Chemical mechanical planarization pad with a release liner comprising a pull tab

Abstract

A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) pad with a release liner that has a pull tab is prepared by contacting the CMP pad to an adhesive layer with release liner. The adhesive layer sheet is cut along a first portion of a perimeter of the CMP pad. An extension of the adhesive layer is cut that extends beyond an edge of the CMP pad at the remaining portion of the perimeter of the CMP pad, thereby creating an extension of the adhesive layer sheet with the adhesive layer exposed. The exposed adhesive layer is cut to a depth not to extend into the release liner. The adhesive layer is removed from the exposed region leaving only the release liner pull tab as a continuous extension of the release liner material.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An article, comprising:
 a chemical mechanical polishing pad having a circular shape, the chemical mechanical polishing pad comprising a polishing layer; and   a release liner comprising:
 a body portion having substantially the same shape as the circularly shaped chemical mechanical polishing pad, wherein the body portion comprises a release liner layer and an adhesive layer, wherein the adhesive layer is in contact with the chemical mechanical polishing pad; and 
 a pull tab comprising an extension of the release liner layer of the body portion that extends beyond an edge of the chemical mechanical polishing pad. 
   
     
     
         2 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the body portion further comprises:
 a carrier film layer contacting the adhesive layer; 
 a secondary adhesive layer contacting the carrier film layer; and 
   the release liner layer is contacting the secondary adhesive layer.   
     
     
         3 . The article of  claim 2 , wherein the pull tab comprises the extension of the release liner layer of the body portion without the adhesive layer, carrier film layer, and the secondary adhesive layer. 
     
     
         4 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the release liner layer of the body portion and the pull tab form a continuous sheet of material. 
     
     
         5 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the release liner layer comprises one of a polyester film, kraft paper, or any other material protecting the adhesive layer. 
     
     
         6 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the pull tab has a semicircular shape. 
     
     
         7 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the pull tab has a rectangular shape. 
     
     
         8 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the pull tab is configured to decrease occurrence of damage to the chemical mechanical polishing pad when the release liner layer is removed from the chemical mechanical polishing pad. 
     
     
         9 . The article of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of pull tabs, each pull tab comprising an extension of the release liner layer of the body portion that extends beyond the edge of the body portion. 
     
     
         10 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the pull tab comprises a width along the edge of the body portion and a length directed away from the edge of the body portion, wherein the width and length are a predefined fraction of a characteristic size of the chemical mechanical polishing pad. 
     
     
         11 . A method for preparing a pull tab in a release liner for a chemical mechanical polishing pad, the method comprising:
 providing the chemical mechanical polishing pad;   contacting the chemical mechanical polishing pad to a sheet of adhesive material, the sheet of the adhesive material comprising an adhesive layer and a release liner layer;   cutting the sheet of adhesive material along a first portion of a perimeter of the chemical mechanical polishing pad;   cutting an extension of the adhesive material that extends beyond an edge of the chemical mechanical polishing pad at the remaining portion of the perimeter of the chemical mechanical polishing pad, thereby creating an extension of the adhesive material with the adhesive layer exposed;   contacting a surface to the exposed adhesive layer of the created extension of the adhesive material; and   removing the contacted surface from the exposed adhesive layer, thereby removing the adhesive layer from the extension of the release liner and forming the pull tab.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein a length of the remaining portion of the perimeter of the edge of the chemical mechanical polishing pad is a predefined fraction of a characteristic size of the chemical mechanical polishing pad. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising, before contacting the surface to the exposed adhesive layer, cutting along the remaining portion of the perimeter of the chemical mechanical polishing pad at a decreased depth such that the release liner layer is not cut through along the remaining portion of the perimeter of the chemical mechanical polishing pad. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein steps of cutting the adhesive material along the first portion of the perimeter of the chemical mechanical polishing pad and cutting the extension of the adhesive material are performed using an automated cutting tool. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the pull tab is configured to decrease occurrence of damage to the chemical mechanical polishing pad when the release liner layer is removed from the chemical mechanical polishing pad. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein cutting the adhesive material along the first portion of the perimeter of the chemical mechanical polishing pad comprises manually cutting along the edge of the chemical mechanical polishing pad. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein cutting the extension of the adhesive material that extends beyond the edge of the chemical mechanical polishing pad comprises:
 providing a cutting guide comprising an alignment edge configured to align with the edge of the chemical mechanical polishing pad and an extension-design edge defining a shape of the to-be-cut extension of the adhesive material;   contacting the alignment edge of the cutting guide to the edge of the chemical mechanical polishing pad at the remaining portion of the perimeter of the chemical mechanical polishing pad; and   manually cutting along the extension-design edge of the cutting guide.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising, prior to removing the contacted surface from the exposed adhesive material, applying force to the surface. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the release liner layer is a polyester film, kraft paper, or other material protecting the adhesive material. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the chemical mechanical polishing pad comprises a polishing layer and a subpad layer; and   an adhesion strength between the polishing layer and the subpad layer is less than an adhesion strength between the subpad layer and the adhesive layer of the adhesive material.