U.S. patent application number 09/883073 was filed with the patent office on 2002-02-07 for conditioner for polishing pads.
Invention is credited to Birang, Manoocher, Gurusamy, Jayakumar, Hoey, Gee Sun.
Application Number | 20020016136 09/883073 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26906870 |
Filed Date | 2002-02-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020016136 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Birang, Manoocher ; et
al. |
February 7, 2002 |
Conditioner for polishing pads
Abstract
An apparatus and method for conditioning a polishing pad in a
polishing system. One embodiment of the apparatus generally
includes a movable support member, a conditioner device coupled to
the support member, and a first actuator coupled to the support
member and adapted to move the conditioner device along a first
path. Another embodiment of the apparatus generally includes a
platen, a polishing pad supported on the platen, and a conditioner
device coupled to a support member and positioned adjacent a region
of the polishing pad outside of a substrate polishing area. One
embodiment of the method includes raising a conditioner device
adjacent to the polishing pad, providing relational movement
between the conditioner device and the polishing pad, and lowering
the conditioner device away from the polishing pad.
Inventors: |
Birang, Manoocher; (Los
Gatos, CA) ; Gurusamy, Jayakumar; (Sunnyvale, CA)
; Hoey, Gee Sun; (San Jose, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PATENT COUNSEL
APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Legal Affairs Department
P.O.Box 450A
Santa Clara
CA
95052
US
|
Family ID: |
26906870 |
Appl. No.: |
09/883073 |
Filed: |
June 15, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60212195 |
Jun 16, 2000 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
451/41 ; 451/443;
451/444; 451/56 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B24B 53/017 20130101;
B24B 21/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
451/41 ; 451/56;
451/443; 451/444 |
International
Class: |
B24B 001/00; B24B
033/00 |
Claims
1. An apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad outside of a
substrate polishing area, comprising: a movable support member; a
conditioner device coupled to the support member; and a first
actuator coupled to the support member and adapted to move the
conditioner device along a first path.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second actuator
coupled to the support member and adapted to move the conditioner
device along a second path.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conditioner device
comprises at least one of a ceramic bar, a brush bar, a diamond
abrasive bar, a ceramic roller, a brush roller, a diamond abrasive
roller, or a spray bar.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the conditioner device
comprises a spray bar and at least one of a ceramic bar, a brush
bar, a diamond abrasive bar, a ceramic roller, a brush roller, or a
diamond abrasive roller.
5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the spray bar includes at
least one spray nozzle.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one spray nozzle
is adapted to be coupled to at least one fluid supply source.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a universal holder
releasably mounting the conditioner device on the support member,
wherein the conditioner device comprises at least one of a ceramic
bar, a brush bar, or a diamond abrasive bar.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a gimbal device
disposed between the support member and the conditioner device.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a support frame;
and the first actuator is a pneumatic cylinder coupled to the
support frame and coupled to the movable support member opposite
the conditioner device, wherein the pneumatic cylinder is adapted
to move the support member up and down.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a support frame
having at least one slide; the moveable support member is disposed
on the at least one slide; and the first actuator is a pneumatic
cylinder disposed on the support frame and adapted to move the
support member along the slide.
11. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising: a support frame
having at least one slide; the first actuator is a first pneumatic
cylinder disposed on the at least one slide and coupled to the
support member opposite the conditioner device, wherein the first
pneumatic cylinder is adapted to move the support member up and
down; and the second actuator is a second pneumatic cylinder
disposed on the support frame and coupled to the first pneumatic
cylinder, wherein he second pneumatic cylinder is adapted to move
the first pneumatic cylinder along the slide.
12. A substrate polishing apparatus, comprising: a rotatable
platen; a polishing pad supported on the platen; and a conditioner
device coupled to a support member and positioned adjacent a region
of the polishing pad outside of a substrate polishing area.
13. The substrate polishing apparatus of claim 12, further
comprising: a movement device adapted to create relational movement
between the conditioner device and the polishing pad, wherein the
movement device can move the conditioner device, the polishing pad,
or the platen.
14. The substrate polishing apparatus of claim 13, further
comprising: a first actuator coupled to the support member and
adapted to move the conditioner device along a first path.
15. The substrate polishing apparatus of claim 14, further
comprising: a baseplate supporting the platen and having at least
one conditioner recess formed therein, wherein the first actuator
is adapted to move the conditioner device between a lower
disengaged position in which the conditioner device is housed in
the recess and an upper engaged position.
