Patent ID: 7632169

Claim:
A polishing method where a polishing pad is supplied with slurry and polishing is performed by relative movement between the polishing pad and a wafer comprising the steps of: extending a slurry supply member having a distal end with a cross section dimension in an intersecting direction with respect to a moving direction of the polishing pad; calculating a slurry droplet diameter at the distal end of said slurry supply member due to surface tension considering the surface tension of the slurry, temperature, and the cross section dimension of the slurry supply member; moving the slurry supply member approaching the polishing pad to within a distance greater than zero but less than the slurry droplet diameter calculated in said step of calculating a slurry droplet diameter so that no slurry droplet is formed between the distal end of said slurry supply member and the polishing pad; supplying slurry flow by interfacial action of the slurry supply member; and moving the polishing pad relative to the slurry supply member, whereby slurry is applied and spread on the polishing pad evenly and thinly.