Evaluation of Mechanisms Relevant to the Chemical Mechanical Planarization of HDD Media

Nickel-Phosphorous (NiP) substrates have been used as computer hard disk drive (HDD) media. This research will investigate the effect of organic complexing agents on the material removal rate (MRR) and surface quality of NiP substrates. This work will provide mechanistic information for CMP slurry suppliers as they develop planarization technologies.