Planarized membrane and methods for substrate processing systems
A method and a system for planarizing a membrane is disclosed. In one aspect, the method includes providing a resilient membrane and planarizing the surface of the membrane with a conditioning tool. The planarized membrane may be used in chemical mechanical planarization of a wafer. The method further includes finishing the surface of a wafer with the planarized membrane.
1 . A method for processing a resilient membrane for a substrate carrier, the method comprising:
providing the resilient membrane;
stretching the resilient membrane around a temporary membrane holder; and
planarizing a surface of the resilient membrane while the resilient membrane is stretched to form a planarized resilient membrane.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the planarized resilient membrane has a surface roughness within a predetermined range that increases sealing between the resilient membrane and a wafer.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the planarizing of the surface of the resilient membrane comprises:
providing a membrane conditioning tool; and
applying the membrane conditioning tool to the resilient membrane.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the membrane conditioning tool comprises an abrasive material configured to be applied to the resilient membrane to planarize the surface of the resilient membrane.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the abrasive material comprises sand.
6 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
planarizing the surface of the resilient membrane along with one or more additional resilient membranes simultaneously with the membrane conditioning tool in a single planarization cycle.
7 . The method of claim 3 , wherein:
the membrane conditioning tool comprises a plate, and
the planarizing of the surface of the resilient membrane comprises controlling a relative rotation velocity between the plate and the resilient membrane with respect to each other.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the relative rotation velocity is approximately 10 to 500 rotations per minute.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the temporary membrane holder comprises a support plate and a holding element.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the planarizing of the surface of the resilient membrane is performed at a pressure of approximately 0.1 to 10 psi.
11 . A method for processing a resilient membrane for a substrate carrier, the method comprising:
providing the resilient membrane;
stretching the resilient membrane around a membrane assembly comprising a support plate and a holding element; and
planarizing a surface of the resilient membrane while the resilient membrane is stretched to form a planarized resilient membrane.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the planarizing of the surface of the resilient membrane comprises:
introducing one or more chemicals to the surface of the resilient membrane.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the one or more chemicals comprise a chemical slurry mixture including abrasive and corrosive particles.