Computer-implemented process control in chemical mechanical polishing

US8460057B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Applied Materials, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Boguslaw A. Swedek · Cupertino, US
• Bret W. Adams · Sunnyvale, US
• Sanjay Rajaram · Sunnyvale, US
• David A. Chan · Sunnyvale, US
• Manoocher Birang · Los Gatos, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 18, 2011
• Grant date: Jun 11, 2013
• Expiry date: Jun 8, 2031

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01L22/26
• WIPO field: Machine tools
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for process control in chemical mechanical polishing in which an initial pre-polishing thickness of a substrate is measured at a metrology station, a parameter of an endpoint algorithm is determined from the initial thickness of the substrate, a substrates is polished at a polishing station, and polishing stops when an endpoint criterion is detected using the endpoint algorithm.