Abstract: An adjustment apparatus for adjusting the angular tilt of a first component of a magnetic circuit relative to an alignment axis of a second component of the circuit uses at least one pair of spacers each of which has a thickness that changes continuously around its periphery. The spacers are arranged between the circuit components and, as a relative rotation between the spacers is changed, the combined thickness of the two spacers increases in one area, while decreasing in another. This results in a tilting of a top surface of the spacer pair relative to a bottom surface, and a corresponding change in a relative tilt of the first component relative to the second component. The spacers may be ring-shaped or disc-shaped, and allow for precise alignment of the magnetic circuit without the need for shims between the components.

Abstract: An adjustment apparatus for adjusting the angular tilt of a first component of a magnetic circuit relative to an alignment axis of a second component of the circuit uses at least one pair of spacers each of which has a thickness that changes continuously around its periphery. The spacers are arranged between the circuit components and, as a relative rotation between the spacers is changed, the combined thickness of the two spacers increases in one area, while decreasing in another. This results in a tilting of a top surface of the spacer pair relative to a bottom surface, and a corresponding change in a relative tilt of the first component relative to the second component. The spacers may be ring-shaped or disc-shaped, and allow for precise alignment of the magnetic circuit without the need for shims between the components.

Abstract: An apparatus and method is provided for polishing work pieces such as semiconductor wafers. The apparatus includes a variable number of independent heads 20, platens 32 and polishing units 18. This polishing apparatus belongs to a group of polishing machines with wafers attached to the same heads 20 through all polishing steps without undesirable reloading from one head 20 to another between polishing steps. Each independent head 20 is automatically coupled to and decoupled from any of the polishing units 18 to optimize throughput and provide flexibility in accommodating different polishing processes. A head transfer subsystem 22 provides an independent means of transfer for each head 20, thus an infinite number of contemporaneous or overlapping polishing cycles can be completed on multiple wafers resulting in maximum processing throughput.