| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| 6748961 |
Angular spin, rinse, and dry module and methods for making and implementing the same |
June 15, 2004 |
| A wafer preparation module is provided. The wafer preparation module includes an enclosure, which contains wafer engaging rollers. The wafer engaging rollers are oriented at an angle and are designed to spin a wafer at an angle during preparation. |
| 6747283 |
In-situ detection of thin-metal interface using high resolution spectral analysis of optical int |
June 8, 2004 |
| An invention is provided for detecting an endpoint during a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. A reflected spectrum data sample is received that comprises a plurality of values corresponding to a plurality of spectrums of light reflected from an illuminated portion of a surface |
| 6746961 |
Plasma etching of dielectric layer with etch profile control |
June 8, 2004 |
| A semiconductor manufacturing process wherein high aspect ratio deep openings are plasma etched in a dielectric layer using an etchant gas which includes a fluorocarbon, a sulfur-containing gas, an oxygen-containing gas and an optional carrier gas. The etchant gas can include C.sub.x |
| 6746320 |
Linear reciprocating disposable belt polishing method and apparatus |
June 8, 2004 |
| An apparatus for chemically mechanically planarizing a semiconductor wafer is disclosed having a continuous polishing strip with first side having a fixed abrasive surface and a second side opposite the first side. In one embodiment, a first drive roller holds a first end of the polishin |
| 6746313 |
Polishing head assembly in an apparatus for chemical mechanical planarization |
June 8, 2004 |
| A polishing head assembly for use in a chemical mechanical planarization apparatus is provided. The polishing head assembly includes a carrier head shaped substantially like a disk having a circumference, a top surface, a bottom surface, and an outer wall, the outer wall having a groove |
| 6744213 |
Antenna for producing uniform process rates |
June 1, 2004 |
| An antenna arrangement for generating an electric field inside a process chamber through a window. Generally, the antenna arrangement comprises an outer loop, comprising a first outer loop turn disposed around an antenna axis, an inner loop, comprising a first inner loop turn disposed ar |
| 6744212 |
Plasma processing apparatus and method for confining an RF plasma under very high gas flow and R |
June 1, 2004 |
| The present invention includes a system and method for confining plasma within a plasma processing chamber. The plasma processing apparatus comprises a first electrode, a power generator, a second electrode, at least one confinement ring, and a ground extension surrounding the first |
| 6743328 |
Grounded centering ring for inhibiting polymer build-up on the diaphragm of a manometer |
June 1, 2004 |
| A grid protects a manometer diaphragm from plasma. A plasma chamber is used to generate a plasma. A manometer is used to measure the pressure in the plasma chamber. A grounded electrically conductive grid is used to screen out ions in the plasma before they reach a diaphragm in the manom |
| 6741446 |
Vacuum plasma processor and method of operating same |
May 25, 2004 |
| A vacuum plasma processor includes an electrode array with plural mutually-insulated electrodes forming a bottom or top electrode of the plasma processor. When the electrode array is part of the bottom electrode, the electrodes of the array are parts of a thermoelectric, Peltier effe |
| 6736720 |
Apparatus and methods for controlling wafer temperature in chemical mechanical polishing |
May 18, 2004 |
| Apparatus and methods control the temperature of a wafer for chemical mechanical polishing operations. A wafer carrier has a wafer mounting surface for positioning the wafer adjacent to a thermal energy transfer unit for transferring energy relative to the wafer. A thermal energy det |
| 6733615 |
Method and apparatus for fixed abrasive substrate preparation and use in a cluster CMP tool |
May 11, 2004 |
| An apparatus enabling preparation and use of a fixed abrasive polishing member is described. The apparatus includes a patterned three-dimensional substrate, an abrasive coating a surface of the patterned substrate and a vacuum deposition chamber in which the abrasive is applied to the su |
| 6733596 |
Substrate cleaning brush preparation sequence, method, and system |
May 11, 2004 |
| A method for cleaning top and bottom surfaces of a semiconductor substrate is provided. The method includes scrubbing top and bottom surfaces of the semiconductor wafer with top and bottom brushes, respectively. Top and bottom brushes are saturated and supplied with a scrubbing fluid. Th |
| 6733594 |
Method and apparatus for reducing He backside faults during wafer processing |
