Work piece carrier with adjustable pressure zones and barriers and a method of planarizing a work piece

• US 6,659,850 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2002
• Issued: 12/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Novellus Systems Incorporated (Lam Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SpeedFam-Ipec Corporation
• Inventors: Schultz, Stephen C., Korovin, Nikolay N., Herb, John D., Farmer, James L.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, DUNG V
• Application Number:
  US10/120,600
• Publication Number:
  US 20020111122A1
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 451/285, 451/286, 451/287, 451/288, 451/289, 451/290, 451/398, 451/41
• US Class Current: 451/286
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 37/30 for single side lapping of plane surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 37/32 Retaining rings
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 49/16 taking regard of the load

Abstract

An apparatus for planarizing a work piece includes an easily assembled work carrier. The carrier includes a carrier insert having a work piece bladder clamped to a carrier backing plate with a plurality of clamps to form a plurality of web plenums. The outer edge of the bladder is supported by a rib that is coupled to a carrier plenum. By adjusting the pressure in the carrier plenum, the pressure exerted on the edge of a work piece during a planarization operation can be adjusted. The carrier also includes a floating wear ring that surrounds the work piece bladder and a work piece mounted on that bladder. By adjusting the force exerted by the wear ring on a polishing pad, independently of the pressure exerted by the rib at the edge of the bladder, the material removal rate near the edge of the work piece can be controlled.

Claims

1. A carrier for planarizing a first surface of a work piece comprising:

a carrier housing;

a carrier insert coupled to the work piece carrier housing, the carrier insert comprising;

a work piece bladder having a work piece diaphragm with a surface configured to press against a second surface of a work piece and having a plurality of ribs integrally formed with the work piece diaphragm;

an optically transparent carrier backing plate adapted for coupling to the carrier housing; and

a plurality of clamps for scaling the ribs to the carrier backing plate;

a plurality of web plenums bounded by the work piece diaphragm, ribs, and carrier backing plate and in each of which the pressure can be controlled; and

a plurality of carrier plenums bounded by the ribs and the carrier backing plate and in each of which the pressure can be controlled to control pressure exerted on a corresponding one of the plurality of ribs; and

a floating wear ring coupled to the carrier housing and surrounding and closely spaced apart from the work piece bladder.

2. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the floating wear ring comprises a thick portion adjacent the outer periphery of the wear ring a and a thin portion adjacent the inner periphery of the wear ring, the thin portion configured to accommodate one of the plurality of clamps sealing the outermost of the ribs to the carrier backing plate.

3. The carrier of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of ribs comprises an expanded portion that facilitates scaling between the rib and the carrier backing plate.

4. The carrier of claim 3 wherein the expanded portion comprises a bulbous portion and an alignment portion.

5. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the carrier backing plate comprises a plurality of individual components coupled together by the plurality of clamps.

6. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the plurality of carrier plenums comprise circular channels formed in the carrier backing plate.

7. The carrier of claim 1 wherein the floating wear ring is coupled to the carrier housing by a wear ring diaphragm that bounds one portion of a wear ring plenum in which the pressure can be adjusted.

8. The carrier of claim 1 wherein a first clamp of the plurality of clamps is positioned to surround the periphery of the work piece bladder, and the remaining clamps of the plurality of clamps are positioned within the plurality of web plenums.

9. The carrier of claim 8 wherein the floating wear ring comprises toroidal ring having a thick outer portion and a thin inner portion, the thin inner portion configured to avoid contact between the first clamp and the floating wear ring.

10. A carrier insert for a CMP apparatus comprising:

a work piece bladder comprising a work piece diaphragm and a plurality of concentric ribs integrally formed with the work piece diaphragm;

an optically transparent carrier backing plate adapted for coupling to the CMP apparatus; and

a plurality of circular clamps coupled to the carrier backing plate and sealing the plurality of ribs to the carrier backing plate.

11. The carrier insert of claim 10 further comprising a plurality of web plenums bounded by the work piece diaphragm, the concentric rings and the carrier backing plate.

12. The carrier insert of claim 11 further comprising a plurality of carrier plenums formed in the carrier backing plate, each of the plurality of carrier plenums bounded by one of the plurality of concentric ribs.

13. The carrier insert of claim 12 further including a plurality of holes formed in the carrier backing plate for coupling the plurality of carrier plenums and plurality of web plenums to fluid carrier paths in the CMP apparatus.

14. The carrier insert of claim 10 wherein the carrier bucking plate comprises a plurality of toroidal rings.

15. The carrier insert of claim 14 wherein the plurality of toroidal rings are coupled together in a unitary structure by the plurality of circular clamps.

16. The carrier insert of claim 10 wherein each of the plurality of concentric ribs comprises a first portion joined to the work piece diaphragm and extending orthogonally therefrom, and a second expanded portion at the extremity of the rib to facilitate sealing of the rib to the carrier backing plate by at least one of the plurality of circular clamps.

17. The carrier insert of claim 16 wherein the second expanded portion comprises a shaped portion including a first bulbous portion and a second alignment portion.

18. A work piece bladder for use with a CMP apparatus comprising a work piece diaphragm having a first surface adapted for pressing against a surface of a work piece and a plurality of concentric ribs extending substantially orthogonally from a second surface of the work piece diaphragm, each of the plurality of concentric ribs terminating in an expanded portion substantially parallel to the work piece diaphragm, the expanded portion adapted for clamping to a carrier backing plate of a CMP apparatus, the expanded portion comprising a shaped, upwardly extending portion having a first bulbous portion and a second alignment portion.

19. A method for planarizing a first surface of a work piece utilizing a CMP apparatus comprising:

a polishing pad, a work piece diaphragm supported by a plurality of ribs including an outermost rib, each of the ribs having a pressure adjustable carrier plenum associated therewith, the work piece diaphragm having a first surface for pressing against a second surface of the work piece, a plurality of pressure adjustable web plenums positioned adjacent a second surface of the work piece diaphragm, and a wear ring surrounding the work piece diaphragm and configured to press against the polishing pad, the pressure with which the wear ring presses against the polishing pad being adjustable, the method comprising the steps of;

positioning a second surface of a work piece adjacent the first surface of the work piece diaphragm;

positioning the first surface of the work piece in contact with the polishing pad;

establishing a predetermined pressure in each of the pressure adjustable web plenums;

pressing the wear ring against the polishing pad with a predetermined force;

adjusting, independent of the predetermined force, the pressure in the carrier plenum associated with the outermost rib; and

initiating relative motion between the work piece diaphragm and the polishing pad.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of adjusting comprises the step of adjusting the pressure in the carrier plenum associated with the outermost rib independent of the pressure established in each of the pressure adjustable web plenums.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of adjusting the pressure in each of the pressure adjustable carrier plenums, the pressure in the carrier plenum associated with the outermost rib being adjusted independently of the pressure in each of the other carrier plenums.