Patents by Inventor Erik S. Rondum
Erik S. Rondum has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 11673226Abstract: A retaining ring includes a generally annular body having an inner surface to constrain a substrate, an outer surface, and a bottom surface. The bottom surface has a plurality of channels extending from the outer surface to the inner surface and a plurality of islands separated by the channels and providing a contact area to contact a polishing pad. Each channel includes a recessed region adjacent the outer surface such that the channel is deeper in the recessed region than in a remainder of the channel. The recessed region and the remainder of the channel each have substantially uniform depth.Type: GrantFiled: June 7, 2019Date of Patent: June 13, 2023Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Andrew J. Nagengast, Christopher Heung-Gyun Lee, Thomas Li, Anand N. Iyer, Jie Diao, Huanbo Zhang, Erik S. Rondum, Wei-Cheng Lee, Jeonghoon Oh
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Publication number: 20230009048Abstract: A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a platen to support a polishing pad, a carrier head to hold a surface of a substrate against the polishing pad, a motor to generate relative motion between the platen and the carrier head so as to polish an overlying layer on the substrate, an in-situ acoustic monitoring system comprising an acoustic window having a top surface to contact the substrate, and a controller configured to detect a polishing endpoint based on received acoustic signals from the in-situ acoustic monitoring system.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 30, 2022Publication date: January 12, 2023Inventors: Nicholas A. Wiswell, Erik S. Rondum, Benjamin Cherian, Sohrab Pourmand, Thomas H. Osterheld, Jay Gurusamy, Shou-Sung Chang
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Publication number: 20190291238Abstract: A retaining ring includes a generally annular body having an inner surface to constrain a substrate, an outer surface, and a bottom surface. The bottom surface has a plurality of channels extending from the outer surface to the inner surface and a plurality of islands separated by the channels and providing a contact area to contact a polishing pad. Each channel includes a recessed region adjacent the outer surface such that the channel is deeper in the recessed region than in a remainder of the channel. The recessed region and the remainder of the channel each have substantially uniform depth.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 7, 2019Publication date: September 26, 2019Inventors: Andrew J. Nagengast, Christopher Heung-Gyun Lee, Thomas Li, Anand N. Iyer, Jie Diao, Huanbo Zhang, Erik S. Rondum, JR., Wei-Cheng Lee, Jeonghoon Oh
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Patent number: 10350728Abstract: Polishing pad cleaning systems and related methods are disclosed. A rotatable platen comprising a polishing pad in combination with a fluid, such as a polishing fluid, contacts a substrate to planarize material at the surface thereof and resultantly creates debris. A cleaning system introduces a spray system to remove debris from the polishing pad to prevent substrate damage and improve efficiency, a waste removal system for removing used spray, used polishing fluid, and debris from the polishing pad, and a polishing fluid delivery system for providing fresh polishing fluid to the polishing pad, such that the substrate only receives fresh polishing fluid upon each complete rotation of the platen. In this manner, within die performance is enhanced, the range of certain CMP processes is improved, scratches and contamination are avoided for each polished substrate and for later-polished substrates, and platen temperatures are reduced.Type: GrantFiled: October 21, 2015Date of Patent: July 16, 2019Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Jie Diao, Erik S. Rondum, Thomas Ho Fai Li, Bum Jick Kim, Christopher Heung-Gyun Lee
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Patent number: 10322492Abstract: A retaining ring includes a generally annular body having an inner surface to constrain a substrate and a bottom surface, the bottom surface having a plurality of channels extending from an outer surface to the inner surface, and a plurality of islands separated by the channels and providing a contact area to contact a polishing pad, wherein the contact area is about 15-40% of a plan area of the bottom surface.Type: GrantFiled: July 24, 2017Date of Patent: June 18, 2019Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Andrew J. Nagengast, Christopher Heung-Gyun Lee, Thomas Li, Anand N. Iyer, Jie Diao, Huanbo Zhang, Erik S. Rondum, Wei-Cheng Lee, Jeonghoon Oh
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Publication number: 20180021918Abstract: A retaining ring includes a generally annular body having an inner surface to constrain a substrate and a bottom surface, the bottom surface having a plurality of channels extending from an outer surface to the inner surface, and a plurality of islands separated by the channels and providing a contact area to contact a polishing pad, wherein the contact area is about 15-40% of a plan area of the bottom surface.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 24, 2017Publication date: January 25, 2018Inventors: Andrew J. Nagengast, Christopher Heung-Gyun Lee, Thomas Li, Anand N. Iyer, Jie Diao, Huanbo Zhang, Erik S. Rondum, Wei-Cheng Lee, Jeonghoon Oh
