A method and apparatus for planarizing a substrate are provided. A substrate carrier head with an improved cover for holding the substrate securely is provided. The cover may have a bead that is larger than the recess into which it fits, such that the compression forms a conformal seal inside the recess. The bead may also be left uncoated to enhance adhesion of the bead to the surface of the groove. The surface of the cover may be roughened to reduce adhesion of the substrate to the cover without using a non-stick coating.

A support base supports a plate-shaped workpiece. The support base includes a flat plate-shaped box member having a support face for supporting a workpiece and a placement face that is a face on the opposite side to the support face and is placed on a holding face of a chuck table, a temperature measurement unit accommodated in the box member, and a battery accommodated in the box member and serving as a power supply for the temperature measurement unit. The temperature measurement unit includes a temperature measuring instrument that measures a temperature at the support face, and a recording unit that records the temperature measured by the temperature measuring instrument.

A support base supports a plate-shaped workpiece. The support base includes a flat plate-shaped box member having a support face for supporting a workpiece and a placement face that is a face on the opposite side to the support face and is placed on a holding face of a chuck table, a temperature measurement unit accommodated in the box member, and a battery accommodated in the box member and serving as a power supply for the temperature measurement unit. The temperature measurement unit includes a temperature measuring instrument that measures a temperature at the support face, and a recording unit that records the temperature measured by the temperature measuring instrument.

The present disclosure provides a semiconductor fabrication apparatus in accordance with one embodiment. The apparatus includes a wafer stage that is operable to secure and rotate a wafer; a polish head configured to polish a backside surface of the wafer; an air bearing module configured to apply an air pressure to a front surface of the wafer; and an edge sealing unit configured to seal edges of the wafer.

The present invention relates to a mounting sheet comprising a mounting layer. The mounting layer comprises a mounting surface for mounting the substrate. The mounting surface comprises a first mounting area and a second mounting area, and wherein a mounting force of the first mounting area is stronger than a mounting force of the second mounting area. The sheet according to the invention has the different mounting areas, so that the substrate is easily unloaded when polishing is completed. Furthermore, the broken of the substrate due to removal and the duration and the difficulty of removal are reduced.

The present invention relates to a mounting sheet comprising a mounting layer. The mounting layer comprises a mounting surface for mounting the substrate. The mounting surface comprises a first mounting area and a second mounting area, and wherein a mounting force of the first mounting area is stronger than a mounting force of the second mounting area. The sheet according to the invention has the different mounting areas, so that the substrate is easily unloaded when polishing is completed. Furthermore, the broken of the substrate due to removal and the duration and the difficulty of removal are reduced.

Containment and exhaust systems for substrate polishing components are disclosed. In one aspect, a substrate carrier head, includes a polishing pad, a substrate carrier head configured to retain a wafer against the polishing pad, an atomizer configured to atomize a liquid and spread a layer of the atomized liquid over a surface area of the polishing pad, and a chamber configured to contain and exhaust the atomized liquid.

A polishing apparatus includes a chuck table, a rotation mechanism that rotates the chuck table around a predetermined rotation axis, a polishing unit that has a spindle and in which a polishing pad for polishing the wafer sucked and held by the holding surface is mounted on a lower end part of the spindle, a slurry supply unit, and a cleaning unit that cleans the holding surface. The cleaning unit has a cleaning abrasive stone for removing the slurry that adheres to the holding surface through getting contact with the holding surface and a positioning unit that positions the cleaning abrasive stone to a cleaning position at which the cleaning abrasive stone gets contact with the holding surface and an evacuation position at which the cleaning abrasive stone is separate from the holding surface. Hardness of the cleaning abrasive stone is lower than the hardness of the holding surface.

A polishing apparatus includes a chuck table, a rotation mechanism that rotates the chuck table around a predetermined rotation axis, a polishing unit that has a spindle and in which a polishing pad for polishing the wafer sucked and held by the holding surface is mounted on a lower end part of the spindle, a slurry supply unit, and a cleaning unit that cleans the holding surface. The cleaning unit has a cleaning abrasive stone for removing the slurry that adheres to the holding surface through getting contact with the holding surface and a positioning unit that positions the cleaning abrasive stone to a cleaning position at which the cleaning abrasive stone gets contact with the holding surface and an evacuation position at which the cleaning abrasive stone is separate from the holding surface. Hardness of the cleaning abrasive stone is lower than the hardness of the holding surface.

The polishing apparatus includes: a holding section that holds a material to be polished; the polishing body that polishes the material to be polished held by the holding section; the head that supports the polishing body via the elastic mechanism; a driving mechanism that causes the head to be moved in a Z coordinate direction; and a control unit that is connected to the driving mechanism and controls the driving mechanism. A load measurement device to measure a load applied to the polishing body is attached to the head, and the load measurement device is connected to the polishing body via the elastic mechanism.