3853results about "Lapping tools" patented technology

Polymer-based pads useful for polishing objects, particularly integrated circuits, having interconnected porosity which is uniform in all directions, and where the solid portion of said pad consists of a uniform continuously interconnected polymer material of greater than 50% of the gross volume of the article, are produced directly to final shape and dimension by pressure sintering powder compacts of thermoplastic polymer at a temperature above the glass transition temperature but not exceeding the melting point of the polymer and at a pressure in excess of 100 psi in a mold having the desired final pad dimensions. In a preferred version, a mixture of two polymer powders is used, where one polymer has a lower melting point than the other. When pressure sintered at a temperature not to exceed the melting point of the lower melting powder, the increased stiffness afforded by incorporation of the higher melting polymer component gives improved mechanical strength to the sintered product. Conditions for producing the pads of this invention are such that the polymer powder particles from which the pads are produced essentially retain their original shape and are point bonded to form the pad.

A polishing pad is formed as a one-piece article having a region which is transparent and an adjacent region which is opaque. The article is formed by solidifying a flowable polymeric material which at least initially has a uniform composition. The flowable polymeric material is processed during a molding operation to provide the transparent region and the adjacent opaque region. Types of polymeric material suitable for making the polishing pad include a single thermoplastic material, a blend of thermoplastic materials, and a reactive thermosetting polymer.

This invention describes improved polishing pads useful in the manufacture of semiconductor devices or the like. The pads of the present invention have an advantageous hydrophilic polishing material and have an innovative surface topography and texture which generally improves predictability and polishing performance.

A polishing system includes a polishing tool having a platen, a polishing pad, and a controller. The platen is adapted to have the polishing pad attached thereto. The polishing pad includes a polishing surface and a back surface that is opposite the polishing surface. At least one sender electrode and at least one response electrode is disposed in the polishing pad. The controller is coupled to the polishing tool. A method includes polishing a conductive process layer of a wafer using a polishing pad of a polishing tool having at least one sender electrode and at least one response electrode disposed therein. A signal is provided to the at least one sender electrode. The signal provided to the at least one sender electrode is monitored with at least one of a group of the at least one response electrode, the at least one response electrode communicating with the at least one sender electrode through the conductive process layer of the wafer. Endpoint of the polishing process is determined based on the signal received by the at least one response electrode.

A method and apparatus for Chemical-Mechanical Polishing of semiconductor wafers using various formulations of high viscosity slurry.

An improved pad and process for polishing metal damascene structures on a semiconductor wafer. The process includes the steps of pressing the wafer against the surface of a polymer sheet in combination with an aqueous-based liquid that optionally contains sub-micron particles and providing a means for relative motion of wafer and polishing pad under pressure so that the moving pressurized contact results in planar removal of the surface of said wafer, wherein the polishing pad has a low elastic recovery when said load is removed, so that the mechanical response of the sheet is largely anelastic. The improved pad is characterized by a high energy dissipation coupled with a high pad stiffness. The pad exhibits a stable morphology that can be reproduced easily and consistently. The pad surface resists glazing, thereby requiring less frequent and less aggressive conditioning. The benefits of such a polishing pad are low dishing of metal features, low oxide erosion, reduced pad conditioning, longer pad life, high metal removal rates, good planarization, and lower defectivity (scratches and Light Point Defects).

Aspects of the invention generally provide a method for polishing a material layer using electrochemical deposition techniques, electrochemical dissolution techniques, polishing techniques, and / or combinations thereof. In one aspect of the invention, the polishing method comprises applying a separate electrical bias, such as a voltage, to each of a plurality of zones of an electrode. Determining the separate biases comprises determining a time that at least one portion of the material layer is associated with each of the zones of the counter-electrode.

In a process for polishing the chamfered peripheral part of a wafer using a polishing cloth while supplying a polishing slurry in order to improve productivity of the process by reducing a polishing time, at least two steps of polishing processes are performed in sequence. The process comprises a first polishing process to polish a particular part, e.g. the part corresponding to the {110} plane of a peripheral part of the wafer and a second polishing process in which the whole part of a peripheral part of the wafer is polished for finishing by means of varying a hardness of the polishing clothes and / or a particle size of abrasives in the slurry such as the hardness of the polishing cloth in the second polishing process being softer than that of in the first polishing process and a particle size of abrasives in the slurry in the second polishing process being finer than that of in the first polishing process.

