An installation useful for economically polishing wafers has at least two polishing machines for simultaneous double-sided polishing of semiconductor wafers; one or more carriers lying on a polishing pad of a polishing machine for receiving semiconductor wafers; an overhead-mounted transport system for delivering a cassette containing semiconductor wafers; a vertical transport system for taking cassettes from the transport system, containing comprising an integrated wafer lifter; an autonomous robot having a manipulator for taking a semiconductor wafer from the wafer lifter and for inserting the semiconductor wafer into one of the recesses, and after polishing, for lifting the semiconductor wafer from the recess;
an x/y linear unit assigned to each polishing machine, having a wafer gripper for taking a wafer from the manipulator and for depositing the wafer into a wet transport container with integrated wafer receiver; and
a driverless transport vehicle for transporting transport container to a cleaning unit.

A method for manufacturing an annular glass plate that has an outer circumferential edge surface, an inner circumferential edge surface, and a thickness not larger than 0.6 mm includes processing for manufacturing an annular glass plate by irradiating each of the outer circumferential edge surface and the inner circumferential edge surface of an annular glass blank with a laser beam to melt the outer circumferential edge surface and the inner circumferential edge surface and form molten surfaces such that the molten surfaces in the outer circumferential edge surface and the inner circumferential edge surface each have an arithmetic average surface roughness Ra not larger than 0.1 μm, and the surface roughness of the molten surface in the inner circumferential edge surface becomes larger than the surface roughness of the molten surface in the outer circumferential edge surface.

A machine tool includes a first support disk and a first working disk. The first working disk defines a clamping surface and is fastened to the first support disk. A counter bearing element is positioned relative to the first working disk such that a working gap is formed between the first working disk and the counter bearing element and is dimensioned to accept a flat workpiece. A first clamping arrangement clamps the clamping surface of the first working disk to the first support disk such that the clamping surface faces away from the working gap. At least one decoupling element is positioned to at least one decoupling element configured to reduce friction between the first support disk and the first working disk.

A machine tool includes a first support disk and a first working disk. The first working disk defines a clamping surface and is fastened to the first support disk. A counter bearing element is positioned relative to the first working disk such that a working gap is formed between the first working disk and the counter bearing element and is dimensioned to accept a flat workpiece. A first clamping arrangement clamps the clamping surface of the first working disk to the first support disk such that the clamping surface faces away from the working gap. At least one decoupling element is positioned to at least one decoupling element configured to reduce friction between the first support disk and the first working disk.

A method for double-side polishing a wafer uses a double-side polishing machine wherein a carrier which is yet to be arranged in the double-side polishing machine is previously subjected to two-stage double-side polishing which uses a double-side polishing machine different from the double-side polishing machine adopted for double-side polishing the wafer and includes primary polishing using slurry containing abrasive grains and secondary polishing using an inorganic alkali solution containing no abrasive grain, the carrier subjected to the two-stage double-side polishing is arranged in the double-side polishing machine adopted for double-side polishing the wafer, and the double-side polishing of the wafer is performed. Consequently, the method for double-side polishing a wafer enables suppressing damages to wafers to be polished immediately after arranging the carrier between the upper and lower turntables.

A method for double-side polishing a wafer uses a double-side polishing machine wherein a carrier which is yet to be arranged in the double-side polishing machine is previously subjected to two-stage double-side polishing which uses a double-side polishing machine different from the double-side polishing machine adopted for double-side polishing the wafer and includes primary polishing using slurry containing abrasive grains and secondary polishing using an inorganic alkali solution containing no abrasive grain, the carrier subjected to the two-stage double-side polishing is arranged in the double-side polishing machine adopted for double-side polishing the wafer, and the double-side polishing of the wafer is performed. Consequently, the method for double-side polishing a wafer enables suppressing damages to wafers to be polished immediately after arranging the carrier between the upper and lower turntables.

Semiconductor wafers are polished simultaneously on both the front and the rear sides between an upper polishing plate and a lower polishing plate, each covered with a polishing pad, wherein a polishing gap (x.sub.1+x.sub.2) corresponding to a difference in the respective distances between facing surfaces of upper polishing pad and lower polishing pad which come into contact with the semiconductor wafer at the inner edge and at the outer edge of the polishing pads is changed incrementally or continuously during the polishing process.

A double disc surface grinding machine includes a clamp band which has a non-circular outer circumferential portion. The clamp band is attached to an outer circumferential surface of a work and is housed, under the attached state, in a storage portion which has a non-circular inner circumferential portion engageable with the outer circumferential portion of the clamp band, movably in a first direction. A rotation drive unit rotates the storage portion around a first rotation shaft extending in the first direction, to make the inner circumferential portion of the storage portion engage with the outer circumferential portion of the clamp band, thereby rotates the clamp band and the work together with the storage portion. At least one of the grinding wheels is fed onto the work so as to sandwich the work with a pair of rotating grinding wheels for grinding two main surfaces of the work.

A double disc surface grinding machine includes a clamp band which has a non-circular outer circumferential portion. The clamp band is attached to an outer circumferential surface of a work and is housed, under the attached state, in a storage portion which has a non-circular inner circumferential portion engageable with the outer circumferential portion of the clamp band, movably in a first direction. A rotation drive unit rotates the storage portion around a first rotation shaft extending in the first direction, to make the inner circumferential portion of the storage portion engage with the outer circumferential portion of the clamp band, thereby rotates the clamp band and the work together with the storage portion. At least one of the grinding wheels is fed onto the work so as to sandwich the work with a pair of rotating grinding wheels for grinding two main surfaces of the work.

A method for manufacturing a disk-shaped glass plate in which shape processing is performed on an edge surface of the glass plate includes processing the edge surface into a target shape by irradiating the edge surface with a laser beam while moving the laser beam relative to the edge surface in a circumferential direction of the glass plate. A cross-sectional intensity distribution of the laser beam with which the edge surface is irradiated is a single mode, and W1>Th holds true and Pd×Th is in a range of 0.8 to 3.5 [W/mm] when a width of luminous flux of the laser beam in a thickness direction of the glass plate at an irradiation position of the edge surface is W1 [mm], a thickness of the glass plate is Th [mm], and a power density of the laser beam is Pd.