Did You Know...
...that Robert Adler has the dubious distinction of being the Father of the Couch Potato? Back in 1955 Adler was employed by what was then Zenith Radio Corp., where he was charged to invent something that would allow viewers to turn down the TV volume without leaving their chairs. After a series of flops (such as a wired contraption that people tripped over), Adler hit on the idea of using sound waves. Thus the Remote Control was born...
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7815787 | Electrolyte retaining on a rotating platen by directional air flow A method and apparatus for retaining electrolyte on a rotating platen using directional air flow is provided. In one embodiment, an apparatus for processing a substrate is provided. The apparatus includes a platen assembly having a surface for supporting a processin... | 10/19/2010 |
| 7807038 | Method for electrochemical mechanical polishing The present invention provides a method of electrochemical polishing of a workpiece using a polishing pad having a cellular polymeric layer overlying a conductive substrate, the cellular polymeric layer having a thickness less than 1.5 mm; wherein the cellular polym... | 10/05/2010 |
| 7670473 | Workpiece surface influencing device designs for electrochemical mechanical processing and method of using the same The present invention is directed to a top surface of a workpiece surface influencing device and a method of using the same. The top surface of the workpiece surface influencing device is adapted for use in an electrochemical mechanical processing apparatus in which... | 03/02/2010 |
| 7648622 | System and method for electrochemical mechanical polishing A method and apparatus for electropolishing a conductive surface of a semiconductor wafer. The apparatus includes a polisher having at least one first electrode and at least one second electrode separated from one another by an isolation region. A moving mechanism r... | 01/19/2010 |
| 7618529 | Polishing pad for electrochemical mechanical polishing The present invention provides polishing pad for electrochemical mechanical polishing. The pad comprises a cellular polymeric layer overlying a conductive substrate, the cellular polymeric layer having a thickness less than 1.5 mm. ... | 11/17/2009 |
| 7578923 | Electropolishing system and process The present invention provides a process for electropolishing a conductive surface of a semiconductor wafer. During the process, a contact electrode in a contact solution contacts a contact region on surface of the conductive layer with the contact solution. Further... | 08/25/2009 |
| 7438795 | Electrochemical-mechanical polishing system Provided is a polishing apparatus and polishing pad, intended for polishing a substrate, and designed for improved flow and distribution of a polishing composition to the area of interaction between the pad and substrate. In one aspect, a polishing pad is provided h... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7435323 | Method for controlling thickness uniformity of electroplated layers An apparatus which can control thickness uniformity during deposition of conductive material from an electrolyte onto a surface of a semiconductor substrate is provided. The apparatus has an anode which can be contacted by the electrolyte during deposition of the co... | 10/14/2008 |
| 7422677 | Membrane-mediated electropolishing This invention provides a membrane-mediated electropolishing process for polishing and/or planarizing metal work pieces. The work piece is wetted with a low-conductivity fluid. The wetted work piece is contacted with a first side of a charge-selective ion-conducting... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7344431 | Pad assembly for electrochemical mechanical processing Embodiments of a processing pad assembly for processing a substrate are provided. The processing pad assembly includes an upper layer having a processing surface and an electrode having a top side coupled to the upper layer and a bottom side opposite the top side. A... | 03/18/2008 |
| 7341649 | Apparatus for electroprocessing a workpiece surface The present invention deposits a conductive material from an electrolyte solution to a predetermined area of a wafer. The steps that are used when making this application include applying the conductive material to the predetermined area of the wafer using an electr... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7329335 | Device providing electrical contact to the surface of a semiconductor workpiece during processing Substantially uniform deposition of conductive material on a surface of a substrate, which substrate includes a semiconductor wafer, from an electrolyte containing the conductive material can be provided by way of a particular device which includes first and second ... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7323095 | Integrated multi-step gap fill and all feature planarization for conductive materials A method and apparatus is provided for depositing and planarizing a material layer on a substrate. In one embodiment, an apparatus is provided which includes a partial enclosure, a permeable disc, a diffuser plate and optionally an anode. A substrate carrier is posi... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7309413 | Providing electrical contact to the surface of a semiconductor workpiece during processing Substantially uniform deposition of conductive material on a surface of a substrate, which substrate includes a semiconductor wafer, from an electrolyte containing the conductive material can be provided by way of a particular device which includes first and second ... | 12/18/2007 |
| 7309406 | Method and apparatus for plating and polishing semiconductor substrate The present invention provides a method and apparatus that plates/deposits a conductive material on a semiconductor substrate and then polishes the same substrate. This is achieved by providing multiple chambers in a single apparatus, where one chamber can be used f... | 12/18/2007 |
| 7303462 | Edge bead removal by an electro polishing process A method and apparatus for the removal of a deposited conductive layer along an edge of a substrate using an electrode configured to electro polish a substrate edge are disclosed. The electro polishing of the substrate edge may occur simultaneously during electroche... | 12/04/2007 |
| 7250103 | Method and apparatus for eliminating defects and improving uniformity in electrochemically processed conductive layers A method of removing material from a conductive surface of a workpiece while the conductive surface and an electrode are wetted by a process solution. The method comprises the steps of applying power between the conductive surface and the electrode, rendering the co... | 07/31/2007 |
