For years there has been speculation about the size of particles that cause microscratches and pitting of wafer surfaces during semiconductor chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) processes. In this study, slurry quality and the effect of "unhealthy" slurry on wafer defects were examined. Specifically, the size and concentration of particles that damage wafers were investigated. Correlations were made between wafer defects and large particle concentrations in the slurry. This information may be used to predict the onset of wafer defects due to increasing large particle concentrations. Establishing thresholds for on-line slurry PSD measurements can increase production uptime and improve product yield.
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