16. The substrate polishing apparatus of claim 15, wherein in the
lower disengaged position, the conditioner device is sized and
positioned below the base of the platen.
17. The substrate polishing apparatus of claim 15, wherein in the
upper engaged position, the conditioner device is positioned to
contact a region of the polished pad disposed at the end of the
platen between a supply roll and a top roll.
18. The substrate polishing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the
movement device is a second actuator coupled to the support member
and wherein the second actuator is adapted to move the conditioner
device along a second path when the first actuator is in the upper
engaged position.
19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the conditioner device
comprises at least a ceramic bar, a brush bar, a diamond abrasive
bar, a ceramic roller, a brush roller, a diamond abrasive roller,
or a spray bar.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the conditioner device
comprises a spray bar and at least one of a ceramic bar, a brush
bar, a diamond abrasive bar, a ceramic roller, a brush roller, or a
diamond abrasive roller.
21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the spray bar includes at
least one spray nozzle fluidly coupled to at least one fluid supply
source.
22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the at least one fluid
supply source comprises a hot fluid supply source.
23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the at least one fluid
supply source is adapted to provide at least one fluid to the at
least one spray nozzle at varying pressures.
24. The substrate polishing apparatus of claim 13, further
comprising a controller coupled to the movement device.
25. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a backing plate
disposed on the platen opposite the conditioner device, wherein the
polishing pad is positioned between the conditioner device and the
backing plate.
26. A method of polishing a substrate on a polishing pad supported
on a platen, comprising: a) raising a conditioner device adjacent
to the polishing pad; b) providing relational movement between the
conditioner device and the polishing pad; and c) lowering the
conditioner device away from the polishing pad.
27. A method of polishing a substrate on a polishing pad supported
on a platen, comprising: a) positioning a conditioner device
adjacent a surface of the polishing pad outside of a substrate
polishing area; and b) conditioning the surface of the polishing
pad.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein conditioning comprises
providing relational movement between the polishing pad and a
conditioner device.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein conditioning further comprises
moving the conditioner device laterally across the surface of the
polishing pad.
30. The method of claim 27, wherein conditioning comprises abrading
the surface of the polishing pad with the conditioner device.
31. The method of claim 30, wherein abrading comprises delivering a
fluid to the surface of the polishing pad.
32. The method of claim 30, wherein conditioning further comprises
delivering a fluid to the surface of the polishing pad.
33. The method of claim 28, further comprising moving the
conditioner device away from the polishing pad.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional patent
application serial No. 60/212,195, filed Jun. 16, 2000, which is
herein incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention generally relates to an apparatus and
a method for conditioning a polishing pad in a polishing
system.
[0004] 2. Background of the Related Art
[0005] Integrated circuits are typically formed on substrates,
particularly silicon wafers, by the sequential deposition of
conductive, semi-conductive, or insulative layers. Generally, after
a series of layers are sequentially deposited and etched, the
uppermost surface may become non-planar and require planarization.
A substantially planar surface is necessary to ensure accurate
lithography needed to produce small feature sizes.
[0006] Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is one accepted method
of planarization. In CMP, a substrate is typically placed
feature-side down on a polishing pad located on a platen. During
one conventional polishing process, the polishing pad is rotated by
the platen while a carrier rotates the substrate while holding the
substrate against the pad by applying pressure to the back of the
substrate. The polishing pad can be a removable pad that is
attached to the platen for a useful life of the pad and then
replaced. One CMP polishing system that utilizes removable pads is
a MIRRA.RTM. CMP System available from Applied Materials, Inc., as
shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,804,507, issued Sep. 8,
1998, entitled "Radially Oscillating Carousel Processing System for
Chemical Mechanical Polishing," which is hereby incorporated by
reference in its entirety.
[0007] Alternatively, the pad can be a sheet of polishing material
that is incrementally indexed or advanced across a platen as the
material wears. This type of system is conventionally known as a
"web" system. The web-based system seeks to utilize the continuous
feed of polishing pad material by incrementally indexing fresh or
new polishing pad material. One CMP web-based polishing system is
shown and described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No.
