Provided are a method and apparatus for final polishing of a silicon wafer. The method for final polishing includes: within a predetermined period of time remaining before completion of the final polishing, forming a hydrophilic silicon oxide film on a surface of the silicon wafer by using both a polishing slurry and an oxidizing solution as a polishing liquid.

A bonding apparatus is configured to bond a first substrate and a second substrate to prepare a combined substrate. The first substrate includes a base substrate, and a device layer formed on a surface of the base substrate facing the second substrate. The bonding apparatus includes a first holder configured to hold the first substrate; a second holder configured to hold the second substrate; a moving unit configured to move the first holder and the second holder relative to each other; and a total thickness measurement controller configured to control a thickness detector, which is configured to measure a total thickness of the combined substrate, to measure the total thickness at multiple points.

A polishing article includes a polishing layer having a working surface including at least one multi-cell structure disposed on the working surface. The multi-cell structure includes three cells, defined as a first cell, a second cell and a third cell. Each of the three cells includes at least one sidewall defining a cell shape. The first cell and the second cell include a first common sidewall including a first channel, having a first channel length, allowing fluid communication between the first cell and the second cell, and a first axis perpendicular to the first channel length and substantially parallel to the working surface. Further, the second cell and the third cell include a second common sidewall including a second channel, having a second channel length, allowing fluid communication between the second cell and the third cell, and a second axis perpendicular to the second channel length and substantially parallel to the working surface. An included angle between the first axis and the second axis is from 0° to less than 180°.

A CMP polishing apparatus for flattening a quadrate substrate is provided. A polishing apparatus for polishing a quadrate substrate is provided. The polishing apparatus includes a substrate holding portion configured to hold the quadrate substrate. The substrate holding portion includes a quadrate substrate supporting surface that supports the substrate, and an attachment mechanism that attaches a retainer member to be disposed at an outside of at least one corner portion of the substrate supporting surface.

A workpiece surface is polished by a polishing pad surface by keeping a point on an outer circumferential edge of the workpiece surface at predetermined coordinates, i.e., first coordinates, in a plane parallel to the workpiece surface but out of contact with the polishing pad surface, and keeping a point on the outer circumferential edge of the polishing pad surface at other coordinates, i.e., third coordinates, in the coordinate plane in contact with an outer circumferential edge of the workpiece surface. In this manner, the workpiece surface is polished in its entirety, and a region of the polishing pad surface in the vicinity of the outer circumferential edge thereof can be worn to the same degree as a region that is located inwardly of the above region. The polishing pad surface is thus prevented from developing a stepped profile due to the polishing of the workpiece surface.

Methods and apparatus for monitoring and controlling relative concentrations of polishing fluid additives and, or, the distribution of a polishing fluid and, or, polishing fluid additives across the surface of a polishing pad during chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of a substrate are provided herein. In one embodiment, a method for polishing a substrate includes delivering a polishing fluid to one or more locations on a polishing surface of a polishing pad, wherein the polishing fluid comprises an optical marker; detecting optical information at a plurality of locations across a scan region of the polishing surface using an optical sensor facing theretowards; communicating the optical information to a system controller; determining a polishing fluid distribution across the scan region using the optical information; and changing an aspect of the delivery of the polishing fluid based on the polishing fluid distribution.

An apparatus for performing chemical mechanical polish on a wafer includes a polishing head that includes a retaining ring. The polishing head is configured to hold the wafer in the retaining ring. The retaining ring includes a first ring having a first hardness, and a second ring encircled by the first ring, wherein the second ring has a second hardness smaller than the first hardness.

A laminated wafer grinding method includes applying a laser beam having such a wavelength as to be transmitted through a first wafer to the first wafer along a first annular street set on the inner side of a peripheral edge of the first wafer to form a first annular modified layer, and applying the laser beam to the first wafer along at least one second street set in an annular region extending from the first street to the peripheral edge of the first wafer to form a second modified layer that partitions the annular region into two or more parts, causing a cutting blade to cut into the annular region to a predetermined depth of the first wafer to cut the annular region, and grinding a second surface side of the first wafer to thin the first wafer to a finished thickness and removing the annular region.

Disclosed are substrate polishing apparatuses, substrate polishing systems, and/or substrate polishing methods. The substrate polishing apparatus may include an electric field applying module, and a platen that rotates a polishing pad. The electric field applying module may include an inner electrode having a circular shape when viewed in plan. The platen may be on the inner electrode. A central axis of the inner electrode may be spaced apart from a central axis of the platen. The inner electrode may include a first electrode and a second electrode that may surround the first electrode and may have an annular shape.

Embodiments described herein generally relate to a surface topology measurement device that enables mapping a surface profile of a polishing pad. Embodiments of the disclosure may include a method of measuring and/or adjusting a property of a polishing surface of a polishing pad disposed in a substrate processing system during processing or after one or more processes have been performed. The method can include positioning a surface topology measurement device such that the surface topology measurement device contacts the polishing surface of the polishing pad, generating a three-dimensional surface map of the polishing surface of the polishing pad, comparing the three-dimensional surface map of the polishing surface of the polishing pad to a predetermined threshold, and adjusting one or more properties of the substrate processing system based on the comparison of the three-dimensional surface map to the predetermined threshold.