Rapid Process Development for Chemical Mechanical Planarization

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。该研究项目的目标是了解影响化学机械平面化产品质量和工艺效率的基本机制。追求一致的多尺度和多物理方法。化学机械平坦化过程被视为晶圆、抛光垫和抛光液在机器辅助下的汇合或结合。通过该过程中固有的相互作用，晶片、垫和浆料各自修改另外两个，并且依次被它们修改。该项目开发了一个多尺度和多物理表示的3路完全耦合焊盘-晶圆-浆料相互作用的复杂性，辅助准耦合的相互作用与机器。一个概念映射技术，通过曲率校正增强，以确保在多物理和多尺度表示的一致性。模型开发将通过机械实验以及全尺寸平面化测试来辅助。验证的预测模型，然后将被用来进行详细的参数研究和设计空间探索的化学？一旦得到验证，多尺度模拟工具将被放置在一个网站上，并可作为工艺开发的软件测试平台。它不仅将检查工艺设计选择是否预期符合规格，而且还能够在工艺设计选择不符合规格时提供一般纠正建议。这将促进有效的工艺设计和控制的发展。它将捕捉平面化过程的基本纳米尺度的细微差别，并将它们与宏观尺度的设计考虑。计划通过将本项目中使用的概念图原则引入本科和高中的科学教育，向邻近的本科院校和高中进行推广。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The objective of this research project is to understand the fundamental mechanisms affecting the salient features of product quality and process efficiency in Chemical Mechanical Planarization. A consistent multi-scale and multi-physics approach is pursued. The Chemical Mechanical Planarization process is viewed as a confluence or a union of wafer, pad and slurry, aided by the machine. By the interactions inherent in this process, the wafer, pad, and slurry each modifies the other two, and is in turn modified by them. This project develops a multi-scale and multi-physics representation of the intricacies of 3-way fully coupled pad-wafer-slurry interactions, aided by quasi-coupled interactions with the machine. A concept mapping technique, augmented via curvature correction is utilized to ensure consistency in multi-physics and multi-scale representations. Model development will be aided by mechanistic experimentations as well as full scale planarization tests. The validated predictive model will then be utilized to conduct a detailed parametric study and design space exploration of chemical ? mechanical interactions in a planarization process.Once validated, the multi-scale simulation tool will be housed in a website and can serve as a software testbed for process development. It will not only just check if a process design choice is expected to meet the specifications, but will also be able to provide advice for generic rectifications when the process design choices fail to meet the specifications. This will facilitate development of effective process design and control. It will capture the basic nano-scale nuances of planarization processes, and relate them to macro-scale design considerations. Outreach to neighboring undergraduate institutions and high schools are planned by introducing Concept Mapping principles utilized in this project to science education at the undergraduate and high school levels.