CMP pad cleaning apparatus

摘要

The present disclosure relates to a two-phase cleaning element that enhances polishing pad cleaning so as to prevent wafer scratches and contamination in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processes. In some embodiments, the two-phase pad cleaning element comprises a first cleaning element and a second cleaning element configured to successively operate upon a section of a CMP polishing pad. The first cleaning element comprises a megasonic cleaning jet configured to utilize cavitation energy to dislodge particles embedded in the CMP polishing pad without damaging the surface of the polishing pad. The second cleaning element is configured to apply a high pressure mist, comprising two fluids, to remove by-products from the CMP polishing pad. By using megasonic cleaning to dislodge embedded particles a two-fluid mist to flush away by-products (e.g., including the dislodged embedded particles), the two-phase pad cleaning element enhances polishing pad cleaning.

主权项

1. A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) tool, comprising:
a workpiece carrier configured to house a workpiece; a polishing pad located on a platen configured to rotate around an axis of rotation; and a conditioning pad configured to condition a surface of the polishing pad to improve polishing performance; a two-phase cleaning element located at a position that is downstream of the conditioning pad and upstream of the workpiece carrier, comprising:
a first cleaning element configured to remove defects from the surface of the polishing pad, wherein the first cleaning element comprises a sector type nozzle layout comprising a plurality of nozzles arranged in a triangular layout having a width that increases as a distance from an edge of the polishing pad decreases; anda second cleaning element configured to remove residue from the surface of the polishing pad.