Patent ID: 8193094

Claim:
A method of planarizing a substrate, comprising: depositing a first layer on a substrate with device features on a surface of the substrate, wherein topography of the device features causes the first layer deposited on the substrate to have a first surface topography; removing a portion of the first layer from the substrate by using a chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) process to reduce the first surface topography; collecting data of a second surface topography of the substrate after the portion of the first layer is removed from the substrate by the CMP process; and performing a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) etch on a remaining portion of the first layer over the device features by using the collected data of the second surface topography of the substrate to determine amount of the first layer to etch at different locations, whereby the GCIB etch reduces the second surface topography and improves planarity of the substrate.