Patent ID: 8758553

Claim:
An apparatus for separating a wafer from a plate, the apparatus comprising: a base having a first surface and a second surface offset from the first surface so as to define a first recess having a side wall with a height, the first recess having a lateral dimension that is sufficiently large to accommodate a wafer joined to a plate as an assembly, the side wall's height less than or equal to the wafer's thickness, the base further having at least one guiding feature; and a paddle having a top side and a bottom side, the bottom side having a bottom side surface defining a paddle recess, the bottom side surface facing the assembly and substantially parallel to the first surface of the base, the paddle recess bounded by a sidewall of the paddle recess and the bottom side surface, the paddle recess having a lateral dimension sufficiently large to accommodate the plate, and the paddle being dimensioned to be guided by the at least one guiding feature, such that when the assembly is positioned on the base with the wafer received by the first recess, the sidewall of the paddle recess is capable of engaging an edge of the plate to provide a shear force to the plate as the paddle is pushed in a lateral direction and guided by the at least one guiding feature.