Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080293343 | PAD WITH SHALLOW CELLS FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL MECHANICAL PROCESSING - The present invention generally provides a polishing article that is easy to clean, reduces debris and by product accumulation and reduces amount of polishing solution needed. | 11-27-2008 |
20090008600 | METHOD AND COMPOSITION FOR POLISHING A SUBSTRATE - Polishing compositions and methods for removing conductive materials and barrier materials from a substrate surface are provided. Polishing compositions are provided for removing at least a barrier material from a substrate surface by a chemical mechanical polishing process or by an electrochemical mechanical polishing process. The polishing compositions used in barrier removal may further be used after a process for electrochemical mechanical planarization process of a conductive material. The polishing compositions and methods described herein improve the effective removal rate of materials from the substrate surface with a reduction in planarization type defects. | 01-08-2009 |
20090036032 | TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR ECMP PROCESS - Methods for polishing a substrate are provided. In one embodiment, the method includes pressing a substrate against a pad assembly disposed on rotating platen assembly, the pad assembly comprising an electrode coupled to a power source, flowing an electrolyte fluid onto the pad assembly, wherein the electrolyte fluid is in contact with the substrate and the electrode, creating an electrical bias between the electrode and the substrate, and heating the electrolyte fluid with an infrared lamp to a temperature of at least 10 degrees Celsius above room temperature. | 02-05-2009 |
20090278081 | PAD PROPERTIES USING NANOPARTICLE ADDITIVES - A method for forming a polishing media and an article of manufacture is described. The article of manufacture may be formed into a polishing article. The polishing article includes a polymer base material and a plurality of nano-scale structures disposed in or on the polymer base material. | 11-12-2009 |
20090318060 | CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL FOR EFFECTIVE PAD CONDITIONING - A method and apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad is provided. The conditioning element is held by a conditioning arm rotatably mounted to a base at a pivot point. An actuator pivots the arm about the pivot point. The conditioning element is urged against the surface of the polishing pad, and translated with respect to the polishing pad to remove material from the polishing pad and roughen its surface. The interaction of the abrasive conditioning surface with the polishing pad surface generates a frictional force. The frictional force may be monitored by monitoring the torque applied to the pivot point, and material removal controlled thereby. The conditioning time, down force, translation rate, or rotation of the conditioning pad may be adjusted based on the measured torque. | 12-24-2009 |
20100035518 | CLOSED LOOP CONTROL OF PAD PROFILE BASED ON METROLOGY FEEDBACK - A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a metrology system that detects the thickness of the polishing pad as semiconductor wafers are processed and the thickness of the polishing pad is reduced. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a controller that adjusts the rate of material removal of a conditioning disk when areas of the polishing surface are detected that are higher or lower than the adjacent areas of the polishing pad. | 02-11-2010 |
20100035525 | IN-SITU PERFORMANCE PREDICTION OF PAD CONDITIONING DISK BY CLOSED LOOP TORQUE MONITORING - Polishing pads used in CMP machines are consumable components that are typically replaced after a specific number of wafers have been processed. The life of a polishing pad is optimized by controlling the rate of material removal from the polishing pad by the conditioning disk. The conditioning disk removes enough material so the polishing surface can properly process the wafers but does not remove any excess material. Preventing excess material removal extends the life of the polishing pad. During CMP processing, the controller receives data concerning the torque applied to the conditioning disk and the torque applied to the arm to sweep the conditioning disk across the polishing pad. Based upon the detected operating conditions, the system can predict the rate of material removal and adjust the forces applied to the conditioning disk so that the life of the polishing pad is optimized. | 02-11-2010 |
20100099339 | POLISHING PAD EDGE EXTENSION - A method and apparatus for providing a substantially uniform pressure to a polishing surface from a conditioning element is provided. The method includes urging a conditioning disk against a polishing surface of a rotating polishing pad, moving the conditioning disk across the polishing surface in a sweep pattern that includes at least a portion of the conditioning disk extending over a peripheral edge of the polishing surface, and maintaining a substantially uniform pressure to the polishing surface from the conditioning disk across the sweep pattern. | 04-22-2010 |
20110256812 | CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL FOR IMPROVED POLISHING PAD PROFILES - Embodiments described herein use closed-loop control (CLC) of conditioning sweep to enable uniform groove depth removal across the pad, throughout pad life. A sensor integrated into the conditioning arm enables the pad stack thickness to be monitored in-situ and in real time. Feedback from the thickness sensor is used to modify pad conditioner dwell times across the pad surface, correcting for drifts in the pad profile that may arise as the pad and disk age. Pad profile CLC enables uniform reduction in groove depth with continued conditioning, providing longer consumables lifetimes and reduced operating costs. | 10-20-2011 |
20120009847 | CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL OF CMP SLURRY FLOW - Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods for chemical mechanical polishing a substrate. The methods generally include measuring the thickness of a polishing pad having grooves or other slurry transport features on a polishing surface. Once the depth of the grooves on the polishing surface is determined, a flow rate of a polishing slurry is adjusted in response to the determined groove depth. A predetermined number of substrates are polished on the polishing surface. The method can then optionally be repeated. | 01-12-2012 |
20120100779 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR COMPENSATION OF VARIABILITY IN CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING CONSUMABLES - Apparatus and methods for conditioning a polishing pad in a CMP system are provided. In one embodiment, a method includes performing a pre-polish process including urging a conditioner disk against a polishing surface of a polishing pad disposed in a polishing station, moving the conditioner disk relative to the polishing pad in a sweep pattern across the polishing surface while monitoring a rotational force value required to move the conditioner disk relative to the polishing pad, determining a metric indicative of an interaction between the conditioner disk and the polishing surface from the rotational force value, adjusting a polishing recipe in response to the metric, and polishing one or more substrates using the adjusted polishing recipe. | 04-26-2012 |
20130122783 | PAD CONDITIONING FORCE MODELING TO ACHIEVE CONSTANT REMOVAL RATE - A method and apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad in a CMP system is provided. In one embodiment, a method for conditioning a polishing pad includes applying a down force to the conditioning disk that urges the conditioning disk against the polishing pad, measuring a torque required to sweep the conditioning disk across the polishing pad, determining a change in down force by comparing the measured torque to a model force profile (MFP), and adjusting the down force that the conditioning disk applies against the polishing pad in response to the determined change. | 05-16-2013 |