COMPOSITE CONDITIONER AND ASSOCIATED METHODS
CMP pad dressers having leveled tips and associated methods are provided. In one aspect, for example, a composite conditioner can include a base plate and a plurality of polishing units secured to a surface of the base plate by an adhesive layer, where each polishing unit includes a plurality of polishing tips secured in a binding layer. Additionally, a height difference between a first highest polishing tip and a second highest polishing tip is less than or equal to about 10 μm, a height difference between the first highest polishing tip and a tenth highest polishing tip is less than or equal to about 20 μm, and a height difference between the first highest polishing tip and a 100th highest polishing tip is less than or equal to about 40 μm. Furthermore, the first highest polishing tip protrudes from the binding layer to a height of greater than or equal to about 50 μm.
1 . A composite conditioner comprising:
a base plate; and
a plurality of polishing units secured to a surface of the base plate by an adhesive layer, each polishing unit including a plurality of polishing tips secured in a binding layer, wherein a height difference between a first highest polishing tip and a second highest polishing tip is less than or equal to about 10 μm, a height difference between the first highest polishing tip and a tenth highest polishing tip is less than or equal to about 20 μm, and a height difference between the first highest polishing tip and a 100th highest polishing tip is less than or equal to about 40 μm, and the first highest polishing tip protrudes from the binding layer to a height of greater than or equal to about 50 μm.
2 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein at least 1% of the plurality of polishing tips actively condition a CMP pad during a conditioning process.
3 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein less than 40% of the surface of the base plate is covered with polishing units.
4 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the polishing units are arranged on the base plate in an arrangement selected from the group consisting of a single ring, double rings, multi-rings, radial arrangements, and spiral arrangements.
5 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein at least one thousand polishing tips of the plurality of polishing tips condition a polishing pad during a conditioning process.
6 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of polishing tips include diamond, cubic boron nitride, or a combination thereof.
7 . The composite conditioner of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of polishing tips include diamond, and the diamond is deposition diamond, polycrystalline diamond, or a combination thereof.
8 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the crystal surface coverage of more than 50% of the top 100 height polishing tips are less than 80%.
9 . The composite conditioner of claim 8 , wherein the crystal surface coverage of more than 50% of the top 100 height polishing tips are less than 50%.
10 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein each polishing unit further includes a polishing unit substrate upon which the plurality of polishing tips are secured with the binding layer.
11 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the binding layer is selected from the group consisting of a solder layer, a plating layer, a sintering layer, and a resin layer.
12 . The composite conditioner of claim 11 , wherein each polishing unit further comprises a metal cover layer that covers the binding layer, wherein the metal cover layer includes at least one material selected from the group consisting of Ni, Cr, Pd, Co, Pt, Au, Ti, Cu, W, and alloys thereof.
13 . The composite conditioner of claim 12 , wherein each polishing unit further comprises a protective layer covering the metal cover layer, wherein the protective layer includes a material selected from the group consisting of Pd, Pt, silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, alumina, zirconia, diamond-like carbon (DLC), and combinations thereof.
14 . The composite conditioner of claim 11 , wherein binding layer is a solder layer comprising 1 wt % or more of a first material selected from the group consisting of Cr, B, P, Ti, or an alloy thereof, or 50 tw % or more of a second material selected from the group consisting of Ni, Cu, or an alloy thereof, or 1 tw % or more of the first material and 50 wt % or more of the second material.
15 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the polishing units are disc-shaped, radial-shaped, or polygon-shaped.
16 . The composite conditioner of claim 15 , wherein the polishing units are disc-shaped having a diameter of from about 5 mm to about 30 mm.
17 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the base plate is disc-shaped having a diameter of from about 80 mm to about 120 mm.
18 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the polishing tips have a particle size of from about 100 μm to about 500 μm.
19 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the adhesive layer is an organic adhesive.
20 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the polishing tips are arranged in a predetermined pattern on the polishing unit substrate.
21 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the polishing units are spaced no closer than about 0.1 mm.
22 . The composite conditioner of claim 21 , wherein the polishing units are spaced at least 0.5 mm apart.
23 . The composite conditioner of claim 1 , wherein the adhesive layer between the base plate and the polishing units has a thickness of less than or equal to about 0.6 mm.
24 . A method of making a composite conditioner, comprising:
disposing a second mold on a first mold, wherein the second mold includes a plurality of holes;
placing a polishing unit in each of the plurality of holes of the second mold, each polishing unit including a plurality of polishing tips secured in a binding layer;
applying an adhesive layer over the second mold to secure the polishing units; and
removing the first mold and the second mold to form a composite conditioner wherein a height difference between a first highest polishing tip and a second highest polishing tip is less than or equal to about 10 μm, a height difference between the first highest polishing tip and a tenth highest polishing tip is less than or equal to about 20 μm, and a height difference between the first highest polishing tip and a 100th highest polishing tip is less than or equal to about 40 μm and the first highest polishing tip protrudes from the binding layer to a height of greater than or equal to about 50 μm.
25 . The method of claim 24 , wherein placing the polishing unit in the plurality of holes of the second mold further comprises orienting the polishing units such that the polishing tips face the first mold.
26 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the polishing tips contact the first mold such that the polishing unit are leveled across the first mold.
27 . The method of claim 26 , wherein the holes of the second mold are arranged around an outer periphery of the second mold.
28 . A process of chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP), including the following steps:
polishing a wafer against a rotating polishing pad; and
applying the conditioner of claim 1 against the polishing pad to remove debris and condition the pad.
29 . The process of claim 28 , wherein the diameter of the wafer is 200 mm, 300 mm, or 450 mm.
30 . The process of claim 28 , wherein a surface of the wafer has an IC critical dimension of less than or equal to 45 nm.
31 . The process of claim 30 , wherein a surface of the wafer has an IC critical dimension of less than or equal to 28 nm.
32 . The process of claim 28 , wherein the surface of the wafer has an IC critical dimension of less than or equal to 22 nm.