Patent ID: 7094131

Claim:
A method for processing a microelectronic substrate, comprising: disposing an electrolytic fluid adjacent to a conductive material of the microelectronic substrate, the conductive material having a first surface in a first plane and a recess in the first surface, the recess being bounded by a second surface in a second plane, the conductive material further having a corner between the first and second surfaces; removing at least part of the conductive material from the corner by positioning first and second electrodes to be spaced apart from the microelectronic substrate and in fluid communication with the electrolytic fluid, coupling at least one of the electrodes to a source of electrical potential and passing electrical current from at least one electrode through the conductive material to the other electrode via the electrolytic fluid; and as the at least part of the conductive material is removed from the corner, attracting less electrical current to the corner to reduce a rate at which conductive material is removed from the corner.