Patent ID: 9707661
Date: 2017-07-18
CPC Classifications: B24B

Claim:
1. A polishing method comprising: pressing a substrate against a polishing pad on a polishing table by a polishing head, which has a substrate holding surface and a pressure chamber formed by a membrane, while moving the polishing table and the polishing head relative to each other, thereby polishing the substrate; opening a primary-side valve located at a primary side of a fluid storage element while keeping a secondary-side valve located at a secondary side of the fluid storage element in a closed state, thereby storing a fluid in the fluid storage element, the fluid having a pressure that has been regulated by a pressure regulator located on the primary side of the fluid storage element; closing the primary-side valve to a closed state; opening the secondary-side valve while the primary-side valve is in the closed state to supply the fluid from the fluid storage element into the pressure chamber, thereby inflating the membrane to form a gap between the substrate and the membrane; and ejecting a releasing shower into the gap, thereby releasing the substrate from the polishing head.