KR100999445B1 - Conditioner for chemical mechanical polishing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The conditioner of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a main housing; A cylinder part rotatably installed in the main housing; A piston part installed to reciprocate in the vertical direction and rotating together with the cylinder part; And a fluid flow member installed to rotate together with the cylinder portion between the cylinder portion and the main housing to discharge air between the cylinder portion and the main housing to the outside of the main housing while rotating together with the cylinder portion. Include.

Conditioner, cylinder part, piston part, polishing liquid, foreign matter, penetration, fluid flow member, foreign matter prevention member

Description

Conditioner for chemical mechanical polishing equipment {CONDITIONER FOR CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING APPARATUS}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a conditioner for maintaining a constant surface state of a polishing pad used in a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus.

In general, a semiconductor manufacturing process includes a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process for laminating a plurality of layers of wiring layers, which may act as dielectrics or conductors, on the wafer surface to realize high density of semiconductor devices, and mechanical polishing and chemical A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process is included to remove the step between the multiple interconnect layers on the wafer surface through reaction.

The CMP process is one of the planarization methods requiring high precision to remove the surface step generated on the wafer surface due to the increase in density, miniaturization, and wiring structure of the semiconductor device. To date, technology development on this has been actively conducted.

The CMP process is performed by a CMP apparatus, which includes a platen having a polishing pad attached to an upper surface thereof, and a polishing head to selectively attach a wafer to the lower surface thereof. The polishing head rotates the wafer attached to the lower surface of the polishing head in a state of being pressed against the polishing pad. On the other hand, the platen provided with the polishing pad rotates about a central axis different from the polishing head, and a polishing liquid is supplied between the polishing pad and the wafer. In other words, the wafer attached to the polishing head is pressed against the polishing pad by the polishing head to perform relative friction movement with the polishing pad, thereby flattening the wafer.

On the other hand, while the polishing process is in progress, the polishing pad has its surface state unsuitable for the polishing process, resulting in poor polishing ability. For this reason, a conditioning operation is performed to keep the polishing pad in a state suitable for the polishing process again. Conditioning work is performed by the conditioner.

A general conditioner rotates the disk while pressing the polishing pad to maintain a constant roughness of the polishing pad. The conditioner for this function includes a main housing, a cylinder part rotatably installed in the inside of the main housing via a bearing, and a piston part installed in the cylinder part to reciprocate in the vertical direction. A disk is attached to the lower end of the piston part. The conditioner having such a configuration selectively forms a pressure inside the cylinder portion, thereby moving the piston portion downward to press the polishing pad, and rotating the piston portion with the cylinder portion in this state, thereby rotating the disk. Friction on the surface of the

However, the conditioner is exposed to a gas generated by vaporization of the polishing liquid during the polishing process. Usually, the temperature of the polishing liquid rises to 50 to 80 ° C by friction between the wafer and the polishing pad. Therefore, the polishing liquid floats in the air in the form of vaporized gas, and the polishing liquid gas penetrates the bearing provided between the main housing and the cylinder portion or the sliding portion between the cylinder portion and the piston portion. The penetrating polishing gas is solidified to reduce the performance or life of the bearing or to hinder the reciprocating motion of the piston with respect to the cylinder part. It may be damaged and leak.

In addition, the polishing liquid solidified between the cylinder portion and the piston portion or in the bearing may be discharged to the outside in the form of particles to damage the wafer.

On the other hand, DIW (Deionized Water), which is used to perform the conditioning work or to clean the conditioner, also penetrates between the main housing and the cylinder part or the cylinder part and the piston part, reducing the life of the bearing or preventing the reciprocating movement of the piston part. Done.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described point, and the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus that can extend the life by preventing DIW or polishing liquid gas from entering the inside, and can prevent the wafer from being damaged in advance. The purpose is to provide a conditioner.

