Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) in IC manufacturing

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is a semiconductor manufacturing process that is commonly used to planarize thin films on nano-scale integrated circuit (IC) wafers during fabrication. 

PFTL Researcher(s): Jeremiah Mpagazehe, Sarah Neyer

Method(s) employed: Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), particle dynamics, nano-characterization, contact mechanics, wear 

Sponsor(s): NSF CAREER Program, NSF/CMU MRSEC

Reference(s): Terrell, E. and Higgs III, C.F., "A Modeling Approach for Predicting the Abrasive Particle Motion During Chemical Mechanical Polishing," ASME Journal of Tribology, Vol. 129, 4, 2007