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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5736427 | Polishing pad contour indicator for mechanical or chemical-mechanical planarization A contour indicator that visually indicates non-uniformities in the planarity of the planarizing surface of a polishing pad. In one embodiment of the invention, a polishing pad has a polishing body with a planarizing surface facing the wafer and a contour... | 04/07/1998 |
| 5710069 | Measuring slurry particle size during substrate polishing A method of sensing a particle in a mixture includes providing (52) the mixture (36) having a particle (29, 30), moving (54) the mixture (36) in a direction, shining (56) a light into a portion of the moving mixture (36), reflecting a portion of the light... | 01/20/1998 |
| 5705435 | Chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus An improved and new apparatus and process for chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) the surface of a semiconductor substrate to a planar condition has beed developed. The planarization endpoint, which is independent of topographic pattern density, is detect... | 01/06/1998 |
| 5698455 | Method for predicting process characteristics of polyurethane pads A measurement of polyurethane pad characteristics is used to predict performance characteristics of polyurethane pads used for chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of semiconductor wafers, and to adjust process parameters for manufacturing polyurethane... | 12/16/1997 |
| 5690785 | Lithography control on uneven surface A reticle pattern is transferred to a semiconductor wafer with a coated resist film by using a reduction (demagnification) exposure system having a focus sensor and an autofocus mechanism operating in response to an output of the focus sensor. An average ... | 11/25/1997 |
| 5647952 | Chemical/mechanical polish (CMP) endpoint method An improved and new process for chemical/mechanical planarization (CMP) of a substrate surface, wherein the endpoint for the planarization process is detected by monitoring the temperature of the polishing pad with an infrared temperature measuring device... | 07/15/1997 |
| 5639342 | Method of monitoring and controlling a silicon nitride etch step A patterned silicon nitride layer formed over a semiconductor integrated circuit wafer having a layer of pad oxide is often used as a mask for subsequent processing steps. Etching of the silicon nitride layer is difficult to control and can create defects... | 06/17/1997 |
| 5629244 | Fabrication method of semiconductor accelerometer Using a p-type silicon substrate 1 having on its front surface an n-type silicon layer 2 with a thickness of twice or more of the desired thickness for the beam, an electrochemical etching is performed from the rear surface and the etching is stopped at t... | 05/13/1997 |
| 5620556 | Method for rapidly etching material on a semiconductor device Apparatus and methods for precise processing of thin materials in a process chamber by the use of ellipsometer monitoring is disclosed. The process includes rapidly etching a layer 42 of material covering a semiconductor device. The process includes placi... | 04/15/1997 |
| 5616921 | Self-masking FIB milling Preferential etching during FIB milling can result in a rough, pitted surface and make IC probing/repair operations difficult. Preferential etching is compensated by acquiring a contrast image of the partially-milled sample, preparing mask image data from... | 04/01/1997 |
| 5597442 | Chemical/mechanical planarization (CMP) endpoint method using measurement of polishing pad temperature An improved and new process for chemical/mechanical planarization (CMP) of a substrate surface, wherein the endpoint for the planarization process is detected by monitoring the temperature of the polishing pad with an infrared temperature measuring device... | 01/28/1997 |
| 5552327 | Methods for monitoring and controlling deposition and etching using p-polarized reflectance spectroscopy Deposition or etching of a layer on a substrate is monitored by impinging P-polarized light on the layer during deposition at an angle which is approximately the Brewster's angle for the substrate, and detecting radiation which is reflected from the struc... | 09/03/1996 |
| 5516399 | Contactless real-time in-situ monitoring of a chemical etching A contactless method and apparatus for real-time in-situ monitoring of a chemical etching process for the etching of at least one wafer in a wet chemical etchant bath are disclosed. The method comprises the steps of providing at least two conductive elect... | 05/14/1996 |
