A material removal model for silicon oxide layers in chemical mechanical planarization considering the promoted chemical reaction by the down pressure

•A model considering the promoted chemical reaction by pressure is proposed.•The study clarifies the confused relations of abrasive concentration with MRR.•Nonlinear dependences of MRR on the pressure and abrasive size were verified.

This paper proposes a material removal rate model for silicon oxide layers in a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process based upon micro-contact force equilibrium theory and chemical mechanical synergistic effects, in which considers the promoted chemical reaction of the slurry with the wafer surface by the polishing pressure rarely investigated by previous models. The present model clarifies the contradictory relationships between the abrasive concentration and removal rate. Furthermore, the nonlinear dependences of removal rate on polishing pressure and abrasive size are addressed as well. The current theoretical predictions are in good qualitative agreement with the published experimental data.