Chemical-Mechanical Planarization of Low-$k$ Polymers for Advanced IC Structures

Successful integration of copper and low dielectric constant (low-k) materials is dependent on robust chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) during damascene patterning. This process includes the direct removal of copper and interaction of the copper slurry with the underlying dielectric. Experiments were designed and performed to examine the CMP of two low-k polymers from Dow Chemical Company, bis-benzocyclobutene (BCB^*, k=2.65) and “silicon-application low-k material” (SiLK^* resin, k=2.65) with both acidic slurries suitable for copper damascene patterning and a KH phthalate-based model slurry developed for SiLK. Blanket polymer films were polished in order to determine the interactions that occur when copper and liner materials are removed by the damascene CMP process. Removal rates were obtained from material thickness measurements, post-CMP surface topography from AFM scans, and post-CMP surface chemistry from XPS measurements. Physically based wafer-scale models are presented which are compatible with the experimental results.