Diamond grid CMP pad dresser

• US 6,884,155 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2002
• Issued: 04/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kinik Company
• Original Assignee: Kinik Company
• Inventors: Lin, Frank, Sung, Chien-Min
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Lee D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): OJINI, EZIAMARA ANTHONY
• Application Number:
  US10/109,531
• Publication Number:
  US 20020173234A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,126 Days
• Field of Search: 451/41, 451/56, 451/285, 451/287, 451/443, 451/444, 451/526, 451/539, 451/540, 451/548
• US Class Current: 451/443
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 53/017 Devices or means for dressing, cleaning or otherwise conditioning lapping tools
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 53/12 Dressing tools; Holders therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B24D 2203/00 Tool surfaces formed with a pattern
• CPC Class Codes: B24D 3/06 metallic or mixture of metals with ceramic materials, e.g. hard metals, "cermets", cements
• CPC Class Codes: B24D 7/02 Wheels in one piece

Abstract

The present invention discloses a CMP pad dresser which has a plurality of uniformly spaced abrasive particles protruding therefrom. The abrasive particles are super hard materials, and are typically diamond, polycrystalline diamond (PCD), cubic boron nitride (cBN), or polycrystalline cubic boron nitride(PcBN). The abrasive particles are brazed to a substrate which may be then coated with an additional anti-corrosive layer. The anti-corrosive layer is usually a diamond or diamond-like carbon which is coated over the surface of the disk to prevent erosion of the brazing alloy by the chemical slurry used in conjunction with the CMP pad. This immunity to chemical attack allows the CMP pad dresser to dress the pad while it is polishing a workpiece. In addition to even spacing on the substrate, the abrasive particles extend for a uniform distance away from the substrate, allowing for even grooming or dressing of a CMP pad both in vertical and horizontal directions. A method of producing such a CMP pad dresser is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) pad dresser comprising:

a substrate member; and

a plurality of abrasive particles each coupled to the substrate member at a specific location in accordance with a predetermined pattern wherein said abrasive particles are coupled to the substrate member by a brazing alloy comprising a nickel alloy having a chromium amount of at least about 2 wt %.

2. The CMP pad dresser of claim 1, wherein said substrate member is made of a metallic material.

3. The CMP pad dresser of claim 2, wherein said metallic material is stainless steel.

4. The CMP pad dresser of claim 1, wherein said substrate member comprises a brazing alloy.

5. The CMP pad dresser of claim 1, wherein said abrasive particles are super abrasive particles.

6. The CMP pad dresser of claim 5, wherein said super abrasive particles are selected from diamond, polycrystalline diamond (PCD), cubic boron nitride (cBN), and polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN).

7. The CMP pad dresser of claim 5, wherein said super abrasive particles are diamond.

8. The CMP pad dresser of claim 1, wherein said abrasive particles have a predetermined shape.

9. The CMP pad dresser of claim 8, wherein the predetermined shape is a selected euhedral shape.

10. The CMP pad dresser of claim 8, wherein said abrasive particles have a sharp portion oriented away from the substrate member.

11. The CMP pad dresser of claim 1, wherein said abrasive particles have a size within a uniform size range.

12. The CMP pad dresser of claim 1, wherein said abrasive particles have a size from about 100 to 350 micrometers.

13. The CMP pad dresser of claim 12, wherein said uniform size range has a variance of no greater than 50 micrometers.

14. The CMP pad dresser of claim 1, wherein the predetermined pattern of the abrasive particles is configured to facilitate a rise in a portion of a pad passing underneath the CMP pad dresser.

15. The CMP pad dresser of claim 14, wherein the configuration of said predetermined pattern imparts at least one effective leading edge to an interior portion of the dresser.

16. The CMP pad dresser of claim 15, wherein the predetermined pattern is a grid.

17. The CMP pad dresser of claim 15, wherein the predetermined pattern consists of abrasive particles positioned substantially along an exterior edge of the dresser.

18. The CMP pad dresser of claim 15, wherein the predetermined pattern comprises an exterior portion concentration of abrasive particles that is higher than an interior portion concentration of abrasive particles.

19. The CMP pad dresser of claim 1, wherein said predetermined pattern of the abrasive particles is configured such that a uniform, predetermined distance is maintained between any two abrasive particles.

20. The CMP pad dresser of claim 19, wherein said predetermined distance is from about 1.5 to about 10 times the size of the individual particles.

21. The CMP pad dresser of claim 1, wherein said abrasive particles extend to a predetermined height above the substrate member.

22. The CMP pad dresser of claim 21, wherein said predetermined height above the substrate is a uniform height to which all abrasive particles extend above the substrate member.

23. The CMP pad dresser of claim 1, wherein the brazing alloy is a layer having a predetermined thickness.

24. The CMP pad dresser of claim 23, wherein the brazing alloy layer is an amorphous braze film.

25. The CMP pad dresser of claim 23, wherein the thickness of the layer of brazing alloy is such that between about 10-90% of each abrasive particle is exposed.

26. The CMP pad dresser of claim 1, wherein the brazing alloy is sprayed onto the substrate as a slurry.

27. The CMP pad dresser of claim 1, wherein the CMP pad dresser is coated with an anti-corrosive layer.

28. The CMP pad dresser of claim 27, where the anti-corrosive layer has a thickness of less than about 3 micrometers.

29. A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) pad dresser comprising:

a substrate member;

a plurality of abrasive particles each coupled to the substrate member by brazing with a brazing alloy at a specific location in accordance with a predetermined pattern; and

an overlay material having a working surface that is smoother than a working surface of the brazing alloy.

30. The CMP pad dresser of claim 29, wherein the overlay material is deposited as a layer having a predetermined thickness.

31. The CMP pad dresser of claim 30, wherein the predetermined thickness of the layer of overlay material is from about 0.1 to 50 micrometers.

32. The CMP pad dresser of claim 29, wherein the overlay material includes a member selected from the group consisting essentially of titanium, nickel, tungsten, cobalt, chromium, zirconium, and alloys thereof.

33. The CMP pad dresser of claim 32, wherein the overlay material comprises a zirconium nickel alloy.

34. The CMP pad dresser of claim 29, wherein the overlay material is applied by electrodeposition.

35. The CMP pad dresser of claim 29, wherein the overlay material is applied by physical vapor deposition (PVD).

36. A method of reducing flaking in a CMP pad dresser having a plurality of abrasive particles coupled to a brazing layer comprising the steps of:

applying a layer of an overlay material to the brazing layer said overlay material having working surface that is smoother than a working surface of the brazing layer.