The present invention provides, in polishing an object to be polished that contains an (a) material having silicon-nitrogen bonding and (b) other materials, means that is capable of improving a ratio of a polishing speed of the (a) material to a polishing speed of the (b) materials. The present invention relates to a polishing composition used for polishing an object to be polished that contains an (a) material having silicon-nitrogen bonding and (b) other materials, the polishing composition containing: organic acid-immobilized silica; a dispersing medium; a selection ratio improver that improves a ratio of a polishing speed of the (a) material to a polishing speed of the (b) materials; and an acid, in which the selection ratio improver is organopolysiloxane having a hydrophilic group.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for a method of removing material on a substrate. An exemplary method includes rotating a substrate about a first axis in a first direction and urging a surface of the substrate against a polishing surface of a polishing pad while rotating the substrate, wherein rotating the substrate about the first axis includes rotating the substrate a first angle at a first rotation rate, and then rotating the substrate a second angle at a second rotation rate, and the first rotation rate is different from the second rotation rate.

In one embodiment, a method is provided for polishing a substrate. The method generally includes receiving a plurality of dwell times of a pad conditioning disk, wherein the plurality of dwell times are to be used in a pad conditioning process performed on a pad disposed on a platen, and each dwell time corresponding to a zone of a plurality of zones of the pad disposed on the platen, determining a plurality of total pad conditioning disk cut times to be used in the pad conditioning process, each total pad conditioning disk cut time corresponding to a zone of the plurality of zones, and generating a first pad wear removal model based on a set of parameters, including the plurality of dwell times and the plurality of total pad conditioning disk cut times.

A neutral to alkaline chemical mechanical composition for polishing tungsten includes, as initial components: water; an oxidizing agent selected from an iodate compound, a periodate compound and mixtures thereof; colloidal silica abrasive particles including a nitrogen-containing compound; optionally, a pH adjusting agent; and, optionally, a biocide. The chemical mechanical polishing method includes providing a chemical mechanical polishing pad, having a polishing surface; creating dynamic contact at an interface between the polishing pad and the substrate; and dispensing the neutral to alkaline chemical mechanical polishing composition onto the polishing surface at or near the interface between the polishing pad and the substrate; wherein some of the tungsten is polished away from the substrate and, further, to at least inhibit static etch of the tungsten.

An apparatus for chemical mechanical polishing includes a platen having a surface to support a polishing pad, a carrier head to hold a substrate against a polishing surface of the polishing pad, a pad conditioner to hold a conditioning disk against the polishing surface, an in-situ polishing pad thickness monitoring system; and, a controller configured to receive a signal from the monitoring system and generate a measure of polishing pad wear rate by applying a predictive filter to the signal.

A slurry for polishing surfaces or substrates that at least partially comprise ruthenium and copper, wherein the slurry includes an alkali hydroxide, oxygenated halogen compound, and a halogen alkyl benzotriazole. The slurry may further include abrasive, acid(s), and, optionally, an alkoxylated alcohol. With these components, the slurry exhibits a high ruthenium to copper removal rate ratio.

A method of performing a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process includes holding a wafer by a retainer ring attached to a carrier, pressing the wafer against a first surface of a polishing pad, the polishing pad rotating at a first speed, dispensing a slurry on the first surface of the polishing pad, and generating vibrations at the polishing pad.

A method for CMP includes following operations. A dielectric structure is received. The dielectric structure includes a metal layer stack formed therein. The metal layer stack includes at least a first metal layer and a second metal layer, and the first metal layer and the second metal layer are exposed through a surface of the dielectric structure. A first composition is provided to remove a portion of the first metal layer from the surface of the dielectric structure. A second composition is provided to form a protecting layer over the second metal layer. The protecting layer is removed from the second metal layer. A CMP operation is performed to remove a portion of the second metal layer. In some embodiments, the protecting layer protects the second metal layer during the removal of the portion of the first metal layer.

In a scheme in which a top ring is held to an end portion of a swing arm, the present invention improves accuracy of polishing end point detection. A polishing apparatus for polishing between a polishing pad 10 and a semiconductor wafer 16 disposed opposed to the polishing pad 10 includes a polishing table 30A for holding the polishing pad 10 and a top ring 31A for holding the semiconductor wafer 16. A swing shaft motor 14 swings a swing arm 110 for holding the top ring 31A. The arm torque detection section 26 detects arm torque applied to the swing arm 110. An end point detection section 28 detects a polishing end point indicating an end of polishing based on the detected arm torque.

A method includes: delivering a slurry to a semiconductor tool through a piping network of a slurry delivery system; coupling an electrode pair to an outer wall of a pipe of the piping network; measuring one or more capacitance values associated with the electrode pair with the slurry being an insulting layer between the electrode pair; and deriving a quality metric of the slurry according to the one or more capacitance values.