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Effect of Non-Ionic Surfactant on Chemical Mechanical Planarization Performance in Alkaline Copper Slurry

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Abstract

The role of non-ionic surfactant concentration in the planarization performance of copper wafer is investigated. The basic components of the slurry contain H2O2, a mixture of benzotriazole (BTA) and ammonium dodecyl sulfate (ADS), FA/O II (macromolecular organic complexing agent), and silica. The static performance of the alkaline slurry including the surface tension, viscosity, particle size distribution and zeta potentials is analyzed. The effect of AEO on material removal rate (MRR) profiles, within-wafer non-uniformity (WIWNU) and surface roughness is also discussed. The AEO in combination with a small amount of BTA and ADS has a large effect on the stability of abrasives, MRR, WIWNU and surface roughness. A new MRR model is proposed to elucidate the polishing mechanism, revealing that the inhibition properties of AEO can be characterized through the corrosion inhibition efficiency and adsorption behavior. An optimal choice of the AEO concentration can achieve a good stability of the slurry, high MRR, low WIWNU and planar surface. The surfactant concentration ranging from 0.1 wt% to 0.5 wt% would contribute to acquiring a good surface planarization performance. Therefore, this work provides a comprehensive understanding of the effect of AEO concentration on the surface planarity of copper CMP in alkaline slurries.

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Abbreviations

k :

positive proportion coefficient

k m :

Preston constant

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microelectronics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Qinzhi Xu, Fei Yang, Lan Chen & He Cao

  2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Three-Dimensional and Nanometer Integrated Circuit Design Automation Technology, Beijing, 100029, China

    Qinzhi Xu, Fei Yang, Lan Chen & He Cao

Authors
  1. Qinzhi Xu
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  2. Fei Yang
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  3. Lan Chen
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  4. He Cao
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Qinzhi Xu or Lan Chen.

Additional information

Qinzhi Xu Associate professor in Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research interests focus on theories and models of chemical mechanical polishing, design for manufacturability in nano-scale integrated circuits and models and simulation approaches for the structure and properties of polymeric materials.

Fei Yang Engineer in Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research interests include the process of chemical mechanical polishing and dummy fill in integrated circuits.

Lan Chen Professor and Director of EDA Center, Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academic of Sciences, Her current research interests include design for manufacturability, design and manufacture co-optimization(DTCO), and massively parallel algorithm for EDA.

He Cao Assistant professor in Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research interests include theories and models of CMP process and dummy fill in integrated circuits.

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Xu, Q., Yang, F., Chen, L. et al. Effect of Non-Ionic Surfactant on Chemical Mechanical Planarization Performance in Alkaline Copper Slurry. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 19, 1585–1595 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-018-0186-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-018-0186-9

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