KR102652046B1 - Conditioner of chemical mechanical polishing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a conditioner for a chemical-mechanical polishing device. The conditioner for a chemical-mechanical polishing device includes a rotating part, a pressing part provided on an upper part of the rotating part, and a pressing part that selectively applies an axial pressing force to the rotating part, and the pressing part and the rotating part. It is provided in between and includes a measuring part that measures the pressing force while transmitting the pressing force from the pressing part to the rotating part, and a conditioning disk that is coupled to the lower part of the rotating part and reforms the polishing pad while rotating by the rotating part while being pressed by the pressing force. do.

Description

Conditioner of chemical mechanical polishing apparatus {CONDITIONER OF CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a conditioner for a chemical mechanical polishing device, and more specifically, to a conditioner for a chemical mechanical polishing device that can improve the conditioning accuracy and stability of a polishing pad.

In general, the Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) process is known as a standard process for polishing the surface of a wafer by relative rotation between a wafer for manufacturing a semiconductor equipped with a polishing layer and a polishing plate.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a conventional chemical mechanical polishing device, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a conditioner of a conventional chemical mechanical polishing device. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional chemical mechanical polishing device 1 includes a polishing plate 10 with a polishing pad 11 attached to the upper surface, a wafer W to be polished, and a polishing pad ( The polishing head 20 rotates while contacting the upper surface of the polishing pad 11, and finely cuts the surface of the polishing pad 11 while pressing it with a predetermined pressing force to condition the micropores formed on the surface of the polishing pad 11 to appear on the surface. It consists of a conditioner 300 that does.

The polishing plate 10 is attached with a polishing pad 11 on which the wafer W is polished, and rotates as the rotation shaft 12 is driven to rotate.

The polishing head 20 includes a carrier head (not shown) located on the upper surface of the polishing pad 11 of the polishing plate 10 to hold the wafer W, and a reciprocating motion of a certain amplitude while rotating the carrier head. It consists of a grinding arm (not shown).

The conditioner 30 finely cuts the surface of the polishing pad 11 to prevent the numerous foamed pores that serve to contain the slurry containing the abrasive and chemicals on the surface of the polishing pad 11 from being clogged. ) so that the slurry filled in the foaming pores is smoothly supplied to the wafer (W) held by the carrier head (21).

The conditioner 30 includes a rotating shaft 32, a disk holder 34 movable in the vertical direction with respect to the rotating shaft 320, and a conditioning disk 36 disposed on the bottom of the disk holder 34. and is configured to pivot and move with respect to the polishing pad 11 along the pivot path.

The rotation shaft 320 is rotatably mounted on a housing 33 mounted on a conditioner arm that rotates in a predetermined angle range.

More specifically, the rotation shaft 32 is a drive shaft part 32a that is rotationally driven in place by a drive motor, a transmission shaft that is rotationally driven in engagement with the drive shaft part 32a and moves relative to the drive shaft part 32a in the vertical direction. It includes a part 32c, and a hollow outer spindle part 32b disposed around the drive shaft part 32a and the transmission shaft part 32c while accommodating the drive shaft part 32a in the hollow portion.

The disk holder 34 is provided to be movable in the up and down direction with respect to the rotation axis 32, so that it rotates together with the rotation axis 32 and can move in the up and down direction with respect to the rotation axis 32, and the disk holder 34 A conditioning disk 36 for reforming the polishing pad 11 attached to the polishing plate 10 is coupled to the lower part of the.

A pressure chamber 31 is provided between the rotating shaft 32 and the disk holder 34, and the pressure regulator 31a connected to the pressure chamber 31 adjusts the pneumatic pressure reaching the rotor pressure chamber 31, The disk holder 34 can move in the vertical direction with respect to the rotation axis 32, and the conditioning disk 36 presses the polishing pad 11 in response to the upward and downward movement of the disk holder 34 with respect to the rotation axis 32. The pressing force may vary.

