Shear thickening of chemical mechanical polishing slurries under high shear

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is a fundamental technology used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry to polish and planarize electronic materials. During the high shear (≥1,000,000 s − 1) polishing process, it is hypothesized that individual slurry particles begin to interact and collide with one another forming large agglomerates (≥0.5 μm). These agglomerates are suspected of causing defects such as scratches or gouges during polishing, which costs the semiconductor industry billions of dollars annually. We have developed a method for investigating the shear thickening behavior of fumed silica slurries (20–34 wt.%) under high shear using a parallel-plate geometry in a conventional rotating rheometer. The CMP slurries displayed irreversible thickening at shear rates exceeding 10,000 s − 1. Viscous heating and sample evaporation are shown to be inconsequential to the witnessed shear thickening behavior. Also, the observed thickening is not a result of a critical rheometer speed, as the thickening was independent of the experimental gap height. In agreement with previous work, the slurries thickened at lower shear rates as silica concentration was increased. The shear thickening of the fumed silica slurries is truly shear-induced, and therefore, the thickening of CMP slurries can be examined using a rotational rheometer at small gap heights (≤100 μm).