Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080242196 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING BY TAKING ZONE SPECIFIC SUBSTRATE DATA INTO ACCOUNT - A system for chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is disclosed which includes a polishing apparatus for polishing a surface of a substrate and a sensor for determining zone-specific substrate data respectively related to at least two zones of the substrate. A controller is provided for generating, in response to the zone-specific substrate data, at least one set-point value, e.g., a set-point window of values for at least one operating parameter of the polishing apparatus in a subsequent CMP process. The set-point value/set-point window of values may be displayed on a display device or automatically taken into account by the controller for controlling subsequent CMP processes. | 10-02-2008 |
20090061745 | POLISHING HEAD USING ZONE CONTROL - A polishing head for a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus is provided which includes at least two polishing head zones configured to provide different temperatures for transferring heat to at least two zones of a substrate corresponding to the at least two polishing head zones. The present disclosure addresses chemical mechanical polishing which allows a control of the polishing profile even if slurries are used, which show almost no dependency between polishing rate and down force. | 03-05-2009 |
20090170320 | CMP SYSTEM AND METHOD USING INDIVIDUALLY CONTROLLED TEMPERATURE ZONES - By creating a temperature profile across a polishing pad, a respective temperature profile may be obtained in a substrate to be polished, which may result in a respective varying removal rate across the substrate for a chemically reactive slurry material or for an electro-chemically activated polishing process. Hence, highly sensitive materials, such as material comprising low-k dielectrics, may be efficiently polished with a high degree of controllability. | 07-02-2009 |
20090275264 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPTICAL ENDPOINT DETECTION DURING CMP BY USING AN ACROSS-SUBSTRATE SIGNAL - In a polishing process, the characteristics of the removal process may be monitored at different lateral positions to identify the clearance of the various device regions with a high degree of reliability. Consequently, upon forming sophisticated metallization structures, undue over-polishing may be avoided while at the same time providing reduced leakage currents due to enhanced material removal. | 11-05-2009 |
20100112816 | METHOD OF REDUCING NON-UNIFORMITIES DURING CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING OF MICROSTRUCTURE DEVICES BY USING CMP PADS IN A GLAZED MODE - In sophisticated CMP recipes, the material removal may be accomplished on the basis of a chemically reactive slurry material and a reduced down force, wherein the surface topography of a finally obtained material layer may be enhanced by using, at least in a final phase, a glazed state of the polishing pad. | 05-06-2010 |
20110076844 | SUPERIOR FILL CONDITIONS IN A REPLACEMENT GATE APPROACH BY PERFORMING A POLISHING PROCESS BASED ON A SACRIFICIAL FILL MATERIAL - In a replacement gate approach, a top area of a gate opening may receive a superior cross-sectional shape after the deposition of a work function adjusting species on the basis of a polishing process, wherein a sacrificial material may protect the sensitive materials in the gate opening. | 03-31-2011 |
20110186931 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE FORMED BY A REPLACEMENT GATE APPROACH BASED ON AN EARLY WORK FUNCTION METAL - In a replacement gate approach, one work function metal may be provided in an early manufacturing stage, i.e., upon depositing the gate layer stack, thereby reducing the number of deposition steps required in a later manufacturing stage. Consequently, the further work function metal and the electrode metal may be filled into the gate trenches on the basis of superior process conditions compared to conventional replacement gate approaches. | 08-04-2011 |
20110269303 | Reduced Defectivity in Contacts of a Semiconductor Device Comprising Replacement Gate Electrode Structures by Using an Intermediate Cap Layer - Superior contact elements may be formed in semiconductor devices in which sophisticated replacement gate approaches may be applied. To this end, a dielectric cap layer is provided prior to patterning the interlayer dielectric material so that any previously created cracks may be reliably sealed prior to the deposition of the contact material, while the removal of any excess portion thereof may be performed without an undue interaction with the electrode metal of the gate electrode structures. Consequently, a significantly reduced defect rate may be achieved. | 11-03-2011 |