Method and apparatus for separating wafers
US6558109B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 24, 2001 |
| Grant date | May 6, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 24, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/6838
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Wafers are separated individually from a stack by directing multiple jets of fluid between an outermost wafer in the stack and an adjacent wafer. The jets have sufficient pressure and are sufficiently spaced apart around the wafer stack to cause the outermost wafer to separate longitudinally from the adjacent wafer without lateral movement there between. In the illustrated embodiment, a chuck is attached to a planar surface of the outermost wafer. The attached wafer and wafer stack, once separated by the jet of fluid, are moved relatively apart, such as by movement of the chuck. The wafers in the stack are thereby separated without contact between a wafer edge and a solid object (such as a container wall or hand), minimizing the risk of wafer breakage.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.