Patent ID: 7186651

Claim:
A method for removing material from a surface of a semiconductor wafer with a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process, comprising: a. providing a semiconductor wafer having a top surface and a substantially flat bottom surface, the top surface substantially parallel the bottom surface; b. providing a CMP apparatus including a polishing pad, the polishing pad having a polishing surface and a backing surface, the backing surface attaching to a platen, the polishing surface having a patterned portion and a un-patterned portion, the patterned portion having regularly spaced flow channels formed therein, the un-patterned portion free of flow channels; c. providing a process recipe for polishing a semiconductor wafer based on a topographic information of the top surface, the recipe including directing a portion of the semiconductor wafer to reside in the channel-free portion of the polishing pad during a portion of the process; e. commencing the CMP process based on the process recipe; and f. terminating the CMP process when a predetermined amount of material is removed from the top surface of the semiconductor wafer.