What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus for measuring the thickness of a material layer on a semiconductor wafer during chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of said wafer, said apparatus comprising:
an optical probe assembly disposed proximate a polishing pad associated with a CMP machine;
a broadband signal source associated with said probe assembly, said broadband signal source being configured to: (a) generate an interrogation signal having a plurality of spectral components, and (b) direct said interrogation signal at a location on a surface of said wafer as said wafer is being processed on said polishing pad;
a receptor associated with said probe assembly, said receptor being configured to receive a captured signal comprising a portion of said interrogation signal that is reflected from said wafer; and
a processor configured to process said captured signal and to generate an output indicative of a characteristic of said material layer.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said broadband signal source is configured to generate said interrogation signal such that said interrogation signal includes wavelength components in the range of approximately 350 to 2000 nanometers.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said broadband signal source comprises a halogen light source.
4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
said processor is configured to process a plurality of captured signals associated with a like plurality of interrogation signals directed at a plurality of locations on said surface of said wafer during a current sampling period; and
said output is responsive to said plurality of captured signals.
5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said captured signal includes wavelength components in the range of approximately 350 to 2000 nanometers.
6. An apparatus for measuring the thickness of a material layer formed over a nonuniform substrate layer of a semiconductor wafer, said apparatus comprising:
an optical probe assembly disposed proximate a polishing pad associated with a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) machine;
a signal source associated with said probe assembly, said signal source being configured to generate and direct an interrogation signal at a surface of said wafer during processing of said wafer by said CMP machine;
a receptor associated with said probe assembly, said receptor being configured to receive a captured signal comprising a portion of said interrogation signal that passes through said material layer and reflects from said nonuniform substrate layer of said wafer; and
a processor configured to process said captured signal and to generate an output indicative of a characteristic of said material layer.
7. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said material layer comprises an oxide layer.
8. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said signal source is configured to generate said interrogation signal such that said interrogation signal includes a plurality of spectral components.
9. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein:
said processor is configured to process a plurality of captured signals associated with a like plurality of interrogation signals directed at a plurality of locations on said surface of said wafer during a current sampling period;
said output is indicative of the thickness of said material layer; and
said output is responsive to said plurality of captured signals to thereby account for said nonuniform substrate layer.
10. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said processor is further configured to divide said captured signal into a plurality of discrete wavelength bands.
11. A method for measuring the thickness of a material layer on a workpiece during processing of said workpiece by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system, said method comprising the steps of:
applying an interrogation signal from an optical probe assembly to a portion of said workpiece as said workpiece is processed by said CMP system;
receiving a captured signal comprising a portion of said interrogation signal that is reflected from said workpiece;
performing a spectroscopic analysis on said captured signal to determine characteristics of said captured signal at different wavelengths; and
generating an output indicative of a characteristic of said material layer in response to said spectroscopic analysis.
12. A method according to claim 11, wherein said performing step comprises the steps of:
dividing said captured signal in accordance with a plurality of spectral components; and
measuring the intensity of said captured signal at each of said plurality of spectral components.
13. A method according to claim 11, wherein said interrogation signal comprises a broadband halogen light signal.
14. A method according to claim 11, wherein said receiving step receives a portion of said interrogation signal that passes through said material layer and reflects from a nonuniform substrate layer of said wafer, where said material layer is formed over said nonuniform substrate layer.
15. A system for monitoring processing of a workpiece during a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) procedure, said system comprising:
an optical probe assembly disposed proximate a polishing pad associated with said CMP system;
a signal source associated with said probe assembly, said signal source being configured to direct an interrogation signal at a location on a surface of said workpiece as said workpiece is being processed on said polishing pad;
a receptor associated with said probe assembly, said receptor being configured to receive a captured signal comprising a portion of said interrogation signal that is reflected from said wafer; and
a processor configured to (a) measure optical characteristics of said captured signal, (b) generate a plot of an optical characteristic of said captured signal versus wavelength components of said captured signal, and (c) analyze said plot to obtain information indicative of a characteristic of a material layer formed on said workpiece.
16. A system according to claim 15, wherein said processor is configured to generate said plot such that said plot conveys signal intensities versus wavelengths of spectral components of said captured signal.
17. A system according to claim 15, wherein said processor is further configured to:
identify a plurality of distinguishing features associated with said plot;
determine a relative spacing between two of said distinguishing features; and
estimate the current thickness of said material layer in response to said relative spacing.
18. A system according to claim 17, wherein said processor is configured to identify a plurality of local maxima associated with said plot.
19. A system according to claim 17, wherein said processor is configured to identify a plurality of local minima associated with said plot.
20. A system according to claim 17, wherein said distinguishing features repeat within the range of wavelengths of said spectral components.
21. A system according to claim 15, wherein said signal source is configured to generate a broadband interrogation signal having a plurality of spectral components.
22. A system according to claim 15, wherein said receptor is configured to receive a portion of said interrogation signal that passes through said material layer and reflects from a nonuniform substrate layer over which said material layer is formed.
