SBIR-STTR Award

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an advanced process monitoring technique for the Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) metal planarization process. CMP planarization was primarily developed in the semiconductor industry in response to depth of focus budget problems and multilevel metalization problems. Estimates are that the approximately $70 million CMP equipment market will grow to $300-400 million by 1997. The planarization capabilities of CMP provide significant relief to the Depth of Focus Budgets or current microlithographic tools and to process complexities of multilevel interconnections.

Endpoint Technologies Inc. will develop an advanced process control monitoring technique for layer-to-layer breakthrough applications of the Chemical Mechanical Polishing process technique. The approach is based upon the integration of back-and front-side sensors connected via a sensor fusion process controller which controls up to 10 sensors. Process controller algorithms will be developed to achieve high accuracy and process reliability improvements of significance in the semiconductor manufacturing industry