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:
May. 04, 1999
Filed:
Oct. 31, 1996
Robert D Tolles, Santa Clara, CA (US);
James C Nystrom, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Jeffrey Marks, San Jose, CA (US);
William Bartlett, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Victor Belitsky, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus has a platen with a cavity with an opening to the top surface of the platen. A polishing pad is located at an upper surface of the platen. A flexible membrane is positioned in the cavity to define a first and a second volume. A pressure source is connected to the second volume to flex the membrane, and a lifting member is positioned in the first volume so that flexing of the membrane extends the lifting member through the opening to lift the substrate off the polishing pad. Alternately, de-ionized water may be forced through a passage in the platen and an aperture in the polishing pad to lift the substrate.