• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.963-967
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• 2008

There are many factors to affect polishing performance normally in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. One of the factors is a pad profile. A pad profile has not been considered as a significant factor. However, a pad profile is easily changed by conditioning process in CMP, and then changed pad profile affects polishing performance. Therefore, understanding how the pad profile is changed by conditioning process is very important. In this paper, through the simulation based on kinematic analysis, the variation of the pad profile was described in accordance with difference condition of conditioning process. A swing-arm type conditioner was applied in this simulation. A swing-arm type conditioner plays a role of generating asperities on pad surface. The conditions of conditioing process to get uniform removal were also investigated by comparing the simulation with the experiment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.352-353
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• 2005

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film was polished by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) immediately after pad conditioning with the various conditioning temperatures by control of do-ionized water (DIW). Light transparent efficiency of ITO thin film was improved after CMP process after pad conditioning at the high temperature because the surface morphology was smoother by soften polishing pad and decreased particle size.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.8-10
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• 2008

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is a very precise planarization technique where a wafer is polished by a slurry-coated pad. A slurry is dropped on the rotating pad surface and is supplied between the wafer and the pad. This research aims at reducing the slurry consumption and removing waste particles quickly from the wafer. To study the roles of grooves, slurry flows were simulated using the volume of fluid method (two-phase model for air and slurry) for pads with no grooves, and for pads with circular grooves.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.225-229
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• 2004

Chemical Mechanical Polishing(CMP) process becomes one of the most important semiconductor processes. But the basic mechanism of CMP still does not established. Slurry fluid dynamics that there is a slurry film between a wafer and a pad and contact mechanics that a wafer and a pad contact directly are the two main studies for CMP. This paper based on the latter one, especially on the abrasion wear model. Material Removal Rate(MRR) is calculated using the trajectory length of every point on a wafer during the process time. Both the rotational velocity of a wafer and a pad and the wafer oscillation velocity which has omitted in other studies are considered. For the purpose of the verification of our simulation, we used the experimental results of S.H.Li et al. The simulation results show that the tendency of the calculated MRR using the relative velocity is very similar to the experimental results and that the oscillation effect on MRR at a real CMP condition is lower than 1.5%, which is higher than the relative velocity effect of wafer, and that the velocity factor. not the velocity itself, should be taken into consideration in the CMP wear model.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.51-54
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• 2006

본 연구는 CMP 공정 중의 Conditioning 최적화에 관한 내용이다. CMP Pad Conditioner의 역할은 CMP 공정 중 Slurry 및 연마 잔유물에 의해 Pad 표면에 눈막힘 현상(Glazing)이 발생하여 Wafer의 연마속도가 급속히 저하되는 현상을 방지하여 공정의 안정성을 향상시키는 데 있다. 본 연구 중 Conditioning은 In-situ 방식으로 진행되었으며, Conditioning 비율을 Polishing Time 대비 50%만 진행하여도 연마속도 저하현상은 나타나지 않음을 확인하였다. 이로써 Pad 마모랑 감소 및 Conditioner 교체 주기연장이 가능해져, CMP 공정의 Cost를 절감할 수 있다.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.29 no.3 s.234
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• pp.432-438
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• 2005

CMP characteristics such as material removal rate and edge effect were measured and investigated in accordance with pad grooving effect, groove width, depth and pitch. GSQ (Groove Stiffness Quotient) and GFQ (Groove Flow Quotient) were proposed to estimate pad grooving characteristics. GSQ is defined as groove depth(D) divided by pad thickness(T) and GFQ is defined as groove width(W) divided by groove pitch(P). As GFQ value increased, material removal rate increased some point but gradually saturated. It seems that material removal rate is not affected by each parameter respectively but by interaction of these parameters such as groove dimensions. In addition, an increase in GFQ and GSQ causes edge effect to be improved. Because, pad stiffness decreases as GSQ and GFQ increase. In conclusion, groove influences relative pad stiffness although original mechanical properties of pad are unchanged by grooving. Also, it affects the flow of slurry that has an effect on the lubrication regime and polishing results. The change of groove dimensions has influence on pad stiffness and slurry flow, so that polishing results such as removal rate and edge effect become changed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.118-118
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• 2008

The oxide CMP has been applied to interlayer dielectric(ILD) and shallow trench isolation (STI) in chip fabrication. Recently the slurry used in oxide CMP being changed from silica slurry to ceria (cerium dioxide) slurry particularly in STI CMP, because the material selectivity of ceria slurry is better than material selectivity of silica slurry. Moreover, the ceria slurry has good a planarization efficiency, compared with silica slurry. However ceria abrasives make a material removal rate too high at the region of wafer center. Then we focuses on why profile of material removal rate is convex. The material removal rate sharply increased to 3216 $\AA$/min by $4^{th}$ run without conditioning. After $4^{th}$ run, material removal rate converged. Furthermore, profile became more convex during 12 run. And average material removal rate decreased when conditioning process is added to end of CMP process. This is due to polishing mechanism of ceria. Then the ceria abrasive remains at the pad, in particular remains more at wafer center contacted region of pad. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images showed that the pad sample in the wafer center region has a more ceria abrasive than in wafer outer region. The energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX) verified the result that ceria abrasive is deposited and more at the region of wafer center. Therefore, this result may be expected as ceria abrasives on pad surface causing the convex profile of material removal rate.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 2012

In this paper, the results of finite element(FE) analysis of chemical mechanical polishing(CMP) process using 2-dimensional elements were discussed. The objective of this study is to find the generation mechanism of microscratches on a wafer surface during the process. Especially, a FE model with a particle inside pad pore was considered to observe how such a contact situation could contribute to microscratch generation. The results of the finite element simulations revealed that during CMP process the pad-particle mixture could be formed and this would be a major factor leading to microscratch generation.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.922-927
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• 2003

In this paper, slurry fluid motion, abrasive particle motion, and roles of groove patterns on the pads are numerically investigated in the 2D and 3D geometries. The simulation results are analyzed in terms of experimental removal rate and WIWNU (within wafer non-uniformity) for ILD (inter level dielectric) CMP process. Numerical investigations reveal that the grooves in the pad behave as uniform distributor of abrasive particles and enhance the removal rate by increasing shear stress. Higher removal rate and desirable uniformity are numerically and experimentally observed at the pad with grooves. Numerical analysis is very well matched with experimental results and helpful for understanding polishing mechanism and local physics.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.70-71
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• 2005

The material that is both conductive in electricity and transparent to the visible ray is called transparent conducting thin film. It is investigated the performance of ITO-CMP process using commercial silica slurry with the various conditioning temperatures by control of de-ionized water (DIW). Removal rate of ITO thin film was improved after CMP process after pad conditioning at the high temperature by improved exclusion of slurry residues in polishing pad..