Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Sung-Ho Shin

Bo-un Yoon

Chang-ki Hong

Byoung-ho Kwon

Jong-Heun Lim

Chae-Iyoung Kim

A wafer polishing apparatus includes a polishing tape extending between two guide rollers, a first surface of the polishing tape contacting a surface of a wafer to be polished, a polishing head including a pusher pad, the pusher pad adapted to push the polishing tape against the surface of the wafer to be polished, a color image sensor adjacent to the polishing tape, the color image sensor being adapted to detect a color image of the polishing tape and to output a signal corresponding to the detected color image, and a controller connected to the color image sensor, the controller being adapted to receive the signal output from the color image sensor and to determine when a color of the color image detected by the color image sensor changes, a change in the color image indicating a polishing end point.

Apparatus for polishing a wafer and method for detecting a polishing end point by the same

Methods of fabricating a semiconductor device is provided. The methods include forming an interlayer insulating layer on a semiconductor substrate having a first region and a second region. First contact plugs may be formed on a portion of the second region to fill a plurality of first contact holes. A plurality of first contact mask layers and a plurality of first dummy mask layers may be formed on the interlayer insulating layer. The first contact mask layers may be formed in the first region. The first dummy mask layers may be formed in the second region. A plurality of second contact mask layers may be formed between two adjacent first contact mask layers. A plurality of second dummy mask layers may be formed between two adjacent first dummy mask layers. The interlayer insulating layer may be etched using the first contact mask layers and the second contact mask layers as etch stop layers to form a plurality of second contact holes through the interlayer insulating layer formed in the first region.

Method of fabricating a semiconductor device comprising high and low density patterned contacts

A method and apparatus for measuring an abrasion amount and a friction force of a polishing pad using a thickness change of a slurry film in a chemical mechanical polishing operation are provided. In a preferred method, for example, a first displacement of a semiconductor wafer with respect to a polishing pad is measured during an initial stage and a first reference range of the thickness change of the slurry film is preferably set to determine a replacement time corresponding to the abrasion amount of the polishing pad. A conditioning condition of the polishing pad conditioning can also be set, and a second displacement of the semiconductor wafer with respect to the polishing pad can be measured when the surface of the semiconductor wafer is polished by the polishing pad. The first displacement is then preferably compared with the second displacement to calculate the thickness change of the slurry film formed between the polishing pad and the semiconductor wafer. When the thickness change of the slurry film is out of the first reference range, the polishing pad is preferably replaced. When the surface state of the polishing pad corresponding to the thickness change of the slurry film fails the conditioning condition, a conditioning operation to condition the surface of the polishing pad is preferably performed.

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Yongin-si, South Korea

Sung-Ho Shin