| 7247577 | 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... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7238092 | Low-force electrochemical mechanical processing method and apparatus The present invention relates to semiconductor integrated circuit technology and discloses an electrochemical mechanical processing system for uniformly distributing an applied force to a workpiece surface. The system includes a workpiece carrier for positioning or ... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7229535 | Hydrogen bubble reduction on the cathode using double-cell designs An apparatus and method for planarizing a surface of a substrate using a chamber separated into two parts by a membrane, and two separate electrolytes is provided. The embodiments of the present invention generally provide an electrochemical mechanical polishing sys... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7211178 | Fixture for electro-chemical machining On a fixture for electro-chemical machining for the production of long, curved cavities (11) in a component (12), the working electrode (3) of the electro-chemical machining tool (1) is connected to a guide body (1a) which m... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7201829 | Mask plate design The present invention includes a mask plate design that includes at least one or a plurality of channels portions on a surface of the mask plate, into which electrolyte solution will accumulate when the mask plate surface is disposed on a surface of wafer, and out o... | 04/10/2007 |
| 7189145 | Method of and apparatus for producing roll A belt grinding is integrated with an electroerosion machine for contouring the working surface of a mill roll and providing a texture thereon. The belt grinder can superfinish the roll and remove peaks in the surface without significantly affecting the mean surface... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7186164 | Processing pad assembly with zone control An electrochemical mechanical processing station having a zoned polishing pad assembly is provided. The zoned polishing pad assembly includes a conductive layer coupled to an upper layer having a non-conductive processing surface. At least two zones of different cur... | 03/06/2007 |
| 7160176 | Methods and apparatus for electrically and/or chemically-mechanically removing conductive material from a microelectronic substrate A method and apparatus for removing conductive material from a microelectronic substrate. In one embodiment, a support member supports a microelectronic substrate relative to a material removal medium, which can include first and second electrodes and a polishing pa... | 01/09/2007 |
| 7156975 | Polishing method and electropolishing apparatus A polishing method for electropolishing a metal film formed on a wafer surface so as to fill concave portions formed on the wafer surface comprises a step of determining an electropolishing end point of the metal film on the basis of a change of a current waveform r... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7153410 | Methods and apparatus for electrochemical-mechanical processing of microelectronic workpieces Methods and apparatuses for electrochemical-mechanical processing of microelectronic workpieces. One embodiment of an electrochemical processing apparatus in accordance with the invention comprises a workpiece holder configured to receive a microelectronic workpiece... | 12/26/2006 |
| 7125477 | Contacts for electrochemical processing Systems and methods for electrochemically processing. A contact element defines a substrate contact surface positionable in contact a substrate during processing. In one embodiment, the contact element comprises a wire element. In another embodiment the contact elem... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7101471 | Method for planar material removal technique using multi-phase process environment An electroetching process of the present invention uses a multiphase environment for planarizing a wafer with conductive surface having a non-uniform topography. The multiphase environment includes a high resistance phase and an etching solution phase. The conductiv... | 09/05/2006 |
| 7077721 | Pad assembly for electrochemical mechanical processing Embodiments of a processing pad assembly for processing a substrate are provided. The processing pad assembly includes an upper layer having a processing surface and an electrode having a top side coupled to the upper layer and a bottom side opposite the top side. A... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7025861 | Contact plating apparatus Embodiments of the invention generally provide a substrate processing system and method. The substrate processing system generally includes a fluid basin configured to contain a plating solution therein, an anode assembly positioned in a lower portion of the fluid b... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7025860 | Method and apparatus for the electrochemical deposition and removal of a material on a workpiece surface An apparatus for performing an electrochemical process on a metallic surface of a workpiece, comprised of a substantially incompressible workpiece support plate. A platen for supporting the workpiece support plate, has at least one opening coupled to a source of ele... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7021993 | Method of polishing a substrate with a polishing system containing conducting polymer The invention provides a method of polishing a substrate comprising (i) contacting a substrate with 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 elec... | 04/04/2006 |
| 6991528 | Conductive polishing article for electrochemical mechanical polishing Embodiments of a polishing article for processing a substrate are provided. In one embodiment, a polishing article for processing a substrate comprises a fabric layer having a conductive layer disposed thereover. The conductive layer has an exposed surface adapted t... | 01/31/2006 |
| 6974525 | 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 ... | 12/13/2005 |
| 6969308 | Method and apparatus for chemical and mechanical polishing A polishing device is hermetically accommodated in a chamber containing an atmosphere having a composition different from the ambient air, so that the atmosphere around the polishing device is altered into the composition different from the ambient air, and voltage ... | 11/29/2005 |
| 6939457 | Contact-discharge truing/dressing method and device therefor A contact-discharge truing/dressing method and a device therefor, capable of very simply conducting truing/dressing of a superabrasive grindstone, especially a superabrasive grindstone having a metal binder. The contact-discharge truing/dressing method brings a rota... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6935003 | Compound fabrication process and apparatus A miniature machine tool for micro-machining is capable of performing on a workpiece at least one conventional mechanical machining operation and another micro-machining operation such as electrochemical machining (ECM), electro deposit machining (EDM), micro-millin... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6881351 | Methods for contacting conducting layers overlying magnetoelectronic elements of MRAM devices A method for contacting an electrically conductive layer overlying a magnetoelectronics element includes forming a memory element layer overlying a dielectric region. A first electrically conductive layer is deposited overlying the memory element layer. A first diel... | 04/19/2005 |
| 6852208 | Method and apparatus for full surface electrotreating of a wafer Deposition of conductive material on or removal of conductive material from a workpiece frontal side of a semiconductor workpiece is performed by providing an anode having an anode area which is to face the workpiece frontal side, and electrically connecting the wor... | 02/08/2005 |
