Wafer polishing and endpoint detection

USRE38029E1 · kind E1 · reissue

Assignee

• IBM Corporation · US

Inventors

• William J. Cote · Poughquag, US
• Michael A. Leach · Middlebury, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 16, 1992
• Grant date: Mar 11, 2003
• Expiry date: Mar 16, 2012

Classification

• Technology area (CPC —): General

Abstract

In a chem-mech polishing process for planarizing insulators such as silicon oxide and silicon nitride, a pool of slurry is utilized at a temperature between 85° F.-95° F. The slurry particulates (e.g. silica) have a hardness commensurate to the hardness of the insulator to be polished. Under these conditions, wafers can be polished at a high degree of uniformity more economically (by increasing pad lifetime), without introducing areas of locally incomplete polishing.