The paper presents a novel mathematical model that systematically describes the role of oxidizer, complexing agent and inhibitor on the material removal in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of copper. The physical basis of the model is the steady-state oxidation reaction and etched removal in additional to mechanical removal. It is shown that the complexing agent concentration-removal relation follows a trend similar to that observed from the effects of oxidizer on Cu removal in CMP. In addition, the removal rate and the coupled effects of the chemical additives are determined from a close-form equation, making use of the concepts of chemical-mechanical equilibrium and chemical kinetics. The model prediction trends show qualitatively good agreement with the published experimental data. The governing equation of copper removal reveals some insights into the polishing process in addition to its underlying theoretical foundation. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.