System and method for monitoring chemical mechanical polishing

1. A system for chemical mechanical polishing of a wafer; the system comprising:

a process chamber;

a rotatable platen disposed substantially horizontally inside of the process chamber;

a polishing pad disposed on the rotatable platen;

a wafer carrier disposed on the rotatable platen, the wafer carrier configured to retain the wafer;

a slurry supply port configured to supply slurry to the rotatable platen;

a process controller configured to control the operation of the system;

a set of microphones including at least one infrasonic microphone, at least one acoustic microphone, and at least one ultrasonic microphone disposed in or around the process chamber; the set of microphones arranged to detect sound in the process chamber during the operation of the system and to transmit an electrical signal corresponding to the detected sound; and

a signal processor configured to receive the electrical signal from the set of microphones, to process the electrical signal to enable detection of an event during the operation of the system, and in response to detecting the event, transmit a feedback signal to the process controller,

wherein band-widths and central frequencies of the set of microphones are configured to maximize a strength of sound signals received or detected at the set of microphones,

wherein the process controller is further configured to receive the feedback signal and initiate an action based on the received feedback signal, calculate a distance of a source of the sound from each of the set of microphones, and calculate a location of the source of the sound,

wherein the signal processor is further configured to recognize patterns in the detected sound as corresponding to predetermined events and matching patterns of sounds with known events based on event models or using previously learned correspondence between patterns of sounds and events,

a frequency range of sounds detected by each microphone of the set of microphones is different, and

wherein the at least one infrasonic microphone is disposed on or adjacent to a top wall of the process chamber, the at least one acoustic microphone is disposed on or adjacent to sidewalls of the process chamber, and the at least one ultrasonic microphone includes a first ultrasonic microphone disposed on a bottom-side of the rotatable platen and a second ultrasonic microphone disposed on a top-side of the wafer carrier.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the action comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of changing a rotational velocity of the rotatable platen, changing a flow rate and composition of the slurry being supplied through the slurry port, and changing a pressure at which the wafer contacts the polishing pad.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the detected event is at least one selected from the group consisting of an end point of a process, a scratch on wafer surface, degradation of the polishing pad, abnormal leveling of the polishing pad or the wafer, presence of an abrasive particle on the polishing pad or wafer surface, and change in material at wafer surface.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the set of microphones is configured to transmit the electrical signal using a wireless communication protocol.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the signal processor is further configured to perform at least one selected from the group consisting of filtering the electrical signal to remove noise or ambient sound from the detected sound, detecting a position of a source of the detected sound, and processing the electrical signal in a time domain and in a frequency domain.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one infrasonic microphone is designed to detect sounds of frequencies from about 0.01 Hz to about 20 Hz, the at least one acoustic microphone is designed to detect sounds of frequencies from about 20 Hz to about 20 kHz, and the at least one ultrasonic microphone is designed to detect sounds from about 20 kHz to about 200 MHz.

7. A method of operating an apparatus for chemical mechanical polishing, the method comprising:

placing a set of microphones including at least three microphones in or around a process chamber, wherein a rotatable platen is disposed substantially horizontally inside the process chamber, a wafer carrier is disposed on the rotatable platen and configured to retain a wafer for polishing, wherein the set of microphones including at least one infrasonic microphone, at least one acoustic microphone, and at least one ultrasonic microphone, and wherein the at least one infrasonic microphone is disposed on or adjacent to a top wall of the process chamber, the at least one acoustic microphone is disposed on or adjacent to sidewalls of the process chamber, and the at least one ultrasonic microphone includes a first ultrasonic microphone disposed on a bottom-side of the rotatable platen and a second ultrasonic microphone disposed on a top-side of the wafer carrier;

adjusting band-widths and central frequencies of the at least three microphones so that a strength of sound signals received or detected at the microphones are maximized;

detecting sound in the process chamber of the apparatus during an operation of the apparatus using the at least three microphones and obtaining electrical signals corresponding to the detected sounds from the at least three microphones, the electrical signals being unsynchronized with each other;

combining unsynchronized electrical signals with a timing signal received from a signal processor;

transmitting a combined signal including the timing signal and the unsynchronized electrical signals to the signal processor using the set of microphones;

processing, at the signal processor, the electrical signal received from the set of microphones to enable detection of an event during the operation of the apparatus, and in response to detecting the event, transmitting a feedback signal corresponding to the detected event to a process controller, wherein the process controller calculates a distance of a source of the sound from each of the at least three microphones, and a location of the source of the sound; and

initiating, by the process controller, an action based on a received feedback signal, wherein the action comprises changing one or more parameters of the chemical mechanical polishing, wherein processing the electrical signal comprises