The conditioner of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a main housing; A cylinder part rotatably installed in the main housing; A piston part installed to reciprocate in the vertical direction and rotating together with the cylinder part; And a fluid flow member installed to rotate together with the cylinder portion between the cylinder portion and the main housing to discharge air between the cylinder portion and the main housing to the outside of the main housing while rotating together with the cylinder portion. Include.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the conditioner is one end of the elastic portion is installed in the cylinder portion and the other end is installed in the piston portion of the elastic material to prevent foreign matter from entering the sliding portion between the cylinder portion and the piston portion It may further include a foreign matter prevention member.

The cylinder portion is a chamber housing that is inserted into the piston portion, rotatably supported by the main housing; And a foreign matter prevention cover installed at a lower end of the chamber housing and formed to extend in an outer radial direction of the chamber housing to prevent foreign matter from penetrating between the chamber housing and the main housing.

The piston unit is a piston block reciprocally inserted into the chamber housing; And a disk holder attached to a lower surface of the piston block to be attached to the polishing pad, the disk holder being disposed at the lower end of the piston block so as to be disposed outside the cylinder, and extending from the piston block in an outer radial direction. One end is installed in the foreign matter prevention cover, the other end is installed in the disk holder.

Air flowing by the fluid flow member is discharged between the main housing and the foreign matter prevention cover.

The cylinder portion may include a first chamber extension extending outward from the chamber housing in a radial direction; And a second chamber extension extending downward from an end of the first chamber extension, wherein the main housing includes a first main extension extending in an inner radial direction, the second chamber extension, and the chamber housing; A second main extension extending upward from an end of the first main extension is formed so as to be disposed between and a bearing is interposed between the second chamber extension and the main housing. The fluid flow member is disposed between the second main extension and the chamber housing.

On the other hand, the above object is the main housing; A cylinder part rotatably installed in the main housing; A piston part installed to reciprocate in the vertical direction and rotating together with the cylinder part; And a foreign matter preventing member made of an elastic material, one end of which is installed on the cylinder part and the other end of which is installed on the piston part to prevent foreign matter from entering the sliding part between the cylinder part and the piston part. It may also be achieved by a conditioner.

According to the problem solving means as described above, it is possible to prevent foreign matters such as DIW and polishing liquid gas from penetrating the inside of the main housing by discharging the air inside the main housing to the outside of the main housing by the fluid flow member. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the phenomenon in which the foreign matter such as the polishing liquid gas penetrates the bearing between the main housing and the cylinder part and shortens the life of the conditioner or damages the wafer by the solidified polishing liquid.

In addition, by allowing the fluid flow member to rotate together with the cylinder portion, a separate drive source for driving the fluid flow member is not required, thereby simplifying the structure of the conditioner.

In addition, by preventing foreign matter such as DIW, polishing liquid or polishing liquid gas from penetrating into the sliding portion between the cylinder portion and the piston portion by the foreign matter prevention member, the life of the conditioner can be further extended and the solidified polishing liquid can be further extended. This can prevent the wafer from being damaged more completely.

On the other hand, by maximizing the path through which foreign matter is penetrated by the first and second main extensions and the first and second chamber extensions, it is possible to more completely prevent foreign matter from penetrating the bearing inside the main housing.

Hereinafter, a conditioner of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

1 to 4, the conditioner of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the main housing 10, the cylinder portion 30 rotatably installed on the main housing 10, Piston part 40 which is installed to the reciprocating movement in the vertical direction in the cylinder portion 30 and rotates together with the cylinder portion 30, and installed in the cylinder portion 30 with the cylinder portion 30 It includes a rotating fluid flow member 50, and the foreign matter prevention member 60, which is provided at both ends of each of the cylinder portion 30 and the piston portion 40.

The main housing 10 is for rotatably supporting the cylinder part 30 and the piston part 40, and between the main housing 10 and the chamber housing 31 of the cylinder part 30. The bearing 20 is interposed. On the other hand, the main housing 10 has a first main extension 11 and a second main extension for maximizing the passage of the polishing liquid gas or DIW into the bearing 20 between the chamber housing 31. The part 12 is provided.

