Tribo-Electrochemical Mechanism of Material Removal Examined for Chemical Mechanical Planarization of Stainless-Steel Using Citrate Buffer as a Complexing Agent

Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) is a technique used to efficiently prepare defect-free, flat surfaces of stainless steel (SS) foils and sheets that are implemented in various modern devices. CMP uses (electro)chemical reactions to structurally weaken the surface layers of a workpiece for easy removal by low-pressure mechanical abrasion. Using a model CMP system of 316/316L stainless steel (SS) in an acidic (pH = 3.63) slurry with alumina abrasives, citrate buffer (CB), and H2O2, we examine the tribo-electrochemical mechanisms of SS CMP that dictate the designs of functionally efficient and cost-effective CMP slurries. The use of CB as a pH-controlled complexing agent prevents defect-causing dissolution of SS and eliminates the need for using separate (often toxic) corrosion inhibitors in the slurry. A material removal rate of 8.6 nm min−1 is obtained at a moderate down pressure of 0.014 MPa with a platen rotation speed of 95 RPM. Electrochemical techniques are strategically combined with mechanical abrasion of SS test samples to probe complex CMP mechanisms that are not readily accessible with electrochemical experiments alone. Corrosion-like reactions of salt-film formation at the SS surface act to enable the CMP process, where corrosion-induced wear plays a major role in material removal.