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US 8,133,097 B2Granted
Polishing apparatus
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsYu-Liang Lin, Chien Ling Hwang, Jean Wang, Chen-Hua Yu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) device for processing a wafer is provided which includes a plate for supporting the wafer to be processed in a face-up orientation, a polishing head opposing the plate, wherein the polishing head includes a rotatable polishing pad operable to contact the wafer while the polishing pad is rotating, and a slurry coating system providing a slurry to the polishing pad for polishing the wafer.
Claims18
A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) device for processing a wafer, the device comprising:
- a plate for supporting the wafer to be processed in a face-up orientation, a center portion of the plate being aligned along a first axis;
- a polishing head opposing the plate, wherein the polishing head includes a rotatable polishing pad operable to contact the wafer while the polishing pad is rotating, the rotatable polishing pad being configured to rotate about a second axis parallel to the first axis;
- and
- a slurry coating system providing a slurry to the polishing pad for polishing the wafer, a center portion of the slurry coating system being aligned along a third axis parallel to the first and second axes, wherein the first and third axes are radially spaced from the second axis such that when a first portion of the polishing pad is inside of the slurry coating system a second portion of the polishing pad spaced from the first portion is outside of the slurry coating system and in contact with the wafer, and wherein the slurry coating system recycles the slurry and includes:
- a slurry cup configured to deposit slurry onto the polishing pad;
- and
- an overflow tank surrounding the slurry cup and configured to collect excess slurry for reuse, the overflow tank including a polishing pad slot disposed in an exterior wall of the overflow tank and configured to remove excess slurry from the polishing pad as it passes therethrough.
4 more elements
A method of polishing a wafer, the method comprising:
- supporting the wafer to be processed on a plate in a face-up orientation;
- rotating a polishing pad using a polishing head that opposes the plate, wherein the polishing pad contacts the wafer while the polishing pad is rotating;
- and
- providing a slurry to the polishing pad for polishing the wafer, wherein the providing the slurry includes:
- passing the polishing pad through a slurry coating system spaced from the plate;
- depositing slurry onto the polishing pad with a slurry cup inside of the slurry coating system;
- removing excess slurry from the polishing pad by passing the polishing pad through polishing pad slots in the slurry coating system after the depositing;
- collecting the excess slurry in an overflow tank in the slurry coating system after the depositing;
- and
- recycling the excess slurry in the overflow tank by pumping it back to the slurry cup.
7 more elements
A system for polishing wafers, the system comprising:
- a plate for supporting the wafer to be processed in a face-up orientation;
- a polishing head opposing the plate, wherein the polishing head includes a ring-shaped, grooved polishing pad operable to contact the wafer while the polishing pad is rotating;
- and
- a recycling slurry coating system providing a slurry to the polishing pad for polishing the wafer, wherein the recycling slurry coating system is configured to receive a portion of the polishing pad therein while the polishing pad is rotating, and wherein the recycling slurry coating system includes:
- a slurry cup configured to deposit slurry into grooves of the portion of the polishing pad received by the slurry coating system while the polishing pad is rotating;
- an overflow tank surrounding the slurry cup and configured to collect excess slurry for reuse, the overflow tank including a polishing pad slot disposed in an exterior wall of the overflow tank and configured to receive the portion of the polishing pad while the polishing pad is rotating, the polishing pad slot being further configured to remove excess slurry from the portion of the polishing pad as it passes therethrough.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.