Patents by Inventor Yu Ishii

Yu Ishii 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).

  • Publication number: 20190262968
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus for polishing a workpiece, such as a metal body, to a mirror finish. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes: a polishing pad (2) having an annular polishing surface (2a) which has a curved vertical cross-section; a workpiece holder (11) for holding a workpiece (W) having a polygonal shape; a rotating device (15) configured to rotate the workpiece holder (11) about an axis of the workpiece (W); a pressing device (14) configured to press a periphery of the workpiece (W) against the annular polishing surface (2a); and an operation controller (25) configured to change a speed at which the rotating device (15) rotates the workpiece (W) according to a rotation angle of the workpiece (W). The pressing device (14) is disposed more inwardly than the workpiece holder (11) in a radial direction of the polishing table (3).
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2019
    Publication date: August 29, 2019
    Inventors: Yu ISHII, Kenya ITO, Hitoshi MORINAGA, Kazusei TAMAI, Shingo OHTSUKI, Hiroshi ASANO
  • Publication number: 20190262869
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus removes foreign substances from a substrate at high removal efficiency. The substrate processing apparatus includes: a scrubber to perform surface processing of the substrate by bringing a scrubbing member into sliding contact with a first surface of the substrate, a hydrostatic support mechanism for supporting a second surface of the substrate via fluid pressure without contacting the substrate, the second surface being an opposite surface of the first surface, a cleaner to clean the processed substrate, and a dryer to dry the cleaned substrate. The scrubber brings the scrubbing member into sliding contact with the first surface while rotating the scrubbing member about a central axis of the scrubber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2019
    Publication date: August 29, 2019
    Inventors: Yu Ishii, Hiroyuki Kawasaki, Kenichi Nagaoka, Kenya Ito, Masako Kodera, Hiroshi Tomita, Takeshi Nishioka
  • Publication number: 20190262870
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus removes foreign substances from a substrate at high removal efficiency. The substrate processing apparatus includes: a scrubber to perform surface processing of the substrate by bringing a scrubbing member into sliding contact with a first surface of the substrate, a hydrostatic support mechanism for supporting a second surface of the substrate via fluid pressure without contacting the substrate, the second surface being an opposite surface of the first surface, a cleaner to clean the processed substrate, and a dryer to dry the cleaned substrate. The scrubber brings the scrubbing member into sliding contact with the first surface while rotating the scrubbing member about a central axis of the scrubber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2019
    Publication date: August 29, 2019
    Inventors: Yu Ishii, Hiroyuki Kawasaki, Kenichi Nagaoka, Kenya Ito, Masako Kodera, Hiroshi Tomita, Takeshi Nishioka
  • Patent number: 10376929
    Abstract: An apparatus which can polish an entirety of a surface of a substrate, such as a wafer, is disclosed. The apparatus includes a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate and rotate the substrate; and a polishing head configured to rub a polishing tool against a first surface of the substrate to polish the first surface. The substrate holder includes a plurality of rollers which can contact a periphery of the substrate. The plurality of rollers are rotatable about their respective own axes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2019
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yu Ishii, Masayuki Nakanishi, Keisuke Uchiyama
  • Publication number: 20190240799
    Abstract: A local polishing system comprises: a particle estimation unit (30) for estimating the film thickness distribution of a wafer; a local polishing region setting unit (11) for setting a local polishing region on the wafer based on the film thickness distribution; a polishing head selection unit (12) for selecting a polishing head based on the size of the local polishing region; a model storage (20) holding a recipe generating model that defines the relation between an input node and an output node, the input node being an attribute of the local polishing region, the output node comprising a recipe for a polishing process; a polishing recipe generator (13) that puts an attribute of the local polishing region set by the local polishing region setting unit (11) into the input node of the recipe generating model and determines a polishing recipe for polishing the local polishing region; and a polishing recipe transmitter (15) for transmitting data of the polishing recipe to a local polishing module (200) that perfo
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2017
    Publication date: August 8, 2019
    Applicant: Ebara Corporation
    Inventors: Koichi TAKEDA, Tsuneo TORIKOSHI, Kunio OISHI, Katsuhide WATANABE, Hozumi YASUDA, Yu ISHII
  • Patent number: 10328465
