Dow Electronic Materials, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, today introduced the IKONIC 4000 series of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) polishing pads. This series of pads are initially targeting ceria-based applications.

“The pads are highly tunable and can be customized to address process specific requirements,” said Colin Cameron, director of marketing CMPT Dow Electronic Materials. “Dow’s volume manufacturing methods and commitment to process control further enhance performance by ensuring consistency and reliability in our customer’s processes.”

The new IKONIC 4000 series balances the historic trade-off associated with cutting edge planarization requirements and low defectivity. The novel chemistries deliver removal rate stability over pad life, making them ideal for the challenges associated with ceria based polishing applications. The IKONIC 4000 series delivers step-out defectivity performance representing a 70 percent improvement when compared with the industry-standard IC1000 polishing pad.

Developed in collaboration with Dow’s customers, the IKONIC 4000 series is available in multiple formulations featuring a range of hardness and porosity. This allows for customization to address specific customer requirements. The pads are also optimized for easier conditioning and to maintain consistent texture throughout the pad’s lifetime.