Patent ID: 7976361

Claim:
A polishing apparatus for polishing a substrate by providing relative movement between a polishing tape and the substrate, said polishing apparatus comprising: a holding section configured to hold the substrate; a polishing head configured to bring the polishing tape into contact with a periphery of the substrate; a supply reel configured to supply the polishing tape to said polishing head; a rewind reel configured to rewind the polishing tape that has contacted the substrate; and a swinging mechanism configured to cause said polishing head to perform a swinging motion about a pivot to cause the polishing tape to oscillate while contacting the periphery of the substrate, wherein said swinging mechanism includes a swing arm to which said polishing head is fixed, a support arm, a connecting shaft rotatably coupling said support arm to said swing arm, said connecting shaft serving as the pivot of the swinging motion of said polishing head, and a drive mechanism configured to cause said swing arm to perform the swinging motion about said connecting shaft.