SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING USING MULTIPLE SMALL POLISHING

摘要

A system and method for chemically and mechanically polishing surfaces of semiconductor wafers (W) utilizing multiple polishing pads (102A) (102B) having diameters that are smaller than the diameter of the wafers (W) to simultaneously polish a given semiconductor wafer. The use of these smaller-sized polishing pads can significantly reduce the footprint of the system. Furthermore, the simultaneous polishing of the wafers by the multiple smaller-sized polishing pads can significantly increase the throughput for short period planarization. In addition, by independently controlling the lateral movement, the vertical movement and the rotational speed of each of the polishing pads during polishing, the system and method can more precisely control the amount of polishing at different regions of a wafer surface.