Recent Advances in CMP Slurries and Post-CMP Cleaning

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Mechanical Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 July 2023) | Viewed by 11715

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering & Center for Advanced Materials Processing, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699, USA
Interests: chemical mechanical polishing; cleaning process; nanoparticles; adsorption; slurry; dispersion

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Guest Editor
Samsung Semiconductor R&D Center, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
Interests: semiconductor process; electrochemistry; chemical mechanical planarization; slurry; galvanic corrosion
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,  

Semiconductor technology has grown rapidly in recent decades as emerging technologies such as autonomous driving, artificial intelligence (AI), 5G communications, the Internet of Things (IoT), and large-scale data processing are increasingly integrated into our daily lives. Semiconductor innovation is a key driver of progress in many of these emerging technologies.

Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) is one of the most critical processes for high-volume and high-yield semiconductor manufacturing. CMP has evolved and become increasingly sophisticated over the years and has enabled the development of state-of-the-art semiconductor devices. One of the current goals of CMP is to accelerate the discovery of new materials and their integration into semiconductor manufacturing, which requires an understanding of the fundamental principles of materials and their performances during the CMP process.

This Special Issue will cover recent advances in our fundamental understanding, advanced technologies, and new material development with a focus on CMP slurries and post-CMP cleaning for advanced technology nodes. This will bring together a diverse set of leading researchers and engineers—from academic to industrial and fundamental principles to fab-based CMP processes—who focus on new materials, advances in materials characterization, materials design, modeling, and fundamental material science in the CMP field.

Prof. Dr. Jihoon Seo
Dr. Kangchun Lee
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • semiconductor manufacturing processing
  • chemical mechanical planarization (CMP)
  • post-CMP cleaning
  • slurry
  • polishing

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 6789 KiB  
Article
Simulation and Experimental Investigation of the Radial Groove Effect on Slurry Flow in Oxide Chemical Mechanical Polishing
by Yeongkwang Cho, Pengzhan Liu, Sanghuck Jeon, Jungryul Lee, Sunghoon Bae, Seokjun Hong, Young Hwan Kim and Taesung Kim
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(9), 4339; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12094339 - 25 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4248
Abstract
Slurry flow on the pad surface and its effects on oxide chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) performance were investigated in simulations and experiments. A concentric groove pad and the same pad with radial grooves were used to quantitatively compare the slurry saturation time (SST), [...] Read more.
Slurry flow on the pad surface and its effects on oxide chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) performance were investigated in simulations and experiments. A concentric groove pad and the same pad with radial grooves were used to quantitatively compare the slurry saturation time (SST), material removal rate (MRR), and non-uniformity (NU) in polishing. The monitored coefficient of friction (COF) and its slope were analyzed and used to determine SSTs of 25.52 s for the concentric groove pad and 16.06 s for a certain radial groove pad. These values were well correlated with the simulation prediction, with around 5% error. Both the laminar flow and turbulent flow were included in the sliding mesh model. The back mixing effect, which delays fresh slurry supply, was found in the pressure distribution of the wafer–pad interface. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in CMP Slurries and Post-CMP Cleaning)
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7 pages, 2034 KiB  
Communication
Suppression of Dissolution Rate via Coordination Complex in Tungsten Chemical Mechanical Planarization
by Kangchun Lee and Jihoon Seo
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(3), 1227; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12031227 - 24 Jan 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3618
Abstract
Topography of tungsten should be assured at a minimum through chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) in the metal gate structures (e.g., buried gates, replacement metal gates) and via contact in the middle of line (MOL) process for sub−7 nm semiconductor applications. However, excessive tungsten [...] Read more.
Topography of tungsten should be assured at a minimum through chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) in the metal gate structures (e.g., buried gates, replacement metal gates) and via contact in the middle of line (MOL) process for sub−7 nm semiconductor applications. However, excessive tungsten dissolution during the CMP process that results from high oxidizer concentrations and acidic atmospheres results in poor tungsten topography. In this study, we report a novel strategy to improve the tungsten topography by suppressing tungsten dissolution via coordination complex formations between picolinic acid and tungsten oxide. With 1.5 wt% picolinic acid for the inhibitor, the dissolution rate of tungsten was dramatically attenuated, and improved topography with a Ra value of 7.8 nm were demonstrated while validating CMP removal rate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in CMP Slurries and Post-CMP Cleaning)
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14 pages, 47021 KiB  
Article
Fenton Reaction for Enhancing Polishing Rate and Protonated Amine Functional Group Polymer for Inhibiting Corrosion in Ge1Sb4Te5 Film Surface Chemical-Mechanical-Planarization
by Gi-Ppeum Jeong, Young-Hye Son, Jun-Seong Park, Pil-Su Kim, Man-Hyup Han, Seong-Wan Hong, Jin-Hyung Park, Hao Cui, Bo-Un Yoon and Jea-Gun Park
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(22), 10872; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112210872 - 17 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1924
Abstract
A Fenton reaction and a corrosion inhibition strategy were designed for enhancing the polishing rate and achieving a corrosion-free Ge1Sb4Te5 film surface during chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) of three-dimensional (3D) cross-point phase-change random-access memory (PCRAM) cells and 3D cross-point [...] Read more.
A Fenton reaction and a corrosion inhibition strategy were designed for enhancing the polishing rate and achieving a corrosion-free Ge1Sb4Te5 film surface during chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) of three-dimensional (3D) cross-point phase-change random-access memory (PCRAM) cells and 3D cross-point synaptic arrays. The Fenton reaction was conducted with 1,3-propylenediamine tetraacetic acid, ferric ammonium salt (PDTA–Fe) and H2O2. The chemical oxidation degree of GeO2, Sb2O3, and TeO2 evidently increased with the PDTA–Fe concentration in the CMP slurry, such that the polishing rate of the Ge1Sb4Te5 film surface linearly increased with the PDTA–Fe concentration. The addition of a corrosion inhibitor having protonated amine functional groups in the CMP slurry remarkably suppressed the corrosion degree of the Ge1Sb4Te5 film surface after CMP; i.e., the corrosion current of the Ge1Sb4Te5 film surface linearly decreased as the corrosion inhibitor concentration increased. Thus, the proposed Fenton reaction and corrosion inhibitor in the Ge1Sb4Te5 film surface CMP slurry could achieve an almost recess-free Ge1Sb4Te5 film surface of the confined-PCRAM cells, having an aspect ratio of 60-nm-height to 4-nm-diameter after CMP. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in CMP Slurries and Post-CMP Cleaning)
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