Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7678245?dq=6,606,102
Timestamp: 2014-10-20 09:51:47
Document Index: 320695640

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 02728965', 'Application No. 05077958', 'Application No. 03254807', 'Application No. 200480022037', 'Application No. 200480019124', 'Application No. 10', 'Application No. 10', 'Application No. 200302562', 'Application No. 092121222', 'Application No. 93136038']

Patent US7678245 - Method and apparatus for electrochemical mechanical processing - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsEmbodiments of the invention generally provide a method and apparatus for processing a substrate in an electrochemical mechanical planarizing system. In one embodiment, a cell for polishing a substrate includes a processing pad disposed on a top surface of a platen assembly. A plurality of conductive...http://www.google.com/patents/US7678245?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7678245 - Method and apparatus for electrochemical mechanical processingAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7678245 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/880,752Publication dateMar 16, 2010Filing dateJun 30, 2004Priority dateFeb 17, 2000Fee statusLapsedAlso published asUS20050000801Publication number10880752, 880752, US 7678245 B2, US 7678245B2, US-B2-7678245, US7678245 B2, US7678245B2InventorsYan Wang, Siew Neo, Feng Liu, Stan D. Tsai, Yongqi Hu, Alain Duboust, Antoine Manens, Ralph M. Wadensweiler, Rashid Mavliev, Liang-Yuh Chen, Donald J. K. Olgado, Paul D. Butterfield, Ming-Kuei Tseng, Shou-sung Chang, Lizhong SunOriginal AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (103), Non-Patent Citations (25), Classifications (28), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMethod and apparatus for electrochemical mechanical processingUS 7678245 B2Abstract Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method and apparatus for processing a substrate in an electrochemical mechanical planarizing system. In one embodiment, a cell for polishing a substrate includes a processing pad disposed on a top surface of a platen assembly. A plurality of conductive elements are arranged in a spaced-apart relation across the upper planarizing surface and adapted to bias the substrate relative to an electrode disposed between the pad and the platen assembly. A plurality of passages are formed through the platen assembly between the top surface and a plenum defined within the platen assembly. In another embodiment, a system is provided having a bulk processing cell and a residual processing cell. The residual processing cell includes a biased conductive planarizing surface. In further embodiments, the conductive element is protected from attack by process chemistries.
1. A cell for processing a substrate, comprising:
a top plate that includes a top surface and having at least a first portion of each of the passages formed therethrough; and
a conductive upper layer comprising at least one of a conductive material, a conductive element disposed in a polymer matrix, or a conductive coated fabric. Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/484,189, filed Jul. 1, 2003, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/516,680, filed Nov. 3, 2003, both of which are herein incorporated by reference. This application is additionally a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/608,513, filed Jun. 26, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,644 (hereinafter referred to as the �'513 application�), which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/140,010, filed May 7, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,979,248. The '513 application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/211,626, filed Aug. 2, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,125,477, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/033,732, filed Dec. 27, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,800, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/505,899, filed Feb. 17, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,537,144. The '513 application is additionally a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/210,972, filed Aug. 2, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,303,662, which is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/505,899, filed Feb. 17, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,537,144. The '513 application is further continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/151,538, filed May 16, 2002 now abandoned. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/244,697, filed Sep. 16, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,991,526, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/244,688, filed Sep. 16, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,970, and of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/391,324, filed Mar. 18, 2003. All of the above referenced applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
This application is additionally related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/455,941, filed Jun. 6, 2003; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10,455,895, filed Jun. 6, 2003, all of which are also incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method and apparatus for processing a substrate in an electrochemical mechanical planarizing system. In one embodiment, a cell for processing a substrate includes a processing pad disposed on a top surface of a platen assembly. A plurality of conductive elements are arranged in a spaced-apart relation across the upper planarizing surface. An electrode is disposed between the pad and the platen assembly. A plurality of passages are formed through the platen assembly between the top surface and a plenum defined within the platen assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments for a system and method for the bulk and residual removal of conductive material from a substrate is provided. Although the system is illustratively described having at least two processing stations suitable for the removal of conductive material disposed around a central substrate transfer device, it is contemplated that the inventive processing stations may be arranged in other configurations, and/or be supplied substrates by other types or configurations of substrate transfer mechanisms. Furthermore, although the embodiments disclosed below focus primarily on removing material from, e.g., planarizing, a substrate, it is contemplated that the teachings disclosed herein may be used to electroplate a substrate by reversing the polarity of the bias.
The planarizing module 106 includes at least one bulk electrochemical mechanical planarizing (ECMP) station 128, and optionally, at least one conventional chemical mechanical planarizing (CMP) stations 132 disposed in an environmentally controlled enclosure 188. Examples of planarizing modules 106 that can be adapted to benefit from the invention include MIRRA�, MIRRA MESA�, REFLEXION� , REFLEXION� LK, and REFLEXION LK Ecmp� Chemical Mechanical Planarizing Systems, all available from Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. Other planarizing modules, including those that use processing pads, planarizing webs, or a combination thereof, and those that move a substrate relative to a planarizing surface in a rotational, linear or other planar motion may also be adapted to benefit from the invention.
In one embodiment, the planarizing layer 290 of the processing pad assembly 222 may include a planarizing surface 364 that is dielectric, such as a polyurethane pad. Examples of processing pad assemblies that may be adapted to benefit from the invention are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/455,941, filed Jun. 6, 2003 by Y. Hu et al. (entitled �CONDUCTIVE PLANARIZING ARTICLE FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL MECHANICAL PLANARIZING�) and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/455,895, filed Jun. 6, 2003 by Y. Hu et al. (entitled �CONDUCTIVE PLANARIZING ARTICLE FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL MECHANICAL PLANARIZING�), both of with are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
The housing 402 is fabricated from a dielectric material compatible with process chemistries. In one embodiment, the housing 402 is made of PEEK. The housing 402 has a first end 408 and a second end 410. A drive feature 412 is formed in and/or on the first end 408 to facilitate installation of the contact assembly 250 to the contact plate 320. The drive feature 412 may be holes for a spanner wrench, a slot or slots, a recessed drive feature (such as for a TORX� or hex drive, and the like) or a projecting drive feature (such as wrench flats or a hex head, and the like), among others. The first end 408 additionally includes a seat 426 that prevents the ball 406 from passing out of the first end 408 of the housing 402. The seat 426 optionally may include one or more grooves 448 formed therein that allow fluid flow to exit the housing 402 between the ball 406 and seat 412. Maintaining fluid past the ball 406 may minimize the propensity of process chemistries to attack the ball 406.
The ball 406 may be solid or hollow and is typically fabricated from a conductive material. For example, the ball 406 may be fabricated from a metal, conductive polymer or a polymeric material filled with conductive material, such as metals, conductive carbon or graphite, among other conductive materials. Alternatively, the ball 406 may be formed from a solid or hollow core that is coated with a conductive material. The core may be non-conductive and at least partially coated with a conductive covering. Examples of suitable core materials include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), or polyamide-imide (PAI) (such as TORLON�), and the like.
In one embodiment, the ball 406 has a copper (including copper alloy) outer surface, and may be solid, hollow, or have a different core material. In another embodiment, the ball 406 may include a noble metal outer surface. In another embodiment, the ball 406 may include a TORLON� polymer core coated with conductive gold layer using copper as seeding layer between TORLON� and gold layer. Another example is TORLON� or other polymer core coated with a layer of copper or other conductive material. Other suitable soft conductive materials include, but are not limited to, silver, copper, tin, and the like.
Returning to FIG. 2, the platen assembly 230 may include a sonic transducer 254 coupled thereto. The transducer 254 is adapted to vibrate the platen assembly 230, thereby inducing movement and/or rotation of the ball 406 within the housing 402 (seen in FIG. 4) of the contact assembly 250. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the term �coupled� is intended include connecting, embedding, fastening, laminating, molding, bonding, adhering or otherwise positioning the transducer 254 relative to the platen assembly 230 such that the transducer 254 may induce movement of the ball 406. The transducer 254 may be activated during idle periods between substrate planarizing to induce ball motion within the contact assembly 250, thereby reducing the effects of processing chemistry on the ball 406. Alternatively, a rotating disk made from soft materials compatible with processing chemistry, such as PEEK, PPS, can cover that contact assemblies during idle period to induce the rotation of the balls, thus minimize the static chemical attack on the balls as described with reference to FIG. 12 below.
