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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7422510 | Lens machining machine The invention relates to a machining machine for lenses, which comprises a first workpiece drive, configured as the transport receptacle and having a workpiece spindle, a workpiece changer for exchanging workpieces between the workpiece drive and a workpiece stock, ... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7390242 | Diamond tool blade with circular cutting edge An apparatus for turning a hard and/or brittle material includes a precision workpiece spindle, a workpiece support, a hard and/or brittle workpiece rigidly coupled to the workpiece support, and a diamond tool blade rigidly coupled to a spin-turner mechanism. The di... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7364497 | Polish pad and chemical mechanical polishing apparatus comprising the same A polishing pad for use in chemically mechanically polishing a semiconductor substrate enhances the uniformity of the rate at which material is removed from the surface of the semiconductor substrate, thereby ensuring the reproducibility of the chemical mechanical p... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7341502 | Methods and systems for planarizing workpieces, e.g., microelectronic workpieces Planarizing workpieces, e.g., microelectronic workpieces, can employ a process indicator which is adapted to change an optical property in response to a planarizing condition. This process indicator may, for example, change color in response to reaching a particular... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7335091 | Methods and apparatus for machining a coupling A method facilitates fabricating a coupling including a first annular coupling member and a second annular coupling member. The method comprises coupling the first coupling member to a machine assembly that includes a plurality of grinding wheels coupled to a tool s... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7302946 | Industrial scarifier assembly A scarifier assembly including a generally rectangular shaped case with a hollow interior, a resilient generally rectangular pad located in the hollow interior of the case, and a removable work performing surface insert having work surfaces for grinding, cutting or ... | 12/04/2007 |
| 7278908 | Polishing disk for a tool for the fine machining of optically active surfaces on spectacle lenses in particular A polishing disk for a tool for the fine machining of optically active surfaces on spectacle lenses in particular is disclosed, which comprises a support body, to which a foam layer is attached, wherein a polishing film bears against the foam layer. The polishing fi... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7273408 | Paired pivot arm The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for polishing semiconductor substrates. In one embodiment, two polishing heads are mounted on two independent pivoting arms that share one pivot point. Each of the pivoting arms enable the corresponding polish... | 09/25/2007 |
| 7255635 | Polishing apparatus In polishing apparatus of the present invention, collars can be easily exchange. The polishing apparatus comprises: an outer pin gear having an inner gear section; an inner pin gear having an outer gear section; and a carrier having outer gear teeth, which are engag... | 08/14/2007 |
| 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 |
| 7223160 | System for replacement of sheet abrasive A system for rapid replacement of abrasive in machinery which uses the abrasive to finish the surfaces of workpieces that pass through the machinery on a belt, such as so-called widebelt sanders. One preferred embodiment of the system employs an abrasive material th... | 05/29/2007 |
| 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 |
| 7186171 | Composite retaining ring A two part retaining ring is described that has a lower ring and an upper ring. The lower ring contacts a polishing surface during chemical mechanical polishing. The upper surface and the lower surface of the lower ring have matching grooves formed therein to increa... | 03/06/2007 |
| 7166019 | Flexible membrane for a polishing head and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus having the same A flexible membrane for a polishing head and a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus having the same are provided. The flexible membrane for a polishing head includes a compressing plate having a first face and a second face opposite to the first face. The f... | 01/23/2007 |
| 7163434 | Method and apparatus for generating complex shapes on cylindrical surfaces A method and apparatus for shaping the radial surface of a roller or other cylindrically shaped part in a single cycle. The preferred embodiment forms a crown geometry on one roller at a time using a CNC system to control a grinding surface in three axes. The grindi... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7141501 | Polishing method, polishing apparatus, and method of manufacturing semiconductor device A polishing method and a polishing apparatus by which excess portions of a metallic film 18 can be removed easily and efficiently in planarizing the metallic film 18 by polishing and which is high in accuracy of polishing, are provided. Also, a method ... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7118465 | Grinding assembly of semiconductor wafer back-grinding apparatus and method of fastening a grinding plate to a grinding mount of the same A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a wafer support having a grinding base on which a wafer is disposed, and a grinding assembly disposed above the grinding base. The grinding assembly includes a grinding plate having grinding projections at the bottom ... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7115026 | Polishing apparatus An upper polishing plate is moved downward until facing a lower polishing plate to polish a work piece. The upper polishing plate is rotated in a horizontal plane together with a first elastic member, a second elastic member, an outer member and a connecting member.... | 10/03/2006 |
| 7104871 | Method and apparatus for reconditioning compact discs An apparatus and method for re-surfacing compact discs. One method is a two-step method in which the disc to be re-surfaced is first placed on a shaft. A resilient pad supports an abrasive medium and is positioned so the abrasive medium overlaps only the protective ... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7101259 | Polishing method and apparatus A polishing apparatus is used for chemical mechanical polishing a copper (Cu) layer formed on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer and then cleaning the polished substrate. The polishing apparatus has a polishing section having a turntable with a polishing surf... | 09/05/2006 |