The first main extension portion 11 extends from the main housing 10 in an inner radial direction so as to cover a lower portion of the bearing 20. The second main extension part 12 is formed to extend upward from an end of the first main extension part 11 and is disposed to face an inner side surface of the bearing 20. As described above, in order for foreign matter such as polishing liquid gas or DIW to penetrate into the bearing 20 by the first and second main extension parts 11 and 12, the lower part of the first main extension part 11 and the second The bearing 20 must be moved along the side of the extension. Therefore, since the path for the foreign matter to penetrate the bearing 20 is long, there is an effect of preventing the foreign matter from penetrating.

The cylinder part 30 is rotatably installed on the main housing 10 via the bearing 20, and serves to guide the vertical reciprocating motion of the piston part 40. More specifically, the cylinder part 30 includes a chamber housing 31, a foreign matter prevention cover 33, a first chamber extension part 34, and a second chamber extension part 35.

The piston housing 40 is inserted into the chamber housing 31, the chamber cap 36 is coupled to the upper portion of the chamber housing 31. The chamber cap 36 is for supplying or discharging fluid into or out of the chamber housing 31. The piston 40 moves downward by the pressure of the supplied fluid, and discharges the supplied fluid. The piston portion 40 is to move up. On the other hand, the upper portion of the chamber housing 31 is provided with a pulley 32 to which the rotational force of the driving motor (not shown) is transmitted.

The foreign matter prevention cover 33 is installed at the lower end of the chamber housing 31, and is formed to extend in the outer radial direction so as to be disposed under the bearing 20. The foreign matter prevention cover 33 is spaced apart by a small gap from the lower end of the main housing 10 because it must be rotated relative to the main housing 10. The foreign matter prevention cover 33 is for preventing foreign matters such as DIW or polishing liquid from directly flowing into the main housing 10. However, since a gap must be formed between the foreign matter prevention cover 33 and the main housing 10, it is impossible to prevent the foreign matter in the form of gas from flowing into the main housing 10. For this reason, the fluid flow member 50 is separately installed, which will be described later.

The first chamber extension 34 extends outward from the chamber housing 31 in a radial direction, and the second chamber extension 35 extends downward from the end of the first chamber extension 34. Is extended. In particular, the second chamber extension 35 is installed to be fixed to the inner ring of the bearing 20 and is spaced apart from the second main extension 12. This is because the second main extension 12 is fixed while the second chamber extension 35 rotates. As such, by forming the first and second chamber extensions 34 and 35, foreign matter together with the first and second main extensions 11 and 12 may be formed inside the main housing 10, that is, the bearing ( 20 can be minimized. More specifically, in order for foreign matter to reach the bearing 20, the first main extension part 11 and the second main extension part 12 are introduced between the lower end of the main housing 10 and the foreign matter prevention cover 33. After ascending, it must again descend between the second main extension 12 and the second chamber extension 35. Therefore, it is difficult for foreign matter to reach the bearing 20 directly, thereby extending the life of the conditioner and improving the reliability of the polishing process.

The piston part 40 is installed in the chamber housing 31 so as to be movable in the vertical direction and is used to press the disk 43 attached to the lower surface to the polishing pad, and rotates together with the chamber housing 31. It is coupled to the chamber housing 31 to enable. This piston portion 40 includes a piston block 41 and a disk holder 42.

The piston block 41 is inserted into the chamber housing 31 to guide the vertical reciprocating movement. The piston block 41 and the chamber housing 31 may be connected by an intermediary means such as guide grooves and guide rails formed in the vertical direction. By such a configuration, the piston block 41 can move in the vertical direction in the chamber housing 31, but can rotate about the vertical axis along with the chamber housing 31. On the other hand, the chamber housing 31 of the upper portion of the piston block 41 is formed with a chamber for generating a pressure for moving in the vertical direction of the piston block 41. In addition, an airtight ring 44 is installed in the piston block 41 to maintain airtightness between the chamber housing 31 and the piston block 41. In this embodiment, a quad ring is used as the hermetic ring 44.