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS1601642Mar 19, 1926Sep 28, 1926Arthur Parker JosephApparatus for the electrodeposition of metals on wire or narrow stripUS1927162Feb 27, 1931Sep 19, 1933Research CorpElectroplatingUS2112691Jan 30, 1936Mar 29, 1938Pyrene Mfg CoElectroplating anode unitUS2240265Mar 30, 1937Apr 29, 1941Nachtman John SMethod of continuously tin plating ferrous metal stockUS2392687Feb 15, 1943Jan 8, 1946John S NachtmanApparatus for electroplating wireUS2431065Dec 12, 1938Nov 18, 1947Meaker CompanyContinuous wire and strip electro-processing machineUS2451341Aug 10, 1945Oct 12, 1948Westinghouse Electric CorpElectroplatingUS2453481Mar 14, 1944Nov 9, 1948Nat Steel CorpAnode for electrolytic coatingUS2454935Jun 27, 1945Nov 30, 1948Meaker CompanyContinuous wire and strip electroprocessing machineUS2456185Nov 23, 1944Dec 14, 1948Gen Motors CorpElectroplating apparatusUS2457510Jan 23, 1946Dec 28, 1948Ornum Delbert G VanElectroplating apparatusUS2458676Jul 22, 1947Jan 11, 1949Abner BrennerApparatus for electroplatingUS2461556Apr 1, 1943Feb 15, 1949Carnegie Illinois Steel CorpMethod and apparatus for the electrolytic coating of metal stripUS2473290Oct 21, 1944Jun 14, 1949George E MillardApparatus for plating journals of crankshaftsUS2477808May 8, 1946Aug 2, 1949Jones Carl GElectrolytic apparatus for treatment of moving stripUS2479323Jun 13, 1946Aug 16, 1949Udylite CorpPlating machineUS2480022Oct 7, 1944Aug 23, 1949George B HogaboomRotary barrelUS2490055Mar 30, 1944Dec 6, 1949Nat Steel CorpMetal strip electroplating apparatusUS2495695May 8, 1944Jan 31, 1950Kenmore Metals CorpElectroplating apparatusUS2500205Apr 12, 1945Mar 14, 1950Cleveland Graphite Bronze CoMethod of platingUS2500206Jun 29, 1946Mar 14, 1950Cleveland Graphite Bronze CoApparatus for platingUS2503863Nov 18, 1943Apr 11, 1950Siegfried G BartApparatus for electroplating the inside of pipesUS2506794Nov 23, 1945May 9, 1950Revere Copper & Brass IncApparatus for electroplatingUS2509304Feb 24, 1944May 30, 1950Nat Steel CorpMethod and apparatus for electrolytic coating of strip materialUS2512328Jun 28, 1946Jun 20, 1950Armco Steel CorpContinuous electroplating deviceUS2517907Jan 5, 1945Aug 8, 1950Conmar Prod CorpApparatus for electrotreating metal slide fastenersUS2519945Jan 25, 1946Aug 22, 1950Gen ElectricElectroplating apparatusUS2530677Jan 17, 1946Nov 21, 1950Berkenkotter Edward LApparatus for plating crankshaftsUS2535966Feb 7, 1947Dec 26, 1950Alfred TeplitzElectrolytic apparatus for cleaning stripUS2536912Jul 12, 1944Jan 2, 1951IbmElectrolysis etching deviceUS2539898Sep 11, 1947Jan 30, 1951Udylite CorpElectrical contact mechanism for plating machinesUS2540175Feb 11, 1947Feb 6, 1951Gunnar RosenqvistManufacture by electrodepositionUS2544510Oct 23, 1943Mar 6, 1951Nat Steel CorpApparatus and method for plating stripsUS2544943Mar 27, 1944Mar 13, 1951Int Harvester CoMoisture testerUS2549678Aug 23, 1946Apr 17, 1951Conn Ltd C GMethod of and apparatus for electroforming metal articlesUS2556017Jan 29, 1947Jun 5, 1951Vonada Edwin EElectrolytic method and apparatus for cleaning stripUS2560534Jul 12, 1946Jul 17, 1951Nat Standard CoMethod of operating a continuous electroplating systemUS2560966Jul 31, 1947Jul 17, 1951Revere Copper & Brass IncMethod of electroplating copper clad stainless steel cooking vesselsUS2569577May 9, 1947Oct 2, 1951Nat Steel CorpMethod of and apparatus for electroplatingUS2569578Aug 7, 1944Oct 2, 1951Nat Steel CorpApparatus for electrocoating striplike materialUS2571709Aug 26, 1947Oct 16, 1951Western Electric CoApparatus for electroplating articlesUS2576074Jun 