Effect of Cations on the Chemical Mechanical Polishing of SiO₂ Film

We investigate the effect of cations with different valences on the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of silicon dioxide films. The removal rate and surface roughness of the silicon-dioxide-film post-CMP are checked for the silica-based slurry with different cation salts (NaCl, CaCl₂, AlCl₃). Meanwhile, the particle size and size distribution of the slurries are characterized to test their lifetimes. The result shows that the three kinds of salts can improve the polishing removal rate from around 20 nm/min to 120 nm/min without affecting the surface roughness when the polishing slurry is stable. With increasing valence of cations, the polishing slurry requires less cation concentration to be added to improve the removal rate, while keeping a superior surface topography and maintaining a longer lifetime as well.