EP1516356A2 - Acid etching mixture having reduced water content - Google Patents
Acid etching mixture having reduced water contentInfo
- Publication number
- EP1516356A2 EP1516356A2 EP03737149A EP03737149A EP1516356A2 EP 1516356 A2 EP1516356 A2 EP 1516356A2 EP 03737149 A EP03737149 A EP 03737149A EP 03737149 A EP03737149 A EP 03737149A EP 1516356 A2 EP1516356 A2 EP 1516356A2
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- acid
- etching
- amount
- mixture
- fluorosulfonic
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10P—GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H10P52/00—Grinding, lapping or polishing of wafers, substrates or parts of devices
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H10P—GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H10P90/00—Preparation of wafers not covered by a single main group of this subclass, e.g. wafer reinforcement
- H10P90/12—Preparing bulk and homogeneous wafers
- H10P90/126—Preparing bulk and homogeneous wafers by chemical etching
Definitions
- the invention relates to an acid etching mixture having reduced water content.
- said water content can be reduced by adding fluorosulfonic acid to acidic compositions containing water.
- Said etching mixture is useful in etching silicon.
- silicon wafers can be etched in spray etching processes or spin etching processes.
- water content affecting etching quality can be advantageously regulated and can be kept constant during the etching process.
- Silicon is a very important material because of its semiconducting properties. For example it is used in the manufacture of solar cells and integrated circuits.
- the backsides of structural elements made from silicon are etched.
- predetermined amounts of silicon are removed from the surface in an anisotropic manner, which means predominantly in one direction, to achieve a rough, or textured, surface structure.
- the textured surface is extremely important for subsequent processes with other structural elements or materials, in which, for example the backside of said structural element may be metallized or bonded.
- This anisotropic etching process is known as "texture etching.”
- the other application relates exclusively to the manufacture of very thin structural elements with application in multi chip packages or flexible carriers, as for example smart cards.
- the wafers are first ground down mechanically. Afterwards the damaged and uneven areas are etched in a chemical etching process isotropically, what means regular to all space directions, to provide polished surfaces.
- etching agents consisting mainly of mixtures of sulfuric acid and hydrogen fluoride or aqueous hydrogen fluoride.
- nitric(v) acid and orthophosphoric acid can be added.
- the prior art has attempted to improve the selectivity and the etching rate of the etching process by modification of the relative ratios of the ingredients used.
- Etching agents or etching mixtures which are preferably useful in producing textured surfaces typically contain more than 80 % of sulfuric acid, up to 10 % of nitric(v) acid and up to 5 % of hydrogen fluoride, wherein the total amount of all compounds being present in the etching mixture is 100 % (% by weight).
- Said etching mixtures are known as texture etching agents.
- Etching agents that produce an extended degradation with formation of a polished surface must have a clearly reduced amount of sulfuric acid of from 10 to 20 % and approximately an amount of orthophosphoric acid of from 10 % to 20 %. However said etching mixtures must have a considerably increased amount of nitric(v) acid in the range of from 20 to 50 %.
- the content of hydrogen fluoride can be between 2 and 20 % (% by weight).
- Said etching mixtures are known as polishing etching agents.
- the commercially available acids used in said etching mixtures typically contain water. Therefor the resulting etching mixtures contain water, too. In general polishing etching mixtures contain a higher amount of water than texture etching mixtures.
- Hydrogen fluoride is a volatile compound, vaporizing during the process and being transformed into volatile compounds during the etching process. Therefor it is used up and must be replaced. Said replacement can be carried out in a continuous or intermittent manner. Consequently the water content of said etching mixture is increasing steadily because said added hydrogen fluoride is applied as an aqueous solution.
- water is formed from the reaction of the aqueous hydrogen fluoride with silicon dioxide, which is developed by oxidation of silicon on the surface of the wafer.
- said etching mixture not change significantly in chemical composition and viscosity, particularly in spray etching processes and spin etching processes even during prolonged processing periods.
- an acid etching mixture can be prepared which is particularly well-suited for spray etching and spin etching processes. Said mixture does not change significantly either in its chemical composition or in its viscosity, even during prolonged working periods. It is possible to employ said new acid etching mixtures in manufacturing plant etching processes that, when applied to silicon wafers results in very constant and good reproducible surface properties. The properties of the new acid etching mixtures are extremely advantageous for industrial processing. It is even possible to provide an etching mixture which can be used selectively as a texture etching agent or polishing etching agent. Said selective adjustment, which is made possible only by the use of fluorosulfonic acid in said acid etching mixture, was not foreseeable and is therefor surprising.
