Did You Know...
...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7273411 | Polishing apparatus A chemical-mechanical polishing apparatus is provided with a downstream device for conditioning a web-shaped polishing pad. The device may be used to condition a glazed portion of the pad, and then the conditioned pad portion may be used again for polishing. The con... | 09/25/2007 |
| 7270594 | Polishing apparatus A polishing apparatus has a polishing table (12) with a polishing surface (10) attached thereon, and a top ring (20) for pressing a workpiece (W) against the polishing surface (10). The top ring (20) has a housing (40) and a... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7267600 | Polishing apparatus Apparatus for polishing are provided. An apparatus comprises a fluid controller, a polishing apparatus and a fluid interface membrane. The fluid controller is fluidly coupled to the polishing apparatus by way of at least one conduit. The fluid interface membrane is ... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7255630 | Methods of manufacturing carrier heads for polishing micro-device workpieces Carrier assemblies, polishing machines with carrier assemblies, and methods for mechanical and/or chemical-mechanical polishing of micro-device workpieces are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a carrier assembly includes a head having a chamber, a magnetic field ... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7255632 | Chemical mechanical polishing system having multiple polishing stations and providing relative linear polishing motion A polishing method usable in an apparatus including a rotatable member rotatable about a first axis, at least one substrate head assembly supported on said rotatable member, and at least two polishing surfaces arranged below said rotatable member at respective angul... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7255771 | Multiple zone carrier head with flexible membrane A carrier head for chemical mechanical polishing of a substrate includes a base and a flexible membrane extending beneath the base. The flexible membrane includes a central portion with an outer surface providing a substrate receiving surface, a perimeter portion co... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7255637 | Carrier head vibration damping A carrier head for chemical mechanical polishing that has a base having at least a portion formed of a polymer, a mounting assembly connected to the base having a surface for contacting a substrate, a retainer secured to the portion of the base to prevent the substr... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7252736 | Compliant grinding wheel A pre-planarization module configured to perform a long range planarization operation is provided. The pre-planarization module includes a semiconductor substrate support configured to rotate about a first axis. The pre-planarization module also includes an annular ... | 08/07/2007 |
| 7247083 | Polishing apparatus The polishing apparatus is capable of precisely controlling polishing pressure, correctly positioning a press plate and uniformly polishing a workpiece. In the polishing apparatus, a holding head comprises: first pressing means for introducing a pressurized fluid in... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7244168 | Methods for reducing delamination during chemical mechanical polishing Method and apparatus are provided for polishing substrates comprising conductive and low k dielectric materials with reduced or minimum substrate surface damage and delamination. In one aspect, a method is provided for processing a substrate including positioning a ... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7241203 | Six headed carousel The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for polishing semiconductor substrates with improved throughput and reduced foot print. One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for polishing a substrate. The apparatus comprises a base, ... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7238090 | Polishing apparatus having a trough Methods and apparatus for chemical mechanical polishing are described. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a table top and a transfer station and multiple polishing stations are mounted on the table top. The apparatus further includes multiple washing stations,... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7238083 | Wafer carrier with pressurized membrane and retaining ring actuator A wafer carrier for controlling downward force and edge effect during chemical mechanical planarization. A retaining ring actuator is disposed within the retaining ring to control the height of the retaining ring relative to the bottom surface of the wafer carrier. ... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7229343 | Orbiting indexable belt polishing station for chemical mechanical polishing An apparatus for planarizing a workpiece has a web with a face which is positioned adjacent the workpiece during planarization. At least one tension assembly is configured to maintain tension of the web. An orbiting assembly is configured to orbit the web relative t... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7229341 | Method and apparatus for chemical mechanical polishing A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus prevents scratches caused by a direct friction between a polishing pad and a wafer. The apparatus includes a polishing pad, in which grooves are regularly formed, for generating a dynamic pressure by rotation; a polishing ta... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7229339 | CMP apparatus and method Methods and apparatus are provided for the chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of a surface of a work piece. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention the apparatus comprises a plurality of CMP systems, a plurality of load cups for loading unprocessed w... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7229336 | Apparatus and method for conditioning and monitoring media used for chemical-mechanical planarization A method and apparatus for conditioning and monitoring a planarizing medium used for planarizing a microelectronic substrate. In one embodiment, the apparatus can include a conditioning body having a conditioning surface that engages a planarizing surface of the pla... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7223158 | Method for polishing a semiconductor wafer An apparatus for polishing a wafer comprises a supporting portion having an abrasive pad disposed thereon, and a polishing head disposed over the abrasive pad. The polishing head comprises a carrier having at least two fluid passages, a retainer ring disposed on a l... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7220322 | Cu CMP polishing pad cleaning A polishing pad is cleaned of Cu CMP by-products, subsequent to planarizing a wafer, to reduce pad-glazing by applying to the polishing pad surface a composition comprising about 0.1 to about 3.0 wt. % of at least one organic compound having one or more amine or ami... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7217176 | Polishing tool with several pressure zones The invention refers to a polishing tool for optical lenses with at least one polishing pad adaptable at least partially to the shape of a lens surface of said lenses and drivable by means of a drive shaft, said polishing pad having a membrane, wherein said polishin... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7217175 | Polishing apparatus and polishing method A polishing apparatus comprises a first polishing table having a first polishing surface, a substrate carrier for holding a substrate and positioning the substrate so as to bring a surface of the substrate into contact with the first polishing surface, a pressing me... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7214548 | Apparatus and method for flattening a warped substrate A method, apparatus, and computer program product for flattening a warped substrate. The substrate is placed on a planar surface of a clamping apparatus in direct mechanical contact with the planar surface. The substrate comprises surface regions S1, S | 05/08/2007 |
