Pad Conditioning and Wafer Retaining Ring and Manufacturing Method Thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wafer retaining ring used in a chemical mechanical polishing process (CMP) for semiconductor device manufacturing, and in particular, to a pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring designed to prevent a wafer from slipping during the CMP process and, simultaneously condition a pad uniformly, and to a manufacturing method thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring for preventing a wafer from slipping during a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process, the pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring having a plurality of cutting tips, each cutting tip comprised of a plurality of protrusions, the plurality of cutting tips formed to be spaced at a predetermined distance from each other on the surface of the pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring to function as a pad conditioner. 
     
     
         2 . The pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring of  claim 1 , wherein grooves having a predetermined width and depth are formed between the plurality of cutting tips formed on the surface of the pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring so as to extend from the outer circumference to the inner circumference of the pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring. 
     
     
         3 . The pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring of  claim 2 , wherein the width of the grooves at the outer circumference is wider than that at the inner circumference. 
     
     
         4 . The pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring of  claim 1 , wherein the pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring is formed of a reinforced polymer composite material, a super-hard alloy-based material, a ceramic material, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring of  claim 1 , wherein the pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring further comprises a diamond coating layer formed on the surface of the plurality of protrusions. 
     
     
         6 . The pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring of  claim 1 , wherein the side cross-sectional shape of the protrusions. 
     
     
         7 . The pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring of  claim 1 , wherein the planar shape of the protrusions is polygonal, circular, or oval. 
     
     
         8 . The pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring of  claim 1 , wherein the cutting tips comprise a plurality of protrusions formed at a predetermined distance from the inner circumference of the wafer retaining ring. 
     
     
         9 . A method for manufacturing a pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring, the method comprising:
 preparing a ring-shaped substrate having a determined thickness and width;   forming on the surface of the ring-shaped substrate a plurality of grooves having a predetermined width and depth at a predetermined interval so as to extend from the outer circumference to the inner circumference of the ring-shaped substrate; and   forming on the surface of the ring-shaped substrate between the plurality of grooves a plurality of cutting tips having a plurality of protrusions at a predetermined interval formed to be spaced at a predetermined distance from each other.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the forming of the plurality of grooves is performed such that the width of the grooves at the outer circumference is wider than that at the inner circumference. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the forming of the cutting tips is performed such that the side cross-sectional shape of the plurality of protrusions is polygonal. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the forming of the cutting tips is performed such that the planar shape of the plurality of protrusions is polygonal, circular, or oval. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the forming of the cutting tips is performed such that a plurality of protrusions is formed at a predetermined distance from the inner circumference of the ring-shaped substrate. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising forming a diamond coating layer on the surface of the plurality of protrusions constituting the cutting tips. 
     
     
         15 . A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system comprising the pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         16 . The CMP system of  claim 15 , wherein the CMP system has no separate conditioning means. 
     
     
         17 . A CMP system comprising the pad conditioning and wafer retaining ring manufactured by the method of  claim 9 . 
     
     
         18 . The CMP system of  claim 17 , wherein the CMP system further comprises no separate conditioning means.