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus removes foreign substances from a substrate at high removal efficiency. The substrate processing apparatus includes: a scrubber to perform surface processing of the substrate by bringing a scrubbing member into sliding contact with a first surface of the substrate, a hydrostatic support mechanism for supporting a second surface of the substrate via fluid pressure without contacting the substrate, the second surface being an opposite surface of the first surface, a cleaner to clean the processed substrate, and a dryer to dry the cleaned substrate. The scrubber brings the scrubbing member into sliding contact with the first surface while rotating the scrubbing member about a central axis of the scrubber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yu Ishii, Hiroyuki Kawasaki, Kenichi Nagaoka, Kenya Ito, Masako Kodera, Hiroshi Tomita, Takeshi Nishioka
  • Publication number: 20190184517
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus includes: a first polishing head configured to polish a first surface of a substrate by sliding a polishing tool on the first surface; a second polishing head configured to polish the first surface of the substrate by sliding a polishing tool on the first surface, the second polishing head having a smaller diameter than a diameter of the first polishing head; and a substrate support mechanism configured to support the substrate by a fluid pressure at positions corresponding to the first polishing head and the second polishing head, the substrate support mechanism being configured to support the substrate from a second surface of the substrate opposite to the first surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2018
    Publication date: June 20, 2019
    Inventors: Yu ISHII, Yu MACHIDA
  • Publication number: 20190148125
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method which can perform different processes, such as polishing and cleaning, on a surface of a substrate, such as a wafer, with a single processing head, and can process the surface of the substrate efficiently are disclosed. The apparatus includes: a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate and rotate the substrate; and a processing head configured to bring scrubbing tapes into contact with a first surface of the substrate to process the first surface. The processing head includes: pressing members arranged to press the scrubbing tapes against the first surface of the substrate; position switching devices configured to be able to switch positions of the pressing members between processing positions and retreat positions; tape feeding reels configured to feed the scrubbing tapes, respectively; and tape take-up reels configured to take up the scrubbing tapes, respectively.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 8, 2018
    Publication date: May 16, 2019
    Inventors: Yu ISHII, Keisuke UCHIYAMA
  • Publication number: 20190054594
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus which can efficiently polish an entirety of a back surface, including an outermost area thereof, of a substrate while the back surface of the substrate faces downward are disclosed. The method includes rotating a substrate by rotating a plurality of rollers about their respective own axes while the rollers contact a periphery of the substrate with a back surface of the substrate facing downward; and polishing an entirety of the back surface of the substrate by moving a polishing tool relative to the substrate while supplying a liquid onto the back surface of the substrate and while placing the polishing tool in contact with the back surface of the substrate, the polishing tool being located at a lower side of the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2018
    Publication date: February 21, 2019
    Applicant: Ebara Corporation
    Inventors: Masayuki NAKANISHI, Yu ISHII, Kenya ITO, Keisuke UCHIYAMA, Makoto KASHIWAGI
  • Publication number: 20180336301
    Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate includes a setting device that sets a plurality of recipe items including operation conditions of the substrate processing apparatus and a recipe generating device that acquires a plurality of recipe models obtained by changing values of the plurality of recipe items and experimenting or simulating a processing result of the substrate and analyzes the plurality of recipe models to generate a recipe, the recipe generating device combining a part or all of the plurality of recipe models to generate the recipe such that a calculation value of a processing result of the substrate by the recipe satisfies a predetermined condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 17, 2018
    Publication date: November 22, 2018
    Inventors: Yu ISHII, Keisuke UCHIYAMA, Kunio OISHI, Hiroyuki TAKENAKA
  • Publication number: 20180315622
    Abstract: An apparatus which can remove particles, such as polishing debris, from a back surface with high removal efficiency is provided. The apparatus includes: a substrate holder configured to rotate the substrate while holding the substrate with the back surface facing upward; a scrub cleaning tool configured to be rotatable; a two-fluid nozzle disposed above the substrate holder; and a housing defining a cleaning chamber in which the substrate holder, the scrub cleaning tool, and the two-fluid nozzle are located.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2017
    Publication date: November 1, 2018
    Inventors: Kenichi KOBAYASHI, Yu ISHII, Keisuke UCHIYAMA
  • Publication number: 20180254196
    Abstract: A polishing method capable of polishing a substrate, such as a wafer, with low running costs is disclosed. A polishing method includes: rotating a substrate while holding a back-side surface of the substrate with a vacuum suction stage; rotating a polishing head holding a plurality of polishing tools; and polishing a front-side surface of the substrate by pressing the plurality of polishing tools, which are rotating, against the front-side surface of the substrate. The front-side surface is a surface on which interconnect patterns are to be formed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2018
