Mitsubishi Materials Corporation

Kanji Hosoki

Masahito Komasaki

Hiroshi Shibaya

Jiro Sano

Hiroshi Tanaka

Kazuo Iizuka

Tatsunori Kobayashi

Yasuyuki Ogata

Hiroyuki Kobayashi

Seiji Harada

Eturo Morita

A polishing apparatus has a plurality of polishing stations for polishing materials to be polished and a plurality of cleaning stations for cleaning the materials being polished, the polishing stations and the cleaning stations being alternately arranged; and an arm for holding the materials being polished and transferring the materials being polished between the polishing stations and the cleaning stations successively. The arm includes a polishing head for holding the material being polished. Each of the cleaning stations comprises a retainer stand on which the material being polished is placed, and a cleaning device for cleaning the material being polished in a state held by the polishing head, cleaning the material being polished in a state placed on the retainer stand, and cleaning the polishing head in a state where the material being polished is separated from the polishing head. A polishing method is used in a polishing apparatus having a plurality of polishing stations for polishing materials to be polished and an arm for holding the materials being polished and transferring the materials being polished between the polishing stations successively, each of the polishing stations including a platen having a polishing pad affixed to a surface of the platen, the arm including a plurality of polishing heads, each of which holds the material being polished and brings one surface of the material being polished into contact with the polishing pad, the material to be polished being polished by the polishing pad with relative movement between the polishing head and the platen. The polishing method comprises the steps of fitting a spindle for supporting the polishing head in a horizontally rotatable manner into each of fitting portions formed in each of a plurality of spindle housings provided in the arm; rotating the material being polished and the polishing pad relatively while keeping the material being polished and the polishing pad contacted with each other; and adjusting an axial position of the polishing head and changing a position of the polishing head relative to the arm by an adjusting mechanism provided on the spindle, whereby the materials to be polished are each polished while being adjusted in position thereof

Polishing apparatus, polishing method and method of conditioning polishing pad

An apparatus for dressing a wafer polishing pad, including a disk-shaped dresser, an arm, and a control unit. The disk-shaped dresser is configured to be pressed against the polishing pad which rotates in a circumferential direction. The dresser is configured to rotate in a same direction as the polishing pad rotates due to frictional force generated between the dresser and the polishing pad. The arm is configured to support the dresser rotatably and to press the dresser against the polishing pad. The control unit is configured to control the arm to position the dresser such that a peripheral edge portion of the dresser is positioned outside a peripheral edge portion of the polishing pad by a predetermined distance.

Apparatus and method for dressing a wafer polishing pad

The invention provides a wafer polishing apparatus and a wafer manufacturing method which can improve uniformity in polishing wafer surfaces. A wafer holding head comprises a head body; a diaphragm stretched inside the head body; a carrier fixed to the diaphragm to be displaceable in the direction of a head axis while holding the wafer; a retainer ring disposed around the carrier in concentric relation and fixed to the diaphragm to be displaceable in the direction of the head axis; and a thin plate disposed so as to project from the head body along a surface of the diaphragm. With the provision of the thin plate, an excessive pressing force acting upon the retainer ring from the diaphragm is suppressed, and the wafer surface can be prevented from being excessively polished at an outer peripheral edge.

Wafer polishing apparatus and wafer manufacturing method

Growing community of inventors

Omiya, Japan

Kanji Hosoki