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:
Mar. 25, 2003
Filed:
Jul. 10, 2001
Applicant:
Inventors:
Lisa P. Allen, Beverly, MA (US);
David B. Fenner, Westford, MA (US);
Assignee:
Epion Corporation, Billerica, MA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B05D 1/00 ; C23C 1/402 ; C23C 1/600 ; B05C 1/100 ; B44C 1/22 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
B05D 1/00 ; C23C 1/402 ; C23C 1/600 ; B05C 1/100 ; B44C 1/22 ;
Abstract
The present invention provides apparatus and methods to carry out the task of both reducing the surface roughness (smoothing) and improving the thickness uniformity of, preferably, but not limited thereto, the top silicon film of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer or similar thin-film electronic and photonic materials (workpiece). It also provides a method and apparatus for smoothing the surface of a (preferably) SOI wafer (workpiece) and for making the surface of the silicon film of a (preferably) SOI wafer cleaner and more free from contaminants.