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:
Feb. 27, 2001
Filed:
Jun. 24, 1998
David A. Kaisaki, St. Paul, MN (US);
Heather K. Kranz, Blaine, MN (US);
Thomas E. Wood, Stillwater, MN (US);
L. Charles Hardy, St. Paul, MN (US);
3M Innovative Properties Company, St. Paul, MN (US);
Abstract
This invention pertains to a method of modifying or refining a surface of a wafer suited for semiconductor fabrication. This method may be used to modify a wafer having an unmodified, exposed surface comprised of a layer of a second material deployed over at least one discrete feature of a first material attached to the wafer. A first step of this method comprises contacting and relatively moving the exposed surface of the wafer with respect to an abrasive article, wherein the abrasive article comprises an exposed surface of a plurality of three-dimensional abrasive composites comprising a plurality of abrasive particles fixed and dispersed in a binder and maintaining contact to effect removal of the second material. In a second step, the contact and relative motion are continued until an exposed surface of the wafer has at least one area of exposed first material and at least one area of exposed second material.