• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers C
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.116-121
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• 2006

Most high-k materials are well known not to be etched easily, Some problems such as low etch rate poor sidewall angle, plasma damage, and process complexity were emerged from the high-density DRAM fabrication. Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) by a damascene process was proposed to pattern this high-k material was polished with some commercial silica slurry as a function of pH variation. Sufficient removal rate with adequate selectivity to realize the pattern mask of tera-ethyl ortho-silicate (TEOS) film for the vertical sidewall angle were obtained. The changes of X-ray diffraction pattern and dielectric constant by CMP process were negligible. The planarization was also achieved for the subsequent multi-level processes. Our new CMP approach will provide a guideline for effective patterning of high-k material by CMP technique.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.174-178
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• 2009

The effects of post-CMP cleaning on the chemical and galvanic corrosion of copper (Cu) and titanium (Ti) were studied in patterned silicon (Si) wafers. First, variation of the corrosion rate was investigated as a function of the concentration of citric acid that was included in both the CMP slurry and the post-CMP solution. The open circuit potential (OCP) of Cu decreased as the citric acid concentration increased. In contrast with Cu, the OCP of titanium (Ti) increased as this concentration increased. The gap in the OCP between Cu and Ti increased as citric acid concentration increased, which increased the galvanic corrosion rate between Cu and Ti. The corrosion rates of Cu showed a linear relationship with the concentrations of citric acid. Second, the effect of Triton X-$100^{(R)}$, a nonionic surfactant, in a post-CMP solution on the electrochemical characteristics of the specimens was also investigated. The OCP of Cu decreased as the surfactant concentration increased. In contrast with Cu, the OCP of Ti increased greatly as this concentration increased. Given that Triton X-$100^{(R)}$ changes its micelle structure according to its concentration in the solution, the corrosion rate of each concentration was tested.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.139-145
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• 2014

Nowadays, most micro-patterns are manufactured during flow line production. However, a conventional rotary chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system has a limited throughput for the fabrication of large and flexible electronics. To overcome this problem, we propose a novel linear roll-CMP system for the planarization of large-area electronics. In this paper, we present a statistical analysis on the linear roll-CMP process of copper-clad laminate (CCL) to determine the impacts of process parameters on the material removal rate (MRR) and its non-uniformity (NU). In the linear roll-CMP process, process parameters such as the slurry flow rate, roll speed, table feed rate, and down force affect the MRR and NU. To determine the polishing characteristics of roll-CMP, we use Taguchi's orthogonal array L16 (44) for the experimental design and F-values obtained by the analysis of variance (ANOVA). We investigate the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio to identify the prominent control parameters. The "higher is better" for the MRR and "lower is better" for the NU were selected for obtaining optimum CMP performance characteristics. The experimental and statistical results indicate that the down force and roll speed mainly affect the MRR and the down force and table feed rate determine the NU in the linear roll-CMP process. However, over 186.3 N of down force deteriorates the NU because of the bending of substrate. Roll speed has little relationship to the NU and the table feed rate does not impact on the MRR. This study provides information on the design parameter of roll-CMP machine and process optimization.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.134-140
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• 2002

Chemical mechanical polishing of aluminum and photoresist using colloidal silica-based slurry was experimented. The effects of slurry pH, silica concentration, and oxidizer ($H_2O_2$) concentration on surface roughness and removal rate were studied. The optimum slurry conditions for reduction of micro-scratch were investigated. The optimum chemical mechanical polishing with the colloidal silica-based slurry was compared with conventional chemical mechanical polishing with alumina-based slurry. Chemical mechanical polishing of the aluminum with the colloidal silica-based slurry showed improved result but chemical mechanical polishing of the photoresist did not. The improved result was comparative with that of chemical mechanical polishing with filtered alumina-based slurry which one of desirable methods to reduce the micro-scratch.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.15.2-15.2
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• 2006

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2001.11b
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• pp.176-180
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• 2001

There are several factors causing re-work in CMP process such as improper polish time calculation by operator. removal rate decline of the polisher, unstable in-suit pad conditioning, slurry supply module problem and wafer carrier rotation inconsistancy. And conclusively those fundimental reason for the re-work rate increasement is mainly from the cycle time delay between wafer polish and post measurement. Therefore, Wafer thickness measurement in wet condition could be able to remove those improper process conditions which may happen during the process in comparison with the conventional dried wafer measurement system and it can be able to reduce the CMP process cycle time. CMP scrap reduction by overpolish, re-work rate reduction, thickness control efficiency also can be easily achieved. CMP Equipment manufacturer also trying to develop integrated system which has multi-head & platen, cleaner, pre & post thickness measure and even control the polish time from the calculated removal rate of each polishing head by software. CMP re-work problem such as over & under polish by target thickness may result in the cycle time delay. By reducing those inefficient factors during the process and establish of the automatic process control, CLC system need to be adopted to maximize the process performance. Wafer to Wafer Polish Time Feed Back Control by measuring the wafer right after the polish shorten the polish time calculation for the next wafer and it lead to the perfact Post CMP target thickness control capability. By Monitoring all of the processed the wafer, CMP process will also be stabilize itself.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.113-113
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• 2008

