Arch Specialty Chemicals, Inc.

Brian Mravic, Deceased

Deepak Mahulikar

Anthony M Pasqualoni

The present invention relates to an improved chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) method for polishing a copper coated wafer containing a copper adhesion-promoting layer and a silicon-based layer. The method polishes copper layers with high removal rates, low defect densities and reduced amounts of dishing and erosion. The method involves a two step process. The first step is to utilize a bulk copper removal slurry that rapidly removes the majority the copper on the substrate. The second step utilizes a 1:1:1 selectivity copper/tantalum/silicon dioxide (Cu/Ta/SiO.sub.2) slurry that has approximately the same polishing rates for the copper layer, the adhesion-promoting layer and the silicon-based substrate. The second slurry reduces the amount of dishing and erosion that occurs in the copper trenches and dense copper arrays.

Growing community of inventors

New Haven, CT, United States of America

Brian Mravic, Deceased