Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) system and method for determining an endpoint in a CMP operation
AssigneeLam Research Corporation
InventorJoseph P. Simon
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In a method for determining an endpoint in a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) operation, the concentration of an oxidizing agent in the slurry byproduct generated during the CMP operation is monitored. The endpoint of the CMP operation is determined based on the concentration of the oxidizing agent in the slurry byproduct. The concentration of the oxidizing agent in the slurry byproduct may be monitored by diverting the slurry byproduct from a surface of a polishing pad, and measuring an optical property of the slurry byproduct diverted from the surface of the polishing pad. A CMP system configured to implement the method for determining an endpoint also is described.
Claims12
A method for determining an endpoint in a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) operation, comprising:
- monitoring a concentration of an oxidizing agent in a slurry byproduct generated during a CMP operation;
- and
- determining an endpoint of the CMP operation based on the concentration of the oxidizing agent in the slurry byproduct.
A method for controlling polishing time of a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) operation, comprising:
- monitoring a concentration of an oxidizing agent in a slurry byproduct generated during a CMP operation;
- and
- when the concentration of the oxidizing agent in the slurry byproduct increases to a predetermined level, stopping the CMP operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.