Abrasive tool making process – material – or composition – With inorganic material
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-03
2002-01-15
Marcheschi, Michael (Department: 1755)
Abrasive tool making process, material, or composition
With inorganic material
C051S308000, C051S309000, C106S003000, C438S692000, C423S335000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06338743
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to buffer systems in the form of solutions or salts for preparing suspensions which can be used for chemomechanical polishing. In particular, these buffer systems can be used for preparing suspensions which have a high pH of 9.5-13 and are used for the chemomechanical polishing of Si and metal surfaces of semiconductors, known as wafers.
Typical semiconductor circuits are usually built up using silicon or gallium arsenide as substrate onto which many integrated circuits are applied. The various layers from which these integrated circuits are built up are either conductive, insulating or have semiconductor properties. To build up such a semiconductor structure, it is absolutely necessary for the wafer used to have an absolutely flat surface. It is therefore frequently necessary to polish the surface or part of the surface of a wafer.
Further developments in semiconductor technology have led to ever larger degrees of integration and continuing miniaturization, combined with circuits which are becoming ever narrower, as a result of which ever higher demands are made of the manufacturing methods. For example, in the case of such semiconductor elements, it is necessary to form thin conductive lines or similar structures on previously formed structures. The fact that the surface of the previously formed structures is frequently irregular presents problems. In order to be able to achieve a satisfactory result in the subsequent photolithographic treatment, it is therefore necessary to make the surface planar. For this reason, the methods and agents by means of which the surface is made planar, as is repeatedly necessary, are a central subject in semiconductor production. In technical language, this process is known as chemomechanical polishing. Accordingly, both the industrial equipment used and the chemical components of which the formulations of the polishing suspensions used are composed, as well as the supply systems by means of which the polishing suspensions are provided during polishing, are of great interest in this process step.
In general, chemomechanical polishing (CMP) is carried out by rotating the wafer under uniform pressure against a polishing cloth which is uniformly impregnated with a polishing suspension. Such processes for chemomechanical polishing are described in more detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,671,851, 4,910,155 and 4,944,836.
To achieve consistent results, constant chemical properties of the suspensions, known as slurries, used for polishing are of great importance. These are usually dilute suspensions which are brought from the reservoirs to the point at which polishing takes place via lines which are as short as possible, if desired with mixing. The requirement for constant properties of these slurries applies in particular to the content of solids, which normally consist of silicate or aluminium oxide particles, the size distribution of the solid particles, the pH and also other ions present therein; solid particles and pH appear to have a particular influence on the polishing result, even if the content of ions, e.g. set free from the storage containers, supply systems or by decomposition processes within the slurries themselves, would likewise not seem negligible. Furthermore, undesired agglomerate, aggregate or gel formation in the slurries can occur and can have an adverse effect both on their handling and on the polishing result.
The polishing suspensions can be either basic or acid suspensions. Basic slurries have different problems in use depending on which base has been used for adjusting the pH. The slurries whose pH has been adjusted by means of KOH appear to be more stable as such, but have higher degrees of contamination by ions and foreign particles, so that the cleaning steps subsequent to polishing are of considerably greater importance when such systems are used. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,790 describes the use of such suspensions under the action of ultrasound. U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,534 discloses a process for producing a conductive contact in an insulating layer. The slurries described therein, which comprise, for example, Al
2
O
3
as solid particles, hydrogen peroxide as etchant and either KOH or NH
4
OH for adjusting the pH, are used in a first polishing step in order to remove tungsten in a predetermined amount and at the same time take off only very little of the insulating layer. The subsequent chemomechanical polishing step employs a suspension which consists of a solid such as Al
2
O
3
, an oxidizing agent such as hydrogen peroxide and water. The CMP suspensions disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,816 also have similar compositions comprising phosphoric acid, hydrogen peroxide, water and solid particles, while U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,876 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,544 disclose compositions comprising water, colloidal silicate and sodium hypochlorite. U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,313 describes slurries comprising aluminium oxide particles, deionized water and an oxidizing agent.
In contrast to formulations whose pH has been adjusted using KOH, the problem of contamination by foreign ions is less in the case of CMP suspensions to which ammonia solution has been added for this purpose, but they are more likely to display gel formation and the pH is more likely to change. In addition, the odour plays a particular role here.
Although such formulations have been used for some time both for making wafers planar and for polishing metal coatings, films and conductive contacts, the results achievable with the CMP slurries used hitherto are frequently unsatisfactory, since the properties of the CMP suspensions are changed during polishing by dissolution processes and small solid particles removed from the polished surfaces. A particular problem is caused if the pH changes during the polishing process, especially since this is associated with a change in the rate of material removal.
There has therefore for some time been a considerable need for improved, inexpensive and simple-to-prepare suspensions for chemomechanical polishing, by means of which both surfaces of substrate materials and of metal layers can be made absolutely flat without undesired contamination and surface defects.
The object of the invention is achieved by means of buffer systems comprising 3-25% by weight of silica in a 0.5-10 molar aqueous solution of a strong base selected from the group consisting of TMAH, KOH or NaOH. They are effective in the pH range from 9.5 to 13.
The object of the invention is also achieved by a process for preparing the buffer system mentioned, characterized in that a 3-25% aqueous silica solution or SiO
2
suspension is treated while mixing well, if desired with warming, with such an amount of an aqueous solution of a strong base selected from the group consisting of TMAH, KOH or NaOH that the buffer solution effective in the pH range from 9.5 to 13 comprises from 0.5 to 10 mol/l of the strong base.
According to the invention, if desired, the water is removed from the buffer solution obtained, giving the salt of the buffer system. This can be achieved by removing the water by evaporation under reduced pressure or by crystallizing out the salt of the buffer by subsequent cooling and separating off the resulting crystals. This salt can then, dissolved in an aqueous suspension or solution, buffer the suspension in the strongly alkaline range.
The invention thus also provides for the use of this buffer system prepared by the process of the invention for preparing alkaline suspensions having a pH of from 9.5 to 13 for chemomechanical polishing, in particular of silicon or other metal surfaces.
According to the invention, the buffered suspensions can comprise, as abrasives, metal oxides in the form of solid particles selected from the group consisting of silicon oxide and aluminium oxide, and oxidizing agents and, if desired, further additives.
It has now been found that the stability of alkaline suspensions for chemomechanical polishing can be increased by buffering in the pH range from 9.5 to 13. This is important, since the pH change
Dusemund Claus
Hostalek Martin
Rhein Rudolf
Schweikert Manuela
Marcheschi Michael
Merck Patent Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung
Millen White Zelano & Branigan P.C.
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