CMP Retaining Rings

Semplastics’ CMP retaining rings are world renowned for having the tightest precision tolerances in the industry. The flatness and parallelism of these retaining rings impact CMP processing specifications.

Plastics are much more difficult to machine to ultra-precision tolerances than metals or ceramics. Semplastics incorporates its proprietary ULTRAFLAT™ manufacturing technology to achieve best-in-class flatness and parallelism. Semplastics has manufacturing expertise in over 300 different types of plastics, each requiring unique processing and machining techniques. Knowledge of the plastic material is essential in machining ultra-precision parts.

ULTRAFLAT™ – Semplastics’ proprietary technology holds flatness and parallelism of a specified dimension in a mounted and fixed position:

• 15 microns maximum for 200mm applications
• 25 microns maximum for 300mm applications

All CMP rings are manufactured with ULTRAFLAT™ technology- US patent no. 7,160,493. We possess superior plastics knowledge that allows for optimizing both the machining and wear properties. Different plastics require variations in machining to achieve ultra-precision metrics. Surface finish can be optimized to reduce break-in times for friction applications. We consistently achieve superior quality control for ring manufacture. Each ring is identified and measured for ID, thickness, parallelism, flatness–all QC controlled and traceable.

We have developed a unique C-10™ plastic optimized for CMP applications. C-10™ is widely accepted in the semiconductor industry and has been proven to outperform PEEK and PPS in oxide applications by 2.5-3.0 times. Based on Semplastics’ CMP abrasion testing, we have identified proprietary plastic formulations that extend ring life for specific CMP processes. C-10™ is the newest proprietary formulation. The CMP abrasion performance of C-10™ is documented in the following PDF file:

CMP Material Study

Furthermore, a significant improvement in WIWNU has been achieved with C-10™. Contact us today to learn more details about the quality and cost savings benefits of this material.

Semplastics manufactures retaining rings for a diversity of CMP equipment, 150mm-300mm wafer sizes. Including:

• AMAT
  • Mirra
  • ReflexionR
• Ebara
  • EPO222
  • FREX200
  • FREX300
• Speedfam
  • IPEC472
  • Auriga
• Strausbaugh

A list of demonstrated commercial successes for retaining rings is given below:

• Eliminated Speedfam CMP V ring wafer breakage issue for tungsten CMP
• Reduced edge wear on Ebara platform by 8X over OEM ring
• Improved CoO of Strasbaugh rings by 66% over previous second source supplier
• Delivered a 2.5X improvement in ring life on IPEC 472 platform over OEM solution
• Increased SpeedFam Auriga ring life by 6X over previous second source supplier by using C10TM
• Improved WIWNU and RR Consistency for an ILD AMAT MIRRA CMP Process

Contact us today for further details.