Investigation of polishing characteristics of shallow trench isolation chemical mechanical planarization with different types of slurries

Ceria-based high selectivity slurry (HSS), which shows high polishing selectivity of silicon oxide to silicon nitride, was applied to the shallow trench isolation (STI) chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process for giga-bit scale memory fabrication. While the wafer-to-wafer non-uniformity (WTWNU) and within-wafer non-uniformity (WIWNU) are superior to conventional silica-based slurry, the level of slurry induced scratches is too high for the ceria-based slurry to be used in present CMP processes. By optimizing the CMP process and filtering method, however, the number and depth of these scratches were reduced considerably to the level where the yield of gate oxide was sufficient to meet the requirement of manufacturing. In this paper, the authors discussed the possible causes of scratches when using ceria-based slurry and how these scratches affect to lower the breakdown yield of gate oxides. In addition, the authors investigated the relationship between within wafer non-uniformity and cell threshold voltage (V_t) variation and probe test 1 (PT1) yield variation.     

SiLK dielectric planarization by chemical mechanical polishing

As the feature size of integrated circuits is driven to smaller dimensions the importance of the inter- and intralayer isolator capacitance in future metallization schemes becomes more pronounced. Organic polymers with low dielectric constants are one class of material choice for the replacement of SiO₂. However, their successful integration into functional circuits requires new fabrication procedures. The embedded dielectric scheme offers an evolutionary path for their successful integration into a subtractive etched, aluminum-based integrated circuit. This scheme can effectively lower the total capacitance while minimally changing the rest of the metallization fabrication process. However, the non-conformal deposition of spin-on polymers requires an effective planarization process. Therefore, this paper focuses on the planarization capability of a chemical mechanical polishing process (CMP) using SiLK resin as the interlayer dielectric material. The experimental results demonstrate the high planarization capability of the CMP process using a commercially available slurry. The post-CMP degree of planarization is greater than 95% for all feature dimensions and this planarity can be achieved rapidly. SiLK dielectric coatings are therefore considered as a promising candidate to replace SiO₂ in existing Al/W-based technologies.     

Platinum chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) characteristics for high density ferroelectric memory applications

The key component of ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) is a capacitor including a ferroelectric thin film and electrode materials. Platinum is one of the suitable metals which meet requirements such as low resistivity, high thermal stability, and good oxygen resistance. Generally, the ferroelectric and the electrode materials were patterned by a plasma etching process. The application possibility of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processes to the patterning of ferroelectric thin film instead of plasma etching was investigated in our previous study for improvement of an angled sidewall which prevents the densification of FeRAM. In this study, the characteristics of platinum CMP for FeRAM applications were also investigated by an approach as bottom electrode materials of ferroelectric material in CMP patterning. The removal rate was increased from 24.81 nm/min by the only alumina slurry (0.0 wt% of H₂O₂ oxidizer) to 113.59 nm/min at 10.0 wt% of H₂O₂ oxidizer. Electrochemical study of platinum and alumina slurry with various concentrations of H₂O₂ was performed in order to investigate the change of the removal rate. The decreased particle size in the alumina slurry with an addition of 10.0 wt% H₂O₂ oxidizer made the improved surface roughness of the platinum thin films. Micro-scratches were observed in all polished samples.     

A study on the chemical mechanical polishing of oxide film using a zirconia (ZrO2)-mixed abrasive slurry (MAS)

We have studied the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) characteristics of mixed abrasive slurry (MAS) retreated by adding of zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) abrasives within 1:10 diluted silica slurry. These mixed abrasives in the MAS are evaluated with respect to their particle size distribution, surface morphology, and CMP performance such as removal rate and non-uniformity. As an experimental result, the comparable slurry characteristics when compared to the original silica slurry were obtained from the viewpoint of high removal rate and low non-uniformity for excellent CMP performance. Therefore, our proposed ZrO₂-MAS can be useful to save on the high cost of slurry consumption since we used a 1:10 diluted silica slurry.     

Surface planarization of ZnO thin film for optoelectronic applications

In this paper, surface morphology and optical properties are investigated to find the optimum microstructure of zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films deposited by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. To achieve a high transmittance and a low resistivity, we examined various film deposition conditions. The transmittance and surface morphology of ZnO thin films were measured by an ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectrometer and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. In order to improve the surface quality of ZnO thin films, we performed chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) by change of process parameters, and compared the optical properties of polished ZnO thin films. As an experimental result, we were able to obtain good uniformity and improved transmittance efficiency by the CMP technique.     

