A polishing pad includes a sensor assembly surrounded by a lower portion of the polishing pad, and an upper portion including a pad portion disposed on the assembly and at least a portion of a polishing layer disposed on the lower portion. The sensor assembly includes a lower body having a first pair of electrodes formed thereon, a polymer body having a second pair of electrodes formed thereon and aligned with the first pair of electrodes, and a pair of gaps between the first pair of electrodes and the second pair of electrodes.

A polishing system includes a platen having a top surface to support an annular polishing pad, a carrier head to hold a substrate in contact with the annular polishing pad, a support structure extending above the platen and to which one or more polishing system components are secured, and a support post. The platen is rotatable about an axis of rotation that passes through approximately a center of the platen. The first support post has an upper end coupled to and supporting the support structure and a lower portion that is supported on the platen or that extends through an aperture in the platen.

A method and apparatus for dispensing polishing fluids and onto a polishing pad within a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system are disclosed herein. In particular, embodiments herein relate to a CMP system with a first fluid delivery arm and a second fluid delivery arm disposed over the polishing pad to dispense liquid, such as a polishing fluid or water. The first fluid delivery arm is disposed over at least 50% of the radius of the polishing pad, while the second fluid delivery arm is disposed over less than 50% of the radius of the polishing pad. The second fluid delivery arm is configured to dispense either a polishing fluid or a water onto the polishing pad to effect the polishing rate at the edge of the substrate.

A polishing pad includes a polishing layer stack that has a polishing surface, a bottom surface, and an aperture from the polishing surface to the bottom surface. The polishing layer stack includes a polishing layer that has the polishing surface. A fluid-impermeable layer spans the aperture and the polishing pad. A first adhesive layer of a first adhesive material is in contact with and secures the bottom surface of the polishing layer to the fluid-impermeable layer. The first adhesive layer spans the aperture and the polishing pad. The light-transmitting body is positioned in the aperture and has a lower surface in contact with, is secured to the first adhesive layer, and is spaced apart from a side-wall of the aperture by a gap. An adhesive sealant of a different second material is disposed in and laterally fills the gap.

A polishing pad includes a polishing layer, a backing layer, and an acoustic window extending through the backing layer and the polishing layer, wherein an upper surface of the acoustic window is coplanar with a polishing surface of the polishing layer.

A polishing pad includes a polishing layer, a backing layer, and an acoustic window of solid material having an acoustic impedance less than that of the backing layer and extending through the backing layer to contact the bottom surface of the polishing layer.

There is disclosed a polishing apparatus which allows for easy replacement of a light source with another type of light source. The light-source assembly includes: a base fixed to a polishing table and coupled to a light-emitting transmission line; and a light-source module having a lamp for emitting light. The light-source module is removably attached to the base. The base is a common base which is adapted to any of a plurality of light-source modules of different types including the light-source module. The base includes a positioning structure which achieves positioning of the light-source module relative to the base.

A method of classification of a film non-uniformity on a substrate includes obtaining a color image of a substrate with the color image comprising a plurality of color channels, obtaining a standard color for the color image of the substrate, for each respective pixel along a path in the color image determining a difference vector between the a color of the respective pixel and the standard color to generate a sequence of difference vectors, sorting the pixels along the path into a plurality of regions including at least one normal region and at least one abnormal region based on the sequence of difference vectors, and classifying the at least one abnormal region as overpolished or underpolished based on at least one difference vector of a pixel at a boundary between the abnormal region and an adjacent normal region.

A method of classification of a film non-uniformity on a substrate includes obtaining a color image of a substrate with the color image comprising a plurality of color channels, obtaining a standard color for the color image of the substrate, for each respective pixel along a path in the color image determining a difference vector between the a color of the respective pixel and the standard color to generate a sequence of difference vectors, and sorting the pixels along the path into a plurality of regions including at least one normal region and at least one abnormal region based on the sequence of difference vectors, including comparing a multiplicity of the difference vectors in the sequence to a threshold.

A method and apparatus for dispensing polishing fluids and onto a polishing pad within a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system are disclosed herein. In particular, embodiments herein relate to a CMP system with a first fluid delivery arm and a second fluid delivery arm disposed over the polishing pad to dispense liquid, such as a polishing fluid or water. The first fluid delivery arm is disposed over at least 50% of the radius of the polishing pad, while the second fluid delivery arm is disposed over less than 50% of the radius of the polishing pad. The second fluid delivery arm is configured to dispense either a polishing fluid or a water onto the polishing pad to effect the polishing rate at the edge of the substrate.