recognizing patterns in the detected sound as corresponding to predetermined events during the operation of the apparatus and matching patterns of sounds with known events based on event models or using previously learned correspondence between patterns of sounds and events.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the parameters comprise at least one selected from the group consisting of a rotational velocity of the rotatable platen, a flow rate and composition of a slurry being supplied on a polishing pad disposed on the rotatable platen, and a pressure at which a wafer contacts the polishing pad.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the detected event is at least one selected from the group consisting of an end point of the chemical mechanical polishing, a scratch on a wafer surface, degradation of a polishing pad, abnormal leveling of the polishing pad or the wafer, presence of an abrasive particle on the polishing pad or the wafer surface, and change in material at the wafer surface.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein processing the electrical signal comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of filtering the electrical signal to remove noise or ambient sound from the detected sound, detecting a position of a source of the detected sound, and processing the electrical signal in a time domain or in a frequency domain or both.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the set of microphones is configured to transmit the electrical signal using a wireless communication protocol.

12. The method of claim 7 , wherein electrical signals output from the at least, three microphones are indicative of frequency range of sounds detected by the at least three microphones and a frequency range of sounds detected by each microphone of the at least three microphones is different.

13. The method of claim 7 , wherein the set of microphones is configured to detect sounds with a frequency in the range of about 0.01 Hz to about 200 MHz.

14. An apparatus for monitoring a chemical mechanical polishing process, the apparatus comprising:

a process controller configured to control parameters of the process;

a set of microphones including at least three microphones disposed in or around a process chamber of an apparatus for chemical mechanical polishing, the set of microphones arranged to detect sound in the process chamber during the process and transmit an electrical signal corresponding to the detected sound,

wherein a rotatable platen is disposed inside the process chamber, a wafer carrier is disposed on the rotatable platen and configured to retain a wafer for polishing, wherein the set of microphones including at least one infrasonic microphone, at least one acoustic microphone, and at least one ultrasonic microphone, and wherein the at least one infrasonic microphone is disposed on or adjacent to a top wall of the process chamber, the at least one acoustic microphone is disposed on or adjacent to sidewalls of the process chamber, and the at least one ultrasonic microphone includes a first ultrasonic microphone disposed on a bottom-side of the rotatable platen and a second ultrasonic microphone disposed on a top-side of the wafer carrier, and wherein band-widths and central frequencies of the at least three microphones are configured to maximize a strength of sound signals received or detected at the at least three microphones; and

a signal processor configured to receive the electrical signal from the set of microphones, process the electrical signal to enable detection of an event during an operation of the apparatus, and in response to detecting the event, transmit a feedback signal corresponding to the detected event to the process controller,

wherein the process controller is further configured to receive the feedback signal and initiate a change in one or more parameters of the process based on the received feedback signal, calculate a distance of a source of the sound from each of the at least three microphones, and calculate a location of the source of the sound,

the at least three microphones are configured to output electrical signals that are synchronized with each other based on a synchronization signal output from the process controller, and each microphone of the at least three microphones is configured to detect sound in response to receiving the synchronization signal, and

a frequency range of sounds detected by each microphone of the at least three microphones is different,

wherein the signal processor is further configured to recognize patterns in the detected sound as corresponding to predetermined events during the operation of the apparatus and match the patterns of sounds with known events based on event models or using previously learned correspondence between patterns of sounds and events.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the one or more parameters of the process comprise at least one selected from the group consisting of a rotational velocity of the rotatable platen, a flow rate and composition of a slurry being supplied on a polishing pad disposed on the rotatable platen, and a pressure at which a wafer contacts the polishing pad.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the set of microphones comprises microphones configured to detect sounds with a frequency in the range of about 0.01 Hz to about 200 MHz.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the at least one infrasonic microphone is designed to detect sounds of frequencies from about 0.01 Hz to about 20 Hz, the at least one acoustic microphone is designed to detect sounds of frequencies from about 20 Hz to about 20 kHz, and the at least one ultrasonic microphone is designed to detect sounds from about 20 kHz to about 200 MHz.

18. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the set of microphones is configured to transmit the electrical signal using a wireless communication protocol.

19. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the signal processor is further configured to perform at least one selected from the group consisting of filtering the electrical signal to remove noise or ambient sound from the detected sound, detecting a position of a source of the detected sound, processing the electrical signal in time domain or in frequency domain.

20. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the detected event is at least one selected from the group consisting of an end point of the chemical mechanical polishing, a scratch on a wafer surface, degradation of a polishing pad, abnormal leveling of the polishing pad or the water, presence of an abrasive particle on the polishing pad or the wafer surface, and change in material at the wafer surface.