| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080268753 | NON-CONTACT WET WAFER HOLDER - The present invention relates to a load cup configured to speed up substrate transferring to and from a carrier head and to reduce corrosion during the transferring. One embodiment of the present invention provides a non-contact substrate holder comprising a pedestal having a top surface configured to support a substrate, and at least one injection port configured to eject a high velocity liquid stream on the top surface of the pedestal, wherein the liquid stream in configured to secure the substrate on the pedestal without the substrate contacting the top surface of the pedestal. | 10-30-2008 |
| 20090036035 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR CONDITIONING A POLISHING PAD - Apparatus and methods for conditioning a polishing pad include a base, an arm pivotally coupled to the base and adapted to support a conditioning disk, and an actuator coupled to the base and the arm. The actuator is adapted to cause the arm to press the conditioning disk against the polishing pad with a linearly variable amount of force. A first force is produced with the actuator. The first force is scaled by a linearly variable amount to a second force that is applied to the polishing pad by a conditioning disk. Numerous other aspects are disclosed. | 02-05-2009 |
| 20090036036 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR CONDITIONING A POLISHING PAD - Apparatus and methods for conditioning a polishing pad are provided. An apparatus includes a base, an arm adapted to support a conditioning disk; and a drive mechanism coupled between the arm and the conditioning disk, wherein the drive mechanism is adapted to directly rotate the conditioning disk relative to the arm. Numerous other aspects are disclosed. | 02-05-2009 |
| 20090047873 | SUBSTRATE RETAINER - A retainer is used with an apparatus for polishing a substrate. The substrate has upper and lower surfaces and a lateral, substantially circular, perimeter. The apparatus has a polishing pad with an upper polishing surface for contacting and polishing the lower face of the substrate. The retainer has an inward facing retaining face for engaging and retaining the substrate against lateral movement during polishing of the substrate. The retaining face engages a substrate perimeter at more than substantially a single discrete circumferential location along the perimeter. | 02-19-2009 |
| 20090264049 | PLATEN EXHAUST FOR CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING SYSTEM - The present invention generally relates to a substrate transferring system. Particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus and method to effectively remove the chemical fume, vapor and other byproducts generated during a polishing process. One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for polishing a substrate comprising a platen having a polishing surface configured to polish the substrate by contacting the substrate while moving relatively to the substrate, a polishing head configured to support the substrate and position the substrate to be in contact with the polishing surface during polishing, a solution nozzle configured to dispense a polishing solution on the polishing surface, and an exhaust assembly configured to remove fume, vapor and other byproducts generated during polishing. | 10-22-2009 |
| 20090264056 | SUBSTRATE HOLDER WITH LIQUID SUPPORTING SURFACE - Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a substrate transferring system. One embodiment of the present invention provides a substrate holder comprising a pedestal plate, a basin wall extending from a top surface of the pedestal plate, wherein the basin wall has a substantially leveled top surface, the basin wall and the pedestal plate define a basin configured to retain a liquid therein, and a liquid port opening to the basin, wherein the liquid port is configured to flow a liquid to the basin and allow the liquid to overflow from the basin wall, and a top surface of the overflow liquid in the basin is configured to support a substrate without contacting the basin wall or the pedestal plate. | 10-22-2009 |
| 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 |
| 20090305610 | MULTIPLE WINDOW PAD ASSEMBLY - A method and apparatus for detecting and obtaining a metric indicative of a polishing process is described. The apparatus includes a polishing pad having an optically transparent region adapted to obtain polishing metric from at least one substrate from at least two distinct radial positions of the polishing pad. The method includes obtaining a polishing metric from at least two substrates being polished simultaneously on a single polishing pad. | 12-10-2009 |
| 20090318060 | CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL FOR EFFECTIVE PAD CONDITIONING - A method and apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad is provided. The conditioning element is held by a conditioning arm rotatably mounted to a base at a pivot point. An actuator pivots the arm about the pivot point. The conditioning element is urged against the surface of the polishing pad, and translated with respect to the polishing pad to remove material from the polishing pad and roughen its surface. The interaction of the abrasive conditioning surface with the polishing pad surface generates a frictional force. The frictional force may be monitored by monitoring the torque applied to the pivot point, and material removal controlled thereby. The conditioning time, down force, translation rate, or rotation of the conditioning pad may be adjusted based on the measured torque. | 12-24-2009 |
