The increasing number of CMP consumables suppliers has led to many possible combinations of pads, copper, and barrier slurries. When packaged together in one process, these components must be compatible; however, the burden for ensuring such performance is falling more and more on materials suppliers. While many fabs once managed the CMP process entirely in-house, this new level of intricacy and required expertise is expediting a shift among IC manufacturers to move away from these "homebrews" and look to materials suppliers for development of new slurry and pad technologies.
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