Use of ethylene glycol as a corrosion inhibitor during cleaning after metal chemical mechanical polishing

摘要

A post metal chemical-mechanical polishing cleaning process that effectively inhibits corrosion of a metallic plug is described. The process includes providing a partially fabricated integrated circuit (IC) substrate having a metallic plug that is formed by subjecting a metallic surface on the integrated circuit (IC) substrate to chemical- mechanical polishing, which produces a contaminated dielectric layer containing metallic contaminants. The process also includes scrubbing the IC substrate surface in the presence of a mixture including ethylene glycol and hydrofluoric acid to remove at least a portion of the contaminated dielectric layer and to effectively inhibit corrosion of the metallic plug. The mixture has ethylene glycol in an amount that is between about 2 times and about 7 times the amount of hydrofluoric acid.