Planarization process with abrasive polishing slurry that is selective to a planarized surface

Claim 2

A process of planarizing comprising: providing a polishing surface; providing a polishing slurry comprised of a plurality of abrasive particles, the plurality of abrasive particles having a mean diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 50 nm; providing a semiconductor structure having a surface composed of a material selected from a group consisting of a dielectric, silicon dioxide, tungsten, polysilicon, aluminum, copper, and Si 3 N 4 ; moving the polishing surface against the surface of the semiconductor structure in the polishing slurry, wherein there is a first material removal rate of material from the surface of the semiconductor structure equal to X, and wherein the surface of the semiconductor structure is non-planar; continuing to move the polishing surface against the surface of the semiconductor structure in the polishing slurry until there is a second material removal rate of material from the surface of the semiconductor structure not greater than X/4 and said surface of the semiconductor structure is planarized.

Claim 3

A process as recited in claim 1, wherein substantially each abrasive particle is substantially composed of at least one material selected from the group consisting of ceria, alumina, Ta 2 O 5 , silica, titania, zirconia, manganese oxide, and mixtures thereof.

Claim 4

A process as recited in claim 1, wherein the mean diameter is in a range from about 12 to about 25 nm.

Claim 5

A process as recited in claim 1, wherein the mean diameter is about 12 nm.

Claim 6

A process as recited in claim 1, wherein the second material removal rate is less than X/S.

Claim 7

A process as recited in claim 1, wherein the second material removal rate is less than X/6.

Claim 8

A process as recited in claim 1, wherein the second material removal rate is less than X/10.

Claim 9

A process as recited in claim 1, wherein the surface of the semiconductor structure comprises a portion of a top surface of said semiconductor structure.

Claim 10

A process as recited in claim 1, wherein the surface of the semiconductor structure comprises substantially an entire top surface of said semiconductor structure.

Claim 11

The process of planarizing as defined in claim 1, wherein: moving the polishing surface against the surface of the semiconductor structure in the polishing slurry is conducted at a constant speed and at a constant pressure; and continuing to move the polishing surface against the surface of the semiconductor structure in the polishing slurry is conducted at the constant speed and at the constant pressure.

Claim 12

A planarizing process using a polishing machine that operates by moving a polishing surface against a non-planar surface of a semiconductor structure in a polishing slurry including a plurality of abrasive particles, the process comprising: operating said polishing machine to remove material from the surface of the semiconductor structure at a first material removal rate of X, wherein said plurality of abrasive particles have a mean diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 50 nm, wherein said surface is composed of a material selected from a group consisting of a dielectric, silicon dioxide, tungsten, polysilicon, aluminum, copper, and Si 3 N 4 ; ceasing operation of said polishing machine when a second material removal rate from the surface of the semiconductor structure is not greater than X/4 and the surface of the semiconductor structure is planar.

Claim 13

A planarizing process using a polishing machine that operates by moving a polishing surface against a non-planar surface of a semiconductor structure in a polishing slurry including a plurality of abrasive particles, the process comprising: operating said polishing machine to remove material from the surface of the semiconductor structure at a first material removal rate of X, wherein said plurality of abrasive particles have a mean diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 50 nm, wherein said surface is composed of a material selected from a group consisting of a dielectric, silicon dioxide, tungsten, polysilicon, aluminum, copper, and Si 3 N 4 ; ceasing operation of said polishing machine when a second material removal rate from the surface of the semiconductor structure is not greater than X/4 and the surface of the semiconductor structure is planar.

Claim 14

A process as recited in claim 11, wherein the second material removal rate is less than X/6.

Claim 15

A process as recited in claim 11, wherein the second material removal rate is less than X/10.

Claim 16

A process as recited in claim 11, wherein the surface of the semiconductor structure comprises a portion of a top surface of said semiconductor structure.

Claim 17

A polishing process according to claim 11, wherein said surface of the semiconductor structure is a dielectric.

Claim 18

A polishing process according to claim 11, wherein said rate of material removal from the surface of the semiconductor substrate when planar is minimized by increasing the polishing solution viscosity.

Claim 19

A polishing process according to claim 11, wherein said mean diameter is in a range from about 12 nm to about 25 nm.

