Patent ID: 6120347
Filing Date: 2000-09-19
Classification: B23Q,B24B,G05B

Abstract:
A system for polishing a semiconductor wafer, the system comprising:a wafer polishing assembly for polishing a face of a semiconductor wafer at a polishing rate and a polishing uniformity, the wafer polishing assembly including a platen subassembly defining a polishing area, a polishing head shaft, and a polishing head supported by the polishing head shaft for rotation relative to the polishing head shaft, the polishing head being configured to support a semiconductor wafer, the wafer polishing assembly further including a polishing head displacement mechanism supporting the polishing head shaft relative to the platen subassembly and configured to translate the polishing head shaft relative to the platen subassembly along a polishing path which is variable between a linear polishing path and a non-linear polishing path, to cause the polishing head to polish the wafer face; anda controller configured to adjust the polishing path during polishing of the wafer.