Patent ID: 7368388

Claim:
A method of chemically mechanically polishing a substrate which comprises a dielectric material and a material comprising a metal, comprising the steps of: A) providing a polishing slurry comprising: 1) a synthetic abrasive material comprising at least one of particles comprising CeO 2 and particles comprising Ce 2 O 3 , particles comprising CeO 2 and particles comprising cerium nitride, particles comprising CeO 2 and particles comprising cerium oxynitride, particles comprising CeO 2 and particles comprising cerium fluoride, or particles comprising CeO 2 and particles comprising ceric sulfide, and 2) a solvent comprising water, a polar organic solvent, a non-polar organic solvent, or mixture thereof, and B) providing a substrate having a surface comprising a dielectric material and a material comprising a metal; and C) movably contacting the polishing slurry with the surface under conditions where a portion of the substrate is removed by a chemical mechanical polishing process.