Simulation on chemical mechanical polishing using atomic force microscope

A micro-contact model for chemical–mechanical polishing (CMP) of silicon wafer is presented. The model is developed on the basis of the Greenwood-Williamson micro-contact mechanics. The atomic force microscope (AFM) is used as a polishing test apparatus to evaluate the removal rate by a single particle in a CMP slurry. Using this model and AFM, the simulation on polishing of SiO2 is performed. The model is evaluated by comparing the simulated polishing rate and that experimentally determined by real CMP processes. The simulation result and experiment result are in good agreement. It suggests that the combination of the model and AFM polishing test can be used to estimate the removal rate of SiO2 CMP and may be used to study the effects of different materials, slurry and operating condition on CMP process.