Sr. Runnels et al., Validation of a large area three-dimensional erosion simulator for chemical mechanical polishing, J ELCHEM SO, 146(12), 1999, pp. 4619-4625
Validation procedures and results are presented for a model that simulates
the erosion of large area three-dimensional patterns on semiconductor wafer
s during the chemical mechanical polishing process. The model, which is bas
ed on a pseudo-physical simulation of the contact and stress transfer betwe
en the pad and wafer, is reviewed. The validation results demonstrate that
the model predicts the eroding topography to within experimental measuremen
t error, implying that it faithfully captures the essential physical mechan
isms at work on the feature-to-pattern scale during polishing. (C) 1999 The
Electrochemical Society. S0013-4651(99)04-101-4. All rights reserved.