Physical and Chemical Characteristics of the Ceramic Conditioner in Chemical Mechanical Planarization

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to characterize a new pad conditioning disk in terms of corrosion resistance and CMP performances, such as removal rate, non-uniformity, and contamination of metals and particles on wafers. The new conditioning disk was manufactured using a pattern process on ceramic substrates and a diamond CVD on patterned substrates. The point size and numbers were easily controlled by the pattern process and a uniform diamond film growth was achieved by the CVD process. Conventional conditioning disks often encounter problems such as scretches due to the diamond segregation and the metal contamination, which is due to the dissolution of Ni during the CMP process. The new conditioning disk eliminated the sources of microscratch and metal contamination from diamond segregation and metal dissolution. It also exhibited a high corrosion resistance when treated with corrosive chemicals, such as H2O2 and KOH. No differences in removal rate and non-uniformity were measured unlike those with the conventional conditioning disk. Also, the defects and particles on polished wafers were reduced using the new conditioning disk.