JP2011224699A - Method of forming tapered surface of polishing pad - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of forming a tapered surface of a polishing pad with which a circular or annular tapered surface can be formed on a polishing surface of the polishing pad in a simple manner.SOLUTION: The method includes: a grinding bite positioning step of positioning the grinding bite immediately below one of ends of a region where the tapered surface is formed on the polishing pad 26; and a tapered surface forming step of forming, on the polishing pad 26, the tapered surface 26a inclined so that the polishing pad 26 becomes thinner toward a periphery of the polishing pad 26 from the center of the polishing pad 26 by performing lowering the action of lowering by a predetermined amount while bringing the polishing pad 26 into contact with the upper end of the grinding bite on a chuck table and horizontal moving action in conjunction with the lowering action of moving the grinding bite to the other end of the region where the tapered surface is formed on the polishing pad 26 in a horizontal direction while rotating the polishing pad 26 so as to grind the polishing pad 26 mounted to the polishing head 24.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for forming a tapered surface of a polishing pad used in a polishing apparatus for polishing a wafer surface flatly.

  For example, chemical mechanical polishing, so-called CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing), is widely adopted as a polishing method capable of forming a surface having excellent flatness in a semiconductor device manufacturing process.

  CMP is performed by rotating and relatively sliding the polishing pad and the object to be polished while supplying a polishing liquid between the polishing pad and the object to be polished (for example, JP-A-3-248532). No. publication).

  In a conventional polishing apparatus, a workpiece such as a wafer fixed on the lower surface of a rotating polishing plate is brought into contact with a polishing pad affixed on a polishing surface plate, and a polishing liquid containing free abrasive grains is supplied. Polishing was performed by rotating the polishing platen and the polishing plate (see, for example, JP-A-9-85617).

  In such a conventional polishing apparatus, since the polishing of the workpiece is performed only by the pressing force pressing the polishing pad, it is difficult to control the pressing force at the time of processing, and the workpiece and the apparatus are damaged. There was a problem that.

  In addition, since polishing is performed with only a constant pressing force, it is necessary to carry out rough polishing and finish polishing on the same workpiece with dedicated apparatuses having different pressing forces, which is inefficient. was there.

  In this type of conventional polishing apparatus, a non-woven fabric is used as a polishing pad, and it is common to perform polishing while supplying a polishing liquid containing free abrasive grains. However, in a polishing liquid containing free abrasive grains, There is a problem that the draining process is difficult, and most of the abrasive grains are discarded without contributing to the polishing, and thus there is a lot of waste.

  In order to solve these problems, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-53662, a polishing pad having fixed abrasive grains is moved toward or away from a workpiece held by a chuck table so that the workpiece can be removed during polishing. A polishing apparatus for controlling the pressing force has been proposed. In a polishing apparatus using a fixed abrasive pad, polishing is performed while supplying an alkaline aqueous solution as a polishing liquid.

  Among such polishing apparatuses, in an apparatus provided with a polishing pad of a type in which the radius of the polishing pad is smaller than the diameter of the wafer (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-153090), the polishing unit becomes small. There are advantages that the size can be reduced and that a polishing unit can be incorporated in the grinding apparatus.

JP-A-3-248532 JP-A-9-85617 JP 2003-53662 A JP 2005-153090 A

  The polishing pad used in CMP is corrected to be almost flat by seasoning or the like, but it is basically thought that the polishing pad needs to maintain a flat and uniform pressure in order to polish the wafer to a uniform thickness. It is.

