Abstract: An apparatus is provided for conditioning a polishing pad used for chemical-mechanical polishing. The apparatus comprises the retainer ring used to retain the semiconductor wafer against the polishing pad. Accordingly, the retainer ring serves a dual purpose: to retain the wafer in proper CMP position as well as condition the polishing surface while polishing of the wafer. The retainer ring includes an inner surface defining an opening to receive the semiconductor wafer. Dimensioned radially outside the inner surface is an outer surface. Placed on the distal ends between the inner and outer surfaces is an abrasive surface. The abrasive surface extends along a plane parallel to the retained frontside surface of the wafer. Both the wafer and the abrasive surface contact the polishing surface either in a rotation about a stationary axis or orbital movement about that axis.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are presented for polishing removal of a select amount of material from a surface of a semiconductor wafer. The apparatus includes a polishing pad having a moveable planar polishing surface. The surface of the semiconductor wafer and a surface of at least one sacrificial member are retained against the polishing surface. A measurement system determines an amount of material removed from the surface of the sacrificial member. The measurement system includes a sensor unit for each sacrificial member coupled to a computational device. Each sensor unit is used to determine the amount of material remaining at the surface of the corresponding sacrificial member. The computational device determines the amount of material removed from the surface of each sacrificial member based upon the amount of material remaining at the surface. The amount of material removed from the surface of the sacrificial member corresponds to an amount of material removed from the surface of the semiconductor wafer.

Abstract: A polishing apparatus and method is disclosed, whereby fluid is delivered at dissimilar flow rates and pressures across a wafer. The fluid is delivered either directly to the wafer or through a polishing pad. Changing the fluid delivery allows the removal properties of the fluid to polish material from the wafer surface based on the location of that material relative to the center of the wafer. The fluid delivery system and the polishing pad oscillate relative to a rotating wafer. The radius of oscillation is relatively small compared to the size of the wafer to allow removal along one or more concentric rings and/or circles across the wafer.