Method for performing chemical-mechanical polishing

• US 6,261,958 B1
• Filed: 11/29/1999
• Issued: 07/17/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Sowell, John Thomas, Patel, Sanjay, Maury, Alvaro, Crevasse, Annette Margaret
• Primary Examiner(s): Utech, Benjamin L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEN, KIN CHAN
• Application Number:
  US09/450,485
• Time in Patent Office: 596 Days
• Field of Search: 438/689, 438/690, 438/691, 438/692, 438/693, 451/285, 451/286, 451/494, 451/287
• US Class Current: 438/692
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 37/11 Lapping tools
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 45/00 Means for securing grinding wheels on rotary arbors suppression of vibrations in systems F16F15/00; testing static or dynamic balancing of machines G01M1/00

Abstract

An apparatus and method for performing chemical-mechanical polishing is disclosed in which the pad is secured to the platen without the use of adhesives. A polishing pad and a platen are secured together by a releasable attractive force; the force may comprise a vacuum or electromagnetic force, and the pad has a hard or magnetic backside layer for facing the plating and responding to the attractive force. This invention has particular application to chemical-mechanical polishing for use in planarizing dielectrics.

Claims

1. A method for performing chemical-mechanical polishing of a substrate surface, comprising:

providing a pad having a top and a bottom surface;

placing the substrate on the top surface of the pad;

disposing the bottom surface of the pad on a platen of a chemical-mechanical polishing apparatus;

applying a releasable attractive force to the bottom surface of the pad so that the pad is pulled in the direction of the platen; and

coupling the releasable attractive force to a switch for activating and deactivating the force so that the pad can be selectively secured onto and removed from the platen; and

performing chemical mechanical polishing of a substrate surface.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the pad is provided with a backside layer at its bottom surface for facing the platen and responding to the attractive force.

3. The method of claim 1 in which the releasable attractive force is a suctioning force of a vacuum.

4. The method of claim 3 in which the platen is provided with a plurality of holes traversing its width so that the suctioning force can traverse the width of the platen through the plurality of holes to pull the pad in the direction of the platen.

5. The method of claim 1 in which the releasable attractive force is an electromagnetic force.

6. The method of claim 5 in which the electromagnetic force is provided with at least one electromagnet disposed within the platen.

7. The method of claim 6 in which the pad is provided with a backside layer of magnetic material at its bottom surface for facing the platen and responding to the at least one electromagnet within the platen.

8. The method of claim 1 in which the steps are performed sequentially.

9. A method of planarizing a substrate surface with a chemical-mechanical polishing apparatus, the method comprising:

providing a pad and a platen, the pad having a top and a bottom surface, the bottom surface of the pad having a layer of magnetic material and the platen having at least one electromagnet disposed therein,

placing the substrate on the top surface of the pad so that the substrate surface to be planarized is oppositely disposed to the pad;

disposing the bottom surface of the pad having the layer of magnetic material on the platen;

activating the force exerted by the at least one electromagnet so that the layer of magnetic material is pulled in the direction of the platen;

planarizing the substrate surface; and

deactivating the force exerted by the at least one electromagnet so that the pad can be removed from the platen.

10. The method of claim 9 in which a plurality of substrates to be planarized are disposed on and removed from the pad while the electromagnetic force is activated.

11. A method of planarizing a substrate surface with a chemical-mechanical polishing apparatus, the method comprising:

providing a pad and a platen, the pad having a top and a bottom surface and the platen having a plurality of holes therein traversing its width,

placing the substrate on the top surface of the pad so that the substrate surface to be planarized is oppositely disposed to the pad;

disposing the bottom surface of the pad on the platen;

activating a suctioning force through the plurality of holes of the platen so that the pad is suctioned in the direction of the platen;

planarizing the substrate surface; and

deactivating the suctioning force so that the pad can be removed from the platen.

12. The method of claim 11 in which a plurality of substrates to be planarized are disposed on and removed from the pad while the suctioning force is activated.

13. The method of claim 11 in which the bottom surface of the pad is provided with a layer of material having low compressibility.