Inventors:
Brij Moudgil - Gainesville FL, US
Gul Basim - Dallas TX, US
Ivan Vakarelski - Gainesville FL, US
Scott Brown - Gainesville FL, US
International Classification:
C23F001/00
Abstract:
The subject invention relates to a method and materials for the control of the energy barrier to agglomeration with respect to particles. Controlling the energy barrier to agglomeration can, for example, cause the particles to enter suspension and/or depart from suspension, as desired. By fine-tuning the energy barrier, a variety of processes can be enhanced. The subject invention also pertains to the control of the energy barrier between particles and a surface. In a specific embodiment, the subject invention can be utilized for chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) processes. In a preferred embodiment, the subject invention concerns a slurry composition including abrasive particles, at least one dispersant, and at least one competing agent, wherein the competing agent competes with the dispersant for adsorption sites on the substrate, thereby hindering the dispersant's influence on the particle-substrate interaction within the composition, without eliminating the dispersant's influence on the particle-particle interaction (steric repulsion) within the composition, thereby maintaining a stable solution.