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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 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 |
| 7052366 | Endpoint detection system for wafer polishing An wafer polishing pad assembly for use in CMP includes an optical sensor for sensing reflectivity of the wafer during polishing, and produces a corresponding signal, and transmits the signal from the rotating pad to a stationary portion of the assembly. The signal ... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7052375 | Method of making carrier head backing plate having low-friction coating Planarizing machines, carrier heads for planarizing machines and methods for planarizing microelectronic-device substrate assemblies in mechanical or chemical-mechanical planarizing processes. In one embodiment of the invention, a carrier head includes a backing pla... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7052369 | Methods and systems for detecting a presence of blobs on a specimen during a polishing process Systems and methods for detecting a presence of blobs on a specimen are provided. One method may include scanning measurement spots across a specimen during polishing of the specimen. The method may also include determining if the blobs are present on the specimen a... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7052374 | Multipurpose slurry delivery arm for chemical mechanical polishing An adjustable slurry dispensing device for use with a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus is disclosed. The slurry arm is pivotally connected to the polishing apparatus and has a slurry delivery assembly that is translatable along the length of the arm. This com... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7052599 | Method and apparatus for reuse of abrasive fluid used in the manufacture of semiconductors An apparatus and method recycles the abrasive fluid or slurry effluent used in the polishing step in the manufacture of semiconductors. Agglomerations of abrasive grains built up in the slurry effluent are crushed using a mill, ultrasonic oscillation, or pressurized... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7052364 | Real time polishing process monitoring A technique for in situ monitoring of polishing processes and other material removal processes employs a quartz crystal nanobalance embedded in a wafer carrier. Material removed from the wafer is deposited upon the surface of the crystal. The resulting frequency shi... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7054717 | Robotic wash cell using recycled pure water The present invention pertains to a robotic wash cell including a six-axis robotic arm and end effector equipped with nozzles that spray unheated, solvent free, pure water at high-pressure to clean or debur objects by maintaining the nozzles in close proximity and s... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7048612 | Method of chemical mechanical polishing A method of chemical mechanical polishing that polishes a substrate by abrading a target material formed on the substrate with a polishing pad containing a slurry includes setting a polishing end time, at which time a predetermined thickness of the target material w... | 05/23/2006 |
| 7040958 | Torque-based end point detection methods for chemical mechanical polishing tool which uses ceria-based CMP slurry to polish to protective pad layer A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method is disclosed in which a torque-based end-point algorithm is used to determine when polishing should be stopped. The end-point algorithm is applicable to situations where a ceria (CeO2) based CMP slurry is used ... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7040970 | Apparatus and method for distributing a polishing fluid An apparatus and method for evenly distributing a polishing fluid onto a polishing pad during a chemical mechanical planarization process, wherein the polishing fluid is dispersed by way of a spray being emitted from a spray nozzle. The pattern of polishing fluid ap... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7042564 | Wafer inspection methods and an optical inspection tool A method of inspecting a plurality of wafers in an optical inspection tool. The method includes the steps of generating a reference wafer and polishing the reference wafer in a chemical mechanical polishing process following a metal deposition process such that the ... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7040952 | Method for reducing or eliminating de-lamination of semiconductor wafer film layers during a chemical mechanical planarization process A method for preventing de-lamination of semiconductor wafer film stacks during a linear belt-type chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process is provided. The method implements a pulsed polishing head rotation during a CMP process to maintain a slurry distribut... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7040956 | Control of chemical mechanical polishing pad conditioner directional velocity to improve pad life A method, apparatus and medium of conditioning a planarizing surface includes installing a wafer to be polished in a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus having a polishing pad and a conditioning disk, polishing the wafer under a first set of pad conditioni... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7040957 | Platen and manifold for polishing workpieces In a chemical mechanical wafer processing apparatus, a platen for supporting a polishing pad, a manifold for delivering a chemical to the platen, a workpiece substantially in contact with a polishing pad supported by the platen, a light transmission medium for trans... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7040955 | Chemical-mechanical planarization tool force calibration method and system The methods and devices described below allow users of CMP tools to quickly calibrate Spindle Force, Wafer Force, and Retaining Ring Force using mechanisms, load cells, a control computer, and force equations. The control computer can test a variety of pressures in ... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7037172 | Advanced wafer planarizing An apparatus for planarizing is disclosed. A method of planarizing is disclosed. Methods of planarizing using frictional planarizing, chemical planarizing, tribochemical planarizing, CVD planarizing, and electrochemical planarizing and combinations thereof are discl... | 05/02/2006 |
| 7037173 | Method of grinding A grinding method comprises steps of simultaneously grinding plural grinding portions of a workpiece by plural grinding wheels T1, T2 moved individually each other, and terminating said grinding by a predetermined grinding wheel T1 prior to a te... | 05/02/2006 |
| 7033248 | Systems and methods for monitoring characteristics of a polishing pad used in polishing micro-device workpieces Systems and methods for monitoring characteristics of a polishing pad used in polishing a micro-device workpiece are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method for monitoring a characteristic of a polishing pad includes applying ultrasonic energy to the polishing... | 04/25/2006 |
| 7029365 | Pad assembly for electrochemical mechanical processing Embodiments of a pad assembly for processing a substrate are provided. The pad assembly includes a processing layer having a working surface adapted to process a substrate, a lower layer coupled to and disposed below the processing layer, and an electrode having an ... | 04/18/2006 |
