Modified Kinematic Model for Predicting Contact Points of Conditioner in CMP

Inhalt:
The conditioning process with diamond conditioners is an important role in maintaining CMP performance constant. The conditioning process maintains the surface roughness of the pad and uniformity of the pad profile, resulting in stable removal rate and low WIWNU of the wafer. The conditioning factor is controlled by three mechanical movements: pad / conditioner rotation, conditioner sweep arm movement. The conditioning performance can be changed by controlling the rotation conditions and sweep angle of the motion. In order to find optimal conditioning process condition, it is necessary to predict the pad profile tendency through simulation at various conditioning conditions. In this study, counting contacting points was applied to kinematic model of CMP conditioning process to predict pad profile. This model will be based on prediction of pad profile. Keywords: Chemical mechanical planarization, Pad cut rate, Pad profile, conditioning process, Kinematic analysis