Mechanisms of Chemical-Mechanical Polishing of SiO₂Dielectric on Integrated Circuits

Material Removal Mechanisms in Lapping and Polishing

“…An experimental study of the mechanical interaction between the wafer and pad in the chemical mechanical polishing of SiO 2 by Levert et al [56] investigated the vertical displacement of the wafer relative to the pad, the friction between wafer and pad and the wafer scale pressure distribution. Two conditions were examined: "hydrodynamic CMP", where the experiments were performed at low normal loads and hydrodynamic separation of wafer and pad was maintained (lubrication regime), and "commercial CMP" with conditions more consistent with industrial practice (contact regime).…”

Tribologically-induced Damage in Cutting and Polishing of Silicon

“…The lubricants will also exert shear stress that can increase the material removal rate. It is also found that there will be additional suction force from the hydrodynamic contact in CMP [2].…”

“…A characteristic strength for each sample condition was calculated using Weibull statistics as: (2) where P f is the probability of failure, σ is the fracture stress, σ θ is the characteristic strength at which the probability of failure is 0.632, and m is the Weibull modulus.…”

“…grinding or diamond wire sawing), the material removal rate will be greatly affected by the contact load and the distance travelled. For example, the material removal rate is proportional to the contact load and speed, as described by the Archard or Preston equation [2]:…”

“…INTRODUCTION Tribological phenomena can be found in many semiconductor manufacturing processes, such as silicon wafering [1], CMP [2], dicing [3], milling [4], and others [5][6]. For example, multi-wire slurry sawing is based on a three-body material removal process involving hard abrasive SiC grits, steel wire, and silicon.…”