Claim 20

The process of planarizing as defined in claim 11, wherein: operating said polishing machine to remove material from the surface of the semiconductor structure by moving said polishing surface against said non-planar surface of said semiconductor structure in said polishing slurry is conducted at a constant speed and at a constant pressure.

Claim 21

A polishing process according to claim 11, wherein said surface of the semiconductor structure includes a silicate and said abrasive particles includes silica.

Claim 22

A polishing process of using a polishing machine that operates by moving a polishing surface against a non-planar surface of a semiconductor structure to planarize the same in a polishing slurry including a plurality of abrasive particles, the process comprising: removing material from the non-planar surface of the semiconductor structure using the polishing machine, wherein said plurality of abrasive particles have a mean diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 50 nm, and the rate of material removal from the surface of the semiconductor structure is equal to X, wherein said surface is composed of a material selected from a group consisting of a dielectric, silicon dioxide, tungsten, polysilicon, aluminum, copper, and Si 3 N 4 ; and halting said removal material when said rate of material removal is not greater than X/4 and the surface of the structure is planar.

Claim 23

A polishing process of using a polishing machine that operates by moving a polishing surface against a non-planar surface of a semiconductor structure to planarize the same in a polishing slurry including a plurality of abrasive particles, the process comprising: removing material from the non-planar surface of the semiconductor structure using the polishing machine, wherein said plurality of abrasive particles have a mean diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 50 nm, and the rate of material removal from the surface of the semiconductor structure is equal to X, wherein said surface is composed of a material selected from a group consisting of a dielectric, silicon dioxide, tungsten, polysilicon, aluminum, copper, and Si 3 N 4 ; and halting said removal material when said rate of material removal is not greater than X/4 and the surface of the structure is planar.

Claim 24

The process of planarizing as defined in claim 20, wherein: removing material from the non-planar surface of the semiconductor structure using the polishing machine by moving said polishing surface against said non-planar surface of said semiconductor structure to planarize the same in said polishing slurry is conducted at a constant speed and at a constant pressure.

Claim 25

A polishing process as recited in claim 20, wherein the abrasive particles are composed of at least one material selected from the group consisting of ceria, alumina, Ta 2 O 5 , silica, titania, zirconia, manganese oxide, and mixtures thereof.

Claim 26

A process as recited in claim 20, wherein said removal material is halted when said rate of material removal is not greater than X/5 and the surface of the semiconductor structure is planar.

Claim 27

A process as recited in claim 20, wherein said removal material is halted when said rate of material removal is not greater than X/6 and the surface of the semiconductor structure is planar.

Claim 28

A process as recited in claim 20, wherein said removal material is halted when said rate of material removal is not greater than X/10 and the surface of the semiconductor structure is planar.

Claim 29

A polishing process according to claim 20, wherein said surface of the semiconductor structure is a dielectric.

Claim 30

A polishing process according to claim 20, wherein said rate of material removal from the surface of the semiconductor substrate when planar is minimized by increasing the polishing solution viscosity.

Claim 31

A polishing process according to claim 20, wherein said mean diameter is in a range from about 12 nm to about 25 nm.

Claim 32

A planarizing process comprising: selecting a material removal rate ratio from data in a table, said data in said table containing a respective material removal rate ratio for each of plurality of viscosities of a polishing slurry for a given mean size of a plurality of abrasive particles in said polishing slurry, wherein said material removal rate ratio is derived by using a polishing machine that operates by moving a polishing surface against a surface of a test semiconductor structure in said polishing slurry having said viscosity and including said plurality of abrasive particles, and wherein said material removal rate ratio is equal to: the material removal rate of material from said surface of said test semiconductor structure when said surface is non-planar; divided by the material removal rate of material from said surface of said test semiconductor structure when said surface is planar, wherein said ratio is for a given mean size of said plurality of abrasive particles in said polishing slurry having a diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 50 nm; planarizing a surface of a production semiconductor structure by operating said polishing machine using the selected viscosity and the selected mean size of said plurality of abrasive particles of said polishing slurry to remove material from said surface of said production semiconductor structure that is similar to said surface of said test semiconductor structure, wherein said surface of said test semiconductor structure is composed of a material selected from a group consisting of a dielectric, silicon dioxide, tungsten, polysilicon, aluminum, copper, and Si 3 N 4 .