Influence of slurry components on uniformity in copper chemical mechanical planarization

Many researchers studying copper chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) have been focused on mechanisms of copper removal using various chemicals. On the basis of these previous works, we studied the effect of slurry components on uniformity. Chemical mechanical planarization of copper was performed using citric acid (C₆H₈O₇), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), colloidal silica, and benzotriazole (BTA, C₆H₄N₃H) as a complexing agent, an oxidizer, an abrasive, and a corrosion inhibitor, respectively. As citric acid was added to copper CMP slurry (pH 4) containing 3 vol% hydrogen peroxide and 3 wt% colloidal silica, the material removal (MRR) at the wafer center was higher than its edge. Hydrogen peroxide could not induce a remarkable change in the profile of MRR. Colloidal silica, used as an abrasive in copper CMP slurry containing 0.01 M of citric acid and 3 vol% of hydrogen peroxide, controlled the profile of MRR by abrading the wafer edge. BTA as a corrosion inhibitor decreased the MRR and seems to control the material removal around the wafer center. All the results of in this study showed that the MRR profile of copper CMP could be controlled by the contents of slurry components.     

Effect of organic acids on copper chemical mechanical polishing

In chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of Cu, organic acids are often used as additives of slurries. This paper studied the effects of citric acid, oxalic acid, glycolic acid and glycine on Cu CMP performance. Our experiments explored the difference of these organic acids in surface reactions with Cu. The results showed that organic acids could chelate the passive film of Cu, and oxalic acid would further form precipitates with copper ions to change the chemical and mechanical action during CMP. Potential-pH diagrams, electrochemical polarization and impedance analyses were used to examine the behaviors of Cu in various organic acid slurries. The results indicated that the proposed equivalent circuits from impedance analysis for Cu CMP system could provide a good index to surface roughness. Furthermore, we also discussed the effects of used organic acids on reducing particle contamination after Cu CMP by measuring the difference of isoelectric points between Cu and α-Al₂O₃. The result showed that the addition of organic acid could efficiently decrease particle contamination.     

Effect of process conditions on uniformity of velocity and wear distance of pad and wafer during chemical mechanical planarization

The kinematics of conventional, rotary chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) was analyzed, and its effect on polishing results was assessed. The authors define a novel parameter, ζ, as a “kinematic number,” which includes the effects of wafer size, distance between rotation centers, and rotation ratio between wafer and pad. The analysis result suggests that velocity distribution, direction of friction force, uniformity of velocity distribution, distribution of sliding distance, and uniformity of sliding-distance distribution could be consistently expressed in terms of the kinematic number ζ. These results become more important as the wafer size increases and the requirement of within-wafer nonuniformity is more stringent.     

化学机械抛光浆料研究进展

化学机械抛光(CMP)作为目前唯一可以实现全面平坦化的工艺技术,已被越来越广泛地应用到集成电路芯片、计算机硬磁盘和光学玻璃等表面的超精密抛光.介绍了CMP技术的发展背景,以及目前国内外抛光浆料的研究现状,并根据CMP浆料磨料的性质,将其分为单磨料、混合磨料和复合磨料浆料,对每一种浆料做了总体描述.详细介绍了近年来发展的复合磨料制备技术及其在CMP中的应用,并展望了CMP技术的发展前景以及新型抛光浆料的开发方向.     

Analysis of flow between a wafer and pad during CMP processes

In this paper, we summarize the development of a numerical model for the chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process and experimentally investigate the effects of pad conditioning on slurry transport and mixing. A simplified two-dimensional numerical model of slurry flow beneath a stationary wafer was developed to determine the pressure and shear stress beneath a wafer. The initial results indicate that in the hydrodynamic regime a positive upward pressure is exerted on the wafer. We also examined three cases to study pad effects on slurry transport; polishing with an Embossed Politex pad, an unconditioned IC1000 pad, and a conditioned IC1000 pad. Cab-O-Sperse SC1 slurry was used in a 1:1.5 dilution with water. Mixing data show that conditioning has a negligible effect on the rate of slurry entrainment and mixing; however, conditioning has a large effect on the thickness of the slurry layer between the wafer and pad. Conditioning was found to increase the slurry thickness by a factor of two. In addition the gradients in slurry age beneath the wafer were compared among the three cases. The IC1000 pads supported a gradient in the inner third of the wafer only, while the Embossed Politex pad showed a linear gradient across the wafer implying it retains pockets of unmixed slurry in the embossed topography.     

