Method of reducing defectivity during chemical mechanical planarization

1. A method of performing chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of a wafer having a surface to be planarized, comprising:

a) supporting the wafer in a wafer carrier having a membrane and a retaining ring surrounding the membrane;

b) bringing the wafer surface into contact with a surface of a polishing pad;

c) providing relative motion between the wafer surface and the polishing pad;

d) adjusting the membrane to provide a selected wafer pressure between the wafer and the polishing pad; and

e) adjusting the retaining ring to provide a ring pressure between the retaining ring and the polishing pad that is between 3 and 10 times the wafer pressure to reduce defectivity on the wafer surface.

2. The method of claim 1 , further including providing a polishing solution between the wafer surface and the polishing pad to enhance planarization of the wafer surface.

3. The method of claim 1 , including repeating acts a) through e) for two or more test wafers and varying the selected wafer pressure and the ring pressure to establish the ring pressure and the wafer pressure.

4. The method of claim 3 , including repeating acts a) through d) on a product wafer using the established ring and wafer pressures.

5. A method of planarizing a surface of product wafer to reduce defectivity, comprising:

planarizing two or more test wafers, with each test wafer being subject to a selected ring pressure and a selected wafer pressure;

performing defectivity measurements on the two or more test wafers;

establishing a ring pressure and wafer pressure from the defectivity measurements associated with a reduced defectivity, the ring pressure being between 3 and 10 times the wafer pressure; and

planarizing the product wafer using the established ring and wafer pressures.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the product wafer and the two or more test wafers are the same type of wafer.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the test wafers are sheet wafers representative of the product wafers.

8. A method of determining a ring pressure and a wafer pressure for performing chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) in a manner that results in reduced wafer defectivity, comprising:

producing a set of planarized test wafers, with each test wafer planarized with a selected ring pressure and a selected wafer pressure;

performing defectivity measurements on the set of test wafers to determine which test wafer has a reduced defectivity; and

identifying the ring pressure and wafer pressure used to planarize the test wafer having the reduced defectivity, the ring pressure being between 3 and 10 times the wafer pressure.