Patent ID: 6843709

Claim:
A method of chemical mechanical polishing a surface of an article using a polishing layer and a polishing medium, the method comprising the steps of: (a) determining a critical rotation rate of the article for backmixing of the polishing medium between the surface of the article and the polishing layer and providing the polishing medium so that the polishing medium is present between the surface of the article and the polishing layer; (b) rotating the article so that the surface rotates at a first rotational rate about a first rotational axis; (c) moving the polishing layer at a velocity relative to the first rotational axis; and (d) selecting at least one of the first rotational rate and the velocity of the polishing layer such that polishing occurs with the article rotating at a rate below the critical rotation rate when the surface is rotated at the first rotational rate and the polishing layer is moved at the velocity.