| US 7,504,038 B2 | ||
| System, method, and apparatus for mechanically releasable slider processing including lapping, air bearing patterning, and debonding | ||
| Alexander Bietsch, Rueschlikon (Switzerland); Michael W. Chaw, San Jose, Calif. (US); Ashok Lahiri, Cupertino, Calif. (US); Bruno Michel, Adliswil (Switzerland); and Mark C. Thurber, San Jose, Calif. (US) | ||
| Assigned to Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V., Amsterdam (Netherlands) | ||
| Filed on Feb. 26, 2004, as Appl. No. 10/788,145. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2005/0191582 A1, Sep. 01, 2005 | ||
| Int. Cl. B44C 1/22 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 216—22 [430/311; 430/322; 451/364; 451/41] | 22 Claims |
| 1. A method of processing workpieces, comprising:
molding a fixture from silicone rubber or poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) such that the fixture is flexible, the fixture having
pockets separated by ridges, wherein adjacent ones of the ridges define grippers for mechanically gripping workpieces;
bending the fixture to open the grippers;
positioning workpieces in the open pockets by elastically deforming the fixture, the workpieces being loaded into the fixture
while it is elastically deformed;
unbending the fixture to close the grippers such that the grippers mechanically grip the workpieces with the ridges and the
workpieces are mechanically engaged by and mechanically retained in the pockets of the fixture;
performing spincoat and projection lithography on surfaces of the workpieces;
patterning the surfaces of the workpieces;
forming structural features on the surfaces of the workpieces; and then
elastically deforming the fixture to reopen the grippers to mechanically release and mechanically debond the workpieces from
the pockets of the fixture.
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