May 11, 2004 |
| A method and system for processing a wafer is disclosed. The method includes receiving a wafer having a process side and a backside. The method further includes removing un-wanted particles from the backside of the wafer to prevent gaps from forming between the backside of the wafer |
| 6729945 |
Apparatus for controlling leading edge and trailing edge polishing |
May 4, 2004 |
| A platen for use in chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) systems is disclosed. The platen is arranged below a linear polishing pad and designed to apply a controlled fluid flow to the underside of the linear polishing pad. The platen includes a leading zone containing a first plur |
| 6729943 |
System and method for controlled polishing and planarization of semiconductor wafers |
May 4, 2004 |
| A system and method for polishing semiconductor wafers includes a rotatable polishing pad movably positionable in a plurality of partially overlapping configurations with respect to a semiconductor wafer. A pad dressing assembly positioned coplanar, and adjacent, to the wafer provides in |
| 6729339 |
Method and apparatus for cooling a resonator of a megasonic transducer |
May 4, 2004 |
| A method for cleaning a semiconductor substrate is provided. The method initiates with introducing a liquid onto the top surface of the semiconductor substrate. Then, a bottom surface of a resonator is coupled to a top surface of a semiconductor substrate through the liquid. Next, so |
| 6727148 |
ULSI MOS with high dielectric constant gate insulator |
April 27, 2004 |
| MOS transistor formed on a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type and method of fabrication are provided. The device includes (a) an interfacial layer formed on the substrate; (b) a high dielectric constant layer covering the interfacial layer that comprises a material that |
| 6726530 |
End-point detection system for chemical mechanical polishing applications |
April 27, 2004 |
| Chemical mechanical polishing systems and methods are disclosed. The system includes a polishing pad that is configured to move from a first point to a second point. A carrier is also included and is configured to hold a substrate to be polished over the polishing pad. The carrier is des |
| 6725120 |
Apparatus and methods with resolution enhancement feature for improving accuracy of conversion o |
April 20, 2004 |
| CMP systems and methods in which a polishing pad is moved relative to a wafer and a retainer ring implement instructions for applying required pressure to the wafer for CMP operations. Accuracy of computations of the pressures, and of conversion of the pressure to force, is improved with |
| 6723574 |
Method for quantifying uniformity patterns and including expert knowledge for tool development a |
April 20, 2004 |
| A system and method of for determining multiple uniformity metrics of a semiconductor wafer manufacturing process includes collecting a quantity across each one of a group of semiconductor wafers. The collected quantity data is scaled and a principal component analysis (PCA) is performed |
| 6719874 |
Active retaining ring support |
April 13, 2004 |
| A chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) system having a polishing pad, a carrier body for holding a wafer, a retaining ring, and an active retaining ring support is provided. The active retaining ring is defined by a circular ring having a thickness and a width. The circular ring is |
| 6716762 |
Plasma confinement by use of preferred RF return path |
April 6, 2004 |
| A confinement assembly for confining a discharge within an interaction space of a plasma processing apparatus comprising a stack of rings and at least one electrically conductive member. The rings are spaced apart from each other to form slots therebetween and are positioned to surround |
| 6716303 |
Vacuum plasma processor having a chamber with electrodes and a coil for plasma excitation and me |
April 6, 2004 |
| A vacuum plasma processor includes a roof structure including a dielectric window carrying (1) a semiconductor plate having a high electric conductivity so it functions as an electrode, (2) a hollow coil and (3) at least one electric shield. The shield, coil and semiconductor plate are |
| 6716299 |
Profiled retaining ring for chemical mechanical planarization |
April 6, 2004 |
| An invention is provided for a retaining ring for use in a chemical mechanical planarization system. The retaining ring includes an annular retaining ring capable of holding a flatted wafer in position during a CMP operation. The flatted wafer has a first corner and a second corner d |
| 6716093 |
Low friction gimbaled substrate holder for CMP apparatus |
April 6, 2004 |
