Method of polishing or planarizing a substrate
View Patent ↗A method of polishing or planarizing a substrate comprising abrading at least a portion of the surface of a substrate comprising a metal, metal oxide, metal composite, or mixture thereof, with a composition comprising a metal oxide abrasive and a liquid carrier, wherein the composition has a pH of about 7 or less and the metal oxide abrasive has a total surface hydroxyl group density no greater than about 3 hydroxyl groups per nm 2 .
1. A method of polishing or planarizing a substrate comprising abrading at least a portion of the surface of a substrate comprising tungsten with a composition comprising a silica abrasive and a liquid carrier, wherein the composition has a pH of about 7 or less and the silica abrasive has a total surface hydroxyl group density no greater than about 3 hydroxyl groups per nm 2 .
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the silica abrasive is fumed silica.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the total surface hydroxyl group density is no greater than about 2.8 hydroxyl groups per nm 2 .
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the total surface hydroxyl group density is no greater than about 2.5 hydroxyl groups per nm 2 .
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate further comprises a metal oxide.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the metal oxide of the substrate is selected from the group consisting of alumina, titania, ceria, zirconia, germania, magnesia, and combinations thereof.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the metal oxide of the substrate is silica.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate further comprises a metal composite.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the metal composite of the substrate is titanium nitride, tungsten nitride, and nickel-phosphorus.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition has a pH of 4-6.