Polishing Characteristics of passivation layer by abrasive particles and slurry chemical in the Metal CMP process

금속 CMP 공정에서 연마제와 슬러리 케미컬에 의한 passivation layer의 연마특성

The polishing mechanism of W-CMP process has been reported as the repeated process of passive layer formation by oxidizer and abrasion action by slurry abrasives. Thus, it is important to understand the effect of oxidizer on tungsten passivation layer in order to obtain higher removal rate (RR) and very low non-uniformity (NU%) during W-CMP process. In this paper, we investigated the effects of oxidizer on W-CMP process with three different kinds of oxidizers, such as $H_2O_2$, $Fe(NO_3)_3$, and $KIO_3$. In order to compare the removal rate and non-uniformity of three oxidizers, we used alumina-based slurry of pH 4. According to the CMP tests, three oxidizers showed different removal mechanism on tungsten surface. Also, the microstructures of surface layer by AFM image were greatly influenced by the slurry chemical, composition of oxidizers. The difference in removal rate and roughness of tungsten surface are believed to caused by modification in the mechanical behavior of $Al_2O_3$ abrasive particles in CMP slurry. Our stabilized slurries can be used a guideline and promising method for improved W-CMP process.