Patent ID: 8408262
Filing Date: 2013-04-02
Classification: B32B,H01L,Y10T

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for flattening at least one substrate, said apparatus comprising an electrostatic chuck, a plurality of electrical lead wires, and a controller, wherein said electrostatic chuck comprises: an insulating chuck body having a planar topmost surface and configured to hold a substrate; and an array of sensor-conductor assemblies including independently electrically biased conductive chuck elements, wherein each independently electrically biased conductive chuck element within said array is embedded in said insulating chuck body and is attached to a motor configured to vertically move said independently electrically biased conductive chuck element and is electrically insulated from one another, and wherein said controller is configured to generate a map of a distance between a top surface of said insulting chuck body and a bottom surface of said substrate at a location of each of said array of sensor-conductor assemblies by vertically moving said array of sensor-conductor assemblies until contact with said bottom surface of said substrate, and by determining a time period between initiation of said vertically moving and said contact for each of said array of sensor-conductor assemblies.