Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080287043 | Polishing apparatus - A polishing apparatus is used for polishing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer to a flat mirror finish. The polishing apparatus includes a polishing table having a polishing surface, a top ring configured to hold and press the substrate against the polishing surface, a top ring shaft configured to lift and lower the top ring, and an elongation detecting device configured to detect an elongation of the top ring shaft. The polishing apparatus further includes a controller configured to set a vertical position of the top ring at the time of polishing, and control a lifting and lowering mechanism to lower the top ring to a preset polishing position as the set vertical position. The controller corrects the preset polishing position based on the elongation of the top ring shaft which has been detected by the elongation detecting device. | 11-20-2008 |
20080314763 | Method and device for regenerating ion exchanger, and electrolytic processing apparatus - A method and device for regenerating an ion exchanger can regenerate an ion exchanger easily and quickly, and can minimize a load upon cleaning of the regenerated ion exchanger and disposal of waste liquid. A method for regenerating a contaminated ion exchanger includes: providing a pair of a regeneration electrode and a counter electrode, a partition disposed between the electrodes, and an ion exchanger to be regenerated disposed between the counter electrode and the partition; and applying a voltage between the regeneration electrode and the counter electrode while supplying a liquid between the partition and the regeneration electrode and also supplying a liquid between the partition and the counter electrode. | 12-25-2008 |
20080318492 | Substrate holding apparatus, polishing apparatus, and polishing method - A substrate holding apparatus prevents a substrate from slipping out and allows the substrate to be polished stably. The substrate holding apparatus has a top ring body for holding and pressing a substrate against a polishing surface, and a retainer ring for pressing the polishing surface, the retainer ring being disposed on an outer circumferential portion of the top ring body. The retainer ring includes a first member made of a magnetic material and a second member having a magnet disposed on a surface thereof which is held in abutment against the first member. | 12-25-2008 |
20080318499 | Substrate holding apparatus, polishing apparatus, and polishing method - A substrate holding apparatus prevents a substrate from slipping out and allows the substrate to be polished stably. The substrate holding apparatus has a top ring body for holding and pressing a substrate against a polishing surface, and a retainer ring for pressing the polishing surface, the retainer ring being disposed on an outer circumferential portion of the top ring body. The retainer ring includes a first member made of a magnetic material and a second member having a magnet disposed on a surface thereof which is held in abutment against the first member. | 12-25-2008 |
20090111362 | Polishing Apparatus - A polishing apparatus is used for polishing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer to a flat mirror finish. The polishing apparatus includes a polishing table having a polishing surface, a top ring body configured to hold and press a substrate against the polishing surface, a retainer ring provided at an outer peripheral portion of the top ring body and configured to press the polishing surface, and a retainer ring guide fixed to the top ring body and configured to be brought into sliding contact with a ring member of the retainer ring to guide a movement of said ring member. Either one of sliding contact surfaces of the ring member and the retainer ring guide which are brought into sliding contact with each other comprises a low friction material. | 04-30-2009 |
20090191791 | Polishing method and polishing apparatus - A polishing method can safely detach and lift up a workpiece from a polishing surface without carrying out the operation of making the workpiece overhang the polishing surface. The polishing method includes carrying out processing of a surface to be polished of a workpiece by supplying a liquid to a polishing surface while pressing the surface to be polished of the workpiece held by a holding device against the polishing surface and moving the workpiece and the polishing surface relative to each other, attracting the workpiece after the processing to the holding device while supplying the liquid to the polishing surface at a decreased flow rate, thereby detaching the workpiece from the polishing surface, and lifting up the holding device together with the workpiece on confirmation of detachment of the workpiece from the polishing surface and attachment of the workpiece to the holding device. | 07-30-2009 |
20090191797 | Polishing apparatus - A polishing apparatus ( | 07-30-2009 |
20090233532 | Substrate holding apparatus and polishing apparatus - A substrate holding apparatus is for holding a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer in a polishing apparatus for polishing the substrate to a flat finish. The substrate holding apparatus comprises a vertically movable member, and an elastic member for defining a chamber. The elastic member comprises a contact portion which is brought into contact with the substrate, and a circumferential wall extending upwardly from the contact portion and connected to the vertically movable member. The circumferential wall has a stretchable and contractible portion which is stretchable and contractible vertically. | 09-17-2009 |
