Transformation of silica fume into chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) nano-slurries for advanced semiconductor manufacturing

Silica nanoparticles have been synthesized from silica fume using alkali dissolution–precipitation process. The dissolution efficiency of 99% at a temperature of 80 °C and a time of 20 min was achieved. Sodium silicate solution was obtained by dissolving the fume with NaOH solution. Then, silica nanoparticles were precipitated using sulfuric acid. Silica nanoparticles (175 nm) were achieved using 12% sulfuric acid at pH 7 and 200 ppm sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The silica morphologies appeared as a spherical shape with narrow particle size distribution. The silica samples were used for the formulation and testing of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) slurries. The morphology of the polished wafer surface and its roughness were examined by atomic force microscope (AFM).The results indicated that the surface roughness was greatly improved after application of CMP. It was found that the surface roughness of the polished wafer is 0.226 nm at an applied pressure of 7 psi. The removal rate was found to be 1200 Å. These values confirm the quality of polished wafers.