SBIR Phase I: Novel Slurry for Direct Shallow Trench Isolation (STI) Planarization Process for Sub-50 nm Devices

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project proposes to develop a novel single step shallow trench isolation (STI) planarization. An ideal STI Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) process is expected to be a single step process, which directly and rapidly removes the overburden dielectric layer with minimum topography formation or defect generation. However, the present state of the art processes are plagued with several challenges including (a) poor planarization, (b) small processing window, and (c) high defectivity. We propose to develop a novel high planarity and high selectivity (HP-HS) direct STI CMP process based on combination of coated silica particles and chemical additives. The unique feature of this process is the use of surfactant additives in combination with coated particles to obtain non-linear pressure dependent polishing characteristics, which results in high planarity polishing of the silica surface. The successful implementation of the single step STI CMP process is expected to meet or exceed the technical performance levels of the 45 nm manufacturing node while decreasing chip manufacturing costs by up to $800 million. The reduction in costs is largely due to the simplification of the manufacturing process, higher throughput and increased yield.