Patent ID: 7520798

Claim:
A polishing pad having a radius for use in conjunction with a carrier ring having at least one carrier groove and a leading edge relative to the polishing pad when the polishing pad and carrier ring are being used for polishing at least one of a magnetic, optical and semiconductor substrate in the presence of a polishing medium, the at least one carrier groove having an orientation relative to the carrier ring, the polishing pad comprising: a) a polishing layer configured for polishing at least one of a magnetic, optical and semiconductor substrate in the presence of a polishing medium, the polishing layer including a circular polishing surface having an annular polishing track during polishing; and b) at least one curved radial pad groove having a carrier-compatible groove shape with a continuous groove trajectory within the polishing track, the at least one curved radial pad groove including a point tangent to the radius of the polishing pad and the carrier-compatible groove shape determined as a function of the orientation of the at least one carrier groove so that the at least one carrier groove aligns with the at least one curved radial pad groove at a multitude of locations along the carrier-compatible groove shape with the continuous groove trajectory when the at least one carrier groove is on the leading edge of the carrier ring during polishing.