Polishing pads with interconnected pores

A method of forming a polishing pad, comprising:

• (a) dispensing droplets of a pre-polymer composition onto a surface of a previously formed print layer according to a predetermined droplet dispense pattern;
• (b) at least partially curing the dispensed droplets of the pre-polymer composition to form a print layer;
• and
• (c) sequentially repeating (a) and (b) to form a plurality of polishing elements, wherein a plurality of grooves are disposed between adjacent polishing elements of the plurality of polishing elements, each polishing element comprising:
• a plurality of individual posts, each individual post comprising:
• an individual surface that forms a portion of a polishing surface of the polishing pad;
• and
• one or more sidewalls extending downwardly from the individual surface, wherein
• each polishing element of the plurality of polishing elements has a width of 5 mm, and
• the sidewalls of the plurality of individual posts define a plurality of pores between adjacent individual posts of the plurality of individual posts, and wherein the plurality of pores are interconnected, each pore of the plurality of pores having a width of 120 μm or less.

A method of polishing a substrate, comprising:

• urging a substrate against a polishing surface of a polishing pad, the polishing pad comprising a plurality of polishing elements and a plurality of grooves disposed between adjacent polishing elements of the plurality of polishing elements, each polishing element comprising:
• a plurality of individual posts, each individual post comprising:
• an individual surface that forms a portion of a polishing surface of the polishing pad;
• and
• one or more sidewalls extending downwardly from the individual surface, wherein
• each polishing element of the plurality of polishing elements has a width of 5 mm or less, and
• the sidewalls of the plurality of individual posts define a plurality of pores between adjacent individual posts of the plurality of individual posts, each pore of the plurality of pores having a width of 120 μm or less.