AVS 47th International Symposium
    Incorporating Principles of Industrial Ecology Tuesday Sessions
       Session IE-TuA

Invited Paper IE-TuA6
Treatment of Wastes from Chemical Mechanical Polishing Operations

Tuesday, October 3, 2000, 3:40 pm, Room 304

Session: Green Manufacturing
Presenter: S. Raghavan, University of Arizona
Authors: S. Raghavan, University of Arizona
Y. Sun, University of Arizona
J. Baygents, University of Arizona
Correspondent: Click to Email
Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of dielectrics and metals has emerged as one of the most important techniques used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. In this technique, dielectric and metal films are globally and locally planarized using particulate slurries made from submicron-sized alumina and silica particles. A multi platen CMP tool can typically process 40 wafers per hour at a slurry consumption of approximately 100 ml/min/wafer. The aforementioned tool, if integrated with a cleaner, will require two to three gallons per minute of DI water. The mixing of CMP waste with the post-CMP cleaning waste typically results in a waste stream that is a very dilute dispersion of solids containing approximately 500 to 5000 ppm solids. In the case of metal CMP, the waste is likely to contain metal ions, unreacted oxidant such as hydrogen peroxide, residual corrosion inhibitors and other additives that are present in the slurry. Wastes from copper CMP may contain anywhere between 10 and 40 ppm of dissolved copper, in the uncomplexed and complexed form. By the year 2002, chemical mechanical planarization processes are expected to account for thirty percent of water consumed in a fabrication facility. Because of this statistics, increasing pressure is put upon fabrication facilities to treat the CMP wastes and recycle the water. Additionally, environmental regulations at the local and national level demand that solids and copper ions be removed before disposal of the water to publicly owned treatment facilities. In this presentation, an overview of the CMP waste problem will be provided and various techniques available for the treatment of CMP wastes will be critically reviewed.