NLS-030

LOGITECH PM5 LAPPING & POLISHING MACHINE

Primary contact: Chih Chen X54593

PREPARED BY:

Chih Chen Assoc. Devlp. Engr.

DATE

6-15-2000

Extension Superusers: Hung Nguyen Paulo S. Motta Jeff Yao X57338 X45774 X45435

1.0 SCOPE This document establishes the procedures for lapping and polishing of silicon, GaAs, InP and other substrates in the Nanoelectronics Laboratory. 2.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS Logitech logbook and maintenance log System Component Operation Manuals 3.0 MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT Logitech PM5 System Precision Jig Autofeed cylinder Glass substrate Abrasive Al2O3 powders
Chemcloth, 12 in diameter Polishing Cloth fir planarization

Chemlox CMP solution Chemical-resist cylinder Colloidal silica Wax-Ocon-195 OpticlearIsopropyl Alcohol Gloves, cleanroom Cleanroom wipes Cleanroom mask 4.0 GENERAL 4.1 Logitech PM5 The Logitech CMP uses abrasive slurry and chemical solution to lap and polish silicon, GaAs, InP, and other substrates in Nanoelectronics Lab. Precision Jig The unit measures the thickness of sample during lapping, and shuts down the machine automatically after lapping the programed amount of material. Machine Maintenance Maintaining a smooth and convex plate surface is needed to obtain uniform lapped surface. Maintaining a clean environment is necessary to obtain a uniform surface finish. To avoid scratches on the plate surface and exclude agglomerated particles, these steps are to be followed:

4.2

4.3

4.3.1 Pay great attention when placing test blocks and the precision jig on the lapping plates. Never make scratches or chips on the lapping plates.

4.3.2 Always clean the cylinder, stage, glass substrates and the jig thoroughly and completely whenever changing one slurry to another.

4.4

Emergency Power Shut Off 4.4.1 Push in the "Stop" button which is located on the front of the machine.

PROCESS PREPARATION 5.1 Sample Mounting Before lapping, samples must be mounted on glass substrates. Samples must be mounted on the flat side of the glass substrate which is indicated by an arrow marker on the edge of the glass substrate. 5.1.1 Clean the glass substrates with opticlear, then alcohol, and rinse by DI water. Blow dry or wipe dry with clean room wipes. Place sample on the substrate facing down. Measure the thickness of the sample by the dial micrometer on the table next to the machine. See APPENDIX Ia for the operation procedure of the dial. Place the glass substrate on the hotplate and turn the temperature to 100 set point (150 for black wax). After ~10 min or when the temperature reading is 70 to 80C, proceed to the next step. Place a very small amount of wax in the center of the glass substrate with the metal spatula (stored in the tool box). For most applications the white wax, (ocon-195 in a can at the station), should be used. For very small samples or when thinning down to < 20um, the black stick wax may be used. Spread the wax uniformly on an area slightly larger than the sample to be mounted. Place your sample face down on the wax and slide the sample a little bit to get uniform wax thickness with the sample ultimately centered on the substrate. Apply pressure and/or weight on the sample if necessary. Weight should not be used on soft materials e.g., III-V compounds. Place a piece of filter paper on the sample and gently place the weight on the paper. Turn the hot plate off and wait for at least 20 minutes.

5.1.2

5.1.3

5.1.4

5.1.5

5.1.6

5.1.7

Take the substrate off the hotplate. Put it on the table and let it cool down. Use wiper with Opticlear to clear the wax around the mounted sample. Measure the thickness of the sample after mounting. Compared with the thickness obtained in step 5.1.2, the wax thickness should be noted.

5.1.8

5.2

Slurry Preparation In order to obtain a reasonable lapping rate and acceptable surface roughness, a proper abrasive slurry sequence should be determined in advance.

