Design of “Soft” Cleaning Processes for Emerging Substrates via Stimuli Responsive Chemistry

Abstract

The Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) process (polishing and substrate cleaning) results in defects that can be classified as mechanical (i.e., scratching), chemical (i.e., corrosion), or physiochemical (i.e., adsorbed contaminants) according to the mechanism of formation. This work will focus on the rationale design of p-CMP cleaning systems for emerging materials (silicon carbide (SiC)) that activate the cleaning chemistry via external stimuli such as megasonic energy. More specifically, using megasonic energy in the presence of supramolecular assemblies such as micelles and vesicles was employed for a “soft” (low shear force) defect removal process. Results indicate a correlation between the structure of the “soft” cleaning additives and induced megasonic energy on overall simulated defect removal. It was determined that effective particle removal was a second-order kinetic process with a concentration dependency (i.e. above and below the critical micelle concentration (CMC)) emerging as a key driver for the defect removal rate. Although, one apparent drawback is the generation of post-cleaning carbon residue due to the adsorption of the supramolecular structures to the SiC substrate.