Diffusion-Limited Agglomeration and Defect Generation during Chemical Mechanical Planarization

Abstract

Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of copper involves removal of surface asperities with abrasive particles and polishing processes. This leads to copper-containing nanoparticles extruded into the solution. We model the diffusion-limited agglomeration (DLA) of such nanoparticles which can rapidly grow to large sizes. These large particles are detrimental because they can participate in polishing, causing scratches and surface defects during CMP. The agglomeration is much slower in the reaction-limited agglomeration process. Under realistic conditions the defect generation probability can increase significantly over time scales of to 20 min from DLA, unless prevented by slurry rejuvenation or process modification measures.