Abstract
Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) is referred to as a three body tribological system, because it includes two solids in relative motion and the CMP slurry. On the assumption that the abrasives between the pad and the wafer could be a major reason not only for the friction force but also for material removal during polishing, the friction force generated during CMP process was investigated with the change of abrasive size and concentration of CMP slurry. The threshold point of average coefficient of friction (COF) with increase in abrasives concentration during interlayer dielectric (ILD) CMP was found experimentally and verified mathematically based on contact mechanics. The predictable models, Mode I (wafer is in contact with abrasives and pad) and Mode II (wafer is in contact with abrasives only), were proposed and used to explain the threshold point. The average COF value increased in the low abrasives concentration region which might be explained by Mode I. In contrast the average COF value decreased at high abrasives concentration which might be regarded to as Mode II. The threshold point observed seemed to be due to the transition from Mode I to Mode II. The tendency of threshold point with the variation of abrasive size was studied. The increase of particle radius could cause contact status to reach transition area faster. The correlation between COF and material removal rate was also investigated from the tribological and energetic point of view. Due to the energy loss by vibration of polishing equipment, COF value is not proportional to the material removal rate in this experiment.
