Mechanical aspects of the chemical mechanical polishing process: A review

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is an essential semiconductor manufacturing process because of its local and global planarization ability in fabricating highly integrated devices. The CMP process uses both chemical reaction and mechanical polishing simultaneously. The combination of chemical reaction and mechanical removal in CMP is so complex that understanding the material removal mechanism has been a challenge for researchers and engineers. The chemical reaction mechanism is determined by the chemical composition of the CMP slurry and the material property of the target material. However, the mechanical action is a complex result of various mechanical factors of the process parameters and consumables. The mechanical material removal is a cornerstone of understanding and predicting CMP results. This review focuses on the mechanical aspects in CMP in terms of the process parameters and consumables of the CMP process that directly influence the material removal characteristics.