Development Time of New CMP Materials

For any new technology, there are always challenges to be faced. Beyond these normal challenges, there are four areas in which CMP must make significant progress. For the CMP technologist, these are areas that should receive critical attention in the development of new processes and improvement of established processes. For the CMP industry, these are areas in which infrastructure must be developed and capital investment made if CMP is to continue to grow. These areas are (1) development time of new CMP materials, (2) reduction in CMP defects, (3) improvement in CMP proeess eontrol, and (4) reduction in CMP cost. 

There are, however, two significant environmental ehanges that will require the CMP eonsumable industry to be more nimble in its development of new produets, 

The CMP consumable industry must develop the infrastructure to respond to the challenge of the 2 year consumables development cycle. Because each new CMP application is likely to bring with it new and unique challenges, slurry, pad, and cleaning chemistries will need to be tailored to best suit the need of the new application. The vendor who can reliably have consumables ready in time will win the business. But to be nimble enough to develop the consumable on the 2 year cycle, the industry must increase its fundamental understanding of how the 

FIGURE 20.17 Examples of particle/defects commonly seen post-CMP (from Refs. 16-18). 

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