Developed an advanced chemical mechanical planarization for 4H-SiC substrate by water-soluble inclusion complexes of fullerene

This study investigated the behavior of water-soluble inclusion complexes (fullerene/β-cyclodextrin, C60/β-CD) as solid-state reacted abrasive particles for chemical–mechanical planarization (CMP) of 4H-SiC substrates. The size of C60/β-CD was measured by dynamic light scattering. The material removal rate with the aid of C60/β-CD was increased by 49%. Also, the indentation hardness and wettability were examined for the transition area by mechanochemical reaction. According to the decreasing hardness and contact angle, an adlayer consisting of C60/β-CD was indented by a Berkovich indenter against the substrate. Thus, the removal mechanism of advanced CMP among SiC substrates, C60/β-CD, and SiO2 abrasives is theoretically proposed.