Dow’s polishing pad portfolio sets the standard for chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) in semiconductor manufacturing. Our wide range of hard and soft CMP pads are designed to meet the distinct needs of each different CMP application and technology node. In addition, our technical team has a robust understanding of CMP fundamentals, including product and process development capabilities. We can talk to you about what CMP pad will best meet your particular needs, and we’d also welcome the opportunity to help enhance your overall process!
Dow CMP Pad Portfolio
Click on the pad family links below to learn more about the benefits and target applications for each series.
IKONIC™ Polishing Pads
The IKONIC™ CMP pad series is a breakthrough pad platform designed for multiple applications and advanced nodes. Dow’s latest CMP polishing pad technology combines a range of pad hardness and varying levels of porosity with a pad surface that is easy to condition. The IKONIC™ pad platform is designed to reduce wafer defects and improve removal rate, topography and cost of ownership.
IKONIC™ 4100 Series of Polishing Pads+
The IKONIC™ 4100 series of polishing pad targets processes that require higher hardness pads. It is designed to deliver significantly lower defects in the most advanced Logic and Memory technology nodes.
Benefits:
- Step-out defectivity performance
- Improved balance in trade-offs associated with defectivity and removal rate stability over pad-life
- Easily conditioned pad surface
Applications:
- Shallow trench isolation (STI)/Ceria, interlayer dielectric (ILD), Copper bulk, Tungsten
IKONIC™ 4200 Series of Polishing Pads+
The IKONIC™ 4200 series of polishing pad targets processes that require higher hardness pads. It is designed for higher removal rate, which can help reduce cost of ownership for customers by giving higher throughput and/or reducing slurry consumption volume.
Benefits:
- Higher removal rate
- Easily conditioned pad surface
Applications:
- STI/Ceria, Tungsten, Copper bulk
IKONIC™ 3000 Series of Polishing Pads+
The IKONIC™ 3000 series of polishing pads targets processes that require medium hardness pads. It is designed to deliver step-out improvements in wafer defect levels and improved topography performance when compared to IC1000™ pads.
Benefits:
- Improved defectivity performance
- Improved topography performance
- Multiple configuration options
- Long pad lifetime
- Easily conditioned pad surface
Applications:
IKONIC™ 2000 Series of Polishing Pads+
The IKONIC™ 2000 series of polishing pads targets processes that require lower hardness pads. It is designed to deliver step-out improvements in wafer defect levels, consistent and stable removal rates, and longer pad lifetime.
Benefits:
- Step-out defectivity performance
- Multiple offerings to meet a range of performance requirements
- Long pad lifetime
- Easily conditioned pad surface
Applications:
VISIONPAD™ Polishing Pads
The VISIONPAD™ CMP pad series is a platform designed for multiple applications and advanced nodes. VISIONPAD™ technology is engineered with unique polymer chemistry, including optimized pore size and porosity levels. This leads to a range of polishing performance options depending on process requirements.
VISIONPAD™ 3000 Series of Polishing Pads+
The VISIONPAD™ 3000 series of polishing pads is designed to achieve the defect levels of the POLITEX™ pad with the pad planarization capabilities of the IC1000™ pad in Copper barrier processes. The VISIONPAD™ 3000 series has a softer surface than an IC1000™ pad to reduce defects, while maintaining a high stiffness to provide superior planarization.
Benefits:
- Improved defectivity compared to IC1000™
- Improved planarization compared to soft pads
Applications:
VISIONPAD™ 5000 Series of Polishing Pads+
The VISIONPAD™ 5000 series is designed for use in Oxide and Tungsten applications. VISIONPAD™ 5000 series CMP pads exhibit predictable pad-to-pad performance, offer stable operation throughout the process, and demonstrate a similar or increased pad life when compared to IC1000™ pads.
Benefits:
- Improved planarization compared to IC1000™
- Longer pad lifetime due to low cut rate
Uses:
- Tungsten, STI/Ceria, Oxide
VISIONPAD™ 6000 Series of Polishing Pads+
The VISIONPAD™ 6000 series of polishing pads is designed to significantly improve defectivity and dishing performance as well as extend the pad lifetime compared to IC1000™.
