Patent ID: 7972962

Claim:
A method of planarizing a semiconductor device including a substrate and first and second components provided on the surface of the substrate, the method comprising: providing a gap filling material between and above the first and second components to cover upper surfaces of the first and second components, the first component having a height greater than a height of the second component with respect to the surface of the substrate; performing a first polishing operation, with an oxide-based slurry, on the semiconductor device to remove the gap filling material and expose a top surface of the first component and to remove a portion of the gap filling material above a top surface of the second component without exposing the top surface of the second component; and performing a second polishing operation, with a polycrystalline silicon-based slurry, on the semiconductor device to remove a remaining portion of the gap filling material and expose the top surface of the second component and to remove a portion of the top surface of the first component to level the top surface of the first component with respect to the top surface of the second component, where the oxide-based slurry is different than the polycrystalline silicon-based slurry.