Chemical-mechanical planarization advances with the times

CMP has come a long way from its beginnings as just a simple method for polishing oxide materials to a smooth, finished surface. Today, chemical-mechanical planarization plays a critical role in contemporary integrated circuit processing, and it will still be needed for at least the next ten years as the scale of IC geometries continues to shrink. A multitude of R&D activities focus on various aspects of the CMP process, ranging from slurries and pads to radical process changes such as drastic reducing mechanical force and adding electrical means to the chemical and mechanical ones already in use in order to adapt to new low-k dielectric materials. CMP has found even wider application in the field of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) fabrication. And as device developers look to alternatives to silicon, such as germanium and group III-V materials, the CMP process is expected to evolve into these new directions as well.