Did You Know...
...that "patent leather" got its name because the process of applying the polished black finish to leather was once patented?
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7530886 | Non-glazing dressing wheel A non-glazing dressing wheel (10) suitable for dressing a grinding wheel surface to be used for maintaining a certain tolerance to assure reliability and quality control of ground parts during the grinding operation. The dressing wheel includes at least a fir... | 05/12/2009 |
| 7455575 | Polishing pad cleaner and chemical mechanical polishing apparatus comprising the same A polishing pad cleaner of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus throughly and efficiently cleans the polishing pad of the apparatus. The head of the polishing pad cleaner includes a nozzle support plate, a plurality of nozzles mounted to the nozzle support plat... | 11/25/2008 |
| 7438632 | Method and apparatus for cleaning a web-based chemical mechanical planarization system A method and apparatus for cleaning a web-based chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) system. Specifically, a fluid spray bar is coupled to a frame assembly which may be mounted on a CMP system. The fluid spray bar will move along the frame assembly. As the fluid ... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7367872 | Conditioner disk for use in chemical mechanical polishing A conditioner disk for use on a polish pad in chemical mechanical polishing process includes a base structure a plurality of curved blades supported by the base structure. The blades radiate outwardly from a center region of the base structure and curve in a common ... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7367873 | Substrate processing apparatus A substrate processing apparatus has a polishing tape and a polishing head for pressing the polishing tape against a peripheral portion of a semiconductor wafer. The substrate processing apparatus polishes the wafer due to sliding contact of the polishing tape and t... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7288165 | Pad conditioning head for CMP process In a first aspect, a first apparatus is provided for a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. The first apparatus includes (1) a rotatable member; (2) an end effector adapted to receive and retain a conditioning disk; and (3) an elastic device disposed between... | 10/30/2007 |
| 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 |
| 7270597 | Method and system for chemical mechanical polishing pad cleaning In one embodiment, a method for cleaning a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) pad is provided. The CMP pad surface has a residue thereon. Chemicals are applied onto the surface of the CMP pad and the pad surface is rinsed so as to substantially remove by-product pr... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7267608 | Method and apparatus for conditioning a chemical-mechanical polishing pad A conditioner including abrasive elements for conditioning a polishing pad to be used in abrasive semiconductor substrate treatment processes, such as chemical-mechanical polishing or chemical-mechanical planarization processes. The abrasive elements are formed from... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7258600 | Vacuum-assisted pad conditioning system A method and apparatus for conditioning polishing pads that utilize an apertured conditioning disk for introducing operation-specific slurries, without the need for additional tooling, platens, and materials handling. The method and apparatus utilize a vacuum capabi... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7258708 | Chemical mechanical polishing pad dresser CMP pad dressers and their methods of manufacture are disclosed. One aspect of the present invention provides a CMP pad dresser having improved superabrasive grit retention in a resin layer. The CMP pad includes a resin layer, superabrasive grit held in the resin la... | 08/21/2007 |
| 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 |
| 7198554 | Method of making valve guide having textured external surface A cylindrical valve guide having a roughened external surface texture from about 50 to about 100 microinches permits effective amounts of lubricating oil to become trapped or contained by such roughened external surface and thereby facilitates subsequent press fitti... | 04/03/2007 |
| 7189139 | Polishing apparatus A polishing apparatus can detect completion of initialization of a polishing pad quantitatively. The polishing apparatus has a polishing table having a polishing pad attached thereto and a substrate holder configured to bring a surface of a substrate into contact wi... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7179158 | Belt sander eraser attachment A Belt Sander Eraser Attachment is disclosed. The attachment is configured to be attached to a conventional belt sander such that it provides the operator with the ability to remove built up sawdust and the like from the sanding belt. The device removably replaces t... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7175509 | Grinder and method of and apparatus for non-contact conditioning of tool Truing of a grinder is performed by irradiating a laser beam onto abrasive grains on the outermost periphery of the grinder from the tangential direction of the grinder. Truing of the grinder for adjusting the number of working abrasive grains and the shape of the a... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7175515 | Static pad conditioner A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a polishing pad. A pad conditioner includes a static conditioner head having a surface area configured to contact and condition the pad. The surface area has a first end proximate to an axis of rotation of the pad a... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7172491 | 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... | 02/06/2007 |
| 7166015 | Apparatus and method for controlling fluid material composition on a polishing pad An apparatus for use in a chemical mechanical planarization system is provided. The apparatus includes a fluid displacing device and a fluid delivery device. The fluid displacing device is capable of being positioned at a proximate location over a polishing pad, the... | 01/23/2007 |
| 7163447 | Apparatus and method for conditioning a contact surface of a processing pad used in processing microelectronic workpieces Conditioning devices, systems and methods for conditioning a contact surface of a processing pad used in processing microelectronic workpieces. One embodiment of a conditioning device comprises an end-effector having a conditioning surface configured to engage the c... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7150677 | CMP conditioner A CMP conditioner is provided in which diamond grit that is adhered to a conditioning surface so as to face and be in contact with a polishing pad of a CMP apparatus is adhered such that 111 surfaces of crystal surfaces of the diamond grit are substantially parallel... | 12/19/2006 |
| 7134944 | Apparatus and method for conditioning a contact surface of a processing pad used in processing microelectronic workpieces Conditioning devices, systems and methods for conditioning a contact surface of a processing pad used in processing microelectronic workpieces. One embodiment of a conditioning device comprises an end-effector having a conditioning surface configured to engage the c... | 11/14/2006 |
