• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.334-338
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to characterize various electrolytes on electrochemical mechanical planarization (ECMP). The ECMP system was modified from conventional CMP system to measure the potentiodynamic curve and removal rate of Cu. The potentiodynamic curves were measured in static and dynamic states in investigated electrolytes using a potentiostat for the evaluation of the polishing behavior on ECMP. KOH (alkaline) and $NaNO_3$ (salt) were selected as electrolytes which have high conductivity. In static and dynamic states, the corrosion potential decreased and the corrosion current increased as a function of the electrolyte concentration. But, the electrochemical reaction was prevented by mechanical polishing effect in the dynamic state. The static etch and removal rate were measured as functions of concentration and applied voltage. When $NaNO_3$ was used, the dissolution was much faster than that of KOH. It was concluded that the removal rate was strongly depended on electrochemical dissolution. The removal rate increased up to 350 nm/min in $NaNO_3$ based electrolyte.

• 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.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.57-58
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• 2006

Chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) of Cu has used currently in semiconductor process for multilevel metallization system. This process requires the application of a considerable down-pressure to the sample in the polishing, because porous low-k films used in the Cu-multilevel interconnects of 65nm technology node are often damaged by mechanical process. Also, it make possible to reduce scratches and contaminations of wafer. Electrochemical mechanical planarization (ECMP) is an emerging extension of CMP. In this study, the electrochemical mechanical polisher was manufactured. And the static and dynamic potentiodynamic curve of Cu were measured in KOH based electrolyte and then the suitable potential was found.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.486-486
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• 2009

In this paper, the current-voltage (I-V) curves, such as linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV), were employed to evaluate the effect of electrolyte concentration on the electrochemical reaction trend. From the I-V curve, the electrochemical states of active, passive, transient and trans-passive could be characterized. And then, we investigated that how this chemical affect the process of voltage-induced material removal in electrochemical mechanical polishing (ECMP) of Copper. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy EDS) analyses were used to observe the surface profile. Finally, we monitored the oxidation and reduction process of the Cu surface by the repetition of anodic and cathodic potential from cyclic voltammetry (CV) method in acid- and alkali-based electrolyte. From these analyses, it was important to understand the electrochemical mechanisms of the ECMP technology.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.116-116
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• 2008

Cu CMP 공정시 높은 압력으로 인하여 low-k 유전체막에 손실을 주며, 디싱과 에로젼 같은 문제점을 해결하기 위하여 기존의 CMP에 전기화학을 결합시킴으로서 낮은 하력에서의 Cu 평탄화를 달성 할 수 있는 ECMP(Electrochemical Mechanical Polishing)기술이 필요하게 되었다. 본 논문에서는 $NaNO_3$ 전해액이 Cu 표면에 미치는 영향을 SEM (Scanning electron microscopy), EDS (Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy), XRD(X-ray Diffraction)를 통하여 전기화학적 특성을 비교 분석하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.544-544
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• 2008

Metal-CMP 공정시 높은 압력을 가해 줌으로 인하여 금속배선의 디싱 현상과 에로젼 현상이 발생하고 다공성의 하부층에 균열이 생기는 문제점을 개선하고자, 낮은 하력에서 금속막의 광역 평탄화를 이룰 수 있는 ECMP(Electrochemical Chemical Mechanical Polishing)가 생겨나게 되었다. 본 논문에서는 다양한 전해액의 전류-전압 특성 곡선을 비교 분석하여, 패시베이션막이 형성되는 곳을 알 수 있었고, CV와 LSV 법을 통해 전기화학적인 특성을 고찰하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.53-53
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• 2007

반도체 소자의 고집적화, 미세화 화로 인해 반도체의 동작속도를 증가시키기 위하여 Cu를 이용한 금속배선이 주목받게 되었으나, 높은 압력으로 인한 보은 Cu 영역에서 과잉 디슁 현상과 에로젼을 유도하고 반도체 웨이퍼위의 low-k 물질에 손상을 줌에 따라 메탈라인 브리징과 단락을 초래할 있어, Cu의 단락인 islands를 남김으로서 표면 결항을 제거하지 못한다는 단점을 가지고 있었다. 그래서 이러한 문제점을 해결하기 위하여 기존의 CMP에 전기화학을 결합시킴으로서 낮은 하력에서의 Cu평탄화를 달성할 수 있는 ECMP (electrochemical mechanical polishing)기술이 필요하게 되었다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 전기화학적 기계적 연마(ECMP)작용을 위해, I-V 특성 곡선을 이용하여 패시베이션 막의 active, passive, transient, trans-passive영역의 전기화학적 특성을 비교 분석하였으며, Cu막의 표면 형상을 알아보기 위해 scanning electron microscopy (SEM) 측정과 energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS)와 X-ray Diffraction (XRD) 분석을 통해 금속 화학적 조성을 조사하였다.