On the chemo-mechanical polishing for nano-scale surface finish of brittle wafers

Chemo-mechanical polishing (CMP) has been a common method to produce nano-scale surface finish of brittle wafers. This paper provides a relatively comprehensive review on the CMP of silicon, silicon carbide and sapphire including both patents and papers. The discussion includes the limitations and further research directions of the CMP technology, the material removal mechanisms, and the control and optimization of the CMP for brittle wafers. The paper concluded that the usage of mix- or coated- abrasives may improve the CMP in terms of less subsurface damage and higher material removal rate.