Polishing pad sensor assembly with a damping pad
AssigneeStrasbaugh
InventorGreg Barbour
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A polishing pad having an optical assembly that does not cause excess wear on a wafer workpiece. The optical assembly is disposed within the pad such that it may move in response to forces applied to the optical assembly. A damping pad may be disposed on the optical assembly to reduce vibrations and further increase the sensitivity of optical measurements.
Claims20
A polishing pad for use in chemical mechanical planarization of a wafer or other workpiece, said polishing pad comprising:
- the polishing pad, characterized by a top surface and a bottom surface and a thickness, said polishing pad having a hole disposed therein, said hole extending substantially completely from the top surface to the bottom surface;
- and
- a capsule disposed within the hole, said capsule housing a means for detecting characteristics of the wafer or other work piece during polishing;
- said capsule having a top surface which is substantially co-planar with the top surface of the pad and a thickness which is less than the thickness of the pad;
- a damping pad disposed on a bottom surface of the capsule.
A device suitable for polishing wafers, said device comprising:
- a polishing pad;
- a sensor assembly disposed within the polishing pad;
- wherein the sensor assembly is further disposed within the polishing pad such that the sensor assembly may move up and down within the polishing pad;
- and
- wherein the sensor assembly has a top surface and a bottom surface, and a damping pad is disposed on the bottom surface of the sensor assembly.
A polishing pad comprising:
- an upper pad layer and a lower pad layer;
- an optical assembly disposed within a hole in the upper and lower pad layers, said optical assembly having a flange, wherein said flange is disposed within a circular void in the lower pad layer and suspended from the pad upper layer with a bead of glue such that the optical assembly may move up and down within the polishing pad;
- wherein the optical assembly has a top surface and a bottom surface and a damping pad is disposed on the bottom surface of the optical assembly.
A polishing pad comprising:
- an upper pad layer and a lower pad layer, wherein a hole is disposed through the upper and lower pad layers, said hole having an upper hole section disposed in the upper pad layer and a lower hole section disposed in the lower pad layer, wherein the lower hole section is larger than the upper hole section;
- a sensor assembly disposed within the hole, said sensor assembly comprising a sensor disposed within a sensor housing, said sensor housing having a top section and a bottom section, wherein an extension is disposed on the bottom section of the sensor housing;
- wherein the extension is disposed within the lower hole section and wherein the extension is suspended from the upper pad layer;
- wherein the sensor assembly has a top surface and a bottom surface, and a damping pad is disposed on the bottom surface of the sensor assembly.
A device suitable for polishing wafers, said device comprising:
- a polishing pad;
- a sensor puck disposed within the polishing pad, said sensor puck having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the top surface of the puck is substantially coplanar with the polishing surface of the polishing pad;
- wherein the sensor puck is further disposed within the polishing pad such that the sensor puck may move up and down within the polishing pad;
- and
- a damping pad disposed on the bottom surface of the sensor puck.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.