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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6887130 | Chemical mechanical polishing apparatus A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus includes a plate that holds a substrate, a pad assembly unit comprising a pad support device, a positioning device, and a rotation device operatively connected to the pad assembly unit. The pad support device comprises... | 05/03/2005 |
| 6884155 | Diamond grid CMP pad dresser The present invention discloses a CMP pad dresser which has a plurality of uniformly spaced abrasive particles protruding therefrom. The abrasive particles are super hard materials, and are typically diamond, polycrystalline diamond (PCD), cubic boron nitride (cBN),... | 04/26/2005 |
| 6884146 | Systems and methods for characterizing a polishing process Systems and methods for characterizing a polishing process are provided. One method includes scanning a specimen with two or more measurement devices during polishing. In one embodiment, the two or more measurement devices may include a reflectometer and a capacitan... | 04/26/2005 |
| 6881135 | Polishing head of chemical mechanical polishing apparatus and polishing method using the same A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus includes a polishing head that is composed of a carrier and a membrane, and is positioned on a polishing pad of a supporting part. The polishing head has a supporter installed at an internal center of the carrier, a ch... | 04/19/2005 |
| 6881129 | Fixed-abrasive chemical-mechanical planarization of titanium nitride Planarizing solutions, and their methods of use, for removing titanium nitride from the surface of a substrate using a fixed-abrasive planarizing pad. The planarizing solutions take the form of an etchant solution or an oxidizing solution. The etchant solutions are ... | 04/19/2005 |
| 6881134 | Method and apparatus for chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic substrates with a carrier and membrane A method and apparatus for planarizing a microelectronic substrate. In one embodiment, the apparatus can include a membrane formed from a compressible, flexible material, such as neoprene or silicone, and having a first portion with a thickness greater than that of ... | 04/19/2005 |
| 6878047 | Apparatus for repairing compact disks The present invention discloses a repair apparatus for compact disks comprising a casing unit having a top housing and a bottom housing openably fastened to the top housing; a transmission module disposed within the bottom housing, including a motor, a disk supporti... | 04/12/2005 |
| 6875076 | Polishing machine and method An apparatus and method is provided for polishing work pieces such as semiconductor wafers. The apparatus includes a variable number of independent heads 20, platens 32 and polishing units 18. This polishing apparatus belongs to a group of polis... | 04/05/2005 |
| 6875091 | Method and apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad with sonic energy A method and apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad is described, wherein the polishing pad has a polishing surface for polishing the semiconductor wafer. The method includes positioning a sonic energy generator above the polishing surface of the polishing pad, ... | 04/05/2005 |
| 6872131 | Method and apparatus for chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic substrates with a carrier and membrane A method and apparatus for planarizing a microelectronic substrate. In one embodiment, the apparatus can include a membrane formed from a compressible, flexible material, such as neoprene or silicone, and having a first portion with a thickness greater than that of ... | 03/29/2005 |
| 6869335 | Retaining rings, planarizing apparatuses including retaining rings, and methods for planarizing micro-device workpieces Retaining rings, planarizing apparatuses including retaining rings, and methods for mechanical and/or chemical-mechanical planarization of micro-device workpieces are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a carrier head for retaining a micro-device workpiece during m... | 03/22/2005 |
| 6869337 | System and method for polishing and planarizing semiconductor wafers using reduced surface area polishing pads and variable partial pad-wafer overlapping techniques A system and method for polishing semiconductor wafers includes a variable partial pad-wafer overlap polisher having a reduced surface area, fixed-abrasive polishing pad and a polisher having a non-abrasive polishing pad for use with an abrasive slurry. The method i... | 03/22/2005 |
| 6866571 | Boltless carrier ring/carrier plate attachment assembly A polishing system is provided which includes an o-ring adapted to couple a carrier ring to a carrier plate. In some embodiments, one component may include a groove with which to receive the o-ring and the other component may be substantially absent of a groove adap... | 03/15/2005 |
