Substrate Bevel Polishing for Uniform CMP Profiles
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Solution Overview
Problem
The variation in bevel portion shapes of substrates affects the polishing rates during CMP processing, requiring individual adjustments of CMP-processing conditions for each substrate to achieve uniform polishing profiles.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing method and apparatus that standardizes the polishing of bevel portions to have the same slope angles, allowing for efficient CMP processing of flat portions without adjusting conditions based on bevel portion shapes, using a bevel-portion polishing module and a CMP module in the same housing to ensure consistent polishing profiles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If CMP processing is performed on substrates with varying bevel portion shapes, then individual adjustment of CMP-processing conditions is required for each substrate, but this increases processing time and reduces productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The invention performs preliminary polishing of the bevel portion before CMP processing to standardize the slope angle. By pre-processing the bevel portion to a predetermined slope angle, the substrate is prepared in advance for uniform CMP processing, eliminating the need for individual condition adjustments during CMP and thereby improving productivity while maintaining polishing uniformity
2Manufacturing precision
If bevel portions of substrates are polished to have the same slope angles before CMP processing, then uniform polishing profiles are achieved across multiple substrates, but this requires additional processing steps
Solution Approach 1:
The invention combines the bevel portion polishing step and CMP processing into a single integrated apparatus. The polishing device and CMP device are merged into one system that can sequentially perform both operations on the substrate, simplifying the overall processing procedure despite adding a bevel polishing step, as the integration reduces handling and setup complexity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables consistent polishing profiles across multiple substrates by standardizing bevel portion angles, improving the efficiency of CMP processing and eliminating the need for individual condition adjustments, thereby enhancing the uniformity of edge portion polishing.
Implementation Method 1
polishing a bevel portion of each of the plurality of substrates by a polishing tool
Implementation Method 2
the polishing pad 72 deforms along a slope surface S of the bevel portion B of the substrate W
Implementation Method 3
The flat portion of the substrate is planarized by a combination of a chemical action of the polishing liquid and mechanical action(s) of abrasive grains contained in the polishing liquid and/or the polishing pad
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, such as a wafer, and more particularly to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus for polishing a bevel portion of the substrate and performing CMP processing of a flat portion of the substrate. The substrate processing method includes: polishing a bevel portion (B) of each of the plurality of substrates (W) by a polishing tool such that slope surfaces(S) of bevel portions (B) of the plurality of substrates (W) have the same slope angles (α); and performing CMP processing of a flat portion (P) of each of the plurality of substrates (W) whose bevel portions (B) have been polished.