Methods and systems for polishing pad control

At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for operating a polishing assembly for polishing of semiconductor wafers, the polishing assembly includes a polishing pad having a surface for contacting the semiconductor wafer and is configured to hold the semiconductor wafer, a temperature sensor, and a controller, wherein when executed by at least one processor, the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to:

• receive sets of thermal data of a portion of a polishing pad from the temperature sensor, each set of thermal data includes temperature measurements for different points on the surface of the polishing pad, and each set of thermal data being collected from a polishing operation on a different semiconductor wafer;
• determine an average temperature profile of the portion of the polishing pad by averaging, for each point of the different points, the temperature measurements from the sets of thermal data;
• determine a removal profile of the silicon semiconductor wafer based at least in part on the average temperature profile, wherein the removal profile includes a cross sectional profile of the semiconductor wafer;
• and
• operate a polishing head assembly to position the semiconductor wafer in contact with the polishing pad and to selectively vary the removal profile of the semiconductor wafer based at least in part on the average temperature profile.