Removal of residual oxide layer formed during chemical–mechanical-planarization process for lowering contact resistance

In the present work, we report the formation of residual oxide layer during chemical–mechanical-planarization (CMP) process in the carbon nanotube (CNT) via interconnects and some feasible solutions for its removal. Residual oxide layer makes electrically poor contact between CNTs and metal resulting in high contact resistance in CNT via interconnects. We adopt post-CMP processes such as hydrofluoric acid (HF) or Ar plasma treatment to remove the residual oxide layer. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to confirm the chemical state of samples before and after the post-CMP process. Silicon and oxygen peaks from silicon-based oxide layer observed after the CMP process were disappeared and reduced in its intensity by the post-CMP process, respectively. Furthermore, via resistance decreased more than 1 order of magnitude after the post-CMP process. It is found that the post-CMP process provides good electrical contact between CNTs and metal by removing the residual oxide layer.