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:
Apr. 08, 2003
Filed:
Jun. 18, 2002
Jeffrey J. Peterson, Folsom, CA (US);
Charles E. Hunt, Davis, CA (US);
The Regents of the University of California, Oakland, CA (US);
Abstract
One embodiment of the present invention provides a process that uses selective etching to form a structure on a silicon substrate. The process starts by receiving the silicon substrate with a first layer composed of a first material, which includes voids created by a first etching operation. The process then forms a second layer composed of a second material over the first layer, so that the second layer fills in portions of voids in the first layer created by the first etching operation. Next, the process performs a chemo-mechanical polishing operation on the second layer down to the first layer so that only remaining portions of the second layer, within the voids created by the first etching operation, remain. The system then forms a third layer composed of a third material over the first layer and the remaining portions of the second layer, and performs a second etching operation using a selective etchant to remove the remaining portions of the second layer, thereby creating voids between the first layer and the third layer.