Experimental and Molecular Dynamics Studies on Copper Electrochemical Mechanical Polishing (Cu-Ecmp)

Abstract

In recent times, copper electrochemical mechanical polishing (Cu ECMP) has received a great deal of interest from electrochemists and the semiconductor manufacturing industry. This attention is primarily due to its potential for yielding relatively defect-free surfaces with improved surface integrity compared to chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). In this work, Cu ECMP apparatus integrated with a sensing and data acquisition system was developed to polish D. 4 inch (D.100 mm) blank Cu wafer surfaces to a finish of Ra< 15nm, and continuously gather voltage and current signals during Cu ECMP process at a sampling rate of 100Hz. Experimental studies were carried out to understand the effects of anodic voltage, pH, and pad pressure on the material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (Ra). Understanding the process from an atomistic standpoint helps us gain better control over the process and aids us in optimizing the key process output variables (KPOV). In order to gain a better understanding of the process, the molecular dynamic simulation (MDS) technique was adopted to develop a model to depict the real-time formation of copper (II) hexa-hydrate molecule Cu[(H_2 O)_6 ]^(2+), which is one of the key elements of the passivation layer formed over the Cu surface during ECMP. The behavior of the complex molecule under an electric force field was simulated to observe the process from a molecular perspective. From the trajectory of Cu2+, it was found that the velocity of copper ion increased with increase in applied voltage. Furthermore, the current carried by a single Cu2+ ion was computed based on the applied voltage and velocity of the ion.