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Chemical and mechanical (or abrasive) processes are combined to remove materials during the chemical mechanical polishing/planarization (CMP) process, resulting in extremely smooth and planar material surfaces.
At each layer of the wafer, chemical mechanical planarization (or polishing, or CMP) is a crucial step that is performed repeatedly in the semiconductor manufacturing process to remove extra materials and produce a flat surface. A pad and slurry working together on a polishing instrument accomplishes this.
The device manufacturer can worldwide planarize the whole wafer surface using CMP in just one step. The method can be used to planarize a variety of materials, including various metals and oxide layers. Different materials can be planarized in a single step (i.e., metal and insulating films).
Chemical reactions help the mechanical polishing process of chemical mechanical polishing to remove surface materials. CMP is another common and essential manufacturing technique used in the semiconductor sector to create memory discs and integrated circuits.
The global Chemical Mechanical Polishing Silica market accounted for $XX Billion in 2023 and is anticipated to reach $XX Billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of XX% from 2024 to 2030.
OIPT introduces a CMP substitute for epi-prepping silicon carbide substrates
Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology (OIPT), a company based in Yatton, near Bristol, United Kingdom, has announced a new alternate technique for producing silicon carbide (SiC) substrates for epitaxy.
Chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) for SiC substrates has been shown to be inferior to plasma polishing, which is also compatible with high-volume manufacturing (HVM) and solves many of the supply chain, technical, and environmental problems that CMP causes.
The Plasma Polish Dry Etch (PPDE) technique from Oxford Instruments is an easy-to-integrate direct plug-and-play substitute for CMP. Although CMP has long been the standard procedure for SiC substrate preparation, it has some unfavourable operational flaws, and the industry as a whole is struggling to keep up with the rising demand for SiC substrates.
Due to the semi-toxic slurry byproduct and the excessive water usage required by the process, running CMP in SiC substrate fabs has a significant negative impact on the environment. In a difficult supply chain environment, polishing pads and specialty chemicals can add significant consumable costs.
Furthermore, as slurry chemicals and polishing pads are used up, creating drift into the process line, the CMP process is inherently unstable.
