Patent ID: 8679980

Claim:
An aqueous polishing agent, comprising: solid polymer particles as an abrasive, finely dispersed in an aqueous phase, and an organic non-polymeric compound as a complexing agent, dissolved in the aqueous phase, wherein the polymer particles comprise a pendant functional group (a1) capable of strongly interacting with a metal of, a metal oxide on top of, or both a metal of and a metal oxide on top of a surface to be polished, and capable of forming a strong complex with the metal, and a pendant functional group (a2) capable of interacting less strongly with the metal of the surface to be polished than the functional group (a1); and wherein pendant functional groups (a1) are concentrated in at least one first subunit, pendant functional groups (a2) are concentrated in at least one second subunit, and the first and second subunits are oligomeric, polymeric, or both wherein the organic, non-polymeric compound is a compound capable of interacting with the metal, the metal oxide, or both the metal and the metal oxide on top of the surface to be polished, forming a strong, water-soluble complex with the metal, and causing an increase of a material removal rate MRR and a static etch rate SER of the surface to be polished with increasing concentration of the organic non-polymeric compound in the aqueous polishing agent.