Meanwhile, in order to uniformly condition the polishing pad 11 as a whole, the pressing force with which the conditioning disk 36 presses the polishing pad 11 must be accurately controlled during the conditioning process for the polishing pad 11. do.

However, in the past, it is difficult to accurately measure the pressing force with which the conditioning disk 36 presses the polishing pad 11 while the conditioning process for the polishing pad 11 is being performed, and it is difficult to accurately measure the pressure applied by the conditioning disk 36 to the polishing pad 11, and the pressure varies depending on the surface height deviation of the polishing pad 11. Since the conditioning disk 36 cannot accurately control the pressing force pressing the polishing pad 11, the conditioning stability and efficiency of the polishing pad 11 are reduced, and it is difficult to condition the polishing pad 11 uniformly as a whole. there is.

Accordingly, various studies have been conducted recently to resolve the uneven wear of the polishing pad and improve conditioning stability and efficiency, but this is still insufficient and development is required.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a conditioner for a chemical mechanical polishing device that can improve the conditioning accuracy and stability of a polishing pad.

In particular, the purpose of the present invention is to enable the conditioning disk to accurately measure and control the pressing force that presses the polishing pad.

Additionally, the present invention aims to simplify the structure and facilitate conditioning control.

Additionally, the purpose of the present invention is to improve the conditioning efficiency of a polishing pad and shorten the time required for conditioning.

Additionally, the purpose of the present invention is to improve the polishing quality of the wafer by maintaining a constant surface height of the polishing pad.

The present invention for achieving the purposes of the present invention described above includes a rotating part, a pressing part provided on an upper part of the rotating part and selectively applying an axial pressing force to the rotating part, and a pressing part provided between the pressing part and the rotating part, and the pressing part A conditioner for a chemical mechanical polishing device including a measuring unit that measures the pressing force while transmitting the pressing force to the rotating unit, and a conditioning disk that is coupled to the lower part of the rotating unit and modifies the polishing pad while being rotated by the rotating unit in a state pressurized by the pressing force. provides.

As described above, according to the present invention, the advantageous effect of improving the conditioning accuracy and stability of the polishing pad can be obtained.

In particular, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the advantageous effect of accurately measuring and controlling the pressing force with which the conditioning disk presses the polishing pad during the conditioning process.

In addition, according to the present invention, the advantageous effect of simplifying the structure and facilitating conditioning control can be obtained.

In addition, according to the present invention, the advantageous effect of improving the conditioning efficiency of the polishing pad and shortening the time required for conditioning can be obtained.

In addition, according to the present invention, the advantageous effect of improving the polishing quality of the wafer can be obtained by maintaining the surface height of the polishing pad constant.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a typical conventional chemical mechanical polishing device;
Figure 2 is a diagram showing the conditioner of Figure 1;
3 and 4 are views for explaining a chemical mechanical polishing device to which a conditioner according to the present invention is applied;
Figure 5 is a perspective view for explaining the conditioner according to the present invention;
Figure 6 is a cutaway perspective view for explaining the conditioner according to the present invention;
7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the conditioner according to the present invention;
Figure 8 is an enlarged view of portion 'A' in Figure 7;
Figure 9 is an enlarged view of portion 'B' in Figure 7;
Figure 10 is a diagram for explaining a conditioner according to the present invention in which the measuring part is moved upward.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited or limited by the embodiments. For reference, in this description, the same numbers refer to substantially the same elements, and under these rules, the description can be made by citing the content shown in other drawings, and content that is judged to be obvious to those skilled in the art or that is repeated can be omitted.

Figures 3 and 4 are views for explaining a chemical mechanical polishing device to which the conditioner according to the present invention is applied, Figure 5 is a perspective view for explaining the conditioner according to the present invention, and Figure 6 is a view for explaining the conditioner according to the present invention. This is a cut perspective view for. In addition, Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the conditioner according to the present invention, Figure 8 is an enlarged view of part 'A' in Figure 7, and Figure 9 is an enlarged view of part 'B' in Figure 7. And, Figures 10 is a diagram for explaining a conditioner according to the present invention in which the measuring part is moved upward.

