Patent ID: 7578923

Claim:
A process for electropolishing a surface of a conductive layer of a workpiece, the process comprising: immersing a plurality of contact electrodes in a contact solution; contacting a portion of the surface of the conductive layer with the contact solution to define a plurality of contact regions opposite to each of the contact electrodes; immersing a process electrode in a process solution; contacting a portion of the surface of the conductive layer with the process solution to define a plurality of process regions; applying an electrical potential between the plurality of contact electrodes and the process electrode to electropolish the surface of the conductive layer in the plurality of process regions, each of the plurality of contact electrodes and the process electrode being spaced from the conductive layer while applying the electrical potential; and touching the surface of the conductive layer with a top surface of a pad to planarize the surface of the conductive layer while applying the electrical potential.