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Slurry Injection System®

Our patented slurry injector system (SIS®) is made in the USA. It reduces polishing defects and slurry consumption for CMP and wafer polishing processes. There are 250+ units presently in HVM on 200- and 300-mm AMAT, Ebara, Accretech, and Revasum polishers.

Key Benefits

80%

Up to 80% lower wafer-level defects.

70%

Up to 70% less slurry consumption with equivalent removal rates.

30%

Up to 30% higher removal rates at the same slurry flow rate.

50%

Up to 50% shorter slurry mean residence time and slurry switching time thanks to efficient delivery of fresh slurry to the pad-wafer interface.

Technology

In most CMP tools, slurry is applied onto the center of the pad or through a dispense arm with multiple delivery holes. As the pad rotates, centrifugal forces cause large amounts of fresh slurry to flow directly off the pad surface without entering the pad-wafer interface. This results in low slurry utilization. Moreover, spent slurry contains polishing by-products and pad debris. These mix with the fresh slurry and re-enter the pad-wafer interface during polishing and negatively impact removal rate and wafer-level defects.

Because large volumes of ultra-pure water (UPW) are used to rinse the pad surface between polishing wafers, to remove slurry residue and pad debris, an appreciable amount of UPW remains on the pad surface and within the deep grooves after rinsing. This creates a dilution effect as the next wafer is polished, reducing removal rates.

Unlike standard methods, SIS® is designed to efficiently introduce fresh slurry to the pad-wafer interface. SIS® is placed atop the pad during polishing while fresh slurry is applied through it and over the wafer track as a uniform thin film. This way, the slurry never comes into contact with the air interface before being applied on the pad. This reduces the risk of dry residue formation and subsequent falling atop the pad when the slurry is turned off and on hundreds of times a day.

With SIS®, a bow wave is formed in front of the injector’s leading edge, which contains used slurry and pad conditioning debris that can cause polishing defects. By squeegeeing the used slurry and pad conditioning debris from mixing with the fresh slurry, SIS® prevents their re-entry into the pad-wafer interface, lowering wafer-level defects.

Hardware

SIS® is sold as a Kit. It comprises a mount and an injector. The latter also includes a consumable segment. The mount (including the rods that connect it to the injector) has a life of more than 10 years. The consumable segment of the injector, called the Injector Bottom Unit (IBU), is made of PEEK and is always in contact with the pad, causing it to wear over time. With an estimated lifespan of 4–12 months, depending on consumables and polishing recipe, we recommend that users keep a couple of spare IBUs nearby.

Examples of SIS® for the AMAT Reflexion LK® (left top and bottom) and Mirra® (right top and bottom) polishers are shown below.

SIS-100 RLK render
SIS-100 Mirra render
SIS-100 RLK installed on AMAT Reflexion LK polisher
SIS-100MI installed on AMAT Mirra polisher

Warranty and Maintenance

SIS® is a totally passive device that uses the existing polisher plumbing; it requires no power or specialized software. Initial Kit installation takes 90 minutes, while subsequent replacement of the IBU or removal of the entire injector for pad changes takes less than 5 minutes. The mount (including the rods that connect it to the injector) and the injector body are warrantied for a year; the IBU for 4 months.

Sales

D2C

Direct-to-Consumer (D2C).

OEM Resale

To OEMs for value-added resale.

Licensing

OEM and parts manufacturing licenses available for sale.

Exclusive License

An exclusive perpetual worldwide license was sold to Ebara in 2018 for all Ebara platforms.

Resources

SIS® Brochure PDF Reduce slurry flow, increase device yield, and become a better environmental citizen. LinkedIn SIS® on Mirra® Polisher YouTube Fluid Dynamics Comparison YouTube
Get Started

Interested in SIS®?

Contact us to schedule a beta test at your site and determine how SIS® may reduce your overall COO by saving slurry and rinse water, as well as increasing the overall yield of your CMP or polishing module. We also have advanced ROI simulation models which we can share with you after our initial engagement.

Contact Us