Applied Materials, Inc.

Cybeq Systems, Inc.

Norm Shendon

Harry Q Lee

Robert D Tolles

Sasson Roger Somekh

Ilya Perlov

Eugene Gantvarg

William L Guthrie

Semyon Spektor

William R Bartlett

Michael T Sherwood

Tsungnan Cheng

Ivan A Ocanada

Jeffrey S Marks

Sen-Hou Ko

Dennis R Smith

Kenneth C Struven

Robert J Kolenkow

Sam Shamouilian

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.

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

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 chemical mechanical polishing apparatus polishes the surface of a substrate to remove material therefrom. The apparatus includes a carrier, which positions the substrate against the rotating polishing pad. The carrier includes an integral loading member therein, which controls the load force of the substrate against the polishing pad. Multiple substrates may be simultaneously polished on a single rotating polishing pad, and the polishing pad may be rotationally oscillated to reduce the likelihood that any contaminants are transferred from one substrate to another along the polishing pad. A multi-lobed groove in the polishing pad may be used, in conjunction with a moving substrate, to polish the surface of the substrate.

Carrier head for a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus

This invention relates to a flexible membrane polishing belt against which a substrate, for example a semiconductor wafer, is polished using chemical mechanical polishing principles. A fluidized layer is provided on a surface of a polishing member backing assembly which urges the moving polishing membrane toward the substrate held in a polishing head to be polished. The linear motion of the belt provides uniform polishing across the full width of the belt and provides the opportunity for a chemical mechanical polishing to take place. Several configurations are disclosed. They include belts which are wider than the substrate being polished, belts which cross the substrate being polished, but which provide relative motion between the substrate and the polishing belt, and polishing belt carriers having localized polishing areas which are smaller than the total area of the substrate to be polished. Only a small area on the surface of the substrate is in contact with polishing membrane but the motion of the carrier with respect to the substrate is programmed to provide uniform polishing of the full substrate surface, as is each configuration described.

Substrate belt polisher

A polishing apparatus including a plurality of polishing pads on respective rotating platens. The polishing platens, and therefore the attached pads also, may be of substantially different diameters. Multiple wafer heads can simultaneously polish multiple wafers on the multiple polishing pads or at different positions on one of the pads. The wafer heads are suspended from a rotatable carousel, which provides positioning of the heads relative to the polishing surfaces. Additionally, a loading/unloading station is provided. The carousel selectively positions the heads on the polishing surfaces, or positions one of the heads over the loading/unloading station while the remaining heads are located over polishing stations for substrate polishing, at which positions the wafers can be polished. The carousel can rotate to sweep all wafer heads attached thereto over respective polishing pads that they overlie.

Circumferentially oscillating carousel apparatus for sequentially processing substrates for polishing and cleaning

Circumferentially oscillating carousel apparatus for sequentially

An apparatus and associated methods for polishing semiconductor wafers and other workpieces that includes a polishing surfaces, such as pads mounted on respective platens, 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, for example oscillate radially within the rotatable support. 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.

System for chemical mechanical polishing having multiple polishing

A wafer storage and wafer transfer system adjunct to a multi-station chemical mechanical polishing system. Multiple wafers are brought to the system stored in a cassette. A claw member attached to an overhead arm picks up the cassette and deposits it in a water-filled tub next to the polishing system, thereby submerging the wafers in the water with a generally vertical orientation. A blade member attached to the same arm has a recess formed in its surface connected to a vacuum generator powered by positive fluid pressure to thereby selectively apply a vacuum to the recess to vacuum chuck a wafer. The blade member vacuum chucks a wafer under the water, picks it out of the water, and deposits it on a pedestal in polishing system. One of several wafer heads on a rotating carousel picks up the wafer from the pedestal and carries it to one or more of the polishing stations for polishing. After completion of polishing, the wafer head redeposits the wafer on the pedestal. The blade member vacuum chucks the wafer and moves it from the pedestal back to the same cassette or another cassette in the water-filled tub.

Underwater wafer storage and wafer picking for chemical mechanical

Slurry is provided to the surface of the polishing pad by pumping the slurry up through a central port, or by dripping the slurry down onto the surface of the polishing pad from a slurry feed tube. A slurry wiper, which may have one or more flexible members, sweeps the slurry evenly and thinly across the polishing pad. A control system coordinates the distribution of slurry to the polishing pad with the motion of the carrier head.

Apparatus and method for distribution of slurry in a chemical mechanical

A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus polishes the surface of a substrate to remove material therefrom. The apparatus includes a carrier, which positions the substrate against the rotating polishing pad. The carrier includes an integral loading member therein, which controls the load force of the substrate against the polishing pad. Multiple substrates may be simultaneously polished on a single rotating polishing pad, and the polishing pad may be rotationally oscillated to reduce the likelihood that any contaminants are transferred from one substrate to another along the polishing pad. A multi-lobed groove in the polishing may be used, in junction with a moving substrate, to polish the surface of the substrate.

Growing community of inventors

San Carlos, CA, United States of America

Norm Shendon