| 7101272 | Carrier head for thermal drift compensation Systems and apparatus providing a carrier head for chemical mechanical polishing are described. The carrier head includes a base, a support structure attached to the base, a retaining structure attached to the base, and a connector attached to the base and the retai... | 09/05/2006 |
| 7097544 | Chemical mechanical polishing system having multiple polishing stations and providing relative linear polishing motion An apparatus and associated methods for polishing semiconductor wafers and other workpieces that includes polishing surfaces located at multiple polishing stations. Multiple wafer heads, preferably at least one greater in number than the number of polishing stations... | 08/29/2006 |
| 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 |
| 7070703 | Process for producing glass disk substrates for magnetically recordable data storage disks A polished glass disk is prepared for a magnetically recordable coating by texturing the surfaces with a highly abrasive material being abrasively engaged with the surfaces as the disk is rotated, thereby creating a relatively coarse texture with the abrasions conce... | 07/04/2006 |
| 7059946 | Compacted polishing pads for improved chemical mechanical polishing longevity The present invention is directed, in general, to a chemical mechanical polishing pad comprising a polishing body and a backing material coupled to the polishing body. The polishing body comprising a compacted thermoplastic foam substrate, wherein the compacted ther... | 06/13/2006 |
| 7052379 | Methods and apparatus for machining a coupling A method facilitates fabricating a coupling including a first annular coupling member and a second annular coupling member. The method comprises coupling the first coupling member to a machine assembly that includes a plurality of grinding wheels coupled to a tool s... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7044838 | Chemical mechanical polishing head assembly having floating wafer carrier and retaining ring The invention provides structure and method for achieving a uniformly polished or planarized substrate such as a semiconductor wafer including achieving substantially uniform polishing between the center of the semiconductor wafer and the edge of the wafer. In one a... | 05/16/2006 |
| 7029382 | Apparatus for chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) head having direct pneumatic wafer polishing pressure A resilient pneumatic annular sealing bladder is coupled for fluid communication to a first pressurized pneumatic fluid to define a first pneumatic zone and is attached to a first surface of the wafer stop plate adjacent the retaining ring interior cylindrical surfa... | 04/18/2006 |
| 7022001 | Polishing apparatus The small polishing apparatus is capable of simultaneously polishing both side faces of a work piece, and a lower polishing plate, an internal gear and a sun gear are respectively driven by direct drive (DD) motors. The polishing apparatus comprises: an upper and a ... | 04/04/2006 |
| 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 |
| 7001245 | Substrate carrier with a textured membrane A carrier head for a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a membrane with an exterior grooved surface for improved chemical mechanical polishing. The exterior grooved surface provides a path for the flow of air from the portion between the membrane and a... | 02/21/2006 |
| 6997776 | Process for producing a semiconductor wafer The invention relates to a process for producing a semiconductor wafer by simultaneous polishing of a front surface and a back surface of the semiconductor wafer with a polishing fluid between rotating polishing plates during a polishing run which lasts for a polish... | 02/14/2006 |
| 6969307 | Polishing pad conditioning and polishing liquid dispersal system A pad conditioning system for conditioning a polishing pad in conjunction with polishing of a workpiece includes a pad conditioning head coupled with a positioning unit. The pad conditioning head includes a conditioning surface that is configured to be moved into co... | 11/29/2005 |
| 6966823 | Buffing head and method for reconditioning an optical disc A buffing head (34) includes a rotary element (36) for retaining an optical disc (20) and causing the disc (20) to rotate at a first speed. A buffing element (38) contacts a work surface (30) of the optical disc (20),... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6958005 | Polishing pad conditioning system A pad conditioning system for conditioning a polishing pad in conjunction with a workpiece polishing operation includes a pad conditioning head coupled with a positioning unit. The pad conditioning head includes a plurality of abrasive particles protruding from a su... | 10/25/2005 |
| 6929535 | Apparatus and method for degrading the information bearing capabilities of a disk Embodiments of the invention abrade the information bearing surface of a compact disc (CD), DVD or other digital information bearing disk, in order to render it unreadable by standard consumer grade disk readers. This is accomplished via embodiments of the invention... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6913525 | CMP device and production method for semiconductor device A triangular pad of the type shown in FIG. 5(a) which has circular tip ends is used as the polishing pad. This shape corresponds to the concept of partially cutting the outer edge of the polishing pad in order to shorten the contact time of the polishi... | 07/05/2005 |
| 6910944 | Method of forming a transparent window in a polishing pad The polishing pad for a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, and a method of making the same. The polishing pad has a covering layer with a polishing surface and a backing layer which is adjacent to the platen. A first opening in the covering layer with a first ... | 06/28/2005 |
| 6878047 | Apparatus for repairing compact disks The present invention discloses a repair apparatus for compact disks comprising a casing unit having a top housing and a bottom housing openably fastened to the top housing; a transmission module disposed within the bottom housing, including a motor, a disk supporti... | 04/12/2005 |
| 6875086 | Surface planarization Embodiments of methods and apparatus in accordance with the present invention provide a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process that provides single or multiple polishing pads to have a different rotational velocity, applied pressure and oscillation frequenc... | 04/05/2005 |
