Patent ID: 8398458

Claim:
A semiconductor substrate polishing system, comprising: a frame defining a processing volume; a plurality of polishing heads movably disposed in the processing volume, wherein each of the plurality of polishing heads is configured to retain and transfer a substrate during processing; a transferring mechanism coupled to the frame, wherein the transferring mechanism is configured to move the plurality of polishing heads in the processing volume, the transferring mechanism comprises a track, and each of the plurality of polishing heads is attached to the track and independently movable along the track; and two or more stand alone movable polishing stations disposed in the processing volume, wherein each of the two or more stand alone polishing stations comprises a polishing pad positioned to receive and interact with each of the plurality of polishing heads, the track defines a path that allows each of the plurality of polishing heads to access each of the two or more stand alone polishing stations, and rearrangement of the two or more stand alone polishing stations does not affect the transferring mechanism and the plurality of polishing heads.