201341113
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`(19) TAIWAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE
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`(12) INVENTION SPECIFICATION PUBLICATION
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`(11) PUBLICATION NUMBER: TW 201341113 A
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`(43) PUBLICATION DATE: 16 OCTOBER 2013
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`(21) APPLICATION NUMBER: 101112625
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`(22) APPLICATION DATE: 10 APRIL 2012
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`(51) INT. CL.:
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`B24B37/04 (2012. 01)
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`H01L21/30 (2006. 01)
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`H01L21/306 (2006. 01)
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`(71) APPLICANTS: RITEDIA CORPORATION (TW)
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`NO. 17, KUANG-FU NORTH ROAD, HSINCHU INDUSTRIAL PARK, HUKOU, HSINCHU
`COUNTY
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`(72) INVENTORS: SUNG, CHIEN MIN (TW); YEH, WEN TING (TW)
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`(74) AGENTS: SU, CHIEN TAI; LIN, KUAN HONG
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`APPLICATION FOR SUBSTANTIVE EXAMINATION: YES
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`NUMBER OF CLAIMS: 38 NUMBER OF FIGURES: 9 43 PAGES IN TOTAL
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`(54) TITLE
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`COMPOSITE CONDITIONER AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME AND CMP APPLICATION
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`THEREOF
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`(57) ABSTRACT
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`A composite conditioner includes: a base plate; a plurality of polishing units placed on the base plate and each polishing
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`unit including a bonding layer and a plurality of polishing tips that are bonded in plane by the bonding layer; and an
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`adhesive layer of which thickness is adjustable and used to secure the polishing units on the base plate, wherein a height
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`difference between the first and second highest tips, between the first and tenth highest tips, and between the first and
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`100th highest tips based on a predetermined plane is respectively less than 10 μm, 20 μm, and 40 μm, and the protrusion
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`height of the first highest tip above the bonding layer is greater than 50 μm. The present invention also relates to a
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`method for manufacturing the conditioner and application thereof.
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`TW 201341113 A
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`Embodiment 1
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`Comparative example 1
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`Comparative example 2
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`Number of working particles (pcs)
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`Height difference of tips
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`Fig. 3
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`Invention Patent Specification
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`(Please do not modify the format and sequence of this specification arbitrarily and do not fill in the parts marked with
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`※ Application Number: 101112625
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`※)
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`※ Application Date: 10 April 2012
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`※ IPC Category: B24B 37/04 (2006. 01)
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`H01L 21/304 (2006. 01)
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`H01L 21/306 (2006. 01)
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`I.
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`Title of the Invention: (Chinese/English)
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`COMPOSITE CONDITIONER AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE
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`SAME AND CMP APPLICATION THEREOF
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`II.
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`Invention Abstract in Chinese:
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`A composite conditioner includes: a base plate; a plurality of polishing units placed on
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`the base plate and each polishing unit including a bonding layer and a plurality of
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`polishing tips that are bonded in plane by the bonding layer; and an adhesive layer of
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`which thickness is adjustable and used to secure the polishing units on the base plate,
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`wherein a height difference between the first and second highest tips, between the first and
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`tenth highest tips, and between the first and 100th highest tips based on a predetermined
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`plane is respectively less than 10 μm, 20 μm, and 40 μm, and the protrusion height of the
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`first highest tip above the bonding layer is greater than 50 μm. The present invention also
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`relates to a method for manufacturing the conditioner and application thereof.
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`1
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`III. Abstract in English:
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`2
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`IV. Designated Representative Image:
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`(I) The designated representative image of the present application is: Fig. (3).
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`(II) Brief description of signs in the representative image:
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`No
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`V.
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`If there are chemical formulae, please disclose the chemical formula that can
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`best show the features of the invention:
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`「No」
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`3
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`VI. Description:
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`[TECHNICAL FIELD]
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`The present invention relates to a composite conditioner, a method for manufacturing
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`the same and a chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process using the same,
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`particularly to a composite conditioner suitable for planarization of semiconductor wafers,
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`a method for manufacturing the same and a CMP process using the same.