氮化镓化学机械抛光中抛光液的研究进展

氮化镓(GaN)因具有耐酸碱、硬度大等特点使其难以进行精密加工。因此,高效实现GaN的化学机械抛光(CMP)成为了一个技术难题。CMP过程中,抛光液的组分及其性质对抛光效果起决定性的作用。对近年来应用于GaN CMP抛光液中的磨料、氧化剂、表面活性剂、光催化剂等重要组分的抛光效果及作用机理进行了回顾。主要可以归纳为磨料逐渐从单一磨料向复合磨料方向发展,阴离子表面活性剂较其他活性剂效果更好;同时,发现主流的GaN CMP过程为先氧化再去除,因此氧化剂和光催化剂逐渐成为了研究热点。最后对GaN CMP的未来研究方向进行了展望。     

碱性Cu化学机械抛光液性能研究

在分析碱性Cu化学机械抛光液作用机理的基础上,考察了抛光液对铜晶圆电化学、表面形态、化学机械抛光去除速率等性能。结果发现:选用新研制的络合剂R(NH2)n,将Cu的氧化物、氢氧化物转化为可溶性络合Cu,实现了碱性抛光液中Cu的去除。同时发现,随着碱性抛光液质量分数的增加,淀积Cu层不仅易被腐蚀,腐蚀速率也有所增加,并且当抛光液质量分数达到63.7%(Cu3),会对Cu的腐蚀起到抑制作用。抛光后表面形态分析说明此碱性化学机械抛光液能有效改善晶圆表面粗糙度,且对Cu层平均去除速率是酸性商用抛光液的4～5倍。     

Design of experiment (DOE) method considering interaction effect of process parameters for optimization of copper chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) has been widely accepted for the metallization of copper interconnection in ultra-large scale integrated circuits (ULSIs) manufacturing. It is important to understand the effect of the process variables such as turntable speed, head speed, down force and back pressure on copper CMP. They are very important parameters that must be carefully formulated to achieve desired the removal rates and non-uniformity. Using a design of experiment (DOE) approach, this study was performed investigating the interaction effect between the various parameters as well as the main effect of the each parameter during copper CMP. A better understanding of the interaction behavior between the various parameters and the effect on removal rate, non-uniformity and ETC (edge to center) is achieved by using the statistical analysis techniques. In the experimental tests, the optimized parameters combination for copper CMP which were derived from the statistical analysis could be found for higher removal rate and lower non-uniformity through the above DOE results.     

Synergistic roles of mixed inhibitors and the application of mixed complexing ligands in copper chemical mechanical polishing

In the copper chemical mechanical polishing process, the mixed complexing ligands (glycine and disodium ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (Na₂edta)) were utilized to enhance the polishing rate and to reduce the formation of Cu-BTA reabsorbed molecules, and the mixed dissolution inhibitors (benzotriazole and methylbenzotriazole) were applied to reduce the surface roughness. We propose that the enhanced polishing rate is due to the formation of easier removed water-soluble Cu-edta and Cu-glycine complexes, and the reduced surface roughness is mainly owing to the reduction of the Cu-BTA reabsorbed molecules and the formation of denser surface film based on complementary “space-filling” adsorption mechanism for Cu-BTA/TTA molecules.     

A model for wafer scale variation of material removal rate in chemical mechanical polishing based on viscoelastic pad deformation

It is well known that within-wafer nonuniformity (WIWNU) due to the variation in material removal rate (MRR) in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) significantly affects the yield of good dies. The process control for a batch CMP operation is further complicated by wafer-to-wafer nonuniformity (WTWNU) caused by MRR decay when a number of wafers are polished with the same unconditioned pad. Accordingly, the present work focuses on modeling the WIWNU and WTWNU in CMP processes. Various material removal models suggest that the MRR is strongly influenced by the interface pressure. It is also well known that the viscoelastic properties of the pad play an important role in CMP. In the present work, an analytical expression for pressure distribution (and its associated MRR) at the wafer-pad interface for a viscoelastic pad is developed. It is observed that under constant load, which is typical during main polishing in CMP, the spatial distribution of the interface pressure profile may change with time from edge-slow to edge-fast, depending on the combination of wafer curvature, down pressure, and pad properties. For constant displacement operations, the pressure profile retains its edge-slow or edge-fast characteristics over time. The analytical model predictions of MRR based on viscoelastic pad properties also correlate very well to existing experimental observations of MRR decay when an unconditioned pad is used to polish a number of wafers. Based on these observations, it may be conjectured that the viscoelastic material properties of the pad play a primary role in causing the observed MRR decay. The analytical results obtained in the present work can also provide an estimation of evolution of thickness removal distribution over the entire wafer. This may be used for determining the optimum thickness of the overburden material and its polishing time, and for effective control of CMP processes.     

