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:
Jun. 19, 2001
Filed:
Mar. 24, 1998
Applicant:
Inventor:
Arun A. Aiyer, Fremont, CA (US);
Assignee:
Nikon Research Corporation of America, Belmont, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B24B 7/22 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
B24B 7/22 ;
Abstract
In a CMP method and apparatus an essentially circular polishing pad is mounted on a rotating platen. A region of the polishing pad is thinned to provide enhanced optical transparency. A portion of the platen underlying the thinned pad region is also transparent. The thinned pad and the transparent platen portion provide optical access to the surface of a wafer for in-situ process monitoring. Input signals from optical monitoring instruments enable dynamic process control.