Yoichi Machii

Chemical Mechanical Polishing with Nanocolloidal Ceria Slurry for Low-Damage Planarization of Dielectric Films

New chemical mechanical polishing processes using nanocolloidal ceria slurry are proposed for high-precision and low-damage planarization of silicon-dioxide-based dielectric films. In the polishing process of a shallow trench isolation structure, a hard pad and a cationic polymer additive are used in combination with the slurry. The new process is effective in improving the planarity and reducing the microscratch count in comparison with a conventional polishing process with calcined ceria slurry and a standard pad. In the polishing process of an interconnect structure with ultralow-k interlayer dielectrics (ULK-ILDs), the standard pad should be used since the ULK-ILDs are easily damaged. By employing a spin-on-type ULK-ILD having a self-planarizing effect, a high planarity is obtained when using the nanocolloidal ceria slurry with the standard pad. The electrical measurement of the interconnect structure indicates that dielectric damage due to the process is successfully suppressed.