Dual purpose retaining ring and polishing pad conditioner
First Claim
1. An apparatus for retaining a semiconductor wafer against a polishing pad, the apparatus comprising:
- a retaining ring having an inner surface for retaining the wafer while polishing and having an outer surface and comprising an orthogonal surface arranged substantially perpendicular to the inner surface;
said inner surface defines an opening adapted for receiving the semiconductor wafer and a wafer carrier; and
said orthogonal surface comprises an abrasive material extending along the orthogonal surface said wafer carrier is configured to hold said semiconductor wafer, wherein said wafer carrier is movable within said opening.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus is provided for conditioning a polishing pad used for chemical-mechanical polishing. The apparatus comprises the retainer ring used to retain the semiconductor wafer against the polishing pad. Accordingly, the retainer ring serves a dual purpose: to retain the wafer in proper CMP position as well as condition the polishing surface while polishing of the wafer. The retainer ring includes an inner surface defining an opening to receive the semiconductor wafer. Dimensioned radially outside the inner surface is an outer surface. Placed on the distal ends between the inner and outer surfaces is an abrasive surface. The abrasive surface extends along a plane parallel to the retained frontside surface of the wafer. Both the wafer and the abrasive surface contact the polishing surface either in a rotation about a stationary axis or orbital movement about that axis. The wafer surface can be pressed to a greater or lesser extent against the polishing pad independent of the pressure exerted by the abrasive surface on that pad radially outside the wafer.
70 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus for retaining a semiconductor wafer against a polishing pad, the apparatus comprising:
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a retaining ring having an inner surface for retaining the wafer while polishing and having an outer surface and comprising an orthogonal surface arranged substantially perpendicular to the inner surface; said inner surface defines an opening adapted for receiving the semiconductor wafer and a wafer carrier; and said orthogonal surface comprises an abrasive material extending along the orthogonal surface said wafer carrier is configured to hold said semiconductor wafer, wherein said wafer carrier is movable within said opening. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A chemical-mechanical polishing apparatus comprising:
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a polishing pad having a moveable polishing surface; a retaining ring having an outer and inner surface radially displaced from each other about a central axis, wherein the inner surface is adapted to retain a semiconductor wafer while polishing and defines an opening adapted to receive the semiconductor wafer; and an abrasive surface extending orthogonally between the outer and inner surfaces of said retaining ring, wherein the abrasive surface is adapted to contact the moveable polishing surface of said polishing pad wherein said abrasive surface extends towards said polishing surface independent of a spacing between the semiconductor and the polishing surface. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification