Polishing apparatus

[0051] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing a structural example of a polishing apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a reference numeral 10 represents a polishing table. A polishing pad 11 is attached to an upper surface of the polishing table 10. The polishing table 10 is rotated by a non-illustrated rotating mechanism in a direction indicated by arrow A.

[0052] A reference numeral 12 represents a substrate holder (top ring). This substrate holder 12 comprises a circular substrate-holding member 13 for attracting and holding a substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer) W to be polished. The substrate-holding member 13 has an attraction surface configured to attract the substrate W thereto, and this attraction surface has a plurality of openings 13a communicating with a space chamber 14 formed in the substrate-holding member 13. The space chamber 14 is coupled to a vacuum source 15 via a