Patents by Inventor Thom Kobayashi

Thom Kobayashi 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).

  • Low selectivity chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process for use on integrated circuit metal interconnects
    Patent number: 6045435
    Abstract: A method for polishing a metal layer (20) containing a combination of wide features (12), low density features (14), and high density features (18), is illustrated. A hydrophilic polish pad (24) having a shore D hardness of greater than 50 is used along with slurry (22) containing silica and an acidic based oxidizer such as oxadic acid in a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. The result is less than 5:1 and preferably 1:1. This low selectivity results in the metal layer (20) being polished to a level below the surface of the surrounding oxide in a timed-controlled polish.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2000
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventors: Rajeev Bajaj, Subramoney Iyer, Thom Kobayashi, Jaime Saravia, Mark Fernandes, David K. Watts