11, 1946Nov 20, 1951Nachtman John SMethod and apparatus for continuous strip metal treatmentUS2587630Jul 28, 1949Mar 4, 1952Sulphide Ore Process Company IMethod for electrodeposition of iron in the form of continuous stripsUS2619454Aug 30, 1945Nov 25, 1952Brush Dev CoMethod of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium by electrodepositionUS2633452May 3, 1950Mar 31, 1953Jr George B HogaboomStrainer bags for enclosing electroplating anodesUS2646398Oct 8, 1948Jul 21, 1953Gen Motors CorpElectroprocessing apparatusUS2656283Aug 31, 1949Oct 20, 1953Ohio Commw Eng CoMethod of plating wireUS2656284Sep 7, 1949Oct 20, 1953Ohio Commw Eng CoMethod of plating rolled sheet metalUS2657177Jul 10, 1950Oct 27, 1953United States Steel CorpPlating thickness regulatorUS2657457Sep 10, 1949Nov 3, 1953Ohio Commw Eng CoContinuous metal production and continuous gas platingUS2673836Nov 22, 1950Mar 30, 1954United States Steel CorpContinuous electrolytic pickling and tin plating of steel stripUS2674550Sep 5, 1950Apr 6, 1954Kolene CorpApparatus and method for processing of steel strip continuouslyUS2675348Sep 16, 1950Apr 13, 1954Greenspan LawrenceApparatus for metal platingUS2680710Sep 14, 1950Jun 8, 1954Kenmore Metal CorpMethod and apparatus for continuously electroplating heavy wire and similar strip materialUS2684939Dec 17, 1949Jul 27, 1954Time IncApparatus for plating chromiumUS2689215Jul 13, 1949Sep 14, 1954Bart Siegfried GMethod and apparatus for plating pipeUS2695269Mar 2, 1951Nov 23, 1954United States Steel CorpApparatus for electroplating wireUS2696859Dec 16, 1950Dec 14, 1954Somma Gildo JScrew driver attachmentUS2698832Mar 20, 1951Jan 4, 1955Standard Process CorpPlating apparatusUS2706173Oct 12, 1950Apr 12, 1955Gill Frank PApparatus for electro-plating crankshaft journalsUS2706175Mar 8, 1950Apr 12, 1955Electro Metal Hardening Co S AApparatus for electroplating the inner surface of a tubular articleUS2708445Jul 11, 1952May 17, 1955Nat Standard CoWire processing apparatusUS2710834Oct 27, 1951Jun 14, 1955Marcus VrilakasApparatus for selective platingUS2711993May 1, 1951Jun 28, 1955Albert Lyon GeorgeApparatus for conveying cylindrical articles through a bathUS3162588Apr 17, 1961Dec 22, 1964Hammond Machinery Builders IncBelt type electrolytic grinding machineUS3334041Aug 28, 1964Aug 1, 1967Norton CoCoated abrasivesUS3433730Apr 28, 1965Mar 18, 1969Gen ElectricElectrically conductive tool and method for makingUS3448023Jan 20, 1966Jun 3, 1969Hammond Machinery Builders IncBelt type electro-chemical (or electrolytic) grinding machineUS3476677Nov 2, 1967Nov 4, 1969Carbond CorpElectrolytic grinding toolsUS3607707Sep 10, 1968Sep 21, 1971Raynors Pty LtdPlating and anodizing bath racksUS3873512Apr 30, 1973Mar 25, 1975Martin Marietta CorpMachining methodUS3942959Aug 13, 1973Mar 9, 1976Fabriksaktiebolaget EkaMultilayered flexible abrasive containing a layer of electroconductive materialUS3992178Apr 9, 1974Nov 16, 1976Fabrika Ab EkaFlexible coated abrasive with graphite outer layerUS4047902Jun 24, 1976Sep 13, 1977Wiand Richard KMetal-plated abrasive product and method of manufacturing the productUS4082638Dec 21, 1976Apr 4, 1978Jumer John FApparatus for incremental electro-processing of large areasUS4119515Mar 28, 1977Oct 10, 1978National Steel CorporationApparatus for electroplating sheet metalsUS4125444Dec 13, 1977Nov 14, 1978Inoue-Japax Research IncorporatedElectrochemical polishing methodUS4312716Nov 21, 1980Jan 26, 1982Western Electric Co., Inc.For electroplatingUS4523411Dec 20, 1982Jun 18, 1985Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing CompanyWet surface