Patent ID: 8591289

Claim:
A method of operating an apparatus for chemical mechanical planarization, said method comprising: providing an apparatus including a spindle assembly structure, at least one substrate carrier, a carrier platform, and at least one stepper configured to move said spindle assembly structure, wherein said apparatus includes a plurality of cylindrical spindles, each of said plurality of cylindrical spindles is configured to rotate around its axis of cylindrical symmetry, and a two-dimensional plane tangentially contacts cylindrical surfaces of said plurality of cylindrical spindles, and wherein said at least one substrate carrier is mounted on said carrier platform; mounting at least one substrate on said at least one substrate carrier; tilting said spindle assembly structure from a vertical direction to match a tilting of at least one surface of said at least one substrate employing said at least one stepper; and planarizing said at least one surface of said at least one substrate by moving said spindle assembly structure and said carrier platform relative to each other along a direction that is parallel to said two-dimensional plane while said at least one surface is in contact with said plurality of cylindrical spindles and said plurality of cylindrical spindles rotates around their axes of cylindrical symmetry.