Patent ID: 6890591

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a polishing pad for planarization of a microelectronic-device substrate assembly, comprising: depositing an intermediate layer comprised of a material selected from the group consisting of: silica nitride, ceria, silica, alumina, titania, titanium nitride, a ceramic material or a metallic material, over a first layer of a polymeric material, depositing a plurality of pattern elements over an upper surface of the intermediate layer, each pattern element directly contacting the upper surface of e intermediate layer and having a portion projecting away from the first layer of the polymeiic material thereby forming a contour surface projecting away from the intermediate layer; and covering the contour surfaces with a hard cover layer comprising a material selected from the group consisting of: silica nitride, ceria, silica, alumina, titanic nitride, titania, titanium, zirconia, a nitride and a ceramic, that contacts portions of the upper surface of the intermediate layer and conforms to the contour surfaces to form nodules from the portions of the hard cover layer over the contour surfaces, the nodules projecting away from the upper surface of the intermediate layer and the first layer of polymeric material.