The present invention provides a wafer polishing apparatus, including: a surface plate having a polishing pad attached on an upper surface thereof; a slurry injection nozzle configured to inject slurry toward the polishing pad; at least one polishing head configured to accommodate a wafer and rotate at an upper portion of the surface plate; an index configured to support so as to connect the at least one polishing head at an upper portion thereof; and a particle suction part coupled to the index and configured to suck particles generated during polishing of the wafer.

A substrate polishing apparatus includes a top ring for pressing a substrate against a polishing pad to perform substrate polishing; a spectrum generating unit that directs light onto a surface of the substrate of interest for polishing, receives reflected light, and calculates a reflectivity spectrum corresponding to the wavelength of the reflected light; and a storage that stores a plurality of thickness estimating algorithms for estimating the thickness of the polished surface in accordance with the reflectivity spectrum. A plurality of thickness estimating algorithms is selected among the thickness estimating algorithms stored in the storage, and a switching condition is set. The thickness of the polished surface is estimated by using the set thickness estimating algorithms, and if the switching condition is satisfied, the thickness estimating algorithm to be applied is switched.

A polishing apparatus for performing polishing between a polishing pad and a semiconductor wafer disposed to face the polishing pad includes a polishing table for holding the polishing pad, a top ring for holding the semiconductor wafer, a swing arm for holding the top ring, and a swing shaft motor for causing the swing arm to swing. The polishing apparatus further includes an arm torque detection section that detects an arm torque imparted to the swing arm when the swing arm is swinging in a predetermined angle range, and an endpoint detection section that detects a polishing endpoint indicating the end of polishing on the basis of the arm torque detected by the arm torque detection section.

A polishing station for polishing a substrate using a polishing slurry is disclosed. The polishing station includes a substrate carrier having a substrate-receiving surface and a rotatable platen having a polishing pad disposed on a platen surface, where the polishing pad has a polishing surface facing the substrate-receiving surface. The polishing station includes an electromagnetic assembly disposed over the platen surface. The electromagnetic assembly includes an array of electromagnetic devices that are each operable to generate a magnetic field that is configured to pass through the polishing surface. The magnetic fields generated by the array of electromagnetic devices are oriented and configured to induce an electromagnetic force on a plurality of charged particles disposed in a polishing slurry disposed on the polishing surface. The applied magnetic field is configured to induce movement of the plurality of charged particles in a direction parallel or orthogonal to the polishing surface.

A horizontal pre-clean (HPC) module for a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processing system is disclosed. The HPC module includes a chamber having a basin and a lid which collectively define a processing area. The module includes a rotatable vacuum table disposed in the processing area, the rotatable vacuum table including an array of channels defined in a supporting surface thereof. The module includes a pad conditioning station disposed proximate to the rotatable vacuum table. The module includes a pad carrier positioning arm coupled to a pad carrier assembly. The module includes an actuator coupled to the pad carrier positioning arm and configured to position the pad carrier assembly between a first position over the rotatable vacuum table and a second position over the pad conditioning station.

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 large area quartz crystal wafer lapping device, provided with a base, a supporting arm assembly, a lapping plate, a swivel gantry, a rotating motor, a loading block and a plate-Adjusting ring; The supporting arm assembly comprises a swing arm, a swing arm shaft, a swing arm motor, an adjustable arm and a roller; The swivel gantry is driven to rotate by the rotating motor; The loading block is encased in the plate-Adjusting ring, and a quartz crystal wafer is bonded to the bottom surface of the loading block. In the invention, through the improved design of material removal and wafer retention, the processing surface shape of large area quartz crystal wafer can meet the design requirements.

The present disclosure provides a retaining ring for polishing a wafer by a slurry. The retaining ring includes a ring-shaped main body and a plurality of guiding elements. The main body has an outer surface, an inner surface, and an inner space for accommodating the wafer. The main body includes a plurality of channels configured to allow the slurry to flow into the inner space from the outer surface. The plurality of guiding elements is disposed at the outer surface of the main body with respect to the plurality of channels. Each of the guiding elements forms a slurry capture area with the main body to guide the slurry towards each of the respective channels.

A polishing apparatus has a polishing pad, a top ring for holding a semiconductor wafer, and a vertical movement mechanism operable to move the top ring in a vertical direction. The polishing apparatus also has a distance measuring sensor operable to detect a position of the top ring when a lower surface of the top ring is brought into contact with the polishing pad, and a controller operable to calculate an optimal position of the top ring to polish the semiconductor wafer based on the position detected by the distance measuring sensor. The vertical movement mechanism includes a ball screw mechanism operable to move the top ring to the optimal position.

A polishing station for polishing a substrate using a polishing slurry is disclosed. The polishing station includes a substrate carrier having a substrate-receiving surface and a rotatable platen having a polishing pad disposed on a platen surface, where the polishing pad has a polishing surface facing the substrate-receiving surface. The polishing station includes an electromagnetic assembly disposed over the platen surface. The electromagnetic assembly includes an array of electromagnetic devices that are each operable to generate a magnetic field that is configured to pass through the polishing surface. The magnetic fields generated by the array of electromagnetic devices are oriented and configured to induce an electromagnetic force on a plurality of charged particles disposed in a polishing slurry disposed on the polishing surface. The applied magnetic field is configured to induce movement of the plurality of charged particles in a direction parallel or orthogonal to the polishing surface.