Abstract:

The particles in some CMP slurries tend to agglomerate when circulated in CMP slurry delivery systems. The magnitude of agglomeration depends on both the type of slurry and the type of pump used to transport it. In this presentation, comparisons of the susceptibility of 10 different CMP slurries used in five different slurry applications (ILD, copper barrier, tungsten, copper step 1, and STI) to agglomeration in simulated delivery systems incorporating bellows, diaphragm, or magnetically levitated centrifugal pumps will be investigated. Although a number of different slurry health parameters were monitored in each test, the large particle tail of the slurry particle size distribution (PSD) was the only slurry health parameter that changed significantly in most CMP slurries.