3M microreplicated Trizact TM pad conditioners for FEOL tungsten plug and metal gate applications

In this paper, a novel pad conditioner, 3M TM Trizact TM Pad Conditioner, B6-M990, consisting of precisely engineered microreplicated abrasive structures coated with a chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond film is demonstrated for Front End Of Line (FEOL) Tungsten plug and metal gate applications. Baseline marathon data of W plug and gate processes, comparing the Trizact™ Pad Conditioner to a diamond grit pad conditioner (DG) were generated on a 300 mm AMAT Reflexion ® tool. In-situ and ex-situ conditioning processes showed that the pad/conditioner lifetime could be extended by at least a factor of 3 using B6-M990 Trizact™ Pad Conditioner versus the diamond grit conditioner while maintaining the same W and TEOS removal rates.