Development of Pad Surface Conformable Conditioning Technology in CMP Process

Abstract

In Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) technology, the CMP pad conditioner plays an important role in stabilizing the removal rate by scraping and roughening the pad surface finely. In this study, we developed a fiber conditioner that can perform conditioning based on the pad surface shape in order to stabilize the removal rate. Fiber conditioners have a relatively smaller rake angle than conventional diamond conditioners, so they are better at fine conditioning than conventional diamond conditioner. In this report, we developed a method to visualize contact area in the pad surface based on light reflection and scattering using a coaxial and ring light for the purpose of evaluating the pad surface condition in fiber conditioners. New methods of visualization of the 3D finely scraped pad surfaces provide the prospect of clearly identifying the differences in pad surface condition dependent on different conditioners.