| 20100035518 | CLOSED LOOP CONTROL OF PAD PROFILE BASED ON METROLOGY FEEDBACK - A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a metrology system that detects the thickness of the polishing pad as semiconductor wafers are processed and the thickness of the polishing pad is reduced. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a controller that adjusts the rate of material removal of a conditioning disk when areas of the polishing surface are detected that are higher or lower than the adjacent areas of the polishing pad. | 02-11-2010 |
| 20100035525 | IN-SITU PERFORMANCE PREDICTION OF PAD CONDITIONING DISK BY CLOSED LOOP TORQUE MONITORING - Polishing pads used in CMP machines are consumable components that are typically replaced after a specific number of wafers have been processed. The life of a polishing pad is optimized by controlling the rate of material removal from the polishing pad by the conditioning disk. The conditioning disk removes enough material so the polishing surface can properly process the wafers but does not remove any excess material. Preventing excess material removal extends the life of the polishing pad. During CMP processing, the controller receives data concerning the torque applied to the conditioning disk and the torque applied to the arm to sweep the conditioning disk across the polishing pad. Based upon the detected operating conditions, the system can predict the rate of material removal and adjust the forces applied to the conditioning disk so that the life of the polishing pad is optimized. | 02-11-2010 |
| 20100062694 | CARRIER HEAD USING FLEXURE RESTRAINTS FOR RETAINING RING ALIGNMENT - One embodiment provides a retaining ring assembly. The retaining ring assembly comprises a retaining ring configured to circumferentially surround and retain the substrate within an inner surface of the retaining ring, and a flexure coupled to the retaining ring. The flexure is configured to maintain a gap between an inner surface of a carrier ring and an outer surface of the retaining ring, and the carrier ring is circumferentially surrounding the retaining ring. | 03-11-2010 |
| 20100093263 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR CONDITIONING A POLISHING PAD - Apparatus and methods for conditioning a polishing pad include an arm adapted to support a conditioning disk; a drive mechanism coupled to the arm; and a flexible coupling between the drive mechanism and the conditioning disk adapted to allow the conditioning disk to tilt while transmitting rotary motion from the drive mechanism to the conditioning disk. Numerous other aspects are disclosed. | 04-15-2010 |
| 20100099340 | TEXTURED PLATEN - Embodiments described herein generally relate to the planarization of substrates. In one embodiment, an apparatus for polishing a substrate is provided. The apparatus comprises a rotatable platen having a textured upper surface, at least one groove formed in the upper surface, and a pad disposed on the textured upper surface and bridging the at least one groove. | 04-22-2010 |
| 20100099342 | PAD CONDITIONER AUTO DISK CHANGE - A method and apparatus for replacing a polishing pad conditioning disk is a chemical mechanical polishing system is provided. The apparatus comprises a disk load/unload station for unloading used conditioning disks from a pad conditioning assembly and loading unused conditioning disks onto the pad conditioning assembly, on or more disk storage stations for storing both used and unused conditioning disks, and a central robot having a range of motion sufficient for transferring both used an unused conditioning disks between the disk load/unload station and the one or more disk storage stations. Embodiments described herein reduce the length of system interruption by eliminating the need to safety lock out the system for the replacement of polishing pad conditioning disks. | 04-22-2010 |
| 20100105302 | POLISHING PAD CONDITIONER - Embodiments of the present invention generally provide an improved conditioning module and conditioning disks for improved pressure distribution during the process of conditioning a polishing pad of a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system. In one embodiment, a conditioning module comprising multiple, small conditioning disks is provided. In one embodiment, a conditioning disk having a compliant backing member is provided. In one embodiment, the compliant backing member comprises a semi-rigid backing member cut into a spiral shape to provide compliancy. In another embodiment, the compliant backing member comprises a fluid-pressurized, flexible membrane. Each embodiment of the present invention provides an improved pressure distribution across the face of each conditioning disk, resulting in increased disk life as well as increased conditioning rate and uniformity. | 04-29-2010 |
| 20100144255 | RETAINING RING AND ARTICLES FOR CARRIER HEAD - A carrier head for chemical mechanical polishing that has a base, a mounting assembly connected to the base having a surface for contacting a substrate, and a retaining ring secured to the base. The retaining ring can include perfluoroalkoxy, polyetherketoneketone, polybenzimidazole, a semi-crystalline thermoplastic polyester, or a long molecular chain molecule produced from poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide. | 06-10-2010 |
| 20100291842 | POLISHING HEAD ZONE BOUNDARY SMOOTHING - A method and apparatus for chemical mechanical polishing of substrates, and more particularly a method and apparatus related to a carrier had for use in chemical mechanical polishing is provided. In one embodiment the carrier head assembly comprises a base assembly for providing support to the substrate, a flexible membrane mounted on the base assembly having a generally circular central portion with a lower surface that provides a substrate mounting surface, and a plurality of independently pressurizable chambers formed between the base assembly and the flexible membrane, comprising an annular outer chamber and a non-circular inner chamber, is provided. | 11-18-2010 |
| 20110067727 | BRUSH ALIGNMENT CONTROL MECHANISM - A method and apparatus for providing uniform pressure, friction and/or contact between a substrate and a cylindrical roller in a brush-type cleaning system is described. The apparatus includes an alignment member adapted to allow pivotal movement of the cylindrical roller based on the topography of a substrate and/or the outer surface of the cylindrical roller. The method includes positioning a substrate between two cylindrical rollers, moving each of the two cylindrical rollers to a position where at least a portion of an outer surface of each of the cylindrical rollers are in contact with the major surfaces of the substrate, and rotating one or both of the substrate and the two cylindrical rollers relative to each other while allowing a longitudinal axis of one or both of the two cylindrical rollers to pivot relative to a plane defined by one of the major surfaces of the substrate. | 03-24-2011 |
| 20110070810 | MULTIPLE ZONE CARRIER HEAD WITH FLEXIBLE MEMBRANE - A carrier head for chemical mechanical polishing of a substrate includes a base and a flexible membrane extending beneath the base. The flexible membrane includes a central portion with an outer surface providing a substrate receiving surface, a perimeter portion connecting the central portion to the base, and at least one flap extending from an inner surface of the central portion. The flap divides a volume between the flexible membrane and the base into a plurality of chambers, and the flap includes a laterally extending first section and an angled second section extending beneath the first section and connecting the laterally extending first section to the central portion. | 03-24-2011 |
| 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 |
| 20110104990 | Substrate Retainer - A retainer is used with an apparatus for polishing a substrate. The substrate has upper and lower surfaces and a lateral, substantially circular, perimeter. The apparatus has a polishing pad with an upper polishing surface for contacting and polishing the lower face of the substrate. The retainer has an inward facing retaining face for engaging and retaining the substrate against lateral movement during polishing of the substrate. The retaining face engages a substrate perimeter at more than substantially a single discrete circumferential location along the perimeter. | 05-05-2011 |
| 20110195639 | RETAINING RING WITH SHAPED SURFACE - A retaining ring can be shaped by machining or lapping the bottom surface of the ring to form a shaped profile in the bottom surface. The bottom surface of the retaining ring can include flat, sloped and curved portions. The lapping can be performed using a machine that dedicated for use in lapping the bottom surface of retaining rings. During the lapping the ring can be permitted to rotate freely about an axis of the ring. The bottom surface of the retaining ring can have curved or flat portions. | 08-11-2011 |
| 20110244763 | SIDE PAD DESIGN FOR EDGE PEDESTAL - A method and apparatus for facilitating equalized conditioning of a polishing surface of a polishing pad is described. The apparatus includes an extension device coupled to a base adjacent a peripheral edge of a polishing pad that is adapted to support a conditioning device, the extension device includes a body that is movable relative to the polishing pad, and a sacrificial pad comprising a polishing material coupled to a mounting surface of the body. | 10-06-2011 |
| 20110318997 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR CONDITIONING A POLISHING PAD - Apparatus and methods for conditioning a polishing pad include an arm adapted to support a conditioning disk; a drive mechanism coupled to the arm; and a flexible coupling between the drive mechanism and the conditioning disk adapted to allow the conditioning disk to tilt while transmitting rotary motion from the drive mechanism to the conditioning disk. Numerous other aspects are disclosed. | 12-29-2011 |
