Advanced CMP processes for special substrates and for device manufacturing in MEMS applications

Abstract

The present work reports on studies and process developments to utilize the chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) technology in the field of micro electrical mechanical systems (MEMS). Approaches have been undertaken to enable the manufacturing of thick film SOI (silicon-on-insulator) substrates with a high degree of flatness as well as utilizing CMP for the formation of several novel MEMS devices.

Thick film SOI wafers are of high interest in MEMS manufacturing as they offer obvious benefits as a starting material or foundation for more complex structures. Precise control of the SOI layer thickness as well as the removal uniformity is of critical importance to fully utilize the benefits of this technology. By combining fixed abrasive (FA) pads for polishing and novel grinding techniques it is shown that major improvements can be achieved over the standard manufacturing sequence. Analysis of the material removal rate (MRR) dependency on several process parameters is made. Together with the FA pad vendor a suitable consumable set for SOI is generated, which shows long term stability in the generated process. A comparison with standard methods is undertaken to prove the surface and crystalline quality of the resulting substrate material is equivalent. Analysis is done to understand the microscopic mechanism of removal.

The CMP process is applied to several MEMS structures to smooth deposited oxide films and to enable direct wafer bonding (DWB) at low temperatures. This allows the design of bonded multiple stack layers including heat sensitive materials such as metals.

FA CMP is applied to large pattern MEMS for total planarization but also for smoothing of the surface of single protruding structures while minimizing edge rounding and preserving the original intended pattern shape. With dedicated CMP steps thick film polysilicon smoothing is demonstrated enabling DWB. The chemo-mechanical particularities of the FA pad are investigated in detail.