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:
Nov. 02, 1999
Filed:
Nov. 26, 1997
Applicant:
Inventor:
Chris Karlsrud, Chandler, AZ (US);
Assignee:
Speedfam-Ipec Corporation, Chandler, AZ (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B24B / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
451 41 ; 451287 ;
Abstract
A chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) system includes multiple workpiece processing elements arranged in a vertically staggered configuration. The polishing elements are positioned such that an outer edge of a first polishing element overlaps the inner edge of a second polishing element. The overlapping arrangement enables the CMP system to utilize additional polishing elements without substantially increasing the footprint of the CMP system. Each of the polishing elements exhibit different polishing characteristics to enable multiple-step workpiece processing.