In this paper, the effects of oxidants on tungsten chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process were investigated using three different oxidizers such as Fe(NO₃)₃, KIO₃ and H₂O₂. Moreover, the interaction between the tungsten film and the oxidizer was discussed by potentiodynamic polarization measurement with three different oxidizers, in order to compare the effects of W-CMP and electrochemical characteristics on the tungsten film as a function of oxidizer. As an experimental result, the tungsten removal rate reached a maximum at 5 wt％ Fe(NO₃)₃concentration, and when 5 wt％ H₂O₂was added in the slurry, the removal rate of W increased. Also, the microstructures of surface layer by atomic force microscopy(AFM) image were greatly influenced by the slurry chemical composition of oxidizers. It was shown that the surface roughness and removal rate of the polished surface were improved in Fe(NO₃)₃than KIO₃. The electrochemical results indicate that the corrosion current density of the 5 wt％ H₂O₂ and 5 wt％ H₂O2+＋ 5 wt％ Fe(NO₃)₃was higher than the other oxidizers. Therefore, we conclude that the W-CMP characteristics are strongly dependent on the kinds of oxidizers and the amounts of oxidizer additive.
