Preparation of homogeneous sub-micron cerium oxide polishing powder

Abstract

To obtain homogeneous submicron cerium dioxide (CeO2) polishing powder, CeO2 was synthesized by solvothermal reaction using cerium nitrate (Ce(NO3)3·6H2O) as cerium resource and alcohol-water mixed solution as solvent. The phase composition and morphology of CeO2 were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), laser particle size analyzer and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The formation process of CeO2 particles was analyzed by changing the concentration of Ce3+ and alcohol-water ratio. The synthesized CeO2 was used for chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) Si-face of 6H-SiC. The polishing characteristics were tracked by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and electronic balance. The results indicates that when the Ce3+ concentration is 0.10 mol/L and alcohol/water volume ratio is 3∶1, the as-prepared particles have regular morphology, moderate particle size and uniform particle size distribution. After polished by using the as-prepared CeO2, the Ra of wafer surface reached 0.243 nm and the dMRR 287 nm/h. The as-prepared CeO2 can be used for chemical mechanical polishing.

Keywords

• ceo2
• homogeneous
• solvothermal method
• chemical mechanical polishing