Abstract
Monitoring system for CMP equipment, which uses friction force and temperature measurement, was newly developed. The correlation between friction and CMP results can be investigated in terms of the tribological aspects by using the monitoring system. Therefore, the removal mechanism of materials could be understood through the investigation of correlation between removal rate and coefficient of friction. In this study, a close examination between friction and CMP results was conducted. The results show that the material removal per unit sliding distance is proportional to friction force with regard to polishing performance. The friction energy affects removal rate and process temperature. Also, within wafer non–uniformity increases with the coefficient of friction, because operating location of normal resultant force on wafer shifts to its edge. Therefore the monitoring system will contribute to research and development of CMP process for fabrication of semiconductor device and silicon wafer.