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`[PRIOR ART]
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`The fine copper circuit or interlayer tungsten circuit on the surface of a silicon wafer,
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`and even the oxide film dielectric layer of the insulating circuit all must undergo a
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`planarization process to flatten the surfaces to facilitate subsequent process steps. In the
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`process of manufacturing interconnected circuits (IC) on semiconductor wafers at present,
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`the most attractive planarization technology is chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP)
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`according to which a wafer is polished and flattened by pressing the wafer on a rotating
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`polishing pad.
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`In the CMP process, slurry is transported stably and evenly to between the wafer and
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`the polishing pad so that the surface of the polishing pad is soaked with the slurry. The
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`slurry contains chemicals (such as acid liquid and oxidizing agent) to erode the thin film
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`on the wafer surface. The slurry also contains countless nano ceramic (such as SiO2, Al2O3
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`and CeO2) grits, which can pierce into the film and scrape off a tiny amount of the film. At
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`the same time, the slurry performs chemical etching and mechanical grinding to remove
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`the protruding deposited layer on the chip, thereby polishing the surface of the wafer and
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`achieving the purpose of planarization.
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`The conditioner is a necessary consumable for CMP and its function is to condition
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`the polishing pad. The so-called conditioning includes shaving the surface of the polishing
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`pad and removing the waste accumulated on the surface of the polishing pad, thereby
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`maintaining the surface roughness of the polishing pad. In addition, the conditioner can
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`also generate a small amount of uplift and dishing on the surface, which are height
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`differences of the so-called asperities. In this way, the contact area of the polishing pad can
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`be greatly reduced. Once the contact area is smaller, the contact pressure will be greater,
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`and the slurry at the contact points can squeeze the protrusions of the wafer and the
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`chemicals (such as H2O2) in the slurry will oxidize and soften or erode the wafer.
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`However, during the CMP process, waste is generated, including the abrasive debris
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`of the wafer, such as the debris of the copper wire, filling tungsten, oxide film, slurry, grit
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`and polishing pad. The abrasive debris usually is accumulated on the surface of the
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`polishing pad and is squeezed into a glaze. Once a glaze is formed, the polishing pad will
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`become slippery and can hardly maintain a polishing force. Therefore, a conditioner is
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`often needed during polishing of each wafer to achieve the polishing efficiency (such as
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`polishing speed) and flatness (such as the thickness distribution of the wafer coating) of
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`the process, thereby stabilizing wafer quality.
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`However, a conventional diamond conditioner usually fixes diamond particles on the
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`surface of a metal tray by a bonding agent. Although it is suitable for conditioning
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`polishing pads, it is liable to causing scratches, local dishing, erosion and thickness
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`non-uniformity of the wafers in more precise CMP processes, such as the CMP processes
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`with a line width of less than 45 nanometers because of the rough asperities of the
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`polishing pads. As the required line width of integrated circuits is being reduced, the
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`requirements for wafer surface flatness are getting stricter, so are the requirements for
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`conditioners, making the conventional diamond conditioner unable to meet the advanced
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`requirements of the CMP processes below 45 nm.
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`For this purpose, the earlier published patent applications TW 201038362 A1 and TW
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`201100198 respectively disclose a composite conditioner and a method for manufacturing
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`the same, wherein the sharp corners of the polishing tips of the polishing units of different
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`sizes, shapes and materials pierce into a polishing pad, a pressure is applied on the other
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`side of the polishing units subsequently and resin is filled to fix the polishing units and
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`keep the height difference of the apices of the polishing tips of the polishing units within
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`20 microns.