The invention provides a polishing pad by which optical materials such as lenses, reflecting mirrors etc., or materials requiring a high degree of surface planarity, as in the polishing of silicone wafers, glass substrates or aluminum substrates for hard disks, or general metal polishing, can be flattened with stability and high polishing efficiency. The invention also provides a polishing pad for semiconductor wafers, which is superior in planarizing characteristic, is free from scratches and can be produced at low cost. There is provided a polishing pad which is free from dechucking error so that neither damage to wafers nor decrease in operating efficiency occurs. There is provided a polishing pad which is satisfactory in planarity, within wafer uniformity, and polishing rate and produces less change in polishing rate. There is provided a polishing pad which can make planarity improvement and scratch decrease compatible.

A bond matrix for metal bonded abrasive tools includes a metal bond system, porosity and an optional filler. Tools according to embodiments of the invention exhibit long tool life, produce an acceptable quality of cut and can have self-dressing properties. The bond matrix can be used, for example, in abrasives tools configured for the electronics industry, such as 1A8 wheels for slicing ball grid arrays (BGAs) and other such slicing operations.

After a hole is formed in a polishing pad, a transparent window plate is inserted into the hole. Here, a gap is left between the upper surface of the transparent window plate and the outermost surface constituting the working surface of the polishing pad. During polishing, the polishing head holding the wafer applies a load to the polishing pad by means of a load-applying mechanism, so that the polishing pad and transparent window plate are compressed. In this case, the system is arranged so that the gap remains constant, and so that a dimension equal to or greater than a standard value is maintained. Since the upper surface of the transparent window plate is recessed from the upper surface of the polishing pad, there is no scratching of the surface of the transparent window plate during dressing. Accordingly, the polishing pad has a long useful life.

The present invention provides a chemical mechanical polishing pad comprising a polishing pad having a window formed therein and wherein the window is formed from a reaction of an aliphatic polyisocyanate, a hydroxyl-containing material and a curing agent.

The present application relates to polishing pads for chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of substrates, and methods of fabrication and use thereof. The pads described in this invention are customized to polishing specifications where specifications include (but not limited to) to the material being polished, chip design and architecture, chip density and pattern density, equipment platform and type of slurry used. These pads can be designed with a specialized polymeric nano-structure with a long or short range order which allows for molecular level tuning achieving superior themo-mechanical characteristics. More particularly, the pads can be designed and fabricated so that there is both uniform and nonuniform spatial distribution of chemical and physical properties within the pads. In addition, these pads can be designed to tune the coefficient of friction by surface engineering, through the addition of solid lubricants, and creating low shear integral pads having multiple layers of polymeric material which form an interface parallel to the polishing surface. The pads can also have controlled porosity, embedded abrasive, novel grooves on the polishing surface, for slurry transport, which are produced in situ, and a transparent region for endpoint detection.

The polishing pad of this invention is a polishing pad effecting stable planarizing processing, at high polishing rate, materials requiring surface flatness at high level, such as a silicon wafer for semiconductor devices, a magnetic disk, an optical lens etc. This invention provides a polishing pad which can be subjected to surface processing to form a sheet or grooves, is excellent in thickness accuracy, attains a high polishing rate, achieves a uniform polishing rate, and also provides a polishing pad which is free of quality variations resulting from an individual variation, easily enables a change the surface patterns, enables fine surface pattern, is compatible with various materials to be polished, is free of burrs upon forming the pattern. This invention provides a polishing pad which can have abrasive grains mixed at very high density without using slurry, and generates few scratches by preventing aggregation of abrasive grains dispersed therein. The polishing pad of this invention has a polishing layer formed from a curing composition to be cured with energy rays, the polishing layer being formed surface pattern thereon by photolithography. The polishing pad of this invention comprises a polishing layer resin having abrasive grains dispersed therein, the resin containing ionic groups in the range of 20 to 1500 eq / ton.

