Term #927
chemical mechanical polishing process
Claim Term
chemical mechanical polishing process
Origin matter
—
Reference Case 1
FSP1813
Date Added
4/30/20
Created
4/30/20, 4:42 AM
Modified
4/30/20, 4:42 AM
Full Desc
"Chemical mechanical polishing process" (CMP), also known as "planarization", refers to a process of smoothing surfaces with the combination of chemical and mechanical forces. It can be thought of as a hybrid of chemical etching and free abrasive polishing. The process uses an abrasive and corrosive chemical slurry (commonly a colloid) in conjunction with a polishing pad and retaining ring, typically of a greater diameter than the wafer. The pad and wafer are pressed together by a dynamic polishing head and held in place by a plastic retaining ring. The dynamic polishing head is rotated with different axes of rotation (i.e., not concentric). This removes material and tends to even out any irregular topography, making the wafer flat or planar. CMP polishing and/or leveling may be done to set up the wafer for the formation of additional circuit elements. For example, CMP can bring the entire surface within the depth of field of a photolithography system, or selectively remove material based on its position. Typical depth-of-field requirements are down to Angstrom levels for the latest 22 nm technology. (Search "chemical mechanical polishing" on Wikipedia.com Oct. 21, 2020. Edited. Accessed March 25, 2020.)