Cu CMP (Chemical Mechanical Planarization) has been used to remove copper film and obtain a planar surface which is essential for the semiconductor devices. Generally, it is known that chemical reaction is a dominant factor in Cu CMP comparing to Silicon dioxide CMP. Therefore, Cu CMP slurry has been regarded as an important factor in the entire process. This investigation focused on understanding the effect of corrosion inhibitor on copper surface and CMP results. Benzotriazole (BTA) was used as a corrosion inhibitor in this experiment. For the surface analysis, electrochemical characteristics of Cu was measured by a potentiostat and surface modification was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). As a result, corrosion potential (Ecorr) increased and nitrogen concentration ratio on the copper surface also increased with BTA concentration. These results indicate that BTA prevents Cu surface from corrosion and forms Cu-BTA layer on Cu surface. CMP results are also well matched with these results. Material removal rate (MRR) decreased with BTA concentration and static etch rate also showed same trend. Consequently, adjustment of BTA concentration can give us control of step height variation and furthermore, this can be applicable for Cu pattern CMP.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.176-180
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• 2001

There are several factors causing re-work in CMP process such as improper polish time calculation by operator, removal rate decline of the polisher, unstable in-suit pad conditioning, slurry supply module problem and wafer carrier rotation inconsistency. And conclusively those fundimental reason for the re-work rate increasement is mainly from the cycle time delay between wafer polish and post measurement. Therefore, Wafer thickness measurement in wet condition could be able to remove those improper process conditions which may happen during the process in comparison with the conventional dried wafer measurement system and it can be able to reduce the CMP process cycle time. CMP scrap reduction by overpolish, re-work rate reduction, thickness control efficiency also can be easily achieved. CMP Equipment manufacturer also trying to develop integrated system which has multi-head & platen, cleaner, pre & post thickness measure and even control the polish time from the calculated removal rate of each polishing head by software. CMP re-work problem such as over & under polish by target thickness may result in the cycle time delay. By reducing those inefficient factors during the process and establish of the automatic process control, CLC system need to be adopted to maximize the process performance. Wafer to Wafer Polish Time Feed Back Control by measuring the wafer right after the polish shorten the polish time calculation for the next wafer and it lead to the perfect Post CMP target thickness control capability. By Monitoring all of the processed the wafer, CMP process will also be stabilize itself.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.517-523
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• 2015

As the aluminum (Al) metallization process was replaced with copper (Cu), the damascene process was introduced, which required the planarization step to eliminate over-deposited Cu with Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) process. In this study, the verification of the corrosion inhibitors, one of the Cu CMP slurry components, was conducted to find out the tendency regarding the carboxyl and amino functional group in neutral environment. Through the results of etch rate, removal rate, and chemical ability of corrosion inhibitors based on 1H-1,2,4-triazole as the base-corrosion inhibitor, while the amine functional group presents high Cu etching ability, carboxyl functional group shows lower Cu etching ability than base-corrosion inhibitor which means that it increases passivation effect by making strong passivation layer. It implies that the corrosion inhibitor with amine functional group was proper to apply for 1st Cu CMP slurry owing to the high etch rate and with carboxyl functional group was favorable for the 2nd Cu CMP slurry due to the high Cu removal rate/dissolution rate ratio.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.5-12
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• 2022

This study suggests the effective recycling method of sludge waste from various industrial fields to synthesize uniform colloidal silica nanoparticles. In detail, polymers are removed from the sludge waste to attain sludge-extracted silica (s-SiO₂) micron-sized particles, and ammonia assisted sonication is applied to s-SiO₂, which has effectively extracted the silanol precursor. The nano-sized silica (n-SiO₂) particles are successfully synthesized by a typical sol-gel method using silanol precursor. Also, the yield amounts of n-SiO₂ are determined by the function of s-SiO₂ etching time. Finally, n-SiO₂-based slurry is synthesized for the practical CMP application. As a result, rough-surfaced semiconductor chip is successfully polished by the n-SiO₂-based slurry to exhibit the mirror-like clean surface. In this regard, sludge wastes are successfully prepared as valuable semicondutor grade materials.