US-12622217-B2 - High throughput polishing modules and modular polishing systems

US12622217B2US 12622217 B2US12622217 B2US 12622217B2US-12622217-B2

Abstract

Embodiments herein include high throughput density chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) modules and customizable modular CMP systems formed thereof. In one embodiment, a polishing module features a carrier support module, a carrier loading station, and a polishing station. The carrier support module features a carrier platform and one or more carrier assemblies. The one or more carrier assemblies each comprise a corresponding carrier head suspended from the carrier platform. The carrier loading station is used to transfer substrates to and from the carrier heads. The polishing station comprises a polishing platen. The carrier support module, the substrate loading station, and the polishing station comprise a one-to-one-to-one relationship within each of the polishing modules. The carrier support module is positioned to move the one or more carrier assemblies between a substrate polishing position disposed above the polishing platen and a substrate transfer position disposed above the substrate loading station.

Inventors

Jagan Rangarajan
Edward Golubovsky
Jay Gurusamy
Steven M. Zuniga

Assignees

APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20200416

Claims (20)

1 . A polishing system, comprising: a plurality of polishing modules having at least a first polishing module directly adjacent a second polishing module coupled together in a side-by-side arrangement and supported by a shared tabletop, a third polishing module and a fourth polishing module, the third polishing processing module directly adjacent the fourth polishing processing module and positioned together in a side-by-side arrangement, and the third polishing processing module and the fourth polishing processing module are positioned end-to-end with the first polishing processing module and the second polishing processing module; each polishing module comprising: a polishing processing region; a carrier support module comprising: a carrier platform comprising a first substrate carrier assembly and a second substrate carrier assembly, wherein the carrier platform is rotatable or pivotable about a platform axis by a platform actuator configured to rotate the first and second substrate carrier assemblies between either a first processing mode position or a second processing mode position, the platform actuator is configured to rotate the carrier platform, the first substrate carrier assembly and the second substrate carrier assembly together, and each of the first substrate carrier assembly and the second substrate carrier assembly comprise: a carrier head comprising a chamber and coupled to a carrier shaft; and a rotation actuator coupled to the carrier shaft, and configured to rotate the carrier shaft and the carrier head; a carrier loading station for transferring substrates to and from each one of the carrier heads, wherein the carrier loading station also comprises a buffing station and a metrology station, and wherein the carrier loading station of the third and fourth polishing processing modules are adjacent to the carrier loading stations of the first and second polishing processing modules; and a polishing station comprising a polishing platen configured to support a polishing pad, wherein the carrier support module is positioned to move the first substrate carrier assembly and the second substrate carrier assembly between a substrate polishing position disposed above the polishing platen and a substrate transfer position disposed above the carrier loading station; a substrate handler disposed between each first, second, third and fourth polishing module of the plurality of polishing modules and adjacent each carrier loading station; and a substrate transfer station disposed between the first polishing module and the second polishing module of the plurality of polishing modules and adjacent the polishing stations, wherein the substrate handler is configured to transfer substrates between the each individual carrier loading station.
2 . The polishing system of claim 1 , wherein the carrier support module, the carrier loading station, and the polishing platen comprise a one-to-one-to-one relationship within each of the polishing modules.
3 . The polishing system of claim 1 , wherein a pneumatic assembly is fluidly coupled to the carrier head through the carrier shaft.
4 . The polishing system of claim 1 , wherein the first substrate carrier assembly and the second substrate carrier assembly are arranged within the carrier support module so that one of the carrier heads will be positioned over the polishing platen when the other carrier head is positioned over the carrier loading station.
5 . The polishing system of claim 1 , wherein the polishing system further comprises a controller configured to perform a substrate processing method, the method comprising: urging a first substrate against the polishing pad disposed on the polishing platen in the presence of a polishing fluid, wherein the first substrate is disposed in the carrier head of the first substrate carrier assembly; and concurrently with urging the first substrate against the polishing pad, unloading an at-least-partially-polished substrate from the carrier head of the second substrate carrier assembly and loading a to-be-polished second substrate to the carrier head of the second substrate carrier assembly.
6 . The polishing system of claim 1 , wherein the carrier loading station also comprises an edge correction station.
7 . The polishing system of claim 1 , further comprising one of a plurality of system loading stations, one or more substrate handlers, one or more metrology stations, one or more post-CMP cleaning systems, a location specific polishing (LSP) system, or a combination thereof.
8 . The polishing system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of upright supports, wherein a plurality of panels are disposed between the upright supports.
9 . The polishing system of claim 1 , further comprising a robot disposed between the plurality of polishing modules.
10 . The polishing system of claim 1 , wherein the carrier platform further comprises one or more electromechanical components, wherein the one or more electromechanical components are in fluid communication with the chamber disposed within the carrier head.
11 . The polishing system of claim 1 , wherein each of the first substrate carrier assembly and the second substrate carrier assembly further comprise a translation actuator that is configured to cause the carrier head, the carrier shaft and the rotation actuator to translate in a first direction that is at an angle to the platform axis.
12 . The polishing system of claim 11 , wherein the carrier loading station comprises a loading station central axis, and the loading station axis, the platform axis, the platen axis and the first direction are positioned within a first vertical plane formed within the first polishing module when the first substrate carrier assembly and the second substrate carrier assembly within the first polishing module are positioned in the first processing mode position or the second processing mode position.
13 . The polishing system of claim 11 , wherein the translation actuator and a pneumatic assembly are each coupled to the carrier platform.
14 . The polishing system of claim 11 , wherein the translation actuator, rotation actuator and a pneumatic assembly are enclosed within a region defined by the carrier platform and a housing.
15 . The polishing system of claim 1 , wherein a pneumatic assembly in the first substrate carrier assembly and the second substrate carrier assembly is in fluid communication with the carrier head, in their respective substrate carrier assembly, through one or more conduits disposed through the carrier shaft.
16 . The polishing system of claim 15 , wherein the pneumatic assembly in each of the substrate carrier assemblies is fluidly coupled to their respective carrier head using a rotary union.
17 . The polishing system of claim 1 , further comprising a controller and a non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor of the controller causes the carrier heads to retract towards the platform axis before the carrier platform is rotated to the first processing mode position or the second processing mode position.
18 . The polishing system of claim 1 , wherein the loading station axis, the platform axis, the platen axis are positioned within a third vertical plane formed within the third polishing module when the first substrate carrier assembly and the second substrate carrier assembly, within the third polishing module, are positioned in the first processing mode position or the second processing mode position; and the loading station axis, the platform axis, the platen axis are positioned within a fourth vertical plane formed within the fourth polishing module when the first substrate carrier assembly and the second substrate carrier assembly, within the fourth polishing module, are positioned in the first processing mode position or the second processing mode position, wherein the third vertical plane and the fourth vertical plane are parallel to the first vertical plane and the second vertical plane.
19 . The polishing system of claim 1 , further comprising a first modular frame, a second modular frame, a third modular frame and a fourth modular frame, wherein the substrate handler is suspended from a shared overhead support comprising a portion of the first modular frame and the second modular frame or the third modular frame and the fourth modular frame.
20 . The polishing system of claim 1 , wherein each individual polishing module of the plurality of polishing modules have a first side and a second side which is opposite to the first side; wherein the first side of the first polishing module and the first side of the second polishing module are positioned adjacent to a first processing region.