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`However, the polishing tips used in the foregoing patent applications need to use
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`diamond grits with high shape regularity, and the crystal surface coverage of this crystal
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`form is very high (for example, more than 50% of the surface is a crystal growth surface),
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`otherwise when sharp diamonds with a low crystal surface coverage are used, there will be
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`a remarkable height difference. In addition, no standard is available for the tip height
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`difference between the diamond that pierces into the polishing pad the deepest, i.e., the
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`so-called “killer diamond”, and other diamonds. In order to meet the requirements of the
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`processes with a smaller line width, the conditioner needs to be improved continuously to
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`maintain the flatness in the height of the sharp corners of the polishing tips even when
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`sharper polishing tips are used (i.e., the difference in the height of the sharp corners of the
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`polishing tips), to form finer and more uniform scores on the polishing pad and meanwhile,
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`to increase the removal rate of the polishing pad. Only in this way, can the glaze be
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`removed effectively and the asperities on the polishing pad be restored to quickly polish
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`the coating on the wafer.
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`[SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION]
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`A main object of the present invention is to provide a composite conditioner, wherein
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`sharp polishing tips are used, but the height distribution of the tips can still be maintained
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`to avoid 「killer diamonds」, thereby raising the ratio of effective polishing tips on the
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`polishing units and increasing the removal rate of the wafer and the service life of the
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`conditioner.
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`In order to achieve the foregoing object, an example of the present invention provides
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`a composite conditioner, comprising: a base plate; a plurality of polishing units placed on
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`the base plate and each polishing unit including a bonding layer and a plurality of
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`polishing tips that are bonded in plane by the bonding layer (may be made of metal,
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`ceramic or resin); and an adhesive layer of which thickness is adjustable and used to
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`secure the polishing units on the base plate, wherein a height difference between the first
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`and second highest tips, between the first and tenth highest tips, and between the first and
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`100th highest tips based on a predetermined plane is respectively less than 10 μm, 20 μm,
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`and 40 μm, and the protrusion height of the first highest tip above the bonding layer is
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`greater than 50 μm.
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`Since CMP is planar polishing, the contact distribution between the highest tips of the
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`wafer and the highest tips of the polishing pad determines the quality (such as yield) and
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`efficiency (such as productivity) of CMP. If the highest tips of the asperities of the
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`polishing pad are unevenly distributed, the removal rates of different locations of the wafer
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`will be different, and the surface of the wafer will be not flat. What's more, there may be
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`excessive polishing at some locations, causing dishing in the same layer or erosion in
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`multiple layers; or, there may be insufficient polishing at some locations, causing residues.
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`If the thickness of the wafer after polishing is uneven (Within Wafer Non-Uniformity or
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`WIWUU), the effect of CMP will be unclear. In view of this, the present invention
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`improved the conditioner based on the data of many tests and experiments, and especially
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`adopted a thickness-adjustable adhesive layer to adjust the height of the working polishing
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`tips to compensate for the difference in the thickness of the polishing units, achieve the
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`foregoing height distribution of the highest tips, avoid generation of killer diamonds and
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`increase the ratio of effective polishing tips on the polishing units.
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`In the foregoing composite conditioner provided by the present invention, the
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`thickness-adjustable adhesive layer may be made of an organic adhesive. Each polishing
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`unit may further comprise a unit substrate, and the bonding layer is arranged between the
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`surface of the unit substrate and the polishing tips. The bonding layer may be, for example,
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`a solder layer, an electroplating layer, a sintering layer, or a resin layer. The foregoing
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`polishing tips refer to the endpoints on the abrasive particles contained in a plurality of
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`polishing units, which can achieve a polishing effect, and the endpoints are exposed to the
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`bonding layer. In other words, the height of the polishing tips refers to the height that the
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`polishing tips protrude from the surface of the bonding layer.
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`As for measurement of the height of the polishing tips, an optical detection system, a
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`surface detector produced by German FRT (Fries Research & Technology GmbH) for
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`example, may be used to measure the height of all polishing tips (more than 10,000 for
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`example) of a conditioner, i.e., the height that the polishing tips protrude from the surface
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`of the bonding layer. From the obtained height data, an assumed plane composed of the
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`sharp corners of the polishing tips is calculated by the least square method. This assumed
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`plane is the aforesaid predetermined plane. The first highest tip refers to the polishing tip
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`that most protrudes from the predetermined plane among the polishing tips, the second
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`highest tip refers to the polishing tip that second most protrudes from the predetermined
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`plane among the polishing tips, and other highest tips can be analogized in the similar way.
