Polishing pad conditioning system
AssigneeLam Research Corporation
InventorRobert Charatan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A pad conditioning system for conditioning a polishing pad in conjunction with a workpiece polishing operation includes a pad conditioning head coupled with a positioning unit. The pad conditioning head includes a plurality of abrasive particles protruding from a surface of the pad conditioning head. The positioning unit is configured to move the surface into contact with a polishing pad. The pad conditioning system also includes a liquid supply nozzle. The liquid supply nozzle is configured to selectively discharge liquid proximate to the abrasive particles that are in contact with the polishing pad to minimize frictional wear of the abrasive particles.
Claims28
A pad conditioning system for conditioning a polishing pad in conjunction with a workpiece polishing operation, the pad conditioning system comprising:
- a pad conditioning head having a plurality of abrasive particles protruding from a surface of the pad conditioning head;
- a positioning unit coupled with the pad conditioning head, wherein the positioning unit is configured to move the surface into contact with a polishing pad;
- a liquid supply nozzle configured to selectively discharge liquid onto the abrasive particles that are in contact with the polishing pad to minimize frictional wear of the abrasive particles;
- and a liquid supply line that extends through the pad conditioning head and is configured to supply liquid to the liquid supply nozzle, wherein the surface is configured to gimbal with respect to the pad conditioning head and the liquid supply line includes a gimbal coupler that forms a portion of the liquid supply line, wherein the gimbal coupler is configured to flex to relieve stress on the liquid supply line as the surface gimbals.
A pad conditioning system for conditioning a polishing pad in conjunction with a workpiece polishing operation, the pad conditioning system comprising:
- a liquid supply nozzle configured to discharge liquid in a predetermined area;
- a pad conditioning head positionable proximate to the liquid supply nozzle, the pad conditioning head comprising a conditioning element upon which a plurality of abrasive particles are disposed,
- wherein the conditioning element is configured to be pressed into and moved in a determined pattern around a surface of a polishing pad to roughen the surface of the polishing pad with the abrasive particles,
- wherein the liquid supply nozzle is configured to discharge liquid between the conditioning element and the polishing pad;
- and a liquid supply line coupled with the liquid supply nozzle, wherein the conditioning element is configured to gimbal and the liquid supply line includes a gimbal coupling to relieve stress on the liquid supply line when the conditioning element gimbals.
A method of conditioning a polishing pad in conjunction with a workpiece polishing operation, the method comprising:
- pressing a conditioning element included in a pad conditioning head into a polishing pad to condition the polishing pad, wherein a surface of the conditioning element includes a plurality of abrasive particles extending outward from the surface;
- gimbaling the conditioning element with respect to the pad conditioning head to maintain the surface substantially parallel with the polishing pad;
- supplying a liquid through a liquid supply line that includes a first member coupled with the pad conditioning head and a second member coupled with the conditioning element;
- selectively discharging the liquid between the abrasive particles and the polishing pad only in the area being conditioned;
- and
- flexing a gimbal coupler that couples the first member to the second member to relieve stress on the liquid supply line as the conditioning element gimbals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.