US20120315826A1

US20120315826A1 - Device and Method for Measuring Physical Parameters of Slurry and Chemical Mechanical Polishing Apparatus Comprising the Device

Info

Publication number: US20120315826A1
Application number: US13/387,941
Authority: US
Inventors: Xinchun Lu; Dewen Zhao; Yongyong He; Jianbin Luo
Original assignee: Tsinghua University
Current assignee: Tsinghua University
Priority date: 2011-03-10
Filing date: 2011-06-07
Publication date: 2012-12-13
Also published as: WO2012119354A1; TW201236813A; CN102221416A; CN102221416B

Abstract

The present disclosure discloses a device for measuring physical parameters of a slurry used in a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus and measuring method using the same. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus comprises a polishing head, a rotary table, a polishing platen and a polishing pad having a through-hole. The device for measuring physical parameters of slurry comprises: a sensor disposed in the polishing platen and adapted to contacted the slurry via the through-hole of the polishing pad for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry; a converter disposed in the rotary table and coupled to the sensor for converting a measuring signal of the sensor into a standard electrical signal; and a processing unit coupled to the converter for acquiring the standard electrical signal to calculate physical parameters of the slurry. According to the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry of an embodiment of the present disclosure, the physical parameters of slurry between the polishing head and the polishing pad may be in-suit measured and obtained. The present disclosure further discloses a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus having the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry.

Description

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a device for measuring physical parameters of a slurry used in a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, a method for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry using the device, and a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus including the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry.