Benefits:
- Step-out defectivity performance
- Long pad lifetime due to low cut rate
Applications:
- Copper bulk, STI/Ceria, Oxide
VISIONPAD™ 7000 Series of Polishing Pads+
The VISIONPAD™ 7000 series of polishing pads is designed to significantly improve lifetime compared to IC1000™.
Benefits:
- Long pad lifetime due to low cut rate
Applications:
- Copper Bulk, STI/Ceria, Oxide, Tungsten
VISIONPAD™ 9000 Series of Polishing Pads+
The VISIONPAD™ 9000 series of polishing pads is designed to reduce defectivity and dishing as well as extend the pad lifetime compared to IC1000™.
Benefits:
- Reduced defectivity performance
- Improved dishing performance
- Long pad lifetime due to low cut rate
Applications:
- Copper Bulk, STI/Ceria, Oxide
IC1000™ Series of Polishing Pads
The IC1000™ polishing pad series is the industry standard for CMP pads. Dow’s IC1000™ pads are used in a wide variety of CMP applications. While the IC1000™ formulation has remained constant, the quality and consistency of the product offerings have been improved continuously for over 20 years. Popular pads in this family include the IC1000™ CMP pad and the IC1010™ CMP pad.
IC1000™ Polishing Pad Family+
Benefits:
- Industry standard hard pad for multiple applications
- World class quality and performance consistency
Applications:
- Copper bulk, Tungsten, STI/Ceria, Oxide, Buff
OPTIVISION™ PRO Polishing Pads
The OPTIVISION™ PRO CMP pad series is Dow’s third generation soft pad manufactured on a new platform that facilitates advanced polishing and is designed for improvements in cost of ownership.
OPTIVISION™ PRO Polishing Pad Series+
Benefits:
- Highest TEOS removal rate and lowest defectivity Dow offering
- Available with windows and multiple grooving options
- Improved lifetime compared to POLITEX™ and OPTIVISION™
Applications:
- Copper barrier, Buff, Polysilicon
OPTIVISION™ Polishing Pads
The OPTIVISION™ CMP pad series is Dow’s second generation soft pad that improves on the performance of POLITEX™ and is designed for improvements in cost of ownership.
OPTIVISION™ Polishing Pad Series+
Benefits:
- Improved removal rate and defectivity compared to POLITEX™ polishing pads
- Available on multiple substrates
- Improved lifetime compared to POLITEX™
Applications:
- Copper barrier, Buff, Polysilicon
POLITEX™ Polishing Pads
The POLITEX™ CMP pad series is used for Copper barrier, buffing and cleaning applications.
POLITEX™ Polishing Pad Series+
Benefits:
- Industry standard soft pad for multiple applications
- Requires no conditioning
Applications:
SUBA™ Polishing Pads
Dow's SUBA™ pads are polishing pads for stock, intermediate and final polish. They offer significant advantages in achieving consistent, reproducible results in polishing semiconductor wafers, glass and ceramics. The SUBA™ family of polishing pad products is the industry standard for silicon stock removal polishing. They may also be used as a sub-pad.
SUBA™ Polishing Pad Series+
Benefits:
- High removal rate silicon stock polishing pad
Applications:
- Silicon wafer polishing
- Polishing fragile crystals or other delicate surfaces
- Polishing glass, quartz, ceramics, special metals and plastic
CMP Applications
Our CMP pads cover a wide range of applications and technology nodes. For help understanding which technologies are well-suited for different CMP applications, please refer to the following chart.
| Copper Bulk Polishing |
IKONIC™ 3040M, 4121H, 4250H
VISIONPAD™ 6000, 7480, 9280
IC1000™ |
| Cu Barrier Polishing |
IKONIC™ 2010H, 2020H, 2040H, 2060H
VISIONPAD™ 3100, 3500
OPTIVISION™ PRO 9500 |
| Tungsten (W) Polishing |
IKONIC™ 4250H, 4121H, 4141H
VISIONPAD™ 5000
IC1000™ |
| STI Polishing/Ceria Polish Applications |
IKONIC™ 4121H, 4140H, 4250H
VISIONPAD™ 5000, 6000
IC1000™ |
| Oxide Polishing |
VISIONPAD™ 5000, 6000, 7480
IC1000™ |
| Buff Polishing |
IKONIC™ 2010H, 2020H, 2040H, 2060H
OPTIVISION™ 4540, 4548
POLITEX™, POLITEX™ AT
IC1000™ |