treating device and element thereforUS4704511Oct 9, 1985Nov 3, 1987Inoue-Japax Research IncorporatedTraveling-wire electroerosion machine with swiveling nozzle assemblyUS4713149Nov 21, 1986Dec 15, 1987Shigeo HoshinoRelative motion between object to be plated and anodeUS4752371Mar 2, 1987Jun 21, 1988Schering AktiengesellschaftTo be galvanized in a bathUS4772361Dec 4, 1987Sep 20, 1988Dorsett Terry EApplication of electroplate to moving metal by belt platingUS4793895Jan 25, 1988Dec 27, 1988Ibm CorporationElectrodes coupled to lapping machine; polishingUS4839993Jan 16, 1987Jun 20, 1989Fujisu LimitedPolishing machine for ferrule of optical fiber connectorUS4934102Oct 4, 1988Jun 19, 1990International Business Machines CorporationSystem for mechanical planarizationUS4954141Jan 25, 1989Sep 4, 1990Showa Denko Kabushiki KaishaCorrosion resistant fluoropolymerUS4956056Mar 20, 1989Sep 11, 1990Zubatova Lidia SApplying a rectified voltage to form an insulating oxide film on a grinding wheelUS5011510Sep 21, 1989Apr 30, 1991Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd.Mixing powders of diamond, boron nitride, metals; then molding, simultaneous sinteringUS5061294Sep 24, 1990Oct 29, 1991Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing CompanyAbrasive article with conductive, doped, conjugated, polymer coat and method of making sameUS5066370Sep 7, 1990Nov 19, 1991International Business Machines CorporationApparatus, electrochemical process, and electrolyte for microfinishing stainless steel print bandsUS5096550Oct 15, 1990Mar 17, 1992The United States Of America As Represented By The United States Department Of EnergyMethod and apparatus for spatially uniform electropolishing and electrolytic etchingUS5108463Jul 16, 1990Apr 28, 1992Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing CompanyCarbon black aggregatesUS5136817Feb 28, 1991Aug 11, 1992Nihon Dempa Kogyo Co., Ltd.Automatic lapping apparatus for piezoelectric materialsUS5137542Oct 9, 1990Aug 11, 1992Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing CompanyReduces buildup of static electricity during abrading of electrically non-conductive workpiecesUS5203884Jun 4, 1992Apr 20, 1993Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing CompanyReduced tendency to buildup static electricity during the abrading of workpieceUS5217586Jan 9, 1992Jun 8, 1993International Business Machines CorporationElectrochemical tool for uniform metal removal during electropolishingUS5225034Jun 4, 1992Jul 6, 1993Micron Technology, Inc.Method of chemical mechanical polishing predominantly copper containing metal layers in semiconductor processingUS5257478Jan 31, 1992Nov 2, 1993Rodel, Inc.Apparatus for interlayer planarization of semiconductor materialUS6135865 *Aug 31, 1998Oct 24, 2000International Business Machines CorporationCMP apparatus with built-in slurry distribution and removalUS6261958 *Nov 29, 1999Jul 17, 2001Lucent Technologies Inc.Method for performing chemical-mechanical polishingUS6773560 *Mar 30, 2001Aug 10, 2004Semitool, Inc.Dry contact assemblies and plating machines with dry contact assemblies for plating microelectronic workpiecesUS6875091 *Feb 28, 2001Apr 5, 2005Lam Research CorporationMethod and apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad with sonic energy* Cited by examinerNon-Patent CitationsReference1Alexander, Jr., "Electrically Conductive Polymer Nanocomposite Materials", http://www.afrlhorizons.com/Briefs/Sept02/ML0206.html printed Feb. 19, 2003.2Communication pursuant to Article 96(2) EPC for Application No. 02728965.4, dated Jun. 11, 2004.3Contolini, "Electrochemical