Patent ID: 6511895
Filing Date: 2003-01-28
Classification: H01L,Y10S

Abstract:
A semiconductor wafer processing method for thinning a semiconductor wafer to a target thickness, including the steps of:forming a protective film on a surface of a first side of the semiconductor wafer where a circuit has been formed; after the step of forming the protective film, mechanically grinding a second side of the semiconductor wafer opposite to the first side by a grinding portion to provide a ground side of the wafer; withdrawing the semiconductor wafer after mechanical grinding from the grinding portion, and passing the semiconductor wafer on to a wafer cleaning portion; cleaning the ground side of the semiconductor wafer passed on to the wafer cleaning portion by a fluid so as to rid the ground side of foreign matter; drying the semiconductor wafer at the wafer cleaning portion after cleaning; withdrawing the dried semiconductor wafer from the wafer cleaning portion, and passing the semiconductor wafer into a vacuum chamber having an upper electrode and a lower electrode, so that the semiconductor wafer is held on the lower electrode with the protective film in contact with an upper surface of the lower electrode; and evacuating the interior of the vacuum chamber, then ejecting a plasma generation gas from a lower surface of the upper electrode and applying a high frequency voltage between the upper electrode and the lower electrode, so that plasma is generated between the upper electrode and the lower electrode whereby a damaged layer, caused by the mechanical grinding, is removed by plasma etching.