# US 11,298,794 B2 · Chemical mechanical polishing using time share control

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- Number: US 11,298,794 B2
- Document ID: US11298794B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/688,604
- Filed: 2019-11-19
- Published: 2020-09-10
- Granted: 2022-04-12
- Earliest claimed: 2019-03-08
- Assignees: Applied Materials, Inc.
- Applicants: Applied Materials, Inc.
- Inventors: Jimin Zhang; Jianshe Tang; Brian J. Brown; Wei Lu; Priscilla Diep
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11298794B2

## CPC

- B24B 37/005: Control means for lapping machines or devices
- B24B 37/26: characterised by the shape of the lapping pad surface, e.g. grooved
- H10P 52/402: {of semiconductor materials}
- H10P 52/403: {of conductive or resistive materials}
- B24B: MACHINES, DEVICES, OR PROCESSES FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING (grinding of gear teeth B23F, of screw-threads B23G1/36; by electro-erosion B23H; abrasive or related blasting B24C; tools for grinding, buffing or sharpening B24D; polishing compositions C09G1/00; abrasives C09K3/14; electrolytic etching or polishing C25F3/00; grinding arrangements for use on assembled railway tracks E01B31/17); DRESSING OR CONDITIONING OF ABRADING SURFACES; FEEDING OF GRINDING, POLISHING, OR LAPPING AGENTS
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

A method of chemical mechanical polishing includes rotating a polishing pad about an axis of rotation, positioning a substrate against the polishing pad, the polishing pad having a groove that is concentric with the axis of rotation, oscillating the substrate laterally across the polishing pad such that a central portion of the substrate and an edge portion of the substrate are positioned over a polishing surface of the polishing pad for a first duration, and holding the substrate substantially laterally fixed in a position such that the central portion of the substrate is positioned over the polishing surface of the polishing pad and the edge portion of the substrate is positioned over the groove for a second duration.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for chemical mechanical polishing, the method comprising:
rotating a polishing pad about an axis of rotation;
positioning a substrate against the polishing pad, the polishing pad having a polishing-control groove that is concentric with the axis of rotation and a polishing surface having a plurality of slurry-supply grooves, wherein the slurry-supply grooves are narrower than the polishing-control groove, and wherein the polishing-control groove surrounds the slurry-supply grooves;
oscillating the substrate laterally across the polishing pad such that a central portion of the substrate and an edge portion of the substrate are positioned over a polishing surface of the polishing pad for a first duration such that the central portion of the substrate and the edge portion of the substrate are polished for the first duration; and
holding the substrate in a position such that the central portion of the substrate is positioned only over the polishing surface of the polishing pad and the polishing-control groove is positioned under only an arcuate region of the edge portion of the substrate for a second duration such that the central portion of the substrate is preferentially polished during the second duration.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein a ratio of the first duration to the second duration is selected to provide a desired polishing rate for the edge portion.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the slurry supply grooves are concentric with the polishing control groove.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the polishing pad has a single polishing control groove.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the polishing control groove is 5 to 30 mm wide.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the polishing pad has a second polishing-control groove near a center of the polishing pad.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, comprising:
oscillating the substrate laterally across the polishing pad such that a central portion of the substrate and an edge portion of the substrate are positioned over a polishing surface of the polishing pad for a third duration such that the central portion of the substrate and the edge portion of the substrate are polished for the third duration; and
holding the substrate in a position such that the central portion of the substrate is positioned only over the polishing surface of the polishing pad and the second polishing-control groove is positioned under only a second arcuate section of the edge portion of the substrate for a fourth duration such that the central portion of the substrate is preferentially polished during the fourth duration.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein a ratio of the second duration to a sum of the first, second, third and fourth durations and a ratio of the fourth duration to the sum of the first, second, third and fourth durations are selected to provide a desired polishing rate for the edge portion.

### Claim 9

A method for determining dwell time, the method comprising:
determining a polishing rate of a central region of a test substrate as polished by a polishing surface of a polishing pad;
determining an edge polishing rate of an edge portion of the test substrate as polished by the polishing surface of the polishing pad;
determining a desired decrease in a polishing rate for an edge portion of a device substrate to reduce polishing non-uniformity between a central portion of the device substrate and the edge portion of the device substrate; and
calculating a first duration and a second duration to provide the desired decrease in the polishing rate, wherein the first duration is for the device substrate to oscillate laterally across the polishing pad such that the central portion of the device substrate and the edge portion of the device substrate are positioned on the polishing surface of the polishing pad, and the second duration is for holding the device substrate in a position such that the central portion of the device substrate is positioned only on the polishing surface of the polishing pad and a polishing-control groove is positioned under only an arcuate region of the edge portion of the device substrate.

### Claim 10

A method for chemical mechanical polishing, the method comprising:
rotating a polishing pad about an axis of rotation;
positioning a substrate against the polishing pad, the polishing pad having a polishing-control groove that is concentric with the axis of rotation and a polishing surface having a plurality of slurry-supply grooves, wherein the slurry-supply grooves are narrower than the polishing-control groove, and wherein the slurry-supply grooves surround the polishing-control groove;
oscillating the substrate laterally across the polishing pad such that a central portion of the substrate and an edge portion of the substrate are positioned over a polishing surface of the polishing pad for a first duration such that the central portion of the substrate and the edge portion of the substrate are polished for the first duration; and
holding the substrate in a position such that the central portion of the substrate is positioned only over the polishing surface of the polishing pad and the polishing-control groove is positioned under only an arcuate section of the edge portion of the substrate for a second duration such that the central portion of the substrate is preferentially polished during the second duration.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein a ratio of the first duration to the second duration is selected to provide a desired polishing rate for the edge portion.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein the slurry supply grooves are concentric with the polishing control groove.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein the polishing pad has a single polishing control groove.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein the polishing control groove is 5 to 30 mm wide.