| 20120021673 | SUBSTRATE HOLDER TO REDUCE SUBSTRATE EDGE STRESS DURING CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING - Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods for chemical mechanical polishing a substrate. The methods generally include coupling a first substrate to be polished to a dummy substrate, and removing a portion of the backside of the first substrate to reduce the thickness of the first substrate. The first substrate and the dummy substrate are positioned in a carrier head assembly comprising an inflatable membrane and a support ring. The first substrate is placed in contact with a polishing pad to reduce the surface roughness of the backside of the first substrate. The support ring restricts lateral movement of the inflatable membrane to prevent the first substrate from contacting an interior surface of the carrier head assembly. The support ring is sized to allow vertical movement of the inflatable membrane within the carrier head assembly. | 01-26-2012 |
| 20120034848 | SUBSTRATE EDGE TUNING WITH RETAINING RING - A carrier head for a chemical mechanical polisher includes a base, a substrate mounting surface, an annular inner ring and an outer ring. The inner ring has a lower surface configured to contact an upper surface of a substrate positioned on the substrate mounting surface, an outer surface, and an inwardly facing surface extending downwardly from the lower surface and is configured to circumferentially surround the edge of the substrate, the inner ring vertically movable relative to the substrate mounting surface. The outer ring has an inner surface circumferentially surrounding the inner ring, an outer surface, and a lower surface to contact the polishing pad, and the outer ring is vertically movable relative to and independently of the substrate mounting surface and the inner ring. | 02-09-2012 |
| 20120034849 | CARRIER HEAD WITH NARROW INNER RING AND WIDE OUTER RING - A carrier head for a chemical mechanical polisher includes base, a substrate mounting surface, an annular inner ring, and an annular outer ring. The inner ring has an inner surface configured to circumferentially surround the edge of a substrate positioned on the substrate mounting surface, an outer surface, and a lower surface to contact a polishing pad. The inner ring is vertically movable relative to the substrate mounting surface. The outer ring has an inner surface circumferentially surrounding the inner ring, an outer surface, and a lower surface to contact the polishing pad. The outer ring is vertically movable relative to and independently of the substrate mounting surface and the inner ring. The lower surface of the inner ring has a first width, and the lower surface of the outer ring has a second width greater than the first width. | 02-09-2012 |
| 20120040592 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TEMPERATURE CONTROL DURING POLISHING - Embodiments of the present invention relate to apparatus and method for improve uniformity of a polishing process. Embodiments of the present invention provide a heating mechanism configured to apply thermal energy to a perimeter of a substrate during polishing, or a cooling mechanism configured to cool a central region of the substrate during polishing, or a biased heating mechanism configured to create a temperature step differential on a given radius of a polishing pad. | 02-16-2012 |
| 20120071067 | RETAINING RING WITH SHAPED SURFACE - A retaining ring can be shaped by machining or lapping the bottom surface of the ring to form a shaped profile in the bottom surface. The bottom surface of the retaining ring can include flat, sloped and curved portions. The lapping can be performed using a machine that dedicated for use in lapping the bottom surface of retaining rings. During the lapping the ring can be permitted to rotate freely about an axis of the ring. The bottom surface of the retaining ring can have curved or flat portions. | 03-22-2012 |
| 20120171933 | PRESSURE CONTROLLED POLISHING PLATEN - A method and apparatus for controlling pressure or forces applied to a substrate in a polishing process is described. In one embodiment, a polishing system is described. The system includes a platen rotatably disposed on a base, the platen having a sidewall and a polishing pad disposed thereon forming an interior volume, and a pad pressure applicator disposed in the interior volume of the platen adjacent the underside of the polishing pad. | 07-05-2012 |
| 20120270477 | MEASUREMENT OF PAD THICKNESS AND CONTROL OF CONDITIONING - A conditioning process includes rotating a polishing pad about an axis of rotation, conditioning the polishing pad by sweeping an abrasive disk in a path across a surface of the polishing pad between an inner radial distance from the axis of rotation and an outer radial distance from the axis of rotation, sweeping a sensor across the polishing pad while conditioning the polishing pad, measuring a thickness of the polishing pad at a plurality of positions between the inner radial distance and the outer radial distance with the sensor, and adjusting at least one of a dwell time or a pressure of the abrasive disk against the polishing pad for a portion of the path based on measurements of the thickness by the sensor such that the polishing pad wears to a more uniform thickness than without such adjustment. | 10-25-2012 |
