Patent ID: 8267745

Claim:
A method for forming a set of wafers comprising: providing a holder having a body forming a first hydrostatic pad and a second body forming a second hydrostatic pad, the pads each having an opening for a first grinding wheel and a second grinding wheel, respectively, for engagement with the wafer, the openings having a peripheral edge defined by the body; each body having at least one pocket and being adapted for receiving fluid through the body into the pocket for providing a barrier between the body and the wafer during grinding, and a free region recessed in each body between the peripheral edge of said opening and the pocket; positioning the wafer between the first and second hydrostatic pads and between a first and second grinding wheel located within each opening of the pads; holding the wafer between the hydrostatic pads and between the grinding wheels so that substantially no clamping pressure is applied to the held wafer adjacent peripheral edges of the grinding wheels, adjacent the peripheral edges of the openings in the pads and at the edge of the radially opposed pockets; and grinding the wafer to have a nanotopology of about 12 nm or less.