- a method for preparing an acid etching mixture having reduced water content by adding fluorosulfonic acid to an acidic composition containing water.
- said fluorosulfonic acid is hydrolyzed by said water to form a mixture having proportionately less water and more sulfuric acid and hydrofluoric acid than the acidic composition containing water.
- a process for the manufacture of an acid etching mixture characterized in that fluorosulfonic acid is reacted with an acidic composition containing water.
- Still yet another aspect of the present invention provides an acid etching mixture, characterized in that said mixture is prepared by adding fluorosulfonic to an acidic composition containing water.
- the water content is reduced to an amount from 0 to about 40 % by weight, wherein the total amount of all components present in the etching mixtures is 100 % by weight. In said range it is possible to prepare acid etching mixtures that are particularly selective with respect to their texturing or polishing effect.
- the fluorosulfonic acid for the reduction of the water content may be added in an amount from about 0.1 to about 60 % by weight of the acidic composition containing water, wherein the total amount of all components being used for the manufacture of said acid containing mixture is 100 % by weight.
- Said acid etching mixtures can contain the acids of the prior art. Therefor said acid etching mixture can contain inorganic as well as organic acids.
- Organic acids are for example acetic acid or propionic acid. It is preferred that the acid etching mixtures of the invention contain nitric(v) acid, because said acid oxidizes silicon surfaces easily. Said property enables an easier processing.
- the silicon dioxide being formed during the oxidation can be reacted with other suitable acids to form volatile or soluble compounds, for example with hydrogen fluoride to form silicon tetrafluoride or siliconfluoric acid.
- nitric(v) acid is available in highly pure form, which is important for the quality of the silicon wafers.
- the acid etching mixtures of the invention contain sulfuric acid and aqueous hydrofluoric acid or hydrogen fluoride.
- sulfuric acid is able to bind water to a limited extent.
- acid is also used for the adjustment of the viscosity necessary for spray etching and spin etching processes. The mechanism of the hydrofluoric acid during the etching process has been described aforementioned.
- fluorosulfonic acid reacts with water nearly quantitatively to form hydrofluoric acid and sulfuric acid
- said acids can be regenerated if they are used up during the etching process.
- water is used up by the hydrolysis reaction.
- the water content of the etching mixture is reduced.
- the acid etching mixture of the invention can contain orthophosphoric acid. With said acid the viscosity of said etching mixture can be adjusted.
- Said acids are known products, which are manufactured commercially. They are readily available.
- nitric(v) acid, sulfuric acid, hydrofluoric acid and orthophosphoric acid typically contain water and can be used in this form.
- Typical forms of said acids as delivered contain besides water about 70 % by weight of nitric(v) acid, about 96 % by weight of sulfuric acid, about 50 % by weight of hydrogen fluoride (aqueous hydrofluoric acid) and about 85 % by weight of orthophosphoric acid.
- Hydrofluoric acid can be applied in water- free form as 100% hydrogen fluoride. However, because of the aggressive properties and the difficult handling of said chemical, costly equipment and special safety precautions are necessary. Moreover the addition of water- free hydrogen fluoride only avoids the further addition of water, whereas fluorosulfonic acid consumes water when added.
- fluorosulfonic acid is provided in a concentrated form and is water-free to a large extent.
- said acid can contain secondary amounts of sulfuric acid and hydrogen fluoride, as happens sometimes in the commercially available product.
- hydrolytic reaction of fluorosulfonic acid with water to form sulfuric acid and hydrofluoric acid or hydrogen fluoride allows in the manufacturing process of etching mixtures, which contain by nature sulfuric acid and hydrofluoric acid or hydrogen fluoride, the adjustment of the compositions, which is not possible when using the acids of the prior art alone.
- fluorosulfonic acid in acid etching mixtures wherein said mixtures should still contain noticeable amounts of water, said fluorosulfonic acid is added in an amount so that it is consumed during the hydrolysis reaction, but wherein part of the water is not consumed. After said reaction said acid is not present in the etching mixture.
- an acid etching mixture can be obtained, containing fluorosulfonic acid, sulfuric acid, hydrofluoric acid, and either or both nitric(v) acid and orthophosphoric acid.