BACKGROUND

A planarization polishing process of a film attached on a surface of a wafer is required to perform in order to satisfy the subsequent processing requirements during a process of fabricating an integrated circuit. Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is a widely used planarization method currently.
A basic principle of CMP is that: rotations of a polishing head and a polishing pad may generate a relative motion required by polishing. A wafer is carried in the polishing head and the polish pad is attached onto a surface of a polish disk. A predetermined pressure is applied by the polishing head to press the wafer onto a surface of the polish pad. With the aid of the relative motion between the wafer and the polishing pad, and with the polishing particles in a slurry, precise polishing may be realized.
On one hand, a high material removal rate is required by CMP to improve production efficiency, on the other hand, a high uniformity should be ensured so as to control the non-uniformity in a reasonable extent. Otherwise, the wafer may be scrapped. In order to obtain a better flatness, the polishing pressure is needed to accurately control. Many related technologies such as regional pressure control method have been used, however the conventional methods may only control a back-pressure of the wafer, the real pressure between the wafer and the polishing pad is not known and there is suitable method to measure the real pressure.
A hydrodynamic lubrication or a mixed lubrication may be formed at the interface between the wafer and the polishing pad because of the relative motion between the wafer and the polishing pad. Since the back-pressure applied to the back surface of the wafer is actually borne by a fluid pressure and a contact pressure jointly, a distribution of the contact pressure can be calculated from a distribution of the fluid pressure. The contact pressure is a main factor affecting the mechanical action in the polishing process.
A temperature distribution may have a strong influence upon the physical performance of the polishing pad and the chemical performance of the slurry so as to affect the CMP process.
Therefore, it is advantageous to obtain the real distribution of the pressure and temperature between the wafer and the polishing pad so as to control the pressure and improve the polishing quality of the wafer.
Up to now, the distribution of the contact pressure of the CMP interface is off line measured, the fluid pressure at the interface is based on the study of simple test on experimental device, which can not reflect the real pressure, and the temperature is measured by an infrared method with low precise.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to solve at least one of problems existing in the prior art.
Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a device used in a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus to in-suit measure and obtain physical parameters of a slurry between a polishing head and a polishing pad. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a method for in-suit measuring the physical parameters of the slurry using the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus including the device for measuring the thickness of the slurry.
In order to achieve the above objects, according to embodiments of a first aspect of the present disclosure, a device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry used in the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus is provided. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus comprises a polishing head, a rotary table, a polishing platen disposed on an upper surface of the rotary table, and a polishing pad disposed on an upper surface of the polishing platen and opposed to the polishing head and having a through-hole. The device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry according to embodiments of the present disclosure comprises: a sensor disposed in the polishing platen and adapted to contact the slurry via the through-hole of the polishing pad for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry; a converter disposed in the rotary table and coupled to the sensor for converting a measuring signal from the sensor into a standard electrical signal; and a processing unit coupled to the converter for acquiring the standard electrical signal to obtain the physical parameters of the slurry.
With the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry used in the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensor contacts the slurry via the through-hole in the polishing pad, and is rotated with the polishing platen during polishing so as to sector scan a whole surface of the wafer, so that the device may in-suit measure the physical parameters of the slurry between the polishing head and the polishing pad (i.e., the physical parameters of slurry between the wafer and the polishing pad). The device also has the converter coupled to the sensor for converting the measuring signal of the sensor into the standard electrical signal, and the processing unit coupled to the converter for in-suit acquiring the physical parameters of the slurry.
In some embodiments, a first groove is formed in the upper surface of the rotary table and covered by the polishing platen to define a first chamber in which the converter is disposed.
In some embodiments, a second groove is formed in the upper surface of the polishing platen and covered by the polishing pad to define a second chamber, and the sensor is disposed in the second chamber and corresponds to the through-hole.
In some embodiments, the device for measuring physical parameters of slurry further comprises a mounting panel disposed in the second chamber, and the sensor is mounted on the mounting panel. By disposing the mounting panel in the second chamber, the sensor (especially a plurality of sensors) may be more conveniently disposed in the second chamber.
In some embodiments, a plurality of through-holes are formed and arranged along a radial direction of the polishing platen at intervals, and a plurality of sensors are provided and arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen at intervals and correspond to the plurality of through-holes respectively. By disposing the plurality of sensors to simultaneously measure the physical parameters of slurry between the wafer and the polishing pad at different positions, a measuring data density may be increased so that a distribution of the physical parameters of slurry may be obtained more accurately.
In some embodiments, the plurality of through-holes are arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen at equal intervals, and the plurality of sensors are arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen at equal intervals.
In some embodiments, the plurality of through-holes are arranged along a plurality of radial directions of the polishing disk, and the plurality of sensors are arranged in a plurality of one-dimensional linear arrays along the plurality of radial directions of the polishing disk.
In some embodiments, a plurality of mounting panels are provided and the plurality of one-dimensional linear arrays of the sensors are correspondingly mounted on the plurality of mounting panels.
In some embodiments, the sensor is a temperature sensor and/or a pressure sensor, and the converter is a temperature converter and/or a pressure converter, in which the temperature sensor is coupled to the temperature converter, and the pressure sensor is coupled to the pressure converter.
