TY - JOUR
AU - Philips, Laura A.
AB - Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) is a critical element in semiconductor manufacturing used to achieve the required nanometer-scale wafer surface planarity. Contaminants in CMP polishing slurries can cause defects and reduce wafer yield. Two contaminant sources are polishing pad debris and agglomerates of nanoparticles from polishing slurries. Both of these cause defects and can be difficult to distinguish. Reliable methods to quantitatively measure and identify contaminants in slurries during CMP processing is an ongoing challenge. This work introduces Total Holographic Characterization® (THC) to detect and identify slurry contaminants in CMP slurries. Most traditional optical techniques currently in use have difficulty detecting particles in optically dense CMP slurries and often resort to extensive dilution. Previous work has shown that THC is effective in detecting and characterizing nanoparticle agglomerates and other contaminants in CMP slurries without the need for dilution. In this study, THC detects and distinguishes pad debris from other contaminants, including native nanoparticle agglomerates, in silica CMP slurries. Agglomerates of nanoparticles have a unique THC signature that can be distinguished from the signal generated by pad debris particles. Identifying the composition of contaminant particles is instrumental to identifying their source and eliminating them to improved yields and decrease manufacturing costs.
TI - Detection and Characterization of CMP Pad Debris in Polishing Slurries Using Total Holographic Characterization
JF - ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology
DO - 10.1149/2162-8777/adad99
DA - 2025-02-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/iop-publishing/detection-and-characterization-of-cmp-pad-debris-in-polishing-slurries-nJmzMijJbx
VL - 14
IS - 2
DP - DeepDyve
ER -