Polysilicon overfill etch back using wet chemical spin-process technology. An alternative to traditional dry etch and CMP technigues

Wet chemical etch techniques have been used in semiconductor manufacturing since the advent of the industry. As device geometry´s have shrunk, wet etching has been replaced by various dry etch and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) techniques. In most cases it has been relegated to non-critical bulk film removal applications. Recent innovations in single wafer wet processing hardware and chemistries have given new life and applications to traditional wet etch techniques. In this study we investigated the feasibility of using a single wafer spin-processor chemically enhanced polish (CEP) system with automated endpoint capability for the removal and planarization of polysilicon over-fill in a deep trench isolation application as an alternative to dry etch and CMP techniques