Sensor-based Modeling and Monitoring of Chemical Mechanical Polishing

This book provides a framework for real time control
of the Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP)
process based on combining nonlinear dynamics
principles with statistical process monitoring
approaches. CMP has a direct
bearing on the computational speed and dimensional
characteristics of solid state devices. The challenge
in CMP may be narrowed to domains enveloping
productivity, measured in terms of material removal
rate (MRR), and quality which is usually specified in
terms of surface roughness - Ra, within wafer
non-uniformity (WIWNU), defect rate, etc. In this
work, experimental investigations of CMP are executed
with the aid of sensors. The analysis of the data
reveals the presence of pronounced stochastic-dynamic
characteristics. As a result, we derive a process
control method integrating statistical time series
analysis and nonlinear dynamics which captures ~ 80%
(linear R-sq) of the variation in MRR. In this manner
a novel paradigm for effective process control in CMP
has been presented.

Autorentext
Prahalada is a PhD student at the school of industrial
engineering, Oklahoma State University. His research
involves sensor based process monitoring and control integrating
statistical signal processing techniques with contemporary
nonlinear dynamics (chaos theory) paradigms. His PhD is
jointly supervised by Drs. Komanduri and Bukkapatnam.