Patent ID: 6869337

Claim:
A method of planarizing and polishing semiconductor wafers comprising: rotating a first polishing pad about a central axis, wherein the polishing pad has a polishing pad material comprising a fixed-abrasive material positioned along a circumference of the first polishing pad and extending radially inwardly a portion of a radius of the first polishing pad, and wherein the polishing pad material defines a central region lacking polishing pad material and symmetric about a diameter of the first polishing pad; pressing a portion of the polishing pad material on the first polishing pad against a portion of a rotating semiconductor wafer, wherein the first polishing pad partially overlaps the semiconductor wafer; maintaining a first pressure between the first polishing pad and the semiconductor wafer; planarizing the semiconductor wafer with the first polishing pad until a first wafer film thickness is achieved; disengaging the first polishing pad from the semiconductor wafer; and applying a dispersed-abrasive polishing process to the semiconductor wafer until a final wafer film thickness is reached.