In some embodiments, the processing unit further comprises a slip ring having a rotating part mounted on the rotary table and coupled to the converter, in which a rotating central axis of the rotating part of the slip ring coincides with a rotating central axis of the rotary table; an acquisition card coupled to a static part of the slip ring for acquiring the standard electrical signal; a signal converter coupled to the acquisition card for converting the standard electrical signal into a digital signal; a calculation module coupled to the signal converter for calculating the physical parameters of the slurry using the digital signal; and a display terminal coupled to the calculation module for displaying the physical parameters of the slurry.
According to embodiments of a second aspect of the present disclosure, a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus is provided. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus comprises: a rotary table; a polishing platen disposed on an upper surface of the rotary table; a polishing pad disposed on an upper surface of the polishing platen and having a through-hole; a polishing head opposed to the polishing pad; and the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry according to embodiments of the first aspect of the present disclosure, in which the sensor is disposed in the polishing platen and adapted to contact the slurry via the through-hole in the polishing pad for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry, the converter is disposed in the rotary table and coupled to the sensor for converting a measuring signal from the sensor into a standard electrical signal, and the processing unit is coupled to the converter for acquiring the standard electrical signal to calculate the physical parameters of the slurry.
With the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus of an embodiment of the present disclosure, by employing the device for measuring physical parameters of slurry in accordance with embodiments of the first aspect of the present disclosure, the physical parameters of the slurry between the polishing head and the polishing pad (i.e., the physical parameters of the slurry between the wafer and the polishing pad) may be in-suit measured and obtained. Therefore, the flatness of the wafer may be improved by using the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus to chemical mechanical polish the wafer.
In some embodiments, the first groove is formed in the upper surface of the rotary table and covered by the polishing platen to define the first chamber, in which the converter is disposed.
In some embodiments, the second groove is formed in the upper surface of the polishing platen and covered by the polishing pad to define the second chamber, and the sensor is disposed in the second chamber and corresponds to the through-hole.
According to embodiments of a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method for measuring the physical parameters of slurry is provided. The method comprises the steps of: A) during a chemical mechanical polishing process, sector scanning a whole surface of a wafer and measuring the physical parameters of the slurry to obtain a measuring signal using the sensor of the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry according to embodiments of the first aspect of the present disclosure; and B) converting the measuring signal from the sensor into a standard electrical signal using the converter, then acquiring the standard electrical signal at a predetermined frequency using the processing unit to obtain the physical parameters of the slurry.
With the method of an embodiment of the present disclosure, by using the sensor of the device for measuring physical parameters of slurry in accordance with embodiments of the first aspect of the present disclosure to sector scan the whole surface of the wafer, the physical parameters of the slurry between the polishing head and the polishing pad may be in-suit measured and obtained.
In some embodiments, the sensor is a temperature sensor and/or a pressure sensor for measuring a temperature and/or a pressure of the slurry.
Additional aspects and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will be given in part in the following descriptions, become apparent in part from the following descriptions, or be learned from the practice of embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic structure view of a device for measuring physical parameters of a slurry according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry according to the embodiment of the present disclosure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structure view of the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structure view of the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of measuring the physical parameters of slurry using the device for measuring physical parameters of slurry according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Reference signs:
polishing head 10, wafer 11, rotary table 20, first chamber 21, polishing platen 30, second chamber 31, polishing pad 40, through-hole 41, sensor 50, converter 60, processing unit 70, slip ring 71, an acquisition card 72, display terminal 73, mounting panel 80.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail in the following descriptions, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which the same or similar elements and elements having same or similar functions are denoted by like reference numerals throughout the descriptions. Embodiments described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings are explanatory and illustrative, which are used to generally understand the present disclosure. Embodiments shall not be construed to limit the present disclosure.
In the description, relative terms such as “longitudinal”, “lateral”, “front”, “rear”, “right”, “left”, “lower”, “upper”, “horizontal”, “vertical”, “above”, “below”, “up”, “top”, “bottom” as well as derivative thereof (e.g., “horizontally”, “downwardly”, “upwardly”, etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawings under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the present disclosure be constructed or operated in a particular orientation.
In addition, terms such as “first” and “second” are used herein for purposes of description and are not intended to indicate or imply relative importance or significance.
In the description, terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “coupled” and “intercoupled”, refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another through mechanical or electrical connection, or directly or indirectly through intervening structures, unless expressly described otherwise. Specific implications of the above phraseology and terminology may be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.
