High-removal selectivity through interaction between polyacrylamide and SiO2 film in poly isolation chemical mechanical planarization.

The interaction between polyacrylamide (PAM) and SiO2 film was investigated in order to elucidate the removal polycrystalline silicon (poly Si) to SiO2 selectivity in poly isolation chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). The hydrophilic characteristics of poly Si and SiO2 were analyzed by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and contact angle measurement. The surface of SiO2 is more hydrophilic than that of poly Si due to the siloxane (triple bond Si-O-Si triple bond) bonding. The adsorption behavior of PAM on poly Si and SiO2 film was determined by adsorption isotherms and force measurements using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Interaction between siloxane bonding of SiO2 film and the amine group along the backbone of PAM results in the adsorption of PAM on SiO2 film. Consequently, the passivation layer of PAM on the SiO2 film prevented abrasives from approaching the surface of SiO2 film, which led to suppression of the removal rate of SiO2 film from 82 to 12 A/min in poly isolation CMP process.