LEONARD JOHN BORUCKI
Pilots at Ivy St, Mesa, AZ

2010021, Aug 26, 2010

Feb 25, 2009

12/392676

Leonard Borucki - Mesa AZ, US
Yasa Sampurno - Tucson AZ, US
Sian Theng - Tucson AZ, US
Ara Philipossian - Tucson AZ, US

ARACA, Inc. - Tucson AZ

B24B 49/12, B24B 57/02, B24B 49/14

451 6, 451 60

A method for injecting slurry between the wafer and the pad in chemical mechanical polishing of semiconductor wafers comprising a solid crescent shaped injector the concave trailing edge of which is fitted to the size and shape of leading edge of the polishing head with a gap of between 0 and 3 inches, the bottom surface facing the pad, which rests on the pad with a light load, and through which CMP slurry or components thereof are introduced through one or more openings in the top of the injector and travel through a channel or reservoir the length of the device to the bottom where it or they exit multiple openings in the bottom of the injector, are spread into a thin film, and are introduced at the junction of the surface of the polishing pad and the wafer along the leading edge of the wafer in quantities small enough that all or most of the slurry is introduced between the wafer and the polishing pad, wherein multiple inlets for the introduction of fluids to different points in the channel or directly to the bottom surface of the injector are utilized and some or all of which inlets are fitted with means for controlling the flow of fluid and adjustment is made to the said flow control means during or after polishing to adjust slurry delivery to the wafer surface to improve uniformity of removal rate at the wafer surface.

7727052, Jun 1, 2010

Nov 9, 2007

11/937792

Leonard J. Borucki - Mesa AZ, US

Araca Incorporated - Tucson AZ

B24B 1/00

451 41, 451285

The present invention offers a device for rendering CMP polishing pads easily and temporarily removable from and replaceable upon the platen of a CMP polishing apparatus comprising two sheets, the upper sheet attached to the said CMP polishing pad and the lower attached to the said platen, the said two sheets held together by pegs, pins or protrusions fitted to matching holes in the upper surface of the lower sheet and the lower surface of the upper sheet, said pegs or pins attached to either the upper or lower sheet and able to enter the hold on the adjoining sheet when the sheets are brought together and hold the sheets together by means of the sliding friction attendant upon a tight fit with the said holes. The device allows far easier metrology and storage of CMP polishing pads at different stages of use with no damage to the CMP pad, which may be put back into service at any time. The transparency of the upper sheet further allows users to prevent formation of bubbles in the adhesive holding the CMP pad to the upper sheet, thereby avoiding significant degradation of CMP performance.

7839496, Nov 23, 2010

Apr 24, 2008

12/108720

Leonard J. Borucki - Mesa AZ, US

Araca Incorporated - Tuscon AZ

G01N 21/01

356244, 359391, 269287

The present invention is a sample holder for confocal microscopy of CMP pad samples cut or otherwise removed from either new or used CMP pads that maintains a uniform load and pressure over the part of the sample visible to the confocal microscope by placing the pad behind a transparent window and holding it against the said window by a means comprising upper transparent window retaining means having an offset adjacent the transparent window having the same or essentially the same refractive index as the pad material so that when the pad is held against the transparent window, the edges of the pad are outside the outer edge of the transparent window; lower pad retaining means to press the pad under a known/load against the transparent window, which lower pad retaining means has a size less than the size of the pad; spherical force transmitting means pressed against the lower pad retaining means;, through a load cell to measure the load transferred to the sample through lower pad retaining means, the spherical force transmitting means, the force transfer means and load cell from the posterior structural housing of the sample holder which is forced together with the said window retaining means by a force generating means; and means to adjust the known load and a method of confocal microscopy of new and used CMP pad samples to determine relative surface area and other characteristics using the said confocal sample.

7869027, Jan 11, 2011

Apr 20, 2009

12/426574

Leonard Borucki - Mesa AZ, US

ARACA, Inc. - Tucson AZ

G01N 21/01

356244, 359391, 269287

The present invention is a sample holder for confocal microscopy of CMP pad samples cut or otherwise removed from either new or used CMP pads that maintains a uniform load and pressure over the part of the sample visible to the confocal microscope by placing the pad behind a transparent window and holding it against the said window by a means comprising upper transparent window retaining means having an offset adjacent the transparent window having the same or essentially the same refractive index as the pad material so that when the pad is held against the transparent window, the edges of the pad are outside the outer edge of the transparent window; lower pad retaining means to press the pad under a known/load against the transparent window, which lower pad retaining means has a size less than the size of the pad; spherical force transmitting means pressed against the lower pad retaining means; through a load cell to measure the load transferred to the sample through lower pad retaining means, the spherical force transmitting means, the force transfer means and load cell from the posterior structural housing of the sample holder which is forced together with the said window retaining means by a force generating means; and means to adjust the known load and a method of confocal microscopy of new and used CMP pad samples to determine relative surface area and other characteristics using the said confocal sample.

8197306, Jun 12, 2012

Oct 31, 2008

12/262579

Leonard Borucki - Mesa AZ, US
Ara Philipossian - Tucson AZ, US
Yasa Sampurno - Tucson AZ, US
Sian Theng - Tucson AZ, US

Araca, Inc. - Tucson AZ

B24B 57/00, B24B 1/00

451 60, 451446

The present invention comprises an apparatus for injecting slurry between the wafer and the pad in chemical mechanical polishing of semiconductor wafers comprising a solid crescent shaped injector the concave trailing edge of which is fitted to the size and shape of the leading edge of the polishing head with a gap of up to 1 inch, the bottom surface of which faces the pad and rests on it with a light load, and through which CMP slurry or components thereof are introduced through one or more openings in the top of the injector and travel through a channel or reservoir the length of the device to the bottom where it or they exit multiple openings in the bottom of the injector, are spread into a thin film, and are introduced between the surface of the polishing pad and the wafer along the leading edge of the wafer in quantities such that all or most of the slurry is introduced between the wafer and the polishing pad and a method of use therefor.