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`The polishing position of a wafer mostly depends on the distribution of the apices of
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`the polishing pad. The distribution is determined by the height of the polishing tips of the
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`conditioner. The conditioner may be disc-shaped (suitable for Applied Materials machines
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`for example) or ring-shaped (suitable for Ebara machines for example). The diameter of
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`the disc is generally about 100 mm, and the diameter of the ring may be as large as 250
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`mm or more. Typically, the conditioner is covered with tens of thousands of polishing tips
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`(e.g., diamond particles), for example of 80/90 mesh, 100/120 mesh, or 120/140 mesh, but
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`the difference in the average size among the polishing tips of the same mesh may still be
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`greater than 30%. In addition, the size of the same polishing tip varies remarkably when
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`measured from different directions. For example, the distance between tips will be up to
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`30% greater than the distance between planes. If the shape of the polishing tips is irregular,
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`the difference will be even greater.
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`Therefore, the present invention adjusts the grits to make the height difference
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`between the first and second highest tips, between the first and tenth highest tips, and
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`between the first and 100th highest tips less than 10 μm, 20 μm, and 40 μm respectively,
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`and the protrusion height of the first highest tip above the bonding layer greater than 50
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`μm, to ensure the conditioner has numerous working tips, thereby achieving an effect of
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`quickly and uniformly removing the surface film of the IC wafer. In addition, it should be
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`noted that the first highest tip and the second highest tip may be scattered in different
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`polishing units or in the same polishing unit, and other highest tips are also the same; in
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`other words, the distribution of the highest tips is not concentrated in a single polishing
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`unit.
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`In the foregoing composite conditioner provided by the present invention, the
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`polishing tips may be made of man-made or natural diamond, polycrystalline diamond
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`(PCD), cubic boron nitride (CBN), polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) or a
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`combination thereof, and the particle size of the polishing tips may be in the range of 100
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`to 500 microns. The foregoing diamonds may be chemically deposited diamonds,
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`polycrystalline diamonds or a combination thereof. Further, the material of the base plate
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`is not particularly limited, for example, may be pure resin, metal, alloy, plastics, rubber,
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`ceramic, glass or a combination thereof (such as a mixture of resin and metal).
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`Further, because diamonds are usually made of graphite under the catalysis of
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`iron-nickel alloy at a high pressure (e.g., 5 GPa), the diamonds contain molten iron-nickel
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`inclusions. Alloy will catalyze the conversion of diamonds back to graphite or carbon at
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`high temperature. In this case, the volume will increase significantly and the diamond will
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`burst. If the diamonds are fixed to a diamond disc by brazing, many diamonds will be
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`broken due to the high process temperature, while in the CMP process, the diamond tips
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`that pierce into the polishing pad may collapse along the micro-cracking surface, and the
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`diamond debris may scratch expensive wafers. For this reason, a magnetic separator is
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`often used to separate the diamonds with many inclusions. Even so, residual iron-nickel
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`alloy is still contained in diamonds. If there are undetectable cracks in diamonds, the
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`diamonds may be broken and disintegrated into pieces during the CMP process, causing
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`scratches of the wafers. In view of this, solder with a lower melting point should be used
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`for high-temperature brazing.
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`In the present invention, when solder is used as a material of the bonding layer, the
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`solder layer may contain more than one percent by weight of at least one of the groups
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`consisting of Cr, B, P, Ti and their alloys and more than 50 percent by weight of at least
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`one of the groups consisting of Ni, Cu and their alloys, or a combination thereof, wherein
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`Cr, B, P and Ti are used for activating the solder layer. Specifically speaking, the solder
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`typically is Ni-Cr-B, Ni-Cr-P, or Cu-Sn-Ti alloy, and the melting point (Solidus) is 800℃
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`to 1000℃.
