This dissertation presents a series of studies relating to optimization of kinematics and consumables during chemical mechanical planarization processes. These are also evaluated with the purpose of minimizing environmental and cost of ownership impacts.In order to study diamond micro-wear and substrate wear during planarization processes, a series of static etch tests and wear tests were performed using different types of diamond discs and subjected to various treatments. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Membrane Spectroscopy (ICPMS) were used to estimate the extent of diamond micro-wear and substrate wear.Next, the impact of various factors (type of slurry abrasive, pH, abrasive content and abrasive concentration) on pad wear rate during planarization process was studied. Another study in this dissertation focuses on the development of a novel technique of using coefficient of friction (COF) data to distinguish between good and bad diamond discs. This study made use of the innovative tool diamond disc dragging device (DDD-100) designed and developed for the purpose of this study.It is known that the performance of chemical mechanical planarization depends significantly on the polishing pad grooving type and the kinematics involved in the process. Variations in pad grooving type as well as pressure and sliding velocity can affect polishing performance. One study in this dissertation investigates the effect of pressure and sliding velocity on the polishing performance. The study is conducted on multiple pressure and sliding velocity variations to understand the characteristic of each condition. A subsequent study focuses on the impact of pad grooving type on polishing performance.The greatest contribution of this dissertation involves development of the novel slurry injector to optimize the utilization of slurry during planarization processes. Slurry is a critical component in chemical mechanical planarization processes and accounts for approximately 50 percent of the cost of ownership (CoO). The novel injector apart from reducing the consumption of slurry, also contributed in addressing problems associated with foaming, reduced the number of defects and achieved better within wafer non-uniformity (WIWNU).

Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) has emerged as the central technology for polishing wafers in the semiconductor manufacturing industry to make integrated multi-level devices. As the name suggests, both chemical and mechanical processes work simultaneously to achieve local and global planarization. In spite of extensive work done to understand the various components and parameters affecting the performance of this process, many aspects of CMP remain poorly understood. Among these aspects of CMP is the role of abrasives in the processes of conditioning and polishing. These abrasives are present in the chemical slurry between the wafer and the pad for polishing and play an important role during the conditioning to regenerate the clogged polishing pads. This thesis has focused on the study of abrasives, both in conditioning and polishing. The first part of the thesis concentrates on the effect of abrasive size for conditioning purposes. Diamond is being widely used as an abrasive for conditioning the polishing pad. Five different sizes of diamonds ranging from 0.25µm to 100µm were selected to condition the commercially available IC 1000 polishing pad. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) analysis were carried out on the pad to study the effect of the abrasive size on the pad morphology. In-situ 'coefficient of friction' was also monitored on the CETR bench top Tester. The final impact was seen in the form of surface defects on the polished copper wafers. As pad morphologies resulting from different conditioning affect contact areas, the second part of the thesis focuses on developing a simple method to quantify the area of contact between the wafer and pad using optical microscopy. Optical images that were obtained were analyzed for the change in contact area with the change in operating conditions. Finally, the third part of the thesis details the synthesis and characterization of nano-zirconia for potential slurry applications. Nano-zirconia was synthesized using the plasma route and then characterized using different analytical techniques like TEM and XRD. These nanoparticles were then used to make abrasive slurry for oxide CMP and the polished wafers were analyzed for surface defects.