The present invention relates to a carrier having a membrane for engaging microelectronic substrates during mechanical and/or chemical-mechanical planarization.
Mechanical and chemical-mechanical planarizing processes (collectively “CMP”) are used in the manufacturing of microelectronic devices for forming a flat surface on semiconductor wafers, field emission displays and many other microelectronic-device substrates and substrate assemblies.
The CMP machine 10 can also include an under-pad 25 attached to an upper surface 22 of the platen 20 and the lower surface of the polishing pad 41. A drive assembly 26 rotates the platen 20 (as indicated by arrow A), and/or it reciprocates the platen 20 back and forth (as indicated by arrow B). Because the polishing pad 41 is attached to the under-pad 25, the polishing pad 41 moves with the platen 20.
A wafer carrier 30 is positioned adjacent the polishing pad 41 and has a lower surface 32 to which a substrate 12 may be attached via suction. Alternatively, the substrate 12 may be attached to a resilient pad 34 positioned between the substrate 12 and the lower surface 32. The wafer carrier 30 may be a weighted, free-floating wafer carrier, or an actuator assembly 33 may be attached to the wafer carrier to impart axial and/or rotational motion (as indicated by arrows C and D, respectively).
To planarize the substrate 12 with the CMP machine 10, the wafer carrier 30 presses the substrate 12 face-downward against the polishing pad 41. While the face of the substrate 12 presses against the polishing pad 41, at least one of the platen 20 or the wafer carrier 30 moves relative to the other to move the substrate 12 across the planarizing surface 42. As the face of the substrate 12 moves across the planarizing surface 42, material is continuously removed from the face of the substrate 12.
CMP processes should consistently and accurately produce a uniformly planar surface on the substrate to enable precise fabrication of circuits and photo-patterns. During the fabrication of transistors, contacts, interconnects and other features, many substrates develop large “step heights” that create a highly topographic surface across the substrate. Yet, as the density of integrated circuits increases, it is necessary to have a planar substrate surface at several stages of processing the substrate because non-uniform substrate surfaces significantly increase the difficulty of forming sub-micron features. For example, it is difficult to accurately focus photo-patterns to within tolerances approaching 0.1 μm on non-uniform substrate surfaces because sub-micron photolithographic equipment generally has a very limited depth of field. Thus, CMP processes are often used to transform a topographical substrate surface into a highly uniform, planar substrate surface.
In the competitive semiconductor industry, it is also highly desirable to have a high yield in CMP processes by producing a uniformly planar surface at a desired endpoint on a substrate as quickly as possible. For example, when a conductive layer on a substrate is under-planarized in the formation of contacts or interconnects, many of these components may not be electrically isolated from one another because undesirable portions of the conductive layer may remain on the substrate over a dielectric layer. Additionally, when a substrate is over-planarized, components below the desired endpoint may be damaged or completely destroyed. Thus, to provide a high yield of operable microelectronic devices, CMP processing should quickly remove material until the desired endpoint is reached.
The planarity of the finished substrate and the yield of CMP processing is a function of several factors, one of which is the rate at which material is removed from the substrate (the “polishing rate”). Although it is desirable to have a high polishing rate to reduce the duration of each planarizing cycle, the polishing rate should be uniform across the substrate to produce a uniformly planar surface. The polishing rate should also be consistent to accurately endpoint CMP processing at a desired elevation in the substrate. The polishing rate, therefore, should be controlled to provide accurate, reproducible results.
In certain applications, the polishing rate is a function of the relative velocity between the microelectronic substrate 12 and the polishing pad 41. For example, where the carrier 30 and the substrate 12 rotate relative to the polishing pad 41, the polishing rate may be higher toward the periphery of the substrate 12 than toward the center of the substrate 12 because the relative linear velocity between the rotating substrate 12 and the polishing pad 41 is higher toward the periphery of the substrate 12. Where other methods are used to generate relative motion between the substrate 12 and the planarizing medium 40, other portions of the substrate 12 may planarize at higher rates. In any case, spatial non-uniformity in the polishing rate can reduce the overall planarity of the substrate 12.
One conventional method for improving the uniformity of the polishing rate across the face of the substrate 12 is to vary the normal force (and therefore the frictional force) between the substrate 12 and the polishing pad 41 to account for the different relative velocities between the two. For example, in one conventional arrangement shown in
Another approach to varying the normal force applied to the substrate 12 is to use pressurized bladders, as shown in
The present invention is directed towards methods and apparatuses for planarizing microelectronic substrates. In one aspect of the invention, the apparatus can include a carrier for supporting the microelectronic substrate relative to a planarizing medium during planarization of the substrate. The carrier can include a support member and a flexible, compressible membrane adjacent to the support member and having a first portion with a first thickness and a second portion with a second thickness greater than the first thickness. The first portion of the membrane can be aligned with a first part of the microelectronic substrate and the second portion can be aligned with a second part of the microelectronic substrate when the membrane engages the microelectronic substrate. Accordingly, the second portion of the membrane can exert a greater normal force against the second part of the microelectronic substrate than the first portion of the membrane exerts against the first part of the substrate.
In one aspect of the invention, the membrane can be inflated to bias it against the microelectronic substrate. Alternatively, the membrane can be biased by a flat support plate. In another aspect of the invention, the thicker portion of the membrane can be aligned with a central part of the microelectronic substrate and the thinner portion of the membrane can be aligned with a peripheral part of the substrate positioned radially outwardly from the central part. Alternatively, the positions of the thicker and thinner portions of the membrane can be reversed. In any case, the membrane can include neoprene, silicone or another compressible, flexible material and can be used in conjunction with a web-format planarizing machine or a circular platen planarizing machine.
