| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080239308 | HIGH THROUGHPUT MEASUREMENT SYSTEM - A substrate processing system includes a processing module to process a substrate, a factory interface module configured to accommodate at least one cassette for holding the substrate, a spectrographic monitoring system positioned in or adjoining the factory interface module, and a substrate handler to transfer the substrate between the at least one cassette, the spectrographic monitoring system and the processing module. | 10-02-2008 |
| 20080243433 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING A LIBRARY OF SPECTRA - A method of generating a library from a reference substrate for use in processing product wafers is described. The method includes measuring substrate characteristics at a plurality of well-defined points of a reference substrate, measuring spectra at plurality of measurement points of the reference substrate, there being more measurement points than well-defined points, and associating measured spectra with measured substrate characteristics. | 10-02-2008 |
| 20090033942 | Determining Physical Property of Substrate - A method of determining a physical property of a substrate includes recording a first spectrum obtained from a substrate, the first spectrum being obtained during a polishing process that alters a physical property of the substrate. The method includes identifying, in a database, at least one of several previously recorded spectra that is similar to the recorded first spectrum. Each of the spectra in the database has a physical property value associated therewith. The method includes generating a signal indicating that a first value of the physical property is associated with the first spectrum, the first value being determined using the physical property value associated with the identified previously recorded spectrum in the database. A system for determining a physical property of a substrate includes a polishing machine, an endpoint determining module, and a database. | 02-05-2009 |
| 20090036026 | SUBSTRATE THICKNESS MEASURING DURING POLISHING - A computer program product that determines a polishing endpoint includes obtaining spectra from different zones on a substrate during different times in a polishing sequence, matches the spectra with indexes in a library and uses the indexes to determining a polishing rate for each of the different zones from the indexes. An adjusted polishing rate can be determined for one of the zones, which causes the substrate to have a desired profile when the polishing end time is reached. | 02-05-2009 |
| 20090149115 | WAFER EDGE CHARACTERIZATION BY SUCCESSIVE RADIUS MEASUREMENTS - Systems and methods for performing one or more measurements of a substrate at one or more radii along the substrate are described. Thickness measurements taken at various radii along the substrate can be averaged together to obtain an average value that reflects an overall substrate thickness. A more accurate measurement of the overall substrate thickness can be obtained by performing multiple measurements and averaging the measurements together. Using the average value, polishing can be adjusted to ensure that the substrate achieves a desired planarized thickness profile. | 06-11-2009 |
| 20090258574 | POLISHING SYSTEM HAVING A TRACK - Embodiments described herein relate to a track system in a polishing system. One embodiment described herein provides a track system configured to transfer polishing heads in a polishing system. The track system comprises a supporting frame, a track coupled to the supporting frame and defining a path along which the polishing heads are configured to move, and one or more carriages configured to carry at least one polishing head along the path defined by the track, wherein the one or more carriages are coupled to the track and independently movable along the track. | 10-15-2009 |
| 20090278081 | PAD PROPERTIES USING NANOPARTICLE ADDITIVES - A method for forming a polishing media and an article of manufacture is described. The article of manufacture may be formed into a polishing article. The polishing article includes a polymer base material and a plurality of nano-scale structures disposed in or on the polymer base material. | 11-12-2009 |
| 20090280727 | POLISHING SYSTEM WITH THREE HEADED CAROUSEL - Embodiments of the present invention provide a polishing module configured to use in a polishing system. The polishing module comprises a base member, two polishing stations disposed on the base member, one load cup, and a carousel having three polishing heads. | 11-12-2009 |
| 20100029178 | SMART CONDITIONER RINSE STATION - A method and apparatus for monitoring polishing pad conditioning mechanisms is provided. In one embodiment, a semiconductor substrate polishing system includes a rinse station, a polishing surface, a conditioning element, and a conditioning mechanism. The conditioning mechanism selectively positions the conditioning element over the polishing surface and over the rinse station. At least one sensor is provided and is configured to detect a first position and a second position of the conditioning element when disposed over the rinse station. | 02-04-2010 |
| 20100112903 | DISHING AND DEFECT CONTROL OF CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING USING REAL-TIME ADJUSTABLE ADDITIVE DELIVERY - A method and apparatus for polishing or planarzing a substrate by a chemical mechanical polishing process. In one embodiment a method of processing a semiconductor substrate is provided. The method comprises positioning a substrate on a polishing apparatus comprising a polishing pad assembly, delivering a polishing slurry to a surface of the polishing pad assembly, polishing the substrate with the surface of the polishing pad assembly, monitoring the removal rate of material from a plurality of regions on the surface of the substrate, determining whether the plurality of regions on the surface of the substrate are polishing uniformly, and selectively delivering a polishing slurry additive to at least one region of the plurality of regions to obtain a uniform removal rate of material from the plurality of regions on the surface of the substrate, wherein the removal rate of material from the at least one region is different than at least one other region of the plurality of regions. | 05-06-2010 |
| 20100120333 | In-Line Wafer Thickness Sensing - A method of forming bare silicon substrates is described. A bare silicon substrate is measured, wherein measuring is performed by a non-contact capacitance measurement device to obtain a signal at a point on the substrate. The signal or a thickness indicated by the signal is communicated to a controller. An adjusted polishing parameter according to the signal or thickness indicated by the signal is determined. After determining an adjusted polishing parameter, the bare silicon substrate is polished on a polisher using the adjusted polishing parameter. | 05-13-2010 |
| 20100217430 | SPECTROGRAPHIC MONITORING OF A SUBSTRATE DURING PROCESSING USING INDEX VALUES - Methods, systems, and apparatus for spectrographic monitoring of a substrate during chemical mechanical polishing are described. In one aspect, a computer-implemented method includes storing a library having a plurality of reference spectra, each reference spectrum of the plurality of reference spectra having a stored associated index value, measuring a sequence of spectra in-situ during polishing to obtain measured spectra, for each measured spectrum of the sequence of spectra, finding a best matching reference spectrum to generate a sequence of best matching reference spectra, determining the associated index value for each best matching spectrum from the sequence of best matching reference spectra to generate a sequence of index values, fitting a linear function to the sequence of index values, and halting the polishing either when the linear function matches or exceeds a target index or when the associated index value from the determining step matches or exceeds the target index. | 08-26-2010 |
| 20100261413 | Determining Physical Property of Substrate - A method of determining a physical property of a substrate includes recording a first spectrum obtained from a substrate, the first spectrum being obtained during a polishing process that alters a physical property of the substrate. The method includes identifying, in a database, at least one of several previously recorded spectra that is similar to the recorded first spectrum. Each of the spectra in the database has a physical property value associated therewith. The method includes generating a signal indicating that a first value of the physical property is associated with the first spectrum, the first value being determined using the physical property value associated with the identified previously recorded spectrum in the database. A system for determining a physical property of a substrate includes a polishing machine, an endpoint determining module, and a database. | 10-14-2010 |
| 20100285666 | PROCESS SEQUENCE TO ACHIEVE GLOBAL PLANARITY USING A COMBINATION OF FIXED ABRASIVE AND HIGH SELECTIVITY SLURRY FOR PRE-METAL DIELECTRIC CMP APPLICATIONS - A method and apparatus for polishing or planarizing a pre-metal dielectric layer by a chemical mechanical polishing process are provided. The method comprises providing a semiconductor substrate having feature definitions formed thereon, forming a pre-metal dielectric layer over the substrate, wherein the as-deposited pre-metal dielectric layer has an uneven surface topography, and planarizing the uneven surface topography of the pre-metal dielectric layer using chemical mechanical polishing techniques, wherein planarizing the uneven surface topography comprises polishing the pre-metal dielectric layer with a fixed abrasive polishing pad and a first polishing composition to remove a bulk portion of the pre-metal dielectric layer and achieve a first predetermined planarity, and polishing the pre-metal dielectric layer with a non-abrasive polishing pad and high selectivity slurry to remove a residual portion of the pre-metal dielectric and achieve a second predetermined planarity. | 11-11-2010 |
| 20110046918 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING A LIBRARY OF SPECTRA - A method of generating a library from a reference substrate for use in processing product wafers is described. The method includes measuring substrate characteristics at a plurality of well-defined points of a reference substrate, measuring spectra at plurality of measurement points of the reference substrate, there being more measurement points than well-defined points, and associating measured spectra with measured substrate characteristics. | 02-24-2011 |
| 20110079245 | ROLLER ASSEMBLY FOR A BRUSH CLEANING DEVICE IN A CLEANING MODULE - Embodiments described herein relate to an apparatus and method for a roller assembly that may be utilized in a brush cleaning module. In one embodiment, a roller assembly is described. The roller assembly includes an annular groove having at least two substantially parallel opposing sidewalls adapted to contact the major surfaces of a substrate along a periphery of the substrate, each of the opposing sidewalls comprising a compressible material having a pre-compressed dimension that is less than a thickness of the periphery of the substrate. | 04-07-2011 |
| 20110094537 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR BRUSH AND PAD CONDITIONING - A method and apparatus for conditioning a processing surface of a cylindrical roller disposed in a brush box is described. In one embodiment, a brush box is described. The brush box includes a tank having an interior volume and a pair of cylindrical rollers at least partially disposed in the interior volume, each of the cylindrical rollers being rotatable about a respective axis, an actuator assembly coupled to each of the cylindrical rollers to move the respective cylindrical roller between a first position where the cylindrical rollers are in proximity and a second position where the cylindrical rollers are spaced away from each other, and a conditioning device for each of the cylindrical rollers, each conditioning device including a conditioner disposed in the interior volume, the conditioner contacting an outer surface of each of the cylindrical rollers when the rollers are in the second position. | 04-28-2011 |
