Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide reformed ceria nanocomposites of chemical mechanical planarization for silica wafers

Chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) is the most important process in the semiconductor industry, as it affects the product manufacturing yield. Of the several factors involved in planarization, the choice of abrasive slurries affects the extent to which impurities and roughness are removed. Cerium oxide (CeO 2 ) is considered an outstanding polishing material because of its excellent hardness, well-controlled structure, and chemical force, and CMP requires well-dispersed slurry nanoparticles (NPs) with uniform structure, size, and shape. In this study, urea/alkaline-induced nanocubic CeO 2 was synthesized in the presence of cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-generated cubic CeO 2 NPs, which were then used in a silica wafer polishing test. Dynamic laser scattering and transmission electron microscopy indicated that the cubic plate NP size distribution and zeta potential ranged from 18 to 30 nm when measured between –35 and –45 mV. Elemental composition via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was studied to demonstrate the mechanism of Ce 3+ /Ce 4+ with crystal information, which matched the X-ray diffraction grain size calculation and finite element–scanning electron microscopy measurements. We also performed a simulation of cubic CeO 2 NP formation and pillar CeO 2 inhibition under an additional amount of structure-modifying agent (e.g., CTAB). Fourier transform infrared spectra indicated a successful CTAB reaction with CeO 2. Small angle X-ray scattering spectra were used to obtain simulated NP shapes and parameters via the SasView model. A confocal laser scanning microscope was then used to measure the roughness and 2-D plane view of an 8-inch tetraethyl orthosilicate coated silica wafer. Our results showed that the bared silica wafer planarize with CTAB x -CeO 2 NPs reduced the ISO grade number from Level 9 to Level 7, which corresponds to a 70.7–74.5% roughness planarization of the raw material. This study presents a fast, uniform, low-roughness CMP slurry material synthesis and characterization method that can enhance the technique of slurry nanoparticle synthesis from stable materials.