- the water content of the acid etching mixtures of the invention can vary within a relatively large range. However said content is preferably below about 40 % by weight, wherein the total amount of all components being present in the etching mixture is 100 % by weight. It is important that said water content can be kept relatively constant during the etching process.
- the acid etching mixture of the invention is advantageous to provide a higher water content in order to achieve sufficiently high etching rates.
- the water content is preferably reduced to an amount from about 15 to about 35 %, and the content of acids present in the etching mixtures is preferably from about 20 to about 40 % nitric(v) acid, from about 5 to 35 % sulfuric acid, from about 5 to 25 % aqueous hydrofluoric acid, and from about 5 to about 20 % phosphoric acid, wherein the total amount of all components being present in the etching mixture is 100 % (% by weight).
- the mixture of the invention as a texture etching agent however it is advantageous to choose a lower water content. Then by applying fluorosulfonic acid the water content is preferably reduced to an amount of from about 0.1 to about 15 %, and the content of acids present in the etching mixtures is preferably from about 0.1 to about 10 % nitric(v) acid, from about 70 to about 95 % sulfuric acid, and from about 1 to about 15 % aqueous hydrofluoric acid, wherein the total amount of all components being present in the etching mixture is 100 % (% by weight).
- the resulting mixtures consequently are nearly water-free.
- fluorosulfonic acid the water content is preferably reduced to an amount from about 0.01 to about 0.05 %, and the content of acids being present in the etching mixtures is preferably from about 0.1 to about 30 % fluorosulfonic acid, about 0.1 to about 50 % nitric(v) acid, from about 5 to about 90 % sulfuric acid, from about 5 to about 30 % hydrofluoric acid, and from 0 to about 30 % phosphoric acid, wherein the total amount of all components being present in the etching mixture is 100 % (% by weight).
- the manufacture of said acid etching mixtures of the invention can be carried out in a manner that meters said fluorosulfonic acid to an acid etching mixture containing water.
- an acid etching mixture containing essentially only the preferred acids for example, sulfuric acid, hydrofluoric acid, nitric(v) acid, optionally orthophosphoric acid, and water.
- Hydrogen fluoride that vanishes from the system by vaporizing or reaction however will not be replaced by aqueous or anhydrous hydrofluoric acid, but by fluorosulfonic acid.
- Said acid will be metered into the etching mixture to the extent that the concentration of the hydrogen fluoride in the mixture has been diminished.
- concentration of acid and water can be kept constant during the etching process, because the water content being increased for the moment is reduced again, which provides very constant and advantageous etching processes for silicon wafers.
- the increase of the water content can be avoided in a prolonged process, thereby keeping the etching rate constant. Reconcentration with aqueous hydrogen fluoride as described in the prior art would result in a disadvantageous increase of the water content.
- the composition of the etching bath can be maintained for a longer period than with an etching mixture of the prior art.
- the parameters relevant for the etching process for example the viscosity, can be kept constant, too.
- this is accomplished by adding fluorosulfonic acid to the acid etching mixture, so that the fluorosulfonic acid hydrolyzes to form hydrofluoric acid and sulfuric acid, thereby consuming water to decrease the concentration thereof while increasing the concentration of hydrofluoric acid.
- the fluorosulfonic acid addition step can be performed periodically to maintain the water content of the etching mixture at an essentially constant level. This is particularly advantageous for continuous etching processes.
- a process for the manufacture of an acid etching mixture characterized in that the water content is reduced by the addition of fluorosulfonic acid wherein the fluorosulfonic acid is subsequently hydrolyzed.
- Said hydrolysis reaction can be carried out in the presence of further acids selected from at least one of nitric(v) acid, sulfuric acid, hydrofluoric acid, orthophosphoric acid.
- Hydrofluoric acid can be employed in its aqueous form. But it is possible to use water-free hydrogen fluoride.
- the invention provides an acid etching mixture, characterized in that said mixture is obtained by hydrolysis of fluorosulfonic acid, wherein the hydrolysis is carried out in the presence of one or more further acids selected from nitric(v) acid, sulfuric acid, hydrofluoric acid and orthophosphoric acid.
- said acid etching mixtures wherein the water content is reduced by fluorosulfonic acid, can be applied in spray etching processes or spin etching processes. Said processes can be carried out in spray etching plants or spin etching plants.
