Method and apparatus for improved conditioning of polishing pads
OwnerMichael A. Ravkin, Ilya A. Ravkin +1inventors
InventorsMichael A. Ravkin, Ilya A. Ravkin, Yuli Verhovsky
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for conditioning the surface of a polishing pad used to polish a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer. A conditioning apparatus uses two or more end effectors to abrade and/or remove the polishing byproducts from the surface of the pad. Different types of conditioning performance can be achieved when the end effectors are employed individually, sequentially, or simultaneously during a polishing process.
Claims25
An apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad, comprising:
- a conditioning surface;
- and
- a sensor coupled to said conditioning surface, said sensor for detecting an amount of a first force exerted by said conditioning surface against said polishing pad;
- wherein said sensor is coupled to a retainer when said conditioning surface is in contact with said polishing pad, and said sensor is decoupled from said retainer when said conditioning surface is not is contact with said polishing pad.
An apparatus for conditioning a surface of a polishing pad, comprising:
- a first conditioner having a first conditioning material;
- a second conditioner coupled to said first conditioner and having a second conditioning material which is different from said first conditioning material;
- and,
- a load sensor coupled to said first conditioner.
An apparatus for conditioning a surface of a polishing pad utilized for polishing a surface, comprising:
- a support arm;
- a first conditioner coupled to said support arm and having a first conditioning material resident thereon for providing a first conditioning characteristic when conditioning said polishing pad;
- a second conditioner coupled to said support arm and having a second conditioning material resident thereon for providing a second conditioning characteristic when conditioning said polishing pad;
- and,
- a sensor coupled to said first conditioner, said sensor for detecting the amount of force exerted against said first conditioner.
A method of conditioning a surface of a polishing pad, comprising:
- bringing a conditioner into contact with the surface of the polishing pad;
- bringing a sensor into contact with a retainer when said conditioner is brought into contact with the surface of the polishing pad;
- conditioning the surface of the polishing pad with said conditioner;
- sensing an amount of force exerted on said polishing pad by said conditioner by sensing an amount of force exerted on said sensor by said retainer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.