Apparatus and method for conditioning and monitoring media used for chemical-mechanical planarization
First Claim
1. An apparatus for monitoring conditioning of a planarizing medium used for planarizing a microelectronic substrate, comprising:
- a conditioning body having a conditioning surface configured to engage a planarizing surface of the planarizing medium, at least one of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium being movable relative to the other of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium to condition the planarizing surface;
a first support member having first and second ends and being rotatably coupled toward the first end to the conditioning body, the second end of the first support member extending away from the conditioning body;
a sensor configured to detect a frictional force in a plane of the planarizing surface, the frictional force being imparted to the conditioning body by the planarizing medium when the one of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium is moved relative to the other of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium; and
a second support member coupled at a pivotable coupling to the first support member toward the second end of the first support member, the sensor being positioned between the first and second support members, the first support member being pivotable relative to the second support member to transmit a force to the sensor corresponding to the frictional force.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for conditioning and monitoring a planarizing medium used for planarizing a microelectronic substrate. In one embodiment, the apparatus can include a conditioning body having a conditioning surface that engages a planarizing surface of the planarizing medium and is movable relative to the planarizing medium. A force sensor is coupled to the conditioning body to detect a frictional force imparted to the conditioning body by the planarizing medium when the conditioning body and the planarizing medium are moved relative to each other. The apparatus can further include a feedback device that controls the motion, position, or force between the conditioning body and the planarizing medium to control the conditioning of the planarizing medium.
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Citations
75 Claims
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1. An apparatus for monitoring conditioning of a planarizing medium used for planarizing a microelectronic substrate, comprising:
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a conditioning body having a conditioning surface configured to engage a planarizing surface of the planarizing medium, at least one of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium being movable relative to the other of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium to condition the planarizing surface;
a first support member having first and second ends and being rotatably coupled toward the first end to the conditioning body, the second end of the first support member extending away from the conditioning body;
a sensor configured to detect a frictional force in a plane of the planarizing surface, the frictional force being imparted to the conditioning body by the planarizing medium when the one of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium is moved relative to the other of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium; and
a second support member coupled at a pivotable coupling to the first support member toward the second end of the first support member, the sensor being positioned between the first and second support members, the first support member being pivotable relative to the second support member to transmit a force to the sensor corresponding to the frictional force. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
a piston; and
a cylinder having an open end and a closed end, the cylinder sealably and slidably receiving the piston, at least one of the piston and the cylinder being coupled to the conditioning body to slide relative to the other of the piston and the cylinder under the influence of the frictional force on the conditioning body, the piston and the cylinder defining a sealed gap between an end of the piston and the closed end of the cylinder, the sensor being positioned within the gap for measuring a change in pressure within the gap as the piston moves relative to the cylinder.
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10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the piston has a generally circular cross-sectional shape and the cylinder hias an aperture with a generally circular cross-sectional shape for receiving the piston.
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11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the piston has a generally rectangular cross-sectional shape and the cylinder has an aperture with a generally rectangular cross-sectional shape for receiving the piston.
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12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
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a piston; and
a cylinder having an open end and a closed end, the cylinder slidably receiving the piston, at least one of the piston and the cylinder being coupled to the conditioning body to slide relative to the other of the piston and the cylinder under the influence of the frictional force on the conditioning body, the piston and the cylinder defining a gap between an end of the piston and the closed end of the cylinder, the sensor including a gauge positioned to measure movement of the one of the piston and the cylinder relative to the other of the piston and the cylinder.
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13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the piston is sealably engaged with the cylinder.
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14. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a biasing member coupled to the cylinder and the piston to bias the piston toward or away from the cylinder.
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15. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the gauge includes a pointer on one of the piston and the cylinder and a scale on the other of the piston and the cylinder, the pointer being aligned with the scale and movable relative to the scale to indicate relative movement between the piston and the cylinder.
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16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the planarizing medium includes a polishing pad elongated to form a continuous loop extending over at least two rollers, further wherein the conditioning body extends transverse to the polishing pad.
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17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the conditioning body is generally rigid, further comprising an actuator coupled to the conditioning body to control a force between the conditioning body and the polishing pad.
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18. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the conditioning body is at least partially compliant in a direction approximately normal to the polishing pad, further comprising a plurality of actuators coupled to the conditioning body, each actuator configured to control a normal force between the polishing pad and a portion of the conditioning body.
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19. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the conditioning body has a generally circular plantform shape.
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20. An apparatus for measuring drag forces during conditioning of a chemical-mechanical planarizing surface, comprising:
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a planarizing medium having a planarizing surface for removing material from a microelectronic substrate, the planarizing surface defining a planarizing surface plane;
a conditioning body adjacent to the planarizing medium, at least one of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium being movable relative to the other of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium for conditioning the planarizing surface, the conditioning body and the planarizing medium generating a force in the planarizing surface plane when the one of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium moves relative to the other of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium;
a first support member having first and second ends and being rotatably coupled toward the first end to the conditioning body, the second end of the first support member extending away from the conditioning body;
a sensor structured to detect the drag force; and
a second support member coupled at a pivotable coupling to the first support member toward the second end of the first support member, the sensor being positioned between the first and second support members, the first support member being pivotable relative to the second support member to transmit a force to the sensor corresponding to the drag force. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
a piston; and
a cylinder having an open end and a closed end, the cylinder slidably receiving the piston, at least one of the piston and the cylinder being coupled to the conditioning body to slide relative to the other of the piston and the cylinder under the influence of the force on the conditioning body, the piston and the cylinder defining a gap between an end of the piston and the closed end of the cylinder, the force sensor including a gauge positioned to measure movement of the piston relative to the cylinder.
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29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the piston is sealably engaged with the cylinder.
