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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6752692 | Cleaning method and polishing apparatus employing such cleaning method A method is suitable for cleaning substrates, after polishing, that require a high degree of cleanliness, such as semiconductor wafers, glass substrates, or liquid crystal displays. The method includes polishing a substrate using an abrasive liquid containing abrasi... | 06/22/2004 |
| 6749486 | Chemical-mechanical polishing device, damascene wiring forming device, and damascene wiring forming method In a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus in accordance with the present invention, a material having a hardness defined by JIS standard K6301 (A type) of 10-40 and a thickness of 5-30 mm is used as an elastic member (16) arranged between a polishing pad (... | 06/15/2004 |
| 6746316 | Methods and apparatuses for mechanical and chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic-device substrate assemblies on planarizing pads Apparatuses and methods for planarizing a microelectronic-device substrate assembly on a planarizing pad. In one aspect of the invention, material is removed from the substrate assembly by pressing the substrate assembly against a planarizing surface of a planarizin... | 06/08/2004 |
| 6746313 | Polishing head assembly in an apparatus for chemical mechanical planarization A polishing head assembly for use in a chemical mechanical planarization apparatus is provided. The polishing head assembly includes a carrier head shaped substantially like a disk having a circumference, a top surface, a bottom surface, and an outer wall, the outer... | 06/08/2004 |
| 6739955 | Apparatus and methods for conditioning polishing pads in mechanical and/or chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic-device substrate assemblies Conditioning systems and methods for conditioning polishing pads used in mechanical and chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic-device substrate assemblies. In one aspect of the invention, a conditioning system includes a conditioning element or conditi... | 05/25/2004 |
| 6739958 | Carrier head with a vibration reduction feature for a chemical mechanical polishing system Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a carrier head for positioning a substrate on a polishing surface. The carrier head includes a housing connectable to a drive shaft to rotate therewith; a base; a detachable plate removably mounted on top of the h... | 05/25/2004 |
| 6736952 | Method and apparatus for electrochemical planarization of a workpiece An electrochemical planarization apparatus for planarizing a metallized surface on a workpiece includes a polishing pad and a platen. The platen is formed of conductive material, is disposed proximate to the polishing pad and is configured to have a negative charge ... | 05/18/2004 |
| 6736710 | Polisher for polishing end surface of semiconductor wafer A polishing head for polishing the end surface of a semiconductor wafer has a driver roller, a driving motor for rotating it, a pair of upper and lower follower rollers one above the other parallel to and horizontally separated from the driver roller and an endless ... | 05/18/2004 |
| 6726550 | Polishing apparatus There is disclosed is a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus having a inexpensive simplified configuration, which minimizes consumption of slurry material and securely enabling washing of a polishing pad. By virtue of the provision of the inventive slurry stopper... | 04/27/2004 |
| 6726527 | Automatic disc repair system An automatic system for repairing scratches on optically-read discs, (e.g., compact discs often called “CD's” or DVD's). More specifically, an automatic system for refurbishing a plurality of disc surfaces at substantially the same time, such that when refurbish... | 04/27/2004 |
| 6722950 | Method and apparatus for electrodialytic chemical mechanical polishing and deposition Embodiments of the invention include methods and apparatus for electrodialytic polishing of various layers formed on semiconductor substrates. In certain embodiments the use of electrodialytic processes in conjunction with chemical mechanical forces to achieve a cop... | 04/20/2004 |
| 6722965 | Carrier head with flexible membranes to provide controllable pressure and loading area A carrier head for a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a flexible membrane that applies a controllable load to a substrate in an area with a controllable inner diameter. ... | 04/20/2004 |
| 6722946 | Advanced chemical mechanical polishing system with smart endpoint detection The methods and systems described provide for an in-situ endpoint detection for material removal processes such as chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) performed on a workpiece. In a preferred embodiment, an optical detection system is used to detect endpoint during ... | 04/20/2004 |