Planarization of ULSI Copper," Solid State Technology, vol. 40, No. 6, Jun. 1, 1997.4European Examination Report dated Sep. 9, 2007 for European Application No. 05077958.6.5European Search Report dated Sep. 27, 2005 for Application No. 03254807.5.6European Search Report for 03252801.0, dated Jan. 16, 2004 (7047 EP).7First Office Action dated Nov. 7, 2008 for Chinese Patent Application No. 200480022037.9.8First Office Action issued Feb. 20, 2009 in Chinese Patent Application No. 200480019124.9.9International Search Report for PCT/US 02/11009 dated Feb. 25, 2003.10Invitation to pay additional fees dated Nov. 11, 2004.11Japanese Office Action, Patent Application No. P2003-205790, dated Jan. 27, 2009.12Korean Office Action dated Mar. 26, 2008 for Korean Application No. 10-2007-7023166.13Korean Office Action, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-7023166, dated Dec. 19, 2008.14Nogami, "An Innovation in Integrate Porous Low-K Materials and Copper," InterConnect Japan 2001; Honeywell Seminar Dec. 6, 2001, p. 1-12.15Notification of Transmittal of International Preliminary Examination Report dated Nov. 10, 2003.16Notification of Transmittal of International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Feb. 21, 2005.17Notification of transmittal of the International Search report and Written Opinion dated Mar. 14, 2005.18Notification regarding review of justification for invitation to pay additional fees for PCT/US/02/11009 dated Feb. 25, 2003.19Partial International Search / PCT Invitation to pay additional fees dated Nov. 14, 2002.20PCT International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Apr. 28, 2005 for PCT/US04/037870.21PCT International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2006/004114, dated Jul. 14, 2006.22PCT Written Opinion dated Apr. 1, 2003 for PCT/US02/11009.23Search Report issued by the Austrian Patent Office for corresponding Singapore Patent Application No. 200302562-4, provided by letter dated Oct. 7, 2004.24Taiwan Office Action dated Dec. 25, 2007 for Taiwan Application No. 092121222.25Taiwan Office Action issued Oct. 27, 2008, in Taiwan Patent Application No. 93136038.Classifications U.S. Classification204/267, 204/242, 204/194International ClassificationB24B37/04, B24D13/14, B23H5/08, B24B49/16, B23H5/10, H01L21/321, B24B53/007, B23H5/06, C25B9/00Cooperative ClassificationB23H5/08, B23H5/06, B24B37/16, B24B53/017, B23H5/10, B24B49/16, H01L21/32125, B24B37/046European ClassificationB24B37/16, B24B37/04D, B24B53/017, B23H5/06, B24B49/16, B23H5/08, B23H5/10, H01L21/321P2BLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionMay 6, 2014FPExpired due to failure to pay maintenance feeEffective date: 20140316Mar 16, 2014LAPSLapse for failure to pay maintenance feesOct 25, 2013REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedSep 1, 2004ASAssignmentOwner name: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC., CALIFORNIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:WANG, YAN;NEO, SIEW;LIU, FENG;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:015100/0051;SIGNING DATES FROM 20040707 TO 20040721Owner name: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.,CALIFORNIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:WANG, YAN;NEO, SIEW;LIU, FENG AND OTHERS;SIGNED BETWEEN 20040707 AND 20040721;US-ASSIGNMENT DATABASE UPDATED:20100316;REEL/FRAME:15100/51Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:WANG, YAN;NEO, SIEW;LIU, FENG;AND OTHERS;SIGNING DATES FROM 20040707 TO 20040721;REEL/FRAME:015100/0051RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google