| An assembly for holding a substrate in a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) apparatus is provided. The assembly includes a holder frame insertable into the chemical mechanical planarization apparatus, the holder frame having an inner wall. The assembly further includes at least |
| 6714033 |
Probe for direct wafer potential measurements |
March 30, 2004 |
| An apparatus for measuring the DC bias voltage of a wafer in a chamber comprises an electrical coupling, a first filter, a second filter. The electrical coupling receives a probe for measuring the DC bias voltage in the chamber. The probe is disposed within the chamber. A first filter, |
| 6712929 |
Deformation reduction at the main chamber |
March 30, 2004 |
| A vacuum chamber with a cover with a first section, a second section, and a pocket between the first section and second section is provided. The vacuum chamber has a main cavity to which the first section is adjacent. The vacuum chamber may be used for plasma processing, which may requir |
| 6712679 |
Platen assembly having a topographically altered platen surface |
March 30, 2004 |
| An apparatus for improving performance of a wafer polishing apparatus is described. The apparatus includes a platen in a support assembly having a plurality of fluid channels and at least one region of altered topography positioned on a portion of the platen surface. |
| 6712670 |
Method and apparatus for applying downward force on wafer during CMP |
March 30, 2004 |
| An apparatus for applying a wafer to a polishing belt during a CMP operation includes a spindle having an upper end and a lower end. A wafer carrier is coupled to the lower end of the spindle. A linear force generator is disposed at the upper end of the spindle. A load cell is positi |
| 6711775 |
System for cleaning a semiconductor wafer |
March 30, 2004 |
| A method and a system are provided for cleaning a surface of a wafer. The method starts by scrubbing the surface of the wafer with a cleaning brush that applies a chemical solution to the surface of the wafer. In one example, the cleaning brush implements a through the brush (TTB) techni |
| 6709547 |
Moveable barrier for multiple etch processes |
March 23, 2004 |
| A process chamber for a plasma processing apparatus is provided in which etch uniformity is maintained in both chemically driven and ion driven processes. The process chamber utilizes a barrier whose position relative to a wafer may be changed. During chemically driven processes, the bar |
| 6709322 |
Apparatus for aligning a surface of an active retainer ring with a wafer surface for chemical me |
March 23, 2004 |
| A CMP system and methods reduce a cause of differences between an edge profile of a chemical mechanical polished edge of a wafer and a center profile of a chemical mechanical polished central portion of the wafer within the edge. The wafer is mounted on a carrier surface of a wafer c |
| 6705930 |
System and method for polishing and planarizing semiconductor wafers using reduced surface area |
March 16, 2004 |
| A system and method for polishing semiconductor wafers includes a variable partial pad-wafer overlap polisher having a reduced surface area, fixed-abrasive polishing pad and a polisher having a non-abrasive polishing pad for use with an abrasive slurry. The method includes first poli |
| 6702202 |
Method and apparatus for fluid delivery to a backside of a substrate |
March 9, 2004 |
| A fluid delivery device for delivering fluid to the backside of a substrate while minimizing waste. The device includes an inner cylindrical tube having a top opening and a bottom opening. An upper cap overlying a top portion of the inner cylindrical tube is included. The upper cap is |
| 6696366 |
Technique for etching a low capacitance dielectric layer |
February 24, 2004 |
| Techniques for etching through a low capacitance dielectric layer in a plasma processing chamber are disclosed. The techniques uses an etch chemistry that includes N.sub.2, O.sub.2, and a hydrocarbon. By etching the low capacitance dielectric layer with a plasma created out of the etch |
| 6692649 |
Inductively coupled plasma downstream strip module |
February 17, 2004 |
| A plasma processing module for processing a substrate includes a plasma containment chamber having a feed gas inlet port capable of allowing a feed gas to enter the plasma containment chamber of the plasma processing module during the processing of the substrate. An inductively coupled |
| 6685440 |
Methods of pressure fluctuation dampening |
February 3, 2004 |
| A pressure booster and method for amplifying a water pressure that is supplied by a water facility is provided. The pressure booster is configured to be connected between the water facility and one or more semiconductor substrate cleaning systems. The pressure booster includes a pump |
| 6679763 |
Apparatus and method for qualifying a chemical mechanical planarization process |