23. A method for measuring the thickness of a material layer on a workpiece during chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of said workpiece, said method comprising the steps of:
applying an interrogation signal from an optical probe assembly to a portion of said workpiece as said workpiece is processed by said CMP system;
receiving a captured signal comprising a portion of said interrogation signal that is reflected from said workpiece;
generating a plot of an optical characteristic of said captured signal versus wavelengths of spectral components of said captured signal; and
analyzing said plot to obtain information indicative of the current thickness of said material layer.
24. A method according to claim 23, wherein said generating step generates a plot of signal intensities versus wavelengths of spectral components of said captured signal.
25. A method according to claim 23, wherein said analyzing step comprises the steps of:
identifying a plurality of distinguishing features associated with said plot;
determining a relative spacing between two of said distinguishing features; and
estimating the current thickness of said material layer in response to said relative spacing.
26. A method according to claim 25, wherein said identifying step identifies a plurality of local maxima associated with said plot.
27. A method according to claim 25, wherein said identifying step identifies a plurality of local minima associated with said plot.
28. A method according to claim 25, wherein said distinguishing features repeat within the range of wavelengths of said spectral components.
29. A method according to claim 23, wherein said applying step applies a broadband interrogation signal having a plurality of spectral components.
30. A method according to claim 23, wherein said receiving step receives a portion of said interrogation signal that passes through said material layer and reflects from a nonuniform substrate layer over which said material layer is formed.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
We claim:
1. A golf ball comprising:
a core; and
a cover layer disposed on said core, said cover layer having an outer surface and defining a plurality of dimples along said outer surface of said cover layer, at least one of said dimples being defined by said cover layer such that said dimple extends through said cover layer.
2. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein said dimple extends through said cover layer and into said core.
3. The golf ball of claim 1, further comprising:
a mantle layer disposed between said core and said cover layer, wherein said dimple extends through said cover layer and into said mantle layer.
4. The golf ball of claim 3, wherein said dimple extends through said cover layer and said mantle and into said core.
5. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein said cover layer includes an inner cover layer disposed on said core and an outer cover layer disposed on said inner cover layer.
6. The golf ball of claim 1, further comprising:
a moisture barrier layer disposed between said core and said cover layer.
7. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein said cover layer comprises an ionomeric material.
8. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein said cover layer includes an inner cover layer disposed on said core, and an outer cover layer disposed on said inner cover layer.
9. The golf ball of claim 8, wherein said inner cover layer is harder than said outer cover layer.
10. The golf ball of claim 8, wherein said outer cover layer is harder than said inner cover layer.
11. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein at least one of said dimples extending through said cover layer is located in a region defined within an outer surface hemisphere of said golf ball extending between a 30 degree line of latitude and a 60 degree line of latitude.
12. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein said at least one dimple extending through said cover layer has a periphery depth of from about 0.002 inches to about 0.140 inches.
13. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein said at least one dimple extending through said cover layer has a span of from about 0.050 inches to about 0.200 inches.
14. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein said cover layer comprises an ionomeric material.
15. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein said cover layer comprises a polyurethane, selected from the group consisting of polyurea, polyurethane, polyurethane-ionomer, polyurethanepolyurea blend, and combinations thereof.
16. A golf ball comprising:
a core;
a mantle layer disposed on said core; and
a cover layer disposed on said mantle layer, said cover layer having an outer surface and defining a plurality of dimples along said outer surface of said cover layer, at least one of said dimples being defined by said cover layer, said mantle layer, and said core such that said dimple extends through said cover layer.
17. The golf ball of claim 16, wherein said dimple extends through said cover layer and said mantle layer.
18. The golf ball of claim 16, wherein said dimple extends through said cover layer and said mantle layer, to said core.
19. The golf ball of claim 18, wherein said dimple extends through said cover layer and said mantle layer and into said core.
20. The golf ball of claim 16, wherein said cover layer includes an inner cover layer disposed on said mantle layer and an outer cover layer disposed on said inner cover layer.
21. The golf ball of claim 16, wherein said dimple extending through said cover layer is located in a region defined within an outer surface hemisphere of said golf ball extending between a 30 degree line of latitude and a 60 degree line of latitude.
22. The golf ball of claim 16, wherein at least one of said mantle and said cover layer comprises an ionomeric material.
23. The golf ball of claim 16, wherein at least one of said mantle and said cover layer comprises a polyurethane material.
24. A golf ball comprising:
a core; and
a cover layer disposed about said core, said cover layer defining a plurality of dimples, at least a portion of said plurality of dimples extending through said cover layer to said core, wherein said dimple periphery depth is from about 0.002 inches to about 0.140 inches.
25. The golf ball of claim 24, wherein said portion of said plurality of dimples extend through said cover and into said core.
26. The golf ball of claim 24, wherein said cover includes an inner cover layer disposed on said core and an outer cover layer disposed on said inner cover layer.
27. The golf ball of claim 24, wherein said dimples extending through said cover layer are located in a region defined within an outer surface hemisphere of said golf ball extending between a 30 degree line of latitude and a 60 degree line of latitude.
28. The golf ball of claim 24, further comprising:
a mantle layer disposed between said core and said cover layer, wherein said portion of said plurality of dimples extending through said cover layer also extends through said mantle layer.