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:
Nov. 03, 2009
Filed:
Apr. 27, 2007
Applicants:
Alpay Yilmaz, San Jose, CA (US);
Lakshmanan Karuppiah, San Jose, CA (US);
Inventors:
Alpay Yilmaz, San Jose, CA (US);
Lakshmanan Karuppiah, San Jose, CA (US);
Assignee:
Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B24B 53/00 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
A method and apparatus for monitoring polishing pad conditioning mechanisms is provided. In one embodiment, a semiconductor substrate polishing system includes a rinse station, a polishing surface, a conditioning element, and a conditioning mechanism. The conditioning mechanism selectively positions the conditioning element over the polishing surface and over the rinse station. At least one sensor is provided and is configured to detect a first position and a second position of the conditioning element when disposed over the rinse station.