Polishing apparatus

A polishing apparatus comprising:

• a polishing table having a polishing surface and a dresser for dressing said polishing surface of the polishing table, a workpiece to be polished being pressed against said polishing surface of the polishing table so as to be polished;
• and
• said dresser comprising a plurality of dressing elements for dressing said polishing surface of the polishing table, and a retainer mechanism for operatively retaining said dressing elements so as to move said dressing elements up and down relative to said polishing surface.

A polishing apparatus comprising:

• a polishing table having a polishing surface and a dresser for dressing said polishing surface of the polishing table, a workpiece to be polished being pressed against said polishing surface of the polishing table so as to be polished, and
• said dresser comprises a flange portion capable of moving up and down relative to said polishing surface of the polishing table, a dressing element for dressing said polishing surface of the polishing table, a retainer mechanism for operatively retaining said dressing element so as to move said dressing element up and down relative to said flange portion, and a mechanical vertical motion control mechanism for controlling a position of said flange portion in up and down direction.

A polishing apparatus for polishing a substrate comprising:

• a polishing surface;
• a substrate holder for contact under pressure with said polishing surface;
• a dresser for dressing said polishing surface comprising a plurality of dressing elements for dressing said polishing surface, and a retainer mechanism for operatively retaining said dressing elements so as to move said dressing element up and down relative to said polishing surface.