The improved mattress of the present invention is adapted to sleep two or more people in side by side relation, each person being supported on resilient means defining a separate area of preselected firmness, the two areas being deposed lengthwise of the mattress in essentially parallel relation and being of different firmnesses. The mattress also includes resilient means defining an intermediate area between and integrally connecting the first two areas, and also disposed lengthwise of the matt...

In a chemical mechanical planarization assembly directed for the removal of oxide layers, which stop on films containing silicon nitride, a conventional polishing table is provided with a gas extraction unit which transmits a gas sample to an infrared spectrometer. The presence of ammonia in the slurry, which is generated when a stop layer containing silicon nitride is abraded under high pH conditions, can be detected using infrared spectroscopy and accordingly provides for an in situ endpoint d...

Determination of an endpoint for removing a film from a wafer, by determining a first reference point removal time indicating when a breakthrough of the film has occurred, determining a second reference point removal time indicating when the film has been polished almost to completion, determining an additional removal time indicating an overpolishing interval, and adding the second reference point removal time with the additional removal time to get a total removal time to the endpoint.

A method and apparatus are described for detecting an endpoint of a film removal process in which a target film overlying a stopping film is removed. A chemical reaction product is generated from at least one of the target film and the stopping film; this chemical reaction product is converted to a separate product. The separate product is exposed to ionizing radiation. The ionization current generated by the radiation is monitored as the target film is removed. A change in the ionization curren...

A method is provided to optimize the chemical mechanical planarization process of wafers having a target removal layer and a stop layer. A slurry is added to a polishing table which includes a polishing pad and a platen adapted for rotation; a portion of the slurry is allowed to engage an interface between the polishing pad and the wafer. A gaseous sample is continuously extracted from the slurry; the gaseous sample includes a reactant product created when the polishing pad engages the stop laye...

Detection of the endpoint for removal of a target film overlying a stopping film by removing the target film with a process that selectively generates a chemical reaction product (for example, ammonia when polishing a wafer with a nitride film in a slurry containing KOH) with either the target or stopping film, and monitoring the level of chemical reaction product as the target film is removed. The reaction product is extracted as a gas from the slurry and monitored using a threshold photoioniza...

Detection of the endpoint for removal of a target film overlying a stopping film by removing the target film with a process that selectively generates a chemical reaction product (for example ammonia when polishing a wafer with a nitride film in a slurry containing KOH) with one of the stopping film and the target film, converting the chemical reaction product to a separate product, and monitoring the level of the separate product as the target film is removed.

An apparatus for measuring ammonia gas concentration in an ongoing mechanical polishing (CMP) cycle utilizing an acidic CMP slurry, having the following components: a. A transferring means to collect a sample of the acidic CMP slurry; b. A converting means to convert the acidic CMP slurry to a basic slurry; c. A measuring means to measure the ammonia gas present in the basic slurry; d. A detection means to signal the end of an ongoing CMP cycle.

Detection of the endpoint for removal of a target film overlying a stopping film by removing the target film with a process that selectively generates a chemical reaction product (for example ammonia when polishing a wafer with a nitride film in a slurry containing KOH) with one of the stopping film and the target film, converting the chemical reaction product to a separate product, producing excited molecules from the separate product, and monitoring the level of light emitted from the excited ...

A fluid collection apparatus having an accumulator for contacting a polishing surface of a polishing pad and collecting fluid from the polishing pad, a reservoir for receiving fluid from the accumulator, and a volume maintainer for maintaining a set volume of fluid in the reservoir.