The present invention provides a polishing pad for electrochemical mechanical polishing of conductive substrate. The pad comprises a plurality of grooves formed in a polishing surface of the polishing pad, the grooves being adapted to facilitate the flow of polishing fluid over the polishing pad. The conductive layers are respectively formed in the grooves and are in electrical communication with each other.

Unitary finishing elements having discrete finishing members fixedly attached to unitary resilient body are disclosed for finishing semiconductor wafers. The discrete finishing members can be comprised of a multiphase polymeric composition. The new unitary finishing elements have lower cost to manufacture and high precision. The unitary finishing elements can reduce unwanted surface defect creation on the semiconductor wafers during finishing.

The invention provides a polishing pad for chemical-mechanical polishing comprising a polymeric material comprising two or more adjacent regions, wherein the regions have the same polymer formulation and the transition between the regions does not include a structurally distinct boundary. In a first embodiment, a first region and a second adjacent region have a first and second non-zero void volume, respectively, wherein the first void volume is less than the second void volume. In a second embodiment, a first non-porous region is adjacent to a second adjacent porous region, wherein the second region has an average pore size of about 50 μm or less. In a third embodiment, at least two of an optically transmissive region, a first porous region, and an optional second porous region, are adjacent. The invention further provides methods of polishing a substrate comprising the use of the polishing pads and a method of producing the polishing pads.

A fixed abrasive polishing pad includes a base and a plurality of polishing layers on the base, wherein each polishing layer includes abrasive particles and apertures in a polishing surface of the polishing layer.

The invention is directed to a multi-layer polishing pad for chemical-mechanical polishing comprising a polishing layer and a bottom layer, wherein the polishing layer and bottom layer are joined together without the use of an adhesive. The invention is also directed to a polishing pad comprising an optically transmissive multi-layer polishing pad material, wherein the layers of the polishing pad material are joined together without the use of an adhesive.

An improved pad and process for polishing metal damascene structures on a semiconductor wafer. The process includes the steps of pressing the wafer against the surface of a polymer sheet in combination with an aqueous-based liquid that optionally contains sub-micron particles and providing a means for relative motion of wafer and polishing pad under pressure so that the moving pressurized contact results in planar removal of the surface of said wafer, wherein the polishing pad has a low elastic recovery when said load is removed, so that the mechanical response of the sheet is largely anelastic. The improved pad is characterized by a high energy dissipation coupled with a high pad stiffness. The pad exhibits a stable morphology that can be reproduced easily and consistently. The pad surface resists glazing, thereby requiring less frequent and less aggressive conditioning. The benefits of such a polishing pad are low dishing of metal features, low oxide erosion, reduced pad conditioning, longer pad life, high metal removal rates, good planarization, and lower defectivity (scratches and Light Point Defects).

A polishing pad enabling a highly precise optical endpoint sensing during the polishing process and thus having excellent polishing characteristics (such as surface uniformity and in-plane uniformity) is disclosed. A polishing pad enabling to obtain the polishing profile of a large area of a wafer is also disclosed. A polishing pad of a first invention comprises a light-transmitting region having a transmittance of not less than 50% over the wavelength range of 400 to 700 nm. A polishing pad of a second invention comprises a light-transmitting region having a thickness of 0.5 to 4 mm and a transmittance of not less than 80% over the wavelength range of 600 to 700 nm. A polishing pad of a third invention comprises a light-transmitting region arranged between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the polishing pad and having a length (D) in the diametrical direction which is three times or more longer than the length (L) in the circumferential direction.

Embodiments of a ball assembly are provided. In one embodiment, a ball assembly includes a housing, a ball, a conductive adapter and a contact element. The housing has an annular seat extending into a first end of an interior passage. The conductive adapter is coupled to a second end of the housing. The contact element electrically couples the adapter and the ball with is retained in the housing between seat and the adapter.