  However, when it is desired to eliminate the difference in the polishing rate within the polishing pad, which is likely to occur with a relatively small diameter polishing pad, by pressing pressure of the polishing pad, or to finish an arbitrary position of the wafer to an arbitrary thickness (for example, the outer circumference) It is considered that there is a potential demand for changing the pressure at an arbitrary position of the polishing pad in order to meet such demands.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming a tapered surface of a polishing pad capable of forming a circular or annular tapered surface on the polishing surface of the polishing pad by a simple method. Is to provide.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a method for forming a tapered surface of a polishing pad in a polishing apparatus that polishes the wafer by pressing the polishing surface of the polishing pad mounted on the lower surface of the rotating polishing head against the upper surface of the wafer held on the chuck table. A polishing pad mounting step of mounting a polishing pad on the lower surface of the polishing head; a grinding bit fixing step of fixing a grinding bit that forms a tapered surface by grinding the polishing surface of the polishing pad on the chuck table; A grinding bite positioning step for positioning the grinding bite just below one end of the region where the tapered surface of the polishing pad is to be formed, and lowering the polishing pad by a predetermined amount by contacting the upper end of the grinding bite on the chuck table The taper surface of the polishing pad is to be formed in a horizontal direction while rotating the polishing pad and rotating the grinding bit while rotating the polishing pad. Performing a horizontal movement operation in conjunction with the lowering operation for moving to the other end of the region to grind the polishing pad mounted on the polishing head, and from the center side of the polishing pad to the outer periphery of the polishing pad And a tapered surface forming step of forming a tapered surface on the polishing pad so that the polishing pad becomes thinner toward the surface.

  According to the present invention, a circular or annular tapered surface can be formed on the polishing surface of the polishing pad at an arbitrary position, width, and angle. By changing the shape of the polishing pad by forming a tapered surface, the polishing head is adjusted so that an arbitrary position of the polishing pad is pressed against the wafer without adjusting the pressing pressure of the polishing head while maintaining a constant pressure. It becomes possible.

  In addition, even if the polishing pad is worn by polishing, and the taper surface area and angle change, the taper surface of the polishing pad can be reprocessed while attached to the polishing head, so the taper surface can be used easily. It can be played back in the same state as before.

It is a perspective view of a polish device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the difference in the polishing rate by the position in a polishing pad when the outer diameters of a polishing pad differ. It is a side view explaining the taper surface formation process of a polishing pad. FIG. 4A is a side view of a polishing pad having a circular tapered surface formed by the tapered surface forming method of the present invention, and FIG. 4B is a bottom view thereof. FIG. 5A is a side view of a polishing pad having an annular tapered surface formed by the method for forming a tapered surface of the present invention, and FIG. 5B is a bottom view thereof.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a polishing apparatus 2 suitable for carrying out the method for forming a tapered surface of a polishing pad according to the present invention is shown. Reference numeral 4 denotes a base of the polishing apparatus 2, and a column 6 is erected on the rear side of the base 4. A pair of guide rails (only one is shown) 8 extending in the vertical direction is fixed to the column 6.

  A polishing unit (polishing means) 10 is mounted along the pair of guide rails 8 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The polishing unit 10 is attached to a moving base 12 whose housing 20 moves in the vertical direction along a pair of guide rails 8.

  The polishing unit 10 includes a housing 20, a spindle 21 (see FIG. 3) rotatably accommodated in the housing 20, a servo motor 22 that rotationally drives the spindle 21, and a head mount 23 fixed to the tip of the spindle. The polishing head 24 includes a polishing head 24 that is detachably attached to the head mount 23, and a polishing pad 26 that is attached to the polishing head 24.

  The polishing unit 10 includes a polishing unit feed mechanism 18 including a ball screw 14 and a pulse motor 16 that move the polishing unit 10 up and down along a pair of guide rails 8. When the pulse motor 16 is pulse-driven, the ball screw 14 rotates and the moving base 12 is moved in the vertical direction.

  A chuck table mechanism 28 is disposed at an intermediate portion of the base 4, and the chuck table mechanism 28 is moved in the Y-axis direction by a chuck table moving mechanism (not shown). A bellows 30 covers the chuck table mechanism 28.

  The chuck table mechanism 28 includes a chuck table 50 that is rotationally driven. The chuck table 50 includes a frame body 52 and a suction portion 54 made of porous ceramics or the like in which the upper surface of the frame body 52 and the holding surface thereof are formed flush with each other.

