Cabot Microelectronics Corporation

Francesco M De Rege

Phillip W Carter

Kevin J Moeggenborg

Vlasta A Brusic

Brian L Mueller

Isaac K Cherian

David Schroeder

Renjie Zhou

Jeffrey P Chamberlain

Gregory H Bogush

The invention provides a polishing system comprising (a) a liquid carrier, (b) an alkali metal ion, (c) a compound comprising an amine group and at least one polar moiety, wherein the polar moiety contains at least one oxygen atom, and (d) a polishing pad and/or an abrasive, wherein the total ion concentration of the system is above the critical coagulation concentration. The invention also provides a method of planarizing or polishing a composite substrate comprising contacting the substrate with a the aforementioned polishing system or a polishing system comprising (a) a liquid carrier, (b) an alkali metal ion, (c) a compound comprising an amine group and at least one polar moiety, wherein the polar moiety contains at least one oxygen atom, and (d) a polishing pad and/or an abrasive, and polishing at least a portion of the substrate therewith in about 6 hours or less after the polishing system is prepared.

Alkali metal-containing polishing system and method

The invention provides a method of polishing a substrate comprising a noble metal comprising (i) contacting the substrate with a CMP system and (ii) abrading at least a portion of the substrate to polish the substrate. The CMP systems each comprise an abrasive and/or polishing pad, a liquid carrier, and optionally one or more polishing additives. In a first embodiment, the polishing additives are selected from the group consisting of diketones, diketonates, heterocyclic nitrogen-containing compounds, heterocyclic oxygen-containing compounds, heterocyclic phosphorus-containing compounds, urea compounds, nitrogen-containing compounds that can be zwitterionic compounds, salts thereof, and combinations thereof. In a second embodiment, the polishing additive is a metal compound with two or more oxidation states and is used in conjunction with a peroxy-type oxidizer. In a third embodiment, the CMP system comprises &agr;-alumina and fumed alumina, wherein the weight ratio of &agr;-alumina to fumed alumina is about 0.6:1 to about 9:1.

CMP method for noble metals

Growing community of inventors

Naperville, IL, United States of America

Francesco M De Rege