• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.346-351
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• 2020

The removal characteristics of copper (Cu) from electrochemical surface by voltage-activated reaction were reviewed to assess the applicability of electrochemical-mechanical polishing (ECMP) process in three types of electrolytes, such as HNO₃, KNO₃ and NaNO₃. Electrochemical surface conditions such as active, passive, transient and trans-passive states were monitored from its current-voltage (I-V) characteristic curves obtained by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) method. In addition, the oxidation and reduction process of the Cu surface by repetitive input of positive and negative voltages were evaluated from the I-V curve obtained using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) method. Finally, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analyses were used to observe the structural surface states of a Cu electrode. The electrochemical analyses proposed in this study will help to accurately control the material removal rate (MRR) from the actual ECMP process because they are a good methodology for predicting optimal electrochemical process parameters such as current density, operating voltage, and operating time before performing the ECMP process.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Machine Tool Engineers Conference
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• 1999.05a
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• pp.251-255
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• 1999

In last paper, it was suggested electrochemical polishing method using the point electrode tools. It was aimed that Machining rate in ECM using the point electrode method should be ultimately small and also high dimension accuracy and surface integrity should be fine. In this paper, the machining characteristics were investigated by using the several types of electrolyte.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.79-85
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• 2015

RC delay is a critical issue for achieving high performance of ULSI devices. In order to minimize the RC delay time, we uses the CMP process to introduce high-conductivity Cu and low-k materials on the damascene. The low-k materials are generally soft and fragile, resulting in structure collapse during the conventional high-pressure CMP process. One troubleshooting method is electrochemical mechanical polishing (ECMP) which has the advantages of high removal rate, and low polishing pressure, resulting in a well-polished surface because of high removal rate, low polishing pressure, and well-polished surface, due to the electrochemical acceleration of the copper dissolution. This study analyzes an electrochemical state (active, passive, transpassive state) on a potentiodynamic curve using a three-electrode cell consisting of a working electrode (WE), counter electrode (CE), and reference electrode (RE) in a potentiostat to verify an electrochemical removal mechanism. This study also tries to find optimum conditions for ECMP through experimentation. Furthermore, during the low-pressure ECMP process, we investigate the effect of current density on surface roughness and removal rate through anodic oxidation, dissolution, and reaction with a chelating agent. In addition, according to the Faraday’s law, as the current density increases, the amount of oxidized and dissolved copper increases. Finally, we confirm that the surface roughness improves with polishing time, and the current decreases in this process.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.41-48
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• 2015

Stainless steel mesh has been used as a filter in various fields, including domestic, medical, etc. However, the surface before machining may have an adverse effect the product quality and performance because it is not smooth. Especially, adsorbed impurities in the surface result in difficulty in cleaning. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an improved surface quality through electrochemical polishing (ECP). Two electrodes, composed of STS304 (anode) and copper (cathode) underwent machining with two conditions according to polishing time and current density. As the polishing time and current density increase, the surface of curvature decreases, and roughness and material removal rate (MRR) improves. The machined surface roughness and image were obtained through the atomic force microscope (AFM) and stereoscopic microscope. The study also analyzed hydrophilic effect through contact angles. This obtains corrosion resistance, smoothness, hydrophilic property, etc.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.605-609
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• 2005

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of Ni was performed by the various ratios of four kinds of oxidizers and an addition of alumina powders as an abrasive in each slurry with the different oxidizers. Moreover, the interaction between the Ni and the each oxidizer was discussed by potentiodynamic polarization measurement, in order to compare the effects of Ni-CMP and electrochemical characteristics on the Ni with the different oxidizers. As an experimental result, the removal rate of Ni reached a maximum at 1 $vol\%$ of $H_2O_2$. Also the removal rates of Ni increased with the audition of alumina abrasives in each slurry. The potentiodynamic polarization of Ni under dynamic condition showed a significant difference in electrochemical behavior by addition of $H_2O_2$ in solutions. Ni showed the perfect passivation behavior in solution without $H_2O_2$ under potentiodynamic polarization condition, while active dissolution dominates in solution with the addition of $H_2O_2$. The results indicate that the surface chemistry and electrochemical characteristics of Ni play an important role in controlling the polishing behavior of Ni.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.82-82
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• 2007

The chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process has been widely used to obtain global planarization of multilevel interconnection process for ultra large scale. integrated circuit applications. Especially, the application of copper CMP has become an integral part of several semiconductor device and materials manufacturers. However, the low-k materials at 65nm and below device structures because of fragile property, requires low down-pressure mechanical polishing for maintaining the structural integrity of under layer during their fabrication. In this paper, we studied electrochemical mechanical polishing (ECMP) as a new planarization technology that uses electrolyte chemistry instead of abrasive slurry for copper CMP process. The current-voltage (I-V) curves were employed we investigated that how this chemical affect the process of voltage induced material removal in ECMP of Copper. This work was supported by grant No. (R01-2006-000-11275-0) from the Basic Research Program of the Korea Science.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.236-246
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• 2022

Electropolishing is a surface finishing treatment that compensates for the disadvantages of the mechanical polishing process. It not only has a smooth surface, but also improves corrosion resistance. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation is to examine the corrosion resistance and electrochemical characteristics in seawater of UNS S31603 with electropolishing process time. The roughness improvement rate after electropolishing was improved by about 78% compared to before polishing, indicating that the electropolishing is effective. As a result of potential measuring of mechanical polishing and electropolishing, the potential of electropolishing was nobler than the mechanical polishing condition. As a result of calculating the corrosion current density after potentiodynamic polarization experiment with electropolishing conditions, the corrosion current density of mechanical polishing was about 6.4 times higher than that of electropolishing. After potentiodynamic polarization experiment with electropolishing conditions, the maximum damage depth of mechanical polishing was about 2.2 times higher than that of electropolishing(7 minutes). In addition, the charge transfer resistance of the specimen electropolished for 7 minutes was the highest, indicating improved corrosion resistance.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.303-308
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• 2005

In this paper, the effects of oxidants on tungsten chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process were investigated using three different oxidizers such as Fe(NO₃)₃, KIO₃ and H₂O₂. Moreover, the interaction between the tungsten film and the oxidizer was discussed by potentiodynamic polarization measurement with three different oxidizers, in order to compare the effects of W-CMP and electrochemical characteristics on the tungsten film as a function of oxidizer. As an experimental result, the tungsten removal rate reached a maximum at 5 wt％ Fe(NO₃)₃concentration, and when 5 wt％ H₂O₂was added in the slurry, the removal rate of W increased. Also, the microstructures of surface layer by atomic force microscopy(AFM) image were greatly influenced by the slurry chemical composition of oxidizers. It was shown that the surface roughness and removal rate of the polished surface were improved in Fe(NO₃)₃than KIO₃. The electrochemical results indicate that the corrosion current density of the 5 wt％ H₂O₂ and 5 wt％ H₂O/sub 2+/＋ 5 wt％ Fe(NO₃)₃was higher than the other oxidizers. Therefore, we conclude that the W-CMP characteristics are strongly dependent on the kinds of oxidizers and the amounts of oxidizer additive.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.163-163
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• 2008

반도체 소자가 고집적화 되고 고속화를 필요로 하게 됨에 따라, 기존에 사용되었던 알루미늄이나 텅스텐보다 낮은 전기저항, 높은 electro-migration resistance으로 미세한 금속배선 처리가 가능한 Cu가 주목받게 되었다. 하지만 과잉 디싱 현상과 에로젼을 유도하여 메탈라인 브리징과 단락을 초래할 있고 Cu의 단락인 islands를 남김으로서 표면 결함을 제거하는데 효과적이지 못다는 단점을 가지고 있었다. 특히 평탄화 공정시 높은 압력으로 인하여 Cu막의 하부인 ILD막의 다공성의 low-k 물질의 손상을 초래 할 수 있는 문제점을 해결하기 위하여 기존의 CMP에 전기화학을 결합시킴으로서 낮은 하력에서의 Cu 평탄화를 달성 할 수 있는 기존의 CMP 기술에 전기화학을 접목한 새로운 개념의 ECMP (electrochemical-mechanical polishing) 기술이 생겨나게 되었다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 최적화된 ECMP 공정을 위하여 I-V곡선과 CV법을 이용하여 active. passive. trans-passive 영역의 전기화학적 특징을 알아보았고. Cu막의 표면 형상을 알아보기 위해 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) 측정과 Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) 분석을 통해 금속 화학적 조성을 조사하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 1994.10a
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• pp.108-112
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• 1994

The paper describes the effects of magnetic field on the electrochemical polishing process in the view of ionic in the electrolyte. Theoretical background was suggested how magnetic field increases the material removal efficiency and surface finishing ability Magnetic field changes the jonic movement in the electrolyte from linear motion to curved or complex oscillating one, thus increases the electrolytic current density and, as the results, the finishing efficiency.