Wafer carrier used for chemical mechanic polishing

Details Wafer carrier used for chemical mechanic polishing Wafer carrier used for chemical mechanic polishing

2002-01-15

2003-05-20

Utech, Benjamin L. (Department: 1763)

Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture

Differential fluid etching apparatus

For liquid etchant

C156S345140

Reexamination Certificate

active

06565705

ABSTRACT:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 90125046, filed Oct. 11, 2001.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a CMP device having a wafer carrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
A chemical mechanical polishing method is a technology that can provide global planarization by using a polishing tool and an appropriate reagent.
FIG. 1
is a schematic side view of a conventional chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) device.
FIG. 2
is a schematic top view of a conventional CMP device.
With reference to
FIGS. 1 and 2
, the conventional CMP device includes a polishing table
100
, a wafer carrier
106
, a polishing pad
102
, a tube
110
, and a pad conditioner
108
. The wafer carrier
106
is used to hold a wafer
104
to be polished. The carrier
106
has a vacuum hole (not shown) for sucking the wafer
104
and has a retainer ring (not shown) for supporting the wafer
104
. The polishing pad
102
is arranged on the polishing table
100
. The tube
110
conveys a polishing slurry
110
a
to the polishing pad
102
. The pad conditioner
108
has a plurality of diamond grits to scrape against the surface of the polishing pad
102
so as to remove the polishing slurry remained in the polishing pad
102
. During the CMP process, the polishing table
100
and the wafer carrier
106
rotates in a predetermined direction and the wafer carrier
106
catches a back surface
104
a
of the wafer
104
, with the front surface
104
b
of the wafer
104
being pressed on the polishing pad
102
. The tube
110
continuously supplies the polishing slurry
110
a
to the polishing pad
102
, such that a chemical reaction between the front surface
104
b
of the wafer
104
and the reagent in the polishing slurry
110
a
occurs while the pad
102
contacts with protruding portions on the wafer. Meanwhile, the polishing pad
102
mechanically polishes the wafer
104
by using the abrasive grains in the polishing slurry
110
a
to remove the protruding portions on the wafer. After the chemical and mechanical polishing process repeats several times, a smooth surface can be obtained.
In general, the polishing pad has a plurality of pits thereon which help to convey the polishing slurry and to polish the wafer. The pits have an average depth of 1-2 microns. However, the depth of the pit decreases as the number of the polished wafer increases, which may degrade the polishing performance. Further, during polishing, the pit of the polishing pad can be filled by the abrasive grains in the polishing slurry or the polished-off substance from the wafer such that the polishing characteristics disappear. Therefore, a pad conditioner
108
is needed for removing the fillings of the pits so as to recover the polishing characteristics, such as uneven surface of the pad
102
.
However, the conventional CMP device has a discrete wafer carrier and a separate pad conditioner, which requires more space. Furthermore, it is difficult to maintain a conventional CMP device that has complicate configuration.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect of the present invention, a wafer carrier used for CMP consists of a wafer carrier and a pad conditioner, in which the space and the maintenance fee for the CMP device can be effectively reduced.
In order to achieve the above and other objects of the present invention, a wafer carrier having a polishing head and a pad conditioner is provided. The polishing head has a retainer ring at a bottom thereof to hold a wafer. The pad conditioner is fixed on one surface of the retainer ring. The pad conditioner can be in contact with one of the polishing pads of the chemical mechanical device.
Furthermore, a wafer carrier used for a chemical mechanical device comprising a polishing head and a pad conditioner is provided. The polishing head has a retainer ring at a bottom thereof to hold a wafer in the bottom of the polishing head. The pad conditioner is attached to side surfaces of the polishing head. One conditioning surface of the pad conditioner is roughly parallel to one surface of the retainer ring. The pad conditioner can be in contact with one of the polishing pads of the chemical mechanical device.
Also, a wafer carrier used for a chemical mechanical device comprising a polishing head and a pad conditioner is provided. The polishing head has a retainer ring at a bottom thereof to hold a wafer. The pad conditioner is embedded in the retainer ring. The pad conditioner can be in contact with one of the polishing pads of the chemical mechanical device.


REFERENCES:
patent: 6001008 (1999-12-01), Fujimori et al.
patent: 6213856 (2001-04-01), Cho et al.
patent: 6224472 (2001-05-01), Lai et al.
patent: 6231428 (2001-05-01), Maloney et al.
patent: 6234868 (2001-05-01), Easter et al.
patent: 6245193 (2001-06-01), Quek et al.
patent: 6302770 (2001-10-01), Aiyer
patent: 6371836 (2002-04-01), Brown et al.

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