Dishing and nitride erosion of STI-CMP for different integration schemes

In this paper, we investigate the effects of integration schemes on the STI-CMP performance of two polishers, as well as the influence of consumables and process parameters. The experiment was based on both the blanket-oxide wafers and the patterned wafers processed using 0.18 μm technology. The polishing capability was evaluated, based on the results collected using metrology tools such as Opti-probe, Tencor profiler; atomic force microscope (AFM), and x-ray-scanning electron microscopy (X-SEM) analysis.