Communication—A Strategy to Reduce the Content of Residual Oxide Layer on SiC Surface in ECMP

Abstract

4H-SiC is a promising next-generation semiconductor. To reduce the content of residual oxide layer on SiC surface generated in electrochemical mechanical polishing (ECMP), a novel strategy to form an inhibitive PS/CeO 2 layer on SiC surface by utilizing electrostatic attraction was proposed. The electrostatic attraction was achieved by controlling the pH value of slurry. Polishing results show that this method can reduce the surface roughness and the amount of residual oxide on the polished surface, hence improving polishing quality. This technique also shows the potential to attain high polishing efficiency compared with conventional or two-step ECMP.