The disk holder 42 is for holding the disk 43 and is coupled to the lower end of the piston block 41.

The fluid flow member 50 is to prevent foreign matter, particularly vaporized foreign matter such as a polishing liquid gas, from penetrating between the main housing 10 and the chamber housing 31, and the key, etc., in the chamber housing 31. Rotate together with the chamber housing (31). More specifically, the fluid flow member 50 is disposed in the space S between the chamber housing 31 and the second main extension 12 of the main housing 10. Therefore, as described above, the foreign matter is penetrated by maximizing the path through which the foreign matter penetrates by the first and second main extensions 11 and 12 and the first and second chamber extensions 34 and 35. In addition to minimizing this, by discharging the air inside the outside by the fluid flow member 50, the foreign matter is not introduced at all. As shown in FIG. 4, the fluid flow member 50 may be configured as an impeller or the like, and the air inside the main housing 10 may be discharged to the outside while rotating together with the chamber housing 31. Various known fluid flow members 50, such as a fan, can be used as long as the fluid can flow.

The foreign matter prevention member 60 is for preventing foreign matter from entering the sliding portion between the chamber housing 31 and the piston part 40. One end of the foreign matter prevention member 60 is installed in the disk holder 42 of the piston portion 40, and the other end thereof is installed in the foreign matter prevention cover 33 of the chamber housing 31. The foreign matter prevention member 60 should be elongated or retracted when the cylinder part 30 and the piston part 40 move relative to each other in the vertical direction. Therefore, the foreign matter prevention member 60 is formed of a stretchable material such as rubber or silicon.

More specifically, one end of the foreign matter prevention member 60 is installed to be fixed to the upper surface of the disk holder 42 by the first coupling block 61, the other end of the foreign matter prevention member 60 is the second coupling block. It is fixed to the lower surface of the foreign matter prevention cover 33 by 62. However, unlike the present embodiment, as long as the foreign matter prevention member 60 can seal the cylinder portion 30 and the piston portion 40 from the outside, their installation positions may be changed in various ways.

This foreign matter prevention member 60 can prevent the DIW, the polishing liquid or the polishing liquid gas from entering the sliding portion of the chamber housing 31 and the piston block 41 in advance. In addition to extending the life, it is possible to prevent the wafer from being damaged by the solidified polishing liquid penetrated between the chamber housing 31 and the piston block 41.

Hereinafter, a process of preventing the infiltration of foreign matter into the conditioner having the configuration as described above will be described in more detail.

Referring to FIG. 2, when the chamber housing 31 is rotated by the rotational force transmitted through the pulley 32, the fluid flow member 50 rotates together with the chamber housing 31. Of course, the piston block 41, the disk holder 42 and disk 43 and the foreign matter prevention member 60 also rotates together. When the fluid flow member 50 rotates, the pressure of the space S surrounded by the main housing 10, the chamber housing 31, and the foreign matter prevention cover 33 increases. Therefore, the air of the space S is discharged to the outside through the main housing 10 and the foreign matter prevention cover 33. This operation continues as long as the chamber housing 31 rotates. Therefore, foreign matter such as polishing liquid gas or DIW cannot be introduced into the main housing 10 at all.

On the other hand, the piston housing 40 is lowered while the chamber housing 31 is rotated, whereby the disk 43 makes a relative friction movement while pressing the polishing pad. As a result, the surface state of the polishing pad is modified. At this time, when the piston portion 40 is lowered, the foreign matter prevention member 60 is extended, and still seals between the chamber housing 31 and the piston portion 40 from the outside. Thereby, it is possible to fundamentally block foreign matter from entering between the chamber housing 31 and the piston part 40.

1 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a conditioner of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the conditioner shown in FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the conditioner shown in FIG.

