Chemical mechanical planarization of copper disks in hydrogen peroxide and l-arginine based alkaline slurry was investigated. Various commonly proposed inhibitors were screened by static etch rate experiments and only BTA and uric acid were found to be effective in the alkaline pH range, while potassium sorbate was moderately effective. The combination of arginine, hydrogen peroxide and uric acid leads to a more robust polish rate than can be achieved with glycine, hydrogen peroxide and BTA based slurries. The dissolution in presence of uric acid was further studied by potentiodynamic and cyclic polarization experiments which indicate formation of a passivation layer on the copper surface. Silicon dioxide wafers were polished to determine the Cu/silicon dioxide polish rate selectivity in alkaline pH range and a high selectivity (>100) was observed. These results indicate that it is possible to conduct a robust copper CMP with alkaline slurries while maintaining an excellent Cu/silicon dioxide polish rate selectivity. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.