09/244,456, entitled "Apparatus and Methods for Chemical Mechanical
Polishing With an Advanceable Polishing Sheet," the entirety of
which is hereby incorporated by reference. Another CMP polishing
system that utilizes the web-based system is the 8200C Polishing
System available from Obsidian, Inc., as shown and described in
co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/185,812, entitled
"Planarization System With Multiple Polishing Pads", the entirety
of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
[0008] In some systems, a substrate is polished on a pad in the
presence of a polishing fluid, also known as a slurry, which may
contain chemicals that pacify or oxidize the layer being polished
and abrasives that abrasively remove or polish off the surface of
the layer. The interaction of a polishing pad, the chemically
reactive polishing fluid, and the abrasive polishing fluid with the
surface of the substrate imparts a combination of chemical and
mechanical forces to the substrate which planarizes the substrate
surface and results in controlled polishing of the exposed
layer.
[0009] In a fixed-abrasive system, a polishing pad called a fixed
abrasive pad is used which does not require abrasive particles
within the slurry. Typically, a polishing fluid without abrasive
particles is used in concert with the fixed abrasive pad to provide
the chemical component of the polishing process. Examples of such
fixed abrasive pads are pads available from the 3M Company of St.
Paul, Minn. described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,950, by Rutherford et
al. (issued Dec. 2, 1997) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,312, by Haas et
al. (issued Sep. 26, 1995), both of which are hereby incorporated
by reference.
[0010] Generally, the fixed abrasive pad contains abrasive
particles suspended in a binder or polymer film that is disposed on
a web of backing material that abrade the substrate in the
planarization process. Typically, a layer of binder on a surface of
the fixed abrasive pad does not contain any abrasive particles. As
such, before the fixed abrasive pad can be used, the layer of
abrasive-free binder on the surface of the abrasive pad must be
removed by a conditioning process before the pad can be effectively
used. Moreover, the conditioning process may be necessary to place
the pad in a condition that produces consistent and reliable
polishing results.
[0011] Therefore, there is a need for a system and method for
conditioning polishing pads in a substrate processing system and
particularly for conditioning fixed abrasive pads.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] An apparatus and method for conditioning a polishing pad in
a polishing system. One embodiment of the apparatus generally
includes a movable support member, a conditioner device coupled to
the support member, and a first actuator coupled to the support
member and adapted to move the conditioner device along a first
path. Another embodiment of the apparatus generally includes a
platen, a polishing pad supported on the platen, and a conditioner
device coupled to a support member and positioned adjacent a region
of the polishing pad outside of a substrate polishing area. One
embodiment of the method includes raising a conditioner device
adjacent to the polishing pad, providing relational movement
between the conditioner device and the polishing pad, and lowering
the conditioner device away from the polishing pad.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] So that the manner in which the above recited features,
advantages and objects of the present invention are attained and
can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the
invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to the
embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended
drawings.
[0014] 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.
[0015] FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a substrate polishing apparatus
of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of a substrate carrier
and a platen.
[0017] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a
conditioner device.
[0018] FIG. 3a is a top view of the conditioning bar of FIG. 3
attached to a gimbal device.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the conditioner
device of FIG. 3 in a lower retracted position.
[0020] FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the conditioner
device of FIG. 3 in an upper extended position.
[0021] FIG. 6 is an end view of the conditioner device of FIG.
3.
[0022] FIG. 7 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a method of the
present invention.
[0023] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a
conditioner device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0024] FIG. 1 depicts a top plan view of a CMP system 10 in which
embodiments of the invention can be used to advantage or otherwise
practiced is disclosed and described in U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 09/244,456 assigned to Applied Materials, Inc., located in
Santa Clara, Calif. which application is incorporated herein by
reference. The system 10 generally includes three platens 12 and a
loading station 14 disposed on a baseplate 16. A carousel 18 having
four arms 20 is centrally disposed on the baseplate 16 whereby each
arm 20 supports a substrate carrier 22 and positions each substrate
carrier 22 over the loading station 14 or over one of the platens
12. Two of the arms 20 depicted in FIG. 1 are shown in phantom to
allow one of the platens 12 and the loading station 14 to be seen.
A conditioner device 90, which will be described in more detail
below, is disposed adjacent each platen 12.
[0025] The carousel 18 is rotatable to move the substrate carriers
22 from one loading station 14 or platens 12 to another. Generally,
the process of polishing a substrate comprises having a substrate
loaded into each substrate carrier 22. The substrate carriers 22
move the substrates from the loading station 14 to each platen 12
for processing and back to the loading station 14 to be unloaded.
Polishing pads are disposed on the three platens 12. Alternatively,
polishing pads are disposed on the first two platens with a
cleaning pad disposed on the third platen to facilitate substrate
cleaning at the end of the polishing process.
