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:
May. 01, 2007
Filed:
Apr. 03, 2006
Shaun Van Der Veen, San Jose, CA (US);
Hung Chih Chen, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Shaun Van Der Veen, San Jose, CA (US);
Hung Chih Chen, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for polishing semiconductor substrates with improved throughput. Embodiments of the present invention eliminate load cups from a polishing system, hence improve throughput by reducing system footprint and substrate hand off. One embodiment provides an apparatus for polishing a substrate. The apparatus comprises a platen having a polishing pad supported thereon, a carrier head configured to hold the substrate and press the substrate against the polishing pad, and a retaining ring adapted to be attached to and detached from the carrier head, wherein the retaining ring is configured to receive the substrate while positioned on the polishing pad and detached from the carrier head.