3 to 10, the conditioner 300 of the chemical mechanical polishing device according to the present invention includes a pressing unit 310 that selectively applies an axial pressing force to the rotating unit 350; A measuring unit 330 is provided between the rotating unit 350 and measures the pressing force while transmitting the pressing force from the pressing unit 310 to the rotating unit 350, and is coupled to the lower part of the rotating unit 350 and pressurizes by the pressing force. It includes a conditioning disk 370 that modifies the polishing pad 110 while being rotated by the rotating unit 350 in a conditioned state.

This is to improve the conditioning stability of the polishing pad 110 and to accurately control the pressing force with which the conditioning disk 370 presses the polishing pad 110.

In other words, while conditioning the polishing pad is being performed, it is difficult to accurately measure the pressure with which the conditioning disk presses the polishing pad, and it is difficult to accurately control the pressure with which the conditioning disk presses the polishing pad according to the surface height deviation of the polishing pad. Therefore, the conditioning stability and efficiency of the polishing pad are reduced, and it is difficult to uniformly condition the polishing pad as a whole.

Additionally, after moving the conditioner to the outside of the polishing pad, it is also possible to measure the pressing force with which the conditioning disk presses the polishing pad using a separate jig. However, when the conditioner moves to the outside of the polishing pad, the conditioning process of the polishing pad is stopped, so there is a problem that the time required for the conditioning process of the polishing pad increases, and as the conditioner's movement path becomes longer, the equipment becomes more complicated. There is.

However, the present invention provides a measuring unit 330 between the pressing unit 310 and the rotating unit 350, and the measuring unit 330 transmits the pressing force by the pressing unit 310 to the rotating unit 350 and By measuring , the advantageous effect of accurately measuring and controlling the pressing force with which the conditioning disk 370 presses the polishing pad 110 during the conditioning process can be obtained.

Moreover, the present invention can accurately measure and control the pressing force with which the conditioning disk 370 presses the polishing pad 110 without moving the conditioner 300 to a separate jig disposed in the outer area of the polishing pad 110. Therefore, the advantageous effect of improving the conditioning efficiency of the polishing pad 110 and shortening the time required for conditioning can be obtained.

For reference, a polishing pad 110 for polishing the substrate W is disposed on the upper surface of the polishing plate 100, and slurry is supplied from a slurry supply unit (see 130 in FIG. 4) to the upper surface of the polishing pad 110. A chemical mechanical polishing process can be performed by pressing the substrate onto the upper surface of the polishing pad 110 by the carrier head 200, and the conditioner 300 is provided to modify the surface of the polishing pad 110.

That is, the conditioner 300 finely cuts the surface of the polishing pad 110 to prevent the numerous foam pores that serve to contain the slurry mixed with the abrasive and chemicals on the surface of the polishing pad 110 from being clogged, thereby forming the polishing pad. This allows the slurry filled in the foaming pores of (110) to be smoothly supplied to the substrate held by the carrier head (200).

The pressing unit 310 is provided on the upper part of the rotating unit 350 and is provided to selectively apply axial pressing force (downward force) to the rotating unit 350.

As the pressing unit 310, various pressing force application means capable of applying pressing force to the rotating unit 350 may be used, and the present invention is not limited or limited by the type and structure of the pressing unit 310.

As an example, the pressurizing unit 310 is mounted on the cylinder body 312 in which the pressure chamber 313 is formed and is movable in the vertical direction according to pressure changes in the pressure chamber 313 and is measured. It includes a piston member 316 coupled to the unit 330.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 8, the pressure chamber 313 includes a first chamber 313a formed in the lower part of the piston member 316, and a second chamber 313b formed in the upper part of the piston member 316. ), and the piston member 316 can be moved in the vertical direction by controlling the pressure of one or more of the first chamber 313a and the second chamber 313b.