5.2.1 Check the abrasive size left in the cylinder. If the slurry in the cylinder is the size you want to use, shake it well before you use. Add more slurry if needed. The total amount of slurry should NEVER exceed the grooved line on the cylinder, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1.
5.2.2 To make a new slurry, open the cap carefully with the screwdriver in the tool box. Untighten the four screws for the flux controller, as shown in Fig. 2. To take the valve out of the cylinder, turn the valve head counterclockwise. Dump the old slurry into the slurry waste bottle. NEVER DUMP SLURRY DOWN THE SINK. Clean the cylinder, cap, and valve thoroughly. Put the valve back when done. Make up Al2O3 abrasive slurry of desired particle size by mixing ml DI water and 1.5 cups of powders in a beaker. Stir the solution entirely with the Teflon boat holder in the fume hood. Pour the slurry into the cylinder with a funnel. Add more water into cylinder until the level reaches the grooved line. However, keep slurry volume more than half of the

5.2.3

maximum to obtain constant feeding rate.

5.2.4 Tighten the cap and close the header completely by turning header clockwise. Then open it by turning it counterclockwise for about one turn.

5.3

System Setup 5.3.1 5.3.2 5.3.3 Check the slurry waste bottle under the machine is less than 90% full. Verify the vacuum exhaust at the Magnhelic gauge in fume hood is >0. Clean the jig thoroughly with clean room wipers and alcohol.

NOTE: Always use DI water and wipers to clean plates, slurry chute, jog holder, and conditioning plates before using them, and always clean them again when switching slurry.

NLS-030
5.3.4 Put the cylinder on the autofeed stage, making sure that it sits on both rubber rollers appropriately. Remove slurry chute, jig holder, and slurry scraper assembly. Select the proper plate you want to use. The function of the plates is tabulated below: Function Lapping Lapping / Polishing Polishing/Planarization Rough Polshing Sample Materials Si/Glass GaAs, InP Oxide/Nitride/Metals Silicon/Glass

5.3.5 5.3.6

Plate Grooved Iron Glass Stainless Steel w/Pad Polyurethane

5.3.7

Install the plate you choose by matching the three pins of the plate to the three holes on the plate stage. Be careful to keep your hands always in the groove, so that you do not pinch your fingers, as shown in Fig. 3. Install slurry chute, jig holder, and slurry scraper assembly, as seen in Fig. 4. Please note that the wheels of jig holder never touch the plate.

5.3.8

6.0 PROCEDURE 6.1 Conditioning Plate The purpose of this process is to make the lapping plate smooth, so that the sample can be lapped uniformly. Always use 9 m or larger size of Al2O3 slurry for conditioning the plates.

NOTE: Use iron conditioning plate for grooved iron plate; Use grooved iron conditioning plate for iron plate; Use grooved glass conditioning plate for glass plate. 6.1.1 6.1.2 Turn on the main power of the machine. Turn on vacuum by flipping the toggle switch on the vacuum pump located under the machine. Press POWER ON/OFF bottom on the control panel, then press START bottom to rotate the plate. Increase the rotation rate to 3 rpm by pressing the 4 bottom. Press ABRASIVE AUTOFEED ON/OFF bottom, the slurry will feed automatically. Adjust the feeding rate by turning the valve on the cylinder clockwise (decrease) or counterclockwise(increase). Adjust the slurry feeder, so that the slurry drops at the position of 3 inch away from the center of the lapping plate. When the slurry wets about 10% area of the plate, stop the rotation by pressing STOP bottom.

6.1.3

6.1.4

6.1.5

NLS-030
6.1.6 Place the right test block on it very carefully to avoid scratching the plate. The position of the test block is crucial. Its edge should suspend out of the plate for about 0.75 inch. Never adjust such that the outer edge of the conditioning plate is entirely inside the outer outer edge of the lapping plate. Tight jig holder. Put weight on it carefully, as seen in Fig. 5. 6.1.7. Press START, and then the 4 bottom to slowly increase rotation speed to 2-4 rpm. Check whether the test block and weight are held by the jig holder smoothly and firmly. If not, take the weight and test block out, and then adjust the position of the jig holder. Repeat the procedure 3 to 4 to get the right setup. 6.1.8 Increase the speed to 70 rpm(for iron plate, and 50 rpm for glass plate). Condition the plate for 20 minutes. When done, press STOP. Take the weight and test block off. Clean the test block by DI wafer and wipers. Dry it by wipers or nitrogen blow dry.

