Ebara Corporation

Takahiro Shimano

Mutsumi Tanikawa

Hiroyuki Shinozaki

Akira Imamura

Akira Nakamura

Katsuhide Watanabe

Hisanori Matsuo

Kuniaki Yamaguchi

Nakamura Akira

A method is capable of monitoring the polishing surface of the polishing pad without removing the polishing pad from the polishing table. The method includes: conditioning the polishing surface of the polishing pad by causing a rotating dresser to oscillate on the polishing surface; measuring a height of the polishing surface when the conditioning of the polishing surface is performed; calculating a position of a measuring point of the height on a two-dimensional surface defined on the polishing surface; and repeating the measuring of the height of the polishing surface and the calculating of the position of the measuring point to create height distribution in the polishing surface.

Method and apparatus for monitoring a polishing surface of a polishing pad used in polishing apparatus

A method of conditioning a surface of a polishing pad is used for conditioning a polishing pad on a polishing table for polishing a thin film formed on a surface of a substrate. The conditioning method includes bringing a dresser into contact with the polishing pad, and conditioning the polishing pad by moving the dresser between a central part of the polishing pad and an outer circumferential part of the polishing pad. A moving speed of the dresser at a predetermined area of the polishing pad is higher than a standard moving speed of the dresser at the predetermined area of the polishing pad.

Method and apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad

The method includes the steps of measuring a surface height of a polishing memberat each of plural oscillation sections Z1 to Z5 which are defined in advance on the polishing memberalong an oscillation direction of a dresser; calculating a difference between a current profile obtained from measured values of the surface height and a target profile of the polishing member; and correcting moving speeds of the dresserin the plural oscillation sections Z1 to Z5 so as to eliminate the difference.

Method of adjusting profile of a polishing member used in a polishing apparatus, and polishing apparatus

The method includes: calculating an increment of a sliding distance of a dresser by multiplying a relative speed between the dresser and a polishing member by a contact time between them; correcting the increment of the sliding distance by multiplying the calculated increment of the sliding distance by at least one correction coefficient; calculating the sliding distance by repeatedly adding the corrected increment of the sliding distance to the sliding distance according to elapse of time; and producing the sliding-distance distribution of the dresser from the obtained sliding distance and a position of a sliding-distance calculation point. The at least one correction coefficient includes an unevenness correction coefficient provided for the sliding-distance calculation point. The unevenness correction coefficient is a correction coefficient that allows a profile of the polishing member to reflect a difference between an amount of scraped material of the polishing member in its raised portion and an amount of scraped material of the polishing member in its recess portion.

Method of obtaining a sliding distance distribution of a dresser on a polishing member, method of obtaining a sliding vector distribution of a dresser on a polishing member, and polishing apparatus

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Tokyo, Japan

Takahiro Shimano