The influence of abrasive particle size in copper chemical mechanical planarization

Abstract

There are many kinds of commercial slurries used in Cu CMP. Major components include an oxidizing agent, complexing agents, inhibitors, and abrasives. We analyze the abrasive particle size by TEM and light scattering. Cu CMP polishing mechanism is also discussed under different particle size distribution. The complexing agent transportation will be the rate determining step when a small abrasive is insufficient, but the copper hydroxide removal rate will determine the overall polishing rate when the amount of smaller particles is enough. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.