The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 27, 1988
Filed:
Jan. 25, 1988
Applicant:
Inventors:
Carter W Kaanta, Colchester, VT (US);
Michael A Leach, Bristol, VT (US);
Assignee:
IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H01L / ; B44C / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
156627 ; 156636 ; 156637 ; 156645 ; 156662 ; 156345 ; 156903 ;
Abstract
An apparatus and method for monitoring the conductivity of a semiconductor wafer during the course of a polishing process. A polishing pad that contacts the wafer has an active electrode and at least one passive electrode, both of which are embedded in the polishing pad. A detecting device is connected to the active and passive electrodes for monitoring the current between the electrodes as the wafer is lapped by the polishing pad. The etch endpoint of the wafer is determined as a function of the magnitude of the current flow.