| 7029369 | End-point detection apparatus An apparatus is provided for polishing a substrate. The apparatus includes a polishing pad configured to traverse from at least a first point to a second point. A first sensor is located near the first point and oriented so as to sense an incoming temperature of the... | 04/18/2006 |
| 7025658 | Platen and head rotation rates for monitoring chemical mechanical polishing Methods system and apparatus, including computer program products, for monitoring polishing a substrate. A polishing pad mounted on a platen, is rotated at a first rotation rate, and a carrier head is rotated at a second rotation rate that is different from the firs... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7025664 | Work piece carrier with adjustable pressure zones and barriers and a method of planarizing a work piece An apparatus for planarizing a work piece includes an easily assembled work carrier. The carrier includes a carrier insert having a work piece bladder clamped to a carrier backing plate with a plurality of clamps to form a plurality of web plenums. The outer edge of... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7027963 | Simulation system Geometric information, layout information, etc. of workpieces and others are read from a CAD system etc. into a simulation system. A three-dimensional model is laid out on a screen of the simulation system by using layout plans and shape data of a robot, workpiece, ... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7024272 | Virtual design, inspect and grind optimization process A method for virtual machining and inspection of a three-dimensional virtual workpiece representative of an actual workpiece comprising: creating a three-dimensional tool model; defining a tool path through the virtual workpiece; creating a plurality of two-dimensio... | 04/04/2006 |
| 7020306 | Polishing pad surface condition evaluation method and an apparatus thereof and a method of producing a semiconductor device The object of the present invention is to establish a technology for directly evaluating polishing pad surface conditions, to allow high-precision CMP process management, and to improve process throughput. The pad surface is illuminated with light. The intensity of ... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7019815 | Off-axis leveling in lithographic projection apparatus In an off-axis levelling procedure a height map of the substrate is generated at a measurement station. The height map is referenced to a physical reference surface of the substrate table. The physical reference surface may be a surface in which is inset a transmiss... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7018275 | Closed-loop control of wafer polishing in a chemical mechanical polishing system Techniques for polishing a wafer (10) include closed-loop control. The wafer can be held by a carrier head (100) having at least one chamber whose pressure is controlled to apply a downward force on the wafer. Thickness-related measurements of the wafe... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7018270 | Method and apparatus for cutting semiconductor wafers Improperly mounted wafer saw blades can damage wafers cut or diced with the blades. Embodiments of this invention employ sensors to measure a distance to the blade to help indicate if the blade is improperly mounted. In one method of the invention, a the distance to... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7018271 | Method for monitoring a substrate during chemical mechanical polishing The thickness of a layer on a substrate is measured in-situ during chemical mechanical polishing. A light beam is divided through a window in a polishing pad, and the motion of the polishing pad relative to the substrate causes the light beam to move in a path acros... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7018269 | Pad conditioner control using feedback from a measured polishing pad roughness level The present invention is a system for controlling a pad conditioner in a CMP device. The system includes a roughness-sensing device mounted in proximity to a polishing pad. The roughness-sensing device generates an output responsive to a roughness of the polishing p... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7016143 | Utilization of tape head electronic lapping guides (ELG's) as servo format verifiers The present invention uses Electronic Lapping Guides (ELG's), which are patterned on every tape head, as servo format verifiers. This is implemented by specifically placing the ELG's at the appropriate locations to match the servo signal track locations and thus be ... | 03/21/2006 |
| 7014535 | Carrier head having low-friction coating and planarizing machine using same Planarizing machines, carrier heads for planarizing machines and methods for planarizing microelectronic-device substrate assemblies in mechanical or chemical-mechanical planarizing processes. In one embodiment of the invention, a carrier head includes a backing pla... | 03/21/2006 |
| 7016799 | Apparatus and method for checking the machining process of a machine tool An apparatus and a method are provided for checking a machining process of a machine tool, for example a grinding machine, to obtain information about the quantity of a material removed and the wear condition of a grinding-wheel. The apparatus comprises an acoustic ... | 03/21/2006 |
| 7014530 | Slider fabrication system for sliders with integrated electrical lapping guides A slider is described with a resistive electro-lapping guide (ELG), which is aligned with a structure in the write head such as the throat height or trailing shield thickness and extends from the lapping region through the ABS and is connected to pads on the surface... | 03/21/2006 |
| 7014531 | Method and apparatus for inline measurement of material removal during a polishing or grinding process Apparatus for inline measurement of material removal during a polishing or grinding process including: a. a substantially circular rotatable grinding or polishing pad; and b. a sample holder; and c... | 03/21/2006 |
| 7014532 | Lapping machine, lapping method, and method of manufacturing magnetic head A lapping machine comprises a lapping surface plate (1) rotated by a rotating mechanism, a lapping jig (28) having a plurality of projections to bottom surfaces of which a work (30) to be lapped by a lapping surface on the lapping surface plate ... | 03/21/2006 |
| 7014527 | Die level testing using machine grooved storage tray with vacuum channels A method for testing dies using a machine grooved storage tray with vacuum channels. The method involves drawing a vacuum upon the dies while held in the storage tray and using an automated vision system to map the location of dies in the pockets of the storage tray... | 03/21/2006 |
| 7011566 | Methods and systems for conditioning planarizing pads used in planarizing substrates Monitoring the process of planarizing a workpiece, e.g., conditioning a CMP pad, can present some difficulties. Aspects of this invention provide methods and systems for monitoring and/or controlling such a planarization cycle. For example, a control system may moni... | 03/14/2006 |
| 7012684 | Method and apparatus to provide for automated process verification and hierarchical substrate examination The present invention generally provides an apparatus and a method for inspecting a substrate in a processing system. In one embodiment, a substrate process inspection system comprises a plurality of optical inspection systems each configured to perform an optical i... | 03/14/2006 |