6.1.9

6.1.10 Then use the flatness dial to read the flatness of the test block (see appendix Ib for the instruction of how to operate the dial). Record the flatness on the logbook. 6.2 Programming Lapping Thickness 6.2.1 6.2.2 Unplug the recharge power wire for the Digital Micrometer Unit. Turn on the power to the SAMPLE MONITOR and the Digital micrometer, DG-925, located in the jig. Press SET on the SAMPLE MONITOR. Use + and to enter the thickness, in microns, to be removed. Press SET again.

6.2.3

6.3

Sample Lapping 6.3.1 Put the glass substrate with sample facing up on the vacuum chuck of the jig. Plug the vacuum hose into the vacuum adapter located on the machine. Check to ensure that the glass substrate is held tightly. Press START bottom to rotate the plate. Increase the rotation rate to 3 rpm by pressing the 4 bottom.

6.3.2

6.3.3

Press the ABRASIVE AUTOFEED ON/OFF to feed slurry. When the slurry wets about 20% area of the plate, stop the rotation by pressing STOP bottom. Make sure that there is enough slurry on the area where jig sits. If a lot of time has elapsed since the plate condition. stops, run the condition block for a few minutes. Hold the 2nd and 3rd rings of the jig carefully by your fingers, as shown in Fig. 6, then flip your wrist and place it on the plate with great caution, as seen in Fig. 7. Release the second ring of the jig after the jig is securely on the lapping plate.

6.3.4

NLS-030
6.3.5 Check if the wheels of the jig holder are in the right position, i.e. match the first ring of the jig, as seen in Fig. 8. Never move the jig around on the plate, while the sample is down. Make all needed adjustments while holding the 2nd and 3rd rings together. Check if the reading on DG-925 is zero. If not, press RESET. If it is still not zero, more weight/pressure may be needed. If weight/pressure adjustment is needed, use one of your hands lifting up the second ring, and then use the other hand adjusting the weight by rotating the big screw, as illustrated in Fig. 9. Always lift up sample when adjust weight/ pressure. Turn it clockwise to increase weight or counterclockwise to reduce weight. Press START and then ABRASIVE AUTOFEED ON/OFF to feed slurry. Increase the rotation rate to 2-4 rpm by pressing the 4 bottom. Turn on slurry sensor to monitor slurry feeding, which locates under the cylinder head. When the slurry feeding rate is too slow, it will shut down the machine to protect sample from being destroyed.

6.3.6

6.3.7

6.3.8

6.3.9

6.3.10 Examine the reading on DG-925. If it is stable, press RUN on Sample Monitor. Then increase the speed to 25 - 35 rpm. 6.3.11 Always close the lid during lapping. In particular, for InP, phosphine comes out during lapping and polishing. 6.3.12 Check the jig position once in a while. The jig may separate from the jig holder.

6.4

Lapping Completion 6.4.1 The machine shuts down automatically once the set thickness is removed. Press power off to silence the beeping. Turn off the digital micrometer and the sample monitor. Hold the 2nd and 3rd rings of the jig by your fingers. Take it out very carefully. Flip it over and place it on the plastic jig rack on the table, as shown in Fig. 6. Unplug the vacuum hose from the adapter. Wait for about 20 seconds. Then take the glass substrate out. If no polishing needed, clean the machine and the jig thoroughly. Turn off the main power for the machine Turn off the power for pump.

6.4.2 6.4.3

6.4.4

6.4.5 6.4.6 6.4.7

NLS-030
6.4.8 6.4.9 Label the cylinder with the slurry size and the date made. Recharge the battery of the Digital Micrometer Unit by plug in the 9V DC power adapter.

6.4.10 Fill out the logbook completely. 6.4.11 If silicon carbon or cerium oxide abrasive is used, make a note on the
slurry waste container.

6.4.12 If polishing is required, go to section 7.0. If not, go to Section 9.0 for sample removal.
7.0 POLISHING

When a very smooth and reflective surface are required (Ra<100nm), polishing is needed. Prior to the polishing, the sample has to be lapped by 9 m (or smaller) abrasive slurry. However, the digital micrometer does not work during polishing because of the soft polishing pad. Measuring the thickness of the sample once in a while to determine the polishing rate, is required. If only rough polishing is needed, please see Section 7.2.