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Patent number: 9862070Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and systems for polishing a substrate are provided. The invention includes an upper platen; a torque/strain measurement instrument coupled to the upper platen; and a lower platen coupled to the torque/strain measurement instrument and adapted to drive the upper platen to rotate through the torque/strain measurement instrument. In other embodiments, the invention includes an upper carriage; a side force measurement instrument coupled to the upper carriage; and a lower carriage coupled to the side force measurement instrument and adapted to support a polishing head. Numerous additional aspects are disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: April 27, 2012Date of Patent: January 9, 2018Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Shou-Sung Chang, Hung Chen, Lakshmanan Karuppiah, Paul D. Butterfield, Erik S. Rondum
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Publication number: 20160167195Abstract: Polishing pad cleaning systems and related methods are disclosed. A rotatable platen comprising a polishing pad in combination with a fluid, such as a polishing fluid, contacts a substrate to planarize material at the surface thereof and resultantly creates debris. A cleaning system introduces a spray system to remove debris from the polishing pad to prevent substrate damage and improve efficiency, a waste removal system for removing used spray, used polishing fluid, and debris from the polishing pad, and a polishing fluid delivery system for providing fresh polishing fluid to the polishing pad, such that the substrate only receives fresh polishing fluid upon each complete rotation of the platen. In this manner, within die performance is enhanced, the range of certain CMP processes is improved, scratches and contamination are avoided for each polished substrate and for later-polished substrates, and platen temperatures are reduced.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 21, 2015Publication date: June 16, 2016Inventors: Jie DIAO, Erik S. RONDUM, Thomas Ho Fai LI, Bum Jick KIM, Christopher Heung-Gyun LEE
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Patent number: 9061394Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and systems for polishing a substrate are provided. The invention includes an upper platen; a torque/strain measurement instrument coupled to the upper platen; and a lower platen coupled to the torque/strain measurement instrument and adapted to drive the upper platen to rotate through the torque/strain measurement instrument. In other embodiments, the invention includes an upper carriage; a side force measurement instrument coupled to the upper carriage; and a lower carriage coupled to the side force measurement instrument and adapted to support a polishing head. Numerous additional aspects are disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: April 28, 2012Date of Patent: June 23, 2015Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Shou-Sung Chang, Hung Chih Chen, Lakshmanan Karuppiah, Paul D. Butterfield, Erik S. Rondum
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Publication number: 20140237905Abstract: A chemical mechanical polishing article can be a single contiguous layer having a polishing surface, the layer being an elongated substantially rectangular sheet having a width and a length at least four times greater than the width. Forming a polishing article can include depositing a liquid precursor on a moving belt, at least partially curing the liquid precursor while on the moving belt to form a polishing layer, and detaching the polishing layer from the belt.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 5, 2014Publication date: August 28, 2014Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Benjamin A. Bonner, Gopalakrishna B. Prabhu, Erik S. Rondum, Gregory E. Menk, Anand N. Iyer, Peter McReynolds, Garlen C. Leung
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Publication number: 20130122782Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and systems for polishing a substrate are provided. The invention includes an upper platen; a torque/strain measurement instrument coupled to the upper platen; and a lower platen coupled to the torque/strain measurement instrument and adapted to drive the upper platen to rotate through the torque/strain measurement instrument. In other embodiments, the invention includes an upper carriage; a side force measurement instrument coupled to the upper carriage; and a lower carriage coupled to the side force measurement instrument and adapted to support a polishing head. Numerous additional aspects are disclosed.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 27, 2012Publication date: May 16, 2013Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.Inventors: Shou-Sung Chang, Hung Chen, Lakshmanan Karuppiah, Paul D. Butterfield, Erik S. Rondum
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Patent number: 8439723Abstract: A chemical mechanical apparatus comprises a polishing platen, a roller pad assembly capable of advancing a polishing pad across the platen, a substrate carrier to press a substrate against the polishing pad, and a heater to heat the substrate to a temperature sufficiently high to provide a rate of removal of material from the substrate that compensates for the wear of the polishing pad.Type: GrantFiled: August 11, 2008Date of Patent: May 14, 2013Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Robert A. Marks, Christopher Heung-Gyun Lee, Garlen C. Leung, Gregory E. Menk, Jie Diao, Erik S. Rondum