- etching process of silicon or of a silicon substrate for example a silicon wafers
- first cutting the semiconductor crystal in thin slices followed by polishing the surfaces is carried out in two steps in a spray etching plant.
- the first step includes mechanical polishing by abrasion.
- the wafer is arranged on a rotating carrier and brought into contact with a contra-rotating tampon.
- Said mechanical polishing is performed by spraying the surface with an abrasive suspension. Afterwards said suspension can be replaced by the polishing etching mixture according to the invention, after which the polishing process can be finished by fine polishing. If necessary the wafer will have to undergo a second etching step or a cleaning step.
- single-disc processes are carried out to an increasing degree in spin etching plants.
- wafers of a thickness of, for example, 750 ⁇ m are ground down mechanically to a thickness of approximately 250 ⁇ m followed by chemical etching down to about 40 ⁇ m.
- Said etching process can be carried out in several steps, first with a fast acting etching mixture, which takes away from about 50 to about 100 ⁇ m, followed by slow polishing with a slow acting etching mixture, which takes away of from about 5 to about 30 ⁇ m.
- the temperature is preferably from about 20 to about 50°C. Lower temperatures mostly result in higher selectivity and decreased etching rate. Higher temperatures mostly result in higher etching rates and decreased selectivity.
- Etching mixtures were prepared by mixing commercial sulfuric acid (96 % by weight in water), nitric(v) acid (70 % by weight in water), aqueous hydrofluoric acid (50 % by weight in water), orthophosphoric acid (85 % by weight in water), and fluorosulfonic acid (100 % by weight).
- the amounts of acids and the compositions of the mixtures with water content are listed in the following tables.
- the compositions of the mixtures were checked according to standard methods, for example the water content with the well known titration according to Karl Fischer.
- Table 1 shows the acids used as starting material and the amounts of said acids for texture etching agents, table 2 the resulting compositions.
- the mixture of the comparison example was prepared without the use of fluorosulfonic acid.
- Table 1 starting material (amount in % by weight)
- Table 3 shows the acids used as starting material and the amounts of said acids in polishing etching agents, table 4 the resulting compositions.
- the mixture of the comparison example was prepared without the use of fluorosulfonic acid.
- comparison example 2 15.00 28.00 15.00 12.00 29.74 example 5 16.40 28.00 15.00 12.00 27.70
Landscapes
- Weting (AREA)
- ing And Chemical Polishing (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US174174 | 1988-03-28 | ||
| US10/174,174 US20030230548A1 (en) | 2002-06-18 | 2002-06-18 | Acid etching mixture having reduced water content |
| PCT/US2003/019079 WO2003107400A2 (en) | 2002-06-18 | 2003-06-18 | Acid etching mixture having reduced water content |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| EP1516356A2 true EP1516356A2 (en) | 2005-03-23 |
Family
ID=29733511
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| EP03737149A Withdrawn EP1516356A2 (en) | 2002-06-18 | 2003-06-18 | Acid etching mixture having reduced water content |
Country Status (7)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US20030230548A1 (en) |
| EP (1) | EP1516356A2 (en) |
| JP (1) | JP2005530045A (en) |
| KR (1) | KR20050013143A (en) |
| CN (1) | CN1679146A (en) |
| AU (1) | AU2003238253A1 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2003107400A2 (en) |
Families Citing this family (16)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7067015B2 (en) * | 2002-10-31 | 2006-06-27 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Modified clean chemistry and megasonic nozzle for removing backside CMP slurries |
| JP2006100799A (en) * | 2004-09-06 | 2006-04-13 | Sumco Corp | Silicon wafer manufacturing method |
| JP4642001B2 (en) * | 2006-10-24 | 2011-03-02 | 関東化学株式会社 | Composition for removing photoresist residue and polymer residue |
| DE102007004060B4 (en) * | 2007-01-22 | 2013-03-21 | Gp Solar Gmbh | Use of an etching solution comprising water, nitric acid and sulfuric acid and etching process |