2010009, Apr 22, 2010

Oct 20, 2008

12/254291

Fransisca Maria Astrid Sudargho - Tucson AZ, US
Ara Philipossian - Tucson AZ, US
Leonard Borucki - Mesa AZ, US
Masanori Furukawa - Nagano, JP
Koichiro Ichikawa - Nagano, JP

B24B 49/00, B24B 7/20, B24B 1/00

451 5, 451 8, 451287

A method for (a) determining the shear force between a wafer head and a polishing pad in a polishing tool using a CMP polishing tool with a plate above the wafer head which hangs or rests on the plate. The plate is connected to the CMP polishing tool by (b) low friction motion means (c). A load cell sensor is fixed to the framework of the polishing tool or another immovable structure. (d) The load cell determines the force from the leading edge of the plate when the wafer head is in contact with the polishing pad. (e) Signals from the load cell sensor reporting the shear force. A CMP polishing tool which includes elements corresponding to each of points (a)-(e) in the above method.

2011031, Dec 22, 2011

Sep 2, 2011

13/225086

Leonard John Borucki - Mesa AZ, US
Yasa Adi Sampurno - Tucson AZ, US
Ara Philipossian - Tucson AZ, US

ARACA, INC. - Tucson AZ

H01L 21/306, C09K 3/14, C09G 1/02, B24B 27/00

438693, 451559, 51298, 257E2123

A method and apparatus for performing chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) is disclosed, which in one embodiment includes a CMP tool for polishing a semiconductor wafer. The CMP tool includes a slurry mixture that has slurry beads. The slurry beads are formed of a polymer material. The slurry beads are used to remove summits and non-uniformities on the semiconductor wafer. In some embodiments the CMP tool includes a counter-face that replaces the polishing pad of a conventional CMP tool. In some embodiments the counter-face is made of polycarbonate. In another embodiment a slurry mixture for use with a CMP tool is disclosed. The slurry mixture includes slurry beads, where each of the slurry beads has a diameter of between 0.1 and 1000 microns, or in some embodiments a diameter of between 10 and 50 microns.

2012022, Aug 30, 2012

May 8, 2012

13/466641

Leonard John Borucki - Mesa AZ, US
Yasa Adi Sampurno - Tucson AZ, US
Ara Philipossian - Tucson AZ, US

ARACA, INC. - Tucson AZ

B24B 57/02

451446

Disclosed is an apparatus for injecting slurry onto the polishing pad surface of a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) tool. The disclosed apparatus includes a rectilinear shaped injector bottom, where multiple slots are created in the top surface of the injector bottom, allowing the injector bottom to flex and to conform to the polishing pad profile. CMP slurry or components thereof are introduced through one or more top surface openings, travel through the injector body, and exit through a slit or bottom surface opening. The slurry is spread into a thin film by the injector, and is introduced at the gap between the surface of the polishing pad and the wafer, along the leading edge of the wafer, in quantities small enough that all or most of the slurry is introduced between the wafer and the polishing pad.

2014001, Jan 9, 2014

Dec 16, 2010

13/825111

Leonard John Borucki - Mesa AZ, US
Yasa Adi Sampurno - Tucson AZ, US
Ara Philipossian - Tucson AZ, US

Araca, Inc. - Tucson AZ

B24B 57/02, B24B 37/04

451 60, 451446

In a certain embodiment, the invention comprises an apparatus for injecting slurry between the wafer and the pad in chemical mechanical polishing of semiconductor wafers comprising an injector the leading edge of which possess bays, depressions or notches that capture spent slurry and hold it long enough for it to transfer heat from the polishing reaction to the pad or through the injector to the new slurry before the said spent slurry is thrown from the polishing pad. The effect is to considerably improve the removal rate, reduce slurry consumption and reduce operating time.

2003017, Sep 18, 2003

Mar 15, 2002

10/098706

Rama Hegde - Austin TX, US
Joe Mogab - Austin TX, US
Philip Tobin - Austin TX, US
Hsing Tseng - Austin TX, US
Chun-Li Liu - Mesa AZ, US
Leonard Borucki - Mesa AZ, US
Tushar Merchant - Gilbert AZ, US
Christopher Hobbs - Austin TX, US
David Gilmer - Austin TX, US

H01L021/3205

438/591000

A transistor device has a gate dielectric with at least two layers in which one is hafnium oxide and the other is a metal oxide different from hafnium oxide. Both the hafnium oxide and the metal oxide also have a high dielectric constant. The metal oxide provides an interface with the hafnium oxide that operates as a barrier for contaminant penetration. Of particular concern is boron penetration from a polysilicon gate through hafnium oxide to a semiconductor substrate. The hafnium oxide will often have grain boundaries in its crystalline structure that provide a path for boron atoms. The metal oxide has a different structure than that of the hafnium oxide so that those paths for boron in the hafnium oxide are blocked by the metal oxide. Thus, a high dielectric constant is provided while preventing boron penetration from the gate electrode to the substrate.