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`In addition, each polishing unit may selectively further comprise: a metal coating,
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`which covers the surface of the bonding layer and may be made of at least one of the
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`groups consisting of Ni, Cr, Pd, Co, Pt, Au, Ti, Cu, W and their alloys so that the polishing
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`tips are more firmly attached to the unit substrate of the polishing unit. Further, each
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`polishing unit may selectively further comprise: a protective layer, which is a thin-film
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`material, covers the surface of the metal coating and may be made of a meta material such
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`as Pd or Pt, a nonmetal material such as ceramic film (e.g., silicon carbide, silicon nitride,
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`aluminum nitride, aluminum oxide and zirconium oxide), diamond-like carbon (DLC) film,
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`organic film (e.g., Teflon) or a combination thereof, to avoid erosion of the solder by the
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`slurry (e.g., the slurry for a tungsten process with a pH value of 3).
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`Generally speaking, the height of the apex of a diamond will determine the strength
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`into the polishing pad, but the sharpness of the apex will affect the depth of piercing.
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`Typically, the sharper the diamonds are, the smaller the elastic and plastic deformations of
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`the polishing pad will be and the greater the shaving depth will be. Because the diamond
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`grits formed on the surface of the conditioner have different shapes and different directions,
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`usually only hundreds of the highest diamond grits contact the polishing pad. If the shape
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`of the diamonds is regular and symmetrical, the angle will be obtuse and not pierce the
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`polishing pad easily. Instead, the diamonds will push and squeeze the surface of the
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`polishing pad and form bulging plastic deformations on both sides; conversely, if the
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`diamonds have cracked surfaces, i.e., are in an irregular shape, the diamond may pierce
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`into the polishing pad, shave the surface of the polishing pad and meanwhile remove
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`waste.
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`Therefore, in the foregoing composite conditioner provided by the present Invention,
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`among the 100 highest polishing tips, the crystal surface coverage of more than 50% of the
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`polishing tips is less than 80%, preferably, less than 50%. When the crystal surface
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`coverage of the polishing tips is lower, it means that the polishing tips have more broken
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`surfaces (i.e., sharp surfaces), and also means that the polishing tips on the working face of
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`the polishing units contain sharp corners and ridges, and more ridges have an included
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`angle of less than 45 degrees (i..e, the included angle between the two crystal surfaces that
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`form the ridge) or more sharp corners are in a state of less than 90 degrees, so the removal
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`rate of the polishing pad is higher. Please refer to Fig. 9, which is a schematic view of a
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`grit, where A, E and S respectively represent a sharp corner, a ridge and a surface, S1 is a
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`crystal surface, A1 is an included angle of crystal surfaces, S2 is a broken surface, and A2 is
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`an included angle formed by at least one broken surface. Thus it can be seen that A1 and
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`A2 are two different sharp corners, the angle of A1 is greater than 90 degrees (i.e., obtuse
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`angle), while the angle of A2 is smaller than 90 degrees (i.e., acute angle). It means that
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`when A2 is used as a polishing tip, the removal rate will be greater than that when A1 is
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`used as a polishing tip.
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`The polishing tips may be arranged on the unit substrate in a pattern, or the polishing
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`tips form a plurality of clusters and the clusters are arranged on the unit substrate in a
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`pattern. For example, each cluster is composed of two to six polishing tips.
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`Further, the polishing units may be arranged in a single circle, double circles, multiple
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`circles, radial or spiral shape on the base plate and may be in a disc, blade or polygonal
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`shape. If the polishing units are in a disc shape, their diameter is in the range of 5 to 30
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`mm, preferably not more than 20 mm. The base plate may also be in a disc shape and its
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`diameter is in the range of 80 to 120 mm. Alternatively, the polishing units may be fixed
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`on a ring-shaped substrate with a diameter of 250 to 270 mm. Further, if disc-shaped
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`polishing units are located in the inside, they will often be blocked by the external
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`polishing units during conditioning of the polishing pad and can barely play their role, so
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`it is preferred to arrange the polishing units on the external periphery of the surface of the
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`disc-shaped base plate to generate a cliff effect of peripheral conditioning during CMP. In
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`this way, the number of working particles are increased, suitable for the application of the
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`CMP process to 18" wafers or 22 nm processes.