20090305612 | Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing method, substrate holding mechanism, and substrate holding method - An apparatus for processing a substrate is disclosed. The apparatus includes a polishing section configured to polish a substrate, a transfer mechanism configured to transfer the substrate, and a cleaning section configured to clean and dry the polished substrate. The cleaning section has plural cleaning lines for cleaning plural substrates. The plural cleaning lines have plural cleaning modules and plural transfer robots for transferring the substrates. | 12-10-2009 |
20100056028 | SUBSTRATE HOLDING APPARATUS AND POLISHING APPARATUS - The present invention relates to a substrate holding apparatus for holding a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer in a polishing apparatus for polishing the substrate to a flat finish. The substrate holding apparatus according to the present invention comprises a top ring body having a receiving space therein, and a vertically movable member which is vertically movable within the receiving space in the top ring body. An abutment member having an elastic membrane is attached to a lower surface of the vertically movable member. The elastic membrane of the abutment member comprises an abutment portion, having a flange projecting outwardly, brought into direct or indirect contact with the substrate, and a connecting portion extending upwardly from a base portion of the flange of the abutment portion and being connected to the vertically movable member. The connecting portion is made of a material having a flexibility higher than that of material of the abutment portion. | 03-04-2010 |
20100151771 | POLISHING APPARATUS AND POLISHING METHOD - A polishing apparatus polishing a surface of a substrate, such as a semiconductor substrate. The polishing apparatus including a substrate holding mechanism, a polishing table having a polishing surface, and a polishing surface temperature controller for controlling a temperature distribution of the polishing surface. The substrate holding mechanism and the polishing table provide relative movement between the surface of the substrate and the polishing surface while the substrate holding mechanism presses the surface of the substrate against the polishing surface to thereby polish the surface of the substrate. The polishing surface temperature controller controls the temperature distribution so that the polishing surface has a predetermined temperature distribution to thereby control removal rates of portions of the surface of the substrate. | 06-17-2010 |
20100273405 | POLISHING APPARATUS - A polishing apparatus is used for polishing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer to a flat mirror finish. The polishing apparatus includes a polishing table ( | 10-28-2010 |
20120071065 | POLISHING APPARATUS - A polishing apparatus has a polishing pad, a top ring for holding a semiconductor wafer, and a vertical movement mechanism operable to move the top ring in a vertical direction. The polishing apparatus also has a distance measuring sensor operable to detect a position of the top ring when a lower surface of the top ring is brought into contact with the polishing pad, and a controller operable to calculate an optimal position of the top ring to polish the semiconductor wafer based on the position detected by the distance measuring sensor. The vertical movement mechanism includes a ball screw mechanism operable to move the top ring to the optimal position. | 03-22-2012 |
20120309277 | SUBSTRATE HOLDING APPARATUS, POLISHING APPARATUS, AND POLISHING METHOD - A substrate holding apparatus prevents a substrate from slipping out and allows the substrate to be polished stably. The substrate holding apparatus has a top ring body for holding and pressing a substrate against a polishing surface, and a retainer ring for pressing the polishing surface, the retainer ring being disposed on an outer circumferential portion of the top ring body. The retainer ring includes a first member made of a magnetic material and a second member having a magnet disposed on a surface thereof which is held in abutment against the first member. | 12-06-2012 |
20130136884 | ELASTIC MEMBRANE - There is provided an elastic membrane which can uniformly reduce deformation (elongation) of its contact portion, having a contact surface for contact with a substrate, along the contact surface in substantially the entire area of the contact portion from the center to the periphery. The elastic membrane includes a contact portion having a contact surface for contact with the substrate; a first peripheral wall portion coupled to the peripheral end of the contact portion and extending upwardly; and a second peripheral wall portion located on the inside of the first peripheral wall portion, coupled to the contact portion and extending upwardly, and defining a first chamber on the outer side thereof and a second chamber on the inner side thereof. In the elastic membrane, substantially the entire area of the contact portion is reinforced with a reinforcing member having a higher rigidity than the elastic membrane. | 05-30-2013 |
20130196573 | SUBSTRATE HOLDER, POLISHING APPARATUS, AND POLISHING METHOD - The substrate holder is a device for holding a substrate and pressing it against a polishing pad. The substrate holder includes: an inner retaining ring vertically movable independently of the top ring body and arranged around the substrate; an inner pressing mechanism to press the inner retaining ring against the polishing surface of the polishing pad; an outer retaining ring to vertically movable independently of the inner retaining ring and the top ring body; an outer pressing mechanism to press the outer retaining ring against the polishing surface; and a supporting mechanism to receive a lateral force applied to the inner retaining ring from the substrate during polishing of the substrate and to tiltably support the outer retaining ring. | 08-01-2013 |
