Abstract: The present invention provides a method for polishing a layer of material, a method for manufacturing a damascene interconnect structure, and a method for manufacturing an integrated circuit. The method for polishing a layer of material, among other steps, includes obtaining a substrate (310) having a layer of material (330) located thereover, and polishing the layer of material (330) using a polishing surface (410). The step of polishing the layer of material may include subjecting the layer of material (330) to a first polishing process using a first endpoint detection method, the first polishing process removing a portion of the layer of material, and subjecting remaining portions (420) of the layer of material (330) to a second polishing process using a second different optical endpoint detection method.

Abstract: Methods (102) are presented for protecting copper structures (26) from corrosion in the fabrication of semiconductor devices (2), wherein a thin semiconductor or copper-semiconductor alloy corrosion protection layer (30) is formed on an exposed surface (26a) of a copper structure (26) prior to performance of metrology operations (206), so as to inhibit corrosion of the copper structure (26). All or a portion of the corrosion protection layer (30) is then removed (214) in forming an opening in an overlying dielectric (44) in a subsequent interconnect layer.