January 20, 2004 |
| A method and apparatus for qualifying a polishing pad used in chemical mechanical planarization of semiconductor wafers is described. The apparatus includes at least one qualifying member including at least one collimated hole structure, wherein the collimated hole structure forms mu |
| 6677711 |
Plasma processor method and apparatus |
January 13, 2004 |
| A vacuum plasma processor includes a voltage-current detector connected between a matching network and a reactive impedance for exciting gas in a chamber to a plasma for processing a workpiece. A constant non-zero AC parameter is maintained in a connection between an electrode in the |
| 6676493 |
Integrated planarization and clean wafer processing system |
January 13, 2004 |
| A wafer processing module is provided. In one example, the wafer processing module includes a sub-aperture CMP processing system and a pad exchange system including a pad magazine for storing CMP processing pads and a pad exchange robot for transferring CMP processing pads between the |
| 6673198 |
Semiconductor processing equipment having improved process drift control |
January 6, 2004 |
| A plasma processing chamber including a slip cast part having a surface thereof exposed to the interior space of the chamber. The slip cast part includes free silicon contained therein and a protective layer on the surface which protects the silicon from being attacked by plasma in the |
| 6670278 |
Method of plasma etching of silicon carbide |
December 30, 2003 |
| The invention provides a process for plasma etching silicon carbide with selectivity to an overlapping and/or underlying dielectric layer of material. The etching gas includes a hydrogen-containing fluorocarbon gas such as CH.sub.3 F, an oxygen-containing gas such as O.sub.2 and an o |
| 6669811 |
Linear drive system for use in a plasma processing system |
December 30, 2003 |
| A plasma processing system for processing a substrate is disclosed. The system includes a process component capable of effecting a plasma inside a process chamber. The system also includes a gear drive assembly for moving the process component in a linear direction during processing of t |
| 6669783 |
High temperature electrostatic chuck |
December 30, 2003 |
| An electrostatic chuck suitable for use at high temperatures having a replaceable expansion assembly, functioning as an outer tubulation and heat choke, between a chuck body and a heat transfer body. The expansion assembly accommodates differential thermal stresses between the chuck body |
| 6669539 |
System for in-situ monitoring of removal rate/thickness of top layer during planarization |
December 30, 2003 |
| An invention is provided for removing a top wafer layer during a CMP process. Time series data is collected based on a reflected wavelength from a top layer of a wafer. A Fourier Transform is applied to the time series data, and a frequency of peak intensities in the Fourier Transform |
| 6666756 |
Wafer carrier head assembly |
December 23, 2003 |
| A wafer carrier head assembly for holding a wafer in chemical mechanical planarization applications is dis;losed that includes a downwardly protruding wafer retaining ring that moves independent of the wafer carrier head and retains an edge of the wafer on said polishing surface. An |
| 6666755 |
Belt wiper for a chemical mechanical planarization system |
December 23, 2003 |
| A belt wiper that can be used in a linear belt-type chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) system to maintain a belt pad is provided. The belt wiper mitigates disturbances within a detection region important to a belt pad steering system. Also, the belt wiper mitigates the obscuring of |
| 6666326 |
Reinforced chemical mechanical planarization belt |
December 23, 2003 |
| A processing belt for use in chemical mechanical planarization (CMP), and methods for making the same, is provided. Embodiments of the processing belt include a mesh belt, and a polymeric material encasing the mesh belt to define the processing belt. The processing belt is fabricated so |
| 6664557 |
In-situ detection of thin-metal interface using optical interference |
December 16, 2003 |
| An invention is disclosed for an optical endpoint detection system that utilizes optical interference to determine when a metal layer has reached a thin metal zone during a CMP process. A portion of a surface of a wafer is illuminated with broad baned light source. Then, reflected spectr |
| 6663025 |
Diffuser and rapid cycle chamber |
December 16, 2003 |
| The present invention provides a diffuser and a chamber for venting and/or pumping gas. The diffuser includes a body, a reflector, and a set of vanes. The body includes a nozzle through a center portion and has a curved surface on an upper side to define an open space above the curved |