Preferably, a fixed pressure (P1) in a uniform range is applied to the first pressure chamber 313, and a variable pressure (P2) that selectively changes is applied to the second pressure chamber 313. For this purpose, a first pressure forming unit 314a that applies a fixed pressure (P1) in a uniform range is connected to the first pressure chamber 313, and a variable pressure that is selectively changed to the second pressure chamber 313 ( The second pressure forming part 314b that applies P2) is connected.

For example, when the fixed pressure (P1) is maintained constant in the first pressure chamber (313) and the variable pressure (P2) higher than the fixed pressure (P1) is applied to the second pressure chamber (313), the variable pressure The piston member 316 moves downward by the pressure difference between (P2) and the fixed pressure (P1) and pressurizes the rotating part 350 (see FIG. 9). In contrast, the fixed pressure is applied to the first pressure chamber 313. In a state where (P1) is maintained constant, when the variable pressure (P2) lower than the fixed pressure (P1) is applied to the second pressure chamber 313, the pressure difference between the variable pressure (P2) and the fixed pressure (P1) is applied to the second pressure chamber (313). The piston member 316 moves upward (see Figure 10).

In this way, the fixed pressure P1 is maintained constant in the first pressure chamber 313, and the piston member 316 moves in the vertical direction according to the pressure change of the variable pressure P2 applied to the second pressure chamber 313. By moving to , the advantageous effect of controlling the pressing force by the pressing unit 310 more accurately and improving the pressing force control resolution of the pressing unit 310 can be obtained. In particular, since the difference between the variable pressure and the fixed pressure can be formed in a unit smaller than the minimum pressure control unit of the pressure forming unit (e.g., pump), there is an advantageous effect of controlling the movement of the piston member 316 more precisely. You can get it.

Moreover, the fixed pressure (P1) is maintained constant in the first pressure chamber (313), and the piston member (316) moves in the vertical direction according to the pressure change of the variable pressure (P2) applied to the second pressure chamber (313). By causing it to move, the pressurizing unit 310 (including components fixed to the pressurizing unit) in a state in which no fluctuating pressure is applied to the second pressure chamber 313 (for example, the fluctuating pressure is '0') It is possible to obtain the advantageous effect of preventing the pressing force caused by the load of ) from acting on the rotating part 350.

For reference, in the embodiment of the present invention, the pressure chamber 313 of the pressing part 310 is described as an example consisting of a plurality of chambers, but according to another embodiment of the present invention, the pressure chamber 313 of the pressing part 310 is configured as a single chamber. It is also possible to consist of only

Referring to Figures 6 and 7, the rotating part 350 is rotatably disposed inside the conditioner housing 302 and is located at the lower part of the pressing part 310 to be selectively pressed by the pressing part 310. do.

At this time, the conditioner housing 302 is mounted on the swing arm 304 that swings and rotates (swivels) in a predetermined angle range based on the swing rotation axis 304a.

The rotating part 350 may be provided in various rotatable structures on the conditioner 300 housing. As an example, the rotating part 350 includes a spline shaft 352 coupled to the conditioning disk 370 and a ring-shaped bearing member that is coupled to surround the circumference of the spline shaft 352 and supports the first coupler 340. Includes (354).

Here, the fact that the spline shaft 352 and the conditioning disk 370 are coupled is defined as the spline shaft 352 and the conditioning disk 370 being rotatably coupled as one piece.

As the spline shaft 352, a normal spline can be used, and the present invention is not limited or limited by the type of the spline shaft 352. For example, a ball spline may be used as the spline shaft 352.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 , the rotating part 350 is configured to rotate inside the conditioner 300 housing by a driving source 392.

Preferably, the drive source 392 (e.g., a motor) that generates a driving force to rotate the rotary unit 350 is mounted on the swing arm 304 to be spaced apart from the conditioner housing 302, and the drive source 392 The driving force is transmitted to the rotating unit 350 by the power transmission unit 394.

