Planarization using chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) on a 16-megabit SRAM with quadruple polysilicon stacks

Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) has been used to fabricate a 0.35 micrometers 16 Meg SRAM with quadruple polysilicon stacks. The use of CMP results in complete planarization of over one micron of topography. CMP planarization results in improved photolithography depth of field when compared to standard resist etchback planarization (REB). Data from a lot processed using CMP at contact dielectric and interlayer dielectric is compared to a lot that was processed using standard REB for planarization.