Scratch reduction in semiconductor circuit fabrication using chemical-mechanical polishing

摘要

A process for polishing a layer on a semiconductor wafer in which the incidence of undesirable scratches on the polished surface is reduced by using a multiple step polishing procedure. A relatively hard polishing pad is used first to planarize the wafer surface, using a chemically reactive and abrasive slurry. A second polishing step is then carried out on a relatively soft polishing pad, using a slurry to remove or reduce scratches introduced by polishing with the hard pad. A final polishing step is performed on the soft polishing pad using de-ionized water to remove particles from the surface of the wafer.