Patent ID: 7572173

Claim:
A polishing apparatus comprising: a polishing head for releasably holding a first polishing pad that is clamped by a clamping device having first and second clamping elements; the first clamping element, comprising; a first upper clamper; and a first lower clamper, the first upper clamper and the first lower clamper for clamping a first area of a first polishing pad; and the second clamping element, comprising: a second upper clamper; and a second lower clamper, the second upper clamper and the second lower clamper for clamping a second area of the first polishing pad, the first area and the second area opposite to each other; and wherein during polishing the first polishing pad is attached flatly with the bottom surface of the polishing head for polishing an article, the first clamping element and the second clamping element clamp the first polishing pad and are fastened on the periphery of the polishing head; wherein when the first polishing pad needs replacing, the first clamping element and the second clamping element are released from the polishing head such that the first polishing pad will be disconnected from the bottom surface of the polishing head and replaced by a second polishing pad.