On-Demand Webinar: Analyze chemical and surface interactions affecting CMP with Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D)
As semiconductor process nodes keep shrinking, new materials and fabrication strategies must be implemented. New materials mean ever evolving strategies and the Chemical Mechanical Planarization or Polishing (CMP) process is not immune to these increased demands.
The technique quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) allows the user to really dig into the chemistry or “C” of the CMP process. With QCM-D engineers can flow slurries across different metal or non-metal surfaces, quantifying the real-time chemical behavior with the surface. Chemical etching or surface passivation can be measured depending on slurry chemistry and additives used as well as the surface being investigated. Details into the complex mechanism of chemical CMP can be revealed by step-wise investigation of individual components of a CMP slurry. Chemical etchants, surfactants, corrosion inhibitors, and nanoparticle abrasives can all be tested under varying process conditions to determine optimum performance and desired response for the material being removed.
Post-CMP cleaning can be a necessary step to remove abrasive or inhibitors necessary during the CMP process and QCM-D is a great tool to help probe how to best clean post-CMP residue. Many different QCM-D sensor surfaces are commercially available relevant to the industry’s needs including Cu, Co, Al, W, SiO2, SiC, poly Si, Si3N4, Al2O3, and custom sensors are available upon request.
Please watch this on-demand webinar to hear about how individual slurry components as well as full slurry formulations interact with various QCM-D surfaces to give you a better understanding about how QCM-D can be used to gain insight into the complex CMP process.
