Chemical-mechanical planarization processes for manufacturing FinFET devices

A method of planarizing comprises planarizing a semiconductor wafer in a first chemical mechanical polishing step to remove excess material and planarizing an uppermost layer so that a thickness of the material of the uppermost layer remains over the underlying layers. The material of the uppermost layer is planarized in a second CMP step, to remove the top layer on and expose underlying layers of a second material and a third material such that a selectivity of the material of the uppermost layer to the second material and the third material is 1 to provide a planar topography: between about 1: 1: 1 and about 2: 1.