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:
Aug. 29, 2006
Filed:
Apr. 02, 2002
Walter Glashauser, Poughkeepsie, NY (US);
Benno Utess, Dresden, DE;
Andreas Purath, Dresden, DE;
Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, DE;
Abstract
A method and a configuration for conditioning a polishing pad surface are described. The method includes measuring a rotation table current or voltage as an input for a motor driving the rotation of the polishing pad versus a rotating conditioning head. The electrical power input is used as a measure of an actual abrasion effective in regenerating the polishing pad. Since the polishing pad commonly deteriorates by repeated usage, i.e. debris settles down onto its surface, the abrasion efficiency decreases. The method issues a warning signal, in response to the electrical power input exceeding a limit, to take actions for maintaining the uniformity of the conditioning process. The polishing pad rotation can be accelerated or the conditioning head pressure force or rotation can be increased in response to the warning signal. Therefore, the polishing pad can be conditioned.