Patent ID: 7059950

Claim:
A polishing pad, comprising: a) a polishing layer configured to polish a surface of at least one of a magnetic, optical or semiconductor substrate in the presence of a polishing medium, the polishing layer including a rotational axis, an outer periphery and an annular polishing track concentric with the rotational axis; and b) a plurality of grooves formed in the polishing layer and comprising a first set of grooves located entirely within the annular polishing track, each groove in the first set of grooves: i) being spaced from other grooves in the first set of grooves in a radial direction relative to the rotational axis; ii) being spaced from other grooves in the first set of grooves in a circumferential direction relative to the polishing pad; and iii) having a longitudinal axis at least a portion of which is oriented non-circumferentially relative to the polishing pad forming a discontinuous flow for the polishing medium where land regions interrupt flow to the outer periphery.