| 6866565 | Polishing tool and polishing apparatus A polishing tool is used for polishing a workpiece in a state such that the workpiece is pressed against and brought into sliding contact with the polishing tool. The polishing tool is formed of thermoplastic resin having an average glass transition temperature (Tg)... | 03/15/2005 |
| 6863599 | CMP pad having isolated pockets of continuous porosity and a method for using such pad A chemical mechanical polishing pad and a system and a method for using such a pad are described. The polishing pad includes pockets of continuous porosity, each of the pockets being separated from the other pockets by a non-porous matrix. The non-porous matrix may ... | 03/08/2005 |
| 6860801 | Pedestal of a load-cup which supports wafers loaded/unloaded onto/from a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus A pedestal of a load-cup for supporting wafers loaded onto and being unloaded from a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus includes a pedestal plate, and a pedestal film which extends over only a limited area at the upper surface of the pedestal plate. This ... | 03/01/2005 |
| 6857946 | Carrier head with a flexure A carrier head for a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus. The carrier head includes a housing, a base, a loading mechanism, a gimbal mechanism, and a substrate backing assembly. The substrate backing assembly includes a support structure positioned below the bas... | 02/22/2005 |
| 6857941 | Multi-phase polishing pad An article of manufacture, a method, and an apparatus for use in a chemical mechanical polishing system is provided. In one aspect, an article of manufacture is provided for polishing a substrate including a polishing article having a polishing surface, the polishin... | 02/22/2005 |
| 6857940 | Polishing apparatus and method A polishing method with a polishing apparatus includes an electrode constituted as a plurality of electrode elements, a device of driving the electrode, and dielectric abrasive particles disposed between the electrode and a workpiece. Polishing pressure is applied t... | 02/22/2005 |
| 6852017 | Method and apparatus for chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic substrates with a carrier and membrane A method and apparatus for planarizing a microelectronic substrate. In one embodiment, the apparatus can include a membrane formed from a compressible, flexible material, such as neoprene or silicone, and having a first portion with a thickness greater than that of ... | 02/08/2005 |
| 6848975 | Electrochemical planarization of metal feature surfaces One aspect is directed to an improved method for polishing an integrated circuit. According to one aspect, metal features deposited on an integrated circuit are polished using electropolishing techniques. Because electropolishing is used, polishing avoids removal of... | 02/01/2005 |
| 6848980 | Vibration damping in a carrier head A carrier head has a backing assembly with a substrate support surface, a housing connectable to a drive shaft to rotate with the drive shaft about a rotation axis, and a dampening material in a load path between the backing assembly and the housing. The dampening m... | 02/01/2005 |
| 6848981 | Dual-bulge flexure ring for CMP head A diaphragm flexure for a polishing head on a chemical mechanical polisher, particularly a Titan (TM) polishing head. The diaphragm flexure includes an annular flexure body having at least one bulge or protrusion formed in the upper surface thereof and at least one ... | 02/01/2005 |
| 6846225 | Selective chemical-mechanical polishing properties of a cross-linked polymer and specific applications therefor The present invention is directed, in general, to a method of polishing a surface on substrates, such as semiconductor wafers and, more specifically, to a polishing pad suitable for this purpose. The polishing pad comprises a polishing body that includes a cross-lin... | 01/25/2005 |
| 6843709 | Chemical mechanical polishing method for reducing slurry reflux A method of polishing a surface (120) of an article, e.g., a semiconductor wafer (112, 212), using a polishing layer (108, 208) in the presence of a polishing medium, such as a slurry (116). The method includes selecting the rotational ra... | 01/18/2005 |
| 6843707 | Methods for aligning a surface of an active retainer ring with a wafer surface for chemical mechanical polishing CMP methods reduce a cause of differences between an edge profile of a chemical mechanical polished edge of a wafer and a center profile of a chemical mechanical polished central portion of the wafer within the edge. The wafer is mounted on a carrier surface of a wa... | 01/18/2005 |
