Selection of CVD Diamond Crystal Size on a CVD Pad Conditioner for Improved Lifetime

Abstract

Pad conditioners are important consumables for semiconductor chemical mechanical planarization processes. Recently, a new concept has been developed to improve the performance and lifetime of a pad conditioner by depositing diamond film on a uniformly patterned substrate. In this study, we investigated the pad conditioner lifetime while varying the crystal size of the deposited diamond film, which was controlled via different methane (CH4) gas concentrations in hydrogen gas (H-2). Microcrystalline diamond (MCD) film was formed using 2% CH4 in H-2 flow and nanocrystalline diamond film (NCD) was formed with 4% CH4. The NCD film showed a longer lifetime and higher adhesion with the substrate than the MCD film. [GRAPHICS]