Temperature control in chemical mechanical polish
View Patent ↗A method includes polishing a wafer on a polishing pad, performing conditioning on the polishing pad using a disk of a pad conditioner, and conducting a heat-exchange media into the disk. The heat-exchange media conducted into the disk has a temperature different from a temperature of the polishing pad.
1. An apparatus comprising:
a polishing pad;
a pad conditioner adjacent to the polishing pad, wherein the pad conditioner comprises a first channel and a second channel therein;
a heat-exchange supplying unit connected to the first channel; and
a control unit configured to control operations of the pad conditioner and the heat-exchange supplying unit, wherein the control unit is configured to:
in response to a first temperature of the polishing pad lower than a pre-set temperature range, turning on conduction of a heating media from the heat-exchange supplying unit into the first channel; and
in response to a second temperature of the polishing pad higher than the pre-set temperature range, turning on conduction of a cooling media from the heat-exchange supplying unit into the second channel; and
in response to a third temperature of the polishing pad in the pre-set temperature range, conducting additional heat-exchange medias other than the heating media and the cooling media into both of the first channel and the second channel, wherein the additional heat-exchange medias have temperatures substantially the same as the third temperature.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the temperatures of the additional heat-exchange medias have a difference that is equal to or smaller than 5° C. from the third temperature.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a disk in the pad conditioner, wherein a temperature of the disk is configured to be changed by the heating media and the cooling media.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the pad conditioner is configured to rotate the disk when the disk is on the polishing pad, and the pad conditioner is configured to control the heating media to flow through the first channel when the disk is rotating.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a thermometer connected to the control unit, wherein the thermometer is configured to measure surface temperatures of the polishing pad.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the temperatures of the additional heat-exchange medias are equal to the third temperature.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
a wafer holder configured to hold a wafer, with the wafer contacting the polishing pad, wherein the wafer holder comprises an additional channel therein, with the additional channel configured to have an additional heat-exchange media flowing through.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the control unit is configured to control a flow of the additional heat-exchange media in the additional channel in response to a surface temperature of the polish pad.
9. An apparatus comprising:
a polishing platen;
a polishing pad over the polishing platen;
a pad conditioner configured to condition the polishing pad, wherein the pad conditioner comprises:
a first channel therein; and
a second channel therein, wherein the first channel is separated from the second channel; and
a control unit configured to control polishing pad temperatures during polishing a wafer, and the control unit is configured to:
in a first stage in the polishing the wafer, in response to a first measured temperature of the polishing pad, supplying a heating media into the first channel;
in a second stage in the polishing the wafer, in response to a second measured temperature of the polishing pad, supplying a cooling media into the second channel, wherein the second measured temperature is equal to or lower than the first measured temperature; and
in a third stage in the polishing the wafer, in response to a third measured temperature of the polishing pad in a pre-set temperature range, conducting additional heat-exchange medias into both of the first channel and the second channel, wherein the additional heat-exchange medias have temperatures substantially the same as the third measured temperature.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising a heat-exchange supplying unit connecting to, and configured to supply two heat-exchange media to, the first channel and the second channel.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising:
a thermometer configured to measure surface temperatures of the polishing pad.
12. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the second measured temperature is equal to the first measured temperature.
13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the control unit is configured to, in response to the measured surface temperatures, moving the pad conditioner on the polishing pad away from the polishing pad.
14. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the second measured temperature is lower than the first measured temperature.
15. An apparatus comprising:
a polishing platen;
a polishing pad over the polishing platen;
a wafer holder configured to rotate a wafer against the polishing pad, with the wafer contacting the polishing pad, wherein the wafer holder comprises a channel and an additional channel therein, with the channel and the additional channel being configured to have a heat-exchange media flowing through;
a heat-exchange supplying unit connected to the channel; and
a control unit configured to control a flow status of the heat-exchange media in the channel in response to surface temperatures of the polishing pad, wherein the control unit is configured to:
in response to a first temperature of the polishing pad lower than a pre-set temperature range, turning on conduction of a heating media from the heat-exchange supplying unit into the channel; and
in response to a second temperature of the polishing pad higher than the pre-set temperature range, turning on conduction of a cooling media from the heat-exchange supplying unit into the additional channel; and
in response to a third temperature of the polishing pad in the pre-set temperature range, conducting additional heat-exchange medias other than the heating media and the cooling media into both of the channel and the additional channel, wherein the additional heat-exchange medias have temperatures substantially the same as the third temperature.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the control unit is further configured to adjust flow rates of the heating media and the cooling media.
17. The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising a thermometer connected to the control unit, wherein the thermometer is configured to measure surface temperatures of the polishing pad.
18. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the wafer holder is configured to rotate the wafer when the heat-exchange media flows in the channel.
19. The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising a pad conditioner configured to contact the polishing pad, wherein the pad conditioner comprises abrasive grits.
20. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising a wafer holder comprising an additional channel, with the additional channel being configured to have an additional heat-exchange media flowing through.