THE EARLY DAYS OF CMP

Numerous individuals participated in countless teams in the process-de velopment efforts for CMP at IBM, other chipmakers, and SEMATECH. Many of these people still practice their CMP art at chipmakers and suppli ers around the world; some have retired or moved on to a greater Fab; some of the original pioneers remain at IBM. This article recalls some of the events of the early years of CMP. Because of space limitations and for fear of omitting key contributors, the author does not purpor t to honor by name all those responsible for the invention, developmen t, and evolution of CMP, the most rapidly growing segment of the semic onductor process equipment market today.