| 5503707 | Method and apparatus for process endpoint prediction based on actual thickness measurements In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for predicting the endpoint time of a semiconductor process for a layer of a wafer (14). The endpoint time is the time at which a predetermined thickness of the layer occurs. A l... | 04/02/1996 |
| 5489361 | Measuring film etching uniformity during a chemical etching process A contactless method and apparatus for real-time in-situ monitoring of a chemical etching process during etching of at least one wafer in a wet chemical etchant bath are disclosed. The method comprises the steps of providing two conductive electrodes in t... | 02/06/1996 |
| 5427052 | Method and apparatus for production of extremely thin SOI film substrate A method and apparatus for uniformizing a bonded SOI (silicon on insulator) thin film layer by the reaction of chemical vapor-phase corrosion excited by the ultraviolet light, which effect the measurement of film thickness efficiently and conveniently and... | 06/27/1995 |
| 5399229 | System and method for monitoring and evaluating semiconductor wafer fabrication A system (60) and method for monitoring, evaluating and controlling the uniformity of a semiconductor wafer fabrication process is provided for use in manufacturing integrated circuits on semiconductor wafers (40). By using in situ ellipsometry (20) in co... | 03/21/1995 |
| 5395769 | Method for controlling silicon etch depth The present invention is a structure and method for controlling the depth of an etching process. In particular, the method and structure of the present invention creates a marker layer which resides between a layer to be etched and a protected layer. The ... | 03/07/1995 |
| 5393370 | Method of making a SOI film having a more uniform thickness in a SOI substrate To provide a method of making a SOI film having a more uniform thickness in a SOI substrate which makes it possible to keep the variance at &#b1;0.3 micrometers or less throughout the entire surface of the substrate, even for SOI substrates with a SOI fil... | 02/28/1995 |
| 5382551 | Method for reducing the effects of semiconductor substrate deformities A method is disclosed for reducing the effects of semiconductor deformities. Initially, a semiconductor substrate is provided. The substrate has at least one layer superjacent the substrate and at least one layer subjacent the substrate. Subsequently, the... | 01/17/1995 |
| 5372673 | Method for processing a layer of material while using insitu monitoring and control A method for planarizing a layer (18) begins by forming a layer (18) over a wafer having a substrate (12). Layer (18) has a surface topography which is not planar. A layer of material (20) is formed over the layer (18). The layer of material (20) has a su... | 12/13/1994 |
| 5282921 | Apparatus and method for optimally scanning a two-dimensional surface of one or more objects A method for optimally scanning, for example, a surface of one or more silicon-on-insulator (SOI) semiconductor wafers 10 consists of a spiral type scan technique. The spiral type scan can maintain a path pattern 30 that encompasses the surface diameter o... | 02/01/1994 |
| 5277747 | Extraction of spatially varying dielectric function from ellipsometric data A method of and apparatus for extracting dielectric constants from ellipsometric data taken during the growth of a semiconductor thin film and using the extracted dielectric constants to control the composition of the growing film by adjusting the growth ... | 01/11/1994 |
| 5213657 | Method for making uniform the thickness of a Si single crystal thin film A Si single crystal thin film is classified according to the thickness into several areas such that the areas where the thin film is thicker is made oxide layer-free and the areas where the thin film is thinner is covered with oxide layer. Then, oxidation... | 05/25/1993 |
| 5196353 | Method for controlling a semiconductor (CMP) process by measuring a surface temperature and developing a thermal image of the wafer A method and apparatus for controlling a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process in semiconductor manufacture includes an infrared camera for detecting and mapping a temperature of the wafer for developing a thermal image of the wafer. The thermal... | 03/23/1993 |
| 5172207 | Semiconductor wafer to be etched electrochemically A semiconductor wafer including a plurality of chips having respective portions to be etched electrochemically with application of an electric voltage to the semiconductor wafer immersed in an etching solution. The semiconductor wafer includes electric ci... | 12/15/1992 |
