Wafer holding apparatus for holding a wafer

摘要

A wafer holding apparatus for holding a wafer stationary includes a main body and a plate member detachably placed on the main body. The main body includes a cavity having an open end at the upper surface of the main body and includes a passageway extending from the cavity to communicate the cavity with a vacuum pump. The plate member is placed on the main body to plug the open end of the cavity and supports on its upper surface a wafer to be processed. The plate member has a number of through bores arranged in a predetermined arrangement matched for the arrangement of micromachined sections of the wafer where micromachines or integrated circuits are to be formed. Before processing of the wafer, the plate member is selected for the wafer in such a manner that the through bores of the plate member are deviated from the micromachined sections of the wafer where the micromachines are to be formed. This results in the micromachined sections being protected from the suction force caused by the vacuum pump, thereby making it possible to enhance the productivity of the wafer.