Phoenix® Edge Pad Conditioners

As electronic devices become ever smaller and integrated circuits become increasingly complex, more attention is being focused on chemical-mechanical-planarization (CMP). One seemingly small and largely ignored element of the CMP process, the pad conditioner is coming into the spotlight. New materials are being developed as chips become more complex and fabricators find that older conditioning materials are unable to produce the required quality. It is now commonly understood tThere is a symbiotic relationship between the pad conditioner and the pad. Its design influences that texture of the pad, which in turn affects yield and productivity in the chip fabrication process.

MTC Diamonex - Improving CMP Conditioning with New Conditioner Technology and Designs

New Conditioner design and technology developed by Diamonex are step change in improving the CMP conditioning step and improving yield and productivity in the chip fabrication process.

MTC Diamonex novel enhancement to the conditioners material is the development of Phoenix edge Pad Conditioners. Contact is made by the edges of precisely-machined elevated surfaces on a proprietary ceramic substrate with full surface and features coated with the CVD diamond film.

This diamond surface has the advantage of multiple cutting facets compared with only one or two cutting edges of a single diamond crystal particle. The edges of the novel substrate can be designed in a variety of patterns, including spirals or concentric circles, with specifically-engineered dimensions, produce pad textures that optimize CMP performance for each application.

       CVD Diamond surface cutting edge

Characteristics

• A smoother pad texture with fewer large asperities
• Asperity shapes with a sharpness in the mid range of point cutting (traditional gritted conditioners); however, for point-cutting the number of sharp asperities decreases with diamond size
• Smaller, elongated curled contact area shapes as opposed to larger round contact regions for point-cutting
• Less contact area, fewer number of contact points, and fewer large contact regions
• More of the pad surface is consistently conditioned then with conventional conditioners

Performance

Test results in a Copper study on blanket wafers
• Approximately 40% increase in copper removal rate over point cutting
• Vastly reduced pad cut rate over point cutting
• Improved planarity
• Lower Pad RA

Summary

The edge conditioners produce a lower pad cut rate (extends the life of the pad), a smoother surface (less defects), improved material removal rate from the wafer and improved planarity.  The Phoenix edge conditioner is an enabling technology for softer pads.