A statistical characterization model of the microscale contact state of polishing pads

Abstract

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) greatly benefits from the wafer and pad’s microscale contact condition. With so many varying pressures and wafer layouts, it is incredibly difficult to measure all the microscale contact states. Therefore, there is an urgent need to realistically characterize the morphology and contact state of polishing pads. A statistical characterization model of the microscale contact state of polishing pads was developed in this investigation. The microscale contact states under different pressures were measured to make sure that the model was accurate. This proposed model can extract the pad morphology parameters from the microscale contact state to predict the pad surface morphology and, thus, the microscale contact state in arbitrary conditions. This study can provide some recommendations for stability in CMP and the production and use of pads.