| 20130115858 | Substrate Retainer - A retainer is used with an apparatus for polishing a substrate. The substrate has upper and lower surfaces and a lateral, substantially circular, perimeter. The apparatus has a polishing pad with an upper polishing surface for contacting and polishing the lower face of the substrate. The retainer has an inward facing retaining face for engaging and retaining the substrate against lateral movement during polishing of the substrate. The retaining face engages a substrate perimeter at more than substantially a single discrete circumferential location along the perimeter. | 05-09-2013 |
| 20130149942 | INNER RETAINING RING AND OUTER RETAINING RING FOR CARRIER HEAD - An inner ring for a carrier head has an inner surface configured to circumferentially surround the edge of a substrate positioned on the substrate mounting surface, an outer surface, and a lower surface to contact a polishing pad. An outer ring for a carrier head has an inner surface circumferentially surrounding the inner ring, an outer surface, and a lower surface to contact the polishing pad. | 06-13-2013 |
| 20130157549 | RETAINING RING AND ARTICLES FOR CARRIER HEAD - A carrier head for chemical mechanical polishing that has a base, a mounting assembly connected to the base having a surface for contacting a substrate, and a retaining ring secured to the base. The retaining ring can include perfluoroalkoxy, polyetherketoneketone, polybenzimidazole, a semi-crystalline thermoplastic polyester, or a long molecular chain molecule produced from poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide. | 06-20-2013 |
| 20130196577 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR AN IMPROVED POLISHING HEAD RETAINING RING - Methods, apparatus, and systems are provided for retaining a substrate in a polishing head of a CMP system. The invention includes a flexible inner retaining ring adapted to contour to an edge of a substrate and an inner ring support coupled to the polishing head. The inner support ring is adapted to contact the flexible inner retaining ring in response to a side force load applied to the flexible inner retaining ring by a substrate being polished. Numerous additional aspects are disclosed. | 08-01-2013 |
| 20130203321 | RETAINING RING MONITORING AND CONTROL OF PRESSURE - A load cup apparatus for transferring a substrate in a processing system includes a pedestal assembly having a substrate support, an actuator, and a controller. The actuator is configured to move the pedestal assembly into a loading position in contact with a retaining ring of a carrier head and to generate a retaining ring thickness signal based on a distance travelled by the pedestal assembly. The controller is configured to receive the retaining ring thickness signal from the actuator. | 08-08-2013 |
| 20130252518 | POLISHING HEAD ZONE BOUNDARY SMOOTHING - A method and apparatus for chemical mechanical polishing of substrates, and more particularly a method and apparatus related to a carrier had for use in chemical mechanical polishing is provided. in one embodiment the carrier head assembly comprises a base assembly for providing support to the substrate, a flexible membrane mounted on the base assembly haying a generally circular central portion with a lower surface that provides a substrate mounting surface, and a plurality of independently pressurizable chambers formed between the base assembly and the flexible membrane, comprising an annular outer chamber and a non-circular inner chamber, is provided. | 09-26-2013 |
| 20130334752 | MULTI-CHAMBER CARRIER HEAD WITH A TEXTURED MEMBRANE - A flexible membrane for use in a carrier head has a generally circular main portion with a lower surface, an annular outer portion for connection to a base assembly, and an annular flap extending from the main portion on a side opposite the lower surface for connection to the base assembly. At least one surface of the flap has a surface texture to prevent adhesion. | 12-19-2013 |
| 20140020829 | Sensors in Carrier Head of a CMP System - Sensors can be located in a carrier head for a chemical mechanical polishing system. In some implementations the carrier head includes a flexible membrane, and a thermocouple is positioned on the lower surface of the flexible membrane or embedded in the flexible membrane adjacent the lower surface. In some implementations, the carrier head optical sensor is secured to the head and positioned to sense a reflectivity of a spot on a back surface of a substrate held in the carrier head, and a controller is configured to receive a signal from the optical sensor and determine precession of the substrate based on the signal. | 01-23-2014 |