硅通孔抛光液的研究进展

硅通孔(TSV)技术是一种先进的封装技术,化学机械抛光(CMP)是集成电路TSV制作过程中的重要步骤之一,是可兼顾材料表面局部和全局平坦化的技术。抛光液是影响抛光表面质量和加工效率的关键因素,是CMP工艺中消耗品成本最大的部分。TSV抛光液主要包括铜膜抛光液和阻挡层抛光液,依据抛光速率和抛光质量(表面粗糙度、碟形坑修正等)的要求对其进行了分类讨论,概述了近年来TSV抛光液的研究进展,对其今后的研究重点和发展趋势进行了分析和预测,认为TSV抛光液应朝着抛光速率和抛光质量的优化、低成本、环境友好的方向发展。     

Comparison of dicarboxylic acids as complexing agents for abrasive-free chemical mechanical planarization of copper

Abrasive particles used in chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of copper often agglomerate and cause scratches on the finished surface. Abrasive-free CMP offers a feasible solution to this problem, and our present work examines four dicarboxylic acids (oxalic, malonic, succinic and glutaric, with increasing carbon chain lengths) as possible complexing agents for such a chemically dominated CMP process. At pH 3.0-4.0, oxalic and malonic acids are most effective for abrasive-free Cu removal. The rates of Cu dissolution and polish (with or without abrasives) are correlated with pH dependent distributions of mono-anionic (for oxalic and malonic) and neutral (for succinic and glutaric) acid species. The surface morphologies of a Cu wafers obtained by abrasive-free CMP in these acids also are more defect free and flat compared to those obtained using abrasives.     

Chemical mechanical planarization operation via dynamic programming

In this paper, the impact on non-planarization index by the down force and rotational speed during a SiO₂ or Cu CMP process was investigated. Since the magnitudes of down force and rotational speed have limits, we choose the dynamic programming approach because of its ability to achieve constrained optimization by the down force and rotational speed. The duration and the amount of input were computed based on the chemical mechanical polishing model by Luo and Dornfeld [J. Luo, D.A. Dornfeld, IEEE Trans. Semiconduct. Manufact. 14(2) (2001) 112-132.] when the other parameters were fixed. Experiments done for blanket wafers based on dynamic programming operation and conventional constant removal rate operation was compared with each other. The non-planarization index could be improved consistently by dynamic programming operation versus constant removal rate operation. The improvement ranges from 2% to 39% improvement over the base recipe of constant removal rate in all experiments as shown in Table 3 and Table 6. The thickness removal error is consistently smaller by constant removal rate operation versus dynamic programming operation in all experiments as shown in Table 3 and Table 6. To get the best performance of both planarization and thickness removal, it is recommended that planarization step and overpolish step in SiO₂ and Cu CMP should use different mode of operation, i.e., dynamic programming operation during planarization step for minimizing non-planarization index and constant removal rate operation during overpolish step for minimizing thickness removal error. The incremental time calculation for eliminating thickness removal error during overpolish step can be done using the thickness error and removal rate derived from Luos’ removal rate model based on constant wafer pressure and platen speed at the end of planarization step.Our contribution is a new approach for CMP. Standard CMP uses constant removal rate operation in both planarization step and overpolish step. Our new approach uses dynamic programming operation during planarization step and constant removal rate operation during overpolish step.     

Preparation of silica/ceria nano composite abrasive and its CMP behavior on hard disk substrate

A novel silica/ceria nano composite abrasive was synthesized by homogeneous precipitation using carbamide, ammonium ceric nitrate and silica. The abrasive was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (TOF-SIMS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Then, the chemical mechanical polishing performances of the composite abrasive on hard disk substrate with nickel-phosphorous plated were investigated. Atomic force microscopy images show that the prepared abrasive gives much lower topographical variations than before polishing. The average waviness (Wa) of the polished hard substrate surface can be reduced from 15.5 Å before polishing to 8.36 Å, and the average of roughness (Ra) can be reduced from 14 Å before polishing to 4.80 Å.     

低压力Cu布线CMP速率的研究

采用低介电常数材料(低k介质)作为Cu布线中的介质层,已经成为集成电路技术发展的必然趋势.由于低k介质的低耐压性,加工的机械强度必须降低,这对传统化学机械抛光(CMP)工艺提出了挑战.通过对CMP过程的机理分析,提出了影响低机械强度下Cu布线CMP速率的主要因素,详细分析了CMP过程中磨料体积分数、氧化剂体积分数、FA/O螯合剂体积分数等参数对去除速率的影响.在4.33 kPa的低压下通过实验得出,在磨料体积分数为20%,氧化剂体积分数为3%,FA/O螯合剂体积分数为1.5%时可以获得最佳的去除速率及良好的速率一致性.