Effect of pad surface micro-texture on removal rate during interlayer dielectric chemical mechanical planarization process

The effect of pad surface micro-texture on removal rate in interlayer dielectric chemical mechanical planarization was investigated. Blanket 200-mm oxide wafers were polished on a Dow® IC1000™ K-groove pad conditioned at two different conditioning forces. The coefficient of friction increased slightly (by 7%) while removal rate increased dramatically (by 65%) when conditioning force was increased from 26.7 to 44.5 N. Pad surface micro-texture analysis results showed that pad surface contact area decreased dramatically (by 71%) at the conditioning force of 44.5 N, leading to a sharp increase in the local contact pressure and resulting in a significantly higher removal rate.