The power transmission unit 394 may be formed in various structures capable of transmitting the driving force of the drive source 392 to the rotation unit 350. As an example, the power transmission unit 394 includes a first gear 394a that rotates by the drive source 392, and a second gear 394b that is coupled to the rotation unit 350 and engages and rotates with the first gear 394a. Includes. At this time, normal bevel gears may be used as the first gear 394a and the second gear 394b. In some cases, it is also possible to configure the power transmission unit using other gears such as pinion gears.

The connection structure between the rotating part 350 and the driving source 392 can be changed in various ways depending on required conditions and design specifications. As an example, the rotating part 350 is configured to rotate integrally with the rotating block 356 rotatably coupled to the inside of the conditioner 300 housing, and the second gear 394b is coupled to the rotating block 356. As the rotation block 356 rotates by the driving source 392, the rotation unit 350 may rotate together.

Additionally, a reducer (for example, a reducer with a reduction ratio of 1:5) may be provided between the drive source 392 and the power transmission unit 394 to reduce the driving force of the drive source 392.

In this way, by mounting the driving source 392 for rotating the rotating part 350 on the swing arm 304 to be spaced apart from the conditioner housing 302, the conditioning head part (located at the end of the swing arm 304, pressurized) The advantageous effect of minimizing sagging of the portion (including the portion 310 and the conditioning disk 370) and increasing the heat dissipation performance of the drive source 392 can be obtained.

That is, conventionally, the drive source 392 that rotates the rotating part 350 is mounted on the conditioning head part located at the end of the swing arm 304, so the load on the drive source 392 causes the end of the swing arm 304 to be moved. There is a problem that sagging occurs, and if the conditioning process is performed while the swing arm 304 is sagging, there is a problem that the polishing pad 110 is reformed unevenly. Moreover, in the past, as the pressurizing unit 310 and the driving source 392 are all densely installed in the narrow space of the conditioning head, there is a problem in that the heat dissipation performance of the driving source 392 is deteriorated.

However, in the present invention, the drive source 392 that rotates the rotating part 350 is mounted on the swing arm 304 to be spaced apart from the conditioner housing 302, so that the swing arm 304 is affected by the load on the drive source 392. The advantageous effect of preventing sagging and improving the conditioning stability of the polishing pad 110 can be obtained. In addition, by separating the drive source 392 from the conditioning head unit having a narrow space, the heat dissipation performance of the drive source 392 can be improved, and the beneficial effects of increasing design freedom and space utilization of the conditioning head unit can be obtained. there is.

Referring to FIG. 6, the measuring unit 330 is provided between the pressing unit 310 and the rotating unit 350, and is provided to measure the pressing force while transmitting the pressing force by the pressing unit 310 to the rotating unit 350. .

More specifically, it selectively moves in the up and down direction by the pressing part 310 and contacts or is spaced apart from the upper end of the rotating part 350.

Conventionally, while conditioning of the polishing pad 110 is being performed, it is difficult to accurately measure the pressing force with which the conditioning disk 370 presses the polishing pad 110, and the conditioning disk 370 is affected by the surface height deviation of the polishing pad 110. ) cannot accurately control the pressing force that presses the polishing pad 110, the conditioning stability and efficiency of the polishing pad 110 are reduced, and it is difficult to uniformly condition the polishing pad 110 as a whole.

However, the present invention provides a measuring unit 330 between the pressing unit 310 and the rotating unit 350, and the measuring unit 330 transmits the pressing force by the pressing unit 310 to the rotating unit 350 and By measuring , the advantageous effect of accurately measuring and controlling the pressing force with which the conditioning disk 370 presses the polishing pad 110 during the conditioning process can be obtained.

As the measuring unit 330, various measuring means capable of measuring pressing force may be used, and the type of the measuring unit 330 may vary depending on required conditions and design specifications. For example, a load cell may be used as the measuring unit 330, and the lower end of the load cell is formed in an arc-shaped cross-section to make point contact with the rotating unit 350.

