<p>To enhance silicon wafer surface quality and corrosion resistance during chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), this study develops a composite surfactant system combining nonionic AEO-9 and anionic ADBS. At an optimal AEO-9/ADBS molar ratio of 2:1, the formulation achieves low surface roughness (Ra = 0.135 <InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$nm$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mi mathvariant="italic">nm</mi> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>), a high material removal rate (MRR = 198 <InlineEquation ID="IEq2"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$nm/min$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mi>n</mi> <mi>m</mi> <mo stretchy="false">/</mo> <mi>m</mi> <mi>i</mi> <mi>n</mi> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>), stable slurry dispersion, and peak corrosion inhibition efficiency of 93.3%. Synergistic effects at this ratio are confirmed by a negative interaction parameter (<InlineEquation ID="IEq3"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$\beta$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mi>β</mi> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation> = − 1.90) and enhanced micellization. Adsorption between surfactant molecules and silicon wafer follows the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Molecular dynamics simulations further reveal strong adsorption of surfactant molecules in a parallel orientation on the silicon surface, with a high binding energy of 337.2 <InlineEquation ID="IEq4"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$kJ/mol$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mi>k</mi> <mi>J</mi> <mo stretchy="false">/</mo> <mi>m</mi> <mi>o</mi> <mi>l</mi> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>, which improves wetting and water retention. This work presents a strategy integrating corrosion inhibition with surface quality optimization in CMP slurries, providing molecular-level insights into surfactant-assisted protection for designing high-efficiency, low-defect slurries for advanced wafer fabrication.</p>

An Experimental and Computational Study on the Synergistic Effect of AEO-9/ADBS Composite Surfactant in Silicon CMP Slurry

期刊论文
发表日期：

2025年11月23日

查看全文

Yi Xing,
Weili Liu,
Zhitang Song

摘要

To enhance silicon wafer surface quality and corrosion resistance during chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), this study develops a composite surfactant system combining nonionic AEO-9 and anionic ADBS. At an optimal AEO-9/ADBS molar ratio of 2:1, the formulation achieves low surface roughness (Ra = 0.135 $nm$ $nm$ ), a high material removal rate (MRR = 198 $nm/min$ $n m / m i n$ ), stable slurry dispersion, and peak corrosion inhibition efficiency of 93.3%. Synergistic effects at this ratio are confirmed by a negative interaction parameter ( $\beta$ $β$ = − 1.90) and enhanced micellization. Adsorption between surfactant molecules and silicon wafer follows the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Molecular dynamics simulations further reveal strong adsorption of surfactant molecules in a parallel orientation on the silicon surface, with a high binding energy of 337.2 $kJ/mol$ $k J / m o l$ , which improves wetting and water retention. This work presents a strategy integrating corrosion inhibition with surface quality optimization in CMP slurries, providing molecular-level insights into surfactant-assisted protection for designing high-efficiency, low-defect slurries for advanced wafer fabrication.