A device for measuring physical parameters of a slurry (polishing slurry) used in the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described referring to FIGS. 1-4. As shown in FIGS. 1-4, the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus comprises a polishing head 10, a rotary table 20, a polishing platen 30 disposed on an upper surface of the rotary table 10 and a polishing pad 40 disposed on an upper surface of the polishing platen 30 and opposed to the polishing head 10. The polishing pad 40 has a through-hole 41. The device for measuring physical parameters of slurry comprises a sensor 50, a converter 60 and a processor 70. The sensor 50 is disposed in the polishing platen 30 and adapted to contact the slurry via the through-hole 41 in the polishing pad 40 for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry. The converter 60 is disposed in the rotary table 20 and coupled to the sensor 50 for converting a measuring signal from the sensor into a standard electrical signal. The processing unit 70 is coupled to the converter 60 for acquiring the standard electrical signal to obtain the physical parameters of the slurry.
With the device for the measuring physical parameters of the slurry according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensor 50 is disposed in the polishing platen 30, contacts the slurry via the through-hole 41 of the polishing pad 40, and is rotated with the polishing platen 30 during polishing process so as to sector scan the whole surface of the wafer, so that the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry may in-suit measure the physical parameters of the slurry. The device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry also has the converter 60 coupled to the sensor 50 for converting the measuring signal of the sensor 50 into the standard electrical signal, and the processing unit 70 coupled to the converter 60 for in-suit acquiring the physical parameters of the slurry.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a first groove may be formed in the upper surface of the rotary table 20 and covered by the polishing platen 30 to define a first chamber 21, in which the converter 60 may be disposed in the first chamber 21.
As shown in FIGS. 1-4, a plurality of through-holes 41 may be formed and arranged along a radial direction of the polishing platen 30 at intervals, and a plurality of sensors 50 may be provided and arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen 30 at intervals. The plurality of sensors 50 may be in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of through-holes 41, respectively, that is, the quantity and position of the sensors 50 are corresponded to those of the through-holes 41. By disposing the plurality of sensors 50 to simultaneously measure the physical parameters of the slurry between the wafer 11 and the polishing pad 40 at different positions, the measuring data density may be increased so that the distribution of the physical parameters of the slurry may be obtained more accurately. In an embodiment, the plurality of sensors 50 are arranged into a one-dimensional linear array along the radial directions of the polishing platen 30. Specifically, the plurality of through-holes 41 may be arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen 30 at equal intervals, and the plurality of sensors 50 may be arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen 30 at equal intervals. The plurality of sensors 50 may be corresponded to the plurality of through-holes 41, respectively.
In some embodiments, the sensor 50 is a temperature sensor and/or a pressure sensor, and the converter 60 is a temperature converter and/or a pressure converter. The temperature sensor is coupled to the temperature converter, and the pressure sensor is coupled to the pressure converter. In an embodiment, a plurality of temperature sensors may be provided as the sensor 50. The plurality of temperature sensors may be arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen 30 to form a one-dimensional linear array. In another embodiment, a plurality of pressure sensors may be provided as the sensor 50. The plurality of pressure sensors may be arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen to form a one-dimensional linear array. Specifically, a plurality of temperature sensors and a plurality of pressure sensors may be provided as the sensor 50. The plurality of temperature sensors may be arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen 30 to form a one-dimensional linear temperature sensor array and the plurality of pressure sensors may be arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen 30 to form a one-dimensional linear pressure sensor array for simultaneously measuring the temperature and pressure of the slurry.
As shown in FIG. 4, the plurality of through-holes 41 may be arranged along a plurality of radial directions of the polishing platen 30, and the plurality of sensors 50 may be arranged along a plurality of radial directions of the polishing platen 30 to form a plurality of one-dimensional linear arrays. Therefore, the measuring data density may be further increased so that the distribution of the physical parameters of slurry may be obtained more accurately. Each one-dimensional linear array may comprise one sensor 50 or a plurality of sensors 50. A plurality of temperature sensors may be arranged along a plurality of radial directions of the polishing platen 30 to form a plurality of one-dimensional linear temperature sensor arrays, or a plurality of pressure sensors may be arranged along a plurality of radial directions of the polishing platen to form a plurality of one-dimensional linear pressure sensor arrays, or a plurality of temperature sensors may be arranged along a plurality of radial directions of the polishing platen to form a plurality of one-dimensional linear temperature sensor arrays and a plurality of pressure sensors may be arranged along a plurality of radial directions of the polishing platen to form a plurality of one-dimensional linear pressure sensor arrays for simultaneously measuring the temperature and pressure of the slurry. Specifically, the plurality of one-dimensional linear arrays may be uniformly mounted in the polishing platen 30, that is, the plurality of one-dimensional linear arrays may be disposed in the polishing platen 30 at equal angle intervals along the circumferential direction of the wafer, that is, the angles of the two adjacent one-dimensional linear arrays may be equal (e.g. 90 degree).
In some embodiments, the polishing platen 30 may have a mounting hole in which the sensor 50 may be mounted. One mounting hole may be disposed when there is one sensor 50. A plurality of mounting holes may be disposed when a plurality of sensors 50 are provided. In this case, the sensors 50 may be mounted in the mounting holes correspondingly.
Referring to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, a second groove may be formed in the upper surface of the polishing platen 30 and covered by the polishing pad 40 to define the second chamber 31. The sensor 50 may be disposed in the second chamber 31. When the number of the sensor 50 is large, the sensors 50 may be more conveniently disposed by forming the second groove on the upper surface of the polishing platen 30.
In an embodiment, the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry may further comprise a mounting panel 80 disposed in the second chamber 31, and the sensor 50 may be disposed on the mounting panel 80. By disposing the mounting panel 80 in the second chamber 31, the sensor (especially a plurality of sensors 50) may be more conveniently disposed in the second chamber 31, and the plurality of sensors 50 may be more conveniently and accurately arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen 30 at intervals. Specifically, the mounting panel 80 may be a long strip having two arc-shape ends so as to fit within an internal wall of the second chamber 31.
