Method for selectively removing nickel platinum material

1. A method of selectively removing NiPt material from a microelectronic substrate including NiPt and NiPt silicide, the method comprising;

i) contacting the NiPt material with an aqueous etching composition comprising:

from 0.1 to 5 wt %, based on the total weight of the composition, of an oxidizing agent component, wherein the oxidizing agent component is hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 );

from 1 wt % to 20 wt %, based on the total weight of the composition, of a strong acid component selected from the group consisting of sulfuric acid, methanesulfonic acid, and combinations thereof;

from 1 wt % to 6 wt %, based on the total weight of the composition, of a source of chloride component selected from the group consisting of ammonium chloride, HCl, and combinations thereof; and

from 70 to 95 wt %, based on the total weight of the composition, of water,

wherein the strong acid component and the source of chloride component are present in a ratio of 5:1 to 1:5,

wherein the oxidizing agent component and strong acid component are present in a ratio of 5:1 to 1:5, and

wherein the oxidizing agent component and source of chloride component are present in a ratio of 5:1 to 1:5; and

ii) selectively removing the NiPt relative to the NiPt silicide with a NiPt etch rate of at least 100 Å/min, a NiPt silicide etch rate of at most 10 Å/min, and with a selectivity ratio of at least 40:1.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the amount of the oxidizing agent component in the composition is from 0.1 to 4 wt % based on the total weight of the composition.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the strong acid component is sulfuric acid.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the strong acid component is methanesulfonic acid.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the amount of the strong acid component in the composition is from 5 to 15 wt % based on the total weight of the composition.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the amount of the strong acid component in the composition is about 10 wt % or 11 wt %.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the source of chloride component is hydrogen chloride (HCl).

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the source of chloride component is ammonium chloride.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the amount of the source of chloride component in the composition is in the range of from 1 to 5 wt % based on the total weight of the composition.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microelectronic substrate further comprises TiN and wherein contacting the NiPt material with the aqueous etching composition further selectively removes the NiPt relative to the TiN with a selectivity ratio of at least 40:1.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises less than 1 wt % nitric acid.