Applied Materials, Inc.

Paul V Miller

Hong Peng Wang

Krishna Vepa

Ronald Rayandayan

Raymond John Donohoe

Boguslaw A Swedek

Dominic J Benvegnu

Israel Beinglass

Sen-Hou Ko

Abraham Ravid

Hong Wang

Raymond J Donohoe

Systems, methods and apparatus are provided for determining a substrate polishing endpoint. The invention includes a light source adapted to transmit light to an edge of a substrate; one or more detectors adapted to detect an arrangement of light reflected from the substrate edge; and a controller adapted to determine a polishing endpoint for the substrate edge based on the arrangement of reflected light. Numerous other aspects are provided.

Methods and apparatus for measuring substrate edge thickness during polishing

A silicon-on-insulator transfer wafer having a front surface with a circumferential lip around a circular recess is polished. In one version, the circular recess on the front surface of the wafer is masked by filling the recess with spin-on-glass. The front surface of the wafer is exposed to an etchant to preferentially etch away the circumferential lip, while the circular recess is masked by the spin-on-glass. The spin-on glass is removed, and the front surface of the transfer wafer is polished. Other methods of removing the circumferential lip include applying a higher pressure to the circumferential lip in a polishing process, and directing a pressurized fluid jet at the base of the circumferential lip.

Edge removal of silicon-on-insulator transfer wafer

A wafer comprising a low-k dielectric layer is refurbished for reuse. Initially, a removable layer is provided on the wafer. The low-k dielectric layer is formed over the removable layer. The overlying low-k dielectric layer is removed from the wafer by etching away the removable layer by at least partially immersing the wafer in an etching solution. Thereafter, another low-k dielectric layer can be formed over another removable layer.

Refurbishing a wafer having a low-k dielectric layer

A low-k dielectric layer having a composition of silicon, oxygen and carbon is removed from a wafer. The low-k dielectric layer is removed by exposing a surface of the low-k dielectric layer to an oxygen-containing gas to oxidized the surface. The oxidized surface is immersed in an etching solution having HF and HSOto etch the low-k dielectric layer. The etched surface is exposed to at least one of (i) an etching solution having HSOand HO, and (ii) an RF or microwave energized oxygen-containing gas, to remove the low-k dielectric layer from the wafer.

Refreshing wafers having low-k dielectric materials

Test substrates used to test semiconductor fabrication tools are reclaimed by reading from a database the process steps performed on each test substrate and selecting a reclamation process from a plurality of reclamation processes, for reclaiming each test substrate. Information identifying the processes performed on each test substrate and the reclamation process selected for each test substrate, may be stored in a test substrate history database. Each test substrate is sorted and placed into a group of test substrates having a common reclamation process assigned to the test substrates of the group. The bins in which the sorted test substrates are stored are each labeled with identifying information including basic or detailed information on the reclamation process selected for the test substrates stored in the bin. The information may also include a list of the test substrates stored in each bin. Information identifying the test substrates stored in each bin and the reclamation process selected for those test substrates may also be stored in a database for those bins. The sorted test substrates may be removed from the bins by a reclamation operator in an automated system in which an identification code is read from each test substrate by a suitable reader. The reclamation process assigned to each test substrate can be read from a database supplied to the operator to verify which reclamation process was assigned to each test substrate prior to reclaiming the test substrate.

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Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Paul V Miller