| 20140027407 | Monitoring Retaining Ring Thickness And Pressure Control - A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a carrier head including a retaining ring having a plastic portion with a bottom surface to contact a polishing pad, an in-situ monitoring system including a sensor that generates a signal that depends on a thickness of the plastic portion, and a controller configured to receive the signal from the in-situ monitoring system and to adjust at least one polishing parameter in response to the signal to compensate for non-uniformity caused by changes in the thickness of the plastic portion of the retaining ring. | 01-30-2014 |
| 20140053981 | Retaining Ring With Shaped Surface - A retaining ring can be shaped by machining or lapping the bottom surface of the ring to form a shaped profile in the bottom surface. The bottom surface of the retaining ring can include flat, sloped and curved portions. The lapping can be performed using a machine that dedicated for use in lapping the bottom surface of retaining rings. During the lapping the ring can be permitted to rotate freely about an axis of the ring. The bottom surface of the retaining ring can have curved or flat portions. | 02-27-2014 |
| 20140120803 | RETAINING RING WITH SELECTED STIFFNESS AND THICKNESS - A retaining ring for holding a substrate below a carrier head during chemical mechanical polishing includes an annular lower portion and an annular upper portion secured to the lower portion. The annular lower portion has a main body with a bottom surface for contacting a polishing pad during polishing, and is a first material. A top surface of the upper portion is configured to be secured to the carrier head. The upper portion is a second material that is more rigid than the first material. A thickness and stiffness of the lower portion is selected for a particular polishing environment to improve polishing uniformity near an edge of the substrate. | 05-01-2014 |
| 20140206263 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING OF CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING PADS - A method and apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad is provided. In one embodiment, a pad conditioning device for a substrate polishing process is provided. The pad conditioning device includes an optical device coupled to a portion of a polishing station adjacent a polishing pad, the optical device comprising a laser emitter adapted to emit a beam toward a polishing surface of the polishing pad, the beam having a wavelength range that is substantially non-reactive with a polishing fluid utilized in the polishing process, but is reactive with the polishing pad. | 07-24-2014 |
| 20140273765 | Polishing System with Front Side Pressure Control - A polishing apparatus includes a platen having a first surface to support a polishing pad and a second surface, a carrier head to hold a substrate against the polishing pad, a plurality of through-holes defined in the platen, and a pad pressure control assembly adjacent on a side of the platen opposite the carrier head. | 09-18-2014 |
| 20140273766 | Polishing System with Front Side Pressure Control - A polishing apparatus includes a platen having a first surface to support a polishing pad and a second surface, a carrier head to hold a substrate against the polishing pad, a plurality of through-holes defined in the platen, and a pad pressure control assembly adjacent on a side of the platen opposite the carrier head. | 09-18-2014 |
| 20140273767 | POLISHING PAD CONDITIONER PIVOT POINT - A polishing system includes a polishing pad having a polishing surface and a conditioner apparatus. The conditioner apparatus includes a conditioner head constructed to receive a conditioning disk for conditioning a surface of the polishing pad, an arm that supports the conditioner head, a base that supports the arm, the arm pivotally connected to the base such that the arm is pivotable about a pivot point to change an angle of inclination of the arm, wherein the pivot point is positioned below the polishing surface of the polishing pad. | 09-18-2014 |
| 20150038065 | TEXTURED MEMBRANE FOR A MULTI-CHAMBER CARRIER HEAD - A flexible membrane for use in a carrier head has a generally circular main portion with a lower surface, an annular outer portion for connection to a base assembly, and an annular flap extending from the main portion on a side opposite the lower surface for connection to the base assembly. At least one surface of the flap has a surface texture to prevent adhesion. | 02-05-2015 |
| 20150050105 | VAPOR DRYER MODULE WITH REDUCED PARTICLE GENERATION - Embodiments described herein generally relate to a vapor dryer module for cleaning substrates during a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. In one embodiment, a module for processing a substrate is provided. The module includes a tank having sidewalls with an outer surface and an inner surface defining a processing volume, a substrate support structure for transferring a substrate within the processing volume, the substrate support structure having a first portion that is at least partially disposed in the processing volume and a second portion that is outside of the processing volume, and one or more actuators disposed on an outer surface of one of the sidewalls of the tank and coupled between the outer surface and the second portion of the support structure, the one or more actuators operable to move the support structure relative to the tank. | 02-19-2015 |