4 is a perspective view schematically showing the fluid flow member shown in FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS OF THE DRAWINGS

10; Main housings 11 and 12; First and second main extension

20; Bearing 30; Cylinder

31; Chamber housing 33; Foreign material prevention cover

34, 35; First and second chamber extensions 40; Piston part

41; Piston block 42; Disc holder

50; Fluid flow member 60; Foreign substance prevention member

Claims (11)

Main housing; A cylinder part rotatably installed in the main housing; A piston part installed to reciprocate in the vertical direction and rotating together with the cylinder part; And And a fluid flow member installed to rotate together with the cylinder portion between the cylinder portion and the main housing to discharge air between the cylinder portion and the main housing to the outside of the main housing while rotating together with the cylinder portion. Conditioners for chemical mechanical polishing machines. The method of claim 1, One end is installed in the cylinder portion and the other end is provided in the piston portion further comprises a foreign matter preventing member of elastic material for preventing foreign matter from entering the sliding portion between the cylinder portion and the piston portion Conditioner for mechanical grinding machines. The method of claim 2, wherein the cylinder portion, A chamber housing inserted into the piston and rotatably supported by the main housing; And Is installed on the lower end of the chamber housing, is formed to extend in the outer radial direction of the chamber housing, including a foreign matter prevention cover for preventing foreign matter from penetrating between the chamber housing and the main housing Conditioner of the grinding machine. The method of claim 3, The piston unit, A piston block reciprocally inserted into the chamber housing; And A disk in contact with a polishing pad is attached to a lower surface of the lower surface of the piston block so as to be disposed outside the cylinder, and includes a disk holder formed to extend outwardly from the piston block; The foreign matter prevention member is a conditioner of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, characterized in that one end is installed in the foreign matter prevention cover, the other end is installed in the disk holder. The method of claim 3, Air flowing by the fluid flow member is a conditioner of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, characterized in that discharged between the main housing and the foreign matter prevention cover. The method of claim 1, The cylinder portion, A chamber housing inserted into the piston and rotatably supported by the main housing; A first chamber extension extending outward from the chamber housing in a radial direction; And A second chamber extension extending downward from an end of the first chamber extension, The main housing includes a first main extension extending in an inner radial direction and a second main extension extending upward from an end of the first main extension so as to be disposed between the second chamber extension and the chamber housing. Become, Conditioner of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, characterized in that the bearing is interposed between the second chamber extension and the main housing. The method of claim 6, And the fluid flow member is disposed between the second main extension and the chamber housing. Main housing; A cylinder part rotatably installed in the main housing; A piston part installed to reciprocate in the vertical direction and rotating together with the cylinder part; And The conditioner of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus including a foreign matter preventing member made of elastic material which is installed at one end of the cylinder and the other end is installed at the piston to prevent foreign matter from entering the sliding part between the cylinder and the piston. . The method of claim 8, wherein the cylinder portion, A chamber housing inserted into the piston and rotatably supported by the main housing; And Is installed on the lower end of the chamber housing, is formed to extend in the outer radial direction of the chamber housing, including a foreign matter prevention cover for preventing foreign matter from penetrating between the chamber housing and the main housing Conditioner of the grinding machine. 10. The method of claim 9, The piston unit, A piston block installed in the chamber housing so as to reciprocate in a vertical direction; And The disk is attached to the lower surface, is installed on the lower end of the piston block to be disposed outside the cylinder portion, and includes a disk holder formed to extend in the radially outward from the piston block, The foreign matter prevention member is a conditioner of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, characterized in that one end is installed in the foreign matter prevention cover, the other end is installed in the disk holder. The method of claim 8, The cylinder portion, A chamber housing inserted into the piston and rotatably supported by the main housing; A first chamber extension formed to extend outwardly from the chamber housing; And A second chamber extension part extending downward from an end of the first chamber extension part, The main housing includes a first main extension extending in an inner radial direction and a second main extension extending upward from an end of the first main extension so as to be disposed between the second chamber extension and the chamber housing. Become, Conditioner of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, characterized in that the bearing is interposed between the second chamber extension and the main housing.

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