The present disclosure describes methods and apparatuses for mechanical and/or chemical-mechanical planarization of substrates used in the fabrication of microelectronic devices. Many specific details of certain embodiments of the invention are set forth in the following description and in
The planarizing machine 100 is a web-format planarizing machine with a support table 110 having a top-panel 111 at a workstation where an operative portion “A” of the polishing pad 141 is positioned. The top-panel 111 is generally a rigid plate that provides a flat, solid surface to which a particular section of the polishing pad 141 may be secured during planarization. The planarizing machine 100 also has a plurality of rollers to guide, position and hold the polishing pad 141 over the top-panel 111. In one embodiment, the rollers include a supply roller 121, first and second idler rollers 123a and 123b, first and second guide rollers 124a and 124b and a take-up roller 127. The supply roller 121 carries an unused or pre-operative portion of the polishing pad 141 and the take-up roller 127 carries a used or post-operative portion of the polishing pad 141. Additionally, the first idler roller 123a and the first guide roller 124a stretch the polishing pad 141 over the top-panel 111 to hold the polishing pad 141 stationary during operation. A motor (not shown) drives the take-up roller 127 and can also drive the supply roller 121 to sequentially advance the polishing pad 141 across the top-panel 111. Accordingly, clean post-operative sections of the polishing pad 141 may be quickly substituted for worn sections to provide a consistent surface for planarizing and/or cleaning the substrate 112.
The carrier assembly 130 translates and/or rotates the substrate 112 across the polishing pad 141. In one embodiment, the carrier assembly 130 has a substrate holder or support 131 to hold the substrate 112 during planarization. The carrier assembly 130 can also have a support gantry 135 carrying a drive assembly 134 that translates along the gantry 135. The drive assembly 134 generally has an actuator 136, a drive shaft 137 coupled to the actuator 136, and an arm 138 projecting from the drive shaft 137. The arm 138 carries the substrate holder 131 via a terminal shaft 139. In another embodiment, the drive assembly 134 can also have another actuator (not shown) to rotate the terminal shaft 139 and the substrate holder 131 about an axis C—C as the actuator 136 orbits the substrate holder 131 about the axis B—B. One suitable planarizing machine without the polishing pad 141 and the planarizing liquid 143 is manufactured by Obsidian, Incorporated of Fremont, Calif. In light of the embodiments of the planarizing machine 100 discussed above, a specific embodiment of the carrier assembly 130 will now be described in more detail.
As the substrate 112 and the substrate holder 131 rotate together relative to the polishing pad 141 (
In one embodiment, the peripheral portion 151 of the membrane 150 can have a thickness of approximately 0.030 inches and the central portion 152 of the membrane 150 can have a thickness greater than about 0.030 inches and less than about 0.060 inches. In one aspect of this embodiment, the thickness of the membrane can vary in a generally continuous manner between the two portions. In other embodiments, portions of the membrane 150 can have other thicknesses, depending on the compressibility of the material forming the membrane 150 and the normal force selected to be applied to each portion of the substrate 112. The membrane can also have different thickness profiles, for example, a step change in thickness between the two portions, or a series of step changes between the periphery and the center of the membrane 150.
In one embodiment, the membrane 150 can include a single piece of compressible material injection molded or otherwise formed to have the cross-sectional shape shown in
One feature of the substrate holder 131 discussed above with reference to
As shown in
The membrane 350 can have a central portion 352, a peripheral portion 351, and an overlapping attachment portion 354 that extends over the peripheral portion 351. The attachment portion 354 can be spaced apart from the peripheral portion 351 by a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the support plate 371. Accordingly, the membrane 350 can be secured to the retainer assembly 370 by positioning the attachment portion 354 of the membrane 350 adjacent the upper surface 374 of the support plate 371, and positioning the peripheral portion 351 and central portion 352 of the membrane 350 adjacent the lower surface 375 of the support plate 371. The retainer ring 372 is then positioned on the attachment portion 354 and fasteners 373 extend through the apertures 377 of the retainer ring 372, through holes 355 of the attachment portion 354 and into the threaded apertures 376 of the support plate 371, clamping the membrane 350 between the retaining ring 372 and the support plate 371.
In one aspect of the embodiment shown in
In one aspect of this embodiment, an air supply conduit 438 extends through a lower surface 460 of the substrate holder 431 and is coupled to a source of compressed air (not shown). The support plate 471 can include a corresponding air supply passage 478 that extends through the support plate 471 and is in fluid communication with the air supply conduit 438. When air (or another gas) is supplied through the air supply conduit 438 and the air supply passage 478, the membrane 450 will tend to inflate, increasing the normal force applied to the substrate 112. The increased normal force will be greater at the central part 114 of the substrate 112 than at the peripheral part 115 due to the increased thickness of the membrane 450 at the central portion 452 thereof.
From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the membrane can have non-circular planform shapes and the thick and thin regions of the membrane need not be concentric or annular. The substrate holder can be used with a web-format planarizing machine of the type shown in
This application is a continuation of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/909,580, filed Jul. 20, 2001, which is a divisional of 09/366,406, filed Aug. 3, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,722,963.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040116050 A1 | Jun 2004 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 09366406 | Aug 1999 | US |
Child | 09909580 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 09909580 | Jul 2001 | US |
Child | 10730813 | US |