[0026] Disposed on the baseplate 16 adjacent to each platen 12 is a
rotatable rinse arm 80 which includes a plurality of nozzles 82
positioned and adapted to deliver a fluid to the horizontal top
surface 62 of the platens 12. Two or more supply tubes (not shown)
are connected to the nozzles 82 and provide a polishing fluid
and/or a cleaning fluid to each nozzle 82. The polishing fluid can
comprise chemical polishing agents, de-ionized water, abrasive
particles, or a combination thereof to provide the chemical
component and mechanical component of the polishing process.
Alternatively, the polishing pad can provide the abrasive particles
and/or chemical polishing agents. The cleaning fluid typically
comprises de-ionized water or other fluids to remove any debris,
loose material, or other contamination from the abrasive elements
or from the upper surface of the polishing pad.
[0027] A loading robot 24, an input buffer station 28, and an
output buffer station 26 are disposed on the baseplate 16 adjacent
the loading station 14. The loading robot 24 transfers unpolished
substrates from the input buffer station 28 to the loading station
14 and transfers polished substrates from the loading station 14 to
the output buffer station 26.
[0028] The system can further include a factory interface 30 which
can be formed integrally with the system or can be a separate
component disposed adjacent to the baseplate 16 near the loading
station 14. The factory interface 30 generally comprises a cleaning
module 32, an input module 34, an interface robot 36, and one or
more wafer cassettes 38. The interface robot 36 is employed to move
substrates between the wafer cassettes 38, the cleaning module 32,
and the input module 34. A transfer robot 40 is disposed proximate
the factory interface 30 and the baseplate 16 to move substrates
from the cleaning module 32 and/or input module 34 to the input
buffer station 28 and from the output buffer station 26 back to the
cleaning module 32 or alternatively the input module 34.
[0029] FIG. 2 illustrates a side cross-sectional view of one of the
platens 12 of the CMP system 10 with a substrate carrier 22
supported thereabove. The platen 12 is mounted on a shaft 50 which
is rotationally disposed through the baseplate 16 using
conventional bearings and slip rings such that electrical,
mechanical, pneumatic, control signals, and other connections can
be coupled between the baseplate 16 and the platen 12. The shaft 50
is typically coupled to a motor 52 that provides the rotational
motion of the platen 12 during polishing. Alternative embodiments
other than a rotatable platen 12 can be used to create relative
movement between the substrate and the polishing pad in order to
enhance uniform polishing of the substrate surface and uniform
wearing of the polishing pad. For example, a substrate carrier can
rotate the substrate or move the substrate laterally across the
surface of the polishing pad, the polishing pad can move while the
substrate carrier positions the substrate on the polishing pad, or
a combination of these approaches can be performed.
[0030] For the rotatable platen 12, a supply roll 56 and a take-up
roll 58 are disposed on opposite sides of the platen 12 such that a
polishing pad 60, such as a fixed abrasive pad manufactured by 3M
Company of St. Paul, Minn. or other type of polishing pad, can be
wound on the rolls 56, 58 and run between the rolls 56, 58 over the
horizontal top surface 62 of the platen 12. An indexing device (not
shown) indexes or advances the polishing pad 60 a predetermined
amount across the horizontal top surface 62 of the platen 12
intermittently between the processing steps to supply a fresh area
of the polishing pad 60 to the horizontal top surface 62. Thus,
when the polishing pad 60 is indexed, new polishing pad material is
supplied by the supply roll 56 and used polishing material is wound
on the take-up roll 58. However, other embodiments of the polishing
system can be devised which use a different type of polishing pad,
such as a removable pad attached to the platen for the useful life
of the pad or a combination of a removable pad and a web-based
pad.
[0031] The substrate carrier 22, such as a TITAN HEAD.TM. substrate
carrier manufactured by Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara,
Calif. or other type of substrate carrier, generally comprises of a
housing 66 with a retaining ring 68 which defines a center recess
70 to hold a substrate 72 face down on the polishing pad 60 during
polishing. The retaining ring 68 is typically disposed around the
outer perimeter of the substrate 72 to contain the substrate 72 and
prevent the substrate 72 from slipping laterally during polishing.
The substrate carrier 22 is mounted on a shaft 76 connected to a
drive system 77 disposed on the arm 20 of the carousel 18. The
drive system 77 is adapted to rotate the substrate carrier 22, move
the substrate carrier 22 laterally, and to move the substrate
carrier 22 vertically towards or away from the platen 12 during
polishing.
