• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.81-82
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• 2006

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) technology has been widely used for global planarization of multi-level interconnection for ULSI applications. However, the cost of ownership and cost of consumables are relatively high because of expensive slurry. In this paper, so as to investigate the influence of mixed abrasive slurry (MAS), such as $ZrO_2$, $CeO_2$, and $MnO_2$ for Ti-CMP application.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.107-108
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• 2006

In this work, we first applied the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process to the planarization of ferroelectric film in order to obtain a good planarity of electrode/ferroelectric film interface. $Bi_{3.25}La_{0.75}Ti_{3}O_{12}$ (BLT) ferroelectric film was fabricated by the sol-gel method. However, there have been serious problems in CMP in terms of repeatability and defects in patterned wafer. Especially, dishing & erosion defects increase the resistance because they decrease the interconnect section area, and ultimately reduce the lifetime of the semiconductor. Cross-sections of the wafer before and after CMP were examined by Scanning electron microscope(SEM). Process characteristics of non-dishing and erosion were investigated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.331-338
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• 2004

We present a three-dimensional average flow model considering elastic deformation of pad asperities for chemical mechanical planarization. To consider the contact deformation of pad asperities in the calculation of the flow factor, three-dimensional contact analysis of a semi-infinite solid based on the use of influence functions is conducted from computer generated three dimensional roughness data. The average Reynolds equation and the boundary condition of both force and momentum balance are used to investigate the effect of pad roughness and external pressure conditions on film thickness and wafer position angle.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.1-4
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of slurry including phosphoric acid for chemical-mechanical planarization of copper and tantalum nitride. In general, the slurry for copper CMP consists of alumina or colloidal silica as an abrasive, organic acid as a complexing agent, an oxidizing agent, a film forming agent, a pH control agent and additives. Hydrogen peroxide (H$_2$O$_2$) is the material that is used as an oxidizing agent in copper CMP. But, the hydrogen peroxide needs some stabilizers to prevent decomposition. We evaluated phosphoric acid (H$_3$PO$_4$) as a stabilizer of the hydrogen peroxide as well as an accelerator of the tantalum nitride CMP process. We also estimated dispersion stability and zeta potential of the abrasive with the contents of phosphoric acid. An acceleration of the tantalum nitride CMP was verified through the electrochemical test. This approach may be useful for the development of the 2$\^$nd/ step copper CMP slurry and hydrogen peroxide stability.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2003.05c
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• pp.158-161
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• 2003

The primary aim of this study is to investigate new semi-abrasive free slurry including acid colloidal silica and hydrogen peroxide for copper chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP). In general, slurry for copper CMP consists of colloidal silica as an abrasive, organic acid as a complex-forming agent, hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent, a film forming agent, a pH control agent and several additives. We developed new semi-abrasive free slurry (SAFS) including below 0.5% acid colloidal silica. We evaluated additives as stabilizers for hydrogen peroxide as well as accelerators in tantalum nitride CMP process. We also estimated dispersion stability and Zeta potential of the acid colloidal silica with additives. The extent of enhancement in tantalum nitride CMP was verified through anelectrochemical test. This approach may be useful for the application of single and first step copper CMP slurry with one package system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2003.07a
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• pp.50-53
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• 2003

CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) process remained to solve several problems in deep sub-micron integrated circuit manufacturing process. especially consumables (polishing pad, backing film, slurry, pad conditioner), one of the most important components in the CMP system is the slurry. Among the composition of slurries (buffer solution, bulk solution, abrasive particle, oxidizer, inhibitor, suspension, antifoaming agent, dispersion agent), the abrasive particles are important in determining polish rate and planarization ability of a CMP process. However, the cost of abrasives is still very high. So, in order to reduce the high COO (cost of ownership) and COC (cost of consumables) in this paper, we have collected the silica abrasive powders by filtering after subsequent CMP process for the purpose of abrasive particle recycling. And then, we have studied the possibility of recycle of reused silica abrasive through the analysis of particle size and hardness. Also, we annealed the collected abrasive powders to promote the mechanical strength of reduced abrasion force. Finally, we compared the CMP characteristics between self-developed KOH-based silica abrasive slurry and original slurry. As our experimental results, we obtained the comparable removal rate and good planarity with commercial products. Consequently, we can expect the saving of high cost slurry.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.731-734
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• 2004

As the integrated circuit device shrinks to the smaller dimension, the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process was required for the global planarization of inter-metal dielectric(IMD) layer with free-defect. Polishing pads play a key role in CMP, which has been recognized as a critical step to improve the topography of wafers for semiconductor fabrication. It is investigated the performance of $SiO_2-CMP$ process using commercial silica slurry as a pad conditioning temperature increased after CMP process. This study also showed the change of SEM images in the pore geometry on the CMP pad surface after use with a different pad conditioning temperature.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.175-184
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• 2001

In this study, the improved throughput and stability in device fabrication could be obtained by applying CMP process to STi structue in 0.18 um semiconductor device. To employ the CMP process in STI structure, the Reverse Moat Process used to be added after STI Fill, as a result, the process became more complex and the defect were seriously increased than they had been,. Removal rate of each thin film in STI CMP was not uniform, so, the device must have been affected. That is, in case of excessive CMP, the damage on the active area was occurred, and in the case of insufficient CMP nitride remaining was happened on that area. Both of them deteriorated device characteristics. As a solution to these problems, the development of slurry having high removal rate and high oxide to nitride selectivity has been studied. The process using this slurry afford low defect levels, improved yield, and a simplified process flow. In this study, we evaluated the 'High Selectivity Slurry' to do a global planarization without reverse moat step, and also we evaluated EPD(Eend Point Detection) system with which 'in-situ end point detection' is possible.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.330-336
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• 2019

Conditioning is a process involving pad surface scraping by a moving metallic disk that is electrodeposited with diamond abrasives. It is an indispensable process in chemical-mechanical planarization, which regulates the pad roughness by removing the surface residues. Additionally, conditioning maintains the material removal rates and increases the pad lifetime. As the conditioning continues, the pad profile becomes unevenly to be deformed, which causes poor polishing quality. Simulation calculates the density at which the diamond abrasives on the conditioner scratch the unit area on the pad. It can predict the profile deformation through the control of conditioner dwell time. Previously, this effect of the diamond shape on conditioning has been investigated with regard to microscopic areas, such as surface roughness, rather than global pad-profile deformation. In this study, the effect of diamond shape on the pad profile is evaluated by comparing the simulated and experimental conditioning using two conditioners: a) random-shaped abrasive conditioner (RSC) and b) uniform-shaped abrasive conditioner (USC). Consequently, it is confirmed that the USC is incapable of controlling the pad profile, which is consistent with the simulation results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2003.05c
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• pp.33-36
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• 2003

Tungsten is widely used as a plug for the multi-level interconnection structures. However, due to the poor adhesive properties of tungsten (W) on $SiO_2$ layer, the Ti/TiN barrier layer is usually deposited onto $SiO_2$ for increasing adhesion ability with W film. Generally, for the W-CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) process, the passivation layer on the tungsten surface during CMP plays an important role. In this paper, the effect of oxidants controlling the polishing selectivity of W/Ti/TiN layer were investigated. The alumina $(Al_2O_3)$ abrasive containing slurry with 5 % $H_2O_2$ as the oxidizer, was studied. As our preliminary experimental results, very low removal rates were observed for the case of no-oxidant slurry. This low removal rate is only due to the mechanical abrasive force. However, for Ti and TiN with 5 % $H_2O_2$ oxidizer, different removal rate was observed. The removal mechanism of Ti during CMP is mainly due to mechanical abrasive, whereas for TiN, it is due to the formation of metastable soluble peroxide complex.