Multiple zone pad conditioning disk

Abstract

A pad conditioning disk configured to condition a polishing pad of a chemical mechanical polishing tool including a plurality of zones comprising cutting elements that selectively engage the polishing pad based on a positioning of the plurality of zones, is provided. An associated chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) tool and method for conditioning a polishing pad during a chemical mechanical polishing process is also provided.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A pad conditioning disk configured to condition a polishing pad of a chemical mechanical polishing tool, comprising:
 a plurality of zones comprising cutting elements that selectively engage the polishing pad based on a positioning of the plurality of zones.   
     
     
         2 . The pad condition disk of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of zones are moveable with respect to each other. 
     
     
         3 . The pad condition disk of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of zones are moveable with respect to each other so that cutting elements of a first zone of the plurality of zones engage the polishing pad during a chemical mechanical polishing process while cutting elements of a second zone of the plurality of zones do not engage the polishing pad. 
     
     
         4 . The pad conditioning disk of  claim 1 , wherein the cutting elements are diamonds or diamond-like films of a same or a different shape, size, distribution, density, and/or configuration. 
     
     
         5 . The pad conditioning disk of  claim 1 , wherein at least one cutting element is a brush. 
     
     
         6 . The pad conditioning disk of  claim 1 , wherein a first zone of the plurality of zones comprise grit diamonds of a certain shape, size, distribution and density, and a second zone of the plurality of zones comprises chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond film coated on a textured surface. 
     
     
         7 . The pad conditioning disk of  claim 1 , wherein the pad conditioning disk is connected to a pad conditioner arm of the chemical mechanical polishing tool by a moveable connector, and an actuator facilitates movement between the first zone and at least another zone. 
     
     
         8 . The pad conditioning disk of  claim 1 , wherein a first zone is connected to a pad conditioner arm of the chemical mechanical polishing tool by a first moveable connector and a second zone is connected to the pad conditioner arm by a second moveable connector, further wherein at least one of:
 the first moveable connector is actuated along a Z-axis to facilitate vertical independent movement of the first zone with respect to the second zone; and   the second moveable connector is actuated along a Z-axis to facilitate vertical independent movement of the second zone with respect to the first zone.   
     
     
         9 . The pad conditioning disk of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of zones are at least one of: circles, rings, radial pies, spiral ribs, rectangular or triangular cutouts, and dies. 
     
     
         10 . A chemical mechanical polishing tool, comprising:
 a polishing pad disposed on a platen, the polishing pad configured to polish a substrate;   a polishing fluid delivery arm, the polishing fluid delivery arm configured to deliver a polishing fluid during a pad conditioning process; and   a conditioner assembly, the conditioner assembly including:
 a pad conditioner arm connected to a machine base of the chemical mechanical polishing tool, and 
 a pad conditioning disk connected to the pad conditioner arm, the pad conditioning disk having at least two zones that are activated with respect to each other for selectively engaging the polishing pad. 
   
     
     
         11 . The chemical mechanical polishing tool of  claim 10 , wherein the chemical mechanical polishing tool comprises elements and mechanisms to activate and deactivate zone switches 
     
     
         12 . A method for conditioning a polishing pad during a chemical mechanical polishing process, the method comprising:
 selectively activating a selected zone of a pad conditioning disk having a plurality of zones, the plurality of zones having cutting elements for conditioning the polishing pad, wherein a selection of the zone to use for conditioning the polishing pad depends on a factor of a plurality of factors; and   applying a downforce to the pad conditioning disk that brings the cutting elements of the selected zone in engagement with the polishing pad but not the cutting elements of the other zones.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the plurality of factors include a polishing recipe, a polishing event, a usage time of the chemical mechanical polishing tool, an interval of a number of wafers polished by the chemical mechanical polishing tool, a defined schedule, or feedback from a dynamic feedback system. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the factor is a feedback from a dynamic feedback system, the feedback including a performance of a wafer, a friction between the wafer and the polishing pad, a roughness measurement of the polishing pad, and/or a porosity measurement of the polishing pad. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 selectively activating a different zone of the pad conditioning disk based on a change to one or more of the plurality factors.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the selectively activating the different zone includes actuating a moveable connector of a pad conditioner arm to adjust a position of the selected zone with respect to the different zone. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the cutting elements of each zone are diamonds or diamond-like films of a same or a different shape, size, distribution, density, and configuration. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the factor for the selection of the zone to use for conditioning the polishing pad is a type of conditioning, the type of conditioning being either an in-situ conditioning period or an ex-situ conditioning period, further wherein, during the ex-situ conditioning period, cutting elements of the selected zone are engaged with the polishing pad, while cutting elements of an other zone are disengaged from the polishing pad, and during the in-situ conditioning period, cutting elements of the selected zone are disengaged from the polishing pad, while the cutting elements of the other zone are engaged. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the factor for the selection of the zone to use for conditioning the polishing pad is whether the chemical mechanical polishing process is in a break-in stage or a wafer processing stage, further wherein, during pad the break-in stage, cutting elements of the selected zone are engaged with the polishing pad, while cutting elements of an other zone are disengaged from the polishing pad, and during the wafer processing stage, cutting elements of the selected zone are disengaged from the polishing pad, while the cutting elements of the other zone are engaged with polishing pad.