Semiconductor processing methods of removing conductive material

A semiconductor processing method of electrochemical-mechanical removing of at least some of a conductive material from over a surface of a semiconductor substrate comprising:

• providing a substrate having a conductive material thereover;
• providing a cathode at a first location of the substrate;
• providing an anode at a second location of the substrate, the anode being associated with a polishing pad polishing surface;
• polishing the conductive material with the polishing pad polishing surface, the polishing occurring at a region of the conductive material and not at another region, the region where the polishing occurs being defined as a polishing operation location;
• and
• displacing the polishing operation location across the surface of the substrate from said second location of the substrate toward said first location of the substrate, and not displacing the polishing operation location from said first location toward said second location when the polishing operation location is between the first and second locations.

A semiconductor processing method of removing conductive material, comprising:

• providing a semiconductor wafer having a conductive material thereover, the wafer comprising an upper surface and an outer periphery around the upper surface, the conductive material extending across the upper surface of the wafer and to about the periphery;
• electrochemically removing at least some of the conductive material with a polishing pad having a surface in abrasive contact with only a portion of the conductive material;
• and
• displacing the polishing pad across the upper surface of the wafer during the removing, the displacing being only from a central region of the wafer surface toward the periphery of the wafer.

A semiconductor processing method of removing conductive material, comprising:

• providing a semiconductor wafer having a conductive material thereover, the wafer comprising an upper surface and an outer periphery around the upper surface, the conductive material extending across the upper surface of the wafer and to about the periphery;
• electrochemically removing at least some of the conductive material with a polishing pad having a surface in abrasive contact with only a portion of the conductive material, the portion of the conductive material in abrasive contact with the surface being defined as polishing operation location, the polishing pad extending over the conductive material to cover more of the conductive material than the polishing operation location;
• and
• displacing the polishing operation location across the upper surface of the wafer during the removing, the displacing being only from a central region of the wafer surface toward the periphery of the wafer.

A semiconductor processing method of removing conductive material, comprising:

• providing a semiconductor wafer having a conductive material thereover, the conductive material defining a surface area, the surface area having a first portion surrounded by a second portion;
• providing a polishing pad surface in abrasive contact with the first portion of the conductive material surface area and not in abrasive contact with the second portion of the conductive material surface area;
• providing a circuit that extends across at least some of the first portion of the conductive material surface area to the second portion;
• electrochemically removing at least some of the conductive material from the first portion of the surface area by polishing the first portion with the polishing pad while flowing current through the circuit;
• after electrochemically removing the at least some of the conductive material from the first portion, displacing the polishing pad relative to the wafer and electrochemically removing at least some of the conductive material from the second portion surrounding the first portion;
• and
• not electrochemically removing conductive material from the first portion after electrochemically removing conductive material from the second portion.

A semiconductor processing method of electrochemically removing conductive material, comprising:

• providing a semiconductor wafer having a conductive material thereover, the conductive material defining a first surface area, the first surface area having a central portion and an outer peripheral portion surrounding the central portion, the outer peripheral portion having an outermost edge;
• providing at least one first electrical contact in electrical connection with the outermost edge of only the outer peripheral portion of the conductive material;
• providing a polishing pad proximate the central portion of the conductive material, the polishing pad having a polishing surface, the polishing surface defining a second surface area, the second surface area being less than the first surface area;
• providing at least one second electrical contact in electrical connection with the polishing surface of the polishing pad, the first and second electrical contacts being in electrical connection through a power source and defining a circuit that extends through the conductive material;
• electrochemically removing at least some of the conductive material from the central portion by polishing the wafer with the polishing pad while flowing current through the circuit;
• and
• only after electrochemically removing at least some of the conductive material from the central portion, displacing the polishing pad relative to the wafer to provide the pad proximate the outer peripheral portion of the conductive material and utilizing the polishing pad to electrochemically remove at least some of the conductive material from the peripheral portion, but not displacing the polishing pad from the outer peripheral portion to the central portion.