| 7207871 | Carrier head with multiple chambers A system for chemical mechanical polishing having a carrier head with pressurizeable chambers that can be configured into pressure zones is described. The system includes a carrier head with a membrane for contacting a substrate during polishing. Pressurizeable cham... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7207862 | Polishing apparatus and method for detecting foreign matter on polishing surface A polishing apparatus comprises a polishing tool having a polishing surface, and a holder device (top ring) for holding a semiconductor wafer (a substrate). The polishing apparatus further comprises a color CCD camera for taking a color image of a region on the poli... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7205664 | Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same A semiconductor device including a multilevel wiring with a small interwiring capacitance is provided by comprising a wiring, a conductive film formed on an upper surface of the wiring to prevent diffusion of a wiring material, and an insulating film which is consti... | 04/17/2007 |
| 7204743 | Integrated circuit interconnect fabrication systems A system for processing a conductive surface on a front surface of a wafer to form a metallic interconnect structure is disclosed. The system for processing comprises an electrochemical mechanical processing (ECMPR) module configured to form a substantially planariz... | 04/17/2007 |
| 7201634 | Polishing methods and apparatus Apparatus for and methods of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of semiconductor wafers are disclosed. A preferred embodiment comprises an apparatus for polishing a semiconductor workpiece that includes a polishing pad, a fluid dispenser adapted to dispense a fluid... | 04/10/2007 |
| 7201640 | Method of sucking water and water sucking device The method of sucking water is capable of easily removing excess water included in a backing member adhered on a plate of a polishing apparatus. In the method, the excess water is removed from the backing member by the steps of: pressing a water absorbing member ont... | 04/10/2007 |
| 7199056 | Low cost and low dishing slurry for polysilicon CMP Methods and compositions are provided for planarizing substrate surfaces with low dishing. Aspects of the invention provide methods of using compositions comprising an abrasive selected from the group consisting of alumina and ceria and a surfactant for chemical mec... | 04/03/2007 |
| 7198561 | Flexible membrane for multi-chamber carrier head A flexible membrane for use with a carrier head of a substrate chemical mechanical polishing apparatus has a central portion with an outer surface providing a substrate receiving surface, a perimeter portion for connecting the central portion to a base of the carrie... | 04/03/2007 |
| 7195536 | Integrated endpoint detection system with optical and eddy current monitoring A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus and method can use an eddy current monitoring system and an optical monitoring system. Signals from the monitoring systems can be combined on an output line and extracted by a computer. A thickness of a polishing pad can be ... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7196011 | Apparatus and method for treating substrates The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus for polishing a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer to a flat mirror finish, and more particularly to a polishing apparatus having a workpiece transfer robot for transferring a workpiece from one operation t... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7195535 | Metrology for chemical mechanical polishing Methods and apparatus for providing metrology for chemical mechanical polishing. A chemical mechanical polishing system includes a first polishing station, a second polishing station, a transport device, and a first measuring station. The transport device is configu... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7189313 | Substrate support with fluid retention band An apparatus and method for supporting a substrate is provided. In one embodiment, an apparatus for supporting a substrate includes a body having a band extending therefrom. The band is adapted to retain a fluid on the body thereby forming a shallow processing bath ... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7189153 | 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... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7186168 | Chemical mechanical polishing apparatus and methods for chemical mechanical polishing The present invention provides a deformable pad useful for chemical mechanical polishing (“CMP”), a CMP apparatus incorporating the deformable pad of the present invention, and methods for using the deformable pad and CMP apparatus of the present invention. The ... | 03/06/2007 |
| 7186165 | Apparatus and method for sequentially polishing and loading/unloading semiconductor wafers A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus and method for polishing semiconductor wafers utilizes multiple wafer carriers that are transferred to different positions about a polishing pad to polish at least one semiconductor wafer while another semiconductor wa... | 03/06/2007 |
| 7186322 | Methods of producing and polishing semiconductor device and polishing apparatus A method of production and a method of polishing a semiconductor device and a polishing apparatus, capable of easily flattening an initial unevenness of a metal film, excellent in efficiency of removal of an excess metal film, and capable of suppressing damage to an... | 03/06/2007 |
| 7182668 | Methods for analyzing and controlling performance parameters in mechanical and chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic substrates Methods and apparatuses for analyzing and controlling performance parameters in planarization of microelectronic substrates. In one embodiment, a planarizing machine for mechanical or chemical-mechanical planarization includes a table, a planarizing pad on the table... | 02/27/2007 |
| 7175508 | Polishing apparatus, method of manufacturing semiconductor device using the same, and semiconductor device manufactured by this method The present invention provides a polishing apparatus for a semiconductor wafer in which a slide member and a swing holding member are provided in a polishing member that is provided so as to block an opening in a head housing, a slide guide member and a ring member ... | 02/13/2007 |
