SRC/Sematech Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing 1 Micromachined Shear Sensors for in situ Characterization of Surface Forces during CMP ERC Task # A. J. Mueller, R. D. White Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Tufts University, Medford, MA February 2007

SRC/Sematech Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing 2 Project Objectives Fabricate and implement micromachined shear stress sensors for characterization of surface forces during chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP). Measure local, real-time shear stress at the pad-wafer interface during CMP due to slurry and asperity interactions with the wafer. Asperity Fluid Forces Asperity Forces Polishing Pad Substrate Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Surface Structures deflect to indicate shear forces present

SRC/Sematech Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing 3 Environmental Safety and Health (ESH) Metrics and Impacts METRICIMPACT Energy Consumption During Understanding wafer-pad Process interactions during polish leads to reduced time to polish and tool energy consumption DI Water Consumption DuringOptimized process parameters based Processon in-situ characterization of contact, and forces leads to reduced time to Process Chemical Consumptionpolish and slurry consumption (Slurry Chemicals)optimization

SRC/Sematech Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing 4 Sensor Process & Design Overview Design 1 CAD Layout Light microscope image of SU-8 mold from design 1 SEM image of SU-8 mold from design 1 SEM image of PDMS structure from design 1 Final Design Initial Design –85 µm high posts: successful –80, 90, 100 µm diameter: successful –10, 15, 20 µm : not fully formed; incomplete formation of mold Final Design –Fabrication limits for final design: µm minimum diameter at µm high. –Camera resolution: 5-10 µm deflection –Dyeing may improve resolution 30 µm  100um diameter posts Calibration block ~100 µm SU-8 Photoresist Si Substrate Expose/Develop = SU-8 mold Pour/Cure PDMS onto SU-8 mold

SRC/Sematech Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing 5 ABS Plastic Acrylic ‘Windows’ Pyrex Wafer PDMS sensor CMP Axle Covalent Bond through O 2 plasma ashing Adhesive Pressure Fit Viewing Area (radially symmetric) Mounting Sensors seen through acrylic viewing window, Pyrex, and the back of the PDMS wafer Imaging Current OpticsRhodamine B Without dye: µm structures visible. Expect to be able to resolve ~5-10 µm displacement with existing optics. With dye: some edges are very bright. Additional experiments are planned to attempt to achieve uniform edge dyeing.

SRC/Sematech Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing 6 Total shear force load is COF·Downforce·Wafer Area (for 4” wafer) ≈ 0.5 (1.8 psi) (  (50 mm) 2 ) ≈ 50 N Asperity Force Estimations Option #1 : Assume 30 µm center to center spacing on asperity tips with a square grid. Number of Asperities in Contact: Wafer Area/Asperity Neighborhood Area (for 4” wafer) ≈ (  (50 mm) 2 )/ ((30 µm) 2 ) ≈ 8.7 · 10 6 asperity contacts/wafer Option #2 : Determine number of contacts based on ratio of total contact area to individual asperity contact area. Carolina L. Elmufdi and Gregory P. Muldowney, “The Impact of Pad Microtexture The Impact of Pad Microtexture and Material Properties and Material Properties on Surface Contact and Defectivity in CMP on Surface Contact and Defectivity in CMP” Estimate of static wafer contact % area for IC1000 pad at 1.8 psi downforce is 0.7%. Force per asperity is total force over number of asperities ≈ 50 N/(8.7 · 10 6 asperities) ≈ 6  N Force per asperity is total force over number of asperities ≈ 50 N/(6.9 · 10 5 asperities) ≈ 70 µN ~20 µm ≈  (5 µm)2 ≈ 80 µm 2 Number of Asperities in Contact: ≈ (0.007·  (50 mm) 2 )/ 80 µm 2 ≈ 6.9 · 10 5 asperity contacts/wafer

SRC/Sematech Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing 7 Expected Sensitivities and Deflections Estimated Fluid ForcesEstimated Structure Stiffness Diameter (  m) Compliance (  m/  N) Compliance (nm/Pa) Deflection from Single Asperity Force (  m) Deflection from Fluid Forces (  m) L=85 µm E estimated =750 kPa Deflections due to asperity forces are expected to be at least 5x to 100x larger than deflections due to fluid forces. Estimated Sensitivities

SRC/Sematech Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing 8 Preliminary Sensor Calibrations PDMS Post Dektak Tip Paths Total Deflection (y) = Δ + F i /k Δ – Deflection due to sample tilt Horizontal Distance (um) Post Deflection (um) Post Deflection (µm) Downforce (µN) Dektak Downforces Calculated Post varying locations along the post Post Deflection (µm) Downforce (µN) Nonlinearity of post deflections (60 µm from the post base) Non-linearity at 60 µm from the post base with a downforce of 100 µN is around 5% Calculated stiffness at 60 µm from the base= 3.1 N/m (σ = 0.63) ~10% of the value estimated from beam theory

SRC/Sematech Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing 9 Future Plans Develop experimental apparatus for calibrating post deflection under known: –Fluid flow loads –Mechanical loads Improve dyeing ability to improve optical post resolution. Integrate with CMP rig for in situ surface force measurements.

SRC/Sematech Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing 10 Industrial Collaboration/Technology Transfer Close collaboration with industry partners – Cabot Microelectronics and Intel  Monthly telecons – secure website for information exchange  Semi-annual face-to-face meetings  Thesis committees and joint publication authorship  Metrology and analysis methodology technology transfer  In-kind support – specialized supplies and equipment  Student internships (e.g. C. Gray at Intel during Summer 2005)  Close coordination with A. Philipossian research group at U of Arizona Information and results exchange with MIT (D. Boning) ERC project  Monthly joint meetings of PIs and research students  Discussion of findings with other colleagues (e.g. E. Paul – Stockton College on leave at MIT)

SRC/Sematech Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing 11 The sensors developed will allow measurement of shear forces during CMP at an estimated force resolution of µN and spatial resolution of 300 µm. Sensor fabrication feasibility has been proven and diameter limitations have been established at 30 µm. Calibration and implementation of the shear sensors are ongoing. Conclusions