| TWI358467B (en) * | 2007-12-07 | 2012-02-21 | Nanya Technology Corp | Etchant for metal alloy having hafnium and molybde |
| DE102007061687B4 (en) | 2007-12-19 | 2010-04-29 | Cpi Chemiepark Institut Gmbh | Process for the matt etching of silicon substrates and etching mixture for carrying out the method |
| DE102009007136A1 (en) * | 2009-02-02 | 2010-08-12 | Sovello Ag | Etching mixture for producing a structured surface on silicon substrates |
| MY158452A (en) * | 2009-09-21 | 2016-10-14 | Basf Se | Aqueous acidic etching solution and method for texturing the surface of single crystal and polycrystal silicon substrates |
| CN102534620A (en) * | 2010-12-08 | 2012-07-04 | 无锡华润上华科技有限公司 | Wet-process silicon etching solution for P-type wafer |
| EP2683792B1 (en) * | 2011-03-11 | 2019-09-25 | FujiFilm Electronic Materials USA, Inc. | Novel etching composition |
| US8894877B2 (en) | 2011-10-19 | 2014-11-25 | Lam Research Ag | Method, apparatus and composition for wet etching |
| US8986559B2 (en) * | 2012-02-29 | 2015-03-24 | Avantor Performance Materials, Inc. | Compositions and methods for texturing polycrystalline silicon wafers |
| CN104624512A (en) * | 2015-01-21 | 2015-05-20 | 江西久顺科技有限公司 | Method for sorting P-type heavy-doped silicon material and N-type heavy-doped silicon material in dyeing manner |
| US10544329B2 (en) | 2015-04-13 | 2020-01-28 | Honeywell International Inc. | Polysiloxane formulations and coatings for optoelectronic applications |
| TWI538986B (en) * | 2015-07-15 | 2016-06-21 | 綠能科技股份有限公司 | Etching solution and method for roughening surface of germanium substrate |
| CN113299551B (en) * | 2021-04-27 | 2023-05-02 | 南昌大学 | Method for regulating and controlling semiconductor corrosion area |
Family Cites Families (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR1383662A (en) * | 1964-03-05 | 1964-12-24 | Bayer Ag | Improved process for regenerating pickling baths containing hydrofluoric acid and sulfuric acid |
| JPS6092500A (en) * | 1983-10-26 | 1985-05-24 | Mitsubishi Heavy Ind Ltd | Liquid composition for electropolishing niobium material and its preparation |
| DE3728693A1 (en) * | 1987-08-27 | 1989-03-09 | Wacker Chemitronic | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ETCHING SEMICONDUCTOR SURFACES |
| US5300463A (en) * | 1992-03-06 | 1994-04-05 | Micron Technology, Inc. | Method of selectively etching silicon dioxide dielectric layers on semiconductor wafers |
| KR0124484B1 (en) * | 1993-03-23 | 1997-12-10 | 모리시다 요이치 | A method and apparatus for cleaning the semiconductor device |
| DE19805525C2 (en) * | 1998-02-11 | 2002-06-13 | Sez Semiconduct Equip Zubehoer | Process for wet-etching semiconductor wafers to produce a defined edge region by under-etching |
-
2002
- 2002-06-18 US US10/174,174 patent/US20030230548A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
2003
- 2003-06-18 CN CNA038196425A patent/CN1679146A/en active Pending
- 2003-06-18 JP JP2004514122A patent/JP2005530045A/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2003-06-18 WO PCT/US2003/019079 patent/WO2003107400A2/en not_active Ceased
- 2003-06-18 KR KR10-2004-7020659A patent/KR20050013143A/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2003-06-18 EP EP03737149A patent/EP1516356A2/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2003-06-18 AU AU2003238253A patent/AU2003238253A1/en not_active Abandoned
Non-Patent Citations (1)
| Title |
|---|
| See references of WO03107400A2 * |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US20030230548A1 (en) | 2003-12-18 |
| KR20050013143A (en) | 2005-02-02 |
| AU2003238253A1 (en) | 2003-12-31 |
| AU2003238253A8 (en) | 2003-12-31 |
| WO2003107400A3 (en) | 2004-04-15 |
| JP2005530045A (en) | 2005-10-06 |
| WO2003107400A2 (en) | 2003-12-24 |
| CN1679146A (en) | 2005-10-05 |
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| DAX | Request for extension of the european patent (deleted) | ||
| RIN1 | Information on inventor provided before grant (corrected) |
Inventor name: MCFARLAND, JOHN Inventor name: ZIMMERMAN, KURT-UWE Inventor name: SIEVERT, WOLFGANG Inventor name: DODD, MICHAEL, A. |
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