Patent ID: 8663490

Claim:
A method of chemical mechanical polishing, comprising: providing a semiconductor wafer; providing a pedestal comprising a central hub, a ring and spokes connecting the ring to the central hub; placing the semiconductor wafer on the pedestal such that a surface of the semiconductor wafer directly contacts an upper surface of the ring and does not contact an upper surface of the spokes and an upper surface of the hub; transferring the semiconductor wafer from the pedestal to a robotic wafer transport mechanism; cleaning the surface of the semiconductor wafer by spraying a wafer cleaning fluid on to the surface of the semiconductor wafer while the semiconductor wafer is being transferred from the pedestal; processing the semiconductor wafer using chemical mechanical polishing; and transferring the processed semiconductor wafer back to the pedestal using the robotic wafer transport mechanism, wherein at least one of the wafer transfer steps is facilitated by using the wafer cleaning fluid to push against the semiconductor wafer and separate the semiconductor wafer from a surface it directly contacts.