7.1

Plate and Polishing Solution Preparation. 7.1.1 Check the note on the stainless steel plate for the materials lapped and polishing solution used in the previous run. If it is compatible with the material and polishing solution you are going to use, use the old polishing pad if possible. If not, remove the polishing pad by peeling the pad off the plate. Then glue a new one (Chemcloth, 12 in diameter, black in color) on the plate. Select the proper polishing solution. For Si, use colloidal silica. For GaAs and InP , use Chemlox CMP solution. The colloidal silica is stored in the cabinet for solvent behind the CMP machine. Select the proper container for polishing solution. Use plastic container for colloidal silica, which is stored in fume hood next to the CMP machine. Use the cylinder with PLASTIC VALVE for Chemlox CMP solution.

7.1.2

7.1.3

7.1.4

NOTE: DO NOT USE THE CYLINDER WITH METAL VALVE FOR CHEMLOX OR COLLOIDAL SILICA SOLUTION. THE CYLINDER IS NOT CHEMICALLY RESISTANT. NOTE: NEVER STORE COLLOIDAL SILICA IN THE PLASTIC CONTAINER OVER ONE DAY. DUMP THE REMAINING SOLUTION INTO THE WASTE BOTTLE WHEN DONE.

NLS-030
7.1.5 7.1.6 Repeat procedures 5.3.1 to 5.3.8 to setup polishing system. Setting up the Sweeping Arm as follows to achieve better surface finishing. 7.1.6.1 Press Sweeping Arm button on the LCD screen. 7.1.6.2 Choose SYSChecks button. The screen should show System Checks in Progress. 7.1.6.3 Press Continue button when the system checks are done. 7.1.6.4 Press Edit button. 7.1.6.5 Set Inner Sweep Limit by using + and buttons. The lower the number is; the wider the arm sweeps. 7.1.6.6 Choose Next button to go to Outer Sweep limit setting. Adjust range by using + and buttons, so that the sample always stays on lapping plate during sweeping. The higher the number is, the wider the arm sweeps. 7.1.6.7 Press Next button to go to sweep speed setting. Set the speed to approximately 70%. 7.1.6.8 Press Exit button to exit the Sweeping Arm setting. 7.1.7 Follow the procedure from 6.3.1 to 6.3.12. Skip procedures for using the digital micrometer (6.3.6, 6.3.8, and 6.3.9). Press Sweeping Arm button to start sweeping. Adjust the sweep amplitude and speed if needed. Press Exit button when the polishing is done.

7.1.8

7.1.9

7.1.10 For the purpose of disposing the slurry waste, make a note on the sheet attached to the waste container when colloidal silica or Chemlox solution is used. 7.1.11 Clean the plate and the polishing pad completely. Leave a note on the polishing plate underside for the materials lapped and polishing solution used. 7.1.12 Clean the machine and jig thoroughly. 7.1.13 Fill out another record in the logbook for polishing.

7.1.14 Go to Section 9.0 for sample removal.

NLS-030
7.2 Rough Polshing by Polyurethane Plate Polyurethane plate with colloidal silica solution can be employed to coarsely Polish silicon or glass. 7.2.1 Conditioning plate. Before polishing the plate, the plate needs to be conditioned by the stainless steel test block with blades. 7.2.1.1 Follow the procedures from 5.3.1 to 5.3.8 to setup polishing system using the Polyurethane plate with the test block. 7.2.1.2 Spread water on the plate by a wash bottle. Make sure that the amount of water is enough to wet all the surface of the plate.

7.2.1.3 Put the test block on the plate, and hold it by jig holder.

7.2.1.4 Spread water on the plate by a bottle. Make sure that water wet all the surface all the time during the conditioning process. 7.2.1.5 Turn on the main power of the machine. 7.2.1.6 Press POWER ON/OFF bottom on the control panel, then press START bottom to rotate the plate. Increase the rotation rate to 3 rpm by pressing the 4 bottom. 7.2.1.7 Check whether the test block and weight are held by the jig holder smoothly and firmly. If not, take the weight and test block out, and then adjust the position of the jig holder 7.2.1.8 Increase the speed to 35 rpm. Condition the plate for 3 to 5 minutes. Spread DI water constantly to keep the surface of the plate wet. 7.2.1.9 When done, press STOP. Take the test block off. Clean the test block by DI wafer and wipers. Dry it by wipers or nitrogen blow dry. 7.2.2 Rough Polishing Use colloidal silica for polishing silicon; while cerium oxide for polishing glass. 7.2.2.1 Select the proper polishing solution. Follow the procedure in Section 7.1. 8.0 Planarization:

10

NLS-030
Oxide, nitride, or metals can be planarized by the following procedure: 8.1 Use the stainless steel lapping plate with PANMA 12 DP-PAN polishing cloth. Following the procedure in Section 7.1. Use colloidal silica for planarization.

8.2

9.0 SAMPLE REMOVAL Samples may be removed either by melting or dissolving method.
9.1 Melting method When SILICON samples are thicker than 200 m, the sample may be taken off the glass plate by melting the wax on a hotplate. 9.1.1 Place glass substrate on the hotplate with sample facing up. Turn the temperature to 110 set point for white wax ( 160 for black wax). Wait for about 10 minutes. Use tweezers to push the edge of the sample to slide it off the glass substrate. Clean the sample and the substrate by immersing them into the Opticlear solution stored in the fume hood next to the machine, followed by alcohol and DI water rinse.

9.1.2

9.1.3

9.2

Dissolving method For brittle materials, such as thinner Si samples, GaAs, or InP, it is recommended to use the Opticlear solution to dissolve the wax laterally. 9.2.1 Use the beaker labeled Opticlear in the fume hood next to the machine. Place the glass substrate on the teflon ring in the beaker with sample facing down. Make sure that the sample does not touch the teflon ring. Make sure that there is enough Opticlear solution, so that the solution covers the sample. Cover the beaker with a petri-dish lid. The sample will drop into the solution when done. It will take few to tens of hours, depending on the sample size. Clean the sample and glass substrate by alcohol and DI water.

9.2.2

9.2.3

9.2.4

11

NLS-030

Valve Cap

Max

Fig. 1 The cylinder

Fig. 2 Cylinder cleaning

Cylinder Lapping plate Slurry feeder

Rubber Cleaning pad

Jig holder

Groove
Fig. 3 Install a lapping plate on the machine. Fig. 4 System setup.

Weight

Condititon plate
Fig. 5 Conditioning lapping plate.

12

NLS-030

2nd ring 3rd ring

Fig. 6 Holding the jig by press the 2nd and 3rd rings together.

Fig. 7 Placing the jig on the lapping plate

Fig. 8 Fig. 8 The proper position of the jig on the lapping plate Fig. 9 Adjusting the weight on sample

13

NLS-030

APPENDIX I a. Operation Procedure for Measuring Sample Thickness Using a Dial a.1 Lift the tip up carefully by pulling the knob on the dial. Place the glass substrate with sample on it below the tip, so that when the tip is released, it lands on glass substrate, not on sample. Rotate the outer ring of the dial. Zero the height by matching the outer indicator to zero. Pull the tip up again and move the glass substrate, so that the sample is below the tip. Release the tip very slowly and carefully. Read the outer scale for thickness of the sample. The smallest unit in the outer scale represents ten microns.

a.2

a.3

b.

Operation Procedure for Measuring Surface Flatness of a Conditioned Lapping Plate. b.1 Move the flatness dial slightly around the flat standard to seat the tip. Zero the dial if needed. Place the test block up side down on the weight. Use one finger to raise the tip by lightly pressing the handle above the dial before taking the dial off the standard. Take it off from the standard. Place it on the conditioned plate. Release the handle very carefully until the probe touches the plate. Move it around and read the flatness. The smallest scale on the dial is two microns. The smallest scale on the outer dial is two microns.

b.2 b.3

14