| 6719618 | Polishing apparatus In a polishing apparatus having a cover body with fluid pressing mechanism, during polishing, vibration and migration of sticking portion between a retainer and a membrane generated in downstream of rotation of a polishing platen is prevented by reducing sticking fo... | 04/13/2004 |
| 6719615 | Versatile wafer refining A refining apparatus having magnetically responsive refining elements that can be smaller than the workpiece being refined are disclosed. The refining apparatus can supply a parallel refining motion to the refining element(s) through magnetic coupling forces. The re... | 04/13/2004 |
| 6716094 | Chemical mechanical polishing retaining ring A chemical mechanical head includes a retaining ring to maintain a substrate beneath the mounting surface during polishing. The retaining ring has a lower portion with a bottom surface for contacting a polishing pad during polishing and made of a first material, suc... | 04/06/2004 |
| 6716090 | Methods and apparatuses for mechanical and chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic-device substrate assemblies on planarizing pads Apparatuses and methods for planarizing a microelectronic-device substrate assembly on a planarizing pad. In one aspect of the invention, material is removed from the substrate assembly by pressing the substrate assembly against a planarizing surface of a planarizin... | 04/06/2004 |
| 6716084 | Carrier head for holding a wafer and allowing processing on a front face thereof to occur The present invention uses some type of inflatable membrane during processing to establish a vacuum and/or provide a resilient cushion on which the backside of the wafer can rest. In one aspect, the present invention provides an outer vacuum that allow for attachmen... | 04/06/2004 |
| 6712679 | Platen assembly having a topographically altered platen surface An apparatus for improving performance of a wafer polishing apparatus is described. The apparatus includes a platen in a support assembly having a plurality of fluid channels and at least one region of altered topography positioned on a portion of the platen surface... | 03/30/2004 |
| 6712676 | Methods and apparatuses for mechanical and chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic-device substrate assemblies on planarizing pads Apparatuses and methods for planarizing a microelectronic-device substrate assembly on a planarizing pad. In one aspect of the invention, material is removed from the substrate assembly by pressing the substrate assembly against a planarizing surface of a planarizin... | 03/30/2004 |
| 6712673 | Polishing apparatus, polishing head and method A wafer polishing apparatus for polishing a semiconductor wafer. The polisher comprises a base, a turntable, a polishing pad and a head drive mechanism for driven rotation of a polishing head. The polishing head comprises a sealing ring adapted to hold at least one ... | 03/30/2004 |
| 6709323 | Holder for flat workpieces, particularly semiconductor wafers A holder for flat workpieces, particularly semiconductor wafers, particularly in an apparatus for chemico-mechanically polishing the semiconductor wafers, comprising a disk-like head which is adapted to be connected to a spindle adjustable in height at the upper sur... | 03/23/2004 |
| 6709322 | Apparatus for aligning a surface of an active retainer ring with a wafer surface for chemical mechanical polishing A CMP system and 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 su... | 03/23/2004 |
| 6702655 | Slurry delivery system for chemical mechanical polisher A slurry delivery system for a chemical mechanical polisher, comprising a bag housing fitted with a slurry intake conduit and a slurry outlet conduit. An expandible and collapsible pump bag is provided in fluid communication with the conduits inside the b... | 03/09/2004 |
| 6702651 | Method and apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad A polishing material for chemical mechanical polishing has a mesh of fibers and a binder material holding the fibers in the mesh. The binder material coalesced among the fibers to leave pores in the interstices between the fibers of the mesh. The fibers a... | 03/09/2004 |
| 6702657 | Continuous polisher machine The frame of a polishing machine has a disc-shaped polishing table mounted thereon for rotation coaxially about a vertical axis, the table having thereon an upper, generally planar polishing surface for removably supporting thereon a plurality of annular ... | 03/09/2004 |
| 6702658 | Wafer polishing apparatus utilizing an Oldham's coupling mechanism for the wafer carrier A rotation force of a drive shaft is transmitted from a drive plate to an intermediate plate through a first pin, and a rotation force of the intermediate plate is transmitted to a carrier through a second pin. The rotation force of the drive shaft is tra... | 03/09/2004 |