The measuring unit 330 may be in direct contact with the rotating unit 350 or may be contacted through a separate member.

As an example, the first coupler 340 is fixedly coupled to the upper part of the rotating part 350, but when the measuring part 330 moves downward by the pressing part 310, the measuring part 330 moves to the first coupler 340. is contacted and the pressing force is transmitted to the rotating part 350 through the first coupler 340, and when the measuring part 330 moves upward by the pressing part 310, the measuring part 330 moves to the first coupler 340. is separated from

More specifically, referring to FIG. 9, the pressing force transmitted from the measuring unit 330 to the first coupler 340 is transmitted to the spline shaft 352 through the bearing member 354.

Preferably, the first coupler 340 is continuously supported on the bearing member 354 along the circumferential direction of the bearing member 354, and the pressing force F1 transmitted to the first coupler 340 is applied to the bearing member 354. It is transmitted to the spline shaft 352 in a distributed state (F2) in a ring shape along .

In this way, the pressing force (F1) transmitted to the first coupler 340 is transmitted to the spline shaft 352 in a ring-shaped distribution (F2) along the bearing member 354, so that the spline shaft 352 ), while minimizing the flow and shaking, it is possible to obtain the advantageous effect of more stably transmitting the pressing force transmitted to the first coupler 340 to the spline shaft 352.

That is, it is also possible to configure the pressing force transmitted to the first coupler to be transmitted directly to the spline shaft. However, when the first coupler and the spline shaft are arranged non-coaxially due to assembly tolerances and errors, the pressing force of the pressing part (pressing force transmitted to the first coupler) is transmitted to an area spaced from the center of the spline shaft, not to the center of the spline shaft. Accordingly, there is a problem that causes movement and shaking of the spline shaft.

However, in the present invention, the pressing force transmitted to the first coupler 340 is distributed in a ring shape along the bearing member 354 and is coaxially transmitted to the spline shaft 352, so that the spline shaft 352 It is possible to obtain the advantageous effect of stably transmitting the pressing force to the spline shaft 352 without any flow or shaking.

In addition, a second coupler 320 may be provided at the lower part of the pressing unit 310 to selectively move in the vertical direction by the pressing unit 310, and the measuring unit 330 is fixed to the second coupler 320. are combined.

Preferably, the second coupler 320 is formed in a cylindrical shape surrounding the side surface of the first coupler 340, and a guide hole 322 is formed on the side wall of the second coupler 320, and the first coupler 340 ) A guide protrusion 342 that is movable up and down is formed to protrude on the peripheral surface of the guide hole 322.

In this way, the second coupler 320 moves up and down while wrapping around the first coupler 340, and the guide protrusion moves up and down along the guide hole 322, so that the first coupler 340 ( It is possible to obtain the advantageous effect of more stably supporting the vertical movement of the second coupler 320 (or the measuring part) with respect to the rotating part). Additionally, excessive vertical movement of the second coupler 320 with respect to the first coupler 340 may be restricted due to interference between the guide protrusion 342 and the guide hole 322.

The conditioning disk 370 is coupled to the lower part of the rotating part 350, and is rotated by the rotating part 350 while being pressed by the pressing force of the pressing part 310 to reform (condition) the polishing pad 110.

For example, a disk holder 360 is mounted at the bottom of the rotating unit 350, and a conditioning disk 370 for reforming the polishing pad 110 attached to the polishing plate 100 is coupled to the disk holder 360. do.

Here, the conditioning disk 370 conditions the polishing pad 110, meaning that the surface of the polishing pad 110 is pressed with a predetermined pressing force (P) and finely cut to create micropores formed on the surface of the polishing pad 110. It is defined as reforming so that it appears on the surface. In other words, the conditioning disk 370 finely cuts the outer surface of the polishing pad 110 to prevent the numerous foamed pores that serve to contain the slurry mixed with the abrasive and chemicals on the outer surface of the polishing pad 110 from being clogged. Thus, the slurry filled in the foam pores of the polishing pad 110 is smoothly supplied to the substrate. In some cases, it is possible to attach diamond particles to the surface of the conditioning disk 370 in contact with the polishing pad 110 for micro-cutting of the polishing pad 110.

