Pad conditioner for conditioning a cmp pad and method of making such a pad conditioner

Abstract

The invention provides a pad conditioner for conditioning a CMP pad. The pad conditioner includes a substrate, a plurality of cavities on the substrate, a bonding agent filling in the cavities, and a plurality of abrasive particles securely placed and fixed in the cavities separately. The cavities are arranged in a regular manner and each cavity is sized such that it can accommodate only one abrasive particle. The cavities may be bowl-shaped or of other shapes. A method of making such a pad conditioner is also disclosed.

1 . A pad conditioner for conditioning a CMP pad, comprising: 
 a substrate having a plurality of cavities thereon;    a bonding agent filling the plurality of cavities; and    a plurality of abrasive particles fixed in the plurality of cavities by the bonding agent.    
     
     
         2 . The pad conditioner for conditioning a CMP pad as described in  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cavities are arranged in a regular manner.  
     
     
         3 . The pad conditioner for conditioning a CMP pad as described in  claim 2 , wherein the size of each of the plurality of cavities is such that one cavity can only accommodate one abrasive particle.  
     
     
         4 . The pad conditioner for conditioning a CMP pad as described in  claim 3 , wherein the plurality of cavities are bowl-shaped with a flat bottom, cone-shaped, or of a cylindrical shape.  
     
     
         5 . The pad conditioner for conditioning a CMP pad as described in  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of abrasive particles are fixed in the plurality of cavities with the bonding agent by way of brazing.  
     
     
         6 . The pad conditioner for conditioning a CMP pad as described in  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 a lubricating layer.    
     
     
         7 . The pad conditioner for conditioning a CMP pad as described in  claim 6 , wherein the lubricating layer is made of parylene.  
     
     
         8 . The pad conditioner for conditioning a CMP pad as described in  claim 6 , wherein the lubricating layer is made of tungsten carbide/carbon film (WC/C).  
     
     
         9 . A method of making a pad conditioner for conditioning a CMP pad, the method comprising: 
 providing a substrate;    forming a plurality of cavities on the substrate;    filling the plurality of cavities with a bonding agent;    placing a plurality of abrasive particles on the bonding agent in the cavities; and    securely and separately fixing the plurality of abrasive particles on the substrate by using the bonding agent.    
     
     
         10 . The method of making such pad conditioner as described in  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of cavities are arranged in a regular manner.  
     
     
         11 . The method of making such pad conditioner as described in  claim 9 , wherein the size of each of the plurality of cavities is such that one cavity can only accommodate one abrasive particle.  
     
     
         12 . The method of making such pad conditioner as described in  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of cavities are bowl-shaped with a flat bottom, cone-shaped, or of a cylindrical shape.  
     
     
         13 . The method of making such pad conditioner as described in  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of abrasive particles are fixed in the plurality of cavities with the bonding agent by way of brazing.  
     
     
         14 . The method of making such pad conditioner as described in  claim 9 , further comprising: 
 forming a lubricating layer on the substrate, the bonding agent, and the plurality of abrasive particles.    
     
     
         15 . The method of making such pad conditioner as described in  claim 14 , wherein the lubricating layer is made of parylene.  
     
     
         16 . The method of making such pad conditioner as described in  claim 14 , wherein the lubricating layer is made of tungsten carbide/carbon film (WC/C).  
     
     
         17 . The method of making such pad conditioner as described in  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of cavities can be formed by wet-etching, laser drilling, mechanical drilling or galvanic process.