Samsung Electronics has developed a reusable chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) pad for leveling the surface of semiconductor wafers.

The company worked with F&S Tech to develop reusable CMP pads.

The CMP pad is made of polyurethane and is used to level the surface of semiconductor wafers through chemical and mechanical polishing. They are usually incinerated after use.

The CMP pad consists of four parts, including the pad contacting the wafer, the adhesive and the sub-pad. Samsung Electronics and F&S Tech manufactured reusable CMP pads by separating the CMP pads, charging the worn parts and re-hardening them to a certain thickness. Samsung Electronics applied for a joint patent for this technology. The company stated that the recycled CMP is as good as new.

At the request of Samsung Electronics, F&S Tech will apply reusable CMP pads to actual semiconductor production lines starting in early 2021. Despite the small supply so far, Samsung Electronics has become the first company in the semiconductor industry to reuse CMP pads. The two companies plan to continue to evaluate the performance of reusable CMP pads and increase their use during the semiconductor manufacturing process.

Samsung Electronics uses tens of thousands of CMP pads every month. The global CMP pad market is estimated to be 1 trillion won per year. Samsung Electronics consumes a lot of CMP pads. At present, 70-80% of CMP pads used in South Korea are DuPont products in the United States. South Korea relies heavily on imported CMP pads.