The combination and connection structure of the rotating part 350 and the disk holder 360 can be changed in various ways depending on the required conditions and design specifications, and the present invention can be changed by combining and connecting the rotating part 350 and the disk holder 360. This is not limited or limited.

For example, the rotating part 350 and the disk holder 360 may be connected by a gimbal structure 362. The gimbal structure 362 is configured to self-align the disk holder 360 with respect to the rotating unit 350.

More specifically, while the conditioning process of the polishing pad 110 by the conditioner 300 is in progress, the conditioner 300 is damaged by a physical force acting in the reverse direction on the surface condition of the polishing pad 110 or the conditioning disk 370. ) When the housing is tilted (placed at an angle with respect to the vertical line), the conditioning disk 370 is partially spaced from the polishing pad 110, causing the polishing pad 110 to not be conditioned evenly. There is a problem. To this end, the gimbal structure 362 allows gimbal movement of the disk holder 360 relative to the conditioner 300 housing when the conditioner 300 housing is tilted, thereby maintaining conditioning even when the conditioner 300 housing is tilted. The disk 370 can be maintained in contact with the polishing pad 110.

For example, a universal joint or a self-aligning bearing may be used as the gimbal structure 362. Here, self-aligning bearings are defined as a concept that includes both normal self-aligning ball bearings and self-aligning roller bearings.

In addition, when the external force that tilts the disk holder 360 with respect to the rotating unit 350 is released, the gimbal structure 362 moves the disk holder 360 to its initial position (the disk holder 360 is conditioned) by an elastic member such as a spring. (300) It may be configured to automatically return to the state before being tilted with respect to the housing.

In this way, by ensuring the gimbal movement of the disk holder 360 with respect to the rotating unit 350, even if tilting of the conditioner 300 housing (or rotating unit 350) occurs during the conditioning process, the conditioning disk 370 The advantageous effect of stably maintaining a state in close contact with the polishing pad 110 and uniformly maintaining the pressing force applied to the conditioning disk 370 can be obtained.

Additionally, the conditioner 300 includes a control unit 380 that controls the pressing force by the pressing unit 310 according to the results measured by the measuring unit 330.

As an example, the control unit 380 sets a target value (target pressure) to be introduced into the conditioner 300 in response to the height deviation along the radial direction of the polishing pad 110 and a measurement value (measurement value) measured by the measurement unit 330. By comparing the pressing force), the pressing force by the pressing unit 310 can be controlled.

Preferably, the control unit 380 controls the pressing force by the pressing unit 310 in real time while the conditioning process of the polishing pad 110 is performed.

That is, even if the surface of the polishing pad 110 is microcut with a uniform pressing force on the conditioning disk 370, if the distribution of the force applied to the polishing pad 110 for the substrate polishing process is not uniform, the polishing pad ( 110) A phenomenon occurs in which the surface height becomes uneven along the radial direction. By controlling the pressing force by the pressurizing unit 310 in response to the radial height deviation of the polishing pad 110, the cutting amount of micro cutting while the conditioning disk 370 presses the polishing pad 110 is increased. Since it can be adjusted, even if there is a deviation in the force in the radial direction of the polishing pad 110 during the polishing process of the substrate, it is advantageous to uniformly supply the slurry to the substrate while maintaining the entire surface of the polishing pad 110 at the same height. You can get the effect.

Through this, the reforming effect by the conditioner 300 becomes uniform over the entire surface of the polishing pad 110, so there is no local difference in the amount of slurry flowing into the substrate, thereby improving the chemical mechanical polishing process of the substrate with better quality. You can achieve advantageous effects by doing this.