  In the front portion of the base 4, a first wafer cassette 32, a second wafer cassette 34, a wafer transfer robot 36, a positioning mechanism 38 having a plurality of positioning pins 40, and a wafer carry-in mechanism (loading arm) 42 are provided. A wafer unloading mechanism (unloading arm) 44 and a spinner cleaning unit 46 are provided.

  Further, a cleaning water spray nozzle 48 for cleaning the chuck table 50 is provided at the approximate center of the base 4. The cleaning water spray nozzle 48 sprays cleaning water toward the chuck table 50 in a state where the chuck table 50 is positioned in the wafer loading / unloading area on the front side of the apparatus.

  Next, before explaining the method for forming a tapered surface of the polishing pad of the present invention, the difference in the polishing rate depending on the position in the polishing pad when the outer diameter of the polishing pad is different will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram showing how the wafer W is polished using a polishing pad 26A having a relatively small diameter, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing polishing of the wafer W using a polishing pad 26B having a relatively large diameter. A schematic diagram of the situation is shown.

  During polishing of the wafer W using the polishing pad 26A or the polishing pad 26B, the polishing pads 26A, 26B and the wafer W are rotated in the same direction, that is, in the direction of arrow A at different speeds.

  In the small-diameter polishing pad 26A shown in FIG. 2A and the large-diameter polishing pad 26B shown in FIG. 2B, the circumferential lengths L1, L2, and L3 are L1 <L2 when the rotation angle θ1 is the same. <L3. Therefore, when the small-diameter polishing pad 26A and the large-diameter polishing pad 26B are rotated at the same speed, the large-diameter polishing pad 26B has a higher polishing rate.

  In the case of the small diameter polishing pad 26A shown in FIG. 2A, the wafer W is polished while covering the rotation center C1 of the small diameter polishing pad 26A. Since there is almost no polishing action at the rotation center C1 of the polishing pad, the polishing rate is very different between the center and the outer peripheral portion of the polishing pad 26A when the chuck table 50 holding the wafer W is sucked and held at a fixed position. This makes it impossible to polish the entire surface of the wafer W uniformly.

  Therefore, when polishing the wafer W with the small-diameter polishing pad 26A, the chuck table 50 is moved in a direction parallel to the polishing surface of the polishing pad 26A (the Y-axis direction in FIG. 1), and the entire surface of the wafer W is made uniform. It is necessary to be able to polish it. Reference numerals 24A and 24B denote polishing heads.

  Next, a taper surface forming method of the present invention for forming a taper surface on the polishing surface (lower surface) of the polishing pad 26 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the method for forming a tapered surface of the polishing pad of the present invention, first, as shown in FIG. 3, the polishing pad 26 is attached (attached) to the lower surface of the polishing head 24.

  Next, the grinding tool 58 having the grinding tool 56 that forms a tapered surface on the polishing surface of the polishing pad 26 is sucked and held by the chuck table 50 of the polishing apparatus 2, and the grinding tool 56 is fixed on the chuck table 50. Then, the grinding tool 56 is positioned directly below one end of the region where the tapered surface of the polishing pad 26 is to be formed.

  For example, when it is desired to form a circular tapered surface 26a having the rotation center of the polishing head 23 as an apex as shown in FIG. 4A, the grinding tool 56 is positioned immediately below the center C1 of the polishing pad 26. Alternatively, when it is desired to form an annular tapered surface 26a ′ as shown in FIG. 5, the grinding tool 56 is positioned directly below the boundary portion 60 between the tapered surface 26a ′ and the horizontal surface 26b.

  Next, the polishing pad 26 is brought into contact with the upper end of the grinding bit 56 on the chuck table 50 to lower the predetermined amount and the grinding bit 56 is formed in a horizontal direction while the polishing pad 26 is rotated. A horizontal movement operation in conjunction with the lowering operation for moving to the other end of the region is performed, and the polishing pad 26 mounted on the polishing head 24 is ground. As a result, a tapered surface is formed on the polishing pad 26 so that the polishing pad 26 becomes thinner from the center C1 side of the polishing pad 26 toward the outer periphery of the polishing pad 26.

