Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) has become widely accepted for the planarization of device interconnect structures in deep submicron semiconductor manufacturing. However, during CMP process the foreign particles, metal contaminants, and other chemical components are introduced onto the wafer surface, so CMP process is considered as one of the dirtiest process to wafer surface defects which may damage the GLSI patterns and the metallic impurities can induce many crystal defects in wafers during the following furnace processing. Therefore, the post-CMP cleaning of wafers has become a key step in successful CMP process and the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) brush cleaning is the most effective method for post-CMP in situ cleaning. In this study, the effect of the chelating agent with different concentrations on defect removal by using PVA brush cleaning was discussed emphatically. It can be seen from the surface images obtained by scanning electron microscopy and KLA digital comparison system analysis confirmed that the chelating agent can effectively act on the defect removal. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.