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US 10,293,462 B2Granted
Pad conditioner and method of reconditioning planarization pad
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorHui-Wen Ting
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Abstract
A planarization device includes a planarization pad and a pad conditioner over the planarization pad. The pad conditioner includes a rotatable plate having a lower surface separated from an upper surface of the planarization pad by a predetermined distance and at least one nozzle opening on the lower surface of the rotatable plate.
Claims19
A planarization device, comprising:
- a planarization pad;
- and
- a pad conditioner over the planarization pad, the pad conditioner comprising:
- a rotatable plate having a lower surface separated from an upper surface of the planarization pad by a predetermined distance;
- at least one nozzle opening on the lower surface of the rotatable plate;
- and
- a fluid dispensing unit configured to selectively dispense a fluid material onto the upper surface of the planarization pad through the at least one nozzle opening based on an operating mode of the planarization device,
- wherein
- the fluid material comprises an acid when the fluid dispensing unit is operated before or after a planarization process performed by the planarization device,
- the lower surface of the rotatable plate is a closest surface of the pad conditioner to the upper surface of the planarization pad, and
- the pad conditioner is configured to maintain at least the predetermined distance between the lower surface of the rotatable plate and the upper surface of the planarization pad when in use.
8 more elements
An apparatus, comprising:
- a planarization pad;
- a wafer holder for supporting a wafer during a planarization process;
- and
- a pad conditioner over the planarization pad, wherein the pad conditioner is separate from the wafer holder, and the pad conditioner comprising:
- a plate having a rotational center and a lower surface, the plate being rotatable about the rotational center and separated from an upper surface of the planarization pad by a predetermined distance;
- a driving unit configured to cause the rotatable plate to rotate according to a predetermined rotation-speed profile;
- a plurality of nozzle openings on the lower surface of the rotatable plate;
- and
- a fluid dispensing unit configured to selectively dispense a fluid material onto the upper surface of the planarization pad through at least one of the plurality of nozzle openings based on an operating mode of the planarization device,
- wherein
- the fluid material comprises an acid when the fluid dispensing unit is operated before or after a planarization process performed by the planarization device,
- the lower surface of the pad conditioner is a closest surface of the pad conditioner to the upper surface of the planarization pad, and
- the pad conditioner is configured to operate touchlessly with respect to the upper surface of the planarization pad.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.