| 7131889 | Method for planarizing microelectronic workpieces Planarizing machines and methods for accurately planarizing microelectronic workpieces. Several embodiments of the planarizing machines produce a planar surface at a desired endpoint in the microelectronic workpieces by (a) quickly reducing variances on the surface ... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7125324 | Insulated pad conditioner and method of using same A wafer planarization process with a conditioning tool having an electrical insulator that electrically insulates the abrasive surface of the conditioning tool. The electrical insulator extends the useful life of the abrasive surface of the conditioning tool by redu... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7121921 | Methods for planarizing microelectronic workpieces Planarizing machines and methods for accurately planarizing microelectronic workpieces. Several embodiments of the planarizing machines produce a planar surface at a desired endpoint in the microelectronic workpieces by (a) quickly reducing variances on the surface ... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7108579 | Method and device for polishing The present invention relates to a polishing method for polishing a workpiece by pressing the workpiece, to be polished, against a fixed abrasive and bringing the workpiece into sliding contact with the fixed abrasive. The polishing method includes a first step of p... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7101254 | System and method for in-line metal profile measurement A system includes a measuring station for positioning an eddy current probe proximate to a substrate in a substrate holder. The probe can produce a time-varying magnetic field, in order to induce eddy currents in one or more conductive regions of a substrate either ... | 09/05/2006 |
| 7097539 | Rotary grinding apparatus for blending defects on turbine blades and associated method of use A grinding apparatus for use with an endoscope for viewing and blending defects on a turbine engine blade is provided. In one preferred embodiment a motorized driver causes a grinding head on the end of a grinding tool to rotate at a predetermined speed. The positio... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7097542 | Method and apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad A method and apparatus for polishing a thin film on a semiconductor substrate is described. A polishing pad is rotated and a wafer to be polished is placed on the rotating polishing pad. The polishing pad has grooves that channels slurry between the wafer and polish... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7090566 | Grinding apparatus and method for manufacturing magnetic recording medium using the same A grindstone of a diamond wheel is cleaned by a rotating brush additionally provided in close proximity of the diamond wheel during a grinding operation in which a magnetic layer of a magnetic tape material being transferred is ground continuously by the diamond whe... | 08/15/2006 |
| 7083506 | Polishing apparatus A polishing apparatus comprises a polishing table having a polishing surface thereon, a top ring for pressing a workpiece to be polished against the polishing surface, and a dresser for dressing the polishing surface on the polishing table. The dresser comprises a d... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7077722 | Systems and methods for actuating end effectors to condition polishing pads used for polishing microfeature workpieces Systems and methods for activating end effectors used to condition microfeature workpiece polishing pads are disclosed. A system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention includes a rotatable end effector having a conditioning surface configured to conditio... | 07/18/2006 |
| RE39195 | Polishing pad refurbisher for in situ, real-time conditioning and cleaning of a polishing pad used in chemical-mechanical polishing of microelectronic substrates A pad refurbisher that provides in situ, real-time conditioning and/or cleaning of a polishing surface on a polishing pad used in chemical-mechanical polishing of a semiconductor wafer and other microelectronic substrates. The pad refurbisher has a body adapted for ... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7077730 | Method and apparatus for polishing a workpiece A method and apparatus for polishing a workpiece are set forth which can polish the workpiece at a constant rate at a stable condition even when plural workpieces are continually polished. The method comprises dressing a polishing surface of a polishing table while ... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7066795 | Polishing pad conditioner with shaped abrasive patterns and channels A polishing pad conditioner comprises a base and a pad conditioning face on the base. The conditioning face comprises central and peripheral regions. Abrasive spokes having a substantially constant width of abrasive particles, extend from the central to the peripher... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7063603 | Method and apparatus for cleaning a web-based chemical mechanical planarization system A method and apparatus for cleaning a web-based chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) system. Specifically, a fluid spray bar is coupled to a frame assembly which may be mounted on a CMP system. The fluid spray bar will move along the frame assembly. As the fluid ... | 06/20/2006 |
| 7052371 | Vacuum-assisted pad conditioning system and method utilizing an apertured conditioning disk A method and apparatus for conditioning polishing pads that utilize an apertured conditioning disk for introducing operation-specific slurries, without the need for additional tooling, platens, and materials handling. The a method and apparatus utilize a vacuum capa... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7052376 | Wafer carrier gap washer A wafer carrier gap washer includes at least one wafer carrier head and at least one nozzle installed on a wafer load/unload mechanism. The wafer carrier head has a flexible membrane and a retaining ring for holding a wafer beneath the wafer carrier head during a CM... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7037179 | Methods and apparatuses for making and using planarizing pads for mechanical and chemical-mechanical planarization of microelectronic substrates Methods and apparatuses for planarizing a microelectronic substrate. In one embodiment, a planarizing pad for mechanical or chemical-mechanical planarization includes a base section and a plurality of embedded sections. The base section has a planarizing surface, an... | 05/02/2006 |
| 7033253 | Polishing pad conditioners having abrasives and brush elements, and associated systems and methods Systems and methods for conditioning polishing pads are disclosed. A system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention includes a polishing support configured to carry a microfeature workpiece polishing pad, and a conditioner positioned at least proximate to... | 04/25/2006 |