In addition, the surface height measurement of the polishing pad 110 may be performed in real time during the polishing process, and the pressing force applied to the conditioning disk 370 may vary in real time according to the surface height measurement information of the polishing pad 110 measured in real time. Therefore, even if a condition occurs during the polishing process where the surface height of the polishing pad 110 becomes non-uniform, the pressing force applied by the conditioner 300 disk is controlled to correspond to the deviation in the surface height of the polishing pad 110, so that the polishing pad 110 The surface of (110) can be kept flat.

As described above, although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art may modify and modify the present invention in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. You will understand that you can change it.

100: polishing plate 110: polishing pad
200: Carrier head 300: Conditioner
302: Conditioner housing 304: Swing arm
310: pressurizing part 312: cylinder body
313: pressure chamber 313a: first chamber
313b: second chamber 314a: first pressure forming part
314b: second pressure forming part 316: piston member
320: Second coupler 322: Guide hole
330: Measuring part 340: First coupler
342: Guide projection 350: Rotating part
352: Spline shaft 354: Bearing member
356: Rotating block 360: Disk holder
362: Gimbal structure 370: Conditioning disk
380: Control unit 392: Drive source
394: Power transmission unit 394a: First gear
394b: 2nd gear

Claims (19)

As a conditioner for chemical mechanical polishing equipment,
Rotating part;
A first coupler coupled to the upper part of the rotating part;
a pressing part provided on an upper part of the rotating part and selectively applying an axial pressing force to the rotating part;
a measuring unit provided between the pressing unit and the rotating unit, moving in an upward and downward direction by the pressing unit, contacting or being spaced apart from the rotating unit, and measuring the pressing force while transmitting the pressing force by the pressing unit to the rotating unit; ;
a conditioning disc coupled to the lower part of the rotating unit and reforming the polishing pad while being rotated by the rotating unit while being pressed by the pressing force;
It includes, when the measuring part moves downward by the pressing part, the measuring part comes into contact with the first coupler, and the pressing force is transmitted to the rotating part through the first coupler; A conditioner for a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, characterized in that when the measuring part moves upward by the pressing part, the measuring part is spaced apart from the first coupler.
delete delete According to paragraph 1,
The rotating part,
a spline shaft coupled to the conditioning disk;
a bearing member coupled to surround the spline shaft and supporting the first coupler; Contains,
A conditioner for a chemical mechanical polishing device, wherein the pressing force transmitted to the first coupler is transmitted to the spline shaft through the bearing member.
According to paragraph 4,
The first coupler is continuously supported on the bearing member along the circumferential direction of the bearing member,
The conditioner for a chemical mechanical polishing device, characterized in that the pressing force transmitted to the first coupler is transmitted to the spline shaft in a ring-shaped distribution along the bearing member.
According to paragraph 1,
It includes a second coupler that selectively moves in an upward and downward direction by the pressing part,
A conditioner for a chemical mechanical polishing device, wherein the measuring part is fixedly coupled to the second coupler.
According to clause 6,
A guide hole is formed in the second coupler,
A conditioner for a chemical mechanical polishing device, characterized in that the first coupler is formed with a guide protrusion that is movable up and down in the guide hole.
delete delete delete delete delete delete delete According to any one of claims 1 or 4 to 7,
a conditioner housing that rotatably supports the rotating unit;
a swing arm that supports the conditioner housing so that it can swing and rotate about the swing rotation axis;
a driving source mounted on the swing arm to be spaced apart from the conditioner housing and generating a driving force to rotate the rotating unit;
a power transmission unit that transmits the driving force to the rotating unit;
A conditioner for a chemical mechanical polishing device comprising:
delete According to clause 15,
The power transmission unit,
a first gear rotated by the driving source;
a second gear coupled to the rotating unit and engaged with the first gear to rotate;
A conditioner for a chemical mechanical polishing device comprising:
delete According to any one of claims 1 or 4 to 7,
A conditioner for a chemical mechanical polishing device, comprising a control unit that controls the pressing force by the pressing unit according to the results measured by the measuring unit.

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