The atomic scale removal mechanism during chemomechanical polishing of Silicon: An atomic force microscopy study

ABSTRACTThe pressure dependence of the microwear of an oxidized Si surface under aqueous electrolyte solutions has been investigated using an atomic force microscope with a single crystal Si tip. The removal ratio of Si tip to SiO2 surface is found to be highly sensitive to the contact pressure. We present a microscopic removal mechanism which is determined by an interplay of the diffusion of H2O in Si and SiO2.