A cleaning solution, method, and apparatus for cleaning semiconductor substrates
after chemical mechanical polishing of copper films is described. The present invention
includes a cleaning solution which combines deionized water, an organic compound,
and a fluoride compound in an acidic pH environment for cleaning the surface of
a semiconductor substrate after polishing a copper layer. Such methods of cleaning
semiconductor substrates after copper CMP alleviate the problems associated with
brush loading and surface and subsurface contamination.
