Patent ID: 6953390

Claim:
A polishing apparatus comprising: a polishing table having a polishing surface thereon, said polishing surface having concavities formed therein; a top ring for holding a workpiece and pressing the workpiece against said polishing surface to polish the workpiece; a first dresser for conditioning said polishing surface, said first dresser being operable to press a first dressing element against said polishing surface to shave off a portion of said polishing surface; a second dresser for scraping foreign matter clogging said concavities, said second dresser being operable to press a second dressing element against said polishing surface when a polishing liquid is not supplied to said polishing table; and an atomizer operable to eject a liquid composed of a mixture of an inert gas with pure water or a chemical liquid onto said polishing surface to clean said polishing surface, wherein said second dresser is mounted on said atomizer, and wherein said atomizer is operable to clean said second dresser.