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:
Jan. 29, 2008
Filed:
Aug. 14, 2002
Cindy Reidsema Simpson, Austin, TX (US);
Matthew T. Herrick, Austin, TX (US);
Gregory S. Etherington, Cedar Creek, TX (US);
James Derek Legg, Austin, TX (US);
Cindy Reidsema Simpson, Austin, TX (US);
Matthew T. Herrick, Austin, TX (US);
Gregory S. Etherington, Cedar Creek, TX (US);
James Derek Legg, Austin, TX (US);
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Austin, TX (US);
Abstract
An electroplating system () and process makes electrical current density across a semiconductor device substrate () surface more uniform during plating to allow for a more uniform or tailored deposition of a conductive material. The electrical current density modifiers (and) reduce the electrical current density near the edge of the substrate (). By reducing the current density near the edge of the substrate (), the plating becomes more uniform or can be tailored so that slightly more material is plated near the center of the substrate (). The system can also be modified so that the material that plates on electrical current density modifier portions () of structures () can be removed without having to disassemble any portion of the head () or otherwise remove the structures () from the system. This in-situ cleaning reduces the amount of equipment downtime, increases equipment lifetime, and reduces particle counts.