The as-cutted sapphire wafers are planarized by the grinding and polishing two-step machining processes with micrometer B4C and nanometer silica as abrasives, respectively. The material removal rates (MRRs) of two processes are measured. During the polishing process, the MRR increases with the down-pressure increased, whereas the rotational speeds have less effect on the MRR. The alkaline colloidal silica is more favorable than the acidic to polish sapphire wafer. The ground and polished surfaces of the substrate are compared by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray rocking curves. Our results show that B4C abrasives are effective in elimination of the ununiformity in thickness within a wafer. The colloidal silica can achieve a nanoscale flatness of wafer, but the lasting polishing time seems unfavorable. The polishing process is also analyzed in terms of chemical mechanical polishing mechanism. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B. V.