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Diamonex^® PHOENIX™ CMP Conditioner Case Study In-situ Oxide Conditioning on IPEC 472

Introduction:
Morgan Advanced Ceramics, Inc. – Diamonex Products division has developed a new line of PHOENIX CMP pad conditioners. This study was done to compare the performance of the new PHOENIX conditioners with other competitive conditioners currently on the market in an oxide process. 

Test Conditions:
The evaluation was carried out by an industry-recognized contract CMP test facility, where the test procedures were previously developed. The process used for this comparison was a silicon dioxide (“Oxide”) process specifically designed to be sensitive to CMP conditioning. An IPEC 472 CMP tool was used in the study with a down force of 7 psi, platen speed of 40 rpm, and carrier speed of 47 rpm. Cabot SS-12 slurry was used with a flow rate of 150 ml/min. The pad was a Rohm & Haas IC1000 K-groove pad with a DF200 carrier film. All conditioners were run in-situ with a down force of 4 lbs.

Each test was initiated with a new pad that was conditioned for a 15-min. break-in period, then run for 10 min. with filler wafers to establish the process. Then, three (3) wafers were run for determination of removal rate and uniformity data. 

Results:
The results are summarized in the attached figure, in which the squares are removal rate data and the triangles are non-uniformity data. The PHOENIX conditioner data are indicated as the “DX” data points on the graph.

Removal Rate. The test was designed such that an acceptable conditioner should give a removal rate of 2500 A/min or better. A lower removal rate would indicate an insufficient level of pad conditioning. The Diamonex PHOENIX CMP pad conditioner performed very well, with a consistent removal rate of 2500 A/min. – as good or better than any of the other conditioners tested. 

Non-Uniformity. In addition, the non-uniformity results achieved with the PHOENIX CMP conditioners (~4% non-uniformity) were better than any of the other conditioners tested.

Conclusion:
In terms of demonstrated removal rate and non-uniformity, the new Diamonex PHOENIX CMP conditioners performed as well or better than any of the available competitive conditioners in an Oxide CMP press on an IPEC 472 tool.