METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FLATTENING OF SURFACE OF SEMICONDUCTOR WAFER

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a stable flattening performance by a method wherein a plurality of pressure detection elements are arranged and installed so as to be distributed on the rear side of a semiconductor wafer, pressures in respective points on the rear of the wafer in a polishing operation are measured by the elements so as to be compared and the polishing operation is finished when the difference in a pressure between the elements becomes a prescribed value or lower. ;SOLUTION: Many pressure detection elements 22 are arranged in a matrix shape inside respective areas by broken lines, and a pressure distribution measuring instrument is constituted. The respective areas correspond to semiconductor chips inside a wafer, and the element 22 in an area A inside a solid line 29 corresponds to a surface place (a) on a wafer on which a pattern is formed. The element 22 in an area B outside the solid line 29 corresponds to a surface place (b) on a flat wafer on which no pattern is formed, it is completely flat from the beginning, and a face pressure in the area B is not changed before and after a polishing operation. The surface place (a) contains uneven parts, and the difference in a relative pressure between the area A and the area B is remarkable. When the areas are polished and flattened, the difference in a pressure value between the area A and the area B is eliminated, and it is possible to know that a flattening operation is completed.;COPYRIGHT: (C)1997,JPO