International Business Machines Corporation

Timothy Scott Chamberlin

Erick G Walton

Paul A Manfredi

Mark P Murray

Michael Joseph MacDonald

Matthew Kilpatrick Miller

Richard A Bartley

Raymond G Morris

A slurry containing abrasive particles, an oxidizing agent having a low static etch rate on at least one acid or salt metal, and having a pH of about 5 to about 11 is especially useful for polishing surfaces, including both metal and silicon dioxide, such as present in microelectronics, at the same or substantially the same polishing rates.

Slurry and use thereof for polishing

An apparatus for polishing a semiconductor wafer is provided comprising a wafer carrier to provide a force against a wafer and a rotating polishing pad during the polishing operation and a polishing slurry distributor device disposed to provide a spray of the slurry on the polishing pad. The wafer is polished using less slurry than a conventional polishing apparatus while still maintaining the polishing rates and polishing uniformity of the prior art polishing apparatus. A preferred spraying means is a closed elongated tube having a plurality of openings which tube is positioned over at least one-half the diameter of the polishing pad and a polishing slurry under pressure is directed onto the surface of the pad, preferably in a substantially transverse spray stream.

Slurry injection technique for chemical-mechanical polishing

An apparatus for and method of conditioning a polishing pad suitable for in-situ use, is described. The apparatus consists of a wedge-shaped conditioning plate whose width varies as a function of its length and whose exact geometry is a function of the radial effects of the polishing process effecting conditioning of the polishing pad. The conditioning plate rests on the polishing pad and is surrounded by a loose-fitting frame that holds the conditioning plate stationary with respect to the rotating polishing table, preventing lateral movement of the conditioning plate, but allowing the plate to move in the vertical direction so that it can rest flat on the polishing pad. The bottom face of the conditioning plate has a roughened surface that serves to abrade the polishing pad and conditions it to an extent determined ostensibly by the downward force of the conditioning plate on the polishing pad, the roughness of the bottom surface of the conditioning plate, and the time the conditioning plate is in contact with the polishing pad surface.

Polish pad conditioner with radial compensation

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Fairfax, VT, United States of America

Timothy Scott Chamberlin