Patent ID: 7604729

Claim:
A method for removing a conductive material from a microelectronic substrate, comprising: carrying a microelectronic substrate with a first part of a conductive material positioned proximate to and spaced apart from an electrode pair that includes a first electrode and a second electrode spaced apart from the first electrode, at least a portion of the first part of the conductive material being on an edge surface of the microelectronic substrate; disposing an electrolytic liquid between the first part of the conductive material and the electrode pair; passing an electrical signal through the electrode pair and the electrolytic liquid to remove material from the first part of the conductive material; and rotating at least one of the microelectronic substrate and the electrode pair relative to the other to position a second part of the conductive material proximate to and spaced apart from the electrode pair to remove material from the second part of the conductive material, the second part of the conductive material being on a top surface of the microelectronic substrate.