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:
Aug. 10, 1999
Filed:
Jun. 19, 1997
Patricia E Marmillion, Colchester, VT (US);
Anthony M Palagonia, Underhill, VT (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A planarizing system which significantly reduces the problems associated with non-uniform removal of surface material across the face of a semiconductor wafer or other comparable workpiece. The invention involves a planarizing apparatus that takes the leading edge of a wafer out of contact with the polishing pad while concomitantly enhancing slurry penetration and distribution at the polishing pad-wafer interface. This result is accomplished by combining: means for deflecting upward a portion of a flexible polishing pad as it passes in rotation beneath a wafer to form a raised polishing pad area, and means for positioning the wafer such that the wafer's leading edge overhangs the front edge of the raised polishing pad area during the planarization procedure. The invention also encompasses a method of using the planarizing apparatus to uniformly remove surface material across the face of a wafer.