Applied Materials, Inc.

Allen L D'Ambra

Sumit Subhash Patankar

Shantanu Rajiv Gadgil

Nathan Arron Davis

Michael J Coughlin

Roy C Nangoy

Yevgeniy Rabinovich

Dmitry Lubomirsky

Michael Xiaoxuan Yang

Hung Chih Chen

Hui W Chen

Arulkumar P Shanmugasundram

Lakshmanan Karuppiah

Donald J Olgado

Donald J K Olgado

Joseph Stevens

Jagan Rangarajan

Mark Robert Denome

Alpay Yilmaz

Yeuk-Fai Edwin Mok

Jim Kellogg Atkinson

Sandy S Chao

Hui (Fred) Chen

Boguslaw A Swedek

Dominic J Benvegnu

Jeffrey Drue David

Tetsuya Ishikawa

Joseph Yudovsky

Avi Tepman

Harry Q Lee

Alexander N Lerner

Ming Xi

Harald Herchen

Thomas H Osterheld

Girish Anant Dixit

Son Truong Nguyen

Benjamin Cherian

Sen-Hou Ko

Doyle E Bennett

Anh Ngoc Nguyen

Vincent E Burkhart

Mario Dave Silvetti

Henry Ho

Lily L Pang

Russell C Ellwanger

Gerald John Alonzo

Bernardo Donoso

Chad Pollard

Edwin Velazquez

Yufei Chen

Svetlana Sherman

Adrian Blank

David Z Chen

Tao Li

Yevgeniy (Eugene) Rabinovich

Eric B Britcher

A polishing liquid delivery arm cleaning tool includes a body configured to be removably secured to a polishing liquid delivery arm of a chemical mechanical polishing system, and an insert removably secured to the body. The insert has an arm-facing surface shaped to direct a cleaning fluid from the polishing liquid delivery arm back to an inner surface of an enclosure of the polishing liquid delivery arm.

Cleaning system for polishing liquid delivery arm

A polishing assembly includes a rotatable platen to support a polishing pad, a polishing liquid delivery arm having an enclosure open at a bottom thereof and one or more ports to deliver a polishing liquid and a cleaning fluid downwardly through an interior space of the enclosure onto the polishing pad, and a delivery arm cleaning tool removably attached to the polishing liquid delivery arm, the cleaning tool extending below the delivery arm and having a delivery arm-facing surface shaped such that the cleaning tool directs the cleaning fluid from the polishing liquid delivery arm on to a surface of the enclosure of the polishing liquid delivery arm.

A method of cleaning a conditioner head includes bringing two clamps of a cleaning tool inward toward a disk-shaped pad conditioner head to press a sponge against an outer surface of the disk-shaped pad conditioner head, and creating relative motion between the cleaning tool and the pad conditioner head to wipe the sponge against the pad conditioner head.

Pad conditioner cleaning system

Chemically impregnated applicators used to provide hydrophobic surfaces on chemical mechanical polishing system components and related application methods are shown. A method of forming a hydrophobic coating on a surface of a polishing system component includes cleaning the surface of the polishing system component to remove a polishing fluid residue therefrom and applying a hydrophobicity causing chemical solution to the surface of the polishing system component.

Maintenance methods for polishing systems and articles related thereto

In a chemical mechanical polishing system, a platen shield cleaning assembly is installed on a rotatable platen in a gap between the rotatable platen and a platen shield. The assembly includes a sponge holder attached to the platen and a sponge. The sponge is held by the sponge holder such that an outer surface of the sponge is pressed against an inner surface of the platen shield.

Platen shield cleaning system

Chemically impregnated applicators used to provide hydrophobic surfaces on chemical mechanical polishing system components and related application methods. A method of forming a hydrophobic coating on a surface of a polishing system component includes cleaning the surface of the polishing system component to remove a polishing fluid residue therefrom and applying a hydrophobicity causing chemical solution to the surface of the polishing system component.

Disclosed herein is a sonic cleaning insert. In one example, the sonic cleaning insert includes a carousel configured to rotate about a central axis. The carousel further includes a platform having an outer perimeter. The platform is radially disposed about the central axis. The carousel has an inner ring and an outer ring circumscribing the inner ring. A plurality of partitions couple the inner ring and the outer ring to the platform. The plurality of partitions are arranged at a predetermined angle about the central axis. The carousel further includes a plurality of holders. Each holder is formed from a portion of the platform, a portion of each of the inner ring and outer ring, and a first sidewall and a second sidewall formed from the plurality of partitions. The carousel is configured for immersion in an ultrasonic vibrating fluid.

Carousel for ultrasonic cleaning and method of using thereof

A pad conditioner head cleaning tool has a first clamp configured to removably engage a first portion of a sponge against an outer surface of a disk-shaped pad conditioner head at a first location, a second clamp configured to removable engage a second portion of the sponge against the outer surface of the disk-shaped pad conditioner head at a second location, and an arm coupling the first clamp to the second clamp. The arm is sufficiently flexible to permit the first clamp and the second clamp to be separated to fit around the disk-shaped pad conditioner head and sufficiently tensile to bias the first clamp and the second clamp inwardly to press the sponge against an outer surface of a pad conditioner head.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for apparatus used to detect clogs in a fluid delivery system during CMP processes and methods of detecting clogs in a fluid delivery system during CMP processes. In particular, embodiments herein provide a flow splitter manifold configured to enable monitoring of the pressure of the polishing fluid disposed therein. Monitoring the fluid pressure in the flow splitter manifold enables the detection of clogs in the delivery lines and/or dispense nozzles that inhibit and/or prevent the flow of polishing fluid therethrough or therefrom.

Clog detection in a multi-port fluid delivery system

Embodiments of the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for cleaning a substrate using a disk brush. One embodiment provides a substrate cleaner comprising a substrate chuck disposed in the processing volume, and a brush assembly disposed in the processing volume, wherein the brush assembly comprises a disk brush movably disposed opposing the substrate chuck, and a processing surface of the disk brush contacts a surface of the substrate on the substrate chuck.

Disk-brush cleaner module with fluid jet

A polishing apparatus includes a plurality of stations supported on a platform, the plurality of stations including at least two polishing stations and a transfer station, each polishing station including a platen to support a polishing pad, a plurality of carrier heads suspended from and movable along a track such that each polishing station is selectively positionable at the stations, and a controller configured to control motion of the carrier heads along the track such that during polishing at each polishing station only a single carrier head is positioned in the polishing station.

Multi-platen multi-head polishing architecture

The present invention provides methods and apparatus for a pre-CMP semiconductor substrate buffing module. The invention includes a polishing pad assembly adapted to be rotated against a major surface of a substrate; a chuck adapted to hold the substrate and to rotate the substrate against the polishing pad assembly as the polishing pad assembly is rotated; and a lateral motion motor adapted to oscillate the polishing pad assembly laterally across the major surface of the substrate while the polishing pad assembly is rotated against the rotating substrate. Numerous additional features are disclosed.

Methods and apparatus for pre-chemical mechanical planarization buffing module

The present invention provides methods and apparatus for a Marangoni vapor knife assembly. The assembly includes a base having a channel extending longitudinally through the base and a plurality of passages extending laterally from the channel toward an outer face of the base; a top plate adapted to be removeably coupled to the base with an outer face flush with the outer face of the base; and a shim adapted to be disposed between the base and the top plate and further adapted to form a plurality of spray orifices in the assembly. Numerous additional features are disclosed.

Methods and apparatus for marangoni substrate drying using a vapor knife manifold

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Burlingame, CA, United States of America

Allen L D'Ambra