Claim 33

A planarizing process comprising: selecting a material removal rate ratio from data in a table, said data in said table containing a respective material removal rate ratio for each of plurality of viscosities of a polishing slurry for a given mean size of a plurality of abrasive particles in said polishing slurry, wherein said material removal rate ratio is derived by using a polishing machine that operates by moving a polishing surface against a surface of a test semiconductor structure in said polishing slurry having said viscosity and including said plurality of abrasive particles, and wherein said material removal rate ratio is equal to: the material removal rate of material from said surface of said test semiconductor structure when said surface is non-planar; divided by the material removal rate of material from said surface of said test semiconductor structure when said surface is planar, wherein said ratio is for a given mean size of said plurality of abrasive particles in said polishing slurry having a diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 50 nm; planarizing a surface of a production semiconductor structure by operating said polishing machine using the selected viscosity and the selected mean size of said plurality of abrasive particles of said polishing slurry to remove material from said surface of said production semiconductor structure that is similar to said surface of said test semiconductor structure, wherein said surface of said test semiconductor structure is composed of a material selected from a group consisting of a dielectric, silicon dioxide, tungsten, polysilicon, aluminum, copper, and Si 3 N 4 .

Claim 34

A polishing process according to claim 29, wherein said viscosity of said polishing solution that corresponds to said selected material removal rate ratio is in a range from about 1 to about 1,000 centipoise.

Claim 35

A polishing process according to claim 29, wherein said surface of said test semiconductor structure includes a silicate and said abrasive particles include silica.

Claim 36

The process of planarizing as defined in claim 29, wherein: planarizing a surface of a production semiconductor structure by operating said polishing machine is conducted at a constant speed and at a constant pressure, and said polishing machine that operates by moving said polishing surface against said surface of said test structure is operated at said constant speed and at said constant pressure.

Claim 37

A polishing process according to claim 29, wherein: said surface of said test semiconductor structure is composed of a dielectric; selecting a material removal rate ratio from data in a table comprises linear interpolation or extrapolation of the data in said table which includes, for μ, in Centipoises of said viscosity of said polishing slurry, and for R, in nm for said mean size of said plurality of abrasive particles of said polishing slurry: ______________________________________ μ, Centipoise R, nm 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 ______________________________________ 12 16.8 22.4 28.0 33.6 39.2 44.8 50.4 25 8.4 11.2 14.0 16.8 19.6 22.4 25.2 50 4.2 5.6 7.0 8.4 9.8 11.2 12.6. ______________________________________

Claim 38

A process of planarizing comprising: providing a polishing surface; providing a polishing slurry comprised of a plurality of abrasive particles, the plurality of abrasive particles having a mean diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 25 nm; providing a structure having a surface; moving the polishing surface against the surface of the structure in the polishing slurry, wherein there is a first material removal rate of material from the surface of the structure equal to X, and wherein the surface of the structure is non-planar; continuing to move the polishing surface against the surface of the structure in the polishing slurry until there is a second material removal rate of material from the surface of the structure not greater than X/4 and said surface of the structure is planarized.

Claim 39

A process of planarizing comprising: providing a polishing surface; providing a polishing slurry comprised of a plurality of abrasive particles, the plurality of abrasive particles having a mean diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 25 nm; providing a structure having a surface; moving the polishing surface against the surface of the structure in the polishing slurry, wherein there is a first material removal rate of material from the surface of the structure equal to X, and wherein the surface of the structure is non-planar; continuing to move the polishing surface against the surface of the structure in the polishing slurry until there is a second material removal rate of material from the surface of the structure not greater than X/4 and said surface of the structure is planarized.

Claim 40

The process of planarizing as defined in claim 34, wherein: moving the polishing surface against the surface of the structure in the polishing slurry is conducted at a constant speed and at a constant pressure; and continuing to move the polishing surface against the surface of the structure in the polishing slurry is conducted at the constant speed and at the constant pressure.

Claim 41

A planarizing process using a polishing machine that operates by moving a polishing surface against a non-planar surface of a structure in a polishing slurry including a plurality of abrasive particles, the process comprising: operating said polishing machine to remove material from the surface of the structure at a first material removal rate of X, wherein said plurality of abrasive particles have a mean diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 25 nm; ceasing operation of said polishing machine when a second material removal rate from the surface of the structure is not greater than X/4 and the surface of the structure is planar.

