Patent ID: 6361647
Filing Date: 2002-03-26
Classification: B24B,H01L

Abstract:
A chemical-mechanical polishing apparatus comprising:a chuck assembly having a holder effective for receiving a wafer, said chuck assembly having a first axis of rotation a bout which a received wafer can be rotated; a polishing pad assembly having a pad holder, said pad holder having a second axis about which an attached pad can be rotated; a traverse mechanism to which said pad assembly is coupled, said traverse mechanism effective for translating said pad assembly along a traversal path across a surface of a received wafer, said traversal path defined with respect to said second axis; and a controller coupled to provide cooperative operation among said chuck assembly, said traverse mechanism, and said pad assembly to effectuate a polish operation of a received wafer, said controller having a first memory store containing data specifying an offset distance, said controller further having first program instructions effective for operating said traverse mechanism in a manner that the minimum separation between said first axis and said traversal path is substantially equal to said offset distance.