US5755979A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Application of semiconductor IC fabrication techniques to the manufacturing of a conditioning head for pad conditioning during chemical-mechanical polish
Assignee: Texas Instruments Inc
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Filing: 1996-09-24
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Granted: 1998-05-26
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Expires: 2016-09-24
Abstract
Abstract A pad conditioning method and apparatus for chemical-mechanical polishing. A polishing pad (114) is attached to a platen (112) and used to polish a wafer (116). Rotating arm (118) positions the wafer (116) over the pad (114) and applies pressure. During wafer polishing particles build up on the polishing pad (114) reducing its effectiveness. Either during or in between wafer polishing (or both), conditioning head (122) is applied to pad (114) to remove the particles from pad (114) into the slurry (120). Conditioning head (122) comprises a semiconductor substrate (126) that is patterned and etched to form a plurality of geometries (128) having a feature size on the order of polishing pad (114) cell size.
Inventors
- 👤 Andrew T. Appel
- 👤 Michael Francis Chisholm
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 06:44
CPC Classifications
B; B24; B24B; B24B53/00; B24B53/017
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
102 words
A method for conditioning a polishing pad, comprising the steps of. forming a conditioning head by: a. providing a semiconductor substrate; b. forming a masking layer over a first surface of said semiconductor substrate; c. etching said semiconductor substrate at said first surface using said masking layer to create a non-planar surface; and d. removing said masking layer to expose said non-planar surface; and attaching said semiconductor substrate as processed through steps (a)-(d) to an arm of a chemical-mechanical polishing machine, said arm capable of rotating said non-planar surface of said semiconductor substrate against said polishing pad to condition said polishing pad.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
102 words
A method for conditioning a polishing pad, comprising the steps of. forming a conditioning head by: a. providing a semiconductor substrate; b. forming a masking layer over a first surface of said semiconductor substrate; c. etching said semiconductor substrate at said first surface using said masking layer to create a non-planar surface; and d. removing said masking layer to expose said non-planar surface; and attaching said semiconductor substrate as processed through steps (a)-(d) to an arm of a chemical-mechanical polishing machine, said arm capable of rotating said non-planar surface of said semiconductor substrate against said polishing pad to condition said polishing pad.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of coating said non-planar surface with a hardening film.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 2, wherein said hardening film comprises a diamond film.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said hardening film comprises a silicon carbide film.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said etching step comprises using an etch chemistry which has a high selectivity between the (110) and (111) crystalline planes in silicon.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 5, wherein said etch chemistry comprises a 19 weight percent potassium hydroxide in water at 80° C.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said etching step comprises an anisotropic plasma etch.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 1, wherein step etching step comprises an isotropic plasma etch.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said non-planar surface comprises a plurality of evenly distributed geometries having a size on the order of a cell size of said polishing pad.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
69 words
A method of forming a conditioning head for conditioning a polishing pad, comprising the steps of: providing a semiconductor substrate; forming a masking layer over a first surface of said semiconductor substrate; etching said semiconductor substrate at said first surface using said masking layer to create a non-planar surface; removing said masking layer to expose said non-planar surface; and coating said non-planar surface with a hardening film comprising diamond.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
69 words
A method of forming a conditioning head for conditioning a polishing pad, comprising the steps of: providing a semiconductor substrate; forming a masking layer over a first surface of said semiconductor substrate; etching said semiconductor substrate at said first surface using said masking layer to create a non-planar surface; removing said masking layer to expose said non-planar surface; and coating said non-planar surface with a hardening film comprising diamond.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4351894A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-05-25 | 2001-11-24 | 2002-05-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-05-25 | 2005-11-24 | 2006-05-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-05-25 | 2009-11-24 | 2010-05-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |