Mechanical Polishing Research Articles

Photocatalytic assisted chemical mechanical polishing for silicon carbide using developed ceria coated diamond core-shell abrasives

The practical application of current photocatalytic-assisted chemical mechanical polishing (PCMP) technology still faces some challenges and difficulties, such as complex preparation process of abrasives, chemical failure, and the use of toxic chemicals. Herein, novel CeO2-coated diamond core/shell structure abrasives were successfully synthesized using a chemical precipitation method and applied in SiC-PCMP. After coating CeO2 on the surface of the diamond, the materials removal rate (MRR) was 56 % higher than that of the diamond abrasives. With ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, the MRR of CeO2/diamond abrasives (11.5 nm/min) increased by about 195 % compared with CeO2/diamond composite abrasives without UV. High surface quality (Ra: 0.4 nm) of the SiC substrate was obtained under UV light irradiation. The materials removal mechanism of SiC-PCMP was proposed.

Investigation of thermal effects in bulk oxide chemical mechanical polishing

Bulk oxide polishing occupies a substantial portion of time to achieve surface planarization in semiconductor manufacturing. Recently, thermal management has emerged as a critical issue in the polishing process. Fundamental research on thermal effects in oxide film polishing is essential for optimizing both the thermal management system and the polishing process itself. Experiments indicate that friction force, significantly influenced by wafer and retainer ring pressures as well as slurry species, plays a major role in determining polishing temperature, more so than slurry flow rate. An important finding is the temperature-dependent behavior of slurry particles, which generally reduce in size and concentrate more at higher temperatures, with aggregation starting at around 80 °C. High-temperature slurry deteriorated pad properties but enhance oxide film surface hydrolyzation. During a 60-s polishing process, the slurry temperature exhibited the maximum removal rate at 60 °C for fumed silica polishing, while for calcined ceria, the highest removal rate was observed at 20 °C. Pad B at ambient temperature, having similar hardness to Pad A at 60 °C, reduced the oxide film removal rate by 31.82 % for fumed silica and 40.94 % for calcined ceria. This indicates that pad hardness has a more pronounced effect on polishing with calcined ceria slurry.

New insights on the mechanism of tribochemical interaction-induced wear of H-terminated Si(110)

Reactive molecular dynamics simulations are employed to reveal the atomic-level mechanisms of tribochemical interaction-induced wear of H-terminated Si(110) in humid environment. The result shows that with interfacial water increasing, the surface wear first increases and then decreases under 2.5 GPa, while always decreases under 4.0 GPa. Four different Si atomic removal mechanisms are revealed, i.e., the stretching effect of interfacial bridge bonds, the weakening effect of H adsorption, the strain effect of O intrusion, and the pure shearing effect of a-SiO2 tip, and their occurrences show the same normal pressure and interfacial water amount dependence as the surface wear. The analysis on the prerequisite for their occurrences shows that the corresponding interfacial tribochemical interactions are first facilitated and then suppressed under 2.5 GPa, while suppressed under 4.0 GPa, which is the origin of the different normal pressure and interfacial water amount dependence of the surface wear. Moreover, it is found that a-SiO2 surface can provide H, O, or Si atoms to participate in the interfacial tribochemical interactions, and has an absolutely dominant role in the material removal of Si(110)-H compared with interfacial water, but its role is gradually suppressed by the increased interfacial water. This work sheds new and deeper lights on the mechanism for the effect of tribochemical interactions on the Si material removal in chemical mechanical polishing.

Publisher Correction to: Computational investigation of a novel metal thickness measurement system with coaxial triple‑coil sensor for chemical mechanical polishing

Publisher Correction to: Computational investigation of a novel metal thickness measurement system with coaxial triple‑coil sensor for chemical mechanical polishing

Microstructure development of Ti scaffold by laser powder bed fusion with chemical polishing and its mechanical properties, biocompatibility

AbstractTitanium (Ti) dental scaffolds are widely used in dental prosthetics due to their excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility. However, conventional Ti scaffolds manufactured through machining often do not fit perfectly with the bone defect site. Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology enables the personalised manufacturing of custom‐made Ti scaffolds. A custom‐made Ti scaffold was prepared using LPBF and its surface roughness was improved through chemical polishing. To enhance the surface roughness, a nitric acid mixed solution with a specific composition of HF: HNO3:C3H6O3 = 2:2:3 was used. The polishing mechanism was investigated by adjusting the F/Ti ratio to control the formation and dissolution of the oxide film. As a result, the surface of the Ti scaffold after polishing exhibited a smooth and flat appearance compared to the LPBF part, with a reduced surface roughness (Ra) of 1.23 ± 0.19 μm. The custom‐made Ti scaffold also demonstrated favourable mechanical properties, with a bending strength of 335.18 ± 33.62 MPa and stiffness of 2.13 ± 0.21 GPa. Furthermore, in vitro cell tests confirmed the excellent biocompatibility of the custom‐made Ti scaffold. The authors present a feasible strategy for the further clinical application of custom‐made Ti scaffolds, offering enhanced surface properties and addressing the limitations of conventional machining methods.

Improvement of chemical mechanical polishing performance by introducing N–Si bond via external coating of cerium oxide with ZIF-8

Cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles are widely used as abrasives in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), an essential process for obtaining Si wafers with excellent surface quality. While CeO2 nanoparticles form Ce–O–Si bonds, which exhibit good CMP performance, their low activity results in a low removal rate. To address this issue, a two-step ultrasonic dispersion method was employed to prepare a uniform nuclear@shell CeO2@ZIF-8. The process of chemical bond generation in CMP was studied using spherical aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In comparison to pure cerium oxide, the formation of Ce–O–Si bond was observed, and notably, the emergence of N–Si bond originating from the N of the ZIF-8 shell was identified. Coupled with the increased Ce3+ content, these developments enhanced CMP performance. The material removal rate (MRR) of the CeO2@ZIF-8 abrasives was 151.507 nm/min, which is 89.72 % higher than that of the pure CeO2 abrasives. Moreover, the surface roughness, as determined via AFM testing, was reduced to 0.231 nm within the confines of a 5.0 × 5.0 μm² region. Therefore, this study introduces a novel concept for CMP research by developing a CeO2@ZIF-8 compound abrasive to create a new N–Si bond.

Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide on Chemical Mechanical Polishing of Copper Surface: Exploration of Reaction Pathways with Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Activation Energies Calculation

Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide on Chemical Mechanical Polishing of Copper Surface: Exploration of Reaction Pathways with Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Activation Energies Calculation

Ultra-low damage processing of silicon wafer with an innovative and optimized nonwoven grind-polishing wheel

Silicon is essential to the production of integrated circuits and optical components. Grinding is a commonly used method of silicon surface machining, but it often leads to surface and subsurface damage. These damages need to be removed by subsequent processes, typically through polishing. The surface quality generated by grinding directly impacts the cost of polishing. To enhance the quality of the grinding surface and reduce the time and cost of polishing, a grind-polishing wheel with a different structure from the conventional diamond wheel was developed. This wheel utilized ultrafine zirconia with grit size of 200 nm as abrasives and nonwoven as substrate to support the abrasives. Furthermore, to optimize the wheel and achieve better grinding performance, various wheels with different abrasive mass fractions and elastic moduli were fabricated and grinding experiments were conducted. The surface integrity of processed silicon and the material removal rate (MRR) were used to compare the grinding performance of the various wheels. After optimization, the MRR of the grind-polishing wheel reaches its peak at 0.81 μm/min. The silicon wafer ground with the grind-polishing wheel exhibited a surface roughness Sa of 0.51 nm and a subsurface damage depth of 74 nm, which is close to the effect of chemical mechanical polishing processing. Compared to conventional diamond grinding wheel (mesh size of #5000), the optimized grind-polishing wheel is better suited for semi-fine finishing and can significantly reduce the cost and time of polishing.

Effect of Polyoxyethylene-Based Nonionic Surfactants on Chemical–Mechanical Polishing Performance of Monocrystalline Silicon Wafers

The use of surfactants is crucial in the chemical–mechanical polishing fluid system for silicon wafers. This paper examines the impact of the functional group structure of polyoxyethylene-based nonionic surfactants and the variation in the polyoxyethylene (EO) addition number on the polishing performance of monocrystalline silicon wafers, to achieve the appropriate material removal rate and surface quality. The results demonstrated that the straight-chain structure of fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether (AEO-9) exhibited superior performance in wafer polishing compared to octylphenol polyoxyethylene ether (OP-9) and isoprenol polyoxyethylene ether (TPEG) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). By varying the number of EO additions of AEO-type surfactants, this study demonstrated that the polishing performance of monocrystalline silicon wafers was affected by the number of EO additions. The best polishing effect was achieved when the number of EO additions was nine. The mechanism of the role of polyoxyethylene-type nonionic surfactants in silicon wafer polishing was derived through polishing experiments, the contact angle, abrasive particle size analysis, zeta potential measurement, XPS, and other means of characterization.

Microscopic modeling and experimental investigation of inner surface magnetorheological polishing based on particle micromechanics

Traditional surface polishing methods are no longer able to meet the ultra-precision requirements of the high-tech industry for the inner surface of the pipe, but magnetorheological polishing technology is very suitable due to its advantages of high precision, fast controllability and good deposition stability. However, there is even less investigation on the microforce analysis, chaining mechanism and micromodeling methods of magnetorheological polishing fluid (MRPF), and the polishing mechanism of MRPF has not been explored yet. As a step to completely develop the magnetorheological polishing (MRP) technique, this paper proposed the simulation method of MRPF based on particle dynamics, and the shear stress model of magnetorheological fluid (MRF) is optimized under the action of the magnetic field after performing the chain simulation. On the basis of the optimized shear stress model and the hexagonal close-packed structure of MRF, the holding mechanism of polishing abrasive particles is explored for the MRPF and the corresponding holding models are proposed. Then, the shear yield stress models and material removal model are also established for the inner surface polishing, respectively. Eventually, the above theoretical analysis and related models have been verified though the polishing experiment of the titanium alloy pipe.

Surface roughness evolution law in full-aperture chemical mechanical polishing

Ultra-high precision revolution surfaces are crucial to mechanical components like bearings but are difficult to achieve using conventional machining. Meanwhile, it is challenging to predict the surface roughness evolution law during processing. Accordingly, this study proposed an ultra-precision full-aperture chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) method for processing revolution surfaces. More importantly, a theoretical surface roughness Ra model was established by assuming that the three-dimensional surface morphology can be simplified to two-dimensional identical triangles, each peak can be uniformly removed, and the material removal at the valleys can be neglected compared to that at the peaks. The model provides an intuitive understanding of the Ra evolution law during the full-aperture CMP. Interestingly, Ra first decreases parabolically, determined by the initial surface roughness Ra0, the material volume removal rate MRRV, and the polishing time t. Then, it stabilizes. In addition, the theoretical MRRV model was summarized. The cylindrical guiding surface of a bearing was polished with the developed full-aperture CMP method. In 6 min, Ra can be significantly reduced from the initial 201.09 nm to 1.50 nm almost parabolically and stabilizes. Experimental results basically validate the theoretical Ra model, except that a slow decreasing stage appears intermediately because the real surface cannot be perfectly uniform. Additionally, the roundness error RONt is reduced by 34 %. Furthermore, the full-aperture CMP method and Ra model are successfully applied to other revolution surfaces. This study provides mechanistic insight into Ra evolution modelling pertaining to the manufacturing process.

Sustainable Electrochemical Mechanical Polishing (ECMP) for 4H-SiC wafer using chemical-free polishing slurry with hydrocarbon-based solid polymer electrolyte

Large-diameter single-crystal silicon carbide (SiC) wafers with good surface quality are desirable to dramatically improve the performance of SiC-based power electronic devices. However, the preparation of such wafers using a strong oxidative polishing slurry has the limitations of low material removal rate (MRR) and high environmental impact. Electrochemical–mechanical polishing (ECMP) initiates surface removal by electrochemical oxidation without using harsh chemicals, making it an alternative with low environmental impact to conventional polishing. Herein, we propose the use of polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSS), a hydrocarbon-based polymer electrolyte without perfluoro compounds, for ECMP. The SiC surface was effectively oxidized by ECMP using PSS. The effects of the polyelectrolyte crosslinking treatment on the lifetime of polyelectrolyte-incorporated nonwoven cloths were investigated. The optimum electrolytic and mechanical conditions yielded high MRRs of 37 and 14 µm/h for 2- and 4-inch SiC wafers. Moreover, the surface morphologies of the growth face and nonfacet areas was discussed. The wafer-scale evaluation demonstrated the roughness reduction to 0.85 nm Sa (average) after 15-min ECMP of the 4-inch wafer. The polishing-induced residual stress was investigated using microscale and wafer-scale Raman mapping. Overall, the proposed ECMP process offers significant advantages in terms of speed, cost-effectiveness, and environmental impact.

Atomic surface of silicon wafers induced by grafted silica nanoparticles and sodium carbonate

Atomic surface of silicon (Si) wafers is highly desired for integrated circuit (IC) industry. To meet this demand, traditional chemical mechanical polishing usually employs noxious slurries with complex compositions, containing oxidant, dispersant, inhibitor, surfactant, etc., resulting in the pollution of the environment and high-cost post-treatments. To settle this challenge, a novel green chemical mechanical polishing was developed, only including grafted silica nanoparticles and sodium carbonate. After CMP, surface roughness Sa of 0.219 and 0.247 nm are achieved on Si wafers using amine and methyl modified nanoparticles, respectively, corresponding to material removal rate (MRR) of 132.53 and 84.82 nm/min. Amino-modified nanoparticles increase 18.2 % MRR, and methyl modified ones reduce 24.4 % MRR, compared with those of unmodified nanoparticles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that amino-grafted nanoparticles have strong improvement for chemical reactions during CMP. Density functional theory calculations garner the electrostatic potential energy of 4.884 and 6.753 eV for amine and methyl-modified nanoparticles, respectively, corresponding to high and low effects for MRR. This work provides a new avenue to develop novel green simple CMP for Si wafers, reducing the pollution and cost for post-treatments.

Development and experimental evaluation of surface enhancement methods for laser powder directed energy deposition microchannels

ABSTRACT This research evaluates Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition (LP-DED) for producing fine feature internal microchannels. This study is focused on enhancing and characterising the surfaces of microchannels produced using techniques such as abrasive flow machining, chemical milling, chemical mechanical polishing, electrochemical machining, and thermal energy method to modify internal surfaces of microchannels made from NASA HR-1 Fe-Ni-Cr alloy. Flow testing for discharge coefficient measurement is conducted on processed microchannel samples, followed by characterisation through optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Computed Tomography. Findings reveal variations in surfaces due to powder adherence, melt pool undulations, and polishing mechanisms. The study emphasises the significance of removing material equivalent to the mean powder diameter to reduce surface roughness and impact the discharge coefficient. The research proposes a ratio for planarising roughness and waviness peak height and density, offering insights for tailored surface adjustments in specific applications requiring reduced flow resistance. Highlights Internal microchannels with thin-walls were fabricated using the laser powder directed energy deposition process. Various surface enhancements and polishing processes were developed to modify the surface texture of the LP-DED channels. Flow testing was conducted to determine the discharge coefficient. Post-test characterisation was completed to obtain cross sectional area, perimeter, surface texture, and general surface condition to analyse results. Ratio of roughness and waviness peak and density (Spk/Spd and Wp/WPc) is proposed as a relevant surface characterisation parameter. Tailored surface modifications for specific end-use applications.

Damage recovery for SRF photoinjector cavities

Two niobium elliptical 1.3 GHz superconducting radio frequency (SRF) electron photoinjector cavities were successfully recovered after mechanical inner surface damage. Both cavities had deep imprints in the critical high surface electric field area around the photoelectric cathode position. The lengthy repair procedure, which consists of surface inspection and defect characterization, mechanical polishing and light chemical etching is described in detail. In the process, a new high pressure rinsing (HPR) nozzle system optimized for the special photoinjector geometry was also developed. Subsequent cold RF tests demonstrate complete performance recovery. This is the first time that photoinjector cavities damaged in the high electric-field region could be recovered.

Preparation of CeO2 particles via ionothermal synthesis and its application to chemical mechanical polishing

CeO2 is a widely used abrasive for the chemical mechanical polishing of silicon during chip manufacturing. CeO2 can be synthesized via traditional coprecipitation, hydrothermal, and solvothermal methods; however, these methods have some issues, including high vapor pressure, flammability, toxicity, volatile solvents, and narrow heating temperature range. To overcome these issues, we developed a new ionothermal synthesis approach for high-quality CeO2 particles using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate as an imidazole ionic liquid without a template. Based on the scanning electron microscopy and particle size distribution, CeO2 particles synthesized at a reaction temperature of 210 °C for 16 h displayed sizes ranging between 0.1 and 0.3 μm. Additionally, the spherical shapes exhibited good crystallinity, regular morphology, and uniform dispersion. The results of CMP experiments indicated that the abrasives could reduce the surface roughness from 1.63 to 0.29 nm (scanning area is 5 μm × 5 μm). The obtained synthesized CeO2 particles demonstrated promising performance in Si polishing, achieving removal rates of up to 255.5 nm/min. It found that the removal rate of the abrasive prepared by ionic thermal synthesis in Si polishing was twice as much as other abrasives. Further, a possible mechanism was put forward to explain the formation of CeO2 structures with various morphologies. The proposed method presents a new approach for synthesizing CeO2 particles with uniform morphology and excellent polishing properties.

Effect of Cu Film Thickness on Cu Bonding Quality and Bonding Mechanism.

In the hybrid bonding process, the final stage of chemical mechanical polishing plays a critical role. It is essential to ensure that the copper surface is recessed slightly from the oxide surface. However, this recess can lead to the occurrence of interfacial voids between the bonded copper interfaces. To examine the effects of copper film thickness on bonding quality and bonding mechanisms in this study, artificial voids were intentionally introduced at the bonded interfaces at temperatures of 250 °C and 300 °C. The results revealed that as the thickness of the copper film increases, there is an increase in the bonding fraction and a decrease in the void fraction. The variations in void height with different copper film thicknesses were influenced by the bonding mechanism and bonding fraction.

Characterization of Polish-Induced Gouges on Single Crystal Sapphire Substrates

Single-crystal sapphire is known to be among the hardest insulators. Its mechanical properties and chemical inertness make it a challenging material to polish for the atomic-level surface smoothness required for its applications. Mechanical polish with diamond abrasives renders high removal rates but creates unacceptable levels of polish-induced gouges. Chemical mechanical polish on the other hand results in atomic smoothness but is a slow process. Hence, a combination of the two is used in the industry. In this work, we have attempted to characterize gouging and subsurface damage using atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and cross-section transmission electron microscopy on C-plane and A-plane sapphire induced by diamond abrasive mechanical polish and chemical mechanical polish with colloidal silica.

Ratio of viscosity to water content in solutions: A new indicator for designing of electrolytic polishing solutions for stainless steel

Leveraging a fresh comprehension of electrolytic polishing (EP) mechanisms, this study introduces a pivotal factor - viscosity/water content ratio (VWR) - for the first time, rooted in acidity ratio theory. The present study aligns with published works to affirm the validity of the VWR indicator and its correlation with surface roughness. A noteworthy contribution lies in the design of EP solutions that can serve as a guide for stainless steels. It strikes a balance between low cost, high efficiency, long service life and desirable surface roughness. This involves regulating the dissolution-ionization-deposition process at the metal/solution interface.

Effect of Novel pH Regulators on Copper film Chemical Mechanical Polishing for Ruthenium-Based Copper Interconnect under Weak Alkalinity Conditions

For Ruthenium (Ru)-based copper (Cu) interconnects Cu film chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), it is crucial to select appropriate pH regulators in the slurry to ensure the chemical reactions and maintain the stability of the polishing chemical environment. In this study, the effects of inorganic pH regulator KOH, organic pH regulator diethanolamine (DEA), and 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) on CMP and slurry properties of Cu film were compared. It was found when using AMP as a pH regulator, the Cu/Ru removal rate selectivity (RRS) can reach 598:1, the surface roughness of Cu film decreased to 0.76 nm, and the slurry can remain stable for at least 7 d. The performance order of the three pH regulators is AMP＞KOH＞DEA. Meanwhile, through experimental results and test analysis, it has been confirmed that AMP can also play a multifunctional role as a complexing agent, dispersant, and surfactant. Therefore, AMP can replace KOH as a new pH regulator in weak alkaline slurries. This result plays an important role in guiding the selection of organic pH regulators in the optimization of Cu film CMP slurry.