Innovative advanced nanotechnology test mask for chemical and mechanical planarization process prediction

There is an urgent need to provide a new Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) test mask standard to the CMP development community. Updated test mask geometries are required to maintain relevance for 14 nm and beyond R&D. One of the key historical challenges to successfully generating a test mask offering was ensuring critical feedback from across the development user community. This feedback is essential to build a well-accepted test standard that captures critical CMP effects and allows process benchmarking and comparison. This was previously achieved by deep collaboration between industry consortia, academia, and a state-of-the-art research and development facility. The SUNY Polytechnic Institute's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) and SEMATECH have joined together to develop a next generation CMP test vehicle, and are using the proven collaboration model to design an industry validated, technologically relevant mask set and test structure offering. The mask will include legacy structures similar to the original SEMATECH/MIT mask standard, but will focus on providing advanced structures and designs necessary to address today's CMP challenges.