[0032] The conditioner device is adapted to contact and to abrade a
surface of a polishing pad. The conditioning bar removes film from
the surface of the polishing pad to reveal the abrasive particles
embedded in the polishing pad 60 and/or textures the surface of the
polishing pad 60 to form a uniform polishing surface. FIG. 3 is a
perspective view of one embodiment of a conditioner device 90
comprising a conditioning bar 92. The conditioning bar 92 can be a
ceramic bar, a brush bar, or a diamond abrasive bar where the part
of the conditioning bar 92 that contacts the polishing pad is
respectively made of ceramic, brush bristles, or diamond chips
connected thereto. In addition, the conditioning bar 92 can be made
of any materials that will condition, texture, or abrade the
surface of the polishing pad.
[0033] The conditioning bar 92 is attached to a support member 94
by a universal holder 110 which can releasably hold different types
of conditioning bars 92 so that the conditioning bar 92 can be
quickly replaced or different conditioning bars can be quickly
mounted on the support member 94. One embodiment of the universal
holder 110 is a fastener connected to the support member 94 with
four threaded holes for receiving four screws. As shown in FIG. 3
and FIG. 3a, the conditioner device 90 can further include a gimbal
device 112 disposed or connected between the universal holder 110
to the support member 94 which enables the conditioning bar 92 to
provide uniform pressure to the surface of the polishing pad.
[0034] The conditioner device 90 can also include a spray bar 122,
having a plurality of spray nozzles 124, mounted on the support
member 94. The spray nozzles 124 are adapted to provide at least
one fluid across the width of the polishing pad to wash away debris
and abraded material on the polishing pad. There is no need for the
spray bar 122 or nozzles 124 to be in contact with the polishing
pad. A hose 125 is connected to the spray bar 122 and adapted to be
coupled to a fluid supply source (not shown) to provide fluid to
the spray nozzles 124. The fluid can also comprise a hot liquid in
order to melt the polymer film that coats the polishing pad. The
force and the direction of the spray nozzles 124, the temperature
of the fluid, and the type of fluids can be varied in order to
enhance removal of debris and the polymer film from the surface of
the polishing pad 60.
[0035] The support member 94 is connected to a first actuator 96
which is disposed on a slide 98 connected to a support frame 100.
When engaged, the first actuator 96 raises the conditioning bar 92
and the spray bar 122 from a lower retracted position to an upper
extended position. A second actuator 106 is mounted on the support
frame 100 and is connected to the housing of the first actuator 96
to move the first actuator 96 laterally on the slide 98 and thereby
to move the conditioning bar 92 and the spray bar 122 laterally. In
the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the actuators 96, 106 are pneumatic
cylinders. The actuators can also be motors, gears, pulleys,
pistons, or any other devices that can create movement.
[0036] In addition, other conditioning devices can be devised to
abrade the surface of the polishing pad other than a conditioning
bar. For instance as shown in FIG. 8, the conditioner device 90 can
comprise of spray nozzles 124 adapted to condition the polishing
pad only by the action of the sprayed fluids on the polishing pad
without the aid of the conditioning bar. In addition, the
conditioner device can comprise of a roller (not shown) which
conditions the polishing pad by rotating against the surface of the
polishing pad. For example, the roller can be a ceramic roller, a
brush roller, or a diamond abrasive roller where the part of the
roller that contacts the polishing pad is respectively made of
ceramic, brush bristles, or diamond chips connected thereto. In
addition, a combination of approaches can be devised to abrade the
surface of the polishing pad. Furthermore, other movement elements
other than an actuator, adapted to move the conditioner device
horizontally, can be devised to create relative movement between
the conditioner device and the polishing pad. For example, movement
can be created by a conditioning roller, a moveable support member
attached to the platen, a moveable platen, or by advancement of the
polishing pad.
[0037] FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the conditioner
device 90 of FIG. 3 disposed in a CMP system where the first
actuator is disengaged and the conditioning bar 92 and the spray
bar 122 are in a lower retracted position. The support frame 100 of
the conditioner device 90 is coupled to the bottom of the baseplate
16 so that the support member 100 extends through an aperture 102
in the baseplate 16 and so that the conditioning bar 92 and the
spray bar 122 reside in a storage recess 104 in the baseplate 16.
When in a lower, retracted position, the conditioning bar and the
spray bar 122 do not obstruct rotational movement of the platen 12
and, therefore, allow polishing of the substrate 72.