In an embodiment, the plurality of one-dimensional linear arrays are mounted on a plurality of mounting panels 80 correspondingly, that is, one one-dimensional linear array may be mounted on one mounting panel 80.
Referring to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the processing unit 70 may comprise a slip ring 71, an acquisition card 72, a signal converter, a calculation module and a display terminal 73. The slip ring 71 may have a rotating part mounted on the rotary table 20 and coupled to the converter 60. A rotating central axis of the rotating part of the slip ring 71 coincides with a rotating central axis of the rotary table. Therefore, the rotating part of the slip ring 71 may rotate together with the rotary table 20. The acquisition card 72 may connect to a static part of the slip ring 71 for acquiring the standard electrical signal. The signal converter may connect to the acquisition card 72 for converting the standard electrical signal into a digital signal. The calculation module may connect to the signal converter for calculating the physical parameters of slurry using the digital signal. The display terminal 73 may connect to the calculation module for displaying the physical parameters of slurry. Specifically, the display terminal 73 may be a conventional display. In an embodiment, a computer comprising the signal converter, the calculation module and the display terminal 73 may be used to coupled to the acquisition card 72.
The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described referring to FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises the rotary table 20, the polishing platen 30, the polishing pad 40, the polishing head 10 and the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry. The polishing platen 30 is disposed on the upper surface of the rotary table 20. The polishing pad 40 having a through-hole is disposed on the upper surface of the polishing platen 30. The polishing head 10 is opposed to the polishing pad 40. The device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry may be the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry according to the above embodiments of the present disclosure. The sensor 50 is disposed in the polishing platen 30 and adapted to contact the slurry via the through-hole 41 of the polishing pad 40 for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry. The converter 60 is disposed in the rotary table 20 and coupled to the sensor 50 for converting the measuring signal of the sensor into the standard electrical signal. The processing unit 70 is coupled to the converter 60 for acquiring the standard electrical signal to calculate the physical parameters of the slurry.
The physical parameters of the slurry between the wafer 11 and the polishing pad 40 may be in-suit measured and obtained by the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus having the device for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry according to the above embodiments of the present disclosure. Thus, the flatness of the wafer 11 may be improved by using the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus to chemical mechanical polish the wafer 11.
In an embodiment, the first groove may be formed in the upper surface of the rotary table 20 and covered by the polishing platen 30 to define the first chamber 21. The converter 60 may be disposed in the first chamber. In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the second groove may be formed in the upper surface of the polishing platen 30 and covered by the polishing pad 40 to define the second chamber 31. The sensor 50 may be disposed in the second chamber 31. When the number of the sensor 50 is large, the sensors 50 may be more conveniently disposed by forming the second groove on the upper surface of the polishing platen 30.
A method for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described referring to FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, the method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises the following steps.
A) during a chemical mechanical polishing process, sector scanning the whole surface of the wafer and measuring the physical parameters of the slurry to obtain a measuring signal using the sensor 50 of the device for measuring physical parameters of slurry according to the above embodiments of the present disclosure; and
B) converting the measuring signal measured from the sensor 50 into a standard electrical signal using the converter 60, then acquiring the standard electrical signal at a predetermined frequency using the processing unit 70 to obtain the physical parameters of the slurry.
Specially, as shown in FIG. 5, R_jis a radial position of the sensor 50, j is a serial number of the sensor 50, and i is a serial number of an acquisition angle position of physical parameters measuring data. An angle position interval between two adjacent acquisitions may be controlled by controlling the acquisition frequency of the acquisition card 72 depending on requirements. The sensor 50 is rotated with the polishing platen 30 so as to sector scan the whole surface of the wafer, so that distributions of the physical parameters of slurry (such as temperature and/or pressure) between the wafer 11 and the polishing pad 40 are obtained. For instance, the number of the sensor 50 is n, and the acquisition number of the physical parameters measuring data is m. Thus, m×n data may be obtained when the sensor 50 is rotated by one turn with the polishing platen 30. As shown in FIG. 5, an acquisition of distance measuring data starts at the position of i=1, and ends at the position of i=m. The physical parameters of slurry may be measured by the corresponding sensor, for instance, the temperature of slurry may be measured by the temperature sensor, or the pressure of slurry may be measured by the pressure sensor, or the temperature and pressure may be measured by the temperature sensor and the pressure sensor, respectively.
With the embodiments of the present disclosure, the physical parameters of the slurry between the polishing head 10 and the polishing pad 40 may be in-suit measured and obtained. Therefore, a flatness of the wafer 11 may be improved based on the measurement data.
Reference throughout this specification to “an embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “an embodiment”, “an example”, “a specific examples”, or “some examples” means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least an embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Thus, the appearances of the phrases such as “in some embodiments”, “in an embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, “an example”, “a specific examples”, or “some examples” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.
Although explanatory embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes, alternatives, and modifications all falling into the scope of the claims and their equivalents may be made in embodiments without departing from spirit and principles of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A device for measuring physical parameters of a slurry used in a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus comprising a polishing head, a rotary table, a polishing platen disposed on an upper surface of the rotary table, and a polishing pad disposed on an upper surface of the polishing platen and opposed to the polishing head and having a through-hole, the device comprising:

a sensor disposed in the polishing platen and adapted to contact the slurry via the through-hole of the polishing pad for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry;

a converter disposed in the rotary table and coupled to the sensor for converting a measuring signal from the sensor into a standard electrical signal; and

a processing unit coupled to the converter for acquiring the standard electrical signal to obtain the physical parameters of the slurry.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein a first groove is formed in the upper surface of the rotary table and covered by the polishing platen to define a first chamber in which the converter is disposed.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein a second groove is formed in the upper surface of the polishing platen and covered by the polishing pad to define a second chamber, and the sensor is disposed in the second chamber and corresponds to the through-hole.

4. The device according to claim 3, further comprising a mounting panel disposed in the second chamber, and the sensor is mounted on the mounting panel.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of through-holes are formed and arranged along a radial direction of the polishing platen at intervals, and a plurality of sensors are provided and arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen at intervals and correspond to the plurality of through-holes respectively.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of through-holes are arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen at equal intervals, and the plurality of sensors are arranged along the radial direction of the polishing platen at equal intervals.

7. The device according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of through-holes are arranged along a plurality of radial directions of the polishing disk, and the plurality of sensors are arranged in a plurality of one-dimensional linear arrays along the plurality of radial directions of the polishing disk.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of mounting panels are provided and the plurality of one-dimensional linear arrays of the sensors are correspondingly mounted on the plurality of mounting panels.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a temperature sensor and/or a pressure sensor, and the converter is a temperature converter and/or a pressure converter, in which the temperature sensor is coupled to the temperature converter, and the pressure sensor is coupled to the pressure converter.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit comprises:

a slip ring having a rotating part mounted on the rotary table and coupled to the converter, in which a rotating central axis of the rotating part of the slip ring coincides with a rotating central axis of the rotary table;

an acquisition card coupled to a static part of the slip ring for acquiring the standard electrical signal;

a signal converter coupled to the acquisition card for converting the standard electrical signal into a digital signal;

a calculation module coupled to the signal converter for calculating the physical parameters of the slurry using the digital signal; and

a display terminal coupled to the calculation module for displaying the physical parameters of the slurry.

11. A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, comprising:

a rotary table;

a polishing platen disposed on an upper surface of the rotary table;

a polishing pad disposed on an upper surface of the polishing platen and having a through-hole;

a polishing head opposed to the polishing pad; and

a device for measuring physical parameters of a slurry, the device comprising:

12. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein a first groove is formed in the upper surface of the rotary table and covered by the polishing platen to define a first chamber in which the converter is disposed.

13. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to claim 11, a second groove is formed in the upper surface of the polishing platen and covered by the polishing pad to define a second chamber, and the sensor is disposed in the second chamber and corresponds to the through-hole.

14. A method for measuring physical parameters of a slurry, comprising:

A) during a chemical mechanical polishing process, sector scanning a whole surface of a wafer and measuring physical parameters of a slurry to obtain a measuring signal using the sensor of a device for measuring physical parameters of the slurry, the device comprising: a sensor disposed in the polishing platen and adapted to contact the slurry via the through-hole of the polishing pad for measuring the physical parameters of the slurry; a converter disposed in the rotary table and coupled to the sensor for converting a measuring signal from the sensor into a standard electrical signal; and a processing unit coupled to the converter for acquiring the standard electrical signal to obtain the physical parameters of the slurry; and

B) converting the measuring signal from the sensor into a standard electrical signal using the converter, then acquiring the standard electrical signal at a predetermined frequency using the processing unit to obtain the physical parameters of the slurry.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the sensor is a temperature sensor and/or a pressure sensor for measuring a temperature and/or a pressure of the slurry.