A polishing pad and a method for polishing semiconductor wafers. The polishing pad includes a polishing layer and a rigid layer. The rigid layer adjacent the polishing layer imparts a controlled rigidity to the polishing layer. The resilient layer adjacent the rigid layer provides substantially uniform pressure to the rigid layer. During operation, the rigid layer and the resilient layer apply an elastic flexure pressure to the polishing layer to induce a controlled flex in the polishing layer t...

Polishing tools and associated methods are disclosed. In one aspect, a tool for polishing a work piece is provided. Such a tool may include a solid substrate with a greater than 10 wt % graphite having a high degree of graphitization. The solid substrate may have a working surface which has asperities having a tip-to-tip RA value of less than or equal to about 10 .mu.m, and the working surface may have a surface roughness RA value of less than or equal to about 50 .mu.m. A method for making such...

A resilient, laminated polishing pad for chemical mechanical polishing is disclosed. The polishing pad includes a base layer and a polishing layer bonded by a hot-melt adhesive. The hot-melt adhesive of the present invention provides a Tpeel strength for the polishing pad of at least greater than 40 Newtons at 305 mm/min, reducing pad delamination.

A plurality of pre-assembled abrasive units are removably mounted on the periphery of a cylindrical but, and each includes a pad of multiple abrasive-coated plies fastened together at their inner ends by an anchor clip formed for retention in slots in the hub. Each overlying ply is of successively shorter length, and the plies form at their outer ends multiple stepped abrading surfaces which define a self-dressing finishing surface for rotation against the work surface. The plies are bowed into ...

The present invention relates to a support (4-7) for temporary fixation of a self-sticking abrasive and/or polishing sheet (2) comprising an adhesive layer (3), said support (4-7) comprising a surface for receiving the sheet (2), where the surface of the support (4-7) is so adapted that the resulting adhesive force between the sheet (2) and the support (4-7) is varied over the surface of the support (4-7).

Polishing pads having a surface morphology that results in a high degree of planarization efficiency when planarizing a wafer surface are disclosed. One conditioned polishing pad is non-porous and has a surface height distribution with a surface roughness Ra<3 microns. Another conditioned polishing pad is porous and has a surface height probability distribution with a pad surface height Ratio R.gtoreq.60%, or alternatively has an asymmetric surface height probability distribution characterize...

An abrasive film for polishing a workpiece, including: (a) a substrate; (b) a binder; (c) a multiplicity of abrasive grains which are fixed to a surface of the substrate by the binder; and (d) a water-soluble inorganic compound or a water-soluble organic acid alkali metal salt which is added to the binder. The water-soluble inorganic compound preferably consists of a weak-alkali metal salt or a weak-acid metal salt. The water-soluble organic acid alkali metal salt preferably consists of an anion...

Coated abrasive articles comprise a backing and an abrasive layer, wherein at the abrasive layer comprises a reaction product of components comprising polyfunctional acrylate, alicyclic polyepoxide, and aromatic polyepoxide having an average epoxy functionality of at least 2.5.

An abrasive molding consisting essentially of inorganic particles having an average particle diameter in the range of 0.005 .mu.m to 0.3 .mu.m, and having a relative density in the range of 45% to 90%, provided that pores having a diameter of at least 0.5 .mu.m are excluded from the molding. The abrasive molding is used for polishing a material to be polished by using a polishing liquid, preferably water or an aqueous solution of an alkali metal hydroxide, which does not contain a loose abrasive...

A flat substrate polishing pad conditioning head for a chemical-mechanical-planarization apparatus is provided which has been shown to double the useable life of a polishing pad used to planarize and/or polish both oxide and metal outer layers in the processing of semiconductor wafers and to provide for more uniform polishing during the life of the polishing pad. The polishing pad conditioning head (24) comprises a suitable substrate (26), a diamond grit (28) that is evenly distributed over the ...