[0038] FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the conditioner
device 90 of FIG. 3 when the first actuator is engaged and the
conditioning bar 92 and the spray bar 122 are in an upper, extended
position. The conditioning bar 92 is in contact with the polishing
pad 60 on the platen 12 between the supply roll 56 and the
horizontal top surface 62 of the platen 12. However, other
embodiments of the conditioner device 90 can be devised so that the
conditioning bar 92 is adapted to contact any portion of the
polishing pad 60. In one embodiment, the conditioning bar 92
contacts and conditions a region of the polishing pad 60 which has
not reached the substrate polishing area (the area under which the
substrate carrier 22 positions the substrate 72 on the polishing
pad 60 during polishing) to condition that region of the polishing
pad 60 before its use in polishing the substrate 72.
[0039] The conditioner device 90 can further include a flexible
bellows 126 attached to the base of the storage recess 104 in the
baseplate 16 and to an upper portion of the support member 94 to
protect the conditioner device 90 from fluids delivered by the
spray nozzles 124 or by other sources. The platen can further
include a backing plate 114 disposed thereon such that when the
conditioning bar 92 contacts the polishing pad 60, the polishing
pad is sandwiched between the conditioning bar 92 and the backing
plate 114 on the platen 12 in order to prevent movement of the
polishing pad 60 as the conditioning bar 92 abrades the surface of
the polishing pad 60. The polishing system 10 can further include a
controller 130 that integrates the conditioning of the polishing
pad 60 and the polishing of the substrates. Lines 131, 132, 133,
134 couple the controller 130 respectively to the conditioner
device 90, to the platen 12, to the motor 52 of the platen 12, and
to the drive system 76 of the substrate carrier 22. In operation,
the controller 130 through line 131 signals the first actuator 96
to extend the support member 94 from the storage recess 104 to
contact the polishing pad 60 or to retract the support member 94
away from the polishing pad 60, signals the second actuator 106 to
extend and to retract in order to create relational movement
between the conditioner device 90 and the polishing pad 60, and
directs the fluid supply source to provide fluid to the spray
nozzles 124. The controller 130 through line 133 signals the motor
52 to rotate the platen 12 in order to create relational movement
between the polishing pad 60 and the substrate 72. The controller
130 through line 134 signals the drive system 76 to move the
substrate carrier 22 either over or away from the platen 12. The
controller 130 through line 132 directs the supply roll 56 and the
take-up roll 58 to advance the polishing pad 60 by a certain
amount.
[0040] FIG. 6 is an end view of the conditioner device 90 of FIG. 3
when the first actuator is engaged and the conditioning bar 92 and
the spray bar 122 are in an upper extended position. In the upper
extended position, the conditioner device 90 contacts the polishing
pad. The second actuator 106 moves the conditioning bar 92
laterally across the surface of the polishing pad to abrade and
condition the polishing pad 60. The length of conditioning bar 92
is determined by the width of the polishing pad is desired to be
conditioned. In one embodiment, the conditioning bar 92 spans a
width greater than the width of the polishing pad 60 so that the
conditioning bar 92 substantially remains in contact with the
entire width of the polishing pad 60 as it moves laterally across
the surface of the polishing pad 60.
[0041] FIG. 7 is a flow chart of one method of conditioning a
polishing pad 60. The conditioning bar 92 and the spray bar 122 are
raised from the storage recess 104 of the baseplate 16 to contact
the polishing pad 60. The conditioning bar 92 is then moved
laterally making at least one stroke across the surface of the
polishing pad 60 to abrade the surface of the polishing pad 60. The
spray nozzles 124 deliver a fluid across the width of the polishing
pad 60 that has been abraded or is being abraded by the
conditioning bar 92 to rinse away debris and abraded material from
the surface of the polishing pad 60. In one embodiment, the spray
nozzles 124 deliver a fluid to the polishing pad 60 simultaneously
as the conditioning bar 92 is moved laterally across the surface of
the polishing pad 60. The conditioning bar 92 and the spray nozzles
124 are then lowered into the baseplate 16 to allow movement of the
platen 12. The polishing pad 60 is indexed or advanced by a length
that is no greater than the area just conditioned by the
conditioning bar 90. The polishing pad need not be advanced to
cover the entire area of the substrate polishing area. The
substrate polishing area can be continuously replenished with new
conditioned pad by indexing or advancing a small portion of the
polishing pad intermittently between a desired number of polishing
steps. The platen 12 is then rotated to polish the surface of the
substrate 72. The steps for the method of conditioning the
polishing pad 60 can be performed in other orders. For example, the
polishing pad 60 can be indexed before the conditioning bar 92 is
moved into contact with the polishing pad 60.
[0042] While foregoing is directed to the preferred embodiment 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.
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