Yield Improvement via minimization of step height non-uniformity in Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP)

Abstract

Obtaining local and global planarity is one of the prime criteria in dielectric and metal penalizations. Although Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) helps us achieve this criterion in constant pattern density surfaces, the same is not true for variable pattern density surfaces this results in formation of global step heights across the die. This paper provides a pressure open loop control algorithms for obtaining planarity across a die containing variations in pattern densities. Based on the variation of pattern density and surface heights across the die, the surfaces are separated into zones and the pressure is varied spatially and/or temporally to obtain uniform surface heights, with enhanced step height uniformity. One of the algorithms looks ahead and recalculates/modifies the pressure values by identifying the step heights that could be formed after a specified time step. The final surface predictions have improved uniformity on the upper surface as well as on the step heights across the entire die. The simulation would help us track the polishing process for each time step and guide us with the optimized pressure values that can be applied in order to an uniform final surface evolution. © 2005 Materials Research Society.