A polishing apparatus includes a polisher that polishes a target object to be polished. A holder is rotatable while holding the target object to be polished. Multiple concentric elastic members around the center of a rotation shaft of the holder are provided on the holder and elastically press the target object to be polished against the polisher. Multiple sensors are provided in the elastic members and detect vibration from a polishing surface of the target object to be polished. The detected vibration allows the polishing apparatus to create an unevenness map of the polishing surface and correspondingly actuate the concentric elastic members to remove the unevenness, according to a control sequence set in advance, based on the detected vibration, in a polishing control program to control the concentric elastic members.

Shortcomings associated with insufficient control of a conventional CMP-process are obviated by providing an CMP-apparatus configured to complement a constant force (to which a workpiece that is being polished is conventionally exposed) with a time-alternating force and/or means for measuring an electrical characteristic of the CMP-process. The time-alternating force is applied with the use of a system component that is electrically isolated from the workpiece and that is disposed in the carrier-chick in which the workpiece is affixed for CMP-process, while the electrical characteristic is measured with the use of a judiciously-configured reservoir in which the used fluid is collected. The use of such CMP-apparatus.

An automatic grinding machine with positioning effect has a body, at least two positioning sets, and a processing set. The body has a base, a grinding mount, a drive device, and a fixture. The base has a chamber. The at least two positioning sets are connected to the body and each positioning set has a displacement device and an optical module. The displacement device is mounted in the chamber. The optical module is disposed on the displacement device and is moved relative to the grinding mount by the drive device to position locations of the grinding mount and a probe card. The processing set is electrically connected to the drive device and the fixture of the body and the displacement device and the optical module of each positioning set, and has a computer control interface.

A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a platen to support a polishing pad, a carrier head to a surface of a substrate against the polishing pad, a motor to generate relative motion between the platen and the carrier head so as to polish an overlying layer on the substrate, an in-situ acoustic monitoring system, and a controller. The controller is configured to detect exposure of an underlying layer due to the polishing of the substrate based on measurements from the in-situ acoustic monitoring system. The in-situ acoustic monitoring system may detect exposure of an underlying layer based on comparison of the signal to prior measurements of acoustic signals generated by stress energy of test substrates.

A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a platen to support a polishing pad, a carrier head to a surface of a substrate against the polishing pad, a motor to generate relative motion between the platen and the carrier head so as to polish an overlying layer on the substrate, an in-situ acoustic monitoring system, and a controller. The in-situ acoustic monitoring system includes an acoustic signal generator to emit acoustic signals and an acoustic signal sensor that receives acoustic signals reflected from the surface of the substrate. The controller is configured to detect exposure of an underlying layer due to the polishing of the substrate based on measurements from the in-situ acoustic monitoring system.

A method of accurately detecting an end point of substrate polishing using an acoustic sensor is disclosed.

The method includes: detecting an acoustic event occurring with polishing of a substrate and outputting the acoustic event as acoustic signals; generating power spectra from the acoustic signals, each of the power spectra indicating a spectrum of a sound-pressure level; generating a power spectrum map indicating a temporal change in power spectrum by arranging the power spectra in a time-series order; and detecting a polishing end point of the substrate based on a change in the sound-pressure level in the power spectrum map.

A substrate processing apparatus of accurately detecting an end point of substrate polishing using an acoustic sensor is disclosed.

The substrate processing apparatus for polishing a substrate by pressing the substrate against a polishing pad, includes: an acoustic sensor configured to detect an acoustic event occurring with polishing of a substrate and output the acoustic event as acoustic signals; a power-spectrum generator configured to generate power spectra from the acoustic signals, each of the power spectra indicating a spectrum of a sound-pressure level; a map updating device configured to generate a power spectrum map indicating a temporal change in power spectrum by arranging the power spectra in a time-series order; and an end-point determiner configured to detect a polishing end point of the substrate based on a change in the sound-pressure level in the power spectrum map.

A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a platen to support a polishing pad, a conditioner head to hold a conditioner disk in contact with the polishing pad, a motor to generate relative motion between the polishing pad and the conditioner disk so as to condition the polishing pad, an in-situ acoustic monitoring system having an acoustic sensor to receive acoustic signals from the conditioner disk, and a controller configured to analyze a signal from the acoustic sensor and determine a characteristic of the conditioner disk or conditioner head based on the signal.

A grinding apparatus grinds a workpiece by rotating the workpiece held by main spindles and a grinding wheel held by a wheel spindle, and by relatively moving the grinding wheel toward and away from the workpiece. The grinding apparatus includes a first detection unit that detects a rotational phase of the workpiece; a second detection unit that detects a grinding resistance moment at a grinding point between the grinding wheel and the workpiece, or detects a drive current of a rotary drive unit of the workpiece or a rotary drive unit of the grinding wheel; a storage unit that stores the grinding resistance moment or the drive current in a manner associated with the rotational phase; and a determination unit that determines a slip between the workpiece and the main spindles based on the grinding resistance moment or the drive current at a current rotational phase, and on the grinding resistance moment or the drive current at the same phase as the current rotational phase of a previous time.

A polishing apparatus includes an acoustic sensor, a sound collector, an analyzer, a feature quantity calculator, and an end point calculator. The acoustic sensor detects the polishing sound of an object. The sound collector collects a polishing sound detected by the acoustic sensor. The analyzer performs frequency analysis on the power spectrum of the polishing sound with a predetermined time resolution. The feature quantity calculator calculates an arithmetic value of the power spectra having a preset time difference of the power spectra as a polishing feature quantity by using the analysis data provided by the analysis performed by the analyzer. The end point calculator determines a polishing end point of the object based on the change in the feature quantity.