Applied Materials, Inc.

Eugene Gantvarg

Ilya Perlov

Harry Q Lee

Sasson Roger Somekh

Robert D Tolles

Sen-Hou Ko

Norm Shendon

Alexey Goder

Joseph Yudovsky

Leonid Mark Tertitski

Kenneth Tsai

Norman Shendon

Howard E Grunes

Eric Anton Nering

Victor Belitsky

Iiya Perlov

A chemical-mechanical polishing apparatus including a table top, a transfer station mounted on the table top, a plurality of polishing stations mounted on the table top, a plurality of washing stations, and a plurality of carrier heads supported by a support member rotatable about an axis. Each washing station is located between a first polishing station and either a second polishing station or the transfer station, and the transfer station and the plurality of polishing stations are arranged at approximately equal angular intervals about the axis.

Chemical mechanical polishing system having multiple polishing stations and providing relative linear polishing motion

A polishing method usable in an apparatus including a rotatable member rotatable about a first axis, at least one substrate head assembly supported on said rotatable member, and at least two polishing surfaces arranged below said rotatable member at respective angular positions about said first axis is described. In one implementation, a substrate can be mounted onto a first one of said at least one substrate head assembly. The rotatable member can be rotated to a position so that the substrate overlies a selected one of the polishing surfaces. The substrate can be engaged with said selected polishing surface and relative linear movement imparted between the selected polishing surface and the first substrate head assembly, while the substrate is engaged with the selected polishing surface.

Methods and apparatus for chemical mechanical polishing are described. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a table top and a transfer station and multiple polishing stations are mounted on the table top. The apparatus further includes multiple washing stations, where each washing station is located between either two polishing stations or between a polishing station and a transfer station. Multiple carrier heads are supported by a support member that is rotatable about an axis. The transfer station and the multiple polishing stations are arranged at approximately equal angular intervals about the axis.

Polishing apparatus having a trough

An apparatus and associated methods for polishing semiconductor wafers and other workpieces that includes polishing surfaces located at multiple polishing stations. Multiple wafer heads, preferably at least one greater in number than the number of polishing stations, can be loaded with individual wafers. The wafer heads are suspended from a rotatable support, which provides circumferential positioning of the heads relative to the polishing surfaces, and the wafer heads move linearly with respect to the polishing surface, thus providing relative linear motion between the wafer and the polishing station. A load/unload station may be located at a position symmetric with the polishing surfaces. The rotatable support can simultaneously position one of the heads over the load/unload station while the remaining heads are located over polishing stations for wafer polishing so that loading and unloading of wafers can be performed concurrently with wafer polishing. The multiple polishing stations can be used to sequentially polish a wafer held in a wafer head in a step of multiple steps. The steps may be equivalent, may provide polishes of different finish, or may be directed to polishing different levels. Alternately, more than one wafer may equivalently be polished at multiple polishing stations.

A carrier head with a flexible member connected to a base to define a first chamber, a second chamber and a third chamber. A lower surface of the flexible member provides a substrate receiving surface with an inner portion associated with the first chamber, a substantially annular middle portion surrounding the inner portion and associated with the second chamber, and a substantially annular outer portion surrounding the middle portion and associated with the third chamber. The width of the outer portion may be significantly less than the width of the middle portion. The carrier head may also include a flange connected to a drive shaft and a gimbal pivotally connecting the flange to the base.

Method of controlling carrier head with multiple chambers

Carrier head with a flexible membrane to form multiple chambers

A multiple substrate orienter is provided that includes a rotatable substrate handler having a plurality of substrate support portions, each adapted to support a substrate. The multiple substrate orienter also includes a plurality of stacked substrate supports, each adapted to support a substrate. A plurality of substrate orientation marking (SOM) detectors are provided, and each SOM detector is coupled to a different one of the substrate supports and is adapted to identify a presence of an SOM of a substrate positioned close enough to the SOM detector to allow SOM detection by the SOM detector. The multiple substrate orienter further includes a plurality of lift and lower mechanisms, each lift and lower mechanism coupled to a different one of the substrate supports and adapted to individually lift and lower the substrate support to which the lift and lower mechanism is coupled. Numerous other aspects are provided.

Method and apparatus for orienting substrates

A carrier head with a flexible member connected to a base to define a first chamber, a second chamber and a third chamber. A lower surface of the flexible member provides a substrate receiving surface with an inner portion associated with the first chamber, a substantially annular middle portion surrounding the inner portion and associated with the second chamber, and a substantially annular outer portion surrounding the middle portion and associated with the third chamber. The width of the cuter portion may be significantly less than the width of the middle portion. The carrier head may also include a flange connected to a drive shaft and a gimbal pivotally connecting the flange to the base.