20130324012 | POLISHING APPARATUS AND POLISHING METHOD - A polishing apparatus polishes a substrate by bringing the substrate into sliding contact with a polishing surface. The polishing apparatus includes: a substrate holder having a substrate holding surface configured to press the substrate against the polishing surface, a retaining ring coupled to the substrate holding surface and configured to surround the substrate, wherein the retaining ring is brought into contact with the polishing surface during operation of the polishing apparatus, the retaining ring being configured to be tiltable independently of the substrate holding surface; a rotating mechanism configured to rotate the substrate holder about its own axis; and at least one local load exerting mechanism configured to exert a local load on a part of the retaining ring in a direction perpendicular to the polishing surface, the at least one local load exerting mechanism being arranged so as not to move in accordance with the substrate holder. | 12-05-2013 |
20140004779 | SUBSTRATE HOLDING APPARATUS AND POLISHING APPARATUS | 01-02-2014 |
20140065934 | ELASTIC MEMBRANE AND SUBSTRATE HOLDING APPARATUS - An elastic membrane is used in a substrate holding apparatus for holding a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer and pressing the substrate against a polishing surface. The elastic membrane includes a plurality of concentrically circumferential walls configured to define a plurality of pressurizing areas for pressing the substrate. The pressurizing areas includes a central pressurizing area located at a central part of the elastic membrane, an annular edge pressurizing area located at the outermost part of the elastic membrane, and a plurality of intermediate pressurizing areas located between the central pressurizing area and the annular edge pressurizing area. The area width of at least one of the intermediate pressurizing areas is set in a range to allow a polishing rate responsive width not to vary even when the area width is varied. | 03-06-2014 |
20140302676 | SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS, SUBSTRATE PROCESSING METHOD, SUBSTRATE HOLDING MECHANISM, AND SUBSTRATE HOLDING METHOD - An apparatus for processing a substrate is disclosed. The apparatus includes a polishing section configured to polish a substrate, a transfer mechanism configured to transfer the substrate, and a cleaning section configured to clean and dry the polished substrate. The cleaning section has plural cleaning lines for cleaning plural substrates. The plural cleaning lines have plural cleaning modules and plural transfer robots for transferring the substrates. | 10-09-2014 |
20140302754 | POLISHING APPARATUS - A polishing apparatus has a polishing pad, a top ring for holding a semiconductor wafer, and a vertical movement mechanism operable to move the top ring in a vertical direction. The polishing apparatus also has a distance measuring sensor operable to detect a position of the top ring when a lower surface of the top ring is brought into contact with the polishing pad, and a controller operable to calculate an optimal position of the top ring to polish the semiconductor wafer based on the position detected by the distance measuring sensor. The vertical movement mechanism includes a ball screw mechanism operable to move the top ring to the optimal position. | 10-09-2014 |
20140329446 | POLISHING APPARATUS - A polishing apparatus has a polishing pad, a top ring for holding a semiconductor wafer, and a vertical movement mechanism operable to move the top ring in a vertical direction. The polishing apparatus also has a distance measuring sensor operable to detect a position of the top ring when a lower surface of the top ring is brought into contact with the polishing pad, and a controller operable to calculate an optimal position of the top ring to polish the semiconductor wafer based on the position detected by the distance measuring sensor. The vertical movement mechanism includes a ball screw mechanism operable to move the top ring to the optimal position. | 11-06-2014 |
20140357164 | POLISHING APPARATUS - A polishing apparatus has a polishing pad, a top ring for holding a semiconductor wafer, and a vertical movement mechanism operable to move the top ring in a vertical direction. The polishing apparatus also has a distance measuring sensor operable to detect a position of the top ring when a lower surface of the top ring is brought into contact with the polishing pad, and a controller operable to calculate an optimal position of the top ring to polish the semiconductor wafer based on the position detected by the distance measuring sensor. The vertical movement mechanism includes a ball screw mechanism operable to move the top ring to the optimal position. | 12-04-2014 |
20140370794 | POLISHING APPARATUS - A polishing apparatus capable of precisely controlling a polishing profile, particularly a polishing profile in an edge portion, of a wafer is disclosed. The polishing apparatus includes: a top ring shaft; a housing fixed to the top ring shaft; a flexible membrane configured to press a wafer against a polishing pad; a top ring body configured to hold the flexible membrane; a retaining ring coupled to the top ring body and disposed so as to surround the flexible membrane; a gimbal mechanism configured to allow the top ring body and the retaining ring to tilt with respect to the housing; and a local load exerting mechanism configured to exert a downward local load on a part of the retaining ring. | 12-18-2014 |
20150050863 | SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS, SUBSTRATE PROCESSING METHOD, SUBSTRATE HOLDING MECHANISM, AND SUBSTRATE HOLDING METHOD - An apparatus for processing a substrate is disclosed. The apparatus includes a polishing section configured to polish a substrate, a transfer mechanism configured to transfer the substrate, and a cleaning section configured to clean and dry the polished substrate. The cleaning section has plural cleaning lines for cleaning plural substrates. The plural cleaning lines have plural cleaning modules and plural transfer robots for transferring the substrates. | 02-19-2015 |