  That is, when it is desired to form a circular tapered surface 26a having the center C1 of the polishing pad 26 as a vertex as shown in FIG. 4, the center C1 of the polishing pad 26 is brought into contact with the upper end of the grinding bit 56 so that the polishing pad 26 is fixed to a predetermined level. A horizontal movement that interlocks with a lowering operation of lowering at a speed and a lowering operation of moving the chuck table 50 holding the grinding tool 56 while rotating the polishing pad 26 to the outer peripheral side end of the polishing pad 26 at a predetermined speed in the Y-axis direction. The polishing pad 26 mounted on the polishing head 24 is ground by performing the moving operation, and the polishing pad 26 is continuously thinned from the center C1 of the polishing pad 26 toward the outer peripheral side end of the polishing pad 26. A taper surface 26a that is inclined to the surface is formed on the polishing pad 26.

  When it is desired to form the annular taper surface 26a 'as shown in FIG. 5, the polishing pad 26 is brought into contact with the boundary 60 between the annular taper surface 26a' on which the polishing pad 26 is to be formed and the horizontal surface 26b on the upper end of the grinding tool 56. A lowering operation for moving the chuck table 50 holding the grinding bit 56 while rotating the polishing pad 26 to the outer peripheral side end portion of the polishing pad 26 at a predetermined speed in the Y axis direction. The polishing pad 26 mounted on the polishing head 24 is ground by performing an interlocking horizontal movement operation, and the polishing pad 26 moves from the outer peripheral side boundary portion 60 of the horizontal surface 26b of the polishing pad 26 toward the outer periphery of the polishing pad 26. An annular tapered surface 26 a ′ that is inclined so as to be thin is formed on the polishing pad 26.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a circular tapered surface 26a that continuously inclines from the center C1 of the polishing pad 26 toward the outer periphery, or an outer peripheral side end of the polishing pad 26 from the outer peripheral side boundary 60 of the horizontal surface 26b as shown in FIG. By forming the annular tapered surface 26a 'inclined toward the portion, the polishing rate on the outer peripheral side having a larger polishing rate compared to the center portion of the polishing pad is reduced, and the pressing pressure of the polishing head 24 is kept constant. A substantially uniform polishing rate can be achieved on the center side and the outer peripheral side of the polishing pad 26 by adjusting the pressure with which the polishing pad 26 is pressed against the wafer without adjustment.

2 Polishing apparatus 10 Polishing unit 24 Polishing head 26 Polishing pads 26a, 26a 'Tapered surface 26b Horizontal surface 50 Chuck table 56 Grinding tool 60 Boundary portion

Claims (1)

A method for forming a tapered surface of a polishing pad in a polishing apparatus for polishing a wafer by pressing a polishing surface of a polishing pad mounted on a lower surface of a rotating polishing head against an upper surface of a wafer held on a chuck table,
A polishing pad mounting step of mounting a polishing pad on the lower surface of the polishing head;
A grinding bit fixing step of fixing a grinding bit that forms a tapered surface by grinding the polishing surface of the polishing pad on the chuck table;
A grinding bite positioning step for positioning the grinding bite directly below one end of the region where the tapered surface of the polishing pad is to be formed;
The lowering operation of bringing the polishing pad into contact with the upper end of the grinding bit on the chuck table and lowering the predetermined amount, and the region where the tapered surface of the polishing pad is to be formed in the horizontal direction while rotating the polishing pad A horizontal movement operation in conjunction with the lowering movement to move to the other end of the polishing pad to grind the polishing pad mounted on the polishing head, from the center side of the polishing pad to the outer periphery of the polishing pad Forming a tapered surface on the polishing pad so that the polishing pad becomes thinner toward the polishing pad;
A method for forming a tapered surface of a polishing pad, comprising:

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