So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for cleaning a polishing pad. While the invention will be described in the context of a conductive polishing pad, it should be understood that the method for cleaning a pad could be practiced on a dielectric polishing pad, and on a web polishing material, both conductive and dielectric. While the particular apparatus in which the present invention can be practiced is not limited, it is particularly beneficial to practice the invention in a REFLEXION LK ECMP™ system or MIRRA MESA® system sold by Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif. Additionally, apparatus described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/941,060 filed Sep. 14, 2004, U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,574, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,935, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, can also be used to practice the invention.
In one embodiment, the carrier head 204 may be a TITAN HEAD™ or TITAN PROFILER™ wafer carrier manufactured by Applied Materials, Inc. The carrier head 204 comprises a housing 214 and a retaining ring 216 that defines a center recess in which the substrate 114 is retained. The retaining ring 216 may circumscribe the substrate 114 disposed within the carrier head 204 to prevent the substrate 114 from slipping out from under the carrier head 204 during processing. The retaining ring 216 can be made of plastic materials such as PPS, PEEK, and the like, or conductive materials such as stainless steel, Cu, Au, Pd, and the like, or some combination thereof. It is further contemplated that a conductive retaining ring may be electrically biased to control the electric field during the ECMP process or an electrochemical plating process. It is also contemplated that other planarizing or carrier heads may be utilized.
The ECMP station 102 includes a platen assembly 230 that is rotationally disposed on a base 108. The platen assembly 230 is supported above the base 108 by a bearing 238 so that the platen assembly 230 may be rotated relative to the base 108. The platen assembly 230 is coupled to a motor 232 that provides the rotational motion to the platen assembly 230. The motor 232 is coupled to a controller that provides a signal for controlling for the rotational speed and direction of the platen assembly 230. The motor received its power from a power source 244, and a vacuum can be drawn from a vacuum source 246. The platen assembly 230 is fabricated from a rigid material, such as aluminum, rigid plastic, or other suitable material.
An area of the base 108 circumscribed by the bearing 238 is open and provides a conduit for the electrical, mechanical, pneumatic, control signals and connections communicating with the platen assembly 230. Conventional bearings, rotary unions and slip rings, collectively referred to as rotary coupler 276, are provided such that electrical, mechanical, fluid, pneumatic, control signals and connections may be coupled between the base 108 and the rotating platen assembly 230 through a hollow drive shaft 212.
A pad assembly 222 is disposed on an upper surface of the platen assembly 230. The pad assembly 222 may be held to the surface of the platen assembly 230 by magnetic attraction, static attraction, vacuum, adhesives, or the like. The pad assembly 222 depicted in
The upper surface of the contact layer 208 is adapted to contact a feature side 115 of the substrate 114 during processing. The contact layer 208 may be fabricated from polymeric materials compatible with the process chemistry. The polymeric materials may be dielectric or, alternatively, conductive. The contact layer 208 may be smooth or patterned to facilitate distribution of the polishing solution over the surface of the pad assembly 222. The pad assembly 222 may further include perforations 218 which expose the electrode 292 to process (e.g., polishing) fluids disposed on the upper surface of the contact layer 208 during processing.
The plurality of perforations 218 may be formed uniformly distributed pattern and has a percent open area of from about 10% to about 90% (i.e., the area of the perforations 218 open to the electrode as a percentage of the total surface area of the polishing layer). The location and open area percentage of the perforations 218 in the pad assembly 222 controls the quantity and distribution of polishing fluid contacting the electrode 292 and substrate 114 during processing, thereby controlling the rate of removal of material from the feature side 115 of the substrate 114 in a polishing operation, or the rate of deposition in a plating operation.
In another embodiment, the pad assembly 222 may include conductive contact elements adapted to extend above the contact layer 208. Examples of polishing pad assemblies having contact elements that may be utilized are described in United States Patent Publication No. 2002/0119286, United States Patent Publication No. 2004/0163946, and United States Patent Publication No. 2005/0000801, which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Polishing pad assemblies may be conditioned at three separate times. The first time that the polishing pad is conditioned is at break-in. Break-in is the procedure used to condition a new polishing pad before its first use. Polishing pads are broken-in to ensure uniform and predictable pad to pad processing results.
The second time that the polishing pad is conditioned is in-situ processing. In-situ conditioning occurs during processing of the substrate on the pad. In-situ maintains a substantially constant pad surface condition so that process variation is minimized between the beginning to end of a substrate polishing process.
The third time for polishing pad conditioning is ex-situ conditioning. Ex-situ conditioning occurs between polishing of substrates. Ex-situ conditioning may occur between each substrate processed, between batches of substrates, or on an as needed basis.
The method and apparatus for pad conditioning may be utilized with most conditioning processes. One conditioning process includes pressing a rotating disk against the pad assembly. The rotating disk is located at the end of an arm 420 that is supported on a support structure 415. The arm 420 is rotated to sweep the rotating disk 413 across the pad surface. One example of a pad conditioning process can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/209,167, filed Aug. 22, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
During polishing, a polishing fluid is provided from a polishing fluid supply 248 to the polishing pad assembly 222 through a polishing fluid delivery nozzle 306. The polishing fluid delivery nozzle 306 is located on a separate arm 304 from the arm 420 on which the conditioning pad assembly 413 is attached. The polishing fluid delivery nozzle 306 is positioned at the end of the arm 304. The arm 304 is coupled to a support structure 315 which allows the arm 304 to selectively position the delivery nozzle 306 over desired locations above the polishing pad assembly 222.
A washing fluid is provided to the polishing pad assembly 222 to remove debris that may collect on the surface of the polishing pad assembly 222 and within the perforations 218. The a washing fluid is removed from the surface of the pad assembly by a downstream director 120 to prevent debris removed from the perforations from settling out of the washing fluid on the surface of the pad assembly and rotated into contact with the substrate 114 being polished on the polishing pad assembly 222. In one embodiment, the washing fluid is provided by a high pressure water jet (HPWJ). However, it is to be understood that the washing fluid can be provided by other high pressure delivery devices and to the surface of polishing pad assembly 222.
In the embodiment depicted in
A washing fluid supply 405 provides the washing fluid that will be used to clean the polishing pad. The washing fluid is fed from the washing fluid supply 405 through a supply line 410 to one or more nozzles 412 that spray the washing fluid to the polishing pad 222. The nozzles 412 may be positioned on the same arm 420 as the conditioning pad assembly 413. In one embodiment, the washing fluid supply 405 is a HPWJ water supply, and the nozzle 412 is a HPWJ. In another embodiment, the washing fluid is water or deionized water. The nozzle 412 may be selectively positioned laterally along the arm 420.
To remove the washing fluid and any entrained debris prior to interfacing with the substrate, the downstream director 120, shown in this embodiment as an air knife 320, has a second nozzle that is provided to direct the second fluid against the pad assembly between the nozzle 412 and the carrier head 204 (as referenced by the pad rotation). The second fluid source is provided from a fluid source 305 and travels within the supply line 310 to the second nozzle, shown in
In one embodiment, the second fluid is air. It is to be understood that the second fluid may be any gas or fluid that does not adversely effect processing of the substrate. The second fluid is delivered from the air knife 320 with sufficient force to remove the washing fluid. In one embodiment, the second fluid is delivered from an air knife to impinge the pad assembly over a linear span of at least 200 mm, and in another embodiment, at least 300 mm.
In the embodiment depicted in
The air knife 320 is mounted on the arm 304 so that the air knife 320 may be rotated relative to the pad 222. Further, the height of the air knife 320 relative to the upper surface of the pad 222 may also be adjustable. The arm 304 is shown with its center line 475 at an angle relative to a radial centerline 370 of the pad 222 for convenience. It is to be understood that the arm 304 can pivot about its axis Q so that the air knife 320 oriented across the polishing pad 222. Arrows 381 and 382 denote the path of the second fluid as it is directed off the polishing pad 222 by the air knife 320.
In operation, the washing fluid is sprayed onto the polishing pad at high pressure during and/or after conditioning. The washing fluid wake, along with any debris loosened from the polishing pad surface, is directed away from the polishing pad by the second fluid delivered to the pad surface by the air knife. In one embodiment, the washing fluid is directed to the polishing pad at about 1500 psi to about 2000 psi. In one embodiment, the washing fluid is directed to the polishing pad at about 1650 to about 1900 psi. In yet another embodiment, the washing fluid is directed to the polishing pad at about 1800 to about 1850 psi. During the cleaning, the washing fluid is swept across the surface of the polishing pad by pivoting the arm 420 about its axis P. Optionally, the nozzle 412 may be moved along the arm.
The polishing pad is rotated during the cleaning so that all areas of the polishing pad will be sprayed with the washing fluid. The polishing pad may be rotated at about 10 to about 100 rpm during the cleaning process. In another embodiment, the polishing pad to rotate at about 30 to about 60 RPM during the cleaning process. In another embodiment, the polishing pad rotated at about 40 to about 50 RPM during the cleaning process.
The washing fluid will clean debris from substantially all surfaces of the polishing pad, including the perforations. The spray of washing fluid may be directed towards the edge of the polishing pad so that any debris collected within the wake of the washing fluid will be swept away. The second fluid provided by the air knife will sweep away the washing fluid wake, as well as any debris collected by the washing fluid wake. The arm 304 may be pivoted about its axis if desired.
The second fluid and the washing fluid can be provided to the polishing pad simultaneously. It is also contemplated by the present invention for the second fluid to be provided before the washing fluid so that loose debris can be removed from the polishing pad surface. Additionally, it is contemplated that the washing fluid can be provided to the polishing pad before the second fluid.
Rotating the polishing pad during the cleaning is beneficial to the cleaning process. If the polishing pad is not rotated, then the washing fluid will be provided at a high pressure to only the area that the arm 420 holding the nozzles 412 can cover when rotated about its axis. The other areas of the polishing pad would only receive the washing fluid wake.
In embodiment wherein the downstream director 120 is present, the washing fluid 808 is moved off the pad assembly 222, as shown by arrows 381, 382, prior to dispensing the polishing fluid 806 on the pad assembly 222. Thus, the downstream director 120 substantially prevents intermixing of the washing and polishing fluids 806, 808 directly in front of the substrate 114.
While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.