the wafer at a predetermined location, and generating an electric signal indicative of the position of said first contact head relative to the principal surface of the wafer; and a first cover covering said contact head and said housing of the first height gauge so as to protect said contact head from particles produced during the grinding of the wafer.