| 6840846 | Polishing station of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus An apparatus for polishing a wafer includes a polishing station having a platen on which a polishing pad is installed, a polishing head having a membrane that contacts a surface of the wafer, the membrane securing the wafer and pressuring the wafer against the polis... | 01/11/2005 |
| 6840845 | Wafer polishing apparatus The wafer polishing apparatus enables the control of proper polishing pressure, so that the quality of wafers can be maintained high. A wafer holding head is composed of a carrier for pressing the wafer against a polishing pad, a retainer ring at the circumference o... | 01/11/2005 |
| 6837779 | Chemical mechanical polisher with grooved belt A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus has a substrate holder, a polishing belt, and a backing member positioned on a side of the polishing belt opposite the substrate holder. The polishing belt has a polishing surface to contact at least a portion of the substra... | 01/04/2005 |
| 6837774 | Linear chemical mechanical polishing apparatus equipped with programmable pneumatic support platen and method of using A linear chemical mechanical polishing apparatus that is equipped with a programmable pneumatic support platen and a method for controlling the polishing profile on a wafer surface during a linear CMP process are disclosed. The programmable pneumatic support platen ... | 01/04/2005 |
| 6835125 | Retainer with a wear surface for chemical mechanical polishing A retaining ring has an inner core of a first material and an outer layer of a second, different material that is deposited on the first material. The outer layer can be deposited by spraying, e.g., by powder coating, and can be a polymer, e.g., polyetheretherketone... | 12/28/2004 |
| 6835118 | Rigid plate assembly with polishing pad and method of using An apparatus according to the principles of the present invention includes a rotatable platen, a rigid plate member with a top surface and a bottom surface, includes pin members coupled to the rigid plate member which can be inserted into guide openings positioned w... | 12/28/2004 |
| 6832950 | Polishing pad with window Polishing pads with a window, systems containing such polishing pads, and processes that use such polishing pads are disclosed. In embodiments, a polishing pad includes a backing layer having an opening, a polishing layer having an opening aligned with the opening i... | 12/21/2004 |
| 6832949 | Window member for chemical mechanical polishing and polishing pad An object of the present invention is to provide a window member for chemical mechanical polishing, which is excellent in antifouling property and transparency and is excellent in anti-scratching and, further, can easily perform detection of a polishing endpoint of ... | 12/21/2004 |
| 6824454 | Polishing apparatus A polishing apparatus for polishing a substrate comprises a turntable having a polishing surface, a substrate holder for holding a substrate and bringing the substrate into contact under pressure with the polishing surface, a dresser including a dresser tool adapted... | 11/30/2004 |
| 6824452 | Polishing pad and process of chemical mechanical use thereof A chemical mechanical polishing to polish a substrate having a layer to be polished thereon is described. A pre-polishing process is performed using a softer polishing pad to remove partially raised parts of the layer to be polished before conducting a polishing pro... | 11/30/2004 |
| 6824455 | Polishing pad having a grooved pattern for use in a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus A polishing pad for a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus. The polishing pad includes a plurality of concentric circular grooves. The polishing pad may include multiple regions with grooves of different widths and spacings. ... | 11/30/2004 |
| 6821192 | Retaining ring for use in chemical mechanical polishing A retaining ring for use on a carrier head in a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus has a bottom surface, an inner surface and an outer surface, and a plurality of recesses on the bottom surface. Each recess can include an inner trailing surface and a slurry cap... | 11/23/2004 |
| 6811474 | Polishing composition containing conducting polymer The invention provides a polishing system comprising (a) an abrasive, a polishing pad, a means for oxidizing a substrate, or any combination thereof, (b) a conducting polymer having an electrical conductivity of about 10−10 S/cm to about 106 ... | 11/02/2004 |
| 6811473 | Process for machining a wafer-like workpiece A process for machining a wafer-like workpiece between two plates, in which material is abraded from the workpiece under the influence of an auxiliary substance supplied and of a pressure acting on the workpiece. In this process, the pressure on the workpiece is sig... | 11/02/2004 |