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`In the foregoing composite conditioner provided by the present invention, the space
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`between the polishing units is not smaller than 0.1 mm, preferably greater than 0.5 mm, to
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`ensure that during the CMP process, the slurry can smoothly enter and leave the clearances
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`between the polishing units and will not be retained in the clearances, causing defects,
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`scratches of chips for example. Further, the thickness of the adhesive layer on the bottom
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`surface of the polishing units is in the range of less than 0.6 mm so that the polishing tips
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`of the polishing units can be sufficiently adjusted to the same plane to effectively increase
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`working diamond particles.
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`It is known that due to a large difference in tip height, the number of the working tips
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`(the number of the tips piercing into the polishing pad) used by a conventional conditioner
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`is smaller than 1% of the total number of tips, and the area covered by diamonds in a
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`conventional conditioner exceeds 40% of the total area; on the contrary, in the foregoing
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`composite conditioner provided by the present invention, the polishing tips used for
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`conditioning a polishing pad may account for more than 1% of all the polishing tips;
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`further, the area of the base plate covered by the polishing units may be less than 40% of
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`the total area of a surface of the base plate, so an optimum removal rate can be achieved
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`under the precondition of reducing cost.
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`A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing the
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`composite conditioner, wherein polishing units with sharp polishing tips are used, the
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`thickness of the adhesive material under the polishing units are adjusted by the inversion
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`method using a number of the highest tips of the polishing units as a plane reference, and
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`the polishing units are fixed to the substrate. In this way, the highest tips of the polishing
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`units will not protrude significantly and form destructive 「killer diamonds」. Using a
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`coplane to force the highest tips of the polishing units to reach a common height can also
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`increase the ratio of effective polishing tips, thereby increasing the removal rate and
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`service life of the conditioner.
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`In order to achieve the foregoing object, a further example of the present invention
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`provides a method for manufacturing the composite conditioner, comprising the following
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`steps: placing a second mold on a first mold, wherein the second mold has a plurality of
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`orifices; placing a polishing unit in each orifice of the second mold, wherein each
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`polishing unit comprises a plurality of polishing tips and a bonding layer for fixing the
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`polishing tips; forming a thickness-adjustable adhesive layer to fix the polishing units to a
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`base plate; and removing the first mold and the second mold to form a composite
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`conditioner, wherein a height difference between the first and second highest tips, between
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`the first and tenth highest tips, and between the first and 100th highest tips based on a
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`predetermined plane is respectively less than 10 μm, 20 μm, and 40 μm, and the protrusion
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`height of the first highest tip above the bonding layer is greater than 50 μm.
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`An ordinary diamond conditioner is manufactured by the additive method, that is,
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`diamond grits are horizontally arranged on a flat substrate (of stainless steel 316 for
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`example) (in matrix distribution for example). According to the prior art, the height
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`difference of the apices of the diamonds on the surface of a single conditioner is usually
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`greater than 50 microns, and the diamond grits may be fixed by the electroplating (EDD)
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`method and nickel, or fixed by a solidified alloy, which is melted by the brazing (BDD)
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`method. In the former method, the planes of the diamonds usually are upward, while in the
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`latter method, the tips or ridges usually are more prominent. The diamonds with a plane
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`facing upward do not pierce a polishing pad easily, while the diamonds with tips or ridges
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`can shave a polishing pad easily. In comparison, after polishing units are formed by the
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`brazing method in the present invention, an organic elastic material is used to bond and
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`compensate for a plurality of polishing units to cause the polishing units to be arranged on
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`the base plate, so not only there are the advantages of the brazing method and the
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`disadvantages of the brazing method can be avoided, too and the formed conditioner has
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`the highest tips at the same height. Therefore, when the diamond conditioner conditions a
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`polishing pad, the protruding diamond apices may contact and pierce into the polishing
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`pad, but there will not be excessively protruding polishing tips. Therefore, the polishing
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`tips will not pierce into the polishing pad too deeply, causing an excessive height
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`difference of the asperities, thereby avoiding 「outstanding」 asperities being stained with
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`too much slurry, which will cause the nano grits in the slurry to excessively pierce into the
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`wafer surface, resulting in dishing, even scratches of the wafer.
