Diamond disc pad conditioning in chemical mechanical polishing

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is a final major manufacturing step extensively used in semiconductor fabrication for polishing semiconductor wafers or other substrates. In CMP, the polishing pad surface can be glazed with residue and a diamond disc conditioner is often used to “dress” the pad to regenerate a new pad surface profile and topography in order to maintain favorable process conditions. This chapter presents a review of recent advances about diamond disc pad conditioning in CMP. Following the introduction, the chapter briefly reviews the design and manufacture of diamond disc conditioners. It then overviews the pad conditioning process control including various pad profile evaluation and measurement techniques in CMP. Recent research work on modeling and simulation of pad conditioning are summarized. The chapter ends with conclusions and topics for future research.