Chemical mechanical polishing pad conditioning element with discrete points and compliant membrane

摘要

A pad conditioning assembly includes a conditioner head with an end effector movable into contact with a polishing pad,a plurality of downwardly-projecting movable conditioning elements disposed at a bottom of the end effector; and a compliant backing member disposed above and adjacent the conditioning elements, wherein forces applied by the compliant backing member are transferred to the movable conditioning elements to move the conditioning elements. In one aspect, a pressurization circuit applies a pressure from a pressure source to the compliant backing member to flex the compliant backing member against the movable conditioning elements.