Particle size and surfactant effects on chemical mechanical polishing of glass using silica-based slurry

This study explores the effect of particle size and surfactant on the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of glass using colloidal silica-based slurry. It was found that the material removal rate strongly depends on the particle size and the types of surfactants and that the rms roughness was independent of particle size and correlated to surfactants. On the basis of polishing results, it was concluded that the main polishing mechanism was changed from indentation mechanism to surface-area mechanism, with the variation of particle size. In addition, the molecular structure, charge type, and lubricating effect of the surfactants play an important role in the dispersion of abrasive particles and in the CMP performance. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America