Systems and Methods for Dynamic Slurry Blending and Control

Abstract

Systems and methods for dynamic slurry blending and control are described. A method comprises applying a slurry to a wafer during a polishing process, detecting a wafer property during the polishing process, and changing a slurry property during the polishing process based, at least in part, upon the detected wafer property. In another embodiment, a system comprises a slurry mixer, a polisher coupled to the slurry mixer via a slurry feeder, the polisher being configured to receive a slurry from the slurry mixer via the slurry feeder and to apply the slurry to a wafer during a polishing process, and a computer coupled to the slurry mixer and to the polisher, the computer being configured to receive a signal indicative of a detected wafer property and to control the slurry mixer to change a slurry property during the polishing process based, at least in part, upon the detected wafer property.

1 . A method comprising:
 applying a slurry to a semiconductor wafer during a polishing process;   detecting a semiconductor wafer property during the polishing process; and   changing a slurry property during the polishing process based, at least in part, upon the detected semiconductor wafer property.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , the slurry property comprising at least one of: a slurry composition, a slurry injection point, and a slurry temperature. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , the polishing process comprising copper removal. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , the polishing process comprising barrier removal. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , the detected semiconductor wafer property comprising at least one of an optical reflectivity, an eddy current, a temperature, and a friction coefficient. 
   
   
       6 . A method comprising:
 applying a slurry to a semiconductor wafer during a polishing process;   detecting a waste property during the polishing process; and   changing a slurry property during the polishing process based, at least in part, upon the detected waste property.   
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , where detecting the waste property further comprises performing a Raman spectroscopy measurement. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 6 , where detecting the waste property further comprises performing a differential Raman spectroscopy measurement. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 6 , the slurry property comprising at least one of: a slurry composition, a slurry injection point, and a slurry temperature. 
   
   
       10 . A system comprising:
 a slurry mixer;   a polisher coupled to the slurry mixer via a slurry feeder, the polisher being configured to receive a slurry from the slurry mixer via the slurry feeder and to apply the slurry to a semiconductor wafer during a polishing process; and   a computer coupled to the slurry mixer and to the polisher, the computer being configured to receive a signal indicative of a detected semiconductor wafer property and to control the slurry mixer to change a slurry property during the polishing process based, at least in part, upon the detected semiconductor wafer property.   
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , the slurry property comprising at least one of: a slurry composition, a slurry injection point, and a slurry temperature. 
   
   
       12 . The system of  claim 10 , the slurry feeder comprising a plurality of feeding outlets, each of the plurality of feeding outlets being directed to a different area of the semiconductor wafer in a non-uniform arrangement. 
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 12 , the computer being further configured to control usage of one or more of the plurality of feeding outlets based, at least in part, upon the detected semiconductor wafer property. 
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising a wafer measurement device coupled to the polisher and configured to measure the detected semiconductor wafer property. 
   
   
       15 . The system of  claim 14 , the wafer measurement device comprising an optical sensor. 
   
   
       16 . A computer readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer to perform steps comprising:
 detecting a property of a semiconductor wafer undergoing a polishing process; and   changing a slurry property during the polishing process based, at least in part, upon the detected semiconductor wafer property.   
   
   
       17 . The computer readable medium of  claim 16 , the slurry property comprising at least one of: a slurry composition, a slurry injection point, and a slurry temperature. 
   
   
       18 . The computer readable medium of  claim 17 , where changing the slurry property comprises at least one of:
 controlling a plurality of valves of a slurry mixer;   controlling a plurality of slurry injection points; and   controlling a slurry temperature.   
   
   
       19 . The computer readable medium of  claim 18 , where detecting the semiconductor wafer property comprises controlling an optical sensor. 
   
   
       20 . The computer readable medium of  claim 19 , the semiconductor wafer property comprising an optical reflectivity.