Method of planarizing a workpiece

摘要

A planarizing system which significantly reduces the problems associated with non-uniform removal of surface material across the face of a semiconductor wafer or other comparable workpiece. The invention involves a planarizing apparatus that takes the leading edge of a wafer out of contact with the polishing pad while concomitantly enhancing slurry penetration and distribution at the polishing pad-wafer interface. This result is accomplished by combining: means for deflecting upward a portion of a flexible polishing pad as it passes in rotation beneath a wafer to form a raised polishing pad area, and means for positioning the wafer such that the wafer's leading edge overhangs the front edge of the raised polishing pad area during the planarization procedure. The invention also encompasses a method of using the planarizing apparatus to uniformly remove surface material across the face of a wafer.