Polishing liquids for activating and/or conditioning fixed abrasive polishing pads, and associated systems and methods

A method for removing material from a microfeature workpiece, comprising:

• disposing a polishing liquid on a polishing surface of a microfeature workpiece polishing pad, the polishing pad including a matrix material and a plurality of abrasive elements fixedly distributed in the matrix material, the polishing liquid including a plurality of particles that are at least approximately chemically inert with respect to the abrasive elements;
• contacting a microfeature workpiece with the polishing pad;
• and
• moving at least one of the polishing pad and the microfeature workpiece relative to the other to remove material from the microfeature workpiece while simultaneously removing deposits from the abrasive elements of the polishing pad.

A method for removing material from a microfeature workpiece, comprising:

• disposing a polishing liquid on a polishing surface of a microfeature workpiece polishing pad, the polishing pad including a matrix material and a plurality of abrasive elements fixedly distributed in the matrix material;
• contacting a microfeature workpiece with the polishing pad;
• moving at least one of the polishing pad and the microfeature workpiece relative to the other to remove material from the microfeature workpiece;
• and
• removing deposits from the polishing pad by moving at least one of the polishing pad and the polishing liquid relative to the other without changing a composition of the polishing liquid.

A method for removing material from a microfeature workpiece, comprising:

• contacting a microfeature workpiece with a polishing pad having a matrix material and a plurality of fixed abrasive elements fixedly distributed in the matrix material;
• disposing a polishing liquid at least proximate to an interface between the microfeature workpiece and the polishing pad, the polishing liquid including a plurality of particles suspended therein, the particles having a polymeric, non-ceramic composition;
• moving at least one of the polishing pad and the microfeature workpiece relative to the other to remove material from the microfeature workpiece;
• and
• moving at least one of the polishing pad and the plurality of particles relative to the other to remove deposits from the polishing pad.

A polishing medium for removing material from a microfeature workpiece, comprising:

• a polishing pad that includes:
• a matrix material;
• and
• a plurality of abrasive elements fixedly dispersed in the matrix material;
• and
• a polishing liquid adjacent to the polishing pad, the polishing liquid including:
• de-ionized water;
• and
• a plurality of particles in the de-ionized water, the particles being generally chemically inert with respect to the abrasive elements.