Method and apparatus for conditioning a semiconductor polishing pad
First Claim
1. A pad conditioning assembly for generating a plurality of grooves in a polishing pad used to polish thin films formed on a semiconductor substrate, said pad conditioning assembly comprising:
- a rotatable conditioning block having a top surface and a substantially planar bottom surface;
said rotatable conditioning block capable of sweeping back and forth between an inner radius of said polishing pad and an outer radius of said polishing pad while said rotatable conditioning block rotates about an axis substantially perpendicular to said polishing pad and said substantially planar bottom surface having a plurality of discreet points extending from said substantially planar bottom surface capable of generating said plurality of grooves.
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Abstract
A method of polishing a thin film formed on a semiconductor substrate. In a method of the present invention a polishing pad is rotated. A substrate is pressed against the rotating polishing pad so that the thin film to be polished is placed in direct contact with the polishing pad. During polishing, the polishing pad is continually conditioned by forming a plurality of grooves into the polishing pad. The grooves are formed by a conditioning block having a substantially planar bottom surface with a plurality of groove generating points extending from the substantially planar surface of the conditioning block. The grooves are generated by sweeping and rotating the conditioning block between an outer radius and an inner radius of the polishing pad.
142 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A pad conditioning assembly for generating a plurality of grooves in a polishing pad used to polish thin films formed on a semiconductor substrate, said pad conditioning assembly comprising:
a rotatable conditioning block having a top surface and a substantially planar bottom surface;
said rotatable conditioning block capable of sweeping back and forth between an inner radius of said polishing pad and an outer radius of said polishing pad while said rotatable conditioning block rotates about an axis substantially perpendicular to said polishing pad and said substantially planar bottom surface having a plurality of discreet points extending from said substantially planar bottom surface capable of generating said plurality of grooves.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of polishing a thin film formed over a semiconductor substrate comprising the steps of:
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a) rotating a polishing pad; b) placing a substrate on said rotating polishing pad such that said thin film to be polished is placed in direct contact with said polishing pad; and c) conditioning said polishing pad by forming a plurality of grooves into said polishing pad, said grooves formed by rotating a conditioning block about an axis substantially perpendicular to said polishing pad, said rotatable conditioning blocks having a substantially planar bottom surface with a plurality of groove-generating discreet points extending from said substantially planar bottom surface while moving said rotating conditioning block between an outer radius of said polishing pad and an inner radius of said polishing pad. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification