Next Generation Scratch and Corrosion Free Conditioner for Chemical Mechanical Planarization

Abstract

Conditioning process of CMP(Chemical Mechanical Planarization) pad is necessary in order to maintain the constant removal rate and uniformity during CMP. Commonly used conditioning disks have electroplated Ni layers on stainless steel substrates to combine abrasive diamonds. Conventional conditioning disks often encounter problems such as scratches due to the diamond segregation and the metal contamination due to the dissolution of Ni during CMP process. The elimination of Ni electroplating and stainless steel substrates in the conditioner was possible by the application of ceramic substrate and noble precision machining of substrate. The new ceramic based conditioner inherently eliminated the drop-offs of diamond abrasives and the dissolution of metals.