Polishing apparatus
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A polishing apparatus for polishing a workpiece, comprising:
- a table for providing a polishing surface;
a first dresser having a contact surface for contacting said polishing surface during a first dressing operation;
a second dresser having a contact surface for contacting said polishing surface during a second dressing operation;
a sensor for measuring a profile of said polishing surface; and
a controller for controlling a dressing process of said first dresser, wherein said first dresser and said second dresser are to perform said first dressing operation and said second dressing operation at different times, respectively.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus for polishing a workpiece, such as a semiconductor wafer, to a flat mirror finish. The polishing apparatus comprises a polishing table having a polishing surface, and a top ring, and the workpiece is interposed between the polishing table and the top ring, and pressed at a predetermined pressure to polish the workpiece. The polishing apparatus comprises at least two dressing units for dressing the polishing surface by being brought into contact with the ppolishing surface, which is a surface of a polishing cloth.
47 Citations
18 Claims
-
1. A polishing apparatus for polishing a workpiece, comprising:
-
a table for providing a polishing surface;
a first dresser having a contact surface for contacting said polishing surface during a first dressing operation;
a second dresser having a contact surface for contacting said polishing surface during a second dressing operation;
a sensor for measuring a profile of said polishing surface; and
a controller for controlling a dressing process of said first dresser, wherein said first dresser and said second dresser are to perform said first dressing operation and said second dressing operation at different times, respectively.
-
-
2. A polishing apparatus comprising:
-
a polishing table having a polishing surface;
a top ring for pressing a workpiece against said polishing surface so as to polish the workpiece;
at least two dressers for dressing said polishing surface, one of said at least two dressers comprising a diamond dresser; and
a controller for performing an initial surface conditioning of said polishing surface with said one of said at least two dressers at a time prior to polishing of any workpiece so as to thinly shave said polishing surface, and for dressing said polishing surface with another of said at least two dressers after the workpiece has been polished. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
5. A polishing apparatus comprising:
-
a polishing table having a polishing surface;
a top ring for pressing a workpiece against said polishing surface so as to polish the workpiece; and
at least two dressers for dressing said polishing surface, wherein one of said at least two dressers is to perform an initial surface conditioning of said polishing surface at a time prior to polishing of any workpiece, and another of said at least two dressers is for dressing said polishing surface after the workpiece has been polished, wherein at least one of said at least two dressers has a diameter greater than a diameter of the workpiece to be polished, and wherein at least one of said at least two dressers has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the workpiece to be polished.
-
-
10. A polishing apparatus comprising:
-
a polishing table having a polishing surface;
a top ring for pressing a workpiece against said polishing surface so as to polish the workpiece; and
at least two dressers for dressing said polishing surface, wherein one of said at least two dressers is to perform an initial surface conditioning of said polishing surface at a time prior to polishing of any workpiece, and another of said at least two dressers is for dressing said polishing surface after the workpiece has been polished, and wherein one of said at least two dressers is to have at least one of its swing speed, rotational speed, and pressing load controlled based on a profile of a surface, to be polished, of the workpiece.
-
-
11. A polishing apparatus comprising:
-
a polishing table having a polishing surface;
a top ring for pressing a workpiece against said polishing surface so as to polish the workpiece; and
at least two dressers for dressing said polishing surface, wherein one of said at least two dressers is to perform an initial surface conditioning of said polishing surface at a time prior to polishing of any workpiece, and another of said at least two dressers is for dressing said polishing surface after the workpiece has been polished, and wherein one of said at least two dressers is to have at least one of its swing speed, rotational speed, and pressing load controlled based on a profile of said polishing surface.
-
-
12. A polishing apparatus comprising:
-
a polishing table having a polishing surface;
a top ring for pressing a workpiece against said polishing surface so as to polish the workpiece;
at least two dressers for dressing said polishing surface, with one of said at least two dressers comprising a diamond dresser; and
a controller for performing a dressing operation with said one of said at least two dressers after a plurality of workpieces has been polished, and for dressing said polishing surface with another of said at least two dressers each time a workpiece has been polished.
-
Specification