Description

BACKGROUND Field Embodiments described herein generally relate to equipment used in the manufacturing of electronic devices, and more particularly, to a modular chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system which may be used to polish or planarize the surface of a substrate in a semiconductor device manufacturing process. Description of the Related Art Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is commonly used in the manufacturing of high-density integrated circuits to planarize or polish a layer of material deposited on a substrate. In a typical CMP process, a substrate is retained in a carrier head that presses the backside of the substrate towards a rotating polishing pad in the presence of a polishing fluid. Material is removed across the material layer surface of the substrate in contact with the polishing pad through a combination of chemical and mechanical activity which is provided by the polishing fluid and a relative motion of the substrate and the polishing pad. Typically, after one or more CMP processes are complete a polished substrate will be further processed to one or a more post-CMP substrate processing operations. For example the polished substrate may be further processed using one or a combination of cleaning, inspection, and measurement operations. Once the post-CMP operations are complete a substrate can be sent out of a CMP processing area to the next device manufacturing process, such as a lithography, etch, or deposition process. To conserve valuable manufacturing floor space and reduce labor costs, a CMP system will commonly include a first portion, e.g., a back portion, comprising a plurality of polishing stations and a second portion, e.g., a front portion which has been integrated with the first portion to from a single polishing system. The first portion may comprise one or a combination of post-CMP cleaning, inspection, and/or pre or post-CMP metrology stations. Often the first portion of a CMP system can be customized during the fabrication thereof to more particularly address the needs of specific equipment customers. For example, a CMP system may be customized to vary the number and arrangement of cleaning, inspection, or metrology stations in response to an intended use of the polishing system, such as for the type of substrate polishing operation intended to be used therewith. The second portion of the CMP system is typically less customizable than the first portion so that the number and arrangement of polishing stations, and the number and an arrangement of substrate handling systems used to transfer substrates therebetween are fixed. Further, the substrate processing throughput in a typical second portion of a multi-platen CMP system is often limited by substrate loading and unloading operations thereinto and/or substrate transfer operations between the platens thereof. Thus, particularly for polishing processes having shorter polishing time requirements, the throughput density (substrates processed per unit time per unit area of manufacturing floor space) of a CMP system will be undesirably limited by the system's substrate loading/unloading and handling configuration. Accordingly, what is needed in the art are modular CMP systems which may be customized upon customer request. Further needed are modular CMP systems where the individual polishing modules are disposed in such an arrangement that the substrate throughput of the polishing module is not limited by substrate loading and substrate unloading operations respectively thereto and therefrom. SUMMARY The present disclosure is generally related to high throughput density chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) modules and customizable modular CMP systems comprised thereof. In one embodiment, a polishing module features a carrier support module, a carrier loading station, and a polishing station. The carrier support module features a support shaft suspended from an overhead support, a carrier platform coupled to the support shaft, and one or more carrier assemblies. The one or more carrier assemblies each comprise a corresponding carrier head suspended from the carrier platform. The carrier loading station is used to transfer substrates to and from the carrier heads. The polishing station comprises a polishing platen. The carrier support module, the carrier loading station, and the polishing station comprise a one-to-one-to-one relationship within each of the polishing modules. The carrier support module is positioned to move the one or more carrier assemblies between a substrate polishing position disposed above the polishing platen and a substrate transfer position disposed above the carrier loading station. In another embodiment a modular polishing system includes a first portion and a second portion coupled to the first portion. The second portion features a plurality of polishing modules. At least one of the polishing modules features a carrier support module, a carrier loading station, and a polishing station. The carrier