| 摘要 |
Apparatus and methods of automated wafer-grinding using grinding surface position monitoring. In one embodiment, an apparatus for grinding a working surface includes a grinding surface engageable with at least a portion of the working surface, and a feed mechanism that controllably adjusts a position of the grinding surface. The apparatus further includes a position sensor that senses a position of the grinding surface along an axis approximately normal to the working surface and a controller that receives a position signal from the position sensor and transmits a control signal to the feed mechanism in response to the position signal. In alternate embodiments, the position sensor may be an acoustic sensor, an optical sensor, or another type of sensor. The grinding surface may include a grinding material suspended in a binder, the grinding material being worn during grinding. In an alternate embodiment, an apparatus further includes a supplemental sensor that senses an operating characteristic and outputs a characteristic signal. The controller receives the characteristic signal and transmits the control signal to the feed mechanism based on at least one of the position signal or the characteristic signal. In alternate embodiments, the characteristic signal may include a pressure of the grinding surface on the working surface, a shaft speed of a drive shaft, or a current drawn by a drive motor.
|