Carrier head with a flexible membrane

A method and apparatus are provided for substrate handling. In a first aspect, a temperature adjustment plate is located below a substrate carriage and is configured such that a substrate may be transferred between the temperature adjustment plate and the substrate carriage by lifting and lowering the substrate carriage above and below the top surface of the temperature adjustment plate. The temperature adjustment plate may be configured to heat and/or cool a substrate positioned thereon. In a second aspect, the substrate carriage is magnetically coupled so as to rotate and/or lift and lower magnetically, thereby reducing particle generation via contact between moving parts (and potential chamber contamination therefrom). In a third aspect, a substrate handler positioned below the substrate carriage is both magnetically coupled and magnetically levitated, providing further particle reduction. The magnetic levitation is preferably achieved via four radially disposed and vertically arranged magnet pairs having distance sensors for maintaining desired spacing therebetween. In a most preferred embodiment, one substrate is heated/degassed on a first portion of a temperature adjustment plate in preparation for processing while a second substrate is processed, and a third processed substrate is cooled on a second portion of the temperature adjustment plate.

Method and apparatus for improved substrate handling

A multiple substrate orienter is provided that includes a rotatable substrate handler having a plurality of substrate support portions, each adapted to support a substrate. The multiple substrate orienter also includes a plurality of stacked substrate supports, each adapted to support a substrate. A plurality of substrate orientation marking (SOM) detectors are provided, and each SOM detector is coupled to a different one of the substrate supports and is adapted to identify a presence of an SOM of a substrate positioned close enough to the SOM detector to allow SOM detection by the SOM detector. The multiple substrate orienter further includes a plurality of lift and lower mechanisms, each lift and lower mechanism coupled to a different one of the substrate supports and adapted to individually lift and lower the substrate support to which the lift and lower mechanism is coupled. Alternatively, each lift and lower mechanism may be coupled to a different one of the substrate support portions of the rotatable substrate handler and adapted to individually lift and lower the substrate support portion to which the lift and lower mechanism is coupled. Preferably the multiple substrate orienter includes a controller having program code adapted to simultaneously rough orient a plurality of substrates loaded onto the substrate support portions of the substrate handler, and to individually fine orient each rough oriented substrate. In further aspects of the invention, a substrate orienter capable of orienting one or more substrates is provided, as are methods for orienting substrates as described above.

A method and arrangement for lifting lowering and centering a substrate on a surface employs lift pins have conical tips. A capture range is provided by the conical tips to capture and center misaligned wafers. One or more of the pins are inclined in certain embodiments to enhance the alignment capability of the lift pins. The inclined lift pins, when retracting into a support member at an angle, move a supported substrate horizontally into proper alignment.

Apparatus and method for aligning a substrate on a support member

In one aspect, an apparatus and a method for use in substrate polishing are described wherein a conditioner head is provided for receiving an end effector for conditioning a polishing pad surface; the conditioner head is supported above the polishing pad surface to be conditioned; and the conditioner head is driven with an actuating force from a position that lies along a line that is substantially normal to the polishing pad surface to be conditioned so that an end effector attached to the conditioner head can condition the surface of the polishing pad. In another aspect, pneumatic pressure is supplied through the conditioner head support arm to apply actuating force to the conditioner head so that an end effector attached to the conditioner head can condition the surface of the polishing pad. In yet another aspect, the conditioner head support arm has a fluid channel extending therein and a fluid port, wherein the fluid channel is constructed to receive rinsing fluid and fluid port is constructed to direct rinsing fluid from the fluid channel toward the polishing pad surface to be conditioned.

Conditioner apparatus for chemical mechanical polishing

The present invention generally provides a rotary wafer carousel and related wafer handler for moving wafers or other workpieces through a processing system, i.e., a semiconductor fabrication tool. Generally, the present invention includes a rotary wafer carousel having a plurality of wafer seats disposed thereon to support one or more wafers. The rotary carousel is preferably disposed through the lid in a transfer chamber opposite the robot which is preferably disposed through the bottom of the transfer chamber. The rotary carousel and the robot cooperate to locate wafers adjacent to process chambers and move wafers into and out of various chambers of the system. The invention improves the throughput of the system by positioning wafers adjacent to the appropriate chamber to reduce the amount of movement required of the robot for transporting wafers between chambers.

Growing community of inventors

Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Eugene Gantvarg