naa a22 4500 510800424 CHVBK 20180411083352.0 cr unu---uuuuu 180411e20130101xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s11664-012-2250-z doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s11664-012-2250-z Impact of Pad Conditioning on Thickness Profile Control in Chemical Mechanical Planarization [Elektronische Daten] [S. Kincal, G.B. Basim] Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) has been proven to be the best method to achieve within-wafer and within-die uniformity for multilevel metallization. Decreasing device dimensions and increasing wafer sizes continuously demand better planarization, which necessitates better understanding of all the variables of the CMP process. A recently highlighted critical factor, pad conditioning, affects the pad surface profile and consequently the wafer profile; in addition, it reduces defects by refreshing the pad surface during polishing. This work demonstrates the changes in the postpolish wafer profile as a function of pad wear. It also introduces a wafer material removal rate profile model based on the locally relevant Preston equation by estimating the pad thickness profile as a function of polishing time. The result is a dynamic predictor of how the wafer removal rate profile shifts as the pad ages. The model helps fine-tune the pad conditioner operating characteristics without the requirement for costly and lengthy experiments. The accuracy of the model is demonstrated by experiments as well as data from a real production line. Both experimental data and simulations indicate that the smaller conditioning disk size and extended conditioning sweep range help improve the post-CMP wafer planarization. However, the defectivity tends to increase when the conditioning disk sweeps out of the pad radius; hence, the pad conditioning needs to be designed by considering the specific requirements of the CMP process conducted. The presented model predicts the process outcomes without requiring detailed experimentation. TMS, 2012 Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) nationallicence conditioning nationallicence pad profile modeling nationallicence defectivity nationallicence Kincal S. Department of Chemical Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey aut Basim G.B. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ozyegin University, 34662, Istanbul, Turkey aut Journal of Electronic Materials Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 42/1(2013-01-01), 83-96 0361-5235 42:1<83 2013 42 11664 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-012-2250-z text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-012-2250-z text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Kincal S. Department of Chemical Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Basim G.B. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ozyegin University, 34662, Istanbul, Turkey aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Journal of Electronic Materials Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 42/1(2013-01-01), 83-96 0361-5235 42:1<83 2013 42 11664 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer