Chemical Mechanical Planarization has emerged as a critical technology for the planarization of precision optical components, data storage media, and integrated circuit (IC) semiconductor devices. This process balances chemical surface modification and mechanical removal utilizing a nanoparticle dispersion (slurry) to limit defects and irregularities with the goal to attain angstrom level uniformity. The chemical components of a model Cu CMP slurry include abrasive particles, corrosion inhibitors, complexing agents, oxidizing agents, and pH adjusters. The traditional abrasive used in the Cu CMP slurry is silica (SiO<sub>2</sub>) due to its stability and selectively for the Cu surface. As technology continues to advance, CMP slurries are increasing in complexity, making it necessary to implement a filtration process that works to capture rogue particles that are known to have a significant effect on defectivity. In order to unravel the dynamic synergy between the slurry formulation and filtration media, it is essential to investigate the role of media surface energy on filtration performance. More specifically, this work set out to probe the noncovalent interactions that control slurry/polymer adsorption using a model Cu CMP slurry on polyamide and polypropylene based media. Current results have shown that the filtration process has a significant impact on the slurry integrity, which can be correlated to changes in the complexing/passivation agent synergy. Monitoring these changes was performed via Cu removal rate, dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential, electrochemical quartz crystal nanobalance (EQCN), and potentiodynamic scan analysis as a function of the filtration process. Ultimately, results indicate that the filtration process is effective in removing rogue particles, but has shown to have an impact on chemistry adsorption to the media which directly impacts the activity of the slurry during the CMP process.<br/>

Probing the interactions between polymeric filtration media and nanoparticle dispersions relevant to copper (Cu) Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP)

2019 Spring National Meeting

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