| 5023188 | Method of determining the depth of trenches formed in a semiconductor wafer In a process for forming trenches in a semiconductor substrate wafer, first trenches are formed in a surface portion of the semiconductor substrate wafer and, at the same time, a plurality of second trenches are formed in a predetermined section of the su... | 06/11/1991 |
| 4967152 | Apparatus including a focused UV light source for non-contact measurement and alteration of electrical properties of conductors An apparatus which is used for non-contact electrical measurement and physical alteration of certain characteristics and properties of electronic conductor devices. The apparatus includes a focused source of ultraviolet light which is capable of micron an... | 10/30/1990 |
| 4962461 | Method for the reproducable formation of material layers and/or the treatment of semiconductor materials layers A method and apparatus for process control in both the production of uniform material layers using vapor deposition, sputtering, chemical deposition, etc. and the treating of material layers. In particular, the process and apparatus are particularly usefu... | 10/09/1990 |
| 4838987 | Method of etching a semiconductor body A method of etching a semiconductor body having first (6) and second opposed surfaces and having a first semiconductor region (1) adjacent the first surface (6) and a second semiconductor region (2) disposed between the first semiconductor region and the ... | 06/13/1989 |
| 4632724 | Visibility enhancement of first order alignment marks A method of enhancing first order alignment marks formed in the respective layers of a processed semiconductor wafer in which critical masking steps are carried out. After a given mark is formed, it is tested for visual contrast. If the contrast is insuff... | 12/30/1986 |
| 4518456 | Light induced etching of InP by aqueous solutions of H3 PO4 A method of etching a semiconductor crystal is given. The crystal includes elements selected from one of the groups: (a) indium and phosphorus; (b) gallium and arsenic; (c) aluminum and arsenic. The method comprises the steps of placing the crystal in an ... | 05/21/1985 |
| 4372803 | Method for etch thinning silicon devices An improved method for etch-thinning silicon devices using three sequential tches. The device is pre-thinned in a hot KOH-H2 O etch. The thinning etch is a hydrofluoric, nitric, acetic acids (1:3:10) and a precise amount of hydrogen peroxide mix... | 02/08/1983 |
| 4317698 | End point detection in etching wafers and the like A method for detecting the end point of etching wafers and the like by reflective means. Typically, a detected reflectance signal will have a threshold level representing a lack of substantial etching, a dip in the threshold level representing the commenc... | 03/02/1982 |
| 4316765 | Detection of defects in semiconductor materials Defect densities in InP and InPx As1-x crystals and particularly in zinc-doped LEC-pulled InP crystals are accurately detected using a specific etchant to produce etch pits corresponding to defect sites. This etchant includes H2... | 02/23/1982 |
| 4082602 | Photovoltaic cell manufacture A quality control technique is based on the observation that trapping centers contribute to inefficient operation of junction devices. Devices are irradiated by a first radiation source of intensity sufficient to populate traps and a second radiation sour... | 04/04/1978 |
| 4075044 | Method of producing a siliceous cover layer on a semiconductor element by centrifugal coating utilizing a mixture of silica emulsions A method of producing a siliceous cover layer on a semiconductor element or wafer so that the temperature coefficient of the cover layer is approximated to the temperature coefficient of the semiconductor wafer, comprises distributing a combined emulsion ... | 02/21/1978 |
| 4021278 | Reduced meniscus-contained method of handling fluids in the manufacture of semiconductor wafers The invention relates to a method for reducing the consumption of deleterious materials used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices comprising the steps of supporting a semiconductor wafer, supplying a predetermined volume of said materials onto the ... | 05/03/1977 |
| 3953265 | Meniscus-contained method of handling fluids in the manufacture of semiconductor wafers The invention relates to a method for reducing the comsumption of etchants used in manufacturing semiconductor devices comprising the steps of supporting a semiconductor wafer, metering a predetermined volume of etchant onto the surface of said wafer to f... | 04/27/1976 |
