A polishing apparatus capable of accurately detecting a change in wafer condition is disclosed. The polishing apparatus includes: a polishing table for supporting a polishing pad having a polishing surface; a rotatable head body having a pressing surface arranged to press a wafer against the polishing surface; a retainer ring surrounding the pressing surface, the retainer ring being rotatable together with the head body and arranged to press the polishing surface; a non-rotating member that does not rotate together with the retainer ring; a vibration transmission member in contact with both the retainer ring and the non-rotating member; and a sensor secured to the non-rotating member.

A polishing apparatus capable of accurately detecting a change in wafer condition is disclosed. The polishing apparatus includes: a polishing table for supporting a polishing pad having a polishing surface; a rotatable head body having a pressing surface arranged to press a wafer against the polishing surface; a retainer ring surrounding the pressing surface, the retainer ring being rotatable together with the head body and arranged to press the polishing surface; a non-rotating member that does not rotate together with the retainer ring; a vibration transmission member in contact with both the retainer ring and the non-rotating member; and a sensor secured to the non-rotating member.

A planarization process can be performed on a moving structure by moving a planarizing pad against the moving structure. A liquid and a gas can be injected into a flow cell integrated in the moving pad to produce a two-phase liquid-gas flow in the flow cell while a surface of the moving structure contacts the two-phase liquid-gas flow. An endpoint of the planarization process can be determined by determining that a characteristic of the two-phase liquid-gas flow changes to a predetermined characteristic.

The present application discloses a single-point diamond dresser for a grinding wheel based on acoustic emission online monitoring, which includes a support module, an anti-interference module, a compression cooling module and an acoustic emission online monitoring module. An acoustic emission sensor monitors the dressing state of the grinding wheel online; a damping sheet and a damping interlayer greatly reduce external noise interference; a high pressure coolant causes an upward elastic deformation of an elastic spacer and the damping sheet, enlarging a contact force between the acoustic emission sensor and the core and moreover improving a sensitivity of the acoustic emission sensor; the coolant flows through the coolant passages in the core to cool a dressing area; current limiting passages, pressure relief cavities and perforated pressure-relief plates limit flow and reduce a pressure of the coolant, reducing the interference of the coolant on the grinding wheel dressing.

A leak checking method which is capable of detecting a leak of compressed gas supplied to a polishing head without removing the polishing head from a polishing apparatus is disclosed. The leak checking method includes: supplying a compressed gas into a pressure chamber, which is formed by a membrane of a polishing head, with the membrane placed in contact with a stationary surface; measuring a flow rate of the compressed gas during supplying of the compressed gas into the pressure chamber, while regulating a pressure of the compressed gas by use of a pressure regulator; deciding whether or not the flow rate measured when a variation in the pressure of the compressed gas is within an allowable range of variation, is within a reference range; and generating a leak-detection signal when the flow rate is outside of the reference range.

A leak checking method which is capable of detecting a leak of compressed gas supplied to a polishing head without removing the polishing head from a polishing apparatus is disclosed. The leak checking method includes: supplying a compressed gas into a pressure chamber, which is formed by a membrane of a polishing head, with the membrane placed in contact with a stationary surface; measuring a flow rate of the compressed gas during supplying of the compressed gas into the pressure chamber, while regulating a pressure of the compressed gas by use of a pressure regulator; deciding whether or not the flow rate measured when a variation in the pressure of the compressed gas is within an allowable range of variation, is within a reference range; and generating a leak-detection signal when the flow rate is outside of the reference range.

A system, a control method and an apparatus for chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) are introduced in the present application. The CMP apparatus may include a polishing pad, a first sensor, a polishing head and a condition. The polishing pad has a plurality of groves arranged randomly or in a specific pattern. The first sensor is configured to measure the pad profile of the polishing pad, where the pad profile includes the depth of each of the grooves on the polishing pad. The polishing head and the conditioner are operated according to at least one polishing condition, and the at least one polishing condition is tuned according to the pad profile.

The present application relates to systems and methods for obtaining real-time abrasion data. An example computer-implemented method could include receiving, at a computing device, sensor data from one or more sensors. The one or more sensors are disposed in proximity to an abrasive product or a workpiece associated with the abrasive product. The one or more sensors are configured to collect abrasion operational data associated with an abrasive operation involving the abrasive product or the workpiece. The computer-implemented method could further include training, based on the sensor data, a machine learning system to determine product specific information of the abrasive product and/or workpiece specific information. The computer-implemented method could also include providing the trained machine learning system using the computing device.

The present application relates to systems and methods for obtaining real-time abrasion data. An example computer-implemented method could include receiving, at a computing device, sensor data from one or more sensors. The one or more sensors are disposed in proximity to an abrasive product or a workpiece associated with the abrasive product. The one or more sensors are configured to collect abrasion operational data associated with an abrasive operation involving the abrasive product or the workpiece. The computer-implemented method could further include training, based on the sensor data, a machine learning system to determine product specific information of the abrasive product and/or workpiece specific information. The computer-implemented method could also include providing the trained machine learning system using the computing device.

A method for forming semiconductor devices includes: grinding a backside of a semiconductor wafer with a grinding wheel during a first time interval, wherein the grinding wheel is forward moved during the first time interval, wherein a plurality of semiconductor devices are formed on the semiconductor wafer; and polishing the backside of the semiconductor wafer with the grinding wheel in a second time interval, wherein the grinding wheel is backward moved during the second time interval.