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`In the foregoing method for manufacturing the composite conditioner provided by the
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`present invention, the thickness-adjustable adhesive layer may be formed after another
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`plate
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`is used
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`to
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`level
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`the highest
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`tips of
`
`the polishing units, or after
`
`the
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`thickness-adjustable adhesive layer is formed, and before the thickness-adjustable
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`adhesive layer is cured, the base plate is used to level the highest tips of the polishing
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`units.
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`The thickness-adjustable adhesive layer may be composed of an organic adhesive, for
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`example a plastic material, a rubber material, a hot melt adhesive or a combination thereof;
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`Further, the orifices of the second mold are arranged on an outer ring of the second mold,
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`thereby setting the positions of the polishing units on the outer ring of the base plate.
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`Specifically speaking, the orifices of the second mold are located on the outer ring of the
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`second mold, 12 orifices for example. Alternatively, in the composite conditioner, the
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`polishing units may be arranged on an inner ring and an outer ring, and generally, the
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`smaller the area of the polishing units is, the more the working particles will be during
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`polishing, but the manufacturing cost is high, so using an appropriate number of polishing
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`units to make a conditioner can balance effect and cost.
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`In the foregoing method for manufacturing the composite conditioner provided by the
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`present invention, before the second mold is placed on the first mold, the method further
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`comprises the following steps: forming a temporary adhesive layer on the surface of the
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`first mold, and placing the second mold on the surface of the temporary adhesive layer to
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`sandwich the temporary adhesive layer between the second mold and the first mold. After
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`the second mold is removed, the method further comprises the following step: removing
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`the temporary adhesive layer. In a preferred example of the present invention, the
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`temporary adhesive layer is a double sided tape.
`
`In an alternative preferred example of the present invention, the polishing tips are
`
`provided on a side of the polishing units, the thickness-adjustable adhesive layer is
`
`arranged on the opposite side, and the polishing units placed in the orifices contact the first
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`mold through the polishing tips. Further, after the second mold and the first mold are
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`removed, the method further comprises the following step: forming a mold sealing layer to
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`fix the polishing units. From the above, it may be known that by pressing a side of the
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`polishing units that has polishing tips, the polishing units are flatly and regularly arranged
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`on the same plane.
`
`The foregoing method for manufacturing the composite conditioner provided by the
`
`present invention may further selectively comprise the following step: removing the
`
`second mold after removal of the first mold. In other words, it means that the conditioner
`
`may comprise a second mold.
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`A still further object of the present invention is to provide a chemical-mechanical
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`planarization (CMP) process, wherein sharp polishing tips are used, but the planarity of
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`the working face can still be maintained, thereby raising the ratio of effective polishing
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`tips on the polishing units and increasing the removal rate and service life.
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`In order to achieve the foregoing object, a still further example of the present
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`invention provides a CMP process, comprising the following steps: providing a polishing
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`pad; placing a wafer on the surface of the polishing pad to rub with the polishing pad; and
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`using a conditioner, arranged on the surface of the polishing pad to remove the debris
`
`generated from the polishing of the wafer, wherein the conditioner is the foregoing
`
`composite conditioner provided by the present invention.
`
`The Moore’s law mentions that the number of transistors contained on the same chip
`
`of a single size will be doubled every eighteen months due to the improvement of the
`
`process technology, thereby increasing the speed of chip operation. Following the
`
`continuous progress as stated in the Moore’s Law, the line width and line spacing of
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`integrated circuits (ICs) have gradually overcome the limit of 32 nanometers. However,
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`the CMP process meets with a bottleneck, so it is impossible to enter the processes with a
`
`smaller line width and line spacing. In comparison, due to the improved conditioner used
`
`in the foregoing CMP process of the present invention, the diameter of the wafers that can
`
`be used in the CMP process of the