Patent ID: 8292694

Claim:
A method of polishing a substrate to be polished, said method comprising: polishing the substrate by holding the substrate with a substrate holding mechanism and pressing the substrate against a polishing surface of a polishing pad that is on a rotating polishing table; and supplying room-temperature air or low-temperature air directly to a cooling spot on the polishing surface from a pad surface cooling device that is installed near the substrate holding mechanism so that a temperature of the polishing surface is maintained in a predetermined range during said polishing; wherein a portion of the polishing surface on one side of the polishing table has frictional heat generated by relative movement between the substrate and the polishing surface during said polishing; wherein said cooling spot is in the neighborhood of the portion of the polishing surface; wherein said polishing comprises rotating the polishing table in a direction of rotation and wherein the cooling spot includes an area that is immediately downstream of the substrate holding mechanism with respect to the direction of rotation; and wherein an amount of the room-temperature air or low-temperature air supplied to the cooling spot is greater than that supplied to an area on the polishing surface other than the cooling spot.