Memc Electronic Materials, Inc.

Monsanto Company

David Louis Vadnais

Robert Wendell Standley

Peter D Albrecht

Ankur H Desai

Ashley Samuel Hull

Royce Gene Schierding

John Russell Young, Jr

A wafer polishing apparatus for polishing a semiconductor wafer. The polisher comprises a base, a turntable, a polishing pad and a head drive mechanism for driven rotation of a polishing head. The polishing head comprises a sealing ring adapted to hold at least one wafer for engaging a front surface of the wafer with a work surface of the polishing pad. The sealing ring allows for application of uniform air pressure over the rear surface of the wafer. The sealing ring is constructed so that the wafer itself defines a portion of a pressure cavity receiving pressurized air.

Polishing apparatus, polishing head and method

Process for the preparation of an epitaxial wafer having a total thickness variation and/or site total indicated reading of less than about 1.0 .mu.ms. The distance between the front and back surfaces of the epitaxial wafer at discrete positions on the front surface is measured to generate thickness profile data. Additional stock is removed from the front surface of the epitaxial wafer in a stock removal step to reduce the thickness of the epitaxial wafer to the target thickness, T.sub.t, with the amount of stock being removed at each of said discrete positions being determined after taking into account the thickness profile data and T.sub.t.

Flattening process for epitaxial semiconductor wafers

A seed holder for holding a seed crystal of gallium arsenide (GaAs) is fitted into one end of a cylindrical quartz boat in which a melt of gallium (Ga) and arsenic (As) is synthesized and then grown as a single crystal seeded by the seed crystal using the Bridgeman process or the gradient freeze process. The seed holder closely encompasses three sides of a crystal (e.g., of rectangular cross section) while exposing only the end upon which the crystal growth is to take place. The exposed end of the crystal seed is disposed above the bottom of the boat to prevent contact between the gallium melt and the seed until synthesis is nearly complete.

Apparatus for horizontal production of single crystal structure

Growing community of inventors

St. Charles, MO, United States of America

David Louis Vadnais