| 6702647 | Method and apparatus for wireless transfer of chemical-mechanical planarization measurements A method and apparatus for the wireless transfer of measurements made during chemical-mechanical planarization of semiconductor wafers with a planarizing machine. The apparatus includes a sensor connected to the semiconductor substrate or a movable portio... | 03/09/2004 |
| 6695687 | Semiconductor substrate holder for chemical-mechanical polishing containing a movable plate A substrate holder is described which has a movable plate elastically mounted inside a main body. With the substrate holder, a polishing operation can be performed in two basic operation modes corresponding to two different vertical end positions of the m... | 02/24/2004 |
| 6682409 | Wafer carrier structure for chemical-mechanical polisher A wafer carrier structure for a chemical-mechanical polishing device. The wafer carrier structure includes a holder and a slurry supply pipeline. The slurry supply pipeline is attached to the side of the holder such that a portion of the supply pipeline n... | 01/27/2004 |
| 6679760 | Lapping method of magnetic head slider and lapping method of bar A lapping method of a magnetic head slider provided with an element-forming surface, an ABS and an MR element formed on the element-forming surface, including a step of setting the magnetic head slider to be lapped on a lapping means, and a step of lappin... | 01/20/2004 |
| 6676497 | Vibration damping in a chemical mechanical polishing system A carrier head for chemical mechanical polishing, includes a base, a support structure attached to the base having a surface for contacting a substrate, and a retaining structure attached to the base to prevent the substrate from moving along the surface.... | 01/13/2004 |
| 6676496 | Apparatus for processing semiconductor wafers A method for processing semiconductor wafers, which provides planarized surface in a well controllable manner and with high accuracy by processing a film with uneven surface, formed over a semiconductor wafer, within the area of a working surface with a d... | 01/13/2004 |
| 6676493 | Integrated planarization and clean wafer processing system A wafer processing module is provided. In one example, the wafer processing module includes a sub-aperture CMP processing system and a pad exchange system including a pad magazine for storing CMP processing pads and a pad exchange robot for transferring C... | 01/13/2004 |
| 6676492 | Chemical mechanical polishing A planatizing equipment has solid abrasive particles suspended in a liquid suspension. The solid abrasive particles have on their outer surfaces tiny, hard but brittle working edges and points. The liquid suspension medium and the solid abrasive particles... | 01/13/2004 |
| 6676484 | COPPER CHEMICAL-MECHANICAL POLISHING PROCESS USING A FIXED ABRASIVE POLISHING PAD AND A COPPER LAYER CHEMICAL-MECHANICAL POLISHING SOLUTION SPECIFICALLY ADAPTED FOR CHEMICAL-MECHANICAL POLISHING WITH A FIXED ABRASIVE PAD The invention comprises copper chemical-mechanical polishing processes using fixed abrasive polishing pads, and copper layer chemical-mechanical polishing solutions specifically adapted for chemical-mechanical polishing with fixed abrasive pads. In one im... | 01/13/2004 |
| 6672946 | Methods and apparatuses for mechanical and chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic-device substrate assemblies on planarizing pads Apparatuses and methods for planarizing a microelectronic-device substrate assembly on a planarizing pad. In one aspect of the invention, material is removed from the substrate assembly by pressing the substrate assembly against a planarizing surface of a... | 01/06/2004 |
| 6672941 | Method and apparatus for chemical/mechanical planarization (CMP) of a semiconductor substrate having shallow trench isolation A method to planarize the surface of a semiconductor substrate having shallow trench isolation (STI) reduces erosion of a silicon nitride planarization stop layer, reduces dishing of large areas of the shallow trench isolation, and prevents under polishin... | 01/06/2004 |
| 6669540 | Chuck means for flat workpieces, in particular semi-conductor wafers A chuck means for flat workpieces, in particular semi-conductor wafer for the chemical-mechanical polishing, comprising a circular housing which is attached to a driving spindle for rotation therewith and has a top wall and an annular side wall, a retaini... | 12/30/2003 |
| 6666755 | Belt wiper for a chemical mechanical planarization system A belt wiper that can be used in a linear belt-type chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) system to maintain a belt pad is provided. The belt wiper mitigates disturbances within a detection region important to a belt pad steering system. Also, the belt ... | 12/23/2003 |
