Advances in Chemical-Mechanical Polishing

While now in widespread use in integrated circuit fabrication, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) is also starting to appear in a surprisingly wide range of applications, with a growing variety of processes and technologies. This book, first published in 2004, presents advances in fundamental understanding, development, and applications of CMP. CMP of both conventional and nonconventional materials are discussed. Conventional materials polished using CMP include silicon, oxides and nitrides, polysilicon, and other insulating films, as well as copper, tungsten, barrier films, and other metal films. Nonconventional materials include those of increasing importance in advanced semiconductor, MEMS, and nanotechnologies, such as low-k dielectrics and polymer, nickel, and ruthenium films. CMP in IC fabrication continues to pose substantial problems - for virgin silicon wafer preparation, shallow-trench isolation (STI) structures, and poly or other deep-trench structure formation, as well as copper and low-k metal interconnect. New developments in CMP pads and slurries are presented. Novel polishing methods and are described. Advances in CMP process understanding and modeling are also highlighted.