Sacrificial erosion control features for chemical-mechanical polishing process
US6087733A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 12, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jul 11, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 12, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L2924/0002
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for compensating for the effects of nonuniform planarization in chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) such as the erosion occurring from the removal of titanium nitride/tungsten films is disclosed. In the context of alignment marks, dummy marks are disposed on both sides of the actual alignment marks providing a similar feature density as the alignment marks. During the CMP, the dummy marks reside in the area of nonuniform erosion, leaving the actual marks in an area of uniform erosion. The present invention may also be used to control underlayer erosion variations in the high feature density device areas adjacent to the low feature density open areas by providing dummy features in the low feature density areas.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.