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Publication number: 20120270477Abstract: A conditioning process includes rotating a polishing pad about an axis of rotation, conditioning the polishing pad by sweeping an abrasive disk in a path across a surface of the polishing pad between an inner radial distance from the axis of rotation and an outer radial distance from the axis of rotation, sweeping a sensor across the polishing pad while conditioning the polishing pad, measuring a thickness of the polishing pad at a plurality of positions between the inner radial distance and the outer radial distance with the sensor, and adjusting at least one of a dwell time or a pressure of the abrasive disk against the polishing pad for a portion of the path based on measurements of the thickness by the sensor such that the polishing pad wears to a more uniform thickness than without such adjustment.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 22, 2011Publication date: October 25, 2012Inventors: Roy C. Nangoy, Hung Chih Chen, Shou-Sung Chang, Erik S. Rondum, Sameer Deshpande
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Patent number: 7841925Abstract: A polishing article includes a polishing layer having a polishing surface and a solid light-transmissive window in the polishing layer, the window having a first non-linear edge that extends along a first axis parallel to the polishing surface, the first non-linear edge including a plurality of projections and a plurality of recesses extending parallel to the polishing surface and disposed in an alternating pattern along the first axis.Type: GrantFiled: June 19, 2009Date of Patent: November 30, 2010Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Gregory E. Menk, Peter McReynolds, Erik S. Rondum, Anand N. Iyer, Gopalakrishna B. Prabhu, Garlen C. Leung
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Publication number: 20100112919Abstract: A chemical mechanical polishing article can be a single contiguous layer having a polishing surface, the layer being an elongated substantially rectangular sheet having a width and a length at least four times greater than the width. Forming a polishing article can include depositing a liquid precursor on a moving belt, at least partially curing the liquid precursor while on the moving belt to form a polishing layer, and detaching the polishing layer from the belt.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 3, 2008Publication date: May 6, 2010Inventors: Benjamin A. Bonner, Gopalakrishna B. Prabhu, Erik S. Rondum, Gregory E. Menk, Anand N. Iyer, Peter McReynolds, Garlen C. Leung
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Publication number: 20100035515Abstract: A chemical mechanical apparatus comprises a polishing platen, a roller pad assembly capable of advancing a polishing pad across the platen, a substrate carrier to press a substrate against the polishing pad, and a heater to heat the substrate to a temperature sufficiently high to provide a rate of removal of material from the substrate that compensates for the wear of the polishing pad.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 11, 2008Publication date: February 11, 2010Inventors: Robert Marks, Christopher Heung-Gyun Lee, Garlen C. Leung, Gregory E. Menk, Jie Diao, Erik S. Rondum
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Patent number: 7601050Abstract: A polishing apparatus is described. The polishing apparatus includes a rotatable platen, a drive mechanism to incrementally advance a polishing sheet having a polishing surface in a linear direction across the platen, a subpad on the platen to support the polishing sheet, the subpad having a groove formed therein, and a vacuum source connected to the groove of the subpad and configured to apply a vacuum sufficient to pull portions of the polishing sheet into the groove of the subpad to induce a groove in the polishing surface.Type: GrantFiled: February 15, 2007Date of Patent: October 13, 2009Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Steven M. Zuniga, Peter McReynolds, Erik S. Rondum, Benjamin A. Bonner, Henry H. Au, Gregory E. Menk, Gopalakrishna B. Prabhu, Anand N. Iyer, Garlen C. Leung
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Publication number: 20090253358Abstract: A polishing article includes a polishing layer having a polishing surface and a solid light-transmissive window in the polishing layer, the window having a first non-linear edge that extends along a first axis parallel to the polishing surface, the first non-linear edge including a plurality of projections and a plurality of recesses extending parallel to the polishing surface and disposed in an alternating pattern along the first axis.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 19, 2009Publication date: October 8, 2009Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.Inventors: Gregory E. Menk, Peter McReynolds, Erik S. Rondum, Anand N. Iyer, Gopalakrishna B. Prabhu, Garlen C. Leung
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Patent number: 7553214Abstract: A method is described. The method includes contacting a non-solid material to a non-linear edge of a sheet of polishing material, and causing the non-solid material to solidify to form a window that contacts the non-linear edge of the polishing material.Type: GrantFiled: February 15, 2007Date of Patent: June 30, 2009Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.Inventors: Gregory E. Menk, Peter McReynolds, Erik S. Rondum, Anand N. Iyer, Gopalakrishna B. Prabhu, Garlen C. Leung
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Publication number: 20090088051Abstract: A polishing article includes an elongated substantially rectangular central portion and a substantially rectangular edge portion. The central portion includes a polishing layer with a polishing surface. The central portion has a width, a length greater than the width and defining a longitudinal axis, and an edge. The edge portion extends from the edge of the central portion, the edge portion is thinner than the central portion, and the polishing layer does not extend onto the edge portion.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 26, 2008Publication date: April 2, 2009Inventors: Gregory E. Menk, Peter McReynolds, Benjamin A. Bonner, Erik S. Rondum, Gopalakrishna B. Prabhu