It is an object of the invention to provide a polishing pad capable of high precision optical detection of an endpoint during polishing in progress and prevention of slurry leakage from between a polishing region and a light-transmitting region during the use thereof even after the polishing pad has been used for a long period. It is a second object of the invention to provide a polishing pad capable of suppression of deterioration of polishing characteristics (such as in-plane uniformity) and generation of scratches due to a difference in behavior of a polishing region and a light-transmitting region during polishing. It is a third object of the invention to provide a polishing pad having a polishing region and a light-transmitting region with a concentration of a specific metal equal to or lower than a specific value (threshold value).

A polishing body, e.g., pad (200, 230, 260, 300) or belt (400, 500) having a polishing layer (214, 404) that includes a backmixing region (202, 232, 262, 308, 416, 508) wherein backmixing can occur within a slurry (116) between a wafer (204, 234, 264, 304, 408), or other article, and the polishing layer under certain conditions. The polishing layer includes a first groove configuration (206, 236, 266, 312, 428, 504) within the backmixing region and a second grove configuration (208, 238, 268, 320, 432, 520) outside of the backmixing region that is different from the first groove configuration. The first groove configuration is designed based upon whether or not the presence of spent slurry within the backmixing region is detrimental or beneficial to polishing the wafer.

A conductive polishing pad that includes one or more anodes and one or more cathodes formed at or near the polishing surface of a polishing pad. The anodes and cathodes are connected to a wiring network that is part of an electrical connector system that allows for a current source to be connected to the polishing pad and provide a current to the anodes and cathodes even if the polishing pad is moving relative to the current source. An electrolytic polishing fluid introduced between the polishing surface and the metal layer of a wafer forms an electrical circuit between the anode, cathode and the metal layer. The conductive polishing pad allows for electrochemical mechanical polishing (ECMP) to be performed on a conventional chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) tool.

A polishing pad is formed by solidifying a flowable polymeric material at different rates of cooling to provide a polishing pad with a transparent region and an adjacent opaque region. Types of polymeric material suitable for making the polishing pad include a single thermoplastic material, a blend of thermoplastic materials, and a reactive thermosetting polymer.

A method of manufacturing a chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) pad comprises the steps of (a) forming a layer of a polymer resin liquid solution (i.e., a polymer resin dissolved in a solvent); (b) inducing a phase separation in the layer of polymer solution to produce an interpenetrating polymeric network comprising a continuous polymer-rich phase interspersed with a continuous polymer-depleted phase in which the polymer-depleted phase constitutes about 20 to about 90 percent of the combined volume of the phases; (c) solidifying the continuous polymer-rich phase to form a porous polymer sheet; (d) removing at least a portion of the polymer-depleted phase from the porous polymer sheet; and (e) forming a CMP pad therefrom. The method provides for microporous CMP pads having a porosity and pore size that can be readily controlled by selecting the concentration polymer resin in the polymer solution, selecting the solvent based on the solubility parameters of the polymer in the solvent polarity of solvent, selecting the conditions for phase separation, and the like.

Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method and apparatus for processing a substrate in an electrochemical mechanical planarizing system. In one embodiment, a cell for polishing a substrate includes a processing pad disposed on a top surface of a platen assembly. A plurality of conductive elements are arranged in a spaced-apart relation across the upper planarizing surface and adapted to bias the substrate relative to an electrode disposed between the pad and the platen assembly. A plurality of passages are formed through the platen assembly between the top surface and a plenum defined within the platen assembly. In another embodiment, a system is provided having a bulk processing cell and a residual processing cell. The residual processing cell includes a biased conductive planarizing surface. In further embodiments, the conductive element is protected from attack by process chemistries.

The present invention deposits a conductive material from an electrolyte solution to a predetermined area of a wafer. The steps that are used when making this application include applying the conductive material to the predetermined area of the wafer using an electrolyte solution disposed on a surface of the wafer, when the wafer is disposed between a cathode and an anode, and preventing accumulation of the conductive material to areas other than the predetermine area by mechanically polishing the other areas while the conductive material is being applied.

An apparatus for simultaneously polishing wafers including at least a first and a second web of polishing media. At least two polishing heads are provided on a carrier coupled to a drive system such that one polishing head positions a wafer against the first web and a second polishing head positions a second wafer against the second web. The drive system imparts a programmed polishing motion or pattern to the polishing heads.