    Publication date: September 6, 2018
    Inventors: Yu ISHII, Kenya ITO, Keisuke UCHIYAMA, Masayuki NAKANISHI
  • Patent number: 10016875
    Abstract: A method for fabricating an abrasive firm includes preparing a base film, coating the base film with a first paint which contains no abrasive grain but contains a binder resin, and drying the paint to form a first layer. The method further includes coating the first layer with a second paint which contains the abrasive grains and the binder resin, and drying the paint to form a second layer. The method further includes heating the first layer and the second layer for imidization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yu Ishii, Hiroyuki Kawasaki, Masayuki Nakanishi, Kenya Ito
  • Publication number: 20180015508
    Abstract: An apparatus which can polish an entirety of a surface of a substrate, such as a wafer, is disclosed. The apparatus includes a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate and rotate the substrate; and a polishing head configured to rub a polishing tool against a first surface of the substrate to polish the first surface. The substrate holder includes a plurality of rollers which can contact a periphery of the substrate. The plurality of rollers are rotatable about their respective own axes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2017
    Publication date: January 18, 2018
    Inventors: Yu ISHII, Masayuki NAKANISHI, Keisuke UCHIYAMA
  • Patent number: 9821429
    Abstract: A polishing pad for polishing a workpiece to a mirror finish is attached to a rotatable polishing table of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus. The workpiece, such as a metal body, is held by a carrier and pressed against the polishing pad. This polishing pad includes: an elastic pad having a polishing surface; a deformable base layer that supports the elastic pad; and an adhesive layer that joins the elastic pad to the base layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yu Ishii, Kenya Ito, Shozo Takahashi, Mika Suzuki
  • Patent number: 9808903
    Abstract: A polishing method which can remove foreign matters from an entire back surface of a substrate at a high removal rate is provided. The polishing method includes placing a polishing tool in sliding contact with an outer circumferential region of a back surface of a substrate while holding a center-side region of the back surface of the substrate, and placing a polishing tool in sliding contact with the center-side region of the back surface of the substrate while holding a bevel portion of the substrate to polish the back surface in its entirety.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yu Ishii, Kenya Ito, Masayuki Nakanishi, Tetsuji Togawa
  • Patent number: 9808836
    Abstract: There is disclosed a substrate processing apparatus which is capable of detecting whether a substrate, such as a wafer, supported by a fluid is properly present in a predetermined processing position or not. The substrate processing apparatus includes at least one distance sensor configured to measure a distance between a scrubber and a hydrostatic support structure; and a processing controller configured to calculate a gap between the hydrostatic support structure and the surface of the substrate from a measured value of the distance and determine whether the gap falls within a predetermined range or not.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tetsuji Togawa, Kenya Ito, Yu Ishii, Keisuke Uchiyama
  • Publication number: 20170312880
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus for polishing a workpiece, such as a metal body, to a mirror finish. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes: a polishing pad (2) having an annular polishing surface (2a) which has a curved vertical cross-section; a workpiece holder (11) for holding a workpiece (W) having a polygonal shape; a rotating device (15) configured to rotate the workpiece holder (11) about an axis of the workpiece (W); a pressing device (14) configured to press a periphery of the workpiece (W) against the annular polishing surface (2a); and an operation controller (25) configured to change a speed at which the rotating device (15) rotates the workpiece (W) according to a rotation angle of the workpiece (W). The pressing device (14) is disposed more inwardly than the workpiece holder (11) in a radial direction of the polishing table (3).
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2015
    Publication date: November 2, 2017
    Inventors: Yu ISHII, Kenya ITO, Hitoshi MORINAGA, Kazusei TAMAI, Shingo OHTSUKI, Hiroshi ASANO
  • Patent number: 9566616
    Abstract: There is disclosed a substrate processing apparatus which is capable of detecting whether a substrate, such as a wafer, supported by a fluid is properly present in a predetermined processing position or not. The substrate processing apparatus includes at least one distance sensor configured to measure a distance between a scrubber and a hydrostatic support structure; and a processing controller configured to calculate a gap between the hydrostatic support structure and the surface of the substrate from a measured value of the distance and determine whether the gap falls within a predetermined range or not.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: Ebara Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuji Togawa, Kenya Ito, Yu Ishii, Keisuke Uchiyama
  • Patent number: D845568
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: EBARA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yu Ishii, Kenya Ito, Hirohiko Ueda