Quasi-monodisperse β-SiC nanospheres: Synthesis and application in chemical-mechanical polishing

A composite surfactants-assisted mix-solvothermal route has been presented to synthesize quasi-monodisperse silicon carbide (β-SiC) nanospheres in hexane and water mixed solvent at 180 °C. By changing hexane/water ratio, the size of β-SiC nanospheres can be effectively adjusted. Benefit from the spherical shapes and nearly uniform sizes, quasi-monodisperse β-SiC nanospheres exhibit excellent planarization ability and material removal rate. Take silicon wafers polishing as an example, compared with irregular β-SiC nanoparticles, quasi-monodisperse β-SiC nanospheres decrease the surface roughness by 50-74% and increase the removal rate by 17-30%.