Claim 42

A planarizing process using a polishing machine that operates by moving a polishing surface against a non-planar surface of a structure in a polishing slurry including a plurality of abrasive particles, the process comprising: operating said polishing machine to remove material from the surface of the structure at a first material removal rate of X, wherein said plurality of abrasive particles have a mean diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 25 nm; ceasing operation of said polishing machine when a second material removal rate from the surface of the structure is not greater than X/4 and the surface of the structure is planar.

Claim 43

The process of planarizing as defined in claim 36, wherein: operating said polishing machine to remove material from the surface of the structure is conducted at a constant speed and at a constant pressure of said polishing surface against said non-planar surface of said structure in said polishing slurry.

Claim 44

A polishing process of using a polishing machine that operates by moving a polishing surface against a non-planar surface of a structure to planarize the same in a polishing slurry including a plurality of abrasive particles, the process comprising: removing material from the non-planar surface of the structure using the polishing machine, wherein said plurality of abrasive particles have a mean diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 25 nm, and the rate of material removal from the surface of the structure is equal to X; and halting said removal material when said rate of material removal is not greater than X/4 and the surface of the structure is planar.

Claim 45

A polishing process of using a polishing machine that operates by moving a polishing surface against a non-planar surface of a structure to planarize the same in a polishing slurry including a plurality of abrasive particles, the process comprising: removing material from the non-planar surface of the structure using the polishing machine, wherein said plurality of abrasive particles have a mean diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 25 nm, and the rate of material removal from the surface of the structure is equal to X; and halting said removal material when said rate of material removal is not greater than X/4 and the surface of the structure is planar.

Claim 46

The process of planarizing as defined in claim 38, wherein: removing material from the non-planar surface of the structure using the polishing machine is conducted at a constant speed and at a constant pressure of said polishing surface against said surface of said structure in said polishing slurry.

Claim 47

A planarizing process comprising: selecting a material removal rate ratio from data in a table, said data in said table containing a respective material removal rate ratio for each of plurality of viscosities of a polishing slurry for a given mean size of a plurality of abrasive particles in said polishing slurry, wherein said material removal rate ratio is derived by using a polishing machine that operates by moving a polishing surface against a surface of a test structure in said polishing slurry having said viscosity and including said plurality of abrasive particles, and wherein said material removal rate ratio is equal to: the material removal rate of material from said surface of said test structure when said surface is non-planar; divided by the material removal rate of material from said surface of said test structure when said surface is planar, wherein said ratio is for a given mean size of said plurality of abrasive particles in said polishing slurry having a mean diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 25 nm; planarizing a surface of a production structure by operating said polishing machine using the selected viscosity and the selected mean size of said plurality of abrasive particles of said polishing slurry to remove material from said surface of said production structure that is similar to said surface of said test structure.

Claim 48

A planarizing process comprising: selecting a material removal rate ratio from data in a table, said data in said table containing a respective material removal rate ratio for each of plurality of viscosities of a polishing slurry for a given mean size of a plurality of abrasive particles in said polishing slurry, wherein said material removal rate ratio is derived by using a polishing machine that operates by moving a polishing surface against a surface of a test structure in said polishing slurry having said viscosity and including said plurality of abrasive particles, and wherein said material removal rate ratio is equal to: the material removal rate of material from said surface of said test structure when said surface is non-planar; divided by the material removal rate of material from said surface of said test structure when said surface is planar, wherein said ratio is for a given mean size of said plurality of abrasive particles in said polishing slurry having a mean diameter in a range from about 12 nm to about 25 nm; planarizing a surface of a production structure by operating said polishing machine using the selected viscosity and the selected mean size of said plurality of abrasive particles of said polishing slurry to remove material from said surface of said production structure that is similar to said surface of said test structure.

Claim 49

The planarizing process as defined in claim 40, wherein: planarizing a surface of a production structure by operating said polishing machine is conducted at a constant speed and at a constant pressure; and said polishing machine that operates by moving said polishing surface against said surface of said test structure is operated at said constant speed and at said constant pressure.