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30. The apparatus of claim 28, further comprising a biasing member coupled to the cylinder and the piston to bias the piston toward or away from the cylinder.
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31. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising a feedback device coupled to the sensor and the conditioning body for changing at least one of the force between the conditioning body and the polishing pad and a position of the conditioning body relative to the polishing pad in response to a signal from the sensor.
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32. An apparatus for monitoring conditioning of a planarizing medium used for chemical-mechanical planarization of a microelectronic substrate, comprising:
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a conditioning body having a conditioning surface configured to engage a planarizing surface of the planarizing medium, at least one of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium being movable relative to the other of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium to condition the planarizing surface, the conditioning body generating a drag force generally parallel to the planarizing surface;
a first support member having first and second ends and being rotatably coupled toward the first end to the conditioning body, the second end of the first support member extending away from the conditioning body;
a sensor operative to detect the drag force;
a second support member coupled at a pivotable coupling to the first support member toward the second end of the first support member, the sensor being positioned between the first and second support members, the first support member being pivotable relative to the second support member to transmit a force to the sensor corresponding to the drag force;
an actuator coupled to the second support member to control at least one of a generally normal force between the conditioning body and the planarizing medium and a position of the conditioning body relative to the planarizing medium; and
a feedback device coupled to the actuator to control activation of the actuator in response to a signal received from the force sensor. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
a piston; and
a cylinder having an open end and a closed end, the cylinder slidably receiving the piston, at least one of the piston and the cylinder being coupled to the conditioning body to slide relative to the other of the piston and the cylinder under the influence of the force on the conditioning body, the piston and the cylinder defining a gap between an end of the piston and the closed end of the cylinder, the sensor being positioned to detect relative motion between the piston and the cylinder.
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40. The apparatus of claim 39 wherein the piston is sealably engaged with the cylinder and the sensor includes a pressure gauge positioned within the gap to detect a change in pressure in the gap when one of the piston and the cylinder moves relative to the other.
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41. The apparatus of claim 39, further comprising a biasing member coupled to the cylinder and the piston to bias the piston toward or away from the cylinder.
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42. A method for monitoring conditioning of a planarizing medium used for planarizing a microelectronic substrate, comprising:
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moving at least one of the planarizing medium and a conditioning body relative to the other of the planarizing medium and the conditioning body while the conditioning body is engaged with a planarizing surface of the planarizing medium, the conditioning body being coupled to a support member for supporting the conditioning body relative to the planarizing medium, the support member further including a generally upwardly extending portion coupled to the conditioning body and a generally laterally extending portion pivotably coupled to the upwardly extending portion; and
monitoring the conditioning body to detect a force between the upwardly extending portion of the support member and the laterally extending portion of the support member with a force sensor. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. A method for monitoring conditioning of a planarizing medium used for planarizing a microelectronic substrate, the method comprising:
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engaging the conditioning body with the planarizing medium and moving at least one of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium relative to the other of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium while the conditioning body engages the planarizing medium, wherein the conditioning body is coupled to a support member for supporting the conditioning body relative to the planarizing medium;
coupling a sensor to the support member; and
monitoring the conditioning body to detect a frictional force between the conditioning body and the planarizing medium, wherein monitoring the conditioning body includes measuring a force transmitted to the support member by the conditioning body. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. A method for controlling conditioning of a planarizing medium used for planarizing a microelectronic substrate, the method comprising:
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engaging a conditioning body with the planarizing medium and moving at least one of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium relative to the other of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium while the conditioning body engages the planarizing medium, wherein the conditioning body is coupled to a support member for supporting the conditioning body relative to the planarizing medium;
detecting a frictional force between the conditioning body and the planarizing medium; and
controlling at least one of a force between the conditioning body and the planarizing medium and a speed of the conditioning body relative to the planarizing medium in response to detecting the frictional force between the conditioning body and the planarizing medium, wherein detecting the frictional force between the conditioning body and the planarizing medium includes measuring a force transmitted to the support member by the conditioning body. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66)
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67. A method for monitoring a polishing pad used for planarizing a microelectronic substrate, the method comprising:
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engaging a conditioning body with a planarizing surface of the polishing pad wherein the conditioning body is coupled to a support member for supporting the conditioning body relative to the planarizing medium;
applying a force to the polishing pad via the conditioning body;
moving at least one of the polishing pad and the conditioning body relative to the other of the polishing pad and the conditioning body; and
detecting a frictional force of the polishing pad on the conditioning body in a plane of the planarizing surface wherein detecting the frictional force includes measuring a force transmitted to the support member by the conditioning body. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69, 70)
applying a force to a second polishing pad via the conditioning body wherein the conditioning body is coupled to a support member for supporting the conditioning body relative to the planarizing medium;
moving at least one of the second polishing pad and the conditioning body relative to the other of the second polishing pad and the conditioning body;
detecting a second frictional force of the second polishing pad on the conditioning body in a plane of the planarizing surface wherein detecting the second frictional force includes measuring a force transmitted to the support member by the conditioning body; and
comparing the first and second frictional forces.
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71. A method for conditioning a planarizing medium used for planarizing a semiconductor substrate, the method comprising:
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engaging a conditioning body with the planarizing medium;
moving at least one of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium relative to the other of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium to remove material from the planarizing medium, the conditioning body being coupled to a support member for supporting the conditioning body relative to the planarizing medium, the support member further including a generally upwardly extending portion coupled to the conditioning body and a generally laterally extending portion pivotably coupled to the upwardly extending portion; and
maintaining an approximately constant frictional force between the conditioning body and the planarizing medium by detecting a force between the upwardly extending portion of the support member and the laterally extending portion of the support member with a force sensor and adjusting a relative velocity between the conditioning body and the planarizing medium. - View Dependent Claims (72, 73, 74, 75)
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Specification